milliways_bar | (no subject)

He does. He might not have if he weren't looking for it, but as it is, he catches an off note.

It's the mention of his parents that tips Enzo off. His mouth forms a small o, and then he looks awkward, wondering if he ought to say anything.

Shit.

Cal can keep right on going forever, though.

"Dad and Mother always used to have these matching costumes, you know like in pairs. Like one year they were Antony and Cleopatra, one year they were the King and Queen of Diamonds, stuff like that. Once Uncle Grahame suggested they dress as the Perons, just to pi - to make Mother mad, I think. Peron was a President of Argentina once. His wife was kind of a social climber, I guess. They made a movie a couple years ago. Anyway, it was always something glamorous, and there were always pictures on Page Six the next day."

Seriously. Forever. Especially when it's out of sheer nerves.

Okay, it might make things worse to say something, but at the rate Cal is going, Enzo thinks he'd better.

"Cal..."

". . . I mean, it was all about publicity, but -" He stops.

"Yeah?" His tone is entirely different, quiet and tired. He knows. He can't hide it from Enzo every time. He knows.

Spam.

There's nothing he can say that'll help, not really. He's been through some major loss himself, he knows how hard it is at first. And later. 'I'm sorry' is so inadequate as to make it worse, but there's nothing else to say.

"I dunno. I shouldn't've..."

Oh, no. This will not do at all.

"No no no," Cal says firmly. "You didn't do anything wrong. Don't worry about that. You talk about what you want. Ask questions. It's fine. How else you gonna learn anything?"

It is fine, in a way. He's used to it around Enzo, on a lower, more subtle level. Just spending time around the boy makes him think of Calvin, hurts frequently in small ways that he deals with and puts aside because he likes Enzo, because the paternal impulses, now awakened, need somewhere to go. Not that he'll ever, ever let Enzo see that. He'll watch himself even more closely from now on.

He'll have to, because Enzo's likely to pay more attention from now on.

Well, maybe.

"O-okay." Enzo's still hesitant, but Cal did say to ask, so... "What's trick-or-treating?"

Cal smiles, mostly to reassure Enzo, partly to encourage. "Pretty much what I said. Kids get dressed up in their costumes, and their parents - well, usually their parents - take them out Halloween night to go around the neighborhood and knock on doors. When the doors are answered, the kids say, 'Trick or treat!' and people give them candy. I don't really know where it all comes from, but it's been a tradition for a long time."

See? It's fine.

"What's the trick part?" The treat is obvious.

"Mostly symbolic," Cal says. "I mean, you get the teenagers who go around doing stupid sh - things like smashing pumpkins - uh, carved ones, it's a decoration people put out for Halloween - but that's not really part of it. I guess the candy's supposed to be like a bribery to keep the kids from playing tricks, but really if people aren't giving out candy then they leaves their lights off and you just skip their house." He concludes with a slight shrug.

Of course, he was never one of those teenagers who did stupid shit like smashing jack o'lanterns. Not Cal. Well, okay, a couple times. But after that he was mostly too stoned on Halloweens to bother.

This is also not information he will be sharing.

He sort of gets the damped-down-ritual idea, but still...

"So... you're supposed to threaten grown-ups unless they give you candy?"

Sanctioned juvenile extortion!

Cal laughs, surprisingly genuine given what's just been going on.

"Yep. One night a year. Isn't that great?"

Enzo's face absolutely lights up. That means that—for one night a year—the kids are in control.

"Major! I wish we had holidays like that in cyberspace!"

Cal grins at the delight on Enzo's face. This is the kind of moment that makes it all more than worthwhile.

"What sort of holidays do you guys have?" he asks.

"We don't."

That trips Cal up a little. Doesn't everyone have holidays?

"- oh." Brief pause. "Good thing you got Milliways, then, huh?"

"Totally!" He ponders. "I think there's some Games that're about holidays, though..."

Confusion. How can there be games about something they don't have?

"Games?"

Enzo is surprised. "I didn't tell you about the Games?"

Cal shakes his head. This is a new one. "No."

Enzo hesitates, with a look of trepidation. He's usually fine with telling people about this—it's important that they know—but he doesn't want to upset Cal again.

Cal is once again caught off guard. The silence is uncharacteristic of Enzo, to put it mildly.

"It's - okay if you don't want to talk about it," he offers. It's the only reason he can think of for such an unusual reaction.

"No-no, it's okay! It's just, a lot of people get upset when we tell them."

Oh, goody.

"Okay, I'll consider myself warned," Cal says, probably looking just a little bit wary. This is a vast improvement on the very wary he is actually feeling.

"Okay... you know computer games?"