all i do is bug people

Robert Richman

Edgar "Nevermore" Adcock

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this is a ship fic!

He startled awake, chest heaving up and down as he caught his breath. Another nightmare... another terrible nightmare.

He turned his head, looking down. Sleeping like a baby... no claw marks, no burn scars, no decaying flesh or plagued breath. Sighing, he took a trembling hand and stroked his cheek with the back of his hand.

What did he, just a humble Spy, do to deserve such a wonderful man in his life? All he did was bug people.

He sighed softly, shaking his head as his partner stirred, gently holding his hand... all while still asleep. He was so in love, and he didn't deserve any of it.

He took a deep breath - well, as deep as he could in the wake of the adrenaline within him - and leaned down, giving him a tender peck on the nose as he climbed out of bed, subconsciously dusting off his nightgown as if it were his suit. Maybe some fresh air would do him some good.

He set out towards the back door, stopping in the hallway and pulling on a small cord dangling from the ceiling. A door opened above his head, a ladder clattering down in front of him. Slowly he crept up the ladder, tiptoeing through the attic and opening the window, wriggling onto the roof.

The stars were always beautiful this late at night. The clouds lazily drifted across the sky, backlit by the full moon high above. He laid against the tiled roof, hand outstretched as if to drift through the currents of heaven.

Salem was everything to him, in its own weird way. In the handful of years he'd been part of this town, he had seen so many faces arrive and depart, and with the rise of the Coven in the past two years, he had found himself uniquely positioned with his knowledge to keep town in safe hands.

Mostly by spying on them. Entirely, in fact, by spying on them. It was... how he had met him, in fact. He had planted a bug on the side of the very manor in which he now lived, only to have been caught by the Mayor.

What a sight he oddly was, tapping his foot as he was admiring his handiwork. Arms folded, head tilted to one side, it was the angriest he had ever seen him.

"Might I ask what in the world you're doing in my garden?" He'd asked, foot thumping expectantly against the grass. "I don't accept - or appreciate, for that matter - guests at this hour."

"I-I'm with J... the Jailor...?" He mumbled, standing upright to show him the bug. "He asked me to plant this, to make sure, um, nothing bothered you."

"I see." He straightened, arms folded as he glared. Seeing the Mayor annoyed in the middle of the night just wearing a nightgown... he couldn't help but snicker. "What's so funny, anyway?"

"ah... Nothing." He smiled, holding out a hand. "Edgar Adcock, codename Nevermore."

"Robert. Mayor of Salem." He took Edgar's hand icily, giving it a firm shake. He smiled, taking an unusually keen note as to how Robert's round little nose crinkled at the bridge as he scowled, crow's feet unusually deep in the dim moonlight, the way his face made a sort of less-than symbol with his sleepy eyes completing the look...

...Was he staring? He blinked slowly, sputtering. "Oh, e-erm, sorry I woke you up, Mayor... Just doing my j-job."

"Quite all right, Mr. Adcock." he mumbled. "Just... Get out. I need my beauty sleep so I can speak to the townsfolk."

He'd nodded, turning to head down the hill out of the garden and away from the manor...

"Although - Thank you." He called out, the scowl briefly replaced with an inviting, warm smile. "I appreciate J's team looking out for me. Give him my regards when you see him next, would you?"

Edgar nodded, waving goodbye as he left the manor grounds, finding himself back in the present once again - laying on the roof of the manor in the middle of the night, courting a man who only a few months prior looked like he was about to call the Deputy to put a swift end to the wake-up call.

He had given J that good review from Robert. He'd been all over town enough times to know exactly where he was at any point in time. He'd... found himself talking to the mayor, tears falling like brisk rain, at his most private, his most vulnerable, being welcomed into the manor with open arms...

...he still didn't deserve it. He chuckled dryly, grabbing at the clouds as if he were an infant reaching for a mobile, weakly tapping his fist against the roof. Surely Robert was housing him, seeing him, cuddling with him out of pity. The flowers and chocolates were just... sympathetic.

Right? Most certainly. He laid there, contemplating the unbearable mistruth that maybe Robert did genuinely appreciate his presence, that all of the "i love you"s and "you're my favorite investigative"s were actually true, and not pity from a rich old man...

"Edgar?"

He sat up, watching as Robert tiptoed along the roof. "Oh... I didn't mean to wake you, I'm sorry."

"Nonsense, you didn't wake me up and you know it." He sat next to him, hand in loving hand. "Are you feeling okay? Another nightmare?"

"A serial killer, and an arsonist, slow-dancing over your dead body as the town burned." He wiped a tear from his face - he'd been crying? - as Robert stroked the back of his hand softly.

"Terrible, isn't it? That we have to worry about these horrible things..." He sighed softly. "Nothing interesting on your...?"

"Not tonight, thank God." He sighed, pulling his knees up to his chin; a rather silly look for someone nearing 45. Robert wrapped an arm around him, pulling him close. "Just... just a nightmare. Nothing else."

"Oh, Edgar..." Robert gently stroked his hand with his thumb. "You're okay. I'm okay."

"I-I mean, I'm really not..." He whispered softly, leaning against Robert leaning against him. "I... will be though, now that you're here."

"Glad I could be of assistance." Robert said softly, chuckling. "The stars are beautiful at this hour... I see why you come up here when you're overwhelmed."

"I've loved the nighttime ever since I was a boy." Edgar admitted, chuckling as the two watched the clouds laze by. "The quiet is perfect to collect my thoughts in."

"I see." Robert nodded.

"And, besides... the way the stars shimmer up there, it's beautiful. Don't you think?" He replied, smiling ever so slightly.

"They shimmer much more beautifully when I'm with you." Robert whispered. Edgar blushed brightly, other hand covering his mouth.

"You-" He laughed, "You're so... Oh, Robert..." He grinned, wrapping his arms around him.

"I can't help it, I find you just. so... " He leaned upwards, pecking Edgar's cheek as he grinned.

"You have a point though." Edgar pulled Robert into his lap, kissing his forehead. "The stars do shimmer more brightly when I'm with you."

"I really do love you, Edgar." Robert said softly, cupping his face in his hands. "You've been a light in the darkness for me."

"I... you promise?" Edgar smiled. "I'm... You mean the world to me and then some, I know I say it a-all the time, but...."

"For the rest of my days." Robert said softly, wiping the quickly-growing tears from his eyes. "And for the eternity after."

"I love you too, Robert." He whispered, stroking his hair. "Let's... let's enjoy the air up here."

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Lifelink Stories

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