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"Ranboo, are you ready yet?!" Tommy called from downstairs as Ranboo finished putting on their shoes, a pair of purple sneakers.
"Give me a minute," they replied, throwing the white sheet over their head to make up what was basically their ghost costume. They were aware it was probably one of the least original costumes they could’ve come up with, but hey, it was fun. Besides, the super elaborate costumes could be left to Eret anyways, who was dressing up in a full monarch costume that year.
They shot a quick text over to Tubbo, their queerplatonic partner, who lived across the street from Ranboo and the rest of their family. It read, “Tommy and I are ready to go trick or treating now, come over when you’re ready!”
Ranboo ran downstairs to where their foster brother Tommy was waiting at the kitchen table, pumpkin candy bucket in hand. He was dressed in a toilet paper mummy costume, his last-minute attempt at a costume that had turned out to be harder than the boy thought it would be.
“Ey, boob bitch, you’re finally done! You were takin’ forever up there, what were you doing, wrongun shit?”
“Nah, I just couldn’t find which sheet had the holes cut out in it,” Ranboo replied. “Where’s Wilbur?” They knew Techno and Phil were staying home to hand out candy, watching scary movies in the living room, but Wilbur was nowhere to be found.
“He went to Dream’s stupid Halloween party with Niki and Eret. Those things are always so loud though, plus at least one person always ends up crying in the bathroom over some stupid shit, so Tubs and I never go.”
“Yeah, that’s understandable,” Ranboo said. They were thankful Tommy didn’t want to go to the party, as Ranboo didn’t think they could handle a lot of loud noise or social interaction at a large party.
The conversation was interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell, signaling that Tubbo had arrived from across the street.
Ranboo ran over to open the door but immediately jumped back in shock once they saw what Tubbo was wearing, before bursting into laughter.
“Tubbo, what on earth is that?!”
“Oh God,” Tommy muttered from the kitchen, “not Gerald again.”
The costume that had caused such a visceral reaction from the two wasn’t anything about his outfit- it was just a flannel, a t-shirt, and a pair of jeans. No, it was the absolutely terrifying realistic horse head mask Tubbo had on, laughing his ass off at Ranboo’s reaction.
“Can’t believe my own partner doesn’t know anything about real fashion,” Tubbo said sarcastically, walking to the kitchen as Ranboo closed the front door.
“Can’t believe Gerald’s back again this year, I thought you were over this phase in your life after the beekeeper costume last year, big man,” Tommy said, shaking his head.
“Who’s Gerald?” Ranboo asked.
“This is Gerald,” Tubbo said, taking off the horse mask and placing it on the table so he could see better.
“That’s… great,” Ranboo said. Ranboo was not a fan of Gerald.
“Anyways, listen up big people!” Tommy said, slamming his hands down on the table, getting the attention of both Tubbo and Ranboo.
“Tonight, to celebrate the fact that this is going to be Ranboo’s first Halloween, I, Tommy Danger Kraken Innit Watson, have made it my goal to get as much candy as possible! This is definitely for Ranboo’s sake and not for any reasons that have to do with me at all!”
Ignoring most of Tommy’s proclamation, Tubbo turned to Ranboo and said, “ ‘Boo, this is your first time celebrating Halloween?”
“Yeah, my mom never allowed me to celebrate before,” Ranboo said, looking away. The only holiday that had ever really occurred in the Beloved household had been Christmas, and that was more just taking Christmas photos to paint the appearance of a happy family to outsiders.
“Don’t worry, I’m gonna make sure this will be the best Halloween you’ve had yet, even if Tommy here just wants to get candy,” Tubbo said, leaning his head on Ranboo’s shoulder.
“Hey, of course, I care about more than getting candy! I will not tolerate this slander!”, Tommy yelled.
“Well, I’m sure it’s going to be the best Halloween I’ve ever had, considering this is going to be the only one I’ve ever had,” Ranboo said, fidgeting with the ring on their finger that Tubbo had given them, months ago.
Tommy turned around to the kitchen counter, bringing out a crudely drawn map of the neighborhood, with the houses marked in red, green, yellow, and blue. “This, you guys, is my ultimate plan on how to get the most candy I’ve been doing some strategic-ing lately.”
“Strategizing?”
“What Ranboo said. I’ve marked each house with green, yellow, or red, based on how good and how much candy they give out is. Blue houses don’t give out candy. We’re gonna take this map with us and get as much candy as possible,” Tommy said.
“I’m thinking we visit the green-marked houses first, and then move onto yellow and red, right, boss man?” Tubbo said, tapping at the map as he worked out the route he would take in his mind.
“Wow, I had no idea how seriously you guys took trick or treating,” Ranboo said.
“Hey, we’ve got experience,” Tubbo said. “Do you think we should head out? It’d be a good idea to get out there early before it gets too dark and people start closing up.”
Tommy looked out the front window, where the sun had already set, the grayish sky of dusk visible. “Yeah, let’s go, c’mon.”
Ranboo called back to Phil in the front room as Tommy and Tubbo grabbed their candy buckets, “Phil, we’re leaving to go trick or treating!”
“Okay mate, make sure that you’re back by ten, okay? Be safe, call me if you need anything, alright!”
“Got it!”
The three walked out to the decorated front porch of the Watson house, bubbling with excitement. It had been Ranboo’s idea to set up the plastic skeletons in front of the house in silly positions, in this case, having a tea party. The pumpkins had been carved a few nights before, with Wilbur and Techno doing an elaborate carving of a haunted house, while Tommy and Ranboo’s just said pog.
“C’mon Ranboo, you can’t just stand there,” Tubbo said, taking Ranboo’s hand as the trio walked out of the yard to the first house on the list- the Halo household.
Despite his usual strict demeanor as the principal of Esempi High, Bad Halo and his husband Skeppy did not in fact give out apples or toothbrushes or whatever other “candy” that sucked- they gave out full-sized chocolate bars.
The group walked over, it was only a few doors down from the Watson house, and Tubbo’s house across the street. The house had been decorated with what appeared to be red vines, an interesting design choice. A fog machine was turned on as well, giving the house an eerie atmosphere.
Tommy pushed Ranboo towards the porch, saying "You go knock, he's given me detention before."
They walked up to the front door, tentatively knocking at the door with a series of sharp knocks.
The door opened to reveal Principal Halo, the demon hybrid dressed up instead as an angel, with a little halo and a pair of wings. His husband Skeppy was there as well, wearing a matching set of red horns with a little pointed tail. Skeppy did not look like he wanted to be there.
"Happy Halloween, you look so adorable in that," Principal Halo said to Ranboo in their ghost costume. He looked past the taller boy however to see Tommy and Tubbo standing behind Ranboo, using the Ender hybrid as some sort of human shield.
"Ah, and Tommy and Tubbo," he said, with less enthusiasm than before, and a slight hint of sarcasm.
The three held out their buckets and received the prized candy bars, and Ranboo said goodbye as the trio walked away from the house, excited for the rest of their night.
"Fuck yeah!" Tommy yelled, pumping his fists in the air.
Ranboo swore they could hear a voice from the house shouting "language!" but ignored it as the three made their way down the street.
They stopped at a few more houses, taking in their surroundings and getting more and more candy. Chocolate bars, gummy candy- it was all piling up in their buckets. Ranboo had no idea how they were going to eat all of it.
Familiar faces were all around, some with younger siblings, some heading to parties.
"Hey, Tommy, Tubbo, Ranboo!", they heard a voice shout.
It was Quackity, sat on the sidewalk with Karl. Quackity was in his usual outfit of a beanie and a blue tracksuit. Karl, on the other hand, was completely dressed up in a fancy purple jacket, with watches up his arms and a pair of goggles on his head. The two were laughing their heads off at something the beanie-wearing boy was showing Karl on his phone.
"Ey, Big Q!" Tommy said, going over to greet the pair.
"Wanna see this video of George twerking from Dream’s party? It just got posted,” Quackity said.
Ranboo blinked in surprise, this was not what they had been expecting when they had been called over, but Tommy nodded and Quackity turned his phone.
Ranboo could not describe the video they had seen in words. For lack of a better term, it was traumatizing. Maybe even worse than their mother.
The rest on the other hand had begun to burst into laughter, and Quackity put the phone down.
"Well boss man, we've gotta be heading off! See you later!" Tubbo said, and the group walked off.
"I don't think I can ever unsee that video," Tubbo whispered to Ranboo, who nodded in agreement.
They continued on their way to the next house that gave out the best candy, which was at the opposite end of the neighborhood from their starting point.
Tubbo was talking about which horror movies they wanted to watch that year, while Tommy was rambling on about how the decorations were supposedly not scary enough.
However, Ranboo's attention was diverted by the sound of something- wait, was that a child crying?
They stopped, asking "Wait, Tommy, Tubbo, don't talk for a second. I hear something."
Tubbo and Tommy nodded, looking confused before they heard what Ranboo had described.
"Is that a fucking kid?" Tommy asked, before screaming and jumping into the air as something pulled on his toilet paper bandages.
The three whirled around to see who had done it, and- oh. It was a small piglin boy, about 2 or 3, dressed in a chicken costume, crying.
"Oh my god, boss man, that's Micheal," Tubbo said.
"Micheal?"
"Remember that summer we tried to save up for that new console? I did a few babysitting jobs, and he was one of them."
Micheal however seemed to be completely ignoring Tubbo and Tommy, aside from his initial fascination with Tommy's bandages and walked towards Ranboo instead.
Ranboo crouched down and asked the small boy, "Hi, I'm Ranboo. Where are your parents?"
He didn't respond, only burying his head in Ranboo's arms and saying, " 'Boo." If water didn’t burn Ranboo, they would’ve burst into tears at how adorable this kid was on the spot.
"Ranboo we are immediately adopting this child," Tubbo said.
"What? We're not even legally married or eighteen, how are we going to adopt a child?"
"Eh. Child kidnapping. Surprise adoption. Same difference."
"Tubbo, you know I love you, but I am not about to kidnap a child for you," Ranboo said, standing up and picking up the boy.
"This is Tubbo," Ranboo said, turning him to face the goat hybrid, who by now had taken off his horse head mask.
" 'Bo."
"That child is disgusting, get him out of my sight," Tommy said, turning away.
"And this, Micheal, is Tommy."
"Mimi!"
It was at this moment that Tommy's heart metaphorically melted into a puddle of adorable goo.
"Oh my god, he just called me Mimi!" he said, looking towards the small boy with wide eyes. "But I definitely still despise him. One hundred percent."
"Sure you do," Tubbo replied, rolling his eyes.
"C'mon, we can't keep standing around here, we have to find his parents. Tubbo, do you remember where he lives?"
"Yeah, in that blue house with the rose bushes over on Twig Street."
"Twig Street? Tubbo, that's across the damn neighborhood!" Tommy said.
"Oh no, how will your frail grandpa legs survive," Tubbo replied, voice dripping with sarcasm.
"I'm more concerned about the time," Ranboo said, checking their phone. It was quickly nearing ten o'clock, and that was when they were expected to be back by. Plus, Micheal's parents were probably worried sick, they might’ve even called the police by now.
"Well, Ranboo, my beloved angel baby meow meow?", Tubbo said, using the faux sweet voice he did when they began this joke that Ranboo recognized well.
"What is it, Tubbo, my little cup of tea, my monster energy drink, my beloved kidney stealer?"
Tommy was not aware that Tubbo and Ranboo had a weird inside joke of calling each other the worst nicknames imaginable. Tommy just stared, looking like he had just witnessed a car crash. A car crash of the worst nicknames he’d ever heard.
"Okay, genuinely though," Tubbo said, taking Tommy and Ranboo's hands. "Are you ready to start running?"
Not giving the two a chance to respond, he started running, surprisingly more athletic than he let on. Tommy was running for dear life, pulled along by his friend, while Ranboo had a slight advantage due to how long their legs were, they still had to try to hold Micheal.
They ran past parents and trick or treaters, people walking their dogs, and people on their porches.
They passed by Dream's house, the music blaring with a crowd outside, so many people were there that they didn't all fit in the house.
Wilbur did a double-take as he saw what looked to be Tommy, Tubbo, and Ranboo committing a child abduction.
"Wait, slow down!" he yelled, but they just kept going. Wilbur started running after them, soon joined by Fundy, Niki, and Jack Manifold who followed suit.
The trio didn't notice the new additions to the chase and kept running.
Soon enough, others were also joining in.
Eret saw Wilbur running, and tried to catch up with him to see what was wrong. Foolish followed soon afterward, trying to catch up with Eret who was somehow running faster than he was- in platform boots.
Others from the neighborhood saw the commotion and joined in the chase out of some weird Halloween group hysteria, even a dog or two joined in.
So what Rose and Oliver Rotman were not expecting to see when they opened up their front door to go looking for their young son Micheal, who had run out of the house in his chicken costume, was a large crowd of people running to their front yard.
A large crowd of people consisting of random people from their neighborhood, some in Halloween costumes, a few dogs, and lead at the front by a lanky boy in a mummy costume, another boy in a horse head mask, and most importantly, a tall kid dressed as a ghost with Micheal in their arms.
“Micheal!” Rose cried, as Ranboo ran forward ahead of the group to give the son to his parents, leaving Tommy and Tubbo to turn around the see how large the crowd had gotten.
“Where the hell did you all come from?!” Tubbo said.
Finally, a voice spoke up, a voice the two recognized: Wilbur. “Why the hell were you, Tommy, and Ranboo taking that kid?”
“What? We were returning him home! Wilbur, big man, what are you on?” was the only thing Tommy could say, as the rest of the crowd broke up to head back home, Wilbur being left behind embarrassed.
Meanwhile, Ranboo was in the middle of reuniting Micheal with his parents, taking off their sheet ghost costume.
“Mama! Dada!” Micheal said, his arms outstretched.
“Here, you’re Micheal’s parents, right? Tommy, Tubbo, and I found Micheal when we were out trick or treating. How did he get that far?”
“Thank you so much,” Oliver said, taking their son in his arms. “You know how toddlers are, always running around somewhere. This little guy is fast.”
“And he seems to be asleep,” Rose commented, the small boy now fast asleep in his father’s arms.
“Yeah, I guess that would definitely tire out a toddler-” Ranboo replied, interrupted by the familiar sound of large, flapping wings.
It was Phil, who seemed to have flown over from the house, gently landing upon the lawn of the Rotman’s house.
“Kids, what have you been up to? It’s thirty minutes past ten, I was starting to get worried.”
“Sorry Dad,” Tommy muttered out, kicking the ground.
Phil looked towards the reunited family in front of him, and his Ender hybrid child who was very awkwardly standing there.
“Aw, mate, did you help find that kid?”
“Yeah, your child did. Thank you, Ranboo, Tommy, and Tubbo genuinely.”
“Yeah, no problem,” Ranboo said, looking away, not really a fan of all the staring that was going on.
Phil seemed to realize this, and said, “Well, come on, time to go home. Tubbo can come over for a sleepover if they want, Puffy said that it was alright.”
The group walked home, exhausted from the night they had, Tubbo taking off his horse mask. When they got home, they saw Techno at the dining room table, completely engulfed in a horror novel it was reading.
The three sat down on the couch as Wilbur went upstairs, and Tommy turned on the TV to try to find the movie they’d be watching- the one he and Tubbo had watched every single year since they were allowed to watch horror movies.
“I’m gonna go upstairs for a minute guys, gotta go change out of my binder and my costume. Jesus Tubbo, don’t do that running thing again- my ribs will literally snap like twigs.”
“Ah, sorry Tommy,” Tubbo apologized.
“Yeah, to be fair, can’t be worse than that time at summer camp.”
“Can’t be worse than that time at summer camp,” Tubbo nodded in agreement.
Ranboo had given up trying to understand the conversations between that pair sometimes- it was almost like they were speaking telepathically.
Tommy ran up the stairs, while Tubbo asked, “So, Ranboo how do you think your first Halloween turned out?
Taking Tubbo’s hand in their own, Ranboo said, “It was nice. I didn’t expect to actually enjoy it.”
“I didn’t expect to find a kid,” Tubbo laughed, before leaning his head on the taller’s shoulder.
The moment was interrupted by Tommy running back down the stairs, jumping on the couch beside the other two, selecting the movie.
“What movie are we watching?” Ranboo asked.
“Rubber. It’s literally about a killer tire,” Tubbo explained.
“Huh,” Ranboo said, yawning as the opening credits came on.
The trio eventually ended up in a large cuddle pile instead, ignoring the plot of the movie behind them as they fell asleep ten minutes in. It really had been a good Halloween- for all of them- even if it had involved some incidents along the way. Ranboo wouldn’t have given the night up for the world though. No way.
And so the three were safe, and cozy in each other’s company that night- just as it should be. Just as they deserved.