With the accepting of the Sharicite and the transformation of the goddesses, the wedding ceremony was complete. Though the kiss hadn't been scripted or anything like that (a marriage of two CPUs was to be much more formal, after all!), it had done nothing but thrill the crowd, so Histoire decided to let it slide and allow the two CPUs their moment together. The little fairy Oracle could only smile, watching the two CPUs grasp each others' hands tightly as they flew up into the sky to wave at all who had come to give them their blessings.

"They've still got a long road ahead of them," remarked a voice from Histoire's side. The Oracle turned to meet the gaze of Lastation's Oracle and closed her eyes, sighing. Kei chuckled at the sight of the other Oracle, before offering a shrug as the little fairy opened her eyes once again. "I don't mean to offend, I'm simply stating the facts. This is only the beginning, after all. Lady Neptune will have to put in a lot of hard work if she wants to fix things permanently."

"I'm well aware of that, Kei... And I think, more than anyone, so is Neptune..." Sighing once more, Histoire looked towards Purple Heart and Black Heart, who were coming down for a landing near the Sharicite crystals, which had resumed dancing in the air. The last part of the ceremony was for them to take their Sharicite crystals and, together, return them to their place in their Basilicoms. "After all, she has her sister to think about, if nothing else."

"I suppose that's true..." Kei laughed lightly, watching with Histoire as the two CPUs took hold of the Sharicite crystals and took off into the sky. Kei didn't raise her arm to wave at her CPU as many of the guests had been — such an act would simply be unbecoming of her.

The truth was, Kei hadn't exactly been thrilled with this whole situation. Despite the initial positive reaction to the announcement, she knew full well how easily things could go badly for her nation — or for Planeptune, which in turn, would make things go bad for Lastation now that they were so tightly joined. If she had gotten a say, she would have made Noire think harder on it, or even told her flat out to not do it. What's more, it was simply bad business. Planeptune had virtually nothing to offer Lastation, whereas Lastation was offering everything.

Planeptune had nothing to lose, while Lastation could lose everything.

Rubbing her temples, Kei recalled how happy Noire had looked today. If she ignored the moments when she had walked in on Noire doing something that Noire considered embarassing, then honestly... Kei didn't think she'd ever seen Noire this happy. Even including those times, it was definitely a tough call.

So maybe, just maybe, Planeptune did have something that made this whole union worthwhile for Lastation.

That still didn't mean Kei had to like it.

The flight to Lastation's Basilicom had been relatively tame. Noire and Neptune kept shooting glances at each other as they flew, but other than that, the task at hand seemed to take precedence over anything happening between the two of them. Few words were exchanged, and what words were exchanged were said quietly. It was as if they were both waiting, as if the anticipation of what they knew was to come was so great that they didn't want to risk spoiling it with their words.

After placing the Lastation Sharicite — now forever linked to the Planeptune Sharicite in Neptune's arms — back where it belonged, the two CPUs prepared to leave. They were to fly directly to Planeptune's Basilicom, then return to where the ceremony had taken place for the celebration that was to take place once they had completed their task.

As Black Heart stepped onto the balcony, however, she found herself being stopped by Purple Heart placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Ah? Neptune?" Noire blinked a few times, taken aback by Neptune's sudden action. She hadn't expected much of anything happening between them when Neptune was in her more serious form... Or rather, she wasn't sure what to expect would happen, if anything, when Neptune was transformed. Part of her was kind of excited to see where this would go.

"Could you take this?" Neptune's voice was usually deeper in her HDD form, but as she held out the Sharicite for Noire to take, Noire couldn't help but notice that there was just a bit of apprehension there as well. Seeing Noire was a bit cautious, Neptune sighed, before leaning closer to Noire, her voice dripping with honey. "Please?"

"F-Fine! I mean, I guess it doesn't matter who carries it so long as you're the one who puts it back when we get there..." Tossing a hand through her hair, Noire took the Sharicite from Neptune. To her surprise, this earned her quite the smile from Purple Heart. It wasn't nearly as wide or goofy as any of Neptune's normal smiles, but coming from this form, it was definitely noticable enough. Noire felt heat rising to her cheeks as she found herself staring at it.

Unbeknownst to Noire, this reaction was exactly what Neptune had been hoping for.

Though many don't believe it, the truth of the "Neptune and Purple Heart" issue is quite simple — while the two forms of Neptune do quite clearly act drastically different at times, they are still the same person at the end of the day. To that end, they want the same things, enjoy the same things, and of course, love the same people.

What's more, it wasn't unheard of for Neptune to use her HDD form for getting things she wanted and doing things she couldn't as her normal self, and today, she planned to make use of this fact.

Licking her lips, Purple Heart reached for Noire and brushed a strand of hair behind the CPU's ear, earning Neptune a light gasp in response, as well as that cute blush growing and darkening. Very good. Leaving her hand close, Neptune gently cupped one of Noire's cheeks, causing Noire's eyes to widen — much to Neptune's delight.

"W-What're you doing...?" Noire start, her heart racing and her mind desperately trying to catch up with it. She would never admit that part of her had wondered if the Purple Heart side of Neptune would try to be forward like this, but now that it was happening...? W-Was she mentally ready for this kind of assault...!? "We have to get back..."

"There's no rush," Neptune took a step closer to Noire, her hand unmoving as she stroked Noire's cheek with her thumb, getting dangerously close to the other CPU's lips as she did. There was very, very little room between them now, and they both knew it. Neptune was relishing in the heavy breathing coming from Noire, and she realized that she herself was becoming rather flushed.

She supposed not everyone could be an Iris Heart when they transformed. Ah well.

"I want you to do something for me, Noire..." Her words still slow and sickeningly sweet, Neptune's eyes lit up as she watched Noire hang off of every single syllable. She had Noire right where she wanted her. She knew before Noire even spoke that Noire would do anything she wanted. "I want you to transform back to your other form. You can do that for me, can't you?"

"T... Transform...?" As if under a spell, for a moment, Noire chose to lean into the hand on her cheek and repeat what she had been asked. Neptune offered a simple nod, tracing her new wife's lips with her thumb as she did so. Noire blinked a few times, slowly processing what had been asked of her, before Neptune pulled her hand away — she groaned in slight protest as Neptune did, which just made Neptune smile. "W-Why do you want me to do that? I can't just do something like that for no reason...!"

"I've got a reason. I just don't want to say what it is yet..." Neptune looked almost dangerous right now, but at the same time, it was in an incredibly... incredibly appealing way. Noire shuddered as Neptune placed a finger against her lips. "If you trust me, won't you transform for me?"

"F... Fine! Just... Be gentle with me, okay?" Her cheeks burning bright, Noire closed her eyes, her heart going a mile a minute. She was... She was ready for this! If this was how Neptune wanted that to happen, t-then... Her body was ready!

Noire took a deep breath and let herself return to her "normal" form. She was enveloped in a bright light as she felt the power of her HDD form leave her. Keeping her eyes closed, Noire waited for... whatever Neptune had planned. A kiss? A... A touch?! Or something even more...!?

To her surprise, she found herself letting out a cry as she was scooped up into Purple Heart's arms. Desperate to not fall, she opened her eyes and threw her arms around her wife's neck, staring incredulously at the woman, who was still in her HDD form — and now wearing quite the triumphant expression.

"Y-You-" Noire couldn't even get the words out. This hadn't been what she had been expecting at all! To be in Neptune's arms, and bridal style no less?! Okay, so it was kind of appropriate, but it was... It was embarrassing! "What...!?"

"I wanted to carry you the rest of the way," Neptune offered Noire a smile along with her short explanation. She shifted Noire in her arms, making sure the other CPU was comfortable, before floating into the air — as if to say "now you can't go anywhere" to Noire. "Why, were you expecting something else?"

"O-Of course I wasn't! Stupid!" Unable to cross her arms, Noire chose the easiest option of looking away from Neptune to show her defiance. Neptune simply let out a light chuckle and shook her head. Typical of Noire.

"That's a shame," Neptune's answer was mysterious, and before Noire could question Neptune and ask why it was a shame, the transformed CPU took off and they were headed for Planeptune.

The flight proceeded in silence for the most part after that. Eventually, Noire managed to find it relaxing, being in Neptune's arms like this, and found herself cuddling into her wife's arms, laying her head in the crook of Neptune's neck. It was actually... really, really comfortable like this, she decided. She could stay like this for the whole day if she had the choice. Inwardly, Neptune was positively thrilled that this little plan had gone off so well, but at the same time, she wondered if she could take it one step further...

"So, Noire. What was it you were expecting of me before?" Neptune began casually. Naturally, she already had a fairly good idea what Noire had been expecting of her, but for some reason, she wanted to make Noire say it herself. Maybe Iris Heart had rubbed off on her after all... She rolled the thought over in her mind a few times, before fighting back a shudder. No, that couldn't possibly be true. Absolutely not.

"Before...?" Luckily for Neptune, Noire hadn't noticed the brief lapse in mood breaking, and instead was completely caught up in everything. It took her a moment to think about Neptune's words and another moment still to really consider what she was asking before she could allow herself to stumble upon the answer — but when she did, her eyes snapped open and her cheeks began to burn. "A-Ah- I have no idea what you're talking about, Neptune!"

"Really?" Neptune allowed herself a smirk. She hadn't expected Noire to give in right away — after all, part of Noire's charm was how defensive she could be. If she made things too easy, then that just wasn't fun for her at all. ... Dear lord, she was sounding like Iris Heart, wasn't she? ... Oh well. Plutia did certainly know how to enjoy herself, and that was exactly what Purple Heart was hoping to do right now. "I get the distinct feeling that you had something in mind. Why not tell me what it was? It's our wedding day, you know. If you can't be honest with me today of all days, then..."

Noire bit her lip. She had been pulled out of her Neptune-induced-stupor enough now to know that she was being taken for a ride... well, another ride. At the same time, though, she knew Neptune was right... And part of her wanted to know what would happen if she went along with it... But darn it, she was nervous! She wasn't used to not having any control of a situation, and yet somehow, Neptune always managed to do this to her!

"I..." Before she knew it, Noire found herself speaking. She was looking away, naturally, and a bright blush was staining her cheeks. Neptune personally found the contrast lovely with the wedding dress Noire was wearing, though she knew if she mentioned that now, their little game would likely be brought to an abrupt end. "I thought..."

A beat. A nervous breath. An idea popped into Noire's head. A way to take control back, however little control it would be.

Two could play this game.

"No... I wanted you to kiss me. To touch me. To-" Noire's eyes widened as she felt lips press against her neck. She gasped as she felt another kiss, longer this time, press against her.

After a few more touches, some wonderfully long, some much too short, Neptune pulled away to look Noire in the eyes. Noire was glad to see that the cool and confident Purple Heart was actually having the decency to blush, even if she still appeared the picture of "in control" to her.

"Like that?"

Slowly, Noire pulled Neptune closer to her. Now was where she would make her move.

"No... Like this..."

As Noire pressed her lips against Neptune's, the two knew they wouldn't be landing for quite a while.