#elisabeth bathory halloween | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

madnessofthespirits · 6 months

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soooo i meant to have this done in time for halloween proper but due to the fact that i have yet to finish anything on time even once in my life it is here november the 2nd instead: a very silly cu alter x diarmuid drabble in which diarmuid goes to a haunted house. T rating probably.

Around Halloween, Diarmuid was invited to his first ever haunted house. He had been baking sweets with his Master and a few other Servants that would be distributed for an event termed “trick-or-treating” later on, when his Master had brought up the invitation. The concept had baffled him a little at first mention, since it sounded more like something that would call for combat than the fun sort of activity his Master had made it sound like, but once it was explained to him, he found himself excited. As soon as he had made plans with a couple of friends who were there with him to attend together, and the treats were baked, Diarmuid rushed off to find Cú Alter.

He found him lying on his side on the floor in their room, his back turned to him, leaning on one arm with a book propped open by the other.

“Cú,” Diarmuid called out.

“Huh?” Cú said, without moving so much as a muscle to face him. Whatever he was reading, he seemed perfectly absorbed in it.

Diarmuid walked over to him. “Master just told me about something very exciting. Chaldea is going to hold a haunted house.”

Cú finally set his book down. “What the hell is that?”

“Well, to be honest, I only learned about it just now. But as I understand it, it is a space that is designed to be disturbing or frightening, which is staffed by actors who try to scare the guests. It’s like a kind of roleplay, I suppose. It is a popular sort of event that is held around Halloween in our Master’s home country.”

“What’s the point?”

“To be frightened, it seems. I don’t expect it to affect me that way, and I don’t expect it would do so for you, either, but it might be fun. So I was wondering if you’d like to join me to go see it tomorrow. It’s a wonderful chance to learn about Master’s culture, too.” He pictured exploring this space with Cú, wondering what sorts of shenanigans the Servants who were designing and planning on acting in the haunting house might come up with. Cú probably wouldn’t care for most of it, but even he had things that could move him to amusement or even laughter from time to time. If the event even got a good smirk out of him, Diarmuid would be glad.

“Sorry. Not in the mood. You go have fun, though.”

Diarmuid did what he could not to be too disappointed at this refusal – or at least to not let it show. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah.”

Diarmuid sighed. Oh well – at least he could still enjoy the event with his friends. But he’d hoped Cú would give it a try, too.

“I’ve got a surprise for you, though.”

“Oh?” That made Diarmuid feel a little better. “Right now?”

“No. Later. You’ll see.”

Well, he could wait; the promise alone was enough for now. He walked over to his lover and laid down on the floor next to him, where he was quickly pulled close to him, dragged up against Cú with one strong arm. He burrowed into him, the scent of smoke and iron wrapping him up and reminding him he was home. Well, there was always this. He hugged Cú back, and buried his face against his chest, and he felt a grin spread across his face when he felt Cú’s tail pressed against his back. Diarmuid looked up to see that Cú had resumed his reading.

“What are you reading?” he asked.

“It is the first book of the Bartimaeus Trilogy.”

“I’ve never heard of it. Are you liking it?”

“It’s fine. Master gave it to me.”

“Hmm.”

—

The haunted house was set up as an entirely new wing in Chaldea. Most of the planning seemed to have been left up to Elisabeth Bathory, who had modeled it after her own Castle Csejte. Diarmuid ended up going with Artoria and Musashi, and the three of them explored the upper floors of the castle first, running into various Servants who were pretending to be ghosts and zombie warriors and even huge dog-like beasts. Mostly, Diarmuid just laughed as they ran out of the shadows to jostle or chase them, though someone did manage to actually startle him by sneaking up behind him and whispering something in his ear.

Eventually they made their way to the basement, which turned out to be the first of many, the castle seeming to almost have more floors underground than above. The upper floors had been lit with neon lighting, but the further down they went, the darker the rooms became, and the more carefully they had to watch where they stepped. Still, they managed to walk through some sticky, dark substance that reminded Diarmuid a lot of blood, and bump into a structure that caused dirt to rain down on them, but they pressed onward, determined to explore the whole building.

By the time they had reached the seventh level of the basement, they found themselves covered in scrapes and bruises, as the Servants that they encountered became increasingly rough and aggressive. They tried to make their way through the narrow, barely lit halls they found in this level, when Diarmuid found himself suddenly lifted off the ground, which startled him enough to gasp. But he laughed just as quickly – well, this was new. None of the actors had tried anything like this yet. He did his best to break free from the pair of arms that held him, but with no success no matter how much he thrashed and flailed about.

“Excuse me, but you do plan on letting me go, right?” Diarmuid asked the actor with a laugh that was maybe just a little more nervous than the first he’d given. Who was this, anyway? There weren’t many Servants who could do this to him so easily.

“I’ll consider it,” said a low, ominous voice with just the slightest hint of amusement. A voice that Diarmuid would have been glad to hear anywhere. He stopped struggling, suddenly glad for the hold, and glanced back over his shoulder to get a glimpse at the man he expected to see.

Illuminated in the dim red light that strobed from the ceiling was a pair of large, twisted horns, underneath which were a pair of red eyes that glowed more brightly than the light itself. “Cú!” he exclaimed, as he allowed himself to be shifted into a bridal hold.

Cú grinned at the recognition, his teeth somehow appearing even sharper than usual. “You seemed scared.” There were four more smaller, stud-like horns attached to his forehead below his hairline, Diarmuid noticed, and his ears appeared to end in pointed tips.

“For a second, perhaps,” Diarmuid admitted a little sheepishly. He couldn’t stop staring at him – his bare shoulders and his wild hair and teeth – and the horns. They looked good enough on him that Diarmuid couldn’t say he would have minded if they were permanent. “So you’re a demon, I see.” He reached up and traced a finger down the side of Cú’s cheek, then over his jawbone, and across the hair next to his ear, drawing a piece of it away from the rest with his finger and letting it go. The warmth of his skin and the silky texture of his hair formed a contrast to Cú’s imposing, bestial appearance that made Diarmuid hope that Cú was planning on dragging him off into the shadows instead of letting him finish the rest of the attraction. “Are you going to possess me?”

“Yes. It took me a long time to find a vessel who is strong enough to accept me.” He gripped Diarmuid harder against him, and Diarmuid felt the flames that had ignited in the lower parts of his body spread to his face.

“Oh no, what shall I do?” Diarmuid said in the least serious tone he could manage, and wriggled against Cú’s grasp on him, hoping that he’d hold onto him like he had before — and Cú did, holding him in place as Diarmuid tried to break free, and it wasn’t long until his pretend struggle had him laughing again. Cú seemed to be enjoying it, too, judging by the glint of teeth Diarmuid could still see.

“Fine, then,” Cú said once they’d had enough of that. “I’ll give you a few hours. And then you’re mine.

It was a funny thing to say, given that he very much already was his, but Diarmuid continued to play along, reaching up to wrap his arms around his neck and pull him close enough that he could whisper to him, “I hope you’ll still be wearing this then.” He ran a hand through Cú’s hair again.

“Then I will,” Cú said and kissed him, seizing his mouth and then setting him down again as soon as he was done.

“I’m glad you’re here. I’ll see you later,” Diarmuid said, and hurried off to catch up with his friends. Behind him, he could hear others moving through the maze-like hallway, then their screams and laughter. It seemed strange that a man dressed as a demon could so clearly remind Diarmuid that the world was good and wholesome, but that was how it was. Then again, when the monstrous features that were already a part of Cú’s body had wound their way through Diarmuid’s heart the way that had, maybe it wasn’t so surprising after all.

The rest of the castle was even more dark and maze-like than what they had already seen, but Diarmuid only felt warm and certain, because Cú had shown up for him, just like always. Even when it wasn’t how Diarmuid had expected, when Diarmuid really wanted him there, Cú would deliver. For however charming he found Cú’s monstrous aspects, to Diarmuid, he would always be a hero above all else.

#it'll go on ao3 eventually i just don't feel like it rn

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