22-Oct-2001
Title: The Babysitter - Trick or Treat!
Authors: Wufei is WHAT?!? Productions (Yoiko and Tzigane)
Fandom: Gundam Wing
Type: Humorous Fic-stuffs ~_^v
Spoilers: None
Rating: PG-13? Not sure.
Pairings: None, really. ^_^
Archive: Gundam Wing Addiction
C&C: Please, feel free. ^_^
Warnings: Cuteness. Halloween hijinks. Spooks, costumes, rocks.
Disclaimers: We don't own Gundam Wing, and the Gundam Wing characters are used here without permission. This is a work of fanfiction, intended solely for entertainment purposes, and is not meant to be taken as a claim to copyright for the elements in the story which were not created by us. Also, we intend no disrespect whatsoever towards the creators and rightful owners of Gundam Wing.
If you're already familiar with our Babysitter series, you should know about what to expect. Brace yourselves for the horror! The terror! The Babysitter group - Halloween style!
It could only be brought to you by Wufei is WHAT?!? Productions.
"Treize! Hurry up, dear, they're here!"
Treize Khushrenada grimaced. "Coming, Mother," he said, and took one last look at himself in the mirror. Thankfully, the freckles sprinkled across his nose were pale enough to be almost unnoticeable; as long as he refrained from laughing, smiling or talking, the braces wouldn't have the chance to ruin the effect either. His suit and cape were impeccable, and the ghostly white half-mask made his Phantom of the Opera costume complete. He gave one last, careful pat to the fresh, perfect rose in his lapel, then swept out of his room and down the grandly curved staircase.
The entire house was decked out in autumn shades for the season, with tasteful arrangements of leaves, pinecones, miniature pumpkins and gourds gracing the entryway and the huge ballroom, which had been cleared of all furniture except for the buffet tables at the far end, and the chairs placed strategically against the wall for weary dancers. The scents of hot apple cider, mulled wine, pumpkin and spices filled the air, and the early arrivals stood chatting easily together while a zombie band warmed up in the background.. Treize spotted the Maxwells dressed as Marie Antoinette holding her own head - the dress's sweeping skirts were wide enough to conceal that Mrs. Maxwell was stooped over to be the head, and if one didn't look too hard, one wouldn't notice Mr. Maxwell's eyes peering out through the overstuffed bosom. It was an ingenious costume, and likely to win the costume contest yet again this year, but it certainly looked uncomfortable for Mrs. Maxwell.
There was no sign of the Changs yet, but Mr. and Mrs. Yuy were there, dressed as Tarzan and Jane (Treize didn't want to think about how Mrs. Yuy had talked her husband into that... but he did have to admit that, with his wild hair and muscular physique, Mr. Yuy looked the part). Mr. Winner was also present, garbed as a Viking, and his wife made a frighteningly good Elvira, Mistress of the Night. Speaking with them were the Peacecrafts, garbed as Cinderella and Prince Phillip from the Disney version of the story -- surely Relena's idea, if ever she'd had one! The Annual Khushrenada Masquerade Party was going to be as grand as always... and Treize was expected to entertain the children, as he had done for the past two years.
As he came to the last step of the staircase, the sound of Duo Maxwell's laughter rang out over the voices of the adults and the sound of the band tuning up, and Treize seriously contemplated turning right back around and running upstairs to hide in his room. His mother raised an eyebrow at him, and he sighed deeply, and walked into the Pit of Hell... or, more precisely, the family room, where the children were all watching "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" and waiting for the festivities to begin.
"HAHAHA! He got a rock AGAIN!" a small Grim Reaper howled, and as the little one fell over laughing, Treize spotted the end of Duo's braid poking out of Death's hood. The boy's face was completely hidden under skull makeup, so aside from the vivid violet eyes, the braid was the only way to identify him.
"That's not faiw," Trowa complained. Treize hadn't seen the Bartons at the party, but their son did have a mysterious way of showing up for these things. Trowa was dressed as a clown -- baggy pants, suspenders and a broken clown mask -- for the third year running. "He said 'Twick ow Tweat' same as the othews."
"Poor Charlie Brown!" Quatre said, on the verge of weeping, his expression completely incongruous, considering he was wearing a Rambo costume, complete with rubber muscles (his father worried about his son growing up to be a sissy, and had refused to let him dress up as a mermaid). Treize stepped into the room and patted the blond head gently, and Quatre turned to smile up at him.
"Ith it time to go Trick-or-Treating?" the little Rambo asked, and Duo and Trowa leaped to their feet, scrambling for their goodie bags.
"Not yet," Treize said. "We're waiting for Wufei."
"And us," said a familiar voice behind him, and Treize shuddered. "You weren't going to leave us behind, were you, Freckle-Snoot?"
"Ladies don't get left behind," Relena Peacecraft said, sweeping grandly into the room and curtesying. "Especially Pink Fairy Princesses."
"You dressed like that last year," Duo remarked.
"I did *not!* Last year I was a BLUE Fairy Princess and this year I'm a PINK Fairy Princess! There's a big difference!"
"Yeah, whatever."
"You don't say 'whatever' to a lady," Relena said sternly.
"Wasn't talking to a lady," Duo replied.
"You-! You take that back, you little death boy! Or I'll make you *really* dead!" Relena jumped on Duo and began flailing at him with her magic wand in a very un-Fairy Princesslike way, and Treize pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Looks like you're off to a great start, Freckle-Snoot," Miri said, peering up at Treize from under the brim of his black Zorro hat. Aside from the long, silky fall of blond hair tumbling over his cape, he looked every inch the masked hero; Treize recalled that the previous year, Miri had dressed as the Lone Ranger, and the year before that it had been Batman. He wondered if maybe Miri had a fascination for masks... but then, who was the Phantom of the Opera to wonder about a thing like that? "Want me to break it up before they tear each other's costumes?"
"I can handle it," Treize said, and pulled the combatants apart. "NOW. You two, I want you separated. Relena, you sit on this side of the room, and Duo, you sit over there."
"Yes, Mister Treize," Duo said, shuffling over to the other side of the room.
"I'm not Relena," Relena said. "I am Miss Pink Fairy Princess."
"Well, Miss Pink Fairy Princess, if you want to go Trick-or-Treating with the rest of us, you'll have to behave," Treize replied testily.
"Hmph," Relena said, and stalked over to her designated spot on the couch. "You're obviously not a gentleman, because no gentleman would talk to a Fairy Princess like that. So that means you're a pooty-butt." Four little boys snickered at that; Heero, who was dressed in blue jeans, black boots and a black leather-looking jacket, was still sitting in front of the TV, apparently engrossed in the plight of Charlie Brown.
"Relena, if I hear that word from you *one more time,* you will end up standing in the corner instead of Trick-or-Treating. Do I make myself clear?"
Relena glared up at him, but she knew from experience that when Treize's remarkable eyebrows started to twitch, it was time to shut up. She nodded primly and then snubbed him.
"Fine," Treize said. "Heero? What's your costume, a motorcycle rider?"
"No," said Heero, turning around to reveal the mask he wore under his dark sunglasses - a half-peeled human face with a metal skull beneath it, and a blinking red eye. "I'm the Terminator."
"Ah... I... uh... I see," Treize said lamely. Oh, dear, oh, dear. Heero and his Terminator fascination... it positively gave the older boy chills!
"I'm weady to go twick ow tweating," Trowa said, tugging at Treize's cape. "Is Wufei evew coming?? He's alweady missed most of Chawlie Bwown..."
"Wufei is here," came a voice from the doorway that caused a rather predictable reaction in Treize -- a blush, and...
*SPROING!*
"M-Mister Chang," he stuttered, turning towards the door, suddenly grateful for his cape. The slim Chinese man was dressed as the Mummy, barely clad and golden all over, with a miniature gauze-clad mummy in his arms. THAT only made Treize's reaction worse!
"Wufei is ready for trick or treating," Chang Wynn announced. "You will be good for Mister Treize, yes?" he asked his son seriously.
"Yes, Daddy!" Wufei said happily, squirming to be let down. He was happy to be wearing white, happy to have a little white plastic jack-o-lantern to get candy in, just plain happy! He would have preferred to have a *really* white container for his candy, but the plastic ghosts had frightened him *terribly*, so his father had talked him into settling for a jack-o-lantern. And that just simply wouldn't do until his father had agreed to paint it white!
Miri glared jealously as Chang Wynn set his son down on the floor and left with a graceful little gliding step that didn't jar his bandages. It wasn't fair! He wanted Treize to like *him,* but instead the babysitter was watching Wufei's father walk away with a dumbfounded look on his face!
"Close your mouth, Frecklesnoot, unless you're trying to catch flies," he said grumpily. Treize blushed as his mouth snapped shut, and Miri cast one last sour glare in Chang Wynn's general direction. What could Treize possibly like about that OLD MAN?
"Don't say 'Fweckwesnoot,' " Trowa said warningly, and Miri took a cautious step away from the green-eyed boy, remembering the feel of sharp little teeth clamping down on his ankle.
"Want up!" Wufei declared, holding his arms up to Treize. "Up!" His jack-o-lantern was firmly grasped in a hand even as the older boy lifted him up to settle him on a hip.
"Is everyone ready to go trick or treating?" Treize asked, as the end credits of Charlie Brown started to roll. A chorus of yelled affirmatives came his way, nearly sending him deaf. "Okay. Just don't straggle, and don't get out of my eyesight. I'll wait for you on the sidewalk, just like last year!"
"Hey, Mister Treize!" Duo cried. "Are you gonna carry Wufei the whole time? Wufei is a baby!" he yelled.
"Am NOT!!" Wufei shouted, squirming to be let down again. "Am not, am not!"
"You may hold the door for me, Mister Treize," Relena said haughtily, and swept out with a grand swooshing of her long skirts as Treize, long-suffering expression firmly fixed in place, let Wufei slide down to the floor and held the door for the gaggle of children.
The truth was, he kind of enjoyed taking the kids Trick-or-Treating, but he'd die before he'd admit that to anyone!
Heero stepped outside the door, then turned to face Treize, his red Terminator eye blinking fiercely.
"I'll be back," he intoned, then turned and marched after the others. Treize struggled to stifle the smile tugging at his mouth, and forced his bored, roped-into-this-against-his-will expression back into place before stepping out after the children.
It was a perfect Halloween night; a nearly-full Harvest moon glowed orange in the sky, and a wind rustled through the trees as dry leaves crunched underfoot. All along the road, little ghouls and goblins raced from one house to the next, chorusing "Trick or Treat!"
Treize led the way toward the first of the houses on their long itinerary. Relena tripped on her long skirt a few times before picking up the hem to walk, a maneuver that left her dress hiked up rather higher than was appropriate for a lady, particularly a Fairy Princess. Miri snickered, but wisely refrained from commenting; a smart Zorro knew how to pick his fights.
Heero marched along stoically, in full Terminator mode, conserving his energy for the long hike. Wufei was stepping carefully in a futile effort to keep the white bandages wrapped around his feet from getting dirty, and Trowa and Quatre were skipping along hand-in-hand. Treize thought about putting a stop to that, but decided that as long as Quatre's father wasn't there to *see* it, he wouldn't have the opportunity to have a heart attack over his son's lack of manliness. Besides, it was good to see the kids enjoying themselves!
And Duo... Duo was running circles around all of them, singing at the top of his lungs.
"TRICK OR TREAT! SMELL MY FEET!
GIMME SOMETHING GOOD TO EAT!
IF YOU DON'T, I DON'T CARE!
I'LL PULL HEERO'S UNDERWEAR!"
"Don't say 'underwear!' " the Terminator gasped, horrified, and covered himself with his hands. "And if you touch my underwear, omae o korosu!"
"He's very SENSITIVE about his underwear! Don't talk about them!" Relena snapped at him. "Besides, *I'M* the only one who gets to touch his underwear!! I'll be washing them when we grow up," she reminded Duo.
"Nuh-uh! *I'M* gonna wash his underwear!!!" Duo told her, smirking.
Relena gaped at him. "YOU can't wash his underwear! You're a BOY!!"
Heero was turning an unhealthy shade of red under his mask. "DON'T TALK ABOUT MY UNDERWEAR!!!"
"It's not nice to talk about unnerwears," Wufei said in agreement, sniffing. "So. No talking about them! I know right from wrong," he told Heero with a nod. "I won't talk about them, okay?"
" 'kay," Heero agreed, still mortified.
"I won't really pull your underwear, Heero," Duo said, clapping a friendly hand on the Terminator's shoulder. "It's just a song."
"Omae o korosu!" Heero snapped, jerking away from the unwelcome touch. After all, Duo had really long hair, and nobody had ever actually disproved the theory that he might have Cooties.
"Duo," Treize said, pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation. They hadn't even gotten to the first house yet! "No singing about underwear, no talking about underwear, no pulling underwear or in any way even *thinking* about underwear! That goes for all of you. And Heero, no killing anybody!"
"No fair," Heero muttered, scuffing the toe of one black boot.
"Gee, Mister Treize," Duo said. "Do you really mean that?"
"Look, we're here," Treize said, stopping at the foot of the driveway, where he intended to wait for the children to do their Trick-or-Treat routine. "Go get some candy."
"Hey, Mister Treize," Duo said. "Look! I see a cat hiding under there!"
"Under where?" Treize asked, peering into the shadows at the edge of the driveway. Heero gasped in horror, and Duo laughed so hard he almost peed his pants.
"DUO MAXWELL!" Treize cried. "If you say 'underwear' one more time, I'll drag you back and make you wait at the house while the *rest* of us go Trick-or-Treating!"
"But I didn't say it, you did!" Duo protested. Treize took a step in his direction, and Duo added, "Fine! Fine! I promise! No more underwear jokes!"
"I'll have your word on that," Treize said. "And with both hands where I can see them."
Duo sighed, uncrossed his fingers, and stuck his hands out. "I promise," he said.
"Let'th go!" Quatre urged, grinning. "Ok, Mithter Treithe?"
"Yes, go on. And be nice. And don't forget to say 'thank you,' " Treize replied. The children raced to the door, and there was a minor scuffle over who got to push the doorbell, which Miri won by virtue of being taller and having longer arms.
"I wanted to push the button," Heero said with a scowl.
"Tho did I," Quatre said.
"That wasn't faiw, Miwi," Trowa added.
"It was unjust!"
The only one who didn't seem to have a problem with it was Relena, who stood calmly smoothing her skirts. After all, a lady never rang the doorbell or opened the door by herself; she always made someone else do it for her!
The door creaked open, revealing a very tall teenager in a very realistic Borg costume, complete with little whirring and clicking parts on his metallic arm. Wufei screamed, and ran back to Treize as fast as his little legs would carry him.
"TRICK OR TREAT!" the rest of the children chorused.
"Nice costume," the Borg said to Heero as he handed out candy to the children. "But a Borg would've been cooler."
"The Terminator could wipe out all the Borg," Heero said gravely.
"Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated. Oh, and take this for your friend," the Borg replied, handing over an extra fun-size Snickers bar.
"Thank you!" the children said, and most of them raced back to Treize. Heero turned and looked back over his shoulder at the Borg.
"I'll be back."
THAT brought bright laughter from Duo as he skipped along back towards the sidewalk, scary little face beaming. "Hey, they got GOOD stuff, Wufei!" he called. "It's just a guy in a costume!"
"It's a *scary* guy in a costume!" Wufei yelled back from behind Treize's legs, clutching them tightly.
"Here," Heero told him, holding out the Snickers bar. "It's for you."
Shyly, Wufei reached out to take it, deftly managing to get it despite Duo's fingers clutching for it and Relena looking at it yearningly. "Thank you, Heero," he said, dropping it most carefully in his little white pumpkin bucket. It was a shame they didn't make white chocolate and put it in white wrappers, but still! A treat was a treat!
"Nektht houthe!" Quatre cried. "I'm ready to go again!"
"Yeah," Trowa agreed. "I'm weady to get mowe candy!"
Miri rolled his eyes and sighed. "Kids."
"You're a kid, too," Duo said, grinning cheerfully in spite of the fact that Wufei's candy bar had escaped him. After all, there was plenty more loot to be had!
"But I'm a *big* kid," Miri said, straightening up to his full height. "And you're all little."
"Don't thay thtuff like that," Quatre said, frowning.
"Yeah, othewwise you might get bitten," Trowa warned.
"Children. NO biting," Treize said, wearily, tugging at the waistband of his pants to keep it in place as Wufei balled up his fists in the fabric by his knees. "Come on, there are a lot more houses to visit."
The little group slowly made its way down the street, stopping at each house to regale the residents with a chorus of "TRICK OR TREAT!" Zechs was wisely not saying anything about the others being little kids, because Trowa and Quatre were watching him. Duo was wisely not mentioning that when Relena lifted her skirts, she flashed her panties at everyone; he had, after all, given his word not to talk about underwear any more, but he couldn't help noticing and snickering whenever she did it. Heero insisted on saying "I'll be back," as he left each house, and Wufei, having finally worked up the nerve to join the group, left Treize standing at the end of each driveway, his trousers wrinkled from the grip of little hands.
They had just worked their way down one street and turned the corner when disaster struck.
"Well, well, well," said a snide voice, with which Treize was all too familiar. "What do we have here?"
"Looks like Pansy Khushrenada is going Trick-or-Treating with the kiddies," another voice said. Treize winced, and turned to face two of the kids from school football team, bullies with big muscles and tiny brains.
"Hello, Alex, Mueller," he said, somehow keeping his cool even though the very sight of those two was enough to give him the shivers. "How are you?"
"You better be careful how you talk to us," Alex said, sneering. "You better call us 'sir.' "
"Yeah, or we might have to do something about it," said Mueller. "And then who would walk with the babies?"
"We're not babies, you big dink!" Duo said, frowning under his white face paint.
"Come on, guys, it's Halloween," Treize said, before Alex or Mueller could reply to that. "Give me a break."
"Give you a break?" Mueller repeated.
"You don't want us to make you look bad in front of the babies?" Alex asked sweetly.
"You thouldn't thay things like that," Quatre said, stepping forward to stand in front of Treize with his arms crossed. "We're not babieth."
"Oh, I thouldn't?" Alex echoed, his smile widening as Quatre started to frown ominously. "What'th the widdle baby gonna do about it, huh?"
"Get 'em," Quatre said, and Trowa darted forward and sank his teeth into Alex's hand while Heero rushed in to kick Mueller's knee with a Terminator boot.
"They're INJUST!" Wufei declared, giving up his grip upon Treize's trousers and rushing forward. He gave a flying leap and high-kicked, just like his daddy, and landed a foot FIRMLY in Alex's crotch, driving the teenager to drop to his knees, howling, which made him an easier target for Trowa's teeth.
"You're both cads!" Relena stated, storming forward regally, "and every lady knows what to do with a CAD!" With that declaration, her Magic Fairy Princess Wand rather forcefully met with the same area of Mueller's anatomy as Wufei's kick had found on Alex. He, too, went down with a squeal that was more suited to a pig than to a big, brawny football player.
"He's no fun," Duo said, darting in to plant a solid kick or two of his own. "He fell right over!" Miri refrained from comment, but joined in on kicking at the writhing bullies with a fierce smile on his face. How dare they mess with *his* Freckle-snoot?
Standing back, Treize felt his sinuses tingle, a smile drifting over his lips. He was infinitely proud of his children in that moment, and he reached for them, pulling them back towards him. "Let's finish our Trick-or-Treating," he murmured.
"I thuggetht you leave Mithter Treithe alone in the future," Quatre said with quiet dignity. "Or we'll be forthed to give you more of the thame." The bullies whimpered pathetically as the little group resumed its journey, leaving the two football players lying in the street like road pizza.
"This is another fine mess you've gotten us into," Alex groaned.
"Shut up," Mueller replied, slowly easing to a sitting position. "Let's go smash some jack-o-lanterns or something. It's no fun around here."
"Let's try a different neighborhood," Alex said. "I'd hate to smash the pumpkin of any of *those* kids! Who knew? Treize must be, like, Superman or something, to deal with those little demons!"
"We'll have to get even with him at school on Monday," Mueller said.
"Are you out of your MIND?" Alex cried. "And have those kids after us again?!? I'd rather have dental surgery! Without novocaine!"
"Well, what are we supposed to do, then? If Treize is off-limits?"
"Let's toilet-paper someone's house!"
"And smash jack-o-lanterns!"
"And throw rotten eggs!"
"YEAH!" With that, two bullies staggered slowly and painfully down the street, determined to have a fun Halloween in spite of having lost their favorite scapegoat.
"They were CADS!" Relena cried indignantly. "They broke my Magic Fairy Princess Wand!" It was true; the Magic Fairy Princess Wand had snapped from the force of Relena's blow. Heero took it from her, fished some duct tape out of his jacket pocket (a must for every up-and-coming mad scientist!), and wound it around until the Fairy Princess Wand had what appeared to be a big black ball in the middle, then handed it back to her. Relena's little fingers curled around the wad of tape, which made a perfectly-sized grip.
"Heero! You fixed it!" she cried, delighted. "I knew you love me!"
"Don't touch," the Terminator replied, darting around to Treize's other side to keep the babysitter in between himself and the dangerously happy Fairy Princess.
"But I want to give you a thank-you kiss!" Relena answered, dashing around after him. They both ended up running around Treize in circles, and Duo joined in, claiming that *he* would be the one to kiss Heero. Ordinarily, this would have resulted in a snappish command to cease and desist, and a decidedly cranky frown, but Treize was so pleased with them all, so lost in the delightfully happy haze of his new bully-free existence, that he let it slide.
"We thure thowed them," Quatre said with firm voice as they hurried along to the next house.
"Yeah," Trowa agreed. "They won't be bothewing Mistew Tweize again if they know what's good fow them!!"
Wufei's hands had gone back to clutching at Treize's pants, but he didn't mind. He was filled with the pure elation of the kids' obvious adoration, and he couldn't have imagined being any happier. "Okay, kids. Next stop!"
The house was surrounded by a high hedge, but they stepped through the opening all the same to head towards the house. No more than four steps into the yard, Wufei let out a scream fit to wake the dead, turned, and *ran* back to Treize, nearly crying. "THERE ARE GHOSTIES IN THE YARD!" he sobbed, flinging himself against the tall boy's legs and nearly climbing them in an attempt to get up into his arms.
'Ghosties', indeed, little filmy white creations strung from tree-limbs, the sounds of chainsaws and moans echoing through the yard.
"Ladies don't run away," Relena declared, swallowing nervously. "But I'm still really scared..."
Unexpectedly, Miri reached down a hand to take hers, patting it. "It's okay, Relena," he murmured. "I'm here with you." Even if it pretty much creeped *him* out, too...
"A true gentleman would go first," Relena said, nudging him.
"Terminators aren't afraid of ghosts," Heero said, and stalked forward. Miri smiled gratefully, and followed, pulling his sister along behind him. Duo scampered over to walk with Heero, grinning and waving at the ghosties. After all, what would Death have to fear from ghosts?
"Maybe they aren't *real* ghothtthhh," Quatre said dubiously.
"If they awe, I'ww pwotect you," Trowa said, and he and Quatre followed their friends, hand-in-hand.
"Thankth," Quatre sighed, feeling most definitely relieved.
Stomping firmly, Heero headed up the porch steps despite the fact that a laughing skeleton made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. He knocked on the door, grimly expectant that something truly horrible would be opening the door.
With a squeak, the door slid open, and even Heero nearly shrieked as Quasimodo (or a reasonable facsimile) stared down at him and *cackled*.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!" Five children screamed at the top of their lungs and raced back to Treize, and safety. Heero was frozen in place. He stared, bug-eyed, at Quasimodo, who cackled even more and held out a bowl of candy.
It was obviously a trap. As soon as Heero reached for it, Quasimodo would try to catch him and do BAD THINGS. But... Terminators feared nothing! Heero stifled a little whimper that wanted to work its way past his throat, then reached out quick as lightning, grabbed a huge handful of candy, and scampered back to the others, yelling "Trickertreat!" on his way.
"HAHAHA! Happy Halloween, kiddies!" crazy Mr. Tsubarov, the neighborhood weirdo, yelled, and Heero raced faster through the spooky yard. He made it back to his friends safely, and handed out the loot he'd snatched, huffing and puffing.
He didn't tell crazy Mr. Tsubarov that he'd be back.
"Heero, you're so brave!" Relena gushed. "Would you like a kiss? Ladies always kiss heroes!"
"No! Heero's don't like kisses!" Heero said, scowling.
"Besides, he wants *me* to kiss him!" Duo piped up.
"Omae o korosu!"
"Aw, you don't really mean that, Hee-chan," Duo said, reaching out to clutch at the Terminator's jacket and puckering his lips.
"If you don't stop touching me, I'll tell crazy Mr. Tsubarov that you want to have dinner at his house!" The threat was enough to strike horror in the entire group.
"Children," Treize said, patience wearing a little thin. "Let's keep moving, shall we?"
"I didn't get a thingle thucker tho far," Quatre said, peering into his loot bag.
"You can have one of mine," Trowa said. "I pwefew chocowate."
"Carry me, Mister Treize!" Wufei demanded, and Treize scooped him up with a weary sigh. It was going to be a long walk back to the house... but how could he deny that sweet little tear-streaked face?
The rest of the evening passed more gently; the children had worked off that initial surge of nervous energy, and walked together peacefully, yet there was still that sense of excitement behind everything they did. They passed by many other children, pausing to admire costumes and be admired, and cheerfully thanked everyone who gave them treats.
It wasn't until they had turned the last corner headed back to Treize's house that they ran out of energy, lugging their now-heavy goodie bags and whining at every step about how badly their feet hurt, except for Heero, who, as might have been expected, trudged along stoically.
"It's no further than it was last year," Treize said, shifting a remorselessly heavy Wufei from one hip to the other and thanking his lucky stars that none of the others was insisting on being carried!
"But it feelth like it!" Quatre protested.
"My feet huwt."
"We should've brought our rollerskates," Miri remarked. "Then we'd just roll on home."
"But rollerskates are heavy," Treize pointed out. "Imagine having those heavy weights on your feet right now."
"Don't wanna," Miri replied sullenly. It was a good idea, darn it! And he wanted Freckle-snoot to be impressed with his thought, not shoot it down!
"Come on," Treize said, reaching down to pat Miri's shoulder gently. "It's just a little further, kids." Miri smiled to himself and walked a little taller.
"When we get there, I'm going to eat all my candy!" Relena announced, picking up the pace slightly.
"Me, too!" Duo yelled. Treize shuddered at the very idea of Duo Maxwell on a sugar high. He was only glad he didn't have to babysit them overnight!
"Now, before you start even *thinking* about tasting the candy, you remember the rules, right?" Treize asked.
"We can only have one piethe unless our parenth let uth have more," Quatre quoted dutifully.
"And we don't taste any of it until you look at it to be sure it's safe and doesn't have poison or razor blades or Cooties on it," Heero added.
"Uh... right," Treize said, rolling his eyes. They finally made it to the Khushrenada house, where, judging by the noise, the party was in full swing. The kids tramped through to the little den where they'd been watching cartoons earlier, and shucked off their shoes, revelling in the feeling of soft carpet under their weary feet. Then they sat down and carefully dumped their loot out on the floor for ogling purposes.
"Hey, I got a wock!" Trowa said, shocked.
"Tho did I!" Quatre said. The room was filled with disappointed cries of "Me, too!" and "Where did this rock come from?"
"It must've been that crazy Mr. Tsubarov!" Heero yelled.
For a long minute there was silence, and then Treize started to snicker. The children all looked at him, and then they started to laugh as well. That crazy Mr. Tsubarov had played a Halloween trick on them - and it had been a good one!
"Hey, let's watch Charlie Brown again!" Miri suggested, and Treize rewound the tape and dutifully inspected each child's Halloween candy before letting them each pick a piece. That done, he was able to take off his own shoes and stretch his weary back and arms -- Wufei got heavier every year! Treize slumped back into his favorite recliner chair and watched as his charges fell asleep, one by one, long before Linus and Sally discovered that their pumpkin patch wasn't sincere enough for the Great Pumpkin.
The party ended well after midnight, and Treize smiled up at the parents as they came to collect their children. Quatre's father managed to pick up both Quatre and Trowa, who murmured sleepily but didn't wake. Mrs. Peacecraft shook her young Zorro awake, while her husband was scooping up one tired Fairy Princess. The Maxwells, freed from their Marie Antoinette costume, smiled over their little Duo, curled up on the floor with his skull makeup smudged by one little fist, the other arm wrapped tight around his bag of candy.
"Thanks for taking them Trick-or-Treating," Mr. Maxwell said. "It wouldn't have been the same for him, if you hadn't done it."
"Yes, he's been looking forward to this night for a long time," Duo's mother agreed. "And he thinks the world of you."
"It was my pleasure," Treize said, and if there was an unusual note of honesty in his voice, the Maxwells didn't remark on it. Mr. Maxwell picked up his son, goodie bag and all, and nodded to Treize as he left. The Yuys followed shortly after. The Terminator stood and followed his father out the door, fast asleep.
"I'm sure he'd tell you 'I'll be back' if he could," Mrs. Yuy said with a gentle smile, and Treize grinned at her, not minding that the braces probably made him look like one goofy Phantom.
"Happy Halloween," he said, and Mrs. Yuy's smile widened as she waved goodbye and followed the two most important men in her life out to the car. That left just Wufei, and Treize watched him for a few moments, feeling all warm and tender toward the sleeping boy.
"Ah, fast asleep, I see," said a familiar voice, and Treize looked up to see Chang Wynn standing in the doorway, regarding Wufei with much the same expression. Just the sight of the sweet, gentle smile curving those perfect lips was enough to --
*SPROING!*
"Uh... yes, it was a long night for them," Treize said, hoping that the blush burning his cheeks wasn't too noticeable.
"And a long night for you, too, I imagine," Mrs. Chang said from behind her husband. "Thank you so much for escorting the children," she added, "it meant a great deal to Wufei. And of course, nothing makes us happier than for him to be happy."
"Um... my pleasure," Treize said, now blushing quite fiercely. He'd indirectly made Chang Wynn happy! And he knew that he'd be seeing that sweet smile in his dreams...
"Good night," the Changs were saying, and Treize came back to the real world with something of a start, thankful for the ingrained good manners that had masked his little lapse. As the Changs left, Treize tried not to notice the way the Mummy bandages outlined the shape of Mr. Chang's body... tried and failed. Blushing, he turned and began putting the little room to rights, tossing candy wrappers and rewinding the tape for next year.
"Ah, Treize, darling," his mother said a few minutes later, as she found him ready to trudge back to his bedroom and lapse into a semi-comatose state. "Did it go well?"
"Yes, Mother," Treize said, and kissed her cheek before winding his way toward the staircase.
"And did you have fun?"
Treize paused, and considered it for a moment. There had been moments of aggravation, moments of stark terror, and moments of pure wretched physical effort, but all in all... it really had been a fun evening.
"It wasn't so bad," he said.
"So you'll do it again next year, right?"
"I guess so."
"Treize?"
"Yes, Mother?"
"Happy Halloween, dear."
Treize smiled. "Happy Halloween to you, too."
~owari~
Happy Halloween from Yoiko and Tzigane!
(:./yoiko/sitter8)
