Chapter Text
Living with money-hungry, selfish parents who cared more about their work than their own children, meant Basil had to take breaks very often. Being pushed wasn't easy; having secondhand expectations made him feel like his parents had already half given up on him from the moment he was born.
Living in the city made everything far worse. Everything was far away, so they made sure he got his driver's licence the moment he was old enough, and constantly pushed him to get a job, which only made him want one less, though he obliged, afraid to disobey his parents, and found himself with a part-time job at a small café. He didn't mind it, and liked having his own income that he felt he had truly earnt, but he didn't really care for it otherwise. At least it meant he was able to save up and afford to refuel regularly, leading to trips like these.
Trips like these, where he found himself alone in the woods yet again, ready to set up the small tent he had brought - it was the only one he could afford - and start preparing for the night. Camping was one of Basil's favourite things to do when he wanted to escape from his parents, especially now that he was an adult and they couldn't exactly say no. They constantly pushed him to look into his own housing, anyway, so he was sure they could deal with him being out camping for a little while.
Besides, nature was where Basil found his peace. When he wasn't studying whatever his parents forced onto him, he found he genuinely had a passion for learning; it simply only applied to subjects he actually cared about. Psychology was not one of those subjects. But, hidden in boxes beneath his bed, he had countless books on botany, horticulture, even the symbolism of flowers. Anything related to flowers made his heart feel full in a way he hadn't felt before, or at least not recently. It made him feel a joy he only got to experience when he would visit his grandmother, who would let him help out with her garden, and then show him all the best ways she could prepare tofu, and he had to admit, there wasn't a single dish she had prepared that he hadn't completely devoured. The love and passion Basil's grandmother put into every part of life inspired him much more than takeout and ready-made meals that only required microwaving. Sure, his parents were successful. But their life lacked any heart, and camping in the forests in the middle of nowhere was the closest thing Basil had to visiting his grandmother. Of course, he could always just… visit her. But Basil wasn't convinced he would be able to leave if he did.
He had driven for hours to get here, out of the city, into the vast forest away from home. He hesitated to bring out all of his camping equipment, knowing it was going to be exhausting to put together alone, and decided to check out the area first. Maybe a leisurely stroll to clear his mind and hunt for some plants to identify could help him. He found himself by a lake, but froze up when he realised he wasn't alone.
A boy, with dark hair who looked small and malnourished, had his back to Basil. Beside him was a plain black backpack, and across his knees rested a sketchbook, where he seemed to be drawing the view of the lake. It was only a pencil sketch, but Basil was impressed. He was shy, but this boy looked like he might be lost, or need help, and he seemed so small-
At least, he had thought he was small, perhaps even a young teenager, but as Basil inched closer he realised the boy seemed to be about his age. Before Basil could speak, the other boy's head whipped around, panic in his eyes.
“U-Um, hey, are you… Are you all right?” He asked gently, his hands raised, trying to show he didn't have any weapons or mean any harm.
“Please don't hurt me!” The boy blurted out, but his voice was scratchy and quiet. Basil noticed how terrible the boy looked.
“I'm not going to hurt you,” he soothed. “You just… I don't normally see anyone out here. And you seemed like you m-might need some help.”
The boy seemed to relax, but only slightly. His guard was still visibly up. It was then that Basil began to realise that he seemed familiar.
The dark haired boy shook his head profusely. ”I'm fine. Leave me. You didn't see me here.”
Basil raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. “Wait… I know you! I saw your picture in the newspaper.” At that, the boy’s eyes widened. “You ran away from home, right? What was it… Is your name, um, Sunny?”
The boy didn't seem interested in sticking around to chat, as he scrambled to his feet and bolted past Basil, catching him off guard completely.
“H-Hey, please wait!” He called, but it was unnecessary. Sunny tripped, a pained noise escaping his lips as his body landed in the dirt. Basil didn't run to catch up, but walked calmly, and Sunny didn't make much effort to get up, so Basil crouched beside him. Sunny's stomach audibly rumbled, and Basil's expression softened.
“You must be starving,” he murmured.
“Please don't call the police.”
“I'm not calling them,” Basil defended, then reached out his hand for the boy to take. “Come on, let's go get something to eat.”
And to his surprise, the frightened boy accepted his hand with wide eyes.
Behind the wheel, Basil tried to remain quiet, hoping not to be too pushy if he did ask questions, but also afraid of scaring Sunny away. He wasn't that dumb, even if he had taken pity on the starving boy. He knew that he could be dangerous, since the police hadn't given many details on why they were searching for him, but he seemed next to harmless in this state. He flicked on the radio, hoping to fill the uncomfortable silence, but nothing seemed to change. Every time he glanced over, Sunny's hands were folded neatly in his lap, his gaze unfaltering and directed at the floor.
“So… Sunny, right? You really are the, um, runaway?”
He nodded slowly, and Basil could only barely tell he had moved at all.
“Is there… Is there a reason?”
“I didn't do it,” Sunny whispered helplessly. “I didn't… mean to.”
“You didn't do what?” Basil glanced over, to find Sunny finally meeting his eyes, but he looked terrified, and Basil couldn't help but pity him more. “L-Look, everything is going to be okay. Let's just, go and get you some food and water, and then you can tell me about it if you need, okay? I could… I could drive you back home, if you wanted.”
“No,” Sunny said quickly. “I can't go back.”
“Okay,” Basil replied simply.
He continued driving, and Sunny continued to sit in silence, until eventually they reached a small diner. Basil remembered passing it on the way to the forest, and decided it looked acceptable. He parked, got out, and waited, half expecting Sunny to run away again. But he just got out like it was the most normal thing in the world, and waited for Basil to do something, watching silently.
“Okay, um… Let's go in and sit down. You can order whatever you want, okay?”
Sunny nodded, so Basil shrugged and headed in.
After waiting for a while, a charismatic waiter approached their booth to take their orders. But Sunny didn't speak.
“Hey,” Basil said softly. “I'm paying, so don't worry about prices. Just choose whatever you like.”
Still, Sunny didn't speak, though he met Basil's eyes and looked down at the menu again, before finally pointing at something on it that Basil couldn't read from where he sat. The waiter moved to see what Sunny was pointing at before scribbling something down.
“Perfect, and anything to drink today?”
Sunny pointed at something else, which Basil could see was in the ‘Milkshakes’ section of the menu. He cleared his throat.
“M-Make that two, please. Could we also get some water with that?”
“Of course,” the waiter said with a winning smile, scribbling in his notebook some more before hurrying back behind the counter.
Basil still felt wary of Sunny, even more now that Sunny seemed so defensive about… something. It was giving Basil a bad feeling that he couldn't fully understand yet. He didn't know what Sunny might have done, he had only barely skimmed the article with his picture in it. All he remembered was that Sunny was apparently missing and the police were looking for him to do a well-being check, or something along those lines… Basil had made a mental note to keep an eye out, and it had stuck out to him that Sunny was apparently from Faraway Town - the very same town Basil's grandmother lived in. He just wished he had paid a little more attention before, because now he had no idea whether he was dealing with a teenage runaway in a mental health crisis, or a cold-blooded murderer. Part of him wanted to excuse himself to the bathroom and call the cops right there and then, but Sunny met his eyes, and… He just couldn't. There was no way this sickly boy was capable of that… Basil decided to believe he was a good enough judge of character to be sure of that. So, against his better judgement, he decided he wouldn't turn Sunny in. He would just… make sure he was fed, and could get by safely, then leave him somewhere safe. Sunny had said he couldn't go back home, so maybe home wasn't a safe place for him.
“Can I ask, um, Sunny,” Basil started, “how old are you?”
Sunny hesitated, looking up through his lashes. “Seventeen,” he croaked shyly.
So he was only a year younger than Basil. Wait, would Basil get in trouble for helping him, being an adult himself?
“When's your birthday?”
“July.”
Basil breathed a sigh of relief. “So you're turning eighteen in less than a month,” he noted. “You know, I'm pretty sure you can legally run away when you're eighteen.”
“...Didn't have a choice.” Sunny looked away, just in time for the waiter to return with a tray. He unloaded two chocolate milkshakes with generous amounts of whipped cream on top, accompanied by a bottle of water and two empty glasses.
“Here we are, and the food shouldn't be too long. Thanks for your patience!”
“Thank you,” Basil gave a slight nod and waited until he left before turning back to the milkshake before him. Chocolate was acceptable. Wouldn't be his first choice, certainly, but not his last, either. Sunny was quick to start on his own milkshake, and Basil wasn't too surprised with how quickly he had downed half of the drink.
“Please have some water too,” Basil suggested gently. “Or at least refill your drink bottle, if you have one.”
Sunny shook his head. “Didn't bring one.”
Basil frowned. “Were you not planning to leave?”
“...Don’t want to talk about it.”
“Oh- of course, s-sorry. I didn't mean to push you.”
“S’okay.”
When their food arrived, Sunny had already finished his milkshake, while Basil had hardly had a quarter of his own. He looked down at the salad before him, then across at the omelette Sunny had ordered. He was glad Sunny had chosen something reasonable, considering it was possible he hadn't eaten proper food for days. He had already been missing for a week, or at least, Basil was pretty sure he had read the article about him a week ago. It could have been longer, even.
“When did you last eat?” Basil asked.
Sunny just shrugged.
“Do you… not remember?”
“...I found some blackberries the day before yesterday.”
“B-But you haven't had anything since then?! And you've been travelling with no water?”
Once more, Sunny shrugged, seeming completely oblivious to how bad that was for his body. “I was near the lake.”
“But that's- you can't be sure if that's even drinkable water, I mean-” Basil could hardly put a sentence together, feeling bewildered by Sunny's choices. He just sighed. “Do you… Do you have a destination?”
Sunny shook his head. “Just laying low until I can legally disappear, I guess.”
With a frown, Basil sighed again. “Okay. Th-then… Please stay with me until then, all right? I'll at least teach you what you can and can't eat in the forest.”
Sunny raised an eyebrow. “...Promise you won't turn me in?”
Basil wasn't sure why he was offering to help. He wasn't sure why he would make such a promise, or why he had even taken pity on this boy in the first place. Yet…
He took a deep breath, holding his hand out to Sunny, his pinky finger extended. Sunny stared at it for a moment, then interlocked his own pinky with Basil's.
“I promise,” Basil breathed.
For the first time, Sunny smiled at him.