"Okay, I am back!" Leonie's voice rang through the guest house.
Darren came into the living room to see what she had brought back. "Which costumes were you able to get?"

"Well, the people at the costume store said that they really only had these two that were yours and Daniel's sizes. It is either that or you can't go. This one is yours." She held up Darren's costume.

"Fine!" Darren grumbled. It figured. Walter thought it would be a good idea at the last moment to invite them to his Halloween party.

"Here, take this one to Daniel." Leonie handed Daniel's costume to Darren.

"Okay." Darren padded down the hall and stopped at the Daniel door. He could hear Daniel's radio on. Shiny Happy People by REM was playing. He knocked on the door. Still the song played on. "Jonesy, answer the door," he yelled at the wood door in front of him. There was no hope of him getting to the person on the other side with the door closed. "Ready or not, I am coming in..." As if Daniel could hear him.

Daniel was happy. It was Halloween. And from what the had seen from the American commercials, this was the holiday in which it was almost required that you eat chocolate. *Chocolate... Yummy in the tummy..* Daniel thought about the chocolate he would eat. He had just gotten out of the shower and as luck would have it, Shiny Happy People was playing on the radio. He could not resist dancing to it. So, clad in only his towel, he proceeded to sing and dance to Shiny Happy People.

This was the sight that greeted Darren when he opened the door. Daniel's back was turned to him. All Darren could do was stare. It was so rare that he ever saw Daniel with all his defenses down and acting like a nut. And the fact that he was wearing only a towel didn't make Darren want to look away, either.

Daniel spun around singing the last few lines of the song. That is when he saw Darren standing there, slack-jawed and bug-eyed. And no, he couldn't be blushing? Daniel immediately turned off the music. "Umm.. Yes, Darren."

Darren snapped out of his trance-like state over Daniel's lack of dress. "I, umm.. just was on my way back to my room and umm.. Here is your costume. Ummm yeah. So I am going to put mine on now. See you later." He backed out of Daniel's room and shut the door. *Well, that was great.. I don't think I have ever acted so awkward in my life.* Darren sighed and went to his room to check out his costume.

Daniel looked at the door Darren had just slammed shut. *What in the hell is the matter with Darren sometimes? He was blushing! He has seen me wearing less that this towel, although I don't think he has ever focused on it. But when you share a flat together, it just happens. But still that look... And when he blushed... There are just times when I want to grab him and hold him close... And touch those lips of his...* Daniel shook out his thoughts. He could not think about that right now. Hell, he could not think of it, period. There are some lines you can't cross.

He had to get ready. He looked at the black garment bag.. hmmm.... He sat down on the bed and opened the garment bag. There was green sheer fabric... it felt like silk. He pulled it up and looked at it. Purple and silver slashed and streaked through the costume, seemingly chaotic, both accenting and contrasting the green. It was a like a body suit but the colors just wove about on the green background. On the back, two silver wings were neatly folded. There was a tag that hung from the sleeve. It read: 'Male Fairie.'

He grabbed a pair of boxers and put them on, then looked at the costume. Could he wear that? It was so, umm ... weird. Being a fairie for Halloween. He shrugged his shoulders and pulled the costume on. It was surprisingly light. He shook his body and the wings unfolded. They were sheer white with a silver tint. He stood up. He heard something bounce on the hard wooden floor. He looked down to see a little jar of some sort. He picked it up. It was labeled 'Body Glitter.' It was shade of silver. *Hell, I put on the costume, might as well wear the glitter.*

Darren stood there staring at his costume with utter and total disbelief. *An angel ... that was the best she could find??? Why in hell don't I just dress up as a big orange pumpkin? I can't believe it.* He looked over the costume. It was a drapy, almost toga-like outfit with wings that attached to it. The wings were a pale blue and the trim of the outfit was a dark blue. And then it had a gold halo that was to sit on his head. He put the outfit on and even with it on, he couldn't believe that he put it on.

And not just that....there was body glitter with the costume too... A weird silver blue. He debated for nearly a minute if he even wanted to deal with glitter. It seemed like once you put on glitter you could never get it off again. The glitter would just keep coming back.. like it multiplied like rabbits or something. But the spirit of Halloween won out. He put it all over the edges of his face and on his cheeks, then on his arms...and then on his chest, because the drapy costume was low cut and a good portion of his chest showed.

Not that he minded. He made sure to put some on his neck. Okay. All done. He looked at himself in the mirror. The costume did fit very well. It didn't cling to his body but rather hugged him gently in the silky soft fabric. He straightened his halo. He slipped on his sandals and left his room. And ran smack in Daniel who had also finished dressing and come out.

"I am so sorry," Daniel mumbled. But all he could do was stare at Darren. He had blue glitter that glimmered all over his body. And that little golden halo. "An angel, Darren? Wouldn't a Devil suit you much better?" He laughed, but he could not take his eyes off of Darren.

"Oh laugh it up, pixie boy."

"I am not a pixie." Daniel stated as he started down the hall. "I am a Male Fairie!"

"That is fine with me, 'pixie boy'," Darren mockingly said while following him down the hall. Just when they reached the main room Leonie sprang out of nowhere and started flashing pictures.

"You two are so cute. The fans are going to die when they see this on the site."

"No!" both Darren and Daniel screamed.

"What? It is just costumes, you guys. Don't be such babies. Really, you would think I was taking pictures of you two naked by the way you two screamed 'no'." She giggled. *They are just too cute at times. The Male Earth Fairie and his Guardian Angel. Hell this was going to be better than that earthquake aftermath shot of Darren.*

Darren looked at the time. They were going to be late if they didn't get going. They had arranged for a driver to drive them to the party hall and to take them home after the party. The driver should be waiting. "Well, Jonesy are you ready?"

"I think so, Angel."

"Don't get started, Pixie Boy."

"Fine, " Daniel threw up his arms in defeat but could not help but adding, "Angel."

Darren rolled his eyes. "Whatever Pixie boy. Or should I just call you glitter boy? You put enough of the stuff on."

"Speak for yourself, as an angel your secret power is glitter blue blast, right?" Daniel laughed.

They both got in to the car and continued to torment each other all the way to the party. Riding in the limo was at least amusing. They didn't have to worry about parking. When they arrived, the party was already in full swing. They split up and agreed to meet by the fountain in an hour.

Daniel took to hunting down chocolate. He drank some type of cider. It must have had some type of alcohol but he couldn't tell. It gave him a pleasant buzz feeling. It tasted fabulous, so he helped himself to another cup of it.

He talked to a few people. There was some dancing. A wonderful DJ kept things going. He looked at his watch and was surprised that it had been an hour. *Damn. Darren is always so weird about being on time.* He hurried back to the water fountain.

He made his way through the crowd to see Darren sitting on the fountain's side. Darren was looking at something in the water. He looked amazing in the lights of the party. It made the glitter shine more on his body and the drapy costume snuggled to Darren's body. Daniel had to come to a stop to get his mind and body under control. *Darren, if you only knew.* He wished for a what seemed like a million times over.

Darren sat there, looking at the gold fish that swam in the fountain. *They are just nifty little fishies.* Darren knew on some level that he had drank something that had made him drunk. He narrowed it down to the punch or the cider. But another side of him didn't care. He felt good. The little fishies were nice. *Good fishies.*

Daniel slowly walked up to Darren trying to see what he was looking at so intently in the water fountain. "What are you looking at, Darren?"

Darren didn't even know that Daniel was there. He jumped and lost his balance. And into the fountain he went. "The fishies! I don't want to kill the fishies." Darren sprang out of the water and latched onto Daniel. He buried his head in Daniel's chest. "I fell in the water! I didn't mean to kill the fish." He sniffed.

*What the hell is he talking about?* "Darren.. Umm.. I don't think you killed the fish." He pulled Darren away and made him look at the water in the fountain. "You see? They are still there. Swimming their little hearts out." Then he saw a cup of cider sitting on the fountain's ledge. It looked like the cider.

"Yay, the fishies are not dead!" Darren bounced up and down.

"Darren? Is that your cup?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Did you drink the cider?"

"Yeah, it tasted really good." Darren hiccuped. "I had several glasses. Very yummy."

"Darren, the cider had some kind of rum in it." Daniel looked at Darren.. He was dripping wet from falling in the water. Between the water droplets and the glitter, he wondered if he would be blinded by all of the twinkling Darren was giving off. Not just that, but the now wet angel costume was now clinging to Darren's body ... leaving very little to the imagination. *Focus... Or you are never going to make it out of here.* His mind reminded him. "I think you are drunk, Darren."

"Drunk..." Darren stopped to think about that. *Am I drunk? Well, hmm... that would explain my sudden love for the gold fish in the fountain.* "Yes, I think I am... But that is okay! You are here, Daniel. My little pixie boy." He hugged Daniel again and sighed contentedly.

Daniel didn't know what to do. Darren had a damn near death-grip. Now Daniel knew what a tube of toothpaste felt like when you squeezed it. There was no way he wanted to spend any more time in public. He hated crowds, but now that Darren had just decided to practice the art of being a human leech, it was time to go home. He would just have to eat his weight in chocolate some other night. "C'mon Darren. Let's go home."

Daniel had to drag Darren through the crowd. Because, all of a sudden, everything and anything had become a source of amusement for Darren. Streamers... Lights... The floor... After nearly a dozen stops to look at whatever caught Darren's attention, they finally made it to their limo and got into it.

*Thank God. We made it to the car.* Daniel slumped into the cool leather seat. *Now everything can calm down and we can get home.*

"Daniel..." Darren said quietly.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you." Darren snuggled up to Daniel. "Really, I do mean thank you." Darren threw one of his legs over Daniel's and pressed himself against Daniel. "Do you know how cute you are in a towel?"

Daniel was just focusing on breathing. *Oh my God, he must be drunk.* Daniel was surprised to find there was nothing that was different about Darren, other than being drunk. He could feel Darren's arousal. Suddenly he found that his throat was dry and his body was already taking the liberties of responding to Darren's warm body pressed against his.

Darren was so comfortable. Daniel was so soft. He nuzzled Daniel's neck. "My pixie boy..." Then he drifted off into a light slumber.

Daniel just stayed very still. For a while Darren didn't move. Then he heard Darren's quiet snoring. Daniel's body relaxed a little. He still had Darren wrapped around him. He gently pulled him closer and wrapped his arms around him. Daniel sighed. There are moments when life just ascends to heaven. He just pulled his angel closer and enjoyed the moment. *If there were moments to live for this would be one of them.* Daniel smiled. "My sparkly angel."

When they reached home, Daniel gently nudged Darren awake. "We are home. Time to go to bed." Darren mumbled something. Daniel only caught the words 'fishies' and something about being cold. Daniel pulled Darren up and walked him to his room, sitting Darren down on the bed. Darren sat up with his eyes closed.

He still had on the wet angel costume. There was no way Daniel was going to let him go to sleep wearing the wet clothes. He went to Darren's bathroom and grabbed a fluffy white towel. He walked back in to his room and grabbed a T-shirt and boxers for Darren to sleep in.

Darren had fallen back on the bed and was softly snoring away. Daniel just looked at him and smiled. *It is better he sleep it off.* He untied Darren's costume and pulled him to sit up. He took the halo off. Then the wings. Then pulled the wet garment down and took the towel and dried him off. The damn glitter was now everywhere. He took Darren's white T-shirt and pulled it gently over his head and gently pushed his arms through the holes. Daniel pulled the shirt down. He kneeled down and unbuckled Darren's sandals. He took the towel and dried off his legs and feet.

Daniel stood up. Now he had to take Darren's wet costume off of him and put on his boxers. Daniel looked down at his feet, as if the wooden floor was suddenly going to give him guidance on what to do. *I cannot let him sit in those cold clothes all night, period. Really quick. Costume off...boxers on, then that is all, and then make sure he gets covered up with blankets.* Daniel finished untying the costume and stood Darren up. He took the costume all the way off and took off Darren's day boxers and helped him slip into his night ones. *Why are these things always easier in theory?* Daniel thought to himself.

He gently pushed Darren back to the bed and Darren laid down. Daniel grabbed the covers and pulled them up to Darren's chest. He then looked Darren over. Then he looked at his face and at first, he did not register Darren's eyes were open and staring back at him. Daniel's heart skipped a beat. Darren looked like he wanted to cry. He could see the gleam of unshed tears in his eyes now, as Darren fought to blink them away. Daniel sat down beside Darren on the bed. He could not stop himself from reaching for Darren. He gently touched his face. That was when Darren finally stopped fighting his tears. Daniel felt their warm wetness touch his fingers. He gently wiped them away.

"Thank you, Daniel," Darren managed to say.

"It is okay, Darren. Really, it is okay." Daniel was surprised yet again by Darren.

Darren did not know what came over him. He just had to touch Daniel. He wrapped his arms around him and pulled him so close. He could hear Daniel's heart pound. "I love you so much, Daniel. Did you know that?"

"No," Daniel whispered.

"I do." Darren pulled Daniel closer. "I have loved you for a long time. I just hid it deep down inside. I couldn't bring myself to say it. But now I can. I love you. I love you, Daniel Jones."

Daniel, for the second time that night, thought he had ascended to heaven. He closed his eyes and just let Darren hold on to him.

"Daniel, make love to me. I know you want to. Please. I have wanted you for so long."

Daniel's whole body hummed. But then it hit him. Darren was still drunk. He could not, no matter how much he wanted to, make love to Darren. He would have to hear these words... Hell, he needed to hear the words from a sober Darren. "I can't, Darren. Not tonight. I am sorry. I cannot do that," Daniel said softly.

Darren pushed Daniel away. He rolled on to his side. "You don't love me. I never should have asked you that."

Daniel thought he heard Darren sob. But he wasn't sure. "Darren, I love you. I just cannot take advantage of you being drunk. It would not be right. I need to hear these words from you when you are yourself. But never make any mistake. I Love You. Now and always."

Darren sniffed. He rolled over and looked at Daniel. "You mean it? You love me?"

"Darren, I think the question would be, how could I not love you? You whose voice would make angels weep and whose blue eyes could make the oceans and sky jealous of their colour?" He touched Darren's cheek. "I won't sleep with you, but I can sleep by your side and hold you close." He saw the grin on Darren's face. He stood up and took off his costume and stripped down to his boxers.

Darren, with his cat eyes, watched every moved he made. Then finally he slipped into bed and curled up to Darren. Daniel snuggled to Darren's warm body. "I love you, Darren."

"I love you, my little pixie boy," Darren giggled.

"Don't start, blue glitter boy," Daniel retorted.

After several moments of giggling, both glittered men quieted down and drifted into their dream worlds. But this time their dreams worlds were not haunted with being alone. They were filled with happy thoughts of each other. They had dressed up and protected each other from the spirits of loneliness. Now they had each other to hold.