Costume.

Howard sat on the sofa in the flat, bored out of his skull. He was waiting for Vince, as usual. He had been waiting for so long, in fact, that Naboo and Bollo were on the verge of leaving without them.

“How long does it take to find a Halloween costume?” Naboo sighed, looking over at Howard.

“This is Vince we’re talking about, Naboo.” The Northerner pointed out. “He’s probably on his fifth change of clothes at least.” They both laughed. They loved Vince dearly, but sometimes he was ridiculous.

Just as they were about to give up, he emerged from his room.

“Ta-dah!” He grinned, spreading his arms out and spinning so that they could see his costume in all its glory.

“What the hell are you supposed to be?” Howard blinked. This was extreme even by his best friend’s usual standards.

“I’m an electro vampire, you idiot!” Vince laughed. He wore is beloved mirror ball suit, paired with a black cape he’d found in Camden the week before. Platforms, heavily styled hair and eyeliner finished the look.

“You look wonderful.” Howard stood up. “Can we go now?”

“Hang on, hang on.” Vince cast a critical eye over Howard’s outfit. “What are you dressed up as?”

“I’m not dressed up.”

“That’s my point.”

“Vince, I don’t do dressing up!”

“Fuck that, Howard!” Before he or the others could do anything, Vince dragged Howard into his room.

“Vince!” Naboo and Bollo heard Howard protest.

"Going to get ugly." Bollo grunted at the Shaman.

"Too right. We're leaving!" Naboo called after them as he and the gorilla made a swift exit before things got ugly.

Fifteen minutes later Vince let him out of his room. He had done the only thing he could think of, and gothed Howard up.

“It’ll be just like that time we had those Goth girls over!” He’d beamed, just before Howard had reminded him that that incident had lead to the two of them unleashing the demon Nanatoo upon the unsuspecting public.

"You look great Howard." Vince insisted.

"Yeah, yeah. Can we go now?" Howard let out a long-suffering sigh.

“We can go now.” Vince confirmed, oblivious to the expressions on his face, grabbed his hand to pull him out of the flat.

As they walked down the street, Vince linked his arm through Howard's. Although he'd never admit to being so perceptive, he knew that sometimes it was awkward for Howard when they were out and around the members of the Shoreditch Elite that Vince usually associated with. Tonight, however, was going to be different.

What he didn’t know, though, was that it didn’t bother Howard that much. As long as Vince was happy he couldn't care less.

They arrived at the Velvet Onion and were greeted with the huge posters that Vince had designed for ‘Bob Fossil’s Halloween Fiesta’. Inside, the place was full of people in costume, laughing and drinking and dancing. They saw Bollo immediately, up at the decks doing what he loved. Around his neck were his favourite DJing headphones and on his head was the white cowboy hat he’d borrowed from Vince. Naboo was stood near the bar with Fossil ranting at him – it was clear that the Shaman wasn’t actually listening. Naboo wasn’t in costume, because as he’d pointed out the patrons of the Velvet Onion believed he was in a costume all year round. Fossil was wearing what looked like a too-small Superman costume.

“I’d better go rescue Naboo.” Howard attempted to excuse himself when it became apparent that their friend was on the verge of cursing their former employer like there was no tomorrow.

“Moon!” Fossil yelled, clearly having spotted the pair thanks to the lights reflecting off Vince's sequins.

“That would be our cue to hide.” Vince whispered in Howard's ear.

Much to the older man's surprise, he found himself being pulled onto the dancefloor just as Bollo left the booth and a slower song started up. Vince wound his arms around Howard's neck and grinned at him. After a split second where his brain wondered what the hell to do now, Howard's arms went hesitantly around Vince's waist.

This was new, and certainly something both men could see themselves getting used to.