Chapter 12: Yeah

"My little girl!" The motherly cries of a purple-haired girl filled the room of her child. She attended to her perfectly healthy daughter who had been standing upright against the crib.

Her wife, Noire, kept her distance next to the doorway to allow her wife's concerns to dissipate uninterrupted.

"I heard about your little floaty adventure today. Are you okay?" Whispered the motherly CPU to her daughter.

No signs of discomfort or agitation appeared on the girl's face, only the usual happy and bouncy energy that she exuded.

This cute and innocent display warmed up Neptune's heart tremendously. "Oh, look at her go! I've just noticed that she's standing upright. Where's my camera?!"

"I... I got it right here, Neptune," replied Noire with shy tones to her voice. She hoped that her wife didn't hold any anger over the fact that she left her gaze away from their daughter, even if it was for a mere minute.

"Ah, thanks a bunch, darling!" She took the camera and snapped her shots. It was a good thing that Neptune had contained herself long enough to turn the flash off or else Euri would have had something else to cry about.

When she took her fill of photos, she walked past Noire. "I'm going to make her a bottle. Why don't you keep an eye on her?" She said with a cold glance at her wife that was gone as soon as it appeared.

Noire gulped nervously and looked at her daughter standing in the crib. "You think she's mad?" The reply she got from her daughter was an outlandish jubilant laugh. Noire couldn't take her seriously as she tried to suck her entire fist into her mouth. "Hey, we don't do that. That's why we have pacifiers," she remarked. She scanned the bed layer of the crib until she found the pacifier resting in a corner. After a quick wash, she angled it close to her daughter. "Here comes the binky-winki." In honesty, if anyone else heard her say that, she would probably die of embarrassment.

Her lone audience, composed only of her daughter, enjoyed her papa's funny line as she accepted the pacifier.

"Oh, are my two best girls getting along?" Neptune came back with a bottle in one hand and a bib in the other.

"Neptune!? How long were you standing there?" Fired Noire with a sweat drop on her face.

Neptune looked clueless with her finger close to her lip. "Just got here. Why?"

"N-nothing. Just gave Euri her binky."

"Well, that's nice. Let's see if she's hungry for some formula." Neptune picked up her daughter from the crib and sat with her in a corner that had a rocking chair. A window laid beside her that perfectly cast warm rays toward the rocking chair.

"I gave her some macaroni earlier, so she might not be as hungry," said the black-haired CPU.

"Hehe, that's a Nep challenge right there. To eat after you already ate. She's a growing girl, so it's all good," replied Neptune. "Whoa!"

The little pink-haired toddler could speak for herself as she began to gulp down the formula without pause.

Noire couldn't help but smile at the sight in front of her. She would never grow tired seeing her wife take on the motherly role that fit her so well. There were times that Noire would fill that role, but Neptune had this glow to her that always manifested whenever she got into it.

Euri's eyes grew heavy with every gulp she devoured until her eyes fully closed.

"She's off to dreamland," she cheered quietly. She lightly hit her on the back until she heard a soft burp, tucked her daughter into the sheets, closed the curtains, and walked out of the room with her wife.

"I never get tired of seeing you like that Neptune," replied Noire.

"Thanks, darling. It really does come naturally to me now. Like picking the best pudding pack out of a line-up, you get me?"

"I think I do?" Replied Noire with a breathy laugh at the ridiculous words of her wife.

"You better get me, Nowa. Just like you got Euri earlier today," she said with a smug look on her face.

"Ack! Weren't you not going to hold that over my head? I already feel ashamed for taking my eyes off her," replied the despondent black-haired CPU.

Neptune then jumped into the arms of her wife, who was forced to catch her to avoid them from falling. "As I said before, I'm not mad. From what you told me about her flying adventure, she sounds like she'll be getting into all sorts of trouble. And I can't be too hard on you after having my share of baby incidents in the past. All we can do is act at the moment, when they happen, and to keep her from getting too bad of a scraped knee."

"I wouldn't want to leave that up to chance, but you do make a point. If only I could wrap her in bubble wrap," said Noire with a hand to her chin

"I would too in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, we can't be that restrictive with our daughter's actions."

"I guess you have a point," she said with some reservations.

(Later that day)

Once Euri had awoken from her nap, the CPU parents went out for a stroll around the streets. Euri was in her stroller, her face half-awake with lingering sleepiness, and the roof of the stroller protecting her eyes from the sun.

Neptune was the one pushing the stroller while her wife walked beside her. They decided on picking up a few quick ingredients from the local market. As soon as they entered, countless eyes soon cast their glances at them.

Neptune was always an upbeat type of character and merely waved back at them to break the ice. There was not any malice or anger in the air from the people, and it was more of curiosity from the CPU baby. Word spread like wildfire that Euri had undergone some metamorphoses. However, the people in the area had enough common sense to not wedge themselves into the daily routines of their CPUs' just to get a good look at the now toddler Euri.

"Hmm, what do you think, Nowa? Should we be posting more pictures of Euri on our social pages? I think Histoire said that it would be perfect so that the people could see their little future goddess better. We wouldn't need to do some fancy press conference or media blowout."

Noire thought deeply about the current topic. "If it's okay with you, I rather not. I've come to realize that I don't want Euri to grow up with the spotlight on her too early. She'll be influenced by it negatively and would start to feel like she's owed the center of attention."

Neptune stopped walking and looked at her wife with some taken aback. "Hey, you say that like it's a bad thing. Don't you want her to feel important?"

Noire then halted with a light blush on her cheeks. "Well, she's already important to us and we'll keep that consistent with her, obviously. What I meant was that, if she is going to be put in the spotlight, then it will be when she achieves something or starts to create her own game ideas. And while I can't stop the citizens from obsessing over her or praising her, I can at least soften the blow a bit without a media presence. She's just too young for that."

"Speaking like a true tsundere papa! Okay, but at least give her some 'atta girl' pats on the back when she does awesome things."

"I… I will, obviously. Those days are behind me, and I wished I would have done that with Uni more in the past," said Noire with a soft voice that was supposed to reach herself.

A small yawn produced from the stroller that made both parents look at the source. Euri gazed at them with newly awoken eyes and a small repeatedly opened mouth like a fish.

"Ah! She looks so funny! She clearly wants her binky!" Stated the purple-haired girl. She reached inside the stroller blankets and resurfaced the pacifier that had been discarded.

They soon picked up enough supplies for tonight's meal, and they soon reached the last stop in their destination, the snack aisle.

"Chips! Chocolate! Salty and sugary super delights!" The melodious tunes of Neptune filled the aisle with life that made Noire feel relieved that they were the only ones currently in that section. "Neptune, remember, only two items," said Noire sternly.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. After all my negotiations, I could have only squeezed two items out of you, so sad."

"I tend to be very resistant to alluring snacks, but if it's in the house eyeing me all the time, then I rather not be forced into that situation," stated Noire with a sideways blush and a small fake cough.

"But sweetie. You look great, and a few snacks won't change that."

Noire jolted from the related weight topic. "Pfft, you're one to talk. Last time you finished a whole bag of potato chips before we even had dinner. Then you tried pushing the food toward Histoire's plate when she wasn't looking. For a second, that poor thing thought she was losing her mind," said Noire with her arms folded.

"Oh, right. Fine, but those chips were evil, so I had to vanquish them!" Declared the purple-haired girl with a chest pound.

"Pfft, yeah… by eating them," remarked Noire with a smirk.

They spent the next few minutes scouring the aisle for the perfect snack, or more like Neptune was the one doing the hard work.

Noire had been next to the stroller as she watched Euri entertain herself with a small rattle that had been inside Noire's diaper bag.

"Ah, I can't decide. Do I want Sonic bites, or do I want Crashy chips?" She said with an urgent voice. She held both bags in her hands and she wavered between them, while she lowered and raised them between glances.

"Why not pick Kratos Krots?" Said Noire pridefully. She pointed to the very end of the aisle that had a freezer section with boxes of one kind. The box's mascot was a crude caricature of a chiseled man that was supposed to be some type of warrior. His face was ashy white with red marks on his face, while he held up a small chocolate piece high above him.

Neptune made a face at the new item and turned to her wife. "Not to downplay one of your favorite chocolate… cakes? Brownies?" She honestly didn't know what they were, only that her wife would be seen eating them from time to time.

Noire placed a hand on her chest, looking rather offended. "For your information, they're chocolate mint patties, Neptune. And they are delicious, so don't let the crude name fool you. There's actually a neat story about the origin of the Krots name that's related to one of my games that they based their mint patties on," said Noire with an aura of a teacher.

"I'm sure the story is as fascinating as the inspiration of the artist that drew that funny looking man that way. I just can't get into them, literally. You need to have teeth like some war god to break those things apart."

"Well, shame. We are goddesses, so what's your excuse," said Noire with a challenging smile that made Neptune pout.

"I'll stick to my preferred selection," replied the purple-haired girl with arms held up to show the Sonic bites and Crashy chips.

"Not today old friend," replied Noire as she eyed the Kratos Krots from the freezer. She actively took a second to look around for herself until her eyes landed on another item. "Oh, how about some Yakuza Yuzus?" Said Noire as she threw a bag toward Neptune.

"Yikes!" Neptune barely managed to catch them in time before they flew past her head. "These…?"

"Why not? They are one of Planeptune's go-to choices for healthy treats with them being a variation of rice cakes. I heard the creator of them, Grandma Yuzu, is actually a real grandma entrepreneur that took the beginning part of the name from her earlier years in some group. They called her a woman with a ferocious aura during her youth, but now she makes healthy cakes for the youth of today with her company. Hehe, why do I get the feeling that a backstory like that would make for a good game?"

"It probably is, but my noggin is having trouble coming up with the name. I'm getting dragon vibes for some reason, and that just goes to show that I should dust off my old game records. But back to the rice cakes. No thank you," stated Neptune.

"Well, I think I want to get them, and maybe have Euri chew on one. Would you like that sweetie?" Stated Noire to her daughter who had been gnawing at the rattle with her small teeth.

Euri took a break from the rattle, and while she didn't get what her papa was saying, she happily agreed with a giggle.

"How sinister, my little Euri eating healthy rice cakes instead of traditional sweets. Then you leave me with no choice. I'm getting both the Sonic bites and Crashy chips. And I'm using my allowance that Histoire gave me," boldly stated Neptune with a discarded milk cart that was in a corner being used as a stand for herself.

"I can't believe she actually still gives you an allowance even after getting married," said Noire as a side comment while she had a sweatdrop.

She jumped off from the milk cart and leaned closer to her pink-haired daughter. "How about it, Eu? Are you ready to taste the cheesy puffiness that is Sonic bites and the wild spicy Crashy chips?"

"Y-yeah…" Came the slow and choppy response from Euri. It sounded more like a word that she didn't understand the meaning of, but she heard it enough to confidently use it to reply to something with positiveness.

Both parents stood stunned at the word they heard. "Oh, my goodness. She said her third word like ever!"

"Atta girl," replied Noire with a smile.