Yells and crashes sounded in the distance, the slice of a helicopter's blades cutting through the endless night. She moaned faintly past lips split and crusted with blood from dehydration and worse. So noisy. The forest loomed ever closer, its intent to bury her where she lay, almost palpable. The crashing sounds grew closer, dogs baying from scenting something.
Overhead, the roaring blades approached and pressed down upon her, and the blinding glare of high-powered emergency searchlights left afterimages that hurt. In the one eye she could open, anyway. The other had been caked shut from blood that had poured from a large gash in her scalp. She tried to shy away, but the nauseating feel of grinding bone kept her in place.
The noises were so close. Too much noise. She wanted to rest. Let her rest. The stench of death cloaked her, so heavy it felt real.
"I see them! Get the lights over!"
"Shit, this one's long gone."
"The other's still breathing! I can barely feel a pulse, though. We need to evac, fast."
"Fuck, they're pinned. Get the saw!"
"Sir… you'll have to cut through the one on top…"
"You got a better idea, sergeant? Get me the damned saw and get out of my way."
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"Aho~!"
The caw of a saucy corvid stirred Fate out of her peaceful slumber. Yawning until she squeaked, she stretched. Another squeak emerged when she realised she was topless. An immediate blush invaded her cheeks.
Nanoha.
She rolled over, burying her warm face into her pillows. She wanted to scream. Last night the auburn-haired beauty was so… so… incomparable. This wasn't helping her crippling crush one iota. The care, the consideration, that feeling of complete acceptance.
"Augh! I want to kiss her so much!" Fate yelled into her pillow, legs slamming onto her bed just remembering the executive straddling her from behind last night. She felt like a schoolgirl and suddenly wished she had been in school with Hayate and Nanoha back when they were kids.
She should thank the woman. She wondered what time Nanoha had gone home after she fell asleep. 'Oh no, I fell asleep on her. Did I snore? Or drool?' She buried her face again, and the crow outside sounded as if it was calling her an idiot with its cries.
Sighing, she rolled out of bed and pulled on her discarded sleep shirt, trying not to think about Nanoha's hands all over her bare back and arms. It was too early in the morning for her to lose time in the shower, again. Absently clipping up her mass of hair, the blonde yawned again before her eyes spied an unfamiliar lump on her couch. 'No… It can't be!'
Closing the distance with three quick strides, she gasped. The woman of her dreams was sprawled all over her couch. She appeared to be a restless sleeper, both arms flung out over her head. Her thick auburn hair fanned out around her, the halo of scarlet highlights accentuating the woman's natural flush of health. Her flannel's buttons had come undone, baring the woman's bra-clad torso to Fate's hungry gaze and she had gone to sleep without her jeans, leaving bare the lean length of her legs. The blonde bit her lip. 'Augh!'
Fate had gone to find a light throw to cover the woman with, when the sound of chainsaws began. The blonde glanced out her windows to see workmen trimming one of the many lush trees in her neighbourhood, a common enough sight in the Garden City.
"No… don't…"
Startled to hear Nanoha speak, Fate thought the woman had woken up. Walking back to the couch, she realised the executive was still asleep, though what kind of sleep was this that had her face twisted in a rictus of pain?
"Stop, you're killing him… Stop, please stop, no, stop… no no no, Yuuno, no!"
The executive had begun to thrash, limbs tangling in the throw Fate had covered her with mere moments ago. Worried the woman might hit something and hurt herself, the blonde knelt by her, placing hand on her shoulder as she attempted to wake Nanoha.
"Nanoha? NANOHA! Wake up!" The thrashing was getting worse, and Fate felt tears pricking her eyes. Wrapping her arms around the woman, uncaring if the executive might hurt her, Fate held on tightly. "Come back to me, sweetheart. Come back, please." Rocking the woman, hot tears now streaking down the executive's face, the blonde tried to anchor the woman back to reality.
The noise of a revving chainsaw roared deafeningly in Nanoha's ears, accompanied by the sickening sound of flesh being rent apart. Something was calling to her. Someone important. The bone-snapping cold was receding, chased away by a sweetly-scented warmth that stubbornly refused to let her go quietly into the night.
Gasping, the executive's eyes flew open. The claws of her hands were clutching tightly to something, no, someone. Even her legs had wrapped around that warmth as she clung desperately to the anchor holding her. The thundering echo of her heart was overwhelming while she panted, gulping for breath, and it took long moments for the worried voice of the person holding onto to her to insert itself into her consciousness.
"I'm here, Nanoha-chan, I'm here." It was Fate. 'Oh gods.' She had never… in front of anyone… She was shaking in a cold sweat, which was normal. But never had she awoken with someone holding her. Someone who seemed to care. At first she attempted to pull back, afraid of what the person had witnessed. Realising it was Fate, she did her best to quieten her pounding heart, fighting past the haunting images and sounds.
Nanoha's tremulous gasps tore at the blonde's heart and Fate only held her closer, now that her limbs had ceased their flailing. "Shh, you're all right. I've got you." Nanoha buried her face into the crook of Fate's neck and drew in shaky breaths.
"Feito-chan…" Her voice was hoarse, her throat still tight with remembered fear, "I… I'm sorry." Sorry for waking her. Sorry for troubling her. Sorry for being this weak.
"You have nothing to apologise for," the blonde whispered emphatically, hand on the back of Nanoha's head, cradling her to her neck.
Slowly, the shattered pieces of Nanoha's psyche pieced themselves together, aided by the unwavering warmth of the blonde who simply wouldn't let her go. And damn her but Nanoha didn't want to let go either. It felt too good to her battered soul to let someone else hold her up for once. Bit by bit, her shaking began to subside and she drew steadying breaths, inhaling the blonde's scent that helped remind her she wasn't alone. A curse, but also an infinite blessing. She wanted to lose herself in this woman's arms and never surface. But she had to grow up and emerge at some point. Inhaling deeply, she consciously ordered her hands and legs to let go of the poor blonde.
Fate felt bad for the executive. She was feeling incredibly well-rested, but here was the reason behind her perfect rest, waking from what seemed to be a terrible, terrible night. She stroked Nanoha's hair for however long it was until she felt the woman's desperate hold on her loosen. Her shoulders and arms ached, reddened marks indicating where the other woman had clutched her with such shattered desperation, but she bore them with pride. If she had helped Nanoha even a little, it was all worth it.
Gingerly pushing herself up to sit where she lay, Nanoha raked unsteady fingers through the mass of hair falling into her face. "I must look a sight…"
"You look beautiful," the blonde countered with utter sincerity, tucking auburn locks behind one perfect ear. Nanoha's lips twitched, and she cast Fate a dubious look. "Feito-chan is too kind."
"Am I?" Fate asked archly, annoyed with herself, "I fell asleep on you. You had to spend the night on the couch." It was apparent that the blonde felt responsible for the state Nanoha was in and the auburn-haired woman had to nip that in the bud right away, "No, Feito-chan, don't blame yourself." Sighing, she raked her hair back again and swung her legs down to prop her elbows on her knees, "It's… normal for me." She closed her eyes, burying her face in her hands while the noise of the chainsaws outside overlapped with what her mind's ear could still hear.
Again the comforting feel of Fate's arm was around her and she leaned into the touch. "Some mornings are easier," Nanoha began, dropping her hands to stare at them, flashes of bile and blood coating them superimposed onto reality and that familiar nauseated feeling was back. She swallowed hard against the urge to hurl.
Fate rubbed Nanoha's arm through her sleeve. "It pains me to see you like so, to call this normal..."
"You weren't supposed to… to see." Nanoha admitted, shamefaced. Fate could see the executive's throat bobbing. "They had to cut through my friend… to get to me." The whispered confession was soft, but dripping with self-recriminations and guilt. "I couldn't face his family. I killed him."
Nanoha couldn't bear to look when Fate sucked in a sharp breath. She knew the woman was shocked and disappointed. But the arm around her was pulling her closer, not away. She gathered her courage and cast a tentative look at the blonde.
The princess was crying. Feeling worse than a shit-crusted heel, Nanoha quickly shook out her flannel's sleeves to dry away the blonde's tears. "I'm sorry, it's not a pleasant story…"
Fate grabbed one of the hands so gently drying her eyes, "H… How old were you?" Liquid crimson held Nanoha as captive as the hand that wouldn't release hers.
"Seventeen. He was twenty." The familiar feel of a lump the size of her sin came crawling up her throat, "He was trying to cheer me up, after…" It was so pointless, so pathetic. If she had been stronger, her heart less broken, he wouldn't have needed to do that.
Fate quickly deduced why Nanoha had needed cheering and using the hand she held, drew Nanoha close, touching foreheads with the woman. "Eleven years, Nanoha. Will his efforts be in vain? Will you never let yourself 'cheer up'?"
"You cheer me up, constantly." Nanoha admitted, eyes casting to the side in guilt. "What right do I have to be, though? He was desecrated that I might live."
Fate gave the woman a small shake, "NANOHA. You were a child." Fate had no idea of the circumstances but from how the woman had reacted, it must have been traumatising. "It wasn't your decision. It wasn't your choice! Were you even conscious?" The blonde had always wondered about the barely visible marks scattered over the auburn-haired woman's body. They were so faint that one would only notice if one studied the woman in excruciating detail, which was precisely what Fate had been doing since the very start.
"I… I could hear them. They were searching for us. They said he was on top of me. A tree had fallen over in the crash. So much sawing. The vibrations, the n-noise." She flinched at the sound of branches falling outside, the workmen still trimming extraneous limbs from the trees. Fate was stroking her hair, as one would a wounded animal, and she guiltily soaked in the comfort the blonde was providing.
"I sat for my finals in the hospital. I couldn't take my orals for another year; aphasia." Taking the hand that had been petting her, Nanoha guided it to the thin line in her scalp, hidden amidst the dense growth of auburn hair. She felt a kiss placed over the old wound and she felt her eyes grow hot once more. How was this angel giving her absolution more than a decade after?
"Haya-chan dragged me into TSAB after I was discharged. I think she got tired of me moping around. I was on bond for five years completing my studies at Oxford. Between work, school and PT, I didn't have time to breathe."
'Or fall apart.' Fate adjusted her opinion of the CEO, the woman's cunning raising her in Fate's estimation.
"I think you are allowed to breathe now, Nanoha." Azure eyes looked up, and saw nothing but serenity and acceptance. "At least, I would like you to breathe when I'm around." There was a slight dusting of pink on Fate's cheeks as she spoke.
Ancient bands of iron corroded in the face of such astounding grace, rusted pieces thudding into the ground in time to the hesitant pulse of a heart re-learning how to beat again. "Can I?"
"You must." Fate insisted, "Or… Or I won't feed you that dinner I promised."
That finally won her a weak giggle out of Nanoha, "Nyahaha. This AVP is very bold to be threatening her boss like this."
Like this? Fate was in a sleep shirt, Nanoha in even less, and it was taking all of her control not to kiss the last hints of pain and grief away in the Japanese beauty seated in utter déshabillé on her couch.
"Maybe I should peek in the fridge for a clue about what you're making?" Fate was heartened to see bits of the old Nanoha back and she mock-growled, tickling those tempting abs, "Don't you dare ruin the surprise. I've been practising for weeks!"
Alas, Nanoha was not the ticklish sort and with the ease of long practise, the executive flipped them over, her powerful torso showing off the strength earned from a decade and some of constant exercise.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Screaming a little when her world went topsy-turvy, Fate giggled and struggled valiantly against the immovable cuffs of Nanoha's calloused hands. Her eyes widened when she felt her wrists transferred to a single hand that still pinned her with utter ease. This freed Nanoha's other hand to finger-walk up Fate's side, the touches creeping teasingly up from her thigh, to her hip. Heart pounding, she stared up at the executive, eyes silently pleading for mercy. A toothy grin was her only answer.
"Aaah, noooo!" She squealed when fingers began tickling her waist, squirming and wriggling in a bid to escape. The warm alto laughing its evil glee sent pleasant shivers down her spine and she redoubled her efforts, only succeeding in sending them over the sofa's edge to tumble onto the floor.
"Oof!"
"Ah! Feito-chan, are you okay?" Nanoha had half-landed on top of the blonde and she worried that the woman had hit her head. She still had the blonde's wrists imprisoned overhead and she immediately let go to check the back of the woman's head. This brought their faces a mere inch apart and her eyes fell to moist, pink lips.
"I'm fine," Fate whispered, chest rising and falling rapidly from their play. She had left her wrists where Nanoha had pinned them, and the auburn-haired woman swallowed at the sight of her spread out beneath her body still laying half on top of the shapely blonde. The warm tangle of their bare legs sent tremors of desire chasing up her body. She needed to get away fast before she ravaged the woman under her.
Throat dry, Nanoha quickly sat up, scrubbing impatiently at her face, "My bad, I don't know my own strength sometimes."
The blonde gracefully flowed up into a sitting pose, one arm behind to prop her up, "I'm glad you feel better," she murmured, long fingers brushing that stubborn forelock out of Nanoha's eyes. "I think I owe you a selfie?" A part of her wanted to study the primal thrill she had felt when the executive had her pinned so easily, the velvet slide of the woman's legs against her had felt incredible. bBt that could wait. The need to help the woman find her centre again took priority.
She treasured the lopsided smile sent her way, "Uh huh." Fate admired the lithe way Nanoha got up to her feet and accepted the proffered hand that pulled her up to her own with one smoothly powerful lift. "And I want it done properly, the Purikura way."
"Puri… kura?"
Nanoha grinned, "Print club. You'll see." Then she paused, "Uh, that is, if you're free. I don't want to assume…"
"I am. I was going to catch up on my reading since my boss locks me out of work on weekends."
"Wow, what a bossy boss, bossing you around like a boss." Nanoha twitted, earning her a smack on her arm, "You should find a better boss." The executive continued, undeterred but smiling.
"Impossible." Fate declared loftily, refusing to be sidetracked by that brilliant smile that transformed the sombre executive into the earth goddess that she truly was, "I have found the best one, and I will not trade her for the world."
Feeling impossibly light and knowing the source of it was this bashful blonde trying to act cool in front of her, Nanoha pinched one downy cheek, "As always, Feito-chan has a funny way of describing things. I have it on good authority that your boss' AVP is the best. How about that, hmm?"
Fate swatted away the hand, rubbing her poor abused cheek, "I suppose both sides will need to fight it out." She certainly wasn't opposed to another play fight like the one they just had. Her whole body still tingled where skin had met skin, and Nanoha standing there in her living room in panties and unbuttoned flannel was absolutely torturous. 'AUGH.'
Nanoha smirked confidently, "My side would win." Blowing out a breath then, she raked back her fringe and thought, hand on hip, "I have spare clothes in my trunk. May I borrow Feito-chan's shower?"
'Oh gods. Naked Nanoha? In her shower?'
Slapping her hand over her nose, Fate nodded. "I'll get you a towel," she mumbled through her hand.
Stepping out momentarily to get the overnight bag she always kept packed in her trunk, Nanoha lingered around her car. Something pricked at the hairs on the back of her neck, and she had the feeling of being watched.
The caws of crows displeased with the ruckus of trees being trimmed echoed across the empty parking lot, and Nanoha looked around slowly, seeing no one else but herself. Azure eyes scanning the area picked out a flicker in the distance and locked on. It was something in the opposite apartment block. A faint tinkling of a metal wind chime sang mockingly at her and she shook her head at the innocuous sight. The nightmare must have made her paranoid.
Rubbing her neck, she grumped, "One night at Feito-chan's and you're losing it."
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"No, Feito-chan needs puppy ears," stealing the pen from Fate, Nanoha added cute puppy ears to Fate's portraits.
"Hmph! Then Nanoha needs kitty ears." Snatching back the pen, Fate drew cat ears onto Nanoha's pictures.
They had gone to a nearby cafe for a quick brunch before Fate found herself dragged to a neighbourhood mall and its arcade within. The explosion of overlapping music and bright lights were dizzying, and the blonde feared just what the executive was planning. It was heartening to see an impish gleam in her brilliantly blue eyes, however.
Nanoha somehow had yet another pair of torn denim shorts in her overnight bag, along with a long fitted Pusheen tee with the words 'Resting Cat Face' printed under the unamused visage of the mascot kitty in heather grey. Fate simply shook her head, knowing no one at work would've believed that this was TSAB's cut-throat top exec of Ops.
In deference to the warm tropical weather, Fate had chosen an off-shoulder dusky red floral print dress, cut off at mid-thigh in a light, flowy material. Nanoha loved how it flared when the blonde turned to see something she pointed out to the taller woman, showing off those unending legs to good effect.
An entire section of this mall had been dedicated to games and claw machines, and within, a collection of picture-taking booths that blared how amazing they were and to please waste your hard-earned money here.
The whole outfit was an eye-watering pink and Fate began to question her life choices. Unfortunately, the executive had hopped into an empty booth and turned to hold out a hand to her, smoky blue eyes inviting, and Fate found herself following the devil into the pits of garish pink hell.
"W-Why is there a timer?" Fate eyed the glowing pink numbers counting down menacingly at her.
"So that we don't spend all day in here, Feito-chan." Nanoha explained patiently, flipping quickly through backgrounds.
"Do you use this a lot?" Fate asked, curiously peering at the spinning, flashing, bouncing images that made absolutely no sense to her.
"In middle school, mostly. Ah, this one works." Pulling up a tropical paradise beach background, she quickly fussed with Fate's hair, fluffing up her fringe and shaping it to better frame her face. The blonde could only go with the flow and sat frozen while the Japanese beauty played with her hair. Hesitantly, she helped tidy Nanoha's hair too, dusting lint off her tee and straightening it, warmed by the smile of gratitude the woman gave her.
"Thanks, Feito-chan." A strident beep warned them to get into position in the next five seconds and Nanoha wasted no time grabbing Fate and wrapping her up in her arms. "Smile at the camera!" Startled, the blonde could only sink into the embrace and offer Nanoha a shy smile over her shoulder. Chuckling, the executive grasped her chin and their eyes met momentarily before she gently turned the blonde's face to the lens.
Five blinding flashes later, Nanoha and Fate were giggling and fighting over the e-Pen, drawing ears onto each other. "No, we've run out of time!" Fate exclaimed in dismay. She could get used to having more pictures of Nanoha. Nanoha laughed and retrieved the printed stickers from the dispensing slot. "Silly Feito-chan, we can take more in Krabi." Warm azure held her gaze, Nanoha bumping her with her hip, "Or near my place, or, wherever Feito-chan wants."
Blushing and not knowing what to say, Fate looked at her hands, into which Nanoha placed the strip of stickers they had printed. They had paid for two sets so both of them had the same to keep. She lifted them up close to see, and smiled. The ears were so cute on Nanoha. Her favourite of all the shots, however, was the one with Nanoha's hand on her chin, them looking into each other's eyes. That one wasn't planned but she knew it would be the one she treasured the most.
Nanoha hid a small sigh while studying the stickers, Fate was so photogenic, she had no idea why the woman wasn't in any of her own pictures. This was definitely something she needed to fix. "Feito-chan looks great, I want more pictures with her." Fate dropped her eyes again at Nanoha's bold statement. She hated taking pictures with a passion, but that hate had a snowman's chance in hell of standing up to the executive's desires. "I… S-Sure," she mumbled, staring at her sandaled feet.
Melting at how shy the blonde was, Nanoha smiled and tugged lightly at Fate, "I still have a bunch of tokens, let's spend them?" And so Fate spent her first time in an honest to goodness arcade with the executive. Something told Nanoha that this was Fate's first chance to do so, and so she pulled out all the stops, dragging the blonde behind her to try almost everything at least once.
"Nanoha, why are we hitting these poor things?" Fate eyed the Whack-a-Mole game with some apprehension. "Because they won't keep their heads down. Just try it, it's good for stress relief." Nanoha encouraged, putting the mallet into Fate's free hand, her other being occupied with a large and very huggable Cat Bus plush. Nanoha had won it for her at one of the gaming booths, much to the blonde's absolute delight. Without giving a reason, Fate asked the executive to hug the plush for a while, which Nanoha, confused but amenable, had done.
Propping her arm on the machine, Nanoha made it look as if she was watching the blonde, egging her on to get all violent with the deserving creatures. In reality, she was casting fleeting glances around and behind Fate.
The feeling that they were being watched had nagged her since this morning, and the auburn-haired woman couldn't shake it no matter how much she tried. As adorable as Fate looked whacking the bejeezus out of polymer-based recipients of frustration, Nanoha was only watching with one eye.
'Gotcha, you little bastard.' A grey-bearded man in a gaudy tropical shirt and shorts drifted past the corner of her eye. In the largely Asian crowds, the man could pass for a typical tourist, but not one hanging out in an arcade, spending no tokens whatsoever.
Deciding not to alarm Fate, she smiled and led the woman further in, "Feito-chan, look, they have Ferraris here." She could tell the blonde's interest was piqued and chuckled when the lanky woman immediately slipped into one of the two racing chairs. She looked expectantly up at Nanoha, as if to say, 'Well?'
Smiling indulgently at the eager blonde, Nanoha popped in the tokens and settled in, testing the give of the pedals. Fate was revving her virtual engine, throwing Nanoha a cocksure grin, "Ready to get smoked, Takamachi?"
"Less talk, more zooming, Testarossa."
3, 2, 1, GO!
They were neck and neck, wheels bumping as they fought for dominance around turns.
"That's illegal!"
"Only in the real world. Suck it up, Takamachi." Tires screeching, Fate did her best to nudge Nanoha off the track. Giving as good as she got, Nanoha was prepared to make a dash for the lead when a flash off to the side distracted her and her vehicle crashed and burned. Frowning, she glanced over to the source of light and again, the bearded tourist was there, acting all bumbly and curious about the most mundane things such as a vending machine for fresh orange juice.
"Yea! Take that, Takamachi!" Fate fist pumped as her hot rod blew past the finishing line. Grinning in triumph, she made a V-sign at Nanoha, floral print skirts swishing as she posed. Nanoha chuckled and conceded her loss. Pulling Fate up, she gave the blonde a one-armed snug and herded her to the vending machines. She hid a smirk seeing their little stalker hustle away in a panic. "Thirsty?"
Flushed from victory, Fate nodded brightly. Shooing Nanoha away, Fate tapped her watch to the reader to order up fresh juice for them. "You got the tokens," she scolded, glaring at the executive. Hands up in surrender, Nanoha grinned and backed off, knowing when she had lost the battle. "Feito-chan, I think I see a friend, let me go say hello. Meet you back here?"
"All right, this will take a while, anyway." And it was, the machine was in the midst of painstakingly counting out the four oranges it was going to squeeze on the spot. For a single serving.
Waving to the blonde, Nanoha turned and strode swiftly around the corner she had seen the man disappear around. There was no sign of him, but she caught sight of a service door on the side. Slamming her way through on a hunch, she found the bearded man fiddling with his camera. A quick glance at ceiling corners told her where the blind spots were for the closed-circuit camera system.
Caught red-handed, the man had no time to escape as an auburn-haired form blurred towards him. Knotting a calloused hand into the man's ridiculous shirt, Nanoha hauled him to the side, right into one of the blind spots.
"HURK!" Breath left him violently as she slammed him face first against the wall. He felt the rough texture of the hard surface digging into his face as the executive pressed a forearm to the back of his neck, the full weight of her body leaning in hard.
"All right, neighbour…" Nanoha snatched the camera out of his hand. Turning on the digital screen with one hand, she scrolled through its memory, seeing image after image of Fate and herself, up to and including Fate in a towel last night, leading Nanoha into her apartment. Nanoha took a moment to wrestle down her urge to break his jaw, her teeth grinding audibly as she fought back the White Devil's immediate instincts to destroy.
'Keep it legal. Don't get Fate into trouble.'
"I'm interested in what you're interested in." She leaned closer, whispering, "Care to spill, Tourist-san?"
He was beginning to see spots while the executive methodically choked him, he couldn't see the woman's face but the coldly precise tones of her voice had his heart pounding. This was more than he had bargained for. "Th-The princess has better things to …HURK!"
Nanoha added a smidge more pressure, enough that he felt his neck bones grinding from the unnatural angle his head was twisted in, "Mmm, what was that, Tourist-san? Isn't that up for her to decide?"
The man struggled, fruitlessly scrabbling at the wall he was plastered to, "You don't know who you're dealing with!" He croaked.
"You're right," Nanoha purred dangerously. Dropping his camera, she spun him around and extended one leanly muscled leg to keep him pinned to the wall with her foot. "Fair's fair. Hold still, Tourist-san, let's make it a nice picture." Fishing out her cellphone, the executive took a picture of him and forwarded it.
Retracting her leg from its perfect high kick pose, she steadily lowered it to stand on both feet once more. "There are PDPA laws, Tourist-san, I very much recommend you delete those images, but that's your choice. Just as it's Her Highness' choice what she does with her life."
Rubbing his neck, he bent over to pick up his camera. It was scuffed but otherwise undamaged, all the images he took intact. Glaring at Nanoha, he snarled, "You took my picture too!"
Giving him an 'Are you stupid?' look, Nanoha opened her phone app and deleted his picture under his eyes. Turning to leave, she paused, "If you're coming for my AVP, send your best." Throwing a final look of icy contempt at the man and biting back far worse than what she really wished to say, she pushed her way back out of the service alley.
Her phone buzzed, "Tea," she answered shortly, "I want dirt on this one, everything. Caught him stalking Fate. Take it from there. Delete what I sent once you're done running FaceRec. PDPA."
"Fuck, got it boss." The executive was skirting the law, but this… this was very personal now. "Thanks Tea, start tomorrow, I don't want to cut into your weekend."
"Who's that, Tea-chan?"
"Boss; she caught someone stalking Fate."
"What?!"
"Hey, Subaru, it's not priority, move on it tomorrow."
"Heck no, I like Fate!" Nanoha could already hear mouse clicks and typing through the line. She smiled, waving to Fate who was waiting with their OJ.
"So do I. Type you both later." Ending the call, she accepted her drink from the blonde, "Did you find them?"
"Mmhmm. They were holidaying here." Linking arms with Fate, she sucked sedately on her sweet, pulpy drink. Fate dropped her eyes to their linked arms. Nanoha's actions felt a little off, but the blonde was unable to put her finger on why. Giving an internal shrug, she decided to just enjoy the closeness they couldn't enjoy at work.
"By the way, Feito-chan," Nanoha began, her mind working a mile a minute since the little confrontation she'd had, "I want you to get some experience at a throw-down dirty account fight."
Eyeing the executive, Fate nodded, "But I thought you'd want me to hold the fort…" Not an objection but an observation.
The auburn-haired woman was pleased with Fate's astute instincts, but shook her head, "My flights haven't decreased since you've joined. I don't want people getting complacent because I have you now." Fate blushed faintly at that, eyes dropping, "I want them to learn to miss you." The blush deepened.
"I… I understand. When?"
"Monday night, pack for the rest of the week. Fall weather. We'll return latest Friday." Nanoha's plan was simple, to keep Fate a moving target, and being overseas gave her an excuse for them to be together most of the time. That would give her strike team more space to work on their side project. Monday could be a headache but she could pull in a few favours. Best of all, Japan was her home turf.