Disclaimer:
I do not claim ownership of the Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha series or franchise. This is a non-profit fan-written story written exclusively for entertainment purposes.

{]-~*(X)*~-[}

I was still a bit out of sorts when I returned to Fate's room. I had been shocked when Yuuno was arrested and that shock had quickly been replaced by disbelief. But then there also was the issue of whether or not I should tell Fate about it.

Upon returning to Fate's room I saw that Caro had calmed down and Fate was having a seemingly pleasant conversation with two of her 'kids'.

The whole situation with Yuuno momentarily forgotten I noticed Fate's smile; it was a genuine smile and it was beautiful. The last time I had seen that smile was when I confessed my feelings to her. Which, granted hadn't even been that long ago. But with everything that was going on it felt like it had been ages.

"Ah, Nanoha!" The cheeriness in Fate's voice did not go by me as she noticed my presence in the room.

Some of the shock over what had happened with Yuuno must've still been visible on my face however as Fate's smile faltered slightly. "Is something wrong?"

Smiling I removed the final traces of shock from my expression and answered. "It can wait." And it could. I'd be damned if I ruined this moment of joy. I would wait until Erio and Caro had gone, and not a moment earlier.

Luckily Fate seemed content to let it rest for the moment as her attention turned back to the two teenagers in the room.


*~-{ Broken }-~*
*~-{ Written by Zarosguth }-~*

*~-{ Chapter VII }-~*


Erio and Caro unfortunately couldn't stay long and as far as Nanoha was concerned, had to leave way too soon.

There hung an awkward tension in the room as Nanoha didn't quite know how to break the news of Yuuno's arrest to Fate and Fate trying to patiently wait for Nanoha to tell her what was bothering her.

"Fate-chan."

"Nanoha."

Both women fell silent and couldn't help but giggle lightly at simultaneously speaking up.

Their giggles died quickly and Fate spoke first. "Nanoha, will you tell me now what's bothering you?"

Nanoha could hear the concern in her blonde girlfriend's voice. Typical Fate-chan, she thought, always worries about others first. Even in a situation like this…

The brunette took a deep breath to steel her nerves.

"Yuuno was here; he came by to see how you and I were doing."

Fate smiled, "That's very thoughtful of him." Despite the fact she had always disliked Yuuno for stealing the love of her life – an irrational thought, she knew at the time, since she hadn't even had the courage to confess to her best friend. But that didn't prevent her from having it – it wasn't like she hated the guy or couldn't stand him. In fact, despite everything that had passed between them, she did consider him somewhat of a friend.

"He was arrested." Nanoha's voice pulled Fate out of her thoughts and caused her to stare incredulously at the elementary school teacher.

Afraid that she already knew the answer, Fate asked the question anyways. "For what…?"

"They suspect him of…" Nanoha's voice trailed off so she made an arm motion indicating the entirety of Fate in her hospital bed.

Fate did not respond; her eyes had grown wide and her mouth hung slightly open. Nanoha scooted a bit closer to her girlfriend and observed Fate's expression carefully. Afraid that Fate might forget to breathe – something she actually did seem to forget – Nanoha asked softly, "Fate-chan?"

No response, no movement. Nothing.

Without another word, Nanoha carefully laid her hands on Fate's shoulders before pulling the blonde's head to her chest as she started stroking her hand through golden blonde hair.

Fate just stared ahead of her. If she were perfectly honest, Nanoha would say she was more scared in that moment than when she first received the call from Hayate about the attack. Nanoha had seen Fate put up walls or put on a mask to hide her emotions, but this was different.

Fate had locked up entirely.

Nanoha could do nothing more than hold her girlfriend and whisper sweet nothings. Fate didn't react, her body was somehow limp and rigid at the same time, completely unresponsive.

But, even though her body was unmoving, Fate's mind was running at high speed, going over every single interaction she'd had with Nanoha's ex-boyfriend. She was looking for anything, anything at all that would show Yuuno to be a violent person. Anything that could make sense of the police suspecting him.

Her mind led her to a conversation she'd had with the blonde archaeologist back when Nanoha was still together with him. Fate was visiting and had joined the two of them for dinner when Nanoha had to go to the bathroom, leaving the two blondes alone for a moment.

{]-~*(X)*~-[}

"So… How's law school?" Yuuno asked politely.

"Good, good." Was the answer.

"That's… good." Yuuno smiled. The atmosphere in the room became awkward quickly.

It was silent for a moment.

"How are you treating Nanoha?" Yuuno nearly choked on his bite of food at that one. He quickly recovered but before he got a chance to answer, Fate spoke again.

"Because if I ever hear you're hurting her, I will hurt you." Fate glared at Yuuno, causing the man to gulp. Fate turned her attention back to her food while Yuuno just stared at her for a second.

"You're in love with her aren't you?" This time it was Fate's turn to nearly choke.

Questioning ruby locked onto amused emerald.

"I. Uh… That is to say… what?" Fate sputtered, unable to form a coherent sentence.

Yuuno just smiled. "I think I have my answer. Don't worry, your secret is safe with me. She won't know unless you want her to, but you're her best friend Fate and I would do nothing to have the two of you lose that."

Before the law student had a chance to answer, Nanoha came back from the bathroom.

{]-~*(X)*~-[}

Ginga was walking through the hospital corridors. She was on her way back to Fate's room after her interrogation of Yuuno and she had some questions she still had to ask Fate regarding the assault.

Arriving at her destination she knocked on the door.

"Yes? Come in." She barely heard the weary and subdued voice of one Miss Takamachi call from the other side of the door.

Carefully opening the door and stepping into the hospital room she saw a sight that she wished she could say was new to her, but it wasn't.

The dead-looking eyes, the expressionless face. She'd seen them plenty of times as part of her job as a detective. It was something that never became easier. In a sense, it was more frightening than the crying and screaming. It was total despair.

Without a word, the detective approached the two women sitting on the hospital bed. Nanoha had wrapped her arms around the form of Fate. Unshed tears were making the brunette's eyes glisten in the fluorescent lighting. Ginga sat down on the chair that Nanoha had left in favour of sitting on the bed to better support her girlfriend.

Staying silent, the detective laid a hand on the teacher's knee and gave the distraught woman a comforting smile. Nanoha responded with a sad smile of her own before she blinked, finally allowing the tears to stream down her cheeks.

Nanoha placed a barrage of kisses on the top of the attorney's head while no longer making any effort to stop her tears.

A warm hand found its way to her cheek. Blinking her tears away, Nanoha noticed it to be the hand of her blonde beloved. She leaned into the touch and closed her eyes, letting loose an shuddering breath.

"I've never liked seeing you cry." Fate's voice was soft and gentle as it always was when she spoke up. "I'm sorry I caused you to cry, I just needed to… process."

Nanoha kissed the top of Fate's head again. "I understand." She whispered, not relinquishing her hold on her love.

It was then that Fate's eyes fell on the detective sitting in the chair next to the bed.

"Detective Nakajima, can I help you?" Fate smiled politely. She wanted to demand what evidence they had on Yuuno; going over every interaction she'd had with the blonde male, she just couldn't see him as the type to lash out like that.

The detective looked thoughtful for a second. "I can come back later if now is not the time."

"Now's as good a time as any." Fate spoke gently before turning to Nanoha. "Nanoha, why don't you grab a coffee from the cafeteria downstairs while I talk with the detective?"

Nanoha looked positively shocked; "Are you sure you don't want me to stay?" Nanoha's voice still sounded raspy from her crying.

"I can handle it." she answered, kissing the tears that were still on Nanoha's cheeks away. "Go. Grab yourself a drink; you need to make sure you stay hydrated."

Nanoha couldn't help the short chuckle that escaped her lips. Giving Fate a final chaste kiss on the lips, she stood up and left the hospital room. But not before giving Ginga a glance that said: 'If I come back here and Fate is upset, I'll make you regret it.'

Ginga acknowledged the unspoken promise with a curt nod.

{]-~*(X)*~-[}

Fate didn't miss a beat; as soon as Nanoha had left she immediately turned to the detective. "I take it you have some more questions for me?"

"Yes, actually I-"

"Before you go any further," Fate interrupted Ginga with purpose in her voice, "I have a question for you."

Ginga shrugged. "Very well."

"Is it true that you have arrested Nanoha's ex, Yuuno Scrya?"

Ginga nodded. "Yes, at the moment he is our lead suspect. I can't say much but he gave us an alibi that we're currently looking into."

"He didn't do it."

"Pardon me?" Ginga raised an eyebrow at the blonde sitting in the hospital bed.

"Let me rephrase that. I don't believe he did it."

Ginga subjected the children's advocate to a scrutinizing gaze for a moment. Fate's body language indicated she was absolutely serious. "Why not?" Ginga raised the question.

"I spoke with him the day after he and Nanoha broke up."


*~-{ End of Chapter VII }-~*


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*~-{ May we meet again, fare thee well! }-~*