SPOILERS: through current season six
DISCLAIMER: Nothing is mine, it all belongs to Joss and Mutant Enemy.
SUMMARY: In response to Tricia's trick or treat challenge, I was somehow
inspired by a little story that won't leave my head till I write it all
down. Lessee: Buffy and trick or treaters, check. Buffy in amusing
costume, check. Giles in sexy costume, check. Original reason for him to
come back from England, well...maybe not original, but at least canon.
Unsexy candy eating, check. Sexy Mr. Gordo reference, check. Scary ghost
story, well...I changed it to a scary movie because writing a story is one
thing, writing a story-within-a- story is another!
DISTRIBUTION: please ask first--I'm planning to put it on my webpage and
will be offering a direct link to my page rather than posting to individual
pages.
NOTES: Thank you to my wonderful beta, Gail!

*******

Chapter one: Unexpected Company

"Whatcha doin' Will?"

Willow jumped up from her crouched position at the front door, slipping her
hands behind her back as she turned and faced Buffy. "Hmm? Oh nothing,"
she replied, a little too nonchalantly. "Just...um, checking the door for,
uh...drafts. Thought I felt one earlier, had to fix it. Brrr."

Buffy quirked an eyebrow at her friend and wondered how she could feel a
draft in the rubber Batgirl outfit. "Hmmm...someone's been partaking of the
bad caffeine today."

"I have not! I mean, I've just been...cold, you know? I've been checking all
the windows in the house too. In case you've happened to see me...doing stuff
at the windows." She gave Buffy a wide-eyed, innocent look.

"Okay, Will." Buffy walked past her friend to place the bowl of candy on
small table by the door. "When's Xander picking you up?"

"Oh, in about ten minutes. Are you sure you don't want to come with? We'd
be like the Legion of Superheroes."

"Who's he dressed up as, Batman?"

"Nah, Superman," Willow replied, then furrowed her brow. "Do you think I
should have gone as Supergirl?"

"No way, Will. You look great in black rubber."

"Well, red white and blue looks smashing on you, babe," Willow smiled. "And
you're absolutely, positively sure that you won't make it a threesome?" She
paused. "Oh, but...not in a sexy way."

Buffy laughed out loud. "I'm absolutely, positively sure. It's Halloween.
The only demons I have to worry about tonight are leettle tiny ones with
green painted skin and fake blood. Besides, I've got chocolate. What else
could I need?"

Willow suppressed a grin. "I can't think of a thing."

*****

"Here you go, Frankenstein. Oh, and here's some for you too, Cinderella."
Buffy's candy bowl was lightened by several pieces, and she waved to the
kiddies as they left the porch. She plopped down on the sofa, releasing a
breath. At least the last few had been able to keep their eyes on the candy
in the bowl, and not down the front of her costume. She glanced out the
front window. It was getting dark now, and the young ones would be
finishing up their rounds. Only the older kids, who liked to dare each
other to go out in the dark in this town, would be knocking on doors now.
Well, she might open the door for one or two of them, but no way was she
handing out the Watchamacallit's. Too good for them. She hoped Dawn would
be the voice of reason for her other, less experienced friends tonight. If
that cell phone rang after midnight, Buffy was going to have a word with her
little sister.

Finally, after the ringing of the doorbell slowed down to about two in half
an hour, Buffy decided to pack it in. She took off the black wig and shook
out her hair. "Ugh," she said as she glanced in the mirror in the hallway.
"Look out, forces of darkness. It's the evil Buffy hair." She ran her
fingers through it a few times, then gave up. "Only the Chosen Scrunchie
can overcome this mess." She was on her way to the bathroom when the
doorbell rang again. She rolled her eyes, debating. That bowl of candy was
still half full, and Buffy knew that Dawn would eat nothing else until it
was gone. "One more time," she muttered as she went back to the door and
opened it.

"Trick or treat." The voice was a little too deep and her gaze, stuck
momentarily at kid-height, took in a broad expanse of...black.
Black-fabric-covered chest, in point of fact: a very broad expanse of it.
A tingle skittered down her spine as she looked up and gulped, not quite
audibly. The round-brimmed hat and half-mask-also black-cast mysterious
shadows over the face underneath, and all she could see was a grin:
closed-lipped with one corner bent upward. Buffy felt another zing which
she ruthlessly squashed, and gazed unblinkingly up into the shadowed face.

"Aren't you a little tall for this gig, Zorro?"

A deep chuckle reverberated from the masked man's chest as he moved closer.
"And aren't you a bit, ah...short for that Wonder Woman costume?"

Buffy was about to shoot off a stinging retort when it suddenly struck her
how familiar that voice and bent-up grin were. She could make out his eyes,
now that he'd stepped into the light. No doubt about it now-she'd know
those eyes anywhere. But she hadn't thought in a million years that she'd
be seeing them on this side of the pond any time soon...

"Giles?" A light seemed to spread over her face as the reality sunk in.
"Giles!" She launched herself at him and all but crushed him in her
trademark hug. "When did you get here? I just talked to you last night...do
you have a place to stay? Have you told anyone else...?"

"Please, Buffy...oxygen...a good thing." Giles gasped, not at all displeased by
this show of affection by his Slayer, but still preferring to breathe just
the same.

"Oops, sorry," she replied sheepishly, but although she loosened her hold
she did not let go. "Of course, what did you expect when you show up all
unannounced on my doorstep after three months away?" She took his arm and
led him inside, shutting the door behind them. 'Oh hi Giles, I haven't seen
you for so long, how's England and would you like a cup of tea?'" She
rolled her eyes at him, then smiled. "Next time, wear body armor." She
followed him as he moved into the living room and was caught off-guard by a
wild, woodsy scent that seemed to cling to him. She inhaled deeply,
suddenly wanting that smell to encompass her, to seep into her very bones.
She shook her head, mentally squashing the thoughts. Get a grip, girl.
This is *Giles.*

"I do apologize, Buffy," Giles began. He sat down on the sofa, removing the
hat and mask. "But, I-I...wanted to surprise you."

There was an earnestness to his grin that made Buffy's breath catch in her
throat. She sat down next to him, close enough to touch his arm. "Well, it
worked. I'm surprised." She laid her head against his shoulder. The
fabric of the costume was smooth, like silk, and she unconsciously rubbed
her cheek against it. "Pleasantly, even." Softly, so that she barely knew
she'd said it aloud, she added, "I missed you."

Giles, already feeling a little overheated from her impulsive caress, jumped
slightly at her words. She missed him? As in, like a friend who'd been
gone awhile missed? Or...no. His mind snapped shut on the thought. Won't be
going there, man. But he put his arm around her and kissed her forehead.
"I've missed you too, Buffy. You and Dawn...and the others. That's partly
the reason I came back."

Buffy looked up at him, repressing the not-so-small piece of her brain that
was protesting the "Dawn and the others" addition. "Partly? Meaning more
parts?" She pulled away a little, unwilling to relinquish his touch just
yet. "What's up?"

Giles didn't answer right away, which naturally set off the Slayer's alarms.
"Giles, *is* something up? This isn't just a family visit, is it? What's
so important that would bring you halfway around the world just to tell me
you missed me?" Her mind began to race ahead. "You've found another
prophecy, haven't you. How long does the human race have to live this
time?" By now she was off the couch, pacing the floor. She turned her face
in supplication to the heavens. "Why can't the demons and the forces of
darkness leave me alone for one night!"

Giles stood right after Buffy did, and began speaking gently to calm her.
"Buffy...Buffy...It's not the end of the world, I promise. At least not
tonight," he added ruefully. He took her by the shoulders as if to offer
comfort, and the moment he touched her, he felt something like an electrical
shock jolt him down to his toes. Suddenly all he could see was her lips,
rosy and moist, and he released his grip immediately, momentarily
off-balance. 'Get hold of yourself, man,' he berated himself silently as he
ran his hands through his hair. The gesture was like a kinetic mantra; it
calmed his mind, helped him focus. And for some reason he really needed to
be able to focus right now.

"Giles?" Buffy saw the look that passed over his face, and also felt the
shock as he'd touched her. Saying that she was confused would be an
understatement. What was going on with him...with *her*, for that matter? She
reached out to him, but he stepped back, and sat on the couch again.

He sighed, pulling his thoughts together. One aberrant fantasy would not
ruin his whole night. "All right," he began, not daring to look up at her
for the moment. "I wasn't going to say anything else until we could get
everyone together. And I-I didn't want you to have to worry about it on
your one night off." He fell silent for a moment.

"What, Giles? Spill it." She tapped her foot, letting impatience cover her
confusion.

"You know that there's something...something *big* coming."

Buffy's foot stilled. " 'From beneath you it devours.'"

Giles nodded. "Willow could feel it, which is why she came back. I knew it
too, on some level." He finally looked up at her again. "Last week, the
Council informed me of some research they'd been doing which verifies it."

Buffy released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "Do they
know what it is?" She sat down again, this time in a chair opposite the
sofa.

"No, that still isn't clear. But other details have come up. They're
rather vague, but the general consensus is that they are related to
this...event." He cleared his throat. "Because of the enormity of the
situation, the Council feels that I, as your Watcher, should be here, to
help put up a-a unified front, so to speak."

"I guess two heads would be way better than one, huh," Buffy replied. "And
I'm not complaining, because hey, you're here, no more long-distance phone
bills." She smiled slightly. "But since when do you jump when the Council
speaks?"

"Since certain...prophecies...seem to back up their theories."

"Ah, it *is* a prophecy then. Pesky things," she sighed. "Well, lay it on
me."

"It says that in order for light to prevail in this battle, the Watcher and
the Slayer must be...united." He rested his gaze on her face, taking in
every expression as she digested the information.

"Ooo-kay...that sounds reasonable." She shrugged. And then her mind made
another connection which made her blush. Surely not. "So...'united'...that's
like one mind, one purpose, right? We stand together."

"Ah..." Giles thought about telling her the whole thing. He really did. But
why complicate it? That particular detail was still being debated by the
translators, after all. "...Yes. Precisely. We stand together." He smiled
reassuringly and held out his hand.

Buffy took it, returning the smile. Their eyes locked, and the air around
them abruptly felt thicker. Giles could feel his heartbeat speed up
ever-so-slightly, the pulse moving through his arm and into his hand and
fingers where they clasped Buffy's. For a moment he was disoriented, for he
felt the pulse much stronger where their palms met. Then he realized that
he was also feeling Buffy's pulse--and that it was synchronized perfectly
with his own. And if the expression that crossed her face was any
indication of her feelings, he guessed that she'd come to the same
conclusion. In exact unison they released each other's hands, breaking eye
contact.

"So...wanna watch a scary movie?"

"Wonderful idea."

*****
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