AN: Oh hey, it's my first Love Live story, and it's a NozoEri, ain't that a shocker. Considering how I'm only starting the series, and I'm only on the first season, this is taking place in the first season of the anime. It's pretty lengthy for a oneshot (I guess I got pretty carried away with myself, aha), but I couldn't think of another for the story to take place. I'm sorry if the characters get OOC near the end of the story (blame my lack of Love Live knowledge).
And a quick shoutout to my shit friend Sensitive Soybean (even though she hasn't posted anything yet on her profile, she does have a collab. Check it out when you have the time) because she got me into it. aha.
Anyways, hope you enjoy.
Ciao. c:
"Erichi, do you want a tarot reading?"
The student council president looked up at her friend, her eyebrows furrowing in question.
"…No, not right now. I'm still kind of busy with," Eri gestured over to the ever so building pile of paperwork and forms next to her, "this." She shook her head, her high ponytail following her movements. "Honestly, instead of playing with those cards, you could help me out."
Nozomi smiled and placed the deck in her hands down on the table, reaching for the top card. "Let's see what your fortune holds for today."
"You're completely ignoring me aren't you—"
Eri was interrupted by the other's interested gasp. Nozomi's green eyes drifted between the card and the blonde, a very coy smile on her face. Eri, however, stared at the card in her friend's hand with unease.
"Is it something bad?" She asked with her tone slow and cautious.
The vice-president's smile grew into a grin as she twirled the card around with her fingers. With the front now facing Eri, the blond was able to depict two silhouettes reaching out for each other, Cupid above them with his bow drawn and arrow notched, aiming for the middle of both of them. On the bottom of the card the words "THE LOVERS" were scrawled in a fancy, almost undecipherable drabble.
"Not necessarily, but it seems that Erichi seems to have something ahead of her today in the romantic department." Nozomi laughed and stuck the card back into the deck, somewhere near the middle. "Perhaps my dear Erichi has a secret admirer I do not know about?" She came a bit closer to the seated president. "Or perhaps," the purple-haired girl leaned in very close, so close that Eri had to turn her head away in order to get some distance between them, "Erichi has a secret lover? Oh my, wouldn't that be a surprise! The cool, collected president of the student council having a lover—"
"I-I most certainly have nothing of the sort!" Eri whipped her head back to face her friend, but had forgotten that Nozomi was still in very close proximity. Their noses brushed against one another, and the blonde swore that she could feel her friend's lips graze against hers subtly. The blonde could only stare at the captivating sea-green of Nozomi's eyes, her heart throbbing in her ears. Eri could the heat emitting from her own face.
Was Nozomi always this beautiful? She found herself thinking.
Clearing her throat to Zen her mind, Eri gently pushed Nozomi away, growing uncomfortable in the very close space between them. The latter gave a small pout, but whether or not she actually meant it was lost to the blonde.
There was an awkward silence between the both of them as Eri stared at the half-filled form in front of her and Nozomi stared her head of flaxen hair. After a while Nozomi quietly cleared her throat, causing Eri to look up. A shy smile was on her friend's lips.
"I'll go check on the others to see if they're ready for practice. Just drop by the roof once you're finished with what you have to do." Nozomi waved and smiled in farewell, Eri doing the same before the vice-president slid the door shut.
Eri sighed as she picked up her pen. For several minutes, she twirled said pen between her fingers, not finding it in herself to finish her work. Giving an audible groan, she folded her arms on her desk and rested her head on them, looking at the door that Nozomi left through. The close-up of her friend's face was branded into her mind's eye, almost as if it was burned on. The blonde could feel her face heating up once again.
I want to kiss her, she boldly thought, hiding her scalding face with her arms.
-x-
"Okay, I think that's enough practice for day. Good work, everyone!"
"Finally! I thought I was going to die today!"
"You always say that, Honoka-chan…"
"Hey, Kayochin, let's go pick up some ramen, nya!"
"But didn't we go out for ramen yesterday? If you keep eating like that, it's going to be really bad for your health. Plus, I don't think Eri-chan would approve of such a diet…" Hanayo sent a shy glance at her blonde superior.
"I wouldn't worry about such a thing if I were you, Hanayo-chan." Nozomi quipped, sending a sly look at Eri's way. She then covered her mouth from the blonde's line of sight, her palm facing Eri. "Erichi also has a soft spot for fast food as well. She just doesn't want to admit it."
Eri felt her face flush from embarrassment. "I-I can hear you, you know!"
"So we're going out for ramen then?" Rin asked, her tone filled with unbridled excitement and joy.
"It seems like good way to celebrate a job well done." Umi said, nodding.
"Alright!" Soon enough, Rin was bounding out the door with Hanayo (who was exclaiming at her best friend to be careful while jumping down the stairs) and Honoka close at her heels. Kotori eventually followed suit, not wanting any harm to come across the airheaded leader of Muse (although she was a bit too late, considering there was a loud yell of "OUCH" coming from the stairwell that sounded vaguely like Honoka and Rin clumped together), alongside with Umi, who had an amused smile planted on her face as she casually followed.
"What a bunch of idiots,"Nico blatantly stated, a very blank expression on her face. She walked through the doorway. Maki was behind her short senior, fiddling with the ends of her hair as she gave her trademark "hmph" as she exited.
Leaving Eri alone with Nozomi alone on the rooftop.
A sudden rush of panic surged through the blonde's body, but she was unsure why. She had been alone with Nozomi countless times; what was she getting so worked up about?
It's because of the way Nozomi had been acting earlier, she realized, but she quickly dismissed it. The vice-president always behaved like that, especially with the members of Muse. It was all meaningless teasing, right?
Get a grip, Eri, chiding herself, the blonde placed on a smile (that hopefully did not appear too forced) and turned around to face Nozomi.
"We should go now—"
But her interlocutor was nowhere to be found. The president furrowed her brows in confusion.
That's weird—she didn't leave with the others. If she did, I would have seen her exit through the door—
"Erichi," a warm breath tickled the blonde's ear as arms encircled around her waist, tightly gripping her in place. Eri instantly reddened and tensed at the voice, her body heat skyrocketing to scalding heights. Nervously she glanced at the door, praying to every single god that no one would walk in. I can only imagine how wrong this entire scene must look to anyone who decides to walk in.
"Erichiii," Nozomi drawled out sweetly, resting her head on Eri's left shoulder. Violet strands of hair tickled the latter's bare neck. "What's wrong? You've been acting a bit strange since…" Nozomi trailed off, seemingly understanding now. "Oh, I get it now…"
The blonde shut her eyes tightly and bit her lip hard. Of course she would figure it out sooner or later—
"You're still all worked up about the fortune telling, aren't you?"
Eri felt herself relax in her friend's arms, taking an easy breath through her lungs. Oh good, it seems that she didn't—
"Just kidding," the violet-haired girl giggled. "It's about what happened after that, wasn't it?"
When Nozomi felt her friend fidget uncomfortably in her embrace, she knew that she had hit the nail right on the head. Giggling softly once more, she nuzzled into the crook of the blonde's neck. "I was just teasing you, Erichi. Just simple teasing…"
For a moment, Eri caught a slight hint of somberness in the vice-president's tone, causing her to glance at Nozomi; all she saw was the normal playful twinkle that naturally inhabited the charming sea-green of her best friend's eyes. Just the mere sight of it made Eri's chest ache with relief, and she smiled softly at the other. Nozomi returned it with one of her own.
It was just simple teasing—just simple, friendly teasing. There was no meaning behind it.
However, even as she thought that, she subconsciously knew that she was wrong, and that the ache in her chest was not out of relief, but rather because she wished that maybe, just maybe, Nozomi really did mean something behind it.
-x-
"Ah, thank you for the meal!" The ever-enthusiastic leader of Muse stretched in her seat.
"Honoka, you ate two bowls in a row," Umi shook her head disappointedly, her hair following her in dramatic movements. "It's no wonder that you've been having low stamina during practices lately…"
Honoka looked horrified at the accusation. "You've noticed?!"
"It's not really that subtle, Honoka-chan…" Kotori gave an almost pitiful smile, and everyone else mumbled their agreement.
"N-no way…"
They all shared a laugh at this (except for the downcast leader, who was busy staring at the empty ramen bowls in front of her). Soon, the members of Muse unanimously decided that it was time to part their ways for the day. After exiting the fast food joint they all said their farewells and split off into different groups: Umi, Kotori, and Honoka went off in the direction of the orange-haired girl's house; Rin and Hanayo seemed to run off in the direction of the mall; Nico walked to the grocery store across the street; and Maki just decided to go home by herself.
Leaving Nozomi and Eri alone with each other once again.
"So, what do you want to do, Nozomi?" Eri tried her best to sound casual, but she could hear the waver in her own voice. She cleared her throat to try and rid of it.
Nozomi, however, did not notice and pursed her lips, shifted her weight to one foot, and thoughtfully held her chin in her fingers. In the end, she just smiled and merely shrugged.
"I don't have anything particular in mind, so I'm fine with whatever Erichi wants to do." Her smile grew a bit, and it was one of the cutest things that the blonde has ever seen.
But she remembered to keep herself in check, so she just looked in the general direction of the shrine. "How about we go for a walk?" Although it is getting pretty dark already—the sun already set.
At this, Nozomi let out an amused breath. "Walking alone at night sounds awfully romantic, doesn't it, Erichi?" Her tone was very teasing, and it was very obvious that a smile was on her face by the way she spoke. The blonde's heart lurched.
"I-it's nothing that special."
At this, the purple-haired girl gave a quiet laugh. "Every day with you is special, Erichi."
Eri felt herself blush profusely, completely caught off-guard. She could only stay mute and stare at the ground, unsure on what to say. She means this as a friend, right? Only a friend, only as a mere friend and nothing else.
"There's no use waiting around here, Erichi." Nozomi linked their arms together, tugging along her friend. The other could only nod dumbly and pray that her face was not as red as it felt.
Together, they walked in a relative silence as they made their way to the shrine. None of them spoke a word, but every once in a while, Eri would catch the vice-president singing a line of Muse's latest song. She smiled a bit at the sound of Nozomi's singing voice.
"You've improved on singing," the blonde absentmindedly stated. In the dull light of the streetlights, Eri was able to catch on the sight of reddening cheeks through purple strands for the first time that day. She's awfully cute when she blushes, Eri realized.
"I guess I have Maki-chan to thank then." She gave a soft chuckle before resuming humming. In the middle of the song, Nozomi stopped abruptly and looked at the other. "But it wouldn't be fair if I just thanked her. I have to thank all the others as well; they've made our last year at Otonokizaka a very memorable one. Although," Nozomi rested the side of her head against Eri's, her lips very close to the latter's ear, "it doesn't really have the same impact when I first met you, huh, Erichi?"
The student council president could not help but agree, letting out an air of amusement. "But it's special nonetheless."
"Of course it is."
They walked the rest of the way in a quiet atmosphere, giving quiet acknowledgements to the very few strangers that walked past them. Eri wondered if the both of them looked like lovers to a bystander's eye.
Wait, lovers? Eri felt heat up at the mere thought of it. A-am I really thinking of Nozomi and I as lovers? Very shyly, she trailed her blue eyes to the side, looking at her close companion. Well, I did think earlier that I wanted to kiss her, but that was during the heat of the moment. Although…I can't really deny the fact that Nozomi is attractive. I mean, she has an—
"Erichi, let's go make an offering at the shrine."
The sudden interjection pulled Eri out of her thoughts. She dumbly nodded, and Nozomi grinned, tugging her enthusiastically towards said shrine. Standing in front of the altar, Eri shoved a hand in her pocket, looking for some spare change to use. In the end, she found several coins that seemed to be a decent offering, and threw it in the offering box with Nozomi. Together, they rang the bell several times before clapping their hands together. They bowed deeply and fell into a silence, both of their eyes closed.
I pray that Nozomi will by my side forever. She instantly thought. Her cheeks flared up again for what was possibly the umpteenth time before continuing through her prayer. And I wish that Muse will continue to do well this year. Opening her eyes, Eri sighed, looking over to the side only to see that Nozomi had been waiting for her to finish. They exchanged quiet smiles before sitting on the bench outside the shrine.
"I feel a little bad." Nozomi declared completely out of the blue, her neck craned up a bit so that she was looking at the stars.
The blonde furrowed her brows, unsure on what her friend meant. "For what?"
"I haven't been helping out with the shrine as much as I should because of practice…"
At this, Eri could barely hold back her laugh. "Is that really it?" Her friend shot her a quizzical look, a quiet demand to explain herself. "Well, before Muse you would always dedicate almost all of your time outside of school here. I'm sure that the other shrine maidens are grateful for your work, but I'm sure their glad that you've found something else to occupy yourself with. Besides," Eri gently nudged Nozomi's shoulder with her own, "didn't you say that Muse made our last year fun earlier?"
The violet-haired vice-president gave a small laugh, never tearing her eyes away from the sky. "I suppose I did." She fell silent for a minute, her green eyes searching the stars.
"What're you looking for?"
"I'm trying to look for a constellation—ah! I found it!" Quickly, Nozomi took Eri's hand and pointed at a certain cluster of stars that was shaped in a deformed "U". "It looks kind of weird because of all the city lights and because we don't have a telescope, but that's Gemini."
"Gemini," Eri mumbled the word to herself, her tone taking a thoughtful note. In truth, she was actually focusing how right it felt to hold Nozomi's hand in her own; their shape melded together, and her skin was so soft. Eri was surprised that she never noticed it before, considering the countless times they had held hands. Suddenly, she realized something in the back of her mind. "Wait, you're a Gemini, aren't you, Nozomi?"
She giggled at this, nodding. "Yes, and you're a Libra." Nozomi gave Eri a quick, matter-of-fact glance, a coy smile playing on her lips. "But I don't think I've ever told you about the mythology behind Gemini, have I?" She finally put both of their hands down, but never broke away their contact, Nozomi's hand on top of Eri's (much to the relief and gratitude of the blonde).
"No, I don't think so."
"Well I guess it's time that I finally told you then." Nozomi laughed and rested her head on Eri's shoulder. The blonde could not help but rest her cheek on Nozomi's hair, the scent of jade with a touch of incense surrounding and comforting her. Something just felt so right whenever she was around her best friend. How can she only notice just now? Her heart started to throb in her chest. God, I think I might be…
"It's an ancient Greek—" Nozomi paused, giving a thoughtful hum, "—or was it Roman? I don't remember exactly, but I'm sure it was either one or the other, or maybe even both. Anyways, it's a legend from that time-era, and it all began with a woman named Leda.
"Leda was the wife of Tyndarus, king of Sparta. One night, she was impregnated by not only her husband, but by another man. Although, it wasn't just a man—it was the god Jupiter, who had taken form of a swan."
Eri nearly doubled over. "W-wait, she got pregnant from a swan?" The thought baffled and almost scared her.
But Nozomi merely laughed and shrugged. "I don't exactly know how, but that's how the story goes, as far as I know. But it wasn't necessarily a swan, it was—"
"Zeus, right?"
"Close, it was Jupiter."
The blonde furrowed her brows, frowning in thought. "But aren't they the same thing?"
"In a way, but we're getting off-topic here. Now, where was I…?
"Oh, I remember now. Leda gave birth to twin brothers, Caster and Pollux. Pollux was the offspring of Jupiter, and was immortal and well-known for his strength. The other sibling, Caster, was the contrary. He was the son of a mortal, and although he wasn't as strong as his brother, he was renowned for his skill with horses. Over their lifetime, they went on many adventures, such as searching for the Golden Fleece, and fighting in the Trojan War. They were as close as brothers could be.
"But eventually, Caster's life was cut short due to mortality's curse. Devastated, Pollux begged his father to split his immortality with his brother. Jupiter heard his son's prayer, and as a reward for their heroism, embedded them into the canvas of the heavens as stars. Even to this day, they're still together, known as the constellation of Gemini."
"I wish we could be like that," Eri blurted out. It took a very short moment for her to register what she had just said, and when she did, her cheeks rose to scalding temperatures. "I-I mean like, I want us to be together forever, just like them—" Realizing that she just made everything sound worse, she buried her face in her hands. "I-I mean—"
"Erichi," the weight on her shoulder lifted, and although she could not see her, Eri was able to feel Nozomi's presence get closer. "Erichi, please look at me."
"How can I?" She stubbornly exclaimed.
The blonde could feel the amused breath Nozomi let out hit the back of her hands. Gently, the latter pried away Eri's hands from her face. However, the council president turned her head to the side, not able to look Nozomi directly.
"Erichi," Nozomi repeated with her voice quiet and patient. A hand cupped one of the blonde's cheeks, and slowly turned Eri's head so that they were facing each other. Timidly, Eri looked at her friend's charming smile and amazing, vivid eyes. She could feel her heart about to burst in her chest.
God I think I might really be—
Her thoughts crashed to an abrupt halt as Nozomi gently—but swiftly—closed the distance between them. Eri stiffened at first, but relaxed, melting into the kiss. Her heartbeat resonated through her skull. She closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of Nozomi's lips against hers. It felt natural, it felt amazing, and most of all it felt right. She could not think of a better feeling as she tightened her grip on Nozomi's hands, a quiet plea to keep going. But Nozomi did the opposite, and pulled back, an almost guilty look in her eyes. Eri could not understand why; she enjoyed the kiss very much.
"I'm sorry," she mumbled, a sad smile forming on her face. "I got carried away, didn't I?"
"What are you apologizing about?" Eri asked, furrowing her brows in confusion.
"I stole your first kiss because I was selfish."
"Nozomi—"
She shook her head. "No, Erichi, listen. I was selfish. You remember the tarot reading earlier today, right?"
Cautiously, Eri nodded. "Of course I do. You said that I was going to have something romantic happen to me."
"I…" Nozomi bit her lip and looked away. "I got jealous when saw it. I thought that I would lose you to someone else, and that…that scares me a lot. I don't want you to go away, Erichi. Because I…" She trailed off, her ears turning pink.
"You…?"
"I love you."
The confession unlocked something in Eri's mind, and she smiled.
"Nozomi, you—"
"Yes, I do. I really do. I have loved you from the start, when we first met, and although we're both girls, it just hurts to think about you leaving me. So even though I can't fight against what the cards say, I thought that I could at least get one thing." Nozomi gave a bitter chuckle. "I'm selfish aren't I?"
The blonde shook her head, the same smile still tugging on her lips. "I think I would have done the same to you if I were in your position."
This seemed to shock the other. "W-wait, Erichi, are you saying that you also—"
Eri gave a shaky laugh. "W-well, I just realized my feelings today, but I really and truly think that," she leaned in close, placing her forehead against Nozomi's. "I might be falling for you as well."
The vice-president shook her head, a tear escaping from her. "There's no way this can be true…"
"I think it is" was all Eri said before she leaned in to capture Nozomi's lips once more. It did not matter to her if it was wrong to other people, or if it was wrong in society. What mattered to her was that it felt right to be in Nozomi's arms, it felt right to be next to her, it felt right to kiss her, and by God, it felt right to love her.
I love you, Nozomi, Eri thought to herself, intertwining their fingers together and tightly holding her hand.
I want to be with you forever, in this world, and the next.