Hayate dined idly on a dinner of spicy curry chicken noodles, eyes glued to the laptop beside her meal. There was never a shortage of reports to go through and her mind compartmentalised each new set of information to create the whole that was TSAB. The Tokyo Olympics had been a wash for the company but Nanoha pulling the Testarossa account out of her hat helped the organisation maintain an even keel.
With the work-rate the top two executives of Operations were putting out, TSAB was on track to post extremely good numbers at the end of this quarter, helped in no small part by the DoCoMo account that Hayate had every confidence her two Operations wunderkind would bring home.
Thinking about them, Hayate's chewing slowed, her brow furrowed in thought. She'd sensed trouble in paradise during her earlier call with Nanoha, but blast if she could figure out what it was. The two seemed to get along so well, she half-expected one to finish the sentences of the other soon.
Her visit to see Suzuka and Alisa's toddler had been full of fun and plots, the couple eagerly lapping up the latest news about their old seitou kaichou. Pulling up images of Fate that were in the public domain, both women had agreed that the beautiful AVP looked just like Nanoha's type.
"Hang on, what did you say? She fired herself?" Alisa glanced up from cooing over their baby girl. The American was tickling her tummy and making the child giggle uncontrollably. The question had come from her wife who was pouring Cha for the three of them.
"Mmmhmm. We," meaning the Wolkenritters and herself, "all have a good feeling about her, which is more than I can say about the previous AVP." Hayate thanked Suzuka for the tea and leaned back in her seat, crossing her legs while she blew gently at her steaming beverage.
"That certainly speaks well of her. I've always feared Nano-chan's overdeveloped sense of responsibility would override any relationships she could have. If her counterpart had an equal sense of that, however…"
"Maybe they'll be selfish about one another and stop being i… uh, silly." Alisa corrected her language in deference to her daughter's presence. Suzuka smiled and smooched her brash beloved, making the blonde blush.
"From what you've shared, I certainly hold some hope that they will make a good match." Suzuka mused, retrieving the child from her wife to begin breastfeeding the hungry babe.
Alisa made a loud sound of disgust, prompting the other women to direct a questioning look at her. "If it works out, they're going to make a ridiculously good-looking pair."
The tanuki grinned toothily, "TSAB's poster child will become TSAB's poster children."
Back in the present, Hayate blinked when she noticed her seldom-used japanese social application on her system lighting up, indicating an incoming video call. Only people who mattered had her contact there, and so she answered immediately.
"Tanuki no baka, genki?" How are you doing, you dumb raccoon?
Hayate smiled at the image of her old classmate, "Ikeda-san! I'm good! How are you?"
"Fine, fine, even though you never call and make me sad." The woman flipped her hair.
"What do you mean, I called you two weeks ago to cater for that conference!"
"Only for business." The proprietress sniffed.
"Haha, I still drop by for meals when I'm in Japan. You can't guilt me, you know."
"Even now, you betray me, eating that Singaporean thing, instead of proper tempura don. Such insult."
"Ikeda-san, I can't be eating fried food all the time, I'd balloon!"
Giggling, Ikeda tried her english skills on Hayate, "Shitty raccoon become fatty raccoon."
"Ikeda-san! All those years of english lessons and this is what you learn?!"
The woman covered her mouth, still giggling, "Kaichou-sama said the same thing."
"Nano-chan? You saw her?"
The woman's giggles tapered off, her smile turning sly, "Hai. Looking as gorgeous as ever. Her best friend is very gorgeous, too."
Best friend? Since when… Rearing up, Hayate grabbed her laptop screen, "Was she blonde? Tall?"
"Hai, hai. Blonde, tall, lots of blushes, eyes only for Kaichou-sama…"
"Oh my gods, Nano-chan called Fate her best friend?!"
"Fate, yes, that was her name. That is how Kaichou-sama introduced her to me. They were very quiet at my place, however. Do you know if something happened?"
Falling back into her seat, Hayate released her screen and sighed, "No, I spoke to Nano-chan this afternoon after they'd won a bid for TSAB. Maybe it's work stress," though Hayate herself didn't sound convinced.
The woman waved dismissively, "It's okay, they hugged later. Maybe they had a small fight."
The CEO couldn't imagine her uber-competent EVP and the glacial AVP having a quarrel, but who was she to guess what happened between the two women? 'Still waters run deep', as people said, and both had been quite animated around each other during that recent dinner she'd had with them. She supposed she would have to wait for them to return to Singapore for her to put any further plans into action. 'Project Nanoha: Get Seitou Kaichou A Girlfriend!' was still a go.
"If they hugged then maybe there is still hope left. Thanks for checking in, Ikeda-san, it was good to see you."
"Hai, keep me updated on our Kaichou-sama, yes?"
"Of course." Hayate grinned. That was the thing about Nanoha. The auburn-haired beauty won the loyalty of others without even trying, just by being herself.
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Bedtime had seen the two women getting stiltedly into their side of the bed. The memory of their naked bodies pressed together lay fresh in their minds and the fear of losing control kept both separated in bed.
Imagining Fate finding her future someone was a lead weight in Nanoha's heart and a twitch of her lips was all she could dredge up as she wished the blonde a good night. Fate wondered if Nanoha was feeling self-conscious about her aforementioned scars and if she could say anything that wouldn't make it worse than it already was. She seemed to have gained an impressive level of skill at placing her foot in her mouth while she was around the Japanese woman and it made her question everything she wanted to say.
Thoughts swirling, both women fell into an uneasy slumber.
Nudge. Disjointed dreams of someone performing a martial dance played cat and mouse with her mind. The person had long, auburn hair and was dressed in a midnight blue shinobi outfit, the air around her snapping with each powerfully precise move. A hand appeared to stretch forth and she realised it belonged to her. Voiceless, she tried calling to the person, but their footwork kept moving them further and further away.
The feeling of being pushed kept her off-balance, preventing her from closing the distance. It was imperative that she close the distance. She could see the floor beneath the figure being littered with drops of water. Tears, her mind knew. Another push, this one hard enough to shift her towards a semi-frustrated state of consciousness.
Fate blinked blearily up at the unfamiliar ceiling of the hotel room, remnants of her dream slipping through her fingers, leaving behind only feelings of resentment and longing.
"No! Don't! Not him, please, don't…" A voice, desperate and pleading, shook her out of her remaining sleepiness. A glance at the bedside clock told her it was a little past three in the morning. Propping herself up on the bed, she felt her leg being nudged again. Nanoha, the covers tangled and twisted around her, was moaning and thrashing. The full moon was casting enough light for Fate to make out the expression of despair and grief that contorted the executive's face.
"Nanoha… It's all right, shh, shh…" Heart aching for the woman, the blonde tore aside the tangled covers and wrapped the Japanese woman up in her arms. Nanoha continued to struggle in her sleep, captive in her dream's hellscape. Somehow, the sound of Fate's voice was able to penetrate whatever was tormenting her, however, and she began to quieten in the blonde's arms.
"All my fault…" The guilt-stricken words were whispered into the blonde's neck, and hot tears dampened the shoulder the woman's face was tucked into. Fate tightened her arms around Nanoha. "Shh, it's not, it never was…" She pressed whispering lips to the auburn-haired woman's temple. For someone so forgiving to carry such guilt seemed utterly unfair. She had space in her heart for everyone's wrong-doing except her own.
Quietly rocking Nanoha back to sleep, Fate whispered nonsensical words of comfort until the tension left the executive's body, indicating she had fallen into a more peaceful slumber. Satisfied that she could accomplish at least this much for her love, Fate pulled the covers back over them and released her own hold on wakefulness.
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It was dark and warm. Inhaling deeply on her waking breath, Nanoha could smell delicate hints of lilac and rose tickling her nostrils. It was too comfortable, and the thought of moving felt unthinkable. All she wanted was to remain where she was, enveloped in comfort and safety.
'Wait…' She recognised this feeling. Stiffening, she slowly raised her head, squinting at morning's light stabbing its way into the back of her skull. Blinking to clear her eyes, she looked down at the familiar sight of herself plastered into Fate's side. Their yukata had come loose overnight and she found herself pressed lewdly onto the blonde's hipbone. 'Oh shiiiiit…'
Trying not to wake the woman, Nanoha got one arm under her to raise herself, lips thinned as she bit back a moan to feel herself shifting intimately against that soft porcelain skin. Nervously glancing up, she jerked a little to find dilated crimson eyes looking down at her. Again, that hipbone dug into her and the executive trembled. "Um… s-sorry about this." This was precisely the reason why she wanted to yell at Vita. She was losing all control around Fate and her unconscious self appeared more than ready to jump the innocent woman the moment her higher functions shut down.
Fate had woken a while before Nanoha. Taking stock of their positions and state of déshabillé, the blonde decided this was something she absolutely wanted and made no move to disentangle herself from the woman she knew she loved. That this had allowed Nanoha some proper rest only gave Fate all the more reason to stay where she was until the woman woke on her own. And so she had spent the morning simmering in a constant state of arousal, just watching while the woman slept. She could feel that heat pressed into her hip and it was driving her insane with a want she knew she couldn't act upon.
It was a delicious torture when she felt the somnolent form tense into wakefulness and she held her breath, not wanting to scare the woman laid against her side. 'Oops, guess I scared her anyway.' Fate remained silent, eyes drinking in the gorgeous woman's sleep-blunted panic, her only response to tighten the arm around the executive's middle. Best friends be damned, thought Fate. She would take anything she could get at this point.
"I was not inconvenienced," she replied, her soft soprano starkly honest. A calloused hand had slipped under her loosened yukata to drape possessively around her bare waist, and Nanoha could feel the heightened rise and fall of Fate's breathing. Looking up at the blonde, it almost seemed that those dark, crimson pools were calling to her, inviting her in, but Nanoha knew better. She was embarrassing Fate and herself like this. 'You're using her as your body pillow and she's too nice to complain about it. My gods, could you get any lower than this?'
Thoroughly disgusted with herself, Nanoha drew back the limbs she had so carelessly flung over the blonde and scrubbed wearily at her face, "Still, just wake me next time. Kick me out of the bed if you have to."
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"Never." Fate pronounced, already missing the heat of the woman she loved. "You were… not having a good rest." She delicately tiptoed around the subject, knowing Nanoha was ashamed of her perceived weakness. Holding the beauty's blue eyes, she added, "I slept well," to allay any guilt the executive might have felt.
"Feito-chan is too kind," Nanoha repeated, the echo of that morning on Fate's couch returning. The blonde opened her mouth, then snapped it closed again. Reconsidering her response, she eventually said, "It is not kindness when it is something I wished to do anyway," causing the auburn-haired woman to throw her a sharp look.
Fate was uncertain where her audacity was coming from, but she was grateful for it. It just wouldn't do for Nanoha to assume she had soiled the blonde, or taken advantage of her in any way. She was learning the woman she loved had an infuriating habit of shouldering all the blame and none of the credit. To obfuscate now would be a disservice to Nanoha, and to her own feelings for the woman.
Surrendering to this suddenly assertive blonde, Nanoha gave a low chuckle and pressed their foreheads together, auburn tresses forming a perfumed curtain around Fate as she did so. "You're the best friend I could have ever asked for." Kissing the blonde on her elegant nose, she rolled out of bed and stretched. 'That's it, Takamachi, keep it nice and safe. She doesn't know what she's doing to you and you'd better keep it that way.'
Glancing at the clock, Nanoha was shocked to see that it was past six in the morning. What the hell happened to her body clock? Her unconscious self must have been caught up in the blonde and forgotten there were things it should have been doing. She blew out another disgusted breath, agitating the forelock that had fallen over her eyes. "I don't wish to disturb your rest any further. Please take your time, I'm going for a run."
"I'd like to go with you," Fate immediately said, rising as well, the golden angel looking not the least bit sleepy.
Flummoxed, Nanoha absently pulled her yukata closed and averted her eyes from the angel whose own garment had fallen open. "I-It will just be on the gym's treadmill."
"Then I hope they have more than one." Fate wasted no time gliding to her luggage to find some workout clothes.
'So much for working out your frustrations,' Nanoha thought crankily, but she couldn't find it in herself to reject the blonde's company. She knew she was being greedy and she 'consoled' herself with the knowledge that this was all temporary and soon, someone would realise what a catch Fate was and whisk her away into their arms. Then Nanoha would do the right thing and step away, returning to the colourless existence before that bright golden light had flooded into her life.
Stomping down that feeling of impending doom, Nanoha fished out her own workout clothes and padded to the washroom for her morning ablutions.
Fate could sense that there was something up with Nanoha. She was hyper-focused on the executive and there seemed to be a push and pull happening with her. One moment, she was all warmth and hugs, the next moment, distant and cool. Was it because she was a subordinate? Or because Nanoha had called herself 'damaged goods'?
Fate never knew how large her capacity for patience was until she realised just what it was she was feeling for the auburn-haired beauty. It was going to take time. Time she was prepared to spend to soothe away the woman's doubts. This supremely confident creature guarded a fragile heart, as she'd witnessed so clearly yesterday, and while Fate had her own doubts about herself, there was nothing she was more certain of, than of her love for Nanoha.
"Whatever it takes," Fate promised herself.
"Beg your pardon?" Nanoha's head poked out from the bathroom, her Pokémon toothbrush stuck in her mouth and Fate merely smiled at the adorable sight, "Just saying I'm almost ready."
"Un!" Rinsing out her mouth, Nanoha vacated the bathroom for Fate, absently twisting up her auburn locks into a rough but secure bun. She had found a cropped white halter-top and dark blue jogging shorts tight enough to look painted on, and Fate bit back a squeak at the distracting sight. This was always the biggest risk exercising with Nanoha, being caught staring.
Pulling on her basic black sports bra, Fate added a neon yellow tank over that and checked the fit of her sports tights. It felt a little too small, and she wondered just how much weight she'd put on since she had become friends with the earth goddess and her penchant for decadent snacks and meals. 'Mother is going to freak,' she thought with dark amusement.
Fate had pulled her hair up into a high ponytail again, and Nanoha was hard pressed not to admire that lithe neck covered in little tendrils of flaxen gold. The blonde had been religious about following the nutritional regimen Nanoha had suggested to her, and the results were beginning to show. The woman looked more toned, stronger, her gait purposeful and firm. 'That's not all that's firm…'
Coughing, she tore her eyes away from the blonde's shapely rear and stuck her arm out to hand Fate a workout towel. The blonde accepted it with a murmur of thanks and soon they were in the ryokan's gym. Both women had their cellphones and earpieces with them, Fate fishing hers out after Nanoha did. Of course the executive would get some work done while exercising, Fate mused, discovering yet one more facet through which the woman was able to stay on top of everything in Operations.
They had the place to themselves and both enjoyed the peaceful quiet while they did their warm-up stretches.
Slotting their devices into the wireless charging ports positioned between their respective treadmill's handlebars, Nanoha was about to programme Fate's machine when a soft hand imperiously swatted her own away. Smirking slightly, the blonde punched in an advanced programme with an incline that surprised the executive. "I wasn't banned from running," the woman's Midchildan accent explained amusedly.
"Ah," was all Nanoha said. Inputting her own hour-long run, she tossed Fate a devilish grin, "Race you." Hopping on, she immediately popped in her earpieces and set a gruelling pace, one-handedly unlocking her device and accessing her piled up backlog of messages.
Fate eyed the predictably competitive woman and began her own run, hiding a secret smile as she accessed her own work. Replies had come in from Teana, along with queries from Subaru and Vita. Settling into the rhythm of the run side by side with their favourite person, time flew for both women.
An hour later, both were really feeling the inclines they had been running at. Fate's longer strides had her winning their little race and Nanoha shot her an accusing look, panting while she complained. "Mou! Feito-chan cheated!"
Chuckling softly between deep breaths, Fate merely leaned over their now stationary treadmills to dab Nanoha's perspiration away with her own towel. 'Ah, I want to kiss her so badly,' the blonde thought wistfully to herself.
"I am not good at much, but running was my one escape from my family and spies masquerading as attendants." The blonde walked over to the water dispenser, filling two cones of water for Nanoha and herself. The auburn-haired woman was dictating another work message while she paced to cool herself off, throwing Fate a smile of thanks as she accepted the water.
Killing the recording, Nanoha sent off the message and finished her water in two quick gulps. "It must have been a sight to see them trying to chase after you." Alto amused, she tried to imagine the blonde as a student, hair flying behind her while she outran anyone meaning to keep tabs on her.
"Many tried," the blonde stated, not bothering to add that none succeeded. That was the thing with Fate, Nanoha considered, she never put herself forward when she could place herself behind. This was something that behoved her boss to work on while she was still her subordinate. Training wasn't just about work-centric things. A fatalistic part of her wondered for how long could she keep this angel's wings clipped when it was clear the dazzling blonde had all the abilities to take flight in TSAB.
"Less thinking, more stretching, Takamachi." Nudged out of her pensive thoughts, the executive threw Fate a sardonic smirk, "Bossing the boss again, hmm? This is beginning to become a habit." Obediently, she joined the blonde in a series of cooldown stretches.
"I am certain Vita would approve," Fate shot back.
"She would," Nanoha conceded wryly, "If I didn't already have a mother, she'd try to adopt me." Fate's chiming laugh was music to her ears.
Eyeing the wide area set to one side of the gym, Nanoha took note of the time, "Feito-chan, could you order up breakfast first?" The executive did a few squats, testing the heaviness of her limbs against what she planned to do.
"Mmm? Certainly, but…"
"I'm just going to run through my spar with Nii-san last night. There were a few things I could've done better." The blonde goggled at the Japanese woman. "Nanoha, you just had an hour's hard run." Fate felt obligated to point out, her breath hitching when the auburn-haired woman threw her a rakish smile. "That is when an enemy least expects you ready to face them." Throwing Fate her towel, she spun backwards and tumbled with a gymnast's grace, ending with a mid-air spin to land on the corner of the practice mat.
Fate wasn't going to miss this and hurriedly used the in-house phone in the gym to make a call to room service for their breakfast. Nanoha lacked a dojo's array of weapons to practise with, and so made do with just her limbs. Picturing her opponent, the executive began her deadly dance, expression set in a mask of concentration.
Sidling closer to get a better look, Fate settled on the edge of one of the exercise benches to watch. There was no ceremony to the executive's shadow boxing, it simply began the moment she landed on the mats. Silent fists struck at her imaginary target, Nanoha's elbows kept low and close while she weaved around attacks only she could see. She kept her breaths regular, giving away nothing as she struck and parried her way across the temporary dojo.
Forgotten echoes of her recent dream came roaring back at the sight of Nanoha flowing across the mats and Fate's mouth fell open slightly. She could certainly see why the kendo and judo clubs had fought for the auburn-haired woman's captainship.
Power was useless without purpose, a mantra Nanoha kept firmly in mind while she swept forward, stance neither too wide or narrow. In her mind her brother's tonfa spun towards her, and she shifted into a muay thai kick, kneeing aside the arm going for her.
Another attack, this time to her torso, and she dropped low, leg flashing out to hook an ankle for a takedown. Levering herself back up with one hand, she advanced once more with an uppercut meant to mimic the last blow she had used to end the fight. But this 'Nii-san' got out of the way in time, and tried to slam the short end of his tonfa into her solar plexus. Spinning gracefully down the length of his extended arm, she grabbed it and performed a throw, slamming her ghostly enemy into the mats.
Fate studied Nanoha's frozen form. She appeared to have executed a throwing move, sharp gaze pinned on her unseen opponent lying vanquished on the ground while she stood, body tensed and ready should the person refuse defeat. Long seconds passed, the woman's chest the only movement she made, before she relaxed and allowed trembling arms to fall to her sides.
Clapping seemed too trite for the display she had just witnessed, and so Fate only said loud enough for Nanoha to hear, "Your father need not have worried."
Jolted out of her focused trance, Nanoha blinked once then turned to the source of the warmly admiring voice. A sardonically raised brow was Fate's reply, "He would have spat to see me using outside arts." A statement of fact that didn't seem to perturb Nanoha in the slightest, as if she was well-prepared for that to happen.
Amused, the blonde sauntered over and nudged the executive with her hip whilst handing her back her towel, "I suppose we'll still have each other once we're both disowned," she half-joked, knowing full well it would take forces greater than anything anyone possessed to prise her away from Nanoha.
The Japanese woman barked a laugh, "One, two, three, your place, four, five, six, mine, and we flip for the seventh?" At first they laughed, though both fell silent as they thought how nice that actually sounded. 'Oh my gods, did I just suggest we cohabit?' Making a show of wiping the perspiration beading her face, Nanoha nudged playfully at the blonde, startling her out of her fantasy of living with the woman she loved, "You just want more of that goat cheese salad."
"O-Only if I get to feed it to you again." Fate blurted unthinkingly. Again they fell silent. This was becoming a bad habit and neither woman knew how to stop it. 'Did you just confess that you want to live with her AND feed her meals? Oh my gods!' In a gay panic, she spun her towel and snapped Nanoha's bottom with it, "First to the shower wins!" Putting her long legs to good use, she leapt out of the gym and sprinted for their room.
"...shit!"
"Nya… ha… ha…" Taking her sweet time, Nanoha closed the distance between them, twirling the room key around her index finger and chortling smugly at the would-be saucy blonde. "It appears my AVP needs lessons in planning ahead."
Huffing at the fringe that had spilled into her eyes, Fate put her hands on her hips, "Which six star hotel doesn't provide two sets of keys to their guests? I will have to speak with their manager."
"Mmmhmm, moving up the chain of command. I approve. But, you, still, made, a mistake!" Crouched low, fingers wiggling menacingly, the leopard stalked her prey and with that last word, Nanoha pounced, tickling Fate mercilessly in front of their room door.
Shrieking, Fate instantly regretted snapping the executive's rear. Arms so recently blurring through the air slipped easily past her defences and her attempts to duck and weave did nothing when she had so much torso for the shorter woman to attack. Laughing while Fate backed away, Nanoha's eyes widened when the blonde tripped over her own feet. Lunging quickly, she grabbed the woman and hung on tight, landing in a heap with the blonde. This time, she was beneath the taller woman and was able to cushion their fall. "Oof!"
Still, Nanoha had had the breath knocked out of her and took a moment to recover, eyes of laughing blue sparkling up at the blonde who was also trying to catch her breath after all those torturous tickles. The press of Fate's sweat-soaked body to hers was exceedingly pleasant and she could feel the other woman's heart hammering into her suddenly sensitive chest. Her own breath quickened when Fate's elbow dug into the floor next to her head, crimson gaze staring into her own. The blonde's ponytail had fallen across her collarbone, the heavy drape sticking pleasantly to her skin.
Fate was finding it difficult to breathe again. Her chest was pressed into Nanoha's barely clad breasts and she could feel the strong thunder of the woman's heartbeat against her own. Lying under her, limbs splayed, the earthbound goddess looked so inviting, sensual lips parted slightly, warm breath brushing lightly over Fate's cheek. All it would take was a lowering of her head and she would taste those lips. She knew her eyes were flickering between Nanoha's own blue eyes and her mouth, but she couldn't help herself. Another centimetre was all she needed…
"Annou…"
Jerking back, Fate cast a panicked look over her shoulder.
An abashed girl in the ryokan's kimono uniform was standing by their door, pushing a serving cart that probably held their breakfast.
"Are the honoured guests all right?" The girl asked, eyes flitting every which way except to the two women who were obviously going to do something on the floor. 'Kyaa, my yuri manga never said how hot this sort of thing was!'
Scrambling to her feet, Fate seemed to remember Nanoha had been pinned under her and hurriedly bent over to help the winded executive up as well. "Iye! Zen zen daijoubu desu~!" No, everything is fine!
How her brain could even remember the proper japanese phrase was beyond her. Nervously snatching the keys from around Nanoha's finger, Fate quickly opened the door to their room and shoved both the bemused executive and their serving cart in, slamming the door closed behind them.
Her AVP certainly had lightning moves when needed, Nanoha observed with no little amusement. "Feito-chan…" Having busied herself with checking under the food covers, Fate did her best to ignore the fact that she had almost given in to those lips. "Wh-What?" Fate asked, hating her stupid stammer.
"We left our phones back in the gym…"
"AAAH!" The gazelle grabbed the keys and sped out, leaving a laughing Nanoha behind to clutch at her belly.