"Put... Me... Down!"
Purple Heart smirked at the bundle in her arms as she continued flying towards Planeptune. She hadn't intended to just up and kidnap Noire like she had, but she wanted to get Noire back to Planeptune so they could start doing... whatever it was they were going to do as soon as possible.
Noire, on the other hand, didn't seem to be quite as thrilled with the prospect of the unknown.
"Fine, if you won't put me down-" Neptune's eyes widened as the girl in her arms was covered in a bright light herself. Noire was serious! In a flash, in her arms was no longer simply Noire, but the majestic and hard working CPU of Lastation: Black Heart. "Then I'll make you put me down!"
"Noire, don't be so dramatic. It's not like I'm kidnapping you..." Even though that was exactly what she'd just been thinking just a few moments prior, Neptune sighed and put on a dissatisfied face. She had really hoped Noire would be more in the mood, especially considering what plans she'd had for Noire when she'd gone over to Lastation's Basilicom after her talk with IF. "Fine, I'll let you go. How about we land? We're close enough to Planeptune's capital that we shouldn't get attacked by anything."
"Fine by me..." Noire crossed her arms as Neptune let her go, floating like that in midair. Neptune couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. Even transformed, Noire was still Noire — and Noire was glaring at her, doing her very best to hide the fact that she was blushing profusely at Neptune. "Well? Come on!"
"After you," Neptune motioned ot the ground, allowing herself to smirk once more at her wife. It wasn't often she got to play with Noire in this form, so she always made sure to savor it whenever the chance arose.
With a "hmph!", Noire sped off towards the ground, much to Neptune's amusement. For her part, Noire wasn't sure how to react to the situation she'd been thrust — or rather, carried — into. Sure, she'd kind of wanted (okay, she'd totally wanted it) Neptune to "win her" like she had, but to be carried away like some prize? And in front of Uni no less? It was way way way way way too embarrassing for her! There was no way she should appreciate something like that!
Which was exactly why she had wanted Neptune to put her down.
Because the fact of the matter was, she had liked being carried off like a prize!
Well... Neptune's prize, that is.
And shoot, just thinking like this was making her blush, and she couldn't be blushing right now! She was trying to appear calm and strong and stern! No, she was! She was calm and strong and stern!
As soon as Noire landed, she tossed a hand through her hair and transformed back into her human form, waiting for Neptune to follow her. To her surprise, Neptune — or Purple Heart — was still up in the sky where Noire had left her.
"What is she planning now..." Narrowing her eyes, Noire decided then and there that she wouldn't give in to whatever game Neptune wanted to play this time. Not because she didn't want to or because she wouldn't like it, but... Wait, no, exactly because she would like it! Darn it, Neptune was already getting to her!
As expected of her, Purple Heart sure was a dangerous opponent.
Shrugging to herself, Noire began walking forward on the path she had landed on, ignoring Neptune completely as she fought back a smirk of her own. If Neptune wanted to play a game, then Noire could certainly play a game.
Neptune had figured her quickly put together plan would go off without a hitch. Noire would dash off ahead of her, flustered like the cute little thing she was, and Neptune would wait behind for her. She'd wait and wait and not do a single thing, not move a single inch, and just wait for Noire to make her move.
Noire would call out to Neptune, but Neptune would ignore her for a little while. Neptune had it all figured out, after all. Eventually, Noire would get frustrated enough and yell something like "What do you want from me!?" up to Neptune — just the kind of response that was, as a certain other Planeptune CPU would put it, asking for it.
Yes, Purple Heart had planned this out perfectly, and she was sure it would have gone off without any problems — and then the two of them would be off to the Basilicom in no time flat! Because Neptune had plans for tonight, and she wanted to get them going as soon as possible. Walking the rest of the way just wouldn't cut it.
... And yet, there was Noire, ignoring her! Despite the maturity she was so much better at expressing in this form, Neptune couldn't help but pout just a little bit. That just wasn't right at all!
"Noire! I'm still up here!" Neptune blurted out despite herself. I-It wasn't like she was feeling lonely, getting ignored like that, it was... It was just that she was frustrated that her plan wasn't working, that's all! Noire ignoring her didn't bother her in the slightest!
Noire's smirk grew into a grin as she kept walking at the same pace, as if she hadn't even been affected by the cry of her beloved Neptune. After all, Purple Heart or no Purple Heart, all she had to do was wait a few minutes.
Noire continued walking, starting to hum to herself as she made her way down the path. She began picturing what she and Neptune might do during her week off. Well, it probably wouldn't be a whole week, but she supposed she could leave things to Uni for a few days at least. A few days with Neptune... She couldn't wait!
Though she couldn't get started just yet. It had only been a few minutes since Noire had started walking.
Just a few more minutes, and then...
The sound of feet hitting the ground a little ways behind her. The familiar noise of a CPU's transformation back into her human form.
"N-Nooooiiiiiire! Wait for meeee! You big meanie!"
"Booooo... That was totally mean of you, Noire!"
Still pouting, Neptune refused to look even remotely in Noire's direction as the pair walked down a Planeptune street. Despite her pout and her words, however, her hand was holding one of Noire's — rather firmly in fact — and she showed no intention of letting go any time soon. The real thing she was upset about was obvious, despite how she was acting.
Noire laughed, watching the purple haired object of her affection do her best to appear angry. This must be how it felt to be in Neptune's position normally — and now Neptune was almost acting... clingy! Noire had to admit, she kind of- no, she actually really liked seeing this side of Neptune.
Needless to say, Noire had been the one to win their little game — perhaps getting vengeance for Uni's sake, or... something like that — and Neptune had been pouting ever since they'd arrived in Planeptune. Even so, their hands had been entwined the entire time, which gave away Neptune's true feelings despite her words.
"Like what you were doing was any better. I bet you wanted me to call up to you and say something like 'Neptune, I want you to come to me!' or something like that..." Noire's eyes lit up dangerously as she saw Neptune flinch. She tightened her grip on Neptune's hand ever so gently as the two stopped at a crosswalk, waiting for the light that would give them the okay to cross the street. "... I knew it."
Noire sighed. She had really been looking forward to spending some time uninterrupted with Neptune too, and Neptune just had to... well, she just had to go and be herself to start things off. Maybe she had raised her hopes a little too high this time?
Not that she totally minded Neptune's antics. It was part of her charm, after all. In an annoyingly sweet kind of way. But couldn't she just be the regular kind of sweet? She had already kidnapped Noire by that point after all.
"O-Oh come on, it wouldn't have been that bad!" Laughing awkwardly, Neptune turned to Noire, a sheepish smile growing on her face. In an attempt to turn things around and put the blame onto Noire again, she continued. "You shouldn't have been so mad in the first place! It's not like I've never carried you before. I thought you liked that..."
"Hmph! That was that and this was this." Noire tossed one of her twintails back with her free hand and looked away from Neptune, the picture of indifference. Neptune gaped dramatically at her, which caused Noire to sigh in exasperation. "Honestly, you're like a little kid. Watch yourself or a bug will fly in there."
"I'm much rather you fly in there," Neptune replied, her voice oozing with innuendo. Noire's eyes bulged and she turned bright red, much to Neptune's delight. Much better. "Maybe when we get back to the Basilicom, we can-"
"N-Neptune!" Tempting as it was — and that is to say very tempting — Noire wasn't about to let Neptune seduce her into something like that in the middle of a public street. Noire looked around frantically to make sure that no one was listening to their conversation and sighed in relief upon seeing that no one was. In fact, for once, it looked like no one had even realized who they were. Bless the power of crowds, she supposed. Still... That didn't make Neptune doing that okay! "What are you thinking...? Someone could hear!"
"I don't care who else hears what I say as long as you do," Neptune replied truthfully (not to mention bluntly), her eyes shining with honest affection for the black haired CPU as she looked up at her.
"Th-That's... You idiot!" Noire cried, pulling her arm free from Neptune's grasp so she could cross her arms — her cheeks burning a dark shade of red. Though initially confused by Noire's response, Neptune opted to smile adoringly at her, which only made Noire's blush darken and her heart rate quicken. Noire lowered her gaze, in a vain attempt to catch herself. "S... Stop it, or I..."
"Or you'll what?" Neptune asked eagerly. The light had changed by this point, and they were now alone on the corner of the sidewalk, but neither of them seemed to notice or care. All they were interested in was each other.
Noire inhaled deeply. Her mind was foggy and her heart was pounding. She knew after a month of this, she should be used to it, but... She just couldn't get used to it! Every day was like a brand new start; it was as if she still couldn't believe that all of this was real and actually happening! And to that end... To that end...
She swallowed, blushing so hard she wondered if she would start seeing red in a minute or two, and whispered quietly so that only Neptune could hear.
"You'll just have to wait until tonight to find out."
For a moment, Neptune could only stare at Noire. Then she really gaped.
"A-Are you serious!?"
"H-Hmph!" Noire shook her head half-heartedly and tossed a hand through her hair. Was she? She hadn't decided yet. It depended on if Neptune was good or not. "That's for me to know and you to find out."
It didn't take a psychic to read Neptune's mind. At least, so Noire assumed.
In reality, though, Neptune's thoughts were actually going a bit faster than she might have guessed, and in a slightly different direction at that.
This actually worked well for Neptune, given that her plans had been already... Though this meant that she'd have to change them up a little bit. Or maybe not? She wasn't sure. Maybe she should anyway. Truthfully, that was something she welcomed. IF had told her to just act like she was proposing, to be natural about it or something like that, but how was she supposed to go about that? They were already married! Besides- Given the very real possibility that Noire would take it badly... Given all the ways it could go wrong...! It was still too soon!
... Would it always be too soon...?
For a brief instant, a flicker of doubt shot across Neptune's features, but it went unseen by Noire.
Pushing those defeatist thoughts away, Neptune considered the other thing she had been thinking about lately. If she brought that up tonight, then it would look like she was only saying it for her own... unsavory desires, and to be honest, just thinking about bringing that up made her nervous. There was always later, though! She had Noire all to herself for the next few days, after all...
Now that was a thought that could get her back on track no matter what else she was thinking about.
"I'll just have to be a good girl, won't I?" Fluttering her eyelashes, Neptune squeezed Noire's hand — Noire didn't fight back — and grinned at the other CPU. Well, Neptune supposed it was time to start laying the groundwork for things. The whole idea now for these next few days was to show how much she cared to Noire up before she popped the question, after all. She just hoped it would all be that simple. Though that reminded her... "By the way, I didn't ever get to mention to you why I showed up at your Basilicom, did I?"
"Huh?" Noire blinked. Neptune had had an actual reason beyond wanting to see her for that? She wasn't sure how she should take that. On the one hand, she appreciated Neptune having a reason, but on the other... Neptune not having a reason to come see her but doing it anyway was kind of appealing in its own way...
"Yep!" Neptune made the peace symbol with her free hand. "I got us a reservation at that restaurant you were checking out the other day. I mean, it wasn't hard or anything since I'm the CPU of this wacky ol' nation and all, but still. I know you were all 'Hmph! That place totally isn't your style, Neptune! We totally wouldn't be able to eat there with you! Hmph hmph hmph hmph hmph!' about it, but I could tell you really wanted to go, so I-"
Neptune found herself being cut off as two arms wrapped around her neck. Despite her earlier bravado, the fact of the matter was that every moment like this made her heart pound in new and exciting ways she had never known before this. Despite her usual confidence, she found her own cheeks warming up. She wasn't used to public displays of affection like this from Noire — after all, it was Noire! Noire + PDA rarely ever computed!
Yet today it did.
Noire nuzzled into the small of Neptune's neck, smiling widely, in part glad Neptune couldn't see how this had made her feel but in part also hoping Neptune knew all the same. She knew Neptune hated places like that with a passion, so for her to be willing to go to one for Noire... It was sweet. It was really, really sweet. She could take Neptune making fun of her in the delivery of the gift knowing what it meant. Planting a kiss on Neptune's cheek and loving the feeling she got as she watched Neptune be stunned by Noire's boldness, Noire stepped back and put her hands on her hips.
"What are you looking at?"
It took Neptune a moment to recover from Noire's sudden assault, but as soon as she did, she grinned up at the other CPU.
"Only the best wife I coulda ever asked for."
Noire smirked and bent down slightly, placing a finger on Neptune's nose.
"And don't you forget it."