Testarossa-Harlaown

Chapter 2: Is there room enough for me?

"Okaa-san, I'm home!" Fate called once she stepped through the threshold of her house.

"Welcome back, Fate-chan," her adoptive mother greeted her with a smile, walking in through the kitchen door. She walked over to Fate and hugged her tightly.

'I'm home,' the red-eyed mage thought happily, enjoying the green-haired woman's touch, enjoying the warmth only a mother could give.

The hug ended too soon for Fate's liking.

"So! How did it go? Did you have fun?" Lindy asked her cheerfully. Fate sighed and turned away to avoid her dear mother's teal-coloured, warm gaze.

"You see...it's just that...err...I'll tell you at dinner, Ok?" the blonde asked her. Her mother blinked twice in confusion, but she nodded her head anyway.

"Very well. Now come, I made your favourite dish!" Lindy informed her with a warm smile as they made their way to the dinning table. Fate looked at her and smiled.

"Thanks, Okaa-san," she replied. Fate looked around and then asked about her brother, Chrono.

"He's on a date with Amy and will be back tomorrow, so it's just the two of us for tonight," Lindy told her as they sat down across from each other on the round table, where the plates were full and ready to be consumed. "Tell me, what do you think if we do something fun tonight? Maybe watch a movie, or play on the Xbox 360 Chrono bought a few days ago?"

Fate blinked twice in confusion, but soon smiled and nodded.

"Sure! That sounds fun. There's a movie that came out recently on DVD that I'd like to see. But hey, since when do you like videogames?" the blonde replied with a sweat drop. Lindy let out a giggle.

"So, you mean your mother can't have a secret or two, Fate-chan?" she winked at her adopted daughter with a grin, though on the inside, she sighed.

'If only you know, Fate-chan...'

And so, mother and daughter began to eat and soon, their plates were empty. Once they were done, the former TSAB admiral spoke.

"So...how did everything go with Nanoha?"

Fate sighed and closed her eyes.

"Well, You see, Okaa-san...Nanoha...she doesn't share my feelings." Lindy gasped in surprise. "Turns out she...she fell in love with Hayate. It happened during those six months in which I was away on a mission. And...during those six months, they became very, very close to each other. And...Hayate confessed to Nanoha and...and she feels the same for her."

"Oh Fate-chan...I'm so sorry!" Lindy shot up from her seat and in the blink of an eye, she was by Fate's side, her arms wrapped tightly around the blonde, pressing her head against her bosom.

"Okaa-san...I...it..." Fate tried to say it wasn't her mother's fault, but she soon realized how good it felt to be in the green-haired woman's arms. She closed her eyes. "I love you, Okaa-san...thank you...for being her with me..." she whispered.

Fate had no idea how much her words affected her adoptive mother. Lindy sighed and kissed the top of Fate's head and blinked back rebelius tears.

"I love you too, Fate-chan," 'You just don't know how much'

After a couple of minutes in comfortable silence, where both women thoroughly enjoyed the contact between them, Lindy stepped back, not without giving her daughter a sweet kiss on the forehead.

"Come on. Help me with the dishes and then we'll go rent that movie you want to see, Ok?" she told Fate. The younger woman smiled softly and nodded.

And so, mother and daughter got to work and washed the dishes in no time at all. Once done, they went to the video store and Lindy couldn't help but wince at the title of the movie Fate chose to see with her.

'"Friday the 13th"...another secret of mine: I don't like slasher flicks! Sigh. Well, maybe...this could be interesting.'

They rented the movie and returned home and sat down on the couch in the living room, were there was a 40 inch TV with surround sound.

Fate put the movie in the DVD and Lindy turned the lights off, though she left a small lamp on next to her, much to Fate's amusement.

And so, 97 minutes rolled on with sporadic screams from Lindy and giggles from Fate, as well as some unconscious cuddling in the most tense moments of the film.

After that, they turned on the lights and Fate got up to hook up her brother's Xbox 360.

"So, what do you want to play, Okaa-san? Onii-san has got...let's see...Dead or Alive 4, Street Fighter 4, Gears of War 2, BattleField: Bad Company and Call of Duty: World at War," the blonde informed her mother, who put an index finger to her chin in thought.

"Well...I don't want to play against you, but with you. Which one of those games has good co-operative play?"

"Mmmmm...Gears of War 2 and Call of Duty: World at War. Which one's better for you?"

"Well, I like First Person Shooters, so...I say we play Call of Duty."

Fate looked at her mother in surprise and a smile.

"Wow, Okaa-san. You're full of surprises, eh? Alright, then. Do you know the controls?"

And so, the two women began to play, and Lindy got used to the controls very quickly. Soon, they were engrossed in the game, killing Japanese and German soldiers and Nazi zombies for about two hours.

When they had succesfully completed a mission as a Russian soldier, Lindy looked at the clock and her teal-coloured eyes widened. It was 1:30 AM. She looked back at her daughter.

"Fate-chan, it's getting pretty late. What do you think if we continue playing this tomorrow? You don't have clases, do you?"

Fate yawned and rubbed her eyes before looking back at her mother.

"Yeah, it IS pretty late. That sounds good. And no, we don't have classes tomorrow."

"Alright! So, off to bed now."

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They were now in Fate's room and her mother had just tucked her in, much to her embarassment, but she let herself be spoiled.

Lindy was now sitting beside the blond, gently stroking her daughter's blonde tresses.

"Okaa-san..." Fate spoke. "I want to thank you, again. Not just for comforting me today, but for everything else you have done for me since we met. I owe you just as much as I owe...her. Without you, I...I just can't imagine where I would be today."

Lindy smiled with teary eyes, leaned down and brushed her lips softly against Fate's forehead.

"Fate-chan, you don't owe me a thing. What I have done for you, I only did it because I love you. Not because I want something from you in return."

But I'm not being completely honest with you right now, Fate-chan...because...there IS something I want from you...

Lindy used her thumb to wite an stray tear that fell from her daughter's eye.

"So, thank YOU, Fate-chan. Good night, and sweet dreams."

Lindy rose from Fate's bed and walked over to the door.

"Good night, Okaa-san," Fate said to her mother before curling up under the blankets and closing her eyes.

The green-haired woman watched her daughter sleep peacefully for a moment before stepping into the hallway and softly closing the door behind her.

She then leaned her back on the door and covered her face with her hands.

'Fate-chan...if you only knew...I KNOW that the place Nanoha has in your heart is huge...but...IS there a place, no matter how small...for me?

Lindy let out a shaky sigh and wiped away some tears she didn't realize she had shed and made her way to her bedroom.

This would be a long night.

To be continued...

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A/N: HEADS UP, MARINES! OFFICER ON DECK!

(Salutes) As you were, people.

So, I got 6 reviews, and I got to work on this thing.

And if you haven't figured out what the main pairing here will be, then...I won't tell you.

LOL

LMAO

ROFL

Now, DON'T you dare to start bitchin' on how OOC I made Lindy-sama, by making her a gamer. After all, like she said, we all have our secrets. So, deal with it.

And I hope you all enjoyed the bit of FLUFF I put in this chapter. I promise there will be a lot more in the next chapter. And this time, I will update when I get 10 reviews.

Ambitious, aren't I? LOL

Oh, and...well...I think I wanna dedicate this fic to somebody.

So, I'm dedicating this thing to Satashi, whose popularity I hope I can achieve one day, also Team GEMINI, for reasons they only know, and to Knight of L-sama, who has gone M.I.A, who likes unconventional pairings.

So, there ya have it.

Now, you know the drill:

Read'n Review, people! That's a goddamn order!

Seeya around, people. Dismissed.

Semper-Fi! Carry on!