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“Just for the record,” Ryo said, “a license only means I know how to drive, not where to drive.”
Bocchi decided not to mention that she had been the one suggesting taking a ‘shortcut’.
They’d come to a stop… somewhere. Middle of the woods, to be as exact as she could reasonably be, given that she’d long ago lost any sense of where in Japan they were. For all she knew, they might not even be in Japan anymore – maybe they’d driven through a wormhole and were now in the US. Or Australia.
“Bocchi.”
“Y-Yessu, aimu sohri!” Bocchi replied in broken English.
Ryo looked at her for a moment before nodding towards the forest. The forest in front of them, to be more precise; they were surrounded by forest on all sides, after all.
Bocchi hesitated for a moment, but when Ryo moved to get out of the car, she quickly followed.
There was a barely visible trail leading through the woods. Admittedly, Bocchi was a little afraid they wouldn’t find the way back, given that slowly but surely, the day was coming to an end, but the low hum of Ryo’s voice as she gave a fragmented retelling of the story of Hansel and Gretel calmed her down again.
After a few… minutes? Time was fleeting when Bocchi was with Ryo.
After a few minutes, Ryo stopped dead in her tracks, interrupting her story for a simple “oh”.
Bocchi heard a small wave splash against the forest floor before spotting a lake through the layers of leaves, stretching out far enough to feel open, but not far to the point that it felt endless. There was a world beyond the water, not impossible to reach.
While she would’ve loved to admire what she heard people call the serene calm of nature, that was the exact moment her usual clumsiness came to remind her that she couldn’t have nice things. A shriek escaped her as she tripped over a tree branch and she tumbled across the ground, knocking into Ryo somewhere along the way.
If there was one saving grace, it was that they didn’t make it all the way to the water. Ryo mercifully decided not to say anything, though that also did make Bocchi fear she’d seriously ticked her off.
That fear was quickly assuaged when Ryo pulled her up and walked to the shore with her, not letting go of her hand the whole way, before sitting down.
When Bocchi slowly kneeled down next to her, it was her turn to say “oh”.
The late spring sky shone an intense blue, even this late into the day, but the setting sun colored the few clouds throughout the sky a light, hesitant pink.
…Didn’t this feel a little too perfect?
Not that she was going to complain about it at this point. Ryo moved a little closer, and Bocchi invited her into her personal space.
Ryo tried moving even closer, but their shoulders were already touching. It was nice, though.
She made another attempt to move closer, and slowly, Bocchi got the feeling she was trying to signal something. What, she wasn’t entirely sure, but she could take a guess.
Tentatively, Bocchi placed her head on Ryo’s shoulder. Right answer, it seemed, as the next moment, Ryo placed her own head on top, her hand meeting Bocchi’s and their fingers slowly interlocking.
Neither of them said anything. It was just them, and the pink clouds and blue sky reflecting on the surface of the lake.
A soft wind played with their hair as Bocchi sighed. Ryo gave a small chuckle, and Bocchi didn’t even have to try to imagine the smug look on her face, self-satisfied with having created this little moment – totally on purpose, of course, if anyone were to ask her.
Bocchi smiled.
They’d stayed at the lake longer than planned, but successfully returned to their car nonetheless.
Ryo looked towards Bocchi, expression blank.
“Alright,” she said, “now we just gotta find the way back somehow.”