James & Casper
Location: Casper and James’ room
Skills:
Summoning: Ben
When James pulled away from the kisses, Casper had thought it was time to get undressed. He clearly had read things wrong though, when his boyfriend looked more upset and emotional than horny. Casper stared into James' brown eyes, memorizing the way they reflected the light. He put his arms around James, holding him tightly, trying to communicate to him that he was safe - that nothing bad was going to happen to them - that despite everything horrible and fucked up in the world, they were the one thing that could outlast anything.
Casper's own eyes were glistening and as James explained that he loved him, he couldn't help but cry. It wasn't that no one had ever told him that before - his
maman had all the time - but knowing that James, sweet, special, perfect James could love a piece of sexy trash like him...
"Babes, you complete me," Casper said, his voice shaky as he blinked back the tears, but they didn't stop.
"You're the first relationship I've ever had that wasn't just because I was tired of couch surfing and wanted a real bed for a few weeks. You're beautiful and amazing and perfect - like Hercules in the Disney movie," Casper confessed, pressing a kiss to James' forehead.
"We don't have to stay here. We can leave, take Jackie and everyone to New Orleans, Maman won't mind... I love you so much, and when I think about it, it's like my heart stops beating... And I know what that feels like, because I OD'd once and my heart stopped in the ambulance on the way to the hospital." As soon as Casper's tears started, James felt his eyes watering. He couldn't help the laughter that escaped along side them and buried his face in Casper's shoulder. Only this man could make an OD story fit into something so heartfelt and genuine but that was another thing he loved about Casper. Running away from it all sounded amazing;getting everyone far away from the danger where they didn't have to worry about the Hellfire club or the X-Men and their insane demands or a fucking
bomb was a dream come true. James wanted it so badly, so so badly, he could already imagine him and Casper in their own home with a little one running around and Jack and Sunshine and Max and everyone else cooing over their kid. But he couldn't right now.
"You can't imagine how badly I want that. How badly I'd love to whisk you and everyone away so nothing bad could happen." James whispered between giving Casper long, gentle kisses.
"But I can't. You know these idiots won't run away from this. They'll go running straight into this mess with death on their heels and I would feel so guilty if I wasn't there with them. I have to help with this but after, I want to leave with you. We'll take whoever wants to come, I'll leave notes on how to maintain the place, and we start a new life. We make a home together, start a family together, grow old together, because you're it for me. Sound like a plan?" Casper nodded - James was heroic and selfless. It was one of the things he loved about him. He was one of the few people he'd ever met with powers who really truly cared about whether others lived or died, human or mutant - he was more Captain America-y than Captain America.
"I'll follow you to the front lines, babes - you know I will," Casper said, his voice cracking slightly.
"Just promise me we'll come back in one piece. I... I lost Ben a long time ago and he became a complete and total nag as a ghost, I don't want that to happen to you too," Casper sniffled.
"I don't want you to feel cold and be filled with holes." "Hey!" Ben protested.
James' heartbroken a little when Casper's voice cracked. This man had been through so much and here James was, asking him to wait just a little longer.
"I promise, babes. We'll make it back together and we'll live happily ever after." He hoped to God he could keep that promise but in that moment, he knew he'd do everything he could to keep Casper happy. Even if he had to pull himself together piece by piece, he'd do it for this man.
"At least you don't have to worry about hole. Turns out I'm bulletproo--" A yawn cut James off and he relaxed into Casper's hold. Now that all his emotions were out for Casper to see, the need for sleep was catching up to him.
"Cuddle times?" James suggested with another yawn.
Casper cheered up slightly - not because of James' announcement that he was bulletproof, but more of the way he yawned like a kitten and then relaxed. As much as he liked to see James' muscles tensed, he preferred him like this - loose and relaxed.
"If that's what the doctor orders, then cuddle times it is," Casper said, before picking up James. In what would be a surprise to no one, Casper's little noodle arms could barely pick up a medium sized dog, so a full grown man was a bit out of range. James slipped from his grip, only to be caught...
...by Ben! Ben was outlined in an eerie blue glow, the same eerie blue emanating from Casper's eyes.
"Hey James," Ben said casually.
James yelped at the unexpected movement, scrambling to hold onto Casper even as his boyfriend wobbled with him. Casper had not attempted this and James,had he some warning, would have suggested against it but instead he shut his eyes and braced for the inevitable impact with the floor. He kept his eyes shut for a few moments but the pain never came so he slowly peaked one eye open, confused.
James jolted a little at the sight of Ben. Ben just
showing up sometimes was still a foriegn experience, mostly because he’d only ever seen it happen once when Ben decided to slap the shit out of Casper.
“Hey, man. Thanks for the save!” He laughed, righting himself and planting his feet firmly on the ground.
“You two been practicing in secret or have you just figured out how to do it without Casper jumping out of his body?” "Hey Ben, how about you put my boyfriend down, because I'm not in control of making you a real boy?" Casper suggested nervously. His arms were shaking, not from fear, but from stress. His eyes still had that strange blue glow to them as Ben easily set James down on the bed. Even in death, he was way stronger than Casper ever could have been. He didn't even have to cheat and use the tentacles to grab things.
"It's not me," Ben said, holding his hands up like proclaiming innocence.
"...Huh, maybe the old man was right," Casper thought for a moment, getting a bit of a hollow, chilly look on his face.
"He always said I'd never scratched the surface of what I'm capable of... Anyways, Ben, go shoo, I want to snuggle and/or bone my boyfriend now." "Seriously? You two need to go deal with the bomb - or at least warn everyone what's going to happen!" "Neither of you are in control of this?" James asked after Ben plopped him on the bed. He sat up and waved Ben concerns off.
"We had a whole team there who heard about it. No one will do anything until Veil returns anyways and I'm running on fumes after today. As it is right now, I'm not sure I can close a paper cut, much less a lost limb. Fuck, I couldn't even heal a bullet hole. If I'm going to be of any use, I have to get some rest dude." James sighed and gave Casper a worried
Based on what he saw in the van, it must be an instinctual response to Casper's emotions. Ben did appear helping James. Maybe because Casper was afraid of him falling, he manifested Ben to keep it from happening.
"Are you able to shut it off? I don't want you popping out of your body and getting stuck again." Ben sighed, before nodding.
"Yeah, you do look like shit," he agreed. Every instinct in his body was telling him that it was time to rush off and save the day - but that was the problem with being dead. You couldn't change. You stayed exactly as you were when you were alive, even if it meant making the same mistakes over and over again, the very ones that got you killed.
"I don't think so?" Casper said, shrugging.
"Maybe you're the one doing this, James? You're bullet proof, maybe you also can coax dead nags out of the void and into the real world too now," Casper suggested.
"Or maybe it is me and I just never knew that I could do some cool shit because I've been too high usually to notice or too scared of ghosts, which is kinda funny given that my name is Casper, like Casper the friendly ghost, and my best friend is a ghost, so you'd think I wouldn't be scared of them but I swear most of them act like that girl from the Ring and freak me the fuck out...." "Trust me, I feel like it too." James chuckled at Ben's blunt observation. If he looked even half the way he felt he did, he probably looked like death reheated a few times.
"Honey, it's okay you're scared of ghosts. They're fuckonf creepy, no offense Ben you're chill, but how about you come over here and we just relax for a bit until you calm down? I don't think my bulletproofness has anything to do with your glowing eyes. I think it might just be a reaction you have when you're having a really strong feeling about something and you manifest Ben so he can help you out so if I'm right, I just got to distract you a little until it disappears and I can think of at least one good way we can get distracted." He held his hand out for Casper to join him.
"Wait, my eyes are glowing???" Casper exclaimed.
"Please tell me they're not red. All the crazy evil people have glowing red eyes. Like I half expect Max's to start glowing red the next time he goes on a murder spree," Casper rambled. Ben was more or less standing to the side, rolling his eyes.
"They're blue, relax," Ben informed him.
"Oh... Good? Does it look cool? Or bad? Is it glowing glowing or are they just a weird shade? Does it look like I have pink eye, but blue?" he asked, before remembering what James had suggested and he sat down on the bed, before lying down and spooning James, holding him in his arms.
“They look cool babes, cooler than cool. Ice cold even.” James giggled, sighing appreciatively as Casper snuggled up behind him. He melted into the warmth behind him. He stifled a yawn and felt his eyes begin to droop. It’d been a long day and he was ready for it to be over soon.
“Love you, Casper.” James whispered before dozing off, safe in his boyfriend’s arms.
"Ice, ice, baby," Casper mumbled into James' neck.
"I love you more."
