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[takes place before the epilogue]

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"Lovebug?" she asked him as she wiped the counters while he washed the dishes from their dinner.

"Darling?"

"It's almost Halloween," she said brightly as he rinsed the last dish and dried his hands on a towel.

He leaned against the kitchen counter, watching as she washed her hands; he didn't know what she was getting at, but he knew he would say yes to whatever it was.

There was no doubt about that.

He couldn't physically say no to anything his wife asked of him.

"Can we get some decorations? I loved decorating with Mama and Papa, and then Grams and Uncle Syl," she started earnestly, "But both of those houses were so far away, so we never got any kids trick or treating there."

He nodded slowly, "Of course we can get decorations," he paused, "Where do we get them from?"

She giggled, walking to stand in front of him; wrapping her arms around his middle, she pecked him on the sternum, "I know a few stores nearby."

He nodded, suddenly forgetting everything they were talking about. He lightly brushed her hair away from her face, seeing his whole world in her eyes.

His whole world in her.

She leaned her chin on his chest, looking up at him, "Do kids usually come to your door?"

He cleared his throat, "Yeah a handful do. I just leave a bowl of candy out on the door."

She giggled at his words and he raised his brow in question.

"Those kids have definitely scammed you by taking way too much candy then," she grinned and he shook his head, smiling slightly.

"I watched the motion censors, if a group stayed outside too long, I would usually make the lights flash and camera beep."

He looked very smug about the fact that he had scared those kids.

"I can't believe you bullied kids when they were just trying to get candy," she smacked his chest lightly.

"Not my fault they were being impolite by taking the whole bowl," he grinned and she felt her stomach do a flip.

He was truly the finest man.

He leaned down and pecked her forehead, before wrapping his arms around her. She smushed her face into his chest and he leaned down, resting his head on top of hers.

"My love?"

"Angel?"

"Would you be opposed to having a tiny Halloween party?" she asked, her voice muffled slightly.

"A party?" he questioned, and she lifted her head to look up at him again, biting her lip.

"Yeah...it's just been a while since everyone has been together and um...I don't know I just think Halloween is so great and cozy and it could fun to hang out with everyone on-"

"Yes."

She paused, tilting her head slightly, "You're sure Reecie? I don't want to feel like you have to say yes. I know it's hard having that many people in your space," she said to him softly.

He cupped her face, one arm wrapped tightly around her waist as his thumb caressed her cheekbone.

"I'm sure, darling," he appeased her by kissing her forehead again, feeling his heart lift at the happiness on her face.

With a spooky holiday and a party on the horizon, the two quickly got ready to leave the house so that they could get to the shops before they closed for the night.

Alette kissed their cats goodbye and they both walked to the car. He opened her door, as usual, and she stepped into the car, gasping when he swatted her behind as she sat down.

He buckled himself in and they drove towards the store; she picked off some cat hair from the long, dark sweatshirt she wore, an oversized hooded item belonging to her husband that she had adopted as her own. She played with a loose thread on her pink tights, her other hand hugging Ares' arm to her chest, as she rambled on about decorations, the cupcakes she wanted to make for the party, the candy they needed to buy and the costumes-

"C-Costumes?" he was suddenly very much regretting saying yes.

"Well of course! You can't do Halloween without a costume," she said matter-of-factly.

He gulped, "What were you thinking?"

"I have so many ideas about what I want to be but I'm not sure Reecie," she sighed happily, looking deep in thought, "Maybe inspiration will strike me while we're in the store," she shrugged.

That's exactly what he was worried about.

But to keep that smile on her face, he would do anything.

That was just a fact at this point.

He parked the car and opened the door for her. They walked hand in hand towards the large store that only sold Halloween related items and Ares grabbed a cart.

He watched amusedly as she looked around the store; he could practically hear the cogs in her head turning as she tried to make up her mind over where to go first.

"Let's start there," he said lowly, deciding for her, and she nodded excitedly. She hooked her arm around one of his as he pushed the cart.

Her eyes darted around the aisle and she beamed at all of the decoration possibilities. His eyes watched her; she lit up his whole world.

This was his wife.

His.

He didn't think he would ever not be shocked by that fact.

"Should we go cute or spooky, Reecie?" she asked him as though it was the most important matter.

The only reason it mattered to him was because it mattered to her.

Anything that was significant to each of them, was automatically significant for their other half.

"Both?" he offered; he didn't know what the right answer was, he didn't know what she meant by spooky.

Knowing her lack of affinity for anything horror related, it would probably be something like a vampire that she considered spooky.

"Good idea!" she replied instantly, "Best of both worlds," he tried not to look smug at the fact that she approved of what he said.

They walked through the aisles as she added some décor to the cart as well as matching party supplies.

Once Alette was satisfied with all the items they had picked up, they walked towards the costume section. Alette paused and her lips fell into a pout of their own accord.

Baby costumes.

"My love, look," she gushed out softly, pointing to a small pumpkin costume. His eyes got that fond look that he realized he had developed from the moment he met her.

"A baby bear aw!" Alette said, her eyes taking in all of the costumes.

Ares couldn't help himself; he snaked his hand to behind her neck, turning her head towards him. She was glad that no one else was nearby, because the way he kissed her made her legs weak.

He pulled away, the most intense look in his eyes. She swallowed, knowing exactly where his mind had gone.

They hadn't ever been sticklers for timelines; they did what they felt was right. So naturally, they hadn't spoken about when they wanted to have kids.

Ares found himself thinking about it so often. Especially when he saw her with Rowan and Lucia on the nights that they babysat.

He never would have thought of the idea of having kids, so the idea of wanting them was a shock to his system.

Alette loved children, and while she saw herself having a large family, she knew that when she closed her eyes, it was Ares' face that she saw first. If he didn't want kids, she would be okay with it.

She would never force him to do something that he didn't want, and children were a huge responsibility.

But she wasn't naïve; she saw the way her husband looked at her when she spent time with Rowan and Lucia. How his eyes would dart to her stomach.

It sent a flutter of desire through her body every time she saw his longing gaze.

Whether or not they had kids was a problem for the future, but they both knew for certain that that other person would be the greatest of parents.

"You know..." she trailed off, biting her lip; he raised his brow in question.

She looked around the aisle continuing, "I can't choose which baby costume I like the best, my love," she looked up at him coyly, "I guess that means we might have to make lots of them."

She walked off, looking at some face paint as if she hadn't just made him lose his mind in the middle of a Halloween store.

He cleared his throat, "Are we finished?" his voice was gravelly, and he didn't miss the way she swallowed before she answered.

"Almost," she replied, smiling softly.

He pushed the cart closer to her, leaning down to whisper in her ear, "We should get home if we want to practice making them, hm?"

Her cheeks flamed and her eyes widened; she smacked him lightly on the shoulder in her embarrassment, almost as though she hadn't just been teasing him two seconds prior.

He chuckled lowly and kissed her head as she wrapped her arms around one of his, walking over to the next aisle.

Her eyes widened at all of the costumes for adults; she didn't know what she wanted to be, but she knew that she wanted them all to do a matching family costume.

Ares, Alette, Grasso and Carino.

Ares watched her uncertainly as she rifled through the racks. She looked adorable, with her brows furrowed and mouth puckered in concentration.

She looked adorable, but the power she held over him was anything but.

She could've handed him the pumpkin costume in the baby aisle and he would've found a way to fit into it.

"Oh!" she gasped suddenly as something fell off of a hanger. She bent down and picked it up, her eyes wide. Ares raised his brow at the item in her hand; his heart rate increased when she looked at him.

"I know exactly what we can be Reecie!" she exclaimed.

He swallowed, nodding wordlessly, "...What?"

"It's a surprise!" she beamed, and then bit her lip, "Unless you want to know, my love?"

Her tone indicated that she wanted it to stay a surprise, so he just nodded, "A surprise is fine," his voice sounded hesitant, but she was too excited to notice.

She hummed happily, grabbing a few more things for the costume she had in mind. She was planning on making them, with Gram's help probably, but there were a few things she could grab from here.

It wasn't long before they had gotten everything they needed, and they went towards the checkout.

As the young cashier began to scan their items, Alette narrowed her eyes slightly when she noticed the look that the cashier was giving her man.

He was undoubtedly handsome; she knew that.

But the cashier was looking at him with such intense eyes that Alette was uncomfortable.

Only she could look at her husband like that.

Ares didn't notice because he was too busy loading the items onto the belt for her to scan. He usually didn't notice a thing when Alette was around anyways.

Growing increasingly annoyed, Alette was glad when the cashier scanned the last item.

The cashier looked at Ares, fluttering her lashes, "How would you like to pay, sir?"

Oh no she did not.

Ares reached down to grab his wallet, still not really paying attention to the lady.

Alette wrapped her left hand around his bicep, smiling slightly, as she pulled out her own card.

"I think you forgot your wallet in the car, my love," Alette said softly, looking up at Ares before she turned back towards the woman, letting out a small fake laugh, "My husband is so forgetful sometimes."

She swiped her card, ignoring Ares' smug look of understanding and the cashier's look of embarrassment.

Ares grabbed all of the bags, while she grabbed the receipt, thanking the cashier before walking out.

They walked towards the car and she did her best to not give him the satisfaction by blushing at his teasing look.

She huffed as he smirked at her, putting all of the bags in the trunk of the car. With her hands on her hips and a cute glare on her face, and he was beyond smitten.

He hadn't noticed anything while they were cashing out, until she had emphasized their marital status, and it was so endearing.

He loved her more than he could ever put into words.

He opened the door for her, and just as she bent down to get into car, he gave her behind a light squeeze

She yelped, "Aresius Adler, we are in public," she hissed, but her cheeks reddened regardless.

"Oh no, not in public," he said dryly and sarcastically, buckling in her and kissing her head.

She crossed her arms as he sat down and began driving home. He found it adorable, yet at the same time, he couldn't keep his dark eyes off of the way her arms pushed up her chest.

They arrived back home and Ares grabbed all of the bags while Alette opened the front door.

The rest of the evening was spent party planning and cuddling with Grasso and Carino.

Ares was tasked with the job of note taking and just generally observing because he wasn't good at planning parties or cuddling with overweight cats.

They spent the next two weeks decorating, deciding a menu, carving pumpkins and sending out invitations. Alette also worked alongside her Grams to get their costumes ready; she never really was good at sewing.

Ares wanted so badly to find out what he had signed himself up for but Alette wouldn't reveal her secret. No matter how hard he tried.

And he definitely tried very hard.

Before they knew it, it was the evening of their party. Ares let everyone at STAMP clock out early because he wanted to get home to his wife.

He also wanted to mentally prepare for whatever costume she had made for him.

He walked through the front door, sticking his middle finger up at the fat lump that had decided to take a nap on the bench by the door.

"Hi Reecie!" Alette shouted from upstairs, and his lips quirked up into a smile. He bent down to pet Carino for a second before he bounded upstairs, as fast as he could.

He walked into their room, not caring that she had probably heard him run upstairs to her.

He missed her.

But when didn't he miss her?

She was sat at the vanity in their room, working on her makeup. She put a fluffy brush down and smiled at her Reece; standing up hurriedly, she jumped into his arms and kissed him all over his face.

"Hi gorgeous, how was work? I missed you," she said in between kisses. He smiled and smoothed down her hair, brushing it away so he could see all of her face.

"I missed you," was all he said, and she giggled when he pecked her lips, "I love you, my angel."

"I love you, Reecie," she sighed, melting into his touch. He held onto her tightly and they stayed in their hug for a few minutes.

The world ceased to exist at moments like this; all they felt was one another.

"The food will be here soon, my love," she mumbled and he nodded stepping away and placing a kiss on her head.

"Get ready, I'll take care of everything," he said to her and she beamed, giving him a peck on the chest as he walked away.

He knew she had spent the day cleaning and making a million and one desserts, despite the fact that he told her they could hire someone to clean and buy desserts from a bakery.

He was glad that she was okay with catering for the party, because he knew that if they cooked, both of them would want everything to be perfect.

While he set up the food that had been delivered, she did her makeup. She did a shining, glowy look, placing glitter at the high points of her face and some face jewels around her eyes. She had practiced the look a few times with Josephine so she felt confident doing it. She lined her lips with a dark pink liner, and then added a thick coat of lip-gloss on top.

Satisfied with the look, she sprayed on some setting spray, walking quickly to the bathroom to put on her costume.

She was so excited for Ares to see it; her and Grams had worked hard on it, and it made her feel so pretty.

She slipped on the pearlescent white and pink dress; it had a corseted top and flowy, netted full-sleeves. It was cinched at her waist, but flared out around her bottom half.

The material was shiny, with matching lace flowers and leaves sewn onto the fabric. She placed on a pair of flats that she bought just for the occasion, and helped her grams sew pieces of fabric onto so that she could tie them up her ankles and calves.

She grabbed a little gold crown that was made of vines and placed it into her tightly curled hair. She added some small fake flowers with pins and positioned her hair over her shoulder.

Then she took the large wings that she had found at the costume store, and hooked them onto her arms.

She looked into the mirror, adding a few more accessories and some perfume before she decided that she was ready.

"Reecie! I'm ready, come see!" she yelled and giddily stood in the room as she heard him drop whatever he was doing and come up the stairs.

His breath left his body when he walked into the room and saw her. He staggered back slightly, doing a double take.

"Holy shit," he was completely shell shocked.

He had always called her magical. Always ethereal.

And here she was, purposefully displaying all of that and then some.

She shyly tilted her head, a blush on her cheeks, "I'm a g-garden fairy Reecie."

"You're so God damn stunning, my angel," he walked closer, his finger lightly touching her crown, her soft hair, her wings and her dress, "Wow...." He swallowed, the small smile on his face making her feel shyer.

He kissed the top of her head softly, not wanting to ruin her makeup or any other part of the costume for that matter.

She beamed at the look in his eyes, feeling even more beautiful than before. Her eyes widened suddenly as she remembered, "Your costume! People will be here soon." She took off towards where she had been hiding the costume, and he waited with his hands in his pockets.

He was...apprehensive.

She walked back in with a bag and asked him to close his eyes. He complied and heard as she placed things on top of their bed.

"Open up!"

His eyes opened and he blinked a few times, staring down at the bed. His brows furrowed and he looked at her.

"Go change Reecie! I have to get the kitties ready!" she beamed and he nodded wordlessly.

Good lord.

Was he really going to do this?

Yes.

Because....Alette.

That was reason enough.

He sighed and picked up the pieces of his costume and walked towards the bathroom. He changed into the outfit, hearing her talking to the cats in the bedroom as she tried to get them into their costumes.

He shook his head, realizing that him and the cats would be matching, "The things I would do for her," he grumbled under his breath, glaring at himself in the mirror as he put on the last piece of his costume.

Shaking his head again, he walked out of the bathroom; Alette let out a squeal from her spot on the bed and bounded up.

"It looks so perfect Reecie!" she took some lint off of his outfit and then pointed at the cats, "You all match perfectly! This is the best isn't it?" she sighed.

He smiled, her excitement making everything worth it.

His look turned sour when he heard the doorbell, but Alette yelped, grabbing Grasso in her arms and handing Carino to Ares.

"Let's go!"

She led the way downstairs, and he begrudgingly followed.