AN: Wow, it's been a long time since I've added this collection. My apologies for the wait. I could list a litany of excuses, but no one wants to read that. Thank you to everyone who waited patiently for me to update.
Unlike the previous chapters, this one is most definitely AU, in celebration of the scariest night of the year ^_^.
xxx
Kaoru sat on the floor of their living room, surrounded by an assortment of small knives, saws and wood carving tools. Braced between her outstretched legs she worked madly to finish carving the enormous family pumpkin before their guests arrived and children started banging down the front door.
Some years ago, she'd made the mistake of purchasing a pattern kit and carving some of the simpler motifs. Images of devilish imps, ghouls and goblins emerged, much to the delight of all who saw their pumpkins that year. Unfortunately since then, as the fame of the Himura jack-o-lanterns grew, her family had demanded increasingly complex patterns. Every year she would grumble and try to convince them that a simple silly face was perfectly acceptable, but secretly, she basked in the praise elicited by her creations. Currently, she was coaxing an image of ghosts and tombstones from the thick, orange skin while Kenshin helped Kenji into his costume.
She could hear her little boy giggling in the next room as Kenshin whispered to him. Kaoru had no idea what the two had cooked up for the child's costume this year, and from all the apparent scheming she was a tad bit worried. She'd asked them on countless occasions but the response was the same every time.
"It's a surprise, Mom," Kenji would reply, the glint in his eyes more than a little mischievous. Not even bribes of special treats could pull the secret from her son's lips.
Kenji's father was no better. She'd exhausted her bag of tricks that usually worked, but Kenshin being the man that he was, would just reach into his own trove to silence her. Now the big day had finally arrived and Kaoru waited anxiously for the big reveal.
"C'mon, boys!" she yelled toward Kenji's bedroom. "The gang will be here in a bit and I doubt Sano will wait for you."
"Almost done!" chorused Kenji and Kenshin in unison.
Their little group had been together since high school, and now that they were all married with children, "The Gathering" had become an annual event. The men would take all the kids around the neighborhood for legal candy begging, while the women stayed home, drank wine and greeted the miniature monsters, pixies, and princesses that visited to beg for candy of their own.
When she spoke of their tradition to most people, they always questioned why the men took the kids around, to which she would simply reply, "You don't know Sano. The guy is perpetually ten." In fact, when it came to the collecting of candy, the thirty-year-old could be worse than most ten-year-olds. Kaoru giggled at the memory his audacious behavior which she'd been privileged to witness first hand last year when Kenshin had been away on a business trip.
"There…that should… do it!" Poking out the final sliver of pumpkin flesh and plopping the top back onto this year's master piece, Kaoru held the jack-o-lantern at arm's length to inspect the final result. Deeming it acceptably scary, she quickly gathered up her tools and plunked them in a bowl of soapy water before seeking out the candles that would illuminate her creation.
A knock sounded at the door, but before Kaoru could turn to answer it, she heard it open, Sano calling out his greeting.
"What? We're actually the first ones here?" he asked reaching to scratch the back of his head.
"Hey guys!" Karou called from the dining room where she was fishing for the bar-b-que lighters. "Make yourselves at home."
"Kaoru, you need help?" Megumi asked as she waddled into the room.
Kaoru turned and smiled at her friend, hugging her as best she could around the eight-month-pregnant belly. "I need for you to sit and be comfortable."
"Comfort? I've forgotten what that feels like," Megumi grimaced, pressing a hand to her belly as it warped with the baby's movement. "Actually, I'm better standing right now, so put me to use."
Kaoru laughed, remembering what it was like when she was pregnant with Kenji.
"There's salad fixings in the fridge, if you want to throw something together. I don't know if… hey Kenshin?" She called to the back of the house.
"Yeah?" Came the answering holler.
"You order food yet?"
"Doing in now," he said strolling into the kitchen, phone to his ear as he kissed Megumi's cheek. "What kind of pizza can I get the mother-to-be?"
"Garlic, chicken and mushroom, heavy on the garlic."
"White sauce?"
"You know it," she replied smiling as Kenshin turned to add her request to their order. To Kaoru she asked, "You got Tums for the heartburn I'll get after I eat that?"
Kaoru laughed, pulling the industrial-sized bottle from the cupboard.
"Uncle Sano!" Little feet pounded down the hallway and it was only the tall man's quick reflexes that kept him from being barreled over by a blue and white blur.
"Kenji? What the hel… heck happened to your hair?"
"What's the matter, Rooster. Don't like my costume?" Kenji snickered.
Kaoru turned, ready to scold both males for their language when she stopped short, mouth agape. Kenji's mass of hair was pulled into a high ponytail, but instead of its usual dark red color, it was jet black.
"Oh… my… God!" Blue eyes skimmed down the rest of Kenji's outfit, taking in the white gi, navy blue hakama, and shinai strapped to his back. There even looked to be wrappings underneath the gi. Behind her, Kaoru could hear Megumi snorting as she tried to suppress her laughter.
"Hi, Mom," Kenji said shyly, biting his lip, a perfect reflection of his mother's nervous habit. He'd been so excited about his costume. Even if he technically was dressing up like a girl, most people wouldn't know that so it was okay. They would just think he was a Kendo student. But now, looking at the expression on his mother's face, he wasn't so sure it had been a good idea.
"KENSHIN!"
"Yes?" Kenshin peeked his red head around the corner of the other room, blinking, his face the picture of innocence.
"His hair… what did you… I mean… omigod!" She stammered, caught somewhere between, anger and amusement, but most of all, shock.
"Don't worry. It will wash out in a couple of days," Kenshin said, laughing as he hugged his flummoxed wife. "I've always told you he looked like you. "
"Yeah he does," Sano added, adjusting his hold on the boy in his arms. "It's downright creepy."
Kaoru blinked a few more times, before she felt laughter bubbling up. Walking over, she took the six-year-old from Sano and hugged him tight.
"What in the world made you think to dress up like Mommy?" she asked, giggling.
Kenji's worried expression immediately broke in the face of his mother's smile, but only answered her with a shrug.
"What's all the commotion in here?" Misao asked walking through the door, plunking down the bags in her hands so she could shed her coat. "Kaoru I could here you all the way out in the street! Not that that's really anything new."
Pulling her head out from the closet where she'd deposited her jacket, she finally looked at the inhabitants of the room, her lips forming into a surprised "oh!" when her eyes fell on Kaoru and Kenji.
Misao nearly doubled over once she got over her initial shock. "Kenji, you look great!" she laughed, coming over to ruffle his now-ebony bangs.
"Thanks, Mi-chan."
"Pfft, he even sounds like you now, Kaoru."
"Where's Aoshi?" Kaoru asked, setting Kenji down again.
"Oh, he'll be here in a minute," Misao replied as she and Kaoru wandered to the kitchen, locating bowls for the various munchies she'd brought. "He and Sumire are checking out the haunted house across the street. They went all out this year didn't they?"
"Yep. You'd think after being in this house for five years, we'd be used to all the screaming teenagers…"
Right on cue, a deep yell and a high-pitched scream pierced the night, followed by laughter.
"Mommy, Mommy!" A tiny girl clad in a black witch costume burst through the door, making a bee-line for Misao. She was followed soon after by her father.
"Mommy, guess what? You'll never guess, but you know what?" Words poured from the little girl's mouth in an endless stream. "There's a real zombie over there this year! He popped out right of the ground. Scared me soooooo bad… it was awesome!"
"Oh really?" Misao asked, laughing at the "she gets it from you" look on Aoshi's face.
"Uh huh," Sumire nodded enthusiastically, green eyes sparkling with excitement. His skin was hanging off and everything! I thought he was gonna eat me for sure!"
Aoshi rolled his eyes as he shook hands with Kenshin. "Himura, you're wife seems to have shrunk," he said, smiling and nodding toward Kenji.
"Kenji, why are you dressed like a girl?" asked the final member of their little party as he walked through the door.
Kenji turned toward the newcomer and thumped Yahiko in the arm with his shinai. "That is not how you talk to your sensei, Yahiko-chan," the little boy said, imitating his mother perfectly.
"C'mere you little brat!" Yahiko yelled, lunging for the boy only to receive a thwack on his head. "Oh, you are so dead!"
Laughing, Sano leaned across the kitchen island. "I think we just found out why Kenji wanted to dress up as you," he said, winking at Kaoru and snagging a chip from one of the bowls.
"Yahiko, stop picking on my son!" Kaoru yelled at the man chasing Kenji around the living room. He might be in his twenties now, but Kaoru was not above giving her foster brother, and former student, a sound beating.
"But, Kaoru he's the one…" Yahiko's whine was cut off by another thump against his shin.
"Ow!"
"Kenji, you too!" Kaoru pinned her son with a look. "Or there will be no trick-or-treating for either of you!"
A deathly silence fell over the two.
"Now, are you two going to behave?" Kaoru's tone turned saccharine, a clear sign she meant to follow through on her threat if they stepped another toe out of line. Yahiko and Kenji nodded earnestly, neither daring to speak.
"Good."
"OK!" said Sano, clapping his hands together. "That's our cue. Let's get outta here before she changes her mind, shall we? Who wants candy?"
"ME! ME! ME!" The two little ones hurried out the door, followed quickly by Yahiko, Sano, Kenshin, and Aoshi.
"Have fun guys!" Misao called before turning to Megumi. "Looking forward to motherhood, Meg?" she asked smiling.
The other woman smiled ruefully as she patted her beach ball-sized abdomen. "A little late to be asking me that, don't you think?"
Kaoru laughed as she placed an enormous bowl of candy by the front door. Pouring two glasses of wine and one club soda, the three friends gabbed as they waited for the first goblin to knock on the front door.
xxx
Two hours later, Kaoru went to blow the candle out in the jack-o-lantern and bring it inside before some bratty teen decided it would look better as road kill than a Halloween decoration. Sighing, she surveyed her living room, littered with empty pizza boxes and candy wrappers. In the middle of the mess lay her son, passed out from his sugar-induced coma.
The actual trick-or-treating process had taken relatively little time. Their neighborhood was full of so many candy-giving houses they literally only had to walk to the end of the block and back before candy pails were overflowing. What really took the most time was the bartering that came afterward. This Halloween, Sano, Yahiko, and Kenji had locked themselves in heated negotiations over the trading of sweets for nearly an hour. Sumire, smart girl that she was, had stayed out of it.
"I think they set a new record this year," Kaoru whispered to her husband as she packed the pile of sugary booty back into Kenji's plastic pumpkin.
Kenshin nodded his agreement as he lifted his unconscious son into his arms. "Be right back," he mouthed heading toward Kenji's room.
Kaoru gathered the discarded candy wrappers while she waiting for Kenshin to finish tucking in their son. She'd just deposited them in the garbage when strong arms snaked around her waist and squeezed gently.
"Another successful Halloween, I'd say. How are you doing?" Kenshin asked.
"Mmmm… better now," Kaoru sighed, turning in his embrace and resting her forehead against his chest. "I love seeing everyone, but those boys wear me out!" She snuggled closer, wrapping her own arms around him when capable hands found their way to the knots behind her shoulder blades.
"There's not much clean up. Why don't you just leave it and I'll take care of the rest in the morning."
"Well, now how can I argue with that?" Kaoru replied, pulling back so that she could smile at him. "Now tell me, who's idea was it to dress Kenji like that?"
Kenshin raised his arms in a gesture of innocence. "Completely his, I swear."
"Uh huh." Kaoru's look was dubious. "I think Sano was right. Kenji just wanted an excuse to hit Yahiko."
"It's possible. He is your son after all," Kenshin smirked, wrapping his arms around her once more.
"Gee, thanks." Kaoru smacked her husband on the arm, but laughed anyway. "Remind me why I put up with you again?"
"Because of my devilishly handsome face and wry sense of humor?"
"Yeah, that's it." Kaoru rolled her eyes, pulling out of his embrace when she heard to the door to Kenji's room open.
"Hey, sweetie. Everything okay?" she asked walking over to where the little boy blinked in the bright light. Kaoru smiled at the confused look on Kenji's face. "C'mon, let's get you back into bed."
"Mom?" Kenji mumbled.
"Yeah, honey."
"Next year, maybe I can be Harry Potter. Or we could throw together… a zombie outfit… or something."
Kaoru smiled as she pulled the covers back over him. "Maybe so, but—"
"Oh, and Uncle Sano said we should use a pillow case next time. Holds more." Kenji yawned widely.
Leaning over, Kaoru pressed a kiss to his forehead. "Good night, Kenji. I love you."
"…ve you, too," me murmured, half asleep.
Quietly closing the door behind her, Kaoru rejoined her husband in the living room, laughing and shaking her head.
"Wanna watch a movie?" he asked. "It's still pretty early."
"Sure. How do Harry Potter or Zombieland sound to you?"
Kenshin quirked an eyebrow. "Interesting choices."
"Yeah well, apparently we need to start researching next year's Halloween costume," Kaoru replied, grabbing a bottle and refilling their wine glasses which had been left on the coffee table.
Kenshin laughed and pulled a case from the shelf. "Zombieland it is," he said, putting the disc in the machine. Settling himself on the couch, he took the glass Kaoru offered.
"Here's to surviving another Halloween," he toasted.
"Here, here!" Kaoru chimed, clinking her glass against Kenshin's before drinking deeply. Leaning back, she nestled herself comfortably against her husband, only half paying attention as Woody Harrelson blew apart rabid zombies
"Say, Kenshin?" Kaoru sat up, a thought suddenly striking her. "How does a zombified Harry Potter sound to you?"
"I think Kenji will love it," Kenshin chuckled.
"Zombie Harry Potter it is!" she said raising her glass once more. "Cheers!"
Kenshin laughed louder as he pulled her back against him once again.
"What're laughing at?" Karou asked defensively.
"Nothing," Kenshin replied pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "We're barely through this Halloween and you're already plotting next year's costume."
"Yeah, well, you can never start too early," she pouted.
Her mind was already swimming with ideas. Maybe she could even convince Kenshin to dress up, too. It would take some careful plotting on her part, but with his hair, he would make a wonderful Ron, and to round out the trio, she could be Hermoine.
'Oh yes,' she thought. 'Next year will be the best Halloween yet!'
xxx
AN: Not written for any prompt in particular, I hope you enjoyed this one shot. Your reviews and comments are appreciated.