Chapter Text
Today is going to be a good day , Enid reminds herself, holding back a snarl as a roaming pack of screaming school kids jostles her and the mound of pumpkins and crazy-shaped gourds in her arms. They’re laughing and sprinting through the pumpkin patch set up out front of one of the local farms, wreaking havoc while all the adults ignore them or watch in disapproval.
It reminds her of home.
She forces herself to think of things she loves instead like hot chocolate, colorful autumn trees, and Wednesday wearing her new, hand-made scarf. A grin instantly spreads across her face. She almost lets out a tiny squeal just thinking of it.
She had been a little nervous about it -- the snood was not very well received and ultimately destroyed after it had been sacrificed -- but the scarf was different. Or maybe they were. Wednesday had just pulled on another one of her oversized jackets and she couldn’t help it. She’d wanted to wait but Wednesday might get too cold tonight… That thought had her rushing to where the scarf had been hidden in her closet behind the “garish monstrosities” that Wednesday would never dare touch.
The scarf was black, of course, except for the small skulls crocheted throughout in a contrasting white. Enid could tell that the more conventional accessory was appreciated by Wednesday’s softening features and when she’d tried it on at her urging, Enid had to contain herself to not squeeze the tiny Raven after seeing how cute she looked all bundled up.
There’s a cool breeze ruffling her hair, tossing it up, and tickling her nose enough that the urge to itch it is almost overwhelming. She cranes her neck to rub her face with momentary vigor against the shoulder of her fluffy burnt orange sweater. It’s just enough of not looking where she’s walking that Enid lists a little to the side -- narrowly avoiding a Faceless man carrying his own much more manageable pumpkin duo -- and squeaks out a rushed apology.
The man nods at her as they step around each other and continue walking. Before they can more than a few feet away, there’s a tingling sensation in her head and she hears a surprisingly cheery voice from the new mental link between them. “No worries! I’d struggle to see with all those in my way too. Love your hair by the way!”
“Oh, thank you so much!” Enid calls out over her shoulder. Turning back to her pumpkin pile in her arms, warmth stirs in her chest as she grins.
Yeah, today is going to be a good day.
Halloween in Jericho is an almost reverent holiday. Most townies enjoy their own normie traditions -- many of them that Enid also adored like trick-or-treating -- so there is always a buzzing energy.
She winds her way through the rows of pumpkins toward the small fold-out table set up with the perfect amount of cute Halloween decorations and a single cash box. The middle-aged woman behind the desk has a graphic tee of the farm’s name covered in spider webs. When she sees Enid approach she’s quick to get up and start grabbing bags.
“Oh, honey, let me help you. How did you even manage to carry so much?” The woman immediately starts fussing. She takes them one at a time from Enid’s arms and strategically stacks them in mismatching plastic grocery bags.
“I’m stronger than I look,” Enid says with a polite smile. “It’s more awkward to carry than anything.”
The woman gives her a genuine, impressed look that has her practically preening. “Are you throwing a carving party or something?”
“Sorta. I wanted to do something fun and festive with my roommate. She’s totally into this sort of thing.”
“Aw, that’s so sweet. I just love it when people get into the holiday spirit!”
Right… Wednesday is totally into the holiday portion and not the cutting and artful mangling of pumpkins part.
“These bags should help but I’m worried the handles might rip.” Enid watches as the woman pauses after bagging everything, eyeing the three full bags before letting out a huff of a laugh. “I didn’t count. How about $20 for all of them?”
“Oh, I think I grabbed twelve or thirteen different--”
“That’s fine, honey. What my husband doesn’t know won’t kill him.” She laughs lightly. “I’m just glad you’re going to be enjoying them with someone you care about. Happy Halloween to you and your roommate.”
“Wow, thank you!” Enid grabs out her sequinned wallet and unzips it. Mortification begins to set in as she opens a few more pockets before shyly asking, “Do you take card?”
-//-
“Wends!” The door to their shared room in Ophelia Hall has barely opened a crack before it slams open with a bang as Enid barrels through. Thing just barely manages to dive out of the way before getting squished. Taking a breath, she adjusts the grocery bags on her arms and gently shuts the door with a sheepish smile to both Thing and her roommate who’s already shooting her a sour look. “Sorry… I got a little too excited.”
Thing just waves her off and half signs something quickly about Eugene before scurrying to the small vent near the edge of her stuffed animal pile and disappearing within.
“Clearly.” Wednesday glares at her over the back of her desk chair, an open book momentarily abandoned on the table. Her brows are only the tiniest bit crinkled and her little frown is more cute than threatening. Enid’s basically a pro at reading Wednesday by now and she’d say that the seer is only mildly annoyed. Enid just shrugs it off.
“It’s a werewolf thing!”
“It’s a werewolf thing.”
Enid blinks at Wednesday in surprise when their voices blend in almost perfect sync.
“Jinx!”
“Jinx.”
“OMG!”
“Ohemgee.”
“How are you doing that?!” Enid says, dropping the bags off on her bed on her way to the seer’s side. “Did you see this in a vision? What’s coming to get us? Should I be scared?”
A subtle sniff doesn’t reveal anyone hiding nearby but who knows what danger could be lurking if her roommate saw something. There was one time over break when Wednesday called to tell her to be careful in the woods around her house. She’d seen a territory dispute before it happened and Enid managed to avoid the worst of it even as her brothers came back nursing wounds and hurt pride. Honestly, the worst part had been her mom raging about losing six acres of land and the lingering foul mood for about three weeks. Enid spent a lot of time those few weeks catching up with and visiting old friends that were a town over.
So far, nothing Wednesday has seen in a vision has ever been wrong or not happened. But Wednesday would have warned her if she was in danger. She believes that wholeheartedly.
It’s mostly a joke when she unsheathes her claws to swipe at invisible intruders. She makes it into a silly dance/fight sequence because she’s still determined to make Wednesday Addams laugh eventually. She finishes another slash at thin air that cleverly disguises her perimeter check before locking eyes once more with Wednesday. No luck on a laugh but there is something else. Her roommate has an odd look that Enid can’t identify on her face as she slowly stands up and approaches as if in a trance.
“Wednesday…?”
The lack of response isn’t entirely unexpected since Wednesday still likes to try to creep her out sometimes but there’s a weird air about her that has Enid worriedly checking her over.
Nothing looks out of place. Wednesday is wearing her oversized checkered sweater-vest long-sleeve combo and some comfortable black pants to combat the autumn chill. Her braids look perfect and her bangs are as fluffy as usual. The skull-patterned socks are new but definitely worth mentioning at some other time.
Wednesday pauses in front of her — almost too close , Enid thinks when she gets a clear glimpse of the light dusting of freckles on Wednesday’s face that makes her want to squeal. Her heart picks up at the seer’s proximity and she forces her hands to stay still by her side.
Since the hug last spring after everything that had happened, there had been even more light touches. Wednesday allows her to grip her arm while walking or press against her while seated in the Quad. Or maybe there had always been this quiet ease between them and Enid is just hyper-aware now that each brush of a hand or tight embrace sends her into a tizzy.
Her not-so-little crush definitely needs to chill out. Now is not the time.
Wednesday is looking at -- no, through her -- like she can’t even see her and Enid wonders if this is what her vision precursor looks like or if she should mentally prepare for something worse. She goes to take a step back just to put some space between them as Wednesday lifts a hand toward her and is much too slow for the seer’s reflexes.
A cold hand latches onto her forearm and Wednesday’s head snaps back as she falls into a vision. Her legs give out beneath her and Enid is quick to put that werewolf strength to good use as she catches Wednesday and gently lowers her to her ground, pulling her into her lap. The gap between them is gone and she distantly wonders if that’s too much for Wednesday.
The seer just stares blankly at the ceiling as the vision holds her captive.
After almost a minute of stillness, Enid can’t resist fixing Wednesday's askew bangs and gently massaging the back of her neck. Every vision looked so painful and this one was no exception.
Of all the things they discussed over FaceTime calls during summer break, Wednesday’s visions were about as equally ignored as Enid’s parents. Both were topics neither of them really wanted to broach more than a few short comments. All Enid knew about Wednesday’s visions was that they hadn’t stopped but they hadn’t sent her on another murder investigation either.
Yet.
It takes almost another minute before Enid realizes that Wednesday’s stare is no longer focused on the ceiling but on her. Her hand instantly freezes its soothing motion.
Before Enid can even open her mouth to start spewing apologies for pushing her boundaries, Wednesday says, “You’re predictable.”
“What?” Enid asks, bewildered and lost.
“You have words and phrases that you use frequently and your behaviors are even more certain than the lunar cycle. I knew that you would catch me if you believed I was seized by a vision. I was proving that I am right, per usual.” Her dark eyes glitter with mirth and the little quirk of her lips might as well be an outright grin for Wednesday.
Enid isn’t sure whether to laugh or shove the girl off her lap petulantly.
She settles for a teasing quip when Wednesday makes no move to get out of her lap and that makes her immensely happy. She even dares to give her hand a light squeeze. “That’s a whole lot of words just to say you love and trust me.”
“Don’t put words in my mouth.”
“Am I wrong?”
“I always say what I mean.” Wednesday’s voice takes on a haughty tone which for someone as dexterous as her is the clumsiest conversational dodge Enid’s ever heard from her roommate. “Those saccharine sentiments are something that Thing or my parents would express. Not me.”
“You’re so full of shit, Wednesday Addams.” She can see Wednesday putting on a faux frown. She makes a valiant effort to make her face that blank and slightly annoyed combo that Enid’s only ever seen replicated on some cats. She must have a death wish as she says, “Everyone knows you’re just a big softie now.”
And then boops Wednesday gently on the nose. With that, her fate is sealed.
Faster than possible, Wednesday slips her freezing hands below Enid’s sweater and her fingers dig into her sides. Squeals of laughter leave Enid’s lips as she twists and turns and attempts to wiggle away from the seer. Wednesday is shoved from her lap and catches herself before her head hits the wooden floor, smoothly flipping over before she rises to hover over Enid’s prone form menacingly. Or as menacing as she can with a fully formed, playful smirk and outstretched fingers wiggling like a threat. “I am a master of torture techniques, Enid. You so frequently forget that.”
“I’m so scared.”
“Garagalesis is not something I am well versed in so I’m pleased to have someone to practice on.”
“That means you’d have to touch me volunt-AH!” Enid’s cut off by a squeal as the Raven descends on her. With her werewolf strength, she could easily push the other girl off of her, literally throw her across the room if she wanted, but she lets Wednesday pin her and continue to tickle her.
Wednesday is just as merciless as Enid expected. It isn’t until she’s gasping for breath with tears streaming down her face and howling about needing to pee that Wednesday relents. The little self-satisfied smirk on her face looks ridiculously good. Enid nudges her roommate off her hips before she does something silly.
Enid giggles between breaths and props herself up on her elbows, looking at Wednesday with a laugh-drunk smile. “You’re in a playful mood today. I like it.”
“I feel a bit foolish,” Wednesday admits, fixing her askew bangs and sitting beside Enid. She glances away and that’s more telling than anything else. Wednesday’s embarrassed. “But I ruined the last day that you planned for us to do together by pulling a knife on the ring-toss worker—“
“Still totally uncalled for. Everyone knows those fair games are rigged.”
Wednesday frowns. “I don’t lose.”
Enid snorts and sits upright, crossing her legs in front of her. “But you did and now you’re banned from the Fall Festival forever. You’re lucky you didn’t get arrested!”
“It’s highly likely the ban will only last until the end of this event schedule and we could try again next year.”
“We’ll see.” Enid’s face softens for a moment as she pauses before saying, “You know you don’t have to change anything about yourself for me to enjoy hanging out with you, right?”
“Of course. I’m just… testing out a new evolutionary stage. I haven’t yet decided if it will survive but the results were promising.” Again, another glance away. “What did you purchase from the store?”
“Oh!” Enid jumps to her feet and practically skips over to the bags. She dumps out the contents and lets them roll across her bedspread. “I got pumpkins and gourds to carve! There are traditional orange ones, white ones, and all these funky-looking gourds. They didn’t have any black ones and I wasn’t sure which you’d like so I got a ton. I still have all the art supplies from the Poe Cup so we can totally paint some of these if you want.”
Wednesday approaches and studies the spread.
“I figured you’d like it since we’d be using knives and there would be plenty of guts even if they’re just from vegetables.”
“Yes, it sounds like I would enjoy it. My family has a similar tradition but pumpkins are not the subject.”
Enid squints at her roommate. “You’re being vague on purpose.”
Wednesday continues with a smirk, “The normies at my old schools enjoyed pumpkin carving contests so I’ve seen some juvenile examples.”
“Oh no,” Enid pouts, pulling out her phone to look up some classic jack-o’-lantern faces. “Did they look like this? Because I was just going to try something really simple. Maybe a heart or flower.”
Wednesday leans in to scrutinize the photos. After a moment, she shakes her head. “No, these are significantly better. You will make adequate carvings with these references.”
“That’s only if I can imitate them well enough…”
Wednesday picks up a classic orange pumpkin with a relatively uniform shape, examining it closely before setting it back down. “As long as you are proud of your work, does it matter what others think of it?”
“Well, I care what you think.” Enid busies herself with looking for the paint supplies she tucked under her bed from the Poe Cup race and ignores the faint heat in her cheeks.
“Rightfully so,” Wednesday says and the intentional inflection has Enid grinning. After brushing off dust bunnies, she pulls a worn cardboard box filled to the brim with various paints, glitters, and brushes out. She immediately pulls out the can of black paint and sets it by Wednesday’s feet like an offering.
In return, Wednesday holds out a hand to help her up.
“Thanks, bestie,” Enid says as she brushes off the dust that gathered on her sleeves. “Do you have an idea of what you want to make with your pumpkins?”
“Yes… but I don’t think you’ll like it.”
“I’m scared to even ask….”
“Every year, my brothers and I animate pumpkins to scare trick-or-treaters. I typically just instruct them to falsely predict ominous occurrences and share them. Last Halloween, Pugsley instructed his pumpkin to scream if anyone approached the threshold of the manor.” Wednesday smiles to herself as she picks up one of the gourds. “It was entertaining.”
Enid can’t help her own endeared smile and has to squeeze her hands behind her back in order not to reach out and squeeze the other girl instead. When Wednesday glances at her, she rolls her eyes at the werewolf’s visible restraint. She leans her shoulder briefly into Enid’s space just enough to apply light pressure before straightening.
“I wouldn’t want to create such a disruptive decoration if you did not appreciate it.”
“Yeah, please no screaming pumpkins. If you want to animate it, that’s cool with me. My only other request is that it doesn’t whisper creepy shit to me while I’m trying to sleep.”
“Deal.”
-//-
With the carving well underway, the two roommates have fallen into a rhythm. One would carve while the other would decorate. Soft music plays in the background, a mix of spooky classical compositions and festive low-fi songs.
Enid is attempting to carve a bird when the knife slips and a white-hot flash of pain radiates from her hand. She yelps and drops everything, the pumpkin rolling to the side while the knife clatters against the hardwood floor. Wednesday is suddenly right in front of her staring intently at the blood beginning to flow from the wound.
“Are you ok?” The Raven hovers over her, not quite reaching out.
“Yeah… just stings. Can I borrow your first aid kit?”
“Of course.” But Wednesday hesitates. “You can say no--”
“Oh boy, I don’t like the start of that sentence…” Enid tries to laugh.
“You can say no, but can I use your blood to animate the pumpkins?”
“Omg, Wednesday, that’s so unsanitary!”
Her roommate regards her with a raised eyebrow. “What do you think the primary component for animation was?”
“I don’t know! I’m not a divination expert like you!”
“It’s transmutation, actually.” Wednesday watches the blood as it starts to run down Enid’s arm in a thin trail. “So?”
Enid huffs. “Fine.”
Wednesday immediately grabs the first aid kit from her desk drawer and returns. She selects thin gauze and soaks up the blood quickly before efficiently dressing the cut with a fresh bandage.
“Better?”
“Almost…” Enid holds the bandaged finger out toward her roommate. “A kiss would make it better.”
Wednesday eyes the finger with a tiny frown before gently grabbing the werewolf’s wrist and placing a delicate, feather-light kiss atop the bandage. She lifts her head but doesn’t let go of Enid’s wrist. “Hopefully this hasn’t ruined our time together yet again. If it’s any consolation, the animated pumpkins will only take commands from you since your blood is being used. You may say whatever to them you wish.”
Enid barely even registers that Wednesday’s talking at all. She can still feel the gentle pressure of the Raven’s lips and not a single coherent thought is running through her head.
Wednesday’s brows furrow. “Enid?”
“Yeah! Totally great!” Enid almost physically shakes herself out of her stupor. Her wide grin feels manic.“I’m still having the BEST time with you.”
Wednesday hums thoughtfully and leans forward again, slow and with her dark eyes locked on blue ones. Everything in Enid’s body freezes when Wednesday’s lips press a kiss to the back of her hand and linger. Another kiss higher to the bend of her wrist has Enid stifling a gasp.
Wednesday breaks eye contact to lightly rub the dark lipstick from the werewolf’s skin which only spreads the stain further. It looks like a fresh bruise.
“All this time, if I wanted silence I just needed to kiss you?” Wednesday asks with a small smile. Enid’s heart literally stops. “Breathe, Enid.”
The werewolf blinks rapidly, a deep flush to her cheeks, and follows the gentle command. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make it weird.”
“Have I made you uncomfortable?”
“No! N-no, not at all. I… um, I liked it.”
Wednesday finally lets go and turns her back. Her shoulders tense minutely as she seems to wrestle with her next words. “I would not be opposed to … exploring this further if you are willing to take this slow.”
“Oh, Wednesday,” Enid breathes. “That would legit make me the happiest girl in the world. Can I hug you?”
The Raven turns and nods and that’s all Enid needs to push herself up off the ground and pull the other girl into her arms. Wednesday is quick to wind her arms around Enid’s body and tug her just a smidge closer so their chests are flush together. With the sound of Wednesday’s rapid pulse rate, Enid thinks that this crush may not have been as one-sided as she had been thinking.
Yeah, today is the best day ever.