Elliott
Quinn tried to catch his boyfriend at the door and issue a fair warning, but
the front door slammed shut in the same moment that Eliza Grace let out a
terrific laughing screech—the eardrum piercing kind that only truly joyful
babies can create. He was tickling his one year-old honorary niece with the
feather in his costume cap, earning those wonderful peals of laughter, and he’d
totally lost track of time.
“Oopsie,”
Elliott said to Eliza Grace. “I think Uncle Auggie is going to be surprised to
see you.”
“El?”
Augustus’s deep voice boomed up the stairs to the second floor. “Do you have
Tori’s kid again?”
Elliott
turned his head to shout out the bedroom door, instead of into the baby’s face.
“Maybe. Come upstairs and say hi.”
Heavy
footsteps trod up the carpeted steps, moving steadily closer. Elliott fluffed
the gauzy wings attached to the back of Eliza Grace’s dress, then stepped aside
so his boyfriend could get the full effect.
Augustus
Rhinehart filled the doorway to their bedroom, fatigue weighing down his broad
frame. His dark eyes widened as he took them in, and then he started laughing.
Like,
really laughing.
“What?”
Elliott couldn’t help his affronted squawk. “You’re supposed to say how
adorable we both look.”
“I’m
sorry, I just--” He coughed like he always did when trying to control himself.
“Didn’t expect this, and I should have, because it’s so you.”
Since
Augustus didn’t know that Elliott had impulsively planned their entire evening
in the last forty-five minutes, the “so you” wasn’t his love of last minute preparations
and parties. The “so you” was the fact that he’d raided a pop-up costume store
so he could take Eliza Grace trick-or-treating in the most perfect costumes:
he’d dressed up as a blond Peter Pan, while she was decked out in the cutest
(and age appropriate) Tinkerbell dress possible.
“Here’s
an obvious question, though,” Augustus said. “Why do you have the baby, instead
of her parents?”
“Because
Tori called me less than an hour ago, super upset, because Allen is uber-sick
with the flu and still blowing chunks, and she didn’t want to leave him alone,
but she didn’t want Eliza Grace to miss her first Halloween out.”
Last
year, Eliza Grace had only been sixteen days old on Halloween, the weather had
been cold and rainy, and her parents decided not to risk their newborn’s health
for candy she couldn’t even eat. She still couldn’t eat much of it this year,
but Uncle Elliott was ready to help out in that department. Ever since meeting
and falling in love with Augustus over two years ago, Elliott had embraced soft
belly, so gorging on sweets was not out of the question.
And
maybe Elliott was the only one out of his trio of very best friends who didn’t
still have at least a four-pack, but whatever. Augustus loved his body and
nothing else mattered.
Augustus
stepped over to the bed, his mouth quirking in the adoring smile he reserved
for two people: Eliza Grace and his nephew Jack. “She does make an adorable
Tinkerbell. But Peter Pan?”
“What?”
Elliott twirled, showing off the green tights and tunic. “You don’t like?”
“Don’t
ever change, El.” Augustus planted a loving kiss on his lips. “Does this mean I
get to follow along in the car for when you inevitably get tired of holding
both her and the candy?”
“Oh
hell—I mean, heck no.” He reached behind the bedroom door where he’d stashed
the other costume, revealing it with a flourish. “You, my love, are going to
join us on our candy hunt. Say hello to Wilmington’s hottest Captain Hook.”
Augustus
stared at the costume, which Elliott might have paid a little too much for, but
now that he owned it, he was pretty sure he’d soon be developing a pirate
fetish. Black, bloused trousers, a white shirt that only buttoned up halfway,
and a beautiful red velvet jacket with all the trimmings. He’d even gotten a
hat with long, black curls sewn in, since Augustus kept his hair cut short.
“Peter
Pan and Captain Hook, huh?” Augustus said.
“I
know, I know, there’s an argument to be made about daddy issues, but I promise
you mine are long since resolved. Besides, I should get creativity points for
pulling all this together in less than an hour.”
“And
you do get points. One question, though?”
Elliott
crossed his arms. “Yeah?”
“Did
James and Boxer each already have plans?”
He
let out an exasperated grunt. “Maybe. So?” His two best friends, Boxer and
James, were a lot less flighty and way more down to earth than Elliott—their
significant others, too—so yeah, they’d made more sense to take Eliza Grace
out. Elliott hadn’t been offended that he’d been Tori’s third call for a
sitter, especially when most of his attempts at babysitting solo consisted of
many frantic phone calls to his various friends for advice. He still hadn’t
figured out her “I’m hungry” cries from her “I shit my diaper” cries.
“Only
asking, babe,” Augustus said. “Let me grab something to eat, and then I’ll get
changed.”
Elliott
bounced up on his toes. “So you’re coming with us?”
“Watching
you trick-or-treat with a baby in your arms? I wouldn’t miss it.”
“And you get to be a pirate.”
Augustus
eyeballed him in a less-than subtle way. “Do we have her the entire night?”
“I
offered but Tori didn’t trust me with her all night, even with you here.”
Elliott shrugged, not put off in the least. It meant he could strip Augustus
out of his costume one piece at a time, so sexy Captain Hook could fuck Peter
Pan senseless. “I’m not sad about that. And there’s food already in the
microwave. Go heat it up, then get dressed, Cap’n.”
“Aye,
aye.”
Elliott
carried Eliza Grace downstairs behind Augustus, careful of her dress’s wings.
He didn’t want to crush them before they’d visited one house. She seemed
content to sit on a blanket in the middle of the living room floor, so Elliott
grabbed a piece of paper out of a kitchen drawer. He’d bought candy, expecting
to be home to pass it out, but now that they were going out he planned to leave
it on the porch in a bowl. The handmade “One piece please” sign probably
wouldn’t do any good, but he’d feel better knowing he tried.
Augustus
ate quickly, then dashed back upstairs. Elliott amused himself by re-enacting
bits of the Disney version of Peter Pan that he remembered, much to Eliza
Grace’s ear shattering delight. That kid had the most amazing laugh. Mostly he
jumped around and acted the fool, and she ate it up.
The
sun was starting to set, sending small pockets of children into the streets,
when Augustus finally descended the stairs. Elliott resisted the urge to cover
Eliza Grace’s eyes with his hand; she was too young to understand how smoking
hot her Uncle Auggie was in his Captain Hook costume.
More
for Elliott to ogle. The trousers were almost too small, hugging Augustus in
all the right places. The unbuttoned shirt showed off miles of dark chest and
wiry black hair. And the hat and wig? Elliott checked his chin for drool
because HELLO. Then he pinched himself hard on the thigh, because his own
tights were not going to hide a hard-on if he kept staring.
“Holy
damn. Um, darn.” Elliott shook himself all over. “Why didn’t we try costume
role play before now?”
Augustus
gave him an innocent smile, then lifted the tail of his jacket to show off his
ass. “Why? Something look good?”
“You’re
killing me here, Auggie, seriously killing me.”
“Hey,
you bought the costume, Peter Pan.”
“Yes,
I did, and I have no regrets whatsoever. None. Nope.” Okay, so maybe he sort
of, kind of regretted needing to leave the house to trick-or-treat with a one
year-old, but not really. He’d never get this chance again with Eliza Grace.
Sex could definitely wait a few more hours.
Augustus
stalked over slowly, intently, like a real pirate about to take his conquest. “You
do realize that later on, when we’re alone, nothing comes off. Not even the
hat.”
“Same
for you, Cap’n. I want to feel those curls on the back of my neck.”
He
growled softly. “You’d have loved my dreads. Sometimes I think about letting
them grow out again.”
“I
think that would be sexy as hell—heck.”
“Hmmm.”
Augustus palmed his ass, and dear God, they needed to leave before Elliott did
pop wood. “Have I mentioned lately how much I’m starting to love Halloween?”
“Not
lately.”
“I
love Halloween. And I love you, Elliott Quinn.”
Elliott’s
heart turned over hard. No matter how many times Augustus said it, it meant
everything to Elliott. He’d fought so hard to be a man worth loving. His
relationship with Augustus hadn’t been without its own difficulties, but they’d
found a way to forgive and move on as a committed couple. “I love you more,
Augustus Rhinehart.”
He
squatted to pick his Tinkerbell up off the floor. “And I love you too, little
niece of mine.” She tried to grab his feather cap again and succeeded in
knocking it to the ground. “It’s going to be like that, is it?”
Augustus
snatched the hat up with a chuff of laughter, then plunked it back down on
Elliott’s head. “You know, for all your insecurities, you really are amazing
with her. You’d make a great dad.”
Elliott
shrugged. “It’s easier when it’s someone else’s kid. I can give her back at the
end of the day, let her parents do all the hard work.” He leveled Augustus with
a suspicious look. “Why? You just turned forty, don’t tell me you want to start
a family now?”
“Forty
isn’t all that old, thank you. And no, I’m not saying that. We’ve had this
discussion. Your cat is high maintenance enough, and we like our life as is. I’m
just saying you’re better at this than you give yourself credit for. Plus Dawn,
Beverly and Billy adore you.”
And
he adored the three kids of Augustus’s best friend right back. Plus, now that
Dawn was in high school, she regularly texted Elliott for boy advice, which was
ten kinds of awesome. Elliott was officially the Cool Uncle. “Like I’ve always
said, I like other people’s kids.” He grinned. “But if you really want someone
new in your life, running around your ankles, Schtump could always use a
sibling.”
Augustus
surprised him by not turning down the idea of a second cat. “How about we
discuss the idea of visiting a rescue shelter while we’re getting this pretty
little pixie some Halloween candy?”
“Yeah?”
They’d never talked about adopting another pet, mostly because Schtump was
seriously picky about the humans she liked. Mixing in a second feline might be
asking for trouble—and serious flesh wounds.
“Yeah.”
Augustus grinned. “If it’s what you want.”
“Cool.”
He wasn’t entirely sure he wanted another cat, but he loved knowing the option
was absolutely on the table.
Augustus
grabbed his keys and the glittery bucket Elliott bought as their candy pail. He
held the front door open. “After you, Mr. Pan.”
“Why
thank you, Captain.”
They
didn’t have to leave the neighborhood to trick-or-treat, so he and Augustus
walked down the sidewalk to the first house with a light on, elbows touching,
Eliza Grace perched on Elliott’s hip. Groups of kids and parents were already
wandering the street, laughing and pointing out costumes.
Elliott
ignored the occasional glare from disapproving parents, because he was happy,
dammit, and he didn’t need anyone else to approve of his life. One little girl
dressed as a fairy squealed and insisted her mom take a picture with their
trio. Peter Pan was apparently her favorite Disney movie, and she seemed in
complete awe of “Captain Hook.” Augustus ate it up as much as Elliott did.
And
later on that night, after delivering Eliza Grace and her bucket of candy home
to her parents—minus a mini candy bar or five—Elliott and Augustus removed the
minimal amount of clothing necessary in order for Augustus to bend him over the
kitchen counter and fuck him senseless.
Twice.
Best.
Halloween. Ever.
©
A.M. Arthur 2016
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