Rehearsal (An Ichika Nakano x Reader story)

Act 20

You were sitting in your office, typing away at your computer. The new building was now the tallest corporate owned facility in Tokyo, a citadel of the Asian operations. The office reminded you of how far you came from the little brat that arrived here all those years ago. As you were reading the important daily reports you heard a gentle knock on the door. A now very familiar face entered the room.

"I brought the afternoon tea." It was Assistant-chan, now technically Secretary-chan though you don't call her that. She put the tray down on your coffee table. She gently poured out some tea in your cup. You did not give her any specifications so she made it the usual way you always asked her in the beginning. She was getting ready to leave when you called out to her.

"Bring your mug as well." She turned around in a surprise.

"My mug?" She asked in a lightly bashful tone.

"Yes, I could use a break and would enjoy the company. Just if you want to, I won't force you to sip tea with me." She imagined all the possibilities and quickly ran out to get her mug. While she was looking for it you stood up and stretched a little, when she returned you were already sitting in your leather couch your eyes closed. She poured some tea in her mug and smiled gently at the sight of the great [Y/N] just relaxing.

"Would you like quick massage?" You opened your left eye at the proposal.

"It's your break too. I never knew you could do massages though."

"I took some quick classes, I figured it could be useful someday, seems like that day is today. Also, the tea is still hot so we could only sit and just watch it cool, I think this beats that." She smiled with a rosy face as she walked behind you.

"There is no harm in it I suppose." You closed your eyes once again. You could feel her hands gripping your traps and shoulders, she surveyed your muscles with gentle presses.

"Wow... You're very stiff! Your wedding is in a couple of days, I don't understand why are you still working, this much too." She started the massage very rough, but that was exactly what you needed. You wanted to answer her but the pain made you grunt out sounds not coherent words.

"Urgh... I payed for one of the best wedding planners and she's working closely with Ichika, I can't really be bothered to do more. We planned the numbers; found our place and I had some reserves in our food but I left everything else to them. I... ughh don't really care about how the invite looks like truth be told..." You moved your neck just a little and she picked up on the sign, her hands moved up and started massaging your neck.

"Are you sure about all this? I'm not doubting you but you seemed pretty reluctant in the last couple days." She hovered her hand above your hair, thinking about a scalp massage but decided against the idea as it would ruin your hair.

"You are... not exactly wrong. It's like the past years just come down on me at once." You massaged the bridge of your nose. She felt you tense up and applied more pressure on your shoulders and traps.

"I can't even imagine how much pressure this is on you, I see you work tirelessly every day, I see your time-table always filled. I was there when the great [Y/N] was crushed because of teenage love." She giggled a little which made you just snort.
"The thing is, you are dedicated and strong not to mention your willpower. Take some deep breaths, what comes next is the reward for all your hard work up until this point. If for whatever reason you feel the need to run from everything again, this time to maybe some desert island I'll follow you, you tend to forget even eating and drinking without my constant reminders." You just laughed at her teasing; she really did come a long way from the shy little assistant.