Halloween was quickly approaching as fall rolled in bringing with it a crisp bite to the air. With the excitement of autumn, the youngest members of the Anderson residence were trying to decide on what they wanted to be for the spooky holiday. Part of the fun of Halloween was picking the best costume! Oh, and the candy of course.
Cole had already picked his costume out. He was going to be a lion. It was currently his favorite animal and when he saw the costume the boy had fallen in love. His dad even let him pick up a pack of face paint so they could draw on a big cat nose and whiskers on his face.
Mayson however, was struggling. Nothing was calling out to him. He was originally thinking about being a cat, he saw a cute set of cat ears and a puffy tail. He was even thinking of talking his other dad, Mr. Sixty in going with him. Sixty liked cats over dogs. They could be cats together! A daddy cat and a kitten cat! But the boy didn't want to be one now that Cole was gonna be a lion. He wanted to do something completely different from his brother.
He thought long and hard about it. There were a lot of cool looking costumes at the party store and he saw some fun ideas online. He almost wanted to do it all, even though he knew that wasn't possible. But at the same time, nothing truly called out to him and felt perfect. He wanted the perfect outfit! He had no idea what to do!
"You'll figure it out." Hank assured him. "Just keep looking. Keep an eye out to what calls to you."
Mayson wasn't so sure. But had given his father a nod. "Okay. Maybe you're right."
Who knew picking a Halloween costume could be so hard! It was tricky! Mayson was never good a deciding. His name was a combination of two other names he liked after all. Why would dressing up be any different? He had to give it his all and make it something wonderful, pretty, and perfect! Maybe even colorful and glittery!
He just had to find the right outfit that fits all those self imposed qualifications. He'd keep looking just as Hank had said. He couldn't find an outfit if he didn't look after all.
"Her." He corrected. "And I am careful. I'm a good daddy! Just like you and Sixty!"
Now alone with two children, Sixty sighed letting out the excess air, despite not needing to breathe. What had he gotten himself into? The boys looked up to him expectantly. Mayson's toy let out another cry. "Aaaaaauh!!"
x
It was when he was in the clothing section of the store that he finally saw something that caught his eye. It wasn't supposed to be a custom per se but it was pretty all the same and would make a good base for his costume. It was a puffy and flowy dress with rainbow colors. It even had some sparkly rhinestones on the front. The extra fun flippy kind! One side was rainbow and the other revealed a unicorn! It was perfect. He could wear this with his unicorn headband and be a unicorn prince for Halloween!
"Dad!" He called out to Hank, who was in the other aisle. "Can I get this? pretty please?"
Hank came around the corner to see what his son had found. "I don't know kiddo, a party dress is a bit much for a costume for one night."
"Plenty of people buy dresses for just one night! That's what weddings are for! Plus this dress is cheaper than what Cole's lion outfit was!" Mayson tried to convince Hank to buy him the dress.
Hank thought it over. Mayson wasn't wrong. This was cheaper than Cole's costume was, so the price wasn't an issue for this. But it did seem like a waste to buy since a nice outfit only for it to be worn once. And he knew no matter what the boy said he was only going to wear it the one time.
But... that was the fate of most Halloween costumes. At the very least they could hang it in the kid's closet in case he ever needed it again. Plus they didn't need to worry about him outgrowing it since he was an android.
Without much resistance, Hank quickly gave in. "Alright, we'll get you the dress, make sure you grab the right size." As long as it fits and was appropriate for a child to wear, Hank didn't usually care what the kids wore.
This dress was long enough so all they had to worry about was if it fit Mayson or not. Mayson looked through all the dresses, trying to find the right one. Hank stepped up and helped looed through the rack. After a moment he pulled off a hanger with a dress labeled for Mayson's size.
"Here you go, this one should fit just fine."
Mayson took the outfit that was handed to him. He grinned. "Thank you! Thank you! Oh, it's gonna be so pretty with my unicorn ears. And my baby dolly has that dress-up that'll match this! We can dress up together!" He held the dress close to him as he happily walked along the side of the shopping cart.
Mayson chattered excitedly the rest of the shopping trip. Talking about how happy he was, how good he'll look in the dress, how excited he was for Halloween, who he wanted to trick or treat with. He bounced from topic to topic as he skipped along while Hank shopped for groceries.
"Maybe Mr. Sixty will go with me! He can dress up in his pretty blue suit and we'll be all matchy matchy together! All pretty and royal like!"
Hank gave a noncommittal hum to that boy's idea. Hank wasn't on the best terms with Sixty but he didn't want to keep the boy away from someone he saw as a parent and Sixty took good care of the child. He just wasn't sure if he was gonna let the man take him trick or treating. Plus would Sixty even want to? Probably not, he left a lot on Hank and only spent time with Mayson on weekends. But that was going to be up to Mayson to ask him.
"We'll see. You have to ask him if he'll take you. But keep in mind not everyone wants to spend the evening walking a kid around the neighborhood" Hank replied.
"Mmmm no. Mr. Sixty will want to go with me." Mayson countered.
"If you say so, Mase" Hank dropped the topic, he knew once there was an idea in the kid's head nothing would get it out.
They finished their grocery shopping and headed home. Mayson was still holding his new favorite piece of clothing. Once they got home Mayson bolted to his room to change into the dress. Maybe he was going to get more use out of it than Hank thought.
Hank started to put the groceries away while the boy went to change. He had just finished carrying bags in and started putting canned goods away when Mayson skipped in. Dressed in the new rainbow and jeweled dress with a unicorn horn and ear headband, he gave a twirl of his dress. "It fits! It fits!" Mayson grinned.
"Isn't it pretty? And I'm an ever so handsome unicorn prince!"
Hank finished putting the cans away, turned, and grinned. "Oh hey look at you kiddo. You're the most handsome unicorn prince ever."
Mayson continued smiling as he twirled once more. And again. And again. Whoa. He was going to get himself dizzy at that rate. To be a child again. hank chuckled and shook his head. He would have been over and done with after the first spin. But here Mayson was twirling over and over again. Kids sure were resilient
Hank moved around the kitchen, putting away all the groceries. "Careful kiddo you don't want to dirty your outfit on the first day. That needs to last until Halloween."
"I won't ruin it or anything Dad!"
"But accidents happen. Maybe you should put your regular play clothes on for a while."
Mayson gave a stern pout and crossed his eyes. "No. I wanna wear my pretty new dress!"
"You can wear it later, just not to go out and play in."
The child android sighed. "Fine." he stomped off to his room and returned a few minutes later in a shirt and jeans.
"That's better kiddo. Now go out and find Cole. Go play for a while. Dinners still a few hours away."
"Okay, daddy! Love you see you later!" Mayson called as he raced out the door. Hank chuckled once more as he watched the boy runoff. Ah, once again the power of youth. So energetic. Hank didn't have much energy these days either. At least certainly not as much as Mayson seemed to always possess.
The boys were bubbling with excitement. They were up early for school and were dressed in their Halloween costumes. Today was Halloween. They got to dress up to school and other than a Halloween party not much was going on in class today. Plus there was a costume parade and it was only a half day of school for students. Wow. What kid wouldn't be excited about that? Not to mention this was on top of trick or treating later tonight. It was sugar on top of sugar. And all fun. It was going to be a good day.
Hank knew the kids would be a bit more of a handful than usual today due to all the excitement, treats, and change of schedule and routine but he was more than ready to handle it. It was just part of parenthood. Days like these could be extra but they were also fun.
You had to roll with whatever came at you, have extra patience, and let some things slide. It was going to be hectic but it was days like these they remember fondly as they grow. He knew he sure as hell had a lot of good memories from similar sugar fueled days of his childhood.
With an extra cup of coffee in hand, he herded Cole and Mayson out of the house and dropped them off at school. It wouldn't be long before he returned to watch the kids parade around in their costumes and pick the boys up from their short day of school.
Later, the evening had rolled around and Hank had just served the boys meatloaf for dinner, a strange tradition for the family on Halloween. Hank didn't know how it started but, it was warm and hardy the perfect meal for when you were about to walk around the chilly neighborhood for a few hours. And they were now busy getting dressed in their costumes.
With some persuasion from Hank, Mayson had a long-sleeved shirt and a pair of leggings on under his dress. Along with a pair of warm boots instead of the dress shoes he wanted to wear. The party slip ons with the buckles wouldn't keep the cold out. Being a shorter dress with no sleeves, Hank just knew the boy was bound to be cold running around in the night like that. For Halloween being in the middle of crispt Autumn, most Halloween costumes didn't provide much warmth. Even Cole's lion costume needed a sweater on under it or a jacket over it. The jumpsuit was made of thin material.
With their costumes on, came the extra flair of face paints and glitters. Cole got a set of whiskers and a lion nose painted on and Mayson had sparkles and a blush added long his cheeks. They grabbed their treat pails and were ready to head out.
Cole had a matching lion head bucket and Mayson's was a pink pumpkin. They had picked their own treat pails out. Hank really needed to invest in some high quality bags to reuse year after year. The cheap plastic pails from the stores barely lasted the one Halloween night and surely nothing past it. At least not the thin, flexible handles they tended to have. Why did Hank keep buying them? Probably because he kept waiting last minute to buy treat containers. But hell maybe next year he'd save money and just use some pillowcases. It worked when he was a kid!
In the backseat of the car, Mayson cradled his baby doll in his arms, the toy being dressed in a matching unicorn outfit. They were Daddy unicorn and baby unicorn!
The family pulled up to the front of an apartment building closer to downtown. This was where Sixty lived. Mayson hopped out of his booster seat and straightened his outfit out as he waited for the rest of his family on the sidewalk.
Hank was dropping the boys off with Sixty. Mayson had asked him to take him trick or treating and he surprisingly agreed. From there Hank had talked the man into taking Cole along as well. Hank had been roped into helping with the precinct Halloween party and while he knew he would get some enjoyment out of it, it left Cole with no one to take him trick or treating. He could take him to the party, it was for children and families after all and he was sure Cole would have fun but, the boy wanted to go around trick or treating.
It took some heavy persuasion and offers of favors, even a plea and beg but Hank had managed to get Sixty to agree to take both boys around this evening and drop them off at the party later. Hank knew most of the works he had put in was just to amuse the android by having to ask a favor of him. The rest of it was for dramatics and Sixty purposefully being difficult. But it had worked out in the end, with the RK800 agreeing to take both boys.
Hank led them inside the lobby of the building where they were then allowed to go up to Sixty's top floor apartment by calling up. Sixty met them at the elevator. Dressed in a blue suit that complimented Mayson's dress. It seems the boy even managed to talk him into the coordinated outfits idea.
"Daddy!" The YK shouted as he rushed out of the elevator.
Dropping his pumpkin treat bucket and his baby doll, Mayson bolted with open arms and with a grin on his face. He energetically jumped into Sixty's arms. Seemingly expecting and being used to it, or perhaps just having good reflexes from being an android, Sixty easily caught the boy and sifted to hold the child in his arms. "Hello Mayson" He seemed genuinely happy and comfortable with the boy in his arms. Maybe he was a good father to the young android after all.
Sixty slid the boy back to the ground, keeping him close and clasping a hand to his shoulder. Cole stepped forward, not as open or loud as his brother. The shyer boy gave a small smile and nodded towards Sixty. "Uh, hi." the boy greeted.
He hadn't spent much time around the RK800. In fact, his dad had warned him before to stay away from Sixty. Both boys really. But that didn't stop Mayson from talking to him and eventually forming a parent-child relationship.
Cole listened better and was still weary even now that Hank had loosened up due to Mayson seeing the man as a father. He couldn't just keep the boy away from someone he saw as a parent if Sixty was going to actually try to take care of him. And so far he more than proved he was trustworthy. At least with the kids.
Hell, it was going to be one heck of an interesting night with them and Hank wished he could see it. It was bound to have its hilarity. Maybe knock that dramatic high and might Sixty down a level. Maybe.
he turned his attention to Sixty. He had something to get out of the way first before he could just leave them behind. "You keep an eye on them or I'll have that bullet hole right back where I put. Might just keep your head too, for good measure."
"Dad. That's pretty gruesome." Cole pipped up. Mayson nodded quickly with wide eyes. Okay so maybe not the best thing to say to the prick in front of the kids but it got the point across.
"I'm sure Daddy will be great! He takes awesome care of me every weekend you know!" Mayson voiced. He had faith in the other. Hank wasn't so sure.
Hank continued, shifting to something less violent. "Have them at the precinct by eight. No later." He ruffled both boys' hair and turned to them. "And you two be good. Listen to what he says okay? Don't start any crap. If I get a good report I'll make sure you get extra whipped creme in your hot chocolate, if not you won't get any got it?"
The boys nodded. "Got it, dad!" Cole answered. Mayson followed. "Yup! I'll be good!"
With that words of warning and caution exchanged and out of the way, Hank turned and received the items Mayson had dropped. He returned them to the boy. "Be careful with your baby doll kiddo or else you might break it."
The toy gave a realistic baby cry. Mayson shifted the toy in his arms to hold it like one would a real baby. "Waaaaaa!!!"
Hank chuckled. " Sure you are kiddo. " He turned and headed to the elevator. "Love you two, see you kiddos later." Hank got back in the elevator and gave a small wave.
The boys waved back. "Love you!" They called back in unison. The door closed with a very faint clunk and clink sound.
This was not what he signed up for! He didn't agree to lug around a crying baby and two kids!
"Wahhha!"
"Make it be quiet!"
"Shut it, Cole! You'll make her scared!"
"I'm not the one that tossed her to the ground."
"I didn't toss her to the ground!"
Oh God, what has he done? It was going to be a long and interesting night.
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