Work Text:
People-watching is not something Bocchi thought she’d ever find herself do.
She’s still not sure if she likes it, but she’s found her eyes drifting more than they used to, at least. Especially when she’s with Nijika.
With Kita, the world becomes bright. She almost wants to say loud and intense, but that seems too negative to really hit it on the head.
The people around her vanish, and she’s left with a world yearning to be explored, calling for her to step out into it; and whenever Bocchi isn’t sure whether she is even able to do so, with fiery red hair and blazing hot determination in her eyes, Kita burns her way through Bocchi’s chains and carves a path to sights she’s never seen, memories she never thought she’d be able to make.
With Ryo, the world fades away. But instead of feeling lonely or trapped, the darkness is comforting, and a space to create something new in the old world’s stead.
She feels her mind relax in Ryo’s soothing, cool presence, and the turbulent waters in her head turn still, not a single ripple left; and then, together, they turn it into a raging torrent, bringing new life to this empty canvas. They take each other’s colors to paint the ground with their passion and the sky with their dreams.
With Nijika, the world seems normal. Boring, almost, but to Bocchi, that’s exciting in its own way.
They sit down on a bench with ice cream or finger food, and talk. They talk about the band, their families, their music, their girlfriends, their school, their dreams, their lives, their everythings, and their nothings.
And then, at some point, they stop talking, and fall into a comfortable silence. Nijika looks out into the world, and, after staring at her for a while, Bocchi slowly follows her gaze, and she sees people.
She sees parents walking around with their children, sometimes looking tired and exhausted, sometimes looking happy, sometimes looking like they’d found their own inner child again.
She sees friends running across the street, chasing each other, taking videos, cracking jokes, playfully punching each other, chatting about things she can’t make out.
She sees people relax on their own, simply going for a walk, a smile on their face, content with being alone. Sometimes they treat themselves to something special, or at least that’s what she thinks when she sees a grown man walking out of a child-oriented sweets store licking a lollipop.
She sees couples flirting, holding hands, sometimes even stumbles across more intense PDA, flushes, and looks away, and then she looks back to Nijika, and finds that Nijika is looking back with a gentle smile on her face.
Neither need to say anything, and they simply pick up their date where they’d left off.
Bocchi thinks about how Nijika’s eyes were the only ones focusing on her.
At home, Bocchi sees Nijika kiss Ryo, and Kita kiss Nijika, and Ryo kiss Kita, and she feels something hot and cold in her stomach.
She knows it’s not jealousy, because it’s more comfortable than that. It makes her feel relaxed, but motivated, and secure.
She sees three pairs of eyes looking at her, really looking at her, and when she goes to join them, she can’t keep the smile off her face.