She thought it would have been pointless. She thought she didn't have a chance at it. And above all else, she thought Neptune wouldn't feel the same way... And so right now, Nepgear's brain was having a hard time wrapping itself around the fact that she had been wrong on all accounts.

Neptune had just said that she was in love with Nepgear. She even went so far as to lock lips with the candidate, yet, even with that display of affection, Nepgear was having trouble believing it nonetheless. She had told herself so many times that it would never happen; that it would be a waste of time to think about, but now she didn't know what to think.

"You... You love me?" Nepgear let the words slip from her mouth. A part of her was scared that Neptune would just come out and say she was joking, but at the same time...

"Come on, I just said that, didn't I? Course, if you want, I can keep saying it. I love you, Nepgear." Neptune could also come out and say something to make Nepgear's heart dance joyfully in her chest. It was something she was really good at, even if she didn't always realize she had that kind of effect on her little sister. If she did she'd probably abuse that power to make Nepgear dance in the palm of her hand.

"I just..." She just couldn't believe this was real.

"You just...?"

"I just..." She couldn't believe Neptune really felt the same way.

"You just what?"

"I just..." She just couldn't believe...that her dream was finally coming true. "I just love you so much!"

Without a second thought, Nepgear threw herself into her sister's embrace, tears streaming down her face as she wrapped both arms around Neptune. She felt so happy, so relieved that she never wanted to let go of Neptune ever again. She never wanted to let go of this feeling for as long as she lived.

"Ugah... I know this is supposed to be a a touching moment and all, but you could you maybe give me a warning the next time you want to knock the wind out of my lungs, Jr.?" Okay, so maybe Nepgear could stand to let go for a little bit.

"I... I'm sorry, I just-" A finger to her lips silenced Nepgear before she could finish.

"It's fine. You don't need to apologize, you just...surprised me a little is all." A smile graced the CPU's lips. This coupled with the subtle lights surrounding the duo's little boat made Neptune's face look hypnotic in a way Nepgear rarely ever got to see. "Now then..."

"...Wait, what are you... Kyah!" From Neptune's face to looking up at the ceiling, Nepgear was really going to get a bad case of whiplash from that. "Please don't tackle me like that."

"Didn't you do that to me just a minute ago?" This was true.

"That's uh..."

"I think we're even now."

"Well-"

"Shh... Just enjoy the moment." Nepgear could feel the subtle feeling of Neptune wrapping her arms around the younger candidate. Was Nepgear blushing? She was pretty sure she was blushing right now! Given the circumstances, it'd be weird if she wasn't blushing. There was no way she couldn't be blushing right now. "Wait a minute!"

"Eh... Is something wrong?" All of a sudden, Neptune had just up and torn herself off of her sister for some unknown reason. It almost worried Nepgear, but... This was Neptune she was dealing with here.

"If you and I are going out now... Does that mean I can grope you whenever I want?" Good ol' Neptune.

"Wha-wha-wha-wha-" As expected, Nepgear recoiled by covering her chest with her arms for obvious reasons.

"Come on Jr., it's not like anyone's gonna see us in here." Or so Neptune had thought, but when she actually looked forward, she could see the light at the end of the tunnel, and not the metaphorical kind, a real actual light. For a moment Gear thought she might be in the clear, but she was clearly underestimating her older sister's perversion. "Drats... Well, at least we've still got a few seconds before the ride's over."

There was no escape from Neptune's grasp on this tiny boat. Nepgear knew that from the start, and though she thought she wouldn't mind that when Neptune spilled her guts to her, now she was having second thoughts about that. "W-w-wait a minute! You can do that at home whenever you want!" Nepgear, you fool!

"...Oh... Are you saying you'll let me play with you when we get home?" Poor, poor choice of words. Being on this boat was one thing, but now Nepgear had to watch her back at the basilicom too. That was practically a recipe for disaster, given that she and Neptune practically slept together. "What do you say we leave the carnival a little early to have some fun Jr.?"

"B-b-b-but there are still so many rides we haven't gone on! And Ms. Vert is still here! We can't just leave her behind all of a sudden!" She sputtered in an attempt to divert the situation a bit.

"Jr., you can delay the inevitable all you want, but we both know it's gonna happen eventually~" It was true. Nepgear knew that well enough, but she also knew that the longer she delayed it, the longer she'd have to mentally prepare for it. "For now I guess I'll just have to make do with this!"

Evidently, when Neptune said "this", she meant sneaking in a quick kiss on Nepgear's lips just before the boat entered into the light again. It left Nepgear blushing scarlet as the boat finally came to a halt, but it was only made even worse when Neptune decided to lean in closer to whisper a quick message into her ear.

"You can expect more where that came from." Just a few hours ago, Nepgear would have never imagined she'd be in the type of situation where she could do these types of things with Neptune, but now... Right now she felt like she could cry out of joy, with maybe a hint of embarrassment thrown in there for good measure. "Come on then. Let's go kill some time with Verty."

"R-right."

-~-~-~-Purple Lovers-~-~-~-

Although Nepgear tried to contain her joy while she and Neptune made their way back to Vert, she was failing spectacularly. Every now and then she found herself hopping in between her strides, humming the tune of a few love songs she knew, and even sneaking more than a few glances Neptune's way. She had hopes that Neptune wouldn't notice, but she was being so obvious that it would be hard not to. More surprisingly, Neptune wasn't bringing any attention to it, although she was probably going to embarrass her sister later when they were alone.

"I wonder if Vert's still where we left her..." Neptune wondered out loud. She and Nepgear could only vaguely remember where they'd left her, since they had been so caught up in the moment that they'd kind of forgotten. Thankfully though, finding a tall, blonde CPU in a crowd of people was usually a very easy thing to do. "Found her." Just look for the crowds of people gathering around said CPU.

"She looks so calm." Nepgear noticed. "I wonder how often this happens to her." If Nepgear were to venture a guess, she'd say this type of event must have occured around 2-4 times a week for Vert. She was completely wrong, but it was a good guess either way.

"Yo, Verty!" Just like Moses parting the Red Sea, the moment Neptune raised a hand to greet the Leanbox CPU, the metaphorical ocean of people split, creating a path for the CPU and her sister. Nepgear could have sworn Neptune was glowing, but in her sister-loving eyes Neptune was always glowing. "We're back!"

"I can see that." Vert replied politely, making her way to the purple CPU, nonchalantly signing a few autographs on the way. It was pretty impressive how she could do that without really looking where her hands were going. Granted, that did lead to her leaving her signature on some random fan's shirt, but they didn't seem to mind it all that much.

"I'm never washing this shirt again!" They really didn't seem to mind.

"How was...whatever it is you two were off doing?" Vert asked inquisitively.

"Oh, it went great." And thus, Neptune returned to her earlier behavior of clinging to Nepgear's arm like it was one of her precious pudding spoons, although this time she looked more like high school girl clinging to their beloved's arm. Too bad it was Nepgear's job to look like a love stricken teenager, otherwise that would have looked much cuter. "It feels like a little imp just jumped off of my chest." Which was most likely a roundabout way of saying that a weight was lifted from her shoulders, if Vert had to guess.

"Imp on your... What?" It probably made perfect sense in Neptune's head, but the odd metaphor still left both Vert and Nepgear understandably confused.

"You know, like those little imps from old stories that sit on your chest when you're asleep."

"..."

"..."

"What?" Neptune, your random wells of knowledge are showing. "Don't tell me you guys didn't know that."

"Neptune, even I didn't know that." Vert chimed in.

"Well, you have to know these things when you're a CPU. What are you gonna do if you have to cross a bridge guarded by a troll dude that asks you questions about the air speed velocity of a laden swallow? If you don't want to fall from that bridge, then you gotta know this kind of stuff." What an oddly specific example.

"There's so much more to being a CPU than I thought." Ever the studious one, Nepgear was quick to take out a little notebook with which she took note of her sister's words. By this point, the group of people that had crowded around them had all dispersed, probably because they didn't understand what was going on right now. No one could blame them though.

"Worry not, my adorable little sister, your big sis will teach you everything you need to know in due time."

"I don't see how that sort of knowledge will ever be useful to anyone though." Vert said to no one in particular.

"You say something, Verty?"

"What? No, you must be hearing things." Of course the Leanbox CPU sounded soooo very convincing. Well, it was enough to fool Neptune and Nepgear at least; either that or they didn't care regardless.

"Okey dokey... You sure you don't want to go home, Jr.? You're looking a little tired."

"R-really, I'm fine!" Neptune really wasn't going to give up on that any time soon. "I'm sure I'll feel better once I've eaten, so-"

"Nepgear." Before Nepgear could finish that thought, Vert interrupted her. "I'm sure you don't want to drag Neptune back home when we haven't even been here for very long," Which probably would have been true on any other day. "But you should also consider your own health as well. If you really aren't feeling well, I believe you should go rest back at home. Oh, but if you'd like I have a spare bed available at my own basilicom. I am afraid it is only usable by family members though."

"But why would you keep a bed nobody uses?" Oh no.

"..." Vert froze up. She would have expected that from Neptune, but not from Nepgear. "I suppose you're right..." The green CPU had the most dejected look on her face at the moment. "In any case, I think you should go get some rest."

"You heard the lady! I'm taking you home, Jr.!" Neptune didn't even miss a beat when she took Nepgear's hand and started leading (dragging) her towards the exit, however she stopped for a second, casting a glance back at Vert. "What are you gonna do, Verty?"

"I think I will stay here for a little while longer." At least until she got over her little stupor that is.

"Okie dokie. Whatever floats your boat, Verty."

"Wait, I'm really okay! We don't have to go! I can still-" The candidate's pleas would quickly prove fruitless. As a matter of fact, Neptune took it as a cue to transform and take off into the sky, while carrying the younger sister in her arms like a delicate princess. "Uwwaaaahhh!" Granted, taking off with no warning almost made her wet herself, but that usually comes with the territory. "What the goodness! At least warn me when you're about to take off like that!"

"Oh, but if I did that, it'd give you a chance to get away, and we can't have that now can we?" The once playful and energetic voice of Neptune was now replaced with the mature, sultry voice of her alternate persona: Purple Heart. Her voice was sweet like honey and was like music to the ears, especially the ears of someone who was a total siscon like Nepgear. "Don't worry though, I'll take good care of you when we get home." Nepgear didn't doubt that. She also doubted that she'd be able to control herself if she let Neptune take control of the situation, which would be very easy to do if she stayed in her HDD form.

"..." Nepgear had been about to open her mouth to say something, but she figured that her sister would find some way to embarrass her over it so she promptly zipped her lips and opted to look away from the CPU defiantly. It was kind of hard to do, given the sheer proximity between the two, but the candidate would not give in so easily! I mean, she broke almost instantly when her sister pressed the younger girl's face into her bosom, but points for effort.

The older CPU simply giggled at the sight of her sister's attempt to be defiant. Of course, that also annoyed Nepgear a bit, further encouraging the girl to keep up her (rather poor) defense. It was made that much harder for her when Neptune decided to start blowing in Nepgear's ear and holding her even closer than before.

"Neptune, please... Ahhh..." The smile on Neptune's face turned into a wolfish grin upon seeing Nepgear trying to push her away. "Aaaahhhh..." There was no feasible way Neptune was going to stop just yet though. She was enjoying herself far too much to- "ACHOOO!" Sure, the mood was kind of ruined when Nepgear sneezed in her sister's face, but that just comes with the territory... Right?