Anna Williams glanced up from her desk upon hearing footsteps approaching, it was quarter past ten on a fine Saturday morning and she was stuck inside catching up on some paper work for her boss, Heihachi Mishima.
With the announcement of the Fourth Iron Fist Tournament, Heihachi had forbidden Anna to enter, deciding instead to use her administrative skills and to have her as a general dog's body instead of her turning his precious tournament into what he called a "sibling rivalry peep show."
"Tell your God-damn boss to keep his nose outta my business!" a furious Julia shouted, shoving a piece of paper in Anna's face.
"As if money and fame will make me part with my pendant and give up on my dream. I'm still gonna fight!"
Anna took the paper, her blue eyes briefly scanning the familiar document before looking back at the woman who was marching back out the open door.
"Whatever," she sighed dismissively, casting it aside and turning back to the computer screen. Anna was well used getting surprise visits from the numerous people that Heihachi managed to offend or piss off by now.
She tried to carry on with her work but in the back of her mind something was niggling at her.
Heihachi was still desperate to get his hands on Julia Chang's sacred pendant, even more now that Kazuya had been found alive. Now that Plan A – to bribe Julia to part with the necklace in exchange for a ridiculous amount of fame and fortune had failed Anna knew it was up to her to initiate Plan B, She still burned with embarrassment at the memory of Heihachi announcing his plan for her in front of Lee and Bruce.
"Everyone knows she's a dyke, and you're a slut. Work it out for yourself." He had sneered, the way the three males leered at her made her flesh crawl and suddenly the thought of seducing Julia didn't seem quite so bad – at least she'd be able to get away from them for a night.
Unable to concentrate she let out a sigh of defeat. Pushing away from the desk she stood up and walked over to the small window that overlooked the Zaibatsu gardens. It was the first warm day they'd had in ages and Anna frowned, suddenly irritated at the thought of being cooped up in the office all day.
She went back to the desk, grabbing a pen and paper to leave a note to whoever might find she was gone but then changed her mind. Screw them, she thought and strode out of the room.
Stepping outside the warmth hit her like a wall. Being a Saturday and not a typical work day Anna was dressed casually in a pale pink t-shirt, Capri pants and strappy sandals so she could deal with the heat. Slipping on her sunglasses she made her way down to the gardens, smiling to herself as she went.
The further she walked through the cool shade of the trees, the more her mood improved and by the time she was nearing her favourite part of the garden she was even humming to herself. The area was a little neglected and overgrown compared to the rest, clumps of foxglove, various trees and daisy bushes grew wildly and apart from the cobble path and a single stone bench, it lacked the man-made look the rest of the grounds had.
Anna stopped in her tracks, a few yards ahead she saw Julia on her knees trying to coax a small grey squirrel to take a bit of bread from her hand. With her braided hair shining like dark mahogany and skin tanned a deep brown, there was no mistaking the younger girl's Native American heritage. Her lean muscle was well defined as she remained tense, trying not to move too much so that she wouldn't scare the little creature away. Anna stood still too, watching.
The sneeze snuck up on her by surprise and the squirrel quickly scampered away to the safety of a nearby bush. Julia was bolt upright in an instant, turning around to face Anna with her fists ready, her eyes narrowed when she recognised the other woman.
"Oh, God, sorry! I didn't mean to disturb you," Anna exclaimed, feeling her cheeks colour, damn pale skin.
Julia lowered her fists and half smiled in amusement.
"It's okay, you probably set back my progress with Smokey a few weeks but no harm done."
"Smokey?" Anna grinned and this time Julia looked a little sheepish but her eyes were still smiling.
"Gotta do something to pass the time in between fighting," she shrugged.
The two women took a seat on the bench in the shade of a large Japanese maple, discovering that they both came to this spot often yet had never bumped into one another before today.
"I love it here," Anna smiled, leaning back on the cool stone and closing her eyes for a moment. Her smile grew a little wider knowing the other girl's eyes were on her, admiring the generous curve of her bust that lead down to a flat stomach and getting a glimpse of soft, pale skin where her t-shirt rode up slightly.
Getting only silence from her companion, Anna opened her eyes and seeing something curious in Julia's expression she sat up straight again, pushing her sunglasses up on top of her head. She studied the Indian girl's delicate features momentarily, taking in her chocolate brown eyes and full red lips that were slightly parted Anna felt an unexpected tug of desire in her belly. Hesitantly, Anna dropped her gaze and, sensing her uncertainty, Julia gently lifted her chin so their eyes met again.
Anna was about to protest when Julia brought her lips down on hers and suddenly everything else around them vanished. The younger girl drew Anna into her arms and Anna felt herself melt against her, all uncertainty quickly forgotten. Her eyelids fluttered closed as she became lost in the strange yet thrilling sensation of Julia's kisses, which were getting hotter by the minute. Anna licked teasingly at Julia's lips, she tasted so sweet it was making Anna giddy and she was almost bubbling over with desire.
All too quickly Julia pulled away and Anna slowly reopened her eyes.
"I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier," Julia murmured huskily.
Anna smiled, looking uncharacteristically shy for a second,
"Apology totally accepted," she laughed.
Julia got to her feet and held out her hand to Anna not unlike the way she did with the anxious squirrel.
"Wanna come back to my room?"
Anna just took the offered hand without a word but the longing in her wide blue eyes spoke for her and she was soon following Julia back along the path in the direction of the fighters' accommodation building.
It only took a few minutes before the large hotel-like building came into view, the two woman managed to go inside unnoticed, it was quiet in the lobby as most people would be out watching the scheduled fights in various parts of the grounds. The whole building was built just so the Mishimas could show off, the expensive carpets were a plush golden beige colour with pale gold wallpaper and large windows framed by heavy cream drapes.
Julia's room was on the third floor and as they stood in the hallway while Julia fumbled for her keys Anna gazed around, taking it all in. She smirked slightly, the décor couldn't be described as tasteful - over-the-top or pretentious would be better words and she thought it represented the whole arrogant family perfectly. Anna had never stayed in the Hotel with the other fighters, the bodyguards and henchmen were always required to lodge at the Zaibatsu with whoever they were working for at the time. Anna's room was dark and cramped and most of the time she had to share with someone, but that usually suited her just fine as she was always too busy to do anything more than sleep in there.
When the door was opened Anna's eyes did a quick sweep of the room, it was decorated in much the same way as the rest of the building but with minimal furnishing. A double bed stood against one wall draped with a cream bed spread, opposite that was a dresser and a door that she assumed led to the bathroom, sunlight streamed in through an open window on the far wall, making the room bright and warm.
Anna heard a click behind her as the door closed and she turned to face Julia, the taller woman smiled and Anna leant up to kiss her again, enveloping her in her arms. Julia backed her slowly towards the bed without their lips parting once, their hands exploring each other's bodies. Anna cupped Julia's breast, drawing a delicious moan from the American girl's throat as her thumb circled the nipple slowly. She felt herself tense as her fingertips brushed against Julia's pendant for a brief second and she was reminded of her true objective.
Although she had done a lot of manipulative and devious things in her job before, Anna felt that this time she was in way over her head. She had assumed Julia would need to be wined and dined, taken out for a few dates and smooth talked before she got anywhere near her bedroom. This had all happened so quickly Anna realised that she didn't have a plan, if they had gone to a bar she could've slipped something into Julia's drink and waited for her to pass out before taking the pendant but now she was going to have to deal with the woman in some other way that she didn't even know yet.
Julia broke the kiss and looked down at the petite brunette with one brow raised, noticing that Anna seemed to have become nervous all of a sudden.
"You alright?" she asked softly, trailing a finger down Anna's cheek.
Anna blinked hard then shot Julia a confident, seductive smile, "Of course"
Julia plopped down on the bed, pulling Anna down beside her and she returned the smile, "Good," she whispered.
Julia kissed her again and her hands moved almost effortlessly to underneath Anna's top, her fingers lightly caressing her sides then her hips and sending shivers down Anna's spine. Anna was nervous, she had never done anything like this with another woman before and she was sure she'd do something stupid to show herself up and make Julia suspicious but she couldn't back out now, she just kept trying to think about the huge bonus Heihachi would give her when she returned to him with the sacred pendant – maybe she could even buy a new car.
Tilting her head Anna deepened the kiss, her tongue exploring Julia's mouth as Julia ran a hand up Anna's thigh, coming to rest at the waistband of her pants before unbuttoning them with skilled fingers. Anna gasped as one of Julia's hands moved inside and began stroking her through her lacy black panties, instinctively she pressed herself harder against Julia's hand and the other woman smirked, bringing her lips down hard on Anna's and stifling the lusty moans that escaped her.
Feeling bolder now, Anna slid her hands under Julia's white singlet, cupping both breasts and rubbing the nipples with her thumbs, quickly catching on that all she had to do to bluff her way through this was to do to Julia what Anna would want someone to do to her. Anna surprised herself by discovering she was enjoying the soft, sensuous touch of the American girl's capable hands, with her tanned skin so smooth against her fingertips and her lips tasting faintly of raspberries, Anna felt as though all of her senses were going into overdrive.
All too quickly Julia took her hand away and Anna opened her eyes slowly only to be met with Julia's gaze seconds before she slipped Anna's pants and underwear off with a knowing smile. Her remaining clothes were added to the pile on the floor, quickly followed by Julia's and before she knew it Anna was laying back on the bed with Julia naked on top of her, kissing her passionately.
"Mmm…" Anna moaned against Julia's lips, arching against her as Julia began kissing and sucking at her pale neck before kissing slowly down her body. Taking one pink-tipped mound into her mouth, Julia teased Anna's nipple with her tongue and teeth and stroked the other one with her fingers until Anna felt she couldn't take her sweet form of torture anymore.
Julia lifted her head slightly and glanced up at the Irish woman, sensing what she wanted but not ready to give it to her just yet. Julia wasn't fooled, although Anna had a reputation she knew that this was probably her first time with a woman and she wanted to prolong the experience. Since the first time she laid eyes on the beautiful Irish temptress in her red and gold strapless gown, Julia had fallen in lust with her, her first glance into those bright blue eyes had left her smitten. Although Julia knew this maybe wasn't the most sophisticated way to go about it, she hoped she would be the one who finally tamed the tigress and kept her all for herself.
Julia was brought out of her reverie as Anna's soft moaning seemed to become more insistent.
"Julia..." she purred, cut off suddenly by a low groan of pleasure as Julia's fingers trailed down her abdomen and brushed against the hot wetness between her legs.
Anna felt the last of her nervousness vanish as the sensation of Julia's stroking fingers overwhelmed her. She felt no shame as she spread her legs wider, head thrown back against the pillow and fists clenching the bedspread while the other girl pleasured her.
Anna felt Julia's weight shift a little on the bed and glanced down to she had moved between Anna's legs. Julia gave her an innocent smile before her tongue darted out and took a long dragging lick along her slit causing Anna to cry out, her excitement was already building so quickly that she wasn't sure how much longer she could contain herself.
Julia continued to lap at Anna's sex, spurred on by her delightful moans that echoed off the walls. She sensed that Anna was nearing her climax and began alternating between licking to suckling gently on her clit and that tipped the brunette over the edge. Anna drew in a sharp breath and held it for a second as her muscles began to twitch and an intense wave of pure ecstasy washed over her, she arched her back finally crying out so loud it could've almost been a scream.
As Anna lay pink-cheeked and panting on the bed, Julia crawled back up beside her and lay down, fingers gently stroking the soft pale skin of her stomach as she waited for Anna to recover.
"That was amazing," Anna whispered.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it," Julia replied, smiling as their gazes locked.
Anna was totally getting into the spirit of this newfound experience, she found herself wanting to do things to Julia that would had never crossed her mind before but she was unsure how to go about it, it wasn't very often Anna wasn't in total control of a situation like this.
They lay there silently for a moment with the sun reflecting off the walls and casting a soft golden glow over them, Anna noticed how it changed Julia's eyes to a beautiful shade of amber and her stomach contracted with guilt all of a sudden. She would go through with stealing the pendant, money had always been more important to Anna than loyalty or love, nothing had ever stopped her from achieving her objectives before but this time she felt strangely torn. Why? She barely knew the girl and it wasn't as though she was going to shack up with Julia and play happy lesbian families was it? It was just a bit of fun on the job.
In an attempt to stop thinking so much Anna leaned forward and brushed her lips softly against Julia's, secretly delighting at the way the corners of her lips curled up in a lazy smile. Julia kissed her back and Anna slid her arms around the American girl's waist - pulling her in for more passionate kisses.
Kissing quickly progressed once again into wandering hands and soft moaning from both girls, Anna got up on her hands and knees, looking down at Julia,
"It's your turn now," she purred, sounding a lot more confident than she felt.
Julia bit down on her bottom lip as Anna moved between her legs and gave her a tentative lick, relieved to discover it wasn't as bad as she thought it might be. Anna's fingers parted Julia's still-wet lips and she licked her again, this time Julia let out a small sigh of pleasure which was all the reassurance that Anna needed. She probed Julia with her tongue while her index finger caressed her clit, already Julia was growing wetter and her soft moans getting louder.
Anna dropped small kisses on to Julia's sensitive folds before thrusting two fingers inside her, moving them in and out slowly at first then gradually gaining speed. She grinned as Julia bucked her hips against Anna's hand, her braids had come loose and waves of dark hair fanned out over the pillow as she writhed in pleasure.
Julia squeezed her eyes shut, she could feel herself getting closer and closer to climax with every thrust of Anna's hand. Automatically she moved her hands to her own breasts and started rubbing and tweaking her nipples while Anna pushed her still closer to the edge and suddenly she was there. Even through her shuddering orgasm she noticed the Irish woman's triumphant expression and she giggled softly.
Anna woke up a while later to find that the sun was setting outside Julia's window, the curtains fluttered gently in the cool breeze that had appeared earlier. They had made love many more times that afternoon and Anna realised that they must have eventually fallen asleep from exhaustion. She carefully removed her arm that was resting over Julia's side, the other girl was turned away from her so she couldn't be sure if she was asleep or not but she used all of her training to be absolutely silent as she quickly got up and redressed herself.
Anna hovered for a moment, the pendant was just sitting on the bedside table on Julia's side. She looked from the pendant to Julia's slumbering form and back again, wondering if she should dare try anything in this situation that could become so dangerous with one wrong move. After a few moments of deliberation Anna decided that she wouldn't get a better chance than this, she couldn't risk having to see Julia again because of the unwanted feelings she stirred up inside her – in case this strange giddy excited feeling grew into something more and she couldn't go through with taking the necklace after all.
She padded silently around to the other side of the bed, wincing slightly as she cast a dark shadow over the sleeping woman, sure that she'd somehow feel it and awaken but Julia remained still, her chest rising and falling softly. Anna forced herself to reach out and take the pendant, it was a lot heavier than she had expected and warm to the touch even though Julia had taken it off hours ago. Swiftly she pocketed it and backed away from the bed, her eyes searching for any clues that Julia was going to wake up and when still she remained unmoving Anna made for the door as quickly and quietly as possible.
Out in the hallway she squinted against the bright lighting which reminded that she had left her expensive sunglasses back in the room somewhere and she cursed under her breath. She got to the lift and stepped inside, jabbing repeatedly at the close door button and when the lift started moving she sighed heavily, leaning back against the mirrored wall as relief swept over her.
Something tickled her cheek and she reached up to brush it away, shocked when her fingertips met with the dampness of a stray tear.
"What the fuck," She growled to herself, "Pull yourself together woman."
Irritated, Anna wiped away the tear, putting it down to stress mixed with the unexpectedness of the day's events just as the lift dinged and opened the door to the lobby. Hwoarang and his latest floozy were waiting on the other side of the doors and Anna gave him a cool smile as she brushed past, making for the exit as fast as she could without breaking into a run.
Outside the temperature had dropped considerably and Anna shivered, rubbing at the bare skin on her arms in an attempt to stay warm. Glancing back at the hotel once more Anna strode on towards the Zaibatsu, patting her right pocket reassuringly. What would Julia do when she woke and found Anna gone? Would she smirk at the predictable way Anna left without saying goodbye? Would she feel anything more than betrayal when she discovered the pendant was missing?
"I don't care," Anna told herself unconvincingly.
"Williams! Where the hell have you been?" Heihachi boomed
Anna had only just stepped back into her office when the huge Japanese man came up behind her and she gritted her teeth in a silent snarl before turning to face him. His face was almost purple with rage and a throbbing vein stuck out on his forehead.
"Don't you realise how much work there is to be done?! You can't just disappear whenever you feel like it, you lazy slut!"
His angry insults stung her, Heihachi knew full well that Anna worked very hard for the company, countless times she'd had to put her own morals and feelings aside to carry out one of his outrageous "missions" but he was such an unreasonable man and he didn't appreciate anything anyone did for him.
"After I took you in and gave you a job when your father died, this is-"
"I was with Julia!" Anna shouted angrily, cutting him off before he threw up the 'you're so ungrateful' speech for the hundredth time.
Heihachi calmed down visibly upon hearing her words,
"Ah, so you were working then," he smirked and his small dark eyes lit up greedily, "Where is it?"
Anna hesitated momentarily, she stared hard at his mean, wrinkled face with its worn leathery skin and that ridiculous spiky hairstyle. His eyes bored into hers impatiently.
"Well?"
"I-I don't have it yet," Anna blurted out before she could stop herself, feeling as though her pocket was bulging so obviously he would see right through her lie.
The large, muscular old man gave a disgusted grunt and turned away from her, "You're obviously not as good as I gave you credit for." He spat, "That pendant had better be in my hands before Monday. Or else." He added ominously.
After he left Anna slumped down into her chair and took a deep breath, noticing that her hands were shaking slightly. What am I doing? She sighed, burying her face in her hands. The pendant in her pocket distracted Anna from her thoughts, it felt like it was throbbing against her thigh and she cautiously reached in and pulled it out, blinking in surprise to find the large green stone glowing with a light of its own. Anna shuddered, remembering the last tournament when the hideous ogre had somehow been released from the pendant, critically injuring many of the fighters and destroying everything within reach until Julia and Michelle managed to imprison it in the stone again.
The sound of someone approaching startled Anna and she quickly shoved the pendant back into her pocket, her heart began to pound in her chest as she fully expected Julia to come barging in to take it back by force but to her relief it was only Lee coming to check his emails before going out.
Lee laughed deeply, seeing Anna sitting wide-eyed behind her computer,
"You look like you've seen a ghost - I take it Father gave you a good talking to then."
"Whatever," she growled, suddenly too annoyed at his know-it-all tone of voice to bother giving him a proper reply.
Anna pretended to busy herself on the computer until Lee was finished.
"I want to see you in my apartment when I get back, you know where the spare key is," he told her before leaving as quickly as he'd come in, giving her no time to protest.
She knew from experience that "see you" was Lee's phrase for "have sex and then kick you out, back to your own tiny room" and something inside her just snapped. She was sick of being Lee's and Heihachi's personal whore, they never treated her any better no matter what she did for them and they never would she realised, with hot, angry tears stinging her eyes. She had looked on them as a surrogate family but they would never see her as anything more than a plaything.
The pendant burned against her leg and she pulled it out again, staring at it sightlessly as her thoughts turned to Julia. She was a kind and honest woman, there was nothing sinister about anything she'd done today, no ulterior motive. Anna had not missed the look of adoration in Julia's eyes and even though today was the first time they had really even talked to each other she felt that Julia already cared a lot more for her than anyone here did.
Clutching the pendant in her fist Anna decided that for once in her life she had to do the right thing, even if Julia would never look at her again she knew she wouldn't be able to live with herself if she handed over all of this power to Heihachi Mishima.
Even though it was dark now, Anna took the path through the gardens to avoid being seen by any of Heihachi's stooges that might be wandering around and when she finally emerged near the hotel she didn't let herself stop to rethink her actions, pushing through the large glass doors and hurrying into the lift for the third time that day.
Up on the third floor the hallway was empty and Anna shivered, wishing she'd thought to stop and get a jacket before she left. In the silence the walls seemed to press in on her as she stepped closer to Julia's door with her heart pounding in her ears. Instead of knocking she tried the handle and it turned easily, Anna didn't know if that meant Julia was still inside or not but she pushed the door and went in anyway.
It was dark inside and slightly cool from the still-open window on the far wall. Anna took a few cautious steps inside, intending to put the pendant back where she found it then quickly leave again but suddenly the door slammed shut behind her and the light flicked on. Whirring around Anna gasped and took a few steps backwards, unnerved to see Julia now blocking her exit, strong arms folded over her chest as she glared at the smaller woman.
"I knew you'd come back," Julia said calmly in her smooth deep voice.
"Look Julia, I didn't come here to fight, I'm just returning this and then I'll leave."
The American woman took a few steps toward her but Anna held her ground
"Is that the only reason?"
Anna looked Julia in the eye and saw that wise, all-knowing look again and she suddenly felt defensive, "You don't even know me, what makes you so sure there's another reason?" she asked indignantly.
"Well maybe I don't know you all that well," Julia began, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips, "But those are some pretty expensive designer sunglasses you left behind, even I would come back looking for them."
Anna's mouth dropped open and she stared at her before spluttering, "My-my sunglasses? I took your most carefully guarded possession and you're making jokes?!"
There was a small silence from both women, Julia was secretly relieved that her decision to wait and hope Anna would come back to her had paid off. She was trying her hardest not to break out in a wide grin when suddenly Anna burst into a fit of giggles.
"Oh my God, you're priceless," Anna laughed, chucking the pendant to Julia who caught it easily.
Julia fastened the pendant around her neck and moved closer to Anna, she brushed some hair out of her eyes and lightly kissed her forehead.
"Thank you."
Impulsively Anna reached out and hugged her tightly, she was at a loss for words, astounded by the easy going and forgiving nature of the younger woman and she smiled when she felt Julia's arms wrap around her just as tightly.
She knew that she had a bed for the night if she wanted it, she would never have to go back to Lee's apartment ever again and tomorrow she would hand in her resignation to the Zaibatsu. What happened after that, well, she was about to find out.