Nanoha stared in horror at Fate as the blonde turned around and closed the door to Hayate's office. "Fate...-chan..." she whispered appalled.

"FATE-CHAN!" Nanoha plunged into the door, violently slamming it open.

The corridor was empty.

"Nanoha-chan!" Hayate's voice reached the brunette's ears but she was already running forward. She ran until she reached the end of the corridor. Frantically looking around, she caught a glimpse of golden hair disappearing quickly on the opposite end of the hall she had just ran into.

"Fate-chan, wait!" Nanoha shouted.

People walking around turned their heads towards her or stopped to see what was going on but it didn't matter.

Turn by turn, corridor by corridor, following the blonde, Nanoha eventually ran into TSAB underground car park. She scanned the area quickly with her eyes noticing that, to her misfortune, Fate's car was already gone.

I'm too late...

Nanoha ran out of the underground area to an open space and, gripping Raising Heart tightly in her hand, soared up to the sky.

Fate, just like her car, was nowhere to be seen.

Where could she go, where could she go... Nanoha's thoughts ran wild and, eventually, she directed herself towards the first place that came to her mind.

She flew fast. The wind was hurting her eyes, drying her tears, but she didn't care. She sped up even more when she finally noticed the roof of her house.

Fate's car was nowhere near but it didn't stop her. Landing in front of her doorstep, the girl rushed inside, her heart skipping a beat after noticing the door was unlocked.

"Fate-chan?" Nanoha called out, checking the living room.

Empty.

"Fate-chan!"

Bedroom; empty.

Kitchen, bathroom, Vivio's room upstairs, too. Except for her there was no one else in.

Click

The girl froze. I could swear I just heard... she hurried downstairs and outside of the house. Except for random passer-bys on the street, there was no one.

"Raising Heart," the brunette whispered after going back inside. My last hope... she closed the door and swallowed thickly. "Call Fate-chan."

"Yes, Master," blinking intensively, the device fell quiet and spoke again only after a longer while. "Master, Fate T. Harlaown is currently unreachable or not accepting the call."

Nanoha's throat tightened. "Try again!"

Silence.

"Master," Raising Heart's red light died down again.

"Fate-chan..." slowly, Nanoha sank down to her knees as the truth hit her.

Fate was gone. And she had no way to find her now and make things any better.

Resting against the wall, the girl closed her eyes. It was all like some kind of scenario from her worst nightmare. Suddenly, in a matter of a wrongly-timed second, she had perhaps lost someone incredibly important. Her friend, her wife, and her soulmate.

What have I done... she clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, trying her best to stop herself from crying. There must be something...some other way...

Nanoha didn't know how much time she had spent on the floor. The tiredness had slowly took over her body and her absent-minded state got broken only by Raising Heart. "Master, you have an incoming call from-"

The brunette accepted before the device had managed to finish.

"Fate-chan?" she asked hopefully.

It wasn't Fate that appeared on the screen.

"Nanoha-chan, I'm so sorry..." Hayate's voice was shaky and, although her face looked somewhat composed, her eyes showed that the girl had cried, too. "I'm so sorry...I was so stupid for agreeing to it..." she hid face in her hands.

Nanoha shook her head sadly. "It's not your fault, Hayate-chan...I should have talked to her first..."

They both fell quiet until Nanoha spoke again.

"I tried to call her but she's not picking up..." she whispered weakly.

Hayate let out a heavy sigh. "I have people from my office trying to locate her but it seems she's determined to not be found by anyone right now."

"I...see..." Nanoha's voice cracked.

"Nanoha-chan!" Hayate called out suddenly. "It'll be okay, I promise!" she placed hand on her heart.

Nanoha's lips curled, even if only so little, in a sad smile. "Thank you, Hayate-chan."

When the two ended the call, the brunette didn't move from her place.

Memories of what had happened flashed through Nanoha's mind once again. Everything still felt so surreal and, deep down, she still hoped that it was just a dream, that it didn't really happen.

I'm such a fool for still hoping for that... she scolded herself.

It was an accident that, when she had opened her eyes, her view rested on a small hanger near the entrance door. Then she noticed – Fate's coat was missing.

But she didn't take it with her this morning! Quickly, the girl stood up and headed to their bedroom. She opened the first drawer that contained Fate's clothes and which, now, was half-empty. Her face kept going more and more pale with every new realization she made after checking the rest of the drawers and their wardrobe.

Eventually, Nanoha dropped down at the edge of their bed.

Suddenly it made sense to her – why the door to her house was open but Fate was nowhere to be found. Why she didn't see her car parked anywhere near.

Fate was avoiding her. She was hiding from her. She probably didn't want to have anything to do with her any more.

The brunette hid her face in her hands, smearing fresh tears all over and feeling more leaking through her fingers. "What have I done..." she whispered, more to herself than to anyone in particular.


Meanwhile Hayate kept pacing nervously back and forth in her office, biting her lip every now and then.

I'm stupid, I'm so stupid... she thought for something that had to be the hundredth time.

It wasn't only the disastrous in its result coincidence. It wasn't only that Fate had disappeared and couldn't be tracked. It was all her fault. Her idea that brought that upon her friends. She had to take the responsibility now, at least by finding Fate.

Hayate clenched her fists. Just what was I thinking...

Another problem was, even if she managed to find Fate, she had no idea what to do next.

Think, Hayate, think...

Urging herself wasn't much of a help either. Frankly, nothing really was helping.

She was sure that Fate wouldn't want to talk to Nanoha. She was also worried about talking to Fate herself. What would she tell her? She hadn't even fully comprehended what happened yet and, as reluctant as she was to admit it, it was the first time she was scared to look the blonde in the eyes.

Then there was Nanoha who was currently in a horrible condition herself, too, and Hayate had honestly wished she could be in multiple places at a time.

She bit her lip again.

"Griffith-san, please continue searching and inform me about anything new you get to know. I'm going to check on Nanoha-chan," she spoke over an intercom and took off.

Arriving to the Takamachi-Harlaown house, Hayate found the front door unlocked. "Pardon the intrusion," she whispered and, quietly, stepped inside, leaving her shoes near the doorstep. "Nanoha-chan?" she called out, walking more into the house. "Nanoha-chan!"

Finally, she found the girl in her bedroom.

The brunette was lying on her bed with her clothes dishevelled and hair spread around messily.

"Nanoha-chan..." Hayate entered the room and slowly sat near her friend at the edge of the bed.

"She even took her things with her," the brunette spoke in a low voice, staring emptily at a wall.

Damn... Hayate's insides twisted. Slowly, she reached out and placed her hand softly on top of the other girl's. Nanoha responded to the gesture meekly, gripping lightly Hayate's hand herself.

At the end of the day one thing was clear to Hayate – they were both deeply shaken by what had happened. Comfort, support, a spark of hope – they both needed them. But other than that, she still couldn't wrap her mind around everything else that took place.

Her eyes rested on the hand she was holding. I wonder how it feels to Nanoha-chan, she looked at her friend and sighed quietly when a memory of their earlier kiss appeared in her mind. She slid down from the bed and sat on the floor.

Nanoha turned to her other side, facing Hayate who rested her arms on the bed, bringing their faces to the same level. Hayate reached out with her free hand and gently wiped Nanoha's tears. The other girl closed her eyes at the touch for a little while.

"Hayate-chan, I'm sorry..." Nanoha whispered as her friend kept stroking her cheek. "I'm sorry for dragging you into this...for insisting on doing these things with you..."

Hayate shook her head slowly, giving the brunette a small, encouraging smile. "Nanoha-chan, I'll do anything for you, you don't have to say sorry."

It was my fault. Let me take the blame.

Nanoha looked away in guilt. "Still, I've never really asked you how you felt about all this..."

"I enjoyed it," the girl answered shortly and smiled gently again before adding, "It was like nothing I've ever experienced," she confessed. "Being like this with you two was so different, it made me feel at ease. It's just..." Hayate hesitated for a moment, searching for words. "In the end, we're friends. However close we may be, it still made me question each time whether it's wrong or not to do this. Especially since you and Fate-chan..."

Nanoha's face fell a little and she opened her mouth to answer but closed it again when Hayate's device rang.

"Commander," Griffith saluted on screen. "We have managed to track Captain Fate T. Harlaown," he informed and both girls got up immediately.

"Report, please," Hayate commanded, briefly saluting back.

"We have found out that she had requested a couple of teleportation transfers with destination being non-administrated planet 97. Unfortunately," he paused and adjusted his glasses. "That's as far as we can go with the search without using a space cruiser."

Nanoha and Hayate looked at each other, not hiding their puzzlement.

"Earth?" Nanoha repeated.

"Griffith-san, is the route available now?" Hayate asked with determination.

"Yes, Ma'am. Currently there are two cruisers in range of your teleportation spell."

Hayate nodded. "Nanoha-chan, we're going," she grabbed her surprised friend's wrist. "Griffith-san," she turned to the man on the screen. "Please send the coordinates to my device. And thank you for your efforts."

"Yes, Ma'am!" he saluted again before disconnecting.

They didn't wait long. Nanoha squeezed Hayate's hand tighter, feeling familiar warmth radiating from the spell her friend was casting.

Endless mazes and images kept flashing in front of the girls' eyes after they took off as they travelled through time and space.

"Commander on the deck! All hands salute!" Nanoha heard when they arrived to the space cruiser, stopping only for a couple of seconds before making another jump to their destination point.

Finally, Nanoha saw a view more familiar to her.

Uminari city was already asleep when they landed on top of its highest skyscraper. After a quick look around, the girl closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. "Nothing beats earthly air," she whispered, hearing her friend doing the same thing. "I wonder where Fate-chan is..." she said quietly.

After all, that's why they came here.

Hayate sighed and shook her head. "I assumed that she probably would be somewhere in that area. That's where the three of us..." she cut before she finished the sentence.

"I think we should divide," Nanoha suggested and Hayate noticed with a bit of satisfaction that her friend's determination was making its way back into her voice.

The shorter brunette nodded. "Good idea," she smiled. "Let's cover the opposite sides of the city first."

With that, the two shot up high to the sky and parted.

"Raising Heart, please!" Nanoha closed her eyes and gently kissed the little gem. "Find Fate-chan!"

"Yes, my Master! Preparing to activate a wide area scan," the device glowed as a pink magic circle appeared under the girl's feet. "Preparation complete, starting the scan."

Focusing on the spell, Nanoha gathered all of her power and waited. And waited. Seconds kept passing, then minutes, but nothing had indicated that Fate was anywhere around.

"Any success, Nanoha-chan?" the brunette heard her friend's voice over a telepathic link.

"So far nothing. What about you, Hayate-chan?"

"...Same."

The answer made Nanoha sigh quietly. "Let's keep it up for a while longer," the girl requested and focused back on her search.

Almost half an hour had passed before the two girls decided to take a break. Nanoha landed on top of the nearest building and sat down, panting lightly. The night air was cool and crisp and yet the brunette noticed a couple drops of sweat on her forehead. She quickly wiped them off and sat down.

I can't rest knowing that Fate-chan may be somewhere near... she fidgeted and started looking around, as if hoping to maybe spot the blonde while not searching for her with a spell.

"Hayate-chan, let's continue," she sent her friend a mental message after a couple of minutes.

"Are you all right, Nanoha-chan?" Hayate asked with worry but Nanoha was already floating above the city.

"I'll be okay, Hayate-chan," she reassured and cast the spell once again. "Raising Heart, cover as much area as possible!" she commanded and her device blinked gently.

"As you wish, Master."

The time was going painfully slow for Nanoha as she kept channelling her power to her device and waiting for any kind of results to appear.

In vain.

"Nanoha-chan, we should stop now. I don't think she's anywhere near," Hayate's telepathic voice roused Nanoha suddenly and the girl noticed her whole body was covered with sweat.

"A bit more! Let's search just a little bit more!" Nanoha insisted. "Just a little bit..." she repeated to herself, concentrating all her power on keeping the spell up.

Slowly, the world around Nanoha started turning into a blur. Just a bit more... The girl shut her eyes tightly, suddenly feeling somewhat lightheaded.

"Master, your fatigue level is dangerously high," Raising Heart's voice reached the brunette's ears, unnaturally distant, as if coming from behind a curtain.

Nanoha gritted her teeth. She felt uncomfortably hot despite the cool air she was breathing in. Another couple of sweat drops ran down her forehead and temples but she decided to ignore them. She couldn't give up. Not yet. Not when Fate could be somewhere close.

"Nanoha-chan?"

The brunette heard Hayate's voice in her head but she felt too tired to answer.

"Nanoha-chan, answer me!"

Why does Hayate-chan sound so...scared? Nanoha wondered. There was nothing to be afraid of.

Maybe I really should rest just a little... the girl thought, cancelling the spell and relaxing her muscles.

It felt like a heavy burden got lifted from her. Her body was so tired that she couldn't open her eyes. There was a pleasant, cool wind blowing against her back and a feeling inside her that oscillated between something familiar and breathtaking. It almost felt like...

...falling.

Nanoha opened her eyes in a sudden rush of adrenaline. She saw the clouds above her but they were getting more and more distant. The air was blowing harder against her back as she kept gaining speed.

The girl shut her eyes again, trying to fly and stop the fall, but nothing seemed to change. And then it got to her.

I used up all of my power...

The force on her back felt almost crushing.

...Am I going to die...?

She opened her eyes briefly to take a look at the sky above her.

I...I'm sorry, Fate-chan...Hayate-chan... her eyes shut from exhaustion.

Suddenly, she felt something solid and soft touching her back. The feeling came along with pleasant warmth that surrounded her as the sensation of falling slowly lessened and eventually disappeared. The brunette lifted her tired eyelids slightly, catching a glimpse of golden hair in the dark.

She smiled lightly.

And then her consciousness finally slipped away.


Nanoha woke up to light, chilling wind and numbness that engulfed her whole body. Realizing that she was lying on the grass, she carefully brought a hand up to her forehead and rubbed her eyes before opening them. It was still dark and her vision was somewhat blurred.

"Fate...-chan?" she asked weakly, spotting a familiar contour sitting nearby in the darkness.

The person jolted slightly, apparently surprised by her voice. "Are you okay, Nanoha?" Fate looked at the girl before handing her a bottle of water. "Here, you should drink something."

A little clumsily, Nanoha sat up. She noticed how dry her throat was only when she took the first sip. "You saved me, Fate-chan," she said after a while with a faint smile after dim memories came back to her.

"Don't mention it," the blonde turned her head away and Nanoha noticed that the girl's voice sounded unnaturally distant. "How did you get here?" she asked after a while.

"I came here with Hayate-chan, she should be somewhere a-"

"Why?" Fate interrupted her.

Nanoha looked at the girl with slight shock at first before looking down at the ground. "I wanted to talk to you, Fate-chan. I wanted to explain what happened."

"What do you want to explain?!" the blonde raised her voice.

The sudden outburst took Nanoha aback. Fate had almost never shouted, certainly not at her. And it pained the brunette to notice how hurt the other girl had sounded. "Fate-chan..." she said meekly.

"I'm just not enough for you any more...right?" Fate spoke again, in low and brittle voice.

"It's not that, Fate-chan!" Nanoha reached out her hand but the blonde moved away. "I just...Fate-chan and Hayate-chan..."

"Nanoha, you don't understand," Fate said sourly after a while. "I gave my everything to you, I went as far as becoming intimate with our best friend to break you out of boredom," she stressed, making Nanoha cringe in her spot. "I did what I could and yet...it's not enough, is it?" she looked at the ground grimly. "Because now there's someone else than me you want to be with."

"Fate-chan, I'm telling you it's not-"

"I don't want to hear that!" Fate stood up, clenching her fists and gritting her teeth. "I'm just a replacement again, right?! Like I was for my mo-"

SLAP

Fate touched her hurting cheek in shock, looking at a short brunette that had just landed in front of her out of nowhere.

"I'm sorry, Fate-chan," Hayate spoke calmly but sternly. "But this is not how you think it is. You need to give Nanoha-chan a chance to explain herself."

The blonde stared at her for a while before nodding her head absently and sitting down.

"Fate-chan, the truth is," Nanoha started gently. "I love you with all my heart. And there's absolutely no one that could ever replace you."

For just a moment Fate seemed to smile faintly at these words.

After a couple of seconds, Nanoha continued. "And the truth is, I love Hayate-chan, too."

Fate's face took a confused expression.

"These two nights we three spent together...I felt like never before. When both you and Hayate-chan were there with me...all the butterflies I had in my stomach, the desire I felt for both you and Hayate-chan that I'd never experienced, all the longing I felt after we parted, everything..." Nanoha paused for a while to loosen her somewhat hurting throat and catch a breath. "And then I heard that it happens...to fall for two people at the same time."

Hayate smiled lightly to herself. Silly girl...she's probably having a crush on me... With a corner of her eye, she looked at Fate who listened carefully to Nanoha, her face somewhat milder than earlier.

After a moment, Nanoha picked up again. "I kept thinking about it but I didn't know what to do. I want our marriage to last, Fate-chan, but I realized I couldn't choose between the two of you..." she said quietly. "Fate-chan, I know that what I'm saying is probably weird but believe me, it's true," the girl put her hand on her heart. "I love both of you," she looked at Fate and then at Hayate. "And I want you both in my life."

"It's unusual but I believe that Nanoha-chan's intentions are true," Hayate said with a smile, sitting near Fate who was staring at Nanoha with flabbergasted expression.

"I..." the blonde opened her mouth but changed her mind.

"I'm honestly sorry, Fate-chan," Nanoha said. "I should have told you about this first."

"Why didn't you?" Fate asked quietly. "Maybe we'd have worked something out together..."

"I didn't know how to..." Nanoha answered with noticeable regret. "After I understood what was going on, I told Hayate-chan in hope that she'd help me with figuring something out...but..." she choked on her words. "Things went so wrong..." the girl finished and hugged her knees, sobbing quietly. "I'm so sorry, Fate-chan..."

Fate had no idea what to say. What Nanoha had just told her sounded so surreal and unbelievable and yet...she understood. No, she trusted in what the girl had said. Hesitantly, she reached out and wiped the tears that were streaming down Nanoha's cheeks. The moment after she found the brunette clinging to her tightly. With a small smile, Fate wrapped her arms around the girl.

"I'm sorry, too, Nanoha," the blonde whispered. "I overreacted, I should have trusted you more..."

Nanoha didn't answer. Instead, she tightened the hug around her wife as if her life depended on it.

"It's okay, Nanoha, I'm not going anywhere any more," Fate spoke quietly to her ear while stroking her head, feeling tears gathering in her own eyes.

Sitting near, Hayate looked at the couple, letting out a silent sigh of relief. I suppose I should give them some private time, she thought and started getting up when someone grabbed her hand. Surprised, she looked down, only to see Fate holding her wrist.

"You're my dear friend, Hayate," the blonde looked straight into her eyes. "Although I don't know if I could feel about you in the same way Nanoha does," she spoke with honesty. "But I feel I could never choose between the two of you either."

With that, she gently pulled Hayate closer and hugged her with the other hand.

Returning the gesture, Hayate smiled earnestly. "I suppose that option was already taken when we first met, wasn't it?" she joked and even Nanoha, who was still crying, giggled briefly at it until she got hiccups.

Embracing each other, the three Aces lied down on the cool, slightly wet grass.

"I think we all learned something from that," Fate broke the silence.

"Indeed, we did," Nanoha nodded and pulled her friends closer.

Hayate looked briefly at the sky, not covered by the clouds any more and with many stars shining above them. "That threesomes aren't best remedy for marriage problems, eh?" she joked and all three of them chuckled. "I'm sorry for suggesting it," she said, more seriously. And then added, "I love you, guys."

Both she and Nanoha closed their eyes while Fate blushed.

Nanoha took a deep breath, once again enjoying the taste of the air surrounding them. She jumped in surprise and winced when a hand suddenly smacked lightly the top of her head. "Ow...Hayate-chan, why?" she whimpered.

"That's for your carelessness and always pushing yourself to your limits, Nanoha-chan," Hayate stated seriously. "Do you have an idea how worried I was when you suddenly stopped answering? Thank god Raising Heart began sending emergency signal, I don't even want to think what would happen if Fate-chan hadn't caught you first!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," the other brunette shrank and smiled nervously.

Hayate sighed loudly. "I'm just glad that you're okay..." she said and patted the girl's head.

"By the way, Fate-chan," Nanoha asked after a moment. "Why Earth?"

"Huh? I..." the blonde stuttered slightly. "I just wanted...a change of surrounding...and...maybe visit the places where we first met..." she blushed, fully aware that her friends knew it was just a spur-of-a-moment idea.

"Hmm," Hayate mused. "Since we're here, why don't we visit Arisa-chan and Suzuka-chan?" she suggested.

"Good idea!" Nanoha exclaimed but quickly quieted down. "But...how do we let them know first? It's middle of the night."

"Let's just go there and see if they're sleeping in the same bed!"

"Hayate, that's creepy!"

The three of them laughed on the grass.

Life was good again.


A/N: That concludes this short story which I hope you enjoyed reading. I certainly enjoyed writing it and, I must admit, it was a bit of a challenge after a long time of not writing anything at all. I've always seen Hayate as a kind guardian for both Nanoha and Fate, one that'd do anything for her friends, and I think I've managed to capture it well in this story. The ending was left somewhat open on purpose as I believe it's fair in this case to let you, dear readers, decide on your own how the things will go after that as there's a couple of possible ways.

Also, I wanted to say thank you for all the support, comments, and feedback I got, as well as give a special credit to JustMadman for writing me a more in-depth review and Major Mike Powell III for constantly pestering me to write something new. ;)

Thanks to all of you again and see you next time!