A/N: I was inspired by the Halloween picture, and as promised here is the crack fic chapter I wrote (even if Halloween was ages ago… whoops)! In the end it's not really crack fic, I suppose, except for the fact that they went to the party. hahaha
Pacing around the lake, Caspian turned around at the sound of footsteps, unsurprised to see Aspen making his way over. It was rare that anyone else ventured to the lake, if they indeed knew about it. What was surprising though, was Aspen's strange outfit.
"What the hell?" Caspian muttered when he was close enough to hear, just staring for a moment.
"Can you guess what I am?" Aspen grinned, twirling around to give him a better view.
Caspian stared at his rather over-the-top looking costume with a raised eyebrow. From his old fashioned looking outfit sporting a cape with a raised collar, to his black hair tied in a ponytail with a ribbon, to the fake blood dripping down from his mouth and the fangs poking out from his lips.
Thinking back, it suddenly made sense. "Are you going to that party you've been going on about for ages?" he sighed, finally piecing it together. Aspen had been nagging him about coming for a while, and he'd always brushed him off, disinterested. The thought of parties and crowds had never appealed to him.
Aspen giggled, nodding. "Yes, I'm a vampire. Don't I look dashing? Pretty, gorgeous, bloodthirsty, whatever you'd like to call me. And it's a Halloween party. Remember I told you what that was?"
"Some stupid mundane custom," Caspian muttered under his breath, ignoring the first part and making a face.
"Now, now, don't be like that," Aspen replied, clicking his tongue. "I wanted you to accompany me. You are going to, right? Don't worry, I've got your costume sorted. That's compulsory."
"I said I wasn't going," he retorted, quickly. "And I'm not wearing some stupid costume."
As Aspen drew closer to him, he watched him cautiously and folded his arms, not trusting what he was about to do.
"I just…" Aspen murmured in a low tone, reaching up to gently tuck some of Caspian's blonde hair behind his ear, "Need you to come," he finished, reaching up to place something on Caspian's head, before wrapping a furry scarf around his neck. Getting out some kind of black pen, he held Caspian's chin in a tight grip to stop him from moving as he protested, drawing on his cheeks and his nose quickly, before letting go.
Reaching up to pull whatever it was off his head, he paused when Aspen caught his arm, stopping him. "Now, now, you can't take it off until the party is over." Leaning forward, Aspen brushed his lips against his cheek, tightening his grip on his arm. "Okay?"
Grumbling low in his throat, he averted his eyes, pulling at his arm to try and get it free. The familiar scent of peppermint overwhelmed his senses, and he hardly felt like wasting his breath on arguing.
"Good," Aspen smiled when he didn't protest, letting go of his arm, instead taking hold of his hand to pull him along.
As they walked past the lake, he glanced over to see his reflection, staring. On his head were two cat ears, a blonde colour to match his hair. And on his face, there were whiskers drawn, and his nose was coloured black. "What the-…" He started, before Aspen interrupted him.
"It's cute," Aspen grinned. "And I think a cat rather suits you. You're very temperamental."
"Hardly," he scowled, not about to agree that he was like an animal, particularly a common mundane pet.
"A wild one," Aspen mused aloud, reaching a hand out to ruffle his blonde hair, pretending to pat him. "Definitely wild."
Leaning away from his hand, he made a face, watching the path ahead of him. "Shut up."
As Aspen led the way to wherever the party was at – Caspian really had no idea, although he assumed it was somewhere in the Downworld Towns – he chatted about parties, and all the people that would be there to see how pretty he looked. Caspian merely sighed, his hand itching to reach up and pull off the ears, thinking he looked ridiculous with them on. However, Aspen watched him much too closely, and he decided there wasn't much point in it – it wasn't like he'd know anyone at the party anyway.
When they reached the Downworld Towns, it wasn't hard to figure out where to go, as all sorts of species walked around the streets in costumes, all heading in the same direction.
"Because the party is so popular, it's invite only," Aspen lowered his voice to say, looking proud of himself for managing to obtain one.
Caspian glanced at him sidelong. "And you got invited how, exactly?"
"Oh, wouldn't you like to know," Aspen smirked, pulling him towards some open doors. Studying the building, Caspian recognised it as a tavern, although tonight it was done up strangely for the theme, with skeletons, witches, floating glowing orbs – likely enchanted by Warlocks - and other strange decorations.
As they approached the person at the door, Aspen showed the invite, and they were ushered inside.
The crowds were worse than he'd imagined, and the noise they generated made him want to go back to the forest, just for the peace and quiet. Looking uncomfortable, he glanced around at the Downworlders dressed up in costumes – it seemed everyone had made an effort. It was odd really, seeing so many species in one place. Normally werewolves and vampires were repulsed by each other, going to different places. This however, seemed like an open invite, for any species.
Noticing his discomfort, Aspen drew him over to one side, so that they had the wall to his back. "You'll get used to the noise," Aspen assured him, glancing around with bright and eager attention. "And remember, it's only for a couple of hours, like I promised."
Caspian nodded, pushing down his unease and focusing on him, deciding he looked much more at ease. Turning his head to the side, he flinched away when something brushed against his head. He looked up, seeing the variety of fake spiders and insects hanging by strings from the roof. He muttered something under his breath, ripping the spider down in annoyance, and tossing it to the ground.
"What did the poor spider ever do to you?" Aspen joked, reaching over to fix up his cat ears, from where they'd been knocked.
"It was annoying," he retorted, causing Aspen to let out a peal of laughter.
"I'm thirsty," Aspen stated. "Are you? I'll get us some drinks from the bar. It's a tavern after all. Do you have a preference?"
Caspian considered, resisting the urge to stop him from going, wondering for a moment whether he'd be able to find him again in the crowd. "… Just whatever faerie drink they have here is fine," he replied, finally.
Leaning forward, Aspen pressed a kiss to his cheek, before pulling back. "I'll be right back," Aspen said with a wink, before disappearing into the crowd.
Weaving through the crowd with ease, Aspen threw people a flirtatious smile as he started towards the bar. A vampire dressed as a ghost looked over at Aspen's vampire-mocking costume in disgust. Looking undaunted, Aspen blew him a kiss, before continuing, brushing against people's arms as he pushed his way through. He didn't like vampires much in reality, but it was certainly fun to dress as one.
When he finally made it to the bar, he leaned against it, ordering two faerie drinks. Turning to scan the crowd again, his grin grew when he noticed a familiar face. "Well, well, who do we have here?" he drawled, staring at Finn.
Finn looked adorable dressed as a playboy bunny, one of his rabbit ears flopping to the side, while the other stood up straight. The purple streak in his hair stood out strangely with the pink of his outfit and bowtie, but somehow it worked.
"I would hate to miss the party of the year," Finn joked easily, with his trademark grin. "It's certainly a pleasant surprise to see you here."
"Likewise," Aspen replied, stepping forward to run his hand across the pink bowtie on his neck, pulling the bow tighter. His hand then drifted downwards, over the skin on his chest exposed by the open neck of his costume. "Now, what have you been up to?"
"Oh, you know," Finn said airily, looking pleased at his actions. "Making new friends, kissing complete strangers, eating lollies, those kind of things."
Aspen smiled, matching his carefree manner. "Now that sounds like fun."
"You can join me, if you like," Finn said, his expression keen and excited, as he leaned forward to press a kiss to the corner of his mouth, before licking some of the fake blood off teasingly.
"Careful, or I might suck your blood," Aspen warned him jokingly. Tilting his head back and laughing, he gave Finn's cheek a quick kiss, before pulling away when his name was called for his drink order. "Sorry, not tonight, sweetheart. I have other company."
Looking disappointed, Finn watched as he placed some coins down on the table, before taking the two drinks. "Hmm, lucky person," he said, taking a step back. "But alas, I can find myself someone else, I'm sure."
"Have fun with that. I'll come visit you sometime," Aspen said with an endearing smile, before starting away into the crowd again. Someone bumped into him, and he spilt some of one of the drinks onto his shirt, sighing in dismay. "Now I'll smell sweet," he laughed, continuing on.
Approaching the other side of the room, he scanned the people lining the wall for some familiar blonde hair, although he failed to spot him. His smile turned to a frown as he wondered where Caspian could have gotten to. It wasn't like him to wander around the crowds alone.
Walking over to the place they'd previously been standing, he glanced around for someone to ask. A girl with golden blonde curls chatted away nearby to a faerie with wings. The girl was dressed as a princess with a pink dress and a tiara, and he rolled his eyes. It was hardly Halloween material. Judging by what he'd heard about Halloween, anyway. He'd never been into blonde girls, either. The faerie guy didn't seem to be dressed up, just wearing a black leather jacket and boots. As Aspen watched for a moment, he was almost impressed by how she just couldn't shut up, almost as if her mouth worked of its own accord.
"Excuse me," Aspen said pleasantly, walking forward to tap on her arm with a drink, since his hands were full. The girl's face lit up at the prospect of someone talking to them, while the faerie looked disinterested, eyeing him a little cautiously. "Did you see where a faerie with blonde hair went? He had cat ears and his eyes are-…"
"Silver and black, right?" the girl nodded, eagerly, pointing to the left. "Yes, these two guys started talking to him, so he went off that way, and they followed. I think he looked annoyed."
"Hmm," Aspen said, turning away. "Thanks again, sweetheart."
Starting in that direction, he finally got a glimpse of cat ears and blonde hair in the distance. Pushing his way through, he studied the two guys talking to him. They were identical twins obviously, and they were dressed as-… well, he wasn't quite sure. They certainly hadn't gone to a lot of effort.
"Excuse me, are you trying to steal my faerie away?" Aspen asked, butting into their conversation, and passing Caspian a drink, before resting a hand against his arm pointedly.
They turned their attention to him, their expressions equally interested. "As if. Who are you? Are you here with him?" they asked, glancing at Caspian, who still looked rather annoyed.
"Yes, and he's mine. So, hurry along boys," he said serenely, tilting his head to the side.
"He doesn't look like the type to hang out with you," one of the twins laughed, amused.
Scowling, Caspian glared at them, tugging on Aspen's arm to pull him away from them, losing them in the crowd.
"I thought you'd be waiting for me," Aspen said, berating him. "And here you are, going off with new friends?"
"They're not my friends," he said, sounding irritable. "They were annoying me."
"Well, don't worry, I'm here to save my damsel in distress," he grinned, amused by his joke.
Caspian rolled his eyes, less than impressed. He took a sip of his drink, and Aspen followed suit, raising his glass to his lips.
"Parties like this are exciting, aren't they?" Aspen said, as he glanced up at the decorations lining the ceiling.
Caspian stayed silent as he took another sip, and Aspen assumed he disagreed.
Resting a hand against Caspian's back lightly, he leaned forward to whisper in his ear. "I'm glad you could come."
"It's fine," Caspian said quickly, looking uncertain of what to say. "It's not like you gave me much of a choice, anyway."
"Oh, you know you love it though," Aspen giggled, resting his head on his shoulder. He felt drunk on life. Or perhaps he was just drunk from the faerie drink. He didn't mind either way though, because it was fun with the lights flashing and the room spinning, and all the talking and laughter.
They stayed for a couple more hours chatting and drinking and watching the rambunctious atmosphere. Until Caspian finally managed to convince him to leave, slipping an arm around him to support him when he stumbled.
"This was fun, we should do it again sometime," Aspen said cheerfully, his hand reaching up to play with some of his blonde hair. "It wasn't so bad, right?"
"Maybe," Caspian said, guiding him along the path, and keeping on the lookout as they made their way through the Towns. "If you survive tonight."
Aspen giggled again, missing Caspian reaching up to take off the cat ears, and tossing them onto the ground. "Everyone would be very upset if I didn't. Would you miss me?"
Caspian was so silent for a while as they made their way through the trees, and he was so, so tired, that as his eyes dropped closed, he missed his reply.
"Of course I would."