Wanda, Fraser, and Jeanne-Marie, backdated to Oct 12

[om_aurora]

Fraser comes Halloween shopping with Wanda and Jeanne-Marie to play bag boy--and ends up getting talked into an elaborate costume concept of his own.

"You are so sweet to help us, Benton," Jeanne-Marie said, handing off another little bag to the already weighed-down Fraser as she picked through a rack of costumes. She had most of what she needed for her own, but she was just looking for something inspiring. "It's hard to look through these while holding so many things."

"Not a problem, Jeanne-Marie," Fraser said over the pile. He'd wanted to come into town, but he didn't have any particular plans in mind, so when Jeanne-Marie asked if Fraser wanted to join her and Wanda as they went looking for Halloween costumes he was happy to tag along. It also seemed that the polite thing to do was hold these bags so that they were free to paw through the racks. He hardly minded, although it might become difficult to get through doorways soon. "Everyone seems very excited about the holiday. There's a great deal of effort being made."

"Who doesn't like dressing up?" Wanda said with a smile and patted the boy on the shoulder as she watched Jeanne-Marie poke around. "We can try to find you something, if you want."

"Mmm, yes, have you decided on a costume yet?" Jeanne-Marie asked.

"Oh, I have no idea," he admitted. "Are costumes required?"

"Not required," Wanda said, and laughed. "It is half the fun of Halloween, though."

"Absolutely," Jeanne-Marie agreed with a grin. "It's a night where we all pretend. My first one ever was last year and it was so fun."

"I could maybe put something together? Do they have sewing machines at the school? "

"They do actually." Though Wanda couldn't help but give him a slightly curious look. "I've used them before, if you want me to show you."

"I could maybe put something together?" he suggested thoughtfully. "I'm not sure what."

"We could suggest possibilities," Jeanne-Marie said, abandoning the rack in her excitement. "And if you can make the costume at home, we can be accessories today."

"I could probably alter something or put something together," he conceded. "But what sort of thing?"

"Well," Wanda said thoughtfully, turning more towards Fraser now that there was a goal in mind besides shopping, "the most literal idea is to dress as something scary, but really it could be anything. What kind of thing do you like?"

"Any favorite stories or movies or even monsters--if you like scary?" Jeanne-Marie asked.

"Uh... well, I do like the classics, but I think I'm too short to go the route of Frankenstein."

Wanda laughed a little and shifted to take at least a couple of the bags away from him. "Don't worry about being exact. It's more about what you'd enjoy wearing."

"Mm-hm," Jeanne-Marie agreed, taking a bag or two from him, as well. She hadn't thought of it, but Wanda had a point--he had to look for things now too. "I just read Frankenstein this year too--if you didn't want to be the monster you could always be Victor. It's all a little tragic, though." But that didn't stop her from grinning.

"Oh, that might be easier!" Fraser said, faintly mystified that they were taking the bags now.

"Alright then," Wanda said with a nod, as if it had been completely settled. "I guess we'll need to find you some Victorian-looking things, then."

"Yes, you'll have to at least buy the boots." Jeanne-Marie cocked her head thoughtfully, fingering a likely-looking white shirt and displaying it absently to her companions. "Some kind of apron would be easy to make..."

"I could probably tailor a modern jacket to fit the period," Fraser said thoughtfully.

"So we find you a jacket." And Wanda was already gently steering them all towards the men's section, so that was handy.

Jeanne-Marie clapped her hands together once, grinning. "This will be so much fun."

Fraser smiled softly. "Thank you both for your creative ideas."

"Oh, believe me," Wanda said with a grin. "We've barely gotten started. If you want to bail out I'd suggest you do it now."

Jeanne-Marie laughed. "Wanda is an expert at costuming. You should have seen her and her brother at the masquerade; you would know what you are getting into."

"I am excited by the prospect."

"I don't know if I'd say 'expert'," Wanda countered with a teasing smile, "but I'm sure we can work something out. And we'll see if we can get you to sound excited rather than just saying you are."

"Baby steps," Jeanne-Marie said as seriously as she could--before turning a quick grin on Wanda.

"Yay?" Fraser added, hiding a grin.

"Better," Wanda said with an entirely approving smile. "Come on. We have a lot we need to find."