As per usual lately, expect a multi-post chapter. :3
Spoiler for Trust PT I:
Blinking as she saw Nanoha walk into the waiting room, Miyuki smiled at her sister and stood up to leave the secretary office and walk up to her sister. "Nanoha-chan! How are you? Where are Sora and Isamu?"
"Fate-chan's watching them with Lindy-san and mom." Nanoha said as she hugged her sister tightly. "It's been awhile, Miyuki-nee... Where have you been? I went over to mom and dad's and you weren't there and you haven't visited my home..." Nanoha trailed off, giving her sister a wry look.
Miyuki was suddenly grateful Shamal had decided to go out for lunch with Hayate during her break. "I kind of... moved in with Shamal a little while ago."
"Eh?!" Nanoha blinked at her sister. "You moved into Hayate-chan's house?"
Miyuki shook her head, chuckling softly. "Ah, no. There's an apartment just above the clinic here. We moved in there, actually."
Nanoha stared. "When?"
"Uh... about two weeks ago or so..." Miyuki laughed sheepishly. "Sorry. I meant to tell you, but I've been so busy trying to get back in shape and all..."
Nanoha pouted slightly. "Why didn't you tell me?" She could understand why her sister wouldn't tell, but she would have liked to have known about it at some point before coming here and finding out like this.
"It slipped my mind, honestly." Miyuki chuckled softly and rubbed the back of her head.
Nanoha sighed before she gently hugged her sister. "Mou, Onee-chan, you're worse than Dad sometimes."
Miyuki laughed sheepishly. "Thanks... I think."
"But really, living with Shamal... can't say I'm surprised." Nanoha chuckled. "You two were rather obvious."
Miyuki blinked, staring at her younger sister in surprise. "Wait... Obvious? To you?" That was shocking to her, insanely shocking. Especially since Nanoha admitted that she couldn't figure out that both Fate and Yuuno had feelings for her until they slept together.
"Apparently I can actually tell when people are in love as long as they aren't in love with me." Nanoha laughed sheepishly. "So, how's it been so far?"
"It's always obvious to everyone but the two people involved, huh?" Miyuki sighed and smiled at her. "As for how it's going, it's going pretty good, honestly. Two bedrooms, a nice-sized living room, the kitchen and bathroom are a bit small, at least compared to the rest of the rooms. It's rather nice, honestly. I'll show it to you after work today."
Nanoha laughed. "Two bedrooms, huh?"
Miyuki winced. "Ah, well... it hasn't been that long, and..."
"Onee-chan, it's fine." Nanoha smiled. "I'm just a little surprised. Normally when two people move in together..."
"I know, I know." Miyuki was suddenly grateful she was having this discussion with Nanoha and no one else. "It's not like I don't want to or haven't thought about it, but Shamal isn't exactly pushing for anything yet."
"Oh?"
Miyuki chuckled softly and nodded at her. "Yeah. She's pretty nervous about things like that, honestly. It's kind of cute, honestly."
Nanoha giggled softly. "Sounds like Fate-chan... So, Miyuki-nee..."
"Yeah?"
"What caused you to move in with her?" Nanoha was just curious, not upset that her sister had decided to just up and move without telling her. Miyuki was old enough to decide things like this.
"Well... she was acting really funny after I got hurt while protecting Fiasse and Marona, and I didn't understand why. Next thing I know, I made a joke about dying on the job and she asked me to move in with her." Miyuki smiled. "Or, at least, move into the apartment. Then we started talking and..." She trailed off, blushing.
"Miyuki-nee?" Nanoha blinked at the blushing. "Didn't you just say that you two didn't..?"
Miyuki shook her head. "Get your mind out of the gutter, sis." She smirked as Nanoha blushed softly. "The truth is... She... We talked and," Miyuki took a deep breath and slowly let it out, blushing the whole while, "she confessed that she liked me... A lot... She doesn't know much about love like that but she wants to try and give us a chance."
Nanoha grinned. "You figured it out?"
Miyuki laughed nervously. "I guess I'm not as dense as I thought... but to be honest, I think she's happy." Suddenly, she looked a little worried. "I want her to be happy, even if I don't really know how to make her happy."
Suddenly, Nanoha started laughing, which caused Miyuki to blink in total confusion. "What?"
"Miyuki-nee..." She took a deep breath, a ear-splitting grin on her face as she got her breathing under control, and grabbed her sister's hands, squeezing them happily. "That's how I felt about Fate-chan and Yuuno-kun for so long. When we first got together that is. As long as they were happy, that's all I wanted. It wasn't easy though, I was so worried about driving them off..." She shook her head. "I'm just glad that it worked out for us. So, Miyuki-nee... Just give her some time."
"All right." Miyuki smiled.
"But to be honest, Onee-chan, I'm surprised you can control yourself." Nanoha smirked. "I remember how you were with Fiasse-chan."
Miyuki blushed.
The two made their way over to the chairs in the waiting room and began talking, chatting, getting caught up on the past two weeks and how things were going for each other.
There was surprisingly a lot to talk about.
(---)
Nove blinked as she saw Cinque sitting on the couch, seemingly engrossed in a picture she was looking at. That wasn't too unusual, it was the slight blush on her face that caught Nove's attention. Sneaking up behind Cinque quietly, she peered over the top of the couch. She wasn't doing this just to be snoopy, but she was wondering just what could get Cinque to blush like that.
Nove's eyes widened as she saw what, or rather who, the picture was.
The picture was Erio, in his uniform, holding Strada with two hands and smirking at the camera.
"You like little boys?!" Nove yelped, causing Cinque to jump off the couch and turn to look at her, her face red.
"N...No! Not little boys!" Cinque stammered and blushed brightly.
"You were just looking at a picture of Erio though." Nove pointed to the one-eyed girl.
"Yeah, I was. He's cute, and strong and in a few years he'll make someone a very lucky lady, okay?" Cinque was blushing harder as she started to look away from Nove.
"Wait... You... You like guys?"
"I know, big shock in this house considering that four out of the six females living here are all open lesbians." Cinque said dryly. "If you don't mind, I'm going to go see our sisters at the church." She said as she put on her long coat, slipped her picture inside her inside coat pocket and walked out.
Nove was still standing there, staring dumbly as Subaru and Ginga walked into the room. "Nove?" Ginga blinked at the short redhead. "What's wrong?"
"... Do you think maybe Cinque-nee wants a boyfriend?"
Subaru blinked at the question and scratched her head. "Uh... I don't know. Why do you ask?"
"I caught her looking at a picture of Erio and blushing, when I asked her, she just said that she found him cute and said something about making some girl lucky in a few years..."
"Well... she hasn't really mentioned if she likes anyone like that..." Subaru frowned.
"Probably doesn't help that a majority of the girls we know happen to like other girls," Ginga murmured. Or were involved in threesomes, but that was something for another day.
Nove frowned thoughtfully. "You know, I think she had a crush on Zest..."
The two looked at Nove in shock. "Eh?!" They were incredibly shocked at hearing that.
"Yeah. I think so anyway." Nove rubbed the back of her head slightly. "It's hard to figure out Cinque-nee sometimes, but I think she felt something for him, he was incredibly strong and took her eye after all."
"That's one way to fall for someone, I guess," Ginga said after a moment.
"Well... that and for awhile, Cinque-nee was looking after Zest before the Doctor used him." Nove shrugged. "Maybe she developed a crush on him then."
"Really?" Ginga blinked a few times. "Well, I guess if she was looking over him after he beat her up a bit..."
"Well, Nanoha-san makes most of her friends by blowing them up, so I guess that it works for others." Subaru said, giggling softly.
"Well, I can say that's certainly true." Ginga aimed a smirk at Nove that made the redhead blush.
Subaru giggled softly. "Ne, Nove, you better be careful about people younger than you. Get into a fight with someone like Nanoha-san did with Vivio and you might end up becoming "Nove-mama"."
"Like that would happen." Nove said, shaking her head. "You're looking into Nanoha's situation too much, sis."
Subaru grinned and ran with the thought; she quite liked it, herself. "Ne, Gin-nee, what would you and Wendi do if Nove befriended some little kid and started being called Nove-mama?"
"Subaru!" Nove yelped.
"What? I'm curious! They're your lovers, haven't you thought of having kids?"
Ginga laughed softly and shook her head. "It's okay, I don't want to have kids just yet. But, anyway, Nove... What do you think we should do to help Cinque out?"
"I... I have no clue." She admitted reluctantly. "...Should we follow her?"
Ginga shook her head. "I don't think that would help. She probably wanted to get away from us if she went to the church."
Nove deflated slightly at that. "Makes sense," she murmured.
"Hey." Ginga gently put an arm around her. "I didn't say she's mad. She just needs time to herself right now."
Subaru frowned thoughtfully. "Think we can find her a boyfriend?"
"Well, she likes Erio, that much we know... And she liked Zest... So... Someone who's easy on the eyes and fairly strong then?" Nove grimaced as she thought about that. Who did they know like that?
"Makes sense, I don't think that Cinque would be interested in someone who was too weak, honestly. Plus they'd have to be able to overlook how small she is."
"Erio's a no go." Subaru shook her head. "Caro's already staked a claim on him. Those two have been together for as long as I can remember."
Nove frowned. "Vice?"
"I think he's making moves in Signum's direction..."
"Really?" Ginga blinked at Subaru. "Never saw that..."
Subaru shrugged at her. "I think so. Who else do we know?"
The three went silent and looked at each other helplessly. "You know, I think this is the first time I honestly think being a lesbian sucks." Nove grumbled softly, and she wanted to help Cinque out too.
Subaru blinked a few times before she chuckled softly. "Well, we could always just go looking for guys."
"Like shopping?" Ginga laughed.
"Sure, why not?" Subaru grinned. "It will be fun!"
Nove shrugged slightly. "Why not?" She didn't mind the attention, honestly. It was kind of fun to watch Wendi get all jealous and upset at people for hitting on her.
And to be honest, Nove was curious to see how far she could push Ginga. The purple-haired woman was definitely the most laid-back of the three when it came to such things, and she wondered if she could make her snap.
"All right, let's go!" And with that, Subaru led the way out of the house.
(---)
"Shamal!" Hayate smiled and hugged the taller blond, who happily hugged Hayate back. "I'm sorry I haven't been around much these last two weeks. How have you been?" The two had called and agreed to meet up at the food court of the local mall, since meeting outside in an outdoor cafe was impossible, due to how cold it was getting. Heck, Hayate fully expected it to start snowing any day.
"Not living in your house." Shamal laughed and sat down, delighted when Hayate sat with her. "I moved into the apartment above my clinic."
Hayate's eyebrows went up. "Oh?" That was news to her, having spent the last couple of weeks either in her office or meeting with people. It was a miracle that she got any sleep some days.
Chuckling the short-haired blond nodded at her master. "Yeah... I asked Miyuki if she wanted to move into the apartment above my clinic, and she wanted to have someone there with her, so, I moved in with her."
Blinking a few times, Hayate smiled brightly. "I'm so glad for you."
Shamal shrugged. "I just remembered what you said to me, before Miyuki got hurt, and she was talking about death so easily that I just... asked her."
"Oh?"
"Yes... though she wanted to know why, of course." Shamal laughed. "It's been about two weeks since then. It's going well."
Shamal gulped as Hayate got a gleam in her eyes. "Uh... Hayate?"
"So, have you done it yet?" Hayate said with a giggle as Shamal blushed hard.
A person who was not used to Hayate's direct method of asking questions would have fallen clean off the chair. Shamal was used to it, but she still had to grab the table to steady herself. "Uh, no, not yet," she muttered.
"She isn't interested?"
"No..." Shamal's blush deepened as she remembered how Miyuki had made it abundantly clear, on several occasions, that she was quite interested.
Hayate nodded at her and smirked softly. "So, she's interested, you're interested, but you haven't gone that far yet?" When Shamal shook her head, Hayate sighed softly. "Shamal... Are you afraid of committing fully?"
This time, Shamal didn't blush. "I... it's not like I don't want to, I really do. And Miyuki's been really great about it... just so patient and gentle, but I know she has those needs. And I want to, I really do, I just... I don't know how to, not properly."
Hayate scratched her head slightly. "Well, why don't you ask her to show you?" She giggled as Shamal blinked at her in confusion. "Never thought of doing that?"
Shamal blushed again. "How do you ask something like that?"
"I never had that problem. Haven't done anything like that myself yet." Hayate smiled softly at her. "You could ask Momoko-san or Lindy-san, they might know better. Or you could just go up to Miyuki and tell her that you want to go further in your relationship."
"Who wants to tell me what about my relationship?"
The amused voice made Hayate look up and Shamal turn, and the brown-haired girl grinned. "Nanoha-chan! Miyuki-san! I didn't even hear you approach."
Nanoha laughed. "Sorry, we didn't mean to invade your privacy like this, but we just finished shopping and saw you two." Nanoha nudged Miyuki gently. "Onee-chan wanted to say hi."
"She dragged me out," Miyuki muttered. "I thought it would be all right, since it's a slow day and you were planning to close anyway."
Shamal smiled and shook her head, but now she was really blushing.
Hayate smiled and told the two to take a seat. "Well, we were just talking about how Shamal moved out when I was busy with a new case." She mock-pouted at the blond, who fidgeted slightly. "You could have called at least." She gave a wry smirk as Nanoha giggled at her.
"Ne, Hayate-chan, you shouldn't be so hard on her. After all, Miyuki-nee moved out without telling anyone either."
"That's not true, Nanoha-chan, mom and dad knew." Miyuki rolled her eyes as Nanoha laughed softly.
"Still, you didn't tell me." Nanoha accused her gently. It was just teasing between sisters, they both knew that they didn't need to tell anyone about anything that was going on.
"You never asked," Miyuki replied, and sighed. "I swear, you're nosier now than you ever were as a kid."
"Oh?" Hayate grinned.
"Yes! She's asked me just about every question she possible could!" Miyuki groaned and threw her hands up into the air in near disgust. It was a good thing that she and Nanoha hadn't bought anything while they were out shopping, otherwise anything in her hands would have went flying into the air.
Nanoha pouted, but her eyes were gleaming.
"No. No talking about that." Miyuki pointed to Nanoha, who held up her hands and backed off on her questioning.
"Fine, fine." Nanoha pouted more and turned to Hayate, smirking.
"Nanoha-chan?" She blinked as Nanoha chuckled.
"So, Hayate-chan... Are you seeing anyone now?" Nanoha asked with a smirk and gleam in her eyes.
Hayate simply smiled. "Nope. Go back to dissecting your sister's sex life, Nanoha-chan."
Miyuki groaned and slowly slid down in her chair.
"Mou... Hayate-chan's no fun." Nanoha pouted as Hayate giggled softly.
The shorter woman rolled her eyes as her best friend sulked. "Now, now, don't be like that." Suddenly, she grinned and her eyes gleamed mischievously. "Or I'll dress up your boys in various cute outfits, take pictures and whip them out to embarrass Sora and Isamu for the rest of their lives."
Miyuki snorted at that, but held back her laughter when Nanoha gave her a look. Snickering still, the dark-haired woman stood. "I'll leave you two alone to finish this," she said lightly. "It seems like serious business."
"Where will you go, Onee-chan?"
"Home, I guess. The clinic's closed up, and I trained a little bit this morning."
Nanoha groaned and looked at Hayate's smug face. "Hayate-chan..."
"Yes?" Hayate blinked as Nanoha suddenly grinned at her.
"I get to approve any pictures before you take them." Nanoha might have been a mother for about a half a year, but she knew the importance of embarrassing her children in the future.
Hayate grinned. "Deal."
Shamal watched Miyuki go, then hastily got to her feet. "I think I'll head home to," she said lightly. I pulled an all nighter last night, so I didn't sleep much."
Hayate smirked, switching to the mental link. Go get her.
Thanks, Hayate. Was Shamal's reply as she left the two women conspiring with each other.
(---)
"How about this one?" Momoko asked as she pointed to a white dress, smiling at Fate, who was looking at a cake book.
"It looks really pretty." Fate couldn't help but return Momoko's smile; the older woman's excitment was almost like a disease.
"I'm sorry." Lindy laughed and leaned back slightly against the wall, watching her daughter. "If I'd known it would get this crazy, I wouldn't have asked if you had a minute of free time."
Fate smiled at Lindy as Momoko, Lindy and herself looked through various wedding books, cake books and decorations. "It's okay, mother. This is actually rather fun." She smiled and got up as she heard one of the three children start crying. "Oh, Sora, are you okay?" She picked up the baby boy, taking a whiff and shaking her head, he didn't have a dirty diaper so... "Are you hungry?" She asked him as she carried him to the couch and sat down, smiling and blushing as she moved her clothing to help him breast feed. "Oh goodness, you are hungry." She giggled as he started suckling. "How Nanoha deals with you, I don't know." At least Lindy and Momoko both turned away, smiling softly as she breast-fed Sora. Fate might have been a proud mother, but she just got so embarrassed so easily some times.
"I think Sora's trying to compensate for Isamu," Momoko murmured to Lindy while Fate fed her son. "I swear, I've never seen such a pair before. Isamu's always crawling around and getting in trouble, but Sora stays in one place and is the easiest baby to look after."
Lindy laughed softly.
Fate shook her head and looked down at Sora. "You're just a good kid who doesn't want to cause his mothers trouble, aren't you? Someone's got to look out for his sister and brother, right?"
Sora didn't answer as he fed, his only response was to gently pat Fate's breasts as he fed.
"I heard that," Momoko called, earning another quiet chuckle from Lindy.
Fate smiled at her mother-in-law as she rubbed Sora's back while he fed. Closing her eyes, she just loved the feel of being so close to her son. Technically, he was Nanoha's son, but that didn't matter, as far as she and Nanoha were concerned, the babies were all of theirs and no one could take that from them, ever.
"You aren't falling asleep, are you?" Momoko joked.
"Sorry. Sora's always hungry."
"You just want an excuse to cuddle with your son," Lindy muttered, but she was smiling.
"Do you blame me?" Fate asked, smiling softly at her mother. "I feel so close to him like this."
Lindy and Momoko both shook their heads, smiling softly. They didn't blame Fate, they were much the same way when their children were born years ago.
"Sora does get hungry a lot, though," Momoko admitted with a laugh. "He gets that from Nanoha."
"I think he just wants the snuggle time, too." Lindy smiled. "Usually everyone's focused on Isamu and Alicia because they're the most active."
Fate smiled down at Sora, who had his eyes closed as he fed. "Is that it? Is grandma right? Are you jealous of your brother and sister?" Oh, she knew that Sora couldn't tell what feelings were what, it just helped develop the bond between the two of them. "You're always so quiet that it's hard to tell what you want sometimes." She said softly while rocking back and forth slowly.
A minute later Sora let go and started squirming slightly. Fate re-adjusted her clothes for modesty and stood up, walked over to the nearby corner table, grabbed the towel that she had there, put it on her shoulder and rested Sora on that shoulder while she gently moved him around and patted his back softly.
Fate raised an eyebrow and giggled softly as she heard Sora burp. "Wow, that was big, are you trying to be surprisingly loud, Sora?" Sora's only response was to gurgle at her.
Momoko's eyes softened slightly. "You're good with all of them, Fate-chan."
"I helped Amy and Chrono raise their children. I looked after Caro and Erio when they were younger." She smiled as she pulled Sora back, her smile widening as he squealed and kicked his legs back and forth. "And mother has been a great help. I... I never want my children to go through anything like I did. Never..." She said softly, her red eyes shined with happiness as she looked at Sora. "You'll always be loved, Sora, never forget that." She said softly.
Sora's only response was to keep kicking his legs in the air.
Fate laughed softly as she saw him do that. "You're a little young to try running. You might want to crawl first."
"Try telling that to Nanoha." Momoko chuckled. "She was trying to run long before she could even crawl."
"He gets it from Yuuno, too." Fate sighed. "Honestly, I never knew just how stubborn that man was until we I got together with him and Nanoha."
"Oh really?" Lindy raised an eyebrow at her daughter. "I never knew he was that stubborn." Now that she thought about it, he did go along with many of Nanoha's ideas, so maybe he was almost as bad as Nanoha was.
"He's incredibly stubborn. It makes me grateful he never got sent out into the field, because I know he wouldn't have returned." Fate shuddered. "When we were young I thought he was just that way because he was going along with Nanoha, but he's got plenty of stubborness and determination on his own." It scared Fate sometimes, to know that her lovers were the kind who placed the wellbeing of others before themselves.
Sensing her mood shift, Sora gurgled and stopped kicking his feet, reaching for his mother.
Fate blinked and smiled as him as he seemed to reach out. "I'm sorry, Sora..." She said and pulled him against her, rubbing his back softly as he rested his head on her chest. "Fate-mama's just worried about your mom and dad." The blond sighed softly and smiled as he seemed to reach up and tug at a loose strand of hair. Fate's eyes misted up as she looked at him. "You're a good boy, Sora."
Lindy chuckled as she motioned for Fate to come over to her. "How about this gown?" It was white, strapless, not a whole lot of frills, and it looked fluffy.
Fate studied it and smiled. "It looks nice," she said. "Very simple."
"I thought you'd like something simple." Lindy chuckled. "It would fit you, I think."
Fate looked at it a moment longer before she smiled down at Sora. "What do you think?" she asked softly. "You think this is a nice gown for me?"
Sora blinked at her, before smiling and squealing happily.
"I think that's a yes." Fate laughed softly at the squirming baby.
Momoko laughed. "Good fashion sense for one so young."
Suddenly there was a crying sound from one of the cribs. Before Fate could move, Lindy smiled and got up, walking over to the crib. "Alicia..." She said softly and picked up the baby, getting her to calm down right away. "Looks like you just wanted to be held by grandma, huh?" The girl whimpered softly. "Must have been a bad dream, huh?" Lindy rubbed the baby's back. "It's okay, no dreams can hurt you while grandma has you."
"Can babies have bad dreams?" Fate asked.
Lindy chuckled. "Well, they certainly can't say they do, but I don't see why not. Even babies are scared of some things."
"Or she just realized that she wasn't being held and wanted to be held." Momoko said, smiling at the two. "Miyuki was like that, actually. Sometimes, she'd wake up, crying simply because she wasn't being held."
"I'm surprised Isamu hasn't made any noise yet," Fate murmured. "He's usually the loudest one."
From his crib, the boy blinked innocently.
Lindy laughed softly at the boy. "He's just planning to get loud later, just watch him."
Fate pouted at her mother. "I wish you wouldn't say things like that, it might give him ideas, mother." Lindy's only response was to laugh at her gently. "I'm just hoping that our children don't have to go through anything too dangerous for at least ten years."
Lindy laughed. "Fate, that's not fair to them. You were involved in dangerous things when you were nine."
"I can still hope. Besides, at least they'd be about the age I was when I started, or the age that Caro and Erio were when they were in Riot Force Six." Fate shook her head and rubbed Sora's belly, getting a happy squeal from him. "Isn't that right, Sora?"
Momoko laughed. "Somehow, I feel we've completely forgotten about the dresses," she said, but she didn't mind it. Getting to spend time with her family like this was rare, and she would take as much of it as she could get. "When are you and Nanoha planning to return to work, Fate-chan? The babies are almost six months old."
Fate nodded and sighed. "I know. We were going to go back to work in a couple of weeks." She honestly didn't like the thought, but at least Hayate had assured her that she wouldn't be sent on any missions until she felt she was ready to go back out. Unfortunately, that meant a lot of desk and paper work.
Still, it was worth it. "Signum promised to help us get back into shape, and I think Vita's looking forward to working Nanoha over." Fate didn't know what was worse, the thought of her babies being without their mothers or the fact that she was dreading the training Signum and Vita were going to put her and Nanoha through.
"Ah, I remember." Momoko laughed. "I was always that way with any of my babies. I hated leaving them behind when I had to go back and help with the coffee shop. Even Shiro had a rough time of it."
Lindy smiled. "It was the same for me after Chrono was old enough for me to leave him alone. Clyde actually had to comfort me through the first few weeks because I felt so guilty for leaving him by himself."
Fate sighed and nodded, before smiling slightly. "Hey, mother, how is Amy doing?" She hadn't seen her sister-in-law in a while and was curious.
Lindy smiled brightly. "She's showing more and more these days and complaining about her back hurting, but she's incredibly happy." Not that Lindy wasn't happy too, more grandchildren for her to spoil.
"How's Chrono handling it?"
"I think this is the only time he's ever actively despised his job." Lindy swallowed a chuckle. "He's always been especially protective of Amy during times like these, even if she insists she's fine. He was the same way before the twins were born."
"Speaking of overprotective husbands..." Momoko got a gleam in her eyes.
"Uh oh..." Fate sweated slightly at the gleam in Momoko's eyes. "Yuuno's not that bad, honestly. He's just a sweetheart."
Sora grunted and kicked his legs up and down, seemingly trying to agree with his mama.
"I'm not saying he's bad." Momoko smiled. "I'm just curious. No offense, but sometimes it seems like you and Nanoha overwhelm him a bit. You're both certainly very protective of him."
Fate blushed softly and chuckled. "He never complains, and, yes, we do worry about him. I can't say for Nanoha, but for me..." She sighed softly. "I just don't want our children growing up without loving parents. It hurts too much."
Lindy's eyes softened. "Ah, yes..."
"Where is Nanoha, anyway?" Momoko wondered, looking at the clock. "She said she wouldn't be out long."
"I'm..." Fate's words were cut out as the door opened and Nanoha called into the house. "We're in the living room, Nanoha." She called out, smiling as Nanoha and Hayate came into the room, the two rubbing their hands together, though they both had a lot of bags hooked on their arms for some reason. "Have fun with Miyuki today?"
Nanoha smiled and nodded at Fate as she put her bags down. "Yeah, then we went to the mall and found Hayate-chan and Shamal in the food court. I think Hayate-chan just followed me home to see our children today." She smiled at Fate, before going over to her and kissing her on the lips gently.
Nodding and grinning, Hayate didn't deny it as she looked at the baby in Fate's arms. "...Is that Isamu?"
"No, Sora."
"Ack!" Hayate waved her arms side to side. "Sorry, Fate-chan, I can't tell the difference yet." She then grinned and pulled a camera out of her pocket. "Fate-chan, Nanoha-chan, come on, I want to play dress up with your babies."
Fate blinked and looked at the bags in Hayate's arms. "Oh, so that's what they're for." Her shorter friend grinned and laughed, nodding at the blond. "Please try to not terrorize them, Hayate."
"Good luck with Isamu." Momoko chuckled as Lindy came over, carrying Alicia. "He hardly ever stands still unless one of his mothers or Yuuno-kun is holding him."
Taking Alicia from Lindy, Nanoha nodded and smiled at the two older women. "Oh, we will, at least I will..." She trailed off and glanced at Hayate, who was grinning at her. "I'm not too sure about Hayate-chan though."
"You think too little of me." The short-haired woman chuckled at her friends.
"Remember that time you managed to get Signum and Shamal into those bunny-girl outfits?" Fate rolled her eyes as Hayate giggled.
"Hey, I got good pictures out of it."
"Or that time you had Vita dress up as anime characters." Nanoha giggled softly.
"Or that time..."
"I get it, I get it." Hayate rolled her eyes. "Come on, it's not like you two don't want to play dress up with them as well."
Fate and Nanoha both grinned.
Hayate chuckled. "Actually, Yuuno was quite good about it too. I remember once... it was before you three got together, I called him up as a last minute date for some social event I had to attend because Rossa was busy." She smirked. "He dresses up very well in a suit."
"Oh really?" Nanoha smirked at her. "You'll have to tell us about that."
Hayate giggled and nodded. "Sure thing."
Edit: Page Claim for multi-post chapters!
__________________
My fics Due to certain things, I am not here, find me over on TFF.
"Uh, Subaru." Ginga coughed. "I think when you use the term 'shopping for boys' it doesn't mean literally going to a mall to look for them."
"But malls are always so crowded! There has to be one guy here who matches Cinque!"
Ginga groaned.
Nove rolled her eyes and smirked. "Hey, Ginga, it's better than being outside too long." Was too dammed cold out there, her skin tingled after being outside for too long.
"I guess..." Ginga muttered as the trio walked around the mall. "So, where should we look?"
Subaru giggled and pointed to a sports store. "I could use some new gloves myself... How about you two?" It didn't hurt that there were several guys in the store.
Ginga groaned again, but followed Subaru as the short-haired girl led the way. "Subaru, I swear, if you ever wake up one day and realize you're bi, or break up with Teana and go out with a man, you and I need to have a serious discussion about finding them."
Subaru blinked a few times and stopped walking. "Huh? What do you mean, Gin-nee?"
Ginga could have banged her head against a wall. "I'm saying that just finding a guy isn't that simple. It's the same with a girl. You have to talk to them, get to know them, understand their likes and dislikes..."
"You know a lot about that," Nove murmured, feeling a nasty flash of jealousy.
"Let's just say that I've done my fair share of dating with different people, Nove, okay?" Ginga smiled at the short redhead.
"Oh." Nove really didn't know why she felt the urge to find someone and hurt them over that.
"Gin-nee..." Subaru chuckled softly. "I wasn't going to do that... I was just thinking we could just look for a guy that Cinque might be interested in, that's all. Those guys over there are pretty cute after all."
Ginga sweat-dropped as Subaru turned and started walking away. "...I swear, I think Subaru's bi."
Nove shrugged, it honestly wouldn't surprise her. "Eh, maybe she's just Teana-sexual."
"Huh?" Ginga blinked at her. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"She only gets aroused by one person, regardless of their gender." Nove smirked at her as the two started to walk into the store after Subaru. "I thought you knew that."
"Sorry, the term was different than what I'm used to hearing is all." Ginga chuckled as they looked for their sister. After a few moments, something came to her as she turned to Nove and just had to ask, "... So wait, you mean that if Teana became a guy, Subaru would still be attracted to her?"
Subaru ignored Ginga's question as she wandered into the store, checking out the gloves they offered. The material looked nice, but they seemed expensive...
Keeping one eye on the boys just for the heck of it, she wasn't surprised when all heads turned once Ginga entered the store. It wasn't the usual place for a girl to be, at least not a girl who looked like Ginga, and Subaru would willingly admit that her sister was more attractive than she was in some aspects.
Nove slipped back away from Ginga as the taller blue-haired woman was surrounded and bombarded with questions ranging from if she was free to what her number was, to someone asking if she wanted to go on a date.
Smiling Ginga just shook her head, she was used to this. Quietly and gently she answered each question, though she really wished she knew who had just grabbed her butt when she wasn't looking.
Nove quietly wandered over to Subaru's side, feeling an uncomfortable feeling burn at her belly. "Does this happen a lot?" she asked quietly.
"What, Gin-nee attracting boys like flies? Yep." Subaru kept examining the gloves. "She can handle them."
Nove nodded, though she still felt uncomfortable as she sighed. "Hey, Subaru..."
"Hmm?" Subaru asked as she bent over, looking at some gloves that were on a lower shelf. "What is it, Nove?"
"You ever wish that the attention that those boys were giving Ginga was on you instead?"
"Sometimes." Subaru said softly. "It was harder when I was younger, on days off and I spent time with Gin-nee, I always wanted someone to just realize that hey, I'm pretty too, you know? But, in the end, I found Tea, and I realized that I don't need to worry about what others think." She then smirked and stood up fully. "Though it would be nice to get some attention too. I don't mind it." She winked at the shorter redhead.
"I guess..." Nove's eyes drifted back to Ginga.
Subaru chuckled. "I think she needs some help," she murmured. "These guys must not be used to seeing a girl. They aren't giving her any breathing room."
Nove nodded and walked over to the group, trying to slip in and trying to get Ginga away from the group of boys. She didn't feel like getting in trouble by beating someone up because they wouldn't get away from Ginga. Her eyes widened and she spun around. "Who just grabbed my butt?" No one but Ginga or Wendi was allowed to do that, and only when they were alone or not being looked at.
"Hey there." Wendi grinned. "I thought I recognized your cute butt. I saw the crowd and got curious." She craned her neck, trying to see. "Who is at the center? Some performer or something?"
Nove bit back a sigh. "Ginga."
The taller of the two redheads blinked a few times. "Eh? What's she doing surrounded?"
"She caught their attention and we're in a sports store with a lot of guys, you do the math." Nove grumbled as Wendi tapped her chin a few times.
"Well, we can't have that, can we..." Wendi muttered and smirked as she looked out into the mall. "Hey! Is that Nanoha Takamachi in casual clothing just outside of the door there?"
"WHERE?!" The men yelled and started to pull away from Ginga.
Ginga blew out a quiet breath as the men pulled away and left; only to blink and groan, softly, as she saw one of them, a tall hunky guy, come over to her. "Hi," she said lightly.
"Hello." He smiled. "It seems we're finally alone."
"What are we, chopped up cars?" Wendi groaned, getting the guy to turn and smile at the two redheads.
"Well, I didn't know that you had such beautiful friends." The man smiled charmingly at Wendi and Nove. "If I had known I would have said hello to them as well."
"Leave them alone," Ginga muttered.
"Oh, so you're jealous?" He chuckled. "Don't worry, we can go somewhere private if you like."
There was a loud cracking sound and the man found himself on his knees, clutching his stomach. Ginga blinked as Nove as she glared at the fallen guy.
"Hey, come on, you didn't need to hurt him like that." Wendi said and tried to pull Nove away before she did anything more to get into trouble. She wanted to do that to the guy as well, but she really didn't want to cause trouble for their dad.
"At least let me break his ribs," Nove growled.
Ginga sighed and turned back to the man. "Are you all right?" she asked. "I'm sorry, my girlfriends can be a little overprotective at times..."
The man grunted and looked up, twitching. "G...Girlfriends? Dammit, someone as pretty as you playing for the other team? Always this way, isn't it?" He snorted softly as he stood up. "Too bad, I could have always made an honest woman out of you."
This time, amazingly, it was Wendi who twitched. "Are you saying Ginga isn't honest?"
"Could have been better... Someone so beautiful... Waste of genetics, honestly." He found himself on his back, this time due to Wendi punching him in the face and laying him out. "Oww..."
"Wendi!" With a yelp Ginga grabbed the tall redhead by the waist, pulling her back. "Calm down!"
"What?" With a groan, the man sat up, rubbing his nose. "It's the truth! Someone as beautiful as her... she'll never have children. It's depressing."
"I'd rather Gin-nee not have children if it meant not having children with someone like you." Subaru said as she walked up to them. "I'm a lot more patient than Gin-nee's girlfriends are, it might not be a good idea to stick around too much longer, ne?" She winked at him as he nodded, it sounded like a good idea, honestly.
Ginga sighed as the man left and went over to her girlfriends. "Come on, that happens a lot, I'm fine."
"Ah, Gin-nee," Subaru coughed, noticing they were attracting attention.
With another sigh, Ginga grabbed Wendi and Nove and dragged them to a more private place for them to talk about what had just happened.
She took them near the back of the store, near the door that led directly outside, which was empty, into one of the dark corners before turning to them. "All right, what happened in there?"
"I don't really know, Ginga." Wendi rubbed the back of her head nervously. "But that guy insulted you and I didn't like that."
"So you punched him out?" Ginga looked at her incredulously, both redheads winced at the look on her face, it wasn't a nice look.
"Nove wanted to do it, too," Wendi muttered.
"Leave me out of this!"
Ginga raised a brow and crossed her arms over her chest, waiting patiently. She appreciated her lovers' protectiveness, but up until she'd gone on the mission with Teana they had never reacted this way whenever she was flirted with.
Wendi sighed and grimaced. "Sorry, I was just upset at how they were crowding around you and then that guy just got under my skin for some reason." She couldn't explain it, and, honestly, it upset her knowing that she couldn't explain it at all.
Ginga nodded slowly. "Uh huh," she said.
There was a long moment of silence before Nove suddenly burst out, "I was scared."
Ginga blinked. "Nove?"
"I... I don't know about Wendi, but when I look back on how we treated you and how scared you were..." Nove squirmed. "I'm afraid now that you'll find someone else, and leave us, because it took us so long to realize how you felt..."
"Nove, I..."
"I know that you like guys and girls, Ginga." Nove took a deep, shuddering breath. "You don't hide your porn very well." She smirked softly as Ginga blushed at her. "But, I..."
"I was too." Wendi interrupted, getting the two to look at her. "Maybe not as much as Nove, but, Ginga... I don't want to lose you to some guy like that either. It wouldn't feel right if you weren't there with us."
Ginga blinked. She'd never expected to have the situation reversed; she'd always thought she'd be afraid of losing Wendi and Nove, not the other way around. She sighed. "Come here," she said gently.
Wendi and Nove both cringed and walked to her, fully expecting to get whacked; only to blink as they were gently pulled into her arms. "Ginga?" Wendi asked.
"Dummies." Ginga's voice was soft. "Do you really think I would have stayed with you for as long as I have if I didn't want to?"
The two stiffened for a moment, before relaxing and hugging her back tightly. "Sorry," they both mumbled as they held her, relaxing against her. So much tension that was building up in them seemed to finally bleed out of their bodies, their muscles seemingly becoming more and more loose with each moment that they held onto Ginga.
"So, no more getting jealous, okay?" Ginga said as they nodded against her as she let go and the two stepped back as Ginga smiled at them. "Wendi, care to join Nove, myself and Subaru? We're trying to find Cinque a boyfriend."
Wendi blinked. "A boyfriend?"
"Yep." Nove nodded. "Apparently, Cinque is straight."
Wendi laughed softly. "Well, that's surprising, I honestly didn't think she was interested in anyone. How'd you find out?"
"She was looking at pictures of Erio." Nove said with a shrug as she shook her head softly.
Wendi could only stare at Nove weirdly. "Seriously?"
"Yeah, but she didn't mean anything by it," Ginga said quickly. "She knows she'll never have a chance with him. She just thinks he's cute and he'll grow up to be attractive."
"She had a crush on Zest, though," Nove added.
"Huh, really?" Wendi had a slow smile appear on her face as she tapped her chin. "So, find someone who's pretty cute and strong then?" She giggled softly. "This will be interesting."
Ginga smirked. "So, want to tag along?"
Wendi smiled, then kissed Ginga before kissing Nove. "Shall we, then?"
---
Miyuki yawned softly and opened her eyes, blinking. She let her eyes adjust to the darkness for a moment before tilting her head to the side, smiling slightly when she saw Shamal curled up beside her, one hand resting gently against her chest as the blonde slept.
They'd come home after speaking to Nanoha and Hayate and collapsed on the bed together. Shamal had fallen asleep instantly, grabbing onto Miyuki like she was a snuggle toy, and it hadn't taken long for the dark-haired girl to nod off.
Honestly, Miyuki wouldn't have complained if Shamal had wanted to do more than just sleep in the same bed, but she didn't mind. Smiling softly, she pushed a stray hair out of Shamal's face, getting a soft sigh and squirm from the blond. She couldn't help herself and leaned in to kiss Shamal on the forehead gently.
She was delighted when Shamal sighed softly and snuggled closer, nuzzling her neck sleepily.
It had taken a few days for Shamal to even trust Miyuki when it just came to sleeping; Miyuki didn't know all the details of Shamal's past, but she knew enough to understand the blond had been hurt, badly.
Just the fact that Shamal trusted her enough now to sleep with her like this, to Miyuki, was plenty to be happy about.
Still, she wondered just what had happened in Shamal's past. She couldn't help but be curious as to what had happened to make Shamal so jittery and nervous.
"no..." Shamal mumbled in her sleep. "No..."
Miyuki blinked, then looked back down at the blonde. "Shamal?" She gave her a light shake, but if anything, Shamal clung to her tighter, not even opening her eyes. Since it was contact that Shamal seemed to want, Miyuki hesitantly wrapped her arms around the blond. "Shamal, it's okay," she said softly. "I'm here. No one's going to hurt you."
Suddenly Shamal's eyes snapped open as she took a deep breath, gasping for air. "I... Wha... what? Miyuki?" Suddenly she hugged the dark haired woman tightly. "Oh... Thank god... Just a dream."
Feeling Shamal hug her tightly, Miyuki relaxed slightly and gently stroked her hair, feeling her tremble. "You okay?" she asked softly.
Shamal took a deep breath, sighing as she felt Miyuki rub her back, taking in the scent of the woman in her bed, and the complete zone of comfort around her. "I'm sorry, I... Just a dream..." She sighed as she started to relax.
"A nightmare, huh." Miyuki laughed softly, relieved as Shamal relaxed in her arms. "I've had those before. They really suck."
Shamal nodded, sighing softly. "Yeah..."
"Wanna talk about it?" Miyuki asked softly, rubbing Shamal's back gently.
Shamal hesitated before her grip on Miyuki tightened and she snuggled closer, closing her eyes.
Miyuki sighed and laughed again. "Okay, snuggling works too." Honestly it hurt a little that Shamal didn't seem to trust her with this, but the dark-haired woman wouldn't push her.
The two lay in bed, just relaxing against each other before Shamal finally sighed and shifted slightly. "I'm sorry... I just had a dream about... Before..."
"Before?" Miyuki blinked as she rubbed Shamal's back. "Before you knew Hayate?"
"Yeah... Haven't had one of those in years, honestly."
"Ah... I see..." Miyuki continued rubbing Shamal's back gently. "Must have been a bad one... you were whimpering no in your sleep..."
Don't ask. Miyuki repeated it like a mantra. She'll tell you when she's ready, don't ask.
"Really?" Shamal didn't think she was muttering in her sleep. "I'm sorry if I worried you."
Miyuki shook her head and smiled softly. "It's okay, it was just a dream after all. I wasn't going to leave you to face that alone."
Shamal shuddered. "I'm sorry, it just... it seemed so real. I thought I was living through it again... then I heard your voice..."
Miyuki nodded and rubbed Shamal's back as she trembled softly. "Hey, it's okay. We all have them from time to time. It's what makes us human after all." She smiled softly as Shamal slowly started to relax.
Shamal nodded and closed her eyes, murmuring something against Miyuki's neck.
Miyuki blinked. "Shamal? I didn't catch that."
The blonde took a deep breath. "I said... the dream... was of an old master who took... a special interest in me when we were under his control."
She deserved to know, Shamal thought. Miyuki deserved to understand just what she was getting into.
"Shamal? If you don't want..."
The blond shook her head. "It... You need to know, Miyuki. You need to know." She sighed softly. "Those scars you found on my back?"
"Yeah?"
"Was from that master." Miyuki blinked as Shamal turned her face away, it burned red with embarrassment and shame. "He... He loved tormenting me a lot. Had a thing for blonds apparently." She trailed off, wondering how to explain something that happened so, so long ago.
"Shamal..."
Shamal tensed up, prepared to be rejected, or told off, when she'd only just scrapped the surface of her past hurts. She was stunned as Miyuki's hand gently brushed her cheek, so their eyes met again. "Miyuki?"
"Don't look away," Miyuki said softly. "You didn't do anything wrong."
Shamal took a deep, shuddering breaths as she slowly smiled at Miyuki. "...Thank you." She whispered gently as Miyuki rubbed her back softly.
Miyuki nodded quietly, gently rubbing Shamal's cheek with her thumb. "He did worse than that to you, didn't he? He wasn't the only one."
"Am I that easy to figure out?" Shamal asked with a soft laugh.
"No, but it makes the most sense, I think." Miyuki smiled and leaned in, kissing her on the forehead gently. "If you don't want to talk, Shamal, I'm not going to force the issue, okay? It might help, but if you're really really nervous, it's okay."
Shamal hesitated, took a deep breath. "No... no, you deserve to know," she murmured.
"All right." Miyuki gently pulled Shamal closer. If Shamal wanted to talk, she wouldn't say no.
"Some of them," she sighed and shifted slightly in Miyuki's arms, "some of them were real pieces of work. Beatings were just one thing they liked to do."
"...You were forced to kill people, I know that."
Shaking her head, the blond let out another soft sigh. "I... We all were forced to do things that we didn't like. Forced into..." She didn't want to continue, but Miyuki did need to know.
"Shamal?" Miyuki blinked as Shamal turned red and pressed her face against Miyuki. "Forced into..."
"We were forced to have sex with them after they beat us, quite often." Signum had suffered the worst, in her opinion, but the rest of the Wolkenritter had all suffered throughout the ages.
There was a long, long pause that, for Shamal, seemed to last forever. Despite her fears, she tightened her grip on Miyuki and buried her face into the dark-haired girl's neck. "I'm sorry," she whispered hoarsely. "I should have told you sooner, but I was scared..."
"I know..." Miyuki whispered softly, rubbing Shamal's back. "Stuff like that, it's hard to talk about, isn't it?" When Shamal nodded, she could only rub the blond's back gently and hum softly, getting her to try and relax.
Realizing Miyuki wasn't going to push her away, Shamal slowly relaxed. "I'm still sorry," she whispered.
"For what?"
"I... know I haven't been fair to you..."
Miyuki blinked. "Shamal?"
"I..." She gulped slightly. "I know that you have needs, Miyuki. And, honestly, I... I've wanted to help you with them, but... I was scared, so I stopped myself."
"It's okay." She smiled at Shamal, who shook her head and frowned.
"No, no it's not. It's not fair to you at all. I, I want to have a fair relationship, Miyuki." Shamal said, stuttering out the last bit as she blushed heavily.
Oh, boy. Miyuki felt a blush rising.
"Shamal." She cleared her throat awkwardly. "I'm... I'm not going to deny, I have needs, but... I can wait. I don't want to push you if you aren't ready yet."
Shamal took a deep breath as she blushed hard. She... She didn't know if she was but... "Miyuki..."
"Yeah?"
"I... I don't know if I'll ever know if I'll be ready." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "But, I know... I know that... That I'm very curious... About the difference between what I went through... And, what it's like to want it."
Miyuki didn't think anything in the world could make her blush at this point, and was soundly proven wrong as her blush deepened. It was pretty obvious what Shamal wanted, even if she'd somewhat danced around the issue with her wording.
"Tell me when to stop," she murmured, and leaned down, giving the blond a deep, gentle kiss.
Shamal's eyes widened, before she relaxed into the kiss, moaning softly, before she gasped as Miyuki's fingers danced across her chest gently. "M...Miyuki..."
"Yes?"
The blond gulped and took her hand and placed it on Miyuki's, forcing the hand, gently, to cup and squeeze her chest. "Please, show me."
Miyuki smiled and nodded at her. "Just remember, if you want to stop, just say so, okay?"
Shamal nodded and gasped as Miyuki started to apply slightly more pressure, still being gentle, but allowing her to feel what she was doing.
Throughout it all, Shamal never once asked Miyuki to stop what she was doing. Not once did she feel the need to.
Later, as the two lay there sweaty, naked and smelly, Shamal had the biggest smile on her face as she cuddled closer to Miyuki. Her eyes were closed, but she really, really felt like years of pain, torment and hurt had been washed away at once.
Maybe she was wrong. Maybe it wasn't normal. Maybe she shouldn't be feeling this way.
And maybe she just didn't care.
__________________
My fics Due to certain things, I am not here, find me over on TFF.
Spoiler for Omake - Don't let idiots do summoning:
"What happened this time?" Zafira asked Arf who was pouting and slumping against him.
"One of them summoned someone with a white mask over his face. All he had was rope. You couldn't say his name or you'd get tied up!" Arf, in her adult form, groaned as Zafira hugged her from behind.
"What was his name?"
Arf looked around and gulped. "Promise me that you won't say it no matter what?"
Zafira blinked and nodded. "Uh, okay..."
"His name... Was Candle Jack and I swear that..."
Zafira blinked as a man in a white mask suddenly appeared in front of him, grinned and tied up Arf before running away. "Hey! Give her back!" He yelled at the running creep.
__________________
My fics Due to certain things, I am not here, find me over on TFF.
@Nanya: Nice work, as always. Just a couple mistakes I noticed.
Part 1: Repeat of these two lines.
Lindy's eyes softened. "Ah, yes..."
"Where is Nanoha, anyway?" Momoko wondered, looking at the clock. "She said she wouldn't be out long."
Part 2: Same thing.
Miyuki didn't think anything in the world could make her blush at this point, and was soundly proven wrong as her blush deepened. It was pretty obvious what Shamal wanted, even if she'd somewhat danced around the issue with her wording.
"Tell me when to stop," she murmured, and leaned down, giving the blond a deep, gentle kiss.
I think it's probably something to do with copying it and posting it here.
@Nanya: Nice work, as always. Just a couple mistakes I noticed.
Part 1: Repeat of these two lines.
Lindy's eyes softened. "Ah, yes..."
"Where is Nanoha, anyway?" Momoko wondered, looking at the clock. "She said she wouldn't be out long."
Part 2: Same thing.
Miyuki didn't think anything in the world could make her blush at this point, and was soundly proven wrong as her blush deepened. It was pretty obvious what Shamal wanted, even if she'd somewhat danced around the issue with her wording.
"Tell me when to stop," she murmured, and leaned down, giving the blond a deep, gentle kiss.
I think it's probably something to do with copying it and posting it here.
Ah, my fault when it came to copying it to my master copy. Already fixed both issues on my copy. Thanks for pointing them out. Glad you liked.
__________________
My fics Due to certain things, I am not here, find me over on TFF.
@Nanya: Nice work, as always. Just a couple mistakes I noticed.
Part 1: Repeat of these two lines.
Lindy's eyes softened. "Ah, yes..."
"Where is Nanoha, anyway?" Momoko wondered, looking at the clock. "She said she wouldn't be out long."
Part 2: Same thing.
Miyuki didn't think anything in the world could make her blush at this point, and was soundly proven wrong as her blush deepened. It was pretty obvious what Shamal wanted, even if she'd somewhat danced around the issue with her wording.
"Tell me when to stop," she murmured, and leaned down, giving the blond a deep, gentle kiss.
I think it's probably something to do with copying it and posting it here.
Ah, I already mentioned part 2 to Nanya but I don't know how I missed part 1... thanks for catching that.
I was awake before Bardiche rang out his alarm to tell me it was time to get up. In fact, I had spent the last little while staring at the ceiling of what I knew to be a forward room. Nanoha had given me my room number and Hayate set it to accept me sometime last night when I was having dinner with my friend. Although they called it a 'special room for important guests', I still couldn't help but feel awkward. Here I am, in my home base, laying in a bed that didn't belong to me. I was still slightly in shock from everything that had happened, but I knew that I had to put it behind me and look for a solution rather than mope around.
Alternatives II
By: Satashi
Fate walked down the hallway leading to Nanoha's room briskly. Having being given clothes to wear, the blonde found herself in a standard base uniform that didn't fit quite right but still felt better than her dirty enforcer attire. When she made it to Nanoha' door, she stopped herself from just entering now that she was stored in the device via password, and instead knocked.
"Come in!" A perky voice came from inside. The door swished open and Fate looked around, spying Nanoha at her tiny kitchen. "Good morning, did you sleep well?"
"No, but I rested enough." Fate told the truth, which got her a look that was mixed between sympathy and amusement. "Did you sleep okay? you didn't wake up too early did you?" The blonde smelt the freshly baked biscuits and bacon before she saw the pan on the stove and light in the oven.
"I woke up on my own, don't worry." Nanoha waved her hand over her wheelchair control orb and went to the refrigerator. "How do you like your eggs?"
"Scrambled... mind if I join in?"
"Some hostess I am, letting my guest do all the work."
"I like cooking." Fate moved by Nanoha and started cracking shells. "You want yours over easy with extra pepper, cooked in the bacon grease right?"
"That's kind of creepy." Nanoha mused, not sure if she was enjoying this or was weirded out by it. "Tell me, how did I make the biscuits?"
"If you're referring to adding in honey, I know your mother taught you to do that when you were young."
Nanoha hummed and simply watched the girl cook. "I'd really like to meet me in your world. It must be nice having someone know so much about you."
"You're about the same, from what I can tell..."
"...I'm sorry, I was being selfish. We'll get you back, don't worry. I'm sure Hayate-chan will want us to meet with her first thing this morning."
"What about your students?"
"Vita-chan can handle them for the morning lessons, this is more important. We have to get you registered while you are here so you won't be in trouble. Last night's battle will be covered by the civilian colaberator contract, but you need to be in the records for now on."
"Yeah..." Fate finished their breakfast while Nanoha removed the now cooked sides. "I just realized I won't have my rank anymore..." Her lips turned up into a small grin. "Should I salute you?" The joke made Nanoha giggle to herself and Fate took comfort in hearing the familiar sound.
@Satashi: Nice, and thank you for using what I pointed out. Just noticed a bit that reads weirdly to me.
Spoiler for Nitpicking:
Having being clothes to wear, the blonde found herself in a standard base uniform that didn't fit quite right but still felt better than her dirty enforcer attire. When she made it to Nanoha' door, she stopped herself from just entering now that she was stored in the device via password, and instead knocked.
Spoiler for Possible Edit:
Having been given clothes to wear, the blonde found herself in a standard base uniform that didn't fit quite right but still felt better than her dirty enforcer attire. When she made it to Nanoha' door, she stopped herself from just entering now that she knew thewas stored in the device via password, and instead knocked.
Tell me if you want me to do this some other way, anyway.
@Satashi: Nice, and thank you for using what I pointed out. Just noticed a bit that reads weirdly to me.
Spoiler for Nitpicking:
Having being clothes to wear, the blonde found herself in a standard base uniform that didn't fit quite right but still felt better than her dirty enforcer attire. When she made it to Nanoha' door, she stopped herself from just entering now that she was stored in the device via password, and instead knocked.
Spoiler for Possible Edit:
Having been given clothes to wear, the blonde found herself in a standard base uniform that didn't fit quite right but still felt better than her dirty enforcer attire. When she made it to Nanoha' door, she stopped herself from just entering now that she knew thewas stored in the device via password, and instead knocked.
Tell me if you want me to do this some other way, anyway.
Changed first one, leaving the second the way it is for future possibilities that I don't know yet :3
I was awake before Bardiche rang out his alarm to tell me it was time to get up. In fact, I had spent the last little while staring at the ceiling of what I knew to be a forward room. Nanoha had given me my room number and Hayate set it to accept me sometime last night when I was having dinner with my friend. Although they called it a 'special room for important guests', I still couldn't help but feel awkward. Here I am, in my home base, laying in a bed that didn't belong to me. I was still slightly in shock from everything that had happened, but I knew that I had to put it behind me and look for a solution rather than mope around.
Alternatives II
By: Satashi
Fate walked down the hallway leading to Nanoha's room briskly. Having being given clothes to wear, the blonde found herself in a standard base uniform that didn't fit quite right but still felt better than her dirty enforcer attire. When she made it to Nanoha' door, she stopped herself from just entering now that she was stored in the device via password, and instead knocked.
"Come in!" A perky voice came from inside. The door swished open and Fate looked around, spying Nanoha at her tiny kitchen. "Good morning, did you sleep well?"
"No, but I rested enough." Fate told the truth, which got her a look that was mixed between sympathy and amusement. "Did you sleep okay? you didn't wake up too early did you?" The blonde smelt the freshly baked biscuits and bacon before she saw the pan on the stove and light in the oven.
"I woke up on my own, don't worry." Nanoha waved her hand over her wheelchair control orb and went to the refrigerator. "How do you like your eggs?"
"Scrambled... mind if I join in?"
"Some hostess I am, letting my guest do all the work."
"I like cooking." Fate moved by Nanoha and started cracking shells. "You want yours over easy with extra pepper, cooked in the bacon grease right?"
"That's kind of creepy." Nanoha mused, not sure if she was enjoying this or was weirded out by it. "Tell me, how did I make the biscuits?"
"If you're referring to adding in honey, I know your mother taught you to do that when you were young."
Nanoha hummed and simply watched the girl cook. "I'd really like to meet me in your world. It must be nice having someone know so much about you."
"You're about the same, from what I can tell..."
"...I'm sorry, I was being selfish. We'll get you back, don't worry. I'm sure Hayate-chan will want us to meet with her first thing this morning."
"What about your students?"
"Vita-chan can handle them for the morning lessons, this is more important. We have to get you registered while you are here so you won't be in trouble. Last night's battle will be covered by the civilian collaborator contract, but you need to be in the records for now on."
"Yeah..." Fate finished their breakfast while Nanoha removed the now cooked sides. "I just realized I won't have my rank anymore..." Her lips turned up into a small grin. "Should I salute you?" The joke made Nanoha giggle to herself and Fate took comfort in hearing the familiar sound.
Spoiler for AlternativeS 2-2:
Just as soon as the two sat down together, A beeping sound came from Nanoha's wheelchair. "Raising Heart, connect please." The command allowed a monitor to appear in front of the girl and Hayate's image formed on it almost instantly. "Good morning, Hayate-chan."
"Morning, Nanoha-chan." Hayate replied back in kind. "Could you please bring Fate-chan to my office this morning?"
"Already planning on it." Reaching up, she tiled the screen to show Fate was next to her. The blonde smiled and gave a small wave which was returned. "Do you have any idea on what could have put her here?"
Hayate shook her head. "I haven't had time to do anything other than talk to everyone in our room last night. Shamal seems to think she could have come through a dimensional rift, but the chances of that are so low its hard to believe. Anyway, I have some people on it. For now, I need her signed as a collaborator before the T.S.A.B swoop in and try to have her signed on. Is that okay, Fate-chan?"
"Yes, that is fine." Fate nodded at the screen. "Nanoha was just telling me that."
"I see," Hayate looked back over at Nanoha. "Well then, enjoy your breakfast. I'll ask Vita to train your students today for you."
"Please." The two friends nodded at each other and the communication was cut off. "See? Hayate-chan is always on top of things."
"She is." The blonde agreed and a small bit of silence passed over them as hey ate, interrupted only by raising Heart's update on the weather, Nanoha's schedule, and the sounds of utensils tapping their plates.
Once breakfast was over, the two girls headed down out to take care of their business, stopping once they reached the front door. "Raising Heart wasn't kidding when she said high chances of rain today," Nanoha mused while looking out at the drizzling rain.
"Seems so," Fate brought up Bardiche and the device answered her silent call to allow an umbrella to form, casting a translucent yellow barrier above them. "Shall we?"
Nanoha gave Fate an amused look but still allowed girl to hold the shield over them both as they walked to the adjacent building. From there they went up to Hayate's office and the blonde found herself answering questions that both made her grin and sigh out at the same time. Once the paperwork was completed Hayate gave a satisfied nod and began ushering them downstairs once more so they could go give Fate her official ranking test. Their trip was interrupted just moments after they left the main building by Lexus standing in front of them, an umbrella held over his head by none other than a reluctant looking Teana.
Lexus greeted them with a smirk and stepped forward to Fate, making Tea move along with him. "Hello there, Blondie. I did some research and it appeaser you aren't with the T.S.A.B. yet."
"I am a civilian collaborator, and don't call me Blondie." Fate frowned at him but still let her eyes drift to Tea for a brief moment.
"My assistant, Teana." Lexus pointed to the girl. "Not worth anything on the field but she's helpful when I need someone to carry something for me." His words made the girl with him bite down a growl. "Anyway, Hot Legs, why not join my battalion? I have much better resources then these clowns. What do you say?"
"My name is Fate." The woman stated firmly.
"Ooh, my destiny, I like that."
Nanoha chose that moment to interrupt. "Don't hit on my friends."
"Jealous I've never hit on you? Can't see what fun you'll be without moving your hips arou-" His words cut off when a palm connected firmly with his cheek.
"Do not address my friends in such a manor." Fate told him, voice going from her usual soft tone to holding a faint edge to it. "I won't tolerate anyone insulting people I care for."
Lexus licked his lips and looked at Fae with a new interest, left hand going to touch his slapped cheek. "I want you even more now. Have you taken your mage exam test yet?"
"I have not," Fate answered simply.
"Tell you what," stepping closer to her, he forced Teana to lean the umbrella to keep him dry, even though her back was now getting wet. "Let me review you. If I win, you join my battalion, in more ways than one."
Fate felt her body grow stiff, red tinting her cheeks when she realized what the last part meant. Despite this, she still didn't move from him, and answered back calmly. "When I win, that girl with you will join our battalion, and you will address Hayate and Nanoha by their ranks."
Lexus laughed loudly at her. "Well spoken! Fine then. Wingless, we will be using your training field. Lets go, Babe."
Fate nodded and began walking as well, ignoring the astonished look on Tea's face at her sudden involvement with people she didn't even know.
The training area, now free from its morning inhabitants, was quickly changed to form a fake city on it, leaving Fate standing on one building on the east side while Lexus was on the West. The blonde ran her thumb over Bardiche and felt her clothes shift and change around her before forming a barrier jacket to protect herself. 'I don't care if you harass me,' she thought bitterly as a monitor came up in front of her, informing her of how the ranking test would work. 'But I will never forgive anyone who insults my family or friends.'
On the sidelines, Hayate stood with crossed arms. Monitors floated all around her and a firm frown was on her face. "This isn't what I had in mind for today."
Nanoha nodded lightly, moving her hands out to make sure all the necessary information would be recorded and documented. "He is a triple-A plus mage. Fate-chan said she was S, but her performance last night would only suggest a double-A... Was she holding back so she could record for us?"
"... For her sake, I hope so..." Her eyes moved to look at Tea standing next to them. 'And why did she bet that that girl would be transferred to me...? I'm getting too laid back in my old age.' Smirking at the inside joke, Hayate finally pushed the screen to confirm the battle to start. 'Good luck, Fate-chan.'
I was awake before Bardiche rang out his alarm to tell me it was time to get up. In fact, I had spent the last little while staring at the ceiling of what I knew to be a forward room. Nanoha had given me my room number and Hayate set it to accept me sometime last night when I was having dinner with my friend. Although they called it a 'special room for important guests', I still couldn't help but feel awkward. Here I am, in my home base, laying in a bed that didn't belong to me. I was still slightly in shock from everything that had happened, but I knew that I had to put it behind me and look for a solution rather than mope around.
Alternatives II
By: Satashi
Fate walked down the hallway leading to Nanoha's room briskly. Having being given clothes to wear, the blonde found herself in a standard base uniform that didn't fit quite right but still felt better than her dirty enforcer attire. When she made it to Nanoha' door, she stopped herself from just entering now that she was stored in the device via password, and instead knocked.
"Come in!" A perky voice came from inside. The door swished open and Fate looked around, spying Nanoha at her tiny kitchen. "Good morning, did you sleep well?"
"No, but I rested enough." Fate told the truth, which got her a look that was mixed between sympathy and amusement. "Did you sleep okay? you didn't wake up too early did you?" The blonde smelt the freshly baked biscuits and bacon before she saw the pan on the stove and light in the oven.
"I woke up on my own, don't worry." Nanoha waved her hand over her wheelchair control orb and went to the refrigerator. "How do you like your eggs?"
"Scrambled... mind if I join in?"
"Some hostess I am, letting my guest do all the work."
"I like cooking." Fate moved by Nanoha and started cracking shells. "You want yours over easy with extra pepper, cooked in the bacon grease right?"
"That's kind of creepy." Nanoha mused, not sure if she was enjoying this or was weirded out by it. "Tell me, how did I make the biscuits?"
"If you're referring to adding in honey, I know your mother taught you to do that when you were young."
Nanoha hummed and simply watched the girl cook. "I'd really like to meet me in your world. It must be nice having someone know so much about you."
"You're about the same, from what I can tell..."
"...I'm sorry, I was being selfish. We'll get you back, don't worry. I'm sure Hayate-chan will want us to meet with her first thing this morning."
"What about your students?"
"Vita-chan can handle them for the morning lessons, this is more important. We have to get you registered while you are here so you won't be in trouble. Last night's battle will be covered by the civilian collaborator contract, but you need to be in the records for now on."
"Yeah..." Fate finished their breakfast while Nanoha removed the now cooked sides. "I just realized I won't have my rank anymore..." Her lips turned up into a small grin. "Should I salute you?" The joke made Nanoha giggle to herself and Fate took comfort in hearing the familiar sound.
Spoiler for AlternativeS 2-2:
Just as soon as the two sat down together, A beeping sound came from Nanoha's wheelchair. "Raising Heart, connect please." The command allowed a monitor to appear in front of the girl and Hayate's image formed on it almost instantly. "Good morning, Hayate-chan."
"Morning, Nanoha-chan." Hayate replied back in kind. "Could you please bring Fate-chan to my office this morning?"
"Already planning on it." Reaching up, she tiled the screen to show Fate was next to her. The blonde smiled and gave a small wave which was returned. "Do you have any idea on what could have put her here?"
Hayate shook her head. "I haven't had time to do anything other than talk to everyone in our room last night. Shamal seems to think she could have come through a dimensional rift, but the chances of that are so low its hard to believe. Anyway, I have some people on it. For now, I need her signed as a collaborator before the T.S.A.B swoop in and try to have her signed on. Is that okay, Fate-chan?"
"Yes, that is fine." Fate nodded at the screen. "Nanoha was just telling me that."
"I see," Hayate looked back over at Nanoha. "Well then, enjoy your breakfast. I'll ask Vita to train your students today for you."
"Please." The two friends nodded at each other and the communication was cut off. "See? Hayate-chan is always on top of things."
"She is." The blonde agreed and a small bit of silence passed over them as hey ate, interrupted only by raising Heart's update on the weather, Nanoha's schedule, and the sounds of utensils tapping their plates.
Once breakfast was over, the two girls headed down out to take care of their business, stopping once they reached the front door. "Raising Heart wasn't kidding when she said high chances of rain today," Nanoha mused while looking out at the drizzling rain.
"Seems so," Fate brought up Bardiche and the device answered her silent call to allow an umbrella to form, casting a translucent yellow barrier above them. "Shall we?"
Nanoha gave Fate an amused look but still allowed girl to hold the shield over them both as they walked to the adjacent building. From there they went up to Hayate's office and the blonde found herself answering questions that both made her grin and sigh out at the same time. Once the paperwork was completed Hayate gave a satisfied nod and began ushering them downstairs once more so they could go give Fate her official ranking test. Their trip was interrupted just moments after they left the main building by Lexus standing in front of them, an umbrella held over his head by none other than a reluctant looking Teana.
Lexus greeted them with a smirk and stepped forward to Fate, making Tea move along with him. "Hello there, Blondie. I did some research and it appeaser you aren't with the T.S.A.B. yet."
"I am a civilian collaborator, and don't call me Blondie." Fate frowned at him but still let her eyes drift to Tea for a brief moment.
"My assistant, Teana." Lexus pointed to the girl. "Not worth anything on the field but she's helpful when I need someone to carry something for me." His words made the girl with him bite down a growl. "Anyway, Hot Legs, why not join my battalion? I have much better resources then these clowns. What do you say?"
"My name is Fate." The woman stated firmly.
"Ooh, my destiny, I like that."
Nanoha chose that moment to interrupt. "Don't hit on my friends."
"Jealous I've never hit on you? Can't see what fun you'll be without moving your hips arou-" His words cut off when a palm connected firmly with his cheek.
"Do not address my friends in such a manor." Fate told him, voice going from her usual soft tone to holding a faint edge to it. "I won't tolerate anyone insulting people I care for."
Lexus licked his lips and looked at Fae with a new interest, left hand going to touch his slapped cheek. "I want you even more now. Have you taken your mage exam test yet?"
"I have not," Fate answered simply.
"Tell you what," stepping closer to her, he forced Teana to lean the umbrella to keep him dry, even though her back was now getting wet. "Let me review you. If I win, you join my battalion, in more ways than one."
Fate felt her body grow stiff, red tinting her cheeks when she realized what the last part meant. Despite this, she still didn't move from him, and answered back calmly. "When I win, that girl with you will join our battalion, and you will address Hayate and Nanoha by their ranks."
Lexus laughed loudly at her. "Well spoken! Fine then. Wingless, we will be using your training field. Lets go, Babe."
Fate nodded and began walking as well, ignoring the astonished look on Tea's face at her sudden involvement with people she didn't even know.
The training area, now free from its morning inhabitants, was quickly changed to form a fake city on it, leaving Fate standing on one building on the east side while Lexus was on the West. The blonde ran her thumb over Bardiche and felt her clothes shift and change around her before forming a barrier jacket to protect herself. 'I don't care if you harass me,' she thought bitterly as a monitor came up in front of her, informing her of how the ranking test would work. 'But I will never forgive anyone who insults my family or friends.'
On the sidelines, Hayate stood with crossed arms. Monitors floated all around her and a firm frown was on her face. "This isn't what I had in mind for today."
Nanoha nodded lightly, moving her hands out to make sure all the necessary information would be recorded and documented. "He is a triple-A plus mage. Fate-chan said she was S, but her performance last night would only suggest a double-A... Was she holding back so she could record for us?"
"... For her sake, I hope so..." Her eyes moved to look at Tea standing next to them. 'And why did she bet that that girl would be transferred to me...? I'm getting too laid back in my old age.' Smirking at the inside joke, Hayate finally pushed the screen to confirm the battle to start. 'Good luck, Fate-chan.'
Offhand, why are the Aces down a rank? Hayate was mentioned as S+ earlier rather than her actual SS, and here Fate is listed as S instead of S+.
Here's hoping he's picking his words out of the smoldering, electrified remains of his ass after the next chapter...
Bleh, I hate having this week off. Really messes me up. Can't wait to go back to school on Monday, even if I have one mid term that day and three on Tuesday. Haven't studied at all yet. Been too busy playing Bleach: The 3rd Phantom into the wee hours of the morning. I now have the chronic condition of sporatically shouting out BANKAI every five minutes
Suffice it to say, I haven't done any writing either, but I figure I should address what seems to be a long standing issue with my work before I do more. A common criticism I get on my fics is that my Yuuno is always out of character, is a Gary Stue, and is an author self insert. Is there any validity to these claims or are people just being mean? If it is true, what exactly do I do that makes him OOC/a GS/a SI? How can I prevent this?
Suffice it to say, I haven't done any writing either, but I figure I should address what seems to be a long standing issue with my work before I do more. A common criticism I get on my fics is that my Yuuno is always out of character, is a Gary Stue, and is an author self insert. Is there any validity to these claims or are people just being mean? If it is true, what exactly do I do that makes him OOC/a GS/a SI? How can I prevent this?
[The Hitchhiker's Guide to OOC/GS/SI Busting]
1. Watch Nanoha Again.
OR
1. Ask someone who's watched it a billion times before for a brief description of Yuuno's characteristics.
1b. Ask another someone who's watched it a billion times before for a second opinion.
1c, 1d, 1e... Yeah, you get the picture. Ask as many people as you think it takes. Take note of Occam's Razor, though, some things are best left at a certain point, because going any further may or may not leave you more confused than before.
2. I'll give you this one free: Yuuno is primarily a barrier-defense based mage. Attacks, well hell maybe he has one or two. But primarily, he's your...I find it hard to call him a meatshield. Okay, fine, Mage-Tank. Here's to you, MMORPGs.
3. Figure out what hells or heavens you're going to drop the lad into.
4. Based on 1a, 1b, and 2, figure out what he may or may not do in 3. Try as much as possible to make sure that it somehow makes logical, flowing sense.
For example:
- I want Yuuno to have a harem made out of Nanoha and Fate.
- Hence, I need to think of something that would make them come together in the antechamber without all the damn backstabbing, and without Yuuno ending up with Riot Zamber between his ribs - or Raising Heart stuffed midway down his gullet.
- Cue thought process involving events convoluted or otherwise for Yuuno to ditch his monogamic folly, and for Nanoha and Fate to ditch their burgeoning yuribunny tendencies to get together for brilliant 3P!
- And I'm done with my preliminary idea: Now to proofread it. I suggest you read it out loud - to yourself, or better yet, to your immediate family. You can get your dog too, just anything but a goldfish. If it sounds like any of these five things:
a. Pretty Stupid
b. Pretty Hilarious
c. A Carbon Copy of You
d. Something You'll Never Live Down
or
e. It's Just Awesome! What Else Is There To Say?
then rinse and repeat till you get it right. Because these five indicators are a sure-as-hell sign that something isn't right.
5. The exception to this rule is if it's just too damn HILARIOUS or just too EPIC for us to deny you your fun. But unless and only unless you're certain this is going to work...Please don't do it.
DISCLAIMER: This is the Hitchhiker's Version of the main product. If you have any inquires about the HARDCORE version, PM me anytime. Just prepare for a much longer message than this one.
Last edited by XenahortCharybdis; 2009-10-17 at 14:05.
Reason: It's COLORFUL Now...By the Power of the Rainbow!
Bleh, I hate having this week off. Really messes me up. Can't wait to go back to school on Monday, even if I have one mid term that day and three on Tuesday. Haven't studied at all yet. Been too busy playing Bleach: The 3rd Phantom into the wee hours of the morning. I now have the chronic condition of sporatically shouting out BANKAI every five minutes
Suffice it to say, I haven't done any writing either, but I figure I should address what seems to be a long standing issue with my work before I do more. A common criticism I get on my fics is that my Yuuno is always out of character, is a Gary Stue, and is an author self insert. Is there any validity to these claims or are people just being mean? If it is true, what exactly do I do that makes him OOC/a GS/a SI? How can I prevent this?
I haven't read your stuff to comment specifically, but generally making a character OOC is just simply moving him/her from what people associate him with. For example, are you trying to make Yuuno too "cool" or "powerful" or anything? He's a book worm, doesn't fight (MAGE TANK! Love it!), and I would consider him "innocent" as well.
If you're adding small things to a character, its normally leaning to a self insert. If you make them too powerful, its a mary/gary sue normally.
Not sure if that even helped any since your question was specifically on your Yuuno, but hopefully it'll aid you in examining it yourself.
2009-10-17, 00:03
Author
Glad you liked.
It really helps. 
