Archive of Our Own

Elizabeth Rose Bloodflame plays in an indie band. Somewhere in her town, quaint and quiet. She likes it there. Reckons it's a little better than the big cities where everything is so loud and so busy and so everywhere. She takes the position of bass. It gains less attention, but that’s exactly what she wants. There aren't too many bass players where she is, anyway. So when Mori Calliope went up to her one day and said “Hey, I have a band. Wanna join us? We need a bass player.”, she took the jump and crashed in.

Elizabeth has been playing with them for years now. She’s graduated, got a job as a consultant, but she still plays bass on the side. It’s like a hobby. Playing bass is a lovely thing to her. She’s got to meet so many people, travel places, and she would never exchange that for anything else. She’s very close to them, she likes to think.

There's Shiori, the resident rhythm guitarist. She’s always hanging with Mumei, the lead guitarist, and they complete each other like peas to a pod. Completes each other’s sentences and everything. She thinks they would make a good couple. Bijou is the band’s keyboardist, and Elizabeth laughs sometimes at how short she is. Everyone calls her Biboo, though. She can’t reach the top shelves and has to ask everyone else to get things for her. Her skill at the keyboard, however, is no laughing matter. Even Elizabeth, who has taken classical training, cannot match the sheer level of flexibility Bijou has. She appreciates Bijou greatly. Of course, she can't forget her own childhood friend, Gigi Murin. They're the resident drummer for the team, and insanely good at it, too. Nobody can match the sheer gusto they drum with. They're Elizabeth’s closest friend, and she always trusts them to have her back.

Then there is Mori Calliope. Everyone calls her Calli. Elizabeth wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for her. She’s one of the best singers Elizabeth has ever known, and not to mention she seems to be the rap god in her town and the world’s craziest workaholic. She’s so kind and such a dork, and Elizabeth has never been so grateful for her friend’s presence in her life.

This year, Calli comes in with the grim announcement that she’s injured her lungs, and can’t sing for a good while. She assures everyone that she’s got someone on speed dial for these occasions, but Elizabeth still worries for her, and so does everyone else.

“It’s fine, guys,” Calli says, waving her arms about. “I’m just gonna be gone for a while.”

Elizabeth eyes her, inquisitive. “Don’t you dare overwork yourself.”

Calli nods frantically under her heavy gaze. “Yes, yes, of course! Wawa’s already killing me, I don’t need more killers coming for my ass, please!”

“I’m gonna beat you up if you don’t, Calli.” Bijou says, playing a sick and menacing chord on the keyboard. Cheers and hoots and hollers emerge from the nothingness.

“So true, Biboo! Shiori cheers, pumping a gloved fist up. “Watch your back, Father!!”

“Yes. Hoo. I will bite your arteries, Calliope.” Mumei hoots after, nodding sagely. Elizabeth shudders a little– that threat sounds a little bit too real coming from Mumei.

Calli tries her best to assure the rest of the band that she’ll take a good long rest and that, and Elizabeth quotes, “go ask Wawa or Ame or Gura or Ina or Kronii if you need any updates. I promise I’ll find someone to play with you all for the meantime.”

True to her word, Calli finds them another vocalist.

“Everyone,” Calli signs, “This is the singer that’s going to sub in for me for a while.”

The woman with beautiful black hair waves, and smiles elegantly. Liz sees a little blue taper off the ends of her hair, and she blinks her thoughts away.

“Hiya! I’m Nerissa.” The woman starts, and oh Lord in Heaven, Gods save her. Her voice is beautiful. “I’ll be in for Calli for a while. Hope to get to know you all better!”

“Sup, Rissa,” Shiori starts, winking. “S’ been a while.”

Elizabeth has heard from one of the Abyssgard twins before. Mococo, she remembers. She and Fuwawa mentioned to her that they had this group during high school, and they’ve stuck together through thick and thin, she’s aware. They call themselves Advent, and Elizabeth vaguely remembers that Shiori and Bijou were in it too. Apparently, Nerissa was part of the team, too.

Bijou tackles Nerissa into a hug, and Nerissa spins over and brings her down safely, like she’s done this a thousand times before. It reminds Elizabeth of Justice– her own safe place. Gigi, Raora, Cecilia, and her. They’ve gone their separate ways, but their bond can never be broken. She does meet Raora and Cecilia from time to time, when she travels out. She’s heard from Gigi that they live in the same flat.

“Rissa!! It’s been so long how have you been are you ok??? Have you been eating well please tell me you have a girlfriend–” Bijou rambles on, and Nerissa pats her down.

“Woah, sister, tone that down a little! One question at a time, little lady.” Nerissa laughs, and Elizabeth can only watch from the sidelines. She starts setting up her bass amp.

She lets the three members of Advent have their little reunion and she sets up, clicking the electricity on, plugging in the amp jack, tweaking the volume. The banter in the background soon becomes white noise, and she hums, testing the bass. Wine red orbs bore into her, and she strums, blissfully unaware.

“Miss Rara and CC a little, don’t you?” Gigi says, upon intermission. They’re waiting for everyone else to set up. They elbow at Bijou’s way, and Elizabeth spots Shiori and Nerissa trying to help her with the cables. They seem like family.

Elizabeth chuckles slowly. She sounds a little sad.

“I do admit that I have been craving for their company, lately.” She says, finally. She kicks off the nonexistent dust on the studio carpet.

Gigi pats her back softly. Thank the Gods for Gigi Murin, how would Elizabeth survive without them?

“Aww, that’s fine too, Lizziekins! I miss them too.” They say solemnly. A three-second pause, and that’s all it takes for Gigi to perk up. “Anyway! We gotta roll!”

As soon as Gigi finishes her sentence, Mumei breaks the mould with a Really Loud metal shred. She finishes and puts her hands up like she’s guilty of a jail without parole. Nerissa flinches a little, and that does not go unnoticed. Elizabeth’s fingers twitch a little.

“Mumei, tone that down next time.” Elizabeth says, and Mumei perks up. She went to decrease her amp volume.

“Sorry, my fault, hoo.” She apologises, and Elizabeth hums. Nerissa smiles, nodding her way. Thank you.

They start warming up a little while later. The moment Nerissa starts singing, Elizabeth has to use every ounce of her willpower to focus on the bassline, because she does not want to mess up the bassline. That is important, labelled in big, red letters.

I’m done for, Elizabeth thinks, licking her lips. She’s pretty and has a good voice and have I mentioned she’s pretty? Lord in Heaven, help my soul.

The song reaches its end and only God knows if Elizabeth Rose Bloodflame, resident bassist, known unintentional ladykiller, is alive or not. She finishes it with a bass slide, and the drums end with a loud pop.

Gigi hoots first. “Let’s gooooooo!!! That was sick! High fives, everybody!”

Bijou skips over and catches their palm on the sky, a resounding clap echoing around the room. One by one, Gigi high-fives everyone, until only Elizabeth and Nerissa are left.

“High five, Nerissa!” They offer, and take that offer Nerissa does. She smiles, and Gigi cheers, finally bounding over to Elizabeth.

Elizabeth’s gaze lingers on Nerissa for a while. Wine red meets deep Scarlet, and for the first time, Elizabeth gets to see her properly. Nerissa smiles, and her eyes crinkle to the side, and Elizabeth smiles in return. She’s a little nervous, and she hopes the other doesn’t see it. Unfortunately, Gigi did.

“Hi five, Lizzers.” They say, giggling. They know. “Down here, hello!”

Liz complies, and gives her small friend a high five. “Oh, you little–” She twists Gigi’s ear, and they squeak, patting her arm for mercy.

“Heel, heel! Please! I’m sorry!” They chortle, and Elizabeth lets them struggle away. She chuckles with mirth.

That night, they all go into a bar. Calli’s treat. They book a table for seven, and in ten minutes the table is an utter mess. Bijou is dancing to ‘Rasputin’ on the floor with Gigi, and Shiori is getting her third pint of beer. Calli downs another can of bang– how many bangs has she drunk? Six? She’s going to die someday, Elizabeth thinks, but that’s what makes Calli so special. Mumei’s got straight whisky on her hands like a real man, and Elizabeth almost flinches from the way Mumei growls like a bear after one sip.

Elizabeth looks at her glass of shandy, and swirls it a little. Nerissa sits beside her, only a third down on her flute of champagne. Refined taste, and a charming shade of red. Like her eyes.

“You don’t drink?” Elizabeth says, trying to strike up a conversation.

Nerissa chuckles. “Not voluntarily, at least. Does not do well for my voice.”

Elizabeth hums, and she sips a little bit more of her shandy. Gigi and Bijou are doing ball tricks to an audience of five right now.

“Though, I am not opposed to doing a drinking game with a woman as pretty as you are~” She adds, finishing with a little wink, and Elizabeth feels jelly. She shakily puts down her glass and hears it scrape against the table and she coughs.

“I-I wouldn’t if you didn’t want to.” She manages, wiping her mouth with the back of her palm and looking away.

Nerissa laughs.

“Oh, I wouldn’t mind if it was you.”

That was the first time Nerissa hung out with the band, and that’s just one to many more. Elizabeth finds out that Nerissa is the second youngest of 4 siblings. Two of them are married, she hears. Nerissa is a little bit taller than her, too. She used to be the tallest, now she isn’t. Nerissa teases her for it.

“Aww, shortie can’t reach the ceiling?” Nerissa grins. Rubbing salt into the wound, she touches the ceiling effortlessly. Curse her and her extra height. Elizabeth harrumphs and marches the opposite direction.

“You’re calling me short?? Look at Bijou, then.”

Nerissa quirks an eyebrow, and she giggles. “Aww, Biboo’s a pebble. She’s nonexistent and I have to bend down to see her.” She doesn’t hesitate to dunk on her friend, and Elizabeth barks out a chortle.

“Oh, you would betray your friends, it seems.” Elizabeth states, turning back with a haughty smirk.

Nerissa matches her with one of her own. “Try me, darling.”

Elizabeth sputters, and Nerissa coughs out a guffaw. Nerissa wins again.

Elizabeth learns that Nerissa listens to a lot of music, just like she does. It’s a lovely feeling– having someone finally share the same music taste as she does. She catches Nerissa humming to an old song, and she tries her best to enter quietly.

Nerissa, however, has good ears. Unbelievably good ears. Upon her entrance she perks up, and she stops to look over, and she smiles.

“Hello, darling!”

“Elizabeth.” She corrects. She zips her bass bag open.

She hears Nerissa giggle. “Hello, Elizabeth.”

It does not make it any better.

Elizabeth plays a jingle on the bass. Nerissa gives her the time, and listens. It gets to a certain point and Nerissa perks up and she almost stops, but she lets her finish. That’s a lovely bassline.

“That’s the song I just hummed, wasn’t it?” Nerisa starts, softly. She reclines on the wall, and kicks her legs out. She’s getting comfortable, Elizabeth realises, and she falters.

“..Yes,” Elizabeth answers, finally. She sits down on top of the amp and faces Nerissa, who stares at her so gently she feels like melting into a puddle of water.

“I tried to play that when I was in high school.” She confesses, and Nerissa giggles.

“I listen to many songs. You?”

“All genres. I like all songs.”

Liz almost lights up. She stops plucking the strings, and looks straight at Nerissa. She doesn’t look away, and she titters off.

“Me too, Elizabeth. Me too.”

Elizabeth feels a sudden sense of kinship with Nerissa. Her eyes twinkle, and newfound life enters her lungs. Finally? Her chest grows warm with rekindled flame. A string of red connects from that day on, and it pulls.

Nerissa invites Elizabeth for a cup of coffee, on a nice and sunny Saturday. She grabs her tweed coat and satchel and runs out her door and past three blocks and she turns a left, a right, goes across the street and she sees Nerissa waiting and oh, Lords, no, I’m late, but she sees her patterned skirt and blouse and the plaid shawl and ah. She’s really pretty.

Nerissa spots her and her eyes light up, and she waves as Elizabeth makes her way over to her side.

“Liz! I’m glad you could make i–” She starts, but Elizabeth starts apologising out of the blue and she coughs out a “Sorry, sorry I’m late, I sincerely apologise I forgot the time I didn’t eat my breakfast but I ran out here as fast as I could and–”

Nerissa stops her before she can say anything else. She grips Elizabeth’s shoulder, and the other looks up.

“Liz. Elizabeth. It’s fine, don’t apologise for something you can’t control?” Nerissa softens, and Elizabeth stares, dumbfounded. She’s so, so kind. “Besides, I just got here like, 5 minutes ago? You’re not late.”

Nerissa laughs, and Elizabeth lets out a weak chuckle as she straightens up. Nerissa takes Elizabeth’s hands in hers, and pulls her into the café. It was quaint and homey, and it seems there aren't many people inside. It seems like a favourite spot of Nerissa’s with how the barista immediately recognised her, stopping their work to wave.

“Oh! Back again with a friend?”

“Mhm! Band buddy. She’s pretty, isn’t she?” Nerissa giggles, and Elizabeth feels her ears heat up.

“She looks lovely! Do you want the regular? Or anything new?”

“We’ll think about it a little, thank you.” Nerissa says, and pulls her over to the menu.

Elizabeth ends up getting a lemonade fizz, and Nerissa gets a simple decorated espresso. They sit at the corner of the cafe, closest to the window. Nerissa says this is her favourite spot, and Elizabeth can see why. The light falls softly upon her hair and off her shoulders, and she seems to glow against the brown. She is, undoubtedly, gorgeous, and Elizabeth feels like her breath has been wrested away from her lungs. Nerissa spots her eyes and smiles, and Elizabeth thinks it's blinding.

“I’d think that you have a crush on me if you keep staring at me like that, Liz.”

She snaps out of her thoughts and she stares, and she registers the sentence and she’s never looked away so fast before. Nerissa sees the growing red and she giggles.

“N-no I– I mean, er–” Elizabeth sputters, in a futile attempt to defend herself. “Don’t tease me like that!”

Nerissa sips on her cup of espresso, and she gives Elizabeth a little wink.

“Of course, darling, whatever you say~” She says, and Elizabeth wants to find a hole to dig herself in. This is embarrassing.

They go to a mall to window shop after the café date– date? Is it a date? Elizabeth doesn’t know. She also realises that she forgot to correct Nerissa on the name change. Perhaps Liz is fine. It is an agreeable nickname. Elizabeth lets Nerissa call her that.

They get caught in the rain on the way home. Nerissa stands under the terrace, sullenly looking up towards the sky. Elizabeth is in a better situation– thank the Gods for her umbrella. She looks at Nerissa, then at her umbrella, then at Nerissa again, and she hums. She opens the umbrella and hands it over to Nerissa, and she sees the other’s eyes widen in mild shock.

“For me?” She asks, and Elizabeth nods.

“It’s quite alright. My house isn’t that far, and I don’t get sick too easily. I can tough the rain out.”

Nerissa frowns a little. “Are you sure?”

“I’m very sure.”

She lets Nerissa take the umbrella, and she feels her hesitance. Nerissa smiles, softer than she’s ever been and so, so sincere, and Elizabeth feels like she’s staring at the sun.

“Thank you, Elizabeth.”

“Of course.” She replies. “A pleasure to help.”

Elizabeth watches Nerissa slowly leave until she’s a dot in the edge of her eyes. She looks towards the street, and her brows furrow. She inhales deeply, and marches into the rain. She gets a cold, contrary to expectation, and she wakes up to three missed calls from Nerissa. She sneezes and snuggles deeper into her blankets.

Nerissa seems to be a core member of the band now, and they feel like puzzle pieces fit nicely together, despite Calli’s absence. Of course it isn’t completely the same, but Nerissa is a very welcome addition to the group. Some months later, Calli books them all a gig at a local livehouse. It will be their first time jamming live with Nerissa at the helm, and Elizabeth feels a little nervous about it.

Gigi and Shiori try to convince her that it’s okay.

“Hey, Lizzerinos. It's gonna be fine, prommy, I swear. I’m not gonna mess up or anything!” Gigi looks at Shiori, who kicks her legs up the amp. “Right, Sheerios?”

“Yeah! Gimbers is right, Liz. It’s not so different from the ones we had with Calli.” Shiori adds. She pops a lolly into her mouth.

Elizabeth grunts, playing idly with her hands. She frowns at the floor.

Shiori sighs, and unceremoniously flips herself over the amp and onto the ground.

“Liz, it’s okay. It’s just rehearsal, don’t worry too much about it. If there’s any mistakes we can always fix ‘em up like we always do, ‘kay?” Shiori walks herself out from backstage, leaving a single mint-flavoured lolly on her lap.

Gigi smiles. She motions to the space behind her and there she comes, like a sweeping wind over one’s hair and gone as fast as they came. Nerissa spots Elizabeth’s eyes on her and her eyes crinkle, and Elizabeth knows enough to know that’s a greeting. Hello, hi, nice to see you, I’ll be gone for a while, I’ll come back, don’t miss me, all in one. Elizabeth hopes that’s an accurate translation, she isn’t too sure.

“You’ll crack that like a pro, girl! Don’t get the heebie jeebies now, yeah?” Gigi says, finally, skipping in the direction in which Shiori left. Elizabeth inhales a breath, and shudders a little. She’s never been this uncertain before.

They finish the set-up soon, and the members all step onto the stage. The lights fall straight onto the spot over Elizabeth’s head, and her nerves leave her body in an instant. The stage is such a familiar place to her, and she immediately gets to work. Plugs in the bass jack, changes the amp volume, and she breathes, flexes her fingers, and strums.

Nerissa hears the bass from below the stage. She blinks, runs up the stairs backstage and jog over onto the stage and she sees Elizabeth glowing under the stage lights and in her own element and she looks like she’s about to bark out a laugh and she’s happy and strumming her bass and is that slap bass? And Nerissa almost doesn’t want to impose and break the atmosphere. Luck strikes true and Mumei– Thank you to Mumei– bounces onstage, Shiori on hand. She breathes a little sigh of relief she didn’t even know she had, and stepped onto stage like a diva on a mission.

She realises a little later that Elizabeth had set up her mike for her.

“Mic test, mic test, one two– one to three? Okay?” Nerissa recites, and Bijou gives her a thumbs up from across the venue, and she sees Bijou tippy tappy over and she giggles.

Elizabeth looks up, and she spots the crown of white upon jet black, immediately recognising that as Nerissa. She hums, and plays a little tap staccato. Nerissa looks back, smiles, mouths a little ‘thank you’, and Elizabeth smiles back, plays for her another bass trill. Of course, anytime.

They laugh and Nerissa walks over and sits on the floor beside her and she starts warming up to Elizabeth’s progressions. Shiori leers their way, and hums. She looks away from them and towards Mumei, and Mumei purses her lips and looks at Gigi, who grins so wide that it goes from one end from her cheek to the other.

The first rehearsal goes smoother than Elizabeth has ever expected.

“Good job, guys!” Nerissa chirps, and she goes around congratulating the rest of the band. She pats Bijou’s head and does a clap sequence that ends with a peppy ‘booyah’. She walks over to Shiori and Mumei and they fist pump. She bumps elbows with Gigi, and she bounds over to Elizabeth and opens her arms. Hug?

Elizabeth laughs, and she steps into the hug, and it’s so, so warm. She chuckles a little. They stay like that for a few seconds, and Elizabeth is the first to let go.

“That was brilliant, Nerissa. You did really well!” Elizabeth smiles. Nerissa spots the shine in between her teeth and she feels her neck heat up.

What?

“Oh– Yeah! You too!” Nerissa bounces back almost immediately, but the slip-up doesn’t escape the observant pair of yellow eyes from the guitar corner.

They come back for the next rehearsal again. Someone moved all the amps to the storage room, and everyone is trying to help move them back into the stage while the staff are in the AV room. Ultimately, Liz gets the job.

“Liz, can you–” Shiori points to the amps. “Just use the ramp, those are bulky.”

Elizabeth walks past, lifting two amps: one on each arm, and she carries it like a farmer with seemingly no effort at all. She laughs, nonchalant. “A little too late for that, innit? No can do.”

They both hear a series of crashes and bumps and the door opens. Nerissa runs into the room, trolley in hand, and she pants raggedly. “Liz??? Use the fucking trolley?? You’re going to hurt yourself??”

“Nerissa, sweetheart, I don’t heaaar you,” Elizabeth laughs, disappearing behind the curtains.

Nerissa grunts, trying her best to push the trolley up the ramp and struggling greatly from the weight. Gigi runs over to help her, and even the weight of two won’t budge the trolley. Elizabeth comes back and sees their futile struggle, and she takes over, firm hands holding the railing. She moves to lean on it with her back and leg, and she massages Gigi and Nerissa’s shoulders for a while. Sorry for making you wait, I’ll take it from here.

Nerissa feels her shoulder click and she feels amazingly better and she stares, starstruck at how easily Elizabeth seems to move the amp-laden trolley up the ramp. How much strength does this woman even have? Nerissa feels her face grow hot, and she laughs nervously to herself and jogs off backstage.

“Oooh, Nerissa. You're so.” Mumei says, one day. It’s the third time they’re rehearsing in-venue, and the day of the performance is coming closer by the week. Guitar in her lap, Mumei takes off the amp jack.

“I'm what?” Nerissa straightens up. Elizabeth had gone away to the storage room to get some cables, and she's waiting for the mic cable.

“You're so. Hm. Women? Yeah. women.” Mumei chirps, smiling like she’s got nary a care in the world.

Elizabeth perks up upon hearing a very loud “EXCUSE ME????” from the direction of the curtains.

“You can't. You can't just say that, Mumei! I’m your friend! What if– what if she hears?”

Mumei grins impishly, and Nerissa doesn’t like the way her eyes crinkle. It's like Shiori when she’s got a crazy thing planned. Perhaps Shiori’s mannerisms had wormed into her brain, too.

“She’s right behind you.”

Nerissa’s head whips back at the speed of light and she sees a speck of red and there Elizabeth Rose Bloodflame stands, box of cables in hand. Elizabeth smiles sheepishly, and Nerissa feels electric, static jumping across her spine like lightning.

“Sorry, what did you say?”

“Nothing!” Nerissa immediately replies, looking back at Mumei with a frown. She wants so badly to rip off that devilish grin off the owl's face. Who’s the evil one here?

Nerissa almost growls. Elizabeth picks up the sound from across the stage. She hands the box in her hands to Bijou, says a quick thanks and pads over to Nerissa, who looks so grim, and Mumei, who has a growing shit-eating grin pasted onto the ends of her mouth. She lightly touches Nerissa’s shoulder, and she feels the vocalist flinch against her touch. She has to be careful.

Elizabeth looks at Nerissa, then at Mumei.

“Mumei, what did you do?” she asks, rubbing circles around Nerissa’s back, and she feels the other relax against her touch.

Elizabeth’s hand runs up to nestle on the space between the vocalist’s neck and shoulder. Nerissa feels the pressure– the pleasant kind of pressure, and she feels like a comfortable weight has settled over her shoulders. She releases the grip she has on her own hands.

“Nothing, I swear!” Mumei laughs. Elizabeth hears a small “I can testify!” from behind the curtains– that’s Shiori. Elizabeth has no way of knowing.

She sighs deeply. Oh, who are we kidding?

“Nerissa.”

The woman in question squeaks audibly, and Elizabeth feels her straighten up as the shoulder shifts. “Ye-yes?”

“Please tell me if Mumei does anything again. I’ll handle it next time.”

Elizabeth brushes a stray hair away from Nerissa’s face, and she swears she sees a tint of pink somewhere in her cheeks. She laughs with mirth.

“I’ll be on your side, always. I’ll make sure of it.”

Nerissa feels herself light up on fire, but she smiles the feeling off. She hopes this isn’t what it is.

The day of the performance comes, finally, and Nerissa gets the jitters. Thankfully, Elizabeth catches her just on time.

“Nerissa, you’re gonna be okay. It’s not gonna be that bad.” Elizabeth had her hand on the small of Nerissa’s back, tracing small circles with her palm in hopes the panic subsides. “We’ve practised, it will go smoothly.”

“What if I stop singing, Liz?” Nerissa asks, her voice so small and quiet. Elizabeth catches it anyway.

“I’m sure you won’t. I trust in your ability– I trust you.” Elizabeth says, and Nerissa see’s glitter in her eyes.

“If you lose it, we’ll cross that bridge when we ever get to it. You have us, Nerissa. It will be alright.”

Nerissa manages to cough out a small chuckle and a little thank you. Elizabeth is too nice to her.

The performance starts in less than five minutes. Nerissa finds herself playing with her hands while waiting for the cue, humming a nondescript song as she watches Mumei and Bijou arm wrestle. She hears the tap of boots and she immediately recognises Elizabeth, it’s Elizabeth, nobody else walks with a tap like that– and she looks up.

The bassist paces around the room, steps quieting, but Nerissa sees her hands twitch and she realises two things: one, she's nervous, and two, she’s air-bassing. Last-minute practice is a hit or miss. Nerissa giggles a little at how cute she looks.

They all perk up upon staff call and Nerissa feels the jitters again and she feels like leaning over a wall and throwing up and she feels a strong hand on her shoulder and she looks up. Elizabeth looks at her, worry permeating through her very being. It’s a silent question, and Nerissa almost loses herself in those crimson pools. It’s like Elizabeth transferred part of her strength to her, and she cannot be more grateful. She straightens up, and she lets out a breath. Elizabeth nods, and she heads out onto stage. Nerissa trails behind her, and the lights fill her vision.

They all get into position, and Gigi counts them in and in Three, two, one–

Nerissa loses whatever nervousness that is stuck inside her body. She jumps into the song with her whole soul and she sings, and it’s like there is no audience and they’re performing for themselves. All she can hear is the sting of the guitar and the synth and the snappy drumming and she hears the bassline and oh, how it leads her.

She spares a look at Elizabeth and she looks so focused and serious it’s like she’s in her own bubble. Nerissa takes the moment to walk over to her during the interlude, and lets Mumei take the stage for the guitar solo. Elizabeth feels her presence and she looks at her, quirking an eyebrow. Nerissa?

Nerissa smiles, twirling her mic. Lovely to see you, darling~

Elizabeth giggles a little, and she taps her foot twice. You’re up in two bars.

Nerissa leaves Elizabeth’s spot with a last pat on the back.

The performance ends by the fifth song, and cheers erupt from the crowd. Nerissa feels emotion rush up her throat and the ends of her vision blurs. She holds onto the mic stand for dear life, and she can't bring herself to speak properly after a short ‘thank you’.

Elizabeth, almost as if driven by instinct, lets go of her bass and bounds over to the vocalist. She brings Nerissa into her arms and holds her as tight as she can, wiping off a stray tear from her eyes. It’s like nobody else is in the crowd. It’s fine, Nerissa. I swear. I would too. It’s okay.

Nerissa smiles toothily, sniffling a little. She looks a little weak, but the shine between her teeth is still there. The crowd erupts into cheer, but Elizabeth doesn’t care, doesn’t hear. All that matters to her now is Nerissa.

Nerissa breaks out of it first. Her eyes widen, and she immediately grabs the mic and says her last thank yous and she thrust the mic into Elizabeth’s hands and she looks at the redhead, brows furrowed, like it’s a sort of desperate plea. Elizabeth manages to croak out her own thanks, immediately rising to drag Nerissa out of the stage. The voices of the crowd drown out of her ears.

Elizabeth walks briskly over to where all the amps are. Her ears are ringing and she can’t hear anything and she’s tunnelling, and she brings Nerissa to sit down and she blinks in hopes of nothing. Nerissa pants weakly, and it feels like her heart just leapt out of her throat.

“Liz– Liz– What are we–”

Elizabeth puts a hand up. She drops to her knees. It’s like she’s knelt in prayer, but Nerissa knows it’s not. The bassist stares at her, and her expression stays indescribable, yet it says so, so many things all at once. Elizabeth looks away, and Nerissa spots the red blooming across her ears.

“I don’t know. Nerissa, I don’t know. What are we to you? What am I to you?”

Backstage has never, ever been this silent. Nerissa feels her throat dry.

Shiori motions for everyone else to leave stage left.

“Give them some space,” She says, when Bijou asks why. “There’s a plot point happening.”

Gigi hums, strangely serious. “Do you think they…?”

Mumei nods sagely, connecting the dots. “They’re going through it. It is our time to shine.”

Shiori laughs. She rolls up her sleeves dramatically, the tattoos under her arms glinting under the lights.

“Wingmen, it is our cue!”

Whenever Elizabeth or Nerissa are gone somewhere, the ‘Liz-Rissa get-together support squad’, as Mumei named it, gets into discussion. Shiori hopes they don’t look too suspicious.

“So they're…you know?” Bijou asks, bending her wrist.

Gigi nearly chokes out a guffaw. “Beebers– I. I’m. Is that not obvious??” They slap the floor like a seal on a sugar high. “Well. Yes. They are of the limp-wrist battalion. The Alphabet Brigade.”

Bijou gasps. “Ohhh. No, that's not what I meant– I always knew, well, uh. I mean. Uhhh–”

“I hate to break it to you, but they are in such a dramatic situationship. They don’t even know what they are.” Shiori interjects, waving a gummy worm like a lightstick. Mumei tries to bite it to no avail.

“They’re kinda obvious about it, it’s really funny.” Mumei titters, waving her legs around. “It’s like when you’re making your situationship so bad it becomes everybody’s problem. Free Cinema.”

They huddle around in a circle. They need a good plan.

“Gigi, do you have any ideas?” Bijou asks, trying to move the conversation along.

“Lock ‘em in a box and only let them out when they’ve sorted their feelings.”

“Gigi?? What–”

“We are not using the Autofister method for this.” Shiori, ever the sane mind, immediately shoots the idea down to the ground. “Please be rational.”

Gigi grumbles in their seat.

This conversation does not get anywhere, in the end.

Elizabeth doesn’t know what came over her. What happened to her and Nerissa? She’s a little fearful, if she’s being honest with herself. What are they? What does Nerissa think of her? She can’t make heads or tails of it. She has to continue on, anyway. Nobody has to know.

She passes by Nerissa in the corridors. Elizabeth sends her a smile and a wave, and Nerissa nods in return. The mould does not break.

Nerissa finds Elizabeth in the studio, tuning her bass. She contemplates going into another room in the interest of them both. She knows there’s something in the air after that– whatever that was backstage, and she doesn’t want to force Elizabeth to answer. She doesn’t go in.

Shiori taps her foot against the wooden floor of the stage, sitting on an amp. She thinks about the current situation.

“Hmm. How do I…mm.” The guitarist hums, looking at no spot in particular. She starts pacing around the room. She walks without direction, and her brows furrow.

They’re so. Why are they like that? Why must they be so hard to help? Shiori starts waving her hands around and pointing at the air as if she’s talking to an audience of many. A presentation only to herself. A Thousand plans appear and pass over her head like darts to a board, and she tries picking one out of the crowd to no avail. This is the most complicated affair she has ever willed herself to solve. They’re so–

Gigi steps onstage, twirling their drumsticks, and Shiori immediately spins around and points at her, a confident smile gracing her lips.

“Aha! You!” Shiori exclaims, and Gigi blinks.

They pause, arm going limp beside their hip, and they bark out a laugh, expression quirking to one of curiosity.

“You look like you just got some kind of eureka moment. What’s going on here?”

Shiori twirls in the spot, spreading her arms wide with a sprinkle of dramatic flair. Gigi grins, slightly confused, but trying their best to understand.

“You see, Gigi.” The guitarist starts, voice tapering off a falsetto. “It’s about Elizabeth.”

“Elizabeth?”

“Yes! Her and Nerissa, specifically.” Shiori circles around Gigi, the gears in her brain kicking into work. “Have you seen what they are?”

“Uh. Gay?” Gigi answers, brain lagging slightly behind.

Shiori goads her on. “Well– not wrong, but it’s a liiittle more specific. Like them being…?”

Gigi scoffs jovially, finally catching up.

“They’re kinda. You know.” They wave their wrists. “A little aaaawkward. Maybe a case of not-confessing-because-they-don’t-know-if-the-other-loves-them-back-but-it’s-really-fucking-obvious-that-they-both-like-each-other-itis?”

Shiori snaps her fingers, cheering to an audience of two.

“Yes! Exactly. That’s it!” She exclaims, gesturing with her hands. “And what can we do?”

Gigi mirrors the guitarist’s pose, smiling from ear to ear. They’re so in it now. “We wingman?”

Shiori swings her arm, a grin forming between her teeth, too. “Indeed, we wingman! But the question here is how.” She suddenly turns serious, her smile disappearing behind a newly-formed frown. “That’s the hard part, see. They’re as dumb as bricks.”

Gigi has to hold out the urge to wheeze, holding their chest in hopes they don’t explode.

“Sorry– I. That’s so correct I would never even–” They take a hold of themselves, stumbling over. Shiori catches their arm, and brings them to balance. “Would you say? Lady Novella. That they’re… tripping over nothing and grasping at straws and being so paranoid for nothing?”

The guitarist wrings her hands, exasperated.

“Yes, yes, they’re so oblivious! We need them to realise they love each other.”

Gigi hums, tapping their sides. “Well. Do we tell them? Nudge them in the right direction?”

“We gotta bring into their minds the possibility that the other loves them back.” Shiori says, the gears turning again, finally. “They’re too awkward to see. Nerissa in particular is too considerate.”

The drummer points a finger as they come to a realisation. “Lizzers is too. Oh my God. This is why they’re dumb gayasses.”

Shiori nods fervently, waving her hands like a madwoman. “They have the brains of a fucking carrot, I swear.”

“Agree. Agree. I hate them soooo much. Why are you guys like that???” Gigi hollers, stomping the wood floor. “Okay– back to the plan. What are we doing?”

Shiori hums, swivelling around on her heel. “We…hm. Would telling them anything that hints to either Liz or Rissa liking each other work?”

Gigi gets struck by a revelation, and they bring their hands together as their face lights up.

“Wait. We just need to push them to confront each other. Shiori, do you see what I mean?”

The guitarist nods slowly. “No. I see it. That could work.”

Gigi grins again, looking straight at yellow. “Do we have a plan?”

Shiori looks back at pink, and chuckles. “A little messy, but yes. We do have a plan.”

“When is this happening, then?”

“Stat.”

Shiori motions to a blur of red near the emergency exit. She smiles. “Well. There’s our chance.”

Elizabeth comes late to practice today. A rarity, but she hopes that Gigi can cover for her. She jogs through the corridors and past the emergency exit– why is it ajar? and she sees a patch of black and blue and she’s blinded by white and she stops. Nerissa comes into the building from the rain, shaking the rain out of her hair like a wet bird. She’s still beautiful, either way. She spots Elizabeth and comes to a stop, too. The air is charged, all of a sudden.

Nerissa breaks the silence, first. She laughs nervously.

“Ha– Hi, Liz– um. Am I late?"

Elizabeth furrows her brows, silent. She is overcome by some sense of duty– not duty. What is it? Can she call it love? Is that allowed? Love. Care? She doesn’t know. What she does know is that she moves forward, taking off her jacket and wrapping it around Nerissa’s shoulders. She squeezes the other’s shoulders a little.

“I’ll– I’ll get you a towel. Come in.”

Nerissa watches Elizabeth run behind the doors. She almost misses the touch. The cold staves off, forgotten. She doesn’t know what to think of that. She pulls the jacket closer, and she thinks it smells like roses.

Elizabeth comes back with a towel, and dries her off as best as she can. Nerissa looks a little more like a cat that just came out of a shower, and the vocalist shivers. Elizabeth puts her arms on Nerissa’s shoulders. She can’t even begin to describe what she’s feeling anymore. Her feelings are jumbled into a pot and she can’t sift the colours off. However, she knows there is a little blue somewhere. She pulls Nerissa into a hug.

Nerissa can’t even begin to describe what she sees in Elizabeth. The bassist looks at her in a way she can’t decipher. Pain? Pity? No. That’s not it. There is no way it’s love, right? Nerissa melts into the hug, regardless. The frost on her back melts to the warmth of a heart, and Nerissa is pulled in like a child to hearthfire. She hums, rocking from side to side.

Elizabeth sways into the dance, and they swing into a waltz, moving away from the door and into the corridors. She chuckles, pulling Nerissa over to her, and they run backstage. The tension has blown off a little, for now. It’s still there, but Elizabeth decides that she’ll make it through. With a little bit of effort, she can.

Nerissa leaves the bassist for the studio, but not without a tender squeeze on a shoulder and a small smile. Elizabeth feels her facade crack, a little. It has been chipping off, actually, something at the very back of her mind shouts. She doesn’t know if that’s her trying to convince herself.

Gigi enters from the stage, cartwheeling over and walking it off as they stand in front of Elizabeth with a smile that just says ‘I have something ingenious planned and you are going to be in it’. Elizabeth can’t tell what she’s planning. She hopes it isn’t something diabolical.

“Liz. Liiiiz,” They say, and Elizabeth almost sighs. This does not sound good. “I see you.”

Elizabeth doesn’t connect the dots.

“Well, you see me? I’m here?”

Gigi snickers. “No. I mean you’re Gay, Liz. I see you.”

Something explodes somewhere in the back of Elizabeth’s brain. Gay?

“I. Uh. Gigi?”

The drummer does not stop there. “Gay. Yes.”

Gigi takes a breath, and Elizabeth feels cold creep up her spine. Something is about to go down, and she doesn’t think she’s going to enjoy it. Her heart drops, and her jaw clenches in anticipation.

“Do you love someone, Liz?”

Elizabeth feels her muscles tense. The silence backstage does not help her thoughts. Yes? No? Maybe? She settles for silence. Gigi, sweet, sweet Gigi, understands. She continues.

“You look like me when I was still pining for CC, Liz. I’ll be very frank with you. I think you’re in love.”

Elizabeth feels her throat dry considerably, and she heaves. Thank the Gods that Gigi didn’t mention a name. Her brows furrow, and she feels her hands tense. She wants to bury herself in a hole and die.

“Liz. I’m sure whoever it is, they will love you. Whoever it is, they will see you as you are.”

“How are you so sure?” Elizabeth shakes, and her voice warbles, wavering. She feels her teeth show and she feels something boil up to the back of her throat that threatens to spill. Heat spreads like wildfire over her skin and she feels like she’s being set ablaze. Yes, Good. She'd rather die burning on a stake than think about the unknown.

She wants so badly to twist a knife into her chest and bleed out on the floor. She wants to burn herself alive until the skin peels off and the bone melts and she turns to ash. Elizabeth hates herself for loving. She fell so fast and so hard that she comes off the ground broken and bruised and hurt and she can’t see what’s in front of her, all for a woman with beautiful black hair and eyes the colour of wine. She knows she loves. She knows for certain she does. The uncertainty kills her inside.

Elizabeth feels her voice crack with desperation. “Gigi, how are you so sure? What can you say? It took you years to get together with Cecilia and at the very least you know what you’re doing and you can see that she reciprocates but I can’t see that. I can’t see that. I don’t know where I am anymore and I can’t see myself and that terrifies me.”

She pants, and her teeth bare at Gigi like a feral animal and Elizabeth growls, raw and hurt, and visceral. She turns away, and she groans, her heart bleeding into her skin. The heat burns Elizabeth like a hot iron brand, and her anger fizzles off into a deeper, more painful kind of sorrow.

“I’m scared, Gigi. I don’t know if she likes me.”

Gigi brings their lips into a thin line, and her eyes shine, resolute. They chew on their words, sifting through many to find a better way to say. They have to toe the line, really, really carefully.

The drummer wants to tear herself apart. Sometimes, ignorance is bliss.

“Elizabeth. Trust me. I’m sure it’s gonna be ok. Sometimes one must take the leap and Defy Gravity.”

Gigi pats their friend’s shoulder, and brings her into a hug. They try to give Elizabeth as much power as they can.

“Just talk to her. It will be fine.”

Elizabeth nods, slowly, finally. Maybe Gigi is right. She hugs her dearest friend back as much as she is able to. What will she ever do without Gigi Murin?

“Thank you, Gigi. I will consider it. I will try.”

Her dearest friend laughs, and Elizabeth feels a weight slide off her shoulders. “Yeah, sure. Break a leg, Lizzums!”

Nerissa taps on the padded wall in the studio, thinking of nothing in particular, but yet too much. Too much of Elizabeth. Something pulls at the back of her mind and she hears the shuffling outside the door and the handle creaks open and– oh, good, it’s just Shiori.

Shiori lugs her guitar into the room, crouching to set up the cables. Nerissa watches her like a hawk, noticing how the guitarist’s hands tense as her eyes glide past. She hopes it’s physical exertion.

“Rissa.” Shiori says, and Nerissa feels her feathers go rigid. Her instinct tells her to run, but this is Shiori she’s talking about. She can never outrun an observant archiver.

“Are you okay?”

Nerissa feels her brows furrow, and she freezes in place, holding on to the padding on the wall in hopes of something.

“Shiorin, what is this about?” She asks, slow and careful.

The guitarist straightens up and spins on her heel, falling back to the amp with graceful poise. Yellow, piercing eyes stare at Nerissa, devoid of the brewing mischief that used to swim between her irises, and Nerissa knows that something is definitely up. She hopes it doesn’t have anything to do with Elizabeth.

“You seem out of it, you know. Don’t think I didn’t see you spacing out here doing nothing before I came in.” Shiori hums, pointing at Nerissa from her spot on top of the amp. “You don’t usually come in here to do nothing, Rissa. Something has to be going on.”

Nerissa curses her friend’s keen senses. Most times a boon, today a bane. She feels like she’s being drilled into with a gaze that sharp. She tries not to lock her jaw.

“I promise it's nothing–”

“It doesn’t look like nothing to me. Your feathers are not tidy, and they look tense. It isn’t usually like that.” Shiori says, and Nerissa feels her body temperature drop. We’re doing this now? Fine.

“Shiori. Why are you asking me this?” She says between her teeth, and it comes out more as a growl than anything.

Shiori pays it no mind, and her gaze never wavers. She flips a pick, and crosses her legs.

“You and Liz. What’s happening between you two?”

This is the question that Nerissa has dreaded. She had hoped it wasn’t this. Unfortunately, nothing escapes an archiver’s eyes. Her throat constricts, and she crushes the padded fabric between her hands.

“That’s none of your business, Shiori.” Nerissa declares, acid bubbling up her throat, and she takes in a breath to compose herself. “Stay out of it.”

The guitarist still doesn’t drop her gaze. If anything, it gets more resolute. Shiori has never been one to back down from a serious challenge, and Nerissa feels that if this keeps up, she’s going to lose.

“I can’t say that it’s my business, you’re right– but I have a duty as your friend, especially, to help you. This has been going on for too long, and I’ve seen enough to make my own conclusions. What matters now is your response.” Shiori says, voice level as ever, and Nerissa feels herself freeze over. “Do you love Elizabeth, Nerissa?”

She’s dropped the nickname. This has never been as serious as it is now. Biting cold spreads from her hands. It travels up her arms, seeps into her shoulders. The ice freezes over her neck, and Nerissa fails to speak. She wants to rip herself apart. She’d rather die than answer this question. Yes, Yes, I love her, so much, I don’t know how to feel, is that even love, is it even real– and Nerissa swallows all those words.

Nerissa settles for a simple “Yes. I think I love her.”

Shiori hums. Nerissa can’t help but think that she expected better.

“Do you think she loves you back?”

Nerissa wants to reach into her heart and wrest it out of her chest cavity. She wants to crush it into dust and let the blood stain her feet. She doesn’t want to feel this anymore. She’s grown too soft for a woman she’s only met with flowing Scarlet hair with strong eyes that match, and a voice that reaches the heavens. She hates herself for feeling. She feels her teeth threaten to bare, like a cornered and hurt animal, and she’s sure Shiori can feel her turmoil. This is the worst question ever, Nerissa thinks, and she feels her knuckles turn white from the pressure.

I hope she does. I pray she does. I cannot live with myself if she– does she– Nerissa inhales deeply, and she feels the air fill her lungs. It’s a good distraction from all the thoughts threatening to eat her alive. She exhales, and tears herself away from Shiori’s eyes. The mist in her brain clears, and she finds the answer. I don’t know.

“Rissa, it’s okay if you can’t answer.” Shiori says, her eyes finally, finally softening, and Nerissa feels like she’s out of danger. That comes back to bite her. Her dear friend never leaves a hunt half-finished. “I just need you to know that if you ever choose to find out, I will be behind you.”

Nerissa feels like choking her throat and dying. It has never been this hard. She chokes out a sob, and Shiori, ever the empath, rises up to her feet, and brings her into a hug. Nerissa wants to scream. She can’t bring herself to speak.

Shiori knows, and she laughs into her skin, and it spreads like hope into Nerissa’s chest.

“I know you’ll be fine, Rissa. You will win, some way or another, whatever you choose to do.” Shiori says, not unkindly, and the energy seeps into Nerissa like water to the sand. “In other words: Nah, you’d win. Get that bag, girl!”

Nerissa snaps her jaws open, and she laughs, playfully shoving Shiori off her. Her friend rolls off and laughs, too.

“Do I talk to her now, then?”

“Girl, why the fuck are you asking me? Do whatever you want! I’ll support you from behind.” Shiori barks out a guffaw, and she pushes Nerissa out of the studio. “Come back to me when you’ve got a girlfriend, sister!”

Elizabeth plays with a pick, and slips it in between her fingers. Gigi drums behind her, hitting the tom-toms like tomorrow doesn’t even exist. She hears footsteps, and she looks just in time to see Nerissa entering from behind the curtains. She’s still wearing the jacket. Her heart clenches.

Nerissa spots her, and Elizabeth swears she sees anxiety fly across her face for a moment. The smile covers it in a moment’s notice.

“Liz, can I talk to you for a second?” She asks, and suddenly Elizabeth can’t see anything but Nerissa. She didn’t even realise that the drumming had stopped.

Gigi quietly leaves the stage, and upon disappearing behind the curtains, Shiori pulls her over to Mumei and Bijou.

Elizabeth feels the air enter her lungs, and she sighs. She rises to her feet, dusts off the nonexistent dirt on her shoulders, and she nods.

“Of course. Where do you want to go?”

Nerissa brings them to the garden just outside the building. There are hydrangeas and roses and poppies and sunflowers, and they glow under the sunlight. It’s beautiful, but Elizabeth can only see the woman with flowing black hair and eyes the colour of red wine. She feels the hand holding on to her own, and heat spreads up her arm like flowers in full bloom. Nerissa looks at her, and Elizabeth is reminded of why she’s even here in the first place. Cold replaces the momentary warmth, and she feels ice freeze up the back of her throat.

Nerissa isn’t much better, either. She feels her jaw lock and her heart beat twice as fast, and her head starts to spin and she feels like retching and spilling her lunch all over the grass. Biting frost grows outwards from her palms, up her arms, and freezes over her shoulders. She feels like running, hightailing out and jumping off some bridge so she never has to live with the uncertainty. Her feet betrays her. She stays rooted to the ground, and grass crunches under her toes. She sweats, acutely aware of the creeping fear threatening to swallow her life, but if it’s not now it’s never. If she doesn’t do it now, she’ll lose her chance. So she bites the bullet and takes the leap.

“Liz. uh. About us.” She starts, slowly. She fidgets in place, unsure of what else to do. She moves her weight from side to side.

“Do we know…what we are?”

Elizabeth is freezing cold at this point. Her blood runs like frigid rime, and she desperately wants to burn herself. She needs something. Anything. Whatever will do. She bites her tongue, hoping the pain jolts her body awake.

“Do we want to be something, Nerissa?”

Nerissa inhales deeply. Her shoulders rise with the air, and with a shaky breath she exhales. She smiles dryly. The facade she has painstakingly built up crumbles slowly, time chipping away at the corners. Her true face glows from the cracks.

“Yes. I want us to be something.” She says, resolute. Strength gathers at the core of her chest, and it staves some of the cold off, like liquid courage. “I’ve gone so long with us being more than nothing but never something. We’re always in the middle. The one blurry part I can’t see.”

Nerissa steps forward with newfound strength, and her eyes glow with bravery never before seen. “I have been walking in the dark for as long as we have met and I have had to feel around for something that I don’t even think is there. I need to understand where we are, Elizabeth. I’m tired of not knowing.”

Heat melts the ice away like fire blooming from a patch of oil, and Elizabeth feels herself move against the grass. Her blood spreads through her body, blazing like a wildfire, and the cold disappears, colour returning to her skin. She wills herself to smile.

“Nerissa,” Elizabeth starts. She feels too much all at once, and she’s trying her best not to faint from everything. She clutches the fabric on her chest, and she feels the cotton bunch up against her palm. She hopes it grounds her. “I don’t know if you know, but I think– I think I’ve liked– loved? I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember. Every day I thank the Gods and Calli that they’ve brought us together and I can no longer see a life without you in it."

She doesn’t stop. Energy courses through her like a train at full speed, and she feels like ripping at the seams and combusting into dust. It feels nuclear.

“Ever since you asked us what we are I have been questioning myself. I don’t know what we were. I’ve forgotten what we used to be. I need to know– I need to know what you want.” Elizabeth chokes out a sob. It feels raw and heartfelt, and she wants to claw at her skin until it peels. She feels the pain in her throat, and her voice comes out raspy, like she’s just dived face-first into gravel. “What do you want us to be?”

Nerissa wants to cough her heart out. She feels her throat burn with heat that is neither painful nor pleasant, and she feels like she’s been set ablaze. She blinks away the tears that threaten to spill out of her eyes and she laughs. It’s weak. It’s weak, but she couldn’t care less. By some sort of instinct she walks further, stopping in front of Elizabeth, who flinches a little.

She can see her better now. Scarlet eyes glitter with flakes of gold, and it glows against the sky. Elizabeth has always been gorgeous, but Nerissa thinks that this is the most heavenly she has ever been. She feels her spirit burn, and she tries to smile.

“Elizabeth. I think you’re beautiful. You’re kind, so kind, and you treat everyone so tenderly. Even me. We’ve never even met before. You’re selfless, and you care so much. Sometimes I hate how charming you are.” Nerissa feels herself lift, and warmth spreads across her hands like magic. She brings Elizabeth’s hands into hers, and intertwines them. It feels perfect. “You’re as warm as a sunbeam on a nice afternoon, and you ground me when I need someone to hold. You’re such a delightful person, why would I not love you?”

Elizabeth feels her mask fall apart, and she finally feels free. She looks at her hands, and then at Nerissa’s. They’re warm to the touch. It’s pleasant. A small smile forms at the edges of her lips. She meets Nerissa’s eyes. They’re the same as ever– a magnificent wine red colour, but there is a certain softness to it that she’s never seen before. She guesses that her mask has slipped off too.

A hand hovers over the collar of Nerissa’s jacket. A silent plea. Nerissa nods, and Elizabeth yanks her forward.

The kiss is slow. It’s tender and careful, and Elizabeth treats Nerissa with such fondness that she just wants to melt into the flame. It’s so gentle, and Nerissa feels her heart glow.

She laughs into the crook of Elizabeth’s neck. The sound reverberates and spreads through Elizabeth’s body like the first spring wind, and she pulls Nerissa closer. Warmth blooms like flowers across her heart, and she feels as light as a feather. She hopes they’re roses.

Elizabeth plants a delicate kiss atop the crown of her love’s head, and Nerissa looks up. They giggle like schoolgirls, laughter ringing across the sky like birds taking flight. They love each other, they realise, and they run out the garden with newfound exuberance. Their hands stay intertwined, and it has never felt so complete.

Gigi paces around the stage, nervous for something they cannot see. Shiori counts the fingers in her hands for the 10th time as she squats in front of Mumei, who is sprawled on the floor like she got stabbed dead by a knife. Bijou somersaults across the air and cartwheels back. They’ve finished setting up thirty minutes ago, and they’re waiting for their two VIPs to come back stage right. The bass sits peacefully against the amp, just like how its owner left it, and so is the mic, set up by Shiori out of her own goodwill.

Mumei picks up a sound. Laughs? And she sits up almost immediately, back ramrod straight. Shiori, having just counted to her pinky, snaps out of her reverie and looks towards the curtains. Bijou lands her last aerial and pulls Gigi away from their walk, and after a beat, they all scramble towards their positions in a frenzy.

The sounds get louder, and they hear footsteps. Elizabeth and Nerissa burst through the curtains, laughing like children. Elizabeth pulls Nerissa into a hug and spins her around, and they giggle into each other’s necks like it’s a natural instinct. The world around them blurs into pastel, and it’s like their bandmates aren’t even in the room.

Bijou’s jaw hits the floor, and she has to hold on to Mumei, who can barely hold a chortle. Shiori and Gigi share a look, and they high-five. Elizabeth realises first, and she laughs it off. She brushes off a stray hair away from Nerissa’s face, and her love kisses her again. She blubbers, shaking herself away as Nerissa grins from ear to ear.

“So, uh.” Elizabeth starts. She holds onto her darling’s hand like it’s a lifeline, and it gives her courage. “We’re girlfriends.”

Nerissa hums, nodding along. She bumps her shoulders against Elizabeth, who lets out a small chuckle. “We hope you don’t mind the sudden announcement."

A beat of silence passes, and the stage erupts into cheers. Gigi tackles Shiori, shouting at the top of their lungs. Shiori laughs, shaking Gigi off.

The guitarist looks at Nerissa, then at Elizabeth, then at their hands. They’ve never let go of each other this whole time. Shiori smiles. “Well, colour me unsurprised. It was bound to happen, wasn’t it?”

Gigi pumps a fist in the air. “Maaan, that took so long. I was forced to sit through a months-long sitcom. You all are so bad at feelings– everyone except you two can see that you’re both in love with each other?? Even Biboo gets it.”

“You were too obvious. We could all see the tension from a mile away.” Mumei hoots. “Anywho, congratulations on being a thing.”

Bijou nods along, tutting dramatically. “Man, I knew you were gay, but not that pathetic. You all are on another level of girlfail.”

Elizabeth can only sputter, moving to hide behind her partner like a sad dog. Nerissa lets out a small giggle. Her love speaks for itself.

“What matters is that we’re together now, no?” Nerissa says, and Shiori sees the glitter between her eyes. There’s a little scarlet in there somewhere, exactly the shade of Elizabeth.

The guitarist can only shrug.

“Well, yeah.” Shiori smiles. She’s glad they’ve found each other. They both shine against the lights, and they look happier than they’ve ever been. She’s sure that their music will be filled with lovely splashes of colour. “That’s what matters. I’m happy that you’re happy.”

Nerissa looks at her love, and she smiles like the sun. Elizabeth smiles, too. It’s like they’re still back in the garden amongst the flowers. She decides that they’ll go on a garden date someday. Elizabeth nuzzles against her darling’s cheek. She loves her very much.

They book another concert venue sometime later. They’re prepared, this time. Nerissa sees Elizabeth backstage, tending to the cables. Her jacket barely stays on her, haphazardly zipped up, and her hair is tied. The piercings on her ear glints like crystal under the lights. She senses Nerissa, and looks up, smiling.

That’s Elizabeth Rose Bloodflame, resident bassist, chivalrous knight, Nerissa’s one and only love. The white sends her reeling, and she almost wants to melt on the spot.

“Yes, love? Is there anything I can help with?” Elizabeth says, straightening up.

Nerissa giggles sweetly, and Elizabeth wants so bad to kiss her.

“No, nothing. You’re pretty.”

Elizabeth squeezes Nerissa in a hug, shaking her gently. If a boat in the sea rocks gently like a lullaby, Elizabeth would be Nerissa's boat. Her hug grounds her to earth, and it’s warm enough that Nerissa feels like flowers could bloom across her chest like a beautiful spring garden.

“I love you, my darling blackbird.”

“Oh, you sap.” Nerissa laughs. “I love you too, my sweetest scarlet.”