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It was a perfect October afternoon. Fives and you had just gotten back from the pumpkin patch with two gorgeously golden pumpkins just begging to be made into jack-o-lanterns, plus a big jug of freshly-pressed cider and three tiny, misshapen squash you’d taken a fancy to. The squash had struck Fives as hilarious; he’d irreverently named them Cody, Wolffe, and Fox and, much to your consternation, scribbled each name onto the bottoms of them in his wobbly handwriting. They were displayed precariously on your dining table now, surrounded by fake leaves and discreetly propped up by bits of cardboard that Fives had pulled out of your recycling bin. Lucky for you he had a knack for engineering, you reflected.
You picked up the steaming mugs of chai tea you’d prepared and slowly carried them out to the porch, nudging the front door open with your knee as the tea sloshed precariously.
“Thanks,” Fives said, reaching up to take his mug without so much as looking up from the pumpkin he was scraping out.
There was no way you were going to let him spill scalding tea on himself. You set the mug beside him instead and sat down carefully, cradling your own mug.
“Have you figured out what you want to carve yet?”
“Somethin’ scary, definitely,” Fives said. “Just real scary.”
“Uh-huh, that’s the same thing you said when you picked it out. That’s not a design, Fives, that’s just a vibe.”
“Eh. I’ll figure it out.”
Fives attacked a particularly stubborn bit of pumpkin gut with vigor and you squawked as juice sprayed all over your arm.
“Fives!”
“What?” He looked up, entirely unrepentant. “Hey, speakin’ of which, what’re you doing with yours?”
Sticking your tongue out at him, you wiped at your sticky arm. “I was thinking about a wolf.”
“That’s nice,” Fives said. Then - “Wait a minute, a wolf? Are you serious?”
“What? Wolves are cool and Halloween-y.”
Fives narrowed his eyes at you suspiciously. “Wolves are a Wolfpack thing.”
“No they’re not! They’re a werewolf thing.” You narrowed your eyes back at him. “Fives, are you jealous?”
He scoffed loudly, looking for all the world like a petulant child, and you had to hide your grin behind your mug.
“I promise it’s just a werewolf thing.”
“It’d better be,” Fives said, pointing his pumpkin-covered spoon at you accusingly. “If you’ve got a new best friend in one of that bunch you can kiss your cuddling privileges goodbye.”
You gasped and clutched at your chest dramatically. “And miss out on your hugs? I could never.”
“That’s good.” Fives started scraping again, his buoyant mood back. “Hey, you want a hug right now?”
He dropped the spoon to open his sticky arms wide, a mischievous grin on his face, and you scooted back hastily.
“Don’t you dare get pumpkin all over me!”
“Oh, c’mon,” Fives said. “It’s not that bad.”
“Yeah, it is. You’re slimy and you stink.”
“Wow. I’m offended.” Fives looked down at his nearly-empty pumpkin. “Are werewolves scary?”
It took you a moment to realize why was asking. “Yeah - you can’t copy my idea, though! You have to think of your own.”
“Okay, fine.”
Taking a last sip of your tea, you set the mug down and leaned over to pull your own pumpkin towards you. The two of you worked in companionable silence for a few minutes. You glanced up every now and then to watch Fives, his brow furrowed in concentration and his tongue poking out of the corner of his mouth adorably. He finally threw down his spoon and stretched happily.
“Finished!”
“It looks good.” You set down your own spoon and picked up his pumpkin. “It looks really good, actually.”
It was almost ridiculous how perfectly smooth he’d gotten the inside of the vegetable. There wasn’t even a single stray string of pumpkin guts. You looked dubiously at your own work. Sure, you weren’t done yet, but there was no way you were going to get it that precise. Noticing your hesitation, Fives pulled his pumpkin out of your hands with a smile.
“I’ll do yours if you help me think of a design.”
“Really?” you asked hopefully.
“Sure!” Fives patted your hand, getting even more pumpkin juice on you. “But it’s gotta be scary.”
“Sweet. Hmm, let me think about that for a minute.”
You wiped his hands on his shirt and he smacked your hands away.
“Hey! What was that for?”
“You’re already covered in gunk; it’s not like a little extra is going to make any difference,” you laughed. “How about Captain Rex when he hasn’t had his caf? That’s scary.”
“You’re severely overestimating my artistic capabilities,” Fives said, but he laughed all the same. “That is pretty scary, though.”
“Hmmm.” You picked up your tea, realized it had gone cold, and put it down again regretfully. “A wookie holding a severed arm?”
“Gross,” Fives said cheerfully. “I’ll consider it.”
“The chancellor in a bikini?”
Fives gaped at you for about half a second before throwing his head back and roaring with laughter.
“That’s horrifying.”
“Right?” You smiled smugly. “It’s probably too complicated, though, and we don’t want to traumatize the trick-or-treaters.”
“Eh, a little trauma is good for them,” Fives said.
You flicked pumpkin gut at him. He didn’t even flinch.
“Well, if you can actually do it, be my guest.”
“Mmm.” Fives shook his spoon off and inspected his work carefully. “I don’t think I could make it recognizable.”
Neither of you spoke for a moment as you thought and Fives scraped away at your pumpkin.
“I have it,” Fives said suddenly. “I’m gonna do Commander Fox without his caf.”
“Really?” You tried not to sound too doubtful, but you couldn’t imagine how he was going to pull this one off. “But you said you couldn’t do that with the captain.”
“Yeah, but I’ve been struck with inspiration,” Fives said, and he winked at you as he handed you your pumpkin.
Smiling, you rolled your eyes.
“Looks great, Fives, but now I feel bad that you went to all that work and I didn’t even come up with your design.”
“It’s all right.” Fives stretched before jumping to his feet. “I don’t mind doin’ it. Besides, I wouldn’t have gotten the idea if it wasn’t for you. Wanna go make dinner before we start carving? I’m hungry.”
“Sure.”
He helped to your feet and started picking up the utensils and mugs scattered around the porch. You tried to pick up one of the mugs only to have Fives gently pry it out of your hand. Taking the hint, you stepped back and let him finish cleaning up.
“I’m not doubting you, but I’m still not sure how you’re going to carve Commander Fox,” you said.
“You’ll see,” Fives said and winked again. “It’s gonna be the most gorgeous jack-o-lantern you’ve seen in your life.”
_____________________________
Later that night, you stood outside with Fives, admiring the two jack-o-lanterns flickering on your porch. He had his arms wrapped around you to protect you from the chilly autumn air, and when you glanced up at him, you saw that he was beaming proudly at his creation.
You had to hand it to him, it was definitely creative. Next to your beautifully carved wolf in silhouette against a glowing full moon, his pumpkin sported a sort of equation. There was a simple cutout of a fox, then a plus sign, and lastly a cutout of a mug on its side with a roughly outlined puddle underneath it.
“Told you I’d do it,” Fives said happily. “Commander Fox plus spilled caf. That’s definitely the scariest thing I’ve ever seen.”
You laughed and snuggled closer to him. For a first attempt at a jack-o-lantern, your best friend had done a pretty good job.