Epilogue

It was nearing evening in the school compound when two girls, linked at their hands, ran into the student council room and shut the door tightly behind them. Though this wasn't exactly their private spot anymore, it was still somewhere that would always have a place in their hearts.

Besides, while the other club members tidied up the remnants of the party they would be using the club room, so it wasn't exactly safe there at the moment.

"A bit... aggressive today... aren't you, Eli-chi?" The comment was delivered between pants, the owner of the voice struggling to regain her breath after a rather vigorous make-out session. Nozomi had a hand held up to her chest, struggling to calm her heart rate. Unfortunately her pulmonary muscles had a mind of their own and were still racing madly, thundering in her ears and almost pounding out of her chest.

Eli didn't let her girlfriend's weakness slip past. Diving in again, their lips crashed roughly against each other as Eli pressed the violet-haired girl against the wall, her tongue sweeping Nozomi's mouth with increasingly hungry strokes, hands roaming over her hair and every inch of skin she could reach. The blonde had nothing but a crazed look in her sapphire eyes as she kissed her girlfriend with a ferocity neither knew she was capable of.

Not that Nozomi wasn't savouring each and every single second of it. Her own hormones were flaring up, and she was enjoying this side of Eli she hadn't known existed. Their usual kisses were mild and restrained; even when they got intimate with each other it had been at a slow, relaxed pace. Befitting of the calm, controlled and disciplined Ayase Eli everyone knew, of course.

Except the Eli before her now seemed like a savage predator. And Nozomi was thoroughly relishing in the sensation of being her prey.

Sharp nails dug into her side, though not deep enough to draw blood. The pain mingled with the pleasure running throughout her body, causing Nozomi to let out a high-pitched moan that didn't sound like it had come from her at all. But then again she had all but lost control of her own voice since five minutes ago when they started.

It was only a while later that Eli's head moved back to put some distance between them, though their bodies remained pressed together as tightly as ever. Her eyes regaining some semblance of reason once again, she seemed to be struggling with herself as she growled at her girlfriend.

"Don't... don't ever show me those eyes again."

"Which ones?" the spiritual girl tilted her head teasingly after catching her breath. "You mean these-"

"Don't!" Eli yelled as she averted her gaze, "If you show me those lost eyes again I won't be able to take it Nozomi!"

With a hand caressing her girlfriend's cheek, Nozomi turned Eli's head back to face her once again. "I don't know about that, Eli-chi~ Honestly, I enjoyed it."

"... Really?" Eli's tone was filled with hesitation and guilt, at the almost one-sided rampage she had gone on.

"I like every side of you, Eli-chi, no matter what. And to see you so desperate makes me feel really desirable. Besides, you really should let loose once in a while; I didn't know you had it in you~"

Embarrassment was starting to come back to Eli's consciousness. "I don't know what came over me..." she muttered before she slid down the wall next to her girlfriend. When she had seen those eyes of Nozomi's during the performance, she had started to feel incredibly feverish; all her actions after that were almost on autopilot. It had taken her all her self-control to make it to the student council room before ravishing her girlfriend instead of right there and then on the rooftop. But now that her hormonal rush was satiated, she was starting to feel tired, content, maybe even a little sleepy.

"It's fine, isn't it~" Nozomi soothed her girlfriend, laying her head upon Eli's thighs. With her hair free of its hair ties and her uniform unbuttoned and in disarray, she looked just about ready to fall asleep as well.

Eli smiled. It was a reversal of their usual positions, but in a way it also felt exactly the same. So she proceeded to stroke the spiritual girl's hair, softly humming the tune of the song they had just sung.

...

After a while Nozomi spoke up. "So, are we going to perform this at the next live?"

Heat flared up in the blonde's cheeks at the mere thought. "In front of our friends only is okay, but not in front of everyone... Also I don't think I can survive another one of those performances."

"Looks like Eli-chi really needs to get that predator inside under control~"

"No-Nozomi! Mou!"

Silence stretched between the two as Eli continued her rhythmic actions, the soft sensation of Nozomi's hair beneath her fingers was putting even her to sleep.

"Ne Nozomi, there's something I've been meaning to ask you."

"Mm?"

"What made you change your mind that day here? The day we confessed, you were crying."

Surprise flashed through turquoise eyes, before a dull gleam of understanding. "Eli-chi didn't hear what I said that day?"

"No?..."

Nozomi let out a weary smile, reaching into her blazer pocket and pulling out a single tarot card. 'The World'.

"Well, it doesn't really matter any more. It's just, I wasn't about to let anyone else get to you before me this time round."

"Nozomi..." For the first time in a while, Eli felt as though there was a barrier between the two of them in understanding. With her spiritual power, Nozomi had caught a glimpse of something beyond her, beyond them. The blonde still had no clue what it was, but the sheer intensity of emotions she had seen emanating from Nozomi back then as well as the knowledge and comprehension within her turquoise eyes right now, made her feel slightly uneasy.

But if her girlfriend insisted it was no longer a matter to be concerned about, Eli knew it was something she could put her trust in, and so firmly put the matter out of her mind.

Getting up, the spiritual girl put her tarot card away and brushed the dust off her back. "I didn't eat a lot during the party since we were going to be singing. Why don't we get something on our way back?"

"Hmm... another parfait? Sounds good to me." Eli stood up herself, only to be pushed against the wall hard. "Nozomi?"

"Ne Eli-chi, I'll save some space for dessert later, so for now I think it's my turn to enjoy my meal, okay?" There was a hard glint in the turquoise eyes, a primal look of passion and lust that made Eli feel hot and weak simultaneously. Nozomi ran a tongue over her own lips teasingly, an action that made them all the more alluring and effectively freezing all coherent thought in Eli's mind.

"Nozomi- mmph!" Eli's protests were silenced by the lips that mashed into hers, and a tongue that licked away at her lips until they opened to give it access. Giving up, she surrendered to her heart once again and let her girlfriend take the lead this time round.

Even if they were always able to read each other's innermost emotions and thoughts, it was nice to know they still had surprises in store sometimes. And day by day, they would continue learning little things about themselves and each other.

Eli was sure, that there definitely was a bright and long future together ahead of them...

"Oh? I didn't know Eli-chi was able to make that kind of sound~" Nozomi teased as a particular combination of nibbling on her girlfriend's ear and a finger running down her spine elicited a rather high-pitched gasp from the blonde. "What other sounds can I get Eli-chi to make, I wonder~"

... So long as Nozomi's teasing didn't kill her along the way.

Fin.

Author's Note: The reason why I waited so long to post this was of course, it's 9th June in Japan right now, and that means it's Nozomi's birthday! Happy birthday Non-tan~ May your vision ever be filled with cute girls and your hands be given the chance to... never mind. xD

As for this fic... well, wow. A part of me is in disbelief I made it this far. But first off, thanks to the Love Live Wikia for the song lyrics, the sources of inspiration I credited along the way, everyone who followed/favourited, and especially those who bothered to take the time to leave a review.

This fic was special because along the way I really upped my standard in descriptive writing. People who have been following my stories should have noticed the sudden jump in quality from the shameful low it was before. xP I am constantly struggling to improve, and I hope I can keep it up.

Anyway, it's been a ridiculously long journey for me. The truth is I intended to stop at only 'Love marginal' at the start. But along the way I rediscovered how much I loved writing, and I couldn't stop. So I thought I would complete this whole arc at least, but even while doing so a far larger overarching plot was already forming in my mind... I'm still debating whether I should really continue writing the next arc, which is Summer.

So in this hypothetical Summer Arc, I will be using a different set of pairings as hinted by Nozomi in this epilogue. Which ones? I don't know yet. If you have an OTP you want to see, now is the time to tell me through a review or PM, (preferably along with why you think they should be together so I have something to work with). I will be taking a short break from writing to refresh myself, but I hope I can find the gumption to continue writing.

If you liked this story, consider leaving a review/favourite to let me know. =) Your support is appreciated.

So until we meet again, hopefully in the next arc of this 'Songs of Muse; Songs for You' series.

Thank you for reading.