The beginning of something beautiful.. with a sprinkle of misunderstandings.
Naruko never saw herself as a lucky person. Especially with how her life was as a child, you know… with the whole getting thrown off a cliff by her mother and then living as a thief in the imperial province of Werlyt for the next five years until she got busted by Gaius van Baelsar after she had swiped his coin pouch… he was surprisingly understanding though. Not that Naruko had trusted a word he said and had tried to leg it only to trip on an exposed tree root and sprain her ankle.. yeah not the best of moments. No really it was bad. The moment she hit the ground she had started to cry and it wasn't her crying in pain, no it was the embarrassing kind of crying. Full on bawling her eyes out in broad daylight and such. And to this day she swore it was because of her ankle and not the fact that she had been caught and not because she had literally wet herself in fear… what she was fifteen, it's not like she was always the god killing badass she is today.
But ever since she came to Eorzea it seemed like that had turned around… if you didn't count the Calamity and the subsequent five years that she had missed after she was flung into the aether by Louisoix(that old man was a bloody loon!) aaand the fact that absolutely nobody remembered her and that they only remembered the Warriors of Light due to time travel shenanigans(she blamed Hydaelyn!) Like seriously who the fuck were they remembering? Last she remembered she was the one who fought Nael van Darnus and then fought shoulder to shoulder with her fellow Adventures at Carteneau, so who the hell were they thinking of!?
And then of course everyone suddenly remembers her being the Warrior of Light when she was hauling ass out of the Praetoriam with an unconscious Thancred on the back of her Magitek Reaper all the while trying to outrun the massive wall of fire that was only a few fulms behind them. Gods she needed a vacation…
But anyway that's not what we are talking about… what were we talking about again?
Oh yeah that right! So anyway, it was about a week after she was flung screaming through time and space, only to then be unceremoniously dumped in some random ruins on the border of The Black Shroud and Thanalan she ended up in Ul'dah. And things were going about as well as you'd expect, going from job to job, having to relearn her abilities for some reason, occasionally having nightmares about Bahamut on top of those dreams of that familiar looking city that always made her feel depressed when she woke up.
Just the usual stuff.
She still wanted to know what the hell happened to her stuff! Because she was sure as hell pissed when she realised she was ass naked in the middle of nowhere. Though weirdly enough there was a medium sized box near where she 'arrived' that had some basic equipment in it and a pouch with ten thousand Gil in it(yet again she blamed Hydaelyn!)… and of course the clothes didn't fit her right. But hey, at least she got this neat bag that held far, far more than it naturally should from said box so that was a plus. It also had this really neat design sewn into it.. huh actually now that she thought about it, it looked like the marking above her navel.
But anyway we are getting off track.
So she ended up getting an odd request by a man named Papashan. You see, he was the guardian(caretaker?) of a young noblewoman called Lilira. Said noble was a dear friend of the Sultana's apparently seeing as she had wandered off and the Sultansworn were looking for her to little avail. And so after handing the Sultansworn some pretzels(weird right?) She was asked to investigate over by the Sultantree.. which was slightly annoying seeing as it was literally a five minute walk from where they were so you'd think one of them could have done it, but who cares she's an adventure and apparently that meant she was up for doing extremely menial tasks…
Anyway she went to the Sultantree and lo and behold there was Lilira! And as an added bonus, she was cute!
And well I guess you already know what happens from there. She fought off some Voidsent with the 'help' of a rather foppish man(He seemed oddly familiar) and escorted the rather ungrateful girl back to Papashan… aaaand then she argued with the girl, lost her temper and decked her in the face. Fun times! Until she got tackled by four men in armor that is… Roegadyn men are heavy as is, so the armor only made it worse!
Anyway in all honesty she really lucked out a month or so after Operation Archon. You see, she had decided to dabble in some of the non-combat guilds and one of those happened to be the Culinarian Guild in Limsa Lominsa seeing as she had nothing better to do and that if she had to listen to another long winded lecture from Urianger about the Aetherial properties of those weird weapons she occasional found when she went to places like Qarn or Tam-Tara she was going to go insane! The hell does Piety+35 even mean? And why did he look at a short sword that apparently had it with revulsion when she showed it to him? Something about Piety shouldn't be on a Tank weapon or something?
… Ok fine! She was also temporarily barred from the Waking Sands. Hey it's not her fault it's… ok yes it was her fault, but it was justified!... Kinda. If anything Yda should learn to ask before eating all of her brownies, it'll save her the trouble of having her ass lit on fire again. And seeing as she had paid for them your damn right she was pissed when she came back from a long day of Adventuring only to find Yda had eaten the lot of them.
But anyway what we are talking about happened when she was at the Culinarian Guild.
It was roughly a month and a half after she started at the Guild. She had earned quite the reputation in that time and not because she was the Warrior of Light(hehe more like Culinarian of Light.) In fact she earned such a reputation that she ended up being requested by Nanamo Ul Namo herself. However she was informed that it may have been a ploy by the infamous Chefsbane to humiliate her… seriously fuck that guy whoever he is!
And after calling in a favour to Raubahn(she definitely didn't beg.. ok maybe she did a little, but she definitely didn't cry… ok fine! She did cry a little bit, BUT ONLY TO GET HIM TO HELP. Definitely not because she thought that Nanamo would have her toes cut off for making something she hated.) she learnt some of Nanamo's favoured dishes.
First was pan fried Eft Tail. Simple yet filling, something she agreed with, and apparently Her Grace likes it medium-rare.
Second was Beef Stew. A tad bit strange but then again she guessed that even Nanamo got tired of eating the same gourmet meals day in day out and a good bowl of stew does wonders on a bad day.
Third was… Trapper's Quiche? Okay going Ishgardian now. Wow she really must like Eft meat… hmm now that she thought about it Tataru liked eating Eft as well… was it a Lalafell thing?
And last was Crowned Pie. Aaand dessert… what? It's a fruit pie, nothing too special about it.
-After the meal-
After watching Nanamo finish the last bite of her meal Naruko came to two conclusions.
First being the fact that Nanamo had loved it. And the second being that watching her eat was horrifying… no seriously she turned away for a moment and the ENTIRE Eft Tail was gone! One moment she was eating her meal all dainty and dignified(Naruko had to resist letting out a squeal at how cute Nanamo looked when she took her first bite.) and the next it had disappeared and not a single person at the table made a comment. Was this normal?
"Oh, I must say this meal was absolutely heavenly." Nanamo said as she placed her fork down "Tis a shame that I can not eat another bite."
Turning her head towards Naruko she smiled "To be honest I was quite shocked when I learned that you were the Culinarian that prepared this wonderful meal. Truly, you continue to amaze me my friend." 'Oh gods, that food was amazing! She knew some of my favorites too… oh Naruko, why must you make this so hard on me.'
Naruko bowed her head "Always a pleasure Your Grace…"
Nanamo tilted her head "Is there something wrong Naruko?"
"Oh, no. Nothing Your Grace… it's just, I'm shocked that you are surprised that I was the one to cook for you and the Admiral's guests for your welcome supper. Especially seeing as it was you who had apparently asked for me by name."
Oh now this was interesting.
"Hmm, no I requested Lord Lolorito to hire the Culinarian who was making quite the reputation in Limsa Lominsa out of curiosity. I had no idea it was you as I hadn't been told a name." Nanamo finished turning her gaze to the elder Lalafell who was muttering to himself "Hmm? Is something amiss Lord Lolorito?" The young monarch inquired.
"N-no my lady, I was just admiring the cuisine… it was truly splendid."
Naruko rolled her eyes 'Fucking Lolorito, of course it was him.'
Meanwhile Nanamo was secretly ecstatic at the opportunity laid out in front of her, for weeks she had been trying to muster up the courage to talk to Naruko about how she felt, ever since the celebration that was held after the success of Operation Archon in fact… but sadly her busy schedule and the fear of rejection put a damper on that. But tonight.. tonight she will take that chance! Now the real question was how was she going to slip away?
A while later Naruko was making her way back to the Bismarck to tell Lyngsath the good news. As she was passing through the Drowned Wench a voice called out to her "Wait! Naruko *huff* wait." Turning she saw Nanamo running towards her.
The Lalafell was dressed in a more casual outfit then before and her hair was out if it's usual twintail style and flowed freely past her shoulders.
"Your Grace? Is something the matter?" Naruko asked as the young woman came to a halt in front of her.
"N-no *huff* not a-at all…" Nanamo said as she gained her breath. "R-remind me not to run so fast on a full stomach… and how many times must I tell you, call me Nanamo. We are friends after all."
"That's just common sense Nanamo." Naruko couldn't help but tease.
Nanamo just rolled her eyes "Anyway… do you have a moment? I wished to speak with you about something."
Naruko raised an eyebrow "Is something wrong?"
"N-no!... No n-nothing is wrong. I.. I just feel it would be better kept private." The Lalafell said with a small blush. There was no way in hell that she was going to lose her nerve and chicken out again like the time she invited Naruko to lunch and the Quicksand. Tonight was the night she will tell Naruko how she feels!
Naruko frowned for a moment before shrugging "Sure, but first I need to go and tell Lyngsath how tonight went. Do you mind?"
"Not at all. Lead the way Warrior of Light." Nanamo said as she grabbed Naruko's hand.
"Wait are your guards fine with this?" Naruko asked as she was dragged towards the Bismarck by the smaller woman.. despite being told to lead.
"Not a chance." Nanamo giggled mischievously.
-A while later-
Naruko and Nanamo were seated on a bench that overlooked the pier at Mist, the small residential area that was built for Adventures to live in.
"The Ocean looks so beautiful at night." Nanamo said quietly as she kicked her feet back and forth.
"Nanamo… are you mad at me?"
Nanamo froze before letting out a dejected sigh as she remembered her conversation with Naruko after they had left the Bismarck.
-Flashback-
"Wait so you don't know how to swim?"
Nanamo blushed and gave a small nod "I never really had the chance to learn…and if I'm completely honest, I am terrified of both Sharks and the prospect of drowning... ok my turn,"
"So Naruko, do you have anyone special in your life?" Nanamo asked as the both of them walked towards the Zephyr Gate.
"Nah not really. Why do you ask?"
Nanamo shrugged "Just curious… do you.. perhaps have someone you like though?"
"That's two questions."
Nanamo giggled "Oh please… how about this, I'll go first." Naruko stopped and gave her a curious look "Sure why not."
"Well then," Nanamo said as she hastened her steps "I do happen to have… feelings for a certain someone.. though, I'm not sure if they feel the same." She said with a small blush.
"Have you asked him?" Naruko inquired as she walked next to her friend.
"Her.."
Naruko's eyes widened "W-wow.. okay. But seriously have you told her?"
"N-no.. I'm… I'm scared she would reject me." Nanamo admitted sadly.
Naruko frowned "Well tell them how you feel. And if they reject you I'll kick their ass!"
Nanamo smiled at Naruko's protectiveness.. gods this woman is making it hard not to love her.
"Well I said mine, so… what about you?"
"I do actually." Naruko said as she rubbed the back of her head.
Nanamo's eyes lit up "Aaaand? Come on Naruko don't leave me in suspense like this. Tell meee." Nanamo pleaded as she grabbed the taller woman's arm.
"Nope."
"Awww… well at least tell me what she's like."
"How do you know it's a she."
"Naruko, remember that time we went to the Quicksand with Tataru because I wished to get away from my duties for a while and you got drunk?"
"Yeah?" Naruko said tentatively.
"Remember how you were flirting with both me and Tataru, as well as flat out asking if her and I wanted to have a threesome with you." Naruko came to a dead halt. Oh oooh shit, yeah she remembered that alright. She also remembered waking up the next day in a cell that was located in the Sultansworn barracks and that Nanamo was arguing with Jenlyns to let her out. Naruko's crime? Groping her royal highness's rear… not that Nanamo was against it, so it had been thrown out rather fast due to Nanamo explaining that it was an accident(lie) and that she wasn't angry or offended. The public indecency, and bar fight however were another story.
"Hey you wouldn't tell me who your crush is." Naruko deflected.
"Pleeeeease."
Naruko rolled her eyes and chuckled "God's fine… where to start..hmm. Well to begin with she is a Lalafell. She's kind and rather smart. She has a penchant for being a tad bit smug at times, but she means well."
Nanamo listened quietly with a small blush as Naruko talked about this mystery person.
"She has the tendency to wear a lot of pink when she is out and about.. and she has the most beautiful smile." Naruko finished.
"W-wow… she must mean a lot to you." Nanamo muttered. Wait… did this mean all the playful teasing and flirting that Naruko subjected her to in the past mean… Nanamo blushed hard, oh.. oh gods was she talking about-
"Indeed… she is one of my dearest friends. Hell I've certainly known her nearly the longest out of those I would call friend."
It was at that Nanamo's eyes widened as she came to a halt ' W-what? But… but that means… I-it's Tataru… gods what a fool I am, thinking she would ever see me as anything other than the Sultana.' She thought dejectedly as tears began to well up in her eyes.
"It's sort of… awkward how we first met though, so I…" Nanamo stopped listening at that point, why bother.
-Flashback End-
If Naruko wasn't worried before she sure was now. For the last twenty minutes Nanamo had been staring blankly out at the moonlit ocean. And in all honesty she had been extremely quiet for the rest of the trip to Mist.
'Fucking hell Naruko, you just had to go and make it obvious didn't you… gods she probably thinks you're a damn weirdo now!' The redhead berrated herself. By the Twelve could she had made it anymore obvious that she was talking about Nanamo… great, now she probably just lost a friend because of her idiocy.
Naruko sighed. This was definitely the last time she ever took relationship advice from Tataru.
"Nanamo did.. did I do something to offend you?" Naruko asked softly.
However Nanamo didn't answer, instead she hopped off the bench and began to walk to the pier. "Nanamo?" Naruko went to follow her but stopped 'she probably just wants a better look at the sea.'
'Fucking hell Naruko… stop being a damn coward and talk to her!'
Naruko got up from the bench and followed Nanamo. But at that moment her Linkpearl started going off "Hello?"
"Sooo, a little birdie told me that you cooked for Her Grace tonight~" Oh great… it was Tataru.
"Yes and? Look Tataru I have something pressing at hand and-"
"And I also heard that you and a young Lalafell woman were on a rather romantic looking stroll… finally making your move hmm?" Naruko rolled her eyes and continued down towards the pier. "Yes.. and if I am being completely honest with you, it's the last damn time I am taking relationship advice from you." She said perhaps just a touch too harshly.
"What?" The playfulness in Tataru's voice disappeared.
Naruko let out a sigh as she explained what had happened.
"The both of you are idiots." Well Naruko couldn't say she saw that coming "Excuse me? Tataru, I followed your advice and it-``''Was worded in such a way that it sounded like you were referring to me instead of her… by the Twelve this is so cliché, it's trashy romance novel levels of cliché!"
Naruko stopped as Tataru continued to rant about how dumb the both of them were, now that she really thought about it, it did sound like she was talking about Tataru… gods above she has an idiot!
"Look Tataru, thanks for the help… I gotta go clear this up with her." Naruko said as she continued down the pier "Ok, try not to put your foot in your mouth again, oh and if you end up bedding Nanamo, do try and be gentle. The last thing you need is her guards asking why she is walking with a limp~"
Naruko promptly shut off her Linkpearl lest she die from embarrassment. She then took a moment to compose herself 'Okay Naruko, you can do this. Just go over to her and tell her how you feel… god's, you'd think this would be a breeze after all the shit I've done.'
Taking a deep breath the Hyur woman began to walk down the pier.
As she walked she thought about what she was going to say, and in all honesty none of it sounded those thoughts soon faded as she approached the end of the pier.
'Is… is she…' sitting at the gap between the railing was Nanamo, her shoulders shaking slightly, 'She's crying?... Did..did I cause that?'
Suddenly Naruko wasn't feeling so confident.
Shaking her head the young Hyur woman slowly made her way over to Nanamo.
"Stupid stupid idiot..*sob* of course doesn't see m-me in that way."
Naruko winced but moved closer nonetheless.
"*sniff* I..I should probably walk back over t-to her… S-she's probably w-worried." Nanamo said dejectedly as she slowly stood up.
Wiping the remaining tears from her eyes, Nanamo turned to walk back up the pier, only to bump into Naruko.
"Ah!" Nanamo yelped as she stumbled back. Looking up at who she bumped into she gave another startled yelp and stepped back. This proved to be a poor choice as she didn't realise just how close she was to the edge of the pier.
Nanamo's eyes widened as she fell backwards towards the ocean 'Oh gods this is how I die isn't it!' She thought as she fell towards the water.
*Splash*
"Nanamo!"
-Later-
Nanamo sat on the couch in front of the fireplace in Naruko's rather spacious apartment. Gone was her clothes from before, instead she now had a rather large towel over her bare body as she sat in front of the warming flames.
The sound of running water and the crackle of fire was all that could be heard in the apartment. Nanamo had insisted that Naruko take the first shower due to it being her apartment as well as the fact that she had been the reason they both ended up in the water… on-top of other things that is.
However while she was alone she capitalised on the opportunity and contacted a certain Lalafell associate of hers via her Linkpearl.
"The both of you are complete morons."
Nanamo sweat dropped at Tataru's rather blunt statement.
"Nanamo, I told you in advance that Naruko had said she likes you. So how in Thal's name did you come to the assumption that I was the one she was talking about!?" Nanamo winced. "I.. I don't know. I panicked I guess."
"Idiots! I'm surrounded by cliché idiots!"
Okay now she was just being rude!
"Tataru do I need to remind you that I am the Sultana."
"And do I need to remind you that we have been friends since we were practically babies and that I know many, many of your deep dark secrets."
"I could say the same to you."
"Whatever you say bedwetter."
Nanamo gave a shout of indignation "You promised to never speak of that!"
"Look, apparent promises of silence aside, how are you gonna play this? Because my advice is be direct and just tell her."
Nanamo looked down in embarrassment "I.. I don't think I can look her in the face after tonight…"
"Why? Is it because when she jumped in after you, you flailed about and headbutted her? Or is it because you were crying real ugly like?"
"I d-don't want to talk about it."
"Why? It can't be worse than when you nearly wet yourself during that meeting between the Grand Companies last month." Wow she was really pulling out all the stops wasn't she. And in a side note she didn't nearly wet herself. She just tried to hold it is all… it definitely wasn't because they had held the meeting at the Mizzenmast in Limsa Lominsa and she had forgotten where the toilet was and that she was too embarrassed to ask.
"No it's just…" Nanamo took a breath "I don't know how to tell her."
"She's in the shower right?"
"Yes why?"
"Well you could just walk in and tell her directly."
Nanamo blushed brightly at the suggestion "B-but she is naked… I'm naked." She said as she clutched the towel tighter around her small form.
"And? Look Nanamo, if you don't do it I will tell everyone about the time you locked yourself in the royal cellars and proceeded to just sit there crying because you thought you would be stuck in there forever. Despite the fact that you had a Linkpearl."
"I was young when that-"
"It was three months ago." Tataru responded flatly.
"But I-"
"What are you so afraid of? If you think she will find you unattractive then you are wrong, or need I remind you that her and I have had some fun in the past." Tataru goaded.
Nanamo stared at the fireplace blankly. Was she really going to be outdone by Tataru? A fire raged in her belly, no! She will not be outdone!
"Fine."
"You won't get anywhere acting like a… wait wha-"
Nanamo took her Linkpearl off and put it on the coffee table. With a deep breath she stood and made her way to the bathroom.
Only for the bathroom door to open and for Naruko to step out wearing only a towel.
Nanamo let out a squeak at the sight of her. 'I s-should look away.. I…' Nanamo's thoughts soon turned to mindless gibbering as she stared at Naruko's towel clad form.
Naruko slowly made her way over to the blushing Lalafell "I uh… I started the bath for you. Though I don't know how you like the water so..yeah." Naruko said as she scratched behind her ear.
Nanamo nodded dumbly as she slid off the couch and made her way into the bathroom. "Ah, before I forget. Our clothes should be dry soon." Naruko said as she motioned to an open room that had a vibrating black and white box like machine in it. "Still don't know how Cid convinced Jessie to just let me have that thing." She said as she walked towards the kitchen.
"Naruko! Could I have some assistance please."
Or really she would have. With a shrug she made her way to the bathroom and saw Nanamo fiddling with the knobs for the bath. "I can't quite get the temperature right." The small woman said shyly.
Naruko just chuckled as she knelt down to adjust the temperature "What about now?"
Nanamo dipped her hand into the bath "Perfect."
Naruko gave a small nod before she went to stand up "O-one moment. T-there's something else."
Naruko turned to Nanamo "Hmm…!?" She was cut off by a pair of lips awkwardly colliding with her own.
Naruko was shocked to say the least. But slowly she began to kiss the smaller woman back.
After a few moments they had to pull back for air. Nanamo looked at Naruko shyly "S-so I guess that m-makes us...umm, oh what was the word again?"
"Girlfriends?"
Nanamo's expression brightened "Yes! That's the word… um.. would you like to be my-" Naruko cut her off with a small kiss on her lips "Of course."
A bit later the two of them were laying in Naruko's bed talking about random subjects. The two of them talked late into the night, they talked about Naruko's adventures, about the shenanigans she got into with the Scions and about the time she has seen a Lalafell man propel himself like a missle and break a another man's ribs with his head after he tried to steal from him. Said man also happened to be the one who gifted her a lovely Black Pearl ring for her nameday, a ring that as it turned out Naruko had made and that the thief was none other then the Jade Fox who had tired to steal said ring.
Naruko smiled slightly as she looked down at the slumbering Lalafell 'Gods. I really lucked out didn't I?' she thought as she slowly drifted to sleep.
It seemed as if things were finally looking up for the Warrior of Light. Nothing could possibly go awry..right?
Well that's if you didn't count the fact that the next morning a contingent of Yellow Jackets, Sultansworn and the Admiral herself kicked Naruko's door in while she and Nanamo were having breakfast, causing the Sultana to nearly choke on her pancakes.
But that was a story for another time.
Hey guys… uh I'm back.
Yeah I have a lot to explain don't I?
Well.. look I'm not gonna beat around the bush. I've had writer's block for the last few months… to the point that I damn near put all of my stories on indefinite hiatus. I kept writing stuff, only to not be happy with it, deleting it, writing it again only to delete it once more.
And as for my other story In Crimson it Began? Well don't worry, the next chapter is coming soonish. There will be a A.N in said chapter to explain everything to do with that story so don't worry.
So onto this fic….
Wow, I mean I had plans to have Naruko be the sundered 14th member of the convocation and then FFXIV goes and actually does it. So yay I guess.
Other then that I already have the next few chapters planned out… which my also be the reason fort writer's block.
Now onto something involving the later stuff in the fic.
I'm gonna be blunt here, Naruko will not have a good relationship with majority of the Ala Mhigan Resistance. This stems from multiple factors, one of which being what happened to her Free Company along with a situation that she failed to prevent when she was still part of the XIVth(this will come to a head later in the Stormblood parts. Care to guess what it is). Other then that she has no problems with Ala Mhigan people.
Though this also comes from the fact that how they were at the start of Stormblood kinda irked me, and with how I've written Naruko… well.. I don't see them being friendly.
So any way that's it for now. See you next chapter.
