Sisters Resolve

"As you wish." The voice of Purple Heart echoed across the rooftop and the sound of boosters signaled their take off.

Behind the entrance wall a very similar looking girl finally lost the feeling in her legs and slipped down to the ground. She felt incredibly hot like she had just entered a sauna. She swallowed to wet her dry throat.

"Sorry for eavesdropping mini-me." Ultra Neptune apologized quietly. She had just heard something really private. And it was all this ladybug monster's fault!

She glared at the fist sized bug that was resting on the railing in front of her. Her bug net was carelessly placed next to her. After chasing this little creature all the way up to the roof she had heard the doors opening and then the fireworks started. In the last second before she would have come out she realized who had come up here for a little romantic private viewing.

"They sure are dramatic though." She scratched her cheek and exhaled. Not that it was any of her business.

"I think I'm gonna throw up…" Croire said from inside the Nep-Note placed in her dress pocket. She was referring to what she had to listen to a few moments ago.

"I won't feed you anymore if you do Crosty."

"All I'm gettin' is weird insects you have doubles of anyways!" Croire retorted rebelliously.

"What do you like then?" Big Nep wasn't going to indulge this feisty tome girl, but she was curious.

"Human souls." Croire replied darkly with an evil cackle.

"Well, I'll catch you for sure this time ladybugger!" Big Nep rose up and swooshed the net across the rail. The ladybug used its insect reflexes to fly off and escape by an antenna's breadth.

"Ignored?!" Croire exclaimed.

A few hours before the fireworks show had begun.

Sandals pressed into the dirt-covered path next to the woods. Below the trees' crowns and branches the light of the festival seemed like an illusion, so distant and faint. The noise of the masses chattering and laughing was numb to her ears. Each step of her feet made the cords of her sandal brush across her dainty toes and created ever so slight burning sensations.

She slowed down for the first time in minutes. The pain wasn't too bad, but she had lost orientation and had to carefully look where she had ended up. Planeptune wasn't completely familiar to her yet and the forest was rather dark.

From the corner of her eyes she noticed the lanterns similar to the ones she had seen at the entrance area. If they were indeed the same then maybe she could slip away and leave without anybody noticing!

Finally… she could run away.

"…!?" Uni held her forehead. The image of an imposing figure had just flashed past her mind. The elegant and superior sister that was watching with contemptuous eyes. So very opposite to those she had been watched with just a short while ago.

She knew that Noire was not like that. Her apology had been heartfelt and real, that much was sure. What Miss Blanc had said cut deeper into both of them than she had thought, but her reply was honest as well. She was not angry at her sister at any point in time.

The only one she was angry with was herself.

And that is why this person flashed before her eyes once again. It wasn't Noire that was glaring at her like she was a piece of trash. That vision was…

"Don't… run away…. Anymore." Uni held her head and bit her lip.

This was the opportunity presented to her by her sister. This festival was her last chance to face her problems head on. She had long since understood that fact. Running away would mean crossing that line for good. Her weak heart wanted to close off and just end it already, but her mind was shooting out strings of steel to anchor her to this place. What would it be?

A wooden floor pressed against her chest… the floodlights above blinded her weary eyes… Her face entered the tiny space of her squinted vision… Purple locks flowing across her face… And an even more blinding smile… Softness enveloped her hurting body…

Uni snapped back into reality. These memories of that day on the stage were haunting her. Were comforting her. If she trusted in them she might be able to do it. Just one more time she would overcome her weak heart and face the pain.

Sluggishly she moved her legs again, away from the entrance.

Nepgear caught her breath and supported her arms on her legs while leaning forward. She had known it was impossible to catch up to Uni who had a head start. Especially while wearing this restrictive yukata. She opened one eye and scanned the festival stalls around her to catch a glimpse of that silken black hair anywhere. But there was no sign of the younger Lastation sister.

"Why are you running from me?" Nepgear clutched her chest and looked down woefully. She had failed at getting slowly closer to Uni and just ran after her the first chance she got. Her instincts had overwhelmed her completely. After seeing that sad expression on her face she simply couldn't hold back.

With directionless steps she walked through the crowd and kept a lookout for any signs of Uni. On the way she met familiar faces, but whenever she inquired about her friend she got nothing useful. Nobody had seen her. Could she perhaps have gone home already?

Nepgear shook her head. Noire had said that Uni would not run away today. More importantly, she had told Nepgear to help her out. That wasn't something she would usually do, so she knew how serious the situation was.

"I only want to talk." She looked up at the darkening sky that was giving way to the night. The moon had already risen and some stars became visible. The long festival day was about to come to a close.

"Oomph!" Distracted by the beautiful sky above, Nepgear hadn't noticed where she was going and accidentally bumped into someone. They collided with a squishy sound and fell in opposite directions. Due to Nepgear's impractical clothing she was unable to catch herself and was about to crash on her butt, but in the last second the person she had collided with grabbed her arm. She was easily pulled back up and straightened.

"Whoops, sorry about that Gearsy." Uzume apologized with a wry smile and a fried octopus tentacle hanging out of the corner of her mouth. "You okay?" Her head tilted to the side as she noticed Nepgear's sullen look.

"It's my fault! I didn't pay attention." Nepgear took the blame instead and bowed her head. She didn't reply to the question though.

"I crash into people all the time, so it's no biggie." Uzume scratched her face with her index finger and laughed. It was true that whenever she jumped dimensions she tended to land in the worst spots. Whether that was Croire's silent payback or just the rule for dimensional travel was unclear.

Nepgear was somehow feeling a lot calmer after seeing her casual attitude. She thought it couldn't hurt to ask. "Did you see Uni pass by here?"

"Unisy? Nope. Didn't see her all day. Was she even here?" Uzume's orange eyes widened in surprise.

"Yes, she was…" Nepgear sighed. Still no luck.

"If she was hangin' with anyone I figured it would be you." The red-head said and chewed on the remaining food before gulping it all down.

"Not really." Gear averted her gaze.

Now Uzume knew something was up. Nepgear wasn't the type to be evasive like that unless it was something really troubling her or something embarrassing. The latter was out of the question with such a somber expression.

"Wanna take a rest with me for a bit?" Uzume asked cheerfully.

"…okay." Nepgear nodded after a few hesitating seconds. It didn't look like she would find Uni by randomly walking around the lanes anyway.

The duo moved farther away from the crowd and soon hit the playground area where the kids were usually playing. Not too long ago the twins had been crashing through here as well. C-sha had finally managed to pull her bust out of the tiny tunnel as well (with some gleeful help of Blanc's sandaled foot).

Now that the majority was either back on the festival or getting spots for the fireworks viewing area the place was empty. Uzume naturally sat down on one of the swings. Nepgear smiled understandingly and sat down on the other one. It had been ages since she had used one of these.

While Uzume was whipping back and forth, Nepgear stayed still and let the evening breeze brush over her. Swinging in a yukata wasn't going to work very well, but she also felt like resting still for a while.

"This is pretty awesome!" Uzume declared as she reached a dizzying height and came ever so close to making a complete turnaround on the metal bar.

"Can I ask you for advice Uzume?" Nepgear asked with a complex voice.

"What?!" Uzume actually lost grip on the chains and flew off the seat! In a big arc she landed in the sand ahead and rolled over to brake her fall. "You want my advice?" She asked and raised her dirtied face from the ground.

"No good?" Nepgear didn't want to impose her troubles on her if she didn't feel like it.

"Nah, it's great! I'm always ready to lend an ear to a friend." Uzume brushed off the sand and dirt and walked back to the swing with a nervous motion. "S-so what's the problem?" She clearly tried to sound cool and big sisterly.

"It's about my relationship with Uni." Nepgear said while looking at her feet and lightly swinging back and forth.

"You mean being best friends?" The red-head pursed her lips. "Did you have a fight?"

"A fight? It's not like that." If they had then she could have just apologized and they would already be back together. Uni often got angry at Nepgear for mistakes and Nepgear apologized to make up. The raven haired girl was always back to normal after a short while. "It's about the confession."

"GEH?!" Uzume hit her head on the chain that held up the swing. She apparently had not seen that coming (both the chain and the words out of Gear's mouth). "C-confession? Who confessed to whom?" She gulped.

"Uni confessed…. To me." Nepgear said with a tinge of red on her face.

"I s-see." Uzume looked ahead into the lampposts light with a flustered expression while rubbing the red line on her face from her previous impact. "So you declined or somethin'?"

"No. I didn't get a chance to reply yet." Nepgear said quietly.

"So… you want my opinion on your answer?" She seemed to feel the pressure now.

"I wanted to confess back."

"Really?! T-then that's perfect, right?" Uzume was visibly relieved.

"I wish it was." Nepgear played with her loose bangs. "Uni is dodging me. I think she regrets what she said at the play. Maybe it was a misunderstanding."

"A-what-now?" Uzume didn't follow.

"Uni was in a bad state at the time. I'm not sure she even recognized me. Maybe she didn't want to confess to me at all." Nepgear spilled her doubts with a gradual increase in speed. "And because she didn't want to confess to me she now feels bad whenever I corner her. Maybe I am the only one who feels this way! But Uni is afraid that I might see her in a bad light now, so she avoids me."

The cicadas were chirping in the short pause of Nepgear's monologue. She was sorting out the feelings while Uzume kept silent to give her time.

"If… if my feelings endanger our friendship, then I don't want them!" Nepgear said with moist eyes. "I want to be by Uni's side, but I don't want to bother her. Even if her confession wasn't a mistake, she doesn't want this change, so I can't force it on her. That would be so selfish." She shut her eyes.

"So what are ya planning to do? Hide your feelings from her?" Uzume asked calmly.

"I don't know!" She felt so lost.

"Man, I really don't get love and all that complicated stuff at all." Uzume sighed and rubbed her neck. Then she moved her legs over the seat and faced Nepgear. "But I know when you gotta stop bottling up your feelings! They'll burst out anyway in the future, so why make it more painful than it needs to be?!"

"But-"

"If Unisy doesn't wanna hear them then that's her problem. That's not what your feelings are about." Her determined eyes caught Nepgear forcefully and didn't let her interject. "You'll have to confront those feelings! And you gotta do it with Unisy and nobody else! If she rejects your honest feelings then so be it! At least they will have been heard!"

Nepgear gasped. She felt like Uzume's words were all hitting something hard inside her chest and loosened it up until it cracked.

"W-won't it hurt?" She asked with a fading voice.

"It'll hurt more if you keep it locked inside. Listen to me." Uzume grabbed her hands tightly. "If you hide your real thoughts from her wouldn't your friendship be caught in lies? Is that what you want?"

"M-maybe I-"

"There's no way in hell you want something like that!" Uzume squeezed her hands and looked at her with fiery eyes. "Real friends don't do that. You have to speak your mind and if that ain't enough you need to let your fists speak until everything is clear!" She raised her fist above her head. "Give her a punch of your feelings until she can't dodge anymore. Then you'll both see what your relationship will become."

Nepgear was stunned. Uzume's words were clumsy, but she had expressed exactly what she felt deep inside. This was the power of a 'punch of her feelings', huh?

She wiped the moistness from the corners of her eyes and then smiled back at her friend.

"You are actually really wise." She remarked with honest belief.

"M-me?" Uzume was taken aback.

"You said you don't understand love, but you definitely understood my heart better than I did." She chuckled.

Uzume was flustered from the compliment and hastily moved her head all over the place before finally standing up and doing an overly self-confident pose.

"That was pretty cool advice, huh?" She grabbed her chin and smirked uncertainly.

"You are the coolest Uzume." Nepgear replied wholeheartedly.

"Kahahaha." Uzume laughed embarrassedly with a pounding heart. "Gearsy is the impressive one here."

"Thanks for everything! I need to find someone, so see you later!" Nepgear got up and started running towards the direction of the festival. Now her eyes were finally looking focused again.

"Love…" Uzume felt like something inside her was cheering those two on since a long time ago. Well now she would do it twice as hard then!

Most visitors were already headed for the fireworks display. It wasn't long anymore until they would cover the sky in countless colorful flowers. Nepgear was running through the empty lanes and past the torches that had been placed to give the place a warm and inviting atmosphere.

Out of all the places that she could find Uni at she knew that it had to be somewhere that nobody else would venture around this time. But the stalls were still open and some merchants were going to pack up only after the fireworks were done, so she couldn't imagine that she would hang out around the main plaza or the city block.

Then there were only two places left. The meadow and the forest.

She had hit an intersection that split the path into two directions. This was her last opportunity. If she didn't find Uni soon she would go home after the fireworks were over.

To her surprise she actually noticed another person walking along the edge of the festival grounds. It was a girl in a familiar white jacket that was busy straightening out her witch hat that had been so cruelly crushed by the hands of a certain CPU.

"MAGES.?" Nepgear called out to her.

"Hm? Why, if it isn't assistant Nr. 2. It is truly fortunate that our paths cross once more. After the organizations send its executor to silence us I had feared the worst."

"I'm terribly sorry about Miss Blanc's short temper, but I am in a hurry right now." The purple haired girl had to cut their conversation short. "Have you seen Uni anywhere?"

"Assistant Nr. 1's kin? Curious." MAGES. stretched her hat and put it back on. It looked almost as good as normal again. "I have indeed witnessed her venturing into the maws of the dark forest." She pointed towards the woods behind them.

"The forest?" Nepgear looked in the direction of the trees with a confused expression.

"A great burden seemed to plague her shoulders. Such is the step of someone who is facing the precipice of destiny." She crossed her arms knowingly.

Nepgear clasped her hands together and exhaled.

"Thank you!" She shouted and ran forwards.

"You're welcome. My services are always- Such swift steps." She interrupted herself as she had noticed Nepgear was already disappearing into the darkness. It seemed her guidance was not needed any longer. She smiled to herself and sauntered towards the direction of the fireworks display.

Nepgear's sandals got easily stuck in the soft dirt and the roots, but she struggled through it without care. The forest was indeed exceptionally dark around this time and the only beaten path was soon turning into a leaf covered labyrinth. No torches or lampposts had been placed here. Only the moon peaking through the leaves above gave her some much needed illumination.

Nepgear gasped a few times and wiped the sweat from her face while pushing aside low hanging branches. There was not much time left.

[The fireworks show will begin in 20 seconds. Please focus your eyes on the Planeptunian sky everyone!]

5pb.'s voice rang through the woods from a distant speaker. Nepgear's blood froze over in fear. Those words might as well have been a slap to the face for her.

[5, 4, 3, 2….1… GO!]

Colorful flashes sprayed through the forest and the whizzing and crackling of fireworks reached the CPU candidates ears. Glows of red, blue, green and yellow were creating shadows between the woodwork and illuminated the path ahead.

More desperate than before Nepgear started sprinting ahead, hoping the path would lead to the correct destination. If she was unlucky she might even be returning to the festival grounds right now.

"Uni!" She yelled through the forest.

Outside the forest, at the other side of the meadow, Uni was staring up at the bountiful enticing shapes. Each firework bloomed in lively fires and then extinguished with a final ephemeral spark.

Her mind was groggily absorbing the display above. She felt so incredibly tired. Her red eyes were sparking up with each reflected explosion, but the real spark of her soul was starting to fade.

Nepgear… was not coming. She had not managed to stay at the festival, but she wanted to give her friend the chance to find her until the very end. If she really wanted to confront Uni and hurt her once more… then she would have to remember this spot. Uni had been surprised to find that this was a familiar place. She had expected not to recognize anything in this area, but the wall she was sitting on was different.

"Haah…" She sighed with the fading warmth of the evening. The fireworks were starting to slow down. It had been going on for a while now, so she knew that the event was as good as over. Maybe she would have enjoyed it more if she was with everyone else. Now she just felt like the sky was becoming as empty as her heart.

BOOM.

A last straggling firework exploded into a star shape and then faded away.

The festival… was over.

She hadn't come.

"Why am I feeling relief?" Uni clawed her fingers into her legs. "Nepgear…"

"Yes?" Nepgear was leaning over the wall and looked up to her questioningly.

"WAAAAAAH!" Uni fell off the small wall and landed face-first in the grass.

"Goodness!" Nepgear climbed up and jumped down again to help her up.

"Y-y-you found me?!" Uni ignored the grass stuck to her face and looked at her friend in stupor.

"I almost didn't." Nepgear smiled sheepishly. "The fireworks were making everything visible to me though, so I saw this place from inside the forest." Of course she only entered the forest, because MAGES. had told her about it.

"You… didn't know why I was here?" Uni squinted her eyes in exasperation.

"Is there something special about this wall?" Nepgear tilted her head innocently.

"It's the ruins of the former ASIC factory we destroyed and where you…" Uni bit her tongue. "N-nevermind."

"?" Nepgear didn't seem to remember.

"So you found me." Uni crossed her arms trying to look unperturbed. "What do you want?"

"You are going to hear me out this time?" Nepgear asked seriously.

"If… if I feel like it." Uni wanted to punch herself for being so dishonest.

The night had turned silent. All fireworks had been used up. The lights in the city in the distance were going out as well. Only the stars bore witness to the two girls' critical moments. Purple and black were standing as opponents once more. But what they were fighting for was not equally clear as their positions might suggest.

"Uni, back on the stage, during the play, you told me something before you fainted. Do you remember those words?" The purple haired girl asked with a calm expression.

"…yes." Uni admitted with shaking lips.

"Did you mean it?"

Silence. Gazes intermingling. Painful seconds marching across the fields of time.

"It doesn't matter." Uni finally answered with a pained look.

"Why would you say that?" Nepgear didn't understand.

"It doesn't matter what I say, right? You want to tell me your answer either way." Uni hated herself for being such a coward…

"You are right!" Nepgear put one hand to her own chest. "I need to tell you how I feel about it, even if you don't want to hear it." She channeled Uzume's advice into her feelings.

"…urgh…" Uni grinded her teeth and started to breath shallowly. She was panicking. But she had decided to bear the pain one more time! Using her willpower she stopped her shaking and looked ahead into Nepgear's determined eyes. She nodded.

"You said that you love me. Thought that you love me. I wondered if you were really sure about it or if it was a misunderstanding."

If it had been a misunderstanding then Uni would have been justified in feeling such terrible fear?

"First I want to say that I was really surprised." Nepgear explained with a distant expression. "I didn't know that you felt that way about me."

"B-but you aren't even sure if I meant it though." Uni's lower lip twitched.

"You are right. That really made me unsure of everything." Nepgear smiled. "But I realized that it doesn't matter." Now Uni's words were thrown back at her! Just like Uni said her true feelings didn't matter, Nepgear said that her true meaning didn't matter.

They agreed? But Uni felt her heart freeze over. She didn't think Nepgear would actually say the same thing. Did that mean she…?

"The truth is that I wanted to tell you something after the play either way. Your confession caught me off-guard. But it didn't change my own feelings."

Nepgear opened her eyes and looked directly at Uni. The distant sounds were growing silent and the rustling trees close-by seemed to be frozen in time.

"Uni! For the longest time I have been in love with you!" She shouted into the silent night.

Uni was hit so hard by the words that she actually felt her knees give in for a moment and she had to catch herself from falling over. With a light head she tried to process the words she had hoped to hear so many times… the words she had feared to hear so many times. Heat was rising up to her face and her eyes. She wanted to cry. She wanted to bawl so badly!

"…" But she kept it in. She kept everything in and forced strength into her limbs. Steel. Her mind and body were peerless steel.

Nepgear on the other hand was fidgeting around and breathing heavily after the declaration. She was completely red from her chin to her nose. At the same time she felt incredibly liberated, having finally given those feelings form.

"You… love me." Uni repeated hollowly. "Are you sure about that?"

"Yes." Nepgear was giving her such an affectionate look. Truly her love was written across her face. How had Uni never noticed this before?

"How stupid." She said as she massaged her eyes with the tips of her fingers.

"Eh?"

"You actually loved me for a long time?" Uni asked with barely hidden anger.

"I didn't realize it until some time ago. I am sorry for not understanding these feelings at first."

Nepgear genuinely apologized to her! How could she…?! How was there anybody so kind in this world?

"I need to say one more thing. Even if it is embarrassing after I said what you meant doesn't matter…" Nepgear tapped her index fingers against each other in a cute pose.

"W..hat… is … it?" Uni was barely holding together.

"Will you go out with me?"

The words echoed across the meadow. Uni imagined them spreading across the entire world and then rebounding to gather back at this little spot they were standing in. Her heart couldn't take any more of this….

"I refuse!" She closed her eyes and yelled such towards Nepgear. Her fists were clenched.

"…!" Nepgear was in stupor. She certainly hadn't expected Uni to blow up like this.

And those sad eyes she gave her… how… how infinitely painful. Uni could not bear to look at her anymore without losing her will.

"I see." Nepgear slowly processed her reply. "So you didn't have the same feelings for me. I thought that might be the case." She took it rather well.

No. She didn't. Uni had heard the vibrations in her voice.

She looked up. Nepgear… that sweet girl in front of her was shivering, holding back her tears.

Don't cry! Don't cry please! Her mind screamed.

"I am happy…. That I could tell you my feelings anyway." Nepgear smiled with those moist eyes-

"I love you too damn it!" Uni broke. "I have loved you way longer than I can even remember! So many times I chickened out when I wanted to tell you!" Uni threw her hands to the sides and let her feelings run rampant.

"Y-you… l-love…?" Nepgear was stuck between sadness and happiness now and couldn't even tell left from right anymore.

"I wanted to tell you so badly…! When we were together. When we were separated. When you looked ahead and left me behind….I always always always wanted to be there at your side!"

Nepgear watched Uni's waterfall of honest emotions with a spinning head. Was she allowed to be happy? But why then!

"Why don't you want to be together then?!" She questioned with uncertain feelings.

Uni sank to her knees, finally unable to stand anymore.

"I don't deserve you!" She said with tears spilling from her red eyes.

Nepgear's irises shrank in shock.

"I'm… terrible… hicc… You don't deserve to be dragged down by my horribleness. I was envious of you… I was mean to you. I used you!" Uni punched the ground with her shaking fist.

"That's not true-"

"It is!" Uni sniffed and grunted in self-hatred. "And I am a coward. Not just because I never told you how I felt. Because I was afraid of your reply!"

"T-that is normal. I was also afraid."

"No… I knew that I would reject you if you said that you loved me too." Uni didn't feel like she was allowed to look up anymore, so she faced the grass below. "But even so I was afraid of being rejected as well!" She shouted. "How stupid, right?! The monster that would hurt you so badly was afraid of being hurt herself!" She laughed self-derisively.

It hurt. Why did it hurt so much? Had she really resolved herself to this pain? How foolish was her past self to think this was bearable? She should have just run away after all.

Slap

A hot stinging pain covered Uni's cheek. It caught her off guard, so she didn't even realize that she had been hit into the face. After a few seconds of tumbling back and being straddled by Nepgear she finally perceived reality again.

"Stop!" Nepgear said with an angry expression as tears ran down her face as well.

Strangely enough Uni's tears dried up the instant she had been hit and she could not leave this weird state of numbness. Her hand moved in slow-motion as she almost robotically tried to push Nepgear off. The attempt was so weak it didn't even register on the purple haired girl's mind.

"Stop hating yourself!" Nepgear implored her with all her being. "Before I came here I thought so so so much about this moment! All the ways this could play out. I wanted to try and imagine what I would say to your answer. I was imagining how happy or sad I would be. Having my feelings rejected would be painful, I definitely knew that, but I needed to express them." She held Uni down by the arms.

Uni didn't respond.

"I said to myself… if you thought I am not good enough." Nepgear stopped her tears and forced an unstable smile. "Then… I wondered to myself, if maybe we could at least stay Best Friends Forever?"

"Friends…" Uni said curiously as if the word was a weird concept she never heard before.

"But! If the reason you reject me is that you don't like yourself… that you think you are not good enough for me!" Nepgear let go of Uni's arms. Then she softly pulled her up and embraced her. "Then let's be Best Girlfriends Forever instead!"

Uni was lost in that warmth. How could any one person be this soft and warm? She wanted to fade into this feeling. Her eyes slowly closed as she heard Nepgear's shallow breathing at her ear.

"I am a coward." Uni repeated slowly.

"Then I will be brave for you!"

"I am a terrible person."

"Then I will straighten you out!"

"I used you…"

"Then I will let myself be used by you!"

"If we stay together you will be tarnished by the future me… the one who can't accept this outcome. It will hurt even more."

"Nothing hurts me more than being apart from you." Nepgear whispered while rubbing Uni's back gently.

Uni looked into the distance past Nepgear's strong shoulder. She saw that image of her future self again, looking at her in contempt. To be perfect, to surpass her sister, to be the one who would lead Lastation into a better future, she would need to abandon all ties. Noire had accepted her imperfections and wanted to work together, but what Uni had done all her life was to follow behind her. To stop following, her only path was to move past her.

Nepgear was the one she loved.

If she wanted to be a greater leader than Noire she would have to be untouchable. Never become too close to the other nations.

She loved Nepgear.

If she gave up on this core desire of hers, the one she had created out of a lacking sense of pride and self-worth… if she abandoned her aspirations, what would be left of her?

Someone who loved Nepgear.

"Is it okay to love you?" Uni asked with a frail voice.

"I don't know. But I want it to be okay." Nepgear replied and slowly undid their embrace.

They were so close that their noses could almost touch.

"Can we be together?" Uni asked with a longing expression.

"Yes."

"Can we… be together forever?" Uni wanted to know.

"Yes."

"Can we…. Kiss?" Uni blushed.

Nepgear didn't reply. Instead she slowly pressed her lips on Uni's mouth. It was short and tender, nothing extreme or passionate. Almost just a peck, like a mother would give to her child.

"Ehehe. I kissed you." Nepgear said with a beaming smile and wiped her leftover tears away with her sleeve.

This timid, yet brave girl was Uni's everything right now. If there was any person who could honestly look at this cute and amazing girl and not love her then Uni would never understand them.

"I am very spoiled, so I will demand a lot of k-kisses… and o-other stuff." She said embarrassedly, finally returning to her senses. The pain of her cheek was outdone by the heat of her forehead and lips.

"What 'stuff'?" Nepgear asked almost mischievously. That was also an aspect of her that only very few people got to see. Uni felt privileged and afraid for having a girlfriend like that.

"Y-you know!" She dodged the question and tried to turn away, but she was unable to move with Nepgear on her lap.

"Like video-games?" Nepgear was still playing dumb.

"Yes! We need to make up for all the lost time." Uni pointed at Nepgear's chest with a stretched out finger. Even though the reason they had not done anything together for so long was her own cowardice…

"I said no hating yourself anymore!" She poked Uni's nose.

"Hey! I didn't even say anything!"

"I can tell." Nepgear put her hands on her hips and smiled. "Because I'm your lover now."

"I d-di-didn't agree to that yet!"

"Will you be my lover?" She asked immediately, without letting Uni room to escape.

"….yes." She backed down almost instantly. For some reason she felt like Nepgear had total control over her right now.

"I am happy." And thus Nepgear rewarded her with another kiss. This time it was a lot longer.

'Me too.' Uni thought to herself secretly.

Behind the wall on the other side, someone was trying not to breathe. It was a very important maneuver that she had been performing for almost ten minutes now. Amazing what desperation could enable someone to do.

A fist sized ladybug was lazily resting on top of a brick that hung out of the wall close-by. This creature was the reason for the eavesdropper's predicament. During the fireworks she had followed this darn thing through the forest and ended up here on the meadow. But as she chased it down the hill she tripped and landed behind a small wall of a ruined factory. When she wanted to get up she had suddenly heard Nepgear's and Uni's voices.

At first she wanted to get up anyway and greet them, but then all this really dramatic stuff was said and with each passing second she wanted to be swallowed by the earth more!

'How did I get an earful of both pairs today?' Like, was this lucky or unlucky? What was even the probability of this?

"G-get off of me already, I can't feel my legs anymore!" Uni said with embarrassment permeating her voice.

"Sorry~" Nepgear didn't sound very apologetic. They didn't exchange words for a while, but then the Planeptune sister spoke up again. "I don't really feel sleepy… so do you want to play something at home?" She asked back to normal again.

"You say that after making me almost faint…" Uni whispered barely audible.

"Hm?"

"Okay! Then let's go to my place. I have a new game that I didn't touch, because I was alone."

"Did you want to play it with me?"

"A-as if!"

"So cute."

They were already flirting it seemed.

Ultra Neptune sighed. So they would finally leave. She might be able to breathe again.

'My place'?

Big Nep put the dots together that created a drawing of an alarm bell inside her mental canvas. 'My place' in Uni's case was the Lastation Basilicom.

The place where Neptune and Noire were currently….

"Can you still fly or should I carry you?" Nepgear asked with worry.

"I can fly myself! I am not that weak!"

"I know you can be strong when you push yourself too much. I like that about you too."

The blushing almost made an audible noise. And then two pillars of light went above the wall.

"STOP!" Ultra Nep jumped over the wall and raised her hands in a panic.

"Eh?"

"N-neptune?"

The girls were looking at her as if they had seen a ghost. Clearly yet too dumbfounded to realize that she had gotten a good listen of their emotional scene.

"Hello, it's me Neptune." She said casually. "Don't got to Unisy's place!"

"Why?"

"…it's a secret." She winked with a sweaty face.

Things only got more complicated from here onward.

As the festival came to a close and people went home a trio of never-do-wells was gathering on a bench.

"Did you get good pictures Steamax?" Affimojas asked coolly.

"Yes, General. Many yukatas and much more." The ninja pulled out a SD-card with the requested material out of his arm camera.

"Glorious. This should be enough to create the new line. It will allow us to self-publish my biography and your ninja guide book for socially awkward shinobi."

Steamax nodded. His mind was distracted by something else. He handed the memory card to the golden robot, but mid-air it was snatched away by the hand of RED.

"Yay! Thanks robo-pals. You aren't too bad; for guys anyway." She saluted and then stuffed the SD-card into the cleavage of her red yukata. "See ya!" She happily skipped across the side-walk.

"Hm." Affimojas stared ahead blankly. "You don't happen to have a backup?"

"No, General."

"A shame."

"Yes."

"Do you have anything else juicy perhaps?"

Steamax opened his arm camera again and looked at three pictures. All of them displayed pairs of girls kissing. Two of them were Neptune/Noire and Nepgear/Uni. And the third pair was…

"Steamax?"

"No, sir. There was nothing worth reporting." Steamax pressed the delete button with a clear conscience.

The next morning.

In Noire's room the sun was leaking through the barely open windows. The first rays tickled Noire's face that was turned towards the left side of the bed. Her face twitched and she tenderly opened her eyes.

In front of her, next to the bed, she noticed the neatly folded pile of her own clothes… and next to that the strewn about pieces of Neptune's outfit.

Speaking of Neptune, she could hear the light breathing of her lover next to her. Realizing that she was naked below the blanket, Noire turned somewhat red and felt like rolling all over her bed due to the butterflies having a dance party in her stomach.

She wanted to turn around and see Neptune's sleeping face. No, she needed to see it!

Pretending to be stretching while still asleep she slowly turned around on her pillow. When she opened her eyelid a miniscule fraction of a millimeter she noticed Neptune was still deeply asleep. With a relieved breath she opened her eyes and enjoyed the view of her sleeping girlfriend. The blanket went up to her shoulders, covering all the parts she had witnessed this night…

Gosh what was she thinking anyway?!

"Mhmm… sweet puddin'…" Neptune mumbled in her sleep.

Noire felt like giggling. She was so cute when she wasn't awake. Seeing this sight every morning would heavily improve her days, she was sure. But that was a pipe-dream.

If they were this close maybe she could…?

Carefully she moved closer and pursed her lips. She wanted to give Neptune a small affectionate kiss on the cheek. While she was still not awake to notice.

"Sneaking a kiss on a sleeping girl's lips? Now that's my daring darling!" Neptune said with one eye open and a smile that was so wide it could have made the Cheshire Cat envious.

Sweat was pearling down Noire's face as she attempted to imitate an ancient bust by turning as rigid as marble.

"Are you gonna leave me waiting? How cruel! You weren't so shy yesterday-BWAGH!"

Noire threw a pillow into Nep's face to shut her up.

"Domestic violence?" Nep asked with a muffled voice.

Noire reconsidered her previous statement. She would hope to never wake up this way again. It would ruin her entire day.

"No kiss, no 'how was your sleep honey' and no M-rated stuff either…. Is this Lastation's idea of service?"

Neptune was not taking the pillow off. Noire finally realized why that was. She peeled the pillow away to Nep's surprise. The small CPU was beet red.

"If you are embarrassed don't hide it behind jokes." Noire smirked.

"But if you take away my humor, I will only be 40% of the protagonist I used to be!"

"More room for useful talents then." Noire shrugged.

"Boo!" Nep got up (the blanket slid down, but she was too excited to care) and tackled Noire down.

"Uwaaah!" Noire was visibly flustered, but Nep was going to give her a taste of her own medicine.

"We crossed the line with another line and now there is a plus! So give me something tasty!" She gave her a good morning kiss.

"N-Neptune, now is not the right time for-"

"I am hungry. Can we make breakfast?"

"…"

"Wait, what did you think I meant?"

"I-I'll make something good!" Noire rolled off the bed and pulled out her usual dress from the drawer. It was incredible how fast one could dress themselves with the power of embarrassment alone.

"Nowa?"

"Yes?" She stopped before leaving the room in a hurry and turned back.

"I am happy that I fell in love with you." Neptune said with a genuine smile.

Noire hesitated at the door.

"Sweet talking won't get you a bigger serving." She finally replied amusedly.

"A girl can at least try." Neptune chuckled.

Noire left the room silently and closed the door, then leaned against it while holding her hot face.

"I am happy to have fallen for you as well." She said quietly.

There was really nothing quite as potent as the power of love.

"I heard that!" Neptune said through the door.

"Hnnng!" And so Noire managed to hit her head against a wall. With the power of love.

It left a heart-shaped indent. A proof of their bond.

"Who wants a shoddy proof like that?!"

THE END

Oh hey it's the end. Again. So I finally finished this supposedly 'short' project of mine. In the end I couldn't make the chapters as short as I attempted at first lol

With this I tied up all loose ends for good. "But what about-" ALL loose ends!

It's really fun writing romance once in a while and I think we went through most forms and stages of the topic in this. There were some ups and downs, as expected with a collection of several shorter stories, but overall I got most of my ideas out, so that's a good feeling. Though I really had my fill of fluff for a while. My next project is going to be a serious one again and not in the Neptunia universe. Hopefully everyone who made it this far got something out of Best Girlfriends Forever!, whatever that might have been. Somehow the spin-off outgrew the original story in almost every aspect.

Thanks for all the support, PM conversations and reviews. It means a lot.

Cheers, BuD