Chapter Text

Iffy spent far too long thinking about how to do this than she was comfortable with.

Christmas was near and Compa, being her usual angelic self, decided to get every one of the Goddesses a present. It sounded nice on paper, and Iffy was happy to oblige.

But then came the realization that they'd have to hand them over in person. "It's much nicer giving them in person!" proclaimed Compa. Iffy was far, far too smitten with her to protest, so she was forced to go along with it.

Giving Chika and Vert their gifts went relatively smoothly, though Vert gave Iffy a teasing kiss on the forehead as "reward", causing her face to turn crimson until the duo reached Lowee. This didn't come as a surprise to either of them, Vert was like that (Much to Chika's eternal dismay). It was no secret amongst their friends that Vert had a bit of a crush on Iffy. Indeed, most of their one on one visits were incredibly... touchy. They stopped after Compa started dating Iffy, though. Iffy kind of missed them, as Vert was always there to feed her. Chocolates, cakes, biscuits, anything really. Only Compa cooking could surpass Vert's. Iffy mocked Neptune for being a big eater, but in truth Iffy's appetite was probably larger than hers. Hopefully nobody knew that.

Blanc and the twins went slightly better. Ram tackled Iffy to the ground with excitement, and she was sheepishly helped to her feet by Rom. Despite the fact Ram was only 4ft3, she made quite an impact. Iffy suspected that she was going to wake up with some bruising tomorrow. Regardless, thank yous were exchanged, and the twins even gave the two some biscuits. Pirachu shaped biscuits. It's as if they'd forgotten about the little rat's strange obsession with Compa. Regardless, the biscuits were nice, if not a little awkward to eat. Pirachu was that one awful memory that everyone ignored until it was brought up. Pirachu wasn't exactly EVIL, he was just annoying. And a guy. Two big no-nos.

To their relief, Noire and Uni's delivery went swimmingly. It was formal, though Iffy felt a glimpse of gratitude break through Noire's usually haughty exterior. Uni was much more humble, though, and had to be reassured 10 times over that yes, the gift was for her. The two had a softspot for Uni. She was so precious, and her interactions with Nepgear made their heart melt. If it weren't for Neptune and Noire being so defensive, they would've easily told the two candidates to get together already.

Speaking of which, last on the list was... the Nep sisters.

Iffy was dreading this. The last time they'd saw the Nep sisters, Compa and Iffy weren't actually dating. But now they were, and all of the goddesses were aware. Iffy knew deep down that Neptune would say SOMETHING stupid. She always did. She was endearing, but by Goddess there was no filter between her thoughts and her mouth.

As they approached the Basilicom, Iffy's thoughts started to fall back to what Neptune might say. What if she makes it awkward? What if she says something gross? What if she's expecting us? What if lady luck is looking out for us, and she's occupied by Peashy and Plutia? Neptune was always far too distracted by her wife and daughter when they were visiting, to the point that she was physically unable to say anything stupid whilst they were in close proximity. Maybe Histoire will come collect the gifts instead. That'd be so much better, Histoire was polite. She'd have trouble carrying the bag, though. Hrm. What if Nepgear was there? Nepgear was so polite. She was shy, but at least there'd be absolutely no problems whatsoever.

Iffy... actually felt bad that she was having these kinds of thoughts about Neptune. She was an idiot, yes, but she'd been a close friend of her and Compa for YEARS. Neptune's encouragement, however joking it might have been, was what caused her and Compa to get together in the first place. In a way, she owed Neptune a lot.

They got to the front door. At the very least, no matter what, Neptune would be alive, happy and joyful. At the very, VERY least, Iffy knew Neptune would never say anything emb-

Compa opened the door, and a familiar voice immediately sang words of horror.

"OH HEY IT'S THE TWO LOVEBIRDS, are ya gonna give Mama Neptune some grandkids soon?"

Scratch that. Neptune was fucking dead.