Archive of Our Own ^beta

Taihou hurries along on swift feet, humming under her breath as she steadies the tray of freshly-cooked breakfast in her hands. She’d needed to wake up early this morning, to get it done the right way and on time, but it would be worth it, she just knew it! Surely the Commander would appreciate her efforts!

She steadies the tray on one hand as she reaches her destination, fishing out a key from her pocket - it hadn’t been easy to copy the key to the Commander’s rooms, forcing her to rely on no small amount of subterfuge to get the opportunity to press the key against a piece of soft clay. Really, it was the Commander’s fault for always locking the door!

When the lock turns over, she cannot help but grin in victory. She enters the bungalow as quietly as possible, nudging the door shut just as carefully.

“So, this is where she lives…” the phoenix mutters quietly, slowly heading down the corridor, cautiously checking the doors one by one - she finds the kitchen, the bathroom, the living room, and then… she finds the bedroom.

She cannot conceal her giddy smile as she quietly opens the door - there is no doubt in her mind that the Commander will be overjoyed to wake up to a hearty meal prepared by her faithful secretary! She clears her throat softly as she nudges the door fully open, stepping into the bedroom as she prepares to wake her Commander - her heart skips a beat when she sees Commander Kate Horner curled up in the bed, so beautiful and peaceful…

And then her heart seems to turn into a lump of ice at the sight of Enterprise sleeping right next to her Commander.

No.

No, no, no… this can’t be happening!

She swallows, her mouth suddenly dry. “G-Grey Ghost?” Her voice quivers as she mumbles, feeling as if a lake of ice-cold water had just appeared below her. Oh, this could not get any worse.

And then it got worse.

Enterprise’s eyes open, immediately locking onto her - she is, in a word, livid.

“Silence.” Enterprise’s voice is like nothing she’s ever heard before - low, hard and intent. “If she wakes up because of you, there’ll be hell to pay. Nod if you understand.”

Taihou nods jerkily, suddenly fearing for her life as the silver-haired carrier ace pushes herself up on an elbow, holding an arm protectively over the Commander. She looks like an angry lioness, fierce and uncompromising.

“You will leave immediately. And you’ll be just as quiet as you were when you broke into here. God help you if you don’t. And don’t even think about trying to blackmail either of us over this,” she continues, not letting Taihou get a single word in. “No one will believe you. Understood?”

Taihou nods slowly, face ablaze with humiliation.

“Good. Now get lost.”

= = = = =

Enterprise sighs quietly as the bedroom door shuts - a few seconds later, she can hear the front door open and shut again. Is nothing sacred, she fumes silently, doing her best to purge the anger from her system. But she has a damn good reason to be angry over this violation of privacy - she has precious few opportunities to spend time with Kate. Her strength as Eagle Union’s strongest aircraft carrier is consistently in high demand. She’s just returned from a long campaign against the Sirens in the South Pacific - and in a week, she’ll be heading out with a fleet to root the Sirens out from the Philippine Sea. Both she and Kate know that their duties come first before everything else - but that does not make it any easier to handle.

“Y’know, that was kinda hot, hearing you being all angry like that,” Kate murmurs, yawning widely as she rolls on her back, wasting no time in giving Enterprise a kiss.

“Oh. I’m sorry I woke you up, Kate.”

The redhead shakes her head. “Don’t give me that, Enty. We both know who’s to blame.”

Enterprise sighs, nodding a little reluctantly. “Yeah… We should probably do something about her.”

“Not right now, though - it’s Sunday, I wanna cuddle some more. Just gimme a moment to make a call…”

= = = = =

“H-hey! Let go of me! Let go of me, right now!” Taihou protests angrily as Pennsylvania grabs her by the arm. “I have done nothing wrong!”

“Then why’d the Commander phone me like five minutes ago, saying that you broke into her house? I know her word’s good for it, she’s got surveillance cams around the property.” She pulls the phoenix close to her, glaring at her. “And don’t even try to play whistleblower, either - I know she’s dating Enterprise,” she growls under her breath. “I’m tempted to see you try, though - can you imagine what Akagi will think when she finds out it’s you making the claim?”

Taihou trembles with poorly-disguised anger. “I’ll behave,” she hisses after a long moment.

“Good girl.”