Author's Notes!

so, i have been real lazy when it comes to writing this summer. i haven't put anything up in months.

insomnia ensued and reading old reviews made me crave writing something new. this was what happened.

i live in a really old house, like, over a hundred and forty years old, so i got spirits ramblin' around all the time here. one kept following me around tonight, so it inspired it.

ya hear that, ghost? i hope you're happy.

i really enjoyed writing this, so i hope everyone really enjoys reading this. happy six am, world of the living.

M for the occassional curse word and ghost!edgar/nny sex. yay, yay, woo hoo, alright. all the mentions of toasters is an inside joke between baku and i. then again, most everything baku and i write have at least some sort of... something we derived from one another. xD

also: happy one month anniversary to me and baku! i haven't fucked shit up yet. :)

Disclaimer!

i don't own jthm or anything else by jhonen vasquez. not directly. i mean, i am god, so...

xxx

Nny had never believed in ghosts.

He'd always found the thought silly. Hell, if anyone should have been haunted, it wouldn't have been him, right? After everyone he'd fucked up, he thought at least a soul or two should come and screw with his television reception or hide his popsicles in the back of his freezer where he couldn't find them until they were frost burnt. Somehow, though, it never happened, unless ghosts were the reason he had to buy a new toaster every other month.

That was, until he'd returned from his little "soul-searching" adventure, back to his old hell-hole of a house.

Everything was the same. No more Doughboys, no more Nail Bunny. Reverend Meat even faded away, eventually. They were gone. All of the damned, horrid head noise was finally gone.

So… why wasn't everything quiet?

It started off small. Things would fall off of shelves, he would hear shuffling that was too noisy unless the rats in the basement had eaten nuclear waste and become the size of caribou. Nny would just shrug, brush it off, and continue on covering a girl with too much eyeliner with leeches.

Then he'd see shadows. Hear voices. Voices that were too real, voices that didn't come from his own insanity. That was what worried him, that -he- was sane and now he was hearing… something. Something that sounded so fucking familiar…

Just ignore this, Nny. You're just going crazy again. Nothing knows how to fuck with you more than your own mind, does.

That was what it had to be, right? Who knew better than his subconscious his fears, his secrets. The things that would get to him, make him cringe. Yeah, his mind had finally learned a new tactic for a new game. He was just going crazy again! Ha ha! About damn time!

But then… it got louder. The voices went from muffled murmurs to words. No, not words. His name. The shadow was no longer just a shadow, it had taken shape. A shape Nny would always catch out of the corner of his eye, but when he would look… nothing. This… thing wanted to tease him.

Very funny, head meats. You wanna distract me from drawing Happy Noodle Boy, do ya? Well, do your worst! I know your tricks!

This subtlety was so strange to him for something that he was positive was just another excrement of his mind. The Doughboys, Nailbunny, Reverend Meat. They were all so… strong in their beliefs. "Do this, Nny," "No, don't do that, Nny, do this!" "Kill yourself, you sick sonuvabitch!"

But this new noise…

"Nny… Nny…"

Said nothing but his name.

As time passed, that one call that the shadow would call slowly got louder. It went from just words to a voice he faintly recognized. Something he could just put his finger on. Something that brought back lulls of faint happiness. Of sorrow. The shadow took on more and more of a shape, a shape that Nny was too afraid to look at. Too afraid to recognize.

"Nny…"

"Leave me alone."

So one day, Nny started talking back.

It wouldn't hurt, now would it? I mean, if this stupid thing wasn't going to shut up, Nny had every right to yell at it. It was invading Nny's house and Nny was squatting here first, dammit. He didn't like competition.

"Nny…"

"Quit saying my name!"

Maybe that was what scared Nny the most. This creature, whatever it was, had no motive. His other Noise were so upfront with what their plans were, Nny be damned. Over and over, however, louder and louder, more and more often, the shadow would say his name. Get closer to him.

"Nny…"

"Get outta my house and shut up!"

It was enough to drive a man insane. Not that was really saying much for Nny.

With each day, the shadow would become more and more defined. Get closer to Nny. Speak louder.

"Nny…"

"Go away!"

Until one day, Nny couldn't avoid it anymore.

"Nny…"
"I said…!"

He trailed off, mid-rant, because this time, he turned to look at the shadow. This time the shadow was behind him, whispering in his ear. When he turned, however, the shadow didn't disappear. It stayed.

"… Edgar?"

"Took you long enough."

The shadow wasn't a shadow. The shadow was a ghost. A ghost of the only friend Nny ever had, even if said friendship lasted for less than ten minutes.

"I… you… but you're dead!"

"Yeah, I know. You killed me, if you don't recall."

It was Edgar, in the flesh. Well… not quite. He looked the same as he did the day he died, just transparent. That even, level composure of his was still there. He didn't look angry or displeased, sad or upset. He almost looked happy, with the faintest lilts of a smile on his face.

"Edgar…"

Even Nny knew that he wasn't crazy enough to hallucinate this sorta shit. He reached forward, as if to touch him, even though he wasn't even sure if he could or not. Edgar took his hand and pulled him against his chest in a tight, embrace.

"I…"

"If you're going to apologize, it's okay. I forgive you."

"Well…"

"And if you weren't, that's okay, too."

"You're really cold."

Edgar laughed. His voice, his touch, everything about him was hollow. It was there, it had emotion, it had meaning but it was just missing… something. This must have been the difference between the living and dead. This little absence of… well, whatever this was.

Catching up could wait. All of this, whatever you could call this, was too important. The hugging continued. Edgar took Nny's hand and kissed the top of it. Nny didn't move, didn't flinch, didn't say no. He didn't want to say no. It was true, Nny hated human contact, but this really wasn't quite that, was it? No, this was different, something wondrous and splendid. Maybe it was because Edgar was the once person he wished he hadn't killed, maybe it was because Nny had killed him. Nny didn't know, but Nny didn't care. All that mattered right now was that it didn't matter.

"Ah…"

Embracing led to kissing. Those chaste kisses on his hand traveled up, across Nny's cheek and jaw line, finally up to his lips. The kisses, careful and innocent, testing at first, became kisses of heated passion as Nny pressed into them with a needy hunger. The kissing led to touching. Hands, careful at first, just like the kisses, traveled up Nny's chest as his own were clutching tightly to Edgar's shirt. Edgar's hands slowly slid up his shirt, pulling it off, exposing his chest, one that showed how underfed he was, how he really wasn't pale. Nny stripped Edgar's shirt from him quickly, with much more need than Edgar was showing. Clothing fell to the floor as Edgar pressed Nny to the couch, kissing him deeply, parting his legs and thrusting in slowly. Their melodies were mixed, Edgar taking a tempo slow and caring, while Nny's was much faster, much needier, but they quickly found a harmony. The air was thick with panting, with moans. Nny would give cries of Edgar's name, Edgar would give soft whispers of Nny's own against his ear.

"There! More!"

Edgar found the spot inside of Nny that made him scream, that had Nny clawing at his back, writhing. His thrusts stayed even, never too hard, never too much for Nny to handle, until they had both reached their peaks.

"Edgar!"

"Nny…!"

They clung to one another after they had finished, both wondering if this was the start of something beautiful or just something in passing. Nothing was said, the only noise was their panting, trying to catch their breaths, for a long moment, until Nny couldn't take it anymore.

"So… how long have you been a ghost?"
"I've been trying to get your attention for a long time. I eventually just had to pop out and do it this way."

"I never noticed."

"You mean you never wondered why your toaster kept breaking?"

They laughed, smiled. Neither let go of the other. If anything, they just held on tighter.

"Now that you… we… did this, are you going to leave?"

"I was planning on sticking around."

Smiles grew brighter. Nny thought that maybe, maybe, he had finally found what he was looking for after all.

"Good. 'cause you owe me another goddamn toaster."

-fin-