** a/n: There probably won't be a double today. Sorry.

********

"You're a little past your curfew, aren't you, Cowboy?" Austin asks as he hurries over to help Adam with the drained spirit.

"Yeah, you might say that." Tim says in a weak voice. "We kinda let the time get by us."

"Did y'all have fun?" Austin asks as they help Tim sit down.

"Let's just say it turned out to be a very interesting night." Adam says, sitting down next to his cowboy and brushing his hair back.

"Interesting? How?" The younger spirit asks.

"Honey, why don't you go rest, I can tell Austin what happened tonight." Adam says, rubbing Tim on the leg.

Tim nods. He just didn't have the energy to stay any longer. He slowly begins to fade. Adam and Austin watch as a small orb of light drift toward the window and exits the house.

"So what happened? Did something happen to Tim?" Austin asks in a worried tone.

"Uh, maybe you ought to sit down, Austin." Adam says as he pats the couch next to him. "I'm not sure how what I'm fixing to tell you will affect you."

** a/n: I will skip the conversation to keep from having to repeat everything. **

Austin drops his head into his hands. But remains silent as he thinks about everything that Adam had just told him.

"Austin? What are you thinking? Talk to me." Adam says as he rubs the younger spirit's back.

"So she thought that I was neglecting her and was only trying to make me jealous?" Austin asks softly as he raises his head. "This is all my fault, Adam. I was too busy trying to impress everyone and neglected the one person that loved me the most."

"And she still loves you. She's been paying for her mistake all this time." Adam says sadly.

"I have too." Austin nods.

"I know." Adam sighs as the brushes back the young spirit's hair. "I'm so sorry."

~~

Adam gets ready for bed, leaving Austin with his thoughts as he sat on the couch.

The blonde walks out on the balcony of his bedroom and looks down at the tombstone underneath the tree.

"Hurry back, Sweetheart. He needs you." Adam says. "I love you." He adds blowing a kiss.

Just after sunrise, Austin feels someone sit down next to him on the couch, bringing him out of his thoughts. Thinking it was Adam, he glances around, his eyes meeting the sympathetic brown eyes of the older spirit.

"I'm so sorry, Kid." Tim says in a soft voice, pulling the red-headed man into his arms.

"You saw it all happen didn't you." Austin says as he held on to the cowboy for comfort.

"Yeah." Tim nods. "But I had no idea what her intentions were that night. I also saw you fall. But there was no way that I could have helped."

"I know." Austin sighs.

Adam watched from the stairs. He had come down to check on Austin and was surprised to see his lover back so early. The blonde smiles as he sits down on the stairs. They may be as different as night and day and fight like dogs and cats but when one is hurting the other is there.

Adam soon realized that he was being watched. The eyes of his ghostly boyfriend were staring at him. The blonde put his finger to his lips receiving a wink from his lover. He knew Austin needed Tim's attention more than he did at the moment, so he quietly slips to the kitchen to make himself a pot of coffee.

He walks into the living room and sits down on the coffee table in front of the two spirits.

"Are you alright, Austin?" Adam asks softly.

"Yeah, I have to be, right?" Austin sighs. "There's nothing I can do about it now."

Adam jumps, almost spilling his coffee when someone knocks frantically at the front door.

"D*mnmit, Chance." Adam growls as he walks to the door.

"I want answers and I want them now." The small dark-haired girl says as she pushes past him and stops in the hallway.

"Olena!" Adam gasps, his eyes wide in shock. "Uh, wha ...what are you talking about?"

"Oh, sh*t!" Tim says as he and Austin jump up and run to the hallway.

"THAT OR SHOULD I SAY WHO IS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!" Olena shouts as she points to the painting. "HE WAS THE MAN AT THE BAR!! HE IS TIMOTHY FOUST!!! HE IS DEAD!!"

"Oh, sh*t." Tim moans as he rubs his temples.

"Adam, you were at the bar with this man. How is that even possible? I knew he looked familiar." Olena rambles as she paces back and forth in front of the painting. "Austin had shown me this painting and told me that he was the one that built this house back in eighteen hundred and something. I couldn't remember his name but remembered the house is known as the Foust Mansion. I went online to look it up. And sure enough, there he was, Timothy REGAN Foust. He told me his name was Regan."

Adam opens his mouth but no words would come out. What was he supposed to say? He glances around at the two spirits. They too looked speechless. Eyes wide, jaws dropped.

"Say something, dammit!!" Olena growls with her hands on her hips, glaring at the blonde.

"She always did have that rough edge about her." Austin says with a smile.

"Seriously? We gotta do something." Tim says. "Adam is in a pickle here."

"But what?" Austin asks.

"I..I..I don't...." Adam stutters and then shrugs. He didn't know what to say.

"I'll tell you something else that I found online. Foust Mansion is now owned by well-known physic medium, Adam Rupp. Care to comment on that, Mr. Rupp?" Olena asks with raised brows.

"I need a drink." Adam says as he turns and heads to the living room.

"She's got us over a barrel, Baby Doll." Tim says, walking over to his lover at the bar.

"Adam, I want her to know I'm here." Austin says from the other side of the blonde. "I want her to know that I love her."

"Are you guys sure?" Adam whispers.

"Well, she's already figured out that it was me that she saw." Tim shrugs. "How are you going to explain that?"

"I can't explain it, that's the problem." Adam sighs.

"Mr. Rupp? I'm not here to cause any problems. I just need to know the truth." Olena says as she walks up behind him. "I haven't been back to this house since Austin died. I just couldn't do it. But seeing Mr. Foust last night was driving me insane. I just have to know that I'm not crazy. I believe in the paranormal. I've experienced it. Please, tell me what's going on."

Adam turns around to face her with two drinks in his hands. "I think you're going to need this." He says as he hands her the alcoholic drink. "Cause I have one hell of a story to tell you."

"Maybe I should sit down." Olena says with a nervous giggle.

"Probably wouldn't be a bad idea." Tim chuckles.

"Ever since an early age, I discovered that I had this gift of being a physic medium. I see and talk to spirits." Adam starts as they sit down. "When I decided to buy a house, I wanted something different. One that spoke to me. When the realtor was showing me this house, I fell in love with it the minute I walked it. I sensed that there was something here. I actually saw Tim Foust standing behind me in a mirror upstairs. I bought the house immediately. I wanted to get to know him more. He's an older spirit so he knows how to take different forms. He can make himself visible to anyone if he wants to. Making a long story short, through the months that I've owned this house, Tim and I became closer and are even in a relationship, which I know sounds pretty crazy. But we love each other."

"Wow, that truly is amazing." Olena says before taking a sip of her drink. "I read about his death. He was hung by a group of men because he was gay. But the murderers were never brought to justice. Is that why he's still here?"

"Yeah, it is." Adam nods. "Uh, there are many reasons why a spirit hangs around. Tim is not the only spirit here."

"There's more?" Olena asks, her eyes widening in shock.

"Only one." Adam says as he quickly meets eyes with Austin. "A much younger spirit than Tim. He's not quite mastered the knowledge that Tim has of being a spirit. I can see him but no one else can. But they can definitely hear him."

"I got an idea." Austin whispers to Adam before leaving the room.

"Are...are they here now?" Olena asks, looking around the room.

"Tim is standing behind me." Adam smiles as he feels the spirit lay his hand on his shoulder.

"Mr. Foust? Will you allow me to see you?" Olena asks politely as she looks at the empty space behind Adam.

"No need for formalities, Olena. Since we've already met. Call me Tim." Tim says as he appears, standing behind his blonde lover.

"Oh, my God." She breathes with a smile. "This is mindblowing."

"Oh, honey, you ain't seen nothing yet." Tim chuckles, shaking his head.

Suddenly a song starts playing loudly from upstairs.

https://youtu.be/axSlMfTaiJQ

"OH! MY GOD!! AUSTIN!!" Olena screams as she jumps up and begins to run to the stairs.

"OLENA, WAIT!!" Adam shouts as he and Tim run after her.

"SWEETIE, WAIT!" Tim yells over the blaring music. He grabs her by the arm before she reaches Austin's room. "Honey, you won't be able to see him. He's not a strong spirit."

"But he's here, right? I know, 'cause that's the first song we ever danced to." Olena says as tears stream down her face.

"Yes, Austin is here. He is the other spirit." Adam says as he opens the door.

She slowly walks into the bedroom that she had spent many nights in. Pictures of her and Austin still hung on the wall. Austin sat on the bed watching her as she smiles at the pictures.

"OKAY, YOU CAN TURN THAT DOWN NOW! SHE KNOWS YOU'RE HERE!" Tim yells over the music with his hands over his ears.

Olena slowly turns her head as she feels a cold breeze go by her. She watches as the knob of the stereo turns by itself. Footsteps could be heard walking back to the bed.

She grabs onto Tim's arm for support as her legs go weak.

"Maybe you had better sit down before you fall down." Tim chuckles as he leads her over to a chair.

********

Until next time .... ✌️