Work Text:
It's a not-so-unfamiliar situation, Eli and Nozomi staying late after school to get some Student Council work done. Between practice with the girls and keeping up with their studies, the responsibility has nowhere to go but in the inconvenient hours after dusk when it's just them, school security, and maybe an overworked teacher or two. The difference between most times and this time, however, is that the city is in the midst of a very temperamental rainy season.
"Oh, for goodness sake." Eli huffs as the lights flicker for the umpteenth time since they started.
There's a mountain of paper work to do with an upcoming festival and a million last-minute requests from clubs to get spaces for it. The last thing she and Nozomi need right now is an impromptu light show courtesy of the worst rave ever.
"Hey, Elichi." Nozomi calls from the window, "Look how hard it's raining out there. It's pitch black!"
Eli shivers, following her gaze to the streaming window. The only light to be seen is the occasional crack of lightning and that was not exactly better, in part due to the thunder that clapped along with it.
"Nozomi, we have work to do." Eli chastises, deliberately not looking toward the windows.
Unseen by her, Nozomi smiles gently and disparagingly, knowing full well how nervous the dark made the blond. Deftly, she slides behind Eli and places a hand on her shoulder, bending to look her in the eye.
"Do you want to stop for tonight and go home? Because-"
"No! No, that won't be necessary. I'm perfectly fine." Eli tries to assuage her.
For Eli, it's embarrassing enough to be afraid of the dark at her age and even more embarrassing to show that humiliating side of herself in front of Nozomi, the girl whose opinion matters more to her than anyone else's. Honestly, she prays this will be the one time she can keep her cool around her.
The fortune teller's smile is full of sympathy, nodding toward her tarot addled desk, "According to the cards, it won't be long before we lose-"
Thunder, lightning, darkness, and a terrified gasp cut her off.
"Power..."
"NOZOMI!"
Eli clings to her blazer with an iron clad grip. Her heart is pounding in her ears, tears welling in her eyes, but she still can't see a thing. The darkness is unyielding and, in her panic to escape it, she bashes her knee off the desk and yelps in pain.
"Elichi!" Nozomi's voice sounds startled at the clatter.
She hears messy rummaging and something plunks onto the table, electing another squeal from Eli, fingers scrunched harder into Nozomi's sleeve. There's an awful clicking in the darkness, once, twice, she hears Nozomi grumble, until she sees a spark and then, from a holy light, she sees the face of an angel.
Nozomi's concerned face softens when she sees Eli illuminated in glowing orange, eyes wet and lips quivering. The flame of the lighter lowers onto the wick of a newly settled candle. Eli recognizes it immediately.
"Isn't that..." She sniffles.
"Candle light boosts my meditation." Nozomi defends.
"You keep them on you?"
"You never know." She asserts.
Pushing the candle closer to Eli, Nozomi sets about placing and lighting others around the council room. Something picks at the back of Eli's mind until it clicks what's bothering her.
"You're not supposed to bring lighters to school, Nozomi." She chides.
With a sway of her hips and humming a certain love song, she watches the woman dearest to her nigh dance about the room to the beat of lighter clicks. It's enchanting her, but not enough to detract from noticing she isn't answering. Nozomi lights the last of them and, grinning slyly in the wicked light, Eli sees the face of a devil.
Eli swallows thickly, heat flushing her face, warmth she knows isn't candle born.
"Well?" She prompts.
Nozomi licks her lips, "Are you going to turn me in?"
"Nozomi!"
She laughs lightly, but relents. Reaching out her hand, she gives Eli the lighter.
"I'm sorry. I won't bring it anymore. We have to set a good example, don't we?"
Eli sighs, pushing the lighter back into her palm, "You saved us this time, didn't you? Keep it for emergencies."
She beams and, were it not for the candles, Eli might've thought that she was blushing. Over the lighter, Nozomi intertwines their fingers. The shadows in the corners make Eli pull her to sit with her. That's what she tells herself, anyway.
The truth is, though, that Nozomi makes her feel safe. Makes her feel like, even if all the candles went out at once and they were again submerged in darkness, Eli would be fine so long as she held her hand. A light in the dark. That's what she is.
"Your knee..." She hears Nozomi say quietly, "I think it's going to bruise."
Eli catches her eyes, soft and warm, a perfect clear turquoise flickering in orange. Nozomi's expression reels her in by the heart; it's so devastatingly loving. Looking at her now, feeling calm and at peace despite the raging storm outside and the pending council work around them, in the gentle light of the candles, Eli sees the face of the woman she loves.