Got this idea while roleplaying and thinking about a Ghost Arthur.
Lewis floated invisible to all in the corner of the sterile room as a lone Nurse gave the blonds broken body another shot of morphine to ease the pain.
It hurt just to look at Arthur this way after everything that had happened. Struggling to keep the others soul in his body, being forced to watch as doctors operated, seeing him being cut open and damaged organs sewn back together or removed. It was all for not when days later the mechanic slowly came around, rolling his head as his eyes slowly blinked open. It was obvious from the start that something was wrong with how prone the rest of his body remained. After calming Arthurs' panic at not being able to move and a battery of tests it was determined that his spinal cord had be severed just below the neck by the crushing weight of the car on top of him.
Arthur hadn't spoken for days after hearing the news. And if it wasn't for the feeding tube placed directly into his stomach he probably would've refused to eat, too. Lewis tried everything to get a response out of his lover but calming words and pleas for him to say something seemed to fall on deaf ears. Even connecting with the blonds soul through the metal appendage failed to get a response. At some point the Latino broke, laying his head on the bed, holding the flesh hand to his face and wept. Fearing Arthur had gone comatose and his mind was gone along with his bodies ability to move.
It was getting late and visiting hours were almost over, which meant Lewis would have to turn invisible for the next 12 hours. As he refused to leave the blonds side. Even with Vivi and Mystery insisting he come home and get some rest, this wasn't healthy. But he didn't care. What did health matter to a ghost anyways? "L-Lewis?" A cracking voice broke through the large males thoughts. His eyes shot up as he lifted his head off the bed.
His eyes lit up when he saw Arthur actually looking at him. "Arthur!" He leaned in, giving the others forehead a kiss as he combed his fingers through blond hair. Gel long gone.
Arthur was silent for awhile and Lewis began to worry he slipped away again when he adjusted his head, looking up at his boyfriend with a pleading look. "Kill me." He whispered.
Lewis' eyes widened in shock. He could not have heard that correctly. "Art… What? What are you talking about?"
Tears began streaming down pale cheeks, made even paler by the lighting of the room and lack of sun. "Kill me. Please, Lewis, I can't live like this! I don't want to be a vegetable!" He said in a panic, taking large gulps of air as his crying made it hard to breathe.
He leaned down, connecting their foreheads as Lewis made shushing noises to calm Arthur down. Wiping the tears away as he pet the blonds cheek. "You're not a vegetable, Arthur." His mind was still reeling from the morbid request that was made. How could he possible go through with something like that?
"PLEASE!" Arthur cried, the tears doubling. Lewis feared all the noise would attract the attention of a Nurse but none came. "Please d-don't make me live like this! I can't live like this- I can't-" He cut himself off has he choked on a sob.
Lewis' heart, hidden by his human projection, broke at having to witness his boyfriend breakdown. "Arthur…" He breathed, giving another kiss to his forehead. "I can't. I can't do that. Please don't make me take your life." Was it even fair to refuse? He couldn't imagine the pain Arthur was going though. Both physically and mentally. What must it be like to have everything taken from you? Well, he could imagine that part. He was dead, after all. But he was still free to move about. He didn't have to live with a broken body, with the knowledge that he could never do anything for himself ever again. That his life depended on others caring for him. Or that a tube was the only thing keeping him from starving to death. Really, it was starting to sound rather selfish of him to expect Arthur to live like this just so Lewis won't have to be the means of his death. "You know I'll always love you, Arthur." He whispered against the blonds forehead.
Apparently that wasn't the right thing to say as the other jerked his head away, staring at the far wall away from Lewis with a scowl. He breathed deeply through his nose as he tried to calm down but the tears kept coming.
"Maybe… Maybe Vi can find a spell of some kind. She's got dozens of tomes, there's bound to be a healing spell in one of them." Lewis tried, anything to ease to tension and get Arthur to stop thinking such negative thoughts.
"Promise me." Arthur started, refusing to take his gaze off the wall. "Promise me that if you can't find a spell that you'll take me out of this fucking body, Lewis!"
A rebuttal was quick on his tongue but he bit it back. He was quiet for a good long moment, eyes searching Arthurs face before bringing them down to look at his prone body. Already growing thinner, if possible. The stuff being pumped into his body just not enough to keep him alive and healthy. Not that Arthur ever really looked healthy to begin with. With a deep sigh Lewis relented, hanging his head in defeat. "Alright, I promise."
As it turns out, finding a spell to fit their needs wasn't panning out. A full two days were spent pouring over every tome Vivi had. Most of the spells they found were too weak. Only fit to heal cuts, a broken bone if you were lucky. There was one spell that might have worked but the energy required from the spell caster was too high, rendering it basically a 'Life for a Life' spell. And that just wouldn't do. Since as the only mortal among them, Vivi would be the one to cast it.
So now Lewis found himself about to take his boyfriends life. He watched the Nurse leave to room after administering the dose of morphine Arthur had asked for the pain. Whether or not the blond was actually in pain wasn't clear to the other male. But he had told Arthur he wouldn't pull his soul free with him awake. Both because he personally couldn't handle it but also because he feared Arthur wouldn't react kindly to dying while conscious. He knew from personal experience. That moment of death was almost enough to shatter his mind. He didn't know if it would be different for Arthur, since he wasn't skewered on a stalagmite like a kebab. But he wasn't going to risk it, either.
He walked over to the bed, slowly turning himself visible again. His human guise quickly coming up too as he looked down at the blond. "It'll all be over soon, Artie." He whispered, not trusting his voice not to break if he spoke any louder.
Arthur gave him a weak smile. His eyelids were already starting to droop. He managed to pull his head up enough to connect their lips in a quick kiss. "Love you." He slurred as his head hit the pillows again.
"I love you, too." He managed to say without breaking down. Giving a sad smile as he watched Arthur slowly succumb to the effects of the drug and drift to sleep.
Despite being dead, Lewis couldn't help breathing deeply, trying to calm his wreaked nerves. He cradled the blonds cheek as he peppered the other side with kisses, whispering apologizes even if this was what Arthur wanted. Eventually he forced himself to stand up. His hand ran along the replacement arm that Arthur had made before meeting with the hand. He entwined his fingers with that of his lovers soul before tugging. The orange glow the made up Arthurs essence easily rose out of the metal. Lewis' other hand grabbed just above the souls wrist and continued to pull it out of its broken body. Tears leaked out of Lewis' undead eyes but he didn't stop. As soon as Arthur's head and torso were raised out the heart monitor off to the side began blaring and with a final yank the blond was pulled free. Lewis adjusted the sleeping soul in his arms into the bride position as he turned them both invisible.
It was just in time, too, as a mass of Nurses rushed into the room to try reviving the youth. Lewis only cried harder and held Arthur tightly as his soul jerked and tugged, trying to flow back into his body as the people working on him tried to shock him back to life. The riveted metal heart that served as his anchor stuttering with each jolt given to the empty body.
What seemed like an eternity passed before they gave up. Removing the paddles from Arthurs chest as the time of death was called. Lewis finally pulled his eyes away to cradle his boyfriends soul when the bed sheet was pulled up over the bodies head.
Only after the nurses and equipment used to try saving Arthur was taken out of the room and the door shut did he turn them visible again. He stared down at the newly formed ghost. His soul had stopped glowing and had taken a form similar to his own. Orange flaming hair glowing dimly. His goatee was gone without a jawbone to connect to. Luckily his ghost form wasn't dressed to the nines like Lewis was. Something he's sure Arthur would appreciate. The blond never liked having to dress up and having to wear fancy clothes for the rest of forever would probably have him pouting and ranting for the next couple decades.
Arthurs skull twitched, his eyes sockets scrunching tight before slowly opening. Orange glowing orbs looked up to meet purple ones. His smile was invisible as he reached up with a now skeletal hand to wipe away magenta tears. "Hey." He whispered softly.
Lewis choked on a sob, bringing his skull down to rest against the others skeletal forehead. Their two colored flame hair messed together softly. "Hey yourself." He whispered in return.