Chapter Text
“Little brother!” Mari said with a rhythmic knock on Sunny’s door. “Breakfast was ready ten minutes ago. In another five, it’s legally mine.”
There was no answer Mari sighed. It was alright, she thought, probably just has his head in the clouds again.
“Okay, are you at least awake? Or alive?” Mari asked.
A moment later, she heard a quiet “No,” as if Sunny weren’t talking through a wall at all and didn’t see any sense in raising his voice.
“‘No, you’re not awake’ or ‘no, you’re not alive?’”
“...Yes.”
“Uh huh. Which?”
“...both.”
“Okay, yeah, I’m coming in.”
“No.”
Mari pushed his door open to see Sunny, game controller in hand, lit nearly only by the colored lights of the blocky CRT TV/VHS player combo and the sunlight leaking through the sides of the drawn window shade. The soft blue blankets and white sheets from his bed were all around him in a pile on the floor. Clustered against him like saddlebags were his stuffed animals, cutesy cartoon characters with bulbous noses or exaggerated Anime eyes.
“Trespassing,” Sunny said, in his usual deadpan voice, eyes still glued to the TV.
“Aww, no court in the world would convict me, little brother,” she said, tilting her head and flashing her brightest, innocent smile.
“Hm. Broken system.”
“Correct, you’ve been paying more attention in school, I’m proud.” Mari strode over to the curtain windows. “You should get some light in here. It’s a nice Sunny day.”
“No. Too bright.”
Mari stopped. She definitely didn’t want to overwhelm his senses; he could be sensitive to that sometimes (not all the time, but sometimes).
“How about just half-open, at least? So you don’t hurt your eyes or need glasses or go blind at forty or something?”
“Glasses? Hm ... okay.” Sunny leaned to the left as pressed the D-pad.
“There we go. Priorities.” Mari pulled the shade partially up. When she looked at her brother, Sunny hardly flinched when it did, so focused on the TV. “Playing a game?”
“No, doing calculus,” he said, still not looking at her as he clicked the plastic buttons.
“Ha ha. Any intention of eating breakfast?”
“When I wake up.”
“You are awake.”
“Nope. Never slept. Can’t wake up till after.”
Mari pursed her lips together.
“You really should make sure you take care of yourself, Sunny,” she said. “Seriously, staying up all night isn’t good for you.” That was perhaps slightly hypocritical for her to say, Mari thought, considering her late night SAT prep had lately been leading directly into an early music session the next morning. And this had happened as recently as ... well, today, but those were minor details.
Sunny paused, but still didn’t meet Mari’s gaze, his head shrinking into his shoulders.
“...I’ll eat in a bit.”
“Uh huh... hang on a sec.”
Mari walked downstairs to the kitchen and picked up the plate Mom had made for Sunny. She started back up before she looked down and realized the eggs and bacon were all askew. She bit her lip, trying to supress the itch she immediately felt seeing it look disorganized. It wasn’t a second later when she groaned, then took the fork and carefully moved the eggs apart and the bacon downward, so it looked like a face. She knew it was silly, but she wasn’t going to give her own flesh-and-blood a plate of messy, disorganized eggs as if to say “Here’s your slop” or something. What if he thought that was the level of thought his sister gave him?
Right, a voice deep in Mari’s head echoed, if you can’t make everything just right for the people you love, what’s even the point of you?
She swallowed, trying to ignore those kind of ... unproductive thoughts. It’s fine, it’s nothing, she told herself, over and over again as she walked back up the stairs.
By the time she crossed Sunny’s doorway, her smile was bright and sweet.
“Here you go, eggs,” Mari said, gently placing it in front of his lap. “You-side up, just how you like it.”
Sunny stopped playing, just as a garbled explosion played through the staticy TV speakers. and looked at the eggs.
“I said I’d eat later,” he said, puzzling over the eggs before looking at Mari.
“Yep,” she said, pinching his cheek playfully, “and your loving sister does not believe you, so here you go!”
Reluctantly, Sunny tossed the controller to the side and picked up the fork. He stopped, seemed to notice the face, then took a bite. A slight curve of a smile touched his cheek.
“... thank you,” he said.
“You’re welcome!” She didn’t have to put on a forced smile when she heard that; after all, it was nice when people notice the care you put into the things you do, she thought. She took a deep breath and put her hands behind her head. “Well, it’s a little late in the morning--”
“No it’s not,” Sunny said between mouthfuls.
“It is when you get up at five.”
“Wouldn’t know.”
“You should try it! You get a lot more done! And you feel a lot better because you feel like you accomplished more!”
Sunny met Mari’s gaze.
“... you look tired.”
Mari blinked, then forced a laugh.
“No, that’s just what productivity looks like!” she said, feeling her guts tense slightly but choosing to ignore it. She cleared her throat.
“But anyway, I should probably practice the piano.” She put on the sweetest voice she could. “You’re more than welcome to join me, if you like.”
A brief grimace touched Sunny’s face. He swiftly turned away from Mari back to the TV.
“... that’s okay,” he said.
Mari closed her eyes and sighed. She didn’t want this to bring back this issue again, so she backed off.
“Oh well...” she mused aloud. “Maybe another time.” She turned to walk out.
“Hey.”
“Yes?” Mari, for a moment, dared herself to hope Sunny had reconsidered music practice. After all, it’s not like he wasn’t talented, if he actually took the time to nurture that skill ...
But Sunny looked at her, scraped-clean plate at his side, held out his controller.
“... want to?”
Mari blinked in surprise. “What? Play?”
“Or watch. Either.”
“I ...” Mari frowned. Her schedule was pretty full today. Granted it was always pretty full and that didn’t stop her from slotting things in... but still. “Well ... I-I don’t know-”
Sunny’s facial expression didn’t change, but she swore his eyes dulled.
“Oh... that’s fine,” his voice was as monotone as ever. His attention shifted back to the game.
Mari bit her lip. She told herself she shouldn’t feel bad. After all, there were only so many hours in the day and she had a lot going on lately. But she knew Sunny did like for her to at least watch him play games sometimes. Games weren’t one of her hobbies, but they meant a lot to him, even if it didn’t always show on his face. It’d be nice ...
But no, she had too much to do, she thought. And besides, she had just watched him play just last ...
Mari blinked. Uh ... how long ago had it been? she thought. She remembered watching him play when she was recovering from her knee injury, but that was six months ago. It couldn’t have been that long, right? Sure, she’d been busy with piano and school had preoccupied her more since she started taking AP classes ... but it couldn’t have been that long.
But it must have been. Her gut seized and all-too-familiar thoughts came rushing, blazing through her head.
Are you still managing to find things to fail at, even now? she thought to herself. Can’t even be a big sister right, how simple of a task is that? He reaches out and you brush him off cause ‘you’re too busy?’ What is wrong with you?! No seriously, what is wrong with you? What--
“Mari,” Sunny said.
Mari blinked, her eyes focusing.
“Huh?” she said.
“...concern,” he said aloud, softer than normal.
Mari hesitated, then shook her head.
“No, no ‘concern,’ it’s nothing,” she said. A chuckle escaped her lips. After all, it really was nothing. Nothing she couldn’t handle anyway.
She slowly craned down, bending her bad knee slowly, and sat next to Sunny cross legged on the floor.
“I just-- realized maybe I don’t need to practice right now. I can do it later.”
Sunny raised an eyebrow.
“Oh, don’t give me that look,” she scoffed with a good natured smile. “One day of practice won’t hurt.”
And I can always just do that a little later tonight anyway, she thought but didn’t say. Might have to move things around, get the rest of that prep course book done tonight rather than early evening. But I can make some coffee and cut down my sleep to about ... four/four-and-a-half hours tonight, but it’s the weekend, I can make that work.
When she noticed Sunny was looking even more skeptical, she looked at him softly.
“Besides,” she said, “you’re more important than that.”
Sunny stared. His expression remained rigid, but his ears turned red.
“Awwwww, you’re embarrassed by your big sister’s love?”
“No.”
“Your ears are turning reddddd~”
“Lies.”
“That always means you’re embarrassed~” She craned her head to look him in the eyes before he twisted away. “Just like whenever anyone mentions who you have a cruuuush on.”
“Deception.”
“Sunny and Aubrey, sittin’ in a--”
Sunny hid his face behind his arms, as if trying to block a punch.
“Changed mind,” he said. “Leave.”
“Oh, stop.” Mari stuck out her tongue. A dull chuckle escaped Sunny’s throat as his blush faded. It may not have seemed like much to other people, but a laugh of any kind was enough for Mari to know Sunny meant it. Made all the catch-up she’d have to play later worth it.
Sunny plopped the controller back in his lap as Mari turned her attention to the TV. A pixilated muscular…frog…thing driving a motorcycle zoomed across the screen.
“So what is this game?” Mari asked, paying more attention to Sunny than the game itself.
“Fightfrogs,” Sunny replied.
“What do you do in it?”
“Fight.”
“I see ... why are you on a motorcycle on this part?”
Before Sunny could answer, there was a loud crash through the crackling mono television speaker. Mari whipped towards the screen just in time to see a glint of an explosion. The words GAME OVER filled the screen in green-oozing text.
Sunny squinted and groaned.
“... good question,” he muttered angrily.
Mari smiled and tilted her head.
“Hard game?” she asked.
“No,” he said, glancing over. His eyes shifted back to the screen. He pressed a button then ... almost immediately after his frogman spawned, it had already crashed and died. “... yes.”
“Hm ...” She giggled. “It doesn’t look that hard.”
Sunny turned toward her, his eyes narrowed.
“... what?” Mari asked.
Sunny dangled the controller by the cord then dropped it in her lap.
“Try,” he said.
“Huh?” Mari shook her head. “Oh come on, Sunny, you know I don’t play these games!”
“Try.”
“I’m not sure what that will prove.”
“Hm.” Sunny glanced away from her. “Chicken.”
Mari rolled her eyes. “Sunny, I’m practically an adult, name calling isn’t gonna work.”
“Bawk,” Sunny said in his same deadpan monotone.
“That’s ... not even remotely what a chicken sounds like.”
“Okay.” He shrugged. “Then quit.”
Mari’s shoulders stiffened.
“... pardon?” she asked.
“Then quit.”
“I don’t quit.”
“I know.”
“Good.”
“Then try.”
Mari stared at him, raised one finger, her mouth open ... then she puffed her cheeks and snatched the controller.
“For the record, I can tell that was a trick and I’m mad it worked,” Mari said, her voice filled with ... mostly mock offense.
“Success.”
Mari allowed herself to smirk. Oh well, she supposed seeing Sunny in a playful mood was worth it. She tentatively pressed Start and moved the D-pad.
Well it is just a game for kids, it can’t be that ha-
The motorcycle exploded. Her eyes got wide.
“You died,” Sunny said flatly.
“Well…” Mari cleared her throat and pressed Start again. “I-I was still getting used to the controls. But, with that knowledge I can—“
There was a loud boom as an explosion filled the screen.
“Dead,” Sunny said, eyes glued to the screen.
Mari grinded her teeth silently and pressed Start again.
“I suppose this was your attempt at humbling me?” Mari said, glancing at Sunny. As soon as her eyes were off the screen, the motorcycle blew up. “Oh,come on!” Mari gripped the controller like a vice, a slight crinkle of cracking plastic in the air.
“Toast,” Sunny said.
“They made this game for kids?”
“Ages eight-plus, yes.”
“Then why am I having trouble at fifteen?!”
“Plus.”
“... well yes, I suppose it does say eight-plus, but still.” She pressed Start and turned towards him. “It’s not like I don’t have good reflexes! I did well enough at softball before the injury and--”
“Eyes on the ball.” Sunny pointed to the screen.
By the time Mari turned back, the frogman had already died. Her eye twitched and she casually tossed the controller to the floor.
“It’s not even particularly fun, it’s just like a brick wall! That’s…why would someone subject themselves to this?!”
“No idea.” Sunny paused and held his hand out. “Done?”
“…one more,” Mari said, picking up the controller.
“Okay. I get next.”
Boom! Mari’s mouth hung open a moment.
“My turn,” Sunny said, picking up the gamepad from her lap with his finger and thumb, as if handling some volatile chemical.
“Fine!” Mari folded her arms. “I’m content to watch! You’ve made your point.”
“Okay.”
Mari closed her eyes…then peaked one open, back at the screen. Her blood pressure rose at the sight of the pixel art frogman. Fine. Whatever. It’s not as if this was a big deal.
“…can I have next?” Mari heard herself say.
“Sure,” Sunny said.
“Just one more, okay? Then I’m done.”
“Okay.” The shadow of a smile crossed his face.
Several hours later, Mari was at Sunny’s computer, frantically clicking through years-old message board posts for tips on how to beat this goddamn level.
“How is there nothing useful about how to beat this?!” Mari said. “There has to be some kind of strategy aside from just ... having superhuman reflexes!”
“‘Speed,’” Sunny said, pressing the jump button frantically.
“We’re both fast enough.”
“No... I mean the drug.”
“We’re not getting spe-- how do you know what ‘speed’ is?!” Mari shouted, aghast.
“Cable TV. Internet.” Sunny paused, then added, “General crumbling of society.”
“I’m not going to let my kid brother buy ‘speed’ to beat a video game,” Mari shouted.
“Espresso then.”
“No--”
Before Mari could finish, there was another loud boom on screen, much to Sunny’s visible annoyance. Mari turned to look at the screen, scrunched her nose at seeing yet another death screen, then back to Sunny.
“... I will potentially buy you espresso,” Mari said. “Do I have next?”
“Sure.” Sunny shakily put the controller down, then immediately flopped on his back on his blanket-stuffed animal pile His voice was heavy with exhaustion. “... done...”
“Huh?” Mari ran over. “Whoa whoa, hey, you’re not giving up now, are you?”
“Yessss.” Sunny’s eyes were shut, curling against them.
“Hey... hey I know you’re tired but we were really bonding here!” Mari said, more distressed than she meant to. But, getting an idea, she gave a sly smile, and added, “Besides, weren’t you just teasing me a while ago about wanting to quit?”
“... can’t remember...” Sunny pulled the sheets over himself. “Sleeping.”
“Hey, need I remind you you were the one who brought me into this?!” Mari looked up, making her voice as over the top grandiose as possible. “It’s times like this, when the chips are down, that you have to dig deep. We both may be exhausted, stressed out, and half-crazed by sleep deprivation--”
“Wait, ‘both?’”
“But that doesn’t matter!” Mari went on as if Sunny had said nothing, waving her hand over head. “Cause once we beat this game and have that wholesome sibling bonding experience, that sweet, sweet validation will carry us for the rest of our days! Until then, we just have to dig deep and let our belief and love of each other empower us to--”
Sunny started snoring. Mari’s eye twitched, immediately dropping her act and just reaching down to shake him awake.
“Oh come on brother, at least let me get you that coffee first!”
Sunny’s eyes popped open, but before either of them could react, there was a knock at the door. Mari looked down at Sunny, who just shrugged.
“...yes?” Sunny asked aloud.
Mari instantly noticed the young, high-pitched voice of Basil.
“Hey Sunny! I tried calling your mom a few um, dozen times, and she said you were still in bed, so I’d thought I’d make sure you were okay! Are you okay?”
“Half-dead. But yes.”
“WHAT?” There was a click as the door opened. Mari glimpsed the ping flower in his hair and bright blue eyes for just a moment before he became a blur. He zoomed to Sunny’s side so quickly he nearly toppled Mari over. Now that he was still she also saw he was holding a pink gift bag in his hand.
“SUNNY, WHY ARE YOU HALF-DEAD?” Basil shouted, tears instantly welling in his eyes. “Is something wrong? A-Are you sick? Hurt? Internally bleeding?! Do you need a doctor? PLEASE DON'T DIE!”
Sunny’s eyes were wide, clearly realizing his mistake in word choice. Mari couldn’t help but giggle.
“He’s fine, Basil,” Mari said. “He’s just been up all night playing video games and we’ve spent all morning being bested by a grey cartridge and we’re both being a bit ... dramatic.”
“Yes. Dramatic,” Sunny said in monotone. “Sorry.”
Basil flinched back, wiping his eyes. He let out a strained laugh.
“Hahaha,” Basil said. “O-oh wow, y-you really got me there for a second…g-guess it’s cause you look so tired.” He ran a clawed hand through his hair. “I-I wasn’t really that worried though. I knew you were just kidding, r-really, I’m alright, hahahahaHAHA.” Basil’s laughter then began to sound suspiciously like hyperventilating. He clutched his chest. “Whoooooo, h-hey Sunny can I have one of my bags, please?”
“Yeah.” Sunny went to one of his desk drawers and pulled out a folded paper bag. It had the words “Basil Bag” written on it in crayon, next to a doodle of a flower. Sunny handed Basil the bag; Basil breathed into it rapidly, inflating and deflating it quickly before falling into a slower rhythm.
“HAH, HAH, haaaa….phew….okay.” Basil took the bag and then neatly folded it into a square and shoved it in his pocket. “T-thanks Sunny! You’re the best friend in the world!”
“Ok,” Sunny said with a nod.
“Oh wow ... that must be some game if neither of you could beat it,” Basil said, sitting cross-legged next to Sunny. Sunny wordlessly took a large nose stuffed animal and handed it to Basil, who took it automatically.
“Yeah, I’m afraid we’ve exhausted all we can do on our own.” Mari touched her chin. “Hey ... come to think of it ... hey Basil, you want to try?”
Sunny’s eyes were suddenly intense.
“No,” Sunny said.
“Huh? Why?”
“...too dangerous.”
Mari stifled a laugh. “Sunny, I know it's frustrating, but joking aside, it's only a game. How’s it ‘dangerous?’”
Basil straightened his back, pumping his fists even as his cheeks flushed.
“Y-yeah, Sunny! You know I’m good at games!” Basil looked down at his hands, fidgetting. “I mean ... I-I don’t have any at home, but I’m good at the Minefinder and Blackjack games on Sunny’s computer. And um ..” Basil lowered his head further as he spoke. “T-that farming game where you can work on a farm and have animals and date people ... I-I mean, I’m pretty good I guess ... I-I never did any of the dating stuff because one time I gave someone a gift they didn’t like and ... I k-kinda couldn’t make myself open the save file ever again ... oh, S-Sunny also showed me this other game on his PC called Messy House.” Basil’s voice dropped to a hesitant whisper. “Y-you have to click on all the trash and clothes in the floor to clean the house... it’s, um ... it’s not super difficult b-but it makes me feel good about myself cause you can beat the whole game in ...in l-like ten minutes so maybe you should ... try it ... sometime.”
Sunny simply looked from Basil to Mari. They looked eachother in the eye for a moment until Mari frowned.
“... okay I see what you mean,” Mari whispered to Sunny. She turned to Basil. “Yeah Basil, this might not be your kinda game.”
“Y-yeah, I kinda realized that as I was talking, I accept that...” Basil mumbled.
Sunny reached out and gave Basil a single pat on the head. Basil exhaled, steadying himself.
Mari rested her head in her hand, a smile creeping on her face. Well ... if Sunny and her were going to hit a brick wall over this, she might as well bring some form of comfort over.
“I think we need a little more help,” Mari said as she got to her feet. “I’ll be right back. You try again, brother.” She pushed the controller towards him with one foot. “Basil, keep Sunny awake with moral support while I’m gone.”
“Huh?” Basil exclaimed, face turning a shade of pink. “O-okay Mari! I’ll do my best.”
Sunny grimaced, looked as if he was about to say something, but didn’t. Mari felt a little bad about how tired he was, but hey, they were bonding and this’ll all be worth it in the end.
“Okay…” Sunny finally said, picking up the controller. “Espresso.”
“I’ll work on it,” Mari said with a smile.
Not smiling back, Sunny added, “Or ‘speed.’”
“Wait, what?” Basil asked.
“Nothing, be right back,” Mari said with a smile as she strode down the hall. “Just need to make a quick phone call.”
“Alright Kel, so what did we learn today?” Hero said, arms folded over his flour-and-egg stained apron.
Kel, his t-shirt and face covered in white dust, coughed, expelling a plume of white smoke.
“... flour ... does not taste like sugar ...” Kel groaned.
“Correct. And what else isn’t a good idea?”
“Eating a whole bag ...” Kel rolled his eyes and clutched his stomach.
Hero nodded sagely.
“Correct. So next time I ask you not to eat the raw ingredients of what I’m cooking, what are you going to do?”
Kel glanced up, a slow grin creeping on his face.
“Make sure I get the sugar next time?”
Hero chuckled. “Well, that certainly would be an improvement, at least,” he said. He tilted down and, not wanting to get his wet, gloves hands on Kel, touched his forehead against Kel’s. “This was a good talk we had.”
“Okay...can I at least try one raw egg though?”
“Kel, sometimes I seriously wonder how you’ve survived to age twelve.”
Before Hero could continue, the cordless rang. It was propped upright by the counter, next to Hero’s electric mixer and his mixing bowl. Thankfully, the phone was untouched by flour. The same could not be said of the floor, unfortunately, as Kel’s escapade covered the kitchen tiles with white footprints.
Oh well, some mishaps are unavoidable, Hero though.
He glanced back to Kel, only to see he was already gone. Hero shrugged, tossed one plastic glove in the trash, and answered the phone.
“Hello?” he asked.
“Hey good lookin’, whatchu got cookin’?”
Mari’s voice quickened Hero’s heartbeat, as always. He smiled, blushing despite himself.
“Heh ... how’d you know I was cooking?” he asked.
“Wishful thinking,” she said playfully. “Plus you’re easy to predict. I can read you like sheet music.” Hero could picture her half-lidded eyes as she spoke, grinning ear to ear.
“Can you?” he chuckled. “If so, what am I cooking right now?”
“Oh ... something that will only deepen my affection for you, I’m sure.”
“You might be right,” Hero said, looking into the bowl of flour and eggs. “Cookies sound good?”
“Oh yeah, baby, that’s what I’m talking about, you knead that dough.”
“Hng!” Hero coughed. His face got yet redder and his heartbeat was pounding. “Jesus, Mari,” he managed to say after catching his breath.
“And the Hero once again lies vanquished,” Mari said, full of pride. “You blushing?”
“No?!”
“You’re lying. I can hear it over the phone. I--”
Before Mari could say something else that could potentially kill Hero, there was a flurry of voices in the background.
“M-MARI, HURRY, SUNNY DIED SIX TIMES SINCE YOU’VE BEEN GONE AND I’M NOT SURE I CAN MORAL SUPPORT ANY HARDER.”
“Seven. Tired.”
“T-T-THAT’S OKAY SUNNY, I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT, YOU’RE THE BEST AND YOUR SOUL IS SO BEAUTIFUL IT MAKES ME CRY! DOES THAT HELP? PLEASE TELL ME THAT’S HELPING!”
“Hm... almost. Continue.”
“OKAY SUNNY, MARI HELP!”
“O-okay, that’s alright Basil, give me just a moment,” Mari said, before sighing heavily.
Hero felt a bead of sweat roll down his forehead.
“Everything ... okay over there?” Hero asked.
“No, it’s no big deal,” Mari said. “Sunny has just been trying to beat a game since last night and I’ve been ...” She cleared her throat. “Assisting.”
“Assisting? I thought you didn’t play video games.”
“Well... Sunny asked me and I thought it would be a nice way of bonding.” She sighed. Her tone was still casual but some of the levity was gone. “I think I’ve been a little too busy lately.”
“I see,” Hero said, a bit more serious. “Well I am glad you’re slowing down. I know you have a tendency to get...” He paused, choosing his words carefully. “Carried away sometimes.”
“Whaat, me? Psh, never.”
Hero smiled, glad to hear the playfulness back in her voice. He looked outside to see the sun shining in.
“It's kind of a nice day though. Maybe Sunny could take a break and we could all take a picnic together-”
Mari’s voice got low, not angry but firm.
“We can take a break when this level keeping my brother from happiness lies broken beneath our feet!” she said.
Hero blinked. There was an awkward pause.
“...too much?” Mari said, more awkward than Hero usually saw. He'd seen it before, but not often.
“A bit,” Hero said. “Tired?”
“Noooo, no, I got plenty asleep.”
“How much?”
“...some...amount.”
“Maybe you should take a break,” Hero said, frowning.
“Technically this is the break from all the stuff I have to do later.” She exhaled. “Look, it's silly but it'll be worth it to get this done with Sunny. It'll be a nice memory, I think. And the only thing standing in the way of all those good feelings is that it's completely impossible.”
Then a moment later her voice perked up.
“Actually I was hoping you and Kel wanted to come over to help,” she asked.
“Hm.” Hero hesitated. “Well if I can't convince you to just rest--”
“And you can't~” Mari said in a sing-song voice.
Despite Hero's genuine concern, he had to admit that made him chuckle a little.
“Then, of cour--” Hero started, before he was interrupted by another voice on the line.
“Wellll I’m not great at video games but that sounds fun, thanks for the invite.”
“KEL?!” Hero shouted. “ARE YOU LISTENING IN WITH THE OTHER CORDLESS AGAIN?”
“... oh,” Kel whispered. “Um ... nooo?”
Hero, realizing all that Kel had heard, clenched his jaw tight.
“Then how am I talking to you now?” Hero asked quietly.
“... uhhhhhh ... this is actually your, uh, conscience. You’re doing a great job. Let Kel eat one raw egg though.”
Mari snickered on the other line which did help abate Hero’s knee-jerk anger for a moment. Her laugh always had a way of brightening things a little, even when it was him she was laughing at.
“Mari, I’d be happy to help in just a few minutes,” Hero said. “So would Kel. Also I have a feeling Aubrey might have fun with this as well.”
“Ohhh, okay, cool!” Kel said.
“In fact,” Hero smirked, “Kel just volunteered to call and ask her nicely himself. With his best manners. And no arguing.”
“... wait what?” Kel said.
“Ohhhh really?” Mari said, picking up right away. “Wow, that’s such a specific nice thing for Kel to agree to.”
“I know. He even agreed to do it while I listened on the other line to make sure he was as sweet as possible. Unless he wants me to leave the mess he made in the kitchen untouched so he can explain it to mom himself.”
“Whoa whoa, hey now, we can talk about this--” Kel stammered.
“Kel ...” Mari put mock gravitas in her voice. “I just want you to know that that is such a nice thing that you’re doing that it makes me cry. I’m just ... I’m just so proud.”
“We’re all proud of Kel. So proud.” Hero faked a sniffle.
“I’m confused by all the positivity I’m getting from this threat!” Kel shouted.
“So we should be just a few minutes,” Hero said. “And ... okay Kel, I need you to put down the phone for real this time.”
“Okay fine ...” Kel said. Silence followed.
When it seemed safe, Hero laughed nervously.
“S-sorry about all that.”
“Nah it’s okay,” Mari said.
“I know, I just ... I wasn’t sure how you felt about knowing Kel heard you talking about that personal stuff... and...you know, you being at peak flirting.”
Despite being embarrassed, Mari just laughed.
“What?” Hero said.
“You thought that was peak flirting?” Mari giggled. “Oh you poor naive boy, you haven’t seen me at my peak.”
“HNG!”
“Oooooooooooooo!” Kel said, still on the line.
“KEL!” Hero shouted before Mari just laughed and ended the call.
Oh well, Hero thought. I wish she would actually relax and get some sleep...but honestly this sounds pretty harmless. Could be fun, actually, and helping get this done might mean she slows down a bit. I mean it’s just a game, how hard could it possibly-
Within the hour, Mari watched as the light faded from her boyfriend’s eyes after dying for the twentieth time in a row. Basil sat behind him, beholding the look on his face. Sunny just held a can of Orange Joe soda-coffee, looking into it blearily. Hero held the controller limply in his lap with a thousand yard stare, broken, defeated, destroyed…
Kel, laying on Sunny’s bed, reading a Captain Spaceboy comic, glanced over casually.
“Hey, I think you died again, bro,” Kel said.
Hero scrunched his face up for a moment, then exhaled.
“Thank you Kel…I noticed,” he said calmly.
“You’re welcome!” Kel exclaimed and went back to his comic. He leaned over, dangling his head off the side of the bed. “How's the Orange Joe treating you, Sunny?”
“This isn't espresso,” Sunny said, wrinkling his nose.
“I know! Isn’t it better?”
“It isn't espresso.”
“Ahhh,” Kel waved dismissively, “it'll grow on you.”
“Skepticism.”
“That’s the spirit!”
Mari barely noticed Sunny and Kel speaking as she was still focused on the thousand-yard stare on Hero’s face. She frowned. As frustrated as she was that this silly game was even bothering her at all, seeing Hero affected was even worse. She put on her best smile and rested her head on his shoulder.
“Aww, it’s okay Hero,” she said. “We’ve all died a million times on this game.”
Mari could tell she’d helped just by the blush on Hero’s cheeks.
“Hehe…sorry,” Hero said. “Guess I was hoping it’d be easy, so I could impress—“
Mari gave an impish grin. Hero’s face reddened as he turned to everyone else.
“-um, you all! So I could—so I could impress all of you!” Hero said, rubbing the back of his neck, eye closed.
“Suuuuuuuure, right,” Mari said.
Basil laughed. “It does seem really hard.”
Kel flopped the comic book down. “Yeah, here’s a concept I’m toying with…let’s do something else! What do you think, Sunny?”
“Hm...” Sunny said with a frown.
Mari sighed. True, they probably would have more fun doing something—anything else—but by this point Mari had put off everything else just for this and now it was a point of personal pride to get it done. Despite being a straight A student who knew what “sunk cost fallacy” was, she was still frustratingly aware how susceptible she was to it.
She felt eyes on her and turned to see Sunny was looking at her. They caught eyes and ... something about that look he gave have a weird energy. After all the talk of sleep earlier, she thought he’d actually agree with Kel at this point ...
Instead, Sunny said, “No. Let’s finish what we started.”
Mari blinked in surprised, but gave a smile and nodded.
“Right, couldn’t have said it better myself!, little brother,” Mari said.
Sunny didn’t smile back. His eyes just lingered on her, then turned back to the screen as he took another hesitant sip of Orange Joe. Basil leaned over to Sunny, whispering something Mari couldn’t here, but Sunny did not reply.
What did that mean? she thought.
“...laaaaame.” Kel yawned and tossed the comic down. “Anywho, I’m gonna go outside. Someone come get me if Sunny gets jittery from the Joe cause that’ll be hilario--”
Before Kel could get up from the bed, there was a knock at Sunny’s door.
“It’s open,” Sunny said, gently removing the controller from Hero’s lap.
Hero glanced over. “Wait, Sunny, I think I can get it with one more try—“
Mari put her finger to his lips, much to Hero’s shock.
“Sshh, sshhh, it’s okay honey,” Mari stage-whispered loud enough for everyone to hear. “It can’t hurt you anymore.”
Hero mumbled something as Mari laughed and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
The door creaked open as Aubrey walked in, pink bow in her hair and large stuffed eggplant (Mr. Plantegg, Mari amended mentally) under her arm.
“Hey everybody,” Aubrey said cheerfully.
“Alright!” Mari cheered back. “Now it’s a party!”
Aubrey beamed back at her.
Mari couldn’t help but smile when she noticed Sunny’s greeting was nothing but a shy mumble as he slouched his head in his shoulders. Basil wordlessly gave Sunny a sympathetic pat on the shoulder as he laughed himself.
“Thanks for inviting me over,” she said as everyone greeted her. Aubrey took a step inside, eyes passing over Kel. Her smile remained but the cheer in her voice was replaced with exasperation. “…hello Kel.”
“Hey, how come I got greeted like that?” Kel prickled, standing up and putting himself squarely in Aubrey’s face (well…squarely in her collarbone considering his height). “I’m the one who invited you.”
Aubrey’s smile disappeared like the flip of a switch.
“Yes, and that’s suspicious enough that I brought someone to protect me!” Aubrey said, bopping the stuffed eggplant.
“Pfft, what, you mean the dumb vegetable, what is that gonna—“
Aubrey swung out with the eggplant, catching Kel square in the face with the full force of cotton, cloth, and pissed-off girl energy.
“ARG!” Kel yelled as he toppled to the floor.
Aubrey, not even looking down at Kel, rustled the eggplant’s leaves.
“You’ve done well, Mr. Plantegg!”
“Ugh…not…even …what that plant is called,” Kel groaned.
“People aren’t named what species they are, Kel!” Aubrey shouted. “Otherwise we’d just call you ‘Assho-‘“
Hero cleared his throat.
And then Aubrey clearly remembered Hero and Mari, the closest things to adults in the room, had seen all that. She quickly looked as if she’d swallowed something sour.
“O-oh um ...” Aubrey said.
Hero twisted around, somewhat hesitantly out of Mari’s embrace, giving a look of stern disappointment.
“Maybe we should all just calm down,” Hero said calmly. “Right Aubrey? Kel?”
“Oh um ...” Aubrey, cheeks crimson, had her eyes on the floor. “Sorry Hero. Sorry Kel.”
“Yeah ... yeah ...” Kel mumbled, standing and brushing himself off. “Don’t really see why I should apologize when I’m the one who got suckerpunched by a sidedish--”
“Kel,” pressed Hero, his voice slightly deeper.
“Alright, alright, I was only kidding,” Kel gave a nervous smile, but his eyes seemed wide like a scolded puppy. “I’m sorry too.”
“Awwww,” Basil looked up beaming. “It looks like everything worked out okay.”
This optimism was immediately crushed by the sound of the pixilated carnage on screen.
“…dead. Again,” Sunny said simply, glancing at Mari and Basil.
“Uh…well y-yeah, that’s still a problem, but I-I liked how sweet that just was that I was hoping we could stay in that moment for a bit,” Basil said.
Sunny sighed heavily, taking a sip of Orange Joe.
“Yeah, all that personal growth is sweet and everything, but that doesn’t really help with what we were actually trying to do,” Mari said with a chuckle despite the annoyance lurking underneath. Not at anyone else, but herself; this simple game had now taken up enough real estate of her time and mental health that she was beginning to take it personally. “Let’s finish this once and for all.”
Aubrey whipped around, only then noticing the game on screen.
“Ohhhh, that’s what we’re doing?” Aubrey exclaimed, eyes lighting up. “Dang, you guys can afford all the cool stuff! That looks like fun!”
“It’s kinda—well it’s kinda difficult,” Basil said.
“How difficult?”
“Medival torture difficult,” Sunny grumbled.
“Ooooh neat!” Aubrey said immediately. “Can I try?”
“Please.” Sunny tossed the controller in the air, which Aubrey caught before it began to descend.
Mari whistled. “Smooth moves, Aubrey,” Mari said with a playful wink. “Maybe you can show these boys how it's done.”
“Oh, naturally,” Aubrey grinned, all traces of her earlier embarrassment gone, just as Mari had hoped.
Kel chuckled.
“Yeeeaaaah, you might want to quit while you’re ahead,” he said. “If Hero died like a million times--”
“Seventy three,” Sunny bluntly stated.
“Oh, that many? Oh well, I was like halfway there.” Kel shrugged. “But yeah if Hero had all that trouble, just sayin’, maybe it's too tough for you too.”
Aubrey blew a raspberry as she picked up the controller, eyes focusing on the screen. She didn’t even sit down, only letting Mr. Plantegg lightly drop to the floor.
“Oh yeah? We’ll just see about that,” Aubrey said. “I’ve played tons of Sunny’s other games. Give me five minutes, mark my words, and you’ll see I--
“WHAT EVEN THE HELL?!” Aubrey flung the controller to the floor after her thirtieth death in five minutes.
“O-okay calm down, Aubrey,” Mari said, rising to touch her shoulder.
Hero stood next to her with a hesitant chuckle.
“Alright, alright, lets all relax,” Hero said, before he was drowned out by his brother.
“Ohhhhhh, Aubrey’s in trouble now, she said a swear~” Kel said, sitting cross-legged on the floor near Aubrey.
Aubrey whipped around towards him.
“OH, OH YOU WANT TO GO AND CRITICIZE?! I DON’T SEE YOU OVER TRYING TO BEAT IT!”
Kel snorted. “Yeah, cause I don’t wanna.”
“Sounds to me like someone’s chicken!”
“Well I ...” Kel stammered. “W-well, Basil hasn’t tried yet either!”
“H-hey now, this isn’t about me,” Basil said, scooting even closer to Sunny as if seeking shelter. Sunny only watched Aubrey and Kel, eyes pinging back and forth between them, frowning and narrowing his eyes.
“ARE YOU SERIOUSLY TRYING TO THROW BASIL UNDER THE BUS?” Aubrey said. “HE’S FRAGILE! ONE TRY WOULD BE ENOUGH TO SHATTER HIS HOPES AND DREAMS AND EVERYTHING HE HOLDS DEAR, YOU INSENSITIVE JERK!”
“I... I’m sitting right here, guys,” Basil mumbled.
“Ooookay, this is getting a little out of hand,” Mari said. “It’s been a bit since I tried, why don’t I take next?”
Hero opened his mouth to agree, then grimaced.
“Well ... actually maybe I should go again first,” Hero said. “I think after watching all of you play I have a handle on it now.”
Mari blinked. “Well, you went last, I think I should go first.”
“Well, that’s fine I guess, but I hardly got a turn at all,” Hero said carefully. “Besides it might be good for you and Sunny to take a breather for a bit.”
Despite herself, an annoyed groan escaped her lips.
“Ugh, we don’t need to rest, we’re fine,” Mari said.
Hero flinched.
Sunny squeezed the can of Orange Joe, crinkling the aluminum.
Mari, focused mainly on Hero, the visible hurt in his eyes, softened.
Why had she been snappy like that? she thought. It wasn’t a big deal. What was wrong with her?
“Oh God, I’m sor-“ but before Mari could finish, Kel interrupted.
“Oh great Aubrey, now you got Hero and Mari fighting!” Kel exclaimed, annoyed. “Now they’re gonna get divorced because of you!”
“WHAT?!” Aubrey shouted, voice suddenly cracking as if on the verge of tears.
“We’re not actually fig-- wait, ‘divorced?’!” Hero stammered.
Mari was about to unpack all the things wrong with that statement, but two things stopped her. First: this was one of the few instances where she was so embarrassed she couldn’t even speak. Second: she only then noticed Sunny was no longer next to Basil. He had left the crumpled can of Orange Joe in his blanket pile and was now standing over the console.
“Sunny, what are you--”
Without a word, Sunny pulled the grey cartridge free from the console. The colorful pixels flickered into white static as the music warped and screeched for a moment before dying. Sunny took the cartridge, grasped it between his hands, bending it with a loud SNAP as it cracked in half, partially exposing the green circuit board inside.
“WHOA!” Kel shouted.
Everyone else fell silent. Mari got tunnel vision, completely speechless.
Did that just happen?
They had been at this for hours, Mari had sacrificed her entire day’s schedule, they had gone through all this frustration over this stupid game ... and Sunny just broke it?! She felt a pit in her stomach, her mind blanking from sheer disbelief.
Sunny looked up, eyes meeting Mari’s, dark circles more prominent under his eyes.
“There. I beat it,” he said.
Nobody replied until Kel fell on his back on the floor, laughing uncontrollably.
“YEAH! Hahahaha, yeah, I guess you did!” Kel reached up and clapped. “YOU GO SUNNY. Smartest guy I ever met, whooooo, that was choice!”
It was the laughter spreading laughter, first Aubrey, then Basil, then even Hero, that snapped Mari back into reality. She found herself chuckling, albeit awkwardly. It didn’t seem too funny to her, but her response was automatic; Mari never wanted to be only one spoiling a party.
“Wow, I guess uh ... I guess maybe we all were starting to get a little out of hand, huh?” Hero said, rubbing the back of his neck as he laughed.
“Y-yeah,” Mari heard herself.
“Wow ... you just wanted everyone to get along and have fun again, didn’t you Sunny?” Basil said.
Sunny didn’t reply, just gave a shrug with one shoulder.
Suddenly, Mari remembered the odd look Sunny had given earlier, how he had agreed to keep going when Kel suggested quitting, how he had looked to see Mari before saying anything ...
... was he really this frustrated for this long and only kept going because of me? Mari thought. Had she really not noticed something that obvious? Or did she notice and chose to ignore it? She didn’t know the answer.
“... yeah,” Mari repeated. Her own voice sounded more muted and distant to even her own ears. “I-I’m sorry ...” she whispered. She wasn’t even sure if it was loud enough for Sunny to hear. He gave no indication either way.
“Yeah, I guess I wasn’t ... helping much with that,” Aubrey said, her shoulders stiff and tense. “I’m sorry...” She looked up at Hero. “...you and Mari aren’t really getting divorced right?”
“What? No!” Hero said. He blushed and added, “Wait, I mean, we’re not mar--”
Sunny exhaled, letting the two halves of the cartridge fall to the floor.
“Finally ... I can die,” Sunny mumbled as he fell backwards.
Mari’s heart skipped a beat. She was already rushing towards him, Basil nearly at her heels. She had a brief but vivid image of years ago, when Sunny had fallen in the water, the same sinking in her chest just like it had backed then ...
And then she noticed he was breathing-- snoring, as a matter of fact. All the bad feelings she’d had a moment ago--even the ones prior when Sunny broke the stupid game--evaporated.
“Oh god, you really were that tired!” she said with a laugh but without much humor. Mari felt so caught up that she honestly forgot Sunny hadn’t slept all night.
Basil, sitting on his other side, gave Sunny a shake.
“Wow ... he’s out like a light ... t-that Sunny, what a kidder,” Basil said, his voice wobbly.
Aubrey and Kel looked on awkwardly, while Hero caught eyes with Mari. Before Mari could think to say anything, Hero turned to Aubrey and Kel.
“I think we should let Sunny get some sleep,” Hero said. “Come on, let’s go to the park.”
“Finally! Something fun!” Kel said, hands behind his back, elbows pointed upward as he strode out the door. “Gotta move around! That bag of flour isn’t sitting well.”
“...I... I would ask for an explanation, but I already know there’s no point,” Aubrey said, exiting behind Kel.
Basil lingered for a moment longer. He looked down at Sunny, as if confirming he was still alright, still just sleeping, then he went out the door.
Hero, however, didn’t leave. He brushed his hand against hers.
“Are you okay?” Hero said. He still had a smile, but Mari could tell there was real concern in his eyes. It actually made Mari feel embarrassed more than anything. How could she have snapped at him like that? She was usually careful to avoid letting anyone see her upset, so careful ...
Mari forced a smile. “Yeah, of course!” she said.
Hero didn’t say anything, just stood there just long enough for Mari’s smile to falter slightly. The forced cheer evaporated from her voice. Mari had a way of forgetting that Hero had been with her long enough to sense when she wasn’t being entirely truthful.
“I’m sorry I got snappy,” she said.
“No no, it’s fine.” He smiled, as if she had done nothing wrong at all. Complete forgiveness ... it made Mari sick with herself.
“It’s…kinda not. I dunno ... I guess I feel bad that I got so carried away...” Mari folded her arms. “I was the one who told him this morning he needed to take better care of himself ... but then he wanted to play this game and I thought it’d be a nice thing to do together and …” She grimaced. “And instead of realizing he needed sleep, I just kept going and going and, you know ...” She gestured to her brother on the floor.
Hero laughed. “Hey, we were all having fun. Sunny was too. It only got a bit tense at the end. And that isn’t all on you.”
Mari gave a half-smile.
“…I guess you’re right..” she said, not entirely convinced.
Hero’s hand found hers once she dropped her hands.
“Are you coming along?” Hero said.
Her thumb traced the inside of his palm and, in that moment, wanted no more to say yes. But in the back of her mind, the voice that whispered all the things Mari had to do, all the things she’d put off just because of this failed endeavor, all the consequences that can and will happen if she didn’t just get it all done...
“... sorry babe,” she said, not as enthusiastically as she wanted to. “I gotta play catch-up. Maybe another time.”
Before Hero could convince her otherwise, she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. His grin got wider, goofier, to the point it actually gave her a genuine smile.
“Okay ... “Just promise you’ll get enough sleep tonight. You’ll wear yourself out.”
“I’ll—okay. I will,” she said, almost certain she’d make a liar out of herself even though she didn’t want to.
“…okay.”
Hero gave her a hug that lasted just a second or two too long, then he left. Mari smiled and silently cursed herself.
Look at you, she told herself. Lying to that poor boy. You don’t deserve him. You don’t deserve—
She put it out of her mind. Mari didn’t like to linger on her own … vulnerabilities for very long, at least not when anyone else was around. And she still wasn’t alone.
She looked down at her brother, out cold on the floor. She sighed, crouched down, and lifted him up. There was a moment of sharp pain in her bad knee, but thankfully Sunny was skinny as a rail so she was able to lift him without much trouble after that. She brought him to his bed and tucked him beneath the covers. She stood there for a moment, looking down at him, before she lightly touched his cheek.
“Sorry, Sunny,” she whispered. “I’ll try to do better.” Because as much as Hero liked to say this wasn’t all her fault, as much as Mari wished she could believe that… she knew better.