Archive of Our Own

Jay wishes he’d known the apartment was haunted before he moved in.

To be fair, he probably should’ve noticed that something was off— a place this decent being within his price range was bound to set off warning bells in any rational person’s brain. 

Jay has never been accused of being rational.

All this to say, if he’d known he’d be encountering a ghost on his first night there, he wouldn’t have signed the lease.

…

Let’s back up.

Jay moves into his new apartment on a Thursday morning, the day before he’s supposed to start his new job at Borg Industries. 

Life is looking up- his new place is within walking distance of a bus stop, his friends all live pretty close, and he’s no longer living with his parents or a roommate. Not that he didn’t enjoy his time sharing digs with Kai, but he’s looking forward to not having to evacuate the building every time a certain someone accidentally sets fire to the kitchen (or the bedroom, or the curtains, or, on one very memorable occasion, the bathroom floor).

Nya is free from work today, and Lloyd is always game to skip school, so they’ve come over to help him move his stuff up to the third floor, where he’ll be living. Despite his penchant for collecting things (and inventing things, which means he’s got both inventions and spare parts to cart upstairs) he really doesn’t have enough boxes to require both of their help, so they get done in no time at all. 

Faced with nothing left to do, they hook up Jay’s video game console and spend the rest of the day goofing off.

But all things must end, and as the sun disappears from the sky and Lloyd and Nya say their goodbyes, Jay begins to feel the creeping anxiety he’s been putting off all day. He’s not scared of anything in particular, it’s just… he’s never actually lived alone before. It’s a lot to take in.

And Jay has been determinedly avoiding taking it in, so as he walks Lloyd and Nya out to Nya’s car, it all kind of hits him at once.

He gives Lloyd a high five, and Nya pulls him into a hug. 

“You’ll be fine,” she whispers into his ear. She really knows him a bit too well.

He pulls back, laughing nervously. “Of course I’ll be fine, why wouldn’t I be? I’ve got this awesome apartment… all to myself… heh.”

She shoots him a Look, which he knows means she doesn’t believe him at all, and he has to fight not to reflexively crack some nervous joke.

“You’ve never lived alone before, it’s a big step. It’s okay to be a little apprehensive,” she says, putting a hand on his shoulder. “But everything is gonna be okay!”

“Yeah, you’re probably safer now than when you were living with Kai! At least the building has way less of a chance of burning down in the middle of the night,” Lloyd chimes in.

As reassuring as that is, now he’s kind of worried about Kai living alone.

Jay nods and thanks them, promising Nya he’ll call her if he needs her, and that he’ll call an ambulance before he calls her if he hurts himself, and that he’ll remember to lock his doors, and yes, thank you, Nya, I’ve got it, I’m not a little kid .

As the car pulls away down the street, he turns back to the building, which looms silently over him. He’s not sure he’s ever felt this alone.

Nya’s right. This is gonna be fine. He’ll get used to it in no time.

…

Jay can’t sleep. 

It’s understandable, of course- he’s in an unfamiliar place, the mattress is weird, the room is too cold, his blankets are too hot, and if he sticks out one leg (which is the only way to achieve the perfect temperature) something might get him, and he’s pretty sure no one he knows has an actually decent photo of him to put in a newspaper if he vanishes mysteriously, so sticking his leg out is not an option. On top of that, the more he thinks about how much he needs to sleep, the more worked up he gets, and the harder it is to actually drift off.

What a nightmare. (Actually, he’d rather be having a nightmare. At least he’d be asleep).

After about (he checks the clock) two hours of tossing and turning and progressively twisting his blankets into an inescapable trap (which is only making him freak out more) , Jay decides to go get some water. 

A trip to the kitchen will probably help him calm down.

…

The trip to the kitchen does not help him calm down.

In fact, when he shuffles in, not bothering to turn on the light, he discovers a glowing green figure rummaging through the box of flatware he’d left on the counter earlier. 

Understandably, Jay freaks out .

Whoever (or what ever) it is digging through his stuff jumps at the sound of Jay’s shrill scream, but it doesn’t disappear, or even move. In fact, after its initial surprise, the apparition just sort of stands there, watching as Jay casts about for something to throw.

His eyes land on a shaker of salt sitting on the counter. Bingo- he’s at least 90% sure he’s heard someone say that salt dissolves ghosts. 

Or is that snails? Or slugs? (And is there even a difference between snails, slugs, and ghosts)?

Irrelevant.

He grabs the salt shaker and throws the entire thing as hard as he can.

It flies right through the ghost and shatters against the wall. 

Oops.

The kitchen is silent for a moment as Jay and the ghost make extremely uncomfortable eye contact.

“Did you just throw a salt shaker at me?”

Jay, who reached maximum-freakout a few moments ago and has begun to calm down a bit, is a bit offended by the ghost’s tone.

“Wh- I thought salt was supposed to work on ghosts!”

“When people say that, they don’t mean salt in a shaker ,” the ghost snaps, rolling his eyes. “Also, that’s not a real thing, dumbass. I can’t believe this… the first person I get to talk to in years and he’s an idiot.”

At this point, Jay’s offense has all but completely replaced his fear. “Hey! It’s late, I’m sleep deprived, and if you walked into your kitchen in the middle of the night to find a ghost rummaging through your stuff, I doubt your mind would be working at full capacity either!”

The ghost just raises a thick eyebrow, unimpressed.

Jay huffs. He definitely didn't sign up for this (although he did sign the lease… does that count?), but here he is, arguing with a ghost in the middle of the night. Well. At least the ghost doesn’t want revenge, or anything. At least… it doesn’t seem like he does…

“You’re not here for revenge, are you?”

The ghost swipes his hair away from his eyes in annoyance. “ No .”

Jay rolls his eyes. “Don’t say ‘ no ’ like it’s obvious! What am I supposed to think, I don’t exactly know the motives of ghosts! That’s not something they teach in school!”

The ghost clutches at his chest in a dramatic display of shock. “ You went to school ? Wow… you could never tell just by talking to you.”

Jay gapes, at a loss for words. It’s rare for him to find himself speechless- Jay tends to talk his way through most emotions- but he’s standing in his kitchen at 1 AM being insulted by a supernatural entity, so it’s not like anyone can blame him. He’s beginning to wonder if this ghost has some sort of personal grudge against him, no matter what it may claim about not wanting revenge..

“What do you even want,” he finally says, choosing to change the topic rather than continue down this path- the ghost has the upper hand in the insults department so far, and Jay’s not sure his ego can take much more.

“What does anyone want? Cake? To not be a ghost? To not be talking to you? Take your pick,” the ghost responds, leaning against the counter.

Jay makes a face. “You really can’t go a minute without being an asshole, huh? What, did your manners die with your body?”

“Oh, I’m terribly sorry if I’m a bit out of practice after years of solitude. But please, tell me, oh Great Master of Conversation, what exactly am I doing wrong?”

Jay ponders snapping back with a list of everything he’s come to dislike about this guy in the few minutes he’s known him, but considering he’s still not entirely sure whether or not the ghost can (and/or will) kill him, he decides to extend an olive branch.

“Well, first of all, we got off to a bad start,” he says, holding out his hand. “Hello, I’m Jay Walker. What’s your name?”

The ghost looks like he wants to point out that Jay was the one to start this by throwing salt at him, but ultimately closes his mouth and accepts the handshake. Jay is momentarily surprised- his hand is cold, but it’s dry and rough and surprisingly solid. It’s just like shaking hands with a human with terrible circulation. 

“Cole,” the ghost (Cole, apparently) replies.

“Well, then, Cole. Don’t take this the wrong way, but what the hell are you doing in my kitchen? ”

Cole just shrugs. “Well, it’s not really like I can go anywhere else. But if it would bring you peace of mind, then by all means, I can go hang out in the living room.”

Jay opens his mouth to continue arguing, but he catches a glimpse of the stove clock, which reminds him that he actually does have to be up early tomorrow, and he can’t stay up all night sniping at the spirit of some guy that just so happens to reside in his apartment.

He sighs, running a hand through his hair (and has his hair been standing up like that for this entire conversation? How embarrassing) and shaking his head. “I can’t deal with this tonight. I have work tomorrow, I- You can stay in the kitchen if you want. Or don’t, I don’t care. Just don’t kill me in my sleep.”

And with that, Jay turns on his heel and marches back to his bedroom. He can deal with this later. Or never. Whichever comes first.

…

“Cole, I’m home!”

“Shh- shut up! I’m about to beat this level!”

Jay makes as much noise as possible as he puts his bag down, stomps over to the couch, and flops down next to Cole.

It’s been about two months since Jay first moved in (and likewise two months since he met Cole), and Jay has never been happier. Well. He was certainly happier when he was a little kid, who didn’t have to go to school or pay bills. But this is a close second.

After realizing that Cole wasn’t kidding when he said he couldn’t go anywhere else (he’s trapped in the apartment courtesy of some sort of ghostly rules and regulations that Jay doesn’t understand), Jay had decided he might as well make the best of this strange new roommate situation. So for the past few months, Jay and Cole have put in the effort and managed to create a decent little life together.

As soon as Jay found out Cole could hold things (a discovery he made in the first week, when Cole constantly pelted him with small objects— they didn’t get off to a great start) he began putting Cole to work. Now Cole helps him cook, hands him tools when he tinkers with his inventions, plays video games with him (plays video games without him), and generally acts like a human roommate who can turn invisible, pass through walls, and just so happens to be green and glowy.

It’s almost… nice. 

“You can’t tell me to shut up,” Jay pouts, elbowing Cole in the hope that he’ll throw him off his rhythm. His elbow just phases right through.

“Mhm,” Cole responds, distracted. “And why’s that?”

“Why’s- hey! I slave away at work all day-”

“You love your job.”

“-to put food on the table-”

“You’re the only one here who eats .”

“-and a roof over our heads-”

“I’d still be stuck here if you got evicted. Maybe I’d even get some peace and quiet.”

“-and you still don’t respect me!”

Cole just snorts, tearing his eyes away from the screen just long enough to flash him a stupid grin, as if to say ‘and just what are you gonna do about it.’ Jay huffs and tries to flick his ear. His fingers phase right through.

Jay tries not to let it bother him— the whole phasing right through thing, that is— but he’s always been physically affectionate towards his friends, and it does hurt that he can’t touch Cole. Especially since they live together— Cole is the last person he speaks to at night and the first face to greet him in the morning, and Jay would be lying if he claimed his feelings for Cole didn’t run a little deeper than is probably healthy. considering he lives with the guy. 

Not to mention the whole ghost thing.

Actually, they don’t mention the whole ghost thing. 

Jay, despite his tendency to blurt out the first thing that comes to mind, hasn’t even asked how Cole died. Honestly, it seems too personal… and when he thinks Jay isn’t looking, Cole always looks so sad . It’s a look Jay prefers to prevent, so he’s taken to keeping their interactions light.

Or- light isn’t exactly the word. He’s just dancing around admitting to himself that their relationship is sort of one-sided. 

Jay talks. A lot . If he has a captive audience, he can go for a while , just voicing his train of thought as he works, or cooks, or cleans (he does clean— as much as he hates it, Cole insists). And Cole is nothing if not a captive audience. After spending so long alone, with no T.V., no computer, and no books, Cole is starved for entertainment and interaction. It was really bad in the beginning- once they’d made a truce (vowing to no longer throw things at one another, and, on Cole’s end, to stop saying hurtful things all the time), Cole would follow Jay around, asking endless questions just to get Jay to talk to him. 

So, over the months, Jay has spilled everything to Cole- his career goals, his short history of failed relationships, his insecurities, his curiosity over the true identity of his birth parents- you name it, Jay has probably prattled on about it to Cole for over an hour. And Cole… well.

Jay knows next to nothing about Cole.

He knows Cole loves (loved) cake, and that he misses food more than anything else about being alive. He knows he used to be really into working out and all that outdoorsy stuff that Jay could never get into. He knows Cole misses the fresh air, and the earth beneath his feet, and the outside world in general. But talking to Cole about his interests only leads to talking about Cole’s past, which makes him clam up. Sometimes he even disappears, and Jay hates it when he does that.

So everything else he knows about Cole simply comes from living with him. He knows Cole is one of the kindest people he’s ever met, once you get to know him. Cole is also the single most sarcastic person he’s ever met— in fact, Jay was right when he initially assumed Cole to be an asshole, but he has a feeling that’s only because it’s him Cole’s talking to. 

He also knows Cole is devastatingly handsome and totally ripped. But he tries not to think about that one too much.

And that’s about it. And it’s not much. Especially when considering the fact that Cole knows Jay’s entire life story and then some.

Jay respects his privacy, though. He’s doing his best to keep their friendship alive (out of both the necessity of them living together and the fact that Jay genuinely likes being friends with Cole), and if that means knowing nothing about him, then so be it.

Cole cheers, startling him out of his thoughts. He glances over to see that Cole has beat the level (which he’s likely been working on for hours) and he smiles.

Their life is terribly domestic— and Jay is beginning to like it a bit too much.

…

It’s three months into their cohabitation that Jay finally gets some answers.

He’s had an average day at work— not excellent, not soul crushing, just… normal. But it’s pouring down rain outside, and it’s the kind of cold that really sinks into his skin, chilling him to his core, and he’s been wanting to curl up in his bed since the moment he forced himself to get out of it this morning.

He unlocks the door, shuffles inside, and kicks his shoes off, sighing in relief. Home at last.

“Cole, how do you feel about watching that new Starfarer movie? I’m thinking about taking a night off from cooking and just ordering takeout,” he calls out, wandering distractedly into the kitchen, beginning to dig around for his collection of takeout menus. “I think Master Chen’s does a ‘Two for Tuesdays’ deal, and I know you don’t eat, but I could always go for two servings of those Puffy Potstickers. What do you think?”

He doesn’t receive an answer, but he does finally catch a glimpse of his menus, stuck to the fridge with a magnet. That must be Cole’s doing— Jay rarely remembers to put things back where he can find them again once he’s done using them.

He calls in his order, then takes the time to put the menu back on the fridge, then realizes— he hasn’t actually seen Cole. 

He’s usually pretty excited to see Jay when he gets home in the evenings— Jay knows it must get pretty lonely here when he’s at work. So Cole’s absence is a bit of an oddity.

“Cole? Dude, where are you?”

Silence. Now Jay is beginning to worry. Did he even see Cole this morning before he left for work? He can’t remember.

He wanders through the living room, aware that he has no chance of finding Cole if he doesn’t want to be found, but unwilling to give up just yet.

“Cole, are you okay? Are you… are you disappeared? Do you not want to talk to me right now? Did I do something wrong? Just give me a sign and I’ll leave you alone, I promise,” he calls out, still standing in the middle of the living room. “Sorry, I’m kinda talking too much. I’m gonna- I’ll just-”

He cuts himself off, feeling rather foolish talking to what might just be an empty room.

He trudges to his bedroom, fully intent on falling into bed and wallowing until his Puffy Potstickers arrive, but, upon entering the bedroom, he finds Cole, and all other thoughts go out the window.

“Cole!”

He’s lying in Jay’s bed, awake, staring blankly at the wall. Jay’s breath catches.

On one hand, he’s relieved that Cole doesn’t seem to be avoiding him. Being visible is a choice.

On the other hand, Cole doesn’t exactly seem… okay.

He settles tentatively on the mattress next to Cole, and reaches a hand out, fingers brushing at his shoulder. To Jay’s surprise, it’s solid; he allows his hand to rest there.

“Hey, dude,” Jay starts gently, not entirely sure how to go about comforting him. “What’s going on?”

Cole sighs and rolls over onto his back, staring up at Jay with dark, mournful eyes. “It’s stupid. Sorry, I thought I’d have this under control before you got home.”

Jay stretches out beside Cole on the bed. “Do you wanna talk about it?”

Cole is silent, and after about half a minute, Jay decides it’s time to backtrack. “Sorry, you don’t have to, just forget I said any-”

“It’s been ten years.”

“Th- What?”

Cole looks away from Jay, his eyes settling on the ceiling. “As of today, I’ve officially been a ghost for ten years.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

They lay in silence for a few moments. Jay is the first to break it. “I- well. If you don’t mind me asking… How did you die?”

Cole huffs a humorless laugh. “I didn’t.”

“Uh, I hate to break it to you buddy, but you’re a ghost ,” Jay can’t stop himself from blurting. “You aren’t exactly alive .”

“I know that , Jay. But I didn’t die and become a ghost. I was cursed.”

“Curses are real?!”

Cole only raises an eyebrow, a hint of amusement flickering on his face. “Your roommate is a real, actual ghost, but curses are where you draw the line?”

“It’s not that I don’t believe in them, I’m just worried for myself now! Do you know how many people I piss off on an average day? Cole, I’m gonna get turned into a frog!”

Cole laughs, and Jay silently congratulates himself. “You’re not going to get cursed, idiot. I’m pretty sure I was an outlier.”

“Well you can’t just say something ominous like that and then not tell the story.”

“It’s stupid.”

“ I’m stupid, Cole,” Jay prompts, turning on his side to look at him. “I’m legally not allowed to judge you.”

Cole lets his eyes fall away from the ceiling, looking at Jay with an amused expression. “I suppose that’s true. Well… ten years ago, this apartment was owned by a man named Kodokuna Yang.”

“As in Sensei Yang ? From the painting at the museum?”

“Believe it or not, I haven’t actually been to the museum lately,” Cole says. “But I think he was a sensei, yeah.”

“Right, of course,” Jay says, feeling a little foolish. “But if it is the same guy, that's… I mean Sensei Yang vanished about ten years ago. That’s a weird coincidence.”

“Well, considering he was the one who cursed me to haunt this place, I doubt it was a coincidence at all. Basically, I came by because the apartment was for sale, and the next thing I know? Boom — stuck here forever.”

“Why?”

Cole shrugs. “Beats me. He probably had a reason, but… you know. Why would he tell me?”

“Isn’t there a way to break it? Since it’s a curse,” Jay asks.

Cole just shrugs, his gaze returning to the ceiling. “I’m sure there is but, again, Yang wasn’t nice enough to tell me exactly how.”

Jay isn’t quite sure what to say to that, and from there the conversation falls off. 

They lay there, together, on the bed, listening to the rain pound against the roof, until Jay’s food arrives.

From there, he manages to raise Cole’s spirits a little bit, with his best comedic material and the promise of absolute power over the remote control.

And when night falls, and it’s time to sleep, Jay persuades Cole to crawl back into bed with him. He doesn’t mind giving up half of his bed for one night. In fact, he’d have no issues with Cole taking up space there every night.

Jay is beginning to suspect he might be a little bit in love with Cole.

And he has no idea what to do about it.

…

Six months after first signing the lease, Jay has begun to question whether it was necessary to live on the third floor of a building with no elevator. 

It's really coming back to bite him right now.

His friends recently noticed that Jay never has them over, preferring to spend time with them at their houses, or out on the town. Jay obviously can’t tell them that it’s because he’s not sure how they’d react to his ghost roommate (and vice versa— he never knows with Cole), so today, when questioned, he stuttered and stumbled his way through several excuses before eventually giving up and inviting them to come over when he’s done with work.

Unfortunately, the bus ran late, and when he got to his building, his friends were already waiting outside. Meaning Jay has had no chance to warn Cole that people are coming over.

So now, Jay is sprinting up the three flights of stairs (under the guise of “ I’ll race you guys there ”) hoping to get to his apartment in time to warn Cole that other people will soon be upon them.

He makes it. Just barely.

After fumbling with his keys for an agonizing amount of time, Jay manages to get his door open and closed behind him.

“ Cole ,” he shouts, panting hard. “My friends are coming over.”

Cole glances over from where he’s sitting on the couch reading a book.

“What? When?”

There’s an extremely loud knock on the door, likely Kai, judging by the impatient and continuous banging that doesn’t stop.

“Now!”

Cole vanishes and Jay turns to open the door, only to be greeted by a stampede of all of his friends.

“You only won ‘cause you cheated and didn’t tell me your room number. I had to ask Nya,” Kai complains, smacking him on the arm as he passes him.

Nya follows him in. “Wow, Jay, this looks nice! I can’t believe I haven’t seen it since I helped you move.”

Jay winces and laughs awkwardly. “Aha, yeah, well it’s taken me this long to make it look presentable.”

“It looks wonderful, Jay,” Zane says, following Lloyd in with a cake in his hands. “I’ve brought a housewarming gift, albeit a late one. Where would you like me to put it?”

Jay closes the door and herds his friends out of the entryway and further into his apartment. “Oh the kitchen counter is great, Zane, thank you for bringing it.”

From there, Jay’s stress levels decrease dramatically. Kai challenges him and Lloyd to mario kart, and they play for about half an hour while Zane and Nya break out his chess set. 

Eventually, after he gets tired of Lloyd winning every game, Kai tosses his remote aside in frustration and glances around the room.

His eyes land on the book that Cole had been reading earlier. “Dude, ‘ History of Ninjago? ’ When did you become a nerd?”

Jay, who has not become a nerd, and wouldn’t have the attention span for a single chapter of that book even if his life were on the line, simply shrugs. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Kai.”

Kai raises an eyebrow. “Who are you and what have you done with Jay?”

“For my part, I’m happy to see Jay expanding his interests,” says Zane, looking over from where his and Nya’s chess game has devolved into a much more complex game of what they’ve been calling ‘Cold War,’ which began when Nya insisted that her Queen should be able to move like a knight (“- she has the money to train to be a knight if she wants- ”) and devolved from there.

“Speaking of interests ,” Lloyd says, and Jay can tell from his tone that he’s not going to like whatever this kid says next. “How’s it going with that guy you like?”

Kai, probably sensing Jay’s sudden panic (he loudly pined over a highly edited version of Cole once, while drunk, and he’s regretted it ever since), looks like his birthday has come early. “Ooh, yeah, Mister Rocky Dangerbuff, or whatever his name was.”

“ Rocky Dangerbuff ?” Zane asks, sounding incredulous and slightly horrified. “I believe his name was Cole, not Rocky Dangerbuff . Where would you even come up with such a name?”

“In Kai’s defense,” says Nya, looking like she absolutely does not want to be defending Kai. “Jay did talk about how buff he was. Like a lot. There was a lot of arms -related conversation.”

Jay’s face could not be any hotter if Kai had actually set it on fire.

Jay is all too aware that Cole is probably witnessing this entire conversation. He feels like he’s going to pass out.

His friends, of course, notice. 

“He’s blushing,” says Zane, smirking slightly.

Nya gasps. “You weren’t blushing last time you talked about him! Did something happen? Are you two dating? Will we get to meet him?”

Jay groans, sliding (rather dramatically) off the couch and burying his face in his hands. “I was drunk last time, of course I wasn’t blushing.”

“You didn’t answer her other questions, Jay,” Lloyd laughs. “Sounds like you're hiding something.”

“No, we’re not dating, and no , you will not get to meet him. You’ll drive him away by being horrible little gremlins, like you are right now,” Jay whines, much to the amusement of the horrible little gremlins in question.

His life is over . Cole is going to hate him, and it’s going to be so awkward living together, and he’s never going to talk to Jay again, and-

Jay is going to die of a broken heart .

“Aw, we’re not horrible,” Nya pouts playfully, scooting over to where he’s crumpled on the ground and ruffling his hair.

“Nya is correct,” says Zane, standing. “Horrible friends would not have brought cake.”

The prospect of cake does make Jay feel better, if only a little (even though Cole loves cake… and now he’s thinking of Cole again), and he allows himself to be herded into the kitchen.

He loves his friends, he really does, but right now…

They’re killing him. Death by spontaneous combustion due to extreme embarrassment.

He can only hope he doesn’t become a ghost— that would be an awkward eternity.

…

Jay has just closed the door and is leaning against it in exhaustion when Cole finally reappears.

“A lot of ‘ arms-related conversation ,’ huh?”

Jay groans and slides down to the floor. Of course Cole heard that. Just his luck.

“It’s too late for this. Can we talk about it tomorrow? Or never .”

“No, Jay,” Cole says, walking over to sit beside him. “I’m not letting you weasel your way out of this. C’mon, what was that all about?”

Jay sighs, letting his head fall back and thump against the door. “You have to promise you won’t hate me. And that you won’t let this… change anything.”

“Jay, nothing you could say could make me hate you,” Cole says, his voice low and gentle.

“Okay. Uhm. Well, I’m not really sure how to say this, but. I guess I should just… Cole, I like you.”

Cole blinks. “I… like you too, Jay.”

Jay huffs. “No, you idiot. I like you. I- ugh. Screw it. Cole, I’m in love with you.”

Silence descends upon them as Cole stares blankly and Jay begins to spiral into a panic. 

“I- please, please don't hate me. I won’t let this affect our friendship, I would have kept it to myself if it hadn’t been for-”

“I love you too.”

“I know, and I respect that, but-” Cole’s words catch up to Jay, finally, and he chokes. “ You what?! ”

Cole snickers. “I love you too, you idiot.”

And then Cole gently pulls Jay into a kiss.

If Jay were to tell you that he hasn’t thought about kissing Cole— whether it would be possible, what it would be like— he would absolutely be lying. He thinks about it a lot.

But this goes beyond his imaginations. For one thing, it’s real, and it makes his heart feel like it’s beating out of his chest. But for another, Cole’s lips are surprisingly solid, and soft, and… warm. In fact, Cole’s hands, where they rest on his face, are warm as well. Which wouldn’t be so out of the ordinary if he weren’t kissing Cole . The ghost .

But when Jay pulls away, dazed and panting, it’s not to find a ghost.

Cole, real, solid, alive Cole is staring into his eyes with an awestruck expression. The green glow that always surrounds him is gone, and finally Jay sees Cole’s features for what they are. He’s so… warm . His hair and eyes and skin are dark, but he’s glowing in a way that isn’t in any way ghostly— his happiness shines through like the sun.

“You’re… beautiful,” Jay gasps, bringing his hands up to frame Cole’s face.

Cole laughs, and his voice is strong and full and Jay can’t believe this is real. “I’m alive!”

He pulls Jay in for another triumphant kiss, and they lose themselves in each other for a moment.

Then something occurs to Jay, and he has to break the kiss so he can make fun of Cole.

“Dude,” he says, the beginnings of an evil grin forming on his face. “Did… did true love’s kiss break your curse?”

Cole suddenly looks like he wishes he could still disappear.

Jay cackles. “That’s so embarrassing! It’s just like a fairytale! You’re a princess! And I’m your dashing and heroic savior.”

He bats his eyes.

“I take it back,” Cole groans. “I hate you.”

Jay, still laughing, flicks Cole’s ear (his fingers don’t pass through this time— Jay feels like he’s going to burst with joy), and pulls him in for another kiss. 

…

About an hour later, when they’re laying with their legs tangled together, exhausted and content in Jay’s bed, Cole remembers that they have cake.

They eat together.

Then, Col realizes that he can finally leave.

They steal away to the roof to look at the stars together.

It’s peaceful.

Jay can only watch as Cole begins to live again, contentment and love warming him from the inside. He could get used to this feeling.

…

Seven months after moving into his new apartment, Jay is repacking his things and preparing to move out.

Understandably, Cole doesn’t want to stay in this particular apartment anymore. Jay is more than happy to accommodate.

In the past month, Cole has met Jay’s friends (for real this time), reconnected with his father (who was overjoyed to see him alive), and generally spent as much time as humanly possible outside. (Jay has been dragged on more hikes in two weeks than he would have gone on in a year. Which is to say, any hikes at all. Jay isn’t a huge nature fan. But he’s willing to make sacrifices for love.)

(Besides, he likes making Cole happy.)

Cole makes him happy.

So he has no issues moving again. It won’t be a big deal finding a new place. Especially since Cole’s gotten a new job, and his and Jay’s combined income are all they need to put this apartment behind them forever.

Jay gets why Cole despises it, and he knows he’d feel the same in Cole’s position, but he can’t bring himself to feel anything but affection for the place. 

After all, he never would have met Cole without it.