The crowd erupted in their final wave of cheers and applause as the five heroes gave a bow and retreated to the area behind the stage. As soon as they did, Noire stood up from her seat. She had been "returned" (Marvy had carried her back bridal-style, much to Noire's horror and Neptune's amusement) after her "dramatic fight scene" in which she'd rescused the Nep Rangers had finished, and she had refused to look at Neptune once since.
"Awww, come on 'Nep Black,' I thought you were great..." Neptune's voice was a mixture of teasing and amusement. Noire's eye twitched at the thought of Neptune plotting behind her back to have her go up on stage like that. Oh, Neptune would pay for this! Maybe not today, probably not tomorrow, definitely not the day after that (that was the wedding after all), but someday!
"We are not talking right now. What we're doing is leaving this horrible place," Still not looking at Neptune, Noire crossed her arms and turned to leave — but to her surprise, as the cheers began to die down around her, a small (but growing) crowd of children soon started to surround her. Blinking at them, Noire backed up, while Neptune could only giggle, already realizing what Noire was in for. "W-What is it?"
At once, dozens of little mouths opened, and Noire realized she should have just kept her own mouth shut.
"Can you sign this?"
"Me first, me first!"
"Lady Black Heart, will you come back for the next show?"
"Please say you will!"
"The Nep Rangers need you!"
"They're counting on you, Lady Black Heart!"
"There was no way they could have done it without you!"
"You're my new favorite! Nep Black forever!"
"Are you going to be in the TV show with them too?"
"That would be so cool! You should bring Lady Purple Heart too!"
It took what seemed to Noire like hours for the excited children to finish with her, before their parents finally took them away. Neptune informed her it had only been about one, which didn't make Noire feel any better... But despite Noire's complaints, Neptune could see that smile fighting to break out on Noire's face. She had enjoyed the attention, hadn't she?
"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Neptune finally asked Noire as the pair headed towards the exit — Noire still occasionally getting a glance or nod from passerby. Neptune had really just wanted to have a little bit of fun with Noire, but at the same time, she did feel kind of bad for putting her on the spot like that... Well, only a little bit.
"I... suppose it wasn't," Noire admitted, sighing and looking to the sky. She wouldn't admit it, but playing hero for a little bit had been kind of... fun. The cheers from the audience had certainly given her ego a nice little boost, as embarrassing as the whole debacle had been. She could almost see why NISA was always so eager to do that kind of thing... Biting her lip, Noire turned to Neptune, a warning look on her face. "Just warn me next time, okay?"
"Next time?" Neptune's eyes lit up. Stretching her arms behind her, Neptune grinned at her black haired friend. "So there's going to be a next time? Will Nep Black steal the show once again? Ohhh, my heart's beating like crazy just thinking about it!"
"T-That wasn't what I meant! Idiot!"
Finally, after hours of fun, the two CPUs left the amusement park — Neptune still thoroughly amused thanks to Noire's performance — and began heading back to the Basilicom. Neptune informed Noire that, since it was starting to get late, Noire could stay over in one of the guest rooms — Uni too, if she wanted.
Noire agreed, and the pair chatted about their time at the amusement park (minus that damn show, which Noire very much appreciated), made plans to go to Lowee's someday, possibly with the other CPUs, and overall they simply enjoyed the company of the other.
As the pair began getting closer to the Basilicom, Noire bit her lip. Though they'd ended up eating at the amusement park after all, she wanted to say something. She had been kind of looking forward to eating out with Neptune, just the two of them. Shooting a glance at the purple haired CPU, Noire wondered if Neptune even had room for more food.
Neptune, meanwhile, was just trying to process the events of the day. She was starting to suspect that she might... maybe... perhaps... pooooossibly... prooooooooobably harbor... something towards Noire. Her mind kept wandering back to that moment at the fountain, and she had a sneaking suspicion that she knew what she was feeling, but... That was just...
It was impossible!
Sighing, Neptune ran a hand through her hair. She couldn't think like this. She just couldn't. Noire was her friend (much as she teased the other CPU for not having any), and this kind of thing would just mess things up between them, which was the last thing Neptune wanted to do before their marriage even started.
Still... Much as she wanted to deny it... Noire had been making her feel something, that was for sure, and Neptune wasn't totally clueless. The feelings that were running through her... They weren't totally bad, either. In fact, none of them were...
If only she had someone to talk to about all of this...
Noire watched Neptune out of the corner of her eye, still debating on whether or not she should bring up the subject of dinner. It looked like Neptune was deep in thought about something, and Noire wasn't sure if she would appreciate a distraction or not. On the one hand, if Neptune was upset, then Noire definitely would be more than happy to offer a distraction — but on the other... Neptune did have a lot to think about right now. Maybe she was better off left to her thoughts?
Noire looked up at the sky, which had darkened significantly in just the past few minutes alone now that the sun was setting. Her day with Neptune was coming to an end... She wondered if Neptune had gotten to do everything she'd wanted, or if things hadn't gone how she would have liked? Maybe she had too much on her mind to take advantage of Noire to the fullest?
The longer they walked in silence, the more Noire wanted to say something. This wasn't just Neptune, the clutzy, silly, brave, never-give-up little CPU — this was the girl that Noire was marrying. Even if their relationship wasn't exactly how Noire would have had it in their dreams, they were still going to be stuck together for life. If they couldn't talk about stuff now, what did that say about the future?
Nodding to herself, Noire cleared her throat and stopped walking. Neptune, finally pulled away from whatever she had been thinking, stopped and turned to Noire.
"Neptune, you know..." Taking a deep breath, Noire placed a hand on her chest and gave the other CPU a firm, but concerned look. "If there's something on your mind, you can talk to me about it." Noire paused. That was too forward, wasn't it? Ohhhh no, Neptune would get the wrong idea! Fix it, fix it Noire, hurry! "I-It's not like I'm interested in helping you or anything, but if you're going to be walking along all gloomy like that, then someone has to say something."
Neptune inwardly cursed whatever deity had been listening to her plea and had decided Noire would be the one to try to listen to her. A little voice in the back of Neptune's mind pointed out that Noire herself was a deity, but the implications there were just too much for Neptune to handle, so she quickly brushed that voice aside.
"I'm not gloomy!" Neptune protested, putting one hand on her hip and sticking her tongue out at Noire. Pausing, considering that maybe it wouldn't hurt to talk to Noire, Neptune licked her lips and continued. "I'm just... confused about some things is all. But you know me, that's totally normal, hahaha!"
Noire raised an eyebrow.
"And just what is it that you're confused about?" she asked, half-worried and half-curious. She could understand Neptune being depressed — Neptune had more than her share of reasons to be depressed — but confused? Nothing particularly confusing had happened today, unless she was talking about something... bigger than today, which just didn't seem like Neptune either. Reaching for Neptune's free hand, Noire continued. "It can't be that big a deal, right?"
"A-Ahaha..." Neptune's heart skipped a beat as she felt her hand be encased in Noire's own. She felt an increasingly familiar sensation in her chest, and she knew it was time to do something before she wouldn't be able to deny it anymore. "You'd be surprised, Noire... Or should I say Nep Black?"
"Ugh!" Noire snatched her hand back, much to Neptune's relief. "I thought I told you to stop that!"
"Never!" Giving Noire a cheery grin, more to get the other CPU off her trail than for any genuine reason, Neptune began running ahead of Noire, raising her arm in a wave. "Last one to the Basilicom is the 'bottom'!"
It took Noire a moment to catch on to Neptune's meaning, but that was all the purple haired CPU needed to get a decent lead. Noire watched her disappear into the crowd ahead, before shaking her head and rubbing her temples.
"Looks like dinner is off after all..."
Beyond flustered, Noire decided it would be better to let Neptune win this one than to give in and chase after her. She'd gotten enough stares today, thank you very much.
In the end, the two CPUs had opted to raid the Basilicom's fridge for their dinner. Neptune ate her meal in-between turns in some RPG, while Noire decided to eat in the dining room with Histoire.
Few words beyond "good night" and "had fun today" were shared between Neptune and Noire as they headed their separate ways that night. Noire wanted to get to bed early, whereas Neptune was doing all she could to get her mind off of the day's events by mindlessly grinding in a video game.
And thus, that was how Noire found herself lying awake in the one of the Basilicom's guest room beds, staring at the ceiling. She had wanted to get to sleep early, yes, but now that she was here in bed, all she could do was find herself thinking. She thought about the day she had had with Neptune... Would she have more days like this in the future? Or was this just a special treat?
"If you can call getting humiliated over and over a treat..." Noire murmured to herself, rolling over in the fluffy bed she found herself in. For a guest room, it was surprisingly comfortable. Then again, with how often Neptune used to entertain guests — ranging from herself and the other CPUs to giant robots from other worlds — it wasn't that odd, really. "It wasn't all bad though... It's not like Neptune did all of that on purpose... And the stuff she did do on purpose wasn't all bad... Maybe."
On the other hand, that stunt with the superhero show had been totally done on purpose. Noire still had to figure out how to get revenge for that.
"The real problem here is this whole..." Noire bit her lip. What was the problem here? Besides for the issue of the marriage, had anything even really changed between her and Neptune for her to be getting so worked up over in the first place? Okay, so the marriage was going to be a pretty big thing, but it wasn't like anyone's feelings were involved with that...
Noire reached for a pillow and held it close at that thought.
She shouldn't think like that, should she?
But it was true, wasn't it?
Clutching the pillow to her chest, Noire sighed and rolled over again.
Whatever Neptune was feeling for Noire... Maybe it was better to just not question it. That way, Noire could pretend to herself that they really were going to be married because of how they felt about one another, instead of...
Noire rolled over once more as her thoughts reached the reason for the marriage taking place in the first place.
What kind of person pretended that they were in a lovey dovey marriage when the marriage was only happen because lives were at stake? That was just manipulation, not to mention downright sick, plain and simple! She should be ashamed of herself just for thinking about doing something like that!
Letting out a long, wistful sigh, Noire rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling, raising an arm and reaching out towards it.
"Neptune..."
At that particular moment, Neptune found her party getting decimated by a particularly powerful boss she hadn't fully prepared for. Frustrated, the CPU tossed her controller to the side and flopped sideways onto the couch she had been sitting on. As she lay there, she couldn't help but recall the events of this morning — how she and Noire had been sitting here, only hours ago...
It wasn't that long ago she'd been entranced by the other CPU's face... Her lips in particular... And now, after the events of the day (or maybe not — maybe they had just helped her realize it), Neptune found herself entranced with the other CPU completely.
A scowl formed on Neptune's face. She had been trying to distract herself from these thoughts, not give in to them!
"I'd better get back to grinding..." Reaching for the controller she'd tossed aside, Neptune booted her game back up in the vain hope that she wouldn't wind up thinking about Noire again.
Unfortunately for Neptune, the mental image of Noire standing at the fountain was as fresh as it had been when she'd seen it with her own eyes, and every time it flashed through Neptune's mind, her heart stopped for just a moment, before she would quickly shake her head and go back to her game, cheeks burning brightly, to try to wipe those thoughts from her mind as soon as possible.
Needless to say, neither Neptune nor Noire got much sleep that night.