Senses

It should be known Hal Lidner did not get jealous, but Halle Bullock was still prone to such a petty emotion.

The blond young woman adjusted her rear view mirror to apply another coat of Summer Harvest to her lips, a mild pink shade with a brown undertone that brought out her petite yet shapely lips fully. Would the other woman notice? No she wouldn’t, Naomi Misora was not shallow she had more things on her mind then the color of a shade of lipstick. Indeed the shade of the cosmetic was irrelevant; it just gave Hal the opportunity to purse and lick her lips while making eye contact with the older agent as Misora happened to walking across the parking lot in the direction of Hal’s jaguar. Blue eyes met with dark brown and the rookie beamed at her superior in the mirror. Pretending to be adjusting the cosmetic Hal kissed the air inches away from Misora’s reflection.


She honestly thought she’d never looked twice as Raye Penber if she hadn’t found out he was Misora’s “fiancé”, Lidner supposed he was good looking in a clean cut sort of way, but he was also just a run of the mill good boy. She was twenty-three, fresh out of college and had only been with the agency for six months, she hardly had the time for men, much less even casual dating. Hal Lidner was on her way up, and Halle Bullock was being left far, far behind. Nevertheless Naomi Misora was the kind of woman you only met once in your life.

Competent, confident, capable, and cool, she was a role model to the younger woman and a mentor. She’d led Hal’s first mission for the agency only three months prior, a drug smuggling bust in San Diego. The new agent had been impressed with Misora’s leadership skills and intelligence. She’d fallen in love with her as she’d bandaged a minor gunshot wound in Hal’s leg.

It wasn’t like her to feel this way about anyone. She’d always been sexually liberal, she was young, beautiful, capable, and she knew it. She had never needed a lover but she’d always never found herself short of admirers. Women and men they all formed a long line of faces she often forget within weeks of their encounters. Yet Misora’s always remained strong in her mind.

She would be wasted in marriage, Penber was so selfish.

Hal smiled as she opened her car door to greet the other woman. Hal was aware Penber wasn’t entirely to blame, Misora didn’t yield to anyone, this decision was entirely her own. She wanted to be a mother apparently, and the thought of making any child motherless was horrifying to her. Perhaps she was even caught between the worlds of American career woman and respectable Japanese woman, Hal couldn’t even contemplate such a thing. Her life had always been an upward path to a powerful position within her government in order to serve her people.


Still Hal Lidner always knew when she wanted something, and how to get it.


“Good evening Misora, care to join me for some Japanese? I was just about to head down to Beni Hana's on ninth street,” Hal said as she rose out of her driver’s seat. She and Misora were quite good friends, despite the younger woman’s occasional attempts to turn the relationship into something more, especially when she knew Raye was on a mission in Canada.

“Hi Lidner, are you paying?” the Japanese woman asked slyly as she placed her hands into her pockets.

“If it’ll assure your company sure, I know you don’t eat much,” the blond replied easily as she watched the slender woman walk around to her passenger door. Her face hidden from Misora’s view she smirked, though she’d always rebuffed her advances Misora still spent time alone with her. It only encouraged her suitor.

---

“I hope you don’t think me ignorant for taking you out to not so authentic Japanese,” Hal said apologetically as she gracefully whirled her chopsticks between her petite fingers after they had both politely clapped at the dinner show.


“Oh not at all, really the Western style restaurants in Tokyo are just as bad, and at least it’s not Panda Express,” Misora replied with a small chuckle that made Hal shiver a bit in pleasure, it always reminded her of the small tinkle of a bell.


“So are you and Raye planning on moving to Japan after the wedding?” Hal asked glancing sideways at the engaged woman as she took a bite of her rice.


“We haven’t really discussed that yet,” Misora replied a bit stiffly and Hal raised an eyebrow.


“Oh really? I think that be quite important given you’re planning on having children. I mean I imagine there be a big difference between being raised in Japan or America along with whose family you have the most contact with,” Hal idly speculated as she began to pick the shrimp off her plate.


“I think right now we’re just concentrating on the wedding,” Misora replied pleasantly but Hal could tell from the tine she was already tired of the topic; good.


“Well if I was getting married I think I make certain to get all the important details straight first,” the blond woman mused as she tapped her chopsticks to her chin, though of course she had absolutely no intentions of getting married ever. She had to try very hard not to smile at Misora’s irritated expression.


“I’m sure it’ll all work out in the end,” the Japanese woman busied herself with cutting her steak, and Hal repressed a chuckle. Instead of expressing her amusement at Misora’s insecurity she instead ordered the most expensive brand of sake the house carried.


“Oh no, don’t spend so much!” the older woman cried after the waiter had gone.


“Nonsense, you’re leaving the agency aren’t you?” Hal countered easily.


Misora blinked in surprise, “you already found out?”


“Brown tells me everything I ask him to,” the younger woman replied with a smirk and Misora frowned. “So this may be the last time we meet as co-workers.”


“Possibly,” Misora said, and Hal could almost hear the uncertainty that they would ever get an opportunity to dine like this again. The agent knew she had to take her chance tonight. The waiter returned with the sake, and after the rice wine had been poured Hal raised her glass in a toast.


“To Naomi Misora, FBI agent, solver of the LABB murder case and friend,” she drank the bitter and warm alcohol down in one gulp as Misora chose to pettily sip the drink, no doubt in the correct Japanese style. Hal however was aware if you kept plying someone with talk they often lost track of how much they were drinking.

---

“This is really embarrassing,” the words were slurred.


“Oh no, you’ve been very stressed lately, it’s all right that you let yourself go a little,” Hal soothed as she steadied the tipsy Naomi Misora as she helped the other woman to her apartment. The older woman shook her head adamantly.


“I’m too professional for this, you’re my subordinate it’s highly unprofessional you see me like this,” she insisted and swooned, and Hal tightened her grip on that slender waist.


“I’m also your friend and really Misora you haven’t done anything improper,” Hal assured her, mentally adding yet as she propped open the door.


“How about you sit down while I make some coffee?” the younger woman suggested as she helped Misora sit on the couch. She glanced about the apartment, so tidy, so elegantly furnished, was this Misora’s work? It had to be, she knew Penber hardly lower himself to making a comfortable home. Her brow furrowed as she stepped into the kitchenette, this was not her first time in the apartment and she was relatively acquainted with the placement of amenities. She worked quickly as she listened to Misora sigh softly from the living room.


“Just a few minutes and you’ll be feeling better,” Hal assured her, daring to reach up to delicately brush a few strands of hair from Misora’s face. She tensed as Misora gently took her wrist, but the older woman smiled at her.


“Thank you so much, you’re so kind Hal, really you should think of getting a boyfriend,” she said with a small grin, still holding onto the other woman’s wrist.


“I don’t want or need one,” Hal said smoothly, grasping Misora’s arm gently with her own restrained hand.


“Hm…you’re twenty-three right? I’m twenty-seven, that’s a good age to marry. Pursuing women is fine and all when you’re young and it’ll come to nothing, but you got to think of your future,” Misora seemed to muse, releasing her grip. Hal’s eyes narrowed, was Misora brushing her off? Was this what marrying Raye was really about? Was she trying to hide her past sexual history with women? Hal would have laughed that she’d guessed right about Misora’s sexuality despite her rebuffs if a cold feeling had not just come over her.


“Is having children so important to you?” she asked softly sitting beside her friend on the couch.


“Oh yes, I’ve always wanted to be a mother, and you need a man for that don’t you?” Misora replied just as softly as if this was a great secret between women. Hal couldn’t help but to frown, was Misora really planning on giving up some part of her happiness to have a normal family? I thought you were so strong Misora, but now I see you’re rather weak, Hal thought sadly, but I still love you.


“Are you mad at me?” Misora asked breaking the tense silence, and smiled when Hal shook her head.


“I only want to see you happy,” Hal said as she leaned forward to kiss her mentor. Not for the first time she’d gently slipped her tongue between Misora’s teeth and tenderly touched her lips with her own, but this was the first time Misora kissed her back. It was a kiss of longing, anticipation, and perhaps even desperation. Encouraged Hal moved to Misora’s long neck and placed a long and eager swath of kisses and nibbles from the ear to the collarbone as Misora groaned softly. She slipped the leather jacket off and began to unbutton the shirt. Misora’s hand snaked up to grasp Hal’s wrists.


“Raye,” she groaned softly as if suddenly remembering him, Hal cut off any protest by taking Misora’s mouth fiercely with her own and quickly removed the top to kiss the tops of Misora’s full breasts and her hands worked to remove the bra. As she worked Misora ran her hands up Hals’ silk blouse to remove the other woman’s bra while adjusting herself to straddle the other woman’s lap. Hal smirked, oh yes Misora had done this before. The bra out of the way she sucked on the dark and pert nipples while sliding her hands down to the other woman’s pants. She moaned in pleasure as her own bra was removed and Misora’s long fingers fondled her own breasts beneath her top.


“Ahhh!” Misora gasped as she arched her back and opened her legs wider as Hal’s tongue made contact with her clit for the first time. Her fingers bit into the back of the couch as she kneeled over Hal’s eager and exploring mouth. Hal wrapped her hands around Misora’s hips as they swayed in time to the exact ministrations of her teeth and lips and wandering tongue. I bet Raye has never made her cum like this, the younger woman thought as Misora cried out as her body clenched in orgasm.


And lucky for me, most women aren’t spent after one orgasm, Hal though as Misora leaned down to capture Hal’s mouth with her own as her fingers freed her own heated pussy from her pants and began to stimulate her. oh thank god for this depth fingers Hal thought with a sigh as her hips began to rock as the appendages caressed then entered and re-entered to a blissful rhythm. She groaned as Misora licked and sucked on her own erect nipples and Hal ran her hands through Misora’s soft and long hair.


Hal almost whimpered as she came, her hands grasping onto Misora’s shoulders as her back arched as her body released its tension in a wave of ecstasy. She sighed happily as the older woman collapsed against her, sobbing softly, from horror or joy Hal couldn’t tell. She stroked Misora’s hair until the Japanese woman fell asleep and Hal drifted off into a dreamless yet satisfied slumber. Her last conscious thought was, I’ll never meet anyone like you again Misora.

---

“I’ll be putting in a transfer request,” Hal informed her superior as they pulled into the parking lot. It was the first thing she’d said to Misora since last night other than “I’ll drive you to work.”


The older woman seemed to be regretting her decision, and she looked a little relieved at Hal’s words. The blonde smiled; after all she’d hardly been expecting Misora to run away with her. That was something only Halle Bullock daydream of, Hal Lidner was much more realistic. What had happened last night was just the last taste of freedom before the ball and chain. Hal considered herself very fortunate to be Misora’s freedom, and pitied Raye for being the ball and chain.


“Oh well, I wish you luck then,” Misora said as she opened the door.


“Have a long and happy life Misora.”