Work Text:
Pete excused himself from the room quickly after he was sure Jay was safe. He made his way to the library, where, if nothing else, he was sure no one else would be for a little while.
It was a lot to process. He had almost gone to hell just a minute ago. Only for Carol to step up at the last second in a way she had never done before.
In a way maybe no one had ever done for Pete.
Something in his chest caught uncomfortably at the thought. He wasn’t sure what to do with the heavy feeling that was suddenly threatening to consume him.
Just then, Trevor walked through the closed door. He had a determined look on his face. “Are you okay?”
Pete automatically went say he was fine. But as Trevor crossed the room and came to stand beside him at the window, the words died in his throat.
“Wait, sorry, do you want to be alone?” Trevor said after a moment of silence. “Or I can get Alberta if you want.”
“Why would I want Alberta?”
“I thought there was a weird vibe between you guys earlier. And she said she had a crush on you, so I just kind of assumed you made up. If you know what I mean.”
Pete decided to focus on the first part of his words and ignore the second entirely. “We decided to just be friends.”
It was kind of weird. He had spent so long waiting for Alberta to reciprocate his feelings, but it turned out that they had faded by the time she did. And honestly, they weren’t compatible. Pete had always known that in his heart of hearts.
“Okay,” Trevor said. It seemed like he wanted to say more on the subject, but he didn’t. “How are you doing though? Seriously.”
Pete wasn’t even sure where to begin. “Honestly? I’m having some trouble wrapping my head around all of this.”
So much had happened. And he wasn’t sure how to feel about most of it, especially when he had been on the verge of losing everything less than an hour ago. He couldn’t even imagine being away from the others after so long.
He felt Trevor put a hand on his shoulder. When Pete glanced up and met his eyes, there was a strange expression flickering across his face.
“Are you okay?” Pete asked.
Trevor gave him a look but still answered. “I’m fine. Just realizing some things. I’m more worried about you.”
Pete wasn’t sure what made him ask it. But it felt like some unseen force was possessing him, searching for something. “What things?”
“We can talk about it later.”
“Tell me what it is.” For some reason, a part of Pete needed to know.
“I like you.” It seemed like Trevor was forcing the words out, watching Pete carefully for a reaction. “As more than a friend. Okay? We don’t have to talk about it. I know you don’t feel the same way.”
Pete wanted to respond. He wanted to reassure Trevor in some kind of way. But the entire world was shifting for what felt like the millionth time this hour.
So instead, he leaned forward and kissed Trevor.
He was worried for a split second that he had totally misread the signals, but Trevor took hold of his shirt and pulled him in closer. It felt like fireworks, flooding him with distracting warmth.
Eventually, Trevor pulled away. “I didn’t think you were going to do that,” he said breathlessly. Pete had never heard him sound like that before. It was strangely endearing.
“Why wouldn’t I?” he asked, hardly daring to think beyond the rushing in his ears.
“I mean, for one, I thought you were still with Donna.”
Pete frowned. “I would never do that to someone else.” They had broken up a few weeks ago. She was a wonderful person but the distance was getting to be too much somehow.
“I know that,” Trevor said. “It just all happened so quickly.”
And then, before Pete could respond, Trevor pulled him into a tight hug. It felt like the air was being crushed out of his lungs, although he couldn’t even really breathe in the first place.
He patted Trevor gently on the back and tried to wrap his head around everything that had happened this evening. It was more eventful than probably his first twenty years as a ghost.
He hadn’t even known he liked Trevor as more than a friend, although in hindsight, it made sense. There was a level of warmth to him besides the way he seemed on the outside. That was why Pete had always been close friends with him despite their differences on the surface.
Pete had almost gone to hell today. And now here he was, standing in the same place he had haunted for over forty years, Trevor holding him like a vice. Like he could keep him here by sheer force.
“What does this mean for us?” he said quietly.
Trevor pulled back, looking at him with a mix of surprise and a little hurt. “We’re dating. If you want to be.”
He hadn’t expected that. Trevor had always given him the impression that he ran from commitment. Even a little when he had been with Hetty, although it wasn’t Pete’s place to judge.
“I want to be,” he said, relief flooding over him as the words left his mouth.
Trevor smiled. It felt like watching the sun shine through storm clouds. Something warm settled in Pete’s chest despite everything that had happened earlier.
It was strange how things went from feeling like they might never be normal again to completely ordinary. But that was the entire experience of being a ghost. Everything staying the same and changing all at once. Every time Pete thought he was used to it, he was surprised again.
“I’m glad you’re still here,” Trevor said. His hand was still holding Pete’s shoulder with a grip like an anchor.
“Me too,” Pete said, although those weren’t nearly enough words to sum up how he felt about everything that had happened.
Then he leaned forward to kiss Trevor again. And for a moment, that said everything.