Cracker had dropped off your costume the day before the party and now that you had it on, you were impressed. It was done in such a short span of time and it was done well. It was supposed to match his but you wouldn't know if that was true until you met up with him. Since he had to drop his date off at her second party, he'd be meeting you at his family's.

That meant going to the famous Charlotte mansion by yourself and needless to say, you were very anxious about it. At this point you were simply stalling for time. Your addition to the plethora of sweets that were supposed to be there were made and ready to go, you had a fresh face of make-up on, and were all dressed in the costume.

Cracker had said it was a warrior princess kind of look and you were definitely feeling it. Except it didn't make you feel any more brave like you thought it should. It wasn't comforting knowing you'd be his second "date" of the night but you'd do your best with what you were given. Besides, this was your chance to meet his mother, the one person that was your biggest drive in life. That was what had you more nervous than anything.

Your makeup was nice without being too extravagant for a first time meeting and the costume was, thankfully, not too revealing or "sexy." The dark brown pants were skin tight, hugging your curves perfectly. Knee high, heeled boots went with that, white laces wound up the sides to provide a nice bit of contrast. The blouse was a bright pink with some white polka dot detail on it. The sleeves went down to your elbows and had fun, thick waves of fabric that showed off the purple on the inside. As far as you were concerned, the most questionable part of it was the deep, plunging neckline. You could definitely see a good amount of cleavage but it was covered just enough to be playful without being trashy. And to finish it off, you had a belt wrapped around your waist with a very realistic sword in the sheathe. It could almost pass for a flamboyant pirate costume. Either way, it looked good on you.

It was time to quit stalling. If you waited any longer, you'd be late. You shot Cracker a quick text, letting him know you were on your way before reading one your dad had sent you. He'd been messaging you a lot and you'd met up quite often. All in all, you'd actually been really enjoying your time with him and slowly but surely, you could say you were connecting. You were supposed to be spending more time with him in the next couple days and you were looking forward to that.

You hopped downstairs and gathered up the couple different containers of treats you'd made and headed out to the car. Cracker had already given you the address and it was about a twenty minute drive over. If you sped like you normally did, you bet it'd be closer to fifteen.

And that's about what it ended up being. You got to the mansion as the sun was beginning to set, with a few minutes to spare. Like with everything else in life, your constant worrying led you to be early. But you were by no means the first one here.

Cars of all shapes and sizes littered the large driveway and parking space to the side of the home. You couldn't help but notice Cracker's truck wasn't in the mix. He had to be running a little late. That meant you were going in alone.

You mustered up what courage you had and readjusted your armload of containers as you went for the door. At least you were lucky enough to not be the only person arriving when you did. Katakuri made it to the door just as you did, giving you a nod as his eyes trailed over the treats in your arms. At the same time, you couldn't help but stare at his bared chest.

It was one thing to see your boss outside of work and another to see him dressed up like some scantily clad biker. The outfit was all black leather. Skin tight pants, covered in decorative spikes, tall, heeled boots, an open vest up top, and to complete the look, gloves and his usual scarf. With the lack of a real shirt, you could say you now knew he had quite the tattoo covering a large portion of his chest.

"Is Cracker not with you?" He rumbled, forcing you to focus on his face.

"Uh, he said he'd be running a little late."

He let out a disappointed sigh. He'd actually been warming up to you more than you thought he would with you "dating" Cracker. In fact, you could confidently say out of all his family you'd met so far, they all liked you.

"Hopefully he won't keep you waiting." Katakuri replied as he reached in front of you for the handle, twisting it to open the door. "After you."

Some of the younger kids ran through the entryway in full costumes, throwing handfuls of candy at each other as they pushed past the adults in what you assumed was the kitchen. Everything was fully decorated. You couldn't find an inch of space that wasn't covered in seasonal house decor or cheap, fake spiderwebs or plastic creatures. Some music played in the background but it was barely audible over the constant chatter that came from the kitchen. You weren't surprised that the Charlottes would congregate there.

"Here." Katakuri took half of your containers and headed in the same direction the kids went. "We'll put these out for everyone."

"Thanks."

You followed him in, closing the front door behind you as your heels hit the polished wood floors noisily with each step. Heads turned as you both walked in, some you recognized, most you didn't. Cracker and you hadn't gotten around to meeting everyone.

Just about everyone focused in on Katakuri as you stood behind him awkwardly, eyeing the sparse counter space. Cracker wasn't kidding when he told you there'd be plenty treats to go around. You clutched the couple containers that Katakuri hadn't taken and waited for someone to acknowledge you. Part of you was debating retreating and waiting for Cracker to show up.

"(Y/n)!" Peros came up behind you, swiping up the rest of what was in your arms. "Where's your boyfriend?"

"Running late." Katakuri answered for you.

"I can't believe he'd let his date introduce herself to the rest of the family alone."

"We can give him grief about it later." A heavy hand landed on your shoulder and you jumped. "Nice to finally meet you (Y/n)."

You looked behind you to see a man almost as tall as Katakuri. His hair was only slightly longer but had a similar cut. The biggest difference was the color, yellow towards the roots that changed to a vibrant red at the ends.

"Nice meeting you too...."

"Oven." He said as he took your hand and shook it. "We've all been hearing a lot about Cracker's new girlfriend, including that he found you at work of all places. Nothing beats a good office romance, right?"

"Right...." You weren't so sure about that but he and the rest of the room got a good kick out of it.

"Hey, how about I show you around and introduce you to the rest of the family?"

"We just met and–"

"All the more reason!" He chuckled as he placed a hand on either shoulder and began steering you through the room.

You glanced around for Peros or Katakuri, hoping they could help out, only to find that they'd left to mingle on their own. Right, it wasn't their job to babysit their brother's supposed girlfriend.

Oven was more than happy to do just that anyway. He was very friendly, worryingly so, and as he took you around, you learned he seemed to side with his mother's idea on getting everyone of age married off. That explained his attitude towards you. But he wasn't all that bad, maybe a little too interested in getting you acclimated to the family but that was the worst of it.

He took you on a tour of the mansion, showing off every expensive item that caught his attention and introducing you to every person you had yet to meet. In all honesty, the chances of you remembering even a third of their names was slim to none but you'd try your hardest. When he took you to the parts of the home that were empty for the time being, away from the kitchen that the majority of the family took up, you gained a real appreciation for their fortune.

Everything was name brand, designer, or custom made to some extent. The best furniture and appliances were in every single room. They had a home gym, indoor pool, and not a single shared bedroom. You were definitely a little jealous of what they had and now you understood why your apartment wasn't such a big deal to Cracker. He probably didn't even notice when rent pulled.

Speaking of Cracker, Oven had spent a solid two hours showing you around and he had yet to show. Needless to say, you weren't happy. This wasn't really a date, you knew that, but he said he'd be here and he hadn't even texted you back. You couldn't tell his family why he was still gone and it was getting rediculous having to tell everyone why he wasn't the one making the introduction rounds. The excuse you gave was vague, hardly believable, and you were tired of having to constantly say it.

But there was one thing that improved your mood. By the end of your tour, Oven had taken you to the living room, where the party had moved to. Some people still lingered in the kitchen and when you passed by, you noticed your containers of treats were almost empty. It was nice to see they were a hit.

"There's one last person for you to meet." Oven said as he led you through the people.

He stopped you in front of a large arm chair occupied by an almost equally large woman. She was smiling away, chatting with whoever came up to greet her. She wore a light pink dress covered in darker pink polka dots with some kind of matching pirate hat to go with it. You were begining to see a theme when you noticed her hair was almost the same color as her dress. But you were too excited to meet her to care about her lack of a diverse color palette.

As soon as she saw you, her smile widened. "Little miss (Y/n)! I've heard much about you."

"I didn't think Cracker talked about me that much." You blushed.

"He's out too often to be stopping by and seeing me. But Katakuri and Peros speak highly of you, in and outside of work."

"I do my best." You said happily. It was always great to be recognized for doing good work, especially by your bosses. "I really enjoy the job and–"

"About time you showed up Cracker." You heard Angel chastise your date from across the room.

Sure enough, he'd finally made it over and you felt a twinge of annoyance and anger at his grin.

"I got held up." He said with a shrug as he made his way over to you. "Traffic is crazier than you'd think on Halloween."

"(Y/n)'s had to deal with Oven this whole time you know." Peros moved in to flick his brother's forehead.

Cracker immediately flinched and scowled. It couldn't have hurt bad but he was going to baby it of course.

"Why Oven?"

"He'd been showing me around, helping me get to know everyone else." You forced a smile, even though you wanted to yell that traffic wasn't a good excuse for being over two hours late to something he promised he'd be on time to. It wouldn't look good for anyone here.

"Go spend some time together." Linlin encouraged. "Come back to visit with the rest of us when you've apologized to her for being so late."

She shooed you two away with the help of Cracker's sisters. They came up behind you, pushing you towards the now empty kitchen.

"Come back in here when (Y/n)'s not angry with you anymore." Custard opened the sliding glass door that led to the backyard and pushed you out first.

Angel managed to shove her brother out after you.

"She's not angry!" Cracker complained.

"Bet." Angel huffed. "I'd be pissed, now make it right!"

They slammed the door closed behind you and you were left in the cold dark. It was quiet for a moment with only the muffled sounds of talking and laughter in the house to fill the silence.

"Are you angry?" Cracker asked, genuinely unsure.

Sometimes you were sure he was the most responsible, put together adult. But most of the time, you wondered how he made it so far in life. And more than that, you wondered why you had to fall for someone like him, wandering through life with barely enough sense to keep his head on his shoulders.

The way he looked at you with his wide bright eyes somehow made your annoyance with him disappear. It made you start to think how long you could keep up with this act. It was getting harder each day and you felt like you were inching closer to your breaking point.

You might have to call this whole act off before long.