A/N: My first Love Live! fanfic. How exciting! To anyone ho has seen all of season 2, it's obvious that the episode of the Love Wing Bell performance comes before the Halloween episode where the group thinks they need to change in order to have more impact. However, for the sake of my plot, they happen in reverse, because why not?
I apologize now, in advance, as many fanfic writers do, for any OOCness. Especially with Nozomi. She calls Nico by "Nicochi" sometimes but calls Rin and Hanayo "Rin-chan" and "Hanayo-chan". Threw me off a bit to have to go back and rewatch episode 5 in order to get it straight. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!
Love Wing... Love Bell...
Hanayo and Rin joined hands, fingers sliding between each other smoothly. As they sang the last words to "Love Wing Bell", they felt a pair of hands on their shoulders. The audience gasped as they witnessed Nozomi pushing Hanayo and Nico pushing Rin. The space between the two girls, small enough to begin with, was closed as the two were turned towards each other and flung forward. They became a tangle of limbs and lips, keeping each other from falling.
The audience went silent the second the two girls' lips met, and exploded in applause and cheers before they could open their eyes. Yellow and purple orbs met and were absorbed in each other for a fraction of a second before the girls pulled apart. Both felt their hands shoot up to cover their gaping mouths, and they remained in a state of shock, forgetting where they were as they continued staring into each other's eyes and savoring the tingling feeling on their lips and in their stomachs.
Nozomi stuck her tongue out and Nico performed her signature pose, savoring the crowd's reaction to their plan. Eli and Maki exchanged glances and nodded after just a moment. Eli moved to stand between Nozomi and Hanayo, and Maki did so between Rin and Nico, effectively breaking the eye contact between Rin and Hanayo. Eli and Maki reached out their two hands to take those of the others. They all understood this to mean that they had to face forward and bow to the audience, which had not ceased to show their approval for the performance. Their fervor increased for what felt like several minutes—particularly as Hanayo and Rin held hands for the bow—before slowly dying down.
As the girls made their way off the stage, they wondered if they should've made their way straight backstage, as almost immediately, they were surrounded by their fans. Eri and Maki were largely excluded as their fans surged forward to congratulate Nozomi and Nico on a job well done, as well as to question Rin and Hanayo. The latter two were separated from each other as their respective circles of die-hard personal fans increased in size and their voices increased in volume. Eri and Maki watched on with pity as the two girls stood mortified before the crowds, too surprised by the events on-stage and much too overwhelmed by the sheer enthusiasm of their fans. Maki and Eri, with some help from Nozomi and Nico, worked to disperse the crowding fans and tug Hanayo and Rin backstage to safety.
Upon reaching the dressing room, Eri and Maki immediately took Nozomi and Nico aside. The first pair glared at the sheepish second pair, who were sweating slightly at the sight of their crushes giving them disapproving looks.
"All I can think of to say..." Eri started, "is... what were you two thinking?!"
Nozomi decided to try and take some of the blame off Nico.
"It was my idea. After seeing how cute Hanayo-chan and Rin-chan were today... I just couldn't resist. I talked to Nicochi about it and... I'm sorry, Erichi."
"Yeah, neither could I. We had been talking about needing to do something to outshine A-Rise, and yuri appeal seemed the obvious choice with these two around. I just did what I thought was best as the President of the Idol Research Club."
Eri and Maki ignored Nico's self-gratifying response. "You should be apologizing to Rin-chan and Hanayo-chan, not Eri-chan," Maki told Nozomi.
They all turned to look at Hanayo and Rin, who had not moved from the spots they had been led to. They were now avoiding each other's eyes, blushing deeper every time they replayed the kiss in their minds.
"I think we should leave them alone to sort things out for themselves," Eri said.
Hanayo and Rin looked up to protest, but the four young ladies were already filing out of the room. Before Nico closed the door behind her, she gave the two a wink. The door closed with a click, and the two were alone.
"Nya, Kayo-chin..."
The orange-haired girl stopped and looked down at her dress, fingering the soft and beautiful fabric. Despite her deep blush, Hanayo couldn't resist smiling at the beautiful girl before her.
"Yes, Rin-chan?"
Rin looked up again, taking in the sight of Hanayo in her black tux, and somehow, things seemed reversed. Not that she minded, of course. Hanayo looked both beautiful and handsome in that moment. It was that thought which gave Rin the courage to keep going.
"Kayo-chin, do you hate Rin now?"
Hanayo gasped, stepping forward to grab both of Rin's hands, startling her.
"Never, Rin-chan! I could never hate you!"
Hanayo stepped back again, blushing once more as she thought of the kiss.
"And anyway, it wasn't Rin-chan who did anything. It was Nozomi-chan and Nico-chan."
Rin felt disappointed by that answer, though she didn't understand why. She startled Hanayo in return by leaning forward and kissing her. It was a very short kiss, yet the two were left breathless nonetheless.
"How about now?" Rin asked, smiling minutely, not unlike a sheepish kitten.
"O-o-of co-ourse not, R-Rin-chan," she responded, her head spinning and her body temperature rising almost dangerously fast as her heartbeat went into overdrive.
Rin giggled at the sight, lunging forward to hug Hanayo with a loud "Nya~! Kayo-chin~!" Hanayo held her as the two spun around, and she couldn't hold back as they laughed together. They stopped, eyes opening and breathing hitching as their gazes made contact once more. Yellow and purple met for only a moment before they shut once more, losing themselves in the kiss. Slowly, almost painfully so, the two savored the feeling of their lips moving in perfect sync, and Hanayo squeaked as she felt Rin's tongue slip into her mouth. It was that exact moment that the door opened.
Maki's grip on the knob tightened and she froze in the doorway, her cheeks burning at the sight of her two best friends kissing. Later, she would ask herself why she had entered expecting anything less. Nozomi and Eri peaked above her head and Nico crouched down, and they waited for the much delayed reaction of the two first-years jumping away from each other.
"Hehehe... what do we have here?" Nozomi asked as she gave Maki a mild push, prompting them all to enter the dressing room. The four had already changed into their school uniforms in another changing room, and the sight of groom Hanayo and bride Rin made them all smile.
"But, Hanayo," Eri started, and the couple prepared to be admonished by the former student council president, "I would expect you both to be in dresses when you get married."
That statement shocked even Nozomi, and Eri stood with a puzzled look as the other girls gave her a disbelieving look. Maki twirled her hair around her finger a few times before breaking the silence with her signature deadpan comment.
"Well, that's yuri appeal if I've ever seen any."