REPOST
Written by musikazen
Beta-read by Grand Phoenix
(Story assumes Vivio was 6 at the end of StrikerS. Fate and Nanoha are 24.)
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Prologue: Coming Home
On a distant planet in Quadrant 4, Sector 250
Enforcer Harlaown dodged left to avoid an energy beam. She raised Bardiche above her head and sliced a five-foot tall ant in half. She quickly spun to her left, Bardiche in a defensive position, stopping a pair of mandibles aimed for her head. In her soft voice she said, "Plasma Lancer." Her device's mechanical reply followed suit: "Yes, Sir." Three thin beams of yellow energy shot through the bug that had Bardiche caught.
"That's the last of them, Sir."
"Hmm." She looked at her surroundings; hundreds of ant parts and bodies littered the ground of the desert. The sun was blazingly hot, and with the extra exercise Fate was sweating bullets.
She wiped her brow with the sleeve of her barrier jacket to keep the rolling beads from her eyes when a mechanical male voice reached her ears. "Sir, receiving communication from Sergeants Aleron, Rees, and Val."
She looked down at her device. "Allow communication." Three holographic windows appeared in a row with the Sergeant's faces in each.
"Sir." They saluted her.
She returned their salute. "Report, Sergeant Aleron."
Her eyes looked at a twenty-year-old man with messy blond hair, blue eyes, and a cowboy-like voice "After battling these overgrown ants only five men were injured and no one was killed. The injured are being treated by the medical team as we speak. The rest of my squad has done a thorough search of the area; there is no sign of the device. End of report."
She nodded. Her gaze shifted to Sergeant Rees, a thirty-year-old man with a stubble beard, neatly combed black hair, and green eyes. "No casualties and no device." The usual gruff and curt voice of the sergeant stated. Again Fate nodded and looked at the only female of the three sergeants.
She was around twenty-years-old with long black hair tied into a ponytail and two long strands surrounding her face. Her brown eyes looked at Fate as what sounded similar to a British accent spoke. "No causalities here, either. I sent my men down into the ant hill the device might…" Sergeant Val turned her head as she looked at one of the men calling her. She examined something that the man passed her. She looked at Fate with a bright smile as she showed her a small, golden, spherical object with a flat, green face. "We have the device!" she said with pride of her men's accomplishment.
"Good job. Have the device sealed our mission is over." Fate saluted the Sergeants and ended communication after their return salute.
"Bardiche open comlink to Admiral Berg" a man in his forties with a rugged look appeared in the holographic screen. She saluted the Admiral. "This is Lieutenant Enforcer Harlaown. The device has been secured and is being sealed. Only five men were injured."
"Good work, Lieutenant Enforcer Harlaown. I'll have transporters there within five minutes." Fate nodded and severed the link.
She was finally going home for a well-deserved vacation after four years of being away.
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TSAB Academy
After being blasted by a blue energy beam, a short green-haired girl was falling from the sky into a cushion of pink energy strands.
"Alright mock battle over" the voice of the fierce white devil resounded in the training field.
The girl's opponent, a long purple-haired boy landed near her and extended his hand to her. She grasped it and stood up with his help. They headed to their instructor's location on the sidelines.
"Good work. You two pass the test. Now hit the showers, and enjoy your spring break." Her students nodded their heads and ran off, laughing and planning what they would do over their break.
Nanoha smiled at her students' antics before turning her attention to some stats about them. She just got through five or so pages of graphs when Raging Heart interrupted her reading. "Master, it's 1500 hours. Fate's arrival is in two hours."
Nanoha thumbed her device. "Thanks, Raging Heart." She proceeded to close the holographic screens and run home to freshen up and pick up her ten-year-old daughter before heading to the transport docks.
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"And then Urda and I threw water balloons at the boys when they tried to capture us, and they ended up in the mud and getting their clothes all dirty, which made the teacher yell at them for playing in the mud and…" Vivio continued speaking to her Nanoha-mama about her school day as she caught sight of a pair of blood-red eyes with a suitcase heading towards them.
Fate signaled an excited Vivio to keep quiet about her presence. The child got the hint because she continued to tell her story without giving her Nanoha-mama any hint of the person approaching them.
Nanoha was laughing at Vivio's story when she felt a pair of arms hug her from behind. Her body unconsciously leaned into the embrace, her mind registering the feel and earthy mint scent of her long-time friend.
"Fate-chan," she whispered as she picked her head up her blue eyes locking with a pair of red that she missed for four years.
"I am back, Nanoha" her silky soft voice brought Nanoha a feeling of warmth, calm, and longing that only her friend could evoke.
The blonde's ears caught a whispered "I've missed you" from the lips beneath her.
Vivio jumped up and fiercely hugged her two mamas before they headed into their own world. "Hi, Fate-mama! I've missed you, too!" Nanoha and Fate enjoying the child's enthusiasm each placed an arm around Vivio's back the family sharing in a group hug they hadn't experienced in a long time.
"I've missed you, too, Vivio," a soft and happy voice resonated.
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Fate parked the black modified car in the driveway of their small residential home. The family exited the car and walked to the door with Vivio carrying her Fate-mama's suitcase.
Fate pulled and held the door open to allow Nanoha and Vivio to enter first. She heard Nanoha's playful voice as she entered the house. "Why thank you, kind sir. It's been a while since I have met a gentleman such as you."
Fate played along, giving Nanoha a gentlemanly smile and bow. "I just couldn't resist your fair beauty, my lady. My body merely acted on its own." They both broke out laughing. Fate straightened up from her bow and walked through the door. Vivio smiled happily at her mothers' display. She hadn't seen Nanoha as happy as she was when her Fate-mama was around.
In the midst of the laughter, a loud roaring sound cut through the air. Nanoha and Fate stopped laughing and looked at Vivio's reddened face.
"I guess it's time to eat." Nanoha said.
Fate looked at Nanoha. "Hmm, I guess so."
The family took off their shoes and walked on the hardwood flooring, passing cream-colored walls decorated with contemporary art pieces, into the open floor plan of their home. Their modern kitchen was furnished with light brown cabinets with black granite counter tops, silver steel appliances, and a rectangular island with four-space bar stools lined up to one side separating the kitchen from the living room. Their high-ranking military jobs gave them enough money to own the luxurious home with some room to spend on other life pleasures.
Nanoha walked to the oven and shut it off. She pulled out the lasagna and placed the rack at the middle of the table while Fate and Vivio set out the plates and utensils. She took out the large bowl of salad from the fridge placing it next to the lasagna and placed a large helping of rice on each of the plates.
Nanoha sat down with the rest of her family. "Itadakimasu," she said as she picked up her chopsticks and began to eat.
Fate took a bite out of the lasagna. Her faced showed that she enjoyed the rich taste of flavor playing on her tongue. "This is delicious, Nanoha! After eating military food for so long I forgot how good your home cooking is."
Nanoha swallowed her food and smiled at Fate. "Well, you'll have two weeks to reacquaint yourself with my cooking before you leave again."
"I don't know if that's a good or bad thing." She swung the fork back into the pasta, grabbing a few pieces. "As I am eating that awful food, I will have to be reminded on what I am missing out on." She bit down on the food, her face going into ecstasy.
Nanoha chuckled. "If you want I could occasionally transport some of my cooking."
Fate looked at Nanoha hopefully. "Would you really?" Nanoha nodded as she continued to eat. The rest of the meal was spent with the family catching up.
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Their bedroom was similar to the one at Riot Force Six, a giant bed in the middle of the room with large tinted panel windows instead of a wall on the right side of the room. The similarity was one of the features that charmed them into getting the home.
Nanoha and Fate laid on the bed. They turned to look at each other,their faces illuminated by moonlight. A hand moved, searching for something. The first touch of the sought for object caused fingers to entangle with the other.
The blonde spoke to her secret love. "Are your parents ready for our arrival tomorrow?"
A brunette head nodded in the semi-dark room. "Yeah, I spoke with them today. We will be using my old bedroom while Vivio sleeps in my older sister's."
"Hmm," Fate's fingers played with Nanoha's.
"I am glad you're back, Fate-chan," Her thumb rubbed circles around the back of Fate's hand, calming both herself and the one's hand she was holding. It was proof that the other was there.
"I have been really lonely sleeping in this giant-sized bed all by myself," Her eyes looked away from Fate's in remembrance of the many sleepless nights caused by a cold bed that was way too large for one person to sleep in.
Unable to bear her sad face, Fate immediately grasped Nanoha around the waist and pulled her close to her body. Her chin rested on Nanoha's head. The sudden movement startled Nanoha from her thoughts, but she felt warm and secure, protected in the arms of her friend. She snuggled closer sighing out in content. They fell asleep and awoke like that the next morning.
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Author Note: Sorry for those of you waiting for the next chapter. I'm having the story beta read so it will be some time before I post it.