This fairly short drabble was inspired by a headcanon I saw by @captainluxiianâ where Cassian and Rhys end up both dressing as Batman for Halloween and end up fighting about it.
I took some liberties while writing, and ultimately couldnât help but put a little Nessian in there for yâall. I hope you enjoy! As always, tags are at the bottom, and if youâd like to be tagged in any of my future fics, let me know :)
Cassian loved Halloween. Loved. As a child, he spent every October 31st roaming the streets of Velaris in search of the house with the best candyâhe always searched for those houses, few and far between, who gave out the full-size candy bars. Those were his favorite. His brothers, Azriel and Rhysand, would accompany him, the three having coordinated costumes for every year they went on their quest for candy.
And year after year, it was a tradition between them. Theyâd go out, get their treats, and spend the rest of the night trading and feeling the rush of sugar through their blood. As they got older, though, Azriel and Rhysand stopped being so eager to trick-or-treat, instead favoring the chance to hand out treats to young children. When heâd get them to come out, though, Cassian would find himself skipping from house to house, having to drag his brothers behind him.
âCome on, guys, candy!â Heâd yell eagerly, waving his hand for them to follow.
Azriel would roll his eyes, allowing to Rhys to speak for them both when he responded, âweâre thirteen. Arenât we getting a little old for this?â
Cassian would sulk, his brothers noticing and running up to him, leading the way to the next house. So he would happily continue, anxiously awaiting the treats to come and not even thinking twice about his brotherâs hesitation. Sure, it mightâve been a little childish to be trick or treating at their age, butâŚif Cassian enjoyed it, Rhys and Az could handle it. It wasnât like anyone would see them, anyway.
It didnât take long for Cassian to catch on to Rhys and Azâs games, and he soon gave up the trick-or-treating in exchange for massive, haunting Halloween partiesâcostume contests, apple-bobbing, and all. After their first party, it became a tradition for Cassian. A party every year, always on October 31st. No earlier, no later.
Cassian sat on the counter of his college apartment, reminiscing about past Halloween escapades, when Azriel and Rhysandâbrothers and roommates, nowâwalked in with bags upon bags of decorations. Cobwebs? Check. Candy bowl with that mechanical hand? Check. Witchâs cauldron? Check. Other cool looking decorations? Most likely, check. He didnât feel like looking through everything right now, and his brothers wouldnât have left anything out.
âYou guys went all out this year with decorations, didnât you,â Cassian said, taking out the cobwebs and playing with their silky texture.
âAlways do,â Rhys said with a wink.
Azriel nodded in agreement, smiling.
âAlso,â Rhys added, dragging a hand through his hair, âFeyre told me sheâd be coming to the party tonight, andââ
Cassian interjected eagerly. âIs Nesta coming?â
âIf youâd let me finish, brother, I wouldâve told you,â said Rhys, rolling his eyes.
Azriel laughed softly, answering Cassian for his brother. âFeyre told Rhys sheâd be there, but no promises about Nesta. Or Elain.â
Nesta had captured Cassianâs attention since Feyre had introduced him. Her devastating beautyâcoupled with her sharp tongueâutterly entranced him. Cassian was still unsure whether she felt anything for him butâŚhe had a gut feeling. If she wasnât ready for him, wasnât ready to let herself feel anything for himâŚCassian could wait. Would wait. Heâd bide his time, playing her games until she was ready for him. And the Cauldron only knew that heâd wait his entire life for her. For her sharp, blue-gray eyes even sharper wit. If Nesta showed up tonight, well, for Cassian, thatâd be like winning the damn lottery.
Cassian let himself smileâlet himself hope that Nesta would be in attendance tonight.
âLetâs start setting up.â
The apartment Cassian shared with his brothers was as close to a haunted house as a one floor apartment could be. Cobwebs hung from the ceilings, off of the tables, and over the doors; Azriel had taken it upon himself to place eerily realistic-looking plastic spiders on the webs, much to Rhysâs dismay.
âItâll look more realistic,â Azriel claimed.
âItâll scare people,â Rhys countered.
âYou mean itâll scare you.â
âCan you two stop fighting? Az, the spiders are a great addition. Rhys, get over it. Now keep decorating. It needs to be perfect,â chimed Cassian, hanging up streamers of orange and black on the doors and the walls, sticking fake eyeballs and bones to the streamers for âadded flair,â as he liked to say.
Tonight couldnât just be a standard Halloween party. No, if there was a chance of Nesta showing up, it had to be perfect. Everything had to be in order, from the mixed drinks and jell-o shots to the witchâs brew they were making in the cauldrons, which was, really, a glorified punch bowl filled with vodka and cranberry juiceâto look like blood, Cassian said.
But for Cass, it wasnât enough. It didnât matter how many bowls of candy they had, how many skeletons hung about the room, or how haunted the place looked; if Nesta didnât show up, heâd think this all a waste. So he hoped that it was enough, sent a silent prayer to the Cauldron that Feyre could drag her out tonight, and went to put on his costume.
Cassian eyed himself in the mirror, flexing his muscles a bit as he gawked at the costume he had on. Batman had been his favorite hero since he was a child, and now that he was older, he could finally wear the costume of his dreams, without the fake muscles, of course. He didnât need them; he filled out the costume just fine with his chiseled figure. He lookedâŚfine. Better than fine, actually. He looked hot. He gave himself a smirk in the mirror, taking in his muscled chest, the armor hugging it tight. Finding a costume this detailed and accurate to the heroâŚit was like living his childhood dream, though it cost him a little more than heâd like to admit.
He grabbed his cowl from the desk, and sauntered out and into the living room, his cape swaying side to side as he walked.
Rhys was lying on the couch, costume and all, andâŚCassian scowled, narrowing his eyes at his brother.
âYou need to change,â Cassian demanded.
âWe AGREED on a costume theme this yearââ
âYou never specified who you were dressing up as,â Rhys said, his voice calm. This only riled Cassian further.
Rhys turned his head to look at Cassian, his brotherâs face red with rate. âYou know what they say about assumptions, brother.â
âPrick. Now go change.â
âNo,â said Rhys, and went back to lounging on the couch.
Cassian stalked up to his brother, forcing him upright. Their costumes matched detail-for-detail. Batman versus Batman.
âNestaâs coming tonight. What if sheââ
âShe wonât mistake you for me,â he said, laughing, âif thatâs what youâre worried about.â
âNo, itâs just thatââ
âCassian, itâs a costume. Feyreâs supposed to be my Catwoman, anyway. Just relax.â
âBut IâM BATMAN,â yelled Cassian, stalking off to pour himself a drink.
âYou donât have it copyrighted,â he said, adding, âwill you stop being such a child?â
âI thought weâd agreedââ hearing the door open, Cassian traded his anger for laughter as Azriel walked in, costume on. Rhys soon joined him, their argument now just a memory as tears streamed down both of their faces, crying of sheer laughter.
âWhatâŚwhatâs so funny?â Asked Azriel to his brothers, who were clenching their stomachs, doubled over in laughter.
Azriel closed the door and went to look himself in the mirror. What was so funny? He was Robin. Cassian had asked him to be the Robin to his Batman months ago, and he was happy to oblige. His dark hair matched perfectly, the mask fitting over his hazel eyes, andâŚhe couldnât exactly find an outfit like Cassianâs, with layers of armor and mystery, butâŚhe made do with what the store had. The clerk had said that this was exactly what Robin wore. And he had no experience with Batman like Cassian did, soâŚwell, he trusted the clerk.
âYour legs are bare,â Rhys said in between laughs.
It was true. While Cassianâand Rhys, much to Azrielâs amusementâwere decked out in full armor, Azrielâs costume felt more like a joke. A cruel, cruel joke. His âcostumeâ was little more than a green t-shirt with a red vest, a yellow âRâ plastered on the left breast. The green gloves, yellow cape, and mask were standard, butâŚhis pantsâŚwell, the pants were nonexistent, the costume opting for a briefs-type feelâthe green underwear leaving virtually nothing to the imagination.
âAzriel, where did you get this?â Cassian said, cackling.
âThe costume shop lady told me this was the Robin costume,â he muttered, his cheeks turning red.
âOh itâs the Robin costume alright, just not the one you wanted,â Cassian teased, unable to stop his laughs from escaping.
âIs it too late toâŚâ
A knock came from the door. âLooks like itâs too late to change, brother,â said Rhys, and opened the door to find Feyre and Nesta across the threshold.
âHello, Feyre darling,â Rhys purred, giving his girlfriend a kiss, âI see you dressed up for meâŚthough I distinctly remember you telling me about a Catwoman costume?â
Indeed she had. She told Rhys a couple weeks ago that she was just dying to wear the Catwoman costume she found at the storeâlittle more than a latex bodysuit, a mask, heels, and a whipâso heâd agreed to be her Batman. But now, instead of that latex bodysuit, Feyre had on a dress of purple and green, accompanied by a green wig in pigtails, and bloodred lips and paled skin.
âI changed my mind,â she said, turning to Nesta, âplus, my sister tried it on a few days ago and it looked better on her, so I figured Iâd let her wear it tonight.â
âWell youâre the most beautiful Joker this Batmanâs ever seen,â he said, pulling her away from her sister and into the apartment.
âNesâNesta,â Cassian breathed. She was here. Here. With him. Right now. Here.
And she was Catwoman. If she was devastatingly beautiful on a normal todayâŚin that suit, Cauldron, she was deadly. She could send men to their graves with one smile.
âAre you going to stop drooling, or should I close your mouth for you,â she snapped, stepping closer to him.
It took all the effort in the world to make his words even as he said, âarenât I allowed to admire a beautiful woman?â
Nesta snorted, ignoring the compliment. âI see youâre my Batman for the evening.â
âAnd you my Catwoman.â
âSeems fitting, doesnât it?â She replied.
âWhat do you know about Batman and Catwoman?â He asked.
âMore than youâd think.â
Cassian eyes widened, unable to hide his surprise. âI didnât know you liked comics.â
âThereâs a lot about me that you donât know, bat-boy,â she said, her blue-gray eyes meeting his, as if she wanted to tell him more, but wouldnât. Couldnât. Not yet.
âWell then, Nesta,â said Cassian, taking her hand and kissing it lightly, âwhy donât you tell me?â
She gave him a slight smile and let him lead her into the party.
I hope you enjoyed this drabble, and if you have any prompts/headcanons/ideas youâd like to see me write, just send âem on over my way!
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