A/N: Some scenes borrowed...
"Mama Lindy is Mama Feito's mama." The blonde picked up a picture frame from the dresser. "This mama is also Mama Feito's mama."
She turned back to Vivio, whose heterochromatic eyes were fixed on her in wonder and curiosity.
"In the Testarossa family, there's Precia-okasan and Alicia onee-san." Fate explained, picking up a second picture. "In the Harlaown family, there's Lindy-okasan, and Chrono onii-san, with everyone else."
In a bout of nostalgia, she rested her cheek on top of the little girl's head. "Precia gave life to me, and Lindy is still raising me even now."
Her one-person audience let out an unintelligible, garbled noise.
"Ah, I'm sorry. That was confusing, wasn't it?" Fate wrapped her arm around Vivio and pulled her in close.
"In other words, both are mothers to me."
The little girl perked up, finally understanding. "The same as Vivio?"
"Yep, the same." Fate smiled softly. The jubilant child was excitedly clapping her hands, "Feito-mama and Nanoha-mama! Vivio has two mommies, just like Feito-mama!"
Watching the child, something deep stirred inside of the blonde. A feeling she couldn't find to suppress anymore.
"Ne, Vivio."
"Hmm?"
Fate hesitated, unsure why she spoke up in the first place.
"Is there something bothering you, Feito-mama? Do you not want to be Vivio's mama?" The child asked forlornly, all traces of happiness disappearing.
"No, no! That's not it. I- I um, I was just wondering… Does Vivio really want me to be your mama?"
The child looked at her questioningly.
"You see, right now Nanoha is listed as your legal parent on the adoption papers, but I'm only your godmother."
"What about it?" Vivio asked. Adults can be so confusing sometimes.
"I-I want to ask your Nanoha-mama to marry me." Fate blurted out, her tinged cheeks reddening more by the second.
Vivio blinked. "Aren't you and Nanoha-mama together?"
Surprised by the line of questioning, Fate floundered.
"N-no, I mean, we are. Kind of. We've been together since we were nine, but not like that. Not like Chrono-kun and his wife Amy-san."
Vivio climbed onto Fate's lap and placed her tiny hands on flustered cheeks.
"If you want to be married like oji-Chrono and oba-Amy with Nanoha-mama, Vivio has no objections."
It was said with such firmness that Fate was overwhelmed with relief and love for the little girl.
"Yokatta!"
She picked up Vivio and spun her around. They were laughing and having fun when the aforementioned brunette returned.
"Tadaima! Ah, I see my two favourite girls are bonding."
Fate blushed to the tips of her ears (again) and Vivio giggled.
"Go get yourself ready for bed, Vivio." Fate said, putting her down and patting her bottom to get the little one moving before addressing Nanoha.
"How was your day?"
"Exhausting." Nanoha answered, stripping out of her uniform like she did every day.
"A-ah I'll go check on Vivio, maybe she can't reach the sink." Fate stuttered before quickly excusing herself.
The brunette gave it no thought as she slipped into her pajamas and fell asleep before they returned.
"Have you seen Testarossa around? I can't find her anywhere. She's been acting odd recently."
Signum approached Vita, who was in her training attire leaning against the wall to the conference room waiting for Nanoha. Vita opened one eye to address her fellow knight.
"Come to think of it, she seems to be really attentive lately."
"How do you mean?"
The metaphorical light bulb lit and Signum chuckled as personnel filed out of the room.
"Ah, now that you mention it… Testarossa has been leaving the office a lot to run personal errands. But it seems a certain Ace hasn't noticed the extra gestures yet."
"Mou, how oblivious can these two be?"
The pigtailed girl pushed off the wall to catch up to Nanoha, waving goodbye to Signum who left to look for her superior.
"Vita-chan, I just had a talk with the maintenance team about some modifications they can do to Mach Caliber and the rest of the Intelligent Devices. It's been a while since Graf Eisen's last check, right?"
"Sure, I'll hand him over to Mariel and Shari after the training session today."
Shari and Mariel were making small talk about the Riot 6 members and their devices when a miniature blonde caught Mariel's attention. Remembering her manners, Vivio turned to the ladies and bowed.
"Ohaiyo gozaimasu."
Perplexed, Mariel returned the greeting.
"Ohaiyo, Vivio," Shari smiled down at the little girl.
"Shitsureishimasu." Vivio bowed again, and took off.
Shari called after her, "Don't fall, alright?"
"Shari… Who is that?" Mariel asked, confused.
"Mama!"
The two captains turned around and beamed at the sight of the little girl.
"Vivio!" Nanoha exclaimed in surprise, which caught the attention of the rest of the team.
"It's dangerous, don't fall okay?" Fate called out, watching Vivio run towards them.
As soon as the words left her mouth, Vivio faceplanted on the grass.
"Oh no!"
Fate made a move to get to Vivio, but Nanoha stuck out her arm to stop her.
"Daijoubu. The ground is soft and she fell cleanly, she's not hurt."
Fate hesitated at the serious look on the brunette's face. "That might be true, but…"
Nanoha crouched down. "Vivio, are you okay?"
Green and red eyes filled with tears looked up at her mom, a whine at the back of her throat.
"You're not hurt right? Try your best to stand on your own."
"Mama," she whined.
"Mm. Nanoha-mama is right here for you," the brunette said, holding up her arms. "Oide."
Vivio started to cry, but Nanoha urged her on.
"Nanoha, you can't. Vivio's still small and all."
The blonde's voice was filled with concern and ran past Nanoha to help the girl stand on her feet.
"Feito-mama," Vivio sniffled.
"Kiwotsukete ne?" Fate said, picking her up.
"If Vivio got hurt, Nanoha-mama and Feito-mama would cry."
"Gomen nasai," she said in a small voice, clinging onto the collar of Fate's shirt.
"Mou," Nanoha came up behind them. "Feito-mama, you're spoiling her a bit."
Fate blushed a little but defiantly stuck her chin out.
"Nanoha-mama is just too strict."
"Vivio, try your best next time, okay?"
Meanwhile, off to the side, Shari turned to Mariel.
"She's… Something like that."
"Oh, in other words, she's their chil—"
Suddenly, it hit Mariel like a wave.
"Ah—Eh?!"
Fate winked before setting the little girl down. Nanoha put out her hand and smiled, "Come on, Vivio."
The miniature blonde beamed and took the brunette's hand before grabbing Fate's hand as well. She placed Fate's hand over Nanoha's and held them together with her own, swinging their arms.
"Feito-mama, Nanoha-mama, and Vivio! Together as a family!"
It was Fate's turn to trip. Keh! This girl is so blunt! Just like her Nanoha-mama…
"Let's go join Hayate for dinner. It's been a while since all of us ate together."
Fate smiled awkwardly, not knowing what to say in the presence of the forward members and the two vice-captains who– What's so funny?
Vita was sporting a devilish smirk, but it was Signum who spoke up.
"So is it going to be T.T Harlaown or Takamachi H. Nanoha? To be honest, I'm not familiar with Mid-Childian wedding customs…"
Vita butt in, "Whatever it is, just ask her already. You two are such an eyesore. I can't believe Nanoha hasn't picked up on the subtle cues yet."
Fate hasn't stopped sweating since.
After laying Vivio to sleep, Fate approached Nanoha who was at the dresser getting ready for bed.
"Ne, Nanoha, can I speak to you for a moment?"
"Of course, Feito-chan."
Putting down the hairbrush, the brunette turned around to face her. She tilted her head and observed the nervous blonde.
"What is it?"
Fate took a deep breath and knelt down in front of Nanoha, placing her hands on the brunette's knees to keep herself grounded.
"Feito-chan you're trembling, did something happen?"
Nanoha covered Fate's hands in her own. The blonde used this opportunity to flip her hand and interlock their fingers.
"This may sound very sudden, but I've been thinking about it for a long time now."
She looked into Nanoha's inquiring eyes and mustered up the courage.
"Watashi ha Nanoha to kekkonshitai. I-if you'll have me."
A small gasp left the brunette but Fate powered through.
"I realized that I've been in love with you for years now, but I was too afraid to admit my feelings out loud. I was fine with how things were between us, until Vivio came into your – our – lives. Seeing you with her stirred up all these dormant emotions and I couldn't hold it in any longer."
Nanoha squeezed Fate's hand, tears forming in her eyes.
"Yes."
Fate felt a sense of relief before she was flooded with panic.
"Yes?"
Nanoha let out a watery laugh.
"Yes, it's that simple. I can see aspects of a young Feito-chan in Vivio, our daughter."
Fate beamed at those words.
"There's so much about her that reminds me of you… And after that disastrous time I tried to muster up a date with you, I thought 'Ah, dame da, Nanoha, it'll never work out that way for you.'"
Suddenly Fate went rigid, the blood draining out of her pale face.
"Oh my god, what am I doing? We haven't even gone on our first date yet and here I am, proposing to you. Feito, anata no baka!"
A soft hand on her chin drew Fate's attention back to the present. She looked up to see Nanoha moving towards her before she felt a light pressure on her lips. Fate closed her eyes and reveled in the smell and taste of the woman she finally expressed her feelings for.
"Ah."
They jumped apart at the noise. Vivio rubbed at her eyes.
"Did Feito-mama ask Nanoha-mama?"
The blonde was glowing with a light flush, unsure if it was from the kiss or the question posed by her young daughter.
"I did."
"And what did Nanoha-mama say?"
"Nanoha-mama said yes," the brunette smiled in replied.
Vivio clutched her stuffed toy close to her chest and mumbled.
"Good, now Nanoha-mama and Feito-mama should come to bed with Vivio."
The two women shared a loving look before climbing into bed with their daughter snuggled up between them.
Okasan - mother
Onee-san - older sister
Onii-san - older brother
ne - usually used at the end of a sentence and indicates emphasis, agreement, request for confirmation, etc
Oji(-san) - uncle
Oba(-san) - aunt
Yokatta! - exclamation of relief, like "thank goodness!" or "what a relief!"
Tadaima - I'm home
Ohaiyo (gozaimasu) - good morning
Shitsureishimasu - excuse me
Daijoubu - it's okay
Oide - come here
Kiwotsukete ne? - be careful, okay?
Gomen nasai - I'm sorry
Mou - an interjection used to strengthen expression of an emotion, in this case, exasperation
Watashi ha Nanoha to kekkonshitai - I want to marry you, Nanoha
Dame da - no good
Feito, anata no baka! - Fate, you idiot!
A/N: I mean, there's no way i couldn't add in these precious scenes from the StrikerS anime, right?