A/N: Happy Halloween, ya'll! I hope you all have far more exciting plans than I do. Since, I don't even know if I have any plans…I do, however, have a fic for you. One of my lovely co-conspirators decided to draw up an amazing Usagi x Haruka picture for Halloween this year and when she told me her idea, I asked if I could write a story to go along with it. Just because.
So. If you read this, you should probably admire Lucid-Lilac's art that inspired this on DeviantArt. 'Cause she's pretty darn amazing.
Anyway. Usagi x Haruka. Don't like my ship, jump off.
"Oh ho ho~ What a curious holiday this is." A raspy voice spoke from seemingly nowhere as a pair of glowing orange eyes that belonged to seemingly no one stared out over the city. For a few days now the demon had been observing the weird rituals these humans were engaging in trying to get some sense of what this "Halloween" was. From what it could gather, it was a festival to dress up as something you wished you could be and pretend for a night or two that it was real. Though of course those silly plastic fangs would never draw blood and those broomsticks would never carry a human's weight.
They could change that though.
What was the point in dressing up and only pretending you were what you wanted to be? The demon could make their secret wishes come true for a night or two and feed off the hysteric energy that was bound to come from such chaos. It would be perfect.
She was supposed to be with her friends getting ready for the haunted mansion party, but instead Usagi was at home with her family. Her dad had gotten a promotion at work the day before and momma had insisted on throwing a celebration dinner for him. There was no way she could refuse, so she'd told everyone else to go without her and she'd catch up.
Usagi gave a slow spin in front of the hallway mirror to examine her outfit. Her costume wasn't really anything specific – just a floor length purple dress. She'd seen it in an old vintage store they'd passed by and she fell in love. Ami had said she looked something like a Lady of the court, so she just went with that. She didn't care if she wasn't as cute as Ami or as scary as Rei – she liked it.
Usagi sat down to dinner with her family half in costume. Not one for fuss, her dad was hurrying her along more than Usagi herself was trying to politely excuse herself. Her mom helped curl the ends of her hair and tie bows onto her buns that matched the color of her dress. At this rate, she was only about an hour or so behind her friends.
The line to get inside was long, but moved quickly and soon Usagi found herself inside the mansion that looked like something straight out of a story book. High arched ceilings and dangling candelabras that gave the whole place a warm, eerie glow set the mood. Heavy, rhythmic bass had bodies dancing against each other. In the whole chaos of the place, Usagi couldn't spot any of her friends. She tried to call each of them, but wasn't surprised when no one answered. The music was so loud she doubted they could hear their phone and the bass was so heavy she wondered if they could even feel the vibration.
No worry. Usagi moved through the crowds, eyes searching for a familiar face. The flyers for this party had been distributed for weeks before across campus so it was packed and there seemed to be an odd sort of energy in the air she couldn't quite put her finger on.
Pausing near the drinks, she let her eyes wander around the room. Still no familiar faces, but it seemed like everyone there was having a good time. She saw some pretty impressive costumes and was trying to figure out where a girl had secured the fox tail to her skirt when she was startled by Minako suddenly appearing beside her.
"Usagi!" The girl exclaimed, panting. "You made it!"
Looking at her friend, Usagi noted the odd sort of golden glow that seemed to emanate from Mina's skin. "I told you I would. I got here as soon as I could."
"I don't know what it is," Mina murmured, reaching for a bottle of water and chugging it. "But these guys started to come up to me all of a sudden, like they were under some kind of spell."
"Well you do look nice," Usagi offered, reaching for a bottle of water herself. "It's probably just that."
"I mean, I do look good," Mina began with a frown, tossing her hair over a shoulder. "But these guys…" Her sentence trailed off as she looked over Usagi's shoulder and groaned. "Here they come again!" And with a faint smile she turned to lose herself in the crowd.
Staring after her friend, Usagi frowned. Since when did Mina not like the attention of boys? Especially a lot of them? But as she watched the small group following her friend, she thought something did seem off. As the group passed by, she could have sworn she heard one of them shout "Goddess!" after Minako, but she had to just be hearing wrong.
She was just noticing the off behavior of the other party goers when a hand reached out and clasped onto her shoulder.
"Koneko-chan?"
Whirling, Usagi stared up in surprise at the blond who looked just as surprised as she was.
"Haruka!" Usagi exclaimed, surprised to see the older woman at an event like this. "What are you doing here?" It was only now that she was staring that Usagi noticed the woman's outfit – an old fashioned suit; complete with vest and cape.
"Thome of my clathmates inthisted I come," Haruka explained around fake fangs stuck into her mouth. "I figured I'd come for a bit and leave, but now thath I know you're here…" She let the sentence trail off, smiling at Usagi. "Where ith everyone elthe?"
"Somewhere," Usagi said sheepishly. "I just got her. I've only seen Minako-chan. This place is huge…."
Haruka nodded, taking a second to look over Usagi's outfit curiously. "What are you dressed up asth?"
"I'm not sure, really," Usagi admitted. "I found this dress and just kind of wanted an excuse to wear it," she explained. "Didn't really think too much past that."
"Well ith suiths you," Haruka offered with a smile, glancing around them as the noise in the room seemed to go up by a level.
"It seems like it's getting a little…" Usagi began.
"Loud?" Haruka finished, thinking it had to just be her imagination.
Midterms had wrapped up not too long ago, Usagi rationalized, so it was probably just a bunch of stressed out college students unwinding. But still…
The lighting in the room shifted to something a little darker and the bass was lowered. The pop song was replaced with a slow, haunting waltz that was all too fitting for the space. Grinning at the convenient change, Haruka tapped Usagi on the shoulder. "May I have thith dance?" She asked, taking Usagi's hand and lowering to a bow in front of her.
Color sprang up on Usagi's face as she laughed and nodded, using her free hand to curtesy in reply. Smirking, Haruka pressed a quick kiss to the back of her hand before leading them out onto the floor. Pulling her partner close, Haruka helped Usagi adjust where her hands should be before starting to slowly guide her. The girl's clumsiness showed, making her frustrated and fluster with embarrassment.
"Don't worry about it," Haruka quickly assured her after her foot got stepped on again. "The more you think about it, the more you'll mess up. Just let me guide you."
Usagi frowned at her. Easy for her to say. She made this look as easy as walking but Usagi could not get her feet to move in the right patterns. The more Haruka told her to relax, the more she tensed up. It was hopeless.
About halfway through the song, Usagi suddenly found her feet moving from step to step easily. No more stepping on Haruka's toes or tripping on the edge of her dress. She suddenly knew the steps by heart and instead of staring down at her feet was smiling up at Haruka confidently.
Caught off guard by the sudden change, Haruka raised an eyebrow in question. But Usagi was moving through the waltz easily and even had that confident smirk of hers she wore when she knew she was doing something right. Perhaps it was mean of her, but Haruka wanted to have a bit of fun.
Leaning in closer, she whispered, "Get ready," in Usagi's ear. Giving only a second to process, Haruka gave Usagi's hand a squeeze before suddenly twirling her out and away from her. She partly expected the princess to trip or go flying into a passerby (which she was of course prepared to get yelled at for), but instead Usagi twirled gracefully as if she'd been doing it her whole life. Caught off guard by the uncharacteristic display of grace, Haruka was impressed and tugged on the hand she still held to pull her back. "Impressive," she complimented, shifting her hold on Usagi to lead her through a more complicated set of steps since it seemed she was able to keep up after all.
"I have no idea how I did that," Usagi replied honestly, confused how she'd gone from stepping on toes to twirling without tripping.
"Well just keep doing it." Haruka picked up the pace of their dancing, moving perfectly in time to the waltz as it grew in momentum. A few others had stopped their dancing to watch, unable to help but stare as the pair twirled around the floor. Just as the song came to an end, Haruka dipped her so low that the tops of Usagi's buns brushed the dance floor. Head tilted back, Usagi laughed.
But Haruka had suddenly gone stiff. Her eyes zeroed in on the vein in Usagi's neck that was pulsing as the blood rushed to her head. Swallowing down an awful urge, Haruka quickly pulled Usagi upright again and moved over quickly to the edge of the dancefloor to collect herself. Unaware of anything wrong, Usagi followed along after her.
Suddenly a howl rose over the music and moments later a man ran in front of them. Or, well. It might have been a man. His face seemed to be morphing in front of their eyes – the human ears on the sides of his head shifting up and becoming pointed on the top of his head. Fur seemed to be suddenly sprouting all over him and he let out an angry snarl when the fabric of his shirt suddenly began to rip.
"What…?" But Usagi wasn't even sure what to ask.
Beside her, Haruka was frowning deeply. "Something's not right." She was watching now as a girl levitated above the crowd on a broom that seemed to be actually flying.
Not far off, a chorus of screams broke out and a small group ran away terrified of something Usagi couldn't quite make out. When the chaos cleared, she realized what they were screaming at was none other than Rei. Except…it wasn't normal Rei. She recognized her friends face, but her hair had grown feet and was curling around her, and either Rei had grown a few inches since Usagi last saw her or her friend was floating off the ground.
"H-Haruka!" Usagi stammered, pointing their friend out. "What's going on!?"
"Nothing good." Haruka replied, moving protectively in front of Usagi. Her eyes swept the crowd now, finding other similar instances were playing out throughout the whole party. Was this an enemy attack?
Some didn't seem too phased by their transformations, and those who were quickly seemed to brush it off like no big deal, too caught up in the mood of the party to care. Usagi watched as Rei laughed and moved back onto the dance floor and she spotted Makoto flitting through the crowd with sparkling wings sprouting her back.
"It looks like everyone's become what they dressed up as!" Usagi exclaimed, Haruka nodding beside her in agreement. It had started off slowly, but by now it didn't look like there was a single normal person in there.
Something dawned on Usagi and she turned slowly to face Haruka. Raising a hand, she reached out to poke one of the fangs sticking out from the other's upper lip. It didn't feel like plastic. It didn't look small and fake like it had in the beginning. Swallowing nervously, Usagi looked her friend up and down. "Haruka?"
Suddenly that sickening urge made sense. Bright blue eyes suddenly turned dark as she focused in on Usagi's neck again. Running her tongue over the teeth, Haruka just nodded. "Not fake anymore." Which would explain why she could talk properly again. Leaning forward, Haruka ran a finger along Usagi's collarbone, tracing it to her shoulder and down before trailing back up and over her neck. She could feel every heartbeat with the lightest of touches. Usagi's heart was racing, but she wasn't pulling away in fear. Rather, she willingly moved closer as Haruka wrapped an arm around her waist to pull her in.
Dipping her head, Haruka trailed her lips along Usagi's neck, given more access as the princess tilted her head to the side, exhaling softly. Haruka felt intoxicated, forgetting where they were and taking her time kissing over Usagi's neck and shoulder. Heart skipping a beat now and then, Usagi wrapped her arms around Haruka and clutched onto the fabric of the cape.
Just as her mouth opened to bite down, Haruka's eyes snapped open and she spun, pushing Usagi behind her instinctively. In front of them stood a group of three – two guys and a girl. All dressed in reds and blacks and each with a pair of fangs matching Haruka's. In the haze of being so close to Usagi, she had forgotten there was little chance she was the only one who had dressed up as a vampire that night. Which meant she wasn't the only one now who could smell how alluring Usagi was.
Growling, Haruka bared her fangs at the group while keeping herself between them and Usagi. "Leave. Now."
"Ah c'mon. Can't 'cha share? Just a bite?" The others laughed, advancing on Haruka while they eyed the scared princess behind them.
"Not on your life," she spat, moving in a blink to scoop Usagi up bridal style. With an ease she could get used to, she jumped up to one of the balconies lining the upper part of the mansion. "Let's get you out of here," she said, looking down to the girl in her arms. "It's not safe for you here."
In minutes they were inside Haruka's apartment, door shut and locked behind them. The power was out in the entire building so Haruka moved easily around to light a few candles. She had no problem seeing in the dark, but her guest didn't have that luxury. Once Usagi could see again and Haruka was able to relax knowing they were safe, they found themselves in exactly the same position they had been before the interruption.
Backing Usagi up against a wall, Haruka reached up and pulled the strap of her dress off her shoulder. She paused, eyes searching Usagi's face to make sure she was alright. Intoxicated by Usagi as she was, she wasn't about to force anything.
Seeing the look and knowing the question it asked, Usagi just smiled as her heart gave a small flutter. "I'm fine, Haruka." And then she paused, heating up down to her neck. "Don't…stop."
With the permission she needed, Haruka wasn't exactly sure how much longer her self-control would hold out. Usagi reached up, undoing the clasp of the cape so that it slipped off Haruka's shoulders and pooled on the floor like satin blood. The vest soon joined the cape on the floor but despite being slowly undressed, Haruka felt warmer than before.
She leaned in again, meaning to pull the other strap off Usagi's shoulder but in her rush to have it out of her way accidentally ripped it off instead. "Sorry," she murmured against Usagi's shoulder. "I'll have it fixed." Between each word a hurried kiss was placed, slowly working her way up to Usagi's neck again. Sipping a hand between Usagi's back and the wall, Haruka maneuvered the string of buttons that did up the back of the dress. It suited Usagi, yes. But right now they were in her way.
Having already promised to fix the ripped sleeve, Haruka's impatience reasoned fixing a few buttons wouldn't be that much more work and so ripped the remaining buttons that kept the dress so tightly snug to Usagi's body.
"Haruka!" Usagi managed to chastise breathily, though didn't seem too upset about it.
"I told you I'd fix it," she replied, hands working the dress onto the floor.
That out of the way, Haruka placed her attention back on Usagi's neck. Kissing right over where she intended to bite, she smirked to hear the princess' breath catch in her throat. Not able to resist any longer, she opened her mouth and bit deeply.
Arm wrapped tight around the naked waist, she kept her pressed close when it seemed like Usagi's knees might give out. Her grip tightened even more when the smallest moan reached her ears and she decided this was not enough.
Kissing over the spot to let it heal – for now – Haruka again swept up Usagi in her arms to carry her off. Laying her down on the bed where there would be no chance of knees giving out, Haruka settled over her. "Still alright?"
Flushed and dazed, Usagi looked up and instead of answering leaned up to kiss the woman, managing to catch her off guard with her boldness.
In the morning, Usagi was certain when she opened her eyes she'd be in her own bed having had one of the best dreams of her life. But instead found herself curled up against Haruka's side, warm and cozy. As the night before came back to her in clear detail, Usagi flushed to see their clothes flung about the room. Shifting the smallest bit, her muscles protested like they'd just had an intense workout. Curiously, she glanced down at her chest and found two puncture marks. Brushing over them to be sure it wasn't make up, she found they were tender just like a fresh wound would be.
So it hadn't been a dream.