A/N: Damn this is a long chapter; it covers the first five days of their working vacation. I don't know if the second week will be written out like this or if I'll be flash forwarding. We'll have to see how it goes in the writing.
Yes, I know everything snowballed on them towards the end and I wanted it that way to get Fate as unsettled as possible. There's an old saying that bad things come in threes so…
Loving all the reviews, please keep them coming. I was laughing at some and got weird looks from my family. Please help me continue to prove my insanity to my friends and family by reviewing.
{Italized} is either badly spoken English or French translation, apologizes to all French readers, consider this my J.K. Rowling moment of making fun of your accents in a culturally insensitive way. But take heart I did poke fun at Americans again, always good for a laugh!
[Italized] is translated Italian, Thank you CrazyLikeArt for the help! I stuck to the cheesy version, remember Fate will have picked up (unconsciously) most of her romantic gestures from her sister and I can't think of a worst role model. Cheesy lines and grand over the top gestures to woo the girl are all staples of Alicia's flirting to get laid strategy. But Fate really is serious when she says this stuff which makes it sad/funny/and oh so sweet.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Universe or Characters. I make no profits from this.
~"~"~"~
Chapter Seven: We Don't Need No Education
First Day of Classes
Fate watched as the vehicle pulled away, it was carrying away Nanoha for a morning of what she suspected was going to be the shopping equivalent of water boarding. She'd think, 'Better Nanoha than me,' but really her best friend didn't deserve the treatment she was about to receive being Lucino's dress-up doll. She was just an innocent bystander who got caught up in the tide but there was nothing she could do to rescue her so she tried to get the image of Nanoha's pleading eyes out of her mind. Allowing Alto to hook her arm they began walking to the lecture hall, as she walked she tried to further settle her mind and spirit. Entering the large echoing room she smiled at the few early arrivers. Putting down her briefcase and unlatching the case she began fishing out her materials.
Arranging her notes she had to smile as she saw a reference to a piece that always reminded her of Nanoha. Like the painting which was subtle and sometimes underappreciated she had known for a while Nanoha was special. Almost from the first day Nanoha had affected her with her gentle and understanding nature. With that breathtaking smile she had entranced her then slowly moved in closer with her habit-forming hugs which made her feel warm and safe and strangely wanted. People had wanted her for various reasons over the years but Nanoha made her feel wanted just for herself, like the two of the could just sit snuggled together for eternity and that alone would somehow make Nanoha happy.
Setting up the lectern and the computer so she could display the slide show that she used as prompts for her lecture her mind was still working through the mystery that was Nanoha. How was it she got past nearly every barrier she had ever erected like a hot knife through butter and not only left them in tatters but had made their destruction nearly painless? How had she turned what had been her near total rejection of social events into her needing to go just so they could be together?
She had never wanted anyone in her personal space and now she felt lonely and bereft if the woman wasn't right by her side. The warmth of her body pressing into her these past two nights had made her feel so alive. Worse she was fast becoming addicted to Nanoha's skin, holding hands was likely to be a gateway drug and soon she'd be needing larger and harder hits. She should have known better but Nanoha never let her second guess anything, everything between them felt so good so why question it?
She had hated social events and even now the idea of a party was unsettling but she was volunteering to attend now just so she could see the auburn haired woman smile. To see her in those elegant dresses that put her captivating figure on best display. The fleeting hugs she had enjoyed while Nanoha was dressed so beautifully had been the source of some of that edginess only Nanoha could bring about. She wanted to curse and praise every event, why couldn't she have Nanoha all to herself while she was dressed like that?
The frown on the blonde's face made Alto giggle, it was clear Fate-sensei was thinking of something important and had just hit a roadblock. The mumbled words, "so gorgeous in those dresses" and "stupid crowds," gave the eavesdropper a good idea of what was upsetting the blonde.
The brown haired young woman watched the muttering blonde thinking about more ways to set up the oblivious blonde. The fact she was muttering and almost pouting at the lost of her friend this morning showed they were going about things the right way. After all you can't miss/want something that's always right beside you. Familiarity breeds complacency. The young aide sat back and half listened to Fate's introduction before letting her mind trail back to thinking about what the woman had been grumbling about earlier. 'Dresses and crowds…hmm there is that party Friday night. But that's so far away and that idiot is hosting it. No, I need something more immediate.'
When the blonde actually spoke of Nanoha in her lecture Alto knew the woman had it bad. Fate had never spoken about her personal life before to her students and the metaphor distinguished Nanoha as her vital partner whom she depended upon just like the two artists she was currently highlighting. If Nanoha had become a true partner for her art then the woman was fully seeded into Fate's life. Why were they being so stubborn? From what she'd seen so far they were acting like elementary school students with their first crush combined with the explosive levels of hormonal lust normal for high school students bubbling just under the surface. Interesting for the first five minutes until you realized neither was going to make a move and actually make watching them worthwhile.
The morning class dragged on while Alto sent text messages back and forth with her partner in crime discussing what was happening with Nanoha and making further plans. Finally the three hour class was dismissed, Alto was so glad she'd be skipping out of the afternoon lecture that would be her nap time after their tasty lunch. After Fate dismissed the class a number of students came up to introduce themselves and in general flirt with the attractive blonde guest professor. It was when one of the young men decided to move into her well defined bubble of personal space that a voice in almost too chirpy tones broke in, "Fate-chan, Are you ready for lunch?"
Fate's head spun around and the smile that broke across her face was so beautiful it made people sigh. The man seeing the smile realized the futility of his efforts and backed off to melt into obscurity forever. Both Lucino and Alto saw the way the pair looked at each other after being parted for a mere four hours and wondered how they would react if forced apart for longer periods. After Nanoha and Fate exchanged a quick hug and reassured each other that each was okay but had missed the other the foursome was able to leave the hall for lunch.
The coeds walking behind watched as Fate and Nanoha walked comfortably ahead of them holding hands. Fate didn't do that with anyone, not even her sister! Who were these people lying too? It was obvious they were a couple. As they ate both Fate and Nanoha touched the other in an unconscious matter as if they both needed to confirm the other was still there. Alto and Lucino exchanged a silent look that said, 'This much density and obliviousness has to be a crime.'
Fate was finishing her espresso and was smiling at the younger women's teasing of each other when Lucino said, "Oh Fate-sensei ma mère wants to see you about a mural. She wants it done before Christmas, we are hosting the family reunion this year and she wants to make the house look as beautiful as possible."
Fate nodded and asked, "How is your mother doing? Has her health improved?"
Lucino frowned and sighed, "She is as well as she's ever been, she can't be too sick if she can still complaining about my scruffy looking fiancé. I swear ma mère keeps going on about standards, humph I barely meet her standards most days."
Fate's soft wine colored eyes took in Alto at these words; the girl was looking at the crowd with a distant look. Perhaps she was being cruel but she had to ask, "Alto, how well are you getting on with Liilie-sama these days? If I remember correctly she was talking about adopting you at one point?"
The girl laughed a little hollowly then gave her friend who was pouting a smirk, "She's great to me. Everything you'd want in a mutter, ahem mother. She has been a bit stubborn over Lowran-san but she'll get over it, she just wants the best for her daughter."
"I wonder what ma mère considers better than a professional pilot? Hmm? Any guesses Alto-chan?" the Lucino asked indignantly.
Alto made a sing-song humming noise in her throat that sounded like, "I'm not getting into this," before grabbing her phone and suddenly declaring, "I've got a message, I need to make an important call be right back."
Lucino glared at her friend's retreating back and huffed, "Sacrément têtu!" {Damn stubborn!}
Fate wasn't sure she wanted to open that can of worms further so turned the conversation back to the mural.
The purple haired young woman shrugged the topic off, sat for a minute staring at her friend's back before she suddenly got up and excused herself. Fate watched her make her way through the crowd then how the determined looking girl was suddenly grabbing her friend and pulling her out of sight.
Leaning back she signed, "Well that serves them right for messing with us all day."
Nanoha looked at her friend questioningly and Fate smirked, "They're in love but Alto is too stubborn to admit it and refuses to accept Lucino's quite opening feelings for her. Apparently she doesn't think she has enough to offer. Which is untrue, she maybe an orphan but her family's estate is quite large so monetarily she could provide for her umm bride and then there are of course her abilities. Shario has been petitioning the local district council for the increased funding and finally secured a permanent, well-paying, position for an art authenticator for their district. She pointed out some other districts already have one so it's nothing new or special. Shario is recommending Alto for the position; the girl has a wonderful eye and can spot a counterfeit better than Shario at this point. This will be no charity-case, believe me when I tell you they'll work her hard for every Euro. Sigh but even that's not likely to move her into confessing."
"Why not? That sounds like a pretty impressive and important job, anyone could be proud of having a spouse doing that as their line of work."
"Perhaps because Lucino's family is descendant from royalty and is still very wealthy. Lucino has been getting offers of marriage since the day she was born. Alicia explained it all to me, she said it was like watching one of those daytime soap operas but in this case she could "screw" with the heads of the main characters."
Nanoha frowned at this, "That does sound like something your sister would do. But you said something about them messing with us, how so?"
Fate's brow furrowed at the obvious question, "They took you away from me."
Sapphire eyes widened at this then immediately looked down at the table before flicking back and forth to look at it and Fate's face. Her nervous hands picked at the tablecloth but she couldn't help inquiring with a twitching smile, "It wasn't all that bad, or was it?"
God how cute could this woman be?! Fate felt the fluttering in her stomach start and in a shaky voice said, "I'm use to you being by my side, I like knowing you're there, to be able to turn my head and see you there. It makes some things easier…and uh um... and well some a bit harder too but in a good way."
As Fate's mouth ran away with her again she flushed red and began fiddling with her coffee cup. Nanoha hearing the clinking noise looked straight at the now blushing blonde, unable to restrain herself she asked, "What? How can I make anything harder for you?"
Fate knew if Alicia had been there she'd be living with the teasing for the next century about how hard Nanoha made things. Swallowing her embarrassment she said, "Honestly, you can make it harder to concentrate but at the same time if you're not there my mind wanders off wondering; 'where you are, what you're doing, if you're okay.' So it's damned if I do and damned if I don't, if given I choice I'd rather have you with me."
At these words Nanoha felt like jumping up and squeezing the life out of Fate with a hug, no one had ever said anything like this to her before. Admittedly her mind had fallen into the gutter at first and if Fate had been born a man Nanoha would have had a fair idea of how she could have effected her. But Fate was gloriously All Woman so it was anyone's guess what she made harder for the woman. The admission that her presence, whether she was there or not, was capable of distracting Fate, the ultimate hard-worker, was a huge ego boost.
The coed pair returned looking a bit peeved at each other but in fair spirits and declared it was time to return to the university. Fate looked at her watch and saw they still had nearly an hour before class but decided they could use the time to take a tour of the campus grounds. ~T~ University was prestigious and had a long history in teaching future professional artists. They had just passed what was the school's ballroom where it held its annual Christmas and New Year's Galas along with other fashionable events which Nanoha took in with a healthy amount of appreciation. Fate was silent as they passed a photo gallery but the others slowed to look at the photos of past famous guests. Lucino was sure to point out Fate and Alicia making Nanoha sigh as she said she was rather jealous that Alicia had been with Fate that night but it had been before they had even met.
When Alto suggested that the pair return for the annual event Fate didn't immediately try to squirm out of it. Instead she tried to catch Nanoha's eye to get her reaction to the idea but the woman was resolutely avoiding her eyes so Fate fell back to seriously contemplating the idea on her own. A few silent moments later she said, "It would depend on our schedules but I wouldn't mind coming with Nanoha."
This reply made Nanoha smile brightly at her and hug her around the middle briefly before pulling away but their hands found each other again and hung onto each other. That sealed it for Alto, Fate was never so accommodating, the woman was obviously so in love she had stopped clinging to her obsessive unsociable behavior, trading it for the more enjoyable behavior of clinging onto Nanoha. So even if Alto herself had planned to avoid the whole thing Friday night they were going just so she could dress up Fate and her pretty fairy-tale princess. Someone ought to enjoy a fairy-tale ending, she sure wasn't but it was clear this pair wouldn't mind accompanying each other. Smiling innocently she "invited" the older pair to the formal dress party.
Fate was so sure the coeds had something planned for them after her last lecture but instead Lucino, alone, drove them back to the hotel and with a weak smile begged off being their tour guide for the evening. Her elders graciously released her from her duties and went up to relax before going out to a few select places Fate wanted to share only with Nanoha.
The purple haired girl drove home and had just lain down on her couch to contemplate her next moves, in relation to helping both NanoFate (their official couple name) and herself when she received a text message. Reading through it she couldn't help smiling, this was a positive development for everyone. She'd have to make a lot of arrangements over the next few days but this was doable. Maybe if she worked at this correctly by the end of this whole thing both she and Fate could have their princesses.
~"~"~"~
Day Two of Classes
The next day Fate had two lectures in the morning then one later in the afternoon. It was the longest day of the week with the first lecture starting at 7 a.m. and the second started at 11 a.m. giving her time for only a quick snack to tide her over until a proper lunch later in the afternoon. Nanoha watched her as she gave her all through both classes, not understanding most of the lectures as they were in French but she had Fate's translated notes in English so she could follow along. Fate really was amazing it was no wonder the young people were quickly falling for her.
At just after 2 p.m. when the final student fled the room she collapsed in her chair and was happy to tear into the take-away boxes of curry. The group ate hungrily as the others had refrained from eating until Fate could join them. Nanoha liked watching Fate eat, she wasn't a dainty eater, nor was she voracious eater, instead she was careful and seemed to appreciate each bite. There was something about the way her tongue and lips moved and quick flash of pearly teeth that made Nanoha wish she was on the menu.
Snapping Nanoha out of her Fate watching Alto mentioned the last class for the day started at 4 p.m. and would be a repeat of the 7 a.m. course, so there could be no guilt if they stepped out for a few minutes, right? Nanoha agreed if the girls wanted to go out for a quick errand there'd be no harm.
Smiling like a fox Lucino turned to Nanoha, "Oh Nanoha-sensei what would you say to a…"and those oh so innocent sounding words were the start of Nanoha's descent into hell.
She never did get to back to the university that afternoon as she was too busy being plucked, exfoliated and fluffed by an army of beauty-technicians. After changing into outfits purchased from the spa's boutique Lucino and Nanoha left the day spa via taxi and arrived an upscale restaurant where an older and frailer looking version of Lucino awaited them with Fate and Alto. The older woman eyed Nanoha closely before giving the customary two kisses to the cheeks greeting and an elegant greeting in a deeply accented voice. Nanoha was amused by the older woman's attention to Fate, she treated her like a porcelain doll, constantly smoothing her hair and adjusting her clothing to lay more neatly. Fate twitched a little at the attention but didn't try to escape or stop the older woman.
This dinner had been a lot more formal in tone than the other one they had enjoyed in company so far due to the older woman's presence and for that Nanoha was grateful; she'd received almost no teasing. The older woman had been watching the pair like a hawk and was waiting for her chance to pull the rug out from under the oblivious pair. Nanoha and Fate (holding hands under the table) were now both taking a drink of their wine when Liilie-sama spoke. "Sou vhen vill oou tu bee marreed?" {So when will you two be married?}
Fate choked on her wine, she sputtering into her napkin as she coughed up a lung full of wine. Nanoha hadn't fully understood the question at first but Fate's reaction was enough to freak her out. Leaning into the blonde she rubbed the woman's back as she tried to calm her down and play off her own racing heartbeat and red face. Finally getting a clear breath of air Fate shocked asked her in French, or maybe it was Italian, where on earth had she gotten such an idea. The woman responded in her broken English, "Eet iz kaleer oou arr lavours. Sou am iee ennvydeed?" {It is clear you are lovers. So am I invited?}
Fate looked to Nanoha for some clue on how to answer and Nanoha couldn't for the life of her decide how to respond. To fully deny anything romantic was developing between her and Fate would devastate her soul. But what if she overstated their position and Fate rejected her?
Seeing Nanoha was just as confused as she was and not even wanting the young women at the table's suggestion of help she said the first thing that came to mind.
"Um Nanoha and I haven't developed a relationship like that."
The older woman raised an eyebrow and her head tilted at Nanoha's hand still resting on Fate's back. Fate could feel the warmth of Nanoha's hand and rational thought told her to withdraw from that hand and give a proper denial of romance…but she couldn't.
Helplessly she stuttered out, "Ah…ha…well at this time we aren't in the kind of relationship where we...we would be ready to discuss ma...ma...matrimony. But…but if we ever find ourselves there you will be among the first to be invited."
The old woman snorted and said something in rapid French which turned the blonde a fiery red color and left her gaping. Lucino leaned over to Nanoha and interpreted for her mother.
"Ma mère said ahem, 'Considering the way you two have been comporting yourselves she will be expecting the invitation by the end of the year. She would hate to think of the two of you living in sin together or worse having bébés ahem babies out of wedlock.'"
Nanoha wasn't sure if she wanted to run around screaming like a mad woman or just crawl under the table and die of embarrassment when she thought of how this older woman's words echoed her former mother-in-law's sentiments. Yet the prospect of being railroaded into marrying this blonde didn't seem like a penance but a miraculous blessing.
Fate looked at Nanoha's face and the last words spoken hit her again hard in the solar plexus. In a pained voice she replied to this, "Liilie-sama, Nanoha is a very honorable woman. I would never disrespect her by behaving in such a manner against her. She deserves only the best."
The old woman smiled and said, "Bon, obtenir d'elle puis." {Good, then get to it.}
Fate shrunk a bit into herself at this but glancing at Nanoha's beautiful worried she couldn't help twitching a smile and nodding.
~"~"~"~
Day Three of Classes
Day three was to be a light day with one lecture and a lab. They'd be done by noon then be free to do as they liked. The night before Nanoha had expressed concern the girls would have them running around like mad. Fate had just shrugged and said as long as Nanoha was with her it'd be fun. The auburn haired woman blushed and had called her silly before snuggling into her for the night. Fate had awoken with an armful of Nanoha yet again and knew the warmth and contentment she was feeling was dangerously habit-forming. Would it be possible to perhaps reserve the place beside Nanoha in bed for the next sixty-odd years?
Looking at the woman across from her as they ate a light breakfast in a café near the university Fate knew it wasn't just her bed she wanted to share, it was her life. They hadn't talked about what Lucino's mother had said to them the night before, it was too loaded a topic but the ideas were now free floating in her mind. Marriage, living together, lovers, children; all foreign ideas she had always shied away from, but suddenly they weren't so frightening or repellent.
From head to toe Nanoha was beautiful and not just skin deep, her heart a priceless treasure, her soul pure and bright and her mind quick and lively. What would her children look like? How much of her beautiful lively spirit would they inherit? Would they share her laugh? Vivio laughed like her so perhaps it could be passed on along with her mother's milk? What a thing it would be to hold a child with those beautiful eyes that would gleam with love and trust just like their mama's. Fate felt a little light headed at these thoughts and brought a hand to her forehead to try and settle the suddenly spinning world.
Worriedly Nanoha reached across the table and touched her cheek to check for fever and asked, "Fate-chan are you alright? You're looking peaky. Do we need to go back to the Hotel?"
Smiling at the gentle touch and tone Fate felt the spinning slow and stop. What kind of disease is its own cure?
Looking up with warm wine eyes she smiled, "I am okay. It's a short day today so maybe this afternoon, if it's alright with you, we could take a nap before deciding if we're going out."
Nanoha nodded and made it her mission to get Fate in and out of the girls' clutches and back to bed as quickly as possible. During the lab Nanoha found herself sucked into helping with techniques and checking work, they had just called for a halt and for the students to wash up when an a overeager student upset some paint onto Nanoha, staining the front and arm of her blouse. It wasn't too bad but the flustered girl was suddenly choking back tears and fleeing the room. Fate made a note of who this student was so she could check on her the next day.
Nanoha was now standing in just her silk cami and skirt at the sink and Fate was entranced. The soft pinkness that flushed Nanoha's skin brought to mind fresh apple blossoms and it made Fate's fingers twitch, she wanted so badly to touch her. Nanoha seeing her friend looking so dazed and not quite sure why but still worried about her health she came over without even worrying about her lack of blouse. Reaching out she touched Fate's forehead and cheek with cool hands. Fate shivered and without thinking she reached out to balance herself with a hand on Nanoha's waist. One hand rested on the warm, thinly veiled waist which sent a thrill through her as her other hand landed on Nanoha's bare upper arm. The soft smooth skin was addictive, with a mind of its own her hand began to skim up and down the length of Nanoha's arm.
The feeling of Fate touching her so gently was sending Nanoha into a tactile simulation overload. Leaning into the offending blonde wasn't the wisest thing to do but it was the only thing she could do. Pressing her forehead to Fate's shoulder as one of her hands remained on Fate's cheek and the other now weak from over stimulation dropped to rest on Fate's waist. They stood pressed together lightly as Fate stroked her arm and took the opportunity to breathe in Nanoha's sweet scent. Lucino and Alto coming back with a clean shirt for Nanoha found the pair and almost felt guilty for having to break them apart.
With a quick glance between them they agreed to leave the love birds alone for the evening. With great care they broke the soon-to-be lovers apart. Blushing and quiet all the way back to the hotel both the elder artists were happy when the coeds declared they had sudden plans and had to leave them to their own devices. The pair scampered up to their room where they changed into their nightwear and proceeded to cuddle into comfortable doze. Around dinner time they ordered something relatively safe from room service and cuddled some more as they watched TV. Fate knew this behavior wasn't what friends did, but Nanoha wasn't just her friend, she was fast becoming the center of her universe.
Day Four of classes
Day four was much like Day one with one class in the morning and another in the mid afternoon. It should have been easy but ten minutes into Fate's first lecture the upper level door swung open and a brown haired woman entered the room. The woman carried nothing, no paper or pen, no audio-recorder, but smirking at the distraction she caused sat discreetly at the back her legs genteelly crossed. Fate visibly hesitated and paled at the sight of the woman, her eyes sought out Nanoha and her worried loving eyes calmed some of her panic. Taking a deep breath Fate steeled her nerves and thought, 'Just get through the class, maybe she'll leave before there's an issue.'
Nanoha's eyes took in the stranger, she was rather petite but had a healthy sized bust which made Nanoha shift in her seat worriedly. Her light brown hair was almost blonde and her eyes appeared to be a startling goldish color. She wore fashionable eyeglasses and her outfit was obviously was of the highest quality but (in Nanoha's opinion) tacky looking with a fur lining around her collar and its unusual purple color. It didn't surprised Nanoha that beautiful women would slip into Fate's classes just to ogle the blonde but to do so, so blatantly, was shocking. The fact that the woman's presence was unnerving Fate was also making Nanoha nervous, who was this woman?!
Alto had to put a hand on Lucino when they saw the brown haired woman enter the room, both would have loved to have thrown her out but she was on the faculty so it was her right to sit in. Ever since this woman came to the university at the start of the spring term she'd been making trouble. Both girls would be happy to graduate that winter and get as far as possible from her. Shario had pointed out who the woman was and what she'd done in the past. Even if they hadn't received the warning her subsequent behavior on campus made it clear she was not a person to trust, she may look all cute and loving but she was a barracuda at heart.
The frightening thing to the girls was two of the woman's students who she had been mentoring had dropped out and then a few weeks later she unveiled a collection of work that was received with huge acclaim. They had seen some of those pieces being worked on, by the missing students. Were they really drop outs or had something more insidious happened to them? Considering how cold her smile could be and how fake most were coming to know she is, they'd put nothing beneath her.
The class ended and the woman waited until the last student left before breaking out into applauds. In a sing-song voice she called out, "Well done Fate-chan! You've come so far since our old school days."
Then standing she walked down the stairs like a supermodel down the catwalk, working her hips in a sexually enticing manner heading straight for the lectern where Fate stood frozen like a deer in headlights. Nanoha rose from her seat at ground level at the very end of the aisle and made a beeline straight for her blonde when the strange woman saw this she frowned.
In a less cheery voice she came to a stop at the base of the stairs and said, "I see you are still trying to fool the masses Fate-chan. Did this poor woman fall for the poor abused orphan story too? Did it make her all weepy and feel sorry for you? How fast did you get her out of her pants after that? Have you made her your little slut or are you and Shario sharing the little growling twits over there? Perhaps you'll finally get that harem you've always wanted? Did you tell her about how broken and confused you felt when Chrono-kun fucked you and left you? How it made you wish you had a giant cock to dominate all your cute little students? Or did you really open up and tell her all about how mummy use to punished you and how you now need pain to get off? Is that why you have three little puppets, just in case you break one when you make them beg? Tell me girls has she tied you up and marked you just like mummy?"
Nanoha stopped at the words and felt sick, this woman was disgusting. The filth she was spouting was stomach turning. Who would believe it? But then she saw Fate start shrinking into herself and knew it would take more than words to prove her support. Pasting her blonde she walked on to head off the foul creature.
Fate felt Nanoha pass her and felt her heart crumble when she walked on, she desperately wanted Nanoha to hold her and tell her she didn't believe these lies. It was only at the sound of flesh being soundly smacked did her head pop up. Nanoha was flexing her left hand which appeared red but not as red as Quattro Numeri's face. Nanoha leaned into the shorter woman's face and hissed, "You are a disgusting liar. If you say one more word about Fate Testarossa I will personally rip out your tongue and stuff it down your foul throat. Now Leave. . ."
Stupidly the woman pushed Nanoha back making her stumble against a desk. Quickly the angry faced woman made her way over to Fate where with her highly manicured hands she grabbed the front of Fate's blouse. Yanking hard she ripped open her button up blouse and shouted "Freak!" The sound of ripping fabric, buttons hitting the ground and scattering and harsh breathing was all that was heard for a moment then a scream sounded. Takamachi Nanoha had caught Quattro by her hair and was dragging her to the door. The woman flailed for a moment before Nanoha caught a better grip that painfully stopped her from doing anything but walking a straight line and screaming. The screaming had campus police sprinting up the hallway. Seeing the two women they halted and the elder asked in French what was going on. Nanoha only had a vague idea of what was being asked so went with the stupid American way of dealing with the situation, brashly striving ahead without fear of consequences or thinking (thank you Arisa).
With a no nonsense tone she said, "Listen officers I have no clue what you're saying or if you understand me. But this bitch just assaulted my best friend, a guest lecturer here. I am just taking out the trash, please excuse us."
Dragging the woman by the hair the rest of the way down the hall, ignoring the pleas from the police, the growing crowd and the outraged screams of her victim, she then kicked open a side door which lead to a courtyard with a pond. With her teeth bared in a disturbing parody of a smile she pulled the woman over to the edge of the water. Where pulling back the woman's head a bit more she whispered in her ear, "I have a pretty good idea of who you are now that I think about it. So I think I'll take this opportunity to cool your head and teach you it's not polite to spread malicious rumors. Oh, and keep your gawd damn hands to yourself before you lose them."
She then twisted the woman around and flung her into the pond. The woman came up out of the water sputtering and screaming for her assailant's arrest. Nanoha looked at the two officers and said, "I'll answer any questions you have but back in the lecture hall, I need to check on my friend."
Both officers understood English and nodded. The younger officer stayed behind to help fish the woman out of the pond while the elder followed Nanoha back to the lecture hall. He gave the auburn haired woman a wide berth, she hadn't struggled with that psycho woman; here was someone you gave respect. Once they returned to the lecture hall they found Fate was seated in a chair with both the coeds hovering over her trying to reassure her Nanoha would be okay and be right back. Fate's body was tense and her muscles jumped as if wanting to sprint off, the only thing actually holding her back from going after Nanoha was her torn blouse. Fate didn't really have body consciousness with either one of the coeds before her as both knew about her scars but she didn't want the rest of the campus to learn about them by putting them on display.
Nanoha was feeling insanely territorial and noticed Fate wasn't hiding her body as assiduously as she thought she'd be. Grabbing a chair she pulled it over to Fate and settled in next to the woman and held her hand throughout the interviews. The officer asked Fate if she was okay and made note of something when she noted her neck but she didn't open her shirt. Soon the officer had statements from all four women. The younger officer joined them halfway through with a giant wet spot on his uniform. He was less than pleased with his interview with Quattro Numeri and wanted to hear the other side of the story. By the end they were all looking at Nanoha with admiration, the officers and coeds alike respected Professor Testarossa and had come to despise the Numeri woman.
The elder officer said in his lightly accented English, "Well as much as we can understand your behavior we can't condone violence Madame Scrya-Takamachi. So we will have to issue an Official Warning. One more outburst like this and we will have to ban you from the campus. In the meantime we will be informing the Dean of the results of our investigation. I just hope this latest incident will be enough to end that woman's contract with the university, talk about false advertising. She is a black mark against the proud history and traditions of this school."
Watching the pair of officers leave Alto shook her head and said, "Ha Official Warning that's great. If I'd done it I'd be packing my bags for home. Thank God we actually had someone with some clout to take down that bitch. She's ruined so many good students in her time here already. Expulsion was getting tempting; I really didn't want to have to wait until after graduation to bitch-slap her."
Fate felt Nanoha's right hand tighten on her as her left hand begin to thread through her hair relaxing her. But Fate still tensed up when Nanoha asked, "How long has she worked here? How did she even get hired?"
Alto answered as she paced, "Since this past spring, she snuck in just after Fate-sensei left after the New Year's Gala. The Dean is always wanting to expand our mentoring program, active professional artists teach a single class a week and are assigned two or three students to help develop their methods and style in order to create enough work for a small showcase. They've been trying to get Fate-sensei to join the program for years. Well Numeri interviewed for a position, she's a pretty minor celebrity here, more to do with her parties for artists than her own art. But she made out that she and Fate-sensei had been best friends in college and that she had helped Fate develop her style. Pure B.S.
"As you can imagine the Dean was slobbering all over her by the end of the interview. She had names, places and dates from that period down pat, and this being Fate-sensei he never wondered why she wasn't at any of these parties, her so-called best friend, put on. The contract was signed well before the spring term started. Fate-sensei had stayed to the end of the fall term as Shario-sensei had been delayed by court proceedings from returning to finish the term. After the New Year everyone here decided to enjoy a quiet holiday at home and not return until just before classes started. So no one knew what had happened until the first day of term.
"When Shario-sensei finally found out what was going on she threw a fit. Screamed bloody murder about having to work with that woman, then threatened to quit, to go to the papers, to put on a One Woman Protest, anything to get rid of Quattro. Well it would have been a Three Woman Protest, no way we wanted to deal with the bitch either once we knew who she was. But that damn contract guaranteed her position for three terms. We had hoped to ride out the time by ignoring her…we were doing so well too. I know I've been pretending certain parts of the campus are being remodeled and avoid them accordingly."
Nanoha was getting annoyed, "So you all knew this woman was here all this time and never mentioned it. This could have happened that first day, any day or time this past week. If I'd known that woman was here I'd have never left Fate's side this week. Fate-chan did you know, or did they trick you?"
Fate looked emotionally drained but smiled and said, "I knew that's why I was so happy Nanoha agreed to come with me. I didn't tell you because I didn't want you getting in trouble. I'm sorry; I didn't want to face her alone."
Nanoha leaned in and hugged her quickly and said, "Never, I am here for Fate-chan, always."
Then pulling back to look at the younger women and gave them an arched brow.
Lucino smarted off; she wasn't going to be made to feel guilty over something she had no control over, "Well with that damn government job of hers Shario-sensei found herself between a rock and a hard place. Ask Fate-sensei to cover classes and risk them meeting or let the bitch take her classes and have her do God only knows how much damage to her students. It's the bitch being here that is the main reason Shario-sensei wants one of us with Fate-sensei at all times. Last time Fate-sensei was here someone got in her face and only after getting roughed up a little she…um well… she um snapped and ended up breaking the guy's arm. Fate-sensei has an Official Warning also, so we have to be her buffers; Shario-sensei can't afford to have her banned.
"And as much as I would have loved to see Fate-sensei crushing the bitch but I must say Nanoha-sensei you did superbement!" {magnificently!}
The purple haired woman then stood up from her place on the desk and looked over Fate and tipping her head said, "The cow didn't hurt you did she? Your neck looks a bit red."
Pulling at the torn shirt she then hissed, "Damn that looks like it'll bruise."
She was about to reach out and touch Fate when the blonde pulled her shirt back in place. In a strained voice she said, "Thank you for your concern but at this point I'd like to go back to the hotel. I want a shower and a fresh set of clothes. Not to mention something to eat."
The two coeds blushed at their apparent insensitivity and Alto said, "I'll pull the car around. I'll call Lu-chan when I'm at the curb."
Lucino unsure what to do with herself in the meantime said, "I'll just stand out here and uh guard the door. Just relax for now okay."
Fate nodded her thanks and settled back in her chair. Nanoha's hand still in her own as the woman sat next to her in her own chair. Once the door closed she asked in her strained voice, "Nanoha, can I hold you? I…I"
Fate never needed to explain herself; Nanoha was up in an instant and had crawled onto her lap. Silently she pulled Fate's head to her breast and held her securely as Fate wrapped her arms around Nanoha's waist. Nanoha let her hands rub circles on her back and play with Fate's hair.
In a voice of confusion Nanoha asked what had been bothering her for the past hour, "They know about your scars and that woman's betrayal. I thought you never spoke about such things with your students?"
Fate snuggled into Nanoha for a moment, there wasn't recrimination in her voice but there was hurt, Nanoha had wanted to be special and it appeared she wasn't.
Not knowing why she did it, Fate rubbed the tip of her nose on the soft skin of Nanoha's neck and felt the woman shudder then melt. Nanoha's grip on her tightened as Fate leaned her head on Nanoha's front. She spoke softly for Nanoha's ears only.
"I never told the girls my secrets but thanks to the indiscreet mouth of their mentor, Shario, they found out even before we all met."
Nanoha frowned and shifted a little in Fate's lap, "So you told Shario? When, why?"
Fate sighed, "No, I never told Shario. I didn't have too. Shario and I met right after Quattro betrayed me. I had never even spoken to her up to that point. As the malicious gossip made its rounds Shario heard at least one or two versions and decided to confront me.
It was the end of our freshman year in college and I'd been hiding in a secluded section of the library. Alicia was out doing damage control and plotting Quattro's death, all I wanted was some peace and quiet. I was sitting in one of the window seats when suddenly I was being grabbed from behind and pinned to the wall. I immediately struggled and begged to be let go but she had a good grip and a ton of leverage in the way she held me. I felt her pull my shirt up and at that point I was ready to start screaming, I was freaking out and was about to do us both some real harm when she let me go.
I turned around and was about to slap the hell out of this strange woman when she did something that really freaked me out. She took off her shirt. She had no bra on, nude from the waist up and well my brain froze up. You see when Shario was a child her family's home caught on fire. They tried to protect themselves with blankets to cover their heads as they crawled out of the burning building. A burning beam fell on Shario and trapped her. In the end she received burns to her entire back, right shoulder and about three quarters of her right arm and parts of her right side.
The first time she shared her burns with someone outside her family they called her a freak and said a lot of ugly things about her. Her coming up to me and looking at my scars and showing me hers was her way of showing me I wasn't alone and that I shouldn't be ashamed. I'm not so much ashamed of my scars as I'd rather not talk about them. Talking about them just depresses me because people start to look down on me, like I'm broken. That and it gets tedious explaining over and over again everywhere I go."
Nanoha pressed a small kiss on Fate's head and sighed, "I had wondered how you and Shario became friends in the first place. She doesn't seem like someone Alicia would normally pick up then have you adopt. She had mentioned being burned as a child at dinner but thankfully refrained from striping; I guess that wouldn't have been proper dinner etiquette."
Fate shifted and tried to pull Nanoha closer as she spoke, "No, Shario and Alicia are like oil and water most of the time. Both of them have certain beliefs on how I should be treated to help me come out of my shell. Usually I just let them fight it out and crawl out in the covering fire. Which leaves me with Alto and Lucino who are just as bad but at least don't normally hang all over me."
Speaking of the little devils Lucino popped her head back in the room and seeing the pair snuggled together coughed, "Ahem, ride's here. Let's get you back to the hotel for a rest."
Nanoha pulled herself up and straightened her clothes before giving Fate a hand up and the outer jacket of her dress suit. It was too small for Fate who looked at her questioningly. Nanoha huffed, "Just hold it in front of you. There's no reason to even risk giving anyone a free peek."
Fate laughed and opened the jacket to cover her front, tucking in the jacket around her front and holding it securely in place with her arms she said, "Thank you Nanoha, though I can't image there being many who'd appreciate the view."
Nanoha bit the inside of her mouth to stop herself from replying.
~"~"~"~
Day Five of Classes
Fate had been called in early to the university for a conference with the Dean regarding the events of the previous day so had to leave a dozing Nanoha in their bed. As she looked back and saw the woman sleeping now cuddled with her pillow she felt strangely warm and edgy, she wanted back in the bed but not to sleep. After the official meeting was over she had a small meal with the Dean and chatted about their work. She was again offered a job and it was made clear the offer extended to her partner as well. Both were well qualified for the position so no one could claim Fate had asked for the special favor of her lover being given the privileged position as a bargaining chip for getting her to sign. Fate had choked on her tea when the Dean called Nanoha her lover but did not deny it or try to correct his misperception.
After excusing herself she made her way down to the lecture hall where she had expected Nanoha to be waiting for her, especially after yesterday but no Nanoha could be found. Alto was strangely quiet about the matter as the last few free moments before class quickly sped by. As the class progressed and no Nanoha appeared Fate became progressively more agitated. Where was the woman? Was she okay? Had Quattro done something to her? Had Nanoha finally realized how much trouble Fate really was and decided to go home and begin cutting all ties? Where was her Nanoha?!
When the class was finally over she rushed out of the room and had hardly made it into the courtyard before she had her cell phone out dialing Nanoha's. It went to voice mail immediately and Fate felt a spike of panic hit her. Where was Nanoha?
She was about to run to the main street and call a cab back to the hotel to begin her search when Alto halted her with a quick wiggle of her cell phone. "It's Nanoha she…"
Fate grabbed the phone and said breathlessly, "Are you okay? Where are you?"
Nanoha glared at the purple haired girl in front of her who was giggling, her Fate-chan was worried, this was no laughing matter. In as soothing a tone as she could muster she said, "I'm fine Fate-chan. We had a small accident this morning, no one was hurt and other than some minor damage to Lucino's car everything is okay, well except for my cell phone. I was about to text you when we had the collision and it sort of went flying and is now in a couple different pieces. Now Lucino wants to replace my cell phone so we are going to a shopping center of some kind. It will likely take a while since she'll have to interpret for me so don't worry."
Fate wanted to crawl through the phone and check Nanoha for injuries and hug her. She was becoming too clingy, she knew that and that's what scared her about her relationship with Nanoha. If she lost the woman what would become of her? Shaking a little she took a breath then said, "Okay, I'm glad you are alright. Have fun shopping, don't worry about hurrying back, the Dean told me Quattro has been sacked and is banned from the campus. So no need for you to worry about me. Alto will keep me from getting too lonely, have fun, this is supposed to be a vacation of sorts."
Nanoha felt troubled by Fate's words, "Fate-chan, I'd rather be shopping with you, then I'd know I would have fun. Maybe tomorrow we can go out and check out some places you like?"
Feeling slightly relieved she replied, "Of course, I love spending time with Nanoha."
~"~"~"~
~X~ Hotel lobby, seven p.m.
Nanoha was sure she had been tricked; after all it had only taken fifteen minutes to replace her phone and transfer all the data. After that since they were already there and they did have that party to go to that evening why not take a few minutes and look around. Nanoha had agreed, Fate had said for her to have fun shopping so she let Lucino dragged her from one establishment to the next. One would think there'd be a limit to how many times a person could be plucked, prodded, exfoliated, and primped in one week. Lucino was asserting there were no limits when it was all done in the name of love. The thing that killed that premise though was Fate liked looking at her no matter what she was wearing, with or without her makeup. She had thought she'd die the first time Fate had knocked on her door and caught her without her 'face' on.
Fate had just tipped her head and looked a bit closer at her and said, "You have freckles, they're cute."
Nanoha had about died on the spot. No one had ever called her freckles cute. She had been so sure Fate would have commented on how old she looked or unattractive without her makeup so when she mention needing to put on her makeup before coming over for lunch Fate had told her she was being silly. She looked beautiful just the way she was. Fate had said beautiful, not fine or good enough, but beautiful. She had been ready to marry the woman then and there.
All day she'd been told, "It's all for Fate-sensei or she'll love it if…" then something painful and/or embarrassing was done to her. Damn that Lucino-san, that girl had mention knowing things about Fate and because no one but her should know Fate best she allowed herself to be manhandled by one more so-called professional beautician as the girl gossiped away about some misadventure involving the blonde.
After everything done to her she had to admit she felt great, beautiful and more than a little sexy thanks to the lingerie she had been convinced to first try on then purchase by a French sales person spouting compliments. Normally she wouldn't have been convinced so easily but when the woman had gone on to say her lover would not be able to resist that had nearly ruined the day for her. Tears had glazed her eyes for a moment in her realization that everything she was doing was likely for nothing. Lucino had railroaded her through everything they had done up to that point by teasingly saying it was for Fate. Trying to regain control of the situation Nanoha had begun to try to pull a robe on and retreat to the dressing room as she quietly and with as much dignity as she could muster admitted she didn't have a lover. The sales woman at that had slinked over and readjusted the robe so it framed her lingerie clad body more enticingly before pointing her at the mirror again and had simply said, "Yet." Honestly that sales woman had no soul, Nanoha ended up buying the entire set and more.
She was being stupid, Fate wasn't interested in seeing her underwear, the woman had just barely begun to show interest in her has a physical being. To even hope the blonde would appreciate all the effort she had put in was likely asking too much. Her whole outfit, her hair, makeup, everything had been done with Fate in mind. Lucino had just assumed Nanoha would want to dress to impress the blonde and she wouldn't dare deny it. She wanted Fate's eyes on her and her alone.
While Nanoha had been tortured and emotionally blackmailed all day Fate had found herself being hustled around which she found annoying. She was here on a mini vacation but was already dealing with more stress than she would have faced at home. All she was supposed to be doing was teaching a few classes then she should be getting to enjoy her down time with Nanoha. These girls and all these other people were getting in the way of that and soon she'd have to put her foot down. Even after a night of intense snuggling she needed more Nanoha time to get over the confrontation with Quattro. She needed the reassurance that Nanoha didn't find her repulsive, she needed to feel Nanoha. Biting the inside of her cheek Fate pushed away her needy feelings.
After hanging up with Nanoha Alto had taken Fate to a nearby day spa to help her relax. As Fate tried to eat a quick lunch the beauty techs began poking and prodding her. Frustrated by her meal being so disturbed she was glad to get back to the university where she hoped Nanoha would now be waiting. Instead she was further frustrated by Lucino calling back and saying they were being delayed but not to worry they'd all meet up at seven for the party. Seven! That would mean she'd be without Nanoha for more than twelve hours by that time. Fate was ready to hunt the young woman down and free the prisoner but that would have to wait until after the final class of the day was completed. Alto had pointed out she was still responsible for the class and Nanoha was safe so there was no excuse for her to cancel just because she was lonely for her best friend.
After class Alto had then lied to Fate and told her they would be meeting the others at a massage parlor. Alto knew the blonde was losing all patience with her but also knew Fate didn't often get massages what with her body consciousness so when she did she was frequently reduced to jelly afterwards. Knowing this was the only way she'd succeed in getting her way she had Fate squished and molded by a masseur, an hour later Alto was practically pouring Fate into a black silk gown. The sleepy blonde had then been primped and primed while she relaxed in her chair, nearly slipping out of it like ooze when she fell asleep. Alto seeing how vulnerable the blonde was couldn't help laughing as she wrapped the dozing blonde in a hooded cloak. Feeling like Kris Kringle as she properly prepared then carefully loaded her masterpiece into her car, it was a bit early but Nanoha was about to get the best Christmas gift ever.
Lucino had Nanoha distracted as they stood waiting for their partners in the lobby, so it was her who saw them first and made sure to keep Nanoha out of their line of sight. When purple haired girl saw Alto enter into one of the side rooms with a hooded figure she smiled, 'oh this is going to be fun.'
As Alto maneuvered her sleep-walking doll to the reserved state room she gave her partner a small nod then disappeared into the room. After pulling off the cloak, she smooth down blonde hair and the silky dress, after she gave Fate a quick walk around she nodded to herself, perfect. Telling her sleepy puppet to stand right at the entrance, the brown haired girl then left her standing there confused. Sleepily she watched her leave as her brain in a muddle thought, 'Weren't we going to a party? Where's Nanoha?'
After receiving the all clear sign from her partner Lucino then led Nanoha directly to the side room, and perhaps she was being a little mean but before closing the door she gave the woman a little push which almost made her trip on her heels as she stepped into the room.
When the door opened Fate turned to see who had entered and the sight of Nanoha caused every vestige of sleepiness to flee. When she stumbled Fate instantly took a step forward and caught her and it was like every cheesy romance novel ever written had suddenly come true. Every one of her senses was suddenly filled with Nanoha and it was wonderful.
Nanoha walking into the room saw Fate in profile for an instant then her head turned and she was lost in the deep red of her eyes and lips that always seemed to mesmerize her. When she tripped she thought foolishly, 'So much for looking elegant and sophisticated.' Then Fate's arms were around her and she thought stupidly, 'I like being a klutz.'
The feeling of warm silk under her fingers was amazing. The warm living body of the woman she was head over heels in love with was a dark and incredibly sexy mystery in the full length inky black dress. Nanoha was brought to mind of the dresses worn by Morticia Addams. At that moment Fate would have made a fair imitation of the sexy witch if her hair had been dyed black. From their tight embrace Nanoha could breathe in the musky scent of Fate's perfume and felt a small part of herself die in restraining herself from pouncing on the woman then and there and eating her. She looked, smelt, and felt delicious, and seeing as this was Fate, Nanoha was hundred percent certain she'd taste delicious if she could just…ugh!
Fate was taking in Nanoha, her eyes never leaving the enthralling sight. Satin and lace had been used to create a masterpiece in periwinkle blue and white, the dress made Fate think of heaven. The blue brought out Nanoha's eyes and made the woman appear even more angelic than normal. Without really thinking about what she was doing she helped Nanoha settle back on her feet before moving her hand to softly ghost down the shorter woman's face and neck before it came up to cup her chin delicately to tip her face up as she asked, "Stai bene mio dolce angelo?" [Are you okay my sweet angel?]
Nanoha had to close her eyes and counted to ten, there was no way any rational person should be expected to accept this much stimulation without snapping.
Swallowing her lust and trying for normality Nanoha said shakily, "Fate-chan you need to translate that for me."
Realizing exactly she had said Fate blushed and pulled away as she translated her words as she stared at her feet, "Are you okay…um my…my sweet angel."
Nanoha's heart was fluttering like mad, Fate looked so cute and those words were killing her.
Fate's eyes darted back to Nanoha, she couldn't stop looking at her, as her eyes took in the full length of Nanoha's form she spoke again, "You really do look like an angel. I don't think I've ever seen anyone or anything more beautiful than you."
That's it! Enough my soul can't take anymore, I have to! Nanoha had just taken a step forward to close the gap between them with a purposeful glint in her eyes when suddenly the door swung open and Lucino and Alto came in looking perturbed. The reason for their disquiet followed right behind them. There in the doorway was a man with stylishly tousled dark brown hair and rapacious blue eyes who was wearing an obscenely expensive suit. Nanoha instantly recognized the man and felt ill. The man took in the two beautiful women and considered his coming out tonight was suddenly worthwhile. It seemed his cousin's widow was over her mourning period, and she was looking hot! He couldn't remember a time when she looked this good; apparently it was true that the stupid ferret-faced nerd had been holding her back. Then there was the blonde, ouch! Talk about smoldering hot! If the rumors were true the pair was close and he wouldn't mind being the meat in this hot chick sandwich.
In what he thought was an attractive and winsome manner he spread open his arms and said, "Na-nee! So good to see you again! How is my favorite cousin? Looks like you've gotten over ferret-boy pretty quickly, and I have to say no offense to the deceased but you're looking hot tonight, good riddance to the old rodent heh!"
Then he swept her up in a hug where she went rigid as a flag pole to prevent him from pressing his body into her, when he fleetingly cupped her ass and gave it a squeeze she had to clench her teeth to prevent herself from slapping the man. Not minding her less than pleased response he placed a kiss on her cheek, far too close to her mouth then pulled back only to hang and arm on her shoulder and carry on, "Na-nee, introduce me to your friend."
Nanoha felt like she needed a shower, she hated this man so much it hurt to not kill him. He was Noriko's Favorite nephew, yes with the capital F, for Fucker. He was a slime-ball and he was now looking at her Fate-chan like she was a tasty piece of meat. If it had been hard to restrain herself before Nanoha was now finding her self control stretched to limits which should have earned her sainthood. But her patience with this man was hard won and the memory of her painful lost stayed her hand. The last time she had hit the man Noriko had taken Vivio away from her for a month saying a mother needs to be patient and kindhearted, obviously Nanoha was incapable of providing the kind of role model Vivio needed. Nanoha had bent her head and apologized to Vice, the fact that her husband hadn't even tried to protect her had killed any lingering affection she had left for him from their childhood.
Fate was finding it difficult to restrain herself also, no one treated Nanoha like this, she was an honorable and respectable woman with great intelligence and talent, not a fucking piece of meat. From the moment the man had gotten within arm's reach of her Nanoha with those disgusting lust filled eyes and flailing arms she'd been ready gut the man. As the man embraced her Nanoha she began picturing various methods of torture suitable for protracted pain and suffering, how dare he touch her angel! If she had seen the grope nothing on earth would have restrained her from immediately and soundly beating him senseless. But that had been done surreptitiously so as to not put his future victim on her guard. It was the kiss on Nanoha's cheek that signed his death warrant; he dared to sully her perfect angel with his unclean mouth! When he finally turned to look at her with his pathetic piece of meat called an arm still touching her Nanoha Fate's aura had grown incredibly black and menacing. Yet everything about her appearance seemed calm and collected after all she was just looking at him.
Over the years Fate's eyes have been described many different ways, when she was calm and happy they could look beautiful and captivating like a glass of fine red wine. When she was annoyed or bored they could be called cold and hard like icy rubies. When she was aroused (i.e. whenever she was looking at Nanoha for more than ten seconds straight) they could be said to look like smoldering coals just waiting to flare up into an inferno. But right now her eyes looked nothing like wine or jewels or even coals. No, right now they appeared to be the color of dried blood, a dark maroon almost black color. It was an eye color never seen before as Fate normally did not allow herself to get angry or possessive. Unfortunately for Vice Granscenic he had his utterly worthless meat touching her most precious and dearly beloved person and now those dead blood colored eyes were now taking him in and calculating.
Sensing the dark aura that was now permeating the room Vice's instincts told him to remove his arm from Nanoha and immediately it fell away with a forced laugh and swing of his arm to play off his retreat. Fate's nostrils flared slightly as she took in that he was still standing too close to Nanoha and the man's residual monkey-brain kicked in identifying he was still in danger and immediately had him taking a huge step away from the auburn haired woman but closer to Fate, proving he had a secret death wish. Fate's eyes swept up and down the length of the man and quite honestly she wasn't impressed with what she saw. Deciding her victim should at least know who was about to slaughter him she took a half step forward and introduced herself politely with a half bow.
"How do you do sir? I am Fate Testarossa, and who might you be?" 'Yes, identify yourself so I know what to write on the marker, something other than Worthless Swine, it'd be unfair to the good pigs in the world to lump you in with them.' she thought darkly.
Proving he really was too stupid to live after all, he took Fate's quiet politeness as a sign of weakness and let his pompousness flare back out. With what he thought was a suave smile and to him a sly wink he stepped forward (a step too close) and introduced himself. "I'm wonderful I must say! Vice Granscenic, pleasure to meet you, I am dear Na-nee's cousin, well I am actually cousins with poor Yuuno but once ya get a claim on Na-nee you should never let go, am I right or what huh-aaaah!?"
He was about to start chuckling at his own joke as he attempted to do something so stupid it beggared the imagination. Fate's face was its perfect mask of placid disinterest as she caught the arm that was trying to slip behind her to grope her ass. Holding the arm in a tight grip she twisted his wrist until she felt something pop then held the disgusting man trapped in an arm lock, all the while her face remained calm and even as the grave.
In a terribly cold and strangely detached voice she said to him calmly, "You seem to be under the false impression that people are attracted to you and find you irresistible. I am here to tell you, you are a disgusting little man. If you come close to Nanoha, myself or any woman of our acquaintance and try your sexist idea of flirting again I will personally guarantee you will permanently lose your hand, then whatever you have in your pants that might laughingly be called your genitals."
He tried to flail and break her grip and she just ended up catching his other arm and with both now painfully locked she held him still then gave his arms a small twist making him wince. The only other sign of her increased frustration was the flaring of her nostrils as she spoke to him again in her now almost clinically detached voice, "I know two hundred and sixteen ways to torture a person and not kill them. Some are more tedious than others but believe me when I say I could make your life very uncomfortable for a very long time if you decide to keep pushing your presence into places where it is obviously unwanted."
At this the man pissed himself and noticing this Fate released his arms and took a careful step back so as to not ruin her shoes. With a dispassionate glance at the growing puddle then his beet red face she said, "Have a good rest of the evening Mr. Granscenic, if you'll please excuse us."
Then looking at the three other women in the room she said graciously, "Ladies, I believe it's time for us to join the party."
Then she made a few small gesturing motions at Nanoha and the two co-eds to usher them from the room and the growing smell of shame and urine.
~"~"~"~
Fate hated herself but she made sure to hold herself upright and powerful for as long as that man could possibly see or hear her. Once on a different floor she ended up rushing to the nearest trashcan in the hall and vomiting. Her body was now shaking like a leaf in a windstorm and her head was throbbing in pain. She was a monster after all, well depending on how one looked at it better a monster than a coward. At least she was the kind of monster who would rip and tear to protect her loved ones, not one who rips and tears her loved ones, an important difference. 'But how long will it take for me to devolve enough to not care who I'm hurting?' She grabbed the trashcan again as she dry heaved at that thought.
Nanoha felt her heart break as she saw Fate fall to pieces. She so wanted to take the woman in her arms and hold her tight but was unsure of her welcome. The two young women looked at one another worriedly then Lucino stepped over to Nanoha and whispered, "You need to take care of her. She won't let us near her. Remember how we said she got a little upset last year with a student. Yeah well she had a similar reaction as this to getting angry afterwards. It took one of the nurses to sedate her so we could carry her home. She was pretty torn up about it, I still don't know what ma mère said to her. She doesn't seem to understand its normal for a person to get angry. To need to blow off some steam or that it's okay to fight back when one needs to protect oneself or others. We've tried to explain but she obviously didn't listen or she wouldn't be having this reaction."
Alto moved to her other side and pressed a key into her hand, "This key is good for the next four or so hours, get her in there and help her calm down."
Then the pair withdrew back down the hall and down the carpeted stairs. Looking at the crumpled figure on the ground clutching a trashcan Nanoha wanted to cry for her friend. Vice wasn't worth a mental or emotional breakdown. Looking at the key she saw it was for a room about six doors down. Rolling her shoulders she got ready for a struggle, she was fairly certain Fate was going to fight her. She fought everyone else. Stepping in front of the blonde she pulled the trashcan out of her arms and setting it aside she then reached out to the disheveled blonde.
Fate froze and went rigid then in a strained voice she said, "You shouldn't touch me. I'm a monster. I threatened that man and quite honestly I'd have no qualms in tearing him into tiny pieces before flushing him down a toilet."
Nanoha smiled at that, "Considering the fact that he is a walking piece of shit that seems like the proper method of disposal. I would recommend properly washing your hands after handling him also. I know I feel like a shower after that hug, if you can call what he did a hug, foul creature."
Fate looked up at her seemed confused by Nanoha's reaction. She should be hating her, fearful, disgusted, not smiling at her, not looking at her so warmly.
Cupping the blonde's face she ran a thumb across her cheek before saying, "Don't be surprised, I've been plotting Vice's death for years. Come on, get up. Those girls somehow secured us a place where we can get you cleaned up and relax for a bit."
Fate shifted away for a moment unsure. Nanoha frowned at this and caught the blonde's hand before standing up and pulling on it. "You have two choices; I can drag you kicking and screaming or you can walk like a civilized person."
The blonde blushed as she stood, "I wouldn't have kicked or scream."
Hooking an arm around the blonde's waist she shepherded her down the hall, pleased at the blush Nanoha teased her a bit more, "Who said you'd be the one doing that, if I had to drag you, you better believe I'd be yelling about how heavy you are and how you were acting like a big baby, as for the kicking…well if you were Miyuki I'd probably give you one or two for being stubborn."
Opening the door to the room Nanoha pushed a stunned Fate into the room. Closing the door Nanoha stood for a moment to collect her scattering emotions and thoughts. Obviously humor, black humor, was something Fate hadn't been expecting and as such had gotten past her guard. She'd have to walk a fine line here. She'd have to use humor to downplay what had happened while still staying serious enough to reassure Fate.
Fate watched Nanoha and tried to read her body language, with anyone else she'd be completely clueless but she had found herself studying the woman in the past few weeks and was slowly learning her small tells. Right now Nanoha was concerned, not freaked out or angry or disturbed, and for that alone she had to love the woman. Who else but Nanoha could be so understanding?
Fate frowned down at her hands, she'd gone too far this time, she was obviously dangerous and was clearly developing into a sociopath, she had no regrets for terrifying the piss out of that man. Nanoha stepped closer and covered Fate's hands with her own before pulling them closer to her face. She studied at them closely for a moment before declaring, "Just as I thought, still they are beautiful, soft and gentle. Still the hands of the person I lo…love most. Still the hands of the kindest and most honorable person I know."
Fate had been ready to rip her hands away and deny everything Nanoha said until she heard the L word. Then she remembered Nanoha's promise to always tell her the truth, even if it wasn't something she might want to hear. Though in this case it might be worded 'ready to hear.' Nanoha loves her? How? Why?
Trembling she asked, "Love? You…as a friend surely?
Nanoha squeezed her hands and speaking with all the love and devotion she felt for the woman said, "I am In Love With You."
Fate knew she wasn't lying; she wouldn't disrespect Nanoha's feelings by denying the obvious truth. Instead she asked the only thing that seemed to manner, "Why?"
Nanoha had been ready for this, "Because you're you, the kindest, gentlest, most intelligent, talented and beautiful woman I've ever had the good fortune to have met."
Fate frowned, "I am a monster, you've seen what I am, damaged. Why, why me Nanoha? You could have anyone."
Nanoha shook her head and squeezed her hands but didn't try trapping her by hugging her, "No, you're not a monster. Am I a monster for what I did to Quattro yesterday?"
The blonde shivered, Nanoha protecting her had been confusing, she didn't like seeing people fight but Nanoha had looked so beautiful when she returned and had made her feel so safe when she took her hand afterwards. Shaking her head she said, "You're an angel, my guardian angel. You make me feel safe. But that's just it; you give me too much, what could I possible give you. Why bother with me?"
Getting frustrated wouldn't do them any good so Nanoha took a deep breath and said, "Because you make me happy. You don't look at me and see someone else or what needs to be fixed. Because your eyes, they make me want to make you smile. When you're happy it makes my heart soar. And I know you probably don't want to hear this but because you are the only person I've ever met that has driven me to lust stupidity. Yes, scars and all Fate-chan, I want you. I would do anything to kiss you and hold you but I know you're not ready for that."
Fate pulled away and very deliberately withdrew from Nanoha and went into the bathroom, closing the door and quietly locked it. Nanoha felt like she'd be crushed by a twenty ton boulder. She knew telling the truth would ruin things but after tonight, seeing Fate so angry and possessive it had made her hope. 'Well, just because she doesn't like a man like Vice hanging all over me doesn't mean she wants to.'
Then the door opened again and Nanoha noted Fate had washed her face, and she looked hesitant. Walking stiffly Fate came up to Nanoha and after taking a deep breath she raised her hand to cup Nanoha's cheek and leaned in. Nanoha's mind exploded, she tried to say something but the squeak was smothered by a pair of soft silky lips. The kiss was everything it had promised to be in her dreams and fantasies; Fate was delicious and so gentle. When she finally pulled away Nanoha groaned, "Please," as her hands gripped Fate's sides tightly.
Fate's heart was pounding in her ears and her rational mind was screaming as her hormones took over the control panel. Hearing the soft plea gave the raging horde more strength and her normally overcautious mind was sent reeling. Another kiss immediately followed the first and this time her tongue decided it was time to properly taste the delicate morsel placed before it. Her tongue flitted across the seam of Nanoha's mouth and when she gasped in surprise the pink invader slid in and began to explore. Nanoha was shocked! She had assumed if this ever happened she'd be the one to initiate it. She fully expected to have to lead Fate through every step of intimacy. Hoy-Boy! Fate was doing things to her mouth she didn't know could be done and each sweep of that delightful tongue was making her weaker in the knees.
When she felt the bed suddenly against the back of her legs she realized Fate had been gently guiding her backwards. Oh my! Was she ready for this, were they ready for this? Yes, not really, but that didn't mean they had to stop altogether. Pulling back slightly while maintaining a tight grip on her blonde she said breathlessly, "Fate-chan, I'd really like to give you everything but I think we might not be ready for that just yet. But please, please don't stop kissing me, I want this, I want you, we just need to go slow."
Fate's eyes were living flames at this point and she asked, "Will you touch me?"
Nanoha shivered at the heat in her eyes and said, "If you'll let me. I want to…so badly."
Raising Nanoha's hand with her own she guided it to the zipper of her gown. Eyes closed and her breathing now rapid she said, "Slowly."
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A/N2: I may write a cold shower scene as a continuation, no full on lemons yet, they need to work up to that, what do you folks think? Or should this be more inference when it comes to love making?
So continuing from my earlier question, bad things in three; Was the mini-accident the third thing or is there more to come? Heehee, one way or the other there will be more drama soon, but I think a little calm before the storm to enjoy where we got in this chapter has been earned.
Love ya guys! Please be patient with the next update as I will be starting a new job hopefully in the next week or so. We'll see if this will give me more or less time to write.
Remember every time you review I smile evilly and sometimes even snicker, scaring friends, family, coworkers and strangers. With enough people worried about me they may lock me up in a padded cell hopefully with my laptop then I could write all the time…well I can dream.
