Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Sunny stared forlornly at the scuffs and marks on the dining table he was seated at. Granted, there were few marks to count, seeing as the furniture was relatively new, but that didn’t stop him from counting. Anything to stop him looking at the time, checking it over and over. It was almost obsessive.

Unable to help himself, his head whipped to the side, checking the time. 9:23 am. They would come. They offered to come, they planned this all. They promised. His mother turned towards him from where she was in the kitchen and sighed, almost as if his thoughts were plastered on his face.

“They’ll come, sweetie. They’re still your friends.” Although he wouldn’t be surprised if they decided to go back on their promise.

It was nothing short of what he deserved, anyways. Some friend he was.

His mother tutted, briskly turning her attention to the fridge as she said “They still talk to you- they all do. I’m sure no one harbours any resentment towards you.” Sunny knew this was probably true, but it didn’t stop that little niggling feeling he had as he surveyed the clock again. His friends… they were good people. Of course they wouldn’t hate him. But he wasn’t a good person, so Sunny thought that was enough reason to exclude himself from that rule.

His mother walked over to the table Sunny was seated at, kissing his forehead as she made her way to the chair next to him and slid the two plates she had in tow onto the table. One for Sunny and one for her. He wasn’t used to eating at the table, unused to having company whilst eating. Unused to the idea of celebrating his birthday in a house that lacked the warmth his old one had years ago.

Unused to the hole in his heart, despite the fact that it had been 5 years, that time marched forwards, it continued to do so and that he should move on too, as he beheld the other end of the table, two seats that would never be filled. Empty. His fault. All his fault.

A warm arm slid across his shoulders, and the scent of his mother’s perfume encased him as he leaned into her embrace. She rubbed his back soothingly, as if he were a child in need of comforting. “I know, sweetie, I know.” His mother repeated over again, leaning her head on his shoulder. Sunny felt the knot in his stomach loosen a bit, if not completely. His mother lifted her head up, silver lining her eyes. “Happy birthday, Sunny.” Sunny nodded, his throat suddenly thick, as he beheld the food in front of him. It looked like some sort of fried rice, the vegetables barely recognisable with how finely chopped they were. It looked as though his mom put a lot of effort into it.

His mother got up as Sunny began eating, and he noticed that she hadn’t yet touched her food.

Sunny quickly finished his breakfast, and made his way to the bathroom to brush his teeth and change his eyepatch, choosing one with a little flower on it that Basil had gifted to him some time back.
He contemplated brushing his hair, but decided that it looked perfectly fine as it was, and headed to his room to collect his bags. His friends, mostly Kel and Aubrey, had decided to plan a camping trip in the summer holidays and have a picnic there too, and agreed that the summer holidays was the perfect time to do it. They’d informed Sunny about this before, but what they’d failed to mention was that it would happen on Sunny’s birthday. Not that he minded spending his birthday with the friends he hurt so much, but he minded spending his birthday with the friends he hurt so much.

Well, if it made them happy, he couldn’t decline. And he couldn’t lie; he was kind of excited. So not seeing anything to complain about, he agreed wholeheartedly. He checked the clock in his room. It was 9:40 am, and they’d said they’d come around 9:45 am to pick him up for the camping trip. That being said, he hadn’t asked them where exactly-

The doorbell rang, and Sunny’s mother called out from downstairs, “Sunny! Answer the door, its probably your friends outside.”

Well, speak of the devil. Devils. Whatever. The way they all schemed this together behind his back made them all count as a single entity. Despite himself, Sunny giggled under his breath.

Sunny practically bounced down the staircase and leapt towards the door. They came, they had come, they didn’t hate him, they didn’t or they wouldn’t have arrived at all. He swung the door open, coming face to face with a smiling Hero. Behind Hero, his car was packed with bags on top, and inside the car…

His friends, beaming at him.

“Hey, Sunny! Wow, I don’t think I’ve seen you smile so widely before. Could this mean…” Hero tilted his head on mock curiosity, “that you missed me?” Sunny poked his tongue out at Hero, who winked as he said “Don’t worry, Sunny, I won’t tell anyone. Your secret’s safe with me. Wouldn’t want you to feel scandalised, now would we?”

Sunny smiled slightly, despite the heavily unfounded accusations Hero placed on him. He lifted his bag up, which Hero hurriedly grabbed from him and heaved it over a shoulder. Sunny didn’t know whether to feel grateful or embarrassed.

“Now, Sunny, have you packed sunscreen? Water? Bug spray? Hopefully plenty of bug spray?” Sunny nodded, making his way to the car, where Kel could be seen with his face smooshed against the window. His breath created condensation on the window, before he was yanked backwards, probably by Basil or more like Aubrey. Sunny shook his head, noting that the front seat was the only one not taken yet.

“We all decided that since you’re the birthday boy, you should get to take shotgun.” Sunny smiled, but he really didn’t mind sitting anywhere. It was nice, though.

He opened the car door, almost flinching as Basil, Aubrey and Kel shouted a very loud “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” and burst into varying volumes of laughter. Hero frowned disapprovingly, before his expression dissolved into one of mirth. “Happy birthday Sunny.” He said. Sunny smiled. At least someone knew how to send birthday wishes. The others didn’t even have the shame to look sorry, although Basil managed a sheepish grin. Aubrey bounced out the door, enveloping Sunny in a hug unexpectedly.

“Happy birthday, Sunny.” She said again, smiling widely. “It’s been literal ages! Have you been eating more? Getting enough sun? You promised.” Sunny stood there, in mild shock, before nodding his head slowly. His ears felt like they were on fire, and he was suddenly very glad his hair covered them.

As Sunny and Aubrey made their way back into the car, Basil had the most smug, shit-eating grin on his face. Sunny narrowed his eye at him, and Basil’s grin stretched even further.

“Aw, come on! I want to give Sunny a hug too! Herooooooooooo…” Kel whined as Hero hopped in, having placed Sunny’s bag on top of the car and strapped it in.
“Don’t worry Kel, you’ll get your turn giving Sunny his birthday hug when we get to the camping spot.” That didn’t seem to appease Kel as Hero started the ignition.

“But Aubrey got to give Sunny a hug. What is this, favouritism?” Kel exclaimed, crossing his arms childishly, but there was a smile playing about his lips that suggested he wasn’t nearly as mad as he made himself out to be. Aubrey leaned from across Basil, who was seated in the middle, to give Kel a slap on the arm.

“If this were about favorites, I’m not surprised I got chosen over you.” Aubrey teased. Kel opened his mouth to retort, but was cut off by Hero turning around to give the two of them a mighty glare, silencing them both. For now.

Basil hurried to change the topic towards something less…volatile. “Can you believe it? Sunny’s 17! I mean, he isn’t that much younger than everyone here, but he always did feel like sort of the baby here.” Basil chuckled as Sunny swivelled around in his seat to grace Basil with the most deadly glare he could muster at the moment.

“Yeah! Mannnn, sweet 17. 4 more years before he can drink at a nightclub.” Kel said, frowning slightly when Basil and Aubrey turned towards him, and even Hero looked at him in the rear view mirror. “What?” Kel questioned. “Isn’t that the only reason why people look forward to birthdays when they’re no longer kids?”

“No, no, he has a point.” Aubrey chirped. Sunny reached into the small bag he held in front of him, taking out his sketchbook and pencils. He placed a pencil onto the paper just as Hero drove over a large pothole. There was no way Sunny’d be able to draw in this car. He sighed as he put the book and pencils back into his bag. Maybe he’d be able to draw better when he got to the camping site. Speaking of…

“Where are we going?” Sunny asked, his voice soft. The three teens at the back went silent. Hero grinned.

“Well, that’s sort of the surprise, isn’t it, Sunny?” Sunny pouted, and Hero burst out laughing. Sunny mimed a watch on his wrist, wearing what could best be described as a disgruntled expression.

“It isn’t that far from here,” Hero said, and Sunny’s heart lifted with relief. “It’s about a 2 hour drive.” Sunny’s mouth dropped, and a camera flash could be heard. Sunny turned to face the trio at the back, giggling and holding back stifled laughter, their eyes twinkling like the gremlins they were.

Sunny sighed, and turned around. Well, if the trip was going to take that long, he certainly wasn’t going to waste any time. He would have slept in today if it weren’t for the camping trip preparations making him wake at 7 am.

Angling his head comfortably against the headrest, Sunny leaned back, holding the small bag against himself, and let the warm morning sun and the motion of the car driving across the slightly lumpy road lull him into a light doze.

Chapter Text

“Yo, Sunny!” A finger poked at his cheek, jiggling it slightly. “Hey guys, look! He’s literally drooling.” Kel shouted, turning away from Sunny.

Sunny wearily slapped Kel’s hand away.

“Hmmm…’M not drooling.” He muttered, opening his eyes slightly, and startled at Kel’s face, which was virtually two inches from his own. Sunny debated slapping him again, if only to get Kel to understand the concept of personal space. He’d probably be doing him a mild favour.

“Oh, good, you’re awake! Hero and the others and setting the tent up, and they sent me to get you. Man, you sleep like the dead, Sunny.” Kel moved out of Sunny’s face, pointing towards where the others were trying, and failing, to set up a tent.

Of course, he was really good at sleeping. He’d had four years to practice, after all. His eye trailed over to where the rest of his friends were. Hero had flipped his phone out, probably to look up “how to set up a tent”. Sunny let out a small smile, almost unnoticeable, his lips tilting a fraction upwards. Kel followed his gaze, where Basil and Aubrey were arguing over something. Well, Aubrey was positively fuming, while Basil stood to her side, gazing intently at the tent as if it held all the secrets of the world.

Kel moved out of the way as Sunny climbed out of the car and beheld the scene in front of him. The trees loomed far above his head, an intertwining network of leaves and branches forming a net above their heads, letting in streaming rivulets of sunlight through the gaps. There were golden flowers scattered around their feet, rocks and pebbles lying about, and through them was a path. Sunny’s eye followed the path in front of them, and he looked up.

A large hill rose up from the ground, so out of place, taking Sunny’s breath away. He exhaled loudly. They were camping at a freaking mountain? Granted, it wasn’t really that huge, but still. Sunny heard leaves crunching under feet as Kel strolled up to him.

“Pretty neat, huh? It’s kind of a disappointing size, you know, for a mountain, but it’s the only one anywhere nearby for hundreds of miles. The camping trip wasn’t all my idea, but this place definitely was!” Kel beamed at Sunny, slapping him on the back as he made his way to Hero and their friends.

Sunny made his way over to join the others, trying to look over Hero’s shoulder to see what he was looking up. Hero glanced over at him, before smiling widely.

“Sunny! Good to see you up. Did you have a good rest?” Sunny nodded. “We didn’t want to wake you up, seeing as you were sleeping so soundly, and I wanted to at least set this tent up before we did wake you up. I guess Kel woke you up?” Another nod. “Alright!”

“Where are we?” Sunny questioned. Hero frowned at his phone, while answering.

“Well, we’re currently at Ebott Camping Grounds, at Mt.Ebott. It’s pretty quiet right now, which is good. Less noisy campers to deal with.” Sunny nodded. Mt.Ebott, huh? He’d heard of the mountain several times, mostly on weird conspiracy internet forums, and whispers from the younger kids at his school. It seemed like a normal mountain though, albeit, as Kel said, being a disappointing size.

Basil and Aubrey were still hovering over the tent, not having noticed Sunny’s arrival. He carefully, quietly stalked his way towards them, hoping the mild breeze blowing would disguise any footsteps he made. As he approached, he could hear snippets of conversation.

“- and that thingymabobymajig probably goes into that flibbityjack.”

“Aubrey, what are you talking about?”

“I don’t know, where the hell is Hero, anyways?”

“I don’t know- oh! I think that this little rope goes through the hook…and…Yeah, I’m not sure what to do-”

Sunny was right behind them now. He clamped a hand on each of their shoulders and yelled

“Boo!” as loud. Which, granted, wasn’t very loud, but it did the trick.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!?!?!?!?!?!”

“SUNNY?!?!”

Aubrey spun around in surprise, her eyes wild. Poor Basil, on the other hand, had landed on a nearby patch of flowers.

“Please…never…ever…do that again…Sunny…” He said, in between gasps. Aubrey laughed, lending a hand to help Basil up. Basil hesitated a moment, as if testing the authenticity of her aid, before deciding he didn’t care if he tumbled to the ground again, grabbing her hand.

“Revenge.” Sunny said simply, and Basil smiled reluctantly, shaking his head slightly.

“Guess I did have that coming. Probably.” Aubrey looked between the two boys in confusion, before kicking the broken tent at her feet. “Sunny, did Hero have any idea how to set this garbage up?” Sunny shook his head, staring despondently at the tent.

“Guys! I found a tutorial for this exact brand of tent!!” Kel ran over to them, holding Hero’s phone in hand. Hero trailed behind him, looking disgruntled and holding a palm to his face.

“I swear, I’ve been looking for a tutorial for ages, and Kel finds it in a matter of seconds.” Kel grins, running over to the tent, clearly emboldened by his small victory. The others step back and watch as Kel attempts to fix the tent up.

“So,” Basil begins, holding up a shiny digital camera, “my parents bought a new camera for me, which is just as well because the quality on my old Polaroid wasn’t as great. Seeing as we’re out in the great outdoors, it’s like the greatest opportunity to take photos. See, I’ve already taken some.” Aubrey and Sunny lean over either side of Basil to look at the photos.

Basil had indeed taken a few photos, mostly of the varying flora scattered around them, as well as coughing Hero’s expression as he frantically looked up tent tutorials. Sunny let out a small grin at his face. Hero did look rather constipated.

“Alright! The tent is up guys! It’s actually pretty simple.” Kel called out, his head poking out from inside the tent.

“HOW? THE TENT IS HUGE?” Aubrey questioned, a shocked expression on her face. Kel dusted himself off as he got up, his smile stretching.

“A magician never reveals his secret!” He winked at the others, before walking around the perimeter of the tent to survey his work.

“Well, it's almost noon, guys. Since the tent’s up now, why don’t you guys explore around? I’ll set up the picnic mat.” Hero offered, checking his watch. “Unless...do you want to eat now or la-”

“LATER!” Kel and Aubrey shouted unanimously, Basil mumbling a quiet agreement under his breath. Sunny, frowning at the realisation that Hero wasn’t joining them, tugged on his arm and huffed. Hero looked down in amusement.

“Well, according to Mr. Birthday Boy here, I’ll be coming along too. Just don’t blame me when your food takes a while to prep when we come back.

“So! We’re climbing up this mountain, huh? I guess there’s going to be a bunch of photo opportunities there, Basil.” Aubrey nudged the flower boy in the side, who was fiddling with his new camera.

“Y-yeah! There’s plenty of scenic places you could pose in, and I’m sure they’d make memorable additions to my memory album.” Basil smiled softly. “I bet the view would be much prettier further up.”

Kel clapped his hands impatiently. “It’s gonna be late afternoon by the time we start. Let’s go, people!”

“Hold up, Kel. We need to set some ground rules first.” Hero broke in, ever the voice of reason. Sunny stared off into the distance, watching the wind swirl playfully in the leaves, the rustling sounds the branches made as they brushed and bristled across each other. Mt.Ebott, huh? It sounded interesting. Just like one of those adventures he’d spend years dreaming of.

“- and rule number seven, don’t climb where the rock may look unstable. It’s a pretty small hill, but it’s still pretty steep, so don’t risk it, alright?”

The others murmured their agreement, and Sunny found himself nodding along. He hadn’t been paying attention, to be honest, but then the rules were probably basic common sense.

“Alrighty, let’s go!” Hero led the front while the others followed behind, at least for the first few minutes. There seemed to be a path leading up the mountain, although old and evidently not well-maintained. Weeds overtook the path in places, the trees overhanging their route up. Birds tweeted as the sun was momentarily covered by clouds and the trees shielded them from its glare, basking them in shadow for moments at a time. It wasn’t long before Kel and Aubrey took up front, while Basil slid next to Sunny.

“Hey, Sunny. How have things been going? Enjoying your birthday?” Basil locked eyes with Sunny, who nodded. He smiled. “That’s good to hear. Say, it’s really pretty here, isn’t it? The flowers here seem wild and untamed, but that just adds to their beauty, don’t you think?” Sunny glanced at the flowers, bright and yellow. He wondered if they’d taste like lemon, before mentally facepalming himself. He nodded, as Basil’s smile widened briefly and he looked forward, most likely lost in thought.

“Hey, guys. I think we should be heading back soon. It’s almost been an hour.” Hero suggested. Kel looked back, the expression on his face almost scandalised.

“Please, Hero? We’re not that far from the top, and besides, we’ve got plenty of time. I want to reach the top and earn the Dragon Warrior name.” Sunny snorted, while Aubrey slapped Kel hard on the back.

“You idiot. You never grow up, do you? Ugh.”

“Hey!, Not my problem if you can’t even appreciate good cartoons. You clearly have no taste.” Kel shook his head in mock, exaggerated dismay.

“You little-”

“Guys. Stop fighting.” Hero had reached up to them, attempting to put an end to the fight before it escalated. Basil chuckled before looking back at Sunny.

“Some people never change, huh?” Sunny smiled and shook his head.

“HEY, GUYS, THERE’S THIS REALLY LARGE CAVE LOOKING HOLE HERE!” Kel’s shouts made Sunny’s attention snap to where Kel was. As Kel had stated, there was a large hole in the ground, but slanted at the angle the mountain side was inclined at, so it looked a bit like a cave entrance.

“We should totally go in it.” Aubrey put out. Hero’s gaze snapped towards her. “No. Absolutely not.”

“Then why don’t we climb around it?” Kel asked. “I wanna reach the mountain topppppp.”

“Me too.” Basil piped up. Sunny nodded his head in agreement. Hero pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Fine. Alright then. Let’s go.”

“AYYYYYYYYY!” Aubrey and Kel shouted, Kel jumping up and down and sending rocks flying out to where Basil and Sunny were standing. Kel scrambled up and around the cave opening, finding handholds relatively easily.

“You’re literally a monkey, Kel. Pfft, smell like one too.” Aubrey taunted.

“Do not!”
“Do too!”
Hero sighed as he began climbing after Kel, followed by Aubrey. Basil hesitated, waiting after Sunny.

“Sunny... are you sure you want to do this? Aren’t you afraid of heights?” Basil asked, concern written all over his features. Sunny took a deep breath, shaking his head. He wasn’t scared.

Basil smiled, a glint of excitement in his eyes. “Alright then! After you?” Sunny nodded, and strode forward, surveying the tangles of roots and leaves and trunks that hung over the cave(?) opening.

He grabbed a sturdy looking root, and lifted himself upwards, making his way slowly, rock by rock, towards his friends waiting above him. He looked down towards Basil reassuring smile, who was giving Sunny an enthusiastic thumbs-up. Sunny looked back at the roots he was climbing up, and his eye caught something scuttling amongst the handholds the landscape provided.

Sunny stared at its unflinching gaze all eight of its eyes returned, before he gasped and scrambled away from the rock. Perhaps he wasn’t as brave as he thought he was.

The rocks felt slippery under his sweaty palms, as he made his way down from the overhang. Away. Away from that eight-legged monster.

“Sunny?! What are you doing??”

“SUNNY? WATCH WHERE YOU’RE GOING!”

“What’s wrong??!”

His foot slipped from the foothold. The wind whipped around him, the steady breeze suddenly a threat to his safety, to his ability to cling to the rockface any further. His heart pounded in his chest, the beats loud and echoing in his ears.

“Sunny!” Basil shouted from below him. “Slow down, calm down! You’re going to fall!! Be careful, Sunny!” He pleaded.

Sunny, trembling as he was, did as he was told. But fate clearly had other plans.

The foothold crumbled from under his feet, the sudden lurching in his stomach and aching in his fingers telling him that this was it, he couldn’t hold on, and he really was going to fall and die on this mountain. Well, in the mountain, but semantics.

Panic gnawed at his mind as small rocks fell from around him and into the hole below.

Don’t look down don’t look down don’t look down

Four fingers. Three, two, too fast-

The wind rushed around him, the air ripped from his lungs in a hoarse cry as fear gripped him wholly in its palm, the sensation of something almost fluid encased him momentarily and he knew he was going to-

“Got you!” A hand gripped his arm, and Sunny’s chest slammed into the rockface, and a burst of pain had Sunny wincing. He couldn’t make out who had grabbed him, the sky above unnervingly bright against his eyes. He felt someone tugging him upwards, before the sensation of his head being slammed into a brick wall made him yell out.

“What’s happening??! Why can’t I- Aargh! I can’t hold- Sunny! Are you okay??? What was that?” Basil. Sunny recognised the voice somewhere through the haze of pain he was feeling.

“Guys, I don’t think- Argh, ow. I don’t think I can hold on for much longer-”

Before Sunny felt the air rush past him in a flurry once more, the figure of his friend above him a stark, shadowy silhouette against the unnaturally bright white of the sky above. He felt like a leaf caught in a ferocious, fierce wind, his surroundings a blur of rock and vines. His mind raced, but there was nothing he could do, at the mercy of gravity he was.

The ground rushed too fast, too close, the world seeming to zoom in and out at weird angles. He thought he could hear Basil’s screams above him, as he braced for the impact.

The last thing he sensed was the feeling of soft petals against his face before everything went black.

Chapter Text

I’m not updating this fic anymore. If you want more information, please read the latest “chapter” of my other fic, And The Sun Shone Again. I’ve written a message there, and I don’t want to repeat myself lol. Sorry.