Fate T. Harlaown had been looking forward to the beginning of her leave for a long time.
The investigation into an organized crime family that operated in the Zynga Cluster had essentially occupied her full attention for the past year. It had been an extremely difficult case to crack until an informant came along two months ago. During that period, she and her aide Teana had spent every waking second pouring over leads, interviewing persons of interest mentioned by the informant and going on late night stake outs to try and pick up suspect movements.
As an extra precaution, their superior had ordered that they maintain a communications blackout with Mid-Childa which meant no calls back home and no checking personal messages from home so that the focus would be on the case. It did make Fate feel guilty not being able to call home and talk with Vivio for those past two months but this was necessary in order to maximize the efficiency of the sting operation.
For the most part, the sting had been a success with several illegal operations shut down and key members of the Killjoy Syndicate arrested. The Bureau had missed the head of the group but at the least, this sting allowed them to weaken the family’s hold over the Zynga Cluster. In recognition of her efforts, Teana had been recommended for a promotion to a full time Enforcer. Fate had no doubt that the experience from this case would serve the other young woman well in her future work.
Once they had been officially dismissed from active duty, they immediately packed their belongings before being escorted to a transport going back to Mid-Childa. Due to the adrenaline rush from the sting wearing off, the pair finally caught up on their sleep and ended up waking just before they reached their destination. Teana’s next stop was to her brother’s grave to pay her respects while Fate drove off to Nanoha’s house so that she could surprise the mother and daughter duo.
But as soon as her vehicle turned on that street, she noticed several moving vans and trucks surrounding a house that was next door to Nanoha’s. ‘It looks like someone is moving in.’
Once Fate parked her car on Nanoha’s driveway, she made her way to the door while a mover pressed the other house’s doorbell to let the inhabitant inside know that they arrived. Just as she inserted her key to open the door, she heard the other door open and a familiar voice speak to the mover.
“Hello! Which one are you?â€
‘What…?’ Fate turned her head around just in time to see another young woman with blonde hair tied in tight bun step out of the other house. She wore a pair of jeans and a plain blue t-shirt that looked a little dirty, likely from handling boxes during the day. What stood out the most was her heterochromia.
“We’re here to drop off your living room set, madam,†answered the mover while the Enforcer just stared in disbelief at what she was seeing.
‘V-Vivio?!’ In surprise, Fate dropped her briefcase on the ground.
“Ah, go ahead! Let me help get this in too!†With that, the older Vivio exited her house and headed straight towards the moving van to pick up a box. “Whatever you bring in, you can set them down on the left!â€
“No problem.â€
Fate tried to get her mouth working again but nothing came out. Her eyes stayed glued on Vivio and that mover bringing boxes into the other house. She didn’t even notice the door in front of her opening to reveal a smiling Nanoha, freshly changed from work into an apron to do some baking. “Fate-chan, welcome home!â€
“N-n-n…!â€
The Ace of Aces quickly grew concerned at the strange way her best friend was acting. “What’s wrong?â€
“BWWEEEHHHH!†In a flash, the blonde Enforcer clung to the other woman like a lifeline. “It’s my fault, Nanoha!â€
“Huh?! Get a hold of yourself, Fate-chan! What are you talking about?â€
“I didn’t call Vivio for the past two months and now, she’s isolated herself from us! She’s moved out of the house to live on her own and she’s in her Kaiser Form to be seen as a grown up and it’s all because of me! BWWEEEHHHH!â€
“Fate-chan…†Fate felt Nanoha cup her head to direct it towards her. For a few seconds, the two women kept their gazes on one another until…
“… Do I need to cool your head a bit?†Although Nanoha’s smile stayed perfectly intact, the other female clearly got the message and gulped nervously.
“That’s… not necessary.†She already got blasted by Starlight Breaker once and that was more than enough to last a lifetime, thank you very much!
“Good!†Nanoha released Fate’s face before stepping back. “Now I sent you a message about this last month. Didn’t you get it?â€
“Well… I was under a communications blackout for the last two months because of the Killjoy Syndicate case,†admitted Fate which caused the other woman to sigh in irritation.
“Did you at least check your messages when the blackout was lifted?â€
“Um… it slipped my mind…†Seeing the annoyed look from Nanoha, Fate held up her hands defensively. “I was very tired you know!â€
“I’m home!â€
‘Wait a minute…!’ Fate turned around to see her little Vivio walking up with a boy close to her with short brown hair.
“Ah, welcome home, Fate-mama!â€
The boy looked over at Fate briefly before asking the smaller girl a question. “She’s your other mom?â€
Before she could answer, she felt herself hugged tightly by her Fate-mama. “Vivio, I’m so glad to be home! I’m so, so sorry for not calling home for the last two months!â€
“Ara… what’s with this ruckus out here?†Fate then looked up just in time to see the older looking Vivio pop out of the other house. “How was school, Touma-kun?â€
“It was fine, mom,†answered Touma, not even noticing the seriously shocked look on the other blonde woman’s face.
‘T-two of them?!’ While Fate struggled to handle this revelation, Vivio wiggled out of her arms.
“Oh! Let me introduce you to Ollie-chan! She’s my blood mama or blood sister or something like that! Ollie-chan, this is my Fate-mama!â€
The older Vivio’s eyes narrowed briefly to examine the blonde Enforcer. “My first impression of you… is that you’re an overreacting blubbering wreck.â€
“Hweh?!â€
“Nyahaha… that’s harsh there, Olivie-san,†said Nanoha, coming to Fate’s defense. “Fate-chan has always been a bit sensitive when it comes to family matters.â€
“And she’s supposed to be Vivio’s other parent figure?†Olivie shook her head and glanced back at the van before addressing Fate one last time. “After I finish getting our stuff into the house, you and I are going to have a little chat.â€
“Mom, let me help!†With that, Touma went over to the other side while Nanoha picked up the fallen briefcase.
“Nanoha, you called her… Olivie?â€
“Yep! She’s the last Saint King and Vivio’s biological mother,†answered the other woman.
All of a sudden, Fate was really not looking forward to that chat. ‘What a way to start shore leave…’
[hr]
Next time: An interview