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It was blazing hot outside in Faraway. Every single street was deserted, everyone was stuck inside their home – except one bubblegum-haired girl.
Aubrey was laying under the shadow of a tree at the park. Of course she was alone, who in their right mind would ever hang out outside in a time like this? She pulled out her phone – battery died. She looked at her surroundings, not a single one of her friends in sight.
She let a long, annoyed groan slip out of her throat. Man that was unbearable, and even this itself is the understatement of the century.
Aubrey sat up, putting an abnormal amount of effort to do so. “Man, fuck this. I’m going to see Sunny.” And so she was off. Was that her best option considering Kel’s family has got the AC? Sure she fucking loves air conditioning especially given the current weather, but she got the opportunity to use that heat wave as an excuse to visit her boyfriend ; was she letting that chance slip away? Like hell she was.
Aubrey sighed one last time, silently praying someone would get the door.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
She waited a few seconds.
“Coming!”
That faint shout in the distance? Oh that relieved Aubrey so much. Maybe this day wouldn’t be that bad after all.
The door opened slowly to an exhausted Sunny, a towel around his neck. He processed Aubrey’s presence for a second before jumping slightly in surprise.
“Aubrey??”
“Sunny, summer is a hate crime.”
Sunny chuckled at that, her way of complaining was always at the next level.
“Do you need anything, honey?”
“Huh… do you have ice cream by any chance?”
“Oh that we have. Mari bought a truckload. It's almost terrifying.”
Aubrey smiled at that. She felt like she was home right now. Looking around the living room as she lazed on the couch just filled her with a sense of warmth – though warmth in this scenario would be gladly avoided.
“Here you go, Aubs’.”
“Ooh, thanks!” Aubrey took the ice cream offered by Sunny in her hand. That feeling of cold felt like a gift of the gods. She sighed in relief before unwrapping it and starting to eat.
“So Aubrey… What brought you here?”
“Hum… My mom’s house’s shitty isolation I presume?”
Sunny squinted at her girlfriend with a hint of tease. “Bullshit.”
“What? It’s true!”
“Kel and Hero got the AC. I do not.”
Aubrey sighed again, she had been caught. But seriously, could Sunny blame her? She decided to push the tease a little.
“Fair. But what, is having your girlfriend over a problem?”
Sunny’s eyes went wide open. Completely caught off guard. “N- no! I didn’t say that!”
“I can leave if… you know, if I’m bothering you~”
“I’m willing to trap you in a hug in order to keep you away from that door.” Sunny responded, which made Aubrey blush. “Yes, even given the heat.” He added with a confident nod.
“Hey! You lovebirds over there!”
Both culprits jumped at Mari’s teasing. They sat up and turned to the source of it, eyes landing on the grinning face of Sunny’s sister.
“H- how long have you been listening?” Aubrey managed to mutter out through her flustered state.
“Hmm… long enough to figure out you two would start making out on the couch so I had to intervene.” Mari’s expression became even more smug. It was second nature to her after all.
“Sh- shut up!” Aubrey answered, embarrassed as she hid her face with her hands which made Mari chuckle.
“Well, since we’re just drowning in the heat, do you guys wanna go to Hero’s? They’ve got the AC!” She added the last part with a hint of glee as she grabbed her bag, walking toward the front door.
“Yeah and they’ve got Hero.” Sunny retorted with the same amount of tease. Damn, Sunny took a lot from her sister. Aubrey thought,
And this sentence did not fail to embarrass her big sister. But who would Mari be if she let herself lost a battle of teasing.
“Oh yeah, well why do you think Aubrey came to your place?” That taunt hoisted yet another blush from both Sunny and Aubrey, much to Mari’s pleasure.
“Alright alright, well I’m going.” Mari said as she waved her hand dismissively. “Basil is already there so if you two change your mind, you know where to find all of us.” Mari said as she walked toward the door and opened it; the heat from outside invading their house which made Aubrey groan. Mari turned around looking smug yet again, oh this was not gonna end well.
“And behave, you two. I don’t want any grandchildren, yet.” She added the emphasis on the last word. And with that, she left and closed the door just on time to avoid a barrage of pillows thrown her way.
“Goddammit! Can’t she shut up?!” Aubrey screamed as she desperately hid her face in one of the pillows that hadn’t been thrown toward the entrance. Sunny wasn’t doing any better himself. The both of them were a flustered mess to say the least.
“Though… She did make a valid point.” Sunny said shyly.
“WHAT? THE GRANDCHILDREN?!”
“N- NO!” Sunny blushed, he almost forgot about that… “I- I was talking about the fact that you came here for me… I kinda appreciate it…”
Aubrey’s face softened, she stood up from her couch and sat right next to Sunny. “Aww… You’re such a big softie but I’ll take it…” She said as she took her boyfriend in her arms.
“Aubrey… as much as I’d love to cuddle you for hours, aren’t we gonna melt? Apart from love, of course.”
“Jeez… How much did Mari teach you about teasing?!”
“A lot.” Sunny muttered, clearly enjoying the moment. “But hold up, I’ve got just the thing.”
Sunny plugged the fan in. And to their relief it powered on. Aubrey sighed, her voice slightly altered by the wind bursting straight toward her face. Her loose hair was flying back as if she was flying. Looks like she didn’t need the moon to be happy.
“Hey you goof, what are you gazin’ at? Come here.” Aubrey taunted as she saw her boyfriend’s gaze lingering a bit too long. Not that she minded.
Sunny chuckled and walked around the coffee table to the couch and sat right next to Aubrey, slumping against her shoulder and enjoying the breeze mixed with her sweet scent. “You’re right… This is bliss…”
The two of them enjoyed the bit of silence – which was of course half covered by the fan’s white noise – as they simply relaxed. But then, silence was broken by one of them.
“Hey Sun-Sun?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m happy I’m here right now…”
Sunny smiled at that, “Well I’m not the only sap around me, huh?~”
“Oh give me a break! I saw that face of yours when you opened the door.” She retorted with a grin. “But seriously… I had enough of rotting outside alone.”
Rotting outside? That surprised Sunny. If anything, one would rot inside their house, not outside, right? “But why didn’t you stay at your mom’s?” Sunny asked,
Aubrey sighed, seemed like she was in for another rant of hers. Not to her displeasure though, she had come to Sunny’s mostly for comfort rather than finding a cool place to stay. Although this was still better than just hanging out outside like a roasting chicken.
“Well you know how it is between my parents and I…?”
Sunny nodded, he could easily recall the countless times she talked about them whether it would be at the swings, or right at his place.
“...well I don’t know… Frankly I don’t really like staying at home if I can even call it that. Like the atmosphere always feels weird and stuffy – and if you add summer heat to the equation? Hell no, I couldn’t stay any longer.” Aubrey sighed before continuing. “And don’t get me wrong. It’s fucking hot outside and it feels like summer is a fucking hatecrime to humanity but honestly? I’m way more than fine staying here. Where I feel at home.”
That made Sunny smile. And as he turned around, he saw Aubrey’s eyes shining with unshed tears.
“Su- Sunny?”
“Shh… It’s alright I’m here, Aubs’... I’m not letting you down nor is anyone else.” Sunny muttered as he hugged his girlfriend tight. Which made Aubrey smile and shed a tear or two. Almost making both of them forget about the unbearable heat surrounding the house.
“Sunny?”
The raven-haired boy looked up. “Yes?”
“Do you think it would be alright if I-”
“Yes you can sleep here tonight, don’t even bother asking.” He answered with a smile
Aubrey giggled and leaned back against him, the atmosphere feeling even more comfortable than before.
Sunny looked at her and noticed the heat was getting to them again. “Aubs’, you want me to get you a drink?”
“Hm? Oh sure! What do you got?”
Sunny stood up from the couch and walked to the refrigerator, Aubrey following right behind. He proceeded to open it up, an amazing breeze of fresh air hitting their faces which made them sigh in unison.
“Sunny…?”
“No, we're not leaving the fridge open to cool down the house.”
“Aw…”
“Besides, mom would end me.” Sunny finished before digging through the bottom drawer containing the drinks. He chuckled to himself.
“What?”
“I’ve got orange joe if you want~”
Aubrey gagged comically at that. She had tried the evil concoction before but it was safe to say she did not like it. She wasn’t really sure how Kel could drink whatever that was and like it this much. “Oh hard pass. And why the fuck do you have that?”
“I don’t know… sometimes Kel hangs out at my house so I bought the fuel just in case.” Sunny added, “Oh, got it.” Sunny pulled two bottles of lemonade out from the fridge’s drawer before closing what gave them a cool breeze.
“Aww you could’ve left it open a bit longer…”
“Not a chance.” Sunny shook his head as he opened his own bottle before hearing the sound of a notification.
“Oh that was mine.” Sunny said, “could you check, please?”
Aubrey nodded, grabbing Sunny’s phone from the counter and checking the message, she sighed before reading it: “It’s from Mari. She said she's coming back, and hoped we behaved.” She muttered the last word and let it trail off though loud enough to be heard. Sunny’s tired groan was way well in her earshot which made her giggle. “Poor little boy.”
“As far as it is, you’re also concerned.” Sunny responded between sips of lemonade.
“Oh yeah?”
“The grandchildren joke.” He responded terrifyingly sternly, waving at her direction with his beverage in hand.
“SUNNY SHUT UP” Aubrey shouted as she closed his phone and blushed which made him laugh. Mari’s antics had clearly grown on her little brother and both of them noticed that.
“Now come on, I wanna chill on the couch with you for a bit before chaos resumes.” Sunny nodded, grabbed his drink and joined her on the couch yet again.
They both flopped back on the couch right in front of the humming fan and snuggled together. Their lemonade being the only thing keeping them somewhat cool along with the fan.
Aubrey sighed in relief “Ah… peace at las-” before being interrupted by the sound of chatter and keys turning “Fuck.”
“Oh Sunny! Aubrey! We’re here!” Mari shouted, hands full of grocery bags along with Hero following behind.
The black-haired girl dropped the bags on the table and pointed an accusatory finger at the couple. “Look at the lovebirds…” She added, Hero sighed with a sympathetic smile.
“You could’ve stayed out there a little longer…” Aubrey muttered, almost hiding behind Sunny’s shoulder out of embarrassment.
“Oh is that so?” Mari thought before realizing why and her grin did not reassure any of them, Hero included.
Looking all smug yet again, she kept her finger pointed at the couple and looked back at Hero “They wanted us out longer to do whatever they wanted, huh!” She said before looking back at Aubrey with the most menacing grin ever. “But don’t you dare think about it young lady. You’re gonna have to wait ‘till marriage~” Which made Aubrey groan in exasperation, cheeks bright red.
“OH I FUCKING HATE SUMMER”