A/N: This fic was originally only on tumblr, but I got a request to put it here in case I updated it, so here you go. I had to alter a few small things since ff did not like some of the symbols I used for the snaps.
Bzzt, bzzt.
The sudden buzz of Nozomi's phone startled her out of her trance. She'd been in the student council room for hours, Eli was adamant on getting all of their extra work done that day, so she was thankful for the sudden interruption. Nozomi took a quick glance around the room. Eli wasn't around at the moment. This would probably be her only opportunity for a break.
Nozomi quickly grabbed her phone, unlocking it with a quick swipe of her finger. There was a notification from Snapchat.
"It's probably from Nicocchi," Nozomi said to herself. Nico was one of the only girls in the group who used it frequently. If Nico hadn't introduced it to her, she probably wouldn't have used it herself, but she hadn't been able to resist the allure of sending stupid pictures back and forth with Nico during class.
Nozomi tapped on the yellow icon. The snaps were from "Nico-nii". It was like she thought. Nozomi smiled. These were bound to be good. Today was an important day for Nico, after all.
Nozomi held her finger down on the notification. The first image to pop up was of Nico on the roof. Her eyes were wide and her jaw was clenched. The caption on the photo read "I'm freaking out Nozomi". The picture disappeared after a few seconds only to be replaced by a second image of Nico clinging to the bars of the fence, her head thrown back dramatically. The caption on the second photo was "I can't do this!".
Nozomi chuckled. Nico was as over dramatic as usual. Nozomi raised her phone to face level. She smiled at the camera, her left hand flashing a thumbs up. Nozomi pressed down on the screen with her thumb. Feeling satisfied with picture, Nozomi tapped out a quick caption. "You can do it Nicocchi!"
"Nozomi, what are you doing?" A stern voice came from near the doorway. Nozomi flinched. She looked up, putting on her best smile. Eli stood near the door, her hands on her hips, her lips pursed.
"Just taking a quick break, Elicchi. No big deal." Nozomi flashed a toothy grin. Eli's frowned deepened.
Sighing heavily, Eli moved to her seat next to Nozomi, "We don't have time to fool around right now. There's still a lot of paperwork to get done, so you need to focus." Nozomi snickered at Eli's choice of words, earning a quick jab in side from the blonde girl. Suddenly, the phone in her hand buzzed again.
"Nozomi, no."
"Don't fret so much, Elicchi. This will only take a minute. It's important." Nozomi looked at the screen of her phone. Another notification from Snapchat. Nozomi unlocked her phone, moving quickly to avoid setting off Eli's temper.
There was a single picture this time. It was shoddily taken; Nico's face only appeared in the bottom right portion of the picture. From what Nozomi could tell, Nico was staring at something, her gaze directed towards what Nozomi assumed was the rooftop door. The caption was messily written: "Oh mmy y go d asd she's heere."
Nozomi moved to take another picture but stopped abruptly as she felt Eli grip her arm. The blonde girl stared at Nozomi, fire in her normally cool, blue eyes. Nozomi held her gaze, a small smile on her face. Eli would give in eventually. She always did.
After a few short moments, Eli sighed, removing her grip from Nozomi's arm, "I don't understand what could be on that phone that's more important than our work." Eli's lip stuck out in a subtle pout.
"I suppose I could tell you," Nozomi said, a sly grin forming. "But you'll be sworn to an oath of secrecy. I'll have to punish you if you break it."
"Alright..." Eli sounded suspicious. "What's so important that it requires this 'oath of secrecy', which you'll be breaking by telling me, by the way."
Nozomi waved her hand in dismissal, "You're worrying about the small details, Elicchi. What's important here is the big picture and that big picture is that Nicocchi is planning to ask out Maki on the roof today. It's happening right as we speak!"
"Wow, really?"
"Yeah," Nozomi nodded. "Nicocchi's been sending me snapchats about it."
Eli cocked her head to the side, "Snapchats? What are those?"
"I'll show you. Look." Nozomi beckoned Eli to lean in closer. She quickly went over the functionality of the app. Luckily for her, Eli was always one to grasp new concepts easily. As if on cue, Nozomi received a fourth snap from Nico.
"Oh, perfect timing. Let's see what happened!" Nozomi held her finger down on the notification, exaggerating her gesture to make sure Eli understood how it worked.
An image of Nico and Maki popped up. Nico had her arm around Maki's shoulders, who appeared to be desperately attempting to escape the range of the camera. Nico grinned at the camera. Underneath her face was a caption that said: "She said yes!"
"Oh, good for her. I'll have to voice my support to them next time we see each other." Eli returned to her work.
Nozomi made a face at Eli's lackluster reaction. "This isn't good. It's great! The cards were completely in her favor today, but she didn't believe me when I told her. Nicocchi's been freaking out all day. I'm glad everything worked out for her."
Eli looked up from the paperwork on the table, a small smile on her face, "Me too. But now that everything's settled, come help me finish this. I want to actually leave before sundown this time."
Nozomi ignored the request, "I'll be expecting a lot more updates from now on. This is exciting! I have to respond!" Nozomi raised her phone in front of her. She could hear Eli's heavy, exasperated sigh.
"What are you so excited about?"
Nozomi was practically vibrating in her seat. A couple days ago, Nico had come to her for advice on a first date location, which Nozomi had gladly given. Today was the day that that date would take place. The two had left school separately to prepare. Nozomi had been waiting patiently ever since.
"Today's a very important day, Elicchi." Nozomi checked her phone for any possible notification that may have slipped past her. "Nicocchi's taking Maki out on their first date today. She said she'd keep me updated on how it went. They should be meeting up right about now."
"Nico will probably be busy with her date. Do you really think she'll send you something right in the middle of it?" Eli scribbled something down on a piece of paperwork as she spoke, refusing to look away for even the slightest second.
"You don't know Nicocchi like I do. She'll send something." Nozomi answered, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "But you can't honestly say you're not curious. I'm guessing you are."
"You're guessing wrong. It's their business. They can tell me about it in person."
"Boo, killjoy Elicchi. I guess I'll have to look at this snap I just received all by myself." Nozomi smiled as she saw Eli's pencil stop moving. The blonde girl looked up through her eyelashes.
"What's the picture?" Eli asked tentatively.
Nozomi looked down at her phone instinctively, "Whoa, I actually do have one!" She had lied to prove a point, but apparently Nico's sense of timing was beyond perfect. Nozomi rushed over to Eli.
The first picture to show up was of Maki, who was glancing down at a menu. A triumphant feeling came over Nozomi. She recognized that menu. Nico had taken her restaurant suggestion after all. The picture was carefully taken, angled in a way that the light hit Maki's features perfectly. It seemed obvious that it was taken with the intent to show off Maki's looks.
After ten seconds, a second picture appeared, this one being much more humorous that the artsy one before. Nico's eyes were closed and her fist was brought up to cover her mouth.
"I don't get it." Eli looked at the picture intently, her brow furrowing.
"Oh, Elicchi..." Nozomi threw Eli a lopsided grin. "She's basically saying that Maki looks really good."
"That's it?"
Another notification popped up, "Wait, I just got another one."
The third picture showed a pouting Nico with a caption that said: "Maki got mad at me for snapchatting." Nozomi laughed. It was unlikely that Nico would learn her lesson from this. Nozomi fully expected many pictures of an unsuspecting Maki in the future.
Nozomi almost dropped her phone. This was the last thing she had expected to get. She wasn't sure how to respond. Normally, she tried to keep her replies light hearted and humorous, but this was way too serious for that. This could potentially be devastating.
"So...just told Mama I'm dating a girl..." The picture had been of Nico, her expression worryingly uncomfortable. Nozomi had been finishing up homework when Nico had sent that. She had been caught completely off guard.
Should she even answer? Should she text her? Call her? This wasn't something that could be taken lightly. This was a serious topic that Nozomi hadn't even managed to talk about herself. Both Nico and Maki had risked a lot by making their relationship public at school, but telling a family member was on a whole different level.
Nozomi's phone buzzed again. Nico had sent another snap. Nozomi's heart thumped rapidly as she tapped on it. If this went badly, it was possible that she could look to her cards to find a path through this. Nozomi made a mental note to do a reading later.
A second image of Nico popped up. Nico was grinning at the camera, her hand forming a thumbs up. "She approves!"
Nozomi laid her head down on her desk. She'd have to punish Nico for that scare tomorrow.
The second Nozomi's phone buzzed, she rolled over to reach her phone on the nightstand next to her bed. Today, Maki had invited Nico out somewhere, and if today was like any of their other outings, Nico captured some of the finer moments. Nozomi eagerly unlocked her phone, her fingers moving with fervency.
"Oh? She sent me a video instead." Nozomi thrust her phone towards Eli, who sat on the other end of the bed focusing intently on a book in her hands.
Eli looked up, "Is that weird?" Though her expression seemed to suggest disinterest in this new development, the curious tone of her voice gave her away.
Nozomi shook her head, "No, not really. I just expected a picture. But that doesn't matter. Let's watch it together." Nozomi lifted herself up from her laying position and moved to sit besides Eli. She leaned against the blonde girl's shoulder, her hand holding out the phone in front of them. She clicked play.
"I'm at the art museum with Maki, and I'm so bored that I can literally feel myself dying inside. I don't know how Maki can stand to be here for this long. We've been here an hour, and I think I may be going crazy."
The camera shook as Nico talked. She had taken the video while walking around the gallery. Nico rounded a corner and stopped walking. The camera suddenly zoomed in on Maki, who was observing one of the paintings at the other end of the gallery hall.
"Though, if anything good came out of being here today, it's that looking at all of these so called masterpieces made me realize something. Maki's the most beautiful person I've ever seen. Even more so than myself, and that's saying a lot! We're surrounded by all of this beauty and she still manages to blow it all away... Wow, I can't believe I actually just said that. I'm definitely not sending this."
The video ended. Nozomi felt a sharp pain in her cheeks. She had been grinning the whole time without even noticing. That slight pain wasn't enough to force the smile off her face. That video had been too good. Each addition that Nico shared with her was better than the last. Nozomi couldn't calm her fast beating heart as excitement flowed throughout her body.
"That was quite the powerful compliment," Eli spoke up. "Don't you think she was exaggerating a bit?"
Nozomi chucked, shaking her head, "You just don't love Maki like Nicocchi does. You'd understand if you could see Maki like she does."
Eli cocked her head to the side, "Do you understand?"
"Yeah, but in a different way. I may not feel those things about Maki, but I understand what a person has to feel to say something like that about another person." Nozomi smiled sweetly, her body pressing against Eli's instinctively. "When someone's that important to you, they're all that matters. Nothing in the world can compare to them. Everything they do touches your heart, and their little quirks become your favorite things. That's what Nicocchi's feeling right now, and I understand."
"Hmm, I don't know if I get it..."
"That's okay, Elicchi."
"Elicchi, look at what Nicocchi sent!" Nozomi could barely contain her laughter as she walked into the student council room. "I took a screenshot so you could see!" Nozomi sat herself down next to Eli, who immediately turned her attention away from the paperwork on the table.
Nozomi brought up the pictures she had saved on her phone. Eli sputtered at the sight of the first one, her face turning a shade of dark red. Nico had taken a picture of herself and Maki right in the middle of a kiss. The caption read: "First kiss~~~~~" It was a masterfully taken picture considering Nico's preoccupation.
Eli covered her face with her hands, "How did Nico even manage to take that?"
"I don't know. This is why I don't underestimate Nicocchi's snapchatting skills. But that doesn't matter. It gets better."
Nozomi swiped to the left to reveal the next picture. It showed a wide eyed Maki, who Nozomi assumed had come to the realization that Nico had been taking photos in the midst of their first kiss. The next showed an infuriated Maki tugging at the cheeks of a now distressed Nico. Nozomi couldn't stop herself from laughing after seeing the picture for a second time.
Nozomi swiped to the final picture. She could see Maki's retreating form in the distance, her hands balled at her sides. At the bottom left corner of the picture, Nico's arm was extended towards Maki as if she had been calling out to her. The caption showed a small broken heart emoticon.
"Maki must be really mad about that." Eli sounded worried. "I hope that doesn't damage their relationship."
"It won't," Nozomi smiled. "The fact that Nicocchi goes out of her way to capture these kinds of moments shows how enthusiastic she is about their relationship. Maki loves Nicocchi, so I'm sure deep down she understands and appreciates Nicocchi's intentions. She might be a little stern with Nicocchi for a while, but I'm sure she'll forgive this."
"Wow, they must be really close."
"They are." Nozomi looked at the pictures fondly. She made sure to save every photo that Nico sent. It reminded her that she didn't need to worry about Nico anymore. The threats of loneliness and constant solitude were no longer issues for her twintailed friend. Nozomi couldn't be happier for her.
Nozomi's phone buzzed for the umpteenth time that night. She had ignored it at first, she wanted to focus on her tarot readings, but this last time had successfully grabbed her attention. Before she could stand to retrieve it, Eli moved to grab it.
"You got another snapchat from Nico. Can I look?" Eli held Nozomi's phone up, ready to open it once Nozomi gave an okay.
"Don't get too excited, Elicchi." Nozomi hid a smile behind a card in her hand.
Eli's face turned red, "I'm not excited! You've been showing me everything she sends, so I might as well look at this one too. That's the only reason!"
"Whatever you say, Elicchi. Let me look too. I mean she sent in to me." Nozomi got up and walked to the other end of the table where Eli stood. After taking her phone back from Eli, she unlocked it. Her jaw dropped at the number of notifications she had. Apparently, something big was happening.
The first picture was of Nico dressed in a short, tight fitting black dress. Silver earrings hung from each ear. "Date night! Maki's treating me!" The next image showed the outside of an expensive looking restaurant with a caption that said "Whoa look at this place!" The building was several stories high.
"Leave it to Maki to pick something extra nice. I'm almost jealous," Eli stared at Nozomi's phone with wide eyes. "How can she afford this?"
"She's rich, remember?"
"Right. How could I forget?"
The next several pictures were of the interior of the restaurant. Each picture had the same caption: "look at this" in all caps. The interior was as glamorous as Nozomi would expect from a luxury restaurant. Each table was decorated with candles and a set of nicely polished silverware. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling. On one side, the restaurant gave a view of the city.
"I take back what I said before. I'm definitely jealous. I can't look at this anymore." Eli turned and walked to her normal spot in the room.
"I'm glad Nicocchi gets to experience this." Nozomi smiled at her phone. "It seems like she's having a lot of fun. Oh, wait. I just got another one."
A new notification popped up. Nozomi opened it to see a picture of Nico clinging to one of the walls of the restaurant. "I want to live here!" Nozomi laughed boisterously. Nico was definitely having fun. Seeing Nico as happy as she was always brightened Nozomi's day.
"Why do keep staring at your phone?"
Nozomi felt Eli prod at her side. The blonde girl was clearly annoyed by her behavior, but Nozomi couldn't fight off her jittery feeling of anticipation. This became a regular feeling after receiving so many updates from Nico. Every time Nozomi was made aware that Nico and Maki were spending time together, she was glued to her phone, eager to see whatever new thing happened that day.
"You invited me to come over today, but you keep staring at that thing. I'm curious about them too, but you could at least do something else until you get something from her."
Nozomi gave Eli an apologetic smile, "You're right, Elicchi. I'm sorry."
Eli closed her eyes and sighed before returning Nozomi's smile. "Why is this so important to you anyway? The only other thing I've seen you this attached to is your tarot cards." Nozomi had asked herself this before. The answer came easily.
"Nicocchi's been through a lot. Many years of her life haven't been easy for her. Remember when we used to watch her hand out flyers by herself? That always bothered me. I couldn't help but worry about her. I've never seen Nicocchi smile or laugh as much as she does when she's with Maki. Every picture reminds me of the happiness she's feeling. I think she really deserves it. And I don't have to worry anymore because I know she isn't alone."
Eli pulled Nozomi into a tight hug, "You really are a good person, Nozomi. I'm sure that just by listening and being attentive you're making Nico smile too." Nozomi leaned into Eli's embrace.
Their moment of closeness was interrupted by a loud buzz. Nozomi immediately wiggled out of Eli's arms and reached out for her phone. One new notification. Nozomi grinned. The moment she had been waiting for had arrived. She felt Eli lean over to look at the phone as she tapped on the Snapchat icon.
There was a single image of Nico, her head resting on the shoulder of a sleeping Maki. Her hand was up in a victory sign near her face and her tongue was slightly sticking out. The caption read: "Caught the bae sleepin".
Eli shook her head, "Another sneaky picture. When will Nico learn? That's only going to make Maki angry when she finds out."
"Let's answer it!" Nozomi extended her phone out in front of her so Eli would fit in the picture. She dropped her jaw and put her free hand up to her cheek. Nozomi bumped Eli with her shoulder once she noticed the blonde girl giving her a look.
"You're supposed to make a face." Nozomi continued to prod Eli with her shoulder.
"Uh, no thanks..." Eli attempted to scoot away from the camera. Nozomi quickly grabbed Eli's arm.
"Make a face, Elicchi."
"Alright, alright." Eli put a hand up to her mouth, her eyes wide, in her own mock surprised face. Nozomi quickly took the picture before Eli could change her mind.
"Perfect!" Nozomi grinned in approval. "I'll send this right after a quick caption." Nozomi's fingers tapped rapidly on the screen. "You'll make Maki mad if she finds out!" With one more tap of the screen, the picture was sent.
The second Nozomi set her phone back down, she received another one. 'She's not mad!'. Nico was pressing her lips against Maki's cheek, who was now completely awake. Maki looked at the camera with sleepy eyes, smiling softly, a light blush coloring her cheeks.
"Maki must be getting used to this by now." Nozomi took note of Maki's lack of resistance. That thought filled Nozomi with emotion. It only meant good things.
"Yeah I suppose she is. That's lucky for Nico. She'll be able to get away with it now."
Nozomi buried her face in her hands, "They're so cute, Elicchi. I can't take it. I feel like I'm about to burst with happiness. I don't know what to do with all of this emotion. I feel like I'm watching my little sister grow up."
Eli chuckled, "She's only about a month younger than you, you know. I'm sure Nico would throw a fit if she heard you say that."
"I can't help but feel that way. I mean, just look at them! They're precious!"
"Well, you aren't wrong. They really are cute together." Eli mused. "I'm starting to see the allure of getting these snapchats. It makes me happy to see them so, well, happy."
"I knew you'd get it eventually, Elicchi!" Nozomi looked up at Eli, giving her an approving nod.
"Though I do have kind of a weird question." Eli fidgeted in her seat. "Hypothetically, if you were dating, I don't know, someone like me, would you send your own updates to Nico? I'm just curious, of course, since you seem to like this Snapchat thing so much." Eli looked everywhere but Nozomi's eyes.
Nozomi fought back her urge to laugh, "I don't know, Elicchi. Let's find out."
"Alright. Wait, what?"
Maybe, just maybe, she'd be able to share her own feelings, which had been deeply rooted in her heart for two years, with Nico. They could laugh with each other over the silly snapchats of their girlfriends. It was possible that that, which Nozomi had only daydreamed about, would become a reality. She would just have to wait and see.