#clockwork agere

tonight was a very exciting night for you! it was halloween, and your caregivers were taking you trick or treating!

you were beyond ecstatic, having talked about this all month. halloween was also jane’s favorite holiday, so she was more than happy to indulge in all the fun festivities with you.

jane and natalie were a little worried about going out tonight. being who they were, they couldn’t exactly make a lot of appearances in public for fear of getting caught. however, they figured it would be dark enough tonight that no one would really recognize them. if someone did, they could disguise as edgy teenagers who thought it would be funny to dress as crazed killers.

jane had handmade your costume, pouring love into every stich. you eagerly told your caregivers you wanted to go as a ___ this year, and jane got straight to work.

“oh darling, you look absolutely adorable!” jane gushed, admiring you in her handiwork.

you smiled, and bounced around a little, happiness filling your little body. your mind felt all fuzzy and small, and you couldn’t wait to get tons of candy.

natalie came up behind you, swiftly putting a jacket on you before you had time to protest.

“mamaaaa,” you whined, resisting the urge to stomp your foot a little. you didn’t want the jacket to cover up your pretty costume!

“sorry kid, but it’s gonna be pretty cold tonight. we don’t want you gettin’ sick or anything,” she said, booping your nose.

“besides, mama and mommy are wearing their jackets too! it’s better to be safe than sorry, darling.” jane chimed in, pulling a black overcoat on.

you wanted to pout, but quickly realized it was better to wear a jacket and go trick or treating, than not go at all.

once everyone had their jackets and shoes on, natalie looked down at you, smiling a little,“you ready to go kiddo?”

you nodded eagerly, clutching the handle of your plastic pumpkin eagerly.

-

-

the three of you arrived to the neighborhood you would be trick or treating in. your eyes widened at all the people who filled the streets. children, regressors, and adults alike were all dressed up.

“i’d say your the cutest one here, pumpkin,” natalie said, holding onto you shoulder gently. “everyone else’s costumes look cheap.”

“well, not everyone else can have a wonderful hand-made costume, now can they?” jane said, a hint of pride in her voice.

natalie snorted, linking arms with jane and holding hands with you.

“remember kiddo, you gotta be holding mine or mommy’s hand while we’re walking okay? don’t want anyone to snatch ya up.”

you nodded, eyes wide at the thought. nat would always say she was the laid back one, the “fun” parent. but everyone knows she was just as much of a worry-wart as jane.

as you made your way to your first house, you felt a wave of shyness come over you. in your excitement, you didn’t really think about how you would have to talk to strangers. you stood just front of their short driveway, hesitating to go up to them.

“what’s wrong, my love?” jane asked, worry lacing through her voice.

“m scared,” you mumbled. “strangers.”

“ah, kiddo,” natalie cooed, placing a gentle hand on your shoulder. “ya don’t gotta be nervous. just go up to em and say “trick or treat!” and they’ll give ya some candy.”

“and me and mama will be right behind you the whole time!” jane said gently.

you smiled at them, suddenly feeling a bit more brave. you took a deep breath and made your way up the persons driveway. two woman sat on lawn chairs on their porch, a big bucket of candy sitting in one of their laps. they both smiled at you gently, probably assuming you were a regressor.

as you walked up to them, your eyes widened at sight of how much candy you had. you couldn’t even pick!

“you can take two pieces honey,”one of the ladies said softly, and you nodded shyly.

you reached into the bucket, taking two tiny pieces of chocolate and putting them in your bucket.

“what do you say?” natalie asked and your eyes lit up. jane was very adamant about using your manners!

“thank you!” you beamed.

the two ladies smiled at you, waving bye and wishing you a happy halloween.

“see, that wasn’t so bad, was it kiddo?” natalie asked, grabbing onto your hand.

you shook your head. you were having fun so far! and you were very, very, excited to eat your candy.

you went up to the next house with a little bit more confidence, holding out your bucket with a bright smile.

“trick or treat!”

an older couple smiled, reaching in to give you a few pieces of candy.

“and what are you supposed to be, little one?” the older man asked you.

you looked back at your caregivers shyly, and thy gave you an encouraging smile.

“‘m a ___! “ you said, bouncing on your feet.

“you look so cute!” the older lady gushed, and she looked like she wanted to pinch your cheeks. “your costume is so pretty!”

you smiled, running your fingers of the pink velvet. “thanks! my mommy made it!”

the older couple looked at your caregivers and you watched as their eyes widen a little, a stricken expression on their face. sometimes people looked at your mamas that way, they didn’t look exactly normal. however, you didn’t think they were scary at all!

“well, she did a wonderful job.” the older lady said, her voice strained.

you smiled and said thank you, before toddling off to the next house. you took jane’s hand as the two of you walked the neighborhood sidewalk.

“oh, damn. we totally scared the shit out of those old people!” natalie said, cackling. she loved to get a rise out of people.

“nat, language!” jane scolded her. honestly, you were more well behaved than your caregiver.

fortunately for jane, you weren’t even listening to nat’s foul language. the next house you made your way up to had some rather spooky decorations! one of them was a fairly realistic zombie animatronic. any other kid would be scared of it, but not you! being around your caregivers and their friends (or more so coworkers) has made you pretty immune to anything scary looking!

you toddled up to the porch, holding out your bucked and yelling out an enthusiastic “trick or treat!”

“awwww!” the man at the porch said. “is this your all’s little one?”

your caregivers both nodded, nat smiling brightly. “yep. adorable, ain’t she?”

“the cutest! my kiddo is out running around somewhere,” the man said, putting a fistful of candy in your bucket. “he’s a bit older though, and with some friends, so he’s fine.”

natalie snorts, pointing a thumb at jane. “this one hardly lets her out of our sight.”

jane rolled her eyes, not one for talking in front of people she didn’t know. the man only laughed.

“hey, i don’t blame you. you gotta do that sometimes, especially with the smaller ones.”

this conversation was going on for far too long! you were eager to get to the next houses and get as much candy as you could. you impatiently tugged at jane’s sleeve, silently communicating you wanted to move on.

“ah, i think we should get going,” jane said, her cool voice coming to save you. “thank you for your kind words.”

“thank you!” you parroted your mommy.

“hey, no problem! you guys have a good night,” the man said, looking at your caregiver’s and then looking at you. “make sure you get lots of candy, little one!”

you giggled before happily walking off with your caregivers, your hand in jane’s.

the three of your made your way through many more houses before your bucket was starting to get full and the sun was starting to set. you found yourself pretty tuckered out by the time jane said it was almost time to head home.

“ya getting sleepy, kiddo?” natalie asked in amusement as she watched your dragging footsteps.

you nodded, looking up at her with wide eyes and making grabby hands. your feet were starting hurt and you were sleepy!

your mama chuckled before taking you in her arms, carrying you as the you all started to make your way back home.

jane looked over at you , ruffling your hair. “she had a big night.”

“had fun,” you mumbled sleepily, your face smooshed against nat’s shoulder.

your caregivers shared a look of fondness, happy that their baby had so much fun.

“i’m glad, darling. mama and i had lots of fun too.”

eventually, the three of you made it back home. it was quite past your bedtime and you were definitely feeling it. however, all you could think about was how much candy you had gotten. you filled up your whole bucket! you wanted to eat it all!

“candy please?” you asked sleepily, making puppy dog eyes at jane.

“that’s gonna be a no, darling. it’s very late, and we still need to brush your teeth and get you in bed.”

“pleaseeeee!” you whined.

jane chuckled, pressing a kiss to your forehead. “no means no, my love. you can have a few pieces with your lunch tomorrow, okay?”

a pout started to form on your face, but you still nodded. you supposed you could wait till tomorrow, but you weren’t happy about it.

jane strutted off to go start your bath, leaving just you and nat in the kitchen. you looked up at her with pitful and sleepy eyes, and she just couldn’t take it! she fished out a small piece of candy quietly, and slipped it to you with a wink.

“don’t tell, alright?” she said, a fond smiled gracing her lips.

you nodded excitedly, throwing your arms around her.

“thank you, thank you mama!”

natalie giggled, returning your hug. “shhh! you’ll get us in trouble kiddo.”

eventually, your caregivers got you ready for bed. well, more like jane did, and natalie was scolded the entire time for trying to “rile you up.”

you drifted off in a peaceful sleep that night, dreaming of candy and your caregivers. <3

bonus:

jane had just finished putting you to bed. honestly, she felt quite exhausted too. it has been the best night with her little one, but she was definitely ready for bed!

she walked into the kitchen to find natalie picking around in your halloween bucket.

“really nat? stealing candy from a baby?” she scoffed, leaning against the kitchen door.

natalie threw her hands up in defense. “hey, it’s mama tax, okay? i took the kiddo trick or treating, so i get first pick on the best stuff.”