Veritas #2: Heels add oomph to any outfit

Chapter 2: Sexed Up

Mai waltzed through the door to SPR at ten minutes after six, humming to herself. Had Naru not been en route to the kitchen as she did so, he never would have heard it. He raised an eyebrow at her as she saw him and stopped.

"Oh, hi Naru."

"Mai."

She grinned and bounced lightly as she passed him to her desk. She was in a good mood. The rehearsal must have gone well. He watched as she dropped her bag over the back of her chair and examined the note he'd written her. She looked up at him over her shoulder.

"You took the case then?"

He nodded. "Call the others. We start on Monday."

"Ok," she grinned, sitting and picking up the phone. He left her to it and continued to the kitchen, making two cups of tea and leaving one at her elbow as he passed. She looked up at him with wide eyes, currently on the phone to Monk. He ignored her gaze and returned to his office, sipping at the tea while he finished reading a file his father had sent him. He only had a page left; he should be able to finish by the time Mai was done on the phone and came to investigate. He grimaced, looking at the cup in his hand. And then she could make him some proper tea; he was perfectly willing to acknowledge that she was better at that than he could ever hope to be.

Mai walked in as he was reading the last paragraph. He held up one hand, keeping her quiet as he finished, then dropped it as he lowered the paper to the desk. "Yes, Mai?"

She blinked at him. He sipped at his tea innocently. She shook her head at him.

"Bou-san and Ayako will be here at nine thirty on Monday."

"Good. Did you call Yasuhara-san?"

"He's going to meet us there; he has lectures he can't get out of until eleven."

Naru nodded; he'd expected as much. Yasuhara's final year of university was keeping him very busy.

"What about you?" he asked Mai. He knew she had lectures to attend in the early afternoon, but on occasion she had been known to skip lectures in order to work a case. She shrugged.

"I'll see what happens when we get there. Provided I don't get possessed or have a dream, I'll go to class in the afternoon."

Naru nodded. Mai was silent for a heartbeat, then leaned forward with her hands on his desk.

"What's the tea for? Not that I'm complaining, 'cus hey, it's about time you made some, but I was wondering."

Naru just smirked at her. The tea was because he was making some anyway, and it seemed like a good way to confuse Mai. He wasn't about to cite that as his reason though. Enigmatic expressions would be quite answer enough. Mai scowled when she realised that was all the response she was going to get.

"Fine, thank you. See, Naru, how I said that? And it didn't kill me?"

Rolling his eyes, Naru picked up the report he'd been reading and set about shuffling the pages into order. Mai hovered for a second more, then leaned across the desk, pushed the papers away from Naru's face and gently kissed the end of his nose. He blinked at her, shocked. He hadn't been expecting that. She giggled and leaned back.

"Thank you, Naru."

She sashayed out of his office and shut the door behind her. Naru couldn't do much beside watch her leave. Finally, he shook his head and scowled. He blamed the miko for Mai's sudden change in attitude; she had never been this bold before.

Xxx

Mai brought him a new cup of tea without being asked about half an hour later. He was getting ahead in his research of the house for the case on Monday and didn't acknowledge her. She huffed loudly; he ignored her. Finally, after over a minute, she coughed pointedly. He spoke to her without looking away from the screen.

"What is it, Mai?"

"Michiru just called me; she wants to know if I can meet her an hour earlier. Which would mean leaving in ten minutes or so."

Naru looked up at her, but didn't speak. He didn't have to; if he kept silent long enough, Mai would do all the talking for him. She sighed.

"Please, Naru? I know you don't normally close until eight, but nobody comes in that late anyway, and I don't have much to do out there now; if I run a duster over the shelves I'm done. I'd just be sitting around wasting time. And I did come in early this morning."

"To see a new apartment."

"But I didn't know that."

She was making a good argument. Naru considered for a moment, then nodded.

"Fine. I'll see you here at eight tomorrow morning."

She beamed at him and started bouncing again as she left the room.

"Thanks Naru!"

He shook his head and returned to his research. He hadn't gotten much done when Mai opened the door to his office again.

"Bye, Naru."

He waved a hand in her direction, still reading. She tutted, and he looked up, annoyed.

"Wha…"

She was wearing a black dress with a round neck and long sleeves. The material at her wrists was almost as long as the rest of the dress. It barely reached her mid-thigh. Naru was accustomed to seeing Mai in skirts, but she wasn't usually quite this sexed up. The heels probably had something to do with it. He blinked, cleared his throat, and forced his eyes to her face. She was smirking at him. Yes, this was definitely the miko's fault.

"What do you want?" he asked when he could speak without coughing. Mai's smirk widened and she stalked towards him around the desk. He tried not to look at the swing of her hips.

"I was wondering, since you've been in a social mood lately, if you wanted to join us?"

"I don't think so," he said, keeping his eyes locked with hers. As long as he didn't look south of her face, he could keep his normal composure. "I have work to do."

"Didn't stop you earlier," she pointed out, resting her hip against his desk and leaning down so their faces were level. He refused to fall for the bait.

"I said no, Mai."

She blinked at his refusal, then nodded slowly and stood back upright.

"Ok then. Never mind. Goodnight, Naru."

She was sulking. Well, serve her right. She should know better than to bait him like that.

"Goodnight, Mai," he said a little coldly as he turned back to his computer. She walked out of the office without another word (and minus the swaying, he noticed. Not that he was looking). He heard the front door shut a few seconds later. Exhaling shakily, he shook his head, running a hand through his hair. Next time he saw Matsuzaki, he was going to kill her.

Yasu's case notes

Boss-man made you tea?

He did.

Did you drink it?

No. I value my taste buds.

Fair point. Why are you looking at me like that?

I'm surprised you're not teasing me about the dress.

Nah; I've seen the dress. I do wish I'd seen Naru's face though. He really stammered? Why does everything happen when I'm not there?

Next time: Mai winds Naru up to almost breaking point.