It had been roughly half an hour since the time that Neptune and Noire were expected to have returned had passed. The crowd of people below had mostly returned to their usual routine, those that had come from afar had seen what they had wanted to see in the ceremony, so they were heading to their homes now — besides, if anything happened at the afterparty, it would be on TV or the internet later. For now, the CPUs that everyone was there to see weren't there anymore, so there really wasn't any reason to stick around.
"Papa! Mama! How come Neptuna isn't back yet?"
Blanc sighed to herself as she watched the scene playing out before her. It seemed like it had played out about a dozen times now, yet it went the same way every single time.
"Now now, sweetie, when grownups get married, they just love spending time alone together! Like I was saying before, it's how little Peashys are made. If you'd like, I could tell you aaaaaaall about how-"
"A-Anonydeath, you c-can't say that to a child! U-Um, listen, honey, they're probably just... stuck in traffic! Y-Yes, traffic, ahahaha..."
"So... They're making little P-kos in traffic?"
At this innocent response, the "father" would laugh at his "child," while the "mother" would try desparately to correct the misunderstanding before it had become permanent, though if Blanc had to guess, given how many times this or a similar conversation had taken place already this afternoon, chances of the misunderstanding sticking were slim to none. As she watched the Noire of the other world glare daggers at the pink robot that was the "father" in this situation, she mentally readied herself for...
"Aaaah, what a tragedy! But at the same time... To be stuck in traffic with the one you love... The only thing I could think of that would be better is to be stuck in traffic with FRIENDS! AHAHAHAHA! Isn't that right, Lady Blanc!?"
And of course, the next response would come from the obscenely loud robot that seemed to love the company of Blanc's other self. Blanc still didn't understand how her counterpart could bne on such good terms (more or less) with that... thing. Little sisters were one animal, but that robot was another entirely.
Oh, speak of the devil.
"How many times have I told you to be quiet...? My ears are still ringing from five minutes ago!" A brief pause. "And how many times are we going to talk about babies and traffic before we can go home already? They're obviously not coming back! They probably forgot about us, knowing Neptune!"
Blanc couldn't argue with that logic. If Ram and Rom weren't so happy to be with everyone like this, she would have left right after Neptune and Noire had. She had half a mind to do it anyway, quite frankly.
Speaking of her sisters, Blanc cast a glance in their direction to see how they were holding up. They'd finally decided to leave Broccoli alone, much to the small girl's relief, but that didn't mean they were sticking out of trouble. Sure, Rom was usually good, but when Ram was involved, then usually...
"Look, Rom! I found one of the cameras! Cheeeeese!"
"R-Ram, be careful... If they were on right now... Then..."
Blanc pinched the bridge of her nose. If the cameras had been on while Ram had been making that face, then she definitely would have left. Thankfully, the cameras had been cut off and were to remain that way until the newly wed CPUs made their return. Blanc didn't want to think about what people would think if they had seen that.
"Having a good time?"
Blanc sighed and pinched her nose just a little harder, before letting go and turning to the source of the voice. Wouldn't you know it, her absolute favorite pair of talking breasts had come to pay her another visit. Great. Just great.
"Do you need something, Vert?" Blanc still hadn't exactly forgiven Vert over what happened with her book from earlier, and it wasn't like she was ever particularly happy with the other CPU... Well, that wasn't totally true either. They'd been kind of... sort of getting along lately, despite the blonde's massive melons, but today she just felt frustrated with everyone. "I'm still mad at you for ruining my book."
"Ruining your..." Vert stared at Blanc for a few moments, before cracking the barest of smiles. Blanc's eye twitched, and that smile grew wider. Blanc's eye twitched again, and a giggle escaped Vert's lips. Blanc clenched her fists, and Vert burst out laughing. "O-Oh, heavens, Blanc! So you're that kind of reader? I had no idea!"
"Don't laugh at me!" Blanc raised her fists, though didn't move to strike with them just yet. She knew she couldn't cause a scene her, not when there could be people watching, but that still didn't mean she was going to take crap from Vert! "And you didn't answer my question! What do you want?"
"My my, do I need a reason to visit my favorite CPU?" Vert replied teasingly as she sat down in the empty seat on Blanc's right. Blanc briefly entertained the idea of getting up and leaving, but she quickly dismissed it. That would mean Vert had beaten her.
"I'm pretty sure you're always with your favorite CPU. You're a narcissist like that," Blanc closed her eyes as she commented, hoping her air of nonchalance would have the desired effect. Blanc didn't have a specific desired effect in mind, of course, but so long as it resulted in Vert leaving her alone, she'd be fine with whatever.
"Oh, I do suppose you have a point there..." Blanc flinched inwardly. She didn't have to be looking to see the smirk Vert was wearing. Mission failed — big time. "I am the best of us, after all. I'm surprised you're so willing to admit that today, though. Could the day's festivities be getting to you?"
"As if! This sucked!" Blanc knew she had snapped too quickly, she knew she'd let out too much anger even as she found herself spinning to glare at Vert. She knew she was letting out more emotion than she'd meant — but the "festivities" getting to her? Seriously? Now that was a load of bull! She was miserable thanks to this stupid wedding! "I've been all set to leave since this damn thing ended, and I'm this close to doing it anyway."
Vert raised an eyebrow at Blanc's reaction. She had expected Blanc to simply shrug off the comment, perhaps make a comment about how typical it was for Neptune to be late — maybe suggest that the purple haired CPU had gotten lost on the way back. That was how she normally would have commented, after all. But for her to be so hostile... Well, it wasn't exactly un-Blanc to be hostile, but it wasn't like she'd been that provoked either.
Interesting...
"You'll see the light one day," Vert finally replied, giving Blanc a wave of her hand dismissively. If Blanc wanted to be pissy, so be it. It wasn't Vert's business... Well, not yet, anyway. "Of that, I can assure you."
"Not with you eclipsing it constantly." Now it was Vert who had the twitching eye. Blanc smirked triumphantly to herself. "Maybe if you just moved away — far, far away — I could see this light you're talking about."
"N-Now now, Blanc. When it comes to women, the brightest source of light comes from one... Or rather, two places," Vert was never one to let herself lose, and even if she was a little concerned with the other CPU, that didn't mean she was going to throw herself under the bus for her or anything like that — absolutely not! "At least in my case, there's something to eclipse in the first place... Unlike a certain someone I know."
Seeing that the tides were turning, Vert crossed an arm under her chest for good measure, making sure Blanc had an excellent view of just what she was talking about.
Just as Blanc was preparing her best comeback yet, the pair of CPUs noticed that a small, bee-like creature had approached where they were sitting.
"Are fake-Blanc and fake-Bert fighting?"
While Blanc grit her teeth at being called "fake," Vert's eyes lit up at the use of her nickname. Seemingly forgetting about Blanc entirely, the blonde CPU reached forward to scoop up the small girl that had approached them to squish her in a hug. Blanc didn't really get why Vert loved being called cutesy names so much, but from the looks of things, their conversation was over. Maybe she should thank the little kid CPU for barging in like that.
"No no, we're just having a grownup talk! Well, half-grownup talk, since only one of us is a real grownup..."
"Only one of you is grown up!? Uwaaah, which one of you is it? Which one of you is it? ... Is it fake-Blanc, 'cause she doesn't have any boobies!?"
"Why yes, that's exactly it! Very good!"
The pair didn't even seem to notice as a fuming Blanc began to walk away.
"Can you still see them?"
"Nope, definitely not. Can we go now?"
"Ohhhh, you're not even looking!"
Neptune shrugged as she popped another spoonful of pudding into her mouth, watching in amusement as a frantic Noire paced back and forth in front of her.
Contrary to the popular opinion back at what should of been their celebration (except for the obvious fact that neither of them were there), what the two newlywed CPUs were currently doing was far from indecent.
"Come on, who's gonna notice? You could wear a scarf or something!"
Neptune pointed her spoon, now pudding-less, towards Noire's neck, which she was clutching as though she was attempting to cover up some mortal injury and stop the bleeding.
"That will just make it even more obvious! A-And if they see these, then they'll... Think we were doing that..."
Neptune felt a smile growing as she watched her new wife trail off and begin to blush. She wondered just what was going on in that pretty little head of hers?
"So? If you think lying's a problem, I don't mind if you actually do want to-"
Noire spun around, her cheeks stained crimson.
"T-That wasn't what I was saying at all! I-I... My heart isn't... I'm not ready for that yet, stupid!"
Neptune laughed. It wasn't like she was ready to do that either, but boy was it fun to tease Noire about it anyway!
"S-Stop laughing at me! Oh, that's it... I'm going to find some makeup for this! Don't you go anywhere!"
"Wouldn't dream of it!"
Shrugging again, Neptune hopped off of the couch and headed towards the fridge, hoping that there was more pudding. After the number she'd done on Noire, she had a feeling that even if Noire did manage to find some makeup somewhere in this Basilicom (she knew for a fact neither she nor Nepgear kept any around), they'd still be here for a while.