Perilous Pink
NicoMaki, Love Live, 1.4K, 1/1
Nishikino Maki learned new things about being in love with Yazawa Nico every day. Even after three years of dating and nearly one year of marriage, Maki could still be surprised.
The sprawling concrete and glass modern house she’d bought Nico as a birthday present never really felt empty. Nico had managed to fill most of the rooms with colorful art pillows and even a few quirky pieces more suited to Maki’s taste. Right now the main room and kitchen was hung around with Christmas lights, all the windows bright with blinking colors, wreaths on every interior door, a Christmas tree that filled the atrium standing two stories tall. Maki should have felt jolly. Yes, COVID-19 was raging, the third wave surging, Tokyo residents masking and social distancing. Masking wasn’t a new habit, nor was concern for the community. But they’d been forced to cancel their upcoming concert series, although both had agreed with the decision of their safety team. And today Maki was learning that a house empty because Nico was on the road felt completely different than a house where Nico was home and gloomy.
She was wearing nothing but pink. Every day. Pastel pink. Layers and layers wrapped around, like cotton candy. Not such a surprise for Nico. but right now, today, or any December day, she should be dancing through the house in an oversized Santa and snowflake sweater, elf hat at a jaunty angle, pulling Maki in to waltz and sing a duet version of “Snow Halation.” Instead, she was in the studio in the basement, pink blanket pulled around her, the weighted air of someone buried in difficulties as she stared blankly at her monitor’s screen saver. Nico smiled when Maki brought her tea or coffee or a doughnut but it was a fond half smile, too familiar, not a glad smile, Nico’s bright eyes sizzling with plans and pranks. Nico’s eyes were dull.
Maki had made Christmas cookies, sloppily but, she thought, endearingly decorated. Maybe they could coax a reaction out of Nico.
The studio door was half open. Maki knocked on the doorframe.
“I made cookies.”
Nico grunted. At least there was digital sheet music on the monitor.
“Nico-chan?”
Nico half turned.
“Are you mad at Santa-san? Or …” Maki’s voice broke a little, “me?”
Nico waved an impatient hand. “No, Maki-chan. Nico and Santa-san are fine. Nico and Maki are fine.”
“Why aren’t you wearing any of your Christmas sweaters? And we haven’t hung any mistletoe.” Maki looked around the room, pink blanket, pink pillows, pink plushies.
“Nico’s fine.” Nico snapped. “Nico’s busy.” And Nico shoved the mouse to the right, beginning a frantic series of clicks.
###
Maki retreated upstairs, to the couch, overhead lights off, Christmas lights blinking out what she hoped was a distress signal Santa could solve. Emergency bff text session with Hoshizora Rin.
M: Nico’s overdosing on pink.
R: Nico is PINK
M: o_0 But it’s Christmas
R: So you’re sulking T口T
M: NO RIN I’M WORRIED
R: Is Nico not being kissy kissy enough ♡(ŐωŐ人)
M: (ノ`□´)ノ⌒┻━┻
Hanayo: Nico was looking forward to those concerts.
M: I know
M: I can’t replace 100000 screaming fans
R: ヽ(^Д^)ノ \(★^∀^★)/ヽ(⌐■_■)ノ♪♬(ノ◕ヮ◕)ノ*:・゚✧(◕‿◕)♡
M: ┻━┻ ︵ヽ(`Д´)ノ︵ ┻━┻
H: Just be you
R: Yeah Maki-chan you got this Nico needs her Maki
M: What am I supposed to do?
R: Maki things ᕙ(⇀‸↼‵‵)ᕗ
Maki things? But Nico didn’t seem interested in any kind of … Maki wasn’t going to dye anything pink or wrap herself in a pink robe or order only pink food. It was Santa season. It had its own color code.
Pink … pastels … were a spring thing … Hope and soft and flowers …
Maki froze, remembering something. A very old, very pink memory. Something she’d never told Nico. Something only she could have done.
###
Winter. Cloudy. Every day was cloudy. Nico woke up with a groan, stretching. Even the vivid red of Maki’s hair seemed dull, washed out against the gloomy winter sky. Maki was so vivid, breathtaking, that Nico knew something was wrong to see her extraordinary wife and lover against the backdrop of an ordinary winter sky and feel sad that winter had drained the spark, the fire out of the universe. Maki’s eyes were a fading lilac, Nico could see her own sadness reflected in them, leaking in.
Quick facial care, dry brush, coffee, Christmas cookies with very triangular trees. Nico smiled at that, slightly, as deft as Maki was with her fingers on the piano, art often frustrated her. But there was a cuteness and a simplicity that made Nico’s mood less gray. Taking a mug of coffee, no sweetener, Nico wanted to be more awake, less fuzzy and the cookies were more than sweet. Maki must not have leveled off the sugar before mixing it in. Today, maybe today, Nico could make progress on the song. She had the rhythm in her head. If she could cut a single by Christmas for the fans, she’d feel less useless. And asking Maki to help seemed like cheating. Nico imagined Maki’s daily life was a bustle of present buying, carols on the piano and photo safaris of Christmas lights and decorations. Nico did not want to burst that peppermint striped bubble.
Straight to the monitor, turn on all the blinking lights, listen to the whir of fans starting up, put down the tray with coffee mug and cookies, sit, slide into the comfy gamer chair, hands linked behind head, push back and look up. Nico froze. Something new. There on the wall, nearly as tall as Nico, was the brightest pink she’d seen indoors. Cherry trees. Full bloom, pastel pink burst up into vivid, spring life. Framed so you could imagine the blooms continuing off the canvas filling the room, a light floral promise filling the air with the hope of Spring. Was that Otonokizaka? Was that someone in an Otonokizaka uniform? Nico was on her feet, pushing up looking closely, at her own profile, eyes closed, delicate eyelashes dark enough to be seen on the porcelain clarity of her skin, lips pursed to kiss a cherry blossom nuzzling for an embrace. How? Where?
“It was before I knew who you were.” Maki said in her gravelly, half yawn, sleepy voice. “I forgot I took it. It was a grumpy day for me. I didn’t particularly want to go to Otonokizaka but Papa insisted because it was such an elite school so close to the hospital.”
A pause. Nico spun her chair. Maki leaned in the doorway, hair completely in disarray, a sweet smile as she stared at the scene.
“I was wandering taking blossom pics and there you were, perfectly sharp, perfectly poised against all the soft pink embracing you, the soft blue sky, the sharp blue blazer, your cardigan, how lost you seemed in the moment, your eyes closed, your lips … I knew there would never be such a perfect spring moment. So I snapped maybe 50 different shots and there was this.”
“And then you forget Nico?” Nico could feel her throat tightening and tears starting. “How could you forget Nico?” There were going to be tears. Lots of tears.
“I didn’t. But that moment,” Maki came into the room, pointing to the Nico in the picture, “you were a dryad, a sprite, the perfect sakura spring fantasy, not Yazawa Nico, aspiring idol and aggravating third year. So pushy.” Maki winked.
“You’re so gay.” Nico sniffled, “Weird gay. But so gay.”
Maki laughed. “And then I met you, you were like no one ever, and I had to marry you.”
“You got to marry Nico.”
Maki’s eyes were so serious as she looked directly at Nico, no embarrassment, just raw, caring honesty that so few got to see.
“I did. I love you, Nico-chan. Spring will come again.” In that breathy gorgeous voice that Nico had fallen in love with at the first word of “Start Dash,” when Nico had hacked in to listen to the upstart Idol group Honoka had started. Nico could feel the tears surge, shuddering as she threw herself into Maki’s arms, holding her lover so close, letting the brightness burn away winter’s gloomy gray, Maki as solid and vivid as Nico’s best memories.
Rare for December, Maki found herself eager for spring, and the pastel perfection of Nico’s sakura smile.
A/N:
Doing some different things this August, but if there's an AU of mine or a continuing fic you want me to bump up my to do list, drop a comment, please and thank you.
Idol Fanfic Heaven is having an early August event, one of the challenges is write something in a real location. This house does actually exist in Tokyo. The pastel prompt (thank you!) is from the Femslash Friday Prompts Tumblr (link in comment.)
Take care!
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ani-muse's Love Live! post stats as of 3/31/23
As SIF shuts down, I thought I'd look back on the numbers from the past eight years of Love Live! content on this blog. Just for fun, here's how the characters have ranked in terms of the number of posts (not a personal favorite member ranking).
Nozomi Tojo - 1,587
Nico Yazawa - 753
Eli Ayase - 737
Umi Sonoda - 618
Maki Nishikino - 607
Mari Ohara - 572
Rin Hoshizora - 450 (tied with Yoshiko)
Yoshiko Tsushima - 450 (tied with Rin)
Honoka Kousaka - 444
Kotori Minami - 439
Kanan Matsuura - 308
Riko Sakurauchi - 302
Dia Kurosawa - 301
Hanayo Koizumi - 286
Ruby Kurosawa - 239
Hanamaru Kunikida - 221
You Watanabe - 208
Chika Takami - 196
Rina Tennoji - 183
Kanata Konoe - 129
Ai Miyashita - 103 (tied with Kanon)
Kanon Shibuya - 103 (tied with Ai)
Kasumi Nakasu - 93
Keke Tang - 84
Karin Asaka - 81
Emma Verde - 76
Ayumu Uehara - 64
Chisato Arashi - 63
Setsuna Yuki - 57
Sumire Heanna - 56
Ren Hazuki - 51
Shioriko Mifune - 43
Shizuku Osaka - 25 (tied with Shizuku)
Lanzhu Zhong - 25 (tied with Lanzhu)
Mia Taylor - 17 (tied with Kinako & Mei)
Kinako Sakurakoji - 17 (tied with Mia & Mei)
Mei Yoneme - 17 (tied with Mia & Kinako)
Natsumi Onitsuka - 14
Shiki Wakana - 13
Other stats:
Seiyuu photos, videos, & fan art - 494
Posts with all μ’s members - 392
Posts with all Aqours members - 184
Posts with all Nijigasaki members - 47
Posts with all Liella! members (both formations) - 55
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