A/N: Sorry if the previous chapter was rather short, but…yeah. Sorry. Again. I almost added more, but cliffhangers are a lot of fun to end off with. Hm…so far I've got 2 "tell Momoko" and 2 "run away". Well, you know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna…not do anything. Momoko will find out…as that's inevitable…and I'm gonna see how it goes from there. Also, Momoko got to the place, and saw a bunch of kids drinking, freaked, and called the cops. Well, not having a husband does that to ya! Plus, after Nanoha went MIA, she got really scared. So…yeah. Um, reviews would be appreciated, as always. For Aslan! AND MMP III! And Yuki K.! And…last, but not least…ALAVON-SAMA!
Also, it is your choice on wether you'd like to go along with AnimeXploit's Connected: Finale or mine. I only just learned this story had finished, so I only recently read the ending. By the way, AnimeXploit's story went EXACTLY the way I had planned for the original Connected's ending. So if you liked the idea of those better, I highly suggest Connected: Finale. I personally think it's better than my own…Ha ha…Anyway, it was certainly amazing, and I highly suggested. Thanks, AnimeXploit.
~ema
"What in the world are you two doing?" asked Momoko, her eyes wide. The two police officers coughed and kind of looked away. "Fate? Nanoha?"
"We…I…" Fate broke off. There were really no words.
"Everyone here's going up to the station," one police officer said finally. "Underage drinking, and drug abuse…,"
Nanoha nodded, feeling unnaturally calm. "That's pretty much it,"
"We're gonna have to take you two girls down to the station as well," the other officer added, and with that, the two girls walked slowly out of the room and towards the giant van of stoners, drunks, and possible drug-addicts.
"Well, this sucks," Fate said finally.
Nanoha couldn't agree more.
***
"So, you two were drinking?"
"Yes," Nanoha answered dully. Um, no freaking duh, don't you drink at parties, mister big-shot police officer?
"And did you take any drugs?"
"I didn't take any, didn't know they were there," Nanoha resisted the urge to say, "But if I'd known, I would've scarfed them down in two seconds.
"And the juice…"
"Nope, had zero juice,"
"Okay, then—your mother has grounded you,"
"Great. I love my house. It's beautiful," Nanoha said seriously.
The officer seemed rather confused, but finally went on, not getting the sarcasm. "And, uh, she wants to talk to you,"
Shit. "Really?" Nanoha smiled angelically. "Well, I'd much rather talk to you,"
The officer scratched his head, again, confused (this was obviously not the brightest crayon in the box), and left to get Momoko.
Fate was asleep on the couch, evidently exhausted, and Nanoha regretted walking over to her and shaking her awake. "Hey, sleeping beauty, Mom's coming in,"
"Huuh?" Fate sat up, and rubbed her eyes blearily. She grasped the situation quickly, and, predictably, the first owrds out of her mouth were, "Oh, crap,"
"Yeah," Nanoha settled herself beside Fate, and put one arm around her. "Well, what will come, will come, right?"
"Yes," Fate agreed.
The door opened, and Momoko stepped into the room.
"Girls…" she began, no preamble. "I must say that I'm disappointed in your behavior tonight. I thought that you had learned your lesson after what happened to Nanoha. But apparently not," Momoko took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, but you'll be grounded for at least a month; that means you have to come straight home after school,"
Both girls nodded—this was not the part they had feared.
"And what I saw today, in that back room…" Momoko looked confused, rather than angry or disappointed as Fate and Nanoha had expected her to be. "…What was going on? Was one of you sick, or something?"
Nanoha spoke first. "Yeah, Fate was having trouble breathing," she lied.
"That's right—that's why I fell asleep, too," Fate added. "I was exhausted,"
"Oh,
I see," Momoko looked immensly relieved. "I thought…oh, but it
was silly of me, of course," she smiled. "Well, I hope you two
will look forward to spending more time at home, from now on,"
"Yes,
Mom," the girls chorused, and exchanged looks, both thinking the
same thing.
Well, like mother like daughter…
***
The next few days were absolute bliss. But, even good things have to stop sometime, right? The party incident had overshadowed the twincest rumor, which appeared not to be true by many accounts (most of them Hayate), and Nanoha and Fate's school life was back to normal.
Vivio, who was eight, had introduced a new friend, Lutecia, also called Lu, or LuLu, and most of the time, Vivio was playing at Lu's house, an expencive villa on the farside of town, where Lu's wheelchair-bound mother lived.
Nanoha and Fate stole many moments alone together, locked up in there bedrooms.
Again, this couldn't last. Because, like so many other occasions, they were interrupted.
This time, there was no mistaking what they were doing.
And this time, it was Momoko Takamachi.
But, whatever happened, both girls knew that they couldn't give up this relationship. They were tied to eachother by countless binds that might as well have been steel. Nothing and no one could break them, ever.
They were connected, forever, and nothing could change that.
Not even what awaited them just down the stairs of their own home.
FIN
A/N: I know it was short. 'm writing a sequel story, don't worry, but I wanted to split them up, as Connected deals with the nightly excursions and hiding relationships and Separated has to do more with Nanoha and Fate hiding their relationship and eventually being separated. Yes, Momoko-chan will get angry. No one is that open-minded, really.
Many thanks to you all—but since this is the end, I feel no need to present the normal formalities. Please look for "SEPARATED" chapter one, coming up soon!
