Chapter Text
Day 262 of the year 2171 (Intergalactic Calendar) – Somewhere in the Orion Nebulae.
Estimated distance from Earth: 1350 ly
“Come on, Edwin, loosen up!” Charles said with a chuckle, tugging at his hand. His eyes were firmly set on the tablet perched over their spacecraft’s control system, where a video tutorial of the dance they were supposed to be practicing was playing.
Edwin huffed, his eyebrows pinched together as he tried (and failed) to follow the steps. “Can we go back to the waltz? I actually quite enjoyed that one.”
“No can do, mate,” Charles replied too easily, “we agreed to up our game and try out dance styles with more elaborate footworks, didn’t we?”
There was a jump, a kick and a twirl, then the music picked up its rhythm and Edwin opened his mouth to complain again. Before he could utter one word, his foot landed straight on Charles’ calf, causing them both to lose balance and tumble in a disorganised pile on the floor.
“Ouch!” said Charles, his voice muffled by the fabric of Edwin’s shirt. He still had the audacity to sound amused.
“Charles, please.”
Normally, Edwin didn’t like pleading, but he was not above it at this point considering his chin was dramatically close to the shiny, cold pavement and his arm was bent behind his partner’s back at an odd angle. The only saving grace was that it had seemingly cushioned their fall.
Charles freed his fingers from their still clasped hands and helped him up and away from his body, allowing Edwin to regain some composure and straighten his clothes in one of his usual calming gestures. While Charles shifted to follow, he glanced back at the video. The two humanoid shapes they had been following, as if to personally mock him, were effortlessly holding a pose: one of them bent on one side with one arm extended while the other leaned their entire weight on the first’s other side, raising their legs. He pointedly turned back to Charles, who was still grinning, completely unaffected by the entire ordeal.
“We are not doing that.”
“We’ll see, I’m sure I’ll convince you eventually.” Charles paused the program with a slide of his finger over the screen, and clapped his hands over his trousers to dust them off. “We talked about this, it's good training for our agility. You never know when you’ll need impressive moves to get out of a dangerous situation.”
Edwin raised an eyebrow, pointing a finger at the screen. “I am fairly confident I will never need to perch over your thigh like that.”
“Fine, let’s take a break,” Charles finally agreed. He reached out a hand to fix a wayward strand of hair from Edwin’s forehead, smiling softly at him – the cheater. “Should we try to make some dinner?”
“You will not always be able to buy my forgiveness for every shenanigan with those eyes of yours.”
“I am pretty confident in my chances, mate.” He stepped closer, his nose stopping just one inch from Edwin’s. “If the past three years are anything to go by.”
“Unfair,” Edwin said, unable to keep the fondness from his voice. He did, however, manage to turn around and walk briskly to the kitchen without looking back, ignoring the stream of protests from behind him.
“Don’t leave me like this! Just one kiss!”
“Uh-uh.”
*
Edwin and Charles’ ship had three rooms in total on the upper level. The hatch opened on the central and bigger one, which contained a table with five chairs, assorted cabinets of different shapes and sizes, and a kitchen. To its left was the control room: a space filled with screens, levers and buttons, with a single pilot’s seat in the middle and their gaming console on one side. Behind it was a large empty space that was mostly used for training, and for the new sport or game of the week Charles suggested they try to keep active or simply pass the time in between jobs. The last room on the opposite side was their study and laboratory, where they experimented with random pieces of technology or chemical compounds.
And the kitchen was, as it turned out, emptier than they thought. They heated up some canned soup and beans with tomato sauce and that was that, not even a slice of bread.
Charles’ stomach grumbled loudly. “Guess it’s time to find a new job, isn’t it?”
“Yes, that would be best,” Edwin said, retrieving the forgotten tablet from the control room. He closed the dance tutorial with one last reproachful look as Charles leaned over the table and opened the website where the Intergalactic Justice Enforcers (commonly known simply as IJE) posted their most recent bounties.
“How about that one?” said Charles. He was pointing to a human-presenting figure with a fedora hat and a furry jacket. “David. Doesn’t sound like a criminal’s name.”
Edwin looked up at him from behind his lashes. “Should I remind you that we are also on this website?”
“Well, at least we don’t wear a fedora hat,” retorted Charles, and Edwin had to agree with that. If you had to be an outlaw, you could at least do it with a certain style.
Edwin tapped twice over the image to expand the details of the case. “They are offering one million tickets. Almost as good as me.”
“I swear sometimes you sound proud when you say that.” Charles shook his head, but he still pressed a kiss to Edwin’s hair before leaning back and returning to his abandoned soup.
Edwin didn’t reply. He pulled out his notebook to copy down the information about David. He didn’t technically need to use pen and paper, he could just save the page on the tablet, but he found it comforting to write things by hand, it helped him sort out his thoughts.
“He kidnapped a human girl and kept her captive for months,” he said out loud after putting the pen back in his pocket. “She managed to send a message to request help and escape, but it says she lost most of her memories. There may have been drugs involved. She is in hiding now.”
“He kidnapped a girl for months and his bounty is lower than yours?” Now Charles’ voice was louder, tinted with that note of anger that always made its appearance when they were faced with injustice. “This system’s properly fucked, let me tell you.”
It was a marvelous thing, how deeply he cared about anyone and everyone he crossed paths with, and even if he himself had been wronged by many, he still had hope for the future, something Edwin often struggled with. He loved that about him – not that there were many things he didn’t love about Charles.
“Yes, well, that is not new information,” he said, and immediately regretted it because Charles’ expression deflated, turning back to a neutral facade in an instant.
“You’re right, let’s focus on the case.”
Edwin grimaced. It was not the first time he saw it happen. He said something and Charles just shut down. It made him feel like he was gradually extinguishing his flame, forcing him to become more and more cynical, like he was. He also didn't know how to help it. He had tried many times to convince Charles to leave him. Unlike himself, his partner could still plead innocent and be reintegrated into society, maybe go back to school or find an ordinary job on any other planet of his choosing. It would hurt, Edwin wasn't even sure if he could survive something like that, but he would do it if it meant that Charles could be happy, that he would not turn into an empty shell of himself.
“Love, you still with me?” Charles' voice interrupted his self-deprecating thoughts, but the worry didn't leave him. He was suddenly exhausted.
“Yes, I apologise. Perhaps we can go visit Mick and ask him what he knows about this David situation.”
Charles clapped a hand on his arm. If he noticed his soured mood, he didn't mention it. “Sounds aces, I'll go set the course.”
“Thank you, Charles. Remember to–”
“Turn on the obfuscator, yes.”
“And–”
“And set the alarms up to the highest level in case we both fall asleep.”
That made the corner of his lips turn up slightly. Before he met Charles he had never felt like he could trust someone else enough to stop being alert and in control even for a moment, and regardless of his worries for the future, he would bask in that feeling for as long as he could.
*
When the lights started to dim, Edwin moved to the laboratory room. Like the majority of ships that travelled long distances in outer space, they had a program to simulate mornings and evenings following the Intergalactic Calendar and a number of little traditions to maintain a more balanced routine, such as having meals together at specific times.
The laboratory had a control panel next to the door that made it possible to configure completely different setups, depending on what they needed. Edwin closed all the compartments to activate the configuration that held their bedroom. It had a wardrobe on one side, the bed in the middle, and an entire wall dedicated to Edwin’s well treasured collection of paper books – incredibly difficult to find and the only indulgence, other than his notebook, he allowed to himself.
He changed into the soft blue sweater and trousers he used to sleep in before Charles joined him.
“You look so cuddly in those, you know?” Charles commented, and Edwin would have complained more about being called ‘cuddly’ if it wasn’t that he actually liked being cuddled by Charles, especially in moments like that when he was feeling a bit insecure.
So he opted for a reasonable middle ground:
“You tell me almost every day since we found them.”
Charles didn’t reply. Instead, he draped himself across his back, wrapping his arms around his waist and leaning his head over his shoulder.
“Would you mind terribly if we skipped our book time? I am very tired,” asked Edwin, not without melting into the embrace first. It was another one of their traditions to read a couple of pages before sleeping, either from the tablet or one of his books.
Charles pressed a small kiss to his jaw before letting go and starting to change clothes as well. “Of course not. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yes, everything is fine,” Edwin replied. It was mostly true. They’d had the same conversation about what would be better for Charles’ future a million times already, so there was really no point in ruining their evening going through it again.
“Can hear you thinking from here, love.”
“It is perfectly alright, Charles, I promise.”
He tried to offer a smile, it wouldn’t do any good to worry him for nothing. He trusted Charles’ feelings, he just wished that being with him and letting him live the life he wanted and deserved weren’t mutually exclusive.
—
Most people in their line of trade (if it could be considered that) knew the basics of hacking. It was a useful skill to have for a large number of things. For one, it was an efficient way to obtain otherwise hidden data; for another, it allowed them to forge a realistic ship signature, a technology that had recently become mandatory in the majority of spaceports. Neither of them were ever able to become any good at it, so there weren’t many planets they could land in using the official, legal route, and whenever they needed information that was not released to the general public, they visited Mick.
The abandoned base where Mick lived didn’t have a name anymore. He took a deserted pile of junk and turned it into a lively trading place where you could find rare and valuable trinkets, gadgets from lost civilizations, and the most important good there was: information.
Edwin and Charles found it by chance while they were running away from Earth in 2167 and it became like a second home to them in the following years. They loved to browse the mismatched artifacts there, and chat with Mick about anything and everything. It was Mick who found the first book that started Edwin’s collection.
“Look who it is, my two favourite detectives,” Mick greeted them, barely looking up from his screens.
“We are not detectives,” Edwin replied bitterly. He usually appreciated Mick’s fondness for them, but his thoughts had kept spiralling all night, causing his mood from the day before to worsen.
Charles squeezed his arm in the way he knew meant ‘bedside manner’ and he sighed, letting his partner speak instead.
“Sorry, mate, we are in a bit of a tight spot with food and rest, it’s not on you.”
“Don’t worry about it, I know you two well enough. What are you looking for?” Mick asked with a grimace that they knew was hiding a smile.
“Can you tell us anything about this guy David everyone is talking about?” Charles leaned over the desk conspiratorially. It was mostly for show, there was no one else around and they definitely didn’t need to keep up appearances with Mick, but if he was having fun Edwin would let him.
“Ayup, had a feeling you would come asking about that.”
“You do know us,” Charles grinned, “can’t resist all those tickets.”
Mick raised one eyebrow. “Sure, the tickets.”
To hide his treacherous smile, Edwin busied himself with browsing a nearby shelf full of different types of communicators. It had been clear from the beginning that Mick could read Charles’ facade and wasn’t fooled at all by his pretense of being a rogue hunter who only cared about the rewards.
“Lucky for you, I found something,” Mick continued, and motioned with his head to one of his screens, where after some quick movements of his fingers over the keyboard, a video started playing.
“You think you’re so smart, Crystal! You can run away now, but I will always be able to find you!” A person they recognized as David from the pictures was yelling to someone off screen.
There was no reply, but shortly after a pod took off and passed in front of the security camera. Edwin had his notebook out immediately.
“Can you pause there?” He asked.
“Ayup.”
They fiddled a bit with the footage until they were able to pause it at the right time and play it at the right frequency to isolate the exact signature of the pod.
“That’s great, this gives us a solid place to start! Thank you Mick,” Charles cheered. Then, after a moment of consideration he added: “Look, I know you’ve already helped us many times, but… could we ask for some lunch, maybe?”
Mick chuckled, he had probably expected that too. “Let’s say if you manage to catch the guy you pay me back, uhm?”
“We’ll give you–”
Before he could make any sort of offer, Edwin cleared his throat to interrupt. Charles had the tendency to get carried away and promise way too much, forgetting they actually needed those tickets for their own survival.
“How about 5,000?” he said. “It should cover the information, lunch, and some provisions for the trip.”
“Sounds reasonable,” Mick nodded. “Come on now, let’s get you two some proper food.”
*
The planet where David’s footage was recorded was called Viccarus. Considering a simple pod like the one Crystal had used to run away couldn’t use wormholes or travel through hyperspace, it was a relatively safe bet to assume they could find the trajectory she took from the planet and follow her. What was strange was that no-one had been able to identify her yet. Usually, a name would be enough for a family with a missing daughter to become hopeful and start calling search parties, but none of the most common websites had any such request, even after the video of her escape was officially released.
Edwin didn’t need to say it out loud to know that Charles had been thinking the same thing. They exchanged a look that meant they now had another priority other than sending David to the IJE’s prisons where he belonged.
They left Mick’s base with both their energy containers and kitchen cabinets refuelled. Viccarus was a widely popular destination, so it was easy enough to find a pre-existing wormhole that would take them close to its atmosphere – they had the technology for direct hyperspace jumps on the ship, but it was too expensive to use outside of an emergency.
After that, it was the usual scavenger hunt to find a breach in the security dome of the planet and an unpopulated area to avoid identification upon landing. Luckily, their navigation system was the one component that was on par with the most modern technologies and, unlike hacking, it was something they were able to use to the best of its power.
The landing was relatively smooth, all things considered, with only a couple of dents to one of the ramps, caused by the steepness of the mountain they chose as hiding place for the spaceship.
“It’s been a while since we’ve been to a proper city, mate.” Charles’ good mood, as always, was infectious.
“You are right, I think since the case of that missing dog.”
“Loved that one. So much better than our usual thieves or kidnappers or murderers. Why can’t we be professional dog hunters?”
They packed some provisions and the Space Academy uniforms they kept for similar occasions, and they started walking in the direction of the city. It would take them at least a day to reach it, if Edwin’s estimation wasn’t wrong – which usually wasn’t. He let Charles’ question roll around in his mind, he had to admit it had its appeal. When all the reasons why they couldn’t do it made themselves loud enough, he sighed.
“Finding dogs does not pay as well.”
Luckily, Charles didn’t stop smiling this time, but his eyes gained a new fire when he said: “And also, we have our mission.”
“Yes,” Edwin agreed, for the same reason why he didn’t talk about his worries for Charles’ future anymore. To keep the peace, enjoy his time with Charles while he still could, ensure Charles remained safe and happy. They had talked many times about this, too.
They stopped to rest a couple of times, the two suns of Viccarus providing relentless heat over the barren land, but they managed to be in sight of the city gates before dark. There were tents lining up the outer wall that separated the desert from the city and many humans, along with creatures from different planets, were waiting for the first lights of the following day to approach the guards.
Edwin let his eyes roam across the crowd to look for potential trouble. Everyone seemed to be dealing with their own personal affairs and not paying attention to them. Someone was trading, or talking in small groups, others had started playing music and dancing in the middle of the plane. It was that sight that made him turn to Charles, with what he knew was an incredibly fond look in his eyes.
“If you want to go mingle, I will wait for you here,” he offered. Charles loved travelling with him, he had no reason to doubt that, but Edwin knew he also longed to be among strangers, basking in their energy.
“Thank you,” replied Charles in a breath. He kissed his temple and all but ran away, barely able to contain his excitement.
Edwin took his time rolling the sleeping bags out of Charles’ backpack and taking some of the ‘very nutritious and filling, perfect for travelling’ gooey food Mick provided them with. He sat in a corner of the area they had claimed, idly running through his notes about David again, when he heard the sound of footsteps approaching. He didn’t move a muscle, but his ears were more open, his instincts ready to flight if the need arose.
“Well, well, what is a pretty little Academic doing here all alone?” a deep voice addressed him.
Edwin tensed and looked to his side, where sure enough one of the sleeves of his Academy jacket had slipped from the backpack when he set up their camp and was now mocking his clumsiness with its unmistakable grey and blue pattern.
“I am simply resting after a long journey, waiting to enter the city tomorrow, if you please.” He tried to sound polite but also firm. Whatever this stranger wanted, they would not find it there.
“I heard you people are all stuffy, but don’t worry, I know a few tricks to make you relax.”
At that, Edwin closed his notebook with a loud thump and rolled his eyes, making them fall over the person in front of him. “I have heard that before, you could at least get more creative.”
“I’m Thomas, by the way, he/him,” the stranger said as soon as Edwin met his gaze. His grin was almost as big as Charles’ but way more sleazy.
“Nice to meet you, Thomas. Like I said, I wish to rest.”
Thomas chuckled. “Fine, I will leave you be, for now. I hope we’ll meet again, little Academic.”
“My na–” Edwin started to protest, then he realised he had been about to fall for the most obvious ruse to get his name. So he bit his lip. From the way Thomas winked, he seemed infinitely happy with himself.
When Charles returned a couple of hours later, the white noise of chatter, music and laughter had almost disappeared.
“Who was the creep?” he asked. “From before?”
“Nothing I could not handle.”
Charles sat down next to him, leaning his head over Edwin’s shoulder. “I know. I would have ran here and punched him otherwise.”
He smelled like dust from the long journey, but underneath there was the unmistakable scent of home. Edwin revelled in it, a smile slowly making its way through his lips as he finally relaxed.
“I know,” he echoed.
*
Outside of his own personal secure haven in the spacecraft, Edwin was never able to sleep properly. His past wounds were still too deep for him to ignore. He kept his eyes closed and his ear pressed to Charles’ chest, taking comfort in its soft rise and fall and in the muted sound of the heartbeat beneath, until the first sun peeked over the horizon.
“Wake up my dear, it is time to go,” he whispered in the small space between them, his lips brushing that same spot over his heart where he had been resting.
The first groups had already started to move toward the gates and Edwin spotted Thomas among them. The stranger met his gaze for a moment and grinned. In the light, Edwin noticed for the first time that his eyes were an unnatural shade of gold. “Not a human, then.”
“What?” Charles grumbled, rubbing his eyes as he got up.
“Someone is giving out food, we should go check it out,” he said. The mention of food was the most effective way to distract Charles from mostly everything else.
“Is that actual meat? What?”
Edwin smiled to himself. This was how Charles should always be, happy, excited, charged to the brim by the buzz of people around him.
Reaching the city was nothing compared to the previous day’s hike, and the uniforms they had changed into were (as always) the only permit they needed to pass without further questioning. They went straight to the spaceport office, barely sparing a glance at the shops lining up the streets or the natives of the planet mingling with other travellers. They had to remain in character to avoid suspicion, and most cadets behaved like they were superior to everyone else around them.
The spaceport was busy at this time of day, travellers coming and going with shuttles of all shapes and colours. They blended in with the crowd and avoided the security patrols by sneaking inside one of the waiting areas – they trusted their cover, but it was better to be safe than sorry – until they finally reached the administration office.
“Good morning, we were sent here to investigate after a stolen pod, we would need the details of the trajectory it took after leaving this port,” Edwin stated in his most prim voice as soon as they were in front of the registrar. They seemed to be a native, with their large clear eyes that seemed almost white and the characteristic roundness on the top of their head.
“Of course, we are always happy to help the Academy. I will need an official request though. I apologise but it’s protocol.”
Edwin had anticipated that. “It is not a problem, we appreciate you being thorough in your job.”
He held out his hand for Charles to place their tablet in it. He opened the appropriate form, wrote Crystal’s ship signature, and added the stamp of the Academy in the corner. He was quick and sure, like it was something he did every day, before swiping his finger over the screen to send the module over to the registrar’s old fashioned laptop.
Charles was tapping his finger repeatedly on his thigh. He always grew anxious during this part because he hated lying and, probably even more than that, he was scared someone would recognise Edwin and apprehend them. Edwin had to resist risking a look in his direction, or a caress to his knuckles to soothe him that would put their cover in danger of being exposed.
So he just took a slow, deep breath, hoping to convey the message. He could hear Charles do the same next to him shortly after.
“Everything seems to be in order,” the registrar nodded happily, sending them the data about Crystal’s ship.
“Thank you for your service. We will be sure to tell our superiors how helpful you were,” Edwin replied after confirming the transfer. “Could we possibly bother you by asking to borrow a small shuttle for a couple of days? Our main ship is currently undergoing some maintenance.”
“Yes, yes, of course.”
Edwin had to bite the inside of his cheek to suppress a laugh. Most people were so gullible.
Only later, when they were safely inside the new borrowed spaceship, the two finally let go and their shoulders slumped in relief.
“Mate, you’re too good at playing the perfect, proper cadet,” said Charles, amusement colouring his voice.
Edwin sobered up, even if he recognized the sentence as the compliment it was. He shook his head to compose himself. “Well, let us go, now. We have a missing girl to find.”