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Sunny is finally visiting Faraway Town again.
It had been two years since he moved away from the neighborhood he grew up in. He thought he'd be able to handle it at the time, but looking back, he was actually pretty devastated. Maybe if he hadn’t reconnected with his childhood friends one last time before moving day, it wouldn’t have been as hard for him. Life was just cruel like that, huh? Sometimes allowing you to have the best things only to immediately take them away again. But if it weren’t for that, Sunny would have never found himself again. He would still be stuck in limbo, the same as he had been the previous four years before he heard that knock at his door. Reconnecting with his friends had saved him, and he would always cherish them for that.
He felt so lucky that he was still able to have this. Despite everything they’ve been through, even after locking himself away, they were eventually able to heal. It wasn't easy for any of them. It wasn't easy telling the truth or facing it. But within the last two years, they managed to face it together. And Sunny was so relieved that he could meet with his friends again now and spend time with them just like when they were kids. He missed that. He smiled slightly to himself as he reminisced, adjusting his backpack while waiting for his stop as he readied himself to exit the bus.
He was almost there. He knew he would see Kel and Aubrey outside waiting for him the next time the bus stopped moving, big goofy smiles on their faces. Well, probably just on Kel’s. He still had that same signature Kel grin on his face in the photo he sent Sunny just a few minutes ago, showing him and Aubrey waiting right by the bus stop he would be getting off at momentarily, Aubrey throwing up a reluctant peace sign while keeping her eyes on her phone. Sunny couldn’t wait to see them again.
He kept his eye focused on the road outside, watching as the surrounding homes and shops became more and more familiar to him, slowly forming into the shape of his old neighborhood he remembered so well. It wasn’t long until he could see a familiar park in the distance with a bus stop just near the entrance, two blurry silhouettes sitting at the bench taking the form of Sunny’s friends as the bus approached them. He'd recognize that bright orange jersey and that bright pink hair anywhere. He anxiously waited until the bus came to a stop right by the bench and finally opened its door, allowing Sunny to hop off as soon as he could, only to be immediately lifted off the ground by a very enthusiastic Kel.
“Sunny! You’re finally back!” Kel's even taller than before. Sunny is being held at least one or two feet off the ground. Although he can’t say he wasn’t expecting this kind of greeting from Kel, his energy is still a lot to take in every time. Despite that, Sunny was still delighted to see his old friends again, and managed to hug him back when he was able to move his arms in Kel’s grip. He certainly has gotten stronger too. That's an athlete for you.
Aubrey watches the two with an amused and slightly annoyed face, shoving her hands in the pockets of her jacket as she approaches them. “Kel, it’s been like eight months since he last visited, and you only just texted him ten minutes ago. Stop being so dramatic.”
"Eight months is a long time, Aubrey!" Kel protested, letting Sunny back down to Earth. Despite her seemingly negative tone, Aubrey still smiled at them and greeted Sunny when she got the chance, equally happy to see her old friend again. Sunny couldn’t help but smile at both of them. It had been too long since he had last been with his close friends.
“Hi guys.” Sunny manages to let out. He was never the best with words, but his friends knew that and he was sure they could tell how much he missed them too.
“You look like you’re doing better.” Aubrey says, moving next to Kel to get a look at Sunny. “How’s that eyepatch treating you?”
Sunny had forgotten in the moment but quickly remembered after Aubrey asked that. His current eyepatch was a handmade gift that Basil sent to him for his birthday last month, with a little sunflower design sewn on the front of it. He felt so fond of it every time he saw it in the mirror. But his friends had only seen Sunny wearing it in a single picture he sent to them the day he got it in the mail.
“Good.”
“You got that for your birthday, right?” Kel butts in. “Man, I wish I coulda seen you then! I hate that you’re out of running distance from here, otherwise I would have totally ran to where you were to celebrate. Happy late birthday again by the way!”
Sunny just turned 18 last month and he felt bad since his friends wanted to throw him a party in person, but all they were able to do was send him birthday messages in their group chat. He definitely wasn’t happy that he lived so annoyingly far from them either. But despite that, he still very much appreciated how his friends showed that they cared so much about him.
He doesn’t know how to respond though, so he just smiles at his friends.
“So anyway,” Kel says, walking in the direction of the park and gesturing for the other two to follow, “Hero and Basil are both busy with college stuff today so we won’t be seeing them until later. Wanna hang out at the park until then?”
Ah. Yeah, Hero and Basil were usually the ones making plans for the group whenever Sunny visited, so it figures Kel and Aubrey didn’t really have anything planned until those two arrived. But that was fine, he just liked being with them. Sunny nods.
Kel starts walking towards the entrance to the park with Sunny following close behind. Aubrey stopped them by the entrance. “Nah, let's go to Hobbeez instead. We can't really do much with that tiny playground anymore anyway. We'll spend time outside when the other nerds get here.”
Kel looked at her for a moment, briefly confused before immediately deciding that Hobbeez was a better idea actually. “Okay, yeah! And let’s get pizza too!”
The three set course for the shopping center. Aubrey glared back at Kel while walking ahead of him. “You got money for that? Besides, we’re gonna have lunch with Mari and the others later, remember?”
Oh, right. Aubrey had suggested in their group chat a few days ago that they should all have a picnic together over by Mari’s grave. The three of them had done that once before with Hero, but she felt that Basil should be included this time. Mari would like that. And Sunny agreed, this would probably be good for both of them. When he was first meeting with his therapist a bit over a year ago, she had suggested that he should try facing Mari and Basil directly instead of running away and falling into his old habits, and that had slowly been getting easier for Sunny over time. He could even say he was looking forward to visiting Mari’s grave this time, and seeing Basil too.
Actually, he was definitely looking forward to seeing Basil.
After Sunny had managed to fully face his trauma two years ago, he and Basil were able to properly talk again. They could finally discuss the topic that had been looming over their heads for so many years. It was hard for both of them at first, but they had promised from then on that they would face it together. Even if Sunny had to live hours away from his friend now, even if he could never find the right words to say sometimes, they would stay in contact. It was what was best for them.
And yeah, he had also finally started speaking to a therapist about everything not too long after he moved away. It was something he probably should have done a long time ago, and it had helped him tremendously. Who would have guessed that bottling up your feelings and denying the truth would lead to terrible results with your mental state? His therapist helped him understand himself, and finally be able to face everything properly. He could finally start to recover. And Basil could too.
Now, he wanted nothing more than to see his best friend again. After they discussed everything together and finally let all their built up emotions out, they were slowly able to become friends again. Sunny hated that he had to move away right when they finally reconnected. He did his best to try and speak to Basil over the phone, and he would update him on things through texts whenever he got the chance. Despite everything, Basil was still the one he felt closest with out of his friends. And Sunny treasured every moment he could get with that boy in person. He held onto his new eyepatch to stay close to him. Even if Basil had unintentionally been the reason for why he even needed an eyepatch now, he held nothing against him. In fact, he never would have changed into the new person he had become if it wasn’t for Basil. He never would have gotten the chance to start healing from everything.
Sunny wanted to help Basil heal too. He hoped he was still seeing his therapist as well.
-
The trio had made it to Hobbeez and decided to just mess around for a while, looking at comics and competing against each other on the arcade machines. The shop owner would have kicked them out for causing a racket, but he had warmed up to them after all the years of dealing with their antics as kids. And it was rare to see Sunny with them these days, so this was a special occasion.
After accepting his crushing defeat against Aubrey on the arcade machines, Kel decided he was so hungry that he should have just one slice of pizza at the shop next door. And maybe some soda too. Aubrey rolled her eyes at him. As annoying as he is, she could never stop Kel from being himself. But she made sure to “politely” remind him that he owed her 6 bucks later.
Sunny simply enjoyed their company. He didn’t really need to play the arcade games or eat pizza, he could do that at home. Just quietly sitting at the table in the pizza shop and listening to them bickering, soft music playing on the jukebox in the background, it was all he really needed. He really had missed his friends so much. He couldn’t wait for the others to join them. And luckily,
“Oh hey, Hero just texted!” Kel exclaimed, pizza in one hand and phone in the other. “He said he’s gonna be here soon. Should we go meet up with him? I think he still has to stop by our house to get the food.”
“Yeah, sure. It’s already getting a bit late and I don’t wanna have the picnic while it’s dark out.” Aubrey uncrosses her legs she had set on the chair next to her and gets up, pulling out her phone. “I’ll text Basil and tell him to hurry his butt up.”
“He’s bringing the picnic blanket, right? We can’t go without that.” Kel says, then proceeds to shove the remainder of the pizza in his mouth and chug the rest of his soda with it. Aubrey looks at him in disgust, but remembers this really isn't anything new for Kel.
“Yeah. I don’t think he’s too far from here. We’ll meet with Hero first and Basil can meet up after.” Aubrey starts heading towards the door. Sunny takes that as his cue to get up and follow her.
“Cool!” Kel gets up from his chair and heads to throw his trash away, then runs after his friends. He yells “Thanks, Pizza Man!” as he's already halfway out the door.
The three head outside and it is, in fact, starting to turn to sunset. But they should still have enough time to go see Mari before it gets too dark. Kel checks his phone and pauses. “Oh wait nevermind, looks like Hero is heading over to us actually. Guess we'll just wait here then?”
“Guess so.” Aubrey looks up at the sky, worried about the time. She's the one that wanted to see Mari the most, after all. “I’m gonna call Basil real quick.”
“Aight.” Kel responds. He walks over to the end of the sidewalk and sits on the curb. Aubrey walks a couple feet away from them to make the call. Sunny sees a stray cat in a nearby bush and attempts to befriend it. The strays in this town have always been pretty friendly, so he actually manages to pet this one. He doesn't get to pet any of the strays in his new town. God he misses this place.
Not too much time passes before a car pulls over by where Kel is sitting, and out comes Hero. Sunny can see the top of his head over his car from where he's crouched on the sidewalk. He’s tall. Like, really tall. Sunny almost resents him for it. But he can’t pay mind to that now, because he just realized one of his other close friends is here and he should go say hi. He quickly looks back over to where the stray cat should have been, and sees that Hero’s car scared it away. Sunny will resent him forever for this.
“Hey Sunny!” Hero waves at him from over where he and Kel are standing, still overflowing with his natural charm like usual. Okay fine, maybe Sunny will forgive him for now.
Sunny gets up from where he was crouched and waves back. He walks over to them and Hero and Kel meet him halfway. Kel throws an arm around Sunny’s shoulders.
“We finally got him back again!” Kel says to Hero excitedly as if he didn’t just spend half the day with Sunny.
“I can see that. It’s great to see you again!” Hero walks over to Sunny and pats him on the shoulder. Sunny smiles slightly and nods. He's still a little nervous being around Hero ever since he told him the truth two years ago, but they managed to talk it out eventually, so he's pretty sure things are better between them now. He hopes Hero is doing well.
“I got the food for the picnic in the car so we should be good to go. Where’s Basil?” Hero says while looking around, eyes landing on Aubrey over on the other side of the parking lot. She’s finished talking on the phone and heading over to the group.
“He’s on his way.” She says. “He’ll meet us at the church.”
“Gotcha. Everyone in the car then!” Hero announces.
The group gathers in Hero’s car, Aubrey calling shotgun before Kel could, and make their way over to the church. Sunny mentally prepares himself to see Mari’s grave again. And Basil. He’s nervous, but he also can’t help but look forward to it.
It’s a short drive over to the church. Hero parks the car nearby and the group hops out all at once. Hero grabs a picnic basket out of the trunk and makes Kel carry a cooler. Probably full of soda that he got specifically for Kel, so makes sense. They all quietly follow him into the church, where he gently pushes the door open and looks around to see if there’s anyone else around. Looks like it's just the priest.
“Good afternoon, sir. Did you happen to see a blonde boy stop by here recently?” Hero politely says as he and the others head towards the doors in the back.
The man looks over at him from where he was sitting. “Oh, you mean the flower boy? He stopped by to visit the cemetery not too long ago. He should still be there now.” The priest eyes the picnic basket Hero is holding. “Are you all having a picnic?”
“Yes, if that’s alright, sir.” Hero breathes in. “Mari always loved having picnics, so we wanted to have one with her today.”
The man nods. “Of course. I wish you all the best.”
With that, the group follows Hero out to the cemetery. They walk towards the back, and that’s when they see that Basil is there, standing in front of Mari’s grave. He’s holding some flowers, and Sunny notices that there’s even more flowers placed all around the headstone. Basil probably put those there. Sunny appreciates that.
“Hello there, Basil.” Hero says gently as he walks over to him, a small, friendly smile on his face.
Basil looks over to the group, noticeably a bit surprised, but happy to see them nonetheless.
“Hello everyone.” Basil smiles at them.
“We have Sunny with us! Sunny’s here!” Kel exclaims, although trying to keep his voice down a bit more than usual.
Sunny’s eye then meets Basil’s. Although the two are on good terms now, it still always inflicts a different feeling in them when they meet in person. But not a negative one. It’s just…different. Regardless though, they are very happy to see each other. Basil’s smile turns warm.
“Hi Sunny. It’s really nice to see you again.”
Sunny simply waves and smiles back at the flower boy.
Aubrey walks over to Mari’s grave. “Hi Mari, we’re back. Sunny’s with us too, he finally decided to visit after who knows how long.” She says in a noticeably teasing voice directed at Sunny. He just pouts at her.
“Hey, you know Sunny would visit more often if he could.” Hero says to her in his defense.
Aubrey waves him off. “Yeah, yeah. Anyway, we’re here to have a picnic with you, Mari, if that’s okay. I’m sure you’d be happy to know that it’s all five of us this time.” She glances over at Basil. “Did you bring all these flowers?”
Basil seems slightly embarrassed, but also a bit proud. “Yeah…I’ve been growing these at my house so I could bring them to Mari today. I wanted them to be special...I made sure to bring lilies of the valley too.” He presents the flowers he had been holding to the group, those being the lily of the valley, and then crouches down to place them on the grave.
“Thank you for doing that.” Hero says. He looks over at the flowers and smiles sadly. He then walks over to the picnic blanket Basil had set up beforehand and places down the basket he had been holding, Kel taking that as a cue to put down the cooler he had been holding as well. Kel and Aubrey silently decide to go sit on the blanket and unpack the picnic basket while Hero walks back over and kneels by Mari’s grave, taking a moment to himself. Basil feels unsure of what to do, and looks over at Sunny.
Sunny, also unsure, decides to sit on the edge of the blanket, gesturing for Basil to sit next to him. Basil does just that.
After a moment passes, Hero stands up, wipes his eyes on his sleeve, and turns to the group. “Alright, let’s eat.” He says, forcing a smile. He sits down with his friends.
The picnic is quiet, but no words really need to be exchanged while at a cemetery. Some light conversation is thrown around by Kel, mostly just talking about how good Hero’s cooking is and how he really should pursue being a chef. Hero decides against arguing why that isn’t possible for him right now. And it’s not like he can deny that he still wants to be a chef anyway. He'll save that conversation for another time though.
Aubrey notices that Basil brought his camera with him, and thinks to herself for a moment. Then she turns to Sunny. “Hey, did you bring the photo album?”
Sunny looks up, a bit surprised having been put on the spot suddenly, but then processes what she asked and grabs his backpack, pulling out the cherished photo album she mentioned. He stares at the cover for a moment, Basil doing the same while looking over his shoulder, and he hands it over to Aubrey. She smiles sadly and thanks him.
Kel looks between his friends, also noticing then that Basil brought his camera. “Hey, do you wanna get a picture while we’re here, Basil?”
Basil, much like Sunny a moment ago, looks surprised having also been put on the spot. He looks down at the camera he set on the blanket, feeling conflicted. “Well…I thought about it. But I couldn’t decide if it would have been too sad…or if it would be inappropriate.”
Kel looks concerned for a moment before speaking up. “I mean, the situation is sad. But we shouldn't just stay sad about it, we should also be happy that we’re all here again, and spending time with Mari too! She would be so happy for us! And I don’t think she’d want to be excluded from our photos just because she’s gone-” Kel pauses for a second and suddenly waves his hands around. “Uhh wait, not that we should take pictures of her grave or anything! I don't think that's allowed? But like, she would probably like it if we got a picture of this moment with her, since we're all together again.”
The group all stare at Kel as if he had just said something that made no sense at all. But…
“I don’t think it’s a bad idea…” All eyes then turn to Sunny.
He’s hugging his knees and looking down, well aware that he is being stared at. He mutters, “She might like that idea.”
Basil looks at Sunny, then looks down at his camera again. He considers what they said for a moment. Then he decides what to do, and he smiles and holds up his camera.
“Alright then. But no silly faces, okay?” He scoots back and points the camera at his friends.
Kel interrupts before Basil could take any pictures. “Hey, you should be in it too! This is the first time all five of us have been here to visit Mari and we need to capture that!”
Basil hesitates. He knows Kel is right, he’s just not used to being in his own pictures. He then sighs and turns around, flipping the camera in his hand and pointing it at himself and his friends. The group gathers closer behind him, feeling a bit awkward but managing bittersweet smiles on their faces. They manage to remain optimistic, they know this would make Mari happy.
“Smile, for Mari!”
*Click!*
Basil makes a mental note to add this one to his new photo album later.
-
The picnic was fairly relaxing for everyone in the end. Delicious food and not much talking. Just living in the moment together, enjoying each other’s company and being there for Mari. They were content by the end of it.
Of course, it wasn’t as relaxing after the sun set and they could barely see anything without their phone flashlights. So they decided to pack up, double checking to make sure nothing was left behind. They each took turns saying goodbye to Mari before leaving.
Just as the group started to head out together, Sunny stopped and turned to look back at her grave. He almost thought he could see Mari herself standing there, smiling and waving goodbye. He didn’t know if ghosts were real, but it certainly felt so real to him. Sunny paused, and spoke quietly under his breath.
“Goodnight, Mari…I miss you.”
Just as he was about to turn to head out, he felt someone take his hand. He froze and for a brief moment, he thought maybe he really had seen Mari’s spirit? But then he looked over and he instead saw his best friend standing there with him. Basil gave him a concerned look, but quickly formed it into a comforting smile.
“It’s time to go, Sunny…but don’t worry, she’ll be watching over you.”
Sunny smiled at that, then looked back one last time before turning to leave the cemetery with Basil. Even if she’s no longer there with them, they’ll always love her. And they know that she will always love them too.
It’s okay…everything is okay.
-
Kel and Hero make sure everyone gets one final group hug outside the church before saying goodnight. The brothers assure they'll see everyone tomorrow and head over to Hero's car to go home for the night. Aubrey’s house was a short walk away from where they were, and Basil’s house wasn’t too much further either, so the three of them would be fine walking there on their own. Sunny would be staying at Basil’s house during the time he was visiting, so it would work out for them anyway. He was the only one who had a guest room after all. Though there was no denying that the two also just wanted to spend more time with each other as well.
The two boys walk Aubrey over to her house. Just before she heads inside though, she turns and thanks the two of them for being here with her and gives them both a hug, claiming that she’ll see them tomorrow as well. She waves them off before turning to head inside her house for the night.
With that, it was just the two of them left. It wouldn’t take long to get to Basil’s house from there, so they just walk side by side in silence. Though, just as they finish crossing the street, Basil stops at the edge of the sidewalk. Sunny turned to look over at him when he realized Basil was no longer beside him.
The boy was silent, but Sunny could tell something was up. He walked toward him and watched him patiently, waiting for him to say something. Instead, Basil just reached for Sunny’s hand and held it gently. A moment passed.
“I…don’t wanna go home just yet. Can we…can we go for a walk?”
Sunny didn’t know what exactly was on Basil’s mind, but he understood regardless. He turned to face a different path on the sidewalk, holding Basil’s hand at his side, waiting for him to take the lead. Basil really appreciated how Sunny just...understood him, and didn’t have to ask anything. He smiled at him and began walking in the direction of the Faraway Park, hand locked with Sunny’s as he followed at his side.
The two walk along the sidewalk together, no immediate destination in mind. Sunny watches as even more stray cats scatter around the neighborhood. They always seemed to come out the most at night. It was nice seeing so many of them roaming around, that’s one of the nice things about being out late at night in this town. That and how there were usually no people around, so it’s nice and quiet too. Being introverted, Sunny preferred it that way. He was sure Basil felt the same too, since he was the same as him in that regard.
They approached the entrance to the park and stop for a moment. Sunny hadn’t been to the park in a while, so he took that moment to just absorb everything again. Some nearby street lamps lit up parts of the area, keeping it from being completely dark at night. Everything at the park was about the same as Sunny had remembered. The old playground equipment he used to use all the time was still set up the same as he remembered, though looking more worn down than how it had been back then. He looked over at the big yellow cat he used to love. He missed that big yellow cat.
He wondered if their old hangout spot by the lake was still the same as well. He was sure he would have that question answered soon though, as he figured Basil is probably planning on taking him there since he was leading Sunny in that direction. And sure enough, he was right.
Basil approached the entrance to their old secret hideout, looking over at Sunny who stood at his side as if asking for permission to enter. He didn't have anything to say though. Instead, Sunny just decided to take the lead and headed through the trees first, guiding Basil behind him.
And to his relief, this place was still the same as Sunny had remembered. He was thankful for that, how some things still stay the same even after all the time that passes.
The two pause for a moment and take it all in. Basil let go of Sunny’s hand and walked closer to the lake. The same lake as the one in their memories. Sunny followed, watching as the water rippled and the reflection of the moon moved with it. Basil took a deep breath and sat down where he stood. Sunny walked over and sat beside him.
Sunny thought to himself for a moment. Then he spoke quietly, “This place is still the same as ever.”
Basil smiled, happy to hear Sunny speak since he doesn’t get to hear that very often.
“Yeah…”
With that, a comfortable silence fell between them. They stayed there for a while, just taking in the beauty of the lake, the gentle breeze, the surrounding flowers that had spread around the area even more since they were last there. Mentally recounting all their shared memories of this place until their minds decided when to slip back into the present.
After a little while, Sunny decided to lean back and lay on the grass, gazing up at the stars. He suddenly realized that he had felt exhausted, and let out a deep sigh. It wasn’t a bad feeling though. He assumes it’s just been so long since he was last with his friends that it was just mentally draining to spend the whole day with them again. He wondered how he was ever able to handle Kel’s energy the way he did back when they were kids.
Basil looked over at him and chuckled softly. “Tired?”
Sunny closed his eye and nodded. “Too many people.”
Basil laughed a bit more at that. Boy did he understand how that felt. He hugged his knees to his chest, keeping his eyes on Sunny. “I hope I’m not too bothersome then.”
Sunny opened his eye and turned to look at Basil as if he had just said something weird.
“No, I’m happy you’re here. People are exhausting, but I feel relaxed when I'm just with you.”
Basil’s heart fluttered. He was so happy to hear that Sunny enjoyed being with him. He moved himself a bit closer to his friend, wanting to enjoy the moment they had right now. He doesn't get to see Sunny in person very often anymore so he treasured it. Then an idea suddenly came to his mind and he froze for a moment. He started to hesitate, trying to sort through the sudden racing thoughts going through in his head. But then he finally decided that if he wanted to be close to him, now would be the best time. He scooted closer and sat behind Sunny, gently lifting his head off the ground and placing it in his lap. He smiled down at him.
“I’m glad.”
Sunny was surprised at how bold Basil was just now, not expecting that at all. But he didn’t reject it. In fact, he decided to welcome it wholeheartedly. It only took him a moment before he quickly relaxed and leaned into Basil’s lap, closing his eye again. Basil gently cradled his head in his hands, moving some hair out of his face and lightly brushing his thumb against his cheek. He was warm.
Basil simply watched Sunny as he relaxed, looking so peaceful. He felt so happy to be with his best friend again, even if it was just for a few days. He wished so badly that he could just spend every day like this. Just being with the person he loved so dearly and letting reality fade around them.
But reality wouldn’t be so kind to this boy. It just needed to remind him of what he hated about it, and always at the worst times.
Basil let his gaze drift to Sunny’s eyepatch, and he stared. He gently brushed his thumb over the fabric. He had made that eyepatch for his friend’s birthday, and was happy with the result. He felt ecstatic that Sunny actually wore it too. It made him so happy...but that feeling couldn’t last. He had let his guard down, and his thoughts took over.
He couldn’t help but remember the reason why this boy needed an eyepatch in the first place. He pictured the scar under the cloth, and how it got there. He remembered blood. He remembered the shears he held in his hand. He remembered the overwhelming panic he felt after he realized he was not stabbing at some supernatural entity, something dark and horrifying that stared back at him so intensely, Something he was trying to protect his best friend from, but instead...he was stabbing at a boy. A real person in front of him, his best friend. And by the time he realized, it was too late.
Sunny had lost his eye. And Basil took it.
It’s quiet between them. Sunny feels calm, focusing on Basil’s gentle hands holding him. He simply enjoyed the moment they had, enjoyed Basil’s warm presence. But…he felt an unnatural drop of water hit his forehead. That...wasn’t right. He opened his eye, and looked up to find this warm, gentle boy crying silently above him.
That couldn’t be right…why was he crying? What happened? He didn’t want him to cry. Hasn’t this boy already been through enough? Sunny didn’t know what to do. He wanted to make it stop, make whatever pain this was go away, but he didn’t know how. But he wanted to help his friend...even if he could only do so much. So, he just held the boy’s hand, and looked up at him. Tried to give him the most comforting look he could. One that said ‘I don’t know why you’re sad but I’m here for you’, since his voice wouldn’t let him say it out loud.
Basil just looked back down at him as he continued to weep, holding Sunny’s hand back and using his other to lightly brush at the eyepatch on his face. It hurt. It hurt Sunny to see Basil so pained, it hurt Basil to see the eyepatch and remember what he did. What he can never take back.
He whispers, “I’m so sorry…”
Sunny understands. He suddenly knows why this boy is crying. And knowing that now, he desperately didn’t want the boy to cry anymore. He reached a hand up to his face to try and wipe his tears away. He shouldn’t be crying over this, he already forgave him a long time ago.
Sunny manages to speak. “It’s okay.”
And this...this causes Basil to cry even harder. He leans over and sobs, letting out quiet, incomprehensible sounds and words which Sunny thinks is Basil apologizing to him over and over. Sunny hates this. He doesn’t want Basil to feel this way. He tries to wipe away his tears but they keep flowing. He doesn’t know what to do, what to say…
“It’s n-not okay!” He stutters between sobs. “I…I took your eye, Sunny! I took your eye and you should h-hate me for it! You shouldn’t want anything to do with me! I can never make up for what I've done! How can you say you’re happy to be with me when I did s-something so horrible to you?! I was so stupid! I-”
Sunny sits up, and immediately turns his body to hug his friend. To hold him for dear life. To try and communicate to him how everything is okay, even if he can’t say it. Basil sobs into his shoulder and desperately grabs at the back of Sunny’s jacket, a stream of apologies muffling into the now tear soaked cloth. Sunny just rubs his friend’s back soothingly, allowing him to let out all of his built up emotions.
But you can’t let six years of built up emotions out in one night. It's nearly impossible to let them all out in a single lifetime. So that’s why they’re going to be there for each other, for as long as life will let them. They know damn well how difficult it is to go on alone. They never want that for each other ever again.
Basil’s sobs start to slow down a bit. Sunny holds him for as long as he needs him to. He reminds him to breathe, and he takes a deep breath. Then another.
Basil doesn’t know where he would be without this boy. Without Sunny.
Sunny pulls him away from his shoulder so he can look him in the eye. He should have taken a deep breath of his own, because he’s going to try and say something to him. He wants to, so badly he wants to say something to Basil. But the words just never come out when he needs them to. But right now, he’s going to try harder than ever...
“I…never really know what I’m supposed to say in moments like these. But…” he hesitates, trying to find the right words. “...I need you to understand that I don’t resent you for this” He gestures to his missing eye. “We were just scared kids that didn’t know how to handle our emotions. I understand.” He looks down, finding that his hand had found its way into Basil’s again. He doesn’t remember when that happened. “But…we’re recovering. And we can be there for each other now. Everything is okay. So…I don’t want you to cry anymore. Not when I’ve already forgiven you.”
Despite his words, a few more tears begin to fall from Basil’s eyes. He looks a mixture of pained, yet relieved. Almost happy. He barely manages to form a smile under his tears, a small but genuine one. He holds Sunny’s hand tightly.
“I g-guess I’ve always been a bit of a crybaby, huh?” He chuckles lightly.
Sunny reaches his free hand towards Basil’s face and wipes away his last remaining tears. He repeats again, softly, “It’s okay.”
Basil leans forward and gently rests his forehead against Sunny’s. He closes his eyes and steadies his breathing. For a moment, it’s silent again. Time finally seems to have stopped for them.
“...I don’t deserve you.”
Sunny gently lifts Basil’s face and caresses his cheek. He looks him in the eye.
“Stop that. You deserve to be happy.”
Basil’s smile grew a bit wider, looking both sad and happy. Sunny felt so relieved seeing that smile again. He really did mean everything he said. This boy had been through so much in his own mind, and now all Sunny wants is just for him to be happy. He embraces the boy again, Basil holding him back just as tightly. His tears have stopped. It was hard for Basil to continue feeling sadness and hatred towards himself when he was overflowing with so much affection for the boy in his arms. When he knew that Sunny wanted him to stop hating himself, he knew that he couldn’t betray that. He’ll do his best.
“I really love you, Sunny…you know that?”
Sunny nodded against the boy’s shoulder. He couldn’t really tell in that moment if Basil only meant that he loved him as his best friend, or if he meant it as something else. But…that didn’t matter. All he knew was that he felt the same. He was more than happy just being here with him, and all those little details didn’t matter right now. He loved him too, and he hoped that Basil knew that. He would tell him, but…words are betraying him again. He used up the rest of his words for the day, he supposed. So, he’ll try something else.
He pulls himself away, just far enough to look Basil in the eye again. Sunny keeps a small but affectionate smile on his face to prevent him from thinking that he had been rejected. He won't let this boy’s mind betray him again. Sunny lifted his hand between them and carefully moved his fingers to sign I love you too , making sure Basil was watching. Sunny had only practiced this once, and hadn’t actually used it in conversation before. He hoped Basil understood him.
Basil’s fondness for him overflowed in that moment. That was such a ‘Sunny’ way to respond to that, and he adored it so much. He couldn't help himself. He gently reached out his hands to cup Sunny’s face and leaned forward, turning his head to the side to plant a small kiss on the boy’s cheek, just under his eyepatch. Basil never thought he would ever actually allow himself to do something like that, but he had no regrets. He loved this boy so much, he didn’t care.
Sunny decided to take that as a sign that Basil did indeed understand him. Good. But he didn’t quite know what he should do in response to that, so he decided on simply leaning his head on Basil’s shoulder, rubbing his face into his neck. Basil laughed and lifted his hand to pet Sunny’s hair. He guessed he decided to go with his natural cat-like instincts then. Just another thing Basil found adorable about him. He adored everything about him, really.
Though as much as the two wanted to stay there all night, it was getting a little too late for comfort. After allowing himself and Sunny one more moment to bask in each other, Basil finally decided to voice that concern.
“We really should head home now…”
And of course, those were the last words Sunny wanted to hear at the moment. Instead of cooperating, he just wrapped his arms tightly around Basil and buried his face further into his neck, also whining a little to really sell his disagreement with that statement. He didn’t feel like getting up and walking, it sounded like too much work. He was 100% fully comfortable and happy just sitting there with Basil right now. He is not getting up.
Basil laughed even more at this. Sunny was such a baby sometimes. Despite what he just said, Basil couldn’t resist hugging him back anyway. He had to think of a way to convince Sunny though. Hmm…he’ll offer him a deal then. He leaned his head back a little to try and look at Sunny's face. “Tell you what, if you get up and walk home with me, you can sleep in my room tonight. Sound good?”
Sunny noticeably perked up at that, though tried not to show it as he knew he had just been swiftly defeated. A soft and warm bed did sound really nice right about now, and he wouldn’t have to separate from Basil either? It was an offer he simply couldn’t refuse. Okay fine, you win.
He wouldn’t let himself go down so easily though. Although he did finally start to get up, he whined the whole time. Basil helped him up and decided he needed to let Sunny know that he was such a baby. Sunny didn’t respond to that. He accepted it.
It really had gotten late. It seemed like it was pitch black all around them, and the two boys suddenly felt very sleepy after the thought of going to bed came up. Basil at least had just a bit more energy than Sunny, so he held his friend’s hand and led him home as if Sunny was sleepwalking by that point.
Luckily, the two managed to make it home safely. But by that point, Basil felt like he was helping a drunk friend get to bed, since Sunny decided to lean all of his weight onto Basil's shoulder once they were inside. Basil couldn’t tell if Sunny was just being super affectionate, or if he really was that sleepy. He guessed it was probably both.
The boy led his friend to his room and somehow managed to open the door and shove the two of them inside on his own. Sunny could be so stubborn, huh? Well, that’s fine. Basil didn't mind all that much. He looked around in his dark room and suddenly felt that his bed was calling to him. He definitely felt sleep creeping up on him now, and it didn’t help that his eyes were dry from crying too.
He looked over at Sunny, who was just barely awake leaning against his shoulder. “Do you want me to get the sleeping bag, or…” Basil already knew what the answer was, but just needed to make sure he and Sunny were on the same page.
And as expected, Sunny sleepily shook his head against Basil’s shoulder. Alright, guess they’re sharing the bed then. Honestly, Basil really should have expected this. Knowing just how close they were when they were kids and how close they wanted to be now, it was pretty obvious. But it was fine though. More than fine actually, it sounded like he would be sleeping really well tonight. Lord knows how much he needed that.
Sunny managed to drag himself off Basil's shoulder and drop his backpack and jacket on the floor. And with that, proceeded to flop onto Basil’s bed, seemingly passing out instantly. Basil laughed lightly to himself at that. He took a moment to head to the bathroom to change into his sleep clothes and brush his teeth real quick, then returned to his room to find Sunny right where he left him, except now his eyepatch had been thrown onto the floor as well. He approached the side of the bed and poked Sunny’s arm. “You’re not getting that bed all to yourself, mister.”
Sunny whined a bit and managed to scoot over to make room, lifting his arm up as his way of asking for cuddles. Basil smiled to himself, thinking how this is just like when they were kids. He climbed into his side of the bed and immediately found himself being dragged in by Sunny’s greedy arms. Basil laughed lightly, making himself comfortable as he gently wrapped an arm around Sunny’s shoulders, who had already buried himself into Basil’s neck again. He rested his head against Sunny’s, and suddenly realized just how much he missed this. He decided to plant one last goodnight kiss on the top of the boy's head. The boy he truly did love so much. Basil was so, so happy to be here with Sunny again.
And with that last thought as he started to drift to sleep, he decided that they would absolutely be sleeping well tonight.
🌻