After a few minutes of embarrassing myself in public, I calmed down and IF told me the details of the meeting with my sister.
"Now that I'm sure you're the real deal, I'm just going to escort you to the Basillicom and have her deal with the rest." She pulled out her phone and started fiddling with it.
"Wait, right now?" No way right?
"Yeah, I have no doubt she's super anxious to meet you now"
What. I'm not ready yet! I haven't prepared mentally! Plus, I look like some random college girl older sister character right now! I want to go for a more casual 'Wow! I bet she's nice' look! Not to mention Lan is still at the hotel. I definitely want them to meet as soon as possible. Waiting on something like that is bound to cause problems later.
"W-wait! I need to go back to my hotel room and uhhh, pick up something I got for her!" Guess I have to give her something now.
"Oh, Alright. I'll escort you" she starts grabbing her stuff.
Urrghhh, why is she so dutiful!
"That's okay!" I have a feeling letting her meet Lan before my sister does is kind of wrong. "I'm plenty strong, and I'll just be a few minutes. I promise." Please be enough to leave.
She thinks for a minute. "Well, if you want to hide whatever it is that bad…" She can tellllllll! "Then I won't go into the hotel. How about that?"
"Aha-haha-haaa…. That's okay, I guess. "
"I'm sure you just want Neptune the first person to know about it, so I won't pry." She's so understanding, this girl!
"I appreciate it." I breathe a sigh of relief. Ever since we got married, I really wanted my family to be the first people to know about us if we ever found them. It's silly considering we've already been married for 3 years, but it's important to me.
After we pay our bill, we head to the hotel. All the way I'm just asking questions about little things about me, about her, about my family.
"Hmm, I guess I can tell you a little about yourself. I doubt Neptune would be able to answer your questions anyway."
Score! I listen intently as she talks about my former self.
"You were a very….passive girl?" What's with the pause?
"You were very attached to Neptune and would basically follow her everywhere. You spoiled her like mad too. Always helping her get out of work, or doing it for her."
"Whaaaaat? I sound like a pushover!"
"Ahaha, kind of." She looks a little nostalgic as she looks toward the highrises.
"But you were a very kind girl. Always thinking of others and going to far lengths for your friends."
"I see…" Hearing about my old self is a little… weird. It also makes me a little sad? If I had to describe the feeling.
"You were also a pretty quiet gal most of the time, anything more I think you should ask your sister or your old friends."
I guess that's all folks. That's fine though. I learned more than I knew this morning. I can't wait to tell Lan everything! So I was a quiet and proper-like lady… Lan will never believe me when I tell him. I can already hear his response in my head. 'Okay, I believe you' in that weird flat tone of voice.
After chatting for a little bit more about what life in Planeptune is like,we end up in front of the hotel. It isn't anything grand or anything, just a local hotel near the center of the city we got a good deal on.
Lan and I both work decent jobs, he works as a school teacher at the local high school. While I work as a mechanical engineer at a decent firm under their robotics division. It's safe to say we have quite a bit saved up. However, we have quite a few things planned that we need to save up for. So we ended up staying at an average hotel.
"This is the place right?" She walks over near the door and leans up against the wall and pulls out her phone.
"I'll update Neptune about the situation and prepare all the paperwork and bits and bobs we'll need, so go do your thing."
Paperwork? Well, I'll worry about that later! I need to figure out what to do about my husband!
I open the double doors into the hotel and trudge up the stairs to the 3rd floor.
"Hmm, room 324 should be… here it is!" at the end of the hall is the room number on the text Lan sent me.
*Knock knock* "Lannnnn! Your super adorable and lovely wife is hereee!" I hear a thump on the floor followed by an 'owww' and then the footsteps to the door.
"What's the password?"
What. What pass-
"...Password" I heard an audible 'tsk' before the door opened.
"I thought you would take longer than that…" What a cute face of disappointment he has.
"This is like the third time we've had this exchange, you smelly sock left out too long in the sun."
"Really?" He puts his fingers to his chin as he goes deep in thought. He really doesn't have a great memory.
"Yep, don't worry though, It's still funny" I give him a thumbs up and he gives me one back.
"So how was your nappy, dear?"
"Pretty baller if I had to say."
That's pretty high praise.
I head over to my things and start rummaging through my clothes.
"So how did the meeting go? Did you meet your family again?" He sits down on the double bed and asks with his chin resting in his hands.
"Not exactly? But I'm about to go meet my sister now." As I say it I can feel a smile forming on my face.
"For real!?" He gets up and slides over to me, giving me the face I imagine a small child gives when they're about to get candy.
"Tell me all the deets, Lily!"
I sit down on the bed after finding the dress I wanted, and cross my legs and take a pose.
"Well, here's the jist…" I tell him all about the spy lady outside, how I've saved the world, and how I was a mild- mannered, proper woman.
The first two points he completely believed without any proof, but…
"AHAHHAHAHA" Yeah, figured.
"A proper, shy, and bashful woman huh? *snort* hgk… Okay, I believe you." …in an instant his face goes flat along with his tone.
"My wife is nothing short of the most perfect and proper woman that wouldn't stay up late laughing maniacally in the garage programming a robot to twerk."
"It was for science! And it wasn't just twerking! It was doing all kinds of complex movements and moving joints in coordination with each other! You think any random person can program all that and-"
He put his hand up and held my hand mirror in front of me.
"You're getting too excited, babe."
My face was flushed and my eyes were strained while my mouth was slightly twitching.
"How can you tell!?"
"No self-awareness I see, as usual."
He places the mirror down and sighs.
"Well, this is just one of the many things I love about you though."
I can feel my face flushing for a different reason now.
"That's sneaky, saying that while making fun of me." I huff and puff my cheeks in fake protest.
"One of the privileges of being a husband, says the courts."
"I see, then I just have to change the law."
"Good luck with that. I won't give up this privilege easily." He takes his fighting stance.
"Hmph, foolish mortal. You stand no chance against me." I take my stance as well when I suddenly remember my original goal in coming here.
"Oops! Now isn't the time for this! Lan! We need to figure out how to tell my sister about you!"
He looks at me blankly for a few seconds before the same realization hits him.
"Oh crap! This is gonna be like that 'give me your sister' like thing right!?"
You already have me, body and mind though. Ever since our vows you know? Not that I'll say it out loud.
"I don't think…well maybe it will be like that? IF said she was pretty laid-back though. Or maybe she said lazy?"
"Either way, I need to prepare something to say"
"While you do that, I'm gonna get changed. "
I start heading towards the bathroom to change when I turn around.
"Alone" Lan was following close behind trying to act inconspicuous.
"Ughhhh" he drops his arms and trudges over to the bed and flops on it face first.
*Screeeecchh* he makes an interesting sound into the bed and I continue on my own while rolling my eyes.
I close the door and start changing into the dress I chose. It was the same one Lan found me in all those years ago. He fixed it up shortly after I recovered, but I've never been able to wear it.
Not that I've lacked the opportunity or anything. It's just…every time I try to wear it, I remember looking down at my wound. The blood, the sight, the smell, it all comes back to me. Last time I tried was 2 years ago maybe?
I finish changing and look in the mirror.
"Yeah, I look pretty good in this!
It still fits me perfectly. I look good… I look good…
As I sit there staring at myself in the mirror, I can slowly feel my heartbeat quicken and my senses start to grow numb. It feels like my skin is on fire and I feel my stomach churn.
"Oh god…I…wha-" I can feel the visions coming back, the pain, the smell.
I'm not ready.
I don't want to remember.
I can't.
Suh duh, welcome back to my slow descent into madness! IF, to an outsider, I feel like would be super cool. She is like a super secret agent lady with cool weapons and a nice cool business like attitude. I think Lily (should I refer to her as Nepgear? hmm) might be really interested in her. Well, I think anyone would want to hear her stories. As for the end there, I figure she has to have some trauma right? I based it off my own experience so I'm not sure if it's too real, or not real enough? Anyways, there is still a little bit longer until Neptune meets her 'sister' and hahahaha 'brother-in-law' hahahaha. Imagining it makes me laugh.