Alright, I'll apologize now, for the chapter! But it was honestly necessary, to help with the plot and everything. Shamal and Signum are a big help in everything, and Hayate is helping the two of them as well. But Signum and Shamal play a big role in what's to come later.

I'm not sure how, but Shamal managed to convince me to leave Nanoha's side for a while. Now I was sitting on the office, struggling to catch Nanoha up on her reports. Honestly, I don't know what makes her think it's such a good idea to wait until the last possible minute to submit some of these. Although, Nanoha never did appreciate desk work. I mean, it's not like the rest of us like it, we just realize that waiting last minute is like suicide. So, due to the fact that Nanoha is passed out in the Medical Ward with a high fever, I'm completing her work for the day so she doesn't have to worry.

Unsweetened Dreams IV

By:

2takuya

Fate had just somehow just finished Nanoha's mountain of paperwork. How she managed to complete it in the few hours she was allotted would be a mystery to everyone. Heck, Fate was fairly certain that if there weren't a certain brunette lying in a hospital bed with a high fever, she wouldn't have gotten even halfway through that stack of papers. But of course, she couldn't let that brunette know. If Nanoha ever found out about that, their relationship would never be the same. How would you react if your best friend, who also happened to be a girl, informed you that she was in love with you, and had been since you first met.

There was no way Fate could risk there amazing friendship; Nanoha was the reason that she was alive today. If Nanoha became afraid of her, she'd lose all contact she had with her humanity. As a result, Fate was never going to tell Nanoha.

"-ossa! Testarossa!" A voice called out, surprising the blonde. She hadn't realized how deep in thought she had been. Glancing up, she discovered that, as she had assumed, Signum was swiftly walking over to her. No one else insisted on calling her by that name. Though she couldn't figure out for the life of her why Signum called her that, she decided not to question it.

"Signum, is there something I can help you with?" Fate asked pleasantly, hoping that Signum wouldn't ask to spar. Normally Fate would have nothing against sparring with the woman, but at the moment she was in a hurry to see Nanoha.

Signum gave a small smile to Fate, almost as if she could read the younger girls mind. "Don't worry, I'm not here for a spar." She said, making Fate wonder if the woman really could read minds. "You're on your way to see Nanoha, right?"

Of course she was, but how had Signum been able to read that so easily? She wasn't slipping up, was she? What if Nanoha had already found out about her feelings? Maybe that was why she had seemed so distant lately, especially last week.

"Relax, Testarossa, she doesn't know anything. The rest of us, however, it's just that obvious." Signum said, a sly grin on her face.

Fate felt her cheeks flare up, though her thoughts quickly followed the same track as before. Maybe Signum really could read minds. Crap, does that mean that she's seen all my thoughts about what I'd do to Nanoha if she accepted my love?

"Um, no, nothing of that sort. And I'm not really sure if I even want to know. But Testarossa, you're speaking your thoughts out loud." Signum said again, gaining Fate's attention.

And that's when Fate realized that she was, in fact, speaking her thoughts out loud. And that only caused her blush to intensify even more.

"It's fine, you didn't really say anything that I didn't already know or assumed on my own." Signum said, her grin sly again. This woman would be the death of Fate, with all the blood rushing to her head the way it was. "Everyone already knows all about you and Nanoha, so there's nothing to worry about on that front."

What did that mean? Was there something between her and Nanoha? Sure, every once and awhile, they'd joke with each other. Well, Nanoha would joke, Fate was being more serious, though she pretended it was all a joke. But that was all that really went on between the two, nothing that was any more serious than that, no matter how much Fate wished for it.

"Don't go thinking that there's nothing going on. We've all seen it, the way the two of you seem to dance around each other. It's like neither one of you realize that the other really does like you in that way," Signum mumbled, shaking her head in annoyance.

Fate was confused, since when were Nanoha and her dancing around each other? Fate gave hints all the time about it, though they usually just slipped out. But Nanoha was always just joking; she knew that the brunette was as straight as was possible.

"Seriously? Are you that oblivious? I mean, I knew Nanoha was clueless, I didn't realize you were too, Testarossa." Signum said, sounding disapproving. Fate had spoken her thoughts aloud again, though she didn't realize it at first. "Geez, no wonder Nanoha comes over to visit Hayate so depressed sometimes. I thought you had it rough, but I think Nanoha might just have it the hardest."

Ok, Fate really had no idea what Signum was on about now. None of this was making any sense. When had Nanoha gone to visit Hayate? She didn't remember any times Nanoha had left early or came home late. Well, except last week, but Nanoha was just avoiding Fate in general then, though she didn't know why.

"Signum, I'm not sure what point it is you're trying to make, but I'd really like to go and visit Nanoha right now, if you don't mind." Fate said, stepping around the older woman.

She was about to walk away, finished with the conversation, when Signum grabbed her arm, stopping Fate from walking away.

"Fate, I know you're in love with her." Signum spoke, her voice definite, as if there were no place for Fate to argue. Not that Fate would, it was the truth. "We all know you're in love with her, it's obvious. And quite honestly, if you are in love with her, I think she's going to need you now more than ever. I don't know what happened to her, but I can just feel something's wrong. Something that only you're going to be able to help her get past."

And with those words, Signum released her hold on Fate's arm and briskly walked away. What was that all about? What would Fate be able to do to help Nanoha? Sure, she'd be by Nanoha's side, but she'd always be by Nanoha's side. After all, even if Nanoha didn't love her romantically, Fate knew that as long as she didn't say anything, they could always remain friends. And for Fate, that was enough, as long as Nanoha was happy.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you liked it! Please be sure to review, I'm always looking for ways to improve my writing. Sorry this chapter took so long to post, school just started up recently, and I had been working on summer homework between this chapter and the last.