Milo - Trick or Treat (Patreon)

A/N: An AU story set far in the future with an MC that chose to have children.

“Trick or treat!”

I heard the proclamation from the kitchen as I was trying to get together the last little bits of enchanted candy so we could set out a bowl. The night was still early but in a place like the Night Market, trick or treating began from the time the little ones awoke, ghosts and goblins wandering the streets handing out their wares.  Certain areas of the market had been filled with this underlying current of autumnal/samhain celebration for the better part of the month, all accumulating to this very night where the children dressed up and seeking out their bits and baubles from participating vendors.

“You’re not supposed to trick or treat your own house,” I heard Malcolm laugh.

“Aw, c’mon.” Milo’s voice this time. “Look at these little faces.”

I came around the corner, bowl in hand, to see Milo standing at the front door, hat tipped forward and straw blade between his lips.  Cowboy, he had said. We had to convince him to wear a shirt beneath his vest.

On his hip was a little boy, nearly the spitting image of him with wild curls and freckles that were bright. He had a gummy little smile, only his front teeth having come through at this point.  And next to them both was, Ever. Her cherubic little face shining brightly as she was done up in all glitter with big iridescent wings at her back.

“Having fun?” I asked, handing Malcolm the bowl and taking the babe into my arms.

“Mini Mart is charming the pants off of everyone,” Milo beamed proudly. “And while he does that, Ever goes in for the fae kill and steals the candy.”

“I don’t steal,” Ever assured us. “I ask politely and use my pleases and thank yous.”

Malcolm brought her in with one arm, leaning down to place a kiss on her head. “Always the more mature of the Next siblings.”  She giggled at him before shoving her way into the house.

In my arms, ‘Mini Mart’, as Milo dubbed him, lay his head on my shoulder.  I had dressed him in a glowing onesie, letting him go out into the world as a lantern.  It somehow felt appropriate for the first Halloween that he was able to somewhat hobble down the cobblestone streets. Last year, he had to be strapped to any one of us and had slept most of the time.

“How much candy have they had?” I asked Milo.

“Twelve buckets,” he shut the door behind him, leaning in to kiss me softly while reaching out with one hand to shove Malcolm in the chest.  “You two are coming back out with us, yeah? You should see the way Mini and Ever work the crowd. You’ve never seen a more dynamic duo.”

I shook my head.  We had been blessed with a baby nearly two years prior and since then, Milo had never been happier. It hadn’t always been like that. Genuine fear gripped him when we first found out. But in the end, he had been there every step of the way. And the day he held his son in his arms, I knew for certain that I had seen Milo’s heart completely unguarded for the first time.

“I’ll put the bowl out and make sure Ever has something warm on,” Malcolm said. “Then we can go back out.”

“Get the pillow sacks at the door too. They’ve gotten quite the haul.”

“Button, they don’t need this much candy,” Malcolm groused as he dragged the bags in.

Milo looked at him like he was an idiot. “It’s definitely not for them. I worked hard for that stuff. There are full chocolate bars in there.  Small children do not need that.”

“Oh, of course,” I laughed.

Malcolm came over, rubbing a hand down our son's back. “He’s out,” he whispered to me, laying a gentle kiss on our babies cheek.

“He’s also way too much like Milo. He’ll smell the candy and fun and be up in an instant,” I told him. It wasn’t as if Malcolm could disagree. We had seen it in action several times before.

“Ever, baby,” Malcolm called out. “Put on a cloak. It’s getting cold out there.”

There was a rummaging in the other room and then a loud bang. “I’m okay,” Ever called out.  Malcolm just shook his head, going to go check on her.

“So,” I started, turning to Milo. “How much trick or treating have you done?”

Stepping close to me, Milo wrapped his arms low on my hips, sandwiching our baby between us. Slowly he began swaying back and forth, dancing to a soft tune that only he could hear. “I may be excited,” he laughed.

I grinned at him. He had been up and ready to go before the kids had finished their breakfast. “May?”

“I didn’t get to do this,” he told me. “When I was a kid, Hazel, Mal and I were little delinquents. We stole our costumes. Or well, Mal and I stole our costumes and then told Hazel we bought them. But the point is, 2e didn’t have parents that made a big deal out of all this kind of stuff.”

My smile dropped a little. He didn’t really have a childhood. So, he had been determined to give his sister and his own child as much of one as possible. Every day was a day that Milo greeted with a certain amount of fear, and yet he couldn’t help but face it head on and do his best for the ones he considered his own.  I couldn’t fault him for going head first into the insanity.

“Alright,” Malcolm stated, walking in with a bundled up Ever. “The fae princess is now a fae vampire,” he declared. A black cloak was around Ever’s shoulders and fake blood dripped from her mouth.

“To the rich side of the Market!” Milo declared.

The lanterns above were all dimmed orange, painting the streets in a low flickering light. The alleys were strung with live bats and cobwebs as fog curling in from over the alley walls to coat the streets. Around every shadowed corner, a nightmare lurked with a bucket of candy held out for the children, whispering for them to come and take a peak, their glowing yellow eyes peering at them with mischief.

I felt a stirring in my arms as sure enough, our little Mini Mart came alive, hopping down to hold onto Ever’s hand.  He babbled at her, looking up at her with wide, lantern filed eyes. They glowed, changing colors based on his mood. The bright pink that they were now meant he was happy. Normally they were this hue when around Ever

Ever nodded. “The witches are for sure scary,” she said. “But we got this. Tonight is about facing our fears, remember?” Milo had of course told them a story last week about witches that ate children's toes and lurked in the shadows of the market streets. Neither child had slept well all week. And of course, this year, the witches seemed to be the ones giving out the best candy. As was confirmed as we rounded a corner and saw a green faced hag hunched in the corner.  But she had a large cauldron of glittering candy in front of her and a tray of cupcakes.

I stood back, watching as the two of them carefully went up to the shadows, calling out for the witch with the candy. Both Milo and Malcolm hovered nearby, ready to jump in at any moment. When the witch popped out, Ever screamed trick or treat while my son, my unafraid little boy, took his jack o lantern bucket and began hitting the witch with it to protect his Ever.

Malcolm swooped in immediately with apologies, picking him up. While Milo silently cheered, trying to hide his smile.

Meanwhile, Ever was sweetly talking to the witch, explaining how her nephew had nightmares and that the only thing that would fix it was more candy. I couldn’t help but notice how she palmed the little sweets into her bucket as the witch wasn’t looking.

Head in hands, I sighed. This was my family. My insane, little delinquent, family.

“Alright, no more sugar for the babies,” Malcolm intoned.

“Oh, come on, Mal! It was deserved. She was scary looking,” Milo laughed.

“Everyone's going to be scary looking,” Malcolm protested. “It’s the night of scary looking things.”

“Exactly.”

Milo crouched down, opening his arms to Mini Mart, enveloping him in a tight hold when the boy ran to him. I watched the two of them. Mirror images of each other. Each time I looked at them, I couldn’t help but feel my heart grow. That boy was Milo’s world.  “Want me to carry you?” he was whispering to him. “We’ll protect Ever together?”

The boy nodded.

As we walked down the street, letting the kids trick or treat, Malcolm slipped his hand in mine. The two of us watched Milo with the kids. Watched as he went up to each market stall and yelled trick or treat with them. Watched how he gave the evil eye to anyone that seemed like they were not going to give them two pieces of candy each.

“He’s happy,” Malcolm said.

“He is.”

“Thank you for that.” I glanced at Malcolm out of the corner of my eye. “You’ve made him so happy, Lamplight. More so than I could ever have. Just– thank you.”

I didn’t know what to say. Malcolm didn’t often speak with such vulnerability. Something had been working on the last few years. But I could feel it in the way he clung to me. He meant it. Life without me was not one he wanted to entertain.

Squeezing his hand back, I watched Ever and Milo get the childhood they never had, while our baby chewed on his fist, glowing just as brightly as the lanterns above.  And even with the cackling witches and the hunting vampires that Milo discreetly got rid of with a well-timed gate, it was the most normal night that we had had in some time.

Life in the Night Market, finally felt at peace.