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Sulu couldn’t believe what he was hearing. It was pretty much a national pastime, and Chekov had spent at least some of his childhood here. How on Earth had he never gone trick-or-treating?
But here he was, shaking his head. “Nyet. I have never donned a costume and gone door-to-door asking for treats.”
Sulu leaned back against the wall before pulling a knee up to his chest. “You know, you’re still young enough.”
Chekov blinked. “I am?” he asked.
“I mean, most kids give it up when they’re twelve or so, but it isn’t unheard of for a fifteen-year-old to go out. I mean, we can see if there are some kids of some of the professors who need a chaperone, and you and I can dress up and volunteer to take them.”
“You would go with me?” he asked giving his friend a strange look.
Sulu grinned. “I didn’t get to do it too often growing up, usually because I almost always had something scheduled on Halloween when I got older, but it was fun. I wouldn’t mind having a chance to do it again.”
Chekov gave him one of the brightest smiles he had ever seen cross the kid’s face, and then he hopped off his head and began pacing in between their beds. “There is so much to plan for! We must think of costumes, and wrangle children, and then plan a route, and--”
“We’ve got time,” Sulu said, shaking his head. “We’ll figure it out.” He gave his roommate a grin, glad to see he was so eager. He hadn’t ever really looked forward to Halloween as a kid, but this year, it might be different.
--–
They decided to do a matching costume set, and after researching all sorts of old popular culture throughout the years, they settled on a classic duo that was called Green Hornet and Kato. Chekov was worried it seemed rather racist, but as they learned more they realized the original television show was far more groundbreaking than the rather insipid movie that was made some time later, and Sulu said he’d be proud to dress as a character that had once been portrayed by a man as amazing as Bruce Lee. Plus, it made them look intimidating to the gaggle of children their professors at the Academy were glad to foist on them. They had recruited Chekov’s friend Maria to help, and she came dressed as another popular character from that time, Emma Peele from The Avengers television series.
Chekov was nearly as giddy as the children were to go to various homes and ask for treats. Sulu and Maria did as well, just so it did not seem abnormal, and all three of them were rewarded with all sorts of treats. There was the occasional apple or toothbrush, but their bags were soon filled to the brim with candy. The children they had in hand certainly had known all the good places to go, as though they had a network of their own. And when they heard Chekov ad never gone trick-or-treating before, some of them even shared the best of their loot, which made Chekov teary-eyed and thanking them in a mixture of babbling English and Russian blessings.
Finally, the two of them were back in their dorm with more treats than they really knew what to do with. Chekov was sitting on the bed, piles of food in front of him, separating it all out, while Sulu reached into his bag and searched around for something that looked interesting and promptly ate it. He watched Chekov. “Picking the best for tonight?”
“Rationing it out,” he said, not looking up from his sorting process. “I want to make it last. I am allowing myself only a small amount each day. Some of the best and some of the not-so-best each day. A healthy assortment.”
Sulu grinned. “I’m just going to gorge.”
Chekov looked up at that. “You won’t get sick?”
“You’ll probably get half this sack by the end of the week,” Sulu said with a laugh. “I’ll be sick of looking at Halloween candy by then. But not until I get all the good stuff first.” He rummaged through and got another piece of candy, unwrapping it and popping it in his mouth. “So. Did you have a good time?”
“Da,” Chekov said with a nod. “Do you suppose we can do this again next year?”
Sulu nodded his head back and forth as he chewed his candy. “Probably. Sixteen’s a little old for trick-or-treating, but you’re making up for lost time. I don’t think anyone will mind.” He swallowed his candy and then picked out another piece, a chocolate covered pecan and caramel cluster. “Try this,” he said, tossing the candy to Chekov.
Chekov caught it with a little trouble, then unwrapped it and took a bite before moaning and finishing off the rest quickly. “This is wonderful,” he said, speaking with his mouth full. “It is caramel and chocolate and...pecans?”
Sulu nodded. “I’m allergic to pecans. I have any more of these in my bag, I’ll send them your way.” He thought for a moment. “Maybe you can give me anything with cherries or cherry flavor? That’s kind of my weakness. Chocolate covered cherries are the way to my heart.”
“Done,” Chekov said before he swallowed. “And do you want the lemon drops? I am not a fan of lemons. Too sour.”
“I’ll take those,” Sulu said, pulling his bag towards him and beginning to rummage through it. “Maybe you can take the lollipops? Not my favorite type of candy.”
“Deal!” Chekov said, abandoning his candy sorting process and beginning to pick out the candy that Sulu had asked for. After a moment, Sulu dumped his bag out on the bed and began going through it more thoroughly. Next year could be pretty fun if this year was any indication, he realized. There were definite perks to having a teenager for a best friend, and this was one of them.