For King And Country (not mine)

Present day VI

Present Day
"I knew it!"
The Captain and Havers both jumped, gripping each other more tightly out of shock.
They immediately looked to their left, seeing the other ghosts gathered, evidently coming to look for them.
Julian had spoken, his eyes filled with glee and a maddening grin on his face.
The Captain let go of Havers, stepping away to put a little distance between them. He cleared his throat, a familiar tension in his shoulders appearing.
"How long?" Julian asked, gesturing between them.
The Captain winced. "It's complicated."
"If we're counting the first time we dated, about a year, give or take," Havers said. "If we're not counting that time, only a few minutes."
"You dated for a year, and you never told us?!" Pat exclaimed.
"It was when we were alive." The Captain explained.
"Oh, that's alright then."
"No, Pat, it's not alright!" Thomas said. "We've been thinking you were clueless for the last seventy-five agonising years!"
"I thought you would've been pleased, Thomas. Surely you could write something grand about forbidden and ancient love inspired by us?" Havers asked.
Thomas paused, tilted his head, the thought not having occurred to him before.
"Goodness, you're right." He breathed. "Quick! Havers, you must tell me everything this instant!
Come quickly to the library, we have to get started right away!"
Havers smiled fondly and stepped up beside the Captain, leaning closer to murmur in his ear.
"Will you be okay here on your own?" He asked. The Captain turned his face slightly to hear him better and nodded minutely. "Sure?"
The Captain couldn't help but allow a small, affectionate smile to spread. "I'm sure. Go on. Keep him occupied. I'll deal with the rabble." Havers chuckled.
"Shout if you need me," He said, walking behind the Captain and squeezing his shoulder affectionately, not wanting to press the boundaries in front of the other ghosts. "Be easy with him, you lot."
There was a half-joking and half-serious warning tone to his voice and the Captain rolled his eyes at the protective nature of his partner, fighting the foolish grin trying to take control of the lower half of his face.
"I'm perfectly capable of handling this on my own. Thorne's dramatics are the real test of strength."
"And you always did like my strength, didn't you, sir?" Havers teased as he walked back down the corridor, a spark of mischief in his eyes and a lopsided smirk appearing.
The Captain felt his face heat up. "I could very well thrash you for that comment!"
"Close that two-second gap between our run times first, Teddy, then you can try."
The Captain's heart pounded as he heard the familiar name fall from Havers' lips. Equal parts heartbreaking nostalgia and giddy love overtook him. He loved it more than he disliked it.
Even after all this time, the love drowned out the heartbreak that plagued him, reminded him of the good days instead of the almost eight years of restless nights without Havers beside him.
The knowledge that Havers was still in his old room, just down the corridor and still able to reach out and touch him, it was a wonder the Captain had never cracked before this.
How he'd managed to bury his love so deep that he had forgotten the bravery he'd once had about his relationship with Havers, he didn't know.
He wasn't sure when he started feeling the immense shame again or whether it had ever really left to begin with.
He didn't know when it had become so twisted, turning his self-appointed role as ghostly protector of the house into a contortion of something he loved.
The Captain had adored being the commanding officer of Button House. It was a job he'd taken seriously, one that he was immensely proud of.
The respect and the pride he had in the house hadn't died with him.
But somehow, those last years of his life had distorted his perception of his job. And now, he couldn't remember how to let go of it.
How was he supposed to remember who he was without his duty?
Havers turned away and sped after Thomas, leaving the Captain to stare at him until he was out of sight.
"So?" Pat's voice brought the Captain back to reality, and he returned his focus to the other ghosts standing before him.
"So what?" The Captain asked. "What are we doing still in here? Patrick, what’s on the agenda?"
~
When Havers and Thomas returned an hour later, Pat was finishing up a riveting, spontaneous talk with Mary about how best to prepare a Sunday roast.
Everyone had chimed in with their tips and tricks, as though they could even make Sunday dinners anymore.
The Captain listened, trying to seem nonchalant when Havers swanned in again, Thomas close behind him.
"Oh, good, you're both here!" Pat said. "It's a shame you were gone for so long, we've had a wonderful conversation about culinary tricks." "Well, there's always next time," Havers said.
"I can assure you discussing Sunday roasts could be no more exciting than mine and Havers' productive writing session," Thomas said proudly, puffing his chest up.
Havers smiled bashfully, crossing the room to perch on the arm of the sofa beside the Captain.
"I'm ever so slightly concerned about what you've told him." The Captain said.
"Not too much more than he already knew." Havers shrugged. "Just that I've spent almost a hundred years loving you, that I'm very happy to do it openly now. Oh, and that I hope we get many hundreds of years to do it."
The Captain spluttered, shaking his head and looking away, finding it completely ridiculous that Havers could be so poetic with such ease.
"Don't worry, love, I was still very discreet about our most treasured moments," Havers said.
"Those are the things best kept to ourselves, I should think."
The Captain smiled up at him. "Thank you, Will."
Havers returned the smile and the two turned their attention back to the room.
~
The following weeks and months passed with little to no upheaval.
The Captain and Havers saw Julian dying to ask questions about it, of course. And Kitty seemed ever so excited about the whole situation.
Fanny's reaction to the whole situation was a lot milder than the Captain had anticipated.
She didn't speak to the Captain about it directly, though he'd caught her watching him and Havers interacting. She had given him a small smile, and that had been enough for them both. Enough for the Captain to breathe easier.
For the most part, however, the other ghosts let them figure things out on their own.
He and Havers certainly didn't shout about it from the rooftops, but they certainly weren't shy about their relationship either.
The Captain often felt comforted by Havers brushing their fingers together and the familiar feeling of sleeping beside another person.  It felt like they had never quite separated with how easily they found themselves sliding into old routines.
As Christmas came and went, New Year fast approaching, the Captain found himself looking forward to this time of year again. Especially when Alison mentioned a special activity she had planned.
"Havers had a brilliant idea of going out into the field to watch any of the New Year's Eve fireworks." She said once the ghosts were assembled. "He thinks there's an amazing spot to watch them from, so I thought it'd be nice to do together."
A chorus of excited chattering spread throughout the room, and the Captain couldn't help but wonder what Havers truly had in store.
~
That evening, the residents of the house followed Havers outside. It was dark, and the stars were out, twinkling gently in the night sky.
Alison and Mike were bundled up in warm clothes, and the ghosts chattered excitedly among themselves.
The Captain, however, was watching Havers lead them all. He was confident, assured, straightbacked with purpose. This was one of the first and only times he had been quite content to let someone else take control of the reigns.
It was only when Havers stopped and turned to address the group that the Captain tried to figure out where exactly they were on the grounds.
"What's so special about this spot?" Fanny asked.
"Well, it's more of a personal favourite," Havers said slowly. "Captain, do you have any insight into why this is a good place for New Year's Eve?"
"Our old Anderson shelter was here." The Captain breathed, realising at that point what Havers was building up towards. He smiled at Havers. A bright, unfiltered kind of smile. Something that the other ghosts had not ever seen before. "This is all very sentimental of you." Havers shrugged, a prideful smirk on his face.
"The Captain and I spent New Year's Eve 1939 in this very spot, in our unit's bomb shelter. There was an air raid. It was a miracle we got here in the first place. We'd had a few drinks."
Havers looked sheepish, and only slightly guilty, and the Captain finished the memory almost instinctively.
"We were on our rounds. We actually saw the planes fly over the grounds before the sirens went off. It was quite a sobering experience." He said. "And yet it remains the best memory of my life to this day."
The ghosts looked around at each other uncertainly.
"Not because of the air raid." The Captain corrected quickly. "No, it was rather because I got of the company I kept. It was ... rather a nice night."
He felt his cheeks heat, unsure of whether or not he was being too obvious, but with Havers here with him, smiling at him like that ... the Captain wasn't sure if he cared all that much.
"We have ten minutes until midnight," Alison said, disrupting the silence. "Mike, give me a hand setting up the bonfire, will you?"