Request: Morro/Cole

Requested by: Trinity mistress of healing, DementedDesiresofMusic

Warnings: Yaoi

Moonlight filtered into the room through the small window, casting a pale glow onto every surface and corner possible. In comparison, stars glimmered weakly in the darkened sky, as though they were much smaller moons desiring attention. Night had fallen a few hours ago, and everyone had fallen asleep with it. The events of the day were exhausting for all, and sleep was a luxury they could no longer take for granted.

Cole, however, was an exception. Whether it was because he was now a ghost, if he was stressed, or even if it was his preexisting issues with the task, he couldn't find it in him to fall asleep. He didn't necessarily feel tired, but he felt like he should, especially when everyone else went out like a light before him.

Instead, he was lying in bed on his back, hand behind his head, staring up at the ceiling in thought. He didn't know if being a ghost meant he could never sleep properly again, or even at all. It wasn't as if ghosts needed sleep anyway. For that matter, what could he not do now that he was like this? He knew for a fact that bathing would be far too dangerous to even think about testing. Could he ever feel physical contact again? Could he ever change his clothes?

Was he now completely incapable of eating?

The thoughts swirling wildly in his mind unsettled him, and he decided he would take a chance to clear his head. He sat up, frowning when he phased right through the blanket, swung his feet over the edge of the bed, and stood up. He couldn't tell whether his room was warm or cold anymore, which only disappointed him more.

He sighed, phasing through his bedroom door and into the hallway. He crept quietly through the Bounty, even though his feet weren't making much noise anyway, passing everyone's bedroom on the way. Soft snores and the occasional sleep talking filled the corridor like gentle music. He noticed that most of the talking came from Kai's room, the unintelligible words rising and falling in both volume and urgency.

Probably another nightmare about Lloyd, he guessed, remembering the way Kai woke up from one in the forest only a few days ago.

He continued tiptoeing through the ship, somewhat wishing one of the floorboards would creak loudly just to prove he still had some effect on solid objects. Of course, nothing ever interrupted the song of everyone's sleep.

Cole soon found himself on the main deck of the Bounty. The cold wind outside would've been comforting if he could actually feel it. Looking down at his feet, he trudged onward, stepping off the edge and landing on the ground below in mere seconds. The Bounty had been anchored near a forest, and Cole believed it would be a nice place to sort out his thoughts.

He looked back briefly, no longer hearing the soft snores of his teammates, before continuing on. At the very least, he could smell the leaves rotting beneath his feet, and could just barely hear them crunching beneath his feet. He was thankful that it hadn't rained in a while, for obvious reasons.

Once he came upon a large rock in the centre of a clearing, he went and sat upon it, leaning back and staring up at the starry night sky. He didn't notice an eerie green glow coming from somewhere deeper into the forest, and he didn't notice the irritatingly familiar look of black, green-streaked hair and shadowed eyes to accompany it. The figure strode over to him, smirking, then sat down at the base of the rock.

"Some night, huh?" he asked.

Cole nodded, not looking down to see who spoke. "I think I'd probably like it a lot more if I were still human. Then I'd be able to actually feel what my surroundings were like, instead of just seeing them." At that point, Cole almost wished he could feel the biting of a cold breeze if it would make him feel better.

"Well, you'll get used to it," the other replied. "If you've been a spirit for long enough, you actually do start to feel everything around you, but in a slightly different way. It's all really just a matter of knowing where to focus your powers most. If you focus it in your hands, you'll be able to hold things, for example."

Cole considered this for a moment, then tried to focus on his hand, placing it on the surface of the rock. He could just barely feel its hard surface, the tiny grooves etched into it over time, and the slightly cold temperature it had taken on.

"Again, you'll get used to it."

The frown left his face for a moment, and he gave a small smile. He spoke before he started to look down at the other. "Well, thanks for giving me some advice-" He shrieked when he saw Morro grinning teasingly back up at him, and he scrambled quickly off the rock. Eyeing him warily as he stood up, Cole growled, "You're in your ghost form, so that means..." He scowled. "What did you do to Lloyd?"

Morro shrugged nonchalantly. "Shackled him up somewhere. He's safe...from you all, anyway." He chuckled. "But on the other hand, I did just give you some solid advice for being a ghost, so I think you should thank me for that."

"Like hell I will!" Before he could storm back to the Bounty, Morro grabbed his shoulder, and he would have shaken it off had it not been for one thing: He could actually feel his hand. It felt like any other human's hand should, but there was something so unnatural about this that he couldn't find it in him to shove Morro away.

"We're both ghosts," said Morro. He winked at Cole, moving the hand on his shoulder to his cheek before adding, "We can feel each other, if you're into that."

Understanding the double entendre immediately, Cole shoved him away and turned on his heel. "You're going down the next time we meet!" he called over his shoulder.

Morro huffed. "And here I though I would've gained an ally. I mean, why be with those who don't understand what you're going through when you could be with the ones who do? Your logic doesn't make much sense."

Cole simply rolled his eyes, making sure to listen closely as he made his way back to the Bounty. Luckily, he couldn't hear Morro following him, but he looked back from time to time just to be sure.

Once he climbed back up and made his way back to his room, he tried to do what Morro said about focusing his powers in different places. It was extremely difficult at first, but he was finally able to grab one corner of the blanket on his bed and pull it back. He grinned, quietly thanking Morro for his advice before tucking himself in.

Of course he didn't sleep, but he would figure out how to do that eventually.

Look at all these feels. Haha... Oh, I suck at making puns.

Thank you to Trinity mistress of healing and DementedDesiresofMusic for requesting this pairing! Stay tuned!