The light of red and orange streaking in from the beautiful sunset through the kitchen window glistened on Vivio's face as her mother moved the brush down, combing her hair, making her beautiful. One green eye, one red, blinking unsteadily as she smiled, chewing the last of the food on her plate. At least, almost all of the food. Vivio had never wanted to finish her greens. It was always Nanoha who ended up making sure that she finished everything.
Fate Testarossa finished combing her daughter's hair, straightening out all of the uneven parts so that her blonde strands sifted about elegantly down her shoulders. "Vivio?" she said.
"Fate-mama?"
"What have I said about eating with your mouth open?" Fate folded her arms crossly. "And you haven't finished your greens again."
Vivio pouted, scrunching her face up. It was becoming a habit. "But Mama - "
"No buts, Vivio." Fate kneeled down next to her, wiping the food stains off her mouth with a napkin affectionately. "What does Nanoha-mama say about eating with your mouth open?"
Vivio looked down at the large mound of vegetables that had stacked up. It was not a happy sight. "Nanoha-mama says that if I eat with my mouth open..." She fidgeted and kicked her legs out from underneath the chair.
"...then they'll fall out," Fate finished for her with a smile. "So, please eat all your greens for Nanoha-mama, Vivio? If not for me?"
She sighed and left her daughter alone for the time being, watching her busily eat her way through the cold vegetables. Nanoha had always been better at getting Vivio to listen to her. But after all, she was the one who Vivio really looked up to. The one who she had clung to after being stranded and alone without anyone to help her.
But Nanoha could be strict sometimes, and in those cases Vivio clung to Fate when she wanted comfort and affection. I've been spending more and more time around her lately, Fate thought, watching her child finish eating and go to roll on the floor to play. Yes. Her child. With Nanoha. It hadn't started off that way, and maybe Hayate had said it as a joke at first, but now it almost felt like they'd made their own happy family.
Erio and Caro had been her first "children". Fate had mothered them with kindness and love from the beginning as if they were her own. It was her past which made her want to reach out to other children who had been hurt by their families, cast out and led astray. In the end, Erio and Caro could stand up by themselves, even though they still looked up to her and admired her. Maybe Fate still thought of them as her children.
But it was Vivio who was the present now, the child that she would bring up with Nanoha. She looks just like the two of us. As if we'd conceived her ourselves. If you asked anyone right now, nobody would have ever thought that she was adopted.
"Fate-mama?"
Fate looked up, jolted out of her thoughts. "What is it, Vivio?"
Her daughter's eyes were sad and full of wanting. "Is Nanoha-mama going to come home soon?"
The blonde mage reached over and lifted Vivio onto her lap, her arms around her small waist. "Yes," she promised the little girl. "Nanoha-mama is coming home any minute now." She felt Vivio cling to her arm for comfort, and felt a twinge of pain in her heart. "She's late, but Nanoha-mama wouldn't let Vivio worry about her, would she, Vivio?"
"She's late," Vivio mumbled into her hand. "She - "
"Vivio, I'll play with you until Nanoha-mama comes home," Fate said quickly, soothingly, smoothing down the child's hair soothingly, trying to relax her. She could feel the anxiety pass through her body, and understood it all too well. "Would Vivio like that? Do you want to play with Fate-mama?" She cupped Vivio's cheek, and her daughter looked up into her eyes, almost questioningly. "We can play your favourite game if you like."
Vivio bit her lip, looking like she was going to pout again. "Okay," she said, not looking too convinced. "But Nanoha-mama has to come home soon."
It was over an hour later, well after sunset, when the front door opened again. Relief flooded Fate's body and Vivio leaped up with a cry of "Nanoha-mama, you're back!" to throw herself into the arms of her other mother. Exhausted, Fate lay back on the sofa. Entertaining a depressed-looking Vivio for that amount of time took more out of her than she thought. She was going to have to have words with Nanoha about this.
"Vivio, I'm so sorry I'm late," the brunette mage said in hushed tones, carrying her ecstatic daughter in her arms who was refusing to let go of her. "My shift overran and I had to see Shari and Mariel off at the main branch when they were closing up." She kissed the child on the forehead. "Vivio wasn't lonely, was she?"
The little girl stuck her nose up defiantly. "I had Fate-mama with me," she said.
Nanoha didn't miss the long look that Fate was giving her over by the sofa. Gingerly, she managed to put Vivio down long enough to kiss her girlfriend on the lips. It didn't have quite the desired effect. Fate's face softened, but she still looked relatively unhappy.
"Vivio, do you want to watch some TV with me and Fate-mama?" she said, trying to cheer all of them up. "Maybe some of your favourite cartoons or anime?"
Vivio's eyes lit up excitedly. "Only if you'll watch it with me."
"Of course I will, Vivio," Nanoha said. "Nanoha-mama has to get herself something to eat first, because she's had a long day at work - "
"Fate-mama has Nanoha-mama's food already ready in the fridge," Fate sighed.
" - and then Nanoha-mama will sit down to watch anything you like with Vivio and Fate-mama! How does that sound?"
Vivio squealed into her shoulder and dove for the remote, flicking it on. Gently, Fate switched it up a few channels until it came up to what seemed to be some kind of mahou shoujo anime. Magical girls fighting evil, that kind of thing. Vivio seemed to recognise it and settled down to watch.
Pushing down her frustration, Fate went after Nanoha in the kitchen. This couldn't go on. She couldn't bear to see Vivio like that for much longer. The brunette mage was standing with her back to her, taking her food out of the fridge. It had actually been cooked a few hours ago, back when Nanoha was supposed to have come home.
Nanoha turned round and saw her, the look in Fate's eyes wiping the smile off her face in a moment.
"Are you angry at me?" she said, distraught. "For coming home so late?"
Fate shook her head and said nothing.
"Vivio missed me, didn't she?" Nanoha set down the cold plate in her hand. "I'm sorry, Fate. I really am. I don't want to see Vivio sad either. But everytime something always happens, or I have to put in an extra shift to see that the training programme is completely perfect, or - "
Fate sighed and took her hands in her own. "No, Nanoha," she said quietly, "you don't have to." She could feel the pain in her lover's face without even having to look at her. "It's not your fault. It was different before, when all we had were each other and worked in Riot Force 6 and it didn't matter if we threw ourselves into everything we did." She gazed into Nanoha's blue eyes with distinct sadness, brushing away a strand of her brunette hair away with one hand. "But now...Nanoha, we've got Vivio. We've got a child."
"I know," Nanoha whispered.
Fate kissed her forehead softly. "She counts every minute that you're late by. You've...you've been coming home late for two weeks, Nanoha." She blinked away the inkling of tears. "It breaks my heart to see Vivio like this." It broke my heart a long time to feel like that, too.
Wordlessly, Nanoha hugged her tightly, pressing her face against hers, close enough for their skin to touch each other. "I'm sorry," she said tightly, her eyes wet. "You're right. I can't keep coming home to see Vivio like this." Her lips brushed against Fate's. "It's harder...harder than I thought, being a mother." She blinked away the tears, then hardened her resolve, her eyes brightening. "But I'm going to do it. Starting tomorrow. I won't come home late anymore."
"Don't tell that to me," Fate said, not quite keeping the bitterness out of her voice. "Tell that to Vivio."
"I will. I'll do that right now. I promise." Nanoha locked her mouth against hers, blue pupils staring into red, feeling Fate's body react against her. A sign of forgiveness. She felt terrible about the whole situation. First Hayate was feeling lonely because Nanoha and Fate hadn't seen her in a while. Now Vivio was getting upset because she, Nanoha, was never home on time. And now...Fate.
This is my fault. And I'm going to change this. First I'll tell Vivio that I'll – no, don't think about it. Just do it.
"She's waiting for you," Fate said under her breath.
Without another word, Nanoha walked back into the living room, settling herself down next to her daughter. She brushed a tear from her cheek, hoping Vivio wouldn't say it. "What are you watching, Vivio?"
Vivio shrugged. "Magical girls," she said excitedly, her eyes glued to the screen.
Nanoha sighed and put an arm around the girl. She took a deep breath, wondering how she was going to say this. Maybe it wasn't the right setting whilst the TV was on? Maybe she should tell her another ti-
Fate shot a look at her which could melt daggers which said worlds more than anything they had discussed in the kitchen. Nervously, Nanoha gulped and pressed forward. "Vivio..." She cleared her throat. "Vivio, Nanoha-mama isn't going to come home late anymore. Nanoha-mama was being selfish and she's very sorry for making you feel alone." She hugged Vivio tightly. "That's a promise, Vivio."
Vivio looked up at her, trembling, looking as if she was going to burst into tears at any moment. "You really promise?" she said.
"I really do," Nanoha whispered. "So don't be sad for me anymore, Vivio. Okay?"
She felt the little girl's shoulders shake in her embrace, and lifted her up as Vivio buried her face into her hair emotionally. At the same time, she felt a sense of acceptance in the other direction. It was the first steps she could take right now.
Nanoha looked up, hoping to see an approving response from Fate. Instead, her girlfriend's lips were set in the format of Don't you dare go back on anything you said, ever.
No going back, now. For definite.
She eased Vivio back onto the couch between the two of them. "Let's just watch your anime, okay? We're missing the show."
"Okay," Vivio said happily, bouncing on the sofa in the middle.
Is this a good time to mention Hayate right now? Nanoha thought. Fate still doesn't look like she's forgiven me...if I even said anything about the mock wedding that was going on...No, she decided resolutely. If I say anything about a pretend wedding, Fate might start thinking I want the real thing. And I don't. I don't think I do. Maybe...maybe it's too soon, with Vivio and – She mentally hit herself in the forehead for arguing with herself. This was stupid.
"Hayate wants us to get married," she said out loud without thinking.
Fate sat up bolt upright. "What?" she said, staring straight at her.
Petrified, Nanoha clamped both hands over her mouth and rolled sideways onto the sofa. "Nothing," she babbled nonsensically, hoping the couch would swallow her up completely. "Nothing. Nandemonai. I said nothing. Nothing! Let's just watch anime."
The hiss of blades slicing through straw was a continuous plow through the temporary silence. The trainee bent her form forward, bringing her weapon up, twisting sideways to defend and lashing out with the flat of the blade against the dummy with a wooden plonk. Repeating the same moves, she jumped backwards a few steps to bring herself back into an attacking stance, slicing the sword around in a solid circle to remove the dummy's head. Straw flew in all directions as its head was deposited neatly on the ground.
Signum of the Wolkenritter thrust her own sword forward, Leviathan, catching the dummy's inanimate head upon the tip. "Good. Very good. Your footwork needs practice, but your aim and precision is well developed." She motioned around at the other trainees. "You may find it useful to practice with a partner on that part. Even the greatest Velka Knight didn't get where they were by practising alone."
"Thank you, Signum-sensei," the trainee said thankfully, bowing her head. "You are an apt instructor."
Signum watched her go, wearing a sour expression. Signum-sensei. She disliked being referred to as a "sensei" in any shape or form whatsoever. When she'd told Fate that she wasn't exactly cut out to be a combat instructor, she had been quite serious. There was a measure of enjoyment to what she was doing, in helping the lesser mages how to fight in the style of the Velka Knights, but Signum still couldn't shake the notion that this all felt like a waste of time.
Vita, you're the one who's supposed to be doing this, not me. I'm teaching mages how to use techniques that they probably won't be able to use on the front line. They need the training that only you can supply. In the end, what's the point in any of this?
Grudgingly she moved onto the next group of trainees, who were desperately hacking at their own straw dummies with painfully blunt swords. Just watching them made Signum want to cover her ears and block out the sound.
"Signum! Hey, Signum!"
She averted her eyes from the sight of desperation to see Tiana and Subaru rushing up to meet her. Erio and Caro too, running at their side, waving at her. They were a thankful distraction, mainly because she probably didn't have to teach them anything.
Signum sheathed Leviathan with the air of someone who did not want to unsheathe their weapon again in a tearing hurry. "It is a pleasure to see you," she greeted them.
"Signum, we've been trying to find anyone in the Wolkenritter all day," Tiana said, as the four forwards came to a halt a short distance away from the Velka Knight. "Have you heard the news?"
The tall red-haired mage shook her head, looking puzzled. "No. What happened?"
"Scaglietti's been found dead in his cell," Subaru said in hushed tones. "Ginga contacted me last night and told me first-hand. Do you think...?"
"He's finally gone? Good," Signum said abrasively. "Now we won't have to worry about fighting him anymore." She wasn't in the best mood to feel like cheering. "Is that really all the news there is?"
Tiana and the other forwards exchanged glances, looking more than a little worried. The four of them usually had limited conversation with Signum as a whole, but nevertheless she was usually a little warmer towards them. It didn't help that Signum had been the one who had whacked Tiana in the face before, although then again that had been a different situation altogether.
"Signum, what are you doing teaching in Vita's squadron?" Subaru said, confused. As a former trainee of Vita, she recognised all too well this part of the compound. "I thought Fate-san said that you didn't like teaching combat..."
"She did, and she was right," Signum said with relish. "The only thing I can teach anyone is how to hack someone to death with a sword. And swords as devices are no longer as common as they used to be. Nobody here has a clue about how to even hold one." She glanced over her shoulder at the doomed trainee who had dropped their own sword on their foot, and winced. "But what was I expecting? These are the mages that were training under Vita, after all."
"You're taking over Vita's trainees?" Erio said, surprise in his voice.
"No, I'm substituting for her whilst she's in hospital. She shouldn't be in there at all, but Shamal is refusing to let her out." The Velka's Knight miserable expression showed just what her stance on this matter was. "I tried talking to her, but you know what the medical team is like: they constantly act like you're dying on your feet."
"But Vita's in hospital?" Caro said urgently, wide-eyed in concern. "Is she going to be okay? What's wrong with her?"
Signum snorted. "She didn't want me to tell anyone. She's a bit embarrassed by what she's got, to be honest. It's not something that kills people." She spread her arms out wide in an open-ended fashion. "But if you want to know, you could accompany to the hospital right now. I'm going to pay her a visit before her trainees' incompetence drives me out of what's left of my mind."
The forwards looked up at her with a mixture of curiosity and sympathy. At first glance it seemed that the Velka Knight was just overworked and exhausted. But when you looked deeper, you'd see that really she was just sick and tired. Sick and tired of not being able to use her skills to her potential like always. She shouldn't be working in this sector.
"Signum, we'd be glad to come visit Vita with you, but are you feeling okay?" Subaru said in a measured tone. "You sound a bit..."
"Yes, I do," the Velka Knight said blandly. "And I'm sorry. I've been teaching newbies how to fight with a blunt stick for the past twenty hours. I'm just a little annoyed, and I would like to get out of here." She swept ahead of them towards the main compound. "Come on. You can write her a nice card on the way if you like, just so long as you don't ask me for a pen."
The grass was warm beneath her, cool wind ruffling through her hair as Hayate slowly woke up back to reality. She blinked for a few seconds, seeing the entire world in shades of black and white alone, not understanding where she was. What had just happened? She had been...standing in her office with Nanoha. Yes, Nanoha. And then...
And there had been an unwelcome visitor in her office, waiting for their opportunity to attack her. Hayate froze in a stationary position for a moment, but then realised that she didn't sense anyone hostile nearby. She would know. But then why hadn't she been able to detect her attacker?
One thing was for certain: she was no longer in her office.
Where is this?
She was outside, but not anywhere near the main army base where she worked. Hayate slowly picked herself up unsteadily, feeling no serious injuries anywhere. Maybe her assailant had just knocked her out, although they had managed to do that without provoking Reinforce's defences was a mystery to her.
The colour of this world was slowly coming into focus. It wasn't...it wasn't anywhere on Mid-childa that she recognised at all. Not on any planet. And Hayate had worked in many different departments of the TSA, travelled to more destinations around the galaxy than most people. She didn't recognise this place.
And at the same time, she felt the far-away pain of nostalgia deep in her stomach...as if she had been here before. As if she had stood on his patch, once, a long time ago.
She was standing on the grass before a low-cut street road leading both ways ahead of her. Hayate hesitated, not knowing whether she should proceed too far when she was standing in unknown territory. But surely the TSA would be active here? As a high-ranking official, she should be able to contact them and find out what was going on and how she could get back to Mid-childa as soon as possible.
The building in front of her was hauntingly familiar. There was a sense of cosiness and comfort about it. Hayate stared at it for a moment, feeling as if she could touch it even at this distance.
I've been here before. I don't know how or why, but...
Then she heard the acute sound of voices within. Voices that she recognised. The sound of friends and family. Hayate smiled bitterly at the irony of it; friends and family that she had long missed and -
There were faces at the window and she came closer to see them in greater focus. They were...Velka Knights. Four of them, all dressed in the customary attire. Three mages and one guardian beast. A short girl with dark red hair and a fiery expression, a kind-faced woman with short blonde hair extending down her neck, a tall imposing woman with long red hair and -
The Wolkenritter?!
There was no doubt about it. All four members of the Wolkenritter were talking amongst themselves in that house. What were they doing here? Hayate felt a sense of panic wash over her. Had something happened that she couldn't remember? Was that what the blow on her head meant? Had the Wolkenritter been dispatched to rescu-
And then she caught sight of the girl in the downstairs room, and her perception of everything changed in an instant.
The girl downstairs looked like she was only about eleven or twelve years old. She was in a wheelchair and used it to move around the room with very limited mobility. But when Hayate saw her face, it was like looking into a mirror. For the girl was her, in body, mind and spirit. She had the exact same eyes and face as her, only much younger, and the sadness in her expression was more pronounced.
That's why this house is so familiar. I'm the one in the wheelchair. This is the house I lived in ten years ago when the Wolkenritter came to help me.
But this was all impossible. Hayate looked down at herself; she was still in uniform, still held Reinforce around her neck in case anything happened. Yet here she was...ten years in the past. Was she in a memory? How could any of this be happening? Could it be that none of this was real?
And worst of all, how would she ever be able to get back?
New Year's Day chapter! Happy 2013! :D
I know the beginning's a bit angsty but I tend to write angst when I try and write romance.