Halloween
by Belladonna

„Hey, Hutch, you wanna go out tonight?“

I know the answer already, but it's always so much fun to find out which one he'll give me this year. He mumbles something inarticulate, clearly distracted by his typing so I repeat my question once more.

„Huggy has his big Halloween party at The Pits again this year. Wanna go?“ I look at him with a huge grin on my face and then add. „We could go trick or treat-ing before, lots of candy there for us to get.“

„Only you, Starsk. Only you could get excited at the prospect of getting this much candy as a grown man and then on top of that eating it as well. You're only going to get sick.“ Ah, finally a reaction out of him. I was afraid he'd completely forgotten about me by all his furious typing. „But don't come running to me when that'll happen. No wait, I've changed my mind. Please come over in that case so I'll get the pleasure of telling you 'I told you so'.“

He sounds amused and I give him my best puppy dog eyes to maybe being able to change his mind this year. I know he doesn't like Halloween, for some reason or the other, never goes out on this day, or at least he's never had since I've known him. Hutch has never said exactly why to me, no matter how much I'd pestered him. Come to think about it, I bet it's the same reason like with his dislike for Christmas.
Still, I have't given up yet and I still have the hope that he'll go out with me tonight. We've just had completed a tough case and need to unwind a bit, we both do. Okay, so I desperately need to and I really wanted him to come with me because no matter what he lets you see on the outside, cases like the recent one have always affected him deeply. Also, not even Dobey is immune to my puppy dog eyes.

„I'm sorry Starsky.“ He does sound a bit contrite as he looks at me though. „But I won't be going out with you tonight. I think I'll simply stay home.“

Somehow I knew he'd say that. And damn, I forgot that he is immune to my puppy dog eyes. But I can't help it, I feel a little disappointed.

„But Hutch, there's candy to be had.“ I tell him and add with a mischievous wink „and there's Candy to be had. You know, that cute girl we've met last week at Huggy's. Gotta tell you, she had an eye on you, buddy. Bet she'll go as a sexy nurse or something similarly hot like that. So don't tell me you wouldn't enjoy playing doctor with her?“

„You have a dirty mind, Starsk. And stop doing that thing with your eyebrows, it's distracting. But, no thanks. I'll really just stay at home and relax a bit.“

„Ah well, I had to try. Still, I bet you'd have been very relaxed after a meeting with Candy.“ I smile at him and start gleefully unwrapping my first candy bar of hopefully many more tonight.
I know it's no use arguing with him any further, he wouldn't have come no matter how good my arguments might have been. I know that, I have tried a lot of them on him over the past three years. I throw my last report in the out-basket on my desk and get up to leave. If he doesn't want to go out and have some fun, I'm surely not following his example on that one.
I'm going to get as much fun as possible. I think it's well deserved since I've been such a good boy, on both of my jobs. Maybe I'll reverse the roles and go as a vampire this year. The irony of this alone should be priceless.

„Night, Hutch. See you tomorrow evening. Don't forget that you're picking me up this time so make sure that death trap of yours is actually in driving condition.“ I wave at him and then happily start to throw myself into the night on this special evening that I finally have my night off. The rest of it that is. And I'm not mad at Hutch that he doesn't want to go out.
Well to be honest, I am a bit mad but I'd have been real surprised if he actually had told me he'd come with me.

But I'll definitely go out tonight, have fun and just enjoy myself on this night. The one free night I have from my other job, seeing as Halloween is the only night of the year that all vampires seem to stay inside and I have nothing to slay. Why couldn't that be on all the other nights as well, it'd make my life so much easier?

I'm not sure why this strange phenomenon seems to be only connected with Halloween, couldn't get an answer out of anybody I've asked about it either but hey, I've never been one to complain about a possible shortage of vampires to slay. The less of them around, the more fun for me tonight.
Maybe I'll get me some Candy if Hutch doesn't want to.