EternitySquared

-FOR ALAVON-

A/N: Multi-chap.

She had never been one who believed in "true love" or "destiny". She believed that what happened happened. There were no magical explainations for her spilling her soda, or forgetting her term paper at home. No one would be waiting for her at the street corner, knowing her favorite books or her entire playlist. There wasn't any magic waiting to throw her true love out in front of her on some random day.

There was no such thing as fate. She had thrown away her ideas of fate and destiny years ago, along with wishes for magic, fairies and witches.

But she found them again, because then she met Takamachi Nanoha.

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Before Fate had started college, she had actively performed her skill in music. She had been able to sing, but that had been years ago, when she was a child—after her she had come down with a throat infection, she had been lucky to escape with her voice. Now she played the piano, among other things.

Before she had learned how to play the piano, she had been an artist, someone who liked to make a paintbrush dance across a canvas, creating pictures.

---

The girl who sat next to her in art class had brown hair, reddish in the sunlight, and blue eyes. She held her paintbrush in a sort of jerky fashion.

Her art wasn't pretty at all, but it had something Fate's lacked.

Feeling.

"Today, we'll be sketching feelings," the teacher—Ms. B, her name was, a portly woman who didn't believe in anything under perfection—announced.

Fate groaned under her breath. She hated abstract.

"You may begin painting as soon as you have your supplies," Ms. B trilled.

Fate put the brush to canvas, doodling absentmindedly with blue and green tints. She suppose she'd use 'calm'.

On her left, where the brunette sat, was a mess of yellows and oranges that bled together in a mass of chaos.

The girl's mouth twisted ruefully.

"That's terrible,"

Fate looked around for the speaker, as Ms. B came to the two easels. She was looking at the other girl's painting.

The girl's blue eyes were observing the floor.

"It's not," Fate said.

Two eyes stared at her; one pair black and the other blue.

"It's not terrible. Art isn't about being good or bad. Shouldn't you know that?" Fate pressed on. "

Ms. B looked at her as if a hamster had tried to speak Latin, and then with anger at being corrected, by a fifth grader, no less. "I—you—get out! You too! Both of you!"

Fate left without hesitation, the girl dragging a little behind her.

"So…um…thanks," the girl said lamely. "I'm sorry about that…"

---

"Stop there, for a moment," a quiet voice asked.

Fate jerked out of her reverie and turned. "What?" she asked.

"Stop there," the voice repeated, and Fate turned to look at the speaker, a teenager with brown hair hidden mostly under a large cap, wearing a stylish but baggy outfit, a paintbrush in one hand. "I want to paint you,"

"You…what?"

"I said I want to paint you," the girl repeated.

"O-okay…"

"It won't cost you anything. Just stand there,"

Fate stood uneasily, leaning on the tree. "So…what's this about?"

"I just want to paint. Calm down," the paintbrush whispered across the paper, the sound of wet hairs brushing against the surface. Fate knew they left long trails of color in their wake.

"Why?"

"You're beautiful," the answer was surprising, and Fate raised her eyebrows for a moment, before remembering she should keep the same position.

Fate disagreed, but didn't correct the girl. It would probably be rude.

"I'm done," it had only been a few seconds. Fate frowned.

"Already?"

"I'm not a very good artist," the brunette admitted, handing Fate the scrap of paper.

It was a sketch, but it was like a photograph. The angle of the light was slightly off, and Fate's eyes were not quite so big, but other than that…it was perfect.

"Whoa," breathed Fate.

"Thanks. Here, it's free. I just…"

At the bottom were two hastily scribbled letters, as a signature.

N.T.

"Fate Testarossa," she introduced herself without a second thought, curious about this stranger. "And you are?"
"Nanoha Takamachi," the girl smiled, pulling off her cap, and letting her brown hair down. "I think we went to school together, a while ago,"

"Yes," Fate remembered…she had just been thinking about the art class incident. "I remember. You're an amazing artist,"

"I had a good teacher," Nanoha flashed a smile. "So, will you keep it?"
"Are you sure?"

"Of course. I'd like to paint you again, though,"

"Sure," Fate agreed quickly. "I'd like that,"

"Here. Tomorrow. Same place, same time, all right?"

Fate nodded.

---

It had been a little over a month since that incident, and now Fate's apartment was littered with pictures of herself. She had enough to cover the walls, so on one of their meetings, Fate made a request.

"Can I paint you this time?" she asked.

Nanoha looked taken aback. "Why?"

"You're beautiful," Fate teased, only half joking. "But really, can I?"

"All right, all right," Nanoha got to her feet, and Fate took her place by the easel as Nanoha leaned against the tree. "But why?"
"You're beautiful," Fate repeated with a laugh, using a pencil rather than paint today, sketching out the image of the brunette leaning on the tall tree.

"Thanks," Nanoha laughed.

"No problem,"

In a matter of minutes filled by comfortable silence, Fate handed over her work. "Do you like it?" she asked uncertainly.

Nanoha smiled. "Of course I do!" she laughed, holding it up, so she could see it better. "I look better than ever in here,"

"Thanks,"

"It's the truth," Nanoha answered, starting to pack up her supplies, the picture tucked safely under one arm. Fate waited until she was done before accompanying Nanoha out of the park. This was a tradition now. "How's college going?" she asked after a pause.

"Fine. Boring. Whatever. Classes are hard, but that's really nothing new," Fate puffed out a cloud of winter air.

"That bad?" asked Nanoha sympathetically.

"Yeah," Fate sighed. "But it's okay," she shrugged as they reached the exit. "Well then—"

Nanoha did something that surprised her.

She kissed her.

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For ALAVON: Feel better and get better. This is for you! I hope you're feeling at least a little better soon. Thank goodness you're all right! :)

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