AN: Wow, I can't believe I finally wrote this. I hadn't expected it, but since the first chapter was so popular and I got plenty of requests to continue it, I've decided to give it a shot. So I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint you. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Still don't own Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. Maybe one day…
Someone Like You
It had been hours since "The Incident" otherwise known as the start of "Takamachi World War" or TWW. It was no surprise that Hayate had taken it upon herself to name this event. It didn't help that everyone who had been present was now calling it that as well. So far, it seemed that TWW was the more popular thing to refer it to. That though, was the least of Fate T. Harlaowns worries. Hayate could call it whatever she wanted. It didn't change the fact that it happened.
It being the very public kiss Vivio gave her.
With a thump, Fate's head hit the counter of the bar she was currently sitting at. Once she'd been able to escape the place she use to call home, the first place she felt she needed to visit was the bar. Normally, she wasn't one for drinking but she needed this. Her mind was a jumble of questions and none were being answered causing a headache to form. Nothing like the numbing effect of alcohol to silence any unnecessary thoughts and questions.
"Refill." Fate lifted her arm listlessly to grab the attention of the bartender.
"I think you've had enough." A gruff voice interrupted.
Fate turned her head to look at the person who took a seat next to her. The pink haired woman sat down with a smirk on her face. Burgundy eyes narrowed at her. Signum wasn't usually one tease, but it seemed that even this was too much for her to pass up. They sat in silence for a few seconds. It was too much for her to handle. Fate decided to bite the bullet and get the teasing over with.
"Whatcha smirkin' bout?" the blonde was surprised she managed to sound semi coherent considering she'd pretty much drank an entire bottle of whiskey by herself. Instead of answering, Signum ordered herself a glass of gin, forcing Fate to continue to wait for the inevitable teases that would be thrown her way. The blonde sometimes worried at how much Hayate actually rubbed off on her knights. It was sure to be hell when they all got together for their gatherings. Signum's drink came. Still the pink haired woman just sat there and swirled the drink in her hands. She brought the glass to her lips and took a small sip before setting it back down on the counter.
Fate couldn't take it anymore. Her hands flew to her hair and she sat up straight.
"Jus shay it! Chu think imma cradle robber! A pedo! A pervert!" With a thunk, Fate's head fell back onto the counter.
Signum can't help but chuckle at her friend's outburst. The pink haired knight hadn't actually come to make fun of the blonde. In actuality, she was there to offer her support. After all, it wasn't everyday that the little girl you once thought of as a daughter crushed every image you had of her by delivering a mind-numbing kiss to you in front of friends and family. Now that she thought about it, she was pretty sure that almost never happened. To anyone. Fate must be one lucky (or unlucky) person.
"Calm down Testarossa. I'm not here to rub more salt your wound."
A teary eyed Fate turned head on the counter towards her friend.
"Chur not?"
Signum shook her head. "No but she is." She pointed behind her towards a certain brunette commander. Fate groaned and turned her face back towards the counter. On the bright side, Signum was at least there for moral support.
"Fate~" came a sing songy voice. Hayate nodded towards her knight as she took a seat on the other side of Fate. She saw the various glasses strewn around her blonde friend and came to the same conclusion Signum had when she'd arrived. "I think you've had enough to drink for one night Fate-chan."
"Chu think?"
Hayate sighed. She had been there originally to poke fun at the blonde since she'd been robbed of this opportunity when Fate fainted at the party. Seeing her like this however, she felt like teasing would be counter productive to Fate's state. She turned to the bartender and ordered herself a glass of vodka on the rocks. Her drink came, but the three friends stayed silent. Minutes passed with no sign of any sort of tease. This prompted Fate to sit up and eye the brunette next to her.
"Water." Fate simply told the bartender. He quickly complied and handed her a glass with a pitcher of water. It seemed that even he thought she needed to sober up. Fate quickly poured herself a glass and downed it in two gulps. She set it down and stared at the empty glass. Her mind swirled with questions once again about Vivio's kiss.
"What should I do?" a more subdued and sober sounding Fate whispered.
Hayate sighed. It was a complicated question. One with no right or wrong answer really, Hayate shook her head. That wasn't quite right however, since some people might think this had a perfectly clear answer. Many would more than likely just tell Fate to reject the younger girl. There were far too many "moral" reasons for her to do so after all. Those people though knew nothing about the girl at the heart of this debacle. Vivio wasn't your typical little girl. She also, wasn't so little anymore. Her feelings couldn't be simply pushed aside like she was just confused or young. She was far more mature than anyone gave her credit for. Vivio had been through things that no child should have to face. She was much like Fate in a way; both grew up far too fast through no fault of their own.
"I don't know Fate, but I do know you shouldn't make any hasty decisions." Hayate took a sip of her drink. "There are too many things to consider."
Fate knew what those things were. She was far too aware of them.
"Just know that, I will not judge your decision and don't let others around you try to sway you. They don't know anything."
Silence.
"I'm scared."
Hayate and Signum both looked confused.
"Scared of what?" Signum asked.
"Of loving someone again."
Hayate knew she had to tread carefully. This was the first time Fate had revealed her feelings in regards to her failed confession to Nanoha. When it had happened, Fate withdrew herself from everyone for a while. It wasn't hard for her to do since her job as an Enforcer kept her away most of the time. Still, it hadn't been difficult to see that something had changed between Nanoha and Fate. Their friends all sensed it but no one was brave enough to breach the subject with a ten foot pole. Instead, they left it alone, letting Fate deal with it in her own way. Hayate now wished she hadn't left her friends to their own devices. Look what had happened. Nanoha began secretly dating Yuuno and Fate moved out of the Takamachi home. It was like something out of the Twilight Zone.
"What do you mean?" Hayate asked. Did Fate think she could actually love someone other than Nanoha? Did that mean Vivio stood a chance?
Before she could get an answer thought, Fate's head dropped back onto the bar's counter. Signum and Hayate blinked, unsure of what had just happened.
"Fate?" Hayate poked the blonde. All she got was a light snore as a response. "Geez, you really did have to much to drink."
"We better take her home." Signum suggest.
"Yeah, it is getting pretty late." Hayate paid their tabs while Signum slung one of Fate's arms around her neck. The two girls guided their unconscious friend to the brunette's car.
-SomeoneLikeYou-
"What were you thinking? How could you think that was remotely appropriate!" Nanoha scolded her daughter. It'd been hours since everyone left. Vivio was sitting on one side of the kitchen table with Nanoha on the other. Yuuno was in the kitchen making tea for everyone. Vivio had been less than pleased to see that the blonde male would be staying the night. Again. She especially didn't want him there for the discussion she and her mother were about to have. This did not concern him. No matter if he was dating her mother. That made him nothing to her.
"I was making my move." Vivio stated simply.
Nanoha glared. "Your move? Move to do what exactly?"
Vivio smirked at her mother. "To make Fate my woman."
Nanoha clenched her hands into fists. "What?"
"You heard me. I'm letting Fate know that I'm available for her and only her."
"You can't do that." Nanoha ground out.
"I don't see what the problem is."
"You're only 16 Vivio! Fate-chan is much older than you! It's not right!"
"Age shouldn't matter! I love her!" Vivio countered.
"W-What?" Nanoha asked stunned.
In the kitchen, Yuuno almost dropped the tray he was carrying to the table. He was just as shocked to hear Vivio's confession as Nanoha was. The blonde man tried to make himself as unassuming as possible as he placed the teacups at the table.
"Vivio…your confused." Nanoha managed to spit out. "You don't know what lo…"
"Don't." Vivio interrupted her mother. "Don't even try to use that on me. Just because you were doesn't mean I am. I know what this feeling is. I've known I've loved her for a while now and that kiss confirmed it. I felt it, the spark, the fireworks whatever you want to call it. I'm sure she must have felt it too."
Nanoha didn't know what to feel. Things between Fate and herself had been complicated. Even now, they were still walking on eggshells around each other, but it wasn't as bad as it was before. When she'd first rejected her, Fate was predictably jumpy around her. She'd never stay in her presence alone. Then she began to take missions that would keep her off world for longer than a few weeks. It's been a difficult time to see her best friend pulling away from her like that. Then one day, Fate came back and things seemingly returned to normal. She'd been baffled at first but the feeling of having her back in her life out weighed whatever doubts she had.
Then she went and ruined everything again. Nanoha knew that Fate never really stopped loving her. She'd seen it in her eyes. Whenever Fate thought she wasn't looking, she'd see the longing in those burgundy pools. This made Nanoha feel special. That someone loved her like that…it was flattering. Then Yuuno came along and confessed to her as well. He'd asked for a chance. Nanoha thought about it and decided to give him the chance he sought. This was the normal route to take after all. Get married to a nice man, start a family…these were things normal people did. Wasn't it about time she did too? She thought about Fate's confession and how she'd rejected her. Why had she rejected her? Fate very clearly loved her. She doubted any of her friends or family would care if she dated a woman. The answer was simple: she didn't know if she liked Fate in that way.
She knew she cared very much for her best friend. Of that she did not doubt. Yet, she was also scared. Scared of where things could lead if they failed. She didn't want to lose someone that had been such a big part of her life. The auburn haired girl just didn't know what to do. So, she decided to see if dating Yuuno would help her figure things out. She felt bad for the boy since she was using him as her guinea pig, but it was better than using Fate for her experiment. That's also why she asked him to keep it a secret that they were dating. He'd been all to eager to comply since she'd actually given him a chance. Then Fate found out, she thought Fate would never talk to her again. The blonde withdrew even further from her. Then on that rainy day, Fate moved out. She had wondered why her heart hurt so much. Is that what a broken heart felt like?
Now, here she was, listening to her daughter talk of love like it was the easiest thing in the world to understand. She was talking about loving the one person who claimed loved her and only her. The anger she felt was unbearable. Was she jealous? Is this why she felt angry and resentful towards her daughter this entire time? Because she had the guts to face her feelings head on and not back down?
"I'm jealous…of my own daughter."
"I forbid you from pursuing her."
Vivio glared. "You can't tell me what to do."
"I am your mother and as long as you live under my roof, you'll obey my rules whether you like it or not."
Vivio stood up. The chair she'd been sitting on flew back and fell to the floor. The blonde girl slammed her hands on the table causing her teacup to fall to its side, spilling it's liquid contents all over the table.
"Nothing will stop me from loving Fate. Not you and not society." Vivio smiled. "You know, you shouldn't be all jealous in front of your boyfriend like that. He might start to think you don't actually like him."
"You're starting to push your luck." Nanoha stood to face down her daughter.
"Whatever, I'm outta here."
"Where do you think your going!" Nanoha was now beyond angry.
"To Fate's."
"Your not going anywhere except your room!"
Instead of heeding her mother's warning Vivio ran to the door. Nanoha was hot on her heels. Vivio grabbed her shoes, not bothering to slip them on as she ran outside.
"Chris!"
Vivio transformed and took to the air.
"VIVIO!"
Yuuno took hold of Nanoha's hand, preventing her from transforming and taking off after her.
"Nanoha, you can't just transform and fly after her. You don't have flight clearance."
The auburn hair girl gritted her teeth and ripped her hand out of Yuuno's hold.
"I'm going after her."
Yuuno didn't dare try to stop her as she went to her garage and got into her car. He didn't know why, but he felt like she was leaving him in more ways than one.
-SomeoneLikeYou-
It was 2am when Fate heard a knocking at her window. Groggily, she got up from her bed. She looked down at herself. It seemed like Hayate and Signum had just dumped her on her bed without bothering to change her. She preferred it that way. She loved Hayate but she was a bit wary of the girl's grabby hands. She thanked god that the few hours of sleep she got sobered her up. Then again, she had started drinking rather early and she was only at that bar an hour tops. The sound of another knock broke her out of her thoughts. She went over to the window and pulled her curtains back. To say she was shocked to see Vivio floating in front of her window was an understatement. The teenager smiled sheepishly at the older blonde. Fate opened the window and let the girl in.
"What are you doing out this late?"
Vivio was about to answer, but suddenly seeing Fate again caused her to become unusually shy. She instead chose to look anywhere but Fate.
"M-Mama and I had an argument. I didn't want to stay at home."
"Oh." Fate had a pretty good idea what it was they fought about. "And she let you come here?"
"Uh, not exactly."
Fate felt her headache coming back. If Vivio came to her apartment without permission, which meant Nanoha was probably on her way. On normal nights when Vivio would escape to her place, she'd at least go back home before Nanoha woke up. Not that she approved of what Vivio did, but she didn't want Vivio to get mad at her and stop coming to her. Fate sighed. She wondered if she was this bad when she was a teenager.
"So that means your mother is on her way?"
"I-I'm sorry. I started all this and…"
"It's alright Vivio-chan. You don't have to apologize."
Vivio blushed. Did Fate mean she didn't have to apologize for her feeling or for unintentionally bringing her mother's wrath to her home? Either way, she was happy to hear that. Her blush intensified when Fate took her hand and led her to the living room. She felt like she was in heaven.
Fate for her part, decided that it was probably a good idea to take Vivio to the living room to wait for Nanoha. The last thing she wanted was for Nanoha to burst in and find them in her room. She doubted Nanoha would care if they were both fully clothed. All she'd see was that her daughter was in her supposed love's room, on a bed.
"Do you want something to drink?" Fate offered.
"No I'm fine. Thank you though."
The two sat on the couch. An awkward silence filled the room. Fate didn't know what to say to Vivio. She hadn't had the time to think about her situation and she sure as hell did not want to mess this up. She cared for the younger girl and she'd never forgive herself if she hurt her with careless words.
"Umm, Vivio?"
The blonde jumped slightly.
"Y-yes?"
"A-About what happened at your party?"
"Y-yeah?" Vivio felt her heart hammering in her chest. Was Fate going to reject her? Just thinking about that made her want to cry. Fate noticed the change in the younger girl quite easily. She mentally kicked herself. Whether she liked it or not, she needed to think of some sort of resolution to come to about the girl beside her. Hayate had been right about needing to consider all the factors in this situation but when you didn't have the luxury to think about things you just had to go with your instincts.
Gently, she lifted Vivio's chin so that she could look at her. It was hard to ignore the sadness in those eyes.
"Listen Vivio-chan, I'm not going to lie. I was really surprised that you kissed me like that. Umm, I don't exactly know how I feel about you Vivio-chan. You were like a daughter to me for the longest time and now you've become a very important friend in my life. There's a lot of things that are working against you. Our age for one but that doesn't seem to bother you so I guess I'm just worried I'm going to hurt you. I don't want that, but I do want to respect your feelings. Your not a little girl anymore and I think you've earned the right to be treated as an adult."
"W-What are you trying to say?"
"I just want you to know that if your serious about this, I won't stop you from trying."
"You mean?"
"Y-yeah. I don't know if I can love you like you love me, but if you can get me to fall for you then who am I to say no?"
Vivio was happy. So incredibly happy that she did not hesitate to jump Fate.
"Whoa!"
Fate found herself on her back with a sobbing teenager on top of her. She smiled slightly and wrapped her arms around the crying girl.
"Shh, don't cry Vivio-chan."
Vivio laughed through her tears.
"I can't help it. I'm just so happy."
Vivio lifted herself off of Fate a bit to look down at the older woman.
"Thank you. Thank you for this chance."
Fate smiled at her and wiped away Vivio's tears with her thumb. It was during this tender moment that the door to Fate's apartment was broken down. Fate and Vivio froze in their spots as Nanoha walked through and looked at the scene before her. There were very few times that Fate feared for her life, this was one of the few times. Vivio quickly got off Fate allowing the blonde woman to stand and get between her and Nanoha.
"Nanoha…"
"Don't. I don't want to hear it. I'm just here for my daughter."
Sighing, she turned to look at Vivio.
"You heard her."
"I don't want to go! I came here because Yuuno was staying over again!"
"He's not staying over!" Nanoha yelled.
"He always wants to stay over! You think I want to be there when you two are together!"
"That's not the issue here!"
"Stop!" Fate yelled. "Just stop. Vivio-chan, Nanoha is still your mother. You shouldn't yell at her like that."
"I'm sorry." Vivio hated being lectured by Fate. It felt like she was acting like her mother. Something she'd worked so hard to break Fate of.
The older blonde turned her burgundy eyes to her best friend.
"We can talk about this later. Okay?"
"Fine."
With that, Fate nodded for Vivio to go. The teenager reluctantly got up and followed her mother out. She turned back to Fate and mouthed something.
"I'll call you later."
Fate was left alone once more. She looked at the door that lay on the floor. Her landlord was not going to be happy about that.
AN: That's it for now! Review and let me know what you think!