Nepgear always waited for today. It was not going to be like last year, or the year before that. Neptune would surely remember what today was, for a spectacular sister such as she should surely surprise her sleeping sibling! A whiff of something sweet slipped into the room and into Nepgear's nose. Her sister should almost be done with whatever it was she was making if she could smell it from their bedroom; in fact, Neptune could be bringing down to her as a way to wake her up! Instead of immediately jumping out of her bottom bunk and making meeting in the hallway, the hopeful Planeptune Candidate opted to wait for her sister, pretending to sleep as she did so.
So Nepgear waited.
And waited.
And waited.
Her internal clock (and sneaky peeks at her N-Gear) told Nepgear that twenty minutes had passed, yet no big sister barged in carrying a candle-covered cake. Maybe Neptune's plan was to entice her out of bed with the saccharine smell of sugar and surprise the Candidate in the kitchen. Yeah, that was definitely her plan! With that in mind, the still somewhat sleepy sister shot out of bed, got dressed, and headed for the kitchen. Maybe Neptune made a cake so big it was unable to fit through the doorway and made a substitute scheme to fan the aroma towards their bedroom to lure Nepgear over! Overcome with anticipation, Nepgear took off in a full blown sprint across the hall.
Once at the kitchen, Nepgear stared in awe at the towering pudding that sat on the kitchen counter. "Wow" was all the Candidate could say at the creme caramel confection that barely fit the platter it sat on, and that it was not burnt like everything else the CPU ever tried to cook.
"Oh, good morning, Nep Jr.!" Neptune waved from behind the pudding. She wore a chef hat, a pair of burnt mittens, and a heavily stained apron over her white hoodie.
"Good morning, big sis. Goodness, why did you make such a large pudding for?" Nepgear asked rhetorically. The Candidate obviously knew the answer, but she wanted to hear it from the horsebird's mouth.
"To celebrate, of course!" Neptune replied, adding a new stain to her apron as drool trickled down from her mouth.
"To celebrate…?" Nepgear trailed off, hoping her sister would say that sweet two-syllable compound word, or throw herself around her little sister and say that fabulous four-syllable phrase.
"National Pudding Day!" and with those words, Neptune started to gorge herself on her precious pudding, making the already messy kitchen even messier.
A small crack formed on Nepgear's heart.
National Pudding Day. Right. Neptune instated that holiday when the Candidate turned forty-eight. Nepgear shook her head. She should not fret over this just yet, There was a whole day ahead of them, plenty of time for anything Neptune has in store for her only sister! Said sister belched loudly, having eaten the entire dessert shy of a minute. "Whoops! Sorry Nep Jr., did you want any of the pudding?"
"No worries, big sis. It's okay." Nepgear forced her best smile as she uttered those words.
Later into the day, Neptune dragged Nepgear over to the park surrounding the basilicom, and she looked rather hasty as she did so. A gasp. Maybe Neptune crushed Nepgear's hopes with the pudding so she can be even more surprised with whatever was in store for her in the park! Of course! Neptune was always a step ahead when it counted! With renewed optimism, Nepgear followed her sister as she wandered around the park. "Where are we headed, sis?" she asked.
"Somewhere important," the CPU answered as she scanned the park. "It has to be around here somewhere…" On their quest to find the important place, the two ended up following the trail into the park's forest. Nepgear's imagination started really running wild then.
Maybe Neptune got all of their friends to set up a party in one of the forest clearings, complete with party favors, gifts, cake, and party hats.
"Hey, Nep Jr.…"
Maybe Neptune stashed a picnic basket and picnic blanket somewhere and planned for some sisterly bonding.
"Junior, you there?"
Maybe Neptune finally got Histoire to approve the secret Giant Robot bunker in the park and she was showing her where it was located!
"Nepgear! Hello!" Neptune violently shook the daydreaming Candidate, snapping her back into reality.
"Huh? Oh, what do you need, big sis?" Nepgear asked as all those fantasies faded away.
"I don't have all day, nyu," Broccoli said as she handed Neptune a cone of pixelated vanilla ice cream.
"You gotta try out the new 32-bit ice cream, Nep Jr.," Neptune said between licks, "you can really taste the higher resolution!"
"N-No thanks, big sis, I'm still a little full from breakfast," Nepgear replied.
"Okay, well, see ya around, Puchiko!" Neptune waved back at the little Maker running the ice cream stand as the sisters walked away.
"It's Broccoli, nyu."
"All right, let's head back." Nepgear stopped walking. She must have heard wrong, She must have! Neptune was probably teasing her again. The surprise party or surprise picnic or surprise giant robot bunker was right around the corner.
"That's all we're gonna do at the park?" she asked
"That's all we're gonna do at the park."
"Nothing else?"
"Nothing else."
"Really…?"
"Really."
A second larger crack formed on the Candidate's heart.
No surprise planned in the park. Not a big deal. Nothing in the morning, nothing in the afternoon, but there was still the evening! Neptune was saving her surprise for the right time, is all. She would never forget her own sister's special day, ever. Not in a million years.
…Right?
The clock on the wall struck seven. Despite being "The Land of Purple Progress," Planeptune still utilised many pieces of "outdated" technology. The analogue clock hanging in the lounge was a testament to that. The thing was almost as old as Nepgear herself, and yet the thing kept ticking and tocking on that wall. It had a ninety-year battery life, after all. She chastised herself for thinking the wall-mounted chronometer would not last this long all those years ago; she chastised herself again for thinking Neptune forgot about what today was. She should have some faith. Neptune was not the kind of person to forget something so important to her sister.
As soon as she exited the lounge to look for her sister, Nepgear found Neptune in the hallway right outside. The CPU was carrying something behind her back, a present perhaps. Nepgear's mood improved even more. She knew Neptune would never forget something so important. They were sisters, of course Neptune would remember!
"Nepgear…" Neptune hesitated.
"Yes…?" All that disappointment would be gone the instant Neptune gives her gift and utters those two words.
"Well…" Neptune's confidence started returning.
"Yes?!" Nepgear was shaking in excitement. It was finally happening! She could already hear the words, all her big sis needed to do was say them!
"Could you finish these documents? Histy wanted them done yesterday." A folder filled with paper was shoved into Nepgear's hands.
"S-Sure."
"Thanks, Nep Jr., you're the best little sis anyone could ask for!" Neptune gave her a light hug, then turned to leave.
"W-Wait, Neptune!" Nepgear shouted.
"Hm?"
"Aren't you forgetting something?" the Candidate asked in mild desperation.
"Nope," Nepgear's heart stopped, "everything's in there." Nepgear sighed in relief, Neptune misinterpreted her question.
"No, I mean about today, big sis. Aren't you forgetting something important?" Nepgear asked again. Neptune loved to tease, she would never-
"Nope, I already celebrated Pudding Day, so there's nothing else." Satisfied with her answer, Neptune left the Candidate alone in the hallway.
More and more cracks started forming on Nepgear's heart.
Of course Neptune would forget.
She forgot last year.
And the year before that.
And the year before that.
And the year before that…
What made her think this year would be any different?
Because it was the big one-oh-oh?
A piercing shatter echoed within Nepgear.
The folder full of papers were dropped, its contents scattering all over the floor.
The dazed Candidate hazily shambled through the maze of hallways, each footstep a more difficult feat than the last; the water that was her despair slowly flooded the basilicom, slowing her down, suffocating her. She saw a warm, yellow figure staring at her, beckoning Nepgear to approach. The Candidate's movements became easier and easier as she neared the strange, but comforting entity, so much so that she broke into a full sprint. As the golden silhouette opened its arms, Nepgear threw herself onto it, embracing it. Suddenly, the figure's arms constricted the Candidate and smothered her face, cutting off both air and sight. Nepgear's consciousness slowly slipped away, until…
"My apologies, I tend to get carried away in my hugs."
Nepgear gasped for air as the arm keeping her head glued to two wonderfully soft cushions eased up. The Candidate tilted her head upward and saw the soft blue eyes flanked by shimmering golden bangs beaming down at her.
"Happy Birthday, Nepgear." Someone remembered. Someone remembered! Such simple phrase, yet a powerful one on Nepgear. It was so powerful that it brought a tear to her eye.
Then another.
Then another.
Then another…
Until Vert unexpectedly found herself giving a literal shoulder for Nepgear to cry on. "There there, birthday girl, don't cry. This is the happiest day of the year for you, after all." Vert's reassuring words and soft head pats had opposite of the CPU's intended effect, as Nepgear let out all her bottled sorrows in that moment.
Author's Notes: reupload for posterity