Summary: Maki, Nico, and Nozomi achieve some individual clarity.
Nico fast walked. Or normal walked for Nico. Nozomi was wrong. And mean. Diamond Princess had just talked to Nico last night. She wasn't ghosting Nico. She wouldn't…
Nico whipped out her phone, texts flying off her fingers.
N; Who are you?
N: Nico can keep a secret. Nico will keep your secret.
N: Trust Nico.
DP: I did.
DP: It's complicated.
Maki closed her eyes. It should be so easy to type her own name. Shouldn't it? But were Maki and Diamond Princess really the same? Would Maki have made the same choice that night? And Nico? Would Nico have been so attracted, so willing to just give in to sensation? Had it just been a music fueled adrenaline high? Maki needed the music and the mask, to allow herself the freedom to express things she had to repress, suppress, and bury away from most of the people in her life. She was a coward, she knew that, unwilling to claim the identity that felt so much realer than Business Casual Maki at family breakfast reviewing corporate there anything about that Nico could understand? Nico who had worked so hard, Nico who refused to be anyone but herself, even when the mainstream music establishment had made fun of her, marginalized her, ignored her.
For Nico, Diamond Princess was bold, sexy, brave. For Nico, Maki Nishikino was rich, spoiled, closed away in a lakeside mansion. Maki couldn't make those two people merge in her own head, what hope was there for Nico to connect them, respect them…her. Sure Rin did and Hanayo and Eli, but they'd known her for longer, sympathized with Maki's social position, yet understood the need for Maki to make a mark that was carved with her own efforts, not her parents' name. Nuances…cowardice…which would Nico think? Music was the one thing that always made sense to Maki, the one way she could truly communicate her emotions. Here, sitting at a keyboard, she sometimes soared like Icarus, eloquence a bright, burning sun. Could she transfer her feelings through these keys, the music conveying them, reaching Nico? She pressed record.
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An audio message. Nico pressed play. A melody, a short riff, softer than Diamond Princess's usual, but with a complex weave of stacked chords.
DP: That problem song has a start.
N: Nico likes.
DP: Good. It's yours.
Weird. Weird as fuck. This whole situation was. Nico would have expected herself to be back to her usual routine by now. But something about that night kept returning to her, a vulnerability, a need that had pushed Nico on, challenged her. The starting notes of the song had pulled Nico back to a moment she'd almost forgotten, Diamond Princess tight in her arms, hands pressing Nico closer, legs wrapped around Nico's, chin driving into Nico's shoulder, a sudden release of tension, and then a sharp pull back, Nico's name a harsh whisper softened by a bark of joy. Laughter, then Nico felt a tear. That was in those notes. A start, Diamond Princess had typed. If that interlude was a start and not an ending, Nico was in. Even if everything was weird as fuck. The music had drawn Nico there that night, and the lure continued.
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Where had Nico gone? Nozomi was too used to knowing everything about Nico's life. For Nico to hold things back, to exercise restraint in sharing…that had never happened before. What did Nico have to hide? Hadn't they been friends for long enough that there was nothing to be left unsaid?
Nozomi pulled out her deck, shuffling with a frown. What was changing Nico's behavior? Could she really be protecting someone who'd spent weeks ghosting her? Why would Nico, of the rock solid confidence, tolerate being ghosted. Who was this woman? Nozomi stared at Nico's huge, framed album cover portrait, but she found no answer in the glittering smile. Nico had always been an expert at keeping her heart calmed and her career ascending. Had one of those things changed?
Hoping for insight, Nozomi dealt out three cards in a line, then turned them carefully.
The Lovers. Of course, The Lovers. Nico brought passion to everything she undertook, so much passion she was rarely ever still, even when sleeping, energy needing an outlet even while the rest of the world paused. Ace of Pentacles…potential, a solid place to launch something from, a…something to draw all of Nico's attention, a new beginning. Then, the future slot: the 7 of swords, again, like the last time Nozomi cast cards for Nico. Truth. Nico still needed the truth, Nico still needed more information, to unite body and soul, to make the best choices going forward, to bring into being the abundance of blessings the Ace of Pentacles promised. Biting her lip, Nozomi flipped another card. The Star. A woman. The woman. Beauty, hope, inspiration, purity, generosity, someONE who would freely offer Nico everything Nico deserved. But somehow, Nozomi tapped the first card, in the past, passion had twisted into a confusion that Nico remained tangled in.
Nico had stomped out, furious. Nico should have asked for Nozomi's help. It hurt to see a friend suffer. Nozomi could help them both. She stared at Nico's computer. The cards had framed the problem, now she needed the practical pieces to solve the puzzle. Where had Nico gone on that vacation? Who had she met?
A/N: hi