A/N:

**Guess who's an idiot and uploaded the wrong chapter last week? Me. This chapter is BEFORE the Nicomaki...

Hey, you. Yes, you. I know you're sad about μ's ending. That's okay, I am, too...I even went to a stream of the final live for both days, and I'm still sad.
It's going to take some time, the pain will stay for a while, raw and unpleasant, so...let's all be nice to one another. If someone is feeling down, acknowledge them, support them, let them know you're there for them.

μ's is very special to all the fans: old or new, regardless of who they are. Everyone is feeling the same thing, so...for the sake of μ's, let's help each other out.

Light In The Black - Sabaton

From the moment Eli woke up the next morning, she knew it was going to be a long, tough day. But for once, she actually woke up and got up at 6am. Nozomi was sleeping peacefully, hands lightly holding the pillow Eli's head usually lay on.

'She always looks so peaceful when she's sleeping,' Eli thought with a smile as she clipped her bra up at the back.

The blonde's gaze lingered on the tattoo artist. Nozomi always had to wake Eli up, even though she didn't need to be up and about until later. Nozomi didn't have to wake Eli up if she didn't want to, but she still did.

Eli wondered why anyone would be so cruel to someone so pure and kind. Why would Nozomi's father go out of his way to cause his daughter hell for her choices?

'No. Don't think about the prick today,' Eli shook her head and walked over to Nozomi, barefoot against the carpet.

"Today is Valentine's day, and we're going to spend it together. We're going to have the best evening," Eli's determined thoughts stayed with her as she got dressed and threw on her coat. It was going to be freezing when she stepped out of their warm home.

Sure enough, the second Eli opened the front door; a gush of icy cold wind smacked her in the face. With a grimace, the blonde threw herself out of her home and shut the door.

"Why do I do this to myself," she grumbled, hugging her sides as she started to walk down the stairs to work.

Eli knew that Valentine's day would be a ridiculously busy day for her shop, and even though she got there at 7am, she'd have to stay until 6pm.

She wasn't surprised when people started lining up at 8:30am for flowers, so Eli continued her paperwork in the backroom as to not get their hopes up of opening early.

"We open at 9am on the dot," she mumbled, filling out dispatch reports for the damaged shipment of boxes that needed to be sent back to the company that made them.

The phone next to her vibrated, and Eli looked down at the screen:

'Nico: 8:53am
ARE YOU INSIDE?! OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR! WE'RE FREEZING AND THERE'S AN ANGRY MOB OF IDIOTS OUTSIDE!'

Eli sighed and unlocked her phone and sent back a text.

'Eli: 8:53am
You'll need to go around the back. No point in feeding the mob. I'm in the backroom so I'll let you in.'

Sure enough, a minute later, loud and angry banging on the backdoor sounded. Eli got up and opened it, and Maki and Nico fell into the room, panting slightly.

"The line is growing, Eli," Maki breathed, hands on knees.

"You're fucking evil, y'know that?" Nico spat, and Eli let out another sigh.

"I don't want to get their hopes up, Nico," Eli shut the door and folded her arms.

"Yes, it's a commercial holiday that will boost our sales, but we open at 9am; no earlier, no later."

"Everything's set up, I presume?" Maki took off her jacket and swapped it for her red apron.

"Yes, the orders are ready to go," Eli nodded to the shelf Maki was next too.

"They are all labelled and ready to go, just make sure you get the customer to sign a pickup order form, it looks like this," Eli walked over to the desk and picked up a small piece of paper.

"That we, we know no one stole anything."

"You really think people will try and steal a flower bouquet?" Maki raised an eyebrow, and Nico swooped in.

"Oh Maki, dear, sweet, innocent Maki, you'll be surprised at what some people will do for flowers."

"So how long have you two been together?"

"One year exactly,"

"And you want to get matching tattoos…"

"That's right!"

Umi inwardly groaned, and fiddled with her eyebrow piercing. She looked over at Rin, who was readying a station, and then back at the happy couple in front of her.

"Did you have a design in mind?"

"Yep!" The man pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and showed it to the piercer. When Umi opened it, she had to resist the urge to throw the paper to the ground and stomp on it.

Rin bounced over and peered at the design, and she too had to throw her hand to her mouth to stifle the snorts of laughter.

"It's cute, isn't it?" The man smiled.

At this point, Rin had tears in her eyes, and babbled something about going to get Nozomi before stumbling away, hands clutching at her sides.

Umi was left alone at the counter again, turning very red.

As usual, Nozomi was leaning against the backdoor with the e-cigarette in her mouth, reviewing a design for a client later on in the day.

"N-Nozomi-senpai," Rin threw herself against the wall, tears in her eyes from laughing. Nozomi looked around with a smile.

"Yes, Rin-chan?"

Rin's whole face was red from silent laughter, and all she could do was point a shaking finger to the floor.

"You might want to have a look at this design and…fix it up," Rin let out peels of hoarse laughter as she leaned her shoulders against the wall for support.

Nozomi placed the e-cigarette in Rin's hands to act as a holder, and then walked out of the break room to talk to the client, sketchbook closed and folded under her left arm.

A few moments later, Umi entered the break room; she was shrivelled up and let her long hair fall over her face.

The second she shut the door, Rin let out loud howls of laughter and sank to the floor, still holding Nozomi's e-cigarette.

"That design! That fucking design!"

"Q-Quiet Rin," Umi leaned against the table and let her head drop to her chest.

"That was such a shameful design…" Was the weak reply, and Rin's laughter went silent as her chest heaved.

"Do you reckon we could get a photo of that legend and hang it up on the wall?! Please Umi-senpai!"

"Absolutely not."

The door opened, and Nozomi stuck her head in the door, smiling brightly.

"Umi-chan, you're 12pm is here for a septum."

"O-Okay," Umi straightened up and rolled the hair tie off her wrist. On her way out, Nozomi lightly smacked her bottom, making Umi shriek.

"You have a dirty mind, Umi-chan," Nozomi teased lightly with her hands on her hips.

"That picture was two scoops of caramel ice cream in a cone, not something phallic"

Nozomi could practically see the steam coming out of the seething Umi's heavily pierced ears.

Rin continued to cry with laughter on the floor.

"Honestly, you two," Nozomi sighed with a grin, then knelt down in front of Rin to pluck the cigarette from her apprentice's hands.

"It...it….it looked like a –"

"I am aware, Rin-chan," Nozomi stood up again and extended her hand.

"Come on, up you get! I have to fix this design so that it doesn't look like these two lovebirds have male genitalia on their arms."

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