"So um... heya" Neptune waved awkwardly as she and the other girls got up.
So lets set the scene, in this nice little cafe me and Linda, who I had been slowly pushing to join our side, and it was going well and she was basically on the edge of joining our group when those girls collapsed onto the floor after evesdropping from the booth right next to us.
"Nice to see you too Neptune" I replied dryly "You girls just couldn't hold back from following me huh?"
"It was too tempting" Neptune rubbed the back of her head awkwardly.
Looking over at Linda I could see that she was on the verge of running and freaking out, which was not surprising considering these were the goddesses that had been her enemy for so long, so I gently patted her shoulder in an attempt to calm her down.
"We are really sorry about this" Noire mumbled, dipping her head slightly.
"Huh? I-Its fine" Linda stammered, almost hiding behind me for fear the girls will do something.
"Well then I don't need to bring this up with you girls later on" I remarked, crossing my arms "Can you let Linda into the little group we have?"
"She seems to be different from when we last saw her" Blanc responded, her same neutral tone of voice. I really need to teach her to show emotion once in a while.
"Before she was trying to steal sharicite and was supporting Arfoire so she has changed a lot" Vert commented which caused Linda to flinch slightly.
"Well I'm going to take it that you girls are fine with Linda joining us then" I responded dryly "As there haven't been any open responses against her"
"It's fine if she joins but does she have a place to stay?" Noire asked
"How about you ask her instead of asking me?" I replied
"O-Oh um..." Noire mumbled in embarrassment "Do you have a place to stay Underling?"
"Linda" I cut in, these girls really need to learn her real name
"O-oh right sorry, do you have a place to stay Linda?" Noire repeated,
"Not really" She replied from behind me, this is both an extremely cute and awkward situation.
"So where do you sleep?" Vert asked, out of all the girls I can believe that she might be the most forgiving out of all the girls, even though Linda did impersonate Chaika.
"I um... Just sleep outside wherever I can find a decent place" Linda mumbled, slowly making her way out from behind me.
"You sleep rough? Wow you are like the female Bear Grill except you commit more crime" Neptune looked in awe at her.
"There goes the fourth wall again" I commented.
At this point I had slowly began to zone out as the girls were getting along well with Linda and she was slowly becoming more comfortable with them, they were all sitting on one side of the booth together (It was a bit of a squeeze considering there were a lot of them) and I was on the other side where I was sitting originally; so I had my back to the door but that didn't matter that much, though I could tell Linda was still keeping on her toes just in case one of them tried something as on more than one occasion she flinched when one of them reached forward. It seemed like this would be a long time until she had fully settled in and was comfortable with the girls.
"So where will you stay tonight?" I heard one of the girls, Vert I think, ask pulling me back to reality.
"I'm... not too sure really" Linda chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of her head "Probably somewhere outside I can find that is dry"
"No way can we let that happen!" Vert argued, "You should come stay with me in Leanbox"
"It would be best, my nation is too far away for us to get there before nightfall and I doubt Neptune's would of had their guest rooms fixed yet" Blanc spoke up.
"I have no idea what you're on about" Neptune laughed finding a sudden interest in the walls and floor of the cafe.
"Sure you don't" I commented before turning to Linda "Think you are going to be okay staying in Leanbox for the night while these girls set up some permanent arrangement for you. And me too at some point"
"Aw wanting to move away Noire already?" Neptune grinned.
"And leave my wife behind? Never!" I smirked as Noire suddenly whirled round her face like a tomato
"It's official they are married!" Neptune cawed, flinging her hands high into the sky.
"Congratulations" Blanc smiled as Noire looked between me and Neptune with a silent scream emanating from her mouth
"So when will Uni be an older sibling to someone?" Vert asked sending me a sideways glance as I felt my cheeks slowly start heating up. Damn her, how dare she start teasing me during my moment of teasing Noire.
"Hey stop it" I whispered shouted at her "We're teasing Noire not me!"
"The rules have changed" Vert replied with a smirk.
"Then I shall go to my allies in Planeptune..." I growled turning to Neptune expecting help but when I saw the devious grin on her face I knew I had been betrayed "Don't you dare Neptune"
"So... Tom..." She started slowly "How many kids should we be expecting?"
"I hate you" I almost growled at her feeling my cheeks burn up, slowly reaching the point Noire was at; who was, at this moment, clutching the sides of her face in embarrassment, Linda was struggling in her attempt to not laugh at us.
"Aw and we got you a personal trainer for your new marriage" Neptune smirked as I felt the blood run away from my face; the door to the shop swung open and I could hear the high heels of doom slowly making their way over to me.
"Linda shall we go? Best to let the new couple have some private time with their trainer" Vert smiled softly as she got up.
"Y Yeah" Linda stammered, a look of both fear and amusement plastered on her face as she and Vert quickly left the shop.
"Rom and Ram may need me so I'll be going now" Blanc had a small smile on her face as she got up and walked out "farewell"
"Nep Junior may have my help for... something... kay bye!" Neptune waved like she hadn't sacrificed us to the devil's wife and quickly ran off as Iris heart slid into the booth beside Noire, a playful grin on her face as she leaned over.
"So I heard you two have recently gotten married" Iris grinned looking between us both
"Yeah totally no really" I replied sarcastically.
"Tom sarcasm doesn't work with her!" Noire almost shouted as Iris smiled even more.
"Well then that is good because I wanted to talk to the new couple after Neppy roused me from my sleep" Iris purred casting a look at the both of us "It was slightly annoying at first that you left me out of the marriage but when my cute Neptune told me that you did that as you wanted me to help with your honey moon I was simply overjoined!"
"I have so many regrets, one being trusting Neptune" I muttered.
"Noire I really have to tell you all you need to know to help with your new husband" Iris purred again as Noire flinched away.
"I-I'm fine" She muttered
"Come on.. tell you what, I'll let you two prove that you can easily overcome this together and I'll go away and let you handle your honey moon together" Iris replied with a cocky smirk on her face "Kiss each other"
It was like the world had just exploded under me. On the one hand I'll admit I quite liked Noire, she was really cute, funny, nice and I liked being around her, on the other hand I had only known her for one coming up to two days now and getting into relationships too quickly never worked out, I have experience in that.
"Y You can't just expect me to do something like that after knowing her for only one day!" I voiced my protest in hopes that Iris was in a generous mood to listen to the pleas for mercy today.
"W-Wha? I-I mean yeah this is too short of a time frame!" Noire joined in after a moment's hesitation, her face was still deeply flushed.
"We aren't even married Plutia!" I continued on.
"That was what Neptune and the others made up to get you like this!" Noire continued, though she was still trying her best to edge away from Iris which in turn made her edge towards me.
"You say that as you move towards him" She replied, raising an eyebrow. "Fine if this really is a lie then you'll do anything to prove it right?"
"Yes...Wait no!" I started but Iris looked like she became deaf after hearing the first word that came out of my mouth.
"Kiss" She replied, the same predatory smirk on her face.
"Come on! Give us some time to get to know each other before then!" I protested and Noire nodded her head vigorously in agreement.
"Nope!" She continued moving closer to Noire until Noire was right up beside me then Iris slid back into her original place "See? Even Noire is warming to the idea as she's sitting right beside you"
"No I'm no-" Noire stopped as she noticed that she was indeed sitting right beside me.
"Real smooth Noire" I muttered, turning to her "Come on lets get this over with"
"B-But!" She protested, her eyes widening into two miniature footballs "Y-You can't be serious!"
"She won't stop if we don't!" I protested pointing to the demon in question who was leaning closer over the table so she could see. "It won't matter anyway you'll find someone better than me and you'll forget about this"
"I-Ive never kissed anyone before!" Noire burst out which made the air freeze up.
There was a long silence before I turned to Iris.
"I'm not kissing Noire" I stated and she looked slightly shocked at my sudden and serious change.
"Why not?" She asked, cocking her head to the side in a cute way... Dammit don't get distracted!
"First kisses are special and shouldn't just be thrown away" I replied "and I'm not that special and she doesn't like me in that way"
"She does actually" Iris replied with a smirk.
"Eh?" My heart missed a beat as I looked at a Noire who had her head in her hands and a now beaming Iris
"You didn't know?" Iris laughed "She is never this nice to anyone, if she didn't like you more than 'Just a friend' then she would of simply transformed and walked away without a backwards glance. She wouldn't of offered to take you in at Lastation or try and spend more time alone with you. Trust me we have tried for ages to get Noire hooked up but she simply won't give, demanding that she will find the right person on her own terms"
"O-oh" I stammered as a whine emanated from Noire. I think I can see smoke coming from her ears from embarrassment.
"She's one of those girls who fantasy's about a guy who does the same things she does, is funny to be around and who always talk to and care for her" Iris continued "You happened to fill all criteria with the added bonus of being flirty and from another dimension so you have so many things to talk about. Who would of guessed her perfect man would literally fall from the sky onto her"
"R-right" I replied again, my mind slowly going blank
"So congrats lover boy, you have basically bagged a goddess within one day of being here" Iris smirked.
"N-no this can't be real" I just couldn't believe this, Noire; the girl who always stood out and I was so sure that she and Neptune would be a thing actually wanted a guy like me? A guy who has so many flaws and doesn't look great either "Y-You're bluffing!"
"How about this instead" Iris asked getting both of our attention "As I'll admit is has been rather fast, even by my standards I give them a week before getting serious and no one last a week, turns out they just like this side of me not the real me. So I'll give you a month, one month to get to know each other and decide if you are both right for each other or not"
"We can't get any longer?" I asked timidly which she simply shook her head
"No you've only got till next month. Happy love making you two~" With a small wave Iris left the building leaving us both in an awkward silence. This was going to be interesting...
