A/N: review replies are at the end of the chapter.
I hope this chapter's fit for human consumption. Enjoy everyone! The song is How Will I Know by Keke Palmer. Warning: slightly T++ kind of NanoFate moment in this chapter. Just FYI.
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-J
Chapter 15: The Real Deal
It's so amazing, almost crazy
How I'm thinking about you baby
Still I don't know if this is real
I want you so much more
But I'm unsure if this is true love that I feel
Narrator's POV
Chrono arrived at Fate's house at ten in the morning, albeit fidgety. He waved it off before gently knocking on the door of the Testarossa residence.
Precia was the one who opened the door.
She greeted him with a cheerful "Good morning" and asked him if he would like to come in. Seeing the mischievous glint in Precia's eyes, Chrono greeted her back but politely refused the invitation. He told her he would just wait outside. As soon as the door closed, Chrono let out a sigh of relief. And he silently praised himself for deftly avoiding possibly one of the most awkward conversations with purple-haired woman, yet.
"Why won't you tell me?"
"Because…" Fate replied, trailing off. Why wouldn't he let go of the issue? It wasn't that she was ungrateful for everything he did that day, but…
"Because what?" he tried again.
He was a very persistent person.
"Can you just drop it?" she asked for the umpteenth time.
"Nope," he gave a confident grin. "After all, I am your knight-in-shining armor. And it is my sworn duty to kick the crap out of anyone who makes you cry. Now, tell me."
"I don't recall agreeing to be a damsel-in-distress," she half-joked.
"How about the time you…"
"Nope. Don't remember a thing," she interjected.
"I didn't even finish."
"So, how's your mom?" the blonde said, desperately trying to veer away from all of Chrono's prodding.
"You're changing the subject."
"No I'm not," she relied as she stuck her tongue out.
"Yes you are."
"No I'm not. I'm just trying to have a simple conversation with you. Talking about what happened last week—which by the way I have no recollection of—does not make for simple conversation."
Fate smiled to herself when she heard Chrono sigh in defeat.
"You know you can tell me anything right?" he said, his voice somber.
Fate was taken aback. The sincerity in his voice almost broke her resolve. But she couldn't afford to tell anyone, especially Chrono.
"Yeah, yeah. So like I was saying, how's your mom?" she asked again.
He simply laughed at her. "Fine, fine. But I'll pry it out of you next time."
"Assuming there is a next time Mr. Knight-in-Shining-Armor," Fate said playfully.
Ah. There it was: Fate's lightheartedness and her ever-present sense of humor. She wasn't some two-faced girl who would fake a laugh or try to impress him with pre-planned stories and jokes. Fate wasn't like that. She was the real deal.
He loved that about her.
"Oh, come on now. Don't be mean," he said as he looked at her, slightly tilting his head to the side.
"Hmf," she scoffed.
"It's not like you don't enjoy my company," he replied with a half-smile.
This caused Fate to raise an eyebrow.
"I tolerate your company."
Chrono feigned hurt. "Remind me to go out with you during afternoons. You're super sarcastic in the morning."
"I didn't know you were so…" Fate paused. "Sensitive," she snickered at the word.
"Er…ehem," Chrono coughed, flustered. "I…I'm not. I just don't stand a chance when you're like that," he gestured all of her.
"Well, I'm like this," she mock-gestured at herself. "…when people are nosy."
He rolled his eyes. "Point taken. Come on. Let's grab something to eat," he offered as he nonchalantly put his arm over her shoulders.
Fate smiled. "You're buying."
"That'll be a first."
Nanoha's POV
I am a liar.
Yes. I'm a liar and I'm not afraid to admit it. Judge all you want but know that you are no better than I am.
Do you want me to say it again?
I am a liar. L – I – A – R.
There, I even spelled it out. But somehow, I don't think you actually grasp the meaning of what I mean when I refer to myself as a liar. Not yet anyway…
Lie. Verb. It means to tell an untruth. Simple, right?
If I recall correctly, there is one particular lie I tell others—and myself—the most.
I'm fine.
I tell myself these two measly words, over and over and over and over… well, you get the idea. I constantly convince myself that I'm fine, hoping that if I say it enough times, it might actually be true. But then again, that's bull.
I'm one of the very many people in this world who lie with those two words. I can even say them and look like I mean it.
But when I noticed him brush hair away from her eyes, I found it tricky to keep my lips from grimacing.
I'm fine.
When I saw her laugh at something he said, I found it difficultto keep my feelings in check.
I'm fine.
And when I realized how good they looked together, I found it impossibleto hide the pain I felt.
I'm fine.
I was forced to face the fact that she was young. She was impressionable. What we have was just something in passing… a random experiment. Nothing good would come of it. And since I was older, I had to look at this practically.
She's better off with him than with the likes of me.
Charge it to experience, I guess. But I'll be fine. At least I learned something from it…from this.
Her eyes met mine after she waved goodbye.
At that moment, I prayed to whatever form of deity that existed and hoped my eyes would lie for me yet again. I turned my back and headed home. Two words rang repeatedly through my head like a mantra.
I'm fine.
The sad thing about it was, after saying those words to myself—and to others—millions of times, I think I was the only person who still believed them.
I was fine with it though.
That's a lie too, if you must know.
Fate's POV
I knocked—pounded—on the door.
"Fate. Wha-what are you doing here?" she asked me as if my being here was a complete spur-of-the-moment thing.
"I…" I began. "Wait," I bent down and tried to catch my breath.
"Why are you panting?" she asked, worry painted on her face. When I failed to answer, she continued. "Come in," she said as she ushered me into her home and led me to the living room.
Just as she gestured for me to sit on the couch, I brought a hand up.
"I ran after you as soon as Chrono left. I called out to you but—"
"Really? I didn't hear you," she cut in.
My brows knit. "That's bull."
"E-excuse me?" she asked, taken aback.
"You heard me."
"I told you. I…I didn't hear you."
I noticed the her voice waver and did not relent. "If you didn't hear me, then why did you walk off?"
Unable to answer, she glared at the sofa as if it had offended her in some way.
I sighed. "If something's bothering you, you have to tell me," I continued, this time in a softer voice. I reached out and touched her cheek. "Or else I'm going to think I did something wrong."
Nanoha chortled. Then she said something so softly I wasn't able to catch a word of it.
"What?"
Nanoha shook her head and smiled at me. "Nothing." She touched my hand that held her cheek and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "It's just that," she sighed in resignation. "Seeing you with Chrono a while ago…surprised me."
My brows scrunched for a second time. "Surprised you? I don't get it." Why would she be surprised? She knew we were friends. Well… sort of friends. But that's not the point.
Her laugh broke me out of my reverie. "How dense could you be?"
"Dense?" I repeated. "You think this is a joke?" my voice rose. "When I saw you across the street, you looked like you were about to cry so I ran after you. But when I called out your name, you walked faster. I was worried. I…I thought I might've done something wrong. You just… you looked so upset." How could she be joking at a time like this? I was serious, for crying out loud. Doesn't she know how rarely that happens? I looked at her with disappointment and irritation.
Nanoha eyes widened slightly, like some amazing idea had just dawned on her.
"I'm sorry I worried you. I didn't mean to," she laid a hand on my shoulder.
"Then tell me what's wrong?" I asked almost pleadingly.
"I apologize. I…" she paused. "I was being petty."
"About?"
Nanoha hung her head, unable to look at me in the eye as the words came out of her mouth. "You and Chrono. I was… jealous."
Jealous? Her? Of me and Chrono?
I burst out laughing.
"I used to think he was cute. But that boy would make a better pet than a boyfriend," I commented in between laughs.
Nanoha puffed her cheeks. "You think he's cute?"
Really? Wow. She's adorable when she's jealous.
"That's all you got from what I said?"
Nanoha narrowed her eyes at me.
I sat on the couch and patted the spot beside me, motioning for her to sit down.
"I used to," I replied. I couldn't help but smile at how ridiculous she was being.
"What about me then?" Nanoha asked as she folded her arms.
"Ah. You? Well…" I scooted close and teasingly unfolded her arms. "I think you're pretty." I whispered, a breath away from her face. I didn't know where all my courage was coming from, but I was going to take advantage of it for as long as it lasted.
Nanoha's face fell.
I guess she was expecting something more than just pretty.
So I added, "…Pretty amazing."
Nanoha raised a skeptical eyebrow at me.
That made me chuckle. "No, seriously. Sometimes, I wonder why you're with someone like me. Everyone wants you. Students, teachers…I even think the janitor's got a huge thing for you. But then again, why wouldn't they? Now that I think about it, I've got a lot of competition. Then there's—"
Nanoha silenced me with her lips.
I was caught off-guard. After all, it had been a while since we last kissed. But as her lips moved slowly against mine, I felt this overwhelming heat grow at the pit of my stomach.
"Are you done rambling?" she asked as she drew her lips back.
Please. Not yet.
"Yeah," I said, breathless.
I buried my fingers in her soft brown locks and pulled her in for another kiss, this time with more fervor. She immediately noticed the urgency in the kiss and wrapped her arms around my neck, kissing back just as intensely. The sweet feeling of her body against mine sent my skin on fire. I wound my fingers tighter around her chocolate-colored hair, almost painfully. She moaned. Without a second thought, I let my tongue delve in and began exploring her mouth. Her tongue reached out and met mine in a sensual dance. I lost track of everything save for the feeling of her. We sat back to breathe in some much needed oxygen. Our breaths mingled into a warm puff of air. It felt so hot I thought the heat would burn my face.
I opened my eyes and found her staring at my mouth... as she bit down on her lip.
Dear god.
Something in me snapped. I pulled at her clip and her hair cascaded down her shoulders. Beautiful. I went for her lips again. Consumed by the need to feel more of her, I circled my free arm around her and pulled her closer to me as we fell back on to the couch. My other hand let go of her brunette tresses and caressed her cheek, holding her in place. She broke the kiss and smirked mischievously at me.
What a tease.
I kissed her again as i let my teeth tug at her lower lip. Her arms around me tightened, as if to say what I was doing was painful. I smiled to myself and gently sucked on her lip, circling my tongue around the spot where my teeth once were. She moaned even louder. My entire being throbbed at the sound.
"We have to stop," she managed, in between kisses.
"Yeah," I replied as my hand on her cheek traveled down and began caressing her side.
"…ngh! Okay?"
"Okay. Mm…"
Our kisses grew hotter, more demanding. It was like we both felt this insatiable need that could not be satisfied, especially me. I just…
I wanted more.
I wanted her.
I wanted more of her.
But once again, breathing became a necessity. I pulled back to draw a breath and gazed at her. Her hair disheveled, her eyes a darker shade of blue, her cheeks blushing like the sunset and her swollen lips slightly open, gasping for air.
She looked breathtakingly beautiful.
"What?" she said, as she wiped the sweat off her cheeks.
"N-nothing. It's just…" my hand instinctively reached for her cheek. "You're beautiful," I breathed out.
The tender smile she gave me seemed to douse out the wanton desire that was building inside of me a few moments ago.
"You're not so bad yourself," she replied, wrapping her arms around me.
I pressed my forehead against hers, eyes closed. "Can we stay like this?"
"What about that hot and heavy make-out session we were having?" she jested.
I shook my head. "Mm… this is way better."
We stayed like that, except for a few gentle kisses and the occasional touching. We came to the conclusion that if we had continued what we were doing, we would probably regret it. Not that it didn't feel right… it just didn't feel right at the time.
Ultimately, we ended up lying in her couch, talking about anything and everything. We took comfort in each other's company…
…and in the fact that what we had wasn't just some fling or bi-curious experiment.
It was real.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE :) this chapter's a late Christmas gift from me to you. Hope you liked it. PM for any corrections. It's midnight here so my proofreading might've been off.
UNIVERSAL QUESTION:
To all my readers, would you want me to put the "name of the person's POV" or "third-person's POV" every time I switch POVs so as not to confuse you? I originally thought not to put them in so that it'd keep reader's alert and guessing but since the issue has been brought up a few times… well, it's been a cause of concern.
Feedbacks and answers will be much appreciated. Thank you!
Review replies:
Lily Testarossa: Nope you're not dreaming :) thanks for the support.
CrazyLikeArt: Hopefully I can update this monthly. I've been having a hard time balancing fics with my thesis. And yeah, rising from the dead? Haha what a wonderful way to put it :D
Aka Chibi-chan: Stay tuned for chapter 16. There will be even more progress by then. More drama you ask? Very well then :)
Emrriz Mei: It's no biggie :) Thanks so much for taking the time to read it. I know its only 14 chapters but it is a pretty long fic. I love the age gap too. Puts a lot of dimensions (and drama) to the dynamic of the relationship.
ElementalMiko12: if you're confused feel free to ask me anything :)
Cyberchao X: thank you so much for the input. I'm very open to them :) regarding the 9/27 that was the current date when the "staff had the faculty meeting about the sports festival" my bad for not making it clear. And yeah, I've been trying to make said "M-rated ffic" and I still think I kind of suck at it. Hahaha
Enjoy your holidays everyone! And (Advance) HAPPY NEW YEAR. Have a good one! Feel free to PM me for any concerns!
-J and A