"I-I don't understand," Logan stuttered.

"We-we're not..."

"Logan?" Virgil started slowly. "Why haven't we turned to dust?"

Logan blinked, his face twisted in confusion. "I-I don't know." Patton wrapped his arms around Logan and took hold of the broom to gently guide them down to earth, fearing for Logan's safety. Logan hardly noticed the change in height. Emile wrapped his arms around Remy in an attempt to ground him. The witch blinked rapidly and took hold of the broom to fly down to the ground yet he still didn't notice much of a change as he numbly followed his brother's broom. Roman looked after the four, wanting to follow but too nervous to do so for fear of Virgil falling off the broom. Unlike his friends, Roman had been yanked onto the broom, right in front of Virgil and therefore, he couldn't hold Virgil against him as they flew down. He took a deep breath before reaching back and taking the witch's arms and wrapping them around his waist. He kept one hand held tightly against the pale limbs as he steered the broom to the ground with one hand. It certainly wasn't as easy as it looked.

Once Roman was back on solid ground, he found the other witches weren't in much better shape. Remy was sitting on a rock, his mouth in a frown as he stared at his hands. Emile stood next to him, seemingly helpless and unsure of what to do. Logan was pacing back and forth as he muttered quietly to himself. His gaze flickered between his limbs and the rising sun every so often as if trying to figure out a complex problem. Patton watched worriedly from the side, his arms stretched out towards the witch as if to comfort him. He was just as concerned as Emile.

Roman quickly caught his friend's eyes and they had a mini conversation through their eyes and quickly formulated a plan. Emile turned to Remy. He carefully crouched down and placed a calm and gentle hand on the witch's shoulder. "Remy?" He called softly. Remy nodded his head listlessly. "Are you okay?"

"I-I don't know. I--we're still here?!?! And I don't know why."

Emile nodded his head. "I can see how you would be worried and confused."

Tears brewed in Remy's eyes. "I don't know what's happening, Emile."

Emile's eyes widened and he quickly pulled Remy close, allowing the witch to bury his face in his chest. Emile gently rested his head on Remy's hair as he rubbed soothing circles into the fabric on his back. "That's okay. It's okay to not know Remy. It's okay to be scared." Emile let his whispers soothe the male in his arms as he kept an eye on his friends and the sun.

------

Logan paced nervously back and forth. He kept muttering to himself and glancing at the sun. Patton was almost at a loss as to what to do. He waited a few moments before crossing the ground to Logan. "Logan?" He carefully placed a gentle hand on Logan's arm. Logan froze.

"What is it, Patton?"

Patton licked his dry lips. He wasn't sure why he was so nervous. Maybe because the witch in front of him was incredibly intelligent and quite handsome. "Can you tell me what's bothering you?" He asked, his voice soft as he tried to keep as calming an aura as he could so as to help Logan relax.

Logan sighed. "I just-I don't know." Logan began curling in on himself. "I'm supposed to know." Patton moved closer to wrap his arms around the spectacled witch. "I don't understand. Is, if I don't know, something could be coming, something bad. I have to know."

Patton hummed softly. "I see. Would you like help in trying to figure out?"

Logan nodded numbly. "Please?"

Patton smiled softly. "Of course."

-----

Roman watched helplessly as Virgil spiraled down a dark abyss. Be bit his lip, contemplating what to do. He took a few steps forward to crouch down in front of Virgil. He moved his hands forward and gently took Virgil's hands from where they were in his hair and held his hands in his own to stop the other from pulling at his hair. He heard a meow and turned to find Binx and John bouncing over to comfort the panicking witch. Roman threw them a grateful smile as they climbed into Virgil's lap and began purring.

"Virgil?" Roman whispered gently.  "Can you hear me?" A nod. Roman smiled softly. "Okay, you've got this. In for four seconds." Virgil breathed in. "Hold for seven seconds." He held it. "Breathe out for eight seconds." He breathed out. "That's good. You're doing really good Virgil. Okay, now keep going. In for four," Virgil followed. "Hold for seven." Virgil slowly stopped shaking. "Out for eight. In four." Roman watched as Virgil moved his eyes around slowly grounding himself. "Hold seven." Roman felt Virgil's pulse calm. "Out eight."

Virgil repeated the practice one more time before he was able to get the breath to speak. "T-thank you," he whispered, his voice hardly there.

Roman smiled fondly. "Anything for you."

-------

It was Halloween night, the moon was full and the children were shrieking with joy and excitement. Roman smiled as children ran past him, bags of candy swinging in their grips. He continued walking and soon found himself turning down a nearly empty road leading to a centuries-old cottage. He checked his phone for the time. "SHIT!" He exclaimed and raced the remainder of the way. Nearly tumbling down the hill, Roman just managed to right himself and leap up the two stairs to the small cottage and catch his breath.

Music sounded from inside the cottage and he winced. He was going to be in so much trouble. He gingerly knocked on the door. It opened immediately to show a grumpy looking vampire. "You're late," the vampire said.

Roman winced. "I know. I was trying to hurry up and finish my costume." The vampire's face softened slightly, but not enough to be noticeable. Roman pouted before leaning forward and pulling the vampire into a loving kiss. The vampire relaxed and he pulled away with a fond look. "You know that's not going to work every time I'm mad at you," Virgil said breathlessly.

Roman smirked. "It's always worth a shot."

Virgil huffed slightly with a smile and took in his boyfriend's costume. "A mummy huh?"

Roman nodded. "What better for me than zombie royalty!"

Virgil laughed and the two went inside to find Logan and Patton cuddled up on the couch and Remy and Emile grabbing snacks off the snack table. The three witches had adjusted to the 21st century surprisingly well it seemed as spooky music filtered through the newly installed speakers. The third couple climbed into an armchair together as Spooky Scary Skeletons rang out through the speakers.

"It's so hard to believe that just a year ago we were all preparing for us witches to turn to dust only to realize that, duh! We convinced a single person each of our innocence already," Remy said as he slid onto a chaise with Emile followed watching his boyfriend threw himself down onto the cushions.  

"Yes. It is certainly unbelievable but I am glad that it has happened," Logan stated as he unconsciously pulled Patton closer. The two, dressed as Frankenstein's monster and the wolfman respectively, looking an odd pair with their costumes but adorable nonetheless.

"I'm just glad we're still here," Virgil whispered softly. Roman smiled and held Virgil closer while Emile sat next to Remy after having convinced the eccentric man to sit up. "I am too. You guys deserve justice. It wasn't fair what they did to you."

"But we're here now. That's what counts," Patton piped in.

Two black cats hopped up onto a nearby table. "I'll say. It was terribly lonely here until you guys came back," Binx said as he curled up alongside his brother.

"Yeah," John agreed. "Now I can finally be the cat I always wanted to be."

"A fat contented house cat?" Roman asked.

"Exactly."

The house erupted into laughter. "Mood," Virgil replied.

Roman smiled fondly, although still a little unsure as to why the brothers voted to remain cats before remember just how good cats had it. Virgil was right, being able to sleep all day like a cat was certainly a mood.

------

Things were good. Really good. Roman couldn't be happier that he decided to light that candle last Halloween. He didn't regret it one bit. Virgil laid his head on his shoulder. Roman smiled softly. Yeah, he was really grateful he lit the candle. Even if he had to fight a zombie witch, to get what he had now. Every time he looked a Virgil, he knew. It was worth it