Hold up. What's this? Could it be...? Long awaited fluff? I guess you'll have to read to see!

Warning: mentions of past scars

Deceit pov
When the boy, I guess his name is Patton, left my house, I knew something was wrong. This kid is going to get himself killed. After a few seconds of doubts, I set off behind him. Let me get this clear, ghosts can travel. If you die and somehow win the ghost lottery, you can travel out of the place you die. I think it's the way that I was killed that turned me into a ghost, but I'm no expert. Anyway, I have just never found traveling interesting. I have only gone out once before, and that was to my own funeral. That was a party. I also attended my family's. Ever since that though, I've stayed in my house. What can I say? I hate people. But this gosh darn kid. I have no idea why I am doing this… maybe… maybe it's because he reminds me of how I was before I died. Helpless. Scared. Alone. Feeling worthless. Why can't I just get rid of him? I have become so soft! I am going to turn right around and forget all about him- oh crap! He just fell! I guess I can't go home now!

I almost help him, when a slim man in high heels comes running up. How can he run in those?! And how on earth is everyone else acting like that's fine?! I may have been in my house for the last one hundred fifty years, but fashion can't change that much, can it? 

Anyway, he ran up to Patton and called his name, which, I guess is a good sign that he isn't a stranger. He then grabbed a box from his pocket and held it up to his ear. He yelled something into it, then returned it to his pocket and walked over to a bench, Patton in his arms. He seemed to be waiting for something. I came down and sat next to them. Patton started muttering no's and sorry's and he kept saying how he won't do it again. I felt myself stifin. I know what this means. I have experienced this once myself as well, but not on this level. He truly is a fighter. I brush my invisible fingers through his curly blonde hair and look at his freckle covered face. The young man holding him shifted, causing Patton to yelp. It's worse than I thought. This poor boy. I need to help him.

A big red car pulled up and the man stood up, placing Patton inside. There was another person there. I'll call them man 1 and man 2. I floated behind them as they drove up to a house about a block away from mine. They bring him in and start arguing about what to do. They rolled up his pant leg and I froze. It was awful! Who would do that to someone so kind? Okay, the only reason I call him kind is because he is the most considerate person to ever barge into my house uninvited. Person 1 then tried to take off the bandages, and person 2 stopped them. They then left and came back with some medicine. They gave it to Patton, and I could tell he was distressed while taking it. He took it in his sleep! How messed up is that? How often had he been commanded to do things in his sleep?

After a few minutes, he had stopped whimpering and was not responding to anything. Man 1 then removed the bandage and I almost gagged. There was a hole in his leg, that is at least two inches deep. I could fit my finger in it. Person 1 cleaned up his leg and rewrapped it. He then mentioned something about Patton's back. They took off his shirt and I, again, was shocked at the sight. Deep bruises were littered all over his chest and gut, and that wasn't even the worst part! When they flipped him over, I felt such great guilt, words cannot express it all. He had large welts and the skin was in literal shreds. I had been moping around about my scars from that one night for a hundred years, and here's this boy, who has been gaining these and just dealing with this for probably his whole life. And, judging by these guys's reactions, it looks like he hasn't told anybody. He isn't just a fighter, he is a freakin warrior. (When writing this, my phone autocorrected warrior to chameleon, and I laughed for five minutes straight)

I watch as the strangers treat his wounds that are probably infected and feel silent tears trickle down my invisible cheeks. I can't imagine dealing with that kind of pain. My own torture is what made me beg for death, but this kid? He has dealt with so much more than I have and he is still alive. He is still fighting. Something I could never do.

I'm drawn out of thought when the door opened and three girls came in. There was one with curly long brown hair and glasses, one with straight brown hair, and… is that...  Mary?

Oh my gosh, it is. What is she doing here? How is she still alive? You will never know. WHAT WAS THAT?! Um… okay? Another person had come in and started yelling at Mary. She was told to leave, so she left the room. But before she did, she stared directly at me and motioned for me to follow. How did she see me? I drifted out of the room with her and heard the others talking.

"Hey Janus," Mary whispered to me, still staring at me.

"Mary," I dipped my head, "to what do I owe this… pleasure?" She laughed a little.

"Always so serious! Can't I just say hi to an old friend- wait give me a second." She raised her voice, "It wouldn't be a thing without me! Sorry, they're having a conversation in the other room and I have to be a part of it." I paused to hear the argument. They were talking about bringing him to the hospital and Mary panicked. "We can't though!" This upset one of the girls as they demanded to know why. "Because… because… plot…" this gained a large groan from the other room. "Okay, well… fine! Take him to the hospital! They won't do anything! Remy and Emile already treated his wounds! And I don't know what the hospital would do about it, so it would be pointless."

"Why do you have to know what they would do?" I asked, honestly curious at this point. She winked at me before continuing the conversation in the other room. After a bit of arguing, she turned to me.

"Janus, I need you to go home now. You need to go home and get ready for company. You need to help Patton okay? You have to help him." And with that, she left the room. I sat there, stunned. Why do I need to go home now? Wouldn't me staying help him most? Sighing, I float home. She usually ends up being right, as frustrating as that is. 

When I make it home, I tidy up a little. Get ready for company. What the heck does that even mean? Do I get rid of the cockroaches or just dust? I decide to simply dust and get rid of some cobwebs. I haven't cleaned since I died so it brought back memories. Fighting with my older siblings using the brooms as swords with pillows as shields, and me always losing from my size and age disadvantage when I was on my own. The year was 1860 and President Lincoln was just elected. My sisters would pin up their dresses for a better chance of winning. We had so much fun. Elizabeth was a beast and could destroy all of us once her dress was out of the way. Being one of the oldest, she usually teamed up with me and together, we were unbeatable against our army of siblings. We would usually split up because we were an even number. All twelve of us.

I put down the broom and drift up to my room. I don't let dust settle in here because it's the only spot in the house that's allowed to be clean all year long and I have some dignity. I never need to clean it and it isn't messed with so there isn't any need to fix it up. And, I doubt that I would be taking this so called company up to my room.

I end up watching from the attic, for whatever will come, all night. Leave it to Mary to be as vague as possible. For all I know, a flock of pterodactyls could swoop in and spend the night or a year at my house. I don't know, it has happened before.

It was about ten am when something interesting actually happened. I saw Patton rush down the street, swaying like crazy. He's gonna fall! The thought raced through me as I instinctively rushed out to help. He began to faint and I barely caught him in time. This guy. Shaking my head, I carry him into my house. I don't want to put him on the ground, even though it was just swept. The couch is off limits because of Sir Squiggles the Brave and his family. The only option I can think of is my room. Reluctantly, I drift up the stairs and open my bedroom door. I place the unconscious Patton on my bed and slowly inspect him. He looks exhausted even though he probably just woke up. He scrunched his eyes and clenched his jaw. He was quickly mouthing words again and began shaking. I run my fingers through his hair as I sit beside him, trying to calm him down. It did little to help. I have an idea… but… should I? I haven't sung in so long. Patton started whimpering and crying. Screw it.

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine.
You make me happy, when skies are grey. 
You'll never know dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away." 

I felt him ease up and the whimpering stopped, so I continued.

"The other night dear, when I was sleeping,
I dreamt I held you, in my arms. 
But when I woke dear, I was mistaken, 
So I hung my head and I cried." 

He stopped shaking and was now taking deep steadying breaths. He was no longer crying and looked like he was enjoying my singing. He shifted so his head was on my lap. I continued running my fingers through his curls as I sang the last verse.

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine.
You make me happy, when skies are grey. 
You'll never know dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away" 

I smiled as he cuddled closer into my torso. Dang it, I really am becoming soft. Tears began welling in my eyes. My mother used to sing me that song every night before bed. She would play with my hair as she sang to me and it would ease all my fears away. I continued to hum the song to him as I slowly rocked us back and forth. 

Stupid Mary. This is stupid. Why does she think I can help him? Why am I still rocking this human? Why do I have this… this need to protect him? Gah! I know it sounds stupid, but I'm adopting this human and he is mine now. I don't know why I feel the need to do this, but I have it. If anyone dares to even look at him the wrong way, I will do a lot more than what has been done to him… what has been done to him? Not just from current scars, but past ones as well. Dang it, now I'm sad. Keep your act together!

I wipe my eyes with my free hand and examine the bean's face. He was littered in freckles and has clearer skin than anyone else I have ever seen. Wow. This sure makes me feel ugly in comparison. Wait… why did he feel the need to be that hygienic? He doesn't seem to be the type of person to care about his acne that much. Maybe they just found a way to get rid of acne completely in this day and age. Why couldn't that have been invented when I was alive?

I brush his curls out of his eyes. Yep. I'm definitely keeping him. I will protect him from the world from now on. He is mine. But he doesn't have to know that. I am still a ghost after all, and I don't want to scare him.

After a few hours I finally felt him shift in my arms. Yes, I held him this whole time. It's no big deal. It's not like I had anything better to do. His eyes fluttered open and confusion filled his gaze. His eyes made contact with mine as he seemed to have realized that he was laying on my lap. He shot up, banging his head into my nose. 

"Oh my gosh! I am so sorry! I didn't mean to, I swear I just… oh my froggers, I'm so, so sorry!!" I waved my hand at him, the other one was on my nose. Ow! I mean, I'm dead, but I am still in my solid form and I can get hurt. The pain doesn't last and I can't break a bone, but that did hurt quite a bit. My nose stopped hurting after thirty seconds and I looked at him. He had a panicked expression in his eyes that showed regret. His eyes were a beautiful deep blue. They were huge and seemed to sparkle. How could anyone hurt this boy?

"I'm fine. Pain only lasts for a few seconds when you're a ghost. I am quite curious about you, however. You were rushing past my house when you collapsed. Are you alright?" Fear replaced the guilt as he opened his mouth, then closed it again. After a bit of silence, I continued, "I followed you home yesterday. So don't try to make up an excuse. I know why you collapsed and all those kinds of things. I just want to know how you feel. Remember, I can sense lies, so please, be honest with me. Be honest with yourself." 

He took a deep breath and looked at the floor as he said, "No. I'm... I'm not alright. I am not fine. But I have to be. I am not allowed to have a bad day. I will be alright, I'm just… I'm not there yet." His eyes were filled with tears and I pulled him into a hug. He seemed surprised at first, but quickly melted into the embrace and wept. He sobbed and he sobbed into my physical form, and all I could do was hold him.

"Thank you for being honest with me. Thank you for being honest with yourself." I whispered into his ear. He nodded and kept crying. He has been so hurt, I can't stop a few tears from falling.

2549 Words!
I'm not the best at writing fluff, and you might not even count it as fluff. But in my opinion it's fluff and I'm the author so... Ha! Anyway, I hope you are enjoying your week! This is the last Friday of summer for me so... Wish me luck. And with that, take it easy guys, gals, and non binary pals!

💖 Maybay4