Divergence (Nina's Side)
Imagine a world like our own, and a history that followed along more familiar paths. England was never taken over, the royals never fled to North America and the power of Geass never appeared to change the fate of the world. Yet even with all those changes some lives would end up much the same, and touch upon each other on familiar ways.
Nina Einstein unlocked her townhouse with a shaky hand, the wine she had drunk at the wedding reception lingering in her system. The black haired woman got the door open and staggered inside, her slinky glue bridesmaid dress flowing around her. She casually set the matching purse on a end table and walked into her bedroom, intent on getting the hell out of the damned dress.
After a fast detour into the shower to get the accumulated day's perfume off, Nina emerged in her usual nightwear, pajama top and a pair of ratty sweat pants. She saw her answering machine light blinking red and hesitated, but worried there might be a call from work she pressed the play button.
"Nina, this is Lloyd from the lab," her boss said, his English accent stronger than usual, "Cecile asked me to tell you that you could take a few days away from the lab. Not that I see anything wrong with you wallowing in unrequited love, but she seemed concerned...."
"Lloyd!" Cecile's voice cut in.
"Anyway," Lloyd continued breezily, "take a few days if you need to."
Nina had to bite back a sad giggle as she erased the message. Lloyd was the head of her research lab and was probably the worst person she had met in terms of human interaction. If it wasn't for his assistant Cecile keeping him straight he'd probably have lost most of his employers and offended all of the investors. He was lucky he was brilliant....
"This is Milly," the warm voice said, "you were a real trooper at the wedding today. I was really surprised at how well you kept your composure, considering." Milly hesitated, "I'll leave you alone a few days, but please call me."
Kallen didn't introduce herself, but Nina recognized her voice. "You're a real lady, Nina," she growled out, "in your place I'd have punched them in the face." She also ended her message with a request to call her.
Nina sighed, knowing that she would have to call them both, eventually. The three of them and a few others had congregated at Ashford Academy, and Kallen and Milly probably knew her about as well as anyone could. They had also had ringside seats for much of this whole drama, right from the very beginning.
Another of their academy classmates called next. "This is Lelouch," his calm, usually tightly controlled voice said, "I wanted to thank you for today." He sighed, "You have to be devastated, my cousin has handled this whole situation terribly, but you didn't act out or ruin the ceremony. Thank you, and I'm sorry."
'Lelouch always was classy,' Nina admitted as she erased the messages and walked over to her couch, sitting down with a sigh. She could still remember when she had first met him and his cousin Euphemia, both attending Ashford to 'broaden their horizons' supposedly. Later she learned that Lelouch was there because the charming young man had seduced half the maids at his home, while Euphemia was there for... other reasons.
Nina sat back on the couch and closed her eyes, letting the memories bubble up once again. Beautiful, pink haired Euphemia who charmed the whole class, not to mention much of the school. Working together on school projects, Nina becoming fascinated by Euphemia and the other girl developing a interest in her. That first night in the dorms as the more experienced Euphemia taught Nina the secrets of their bodies, showing her how to please and be pleasured. They stayed together all through their school days, and even after they graduated and Nina went off to work at Camelot labs.
Nina had been introduced to Suzaku Kururugi at Camelot, where he was escorting his relation Kaguya who was interested in investing. He was a kindly, warm young man who's family was involved in politics, and was also connected to the Lamperouge clan. When he began coming around to see Euphemia Nina was a bit alarmed, but Euphy had reassured her.
Apparently Euphemia's father had been putting pressure on her to settle down, and her dating Suzaku was just a beard. Nina had not wanted to seem jealous and controlling so she accepted that, but became increasingly aware of how Euphy kept her apart from her family and even her circle of friends. But Nina bore it because she loved Euphemia, and knew that love could conquer all. Well, maybe so but it seemed what they shared wasn't love.
Early in September Euphemia and Suzaku had announced their engagement! Nina was shocked, but Euphy wouldn't answer her calls or email. Finally Milly had brought a hand written letter over, Euphy having begged her to do so. In the letter Euphy was apologetic but revealed that when she slept with Suzaku she had realized her feelings for Nina were merely a girlish infatuation. She hoped that they could be friends, but she loved Suzaku now.
Nina had been so stunned she couldn't even form a response, and had burst into tears. As Milly comforted her she sobbed out months of stress and subtle rejection, babbling incoherently. It felt so good to get it all off her chest, especially talking to someone she knew would understand. Back in their Academy days Nina had walked in on Milly and Kallen in a very compromising position, and even covered for them later. It forged a strong bond of friendship between them, not to mention a completely inappropriate offer of a threesome from Milly.
The invitation to be a bridesmaid at the October wedding that arrived days later added a even more surreal touch to the situation. Kallen had suggested going and when the priest asked for someone to speak up, to spell out their relationship. Which had been tempting, but Nina thought she had more class than that. So instead she went through the dress fittings, rehersals and finally the wedding itself as stoically as possible, and if anyone noticed she was more tearful than the other bridesmaids, they could chalk it up to how long she knew Euphy.
Looking back at the wedding Nina felt oddly... relieved. She had lived through the nightmare of seeing the woman she loved married and it had burned over the wound of her loss, somewhat. It still hurt, of course, but seeing how happy Euphy was helped shift some of that pain into anger, and that felt at least a bit better.
Getting up Nina hesitated by the fridge, debating having a glass of wine then shook herself. 'The last thing I need is Euphy driving me to drink,' she thought as she headed to bed.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
The phone call came later in the month, about two weeks after the wedding. Cheerfully Milly demanded, "What's going on with you?"
Peering into the fridge Nina asked mildly, 'What do you mean?" She sighed, deciding that nothing looked appetizing and closed the door.
"I got a call from Lloyd telling me you were being unsociable," Milly said dryly, "apparently all you're doing is working and staying home." She paused, "And for Lloyd to notice something like that means it's pretty bad."
Nina reasonably pointed out, "It was probably Cecile telling him to call."
"Either way," Milly waved that off, "it's time you went out. Kallen and I have something planned, and you're coming along."
"I don't want to be a third wheel," Nina tried to refuse.
"Threesomes have never stopped me before," Milly purred.
"Besides," Kallen came on the line, presumedly at the apartment the two women shared, "if you don't agree to come along Milly will just make me come over there and help her kidnap you. So just make it easy on all of us, huh?"
Nina had to laugh, even though she knew Kallen was half serious. Checking the date she sighed, "This isn't some theme Halloween party, is it?"
"No theme," Milly promised, "though we are dressing up."
"No," Nina said flatly.
"We'll see," Milly laughed.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
As promised Milly and Kallen showed up on Halloween dressed up, and forced Nina to improvise a 'mad scientist' outfit out of clothes and a labcoat. Then they piled into Kallen's sports car and were off, ending up in Shinjuku in front of a converted warehouse with a garish neon sign reading 'Arisugawa's Locket.'
Nina got in line with the others, smiling wryly at the tight flight suit Kallen had chosen, right out of her job as a test pilot. At the far other end of the spectrum was Milly, who had chosen to wear fetish leather panties and corset over a flesh colored body suit. They moved up the line pretty quickly, only slowed by the door woman bantering with another lady.
"Are you two done yet?" Kallen asked wryly.
"For now," Akane winked, wearing one of her karate gi's as a costume.
Milly Ashford snickered softly, the light brown haired school teacher shaking her head with amusement. "Good party?" she asked Ranma curiously.
"There's a good variety of people," Ranma grinned.
"I can't believe you wore that," Nina shook her head.
"If you're going to do something, go for the gusto," Milly said as she, Nina and Kallen headed inside. She was apparently well aware of Ranma sneaking a look at her nearly bare butt and gave a extra wiggle, just for her.
"Hello, I'm Nabiki Tendo. Welcome to the Locket," Nabiki said politely as she smiled at the three women, doing greeter duty.
"Hi," Kallen looked her over, soon joined by her partner Milly.
Nina watched them, slightly appalled at their behavior, yet also a little envious. The brown haired greeter was cute, after all./
Nabiki felt herself blush slightly, feeling two predatory and one curious gaze on her. "Can I help you get a table or ...?" she asked the only one who didn't look like she wanted to jump her.
Nina smiled sympathetically to the other woman, "I think we'll head up to the bar first, but thank you." She tossed a wry glance at her friends, "And they're not as bad as they look."
Milly grinned at Nabiki, "We're worse."
"Have a good night," Nabiki laughed as she waved for them to move on.
"I can't believe you two," Nina murmured as they headed up to the bar and ordered drinks from the striking bartender.
"Carpe diem," Kallen laughed, "seize the day."
"Seize the ass," Milly poked her jokingly, "I saw you pinch that woman."
"Go easy on Nabiki," the odd bartender warned, her multicolored hair flowing down her back, "she just had a bad breakup."
"I see," Nina nodded, tossing Nabiki a sympathetic glance.
They found a empty table and relaxed, drinking and talking for a bit. Nearly half a hour passed before Milly and Kallen decided it was time to dance, and Nina excused herself to get a refill on her own drink. On the way to the bar she saw Nabiki sipping a drink and looking kind of lost, a sad almost wistful look on her face. It was that look, more than anything, that gave Nina the courage to do what she did next.
"Miss Tendo?" Nina asked quietly, causing Nabiki to turn around. Nina gave her a slight smile as she moved up to the bar, "I had hoped I'd see you again."
"Thank you," Nabiki smiled, "miss...?"
"Nina," she said as she ordered a wine cooler. "I wanted to apologize for my friends, again," Nina blushed, "I'm pretty sure I saw Kallen pinch you."
"Not your fault," Nabiki smiled as she gently teased, "not unless you're dating both of them."
"Oh, no!" Nina yelped, blushing. After a moment she added quietly, "They kind of hauled me out here to get over a break up."
"Ah," Nabiki nodded sympathetically. She hesitated a moment, then quietly offered, "Wanna talk about it?"
Nina looked at her in surprise, then saw nothing but mutual sympathy in her eyes. "Yeah, I think so," she agreed. They went over to a small table by the library and Nina had to ask, "What kind of bar has a library?"
"An unusual one," Nabiki toasted her. "Seriously," she said, "when Juri founded this place she wanted to make a place where women could comfortably hang out, not just a bar."
Nina looked around at the women laughing, talking and dancing and smiled, "Well, I'd say she succeeded."
"Me, too" Nabiki agreed. Gently she asked, "You had a break up, you said? Knowing Ryouko she told you about mine, too."
Nina felt that familiar stab of pain, but somehow it was easier talking to a relative stranger. "We were together for nearly two years," she admitted softly, "but she dumped me without warning and married a man."
Nabiki winced, "Not quite the same, but close. I had given her a ring and proposed, but she told me she needed some time." She sipped from her drink, "The next time I saw her she was out with a guy, and he took her back to a hotel...."
"I'm sorry," Nina patted the woman's hand, glad she had never been confronted with direct proof Euphy had been unfaithful.
"I'm... I was going to say I'm over it, but that'd be a lie," Nabiki admitted. "But it hurts less every day, and my friends have been a big help," she added.
"Mine, too," Nina admitted, "when they aren't embarrassing me."
They traded embarrassing friend stories then moved over to talking about their jobs. When Nina talked about being a nuclear physicist most people's eyes glazed over, but Nabiki kept up quite handily, even asking intelligent questions. Nabiki explained her interest in math from being a accountant for the bar, as well as taking on a limited number of other clients. They talked for a while, Nina losing track of time until one of the waitresses came up.
"I'm sorry," the brown haired woman in a old fashioned maid uniform smiled, "but we need Nabiki for something."
"Sorry, Nabiki got up, then hesitated. She took out a piece of paper and scribbled down a number, "I really enjoyed talking to you. Call me?"
Nina took one of her business cards out and scribled her own number on the back, "You too."
"Thanks," Nabiki waved before striding off confidently.
Nina watched her go then got up, walking back to the table she had been sharing with Milly and Kallen. Both women looked rather amused as she returned, Milly practically bouncing in excitement. "Well?!" Milly demanded.
"Well, what?" Nina asked mildly, knowing it would drive her friend nuts.
Kallen chuckled softly, "You were gone for two hours, Nina. We were wondering if you had stood us up, or something."
"I was just talking with Nabiki," Nina said with a slight blush.
"About what?" Milly asked, giving her a very school-teacher look.
Nina smiled, "Oh, things." As steam nearly vented from Milly's ears Nina realized that she felt happy, happier than she had in weeks. Talking with Nabiki hadn't cured the pain of Euphy's betrayal, only time would do that, but she felt a bit better having talked to someone who had been there.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Over the next few days Nina tried to be a bit more outgoing, so as to not send up warning flags at work again. The think tank Camelot was a lot like a extended family lead by disfunctional parents, but Nina liked her co-workers and didn't want to worry them as much. She also felt a bit better after the Halloween night party, smiling a bit more and generally being a bit more upbeat.
"Could you kindly return to the doom and gloom?" Lloyd asked at one point, "I think I prefer it to the mood swings."
Cecile bopped him on the head, "Lloyd!"
At home Nina found herself fiddling with the number Nabiki gave her, nearly dialing it several times. Still, she was too shy to take the first step, no matter how much she wanted to. Sitting on the couch a week later Nina had her hand on the phone, thinking about calling when it rung suddenly.
"Yes?" Nina asked once she recovered from her surprise.
.
"Nina?" Nabiki's surprisingly familiar voice asked, "This is Nabiki Tendo. We met about a week ago at Arisugawa's Locket."
"Nabiki, it's good to hear from you," Nina answered, smiling as she cheerfully confessed, "I was trying to get up the nerve to call you."
Nabiki admitted, "I was nervous to call you, too." After a moment she asked, "Do you want to go out or something? I don't think I could stand cooking tonight...."
"I'd love to," Nina said eagerly. She knew she sounded sheepish as she admitted, "I haven't been out in a while. Can you suggest something?"
"Why not meet somewhere with a couple of good choices?" Nabiki suggested, giving the address of a neighborhood nearby. "There's a lot of different but good places to go."
"All right," Nina said cheerfully, "I'll meet you there in twenty or so, okay?"
"Will do," Nabiki agreed, both of them saying goodbye almost at once.
Nina got up and dashed for her bedroom, uncharacteristically fretting about what to wear. Looking in her closet she picked out formal looking trousers and a white shirt, going with her glasses instead of contacts tonight.
There was a bit of fall chill in the air as Nina set out, but she warmed up as she walked to a area not far from Shinjuku ward. There she many different businesses and plenty of people hanging out. At the corner Nabiki specified she saw the brown haired woman, but several young men were surrounding her. As Nina was summoning her nerve to jump in she watched Nabiki break free of one boy's grip, strike him to send him staggering backwards then kick so that her foot stopped just short of another guy's face.
"Go away," Nina got close enough to hear Nabiki order, "or you will not like what happens next." The three men chose the better part of valor, running away as the men and women watching cheered.
Nina found herself clapping as she smiled at Nabiki. "That was very impressive." she noted, "Can you teach me to do that?"
"Only if you want to train," Nabiki shrugged. "To be honest, it's a pain staying in practice."
"I guess so," Nina admitted. She smiled at Nabiki as she added, "That was very brave."
"Thanks," Nabiki blushed with a surprising amount of cuteness, "Where do you want to eat?"
'An accountant, waitress and she knows martial arts?' Nina thought as she walked beside Nabiki. "You pick," she offered, "surprise me."
"Will do," Nabiki agreed as they walked off together.
End.
Notes: This is about ½ new material, the rest based off two chapters of my Arisugawa's Locket fanfic retold from Nina's perspective. And no, I am NOT a Euphy hater, in fact I like her character quite a lot, normally.
In a piece of backstory I didn't work into the fic, a young Euphy was seduced by her older sister Cornelia. (It's arguably canon that Cornelia is WAY too attacked to little sister) Her parents innevitably found out and punished both girls, as well as shipping off Euphemia to get her away from her sister's corrupting influence. So she arrives at school with 'Lesbians are bad' branded in her brain... and falls for Nina. Which messes her up a LOT. Several years follow of her dating Nina while keeping Nina a secret, and her dating Suzaku too. Eventually she can't cope with the pressure, breaks things off with Nina and marries Suzaku.