"You know what? I hate dancing." Aiden had to bite his tongue to stop his disappointment from showing up on his face at Aru's words.

"Okay . . . ? Well, if you change your mind, that's where I'll be," He said, tapping his camera. "I told Hanuman I'd get some shots for the Council's newsletter. Mini, wanna come?" He turned his hopeful gaze towards the daughter of death.

"Fine, but I don't like dancing, or being within coughing distance of people."

Internally, Aiden let out a huge sigh, he definitely didn't want to be alone in the middle of a bunch of couples awkwardly sashaying across the floor. "Noted."

"To the food we go!" Brynne cried out her rallying call, before dragging Aru off to the tables piled high with delicacies, her cape swishing behind her. He swiveled his gaze back to the dance floor and hefted Shadowfax up.

As soon as they reached what he deemed a suitable distance into the room, he started clicking pictures left and right. The Seasons really did go all out for this; with ice sheathing the floor in a crystal case, replacing the grass that usually stood there in the training area; immaculate ice skeletons swayed their hip bones in rhythm to the Macarena off to the side; the Moon spun in the middle of the sky like a disco ball, splatting beams of light here and there making the arena shimmer in its grandeur; the blue masterpiece was gilded with a ring of thick, green vines that also crisscrossed into a dome above the arena, tinting it a shade of lime with blips of pink radiating off the flowers that were embedded in the stems.

Aiden made sure to snap a dozen photos of his green-blue surroundings before turning to the not-so-natural part of the effect.

On one side he saw Brynne spooning random food items from the banquet table into Aru's mouth, the latter's face scrunched up in concentration. He coughed to hide a snort and quickly clicked a picture. On the other side was where the stalls were set up and if an Otherworldly citizen happened to stray too close, they were immediately roped in by the vendors. Fountains that leaped in a foamy dance stood on either side of the swirling portals that were the doorway to the Night Bazaar. And in the center of it all was a banner that said: ENJOY THIS BRIEF RESPITE FROM YOUR CRUSHING MORTALITY.

He also took a few shots of the Otherworld's citizens swaying together, but it was a pretty unpleasant sight to look at as they awkwardly shuffled across the dance floor, so he kept it to a minimum. Mini sighed next to him, and Aiden startled, being so caught up in the scenery he forgot he wasn't alone.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, but it's getting kinda hot." She said, fanning herself and immediately paling. "Oh no, what if I get dehydrated? This is a serious—"

"It's no biggie." He interrupted her from venting about how water loss equals death. "I saw a bowl of punch on one of the tables over there." Aiden vaguely pointed in the distance. Immediately Mini was off to make sure she stayed alive, leaving him in the swarming crowd.

"Well . . ." He sighed. "I guess I'm on my own. Again."

.

.

.

Aiden had been wandering through the crowd of strangers and gently rejecting requests to dance when he saw Aru doing the same, looking just as lost as he was. Instantly he was filled with relief and walked up to her.

"Shah?" Her face snapped to his. "I thought you didn't dance?"

"Yeah, well, you . . ." She looked dazed and he raised his eyebrows in confusion. "You looked like you needed rescuing." She finally said, and he couldn't help but laugh at how true that was.

"Fair enough. Want to dance?" He held out his hand. "My mom taught me to waltz, none of that weird side-to-side sway thing."

"I can't waltz," said Aru.

"I'll show you." He held his breath, and along with him, everyone else. It seemed she was too. She placed her palm in his and lightning shot through his veins. He could feel a pounding in his ears and blood rushed to his cheeks and warmed his face, clashing with how cold his feet were. Unintentionally he shuddered and his eyes locked on her hand. She took a deep breath and he braced himself for the answer . . .

And the music changed.

Aiden felt himself emotionally deflate.

"Oh well," said Aru, shrugging her shoulders.

"Yeah," he said, feeling lost again, but for an entirely different reason this time, one he couldn't place his finger on. 'Oh well indeed.' He shook himself and smiled. "Another time?" Aru looked shocked, but then her lips turned up.

"I'd like that."

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

"So . . . what do you think?" Aru smoothed out the fabric of her Scream costume and lifted the mask of that ghoul dude off of her face. Aiden took a moment to calm his racing heart from when Aru had, moments prior, snuck up on him and yelled 'BOO!' in his ear. Yes, he had screamed, and no, the irony was not lost on him.

"I think that I hate you and that at least it's not as bad as last year's costume." That earned him a scowl. Last Halloween, Aru had decided to don Winnie's outfit from Hocus Pocus, and that had gone as well as you would expect.

"Yeah, well, there is no way in hell I'm going to humiliate myself like that again."

"Still salty, Buckteeth?"

"Whatever, Mr. I'm-Too-Lazy-To-Dress-Up. What even are you this time? Incognito Clark Kent?"

"Incognito Bruce Wayne." He corrected. Aru looked unimpressed.

"Brynne still not here?" Aiden checked his phone and shook his head.

"Mini got stung by a bee while our Bee was picking her up, so they'll probably be in the ER for a while." She sighed.

"I'm going to grab a slice of cake. You take pictures for that newspaper thing."

"Newsletter. And get me a piece!" He called after her retreating form before taking in his surroundings to get the best lighting.

This time, Uloopi had offered to set up the arena for this year's Halloween party, and as such the theme was snakes. The creatures writhed up pillars that scattered across the floor emitting hisses into the air in a strange cacophony. The tiles also depicted the slithering serpents that seemed to move beneath his feet, making Aiden feel as if he were about to topple over any minute. Green glints of light flashed from well-hidden cracks shining on random objects illuminating even more snakes hidden around the entire rink. He shivered in disgust thinking about how there were probably thousands of snakes probably near him right now. At least there was no banner this time with another depreciating message. Aiden wouldn't know what to feel if there was a large flag with the words: STAY SNAKEY! on it.

This time, the partygoers mostly consisted of nagas. Not surprising considering their queen was hosting the celebration now. He crossed his fingers that Rudy wouldn't come because it messed with his vibe or hair or something. The nagas and naginis swirled around each other in a strange dance that made him dizzy just looking at it.

Aiden fought down another shiver as ice crawled up his spine and gulped in some air before lifting up Shadowfax to take a few pictures . . . and he heard a snake hiss right in his ear.

He screamed (yes, again) and zipped towards the banquet table, placed where it always was. There, he bumped into Aru, who was just about to bite into a tiramisu before he accidentally ran into her and knocked it out of her hands.

"Hey! I was just about to– woah, Wifey, you good? You look really pale." Her hands shot out to steady him, resting on his shoulders to calm his shaking.

"So," he panted. "Many," he gasped. "Snakes." He wheezed.

"Hmmm, yeah. They really went all out, huh?" All Aiden could do was nod as he desperately tried to catch his breath.

"Well, not to worry. I'll be your night in shining armor. Unless you prefer a Prince Charming." Aru winked. That finally got him to laugh, and help to feel less terrified.

"Thank you, Aru," said Aiden, looking her straight in the eye. A hint of red coated her cheeks and she snatched her hands away from his shoulders, leaving them cold. Even though she looked flustered, she still managed a smirk.

"No problem, Princess." Aiden snorted before side-eyeing the crowd and then swiveling his gaze back to her. He jabbed a thumb in their direction.

"Want me to finally teach you how to waltz? I'm not exactly sure what choreography they're doing, but the tempo of the music is slow enough."

She hesitated, putting pressure on one foot, then the other, and inhaling deeply.

"Alright, but you owe me a tiramisu." He rolled his eyes.

"I'm pretty sure you owe me the tiramisu since I'm the one teaching you how to dance, Snob." Aru scoffed.

"Yeah? Who's not to say I won't teach you how to waltz, Troll?!" He looked at her blankly.

"What?"

"Watch me." She said, menacingly. He laughed and just as she was about to grab his hand and prove him wrong, there was an explosion.

Mini and Brynne ran straight at them, grabbed their arms, and dragged them away.

"I'm sorry!" Brynne yelled over the commotion. "They followed us!" Aiden cursed and turned Shadowfax, which was slung around his shoulder, into a watch, before flicking out his scimitars.

"If I survive this," he muttered. "I am so quitting newsletter duty."

- - - - - – - - - - - - - - - - - - —----------------------

Aiden bit his lip and glanced at Aru before quickly gazing somewhere, anywhere else. No, he assured himself once again. I don't love her. I don't love anyone.

He tugged the hood on his hoodie down and tried to distract himself. Aiden wished he had never come to the celebration. Kubera had said he had taken the chance to set up this party as a way of apologizing. In reality, he just wanted to show off how money can buy happiness. Or was it all that glitters is gold? The incorrect idiom was lost on him.

The floor was plated in gold etched with skulls. Skeletons masked in the same metal posed randomly, showing off their femurs and diamond-encrusted sockets. Gold pumpkins scattered the corner floor with emerald and jade leaves entwining out of the fruit. Aquamarine ghosts flitted between ruby pillars, bathing everything in blood. Silver knives danced above them, flashing extremely close to an amethyst werewolf that howled in return. Worse still, sapphire mongooses infested the floor, chittering away at all the guests and snapping at their heels while simultaneously riding spiders with reigns and everything as if it were a horse. Add that to a list of things Aiden never wanted to see again, along with his looming death.

Golden statues depicting gruesome images of people getting killed studded the hall. Stabbed, poisoned, strangled. Absently, Aiden wondered if one of those scenes would be the way he would go. But the cherry on top was the ginormous sculpture of Kubera himself leaning on his shiny elbows and stomach on top of the buffet table and holding up a flag saying: WELCOME, PEASANTS. At least no snakes this time. He shivered anyway.

All the glitter was making his head spin, There was so much death everywhere.

'Aiden Acharya . . .'

"Stop," he croaked. "Please stop."

"Aiden?" He jumped and whirled around to see Kara standing in front of him.

"Oh, it's . . . hi."

"Expecting someone?"

"Mongooses are vicious biters. I do not want to experience that again." He rubbed the spot on his ankle where the jewel animal had decided to show its displeasure in him a few moments earlier. She laughed.

"Nice outfit by the way." Aiden looked down at his hoodie, jeans, and sneakers, then back at her again.

"Half of genius is efficiency?" She asked, looking guilty as she repeated his exact words from two years ago. He raised his eyebrows, but that still didn't stop the laughter that bubbled up in his throat.

"Well said." He smiled. "You look really nice as well." It was true. She was wearing a full-sleeved, knee-length dress that sparkled with purple glitter. Its edges were ragged with haphazard cuts and had a cross-section of spiderwebs fit in a blouse thrown on top. She pulled it together with a brown belt, purple and white stockings, and a lopsided witch's hat. "You make an intimidating witch." Kara blushed.

"Thanks," she said, fidgeting with the ends of her skirt, before smirking. "Not too intimidating though, I hope." She nudged him playfully. Aiden chuckled.

"That won't be a problem."

"I wouldn't be so sure, Wifey. I've been taking notes from Aru." At the mention of her name, his head once again turned towards her. This time, she had decided pirates were her calling and had worn the outfit of the legendary Jack Sparrow. She had nailed it from the leather vest that covered the puffy white shirt and the ridiculous amount of belts to the brown cut-off trousers and knee-length clunky boots, to the beads strung through her hair, smoky eyeliner, and bandanna which was covered by a large pirate's hat, which she now tipped as she bowed to Mini, who just so happened to be dressed in the robes a queen.

Realizing he had been staring for a while at her, he snapped his attention back to Kara, who was looking at him curiously.

Before she could ask, however, the music switched from Shiny to Thriller. He made a face.

"Seriously?" But Kara clapped her hands in delight.

"O-o-o-oh I love this song!" She squealed. "I'm gonna join. Wanna come?" Aiden hid a grimace with a smile.

"Maybe later." She nodded and scurried off, yelling a quick 'Bye!' over her shoulder. And then he was all alone with only dead shit for company. He slumped down on one of the golden chairs and buried his face in his hands. The pit in his stomach grew and he started shivering again. Why was it so hard to breathe all of a sudden? He swallowed and bile crept up his throat as his vision started to tunnel and— something gently nudged him in the hair. He looked up to see Aru in all her pirate glory standing in front of him.

She thrust a cup into his hands. "Drink this, it'll help with the dizziness." He swallowed the liquid, which he identified to be the way-too-blue punch being served. He stuck out his tongue.

"You need sugar, it's probably running low in your body right now." Said Aru, noting his scowl.

"Yeah, I . . . thank you." He smiled gratefully at her.

'The girl you love . . .'

He dropped his cup and Aru frowned.

"Are you really okay?"

"Yes, did Mini send you to do this?" He gestured towards the spill before picking it up. She handed him a napkin.

"No, I could see you looked ready to faint a mile away. Besides," she smirked at him. "I'm your Prince Charming, aren't I?" Aiden felt his cheeks burn.

"Why are you dressed as a pirate, then?" He countered, fanning his face mockingly. "You aren't plotting to betray me, are you?

"Nonsense," she winked. "I never abandon damsels in distress."

"That I am." Said Aiden, finally getting up. Sadly, it was true. Aru got up as well, just as the music slowed. Maybe this would finally be the time he could actually teach her to waltz. Something he owed her for a long, long time. Aiden finally looked her in the eye. "Would you . . ."

' . . . Will be the death of you.'

And everything crashed down as he staggered back.

"Seriously, are you—?" She reached for him but he looked away and her hands dropped to her sides.

"I'm fine." He snapped and took a deep breath. "I should— I should go." He couldn't make himself look at her, didn't want to see her hurt expression.

"Okay. I bid thee farewell, then?" He still didn't meet her eyes or acknowledge her joke as he nodded and walked away.

"See you later, Aru."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Aiden was currently faceplanted on a table, chewing on his lip until it bled and occasionally spitting out a mouthful of tablecloth. Urvashi had made him stay up all night to help her plan and decorate for the Halloween party.

He sighed into the table. His masi had made it a masquerade, because of course. Everything seemed to be made out of crystals and screamed elegance. From the swirling columns of water to the multifaceted ground. In fact, it was set up slightly like a wedding - with a large seating area of two glass chairs each to a table covered in moonlight-spun cloth, and a ginormous dance floor.

Urvashi had also decided that instead of taking place in the Pandava's training fields like usual, it was going to be created in the Court of the Skies, and every now and then, the make-shift floor (the apsara had insisted it be made so no one would have to wear those "preposterous cloud shoes") would become see-through to show the world below and he'd get hit with a nauseating fear he was gonna fall. There were no typical Halloween decorations this time, which Aiden was very glad of that, unable to handle death at the moment.

He was half asleep when he felt someone blowing on his bangs. The warm air made him snap his head up in alarm, only to see Aru in front of him raising an eyebrow, before smirking.

"You're awake early, I thought it'd take at least a hundred years for you to get up." He glared up at her while also casually slipping his hand into hers.

"Shouldn't you be off fighting dragons?" She shrugged her shoulders.

"What can I say?" She plopped down on the chair next to him. "Fire is bad for my health." Aru side-eyed the crowd and then him. "Why are you here and not there."

"Tired. I still have eighty-four years of rest to go." She rolled her eyes and fiddled with a loose white thread of his sleeve.

Not wanting to face his aunt's wrath, he had, for once, dressed up (Aru had been so shocked when she first saw him she'd tripped and fallen down the staircase) and was wearing a slightly oversized poofed-up white shirt with bishop sleeves and a turtleneck tucked into black trousers and a black masquerade mask with silver and gold etchings and dotted with pearls. Aru had decided to wear the same outfit as him except with a contrasting white mask with pale pink and blue markings and diamonds.

There had of course been the option to wear a ballgown as well - which Aiden would have rocked - but he had forgotten there was going to be a Halloween party this year and so there was no time. Aru had done Eenie Meenie Minie Mo and her finger had landed on the shirt so that was that.

Aiden was about to drop his head back into his arms when Me and the Devil started playing, and he couldn't resist. It was so long overdue.

"Waltz with me?" She choked.

"You're forgetting something." He scrunched up his forehead in confusion because he could not, for the life of him, figure out what. Bribe her? Confess all his sins? (He didn't do anything illegal, at least not yet) Recite the entirety of The Lord of the Rings? (Which, FYI, he could do perfectly)

Oh. Aiden grinned and brought her hand to his mouth and pressed his lips to her knuckles - sending thrills of nervous energy through his entire body - before gazing up at her. "How about now?" Aru's eyes widened.

"That's not— I didn't mean— Okay." She looked away, blushing furiously.

"Was that not what you meant?" He asked, puzzled.

"No." She glared at the floor, still not letting go of his hand. "Just don't ever do that again." It was Aiden's turn to smirk now.

"No way. I'll kiss your hand when you wake up, when you eat, when you fight monsters, when you study, when you—"

"I will stomp on your feet." She threatened. His grin only widened when he saw how flushed she had become.

"Then you'll just have to carry me home. Bridal-style. I refuse to go firefighter position."

"Whatever, Princess," mumbled Aru, before tugging a laughing Aiden behind her to at least completely sweep him off his feet.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

-The thing Aiden had forgotten was that Aru still didn't know how to waltz, which he later finds out when they're dancing, so an impromptu dance practice enfolds with Aiden completely leading the way, which Aru counters by dipping him at the end, which Aiden counters by kissing her, which Aru counters by almost dropping him. And then bop their heads to YMCA. The End :D-

A/N: Ta da!!! Okay lol I finally finished one of my stories. Thoughts?