Hi guys...this is my first oneshot yuri fanfic for Nanoha...particularly on Teana and Subaru since I don't spot much on them and feel they don't get as much attention. (Yes...I figured that Subaru swung that way as I was watching StrikerS). I actually wrote this for a fanfic writing contest for a Nanoha fansite (yet unfortunately, most of the old members are gone and the place has somewhat gone either deserted or in disarray, and I will eventually be leaving that site myself soon). Also...please try not to be too critical as I tried my hand on adding some possible innuendo references (despite how faint they may be). I prefer reading them besides writing them.
Disclaimer: I don't own Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha or any of the characters whatsoever. Need I say more? Anyway...enjoy the fic.
(A/N: To those that were looking forward to reading it and to those that had already added this to their favorites but can't access it...my sincerest apologies. I took it down frantically because I had to wait on which story was most likely ahead in terms of the fanfic contest (I wasn't expecting a win on my part anyway). Once again...my apologies to fans of this amusing and cute pairing. Now...onward with the fic).
Dates and Sweets:
Teana sighed and leaned back on her chair after finishing up on a report which involved tracking down a rogue mage that was involved in smuggling illegal artifacts and for resisting arrest. Despite finishing up her report, Teana looked at her current schedule, noticing that the next day was open and remembered Subaru telling her that she was free the next day. Despite trying to turn down the offer for a regular outing by the energetic blue haired forward, Teana eventually gave in after Subaru gave that 'pleading hurt puppy' look.
"You alright Teana? You seem worked up about something," said Fate, passing by Teana's cubicle.
"Nothing much really," she replied, with a smile.
Fate was known to be other things by her friends, including Nanoha; dense…sometimes, but not absolutely clueless.
"Teana…we've been working together for a while. Despite what you're telling me vocally, your body language and facial expression says otherwise," said Fate. "What's wrong?"
"What time is it?" asked Teana.
"About 6:30 in the afternoon," replied the blonde Enforcer. "You know you can tell me anything, right?"
"Yeah," replied Teana, looking briefly at a group picture of her along with the other members of Riot Force 6.
Fate followed Teana's stare and couldn't help but smile.
"Having problems with your personal life?" she mused.
At that instant, Teana's concentration was thrown off completely.
"Uh…no…it has nothing to do with that," she replied. "Just thinking…"
"It's about Subaru…right?" inquired Fate.
When Teana didn't respond, the blonde Enforcer placed a hand on her shoulder. "Come on…let's take a walk."
As they left the office, Fate noticed that Teana still had her head down and suspected that what she was inquiring earlier confirmed her suspicions.
"Hey…Fate-san," began Teana.
"What is it?" she asked.
"How exactly would you know if you…well…liked someone?" asked the brunette.
"Like a crush?" clarified Fate.
"Well…actually…" began Teana.
"More than as a friend…you mean," finished Fate, at this Teana gave a slight nod.
"To be honest…Hayate once asked me the same thing…with Nanoha," said Fate.
"You two were the best of friends from what she told me," said Teana.
"That's…only part of it," said Fate.
"Wait…you don't mean…" began Teana, to which Fate gave a slight nod.
At that point…the brunette was speechless.
"Are we still talking about Subaru here?" asked Fate.
"Why did you bring her up?" asked Teana.
"Teana…I've been known to be numerous things, but absolutely clueless isn't one of them. You've known Subaru for…how long has it been?"
"I haven't been keeping track lately," she replied.
"Then let me ask you this…do you really care for her?" asked Fate.
"Of course I do," answered Teana.
"As her best friend yes," clarified Fate. "I meant…really care for her."
"What are you getting at?" wondered Teana.
"Teana…it doesn't take a genius to figure out that Subaru is literally smitten with you," replied Fate.
At that moment…Teana's face went as red as a ripe tomato.
"B-but…I-I'm…" stammered Teana.
Fate couldn't help but give a sigh of frustration and shake her head, but not without a slight smirk on her face.
"You really are a tsundére," said Fate, chuckling.
Teana whipped her head and stared at the blonde next to her in surprise.
"OK…that I would usually expect from Hayate…but you?!"
"I guess what Subaru was telling me was true," said Fate, trying to control her laughter.
"Did she put you up to this?" asked Teana.
"No…hahaha…she didn't," replied Fate, in between laughs.
After Fate had regained her composure, she heaved a sigh and said, "Seriously though…if you hold out on it too long…you might regret it."
"So…what do you think I should do?" asked Teana.
"Ask her out," replied Fate.
"What do you mean…ask her out?"
"Take her out…on a date," replied Fate, smiling.
Teana stopped for a few seconds as her brain tried to process what Fate was telling her before her face went beet red.
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!"
"You heard me," replied Fate.
"You…yo-you…can't be serious…right?" asked Teana.
"What's wrong with that?" she asked.
"But…-bu-but…we're both…" she stammered.
"So…what's stopping you?" asked Fate. "It's just a get together, right?"
"You said date a while ago…and besides, we're both girls," replied Teana.
"What are you afraid of Teana?" asked Fate, her face showing a stern expression.
Teana tried to overcome the shock at the earlier suggestion and tried to come up with a clear answer, but was struggling to have the words come out.
"Seriously Teana…I can understand that both reputation and image are important…but if you let other people's opinion get to you…you'll never be able to move forward. Sometimes when it comes to relationships, especially personal ones…you need to learn to take some risks. Bottling up your emotions isn't going to get you anywhere. Remember what happened during that one time you were with Subaru during that mock battle with Nanoha and what resulted after*?" asked Fate.
The memory was faint, but Teana was able to recall that time easily and how she let her emotions get the best of her, resulting in Nanoha shooting her down.
"You need to learn to trust others better and be more open, even with those closest to you," said Fate. "Give it a try…you never know what might happen. She might even return those feelings."
"Have you and Nanoha ever gone out together?" asked Teana.
"A few times…back when we were young," replied Fate.
At that instant, Teana's eyes widened in surprise and shock.
"How old were you two?" she asked.
"Oh…now you're interested in my love life?" inquired Fate, with a raised eyebrow.
"Uh…well…you don't have to tell me if you don't feel like it, since you inquired about mine," she replied. "I suppose I could give it a shot."
Fate smiled at her colleague and gave Teana a few quick pat on the head as if she was petting her.
"Um…Fate-san…you can stop now," said Teana.
"Let me know how it goes," she said, turning around and heading towards the parking lot to her car.
As Fate made her way to the parked car smiling, a brunette with blue eyes had a mirrored smile on her face that was waiting in the passenger seat.
"You seem to be in a good mood. Did something happen?" asked Nanoha.
"Nanoha…just how long did you figure out that Subaru had a crush on Teana?" asked Fate.
"I wasn't the one who figured it out…Hayate told me," she replied.
Fate gave her girlfriend the 'I'm not fully convinced' stare for a few seconds before an eyebrow arched up.
"What? She did," replied Nanoha.
At that moment, Fate couldn't help but smirk. "You remember our little bet?"
Nanoha returned the expression with a sly grin added. "How could I not?"
"You didn't tell Vivio about it did you?" asked Fate.
"Of course not," she replied. "Oh...and she told me before we left that she was going to be staying at Einhart's place to do some studying for an upcoming test this week."
"Oh...I see," replied Fate, who looked down at the dashboard for a brief moment. "Vivio's a lot like you, you know."
"And Einhart's not so different from you, nyahaha," said Nanoha, laughing a bit. "You remember that time when you confessed your feelings for me?"
"Nanoha...that was all Hayate's doing," replied Fate, a bit surprised that she brought it up.
"But it worked out...didn't it?" she inquired.
"Well...y-yeah but...her suggestions were hardly helpful at all," answered the blonde Enforcer.
Just then, a sudden thought occurred to her as Fate couldn't help but ask.
"You don't think that Hayate is trying to put Vivio and Einhart together are you?"
"What makes you say that?" asked Nanoha.
"Well...like I said...her suggestions were hardly helpful to me...and besides...she's been getting weird notions after staying with her," replied Fate. "And she almost caught us going to third base because of you."
"Well...you didn't seem too worried about that beforehand," said Nanoha, a bit seductively.
Just as Nanoha was trying to slink ever closer to the blonde, Fate quickly held up a finger right at Nanoha's nose and waved it.
"Nuh-uh-uh…it's after the end result," said Fate.
"Mou…" pouted Nanoha.
Fate couldn't help but chuckle. "You are such a rabbit at times."
"Hmph…says the one who keeps begging for more," shot back Nanoha.
As Teana began rummaging through her closet to try and figure out what to wear, the slight tinge of red on her cheeks still hadn't left yet after her conversation with Fate. She finally settled with an orange t-shirt and a brown jacket and placed it on a hanger near the door to her room before lying down on her bed.
'I still can't believe that she was actually like that. Hayate's mental corruption might have even gotten to Nanoha,' she thought and slightly shuddered at the possibility before sleep took over.
When Teana woke up the next day due to her alarm going off, she groggily went over to the bathroom and tried to get herself fixed up first by taking a warm shower and by the time she finished and had her hair fixed, her device, Cross Mirage made a sort of notification chirping sound.
"Incoming message from Subaru Nakajima, ma'am," said the device.
"Put it onscreen," replied Teana.
Seconds later, a small screen popped up and Subaru's face came up. Turns out the message that was sent was a video message.
"Hi Tea...just wanted to remind you of our little get together today. I recently found a really good cafe that sells really good pastries. I'll send you the directions on how to get there. Meet you there at 10:00. Ja ne."
'Heh...it's surprising that she would remember about that, besides forgetting other things. I remember Ginga saying that she really likes choco-pods. I suppose I could grab a small batch before meeting up with her,' she thought.
"Directions to the cafe mentioned by Subaru coming up, ma'am," said Cross Mirage.
"Thanks, Cross Mirage," replied Teana.
"No problem."
As Teana gave a quick look of the directions while dressing up with the clothes that she chose last night, she gave one last quick glance of herself in the mirror before looking at the directions once more and then asked Cross Mirage about the location of that sweets store who then gave her directions for that as well.
With everything set up, Teana was about to grab Cross Mirage and put it in her jacket pocket before she felt a rush of heat flood her cheeks.
'It's just a get together...nothing to be worried about,' she thought, as Teana heaved a deep sigh and tried to calm her nerves down.
As if realizing her slight nervousness, Cross Mirage chirped up.
"Feeling alright, ma'am?" it asked.
"I'm fine, Cross Mirage. Thanks," she replied, and picked up her device and placed it in her left jacket pocket and left her room.
As Teana began navigating through the various cross streets to the shop that sold the choco-pods, she couldn't help but think about those times when Subaru was always trying to be supportive even though her clinginess had tend to drive her crazy. As if that wasn't enough, the fact that she was called tsundere by her friends was nearly enough to leave her flabbergasted. She remembered one time when Subaru invited her over to their place and noticed some cookies being baked in the oven and telling Subaru that a similar incident occurred when asking Nanoha for some personal advice some time ago and it didn't take long for the Ace of Aces to know that she was "snooping" around the kitchen for a cookie, which caused Subaru to nearly break into a fit of laughter for a good minute or so before her sides started aching. That memory was enough to cause Teana to let out a quick giggle but also remembered that odd but presumably naughty warning that Nanoha gave her about the consequences if it happened again. That small tidbit was enough to convince Teana about her suspicions yesterday regarding Hayate and her supposed mental corruptive ways around women. Now she had a good clue of who to steer away from when asking about that kind of advice. By the time she had gotten the choco-pods, Teana then asked Cross Mirage about the current time to which he chirped 9:15. She groaned a slight bit in annoyance not just because of the list of directions that Subaru had sent her, but trying to recall it and then following it made her feel like she was going in circles. Eventually, Teana found herself heading towards a cafe that had a bit of a rustic feel on the inside while the outside looked like it had an old wooden exterior that had slowly aged. Looking around she eventually saw a certain blue haired grinning young woman sitting at a French-looking styled metal chair under an umbrella covered table. Teana gave a quick wave to Subaru who noticed from a distance.
"Tea...you're just in time," she answered.
"It sort of took me a while to get here after the directions you gave me," replied Teana.
"Eh...it seemed pretty straightforward to me," said Subaru.
Before she forgot, Teana then handed Subaru the small bag with the choco-pods. "I remember Ginga telling me that you liked them so I figured I should get some for you. Although...I apologize in advance for eating a few," she said, laughing a bit nervously.
"It's fine...I knew you'd try and sneak a few anyway," said Subaru. "You want anything? It's my treat."
"I remember you saying in your message that the pastries are good so...I guess I could take a look," replied Teana. "I'll just pay for my own."
"No-no...you don't have to. I'll take care of it," answered Subaru quickly.
"Alright. What do you think about doing afterwards?"
"I don't know. What did you have in mind?" inquired Subaru.
"Well...I'm up for any suggestions," said Teana.
"An action flick or drama?" asked Subaru.
"I'm not one for tearjerkers," she answered.
"An action flick it is then."
As the two went inside the cafe and looked at the various pastries that were available, they didn't realize that two other women, one a brunette and the other a blonde, were following from a distance.
"I don't think it's a good idea that we should be following them."
"Eh...aren't you curious as to how it will turn out?"
"She'll tell when she's ready. Besides...you just want this to be over so you can get me into bed."
"Are you sure about that?"
"Let's just take a quick look and get it over with."
Teana had settled on a cheese danish and a frappuccino while Subaru went with an espresso and a strawberry with cheese filled croissant. Subaru managed to find a small both not too far from the windows as they waited on their orders. The two of them started reminiscing past times until Subaru noticed Teana averted her gaze for a brief moment.
"Is something wrong?" asked Subaru.
"Nothing much really...just had a bit of a rough day yesterday," she replied.
"You sure you're not dodging the question?"
"I said it's nothing," she answered.
"That kind of response tells me you're hiding something," said Subaru.
Teana gave a frustrated sigh as Subaru pressed on. If there was one thing that she could give credit to her blue-haired friend was that she was quite persistent.
"Fate-san has tried to help me sort out my...personal life," replied Teana.
"Oh, I see," replied Subaru. "You have a crush on someone?"
"In a manner."
"Is it someone I know?" asked Subaru.
"Perhaps...but I'm not telling," said Teana.
"Aww...can't you give me just a little hint?" pleaded Subaru, suddenly giving Teana that 'puppy eye' look.
"Argh...don't give me that look," groaned Teana, in annoyance.
"Pretty please?"
"You'll have to figure it out on your own," said Teana.
"Ugh...you're such a killjoy," whined Subaru.
By the time their orders came by, the two of them just ate in silence for a while. After about half an hour had past, Teana finally decided to break the silence and explain to Subaru a bit on what Fate had told her yesterday.
"Wow...I knew that they were close but...seriously...Nanoha was the one who confessed to Fate?" asked a surprised Subaru.
"More like Hayate was the one who was pulling the strings," said Teana, taking a small bite of her pastry. "I remember Nanoha telling me once that she seemed a bit ticked off at what Hayate was telling Vivio and she almost used her 'technique' on her."
"Oh...that bad, huh?" asked Subaru, sipping her espresso.
"Yeah."
"Speaking of which...remember that time you told me that you were snooping around the kitchen and tried to get a treat without Nanoha noticing and how it failed miserably?" asked Subaru, slightly grinning.
"Yeah...of course. Why?" asked Teana.
"Her so-called...technique...you don't think that she was referring to...you know..." began Subaru.
At that moment, Teana's eyes widened in surprise and she almost choked on her drink.
"Subaru! It wasn't like that," replied Teana, her voice nearly raised almost causing other people to look.
"Sorry," she said.
"Seriously...I don't know where in the world you got that idea," said Teana. "It's not because of Hayate is it?"
"No-no...of course not. Ginga-nee somehow got word of it from Nanoha who then told me and suggested that we head out on a date," answered Subaru.
"Huh...interesting. Because that's what Fate-san suggested to me."
From a slight distance, Nanoha and Fate were looking from the bushes in front of the window of the cafe, until Fate tried to put her lover's head down.
"Hey...I want to see what's going on," whined Nanoha.
"Do you want us to get caught by them?" asked Fate.
As the two of them finished up their drinks, a sudden thought came to Subaru and she gave a quick glance to her best friend.
"Hey...you don't think that..." began Subaru.
"What?" asked Teana.
"You don't think that Fate and Nanoha-san are behind this whole thing, do you?"
"No way. I'd think that those two would be too busy with themselves to try and get us together. It'd probably be more like Hayate's doing," said Teana.
"She always has an odd way with women," said Subaru.
"More like a scary obsession," said Teana, slightly shuddering.
"Are you sure you don't want me to help you find out your mystery lover?" asked Subaru.
Teana gave another annoyed sigh before saying, "You're not going to let up until I tell, aren't you?"
"Persistence is one of my great traits," replied Subaru, grinning.
"I thought it was one of your annoying ones," said Teana.
"Hey!"
After a moment of silence, Teana then explained to Subaru.
"Well...she's a bit clingy at times, and tends to drive me crazy."
"Is she also a bit headstrong?" inquired Subaru.
"Yes...but also a bit clumsy," answered Teana.
"Sounds like someone I know," said Subaru.
"She's caring, strong, and also a bit of a crybaby at times," said Teana.
Subaru slowly took the facts in and to Teana's surprise...was stumped.
"Who is it?"
"Ugh...seriously...must I do everything?" asked Teana, a bit frustrated.
At that point, Teana realized the only way for Subaru to understand was through action. Taking a quick glance to see that no one was watching, Teana then grabbed Subaru and gave her a sudden kiss on the lips. Subaru's eyes widened in surprise before Teana pulled away. The two of them stared at each other for a brief moment before Subaru broke the silence. The only question that registered in Subaru's mind caused Teana to groan in annoyance but tried to hide her disbelief.
"Why didn't you tell me?" asked Subaru.
"Nanoha-san and Ginga-san were right. You are dense," said Teana.
"How was I supposed to know?"
"The clues were right in front of you the whole time."
"You certainly got me on that one in that respect," said Subaru. "So...theater or my place?"
"Which one is closer?" asked Teana.
"Well...I found this place to be a few blocks from where I'm staying," said Subaru.
"Then your place it is," said Teana.
As the two of them were about to leave the cafe, Nanoha was lifting her head again to see through the window before Fate grabbed her by the collar of her instructor uniform and dragged her behind an alleyway.
"Looks like someone is going to be a bit busy in bed tonight," said Nanoha.
"You mean them...or us?" asked Fate. "Because last I recall...you had your bet on Subaru."
"Ugh...OK...you win," said Nanoha. "Best two out of three?"
"In your dreams," said Fate.
(1): * Those that were StrikerS fans should obviously recognize the episode from which I drew that quick reference from.
*sighs*. To be honest guys...I actually was doing the other half of this oneshot in a mad dash to finish and submit partially because of a couple of things: 1.) I had trouble trying to find the topic on the NF (NanoFate website) forums, and 2.) Nearly forgot about the due date for the submissions until it hit me half an hour later before I had to catch some shut eye. I really wanted to try and add a bit more to this and who knows...I might do a revised version at some point and make a blog for my written works. This is honestly my first attempt at doing a oneshot and overall...I'm kinda happy with the result and disappointed that I realized I could have added more potential to this. Let me know what you guys think by r/r. Thanks for reading. Till next time.
Ja ne.