[Advent000]

Originally Posted by Knight of L-sama

Had time today so... Nanoha-vision!

Spoiler for Rawr, fine Artist!Fate pt. 2:

Part 2- Nanoha

"Nanoha? What are you doing up so early?"

"Nyahaha..." Nanoha looked up from mixing her batter. "Good morning, Mom. Did I wake you up?"

"'Good morning' my heinie. It's 4AM!" Momoko sighed and shook her head. She walked over and looked at the ingredients that had gone into the mix. "Hm... cookies?"

"Mmhmm. I was in the mood to bake but I didn't want to get in the way during store hours. Ah, I'll clean all this up before we have to start preparing for the day."

"It's okay. Most of this will be taken out anyway. Are you finished putting in ingredients?"

"Mmhmm. Ah!" Momoko looked up from reaching for the chocolate chips. "I still need to add those. Everything else I'm done with though."

Momoko nodded and started shifting things around so it looked a bit neater, cleaning up here and there where Nanoha had gotten a little messy. "It's odd though."

"What is?"

"You don't normally feel up to baking." Momoko smiled as she teased, "Is this a one time thing or will you be helping out more during store hours?"

"Don't I always help?"

"Hmm..." Momoko stopped as she noticed something. "Nanoha? Did you put this in there?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah. I just thought I try it and see how it came out."

"Ah... experimenting are you? That's why you aren't doing it during store hours."

Nanoha nodded simply.

Momoko leaned over on the counter, watching as her daughter added the chocolate chips and began to stir anew. "We do have a mixer, you know."

"I know." A small smile came to Nanoha's lips as she whispered, "A machine can mix objectively, but doing it by hand... adds subjectivity... you can put your feelings into it."

A knowing smile came to Momoko's lips. "You're making this for someone special, aren't you." It wasn't a question.

"I don't think I could say 'special' just yet, but they... inspired me."

"Inspired you?"

Nanoha nodded. "Inspired me to find a recipe I can call my own."

Momoko said nothing, musing on the power of whoever it was to 'inspire' her uninspired Nanoha. She hoped she would get a chance to try it before it went out to whoever was the recipient. Standing, Momoko said her last words. "Well, I'll leave you to it then. I'm going back upstairs to get changed for the day. Save me one or two to try later, won't you?"

"All right. But only if it turns out well."

Nanoha started humming as she was left alone, and a small smile came to her lips. It had been nearly two weeks since she had first met Fate, and she had gone to see her at every chance she got. She had come the day after, simply on the excuse that Fate had promised to make a makeshift leash for Yuuno and had forgotten, but after they talked more, Nanoha found herself walking to the studio more frequently than she realized. Perhaps she had hoped to get a peek at Fate's finished piece of her, but Fate refused to even so much as work on it when she was there. But she always smiled, so it must have been coming along nicely.

Nanoha smiled as she thought of Fate. It had taken a while, but she had finally cracked through Fate's defenses and had found at least one button she could push if she wanted to tease rather than get teased. 'Fate has such a cute blush...' It was a dangerous game she played though, and if Fate ever saw through her, it would bring them back to where they started. Nanoha remembered the day before, when she had taken a walk around town with Fate just to hang out.

--

"What's your favorite activity?" Nanoha had been thinking of something to ask for the past thirty seconds, which seemed shorter to Fate than to Nanoha. "Between taking photos, painting, and sculpting?"

Fate hummed as she thought about it. "Each has their different appeal. With photos, while getting just the right angle and lighting is important and ultimately satisfying if you do it right, it's kind of quick and painless. Painting takes a long time when you really put care into it, but the variances of color help produce something... very fullfilling to me. And you can paint things into 'reality' that you wouldn't otherwise find. The same goes for sculpting, but there's just something special about being able to put your hands on something and mold art as you see fit." Fate stopped and then laughed to herself. "I suppose you could say I love them all."

Nanoha tried to hint, "So have you decided what medium you're going to use for my thing?"

Fate smirked and waggled her finger. "It's an artist's perogative to keep things like that secret till the final day."

"Isn't there something in the guidebook that says models have their perogatives too?"

Fate chuckled. She said nothing until her eyes fell on the ice cream cart a little ways away. Pointing to it, she said, "Models get free ice cream when I can afford it. Like today."

Nanoha pouted, even as she walked with Fate to the cart. "That's a pretty cheap commission. Bought for 200 yen."

After they sat down with their ice cream, Fate murmured with a soft sigh, "I love ice cream... You know I count my paycheck by how many ice cream bars I can buy with it?"

Nanoha giggled. "That's silly." She did not mention that she counted her own allowance based on how many more installments she would need to buy the advertised BBGun Bazooka called 'Starlight Breaker'.

"You wanna know why I love eating ice cream with someone else even more?"

Nanoha blinked, falling for it. "Why?"

Fate leaned in close, her lips mere centimeters from Nanoha's. And then she extended her tongue...

...and licked off a little ice cream that had gotten away. Nanoha was about to wipe off the spot with her handkerchief and make a comment about how gross that was, when she caught the way Fate was watching her. In a snap, Nanoha thought of retaliation.

She licked her lips, inadvertently swiping the place Fate's tongue had just been.

Fate stared with a slack jaw for a good two seconds before the blush went from a rating of 2 to 10 in .75 seconds.

'Bingo.' Nanoha laughed, her eyes becoming lidded as she openly teased, "I see how it is now. When was the last time you've been on the receiving end?"

Fate quickly looked away, licking her ice cream quietly.

Nanoha scooted closer to her on the bench.

Fate scooted a little farther away.

"Fate."

Fate looked up and saw Nanoha smile at her. "What?"

"You're really cute, you know that?"

Fate stared at her for another second before starting to chomp onto the ice cream cone. "Oh hush you."

Nanoha giggled and finished her own ice cream, feeling satisfied in the most complete yet simplest of ways.

For the rest of the day, she had started 'payback' for the two weeks of teasing and blushing that she had endured. Oddly enough, when she thought about the blush she would see on Fate's face if she said or did one thing or another, it never occurred to her that being the one causing it might be reason to be embarrassed as well.

When they returned to the studio that day, Fate was greeted by two little kids whom she seemed to recognize very easily. Smiling as they hugged her, she greeted, "Erio, Caro, how are you doing?"

"Good!" They chimed as one, before Erio, a red-headed little boy who was a bit taller than the girl, "We were waiting for you."

"Not for long I hope?"

Caro shook her head. "No, it was only a little bit. Precia-san said you would be coming back soon so we waited."

Fate chuckled, ultimately ignoring Nanoha as she walked around the counter to take something out of the cupboard. Placing two boxes on the counter, she asked, "Could this be what you were waiting for?"

Their eyes lit up with glee as they reached out their hands and Fate placed the marked boxes in their hands.

Nanoha walked around the counter and nudged Fate as they both watched the kids take out what looked like pendants. "You made those?"

Fate nodded. "They don't take much time to make. Erio, Caro, do you like them?"

"Yes! Thank you very much!"

Erio grinned as he turned to Caro. "Caro, watch me! Strada, Set UP!" He then proceeded to twirl around, deftly pulling out something akin to a toy light saber / extended pole, moving into a defensive stance. "Rawr!"

Nanoha put a hand to her mouth to quickly muffle her giggling. Fate didn't even bother to try covering it up.

Especially when Caro held up her white dragon mini-figurine and said, "Ooh, me too! Friedriche! I choose you!"

They ran circles around each other, making sound effects and whatnot as they played. Eventually however, they calmed down, put their new pendants around their necks, and bowed to Fate.

Erio stepped forward and dug into his pocket before setting down some coins on the counter. "Mama said taking stuff without paying is stealing, so we went looked underneath the cushions and everything and this was what we could gather. Is it enough?"

Fate smiled as she made a show of counting the money. "Oh, you gave me too much. Here, take back the 500 yen piece." She smiled as she handed back the coin, the one with the biggest value out of the coins there.

Erio, unaware of this, accepted the 'change'. He bowed again as Fate scooped up the coins and put them in the cash register, ringing up the amount so that it could spit out a receipt. Erio stuffed the receipt in his pocket as he grinned. "Thanks a lot, Fate-neechan."

Caro added, "We always love the things you make for us."

Fate chuckled and waved her hand. "You're very welcome, you two. Now, it's getting late, so go on home before your Mama starts."

"Yes, Neechan!" The two little kids waved frantically before hurrying off, the bell ringing as the door flew open.

Nanoha smiled as Fate caught her looking.

"What?"

Nanoha shook her head. "Nothing."

"You were going to say something. What?"

"It's really nothing."

Fate looked at her, obviously not buying it for a second. She held her hands up in a poised position for attack. "I'll tickle you if you don't tell me."

Nanoha giggled and stepped away so that the stair banister separated her from Fate. "Well... It just occurred to me that... if Fate were the mother of my children, I would feel very comfortable with leaving them in her care."

Cue Blush of a Thousand Shades.

Nanoha giggled and laughed as Fate chased her up the stairs. The walls shook as Fate toppled over Nanoha, landing them both in Arf's bed. One tickle fest later, during which their positions reversed several times, they ended up lying side by side.

Breathing a little harder than she might otherwise have been, Fate muttered, "There are some things that shouldn't be mentioned in jest."

Nanoha breathed, "Sorry then. You made me say it."

"I know." Fate didn't offer an apology.

Nanoha placed a caressing hand against Fate's cheek, and was surprised when Fate leaned into her touch, seemingly unconsciously, before jerking back. Nanoha purred, "Does Fate-chan like being touched?"

Fate looked away. "As long as it's not by ferrets."

"You don't mind if I touch you?" Nanoha felt oddly honored by this allowance, and settled for placing her hand over Fate's.

"Do... do you mind?" Fate's blush was back. "If I... If I touch you?"

"I like Fate-chan." Nanoha giggled, wondering why she felt so happy about saying that even when she only meant it as friends. "Why would I mind?"

Fate said nothing, scooting over to wrap her arms around her. Nanoha reciprocated in kind.

They lay like that for several minutes before Fate's hands started to roam.

Nanoha would have stopped her at several points if she hadn't been captivated by the soft murmur of Fate's voice close to her ear. It was largely indistinguishable, so Nanoha had to keep quiet in order to decipher it properly.

When she realized what it was, Nanoha asked, baffled, "Are you measuring me?"

Fate's muttering stopped. Leaning back so that they were looking at each other again, Fate asked, "I just wanted to check if my guess at your proportions were accurate."

Nanoha's cheeks stopped one shade shy of pink. "... Were they?"

Fate looked down. Nanoha looked down as well, and saw her own chest. "Mostly. Just one area..."

Nanoha sighed, sitting up. "I'll leave that one to your imagination."

Fate pouted, but shrugged it off. "You'd make a good pillow in any case. Regardless of that."

Nanoha shook her head as she stood up. "I should be getting home about now. I usually help with the evening shifts."

"Oh? I'll walk you back?"

"That's okay; the sun hasn't even set yet. I'll be fine."

Nanoha was about to go downstairs when she felt Fate's hand close over her wrist. "Nanoha..."

"Hm?" Nanoha smiled at her.

"Did I... did I offend you somehow? Are you mad at me?"

Nanoha stopped, and Fate loosened her hold on her. Deciding she would have one last parting shot before she left for the day, she started, "Not really... but next time your hands feel like 'exploring' my body..." Leaning in close to Fate's ear, she whispered, "Make it a subjective experience; not an objective one, hm? Though I won't deny that it felt nice either way."

Giggling, Nanoha waved, said she'd see herself out, and skipped down the stairs, leaving a surprised Fate in her wake.

--

Nanoha looked down at the freshly baked cookies before nodding and tying the ribbon around the top of the bag. "I hope she likes it."

Nanoha checked the clock and verified that while still early, it was a somewhat more agreeable hour of the day. Somewhat. Wondering if Fate woke early, Nanoha decided that delivering the cookies simply could not wait. She neatened up the kitchen a bit more and put away her apron before hurrying off. She passed her mother on her way out, told her where she was going, and promised to be back in an hour or two.

With that, Nanoha set off on her trek across town to the studio.

When she arrived, the street was surprisingly quiet, unless one remembered that this was a sleepy town that didn't wake up until about two hours later. She sighed when she found that the store front still said, "CLOSED".

She decided to walk over to the park where she had met Fate and walk around a bit more. She had woken up with more energy than she needed today.

The park was completely deserted. Nanoha didn't even see the casual morning jogger. She looked around as she slowed her pace to enjoy the solitude.

That's when she saw it.

Nanoha was more than a little amazed to see Fate with an easel in front of her and a palette balance on her left hand. Smiling, she creeped up behind her, a convenient route as Fate already had her back turned towards her.

When she came close enough to look over Fate's shoulder, Nanoha stopped, breathless.

"That can't be me."

What Fate was painting... was already more beautiful than anything Nanoha could have ever imagined seeing.

Even the cookies in her bag felt insignificant in comparison.

"Nano...ha."

Nanoha caught a glimmer of something in Fate's eyes behind the shock. The expression that Fate had been painting with.

Was that...

Could it be that...

Nanoha met Fate's gaze head on.

Was this the work of someone who had nothing but the best of feelings to add to the sublime 'subjectivity' of the artpiece?

Was it this beautiful... because of love?

~End Chapter

Spoiler for Extra Note:

In the subtle(?) randomness of this piece, yes, Friedriche has been reduced to Pokemon-Intelligent-Device status and Strada is a light-saber/rod-thingy.

Also, struggling between NanoFate going too fast or too slow, I don't know. Blushing wars are fun stuff~ Not as easy to accomplish in real life tho.

And... no one pointed it out, but there may be a secondary connection between Precia and Mr. J. Scaly-spaghetti. *whistles innocently*

Ah, I was planning on making this a 3-part piece, so the next installment should have the song that inspired this. *nods* Let's see if my slow way of writing can get where it needs to be in one chapter tho.. ah...

*wants to start on a certain different MSLN storyline*

Looking forward to the third part.