Team GEMINI

Nameless: The Physical Attraction

Book 1

When The Unstoppable Force Collides With The Immovable Object

Chapter 9

What Do Sex and Booze Have in Common? Headaches.

Nanoha wanted to scream at herself for her stupidity, she said, no she promised herself that she would never, ever go back to him. Just feeling his hands caress her body, his breath on her skin, his lips on hers, and having him inside of her… it Nanoha squirm knowing that tiny, microscopic pieces of him were quite literally swimming inside of her thinking only of one thing: germinating.

"Mm... Nanoha?" Yuuno's husky voice brought Nanoha back to reality. "What's wrong? You okay?"

"No, not really..." Nanoha sighed, lying back down and snuggling in close to Yuuno. "I had a dream about her—well more like a recollection."

"Oh... so the break up was that bad huh?" Yuuno asked with a lopsided smile. "Well it must have been if you forced yourself to spend the night with me."

"Nyahaha, yeah. It was pretty bad."

"Ouch... so I'm the rebound sex?"

"Yep." Nanoha replied without hesitation. "As always."

Yuuno chuckled and held the mother of his child tightly. "Well it's okay. I'm just glad you came to me and not some random girl."

"Guy."

"What?"

Smiling sweetly, Nanoha patted Yuuno's well toned chest. "Fate is the only girl that turns me on. I'm completely straight."

"Mhm..." Yuuno hummed disbelievingly. "Keep telling yourself that and you'll end up marrying me."

"Nyahaha, ew. That's like marrying my brother and my sister at the same time!" Nanoha exclaimed in a hearty laugh.

"Then you would have no problem sleeping with them?"

"I slept with them all the time." Nanoha replied the answer innocent enough.

"At the same time? So were they any good?" Yuuno asked with a snicker.

A heavy blush shot up to Nanoha's face causing her to puff out her cheeks and knee Yuuno in the leg, "That's gross, Yuuno-kun!"

"H-Hey! That hurt you know!" Yuuno complained in English, taking amusement in his cheesy word play.

"Oh grow up will you?"

"But it already did grow up, or do you want a repeat as a refresher course?" Yuuno said with a playful grin on his boyish face. "Because if it's you, then I wouldn't mind goin' all night long."

"Puh-lease, Yuuno-kun." Nanoha smirked. "You can barely last five minutes with me let alone all night long."

It was Yuuno's turn to blush now, "Hey, hey, hey! That happened one time okay? One time! No need to bring up the past!"

"Never happened to Fate." Nanoha said in a singsong voice. "It was all night long and all morning too."

"Oh that is low!" Yuuno quipped with puffed out cheeks. "It was my first time, and I apologized for jumping the gun okay?"

"Yep, and what a great first time it was." Nanoha blanched. "I had to lie to my friends about it. How was I supposed to tell them that you finished before we even started. You weren't even out of your pants yet!"

"Jeez you are a hard to please woman, you know that?" Yuuno chuckled as he ran his hand through his soft blonde hair. "I don't know how that poor girl put up with you, let alone have sex with you. May her soul rest in peace."

Rolling her eyes, Nanoha pried herself away from Yuuno's embrace. Laughing tauntingly Nanoha's blue eyes shined with an unprecedented glimmer. "You know, Yuuno-kun, if anyone knew about your track record, people would start suspecting that we had Vivio via artificial insemination."

"Okay, ouch that one really hurt." Yuuno winced, feigning a look of hurt. "But hey, it's only you that's seen that bad side of me. You should feel special!"

"Uh-huh, you get anymore girls pregnant while I was gay? Because I'd like to know if you still use prehistoric condoms." Nanoha jabbed Yuuno's side teasingly causing him to yelp in surprise. "Seriously, it was sitting there since junior high sex ed? Jeez Yuuno-kun, read the expiry date on those things."

"Hey I apologized and look what it got us? A cute little girl that'll be a scholar someday."

"Or a lesbian drug addict who curses our very existence—or worse, a politician." Nanoha added with a snide grin. "I really am trying to figure this whole thing out. We're ruining Vivio's life doing what we're doing."

"Eh," Yuuno lay on his back and looked up at the ceiling. "She's handling it quite fine... it's just seeing her mother in bed with another woman just kind of, oh I don't know. Scared her." Sensing the dread surrounding Nanoha worsen, Yuuno said, "Do you remember what your dad said when I told him I got you pregnant?"

"You mean what he didn't say and had my mother say instead?"

"Yeah," Yuuno scratched his cheek and sighed. "I remember like it was yesterday. I could have sworn I shat out a brick."

"Nyahaha-... ha."

Yuuno cleared his throat and said in his gruffest voice, "Get the fuck out of my house, and get your DNA out of my daughter!"

"Mama sure made a great impression of Papa..." Nanoha sighed again and turned to face her former lover. "I also remember being in the upstairs bathroom puking my guts out."

"Ah~ morning sickness, the greatest gift of motherhood." Yuuno added with a hearty laugh.

"Yeah... gift. Great. Bull."

A smile crept onto Yuuno's face when he placed himself over Nanoha's body. The sound of surprise that escaped Nanoha's lips made the blonde haired man chuckle as he released control of his body and allowed his dead weight to bring Nanoha down deeper into the duvet sheets. His arms were lithely lying atop of hers; their hands clasped together, fingers intertwined. Yuuno looked into Nanoha's blue eyes with a thoughtful expression and a genuine smile, "So girlfriend, seriously now. What's got you so down that you wanna go down on me? You usually aren't this desperate."

"So are you in girlfriend mode right now, Yuuno-kun?" Nanoha asked with a quiver, tears starting to form in her eyes. "Because I'd really like it if you were..."

"Nanoha, you know I'll always be here to listen." Yuuno replied, his voice going up a decibel higher. "Now dish out all that worries you girlfriend, cuz Sister Yuuno is in the house!" He snapped his fingers and hummed, "Mmhmm," while shaking his head.

"What... the hell...?" Nanoha muttered, frightened of what she had just heard. "Have you been watching Disney dance movies with Vivio again?"

Yuuno chose not to answer that.

Rolling off of the brunette beneath him, Yuuno quirked an eyebrow and frowned. The two friends looked at each other quietly, just allowing the awkward silence to grow. Yuuno knew that the only thing to make Nanoha crack a smile was to render the girl so speechless she'd forget why she felt uncomfortable in the first place. So he flexed his pectoral muscles in hopes it would make even the smallest of smiles appear on Nanoha's face.

"Fuu-... nyahaha!"

"Okay, now that I've got you laughing, talk." Yuuno ordered. Nanoha opened her mouth to speak, but Yuuno cut her off, "Actually, tell me the whole story from the beginning. How you met, first time you had sex, and yeah~"

"Ew pervert," Nanoha giggled. "You sure it's okay?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. Whatever makes you happy..." he replied without a moment's hesitation. "Makes me happy."

"You do know I was seeing her when I was still with you right?" Nanoha asked carefully.

"Of course Nanoha, I love you, but I love seeing you happy." Yuuno explained with a soft tender voice. "Plus we entered a casual relationship the moment you fell in love with someone else."

"That's really sweet of you, Yuuno-kun..." Nanoha mumbled happily with a ghost of a smile. The smile that graced Yuuno's face made Nanoha feel warm and fuzzy inside. Just looking at the caring man beside her made her forget that her heart was in pieces.

Yuuno reached out to the night stand behind him and grabbed hold of his cell phone, "Just a moment okay? I want to call my girlfriend and cancel our date. I don't want any interruptions while we talk."

"Un."

Placing the phone up against his ear, Yuuno waited patiently for his girlfriend to pick up. The ringing was only a few seconds long, but the sound of a cheerful voice was faintly heard.

"Yuu-chan, why the call?"

"Hey Shari, about our date tonight, I can't make it." Yuuno said with an apologetic smile. "Nanoha's with me right now."

"Girl talk I presume?"

"Yep," Yuuno replied. "She and her girlfriend just broke up (again) so yeah."

"Okay, I understand."

"Really? Because you sound kind of angry..." Yuuno mumbled with a frightened quiver.

"Nah, I'm completely cool about it. We talked about your relationship with Nanoha before didn't we?"

"Yeah..."

"So don't worry about it okay, Yuu-chan. I'll repeat myself again, I understa—Oh my God! Vice you dare defy the God of War! I'm shooting your Banshee down with you in it for that!"

Chuckling nervously, Yuuno asked, "Are you playing... Halo at the moment?"

"Yep, so enjoy your girl talk with Nanoha, and I'll have fun blowing Vice to smithereens! FOR THE GLORY FOR FRANCE!"

"Um, you do that." Yuuno replied quickly ending his call. With a sigh he turned to look at Nanoha who had this strange, but oddly bemused look on her face. "What?"

"Great girl, huh?"

"Yep, the greatest." Yuuno said rolling his eyes, sarcasm dripping off of his words.

Nanoha giggled and leaned in close to her former lover and captured his lips in a brief kiss. She pulled away only to be pulled back and forced into yet another kiss, except this kiss lasted for just a second longer than the last. Nanoha didn't exactly melt into it like how she would whenever Fate gave her even the slightest of kisses. This kiss was different, it was a kiss shared by two friends who cared deeply for one another.

"Thanks," Nanoha whispered with a blush on her face. "But what is there to say? I met her, fell in love with her—obviously I've slept her, and well… yeah."

"Details Nanoha, talking about it will make you feel better." Yuuno insisted with supportive arm around Nanoha's shoulders. "How exactly did you meet? What was the first kiss like?" He paused and quirked his eyebrow, "And how was she in bed?"

"Well I'll tell you one thing mister, she's better in bed than you."

"Nyahaha... ouch."

Nanoha shivered and yanked on one of Yuuno's forelocks causing the boy the yelp and said, "Don't ever copy my laugh if you cherish what little manhood you have. And I mean little. Really, really, really, really, itty-bitty little manhood."

"Aw fine..." Yuuno grumbled.

Sighing to herself, Nanoha got in closer to Yuuno and stared up at the ceiling. She hated herself for doing what she did with Yuuno, and she could understand why Fate would be so abrasive when it came to him. Lying in bed with Yuuno right now made it painfully obvious who was wrong.

"I met her in a toy store; we reached out for the same stuffed animal. I looked into her eyes, held her hand, and then I..." Nanoha gulped and willed herself to say what came next, "And then I fell in love."

"Just like that?" Yuuno asked his interest piqued.

"Yeah, just... like that."

Caressing Nanoha's bare shoulder with his thumb, Yuuno said, "Then what?"

"I asked her out on a date, we hit it off and after like three days we went to the park and watched fireworks." A small blush crept onto Nanoha's face as she recalled the romantic moment she shared with the teenager. "The way she looked into my eyes, when she laid me down... that first kiss..."

"Wait, I think I remember this..." Yuuno blanched. "Oh God! You slept with her in the park!?"

"Uh-nyahaha?"

Yuuno looked at Nanoha awkwardly before shivering, "Three days, Nanoha? It took me till after you graduated to get that far... so not fair"

"Well you got me pregnant, she didn't. So no complaining." Nanoha retorted, sticking her nose in the air.

Yuuno groaned and pinched Nanoha's arm causing the long haired woman yelp out in surprise, "Stop mentioning that I got you pregnant, I feel bad about it, but I don't regret it."

"I don't either," Nanoha commented with a small chuckle, "Though I wish our daughter didn't hate me as much."

"Nanoha, Vivio doesn't hate you!" The look Nanoha gave Yuuno told him otherwise. "Okay maybe a little," he brought his forefinger and thumb close together to emphasize his words. "Just a little."

"Oh jee thanks." Nanoha said sarcastically. "I really don't know how I ever managed without you."

"I know huh?"

Nanoha rolled her eyes and got out of bed. She shivered when she felt Yuuno's eyes on her bare body, watching her, remembering her and lusting for her. Nanoha had always hated the aftermaths to her "sleepovers" with Yuuno, it was always the same thing. He says he doesn't mind that she leaves shortly after. He says he doesn't mind that they saw other people. Yuuno says a lot of things, but each time this happens he always manages to betray his words.

He wants her. He loves her... he let her go, and she knows this.

"Thanks for last night..."

"And this morning. Don't forget about this morning!" Yuuno beamed, his eager face making Nanoha feel like throwing up. "Remember, whenever you need someone to talk to I'm here for you."

Nanoha sighed and ran a hand through her messy hair and said, "Yeah I know, you're the best boy friend a girl can have." Pausing deliberately as she broke the term into separate syllables, effectively changing its meaning.

Nodding his head wordlessly, Yuuno watched Nanoha begin to dress. He had folded her clothes last night when he woke up to get a drink of water. He knew that Nanoha hated to see things on the floor, her obsessive compulsive disorder wouldn't allow for something like that to happen. He licked his lips when Nanoha bent down to pull up her skirt.

"Mm, hey do you want me to... tell Vivio you were here?" Yuuno asked with a tentative stare. He knew the answer but he just had to make sure. "Because I can tell her you came to visit."

"Thanks, but no thanks. After what I put her through I doubt she'd even want to hear my name, let alone hear I was 'visiting'." Nanoha replied as she put on her shirt. She walked over to Yuuno's vanity and grabbed a brush and began combing her hair. "Plus I don't want her to think that we're getting back together."

"What's wrong with that?" Yuuno asked in a rather irritated tone of voice. His forest green eyes stared at Nanoha with a barely noticeable rage, but his voice revealed what he truly felt. "You come back to me after every little argument you have with that snot nosed little girl! Just like the last time Nanoha, you came running into my arms when she left you after that argument about rabbits."

"Don't you dare talk about Fate-chan in that tone of voice, Yuuno-kun!" Nanoha growled, her protective nature flaring at the sound of someone insulting what belonged to her.

"Nanoha, when will you get it? That girl, she's too young for you! You're both so different, I bet you two can't even have a serious conversation without her going on about something random." Yuuno spat out as he threw his bed sheets away from him and got out of bed. He shouted at Nanoha to look back at him when he saw her wince and look away. "Nanoha, I still love you. And I'm getting tired of playing the best friend role. You have Hayate for that!"

"You leave Hayate-chan out of this! She has a lot going on in her life and she doesn't need to put up with my problems." Nanoha snarled her eyes straining to stay away from the blonde haired man's excited package. "I don't know what's more disgusting. Seeing you naked or seeing you happy to see me."

"Oh don't think that you're the cause of this, it's the morning okay?" Yuuno muttered as he grabbed his boxers on a chair nearby.

"Sure blame it on the morning." Nanoha replied sarcastically as she rolled her eyes. Placing the brush down, Nanoha turned to see a fully dressed Yuuno. "Listen here Yuuno-kun; this is exactly why I keep leaving you for Fate-chan. You say sweet things to lure me into a false sense of security, and then you rip it away from me by saying that you still love me!"

"Because it's true Nanoha!" Yuuno shouted, his voice rising to express how desperate he was becoming to make her understand. "I don't know how much more I can simplify this to you Nanoha. I. Love. You. I'll always be here for you, that little girl won't be. She'll get tired of you and leave you. And don't say that she'll come back, because I'm tired of hearing that excuse from you."

Nanoha stomped her foot and screamed at the top of her lungs startling Yuuno. "You can shut up right now Yuuno. You're taking this too far. And you're wrong!"

"Explain it to me! Explain to me why the mother of my child suddenly leaves to be with another woman! Explain to me why each time you two have a little fight, I end up being your stressor ball. Explain it all to me Nanoha, because I just happen to be the world's stupidest guy ever!" Yuuno retaliated. "Nanoha you have to be realistic here. Who do you think will be able to support you? A teenager who works at McDonalds or a government employed adult who gets paid over $200,000 a year?"

"You of course... but she makes me happy, and you can't buy happiness Yuuno-kun." Nanoha muttered with a dejected sigh, she was getting tired of all the fighting. She just wanted to go home and curl up in bed next to her beloved Fate-chan. "I was never happy with you."

"Get out."

Nanoha smiled at Yuuno sweetly and said, "I was just leaving."

"Nanoha, you're breaking my heart..." Yuuno cried out when Nanoha walked towards the door.

Stopping in mid step, Nanoha took a step back and glared at Yuuno. "Just for that, I'll be reevaluating my sexuality."

"Reevaluate what, Nanoha?" Yuuno snarled. "You're either gay or straight. Make up your mind."

"You're insufferable!" Nanoha screamed before slamming the door shut behind her. "I'll see you at 8!" she added from behind the door.

"Wear something nice or I'll change my mind and take us to McDonalds!" Yuuno shouted back with an aloof grin on his face, the anger he felt towards the brunette completely good only to be replaced with a more mellow emotion. "Who knows we might see your darling Fate-chan working her shift."

Nanoha opened the door slightly and poked her in. She had a bright smile on her face and said, "Yuuno-kun, thank you."

"No problem Nanoha, I'm sorry for what I said."

"Me too." Nanoha walked into the room and opened her arms wide. "Best friends forever right?"

With an equally large smile on his face, Yuuno walked up to Nanoha and accepted the hug. "Yeah, best friends forever. Now get outta here and find that girlfriend of yours."

"I'll give her a week or two to calm down. Fate maybe well mannered, but she's got a serious temper." Nanoha giggled as she tightened the embrace. "I'm really sorry, Yuuno-kun."

"I know... but I meant it back then. Whatever makes you happy makes me happy, even if it means that I'm not the one to be making you smile the way you do when you're with her." Yuuno said in his softest voice.

Yuuno Scrya was a gentleman to the very core. He had his limits, he was human after all, but he was also very forgiving. If he got into an argument with the one he loved he would wait patiently for a minute or two to apologize and make things right. Being with Nanoha was like clockwork to him. The exterior was simple enough, because Nanoha was far too beautiful for words to ever comprehend. But the interior was completely different. To Yuuno, Nanoha's personality was like jumping off of the Grand Canyon. You'll be plummeting to your death, but you'd be too mesmerized by the sheer grace and beauty of the rock formation to care. It wouldn't be a quick and painless decent, it would be a slow one where your body would slam against the mighty canyon over and over, and over again. But when you finally hit the bottom, you'll be looking up at the sky smiling at. Why? Because you finally understand her, her good side, her bad side and her little quirks.

"But seriously now... what's so great about her?" Yuuno asked with a ginger grin. It was hurting him to talk about the girl who stole the love of his life, but it was killing him to use her as a way to cheer Nanoha up.

"She's smart, funny, good looking, understanding... oh and she's amazing in bed." Nanoha eagerly replied. "She's also a great musician and her voice is like sex for the ears."

"Good or bad?"

Nanoha rolled her eyes and freed herself from Yuuno's embrace. She sauntered, her hips swaying teasingly, towards the door and paused on her way out to say, "It's not just good. It's like an orgasm... which I faked last night. Nyahaha!"

"You're lying!" Yuuno shouted as he watched his bedroom door slam shut. He quickly ran towards the door and saw the tip of Nanoha's ponytail flutter into the next room. "Takamachi Himawari Nanoha, you get back here and tell me the truth! Right this instant young lady!"

Nanoha stopped dead in her tracks and gapped. She stared into the shocked green eyes of her daughter, Vivio.

"Vivio..." Nanoha breathed out.

"M-Mama..."

"Vivio…"

"Mama…"

Nanoha looked to her right and murmured something in her softest voice, "Vivio."

"Mama…"

"Vivio…"

"Yuuno!" the blonde haired man blurted out with a large grin on his. Both Vivio and Nanoha sent a sharp glare towards him, their eyes leering down on him menacingly. "I'll be quiet now…"

"Yeah, you do that…" the two females muttered with a snide grin.

Yuuno crossed his arms and walked up to Nanoha, his hand reaching out for her shoulder. "Thanks for keeping me up to date with the latest gossip. I can't believe you saw Hayate and Carim in such an odd position!"

Quirking her eyebrow, Nanoha opened her mouth to ask Yuuno what he was talking about, but quickly shut her mouth when she realized what he was hinting at. "Yeah, no problem. Thanks for breakfast, but your eggs need just a bit more salt."

"Ouch…" Yuuno sighed. "And here I thought you liked it."

Shrugging her shoulders Nanoha said, "Your cooking has always been a hit and miss. You just need a bit more practice."

"Coming from the woman that burned down the kitchen in '98, hyeah… my cooking must be horrible!" Yuuno exclaimed with a cheeky grin.

"Oh can it will you?"

Vivio cleared her throat and stared at her parents. "Are you two about done yet? I have somewhere else to be, and Papa you promised to drive me there."

"O-Oh! That's right!" Yuuno jumped up and ran back into the bedroom only to run back out wearing a sporty jacket. "I'm ready when you're ready."

Looking at her watch, Nanoha gasped, she was going to be late. "Um, I should get going too. Carim-chan and I have something… important to discuss. I'll see you later, Yuuno-kun." Nanoha paused and looked into her daughter's green eyes and faltered. "I-I'll… see you again too… Vivio?"

"Un…"

Heading towards the door, Nanoha fought the urge to turn around and look back at her broken family. Everything was a mess, but maybe with Fate gone, things could go back to being normal… that wasn't the case of course.

An hour later, Nanoha found herself sitting in Carim's office with a glass of vodka on ice with a bendy straw. She found it hilarious that the British woman had this much alcohol stashed in her office, then again when running three levels of school, booze was going to be an issue.

The door clicked as it opened and a weary looking Carim walked in with a sigh. "Another one of my teachers quit today." She said, plopping down into her fancy "Headmistress" chair. "Nanoha, you should work here in the girl's academy instead."

"Nyahaha thanks, but no thanks. I have enough troubles as it is, and working here might just make things worse." Nanoha replied, taking another sip of her drink.

"Why though? I can give you better pay and benefits." Carim said trying to convince Nanoha. She had a devilish smile on her face as she poured herself a drink, something she obviously inherited from spending too much time with Hayate Gracia.

"As your lovely wife once said: 'don't let Nanoha-chan near any of your under aged girls,' so I think that's reason enough." Nanoha replied with a chuckle. "Plus, I don't want to see 'child rapist' on my permanent record."

Carim took a moment to contemplate Nanoha's words. "Well, in that case… I would still ask you to work for me. Seduce my students and try to get them to raise their GPA!"

Nanoha gagged on her drink and sputtered, "W-What!?"

"You heard me!" Carim shouted, her hand slamming onto her desk causing the little trinkets to clatter about.

"Carim-chan… you're getting pretty desperate aren't you?"

"Yes."

"My contract at the co-ed branch is over in a year, so I'll think about it." Nanoha said as she calmed back down. "Or maybe I'll just wait till Fate-chan graduates from here." She added nonchalantly, the argument with the blonde haired teenager still fresh in her mind.

Carim leaned back into her seat and rubbed her temples. "Fate is graduating pretty soon actually."

"Hm?" Nanoha replied feigning interest.

"She may look like a space case, but she is my second ranking student." Carim took a sip of her drink and placed it back on the desk. "I am quite proud of her to be honest."

"Mmhmm…"

"This is getting too much to handle. All of my teachers are quitting." Carim rested her head in the palm of her hand and sighed. "All of the other applicants are not to my standards. Is it my fault? Am I not running the school efficiently enough?"

"You're sighing again, Carim-chan. You're well on your way to wrinkles."

Looking up, Carim smirked. "I am nineteen years older than you, and still not a wrinkle in sight. Are you jealous?"

"I don't know why people call me the pedophile. My girlfriend is six years younger than me, Hayate's nineteen years younger than you."

"I went through that phase too remember?"

"And it was hot. A steamy student-teacher relationship…"

"Haha, you are such a pervert." Carim chuckled. "Back in the day, you were such an innocent girl. You couldn't even say the words 'pelvic thrust' without giggling."

"N-Nyahaha… pelvic thrust…"

Carim stared at Nanoha in amusement. "I stand corrected."

"So says the old lady who fucked a fifteen year old."

"Look who's talking."

"Touché," Nanoha smirked. "But I guess I learnt from the best right?"

"Absolutely."

"Yep…"

"…"

"…"

Carim cleared her throat and leaned forward, her hands clasped on the desk as she looked into Nanoha's clear blue eyes. Her eyebrows furrowed together as she tried to figure out the ideal way to approach Nanoha. "Are you… okay?"

"Hm?"

"I am asking you if you are okay." Carim repeated.

Nanoha stared into the older woman's crystal blue eyes and shuddered. Just how far could Carim see into her soul? Could she see how much pain and agony she's in? Could she see how much regret she was feeling? Most of all… could she see how much hesitation gripped her?

"I'm fine, Carim-chan." Nanoha ran her hand through her ponytail and sighed. "How about you and Hayate-chan?" she said in hopes of diverting the conversation.

Carim froze, the glass in her hand trembling. For a second, Carim's bright blue eyes darkened to a murky navy. She took a careful sip of the beverage and followed it with a larger gulp. "She has been pretending that everything is fine… but I do not know who she is trying to fool. Everything is not fine."

A strange chuckle rumbled through the blonde's throat.

"If she wanted kids… she should've chosen to move on instead of holding onto her childhood ambitions."

Nanoha didn't know how to reply.

"She pretends that my age does not bother her, and that it does not annoy her when I cannot do the things she can because of my bodily limitations. Hah, I shall be fifty in a few years, and when that happens… I do not know what she will do."

"Well," Nanoha took a deep breath, "kids are overrated, and Hayate-chan has always been into older women."

"But I'm way too old for her."

"That never stopped you now did it?"

The spark in Carim's eyes returned as did her melodious chuckle. "So it has, so it has."

"Life sucks."

"A toast to our failures!" Carim brought her empty glass up and held it for a second before tossing it aside, relishing the sound it made as it crashed against the wall. "This is why Hayate doesn't allow me to drink."

"N-Nyaha… ha."