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whenisitnottimeforbed · 7 years

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Tricks Before Treats (Ichabbie Fanfic)

Well, I haven't done this in a while... I'm kind of excited, I guess- I finally have a new trope that I want to incorporate and I haven't been able to think of one till literally this night. I hope everyone can read this and think kindly back upon something from the show fondly.

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It had been as far back as June when Abbie and Crane had gone out drinking with Jenny and the young Master Corbin, let the revelry take them and became more focused on the moment than the future, but Abbie was beginning to suspect Jenny hadn't been quite as inebriated as she'd made it seem. At some point during the night they'd made a bet on a game, she couldn't quite recall which one, but the prize had been to pick a costume for the loser come halloween. It had seemed like a drunk rambling kind of wager, the kind that made no sense before or after and would probably fade away with the memory of the night, and yet, without missing a beat, Jenny had showed up at Abbie's house with two hangers covered in travel bags giving both the the house's residents their task for the night.

Not only did they have to wear them, Jenny had further explained, but they had to go out and be seen in them. Not at a bar either- they always went to a bar or bowling, or a fright fest movie marathon of the old classics. This year, they were going to a Halloween fair, complete with a corn maze, apple bobbing, haunted houses, hayrides, pumpkin patches, and costume contests. Jenny also informed them they'd been entered in the couples division of such an event and she had money on their success.

Face heavy with makeup, Abbie could hardly stop smiling- a begrudging and duplicitous kind of smile- as she strode through the night in the field between all the other fairgoers in her large glittering pink dress with so many skirt layers that if puffed up a bit just below her knees. It had all the glittering satin overlay, puffy chiffon-like sleeves that bulged like orbs around her bicepts and a strapless corset bodice with magenta-purple ribbon and detail work. Her face was nearly bereft of visible skin, instead covered in eye shadow that went up to her eyebrows and out to her temples, and cheek contours all in glitter filled shades of pinkish or purplish with a few tiny glued on rhinestone assets at the corners of each eye, and dangling pink stoned earrings with multiple pieces. The only thing about the outfit she'd been allowed to use of her own choice were her boots, and only because Jenny had gotten the heel size wrong and there wasn't time to go out and get another pair. Ichabod thought she looked quite cute, but he'd thought twice about using those words and instead complimented her as looking delightful when they'd left.

Compared to her, Ichabod's couple of lines down the corner of his mouth and light 'wood' looking detail work down his face was nothing. He also wore... well, he actually wore something he was quite familiar with in style, though not color. While she'd been dubbed The Sugar Plum Fairy, Crane had been dressed as the red jacketed Nutcracker himself, complete with giant drum major hat and a real, working sword that he'd really bought off the internet some time ago when he'd learned such things could be done. Abbie always thought he looked good in uniform- and he filled it out well. Even if he didn't like the coat, she made sure he knew he was pulling it off. There was this look she'd give him, this one that he liked, and it had quelled all complaints about his implied patriotism.

"Jenny says the contest isn't till near the end of the night, so we just have to hang around till then." Abbie told him as they walked through throngs of witches, zombies, sexy "insert prosaic noun here"s, Trump satire, wearable puns, and t-shirts that read "this IS my costume". A small group of teenagers came shoving by dressed in their best, most costume-less trappings and in such a rush that they neglected an 'excuse me' as they headed past the glaring fairy cop in their backpacks.

"If you'll excuse my ignorance," Crane began, redirecting her attention, "as I haven't seen the play these costumes seemed to be based on in any capacity more than televised advertisements and references within other works-"

"-I'll take you come Christmastime."

"-Appreciated- but, isn't the character whom I am portraying in love with a ballerina?"

"It's a ballet- everyone in it is a ballerina."

"Of course, but isn't my love interest some sort of music box statuette or toy?"

"Nope. She's a 10 year old girl, Crane."

"-...?"

"Yeah."

"And your Sugar Plum Fairy?"

"Just a benevolent character with a popular song."

"This doesn't seem to be a particularly well thought out 'couples' costume."

"Did I pick it out?"

"You're right, we're in this together."

"Always."

"Hey there, you two-" A man not unlike a carnival barker called to them, "The haunted hay ride's about to leave and we've got two spots just waiting for you, come on over- we promise a 'Frightfully' fun time!" The two of them stood for a moment, figuring whether or not they'd go, but what was the harm, it was still a while before the contest, and what else were they gonna do?

"Shall we, Ms. Fairy?" Ichabod asked, extending his arm with a teasing smile.

"Why, of course, Mr. Nut." She responded in kind, taking the offering.

"That's Mr. Cracke-"

"I'm not saying that."

The two of them were led back through the lane of stalls and to the edge where a few pumpkins had been arranged to create a line holding pattern, which they stepped over as no one was in line. Well, he 'had' needed to come out and grab people for it. When they arrived at the vehicle, though, it wasn't empty.

"Hahaha!" Jenny immediately began to laugh, "Man, you'd think I'd be done laughing about this by now."

"Yes- I would." Abbie agreed with a snide smile while Crane assisted her up on the lifted vehicle.

"Are you the Nutcracker and the Sugar Plum fairy?" A woman asked, she was was doing one of those sexy vaudevillian cigarette girl style costumes, "You guys look so cute together- way to play up the height difference."

"Oh, we got this contest in the bag." Jenny smiled, reaching up to compel a high five from the woman before leaning back with her arms over the back of the wooden railing holding in the hay on which they could sit.

"Alright, everybody, strap in for the most haunted hayride this side of Salem!" The man called from the truck, and then into a walkie "Cue it up, Dewey."

All at once lights flashed once at them, and some metal music blasted from speakers Abbie now noticed were attached to the sides of the truck. Up ahead, the sounds of screams rang out. The man inside laughed into a mic attached to the speakers, which did not cut out the music to let him speak,

"Listen to that? That's the sound of any who get taken away by the 'real' frights of our genuine haunted hayride! There have been some REAL mysterious happenings in our little town these last few years, and it's all for tonight!"

"Profiteering off of our work-" Ichabod leaned in to muse into his companion's ear as quietly as he could over the motor, the mic, and the music. As they rounded a curve, a spring loaded zombie jumped at the vehicle complete with it's own speaker sound effect, an orchestral screech, and a weird moan-scream. The only scream in the vehicle came from the vaudevillian woman who also reacted by ducking toward and clasping onto Ichabod's arm. Abbie glanced across Ichabod at the woman, and though she couldn't bring herself to say anything, as she had no real place to, it was clear she was upset. She harrumphed quietly, biting her bottom lip and sitting back with this posture and face that just begged what gave vaudeville the gall? There was a small bubble of nervousness from Ichabod, but it was easily overtaken with bemusement. He reached over with the offending arm, and tucked some of Abbie's neatly ringleted hair back behind her ear and gave her a smile. Glancing up at him, she immediately softened, relaxing again. She leaned into him and the woman on the otherside easily scooted a bit over, a light blush on her cheeks, but a little grin as she watched them.

"The undead walk our world tonight," The man in the truck began again, "led by denizens of the damned demons who torture them behind the gates of hell every other day of the year to come and drag down souls to take their place-"

Just then a giant pillar of fire exploded from up ahead, lighting the faces of everyone in the vehicle as they stared up into the sky at it.

"Who-ho-hoa-" Jenny smiled in awe.

"Impressive-" breathed Crane.

"Yeah, that's the best effects I've ever seen- Pyrotechnics went all out, huh?" Abbie agreed as the whole vehicle began to clap.

"Uh-" The mic cut out before the man talked into his walkie, barely audible beyond the music, "Godd*mnit, Dewey! Didn't I tell you to stay away from the 4th of July stuff!... Dewey-.... Dewey!" Crane turned to look at Abbie- his instincts were flaring up and if the look on her face was any indication, her's were too.

"Hey, is everything-" It was a good thing the lieutenant had gotten up to lean over the railing and speak to the man because if she'd stayed where she was, the super sped projectile that burst through his windshield and out the back window would have smashed right through her too, instead of just slamming the man's head into his door, exploding the sludgiest black mess on the windshield, the seat, and splattering it all over the bed of hay they rode on. The events managed to set the truck to speed forward with their driver's dead foot on the gas.

"Abbie!" Jenny called as soon as they lurched forward, having to catch the vaudevillian woman who was clearly terrified, her face splashed in the foul smelling liquid, and her eyes dilated in the kind of horror that you only see in movies.

"He's done!" She shouted back, reaching for him to try and wake him up, pull or knock him over and get him off the gas but she couldn't get the right force of strength from this angle and with the bouncy jostling of the unsteered vehicle, and they were headed right toward a stack of hay that'd been made into wall. A witch toy jumped out as they approached and was quickly smashed to bits over the broken windshield, rolling up over the top. The apparatus would have clipped Abbie if Crane had not yanked her back into the bed of the truck. Long arms wrapped around the purple-pink bodice of his partner leaning over to protect her from the stacks of hay that exploded against the chevy's grill, rolling over the top or under the wheels. The woman screamed from where she ducked and covered on the small floor drowning in the sounds still blasting from the speakers.

"I got him!" Jenny called out once they were around- they were headed for a hill. While she climbed onto the side of the runaway vehicle, thrusting herself in feet first through the passenger's window, Abbie and Ichabod quickly scanned their surroundings and as she swivelled around to the front, they crested the hill. Down below, right where the pillar would have been, there was a searing black spot in the ground, like the edges of a paper burned by a cigarette, and out from it flew ugly, black as ink winged gargoyle looking things and jostled ugly, melted, fleshy human forms.

"It's never been so dramatic before!" Abbie called.

"You heard the man! The only place we've ever opened was purgatory- That was supposed to be hell!" Just as she answered back, Jenny got the door open and safely rolled the man out, and their ride, going somewhere over 60 mph to be sure, ran up the hill and sailed high into the air. The group was left without gravity just long enough for the scene of madness below to be burned into all of their eyes. Familiar uncostumed teenagers screaming and running, things flying like bats or pterodactyls after them in dives, and ghouls tackling the living to the ground in a cacophony of screams, inhuman screeches, and gurgling snarls.

The vaudevillian woman wheezed, clearly dealing with an attack, and sprang from the bed in panic, disappearing in all her black into the night behind them. Something overhead circled back that direction, though it didn't seem to be able to find her once she made it into the corn.

"Abbie!" the car slammed back down onto the earth with a squeal of chassis and suspension.

"Lieutenant! We need to get down there!"

"Agreed! Jenny-"

"Oh, we're going whether we want to or not- we got no brakes, guys! But we do have this-" And she pushed the nozzle of a hunting rifle back through the hole in the window to her sister. Abbie pulled open the lever to check and found it loaded and ready.

"Well, alright-"

"I believe this just turned into a business event." Crane noted, relieving his scabbard of its cargo, the unused metal glinting in the moonlight.

"I guess so." Abbie agreed, "Jenny! Let's go to work!"

The engine revved hard, the younger Mills sister flooring the gas pedal and kicking up dirt behind them and all at once it was the music, a change in song after a brief pause, that filled Abbie's ears. The growing feedback and hard crashing drum beat adding to the channelled adrenaline of the moment. The car swerved in the loose dirt and grass, but Abbie, standing on a hay bale, lifted her leg and steadied herself on the roof of the black truck, zeroing in down the sights of the firearm at the winged demons above and began to fire. Behind her, Crane moved from one end of the bed to the other, clinging to railings while he thrust his blade out at any and all ghouls and undead husks that were not mowed down with fleshy smacks and underwheel thuds by the road warrior in the driver's seat.

Though they might be in the middle of battle, there was a quiet kind of tension among the people underneath the blanket of screams and electric guitars. In fact, Abbie and Ichabod fell into step so quickly and comfortably that somewhere under the drive and focus, there was a glimmer of fun. When she spun around, he was right at her back with no warning or word, spinning too, out of her way and her out of his, delivering fatal blows one after another. When she swiveled, he ducked under, and when she leaned, he slid around. Each step she took in this contained space, he matched with ease and grace, as hay continued to be thrown out of their way. A hand reached out at her hair, from a being that had managed to grab onto the vehicle and yet Abbie felt no fear. The limb was separated from it's body no less than an inch from her and it's owner was impaled while Abbie's boot planted firmly into the face of another and she used it to thrust herself into the air and use the gun's butt to smash another enemy from the sky.

The truck swerved, and Abbie landed on the edge of the roof, the metal sliding out from under her, but when her hand thrust out in instinct, another grabbed it just as thoughtlessly, fingers curling around each other's thumbs. For a moment, Abbie and Ichabod stared into each other's eyes while the dichotomy of fear for each other, and yet the utter trust that nothing could ever happen to them because they would always be there to protect each other washed over them. She lifted her gun though and unloaded a round into a demon that thought it'd get the drop on her partner from behind, and the feeling broke with smiles.

Abbie did not lack confidence, not for quite some time, but fighting side by side with Crane bolstered it. What she would have avoided, viewing as 'reckless' or 'dangerous' when she was alone, she could do without hesitation with him. Ichabod knew she could take care of herself, and it was because of that that he could fight so freely- he did not have to constantly be worried or leading his Lieutenant around. She did not require coddling but instead room to do her job, and that was something he could do with, not for, her.

"It's kinda like a dance isn't it?" Abbie chuckled, pulling ammo from where her sister thrust it back at her to reload her weapon while the bumps tried to unsteady them.

"Not the music I would have chosen, but-" Ichabod began, but in concentrating on the pass, Jenny now needed to quickly course correct and threw the truck into a hard turn, and Abbie slammed into Ichabod, her face pressed into his shirt. She peeled herself off him and though they both smiled, clearly about to say something, the truck made it evident that it was not meant to handle a corner in this manner and began to tip up onto two tires.

"Gimme a boost!" Abbie called grabbing his hand and turning around. Ichabod planted a food on the floor of the now empty truck bed, and without releasing hands, Abbie used it as a springboard to go jump onto the edge of the fence with only him to steady her while she leaned herself out as counterweight, and he planted his own foot on the inside of the wooden bars to accommodate her weight and press on the side.

Floating on a wicked guitar solo that poured from their speakers like a crashing storm, time slowed as the adrenaline coursing in their bloodstream heightened their every sense. Abbie's dress sparkled in the moonlight and her face glittered like a diamond. Her dress, dirty and torn, fluttered like a flag of her own independence and ability, a reminder to Ichabod of what he fought for, and who he cared about; what really mattered in times like these. Her hand clasped his with admirable strength and he gripped her so that she would never sail away even as she was slanted dangerously off the high, precarious edge of the border against the wind with ripped satin overlay fluttering behind her like the Winged Nike of Samothrace. She was beautiful. Even as her face curled into a snarl and she shot one handed with her rifle braced against her shoulder at the oncoming threats.

He had seemed to be distracted, but when Abbie glanced back down she saw his long fingers wrapped around her wrist, and his strong arm reaching out the other way to swipe his gleaming, silver sword down the face of one nearby ghoul, spin the blade around and push it back through the gut of one that tried to climb their ride. It was in moments like these she was absolutely sure she could not do this without him. Who else could she trust so completely? Who else could be an asset as opposed to a liability? Who else knew her in battle so well? No one. There was only him. She smirked, and turned back around as Jenny took the truck back the way they'd come apparently, using the hill to help them get back onto four wheels.

With another squeal, the heavy vehicle came back down and Ichabod pulled Abbie back into the bed, where she snapped around. There out in front, just above the reach of the headlights, was the last of their problems.

"Keep me steady!" Abbie called and the truck straightened itself out once again climbing this hill, but now the passengers realized what they were headed for. Crane's hands gripped Abbie's hips and as the truck lifted off once more her feet remained planted to the floor and in one shot, the monster exploded it's black sludge from the head and fell like a stone where they landed on it and headed back into the fairground. There was still no pedal brakes, but plowing through crowd ahead was not an option. Jenny reached down and quickly clicked up the emergency brakes as high as they would go and braced as the truck's tires stopped spinning but the momentum carried them forward, crashing to a final stop in a tailspin while they clung to each other, against one of the other vehicles, destroying the sound system to end the ride.

"Are you alright? Abbie, are you harmed?" She was practically in his lap now, at the end of it, and he lifted her face to look quickly for injuries.

"I'm fine, I'm fine- it didn't even hurt- what about you?" She shook her head, feeling around his sides. He winced once, and took her hand. He'd managed to put as much of his body as possible between her and the collision, and the look her eyes were giving him were telling him that she recognized it. He had not lost her yet, and he would not tonight. She stared at him, her hand reaching up to his cheek, but there was a bit of a ruckus starting up behind them.

"I'm fine, but we should check on Jenny and the others-"

"You're right."

Abbie and Crane quickly jumped out of the truck, and after being waved on by Jenny- fine after the impact- ran around to the people who'd all gathered together in the middle of the fairground. The two of them hopped up on some boards laid across some hay for a higher vantage point with attention grabbing thuds of their boots,

"Is everyone alright?!" Abbie shouted over the crowd who had watched their crashing stop in fear.

"Are there any more of them among you?!" Ichabod demanded after her, his sword at the ready. Several dozen wide eyed and injured faces stared back up at them, now with no music from the smashed speakers on the truck, in the silent kind of confusion that follows a group trauma. Then a sound broke the silence- the sound of clapping. It was singular at first, but soon joined by a partner, and then a couple more, and it became clear among the applause and whistles, that the trouble was over.

People threw themselves at the pair's feet on stage with thanks and waves and shouts of pride and compliment, and someone thrust a trophy at them. Ichabod tried to deny it but Abbie took it up from the crowd with a thanks and a laugh. The relief and the sound of her laughter lightened his heart, and before the group of them, he leaned down and placed a peck on her cheek- the best he could do considering he felt fairly giddy right now, but thought better of kissing her outright in front of all these people. Seemed he didn't need to worry though- she'd been surprised at first, but turned back, pulled him down by his neck and pressed her lips to his joyously, smiling widely when she released him and staring into his sparkling, laughing eyes. In their tattered and black splattered costumes, messed hair and weapons wielded in hand, the held each other, and Abbie lifted the trophy up for the both of them among the second crashing wave of cheers.

#ichabbie #sleepy hollow #abbie mills #ichabod crane #abbie x ichabod #been a while #couldn't let halloween pass me by #sorry this came out like more of an action set than a #romcom or #domcom #I had a lot of fun though

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