Chapter 62
A wise man once said that patience is the key to life. That if you could outlast the burden of waiting the rewards would increase tenfold. That man…
"Hey! When's the food gonna be ready?"
Obviously hasn't met Neptune…
For many hours now Vert, Nepgear, Noire and I have been preparing our Christmas dinner. We already had a turkey set out last night so there's no worry there.
"If you would like it to go more quickly then I suggest you assist." Vert makes a valid suggestion to Neptune.
Neptune gives us a sheepish grin. "Well you see, I don't really work a lot."
"Your grades are a reflection of that statement." Blanc calls out from the living room. Someone call 911 because she just got burned.
"Ooo, shots fired." Ram joins in on the assault.
Neptune shoots off an angry look at us, one of pure annoyance. The comments from the peanut gallery are finally affecting her. "You are angering the usually docile me."
I walk over to her and bonk her on the head. "You say docile, I say go stir the chili so it doesn't stick to the bottom."
Feeling defeated, Neptune lowers her head and walks to the kitchen and does as asked. Not having to keep up with the chili now, I think I'll go to the living room to take a break.
As I arrive, I look at what everyone else is doing to relax until dinner is ready.
Blanc sits in the recliner reading a book. Rom and Ram sit on the arms of the chair to read with her. It's really heartwarming to see their little family… something I never really experienced.
Uni is asleep on the loveseat and curled up into a ball. I know I just got back into a relationship but damn that's really adorable.
Noire actually took a break before me and decided to sit next to Martin. He doesn't seem to mind but Noire is showing the slightest hints of nervousness.
As I walk by Martin I notice that he's studying her actions subtly. Maybe studying people
Now that I get a better look at him, I can see why Noire and Vert show interest. He isn't that bad when it comes to looks, he's a pretty handsome guy. If it weren't for my relationship I would drop a hint here and there.
"Jack, could you talk to me over here for a moment?" Damn, he noticed me. Well it can't hurt to see what he has to say.
Martin leaves his seat to Noire's dismay and the both of us stand in one corner of the room.
"What do you need?"
"I was just curious about how it was between you and Nepgear last night." How the hell does he know about that?!
"How did you know about that?!" I keep my voice down the best that I can to not raise suspicion.
"I wasn't sure until now. However I noticed that she's looking at you differently than before." Martin played me right into his hand. You're a very clever man Martin Winchester.
"In all seriousness I do have a request to ask of you."
"I'm almost afraid to ask what it is." Knowing him it could be anything. I'll be on my guard for anything weird.
"I need to know how to ask out someone…" Well this is odd coming from him.
"Noire?" I shoot Martin a curious look before he gets to his explanation. He's piqued my curiosity so I really want to hear this.
"Yes… I plan to ask her out tonight but I don't know how to go about it. So I thought that you might be able to tell me how you and Nepgear started dating."
"I didn't really ask so much as I just kissed her on a whim." Holy shit, now that I think about it that's really how this whole love game started
Closing my eyes, I try to remember that whole night. It's coming so clearly now. The sight of my friends dancing with me, the look of Nepgear as she ran out the door… the anger I felt when she was threatened.
"Just tell her how you truly feel inside and she'll have a lot of respect for you. It takes a lot of courage to ask out a girl you know."
"Very well, I believe I have everything I need to execute this perfectly. Thank you Jack, I owe you one."
I lightly punch Martin on the shoulder. "It's fine, it's what friends do." Martin is one of the greatest friends I have after all. We may not show it, but we have silent respect for each other.
We walk back to join the others in the living room. At this point everyone's relaxing like some big family. Martin sits next to Noire once more, this time with a more nervous look on his face.
And I take a seat next to Nepgear, sitting between her and Uni, who is still asleep mind you. She might want to wake up soon though, we're about to dig into the best Christmas feast ever made.
"Ah! Now this is what I was waiting for!" Neptune expresses her delight on her seventh bowl of chili. If I knew she liked it so much I would make it more often.
"This is super yummy!" Ram cheers to the combine effort of all of our cooking. I'm glad to see that she likes it.
Currently, everyone's eating to their hearts content with the food that was hastily made. Luckily we started the turkey last night so now we have some for the occasion.
"I give my compliments to the chef, whoever made this potato salad has done it very well." Martin gives his approval to whoever made that.
"Actually… it was me who made that… I'm glad you enjoy it." Noire responds to Martin. God… just seeing this makes me want to push them together more.
Everything is pretty good so far. We're all enjoying a late Christmas dinner, there are still presents to give out later, and socializing to be done tonight.
I put my plate down on the table next to Nepgear and sink into the couch. I'm so full that I can't eat another bite. As I sink in Nepgear cuddles up to me slowly.
"Isn't this amazing? Everyone is getting along so well now."
"Yeah, it's a great change of pace from yesterday…" I don't want to remember that day any longer than I have to.
Nepgear pulls in closer to me. "I thought we were going to get over that. No more crying about the past remember?" My own thoughts are coming back to bite me.
I give her a peck on the nose. "You're right… we have to move one towards a better future."
Nepgear in turn kisses my cheek softly, making me blush in the process. "Promise me you won't cry anymore. It hurts me when you cry."
"I promise" We end up actually kissing this time. The contact of her lips to mine makes my heart go into hyperdrive. Euphoria is the only way I can explain my state right now.
"I don't mean to interrupt you two lovebirds, but we're about to hand out the secret santa gifts now." Uni calls us back to the party. We separate quickly while retaining our red faces.
"Alrighty then! Which one of you people got something for Nep?"
"Here you go Neptune." Blanc hands Neptune a hardcover book. Neptune seems very displeased with this gift.
"A book? Bleh!"
"Take it or leave it you damn bitch!" With that Neptune takes a step back. Wow, Neptune is getting shot down all over the place tonight.
Vert walks up to me and hands me a small bag. "I do hope you enjoy that dear." Pulling out the contents I see that it's some teabags. A very thoughtful gift actually. And if Vert uses these then they must be good.
"Thank you Vert, and merry Christmas."
I shouldn't wait to see what everyone else exchanges with, I might as well go now. I get up and walk towards Blanc with my gift to her.
"Here Blanc, I hope you enjoy this." Unwraps my gift to reveal it's a decorative book. When she opens it up she finds its pages empty.
"There's no words in this."
"That's because it's a journal, you can write anything you want in that and no one will ever know."
Blanc doesn't even need words to describe how she feels. All I need to see is the tear forming up in her eyes.
"Even after all we put you through… you're still giving me a very thoughtful gift?" She's at a complete loss of words.
"Of course, we're still friends after all."
Blanc walks up and plants a hug right on me. "Thank you Jack… just thank you."
Looking back I see that Nepgear might be getting jealous at the sight. I'll have to clarify the situation later to avoid my ass getting chopped.
"Before you ask, I got you something too." I pull out another bag and hand it to Nepgear. She's my girlfriend, of course I got her something for Christmas.
She opens it up to find long pink and white striped tube socks like the ones she wears. I got her some new ones because all of her current pairs are looking worn down.
"Jack… I don't know what to say…"
"I still love you Nepgear."
We embrace each other for the second kiss that night right in front of the couch. No one seems to notice us because their busy with the exchanging of gifts. Except two people who made their way to the kitchen.
"Hey, why is Martin standing with Noire?" Nepgear asks me. Martin and Noire stand alone there, not being noticed by anyone except Nepgear and I.
I walk over to a place where I won't be noticed to see what these two are saying with Nepgear in tow.
"So… what did you call me over here for?" Noire sounds nervous as ever.
"There's… there's something that I've been meaning to discuss with you for a while now…" Martin doesn't seem to be fairing well either. Come on bro, you can do it.
"Well… I-I… Um… admire you greatly…" He's so quiet when saying this. It's hard to believe that Martin is asking Noire out.
"I-is that all you're going to say?" Noire sounds pissed off almost. Strange, I thought she liked him.
"No! I like the way you work hard to please others. I like the air of majesty you project. And I like how well you hide your emotions." Martin making an outburst like that must mean he's close to sealing the deal.
"I-I don't hide my emotions at all… I-" She's cut off by Martin grabbing her forearm.
"You don't have to lie anymore, I'm right in front of you and I'll be there with you." This is actually becoming a really good romantic scene. Better than when I first got with Nepgear.
Noire opens her eyes in full realization much like Nepgear does sometimes. Then, tears start forming around her eyes.
"Are you alright Noire?" Martin asks out of concern.
Noire closes her eyes and smiles at him, shaking her head up and down.
"I've been waiting for you to say that to me… so shut up and kiss me…"
Noire leans forward and up to plant her lips on Martins. At first he's surprised but eventually gets comfortable with it. Enough to where he wraps his arms around her and decreases the space between the two.
And even though Nepgear and I were the only ones who saw this, it was the birth of a beautiful relationship. And the beginning of two people breaking their shells.
A/N: Is this the best that I could've done with this chapter? Probably not but hey I'm busy these days. Truth be told, the first version was much better but was deleted for a reason I don't want to talk about.
As always, I want to hear your feedback and questions. I want to be able to write more, and after this little chapter, things are going to really pick up.
Still, review, PM any questions or concerns. And as always, see you in the next update.