Chapter Text
The veil between life and death was fragile, as they say. But in Logan's opinion that statement was complete horseshit. If it were as fragile as they say why couldn't he pass over it already?
After a few decades he was starting to think "they" weren't real. Or perhaps "they" is just a superstitious way of saying a lot of people that think the same thing? Logan sighed and rubbed his temples with glasses in hand. It did nothing to ease the headache that plagued him since that day of course but he nevertheless indulged the nervous habit.
Everyone residing in the house had their opinions or theories about how it happened. The common ones were along the lines of betrayal or heartbreak to give what happened a bit more substance, but Logan always brushed it off, it didn't matter how he died and he didn't want to indulge their curiosity. What mattered now was how to leave this godforsaken house he'd been trapped in for the past 60 years.
Of course it wasn't horrible here, Logan supposed it was better than the hell the Bible portrayed. But the house was almost infested with other ghosts that certainly made that hell preferable.
Among those pests is a ghost by the name of Roman, that, according to his retelling that changed every time he recounted his death, had died by fiercely defending his family from a bear but died heroically as his family fled.
The teenage boy sported no claw marks and had an obvious lying problem, Logan was almost certain Roman died by a gunshot wound to the chest, if the visible wound was any indication.
Then there was Patton, who, he didn't actually mind much when Logan thought about it. Patton was certainly the kindest out of the bunch and,like Logan, hadn't discussed this death to anyone as far as he knew. But Logan always gandered that the man passed from starvation as he could never see any indication of his death. But he thought it rude to ask and never pressed Patton on the details.
He knew a few of the others even if he didn't acquaint himself with them. There was Janus the unlucky mobster on the back porch, Virgil the attic dweller, Remus the basement gremlin and of course the mysterious smoker at the garage entrance.
He didn't talk to anyone, just smoked incorporeal smoke and minded his own business.
Logan met Virgil once while he explored the house. He didn't have to guess how it happened but Virgil always kept to himself and, like the smoker, hadn't spoken once to anyone. The boy just stared with his wide and sunken eyes, holding his knees as close to him as possible.
"Then of course there is the occasional resident of the house that inevitably dies here or in some fortune leaves and doesn't come back, we're just the unlucky few that have been here for more than five years." Logan finished his polished story and turned to face the stone lion he'd been telling it to for the past few years. Feeling awkward, Logan patted its stone mane.
"Am I going crazy?" He whispered now to himself.
"Maybe go and make friends with the others, friendship is a known factor to increase happiness and better health." He imagined the lion saying.
"But they're idiots, all of them." Logan frowned.
"You've only ever watched them from afar and would you really say that about Patton? Have you considered that isolating yourself with bitter thoughts is why you haven't moved on yet?" Logan thought about this, perhaps becoming "friends" with Patton wouldn't be so bad, after all they both died in the same decade and seemed to want company.
"You wont regret it" The lion hummed "I promise it's better for your afterlife than talking to a stone lion when you're just talking to yourself."
It was already late in the afternoon and having memorized everyone's routines out of sheer boredom, he figured Patton should be in the kitchen.
Keyword should.
As Logan stood and caught the sight of Patton making his way to the garage. with Logan's (hiding) spot on the side of the house, he peeked over the side.
Excitedly conversing with the smoker, Patton started waving to the small car making its way up the driveway, parking where Patton stood.
Logan watched as two collage aged kids stepped out of the car and began to unload their luggage and walked inside.
Logan scowled and passed through the walls to come face to face with the brown haired stranger. He analyzed the man, young, too excited to not be a collage freshman, and he reeked of child-like wonder.
"Thomas! did you grab my backpack?" The other called from the car's trunk. "Thomas" paled in realization.
"Your gray and blue one?" He shouted back, shoved his luggage near the unused couch and rushed out the door.
Like the gossip he would never admit he was, Logan listened in on their conversation. Something about forgetting "Joan's" backpack at a carol's house and deciding Joan would drive back and get dinner on the way. This Thomas person accepted, walked back in the house and began taking things out of his enormous bag.
Unsurprisingly, Patton and Roman were already chirping up a storm about a new roommate or someone to finally live in the house. Tapping his foot, Logan fumed at the thought. they didn't need another ghost here, let alone two more.
"We don't need another roommate." Logan scowled "This house has enough problems already."
Patton lost some shine in his smile. "I don't want him to die silly, I just think some new people can be a nice change of pace."
Roman grinned excitedly "I finally have someone new to tell my stories! Even if he can't hear me it's still nice to see a new face." he gasped "Or two! I forgot there's another one!"
Logan groaned and with another rush of frustration began to tell Thomas off, about how they didn't need him here and things are better off in a quiet house. He knew factually that Thomas couldn't hear him but nevertheless Logan persisted and struggled to walk backwards as Thomas walked up the stairs.
Until Logan fumbled and fell from the top stair.
Something to understand about ghosts is that although without a body, the effects of gravity still apply to them. This fact still puzzled Logan but what did make sense to him was the knowledge that possession was not a thing, despite what Ghost busters or Buffy the vampire slayer, it positively and totally wasn't a thing ghosts could do!….right?
All in a moment Logan could feel distant gravity sending him down, but in the next he, he was actually feeling and it was the most excruciating thing he could imagine. Blood pumping through his body, skin over flesh covering bone, a brain behind his eyes sending signals, fingers touching, a pair of lungs attached to a windpipe, most of all he could feel the bile rise from a stomach spreading the acidity to taste buds with such force he could collapse.
Legs moved on instinct to the bathroom, crouching in front of the toilet he felt the force of vomit exit into the bowl, taking the last of this body's energy.
Logan? or Thomas? lay on the cold tile floor, the blood rushing through his ears was so loud he barely heard the actual Thomas shouting at him from the bathroom sink.
Through a hazy realization, Logan deduced that he'd accidentally switched Thomas out of his body leaving Logan in it. That was enough for Thomas's stomach to threaten another go in the toilet bowl. What if Logan couldn't get out or Thomas back in? He tasted bile on the tongue, had he killed Thomas?
"What the fuck?" Thomas shouted "Who are you? Am I dead? How is this happening?"
Logan instinctively grabbed for his glasses but instead slapped Thomas's face with the force of it. This is, as the kids say, the worst. He could vaguely see Patton and Roman floating up the stairs to see what had happened, and stopped in shock to see Thomas in front of them, incorporeal.
"Okay" Logan rasped. "This is…unprecedented" still shaking, Logan grabbed for the towel hanger to help hoist him up, only for it to break with a clatter and send Logan painfully down to the hard tile.
He could hear Patton and Roman talking to Thomas but couldn't care less about what, he needed to get out of here, out of this.
"t-Thomas" Logan forgot how to breathe, shit, wait no he could remember he had to. it's in and out right? He gulped air and held it for too long then heaved it out. "Out i-i need out"
Whatever Thomas and the others talked about, they evidently found the solution, Logan felt his being, his soul flooded out of the pain-laced shell. Back to the comforting chill Logan became accustomed to after all these years.
When he finally got a grip on being a ghost again he could see Patton and Roman looked at him in degrees of astonishment and most surprisingly, Thomas was looking at him incredulously. Logan would have to be an idiot to not feel the tension rising every second he spent not saying something. So he decided to be an idiot that ran away from his problems, what was new?
Before Thomas or anyone could say anything, Logan jumped up into the ceiling and scrambled to the attic space. He didn't know what the hell he was doing, he didn't understand how it even happened, he just knew he didn't want to participate in that awkward of a conversation. It was childish, he knew, but that didn't stop him from running.
Away from everything, away from everyone, his mind shouted.
Run or they will catch you
Into the attic and further above the shingles where no one could find him, he hid behind the chimney.
Hours passed as Logan found it in himself to calm down. It was illogical for a ghost to have felt a rush of "fight or flight" as they call it. But it was also illogical for a ghost to possess a living being, so in some odd sense it balanced itself out. Logan watched the sunset make its bed underneath the distant treeline, leaving room for the moon to shine among the stars.
"Logan?" Patton crouched down next to him, if he noticed Logan flinched, Patton didn't show it.
They sat in uncomfortable silence, far too long for Logan's liking until Patton spoke.
"What's wrong?"
What's wrong? Is he serious? How could anything be going well right now?
"Nothing" Logan lied, bringing his knees closer to his chest.
Patton sighed "Thomas said he wanted to apologize for earlier, but I didn't want him taking his chances on the roof."
Logan stayed quiet.
"Hiding wont help anything Logan, I know I've never really talked with you before but, I think you know that."
"Yeah" Logan mumbled and Patton placed his hand on his shoulder.
"Do you want to talk about it?" He knew he should, but Logan couldn't help but want to ignore his problems.
"Not really" Logan muttered "It hurt so much."
Patton hummed in agreement "we thought so"
The friendlier ghost shifted to rubbing comforting circles in the other's back. Bringing warmth to Logan's otherwise chilly exterior.
If it really was like ripping off a band aid as they say, Logan decided just to go for it and hope it didn't hurt as much as he thought it would.
"I-It felt so warm and-and bad-." Logan started. "I suppose I'd forgotten how to breathe after being dead for so long but I felt so confined I could feel everything."
He turned to face Patton, who, looked incredibly confused "I'm so sorry Logan, that sounds horrible."
Realization dawned. "You thought I was going to talk about my death."
"What? No I" Patton laughed nervously before looking back at Logan in shame "yes I-yeah sorry"
"It's fine" He said quietly. "It happened so long ago now that it doesn't matter."
Patton huffed. "Of course it matters! The how and who always matter Logan"
The quiet suffocated him as he watched Patton's face for any sign of disgust or anger. He couldn't find any.
Holding his knees closer and closer he muttered quieter than a mouse.
"I drowned."
Patton made a sad sound and before Logan could blink, he was wrapped up in a hug and felt the cold in his soul begin to chip away.
Logan hugged him back and felt his tears fall. They didn't get very far of course being a ghost of a tear but it still helped with the dam of emotions he'd been holding back for years.
"Did you ever mourn yourself?" Patton's voice sounded so wet with emotions and audibly held back a sob when Logan shook his head no. He didn't remember the last time he'd been hugged, even before he died he couldn't recall. Logan just hoped that this one would last.
As if he read his mind, Patton stayed until his eyes dried and the moon began setting well below the forest trees. The minutes of silence lost their meaning as Logan cried into Patton's shoulder, he never knew quiet to be comfortable until he spent it with another ghost.
When Patton pulled away, Logan felt his metaphorical heart ice over once again. But just a little warmer than he remembered it being before.
"If you ever want to talk to me, I'll listen Logan, I'll always be here to listen" Logan had to shy away again, lest Patton's smile singe him with its warmth.
"I will" and for the first time in over 60 years, Logan felt a small smile creep onto his face. it was a start, at least.
(the next day)
Logan found Thomas in the kitchen making breakfast. His roommate Joan still sleeping. Thomas seemed to be an early riser, that, or Roman woke him with his incessant chatting.
The teen jumped out of fear as he saw Logan in the doorway, almost dropping his fried egg.
"l-Logan hi" Thomas set down his plate and made uneasy eye contact with the ghost.
Okay like we practiced Logan, just apologize and explain it was an accident, no harm no foul, it'll be fine!
"I am so sorry!" both Thomas and Logan apologized over each other, surprising both of them.
The young man laughed "I thought you hated me! I didn't know how or really what even happened but I just hoped it didn't hurt you."
Logan felt the guilt nestle into him, he should've stayed and explained himself in the moment instead of running off like a child.
He felt himself slouch "I was scared I'd accidentally killed you, Thomas I am so sorry. It was never my intention to hurt you."
"You scared me straight out of my skin but you didn't hurt me" Thomas chuckled "I forgive you Logan."
Something in Logan's heart felt lighter, like he didn't need to feel sorry for still existing or about the details of his death.
Later Thomas explained how he and Joan were moving in as roommates, and that if any of the other ghosts wanted, he could turn on the TV or flip pages of books for them. In all the history of the house, Logan had never met such a kind person (besides Patton obviously) that accepted their presence so willingly. It was a nice change of pace.
Maybe having a living person in the house wouldn't be so bad after all.