Help me.

I can't see

My ears are ringing.

Something pulls me in and I can feel it embrace me.

Take a deep breath.I can faintly hear a voice…I can't help but listen to it

*Inhale*

Good job, Lily. Now let go.

*Exhale*

Close your eyes and listen to me.

I do as it says.

You're safe here. No one will harm you. I'm always with you no matter what. Remember that.

I can start to feel hands that feel as if they're patting my head.

Lan…He's right here with me.

I can feel my senses slowly return to me and I see Lan embracing me as he pats my head.

"Lan…" I slowly reach my arms around his back as I return his embrace.

"Do you feel any better, Lily? I can hear his heart beating fast and the worry in his voice.

"Yeah, a little bit." Well, I atleast don't feel like passing out anymore.

"Sorry to worry you." I really didn't want him to feel any more anxious.

He pulls us apart slightly to look me in the eyes.

"Don't worry about how I feel right now! Or how anybody else feels!" His tone was firm but gentle. It caught me off-guard.

"Wha-!? I just didn't want you to worry is all…"

"That's not what I'm talking about." He sighs and runs his hands up and down my arms.

"Why were you trying to wear that dress again?" Why? That's simple.

"I thought maybe she would recognize it and feel more at ease." I wanted to show her that maybe I'm not so different now and she can be comfortable around me.

"That's the issue right there." What does he mean?

"You're not thinking about yourself." What?

"Get changed into something that you're comfortable in. No matter what, this is going to be tough on both of you and maybe awkward. It's unavoidable, no matter what." His eyes are serious and I can feel his grip on me tighten slightly.

His eyes…they're such a deep blue. I feel calm when I look into them.

"Alright…I'll go change." I go to my bag, pick a light pink summer dress with some black tights and head back into the bathroom. I keep one of the D-Pad hair clips in my hair though. I think it looks pretty cute.

Most of the time, Lan is really goofy and always seems sort of confused. However, there are times like these where he does a 180 and becomes focused and observant. I love all the sides he shows me. They all have their own charm to them, and it feels really good knowing all these different parts of him. It's exciting…in many ways.

As I'm thinking about all this, I finish changing and head out into the bedroom. Lan is waiting on the bed, back to his usual demeanor.

"I'm back." After thinking about all that stuff it's really hard to look at him directly. So I'm just standing there twiddling with my fingers and looking at my feet.

He gets up and lifts my face to look at him.

"You look much prettier like this. I've always loved your style" he smiles at me and I can feel my face turn red and my brain start to malfunction.

"Hnnmffnumudubagab" is the only sound I manage to create with my face hole.

"Ohhh, that hairpin looks really cute on you! It feels like a perfect fit!" He looks me up and down and I can almost see his thoughts all over his face. His stupid dumb…cute…handsome face. I just want to squish it.

"Ha!?" I snap back into reality and remember we have to be somewhere. I'm totally not running away! "Time to go!" I grab my bag and dash out of the room. I can hear Lan saying something about cheating as I make it down the hallway.

Once I get outside I take a moment to gather myself.

We've been married for 3 years! You'd think I would be used to him by now.

"Hey."

Get it together, Lily!

"Uhh, hello?"

Wait…Do I even need to get it together? I mean, we are married so…

"Nepgear!"

"Gyaahhhhhh!?" At the sudden shout next to me I threw out a hand chop.

*Smack*

"Guh!?"

It landed right in their face! Great shot! Wait.

"Urgghhhhh" The person who shouted was holding her face and groaning.

"What the hell, Nepgear!?" It was IF. Oopsie.

"Oh goodness! I'm so sorry! I was zoned out!"

"Oof, it's fine. Now I know you weren't kidding about your strength…" She rubs her face one last time before continuing.

"Did you get what you needed?" It's still a little red on her nose.

"Uhh, I guess?" As I'm saying this, Lan runs out of the hotel out of breath.

"D-dammit…" How is he tired from just that? "I fell down the stairs!" Oh.

"Are you alright? Does it hurt anywhere?" I'm about to pull out the first-aid kit in my bag when Lan waves it off.

"Nah. Just a little winded is all." Jeez, I can see the scratches on your elbow. I start getting the kit ready anyway because I know he likes to downplay things.

"Who's this?"

"My husband obviously. Now give me your elbow. Goodness, you can be such a klutz sometimes." As I'm putting the bandage on Lan's wound, I look up and see his face cringing and contorting.

Does it hurt that bad? I quickly finish and put my kit away then turn around to meet face to face with the person I was literally talking to a minute ago.

Ahhhh, Riiiiiighhhht. Hm. I may have made a bit of an oopsie.

Oops. Whoops. That's gonna be a yikes from me dawg. I am very fond of the sound 'Guh!?' Mostly because I can imagine the sound in like 100 ways. Turns out I had more written out than I remember? Which is cool. Well, seems like they slipped up already. I was gonna keep it a secret, but I felt like it would be very typical of them to leak their own secrets. If Lily didn't, Lan would. They just be goofin. Nepgear and Lily are very similar, but different. Well, there was no Neptune to measure up to so. I forgot what I was supposed to say here. I'm sure I'll remember later! (Unlikely)