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“How did you manage to find pumpkins, this close to Halloween?” Achilles asks, holding up a small, admittedly lumpy, pumpkin.
Patroclus had just come back from the grocery store. He was out getting food for the week and ingredients for his last Halloween themed video. Just little finger foods, spooky-themed for Halloween parties.
Achilles opened one of the bags, discovering two more pumpkins. All of them were weird, atypical shapes, so that’s probably why he was able to find them so close to the holiday.
“Nobody wanted them,” Pat says. “Isn’t that sad?”
Pat doesn’t like food waste. Things usually end up in the compost bin outside, reused for Achilles’ garden.
Achilles hums in agreement as he sets the three small pumpkins on the counter. “Are we going to carve them?”
“We’re carving pumpkins?” Zagreus suddenly speaks up.
Achilles and Pat turn, unaware that Zagreus has come out from his room. Zagreus has been living with them for about two weeks now, so while they’ve gotten used to his presence, he still has a habit of sneaking up on them. His footsteps are just so damn quiet.
“I’d like to try to,” Pat answers.
Zagreus nods as he steps up to the island. He’s still in his pajamas, despite it being after lunchtime.
“I haven’t carved a pumpkin in a long time…” he comments.
“Oh? Then we’re definitely doing it,” Achilles says with a smile.
It makes Zagreus crack a smile. He’s been steadily warming up to them. The first few days were quiet, and he spent most of it in bed. He still lounges in pajamas or sweats most days, but at least he’s up and moving. He still carries this somber aura, no doubt exhausted from all that he’s gone through. That means, though, that Achilles and Pat have been making it their mission to get the lad to smile more. So far, they’ve been fairly successful.
“You guys have the house all decorated… is there going to be room?” Zagreus jokes a little.
“There’s always room on the patio for pumpkins.” Patroclus replies.
They go all out for the holidays. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas… Pat bakes and Achilles decorates. It’s how it’s always been.
“Of course,” Achilles agrees with a nod.
And that’s that.
Zagreus had been eager to get started, but now that the knife is in hand, he’s stalled. Next to him, Achilles is drawing a design with a marker. Pat’s at the sink, washing the seeds from the pumpkin he just gutted. Zagreus glances at both of them, lips pressed into a flat line.
“I don’t know what to do,” Zagreus says finally.
Achilles looks up at him, hand stilling just above the surface of the pumpkin. His is turned away from Zagreus, on the other side of the island, so Zagreus doesn’t know what he’s outlining.
“Can I see what you’ve got?” Zagreus asks. He starts to lean forward to catch a glimpse.
Achilles laughs, quickly pulling his pumpkin close so Zagreus can’t see. “It’s a surprise.”
Zagreus huffs, one corner of his lips turning down into a pout.
“What are you doing Pat?” Zagreus twists to look at Pat.
Patroclus laughs as well. He swirls the colander under the stream of water from the sink. The seeds click as they slide against each other. The pumpkin guts left are in a bowl off to the side. Tomorrow, Pat will make pumpkin bread and that video will go up in November, beginning the month off with autumn (non-spooky) themed recipes.
“It is also a surprise,” Pat replies.
Zagreus’ pout deepens as he murmurs, “that’s not fair…”
Achilles snorts, going back to drawing.
Zagreus glares down at his little lopsided pumpkin. His mind is empty. No thoughts. No ideas. Hmm…
Achilles eventually picks up his knife, getting to work. Pat spreads the seeds across a baking sheet and slides those into the oven. Zagreus still stares at his pumpkin.
Finally, it comes to him.
Foolishly, without drawing, he sticks the knife into the pumpkin and starts.
“Done!” Zagreus exclaims.
He turns the pumpkin around with a flourish. Pat and Achilles look up, both of them still working on their pumpkins. Pat’s eyebrows furrow in confusion. Achilles’ head tilts as he studies the pumpkin.
“God, lad, what is that supposed to be?” Achilles asks after a few beats of silence.
Zagreus frowns. “What, you can’t tell?”
He looks down at his work. It’s obvious to him what it is. It’s a skeleton.
To Achilles and Patroclus… it’s something else. One eye is larger than the other and the whole thing is lopsided. Its teeth are weirdly shaped and the head is both round and jagged. It is… oh this is mean to say, but it’s ugly.
“I…” Pat trails off.
“Um…” Achilles tries.
“It’s a skeleton,” Zagreus says, a whole lot less satisfied than he just was.
In tandem, Achilles and Pat slowly nod, whispering out an ooohhh…
“I see it now,” Pat says, “... is it supposed to make you think?”
“Ah, like a modern art piece?” Achilles asks, picking up Pat’s teasing joke.
Zagreus frowns, but he’s trying to hold back a laugh. “No--!”
He pouts, studying his pumpkin. Well, he’s proud of it. He can’t remember the last time he carved a pumpkin, so he thinks he did a pretty damn good job!
“Well what are you two doing?” He asks, crossing his arms over his chest.
Achilles turns his pumpkin, revealing an expertly carved tombstone. He’s carving out other tombstones as well, creating a little cemetery scene. Pat turns his own as well. He’s working on carving out the branches of a barren tree in front of a crescent moon. There’s even a few stars poked into the skin of the pumpkin.
Safe to say, both of theirs are far more elaborate and well done.
Zagreus’ pout deepens. “It’s not fair. You two do this every year!”
Achilles and Pat laugh.
“It still looks fine, Zagreus,” Pat says, still chuckling. “It’s got character.”
Zagreus huffs, but smiles anyway. He’s not all that annoyed, actually. It was nice. Yeah, he hated the feeling of pumpkin guts mushing between his fingers, but it was a pleasant experience. For the past two weeks, he’s felt a bit like he’s intruding on Patroclus and Achilles, so for Pat to buy him a pumpkin… it feels… good.
That’s really the best word he can come up with right now.
The oven beeps, signaling that the pumpkin seeds have been roasted. Pat sets his knife down to go get the tray. Achilles gets back to carving. Zagreus hangs out, out of things to do but not wanting to leave.
He’s content to spend time with them. He’s content, for the first time in a long time.