Published // 080817

IMPORTANT NOTE!!!

Also I swear I always mess up and miss a word in important parts of dialogue. I should reread more thoroughly pfft

A bunch requested for Robert! Thanks for requesting! If you have a request, comment it below or on the first chapter.

A: Kinda? Sometimes I'll take cautions and sometimes I won't but overall, yeah.

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"Hey, Rob."

The man looked up to face you, mainly since you used that nickname. He was halfway through whittling a piece of wood into a/an (favorite animal) as a little gift to you. Plus, he hadn't carved that animal before, so he also took it as more wood carving practice. You were scrolling through your phone in one hand with a piece of wood in the other, and from what he could see it looked like a rabbit. Or was it a mouse? You'd show it to him later anyway. Robert noticed that your craftsmanship was more refined, and he gave himself a nod; he's taught you well.

"Have you..."

He waited for you to continue, but your words turned into mumbles as you were still reading something on your phone. Robert grew impatient.

"Have I what?" he repeated, moving over to look at what you were checking. You were apparently looking through a Wikipedia page as seen by the link. The site was the regular white with black text, and just as you scrolled he managed to catch a glimpse of one picture.

"Don't tell me you want to try one of those Ouija boards."

In the past, Robert first saw you as an awkward person like Mat, possibly even more scared of social interaction. He didn't think much of you until the man saw you at the bar; he didn't take you for a drinker--a wine or two, sure, but you caught his eye for your seemingly innocent nature. This was proven wrong though when he watched you down your fifth shot of whiskey and looked completely fine. You were more than meets the eye. That's when he decided to approach you, and from there the relationship took off.

You learned more about his past and problems: he had an alcoholic father, his wife died in a car crash, his daughter cut ties with him after college, and he's just waiting to end up like his father. Saying that his life was sad was an understatement. He wasn't a man that needed pity, he needed advice; that was what you gave him when he was at his breaking point.

Robert also learned about yours: you used to be a father of two with a (husband/wife), but your spouse left with your children for the secret work that you were doing--chaos magic. It wasn't anything big like demon summoning, but some things had gotten out of hand and that caused the separation. You revealed this to Robert on your third date, the same time you gave him advice.

You were more than relieved to know that he accepted you. There were some times that he was on the edge whenever you brought up specific topics like cults, but maybe that was just because they were just unnerving in general. At the end of all of this, the both of you got together and have been going through each of your hardships together.

Robert expected you to deny it or laugh it off, but you faced him with a serious expression. He blinked a few times. Was it was the whiskey that made him hear these things? You told him almost half a year that you would stop working with anything related to the supernatural, and this was the first time you brought up a plan since then.

"You're really serious, huh."

"My question," you repeated, ignoring him.

"Have you tried a Ouija board before? Or rather, have you tried anything supernatural, like a ritual or something?"

You turned to face Robert while working on the whittling. He watched as your eyes trailed to his left hand; the man immediately knew what you were trying to do and pulled his jacket down, proceeding to give you a warning look. You clicked your tongue in disappointment and went back to carving.

Ever since the your meeting at the bar, you were really curious as to what the tattoo on his hand meant. It looked like a familiar sigil of some group, one that you couldn't remember. You thought up meanings based on the shape and lines, but you were sure it had a deeper sentiment. After asking Robert just once, you got a very straightforward threat from the man: "Don't ask." Robert wouldn't hurt anyone if they didn't deserve it, but pushing his buttons was something no one would dare to do.

"I haven't," he answered, laying down. You looked at the view of Maple Bay. The two of you were currently where he took you out for your second date: sitting on the back of his pick-up truck, drinking whiskey, carving whatever came to mind; this night was like basically reliving that night.

Well, excluding the fact that you were getting Robert to try to contact spirits.

"Do you ever plan to?" you asked, putting your knife and wood down to lean your chin on your palm. Robert grunted, which you took as a "Probably".

"You seem to be very interested in wanting me to do this," he noted, bringing his arms behind his head as he stared at the stars with dark clouds coming by. It would probably rain soon.

"I... Yeah."

Robert got up from his position.

"What?" you asked, examining his expression.

"I thought you said you weren't going to do things like this anymore," the gruff man said, voice low and serious, almost accusing.

"... Sorry," you murmured.

You heard your companion sigh.

"Just once."

You turned to him so fast your neck pained.

"Really?" you said in disbelief and wide eyes. He shrugged.

"Just this once. Since you're always willing to go cryptid-hunting with Betsy and I, then you can call this 'returning the favor'."

You smiled and gave him a nod as a thanks. Getting down from the cargo area you both were sitting on, you jogged to the front of the car, unlocked the shotgun seat and pulled out a dark (color) backpack. As your returned and got back up, you pulled out a old-looking Ouija board, the planchette, and a candle.

"I really wanted to do this one last time," you said sheepishly, sitting across him.

Robert took out a lighter from his jacket, lit the candle, and set it aside. You instructed Robert to sit across you with his knees touching yours, and once you did you set the board atop the space between you. From there, you placed the planchette on the "G" and took a deep breath. Robert followed your lead.

"I'll be the medium, but you can ask questions if you have them," you said. Robert simply nodded at you.

The man watched as you put your hands together and started to chant some welcome prayer. Robert wasn't really paying attention to the opening ritual, but more on your face. Most people would be really skeptical and worried about the worst that could happen, but none of that anxiety was on your face--it was the opposite actually. No negative energy radiated off of you, and it seemed like you were excited to meet a spirit. This reminded Robert of how much he's gone cryptid-hunting; just as he has gone through the endless woods and sleepless night going out, you've probably done the same with spells and contacting the ethereal beings.

"... and with this, we welcome you to speak with us," you finished, and just in time for Robert to phase out of his thoughts. How long were you talking?

"How many spirits are with us now?" you asked.

Out of nowhere, the temperature dropped as the candle flickered. The both of you peered around. There was no breeze that passed. You looked at Robert to see him intently staring at the planchette, waiting for something to happen.

The planchette slowly moves to the "1". The man cleared his throat, and you shushed him.

"You're... not moving this, right?" Robert asked.

You gave him a scrutinizing look to as if to say "Would I joke about this?" He huffed and looked back down at the board.

"Are you a good spirit?" you continued. The planchette kept still for a minute until it moves to the "Yes". You and Robert sighed in relief.

"You should ask something, Rob," you urged in a whisper. The man was about to comment on the use of the nickname, but he calmed himself before speaking.

"What is your name?"

Once he finished, the candle died. Robert cursed under his breath; you gave him a few shoulder pats for reassurance. After recollecting yourselves, you took the lighter and relit the candle.

"They're still here with us," you said, taking in the unnervingly cold atmosphere. It was was if someone was holding unto your shoulders, and you could see that Robert's posture was slightly slouched--like someone was leaning over him to watch the board.

"You don't want to tell us your name?" you inquired.

The planchette quickly moved to "Yes".

"That's okay, we're fine with that. Right, Robert?"

The man wasn't sure how to address to a spirit that he couldn't see but was definitely there. Robert simply nodded and assumed that that was enough, for the planchette moved back to the "G" position.

"Uh, what else should we ask..." you hummed, leaning your head on your chin.

"Wait, you're telling me that we're just supposed to have a casual conversation with a spirit that's slowly pushing on my back?" Robert said, emphasizing on his unintentional slouching.

"I mean, that's kinda what you do if you're not asking them anything specific," you rolled your eyes, knowing fully well that his reaction was just the anxiety of a ghostly presence getting to him.

"The one with us now is definitely nicer and more polite. Other times the planchette flown out of my hands, the candle dangerously flared, and scary noises came."

Okay, Robert hunted cryptids but ghosts and ghouls were another story.

"I mean, will a few questions be okay? We'll ask some to this guy," you gestured to the air--the ghost, "then we can leave."

The spirit must've taken your first inquiry as a question because the planchette moved to "Yes".

"Nice," you smiled, letting the wood move back into its original position.

"So ghost, do you just hang around here?" you questioned. The planchette shook a little until it started to move to specific letters.

"We're getting full answers now," Robert noted, watching the letters as they were passed by.

Me. Lost. Woods. Death. Killer.

Robert and you let out an "Oh."

"Was it a cryptid?" Robert asked, eagerness in his voice. You smiled to yourself, glad to know he was warming up to this (and that he took in the reveal of the dead spirit well).

I. Do. Not. Know.

"Is it me or did it get darker?" you said in slight worry, looking around. Robert gazed around the area and it was darker, not because the sun set but it visible that the world was dimmed.

"Can you tell us what he looked like?" you asked. Robert hissed at you, asking if you were out of your mind to ask about someone's murderer. You ignored him yet again.

No. It. Secret. Sorry.

"So much for a possible big lead to a cryptid," you shrugged. Robert would be lying if he said he wasn't disappointed.

"Changing topic," you spoke up, voice cheery and light unlike the serious one before.

"Did you have a partner? Someone you loved?"

The planchette shot to "Yes" that both of you were pulled with the sudden acceleration little wood heart.

She. Pretty. I. Love. Her.

"That's really sweet," you smiled.

The planchette started moving across the board, and the both of you were really confused since you had just given a statement, not a question. You and Robert watched the words as they were formed, and once the spirit finished you couldn't help but do a double take.

Do. You. Like. The. Guy. With. You.

"Me?" you asked in surprise. Robert snorted a little, adding the witty remark of "No not me, that tree behind you." You stuck a tongue out at him.

"But yep, I like--love him, actually," you said

Aww. That. Cute.

"Do the spirits you communicate with talk about your love life?" Robert asked in a tone that made it seem like a joke and a serious question. You told him this was a first in a while.

Hey. Guy. With. Jacket.

Robert gave a nod at the board.

You. Like. The. Guy. With. (Color). Eyes.

He gave a slow nod.

Okay.

"Just 'okay'?" Robert repeated. You quietly laughed at how much he had anticipated for a reply.

"Is that all you want to ask us?" you asked, feeling that the conversation was nearing its end.

Yes.

"It was nice talking with you, spirit," you said with a smile. You nudged Robert's hand a little, and he added in a "Yeah".

The planchette moved to "Goodbye". The area visibly became brighter and the temperature rose to a light and warm atmosphere.

Robert pulled away and immediately heaved out a loud sigh. You smirked; that was usually how people feel after making contact with another being.

"Even if you're breathing, it feels like you don't have enough air, right?" you said. Robert gave you a small side glare (to which you just laughed at), took his bottle of whiskey and downed a big gulp.

"Just once and only once," he said, waving a finger at you with the hand that had the bottle. You crossed your heart as a promise.

"Let's head back now."

On the way back, you had fallen asleep. Robert guessed that being the main medium for talking with the spirit took actual energy, or you just had a long day. Either way, with a spare blanket he kept in his truck he wrapped you in it and currently he was driving back.

Besides the faint music playing on the stereo, a few random bumps in the road, and the shaking of the hula dancer figure on the truck, Robert listened to your light snores as he kept his eyes on the road.

Just as he reached a red light, he looked at you. You looked drained, but still amazing in his eyes. ("Wow that was cliche," Robert whispered to himself with a laugh.)

He took a short moment to kiss you on the cheek before the light turned green. Just as the car continued, he missed the smile that formed on your face for the little act of affection he gave.