#late halloween always goes hard ‼️

[g0ttal0ve101]

Halloween Special <3

Note: ignore the date that this is posted haha I forgot last night 😓 anywho this is long as hell cause I love aubrie too much so good luck! tw: violence? ig? lol

always forget to tag u but @gh0stface-k1sser

“Mia, I don't wanna go.” Aubrie whined, struggling to unbuckle the car seat Mia stole from one of her clients. “I wanna party with you and Carly.”

Coming around the car to unbuckle her, Mia rolled her eyes and scoffed. “You wouldn’t like going. It’s better if you stay over here with Lu and Kai.”

Aubrie shuddered and pouted her lip, clinging to the end of her jacket nervously. Mia took notice of her anxiety upon opening the door.

“What, you scared?”

Aubrie shook her head defensively. “No! I’m not scared! …When are you coming back?”

Realizing her anxiety might’ve been a result of being afraid of being abandoned, Mia took her a little more seriously. “After trick-or-treat tomorrow.”

Aubrie took one look at the front porch littered with gorey Halloween decorations and shuddered again. “You promise?”

“I promise. I bet you won’t even wanna leave anyway,” she teased, grabbing her little arm to give her a steady landing while getting out of the car. Once they stood side by side, they held hands. “You used to love hanging out with them when you were way little. You remember?”

“Yeah. Why do Kai’s teeth look like that?”

“You better not ask that or I’ll beat your ass.” Mia warned her as they approached the porch.

“But you said if I don’t stay in bed at night, Kai would be under there to bite me. Isn’t he a real vampire?”

“Aubrie.”

“That’s what you saaaid! I’m not lying!”

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Mia sighed in annoyance. “Okay, okay, just don’t mention it around them.”

Aubrie hid behind Mia as she rang the doorbell an obnoxious amount of times, clearly intrigued by its sound. For a seventeen-year-old, she could definitely be childish sometimes.

When the door and screen door creaked opened, Aubrie nearly had a heart attack. She hid further behind Mia, peeking as though she were a tree to take cover behind.

“Happy Halloween, Mia!” Lucian bubbled, wrapping his arms around her out of instinct. This left Aubrie completely uncovered and at the mercy of Kai’s stare, which burned into her like cigarette cherries against an ashtray. She shuddered and grabbed at Mia’s jacket.

“I forgot how far you guys go with the decorations out here! These are fuckin’ awesome! Where’d you get ‘em?”

Lucian and Kai exchanged glances with a mischievous giggle.

“Well, it depends which ones you’re talking about. We got the pumpkins from the patch down by Evergreen Park—!”

Jumping into the conversation, Kai wrapped his arms around Lucian’s waist and locked eye contact with Mia as if to say ‘mine.’ “Wanna see how I got all the organs? I can show you.”

Mia scoffed and rolled her eyes. “What’s up, Kai? You’re just as short as I remember you being.”

“And you’re still a—…”

Lucian tamed his mouth with a singular glance. It was more impressive than funny, though Mia couldn’t stop herself from letting out a sly giggle.

“Anyway, here’s the lil’ jerk.” Mia hummed, pulling her by the hood of her Hello Kitty coat to present her to the two boys. She struggled up until the point where she stood before them. “She’s really excited to go trick-or-treating with you guys.”

Aubrie was too busy having a staring contest with Kai to care about that lie. She couldn’t tell if he was just trying to creep her out or if he genuinely wanted her shot dead. Either way, her gaze was eventually directed toward Lucian as he kneeled down to talk to her.

“Hi, Aubrie!” He gushed with a smile that was sure to bring a shred of light into any darkness. Despite being an obviously physically affectionate person, he kept his hands to himself this time. “Your hair is so long and pretty! Does Mia do it all nice for you like that?”

Aubrie blinked in disbelief by the sudden burst of verbal affection she was receiving, especially from a guy. Aubrie couldn’t remember the last time she really even spoke to a guy who wasn’t related to the Mason family. Lucian was the first in weeks, probably even months. It made her a little uncomfortable. Guys always made her uncomfortable.

“Yeah, I do.” Mia said while patting her head proudly. “I thought I might as well pull it up since she’s gonna be staying the night. It gets tangled otherwise.”

Staying the night. Aubrie sort of wanted to cry even thinking about going one night without Mia being there to keep her safe. Then again, Mia wouldn’t leave her there if she didn’t think these two were safe, right? Her thoughts were spiraling.

“It’s cute! Maybe I can braid your hair later, huh? I like braiding hair.”

“Good, ‘cause I suck ass at it. She always asks for it though. See, Aubrie? You’d be better off with Lu than with me.”

Aubrie spun around and hugged Mia tightly, practically crawling on her and begging to be picked up. “Nuh-uh! I like being with you, Mimi! Don’t leave me here for good!”

Lucian and Mia laughed. Kai rolled his eyes.

“I won’t, muñequita. Okay? Now, go on.”

Her warm tone made Aubrie’s muscles relax involuntarily. It was soothing to the ears and even better for her mind as she released her and took a step toward Lucian all on her own.

“Thank you so much for taking her, you guys. Seriously, I would’ve been fucked if you guys didn’t.”

“Anytime!” Lucian bubbled, standing back up to give Aubrie some room to come in.

Kai interjected before that statement was thrown around so loosely. “Just this time.”

Mia folded her arms with an instinctive pissed-off tongue click. “Eso fue lo que dijo tu mamá cuando tu papá se quitó el condón para concebirte.”

“…What?”

“Love you, Lu. Love you, Aubrie. Byeee.”

They said their farewells and Lucian let Aubrie wave goodbye all the way up until Mia drove off. With her pink duffle bag full over overnight clothes stunting her balance a little, she waddled in alongside the two boys. She walked closer to Lucian than Kai.

“So, what do you wanna be this year, Aubrie?” Lucian asked, speaking in a tone so gentle that even Kai started getting enticed by it.

Blinking while deep in thought, she set her bag down clumsily. “Uhh…a princess!”

“Wrong,” Kai snapped. “That’s not scary.”

“Does it have to be scary?” Aubrie asked shakily, too nervous to even spare a glimpse in Kai’s direction.

Lucian kneeled down again to be eye-level with her and further drive her attention away from the way he was acting. “It can be whatever you want. Anything at all.”

Trying to appease Kai, she thought of the first scary thing that came to mind while looking at him. “…Can I be a vampire princess, then?”

Lucian’s eyes lit up from the mere thought of it. “Yeah! That’s a great idea! What color do you want your costume to be?”

“Black and red!” Aubrie cheered, imagining twirling in a big poofy dress. “All vampires wear black and they drink red blood, so black and red!”

“You’re right! I like the way you think. C’mon, I’ll help you put your stuff away.”

Kai watched as the two walked hand-in-hand up the stairwell and in the direction of their bedroom. Jealousy simmered inside of him. There was a part of him that knew it was wrong to feel so jealous of a little girl, but he couldn’t help it. It was the way Lucian spoke to her, interacted with her, and looked at her with such gentle, calculated eyes. He was wonderful with kids despite having no experience with them at all.

And Kai…

/—/—/—/—/—/—/—\—\—\—\—\—\—\

Aubrie was beyond exhausted from her long night of doing nothing but talking and playing with Lucian as he fixed up the costume for her. And although she wasn’t very scared of staying the night anymore, she still felt mildly uncomfortable while laying in their bed.

When she was first told she’d be sleeping in their bedroom, she was excited. At home, she never really had her own room before, so she believed sleeping by herself would be a big accomplishment. However, after a while of rolling around in their big bed and testing out all their blankets, pillows, and stuffed animals, she started to grow weary. Usually there was some sort of sound at home — Mia’s voice wandering around the house as she spoke to Carl on the phone, or the sound of dishes clinking together from her washing them, or the TV going...

That’s right. Aubrie peered up at the TV stand across the bed. She figured that by finding the remote, she’d be able to switch between the channels and pick a cartoon to fall asleep to. However, she was surprised to see that whenever turned it on, there was already a cassette inside. In other words, the TV was playing one of Lucian and Kai’s home-made videos.

She got nervous about what she might see and desperately hit every button to try to turn it off. Mia always told her to never watch the VHS tapes at home because they were secret “movies” she made with Carl and only for Carl to see. Aubrie didn’t have to ask why — she knew why. All grown-up couples do the same gross things, so she figured Lucian and Kai might fall under that category too.

Her constant button clicking did nothing. The tape began to play out with a low buzzing sound, recorded on a low audio quality camera. It started in the dark. Aubrie couldn’t see much of what was going on, but could hear swift footsteps tapping against a hard surface. Then, a bright light from the bathroom door opening flashed into the lenses.

“Kai, I told you not to bring that in here!” Lucian scolded with his arms tightly wrapped around his chest to hide his indecency. He was sitting in the bathtub with his hair in the shape of a mohawk, held by bubbles and douses of soap.

Kai deliberately held the camera at an angle where nothing personal could be shown. “I’m taking a picture of my masterpiece.”

Upon hearing his reasoning, Lucian dropped his arms, stuck his tongue out playfully, and pretended to headbang as if to mock a hardcore metal band. Kai laughed from behind the camera.

“Aah! Your hair’s splashing me!”

“Hahaha! So, you think I’m cute with a mohawk?” His hair was collapsing from the previous headbanging performance he gave. Sticking it back up into their original spikes, he slid his hands upward to keep them standing. By doing this, his pretty figure was subtly shown off.

“More sexy than cute.”

Lucian lowered his head with a seductive smile, staring right into the camera lense. “Don’t say thaaat…”

They laughed airlessly together as Kai practically smothered him with kisses, holding the camera at an angle to align their faces perfectly. Lucian’s face scrunched up in pure joy as his lips met his skin, playfully pushing him away.

“You’re so sexy, Lu.”

“Stoppp!”

“Sorry.”

“No, you’re not!”

“Yeah, I’m not. Lemme do your hair again.”

“But I like it in a mohawk! You said I look sexy!”

“You always look sexy, silly.”

“This is the first time you ever said it out loud though, so the mohawk must be doing something for you.”

Kai practically died laughing. “Shut up! No!”

“You want me to cut my hair into a mohawk, huhhh? The things I do for love.”

Raising his hand, Kai slicked back all his hair back into its original shape. Lucian frowned.

“Lucian, I love you just the way you are.”

A smile reappeared on Lucian’s face from the comment, his cheeks suddenly a rosy pink. “Baby…”

Aubrie, invested in the tape, hadn’t noticed the door creaked open. Standing there to greet her was none other than Kai himself.

“What’re you watching?”

“GAH!” Aubrie screeched, practically throwing the remote at his face. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I accidentally turned it on…!” She sputtered, unsure of what he’d do once he saw the video playing out.

His eyes fell on the TV before he groaned and snatched the remote. Knowing she was at his mercy, Aubrie trembled. There had only been a handful of times where she found herself alone with Kai in her life and she’d prefer to keep it that way. Kai didn’t seem to particularly like her very much anyhow and she didn’t want to make it any worse by sticking around him.

He looked at her. She prepared herself for the beginning of a lecture about how inconsiderate and rude it was to look through their videos like that. At least, that’s what Mia would’ve done, with a little extra insults too. But Kai only watched her facial expressions vary between scared and confused, picking at her fingernails.

“…He’s cute, isn’t he?” Kai hummed playfully, setting the remote down once he shut the TV off again. “I forgot about that one. Lu must‘ve been watching it earlier.”

Aubrie nervously laughed. “Sorry, I-I thought it would turn onto the cable channels…”

“I don’t care.”

The way those words rolled off his tongue sounded harsh, but Aubrie assumed he meant it in a ‘I don’t care you watched it,’ kind of way rather than a ‘I don’t care what you’re saying’ way. She was still intimidated by either reaction.

“Do you need tucked back in?”

She was caught off guard by the sudden gentle sound to his voice. Blinking in disbelief and locking eye contact with him, she nodded silently and laid back down. Kai grabbed the ends of the blankets and pulled them over her petite figure.

“Thank you,” she squeaked.

Kai looked at her face for a long while, examining every feature she had, before smiling softly. “Are you excited to go trick-or-treating tomorrow?”

She had practically forgotten about it by that point. With so much going on and being unfamiliar to her, she found herself living in the moment ever since Mia dropped her off. And to that recollection of events, she couldn’t help but smile back. “Yeah! Thank you for letting me go…”

Her gratitude clearly hit Kai hard. His eyebrows raised in surprise as he seemingly searched his mind for a response, unprepared for her sweet words.

“I didn’t want you to come, Lulu did. But I can’t say no to him, so that’s why you’re here.” Kai said bluntly.

Aubrie didn’t know if she should’ve felt offended. Telling by how nonchalant he said it, probably not.

“O-Oh…”

“Yeah. He’s the best. Don’t you think he’s the best? And the cutest? And funniest? And sweetest?”

“Um…yeah!”

“So you agree? You like him, then?” His voice suddenly grew intense, his eyes wide.

She started second guessing her answers. Mia told her that if she didn’t want to get in trouble she should always tell the truth, so she racked up her full-fledged opinion on the matter and hoped for the best.

“Mhm. He’s nice to me and…he doesn’t yell at me or call me names,” she murmured with bashful eyes. “I really do like him. Mimi really likes him too. I mean, she doesn’t even let me stay the night at Carly’s house without her, so…so that means she really trusts him to let me stay over now, even if you’re both boys. So, I trust you guys too.”

She cringed at herself. Maybe that was a little too honest.

Kai blinked in disbelief for a while before smiling softly at her. His eyes were less scary than before. “You talk more than I thought you did.”

She frowned. “Is that bad?”

“No.” Kai shifted his attention back toward the TV, perhaps reflecting on their original point of conversation. “You want me to turn cartoons on for you?”

Aubrie almost said no in fear she’d be a nuisance by agreeing, but knew she wouldn’t get sleep any other way. “Yes, please…”

With a click of a few buttons, Kai had it up and running in no time. Aubrie thanked him quietly but to no reply as he watched alongside her. The way he hovered near the bed made her nervous. She scolded herself for being such a baby.

Kai looked back over at her and she tensed up, preparing for another one of his curveballs. Seriously, there was no telling what the guy was going to say or do. Sometimes he looked like he wanted her dead, but other times he was as nice as ever. It was overwhelming for a people-pleaser like Aubrie.

“I’m gonna go back downstairs now, okay?”

“O-Okay.”

“Okay. Goodnight, Aubrie.”

Settling herself down into the blankets, she couldn’t help but smile like an idiot. “Goodnight, Kai…”

Their eyes met again.

“I-I mean, goodnight, sir!”

Kai rested his arm against the doorway and looked back one more time before turning the light back off. “I like the first way better.”

—/—/—/—/—/—/—\—\—\—\—\—\—\—

Aubrie had almost forgotten how fun trick-or-treating was until she was back out in the crisp autumn air again. With cold fingertips and nose, she skipped down the sidewalk block to block with her pillowcase of candy gradually filling to the brim throughout the night. At first, she was too scared to go knock on the door by herself and had Lucian hold her hand. But after an hour or so, she was knocking and ringing every doorbell in sight without a care in the world.

All the adults looked at her with wide eyes when they opened their door or approached their table. She figured it was because of how scary her costume was, but failed to realize it was due to the amount of blood Lucian and Kai began to rack up on their costumes, standing close behind her.

“Trick-or-treat!”

“Aw, now aren’t you cute?” The elderly woman lifted her bowl toward Aubrie, showcasing all the goodies inside. As she dug through to find her favorite candy bar, the woman set her sights on the other two. Her smile soon shifted into a frown. “Where in God’s name did you get all of that blood? You look like you were down at the slaughterhouse!”

“Thanks!” Lucian cheekily said. His smile was so genuine that it was hard to be mad at.

But she found a way. “A little much for trick-or-treating, don’t you think?”

“What? Being zombies?”

“I mean, those costumes are just so gorey. We have young eyes around here, y’know.”

“Ohh, really? You think we went too far?”

Lucian’s understanding tone and loving eyes somehow made her more uncomfortable than she would’ve been if he cursed her out. She shuddered and clutched at the cloak draped over her shoulders. “Just a little bit, I suppose.”

Pointing up at his head covered in gooey pink and red slime to represent brains and blood, he giggled. “It’s the brains, isn’t it? I thought it looked cool—!”

“Just keep it in mind for next year, boys.”

Interrupted.

That old bitch just interrupted him.

Lucian laughed it off and dug his hand into the bowl next, looking over his shoulder at Kai. It was impossible to prevent what was going to happen next.

“…You’re so silly, kitty. C’mon.”

Swiping a piece of candy from the bowl, Kai interlocked his eyes with hers. She trembled from the mere thought of what laid behind those dull eyes.

“You wanna see real gore?”

“Kaiii, let’s go!”

Gargling on her own blood, the woman grabbed at the wound across her throat. The crimson color ran down her arms and costume, sprinkling into the candy as though it was sweetener. Just as the life left her eyes, Kai pushed her head back and set the bowl into her lap. The next group of kids thought she was playing pretend.

“…Coming.”

As they approached the end of the street, grabbing as many handfuls of candy they could from each house, Aubrie’s heart began to race. Mia never took her trick-or-treating on the South side. She always said it was for “trashy older kids.” Aubrie assumed she meant teenagers.

Upon crossing the street and walking a few blocks, Aubrie saw the number of kids her age windle out. There were ten, then eight, then six, then three, then one — herself. All the other groups of trick-or-treaters were at least thirteen or older, wearing more gorey and revealing costumes than the kids. Suddenly all the decorations seemed to get more detailed and the sky grew darker and air got colder and the crowds got bigger and bigger.

“I don’t think zombie lovers are really that scary, right? I thought it was cute!” Lucian whined, unwrapping a big cherry lollipop to suck on for the rest of the night. “We even put all those brains on you to make it seem like you ate mine! I guess she just didn’t get it.”

“…If I were a zombie, I’d probably eat your heart first anyway.”

“Aww, stop!”

Aubrie stopped dead in her tracks. The other two followed her lead with confusion written all over their faces.

“I wanna go home.”

. . .

“What?” Kai’s eyes had that same intense flair in them again, shaking the Earth to its core.

Baffled just as much as his boyfriend, Lucian asked the same thing. “What? What’s wrong, honey?”

Aubrie grabbed at his pant leg again, pressing her face against his thigh. “I’m scared!”

Kai and Lucian exchanged glances.

Kneeling to her level with a warm smile, Lucian yet again kept his hands to himself. “It’s okay, sweetheart. I know it gets a little creepier over here, but I promise everything’s still the same. Besides, they have much better candy on this side of town! We won’t let anything hurt you, okay?”

Aubrie glanced up at Kai.

“I-I dunno…! I don’t think I—!”

Before she could finish, her feet were swept from off the sidewalk’s pavement. It took her a few seconds to process that Kai picked her up. She tensed. There wasn’t much she could do but stare at him in awe.

Lucian was just as surprised as she was, his mouth agape and his eyes wider than ever. A bright smile flashed on his face. Aubrie wasn’t sure why.

“Stop whining.” Kai said in a tone so cold it could give out frostbite, but his words were warmer than a beautiful summer day. He was trying to comfort her. “Now nothing can get you. Not even Lulu.”

“Aww man! I wanted to get her!” Lucian cried playfully.

Aubrie sniffled and laughed softly, trying to avoid showing her puffy face by wrapping her arms around him and resting her chin on his shoulder.

Lucian’s cheesy smile was impossible to miss. Kai smiled weakly back and rolled his eyes in an attempt to convince him that he didn’t like it.

Both Kai and Lucian were showered his compliments door to door, clearly hitting their target audience on this side of town. (Or maybe everyone was just being nicer because they were drunk.) From what Aubrie saw, she could tell everybody had way cooler outfits than the North side — after all, most people over here didn’t have the money for a store-bought costume and had to make theirs from scratch. She enjoyed taking a good look at their work and seeing how detailed they were, up until she started recognizing people.

Riley was the first she saw and knew. She knocked on the door three times, waited awhile, and began turning away to go to the next house before the door swung open and revealed her. She wasn’t wearing a costume — which was weird because Riley liked Halloween — and her eyes almost looked frantic. She held out a bowl of candy and checked behind her shoulder a few times, completely disregarding Aubrie’s presence.

“Trick-or-treat…?”

“I didn’t know you lived on the South side, Riley!” Lucian bubbled, clearly overlooking the strange behavior she was displaying. “Didn’t you live closer to the school?”

“…This is Sam’s house,” she murmured. Her eyes finally fell onto Aubrie. She smiled weakly. “I didn’t know he had so many trick-or-treaters on this street, haha…”

“I guess it’s sorta off from the main road, but yeah. Where’s Sam?” Lucian peered inside the house.

Riley tensed up. “Uh…he’s sick. Fever and all.”

“Dude, that sucks. We’re supposed to finish our American history project on Monday.”

“He should be fine by then, don’t worry. He’s just sleeping right now.”

“Right.” Kai said. Tension rose almost immediately after his tone hit the conversation.

Riley nudged the bowl toward him. Kai took a handful and shoved it into his bag with a blank stare.

“…Well, I hope he feels better!” Lucian stammered, grabbing at Kai’s arm in order to deescalate the situation. “Here, he can have some of my candy. I feel bad he’s missing out.”

“That’s okay—!”

Lucian shoved the candy into her hands anyway. “Some for you, too!”

She laughed softly and accepted it. “Okay, okay. Um…you should really go up the street some. I heard they’re passing out cake-pops.”

“Cake-pops?!” All three of them exclaimed, exchanging excited glances.

“Yeah. It’s that big house on the hill.”

“Thank you for telling us!” Lucian gushed, hurriedly skipping down the porch steps to get back on the move. “Tell Sam I said hi!”

“Okay…”

“See you Monday!”

“See ya…” Riley rushed to wave goodbye before eagerly closing the door.

Kai continued to stare at the house for a moment or two before turning away and following Lucian’s lead. Aubrie didn’t understand what it was he felt so uneasy about, but trusted his intuition. Kai always had a good instinct.

Happier than ever, Lucian twirled around and skipped down the sidewalk. This could’ve been from the raw excitement building up in his body after hearing the news of the good treats, but it probably had something more to do with all the sugar he’s had so far. He was practically bouncing off the walls.

“What kinda flavors do you think they have? I hope they have chocolate! I love chocolate! Vanilla’s okay too, but I love chocolate the most! How about you, Aubrie? Do you like chocolate or vanilla more? Maybe they have something like strawberry! Dude, imagine they have strawberry…”

Kai shifted Aubrie on his other hip. “I hope they don’t have the nasty corner store cake-pops. Those are gross.”

“No, no, no, Riley said they made ‘em!”

“Did she?”

“She did!”

Aubrie giggled. “Nuh-uh, she just said they had them.”

Walking backwards with his attention fully focused onto the two behind him, Lucian laughed. “Maybe you’re right, but I think she knows the corner store cake-pops are gross, so she wouldn’t have told us to go up there to get ‘em. Right, Kai? Right?”

Laughing at how frantic he was acting, Kai shook his head. “You’re being silly, Lu. How much candy did you eat so far?”

Lucian tapped on his chin and thought about it for a few moments. “Uhh…a lollipop, a chocolate bar, a bag of gummies, some chocolate pretzels, and I think…oh, and bubble gum! See?”

Lucian blew a bright pink bubble from his lips with the gum he was chewing. It popped as soon as he knocked into somebody and fell to the ground.

Candy spilled all over the pavement. Lucian rushed to pick everything up for the individual he knocked into, guilty and embarrassed for being so careless.

“Sorry, that’s my bad! I wasn’t paying attention to where I was—!” He stopped panicking once he saw who it was he knocked into. With a grand smile on his face, Lucian leaped onto him with a huge smile. “Happy Halloween, Max!”

Max, hugging him back while simultaneously bleeding from his nose, smiled wide enough to showcase some of his missing teeth. “Luuu, I didn’t know you were going trick-or-treating down here!”

“Yeah! Me and Kai usually go here last!” he gushed, scooping the candy up and shoving it back into Max’s half-empty bag. “Have you gone up to the big house on the hill?”

Wiping his nose with his sleeve before Lucian could see how bloody it was, he shook his head. “Noo…I can’t get up there with my crutches.”

. . .

“I knocked you over on your crutches?!” Lucian screeched, horrified as to how badly he could’ve hurt him. “Oh my God, I didn’t even realize! Shit, hold on!”

Kai set Aubrie down and helped Lucian lift Max up, who had a full medical boot on his left foot. Aubrie helped grab the crutches.

“Thanks you guys,” Max hummed despite his condition. It was like he was unaffected by any pain he endured — though, he was pretty used to it by then. “Don’t worry, I’m okay. This is the third time I fell tonight.”

“I’m so sorry!” Lucian hugged him tightly, practically breaking all the bones in his body by accident. “You can have all my candy, if you want!”

Max shook his head. “Nah, I’m good with what I have. I have more than enough to share with my big brother, sooo…oh! The big house on the hill! Yeah! Are you guys going up there?”

They nodded in unison.

“Well, be careful. That hill’s pretty steep. When I went up there last year, I fell all the way down and broke my right arm and left leg. Yeah, that sucked…but the lady’s nice, though.” Max locked eyes with Aubrie, raising his eyebrows in surprise. “Woah, wait! You guys didn’t tell me you had a kid! What the heck! Are you guys gonna elope to France or something, what’s going on?! Are you gonna have more kids?! Like, babies and stuff? Dude, I wanna be an uncle! Lu, can I please be their uncle?”

Lucian laughed. Kai shuddered.

“No, Max. This is Miss Aubrie,” Lucian hummed, presenting her as though she were a princess. “We’re babysitting her!”

“Yeah, don’t say stuff like that…I will never change a diaper again.” Kai looked as though he saw a ghost.

Aubrie was sort of confused why he said ‘again’ until she remembered what Mia told her — Kai had tons of siblings, including a lot of little ones, before he ran from home. He was practically mom-ified at the age of four, taking care of kids that his parents refused to care about.

Suddenly, a whole bunch of things started to make sense. It was no wonder why Kai was hesitant to make an effort toward Aubrie’s stay. He didn’t want the responsibility of another kid.

Lucian wrapped his arm around Kai’s shoulder and pulled him close. “Don’t worry, baby. I’ll change them if you end up giving me one.” He pecked his cheek with a flirtatious giggle.

Kai playfully pushed him away. “No, no, no, no, no, not happening, no.”

“Hahaha! Aww, but I think you’d be a good dad…”

“L-Lucian!”

“Whaaat? Am I embarrassing you? Sorry.” Lucian teasingly ruffled his hair. “It’s fine if you don’t wanna kid. I don’t mind having you all to myself…”

Max and Aubrie exchanged horrified looks, in awe by the sudden change in his behavior. Lucian was good at being a flirt. Too good.

In a blink of an eye, Lucian’s behavior returned back to its original form. “Anyhow, it’s so nice to see you, Max! Your costume is adorable! Did you do a pirate ‘cause the boot?”

“M-Mhm. Plus I lost all these teeth, so…”

“Right! How’s your big brother?”

“He’s doing good, but I just remembered he wants me home by eight, so I better get going, haha…”

“Are you gonna be okay walking home by yourself? We could walk you—!”

“No, no, I’ll be fine! See you Monday!”

Clearly shaken up by the flirting session that took place before his eyes, Max turned the corner faster than a guy on crutches probably should. Lucian was oblivious to how good his accidental performance really was, paying no mind to his hurried exit.

It didn’t take long before the trio reached the end of the driveway of the huge house on the hill. Aubrie thought it looked like something from a cheesy 90s horror movie, but nevertheless, it still creeped her out. There weren’t many people around at that point considering the time and how dark the sky was getting. She grabbed a hold of Lucian’s hand as they trekked up the steep hill, almost dragging her bag of candy on the ground because of how heavy it was. Kai helped her by picking it up.

“I’m so excited! I don’t think we’ve ever trick-or-treated here before!” Lucian gushed, despite being out of breath from the long haul. “But after this one, I think it’s about time to head home. It’s getting cold.”

Aubrie could tell he was just saying that because she was cold — his hand was warmer than ever. It felt nice to be able to hold it whenever they were trekking up together, otherwise she would’ve been worried about tripping.

Once they made it to the very top, they took a mini break before stepping onto the front porch. It was decorated with Jack-o-lanterns and candles all around, with one bowl sitting on a table. When they peered inside, however, it was completely empty.

“Damn. We showed up too late.” Kai murmured, clearly disappointed by the way he spoke.

Lucian laughed it off. “Oh, well. It’s okay. At least we burned some calories before we ate all this candy, right?”

Just as they prepared to turn back around, the front door opened. There stood an elderly man, looking at them as though he recognized them from somewhere. He smiled widely and stepped all the way out, showcasing his odd, tall, and frail figure entirely.

“Did she not make enough?” he asked, his voice hoarse as though he hadn’t spoken in months.

Lucian politely replied as always. “Yeah, but that’s alright! There’s always next year.”

“…I have some more inside. C’mon…”

Aubrie remembered what Mia told her at that exact moment — if a stranger were to ever invite her inside their house, she should kick them in the nuts and run. She was prepared to do just that before Lucian’s voice interjected her thoughts.

“No, it’s better we get going. Thank you though.”

His eyes fell onto Aubrie. She felt like he was going to capture her very soul just by his eyes.

“Mmh, a very pretty young lady. What’re you supposed to be?” His words were slurred as he spoke.

Hesitantly, she answered. “A vampire princess…”

“Wow. You’re just sooo pretty…”

He reached for her to see it closer. But before his fingertips could even graze her delicate skin, Lucian grabbed his arm and yanked it away harshly. She could see his fingernails digging deep into his forearm as though he were prepared to break it.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

“I’m not a pedophile. I just wanted to see her costume bett—!”

“You can see it perfectly fine as is.”

“…What’s your problem, kid? Get the hell off me. I’ll call the police.”

“Yeah? You gonna call the police ‘cause you just tried to grab a seven-year-old girl while you’re drunk?”

“I’m not drunk…”

“Oh, yeah you are. I can smell the liquor from here. Now you better get your sorry ass inside that house or I’ll give you a good lesson on how to keep your hands to yourself. Pick.”

“Quit treating me like I’m a pedophile ‘cause I wanted to see that little bitch’s costume better!”

In the blink of an eye, the man stumbled backward and fell on his ass, holding his wrist as though it was coming off. It probably felt like it was. Lucian slit it open right along the vital veins.

“Goddamnit! Shit! God, God, God! What the fuck did you do?!” he screeched as blood poured from the wound nonstop. He rushed into the house faster than a flash of lightning.

Lucian turned towards the two of them with a little bit of blood on his face. He always looked better with blood. Always.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart.” His voice was slow and shaky, coming off of the adrenaline rush. “I didn’t mean to scare you. That guy was just talking so gross that I had to. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry, honey. Please don’t be scared.”

Aubrie hugged him without hesitation. He held her close for a moment before lifting her off her feet and stroking her hair back.

“I’m not.”

Kai watched, this time feeling no sense of envy at all. Aubrie was a special little girl. That’s why instead of crying like a normal kid would, she smiled ear-to-ear instead.

/—/—/—/—/—/—\—\—\—\—\—\—\

“Kai, are you a real vampire?” Aubrie asked curiously, sitting on the couch while getting her hair braided.

They immediately started giggling together. She was too damn cute for them to handle. Especially when she sat so politely and seemed so serious.

Playing along, Kai nodded and rested his head on Lucian’s shoulder. “Mhm.”

“Oh…so are those bites on Lulu’s neck real? Is he gonna be a vampire now, too?”

Blush spread across both their faces before the doorbell rang, saving them from the embarrassing moment they almost found themselves in.

Lucian hurriedly finished off the braid while Kai collected all her bags, heading toward the door to answer it. There, he saw Mia and Carl standing side-by-side, smiling like a bunch of idiots. The strong smell of alcohol was not only overwhelming but concerning — Carl could hardly stand up straight.

“Heyyy, pretty kitty.” Mia teased, swaying back and forth with a dopey smile. “Where’s my baby at? Auuubrie! C’mon, we gotta go hooome!”

Lucian brought her over with a bright smile. “She was an angel. Did you guys have fun?”

Mia hummed and waved Aubrie over, evidently too drunk to even remember to reply in a coherent sentence. Lucian laughed nervously.

“Mia…you’ll be okay to drive, right?”

“Yessir, yes, yes, yes. I am very, very good at driving, sir. I will go home safe. Aubrie, please c’mon. Carly’s gonna throw up and prolly piss himself.”

Whining, Aubrie shook her head. “I wanna stay!”

“…Goddamnit, Aubrie. We don’t have time for that. Say bye-bye and let’s go.”

“But—!”

Muttering in Spanish, Mia rubbed her temples. “They need some time alone now, okay? We gotta go.”

On the verge of tears, Aubrie hugged both Lucian and Kai. “Can I come back? Please?”

“Of course, honey.” Lucian hummed.

“Anytime.” Kai added with a soft pat to her head. “Now, go on. Mia missed you.”

That seemed to put her in the mood to go home. Grabbing Carl’s hand and wiping her teary eyes, she waved goodbye and smiled brightly. Mia said thank you a thousand times before they all headed back to the car, driving off slower and safer than usual. At least Mia kept that promise.

After the door shut, Lucian sighed heavily with a sleepy grin.

“That went well.”

“Mhm.”

. . .

“But it’s good to be able to do this again,” Kai hummed as he held Lucian close and kissed on his neck. He giggled and tried to squirm away, but his grip was too strong.

“Aaah! Don’t turn me into a vampire! Nooo!”

“Too late. You’re mine now.”

Lucian sighed lovingly and stopped fighting it. “Forever.”