Fate Testarossa liked her privacy. She was someone who enjoyed being alone, after all.

Which probably explained why she was not amused when the chime of the doorbell echoed loudly throughout the large house. Rubbing her eyes groggily, Fate stumbled towards the door and wrenched it open.

"Good morning, Fate-chan!"

Fate stared. Only one person she semi-knew would be so damned chirpy at nine in the morning.

She really couldn't believe how stubborn some people could get.

'xxx

All is Full of Love

(You Just Ain't Receiving)

- Enraptured

.

& This Wasted Heart Will Love You (V)

"And may I inquire the reason as to why you have so kindly decided to pay me a visit at this early hour?" Fate's sarcastic greeting didn't bother Nanoha, she had come prepared for a less-than-friendly welcome.

"I told you, I'm going to change your bandages," Nanoha announced cheerfully. "And I know you didn't change them yourself, so don't even try," she added quickly, seeing Fate open her mouth to protest.

"Besides, I brought brownies," Nanoha tried hopefully, holding up her offering.

So that's what the smell was. The blonde eyed the paper bag skeptically. Damn, it smelled… good.

"I will not be bribed by sickeningly sweet treats," Fate said unconvincingly.

There was a loud grumbling sound.

Nanoha blinked, then burst out in giggles when Fate colored, looking (cutely) outraged at her stomach's betrayal.

"There's extra chocolate," Nanoha informed happily.

"How did you know that I like chocolate?" Fate narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

Nanoha shrugged. It hadn't been hard to find out the popular student's likes and dislikes, it was practically common knowledge around the school.

… Okay, so maybe it had taken some effort on her part.

"Brunette instinct. Now can I come in?"

Sighing in defeat, Fate stepped back reluctantly and mumbled a mournful goodbye to whatever plans for sleeping in that she originally had.

xxx

Burgundy eyes watched sleepily as deft fingers unwound the bandages on her arm.

"Hey Takamachi-san, you know you didn't have to come all the way down on a weekend morning to do this, right?"

"I don't mind," Nanoha said, frowning slightly when she confirmed that Fate had indeed not bothered to wash her wound. "Besides, it's my fault that you got injured anyway, and it's not like you'll do it yourself."

"Mm," Fate hummed evasively, leaning back into the sofa and closing her eyes, letting Nanoha do her stuff.

Moments later, Nanoha watched, amused, as Fate wrinkled her nose and opened her eyes in annoyance.

"What is that smell?" Fate wondered.

"Antiseptic, it helps to prevent infection."

"It smells like… iodine."

"That's because it is part iodine."

"I don't like the smell of iodine," Fate complained.

It sounded almost like a whine. Nanoha bit her lip, hiding her smile.

"You can get a brownie after this if you sit still and stop complaining," Nanoha promised.

"…Really?"

"Really."

"Okay," Fate mumbled, eyes sliding shut again.

Nanoha did smile this time. She couldn't help it.

xxx

"I'm done," Nanoha stated.

Fate cracked open one eyelid.

"Do I get my brownie now?"

Nanoha rolled her eyes and handed the bag over to Fate, who sat up and tore it open excitedly. Sniffing its contents, she looked up at Nanoha.

"Did you bake this?"

"Nyahaha, I can't bake at all! My parents own a bakery though, so I just helped myself to some," Nanoha replied sheepishly.

"It smells… heavenly," Fate murmured softly, staring into the bag.

Nanoha found herself suddenly feeling rather hot, and she picked idly at the black leather she was currently sitting on.

"Hey, Takamachi-san…"

Nanoha scowled and seized the bag of brownies.

"Oi, what the hell!" Fate lunged for her treats, but Nanoha, expecting the move, held them out of reach.

"Nanoha," Nanoha emphasized.

"Huh?!" Fate was obviously not in the mood to play games, trying again and failing to snatch back her brownies.

"Na-no-ha," Nanoha enunciated, "Nanoha. Say it."

Fate gritted her teeth in irritation, and Nanoha saw a muscle jump in her cheek. Red eyes darted from Nanoha to the bag, and back to Nanoha again.

They stared at each other in silence, neither willing to back down.

The seconds ticked past slowly.

"…Nanoha," Fate finally growled, giving in and holding out her hand for the brownies.

"That's better," Nanoha grinned, still holding the brownies out of reach. "No more 'Takamachi-san' crap. And oh, you need to say 'please' if you want these back."

Nanoha waved the paper bag in front of the blonde's nose and snatched it away before Fate could grab it, giggling when Fate seethed in silence.

xxx

"Are you going to say it yet?" Nanoha asked in a singsong voice, dangling her bait.

Fate just growled and said nothing.

"Well, if you don't want these, maybe I should just leave-

"NO!" Fate roared, half-standing.

Nanoha snickered. It was so fun to tease the blonde when you knew how.

"Say it, then."

Fate glowered at Nanoha, determinedly ignoring the incessant rumble of her stomach.

"Never."

xxx

"You know, if you don't say it anytime soon, the brownies will turn bad."

Fate looked up from the newspapers she was reading.

"Brownies do not turn bad after an hour."

"They do in the presence of iodine-air," Nanoha lied. "I know, my family owns a bakery, remember?"

Fate shifted, looking disbelieving but at the same time uncomfortable.

"Honestly, Fate-chan, will it kill you to say 'please'?" Nanoha rolled her eyes, amazed at her friend's stubbornness.

"It will if you're the one forcing me to say it," Fate muttered, flipping the page with unnecessary violence.

"Well, you better either say it fast, or think of another way to get the sugary-sweet-double-chocolate-fudge-with-extra-caramel-and-chocolate-chips brownies before they turn bad," Nanoha taunted.

The moment Fate looked up with That Look on her face; Nanoha knew that she had said something she shouldn't have.

"W-What?"

"Do you like dogs, Nanoha?" Fate stood suddenly, lips curled up in what Nanoha thought was a very evil smile indeed. Crossing over the hall, Fate stopped in front of what Nanoha recognized was the door to her room.

"You have one, right?"

"Mm. I didn't want to let her out at first because I didn't know what you would think, but now…"

"So you're trying to threaten me with a cute little puppy?" Nanoha snorted.

Judging from the frantic scratching noises, it was obvious to Nanoha that whatever was in the room knew that Fate was just outside the door. The brunette eyed the door warily. The scratching noises were rather… loud.

"Actually, 'cute little puppy' would hardly be the words I'd chose to describe Arf."

When the door opened, Nanoha felt the smile slide off her shocked face.

A… thing the size of a wolf was staring straight at her, hackles raised and teeth bared. Russet fur bordered on the shade of red, which was the most… interesting color of fur that Nanoha had ever seen on a … dog-thing.

Not that she was in the position to admire it.

Arf growled, and Nanoha whimpered.

She opened her mouth to try and say something, but no words would come out.

"Nanoha, I'd like you to meet Arf."

Damn it, Nanoha could practically hear the smirk in Fate's voice.

xxx

"H-How did she get so big?" Nanoha tried to keep the panic out of her voice. It wouldn't do for Fate to know that she was terrified of the giant dog.

"She eats humans for breakfast," Fate said sarcastically. "No, I just treat her well."

Fate was kneeling in front of Arf now, stroking her and murmuring things into her ear that Nanoha couldn't hear. Considering the exited way Arf wagged her (giant) tail and licked Fate's face, Nanoha could tell that they were very close.

How… unexpected.

"Would you like to pet her?"

What!?

Fate, with one hand on the back of Arf's collar, was gently urging the dog towards Nanoha.

"H-Hey, no!" Nanoha abandoned all pretense and scooted to the furthest end of the sofa, far away from the approaching animal. Arf leapt nimbly onto the couch before Nanoha could jump off it, effectively trapping the girl between the armrest and her massive bulk.

"N-Nyaaaa!!!!"

Fate was giggling at Nanoha's horrified expression.

"Give her a brownie," Fate suggested helpfully, coming behind Nanoha to sit on the armrest, observing Nanoha's imminent death with what Nanoha felt was unnecessary calm.

"Hello, I'm about to die here!" Nanoha cried when Arf forced her muzzle under Nanoha's chin, sniffing at her neck.

Fate rolled her eyes at the dramatics, reaching over to pat Arf's head and gently pushing it away.

Nanoha scrambled to remove a piece of brownie from its bag, but her trembling fingers fumbled and she dropped it on her shirt. The next thing she knew, there was a warm presence against her stomach, and the brownie was gone.

Arf licked her jaws and looked expectantly at Nanoha, tongue hanging out.

Nanoha blinked, before reaching into the bag. Fingers shaking, she offered the sticky treat to the dog hesitantly; ever ready to wrench her hand away should Arf show any signs of wanting to bite her hand off.

The dog was more concerned with the brownie though, clamping it between her jaws and slobbering all over Nanoha's hand. Nanoha squealed and fed Arf another, this time less cautious.

"Hey, don't give her all of it!" Fate protested, quickly stealing a brownie from the bag before Nanoha could stop her.

Popping the whole piece into her mouth, Fate chewed carefully, an expression of pure delight crossing her features.

"Nanoha!" she said thickly from around her brownie. "This is the best brownie I have ever tasted."

"Is it?" Nanoha blushed at the compliment, offering the dog, which she was now growing to like, another piece.

"Mm. Arf seems to think so too, she doesn't usually warm up to strangers that fast," Fate reached for another piece but Nanoha swatted her hand away.

"You haven't said the word yet!" Nanoha scolded, deliberately feeding Arf another piece of the rapidly diminishing brownies. She let Arf lick her fingers.

"No!"

"Fine," Nanoha fed Arf another piece, hiding her grin when Fate bit her lip nervously, eyeing the few pieces of brownies left.

"You know, seeing as you're not saying it, I might as well feed the whole bag to Arf…"

Fate's eyes widened.

"You wouldn't."

"Watch me." Nanoha taunted, tearing the bag all the way down its side, exposing the treats within.

"Alright! Fine! 'Please', happy?!"

"Very," Nanoha smiled, reaching up to pat Fate's head and then wondering why she had done that. "Good girl."

Fate blushed and looked away.

Which wasn't a very smart thing to do, as Arf, seizing her chance, swooped down and devoured every last piece of the brownies.

"Arf!" Fate shouted in horror, making the giant dog stop mid-chew rather comically. "Arf, that was mine!"

Nanoha stared at Fate's violent reaction.

"I even said 'please' for it!" Fate griped, looking absolutely horrified and crushed.

Whimpering apologetically, Arf padded over to her mistress and promptly spat out the wet and sticky remains of the brownie into Fate's hand obediently.

The blonde twitched.

Nanoha couldn't stop her laughter.

xxx

Fate was moping in the corner by herself, glaring at Nanoha playing with Arf.

"I'm hungry."

Nanoha looked up, and burst out laughing (yet again) at the near-pout expression on the blonde's face.

"This wouldn't have happened if you had just said 'please' in the beginning."

Fate narrowed her eyes.

"I'm going to get food," Fate announced, standing up. "And not give you any. Or even better, I should make you beg for it, like how you so cruelly made me-

"I most certainly did not make you 'beg' for it-

"And let you starve in the corner while I play with Arf-

"You are not 'starving in the corner'-

"And look up every once in a while to laugh at your plight-

"You are not in a 'plight'-

"And heartlessly deny that I've done anything wrong-

"Mou! Alright, alright, I'm sorry!" Nanoha gave in, waving her arms to signal defeat.

Arf whined, and pushed her muzzle into Nanoha's hand, looking hopefully up at her. The dog's tongue hung out, panting slightly.

"No, I do not have any more brownies, a fact that you and your owner should get into your thick heads," Nanoha said loudly.

Fate ignored her, walking towards the kitchen. Just before she entered, she stopped and looked as though she was waging an inner war with herself.

"What's up?" Nanoha looked curiously at her friend, who was staring at her with a pained expression on her face.

"…Dyouwantanythingtoeat?"

Nanoha blinked, before realized what Fate had said, and she burst out into laughter again.

Fate flushed and disappeared into the kitchen.

Nanoha turned back to Arf.

"You know, you have such an adorably helpless owner."

"Oi! I heard that!"

Nanoha was silent.

"…Nanoha?" Fate voice floated out from the kitchen.

"Hm?"

"Thank you."

Nanoha felt her jaw drop in shock, before she got a hold on herself and closed it.

"For the brownies? No problem, I didn't bake them anyway, and besides, you only got to eat a piece…"

"No, I meant thanks, for everything."

Nanoha smiled.

xxx

The brunette stared at the bowl that Fate had placed in front of her.

"Instant ramen?" Nanoha teased, poking her food with her chopsticks.

"Ahh, I'm sorry I can't cook," Fate scratched the back of her head sheepishly.

"So you eat this everyday?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

"Mou, Fate-chan! These are really unhealthy!" Nanoha chided gently. "They're loaded with salt and preservatives, and too much of those aren't good for you, especially on a daily basis."

"But it's convenient," Fate defended herself, looking down at her food.

"… You're bad at looking after yourself, you know that?"

"Mm…"

"Seriously, I wonder what your mother says about you."

The moment the words left Nanoha's lips, she knew she had said something wrong. Fate stiffened almost instantly; face hardening into an unreadable look.

"Fate…chan?" Nanoha asked hesitantly. "I'm sorry, did I say something I shouldn't have?"

Fate shook her head. "Shall we eat?"

Fate-chan… Nanoha stared at her friend. Why did she look so sad?

END PT FIVE.

A/N: Sorry for the very short chapter, I didn't intend on updating (am still in midst of finals) but I was nagged to by certain annoying people. xD Thanks for hanging with me though, I really appreciate it. Oh and this wasn't proofread, so uh sorry if there're errors.

Also apologizing for any crappiness on my part, I'm kinda out of the loop having not written for the past billionxz months, and I've kinda forgotten what happened LOL. On the bright side, I have a plot for this now! :P

Shoutout to Kasumi, V, Rae, Aki and Fae (MAI HERO), you people are awesomexzx. And big hi to Nao too!

PS: The next chapter will be longer (and hopefully better), promise! :D Reviews would be awesome, as usual. Thanks for reading!