When Halloween Preparations Go Askew - An Asteon x Satsuki Takahashi Collaborative Fanfic
NanoFate
A/N: Hi~! This is a 3-day long project/story that Nanoha and Satsunyan collaborated on. It's full of quality, art, and more quality. This is a story written in dedication to one of our sister-homies who turned 20 today, October 19, 2014 (in the US side anyway, it's 20th in the Asia side omg). Please do read it with a smile. If you're frowning, it will make you smile! HURRDURR.
Fate's gaze was on her shuffling feet, trying to hide her reddened cheeks and shy eyes. Unknowingly to her, she could not hide her red-tipped ears which peaked out from her long blonde hair. Her hands brushed against the hem of her skirt, fidgeting with its creased edges, as she heard rustling of clothing in the room behind her.
She gulped loudly.
The young adult didn't know why they were in this kind of store to begin with. Couldn't they have gone to a more appropriate one? Maybe they could go to a store that had clothing that fit all the important parts or didn't use transparent materials. That seemed like a good idea, no, a great idea, to her. As it was, she was already nervous. Everyone who past her appeared to be giving her knowing smiles and even winked at her.
She wanted to bury herself in a hole.
A small squeak escaped her mouth as she felt a hand on her shoulder, jumping nearly a foot high. She glanced up quickly and felt her jaw drop.
"What do you think?" Nanoha said with a small smirk, turning around to show her the full view of the costume. "It's a little tight but I think it's cute."
The tall blonde didn't know how to react. She could feel a full on blush making its way to her face and she knew that soon her ears would be steaming. She already knew what Nanoha was going to try on but to actually see her wear the skimpy, tight outfit was something else entirely. Fate wanted to know how Nanoha was going to wear that in public.
"Fate-chan?"
Nanoha moved closer, looking up at Fate. The costume in general was made to be sexier than the original version so the dip of the V on her top was a lot more extreme. In general, it gave Fate a good idea on what was under that shirt. She couldn't help but stare at the flesh before her, her lips opening and closing like a fish.
A finger touched her chin and pushed her head up until Fate was looking into amused blue eyes. She didn't even have time to be embarrassed at being caught before Nanoha tapped her on the nose and turned around, grabbing the bag that was on the bench Fate used to be sitting on. The blonde could not help, again, to admire the skin that was not covered by the costume.
She had an unacknowledged thought, that maybe, the costume wasn't such a bad idea after all. She wouldn't mind seeing Nanoha in that costume, especially since she might be able to have her wear it later for her in private.
But then she realized that other people would see Nanoha wearing it before that moment, and she did not like that thought. At all.
Only she could ogle Nanoha!
"N- Nanoha-"
"I think we should match." Nanoha interrupted her, showing Fate the bag she had picked up. Instead of Nanoha's black and red costume, this one was white and blue.
Fate had watched the anime with Nanoha and knew for certain that neither of these costumes looked like the ones in the anime. For one thing, Satsuki's outfit didn't show stomach. Well, not when Junketsu wasn't activated. Also, neither of them was made out of cheap shiny vinyl material that seemed to cling to your skin.
She began to think of ways to get out of Hayate's cosplay party. Hayate wasn't stupid, she would know immediately when Fate was lying and would call her on it. So the only option was to get Nanoha in on it, then Hayate wouldn't push and tease her so hard.
She grimaced.
Yeah, right.
"N- Nanoha…" Fate tried again, grabbing onto the sleeve of Nanoha's top. Nanoha stopped gushing out and about how the blonde would look so good in the white costume and titled her head with an impish smile. The dimples made Fate pause.
"D- Do we have to wear these?" She stuttered, her face reddening. "There are other stores we should check. Just in case we see something better we like."
Nanoha stared at her and Fate felt her pulse quicken as the brunette glanced at the bag and then back at Fate. She lifted an eyebrow.
"I don't think we'd find anything this good on you in another store."
She said it so bluntly that Fate couldn't comprehend it right away. When she did, the men in the store wanted to hi-five Nanoha for making the beautiful blonde turn so red.
"B- B- B- But-"
"No buts, Fate-chan, you have to at least try it!" Nanoha gave her a wide grin. "I know it'll fit you perfectly."
Fate shook her head. "No matter who puts that on, it will never fit properly." She eyed it warily. "It looked like it'll be illegal to wear in public."
It was Nanoha's turn to be confused. She titled her head, shifting her weight on one leg. It distracted Fate again for a second but she mentally chastised herself and looked up again.
"Nyahaha,"
"What?" The laugh caught her by surprise.
"Fate-chan, who said anything about wearing these in public?" There was a twinkle in her eyes. "I just wanted to get something for our secret collection. Didn't I tell you that yesterday?"
The blonde froze, blinking slowly. The brunette had not told her that. She would know if she did. Her lips were forming into a pout.
"I mean, if you really want to," Nanoha went on. "I guess we could wear this to the party, but it'll be a little embarrassing. I didn't think you liked stuff like this but I shouldn't be surprised, considering what your barrier jacket looks li-mmmff."
Fate covered the shorter woman's mouth to stop her from talking. Anymore and she knew she would spontaneously combust from embarrassment. She had been played the whole time. She wanted to go dig herself deeper in a hole and sleep the day away.
She just pouted instead.
Nanoha's smile grew.
"That wasn't very nice…" Fate whined, looking away and crossed her arms. She felt a warm hand touch her and she turned slightly to look into Nanoha's face. Her smile was now sweet, warming Fate to the core.
"I know, I'm sorry." The smaller woman said. "I knew you would be a little mad at me but I figured that if I wore this too," she gestured to the costume. "Then you would forgive me." They stared into each other's eyes.
"So am I?"
"Are you what?" Fate was too lost in the gaze that she honestly didn't remember what or why she was mad.
"Am I forgiven?" That smile was back into place but Fate could see the little nervous glint in her eyes, as if she didn't know if Fate would truly forgive her for her little prank. Fate thought that was stupid. She would always forgive her.
"Of course."
Fate was rewarded with a small kiss to the lips that left her lightheaded and stomach rolling with butterflies. She grinned like an idiot.
"Okay, now let me go change out of this and we can go pay."
Fate blinked.
Pay?
"W- Wait, we're still getting them?"
Nanoha nodded. "Of course, I want to see you wear this." She pointed at the bag still in her hand. "I still think you'll look sexy in it."
"B- But-"
A familiar voice behind them made both of them freeze. Nanoha was looking behind her shoulder, her face frozen in quiet fear. They both looked at each other and before either of them could think about what they were doing, they stumbled into the changing room, closing the curtain to hide themselves in the small cramped room.
They were breathing heavily, bodies pressed up against each other as they tried to catch their breath. Fate sighed loudly and let the back of her head rest against the wall, her eyes closing as she tried to process what was just happening.
Their worst fears were among them.
Hayate just so happened to walk into the store, walking beside Shamal who was dragging along the annoyed looking Signum.
Nanoha was resting her head against her chest, her cheeks pink and her eyes roaming around the small room until they stopped at the curtain.
"Do… Do you think they saw us?" Nanoha whispered, her hand twitching to take a peak outside. "They couldn't have, right?"
"I don't think they saw us…" Fate said just as quietly, her arm wrapping around Nanoha's waist. "They were too far away to see us." It was just luck that Hayate laughed at the exact moment they entered the cosplay store. If they approached them while Nanoha was in the costume and gesturing to the bag… Fate didn't know who would die of embarrassment more, her or Nanoha.
"Check."
"W- What, you check!"
They stared at each other until they both laughed. They were being ridiculous, acting so childish. If they were caught, the worst thing that could happen was that they would be teased. That thought struck Fate and she shuddered just thinking at what Hayate would say.
Fate decided to man-up and used her hand to push back the curtain slightly so just their eyes would show. They both leaned forward, glancing around for their raccoon of a friend. They both spotted her at the register, her hands gesturing behind the counter at one of the options on the wall. Shamal had Signum off to the side, looking at one of the many nurse outfits. Even Fate could see the redness in the pink haired knight's cheeks.
She felt her pain.
"Maybe we can wait until they leave."
"That sounds like a good plan…expect that Hayate seems to be walking this way and we're in the only changing room in the store."
They both stopped to digest that information and then jumped into action.
"Change!" Fate whispered urgently, grabbing Nanoha's clothes that were scattered on the ground. She could feel her heart beating wildly and wondered if it was possible to have a heart attack at the age of eighteen.
She was about to find out.
"Ah, Miss, I think there are still people in the changing room." The lady watching the changing rooms told Hayate who seemed to be puzzled.
"People?"
"Yes, two girls went inside just now."
"Ahhh~"
"F- Fate-chan…" Nanoha whispered inside the changing room. "I… I can't reach."
"R- Reach what?"
"Um. The buckle."
"Buckle?"
"This outfit is removed with buckles, but there's a main one that needs to be unbuckled before everything else." Nanoha spoke with a sigh, trying to keep the blush from creeping up to her ears.
Fate did not like this one bit. But she had to ask. "…Wh- Where is it?"
"On the front."
"Wh- Where on the front?" Fate swallowed, looking at the ceiling. "Itcan'tbethereItcan'tbethereItcan'tbethere."
"Um, down there. Where the belts connect… in the middle…"
"Are you done yet, Miss?" The two got surprised at the sudden voice of the clerk. Fate accidentally pushed Nanoha by the waist, towards the wall.
"A- Almost!"
"There we go, please wait in line." She spoke.
"Thank you~" The reply came in, right in front of the changing room.
Nanoha and Fate froze.
Hayate.
Hayate is here.
Hayate is in-front of the changing room now.
And she knows.
She knows the two of them are inside.
Hayate knows.
Hayate knows everything.
"Do you two need a room?" She spoke from outside, with an ominous grin.
"N- No. This is room enough!" Fate answered in a panic. Nanoha looked at her with a glare just in time she realized her mistake.
"Ah~ I see." Hayate replied, amusement in her tone. "This isn't probably the first time."
"W- We haven—"
"I- It's not!" Nanoha replied and this time it was Fate's turn to glare at her.
Hayate opened her mouth in understanding. She grinned. "You two aren't… you know… naked?"
"N- Nanoha isn't naked!"
"Fate-chan, get out!" Nanoha pushed her through the curtain. Fate took a few steps backwards, outside the curtain.
"H- Hi, Hayate." Fate greeted with one hand, and realized what she was holding.
Hayate crossed her arms in front of her. She grinned. The evil, teasing, scary, kind.
"Is that—"
"I- It's not what you think-!"
"I haven't thought of anything yet, Fate-chan." Hayate answered. She could not grin hard enough. It was evident that Fate was holding onto Nanoha's clothes. "What could she be wearing inside there, I wonder—" Hayate walked towards the curtain to peek, it's okay, right? They're friends.
"N- NOTHING!" Fate raised her hand in the air, trying to block Hayate from peeking into the curtain. All eyes looked at her. She was holding clothes, definitely not from the store, in her hands. Then she realized. "S- SOMETHING!"
Inside the changing room, Nanoha facepalmed. "Fate-chan, you idiot."
Fate wanted to cry.
She put down her hands, and took deep breathes.
Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale.
With multiple pairs of eyes watching her every move, she slightly opened the curtain without looking inside and handed the clothes to whoever was inside it.
Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale.
Then she dashed out of the store.
Signum happened to see a blur of yellow. "Testarossa?" She wondered as she put back a magical girl outfit of pink and white, into the rack. "Must be my imagination."
Omake 1
Hayate leaned over the counter, gesturing that she will whisper towards the clerk. "Do you know how they look like?"
"Let me see. There is a blonde with red eyes. The other one was a brunette. She was wearing this racy black uniform from this series called "Kill la Kill." They both went in."
"Impressive taste, Nanoha-chan. You do not let me down!" She smiled at the clerk. "I see. I'm kind of in a hurry, is it okay if you can accompany me to ask if they're almost done?"
"Certainly."
Omake 2
Nanoha exited the changing room with her usual clothes… with clothing covering all the necessary parts. She looked at Hayate with an empty expression.
"Where did Fate-chan go?" Blue eyes looked around in confusion.
Hayate looked at her with a wry expression. "Probably looking for her innocence somewhere."
"I think we should go apologize, nyahaha~" Nanoha said.
"Did you do something to her?"
"Just frustrate her a little." Nanoha answered with a blush.
"It's okay, you can skip the party." Hayate patted her shoulder. "I get it, I get it."
"HAYATE-CHAN!"
-
A/N: Dear Birthday-Homie, Happy Birthday! I hope today is one of the best days of your life! Whilst ending the dreaded poor day (that is mostly hated) with a smile (and maybe laughter too!) It's been around 4 years since I've known you. The three of us still get along so well despite the stupid timezones. ;_; We're going to know each 5 years soon and Nanoha needs to win the lotto! I wish I could surprise/derp/troll on more of your birthdays, so have more soon! ; v ; -Oneenyan
Dear homie, happy birthday! Now we are the same age and you can't say anything about being not old because we'RE ALL GOING TO BE OLD TOGETHER. One day we will meet again, this time nowhere near Macy's, and go and troll our oneechan. The three of us are going to rule the world, just you wait. Five years will soon be ten! Also, you old now, help with trying to win the lotto! =I –Actual-oneechan-who-seems-like-the-imouto-but-really-is-the-second-oldest