A/N: I'm on a roll in terms of story writing. I haven't felt this refreshed in a long time, its good to write so many different things. As I stated in my other story, I was planning on making a new, maybe longer story, with a more grounded and less depressing plot. Well, this is it. Please keep in mind, that I don't always know what I'm talking about, so lots of things maybe be just guesswork and intuition as a writer. Anyway, this story, is more or less, one of loneliness. Having everything, and yet nothing at the same time. This story is a new experiment, and is unlike anything else I've written, keep that in mind as well. I don't know when I'll update it again, but it probably wont be too long. So enjoy, and don't forget to tell me how I can improve future chapters :).

- Kode-Dekka

"Nee, Fate-chan." Nanoha snuggled close to me, she buried herself in my waiting chest.

"What is it, Nanoha?" She smiled at me, it was warm, much warmer than her bare chest and naked body against mine.

"What do you think we'll be like, you know, in the future?" I pulled her in closer, it felt like I she was melting into me.

"We'll probably still be the same as we are right now? Though, I bet you'll be more beautiful than you already are right now." Her smile widened, I found myself smiling as well.

"You're such a flatterer, but that isn't what I mean. I mean, 'us', what will our relationship be like?"

I didn't know why she was asking, but I didn't mind it, because I already had the answer.

"We'll still be together of course. We'll live together, get married if that's what you want. Everything will be perfect, our own little 'happily ever after'." It seems like that was the right answer, because she moved her head up, and kissed me gently.

"That sounds nice. I look forward to it, my love."

"As do I, my darling."

And then we stayed like that for a long time, and fell asleep; blessed with dreams of a happy future, that couldn't be far away.

My Single Heart, Beats Twice For You

By Kode-Dekka

Chapter 1: The Sudden Reawakening of A Distance Dream

"Mmm, Nanoha..." I felt a chill against my body, it was unpleasant, it caused my eyes to flutter slowly open. My mind was in a daze, I also had a headache, everything felt distorted. I was in my home, on my bed. I wasn't alone. A woman slept beside me, and for a moment, my heart jumped. "Nanoha." The woman stirred under the covers, but then just went back to sleep. She was tall, and slim, and had long... black hair. My sense of reality came back, and I cursed myself. It was only that dream again. I didn't want to think about it, so instead I did my best to recall the events of last night.

I was at a party, it was another really boring one; I remember drinking a lot. And then, I met a women, the one who was beside me now. I thought she was cute, so I flirted with her for a bit, and she easily took the bait. After a while we came back here, and then, and then...

"I'm so stupid..." I didn't remember much after that point. What I did remember, was that this woman was rough in the sack, it was like riding a damn horse. And then, I went to sleep, and had that cursed dream again, the one of better times, when I was truly happy. A beautiful dream, of my lost love, of Nanoha. Damn it...

It was a beautiful romance, one that outshines any other. But now, it was all over, and had been for a long time. Still, I had dreams sometimes, and it was starting to get on my nerves.

I sighed, rose from the bed and left my guest there, fleeing to the bathroom. Right away I stripped, until not an article of clothing remained. I stood there, looking at my body in the full-sized mirror on my wall. I examined it, admired it, and cursed it all at the same time.

I started the hot water of my shower, climbed into the tub, let the droplets singe my skin. I didn't really even move, just stood there, getting wet; it was silly, I felt like quite the fool.

I was thirty-five, would be thirty-six in just a week. Yet here I was, reminiscing of a old flame, which only lasted during high school, before being blown out. I felt pathetic. That damn dream, why do I have to keep being tortured by it?

But I knew why. Deep down, somewhere in my heart, I still cared for that beautiful girl, who dumped me nearly twenty years ago. By now, she was probably married to a guy, or maybe to a girl, and likely had a few kids. Me? I was old, lonely, being comforted only by large amounts of alcohol, and the touch of cheap floozies. While there was no doubt that the woman laying in my bed was probably a nice girl, I was pretty confident that she wouldn't stay for just the romance.

I was the CEO of a widely successful research center, one that specialized in the destruction of diseases once thought impossible to cure. With all the world's best experts at my disposal, I've had no trouble producing top of the line equipment and remedies. Fate Testarossa, there wasn't a single hospital, government, or insurance company that hadn't heard my name uttered at least once or twice a day. I was powerful, influential, and most importantly, loaded; set for life.

But at the end of the day, or at the start, if this counts, I had nothing to really show for it all. Here I stood, letting my skin get burned in a hot shower. I was a person who guzzled down alcohol like a cheap drunk, and slept with any pretty woman that would give me their attention. Even though I had everything that the world had to offer, I was always lacking one thing; love. Without anyone to share this vast fortune with, what was the point of having it?

I shut the water off angrily, climbed out and wrapped a towel around my body. I didn't like being alone like this, it gave me too much time to think to myself; ironically, about being so alone.

I shook my head, water flew everywhere, but I still shook it as hard as I could, until all the bad thoughts went away. I opened the bathroom door, and found my little guest staring at me from the bed. "There you are, you should have woken me up." I noticed that she looked a lot cuter now that I was sober, so cute I couldn't help it by open my big mouth.

"You looked so cute, I didn't have the heart to do it." She blushed, smiling at me. She was young, far younger than me, by at least ten years. I made a mental note. One of these days, if I wasn't careful, my drunken, womanizing ways were going to get me in trouble with the law.

"Something wrong?" I must have just been staring into space. I shook my head, pushed my fingers through my long blond hair, and started toward her. Thoughts of my dreams, of Nanoha flooded my mind, but I pushed it away.

"Nothing at all." I came in close to her, titled her face up, and took her lips with my own. She closed her eyes, and let herself be taken. It was a short kiss, I didn't need to get all hot and bothered again. When I broke from her, I softened my expression. "Sorry, but I must be going, I'm sure you can show yourself out." She giggled, giving me a dissatisfied sigh.

"Yeah yeah, I get it. Well, your reputation certainly precedes you, Testarossa-san." The woman, whose name I couldn't remember, got out from the bed. Grabbed her scattered clothing from the floor, and made her way to the bathroom that I had just came out of. With her gone, I got dressed, putting on a white suit.

I was ready for a new day, though there wasn't much for me to do; just sit around, tell people what to do, go to meetings, and sign papers. It was boring, but it was my life's work, it was too late to start having a change of heart now.

I heard the shower start, but ignored it. I went over to my desk, grabbed my cell phone and checked all the messages. Already, I had at least twenty things waiting for me, mostly just status reports. It was all a bother, but it was the life I had chosen.

I left the room, walked down the stairs of my extravagantly large house, and headed to the garage. I had several cars waiting for me. Hm, which one am I in the mood for today? I could have just hired someone to drive me around, but I liked the feel of driving, it made me feel like I still fit in with the rest of the world. So today, I decided, I wanted to feel the wind in my hair. I choose the convertible.

"Good morning, Testarossa-san." I got the standard greeting from all my busy bees as I entered the building of our main office. They all looked happy like always. They led simple lives, they were normal. I envied them a little. Aside for the nice atmosphere, it was a busy day, just like any other.

When I entered my office, a small man grinned at me and patted me on the shoulder. "Have fun, Boss." I saw the pile of paperwork on my desk, it was obvious that he left it there. I dismissed him, and he went back to his normal duties. I closed the door, leaving myself isolated from everyone else. And then I got to work.

A knock at the door interrupted me maybe ten minutes later. I just continued working. "Come in."A woman walked in. She was tall, very masculine looking, and carried a stern expression. "What can I do for you, Signum?"

"The applicants are here, ma'am." Her red hair danced she moved. She looked at me with an exasperated expression upon seeing my surprised face. "You forgot again, didn't you?"

"I had a long night, please don't ask me for the details." She nodded. The woman was obedient, which was probably why I enjoyed having her around, she didn't grate on my nerves with her chatter.

"Shall I send one of them in?"

"Yeah. Thank you." Signum nodded again and left. I had completely forgotten. I was supposed to hire an assistant for myself today, someone to help take the heavy workload off me. I could be such a moron. No more drinking on a workday. That made me smile a little, every day was a workday.

The first woman that came in was young. She was also cute, but that wasn't the important thing. Looking at her resume, I found that she was certainly qualified, but there was something I just didn't like about her. Perhaps it was because she was so giddy, she moved around too much. I knew it right off the bat, she would probably screw up a lot. So after the interview was over, I sent her away, saying I would consider her, even though that wouldn't happen.

Each applicant was similar. No matter how skilled or qualified they were, I found some fault with them. At this rate, I would just be back where I started.

In the end, I didn't like a single one, and sent them all away with empty hopes.

Signum came back after the last one had left. She was good at reading my mood, I guess that's why I hired her in the first place. "Were none of them to your liking, ma'am?"

"They were fine, the problem is me. I'm just too picky, its a curse." Signum gave me a tiny smile, a rare sight that I burned into my memory.

"Well regardless, I wanted to inform you that another one just arrived rather late. Shall I turn her away?"

"No, I'll do it, send her in."

"Understood." So Signum left, and brought the next one in. She was a tall girl, my height. She had a good figure, and lovely blue eyes. Most of all, she had the most wonderful and long brown hair I'd ever seen.

"Sorry I'm late, I had a bit of an emergency at home. Thank you for seeing me, Testarossa-san." Her voice, was like music to my ears. And her smile, it was like looking at the sun.

"Excuse me." Signum coughed and left us alone, closing the door. When it closed, I finally breathed out, and felt my heart hammering in my chest.

"This is quite the surprise. Its been so long. You're the last person I expected to see here." The woman's cheeks flushed.

"Yes, fate sure is a strange thing, isn't it?" I was so stunned, that I forgot the most important thing, the thing that I've wanted to say to her, since long ago.

"Its really nice to see you again, Nanoha." The shyness from her face disappeared, and her lips curved even further.

"Yes, its good to see you too, Fate-chan."