Chapter Text
CHAPTER 1:
THE ILLNESS
After the visit from the night nurse everything seemed to go back to normal.
Well, not everything but a part of it, They still had a lot of cases, if not more.
Charles and him were still best mates despite him confessing love for him.
The different things were they were missing Niko, that Edwin missed most days, he even started watching Scooby-Doo because Niko loved it so much and it reminded him of her.
Charles and Crystal were a official couple who kissed every chance they got.
At first he was jealous of Crystal for being together with the man he also loved deeply, but after a while got used to it and he now rarely got jealous anymore.
And the biggest one was a certain cat king who Edwin thought about more than he wanted.
After their last meeting in the alley from a few months ago where he kissed the man’s cheek and confessed they are both lonely, he became quite fond of him.
He still remembers how the cat king told him" he will miss him" but he didn't, the king just appeared in his thoughts without him knowing why.
Since they came back to London, Edwin started numbering cats out of sheer habit from when he did it in Port townsend and he also sometimes fed the cats.
He also felt like there was always a cat around him, following his every move but that may just be his imagination .
*
Crystal decided they all should take a break from the cases for a week since they solved hundreds of cases by now and they were quite tired.
Crystal had gone to her parents for the week wanting to talk to them and Charles had gone with her since he could protect her if something bad happened while being there.
So here was Edwin staying in the cold office, alone rearranging all their books and files, being bored.
He refused to go with Charles and Crystal saying he will stay at the office in case the night nurse might visit again.
He was about to start rearranging the office too when he heard a scratch sound come from the window.
He turned toward the window to see a cat.
He opened the window letting the cat in, curious what this is all about.
“Are you Edwin Payne?” Asked the cat
“Yes it's me, why?” Edwin replied back in his usual manner.
“Come with me to Port Townsend right now” the cat said rather urgently.
“Why? Did the cat king send you to take me to him?”
“No he didn't but someone close to him told me to take you to them”
“Alright, well you can go then, I'll pack some things and meet you there”
After the cat left, he took his alchemy bag, stuffed a few books that had a lot of helpful things, took a magical medkit he and Charles used if they ever got hurt, some pain potions and healing ones ,his notebook and stepped through the mirror in the office.
When he got there he was greeted by a tabby cat with green eyes waiting for him at the entrance of the warehouse.
“Welcome Edwin, thank you for coming here in such short notice”
“No problem, did something happen with the king?”
“Yes I am afraid so, The king started to become a lot weaker these past two weeks,” the Tabby said worried “He rarely even get up from the bed chosing to sleep every day and not eat”.
“And why is this happening exactly?” Asked Edwin starting to become a little more worried for the man in question.
“We don't know why, The king didn't want to tell anyone”.
“And why would you call me to help you with this problem?” he asked, confused. Surely the king had a lot more powerful people that could help him.
“His highness seems to like you a lot since last time you were here” she says plainly “plus he always mentions your name so I thought you were the one to help him, come I will take you to his room”
The cat guided him into the far back of the warehouse. Then they crossed two more rooms before entering a room with a big black door.
It was the same room he first stood in with the cat king at their first meeting.
The same big round bed, the red neon light in the form of lips, with another room that must lead to the bathroom.
“I'll go wake his highness, wait here”.
The cat moved toward the bed and climbed on the king and touched the Cat king's face with its paw until he slowly started opening his eyes.
Edwin started to move toward the man while the cat jumped off the bed and disappeared from the room.
The cat king didn't seem to notice someone else was in the room until he raised his head and saw Edwin’s eyes analyzing him.
“Edwin?” The king said looking confused.
“Am I still dreaming or are you really here?”
“Yes it's me, one of your cats called for me to help you”.
“Of course they fucking did”. The Cat king grumbled.
“Are you okay? the cat told me you've fallen ill.”
“Me ill? Nah I am doing splendid” the look on his face said otherwise.
“You don't seem splendid.You look paler than usual, you seem like you havent slept well in a while and are swearing profoundly”.
Edwin realized that just from analyzing the king while waiting to be noticed.
“Also you took a while to realize someone else was in the room with you and cats have sharp instincts”. Edwin finishes his analysis somewhat proudly.
“Well thanks a lot doctor. You are really good at your job”
Edwin ignored the sarcasm and continued to ask questions.
“Can you tell me what exactly happened that made you like this?”
“Okay but take a seat, what type of patient let’s their doctors stand the entire time” He patted the bed, waiting for him.
Edwin took a step back after all, the last time he was in this room he insinuated they should do something else on that bed.
The king seemed to catch on what he was thinking.
“I won't do anything to you without your consent, trust me”.
Edwin was about to say no thank you until he looked at the man's eyes and felt like he was being sincere, that calmed him down for some strange reason and took a seat a little further from the man on the bed.
The king smiled at him so he continued.
“When did the symptoms start?” He asked while taking his notebook out so he could write the answers down.
“About two weeks ago”
“And did you go somewhere before these two weeks?”
“I did, I left for a meeting with some other cat kings and queens for three days before this” he gestures to himself “all started”.
“Do you remember drinking anything suspicious while being there”
“No, I drank some wine but I didn't see anything wrong with it”.
“Do you think any cat king or queens would’ve put a curse on you?”
“Possible” The man said casually “after all most of them either hate me or even despise me”.
“Can you tell me some of the symptoms you feel?”
“Well my lovely nurse, there is a lot, like some powerful chest pain, feeling dizzy, not being able to sleep, feeling tired everyday and sleeping through most of the hours”.
Edwin noted all this in his notebook so he could search in his books later.
“urgh I feel sick” the king said while getting up from the bed and sprinted to the bathroom to throw up.
When he came back, he lied back down on the bed.
Edwin put his hand on his forehead to feel the man’s temperature, startling the man a little but he leaned into his touch after a few seconds.
“You have a mild fever, I'll give you a potion that should make it disappear after some hours and that will hopefully make you sleep better”.
He took his bag and took out a little vial, handing it to the cat king to drink.
The king didn't hesitate for a second and immediately gulped the whole thing.
The king closed his eyes for a moment, the room still with silence until he talked again.
“Why aren't you leaving? Don't you have to go to your friends before they get worried?”
Now that he was asked even Edwin didn't know why he hasn’t left yet. He didn't like sitting in the office alone waiting for someone who wasn't going to show up and he felt like having a case was better than being alone.
“I was thinking maybe you'll allow me to stay here until I find the solution to your curse”.
The king scoffed.
“Yeah, like your friends aren't going to come looking for you the second you don't come back”.
“Charles and Crystal won't come, we took a break from cases for a week”.
“Why? What happened?” The cat king looked at him with a little concern in his eyes .
“Nothing bad” Edwin assured him “we were just too tired from solving so many cases is all”
That seemed to calm the cat king down for a weird reason.
“If you want to stay here with the person you don't even like for a week then go ahead, I won't object” The cat king said “But I have a question why are you helping me?”
“Because you also helped me and my friend a while back in the forest so I am repaying the favor”
“Are you sure you aren't just doing this because you’ve actually missed me?”. The king looked at him with a smirk on his face.
“I didn't miss you!” Edwin sputtered .
“Well I did miss you, a lot Edwin”.
Edwin looked at him shocked.
“You missed me, why?”
“Because I like you Edwin”
Edwin felt a warmth spreading through his body after hearing the words
There is someone beside Charles that missed and that person also liked him.
He wanted to ask the king more questions but when he turned around he saw the king was already fast asleep