OA had never cared much for Halloween. He dealt with enough monsters in his line of work. Dealing with more of them during his free time wasn't something he felt compelled to do. Maggie, on the other hand, loved Halloween. And because he loved his partner, he'd gladly spend the evening with her, helping her put the finishing touches on her impressive decorations before the neighborhood kids ran down her door.

"This must cost you a fortune," he noted, picking up another set of fake cobwebs. Her apartment was filled not only with them, but with fake skeletons, ghost projections, and plushie bats, amongst other effects. "...And take forever to clean up."

She looked up from the fake crime scene she was in the middle of creating. "Just let people enjoy things, OA," she said, speech slurred by her vampire fangs.

"Did your family go all-out for Halloween every year or something?"

He could imagine her family being that family, the one that turned their house into the Halloween destination every year with light shows and special effects make-up, with little Maggie dressed up as a dragon or a witch. He grinned at the thought: What he would not give to see an awkward photo of her as a kid, dressed up for the event of the year.

She shrugged, placing the bag of fake blood on the counter. "They don't care for Halloween," she said, killing any hope he had of teasing her about it.

"Making up for lost childhood memories, then?"

"No. I-" She paused, a somewhat tired expression settling on her face. "You're messing up the cobwebs," she said instead, looking pointedly at the mess in his hands.

"You know I don't like spiders." That was an understatement. He didn't like plain black coffee. Spiders were something he wanted erased from the ecosystem (or, at the very least, eradicated from anywhere he would ever set foot). "I mean, what did you expect?"

"Which is why I bought the spider-free cobwebs that look like cotton candy," she said, voice a tad softer to let him know she wasn't teasing him. "No spiders in any of the decor this year."

Despite being only a small act of consideration, it made him smile. It was her indirect way of saying she wanted him here, partaking in her revered tradition, enough so that she'd made adjustments for him.

"Good to know." He untangled the cobwebs, carefully placing them in the upper corners of her windows. "Happy?"

"Very. Having a tall partner has its advantages," she said and turned her attention back to her crime scene.

"It needs more fake shards of glass," if she wanted it to look realistic, at least.

She nodded, studying the layout of the scene. "You're right. Hand me the box."

Before he had the chance, there was a knock at the door, and she sprung into action, making her way over with a bowl of candy.

A choir of "Trick or treat, Maggie!" filled the room as soon as she opened the door.

"Look at you guys!" She said, grinning. "Ghost, zombie, and… Rosie, are you Frankenstein?"

OA stepped up behind her, taking a look for himself. Three kids in impressive costumes, all younger than ten, and a teenage boy he assumed was babysitting.

"Frankenstein's monster," the girl - Rosie - corrected her.

"Oh, of course, my mistake." Maggie offered them the bowl. "One handful each."

The kids did as told, taking a generous handful and dumping it into their respective bags before stepping out of view.

"You get some too, Matthew," she said, tilting the bowl in the direction of the teenager.

He gladly accepted it, sneaking two handfuls. "Thanks, Maggie."

"And here," she fished a snickers bar out of her pocket. "For Lexie."

"You remembered," he said, accepting the bar. "She'll be so happy."

"A broken leg shouldn't stop your sister from enjoying Halloween."

"You're right." The boy sighed, lost in thoughts for a few seconds. Then he cleared his throat, dismissing whatever thought he had. "Who is this?" he said, nodding towards OA.

"My partner from work."

"OA!" He said. "She never shuts up about you." That went both ways. "Is it true that you disarm bombs?"

"Sometimes." OA smiled. "Nice to meet you."

"Are you kidding? It's nice to meet you. You're like a hero."

What kind of stories was Maggie telling him? "No more than she is," he said, feeling a blush creep up his face.

The kid looked over at Maggie again. "She is."

"You're sweet, Matthew, but flattery won't get you out of our tutoring lesson next week."

"Worth a try though, right?"

"Sure."

Matthew looked to his side. "I think Rosie will turn into the actual Frankenstein's monster if we don't get going."

Maggie chuckled. "Okay, you better get going then. I'll see you guys on Saturday. Say hi to Lexie from me."

Four sing-songy goodbyes filled the hallway, and she waved at them before closing the door behind her, still smiling as she put the bowl down by the entryway. She was different. Happier than at the office. That small frown she usually wore was faded, and the smiles formed easier. For a few moments, she seemed to forget about all the tragedy in her life.

"That was fun," he said. He was starting to see why she enjoyed Halloween. "You tutor kids?" He couldn't remember her mentioning it before.

"Only Matthew," she clarified. "Jason used to help him write essays. After he died, I took over."

That explained it. "Oh."

"Yeah, Jason loved those kids. And Halloween." She sighed, sinking down onto her couch. "I never really celebrated Halloween before him. I never really celebrated it with him, either." She looked down at her hands. "I regret that a lot."

He nodded, sitting down next to her.

"You know, he died early in October, so he had already bought the season's Halloween candy. It was everywhere in the apartment. I swear every time I opened any of the kitchen cabinets, a bag of candy would fall out." She chuckled. "He went all out."

"Sounds like he really enjoyed it."

"Yeah. He did." She lifted her gaze to meet his. "When the trick-or-treaters came around that year, I gave everyone as much candy as they could carry. It felt like I was honoring him, in a weird way."

He smiled softly. "That makes sense."

"It sorta became a tradition for me after that."

He hadn't expected that to be the reason for her Halloween fanatics, but it explained a lot. "I think that's a nice way to remember him." It obviously made her happy. It was worth the fortune he teased her about earlier. "Plus, the kids love you for it. Look at how excited they were to see you."

"Yeah." At that, she smiled again. "You were right about one thing, though."

"Oh?"

"It takes forever to clean up."

He chuckled. "That's why you have me."

"That's why I have you," she agreed. "Oh, and next year, you should dress up."

Next year. Warmth flooded his veins. She wanted him to be a permanent part of her tradition. "For sure. I was thinking we could get matching costumes. Batman and Robin or something," he joked.

"Minions," she countered, much to his horror.

"Frankenstein and Frankenstein's monster."

"You win," she said. "But you get to be the scientist."

"Obviously."

"And OA?" She paused for a moment, letting the jokes settle. "I really appreciate you being here."

He smiled. "Thanks for inviting me." Maybe Halloween wasn't so bad after all.