Summary: According to Michael, sunsets in The Good Place are second to none. Eleanor and Tahani decide to test that out. Attempt 219 Elhani.
Rating: K
Word Count: Roughly 1K.
A/N: This is the second-to-last piece for my 200 follower spectacular! Thank you SO much to the anon who asked me for an adorable Eleanor/Tahani piece for your patience and suggestion. This is my first Good Place fic EVER and I hope I satisfied you! Just gonna warn you though, it starts a liiiiiiitle angsty, but I do promise a happy ending!
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
Eleanor didn't take in a lot of sunsets when she was alive. There was usually something else going on, something more important than looking out at the sky - some party, some movie, the temptation of spending the day in her PJ's. Besides, the outdoors were covered in bugs.
But The Good Place didn't have bugs, and while it had parties, movies, and PJ's,they weren't currently options - not without her soulmate in tow.
Right now, she didn't have such a luxury.
However, a sunset could be taken in alone without setting off anyone's alarms, and Michael had said how the Good Place's sunsets were second to none.
Staring at it now, Eleanor believed him. It didn't hurt to watch a sunset here like it sometimes did on Earth. The darkness around the sun kept it to a warm orange and the cool purples and blues on the outside melded together perfectly.
It felt like a hug, and that was something Eleanor found herself wanting so badly as she gazed ahead.
Two days ago, she had told Tahani everything: about how she was a piece of Midwestern trash, about the misunderstanding when she first arrived, and about how she had lied to Tahani and Michael about it for over a month now. As she ended, she couldn't help but release a single plea for her help.
Tahani took it…
Well, Eleanor doesn't know how she took it.
After a thorough, yet neutral questioning, Tahani asked for some time alone to process all that Eleanor had told her, and Eleanor had agreed. Since they hadn't yet moved in together, it was easy enough.
But it was frustratingly lonely too.
There were no soulmate couples in sight, but just staring at the sunset, Eleanor could tell that a bunch of them were watching it from all over. Maybe some were on rowboats on the lake and others were on the balconies of their mansions, but Eleanor was willing to bet that they were together.
The fact was that Eleanor missed Tahani. Sure, she had started out suspicious of her soulmate, but who wouldn't? Tahani was six feet of sex on legs with a resume of good deeds longer than Apple's last set of Terms and Conditions! How did someone like that exist?
Eleanor got an answer to that very question as she spent more time with her.
Tahani was like the very sunset Eleanor was now looking at. Like the sun itself, she was large and commanding, telling the world in no uncertain terms that it would notice and love her. The boldness of her resolve and confidence matched the bright orange of the big orb that circulated them everyday. The clouds that surrounded it reminded Eleanor of the softness of her hair, kisses, and heart.
With Tahani, Eleanor had felt strong. For all the doubt Eleanor initially had in Tahani, Tahani had none of it for Eleanor. She had believed every wacky excuse Eleanor had come up with, covering for her with a fierceness that no one had ever shown her before. So much of Eleanor's time in The Good Place had been littered with anxiety and fear, but Tahani had a way of making that all disappear.
And she had inspired Eleanor so much that Eleanor thought she could trust Tahani with her deepest secret of all.
Now her only question was what would Tahani do with that information.
Eleanor hugged her knees to her chest.
She wanted the waiting to be over.
She wanted to know what was going to happen to her.
But most of all, she wanted to see Tahani again.
Would she ever?
Well, of course she would. Tahani liked to stand out at parties, but there was a difference in standing out and being the odd woman out.
Any maybe she just missed her too.
Suddenly, the sunset was starting to feel so lonely, but the only thing that would be more so would be her weird clown house.
So here she was stuck.
Alone.
Suddenly, a cough interrupted Eleanor's moping. Like a deer in the headlights, she froze for a second before turning her head at double speed as if to make up for lost time.
"I was-"
But she stopped before she could make an excuse.
It was Tahani.
"Hey." That one word rolled of Eleanor's lips as she took in her soulmate. Tahani stood as beautiful as ever. Her face was unreadably neutral, but didn't lack a certain gentleness to it.
"Hello, Eleanor," she said as regally as the Queen of England. "Might I join you?"
Eleanor gave her a soft smile and scooched towards the left end of her blanket. "Sure." As Tahani sat, Eleanor released the stubborn hold on her knees and her legs wasted no time filling the free space in front of them.
In the seconds long mad dash, her right foot gingerly touched Tahani's ankle. Eleanor knew she didn't have to apologize, but she knew she had something to say.
"It's not fair how much taller than me you are," Eleanor complained. Tahani chuckled.
"Genetics are a lottery," Tahani teased.
"Then give me some of that jackpot, you sexy light post!" The two of them chuckled, and while not half hearted, there was still something that acted like a bottle stopper for their fun.
Or rather, one big secret.
"It's a beautiful sunset, right?" Tahani inquired.
"Michael knew his shirt when he talked it up."
In a moment, that one slip up of a curse word, that one reminder of Eleanor's corruption of paradise made the subject at hand seem unavoidable.
"I've been thinking about what you said the other day."
"I know," Eleanor said as she exhaled a deep breath.
A million things were going through Eleanor's mind as to what Tahani would do next.
The one thing she hadn't expected to happen was for Tahani to take her hand in hers, but that's what she did.
"And I want to help," Tahani said.
For the third time in two days, Eleanor smiled.
"It won't be easy," Tahani warned, "and if you ever lie to me again, you'll regret it, but by Michael, Eleanor, I will make you a good person! I'd say you're quite lucky! I've got just the right chops for this challenge. Ooh! Speaking of Chopped, did I ever tell you about the time I helped Whoopie Goldberg on Celebrity Chopped?"
Eleanor snorted, leaning her head so that it could rest on her soulmate's shoulders. Tahani had a story for every occasion.
But thankfully, since she still had her by her side, she had all the time in the world to hear them all.
