Chapter 1: Jeepers Creepers
It wasn't that he particularly hated yard sales. It was just that, more often than not, they were full of half broken knick-knacks whose' sentimental value greatly outweighed their practicality. With a sigh Ludwig looked up from the worn King books he had been filing through.
Now his boyfriend on the other hand; he loved rummage sales.
He smiled when he found Feliciano, giddy and grinning, across the yard. He flipped through a box stuffed to breaking with old records. The Italian simply lived to get his hands on the unwanted or broken and mend them back together. Ludwig's small apartment was full of Vargas originals; he could never seem to say no to a new portrait or sculpture from Feliciano, despite his shrinking wall space.
Suddenly, Feliciano held up a black record sleeve. Ludwig squinted, barely making out a fat, faded pumpkin grinning merrily on it. Abandoning the table Feliciano skirted around the other displays as he raced back to Ludwig.
"Ludwig, look at this!" He bounced on the balls of his feet while holding the record out to Ludwig. "It must be Halloween music! Wouldn't it be great for Lovino to have something spooky to play tonight for all the trick-or-treaters?" Feliciano clasped his hands behind his back. He rocked on his heels while Ludwig slipped the record out to examine it. "Antonio always says he's going to have a scary costume, but they never really are. Some creepy music would be perfect!"
Carefully returning the record to its sleeve, Ludwig flipped it over. He frowned, tapping it lightly on his palm. The back side was blank. Only the grinning pumpkin gave a hint at what the record might contain. "Are you sure he'll even use it? We don't even know if it's music, Feliciano."
The young man shrugged and held his hands out for the record. "If he doesn't want it, I'll just bring it over tonight and play it for your trick-or-treaters!"
Ludwig tried not to cringe. The last thing he needed was another thing to drive his dogs up the wall. They would be excited enough with the doorbell going off all night.
"Excuse me?"
Both men jumped. Feliciano turned to face the soft-voiced intruder and Ludwig looked to the side. He tried to rein his heart back in; Halloween always made him jumpy over the stupidest things.
Smiling sweetly, an elderly woman stood on the other side of the folding table. "Are you interested in that, dear? It's full of spoo~oky sounds. It'll scare the jeepers right out of you!" She cackled as Feliciano grinned.
"Oh, definitely!" He reached for his wallet but the woman grasped him by the wrist. She slowly shook her head.
"No need, darling. You just take that old thing and be along your way. It used to belong to my sister; we were twins you see, and our things always got mixed up like this. My late husband must've grabbed by accident and she isn't exactly around anymore to take it back. You know," She paused, looking the young Italian over. "You look a bit like him yourself. Oh, but listen to me ramble." She released him with a gentle pat on the hand. "Just don't go scaring yourself with it now. It likes to be listened to; such a vain little thing. Don't go cutting her off half-way through or she might just get angry with you."
Feliciano nodded, hugging the record to his chest. "O-Of course! Thank you very much; come on, Ludwig." Spinning on his heel, Feliciano grabbed the back of Ludwig's jacket and tugged.
The larger man stumbled backwards with a grunt. By the time he righted himself and raced after his boyfriend, Feliciano had surprisingly made it all the way to the street. He was still walking and Ludwig had to jog to catch up.
"Felici-"
"She was kinda scary, wasn't she?" Mumbling, Feliciano kept up the fast pace until the yard sale was out of view. He sighed in relief and finally slowed his gait. Looking up to Ludwig, he frowned. "Maybe it's just all the Halloween feeling getting to me, but she was really kind of creepy."
Feliciano itched at his wrist for a good portion of the way home, until Ludwig, unable to stomach the red lines welling up on the smaller man's wrist, grabbed his hand and held it tightly between them. He hated to admit it, but Feliciano could still feel the woman's hand on his wrist and it made his skin crawl.
When they finally turned the corner and saw the brownstone he shared with his brother, Feliciano's shoulders sagged in relief. A paranoid wave was beginning to drown him and he wanted to squirm, feeling a burning stare on his back that had followed him from the yard sale. He wanted nothing more than to rush inside and yank all the blinds down.
Lovino's cat was sprawled out on the steps when the two men got closer. Chuckling, Feliciano bent to scoop the large tabby cat up. He propped him on his shoulder like a baby, balancing him and the record as he tried to work the door handle.
"Giovanni, you should know better than to keep sneaking out like this." Feliciano stepped back as Ludwig reached around him and opened the door. "Someone's going to snatch you up! Who wouldn't want such a handsome cat like you~?"
Ludwig rolled his eyes at the affection Feliciano practically drowned the ill-tempered tabby in. No one would want that demon of a cat. Plus, even if some poor unsuspecting fool did manage to snatch the feline, they'd regret it the instant Giovanni sunk his sharp little fangs into their hand.
"Do you want to wait in the kitchen, Luddy?" Feliciano turned to look at him, all the while placing Giovanni down on the small hall-side table. "Brother was going to make some treats for tonight."
"I'll wait here." Ludwig chuckled at the small pout Feliciano sent his way. A sudden wall of fur collided with his ankles and Ludwig glanced down to see Feliciano's tabby winding between his legs. Now here was a cat someone would steal; all love and devotion. "You go grab your things- And please remember your tooth brush this time?"
Feliciano groaned. "I don't see why I just can't use yours. We've already done wor-"
A crash in the kitchen cut Feliciano short. Abandoning the record on the table, Feliciano raced off down the hall towards the hurricane of Italian curses.
Looking at Giovanni, Ludwig squinted. Against his better judgment, he reached out hesitantly to the darker tabby cat. It bumped its head against Ludwig's fingers, shocking him enough to buy the feline time to take that desired chunk out of Ludwig's hand.
Feliciano skid into the kitchen. He slammed into the island in his haste and nearly collapsed against it. "Brother! Are you alright!?"
"Do I look fucking alright?" Lovino growled out around the finger he currently was nursing in his mouth. Feliciano rushed to take his brother by the wrist, pulling the hand towards him to examine it. Lovino ripped it free, shaking it out. A thin pink line ran up the inside of his finger where the pan had caught him. "You were making so much noise, I got distracted. Be more careful!"
"…shouldn't I be saying that to you, Lovi?" Feliciano laughed at the dirty glare his brother gave him. Skirting back around the island, the younger twin snatched up a thin cookie. He jumped back when Lovino took a swat at him. "I picked up a present for you, Lovi! I found a record at a yard sale today with Ludwig and-"
Lovino groaned. "Did you leave him alone in my house?"
Feliciano shook his head, rushing to swallow the cookie he had just shoved in his mouth. "Giovanni's with him." Lovino smirked at that. "But, yea! Guess what! It's a Halloween record! The lady that gave it to me said it was full of all sorts of scary noises and I thought it'd be perfect for you! Don't tell Antonio, but…his costumes are never really scary, scary. So, I thought you could use it when the trick-or-treaters come by!"
Rolling his eyes, Lovino turned back to the oven. "That idiot likes to talk big, but he couldn't do something scary to save his life. Hell, he's more likely to scare himself in the mirror than some brats on my doorstep." Retrieving the tray, Lovino placed it on the counter. He scoffed. The cookies had scattered all over the parchment earlier thanks to his jump. "Where is this thing anyways?"
"I left it in the hall!" Feliciano had drifted out of the kitchen, retreating to his room. He stole two more cookies before fleeing the scene. "I put it on the table!"
Tisking softly, Lovino left the cookies to cool and went off in search of the mystery record. He glowered at Ludwig; the blonde was crouched in the hallway playing with Feliciano's fat excuse of a cat. Choosing the more mature route, Lovino chose to ignore the blonde brick wall taking up precious house space.
Giovanni had fallen asleep on the table. Lovino gave the cat an ear scratch while picking up the sleeve. Flipping it over, he let out a shout and dropped it instantly. "Che cazzo?!"
The pumpkin sleeve snarled up at Lovino. Fangs took over the once bucktooth grin and they twisted menacingly up towards its eyes.
Giovanni snapped awake the second the record landed. He took one look at the pumpkin before folding back his ears and hissing. Then, he jumped down and bolted to another room, tail fluffed out.
"Lovi?" Feliciano frowned as he walked back down the hall. He dropped his duffle bag by the door.
Scowling, Lovino stepped back and pointed at the record. "Where the hell did you get this thing?! Look at it, it's demented!"
"Che?" Picking up the sleeve, Feliciano flipped it this way and that. He looked up at his brother, turning it so Lovino could see the pumpkin. "What are you talking about, Lovi? I thought you would like it!"
Lovino's skin prickled at the grinning pumpkin. It was fat and golly once more, grinning through triangle eyes. Sputtering, he ripped it from Feliciano's hands, turning it over and over again. "I-I thought- No, I know I saw…"
"Lovino, do… Maybe I should stay home tonight?" Feliciano fidgeted, watching his brother carefully.
Slapping the record back on the table, Lovino shook his head. He shoved a hand into his hair and let out a thin stream of air between his teeth. "…fuck. No. Go on, just get out of here already." Lovino began ushering his brother towards the door, blonde potato in tow. He nudged the remaining tabby cat back into the hall when it attempted to scurry out after its owner. "And don't forget to text me before you go to bed. And don't accept any weird candy, Feliciano. And-"
"Lovi!" Giggling, Feliciano shook his head. "I'll be alright! See you in the morning!" Slipping his hand into Ludwig's, the young man practically skipped down the road. He felt so light, the weight of eyes from earlier forgotten.
Lovino stood in the doorway, watching the pair until they turned the corner at the end of the block. He shivered, all the while itching at his wrist. Slowly, the hair on his neck began to stand on end, almost as if someone was watching him.
He slammed the door shut.
Walking back to the kitchen, the record caught Lovino's eyes. He stared at the offending sleeve, a hand over his mouth as he sharpened his gaze into a glare. Then, with a soft curse, he snatched it up and stormed into the living room.
The record player was tucked neatly in its own corner, surrounded by several large speakers and an even greater amount of records. Lovino shook his head when Giovanni puffed out upon seeing the record again and hopped off the couch in favor of hiding under it.
"Stupid cat." Muttering to himself Lovino carefully slipped the previous record, one of Freni's classics and Feliciano's favorites, off of the turn table. He replaced it with the newest acquisition to the Vargas vinyl collection.
The second he placed the stylus on the record it let out an awful hiss. Lovino slapped his hands over his ears, swearing at the machine while Giovanni bolted from the room with a yowl. Just as he was reaching to turn it off, the static subsided and quiet music began to filter into the room.
Lovino lowered his hands. As the music continued, acting as the undercurrent of the record, a mixture of stereotypical haunted house noises played; creaks from a settling attic, heavy footsteps, even the thrumming rhythm of a terrified heart beat.
He stepped back, fighting the urge to unplug the turntable that second. Lovino forced himself to turn away and retreat to the kitchen. Hoping to distract himself until he was invincible to the Halloween hymn, he went back to working on the treats his brother had started him on earlier this morning.
As the music played it crawled under his skin. It weaved so intricately with his bones that a steady stream of ice numbed him to the core. The creaking house became his, the heartbeat threaded thinly up his neck. Lovino frowned as his hands began to shake.
It was a damn record, he screamed in his head. But still he closed his eyes.
The footsteps seemed to creep inch by inch out of the living room. They followed him. Down the hall a door creaked and slammed.
Closer, closer.
It was so near now. He could feel the hot breath on his neck, the electric pulse that came when skin almost touched skin.
"Lovi?"
Lovino jumped at least five feet, but he swore it was only two. Spinning around, he threw a measuring spoon at the intruder.
Antonio blinked as it bounced off his chest.
"You bastard! Ma' va te ne a fanculo! Haven't you heard of knocking?" Lovino stormed past him. Going straight to the record player, he accidentally scratched the needle across the vinyl when he pulled it away.
"I called out to you a couple of times. Even rang the doorbell." Antonio was leaning against the counter when Lovino returned. Giovanni was nestled in his arms, his head buried into the crook of Antonio's elbow. Lovino glared at the furry traitor. "You didn't answer, so I just used the key. Did you really get that absorbed in the music?" He laughed when Lovino's glare focused on him. "I'll admit it was kinda spooky! I'm surprised you even own something like that with how easy it is to scare you."
"I do not scare easy!" Growling Lovino stalked away. "Go get changed already! Those brats are bound to be here soon and you always take forever getting ready." He slammed his door and hid away in his bedroom. Leaning back against the door, he deflated. A cold seeped in through the wood and he shivered.
Tomorrow morning he was throwing that record away.
As the first wave of trick-or-treaters hit later that night, Lovino tried his best to imitate Feliciano. His brother would be proud of him at the rate the night was going, Lovino was sure of it.
He didn't scream when some brat knocked over a porcelain skeleton and it shattered all over his steps.
He barely flinched when Giovanni raced out past his feet and then proceeded to have a panic attack in front of the children. The cat took a few good swipes at some ankles, ran clean into a pumpkin, then bolted back into the house yowling his fool head off.
But most of all, he prided himself with how little he stared at the Spanish werewolf handing out candy. Chewing sullenly on a cookie, Lovino watched Antonio. He was laughing and a few kids were jumping away screaming and giggling at Antonio's growl.
Where did the idiot get off, dressing like that in October? Werewolf or not, it should at least be common sense to throw on something else other than leather and a fur vest.
Lovino's eyes drifted southward and he snapped them up instant to see if he had been caught. It would have been Antonio's fault anyways; leather pants were just too dangerous to wear in public, Halloween or not.
As the night began to reach the end of its haunting hour Lovino leaned against the doorway, watching through the storm door for more brats to come traipse up his steps. More and more houses were flipping off their porch lights and only the determined or desperate few remained on the hunt for candy.
He debated for a moment whether he should leave the remaining candy out on the stoop; but then he wondered if the bowl would still be there come morning.
"Hey, Lovi!"
Lovino turned around at the exact moment a flash went off. Sputtering, he staggered while spots danced in front of his eyes. "Wh-what?!"
Laughing, Antonio clicked away at his phone. It chimed quietly at him and he slipped the device into his waist band. "Sorry. Your brother wanted to see if you were all dressed up. I had to! It's not every day you get to see Lovino Vargas in a dress."
Lovino growled, fists shaking by his sides. Feliciano had picked out this year's costumes. He dressed them both up as gypsies, and while his brother was more than willing to run around playing fortune teller at the potato hotel, Lovino was stuck inside with a werewolf.
Oh well. At least his jewelry was silver.
Chin high, Lovino stalked away from the door. He gave Antonio a warning glare when the man playfully grabbed at the skirts. "Watch it, wolf man."
"What are you going to do, curse me?" Antonio smirked and spun Lovino back into his arms. The silver roman coins chimed sweetly with the flaring of Lovino's skirts. Lovino groaned and tried to squirm away, his hands on Antonio's chest. "Hey gypsy teller," Leaning down, Antonio faked a growl before nipping at Lovino's ear. "Tell me something about my future?"
"You're going to get my foot up your ass if you don't let me go, how's that?" He tried his best to glower when Antonio leaned back to look at him. But it was shot to hell and Lovino struggled to keep up his angry expression when the man smiled gently at him.
A second arm slipped around Lovino and gently pulled him closer. The coins sang out against Lovino's hips. As Antonio leaned down, closing the space between their lips, Lovino slowly closed his eyes. He wondered if anyone could really fault him for wanting to feel the other man's lips on his.
Then, Lovino's phone chirped. His eyes snapped open and he shoved a hand into Antonio's face before the older man was any the wiser. He fished the device from the costume's bodice and shot the Spaniard a glare when he caught the look on Antonio's face. "It's the only damn place to keep the stupid thing. Shut up."
Turning back to the screen, he flipped through to find a new text from Feliciano. He raised an eyebrow. "What decoration?" Looking to Antonio, Lovino pointed to his phone. "Do you know what the idiot's going on about? You didn't sneak any decorations up when I wasn't looking, did you?"
Just as Antonio shook his head, Lovino's phone chimed again. His brother had forward him the photo from before, clearly explaining his distress on how Lovino could put something so scary up when little children were bound to come by and see it.
Opening the image, Lovino squinted. He forced the flush out of his cheeks at the sight of him in the ridiculous gypsy skirts. "I don't-"
But there, almost as if it waved in and out like a holographic, he saw it.
An emaciated hand preceded the entire being. It was placed atop the top of the open door and bent awkwardly at the wrist. Following the arm, it led to a distorted mass of blue and black crouched in a corner of the wall. Lovino quickly looked up to the now empty corner.
He shook so much that the phone almost fell out of his grasp. A clawed hand had been poised directly over his head; close enough to pull the scarf holding his hair back clean off.
Spinning, Lovino smacked Antonio in the chest. He fumed, cheeks puffed up, and an angry red taking over his face. "Wh-what the hell was that all about, you bastard?! I sure as shit didn't put that there! You think it's funny to play these kind of jokes!?"
"Wait, what?!" Antonio winched when Lovino slammed the phone against his chest. When the fuming Italian stormed off, Antonio carefully flipped back through the messages until he found the culprit. A shiver ran up his spine at the sight of the creature hovering above Lovino.
It definitely hadn't been there when he took the shot.
"Lovino, I didn't do this!" Following the wake of the angry little man, Antonio gentle knocked on Lovino's door. "I promise!"
"Fuck off!" Yanking the puffy white shirt off, Lovino threw it half way across the room. "You were the only one that could do that, you took the picture!" The skirts and silver ornaments were similarly disposed of. He threw on the first pair of clothing he could get his hands onto; a pair of sweats obnoxiously decorated just the way he liked with the Italian flag and an old t-shirt.
Lovino stopped and let out a groan, half tempted to toss the shirt away with his costume when he smelled the familiar cologne and realized it was one of Antonio's.
Antonio rested his forehead against Lovino's door. "Lovi, you know I wouldn't do something like that to you." He nearly fell forward when the younger man ripped open the door.
Glowering, Lovino folded his arms. "Then who did?"
"I couldn't tell you, mi querido."
"Don't you go trying to bullshit me over with that romantic Spanish shit." Shouldering his way past Antonio, Lovino retreated back to the kitchen. He leaned against the counter, swiping a cookie and taking great pride in how it snapped in two under his bite.
Antonio followed him. He watched the angry little man take his aggression out on another baked good before daring to approach. Wrapping his arms around Lovino from behind, Antonio placed his chin on Lovino's shoulder.
Lovino tensed beneath him.
"…why don't we just kill the porch light and settle in for a movie, Lovi?" He smiled and Lovino wondered if he could hit hard enough to escape and go crawl under the sink. The Spaniard always had that bad habit of making Lovino's knees wobble, no matter the mood, when he dipped a little bass into his voice. "I'll even let you cling to me if you get scared."
Lovino suddenly smirked. He pushed back, popping free easily from Antonio's hold. "As if I'd hide against your hairy ass chest. Go shave first, wolf man. I'll think about it." Lovino shoved his hands against Antonio's face when the older man tried to steal a departing kiss in his typical puppy-esque manner. "Shave. Go on."
Antonio rushed to rip the glued-on fur from his face. Turning back to his kitchen, Lovino frowned. He scratched at his wrist as he wandered through the quiet room. Maybe a movie would do him good, especially if he could convince Antonio to watch that old mobster movie. They had seen it at least a hundred times already; the classics were hard to kill.
Trying not to smile, Lovino ducked his head into the pantry. If he played his cards right, he might also be able to distract the Spaniard. They had, after all, seen the movie at least a hundred times.
Shaking his head, Lovino tossed a popcorn bag into the microwave. As it cooked, he found himself looking out the window over the sink.
A light rain had picked up, not an uncommon thing for late October. Thin strands of rain were streaking down the pane. Leaning back against the counter, Lovino frowned and his reflection mimicked him. The stark black outside, coupled with the warm yellow kitchen lights, created a perfect mirror.
"…it was that stupid record," he mumbled quietly to himself. Chewing on his thumbnail, Lovino glanced down. "Damn thing got me all worked up earlier, that's what this proba-" He looked up and the words died in his throat.
A woman was on the other side of the glass. She raised a hand, gently tapping at the window. The water weighted her hair down and beaded over her skin. A thin smile spread across her poorly-painted lip.
"H-Hey…" Lovino stumbled backwards and his back collided with the fridge. "You….you can't be out there." All the blood rushed from his face as he groped behind him for the knife drawer. "G-Go on, get out of here! Or I'll call the cops!"
Suddenly, she frowned. Then, in the split flash of a second, she warped. Her mouth dropped open, jaws dislocating and revealing a hideous, fang-ridding mouth and squirming black tongue. She screeched at him, clawing at the glass, even banged her head against it.
Lovino screamed and fell to the ground covering his ears. He scrunched up his eyes, curling in on himself with his head between his knees. "Go away, go away!"
He jerked when a pair of hands grabbed him by the shoulders. Lovino struck out. His eyes snapped open at the low groan and thud in front of him.
Antonio sat, legs sprawled awkwardly, wincing as he rubbed the raw spot on his jaw.
"Where the hell did you get such a good south paw?" The Spaniard gently popped his jaw. Looking up, Antonio found Lovino pale and shivering, his arms wrapped tightly around his knees. "Hey, Lovi no, no, come on. I got a tough face, see? It's alright."
Smiling gently, he tried to approach the quivering man. When he placed his hands on Lovino's shoulders this time, wide shaking green eyes slipped up to look at him. "I'm alright."
Antonio grunted when Lovino shot forward, slamming into him at full force. Hushing him, he gently rubbed circles in the smaller man's back. His free hand protectively wrapped over the back of Lovino's head. "Lovi…"
"Th-there…there was a woman." Lovino let go of Antonio for the briefest of seconds to point at the window. He didn't dare look at it again. "Sh-she was right there! Banging on it!"
"...Lovino, that's impossible."
"I know what I saw!"
"Lovi," frowning, Antonio pulled Lovino back. He brushed a hand over the man's forehead, parting Lovino's bangs. "We're at least two stories up off the ground. There's no way anyone could get up to your window."
Growling, Lovino shoved Antonio away. "I know what I saw!"
He stood, Antonio following. Lovino glanced at the Spaniard, fighting desperately not to throw himself against him and hide again. Antonio simply nodded and gently kissed his temple.
"Any thoughts on what movie you want to watch?"
A distraction tactic, Lovino thought bitterly. But, it wasn't an unwelcomed one. Folding his arms, he watched Antonio as the man finished preparing the popcorn. He turned, smiling brightly at Lovino with a ridiculous red bowl in his hands overflowing with the puffed snack.
"I might have an idea."
He allowed Antonio to take his hand and lead him into the family room. Waiting by the side, Lovino watched as Antonio collected an impossible amount of blankets, dump them on the couch, then collapse onto it in a long-legged sprawl with the remote in hand.
Antonio grinned up at Lovino. He wondered if he would need to coax the younger man down.
But Lovino snatched the remote from Antonio. Without even looking, he turned the TV on. Some stupid black and white show popped up on the screen. He didn't know it, and frankly he didn't care.
"You didn't leave me anywhere to sit, you bastard."
Lovino smirked and Antonio's eyes widened. He grunted when the smaller man flopped down, knocking the wind out of him as Lovino made comfortable on the couch and subsequently the man that had taken it over.
"You're too big to be a cat, Lovino."
"Fuck you, I'm the perfect size." He folded his hands on top of Antonio's chest. Resting his cheek against them, Lovino turned to the TV. A smile fought its way to his lips when Antonio dragged the blankets up to cover them.
Antonio gently placed his hand down atop of the lithe Italian's back, content to let him flip through the channels until he found something suitable.
Giovanni hissed in the corner, catching the Spaniard's attention. Antonio looked over and found the cat crouched down, swatting at a black record sleeve while Feliciano's tabby hid under a chair. He cringed; who would buy such a disturbing thing?
The pumpkin, grinning manically against the black, was beginning to rot.