Airplane of Lust pt1

STRIKE WITCHES-fanfic. Minna finds herself suddenly wrestling an uncharacteristic bout of intense lusting, and it is not towards the person she would have thought.
Continues in part 2.
(Minna/Gertrude, one-sided Minna/Mio, Mio/Yoshika)

Read AIRPLANE OF LUST pt1

Disclaimer: I’m no longer sure who owns the rights to Strike Witches, either way I’m just borrowing the girls for a little bit. Also, this is written before I’ve seen anything from season 2.

Written because my beloved came up with a bunch of funny expressions on the theme of ”train of thought”, ”airplane of lust” being one of them.




AIRPLANE OF LUST pt1
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by Carola “Ryûchan” Eriksson





It was not as if she had never been in love before, or never felt desire for anyone. On the contrary, despite her youth Minna Dietlinde Wilcke had once been planning her wedding and her future together with the only man she had ever loved.

War got in the way, of course, or destiny, or death. Either way she was made a widow long before she ever had the chance to become a bride, and although that grief had been crippling for so long, the fact remained that she had once loved and been loved in return.

Then of course there was Mio, stoic, beautiful and utterly clueless Sakamoto Mio. A friend that became so much more while Minna was not looking, her partner, her confidante, her most trusted support. The solid and staid, if sometimes strict, father-figure despite her gender to go along with Minna’s benevolent maternal figure for the younger girls in their care.

It had hit her hard once, the realization that she felt far more than simply friendship towards the Fuso beauty, and it had taken a long time to come to terms with her emotions. In the end though Minna was comfortable with mooning over Mio, despite that it was occasionally disheartening how clueless the older woman was, there was something comforting and safe about it too. Considering she was far from the only woman around to have fallen for the noble and dedicated warrior, Minna chalked it up to one of those unavoidable things in life, and tried to find some amusement in her situation.

And amusement there was to be had, often when she least expected it. Just watching Perrine run herself ragged chasing Mio’s tail while the older was completely oblivious was often quite amusing, not to mention the more perverse side of herself that had enjoyed putting the sharp-tongued and foul-tempered blonde in her place early on. While Perrine might bristle and snarl at anyone that came near Mio, the younger girl would not dare to breathe a contrary word to Minna.

Conversely Minna felt the occasional pang of sympathy for young Miyafuji who received the brunt of Perrine’s nastiness ever since her arrival in the squadron, but as long as it did not interfere with their performance Minna would not get involved. Mio’s young protégé seemed strong enough to stand up for herself against Perrine’s abuse, and to be honest... Mio’s attention to the girl occasionally smarted even for Minna herself, even if it was a dull and distant thing.

Unlike Perrine Minna knew well and without a doubt that Mio loved her dearly. This was not in question, and Minna was often the recipient of surprising moments of tender care from her friend, something she strived to give back in kind as often as she dared.

But it was the love of a best friend, a family member, or even – it rankled Minna to admit it, but she would not lie to herself – the love of a sister. Mio remained as ever ignorant to how she affected the women around her, and humbled by the other girl’s devotion Minna was grateful for this. As long as Mio looked upon her with the eyes of a friend or family member, Minna would rather she not find out that Minna herself would do otherwise.

This was the situation, and so Minna was no stranger to love. Her situation might have been a mess, but it was her mess and it was comfortable this way, safe this way. True, it did not keep her warm at night, and alone in the darkness she certainly yearned for something or someone. For a pair of arms to hold her safe, or just for a warm place to rest her head after long days of combat and struggle.

But you could not lose what you did not have, and that was a good thing. Minna had already lived through a loss so devastating she still felt herself bleed a little inside remembering, and swore she would never go through that again.

So how in light of all this could she have been caught so unawares?

It had started with something small and commonplace. She had simply walked into Gertrude’s room one early morning, as the door had been open and she had done the same many times before. In fact she had visited both of her younger countrymen in their rooms at all kinds of hours, door open or not, in the past, they were all close enough that it was no problem.

She had certainly seen Gertrude go through her morning workout routine before on many occasions, it was hardly the first time she just leaned against the wall and waited for her friend to finish up.

So why this time was it so different? Why did she suddenly notice the strong and rippling musculature of her friend’s arms and back, and why did she find herself admiring how the relief of well-developed muscles in motion created interesting dips and curves on smooth skin. Suddenly fascinated by the slight sheen of sweat clinging to that skin, Minna was only dimly aware that her mouth had gone completely dry and her breathing changed.

Gertrude continued her routine, either unaware of her rapt audience or simply not bothered by it. Minna never had any qualms about interrupting if there was anything of urgency to say or do, so Gertrude and Erica had long ago learned that a quietly waiting Minna meant that they could finish up whatever they were doing.

Lost in the haze of her sudden fascination Minna imagined in vivid, longing detail such things as running her hands over the straining muscles of Trude’s back, or letting her fingers trail over every sculpted detail of that firm abdomen. It wasn’t until she saw one of her own hands reach out for the younger woman that Minna came back to her senses.

With a start Minna realized what she was doing, and towards whom. Blushing furiously she turned and fled the room, never noticing how the startled Gertrude fell flat on her face in surprise behind her.

Shocked and ashamed Minna ran to her room and locked the door. What was wrong with her? Was she so desperate these days that she would ogle anyone? Deeply rattled Minna tried to understand what was going on with herself, and to find a rational explanation. To begin with nothing she could come up with rang true at all, and she was only succeeding in getting more agitated.

Taking a few calming breaths she sat down next to her window and tried to centre herself. Objectively speaking Gertrude certainly was a very attractive young woman, this in itself was hardly news to Minna. All true and quite rational.

It had been a very long time for Minna, a very long time since she had... closeness with someone, perhaps she was more physically and emotionally starved for such things than she had realized? Perhaps what had just happened was merely a result of mounting frustrations from her non-situation with Mio coupled with neglect for the... baser needs of her body? That seemed reasonable too, albeit a bit embarrassing.

Was it time to push things to a definite conclusion with Mio, then?

To be honest Minna knew perfectly well what the outcome of that would be, she knew with absolute clarity that Mio did not have romantic feelings towards her, and that any confession on her part would be met with an initial dumbfounded shock, followed by awkward and careful consideration that would put a distance between them even if Mio wouldn’t mean it to. She wouldn’t gain a lover and she would lose a precious friendship. It wasn’t worth it.

Also, in truth Minna felt no compulsion to attempt a confession or even try to push for something with Mio through other means. She hadn’t felt anything of the sort for a long time, if ever, and wasn’t sure why it would now make her act weirdly towards her friends. The agitation faded, leaving in its place a tired sense of melancholy that was an old and familiar visitor.

She wasn’t the kind to make rash or impulsive decisions anyway, so she would think about this later, go over everything again and again until the answers satisfied her and reason ruled. It was just who she was. She leaned her head against the windowpane and sighed.

To her surprise she had a clear view of Mio training young Miyafuji not far away, how strange that she hadn’t noticed that before. Abandoning previous thoughts she leaned in more comfortably to watch, idly wondering if Perrine was doing the same from some bush somewhere nearby.

It made her smile, watching Mio sternly swing her practice sword while yelling orders to a Miyafuji that looked cutely ridiculous instead of the concentrated and serious air she no doubt was trying to project. Not that Mio took her anything but seriously, of course, which was one of those little kindnesses that tended to draw women towards her. Obliviousness was its own charm, Minna supposed with a wry smile. And as for herself, she would find a way to settle whatever was going on with her, preferably before she opted for Miyafuji’s method of running through life with eyes closed and hands outstretched, hoping for something to grope to fall into them.

Distractedly she noted that Mio had taken off her uniform jacket, baring arms that while not so impressively chiselled as Gertrude’s still had an inspiring muscle tone. Mio tended towards the lean build and partially hidden strength, despite a lifetime of intense training and a combat capability that was awe-inspiring. Trude on the other hand, while still slim in appearance, once her jacket came off there was no denying that this was a woman of strength. While still clothed, Gertrude gave off a lean impression similar to Mio’s, with narrow hips and shoulders that tended somewhat towards the broad, but if one looked closer... the odd thought came to Minna that one could probably bounce coins off the insides of Trude’s thighs.

Noticing that she could no longer see Mio because her breath had fogged up the glass, Minna blushed and shook herself briskly before wiping at it. Honestly, such strange thoughts to have. What was next, would she become like those rude men in maintenance, those that did not think she heard them when they made jokes about her being able to break bricks with her rear end? She needed to get a grip on this nonsense before she embarrassed herself further.

The klaxon warning for impending Neuroi attack went off then, cutting into Minna’s self-chastising. The woman and her worries was once more put aside for the soldier, the leader of others, to step up and take charge of the day. Minna ran for her command post, knowing and trusting that every single person under her command was heading for theirs, ready and waiting to follow her orders.

When she stumbled back into her room it was late at night and everyone else, even Mio and Sanya, had already gone to bed. Minna’s work was finally done for the day, and the good people of Britannia could sleep safely, saved once again by the diligent efforts of her girls.

She’d had reports to fill in, strategies and calculations to go over with Mio, and some unpleasantness to endure with men who thought they could scold, punish and impose their will and their politics on those under her command while they themselves were far away from any actual battle. It had been a full day, but what lingered in her mind as she readied herself for sleep was her encounter with Trude during their late dinner, in which Minna had spouted some awkward excuse for her swift escape that morning.

Large brown and trusting eyes had looked into hers with concern, making Minna feel like an absolute heel. Trude did not push, simply accepted the weak excuse, but clearly worried instead that something was troubling her. Dinner had let Minna dodge the question then and a busy schedule for the rest of the day had kept them apart since, but she just knew that Trude would not forget and find a moment to ask again come morning.

Trude didn’t have an easy time of showing her deeper or gentler emotions, indeed she rarely did to anyone but those closest to her, so Minna felt all the more horrible for shrugging off the other girl’s concern. Although fiercely protective of all her loved ones, if Minna was completely honest with herself Gertrude was the one in their little family she most wanted to protect. There was something so vulnerable underneath that strong surface, something that had suffered and felt loss so deeply that it made Minna wince in sympathetic understanding.

Minna might not have been able to protect Trude against the harsh realities of war, but she would have protected the girl’s gentle heart if she could have.

To instead be the person carelessly ogling her and thinking improper things about her was disconcerting to say the least, but then again... perhaps Minna was just overreacting. It wasn’t as if she had assaulted the girl. Besides, it was probably just... transference from her feelings for Mio, yes, surely that. Never mind that her thoughts from earlier that day had rather denied that supposition, a mistake was simple enough to make.

Dressed in her comfortable sleeping shirt and little else, Minna was finally ready for bed. Her thoughts would not leave her to simply fall asleep though, instead they kept circling the same dilemma. A bit exasperated with herself and finally too tired to care, Minna gave in to a little exercise of thought.

She pictured herself, dressed as she was for sleep, standing somewhere by the windows at night. It would be cold, and quiet, and she would be just a little bit tired. She focused on the details until they were sharp in her mind. Then she pictured herself leaning back slightly, into the arms of someone standing behind her.

Briefly her thoughts turned to him, even though she knew well what results that would have. The pain had dulled with time’s passing, now instead what she felt most of all was sadness, sadness that time had also stolen clarity from her memories, until she could not remember what his arms had felt like. Already her memories of him were like photographs left in the sunlight, fading gradually until little remained but the barest marker. She almost couldn’t remember his voice anymore, how long would it be until she could no longer recall his face?

Like a wisp of smoke the image left her, and she let it. She hadn’t expected much more from it anyway.

The image that she replaced him with was a familiar one, and one no longer tinged with guilt. The warmth was familiar, as was the scent and feel of the arms that embraced her... pale hands reached around to envelop her in a loving, comforting hug.

Comfort was exactly what she felt when thinking of standing in Mio’s embrace, comfort and safety. It was oh so easy to imagine Mio offering a wordless hug of support, their heads lightly touching in the easy intimacy of two people who were, when all was said and done, very close friends.

Because that was what it was, Minna realized, the comfort of a good and trusted friend. There was that small part of her that could not imagine relaxing fully, opening up completely to Mio, likely because she had been long aware of the one-sidedness of her feelings. It was an ironic thing to discover at this point in time, that not even in her imagination could Minna create a Mio that would hold her like a lover.

Perhaps that was for the best as well. The solid comfort of a very close friend was not to be underestimated. It certainly felt like a luxury.

Feeling drowsier as a result of imagining Mio, Minna was perhaps a little more careless in picturing Gertrude in her mind than she otherwise would have. Warm, strong arms wrapping around her from a body that was just that much taller than herself, brown hair that tickled across her shoulder, and a face that nuzzled sensuously into Minna’s neck just below her ear.

Gasping, Minna’s eyes snapped open, all traces of drowsiness instantly gone.

The image of herself in Minna’s mind leaned back into her lover rather wantonly, exposing more of her neck to Gertrude’s lips while strong hands found their way to naked skin...

Minna wanted to scream at herself. She couldn’t remember when she had been this aroused this quickly before, and it was from imagining a young girl – no, a woman, she couldn’t consider her a little girl anymore – a young woman placed in her care. And she wasn’t even trying to think of erotic things, her brain had apparently decided to work independently from now on.

It must all be some cruel joke by destiny.

She tried to place Mio back into the picture, replacing Trude yet repeating the actions her mind had conjured up for the brown-haired ace, but the image of Mio, stubbornly fused into her uniform jacket, laughed heartily at her and flickered away. Big, soulful brown eyes looked at her with concern and vulnerability instead, from a body scantily covered in a plain grey sports top and strategically placed darkness.

So it was true, then. She was physically attracted to Trude – and to no small amount at that. Minna sighed in defeat and squirmed, trying to calm her pounding heart while doing her best to ignore the other areas that were calling for attention. Turning on her side Minna pulled the sheets up and tried to think of other things, calming and boring things that would make her fall asleep, while she was also actively trying to ignore the sultry images of nearly naked Gertrude dancing through her mind.

She woke up calling the other woman’s name in the early light of dawn, hours before she was meant to get up. Vestiges of heated dreams featuring Gertrude clung to her sleep-fogged mind, while her body begged for attention. Vague images of the brown-haired girl’s hands and lips burned behind her eyelids, while she imagined she could almost hear her own voice echo in the early morning.

Embarrassed and at something of a loss for what to do Minna decided to just start her day early. Never had she ever had a dream like that about Mio, although the other woman featured in her dreams quite often. The most those dreams had amounted to was moonlit dancing or a romantic dinner for two, rarely even in her deepest dreams had they even kissed innocently, and that was the extent of it. Nothing at all like this.

What should she do? Minna did not know, and although she got an early start on the day she constantly found herself distracted by her thoughts, sometimes so badly that Mio seamlessly stepped in to prevent anyone from noticing.

It was an awkward thought at best, although given everything she had come to realize over the past day less so than she would have expected, but Minna needed to talk to her best friend. Whatever good it would do to speak to Mio about matters of the heart... or the libido, whichever it was... she could not say, but she surely needed to speak to someone. And in her case, ‘someone’ always amounted to Mio.

Minna had managed to dodge Gertrude several times during the morning, but as she went to tell Mio that she needed to talk to her privately, Trude caught sight of her in the hallway. Seeing the tall girl hurry towards her made Minna remember the fragments of her heated dream from that morning, and she blushed a painful red that she just knew would clash horribly with her hair. She froze and could not make herself meet Gertrude’s eyes.

Trude also froze, mid-movement with one hand halfway outstretched towards Minna, looking torn between shock and concern. Minna’s eyes snapped to that hand. Trude really had lovely hands, strong and solid-looking yet with long, graceful fingers. They were wider than her own yet still appeared slender, the nails blunt and impeccably kept, just like everything else in Gertrude’s possession. Unfortunately for Minna, while she focused on Trude’s hands in all innocence, her mind decided to focus on the kind of things those hands could do, the kind of things Minna would very much like for them to do.

The slap was ringing, and was followed very quickly by Minna holding one hand over her eyes while grabbing onto Mio with the other. Then she simply yanked her away down the hall at such speed that the stunned Gertrude would have had to run to catch up to them.

Mio was not released until the two of them had reached Minna’s office, at which point Minna simply closed the door, sank down into her desk chair, and groaned as she leaned her forehead against the surface of her desk.

A few minutes ticked by and the desk was quite cool against her burning skin while the room was comfortably cast into shadow. Minna wanted to close her eyes against the world and say no, I’m doing this day over, so anything up until this point does not count and never happened. Then Mio cleared her throat.

“You wanted to talk to me?”