Chapter 2. Stories

Fate's office was wide and well-lit. She had already read the file and was ready to depart. Teana would usually join her in that kind of missions, but at this moment, she was attending a special training. Chrono had arranged a spot for Teana in a special operations training, and that kind of opportunity could not be wasted. Fate wouldn't mind going on her own to the mission, but a partner would surely be arranged by her superiors. Fate took a moment to breath.

With lazy eyes she glanced at the shelf where she had her three most important photographs in display. The ones that defined who she was. It was impossible not feel a pang of pain as she watched Precia Testarossa's picture. It had been hard, but she had survived. Thanks to and despite Precia, Fate was who she was right now.

A smile lit her face as she watched the next frame. Commander Lindy had welcomed her in her family, becoming the mother she always tried to find in Precia. Under Precia's orders she had risked her own life, and put at stake others' lives, including Nanoha's in a desperate attempt to make her mother happy. To have her love and her recognition. Commander Lindy, on the other hand, offered her true love and a spot in her family as if she had always belonged there. Even Chrono, serious and stoic as always, always showed a genuine interest in her well-being, right from the beginning. She was deeply thankful to them.

At last, she took a closer look at Nanoha and Vivio's picture. Once again she felt that particular warmth inside her. There was no doubt, this was her family. In her mind, she replayed Nanoha telling her so. She couldn't help but feel that something was missing, and she couldn't pin exactly what was.

She had to clear her mind. She had to focus in the file she was reading. Reports indicated a high magical presence in a planet that had been, for a long while, considered inhabited. The lead group in charge of the preliminary recognition was ready. She had to be ready to depart in a few more minutes to lead the investigation.

Signum peeked through the half-open door. She saw Fate lost in her own thoughts and with the sole purpose of scaring her, voiced out: "Testarossa".

Fate almost landed flat in the floor. With her heart pounding at hundreds of miles per hour, she tried to sit back on her chair and straighten all the papers that flew around.

"Signum, have you forgotten how to knock on doors? You almost kill me", Fate said jokingly. "What are you doing here?"

Signum dropped on the nearest chair. Fate was superior in rank, yet formalities had never worked between them, and if they had to comply when they were around colleagues, narrowed to just the two of them meant formalities simply vanished. Fate would rather be burnt alive than accept that she felt a little intimidated by Signum. She certainly admired her, but it'd be easier if she were the subordinate.

"Testarossa, Hayate ordered me to join you in your mission. There are interests on several organizations to solve the situation as quickly and effectively as possible, so a little help won't harm".

Fate leaned back her chair and turned around to watch through the window.

"I guess it's something more serious than we originally thought, right?"

Signum had a lot of important work in her hands, so it was not as simple to separate her from her duties. It goes without question that Hayate must have had pulled a lot of strings to make sure it was Signum who joined her in this mission.

"I'm afraid so", the pinkhaired answered.

"I'm glad you were entrusted with this duty. After Nanoha, I think you are my favorite combat partner."

"It's an honor to be considered after the Ace of Aces", she answered, with a slight sarcastic tone.

"Haha, well it's not only that. You know, Nanoha and I have a lot of practice hours together, and of real combat, obviously; it's just natural that I feel comfortable with her. Besides I'd rather have you by my side than against you, you are a tremendous opponent."

Signum nodded.

"Right back at you Testarossa. Are you ready to go now?"

"Absolutely. Let's get going."

… … … … … … … … …

At the Takamachi home, Nanoha quietly entered Vivio's bedroom. It was late at night, a few minutes after 11 and Vivio was soundly asleep. She watched her tenderly and noticed how much Vivio resembled Fate. If she didn't know better, she would have sworn Vivio was actually Fate's biological daughter. Her hair, the color of her eyes, well at least one of them, she thought with a smile. Vivio's hair was just a bit darker than Fate's, just as if in the blonde's genetic pool, a streak of brownish hair had made its appearance.

Just the way it would result from my color hair and Fate-chan's.

She watched again as her daughter slept peacefully. She was glad Vivio had finally agreed to sleep in her own bed, hugging tons of plushies, of course. She had insisted in it. Nanoha wondered if that reflected her own selfishness. She loved Vivio more than anything else and would give her life for her in an instant, and yet she had felt the urge to claim back some of her own territory back. Her bed. With Fate. But why? She had not bothered to understand why, and Fate had made no comment about it. In fact there were times when Fate's side of the bed would be empty while she was on duty, but deep down she knew she slept way better when they were sharing their bed. Vivio sighed in her sleep and shifted her body a bit. This movement snapped Nanoha out of her thoughts. She approached her daughter, and brushed a lock of hair from her forehead, where she lightly kissed her. As quietly as she had entered, she exited Vivio's room and went to her home office.

Nanoha was a consumed workaholic, there was no doubt of that, so she had destined a place at her home where she could work. She had reports to prepare and had to lay out the following week's training scheme for her new group. As her recognition grew, so did the challenges she faced. On a daily basis she would get all kinds of offerings to train Special Forces, from every place of the galaxy, some places she had never even heard about. Sometimes this seemed so unreal to her. She had no doubt she could already be as high in rank, or even higher than Hayate, but that would have implied a lot of additional responsibilities, and a lot of bureaucracy. Less hours in the field, and more hours dedicated to socializing. She had no intention of making the sacrifices required, especially her time for her personal life. She wanted to make sure her daughter would have the best upbringing she could, but that also meant spending with her as much time as she could and, even, if it was possible, to compensate the time Fate could not spend with Vivio.

Nanoha shook her head. It was amazing, her thoughts either started or finished with her thinking about Fate. No matter what she was thinking, Fate would always come to her mind. She was deeply happy to have Fate by her side, and in that moment she recalled the conversation they were having just a while ago.

Suprisingly enough, she had never seen Fate date anyone at all, and she certainly wasn't short on proposals. Fate was an outstanding beauty, there was no doubt about that. It was probably Fate herself the one that had no clue of how stunning she was. She would turn down each and everyone who might suggest anything remotely close to a date. She would just dedicate her free time, as little as it could be, to "her two girls" as she ocassionally referred to them.

Would that be the reason of the questions she had asked her?

Most of the people around them regarded them as a couple, and sometimes teased them with romantic implications. The truth was that, despite the deep love between them, nothing else had ever happened. They really enjoyed their mutual company, and since the day they had exchanged ribbons standing in the bridge, they had been there for each other. She sighed and decided to continue on the work she was behind. Her mind was rambling. It was Fate she was thinking about, there was no need to give much thought about it. Things would be as good as ever.

Author's Note: I don't think I'll ever get used to see hits to my story from all over the world. It's shocking. Or to realize that someone had used google translate to follow my story in Spanish, it's really humbling.

Sadly I still do not own any of the characters.

Once again, forgive my English if some sentences are just not well constructed. I'm eager to improve so please R&R :)