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Sunny felt really frustrated. Today the new volume of the manga he’d been reading with all his friends was being released, Captain Spaceboy! Kel and Aubrey were so excited because the first 50 buyers would get a limited-edition poster, and they said they were going to keep it and treasure it forever.
They were probably wondering why he wasn’t at Hobbeez right now getting his poster too… but Mari had told him it was his turn to prepare lunch:spaghetti and meatballs.
He had complained and refused, but that only made Mari angrier. She threatened that if the spaghetti weren’t ready, she would tell Dad.
Sunny was scared of Mari when she was mad, and he hated confrontation, so he just obeyed and did the house chore that was assigned to him.
He let out a loud sigh, feeling like his head was boiling with frustration.
At least Basil decided to stay and help him. Sunny appreciated it, Basil wasn’t great at cooking either, but Sunny felt bad that now he wouldn’t get a poster either.
-“…”- Sunny glanced at him from the corner of his eye while they chopped on different cutting boards, Basil working on the onions and Sunny on the tomatoes, cutting them into tiny pieces-“…sorry”
-“Hm? Why are you apologizing, Sunny?”-Basil tilted his head, confused.
-“The poster. You won’t get one.”
-“Oh Sunny, it’s okay”- Basil paused his chopping for a moment to look at him-“I’d rather be here with you hehe~” he said brightly.
-“Hm? Why?”- Sunny stared at him confused.
-“Because… isn’t it fun to cook together?”- Basil’s cheeks reddened slightly as he let out a light giggle.
…Sunny wondered if maybe he was turning red because of the onions?
-“…”-Sunny only looked away with a slight frown.
-“Don’t be sad, Sunny. I’m sure they’ll release another poster someday, right?”- Basil tried to cheer him up as he finished chopping and mixed the onions with the ground meat in a bowl.
-“…ye maybe”- Sunny shrugged. He kind of wished he could always look on the bright side like Basil. He turned on the electric stove and placed a pan with oil on top. “Is this a good temperature?”
-“Yes! If you set it too high, the meat will splash”
-“…Hmm, I see. Then it’s better to keep it low”
They both continued preparing the meatballs in silence. Basil enjoyed Sunny’s company, but Sunny still felt upset.
Once the meatballs were done, they still had to make the sauce and the pasta. Basil decided to take care of the sauce since he wanted to leave the easier tasks for Sunny.
“So I just wait ten minutes and then drain the pasta?”
Basil hummed affirmatively while concentrating on making sure he didn’t add too much salt to the tomato sauce. But he still wasn’t convinced by the taste—something was missing… maybe
-“Gasp! I have an idea!” he smiled as he turned toward Sunny-“I’ll be right back! I have some bay leaves at home—they’ll be the perfect touch for the tomato sauce!”
-“Cool.” Sunny nodded as he sat down on the chair and started up a game on his Gamboy, continuing his Pokémon Ruby run.
-“Don’t forget to put the pasta in for only ten minutes! I’ll be right back!”
…
Sunny put the pasta in when the water boiled, then sat on the couch for a while, playing. At least this distracted him from the earlier sadness—the fun it would’ve been if all four of them got the poster. How excited Kel must be in the line right now, and Aubrey’s beautiful smile as she waited impatiently beside him…
A sharp pang hit his chest as he tried to disconnect from the thought, grinding levels on his Pokémon before entering the third gym.
…Thirty minutes passed.
Basil opened the door again, excited.
He had brought several leaves—some from his garden as well—to give to Sunny, Perhaps that cheered him up a little! Full of enthusiasm, he walked toward him.
-“Sunny, look! I brought a little more so you can keep some in the pantry!”
-“They look… really fresh?” Sunny knew they were different herbs, but to him they were all just leaves. Still, he had to admit they looked very green-“Thank you”
-“Hehe, don’t mention it”-He looked genuinely happy as he twisted his fingers together, glancing away shyly.
-“W-Well, now I just have to finish that sauce and then we can eat. I bet Mari will love the spaghetti we made together”
It was at this moment he knew, He f*cked up…
He felt the blood drain from his face.
The pasta.
No no no no…
-“Sunny?”
He ran to the kitchen, cursing in his mind.
The water had boiled over; not only was it overcooked—it had burned and stuck to the pot.
Shit.
Shit shit shit.
Mari was going to kill him. She would be back from her piano practice any minute.
-“Sunny, what’s wro—”
Basil froze when he saw Sunny trembling, staring at the burnt, mushy noodles.
-“…Oh. You didn’t take them out in time?”-Basil looked confused, as if he didn’t understand why Sunny was reacting so strongly.
He walked over and placed a hand on Sunny’s shoulder to calm him.
-“It’s okay, it’s not a big deal. Everyone makes mistakes.”-He gave him a reassuring smile.
-“Mari’s… Mari’s going to kill me”-Sunny looked at Basil with desperation, completely lost-“She’ll be here in a few minutes… she’ll tell Dad… and he’ll punish me.”-he said while sniffing through his watery nose.
-“…”
Only then did Basil understand how serious this was.
His grandmother had never been harsh when he made mistakes in the kitchen. He remembered confusing salt with sugar many times, and when the food turned sweet, she would just laugh and rub his back, saying it was fine.
But maybe it was different for Sunny.
He knew how strict Sunny’s parents could be sometimes…
Sunny didn’t deserve this. Anyone could make a mistake.
Would they yell at him for this?
Punish him by locking him in his room?...They had done it before, Sunny told him, it was the form of punishment that he hated the most because he was left alone while everyone else played outside.
-"NoNoNo Don’t worry, Sunny. I...I won’t let that happen”-Basil smiled, catching Sunny’s attention-
“I have an idea, But we need to hurry before Mari gets here. Don’t worry, everything will be okey”
“…Hmph”-Sunny only nodded, trusting Basil, while he quickly wiped away his tears, something Sunny found incredibly comforting.
The first thing Sunny did was put the burnt spaghetti into a black trash bag. If they threw it in the kitchen bin, Mari would notice the smell and see the pasta.
As for the pot, Basil scrubbed it with all his strength so no trace of soot remained, then filled it with water again to cook a new batch of noodles.
While they waited for the water to boil, he helped Sunny dig a small hole to temporarily bury the bag. Later in the afternoon, they would dispose of it in the garbage truck.
When they returned, they wiped the dirt off their hands and were just about to throw the noodles into the boiling water-
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
“Sunny, it’s me Mari. Open the door, now!”
Oh no. Mari sounded upset after her piano classes at school. She was always like that, so Sunny couldn’t help trembling the moment he heard her voice.
But suddenly, his hand was wrapped by another, held tightly.
“It’s okay, Sunny. Everything’s going to be okey”
They walked to the door together, still holding hands. When Mari remembered that Basil was there too, she calmed down a little and forced a smile.
“Oh my! I forgot Basil was here too. I’m sorry, hopefully my little brother didn’t give you too much trouble in the kitchen”
Sunny seemed to pale slightly, she was right… he had caused Basil so much trouble, even though Basil had helped him so much. The thought made his chest ache feeling the prickle of tears starting to pool in his eyes.
-“Not at all! Sunny was really helpful, and we had lots of fun!”-Basil spoke cheerfully while still holding Sunny’s hand.
'No matter what happens...We will always be there for each other', that’s what he thought, and Sunny understood as if he had spoken to him telepathically, That calmed him down, and the trembling and pain stopped.
-“ye Basil helped me a lot too"-He said, barely audible-"...just need to wait for the noodles to finish cooking”
-“They’re not done yet?!”
They both paled when she suddenly raised her voice and started questioning them. But the moment she saw them flinch in fear, she startled a little herself, realizing it had been unnecessary, she was just… stressed after those lessons.
-“W-Well, it doesn’t matter, but Mom and Dad will be home soon, so it’s time to set the table”-Mari ordered firmly, pointing toward the dining room.
-“Yes of course! Come on, Sunny, we just need to finish one last thing.”
-“…mmhmp”-Sunny’s tiny voice stammered as the two of them hurried back to the kitchen to finish cooking the new noodles properly.
While they walked, Sunny leaned close to Basil’s ear and whispered:“I bet she’s going to treat Hero the same way in the future… like her malewife, demanding lunch every day”
Basil couldn’t help releasing a small laugh he tried desperately to suppress so Mari wouldn’t notice.
-“Pfff S-Sunny you can’t say stuff like that ahaha”-Even so, he couldn’t stop smiling quietly as he laughed.
-“No distractions!”-Mari snapped slightly when she noticed Sunny was probably muttering about her.
-“Y-Yes!”
-“Hmph”-Sunny stuck his tongue out at her, grabbed Basil’s hand, and ran to the kitchen
which only made her even angrier.
…
Later that afternoon, while Mari was finishing her homework at her desk, Sunny and Basil took advantage of the moment to dig up the buried bag of burnt noodles and toss it into the garbage bin outside.
Sunny couldn’t help letting out a huge sigh of relief when he saw the garbage truck driving away with the bag in the fading evening light.
“Hehe… we barely made it, huh, Sunny?”
Sunny nodded, laughing a little too at their small mischief. He was relieved he wouldn’t be punished.
-“Thank you, Basil”-His voice was barely above a whisper. His lips curled into an indescribably adorable, radiant smile, filled with genuine gratitude. The moment Basil saw it, he couldn’t stop the flush rising to his cheeks, quickly trying to hide his face in his hands..
“N-No need to thank me… You know I’d do anything for you, Sunny”-Basil replied, relieved everything had turned out alright-“Now, do you want to go to hobbeez for the new Captain Space Boy volume? They might not have posters anymore, but reading it will still be fun, right?”
“—gasp I want to go!”
“Hehehe~”
'It’s always fun being with Sunny' Basil thought as they walked hand in hand to buy the new comic. They only needed one copy after all, they always ended up reading everything together anyway.
That evening, the two of them spent the rest of the day reading side by side.