Chapter Text
“Man..How long has it been since I last saw him..”
Aubrey thought as she leaned against the glass window of the bus with a sigh. She had been on the road for hours at this point. Only stopping when the bus driver had to either rest for a couple of minutes or when they got to a gas station, but she didn’t care much, after all her destination was something she had been saving up for a long time ever since Sunny left. All those hours working herself to exhaustion at Gino’s, thankfully her deadbeat mom left the house a long time ago, allowing her to move in with Kim and keep her money to herself. Instead of having it get spent on that waste of oxygen.
“It’s my first time out of Faraway too huh…probably would have never even left if he didn’t move away, I wonder how he’s doing…I wonder how he looks now..He really sounded different on the phone.”
The pink haired girl continued to think as she stared at the passing scenery, covering her eyes for a moment as she passed by a rather bright streetlight. Before looking ahead, her eyes slowly widened as she noticed the glow of the city as it slowly drew closer, she knew what cities looked like thanks to magazines and books. But to see it up close was really something else, being from such a small town and having never gone too far away from it, it really was a bit of a shock to her.
“..Damn, so..Sunny’s been here this whole time! Shit…it’s so bright and so damn huge!”
She spoke to herself as she stood up and stepped towards the front of the bus, carrying her backpack with her. Thankfully there weren't many passengers around so she could take a seat up front, though a few did glance at her thanks to her comment, she didn’t care much and just took her seat up front near the driver. at the moment she felt a little bit like her younger self with how in awe she was at just seeing such a view, she never even thought she would have left Faraway. Much more alone and to see Sunny again.
“Man…if I’m this shocked. I can’t imagine how Sunny must have felt coming here the first time.”
Aubrey continued to think to herself as she watched the bus drive into the city, closing her eyes for a moment from the bright signs and lights that illuminated the city. It was already night time so everything was lit up, neon signs adoring the streets as the bus drove by, as Aubrey’s eyes adjusted she was a little overwhelmed by the new sights and the people walking by…they were dressed so differently! She thought she was dressed like a punk with her pink hair and outfit but she was nothing compared to these people, it was like she was driving into a movie set.
“Hey kiddo, first time in the city?”
She turned to the bus driver and nodded slowly, she really felt a little like Sunny at the moment with how uneasy she was coming into the city, the culture shock getting to her. The older driver chuckled a little as he continued to drive down the street.
“Yeah..It really is something else…all the lights, the buildings, hell…even the people are so different from Faraway!”
“Heh, well I’ve heard that a lot from you small town folk, don’t worry too much though. I have a feeling you’ll adjust real quick to the place…Anyway, sit tight. We’re almost at the final stop, get your things in order and uh..quick tip, try not to look nervous alright? The city folks around here can tell when you’re new, trust me, It’ll save you from the embarrassment.”
“Alright, thanks for the tip.”
Aubrey opened her bag and checked the contents. Making sure everything was in order, taking out a piece of paper and going by the details of it again, it contained all the necessary info to find where exactly Sunny lived. And if he wasn’t home, where she would be able to find him. She glanced up as she heard the crackling of the in-built speaker.
“Good evening everyone, I am pleased to inform you all that we have arrived at our last destination. Please make sure to collect all your belongings and discard any waste you may have, thank you for choosing our services, have a nice evening!”
The pink haired girl quickly stood up, putting the note into her pocket and grabbing her bags, stepping out through the bus doors and down onto the bus stop..and immediately coughing.
“Ugh!...What the hell..this smell-Ack!!”
She wasn’t used to the stench at all..the cigarette and car smoke, the smell of garbage. It was awful! She could handle a lot of things but this was just near vomit inducing, going from the fresh air of her small town to the disgusting city stench. This was one hell of a way to get welcomed into the big city.
Aubrey slowly walked down the street, pulling her jacket over her face as she tried to find a nearby payphone or some way to contact Sunny’s house, the city lights were a bit dizzying and the sheer influx of new sights were enough to make even the usually strong headed girl a bit nervous.
“...D-Damn it..it smells..like shit..”
She mumbled as she leaned against the wall for a bit. Trying to breathe through her mouth and covering her nose before she resumed her walk down the street, she was really grateful that Sunny lived at least within walking distance of the bus stop.
Aubrey took the chance to look at all of the city sights at least, the countless shops and fashion that the people wore, it was all such a foreign feeling to her. If the other hooligans were here, she knew that they too would just be shocked as her, they thought their choice of clothing was already rebellious with an unkempt style..but these city folk just knocked them out of the park. Aubrey did make mental notes to try to bring back the style though, slowly lowering her jacket and looking around, getting used to the terrible scent quickly. Before suddenly bumping into someone, causing both herself and the person to step back slightly.
“Hey! Watch it!”
“Ah!...I..I’m sorry..”
Her eyes widened as she realized who it was, though his fashion style might have changed. No longer wearing his old vest and instead a hoodie, he was taller too and had slightly longer hair. Though he was still just a little shorter than her. However the eyepatch and the gentle..yet nervous voice gave away who it was.
The same went for him as well, he could never forget that pink hair and jacket. In fact, Aubrey’s style didn’t change much, especially compared to himself.
“..A-Aubrey?..H-Hi..”
“Sunny…wow, you really did change..Uh, wait, sorry about bumping into you like that.”
Almost immediately both stared at each other quietly, neither expecting to find the other this quick. Especially Aubrey, who expected Sunny to just wait inside of his new place for her.
“I didn’t expect you to be out here on your own Sunny..Especially alone.”
“....I was..worried…I expected you to get here earlier…”
Rather quickly, Aubrey turned a little red. She couldn’t believe how sweet he still was, going outside just because he was worried for her, taking in a deep breath and smiling a little.
“That’s real sweet of you Sunny. You didn’t have to do that-huh?”
She was cut off as the black haired boy went in to hug her rather tightly. Taken aback for a few moments before hugging him back just as tightly, it really was great to see him again.
“...I missed you..so much..I missed everyone in Faraway..”
“I know Sunny, I remember our call. I could tell you were really happy when I said I was gonna visit, it’s great to see you again..”
Aubrey spoke as she held the hug for a few more moments, closing her eyes as she held onto him..her heart beating quickly as she slowly raised one of her hands up to his head. Running her fingers through his hair before blushing more as she realized what she did. Immediately pulling away from him and staring at him.
“...Aubrey?”
“M-My bad!..Shit..I didn’t mean to, I just…I um…”
A faint blush formed on Sunny’s face as he stared at Aubrey with his good eye, the pink haired girl shaking her head and taking deep breaths to recompose herself..This was too embarrassing! She just got here and now she tried to run her fingers through his hair…damn it!
“...It’s okay Aubrey..Um..we should..go to my apartment.”
“Y-Yeah…Apartment, right, sure..C’mon, lead the way..Say, why don’t you tell me about how you’ve been here?”
“I’ve been…okay..”
“That's all? You sure?..I mean, I didn’t have the best introduction to this place. It smells terrible.”
“..Yeah, I got sick the first day…The smell..was too much..I’m..okay though.”
Sunny replied as he slowly walked back towards his apartment with Aubrey close behind him. The delinquent smiled a little…He really didn’t change too much even though he lived in the city, which relieved her at least. She didn’t want him to change too much, after all. It was his gentle and quiet demeanor that drew her and the others to him.
Her eyes looked around again, still trying to take in the sights of everything. No matter what she did she just couldn’t stop being in awe of the city, even at night a lot of people were still out and it felt like it was still daytime. She never realized the scale of the buildings around her, especially compared to how they were described in books and tv
“..It’s..really overwhelming..isn’t it?”
“Huh?”
“..E-Everything..You’re..acting like I did..when i got here..for the first..t-time..”
Sunny looked back at Aubrey with a slight smile. Causing Aubrey to smile and blush as well, causing her to look away and instead stare at a few stores that they passed by. Man..some of them had really great clothes, she hoped she had enough cash to at least buy a new jacket.
“Yeah..it’s really something, It’s all so much to take in. especially compared to Faraway, I’m seeing clothes I never even saw in comics!”
The black haired boy laughed a little as he heard Aubrey’s response. Eliciting a slight, playful jab to his shoulder from behind, Aubrey herself was blushing a little more, realizing that she sounded like her younger self again.
“What’s up with the laughing, huh?”
“Nothing..Well, here we are….”
Sunny spoke as they stopped in front of a relatively small apartment complex, both of them stepping in and making their way into the elevator. For a moment Aubrey stepped a little closer to Sunny as the elevator began its ascent. The small town girl was not used to stepping into such a thing.
“...Aubrey?..Are you..okay?”
“Yeah..All good..Don’t worry about me Sunny.”
The two stepped out as the elevator reached one of the higher floors, Sunny leading her to his current abode and unlocking the door. Holding it open for her.
“..Y-you..first..”
“Aw, thanks Sunny…Oh wow!”
Aubrey looked around his apartment and dropped her bags off on the couch, walking around..it was small but it was clean and organized. Not used to such a thing anymore after sharing a house with Kim and living with her mom.
Though what enticed her more was the view outside the window, stepping towards it and looking down at the city. Watching the lights slowly turn off as finally..the city began to fall asleep. Aubrey cursed under her breath as she watched the city slowly go dark.
“...If..If you got here earlier..You would have been able to see…the city…”
“..Yeah, well…I’ll be able to see it tomorrow..”
Sunny stared at her as she stared out the window..He felt a little bad for her missing out on the sight of all the city lights being on at the peak hour, however. He quickly came up with another idea to hopefully make up for it a little.
“..Follow me..”
“Hm?..Sunny?”
Aubrey watched as Sunny slid open the window and stepped out, ending up on the fire escape. Holding out his hand for Aubrey, who nervously looked down and gulped…they were really high up and it didn’t look so sturdy.
“..Aubrey?..”
“Y-Yeah..just..first time being this high up..hang on.”
She took his hand slowly and got through the window, holding onto the railing and keeping her eyes up. Refusing to look down, slowly, Sunny guided her up the fire escape. The pink haired girl kept a firm grip on his hand as they both ascended.
“Sunny..W-Where are we going?”
“..You’ll see..”
Aubrey trusted Sunny’s words. Glancing down, only to immediately regret it as they realized just how high up they were, keeping her eyes on Sunny as they reached the top. Slowly, Sunny pulled her over to the center.
“Alright, we’re up here..but the city’s all dark.”
She noticed Sunny laying down and looking up quietly, raising an eyebrow before doing the same and looking up..only to be greeted by the vast night sky, dotted with stars. She remembered doing this when she was younger with the others, but now that she was in a higher surface..she felt so much closer to the stars.
“..It..feels like we’re back in faraway..”
“Yeah..it does, it’s been a long time since we did this..I forgot how pretty the night sky could be..all those stars.”
Aubrey spoke as she continued to stare up at the twinkling lights, her heart beating quickly as she realized just how close she was to Sunny. Looking over at him.
Only to be greeted by his own eye looking back at her.
Both silently stared at each other beneath the night sky.
As they stared into each other’s eyes. Both realized that they never really saw the other’s this close before despite them being close when they were children…now that they were older, both Aubrey and Sunny could appreciate just how pretty the other’s eyes looked..
“...I never realized..just how pretty Sunny’s eye looked..it’s dark..but..it’s like it’s sparkling..even in the night..”
“..Aubrey..Her..eyes..are like gems….I’m..so close to her…”
Both thought to themselves before blushing heavily and turning away from each other. Their hearts beating rapidly
“..L-Let’s go down..y-yeah?”
“..Yes..”
Slowly, they both stood up quietly. Sunny taking the lead and slowly going back towards the fire exit with Aubrey following close behind. Both of their hearts beating rapidly, their faces tinged red from embarrassment…and a slight affection towards the other.