bonus: the jack-o-lantern

"Remember, we're only buying one pumpkin."

"I think that's the third time you've told me that."

"No, seriously! Only one pumpkin this year, those things cost a ton."

"I get it! Why're you even here anyway? You could be home decorating the house or something. I'm more than capable of going to the grocery store and buying a pumpkin by myself."

Sehun shoots him a disbelieving look. "Remember last year when Junmyeon sent you here to buy one pumpkin and you returned back home with fifteen?"

"That was a year ago, I've changed since then. Besides, I don't see what you have against pumpkin armies, they looked so cool sitting on his front porch! Remember how many trick-or-treaters came to his house?"

"Jongin, he had to pay for all those!"

"Hey, this one looks perfect!," Jongin squeals. His eyes scan over the pumpkin mountain before him. 

"Remember, pick the one from the top! Not the bottom, like you did last time. And make sure it's not bruised or yellow or anything," Sehun says. He deliberately takes a step back and moves aside with the shopping cart just in case. He's learnt his lesson when it comes to shopping for pumpkins with Jongin - how much it hurt when he nearly got his entire right foot smashed in by a pumpkin as a result of Jongin not listening to his order of avoiding the ones in the middle of the pile. He shudders, his right foot subconsciously twitching at the memory.

"I won't, I won't," Jongin says before reaching out and carefully picking a pumpkin out of the pile and walking over to show Sehun. "Look, Sehunnie, isn't it perfect?!"

"It looks just like the other five trillion pumpkins in the pile, but yeah, it looks pretty good, I guess," Sehun says before motioning for Jongin to place it in the cart. "Gently."

Jongin shoots him a disapproving glare before proceeding to - gently - lower the pumpkin into the cart, rubbing his hands together when he lets it go and smiles. "That went well. Jesus, it was heavy."

"Pumpkins are heavy, you moron," Sehun says with a roll of his eyes before pushing the cart forward, Jongin tagging along closely behind. 

---

"Doesn't this thing come with an instruction manual or something?"

"What? You just carve down to the bottom and scratch out the insides with a knife and then carve eyes and a mouth!"

"Do we have any tools?"

"Just use your hands!"

"You're forgetting that I'm not a girl, my nails aren't an inch long."

"Use your fingers, dimwit!"

"Go get a knife, Sehun."

Sehun jogs over to the counter and fetches a knife from the cupboard before walking back to the table and handing it to Jongin. They've placed the pumpkin in the middle of the kitchen table on top of a newspaper and Sehun feels a certain sense of dread overcome him when he sees Jongin pick up the (very sharp) knife. Seriously, the last thing he wants right now is for Jongin to pass out from blood loss as well as a trip to the hospital. "Be careful, okay?," Sehun says. "Start with the top, carve it out, like in a circle."

"Got it," Jongin says confidently before (less than carefully) jamming the blade through the top of the pumpkin, carving in a circular motion before setting the knife back down on the table again. The entire room quickly fills with the sweet smell of pumpkin and Sehun nearly gags. He watches as Jongin removes the top and throws it down on the table and lets out a squawk when a thing of pumpkin juice flies up and into his face. 

"Sorry," Jongin says, wiping his hands on his jeans, ignoring Sehun's exclaim of 'use a paper towel!' before rolling up his sleeves and reaching into the hole with both hands. Sehun nearly wretches at the slippery and wet sounds that emit as Jongin rummages through the insides with his fingers. Jongin only laughs at Sehun's disgusted expression before removing his hands from the hole and waving them in front of Sehun's face. "Dude," Sehun groans in disgust. "I got that in my mouth! Stop flailing, stop it!"

"Help me out Sehunnie," Jongin whines. "I can't do this on my own." 

"I'm good, I'd rather not get sticky and slimy before dinner."

"Help me, Sehun," Jongin says in a serious tone. "Or I'll dump all this icky stuff on your face."

"God, I hate you sometimes," Sehun moans in agony before standing up and removing his sweater and rolling up his own sleeves. He cautiously walks over to Jongin whose hands are covered in slimy orange-y yellow goop and very, very sticky. He furrows his brows in disgust, racking his brain of possible excuses to escape his current situation when he feels a sticky hand grip around his wrist, shuddering in disgust. "Don't just stand there," Jongin says with a bright smile on his face. "Come on." He proceeds to guide Sehun's hand towards the opening. "Help me pull out the insides, will you?"

"Fine, don't be so hetsy," Sehun says before carefully wrapping his fingers around a sliver of skin and gently pulling, whining in frustration when it doesn't come off. "It won't come off, it's way too freaking slippery."

"Use force," Jongin encourages him while dumping a handful of insides onto the table. "Come on, you're stronger than I am - I think, use your muscle power!"

"Stop being so goddamn cheesy all the time," Sehun says with a smack to Jongin's bottom, ignoring the latter's whine of protest before tugging at the skin, blinking in surprise (and disgust) when it comes clean off the sides. He whacks Jongin on the cheek with the slippery goo and chuckles when the latter attempts to hit him back, only to trip over his own feet and land face first in the palm of Sehun's hand. 

"Are we gonna put in candles?," Jongin asks, wiping the sticky residue off his face. He watches as Sehun grabs an entire fistful of skin and adds them to the growing orange pile next to the pumpkin. Jongin peeks inside and nearly jumps up and down in excitement when he sees the entire pumpkin is nearly carved down to the pulp and he thanks the Lord for blessing him with a boyfriend with strong biceps. 

"Sure," Sehun grunts as he attempts to pull loose a sliver of skin. "There, that's the last of it, I think. Goddamn, I'm sticky." He turns to Jongin with a smirk on his face. "Want a hug?"

Jongin takes three steps back. "Maybe later."

"Funny," Sehun says with a small chuckle. "That's the first time you've ever declined a hug from me. Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm feeling absolutely fantastic," Jongin says with a dramatic grin. "It's just that I'd rather want a hug from a clean Sehun instead of a dirty Sehun."

Sehun raises an eyebrow and stares at Jongin with a less than suggestive expression. "You sure about that?"

"Shut up, you lunkhead," Jongin squawks before walking over and hitting Sehun in the chest with a closed (and sticky) fist. "God, do you ever not think about...that."

"Well, when you're here right next to me it's a little difficult not to," Sehun says and ducks in the nick of time to avoid being hit in the face with a handful of pumpkin insides.

---

"The eyes look perfect, Sehunnie!"

"They're not even properly aligned! One of them's even bigger than the other!"

"It's not my fault you kept distracting me while I was trying to carve the damn things!"

"Hey, now that I think about it, it kinda looks like you."

"I guess, it's as beautifully glowy and radiant as I am."

"In the face," Sehun says in a flat tone. "I meant it looks like you in the face."

"It looks more like you, since you're blond and all," Jongin says with a chuckle. He puts his hands under the pumpkin and slowly lifts it off the table, grunting under its weight. "Hey, I'll bring it outside. You light some candles, alright?"

"If we have any. Jesus Christ, don't drop it." Sehun murmurs before turning around and rummaging through the cupboard. After some (intense) digging, he finally finds a pack of six candles as well as a box of matches and walks out the front door where Jongin is busy placing the pumpkin on the front porch. "Here, I found these. Wanna light them?"

"I burnt the hell out of my finger last time I tried doing that" Jongin says, eyeing the candles with much caution.

"Well, do it this time," Sehun says, placing them in Jongin's hand. "Show me you've improved since then."

Jongin sighs before successfully lighting a match and manages to light all six candles without the match burning out, gently placing them at the bottom of the pumpkin. He stands up and blows on the match before throwing it aside and rubbing his hands together. The pumpkin is glowing like an gigantic orange firefly and Sehun nearly looks away in order to avoid being blinded. He steps off the porch and admires their creation from the front, breathing out a sigh of relief when he sees the eye imperfections are practically concealed by the dark and the glowy light. Jongin stands next to him and wraps his arms around his shoulder, exhaling a cloud of steam before shuddering. "It looks so cool!"

"Gah, get off me, you're getting my shirt all sticky!" Sehun exclaims and lets out a muffled 'stop' when Jongin puts both hands on either side of his face and kisses him. His hands reach up to pat at face and he shoots Jongin a disapproving look. Despite it being nearly pitch black out Sehun can see Jongin is grinning at him. "You're going to hell for that."

Jongin shrugs, smacking his lips together. "You taste like pumpkin."

"Because you flicked goddamn pumpkin juice in my face earlier," Sehun exclaims before moving in and ruffling Jongin's hair and laughing loudly when his hair stands up in all different directions. "Hey, you could save some money and use this goopy stuff instead of hair gel."

"Trick or treaters usually skip this house for whatever reason," Jongin says. "But hopefully they see this because I love it."

"Won't it topple over? What if the candles blow out?" Sehun asks in a worried tone.

Jongin pats him on the back. "It won't. It weighs a ton and hey, who cares if the candles blow the hell out. What matters is that we did it together and did our best, right?"

"You sound like a mother after finding out her kid failed their exam," Sehun says before shivering and he sticks his hands in his pockets.

"But you love me anyway."

Sehun nods. "I'd love you even if you did something as stupid as sticking your head in it. Don't get any ideas now," he says when he sees Jongin eyeing the pumpkin with a contemplative look in his eyes. "Let's go inside, alright?"

"What should we name it?"

"What's with you and feeling the need to name literally everything? You found a balled up piece of lint in the corner of your room yesterday and named it Henry, for God's sake! Why would we ever need to name a pumpkin?"

"Let's name it Jonghun," Jongin says after a while. Sehun just stares at him like he's grown a third leg. "What?"

"That sounds...what even is that? Is that even a name?"

"It's our names combined!," Jongin says and smiles when Sehun nods in understanding. "Creative, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Sehun says and ruffles Jongin's hair again, much to the latter's annoyance. "As creative as always, my dear Jongin." He checks his watch and blows into his hands before rubbing them together. "Let's go inside, okay? Before we both die from hypothermia."

Jongin pouts. "But I want to stay out here with Jonghun."

"Alright," Sehun says and walks towards the door. "I guess I'll decorate the house by myself then. I'll make sure to hang up your favorite bat ornament for you, don't worry." 

Jongin is at his side less than a fraction of a second later. Sehun chuckles before opening the door, Jongin bouncing inside, a sudden wave of heat hitting them both. Sehun looks back at the pumpkin sitting unmoving on the porch, bathed in its orange glow and smiling softly. He hears Jongin calling something along the lines of 'Sehunnie, help me fetch the decorations from the basement!' from somewhere in the house before taking one last look at it and closing the door behind him.