In Loving Memory

By Team GEMINI

LOL xYuki told us of Team Anonymous... that this story would have been finished about... 2 or 3 months ago. I can now see why it had taken her so long (minus the whole melted laptop incident which was laugh out loud worthy).

Anyways, as you can see (or if you can, make sure you have the Nanoha section set to all ratings), this story comes with a rated M section... yes, we all banded together and forced xYuki to write some (really good) smut... I know I enjoyed it. orz

This story is dedicated to our lead BETA, Toumasan. Apparently this story was meant as a birthday present... but it appears to be a really late present, or a really early X-Mas prez. WWWwwWWwwWWwwww

Anyways, ENJOY!

- Usa of Team Anonymous.

Oh, I forgot xYuki has a message. :3 Nyoron~

xYuki - ... Thanks for forgetting about me. Srzly. Anyways, as of now Team GEMINI will be implementing the new writing format. This new writing format will mean that the updates will come much sooner, and in a higher quality.

Oh and this is officially 's longest Hayate x Fate story! So to commemorate this there is a lemon attached... but it's not finished! :D There's a small "clean" scene in this story, and trust me-... you'll find it.

Anyways for those of you who are reading this I would like to inform you that we are currently rewriting ALL of Sensei no Petto (the really long one) and making it longer. Usa has decided that SnP is more important than Be My Bad Girl and Learning To Live put together. :P So those two projects are on hold until we can get a firmer grasp upon SnP. :D Oh and one last thing, SnP: Don't Let Go shall be updated sometime this weekend if a beta reader is present.

That is all.

1 last thing... SHOUT TO TO SMIGGERS!! Thanks you for all the help and support. :P Oh and Yamai 4ever~

Oh and thank you to Ms. Chidori Sagara for doing the v.1 editing.

In Loving Memory

My Heart's Proclamation

My eyes shot wide open, my mind instantly alert. I sat upright, the silky bed sheets sliding off of my nude body with a silent ruffle. After quickly gaining my bearings, I stretched my arms out as far as they could and twisted my body slightly to the left and then to the right to remove all the kinks that had accumulated during last night's highly eventful sleep.

I turned to my lover's slumbering form and smiled softly at her. "Fate-chan, wake up." I cooed softly as I lay back down beside her, leaning in closely and kissing her gently on the cheek. Fate moved for a moment, but returned to her sleep almost instantly. "Fate-chan? Fate-chan? Mou, wake up!" I quietly yelled at the beautiful blonde that who simply refused to wake up.

"5 more minutes..." Fate mumbled quietly. She tucked her head under the covers with only a small patch of golden yellow poking through from beneath the covers.

With an angry huff I pulled away from her and crossed my arms beneath my chest. I started to devise a cunning plan to rouse the blonde in the quickest and most efficient way possible. Many thoughts came to mind such as: a kiss, a hug, a poke, sliding my fingers deeply in there, and of course a classical wet willy. The ideas were all great ways to wake the blonde, but they didn't have the right feel to it-... by God that's it! I, Yagami Hayate, am an absolute GE-NI-US!

"Fate-chan," I chuckled devilishly as my arms snaked around her beautiful body harmlessly, and with lighting fast reflexes I grabbed hold of my lover's breasts, squeezing them gently whilst measuring their ample size.

"Iyaa!" Fate yelped in surprise. Her burgundy red eyes shoot towards me, her lower eyelid twitching. "What the hell, Hayate!?" she screamed angrily, her eye still twitching.

With a squeeze I replied, "Waking you up, what else?" I squeezed her once more and gasped at my discovery. "They got bigger!"

"Did you have to wake me up in such a Hayate-ish manner?" Fate growled at me, her chest heaving, not from the excitement from my touch but from the surprise of being Hayate handled so early in the morning.

"Pfft, I tried to wake you up nicely, I even kissed you!" I retorted before finally letting go of Fate's soft and fluff mounds of flesh. The look on Fate's face was definitely not one that said, "I love the future Mrs. Harlaown" but instead read, "Yagami Hayate must die". I giggled at my beautiful lover and kissed her good morning. "It was this or ordering you to wake up."

"Although you don't have the authority to do so, I can still picture it." Fate said wrapping her arms around me and pulling me closer to her body. "Wake up soldier! That's an order!" she said trying to imitate my thick Kansai accent, but failing miserably.

"Eh, not exactly." I replied, relishing Fate's warm embrace. "You're navy so I'd have to say something like, "Up and at 'em seaman, you're needed at the poop deck'!" or something like that."

"Did you really have to make a semen joke so early in the morning?" Fate asked me, rather put off by my perversion. I simply nodded my head and smiled at her innocently.

"Anyways, morning comedy over Admiral, we can't keep Nanoha-chan waiting." I told the beautiful blonde as I got off of the bed, pulling away from her embrace.

I picked up the clothes that Fate and I had tossed carelessly onto the floor during last night's "raid", my eyes drifting back and forth from Fate's lacy black bra and panties and over to the sexy naked owner of the said aforementioned lacy black bra and panties. I took very careful note of how often Fate sighed, the way her shoulders slumped together, the stands of hair she twisted around between her index finger and thumb, and lastly the lonely frown on her face.

After I picked up all the clothes and put them at the foot of the bed, I crawled back under the covers and made my way towards Fate and sat in between her legs, my hands cupping her face, grabbing her attention with mild surprise.

"Hayate?"

"It'll be fine Sweetie, you'll see." I told her in a soft, calm voice and a tender smile. "It will be okay. You wanna know why?" I asked her, tapping her on the nose playfully.

"Why?"

"Because I'll be beside you, holding your hand the whole time."

Fate nodded her head, her fingers coiling around the blanket and brought it up to my shoulders. She leaned in and kissed me on the lips, an action that always made my heart skip a beat. "I love you." she whispered quietly.

"I love you too." I replied kissing her back.

That one kiss lead to another innocent kiss, then that innocent kiss lead to us grabbing hold of each other tightly, then that lead us to a deeper, more passionate and less innocent kiss, and well after that it led to us making love for the second time this morning.

'Thank you Nanoha-chan, you've train trained her well.' I thought to myself blissfully.

It was now about 9:30am, two hours before we headed off to meet with Nanoha back on our home world, Earth. Fate and I sat beside each other on the living room couch with a warm mug of coffee in our grasps. The beautiful blonde beside me was reading the daily paper diligently, her glasses making her look far more sophisticated even though she was just reading the funny pages.

"Anything funny?" I asked her taking small sips of my sweetened coffee. Fate nodded her head, eyes not leaving the page for a second. "Care to share?"

"I'm reading Chrono's small comic strip about the ferret changeling." Fate replied coldly, her lips curling into a scowl. "This week's strip is about the ferret getting flattened by a certain bright yellow road roller."

"Oh, that's mean!" I shouted as I playfully punched Fate's arm, but the glare I got back in return frightened me.

The other woman's face soured as she looked at me, "He kissed you. Of course I'm going to be mean. Plus, who's sister do you do think I am, hm? Answer that with a straight faced General, and I shall commend you greatly."

"Uh-... true." I replied meekly as I tried my best to control the laugh that was trying to fight its way out to freedom. I took my mug in both hands and brought my legs up from the floor and onto the couch after I realized how chilly the hard wood floors were. I stared into the cup of black liquid and frowned. "How long are you going to be mad at him?" I asked Fate timidly, gazing into my own reflection with a dull expression.

"Until he stops going after my women." Fate dead panned. I couldn't disagree with her there. Yuuno has been in the middle of almost all of Fate's relationships...

Fate's anger wasn't all that misplaced, she had the right to be mad at least in my opinion. When Fate was 19 almost 20, Tiana Lanstar had confessed her feelings for her and Fate accepted them. They started dating and things looked great, but Yuuno took a sudden and surprising interest in Tiana which made things rather awkward, so Fate and Tiana broke up. Next up to bat was Carim, although this time around, Yuuno wasn't too interested in her so he decided to stay out of this one, sort of. I think he said it was because she was an older woman. Eh, I don't know, I really wasn't too involved with the drama. But Fate and Carim broke up because of inconsolable differences-... that and Nanoha could no longer watch Fate being with any other woman but her. So much drama revolved around them for the longest time after they decided to call it official, it was so troublesome. Yuuno never really gave up on Nanoha; he actually went to the extremes when it came to her. On the day of Fate and Nanoha's wedding, he came running through the church doors and begged for Nanoha to run away with him. It was pathetic to watch him get dragged away by an angry Chrono alongside Amy. The way he screamed out begging for Nanoha to leave Fate and be with him, the way Fate demanded that Yuuno stay away from her bride, and all the entire ruckus that occurred after that. This included kicking and screaming on Yuuno's side. It was a stunning wedding, really. However a certain rodent still made its way through and ruined the mood completely-... even after he was removed by the guards.

"I really wonder what would happen if I dated a man. Would the ferret take interest in him?" Fate asked me seriously, her perfectly shaped eyebrow quirked as she waited for my response.

"I-I wonder-... that as well." I quietly replied, taking a sip of my coffee.

Fate folded the paper and placed it on the coffee table, her arm wrapping around my shoulders soon after. I snuggled in closer to her with my head resting on her shoulder. Fate held me tightly and it felt nice, really nice. It was this moment right here that made me feel happy to have waited for my turn with Fate.

With the funny pages read and our morning coffee finished, Fate and I waited for the sound of an alarm clock to blare.

"Think they'll be excited?" I asked Fate tentatively.

"Of course, they haven't seen her in about a year." Fate replied a small glint in her eyes as we spoke about her former lover.

I hummed and snuggled in close to her. "How about you, are you excited?" I asked her, just a tad bit afraid of her answer.

"I-... really don't know. Forget the alarm clock, I'll wake them myself." Fate told me briskly before kissing me on my right temple and standing up. I watched Fate walk away from me and return to her broken family.

No sooner did Fate disappear into the hallway, the sound of small feet padding away on the hardwood floors begin to sound. Giggling voices followed suit and soon enough two small blonde haired children made their way towards me, shades of burgundy and aquamarine stared up at me with youthful eager bubbling within.

"We're gonna go see Mama today? Are we? Are we?" the two girls asked me eagerly, jumping up and down happily.

"Yup!" I exclaimed pretending to be just as eager as they.

"Kokoro, Kiseki, you two better get washed up okay? Your Aunt Hayate and I will fix you two something to eat." Fate ordered her daughters gruffly. The two girls ran up to her and saluted her like soldiers before running away, giggling at their mother's flustered state.

I sighed and winced at the sudden stinging in my heart, but I decided to ignore it for now. I stood up from the comfortable couch and strutted over to the beautiful blonde and held onto her hand. She looked down at me and smiled apologetically, she knew what she said had hurt me, I'm glad she knew that at least-... but she just didn't know how much it hurt.

"You'll have to tell them eventually..." I muttered a little colder then I had hoped.

Fate flinched and quickly relaxed herself. "It's still to soon for them to understand-... give me a bit more time. Please, Hayate?"

"I've waited this for so long; I'm not going to lose my chance just because I can't wait any longer." I replied, still holding onto her hand as I used my free hand to grasp hold of her shoulder when I went up onto my tip toes and kissed her on the lips. "I love you too much to ever let you go, at least note, ever again." I whispered quietly after I broke the kiss.

"Thank you..."

Fate and I headed into the kitchen together and began to prepare a quick breakfast. I was frying up some eggs and bacon as Fate set the table for her two little girls and filled their glasses with cold orange juice from the refrigerator. The oil in the pan crackled as the heat increased, the eggs going from the clear runny liquid with its yolk still settling, to a solid white with a shiny yellow yolk in the middle. I sprinkled a little bit of salt on the eggs to give them a little flavor.

I stood before the stove humming silently, shifting the eggs every now and then. Fate leaned on the kitchen counter and watched me, the toaster not too far away with bread heating up inside. We looked at each other with a soft and tender stare; there was a small twinge of awkwardness between us at times of silence. You see, we are at that part of the relationship where one of us should propose already but...

Kokoro and Kiseki trotted into the room fully refreshed from their night's rest. Fate chuckled at her daughters and walked up to them, giving them both a super tight bear hug before picking them up one by one and properly seating them in their respective chairs. The two girls giggled happily as Fate placed a good morning kiss on their cheeks and giving them yet another firm hug.

I served the two girls their eggs with bacon, and their now buttered up toast and watched them eat it heartily. I frowned at how the two looked strikingly like Fate, save for Kokoro's blue eyes from which she had received from her other mother.

Watching the two girls eat their breakfast was entertaining. Never in my life did I ever see myself preparing breakfast for children, but yet here I am, doing just that. I felt like an actual mother when I watched Fate's children eat their food.

I quickly took my seat beside Fate and we all began to talk about some insignificant things such as grades, what some boy said to Kiseki the other day, then how Kokoro came to her rescue, and then about some other things I could really care less about. Not that I didn't care-care, I just-... y'know, acted like the super cool Aunt that all the kids dream about having. Yep, I was super Auntie-... God damn it all.

After breakfast the four of us returned to our rooms and began to change from our night clothes and into our formal wear. I chose to wear a simple but elegant black one piece dress that came just above my knees with matching high heeled shoes. The dress fit my curves nicely and supplied much emphasis to my admirable bust, but these heels are a whole other matter. They were definitely going to kill me by the end of the day.

I stared into the mirror and glowered at my hair. It was now considerably longer then it was during my younger days. Before it never went passed the top of my shoulders, but now it was down to my lower back, kind of like how-... Nanoha used to have her hair, minus the sideways ponytail.

A sinking feeling welled at the pit of my stomach as I began to see the resemblances I was starting to acquire from Fate's former lover. With my eyes set downcast and a lone hand on my abdomen, I turned my head towards my dashing counter part and found that she was already dressed.

Fate wore a crisp black suit with a plain black tie around her neck. Nanoha had always loved it when Fate cross-dressed for her sake. She said it wasn't because it made her feel a little more normal, she knew fully well she was with another woman. She was married to Fate T. Harlaown of all people! Nanoha just loved how Fate looked like a prince when ever she wore things like a tuxedo with a nice little red rose tucked in her breast pocket. Fate knew this, so she did what Nanoha would probably want. Fate always did what Nanoha wanted, no questions asked.

"Looking good, Fate-chan." I complimented the blonde. Fate blushed cutely before nodding her head meekly and returned to tying her shoes laces.

Fate stopped her tying and looked up at me and smiled taking her time as she replied, "You look really beautiful, Hayate."

I was surprised she didn't call me Nanoha just now.

We were in the car now, driving to the meeting place we all agreed to go to for the teleport back to Earth. Fate had upgraded her sports car to a sporty, speed demon, family sedan. Fate hadn't hesitated in purchasing the car when she laid eyes upon it. For one it was faster then her old car, took up less fuel, and was by far, way cheaper. Second, Nanoha was pregnant with Kokoro and Kiseki at the time of purchase and Fate felt that her old car was-... unfit for her family. At least that was what she told me. In truth her old car just didn't have the space to accommodate her family of six.

Family of six-... that left a sickening taste in my mouth. After everything that had happened between Fate, Vivio and myself, Vivio had decided that she would rather be out on her own and joined the military shortly after that. We haven't heard a word from her since she left us to live her own life. Fate acts like it doesn't bother her, but deep down inside, Fate is constantly worrying about what her eldest daughter is doing. Is she safe? Is she eating well? Is she living the life she wants to? These are the questions that must be running through her head.

At the moment, we were driving passed the speed limit, but I felt completely safe. No one else was on the road and the local police had given Fate special permission regarding her need for speed style of driving. As long as the roads were partially clear, Fate could go passed the speed limit by just a little.

The drive itself was a quick one, about 30minutes from start to finish. Fate parked the car and waited for everyone to exit before she locked her 'daddy mobile' up. After setting foot on solid ground, Kokoro and Kiseki quickly ran passed us and headed straight towards their Uncle Chrono, Auntie Amy, and their twin children. We caught up eventually, but the children were all to busy frolicking with each other to be stopped.

"Good to see you, Onii-chan." Fate greeted Chrono with a playful smile, she ignoring Chrono's flustered face and complaints and she turned to Amy instead. "Hope we didn't make you wait long."

"Na, we just got here a while ago. Tiana, along with Subaru, are bringing both Caro and Elio. The four are on their way as we speak." Chrono informed us, his face still dyed a light crimson. "As for the knights?" he asked with his arms crossed.

"Oh, they'll be here shortly. They had a bit of car trouble so yea. I don't think Zafira will join us though." I replied with a thoughtful shrug.

The four of us stood around and talked, Fate constantly watching where her children were. I told her to lighten up a bit and let the kids play, but Fate just kind of shrugged it off and continued to watch. Tiana, Subaru, Caro, Elio and my knights arrived shortly with an unexpected guest following behind them.

"What are you doing here, Ferret?" Fate growled angrily. Chrono held Fate back with a firm hand on her left shoulder. She jerked s her shoulder to be set free, but Chrono's hold on her was too strong.

Yuuno held up his hands and replied, "I'm here to see Nanoha just like everyone else. I have as much right to see her as you, or the next person."

The silence was poignant and I felt a bit uncomfortable having Yuuno in front of me. Fate looked at me through the corner of her eye, my eyes pleading for her not to start a scene. Lucky for me she complied to my silent request.

"Fine. Just stay away from Hayate." Fate said in a cold tone of voice, her arm wrapping around my shoulders possessively forcing us to move away from the blonde haired man. I shot him an apologetic look, but he just sighed and frowned.

"Look, Fate-... I'm really sorry okay?" Yuuno apologized as he foolishly chased after us. "I know I stepped on a patch of grass I shouldn't have, but you seriously have to let it go. It's in the past okay? I apologized already."

Fate shot a menacing glare at Yuuno and looked away from him, his image making her sick to her stomach. "Come on, since everyone is here. Kokoro, Kiseki we're going."

The two children heard their father's call and ran towards us with Chrono's all grown up children behind them.

The warp to Earth had been faster then we expected and we touched ground with Earth. I quickly ran out and took a deep inhale of the fresh air. I had missed my home world a great deal, but it still couldn't beat breathing in Fate's scent after we've made love, or just taking in her scent in general.

A very familiar family was in the area with us, it took me merely a second to see that it was Nanoha's family along side Arisa and Suzuka. As a group we all headed towards each other, an obvious longing in the air around us.

"Fate-chan, it's been a while!" Nanoha's mother exclaimed as she threw her arms around Fate's neck. Fate returned the hug and allowed Momoko to give her grandchildren a warm welcome.

Shiro walked up to Fate and slapped her on the back causing Fate to stumble a little. The two shared a hearty laugh, but Shiro eventually turned to his youngest daughter's offspring. I watched the proud grandparents pick up their kin and hold them tightly. I didn't know how they felt, but I could guess it was a regretful longing. Holding Kokoro and Kiseki must have felt like they were holding a living, breathing piece of their little girl Nanoha.

Arisa and Suzuka were talking to Fate now and judging by Fate's blush they were discussing about her sex life, er-... well ours. I walked over to them and greeted my childhood friends, asking them how they were and such. As we spoke, I noticed Fate's eyes were turned to her children. Shiro and Momoko monopolized them, allowing Kyouya and Miyuki to talk with them only.

I sighed and moved closer to Fate, our hands touching briefly. I shifted my attention from the conversation I was having with my friends over to Caro and Elio. The two seemed a little uncomfortable standing where they were. They didn't know how to approach Nanoha's parents or friends, they felt awkward to be around all of the high ranked officers, and frankly I believed that they simply just felt out of place here.

Walking over to the two young adults, I smiled at them fondly. "Caro-chan, Elio-kun, everyone here is off duty okay? We're all just regular people here to visit a loved one, don't feel so shy." I told them with a grin. "Just have fun!"

"B-But-... um, it's just..." Caro stuttered around, her eyes shifting back and forth from confusion. Elio laughed at his friend and patted her on the head. "Ehh!"

"You two seem really up tight." I heard Tiana say (speaking up) from behind me. Subaru was behind her with that same old grin. "If you guys were lonely, you should've just said something. Honestly, kids these days." she said with a playful sigh.

"Ah, sorry about that." the two say with a bow.

"Saa, we should start moving out? Nanoha-chan's still waiting for us." I say with a clap of my hands. The people around me nodded their heads and I rushed back to Fate's side.

It was a nice spring day today. The flowers were in bloom, birds chirping, and a gentle fragrant breeze billowed every now and then. Even though the world around us was so lively, we were all dead silent. Fate's young children were nestled quietly in their grandparent's arms, safe, just how Fate wanted them to be.

We were all quite the contrast here in the lush green park of stones, flowers, and angels. We all wore black and white; the only color was that of the red corsage (see way above) Nanoha had always loved to see on Fate.

A cool breeze whizzed passed us and I shivered slightly. The dress I wore was pretty, but it wasn't all that warm. 'I knew I should have worn a sweater or something to at least keep my shoulders covered.' I berated myself angrily, worried about the weather and its effect on my body. I was startled to feel something placed securely onto my shoulders.

"Are you cold, Hayate?" Fate asked me with concern in her eyes. She had taken off her jacket and placed it onto my shoulders, her body heat still lingering in the clothes. I nodded my head meekly and snuggled closer to her, but I moved away soon after. Nanoha's parents were around and-... "Hayate?" Fate said her eye brow quirked. She wrapped her arm around me once again, her hold on me so tight that I couldn't go anywhere. "Don't leave me..." she whispered into my ear so quietly I could barely hear her. So now in the large green park of stones, flowers, and angels Fate and I walked side by side hurdling from the cold breeze that greeted us.

Everyone was still so silent and our reasons for this were simple. We all searched for that one stone that held her name. It took us about 5 minutes of wandering around in the well taken care of cemetery, but we finally found her grave nestled in nicely away from the other graves surrounded by rose bushes.

"You know, I'm still surprised they gave her such a large area." I muttered absently.

"Well, if you've got the money for it," Fate chuckled. "Anything is possible."

I knew the reason why Nanoha had such a lovely grave here on Earth was because Fate paid for everything. Even in death Fate treated her wife like a princess, and it could be clearly seen as she carefully traced the outlines of Nanoha's name. Nanoha T. Harlaown. I saw a new spark of life jump into Fate's eyes as her fingers caressed the cold stone. I couldn't do anything but stand there and admire the love Fate had for Nanoha, it was enough to make my own feelings feel inadequate. In fact, they were and always will-... at least that's what I thought and strongly believed.

"Are you going to be okay, General?" Tiana asked me tentatively, as if she was scared to address me in informal speech.

I jumped up in surprise when Tiana's hand met touch with my shoulder. I turned to the taller girl and smiled at her, "Shouldn't I be asking you the same?"

"Eh?"

"You know, I know you still like her." I answered with a feline like smile, my elbow nudging her side playfully.

"Eh?" Tiana blurted out once more before laughing it off. "The Admiral and I have settled things for the better a long time ago. Yes, I still have feelings for her, but they aren't of love like before. It's admiration."

"Ah," I sighed and turned my head to Yuuno who was standing the farthest away from everyone else. "I can't say the same for him, nor I or myself."

"Understandable." she replied. "You know, Mr. Yuuno's been really down. He's been trying to honestly apologize, but the Admiral just won't have any of it."

"I guess, I mean-... I can't really tell Fate-chan, "Forgive him already! He's just jealous you're a ladies man!" or something like that. Fate-chan's really quite the jealous type. Well you should know that by now." I told Tiana with a soft laugh, my right hand holding onto Fate's jacket tightly. Tiana sighed heavily and shook her head with a lopsided smile. "He's meddled in all of Fate-chan's relationships, save for Carim-chan because she was 'old' so to speak."

Tiana stood up straight and coughed into her closed fist. "That's my fiancée you are calling old, General." Tiana growled playfully with one eye closed and a proud smirk on her face.

"Whoa! Seriously? Wow, congratulations." I said with honest surprise. "So why isn't Carim-chan with you?"

"Because unlike me, she isn't completely over the Admiral. Although she loves me, there's always that one tiny small piece of her that envies the Admiral's love for highly esteemed General Nanoha T. Harlaown." the redhead replied with a sad smile and sigh. I shot her an apologetic look and looked at my lover longingly. "But we're happy, that's all that counts."

I didn't know how to reply to that.

I continued to speak with Tiana about some little things, but what caught my eye was when Vita walked up to Fate and knelt down beside her. The small knight stared at the tombstone with a dull stare; she was trying her best to fight back the tears she sheds within. Fate noticed this and wrapped her arm around the small knight and brought her closer to her body.

"Cry, it's okay."

"Then why aren't you crying?"

"Because I've ran out of tears to cry." Fate mumbled. "So will you cry for me?"

Vita's eyes began to water and tears began to form, and soon the small redheaded knight was weeping heavily into the ground, her fist driving itself into the ground as she pounded into it. Shamal ran to the knight's side and held her as she cried; Signum just kind of stood there and watched them, guarding them as she mourned for her fallen comrade.

Caro was already beginning to tear up, Elio as well. Subaru had a few sniffles here and there, but she stood tall beside Tiana who had steeled herself away from the scene. Momoko was crying into her husband's chest profusely, Shiro holding onto her tightly as he fought back his own tears.

I took this time to walk over to the Librarian of the Infinite Library and finally settle things. "Yuuno-kun?" I said in a hushed whisper. The blonde haired man jumped up in surprise as I neared him. He looked around to see where Fate was and tried to back away from me, scared. I reached out and grabbed onto his hand before he ran away to some other part of the cemetery. "Yuuno-kun, wait!"

"Hayate, please let go of me. If Fate sees you anywhere near me she'll lose it." he said with a frightened tone of voice.

"Fate-chan is only trying to act tough, Yuuno-kun. She was just upset you made a move on me." Yuuno kept squirming under my grasp. "She isn't going to go and Starlight break your tail for being around me." I explained, however Yuuno was still frightened. "You did something wrong in the past, you can't blame her for the way she's treating you now, now can you?"

"No, I suppose not-... it was my fault, but I said I was sorry!" he exclaimed, distraught was the only emotion you could describe Yuuno Scrya at this moment. "Hayate, I don't want to lose her." he added quietly, tears trailing down his cheeks.

I was momentarily taken back by his words. "What?"

"I'm in love with, Fate. Not Nanoha, not you, and surely not anyone else." he confessed quietly. His shoulders slumped as he heaved, tears still spilling down his face. "I love her."

Only two words came to my mind and those two were, "holy" and, "shit".

"Would it be okay to tell you how weird-ed out I am by this?" I asked him with a visible shiver. The boy shook his head and wiped his face with his forearm. "Okay, because that seriously freaked me out!"

"Hehe, surprising huh?" he asked me with a quirky smile.

"For how long?"

"From the very start." he answered. "I had my chance with Nanoha back then, actually I had my chance with many women, but Fate was the only one that truly caught my eye. I truly did, and honestly still do love her. She intrigued me far more than any other woman, and that's something I haven't been able to achieve with anyone else."

"O-... kay?"

"I'm sorry I kissed you Hayate. I thought that if I pretended to show interest in you, Fate would leave you like she did the others. Then I foolishly thought that I could proclaim my undying love for her and then by some strange miracle, she'd accept it." he said with a guilty look on his face. "I was wrong. Fate loves you, albeit not in the way she loved Nanoha, but she truly does love you in another special way-... uh, that came out wrong. What I mean to say was-"

"Stop. I know what you're trying to say, but sometimes I really do wonder about that." I mumbled as I begin to think back on my relationship with Fate. "On some days Fate treats me like her whole world, her one and only, and on some other days, I'm just the girl that's keeping Nanoha-chan's spot warm until she comes back. And in all, I think I'm just fooling myself in the end."

"No, I can see it. She really does care about you. The way she looks at you with so much longing, her actions, and her protectiveness..."

"The eyes are as good as the mouth. In other words, love needs no words." I muttered with a tranquil tone of voice. Yuuno opened his mouth but decided against saying anything and just nodded his head in agreement, however I couldn't disagree more. "Could be because I kind of look like Nanoha-chan now. I mean, I grew out my hair for some stupid reason. I might as well slap on a side ways ponytail, and change my name while I'm at it. Maybe start laughing like her as well. Nyahaha." I chuckled cynically. I grabbed hold of a lock of hair and tugged at it. "I hate having my hair so long; it's kind of annoying how it gets in my eyes."

"Ahaha, I hear ya' loud and clear." Yuuno chuckled lightly. There was a small measure of acceptance between the both of us, but the fact he confessed his love for my girlfriend-... still freaked me out.

I looked at Fate who was now smiling as she held her kids and talked about the mother that they never really knew. Vita and my knights stood around her listening carefully, Tiana, Subaru, and everyone else crowded around the devoted blonde laughing at some funny story Fate told them about Nanoha. I swelled with joy and relief as I watched Fate handle the kids, I felt safe with this knowledge. I knew I made the right choice when I chose her.

After watching Fate interact with Kokoro and Kiseki, I decided that I might as well let Yuuno in on a little secret. "Ne, Yuuno-kun, can you keep a secret?" I asked the bespectacled man. He nodded his head and moved closer to me as I whispered into his ear. I giggled at how wide his eyes were right now. "Remember, keep this a secret."

"Wow, I can keep the secret, but I don't know how long you can." he laughed as he scratched his head. "Congratulations, Hayate."

"Thank you." I replied. Placing a finger onto my lips and flashing Yuuno my signature smile, "Remember, hush-hush."

"My lips are sealed."

We stayed at Nanoha's grave for a few hours more, sharing laughs, tears, and shoulders to cry on. We all missed the brave soldier, but even though we couldn't hear her voice, see her face, or feel her touch, we could feel her presence around us, quietly watching over and constantly protecting us.

Fate watched silently as her twin girls slept peacefully over the patch of grass over their mother's grave. The two young children yearned for their mother's touch, even though they had barely known her. I wanted to take that longing and replace Nanoha for even a split second just to ease the loneliness they felt. I chuckled at Fate who sat beside her girls, watching them like a hawk to at its unsuspecting prey.

"So, how's Daddy holding up?" I asked her teasingly.

Fate blushed and replied, "Tired."

"Oh?"

"Yes, oh. We totally forgot to have breakfast this morning, so now I'm completely starved." Fate laughed with a cute blush on her face.

With a stretch, Fate stood up and walked over to me. She wrapped her arms around me and kissed me gently on the lips, I returned the kiss briefly before a hot blush shot through my face when I hard some cat calls from the guests around us. Fate chuckled, but she didn't remove herself from me. I punched her arm softly and kissed her once again, I'm sure Nanoha wouldn't mind that I was making moves on her girl in front of her. Although, somewhere in the depths of my mind, I prayed to any God that a Starlight Breaker wouldn't break through the heavens and crash down onto Earth where I stood.

Nanoha's family left first saying that they enjoyed the time they spent with us, but this was a time where parents and siblings weren't supposed to be. We tried to protest, but they insisted on leaving us be with our dearly departed friend. Although now that I think of it, they never really questioned Fate and I about our relationship. I guess they knew?

"Wow, it's getting kind of late." Arisa said, standing beside Suzuka faithfully. "How about we head back to our mansion and have something to eat? I remember Super-daddy over there complaining she was hungry."

Fate let out an exaggerated sigh a leaned onto me for support. "Go on without me..."

"Okay." I muttered heartlessly and walking forward, only looking back when I heard Fate plummet to the ground. "Hyahaha, pwned."

"That was cruel and unjust." Yuuno picked up. He trotted over to Fate and helped the taller girl up, and when he had Fate back to her feet she threw him into an extremely tight head lock. "I can't breathe! I can't breathe!"

"Don't think I didn't see you with Hayate earlier today." she growled, her hold on Yuuno getting tighter with each passing second. "Didn't I warn you about that, ferret changeling?" she added playfully.

"Uncle! Grandma! Hobo on the street!" Yuuno cried out, playing along with Fate.

Eventually Fate got bored with choking Yuuno and let go of him completely. "There, I've carried out your revenge Nanoha." the blonde haired woman said as she saluted her wife's tombstone. "This was pay back for watching her change in her room, while you were in your ferret form."

"B-But..."

"Look, I'll forgive you for kissing Hayate only on one condition." Fate said calmly.

"Okay?"

Fate walked up to Yuuno really close, her chest pressed against his and her lips near his ear. She placed her hands on his shoulders and held onto him tightly, making Yuuno wince in pain. "If I see you making moves on my woman again, I'll rip your balls off. Got it?" Fate sexily whispered into his ear. Yuuno nodded his head rapidly and promised Fate he wouldn't touch me ever again.

"Saa, I'll call up the mansion staff and tell them to prepare a feast!" Arisa shouted happily with her cellphone pressed next to her ear.

We all made it to Arisa and Suzuka's mansion via a fancy limousine. I watched happily as Fate carried Kokoro upon her shoulders and Kiseki in her arms, she looked like one of those extremely gorgeous fathers that make mothers wish they had snagged her first. I wondered if Fate carried the children instead of Nanoha, would she be the one here carrying them like that? Hm, would Fate act this way with our child? Only time will tell.

We sat around the large spacious table laughing about the good ol' days when we were in high school. I made quite the bold statement when I told the story about how Fate had accidentally seduced a teacher. We all burst out into laughter when Fate and Caro clamped their hands over Kokoro's and Kiseki's ears.

"Hayate, there are children here!" Fate cried out in embarrassment.

"Oh, oh! Did I ever tell you about this one time in the girl's changing room, one girl left her panties on the floor, Nanoha-chan not knowing the better slipped on them and planted her face into Fate-chan's large, fluffy boobies?" I chirped as I made the breasts groping hand gesture. I heard Fate squeal in agony when I continued the story. "That was the most erotic scene to ever take place in the changing room. I swear to God. The way Nanoha-chan and Fate-chan fell to the ground, it was hawt." I gave everyone the thumbs up and grinned

"Hayate!" Fate yelped before slamming her head onto the table after she finally gave up on deterring me from sharing embarrassing stories. The plates and eating utensils clanked as Fate's forehead met with the fine table cloth. "I wanted to forget those moments ever happened..."

"Hmph, seducing a teacher eh?" Signum smirked. "Have you always been such a female magnet Testarossa?"

"Sadly, yes."

"I say it brings charm to the Admiral." Tiana chipped in, still defending her ex-girlfriend.

"Aw, Tia's still got the hots for the Ad-mi-ra-l!" Subaru and I said at the same time, our lips forming a sly grin as the redhead blushed.

A man wearing a chef's hat walked in with a prideful stride in his step. "My ladies and their guests, forgive me for the long wait, but the feast you have requested for is complete!" he exclaimed proudly as he clapped his hands together to usher the staff to bring in the dishes. We all marveled at the vast feast in awe.

The chef gave a very detailed description of the dishes he had prepared for us. The aroma of the food was simply tantalizing; however just imagining it made me sick to my stomach.

"Please, enjoy." he said before taking a final bow.

Suzuka waited for her staff and chef to leave before saying, "Okay, let's dig in!"

"You are spending way to much time with Arisa… did you know that, Suzuka?" Fate mumbled with a frown.

"Why of course! You tend to take on your partner's attitude eventually." the dark haired girl replied, giving Arisa's hand a gentle squeeze.

"I hear ya'. I'm still waiting for the day Fate-chan loses her marbles, loads a cartridge and goes 'STARLIGHT BREAKER'!!" I shouted mimicking Nanoha's famous technique. "And then amongst all of the death and destruction we'd all hear Bardiche saying, 'Copyrighted by Nanoha T. Harlaown-... sir'."

We all howled in laughter after Bardiche spoke up, repeating exactly what I had said.

After the giggles faded away we all began to eat, well I held back some what. The food was good, really good, but I just didn't have the stomach for it. I kept picking at my food and everyone noticed it, but they had the decency to ignore it. I was thankful of this kind act, but I knew I was worrying my lover.

"Hayate, are you alright?" she whispered into my ear, leaning in as close as she could, her breath tickling my skin.

"Yea, I'm fine. Sorry for worrying you Fate-chan." I replied with my fingertips caressing her cheek.

"You should eat something. You haven't eaten all day." she murmured quietly, her burgundy eyes filling with worry.

With a sigh, I looked to Shamal for help, but she refused to. "Leave me out of this one. You're the one that chose to date her. You should have known that Nanoha-san hot wired Fate-san to worry 24/7 and for no apparent reason." was what Shamal had said.

"Aha, she got you good!" I heard Amy laughing out. Chrono noticed his wife's behavior and gave her cheek a swift pinch. "Owwie!"

"That's what you get for being disrespectful. Isn't that right, Ferret?" Chrono said, bringing a piece of food into his mouth. Yuuno rolled his eyes and continued to eat.

I sighed once again and poked at the roasted chicken breast before me and quietly blanched. I used my chopsticks to pick and prod, taking in little titbits of food. I began to felt guilty; I was making everyone feel worried and ruining such a fine dinner for them.

"Is Auntie Hayate not feeling well?" I hear Kokoro ask me, she was using her best manners today. I turn to the small child and shook my head. "You sure?" she asked me with her cute little brows furrowed together.

"Yes, I'm sure..." I replied firmly. 'I think...'

I felt guilty for making the child worried about me so I took a bite of salad, then some of the chicken, and then I asked for which direction the bathroom was in. Arisa pointed in the direction and told me the room, so I stood up promptly and walked away as slowly as I could before making a break for it when I was out of sight.

With my head over the sink, the cold water running on high to drown out the noise, I heard the door creak open. I spat out the contents in my mouth and turned my head only to meet the worried gaze of Suzuka and Yuuno.

"Sorry..."

"Hayate-chan, are you okay?" Suzuka asked me as she made her way towards me, her left hand on my shoulder, and her right hand rubbed my back in soothing circles.

"I'll be fine; I think I'm still a bit uneasy from the warp." I lied, and they knew it.

We walked back to the table, everyone tried to act like nothing happened. Tiana was shoving a bread roll down Subaru's mouth aggressively; Arisa was trying to teach Kokoro and Kiseki how to use chopsticks while trying to re-teach my lover how to use them at the same time. Chrono was blushing as Amy tried to feed him some steak, the proud man opening his mouth to gratefully accept the food from his wife's fork. Signum ate quietly; Vita was poking at her vegetables, and Shamal forcing was Vita to eat the said vegetables. Elio and Caro were talking about some environmental project that they were briefed on a few days ago, while Chrono and Amy's kids listened intently.

The entire dinner felt fake. Everyone tried their best to ignore the fact I ran to the bathroom to up my chuck. If Nanoha was here, she'd probably do something embarrassing to Fate and everything would be normal again-... but I'm not her and I never will be like her. Ever.

Dinner was had and I was thankful (for it to be over that is). Fate seemed to be more protective over me since my little bathroom trip, but I liked it. I felt protected, I felt like she was looking only at me.

"Thanks for coming over guys." Arisa said with a bright grin.

"See you all again on her birthday?" Suzuka added with a hopeful gleam in her eyes.

"Of course." Fate replied, a small twinge of insecurity lacing her words.

Yes, there should be insecurity in her words. We lead dangerous lives, we'll never know if we'll see the light of day after agreeing on a mission, well-... I think I over exaggerated a bit, but the chances of us-... well, I don't want to think about it.

Suzuka had asked her driver to drive us back to a place close to where we landed on Earth. Fate was silent during the car ride, her eyes drowning in inner turmoil. I hated it when she looked like this; it tore my heart out thinking that my Fate was in any sort of pain. It hurt even more knowing I had caused her this pain.

The ride didn't take as long as I thought it would have been, we got to our destination within 20 to 30 minutes and we were home about an hour or so afterward.

Getting bored of sitting in the bedroom waiting for Fate, I decided to take matters into my own hands and hunt down my girlfriend. Finding her was as easy as finding a lit light bulb in a dark room. Fate stood around her home office rustling through some miscellaneous papers. The blond's hair looking frazzled as she dug around her messy work space. I was in nothing but my extra large silk button up shirt which I wore for bedtime and my panties. There wasn't any need for me to be discreet with my body or my clothes now that Fate's children were tucked away in their beds, fast asleep.

"Fate-chan?"

Fate's head shot around and she looked up at me in surprise, a small blush on her face as she saw what I wore, well what I didn't wear to be exact. Pushing her thoughts aside, she hurriedly got up from her chair and threw her arms around me. I was surprised at the sheer strength of Fate's suffocating embrace, but I melted into it as Fate's tantalizing scent reached my nose.

"Fate-chan?"

"Ha-Hayate, I-I-..." Fate sputtered about. "I was so scared..."

"Why?" I asked her quietly, my hand running through her silky blond hair.

"You weren't beside me..." she replied in a hushed whisper. I quirked my eyebrow and waited for her to continue. "You weren't beside me when we went to visit Nanoha, you promised!" she sobbed loudly into my chest. She had been acting so strong today; I never really paid much atte-... n... tion.

My mouth hung open, my embrace around Fate's frame tightening at the sudden realization. I had broken my promise to Fate; I also went against her wishes when I went to talk to Yuuno-... I had left her alone.

Flash Back

"It'll be fine Sweetie, you'll see." I told her in a soft calm voice and a tender smile. "It will be okay. You wanna know why?" I asked her.

"Why?"

"Because I'll be beside you the whole time."

End Flash Back

"Oh Fate! I'm sorry, I'm so, so, so, so, so sorry!" I apologized desperately to my weeping lover. "I shouldn't have been-I should've been beside you, I'm sorry!"

"It hurts so much Hayate, it hurts." Fate cried loudly, the weight of her body forcing us to fall down onto the floor. Her face was nestled in between my breasts, her arms wrapped tightly around my body, her tears soaking my shirt. "Every second without her feels like an eternity..."

Here it comes, Fate's going to realize that she needs Nanoha more than she needs me, then she'll go off and do something stupid-... well that was what I thought would happen.

"But when you're by my side, that pain gradually lessens. I was hopeless without her, but you were by my side the whole time." Fate continued her tears still as beautiful as ever.

"Fate..."

"Today, you were so distant, why?" she pleaded. "Did I do something to anger you? Or did you really fall for Yuuno? Don't lie to me. I've heard those rumors..." Her beautiful burgundy eyes stared directly at me, her rosy cheeks streaked by tears.

My eyes widened in surprise. My heart had stopped when she asked if I had fallen in love with someone else, then one second passed, one beat followed by another, and then I found my lips pressed against Fate's. This woman in my arms, crying over the anniversary of her wife's death, was actually crying for me.

"Ha-Hayate?" she mumbled with a deep blush on her face as we broke the kiss. There was a small trail of saliva on her cheek so I wiped it away with my thumb. "So...?"

"Silly Fate, how could you ever think I'd fall in love with someone other than you?" I answered her by asking my own question (a question of my own).

Fate looked at me with an adorably cute confused face. Her beautiful eyes were shimmering in hope, her mouth only open with the slightest of space between her full lips, and her button up shirt slightly undone so I could see the tempting raceway that lead to her breasts.

"I'm sorry; I knew I should have been by your side." I began. "I should have been there to hold your hand; I should have been there to keep you by my side..."

"Wha?"

It was my turn for tears to flow. "I wanted to be by your side, holding you back, keeping away from her. I was so scared that if I let you out of my sight for even a millisecond-... you'd go and chase after her." Those final words escaped my lips in a hushed whisper.

"Hayate..."

"Fate..."

"You're right, I would go straight after her." she whispered huskily. I winced inwardly and looked away. "But I can't do that, not right now."

I was speechless.

"Because my life doesn't revolve around her, at least not anymore. I'm not that same impulsive teenager from before, Hayate. Please understand that." Fate pleaded. "I'm not stupid enough to chase after someone who has already died. I have a family I need to protect, I have a duty do give my family everything they need and more."

I laughed nervously and snuggled close to Fate, We weren't sprawled on the floor anymore, but I wouldn't mind going back into that position.

"But-... I'm not a part of that..."

"Why? Why would you say that!?" Fate yelled at me angrily.

She stood up gruffly, turning away from me as she walked back to her desk. I propped myself up with my elbows and watched her patiently, waiting for Fate's next move. With her right hand she fussed with her hair, the long strands of golden locks flying about as Fate's fingers pushed them from place.

She turned her head back to face me, the once tender stare warped into a glare full of hurt. "What have I done to push you away? Tell me Hayate, why are you acting like you don't matter to me? Why?"

"Because it's true isn't it?" I snapped back at her angrily, I was standing up now. Fate jumped back in surprise, her gaze softening for a moment before hardening once again. "Admit it, you aren't looking Hayate, you're looking passed me, imprinting an image of someone else onto me!"

"Hayate, you stop this foolishness right now!" Fate demanded, patience completely drained from her being. Her fist slammed into the wall near by, the frames that were hung shook about (hung from it shaking about). "I have done nothing but love you unconditionally. Yes, I still love Nanoha. Why would I stop loving her? Why should I stop loving the woman that saved me from myself 18 years ago? Why should I stop loving the woman who stood by my side regardless of my choices?"

"I'm not telling you to stop loving her! I'm telling you to look at me honestly!" I retaliated with all the pent up anger within me. "I'm begging you Fate-... look at me honestly..." My words softened and I tore my gaze away from Fate's.

"Why can't you see...?" Fate whispered huskily. Her hand caressed my cheek softly, her finger tucked in beneath my chin, lifting it up so I could look up at her. "Why can't you see that I've been looking at you and only you this whole time?"

During our heated conversation, Fate had been urging me to the wall and when my back finally met with the drywall, Fate sealed the gap between us and kissed me.

"Because you aren't looking at me, you're only looking at Nanoha", was what I truly wanted to tell Fate, but the feel of her lips, the taste of her kiss-... was driving my mind crazy. My resolve was dissipating as the kiss continued, I wanted to tell Fate how I truly felt, I wanted to tell her how much she was hurting me, I wanted to tell her how much I loved her, I wanted to tell her that I wasn't Nanoha. I am Yagami Hayate, the youngest person to attain the title of General within the TSAB. I am the master of the Wolkenritter Knights, and I'm pr-

Fate picked me up suddenly, her right hand spread over my shoulder blades for support as her left arm allowed me to rest my bottom on it. Fate was holding me tightly making sure I was safe, but I was always safe when I was in her arms. I stared down at her tenderly; a small smile graced my lips as I leaned down and kissed my knight in a mini skirt clad barrier jacket. My left hand buried itself within Fate's hair, my right coiling around her neck. I wrapped my legs around her waist to get a better grip.

She kissed me with a sweltering passion and I felt weak in the knees, but the adrenaline kicked in and I held onto Fate tighter than before. My heart pounded loudly against my chest, and soon that constant rhythm was not so constant anymore. At times it went so fast, it also felt like it had slowed down almost as if time itself had slowed down to a tiny crawl, and then there were times I thought that my heart would stop abruptly in all. Fate did so many things to me and she didn't even know it half the time. One act caused over nine thousand reactions.

I couldn't believe how enamored I was by this kind, loving, wonderful woman. The small things she does always made a large smile appear on my face, no matter how small it was, I always smiled. Whether it be a simple kiss goodnight, a tiny smile in my direction, words of endearment, or a small note on my desk wishing me a good day and a simple "I love you". Fate always managed to make me feel special.

"Mm, Fate..." I moaned as Fate's tongue left a small trail on the nape of my neck, only stopping so she could suck gently at the skin every now and then leaving, small love bites.

I heard the creaking of a slowly closing door, followed by the silent click of a lock. Fate's left hand had left my cheek and reached for the light switch; even though my eyes were closed I saw that the light had been gradually turned on. Fate's hand left the switch and my eyes fluttered open to stare briefly into Fate's. I smiled at her and she replied by placing her hand back onto my cheek, our lips touching in a soft timid kiss. My body met with something soft, no not Fate, but the bed. I had been so lost in the passionate kiss; I didn't notice Fate bringing us into our sound proofed bedroom.

"Hayate," she mumbled huskily, her lust breaking free from her usual demeanor. "I love you-... I truly do love you." she said in a needy voice. "And I'll be damned sure to pound that into you."

I didn't even have time to allow Fate's double meaning to sink in before I took in a sharp gasp of air as Fate captured my lips forcefully, her arm coiling around my waist as she unbuttoned my shirt. With the last button removed, Fate began to suckle on my bottom lip, nipping at it begging for entrance. I parted my lips ever so slightly, but that small space was all Fate needed to slip her tongue in.

Things were starting to heat up now. Fate's hand was running down my stomach and caressing my side tenderly. My own hands roamed Fate's back, my fingers losing their way in her golden mane, the silk strands rushing through my fingers like cool river water on its way to the ocean. Feeling a little daring, Fate uncoiled her left arm and used it to hoist my leg up and releasing it. Her hand roamed from my ankle to my thigh, the kiss never missing a beat. She bucked her hips ever so lightly so she could get just a tad bit more comfortable.

We broke apart for air, but resumed that kiss once again, only this kiss was more heated, more desperate-... there was a desire between us that was threatening to engulf us both, but we weren't ready to succumb to its will just yet.

"I love you, Fate." I managed to say before Fate silenced me with another hungry kiss.

With one final rough kiss, Fate stopped and looked at me. She looked beautiful in our lightly dimmed bedroom. She leaned in and softly kissed my eyelids, her eyelashes brushing against my forehead as she closed her eyes. She embraced me tenderly when she went to kiss my other eyelid. Fate stopped and hovered over my body, contemplating what she should do next, and when she did, it was amazing. She kissed my cheek, then my jawbone, a left a series of soft wet kisses all the way up to my ear. She nuzzled her cheek against my own, she growled playfully into my ear, her tongue glazing my ear lobe with saliva before she took it into her mouth.

"Uhnn," I moaned quietly when Fate began to gently nibble. "Fate..."

There was a war waging between our tongues as they fought for dominance, but somewhere in between they had found out they could live in symbiosis. The war had stopped and our tongues explored, rolling over the other as they tried to taste everything they could.

A growl elicited from Fate's throat, the rumbling caused me to giggle ever so slightly. With one last nibble and suckle, Fate left my ear lobe alone and returned to my lips. Fate broke the kiss soon after and looked at me with this feral stare; her mesmerizing red eyes hypnotizing me as if she were a snake charmer. She ground her body against mine, her leg pressing against my own, and kisses down my jaw line, neck, collarbone then right back up. I could feel Fate's hot breath at my ear, her lips brushing against it as she whispered, "Mine.' in such a possessive voice that caused me to reply, "Of course".

Fate stopped her ministrations on my leg and focused on undoing my C cup bra. I didn't really bother taking the darn thing off when we reached home a few hours ago, I knew the blasted thing had its purpose, and my precautions were paying off at this very moment. The quiet rustling of material and the sudden slack of the undergarment told me Fate had completed her task. With a sly grin, Fate bared her pearly white teeth and gently bit down onto my left breast, the edge of my bra getting trapped in the process. She lifted her head up slightly and my bra was pulled away from my body. The lacy support garment hung tauntingly in Fate's mouth; the mirth that was so evident in my lover's eyes disappeared as she tossed the bra away.

"Nya~, now I'm excited." Fate purred into my ear. I felt a shiver run through my body as the cold temperature in our bedroom nipped at my exposed skin. The fact that Fate's chest was pressed against my own didn't help much.

Fate left even more kisses as she made her way down to my exposed bosom, but she stopped when she got down to my cleavage. A lingering kiss that lasted for an eternity occurred as her eyes darted back as she decided on which mound to start on. A pleased smile appeared on her handsome face as she bared her teeth once more as she nipped at the sensitive flesh of my left breast, causing me to moan out once again. I heard her chuckle lustfully as her free hand grabbed hold of my other breast, fondling it in a painfully teasing way.

I let out many suppressed grunts, tiny squeaks of surprise, and moans of pleasure. Fate really knew her foreplay, but she was just starting we weren't anywhere near the main course-... no where near it.

My mild-mannered Fate-chan was always such a timid person. She didn't like raising her voice, not even against the enemy. She was never one to get outwardly angry either, she just thinks things out carefully and acts accordingly, but once you get her into bed-...

I woke up in bed alone the next day, the events that transpired mere hours ago still fresh in my mind's eye. The image of Fate's startled face haunted my thoughts, but the image of her-... aroused me. Those submissive moans, seductive motions, and delighted sighs-... oh God.

"Nyoro~n..." I muttered absent minded. Fate was really mad at me last night, or was it early this morning? I don't really know. "Mou..."

I placed the back of my palm on my forehead and sighed heavily. I squinted at the ceiling, trying to see through it. I of course failed at this, but it was still worth a shot. Somewhere along the lines the image of your shocked face appeared. The way your nose crinkled, the furrowing of your eyebrows and most of all-... the sound of your startled gasp rang within my ears.

"Ne, Mama made Papa really mad last night-..." I pouted and rolled onto my stomach and put my face into your pillow. I sighed out and frowned, "Mou, Papa did you really have to leave me without a note?"

I literally screamed into the pillow thrashed my feet, acting like a child whose father had just said that he/she would not be getting the new toy that came out. I can understand that Fate was still really sore about what happened to Nanoha and the reasons behind her untimely death, but did she really have to leave me like this? She's the one that doesn't like to argue, but yet she left me alone in such a large bed.

"Mama's going to get really mad at Papa when she gets back." I huffed angrily.

After a few more moments of useless lounging around in bed, I decided that I shouldn't bother mopping about Fate going off without me. Yes, that's the reason why I'm mad-... not the fact I asked her to call me Nanoha during our love making. No, definitely not that. Absolutely not. I got up and searched for my clothes, only to find that they were picked up and placed into the dirty clothes hamper with my uniform hung on a hanger held up by a white plastic hook.

Fate had prepared a simple white bra and white panties and set it aside, she even ironed my uniform. Ah, that's right. I have a meeting with Carim later today-... I whirled around and stared at the clock. It read 2:36pm. I had missed my meeting with Carim.

"Crap-... I'll be hearing about this later tonight." I groaned, face palming in the process. I hated it when Carim ranted about my tardiness, but if I explain what happened-... no, she'd skewer me. Must not mention an angry Fate, never!

Sighing I stared at my clothes and then over to the mirror. My body had love bites all over the place, my hair was messy and standing up in places I didn't think ever possible and the barely visible bump I've been trying my best to hide. I placed my hand over it and looked up at the ceiling, my mind waging war with itself.

"Was this a mistake?" I asked myself out loud. I stroked the bump gently and smiled ruefully. "I shouldn't be thinking such thoughts-... but still." I narrowed my eyes and glared at my uniform.

Deciding that my train of thought wasn't on the right track, I decided to get dressed and head out. I sighed and walked over to my carefully tended garments and put them on with a tinge of guilt resounding in my heart. Fate had put so much effort in preparing my clothes and yet I still managed to miss the reason why she prepared them.

After I got dressed and groomed my hair, deciding to keep it down because I was feeling a little lackluster. Soon after, I called Carim up via holo-screen and she did not look happy. Similar blue eyes stared at me with a cold glare, ruby red lips pursed together in a deep frown. I walked over to the kitchen and took a seat, preparing for the worst.

"You missed our lunch."

"Y-Yea, sorry about that." I replied, afraid of what Carim would do to me.

"So, tell me-..." Carim paused and took a sip of her tea. "Why did you miss it?"

I stiffened up at her question and tried to think of a believable lie, "I had a busy night last night, so I must have slept through the alarm clock."

"Right." Carim took yet another sip of her beverage before setting it down, a quiet "chink" sounded when her porcelain tea cup met with the saucer. Carim's eyes stared directly into mine, her age starting to show. "So, have you told her? Really, that's the only thing that comes to mind when you say "busy night", so did you?"

"U-Um-... no?"

"Dear God Hayate, when are you going to tell her?" Carim crossed her arms and leaned in closer to the holo-screen, her cold glare scaring me ever so slightly. "When you are in labor!? Fate can be as dense as wooden plank, she won't notice, or even worse, she'll miss it completely."

The sound of someone falling startled us both, when Carim moved to see what happened, the screen moved with her giving me a lovely shot of Tiana lying face down on the floor.

"T-Tiana, are you okay?" I asked the red haired girl. Tiana weakly gave me a thumbs up, her arm falling to the ground soon after. A moment of silence went by before things became awkward. "Wonder what happened to her?"

"I wonder..."

"You're still angry that I missed our lunch date, aren't you?"

"Yes, is it that obvious, General?"

I shrugged, "Kind of?"

Tiana had picked herself up form the ground tried her best to calm down. She walked over to Carim and placed a hand on her shoulder and stood beside the knight dutifully. "So, what did I just hear?" she asked with a curious stare.

"Um, it as you heard it?" both Carim and I replied in unison.

"Explain, please..."

I took a deep breath and cleared my throat, opening my mouth and said, "Oh look at the time, I really must go off to work. I'll see you two later!"

I quickly ended the call and breathed a sigh of relief when Carim's and Tiana's faces weren't in view anymore. I groaned out loud and slammed my forehead against the table. Kokoro and Kiseki would be at the day care right now, so I was completely home alone which meant I could scream out as much as I wanted to without getting heard.

"Son of a bitch!" I screamed out loudly, my palm pressed up against my forehead. I didn't intend to hit my head that hard, but I did, so I messed up. I messed up!

I continued my screaming for a little longer, breaking down into tears when I felt a familiar bile rise up into my mouth. I rushed to the kitchen sink and expelled everything my stomach contained. I didn't even throw up that much; I was mostly dry heaving which brought even more tears to my eyes.

"Fate-chan!" I called out morosely. I thrashed my fists about, pulling at my hair and letting go only opting to ball them into fists as I punched the floor beneath me. I wanted to be alone yet I didn't want to be alone, I needed somebody, anybody. "Yuuno-kun!" I cried out desperately. The voice activated holo-screen popped up and soon Yuuno Scrya's worried face appeared to my right.

"What's wrong Hayate?" he exclaimed when he saw my dishevelled state. "What happened to you?"

"Please-... can you come over? I don't want to be alone right now." I pleaded.

Yuuno looked at me hesitantly and nodded his head, "I'll be right over okay? Don't move a muscle."

When Yuuno closed off the communication line, I felt a choked sobbed jam itself within my throat, and a new wave of tears brim up. Everything felt so wrong and yet so right. What kind of paradox did I enter when I woke up this morning? Waking up alone in bed, believing that Fate was mad at me only to see that she had prepared my outfit for me. Realizing I had missed my meeting with Carim, contacting her only to see she was angry, but not angry. And now I was begging for Yuuno to come and rescue me! But the most fucked up thing here is that I'm crying because I'm so fucking happy!

I continued to cry hysterically until hurried foot steps echoed within the halls of the house I shared with Fate and her daughters.

"Hayate!" Yuuno shouted out in worry. He ran up to me and wrapped his arms around my body. "What's wrong?" he cooed quietly, his hand caressing my back in an attempt to calm me down.

"E-Everything!"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean it, everything!" I shouted, I rested my forehead against his sturdy shoulder. "This pregnancy, Fate, Nanoha, you, everything!"

"I don't really understand-... care to explain? I won't go anywhere I promise."

Those words Yuuno spoke suddenly did the trick and my tears stopped. Yuuno looked at me with a relieved sigh. He wasn't wearing his glasses today; I must have caused him such a fright that he forgot them. Yuuno-... didn't look so bad.

"Thanks for coming by on such short notice; I'm sorry for troubling you." I apologized half heatedly.

"No, it's okay. Friends come to a friend's aid when needed right?"

"Haha, yea, thank you for that."

"No problem," Yuuno stood up and helped me up onto my feet, "Come on, let's talk about this in the living room?"

"Please..."

Yuuno led the way to the living room and sat me down, grabbing the tissue box on the coffee table and handing it over to me before he sat down himself. I accepted the tissue and wiped away my tears, took another and used it to spit out the residue of my morning sickness.

"Morning sickness?" Yuuno piped up with a grin.

"Gee, how'd you know?" I asked him sarcastically.

"Just because Fate and I didn't get along doesn't mean that Nanoha and I can't remain best friends. She knew about my feelings for Fate, but she accepted them-... with a bit of hesitation of course." Yuuno chuckled and brushed a few strands of hair away from his emerald green eyes.

"Oh, he got a hair cut-... not bad."

"Nanoha would always call me up and complain about, and I quote "puking my guts out". I usually just sat by and listened to her rant about why pregnancy was an "unfriendly lady" and why she should go annoy someone else." a nostalgic look took over Yuuno's facial expressions as he began to talk about Nanoha, but right now I was more focused on how good looking Yuuno really was. "Oh and then she'd go and flop around while squeling "Yay, I'm gonna to be a mommy!" over and over and over again!"

"Uh-... that seemed so like her."

"I know huh?"

"Fate wasn't anywhere as giddy as that, she was actually pessimistic about it. She once said, "I wonder if I can get a stand in? I don't want Nanoha tearing my arm off when she's giving birth" or something like that." I shrugged my shoulders and took another tissue. "I'm a little worried at how she'll react to this one." I placed my hand over my abdomen and patted it playfully.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, she wasn't too excited when Carim brought up the subject of family life." I replied with a wry grin. "Carim was joking of course."

Yuuno crossed his arms, his simple T-shirt showing off his well toned muscled arms. "Well if I recalled correctly, Fate was around 23 when she was with Carim." he ran a hand through his hair and crossed his arms again. "She was too young to even think about having children."

"I guess, but she was pretty thrilled when Nanoha told her the good news."

"Nanoha was her wife. Carim was her girlfriend. Big, big difference."

"Yea, yea-... and I'm not really either, remember?" I muttered dryly. "I'm just the Aunt."

"Hey, don't say that! Fate loves you, you know that."

"Yeah, I know, but still." I sighed and leaned into the couch. "I fucked up last night." Yuuno stayed silent. "I told her to call me Nanoha during sex."

"Smart."

"Brilliant huh?"

"Oh yeah, you're a genius amongst geniuses."

"Hell ya, I'm the amazing General Yagami Hayate! Leader of the homosexual army. Fear me before I smite you!"

Yuuno snickered and began to chuckle, "I've been reading up on your division. You really do have the most enlisted homosexuals. People are literally begging to be placed under your command."

"I'm just that fuckin' awesome." a tear rolled down my cheek, this was a tear of joy. I was starting to feel better.

"Hm," Yuuno hummed, his fingers tapping his cheek as he inspected me. I felt a little awkward under his gaze. "Let's get your hair cut today."

"Excuse me what?"

"Hair cut, now."

"What?"

"Hair cut-"

"I get it, I get it! Why though?" I asked him with a quirked eyebrow and a small frown.

"You said you didn't like having long hair, so let's go and get it cut! Maybe you'll feel lighter?" Yuuno said with an upbeat tone of voice. "You'll feel lighter in a literal sense, as well as an emotional weight loss."

I wanted to face palm, but my forehead still hurt from earlier. "Yuuno-kun, I'm pregnant. Weight gain is a must for me, as sad as I am to say it."

"Er, right." Yuuno chuckled and handed me another tissue. "Go clean yourself up, General, get some civilians on and let's hit the town, paint it red y'know!"

"You make me shiver."

"I tend to do that, I apologize."

Yuuno and I left the house soon after I got changed and washed my face. We took his car into town and I was gradually feeling more at ease with him. Everything that happened is in the past, and we can all start anew now. I can gradually stop feeling all this misery and start living my life the way I want to. With Fate, her children, and this baby that's steadily growing.

"You look good, Yuuno-kun." I said to the blonde haired man beside me. Yuuno blushed and laughed ever so slightly. "I like the hair cut, oh and, did you get contacts?"

"Uh, well yeah. I wanted to start anew, so I cut my hair and got myself out of those old glasses." he replied with an upbeat tone of voice. "Think I can get myself a girlfriend with this new look?"

"Hm, maybe. But you'll still never beat Fate-chan at a bar."

"True-... I've seen her at a bar. Holy cow, all those women flocking over to her! It was like a tidal wave of estrogen!" Yuuno lifted one of his arms and brought it down like a wave, "Whoosh!"

"Ahaha, I hear ya!"

I felt that the short time I've spent time with Yuuno made things so much better. He didn't try to pry the issue, nor did he keep it the main subject. He subtly directed my focus on what caused my insecurities and pointed them out without telling me bluntly. My insecurities about how Fate felt towards me, and how I felt towards her and the inkling feeling that I was Nanoha's replacement. Cutting my hair was just the first step of getting over my own mental block, returning my hair back to the way it used to be was step two, doing so made me regain some and if not all of my self confidence. I felt like Hayate again, the real Hayate. The Yagami Hayate who leads the Wolkenritter Knights, the youngest officer to attain the rank of General-... but most of all, the Yagami Hayate who was (not so secretly) dating Admiral Fate T. Harlaown (even though she does nothing but desk work).

Every snip of those stainless steel scissors I felt a piece of my former life fall to the ground and whisked away by the vacuum, and with every strand of hair that was cut off I felt myself become free of the chains that bound me. I really did feel lighter; I didn't feel that my hair weighed me down anymore-... wow, Yuuno actually helped.

After everything, Yuuno drove me back home and bid farewell. I watched as his car drifted farther and farther down the street, a sombre feeling drowning the happy sensation as I turned to face the front door of Fate's house. I took a deep breath and exhaled, I felt a slight twitching at the corner of my mouth. I was somehow gaining the courage to tell Fate everything, and move on.

Opening the front door, I removed my shoes and began searching for my blonde haired lover. She wasn't in the living room or the kitchen, I even searched for her in her office, but she was no where in sight. The lights were on and I was sure I turned them off when I left this afternoon. My eyes drifted over to the hanging clock, it read, "6:12 pm". It has been almost three hours since I left with Yuuno.

"Fate-chan?" I called out, poking my head into Kokoro and Kiseki's room briefly to see if she was in there. "Am I alone in the house?" I thought to myself with a shiver. I really didn't like being here alone, it's such a huge house. I believed something would pop out any moment if I wasn't careful.

Turning around, I began to head back to the living room when I realized there was one room in the house I didn't check. The bedroom I shared with Fate. My brisk walk became a jog, and soon I found myself standing before the bedroom. The door was open and when I entered I saw Fate sitting at the foot of the bed, her hands clasped together, head hanging low.

"Fate-chan?" Fate looked up at me and smiled wearily. "Er, you're home early. Where are the kids?"

"They wanted to spend the night over with some friends, so I let them." Fate replied with a sigh. She brought her head back down, our eyes only meeting briefly.

"S-So, um..."

"You got a hair cut, I like it. It suits you." There was a sombre feeling within her words.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I never really liked seeing you with long hair."

Hold the phone-... what!?

Fate slowly stood up, her long mane of golden yellow cascading down her flank as she rose to her feet. She slowly walked over to me, her eyes trailing up my body. Fate stood before me with a sad expression, her hand rising to touch my cheek. I swallowed the invisible lump in my throat and waited for what would happen next.

"You look like you again, I'm so glad." Fate mumbled quietly, kissing me softly on the forehead. "Not that I didn't like how you looked with long hair-... I, um-... you know."

I laughed softy and closed the distance between Fate and myself, my arms wrapping around her well toned body as I rested my head above her heart. I loved how Fate was much taller than I am; it made so many things easier.

Burying my face into her shirt, I inhaled the scent of my lover and smiled giddily, "Hey, I have something to tell you."

"Wait, let me go first okay?" Fate said with a shy little smile. I nodded my head and waited for her to say something. "I apologize for the things I said last night, they were uncalled for."

"It was my fault though..."

"I agree, but I took things too far."

"Oh..."

"Today, Yuuno called me with a frantic look on his face," Fate took a step back and pointed over to the bed. I took her lead and walked over to the bed. "He said that you called him saying that you didn't want to be alone. I asked if I should go too, but he said not to-... I really didn't know what was happening so I left work as soon as I could just to find out, but by the time I got home you were already gone."

"Ahahahe~... yea, he took me out to the city to get my hair cut." I looked through my bangs and blew a few strands away. "Does it really look good on me?"

"Yeah, it does." Fate chuckled, scratching the back of her head, "I felt that you were trying too hard. I like you for you, Hayate." I was left speechless. "I never wanted you to change your style into something you weren't comfortable with and I kind of blame myself for what has been happening between us."

I decided to keep my mouth shut, why am I getting this sickening feeling?

"So, I think it's time we re-evaluate this relationship."

She's breaking up with me.

Fate sat up straight and ran both hands through her hair. I watched her hand tremble when she reached out to touch me, only to stop half way. "Lately, you've been acting like you're hiding something from me," she looked away from me and down onto the white silk sheets. "And I can only blame myself for that. Somewhere along the line you got the idea I only wanted you to replace Nanoha, but the truth is I-"

"No! No! Don't say anymore!" I was trembling uncontrollably, the tears pricking my eyes stung painfully. "Don't, please..."

"Hayate, I-"

I stood up abruptly and turned to face Fate, my tears falling freely down my cheeks, my hands that were balled into tight fists shook violently. The desperation I was feeling was starting to overcome to me. Fate was planning on breaking up with me because of last night; she was going to break up with me even though I had so much to tell her!

"No!"

Fate stood up and grabbed hold of both my arms. I tried to thrash away from her but she kept her hold on me. She jerked me back to force me to look at her, she looked serious now. "Hayate, we can't let this relationship stand as it is. We have to move on okay?"

"No..." I said breathlessly.

"I don't want to keep feeling that you resent me for thinking you as a substitute." Fate's timid voice was beginning to rise. "I love you! Marry me."

It wasn't a question.

My trembling stopped, my heart stopped, my time stopped, my thoughts stopped, my tears had stopped, everything stopped. Fate had asked, no, told me to marry her. My mouth had gone dry, and the painful squeezing in my chest tightened. I was forgetting to breath.

Fate shook me once to bring me back to Mid-Childa, "Hayate, is that a yes or a no? Come on, answer me."

How else was I going to respond to her question? A question I've been waiting for since, like, forever!

"Yes! Oh my gosh, yes!"

I literally tackled Fate to the ground, locking her in a deep kiss. Fate struggled a bit due to the awkward positioning of out bodies but she soon returned the kiss eagerly. My hands buried themselves into Fate's golden mane, my fingers disappearing in the dense forest of long blonde strands. I moaned into the kiss, my body reacting more feverishly then I expected.

"Fate..." I mumbled as I broke the kiss for some air. Fate looked into my eyes as she tried to catch her breath. We both smiled at each other and broke into a soft fit of laughter. "This is just like a fairytale!" I exclaimed gleefully as I wiped away a tear.

Looking up at me, Fate pouted cutely before grinning at me charmingly. "I was once Nanoha's Romeo and she my beloved Snow-white. Nanoha loved me deeply and I loved her just as much-... but my kiss won't ever be able to wake her from her slumber. Also, I'm not in a tragic love story where my Juliet and I would throw out our lives away-... so we'll leave my Juliet's out of this story."

"Fate-chan?" I mumbled quietly. I wasn't all to too sure where Fate was going with this, but I found it surprisingly meaningful.

"What I'm trying to say is, you're my Cinderella Hayate. I had to make many people try on the glass slipper before finding you."

"If you're Romeo, then who's Prince Charming?"

"That would be Yuuno-... I guess..." she replied begrudgingly, her eyes narrowing into a snide side glance for a mere moment. I giggled at my fiancée and hugged her tightly, the vibrations of her voice tickling me as she said, "I do owe him for calling me in advance, but I really wish Prince Charming didn't run off with my Cinderella. At least without my permission."

I chuckled tauntingly before saying, "So our relationship is that of Romeo and Cinderella?" I smiled at Fate and brought my hand up against her cheek, my fingers trailing down her soft skin and down her firm jaw line. "So tell me Romeo, what happens when it strikes midnight?"

"I'll come searching for you once again."

"Oh yeah, Fate-chan, I have something to tell you as well."

"Hm?"

"Well you see-... wait, before I tell you the news, don't get startled okay?"

The End

The glass slipper represents Tiana, Carim, and Nanoha. Fate had to be with them to find Hayate in the end. X3

Midnight was Cinderella's time limit before she returned to her rags, but in this story, midnight represents death. So when Hayate says "What happens when it strikes midnight?" and Fate replied, "I'll come searching for you", it just means that Fate would follow Hayate to the afterlife or in another life time. It's supposed to be poetic okay? D:

Epilogue

Dear, Gil

It has been quite sometime since Fate proposed to me, and it also has been quite sometime since I've been able to take a seat without having someone help me out of it. I thought that being 9 weeks pregnant was the neatest thing ever! However, now that I'm in my 32th week almost 33rd-... I want to do nothing more than to strangle Fate for knocking me up.

I'm going out of my mind in boredom! Ever since my pregnancy really began to show, my subordinates demanded that I step down from my command at least until the baby was born. When I promptly refused their request and still came to work the following day, my subordinates had personally asked that my former mentor, Nakajima Genya to take me home and keep me there until Fate came home. I still recall protesting with all my might, "I'm not an active duty soldier! I can still do paper work!" That didn't get me very far but it was still worth a shot.

On a brighter note, Fate and I got married a few weeks ago! The ceremony wasn't so big and fancy; apparently both Fate and I agreed that a massive wedding wasn't really our thing. We wanted things to be fast and explosive, y'know kind of like our magic styles. Anyways, the wedding was at a local church with only the closest of friends as guest. I really, really wished you could have come to see it-... you were pretty much my father. I don't think you wanna know about the honey moon, so-... let's move on.

Fate has been really busy lately, she was put in charge of this massive project called the "Hokkyokusei". She's the head designer for the new state of the art warship as well as the project chief. There have been times where Fate doesn't even come home after work, and when she does come home she's always tuckered out and smudged with grease. There were also a few rumors floating around that Fate would be the one to pilot the ship-... this worried me greatly, but even with the uneasiness of hearing those rumors, I have confidence that my wife would choose her family over manning the "Planet Cracker".

Hm, what else has happened-... oh! You know Fate's children? The little girls she had with Nanoha? Yeah, those two, they've actually stopped calling me Auntie and began calling me "Mama", it's so~ cute!

Anyways that's all I have to report. Till next time

Hayate T. Harlaown

I placed down the pen I held in my hands and quickly read over the letter. I was in mid-sentence when the phone rang. I reached over and picked up the phone and greeted, "Hello, T. Harlaown residence, Hayate T. Harlaown speaking."

"Uh, Aunt Hayate-... I think I'm ready to finally ready to come home." a familiar voice spoke in a shy, timid voice.

"Vivio..."

Aftermath orz

33 year old Hayate T. Harlaown grinned. "Fu fu fu fu~" she chuckled evilly. "Kyoumi-chan, guess what Mommy has for you~" she said with her evil grin widening.

"Uwa!" the four month old baby trembled in fear, her little body shrinking away under her mother's gaze.

"Aw, don't run away from Mommy!" Hayate cooed playfully, her hands hiding something behind her back.

Kyoumi crawled back, but found her back pressed against the wall, "Papa!" Kyoumi cried out pleadingly.

"Papa can't save you now kid!" Hayate pulled the hidden item from behind her back and placed it on her daughter's head with lightning fast speed that rivalled the child's father. "Perfect! Nekomimi on my adorable little kitten!" Hayate exclaimed in glee.

Kyoumi wailed loudly as the unfamiliar item touched her head. Her chubby little baby arms reached up to take them off, but Hayate had a finger keeping the moe item in place. The poor girl tried to grab hold of the ears but the fuzzy paws she had on her hands made it impossible to grasp hold of anything. This caused the small child to cry.

"Child cruelty." the 7 seven year old Kiseki grumbled from behind her stepmother's back. She too adorned cat ears on her head. The ruby eyed, long haired blonde gave her half sister a thumbs up before walking away. "She's your problem now brat~" Kiseki hummed happily as she sauntered over to the kitchen to get a bite to eat.

"Papa!" Kyoumi called out again in hopes of summoning her father.

"Like I said, Papa can't help you now!" Hayate laughed menacingly.

Fate T. Harlaown, age 33 (by appearance) wept silently when she heard her young daughter's cries for her presence. The once proud Admiral stood behind the wall whimpered when she brought her kitty pawed hand up to her face to wipe away the tears.

"Bear with it for now, bear with it..." she said in a hushed whisper.

xYuki - Well... that's done and over with. :P Let's give the few of you who actually read this a small story preview of Team GEMINI's pride and glory. "Birth Of A Devil: I will become evil for your sake." This story is 100 chapters of pure White Devil action. So far this project has taken myself and Ni-chan months to even set up, and since I lost my harddrive not too long ago-... we've since then rewritten about 7/36 chapters we have written together. :D

So... 7/100+ we'll get there!

Story Preview

Birth Of A Devil: Rise Of Hell Itself

"Dr. Reiher, I've spotted some irregularities in these figures. Do you think you can look these over?" Trevor said with a worried tone of voice. He had a small stack of papers held in his hands that were filled with various numbers, signs, and charts.

Dr. Reiher hastily grabbed hold of the stack of papers away from Trevor's trembling hands, his eyes instantly glued to the papers. Seconds ticked by and Dr. Reiher's eyebrow quirked. "What in the-...?" he suddenly gasped out. "These numbers-... they're not supposed to be doing this!"

"So-... what do you think it means?" Trevor asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

"I-I, I'm not to sure myself, but re-run these print outs, let's see if there's a change." Dr. Reiher commanded, her hands grazing his scruffy chin. "This may be nothing more than a simple technical error on our part, but we can't be to careful about this."

"I agree, I'll quickly re-run the tests Doctor." Trevor turned around and headed towards the door when Dr. Reiher called out to him. He spun around and said, "What is it Doctor?"

"I'll come with you so I can see what you did, and check the situation out myself."

Trevor nodded his head and lead Dr. Reiher back to the computer room. The two men stepped quickly, their pace increasing as they drew closer to the room. Trevor pulled out his keycard and swiped it, the electronic door swished open and the two men were greeted by a dark room illuminated by the false illumination of multiple computers and holo-screens. The sound of printing paper, electronic beeps, and the eerie green glow of an ECG wave moving at a steady wave echoed hollowly.

"Right this way, Dr. Reiher." Trevor pointed over to a computer nearest to the computer displaying the heart rate of-... something.

Trevor and Dr. Reiher briskly walked over to the computer Trevor pointed to and as Trevor took a seat on the swivelling chair, the heart rate monitor began to beep at an uncontrolled speed. The two doctors rushed over to the machine and gasped out in horror at what they saw.

"Th-This is impossible!" Trevor gasped out in horror.

A large explosion sounded of the alarms. The one dimly lit room now shined a terrifying blood red, and the screams of frantic workers were over ridden by the alarm system's robotic voice saying, "Violent disturbance in Section 5, cryogenics room. All workers in the current vicinity evacuate immediately. Repeating: Violent disturbance in Section 5, cryogenics room. All workers in the current vicinity evacuate immediately." Trevor sent a worried look over to Dr. Reiher who seemed quite worried himself.

"We do not have the time to waste, I have to cool down the systems before anything happens to it." Dr. Reiher clenched his jaw and dashed towards the door only to get blown back by the steel door.

The door that once covered the entrance to the computer room was completely blown off, a large dent nestled in the dead center of it. Trevor jumped with a shrill scream when blood red eyes glistened through the murky smoke. Dr. Reiher was lying on the ground, legs twitching even though the man was clearly dead.

Silvery white hair hid the haunting blood red eyes, but the sound of death's bone chilling voice was unforgettable.

"私の フェイト-... 返して."

(Give me back-... my Fate.)