Introverted Love

Author's Note: This is a reupload of a piece I wrote a while back and took down so I could fix a couple things. If you've seen it before, thanks for coming by again. If this is new to you, I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: This piece is a romance between two women and plays mostly within the realms of normal possibility. It does, however, contain one character who is a futanari (a woman but with male parts between the legs instead). If you've encountered this before and didn't enjoy it, I write it a little differently so I'd ask you to give it a chance. Still, I understand if it is not your cup of tea and thank you for coming by all the same.

Introverted Love

Millie lay asleep in a pile of papers in the office's cafeteria. Her coworker, Alda, walked up and smiled, dropping her tray onto the table next to her sleeping friend with a loud bang of metal on metal.

"Fuck!" Millie popped up, her big brown eyes opened wide and reddened as Alda took her seat, laughing. "Why, wh-wha-". Millie shook her head and realized what had happened, "You're the worst." More of Millie's work friends, Tony and Dave, came and sat around the pair as she got her papers in order and out of the way.

"You look exhausted," Tony said.

"We all are," Dave added.

"Yeah, but Millie looks, like, beat up," Tony clarified.

"Thanks," Millie said, rolling her eyes, but laughing a little. Recica, the company Millie worked for, had been adding more and more work onto their coders plates, four of whom were Millie and the three people she was sitting with. "I don't know. These deadlines just keep getting moved up. I just think we need so-"

Millie lost her words as a woman entered the cafeteria. A tall woman with an elegant walk about her and light red locks tied back in a ponytail. Millie watched as the woman picked up a salad, dropped a bill at the cashier, then turned to the first open table she saw and sat down to eat alone. It was an odd sight. One, the woman was beautiful. To the point where Millie couldn't finish her sentence. Her face was mousy and serious., and yet her eyes seemed to shine. Mischievously? Sternly? Millie couldn't tell. The other reason the sight was odd was because the woman was eating alone. Recica had a great culture. Coworkers often became good friends. It was rare to see someone eating alone.

"Millie?" Millie snapped back into the conversation.

"Yeah?" She said.

"Where'd you go?" Alda asked.

"Sorry, I just...who's that?" She asked. The table did a quick collective turn towards the woman and then back.

"A cold bitch," Tony rolled his eyes. Dave gave him a punch on the arm, "Ow, what? She is!"

"I'm confused," Millie said.

"They call her the cold bitch," Alda explained, "Although, Dave thinks that's too harsh."

Dave shrugged, "I mean, she's got a job to do and she's doing it. Can't blame her for that."

"Seriously, can someone explain this normally," Millie asked again.

"Okay," Alda said, "You know how a month ago our workload started increasing steadily. That's because of her. She's a little higher up on the business side of things. Apparently she's some sort of fixer. January Fischer."

"January?" Millie repeated, looking back at the woman. It was strange. The way January was being described made her sound like some old crabby boss. In reality, she looked maybe at most 2 years older than Millie's 26.

Dave chimed in, "Mhm. Projects weren't getting done on time so she's sort of a logistical genius. There's a rumor she used to be a codebreaker for the government."

"What?" Millie said, cocking her head in disbelief. "Does she know how to code, like, how we code? Can she program?"

"No," Tony now butted in, "Probably could if she wanted. She was a codebreaker like puzzles and spy messages and shit. At least that's what people say. But no, she can't code like us. That's why she doesn't understand how hard all these deadlines she expects from us really are."

Millie took all the information in. In hindsight it was something she should have known, but her head had been so in her screen and papers lately it was hard to think of anything else. "Okay, well...has anyone, you know,

talked

to her about it?"

No one responded.

"Oh c'mon guys, seriously?" She was met with shrugs and statements that she 'looked scary'. Millie sighed and stood up with the rest of them as they finished up their lunch. Millie couldn't help but take a look over at January again. The woman was eating a salad with one hand and reading from a tablet in the other. She seemed so serious. But calm.

Later, Millie sat at her desk wired in, music blaring into her ears as her fingers typed. She paused for a second, as the distraction of an image passed over her mind. A face. January's face. She sighed and stood.

I suppose my brain isn't going to let this go,

she thought. Millie looked up the office of January Fischer and found it in building D. Recica had a large campus of offices. Like most tech companies it was a beautiful place. Kitchens and cafeterias, gyms and showers, ping-pong and pool tables, gardens and fountains. It was all designed to keep people feeling okay here...so that they'd stay as much as possible and work long hours.

It was a short five minute walk over to building D. Millie had never been inside even though she'd worked here since she'd graduated college. She actually hadn't been inside most buildings. She went up the elevator to the third floor, found the office, and gave it a knock. When no one answered she tried the knob. It was open.

Slowly Millie peered in and saw January inside, typing at her laptop. The office was very nice, especially compared to Millie's shared office. There was a couch and beautiful bookcases filled to the brim on the wall opposite it. They led to a very large desk and behind that large windows that seemed to have a beautiful view behind them, however the blinds were drawn and shut. "Ms. Fischer?" Millie asked.

January looked up from her computer for a moment, registered Millie's face and looked back down. "Mhm?" Was all she let out.

Millie walked into the office. She wasn't sure if she was welcome as the redheaded woman didn't seem to give any indication of emotion. Her face calm and solemn, her eyes moved along the screen methodically. "Um, I'm Millie Ocampo. I'm a programmer here. I'm on the Iris project." Millie paused for the other woman to say something. January simply kept typing at whatever she was typing at, not even looking up. Millie continued, "Well, to get to the point January-" Millie paused, expecting the woman not to like it that she called her by a first name. It didn't seem to phase her, "Basically, ever since you've been assigning work deadlines, and you've been doing a great job, it's just, a little bit, sort of...too much for us."

January stopped typing. She looked up from her computer and at Millie for less than a second before looking back down, "Okay."

Millie's eyes widened and she let a nervous smile spread on her face, "Okay?"

January's eyebrows raised as if to say "Yes, that's what I said, why are you still here?"

Millie nodded, "Okay. Thanks." She backed out of the room and shut the door, walking back to her desk.

In her office, January waited a few moments before looking up at the door, her face still solid. She looked back down and opened a file labeled "personnel", the file she'd been given of her workers before she'd started. It was slightly more detailed than the public one and supposed to be kept private as it was really only for security reasons. January looked through them anyways.

Quickly, she found Millie's file, reading the basic information first.

Ocampo, Emiliana.

Goes by "Millie".

DOB: 7/1/1991.

POB: Philippines (Grew up in Hawaii and California).

Age: 26

Ethnicity: Asian.

Black hair.

Brown eyes.

5'5.

103 pounds.

January looked up from the file and closed her eyes.

Also,

she thought,

Great big eyes, nice smile, quite large breasts, a filled out figure...

January shook her head and chided herself. She passed the résumé and other details and read on to personal statements. These are statements coworkers give describing each other after their first year of working together.

Millie is the best. She's always happy and fun.

Millie is just a ball of sunshine.

I literally just find Millie when I'm having a bad day. Her smile is always there and makes me happier just seeing it!

January read on. They were all basically the same.

This girl,

she thought, the tiniest bit of a smile playing at her lips,

She's my opposite.

The smile faded.

How annoying.

***************************************

"Each of the three projects listed will receive one new employee. We can hire one experienced hire and two graduates. Each project team must have one representative email me as to why they need the experienced hire. I will work on making deadlines more manageable. January Fischer." Dave stopped reading the email and looked over to Tony who shrugged,

"Okay, maybe not a complete bitch."

"Wow, how touching,"

"Look," Tony said, spinning in his office chair, "She only did it cause it was work. It's not like this lady healed puppies and cured cancer. She saw a way to better optimize us and she took it. It's not like she actually cares about us. Honestly, I have no idea how Millie swung it."

Millie spoke up, "I don't know, it's almost like if you go talk to someone they'll actually help you." Her three officemates all leaned out of their chairs and looked over to her, "Thank you, Millie," they said in unison groans to Millie's snickering. She was looking through the personnel file as she did, finding the woman she'd met.

Fischer, January. DOB: 1/1/1990. Age 27.

The rest was just some work and educational background Millie didn't bother reading. There weren't any personal statements as per usual. She supposed they brought her on rather fast.

As the day wound down Millie decided she'd finish her work from home. She said bye to her friends and headed to the elevator. Just as it was about to close a hand stopped it and caused it to re-pen. Inside walked January.

"Oh, hi," Millie smiled wide as January walked in and leaned against the back of the elevator. It was literally the farthest from Millie someone could have gotten, "Um, thanks for being so responsive to me earlier. It means a lot. To all of us. I know you're not technically our boss but our boss takes your words to heart."

January was uncomfortable. Her phone had died and she had no way of looking busy. Finally the elevator doors opened and she was able to leave quickly, walking ahead of Millie.

Millie wasn't to be left behind. She rushed out of the elevator almost in a skip, bouncing next to January. "So how are you liking the area, are you from here?"

"No," January answered. She didn't feel like answering, but simple 'yes or no's would be easy enough. The two women walked to the parking lot and Millie continued,

"Where are you from?" No answer. "What'd you do before this?" No answer. Millie didn't stop though.

This girl really won't take a hint,

January thought. Millie just kept coming at her, enthusiasm not dropping.

Millie took in the other woman's figure as she asked her questions. Her eyes bounced off January's long dress. The redhead had a lithe figure, like a dancer, and creamy skin that Millie couldn't help but think contrasted nicely with her own naturally tanned complexion. She had a few inches on Millie, maybe two or three, but not many.

"Are you annoyed by my questions?" Millie asked.

"Yes." January said quickly. Millie just laughed,

"You'll probably just have to get used to it if I'm honest." Millie stopped at a car. "This is me, see you tomorrow. Have a good night."

January kept walking to her car. This day had not been her first encounter with Millie. In fact, January had noticed Millie many times in the last month. She didn't really admit that to herself though.

I'll need to keep that girl far away.

The next day January sat in her usual spot alone in the cafeteria and ate her salad, her tablet in the other hand as she read her book.

"Hi," a voice said above her and then the table shook slightly as someone sat in the seat across from her. She looked up with wide, surprised eyes to see Millie. She quickly looked back at her book.

Millie had been eyeing January from across the cafeteria. Something in her felt sad when January sat alone. So she decided to do something about it. "Mind if I sit here," Millie asked as she sat across from January.

"Yes," January replied.

Millie laughed, "Figured as much." Still, Millie unpacked her lunch and began to eat in silence. Occasionally she'd look up at her tablemate and of those times occasionally they would make eye contact only for January to look back down at her book quickly again. It made Millie want to giggle but she held it back by just smiling.

"Do you always eat a salad for lunch?" Millie asked. No response. "Did you get my email about the new hire?"

"Yes," January responded.

"Ah, so you'll talk to me about work," Millie smiled, "Where'd you work before?" No response. "Okay, well then, relevant work." Millie had wondered about January for most of the night before. She'd wondered if January was anti-social in a shy way or in a way to create a position of power. It didn't really matter to Millie. She'd decided she was intrigued...and attracted. Millie had few sexual experiences, and didn't really stick a label on herself. She knew what she liked when she liked it. She was starting to like January.

Millie pulled out her phone, "You know, I'm gonna Google you."

"Yes, salad for lunch. Always." January said suddenly. Millie looked up at January and cocked her head in confusion.

"Wow, five words," Millie smiled. It was the most January had said to her as of yet. The redhead had a prettier voice than Millie had realized. "You don't want me to Google you that bad, huh?" Of course, Millie did it anyway. A few pages came up. Some news articles. And then more. And more. Millie's eyes widened as she got into them, getting a painting of January's life.

January had made a name for herself when she was still in college, turning around a major company as an intern to become a model for efficiency. Out of college she'd applied that model to numerous nonprofits. Environmental organizations, children's hospitals, anywhere she could. She'd dropped off the radar for a year and recently popped back up here, at Recica.

"January," Millie said, "This is amaz-" But January was gone. Millie had been so focused she didn't notice the other woman leave. Millie read on, trying to find something that pointed to January's behavior. But the few counts of people commenting on January's personality stated something similar to what Millie could see. Words like

cold, calm, serene, solemn.

One repeatedly came up that she hadn't seen herself though.

Kind.

Millie finished her lunch and went back to her office, still mesmerized by the articles. As she walked, though, a pop up appeared on her screen. An email. From January.

"Please come to my office when you can today. I'd like to discuss a new position for you."

A new position?

Millie thought,

She doesn't have the authority to do that. And I like my position.

Millie figured she may as well get this done now. She turned around and headed out of the building over to January's office. Once again she knocked, knocked again, and then turned the knob to find January exactly where she was the day before. Millie walked in and sat across from her.

"So?" January asked.

"Um...you called me here?" Millie said with an amused smile.

"The attachment," January responded.

Millie's eyes went wide and she pulled out her phone again. The email had had an attachment, she'd just missed it. She opened it up. "Shit, sorry."

The job described was for Millie to keep her job but take on additional duties. Namely, be the chief advisor to January. She was to go over January's requests and schedules and use her technical knowledge to ensure their feasibility. She would need to schedule daily meetings with January. It came with a $5,000 salary raise. The paper made sure to stipulate that neither of them were each other's bosses. It was purely an advisory role and their departments remained separated.

"So?" January repeated.

"Um, heh," Millie smiled and peered at the redhead. It was a job that seemed too good to be true. But here it was in writing, "Yeah, I'll do it."

"Good," January said, still typing. Millie squinted as she watched January's lips. For a split second she thought she'd seen a smile tickle the corner. Millie shuddered internally at the thought. If January was this beautiful, she couldn't imagine how breathtaking it would be if a smile appeared.

"Is...is that all for now?" Millie asked. January nodded. Millie stood up and nodded as well. "Okay, well, awesome! I guess we'll be seeing a lot of each other. I guess that's good for me, not so much for you, heh," Millie laughed.

What am I doing?

January thought. She couldn't get a grasp of her mind or feelings. Usually her mind ran the show, her feelings took a far, far back seat. Now it wasn't that they switched, just neither of them could seem to understand anything.

Millie stuck her hand out across the desk. "Thank you for the opportunity," she said, holding in a laugh from the formality of professionalism. January looked at her hand and stood with a sigh, wrapping hers around Millie's. Millie looked into January's eyes and January finally looked back for longer than a second. Millie then tried to pull away but January's hand didn't let her go. No, instead, it pulled.

Millie had to put her other hand out to keep herself from face-planting into the desk as January pulled her. She caught herself and didn't have time to form a thought as she looked up at the woman who pulled her to see her face approaching. Millie felt a soft hand cup her cheek and the hand that was in hers let go. January's hands held Millie's cheeks and tilted her face slightly as Millie held herself up on the desk.

Then their lips met. Millie melted immediately. Her surprise gave way instantly, instead turning to holding onto the moment as her eyes quickly fluttered shut and her lips puckered and morphed into January's. She breathed in deeply, taking in the redhead's fragrance as she did, only to let her breathe back out and letting the smallest of moans escape. In the kiss Millie felt something she hadn't seen or heard or felt from January yet. A warmth.

January held the remarkably soft skin of her coworker as the kiss started and didn't let go. Her eyes were heavy but barely open as the kiss started. She watched Millie accept the kiss in an instant and let her own eyes drift shut as well. It was so warm. So delicious. So all-encompassing.

But she let it go quickly. Only a few seconds did the kiss last before January released it, Millie's face still in her hands.

Millie's eyes opened second to see January just inches from her, a small close-lipped smile on the corner of her lips. The sight made Millie weak in the knees for a moment as she smiled back. But the smile faded quickly.

"You're..." January said, pausing, "You're so annoying."

Millie's brow furrowed as January bopped her nose, causing her to stumble back five steps. January hadn't put any force behind it, but the words combined with the action had made Millie literally trip backwards. She looked at January, who sat back at her desk as if nothing had happened and began typing again. Millie swallowed, tried to say something, decided not to, and left.