Three is Company…or it it?

By Major Mike Powell III

It was nine o'clock in the morning of Christmas Day, and just now, one of the three figures in the king-sized bed began to stirr.

Yagami Hayate's eyes were hit by a ray of sunshine that came through the blinds of the window next to the bed. She groaned slightly but lazily opened her eyes anyway.

She was met with an eyefull of cleavage. Her eyes widened slightly.

'Ah...what the Hell...?' She though in confusion, not yet aware of what happened the night before. The brunette looked up and saw Fate T. Harlaown's peacefully sleeping face.

'Ah...Ok...so! I'm in bed with Fate-chan and...' Hayate pushed herself up a bit and saw her blonde friend's pale, full, beautiful...naked chest.

'Ok...so, Fate-chan is naked...therefore, and by logic, I must be naked, too. Hmmm...still doesn't ring a bell, though that doesn't make this any less awesome.'

Hayate then gasped when a diferent pair of arms wrapped themselves around her waist and pulled her face-first into Nanoha Takamachi's neck.

"Mmmmm...Hayate-chan..." the redhead purred happily. Hayate blinked twice.

And THEN, it clicked.

'NOW I remember!'

The previous night, Hayate had invited all members of the disbanded Riot Force 6 members to a Christmas party at her house on Mid-Childa.

It had been a six months after the JS Incident, and this would be their first Christmas as a group, as well as Vivio's first ever.

The party had been a blast. Everyone had lots of fun, brought lots of presents, there was eggnog and drinks aplenty, karaoke and cosplay. Also, there was a love confession, which was prompted by none other than a certain little heterochromatic-eyed girl.

It happened a bit late into the night, after mostly everyone had left or gone to sleep. Hayate, Nanoha and Fate were the last ones standing and were placing blankets over the sleeping people lying around the living room, mostly because of the alcohol they had consumed.

Nanoha had asked a barely-awake Vivio if she wanted to sleep at home or Hayate's place. The little girl had yawned, rubbed one of her eyes and mumbled sleepily...

"I wanna stay with Hayate-mama! Can Hayate-mama, Nanoha-mama and Fate-mama tuck me in?"

The three women froze and stared with jaws hanging open at the small blonde. A few seconds later, Hayate laughed uneasily and began to back off. This seemed to snap Nanoha and Fate from their shock and turned to look at their childhood friend before Nanoha turned back to her adopted daughter. She knelt down to her level and asked her gently: "Sweetheart, w-w-where did you get that from?"

A huge sweatdrop appeared on Hayate's head and she looked down, twiddling with her thumbs. Vivio blinked twice and replied: "I heard Hayate-mama tell Carim-san the other day that she was in love with Nanoha-mama and Fate-mama, and that she'd love to hear Vivio call her 'Hayate-mama' at least once in her life. And I just said it thrice! Did Vivio do good, Hayate-mama?" the little girl explained and then asked the shocked brunette with a bright smile.

Hayate sweatdropped and sighed deeply. She then walked over to the small blonde, knelt down next to a shocked Nanoha and patted Vivio on the head.

"W-Well...Vivio-chan wasn't supposed to listen to that conversation, but! You did good, kid. You really did. Thank you," she said gently and Vivio's smile just got bigger and she nodded. Hayate smiled honestly before looking at her beloved friends.

"So...where do we stand, girls? Is there...room for one more?" she chuckled, trying desperately to lighten the mood. She closed her eyes and prepared for...well, whatever there was to prepare for.

"Hayate-mama, will you tuck Vivio in?" Hayate chuckled again and opened her eyes. She was met with the adorable sight of Vivio with her arms stretched out to her 'Hayate-mama', waiting to be picked up.

Hayate slowly reached her arms out to to Vivio but stopped and looked at her friends with a shy smile.

"Ah...may I...?" she asked. Nanoha and Fate looked at one another, then back at their friend and smiled. They nodded and Hayate's heart soared with joy. She smiled at Vivio. "Alright kid, c'mere..." she gently picked the little girl up and craddled her in her arms.

They then made their way upstairs and into one of Hayate's guest rooms, which was adjusted for Vivio, and tucked the bicolored-eyed girl before quietly walking down the hall and into Hayate's room.

The three sat down on the brunette's bed and remained quiet for a few seconds.

"So! Like I said...WHERE do we stand?" Hayate broke the ice. Nanoha tapped her chin in thought while Fate remained silent.

"Well...since when, Hayate-chan?" the redhead asked. Hayate looked at her and nodded.

"Hmmmm...well, I think this is going to sound SO cheesy, but...well...since we were 16. That's when I started to feel atracted to you, because...I mean c'mon! You girls are gorgeous!" Hayate laughed softly, making her beloved friends blush fiercely. Fate was the first to recover.

"So...wow...all this time..." she muttered sadly. Nanoha nodded and looked at Hayate in the eye with a concerned gaze.

"Hayate-chan...did...did we hurt you?" she asked, gently placing a hand on her friend's cheek. She smiled softly.

"I'm not sure, Nanoha-chan. I'm not even sure if I tried to get your attention, girls. I just resigned myself, telling myself you were untouchable. I was glad to just be best friends with you, really!" she re-assured the redhead.

Fate then put her hands on Hayate's shoulders, making her blue-eyed gaze meet her own.

"But Hayate...what exactly made you think we were 'untouchable'?" she asked. Her friend thought about it for a second before replying.

"Well, you and Nanoha-chan were best friends way before we even met, Fate-chan. And I just thought that...you two were always so much closer to one another than with me, so...ah!" Hayate gasped when Fate AND Nanoha suddenly wrapped their arms around her and then fell on their backs on the bed.

"That's not true, Hayate-chan!" Nanoha cried softly, burying her face in the brunette's neck. "What about all the time we were together during your recovery, when you began to walk again?! Did ANY of that mean nothing to you?!"

"N-Nanoha-chan..." Hayate whispered in shock. Fate then cupped her cheek and made her look at her.

"Hayate, you were always very, VERY precious to us! What about that hot springs resort we went to years ago? Remember the airport terminal fire? Do you remember how close we were with you back then?" Fate asked, gently caressing Hayate's cheek.

"F-Fate-chan...b-but...but what abou-mm!" she was silenced by the blonde's lips crashing into her own, pulling her into her very first kiss.

It only lasted for about five seconds, but it blew Hayate's mind, and not a second later, her lips were captured by Nanoha's, further taking her into a whole knew new level of existance.

Fate and Nanoha were THAT good kissers.

"No but's, Hayate!" they chorused and Hayate felt tears run down her cheeks; they were tears of joy.

It went on from there.

'Wow...Nanoha-chan...Fate-chan...'

Hayate snuggled closer to Nanoha, while Fate hugged her from behind. She felt a single tear slip from her eye.

"I love you, girls...Merry Christmas."

Fin

A/N: WASSUP?!

LOL

Hey there, people. 'S been a while, eh? Ya thought I was a goner, didn't ya? LMAO Well, I'm right here, alive'n kickin', and in my element!

This is just a li'l somethin' that came to me on a dream and that wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it down. LOL So, I sat my ass down and struggled to get this thing done, despite the seemingly permanent writer's block I'm in right now. ROFL

And of course, I believe I've got some kinda reputation to keep, am I right?

So! I hope you enjoyed this. Now, you know the drill: Read'n Review, marines! That's an order!

Merry X-mas and a happy New Year!

Semper-Fi! Carry on!