Team GEMINI

Nameless: The Physical Attraction

Book 1

When The Unstoppable Force Collides With The Immovable Object

Chapter 7

The Immovable Pride

Silence.

"Wait—what!?" the look on Nanoha's face was priceless, but the look of guilt on Fate's face was worth every penny. "You were... engaged to her?"

"Well yeah... but I broke it off with her when I met you." Fate explained, running a tense hand through her hair. "Alicia cried so much when I told her I wanted to break up with her, but I wanted you so much I never really cared to give her proper closure."

"..."

Fate got out of bed and fished around the floor in search of her discarded clothes. Nanoha stayed back and watched her naked girlfriend with a flabbergasted look. Fate found her clothes and found that they were too dirty to wear again, so she picked them up and headed towards the dirty clothes hamper in the bathroom and left them there before returning to the bedroom where Nanoha sat still as a statue. Fate frowned and walked to the closet, pulled out some clean underwear, a black bra, socks, loose fitting black jeans, a purple top with a large font sentence that said "Cleverly Placed Sentence," and in little print above it "Look at My Eyes Not My Chest" printed on, and a black denim jacket. Throwing the clothes onto the edge of the bed, Fate began putting them on in a hasty fashion.

"Where are you going?" Nanoha asked her voice barely above a hushed whisper.

"Out."

"Where?"

"Why the fuck should you care?" Fate growled as she pulled up her pants. "Don't wait up for me."

"Where are you going?"

Sighing, Fate grabbed her T-shirt and slipped her arms through the sleeves before pulling it over her head, "And like I said mere seconds ago, 'Why the fuck should you care?'"

Nanoha's eyes were blank, the sudden knowledge of Fate's life before her scared her out of her wits. "I'm sorry..."

Pausing momentarily when the words came to her ears, Fate frowned. "You should call him, tell him that your good for nothing, egotistic, know it all, and annoying as hell, possibly ex-fiancee, left you after hitting you. That should get him to come running back to your side, because it sure would have made me come running."

"Possibly... ex?" Nanoha said, her eyes widening in a strange emotion she couldn't name

Fate stood still, her back towards Nanoha. "You really hurt me just now Nanoha, I-I need some time to think. "

"I said I was sorry..."

"Sorry doesn't fix everything. It doesn't take back the words you've said."

"What about all that you've said!?"

Fate looked back, her beautiful tear streaked burgundy eyes anguished. "You're right. I wish I could just say sorry and erase all those 'I love you's,' 'Nanoha's the best,' the 'together forever's,' and all that other mushy crap I've said to you over the year, but I can't..." sighing she ran both hands through her hair. "And it isn't like I want to take them back either, and neither do you. You speak to highly of him Nanoha."

"Fate-chan, wait!" Fate began to walk away, her jacket clutched in her hand tightly as she funneled all of her anger into its fabric. "Please Fate-chan! Don't go!" Fate didn't turn around. "I'm sorry!" The bedroom door slammed shut. "I love... you, not him."

Nanoha whispered those final words too softly, she knew they would have stopped her fiancee from walking out the door, but she didn't have the heart to say it in a firmer, louder voice. She didn't have the heart to speak the words with confidence.

To be honest, Nanoha herself didn't know how to settle her feelings with her former lover. She knew she loved him; he was her best friend of course! Much like how Hayate and Carim are to her, Yuuno was someone she just couldn't let go of no matter what happened. Fate on the other hand... Nanoha was almost certain she could move on if Fate left her for good. It would hurt yes, but she would move on and forget the pain and eventually find a new love, and live her life once more.

Fate wasn't that large a piece in her life to begin with. She loved the young teenager without a doubt, but compared to the other people in her life... Fate was probably the product of whatever was left over. All the fun things they would do, the sex, the romantic moments, the heated arguments, and everything in between, was something Nanoha could live without. She knew this... but she denies it whenever Fate was near.

Their physical attraction blurs the fine line between friendship and love. It was physical attraction that led her to pursue the young blonde in a romantic sense. It was also physical attraction that led Nanoha to sleep with her after a week of dating, even though females weren't her natural preference.

It was strictly physical attraction that got blurred over time.

This wasn't love... was it?

"So why did I propose to her?" Nanoha asked herself, eyes glued onto the front door, perplexed over her rash actions.

After ten minutes of wallowing in her own regrets, Nanoha decided sitting in bed naked wouldn't help ease the pain and soothe the confusion that racked her heart. Not wanting to get changed, Nanoha got out of bed and pulled out her robe from the closet. Putting it on quickly, Nanoha tied a loose knot and left the bedroom.

"Ah fuck it..." Nanoha growled as she stormed down the hallway and into the bathroom. "Who the fuck does Fate-chan think she is? Talking me like that..." Shutting the door behind her, Nanoha walked straight to the mirror and glared at herself. "Come on Takamachi, get over it! A hormonal teenager shouldn't get to you this much." Her reflection jeered at her when the words left her mouth. "The great Fate Harlaown isn't so great. I don't know what those stupid girls see in her."

Taking her robe off, Nanoha walks into the shower and turns on the water. It was cold at first making her jump up with a small squeal of surprise. She quickly turned the knob for the hot water and was quickly greeted with a relaxing sensation of a nice hot shower. Sighing to herself, Nanoha tilted her head up and allowed the water to embrace her.

"Stupid Fate-chan..." Nanoha muttered in a half hearted tone of voice.

The constant stream of hot water alongside the enveloping steam relaxed Nanoha's tense muscles. Work was finally starting to catch up to her, but the strain her life brought was pushing her to her limits. Nanoha pretended like nothing fazed her, but in truth everything was. There was a constant battle waging on inside of her. Her feelings for Fate and the feelings she had to complete her broken family. The custody battle for her daughter was going south ever since Vivio brought about the information about her current relationship. She was going to lose her child without a fight... but she was also losing her lover to the war.

Nanoha sighed and tried her best to let go of everything that weighed her down. She just wanted to get clean, wash away all the regret, the mistakes, and the indelible sins she's committed. She wanted to wash away all the places Yuuno Scrya had touched, and she desperately wanted to forget that Fate Harlaown had ever touched her in the first place. She just wanted to forget about the teenager that caused her so many plights.

Cranking the hot water as high as it could go, the relaxing heat became hot as boiling water. Nanoha paid little attention to the pain she was feeling and focused more on draining her thoughts of the argument that transpired not too long ago.

One second passed by before the heat became too much. "Owwie!" Nanoha cried out as she turned the hot water off faster than she could a television. The hot water separated from the cold almost immediately, leaving nothing but frigid cold. The steam that surrounded her became stifling with the sudden change in temperature. Nanoha wanted out of the shower, but she didn't want to leave the little cocoon that washed away all of her worries.

The cold water had defeated her desire to stay clean, so with a shiver, Nanoha turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. She felt a little light headed when she got out, but not enough to bring her to her knees.

"I'm going to have to find her..." Nanoha told herself unwillingly. "Who knows what she'll do."

She quickly dried her hair and put on her robe and left the bathroom. Nanoha let out yet another sigh as and neared the living room. Her eyes widened significantly when she saw Fate slumped on the couch lifelessly. The beautiful teenager had her left arm slung over the width of the couch, while her tattooed hand constantly tensed and relaxed. Her breathing was soft and calm, but the look of furry in her eyes told another story.

"F-Fate-chan... what are you doing here?" Nanoha asked, startled to see her girlfriend sitting on the couch. "I thought you left."

"You would have liked that wouldn't you?" Fate said with a dull tone of voice. "You just couldn't wait till I left, huh?"

"That's not what I meant..."

Fate turned her head to face Nanoha lazily and frowned. "Come on Takamachi, get over it! A hormonal teenager shouldn't get to you this much."

"Y-You heard that?"

"The great Fate Harlaown isn't so great. I don't know what those stupid girls see in her."

Nanoha flinched and took a step back. "I didn't know you were here..."

"So as long as I'm around, you'll keep biting your tongue?" Fate smirked and looked away. "Fine then. I'll leave for real this time, so that way you can keep saying what you really think about me."

"Fate-chan, I would never!"

"Stop with the fucking excuses, and with that 'Fate-chan' crap already!" the teenager roared. "I'm not a goddamned child, so drop that useless honorific!"

"No, I'm not making any excuses. And no," Nanoha protested. "Fate-chan is Fate-chan to me."

"Then I'll always be a child to you. Not a teenager, but a child you have to teach proper manners to." Fate stood up and walked up to Nanoha, her rage evident in her heavy breathing. "Guess what Nanoha, I'm fifteen not five. Stop acting like you're my mother and act like who you really are to me."

"I'm not acting like your mother!"

"Yes you are Nanoha and don't you dare deny it." Fate snapped. "I have my own mother who has raised me to her best abilities. You are either my girlfriend or no one at all. Make up your mind."

Nanoha couldn't answer.

"Hah, I thought so."

Fate turned to leave only to be stopped by Nanoha grabbing hold of her hand. "Walk through that door and you are never welcomed here again." A grin crept onto Fate's face when she pulled her hand free. "I'm serious Fate."

"I am too." Fate replied. "I couldn't bring myself to walk through that door earlier today. I waited on that couch for you to come out so I could apologize for what I said, but no. Not anymore."

"Fate... chan."

"Nanoha..."

The brunette looked away first and winced when the smell of Irish Spring body wash drifted away from her. Nanoha wanted to stop Fate from leaving, but her pride was what got in the way.

Life would be so much easier if Fate wasn't around to muck it all up.

"Goodbye, Nanoha." Fate said as she looked back at the still brunette. Nanoha nodded her head and tried her best to ignore the heavy sigh that escaped Fate's lips.

The sound of a small object being placed on a table near the front door caused Nanoha to look up from the floor and onto the closed door.

Fate had taken her engagement ring off.