Trundling down the island's small side roads, the executive took her turns with care, explaining to Fate that long-tailed macaques would occasionally venture out onto the more populated areas hoping to score an easy meal. "They aren't a protected species, but I'd hate to hurt one by accident."
"If you did, would you take it to Doctor Shamal?" inquired the quiet blonde with a smile.
"Too far, I'd call the wildlife rangers stationed here." Caught, Nanoha snapped her mouth shut, throwing Fate an accusatory glare that held no fire. "Shamal gossips too much," she groused. Pointedly keeping her attention on the road, the executive remained close-lipped.
Fate's smile never faltered, but she dropped her free hand to offer a brief, placating touch to Nanoha's tensed grip on the steering wheel. "She's fond of you," the blonde offered in a statement of fact. Her head tilted, "Did you date?"
The cart swerved slightly, Fate's question catching Nanoha off-guard, "Gods, no, she's El Biffs with Signum, TSAB's head of HR."
"Elle Beefs?" Confused, Fate scanned her memories for plausible meanings to the term. The local creole was a mash of multiple languages bound together by the love of butchered english, but this was something she was certain she had never heard used before.
A warm chuckle and the momentary chill in their interaction was gone like so much mist in the island's tropical sun, "Lifelong best friends forever. L.B.F.F. El Biffs."
A mellifluous laugh was Nanoha's reward and she held the sound close to her heart. "Is that what the kids are calling it these days?!"
Nanoha shrugged a bare shoulder, fascinating Fate with the interplay of muscles shifting under velvet skin. "Old joke. They were my seniors in Oxford. They…" a pause while the executive pulled up to a cheerily lit establishment and engaged the handbrake. A sign worn by salt and sun declared the place's name to be Calypso. "They help keep me sane," the woman admitted before disappearing for a moment. Returning with a wheelchair, she wheeled Fate into the cosy seaside bistro.
Tables of sun bleached wood were scattered across the beach. Al fresco dining was the de rigueur here, which suited Fate immensely. She inhaled a big lungful of fresh, sea air and settled back into her borrowed wheelchair.
A dark-complected young man in a Popeye-esque uniform approached with a smile, "So good to see you, Miss Nanoha, and…?"
"Fate," the blonde replied.
"And Miss Fate. A pleasure. Can I get your drinks first?"
"Sure, Marco. Feito-chan will have…?"
"Mmm, coconut lassi." Minding her meds back at the apartment, Fate opted for something safe. The South Asian-styled yoghurt drink seemed like just what the doctor had ordered.
"Sounds good, I'll get the same. Can we get some table water and the calamari as well?"
"Very good, Miss Nanoha, Miss Fate, your orders will be here shortly." Dipping his head, the server retreated, leaving the women to peruse the main courses.
"Just about everything is good here," the executive explained, "So get whatever you like, maybe something that's easier for you to have one-handed."
Hiding a smile behind her menu, Fate couldn't resist tweaking the usually composed woman, "You mean you won't help cut the pieces for me this time?"
Sputtering, the auburn-haired woman hurumphed, "W-Well, you fed me lunch!"
It was Fate's turn to shrug in the soft hoodie Nanoha had provided, "I like to play tit for tat."
Puffing out her cheeks, Nanoha hmmfed, "Mou! Feito-chan is teasing me!"
Enchanted to see the years fall off of the executive's demeanour, Fate prodded one puffed up cheek, only to find her finger caught in a gentle but vise-like grip. She wiggled her captured digit playfully, "You can't be much older than I am. How old are you?" The blonde knew all her details had already been dug out by Nanoha's staff.
White incisors flashed, and Nanoha pretended to try biting the imprisoned finger, "I'm a pig."
Torn between laughter and a shriek, Fate struggled to pull her finger free, succeeding only by the barest margin and almost hitting their drinks that had just been served.
"Nanoha-chan, a pig is about the farthest thing I can imagine you being described as!" Fate's wine-rich gaze trailed admiringly over the vision before her of its own volition.
Not budging, Nanoha doubled down as she speared a freshly battered and fried calamari ring, using it to point rather ineffectively at the blonde, "You're a pig too, Feito-chan." The blonde's use of the honorific wasn't lost on the executive who was thoroughly enjoying the lowering of barriers between them. It was a dangerous game, but she was never one to back down from a challenge, and she wasn't planning to start now. This would all go away once the woman was no longer her guest slash prisoner here, anyway.
Gasping as if shot, Fate laid a dramatic palm over her pounding heart, "Just because I must look a fright…" The gesture had her chest straining against the confines of her tee, the front of her hoodie unzipped since this was still the equator. This afforded Nanoha an outline far more tasty than the appetiser she was partaking of, and the executive hid her growl by biting savagely into her calamari.
"You look fine," she replied, "More than fine, and don't let anyone ever tell you any different."
It seemed she had touched on a sensitive topic, as the blonde's face fell to composed stillness, and Fate looked askance at Nanoha, "That's kind of you to say."
Was it kindness, if it was fact? Sensing it wasn't the time to argue, the executive raised her drink to her not-date, her something. "Here's to a hell of a first two days on the job, Feito-chan."
Clinking glasses with her host, Fate seemed to ponder upon something, before shyly broaching a subject she had been struggling with for a while, "I know I said we weren't… weren't friends." Her bottom lip was caught cutely between her teeth, and she turned those puppy dog eyes on Nanoha, "Perchance, may I retract that statement?"
Rolling to resist the cute overload assault and coming up snake eyes, the executive's azure gaze warmed, inviting the blonde to take the plunge and never surface, "So I can keep calling you Feito-chan?"
"Only if you're alright with being called Nanoha-chan," She took a long pull from her drink, idly licking the end of her straw and watching her new friend over the rim of said drink.
Praying her tan hid the full body flush Fate's behaviour prompted, the executive struggled for that oh so vaunted boardroom composure she was supposed to be famous for. "We're still pigs though."
Cracking up, Fate tossed a balled up bit of paper serviette at her devilishly grinning friend. "Stop it! How are we pigs?" She demanded.
Grin unabated even though the impromptu ammunition met its mark, Nanoha drew Fate's hand into hers, laying it palm up, the bikini-clad woman slowly drew the numbers 1, 9, 9, 5 on the swiftly warming surface.
Gooseflesh ballooned up the entire length of the arm her hand was attached to, and Fate gave silent thanks that the hoodie helped hide it. Breathless from the entirely innocuous gesture, since she knew Nanoha wouldn't fraternise with staff, she did her best to sense the characters being traced so sensually over her palm.
"1995…" Fate blinked past the fringe that had fallen into her eyes to stare at her host, finally composed enough to respond, "You look great for someone who's forty," she quipped. It was an easy calculation to tack another dozen years on to her twenty-eight. How had the woman accomplished so much, so young?
That got a giggle out of the executive, and she went along with the joke, "Nyahaha! It's the sea salt; desiccates and preserves."
Their friendly banter continued throughout dinner, Fate settling on a spaghetti arrabbiata while Nanoha went with a chicken and avocado ciabatta. Turning the tables on Fate, Nanoha pulled her own 'puppy dog eyes' move, convincing the reluctant blonde that they could totally, pretty please, really share a Sinfully Good Chocolate Fudge Brownie.
"Argh, you're incorrigible!"
Smugly ordering the dessert, Nanoha offered the blonde a lofty look, laced with real warning, "That's why I'm the White Devil of TSAB. People avoid me unless they need something."
Humming, Fate understood the warning for what it really was. A kind way to inform her to best not be seen with the devil, or she would be burned. "Noted, with thanks," she twitted, playing on the standard response in the business world to every bit of information shared between workers in professional settings.
"Right now though? I NEED you to help finish this monstrosity you ordered. I won't be avoiding you just yet, Nanoha-chan," The blonde gave the platter a dubious look, "They should have added 'Over The Top' to the dish's name. Good grief."
'Someday you will.'
Giving the blonde a crooked smile, the executive handed her one of the dessert forks that came with the dish, "Get to work, Testarossa, we can't be here all night."
"Oh, a slave driver. I see how it is. Does the White Devil have a whip to crack at staff who aren't up to her standards?" Contrary to her protests, Fate dug into the dessert with elegant gusto, revealing a hidden penchant for sweet stuff.
Sharp incisors were bared in a feral smile and Nanoha shrugged, "If they ask nicely."
Unable to formulate a coherent reply, Fate concentrated fiercely on her side of the plate. Visions of the Japanese goddess and a riding crop pranced happily around in her head, skipping through the minefield and setting off every single explosive for shits and giggles.
'This is bad. This is so bad.'
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
Content to finish up in silence, Fate made to raise her hand for the bill, the motion stayed by Nanoha's gentle grasp on her wrist, "Feito-chan, I keep a tab with them," she admitted. So that was why Nanoha said she could 'try' to pay for dinner.
"I'd expect that, Nanoha-chan, but that needn't stop me from," the grip on her wrist tightened a hair, "Consider it paid overtime," the executive urged softly, "I couldn't have done it without you."
What was she to say to that? Brought up to know it would be crass to further pursue her point, Fate simply let out a put-upon sigh. "Fine, but don't think I won't get my revenge some other time."
The corners of those mesmerising pools of azure crinkled in amusement, "I'm counting on it."
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"Penny."
Nanoha had offered to help Fate with a hair wash, certain the woman was missing the freedom to properly clean herself. Fate had jumped at the offer, not wanting the evening to end quite yet. It also gave her an excuse to see Nanoha without her sarong wrap on, since it would only get wet while Nanoha worked. Her mouth still watered from the sight.
Her host was all business about the whole thing, clinically wrapping her stitches with cling wrap and securing it to her skin using waterproof tape to keep her stitches dry. Her ankle's bandage was also removed to allow Fate to wash it, and the rest of herself. But her hair definitely needed the help of an extra pair of hands. They had settled on a chair propped next to the bathtub, the back of it facing Nanoha. This allowed Fate to tilt her head back, giving hair and head up to the executive's skillful administrations.
Her cheeks took on a decidedly pink cast, recalling the sounds she emitted in the midst of having her hair taken care of. She couldn't help it! It felt far too good having those strong digits massaging her scalp, and when the touches travelled lower to knead out the knots there, she groaned in a way that could definitely have been misconstrued by anyone not watching the scene.
Leaving Fate's hair up in a towel, Nanoha beat a mumbled retreat to do her own washing up. NOT before Fate reminded her that she needed help to unlatch the hooks of her bra first. She giggled as she watched the auburn-haired goddess slip away. Finally, she understood the lyrics saying 'I hate to see you go, but I love to watch you leave'. Lowering the temperature of her shower, she directed the showerhead to her too warm body.
The prime numbers had deserted her. Stumbling into the guest bathroom, Nanoha pulled up the driest contract law texts her memory could call up. Except each sentence was punctuated by a mew or moan, gasp or groan, seared into her mind by Fate. Stripping off her bikini, she felt the coolness of the apartment's air-conditioning drift across overheated flesh. Resolutely turning off the heat in her shower, she stepped under the stinging cold spray.
Hair down while she brushed out Fate's heavy flaxen mane, Nanoha was dressed in her own oversized tee and beat up shorts this time, deciding it was the safest thing she could wear if they were going to have to share the bed again tonight. White with the image of a latte topped with milk froth shaped like a smiling cat, it sported cursive script spelling out 'Catpuccino'. The brilliant chime of Fate's laugh was the best reaction she could have hoped for.
Fate was back in her Gudetama tee and worn shorts, the woman's selection of clothing severely limited by her sudden imprisonment, as it were.
In the course of brushing Fate's hair dry, the Japanese woman noted the thoughtful cast settled over the blonde's fine-boned features, hence her prompt, "Penny," to ask what Fate was thinking about.
Throwing a faint smile over her shoulder, Fate shook her head, "I was just thinking these past two days have been the most fun I've had in… ever."
"Likewise." A pause, and then the executive added, "I don't usually have the time," or anyone, Nanoha completed silently. "You're the first I've heard calling stitches and a sprained ankle fun, mind you. Maybe you hit your head on the way down and Shamal didn't catch it." Pretending concern, Nanoha dropped her brush and ran probing touches over the blonde's scalp.
…And it was as if that cold water had never touched Fate at all. "Quit it!" Cheeks warm, everywhere warm, Fate swatted at the hands in her head, "If there is a lump on me, it is the one sassing me from behind." Nanoha licked her lips when the swat caused Fate's tee to ride fetchingly up her torso, giving a tantalising glimpse of porcelain pale skin.
She resumed her brushing, golden strands crackling and clinging to her fingers while she worked. "It's been surreal, in a good way." The waterbed bobbed a smidge, Nanoha shifting to work on Fate's injured side, "You know, there's an interactive Van Gogh exhibit…"
"YES!"
Bemused, Nanoha eyed the eager blonde, "I take it you like post-impressionist art."
'I like you,' came Fate's unbidden thought.
Acting nonchalant to hide how much she enjoyed the idea of spending Sunday with this multifaceted woman, Fate shrugged, "I like it over Realism; people need space to imagine, fill in the gaps."
Nodding, Nanoha put aside the brush she had been wielding, and Fate felt a twinge of disappointment that they seemed to be done. So she watched the Japanese woman pad over to the coffee table to grab her cellphone, Fate admiring how the running lights cast intriguing shadows that outlined the executive's wonderfully fit frame against her too-cute tee.
The blonde's curiosity was palpable, prompting Nanoha to give her a slow wink. A few presses and she showed her phone's screen to Fate. They had the 11AM slot for the exhibit. "Resident's privilege," she explained, resuming the brushing until a jaw-popping yawn broke the companionable silence. Fate placed a hand over Nanoha's, somehow knowing the woman would keep at it until her hair was completely dry.
"Let's turn in, Nanoha-chan," the blonde flushed, still getting used to addressing the woman who was going to decimate Testarossa Inc. just two days ago, in such familiar terms. Acquiescing, Nanoha instructed the lights to turn off, making a show of firmly placing the body pillow between them again.
Expression thoughtful, Fate studied the meticulous goddess, a niggling idea taking firm root in her mind. "Did you sleep well last night?" She asked, apropos of nothing.
Freezing, Nanoha cast Fate a guilty look from beneath reddish bangs, "I don't know what came over me..." she began, trying to find a proper excuse to explain what had transpired the night before.
"But did you sleep well?" Fate persisted, feeling she had to know.
"I… Yes," Nanoha admitted, long fingers plucking nervously at the bed sheet.
A satisfied nod was her answer. "It will be a long day tomorrow," Fate predicted as she laid down in the bed and lifted her bandaged arm. "And I didn't see you take your medicine." Chin tilting up, Nanoha looked surprised. The blonde was correct. But why would she take them? Her head had been feeling fine ever since she woke up in Fate's lap. Sonova…
"Well? My arm is tiring. Surely you would not wish for me to injure it again, do you?" Tone arch, Fate pointedly looked from the spot by her side, to the flushing executive.
"I… I don't wish to hurt you." Nanoha began.
"If I were to be hurt, would you not think it would have happened last night when the wound was far fresher?" The auburn-haired woman seemed to have an internal debate before conceding the point to Fate. Slowly closing the distance between them on all fours, the executive allowed Fate ample time to rescind her offer, and Fate was once again reminded of the prowling leopard she first compared Nanoha to. The blonde merely laid back, expression inviting.
Plastering the length of herself to Fate's side, Nanoha settled her head on the other woman's shoulder, her free arm sliding over the blonde's middle to hook her close. This was very weird, but highly pleasurable to both parties. "Night, Feito-chan."
Dropping her arm to make a pleasant weight across Nanoha's shoulders, Fate resisted the urge to nuzzle the auburn tresses spilling over her shoulder. "Rest well, Nanoha-chan."
----------------------------------------
Limping out of the elevator, Fate made her slow way to her rental apartment. It was a simply appointed three room, and while she had the option to take just one room to save costs, the blonde appreciated the privacy of having a place to herself. One far from the prying eyes of family claiming they only wanted what was best for her.
Monday had come around too soon, and much as she enjoyed her little sojourn with her new friend, the blonde couldn't in good conscience continue to inconvenience the executive. A faint smile played across her lips as she recalled the idyllic Sunday spent taking in the over the top trappings of a resort created for the express purpose of parting rich tourists from their cash.
The art exhibit had been a lot of fun, with Nanoha wheeling her from display to display, taking in the sights and sounds of the 3D experience with eyes that missed nothing. Fate was content to go along, sensing the Japanese woman seldom, if ever, had the freedom to explore the area she lived in.
The blonde did her best to remain aloof, nevermind both had woken with her being the little spoon and cradled so very protectively in the auburn-haired woman's arms. Neither had the words to acknowledge the position they had found themselves in the morning, though both had trouble recalling when they last had such a restful night. Well, aside from the night before.
A paper cup of churros was balanced on her lap, Fate occasionally lifted a piece up for Nanoha to snag with sharp teeth, the blonde shivering each time she felt the accidental graze of those bright incisors. Positioned behind Fate whilst she carted the injured blonde around, Nanoha's eyes took on a wicked glint and soon, the blonde had found herself being wheeled into a spectacle shop.
"Nanoha-chan!" The executive had sensed the distance the blonde had consciously constructed between them. It was already going to be there in a professional setting if she could help it, damned if she would allow it here, when both had their hair down after a hard day's work.
"Optical care is part of the package," the executive had teased, easing Fate out of the cool shell she had been working to maintain.
Fate had a feeling she was going to run out of cement rebuilding these walls the executive so easily tore down again and again. Funnily enough, the blonde couldn't find it in herself to care much. It was just too easy to get along with the executive.
Sidling her way into her flat, Fate was glad to see her sturdy little houseplants doing well despite her unplanned absence. She carefully set her new pair of round, wire-rimmed glasses onto the dining table, a smile once more tugging at her lips as she recalled the agonising afternoon of going through frame after frame with Nanoha.
The woman kept hovering her face so close to her own. It had taken every ounce of willpower not to grab the beauty by the neck and plant one on her, consequences be damned. 'Why o why was she so sweet and unattainable?'
Another sigh and she eased down onto her plush sofa, dropping her abused tote down beside her. Perhaps it was her imagination, but Nanoha had seemed reluctant to send her home. Her ankle's swelling had eased enough that it wasn't too difficult to get around with a limp, and Monday meant the demands on the executive's precious time would supersede any friend's need for assistance.
Since she was officially without a job, Fate thought it sensible to just head home and try to pick up the pieces of what was left of her career. Closing her eyes, Fate dozed, refusing to acknowledge the feeling of wrongness that accompanied a distinct lack of a Japanese bed limpet.
The sound of her doorbell jogged the blonde out of her light nap, and she groggily checked the time. 12:11PM. "Blurg." Awkwardly levering herself up, she limped over to peek through the door's peephole before pulling it open. "Alph, don't you have work?"
"Lunch break," her friend snapped, shouldering her way in only to grab Fate by the shoulders. The shake was gentle but no less emphatic. "Where were you, Fate?! You were quiet all weekend and now we've been told you and Alicia are gone, but the rest of us still have jobs, and oh my gods, what happened to you?" The woman took in Fate's sling and bandaged ankle and hurriedly helped the blonde into one of her dining chairs.
The woman was questioning her a mile a minute and Fate had to stay her tirade with a soft pat of her free hand, "Long story." And so the unbelievable tale of her encounter with her new friend was spun for her incredulous audience.
"She dropped me off this morning," Fate concluded, fiddling idly with the rim of her new glasses.
Alph gave her friend a dubious look, "I'm sorry, I can't picture the White Devil being that nice."
Fate shrugged, "Perhaps she felt obligated after turning our lives topsy-turvy." Feeling the distance between herself and the executive looming ever wider, the blonde felt some truth to that notion. Nanoha had nothing to gain associating with her and the past weekend had just been an anomaly never to be repeated. It left a hollow feeling inside her that threatened to kill whatever good vibes she had come home with earlier.
Shaking her head, Fate stood and made her way to the kitchen, "Had your lunch?"
"No, but you'd probably try to feed me that bunny food you call a meal. I gotta head back, I'll pack something on the way." She gave the blonde a quick hug, knowing the woman wasn't big on physical displays. "Try to add an egg to whatever you scare up, okay?"
Waving her friend off, she watched Alph see herself out before ducking in to grab a bag of washed carrots and celery from her fridge. Her meals with Nanoha had been a mish-mash of frightening loads of calories that would have horrified her mother. It was time to be disciplined again.
She knew the news about Testarossa Inc.'s eventual future would be breaking soon, but she couldn't find it in herself to pay it much mind. She had put in her last ditch effort, and Uncle Foo's wife would continue to have the healthcare she needed. Her sister would probably surface once her charging account dried up.
Nibbling absently on a stick of celery, she instead settled at her desk and eased her arm out of its sling to call up her favourite search engine. She spent the rest of the afternoon pulling up articles on TSAB's top exec, noting how the auburn-haired beauty looked incredible in every online rag's image of her.