Disclaimer: I don't own the Nanoha series, so I'm not getting any money from this. Nor do I have the right to receive money for this.
AN: This is just a short I came up with in my spare time. I just had it lying around for awhile and recently decided to post it.
Summary: Fate, Vivio, plus cookies, minus Nanoha (kinda). All the things needed for a short story.
Have a Cookie
After a long day at work, all Fate wanted to do was relax at home with her family. She fiddled with the collar to her uniform as she stepped through the automatic, sliding doors of her apartment. As the doors closed behind her, a sigh escaped her lips. Exhaustion seemed to be catching up to her.
"Mama!"
Her head turned and her eyes searched for the source of that cheerful voice. A little girl gleefully ran towards her. Her blonde hair, held in twin tails by a pair of ribbons, bounced as her heterochromatic eyes, one emerald green and the other a ruby red, focused on her beloved mama. The child had been adopted officially by Fate's best friend, Nanoha, while she listed Fate as her godmother.
After recognizing her goddaughter, Fate felt strangely rejuvenated. It was as if all the exhaustion and stressful hours at work melted away like ice on a warm summer day; all because of the innocent, joyful smile Vivio offered her.
"Vivio," Fate replied as she scooped the adorable little girl up into her arms. She stared into Vivio's mismatched eyes and asked, "Have you been a good girl?"
Vivio vigorously nodded in response, and Fate happily smiled at her. Fate's eyes travelled to Aina, the housemother, for confirmation.
"She wasn't any trouble at all," the older woman answered. "She even helped me with folding up the laundry."
Fate glanced at the glass coffee table and saw Vivio's handiwork, a small, haphazardly-folded pile of clothes, and in contrast, Aina's significantly larger, neatly-folded pile lied next to it. Well, in the end, it was the effort that counted.
"Is that true Vivio?" Fate looked at the child expectantly with a warm smile.
"Uh huh," she replied. Vivio allowed a brief expression of pride to cross over her face. She was clearly an intelligent little girl, but Vivio was a child of few words. Somehow that just made her more adorable in her godmother's eyes.
Fate's smile grew even larger at the little girl's words. She thanked the housemother for her efforts, worried she was placing an extra burden on her. "Thanks a lot for your help Aina. We're sorry to put you through this. Nanoha and I still haven't found a babysitter."
Aina shook her head in response as she tried to assuage Fate's worries. "It's no trouble at all. While you were at work Vivio was an absolute darling; She's was very obedient, waiting for her mamas to come home." The telltale smile that was on Aina's face indicated she was telling the truth.
"I left some chocolate-chip cookies in the oven for you," Aina said. Her eyes glanced at Vivio and slightly narrowed. "But only after your dinner. You know how Nanoha-mama gets."
In the oven, Fate saw a fresh batch of cookies, sixteen in all.
"Eheheh…" Fate nervously chucked. She recalled the various little arguments she had with Nanoha when she indulged Vivio's sweet tooth, however, if Aina really wanted to ensure that cavity-causing sweets didn't find there way to a certain little girl then she shouldn't have left those tasty treats alone with Fate and Vivio.
Normally, Fate was a pillar of self control. She had unflinchingly stared in the face of her mother's hatred and had faced down the Book of Darkness, destroyer of worlds, but she had yet to conquer the dreaded, puppy-dog look that had defeated countless, stronger people than her. Her little girl's mismatched eyes stared into her wine-colored ones, and that was all it took for Fate's resolve to crumble like a house of cards.
"Just one, but it'll be our little secret."
After Fate had been adopted by Lindy Harlaown, she finally understood what she was missing all those years. The difference in treatment between Precia and Lindy as mothers was clear. She had heard people say that children often resemble their parents, picking up their traits, and Fate desperately worried that she would turn out like hers. Despite how much she loved her mother, Fate didn't want to become an abusive parent like Precia. It was because of this fear that Fate tended to over indulge her charges, and she knew it. Fortunately, she had friends to correct her, so that she didn't become too much of a pushover. People like Nanoha.
"Fate-chan…" A stern voice behind her drawled out. There was no way Fate could mistake that voice, which had been her salvation as a child.
"Ahaha…" A sheepish laugh escaped Fate's throat as she turned around, and there stood Nanoha, who looked very unpleased with Fate. "Would you like a cookie, Nanoha-mama?"