Ever since that Halloween when Ethan Rayne had cast his crazy spell, Xander started taking extreme care when choosing his costume for the special night. Xander's new tradition had even transcended past Halloween night and had moved on to cover anything which required a costume of any kind. After finding himself running around most of that night as a soldier, his new motto had become – you can never be too careful. Honestly, if there was the remotest possibility of getting transformed into whatever he was wearing? Then Xander was gonna make sure it wasn't something totally lame.
In fact, Xander had been known to spend hours choosing just the right outfit, fingering the material with such unnatural affection that the shops staff would raise their eyebrows in either amusement or disdain. Xander would stare in puzzled bemusement on the rare occasion when he would actually be asked to leave. Xander would shrug good-naturedly and just head on his way to the next shop on his list. He never bothered to argue as he figured if they didn't want his money then that was fine with him. He was more than happy to give his hard earned cash to someone who wasn't an asshat.
Xander was being extra, super careful this year. Yep, this year was special. This year Xander was with someone exceptional. Sure, he'd been with other people before and some of them had been pretty darn special in their own way. There was the memorable year with Anya and her scary bunny costume. And then there was the year he'd been seeing Dakarai, and wasn't that a surprise, even to Xander himself. But Xander had easily accepted his attraction for the young, handsome African and what it inferred about his sexuality, and was simply content. Dakarai and his family didn't exactly celebrate Halloween but they were more than willing to accommodate, what must surely be to them, Xander's odd American tendencies. So they dressed up and the young children were overjoyed when they realised they would receive sweets and small trinkets for simply knocking on a hut door.
Yeah, that had been a really good year and even though he'd cared for Dakarai with a fierceness which still surprised him, it paled in comparison to how he felt about Spike. Xander was still walking around in a daze. Never in a million years would he have ever predicted that him and the bleached one would get together. But strangely enough, they got on well together and were happy.
And now Xander was taking his time and putting all his effort into choosing just the right outfits for the two of them. Since everyone was actually in residence at Watcher Central for once, Dawn had insisted on having a Halloween party. Giles had finally relented after she'd enlisted the majority of the younger slayers to her cause. Xander didn't blame him. They were a force to be reckoned with when they set their mind to something. Xander had actually been secretly pleased when Giles had caved, even if he hadn't said so out loud.
Xander was suddenly pulled from his thoughts and stopped so suddenly that the person behind him had to quickly sidestep out of the way, juggling his mocha latte from Costa Coffee and swearing under his breath. Xander, being so intent on the window display, never noticed.
Xander couldn't believe his luck. He'd always loved these guys and now, here, all the way in London, they were right there. And they were perfect. Xander hurried inside the shop, barely hearing the tinkle of the bell over the door in his excitement.
A pretty girl with long dark hair approached him with a friendly smile. "May I help you?"
"Yeah," Xander said, returning her smile. "I was wondering if the costumes in the window were for rent?" Xander crossed his fingers. Please say yes. Please say yes.
"Yes, they are. Were you interested in renting the four?"
Woo! "Uhm, no. Not all four just two. Is that okay?" Please say yes. Please say yes.
"Of course. Which two did you have in mind?"
Yep, this was meant to be. "Leonardo and Raphael."
While he waited for the sales assistant to package his choices, he pondered them himself. They seemed perfectly logical to him, but he knew most people wouldn't have necessarily agreed. Spike as Raphael, the bad boy of the group, was an easy choice. Now his own choice of Leonardo may not be quite as obvious. He guessed most would have said he was more suited to Michaelangelo or perhaps Donatello. And they may have been right a few years ago, but Xander had changed a lot in the time he'd spent in Africa. He knew how to lead now and he wasn't afraid of it. He may have been the comic relief once upon a time but not anymore. Nope. Xander was all grown up. Of course, that didn't explain his current purchase. But then, you couldn't be the responsible adult all the time. Xander paid and hurried home to show Spike what he'd found.
His steps slowed as he realised Spike may prove to be a bit reluctant to wear what Xander had chosen. Remembering what else he learned in Africa, Xander's pace picked again. He'd simply have to persuade Spike and he knew just how to go about it. Spike, sex and The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Yep, this was gonna be the best year yet.
~ Mòran taing ~