Fate eyed the secret calendar she kept hanging behind a larger one. A big red circle was drawn around all of the Saturdays. If one were to flip to earlier weeks, one would find other, large red circles marked around certain days. Each being a day when the blonde had an appointment with her boss.

Today marked another day, since it was Saturday again. It had been some weeks since their first visit to the gym together, and they had maintained a weekly appointment to continue meeting on Saturday mornings to workout.

The blonde flexed her arm a little, pleased to see a little more tone on her otherwise willowy arms. She liked how strong Nanoha was, and decided she wasn't opposed to getting a little stronger herself. The thought that it would anger her mother was but a cherry on top.

Nanoha had advised her on how to adjust her diet to help her benefit the most from her strength training, and while it took effort to consume more than her usual bag of vegetables for breakfast, she was getting there. A No-Face magnet kept a list of protein shake recipes attached to her fridge, neatly written in Nanoha's bold, left-handed script and Fate had been religiously following their instructions.

The best part of all their workouts to Fate's mind, however, was when Nanoha had to spot her, or guide her through a new form of reps. 'Any excuse so she would touch you,' she admitted to herself without shame.

Today's workout was no different, the comforting feel of the Japanese woman's hands while she helped Fate maintain proper posture through various workouts made the morning fly by. Together, the two striking women performed cool down stretches to close out their time in the gym, eyes only for the other and mostly oblivious to the audience they had yet again picked up this morning.

"Feito-chan, let me help," Nanoha approached the blonde who was having a little difficulty maintaining her balance with her cross-leg stretch. This was where she had to cross one leg in front of the other and fold over to place her hands in a starting sprint position on the floor, all while keeping her legs straight.

The auburn-haired woman had caught Fate's wobble just in time, swiftly moving to offer her standing frame as a prop. Positioned right behind the blonde, she bit her lip at the feel of her friend's glutes resting right where her pelvis was.

Unseen by the executive, Fate was nibbling on her own lip when Nanoha's strong hands came to rest at her hips to help stabilise her wobble. "Th-Thanks Nanoha-chan." Counting the requisite number of seconds, she unfolded into a full skyward stretch.

Saturday mornings were getting crowded at the gym, worse so in the ladies' lockers. "I wonder if we should switch days," Nanoha mused aloud to Fate as she blow-dried the blonde's glorious mane of gold.

"Hmm?" Fate had been losing herself in the feel of the executive's fingers buried in her hair and hadn't really been paying attention.

"Switch days," Nanoha repeated patiently. Dressed in a pale yellow cotton bra and string tie thong, the executive urged the blonde to tilt her head with a hand on her jaw, "It was a struggle just getting a hairdryer for us."

Fate raised heavy sandy lashes to cast Nanoha a disbelieving look in the mirror, "I do not believe it would make much of a difference," she murmured. Her glance in the mirror had shown her no few looks being sent their way and there was nothing she could do - Nanoha simply looked too incredible in her simple underwear.

Fate had on dark purple lingerie, also rather simple by her standards, with only one layer of lace and a little red princess bow set between her breasts. She had thrown on a high-collared white button down shirt, but hadn't bothered buttoning it up since she was preoccupied with applying a light layer of make-up while her friend helped dry her hair.

"Maybe it is because it is a Saturday morning?" Fate ventured, pressing her lips together to better apply her bubblegum-shaded pink lip gloss, pouting after to check the application.

The hands working on her hair paused momentarily, the Japanese woman distracted by those pink lips saying words to her in the mirror, "Hmm? Oh, I suppose you're correct." She wondered if she should set up the upper level of her condo as a private gym for herself and Fate, before discarding the idea as Way Too Dangerous®™. It was hard enough keeping her hands platonic whilst helping Fate out with her workouts.

"You don't have to dress so formally, you know," was what the executive said instead, azure eyes stealing another glance at the starched button down that draped so tantalisingly over the blonde's slim torso.

"It's TSAB's CEO, Nanoha-chan. If I had to wear a military uniform, I would." Fate replied drily. "You may be acquainted with her, but I am not. I have to make a good impression for my boss' sake."

Nanoha's lips pulled into a familiar lopsided smile, "I know your boss appreciates how detail-oriented you are. But that's still hours away…"

Giggling, Fate leaned back to bump her friend with a shoulder, incidentally feeling the brush of Nanoha's bra-clad chest against her back. "I'll change to the skirt later, I brought pants since we're shopping today. Speaking of, aren't you going to get dressed?" She eyed the fresh-faced beauty in the mirror and licked her lips, "I'm hungry."

Nanoha grew a little warm at the way Fate said those words, but the blonde had returned to applying the finishing touches to her make-up, appearing to dismiss the executive for the nonce.

Muttering something about finding a block of ice to sit on, Nanoha grabbed her gym bag and pulled out a fitted red and white flannel shirt to don. Not bothering to button more than the two middle-most buttons since it was the tropics, she dug around for her Gudetama ankle socks. The little lazy egg character was picking his nose, the sight of them sending Fate into a fit of chiming giggles. All according to Nanoha's cunning plan; she never grew tired of hearing the woman's laughter.

A torn pair of denim shorts was tugged over her hips, one of the rips high enough that the lower curve of one bottom was visible. Fate had discovered over the weeks that while Nanoha made a very fine example about what to wear at work, the executive enjoyed dressing down hard core when she had the chance. Probably because she was always in formal office clothes.

White loafers completed Nanoha's outfit and Fate shook her head, "Nanoha-chan, you look wonderful, but please tell me you have something to change into for our dinner with Miss Yagami," she murmured while putting on her own drawstring khaki pants. Slipping into nubuck sandals, the statuesque blonde carried her Banana Republic look perfectly.

"Nyahaha… Maybe." The executive's glib answer did nothing to assuage Fate's worries. Not giving Fate time to nag, Nanoha grabbed her gym bag in one hand, Fate's hand in the other, and exited the locker rooms. Crankily, she noticed the gym had practically emptied out, and wished people would pick other times to use the place instead of the mornings when she and Fate did.

The pair had made their way into the town centre, where most of the island's malls were located. Orchard Road boasted wide promenades on either side of broad eight-lane roads. The area served as a hub for locals and tourists alike, seeking entertainment, food or shopping of all sorts. Massive old rain trees lined either side of the roads, offering shade to the mingling crowds enjoying the scenery or just walking from one mall to the next.

Music weaved between the loud hubbub of the weekend crowds, their source, the buskers plying their trade on the sidewalk. Small push carts selling ice-cream and cold drinks to passersby dotted the sidewalks at regular intervals, doing brisk business in the warmth of the afternoon sun.

The women had ditched everything other than their cellphones and smartwatches since one could go fully cashless in the city centre. The pair drank in the sights and sounds of the lively weekend crowds, neither having truly ventured here until now. "Whups!" Almost losing the other woman to a wave of bodies, Fate lunged for Nanoha's hand, keeping a hold of it just in case. Never one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Nanoha immediately interlocked their fingers, earning her a smile from the blonde.

Nanoha consulted the map app on her phone, "Says there's a costume store somewhere… Aha!" A half flight of stairs led down from the sidewalk's level, a neon sign saying 'Ghouls N Gobs' indicating they had found the place they were looking for. The shop was located close to the outskirts of the district, in one of the older, less glitzy malls. It suited Nanoha just fine, since she wasn't much for crowds to begin with. Fate appeared to be of a similar mindset and blew out a small breath of relief to get away from the bustle outside.

Nudging Fate with her hip, the executive threw her a rakish grin, "Your mission, should you choose to accept it…"

"Oh, watch me beat the tar out of you, Takamachi." Fate's eyes scanned the dim interior of the store, thinking she spied one or two promising pieces already.

"Big words, Blondie. I'll Tasmanian Devil this place before you say 'peep'." Shoving her phone into her shorts' back pocket, Nanoha was already moving through the aisles, sifting through hangers.

"Isn't that Devil brown in colour? Did I scare your White into Brown? My, I don't even know my own power sometimes." The blonde arched one haughty brow at the executive as she strode down her own chosen aisle to start down.

Giggling, the two went their separate ways to find the absolute perfect costume for this Halloween.

The two friends had agreed not to peek at each other's costumes, both wishing to surprise the other on the night itself. Neither wanted to examine why it was so important to impress their friend, however.

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'Nope. Nope. Nope. Gods, no.' Nanoha frowned. There didn't seem to be anything that jumped out at her in the shop. The costume for women ranged from full on x-rated to gothic lolita with not much space in-between. Granted, she felt Vita would carry off the loli goth look quite well, but it simply wasn't Nanoha's style at all.

Sighing, she wandered into the men's section, not really expecting to find much. She counted off the usual suspects in disappointment. Freddy, Jason, Chainsaw, Frankenstein, Dracula… Fingering the lapel of Dracula's suit, Nanoha hummed thoughtfully. Nodding to herself, she backtracked to where the accessories were sold, picking up a few pieces.

"Thank you for your purchase!" Glancing over, Nanoha saw that Fate was done paying for whatever she had picked out. Curiously, her hands were empty. Sauntering over, Nanoha bumped Fate lightly with her hip, "Bought you some air?" She teased.

Fate hmphed and bumped Nanoha back while pretending to use her slightly higher vantage point to peek into the other woman's shopping basket. "Hey!" The executive turned her back to Fate to block the blonde's view, not realising that it merely presented Fate with an even better view of her behind. The blonde hid a smile. 'Oh Nanoha.' It was such a blessing and a curse that the auburn-haired beauty was completely oblivious to her effect on the blonde, and on everyone around them, honestly.

"None of your beeswax." Flipping her hair over one shoulder, the icy blonde smiled at the cashier, accepting the proffered pen and notepad. "Your basket doesn't look very devilish, I must say." She wrote down her address in her typically elegant script and handed the items back to the cashier who smiled, "We will have it ready in a week, Ma'am."

"Very good, thank you."

Winking at the executive, Fate made her way out of the shop to wait outside the entrance, honouring their word not to see each other's costumes before the day of the bash. Inside, she could hear the female cashier stammering as Nanoha approached to make her own purchases. She stifled a laugh and sighed. These little outings watered the drought-stricken tree that was her unceasing attraction to her boss, and it insisted on flourishing against all odds.

A sudden gust of wind swept over the area and Fate took a moment to tuck loose strands of her hair behind one ear with nominal success. She eyed the majestic rain tree rustling above her, evergreen leaves casting their shade over the promenade before her. Sprouting out from the tiles of the sidewalk, hemmed in by a ring of bricks, it had no reason to grow so high and strong, yet here it was, defiant and beautiful, sheltering the blonde with a sense of well-being and comfort.

If not for the make-up she had so carefully applied, Fate would have buried her face in her hands. At this rate, she would be composing sonnets about the Japanese woman soon.

"Feito-chan, are you feeling all right?" It had taken Nanoha some time to extricate herself from the shop. She had asked about custom costume designers, whom the cashier was only too happy to recommend, and it had taken a while for the girl to dig out details for her. Leaving the blushing girl a nice tip, she waved and exited the shop, only to find her friend rubbing at her temples, an expression of discomfort on her classically beautiful face.

Startled to find the auburn-haired woman's face a mere few inches from hers, Fate stammered something about being fine, attempting to step back and away from the temptation of those Cupid's bow lips. Alas, the executive's hold on her arm was too firm. Slipping a calloused hand around Fate's neck, Nanoha tilted the blonde's face down to touch foreheads with her. "You feel warm." She gently tucked stray strands of gold behind Fate's ears, "Let's get you out of the sun for a bit."

Overriding the reddened blonde's protests, Nanoha glanced around the area and brightened. She led the blonde across the road to a sprawling hotel, giggling a little to herself as she caught more than one person coming up short in the middle of a road crossing to get a better look at the tall beauty. That was her Feito-chan, breaking hearts while gliding across a busy intersection.

Fate looked around her after being seated. Curled around the hotel's exterior was a vast, sprawling cafe whose tables were separated from the main thoroughfare by a row of waist-high potted plants - an excellent place for people watching. Nanoha's torn shorts and crumpled flannel were of no issue, since hotel guests were notorious for being shabby while on holiday anyway, though Fate wished the waiter would stop eyeing the auburn-haired woman's cleavage like that.

About to order a Perrier, Fate felt a nudge under the table, Nanoha using her foot to prod her into getting something with actual calories. "Have a cheat day, Feito-chan, you earned it this morning."

Fate sighed, unable to deny anything Nanoha asked of her, "…Fine, I'll have the roasted coconut affogato with palm sugar." Blushing faintly at Nanoha's approving smile, she closed her menu with a slap and handed it back to the waiter.

Hands covered by her overlong sleeves, Nanoha flipped through the menu a little longer and brightened, "I'll have the figs and peach espresso soda." Giving up her menu as well, the executive pulled back her sleeve and leaned over to feel Fate's forehead again, "Maybe the Perrier wasn't such a bad idea to have on the side."

Fate closed her eyes to block out the absolutely distracting sight of Nanoha's chest, the buttons of her cute flannel doing an absolutely dismal job at keeping the woman contained. "M-Maybe," she muttered, pulling away from her friend's touch with Herculean effort. More hydration couldn't hurt with how badly she was thirsting, that was for sure.

Falling back into their usual banter for refuge, she asked, "How badly will I beat you on Halloween?"

"Talk big all you want, Wench, I will see you in hell come October 31st." Nanoha made a show of buffing her already buffed nails. Fate couldn't wait, truth be told.

"Wait, who would be the judge of our contest?" She asked.

Sighing, Nanoha took a moment to rub her own temple, "I'm sure Ha… Miss Yagami wouldn't mind presiding, actually."

Catching Nanoha's slip, Fate smiled. "You don't have to call her that in front of me, Nanoha-chan. I heard her on the phone with you that first Saturday, remember?"

Nanoha tapped her index finger's knuckle to her temple, "Oh, right. Well, we attended the same schools back home, though she skipped a few grades so she's a few years younger than I am. We kept in touch right until when she took over in TSAB and brought me in as an intern. I'm sure she's regretted that move ever since." Nanoha's smile was wistful as she thought back to those halcyon days.

Fate knew a little about Yagami Hayate's stratospheric rise to the top of TSAB but she was far more interested in Nanoha's story.

"There are so many crazy rumours…"

Nanoha took a sip of her refreshing beverage, "Mmm, I did warn you." She held up her hand and began folding digits as she counted off, "I did not sleep with her, bribe her, hold a server farm hostage, or draw a weapon on an HoD." That smile grew toothy, "I did, however, call my direct report a cunt, buy off someone who tried to blackmail some colleagues, threaten people with bodily harm, and stab a pen halfway through a whiteboard."

In the midst of dousing her dessert with the shot of espresso it came with, Fate stared at Nanoha, wide-eyed.

"I'm a reformed teenager," the executive joked. "Had a chip the size of Soviet Russia on my shoulder and felt that I had something to prove."

"And did you?" Fate prodded at her treat with a long teaspoon.

Her question earned her a small shrug, "Perhaps. I've learned to care less." She blew out a breath, the action shifting the unruly lock that had fallen into her eye. "It gives Signum less work."

"I'm glad you cared that Friday," Fate said quietly, and Nanoha felt caught by the quiet intensity of the blonde's crimson eyes.

"Y–You make it easy to care," the executive blurted out against her will. Fate's eyes were wide with surprise and Nanoha quickly looked away, making a show of people-watching while she sipped nervously at her drink.

Fate said nothing as she quietly took those words and tucked them into the warmest place in her heart. They enjoyed their orders in silence, and while initially awkward, it fell back into a comfortable sense of companionship that was the hallmark of their friendship. Sometimes, words simply weren't necessary. Not even when Fate bossily swatted Nanoha away from the bill being presented to their table.

'That's enough of that, Missy.' Her glare seemed to say.

'But I picked the place.' Nanoha's perplexed look replied.

'Is this a face that cares?' Fate tilted one arched brow at the auburn-haired woman.

Nanoha hmphed and stomped off with her shopping bag while Fate tapped her card to the reader. She smiled her thanks to the grinning cashier, received her receipt and following after the huffy executive.

'Was this heaven, or hell?' Nanoha asked herself.

Fate hadn't bothered getting a swim suit since her move to the island nation for work, and the company retreat did mention bonding activities at the beach. 'I know who I want to bond with…' Thought the blonde.

As the resident expert on swimsuits, or so Fate had declared, just because she owned more than one set, the blonde had roped Nanoha in to help her pick out a few designs.

'Keep it professional, Takamachi…' She admonished herself while pulling up her memory of the retreat's itinerary to help with the decision-making process. Her department was in charge of the planning this year, so she had left it up to Vita, Teana and Subaru, trusting the little redhead to keep Subaru's crazier ideas out of the schedule. Damned if she had time to look at resort brochures with work the way it was.

"One-piece," she mumbled.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Fate had a few possible picks in her arms, reminiscent of the halter and thong set Nanoha wore so well that night. They were styles that Nanoha took one look at and knew she wouldn't survive seeing the blonde in.

"There will be a few rough and tumble games. A one piece is safer, in case of accidents." Nanoha explained. The blonde pouted a little, and the executive could not help but laugh. "You can use a two-piece when we have our down time, but you definitely want a one-piece for company activities." The auburn-haired woman congratulated herself on her save.

"Nanoha, please do me." The clattering sound of a cellphone hitting the changing room floor greeted that remark.

"Wh-What?!"

"What do you mean what?" Fate's blonde head poked out past the curtain of privacy, her expression puzzled, "I cannot reach this, help do me, please."

"Right, yes, of course," snatching up her poor phone, Nanoha hopped up from the waiting benches. Steeling herself, she went over to the changing stall and gulped as the curtains were pulled back to reveal the porcelain length of Fate's back being presented to her. She had gathered up her heavy fall of hair to pile it over one shoulder and the vision was something Nanoha would remember for the rest of her life. The woman was in a black one-piece with the sides cut out. Strips of black elastic replaced the empty scoops. The high cut of the suit left Fate's hips bare and Nanoha knew she was staring. The back was a lace up affair with small metal hooks; little wonder that Fate needed help with it.

'Hello, prime numbers my old friend, I've come to count on you again…' A muscle in her jaw ticked while she helped lace the blonde up, the woman gasping softly at one point, prompting Nanoha to ask, "Too tight?"

A silent shake of Fate's head was her reply, and so she tied the remaining length of string up and hurried back out of the stall. Being in that tiny room alone with Fate was testing her vaunted endurance to the very limits.

Except that the blonde had followed her out of the stall.

"Would this be all right for activities?" The blonde asked, frowning down at the suit. The lace did help keep things… secure, but it did feel slightly suffocating around her ribs. She ran her hand down the suit, checking its fit.

The thought of what activities she would like to have with the blonde sped through the executive's head in a split second and she coughed into her fist, glancing at Fate out the corner of one eye. Gods, the lacing acted like a corset, emphasising the woman's slim waist and pushing her chest up and together in the process.

"O-Only if it's comfortable, Feito-chan. Remember, you would be wearing it for some hours at the least."

"Hmm, I suppose you are correct." Walking back to the changing stall, she asked, "Can you help unlace me?"

Nanoha quietly whimpered to herself. This was going to be a long and torturous afternoon.

"Could I wear a two-piece really tightly instead?"

'ARGH…'