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Colorful piles of Halloween candy, a messy mixture of treats from both the Human Realm and the Demon Realm, cover the floor of the makeshift pillow fort. Their crinkled wrappers sparkle under the fairy lights that have been strung loosely across the private little cocoon of Willow’s bedroom, and they’re poked at with great interest by two curious palismen. The Park home is usually quiet and calm after midnight hours begin, but sleep hasn’t quite struck some of the people inside it yet.
Hunter watches his girlfriend free a lollipop from its sugar-coated plastic prison, and he smiles at her with the type of fond expression that he certainly wouldn’t use with anyone else around. An impromptu sleepover like this one is a good opportunity to do something fun around the house, especially on a holiday, but he hasn’t budged at all from the floral-patterned blanket he’s lying on.
This year’s trick-or-treating session was a resounding success in both worlds they tried it in; the contents of their two respective bags blend together into a shared collection of goods. Getting a few odd looks here and there due to their noticeably older ages, which were slightly reduced whenever the much younger Gus was with them, was worth it for the sake of all these new sweets. Missing out on this human event for so many years justifies still participating in its childish traditions despite their looming adulthoods.
Yellow and black glitter sparkles like speckles of pollen on Willow’s cheeks, and she matches her palisman with adorable accuracy. Her bee costume is handmade, sewn with the help of Hunter and Darius, but it’s remarkably high-quality. Her makeup is smudged after the long night out, but its messiness makes no difference for her boyfriend’s embarrassing daydreams while he stares at her.
Hunter, on the other hand, matches his own palisman with a fittingly feather-covered costume. Its small black and red wings, attached to the back of his shirt with delicate precision, are practically bursting apart at the seams. Pieces of flimsy fabric float down onto the blanket like autumn leaves, and the fleeting nature of the holiday is at the forefront of both of their minds.
Willow is suddenly far too aware that she’s alone in her room with the cutest boy she knows, and her cheeks heat up into the color of the bird that inspired his costume.
It’s not like they haven't kissed before, but it’s never gotten any easier to approach the idea. Even though they’ve been in a relationship for months now, they’re both still hopelessly clumsy with romance. Before they started dating, Willow could casually flirt with ease whenever she felt confident enough to try it. But the label of “being a couple” adds extra weight to everything they do together, like there’s some hidden expectation lurking alongside it, and this silent pressure is definitely the scariest monster she’s going to deal with this Halloween.
She snuggles into the warmth of the blankets underneath her while she watches Hunter tease Flapjack with candy. He holds a particularly big piece over his head, waving it back and forth like a dog owner would with a treat, and his palisman keeps flying around him trying to grab it from his hand. Clover’s attempt to intercept Flapjack and take it for herself makes Hunter laugh and playfully shoo her away.
“I’ll give you some too, Clover, just be patient!” he promises. “This kind is Flapjack’s favorite. I haven’t opened yours yet.”
The sight of him talking to her palisman makes Willow’s heart feel like melting gooey chocolate. Even now, after all this time, it’s still hard to comprehend how much things have changed since they first met. Hunter is far less disguised now, wearing a silly and childish Halloween costume, than he ever was in his Golden Guard uniform. The thin divisions between past, present, and future blend together in a tangle of multicolored fairy lights, and Willow smiles when Clover rubs her fluffy head against Hunter’s cheek.
“You were able to get through more of that haunted house from earlier than you could last year. Looks like the bravery training Luz gave you with those weird video games paid off,” she says. “I know I already told you this when we left, but I swear it’s okay to hold my hand if you need to when we go to those kinds of places. I’m not gonna laugh at you…much.”
Hunter seems to miss her attempt at offering affection because he’s completely absorbed into his own world, as he often is whenever Flapjack is consuming his focus. He’s trickier to talk to when he’s acting like this, but Willow hardly ever minds it because she firmly believes that he’s at his cutest when he’s passionate about something.
She picks up a stray piece of candy from the ground and reflects on the day while its flavor fills her mouth. Traveling between two realms is always tiring, but it’s worth it for the unique traditions exclusive to humans. Her heart had fluttered while she watched a smiling Hunter give out sweets to trick-or-treaters at the Noceda home, and the vague vision of a distant future with him has been lurking in the corner of her mind for hours. Willow’s fathers had gushed over their cute costumes and sniffled over how much older she’s gotten, and she didn’t have the heart to tell them that this holiday is an event designed for children. The happiness of the people she loves is better than any cheap candy.
A year ago, Willow was a different person. A year ago, she would have never spent a day out like this, blushing and holding the hand of a cute boy. A year ago, she didn’t have Hunter’s warmth in her life.
Their relationship is one of the sweetest treats in her life; the worst trick that’s being played on her this Halloween is how oblivious Hunter is to her overwhelming urge to kiss him. She’s a patient girlfriend — Titan knows anyone who dates a person as socially inexperienced as Hunter needs to be — but she still has her limits. The sight of him playing with her palisman and looking frustratingly adorable, so close yet just out of reach, may be her breaking point.
She taps his shoulder to catch his attention and giggles when his eyes widen in surprise. Their vivid magenta matches some of the stranger candies they received today, and there’s little streaks of chocolate sitting by his lips like they’re meant to distract her. Still, she persists and keeps her focus on his gaze.
“Willow!” he says, like her presence next to him is some type of shock. “What’s up?”
Now is the time to make her move, so she scoots herself closer to him and brushes some of his messy hair away from his face. She’ll never fully get used to having the power to make someone’s cheeks heat up just by being herself, but she certainly won’t complain about possessing it.
“You’ve been totally zoned out for…a while now,” she points out. “Is there anything else you wanted to do tonight? You seem really restless. We could probably manage to sneak out without getting caught if we’re quieter this time.”
Hunter is genuinely puzzled at the accusation. Confused, he tilts his head a little; this is the expression he often unconsciously makes towards her that resembles some kind of puppy ready to wag its tail, and she’s very weak to it. “I’m already having enough fun just being around you, though.”
Willow’s heart practically pounds out of her chest, and she curses whatever gave her boyfriend the talent of coming up with such effective lines without even trying to fluster her. He’s always been utterly hopeless when it comes to intentional flirting, but speaking from his soul with such straightforward statements of adoration consistently makes her weak.
“I’m happy to spend time with you too, but…”
Willow sighs a little, and her ancient love of romance novels makes her too self-conscious to say what she needs to. She has no doubt in his affections by this point, after everything they’ve been through together, but allowing herself to be vulnerable can still be a challenge even when they’re alone.
He manages to realize her hesitance and responds to it in a way that only makes her jump out of her own skin even more: he puts a hand over hers and absolutely beams in her direction.
That grin, with his signature tooth gap and awkward clumsiness, is going to be the death of her someday. If Willow is a flower, then Hunter is the sun that makes her bloom. She tenses up from shyness, and her fragile world falls out of her control and into Hunter’s soft palms.
“Did I tell you that you look really pretty in your costume?” he asks. “I mean, you’re always pretty, but-”
Willow takes the initiative and interrupts his rambling by leaning in to place a kiss on his scarred cheek. She gets a real kick out of the way he immediately stops talking the second they make contact.
“You wouldn’t stop telling me that the entire time we were out,” she answers. “But thank you. You’re sweet — and yours makes you look like the most handsome bird I’ve ever seen.”
Flapjack bumps his little head against Willow’s leg, like he’s trying to whine even though she can’t understand his words like his owner can, and she laughs at his pettiness.
Just as always, even after months of dating, Hunter turns into a mess from Willow’s gentle touch. The tips of his ears flush with the pink hue only his girlfriend can cause, and his nerves make him tighten his grip on her hand.
“Today was really fun,” he says. His voice is quiet and shy, and his nervous smile makes him seem like an entirely separate person from the Golden Guard he once was. His hard outer coating has melted into something soft like a sweet piece of Halloween candy. “Thanks for spending it with me. I…appreciate you. A lot.”
His flustered behavior tells Willow everything he’s hiding in his words, and comforting love rushes through her. The most remarkable part about the changes that have happened in the past year is how much happier she is now. Being cared about and treated with the respect she was missing out on for her entire life has led to a type of healing she didn’t know she needed until she finally experienced it.
Willow lifts her hand up to reach for a piece of candy on the floor, but it bumps against Hunter’s when they go for the same one. They both giggle and they intertwine their fingers together.
“I appreciate you too, Hunter. More than you know.”
Their nosy palismen turn away to gossip together as their owners lean in closer to each other. Very delicately, like he’s handling a beautiful flower, Hunter puts a hand under Willow’s chin and tilts her head up. It’s a move straight out of the books Willow used to read during her childhood, and she can practically feel stray plant petals ready to burst out of her hair.
The fairy lights in their private pillow fort illuminate their faces, and they connect their lips in their own little world together. Their kiss is careful and brief, despite how many times they’ve done this before. It’s a reminder that joy isn’t just possible — it’s a consistent and shared part of both of their lives now.
Thanks to Hunter, Willow has been able to learn that love is as sweet as candy.