Foreword:
Hello there, or 'Nice to meet you,' in case we haven't met before.
My name is Zarosguth and I am happy you took an interest in this story. I hope you'll enjoy.
I intend for this story to be a three-shot, AU, NanoFate with a tea theme.
Why the tea theme? I don't know; I don't even drink tea myself. I drink a lot of ice tea. Though, it's more like tea-flavoured lemonade. I don't know, I just really wanted to do a tea theme.
Story is un-beta-ed. Just a heads-up. Should you spot any glaring mistakes, just tell me in a review or PM and I'll see to it that they'll be fixed.
Note regarding 'Bound by Regret': I'm a bit stuck on where I want that story to go right now so it might be a bit before I get around to finishing the next chapter for that. Thank you for your patience.
I will upload the second part next week, and the final part the week after that. (If everything goes well that is, but I feel confident enough that it will.)
That's really all I have to say, so I'll see you in the afterword I suppose. Enjoy!
Disclaimer:
I do not claim ownership of the Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha series or franchise. This is a non-profit fan-written story written exclusively for entertainment purposes.
{]-~*(X)*~-[}
I don't know what compelled me to take a look inside, but when I did, I was greeted by the soft, silvery chime of a small bell that hung above the door.
"Ah, Welcome!" I was greeted by an equally soft and melodic voice and for a moment it felt like my heart skipped a beat.
The owner of the voice was an absolutely stunning and tall woman with long blonde hair that reached all the way down to below her waist. Near the end her golden tresses were bound together with a single black ribbon.
Then I saw that gentle and kind face right before my violet eyes locked with the most beautiful shade of burgundy red I'd ever seen in my life. I found myself lost in those pools of red that reminded me of fine wine.
Her skin was a creamy white and looked completely free of blemishes. I felt the strong urge to touch it, just to verify if it were just as smooth as it looked.
She wore what I assumed to be the uniform for her work here in this teahouse; she was dressed in a white shirt which she wore under a black, open blazer with golden-yellow accents. A matching black miniskirt and dark grey stockings as well as a pair of black high-heeled boots completed her outfit. It looked classy, business and casual all at the same time.
Her predominately black clothing seemed to accentuate her golden-blonde hair which, like her skin, looked soft and smooth to the touch.
I had no other words to describe this woman other than 'beautiful'.
*~-{ Tea and Sweets }-~*
*~-{ Written by Zarosguth }-~*
*~-{ Chapter #1: A Cup of Tea }-~*
"Would you like a cup of tea miss? This is a teahouse after all." The blonde chuckled and Nanoha blinked a few times. Realizing she'd been staring, a faint blush spread out along her cheeks.
"Nyahaha…" Nanoha laughed nervously in embarrassment, sticking a strands of auburn hair that had escaped her side-ponytail behind her ear. She quickly walked up to the bar counter. The silvery chime from the bell was heard again as the door fell closed behind her, stopping the cool, early spring air from coming inside. Violet eyes looked at the menu that stood on the countertop. Quickly glancing over her choices she decided to order a simple green tea.
The blonde behind the counter smiled as she took the order, motioning towards one of the nearby tables for Nanoha to sit at. Nanoha took off her blue coat and hung it over the back of her chair before sitting down. She started looking around the teahouse. It was a very clean and tidy place, yet still had a homey and relaxed feel to it. On every table stood a vase with a pair of white lilies in each of them. Large floor-to-ceiling windows next to the door allowed natural light to illuminate the teahouse in its entirety.
The woman that worked here stood behind some sort of bar where she stood brewing the tea. A small doorway behind the counter looked like it led to a kitchen. Nanoha's eyes were now fixated on the blonde. Nanoha took in every move she made. There was something about the way that blonde hair flowed despite being tied with a ribbon that mesmerized the violet-eyed girl.
As the blonde finished preparing the tea she turned around. Nanoha instantly broke her eyes away from the beautiful woman before her to look at the lilies in the vase on her table with great interest.
"Here you go Miss." The gorgeous blonde spoke in the same soft and gentle tone she'd spoken in before as she set a cup of tea on a saucer on Nanoha's table.
"Thank you, um…"
"Fate Testarossa, proud owner of the Alicia 'T'-House." The blonde introduced herself with a warm smile.
"Nanoha Takamachi." Nanoha introduced herself as well as she took the cup of tea from the saucer and took a sip.
"Hmmm… this is really good." She said before quickly taking another sip.
"I am glad to hear that," Fate smiled gently, "I try to make sure I only use the finest leaves I can find."
Nanoha nodded in response and Fate walked back to stand behind the counter where she started preparing another cup of tea.
While she did so, Nanoha once again observed her hostess. She noticed the blonde worked quick and efficiently; she didn't seem to make any more movements than necessary. At the same time her movements looked elegant and refined in Nanoha's eyes. The brunette felt her face become warm again as she realized just how intently she was watching the blonde work.
Nanoha closed her eyes and took another sip from her tea, savouring the taste and warmth it brought her.
She was so immersed in the delicious tea she jumped slightly when she heard another cup being placed down on her table. She opened her eyes to find burgundy looking at her with mild amusement as Fate sat down opposite her with a cup of tea of her own. 'Fate'? Why did I think of her as 'Fate'? It's not like I'm on a first name basis with her!
"You're right."
Nanoha was pulled out of her thoughts by the blonde's gentle voice.
"W-what?" she asked, a slight hint of panic to her voice.
"The tea; it's very good. I got a good deal on those Camellia sinensis leaves." The red-eyed woman elaborated.
"What kind of leaves?" Nanoha quirked an eyebrow.
"Camellia sinensis, green tea is made from the leaves of that particular plant." Fate explained with a smile. "Actually, so are most black teas. The difference lies in the preparation of the leaves; leaves for black tea undergo a longer period of oxidation."
"You sure know a lot about tea." Nanoha complimented as she took another sip.
"Oh no, not really. But, I did always dream of opening my own teahouse one day…" Fate's voice trailed off and for a moment her smile turned melancholic, something that didn't go unnoticed by Nanoha.
"Is something the matter?" the brunette asked with genuine concern.
Fate chuckled before shaking her head. "No, well yes I suppose…"
"It's okay, you can tell me." Nanoha urged gently; she hated the sadness that was currently present in the blonde's wine-red eyes and she wanted nothing more than to help so the blonde could look happy again.
Fate took a deep breath as she seemed to mentally prepare herself, unsure of whether or not she could trust this total stranger. Yet, for some reason, she felt like she could. "It's just… it wasn't just my dream to open a teahouse. It was a dream that I shared with my sister, Alicia. She died a few years ago. I pretty much opened this teahouse in her memory."
"So that's where it got its name from." Nanoha mused.
"Yes, my mother helped me with the initial financial dealings. She's a rather famous brain surgeon." Fate explained with a far-off look in her eyes before taking another sip of her own tea.
Nanoha took a sip of tea as well as she eyed the woman sitting opposite her. It was clear this woman had loved her sister very much. Nanoha couldn't help but think of her own sister, Miyuki, and how much she'd miss her if anything ever were to happen to her.
"We were both heavily affected by the loss of Alicia," Fate continued, "Mother was devastated, but not as much as I was. I suppose the loss of a family member is especially painful if it's your sibling, your older twin."
"It sounds like you loved her very much. I'm sure she'd be happy you continued trying to fulfil your dreams." Nanoha offered with a small smile.
"Thank you, I hope so." Fate said as she was still staring off at the distance. After a few seconds of silence she shook her head and turned to the brunette, the sadness in her eyes had diminished though it was still clearly present. "So how about you? Any siblings?" she asked.
Nanoha smiled, glad to see the blonde cheering up a little. "Yes, I have an older brother, Kyouya, and an older sister, Miyuki." She answered.
"Really? And what do they do?"
"My brother took over running our family's dojo from my father back when I was about nine or ten. As for my sister, she works in our parents' café."
"What about you?" Fate asked curiously.
"I also help out at my parents' café. I help Mom with the baking. Our cakes are very popular; Mom is great at baking as well as cooking." Nanoha told her.
"I'll have to come by sometime then, to see if you're any good help." Fate said with a teasing wink.
Nanoha puffed up her chest and placed her hands on her hips. "Oh, you better believe I am good!" she said with exaggerated pride.
After a moment of silence both women burst out in laughter. The brunette's 'Nyahaha' sound easily overtaking the blonde's soft chuckle.
"I love your laugh." Nanoha accidently blurted out once their laughter started to die down. She instantly slapped her hand in front of her mouth. Fate stared back at her with an incredulous look on her face, though her red eyes held clear amusement.
The silvery chime of the bell above the door to the teahouse sounded and caught the attention of the two women drinking tea. Nanoha turned to see an older woman with long, charcoal grey hair step inside, clutching her coat to shield against the outside cold.
Fate stood up and greeted the older woman with a smile. "Hello Mother, you're early."
"Hello dear," the grey-haired woman greeted back while looking around the teahouse. "Slow day today?"
"It's always slow this time of day Mother. Most people are at work or at school at this time. Speaking of which, shouldn't you be at work?" Fate inquired.
"My assistant's been worried about me again so she told me to 'buzz off'," the charcoal-haired woman used air quotes to emphasize those being her assistant's exact words, "while she'd take care of the paperwork. I didn't have any surgeries scheduled for today anyway." Her mother explained with an amused smile.
Fate smiled at this. "Glad to hear Linith still looks after you, since you seem so adamant about not doing so yourself."
The older woman laughed. "True, Linith is the best assistant I could've wished for."
"Oh, let me introduce you," Fate said, changing the subject and turning her attention to Nanoha whom had been quietly observing the interactions between mother and daughter. "Mother, this is Nanoha Takamachi. Ms Takamachi, this is my mother, Precia Testarossa."
"Just call me Precia," Precia said as she extended her hand which Nanoha gracefully took.
"Nanoha, pleased to meet you." Nanoha shook the older woman's hand, taking note of older woman's strong grip.
It was then that Nanoha caught sight of the clock hanging on the wall behind the counter. "Is it that late already? I had promised Mom I'd help her prepare for the late afternoon shift!"
After a quick payment for the tea, an equally quick exchange of goodbyes as well as a promise from Nanoha to visit again sometime, the brunette left, leaving mother and daughter alone in the teahouse.
{]-~*(X)*~-[}
"She seems like a nice person." Precia spoke a brief moment after Nanoha had left.
"Mhm…" Fate hummed in agreement as she started tidying up the teacups she and Nanoha had used.
"The two of you would be very cute together." Precia continued with a slightly mischievous smile, causing Fate to stop dead in her tracks.
"Mother!" she yelled in shock.
"What?" Precia asked with a knowing smirk. "Don't tell me you didn't notice what a gorgeous young woman she is."
Fate let out a long sigh as she continued clearing the teacups, placing them in the dishwasher in the kitchen behind the counter, her mother following her there. "Sometimes I regret coming out to you about my sexuality…" Though I won't deny she's very pretty and easy to talk to. She added mentally. No way she would say that out loud though.
"Would you rather have me try coupling you with some fine young man?" Precia mockingly raised an eyebrow as her smirk only seemed to grow wider.
"I'd rather you didn't try coupling me with anyone!" Fate replied with a glare, only causing her mother to laugh heartily.
{]-~*(X)*~-[}
"Sorry I'm late!" the youngest Takamachi called out as soon as she entered her parents' café, the Midori-ya.
"No problem dear." Momoko Takamachi greeted her youngest from the café's kitchen with a gentle smile. Nanoha joined her mother in the kitchen after quickly changing into more appropriate clothing.
As they were baking a wide assortment of cakes and other pastries in preparation of the late afternoon shift, Momoko couldn't help but notice the perpetual smile on her daughter's face.
"You look happy, did something good happen?" The older woman, who resembled an older version of Nanoha herself, asked while trying not to sound too excited in case she misread her daughter's behaviour.
"Hm?" Nanoha snapped out of her daze as she turned her attention to her mother. "Oh no, no, nothing, it's nothing." The younger brunette turned back to the dough she was kneading and tried to act like everything was fine and she was just very focused on her work.
Momoko had to stifle a giggle; it was obvious something had happened today but she decided not to pressure her daughter into talking if she didn't want to; she was sure Nanoha would open up to her eventually.
The late afternoon shift came and went.
That evening, after the last few customers had left and Momoko had closed the café she found her daughter in the café's kitchen waiting for her.
"Mom?" the older Takamachi found her youngest fiddling nervously with the hem of her shirt.
"Yes dear?" she said in her most gentle, motherly voice.
"D-do you know about…" Nanoha trailed off as she was wondering why she was even going to ask what she was going to ask.
"About what? Go ahead honey." Momoko smiled reassuringly.
"Do y-you know about sweets that would… go well with tea?" Nanoha had hardly asked this before she covered her face with her hands, she was blushing so hard.
Momoko looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well, usually scones go really well with almost any kind of tea."
"W-would you happen to know a, a recipe?" the younger Takamachi asked carefully, mentally berating herself for sounding like a shy and nervous school girl.
Momoko flashed her daughter a smile. "Of course." She answered before going around the kitchen grabbing the necessary ingredients. She didn't even bother asking why Nanoha wanted to know, something her daughter was ever so grateful for.
Mainly because the younger brunette really wasn't sure herself.
*~-{ End of Chapter }-~*
Please leave me a review telling me what you think; I love getting feedback and I don't mind people being critical. In fact, I welcome it!
*~-{ May we meet again, fare thee well! }-~*