Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Sunny sneezed. The gentle breeze of the city’s night brought with it, pollen. An allergy of his.
“Bless you.” The girl said. Her name was Samantha, or Sam. She had long ash brown hair, she had an oversized jacket, a white tee shirt, and torn jeans on. She had leather boots on, and the laces that were once there seemed to be cut off with a knife. She had pale skin that was covered in sloppily applied makeup. She was a nice girl, to her friends. She was often a jerk to people she doesn’t know or like.
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say that before.” Sunny commented. She chuckled.
“Felt kind tonight, I suppose.” Sam gave a sideways smirk. Not too kind, not too mean. “So what’re we doin’ tonight? And where are the others?”
Sunny shrugged and turned to her.
“Told them to be here. Don’t know where they are.” Sunny scoffed. Adrian and Josh were never on time. Sunny and Sam had always waited for about four minutes alone until the two boys arrived. “They do it so often I’m not even surprised.”
“How are they not brothers?” Sam asked. “They literally have the exact same habits.”
“Brothers by spirit, I guess.” Sunny sighed.
“You’re religious?” Sam raised an eyebrow.
“Only sometimes.” Sunny replied. They heard footsteps behind them, and swung their heads around. There stood Adrian and Josh.
Adrian was tall, maybe six foot three inches. He had a black leather jacket on. He always had a different colored beanie on, today it was dark blue. His sweatpants had several tears on them. He had worn and discolored running shoes on. Adrian was always calm and collected. He was often what kept the group from getting into huge fights that ended with murder, or something. He kind of reminded Sunny of…
No, he doesn’t talk to them anymore. New home, new Sunny.
Josh was a bit shorter, maybe five foot nine inches. He had only a tee shirt on, and it had a little design of… something. Sunny couldn’t tell what it was, and this was not the first time he was wearing that shirt. Josh also had jeans on, with more tears than anybody in the group. He was a bit of a chaotic person, but he often would help Sunny out if he was feeling down. He was easier to talk to than Sam or Adrian. He often would switch between chaotic and calm in the blink of an eye. Sunny wondered if he had a condition, or something.
Sam grumbled.
“It’s about time you losers got here.” She glared at them. Josh chuckled and Adrian glared back. Even if he was the calmest one, that wasn’t saying much for the group of hellfires.
“Shut your trap. Be nice to your only friends.” Adrian snapped.
“Pft, if it weren’t for me, you’d only have Josh over there. That’d be pathetic.” She grinned devilishly.
“It would.” Josh confirmed. Adrian elbowed him. “And if it weren’t for Sam, we wouldn’t have met Sunny.”
Sunny nodded. That was true, Sam had found him.
-
It was late, and cold out. Sunny had been locked out of his apartment by accident, and he was forced to sit around, trying to stay warm. His mom wouldn’t come home until morning, so he was off to fend for himself. And this city wasn’t as nice as his mother described.
The area of the city he was in was considered the ‘hood’ part of town. Street fights, car crashes, random crap. Even indoors wasn’t all that safe, there were often creeps roaming around, and reportedly a child had once been kidnapped. But, the catch was, all this only happened during the night. The day was calm, business as usual.
So Sunny was petrified of being alone at night in the city. Even inside the apartment complex was creepy. Sunny got really nervous when a man who had a strange scent sat next to him. Sunny tried to scoot as far from the stranger as possible. And when the man turned to him with a weird smile, Sunny freaked out and ran off.
Now he was outside, and crying. Debatably worse than indoors… no, definitely worse. Sunny tried his best to stay discreet from anybody. In an attempt to dodge someone, he slipped into an alley, and curled up in a ball in the corner. He cried quietly to himself.
Now, behind him was a chain link fence, separating the alley into two. He heard somebody climbing it.
“Please…” Sunny whimpered. “Leave m-
“Woah, shit!” Who ever it was fell off the fence and onto the concrete below. It was an agitated girl. “Holy fuck you scared the shit outta me! The hell do you think you…”
Sunny peaked an eye out and saw that the girl was now looking at him, concerned.
“Woah. What’s up with you?” She asked. Her eyebrows raised. “You’re crying. Don’t see people do that often around here. Most of the time it’s laughing. Or screaming.”
Sunny looked all the way up, revealing his face to her.
“I’m locked out of my apartment, and my mom won’t be home for hours…” Sunny whimpered. “I lost my key… some creep looked at me and I freaked out…”
She reached a hand over, then pulled it away. Seemingly fearful of… something.
“Umm, how about you come hang with me and my friends for the night? Uh, we typically do some crime over on the better side of town. Less rivals.”
Sunny reluctantly nodded his head.
“O-Okay… anything for some nice people…” Sunny said.
-
“God you were such a pussy back then, Sunny.” Sam laughed. Sunny lightly punched her arm. “Then again, if you hadn’t been crying I probably would’ve kicked you and ran off.”
“I think my crying was warranted.” Sunny said. “I wasn’t as tough then.”
“Pft, ‘Oh no, I’m alone in the city, woe is me!’” Josh mocked. Sunny glared at him. Sam smirked and turned to him.
“Okay then, Mr. Tough Guy. What’s on the menu tonight?” She asked. Sunny looked up at the starry night sky. Well, scratch that. Only the night sky, thanks to light pollution. After some thinking, it was decided.
“How about a race across town again? That was fun.” Sunny said. Sam nodded and turned to the others.
“Seems nice. Sure, why not?” Adrian said. Josh smiled and nodded.

Well this is exhilarating, just like last time.
Sunny had gotten way stronger since he met his new friends. He carried around a crowbar, wore clothes that were with the times. He was brave… strong. He really didn’t need anybody anymore. But these new friends liked him, and he liked them. So he stuck around.
His legs carried him quickly through the dark streets of the night. He hoped to win this time, it was a race to the convenience store from their hangout area. The loud clomping of his shoes on the concrete disrupted the songs of distant crickets.
Sunny saw a can on the sidewalk ahead. He could’ve played it safe, ran around it, maybe jumped over it. But he decided to be cocky, and just ran through, hoping to not fall over. As was to be expected, he tumbled forward and landed straight on his face. He attempted to use his arms to break the fall, but only managed to get pebbles jammed into his palms.
“Fffuck, owww…” Sunny groaned. His arms ached as he used them to lift himself up. His palms stung. His face hurt. He probably should’ve been smarter about that.
“Woah, you okay?” A girl’s voice asked. It was close enough that he assumed the question was directed at him.
“I’m okay, I think… just, ow…” Sunny mumbled. That voice sounded familiar, but he couldn’t match any faces to it. Probably an employee he’s talked to before. And then he looked up…
Oh god.
It’s readily apparent why that voice is familiar.
Her pink hair flew in the breeze. A slightly oversized varsity jacket, a jean skirt, and a black crop top. Huge blue eyes. A face that seemed to be perpetually angry.
Oh yeah, he knows this person.
Aubrey.
“Aubrey?” Sunny asked. Aubrey’s eyes widened as she recognized his voice. Sunny didn’t know how to feel about this. Out of all of them, all his old friends, it just had to be the one he crushed on. Granted, it faded a little during his isolation, though not entirely. And when he moved to the city, he didn’t even want to think about his old friends. He’s sure a piece of himself still loves her, but he didn’t want to think about it. He’s strong, who needs the love of another when you can handle yourself? All he needs is friends. No need to get a higher level of relationship…
“You’re… you look… so…” Aubrey stuttered, her face contorted to one of several different expressions, all at once.
“Different?” Sunny asked. She nodded, and reached her hand down. Taking it, Sunny pulled himself to his feet. He dusted himself off, and looked up at her. Eyebrows narrowed, she observed him.
“That’s a cute jacket…” Aubrey commented, and he nodded in thanks. “God what has the city done to you?”
“I dunno.” Sunny was well aware that the city had definitely corrupted him a fair bit. A quiet, reserved, and shy boy to a quiet, somewhat chaotic, and violent one. Takes a lot to make that sort of change. Their eyes locked for a moment. Then she sighed.
“Uh, before we talk more, how about I check those hands?” Aubrey asked. She grabbed his hands and pulled them into her view, he grumbled. “Why’re you grumbling?”
“Don’t need help anymore. I’m fine on my own.” Sunny replied. Aubrey scoffed.
“Okay tough guy. Tell me how your hands are looking then.” She let go, having already observed them. Sunny took a look at them and sighed. “Can I help you now?”
“You don’t need to help me. I took so much from you.” Sunny replied.
“Sounds like your way of being stubborn. Sure, Mari’s dead because of you, but you’re still alive. I sure as hell don’t forgive you, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like you.” Aubrey said. “Give me. Your hands.”
Sunny sighed.
How will he explain this to his friends?

Chapter Text

The street lights let Sunny see her face.
Her face. A reminder of a better time, times with no worries. Her expression seemed like that of her five years ago. A gentle nod to her true self, locked behind a gate of delinquency. Sort of like himself, true colors hidden behind a veil of circumstances. He sighed.
Gosh, she was still pretty.
“So what have you been up to?” Aubrey asked, and Sunny side glanced at her.
“This city blows. Crime everywhere. Kinda had to adapt to it, so me and my friends run around causing ruckus.” Sunny replied. Widening her eyes, she turned to him. They were in between the glow of the lights, so they were shrouded in a subtle darkness.
“Like… me…?” She asked, almost dumbfounded. Never in a million years would she have expected the soft, quiet, and kind boy to become a cause of chaos, in a city, no less. In the corner of her eye, she saw him nod. Oh god, he ended up just like her. Deciding she needed to change the subject before her brain got hyper fixated on this, she spoke. “How’s that hand feeling?”
“Fine.” Sunny said. “Hurts. I don’t really care.”
“Hey, do you ever fight anyone…?” Aubrey asked, turning to him. “Like, here, in the city? Physically?”
“Rarely. It’s okay, I’ve got a crowbar that I carry around.” His nose twitched.
Her face was a mixture of shock and interest. The ends of her lips curved up, only slightly, it was obvious her conflicted feelings were suppressing the smile that would’ve been… well, she doesn’t know what emotion was trying to make her smile. Comfortable? No, he just admitted he carries a crowbar around, and he probably has it on his person at this very moment. Nostalgic? Maybe, this is bringing up a lot of old memories, but these are memories she has thought about before. Attraction?
…
No.
Aubrey brushed off the notion. It’s been a year since they’ve had any interaction, and that was after four years of no interaction. No way, right? Not to her conscious mind, subconscious not so much.
Little did she know, he was just as confused, completely unsure of how to feel about this.
“What were you doing in the city?” Sunny asked.
“I dunno. I just gotta… get outta Faraway sometimes, y’know?” She replied. “I did it a few months back, we must’ve been completely unaware of each other…”
He nodded.
“There’s the pharmacy Aubrey.” Sunny mumbled. Her eyes darted up, toward the building that had a bright red sign that read…
“Closed… dammit.” Narrowing her eyes she turned to him. “Hands, please.”
Reluctantly, he pulled his hands up and gave them to her. Grabbing them by the wrist, she inspected them closely. Well, as close she could in the dark. Reaching her hand on top of his, she pulled a few pebbles out.
“Shhhfuck…” Sunny muttered. A little surprised at him swearing, she looked up, and then took her attention back to where it was. After removing the rest of the pebbles - thankfully without any piercing his skin - she looked up to him. Clenching his teeth, his nose was flared, and his eye was shut. Reaching a hand up, she patted his head. His eye peered open. “Aubrey? What… what are you doing?”
“U-uh…” Aubrey whipped her hand back away from him. Raising an eyebrow, he shrugged.
“Well, I’m gonna head off. Friends are probably wondering where I am.” Sunny said. “Thanks.”
“Are you sure you wanna walk around here alone?” Aubrey asked.
“You were walking around here alone.” Sunny frowned.
“Well, uh, that was on the safe side… this area’s a little more…. Sketchy. Not to mention you have to cross through crime central…” She twiddled her fingers. Why was she feeling so nervous around him?
“Fine. Just until we’re on the safer side.” Sunny grumbled.
“Okay…”

They were in the weirdest part of town.
Sunny kept looking around, as was Aubrey. It was creepy during the day, at night it was scary. Sunny has seen some drug addicts and real gang members running around, he’s seen fights that end in murder, he’s seen a lot of screwed up things.
“God, Sunny…” Aubrey turned to him, and he turned back. “You’ve changed a lot. You’re… just, y’know, kinda tough? Like, what sort of shit do you see out here?”
“Drug deals, murder, theft…” He listed off the major ones that Aubrey was fearing. “Don’t worry. I’ve not done any of those. Well, I did steal candy once.”
She sighed.
“Well, as long as you don’t run around doing anything like that.” Aubrey turned back away. “Kel and Basil miss you, by the way.”
“I expected that.” Sunny replied.
They walked for a fair bit more minutes until…
“Shit, alley.” Sunny hissed to Aubrey. He grabbed her arm and pulled her to an alley. Putting a finger up to her lips, he shushed her.
“What? What happened?” Aubrey whispered.
“Someone was there.” He replied quietly.
This alleyway was filled with garbage. The brick walls and chain link fence that surrounded them were graffitied beyond compare. The garbage reminded Sunny of Aubrey’s home, though only subconsciously.
Taking a deep breath, Sunny looked up.
There was a man, shrouded in shadows. Walking further in. He looked to be fairly short, a little under six feet. His body was slim, not a lot of muscle or fat. Sunny could barely make out a pocket knife in his hand. Probably a nutball, looking for trouble.
Taking out his crowbar, Sunny took a deep breath. He heard Aubrey lightly gasp when he took it out. Firmly grasping it, he stood up.
“Hey, asshole. Fuck you want?” Sunny growled.
“Saw you and girly over there. Thought I might reap some rewards…” The man put his hands on his hips, and spread his feet out, showing confidence. This man feels dominant, strong, in control of the situation. Sunny is having none of this.
Fight, flight, or freeze. Looks like it’s a fight today. Kicking some trash out of the way, the man approached him. Sunny’s grip tightened on the crowbar, before he charged the man. He could smell alcohol coming off of the man, so he’s probably drunk. One swift swing to the head, showing he wasn’t playing around, knocked the man down to the ground.
“OW FUCK!” Sunny ignored his screams and hit him on the head again, knocking him out. Jumping past him, Sunny motioned Aubrey to follow him out, so she stood up and raced out, Sunny following behind.
“Come on, let’s just get to my friends.” Sunny gasped for air.
“Aren’t we?!” Aubrey yelled, clearly shaken at what just happened.
“No time, come on!” Sunny shouted taking her hand, and pulling her off.

Chapter Text

Who thought Sunny of all people could run this fast. Now, Aubrey was fit, more than even herself would expect. But man, she has never seen someone sprint at this caliber. And his warm hand is clutching onto hers so tightly…
No no, just… adrenaline… or something. She’s definitely not heavily attracted to him. Just… anyway…
“Sunny?! Hah… hah… Where are we… hah, hah… Going?!” Aubrey gasped out between breaths.
“Convenience Store. My friends and I race there a lot.” Sunny replied, between smaller, almost inaudible breaths. Clearly, he was used to running at this speed, and honestly, she didn’t know if that impressed or worried her. “Okay, there it is.”
In her small internal conflict, she hadn’t even noticed that the store was in the distance. It was closed, but a few people stood in front of it.
“Sunny?!” Sam called, and Sunny waved. Only a few more seconds, and they were there. “Sunny, what the hell is it with you and finding random girls in alleys?”
“Wha-“ Aubrey started.
“Sam, Josh, Adrian, this is Aubrey.” Sunny pointed at her. “Childhood friend. Before I moved.
‘Friend’. So he did consider her a friend, and she enjoyed that thought. But does she consider him a friend? In her mind, she may consider him… a little more than a friend. An important person, who’s been missing from her life for a while, sure. But… calling him a ‘friend’ doesn’t feel like it gives him enough justice. Sure he killed her sister figure, but…
Gosh, what is it today? Why can’t she get her mind off of this feeling…
“And Aubrey, this is Sam, Josh, and Adrian.” Sunny continued, he felt her grip on his hand squeeze a bit, and so he looked at her.
“Erm, hi…” Aubrey said awkwardly.
‘Gee, she isn’t normally so nervous around new people’, Sunny thought. Maybe it’s just her adjusting to him. Maybe…
“Yo.” Sam muttered.
“Hey!” Josh cheered, and Adrian waved quietly with a smile.
“Uhhhh, I’m Aubrey. You already know that… uhhh…” Aubrey blushed from the embarrassment. This is embarrassing, right? Or is she just paranoid…? Sunny gripped her hand even tighter.
She blushed from something else now… maybe it’s okay…? Unsure, she sighed. Maybe she can stick with these guys for awhile…