A/N: I swear to you folks I didn't plan on writing this, but I LOVE HALLOWEEN. When the plot bunny for this mauled me it had originally demanded I write an actual HORROR story but that failed hard. Instead, as my betas tell me, I ended up writing 100% PHOENIX FLUFF. Oh well, I enjoyed writing it as a break from my other stories and this should at least prove I am still alive. Please leave me a review as it keeps the bunnies placated, at the moment I am pretty chewed up by all their demands, vicious things.

Disclaimer: I do not own the MGLN Characters, nor do I make any profit from my writing.

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Spooks and Sweets

Nanoha looked over her living room, it was decked out in jack o'lanterns, ghosts and skeletons thanks to her best friend. It was the Takamachi family's first Halloween in their new house and Nanoha wanted to make it the best for her newly adopted daughter Vivio. The little girl was insistent on wanting to stay up and watch scary movies with her new mamas and aunty. Nanoha was unsure about letting her see such imagery but Hayate waved it off saying she'd only play the classics which she'd seen at the same age. This did little to relieve Nanoha's mind, 'what if it was the movies that made Hayate that way?'

From upstairs Fate brought down plushy blankets and pillows to increase the comfort of the sofa. In the kitchen Hayate was making extra buttery popcorn and other treats for the evening. Gnawing on her lip Nanoha stared at the DVD covers of the movies Hayate had brought over: Halloween, Carrie, Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, and Alien. Having watched all the movies before Nanoha seriously wasn't sure about letting her seven year old daughter watch any of them.

When strong arms wrapped themselves around her she sighed before leaning back into the warm body, "Fate-chan, I don't know about this… Vivio has already been exposed to enough horror and violence in her life. She really doesn't need more, maybe I can find that Peanuts cartoon…"

Kissing her best friend's neck Fate said, "Nanoha, none of these movies are going to really scare her. I wasn't much older than her when Hayate made me watch them with all of you during that slumber party."

Giggling at the memory Nanoha covered Fate's arms with her own as she pointed out, "If I remember correctly, Fate-chan cuddled up to me that night."

Smiling at this Fate said, "I always cuddle up to you, back then I grasped any excuse I could find to justify it. Our little girl will be fine, she knows her mamas will be right next to her to protect her."

It was just at that moment the little blonde came back downstairs, head tilted she looked up at her two mamas and asked, "Movie time?"

Releasing her hold on Nanoha, Fate moved to scoop up the little girl and gave her a kiss on the cheek, "That's right sweetheart movie time. Now why don't you decide what movie we'll watch first?"

The little girl looked over the covers of the DVD cases and decided on the Halloween movie since she still wasn't very clear on what the holiday meant and hoped this would help. Settling down on the couch Nanoha was annoyed when Hayate stole the spot next to Vivio which should have been Fate's.

The woman stuck her tongue at her friends and wrapped an arm around the the little girl before saying, "This is a great movie Vivio-chan, you'll love it."

Fate took a seat on the other side of Nanoha wrapping her arm around her and whispering, "It'll be fine. Relax and enjoy the movie."

Sighing again as her nascent mothering instincts told her this wasn't a very good idea she leaned back into Fate.

When the movie was over Nanoha turned to look at her daughter who was now lying with her head on Hayate's lap and her feet resting in Nanoha's.

The little blonde sat up frowning then turned to point out to her mama, "But it never really explained what Halloween is. I thought it'd explain why people dressed up and gave out candy, or why it's supposed to be a scary day. It was just an icky movie about a guy hurting people for no reason."

This left Nanoha flummoxed, it appeared her daughter wasn't at all frightened by the relentless killer on screen. Then the little girl continued speaking and she could only wonder at her daughter's thought process.

The girl huffed before saying with finality, "If someone like that came around here Nanoha mama would just blast him into submission and bind him so Fate mama could take him to prison. He'd never escape Fate mama, she'd make sure he never got away!"

Hayate had a slightly annoyed but amused look on her face at this reaction to one of her favorite movies, though she had to agree if Michael Myers ever did show up Nanoha or Fate would be more than capable of dealing with him. Nanoha in the meantime was silently gratified that her daughter thought so highly of her.

Giving Vivio a kiss to the top of her head she said, "You're right babygirl, your mamas will never let anyone hurt you."

Smiling at the exchange Fate got up and said, "Did you want to watch another movie Vivio-chan? I'm afraid none of them will really explain the whys of Halloween to you. These movies were more designed to try and scare people for a thrill."

Looking over the movies remaining Vivio asked with her nose wrinkled, "Do any of these have more kissing? I really didn't like seeing that girl kissing that icky boy."

This made Hayate snigger as Nanoha and Fate blushed a little, they had hoped the romantic bits between the couple murdered wouldn't be mentioned by their daughter. The fact that neither of them wanted to justify the rightness of the pairing either wasn't helping their situation.

Hayate jumped up at that moment and said, "Well that knocks out Carrie, that one has lots of icky boys trying to kiss girls. Hmm so does Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th so I guess that leaves us with the absolute best movie ever Alien!"

Fate rubbed her chest in sympathetic discomfort for the characters. While the movie had a few bloody scenes it wasn't really all that graphic with its horror. It was more suspenseful and she wondered if Vivio would have the attention span to follow the story. Nanoha noticed Fate's reaction to the film so had to ask quietly, "You don't think this will be too much for her? I mean the creature in the movie is like some parasites you've come across on duty. I'd rather not have her having nightmares about aliens attacking you."

Hugging Nanoha in Fate said, "You do realize Enforcers aren't stupid enough to stick their faces in front of an obvious biological threat. Vivio has seen some of my case files and knows all about biohazard-safety when it comes to dealing with new organisms on alien planets, other than being upset with the characters' stupidity she probably won't be too bothered by the movie."

Setting back in Nanoha was tempted to pull the little girl into her lap and hold her close. Instead once again Hayate pulled the child towards her as she whispered something in her ear which made her giggle. Taking comfort in the fact that her daughter wasn't traumatized, yet, she allowed herself to relax back into Fate's open arms. Enjoying the iconic music which opened the film as the title came up she hoped she wouldn't be dealing with nightmares for weeks to come.

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As the closing credits began to roll Nanoha looked over at her daughter who was once again frowning at the screen. She'd never know it was a similar look to the one she got when she found her trainees lacking. Brushing back her blonde bangs Nanoha asked, "You alright Vivio-chan?"

The girl gave her now patented Takamachi huff and said, "It was all wrong! That's not how you deal with alien lifeforms. Fate mama, why were they so foolish?!"

The older blonde could see she had been right, Vivio was more upset with the fact that the whole scenario should have been preventable versus the actual violence. Slipping out from her spot on the couch she knelt in front of the girl and said, "Not every time you meet an alien lifeform do you have to be so cautious."

The little girl gave her a look that declared her disbelief in this statement which made Fate smile. Poking the tip of Vivio's nose she said with barely restrained amusement, "I mean it Vi, look around you, at this very moment we are surrounded by alien lifeforms. Terribly horrific Earthlings, you can't imagine how traumatizing it was for me to make first contact with these monsters."

This made the little girl giggle which grew more raucous as she took in Hayate's offended face at Fate's words. Nanoha in the meantime decided to teach her lover and daughter a lesson in dealing with dangerous alien lifeforms. Pouncing on the pair Nanoha hugged them both to her as she pressed kisses all over Vivio's face then gave her a few tickles for good measure.

Smiling at the pair she teased, "Now you will have to face the wrath of the Nanohahugger."

Deciding to one up her girlfriend Fate tightened her own arms around her family and scooped them both up as she said, "Nope, the Fatehugger will beat you out with the help of my Viviohugger!"

The little girl gave her mama as tight a hug as possible enjoying the feeling of being enclosed in the two pairs of loving arms. The trio heard a gagging noise which had them look over where Hayate was standing watching the family.

Shaking her head the short haired woman said, "You guys are going to give me diabetes faster than the candy."

Sticking her tongue out at this Nanoha said, "Go home Hayate-chan, maybe you can freak out Vita-chan again with those silly movies of yours. As for us we're going to watch something a bit more enjoyable to celebrate the holiday."

Rolling her eyes the blue-eyed midget snarked back, "Oh yeah, what namby-pamby movie are you going to watch now? Casper? Hocus Pocus?"

Bouncing up and down in her mothers' arms Vivio begged, "Dark Water!"

Hayate's eyes bulged at this then she turned to look at her two friends to complain, "Eh?! You let her watch that horrible movie then complain about mine?!"

Fate shrugged, "I didn't think it was all that bad, I thought it was more sad than scary."

Nanoha rolled her eyes and said, "It's not a slasher or gory film, and the ending is really moving."

Shuddering at this Hayate said, "You guys are so weird, creepy kid movies are horrible. I'm going home before I end up having nightmares. Bleugh!" she made more grossed out noises as she gathered up her things much to the amusement of her friends.

The look of revulsion on the petite woman's face as she made her exit had the two taller women hug her tightly as they tried to bite back laughter.

Vivio tried to lessen her fear of the movie by saying, "I don't know why you don't like Ikuko, she likes bunnies too!"

This only gave the woman shivers and with a hesitative pat on the head Hayate said, "Good night Vivio-chan. Have fun with your devil mamas."

Giving the woman a nudge Nanoha said, "Good night Hayate-chan, be safe walking home."

Waving off the concern, she was The Queen of the Night Sky after all, she exited the house missing the smirking look the couple exchanged. The sound of muffled laughter from behind the closed door as she walked away was another bruise to her ego. Rubbing her arms she tried to rid herself of the goosebumps thinking of creepy ghost children brought to her. The walk home in the gloom did little to help her mood and reaching her darkened residence she gave a huff. It wasn't that late, why hadn't anyone stayed up to wait for her? Or at least left the porch light on for her.

Fumbling with the lock she finally pushed open the door, seeing no interior lights were on and hearing nothing she decided everyone must have turned in early. Kicking off her shoes she decided to tiptoe to her room so as to not disturb anyone's sleep. She had just stubbed her toe in the living room and was growling at the table when a white form rose up. She could only see it in the corner of her eye and turning she could only make out a small child sized white figure reaching out to her and then there was a groan.

Screaming bloody murder as she jumped over the couch knocking it over she barrelled right into a half dressed but fully alert Signum. Then the lights flickered on to reveal Hayate had literally climbed into her Knight's arms like a frightened child as she was bellowing, "GET IT! GET IT! DON'T LET IT GET ME!"

The sound of Shamal laughing hysterically and then the the sound of a camera going off snapped the shortest Ace out of her panic. Looking around she saw the white ghostly figure had been none other than Vita. The little redhead was holding a camera and wore a smirk of triumph, after years of being on the receiving end of pranks she'd finally gotten one over on her master!

The soft voice of Signum asked, "If you've calmed down sufficiently Hayate-chan perhaps you could get down?"

Embarrassed by the situation she jumped down from her perch on Signum's shoulder, where she had hoisted herself in her panic. It was only then that she saw the twitching to her stoic knight's lips which proved even she was amused by her over the top reaction. Grumbling at the fact that she was the butt of the joke she said, "Alright laugh it up. I'm going to bed now."

The knights exchanged indulgent looks before going back to their respective rooms, though Shamal did give Vita a small high-five for her prank. It didn't take long for the house to settle back down to a sleepy silence. As Hayate settled into her bed she was torn between laughing at herself for falling for the prank and being annoyed at how easily they had gotten her. She had a sneaking suspicion Nanoha and Fate had been in on the plot, having planted the seed of creepy ghost children in her head for Vita to play off.

As her devious mind began coming up with revenge plots her thought process was halted by the sound of a knock on her door. When the door opened it was Vita, dressed in her normal nightwear and holding her stuffed bunny. Looking uncomfortable and not making eye contact she asked, "Can I sleep with you?"

Never one to reject the chance to cuddle with her tiniest knight Hayate lifted her blanket which was all the invitation Vita needed to dive into the bed. Curling into her master the redhead said with a yawn, "Thank you for not being mad at me."

Hugging her Hayate said with her own voice now sleepy, "It was a good prank. I am very proud of you, now gets some sleep."

Curled up together Hayate fell asleep, not once thinking about what happened to the camera or pictures taken as she drifted off. If she had she might not have slept so easily. For the devil always wins in the end.