Just a quick little Nozoeli oneshot.
In the student council room, the student council president Eli Ayasae was quickly going through all of the budget requests from Otonokizaka's extensive amounts of clubs. Her best friend, and Vice President, was late, it was slightly worrying Eli, Nozomi was always punctual for her student council work. It was one of the many things Eli liked about her dear friend Nozomi. Without any warning, the lights in the student council room all shut off. Eli's high pitched shriek echoed throughout the empty halls of the school, but the lights quickly turned back on. She hated the dark more than anything, it brought back terrifying memories. Now standing in front of her was Nozomi smiling.
"What were you thinking Nozomi! First you were late and now you decided to scare me!" The smile on Nozomi's face dropped a little bit as a tinge of guilt made its way into her unique turquoise eyes. Her intention wasn't to scare Elichi that much, she just wanted to have a little bit of fun.
"Sorry Elichi, I got held up as I was coming here. Elichi is just too cute when she is scared~"At Eli's annoyed huff, Nozomi reached into her bag and pulled out a dark chocolate bar. "Will this make you forgive me Elichi?" The dark chocolate bar in question was Eli's absolute favorite brand and was treasured by Eli.
"Horasho. Where did you get such good chocolate, Nozomi?" Eli was already peeling back the wrapper and gazed lovingly at the delicious, mouth watering chocolate. It was easily her favorite.
"Someone put it in my locker along with a cute little love note~" Nozomi smiled and took out a folded note that was covered in tiny hearts and beautiful cursive handwriting. At this statement Eli was slightly perturbed, and Nozomi of course noticed. "Aww. Are you jealous Elichi? You always get a ton of confessions, you're way more popular than me~" At Nozomi's statement, Eli couldn't help but feel that Nozomi should be way more popular than her. Nozomi, was sweet, super intelligent, and the most generous person Eli has ever known, where as Eli was just cold and awkward.
"So, who confessed to you? Was it another first year?" Nozomi let out a sound that neither confirmed nor denied Eli's suspicion. Eli let out a small huff at Nozomi's antics ad finished her chocolate aafter she filed the last of the papers, getting ready to go to a μ's meeting. Eli grabbed Nozomi's hand and dragged her to the club room, secretly cherishing how perfect Nozomi's hand fit in hers.
The bright screen of the computer monitor lit up the club room. On the screen was a video of Otonokizaka High's very own school idol group, μ's. The comments were rolling in, most of them were positive and a few caught Honoka -the fearless leader of μ's- eye.
"Hey guys, what does OTP mean? Why does this comment say it?" A beat of silence filled the room after Honoka's inquiry. The comment she was staring at was from the username μ's for lyfe, and said: The Nozoeli in this video is too real. #TRUEOTP. At the comment Eli's face burst into flames while, Nozomi simply smiled a smile that always seemed to adorn her face when someone was speaking about Eli and shook her head. Under the comment, were many others either agreeing with the top comment or, refuting it. Some of the other ones consisted of Kotumi is obviously the best and Nicomaki is the cutest ship ever! "Are you okay Eli? Your face is really red, is OTP a bad thing?" Finally after awkward glances were exchanged by everyone in the room -excluding Maki and Umi, who seemed also a little bit curious- someone decided to speak up and answer Honoka's question.
"An OTP means one true pairing, every idol group has one! They are quintessential in any successful school idol group! They are the glue that binds the group together, all the fans become invested in their relationship. Every group that has been successful in Love Live have one. Even A-Rise has a common one with Erena and Anju." At Hanayo's impassioned speech Honoka smiled and Nico gave an agreeing nod. At the description of OTP Eli's face some how got even brighter as she murmured a quiet "harasho", while Nozomi still smiled and began patting Eli's back. Umi cleared her throat and began to get the club back on track. They had to think of a way to boost their popularity and ranking if they wanted to compete at Love Live.
"We have more important issues to discuss than what an OTP is. Our ranking seems to have hit a plateau. We need to do something in order to regain our momentum! Our performances much be better than ever, which means we have to practice moreand harder than ever before!" The rest of the idols let out a resigned sigh as they saw the dangerous gleam in Umi's eyes. That look meant that they would have to do a lot of running. The idols muttered to themselves and tossed around possible ideas to raise their standings. Finally, Nico spoke up.
"How about we auction off a date with Nico, everyones' favorite school idol!" The idols seemed to actually mull the thought over till, Maki pointed out that it wouldn't be fair to their fans that weren't as well off. Nozomi, of course felt the need to question the redhead's motive.
"Is that the only reason you don't want Nicochi to go on a date, Maki? Or is there some other reason you don't want to see Niccochi meet someone else? The cards say she'll be swept off her feet soon by the love of her life." Nozomi proclaimed with her Cheshire smile, all the whole nudging Nico closer to the red faced Maki who was trying to gather up the right words to set her senpai straight.
"I-It's not like that Nozomi! Plus your one to talk, all you do is fawn over Eli every time we are in a serious meeting!" Nozomi simply shrugged as Eli placed her head down hard on the wooden table of the club room, trying to escape the awkward situation. Honoka, who, was sitting a the table unusually quiet chose to at that moment to spring up excitedly with her eyes bright and full of enthusiasm, it was definitely a dangerous sign.
"I have the best idea ever! You know how all our fans came up with their OTPs, what if we have all of them vote on whose their favorite OTP and the winning OTP have to write and perform a love song at our next live show! It will draw in some new support and we get a new song to perform! It's just perfect! Plus, it'll be super duper cute!"
"That's a great idea nya~, I hope Hanayo and I win, then we get to sing a super cute song! It would be the best nya~" Rin seemed to be the only one who agreed though as the club continued to speak and ignore the still standing Honoka who was starting to realize that her fellow club members were completely ignoring her.
"Guys were you even paying attention to my idea?! It would make our fans super duper happy!" Umi just shuttered as Honoka spoke.
"Your idea is much too shameful! Singing a love song in front of a large crowd of people is just too embarrassing!" After her comment Umi seems to fall into herself and grow distant from the others, a sure sign of one of her 'episodes'.The girls exchanged glances as Kotori tried to comfort Umi who was having another one of her embarrassed episodes.
"We should take a vote! Come on guys it's a good idea and I really think it will help us! Plus, it will be so much fun!" At Honoka's comment an awkward shrug amongst the group was shared as it was the unanimous symbol to take a vote. Nozomi smiled and raised her hand followed by Honoka, Nico, Rin and a reluctant Hanayo. They technically didn't need another vote, but it was still wpolite to give the four girls opposed to the idea a chance to vote, Umi was definitely not going to vote for Honoka's idea and Kortori was much busy consoling Umi to vote. Maki and Eli shared an embarrassed glance as they shook their heads in silent resignation, no matter what they did, it wouldn't change the group's mind, all they could do was hope that they didn't win the darn competition. "Okay, then it settled, I'll post something on the website, it'll be so much fun!" True to her word, a post explaining the details of the competition with an assortment of heart emojis was posted and was already gathering a large amount of comments.
~After the meeting~
"Are you sure this competition will be a good idea, Nozomi?" Eli and Nozomi were walking to Nozomi's apartment building as they did almost everyday. Eli always loved to keep Nozomi company, her apartment was strikingly bare and empty, for someone as colorful as Nozomi. Nozomi was like a walking contradiction, so outgoing, but oh so timid at the same time. A smile made its way to Eli's face as she thought of Nozomi's timid moments, she was always so cute when she was timid.
"The cards tell me that this competition is just what μ's needs. The competition is for sure going to have a positive impact on μ's." Nozomi held up the Lovers card with a cheeky smile. Eli just sighed, Nozomi was almost always right when it came to predicting the results of an event. She was scarily accurate, especially when it came to matters of the heart.
Finally, Nozomi and Eli reached the apartment and settled into Nozomi's small, but cozy room. Eli spotted something on Nozomi's dresser that wasn't there the last time she visited. On her dresser there was a picture with all the members of μ's performing their absolute best. The smiles in the picture were all huge, but Nozomi's seems to shine the brightest in Eli's opinion, she looked at peace and happier than usual. Eli let out a chuckle, out of all the people in μ's, Nozomi to most would seem like the least sentimental member, but Eli knew she treasured all of the memories of the energetic school idol group.
"I didn't know you had this photo Nozomi. It would be a shame if everyone else saw this." Eli teased, finally in a more relaxed state that she was in the club room. What Eli didn't expect though, was Nozomi to let out a cute, but distracting yelp, and tackle her. Eli lost her balance and fell on Nozmi's soft bed with Nozomi landing on top of her, reaching for the photo tucked into Eli's chest. "You shouldn't be embarrassed Nozomi. It's okay to feel the way you do, even you need to feel this way every once in a while." Eli blushed at the close contact with the purple haired girl, but eventually relented and gave the cute photo to an even cuter Nozomi. Nozomi put the photo back on her dresser that had another picture on it.
The other picture frame held a moment that was very dear to both Nozomi and Eli. The photo was of Eli and Nozomi at Eli's favorite spot in the world, an old green house full of beautiful plants. It was taken during her first year at Otonokazaki High, she wasn't friends with Nozomi at the the time; in fact, she saw Nozomi as little more than a nuisance that kept persisting on being her friend. One day, Nozomi grabbed Eli's hand when she was walking home, since they lived in the same direction, and half dragged, half led her to an abandoned green house. Eli was having the worst day of her life, her grandma died in the hospital that morning, but she had to put on a brave face in order to formulate a plan to save the school that was very near and dear to her grandma's heart. Eli was quite angry and tried to leave on multiple occasions, but eventually she gave up and tried to enjoy the beautiful lilies that adorned the walls of the green house. Eventually, Eli found herself talking to Nozomi and they had one of the most honest conversations they ever had. Nozomi snapped a selfie without Eli's knowledge and it quickly became one of Eli's favorite moments even though that day was the worst she has ever had. Eli could still imagine the cool parfait they got after the green house, it was the first time Nozomi and her got parfaits. Eli's eyes seemed to gloss over as she became fully immersed in her memories of her friendship with Nozomi. In the middle of her reminiscing her phone rang and she got toldtjat it was late and that she should come home by her over protective mother. Eli got up, but in all her reminiscing she failed to notice that Nozomi fell asleep.
The girl with beautiful turquoise eyes was fast asleep, with a peaceful look on her face. Eli smiled and slowly got up, trying her hardest to get up as quiet as possible to not wake her best friend. She draped the softest blanket in Nozomi's room onto Nozomi, who instantly cuddled with the blanket. Nozomi could fall asleep anywhere, but when she did, Nozomi's face was so relaxed and unguarded. Eli loved that her friend who was constantly worrying about others was able to get at least some moments of peace. Eli grabbed the notebook off of Nozomi's desk and wrote a note that said: You fell asleep again. I had to leave, but don't worry, remember to get enough sleep. I will see you tomorrow, goodnight Nozomi. At the end of the note Eli added a small heart. Whenever they wrote notes to each other, they always added a heart at the end, it was their special sign, it wasn't romantic at all. Their relationship was strictly platonic in Eli's eyes, at least most of the time...
~ Otonokizaki High, μ's club room, One week later~
"The results of the competition are in!" Honoka proclaimed, practically brimming with excitement. All of the school idol gro up members were in the club room awaiting the results of their competition. Some of the members, such as Rin and Honoma were happily awaiting the results, while, some, like Umi and Maki were positively dreading the results of their online competition. The computer seemed to take forever to open the results of the competition, slowly downloading all of the votes from their dear fans. "Okay, with 18% of the vote is Rin x Hanayo." Rain seemed genuinely disappointed in the results whole Hanuo appeared to be a little relieved. Umi, Maki, and Eli, however, took in a tense deep breath, dreading knowing that one of them will have to sing a love song at the next live show. "Next with 24% is Kotori x Umi." Umi lets out a sigh of relief as Maki and Eli tense further. Eli's face contorted into the face she usually only wears right before a live show and Maki bit her lip, eyebrows furrowing a bit. "Then, with 28% is... Nico x Maki. Which means the winners with 31% is Nozomi x Eli!" Maki lets out a genuine smile as a high pitched "horasho" fills the room. At this point, everyone in the room turned to stare at Nozomi and Eli. Eli was predictably red faced and fuming while, Nozomi eyes were wide and a blush painted her cheeks. The cards did not tell her that she and Elichi would win!
"Why look at Nozomi! All red faced and wide eyed, how's it feel now Nozomi?" Nico teased with a smile, it was finally payback for all the breast groping the purple haired girl did. Nozomi snapped out of her trance and quickly walked her way to Nico and grabbed her breasts at maximum power. Nico tried to escape, but to no avail. No one was going to help her, in fear of retaliation from the mother of μ's herself.
"So it has been decided! As the fans dub them, Nozoeli will write and perform their original love song. You should get working the live show is only 2 weeks away." Nozomi seemed to regain her natural cheerfulness while Eli was still in a state of shock. The bell rang, signaling the end of the club meeting, all of the members not including Nozomi and Eli filed out of the club room.
"Are you okay, Elichi? The performance isn't that big of a deal, I'm sure it will be fine~" Nozomi was doing her best to soothe her friend who was now looking as pale as a ghost. If Nozomi was being honest, she was terrified of singing a love song to the girl she felt drawn to the first time she saw her. She had been told multiple times by Nico that she made her feelings for Elichi super obvious to everyone but Eli, she even drew hearts on all the notes she leaves Elichi, it was clear to her that Eli wouldn't accept her obvious feelings, which, while it hurt, she would rather be Elichi's friend than nothing at all. "I know you don't want to do it Elichi, but we have to go through with it. Honoka promised our fans. It is our duty after all to make the most people as happy as possible. We have to write the lyrics really fast though if we want Maki to compose. Come on, we can go to our special hideaway and get parfaits afterwords."
Eli allowed Nozomi to guide her all the way to their special green house. They hadn't come to the green house in a long time, but it's seemed to be the same as Eli remembered. The flowers were all still green and fresh, mostly variations of lilies scattered about the green house. The lilies were beautiful and were always Eli's favorites. In the back of the green house there was still a rusty bench swing that was the perfect place to think in peace. Eli plopped down on the swing along with Nozomi and almost robotically, took out a notebook and pen. Eli's shoulders drooped and tears began to for, in her eyes and stream down her pale cheeks. Nozomi saw this and right away, and tenderly wiped away her tears of sadness and frustration.
"Please don't cry Elichi." Eli calmed a bit into Nozomi's touch a and melted into her side, letting out a shaky breath.
"I'm just too awkward to write such a song. I'm a mess! I'm sorry Nozomi!" Nozomi sighed, Eli was always so stubborn.
"There's nothing to be sorry for Elichi. It's okay the cards say this experience will be a positive one, and as you say I'm almost never wrong with these types of things. Plus, after we do this, we can plot how to get our revenge on the rest of the club while we eat our parfaits." Nozomi was scarily good at plotting at revenge schemes and Eli cracked a smile at getting back at the club. After one unproductive hour, Nozomi came up with a new idea to get the ball rolling. "Do you have a crush on anyone Eli?" At her unexpected question, Eli's face heated up and she furiously shook her head no.
"Do you have one Nozomi?" Eli asked in a hesitant voice laced with genuine curiosity. Nozomi simply smiled and gave a slight nod. Eli's eyes widen and a look of shock appears on her face, but she doesn't say anything, simply processing the brand new information.
"The reason I ask Elichi, is because, we simply have to get into character, to write the love song, we have to pretend to love one another." As she says this Nozomi winces internally, because she knows that she doesn't have to pretend like Eli does. Nozomi let out a minuscule sigh and takes Eli's pen and notebook from her. In her elegant handwriting, Nozomi wrote down a couple of lines as a possible idea for the song.
A maze of dreams... a maze of lilies...
When my eyes filled with longing
Search for you from afar
I feel lonely
I want to tell you that I'm here
Eli's eyes widen as she reads the lyrics and she can't help but feel that those lyrics were perfect. She knew how lonely Nozomi was and even still can be. For a brief moment, Eli allowed herself to believe that some of the lyrics were genuine. She always had a soft spot for both romance and Nozomi. So, Eli took the pen and notebook and jotted down some more lines to the song without looking at Nozomi, who was most definetely looking at her
Ah! Let's go to the glass garden, just the two of us
There won't be anyone else; we won't need anyone else
I just want to bloom, quiet and fragile
As I swing with you now
On the secret swing
We just look at each other tenderly
The quiet sigh of a girl who's in love with love is
Lonely... content to be lonely...
Now it was Nozomi's turn to look at the page in shock. Of course, Eli would write such beautiful lyrics, she was always a good writer and had quite an extensive collection of poetry. Nozomi wrote two more lines and sent a smile to Eli.
I want to capture your heart
So that it can't go anywhere
"We should get going Elichi, it's getting late, the cafe is going to close soon. We could work on this later, okay?" Nozomi smiled and offered her hand to Eli who gladly accepted it. They left the green room, but only after they waters all of the plants.
~Student Council Room 2 weeks later~
"What do you want Nozomi? Why isn't your precious Eli here?" At Nico's comment, Nozomi sighed, in her heart, she knew she needed help. Normally, she would go to Eli, but in this situation, that was impossible.
"I-I needed to ask you a question." At Nozmi's scared tone, Nico's face softened and she motioned for her to ask her the question that was so troubling. Nozomi finally gathered her courage and blurted out her question. "Do you think Elichi can love me like I love her?" Nozomi's question was rushed and jumbled, but Nico understood and she burst out laughing. Her laughing continued, till she realized that Nozomi's question was a serious inquiry.
"Are you that dense Nozomi? I thought you were supposed to be super smart or something. Eli is so obviously in love with you it's painful and, the only two people who are unaware of your mutual love is you two idiots. Even Umi knows you two are heads over heels for each other, and she is still unaware that Kotori has been in love with her since they were children!" Nozomi smiled slightly, still not quite believing in Nico's statement, but gaining some confidence because of Nico.
"You're one to talk Nicochi, have you confessed to Maki yet?" At Nozomi's comment Nico muttered something under her breath that Nozomi couldn't hear, so she asked Nico to speak up.
"I said, we've been dating since last week!" Nozomi smiled and Nico's outburst.
"Ha, I know Nicochi. I saw you guys kiss after the meeting." At Nozomi's nonchalantness, Nico lightly hit her shoulder, which caused Nozomi to grope her breasts, but only at half power.
"Will you help me Nico? I'll keep your secret, but you have to help me out at the live show." Nico seemed to mull this over before she asked a very important question.
"What do you need me to do?" Nozomi smiled and detailed her plan to finally tell her precious Elichi how she feels.
~Live Show, 3 weeks later~
Both Nozomi and Eli were nervous, extremely so. Eli was frantically pacing after their second to last song. Thee was a ten minute break between the songs and it was driving Eli crazy, she already changed into her tight light blue outfit, she had yet to see Nozomi though. As the weeks progressed Eli was really focused on nailing the song, it had to be absolutely perfect for Nozomi, for her, and for their lovely fans.
Nozomi was having trouble doing breathing exercises, when Nico stopped to talk to her. Nico was still dressed in her attire from the last number, while Nozomi was dressed in her tight purple outfit.
"Don't stress out too much Nozomi. Eli may be painfully oblivious, but even she can't be this dense. Go get your girl. And just remember, Nico ni, nico ni." Nico's comment alleviated a little bit of Nozomi's stress, but she was still worried about her hastily crafted plan. The time was running out, so she didn't have a ton of time to sit and worry about the magnitude of her actions.
Nozomi shakily went onto the stage, thinking about what Elichi looked like in her matching outfit, she was definitely going to be even more beautiful than she is everyday. Nozomi eventually made her way to the center of the stage and for the first time on the day of the live show, she allowed herself to gaze at Eli. Eli was stunning, the shorter blue dress was skin tight and in her hair was a headband of lilies. Eli had a smile plastered on her face, that to most looked like she was completely calm, but to Nozomi, it was clear to see that she was really nervous. Hoping to ease her nerves, Nozomi reached out and took her hand in her slightly larger hand. Eli allowed her hand to be engulfed by Nozomi's, seeking some sort of comfort. The song started and Nozomi began singing, putting all of her heart and soul into hopefully conveying her message. Throughout the song, Nozomi and Eli's eyes were fixated on one another, trying and failing to do more than sway in place. The crowd was going crazy, but neither girl could hear it, all they could hear were their own heartbeats which sounded loudly in their ears. During the last part of the song, Nozomi took both of Eli's hands and began to slow dance with a shocked Eli. Nozomi sang the last part of the song quieter, almost being drowned out by the loud screams of their fans.
A secret romance
Though I want to feel you
I'm still just looking at you painfully
My feelings won't let me stay a girl who's in love with love
Why... does it hurt so much?
As I swing with you now
On the secret swing
We just look at each other tenderly
The quiet sigh of a girl who's in love with love is
Lonely... content to be lonely...
A maze of dreams... A maze of lilies...
The music petered out as the cheering got even louder. Nozomi spared Eli one last look before separating and turning to face the overly loud audience.
"Thank you so much! As some of you know, three weeks ago, there was a competition and the winning ship had to write, choreograph and perform a love song. Elichi and I won so we actually wrote that song." The cheers got even louder at Nozomi's declaration. "Calm down, please, I have something important to confess." As Nozomi's words continued, the crowd gradually grew quiet to the point, one could probably hear a pin drop. "At this point, I'm going to ask my good friend Nicochi to come out with a special surprise." Nico rushed on stage carrying a bouquet of fresh lilies and handed them off to Nozomi along with a small nod and encouraging smile.
Eli was stood frozen, staring at Nozomi who was now holding the bouquet of lilies with a hesitant smile on her face. Eli's mind was going a hundred miles a minute, trying to process what could possibly be going on.
"Now, I figured that I should do this here. I gained enough courage from everyone watching us perform. Elichi, I have something really important to tell you, so I need you to hear me out okay~. Ever since the first moment I saw you, when you transferred into my class, I was drawn to you. We became friends and I was happy, happy that I didn't have to be alone anymore. I felt as if we were tied together by the red strings of fate. I know that we are tied together, but I feel it goes deeper than friendship to me. What I'm trying to say is that I love you Elichi~" A loud array of gasps and camera flashes could be heard going off, but Nozomi didn't care, all she was focused on was Eli, who was standing in front of her opening and closing her mouth, trying to find the right words to say. Nozomi lowered her eyes as tears seemed to form in them. So, Nico was wrong was Nozomi's first thought, but then, she felt a hand tilt her head back up to meet Eli's eyes. Eli grabbed the bouquet from Nozomi and placed it on the stage floor. Eli took Nozomi's head in her hands and kissed her softly on her full lips. The crowd erupted in cheers, but it was nothing compared to the fireworks going off in both Nozomi's and Eli's head.
"I love you too, Nozomi." In the background, all of the members of μ's were cheering loudly as, Eli and Nozomi left the stage to go celebrate their new found love for each other. Nozomi and Eli were still holding hands when suddenly Nozomi let go of her hands and stepped in front of her.
"I have one other surprise for you, Elichi~ I promise it's a good one~" Eli looked where Nozomi was pointing and her jaw dropped. In front of them were all the other members of μ's holding ten dark chocolate bars each. Nozomi simply shrugged and smiled. All that could be heard was, an astonished murmur
"Horasho."
Omake:
Honako: Hey guys, I just realized something, if Nozomi is like the mother of μ's, does that mean Eli is the father of μ's?
Nozomi: What are you talking about? *blushes* Elichi is too pure to be a father at this age!
Nico: Are you saying that you aren't pure? Is their something you wish to tell us, Nozomi? *insert mischievous smile*
Eli: Is it true Nozomi? *eyes water as a slight pout appears on her face*
Umi: It's shameful!
Nozomi: Wh-what of course not Elichi! *blushes a vibrant red*
Rin: Nozomi is too cute when she is flustered nya~
Honoka: I think I'll call you Nozmami and Papachika!
Rin: That's so cute nya~
Nozomi: *kisses Eli chastely* I love you~
Eli: *slightly dazed from amazing kiss* I-I love you too Nozomi