AN - Takes place in a modern AU. Some character memes may be referenced.
When it came to Halloween, Lysithea was of two minds. On one hand, she was quite inept at handling all things horror, often jumping at shadows in the night or running away from the faintest hint of a ghost story. But on the other, free candy.
It was the age old paradigm of greed vs fear, and for many years her fear had won out over the potential benefits of truly engaging with this holiday. But now, with the passing of so many years, the fear of missing out on free candy weighed more than the fear of encountering some tacky decorations and cheap jumpscares.
And so, Lysithea stood in front of her mirror, costumed in a modest little witch outfit. A sizeable black bag hung from one arm, currently empty but sure to be filled with a hoard of goodies over the course of the night, while her other hand clasped the handle of a wooden broom, useful not only as a prop but also as a walking or leaning stick should she get tired. And on the off chance she was accosted by a ghost, she even had a makeshift weapon.
Giving herself an eager smile, she gave a little twirl of satisfaction before she set off.
Trick-or-treating all by herself wasn't exactly the safest thing to do, but Lysithea felt she had no choice. Inviting anyone to accompany her meant she might be ridiculed for being immature or childish for wanting to partake.
And even if she wasn't mocked, they might have accompanied her not as a fellow trick-or-treater, but as a… a chaperone! As if Lysithea needed one of those! She was a mature young woman, thank you very much. Still young enough to trick-or-treat without feeling awkward or out of place though.
The first few houses she stopped at were fairly routine. No crazy decorations or frightful visages, just the ordinary trappings of an ordinary neighborhood.
And then she began to meet some familiar faces.
"Trick-or-treat!"
"Lysithea, how wonderful to see you!" exclaimed Edelgard.
"Good evening to you too, Edelgard," returned the witch. She looked her taller friend over. "…What are you supposed to be?"
Clad in a beautifully flowing crimson dress, Edelgard was the very picture of resplendent. But most everyone first and foremost always noticed the horns.
She sighed. "I'm the minotaur. From the tale of Theseus and the Minotaur?"
"That's an interesting choice for a costume. Why did you pick it?"
Edelgard suddenly looked askance. "Ah… Byleth has a… game, she wants to play once the trick-or-treaters have stopped coming."
"A game?"
"Yes…" Edelgard paused, wondering just how much she should explain to her friend. "She's Theseus, I'm the minotaur, she's setting up a makeshift labyrinth upstairs and… well I guess you can figure it out from there," she finished with a blush.
"Fascinating. I never would have thought to be LARPing on Halloween night," concluded Lysithea, still completely clueless.
"…Anyway! I believe you need candy," declared Edelgard, generously dropping a few pieces into the witch's bag. "Here you go!"
"Thanks Edelgard. Happy Halloween!" chirped Lysithea as she walked off.
Closing the door with a sigh, Edelgard turned to see Byleth approaching in her costume armor, a bundle of ribbons in hand.
"Edelgard, do you think these ribbons are soft enough to constitute light bondage?"
Gulping nervously, Lysithea stepped toward the aged manor. The front door was nestled between a pair of towering conical bushes, and her approach triggered a hidden smoke machine that began to fill the air with thick artificial fog. Some nearby fake gargoyles had their eyes light up a bloody crimson, and poor Lysithea was shaking as she rang the doorbell.
An organ played a classic Transylvanian tune to announce her arrival, and the door creaked open automatically to reveal a long corridor with flickering firelight dancing against the walls. Lysithea glanced down the dark hallway to see a shadowy, cloaked figure standing in front of a fireplace. The figure turned around to face her, smiling to reveal a pair of blooded fangs hanging out of his crooked grin.
"Welcome to my dark domain," he spoke, before trailing off into a sinister laugh. "Please… approach and receive your… just desserts," he beckoned.
Trembling in terror at the scary slender man, Lysithea was of a mind to drop everything and run out of the house.
…But then she wouldn't get any candy.
Swallowing her fear, she slowly crept inside. "Everything is okay," she encouraged herself quietly. "It's just a costume and some cheap gimmicks. Just get the candy and get out."
As she took step after step into the haunting manor, the darkness seemed to close in on her, the shadows wrapping just a little tighter around her. Sweat born of fear clung to her brow, and her breath hitched as she caught sight of an old portrait with baleful, glowing eyes that seemed to pierce her very soul.
Then the lights flashed on.
"You have entered the prestigious abode of Ferdinand von Aegir!" called a loud voice from atop the stairs.
All eyes went to the brightly colored form of another man as he slid down the bannister in a way befitting his most noble countenance, hopping off onto the floor once his descent had completed. He offered a friendlier grin than his grim counterpart, with much smaller, much cleaner, much shinier fangs protruding from his mouth. A tray of packaged candy apples was held aloft in his hand.
He was also sparkling.
"Allow me to commemorate your visit with a treat," he said, extending the tray in offer.
A sigh erupted from the first costumed vampire, annoyed at the careless destruction of his eerie atmosphere. "Ferdinand, we agreed to switch off on door duty every hour. It's my turn."
"Is it?" Ferdinand looked to the grandfather clock standing against the wall. "Ah, my deepest apologies, dearest Hubert. I shall return upstairs and allow you to continue."
With that, Ferdinand hopped back on the bannister and slid upwards, returning from whence he came. The lights also went out, leaving Lysithea and Hubert in darkness.
Instead of feeling terrified, Lysithea was mostly sad that she didn't get a candy apple.
Even in the dark, Hubert's facepalm was obvious. "This situation is no longer salvageable," he lamented with a deep sigh. "Please take your candy and get out."
The door opened inward, but there was no one there. Blinking in confusion, Lysithea stared into the well-lit entryway, wondering what on earth was going on.
And then a body swooped down from above.
"BOO!"
"AHHH!"
Lysithea shrieked, recoiling in fright as she slammed her broomstick against the offender.
"Hey, what are you doing?! Stop or I'm gonna- AH!" The body then crashed to the floor.
When the dust had settled (along with Lysithea's racing heart), the witch looked down to see a familiar face sprawled on the ground, moaning in pain. "Claude?!" she yelped.
"Sup?" acknowledged the dark-skinned man as he picked himself up. "Damn girl, you have a mean left hook."
"Why were you upside down?" demanded Lysithea.
Claude shrugged. "Why not? It's Halloween. Anyway, here's your candy, please don't hit me again."
A massive suit of armor answered the door.
"Um… trick-or-treat?"
The immense suit of armor leaned in, ever so slightly, as if to tower over her. "Hello Lysithea. It's nice to see you," it greeted with a muffled voice.
The witch tilted her head in confusion. "I'm sorry, do we know each other?"
"You… you don't recognize me?" asked the gargantuan suit of armor with a trace of disappointment. It sighed. "I suppose that's to be expected with this costume."
"Happy Halloween~!" sang Hilda as she ducked into view. She gasped in recognition. "Lysithea! Hi!"
Lysithea blinked. "Hilda? Then that must mean…"
The ginormous suit of armor managed to raise a hand to lift its faceguard, revealing a sweaty face and blue hair. "Yes, it's me, Marianne."
Taken aback in surprise. Lysithea could only blink. "But… why?"
"I can explain that," chirped Hilda as she stepped in front of Marianne. "You see, I have a rather specific fantasy I want to experience, and Marianne was willing to oblige. We're making a whole night of it!"
"What sort of fantasy?" asked Lysithea in intellectual curiosity.
"Hilda," interjected the blunette, "Do we really need to-"
"I'm glad you asked," continued Hilda, interrupting the interruption. "Marianne is going to be a dashing knight who gets confronted with and overpowered by a succubus, aka me."
It was at this point that Lysithea noticed the skintight bodysuit Hilda wore, complete with ornamental wings, a fake tail, and a heart-shaped boob window.
"You can guess how things play out from there," concluded Hilda with a wink.
"I… see," remarked the witch, not at all seeing why her friends wanted to fight. She glanced over to Marianne, whose face was flushing crimson as the poor girl heated up. "Marianne, are you okay? You look like you're overheating in that costume," she asked with concern.
"F-Fine, thank you," replied Marianne. "A-Anyway, it's getting late, and we shouldn't keep you from your trick-or-treating, so here!" exclaimed Marianne dumping a handful of candy into Lysithea's bag.
"Wow! Thank you so much!" gasped Lysithea, in awe of the bounty her friend had just bestowed upon her. "Happy Halloween you two! Enjoy your LARPing!"
She scampered off happily, leaving the succubus and the fortress knight to stare after her.
Hilda looked to Marianne. "Is that her euphemism for sex? Or does she really not know?"
Marianne reached up to lower the faceguard to cover her blush. "I sincerely hope it's the latter…"
After getting candy from a house decorated with far too many ghosts for her liking, Lysithea paused as she saw a familiar face making the rounds. She didn't think she'd find anyone she knew going trick-or-treating, but knowing she wasn't alone buoyed her confidence.
She went over to say hi. "Mercedes, hello!" she greeted. "You're trick-or-treating too?"
"Oh my, hello Lysithea," returned the older girl. "Yes, I am. It's such a delight, seeing the spooky decorations that come up and hearing the children's joy as they get candy." She sighed wistfully. "I love this time of year."
Lysithea nodded. "Yeah, the candy is pretty great," she said. "Hey, did you want to keep going together? There's safety in numbers, and I bet trick-or-treating is more fun in a group."
"Why yes, that would be wonderful," remarked Mercedes. "Though I'm actually waiting on Emile to get back right now."
"Emile?"
The sound of heavy footfalls came from behind her, and Lysithea turned to look into the fearsome visage of a death knight. Or rather, a death knight costume.
"Mercedes, I have returned."
"Jeritza!" exclaimed Lysithea accusingly. At her tone, Mercedes looked at her curiously.
The death knight however, was far more animated. "You! Mercedes, why are you standing near this… this terror?!"
Mercedes frowned. "Lysithea, a terror? Emile, that's not nice. I raised you better than that."
The witch's face scrunched up in anger. "Oh a terror am I?" she growled, taking a step towards Jeritza.
"No! Stay away!" panicked Jeritza.
"You have a lot of nerve given what happened last time," Lysithea snapped harshly. She took another step.
"No! Don't come any closer! Here! Take all my candy!" The death knight placed his bag of treats on the ground and backed up. "Mercedes, I'm going home! Be safe!"
As Jeritza fled from his sister and his nemesis, Mercedes let out a long sigh. "I'm sorry about Emile," she said. "I don't know what's going on between the two of you, but I'll speak to him and see if the two of you can make up."
Lysithea scoffed as she added Jeritza's candy to her own stash. "I'll believe it when I see it,"
"I suppose I'll be heading home then," remarked the costumed priestess. "Have a wonderful night, Lysithea."
As a cold breeze washed over her petite frame, Lysithea knew her trick-or-treating was nearly at an end. The hour was getting late and the night was growing cold. Still, there remained one final house she needed to stop at, and not just for the candy...
"Trick-or-WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU WEARING?!" cried Lysithea as she looked upon Shez's costume.
...but for the eye-candy.
"Hey Lysithea! Do you like my costume?" asked Shez, striking a pose. "I couldn't really think of anything to wear, so I just put on my swimsuit. What's a bikini if not a beach costume, right?"
With how dry her mouth had gotten, the short girl was hard pressed to respond.
Lysithea's eyes poured over Shez's scantily-clad form, trailing from her cute face and creamy collar to her bountiful cleavage and yummy abs and navel. Then her gaze dipped lower to Shez's bottoms and her long, powerful legs. Lysithea didn't know what sound escaped from her lips, but she was certain it was inappropriate.
"Is… is that good then?" asked Shez, clueless. "You kinda seem like you like it but you're also not saying anything so I'm getting mixed signals here."
"You look divine," breathed Lysithea as if she were in a trance.
The purplette perked up. "Thanks! I'm happy you like it."
Lysithea could only nod.
"Oh, you're here for candy though, right? I actually didn't get enough this year so I'm afraid I'm fresh out. I can get you an IOU for a treat, if that's okay?"
"I already got my treat," murmured the shorter girl.
"Hmm?"
"Ah! That is…" Lysithea cleared her throat and tried not to look at Shez's body. "I've already got a lot of candy tonight. And it looks like you need candy for any lingering trick-or-treaters."
Shez cocked her head. "…Yes? What exactly are you saying?"
"Well… Why don't I stay for the night and take over door duty for you?"
"You'd give away your own candy?! But you love candy!"
"I do…" acknowledged Lysithea. The 'But I love you more' bit went unsaid. Instead, she continued with, "But it's my candy and I get to decide what to do with it. So come on, let me in already. Think of it like a costume party with the two of us."
A bright grin made its way to Shez's face. "I'd like that," she said, stepping aside.
Thankfully for Lysithea's sweet tooth, there was only a handful of trick-or-treaters knocking on Shez's door, with each of them receiving only the least desirable pieces of candy Lysithea had collected over the night. (Mostly from Jeritza's haul.)
In between the doorbell, Shez and Lysithea sat together on Shez's couch, curled up together under the blanket as they watched an animated movie. In place of popcorn, they would instead reach for Lysithea's bag of candy. Occasionally their hands would touch, leading to shared glances, followed by a smile from Shez and a blush from Lysithea.
As the credits began scrolling across the screen, Shez stood and stretched with a yawn. "Man, it's gotten pretty late, hasn't it?"
Lysithea nodded. "Trick-or-treating hours are definitely over," she added. Her eyes went to the clock. "And I should be on my way home, too."
"You wanna go out this late at night?" yelped Shez. "That doesn't seem safe for a young girl all by herself. Why don't you stay the night instead?"
"Stay the night?! I couldn't possibly impose like that!"
"Sure you can. And it's not an imposition, it's an invitation. C'mon, my bed's big enough for both of us, what do you say?"
Lysithea's face was practically on fire at the casual implications Shez was dropping. "I-I can stay on the couch," she offered, completely forgetting she hadn't technically accepted yet.
But Shez was adamant. "Nope. If you're gonna be my guest then I insist we share. It's more comfortable for the both of us."
And so Lysithea found herself in Shez's bedroom beneath the covers of her bedspread, dressed in one of Shez's spare shirts, alight with embarrassment as the purplette cuddled up against her back.
"Thanks for the costume party, Lysithea," muttered Shez sleepily, "Happy Halloween."
Lysithea curled up, a soft smile on her face. "Happy Halloween," she returned.
As Edelgard strolled down the street the morning after Halloween, she bore witness to quite a few people making the trek back to their own homes after a night of unfettered partying and, more likely than not, a night of carnal indulgences. Naturally, they were still dressed in their costumes, though significantly more disheveled.
Edelgard wasn't one to judge, but there was something quite amusing about seeing, for example, a hungover clown with a foam sword emerging from Sylvain's front door.
But as she turned a corner, she was surprised to see a familiar face in the area. "Lysithea, are you walking back to your house in your costume?"
"Yeah. I spent last night with Shez," replied the witch nonchalantly. "She's still asleep, otherwise I'd ask her for a ride."
Edelgard's face slowly turned scarlet. "…I see," she managed. "It seems congratulations are in order then."
Lysithea tilted her head in confusion. "Hmm?"
Edelgard coughed. "Yesterday must have been quite the event. I would assume you haven't had much experience."
The smaller girl tapped a finger to her chin and hummed in thought. Come to think of it, that had been her first time trick-or-treating, hadn't it? "Yeah, it honestly was a lot of fun," smiled Lysithea. "Though I don't think I'll be doing it again." After all, next year she might feel too old to be trick-of-treating.
Edelgard's jaw dropped. "I see… I suppose Shez will be disappointed to hear that."
Her brow furrowed. "Why?" Did Edelgard think Lysithea would never visit Shez again? "I'll still drop by, just without the candy and costume."
Edelgard nodded slowly, suddenly deciding she didn't need to hear any more of what transpired last night between her friends. "Then I suppose all's well and good. Anyway, I've got to deliver these letters to the mailbox so I won't hold you up any longer. Goodbye, Lysithea."
"Bye."
And thus a misunderstanding was born.
~END~
.
.
OMAKE:
"Oh, you're here for candy though, right? I got you covered." Without another word, Shez reached a hand into her bikini top and withdrew a lollipop. "Just for you. A sweet treat for the sweetest girl I know!" she winked.
Lysithea's face was burning so hot there was practically steam coming out of her ears.
"Uh… Lysithea?"
A small stream of blood began to fall from her nose, and the poor witch went down like a sack of bricks.