Work Text:
It had been rainy the last couple weeks, so when the sun finally came out for the first time in a while, and the weather forecast showed that every bit of the rain had passed, Sayori was ecstatic. She had texted the group-chat with all her friends—Monika, Natsuki, and Yuri—how she thought it would be fun to go out and have a picnic together. It was the middle of May, and so it was one of the best times of the year to have one, other than in the fall. Everyone knew it, and Sayori didn’t want to have to wait until the fall to do something as simple as have a picnic, anyway.
When Sayori introduced Monika to the subject, she agreed, saying that, “It would be nice to get out of the house.” She also said that it would be fun considering that everyone in the group needed a chance to bond a little more outside of school, especially since they were going to graduate in less than a year, and college life meant that they were guaranteed to hardly ever look at a calendar and see a empty space again for the next 2-4 years—depending on where they all went. Graduating also meant that soon all their Literature Club meets would soon come to a permanent end.
Natsuki orginally turned Sayori down, making the excuse that she had a shopping trip that same week, on the exact same day. Once she saw Sayori’s sad expression, she crumbled, and admitted that she was just really nervous about what Papa would say. Upon this revelation, Sayori immediately gave her reassurance, stating that, “if her dad were to do anything to her for wanting to go out with a couple of friends, she would have legal action take place.” Natsuki smiled and soon agreed afterward.
Yuri, being timid and more awkward than the others, took a little longer to agree. Yuri has definitely warmed up to the 3 girls a considerable amount, but the thought of going out in public for reasons other than school still shook her a little. She didn’t know why. Perhaps it was just the fact that she had never done it before. Looking back on the way that she grew up, she did not have a lot of friends nor people that she could look at and confidently say, “I can put my trust in you,” and that alone contributed to the fact that she turned to self-harm as a coping mechanism, alongside a couple other factors, of course, but said factors are stories for another day.
Meeting the other girls—Natsuki, specifically—changed Yuri’s perspective on the way that she saw both herself and her life. She did not feel the urge to die, but she did truly hate herself. When she found out that Natsuki felt similar to her, she found comfort in talking to her when she felt the need too. It was an outlet—a healthy mechanism. She never had one of those before.
Natsuki helped her gain confidence, abolish her need to harm herself, and most importantly, learn to love herself. And Yuri had done the same for Natsuki.
Natsuki, having grown up in a toxic and abusive household, didn’t know what affection truly was before meeting Yuri. And similar to Yuri, she hated herself. Her papa would always hit her and tell her that she deserved it, so naturally, she began to believe it, which lead to her harming herself. Upon meeting Yuri, she grew closer and closer to her, and her company became an outlet for her, as well. Over time, all of this began to lead up to her obtaining feelings for Yuri and, eventually, confessing. Natsuki was immediately accepted into Yuri’s heart upon doing so.
So when Yuri declined Sayori’s request to go on a picnic, Natsuki made an attempt to convince Yuri to go. In the end, it worked, and she ended up accepting.
The 3 girls spend their time to come up with a plan to go on said picnic on a hill in a sunflower field that very weekend because everyone was free. They all decide that Sayori is going to be bringing a couple snacks, Yuri is going to bring the blanket, Natsuki is going to bring a couple activites to do while they’re out, and Monika is going to make and bring the actual food.
Neither of them can wait.