Ah, Halloween… A time for fun, food, and freaking out little kids - and adults alike - for no good reason other than you can…

Oh yes. Halloween was wonderful.

Like most shops, as soon as the summer holidays were over and everyone went back to school, they broke out the Halloween merchandise. Arthur hated the fact that they would always put out products for one holiday as soon as one had just ended; but hey ho, he supposed that was how things had to be done in retail. With the 31st October looming ever closer, the shop had become rather frantic; not to mention, that after Halloween, there would be a large sale to get rid of all the remaining summer clothes, in order to make room for the winter collection. About 80% of Arthur's customers were purchasing goods for Halloween, mostly the ready-made kids costumes; lazy kids and lazy parents, though he guessed no one really had time to make their whole costume from scratch anymore.

On the 30th, which happened to land on a Saturday, the shop was raising money for charity; raffles were set up, an employee placed at the door with a bucket and tin of chocolates to help gain change and at the front and prizes were available for customers who wanted to take part. As well as all this, the managers had set up a little event among the employees; as they did every year, at least to Arthur's knowledge.

All the employees had to dress up in order to help everyone get into the Halloween spirit, and also to help people get into the mood for raising money for charity; even the managers joined in on these sorts of occasions.

Natalia had dressed fully as a Victorian maid, though not the slutty kind, a petticoat and skirt that went down to her knees, stockings and sensible, buckled shoes; letting her hair fall loose, she placed her signature bow on the top of her head. Finishing the Halloween look with a bloodied apron and a carving knife strapped to said apron (making her look even more terrifying… Let's face it, she was terrifying before, but now she made it seem as though she would run you through if you did anything wrong!).

Francis went along the same approach; tying his hair back and cladding himself in a Victorian butler's suit, white gloves, shined shoes, pocket watch, the whole deal. Francis' blood splatter effect landed on his white collared shirt and handkerchief, staining his gloves and also dotting one side of his face.

Together the two made a real frightening pair; one that was a huge hit with the customers and had people flocking to them all day. Natalia was polite and told them about where she bought various parts of her costume, as well as the parts she made or tweaked herself; she also slipped in very convincing information about new deals and products that she recommended the people to buy (which all worked out fabulously, Natalia was really good at this sort of thing, that's why she was the manager).

Francis on the other hand was just a gigantic attention whore like he always was and used the attention to try and flirt with every single woman who talked to him; which also resulted in many more items being bought, as was Francis' way… Each to their own in Arthur's opinion.

As well as the Managers, all the employees had fun dressing up, some more than others; it all depended on the person really. Whereas some people went all out with their costumes like the managers (they never quite pulled it off with the same finesse as the two managers though), full capes and masks and blood; others went with a little more toned down approach, sometimes just showing their support with a witch's hat or a wig or something of that sort.

Arthur did neither of those things, he preferred to be more subtle; he did show his support for the charity and all that, but he didn't go full out on Halloween, nor did he not really try. If he wanted to go all out, he would, but that always took too long and people would always get jealous of his costume and the fact that it couldn't really be bought anywhere (not that Arthur liked to brag about it). Besides, going full out scary wasn't the point; people would be expecting that, where was the fun in doing something that people saw coming? Oh no, Arthur liked to be more subtle, and he took a large amount of pride in successful scaring; even a small jump of surprise was a victory for him, and the customers would always find it amusing afterwards, and very clever, whatever it was he decided to do.

He was cleaning the area around his till when Arthur looked up, a rather familiar American grin greeted him; Alfred Jones was walking towards him. The queue was non-existent (thus why Arthur had taken this opportunity to clean up his station) and so the American sauntered right over with a small basket of items.

Oh this was going to be fun.

~~

Alfred had decided to go to town that weekend because Halloween was fast approaching (in fact, it was tomorrow) and he had completely forgotten to buy Halloween stuff; he had always loved the holiday so he wanted his first Halloween in England to be a good one. However things at his work had become a little frantic so he was stuck behind piles of work, who can blame him for having to buy all his Halloween stuff the day before?

Alfred checked his list (His co workers were always telling him he should be more organised. Psh!), looking down the piece of paper for items he needed to make his first Halloween in England truly awesome!

Most of the important things had already been bought; Candy to give to trick-or-treaters, a (kinda half-assed) costume for himself, pumpkins, a laughing skull with a motion sensor to scare kids when they walked past… Yep! Pretty much everything was accounted for. All he really needed now were the last finishing touches to make his house Halloween worthy; a few trinkets to give the front of his house a spooky feel. Simple things like hanging skeletons and fake blood splatter to make it look like someone had slapped a bloodied hand onto the window pane. And he knew just where to get them.

It was a shame that he most likely wouldn't see Arthur today; after all, Alfred didn't know what days he worked or the hours that he did, he never went there on the weekends. In truth, the only reason he was able to go to the shop every week was because he didn't work that day; Alfred hated to think that their meeting could have been so easily missed, though he was sure that he would have met Arthur sooner or later anyway (not that Alfred liked to brag or anything, but he was pretty awesome; no doubt they would've met sometime anyway. Just saying).

He grinned as he walked into the store and saw the familiar orange and black motifs everywhere; lining the walls and covering the displays. He dropped a two pound coin into the charity bucket and took a mini snickers, unwrapping and biting into it as he grabbed a basket; venturing onward in his quest for novelty spook items. Alfred almost laughed when he saw the staff walking around in costume, he took an extra moment to look at all of their differing costumes and accessories; the managers looked downright fantastic (or at least he assumed they were the managers because they had such great costumes). It really was a shame that he wouldn't see Arthur today; it would have been fun to see what outfit Arthur would've gone with.

So one can imagine Alfred's surprise when he saw the object of his affections working the cash register like any normal day. Alfred mood suddenly skyrocketed; he hadn't expected to see the Brit that day so he felt a little stupid, getting overly excited like a school girl. However, at the same time as being overjoyed by seeing the Englishman, he was also unbelievably disappointed; not because of anything overly important mind you, mostly the reason was the man's crappy costume. Or rather lack thereof.

Arthur was fussing around his cash register like the busy body he was, clad in his normal shop uniform polo shirt; nothing out of the ordinary there, same plain, boring old shirt. In fact the only thing that was different, and the only thing that made it seem like the man was dressing for Halloween at all, lay fastened to the top of his head.

Arthur wore a small top hat, tilted and attached (somehow, probably by clips or something) to the left side of his head. The royal blue and black pinstriped design, coupled with delicate black lace along the brim, stood out against his blonde hair and plain uniform; Alfred admitted it was cute (and strangely hot at the same time), but it really seemed like a lack of effort for the holiday on Arthur's part. Alfred smiled as he walked over with his basket of items anyway; sure, the costume wasn't the most extravagant he had ever seen but hey, at least he was here.

"Hey Arthur!" He said cheerily as he sauntered over, placing his basket on the counter; he'd timed it just right so there wasn't a queue, allowing Alfred to slip right in before another rush of people came along. Arthur didn't say anything, just smiled happily and nodded, taking his items and putting them into a bag.

Ok, something wasn't right.

Arthur wasn't usually so happy; Alfred tried to shake it off, it must just be the holiday spirit, having an effect on even the surly Brit. The American grinned and leant on the counter; he was feeling a little cheeky today (though in all honesty, when was he not?) so he thought he would try pushing his luck. He pointed to the Englishman's sorry excuse for a Halloween costume.

"Aren't those supposed to be for girls?" he flashed a smile as Arthur paused and raised his eyes to meet Alfred's; but he simply smiled a little wider and hummed a chuckle, keeping his mouth closed.

Ok, something definitely wasn't right.

Arthur didn't say anything throughout the transaction, despite Alfred's many attempts at conversation; he just smiled and nodded or shrugged and it was really starting to creep Alfred out because he wouldn't stop smiling! Well, it wasn't really a smile, at least he didn't think so; it was too foreboding, it looked too much like he was plotting something, though that was just his overactive imagination… Right? When Arthur finally spoke, it was more of a mumble as he asked for the money to pay for the items; Alfred just handed over a twenty pound note with a confused pout and furrowed brow, which Arthur seemed to find very funny, his closed lips stretching slightly in a smile. Arthur raised his head and looked Alfred in the eyes; which caught the American off guard as those green eyes glinted with mischief and Alfred felt his heart jump into his throat. The Englishman handed the young man his bag and grinned fully, revealing - -

Fangs.

"Have a nice day."

"UhWAHuhgghh!" Alfred made a very interesting (but very manly. Definitely manly. Oh yeah, totally) noise in the back of his throat and jumped backwards; flying at least two feet into the air like a startled cat and raising his arms protectively due to the shock. Arthur instantly burst out laughing before holding it back enough as to not draw attention; he grinned, showing of his fangs as he chuckled, his eyebrows tilted upward in sympathy for the poor man, no matter how amusing it was.

Alfred's breathing was quicker and it seemed like he was on the verge of hyperventilation; Arthur had practically just given him a heart attack! After about a minute of silence (save for Alfred's breathing and Arthur's breathy snickering), Alfred finally cleared his throat and went to stand in front of the counter again.

"Dude…" was all he managed to say; which caused the Englishman to bite his lips together in an attempt to keep himself from laughing, Alfred was smiling too so everything was alright, but the American had not expected that at all.

"Sorry about that…" Arthur smiled apologetically and cleared his throat. "I had no idea you would react that way; though I have to say, that was the best reaction I've had so far." Alfred stood in silence for a moment, mouth agape; he had no idea that Arthur liked to have fun! Fun, fair enough, but to pretty much prank people! Alfred had no idea why he found that so appealing.

"You've been doing this all day?"

"Oh yes." Arthur smiled as he remembered the many people he'd startled with his subtle costume; though it was true, no one had reacted quite as wonderfully as Alfred had, the look on his face had been priceless. "I usually do something along these lines for Halloween; it gets people in the spirit and puts them in a good mood. Same for me." He gave another small grin as he handed the bag out to Alfred again; the American took it gingerly, a little embarrassed that he made such a scene; there was a pause before Alfred tried striking up a conversation with the Englishman, now that Arthur would allow himself to open his mouth.

"Well, you definitely got me, that's for sure. Still, to have to work on the weekend, that must suck."

"I don't usually. I'm meant to have weekends off; the only reason I'm here today is because they needed the staff." Arthur replied with a small smile; Alfred made a mental note in the back of his mind.

Alfred laughed and lifted the bag off the counter. "Well try not to scare any little kids to death ok?" Arthur chuckled in reply.

"Oh they'll be fine; it's good for a child to be scared once a year." At that, Alfred burst out laughing; it was clear that the Englishman was joking around with him and for that reason, Alfred want to laugh all the more. The American took a step back and raised his hand in a wave.

"Happy Halloween, Arthur! Have a good day!" Alfred turned to leave, giving him one last grin and he began to walk towards the exit; Arthur chuckled and called after him.

"And the same to you, Jones!"

Alfred almost tripped. He picked up his pace as he began grinning like an idiot; he didn't dare look back because a queue was forming and he didn't want to make another scene. He powerwalked to his car and threw his items in the backseat (good thing nothing was breakable), he then got into the driver's seat and slammed the door; he held and grinned at the steering wheel for a few moments in silence before head-butting it and squeezing his eyes shut, smiling so much it hurt. He was pretty sure that if he were a woman, he'd be squealing at that moment; everything just seemed perfect in that few minutes.

Arthur had said his name; it wasn't his first name like he wanted, but that wasn't the point. The point was the way in which he said it. When Arthur had resorted to calling Alfred by his last name before, it was always in frustration or anger; this time, he had called his name while smiling. He had seemed so relaxed, so happy; it was like Arthur had really been happy to see him. A genuine tone of joy had come from the Englishman; a genuine smile has graced his lips, and Alfred couldn't believe that he was the one who caused it. He had laughed too; a proper laugh, he never thought Arthur could look more attractive than he usually did… But he had never seen him smile like that before.

Alfred started the car and went to drive out of the parking lot, sparing another glance to the shop front as his grin dimmed to a soft and happy smile.

Again.

He had to see Arthur smile like that again.

He had to see that beautiful smile again.

…

Preferably without the fangs.

Chapter 6! FINALLY! Sorry about the long wait everyone; I had to change laptops and then find Microsoft Office and install it all again :'3 Bur hey~ things are progressing nicely eh? It's probably just cause Arthur's in a good mood so he forgot himself XD Arthur was such a troll in this I can't even. What is wrong with my writing? X'D I just realised that this fic is gonna be really long... good God.. I'm so sorry.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and as always reviews are highly appreciated and I love each and every one of them. Thank you very much and see you next chapter!