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“Mum!”
“What is it, dear heart?”
“Are Douglas and Skip going to be here soon?”
“I don’t know, Arthur.”
“D’you think they’ll dress up?
Arthur’s hair was slicked back and he had fake blood smeared around his mouth. Carolyn had taken his false fangs away after he nearly choked on them while attempting to eat a Jaffa cake. Arthur was disappointed, but at least she had let him keep his cape, even after Snoopadoop had latched onto it and refused to let go.
The doorbell rang and instantly Arthur was rushing from the kitchen to the foyer, before whipping back to face his mother. “Someone’s here! MUM! Can I please have my fangs back just to scare them?”
“No!” Carolyn snapped, exasperated.
Arthur ran off again to answer the door.
“Hercules, come here and assist with this rubbish you call food!”
“By rubbish could you possibly mean the vegetables I’ve prepared for myself so I won’t starve in this meat filled nightmare?” Herc drawled smoothly, nodding his head to the oven where a ham was roasting.
“Perhaps. Here,” she thrust a silver platter of vegetables into his gloved hands.
“Oh, hello, Herc… Might I say how… regal you look today. The crown certainly is a nice touch.”
“Thank you, Douglas. Splendid… suit. What are you supposed to be?”
“I’m the Master,” Douglas announced from the doorway of the kitchen, straightening his black suit jacket.
“Oh, Doctor?” He called, almost singing the last word.
Arthur came bounding out of the foyer with Martin in tow. “Ah, there you are.”
Martin had on a brown pinstriped suit and a long coat. His hair was gelled up into a dozen or so cowlicks and he had chunky glasses on. He gave a little wave of greeting to Herc and Carolyn. Douglas looped an arm around his waist and pulled Martin to him, pressing a kiss to the side of his cheek and smiling a smug smirk at Herc.
“OOO!” Arthur cried out. “Everyone’s wearing coupl-y things… but me.” He frowned momentarily before brightening once more.
“Mum and Herc are King and Queen-“
“In that order,” Douglas muttered. Martin giggled.
“It’s Supreme Empress and her…” Carolyn paused.
“Minion?” Douglas put in.
“Shut up, miserable underling.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“And Skip and Douglas are the Doctor and the Master!”
“Who chose that one then, Master?” Herc asked, adjusting his crown.
“Leah,” Martin and Douglas answered in unison. Leah was Douglas's teenaged daughter. “We lost a bet.”
The doorbell rang again and instantly Arthur was on his feet.
“Steady on, Nosferatu.” Douglas said lazily, reaching over Martin to grab a drink from the table next to the cooker.
“Trick-or-treaters!” Arthur shouted gleefully, rushing back to the door.
“Hello, hello, hello!”
The adults in the kitchen shared equally fond and exasperated looks.
The small gathering moved to the sitting room (or as Douglas would say, the familial gathering moved to the vestibule). The newness of Douglas and Martin’s relationship was apparent in the way they both rarely moved from arm’s reach of one another and sat squashed together on the fairly decent sized sofa. Carolyn, on the other hand, would never bask in Herc lazily slinging an arm around her shoulder as Martin seemed to, snuggling deeper into Douglas.
Arthur soon bounded back into the room.
“Scare the kids, Arthur?” Martin asked tiredly, resting his head against Douglas’s chest.
“No, not really. Are you feeling okay, Skipper?
” “I had to-“ Martin yawned, his jaw cracking, “move stuff today. Three desks, two filing cabinets, so many chairs and boxes…”
Douglas let out a quiet hum of agreement, rubbing his thumb in small circles where his hand rested on Martin’s side.
“The kid’s costumes though! They were-“
“Brilliant.” The group intoned dully.
“Yeah! They were brilliant! There was a lion and a Buzz Lightyear and a devil!”
“Truly terrifying.” Herc said flatly. “Shall we eat?”
“There’s food?” Martin slurred a bit, perking up from where he’d almost dozed off.
“What, did you think we’d have you eat candy like man cub over here, of course there’s food?”
Martin was on his feet, stretching, in a millisecond, and waiting rather impatiently for his lover to do the same.
“Easy there, Love, you’d think I was starving you,” Martin flushed faintly pink.
Soon, they were all seated at the table, tucking into a large ham
. Herc was now seated with a large mound of grayish, lumpy mashed potatoes with four celery sticks and an apple.
“It’s one of those pig things that’s the whole pig not just bits! You know, with the apple in its mouth?” Arthur announced cheerfully as he placed it in front of him
. “A suckling pig…?” Herc said faintly.
“Yeah! ‘Cos, you know, you don’t eat meat.”
“Thank you, Arthur.”
“Welcome!” Arthur had said before devouring some of the ham he had piled onto his plate.
Herc hadn’t the heart to trash Arthur’s latest creation and dutifully picked at the attached vegetable and fruit.
“Looks delicious, Herc, shame I can only eat this juicy, succulent, savory,-“
“Yes, alright, I get it, thank you, Douglas.”
Martin giggled, but sobered quickly at Herc’s quirked brow. He coughed. “Sorry… Oh! The bell! Arthur, come and give me a hand!” Martin fled the room with a shout at Douglas to behave and Arthur on his heels.
A loud burst of shrill laughter sounded from the foyer followed be a squirt, loud swearing, and the door slamming shut angrily.
Martin and Arthur returned to the kitchen, Martin red faced and Arthur grinning from ear to ear.
“What… what h-happened!?” Carolyn managed to get out between her laughs.
Both Arthur and Martin were covered in whipped cream.
“Little brats,” Martin growled, marching over to the sink.
“M-Martin,” Douglas choked between hearty guffaws. “Y-you’ve, you’ve got something on your-“
“Shut up, Douglas!”
“Snoopadoop! No!” Arthur shouted as his noble cockapoo began licking his face clean, pouncing on him once he sat down.
Herc and Carolyn were both gasping for air and Douglas was by Martin’s side at the sink, handing him a dry towel.
“Urgh, I feel sticky!” Martin groaned.
“I wager now’s not the first time you have,”
Douglas muttered into his ear, grinning as Martin flushed puce.
“Douglas!” he squeaked indignantly. “Not in front of Arthur! Or the dog! Or my boss! OR HER BOYFRIEND!”
“What’s he done now?” Carolyn rolled her eyes.
“Nothing! Nothing!”
“Made a lewd comment, Sir’s not okay with,” Douglas supplied dutifully.
“Pilots! Not in my house!” Carolyn commanded.
“Yes, Carolyn,” Douglas said, leaning in to nip Martin’s burning earlobe.
The rest of the night passed in much the same manner with less whipped cream covered pilots and more of a hyperactive Arthur until it broke up, finally around midnight.
“We have a flight tomorrow,” Martin reminded Douglas. “We need to go straight to bed.”
“Straight to bed?” Douglas asked as they were leaving.
“Perhaps not, straight to bed,” Martin said, smiling widely as they both exited Carolyn’s house with a final wave to the couple inside and the steward asleep on the sofa.
“That’s my lad,” Douglas purred, resting a hand on the small of Martin's back.