Halloween at the shelter

Steel

He stared at the mountain of candy piled up on the table. He already knew how bad this was going to go. Fifteen kids in costumes filling themselves with copious amounts of sugar? They’d be lucky to get through it without any injuries.

“Those bags aren’t gonna open themselves.”

He looked over his shoulder at a grinning Kai. The man was lucky he loved him, otherwise, he’d end up in one of those unmarked graves in the woods behind the house.

“How did you talk me into this again?”

Kai waggled his eyebrows and, yeah, no words needed. It wasn’t even the promise of sex. It was just that he couldn’t say no to the man. What Kai wanted, he begrudgingly gave him.

“Hey, at least we won’t be alone,” Kai said, earning himself a glare from Steel.

“Yeah, because Ace is gonna be so much help,” he drawled.

A snort of laughter had Steel turning to see Kody and Ace walking toward them. Ace was rolling his eyes which only made Kody laugh harder.

“It’s not on purpose,” Ace mumbled, shooting Kody a doe-eyed look.

“You’re practically an extra kid that the rest of us have to take care of, too,” Steel said, lips twitching as he met Kody’s eyes.

Kody had started to join Ace when he was working at the shelter more and more often. He’d even brought the fire truck along with his firefighter buddies to show all the kids. They’d loved it and so had Ace. The man was smitten beyond belief.

He turned his head, gaze landing on Kai. The man’s eyes twinkled when they met Steel’s gaze. He knew a thing or two about that kind of love. It was the all-consuming kind, and he couldn’t imagine his life without the man. He didn’t want to.

Seeing Kai with the kids, especially the older ones, always filled his heart with so much love. Kai had found a way to give back and it was in the most beautiful way possible. He was giving those kids a safe place where they would never be judged for the things they’d done.

The man still drove him absolutely nuts, but he’d come to realize that it was one of the things he truly loved about him. Kai pushed him unlike anyone else, but he was also always there to catch him if he needed him to. He’d never imagined he’d have a love like this.

“Whatever,” Ace grumbled, eyes widening in excitement when he spotted the paper bags filled with all the new decorations. “Ooh, what’s in that one?”

Ace grabbed one of the bags and started pulling things out. Kai had gone all out with spider webs, a bunch of small bats, pumpkins, and all sorts of spooky decorations. Some were out in the courtyard because he’d refused to let Kai bring fake blood inside the house.

Ace held up a banner with the words ‘Let’s have a spooky time’ on it and said, “Where should we hang this?”

Kody grabbed it out of Ace’s hands. “There’s no we. You’re not hanging anything.”

“Aww.” Ace wrapped his arms around Kody’s middle, pulling the man closer. “You sure there’s no we?”

“That’s not what I meant,” Kody said, eyes narrowing when Ace leaned close. Before their lips could meet, Ace stole the banner from Kody and ran off with a cackle.

Steel glanced at Kai. Their eyes met and the glimmer of mischief spreading in Kai’s eyes had him grinning and shaking his head. His heart was full. It would be full of worry and dread later when the kids got back from their trip to the clubhouse where they were getting ready with their costumes, but he knew Kai would be at his side the whole time.

Kody

His boyfriend was a menace. He was also more excited than the kids. Ace was a happy-go-lucky kinda guy who enjoyed all the little things in life and there was no way he could not love Ace. The man had brought both a spark and a calmness into his life. He knew he would never have to worry about not being enough for Ace. The man reminded him often enough that he loved him just the way he was.

Ace around kids was something else, though. He always became one of the kids and he always got himself into some kind of trouble. He loved seeing the man with the shelter kids as well as with his niece and nephew. Ace had quickly won the hearts of his family despite the rocky start they’d had. His ex was completely out of the picture and his sisters had apologized profusely. Surprisingly, Amanda had pulled him aside at their latest family dinner and told him she was glad he’d found Ace because she saw how happy the man made him.

He was lucky to have found Ace. To have found someone who loved as fiercely as his boyfriend did.

Steel threw Kai and Ace outside to decorate though he wasn’t sure if that was the safer option or not. They might not have things to hang up high, but Ace lost his filter when he was with Kai and despite the man’s assassin days being over, Kody suspected Kai wasn’t above busting a kneecap or two.

He held the nail that would be holding one end of the banner against the wall and just as he was about to hammer it in, a loud boom sounded from outside. It was quickly followed by Ace yelling, “We’re okay.”

“What are our odds of surviving tonight?” he asked Steel, looking down at the man from his ladder.

Steel shook his head and met Kody’s gaze.

“I think we’re shit out of luck.”

Kody snorted out a laugh and said, “Just remember: we’re doing it for the kids.”

“That’s what I’ve been telling myself the whole time,” Steel mumbled and raised a brow at Kody who chuckled.

They finished putting up the decorations and, luckily, there were no more accidents outside. Not that they could hear, at least. By the time Kai and Ace walked inside, Steel had turned off the overhead light and all the small fake lights were on, throwing a spooky orange glow over the room.

“This looks amazing, babe,” Ace said and planted a kiss on Kody’s lips.

“Thanks. How did you guys do outside?”

By the twinkle in Ace’s eyes, he figured the kids were going to be quite happy with whatever those two had cooked up out there.

Once they got word that the kids were about to arrive, Ace plopped a headband with a black halo onto Kody’s head and forced him to put on the dark pair of wings he’d bought. He’d rolled his eyes when Ace had told him he would be the devil and Kody would be his fallen angel, but he had to admit that he was kinda digging it now.

Ace had gone all out. He had devil horns, dark gray shoulder plates with spikes as well as arm guards, and a big belt over a dark ensemble as well as a scary-looking pitchfork. He looked hot as hell which meant that Kody was definitely going to keep his distance until all the kids were tucked-in for the night.

Steel was dressed as Ghostface from Scream though he had the mask flipped up and he looked miserable enough that the mask really wasn’t necessary. Kai was in a black hooded rope and carrying a scythe, claiming that the Grim Reaper was a fitting costume for him. Not that Kody could disagree.

He’d had his reservations about the man but the more he got to know him, the less concern he had. Kai was genuine and the kids all seemed to love and trust him. The man’s dark past scared the shit out of Kody, but when he looked at Kai, all he saw was a man looking for redemption and a quiet life.

Well, the quiet part probably wouldn’t happen with all the shelter kids around. They were a lively bunch. The second they arrived, there was screaming and yelling though it was clear they were having fun. Half of them were busy stuffing their faces with the Halloween muffins Ace’s mom had made while the other half was checking out the decorations or dancing to the spooky music Ace had put on.

He knew most of those kids had never been to a Halloween party or been trick-or-treating before and his heart bled for them. Terrible things had to happen for those kids to end up at the Disciples’ shelter. He knew that the reason they ended up at the shelter was that either they didn’t have any family, or their family was the reason they were there.

Steel and Kai did a fantastic job with the kids and the Disciples did what they could for them. Those kids would never be left behind again.

“Okay,” Ace said, getting everyone’s attention immediately, “who’s ready for the spooky treasure hunt?”

The younger kids all jumped and squealed while Kody turned a concerned look Steel’s way.

“There’s a treasure hunt?”

Steel sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“I forgot about that,” Steel muttered, gaze landing on Ace who was excitedly handing out maps and small pumpkin buckets. “God help us.”

  Kody could only laugh.

Ace

The treasure hunt was going well. He’d shanghaied the older kids into helping and the younger kids were loving it. They’d hidden candy all around the property and had given them all treasure maps and as the kids made their way around, the older kids were ready to scare them.

Hearing kids scream generally wasn’t something he liked but these were the screams of kids having fun. That he could get behind any day.

They had seven different ‘candy stations’ around the property, and his favorite was probably the one in the wooded area behind the house where he and Kai had propped up fake headstones with bad puns on them like Barry A. Live and Noah Scape.

He followed the kids around, laughing his ass off when Billy, one of the teenagers, threw his Dracula cape around and got it stuck over his head. By the time one of the others helped him free of it, the kids had already snatched their candy and were off to the next stop on the map.

He patted Billy on the back and despite feeling humiliated, the kid still managed to laugh so Ace didn’t feel bad about leaving them to it and heading back to the house. He’d reached the courtyard when he heard a loud crash and took off running toward the sound. He rounded the corner of the main building only to come to a sharp halt, shoes skidding on the pavers.

Kaz stood with his phone out, a smug grin on his face.

“What the hell was that?” Ace demanded, squinting knowingly at Kaz.

Kaz’s smile got wider before he said, “Oh, that? It was just the sound of a bike hitting a firetruck.”

He gaped at Kaz, then pointed an accusing finger at him.

“That is not…” He shook his head. “Is that from my crash?”

Even though Kaz nodded, that smug smirk was answer enough.

“You little shit,” he hissed under his breath and glanced around to make sure no one saw him grab Kaz and give him a noogie. “I can’t believe you recorded it.”

Kaz shrugged. “What are partners in crime for?”

“I think I need a new partner,” Ace muttered, glaring at Kaz.

“You’d be bored without me,” Kaz quipped and winked at Ace.

“True,” Ace said though he still flipped him off.

“Aren’t you on candy duty?” he asked Kaz.

The wry smile on Kaz’s lips was fit for Halloween.

“You could say that,” Kaz said.

Ace shook his head, then headed back toward the courtyard but came to a surprised halt. The light inside Kody’s car was on. The back door was open but there was no one around.

“What the hell…?”

He walked with fast strides toward the car, feeling Kaz right behind him. He looked in the backseat. The bags of extra candy Kody’s mom had bought for the kids were gone as well as the bottle of fake blood.

Steel was gonna kill him.

“Holy shit,” Kaz exclaimed, his eyes lighting up. “They raided the candy stash.”

Ace slowly turned to look at Kaz, eyes narrowing as something became clear to him.

“This is your doing, isn’t it?”

Kaz shrugged, his smile wide.

“You lured me away with the sound of my own crash so they could steal the rest of the candy?”

“Yep,” Kaz said, looking smug as hell.

“How did they even get the door open?”

Kaz held up a key ring, swinging it on his finger. Kody’s car keys.

Ace stared at him for a second and then patted himself down, obviously not coming up with the keys because Kaz had nicked them.

“I’m so tattling to Jace,” he said and pushed the car door closed to turn off the lights so the others wouldn’t notice.

Kaz’s brow rose, and that smug look was back on his face.

“Not telling Ares, huh?”

Ace pressed his lips together and flipped Kaz the bird.

Fuck, no, he wasn’t telling Ares.

“Alright. You made this mess. You’re gonna help me fix it. Before Steel gives Kai the green light to shoot me.”

Kaz laughed with a shake of his head, but followed Ace toward the garage where those damned teenagers had most likely convened after their little theft. He was going to let them keep the candy though he was definitely keeping some for himself, too.

“I’m such a bad influence,” he muttered to himself, unsurprised when Kaz chuckled.

Kai

Halloween was a success. Not that he’d expected otherwise but with these kids you never knew. Their traumas could get triggered by almost anything though the ones who had it the worst were the older kids, and they were the ones either helping out or doing the scaring of the smaller kids. There was always a fine line he had to thread but he felt like he was getting better and better at it.

The older kids were still outside, hanging out and eating whatever was left of the candy while the smaller kids were all tucked into bed. Steel was busy making the rounds and ensuring they were all good and had brushed their teeth. They were gonna need a lot of toothpaste with all the candy they’d consumed.

He headed across the courtyard just as Kaz exited the garage with a soft smile on his face. The kid was a lot happier after going to live with Jace and Ares, which translated to him being quite mischievous now. He was testing boundaries and, unfortunately, Ace was right there with him. Those two always did some stupid shit but at least there’d been no injuries since Ace’s mishap with Kody’s firetruck.

He wrapped an arm around Kaz’s shoulders and wasn’t surprised when the kid pretended to be annoyed.

“Did you have fun?” Kai asked.

Kaz snorted. “I’m a little too old for Halloween.”

“You’re never too old for Halloween.”

He hadn’t had many himself and seeing the kids happy and excited about dressing up and seeing spooky things was something he cherished. They needed to do this every year. It wasn’t just a fun break for the kids, it was a bit of normalcy that they hadn’t had a whole lot of it.

“Ace sure isn’t,” Kaz said with a note of laughter in his voice.

“Oh, I know. That’s why he’s here. He’s having fun and that rubs off on the kids.”

“Aww. You like him,” Kaz teased.

Kai dug his fingers into Kaz’s shoulder, making the kid wince. “You repeat that to anyone, and it’ll be worse for yourself.”

“Gotcha,” Kaz said, voice sounding strained.

When he let go, Kaz was smiling, and as much as he hated that the boy knew him well enough to know he was kidding, he also loved it.

“If he repeats what?”

They turned around and Kaz couldn’t help his smile when he laid eyes on Steel. The man had long since taken his Ghostface mask off and he was pretty sure he’d find it in the trash.

“That he likes Ace,” Kaz answered and instantly cackled.

Kai snapped his gaze onto Kaz and ran a finger across his throat to let the kid know he was a dead man walking.

“But I already know that?” Steel drawled, brows lowering in mock confusion before he burst into laughter.

Kai dropped his head back with a groan, middle fingers pointed at Steel and Kaz who kept laughing at him.

“Has anyone seen my boyfriend?”

He turned to see Kody heading their way.

Kaz snorted and said, “He’s asleep in the garage, wrapped around a bag of cheese puffs.”

Kody breathed out a sigh and the fact the man wasn’t surprised made Kai laugh.

“He really is an extra kid, isn’t he?” Kody asked, his eyes vibrant with amusement.

“That he is,” Steel agreed.

Kody took off toward the garage and not two seconds after he’d entered, every single unaccounted-for teenager exited with big grins on their faces. He wouldn’t be surprised if Kody found Ace with dicks drawn on his face.

Kaz and the other kids headed inside, and Kai narrowed his eyes when he noticed the bags of candy they were carrying. Those little―

Arms wrapped around his middle and he smiled as he turned his head to look at Steel. There was a softness in those eyes that was only reserved for him, and he was addicted to it. Addicted to his man.

He turned in Steel’s arms and said, “They’re gonna end up in a candy coma.”

“At least it’s not booze.”

Kai snorted. “You’re so sweet.”

Steel closed his eyes with a groan. “Kaz brought booze?”

“I let him keep the beer. I’d rather they drink here where they’re safe.”

Steel nodded, eyes roaming over Kai’s face, a smile spreading on his lips.

A strange sound followed by a loud, “Oh shit,” came from inside the house.

Kai met Steel’s gaze and couldn’t help but laugh.

“You owe me so many orgasms for this,” Steel said, keeping his voice low and that dark timbre of his had Kai repressing a shiver.

“Anything for you, babe,” he said and wrapped his arms around the back of Steel’s neck, pulling the man down for a kiss.

Thanks for reading along! I hope you enjoyed this little Disciples Halloween short story.

Haven’t read the King’s Disciples yet? You can start the series with the prequel novella Jace! If you want the series in paperback, you can grab them here! We wish you all a spooky Halloween!