After what felt like forever, Histoire finally let us go. I'm sure it's only because we were running short on time.
"Ughhh, my legs huuurttt! Mind giving your lovely sister a massage real quick, Jr.?" My dearest sibling had been complaining about it as she was getting ready.
"I don't think we have time right now, Neptune. Maybe after." I still haven't even tried on my dress. Just looking at it, I can tell it's pretty close to the perfect size.
I don't remember ever giving anyone my measurements though? How did Histoire know? Did she know them from before? Guess we'll find out if I've grown or changed since then. I am a little curious.
Hmm? Now that I'm looking, Neptune has two dresses. A small, cute, pink dress with little thick shoulder straps adorned with flowers. Oh, looks like we have matching dresses. That's cute.
The other dress is a more mature looking one with…quite a bit of exposure. It has a dark shade of purple with a simple but gorgeous design. Who is going to wear that?
"Whatcha lookin' at short stuff?" I'm not gonna bother to point out our height difference.
"Who is wearing that purple dress? Was someone else coming?" I kind of want to know who to expect.
"What? Well, me of course!" I slowly narrowed my eyes and raised my eyebrows as I looked between her and the dress. Then I lightly patted her on the shoulder.
*pat pat*
"It's great to have aspirations, Neptune. I'm sure you'll get there one day." Who am I to put a girl down?
"Huh… Why do I suddenly feel like I'm being pitied?" She may be gone, but she isn't lost.
"Um, Nepgear. That dress is for my HDD form. You know, the whole CPU transformation thing?"
Okayyyy?
My thoughts must've been obvious by my face because she just sighed and told me to watch.
Before I knew it, a flashing pillar of light appeared where she was standing. Not a moment later, a much older looking lady had appeared in her stead. She had much longer hair in twin braids, was about as tall as me, and would definitely fit in that dress.
"Do you understand now? All us CPU's can transform like this, including yourself."
I just nodded.
"Haha, I'm sure it's surprising, but try not to worry about it. Now then, I think it's about time you also started getting ready. We don't have a lot of time."
With that, I grabbed my dress and accessories and headed to my old room to change.
The whole time I was getting changed I couldn't stop thinking about it.
"Where did that pillar of light go? It looked like it was phasing through the ceiling and the floor. Does it do that every single time?"
*Some time later*
After rushing a little bit, I was able to get ready in about 30 minutes. I entered the living room to find what I assumed was everyone in their HDD forms.
Woah. I thought they were all pretty before but, I feel a little like a fish out of water here.
They all had wonderful dresses, accessories, and makeup that really gave off an air of beauty and authority.
They seem pretty used to this.
"Ah, Nepgear. You're here! Excellent! Then let's hurry! We have to head to the conference hall immediately!" I just stepped into the room and Histoire was already hurrying me.
She rushed us all into the elevator. Luckily, Blanc and her sisters went ahead of us, so there was just enough room for the rest of us.
…It's still pretty cramped though. Plus, Uni is right next to me. It makes me…
"Nervous?" She seemed to finish my thoughts and it caused me to inadvertently jump a little.
She was wearing a nice black ankle length dress that, like the others, gave her a mature look.
Her lips had a deep shade of crimson, maybe as dark as blood even. Looks like she lost the fight with Noire over the earrings though, because she wasn't wearing any.
"Nepgear? You're staring pretty hard. Are you maybe mesmerized by me?" She smirked while she whispered.
"N-no." I was able to stammer out, but it wasn't entirely untrue.
I mean, she was very pretty. Even though I could tell it was her, her HDD form seemed like a different person. Which also contributed to my nervousness.
"Want me to hold your hand? Maybe it'll help." She gave my hand a little nudge with her own.
!
"Just kidding." She pulled her hand away and stuck her tongue out at me.
…Okay, she is way more forward in her HDD form. I can feel my whole body heating up. Please let this be over soon.
Over it was, as the elevator dinged and the door opened.
"Aww, over already? Well, we can chat a lot later I'm sure." With that we all left the elevator and headed to the conference room.
…Wait, wasn't she going to call me Lily from now on? Well, whatever. I don't have time to worry about that right now. I have to get ready for my introduction. It's okay. It'll be no different from defending my thesis I'm sure. Except, with way more people, no research, no project…no 50 hours of practice…
"Wah!?" Just then I felt a cold sensation on my neck.
"Well hey there gorgeous, looks like you could use a delicious beverage."
It was Lan!
"Lan! Thank goodness you're here! I don't know if I can go out there in front of an entire country, let alone the entire world!" Maybe I can get him to kidnap me? That's a great idea!
He handed me a sweet tea and placed his hands gently on my shoulders.
"Hey, you know damn well that you can do this. I've seen you lead plenty of seminars on topics that I couldn't even begin to understand. Sure, most of those you practice for days. However, this time the subject is something you already have a great understanding of."
"...I mean, I guess…" I have been writing a journal every day since the doctor recommended it.
"You saying you don't remember everything we've done together?" The idea of it seemed to even make him sad.
"Of course I remember! There's no way I'd ever forget! In fact, at this point it might even be hardcoded into my DNA!" Hmph! Who does he think he married?
He smiled at me and brought our foreheads together.
"See? Think of it as a quiz about what we've been doing together. If you look at it like that there's no way it will even be a challenge."
Oh. I suppose that is what this is? They are just going to want to know what I've been up to for the last five years.
"Hahaha!" He pulled us apart and cupped my cheeks in his hands.
"You are the most talented, smart, and beautiful woman I have ever met. The face you make when you come up with a solution is probably my favorite one. It's so cute how your face lights up."
Wha-
I can feel my face burning up and my eyes swimming around.
"Did I mention you look absolutely stunning in that dress? I feel like they nailed it with this one. I can't help but feel like it was obvious you were a goddess from the start. There's no way someone could be this perfect."
I end up just looking down and twiddling my fingers.
"Nepgear! Come on! We're going to be late!" Seems Neptune is calling for me.
"Alright, time to kick ass. I'll be right on the side just off stage to support you."
He gives me a quick kiss on the cheek and pulls me along by the hand as we go together to the conference room.
"Mm." Is all I can manage to say.
What's with this guy!? I love him!? Can I marry him!? Wait! We are married! I did it!
Does he know I love him this much? If he doesn't he will tonight! Hugs and kisses galore!
Can we skip this part and go straight to the hotel?
I can hardly think straight right now!
"Ow!" Suddenly, I felt a pinch on my right side.
It was Uni! "What was that for!?"
She looked at me and then looked forward, I followed her line of sight.
Neptune was at a podium gesturing for me to come up there.
What!? She wants me to tell everyone about Lan? Who am I to refuse!?
I grab the mic and just as I'm about to scream everything in my heart, I regain my senses.
T-that could have been really ba-
Just then, I notice something in my peripherals.
Lan is looking at me while doing a little pump-up dance.
It isn't much, just him moving side to side pumping his fists.
…..Well, I tried to hold back.
I run over to him and grab his arm to bring him on stage.
Everyone except Neptune had their mouths agape.
"This wonderful specimen here is my husband! Lan!" I made a gesture as if I was showing off my newest creation as I introduced him.
He was just standing there with a skateboard in his arms. Mouth stammering. So cute.
"Look! He is bewildered! It's so cute!" At this point, he covers his face with his board. Where did that even come from? Oh well! Doesn't matter!
"He made our wedding bands out of rare materials he mined himself! I showed off my ring to the camera and the audience.
"Whenever we travel anywhere, he brings my favorite tea blends and makes them for me every morning! He always takes care of me whenever I get engrossed in my workshop! He always puts me first! His slight possessiveness of me also cute!" I kept going, and going. I had to get it all out so everyone knew!
"The look on his face right now that says he is immensely embarrassed is the cutest! The fact that if I give him a cutesy apology while cuddling up to him will make him forgive me is adorable! He's the love of my life and I can't wait for you all to get to know him!"
*pant* *pant*
I basically said it all in one breath. Phew…I hope they get it!
…
…
…What have I done?
I snap back out of my fervor and realize what I just said.
I look to the audience, they're dumbfounded.
I look back to the girls, they're horrified.
I look over at Lan, he attempted a kickflip and almost fell.
…I don't know what to do…
Lan and I lock eyes as we try to figure out what to do.
It isn't how we wanted to do it, but it happened? Yeah, I guess he's right.
I nod lightly at him as I look down at my ring finger.
That's right. We're married! I didn't want to hide it anyway!
I giggle to myself as I imagine everything we've already been through in these last few days.
What's a little more trouble?
Almost in unison, the crowd begins to murmur.
"Matching rings…" Is what I can gather.
"Grinning at it…" Hm? This pattern seems familiar?
"They communicate with their eyes too!" Getting a reeeaall thick sense of deja vu here…
"They really are married!" The whole room is filled with this scream and I have to cover my ears.
I couldn't help but give my own scream. "So everyone has to do this huh!?"
Oh golly! I didn't see that coming either! I was planning on Lan coming in and killing it. Well, probably just embarrassing himself. After the whole inspiration part, I just couldn't imagine Lily being able to calm down. I imagined it something like when she really gets engrossed in something and her emotions and brain are kind of out of sync. She was so lost in her own fantasy world with Lan, she forgot she was in reality hahaha. Good effort Uni, she made some pretty decent plays out there today. The problem is, her opponent has already completely captured the flag and put Gauss turrets around it. Also, I moved the fic to T because I don't plan on writing anything too spicy. I'll probably only ever make suggestive comments or something. I mean, they are married. It is inevitable. Just like it is inevitable that I never stick to my own script. Anyway, *kickflips into a wall causing our atoms to fuse ultimately creating several atomic explosions* Yeah, I just learned how to do that.