It all started innocently enough.
All Fate wanted to do was to brush Arf's fur, because even magical-wolf familiars can smell if not properly groomed.
Of course, nothing is that simple when Takamachi Nanoha is involved in the equation.
.
The Wonders of Pink!
- Enraptured
xxx
They were in the bedroom, the three of them. Fate was kneeling on the ground, brush in hand, with the giant red wolf half-resting on her lap. Arf squirmed slightly, tired of keeping still. A pleading whine escaped the wolf's throat, and Arf nuzzled Fate's hand, tongue hanging out hopefully.
"You are not leaving until I'm done with you," Fate scolded gently, pushing Arf's snout away.
"Ne, Fate-chan? What are you doing?" Nanoha wondered aloud, sprawled casually across the length of the bed. Pushing her reports away, the brunette scooted closer and stuck her head over the edge of the bed curiously.
"Brushing," Fate replied vaguely, inspecting Arf's fur for any split ends.
"Oooh, does Arf ever get grey hair? I've always wanted to see how an old wolf would look," Nanoha bubbled excitedly, eyeing the wolf with interest.
Arf growled loudly and turned away, highly insulted.
"Stop moving," Fate muttered, grabbing Arf's head and pulling it closer.
"If you're grooming her to make her look better, it doesn't look like it's working," Nanoha informed Fate matter-of-factly. "Arf still looks the same after all these years."
"Mm hmm…"
"You're going to need something extra, something special, to make Arf look cute!"
Arf made a strange choking sound. Cute?! She pawed at Fate desperately, a silent plea for her mistress to steer the conversation out of dangerous waters.
"Fate-chan, are you even listening to me?"
"Uh huh."
"What Arf needs is a pink bow."
'Exactly," Fate agreed absently, more focused on her job than on the conversation.
Arf jabbed Fate's tummy, hard, outraged at the betrayal.
"Ouch!" The brush stopped in mid-comb when Nanoha's words finally sank in. "Wait, what?"
"You know, it's like a fashion accessory! I've seen many dogs with it! They look so cuuuteee!" Nanoha gushed, oblivious to Fate's incredulous expression.
The blonde blinked a couple of times, unsure of how to respond.
"Here, I have a spare ribbon," Nanoha offered helpfully, reaching into the bedside drawer and pulling out a revoltingly bright pink… thing.
Mouth hanging slightly open in shock, Fate accepted the ribbon obediently, not really knowing what to do. Nanoha, however, took matters into her own hands when Fate didn't move.
Hopping off the bed, Nanoha looped the ribbon around Arf's neck. The wolf whined in horror, struggling desperately, but Nanoha was faster, finishing her bow with a flourish.
Fate stared at the atrocity that was her familiar. She wondered how Nanoha expected Arf to fight in battle looking like… that. The opponents were more likely to die from laughter than anything else.
"Pink doesn't look good on Arf," Fate said lamely.
"Why not? I think she's cute," Nanoha defended, clearly misinterpreting Arf's attempts to escape as a happy dance, or something.
"I don't like pink anyway," Fate shrugged.
"It's my favourite color!!" Nanoha gasped, appalled.
"I know…"
"In fact, I was thinking that you could use some pink in your life…" Nanoha trailed off meaningfully, brandishing yet another pink ribbon.
"Stop it, now you're just being annoying."
The moment Nanoha froze and stiffened, Fate knew that she had said something wrong.
Something very, very wrong.
The very air seemed to turn chilly, and Fate shuddered at Nanoha's cold glare.
"I'm annoying?" Nanoha repeated frostily.
"…" Fate opened her mouth to reply, but couldn't think of anything to save herself.
"Did you just call me 'annoying'?"
Arf, sensing that an argument was going to brew, very smartly decided that she most certainly did not want to be a part of this, and slinked inconspicuously out the door.
"What do you mean 'annoying'?!"
"Nanoha, it's just an expression! I didn't mean to insult you; I said it without thinking-
"So you insult me without thinking?"
"I just-
Outside the door, Arf ripped off the vile, disgusting, pink bow and bolted out the house, escaping the madness that was sure to come.
xxx
Leaning against the door frame, Fate sighed, unsure if she should enter. From the way Nanoha was curled up on her side of the bed, back towards Fate, exuding that 'do-not-come-near-me!' aura…
It was pretty darn obvious that Nanoha was still mad at her for their argument.
Fate sighed again. Nanoha almost never went to bed until Fate was back from work. Plus, ever since they had gotten together together, there had been no such thing as 'my' side of the bed.
Taking a deep breath, Fate readied herself and entered the room.
"I'm home," she announced.
No response.
Fate eyed the lump of blankets that was Nanoha warily. Deciding it wasn't worth her time to stand there staring at a pile of sheets, the Enforcer shrugged off her jacket and removed her uniform, letting her clothes fall to the ground. Kicking them away, Fate made her way to the washroom to clean up.
When she returned, Fate was dismayed to find that Nanoha was still emitting those cold vibes. Crawling to into bed, she turned off the lights and got under the blankets.
Then, out of habit, she snuggled closer to the warm body beside her. Fate was just about to wrap her arms around Nanoha and use her as a pillow when Nanoha pulled away suddenly.
What? Fate tried again, only to have Nanoha flinch and jerk away.
The brunette opened her eyes and glared.
Fate withdrew quickly, taken aback by the fierce stare she was receiving. Retreating to her side of the bed, she bit her lip meekly.
Apparently, there was to be no cuddling tonight.
xxx
Fate stared at the ceiling, cold and miserable. She was used to snuggling with Nanoha, it was practically routine. She needed to cuddle before bed, damn it!
Toss; turn.
She stole a glance at Nanoha's back. The brunette looked pretty much asleep, only movement being the steady rise and fall of her shoulders as she breathed.
Hesitating slightly, Fate stretched out a quivering hand and gently prodded Nanoha, before pulling back quickly. Nanoha didn't respond, and Fate poked her again, just to make sure.
Very, very carefully, (for unlike her, Nanoha was a light sleeper), Fate placed a hand on Nanoha's waist. When Nanoha still didn't wake, Fate inched closer and wrapped her arms around Nanoha, resting her head against Nanoha's back.
Fate could have cried in relief when Nanoha didn't jerk awake and murder her or something.
xxx
"Mmph!" Fate grunted, rudely wakened by Nanoha's frantic elbowing of her ribs.
"Release me, you indecent molester!" Nanoha cried, repeatedly whacking Fate's arms, which were wrapped around her waist, and also rapidly turning red.
"I- what? Ow! What- stop!" Fate sputtered indignantly, half-awake and fully confused. "What?"
"If Fate-chan is touching without permission, it means she's taking advantage of me," Nanoha declared, successfully untangling herself from Fate's grasp.
"Permission?" Fate repeated incredulously, unsure if her sleep-drugged mind was hearing things. Since when did she need permission to touch Nanoha?
Fate continued to stare blankly at Nanoha, head cocked to the side, blinking in confusion. That is, until she decided that she was simply too sleepy to care about Nanoha's moodswings, and collapsed back into bed.
She felt the bed shift slightly as Nanoha clambered off it, and then sleep claimed her once more.
xxx
[The time now is exactly 0852 hours.]
Fate groaned, burying her head deeper into the fluffy pillows, wishing that her device would just stop rambling.
"Be quiet, Bardiche, I'm trying to sleep," Fate growled, groping blindly for a spare pillow to cover her ears.
[The time now is exactly 26 seconds after 0852 hours. Your meeting is scheduled at 0900 hours, Sir.]
"Nanoha will wake me," Fate mumbled, voice muffled by the pillow. "She always does."
[Negative. She has already left.]
"She what?" Fate finally removed the pillow from her face and forced herself to open her eyes, squinting at Bardiche.
[Raging Heart and her master departed at approximately 0715 hours, Sir.]
"She what!?" Fate had a few seconds to digest this unexpected bit of information. Nanoha did not just let her oversleep. Her Nanoha always woke her, no matter how long it took.
[The time now is exactly 0853 hours.]
Something clicked.
"Eight fifty-three?! Bardiche, I'm going to be late!" Fate cried suddenly, bolting out of bed with the supersonic speed she was famous for.
[Affirmative.]
The panicking Enforcer scrambled around the room, unsure of what to do first.
"Uniform, uniform," she muttered urgently to herself, scanning the room desperately. Where did Nanoha keep her uniform?
Frantic burgundy eyes fell upon the heap of clothes on the floor.
"Ahh, crap," Fate cursed, realizing too late that she should not have strewn her clothes all over the floor. Now that Nanoha was mad at her, she was probably not going to pick up after Fate's mess.
Probably not, indeed.
[The time now is exactly 0855 hours.]
"…Great."
She was screwed.
xxx
"Where are you, where are you?!" the flustered blonde hissed in frustration, scuttling around the kitchen and knocking everything over.
[The time now is exactly 0918 hours.]
Fate had wrenched open every drawer, every cabinet, every cupboard, every damn form of storage compartment in sight.
"Where are the coffee beans?!" Fate wanted to scream aloud. It was uncharacteristic of her to lose her cool, but she was in the midst of a crisis.
[You have four messages and an incoming call, Sir.]
"Perfect. Wonderful. Just what I needed," Fate nearly snarled.
She was so screwed.
xxx
By the time Fate got home, she was close to tears. Close to. It took more than just a terrible, awful, horrific, dreadful day at work to defeat the great Fate Testarossa Harlaown.
Or so, she liked to think.
The sight that greeted her in the bedroom did absolutely nothing to lift her spirits.
Nanoha was lying on the 'Nanoha' side of the bed again, but what got Fate's attention more was the fact that the sheets had been changed.
Their once cream-colored bedspread was now a mix of two colors, one half being white, and the other half…
A horrible, revolting shade of really, really bright pink.
"Since Fate-chan cannot keep her hands to herself, this half of the bed…" Nanoha said, without as much as a greeting, "is now mine," she finished, pointing to the white side.
Slate-blue stared straight into wary burgundy, a mixture of seriousness, vindictiveness and smirking triumph.
"And Fate-chan…" Nanoha paused for dramatic effect, enjoying the other girl's squirm, "gets the pink side."
Fate whimpered.
Bright pink sheets. Angry girlfriend. Another cuddle-less night.
She wanted to cry.
xxx
She had been late for two days in a row. She had gotten reprimanded for 'unkempt' uniform that 'disgraced the dressing code of all Enforcers'. She had gone without morning coffee for Two. Freaking. Days.
When it reached the point that she would jump and recoil in horror upon the sight of anything pink, Fate finally decided to shelve her pride for the sake of her sanity.
Something had to be done, and fast.
xxx
"Still quarreling with Fate-chan?" Hayate asked, munching on her carrot.
"Obviously," Signum cut in dryly, before Nanoha could reply. "Or she wouldn't be here having lunch with us. She'd be all lovey-dovey and mushy wushy with Testarossa."
Nanoha was about to give a scathing retort, but was distracted by a sudden tirade of noises.
"Damn it, Arf, just get in-
Nanoha raised an eyebrow and that very familiar voice.
The loud grunting, shoving, panting, and (was that snarling?) noises had everyone's heads turned towards the entrance of the cafeteria.
"Stop being stubborn-
Craning her neck to look at the doors, Nanoha could have sworn she saw a swish of blonde hair held together by a... pink (?) ribbon, before it swished back out of sight.
Finally, the scuffling sounds ceased, and Fate appeared at the doorway, dragging a large, struggling something behind her.
Arf clearly did not want to be here. The wolf growled, resisted, and thrashed.
When Fate's familiar finally appeared in their sight, it was very obvious why.
A large pink bow was tied around Arf's neck, and there was… a bright yellow flower behind the wolf's ear.
Cue stunned silence.
Until Zafira started barking with mirth. The guardian beast howled with laughter, in a rare, uncharacteristic display of emotions. Hayate giggled. Even Signum's lips twitched.
Arf started struggling again, growling in anger and embarrassment. Fate hastily laid a warning hand on the back of Arf's neck.
"Be still," she ordered, before getting down on her knees in front of Nanoha.
"N-Nanoha," she began humbly. "I was wrong to scorn your suggestions. I fully agree with you that Arf looks cuter with a pink bow-
(Another outburst of laughter)
"And that I should never have spoken without thinking," Fate continued shyly, all too conscious of all the eyes on her.
"Um, this is for you," Fate ploughed on bravely, producing a furry earmuff. She handed it to a rather dazed Nanoha, not really meeting her eyes.
"It's a earmuff. Pink, because that's your favourite colour, and fluffy for the added warmth… when I'm not there…to hold you…" she trailed off, blushing furiously now. A few people cheered, but Fate only had eyes for one person.
"And you can also use it to filter out any nonsense I might utter in the future," Fate finished, finally looking up at Nanoha.
"I'm really, really sorry, Nanoha. Will you please forgive me?" Fate breathed quietly, burgundy eyes brimming with sincerity and love.
Fate Testarossa Harlaown was rather shy. She hated crowds, blushed easily and didn't like attention (except from Nanoha).
Therefore, apologizing in front of a large audience (on bended knee!), going as far as to find a perfect present, crafting such a cheesy speech…
Nanoha practically melted.
"Fate-chaaannn!" the brunette threw herself off her chair and flung her arms around her girlfriend, to massive cheering and clapping.
"Will you forgive me for being so childish?"
"Only if you forgive me for being so insensitive."
Nanoha smiled, a genuine, beautiful smile that made the past two days of hell seem to vanish.
"Deal."
With that single word, Fate felt a hundred times happier.
"This is for you, too," Fate whipped out a bouquet of flowers, beautifully arranged and very expensive. "Sunflowers because they make you happy."
"…I love you, Fate-chan," Nanoha murmured, throat too tight to say anything else.
And now, Fate felt a thousand times happier. She closed her eyes and held Nanoha close, relishing the feel of just being able to hold her freely again. "Thank you."
"Fate-chan?"
"Hm?"
"Your clothes stink," Nanoha wrinkled her nose.
Fate blushed, averting her eyes.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't find where you kept the detergent…"
Nanoha stared.
"It's in that big box beside the washing machine? You know, the box labeled 'Detergents'."
At Fate's adorably confused expression, Nanoha sighed and smiled.
"Mou, Fate-chan, you're hopeless," she whispered affectionately, before leaning in and kissing her girlfriend gently on the lips.
xxx
"Ta-dah!" Nanoha exclaimed dramatically, thrusting a messily wrapped present towards her.
"What's this?" Fate questioned, poking the package suspiciously.
"It's a present. In return for yours!" Nanoha grinned. She was bouncing enthusiastically, more excited than Fate herself.
"You didn't hav-
"Shh, just open it, Fate-chan."
The blonde did as she was told, slowly peeling off the paper and smiling secretly at the bad wrapping.
Out fell…
"A book?" Fate stared in surprise.
"I hear it's a very good one," Nanoha offered, smiling slyly.
Fate looked at the cover.
"'Ten Ways To Make Your Girlfriend Happy', by… Nakamachi Tanoha," Fate read aloud. She raised an eyebrow.
"I thought you could use a guide," Nanoha shrugged. "Since you said you'd treat me better and all…"
Fate really didn't know what to think, so she took the easy way out and didn't think at all.
"…Thanks."
"You're welcome."
END -.-
A/N: Somehow, I always see Arf as a silent wolf. This is a pretty lame and pointless piece, as usual.
I'm thinking of writing a sequel for this, entitled Ten Ways To Make Your Girlfriend Happy. Yes, that book that Nanoha gave Fate. You know, the one written by Nakamachi Tanoha. *snorts*
But then again, by the time I finish typing this A/N, I'll probably drop it due to lazy-ness. 8D What do you think? No idea if I want to leave this or keep writing, meh.
(This was written in an attempt to get certain stubborn writers to write.)
PS: I have nothing against pink. I thought that it would be a hilarious color for Fate to be matched with. That, and lime green, but Nanoha seems more pink-y than green anyway.
Edit: Thanks to Rae for the slight grammar help :P Thanks to Kasumi for pointing out typos! xD