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The guildhouse's room was only lit by the window facing the main road outside. Two single beds, little more than cloth lain over hay within a wooden frame, were crammed into the tiny room. The only space remaining in the room was taken up by a pair of armour stands, one with a set of studded leather armour hanging, another with a chain shirt underneath leather.
Aubrey lay on her bed, staring at the wooden ceiling above. "Hey. Sunny. Do you think we'll get back home? Like at all? It's hard to believe we've been at this for about a month now. Your mother must be worried sick." She tilted her head to the right, taking in Sunny’s expression as he turned himself to face her as well.
Sunny's forlorn expression, the way his eyes very slightly squinted, his pupils dipping to one side almost bathed him in a sad aura. His eyes unfocused, looking into the distance past her, his shoulders slouching just that little bit more. Homesickness, if she was reading him right.
Sunny sighed a tiny sigh, all his feelings condensed into a nearly-silent exhale.
She wanted nothing more than to keep him safe. He didn't deserve to be thrust into such an unfamiliar situation, especially after he had gathered up the courage to tell them what he had done, after he risked so much, nearly killed himself. The best she could do was to give him a modicum of comfort, of normality in this strange new world.
A strange sound came from Sunny’s bed, knocking her out of her thoughts. A hiccup…? Oh...
Aubrey stood up, diving into Sunny’s bed, giving Sunny a big hug. She felt him quiver in her arms, the tiny shocks going through his body amplifying his pitiful state. Her heart quivered as well, the woe-stricken mess in her embrace tugging so deeply at her heartstrings. Sunny didn’t deserve any of this. He had just begun to get his life back on track. "Oh… there, there, Sunny. Don’t cry, alright? I’m here for you.” She cooed in an attempt to soothe him. Why him? She thought, feeling the wet teary patch on her shoulder widening as he slowly brought his arms around her as well. “Listen. Don't worry about it all. We'll get back for sure, you hear?"
She kept patting the back of his head, keeping him so, so close to her, whispering soothing nothings into his ear. As the minutes passed, his hiccups eventually slowed, his tiny sniffles shaking his body gradually stopping.
“Remember back in Faraway, Sunny? Before this stuff happened? We were talking… about nothing really. You said something about going home, and I… I said, ‘Home? I can’t go home.’” Aubrey sighed. “Right now, after all we’ve been through… Truthfully… I don’t know if I want to go home. I know I’ll miss Kim and the rest of the gang, but… being with you guys like this, it’s honestly been really fun. Point is… For me, I don’t think it really matters where we are. All I really want is for us- the five of us - to stick together.” She drifted off into silence, her lips pursed as if to stop herself from continuing, partially hoping Sunny didn't catch her slip-up.
“...Aubrey…” Sunny whispered, his small, raspy voice no louder than the wind blowing through the windows. He tightened his arms around her, as if to keep her from moving away. “I-I love you. Please… never leave me…”
Aubrey leaned back slightly, looking at the red-faced Sunny still holding her tightly, expectantly awaiting her answer. His eyes couldn’t meet hers - he seemed to be unable to make up his mind between pressing more into her and potentially making her uncomfortable, or keeping off of her in case she rejected him.
And she giggled. Her giggles turned into chuckles, and into full blown laughter. She laughed, and laughed, and laughed, not once releasing her hold on him. He stared at her, confused, enraptured by her laugh, unsure due to her hold never releasing him, the mixed message causing his anxiety to bubble up slowly from within his heart.
“Took you long enough. Why’d you have to choose then to say it?” She said, wiping a tear from her eye. She took in his anxious look, the slight fear in his eyes, his quivering hold on her. You knew? He seemed to ask wordlessly.
And she leaned down to kiss him on the forehead.
Sunny was surprised for but a second, before his face did its best impersonation of a tomato.
“Does that make it clear for you, Sunny?” She said, hugging him closer.
They would get home, for sure. And they would do it together.