Author's Note: So this is my Halloween horror story. ...that's going to lapse into Thanksgiving and possibly/probably Christmas because I waited until Halloween to start it. I fail. Anyway, this idea came to me on ...I think Friday. And I've decided to run with it and see what happens to it. This is also the first thing I'm posting on here that's more than a one-shot! xD ...joy.

...-...

"So. Let me get this straight. You guys …dress up…and go from house to house…and ask for candy?"

"Yeeeep."

"…I thought you weren't supposed to take candy from strangers."

"No, Garth, that's just creepy men in white, windowless vans."

It was a struggle to keep his mouth from twitching into a smirk as the Atlantean slowly closed the fridge door to look back at him. But, Roy managed to keep his face entirely straight and serious. Garth blinked, his expression furrowing.

"…just creepy men in white, windowless vans?"

"Yeah. And I'm not kidding. Take candy from those bitches and you're dead. Everyone else, though, is perfectly safe."

Garth continued to eye him for a few more seconds before he scowled a little and shook his head, carrying the remains of some pasta to the microwave. "You're a jerk."

"No shit?"

"Tch."

He finally let the smirk slide onto his face as he pushed off the counter with a grunt. "Anyway, yeah. That's Halloween for you. Whoop-ty frickin-do."

"How come you guys didn't tell me about it last year?" Garth asked.

"Weren't you gone most've last fall 'cause've something going down in Atlantis?"

Garth paused midway through closing the microwave door as he thought it over, nodded and shut it. "Yeah, actually, I think that was during last fall. …and you were out of commis-…"

His voice trailed off as Roy paused and turned half way to glance over his shoulder at him. The Atlantean opened his mouth, closed it, and quickly started punching in numbers on the machine. He resorted to a subject change.

"Um, so, dressing up…Karen's taken the twins out as …what were they?"

"Thing One and Thing Two. …frickin perfect for them. Dr. Suess in Spanish; just when I thought the rhyming couldn't get anymore frickin ridiculous."

Garth snorted a soft chuckle. The archer rolled his shoulders and strode out of the kitchen area into the command center. He flopped onto the couch and propped his feet on the coffee table, drumming his fingers along the rim of the cushion. From the Titans East Tower's windows, the only thing he could really stare at was the ocean. Or the faint reflection of himself on the glass.

Lately he hadn't been entirely fond of that.

Garth exited the kitchen a few minutes later carrying a bowl of the steaming pasta with him. Roy didn't seem notice him until he had sat down to his right. Garth studied his face for a moment, frowning a little upon noticing how distant his fixed gaze was.

"…you want to be home right now, don't you?" He asked, almost carefully, forking at the noodles. Roy hardly side glanced him and snorted.

"Home? Why the hell would I want to be home? Ollie would put me on handing-candy-out duty. I hate that frickin job."

Garth shifted the bowl in his hands a little as he spun a few noodles around his fork, looking back up at the other teen afterwards. "…'cause, you know. It's your first holiday or something with Lian and, like you said, parents take their kids Trick-Or-Treating. …just…figured you might want to seize it to …get to know her a little better."

Roy slowly turned his head, his gaze hardening as he locked his eyes onto Garth's. The Atlantean shrunk a little and dropped his own gaze back to the bowl of noodles. "…sorry."

"Look. I'd already told Karen that I'd stick around with you and keep an eye on shit while she took care of the damn twins, 'cause we all know how God awful you are with technology. …Besides. Dinah practically nabbed the kid and dragged her off to the costume shop this morning. So screw it. They can have their 'girl bonding time'."

Garth shrugged, forking up the string of noodles and swallowing them down. "…if you say so."

The red head snorted and looked back to the windows, his eyes falling on his reflection for a moment before he glared away from it and scanned the horizon instead. His eyes jumped to the left as some movement in the window caught the edge of his gaze. A bird slowly glided by the windows from the cliff side behind the tower…and he strangely felt rather relaxed all of the sudden. And…almost guilty. He snuck a side-glance at Garth, who had also turned his attention to the ocean view and fallen quiet, not seeming to notice the gesture.

…frickin Garth.

Roy scowled and drew his legs up enough so he could swipe the remote off the coffee table.

"You like horror, right?"

"No."

"Awesome. I think The Ring's on right now. And Ju-on right after that. Might wanna get yourself a blanket to hide behind 'cause you sure as hell ain't usin' me."

"…ngh."