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Christmas Special
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Two years had passed since the Jail Scaglietti incident, and Christmas was coming.
To commemorate the successes of the ex-Section Six members,
Hayate had sent out invitations for a Christmas party at her house.
Most of the preparations had been done by Hayate and her knights,
but Fate and Nanoha had also come to take part in the finishing touches.
Vivio had been left in the care of Arf, who had taken quite a liking to her.
Since the invitation had clearly stated that all guests had to bring something for the party,
Nanoha had brought a cake she had baked herself, and Fate had come with some buns she had made with Nanoha's help.
It was still almost half an hour until the beginning time of the party when the doorbell
first rang. Since Nanoha was the only one with free hands at the time, she went to open the door.
"Yuuno-kun? You're early."
"Heh, sorry, but I didn't really have anything to do so I thought I might as well come a bit early and
maybe help with the final preparations or something."
"Oh, I see."
With a forming smile, Nanoha then asked him, "What did you bring?" while eyeing the cloth covered basket
Yuuno had on his right hand.
"This? Well, that is..."
Making sideward glances while trying to look mysterious, but only managing to look awfully suspicious,
Yuuno gestured Nanoha closer before moving the cloth so that the girl could see what was inside.
"Ah!"
Nanoha's face lit up, and her face mirrored the grin on the other's face.
Yuuno...had brought a couple of wine bottles. Fine wine, at that. Pretty expensive, too.
The next ones to show up were Erio and Caro, who showed right at time like the good kids they still were.
Although it seemed like they had somehow misunderstood the part of the invitation that said to bring something for the party
with them. Instead of bringing food or drinks or such, they had brought Lutecia with them.
Of course, no one felt like straightening up the matter.
After Erio and Caro had arrived, it took almost twenty minutes before anyone else came.
During that time, Fate played cards with the kids – Vita included - while Hayate and the rest of the knights - excluding Zafira
who was napping by the fireplace – were busy setting up the ping pong table that Hayate had got from somewhere.
Meanwhile, Nanoha and Yuuno were busy testing the wines while going over all their troubles
and other reasons for frustration.
When the doorbell then rang yet again, everybody could guess who it was this time.
The famous couple of trouble, Subaru and Teana. Although, truth be told, no one really considered them that troublesome.
Or even a couple for that matter. But the name 'couple of trouble' had stuck all the same.
"Good Christmas, everyone!" Teana exclaimed cheerfully.
"Christmas!" Subaru echoed after Teana.
"Christmas!" Shouted Nanoha, already a bit drunk. She'd never been able to hold her liquor.
"My, you two certainly have grown during the past year. Especially Subaru."
Nanoha's eyes were fixed at the blue haired girl's chest area, making her blush bright red.
"Well, she did get implants," said Teana jokingly, unaware of Nanoha's current condition.
"T-Tea!"
"She did?!" Nanoha's eyes became round in amazement.
"I did not!!"
Subaru's cheeks were burning with embarrassement,
although the rest of the spectators seemed to be having a lot of fun.
"Oh..."
The brunette seemed a bit disappointed for some reason.
"Hoo...Nanoha-chan, are you that interested in our little Subaru's growth?"
Hayate and her 'crew' had finally gotten the ping pong table set up, after countless tries,
and she was now looking at her old friend with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"Yup!"
The answer came without any hesitation and more than just suprised many of the people gathered there.
Particularly Yuuno.
"N-Nanoha? W-what are you...?"
Turning to look at Yuuno, Nanoha put out her tongue and said,
"It's your fault, anyway. That I turned into a lesbian."
"Eh-?"
For a moment, the room remained silent. Then, a storm of questions struck the house.
"L-lesbian? N-Nanoha is?"
Subaru was looking blankly at her idol, dumbstruck.
"It's Yuuno's fault?"
Hayate didn't seem the slightest bit surprised, nor disturbed, by the news.
In fact, she was grinning and looking at Yuuno – waiting for the juicy revelations about to come.
"How is it my fault?!"
Yuuno looked both astounded and frustrated.
Oh, and he also took another glassful of wine – probably to help himself calm down.
"Well...I waited YEARS for you to ask me out! But in the end, you never did."
Nanoha's eyes were getting teary, although it was impossible to say whether it was because of the surfacing memories
or just a side-effect of her inebriated state – or perhaps she'd just gotten something in her eye,
which would explain why she had been sweeping it for a while.
"Wait a-! You were waiting for me to ask you out?!"
This time it was Yuuno's turn to look dumbstruck. Maybe he really had never realized? Poor guy.
"Yeah...But then I got tired of it. Why would I even want to go out with
a spineless guy who doesn't even have the guts to ask out the girl he likes?!"
By now, it was quite clear to everyone that Nanoha was drunk. And, as they realized, she was a really bad kind of a drunk.
Hayate made a mental note to herself never to let Nanoha drink alcohol again. Never.
"Nanoha? Isn't that a bit..."
Fate was obviously concerned about the change in Nanoha's behaviour.
"Well, it's true, isn't it?!"
There was a deep silence. Yuuno felt like he'd been hit right on the head by...well, something big and heavy.
What made it even harder was that, in the depths of his heart, he knew they were right.
He hadn't had the courage to ask Nanoha out, even though he had thought about it countless times.
He hadn't had the courage to take what was right in front of him and it made him feel totally useless, like trash.
A deep depression overtook Yuuno, and he crawled into a dark corner and sat down there, drowning himself in self-pity.
Yup, Yuuno was pretty drunk, too.
After that, Nanoha kept chasing after Vita and Subaru in turns for a while,
after which she suddenly decided to take a nap on top of Zafira by the fireplace.
Zafira didn't seem too pleased, but Hayate gestured him to keep still – just in case.
While Zafira was acting as Nanoha's pillow, Subaru and Teana challenged Signum and Shamal into a ping pong match.
The game was advancing fairly evenly, mostly because of Shamal('s lack of skill).
In the end, Signum still somehow managed to lead her team into victory,
much to the displeasure of Hayate who had placed her bet on the Subaru/Teana team,
while Fate had put her money on Signum/Shamal.
The last guest, Chrono, arrived slightly late (two hours) due to 'various circumstances' , as he so well put it himself.
He brought with him...well, actually he didn't bring anything with him – not even Amy, something that would later get him
into a lot of trouble.
After Chrono's arrival, the party continued on pretty much the same as before with Chrono in the corner,
trying to cheer up Yuuno without much success. In fact, after a while, Chrono started feeling depressed himself,
as if Yuuno's depression had rubbed off on him.
Then, when it was finally time to get to the table to enjoy the countless Christmas dishes - personally prepared by
Hayate and Shamal, with a little help from Signum and Vita - Nanoha somehow managed to get up.
While Chrono was still pretty much oblivious to the possible threat the brunette posed when drunk,
the rest of the mages gathered there were all but holding their breath.
With a yawn, Nanoha stretched drowsily and turned her eyes towards the people sitting at the table.
"Eh...? Did I...fall asleep?"
Hayate and the rest almost fell from their seats. Blinking, Hayate cautiously asked her,
"Nanoha...are you feeling alright?"
The still drowsy looking girl stared blankly back at her and then slowly nodded.
Hayate let out a sigh of relief. Apparently, alcohol couldn't stand Nanoha any more than she could stand it.
It was something so unbelievable you could almost call it a miracle of Christmas.
Well, be that as it may, Hayate was still very grateful for it.
After that, there were no more – considerable – interruptions. Everyone loved Hayate's and Shamal's cooking,
and even Yuuno managed to cheer up – to the point of almost getting up on the table to perform a strip dance, even.
Thankfully, Chrono managed to stop him in time, lest they all would've experienced a very, very traumatic Christmas.
After the dinner, it was time to sit down by the fireplace and chat. It had been a year, two for some,
since they had last seen each other, so there was a lot to talk about. Especially Subaru and Teana had many stories to tell,
even though they had been in continuous contact with most of the ex-Section Six members.
Sitting by the fireplace, talking about everything from cosmetics to the newest technology of the TSAB,
time seemed to take wing. When someone finally noticed, it was almost midnight, and it was pitch black outside.
"Eeehh-!? It's this late already..."
Caro had a worried look on her face, as she began to get up from the sofa.
Erio also got up, and the two thanked Hayate for the invitation and proceeded to leave,
Lutecia walking at their wake, but Nanoha stopped them.
"Say...It's already this late, and you're all still kids. Why don't you stay over?
We were also thinking of staying the night here with Fate."
The three kids turned to Fate, who nodded with a smile.
Three shining pairs of eyes turned towards Hayate.
"Would- would that be...?"
Hayate grinned at the three.
"Actually...I thought something like this might happen, so I kind of already made the arrangements – just in case, you know."
"T-then...thank you for taking care of us."
Caro and Erio bowed deep, an overly formal gesture that made the others laugh merrily.
Subaru and Teana also decided to stay over,
after Nanoha and Hayate had managed to convince Teana that it wouldn't be a bother at all.
Chrono also asked if he could stay, but was firmly rejected and told to go home to Amy.
By then, Yuuno had sobered enough not to think that he could stay over along with the girls, when Chrono could not.
As such, he didn't even try asking – a wise choice, indeed.
And so, Chrono and Yuuno left together – though not for home but another party to which Chrono had been invited to.
After those two had left, Shamal led the kids straight upstairs where they could sleep, while the rest stayed downstairs.
On Hayate's suggestion they ended up playing an intensive hour of truth-or-dare with highlights such as Signum imitating a dog (Zafira), Nanoha dressing up in a maid costume of Hayate's, Teana dancing erotically – well, it was more of a try, though – and Subaru admitting, after a long hesitation, that Nanoha had been her first love.
Eventually, Subaru and Teana also retired to bed, and soon only Nanoha, Fate and Hayate remained by the fireplace on the first floor.
"Time sure goes by fast, doesn't it?"
There was wistfullness in Hayate's voice as she sank deeper into the sofa.
"Yeah...Even Erio and Caro have grown so much."
Nanoha was staring at the dance of the flames, resting her chin on her palm.
Fate didn't say anything. There was no need for words between those three.
They knew each other's feelings almost better than their own. For a while, the room was silent,
with the wind howling outside and the fire crackling in the fireplace being the only sounds that could be heard.
The moment kept stretching, until Hayate suddenly popped up an entirely different subject.
"Hey, Nanoha-chan. Did you know you were Subaru's first love?"
The question was asked in Hayate's usual cheery voice. Even the glint of mischief so often seen in her eyes was now back.
"Eh-?"
Nanoha blushed just like she had done when she'd heard it for the first time earlier.
For some reason, Fate also blushed, although the room was too dark for the other two to notice it.
"Well?"
"N-no. I never noticed."
Hayate nodded several times, while mumbling, "I thought not, I thought not."
Then she turned to the blonde, "But it certainly was a suprise, right, Fate-chan?"
"Y-yes..."
Instead of clearing the atmosphere, Hayate had only managed to change it from bittersweet to embarrassed.
But she was not done yet – not by far.
"So, we already knew Nanoha-chan's first love was Yuuno, and now we know that Subaru's first love was Nanoha-chan..."
Turning from Nanoha to Fate, Hayate grinned as the blonde's face grew pale under her gaze.
"But...who was Fate-chan's first love? Don't you want to know, Nanoha-chan?"
Nanoha's eyes lit up and she also turned towards Fate.
"I do, I do."
There was almost child-like enthusiasm in her voice.
Hayate's grin grew a faction.
"Fate-chan..."
Being pressured from two directions, Fate shrank deeper into her armchair. Her face had been pale until a few moments ago,
but now, under the light of the fireplace, redness could be seen spreading across her face.
"A-ha! So there is someone!" Hayate exclaimed, pointing towards the blushing blonde.
Fate gasped when she realized she's just lost her only way out – saying she'd never been in love.
"C'mon, Fate-chan. You can tell us, can't you?"
Nanoha looking at the blonde with a pleading look that only furthened the spreading of the redness on the other's face.
In fact, Fate's face colour was getting awfully close to her eye colour.
"T-that's..."
"That's?"
"..."
Fate's brain was working at full speed, trying to come up with a way to get out without saying IT.
After all, there was no way she could tell them THAT. Then, like a lightning bolt from a clear sky it struck her.
"H-how about you, Hayate?"
Hayate blinked. Nanoha, whose attention had been fixed on Fate,
made a total turnaround and turned her attention to the brunette lying on the sofa.
"Me?"
"Yeah. You haven't told it, either."
Fate gave herself a mental pat on the head. This way, for sure, she wouldn't have to say THAT.
But, with calmness that was characteristic for her, Hayate put a finger on her chin as if pondering about something.
"Um, well, let's see. I guess it was...Chrono."
The fact that Hayate's first love had been no other than Chrono - and maybe even more that she'd admitted it – was so shocking,
that the other two were left speechless for a moment.
"Chrono? THAT Chrono?!"
Hayate shrugged and nodded, as if she had been asked an everyday question like if she'd eaten bread for breakfast.
"Why?"
Perhaps it was because of the shock, but Fate just went on and asked the question on her mind without even thinking
how rude it could possible be considered. Of course, it was not like any of them would be offended by straightforwardness,
but it was still unlike Fate not to considerate others' feelings first.
"Now that you ask..."
Hayate had a complex look on her face.
"...I really don't know. Maybe it was because he used to look so cool?"
Nanoha giggled, "Hey, I know what you mean! He was so much cooler back then."
Even Fate joined in on the discussion, "Yeah...It was like, he had this feel about him."
After that, the three of them spend almost an hour talking about Chrono and how he'd been cooler back when he was younger. Eventually, though, the talk turned back to its earlier tracks.
"So, Fate-chan...It's your turn now."
Hayate had a sheepish grin on her face, but the look of a predator in her eyes.
"Turn?"
Fate had already forgotten about her earlier pinch – a mistake she would soon regret.
"Yeah. About your first love, remember?"
Fate's face turned white in an instant. She considered faking fainting, but realized it wouldn't fool Hayate.
"Uh, um, that is..."
"Yeah?"
The pairs of eyes were glaring intensively at Fate, and she was starting to sweat from the nervousness.
There was no escape – nothing. It was the end of the road for her. They would find out. It was all over.
Resigning to her fate, the blonde gathered her courage to say that one name.
It was just one name...she had said it so many times before, yet now, she could not find the strength to utter it.
"Fate-chan?"
Nanoha's voice seemed a bit concerned. It was not like Fate to keep things from them, so there had to be a good reason,
she thought.
"Fate-chan. If...you can't tell us, it's okay. Really."
The blonde raised her gaze to meet Nanoha's apologetic smile. She felt both relieved and happy, yet also it somehow pained her. There it was, a way out of this, given to her by the one...No, she thought shaking her head. It wouldn't be fair if she didn't tell them. Telling herself that, she returned Nanoha's smile meekly.
"No...it's...not like that."
Breathing in deeply, Fate calmed herself. It would be alright. Nothing would change.
They would understand. They would...accept her.
"My...first love...was..."
Closing her eyes, Fate let go of all her thoughts save for one person. The image of that person filled her mind, and all of a sudden she felt so very warm. It was as if she had been enveloped by all the warmth in the world. She felt blessed, blissful.
With a soft voice she whispered the name of the person she had secretly loved ever since their meeting that day.
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Ah, after having written this, I realized that I had totally forgotten Lutecia in the middle...
I really wanted to write something about her too, but...I couldn't come up with anything good.
Anyway, thanks for reading, (and reviewing?) and...
Merry Christmas!