(Content: brief panic attack, mention of exile/blowing up, drunk hermits?)

"Are you sure this doesn't look stupid?" Grian looked up from his comm, seeing Tommy looking himself up and down in the mirror. He pulled at the ghost Halloween costume, trying to see if he had to make any changes. It was his first time trick-or-treating afterall.

"The costume doesn't look stupid but you on the other hand..." Tommy threw his bucket as Grian, missing him almost entirely. Grian cackled, holding his stomach while Tommy slapped him over and over. "I'm joking, I'm joking! You look great." Grian said, Tommy stopping his assault.

"You could have just said that earlier!" He whined, draping himself over Grian. The builder pulled him down, Tommy squirming and letting out laughs as he was attacked by tickles. "Grian! Grian! Stop!" His sheet was tangling his limbs up, effectively holding him down to the mercy of Grian. He wheezed and tried to kick him. It worked just enough for him to stand and trip over the white sheet. "Griannnnnn." He groaned, the other getting off the couch and helping him up. It was dark for Tommy for a minute, he couldn't find the eye holes that were moved in their fight. Grian helped, moving the sheet so Tommy could peak out, seeing Grian smiling with his stupid smile.

"There you go!" Grian pat his head albeit being the shorter out of the two. He was wearing a chicken mask, saying something about him being some mysterious figure called 'Poultry Man.' "Are you ready to go?" He asked, holding out Tommy's abandoned bucket. It was decorated with pictures of pumpkins and ghosts, Tommy's name written in red across the front. Tommy took it with a smile although it was hidden under the sheet.

"Yeah!" He skipped to the door, almost tripping on his costume a few times but he made it outside. Their lawn was decorated in Halloween decorations from evil witches to cartoon zombies. They spent a few hours working on it. Grian closed the door with a click, shouldering a bag full of extra supplies they might need throughout the night.

"Hey guys!" Mumbo walked up to them, sporting his superman outfit over his weird potato onesie. "I like your Halloween costumes." He complimented, taking a second to poke Tommy in the stomach as one of his greetings. It always happened whenever the two met up, Tommy being jabbed in the stomach by Mumbo and Mumbo being harrassed for being a fake british man. Tommy thought he sounded exactly like a stereotypical british guy with how he talked and took the liberties to harass him. "Well, aren't you going to compliment my costume?" Mumbo put his hands on his hips and puffed out his chest in a heroic pose.

"I thought you wear that everyday." Mumbo just frowned, crossing his arms.

"Says the kid that doesn't do his own laundry!" He defended with mock anger.

"Hey! I just never learned how to use a fancy machine like his!" Tommy replied.

"No fighting or I'm taking both of your buckets of candy." Grian said, raising his eyebrow as if daring the two to disbehave. Instead he recieved both of them blowing raspberries at him.

"You were gonna take some anyway!" Tommy complied and Grian scoffed.

"It's in my rights as a guardian to take a portion of your candy supply." Tommy was about to speak up when Scar came over, dressed as a cat.

"Scar looks like a furry!"

Scar gasped, holding a hand over his heart. "I do not! This isn't just any cat, it's Jellie!" Perched on his shoulder was the cat herself but dressed in a little salesman suit that Scar always wore. The red, tall top hat was slipping off, covering her eyes.

"That still means you are a furry." Grian and Mumbo laughed with Tommy, Scar angrily telling them it was a planned and thought out costume that he spent ages on.

"Alright, alright, that's enough for now, stop harassing each other." Grian pulled Tommy away from mocking Scar any further, the terraformer jokingly glaring.

"Serves you right for making fun of Jellie!"

"I wasn't making fun of Jellie, asshole!" With that, Grian pulled Tommy away, waving to the others telling them that they would see them later.

---

Tommy knocked on another door, waiting paitently for someone to open it. The Hermits besides Grian all were inside the little houses that Bdubs had built, waiting to present the bowls of candy they made for Tommy to take. Most of the people on the server were well above the age for trick-or-treating but when they heard that Tommy never had participated in an event like it, they decided to add it to their night of activities. Most of the bases are all the way across the server so Bdubs went off of the continent and build a village there. Every house was personalized to the Hermit.

The door opened, Doc standing on the other side, no costume in sight.

"Trick-or-treat!" Grian and Tommy yelled, the bucket of overfilling treats held out. Doc frowned, scratching his head.

"Wow is it really Halloween tonight?" He asked, looking at his watch. "Sorry kid, don't have anything fun." Doc closed the door.

"That was weird." Tommy said, turning to Grian. The other just smiled.

The door opened again, Doc dressed up as a crazy scientist with a large bowl of king size candy bars.

"Take what you want!" He said, holding it out. Tommy took one of each kind, stocking up on a bit of his favorite before thanking Doc. "Your welcome!" He closed the door quickly, leaving Tommy and Grian standing there.

"That was really weird." Grian laughed, taking one of Tommy's candy bars.

"He does it every year. Acts like he doesn't know what Halloween is and then throws down a smoke bomb and has that costume on." They walked down the sidewalk and to the next house. Scar's house.

With a knock on the door, it opened, Scar standing there with his joking glare.

"Trick-or-treat!" They both shouted in unison, Scar scoffing.

"Don't you teach this boy better, Grian? Bad boys don't get candy!" For show, Scar stuffed five candy bars into his mouth. He almost choked on them which made the whole encounter funnier.

"Scar-"

"No no, I want an apology." He crossed his arms over his chest. Jellie poked her head from behind his leg.

"Come on, Scar! Jellie likes me still!" Tommy called for her, the cat racing out and jumping to greet him. She purred as she was pet. "See?" Scar grumbled something about a traitorous cat underneath his breath as Grian collected the candy for Tommy. Jellie jumped off, meowing as both Grian and Tommy walked away from the house. Scar could be heard, asking if Jellie still loved him. She just darted back into the house, Scar calling out to her.

Grian and Tommy were cackling with laughter.

---

Trick-or-treating was done, Tommy having to stuff his pockets and Grian's bags up with the candy by the time they were done. They were headed home with their loot.

"Well, I for one think that this was a success run!" Grian said, popping another piece of candy into his mouth. He frowned when Tommy stayed quiet and barely offered a smile. "Is something wrong?"

"I heard the others talking about that party." That's all Tommy had to say for Grian to understand.

"Hey, I don't care about some lame party when I can spend my night with you watching scary movies and eating trash." He said, wrapping his wing around Tommy protectively. "Loads more fun."

"But it's an annual party! Scar said how its the one day they bring alcohol onto the server for you adults to hang out. You are only skipping it this year because I'm a child." He crossed his arms.

Grian stayed quite. He didn't really know what to say. Everything that Tommy said was true. "We can make our own wild party here! Eat all the candy we want!" Grian emphasized, trying to break it into Tommy.

"Scar told me 'ow you are the party animal of the server. Told me all the crazy stories. It sounds better than your being a mature adult." They walked in silence, Grian observing Tommy. A few minutes later, he sighed.

"Do you really want me to go?"

"Yeah! You deserve it after all." Tommy smiled at him, hoping it would convince him.

Grian sighed again. "Fine, I will go as long as you have your communicator on and call me if there is an emergency. And hey," they stopped in front of the door, Grian cupping Tommy's cheeks in his hands, "it doesn't matter how serious it is or not. Hear something outside thst scares you? Call me and I will come immediately. Luckily it is close by here this year but please." Tommy nodded his head.

"Deal."

---

Tommy had been fairing well.

He had decided to save his candy, stashing it in odd places around the house to hide it from Grian. He still had managed to eat 1/8th of his candy.

He was on his third movies, lounging back and yawning. It was getting pretty late and he knew he should be going to bed. For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to do it.

No, it doesn't have to do with Grian not being there. (Yes it did, he went to bed with a story every night, tucked under Grian's chin and medicine to help him calm down. Grian would be sitting in the chair in Tommy's room in the morning, snoring and drooling all over himself. It would be healthier to sleep in a bed and Tommy kept telling him this but it did ease him having a protector at night.)

He layed down on the couch, the movie drowning out as his eyes fluttered closed.

---

Tommy sat up straight.

Not only did he feel sick to his stomach but he felt a chill go up his spine. Turning to the TV, he knew it was one of the people in it screaming. But he couldn't shake the feeling that it was his screaming, watching as his camp in exile was blown to bits.

He clenched his eyes shut, body shaking from the fear and adrenaline coursing through his veins.

He opened them again, looking to his communicator. He could always message Grian, tell him what was happening and ask him to come home. But what if Grian was having fun? What if he just ruined it? What if he made everyone worry about something so stupid?

He almost put it down but he thought it through.

Tommy had made a promise to Grian. His guardian has made it clear that he was the first priority. He couldn't ignore this.

So he picked it up.

---

Grian was sitting down, a small glass of wine in hand.

He would usually have a truck load of alcohol in his system by now but his mind couldn't stop thinking of Tommy. He didn't want to stumble home, sick out of his mind to Tommy who was probably just watching some TV at the moment. It wasn't fair to the kid. He needed to be responsible so only a small glass would do.

"Come onnn Grian!" Mumbo slurred, throwing an arm around his shoulders. "Party with us!" Grian groaned.

"No, I just want to enjoy some wine." He said, showing it to Mumbo. The redstone Hermit scoffed, taking it out of Grian's hand and replacing it with the scotch he was drinking.

"Chug and then play some games with us!" Grian's nose wrinkled. He can't believe he used to play those games with his friends. Looking to the center of the room, there were games of Spin the Bottle, Truth or Dare, and gambling. His face flushed, remembering those stupid games of Spin the Bottle and Truth or Dare (he never let himself gamble after seeing everyone lose to Doc many times.)

"I'm good." He said, grabbing his glass back and giving the scotch back to Mumbo. The Hermit whined.

"Come on, have some fun!"

"No thanks." Grian shook his head, walking to a group in the corner of the room.

They all looked up, eye brows raised.

"Room for another?"

---

Grian found that he was surprisingly good at Uno.

The others in the circle groaned as he won again. Everyone in the circle were having very little alcohol or none at all. Basically the people that wanted to get work done in the morning or made the mistake of getting drunk at a Hermit party.

"Jeez, another win." Bdubs huffed, taking the cards from everyone and shuffling. Some might assume he would get drunk until he couldn't walk like Doc always did but he was the opposite. It messed with his sleeping so he always layed off.

"Yeah, I didn't know I was so good at this." Grian admitted, the other's groaning and Tango flipping him off. He was also a surprising member of the Sober Club. He switched with Impulse every party on who would be sober to handle the other and Zedaph. A designated driver of sorts.

Grian's eyes darted to his comm again. He had been doing it all night, waiting for a message from Tommy. He sighed, trying to ignore the worry with another sip of wine. He was on a second small glass of wine, sober as could be.

"He hasn't said anything yet?" Pearl asked from next to him. She handed him his cards, as he shook his head.

"No, I know it is a good thing but it scares me more than anything." She offered him a smile.

"Why don't you go check on him?"

"I would but I promised him I would be here." Grian watched as the first few cards were played. "He was pushy on wanting me to come. I will listen but any sign  and I will be off immediately." Pearl nodded her head.

The game continued, then another. A few more decks later and here he was, still on his second glass. He looked at his comm less that he had before but nothing was appearing on his screen. Like everyone kept telling him, there was nothing to worry about.

Until, his comm buzzed.

He abandoned his pile quickly, taking it into his hand. The others stopped playing, watching him respond.

"Tommy?" He called into the comm.

"... dad...?" Grian stood up quickly, hearing the gasps of breathing on the other end. He slipped on his coat and grabbed his bag, waving to the others who waved back with unsureness in their eyes.

"Tommy, is everything okay?" He asked, taking to the skies immediately.

"help..." it only took a few minutes but Grian fell into the ground. He ignored the pain in his ankles as he ran to the door. Quickly unlocking it, he ran to where he heard Tommy.

"Tommy? Tommy, look at me." He said, making sure to stay distanced and with his wings hidden. The boy's eyes opened and he immediately latched onto the Hermit. He was calming down. "It's me, don't worry..." Grian whispered, moving to the couch so they could sit. He rocked, soothing him further.

"Dad... stay..." Tommy whispered, clinging onto him further. Grian nodded his head.

"Always."

---

After half an hour, Tommy had calmed down. He was now just buried into Grian's chest, fiddling with loose strands of the old sweater he wore. In the background, a randon Disney movie played. Nothing with too much screaming or loud noise. Nothing that would trigger Tommy. Just some nice background noise.

"My stomach hurts..." Tommy groaned, Grian laughed softly.

"Probably all the chocolate you ate."

"I don't want to feel this again yet it hurts so much." Grian could see Tommy's eyes drift shut.

"I won't let you. I will be here next time." He whispered, the only thing to hear the promise was the TV that drowned out the noise anyways.

Words: 2674
Written: Monday, November 1st, 2:23 am
Edited:
Originally Posted: Monday, November 1st, 2:27 am

Note:
Happy Halloween! Okay, maybe this is late BUT ITS BY LIKE 2 AND A HALF HOURS SO IT COUNTS! Anyways, hoped you enjoyed this Father and Son Arc cuz I didn't lmao. I actually finished my homework hours ago and I was gonna go to bed but then I remembered this thing so I said screw sleep and decided to write it. Im very tired lmao and I regret writing this. Aight bye