Work Text:
Wednesday 23 October
Message from Siena:
Don't make plans for next Friday. Ben is throwing a Halloween party at his house.
I have the perfect costume for you.
Friday 1 November
“There's no way I'm wearing this, no fucking way,” Kate decided after seeing her full reflection in the upright mirror in her friend's room.
The black leather jumpsuit was too tight and her v-neckline showed generous cleavage due to how tight her tits were also squeezed when she zipped up the front.
“Why not?” Siena asked, as if the indecency of the costume wasn't obvious. “You're fucking sexy, it fits like a glove.”
“Oh, I can assure you it's fitted! So tight I'm not sure if I'll be able to get out of here without cutting it off,” Kate assured her, thinking about how much work it had taken her to get into the garment with the help of her friends.
“You look hot, Kate. It's the perfect costume with that body,” a now Wednesday-dressed Sophie added, sitting up from the bed, and Kate looked at her as if she'd just done her the worst betrayal of all.
Siena was crazy, that much was clear, but Kate expected a little common sense from Sophie at times like this.
“This is... This leaves nothing to the imagination,” Kate complained as she looked at her arse in the mirror.
“Put your boots on, they'll make it even better,” Siena said as she held the high-heeled boots up to Kate.
“I look ridiculous. Ok, we need a plan B,” Kate said thoughtfully and shook her head as she caught a new reflection of her full form in the mirror. “I can go to some shop and buy a witch's hat or something. Yeah, that'll do just fine!”
“Who the hell wants to be a graceless witch when you can be this sexy bad bitch?” Siena asked as if Kate was choosing broccoli over pizza or even cheesecake.
“Why are you so self-conscious?” WednesdaySophie asked. “Look at Siena, this Little Red Riding Hood's skirt is so short it could be mistaken for a belt. I'm the only decent one here.”
“Oh come on! Since when does Wednesday wear her back uncovered?” Siena defended herself. “But that halterneck looks spectacular on you, babe.”
They both laughed and Kate could only shake her head and laugh with her friends.
“Seriously, Kate, you should wear this and be the hottie of the party,” Sophie insisted.
“And I know a man who's going to swoon at the sight of you,” Siena mentioned and the image of Anthony flew for the umpteenth time —maybe the thirtieth— into Kate's mind.
She wasn't being insecure. Or maybe a little. But she wasn't insecure about him. Or at least not too much because of him.
Fuck.
She was definitely nervous to see him again, after almost two months. Two months after Anthony kissing her so fucking well. Two months and Kate could almost still feel his breath on her ear, his teeth in her jaw and his tongue along the length of her neck.
It was ridiculous to be nervous about seeing someone she'd known for years, and even more ridiculous to stand before him almost naked. Because that Catwoman jumpsuit marked every part of her body as if she were wearing nothing.
But the most ridiculous thing of all was that Kate couldn't help thinking about the look on Anthony's face when he saw her like that. Maybe she'd get to see a little of that lust in his eyes like she had that night?
“I don't think I'm going to go...” Kate said in a whisper.
“Oh, shut up!” Siena exclaimed, already putting Kate in a ridiculous headband with little cat ears to complete the ridiculous outfit.
“Fuck,” Anthony said under his breath and couldn't help but squeeze the glass in his hand as he stood rapt in awe at Kate's arrival.
He had been restless all day, making sure he arrived at Ben's house early enough to greet all the guests along with the host of the party.
Afterwards, he simply nursed his place in front of the front door with a full glass of something non-alcoholic in his hand. He was neither too far nor too close to the door, but from that spot he could see perfectly well who was coming and going, so Anthony decided to stick his feet to the ground until he saw her coming.
And now there she was, and he wasn't sure if he was still breathing. For of all the scenarios in which Anthony had imagined seeing her again after that night, he would never have imagined that Kate would appear dressed as the most irresistible temptation.
Anthony had never been a fan of costumes and when his brother told him about the Halloween party, his first impulse was to decline the invitation. But then Ben informed him that he was inviting Kate. And now Anthony could only be thankful for his brother's fantastic idea in organising this party and for the costumes that had made it possible for Kate to be in front of his eyes dressed as Catwoman.
Her outfit was maddening, black fabric fitted perfectly to every curve of her body, as if it had been custom made for her, and over-the-knee heeled boots that Anthony could visualise perfectly around his waist.
She looked beautiful. Sexy. Stunning. Hot. The kind of beauty that eclipsed and made you gasp for air even from a distance.
“Anthony, you idiot, what are you doing!?”
The slap to the back of his head from Ben snapped Anthony out of his trance to realise that the glass in his hand was actually plastic and that he had squeezed it so hard that he had spilled the liquid inside all over his hand and the floor.
“Oh, fuck, sorry!” Anthony apologised as he tried to find the napkins and ended up wiping his hand on the heavy black velvet cape over his shoulders.
“Hey, be careful with the suit! We have to return it,” Ben warned and brought his gaze to where Anthony had been so distracted.
“I was thinking of taking it to the dry cleaners before returning-“
“Fancy a kitty? I told you she'd come,” Ben said with a smirk and patted Anthony on the back. “Let's go say hello to the girls, Anthony, you're too old to stand here drooling.”
“They're coming over here,” Siena announced with a broad smile.
“Who?” Kate asked without turning around —even though she knew the answer— as she instinctively combed a lock of her wavy hair and Siena looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
That was another thing; Kate had spent a long time the day before straightening her curly hair so that she could wear it only wavy at the ends for the party. And every time she'd run the straightener through her hair, it had been harder to convince herself that she wasn't going to all that much trouble for the idea of running into Anthony.
It was simply a hairstyle she liked. That was all it was.
“Hey, girls, thanks for coming and filling this party with beauty,” Ben mentioned charmingly as he arrived next to them and Kate then turned around to find herself in front of two Bridgerton brothers. Well, not just two Bridgertons, but Edward Scissorhands and Count Dracula himself.
One thing about the Bridgertons was that they didn't do anything by halves. Kate had met Ben through Siena two years ago —her friend had modelled for some art classes and met Ben there— and since then she had known the vast majority of the Bridgerton family. Kate had witnessed for years the effortless perfection they all exuded in themselves and in everything they did.
And of course, costumes were to be no exception. Anthony and Benedict weren't just in costume, they looked like the real characters out of their respective films while Kate feared that the tight fabric of her jumpsuit —bought by Siena from who knows what website of dubious quality— might tear if she bent over at any point.
But the worst part of it all was how unhingedly handsome Anthony looked as a vampire. Seriously, that wasn't even something she'd thought possible. Was Kate discovering she had a vampire kink that very night?
He even had a trickle of blood dripping from one corner of his mouth and Kate was so mad she could imagine herself licking the fake blood for him. Who was she now? Bella fucking Swan? She was Catwoman and cats don't like vampires. Focus on your character, Kate.
“Hi, Kate. You look great,” Anthony said, his voice a little hoarse.
“Hey, thanks, you too,” Kate replied trying not to seem affected by Dracula's closeness as he came over to greet her. Anthony went for two kisses on the cheek while Kate went for a quick hug, which ended in an awkward greeting in which they almost bumped noses amidst muttered apologies from both of them.
It didn't go unnoticed by Kate the way Anthony made no effort to pull away and how his gaze seemed to be fixed on her neck as if he was... Was he smelling her? Was that part of Dracula's role? She would certainly let him suck her blood right there.
“Who wants a drink?” Ben asked cheerfully as he led the group towards the drinking area.
When Kate tried to follow them, Anthony's gentle hand around her wrist made her stop. She instantly cursed the gloves she was wearing that prevented her from feeling his warmth directly on her skin.
“Kate...” Anthony began to say with his gaze fixed on their hands as he moved his thumb in circles. “Can we... Can we talk?” he asked, this time locking his gaze on her eyes.
“Sure, we're already talking,” she joked with a weak laugh.
“You know what I mean... More in private,” he then gave her wrist a light squeeze.
Could that vampire stop petting her? That was distracting even for a cat.
Kate opened her mouth, somewhat surprised, as she searched her mind for the right answer. If she was honest, she hadn't expected Anthony to want to talk privately. He hadn't even texted her after that night, and Kate thought he'd forgotten by now.
“I...” Kate hesitated as she stared at his forlorn puppy dog look. “I'm really thirsty. We can talk later, okay?”
And with that, Kate broke free of his grip to go in search of a drink, not risking hearing his response and with the desperation of someone who had been marooned in a desert for days.
“That costume is hideous,” Anthony mentioned with a frown. “Well, if you can call it a costume... Isn't Halloween supposed to be about being scary and not dancing around practically naked? You should have warned people in the invitation.”
“Oh, I think he's really getting to scare you,” Ben assured with a raised eyebrow and Anthony held back the urge to rip off his ridiculous wig. “The truth is, he looks like he spends his life in the gym.”
He, Thomas Dorset, dressed as Gladiator with his bare torso in full view of anyone at the party, but especially Kate, who was dancing merrily beside him.
Anthony knew Thomas had a thing for Kate and he couldn't blame him for having good taste, of course. But what he could blame him for was stealing her attention away from him.
Kate had been running away from Anthony all night and now she was laughing and clinging to the bastard's body as they danced. And Anthony was so jealous that soon the blood in his mouth would be real because of how hard he was biting his tongue to keep from screaming.
Suddenly, he felt he was wearing too many clothes and angrily took off his cape to stay in a waistcoat and vintage shirt. “I go to the gym too, regularly, and I don't need to be showing my muscles around,” Anthony defended himself, even though he knew his brother hadn't attacked him.
Benedict sighed beside him. “Come on, we need to get you some more sparkling water. And stop looking at my guests with a murderous look on your face!” his brother pushed him to get him to move and that's when Kate locked eyes with him. They made eye contact for a few seconds until Anthony decided to look away and get out of there.
A knock on the door.
Seconds later, another knock accompanied by the sound of the doorknob to check that the door was locked.
“For God's sake!” Kate exclaimed as she struggled with her suit in the bathroom to get it to fit her body.
At Siena's house, her friends had helped her pull up the jumpsuit, but doing it alone was certainly proving more complicated than Kate had thought. Seconds later there was another knock on the door. Four knocks this time and Kate was beginning to lose patience.
Just as she was managing to pull up the zip that was shamelessly squeezing her breasts, someone knocked on the door again. “Hey, you've been in there for ages. You can go make out somewhere else.”
Kate frowned —recognising the voice instantly, of course— and flung open the door. “Can't you just go to another bathroom? I'm sure there's plenty in this house!” she barked.
The way Count Dracula's eyes widened at the sight of her almost made Kate laugh. “It's hard to fit in this, I need time,” Kate assured, shrugging as Anthony apologised.
“Do you need help?” he offered, even though she was already perfectly dressed. Anthony then took one of the gloves from her and grabbed one of her hands. “May I?” he asked and Kate could only nod.
And if Anthony Bridgerton sliding a glove slowly across her fingers on the threshold of a bathroom doorway was one of the most intimate moments Kate had ever experienced, she wasn't going to acknowledge it for her own sanity.
“I've been waiting all night to talk to you. Can we talk now?”
Oh, god. He sure was persistent that night.
Kate knew she had been avoiding him, but she really didn't feel in the mood to have a conversation with Anthony in which he apologised again for kissing her and gave her a complete list of all the reasons why he was rejecting her. Her heart didn't need that and that talk was only going to end with Kate trying to get drunk.
“You really don't have to tell me anything, Anthony. I understand everything.”
“We kissed,” he stated and gently squeezed her fingers.
Kate sighed, pulled her hand away and tucked both sides of her hair behind her shoulders. “We were drunk and we both agreed it was a mistake.”
“We were tipsy and you said it was a mistake,” Anthony accused her.
“You apologised for kissing me! That's another way of saying it was a mistake.”
“But you said it was.”
“I said it because you apologised!” Kate exclaimed in exasperation and shook her head as she became aware of her words. “This is ridiculous,” she muttered and as she tried to leave, Anthony cut her off by placing his hands on either side of the door frame.
“It wasn't a mistake. At least not for me,” Anthony confessed and brought his hand to her cheek to make her look at him as Kate began to feel her heart racing. “It's all I can think about. I can't stop thinking about you, Kate.”
The intensity of his gaze coupled with his words was making Kate's breath catch in her chest as Anthony continued to speak. “And I'm sorry for apologising, it was a stupid thing to do, I guess I was scared of losing you as a friend... But I've been dying to see you all this time,” he gently stroked her cheek with his thumb and Kate pressed her lips together to keep from moaning at the gesture.
“You never texted me or said anything to me...” she whispered.
“I wasn't sure you wanted me to, Kate, but when I saw you today... When I saw you dancing with Thomas... I knew I needed to talk to you,” the muscle in his jaw tightened and Kate wondered if seeing Anthony jealous was the reason for the heat that was flooding her body or if it was suddenly summer again. “I've known I needed to tell you-“
“Hey mate, can you move? I need to use the loo,” someone behind Anthony interrupted.
“Go find another bathroom! Can't you see this one is occupied?” Anthony barked coldly, barely breaking eye contact with Kate for a few seconds, and the guy thankfully got out of there without complaint.
Kate then grabbed Anthony's hand that was still on her cheek and pulled him so that they both entered the bathroom. “You were right, private is better,” she said as she locked the door.
“Can you repeat that about me being right?” Anthony teased with a mischievous grin and she giggled. “Tell me it wasn't a mistake for you, Kate,” he demanded, this time placing a hand on each of her cheeks. “I promise if you don't want me, I'll pretend nothing ever happened, but I need to be sure. Please tell me.”
Kate could see the pleading in his gaze and closed her eyes, still unable to believe she was in that situation with him. “It wasn't a mistake, Anthony,” she finally confessed in a whisper and then opened her eyes to find herself meeting him so close she could feel his breath on her mouth.
“Do you want me?” he asked over her lips.
“So bad.”
Kate then couldn't bear the anticipation and jumped against his mouth to kiss him as she wrapped one of her arms around his neck. They both gasped as their lips made contact and soon Anthony had her against the door, devouring her mouth with such passion that it made Kate feel like the most desired woman in the world.
“You look fucking gorgeous in this suit,” Anthony whispered as he began to kiss her neck. “You've been driving me crazy since you arrived, so beautiful,” he nibbled on her neck as he buried his fingers in her hair and brought one of her legs up to his waist.
Kate moaned as she felt his hard-on against her and inwardly was grateful for the thin fabric of her jumpsuit that allowed her to feel him so much better. She tangled her fingers in Anthony's soft locks as he trailed kisses down her cleavage.
Anthony's tongue seemed to be roaming over every bit of skin she had on display and Kate rested her head against the door as she moved her hips against him seeking some more contact He grunted and Kate felt her cunt throbbing as she undid a few buttons on his shirt so she could stroke his chest hair with her ungloved hand.
“Anthony...” Kate whispered almost in a gasp. She needed him and would have let him rip off that costume and fuck her in that bathroom if it wasn't for the knock on the door that startled them both.
But Anthony decided to play deaf and caught her lips with his mouth again. Seconds later, another knock on the door, followed by two more and Kate pulled away from Anthony's mouth as he groaned and brought his attention back to her neck.
“We should get out.”
Anthony sighed and left a soft kiss on her jaw. “You're probably right.”
“Aw can you say that again?” Kate teased and they both laughed.
“Is anyone in there? It's been ages,” someone complained behind the door as they tried to open it.
“Okay, come on.”
“Wait, just one more second,” Anthony grabbed the back of her neck so he could kiss her again until Kate gathered the strength to pull away from him.
When they both came out of the bathroom, they met the surprised looks of the two people waiting outside and both giggled.
“She needs time to get her jumpsuit properly fitted, guys,” Anthony reported unnecessarily.
Kate looked around for Sophie and Siena and when she headed towards them, she was pleased that Anthony was following her.
“There you are!” a tipsy Sophie exclaimed happily on seeing her. “We thought you were stuck in the bathroom.”
“Oh, yeah? Thanks for trying to rescue me,” Kate murmured with a smile. “I was talking to Anthony,” she pointed at him for added effect.
“Anthony!” Sophie said as if it was the first time she'd seen him all night and hugged him around the waist.
“Oh my god, she's so drunk,” Kate mentioned with amusement as she watched Anthony tense up at the sudden embrace.
Siena giggled and leaned closer to Kate's ear. “Talking? You've got your Dracula's blood all over your neck and his hair is a mess. I knew this costume would work, I'm so proud,” Siena then hugged her as Kate felt her cheeks burning.
And if the costume she had hated so much at first had had anything to do with the way Anthony had been kissing her in that bathroom, Kate had no problem showing her appreciation. She was even willing to frame that costume, because that night was certainly not one she was going to forget. Just as she hoped Count Dracula wouldn't forget Catwoman.