DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING
Chapter 2
A tense silence hung in the air at the Testarossa family's dining room. Precia is seated at the head of the table while the twins sat either side of her, with Alicia on the right and Fate on the left. A maid was on standby by the kitchen door, in case any one of them asked for something.
Fate inhaled as she gathered the courage to ask her mother a question, "Okaa-san?" She finally called, her voice wavering at the end of her sentence.
"Yes?" Precia didn't bother looking up as she continued to cut the steak on her plate.
"Will you let me attend Nanoha's school?" Fate didn't dare look up as she asked the question, afraid to know what kind of reaction that elicited from her mother. Alicia looked up at her sister, then turned her gaze to their mother, who stopped eating as she pondered the request.
Precia finally looked up and raised an eyebrow at her youngest daughter. "Are you serious?"
As Fate opened her mouth to respond, Alicia beat her to it, "We just thought it'd be fun to go to school with our friends," she said hurriedly, gripping her utensils tightly. Both Fate and her know, somehow, that her mother has a soft spot for her, so if she asks along with Fate, things might go better.
Precia thought about it for a moment and smiled a little too sweetly at her daughters, "I'll tell you what, if" She stressed the last word, "and only if the both of you get a perfect score on their school's entrance exam, I would let you attend that school,"
Alicia and Fate locked eyes, before nodding at each other and resumed eating their meals.
"You'll be taking it tomorrow, though, I know their headmaster,"
"So, you'll be taking the entrance exams tomorrow?" Nanoha asked happily as she heard of her friends' attempt to transfer schools. Fate immediately called her after their family dinner to tell Nanoha of the news.
"Yeah, mom pulled a few strings. Onee-chan is actually in her room, studying right now." Fate answered.
"What about you? Shouldn't you be studying, too?" Nanoha teased, playing with a loose thread on her pillow case.
"Well…" Fate started, her voice holding the same teasing tone, "I've been told I'm pretty smart."
"As true as that is, you can never be too prepared, you know?" Nanoha answered with a laugh, "So, I'm gonna let you go now." She didn't want to but she needed to make sure her friend would have enough time to study and rest properly.
Fate sighed from the other end, "Fine" Nanoha could practically hear the pout in Fate's voice.
"Be sure to come visit me right after the test, okay?" Nanoha said as a compromise.
"Of course. G'night, Nanoha."
"Good night, Fate-chan." Nanoha responded with a dreamy sigh, and then the line clicked.
Nanoha hummed to herself as she flopped on the bed, thinking of her blonde haired best friend. She's pretty sure that she's crushing on her best friend. The emotions Fate makes her feel is very different than when she's with Arisa or Suzuka, and even with Alicia, and she's an exact replica of Fate.
Nanoha sighed, thinking of the consequences of confessing to Fate. Will you take a chance with me if I told you, Fate-chan?
Fate knocked on her sister's bedroom door, knowing that the older blonde is still awake. Probably still reading.
"Come in"
As Fate entered the room, she smiled at her sister who was skimming a book before sitting down beside her on her bed. Alicia's room is pretty much the same layout as Fate's but has far less items in it. With her bed, an L-shaped couch, a coffee table and the same TV in Fate's room on one side and two tall bookshelves and a computer desk on the other side.
"What's up?" Alicia asked, closing the book she was reading to look at her younger sister.
"I'm sorry you got dragged into the whole transferring schools thing," Fate said, burrowing in the mountain of pillows and stuffed toys her sister has.
"It's okay, I don't think I can handle the stress of you being in another school," Alicia answered with a laugh.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Fate asked with a pout.
"You know I can't leave you for one second without you causing trouble or something," Alicia answered, grinning mischievously.
Fate frowned, knowing what Alicia was referring to. Both of them have a few admirers at their school; mainly because of their intelligence. And since Fate is more athletic than Alicia by a mile, she gained a fan club. And of course, since she is the nicer and more approachable of the two, her fans actively seek her out which annoys Alicia to no end.
They may be twins but, they have completely different personalities. Both of them are geniuses by nature, but Alicia's the one who enjoys it best, reading almost every free time she has, whereas Fate likes to move around and doesn't really enjoy sitting in one place for too long. Fate has a long patience, whereas Alicia can be set off by the simplest remarks. Alicia is outgoing and friendly, interacting with people comes naturally to her, whilst Fate is shy and quiet that she would often be called as 'Alicia's shadow' in their school (until she joined the track team, of course).
"Fate-sama! Please go out with me!" A boy said, blocking Fate's way.
"Umm… I'm sorry, I can't?" Fate answered unsurely, her statement coming out as a question. She slowly sidestepped the boy, but, he caught her wrist.
"Please, I'm sure you'll have fun with me," He insisted.
Fate winced at the tightening hold, but before she could do anything else, Alicia luckily came to her rescue.
"Sorry, buddy, she's not interested," Alicia said , dragging Fate with her.
Fate simply smiled apologetically at the boy and let Alicia drag her.
"But, really, it's no problem. It's not like we have real friends at that school. It'll be more fun with Nanoha and everyone else." Alicia said after a moment of silence, effectively breaking Fate out of her memories.
"What about Ginga, though?" Fate asked, knowing of her sister's fondness to their purple-haired junior.
Alicia sighed and leaned back before smiling, "I have an open invite to her house anytime, she wants me to meet her sister who's about 3 years younger than her,"
"Maybe she can transfer next year when she goes to high school" Fate suggested.
"Maybe," was Alicia's simple response.
Precia was sitting in her office table the next day, reading the profile of the Takamachi family, more specifically, Nanoha.
"So, they met 7 years ago, huh," Precia murmured, looking at a photograph of Nanoha at age 9.
Knock. Knock.
"Enter,"
Precia's assistant, Linith, carefully opened the door, "Precia-sama, Fate-ojou-sama has arrived," She announced.
"Send her in," Precia answered curtly. Once the door was closed, she turned to look at Nanoha's photograph again, "Let's see how much of a friend you are, Takamachi Nanoha."
"Good morning, okaa-san," Fate greeted as she sat down in front of Precia.
"How was the exam?" Precia asked, grabbing a folder and taking out some photographs out of it.
Fate blinked at the question, her mother normally didn't care about those kinds of things, "It was okay," she answered softly after a while.
Precia didn't respond but simply sifted through the photographs in her hand, before stopping at a particular one. She didn't say a word as she slid the photograph to Fate.
Fate looked at the picture oddly, before returning her confused gaze back to her mother. "What…?" the word hung in the silence of the office. It was a picture of her and Nanoha, hugging intimately, their foreheads touching, and both of them were grinning widely. Fate remembered the day to be when they entered a karaoke contest and they won.
"What is this Takamachi Nanoha to you?" Precia asked, her voice taking on a harsh tone.
"She's my best friend." Fate answered quickly.
"But you wish to be more?" Precia prodded, narrowing her eyes at her youngest daughter.
Fate's jaw dropped at the implication, her face paling. She remained silent as she wracked her brain for a proper response.
"Tell me, are you this intimate with your other friends?" Precia asked when Fate's silence took too long, practically spatting out the last word. Precia slid another photograph; this one showing Fate and Nanoha holding hands, their fingers linked together.
"I… I… I…" Fate stuttered out, not knowing how to respond. She thought of her interactions with Arisa and Suzuka, with Ginga and even Alicia.
"Fate, do you like girls?" Precia asked again when Fate failed to answer the previous question properly, placing another photograph in front of Fate, this one with Nanoha kissing Fate's cheek while Fate was smiling widely with a blush on her face.
Fate gaze lowered, her heartbeat picked up at the question. She hasn't really thought about it that much. All she knows is that Nanoha is different. Nanoha is special.
"I've already gotten what I need, you may go," Precia said, analyzing her daughter's reaction carefully. You just made things easier for me, Fate.
Fate nodded dumbly, and walked out of the office without another word.
From: Fate-chan
Hey, I'm home. I know I promised we'd hang out after the exam but I'm tired. I'm just going to take a nap, okay? I'll talk to you later, Nanoha.
Nanoha frowned at the message, wondering what happened with Fate's meeting with her mother. Before the meeting, they were talking on the phone, and Fate was even joking around. What did her mother say that caused such a drastic change in the blonde's mood? Nanoha shook her head and sighed, there was nothing she could really do but let Fate be for a while.
To: Fate-chan
I'll be here when you're ready, Fate-chan.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
5 seconds.
10 seconds.
Alicia frowned at the lack of response. She's sure that Fate's already back from her meeting with their mother. Her biggest clue was the sound of Flight of the Bumblebee coming from Fate's room. She knows that Fate only plays that piece whenever she's frustrated. She simply decided to barge in when she realized that the piano-playing won't stop anytime soon.
"Fate," Alicia greeted cautiously, moving to stand beside the piano.
Fate glanced a bit in her general direction before her gaze returned to the piano keys in front of her, her hands and fingers continue to flow smoothly over the keys.
Alicia's frown deepened as she watched Fate repeat the song, "Did something happen? Nanoha asked me to check up on you."
Fate faltered, her playing slowing down a second at the mention of the brunette, before her expression hardened once more and she began to play the song with more force than necessary.
"Fate-" Alicia began but was cut off when Fate stopped playing and turned to her with a defeated expression on her face.
"Onee-chan," Fate started slowly, her tone soft, "I'm not ready…" was all she could get out, not sure how to voice out what she wants to say.
Alicia doesn't really know what Fate meant but she went to hug her younger sister since she doesn't know what else to offer other than comfort. She squeezed Fate a bit when the younger blonde let out a sigh of resignation, knowing that her sister is simply putting on an act of being strong, when she knows that all Fate wants to do is curl up and cry.
On the other hand, Fate simply leaned into her sister. She was oblivious of her own feelings before her mother brought it to light. And now, all she can think about is that she's not ready to face her own feelings. She's not ready for the truth.
"Gil Graham, I'm so glad you could meet me on such short notice!" Precia greeted the old man enthusiastically.
"Of course, I couldn't miss catching up on an old friend," Gil responded, sipping on his tea. Ever since Precia was left to take care of the business, she's changed, and Gil can't say it's for the better.
Gil Graham is a retired general from the military that used up most of his savings to establish a hotel which became so successful that he now has a chain of 5-star hotels all over Japan. He knows Precia because of a young military friend. This friend and Precia had a falling out a few years back and Precia changed since then. And not for the better.
"So, I have a proposition for you," Precia said, looking seriously at Gil.
The next day, Nanoha was waiting for Fate at their favorite park. Earlier that morning, she got a message from Fate asking to meet up. And now, she's sitting in the swings, slowly swaying back and forth, thinking if Fate was ready to talk or she simply wants to hang out. She was so lost in her thoughts that Fate managed to sneak upon her and surprise her.
"Boo," Fate put her hands quickly on Nanoha's shoulders.
"Fate-chan!" Nanoha stood up and turned to face Fate with a pout on her lips.
Fate was silently laughing to herself and just laughed harder at the expression on Nanoha's face.
"Mou, Fate-chan's a meanie," Nanoha crossed her arms and puffed her cheeks.
Fate simply smiled, which took Nanoha's breath away, and stepped closer to Nanoha before pulling her in for a hug.
"Fate-chan?" Nanoha asked softly, hugging Fate back, inhaling the unique scent that is Fate.
"I love you, Nanoha," Fate declared, tightening her hold on the brunette. After a lot of contemplating and looking back at all her interactions with Nanoha and her other friends, she finally realized that she does like Nanoha as more than a friend. She's not ready to think of relationships yet, but for now, saying those three simple words is enough.
Nanoha gasped, and her hold on the blonde loosened a bit. She's heard it from Fate a thousand times before but, somehow, this time, it feels a little different. She pulled away from Fate a little bit, but not enough to let go of her. She looked deeply in the blonde's eyes and saw the sincerity in them.
"I love you, too, Fate-chan," Nanoha finally replied with a bright smile, reserved only for Fate.
Fate grinned at the response and finally let go of Nanoha, and taking hold of her hand, "Wanna go see a movie?"
"Mmn!"
Nanoha may not have figured out what happened with the meeting yesterday but she's just glad that everything seems fine with her and Fate.
Precia rolled up the windows from her side in the car, she asked her driver to stop once she saw Fate with Nanoha on a local park. She clicked her tongue when she saw Fate give Nanoha a hug.
"Linith?" Precia called for her assistant who's sitting on the passenger seat.
"Yes?" Linith answered, watching as the two best friends walk down the street. She watched the bright smile on Fate's face, for the first time seeing the young girl truly happy. She has grown a soft spot for the Testarossa twins in her time of working with Precia, and would often talk to the both of them when she can.
"Please keep an eye on Fate's interactions with that girl," It may have been said as a request but the tone of Precia's voice had an underlying hint of malice on it.
"Yes, ma'am," Linith answered automatically, afraid of going against her boss.
A/N: Thanks for all the wonderful reviews, guys! I really appreciate it. Not much NanoFate this chapter. Soon, though. So, how was this chapter? Good? Bad? Something? Of course, criticisms are always appreciated. :)