Setting various things to simmer or steam, Fate glanced around her 'apartment'. The housekeeper who came in every few days helped keep the place neat and tidy, but the signs of Fate's residence persisted in the form of her luggages that still needed to be put away. Deciding she could use the time to tidy up some more, Fate found a damp cloth to wipe down the clam shell bag she had brought back with her from Japan.
It was a full-sized affair, Fate supposing it had to be large enough to hold both work and casual clothing for the time she had spent working in Japan. The lack of any memory of her stay there before waking in St. Luke's continued to chafe at the blonde and she hoped the executive would be agreeable to a question or two. The woman was insanely cagey about revealing anything and Fate just wanted to grab the gorgeous woman and shake her sometimes.
Wiping the sides of some grime left by one of her boots, Fate frowned to hear something rustling in a side pocket. Had she missed something when unpacking the luggage? Leaving the cloth aside, she pulled the elastic of the pocket open, peering curiously inside. Recognising yet another strip of sticker prints hiding within, Fate excitedly snatched up the item.
Glancing curiously at the suddenly animated blonde, Ginga and Edel watched the royal hurdling her bed in one impressive leap to get to the bedside lamp. Since it was not a fainting episode, neither guard felt it right to intrude on the woman's privacy and simply kept a quiet watch from their post in the dining area.
Hand shaking, Fate waved at the motion sensitive control to turn the lamp on. Holding the strip under the bright light, she found that it was yet another sequence of images with herself and the executive. She appeared to be dressed in work clothes, the ruby red blouse covering her arms and buttoned up to her neck for a very sedate look, an impression accentuated by the pinned up plait her hair had been tied into. The executive in her arms was a complete contrast in that same men's shirt, tie and pants combination she had seen in her phone's photo library, only appealingly rumpled and casual-looking.
This time it was her arms around the woman, obviously drawn there by the executive since one of the images showed Nanoha holding her hands whilst turning back to smile at the blonde. She had a feeling old Fate's favourite was this particular picture. Or perhaps it was the last one, where Nanoha had her in a bridal carry, head thrown back in a laugh while she herself looked torn between a scream and laugh.
They looked so happy. Fate blinked away tears that threatened to take over her entire afternoon. She could not afford to break down or lose hope. The chasm between them now seemed insurmountable, true, but for the woman Fate knew she loved, past, present or future, she would fight. She knew the executive was not entirely immune to her presence, so that was something.
Brushing away all evidence of tears, she carefully pulled out the first set of prints she had found and put them together. Perhaps there would be a good time to ask the woman about them during dinner. She had already requested of Ginga and Edel to afford herself and Nanoha some privacy for the meal, so perhaps. Fate had to believe the Takamachi heir would not be so cruel as to ignore a direct, honest question.
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Feeling a little odd to be invited to the second level of the condominium she had been living in for the last few years, Nanoha took a closer look around the transformed living space. Prior to Fate moving in, it had remained an empty, closed off section, with a cleaning service coming in every six months to get rid of any dust and cobwebs that had accumulated over the months.
It had also been what Nanoha had considered turning into a home gym to accommodate herself and Fate before… everything happened. The only time she had been up here was on the first morning when Fate had experienced another episode, and Nanoha refused to blame the blonde for the shortness the woman had displayed with her. Just because Fate had come out relatively unscathed, physically, did not mean the woman bore no scars or damage from the experience, remembered or otherwise.
The pads and cushioning covering every conceivable surface and corner could have made the area look comically childish, a giant playpen for toddlers, perhaps. Whomever Hayate had engaged as the interior designer had managed to mask the true purpose by employing an understated colour theme similar to the calming blues and greens of the tropical ocean situated so close to the condominium. This served to give the area a resort stay feel, which Nanoha supposed was something the blonde liked, considering she had requested to remain living here.
The installed lights were recessed into the ceiling and controlled by the same smart remote she had shown the woman on their first night back, though she was surprised to learn they were fully RGB-capable. Currently, the colours chosen mimicked the pastel peaches and oranges of early sunset, giving the space a warm and welcoming touch. No surprise, since the area's mistress was offering the same in the smile that greeted the executive arriving at the top of the stairs.
Fate was glad she had decided to make one of Nanoha's favourites tonight. Momoko had been thorough in teaching the blonde how to cook the various dishes the Takamachi heir liked, and this deceptively simple-looking dish had been near the top.
"Nanoha like to eat and run, hai? So busy all the time." Momoko had said, her smile wistful whilst recalling those innocent days when she thought she would have more time with her baby once the girl's life stopped being consumed with school and activities.
"Don't waste time, Feito-san. Cannot get back once gone."
Taking the Takamachi matriarch's word to heart, Fate had asked Ginga for help to once again don the black and gold kimono the clan had so kindly gifted to her. She had opted out of the extra layers beneath, since this was still the tropics. So she wore just one additional layer with the lavishly embroidered outer silk layer. Her hair was braided and twisted up into that elaborate bun once more, and the jewelled hair ornaments glinted under the warm glow of the apartment's lights, clicking softly as she bowed to welcome the heir into her humble abode.
Taking her cue from Ginga, Rein spotted the dolled up blonde and slipped around her dumbfounded client to take the guards' share of dinner down to the lower level to have their meal there. Leaving the women alone, Rein figured the cast-free Takamachi heir would be enough should the blonde have another fainting spell. "Take your time. We'll be below if you need us," she whispered into one warmly pink ear. Edel cast a longing glance back over her shoulder before following her boss and senior down to the first level. Why was the Midchildan princess dressing up like a Japanese one? Damn but she looked amazing anyway.
Face slack and eyes wide, Nanoha drank in the golden vision before her, mouth dropping open slightly. Elegant lines flowed in beautiful harmony from the blonde's natural beauty, unadorned by any make-up, down the long length of her aristocratic neck, to the alabaster smoothness of the delicate hollow of her throat. She had barely heard or even noticed the bodyguards, muttering something akin to an acknowledgement to Rein's words.
Fate was extremely glad she had picked up those little hints in the shower earlier. If Nanoha's stare was any sort of indication, the executive liked what she was seeing, which only served to make Fate's heart race even faster. 'Keep things light, you don't want to scare her off,' she reminded herself.
Reaching out, she clasped Nanoha's hand still frozen on the stair's handrail to draw the woman in. "It's omurice with curry gravy," Fate announced softly to the still silent executive. Omelette stir-fried rice. Nudged out of her stupefaction, Nanoha cleared her throat, "You, uh, I mean, it smells wonderful." Hints of rose and lilac snuck past the delicious scent of the meal and for a split second, it almost felt as if it was her old Fate inviting her in.
Nanoha shook her head, she could not, should not, place this Fate on an unreasonable pedestal. There would be no measuring or comparing. 'Accept her as she is, as she's accepted you.' It was the least the heir could do. Offering the woman a tentative smile, she allowed herself to be led in, "I feel under-dressed."
Fate made a small sound of disagreement, "I just felt it right to wear what your clan gifted me whilst serving something Momoko-san taught me how to make." Nanoha felt the warmth of Fate's eyes trailing down her form and she did her best not to squirm, "You look wonderful." Fate's lilting soprano declared with warm sincerity. Nanoha threw the blonde a dubious smile, obviously thinking she was just being polite.
The woman was not all that much shorter than Fate and the beautiful length of legs revealed by the woman's simple shorts were indeed, wonderful to see. The little cartoon flame on Nanoha's simple tee only helped draw the blonde's eyes to the generous swells of the woman's bosom that strained the thin material with its fullness. She licked her lips to realise the executive had not bothered with a bra.
"I made enough for leftovers, so please eat as much as you wish." Turning, she began dishing the piping hot curry onto the plates already prepped with the egg-wrapped rice stir-fry. The golden koi running up the side of Fate's wrapped form danced playfully amidst the dramatic eddies and patterns of the woman's kimono, pulling the viewer's eyes to the subtle dip of the kimono's collar and revealing the smooth nape of the blonde's neck.
Sucking in a sharp breath out of the woman's line of sight, Nanoha wondered if the royal knew just how erotic that part of the body was to the Japanese. Quickly finding her seat at the dining table before her knees gave out, the executive focused hard on not giving in to the intense desire to sink her teeth into that soft expanse of skin.
Placing a heaped plate before her guest, Fate sat adjacent to the Takamachi heir. Her own serving barely made up a third of what she had served Nanoha and the heir eyed the small portion. Right, Fate's appetite was a lot smaller when they had first met. Even if she only looked at it from a health standpoint, it really behoved Nanoha to come somewhat clean with the blonde, to start her back on the path to not half-starving herself.
Holding her peace for now, Nanoha clasped her hands together over the meal, solemnly intoning, "Itadakimasu~. Thank you for preparing this, Fate-san." Saying the same over her own meal, the blonde's eyes glowed with a certain warmth, accepting the executive's thanks.
"This is truly remarkable," Nanoha complimented a few mouthfuls later. The rice had been stir-fried to just the right fluffy consistency, Fate having used less than the recommended amount of water to steam it first so that the grains would not stick together in the wok. The bits of diced pork and vegetables lent the short grain rice a certain sweetness to its savoury base that sat pleasingly on the tongue without overpowering.
If that was not impressive enough, the lightly beaten consistency of the omelette covering the rice had been given a white peppery twist and cooked to just into its runny stages, meaning it avoided turning rubbery and overcooked once placed over the piping hot mound of rice. The mildly spiced curry created a fragrant moat of gravy around the ensemble, consisting of liberal chunks of soft carrots and potatoes. In all, it was hearty comfort food and perfect in Nanoha's eyes.
Cheeks holding a hint of pink, Fate ducked her head, looking pleased, "Momoko-san is a good teacher. It proved… a most fruitful use of my time." Time that she had, since Nanoha had spent most of it avoiding her. But Fate could not blame the executive, knowing what she did now. She only hoped that this would provide a safe space for her to bring up what she truly wanted to speak to Nanoha about.
Thoughts in a similar vein, Nanoha watched the royal daintily pick at her meal. It was not as though Fate had no appetite, as one might initially think. It seemed more that she was expected to eat less, and sparingly. She knew the blonde had been left at loose ends whilst living in the Takamachi compound, which was why she had badgered Agito and others to keep Fate company. Things were too raw and she had been too weak, she could see that now. Fuck, she still felt raw, truth be told.
Regardless, the woman deserved better. She deserved the whole world. Whatever it took, whatever the cost, Nanoha would bear it.
Fate watched the woman's expression grow more and more grim as she ate and wondered what was on her mind. That surfaced memory was recalled once more, from that time on the tatami mats of her room in the Takamachi compound.
"Penny."
Throwing Fate a sharp look, heart leaping despite herself, Nanoha stared at the lovely blonde looking so enchanting in the apartment's lighting. If she pretended hard enough, it almost seemed like this was old Fate, back in the ryokan, innocently asking what she was thinking about. "Beg your pardon?" She asked tensely, azure gaze fixed on the woman.
The woman's reaction was so beyond what Fate had expected. Grasping blindly at possible straws, she met Nanoha's gaze as calmly as her pounding heart would allow. "Is the penny something we spoke about a lot?" She asked breathlessly.
It was time. Time for the Takamachi heir to stop avoiding this. Eyes dropping to her plate, she prodded nervously at an unassuming carrot, "Let's finish up first," she said quietly, not quite succeeding at keeping the roughness out of her voice. "I don't want to waste your excellent cooking."
Relieved that the woman was not avoiding the subject, Fate nodded. Savouring the many harmonious notes in the meal, Nanoha gave Fate another smile. "I appreciate the effort you took, Fate-san." There was a hint of strain around the heir's lips but the meaning behind them was genuine, Nanoha being familiar with the recipe and time it would take to prepare the dish's many parts.
The air was heavy, both women finishing their meal with breaths held, hearts braced and for Nanoha, a sense of dread for what might happen if too much came back to the blonde. Volunteering to wash the dishes, the heir left Fate to store the leftovers, eyes unfocused while she scrubbed the last plate to within an inch of its life.
A hand reaching for the plate nudged her out of her worried reverie and she refused to release the dish to Fate, "You'll get your sleeves wet. I'm done." Rinsing it, she dropped it into the wet dishes rack and dried her hands. "Do you know where your card-holder is?" She asked Fate instead.
Head tilting curiously, Fate thought for a moment. "I think one of the sling purses that was in the luggage from Japan has it." Moving to the wardrobe, Fate found the black purse that seemed heavier than her other purses. Inside, she found a card holder encrusted with black Swarovski crystals, a little thing she had picked up back in Midchilda, and handed it to the executive. The woman accepted it and drew Fate to her bed situated in the back of the level. She paused a moment to see the Cat Plush she had won for the blonde months ago and swallowed against the lump in her throat. It felt like an entire lifetime ago when that had happened.
Seating the blonde on the side of the bed, far from the headboard and side table, Nanoha pulled open the zipped compartment, meant for any coins and cash. It was empty save for a one cent Singaporean coin. Lips twitching into a wistful smile, Nanoha sat herself down next to Fate and hugged a knee to her chest, replicating the pose she had taken near the start of their friendship, after her disastrous dinner with Ginga.
Fate watched the woman in silence from her seat on her bedside, certain this was important to her. The saddened smile when Nanoha found the little coin in old Fate's belongings pulled hard at the blonde's heart and she held her breath.
Propping her chin on her knee, Nanoha took the coin and flipped it over the back of her hand, playing with the asian penny. Swivelling her head to glance askance at Fate, the executive studied the curious woman, half-afraid, half-hopeful.
Again, that memory, stronger now, reinforced by the replicated pose and coin flipping, easily overflowed the low breakers Fate was not all that invested in keeping built up. A soft hand was on Nanoha's face once more, lightly touching the corner of her mouth, "You were bleeding…"
Azure eyes bright, Nanoha nodded. Fate looked wonderingly into those eyes, the familiar feeling of losing herself in them surrounding her with a feeling of safety as surely as that earlier scent of cinnamon and vanilla did. "I was really mad." Auburn lashes dropped, "You wanted to toss someone into the river." Nanoha confirmed softly.
As more sights and sounds unfolded to her, Fate's other hand clenched at the bed covers under it. "That was an embarrassing display…" She whispered, and Nanoha's breath caught, "It was."
"Oh my gods, I knew Ginga from back then." The sudden flash of intense dislike for the bodyguard who had been a stalwart companion for weeks caught Fate by surprise and she gasped. "I think you can find it in yourself to forgive her now." Nanoha said quietly, interrupting memories of wanting to throw the woman off a really high office building.
"I… I think so," Fate licked lips gone dry. This was so confusing to come to terms with. The scene kept playing out in her mind. Led by actions not her own, the blonde pressed the executive down with a hand on her uninjured shoulder. Blinking, the auburn haired woman fell back onto the bed, and then she recalled when that had happened. Hesitantly, she stretched her arm out, inviting the blonde to take it.
Onyx and tourmaline gems clinking softly in the electric silence between them, Fate laid her head on the heir's shoulder. The fit of their bodies felt so right, the blonde wanted to weep. Nanoha was crying, though she said nothing, her soul needing this one tiny moment to honour the memory of that friend she loved so much.
Still in the throes of the memory, Fate whispered, "Is it an HR violation…?" She felt the arm under her shake and she propped herself up on one elbow. This was wrong. Nanoha was supposed to be shaking from laughter, not because she was crying. The executive remained committed to help the blonde through the reenactment, though. Fate felt a calloused hand cupping her cheek, stroking the downy skin under it. "Feito-chan is very protective," she whispered, ocean eyes teeming with emotions held in check by the barest of threads.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
"Feito-chan, do you know how long it took me to find you?"
Covering the hand on her cheek, Fate grasped it as if her life depended on it. And perhaps it did.
"Feito-chan. I appreciate the sentiment…"
"Feito-chan is not like that."
"Have a seat, Feito-chan."
"Feito-chan is a friend."
"Feito-chan is Feito-chan. My right hand, my support, my protector, and my friend ."
Gasping sobs ripped through the blonde with every memory of Nanoha saying her name so fondly. Blurred crimson stared down at the woman still on her bed. Tears continued to flow down from azure pools filled with aching, yearning hope - Eyes that had borne her ignorance, the loss, the emptiness of what once was.
"N-Nanoha-chan… we were… friends." How could she have forgotten this ineffably precious person? This safe haven, this perfection she had sought for and found in this dynamic form that had endured so much in the past weeks?
She released Nanoha's hand from her bruising grasp to stroke the face beneath her. The woman looked thinner compared to her memories.
"Feito-chan…" Blood poured from the hole in her shoulder, Nanoha dressed in tight black and dark blue garments was leaning over her, and Fate bit her lip, sobbing harder. A trembling hand pressing over that bleeding hole she saw, trying to stem the frighteningly scarlet flood. But this Nanoha was whole, if not hale.
Was Fate remembering? It was difficult to see past the tears pooling in her eyes. And then the blonde was saying her name, in that unique tone that definitively told her this Feito-chan was remembering something significant from their shared past.
"Feito-chan," she whispered again, holding her arms out to welcome her heart back to where it had left a gaping hole in her soul. Falling into Nanoha's outstretched arms, Fate clung tightly to the woman, bawling and gasping. It had been so long since she felt those arms around her. She could not get enough of the feeling and held on for dear life. The woman holding her was shaking uncontrollably, too.
Emotions raw beyond belief, it was a painful bliss to hold her friend again, like pouring alcohol into an open wound. The cauterisation of that unhealing void had finally stopped the constant bleeding inside of Nanoha, and she could only shake like a palm in the face of a hurricane, as though her entire being would shake itself apart into its component atoms.
Her wounds ached under the blonde's weight, and Nanoha welcomed the hurt, for it was all she had to tell her this was not a dream conjured by a treacherous mind that wanted more than it deserved. Rubbing the woman's back, the Takamachi heir did her best to soothe the crying blonde. A river of hot tears had soaked the crook of her neck but she did not care, only wishing for Fate to let everything out.
"Tenshi…" She began sadly, "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you… It was all my fau-mmmph." Still sobbing, the blonde refused to hear the other woman blaming herself. Tenshi. Angel. Oh gods, she was whom the delirious executive had been speaking to that time in the ICU! Unable to stop herself, Fate drew herself up, pressing a finger those Cupid's bow lips that dared to speak poorly of the woman she loved.
Blue eyes looked tearfully rebellious, as if Nanoha meant to continue the moment her lips were free. Gathering every fragment of courage she could muster, Fate covered those self-castigating lips with her own to stop Nanoha from shouldering any further blame. The kiss was salty-sweet from the blonde's tears and impossibly transcendent, the taste, the touch, the heart-pounding connection exceeding anything either woman had ever imagined or dreamed of.
Knowing she would never have the audacity to replicate this moment, Fate went for broke, parting her lips the barest bit to flick the tip of her tongue along the warm fullness of Nanoha's mouth. The softly gasped response to her action gave the blonde all the invitation she needed to surge forward, head tilting to deepen the kiss.
Nanoha fought to keep herself in check, difficult when her entire body felt as if it was on fire. Her surprise at the stolen kiss was but an icicle dripping in spring's awakening compared to the avalanche crashing into the ocean when the distraught blonde sought to go further. The woman was confused from all the memories she was trying to process and as much as the Takamachi heir had wanted this from the very beginning, she could not in good conscience take further advantage of Fate.
Gently working a hand between their heated fronts, Nanoha softly pushed Fate back, breaking the kiss. Dilated pools of mulled red stared down into her own eyes and she knew her own barely displayed a sliver of blue around her pupils right now. Breaths coming in at an elevated rhythm, the blonde looked questioningly down at the goddess who was also breathing hard. Rapidly becoming addicted to Nanoha's lips, Fate was perplexed; she thought the woman wanted this, too.
Wishing she did not have to be the responsible one, Nanoha bit back a groan at the feel of Fate's crimson obi brushing against the thin covering of her tee. "Feito-chan…" She licked her lips, immediately regretting it when the blonde's taste invaded her senses once more. Gods, this was so difficult. "You… You're not thinking straight," she could not recognise her own voice, it had grown so husky.
Not thinking straight? Fate had never felt more clear headed in her life, though the sound of Nanoha's voice was enough to melt her into a useless puddle of goo. "I still don't remember everything…" The blonde admitted, "But I know…" The pad of her index finger traced those lush lips, "She loved you." Her eyes rose to meet those dark ocean depths that were the other woman's eyes, "As do I…"
Heart skipping a beat, Nanoha frowned at the blonde's improbable words, appearing almost angered by the royal's confession, "That's not funny, Feito-chan. We were friends, nothing more. How can you presume to know what she felt…"
"But I do!" Fate declared helplessly, wishing she had a way to prove to the woman the veracity of her feelings, past and present. Not wanting to argue, Nanoha pushed herself up to a seating position, incidentally rolling the blonde's curvaceous form off of her with no little regret. "Princess…" Fate felt the woman's fading callouses as her cheek was cupped in one gentle hand, "This is all new, and confusing. You can't tell where old you ends and new you begins. I get it. You need time…"
"I need you," Fate's lilting soprano broke in a heartfelt plea and it sent another stab into Nanoha's heart. She was so earnest, trying so hard, and here the auburn haired woman just wanted to take everything the innocent woman was offering so freely like the debauched rake she was rumoured to be. 'No,' Nanoha thought, ruthlessly quashing her desires, 'I have to be better than that. She deserves better than that.'
Pressing her forehead to Fate's, the move so achingly familiar that both women had to blink back tears, she tried again, "Dear heart, please. You can't do this to me." Nanoha's voice grew rough, the Takamachi heir fighting an internal battle pitting pure, selfish cravings against the knowledge that Fate was still freshly returned to some of her memories, "I'm trying to do the honourable thing here." The hand cupping her cheek shook and this close to the other woman, enveloped in the heavenly spice of her scent, Fate could see the raw hunger Nanoha was unsuccessfully attempting to hide.
Once more, Fate's hand covered Nanoha's. "Let me… Let me convince you," the blonde implored. It was a long-shot, but Fate was willing to try anything at this point. The threads of the bridge she had built between the executive and herself were so tenuous, so fragile, she had to try. It felt like a complete invasion of her former self's privacy, but what other choice did she have? She knew the Takamachi heir would never allow herself to 'take advantage' of Fate if she thought blonde's feelings were somehow forced or manufactured out of some misplaced sense of obligation or loneliness.
Pulling back, Fate reached towards her bedside table, tugging open its drawer. Inside, sat the calendar Fate had found amongst her previous self's belongings. Quietly, she placed it in Nanoha's hands. Puzzled blue met her eyes and she nodded, encouraging the obviously sceptical woman to open it.
The item felt heavier, thicker than the usual generic calendars Nanoha was familiar with. Frowning and wondering how the blonde meant to convince her using this, she flipped through the typical scenes of Singapore's tourist attractions and found nothing of interest. …Until she came to January 2024, and found a second calendar stapled to the back of it.
January to August were blank, but then came September, and a few red circles were found, drawn around specific dates. Flip. October held yet more circles, this time with every single Saturday circled. The week of that work trip to Japan was completely blocked out with more circles, the markings drawn with a giddy flare. Nanoha felt her hands shake. More pages were turned, each one an image of a leopard in its natural habitat, and each one still had every Saturday circled.
"Tell me this means nothing," Fate whispered, needing the woman to fill in the blanks she knew were there, that she knew were vastly important to her former self. The shimmering fall of auburn hair hid the other woman's face, and daring where the White Devil still feared to tread, Fate reached out to tuck Nanoha's hair behind one perfectly-shaped ear. The woman was tracking tears down her face, expression dumbfounded. Nanoha could not comprehend the blatant show of how much days spent together with her meant to Fate, "I… I had no idea."
Taking the calendar from Nanoha's frozen hands, Fate shook out the two strips of sticker prints she had tucked together in the last page, laying them in the woman's palms. "You said Fate-san is Fate-san." The blonde reminded Nanoha, "And Fate… has hated being in pictures for as long as I can remember. You can ask Alph if you don't believe me."
"I know…" Alto hoarse, Nanoha studied the look in Fate's eyes in the prints. She had wondered what that look had meant back then. The heart she had hardened against the blonde's claims quivered in the face of this evidence. "None of the pictures on your fridge had you in them." She gave Fate a tremulous smile, "It's why I asked to take these." She held up the series of prints with Fate in a dress.
The blonde covered the hand that held the other set of pictures, "I asked for these," Fate guessed. "Old Fate loved you in a suit." Her head ducked, capturing eyes still displaying hints of fear and doubt, "She loved you." The woman repeated with bone deep conviction, "Please do not belittle her or myself, I know what I'm feeling, and it's exactly what she felt."
Nanoha looked searchingly into Fate's eyes. The blonde returned the regard steadily, ignoring her usual impulse to blush and look away. Cheeks reddened, her face was a splotchy, puffy mess from all her crying, but the woman refused to release those brilliantly blue eyes. Clad in her kimono, silken hair mussed with tendrils escaping to frame her fine features and drape tantalisingly down her nape, Fate had never looked more enchanting to Nanoha.
Did she dare? Nanoha wondered of herself. Fate could feel the woman's gaze warming, shifting between her lips to take in the rest of her, until the fiery blue flames fairly seared her where she sat. Taking a hand that had worked so hard to allay her fears, Nanoha brushed a princely kiss across the back of it, "I am unworthy."
Knowing the sweet blonde would try to argue, Nanoha stopped Fate with a kiss, a mere brush of her lips that still lit a fire inside both women. She kept hold of the blonde's hand, her other lifting to brush back strands of spun gold from downy soft cheeks, "I've… loved you since when we first met." She finally admitted in a reverent, tender whisper. That lopsided smile Fate adored appeared, tears of happiness threatening to fall from eyes drinking in that smile Fate had captured in her camera. Nanoha added, "Both times."
Fingers gossamer light, Nanoha continued to brush the flaxen bangs shading those glorious wine-shaded eyes that seemed to reach to her innermost being to wrap her in indescribable warmth. "It felt so wrong," Nanoha confessed, "How could I feel what I did, for a complete stranger?" Guilt shaded her eyes to a muted violet, "It was my fault that your memories were lost. What right did I have to feel such for this new version of you?"
"Nanoha, it wasn't your…"
"I knew." The auburn haired woman interrupted in a pained rush, eyes casting to the side, the guilt once more haunting the Takamachi heir.
Knowing she could forgive this earth goddess anything, that the woman was prone to take on the sins of the world, Fate cupped Nanoha's stubborn chin, urging the woman's eyes back to hers, "Knew what?"
"That you were being watched." Picking up the garishly pink prints with the drawn doggie and kitty ears on the subjects, "The day we took these, I caught someone following us. I thought that taking you to Japan would let me deal with him." Her breath hitched, "I never imagined they'd grab you in public, to do what they did to you. You said we were a team but I… I let you down, kept things from you."
"No, Nanoha, stop this, please." The shamed executive tried to pull back, to pull her chin from Fate's grasp and look away. Refusing to afford the woman that mercy, Fate held firm, "This was entirely my family's doing, not yours. I know you were trying to protect me. Gods, Nanoha, if you'd only seen yourself in the hospital…" Crimson eyes filled from the memory of how grievously hurt the other woman had been, how she was still far from recovered almost two months later.
Nanoha brushed aside the tears she found in Fate's eyes and the blonde smiled faintly, leaving Nanoha awestruck by the woman's easy pardon.
"Yes, I wish you had shared with me what you knew, but I know it wasn't because you didn't trust me." Fate let her fingers play with the soft hair clinging to the woman's high cheekbones, emboldened after Nanoha's admission of love, the vivid highlights in those auburn tresses always tempting the blonde to touch it, "I think in time, we would have come clean with each other." Fate's smile grew a little mischievous, "Things just didn't go as we planned."
Nanoha barked a laugh in spite of herself, amazed that the woman could still elicit mirth out of her despite how serious the subject was. Then again, Fate was the source of all the joy in her life, why was she surprised at all?
"Besides," Fate's accented voice was hushed, "I was not being honest with you, either."
"You weren't?" Finely arched brows crept up towards the executive's hairline. "What about?"
Closing the distance between them, Fate's eyes dipped to the rosy pink lips that constantly called to her, "About how much I wanted to kiss you…" The last words were spoken against Nanoha's lips and then all speech was made impossible, the blonde capturing the tempting fullness with her own.
Sinking into the kiss, Nanoha felt her eyes flutter closed of their own volition. Freed by the blonde's confession, and her own, she nipped teasingly at the other woman's lips. Giggling, Fate nipped back and she could feel those amazing lips smiling against hers. The play soon segued into deeply devouring kisses, their tongues tangling hotly while both sought to taste every inch of the other's mouth.
"Feito-chan, wait." Panting the blonde's name, Nanoha drew back and attempted to gather wits scattered too easily by the woman. Somehow they had ended up lying on the bed, Fate's hand tangled in her hair, the other slipping under her tee and sending tingles down her body. Oh gods, thinking was far too difficult. Her own hand had found its way past the drape of Fate's kimono layers to stroke the soft skin of the woman's thigh, causing the blonde to moan into the executive's mouth. Cursing her lack of control, the Takamachi heir groaned at the feel of lips now trailing down her neck as she tried to disentangle herself from the beautiful woman.
Feeling that delightful hand leave her thigh, Fate made a sound of protest. She felt suffocated and overdressed in her kimono and Nanoha's touch under it had prompted all sorts of reactions that made her want the both of them to cease being dressed at all. Dazedly staring into the other woman's nearly black eyes, she wondered what was the hold up this time. "Wha… What is it?" She murmured, amazed at how deep the husk of her voice sounded to her own ears.
"Feito-chan…" Nanoha's hand, warmed from the blonde's hot skin, curled around the back of Fate's neck, caressing the erotically revealed expanse of skin there. Fate sucked in a sharp breath, goosebumps forming the instant the woman touched her. "Beautiful, we need to stop." Fate stared disbelievingly at Nanoha. She could not be saying 'stop' while touching her in ways that told the blonde to keep going!
Expression regretful, Nanoha licked her kiss-swollen lips, a move that only served to heat Fate up even further. The blonde immediately leaned close, her intent to resume their kissing clear in the royal's darkened eyes. Only the hand pressed to her chest kept her from doing so, and Fate's eyes drifted closed as she arched instinctively into the touch. "Mmn, sure, okay…" Fate mumbled, not at all stopping.
"I mean it, Feito-chan!" Nanoha pulled her hand back as if burnt, the firm fullness of the blonde's breast stealing her breath away. Realising Nanoha was being serious, Fate tried to get her mind working again, an almost impossible task. "I… I do not understand." The hot wash of the auburn haired woman's breath where her kimono's folds had parted was sending throbbing signals to that place between her legs and Fate did not even know HOW to stop.
Fate felt her face cradled in the palms of Nanoha's hands and the woman's eyes grew serious, "Sweetheart. I don't know if you remember but… I know that you're… that you've never… sleptwithanyonebefore." The last words were forced out in a hush, Nanoha blushing for reasons other than because the blonde's entire length was pressed over hers. "We… We shouldn't rush."
Blushing hotly, wondering when it was that Nanoha had found out, Fate tore her face from the woman's grasp and buried her burning visage into the crook of Nanoha's neck, "Oh my gods…" All thoughts of going further were now overshadowed by the fact that the woman knew she was a virgin and she shrank in complete embarrassment.
The blonde's expected reaction had Nanoha smiling fondly and she squeezed the woman reassuringly, "It's okay, Feito-chan, there's nothing to be ashamed of. Come on, let me see your beautiful face." Unable to deny Nanoha's sweet request, Fate raised her red face and melted at the indescribably tender smile the executive was giving her.
"I should get myself tested, too. So let's take it slow, all right? There is absolutely no one else I want, I hope it's the same for Feito-chan…" The blonde's emphatic nodding only widened Nanoha's smile, "Then we can afford to wait."
Fate's hand was still under the woman's shirt from when they had been kissing and she could feel abdominal muscles tensing to stark relief as Nanoha curled up to whisper into one very pink ear, "Besides, I don't want the others hearing when I make you scream…" Shuddering at the leopard's dark purr, Fate's inexperienced mind could only vaguely guess what the Takamachi heir was planning to do to her.
Rubbing her legs together in a wholly instinctive motion, her eyes sent Nanoha a needy look that the auburn haired woman could not help but respond to. Tightening her arms around the slim form, she nuzzled the soft spot behind Fate's earlobe, "It's going to be torture for me…" She admitted lowly.
Gasping and deciding the Takamachi heir was being far too unfair with how easily she could rile Fate up, the blonde squirmed sensually in the woman's arms, deliberately grinding her chest against the woman's thinly-clad breasts, pleased when a similar gasp escaped those perfect lips, "M-Me too. Also…" She kissed the woman lightly, consciously avoiding the pitfall of getting lost in them again, "Responsibility is a very hot look on you," she murmured, teasingly creeping her hand a little higher so her fingers were brushing the sensitive skin under one bare breast.
Groaning, Nanoha caught that naughty hand before it could test her resolve any further. "Enough of that, Wench." Remembering it was just a pet name, Fate smiled and snuggled carefully into the auburn haired woman's side. There were still so many things she wanted to talk about with Nanoha. For now, she would content herself with physically reconnecting with the gorgeous woman of her dreams. Speaking of dreams…
"Nanoha-chan?"
"Hrm?" The Takamachi heir had been quietly absorbing the peaceful comfort of having Fate back in her arms. The wonder that the woman returned her feelings would stay with her for… probably forever, but she could start basking in that fact beginning right now.
Fate felt the arm around her tighten slightly in response to her calling the woman's name. "I love saying your name." She enunciated lightly which drew a brilliantly transformative smile from the woman, then added, "But also, could we sleep together?" She flushed, "N-Not that way, but just to sleep."
"I'd really like that, Feito-chan." Fate lifted her head, finding the expected smile on Nanoha's face. Smooching the corner of that smile, she whispered a thank you and tucked her head back onto the warm shoulder her head had been pillowed on.