Aster, rested in the back of an old truck, sitting down in the bed, her head against dirty glass and her shoulders against the rusted metal. The sun beaming down against her sunhat, the fluttering of leaves all around her, and the rush of orange going past her, passing through large pumpkin fields, watching as kids and parents play in them, laughing and having fun. She didn't know why pumpkins were the choice fruit for "Halloween", nor has she ever heard of such a thing, though, it was mainly due to the fact she hasn't spent much time on earth, nor grew up with the proper education of the humans around her... A few minutes pass as the truck rides on the dirt road, kicking up dust and pebbles before she eventually reaches a pumpkin patch that's quite empty
"Oh.. Is this my stop?" Aster asks, her question directed towards the front, as a hand reaches out from the window with a thumbs up. "Thank you for the ride"
She gets up and hops to the floor, looking towards the large patch, boxed in by old oak fences, some crumbling apart with the occasional spider web here and there, as she enters, walking underneath the large sign and into the rows of pumpkins, as the truck drives off
Meanwhile Iris was crouched down, looking at the pumpkins, trying to decide which one she could use to surprise Aster with, maybe a big one, or a couple of medium sized ones, or maybe even both, but she needed to find the right pumpkins, she had to of course, this is Aster's first true Halloween and-
"Ah, there you are" A voice calls out from behind, a shadow growing over Iris, "I've been looking for you"
Iris turns around and looks up to see Aster blocking out the sun as she stands infront of her, the giant 6 foot or so giant, with long golden hair more radiant than the sun itself, fair skin and closed eyes, that just so happen to be her own girlfriend
"H-how did you know i was..." She mumbles, trying to think of how she even knew, before giving up, Aster always knows, and that's only a minor mystery of Aster's she cannot explain. ".... Do you wanna help me pick a pumpkin?"
"What for?" Aster asks, before kneeling down onto the ground next to Iris, looking at all the pumpkins, big and orange.
"Ah.. well.. people like to carve faces into pumpkins, or sometimes carve drawings into them..." Iris explains, thinking back to her parents, her childhood, all the good that can never be relived again. "...we can use the insides of the pumpkins to make muffins.. or roast the seeds!"
She starts to babble on about different things pumpkins can be used for, telling old stories and facts she learned.
Aster watches as Iris gets off topic, smiling, listening to her talk intently, even if it's not about the original goal, she still enjoyed being around Iris.
"Then how about we get two? One for carving, the other for cooking. I could make a nice soup, or maybe a puree?
"H-huh...that...that sounds nice... yeah.. i-i think i'd like that" Iris says, her face relaxing as she smiles, twiddling her fingers together, her face blushing a little.
Aster's eyes slightly open, getting a better look at the girl, so foolishly in love with her, yet no matter how hard she tries, she simply can't look away, her love and interest and curiosity simply too heavy to ignore, greater than the burden that all will eventually die before her. She just wants to be with the girl she loves, the simple long light blue hair girl, with tan olive skin, fragile meek blue eyes, a soft expression, and fragility shown only to her.
Iris reaches and grabs a nice large pumpkin, heaving it off the ground with a single pull, standing up, following the force and pull as it's lifted into her arms.
"T-this should be good for carving.. yeah?" She asks, turning down to look and wait for Aster's seal of approval
"Yes, it's perfect" She responds, reassuringly to Iris.
She reaches forward, touching, knocking and squeezing a few, as one replies back, with soft but firm skin, a hollow beat within and a hard healthy stem.
"I'll choose this one" She whispers to herself, picking it up, it wasn't as big as the others, but it felt the best to use as a cooking material.
She stands up and stretches slightly, before smiling at Iris
"Let's walk back now, yes?"
"Yeah.." Iris smiles as she reaches out and takes one of Aster's hands in hers, her numb cold hand feeling rejuvenated in Aster's soft warm hands, as she leans closer, walking side by side, with her
"Is something the matter?" *Aster asks, curious due to how close and clingy Iris was, moreso than usual
"N-no...it's...it's just in glad... I'm so glad to have you in my life" Iris says, smiles to herself, walking down a dirt road, passing pumpkin patches, her eyes glancing to look at the children playing in them, before looking back at Aster, nuzzling her face into Aster's jacket
Aster looks down at Iris, confused by this interaction, though she smiles regardless, and places her arm over Iris's shoulders, holding her closer as they walked down the road. Occasionally talking about various things, thoughts about children, what iris and Aster were gonna put onto their pumpkins, what was gonna be for dinner, etc.
After a dozen or so minutes of walking, they reached the end of the orchard, she takes the pumpkin out of Aster's hand, carrying both over, and towards a small booth where a man was working, so as to purchase them for themselves*
"I'll be right back.. Okay.." Iris tells Aster
"Okay, I'll be waiting" Aster replies back
Aster watches as Iris goes to wait in the small line formed to purchase pumpkins, or various other related items. She sits down on a fence, the old wood creaking underneath her weight, but still holding, the autumn breeze slowly passing through, carrying the caws of ravens with them and leaves colored by shades of orange and red, drifting off towards new horizons. The sun setting beyond the hills of the distance, the horizon a brilliant array of warm colors splashing over the skyscape, with golden light piercing throughout the entire orchard, long shadows here and there as well. She watched all of this, the smell of rich and fertile soil, pumpkins and the wilderness of the small forest surrounding them filling her nose. Her hand was slightly numb from the brisk air, though she didn't mind, and kept sitting down
Iris watches, standing in line, her attention and gaze passes onto Aster. Watching intently at the woman whom she dearly loves oh so much. The light illuminating her face, her soft expression, long golden hair and ribbons attached to her hat, fluttering in the air, holding down her straw hat, while it all happens. Her smile warm and caring, skin clear and untouched, and hands soft and clean. While, she herself had nothing, blue hair darkened over time, a fragile and weak looking expression, a smile never shown and broken and scarred hands. The longer she watches, the more the wounds and scars across her entire body ache with pain. A sudden loud ahem shakes her from this trance, jumping as she realizes she's holding up the line*
"A-ah! So sorry!" She exclaims loudly, before quickly moving on to the booth
Her hands shaking, possibly from the cold, or the weakness of her own arms as she pays and carries them back towards Aster
Aster looks towards Iris, as she smiles and approaches, taking the larger and heavier one into her arms
"Did anything happen?" Aster asks, slowly walking towards the road, and towards their bike, it had a seat in the front and one on the wheel, and a basket.
"No... Nothing..."
Iris places the pumpkin down onto the basket, letting out quiet "Oh" as she sees the smaller pumpkin taking the entire space of the basket
"I-I can carry the pumpkin in the back seat" She tells Aster a few seconds afterwards.
Aster nods slightly, handing the larger pumpkin to Iris before helping her sit down on the back seat, while sits down on the front one, rolling her long skirt up, near to the top of her thigh highs so as to not tear or trip on them while pedaling, before grasping the handles in her hands and slowly starting to peddle, swerving side to side before picking up the speed, and going straight forward. Riding past large trees their leaves slowly fall down, past them.
Iris hugs the pumpkin in her hands her head and shoulder leaning on Aster's back, the rhythmic pedaling filling her ears, as she slowly closes her eyes, starting to rest and drift off to sleep.
Aster notices quickly as she starts to slow down, as to not wake or accidentally drop iris, as she wonders what to do, before deciding to simply just bike a little slower on their way home. Riding over the asphalt, the small pebbles grinding against the road as she peddles. Humming to herself, looking up at the darkening skyline, the leaves passing her overhead, as the brilliant light of the day, slowly creeps lower and lower behind the horizon
She suddenly jolts awake, the bike coming to a stop, it's night now and they're outside of their home, it was a quaint but spacious cabin in the woods, a small path leading towards it, and the other end of the path leading to a large neighborhood. She blinks repeatedly, slowly sitting up, looking at Aster who was still in the driver's seat, unrolling her skirt and taking the pumpkin out of the basket, before Aster's hand outstretch to Iris's, wanting to help her up, which of course she accepts, reaching out and landing on the ground as they walked in towards the cabin. Despite its looks from the outside, the inside had working electricity from a generator they bought a few years back.
"I-is it too late for trick or treaters to come..?" She asks Aster, "W-What time is it actually..?"
"It's only 7, we still have an hour left before they start coming" She responds, opening the door, turning on the lights as she steps in, taking off her jacket and hat, placing them upon the coat rack. "We have the candy ready, we just need our, pumpkin now"
Iris stares at Aster, nodding as she enters, placing her own beret onto the hat stand, placing the large pumpkin she was carrying onto the table, taking peaks at Aster placing her head into a ponytail
After finishing up her pony tail, Aster quickly starts to cut and disassemble the pumpkin, adding various ingredients as the house starts to smell of pumpkin.
Meanwhile iris was getting some cutting tools out, as she breathed heavily, hands shaking slightly as she cut open the top of the pumpkin, looking down into it's guts, picking it up and placing it on the kitchen counter
"I-I k-kinda forgot there would be pumpkin in here for some reason..." Iris chuckles nervously
"It's fine, nothing to be embarrassed about" Aster takes the pumpkin, carving the insides out, rinsing it out and drying it with a paper towel before handing it back to Iris, "Leave some space for me to carve as well"
Iris slowly nods, taking the pumpkin back and placing it onto the table, slowly starting to carve small drawings into it, before they become a bit bigger, and bigger, her mind drifting off, sunflowers slowly being carved into the pumpkin appear, with borders between each, each section being carved and detailed, with some cuts going completely through and others only grazing over the surface, like how some scars hurt more than others, as she suddenly jolts, seeing Aster sitting down across from her
"Y-you're done cooking already?" She blinks rapidly, looking at Aster across the table
"They're just baking now" Aster responds, taking a carving knife into her own hand and starting to carve into one of the sections as well, "You've been losing focus a lot today, is everything alright"
"I...I..." She stops, there's a long silence, only the humming of Aster, carving of the pumpkin and the fan of the oven heard, "It's nothing... I... My problems aren't worth it..."
Aster pauses, slowly opening her two eyes, as she looks Iris in the eyes before Aster suddenly grasps Iris's hands in her own hands to stop her from shaking
"Just because others are suffering more, doesn't mean you aren't suffering also", her voice is firm, her grip slowly lightning. "I can't be there for everyone, as much as I want to, but I am here for you"
Iris's breathing turns shaky, as she leans forward, tears slowly welling in her eyes leaning forward, her head pressing against Aster's stomach, hugging her tightly, tears slowly rolling down her cheek and dripping onto the floor, and Aster's clothing
She slowly stroke's Iris's hair, not caring about her dress getting potentially ruined, as she brings the chair she was sitting on closer, and sits back down
"Come, let's finish carving" Her hands still wrapped around Iris's to prevent them from shaking
Iris sobs, and breathes in deeply, slowly sitting back up, her hands warm and firm from Aster's grip, she carves the last and biggest section of the pumpkin, using all the different sized knives to make a small carving of them together, embracing each other*
"Done.... its.. done..." She let's out a few breaths of relief as Aster places a candle inside, lighting it with a match
Aster smiles gently, before perking up, hearing the timer go off, slowly letting go of Iris, whose no longer shaking, and taking the food out of the oven
Iris peeks behind the pumpkin, seeing around a dozen and a half small little pumpkins with a creme brulee inside of them, as Aster sprinkles sugar and a tiny bit of wine, before lighting it all up with a match to caramelize the top before quickly sets 5 onto a plate, grabbing some milk and starts to walk outside.
Iris stands up, grabbing a basket filled with candy on the side, slinging it over her shoulder and carefully picking up the pumpkin with both hands, and walks outside.
Aster sits down on a chair, on the porch, lighting a few lanterns, and setting the plate and milk on the middle of the table. She looks up to iris, watching as she places the pumpkin behind the food and the candy bag infront, sitting down, looking at Aster hopefully
"Well, let's eat"
The two start to eat and drink, watching as trick or treaters walk up the path to their lone cabin, yelling trick or treat, grabbing candy, and arguing with each other as they go back down the path. The pumpkin shining brightly with intricate designs, that of a night sky, a field of flowers, guns and roses, a solar system, and quite a large one of two girls embracing, maybe they were roommates