Chapter Text
"Aubrey, I'm here." Sunny knocked on the door while he was waiting for Aubrey to open it. He wanted to come in to feel warm since the cold was becoming a little unbearable... a hint that in a few more hours it would be night. A few seconds later Aubrey opened the door and welcomed Sunny with a smile.
"Come in fast." It was unnecessary since she just took him inside her house pulling him by his arm and then giving him a hug. "God, you're cold, it took you a while... how much did you talk to Kel?... he wouldn't have offered you that orange thing, right?."
The black-haired boy, for some stupid reason, sees this whole situation as a kind of analogy to a couple and the girl asks her partner if he had been drinking while he was with his friend. He pushed those thoughts away so as not to turn red and cause a misunderstanding. "We just talked about... you know." It went without saying what they talked about, it was the topic they had been putting on the table since he came here.
"I see, let's not go back to that matter and let's enjoy the time!" Aubrey was ecstatic, she would still be able to spend more time with Sunny as long as he was still living with her for now.
But he had other plans.
"Aubrey, I wouldn't want to ruin the moment but could you bring Basil so I can talk to him? I know we already had a good time being together but... I want to know a little more." Sunny asked Aubrey, waiting for her response.
She wasn't stupid, she knew what he wanted to talk to Basil about, sometimes Sunny can be predictable. Part of her was a little annoyed by his insistence on that topic, he has them all by his side and they are all alive… except for the Sunny of this world but with him present it feels like he never left.But she's not going to tell him, she doesn't want to start any problems with him just because of a disagreement, apart from the fact that maybe it's good for him to have those little chats with them so they can get to know each other better... although she already told him before. ..they are not like his friends from the world he came from.
[Sigh] "Fine, I won't be long in bringing it as soon as I can, just try to stay warm okay." Aubrey went outside and walked quickly towards Basil's house, during that time she was complaining in her mind. "Dammit Sunny, stop asking so much about what happened to us and what we think about your ex friends, you better start leaving that past behind and enjoying the fact that we are all together at last!."
Her grumbling stopped once she reached the front door of Basil's house, she knocked and then heard Polly's voice saying she's coming. Aubrey sometimes almost confuses Polly as if she were Basil's mother since she is the only one who takes care of him... even more so after his grandmother passed away. Polly opened the door and greeted Aubrey politely. "Have you come to visit Basil?."
"No really, I just came to ask if he can come to my house to hang out with Kel a little more before it gets dark." She had to lie on that part, at least with this she could get Basil's attention and give him the details along the way.
"Is that so? Well... just don't let him come back too late." Polly had trust in Aubrey since she knows that she is a friend of Basil and also Kel, so she was not so worried about him spending long periods of time with them although... It seemed a little strange to her that she asked for him to hang out for the second time in this day and by the way it will be night soon. She returned inside the house and a short time later Basil arrived and greeted Aubrey and both of them without wasting time went to her home.
"Why do you want me to spend time at your house with Kel?"
"Because the one who is in my house is Sunny and he wants to talk to you a little bit."
"What!? So what you said a moment ago was-"
"Well, of course, or do you want me to tell Polly that we have a Sunny from another dimension who wants to chat with you for a while?"
"... ...Good point."
"Just don't make your talk so long, remember that Polly will worry if you don't arrive earlier in the evening."
Soon the two arrived home and Aubrey opened the door, upon entering they saw that Sunny was sitting on the couch. "Hey, good to see you Aubrey, Basil."
"I wouldn't recommend sitting there Sunny."
"Why? Just because your mom was here all the time doesn't mean it's as bad as we think, while you were out I gave it a quick clean and wow... I didn't expect it to not be as dirty as I thought, you cleaned it before, isn't it?" Sunny said, he seems a little more talkative.
"Well... that's true, I can't have a tidy house with a smelly and dirty sofa. But you're still sure to sit there and talk to Basil?."
Sunny just nodded, Aubrey looked at Basil and he didn't seem to care, the girl just shrugged her shoulders and walked towards her room.
"Eh? You're not going to stay with us?" Basil asked.
"No, I'll let you talk what you want, just try not to take too long... it will soon be dark, the keys are on the table, I'll be waiting for you upstairs, Sunny." And Aubrey finally went to her room.
Basil giggled to which Sunny raised an eyebrow. "What's so funny to you?"
"It's no a big deal." Basil didn't want to make any comments, but hearing Aubrey say that, and it was something directed at Sunny, was something to think about... if only things were the way they are, he could make fun of them a little because of how obvious they are.
"Anyway, what did you want to talk to me about?" Basil sat on the couch.
"I just want to know... what do you really think about everything? about what Hero and Mari did and about my life."
Basil put on a neutral expression. "Well... to be honest with you... I felt betrayed, of all people... it never crossed my mind that those two would do something like that and lie to us for so long. My best friend murdered by his older sister and her boyfriend covered it all up, I know you'll tell me it was all an accident but... that's no excuse."
"Do you hate my sister for what she did?." Sunny wasn't going to wasting time, he'll say what he wants to ask.
"Ohoho you have no idea how I was after heard the truth, I was so angry that I didn't even want to hear her name, but as time went by that anger calmed down a little... I'm still angry with her but at least I have the courtesy of don't show it, it's hard to be around her without starting to remember the incident."
The atmosphere felt a bit heavy.
"And about your life and former friends, I only feel sorry for what happened to you... it was not fair, more than anything because of how they took the truth and left you. Unlike what Mari and Hero did... I can call yours an accident, and what that alternate Basil did is simply sick!."
Sunny was startled, he didn't expect him to react like that.
"I... I just can't understand, of all the things that could have been done, why come to that insane option? What Hero did was very bad... but what that alternate version of mine did is beyond of messed up!, and not only that... he also stabbed you in the eye!, what the heck? We are best friends!, how the fuck could I... he done that to you!? I don't want to sound like a jerk but it was well deserved what happened to him."
Basil's anger towards his alternate self was very evident, how is it possible that he, being Sunny's best friend, could have done all those atrocities? Hanging Mari's corpse, causing trauma to everyone with his cover-up, leaving Sunny with only one eye... and all for what?... to protect him?, what a sick joke.
"Basil is not-"
"Don't you dare defend what he did! , between you and me... what he did was worse than what you did because he could have done the right thing but he didn't and he took the worst option thinking only of you and not on others... and look at the result; He not only ruined himself... also you and the others, just... why?."
It was something very difficult for Sunny to understand, it was much easier to take most of the blame and say that others only made bad decisions because of what he did. But this Basil completely breaks that, he does not ask for a justification, any forgiveness for that mistake and nor does he ask for any defense... he directly accepts that an alternate self of his suffered what he suffered as a well-deserved punishment for his bad actions regardless that they were never intentional, for him it was no excuse to make those decisions; Besides, saying that Basil wasn't completely right in the head wouldn't be an appropriate justification either.
What a surprise, even in an alternate reality Basil still hates himself.
"I... [sigh]... I don't even know how to answer that, it was just one blunder after another before I finally confessed everything... but it didn't bring any positive results beyond unhooking me a little from my past and forgiving myself... sadly it was not the case for that Basil." Sunny said with a sad tone.
And again silence, none of them knew what else to say.
"... ... If it helps you at all, I will just make it clear that I have no resentment towards you for your mistakes, I forgive you… and you deserve better from us, we should have taken better care of you both in this world with the other, so... don't blame yourself anymore for all this incidents." Basil got up from the sofa, the night is near, he can't worry Polly if he takes too long to return home, before leaving Basil hugged Sunny and he returned the hug, for the gardener boy it was like going back to the past when things were really okay.
"Goodbye Basil, have a good night." Sunny said, and walked Basil to the door, it took him a while to find the right key and open the door, once Basil left he locked the door again.
Sunny put the keys back on the table and started heading towards Aubrey's room. But then he had a realization as he remembered Basil's reaction to Aubrey's words and that's when he felt his ears warm up. "Damn it Basil!, she and I aren't… ugh, forget it."
is official, this is going to be another awkward night sleeping with Aubrey.