The sun hangs low in the sky as the wind blows dried leaves off of trees and down the block. The autumn air is crisp and rapidly cooling as the weather transitions from summer to winter. The light drowns the neighborhood in gold. Yards are covered in cotton webs and styrofoam headstones while the porches are accessorized with carved pumpkins and automated monsters. It was early enough that children had not yet started roaming the streets.
In one particular colonial-style house, three personified countries and two micronations prepared for their first Halloween together, posing as humans in a fairly normal neighborhood. In a small upstairs bathroom, the woman known by her family as Belarus was putting the finishing touches on Seborga's skeleton face. The micronation was fairly patient, unlike his friend and technical brother, Sealand. The shorter British child had been long finished, a spooky face painted over his own to complete the look of a pumpkin. Sending the two downstairs to get buckets and prepare to go around the neighborhood, Belarus put the makeup away properly, making sure none of the makeup was smeared or ruined on accident.
Normally, the female country wouldn't celebrate the arbitrary holiday in such a pronounced way. However, in the past year, she had entered a marriage arrangement with two other countries. Needless to say, she was determined to make the relationships work. England was easy enough to get along with once she got past trying to control his more reckless actions, but Romano.. Romano was so used to being ignored that he still had trouble believing where he was in the mornings. Granted, it wouldn't take one night to fix centuries of mistreatment, this Belarus knew for sure. Hopefully, taking the micronations out trick-or-treating would help warm Romano up to the idea that he now has a loving family.
Downstairs, England was pouring bags upon bags of candy into a clean cauldron. A lingering scent of burnt gummy bears clung to the well-used cauldron, but that was an improvement from the stench of burning plastic. His costume consisted of a sheet wrapped toga-style around his torso and waist, a golden pipe-cleaner halo, and craft store feather wings. His usually grumpy face was contorted into a pout. He had wanted to be a character from an anime that Japan had showed him, but Belarus insisted on having a theme to their costumes. It was times like this that England wondered just why he had agreed to a marriage with Belarus. Glancing at the fairly new golden band on his finger, regretful memories came back from that fateful weekend. Deciding to reminisce another time, England hoisted up the now full cauldron and moved it outside, emphasizing it with warm lights on the front porch.
Back upstairs, Romano, or Southern Italy, was staring out of the bedroom window at the innocent children already starting to roam the neighborhood. He had chosen the theme for the adult costumes, though it didn't feel fair that Belarus had let him win the debate so quickly. It almost felt artificial, like she was trying to be nice to get something in return. Then again, that's what most peoples' intentions were. He forced himself to banish the thoughts from his head. Belarus wouldn't use him like that, like a means to an end. Squishing the flexible devil tail attached to the seat of his pants, a small smile decorated his face as he remembered how scary he had thought his now wife had been. Of course, she could still be intimidating when she wanted to, but very rarely towards any member of their family.
Back in the bathroom, Belarus made the last adjustments to her dress. England was an angel, though his personality was far from it, Romano was a devil, and she would be the Earth separating the two. She had hoped for another theme, but it became obvious quite quickly that Romano and England's personalities were so alike that they easily collided. As a result, she usually ended up in the middle, separating the two stubborn countries until they calmed down. Being honest with herself, Belarus truly looked forward to a relaxing evening taking Sealand and Seborga out around the neighborhood. She wanted to give them the childhood she never had. They were both so naive and determined that they didn't even realize that they were growing up.
By the time Belarus finished her dress, England had come back inside from putting the cauldron outside. Finally, all five family members converged in the living room. Pictures were taken, especially of Seborga and Sealand's costumes. They had insisted on making the costumes themselves, and were obviously quite proud of their handiwork. Buckets in hand and costumes in place, the five ventured out into the cool autumn air to greet and get treats from their human neighbors, none of whom ever suspected the family with two fathers and a mother to be anything but normal.