A Surprising Present
Nozomi's day had been very fortunate, just as how her cards had told her the night before.
Her day first started when she woke up, seeing her very beautiful girlfriend who was, at the time, still deep in her slumber. Waking up next to a creature as gorgeous as her would, of course, make anyone's day. The way her lover softly said her greetings after she had just woken up made Nozomi's heart flutter, like she was still a young maiden, and that's one good feeling.
After eating breakfast and doing her usual routine, she went out to her office. The fact that she was actually pretty early and did not actually get one single scolding from her boss was definitely a great thing too.
As the day almost ended, she was invited to a reunion between the former Muse members. It really had been a sure while since their last meeting as a group. Nozomi was in contact to most of them, but gathering as a group had been quite a challenge as they were all mostly busy with life.
It really was lucky for all of them to have a free time at this very moment, considering Nico's hectic Idol schedule and Maki's shift in the Hospital. The purple-haired girl thanked the deity above who is watching over her.
They all decided to meet in a family restaurant in Akihabara.
"Nozomi-chan!" "Nozomi-chan, nya!" As she walked in, Nozomi was tackled by the ginger heads. They latched on her, making it a bit hard to move around.
"Rin, Honoka, let go of Nozomi. She must be tired." And of course, Umi was there to scold these little children, hands folded into one another and all. The purple-haired girl only lightly giggled.
"Aww, it's okay, Umi-chan!" there was the slightest glint of mischief in Nozomi's eyes. "Or do you actually want to join the hug too?" the cobalt-haired girl spluttered at her senior's words.
"Don't tease Umi too much, Nozomi." And there she was, the blonde beauty speaking to her from the table that they had reserved for the group. Rin and Honoka took the signal to release their grip from the girl and decided to bother the other members- most likely to be either Maki or Nico, or both.
The lovers both walked towards each other- turquoise locked to jade. As they met, light kisses on the cheeks and a chaste one on the lips were given. It was a beautiful moment that Hanayo had secretly taken a picture of, to be immortalized and reminisced in the future. Yes, even with Nico gagging in the background. What a lovely moment.
Their supposedly meeting had turned into a surprise birthday party and Nozomi was, certainly, very baffled. The birthday cake was one made from yakiniku cuts. Words couldn't describe how happy Nozomi was at the moment.
After the eating and birthday cake, the opening presents time came. Halfway through opening the gifts, Kotori and Eri had excused themselves to the toilet. It was weird as to why they went together, but Nozomi payed no mind to it.
The first present that she opened was from Rin and Hanayo. They had given her a few packs of Yakiniku meat that could last a person a few days to finish, but Nozomi, a day to. Bless these children.
Her next present came from Honoka, who had given her a box of hand-made Homura Manjuu. Knowing that it was hand-made by Honoka herself had made it the more special.
Next in line were both Nico and Maki. They had given her a necklace with the letter 'N' as the ornament. It was really beautiful.
Kotori had come back to the table just in time for her and Umi's turn. The seagulls had given her two tickets to a spa. How did they know that she needed a relaxation?
The last, but not the least, was Eri's present. Although, she needed to be blind folded for it. As she was wrapped around by darkness, she could hear some giggles from her friends and footsteps approaching where she was.
"You can open your blind fold, Nozomi-chan." As Kotori's voice rang in her ears, she took off the said object. After her eyes had adjusted to the light, she saw a very… funny and sweet sight.
There was her blonde girlfriend, a big red bow on top of her head and a paper with the writing "I'm your present" attached to her sweater. The purple-haired girl's reaction was to struggle holding in her laughter, not wanting to embarrass Eri any further. Soon enough, though, the other Muse member had started laughing, even Maki and Umi, which made it pretty hard to not keep her laughter.
The quarter-Russian was just standing there, in the midst of her friends' and lover's laughter, blushing furiously. She could only pout as her words would fall into deaf ears.
"N-Nozomi! I-If you don't want your present, then I'll take it back!" that was all Eri could say as she sulk.
"Ah- Ahaha- I'm sorry, Ericchi." Nozomi choked out, wiping of some tears that had gathered in her eyes due to all the laughing. "But, I do want my present."
The blonde couldn't get to let out any protest out of her mouth before she was swept off her feet by the purple-haired lady. Everyone was amused by this sight- even the strangers and waitresses in the restaurant.
"Well, I guess I'll be bringing my presents home now, especially this one on my arms. It was great seeing you guys again." Nozomi said, nonchalantly, with Eri hiding between the crook of her neck, probably out of her intense blushing. Hanayo definitely didn't miss her chance to take a picture of this.
The purple-haired girl took all of her and her girlfriend's belongings, somehow. Honoka had offered to help, but Nozomi told her that she could handle it. And handle it she did.
After they said their good byes, Eri still on Nozomi's arms, they- or, Nozomi- walk towards the car that was parked in the restaurant's parking lot. As they were walking, they had heard of two members shouting "go, Nozomi-chan!" Really, those gingers are something.
Their ride home was a silent one as Eri was still flustered. Nozomi was the one to break the silence.
"Thank you, Ericchi." The said girl brought her head up from gazing down on her hands to look at her lover. Could Nozomi have known…?
"W-what for?" Eri had a frown adorning her face. It wasn't the usual one she'd give when she's angry. It was the one she'd give when she's confused.
"For the surprise party, for gathering the other members, for the love you've given me throughout the years we were dating, for… just for everything." The car slowed down due to a red traffic light. Nozomi was looking at the steering wheel. Eri could see her lightly biting her lower lip. The blonde put her right hand atop of the older ones left.
"Hey… Nozomi…" the quarter-Russian propped the said girl's head on her other hand. "Look at me…" those icy blue eyes looked at her opponent's warm jade eyes with an enormous amount of love.
Eri's face had softened. The furrowed eyebrows were still there, but instead of it being accompanied by a pout, it was accompanied with a soft smile.
"You deserved it, okay?" the way the purple-haired girl's eyes had widened didn't go unnoticed to the other. Ah, Nozomi is doubting herself again.
"Hey, everyone was happy doing it. I am happy doing it. Don't think that you don't deserve it, because you totally do. You've been so much of a help for others. Sometimes, you gotta let others help you." Nozomi leaned in to her lover's warmth, now with a small smile on her face.
"Thanks, Ericchi."
A honk from the other car behind them broke them off their trance. They giggled from their very cheesy moment that had just happened and proceeded to drive to their shared apartment.
Their hand holding each other's all the way home.
Happy birthday, Nozomi.