A/N: Spoilers for the Mass Effect Series, so if you haven't played that yet and are wanting to, I wouldn't read. Unless you don't care so much about spoilers. Then read on!

"So I was thinking that for Halloween we could go as-"

"Hold it right there." Dave interrupted Kurt, looking away from the television to stare at his boyfriend, Kurt, who stood at the counter in the kitchen. Instead of going out for the evening, they had stayed in so that David could watch his football game, and Kurt was making dinner instead of pretending that he was actually interested. "I get to decide this year."

"What?" Kurt asked in disbelief, wiping his hands on a dishtowel before tossing peppers into the skillet.

"We played out your Pinocchio fantasy last year. It's my turn to pick what we go as." Dave said, muting the TV so that they wouldn't have to talk over the annoyingly loud commercials.

"Pinocchio fantasy?" Kurt practically sputtered as his face turned red. Dave could only grin in response, amused that it had taken so little to get under Kurt's skin. "I did not have a Pinocchio fantasy."

"Please. You've been trying to find a way to dress yourself as Pinocchio since forever." Dave said, getting up from the couch and moving behind the counter into the kitchen area. "You were just mad because I wouldn't dress up as Figaro."

"Well. It would have been cute." Kurt answered, turning and leaning back against the counter. Dave reached for the spoon to sample the contents of the skillet, but hearing Kurt's indignant squawk, he put it back down and sighed.

"Cute is definitely not what I want to be seen as at a Halloween party." Dave gave a shrug, crossing the distance between them and putting a hand down on either side of Kurt, trapping him against the counter. "Besides. You chose last year. I don't think I need more reason than that."

"But you're going to do some nerdy thing like Star Trek or something." Kurt whined, looking up at David with a frown.

"Star Wars."

"Same thing." Kurt said, rolling his eyes.

"I'm just going to pretend you didn't say that." David laughed and kissed Kurt's cheek, amused. Two years together, and Kurt still couldn't get the difference between Star Wars and Star Trek. He'd have blamed himself, if he hadn't already tried to school Kurt on the differences. In the scheme of things, it didn't really matter if Kurt understood them or not – he'd gotten used to Kurt's lack of nerd knowledge forever ago. Although, sometimes, Kurt did surprise him with some random nerd fact. David teased him forever for it, too. "And no, I won't make you go as someone from Star Wars."

"I thought you were going to say you wanted to dress up as Chewbacca." Kurt said, scrunching his nose. As much as he loved Dave, he didn't really want to spend Halloween night following around a big brown furry guy. Even if his boyfriend was in there somewhere.

"See! That's Star Wars!" Dave said with excited surprise.

"Yeah, yeah. Big furry brown guy. Kind of not easy to forget. Especially because I was completely confused as to how anyone could understand him when he just did that weird throat thingy." Kurt said, shaking his head. Dave rolled his eyes, but rewarded Kurt with a kiss anyway. Kurt lifted into the kiss, bringing his hands to rest on David's hips.

"I've given it some thought, actually." Dave said, breaking the kiss to look down at Kurt.

"Really?"

"Mhm." Dave said, smiling at Kurt's surprise. Kurt might have a monopoly on most other holidays, but Dave had always loved Halloween. Of course, two years ago, like Kurt, he'd been lacking in imagination, but that had been a strange Halloween for the both of them. "You've watched me play Mass Effect."

"Remind me."

"Space guy needs to save universe from sentient machines that have existed since like, forever." Dave explained. Kurt had, indeed, gotten very sucked into the Mass Effect games when Dave had played them, but then it had been a while. He could vividly remember Kurt putting down whatever he was working on to watch David fly across the universe to help this character or that, and a lot of times, he'd given his two cents on the choices that had to be made. A backseat gamer, David liked to say, because Kurt would always try to influence the gaming, but he'd never played himself. Dave supposed he was just lucky that his boyfriend wasn't nagging him to quit playing all the time. A couple of their friends had that problem, it seemed.

"Oh, right. And you kept romancing that one girl who called you Skipper all the time because you thought the blue chick was creepy for being so obsessed with you." Kurt nodded, remembering the game.

"Well, yeah. She just wanted me because I'd touched the beacon and all that." Dave added, trying to justify his dislike of the Shepard/Liara romance. Sure, he'd done it once, and they had been kind of cute, but it wasn't his favorite to play.

"Right, right. It's coming back. You want to go as one of them?" Kurt asked, wondering what his role might end up being.

"I was thinking maybe I could go as, like, Garrus or Wrex or Grunt. I mean, Wrex and Grunt were totally awesome characters and I think I could pull off the whole krogan thing. Garrus is a little trickier, but he'd be kinda cool to dress up as, too."

"So who would I be, then?"

"Anyone else. I mean, you could even go as Shepard or Kaidan, so you could be human. I know you don't really care for the whole alien thing."

"I could go as an alien," Kurt said, thoughtful. He was trying to remember all of the other characters from the game, and he didn't really care whether or not they were male or female – he was confident he could pull off any one of them. Of course, he probably wouldn't go as the blue chick – he was really going to have to remember her name at some point – but he wouldn't mind the engineer. She was a pretty bad-ass character, from what he remembered. "Or Jack."

"Jack?" Dave asked, confused, as he stared at Kurt. "You mean the biotic who dressed in next to nothing and was tatted all over?"

"What? You don't want me to go out so exposed and painted up?" Kurt teased, giving David's side a poke. David laughed and shook his head.

"I didn't think you would want to." Dave said, giving a shrug. "But hey, if that's what you're into, you could probably pull it off. Can you be a tough bitch?"

"Oh, I think you know the answer to that." Kurt gave Dave a smug smile and ducked out from beneath his arms to stir the food in the skillet. Dave had tried to grab at him but with no luck, he turned his attention to the refrigerator, where he hunted for something to drink. He was silent for a few moments as he contemplated his choices. Kurt was twirling the spoon when he turned to Dave and said, "You know, I think the engineer would be a bit of a challenge."

"Tali? The Quarian?" Dave asked.

"Tali!" Kurt said, waving the spoon enthusiastically. "I'd forgotten her name. Hey, you have to play that again soon so I can watch."

"Why can't you just play it?" Dave asked, pulling out a can of soda and turning back to a scowling Kurt. Whether or not he was scowling because Dave was drinking soda or because Dave had suggested he play the game himself, Dave thought he looked pretty cute standing there with his hips cocked and a spoon in hand with that fierce glare that Dave was all too used to.

"Because that's your area." Kurt reminded him. It wasn't really that Kurt didn't like playing games – he just hated the embarrassment of being worse than Dave. He knew that Dave had years of practice and the controls took some getting used to, but he hated the idea of Dave internally judging him for doing horribly at a video game. Not that he thought he would, but the possibility was there in the back of his mind.

"I guess I could kill some time with Mass Effect before Inquisition comes out." Dave moved back into the living room and plopped down onto the couch, realizing he had missed a bit of the game thanks to being so engrossed in Halloween talk with Kurt. He blamed Kurt entirely – the man was all too enchanting. Dave was pretty sure he could lose hours just talking to Kurt because it was impossible not to be interested in what he was saying, even if it was stuff he couldn't care less about, like fashion.

"Wait, but you didn't say who you were going as." Kurt called from the kitchen area.

"Probably Grunt. He had some pretty awesome lines I'd love to have a reason to say." Dave answered with a smile. He added, "It's too bad you aren't going as Shepard. I'd love to be able to tell everyone that you're my battlemaster." A clatter from the spoon being dropped following the exclamation, David!, made Dave laugh as he unpaused the television.

David played with his mask – the one he'd bought specifically for the Grunt costume that Kurt had helped him put together. Kurt had wanted to be a little more authentic, but with the time it would have taken to put together a good mask – and really, this was more like a helmet – they couldn't quite swing it. Especially with how much work they had put into the bodies of the costumes. He checked time on his cell, the gloves making it difficult for the screen to respond. At least he could still push the buttons, he supposed.

"Well?" David looked up and was instantly glad for all of the 'armor' that would be blocking the boner that he was likely to have for the entire night. He'd known that Kurt would be sporting skin tight clothing – and really, what little armor there was made it just a tad bulkier – but he hadn't really thought he'd be so turned on by it.

"I think... we should just say to hell with this party and stay home." Dave answered, though he knew there was no chance in hell Kurt would ever allow it. He would just entertain himself with thoughts of later.

"Yeah, right." Kurt huffed, though it was slightly muffled by the mask over his face. Dave kind of wished that his face was at least a little visible so that he could see the annoyed, yet somewhat pleased expression. Kurt knew what Dave was getting at, no doubt, and he loved it. "Are you all set to go?"

"Been waiting for you to squeeze your pretty little ass into that," Dave said, gesturing at Kurt's costume with a grin.

"You can be so crude." Kurt said with a sigh.

"And yet, you wouldn't trade it for anything." Dave answered, knowingly. Two years, and they could read each other better than they'd have ever believed was possible. If Dave had ever thought that this was possible when they were in high school, he might have behaved a little differently. Ah, but you couldn't change the past, and he liked where they were, even if he regretted some things.

"I wouldn't trade you for anything." Kurt amended, with a sickly sweet smile. It was Dave's turn to roll his eyes.

"Except maybe a Klondike bar?" Dave asked, getting up from the couch.

"Maybe if it was one of those cookies and cream ones." Kurt answered honestly. Dave looked at him, mock astonishment on his face.

"Kurt Hummel! I'm hurt!"

"You'll get over it, big boy." Kurt said with a wink and started toward the door, swinging his hips obnoxiously. Dave grunted, shaking his head as he grabbed his cell and tried to find somewhere to shove it. Giving up, he gripped it tight as he shoved on his mask and followed Kurt out of their apartment door.

Dave knew when Rachel had spotted them, her eyes wide and bright as she took in the two costumes before her. He had known that they'd be surrounded with significantly less video-game-oriented costumes, but the two stuck out like sore thumbs. Being surrounded by theater people, he had expected more theater characters, and he wasn't at all disappointed in that respect. Rachel herself was dressed as Christine from Phantom of the Opera, though he couldn't really say which scene. Sure, he'd seen it, but he hadn't quite committed it entirely to memory. Not to the level Kurt had. He searched across the big loft apartment, his eyes falling on Santana, who happened to be dressed as Elphaba, though the dress was rather revealing. Dave thought she might make a really good Gamora and thought to tell her so later.

Rachel broke away from the couple she was talking with and began to make her way across the room, prompting Dave to try and break away and join Santana for company. Kurt's arm gripped his, and he gave a knowing shake of his head. Even if Dave couldn't see his face, he knew what Kurt was trying to say without saying it – be nice. It wasn't that Dave didn't like Rachel. He just could only really handle her in small doses. She was a bit much to take in sometimes. With a sigh, he stood beside Kurt and waited for the barrage of questions that would no doubt come.

Instead, she stayed quiet as she approached, as if she was uncertain about how to say something. Kurt could sense it better than Dave could, typically, but she was being really obvious about it. For a girl who could talk way too much, it was surprisingly eerie when she was quiet.

"You guys look great!" She told them, a fake smile plastered on her face. Strike two. Rachel probably couldn't even guess where they were from. "Star Trek, right?"

"Oh god." Dave groaned, earning a sharp elbow into his side. He would have face palmed, if his giant mask hadn't been in his way. Sometimes he wondered how he could possibly really say that he was acquainted with Kurt's friends. They could be extremely embarrassing. "Mass Effect."

Rachel looked at him blankly before turning back to Kurt, who simply answered, "It's a video game."

"Oh!" Rachel answered, smiling genuinely, as if that clarified everything. Right then. "So, um, I've gotta tell you something." She said, shifting nervously and glancing over at someone who was clearly dressed as the Green Lantern. Dave studied the boy, trying to figure out why he looked so familiar.

"Is that-" Kurt asked, disbelief coloring his voice.

"Mhm." Rachel said nervously.

"Who?" Dave asked, uncomprehending. He felt a little left out.

"Blaine." Rachel hissed through her teeth. Dave stiffened, not sure how to really react. He would have tried to study Kurt's face, except for the fact that he was wearing a mask that hid his face. "He kind of just.. crashed the party. I didn't know he was coming."

"It's alright, Rach. Water under the bridge." Kurt answered warily. Dave grunted in disagreement, but otherwise held his tongue. He'd never really consider the cheating as water under the bridge, but Dave really had no room to talk whatsoever. He'd done considerably worse, and Kurt had forgiven him for that. "Can you get me a punch?" Kurt asked Dave, and Dave gave a stiff nod before shuffling off in that direction. He looked back to see Kurt's and Rachel's heads bent together conspiratorially and shook his head, smiling in spite of himself.

He reached the table and began pouring Kurt the ever-famous spiked punch. He knew that Rachel never did it, but Santana could never help herself. It'd become quite popular with their crowd since two years ago, when they had first started throwing parties. Dave opted for a soda himself, not sure if he really trusted giving himself up to alcohol tonight.

"Dude, your costume is amazing! And your girlfriend's, too!" Dave turned to see none other than Blaine Anderson standing next to him. He nearly dropped his cup in panic, unsure of how to respond, or if to respond at all. It would figure that Blaine would be a fan of Mass Effect. Hadn't Kurt said he was kind of geeky, too?

"Thanks. Like yours, too." Dave answered, trying to make his voice sound gruff. He really didn't want Blaine to recognize him. That would be a whole new level of awkward that this party totally didn't need. At least he was being honest about liking the costume, right?

"Thanks! My boyfriend," Blaine gestured to a guy dressed as Green Arrow. "dressed as Green Arrow so we could keep the whole 'green' theme." Blaine was obviously proud of this, and Dave wondered if Kurt and himself were one of those sickening matchy couples by dressing as characters from the same game. But then, they had both gone as characters from Pinocchio last year, too.

"That's cool, dude." Dave answered and tried to leave it at that, turning from the table. But Blaine tailed him, proceeding to discuss Mass Effect with him.

"You know, I was really disappointed by the ending of the game. I mean, it sucked that Shepard had to die." Blaine said, and Dave wondered how to get rid of him before he made it to Kurt.

"I don't know. I mean, it kind of made sense in terms of the story. Everyone loves the story of the guy who sacrifices himself for the greater good." Dave answered, considering his options has he stopped. Maybe if he just talked for a few, Blaine would get bored and disappear for a bit. Blaine's face lit up at Dave's answer, and Dave knew he had definitely made the wrong choice. Now he was stuck with it.

"But not if you're playing as the guy who has to sacrifices himself for the greater good. I mean, it's cool for a movie or whatever, but who wants to play that part?" Blaine asked, shaking his head. "Nah, they should have given us a good ending."

"It was a good ending, though, depending on what you chose or whatever. Your character just wasn't the central focal point of it all, then." Dave answered, shrugging.

"Right," Blaine scoffed. "I would have liked to continue being a badass and everything."

It struck Dave then, that Blaine probably hated the idea that the lives of other characters continued while his character's life was done and over with. "Ah, well, great story, awesome character interactions, fun first person shooter combat... I don't think I could really ask for much more than that." Dave answered, lacking a proper answer to Blaine's response.

He was anxious to get away, despite the fact that someone here knew a little game talk. It just figured it would be the one person he really, really didn't want to talk to. He had just opened his mouth to make an excuse to go when Santana swooped in to save his ass. "Well, well. If it isn't the Hobbit. Surprised you aren't dressed as one." Santana grinned smugly, looking Blaine up and down.

"Wow, hey!" Blaine answered, and Santana shot a glance at Dave, giving him a little wink. He would have kissed her if he could, but he knew that if he didn't break away now, he'd never get away. As he slipped back to Kurt's side, he knew Kurt was expecting some kind of explanation. He knew he could tell the truth, but that was likely to make Kurt uncomfortable for the remained of the party. He decided he'd just omit a bit, and probably admit the rest to Kurt later – when they were far away from here and Blaine. Dave didn't think Kurt would be overly upset about the two of them chatting – after all, it wasn't anything important – but he knew that Kurt would be somewhat uncomfortable for David, and probably wonder if Dave had said anything to Blaine that he shouldn't have.

"Geek talk. Who knew someone else here could speak it?" Dave answered, handing Kurt his cup of punch.

"You're a piece of work, Dave Karofsky." Kurt scoffed, tipping his mask back slightly to take a drink. Dave couldn't see his eyes, but he could see the way Kurt's tongue slid across his lips to lick away the remainder of punch left behind. He wished that they were home.

"Somehow, I get the feeling that you love that," Dave sighed, turning and tugging off his mask to take a drink, hoping he'd go unnoticed by the now preoccupied Blaine. "Also, remind me later that I owe Santana a kiss."

"What the hell for?" Kurt asked, cocking his hip as he turned to look at Dave. Kurt wasn't the most territorial partner, but he could flare up a little from time to time. Especially if Dave had a history – however fake – with the other person.

"She's a life saver – that's why. Also, she added extra to your punch." Dave lied, knowing that this would satisfy Kurt.

"Ah. In that case, I should kiss her myself." Kurt said, grinning over at Dave. Dave wanted to see that for himself, if only because he couldn't really picture it happening, and if it did, he couldn't imagine it going overly well. Unless they were both drunk. Then he could see it just being really sloppy and hilarious.

"Save some of that action for me, won't you?" Dave asked, laughing as he slipped his mask back on over his head.

"Don't I always?" Kurt asked, taking Dave's free hand with his own and giving it a little squeeze. Dave squeezed back, smiling beneath his mask. Two years and he was still madly in love with Kurt Hummel. He hoped some things never changed.