A/N; Thank you to Mrs Groovy-in-Unusual-Ways for this idea, I loved it the second I saw it. I'm definitely going to used some other ideas that have been sent to me, but I don't think I'm going to make this longer than 10/11 chapters and I already know what I'm doing for my last one, so if you want to see yours, get your ideas in!

Enjoy!

Halloween:

It takes a while, but the children learn not to be surprised when Erik says he hasn't tried something, especially as it soon becomes an excuse for copious amounts of whatever it is he's missed out on.

This time its Halloween, Erik's first, and so the house is lavishly decorated with grinning pumpkins and witches and bats and every other traditional cliché going, so there's eyes staring at him whenever he turns around. Erik still doesn't understand the point or significance of any of it, but Charles had smiled whilst Alex begged in his best whining voice, and so he'd given in without nearly as much reluctance as he pretended.

The children are off Trick or Treating- whatever that means- but apparently Raven is the trick. When they get back, laden with whatever goods they can carry, they'll have a proper dinner, and Charles, being the mother he is, has made them promise not to eat any beforehand.

Not that they won't.

As far as he can tell, the idea of the holiday runs something like this; on this night, dead people and evil spirits are supposed to rise and cause havoc. So, in order to prevent this... children dress up as monsters and go from door to door to beg for candy from adults. If they don't have any, the children are allowed to trick them- Alex swears egging is the way to go, but is under strict orders to not even think about it from someone who'd actually know if he did.

He's still totally confused, but he supposes that's what he gets from listening to an Oxford graduate and teenagers at the same time.

It's just him and Charles alone in the mansion, and they're preparing something called a piñata- a paper structure that's supposed to resemble a horse- except it doesn't. Charles, despite his many talents, doesn't have an artistic bone in his body, and Erik knows he isn't much better; so at the moment it resembles the Hindenburg. After the explosion.

He knows he can't help and doesn't even try- instead, he tries not to laugh as Charles gets covered in paper and glue, culminating in- for the professor- a vicious bout of swearing, and by this point Erik is so close to laughing he's only stopped by the gathering storm clouds in the sky blue eyes.

But when Charles gets up and manages to stand on the bowl of glue, falling flat on his face and looking adorably like a startled squirrel, he can't help it. He laughs.

Every time Erik laughs, Charles melts into a puddle. He can't stop himself because his bones just turn to jelly, and every time he has to be pulled off the floor by a chuckling German, this time because the children are home, and are ready for the traditional activities. The children have prepared a tank that is waiting outside for the apples, but Erik is avoiding this like the plague- he's all for the children having fun with it, but it's not for him. Along with 'Operations sans anaesthetic' it was one of Shaw's favourite 'treatments.'

He frowns at that, because this is the first time he's thought of Shaw in a while. Every time he does, whenever he starts to remember the face of his mother as the bullet pierces her heart, another face pushes it out of the way. This face has blue eyes and warm hands and ridiculously pale skin, hiding an innocence that Erik would mock into oblivion if he didn't secretly covet it.

Shaw's name doesn't carry the rage it used to either, or rather, it's a different rage. The rage before was a wildfire, all consuming, all destroying and completely uncontrollable. All he could do was let it burn. He was going to kill Shaw because Shaw had killed his mother, because it was the only way he could think of to make the burning stop.

Its ice now. The flames have refined and crystallised- it's still there, but it takes up less space, less effort to control, and it's easier to ignore. Now Shaw must die... because they'll never be safe with him alive. He can't let the children live in a world with a monster like that still in it, and Charles... Charles wouldn't be safe either, for all his power.

He just hopes Charles can forgive him when he does.

The party is in full swing, and the children, under careful supervision, are allowed cider. Any sign of drunkenness means immediate bedtime and no fun training for three days, and Charles does his best to ignore the constant thoughts Mother coming from behind him. Erik has recently mastered the art of projecting his thoughts, and seems to think it's funny to do so whenever Charles can't retaliate.

Charles doesn't tell him he's the only person who can actually do it. Raven tried to learn years ago, but he still had to focus on her to hear it; with Erik it's easy, he doesn't even have to listen and the thought strolls into his head, fully formed. He still doesn't know what to think about it, and so he's keeping it to himself, at least until he knows a bit more about what it means.

The piñata is presented for the obligatory mockery, because what else do you expect from teenagers? Erik tries not to notice how the red in the skin of a blushing Englishman makes his eyes look even bluer.

Eventually, it turns into a not-completely-unexpected battle between Sean and Alex, and Charles sighs. Really, who decided giving two teenage boys wooden baseball bats was a good idea? Everyone knows that Sean is cheating anyway because echolocation is definitely not allowed in the mansion, but it's Halloween, so everyone's too happy to care.

Now it's time for the apple bobbing, and Erik smiles behind his eyes. Charles will never admit this, because it would mean admitting to the ridiculous amount of time he spends staring at the man, but when Erik smiles they change colour, from gunmetal grey to the colour of swirling fog.

Slowly, gently, like leaves falling upwards, a neat line of apples floats into the room as the lights darken, creating shadows on the walls. The children gasp as they drift through the air, levitated by the paperclips he's stuck into one end, and they slowly they begin to dance around the heads of the dazzled children as they delight in the new dimension to the age old game. Soon they're laughing like mad things as they try and bite at fruits that dash away when they try, spinning round their heads and avoiding teeth.

There are good natured cries of 'Cheat!' but he just laughs, loving the sight of the children so happy and trying to ignore the brilliant eyes of his friend.

Because then he might do something really stupid.

A/N- is this too OOC? I've tried to keep them as in character as possible, but I'm not sure- please let me know if they're getting too different!

Anyway, if you like my work, please review- I love all your comments and ideas, they make me smile :D

Next: Fireworks