Disclaimer: I do not own Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
The early afternoon sun beat down on the TSAB Enforcer Headquarters through the clear, blue sky. Various people, enforcers, office workers, ground staff, and the like milled around inside and out going about their daily business. A group of potential TSAB recruits jogged in almost perfect sync on the main path around the facility as part of their daily PT routine. Their training officer shouted out his own personal cadence, which the recruits repeated loudly, to keep the pace. His beat, however, is thrown off as he spies a very prominent enforcer casually walking along a parallel path towards them. He quickly brings his arm to salute the superior officer, never losing his pace.
"Good afternoon, Enforcer Fate!"
Quickly realizing what their trainer was doing, the recruits raise their own arms to salute, "Good afternoon, Enforcer!"
Said enforcer snaps out of her semi-dreamlike trance, her burgundy eyes meeting up with the training group. Fate returns the salute with a smile while maintaining her casual pace, "Good afternoon."
The large group jogs past, arms lowering as per military formalities. She can't help but giggle as she can hear the officer belittling the recruits for falling out of step with threats of extra training for that day. With the small distraction gone the blonde resumes her trek back towards headquarters, the smile never leaving her face as she hums the chorus of one of her favorite songs.
"Ah, welcome back Fate. Have a good walk?"
Automatic doors hissed closed behind Fate as she steps into the main building of the Enforcer Headquarters. She nods with a smile at the young secretary who had greeted her.
"Yes I did. The weather is so nice today I couldn't pass up the opportunity. You should try and get a break in and enjoy it for a bit, Kaori."
The brunette chuckles and waves her hand to dismiss the idea, "It sounds great and all, but I need to get all these orders sorted and filed by the end of the day."
Fate nods understandingly, knowing all to well what it's like to be swamped with paperwork, "Well, at least try and enjoy the good weather before it decides to go away. And good luck with the work."
Kaori smiles back and nods, "Oh, I'll definitely try. Have a good day, Fate."
"You, too," the blonde smiles in return as she makes her way to the elevators.
As the elevator doors close, another one of the building's secretaries pokes her head out from behind pillar she was hiding behind, "Oh my god…was that…?"
"Yup! That was her," responds Kaori as she giggles at the newer girl.
The girl crosses her arms over her chest and sighs as she stares in the direction of the elevators, "Oh wow. I can't believe I get to work in the same building as her…"
Over her years of service with the TSAB, Fate had gained quite a reputation amongst the various divisions. Stories of her and her missions, both true and a 'little' exaggerated spread far and wide, especially within the recruits. Her deadly precision in close-range combat spawned many rumors of her skills and recruits would often talk between themselves about how they hoped to one day meet, or even be like her. At the same time, some of the more far-stretched rumors would make sure that they would never cross with The Black Death.
Those that did have the opportunity to get to know her would come to admire her greatly. She was very slow to anger, if at all and was very helpful to those around her. What everyone admired about her, though, was her smile. No matter how they felt, seeing her smile and talk with them would always brighten their day. Those who encountered her on a daily basis swear that that bright, life-filled smile never leaves her for a moment.
"I'm home."
Fate kicks off her shoes as the door shuts behind her. Even though there was no one home, she still would announce her return. She chalked up the habit to her time in Japan on Non-Adminis…Earth. As she makes her way into the formerly empty room, she strips off her jacket and tosses it lazily onto the bed. Slowly, she makes her way into the livingroom and looks around. Her wandering eyes stop on the array of pictures atop of the corner table. Her hand gently grasps the first frame, lifting it off the table for a better look. It was the oldest of the pictures, one that she had with her as long as she could remember. In it stood her mother, Precia Testarossa, with her older sister Alicia. Both were smiling happily in the grassy field during those happier times. Regardless of what had happened between them, she still cared for her late mother. Although it pained her a bit that she never succeeded to bring the one wish she had into reality: to see her mother smile.
She carefully sets the picture down, her hand drifting over to pick up the next one. Four young girls looked up at her, all of them with huge smiles on their faces. This was taken a short time after the start of her new life on Earth, meeting friends she only knew of in those short video messages. Even now, she was truly amazed at how quickly and easily she was accepted into the circle of friends with Arisa and Suzuka. Burgundy eyes met burgundy eyes as Fate stares at her younger, smiling self. This was, if she recalled correctly, the second time that she truly smiled. Her eyes wandered over the picture until they stopped over a pair of lively, blue orbs of the girl who had helped her and for whom she had smile for the first time: Takamachi Nanoha. A smile creeps up on her lips as she recalls those days from long ago.
The next frame held a picture from several years later. Nanoha, Hayate, and she all stood happily in their new high school uniforms. After the Book of Darkness incident, Hayate became good friends with the group, even striving to get into the same high school. With the corrupted book reformatted, she gradually began to regain control of her legs. By the time they started high school, Hayate had fully recovered and would join the other girls on their trek to campus every morning. Yes, those were great times even with trying to balance school and work with the TSAB (although asking her about it back then would have gotten a slightly different response).
Sitting next to that picture was one of another important chapter in her life. It was slightly bigger than the previous pictures in order to fit in all of Riot Force 6. The entire division stood in front of the main building, smiling up at the camera. Although the life of RF6 was short-lived, its impact on those involved would last forever. Their students were their crowning achievement and the legacy of the division as they continued to rise up in the ranks as the Strikers of the TSAB. It was also at this time that a little girl named Vivio tripped and cried her way into their lives. She would be the center of attention for her two mamas for many, many years.
Perhaps it was a twist of fate or the result of little Vivio becoming a part of their lives, but many say it was only a matter of time. The blonde enforcer carefully picks up the next picture, a wide smile instantly forming on her face as she gazes over it. Nanoha and Fate stood together, holding up Vivio between them. The trio was dressed in simple, yet elegant wedding gowns as they smiled. This was one of…no, it was THE happiest moment of Fate T. Takamachi's life. At that moment it seemed so surreal as it was happening. It was almost like a dream, a dream that she never wanted to wake from. The ceremony itself was spectacular. Even the TSAB leant a helping hand in the preparations, going as far as to allow a special exemption for their friends and immediate family from Earth to come to Mid-Childa for the momentous occasion.
The would continue to work for the TSAB, with Nanoha training new recruits and Fate maintaining her position as an enforcer, while raising their daughter on Mid-Childa. As Vivio grew, she held a desire to join the TSAB and protect others, just like her mothers. She would eventually get her wish fulfilled as she joined the organization during her mid-teens and demonstrated great potential in the use and control of magic. Fate could still clearly remember that day when their daughter came home and informed them (after much enticement by the pair) that she had a boyfriend. Apparently he was one of the people she had saved during an earlier mission, to which Hayate commented that she wasjust like her mothers. This, of course, perked the girl's curiosity as an all-night session ensued with Hayate invited her knights, Chrono, and Yuuno over to share their stories of the two Aces (much to their embarrassment). Stories were told and all present had a good time embarrassing Nanoha and Fate in front of their daughter. It was a night filled with laughter and good times which no one present, save one, would have expected what was to come.
It happened so suddenly that everyone wondered how they could have missed it. They all knew of what happened to her all those years ago during that mission, of her chances of walking and flying, let alone living. But Nanoha overcame all those odds with determination and a smile on her face.
It was an innocent smile filled with life that she would give no matter how difficult the situation was or how much pain she was in.
It was a smile that no one would ever forget.
It was a smile that would make her feel all warm and comfortable.
It was a smile that she used to hide her pain.
It was a smile that she would never see again.
Those injuries never fully healed. And after years of using powerful magic and putting more strain on her system, it all finally caught up with her. Fate could still recall that day she found her lying on their kitchen floor, of flying her to the medical facility with a complete disregard for flying regulations, of waiting and waiting to hear that she was alright, and then collapsing onto the floor in tears after hearing the diagnosis. She could vividly remember walking into that room and seeing her turn to face her…
And smile.
It was that same smile that Nanoha would give that would give her some reassurance that everything would be alright. She knew that this time if wouldn't be alright, and yet when she saw that smile it comforted her.
She would remain at her wife's side day after day until that one moment.
"Ne, Fate-chan?"
The blonde glances over, resting her hand on hers, "What is it, dear?"
"I…can you make me a promise?"
Fate nods, "Anything."
"Promise me…that you won't stop smiling. I don't want you to lose that wonderful smile that I love so much."
She lets those seemingly simple words sink in before slowly nodding her head, her eyes beginning to water.
Nanoha reaches out and caresses her lover's cheek, blue meeting burgundy, "Promise?"
"Promise," she shakily replies before falling forward and pulling Nanoha into a tight hug. No more words are exchanged as they hold each other for what seems like an eternity.
"Ne, Fate-chan?"
She hesitantly breaks the hug and pulls back a bit, "Hm?"
Fate remains motionless as a soft hand caresses her cheek, thumb wiping away the tears. She stares back at the woman before her who was looking back with a smile on her face.
"I love you."
"I love you, too Nanoha."
Fate blinks out of her trance as something hits her hand. She looks down and finds a small drop of water resting on her skin as she holds the picture. Another drop joins the first as she blinks again. She carefully sets the picture down as she uses her other hand to wipe the moisture from her eyes. Slowly walking away from the table, she opens the door to the balcony outside and steps out. The cool evening air blows across her skin as she stops at the railing. Fate looks up and gazes at the clear sky above, hundreds of stars shining brightly in the cloudless sky. As she stares up, her mind wanders back to the promise.
And she smiles.