Bad Romance
Chapter 24: Taken
Perspectives in Bold.
Time changes and flashbacks in Italics.
Music:
Songs mentioned, referred, or themed to:
Taken by Young Summer
Disclaimer: I do not own MGLN or any of its characters.
A/N: I recommend rereading the last chapter.
Previous chapter:
Chrono took a fortifying breath. "I'm getting married. Amy and I are getting married."
Lindy lit up and wrapped her son in a tight hug. "Congratulations! I'm so excited for you."
"Finally." Fate said with a smile and hugged her brother after her mother finally let him go.
Precia pulled him into a tight hug, only after telling him, "About time."
"There's something else too." The women of his family stared at him with questions in their eyes. "Amy's pregnant." Chrono said just before he fainted and fell flat on his face. None of his family members were quick enough to react after the shock of the news.
"Help me carry him?" Precia asked Fate.
"I got his head." Fate volunteered.
"Fine. I'll get his legs."
"I'll get some ice." Lindy offered. She looked at Chrono. "And some vodka."
Two months ago... April
Normal
"So –" Fate dragged out the word.
"Yeah."
"How far along is she?" Lindy asked.
"I don't know." Chrono held the ice pack more firmly against his forehead.
"How do you not know?" Precia's eyebrow lifted in question.
"I don't know. I mean I know. It's all very confusing." The young officer took a long swig of his vodka. "God that's horrible. I think she said seven weeks. There was this ringing in my ears. I can't remember much after the whole 'I'm pregnant' bus crashed into me."
Fate frowned at him from her place on the recliner opposite the couch. "Wait, when did you propose to her? Before or after the 'I'm pregnant'?"
"Before."
Precia removed the melted bag of peas and carrots from the back of Chrono's head. "Let me get this straight. You proposed. She said yes. Told you she was pregnant. You zoned out. And then you drove here."
"Yes and no." Chrono narrowed his eyes on the glass in his hand. "This happened yesterday." He paused, considering his next words. "I proposed. She said yes. Correction. Screamed yes. Then she told me she had something to tell me."
He flipped over the ice pack. "Then, you know, she told me. My heart stopped. There was this buzzing. Then she stopped talking and she kissed me. And then –" The young officer's mouth froze in the shape of an "o" as a rose-colored blush crept up his neck to the tip of his ears.
An awkward silence enveloped the room. Precia bit her lips to together to keep from laughing.
Lindy rolled her eyes as her son sank deeper into his embarrassment.
"Gross," Fate murmured to herself. She raised her voice to address the room. "No wonder he can't remember anything."
Chrono seemed to regain his senses enough to glare at his younger step-sister. "Hey!" He said in mock offensiveness. "A lot happened in a short period of time. It's overwhelming."
"If you asked her last night, why did it take you so long to tell us?" Fate cocked her head slightly to the side. She eyed her step-brother with suspicious eyes. "Never mind you don't need to tell us why."
Chrono seemed to figure out where her speculation led her. Despite his embarrassment he spoke up, "It's not like that. Someone at the station got sick so I had to cover his shift. Amy was helping her mom at this volunteer event. And tonight she's having dinner with her sister."
He shrugged, "I came here right after my shift. I wanted to tell my family in person." Chrono defended himself while narrowing his gaze on Fate.
Lindy smiled at that. "Thank you." She wrapped her arm around his broad shoulders and pulled him to her side. "I'm so happy for you and Amy."
Chrono wrapped his arm around his mother's waist. "Thanks Mom."
Precia squeezed his knee. "Took you long enough. Congratulations."
The doctor received a broad grin and was wrapped up by her step-son's other arm.
"Congratulations, Chrono." Fate moved forward to wrap her arms around her brother's waist. "You'll make a great dad." She whispered in his ear.
"I hope so." The young teacher pulled away to sit back down on the recliner. Chrono's smile faded and turned into a frown. "So I fainted and must have hit my forehead. But how did I hit the back of my head?"
Burgundy eyes flashed with warning to deep violet ones. "Good question." The doctor said with a smirk.
Fate's head shook imperceptibly.
"Maybe you should ask your sister." The elder Testarossa suggested.
"Mom." Fate hissed.
"Fate?"
Fate said nothing, so Precia decided to help her. "Fate tripped as she was walking and she dropped your head."
"Fate!" Chrono cried out indignantly.
"I'm sorry!" Fate shouted. "I didn't mean to. It was an accident."
Chrono let out an exaggerated breath. He rolled his eyes in a manner that mirrored his mom. "Thanks a lot."
In that brief moment of silence a fluffy red puppy strut into the living room. She paid little attention to the people on the couch. Set on her target she stopped directly in front of Fate, her blue eyes stared searchingly for her owner's attention. When Fate hesitated to pick her up, Arf sat on her hunches and whined for her attention.
Caving immediately to those sad blue eyes, Fate carefully lifted and set Arf down on her lap. She curled into a ball and snuggled into her owner's warmth.
Unbidden a smile lit up the young woman's features at the cute display. As burgundy eyes looked towards the other occupants of the room her smile instantly disappeared, rapidly replaced by a frown.
"What?"
"Nothing." Chrono and Precia responded, hiding the amusement in their eyes.
Burgundy eyes focused on Lindy. "What?"
Lindy's amused smile grew wider as she shook her head from side to side as if to say 'nothing'.
Fate gave up her suspicious stare down, and turned her attention back to her brother. "So did you and Amy talk about when you want to get married?"
"Briefly." Chrono sat deeper into the couch. "Amy said she doesn't want to look pregnant on her wedding day."
Fate lifted a dark blonde eyebrow.
"So we are either going to get married in a month or after the baby is born." Chrono furrowed his eyebrows. "A year after the baby is born. She said that's how long it will take her to get into pre-baby condition."
All three women raised an eyebrow at the assessment.
The young man shrugged, "Amy's a planner." He continued, "So we'll probably get married in two years."
Precia smirked. "At least you have time to decide on the seating arrangements. That's the hardest part."
A buzzing sound broke the brief silence in the living room. Chrono pulled his phone from his pocket, reading the new text. "It's Amy. She's back at our apartment." He stood from the couch placing his ice pack in a bowl on the glass coffee table. "I better get going. I've got the early shift tomorrow."
Lindy and Precia followed Chrono to the door. Lindy pulled him into tight hug, she held onto his shoulders as she broke the embrace. "You and Amy need to come over next Friday. Celebrate my future grandbaby."
"And the extended engagement." Precia smiled as she gave Chrono a one-armed hug, which he returned.
"We'll be here." Chrono shifted his attention to his step-sister. The officer opened his arms for Fate, who accepted the invitation by wrapping her arms around his waist.
"Congratulations, big brother." She gave him an extra squeeze before letting him go.
His beaming smile radiated his gratitude. "Thanks. I'll call you tomorrow. You can tell me about your furry child."
Fate crossed her arms over her chest, shaking her head from side to side and rolling her eyes. "Sure."
The family shouted their goodbyes as Chrono got into his car and drove away.
Precia sighed, "That was a lot of excitement for one night."
Lindy hummed her agreement.
"Speaking of which, I believe someone was thanking me for something before Chrono arrived."
Fate grinned. "Right. Thank you. Again."
"Of course." Lindy smiled and sat down on the couch beside her wife. "Can I see the check?"
Fate quirked a curious eyebrow at the request. She also noted the way Precia imperceptibly tensed at the question.
"Lindy, I gave her the check."
"You gave her a check." Cerulean eyes narrowed on her wife. "I want to see the numbers on that check."
Precia sighed, and her shoulders seemed to drop in defeat. She muttered something unintelligible under her breath that sounded like an expletive.
Fate handed over the envelope she received earlier in the evening to her step-mother. Lindy took the envelope and pulled out the two checks inside. The first she appeared to deem correct then proceeded to the next.
"I can't believe you." Lindy glared at the guilty doctor. Precia rolled her eyes in response. The teal-haired woman whacked her wife's shoulder with the back of her hand. "Give her the real one."
"That is a real one."
"Precia." Lindy admonished.
"So I gave her the small real check." Fate raised an eyebrow as the woman in question defended herself. "We could've had a beach house. A secluded bungalow with a private beach, where we could walk around naked."
The young woman's expression soured at the last word. "I didn't need the visual." She mumbled.
It was Lindy's turn to roll her eyes. "Give her the check, Precia Testarossa."
Fate smiled, amusement dancing in her eyes. "She would have never known." Precia continued even as she stood. "She was already grateful." The doctor grumbled more complaints as she walked away.
Lindy turned to her step-daughter, who was smirking. The police chief quirked an eyebrow, "Did you know she was holding out on you?"
Fate's smirk grew into a full teeth-bearing grin. "I had a feeling. I mean, it's her."
"You weren't going to say anything?"
"It was gift. No matter the amount I would be grateful." She shrugged.
Lindy smiled at the young blonde, pulling her into a hug. Precia stomped into the living room. "She gets the money and a hug. Spoiled." She stopped a few feet away from Fate and half-heartedly held out the check. "Here."
Fate stood to meet Precia in the middle of the room. She tugged the check from the doctor's clutches. Without so much as a glance at the check she gave Precia a bone-crushing hug.
Pulling away from the hug, burgundy eyes glanced at the additional check. Her smile disappeared and her mouth fell open in shock.
"Now I know she got the right check." Lindy commented. Suddenly the young woman seemed to lose her legs. Precia rushed forward to catch her before she stumbled backwards.
The doctor grunted with effort as she gradually stabilized her daughter. "Y'know they get this from you. A learned behavior."
"If I remember correctly, you passed out after a certain proposal."
Precia helped Fate lean against the wall while she regained her footing. "It was an oxygen deficient atmosphere."
"We were at sea level."
"It was midday. Extremely hot. And humid."
"It was sunset. It was in the low 70s. And breezy."
Precia mock-glared at her wife. "Can you let me win? Just once today. My pride has taken enough hits."
Lindy chuckled and gave Precia a chaste kiss on the lips. "You win. I'm going to make coffee and tea."
Precia turned back to a silent Fate. Burgundy eyes were locked onto the check in her hands. "You're going to stare holes through it, you keep that up."
That broke her daughter's concentration, but only temporarily. "I don't know if I can accept this."
"Did you hear? She declined the gift." Precia yelled toward the kitchen. "No problem. We gladly accept returns."
"Precia. Be nice."
"I gave her my beach house. I'm plenty nice." Lindy laughed.
Precia sighed and grabbed a catatonic Fate by the shoulders. She was about to guide Fate toward the couch when a low rumble suspiciously close to but not quite a growl came from her left.
"Who called security?" A disgruntled Arf stared down an amused Precia. "It's okay fur-ball Your mama did this to herself." Arf gave up her attempt at growling, but she kept her eyes locked on Precia. As far as she was concerned, the doctor was a suspicious character. Precia struggled, but she managed to get Fate onto the couch.
The doctor grabbed Arf before the puppy could jump away. She placed the struggling ball of fur on Fate. Though disoriented, Arf immediately took to licking her owner's face.
A satisfied grin worked its way on to Precia's face as she sat on the recliner.
Fate shook her head, attempting to avoid the onslaught of puppy affection. "Ugh. Arf. Stop." The blonde pushed the affectionate pup away and distracted her by scratching behind her ear.
Shaking off her disorientation, Fate swiftly looked at the check in her hand. Her eyes shifted to the shining violet eyes watching her reaction.
"This is – this is crazy. I can't even..."
Precia just smiled. "I know. Who knew artists actually make money. And imagine if I were evil. You would never get a single check." Violet eyes shifted to the sleeping puppy in Fate's lap. "And I probably wouldn't let you bring a fur-ball into my house."
Fate chuckled at that. She placed the check on the coffee table. Her hand wrapped around Precia's and gave it a gentle squeeze. She took in her mother completely. The laugh lines around her eyes, the grey sneaking into her dark violet hair, and the soft violet eyes that shone with an abundance of unspoken emotions. Tears brimmed in her eyes and she wasn't quite sure why, but she didn't care. She bit her bottom lip and her throat became tight. "Thank you." She whispered. The words did not express how truly grateful she felt toward the woman sitting across from her.
Precia squeezed her hand in silent understanding. They remained that way until the doctor spoke, "So, about Chrono and Amy, I was thinking..."
One month and one week ago...
"A watched pot never boils." A gruff voice interrupted Nanoha's daydreaming.
"I don't want it to boil. I want it to give me coffee. Fast." Nanoha replied harshly. She moved to the opposite side of the break room to get a bagel.
"Rough night? Tired?" Before Nanoha could cut in, Doctor Saitou spoke again, "Toughen up. You only worked 10 hours. You're young and spry. Look alive, Takamachi." The coffeemaker beeped signaling the coffee was ready. Just as Nanoha moved to pour herself a cup, Doctor Saitou blocked her and poured himself the first cup.
"Yes, help yourself to the coffee I made."
"I am. Thanks, kid." The old veterinarian spoke without looking at her.
"You're welcome, you old goat." Nanoha replied.
"I heard that." He yelled over his shoulder, but continued walking out of the break room.
"Good." She poured herself a steaming mug. No sugar. No cream. She needed a straight shot of caffeine. Her attention turned to the toaster as her golden bagel popped up. She went through the motions of smearing strawberry cream cheese on her bagel. With her breakfast slash dinner prepared, she sat down to enjoy her reprieve.
She held her mug with both hands, enjoying the way the heat seeped into her body. Inhaling the delicious aroma of the coffee, her mouth watered in anticipation of that first sip. Sweet caffeine come to me. Her lips were on their final descent when she heard a gruff, "Oh blondie's back."
Her head snapped up at the words, new life entering her eyes. "Blondie" was the nickname Doctor Saitou had given Fate Testarossa after her first visit and enjoyed teasing Nanoha about her reactions to "blondie".
She didn't see Fate's name on the appointment list. Not that she had checked the schedule to see if Fate had booked a follow-up appointment every two hours or something like that cause that would be ridiculous. Who would do such a thing? She mentally scoffed at the idea. She only checked it everyday when she clocked in and before she clocked out. That was totally normal. Totally normal. What wasn't normal was that she was standing in the middle of the break room mentally talking to herself. All the while Fate may or may not be standing in the lobby waiting for a vet. She could be that vet.
She rushed to the mirror and did a quick check. Calming herself before exiting the break room, she brushed her palms down her scrubs. Her way of physically smoothing out her nerves. "Okay." She inhaled deeply and then rolled her eyes. Why was she nervous? It was just Fate. Shrugging off her craziness, she strode into the front desk area.
"Hey Sheila."
"Oh, Nanoha, I thought you were on break."
"Uh." Hurry, think, Nanoha mentally shouted. "The old goat squawked about a client, so I came to see what we've got."
"You really shouldn't let that grumpy old man shove his workload off onto you. Go ahead, take a break. Corrina can take the next appointment."
It was taking an incredible amount of self-control not to look at the lobby, especially when a blonde figure was on the fringe of her peripheral vision. "No, it's fine. I can do it."
Concerned brown eyes took her in, "Are you sure? I feel like that old goat gives you too much work. You're our resident baby vet."
Nanoha smiled at that. "Really it's fine."
"Okay. It's just a check-up. That cute red puppy with the gash from a few weeks ago. Owner's name is–"
"Fate." Sheila looked up in surprise. Nanoha shrugged and grabbed the file from Sheila. "Good memory." Nanoha turned around only to find a smug looking Doctor Saitou standing a few feet from her. She ignored his knowing smirk and walked toward the door separating the waiting area from the examination rooms.
"Smooth moves, kid." She could hear the amusement coloring his words.
"Zip it, old man." Nanoha turned away and strode through the door. Finally, she allowed her eyes to find the figure she had forced herself to ignore. "Fate," she called out, "come in."
Fate walked toward her, cradling Arf with one hand. She held a traveling cage in her other hand. She silently followed Nanoha into the examination room. "You can set Arf on the table."
"Okay. Um, where should I put this?" She lifted the cage.
"You can just leave it on the floor. Thanks for bringing it back. I forgot you had it." Liar, Nanoha's inner voice whispered.
"Thanks for letting me borrow it." Fate looked like she wanted to say something, but refrained.
"So how's she been?"
"Good." She paused, furrowing her golden eyebrows, "I think. She eats a lot and sleeps all day."
"So she's got a healthy appetite. Good."
"Not for my wallet."
Nanoha chuckled as she slipped on her gloves. "Let's take a look at that gash." She cut off the flex bandage, "Was she trying to scratch it?"
"A little. She started trying to get at it a couple of days ago. So my mom started wrapping it. And Arf started growling at her. They're on the outs."
Nanoha smiled at that conjured image. "Uh-oh." The young vet scratched Arf behind her ears to distract her from the healing injury. It worked perfectly. "Don't get into a fight with Precia Testarossa, little one. The woman knows how to hold onto a grudge."
"Can you distract her?" Nanoha pointed with her chin to her hands. "I'm going to check her stitches."
"Sure." Fate took over for Nanoha.
"So how are you adapting to life with a puppy?"
"Okay, I guess."
Nanoha raised a sculpted eyebrow. "Be honest. You're talking to someone who wages war against her own kitten on bad days and ignores her on good days." She leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially, "This is a safe environment."
"She's slowly killing me." Fate quietly confessed. "With sleep deprivation."
"The slow twisting knife."
"She has an internal alarm clock that goes off every hour during the night. She always wakes me up to go outside." Fate shook her head at the thought, "She spends fifteen minutes just trying to find the right patch of grass." Nanoha could plainly see the exhaustion in dull red eyes.
Nanoha bit her lips to keep from smiling. Playing along she added, "Tempted to take away her water bowl?"
"You have no idea." Fate glared at an unsuspecting Arf.
"She's a sleep demon masquerading as a cute, fluffy puppy."
"My thoughts exactly." Fate nodded her agreement with Nanoha's assessment.
"She faked her injury to get into your life."
"And she's weakening my resistance."
Blue eyes lifted from the healing gash and narrowed on Fate. "She'll strike when you least expect. Probably when you're doing the dishes."
Fate's eyes widened as if Nanoha's words were a brilliant conclusion. "You're right."
"Now you can defend against her evil plan."
"Thank you for your insight. I thought I was alone in my suspicions."
"And the suture is out." Nanoha said as she held up the last piece of the suture with forceps.
Burgundy eyes narrowed, finally realizing what Nanoha had done. Understanding the look, the young vet grinned proudly. "When you least expect."
"Cunning."
"I know. I'm good." Nanoha applied a bandage to the healing gash. "Sorry I had to distract you. I didn't want a repeat of fetal pig incident." She wrapped flex bandage around Arf's leg to hold it in place and then removed her gloves.
"Ha ha." Fate rolled her eyes. "I'm a biology teacher in case you forgot."
Nanoha secretly enjoyed the playful snark in Fate's reply. "I remember. I just can't believe it." She leaned her hip against the operating table. "Speaking of which, are you going for your PhD?"
"The million dollar question." Fate lift one shoulder and let it drop. "More like couple thousand dollar question." She pursed her lips in thought. "I think so. As long as I don't adopt anymore runts." She ruffled Arf's ruff. It earned her bared teeth. A response that was far from threatening. "I'm just getting settled, so I don't know when that will be. I can't put it off for long though."
Nanoha nodded and looked at her tennis shoes. "Are you going to stay in Uminari?"
The question was quiet and laced with something. It made Fate look at Nanoha. And Nanoha to focus on her shoes.
It wasn't the question she intended to ask. Her brain was going to ask Fate what her focus would be, but her mouth betrayed her, traitorous fiend. Fate waited for those blue eyes to lift, but they remained locked on the floor.
This was one of those precipice moments. A pop quiz thrown at her by life. And there was only one answer. The honest one.
"I'm staying." Fate felt blue eyes intently focused on her. It was her turn to play the avoidance game. "I don't want to be anywhere else. This is home."
Finally, red eyes collided with blue. Nanoha tried to break through the stone wall. She smiled realizing she probably wore the same mask. It was a useless chess match.
"Cool." She could slap herself for such a lame answer. Who says "cool"? She should have added "dude" while she was humiliating herself.
At that moment, the door swiftly opened with a "swoosh". Surprised they both froze and stared at the intruder. Stern grey eyes shifted between them. "Get to work."
Nanoha relaxed, narrowing her eyes on Doctor Saitou. "I am working." The old veterinarian leaned against the door frame, a glint of mischief flashed in those grey eyes. Suddenly worried, Nanoha stood ramrod straight, "I was just finishing up with the patient. Go away."
That only served to make the old goat grin, "Okay." He turned away and closed the door, but not before casually saying, "The office is not eHarmony."
Stricken with embarrassment, Nanoha yelled at the closing door, "That doesn't make sense." She mumbled "old bastard" causing Fate smile through her blush.
Nanoha turned back to Fate, appropriately ashamed by the exchange. "Sorry. He's – something."
"It's fine. Really. It's comforting to know I'm not the only one with a..." She paused looking for the right word, "– quirky boss."
"I could do without the quirky." Then something clicked in her brain. He was holding something in his hand. "He ate my bagel," she whispered. "Stupid, old goat."
Fate chuckled, "What he do?"
"Nothing new. He just ate my breakfast slash dinner."
"Oh no." Fate frowned. "Breakfast slash dinner?"
"Yeah. I'm covering a part of my co-worker's shift. She's had a family emergency, so two of us are covering for her."
Red eyes softened in sympathy, "So you've been here for a while."
She glanced at the clock. "Quite a while." With a shrug, she returned her attention to Arf, "She healing just fine." She grabbed a tube of gel and some bandages, placing them in a bag she handed to Fate. "You can get more of the gel at any pet shop, if you need it. You probably won't. Just keep cleaning it and bandaging it for another two or three weeks. Don't let her do anything too crazy, but going for walks will be good for her."
"Got it. Thank you."
"Just doing my job."
Nanoha opened the door to the room. She quickly cleaned the table and joined Fate in the hall. Fate hesitated a few feet from the front desk area, "Do you have a break soon?"
Nanoha stopped, mildly surprised by the question. "Er. I was just going to take one."
Put on the spot, Fate shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "Do you – erm – want to get another bagels? I mean bagel. Or bagels." She pressed her lips together, shaking her head. Fate tried again. "Would you like to get breakfast with me?" A restless puppy wiggled in her arms, "And this creature."
Blue eyes shone with amusement, "I'd –"
"Takamachi!" She turned abruptly at the call. "I need to you assist. Now." Corrina, Doctor Saitou's daughter, turned away before she answered her.
Nanoha took a fortifying breath. She turned back to Fate, "And there goes my break. Sorry."
"No problem. Go save the world."
She smiled, "One cat at a time." She led Fate to the front desk, while writing something Fate couldn't understand in Arf's folder. She handed the folder to Sheila, and turned to face Fate. "No follow-up appointments, but if something seems wrong just call." She handed Fate a card. "And I'll leave you with Sheila, so she can take your money."
Fate playfully glared at her. "Thanks."
"You are so very welcome." She turned away from the desk. A few steps away she decided to say what was on the tip of her tongue. "Fate?" Curious red eyes focused on her. "Raincheck on the bagels?"
Sheila raised her eyebrows, but pretended not to hear anything.
Fate smiled shyly, "I'll hold you to it."
"Takamachi!"
Nanoha closed her eyes and sighed. "I'll see you around."
Before Fate could say anything, she was gone.
"And now I take your money." Sheila said with a broad grin.
Fate sighed heavily, "And I was just starting to like you, Sheila."
Three weeks ago...
"Sweetheart, wake up." Nanoha distantly heard the words and felt something on her shoulder.
"Nanoha, wake up." A hand squeezed her shoulder. "You're drooling, honey." That got her attention.
"Mom?" She questioned groggily while swiping at non-existent drool. "I wasn't drooling." She grumbled.
"Woke you up." Momoko shrugged. She sat down next to Nanoha, closing the book Nanoha had been sleeping on.
"What time is it?"
"Nine. We're closing up."
Nanoha slouched in her chair. "I was supposed to help you with the cakes. Why didn't you wake me?"
"You've been working from sun up to sun down and longer. You needed the sleep." Momoko squeezed her forearm.
"Thank you." She rolled her neck, "Side note for next time, a pillow would be nice."
Momoko laughed. "You didn't help with the cakes. Take what you get."
"Oh, our lazy daughter finally woke up?" Shiro ruffled her hair as he passed her by. "I'm almost done with the books. Maybe another ten minutes."
"Okay." Momoko watched him until he entered the back office. Her steady brown eyes then found her daughter.
"What?" Nanoha frowned suspiciously at the penetrating gaze.
"What happened with Fate?"
If that had been a random guess, she would have confirmed her mother's suspicion with her patented deer-in-the-headlights look. "What do you mean?" A useless denial, if she ever heard one.
"We live in a very small world."
"Precia." Nanoha crossed her arms defensively over her chest. "Sometimes I wonder, if you and Precia laying to rest your grudge war was the worst thing that could have happened."
"Too late now. And stop delaying." Precia tapped the table. "You are clever. But I am still your mother."
"Impossible to forget."
"Out with it."
"Nothing happened." Nanoha met the probing gaze of one Momoko Takamachi, and faltered completely. "What makes you think something happened?"
"Because when you and Fate are left in a room together, bad things happen to good people."
Nanoha rolled her eyes, "That does not make sense."
"Then what I mean is, you get under each other's skin." Momoko smiled, "And when you have issues dealing with anything requiring emotions, I can find you hiding in this bakery trying work through them with baked goods." She shrugged, "You probably get that from me. Just don't tell your father I admitted that."
Nanoha grinned.
Momoko continued, "And I tend to find my normally expressive daughter here, especially when you have some kind of altercation with Fate Testarossa. So?" She prompted Nanoha with a wave of her hand.
Nanoha sighed. No escaping the inquisition. She rested her elbows on the table and interlocked her fingers. "I gave her a raincheck." She pushed her lips against her hands.
Momoko frowned. "Is this some kind of young persons term I don't know? I'm not as hip as I used to be."
Nanoha shook her head with a smile. "No." She sighed heavily. Something she'd done more often in the past two weeks. She reluctantly rehashed her interaction with Fate at the office.
"So she asked you to have breakfast with her, and now..." Momoko frowned, unable to understand what was wrong.
"I gave her a raincheck."
Momoko raised an eyebrow, but Nanoha didn't know what else to say. Finally, understanding dawned on Momoko, "You're not sure you should have said that."
Nanoha sunk deeper into her chair. Brown eyes witnessed a whirlwind of emotions swirl in blue eyes. Her daughter struggled with more than just her words. Hoping to comfort her, she squeezed Nanoha's hands. Blue eyes locked with brown and then faltered. "There's history there. Between us." The words were spoken quietly and carefully.
Years of raising children and patiently waiting on customers had given Momoko Takamachi a healthy amount of emotional restraint. Had she been a weaker woman, she would have fist pumped and proclaimed the words "I knew it". Instead she held her daughter's hands, and waited for her to continue with an encouraging smile on her face.
Nanoha bit her lip, memories rushed to the surface. The most prominent memory, the one that replayed in her mind, was the one she could still feel even after all the time that had passed. The night of the graduation party. She could still remember the dull ache in her chest, the tears sliding down her cheek, and the dead, cold silence of the apartment.
Momoko chose her words carefully, "Are you upset she hasn't contacted you?"
"No." Nanoha shook her head. "Yes and no. I don't know if I can. I don't know if I can open myself up to her again. I don't know if I want to." She sighed. "I just – don't know."
Momoko took note of the "again". She saw her husband standing uncertainly in the doorframe and vehemently shook her head at him. He got the message and returned to the office. Her sympathetic gaze turned back to her daughter, "Sweetheart, are you scared?"
Nanoha spared her glance, but didn't answer.
"I may get this wrong. But this is an outsiders perspective. Nanoha?" Momoko paused to get her eyes. "You may be uncertain about letting her in. About opening yourself up to possibilities. About feelings."
She let that hang between them as she found the right words. "But it's a little too late, sweetheart. Because you're sitting here, feeling. She's already passed your defenses. And whatever history you have just made it easier for her to slip through the cracks." Momoko sighed, "Our hearts aren't steel traps, they tend to have minds of their own. And yours let her in before your brain said okay."
Nanoha looked at her like she wanted to deny everything. But the protest died in her throat.
Brown eyes softened. "You have two options. You can accept those feelings and ignore them." She took a deep breath, "Or you can be scared. Terrified even. Because it's a big risk that you're faced with. A risk for an unknown reward." Blue eyes lifted from the table. "You are the only one who knows if that risk is worth the reward."
Nanoha seemed to process her words, but she gave none of her thoughts away. Momoko smiled. "But those are the observations of someone with limited information. If you want to tell me more then maybe..."
The young veterinarian narrowed her eyes. "Not gonna happen."
"Not yet." Momoko shrugged off the denial. "It was worth a shot." She stood up, tugging on Nanoha's hands. The baker pulled her daughter into tight hug. "You don't have to decide on anything tonight. Sleep on it. Okay?"
"Okay." Nanoha nodded. "Thanks, Mom."
"Anytime."
Nothing was solved. But there was a glimpse of relief in those blue eyes. "Coast is clear, Dad. You can come out now."
"Hmm? What do you mean? I don't know anything."
"Thanks. But I saw your reflection of the refrigerator glass." He smiled sympathetically and gave her a warm hug.
"Let's get out of here." Momoko pulled Nanoha into a side hug, and held her until they walked into the cool night air. No major life decisions were made that night, but the strain weighing heavily on Nanoha's shoulders lifted for moment. She knew that no amount of internal debate would provide her with an answer. There was only one setting, one set of conditions, in which she would find her answer.
When she stood in front of Fate Testarossa again, staring into warm crimson eyes, at that moment she would find her answer. Until that moment, she could consider the risk and maybe she would allow herself to wonder about the reward. Maybe.
