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“I’m home,” Sollux called as soon as he’d passed the threshold and shut the front door securely behind him, relieved to be free of the frustrations of the world outside, the world that prevented him from sharing so much of his life with the one dearest to him. Most of the time, anyway. Halloween night was a different story.
“I have a surprise for you,” he continued as he stepped deeper into the house. Aradia’s house, actually, but with her on a long-term research trip out of the country, it was his for the foreseeable future, so much more comfortable than his old apartment. And, of course, the company helped. As soon as Sollux entered the living room, spotting Eridan curled up with a book in his favorite armchair, a wide smile spread across his face.
“A surprise, you say?” Eridan set the book down in his lap, tilting his head in curiosity. Perfect dark curls falling over his forehead black and violet. His glasses were slipping down the bridge of his nose a little, making him look so unbearably adorable that Sollux wanted to pepper kisses over violet-freckled cheeks until his fins wiggled. “What kinda surprise are we talkin’ here, Sol? Because that Taco Bell place you brought me food from was fuckin’ atrocious, I got no clue why you humans like it.”
“It’s not Taco Bell,” he promised with a roll of his eyes, going over to perch on the arm of Eridan’s chair. “Which is delicious, by the way, you just have no appreciation for junk food. This surprise is way better. Today’s a special day.”
That got a huff out of Eridan, one eyebrow arching imperiously. “Clearly not special enough to keep you from goin’ out all afternoon and leavin’ me alone.” Honestly, sometimes Sollux hated how good he’d gotten at English in just a few months. So much less sass back when his vocabulary was more limited. Though, he had to admit the sass was part of Eridan’s charm just the same.
“Oh, shut it, I barely ever go into the office. Bet you spent the whole time I was gone reading anyway. Wouldn’t you rather hear about what today is than pick a fight?” He pouted a little in the way he knew Eridan liked, the way that emphasized his human vulnerability so starkly against the alien strength Eridan had at disposal. He liked that Sollux wasn’t afraid of him, he could tell. He’d been scared that first night his ship crashed in the backyard, but never since, no matter how much Eridan growled and bared those sharp, shark-like teeth.
“Yeah, alright, suppose so. Go on and tell me.”
“It’s Halloween. The holiday of all things spooky and unusual. People dress up in costumes, pretend to be something they’re not. Especially monsters. You know what that means, right?”
Eridan leaned in a little closer to him. His big, wet violet eyes shone with something like hope, as if he was afraid to voice his thoughts in case they were wrong. After a few seconds of quiet, Sollux took mercy on him and gave him the answer.
“We can go out. Everyone will think you’re just in a really high quality costume, so you can finally see a little of the town, get fresh air somewhere other than the backyard.” The isolated, private location of Aradia’s house was a true blessing; he had no idea how he would have managed Eridan’s stir-crazy irritation if he couldn’t set foot outside at all. This would be wonderful for him, Sollux knew it. He felt himself tensing as he leaned closer still, waiting for a reaction.
“Really?” Eridan breathed, inches away from him. Close enough that Sollux could hear the slight hitch of his inhale, see the way he was nearly vibrating with enthusiasm. “It ain’t gonna cause too much of a stir? But you said humans are real sensitive to anyone who seems weird or dangerous.”
“Really, it’ll be fine. You won’t wanna get too close to anyone or talk to them if you can help it, but from a distance, we can pass it off as a costume, especially with you mostly covered. Some people can do wonders with makeup. It’s not that strange to see someone who goes all-out for Halloween. So what do you think?” he prompted, giving Eridan a gentle nudge. The sun was already setting, faint golden rays still streaming inside for a little longer. The youngest kids were probably already out trick or treating, with the older ones soon to follow once full darkness set in. “There’s a corn maze we can go to, and I think they’re supposed to have some other events too, like pumpkin carving and bobbing for apples, all typical Halloween shit.”
“Yeah. Let’s do it.”
As they crossed the parking area near the corn maze, Sollux kept Eridan’s gloved hand gripped tightly in his own, silently willing everyone else to stay well clear of them. With his other hand, he adjusted his borrowed cape, silky violet fabric draping majestically around him and making him feel like the royal Eridan claimed to be back on his home planet. Eridan’s cape and a cheap witch’s hat didn’t make for the most impressive costume, but the idea of going out had only occurred to Sollux earlier that day—not much time to prepare. Besides, plenty of couples were like that, he figured. One partner super crazy about Halloween and the other merely indulgent of them.
“There’s so many humans,” Eridan whispered to him, squeezing his hand tighter. He was cold even through the gloves hiding his gray skin and sharp claws.
“And none of them are looking at you,” Sollux whispered back. “Great, right?”
Eridan gave a quiet scoff, almost a growl. That noise went right to the pit of his stomach, hot and tense with anticipation at the knowledge that he’d definitely be biting him for that later. The cold autumn night hardly seemed to touch him.
“Never thought I’d agree with such a fatuous statement, but right now, yeah.”
“Wanna try out the corn maze then?” he asked, motioning in the direction of the entrance. It didn’t seem overly crowded, mostly parents with kids who might be frightened of Eridan anyway. “Then we can get hot cider when we’re done, maybe some doughnuts if you want.”
Eridan nodded, beginning to wander with him over in that direction across the well-trodden grass, but then he stopped, pointing in the direction of a couple young kids bobbing for apples, surrounded by a small throng of onlookers.
“What’s that? Are they tryin’ to hold their breath underwater for longer or somethin’? Landdwellers are so fuckin’ bizarre.”
“No, they’re not trying to hold their breath. It’s bobbing for apples, it’s kind of an old-fashioned game. Kids try to catch apples in the water with their teeth.” He shrugged, remaining still for a moment before starting to continue to the corn maze again, fingers still interlocked with Eridan’s. But Eridan wasn’t moving, still looking over at the metal tubs of water with a thoughtful expression on his face.
“Anythin’ involvin’ water is somethin’ I gotta be the best at, y’know, Sol.” His expression had morphed from merely thoughtful to deadly serious. Sollux’s mind was clouded with images of alien death games, the military training Eridan had mentioned undergoing, the slaying of massive beasts to keep his planet safe from the whims of an eldritch monster. The cold, lifeless look in his eyes was a little scary, an intensity that would be difficult to attribute to colored contacts if anyone were to get too close to them right then.
Eridan wasn’t dangerous though, he had to remind himself. Even if he was accustomed to horrific levels of violence back at home, he wouldn’t go on some sort of rampage and start harming humans over a game. He didn’t even have that fuck off huge gun with him.
“It’s for kids,” Sollux said anyway, tugging again at his hand. “Wigglers,” he added, remembering the alien word for it. “You don’t actually want to play it, do you?”
“Can’t I?” Regrettably, Sollux was a sucker for a pleading look in wet, fishlike eyes. He sighed, looking again at the children and the fact that there was a free tub without anyone crowded around it yet. Accepting the fact that he’d essentially been consenting to the possibility of public humiliation the moment he’d first offered to take Eridan out, he shrugged.
“Yeah, okay. I guess so. Just be careful.” And just like that, they were plodding off in that direction, Sollux with far less enthusiasm than Eridan. It was cute seeing him so uncharacteristically excited about a children’s game, especially one that didn’t really allow for his usual insistence on a pristine, dignified image, but he just knew people would end up staring.
And stare they did. Sticking as close to Eridan’s side as he was, Sollux could feel it too, the eyes settling on the grown man kneeling down in front of the cold, dubiously sanitary tub of floating apples. Eridan handed him his glasses, which he dutifully folded up and held for him, and then he was ducking his head down.
“Oh, um, you could’ve taken the fangs out first,” said the volunteer supervising, phone in hand. “I can restart the timer if you want.” Eridan, however, acted as if he didn’t hear her, arms firmly behind his back as he chased apples like a man on a mission, determined to beat the kid at the next tub over, who Sollux figured couldn't have been more than ten.
“It’s fine,” he said on Eridan’s behalf, putting aside his loathing of talking to strangers. “We basically had to glue them in and we’ve got a party to go to later. He wouldn’t want to take them out.”
Blissfully, the girl didn’t ask any more questions. There were still the judgmental gazes of parents to contend with, surely wondering where Eridan got the unsportsmanlike nerve to compete against their children. Sollux shifted awkwardly from foot to foot, back turned to them, but he could still feel the prickling against the back of his neck, through the high collar of his borrowed cape.
Then Eridan emerged from the water with not one but two apples impaled on those razor-sharp teeth at once. In a rather comical display, given his fangs embedded in the apples hanging from his mouth, he grinned triumphantly, and what could Sollux do but grin back at him? Just like when he was first teaching Eridan English words a few months ago, pointing at things and motioning for the strange alien to repeat after him, Eridan’s victories were his own.
There was still time on the clock though, no opportunity to celebrate yet for more than a moment. The kid kneeling in front of the other tub was still trying to get his first apple, dusky blonde head peeking up to spot Eridan before diving down again with increased fervor. Eridan, treasures set aside, did much the same, submerging his head fully underwater to trap apples against the bottom for leverage.
Sollux eyed his scarf nervously, the ends of it neatly tucked in so as not to get wet, and hoped it wouldn’t slip down to reveal his gills. The fewer things he had to make up stories about, the better. Mercifully, as if acceding to the wishes of his clenched hands, worrying over the lines of Eridan’s glasses, the knit fabric remained in place when Eridan captured a third apple, a fourth.
He got a fifth the instant before the teenage volunteer called time’s up, grinning wildly with cold water dripping from his face. The kid, whose one retrieved apple had splashed back down into the water before he could get his head all the way up, screwed up his face and began to sniffle-sob at the unfairness of it all.
Eridan just kept grinning at him as he stood and brushed imaginary dust from his pants, paying no mind to the kid’s mom glaring as she brushed past. He had the good sense not to brag too openly of his victory, at least, accepting his prize—a small ghost plushie—with solemnity before pressing it into Sollux’s hand and taking his glasses back in exchange.
“For me?”
“Yeah. Gotta give my mate a gift on our first real date, don’t I? Wanted to get a sixth apple so it’d be an even number for you. Can’t believe I didn’t manage it.” He pouted a little then, such a fetching expression that Sollux swooped in and pressed a kiss to his still-wet lips, cold as the depths of the sea.
“You were so close. You would’ve done it with just a few more seconds, but five is still pretty fucking impressive.” He hugged his ghost closer against his chest, pleased with it.
“Told you I’m the best at anythin’ havin’ to do with water. I made that wiggler fuckin’ cry over my superiority, did you see that, Sol?” Eridan’s voice ten was just a little too loud, getting carried away with his own excitement, and Sollux grimaced, elbowing him pointedly in the side, right against his gills so he’d pay attention.
“Quiet down, you dick. Making kids cry isn’t something you should be bragging about unless you want to start a fight. You’re just going to make a scene.” Not that Sollux had any sort of fundamental aversion to being a dick, per se, but he hated strangers paying attention to him in public, doubly so when that attention was negative. Quadruply so when it could put Eridan’s safety in jeopardy.
Eridan wilted at the scolding though, making his heart clench painfully in his chest. “Humans are so sensitive about the most bizarre things,” he grumbled softly, though his eyes were searching for approval, or more accurately, forgiveness, the whole time. Sollux gave it, winding his arm around his waist and drawing him in close as they entered the corn maze. Later, when they got back to the house, he’d kiss his gills in apology and enjoy the way he squirmed.
“It’s okay. Don’t look at me like that. I’m just warning you.”
They wandered through the maze at a sedate pace, not in any particular hurry to get through. It was advertised as haunted, but given the young age of the event’s target demographic, the effect of costumed volunteers occasionally springing out of the corn or making eerie, ghostly noises was rather blunted, nothing frightening enough to get a good scare out of either one of them. That suited Sollux just fine though. The little interruptions in their date were annoying enough as it was, making him wish they could just walk in peace.
“Did you have anything like this at home?” he asked softly, careful not to mention Alternia by name. No telling who might be listening, he thought.
“Mazes through fields of crops?” Eridan replied, nudging against him gently. Sollux gripped his ghost a little tighter to keep from dropping it.
“No, dumbass. Well, I mean, sure, maybe that too, but I meant holidays like Halloween. Do you celebrate anything similar?”
“Not really. We didn’t have a whole lot of major holidays. 12th Perigee’s Eve, wrigglin’ days, some meaningless imperial holidays... Most other celebrations were local affairs, shit someone you knew made up and a group of you went along with. Nothin’ with any empire-wide significance, really.” He shrugged, like it didn’t mean much, and Sollux felt another shivering twinge that had nothing to do with the cold wind rustling the corn stalks.
“That’s too bad.”
“It was just life. Didn’t know no different. Besides, maybe it was different for some, but I was always too busy to care much about that kinda thing anyway. Didn’t have the privilege of a lot of time to fuck off and go play like the other wigglers. I had important responsibilities.” Barely flinching when a young man splattered with fake blood leapt out from between the corn stalks, Eridan straightened up to his full height, gently nudging against Sollux again.
“Yeah. You’ve told me about that.” A meaningless phrase, intended only to give him permission not to go into it again. When Eridan had told him about his role as... Orphaner, he’d called it, it was obvious he didn’t relish discussing it, no matter how much of an honor it was supposed to be in his culture. “Now you can learn all about human holidays. Might not be able to go out around town for all of them like this one, but I’ll bring them to you. Make sure you can enjoy them.”
“Thanks, Sol.” Eridan stopped in his tracks, prompting Sollux to stop too, right there in the middle of the muddy path through the corn maze. Cold arms wound around him in a hug, squeezing him like a boa constrictor. “You know...” And he paused then, burying his cold face into his neck so Sollux couldn’t see what sort of expression he was making. “The research you’ve been tryin’ to do about gettin’ me home. You can stop it now. Could’ve a while ago, if I’m bein’ honest.”
Heart slamming against his ribs, all Sollux could do was hug him fiercely in return, drawing in a breath that felt shakier than it should have.
“Sounds like a plan to me.”