A/N: Howdy. It's me, Draco. Or Slayer, pick whichever you like better. It's been quite a hectic year...
You know, I think this is the first time in a long time where I've been able to look at my mirror and actually recognized the person staring back at me. Honestly... It's been a long time since that's happened to me, but... I'd say it was worth the wait.
I know you all might not get it, but... that means so much more to me than you guys could probably understand. Every year I change just a little and wind up losing something of myself in exchange. It's a weird cycle, but in the end it's made me who I am now.
So, without further ado, enough of this pointless banter. Enjoy the story.
Thanks
It was finally the new year. A lot of stuff had happened and so much had changed since the last. New friends met and new adventures had.
So was it any wonder that Nepgear was having some trouble sleeping?
She didn't really know what to do about it, but... Something seemed to be calling her to her sister's office.
She wasn't sure what, and she didn't really know what she would find there, but she went there all the same.
It looked more or less the same, but... there was something that caught her attention.
On her sister's desk, there looked to be a note lying on the very center.
Almost as if she had been possessed by something, she found herself walking over to it to take a look see.
What she saw... Was most certainly not what she had expected to find.
How should I start this? Hmm... Aw geez, I'm just no good at this kind of thing... Eh...
Well... I guess I just want to say... Thanks.
Thank you for being there and putting up with me. I know I can probably be a little bit hard to deal with sometimes, but... You stuck with me anyway.
...Y'know, sometimes whenever I teased you, I thought that you might get mad at me... But you didn't. Even when I told you that you were looking a bit chubby just to mess with you, and it got to you a lot more than I thought it would. I was kind of afraid that maybe you were really mad at me... But you weren't.
I dunno how you're able to do it, but... You always just look at me and smile. Like that time I borrowed one of your little gadgets and accidentally broke it. I just knew you were gonna be really mad at me, and I was ready for the worst... Well, kind of, but... You never got mad at me at all. Instead, you saw the cut on my face I got from messing around with the darned thing and patched me up instead.
I mean... How do it? I still don't know how you were able to forgive me for breaking something so important to you... Really, I... I really don't think I deserve it. Don't get me wrong, I'm stoked that you weren't mad at me, but... I just can't understand.
...Y'know... I actually had a pretty bad nightmare about you a while ago. It... Well, I don't really wanna talk about it very much, but all you need to know is that I saw a lot of bad things in that nightmare... It... It made me realize just how lucky I am to have you around... I... I really don't understand what I've done to deserve any of this, but... Is it okay for me to want more?
I know it's probably selfish of me to ask that, but... I've always been kinda selfish, haven't I? I mean... Up until you were born I didn't really have much going on in my life, so... I just... I want to be with you for a lot longer... Y'know...
AAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHH!
Why can't I say this any better?! And when did I ever end up becoming so sappy, anyway?
Look! I just... I just really like being with you. I like, no, I LOVE having you around. Not just because you help make my life a lot easier, but because... Because with you around, I'm never alone anymore.
Yeah, I know that's probably really sappy and stuff, but it's true! I know I have my friends, but they all have their own lives and stuff. I can spend as much time as I want with them, but by the end of the day they all have their own homes to go back to, their own lives. I know that we're all friends, but... But I can't be with them all forever.
They all keep getting older every day, but me? I don't.
I'm probably gonna outlive by a long, long time, and that... That kinda scares me...
It scares me a lot more than anything else I've ever done in my life, to think that one day they'll wind up leaving me, but y'know something else? It's... alot easier knowing that you'll still be there with me. Even when I'm old as dust, you'll still be with me... Right?
I just... I know I don't say this nearly as much as I probably should, but... Thanks for being there for me.
You never once got mad at me when I thought you would. You never once stopped talking to me when I thought you would. And more than anything, you never once hated me when I though you would. No, instead, you were always there, watching over me. Protecting me. Taking care of me.
Even though I should be the one taking care of you...
AWWWWW GEEEEZZZ!
I can't let you see this! That would just be waaaaaayyyy to embarrasing. I don't even wanna know how you'd react to getting a letter like this... Well, I guess I can think one way, but uh... Never mind that.
Look, what I'm trying to say is... Thank you for being the best little sister I coulda ever asked for, Nep Jr.!
...Man I'm tired... I should really go get some sleep soon...
And Jr., I uh... One day I'll definitely work up the courage to say this kind of stuff to you in person, and I promise I'll definitely try to be a better big sis from now on, but... You know me, so... Sorry if that takes a while. I'm... I'm a bit clumsy, and not all that reliable, so... Just be patient with me, okay?
...I should really hit the hay soon before this gets any sappier... Come to think of it... Why am I even still writing any of this if I'm not gonna show it to you? ...Eheheheheh, I guess I should stop now... I think I'll go get some sleep now...
I love you, Nep Jr.
As she read those last five words, a single tear crawled its way down Nepgear's cheek.
"Geez, sis... If you really didn't want me to see this you, then you shouldn't have left it on your desk like this."
It was taking a lot out of the young candidate not to break out into a waterfall of tears, wake up her sister and tell her just how much she did dseserve that kind of love and affection, but... Well, that could wait until later.
"I love you too, sis."
Nothing more needed to be said than that. Honestly, Nepgear herself felt she didn't deserve this kind of love from Neptune, but having inherited the selfishness gene from her sister, she wasn't going to be complaining about it any time soon.
"..." Nepgear merely stood there for a few moments, thinking to herself. After what felt like forever, she finally started moving again. It was pretty late out, and she should probably get some sleep, too, but...
There was just one last thing she needed to do before then.
Being careful to make as little noise as possible, Nepgear made her way back into her and Neptune's room. After she made her way to her sleeping sister's side, she leaned close to her sister and whispered as quietly as she could into her ear.
"Hey, sis... I know you're probably asleep and all, but I just really needed to get this off my chest."
No response. Not that she had expected one to begin with.
"I know you might not always be the ideal big sis, but you know something?"
Silence.
"You've taken care of me way more than I've taken care of you."
She took a deep breath.
"I know you've messed up a lot, but I've messed up just as much. Do you know why I learned how to use healing magic? Well, you might have forgotten it by now, but back when we were younger, I actually messed up an experiment and you actually got hurt because of it. I was really afraid that you'd be furious and tell me stay away, but instead, you just hugged me and asked me if I was okay."
She sniffled as she recalled the distant memory.
"And that wasn't the only time I messed up and did something bad, but even so, you never once got mad at me. You always worried about me and held me, but more recently... You trusted me."
A fresh wave of tears threatened to fall.
"While all the other CPUs were still trying to protect their own sisters, you were letting me walk all on my own and trusted that I could take care of myself. In fact, it made me want to take care of you. Even when times were tough and things looked bad, you trusted me to take care of myself, so... Thanks, for that, sis."
The first tear fell.
"I know you might not realize it, but... I need you just as much as you need me."
She rubbed at her eyes and fought back the tears.
"I love you, too, sis."
A hand grabbed at her wrist.
"Is it okay if I sleep with you tonight?"
A gentle pull towards the bed was all the answer she needed.
"I love you more, Nep Jr."
Thanks
A/N: Why is there so little story to this? Simple. Because I couldn't think of anything I could add to make this feel more impactful. It's awkward, kind of weirdly paced and kinda silly, kind of like a certain protagonist we all know. As such, I felt like leaving it like this would probably be for the better. Originally, I was going to do a Christmas special, but with how hectic things got for me as that date approached I found myself in a terrible state to be writing, but hopefully a more heartfelt and short story to celebrate the new year should be good enough.
Sorry I couldn't deliver on that promise, but if I really didn't want to finish that story unless I was at 100% Hopefully this turned out to be a good alternative.
Anyway, I hope you guys all had a great New Year and Christmas. I'm sure not all of you must have had a very good year, but try not to be morose about it. There were a LOT of things that could have made this year much better for me, but it's not so bad when there were a lot of little things that made it worthwhile in the end.
Here's to another awesome year. I'm really looking forward to getting to spend it with you guys and gals... and occasional dogs.
-Draco Slayer