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Trick or Treating had been going well, the children going without a meltdown far longer than Fitz had expected. Dusk was dimming into night and decorations upon the houses began to glow with a purpose as the air became littered with the sounds of Halloween. Maisie skipped ahead in her little candy corn witch ensemble as Fitz stayed just a few paces behind, his four-year-old son, James, clutching tightly to his hand, his little feet pitter-pattering on the sidewalk and his jack-o-lantern basket clunking as they tried to keep up with Maisie’s pace. Every now and again, James would push up his Harry Potter glasses, the frames just ever slightly too big for him so they slid down his nose.
“Maisie monkey, don’t get too far ahead!” Fitz called as the little girl rounded onto the front path of the next house. “Wait for your brother and me!”
Looking over her shoulder at her father, Maisie halted. Her face was bright as she rocked on her feet trying to keep herself in place as her excitement at more candy boiled over. Fitz quickly caught up to the little witch and the moment he came in line with her she bolted to the door, standing on her tip-toes to reach the bell.
The door swung open to reveal Mrs. Baird, their lovely down the road neighbor. Fitz adored Mrs. Baird as the old woman made some of the best gingerbread he had ever tasted in his life and she was rather sweet with the children.
“Trick or Treat!” Maisie called the moment the door was completely open.
“Oooh! If it isn’t Miss Maisie May Fitz-Simmons. Don’t you look absolutely adorable!”
“I’m a witch!” Maisie sang, rocking from her tip-toes to her heels proudly, the movement causing the golden curls under her hat to gleam.
Mrs. Baird nodded her head at the girl brightly before turning to Fitz with a smile, her eyes drifting down to where James was retreating behind his father’s leg, his blue eyes staring up through his lashes shyly.
“You’re a whole family of witches I see,” Mrs. Baird chirped sweetly, peeking her head around at the little dark-haired boy.
James sucked in the side of one of his cheeks as the opposite corner of his mouth ticked upward. “I’m a wizard.”
“Ah, I see. Oh, the candy! How could I forget!” Mrs. Baird leaned over to the side of the door where she must have been keeping the candy bowl, swinging out the plastic dish towards the children for them to take some of its contents. As each of the little Fitz-Simmons took their piece from the bowl, James having to be slightly pushed forward like he had been the whole evening, Mrs. Baird turned her attention towards their father.
“And are you a wizard as well?” the old woman asked with a grin.
“Ah, no. Jemma tried to get me to where the hat out but I can’t remember quite where I put it.”
“How convenient.”
“Whatever do you mean, Mrs. Baird?”
The woman gave him a teasing glare and a little tongue click as the children bounded back down the path to their father, James once again reaching up to grasp onto Fitz’s hand.
“What do we say?” Fitz reminded, shaking his son’s hand lightly as he looked at Maisie.
“Thank you!” the two children chorused, earning them a beaming look from their neighbor.
“You’re quite welcome. Have a Happy Halloween.”
“You as well,” Fitz called over his shoulder as his children turned him around and started walking back towards the main street.
They continued on house to house, the darkness of night becoming more apparent as they went. Each interaction followed in much the same way, Maisie bouncing up the path first with confidence while Fitz and James followed her lead. When they got to the house on the corner, however, James stopped suddenly, tugging his father back and pulling at his jacket sleeve.
“What is it, bud?” Fitz asked as a look of fright froze the little boy’s face. “Maisie,” Fitz called as his daughter continued on with a purpose, “wait, please. Maisie! Listen to your da and wait!” Maisie, who had been blatantly ignoring her father, her mind too focused on the lavishly decorated house in front of her, stopped up ahead on the cobblestone pathway that lead up to the spiderwebbed red door.
“What is it, James,” Fitz asked his son again, kneeling down so he was at eye level. The boy simply shook his head, his little pointer finger drifting up towards the house. Standing outside was a frightful looking figure in a pumpkin mask, his arms draped around a t-shaped post. The scarecrow’s grin was illuminated every few seconds by a flash of lightning and there was thunder blasting from a speaker somewhere in the yard.
“Scary,” the boy whispered as he readjusted his round glasses. His face quickly looked around his father’s shoulder, taking notice of where his sister stood waiting, before dropping his gaze down in embarrassment.
Fitz gently placed his palm on his son’s pinked cheeks, swiping his thumb across the bone just under the rims around his eyes.
“It’s okay to be scared, monkey. I’ve been scared of things plenty of times. If you don’t want to go up there you don’t have to.”
James nodded once more, looking as though he felt a little better, and Fitz dropped his hand from his son’s face, planting a kiss on his head before standing up. After James had once again gripped his father’s hand for comfort, they continued towards Maisie.
When they reached the witch, Fitz lightly put his hand on his daughter’s shoulder. “James is sitting this house out, Mais. You go on ahead.”
She blinked rapidly as she nodded, a manifestation of her excitement to ring the doorbell, but she cast a quick glance at her baby brother.
“Don’t worry, James,” she hummed, catching his frightful glance at the scarecrow, “I’ll brave the monster for both of us.”
After making quite a show of moving around the figure, her eyes never leaving the decorative pumpkin’s face, Maise reached the front door, jumping in place and beaming at her brother. Once again on her tip-toes, she rang the bell.
“Trick or Treat!” she called as a middle-aged couple, dressed extravagantly for the holiday, answered the door.
“Another witch in the neighborhood, I see,” the woman laughed, tilting her own black pointed hat appreciatively and causing Maisie to positively beam with pride for her costume. The woman held out the bowl for Maisie, letting her choose from the vast array of candy.
“May I take one for my brother?” Maisie asked after she had tucked her choice of candy into her jack-o-lantern. “He was frightened of the monster outside and so I told him I would brave it for the both of us.”
The woman looked over the top of Maisie’s yellow, orange, and white hat and quickly spotted Fitz and James. Fitz was standing just at the bottom of the path, waiting patiently for his daughter, his free hand in his front pocket. James, meanwhile, was tucked just behind his father’s pant leg, his eyes shooting from his sister to the scarecrow, as if he was ‘watching her six.’ The older witch looked down at Maisie with a sweet little gleam in her eyes.
“Yes, you may.”
Maisie returned the woman’s grin and picked out James’ favorite kind of chocolate calling a loud thank you before rushing down the path.
“Here James!” she said, handing the chocolate over to her brother, making sure that he got to put the candy into his pumpkin himself.
James grinned at her, his small fingers lightly taking the offered candy. “Thank you, Maisie.”
It wasn’t long after that that the children’s, and Fitz’s, feet grew tired. Plus, there was soup and cider waiting at home that Fitz was not about to miss a second helping of. When they finally reached their own front door, Maisie burst up the pathway like she was on a rocket-broom before leaping gracefully into the house as the door swung wide.
“Look at what we got!” the little witch called into the living room, James on her heels as Fitz closed the door.
“Well, come on and show us,” Mack laughed as Maisie came to stand by his side.
Maisie smiled brightly, reaching into her stash for something very specific. “I picked out one just for you,” she said, revealing the candy she had been looking for and handing it to her uncle.
“Thank you, honey bee,” Mack grinned as he took the piece of candy.
“What about me?” Daisy asked, inhaling dramatically with her mouth open wide.
“I got you one too!” The little girl skipped over to her Aunt, depositing a treat in her hand. Daisy scooped up the girl into a hug, kissing her cheek and only releasing her when the girl said she had to give one to Aunty May.
James joined the gift-giving before both children kneeled down on the rug to organize their hauls, swapping candy where needed. Daisy fell off her chair, coming to lie down on her stomach to join the kids.
“Fitz?” Jemma called from the couch as the conversation continued on, her head tilted back towards the kitchen and the tip of her lace-covered witches hat bending as it hit the wall.
“Just getting some soup!” he called back, his voice muffled by the wall between them.
Jemma scrunched her nose, “How long does it take to get soup?”
“Not that long.” Fitz entered the living room, a bowl of soup in hand, and Jemma burst into a fit of giggles.
“I see you’ve found the hat,” she gushed, gently pulling her husband to sit. He took a bite of soup, shrugging his shoulders lightly as he placed the bowl back down. Jemma rolled her eyes as he came to sit back into the couch and she reached over to adjust the blue and silver-starred wizard’s hat perched on his head, tilting it back a bit so she could see his face better.
“You’re a very handsome wizard,” she whispered, her eyebrows shooting upwards quickly before falling back down and a little smile ticking up her lips.
Fitz kissed her cheek, causing their hats to collide. “You’re a very beautiful witch.”
Just as Jemma was about to lean in to capture her husband’s lips, Maisie squealed loudly.
“Mummy! Look! We got a whole pack of Maltesers!”
“Which you best share with your da,” Fitz said, mock-serious as he leaned forward. Maisie responded by scrunching up her nose and pursing her lips but still smiling.
If the Maltesers were anything to go by, it had been a successful bout of Trick-or-Treating.