Disclaimer: I do not own Negima. Ken Akamatsu does.
Will probably make this a two-part, what do you think?
Her leg bounces repeatedly as she bites on her knuckles in a futile attempt to calm herself down. This is a terrible, terrible idea. She shouldn't have come tonight; should have waited a bit longer until winter passed and she calmed down. There are so many things going through her head right now. She wishes she had told her friends why she cannot be here tonight, but she's just too embarrassed about it to just let it out in the open. They would understand, she knows this, but she cannot help but want to keep this part of herself private. She likes to separate herself from her fellow demon-kin, but sometimes it's just impossible to deny biological instincts.
Mating season, for example.
She's a half-crow, but her species is so deeply hidden from the entire world, including her, that she's had a lot of trouble finding any useful information on how to deal with her most basic instincts. Even if she is a half-breed, there are things that her human blood just can't fight. Like grooming her feathers if they're ruffled, or feeling territorial of her 'nest'. It's a constant fight between her human upbringing and her demonic urges. Most of the time she's in control, she can just ignore the itch to do something out of the norm. However, there is a specific moment Setsuna could never, no matter how much she tried, just ignore.
When winter is closing, there is a window of time in which Setsuna undergoes certain changes. They are subtle and very few people would notice them if they paid attention. So far only fellow demons seem to notice. She's already spoke to Mana and Zazie, warning them to keep their mouths shut about it. Mana understands her and leaves it be, she too is a private person and chooses to omit mentioning certain aspects of her life to their friends. Zazie simply doesn't care, though she doesn't understand. For her it's just the natural course of life, a continuous cycle to ensure the lasting of their species. However, she respects her wishes and doesn't bother her anymore than a quick questioning of her reasons.
Setsuna feels hot under the collar of her shirt. She tugs at it for a second, her face a grimace. She's nearing her worst moment, the one where she has to disappear for a few days to suffer in silence while her body punishes her for choosing her human side so often.
A waiter comes to her and asks her if she would want something while she waits for her date. She refuses as politely as possible, which is almost a task by this point. She feels like snapping every time a human comes close to her, her skin just about crawls when she notices them sending her curious, interested glances. And she wonders for the uptenth time how in Hell's name she's going to pull off a date with a human if she's already behaving this way to them.
She idly wonders if she should tell her friends next time, about her mating cycles. It would save her so much trouble if they just knew and stopped trying to set her up every chance they got. On a normal day she'd just smile and pleasantly go through the date before letting them down at the end of the night.
It's not like she isn't interested in a relationship, and she's long since abandoned the idea that she should only focus on her duties as a samurai and to her charge. She's come a long way and knows she deserves someone to share herself in a more intimate way. But her circumstances are complex, and moreover, she just hasn't clicked with anyone, no matter how many blind dates Asuna and Konoka set her up with.
"Well, hello there," Holy shit.
She stands up to attention as soon as she hears the other woman. She's been so immersed in her own thoughts that she didn't hear her approach at all. And it's all the more shocking for her to fully grasp that this is her date. Her eyes travel from slender, toned calves, passing through a black dress that is just too tight for the imagination not to run wild. She's not impolite enough to stare for more than a second at the other woman's chest, eyes simply wandering to a creamy collarbone full of freckles. She could draw constellations with her tongue on them if she wanted. And oh, she wants it so bad.
She's quick to extend her hand, silently hoping it's not as shaky as she feels it is. She should have asked for a picture of her date before agreeing. Why didn't she do it!? It would have saved her this much embarrassment. The other woman smirks at her, canines showing from beneath her upper lips, and Setsuna pauses mild-thought.
"Finally catching up, I see," There's just too much sensuality in that voice. It's possibly the silkiest tone Setsuna's ever heard in her life and her instincts tell her immediately that this woman is no human. She has no time to ponder anymore, doesn't allow herself to waste more time in staring. The woman accepts her hand, sky-blue eyes glistening with unveiled curiosity as Setsuna snaps back to reality and pulls the chair opposite to her.
She accepts the offer and sits in silence, aware of the hand that is still encasing hers and guiding her to her place. A tingle travels up her spine for a second, and her smirk widens. This woman is not what she expected, and she finds the idea of getting to know her enticing for some reason. Not to mention all the eye-candy.
"The name's Evangeline, in case you're wondering," The taller woman pauses for a second as she sits in front of her, then smiles at her. She presents herself as Setsuna, which Eva already knew from her short but informative talk with Konoka. Still, she appreciates the sound of her date's voice. There's something rough underneath the soft tones that Eva wants to dig deeper into. The air is not stiffling at all, but there's something dense about it that she cannot put her finger on. It feels too familiar, like her body knows what is going on but her mind doesn't seem to notice just yet.
She takes a second to admire the body in front of her unabashedly. There's strength there beneath the formal wear, not in the form of rippled muscles. The other woman's body is more like hers, although a bit taller, less supple and harder in the right places. Imperceptible to the less trained eye, but Eva knows there's a lot more to this woman, and she's now sufficiently intrigued to stay and find out.
Their chat is amicable. Setsuna can't remember when was the last time she's had this much fun with someone else, outside from her friends' circle. They drink wine and dine while getting to know each other without really doing so. They exchange frivolous information about each other, almost as if testing the other and tricking them into giving more. Evangeline proves to be complex, highly intelligent and dominates ambiguousness like nobody's business. Setsuna laps it all up and gives as much as she gets.
But at some point, night brings something else that was not planned. It comes slowly, and Eva is the first to realize that this is what has been on the back of her mind all this time, this instinct to give something to Setsuna, this complete, albeit adorable, stranger.
They are taking a walk through a park near the restaurant they had dinner at. It's nice, it's comfortable, and Eva has already decided she wants more than an one-nighter with this woman beside her who's treating her like the queen she thinks herself as. And really, she was an actual princess 500 years prior to this day, thank you very much.
She knew Setsuna was a demon the moment she saw her at the restaurant, all fidgety and ready to spring at any moment. Spiritual beings recognize each other almost immediately upon sight. It took her a moment to notice that Setsuna was not completely demon, as she took a few more seconds, and a completely welcomed appreciative stare, for her instincts to kick in and alert her of Eva's true lineage.
It's the stiffening of her companion's spine and the stilled breath that signals the change. They make a full stop, and Eva has a second to worry before it hits her: a smell like no other. It overpowers her senses and triggers the deepest part of her nature into play. She chances a glance at her partner and her eyes widen a fraction when she sees the taller woman practically growling. Setsuna's cheeks are flushed and she is looking straight into her eyes as she searches for something in them. Setsuna opens her mouth to speak, and it is controlled, as if it pained her to utter a single word.
"Our night must come to an end, I'm afraid." She grits her teeth, which are becoming increasingly long by the minute. Eva aches. She knows why they are this way, and mentally scolds herself for not noticing before how close to the edge this woman is. It is impressive, though, that she's been able to reign it in for so long, even in front of Evangeline. Not a feat most demons could brag about. To be so young and have this presence of mind speaks volumes of how powerful Setsuna really is.
Setsuna comes closer and gives her a kiss on the cheek. It's soft, almost calculated. Evangeline imagines she's just about to snap. She feels canines grazing her skin before those lips separate themselves from her. Blue eyes darken to red as she looks into Setsuna's black orbs. Her eyes trail down her body; there's perspiration clinging to Setsuna already and she smells of danger.
Eva is not stupid, she knows she should go now. Except she can't for the life of her turn around. She could, but finds with little surprise that she doesn't want to go. The signs were there all night long, that Setsuna would go into heat sooner rather than later and Eva suspects that deep down she was waiting for this. So, rather than an accident, she guesses that her subconscious was waiting for this moment; Setsuna was her prey all night and none were the wiser.
Vampires are reactive creatures when it comes to heats. Cycled heats are more for animal-based species of demons that still retained a certain link to the animal itself. Vampires had long ago separated themselves from that particular aspect. They choose to react to the cycle of their selected mates. However, Evangeline has never encountered someone she'd consider as an equal, so she's never had this particular problem before. She's read, she knows by heart everything there is to know about this moment.
But to feel it is a completely different experience.
Nothing, absolutely nothing, has prepared her for the feeling of her buckling knees, for the pulsing sensation between her legs, as if there was something missing there, and she needs it to disappear or she'll go mad at any given moment. Her own fangs elongate, but the moment is short; they are nowhere near as long as Setsuna's and she shivers. She's always known she would present as either the submissive or the dominant of a couple, but the books never specified how. It's kind of ironic that the vampire wants to be bitten. So bad.
There're hundreds of images in her mind of exactly what she wants Setsuna to do to her, what she wants to do to the other woman. It's a cascade of the most depraved, delicious thoughts, driving her further into madness by her basic instincts falling on her after 500 years of being dormant.
Setsuna is slowly retreating, as if it's torture. Her movements are controlled to the dot, almos robotic in fashion. Eva stops her abruptly by grabbing her hand, and it becomes so much worse as she feels her body craves the dark-haired woman, those rough hands all over her body just... claiming.
"Just..." Evangeline is frustrated. She can't form a coherent sentence, and her pride stops her from just outright asking what she wants. She's too embarrassed by her own needs, what she really wants. So she chooses to do the second best thing. Her instincts take the lead as she lets her fingers caress Setsuna's taunt hand. Black eyes widen as Eva presents her neck and a small whimper leaves her lips. She cannot help it, it's becoming too much already, the heat is spreading all over her undead body and it's too much to bear.
Her companion snaps from her shocked gaze; she growls as she realizes that this woman is presenting herself to her. There's a struggle between her need to take her right then and there and her newfound possessiveness, which tells her they absolutely cannot do this in a public space, where they could catch them, would surely catch them, any time. In the end she picks up her partner in her arms, noticing how shivery she has become in the last few seconds. She idly wonders how is the heat affecting the blonde so fast, to be in this mess of a state after mere minutes, but shakes the thought off. She knows what she must do, she's been given permission by this delectable creature to mate, and she will now lose the opportunity.
Her wings spread in an upward, taunt arch; cradling the woman in her arms, she takes flight faster than the human eye can see.