Lost in Her Eyes
Toujou Nozomi x Ayase Eli
A/N: This is a story given to tumblr user eri-loves-nozomi for the llsecretexchange event yesterday, March 14. I decided to post it here in to share it to a wider range of audience. This story is very different from my usual writing style and it was difficult for me to write it because I do not write AU very often.
I hope you guys would like it!
P.S. I used "Eli" because it's not a work that I wrote for myself to enjoy. Since I think most people like "Eli" more. So I will use it just once, for this story.
Green eyes tried to focus on the road, two hands gripping the wheel tight. Blink, blink.
"We have to move again."
"That's not happening again. Not this time!"
"Nozomi, you have to listen!"
"I have a job here. I can live separately from you. Let me stay!"
"No! A family has to stay together!"
Nozomi nodded onto the steering wheel… She shook her head left and right and focused on the road. "I gotta get to Nicocchi's place until they change their mind…" Her eyes fogged, and her head nodded. "Gonna need a place to crash…"
Loud beeping and a bright headlight blinded her already tired eyes. Tires skidded, making the small car turn. Nozomi tried her best to control the car.
BANG!
Then everything turned dark…
"… Nn…" Green eyes stared at the white ceiling. Quickly, she bolted up and felt pain sear through her skin. Her whole body hurts. "Wh… Where am I?"
"Oh, you're awake." A blonde with blue eyes and a lab coat walked in, mixing some sort of concoction in a bowl. Her eyes… It called to her something… But she didn't know what it was. "Are you alright? Do you feel pain anywhere?"
"Who are you?" she asked warily.
"It seems that you can talk. No damage in the brain I guess." She set the mysterious concoction onto the side table near the bed she was resting in. "Does your back hurt? What about your breasts?"
"Where is this? Where's my car?" Nozomi felt a throb at the side of her head, but she needed to push through. She was in the middle of nowhere and there was this odd beautiful blondie talking to her.
"It seems all right…"
The blonde female tried to reach out for her, but the injured female resisted all the pain and put one hand up in protest. "Please do not ignore my questions."
Beautiful blue eyes looked into her own green ones. At first the eyes looked somewhat empty, and then they snapped out of it. "Oh, I'm sorry. I get too into my work sometimes. What are your questions?"
She leered at her, annoyed. "Who are you? Where am I? Where's my car?" Nozomi asked in a barrage. "… Why are you helping me?"
The blonde female scratched her head, as if uncomfortable being asked these questions. However, she looked like she realized that needed to comply. This assured Nozomi a bit.
"My name's Ayase Eli. I'm a doctor. This is the middle of nowhere, and I got your car towed—"
"You got my car TOWED?"
"And I'm helping you because you cras—"
"YOU GOT MY CAR TOWED AWAY?" Nozomi raised her voice. However, the pain was too much to bear. She laid her head back onto the bed and breathed heavily. "Please explain this first…"
"I had it towed away because you crashed. If I hadn't done that, your car would've been in the way of the road," the blonde answered in a matter-of-factly way and smiled.
Nozomi glared at her. "Wise ass."
"I asked a friend to take it for fixing. She said that it might take 2 weeks for it to get fixed because the damage was extreme. She was surprised you were still alive when I got there," Eli explained. She then took a small stool from the side and put it near Nozomi's bed.
Nozomi just looked at her, then turned her gaze onto her lap. It was the first time she had seen the bandages. All of her fingers were bandaged and she could barely move one of them. These bandages extended up to her elbows, whilst her right arm was bandaged up to the shoulder. She felt the cold breeze brush by her body and realized that she was wearing nothing but the bandages holding her everything on the front and back.
"I need to change your bandages." Eli took the concoction and mixed it again. She pulled open the drawer of the side table and took out some bandages.
"Don't you have any means of transportation?" Nozomi asked firmly.
"… Well, I do."
"Can I use it to the next to—"
"No."
"Why!?" Nozomi looked at her, angrily.
"Because I said so," Eli told her firmly and put back down the concoction by the table. She stood up and turned around, her back to her. "I'll be back later."
Eli walked out of the small room and then walked out of the door. She looked at the stairs before her that led to the ground. She sat on a step and looked out at the surroundings. It was a long highway from the mainland to the province. She decided to get out right in the middle of nowhere so she could help stranded passengers or passengers that get into an accident.
She looked out at the land and watched the greenhouse she had built to care for herbs, whilst near it was a barn for keeping farm animals so she wouldn't have to go to the grocery and everything would be fresh. On the yard behind her small house was a small farm for vegetables and crops.
Doing all these things distracted her enough, but she never forgot her practice. "I don't have time to care for a person…" She hugged her knees and closed her eyes. "Why didn't you just take Nico's advice and send her to the hospital near her home…?"
Nozomi opened her eyes to the sound of footsteps and looked up at the shadow peering at her. She wanted to glare, hiss, and shout at her, but she was too tired for that. Eli sat beside her and gentle hands took her own and started removing the bandages on her fingers.
"Thank you." Before she thought of anything, the words came out of her mouth. Shocked clear blue eyes looked into her own, then she smiled.
"It's the least that I can do," Eli answered and gently managed all her bandages. "I'm sorry for earlier too, I, um…"
"It's okay." Nozomi smiled at her and gently grabbed the fingers caring for her.
Eli nodded and stood up from her chair. "I'll go prepare some lunch. I'll change the bandages on your chest later in the afternoon, and wipe you as well—"
"You don't have to—"
"Can't move a finger, remember?" Eli smiled warmly at her and disappeared through the door. Nozomi sighed.
"Who is this mysterious person and why is it so hard to get angry at her?"
Eli stretched out and stood up from the couch. It was couch-sleeping time, day 5. "Today is one of those days I curse myself for having only one bed." She quickly walked up to the bathroom and refreshed herself. She went out to cook for breakfast. However, once she got out of the door she already smelled the delicious spices of scrambled eggs.
"Toujou-san! I told you not to move around or stress yourself." The blonde female immediately made a run for the frying pan in her hand and helped her set the eggs onto a plate. "What if you had burned yourself?"
"Just call me Nozomi. And I told you, I at least want to help around as thanks for helping me. I'm not completely disabled anymore, E~ li~ chi~" Nozomi teased with a charming grin.
Eli put a hand to her face. "I knew I should've hidden that photo of when I was still a ballet dancer…"
Out of cooperation, she led Nozomi into a chair and then prepared the dining table. "Okay, okay. Do you want to go walk out for a while then?"
"There's something to see outside?"
Eli then realized that Nozomi has never been outside her house since she was cooped up inside her room for a few days. "You'll see." She smiled.
"But before that… can you tell me what happened?" Nozomi asked with a frown. "I've been here for a while, but whenever I ask you about what happened to me, you always dodge it…"
"It's because I could've sent you to a hospital but I didn't." Eli looked at her and sighed. "You crashed into a thick metal pole at the intersection. You were bleeding all over, and I didn't know what to do, so I called my mechanic friend and they helped me extract you from the crash site, and then I asked them if they can fix your car."
"I've been doing well lately, haven't I?"
"Yes. However, you still can't leave yet." Eli said firmly. "I need to make sure that you're at 100% before letting you drive there again. You must've crashed because you were sleepy."
Nozomi looked away.
"Anyway, please rest. I'll clean up here. I'll go up and check on you again and then we can go for a walk."
Eli knocked on her own room's door and entered when she didn't hear a response. She looked for Nozomi and found her sleeping on her bed. She was about to turn around to leave when she heard her voice.
"Elichi?"
"… You really like that, don't you?"
"It's cute and it fits you. Wise and cute, Elichika."
"Ugh." Eli walked towards her. She watched her get up from the bed. Nozomi's knees buckled up, causing her to fall forward. A blur of blonde went towards her and caught her.
Getting off balance together, Nozomi landed on her back as Eli managed to break the fall by briefly landing on top of her, faces only a few centimeters away.
Shocked blue eyes stared into equally surprised green ones.
"Th- Thank you." Nozomi looked away as she succumbed to the scrutinizing gaze of those curious blue eyes. She put a hand onto her chest and felt the heat catch up into her ears.
Eli stared at her lips as if being overtaken by an unknown entity. She was contemplating. Should she do it? Should she not?
Nozomi was prepared to accept her, but she suddenly stood up straight, heaving a sigh of relief as if something of a heavy burden was lifted off her shoulders. She pouted at her, and wanted to slap herself for feeling sad that nothing happened.
"I'll walk you, uh, around tomorrow." Eli rigidly left the room and ran for the farm to cool off. "What was that? What were you trying to do? I thought you were wise?"
Nozomi looked at the white ceiling, her heart beating near her ears. She covered her face with both hands and tried to calm herself.
"This is not the time for this. If worse comes to worse you will have to leave her for good. This is not good."
The next day was quiet at the dining table.
"Elichi."
"Yeah?"
"Um, can I help you with the farm work?" Eli blinked once, twice, three times.
"Huh?"
"I really want to go and stop bothering you. But my car isn't here and you won't let me use your other transportation so I can go on and live with my life." Nozomi said, stinging the blonde female too deeply. "But while I'm here, I'd like to do something to repay you, even if it's just as little as helping with your work here."
"No, really. I'm fine, I—"
"I can go digging for your photos agai—"
Eli sighed. "I'm going to pick some tomatoes later. You up for it?" Nozomi smiled at her, turning her own exasperated expression into a smile.
The blonde female taught her the basics on picking tomatoes and the two went out under the dazzling sun equipped in farm hats to protect themselves from the sun. Eli firmly told her that at the first sign she felt dizzy, she should stand up and go under the shade.
"Hey, can I ask something?" Nozomi spoke.
"What is it?"
"Why did you become a doctor?" the purple haired female asked harmlessly.
Eli found the question surprising. "Hm…"
"Is it because you're wise?" Nozomi teased with a grin.
"Can we stop talking about that?" Eli glared at her then sighed. "I became a doctor because I wanted to help people, I guess? The training was hard, but there was no better feeling than watching people get well, watching them continue on with their lives. It was a short meeting, but it was great."
"Something you will be doing soon." Nozomi continued the missing part of the sentence in her mind. She would be leaving soon. After all, this might be just one 'visit with the doctor.' "Why did you decide to live here? In the middle of nowhere, far from the cities?"
The blonde female only looked at her with a frown and shrugged. Eli suddenly felt a splat on her back, and turned around to see the head of a tomato near her shoulder. "Nozomi!"
"Sorry, my hand slipped." She feigned being hit herself and stuck her tongue out with a wink.
"Please stop throwing the fruits," Eli scolded her with a frown.
"If I throw myself to you, would you catch me?" Nozomi teased with a grin and found herself victorious when her pale complexion turned pink.
"Toujou-san, if you would like to help, please stand under the shade."
"Fiiiinnneee." Nozomi walked towards the nearby tree and sat on the ground with her basket full of tomatoes beside her. She hugged her knees and watched the blonde female collect the remaining ones.
"I don't want to leave…" She closed her eyes and fell asleep.
Eli saw her fall asleep under the shade and got worried. The temperature was too high and it would be dangerous for a recovering person to stay out. She walked over to Nozomi and kneeled in front of her.
She patted Nozomi's head and played with her hair. She took a few strands of her hair and brought them upon her lips. "I'm sorry…"
Nozomi opened her eyes and looked at the white ceiling. She then realized that the last thing she remembered was that she should be outside under the shade of the tree. She felt around for the basket or the ground, then looked towards the side of the bed, only to meet eye to eye with shocked blue eyes staring into her own green.
"Wah!" Eli tumbled backwards, hitting her head lightly on the cabinet. "Ouch…"
"A- Are you okay?" Nozomi looked at her from the bed and reached for her hand. She pulled her into a sitting position.
"Yes, thankfully, my wiseness is still intact." Eli smiled at her and sighed. "Do you feel fine?"
"Yes. Um… did you, bring me here?"
"There's no one else here, is there?"
Nozomi looked at her with a deadpan expression. "… Wise ass."
"You weren't heavy if that's what you're worried about." Eli answered the silent question and stood up from the ground. "Apart from my head ache, there doesn't seem to be anything else wrong here then. I'll be back later. Make sure to rest and drink lots of water. Alright?"
Nozomi scoffed at her. "Nothing wrong? How 'bout you check my heartbeat then?" She blushed at her own thoughts and turned around in bed. "When did this start happening?"
"Hey, Nico?"
"Sorry, it's Maki."
"Oh. I was gonna ask about Nozomi's ca—"
"First name basis already? Wow, Eli. What a feat."
"If you meet her, you'll know how it is." Eli sighed and looked at the mass of land before her, phone in hand. It had been a week and a half since she took in Nozomi after her accident. She had been healing well… and soon she could go home and leave her all alone again.
"About the car. The repairs are finished already. I just have to bring it there on the weekend."
"Nico's not bringing it?"
"No. Nico-chan said she had some errands to do. She's not here either. It's about her friend who's gone missing. She went to her friend's house to talk to their parents. Don't know what's up."
"By the way… Is there a cell phone in that car?"
"Huh? No. Why do you ask?"
"Nothing, just curious. Thanks. Give me a call when you're on your way here."
Only 4 more days.
"I need to be more distant… or I'm going to hurt myself."
Nozomi sighed in exasperation as she lay down on the couch, looking outside the window that gave her a full view of the barn. She watched Eli enter it with a metallic bucket, wearing those knee length jean shorts that showed off her ballerina curves and a loose white shirt. Her hair was up in a ponytail.
The blonde female had been avoiding her lately. Every time she struck up a conversation, she was met with one word answers. Every time she asked her why she decided to live here, she got this angry expression and would leaves. Nozomi only wanted to know more about her, but it seemed that she was being shut out for no reason.
She stared at the female bearing all of her hate at the moment. Eli walked towards the cow and petted it, saying a few words with a warm smile.
Green eyes narrowed at the sight. "Why won't you do that to me too?"
Eli then rubbed the cow's body and crouched to start milking for fresh milk.
Nozomi looked at the sight unhappily. "Do you like cow breasts more than mine?" she grumbled.
Eli sneezed and accidentally squirted some milk onto her own face.
Nozomi continued to lie down on the couch, a book about medicine in hand. Eli entered the house, sweating from collecting some milk. She wiped her face with a towel that had been hanging around her neck.
"Your car… It's arriving later in the evening."
Nozomi immediately sat up, and looked at her with a smile. The blonde female was taken aback by the sudden movement. "Really!?"
"Y- Yeah." Eli walked into the kitchen and got some water. "Th- That's good for me. I can go back to my previous quiet life once you're gone."
"Wha—" Nozomi looked angrily at her. "If you wanted me to get out of your life that fast, you should've just let me use your other mode of transportation and leave you after my wounds had healed!"
"Why you—" Eli turned around to face her.
"Don't get me wrong!" Nozomi held out a hand in defense as she stood up from the couch. "I'm really grateful for what you did for me! I didn't want to go home, and if I was sent to a hospital my parents would've found me there and I didn't want that. I'm really grateful."
Eli swallowed and stared at the ground before her, her fists tightening.
"But if you really hated my presence here, please, you could've just said so earlier so I could've left earlier. I told you I could use your couch once I'm better because I feel really bad for taking up your bed space when you've only got one." Green eyes looked at the ground as the tears threatened to fall. "Don't worry. I'll be gone tomorrow before you know it. I won't drive at night anymore, since I might end up troubling other people." She walked out the door and descended the stairs.
"You didn't mean to say that, Eli." She put both of her hands to her face. "Where's your wisdom now…"
Eli put on a coat and walked outside to look for her purple headed companion. She found her standing under the big tree by the tomato plants. She was looking up at the tree. It was almost seven in the evening.
"Did you know? I actually do fortune telling. It led me to believe things like fate and cancel everything that is a coincidence," Nozomi said. "But a few years ago, my set of tarot cards burned, and I took it as a signal that I should stop doing it."
"Nozomi…"
"What?" Nozomi turned around to look at her. "Are you here to tell me that my car has arrived and I should leave as soon as possible?"
"No!" Eli answered. "I… it was… it was meant to be a joke. It's a horrible one. It was a really horrible one. I apologize for saying it. All of it."
"If those are your true feelings, then they don't have to be a joke. I'll have to leave tomorrow either way." Nozomi turned around and looked at the tree and into the stars again. Suddenly, she felt warmth cover her whole back, spreading from to her whole body into her heart.
"But I want you to stay," Eli told her. "But you can't stay. I don't know what to do. I don't know what these feelings I have are. I'm… I'm still all confused. But– but I... I don't want you to leave…"
Nozomi turned around and faced her. She put both her hands on either side of the blonde female's cheeks. "But I need to go, like what you said. You have your own life, and I have my own to get back to."
Eli nodded. "It was… a selfish wish from me. I know it would never come true. I don't know how things turned out to be like this. It was only two weeks. No one else could've fallen in love in such a short time…"
Nozomi smiled at her wryly. "Maybe that's one thing that you may be wrong about." She looked into sad blue eyes and kissed her. The warmest, the softest thing in the world.
Eli wrapped her arms around her waist and kissed her back, softly pressing Nozomi's back onto the big body of the tree as tears streamed down her face.
That was it. That was what Nozomi saw in those blue eyes when they first met each other. It was sadness. She couldn't find it right away probably because she could see it reflected every time she looked into a mirror.
"It led me to believe things like fate and cancel everything that is a coincidence."
Nozomi stood in front of her car, her hand on the door. She turned to look at Eli who smiled at her warmly. "Well then…"
"Yeah."
"I'll be leaving now."
"Have a safe trip." Eli waved her hand as Nozomi smiled at her. She opened the door of her car and drove away.
Far away from this isolated place.
(Lost In Her Eyes/END)
A/N: Thanks for reading through 3,800 words! As for the ending, it depends whether you know 「いってらっしゃい」and 「行ってきます」It makes a different I tell you. *wink*