Fate stirred slightly, feeling her shoulders draped in a soft warmth. It wasn't enough to wake her, however, and so she continued to doze in the space between sleep and wakefulness. Blinking open her eyes a while later, she noted the time on the world clock above Nanoha's television set. 5:42AM. Yawning, she lolled on the sofa in a full stretch, spine popping after a night on an unfamiliar bed.
Raking back her mussed bangs, she glanced over to the bed and realised she was alone in the apartment. Plucking at the throw she found over her person, she found a small smile playing on her lips and she wondered where the source of her smile had gone off to. Nanoha's key fob was still in its little receptacle by the back door, meaning the woman's car was still parked out back.
Surmising the woman had gone to run errands or some such, Fate padded to the bathroom, noting her exceedingly rumpled look. A small part of her mind wished she looked this rumpled because of reasons other than a night on the sofa. Alone.
"Augh," She buttoned her shirt up to the neck and scrubbed thoroughly at her face, trying to wash away lustful thoughts of the gorgeous executive from her sleep-muddled mind. A quick wash up and she decided it wouldn't hurt to sit out on the front porch with her phone to catch up on any emails. Long fingers absently twisted her hair into a side braid in an attempt to tame her mane, tying the end off with her borrowed scrunchie. She needed to head home to shower and change before work, but was hoping to at least bid the executive a good morning first.
"Miss Fate?" An incredulous voice broke into her consciousness and she glanced up from her phone's screen.
"Erio? Oh my gods, Erio!" Laughing, she leapt up from her chair, arms wide. The young man threw himself into her embrace, laughing as well. He visited the traditional Midchildan kisses of greeting to her cheeks, first the right, then left, then right again. Still laughing, he spun her around, showing off how much he had grown since last she saw him.
Patting his shoulders, Fate indicated to him she wished to be put down. Realising they had an audience, she looked around, expression bright. "N-Nanoha-chan!"
She hated her stammer, but couldn't help it. The auburn-haired beauty stood by the front gate to the apartment, dressed in nothing but a pair of black spandex shorts and a sports bra. Perspiration coated her lean curves in a golden sheen and her chest heaved as she panted after her run. Fate felt faint as all the blood in her system rushed to other parts of her body, leaving her brain to flounder, stupefied. Nanoha's high ponytail exposed the back of her neck and the blonde wanted to lick the droplets of sweat gathered there. She glanced to the side, hoping her intent wouldn't be obvious in her eyes.
Nanoha watched in silence as the blonde stepped away from the redheaded youth, uncertain of what to say. Erio broke the silent tableau with an easy grin, "Sorry, Miss Takamachi. Miss Fate is an old friend. I didn't know you knew each other!"
Friends? That kissed? Could she be a friend who kissed, too? Nudged out of her shock by the redhead's greetings, Nanoha collected his delivery out of habit. "Ah, yes, she joined my organisation some weeks ago." She glanced over to Fate, eyes lingering over the appealingly mussed look the blonde sported.
Fate watched from the corner of her eye while Erio handed her boss what appeared to be a drink, two paper bags and a small towel. "Two servings as you requested, Miss Takamachi, please enjoy."
The executive offered the redhead a weak smile, still not over the knee-jerk stab of jealousy when she had seen Fate in his arms. Even the knowledge of his fiancée wasn't enough to keep her White Devil instincts under control, and so she paced and did her best to cool off both body and head, not trusting herself to speak any further.
"I've known Erio since he was a boy." Fate found the executive's silence odd. Perhaps she wasn't close to the youth? "His parents worked for mine. When did you get so tall, Erio? Is Caro with you?"
"It's been four years, Miss Fate, I had to grow some time. And she is, we work over at Khalifa, you should come down sometime." Hand raised in farewell, Erio hopped back into his golf-cart. "Welcome back, Miss Takamachi." Pausing, he added, "Miss Fate, Miss Takamachi is the person I was telling you about." And with a grin, he was gone to serve the rest of his morning customers, leaving the two women staring at the other.
"You… correspond often with him?" Trying her best to sound casual, Nanoha settled onto a chair opposite the one Fate had occupied prior to greeting the youth. Unwrapping first one, then the other paper bag, she placed a simple repast of grilled cheese and ham sandwiches before Fate, inviting the blonde to join her for breakfast.
Accepting the unspoken invitation, Fate sat back down, offering a faint smile to the all too delectable-looking executive. "I sponsored his and Caro's education here." She eyed the hearty sandwich, "My waistline is going to suffer the more I hang out with you," she observed, though she bit into the serving with pleasure.
Nanoha was in the process of popping open the thermos, pouring a cap's worth of rich coffee out for Fate at the blonde's nod. "Your waist leaves nothing to be desired," the executive declared, before snapping her mouth shut with a wince. "I-I mean, you look g-good in anything you wear."
Cursing herself for letting on that she even looked at the blonde there, Nanoha took a healthy gulp of coffee straight out of the thermos.
'She's looked at me? Oh my gods, she's looked at me!' Shyly letting her eyes trail down the executive's lean torso, she admired the taut dips and contours of the woman's abdomen. "I think yours is much more pleasing to look at," and touch, her wicked mind silently added.
'Koff, koff!' Choking a little at Fate's words, Nanoha pounded a fist into her sternum, completely missing the dilation of crimson orbs when the action caused her sweat-soaked breasts to jounce on her chest. Mumbling thanks for the breakfast, Fate abruptly stood, knocking back the last of her coffee and escaping with the remnants of her sandwich.
Seated safely in her car, the blonde thumped her forehead on her steering wheel, hoping the throb in her head would override the one seated so deliciously between her legs. The woman was tired from her trip and her workout, and Fate's libido was bouncing around like a coked up bunny, urging the blonde to jump that sexy body and tear off the thin garments to reveal what secrets laid hidden beneath. The executive's constant absences had done nothing to reduce the growing attraction that Fate was feeling towards the woman.
"Augh," she repeated, "Cold shower," she ordered herself, revving up her engine and zipping out and away from the executive's apartment as quickly as she could without breaking the law.
Nanoha barely had time to blink the tears from her eyes before her AVP was up and gone. She supposed the woman had a long drive back to her own place before work and felt a twinge of guilt at having inconvenienced the blonde.
'Pleasing to look at…' Bemused, she glanced down at herself. She had kept an active lifestyle since…. then, and it helped with the stress at work, the discipline to stay fit having been drilled into her from the time she could throw her first punch. Never had she imagined that she'd look more than passable to others. Deciding she wasn't jealous of Erio any longer, she cleared the patio table, then paused, "Wait, he told her about me?"
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"Friday is Hump Day," groused a blue-haired woman who was hunched over, chin on her desk while she stared at code being compiled.
"Subaru no baka. Is it because your brain is too tiny to remember Wednesday exists?" Her russet-haired companion asked archly, eyes fixed to her own screen while her fingers flew over the keyboard.
"Tea is so mean to me!" Cried Subaru, who flung herself around the other woman, "I only groped you a little this morning!"
"Quit it!" Teana snapped, using her foot to kick Subaru's chair away from her, sending the blue-haired woman careening to the other end of the office they shared. "I'll string you up by your toenails if you mess up my code before the weekend!"
"Waaah, so mean to meeee!" Ignoring her girlfriend's antics, Teana grumbled and hit the backspace key, correcting a mistype from when she had to deal with Subaru. "If you're so free, bring these reports to our other boss; she was asking for Brompton's profile." Anything to get the childish woman out of her hair for a bit.
"Sure!" Enthusiastic to a fault, the short-haired woman bounced to her feet and snatched the file out of Teana's hand. "Bai Tea-chan! I promise to eat you out if you have to rewrite code, okay?" And off she went, leaving behind a furiously blushing tsundere with plans for murder in her eyes.
Bouncing out of the elevator, Subaru made a bee-line for Operations' corporate offices. The path took her past the vast pantry area, then the washrooms located next to it. She could hear raised voices as she passed, and stopped to turn back around. Hugging the wall around the corner, she sidled closer.
"All we're asking is a little sharing and caring," a female voice said, "Just small things that might prove useful. You're new, aren't you? Don't you want to make some friends? This is a big company. You could do better than working under that… unnatural dyke."
A resounding crash was heard, and Subaru quickly spun around the corner to see one of the doors of the ladies' cubicles bent askew. The door hung by one hinge and the other appeared busted beyond repair.
Fate had one hand on the door handle, appearing as if she had just exited from the cubicle. Cowering to the side was some office lady Subaru vaguely remembered to be part of Administration. The blonde appeared chiselled from ice and the mute glitter of ruby chips stared down the woman menacingly. "Hello, Subaru," Fate greeted her subordinate with a deathly quiet, infinitely civil voice.
"Please contact Maintenance, it seems the hinges are loose on this cubicle."
"Uh, sure, Miss Fate." The blue-haired woman made a quick call, eyes never leaving the scene whilst doing so.
Black stiletto heels clicking across the washroom's tiles, Subaru and the Administration staff watched as the blonde washed and dried her hands with surgical care. Without another word, Fate exited the washroom, leaving the Administration staff behind.
Hastily following after the blonde executive, Subaru cast wary side glances at her AVP. The woman seemed to exude an icy fire and her forward momentum boded ill for anyone getting in her way from Point A to Point B. Her casual Friday faux leather pants snapped with each rigid step, and her sleeveless black v-neck knit top revealed a neck flushed with anger.
Fate was beyond outraged at the insult directed towards her boss. The thought that anyone could think she would sell Nanoha out for a few favours was patently absurd and she had been ready to politely smile and laugh off the woman's ridiculous suggestions when that vile insult had spilled out of that woman. She felt her upper lip wanting to curl in disgust and willed herself to count backwards from twenty very, very slowly.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
"Are people very homophobic in TSAB?" Fate asked her staff, voice strained. Aware of Sabaru's relationship with Teana, Fate worried if similar slurs had been directed to Nanoha's people lower down on the food chain.
"Kinda. It's Asia, y'know?" Subaru scratched the back of her head, messing up her short-cropped hair in the process. "Liberal policies don't mean much to people brought up in conservative homes." She shifted her grip on her file, "People think it's okay to say the quiet part out loud again. Like maybe they overcompensated with being politically correct and wanna balance it out now. Nanoha doesn't stand for any shit she hears we get, but at her level, she's just expected to take it."
This was a far more coherent response than Fate had expected to receive from the happy-go-lucky woman, and the thoughtful nod she gave Subaru was one tinged with respect.
'Just like home.' The echo of what she had said to Signum came back to the forefront of her memory. Sighing, she held out a hand, asking for the file Subaru was carrying. "Thank you, Subaru." She knew the young woman was sisters with Ginga, but she was the last to paint anyone with the same brush. Everyone had the right to live or die by their own actions. A pause, "Nanoha doesn't need to hear about what was said back there." The blonde's ponytail swished as she disappeared back into the confines of the Operations' heartbeat.
"She don't need to, but she should…" Subaru muttered, watching Fate disappear with a slight smile. She wondered if Tea would kiss her if she shared fresh gossip with her. Nanoha's AVP seemed to be really protective of their boss. Humming a cheery tune, she made her way back into the bowels of her domain.
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"I see," Signum's calm voice over the line helped soothe some of Fate's agitation. "I assume that you aren't filing anything officially, hence this call?"
"I don't want trouble for Nanoha-ch… Nanoha." The blonde self-corrected, "But I felt it important that you knew," Fate fiddled with the corner of the file Subaru had passed her.
Fate watched as the HR executive sighed over the video call, "We've been keeping an eye on things, but it looks like I'll have to implement a new round of seminars on inclusivity." She made a few notes in her schedule to that effect.
Glancing up from her writing, she eyed the blonde who seemed a lot calmer now, "Any idea what happened to the toilet door?" She asked bluntly, and forced back a laugh at the tomato passing as Fate coughing into her fist.
"I, er, I'm not sure. I was leaving the cubicle and it came loose…" There was a wiry strength in the shoulders Fate's sleeveless top revealed, and Signum felt a growing suspicion that the slim blonde hid some surprises up her figurative sleeves.
"Do you play volleyball?" She asked abruptly.
The blonde blinked at the pink-haired executive from behind her wire-rimmed glasses, "A little, back in school."
A decisive nod, "You're joining our team this upcoming company retreat," Signum proclaimed, "And I'll forget how 'fragile' that cubicle door was."
Caught, Fate's mouth could only open and close helplessly.
"Takamachi is on the team, too," Signum added. Not slyly, never slyly. She was merely sharing factual information to allow her colleague the wherewithal to make informed decisions.
Mouth snapping closed, Fate could only nod, "O-Okay, then." Leaning back with an air of satisfaction, Signum nodded, "Very good then, Testarossa," and cut the call.
Scrambling to open her Inbox, Fate scoured the message list for anything about this retreat.
Pictures of pristine beaches and a luxurious resort greeted her eyes. Two nights, three days, in Krabi, Bangkok. She had missed this in her rush to acclimatise herself to her new role. Visions of Nanoha in that white halter top bikini danced in Fate's mind and she swallowed. "I need to go shopping," she mumbled hoarsely.
A light rap on her door jamb caused Nanoha to look up from reams of numbers that were threatening to make her eyes cross. She had caved in to the need to put on her reading glasses, the woman still suffering from the aftereffects of a trying work trip, and the sight of Fate brought an immediate brightening of her previously stern expression.
Fate was taken aback by how well the executive wore her wide rectangle glasses, the tortoiseshell design giving the woman a Hot Librarian look that served to distract the blonde from the reason why she had knocked in the first place.
"Feito-chan?" Head tilting so her auburn forelock fell over one eye, Nanoha queried her seemingly tongue-tied AVP as to the reason why she was there.
"Brompton," the blonde clipped succinctly, handing the manila coloured folder to the executive. Fate congratulated herself for recovering so admirably in the face of such beauty.
She watched as the executive flipped open the file, studying the notations and comments Fate had added to the report. Nanoha's sandaled feet in rust and copper pushed the executive idly in her chair, rolling her back and forth in a markedly girlish manner as she pored through the report.
"Have a seat, Feito-chan, close the door," Settling into one of the chairs arranged on the other side of the executive's desk, Fate waited patiently, seizing the moment to admire her favourite subject to study. Nanoha wore a loose white cotton scoop-neck today, the relaxed fit suited for casual Friday. It was tucked into belted skinny jeans, the material riding up to reveal shapely calves. The dark blue blazer she had come in with was draped over the back of her chair in deference to the tropical weather that fought tooth and nail with the office's central cooling system. With floor to ceiling windows, it was no wonder that Nanoha seldom remained in any of the coats or jackets she arrived to work in.
Her thick auburn tresses were nominally tamed into side rope braids, their reddish highlights gleaming in the light of the setting sun which lent the woman an added warmth to her cheeks.
"You think they'll go for this?" Nanoha walked over to Fate's side of her desk to place the file in the woman's lap. Fate glanced to where the executive had tapped. Leaning back against the edge of her desk, Nanoha crossed her arms in a listening pose.
"It's a small gamble but the market has been picking up since lockdowns with the everyday man eager to maintain the healthier lifestyle enforced isolation engendered." Fate's aristocratic accent lilted pleasingly as she outlined her reasoning to her boss, "There's a much younger crowd eager for the old school practicality of their products. They'll appreciate an update to the kinds of engagement the company used to provide in the 70s. Their databases were handwritten index cards not all that long ago."
Nodding, Nanoha closed her eyes and took off her glasses, pinching the bridge of her nose, "Suggest it to Mr Darjeeling," she said offhandedly as she put the glasses back on.
Clapping a hand over her mouth, Fate stared up at the executive, a fit of giggles threatening to break loose at any moment.
Azure orbs observed Fate from over the top of tortoiseshell glasses with no little amusement, "What, you think I didn't know?"
Still covering her mouth, Fate shook her head. Taking deep breaths to force her giggles down, Fate finally gave a small laugh, "It wasn't anything worth your time," she pointed out.
Nanoha's resonant alto dropped a register, "Anything to do with you, is worth my time, Feito-chan." The executive's amusement fading to seriousness, Fate found herself captured by Nanoha's powerful presence, made all the more so by the close proximity of the woman looming over her at that very moment. This was precisely the reason why Fate had been trying to avoid being alone in the office with Nanoha.
The woman had landed a mere eighteen hours ago, was operating on what was probably very short sleep, and she bothered to hear about some suit trying to talk to her about Indian tea. Did nothing escape her notice? She winced internally, hoping the washroom incident would slip past the executive's sharp scrutiny.
Heart thundering, Fate eyed the executive, "I'm a big girl, Nanoha-chan." There was a mild thread of reproof in her gently lilting voice. It always felt like she was playing with fire when it came to the executive. Fire that would either warm her on the coldest nights or set her world aflame at the slightest change in wind.
"You are," the auburn-haired woman agreed, "But the protection goes both ways, Feito-chan." Then she smiled, easing back from the serious tone of their exchange, "Get used to it."
"I have been, ever since you hauled a stray into Doctor Shamal's office."
"Feito-chan is anything but a stray." Nanoha countered. Her hand raised of its own volition to cup the blonde's face. Her touch was warm, that warmth rivalled only by the intense blush now turning the blonde's cheek rose pink, "Feito-chan is a friend. Thank you, for last night. I hope I didn't inconvenience you too much."
That stolen glimpse of Nanoha in a thong flashed through Fate's mind and she tore her gaze from the Japanese woman's mesmerising eyes, incidentally pulling away from the woman's addictive touch. "It w-was nothing. A ride share wouldn't have found your place as quickly."
Nanoha's callouses rasped softly as she rubbed her fingers, committing the feel of the blonde's face to memory, a move the stammering blonde missed completely. Brow furrowed in a not-quite frown, the executive pondered her next words.
"Let's celebrate your first month in the madhouse, my treat." Nanoha mentally patted herself on the back for having a good excuse to ask the blonde out.
Fate found that she was fine with any excuse whatsoever, and nodded, cheeks still red, "I can log off by six…" Floating out of Nanoha's office on the power of the blinding smile sent her way, she murmured a distracted goodbye to Vita who was packing up to go, bumping absently into her door frame as she entered her own office. Suspicious of what may have happened, Vita stuck her head into Nanoha's office, blue eyes squinting at the Japanese executive.
Nanoha looked at Vita over the rim of her glasses, expression set in their usual stern cast. One finely arched brow lifted in query. "See you next week, Nanoha." The grunted reply didn't seem out of place, and Vita retreated, but not before seeing the executive rubbing the fingers of her dominant hand together. Hmm.
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"Oh my gods, Vita-chan, none of your attacks are connecting!" Hayate blew out a breath of frustration, glaring at the cousin she was in a video call with out of the corner of her eye.
"Shut up, Haya-chan," Vita growled, "If your rogue would steal me a better hammer, I wouldn't be whiffing all my hits!"
"I told you a fighter with a scimitar was better, you had to go make Ms BamBam over here who can't hit the broadside of a barn if it bared its butt at her!"
"I thought the game was for bonding over, not starting lifelong feuds," Shamal quipped, looking up from the show she and Signum were watching on the couch. Snuggled up in her wife's arms, the blonde doctor peered at her wife's cousin who seemed ready to chew iron and spit nails.
Signum shook her head, "You should have heard them fighting when they were only making their characters." Blinking at the show Shamal had picked, just some throwaway mockumentary to fill the time while they focused on reconnecting after another week of work, Signum nuzzled her wife's ear, "I thought Cleopatra was Macedonian Greek…"
Not really paying mind to what was on the telly, Shamal mmhmm'ed, eyes closed while she enjoyed the pink-haired woman's attentions.
"Oh, someone tried to smooth talk Fate yesterday. That marketing AVP." Preoccupied with one another, the petite redhead's words weren't registered by the couple for long moments. It took Hayate's exclamation to jolt the pair back to the present.
"What?! …I guess he had eyes," Hayate mused while sneaking around a tavern looking for hammers that did not suck. "Was Nano-chan there?"
"Jakarta. She heard though. Almost melted my phone. Haya-chan, save!"
Hayate giggled, doing as Vita instructed, "She went White Devil on me this morning over Fate," the brunette shared.
"What did you do?" Signum asked, interest piqued. Her wife was no less curious, though the hands slipping under her tank top indicated her wife would allow this distraction for only so long before she took… things, into her own hands.
"Suggested we could use her family connections for the company."
Silence, while everyone winced.
"Haya-chan likes to play with fire." Vita observed, doing her best to distract NPCs in the game she was playing with Hayate while her cousin poked around people's belongings for loot.
"She's not the only one," Signum shared what had occurred in the ladies earlier in the day, "Took the door clean off one hinge. The other almost shared the same fate."
Vita gave a low whistle, "Remind me not to piss Fate off." All in earshot silently agreed.
"She has good instincts taking it to you off the record," Hayate noted, momentarily slipping back into CEO mode.
Signum squeaked in agreement just as Shamal decided to nip at her through her top. "Right then, good night Hayate, Vita." Grabbing her giggling wife, the Amazonian executive hurried them both to their bedroom, slamming the door shut behind them.
Another giggle at Signum's predictable reaction to her wife's attention, "Hey Vita-chan, guess what?"
Vita glanced at the tanuki grinning at her through the video call, and together, they sing-songed, "There's something there that wasn't there before~~~" their favourite lyric from the old Disney classic, Beauty & The Beast.
Giggling and snorting, the two women ack'ed when their carelessness alerted the town guards. Waiting for the save to reload, Vita hmmed, "Who's the Beauty and who's the Beast, though?"
"Maybe it's two Beauties who can be Beasts?" Hayate ventured, eliciting another giggle-fit.
"The White Devil and the… Black Angel?" Vita thought aloud.
"Ooh I like that, you should suggest that to them for Halloween." Sharing secret grins, the pact was made.