Chapter 3: Now For Another Surprise
"So, let me get this straight," My husband sat down and everyone told him what happened earlier today. "These girls," Neptune gestured to the girls that wasn't me, Blanc- the one that we know- and Plutia. "Are goddesses from another dimension trying to learn… how to normal." All of the wide eyed girls nodded, I guess they're not over the fact that Neptune's a guy. Grunting, my husband reclined on his seat and held Plutia into the air. "Well, that doesn't happen everyday now does it?" Plutia cheered as she was brought up high and back down in regular intervals until she yawned again. Placing her in his lap, Neptune watched as Plutia curled into a ball while clutching his shirt. "Aw, that's my little Plutie.~" Rocking back and forth, Neptune cradled our daughter as he hummed a tune that sounded like it was from one of the anime endings I sung.
The goddess Neptune walked over to her counterpart and his daughter. She looked at him with wide but curious eyes.
"So… Other-Me, you're a dude right?" Raising an eyebrow, Neptune turned to the goddess.
"Yeah?" I could a see a faint smile on her face.
"And she's your daughter?" Looking at Plutia's smiling face, Neptune shined.
"Well, not just mine, she's Noire's baby girl too." Neptune nodded towards and I smiled back at him. Also, I have sworn that goddess Neptune had a cat-like smile on her face.
"And you and Other-Noire are married right?" Other-Me and Other-Noire? Is she trying to identify us without confusing the others? Because if she is, then it sorta works.
"What, are playing twenty questions or something? Yes, we are." Immediately, goddess Neptune spun to the goddess me and smiled wide.
"You hear that Noire? You and me have a kid and get married! Boy, the people are gonna love this!" The goddess me blushed a faint red but composed herself quickly and glared at the purple haired girl.
"Neptune, are you an idiot? It's obvious that we don't have a child, and we are not married!" She then turned her head to side and- I think she said something about friends, but she was whispering too quietly for me to pick it up.
"Even though one Neptune's a guy and one's a girl, I can't really see much of a difference." Blanc laughed as she patted Rom on the head, who happily accepted the pats. "Y'know, I haven't done this with my Rom or Ram ever since they went to college." My housemate made a sad face but shook it off. "You're lucky to have these two right now." She then turned to her goddess counterpart, who was watching as Ram tried to climb and sit with Rom on Blanc's lap. However, it proved difficult since Blanc was sitting in a single person chair.
"What? Did you not do that a lot with your Rom or Ram?" Blanc nodded sadly.
"No, since Neptune's parents scouted them as idols, they were rarely home even though they were kids at the time." Blanc sighed. "It would have been lonely if Mother and Neptune weren't there." She then turned to her childhood friend. "Speaking of not being there… Neptune how's the effort of trying to balance work and home?"
"Oh, be quiet. I'm trying my best, but being a teacher takes a lot of time from my days," Oh no, Neptune's going into a bad mood. "But at least I spend time with my kid instead of being gone for months." Shaking his head, Neptune stood up and handed Plutia over to me. "I want some pudding." Uh… I can't tell him now. Looking around nervously, I noticed that the girls were looking at Neptune's retreating figure with concern and worry.
"Is there something wrong?" The goddess Vert looked at me with a sad frown.
"It's nothing, but-"
"Aw, man! My pudding's gone!" Now I feel bad.
"Sorry, Neptune! I kind of wanted something sweet for breakfast." I could hear Blanc snicker and Neptune sigh.
"Oh man…" He walked over to where I was sitting and placed his head on mine. "I was looking forward to that too…" Now I feel horrible.
"Sorry…" Now he pressed his cheek to mine.
"It's okay, really it is." Aw, he's so sweet. I half-expected him to flip a table or- Oh wait, he's taking the tea off the table aaaaand- Phew He didn't flip it, at least. Just gently put it on one side. Taking a deep breath, my husband noticed all the sad looks he was getting. "What? Is there two week old pudding on my clothes? Because I hope not."
"No, it's just that you said that your parents were not around that often." Vert continued with her question from before, although hesitant.
"Yeah, they were rarely home. Being idol managers of your little sister's unit, and the unit containing your wife as well as many other idols can keep you away from home. But you get used to it over time." Goddess Nepgear perked up at "little sister".
"Wait, I'm an idol?"
"Yes, although you made a unit with Uni, Rom and Ram, while I was a unit with Vert." Goddess Blanc looked at me.
"And I stayed at home, correct?" I nodded and the goddess shrugged, being indifferent- Was that a hint of sadness in her eyes? No, she's Blanc, that can't be. Blanc never wanted to be an idol in the first place.
"Goodness! Uni, Rom, Ram. We're idols!" The three little sisters cheered in approval- Oh Plutia's awake. Good morning sweetie, did you have a nice nap? Aww, she's yawning again and- Oh, she's asleep.
"Well, technically you're not anymore. You girls retired sometime after Blanc and I hit our second or third year in college." Neptune put a finger to his chin. "Right now… Vert's in a gaming company." Goddess Vert smiled in satisfaction. "Nep Jr.'s working under a professor as a mechatronic engineer." Goddess Nepgear clasped her hands together, eyes shining. "Uni's acting as Iffy's right hand in the police department, apparently she frequents the firing range at the police station often. Heard she's got a hobby with guns." Goddess Uni was surprised that even her counterpart had a love for guns. "Rom and Ram are still in college, I think it's Rom's last year and Ram's fourth year." Goddess Ram pouted while Goddess Rom smiled. "Compa's a nurse."
"No surprise there." Everyone agreed with Goddess Neptune. Huh, I guess that their Compa's a nurse as well.
Out of nowhere, a silent grumbling sound came from below me. Looking down, I see Plutia looking at me straight in the eyes.
"Honey," Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the goddess me flinch. "What time is it?" Neptune looked at his watch and his eyes widened.
"Oh man, it's almost Plutie's feeding time." Neptune stood up from his chair and walked over to the kitchen. In time I could hear the fridge opening and closing, and the sound of a microwave as well.
"Noire!"
"Yeah?" I could see my husband's head pop from the corner.
"Did you feed Plutie yet?"
"No." Now I could hear the sounds of the microwave starting and after thirty seconds, the chime of microwave finish heating whatever he put inside it. Soon, Plutia began to squirm in my arms, beginning to whine and cry. Neptune walked out of kitchen, holding a bottle of warm milk in his hands. Approaching me with the bottle, he rolled up one of his sleeves and lightly squeezed the bottle, letting the drink drip onto his shoulder.
"Okay, that's hot." My husband flinched as the liquid tapped his arm. He pulled off the cap off of the bottle and began to blow gently on it. After a second, he checked the bottle's temperature again and this time nodded. "This should be right." I reached out for the bottle and held up to Plutia's mouth.
Plutia grabbed onto the bottle and began to suck on it happily. As this was happening everyone else watched in awe, I think I heard Goddess Nepgear and Goddess Vert squeal silently.
"That is so adorable!" Goddess Neptune pushed her way under my Neptune's arm and stared at Plutia with wide eyes. Plutia didn't seem to mind the attention as she had her eyes closed as she drank her milk. As she drank, Plutia made cheerful squeaks, causing the girls to crowd around me and adore her.
Noticing my discomfort, my husband walked to us and, with the help of Blanc, pulled them away from me. Some of them pouting, specifically Goddess Vert, Ram and Neptune. Suddenly, Goddess Neptune turned to my husband as he sat down in his seat.
"Hey." Popping her head over his shoulder, the goddess began to press her cheek over Neptune's. "Heeeeeeey, Other Me." However, my husband wouldn't budge until Goddess Neptune began to press harder and harder into his face, where his eye twitched. "Other Meeeee."
Neptune grabbed his goddess counterpart by the head and peeled her off of him, and slowly turned to face her.
"What is it, Neptune?" Smiling, Goddess Neptune leaned closer to Neptune.
"Sooo, how's it feel to be daddy?" Raising an eyebrow, my husband stared at Goddess Neptune's grin.
"It's a dream come true, why?" Despite his blunt response, I could feel the joy coming out of his voice. I can't blame him, with a daughter like Plutia, who wouldn't be happy with being a father? As Neptune talked with his counterpart, Goddess Rom and Ram situated themselves on the armchairs beside me and continued to watch Plutia drink with wide eyes.
"Wow, she's so tiny!" Ram exclaimed as her sister reached out to pat Plutia's hair.
"She's soft." Aww, these two are so adorable.
"Well, that's how all babies are. You two were like that you know." The twins looked at each other, then to me.
"We're not babies!" The pink colored twin pouted by puffing her cheeks out. The blue colored twin made a sad face.
"We're born like this…" Born? Noticing my confusion, Goddess Nepgear and Uni turned to me.
"Miss…" The goddess version of my little sister had a little trouble calling out my name. "Miss Planeptune, us CPU Candidates, meaning Nepgear, Rom, Ram and I, were literally born in this form." Huh? I looked at Blanc, then to Neptune, the former looked just as confused while the latter was too distracted by the purple haired goddess on his back.
"Wait, really?" The girls nodded- Oh… that means they didn't get to grow up did they? Poor girls. The goddess version of Nepgear waved her hands at me.
"Don't sad! We're fine with being like this, it just means we get to spend more time with our sisters." Oh, then I guess that's okay. Goddess Vert stared at me with a shine in her eyes.
"Excuse me, Miss Noire." The goddess version of me looked surprised when her dimension's Vert talked to me in a polite manner. "I can't help but notice how motherly you look surrounded by the little ones." Blanc and her goddess version both gave me silent thumbs up while my counterpart widened her eyes upon realizing the idea was, I guess, true.
"It's true, she looks like what Histoire would be if Neptune wouldn't slack off all the time." Upon hearing his mother's name, Neptune pushed his counterpart off of him and joined the conversation.
"What about my mother?" There was a pause, and all of goddesses turned to my husband.
"Histoire is…"
"...your…"
"...mother?" Neptune nodded and all of the girls began to look at each other with wide eyes. Suddenly, Goddess Neptune climbed onto Neptune's back, her eyes as wide as her companions.
"Wait, how did Histy give birth to you when she's so tiny?" What?
"Wh-Tiny? My mother is not tiny!" Standing up, Neptune measured up to his chin with his free hand, the other hand holding onto a happy goddess Neptune. "She's about this tall."
…
…
…
…Oh, we are not having this again.
"If any of you scream and make Plutia cry again, I will punish all of you." Giving them a stern look, all of the Goddesses silently apologized. "So, what's the deal with my mother-in-law being average height?" Nepgear looked at me, a drop of sweat rolling down her cheek.
"Well, our Histoire is kind of…" The tablet at her side began to shake and ring. Picking up the tablet. Nepgear blinked and nodded. In a swift manner, the goddess version of Neptune's little sister put the table upright and placed the tablet onto the it, the screen lighting up a bright blue with a dark rounded purple N at the center of it. "I think seeing her will be better than explaining." The tablet began to shine and- Wow, a hologram! These girls are more advanced than I thought, I bet our Nepgear would be, as Neptune put it, "Gearing out". The hologram formed into- WHAT!?
"Hello, I am the tome of Gamindustri and the oracle of Planeptune, Histoire. I assume that you three are the Neptune, Blanc and Noire of this world, correct?" Apparently, Neptune and Blanc moved next to me as Nepgear was setting up the table. The hologram had the hairstyle, the clothes, and the voice of my mother-in-law, but she was super tiny! She was so small that she was sitting on an open book, and she's adorable! Goddess Neptune raised an arm, waving at the hologram and jumping off my husband.
"Hey look, Histy! I'm a dude in this world!" The hologram nodded.
"That's nice, Neptune." Histoire bowed deeply. "I thank you three for going along with this plan of mine, and I hope that you will teach them the values of being together." I had to make sure that I hadn't dropped Plutia out of shock. But if I'm this shocked then Ne- Ah. His eyes are frozen. Then how about Bla- She has a thousand yard stare. The tiny woman looked concerned.
"Is there something amiss?" Shaking my head slowly, I planted a kiss on Plutia's forehead, who finally finished her bottle, and I instinctively patted her back, letting her belch.
"No. Not really." What am I saying? My husband leaned over to the hologram.
"Your name is Histoire?" The tiny Histoire nodded, smiling at him.
"Yes, it's nice to meet you, Neptune." Neptune slumped onto the table, stood up, and headed for the kitchen.
"...I'm going to make some food." Wait, but what time is- Oh it's lunch.
"Thanks, honey!" Neptune raised a hand in response as he disappeared past the corner.
"Honey?" Now the hologram was confused. Having lost her piggyback ride, Goddess ran up to Histoire with a giant grin on her face.
"Boy Histy, do I got a yarn to tell! You see…"