Restless 'Til We Reach Home

New Old Discoveries

AN: This is just a lil half chapter set within this au because things get a little heavy and I needed to lighten the mood. Set sometime between chapters 3 and 4. We all could use more ghost!Polites and Ody bonding!

Polites was still getting used to the afterlife above ground. When he had been in Hades, everything was made with the dead in mind. He could walk on solid ground, partake of the food, he was just as much flesh and bone as everyone around him.

The earth wasn't where he belonged, not anymore, and it made that fact abundantly clear. He was there, but not really. You could see through him, reach through him. He could touch and grab things, but it required much effort and his hands would still partly phase through before finding purchase. He was there, and yet...

And yet he wasn't.

Of course, his friends insisted otherwise. Sure, his body might be gone, but he was right there with them. He had spent so long fighting to prove his existence to them, that now, he had no strength left to prove it to himself.

Some days were better than others. Today he just felt off. He thought spending time with the crew would help, but seeing them roughhouse and tease each other brought about a melancholic longing for the way things used to be. He retreated below deck, just wanting to be alone with his thoughts.

He didn't hear Odysseus call out his name, or the polite, "Excuse me," that followed. He was standing in front of a shelf, staring blankly ahead of him as his thoughts wandered.

Odysseus wasn't sure what to do. He had noticed the change in his demeanor since returning to the ship, but didn't believe it was in his place to question it. After all, he had only made the situation worse for the longest time. This was all still new to them, and if this was how Polites needed to process things, that was fine.

But he really needed the hammer on the shelf behind him...

He called out one last time for good measure, smirking when he still didn't budge. He looked his friend up and down, considering his options. He could see through his stomach to the tool resting on the shelf, was it really just as simple as reaching out to grab it?

They all had made sure not to cross certain boundaries with Polites since he returned. They didn't ask what dying felt like, they tried not to stare at his wounds, they pretended like it was totally normal for him to phase through walls, and they didn't walk or reach through him. He wasn't sure why or how these rules were established amongst them, but it was universally understood without much communication.

But boundaries had always been more lenient between them. They were best friends, brothers by choice, so surely he wouldn't mind if he just slipped through to grab what he needed.

Polites was ripped from his thoughts when a sudden tingling sensation shot through his whole body, emanating from his belly. He jerked back with a yelp, phasing halfway through the shelf.

Odysseus was staring at him with amused bewilderment, standing there with a hammer in hand.

"Did you really just reach through me to grab that?" he asked incredulously, failing to hide his growing smile.

"Sorry, I tried to get you to move but you didn't hear me," he explained, a smirk firmly in place. "Thought you wouldn't mind, but I should've known you'd still be ticklish," he took the opportunity to tease him.

Even as a ghost, the memory of a blush dusted his cheeks. "Hey!" he whined, despite the giddy feeling swelling in his chest. He couldn't remember the last time he felt like this.

And then he remembered the last time Hermes paid him a visit. Oh yeah.

"So what's it feel like when I do this?" Odysseus asked, reaching out to stick his hand through his side, wiggling his fingers as he did so. Polites let out a giggly squeal, twisting to the side as he drifted away, but Odysseus followed.

"Ihihit tihihickles, what doho you thihihink?" he sassed, only to snort when his other hand joined the fray.

"It was a valid question, smart ass!" he scolded playfully before continuing this sudden round of questioning. "So does it feel any different than it used to?"

"I-I dohohon't knohow!" He really wasn't sure, to be honest. Yes, it still tickled like hell, but in a different way than he was used to. When he was alive, the feeling was more or less localized to the targeted spot. Now, it radiated through his whole body, but felt strongest where Odysseus was reaching through him. "M-mahahaybe?"

"Hm, interesting. We'll have to investigate further," Odysseus decided, winking at him before swiping at his ribs. Polites shrieked and tried to float away, only for Odysseus to catch him by the ankle.

"Nohoho we wohohon't!" he argued halfheartedly, tugging weakly on his leg. He wasn't exactly sure how Odysseus was able to both hang onto him and phase through him, but he wasn't able to dwell on the thought as fingers scribbling over his foot had him snorting and giggling, desperate to get away. He was still wearing shoes, how was that even possible? None of this made any sense.

"Sure we will! This is a profound discovery!"

"Nohoho ihihit's nohohot!" he insisted through bubbly giggles. Odysseus arched a brow because he really didn't sound surprised. And then it clicked.

"Wait a second, did you know about this?" he asked, wiggling his fingers faster when Polites tried to answer, drawing out a giddy squeal.

"N-nohoho!" he denied, his voice high pitched, and not just from the laughter.

"You really suck at lying, you know that? Especially when you're laughing your ass off," he taunted. Polites blushed a little darker at his words.

"Thahat's nohohot fair!" he whined, but didn't protest further or put up much of a fight.

Odysseus lit up as a realization dawned on him, and he paused to give Polites a chance to answer. "So was this what Hermes meant when he said he had to cheer you up?"

Polites bristled at the question, eyes flying wide open to stare at his friend in shock. "What?" he squeaked, because how the hell did he know about that? "No!"

But Odysseus was already laughing. "Oho man, are you serious!"

"It's not funny!" Yet the smile on his face said otherwise.

"You're right, it's hilarious!"

"Odysseus!" he cried, trying to smack his hands free, but unable to focus enough to shove him away. Or maybe, he just didn't want to.

"Polites!"

"It's nohohot funnyyyy!" he repeated through giggles when Odysseus chose that moment to strike again.

"Don't you know humor is subjective?" he chuckled at his own joke while Polites managed to groan through his laughter.

"Ohohody, come ohon!"

"What? I'm just trying to cheer you up! Like Hermes did-"

"SHUHUT UHUHUP!" he interrupted with a piercing shriek when Odysseus went back to scribble and phase through his belly.

"No thanks, I'm good," Odysseus shrugged him off, continuing to explore all the spots he knew so well.

Odysseus couldn't be happier. Ever since Polites returned, he hadn't been the same. It was still him, but he wasn't himself. He wasn't happy anymore, not the way he had been. That bright carefree smile he saw every day became a rare sight, and he hadn't heard him laugh since they were on the island with the lotus eaters.

Now they were laughing, teasing one another, and it was (almost) just like old times.

They both needed this.