Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

May 25, (Afternoon)

Sniffling and quiet weeping can be heard as Sunny entered his home, having just returned from School. He walks into the living room to find his mother deep in thought, watching old Soap Operas, an open bottle of wine, half-drunk, sat on the coffee table nearby, accompanied by an empty glass.

Starving, he walks into the kitchen, searching the fridge in hopes that there will be something prepared, something he can heat up, maybe even an already defrosted steak he can risk putting in the microwave.... nothing. This is the fourth time this week his mother has been too "busy" to make anything. On nights like these, Sunny, not wanting to bother his “poor mother”, would usually just heat up a slice of cheese pizza. Sadly, there's none left, he had finished it just the day prior and hadn't been able to purchase more recently due to his mother cutting his allowance.

Being left with no other option, Sunny builds up the courage to ask his mother about dinner. He walks back to the living room where she sits unblinking watching the TV. "Mom?" No reaction. "Mom?" Again nothing. He's forced to raise his voice to get her attention, something he's begun having to do much more frequently as of recent. "Mom!"

Sunny's mother jolts up, startled, finally snapping out of her trance. Before he can ask about dinner however, his mother raises a question of her own. "Oh... Sunny, you're home. How was Summer School?" She doesn't even look at him as she speaks, she just pours herself another glass and takes another sip as she stares blankly at the TV screen.

"It was fine," he responds in a monotone voice. A tone of voice his mother has begun to resent.

"Does that mean you got your school work done today?" she asks, her voice a bit shaky, as if at any moment she'll burst into tears.

Sunny thinks about how to respond for a moment, but knows there's no point in lying "No..."

His mother picks up the wine bottle itself this time and takes a long sip, her hand now visible shaking. She takes a moment to steady herself before speaking. "Okay… and how about your remedial classes?” she asks in slurred tone of voice.

Sunny stays silent, and that's enough of an answer for her. “That... That makes a week straight now you haven't done any work. Your counselor is going to make me hear it again…"

Hearing the disappointment in his mother's voice, Sunny shrinks back a bit. "I know, but I... School just-"

Sunny's mother finally turns to face him, cutting him off. "NO! IT'S NOT SCHOOL THAT'S THE PROBLEM, IT'S YOU! I LET YOU STAY HOME AND WHEN I DO YOU STILL DON'T DO ANYTHING!! ALL YOU DO IS SLEEP, AND WHEN YOU'RE NOT DOING THAT, YOU'RE DAYDREAMING!!!"

Sunny is taken aback by his mother's sudden outburst, tears beginning to stream from her eyes. She gets up from the couch and begins walking towards him, wine bottle in hand as she continues scolding him. Seeing this, Sunny begins to walk backwards towards the kitchen.

“I feed you, clothe you, put a roof over your head, you know this!” Her voice begins to crack as she speaks. “I give you whatever you want when I can. A Captain Spaceboy figure? Sure. New colored pencils? Fine! Sprout Mole Eater 12 or whatever number they’re on? YOU HAD IT THE DAY IT CAME OUT… And all I ask in return is for you to just pass.”

Sunny's face begins to go paler than usual. His legs quiver as his mother continues her approach. He keeps trying to back up, but soon finds himself trapped as he bumps into the kitchen counter. Being caught between the counter and his hysterical mother begins to stress him out.

She continues drunkenly swaying toward Sunny, berating him with every unbalanced step. “YOU’VE ALREADY FLUNKED TWICE! Already about to be eighteen and still a sophomore! And you’ll probably do it again! At this rate, you won’t even graduate on time. You’ll have to take GED classes like some… If Mari were here, she’d already be-"

At the mention of Mari, Sunny, now fully stressed out, reaches across the counter for something to defend himself with. In the heat of the moment, almost instinctively, he grabs a steak knife. With shaky hands, he raises it and points it at his mother, who is now just feet away from him, a wine bottle clutched in her hand.

Seeing the fear in her son's eyes, the way he shakily grips the blade to defend himself, she collapses to her knees in front of him. She tosses the bottle to the side and begins to break down crying. "I'm sorry Sunny... I'm so sorry for yelling at you..." She covers her face with her hands, her voice beginning to break. "I just want what's best for you. I want you to pass High-school and get a diploma like a normal child. I want you to be able to live a good long life with someone that loves you. Someone that won't leave you when things get hard... who won't leave you... who won't..."

Still on her knees, Sunny's mother leans forward and hugs her son's legs. She begins to cry, wailing like a banshee. "Please don't leave me too! You're all I have left! My only family... my one and only child!"

She screams and sobs into Sunny's pant leg, the wine clearly taking its toll on her. Sunny takes a deep breath to calm down. Back in a rational state of mind, Sunny realizes he’s still gripping the knife. He quickly tosses it back onto the counter in a panic, as if suddenly scared of its presence. With that done, he looks down at his mother holding onto him for dear life and begins to awkwardly pat her head in an attempt to soothe her. "It's okay, I'm right here. I'm sorry too... for not being like her..."

Hearing her son speak so little of himself, she begins to stand up to hold and reassure him. "No no no... it's okay, I know you'll get there eventually. And I'll take care of you until then. You'll live with me for as long as you need, okay? I-I didn't mean anything of what I said. You're a bright imaginative kid, you're just... special. All you have to do is keep being my son and I'll love you forever, okay?"

Sunny is a bit unsure of just how true the sincerity behind his mother's words are, but seeing that she's now calm, he decides not to question it. Sunny's mother lowers her voice to speak in an eerily loving tone. She leans down and practically whispers in her son’s ear, “Sunny... I love you…”

Those words accompanied by the sudden tightening of her hug, and the smell of alcohol on her breath make Sunny's blood run cold. He loves his mother, but he's afraid of just how unstable she's becoming. Her drinking has been getting worse and while she's never hit him before, he’s worried that she's one drunk night away from a swing of that wine bottle to his skull being the response to his failing classes.

Not wanting to upset his mother again, Sunny simply accepts the hug and tries not to let his nervousness show. "I... I love you too." With that, she lets go of Sunny and ruffles his hair before heading back to the couch to watch her Soap Operas.

"Would you mind cleaning up that wine I spilled, Sunny?" Not wanting any further confrontation, without another word, Sunny does as told. He picks up the wine bottle and mops up the mess before heading to his room. "Thank you, honey."

With those final words from his mother, Sunny shuts the door to his room and goes to bed.

May 26, (Night)

Later that night, Sunny wakes up to the feeling of his stomach growling. Because of his mother's outburst, he went to bed without any dinner. This isn't helped by the fact that he never gets lunch from school, the crowded lines and the scary looking Lunch Lady make sure of that.

He gets out of bed and heads to the kitchen for a late night snack. That's when he sees his mother passed out on the couch. Beside her on the coffee table is a fresh bottle of wine, and pictures from long ago. Back when they had a whole family. He walks up to her and notices streaks on her face left by tears, now long since dried.

The sight of his mother in such a disheveled state is the last straw for Sunny. As she is now, she will never be able to accept him for what he is. She loves him, sure, but only because he’s all she has left; a reminder of the life she once had. He knows they both need some time apart to piece themselves together, and so he decides that this is the night. The night he begins a life of his own, away from his mother.

Sunny knows that his absence will hurt her, but he also knows that being here hurts both of them. Maybe with this, she'll finally learn to move on, after all, it took him a similar level of pain to be able to accept what he had done and what he had to do to change for the better. So with a heavy heart, he loads his school backpack up with his pillow, a blanket or two, an early monthly allowance of $20, a bottle of pepper spray out of his mother's purse, and every little snack he can find in the cupboards.

However, just before he exits the kitchen, he notices the glint of a steak knife. He walks back over to the counter and picks it up. Sunny stares deep into the blade, taking in his own reflection. Staring back at him, he sees a boy. A pale and thin boy with an abyss for eyes... eye, but a faint flicker of light still remains. As he blankly stares at the knife in his hands, he ponders to himself for a moment, "I almost hurt her, just like I did to…” His grip on the blade tightens. “What would I have done if I had? Would I have reacted the same? Not at all…” He can feel the weight in his hands. It’s comfortable, almost nostalgic… “I shouldn’t take you. I’ll just end up hurting someone else." …He pockets the knife.

Everything ready, he puts on a hoodie and sweatpants and heads for the door, but stops, hesitating. "Where will I go? What will I do? Do I still have to go to school? Will Mom be okay?" These questions flood his mind, but he steels himself. Before leaving, he decides to do one last good deed and leave his mother a sticky note to find. It details his concerns and fears. How his mother has changed, his failings, and how he thinks some time apart would do them good. He tells her not to look for him, promising he’ll return when he feels that he’s ready to see her again.

He sticks the note to the bathroom mirror, believing that it will be one of the first places she goes when she wakes up. While there, he remembers to grab his medicine out the mirror cabinet and the accompanying prescription before leaving. With his conscience clear, everything he needs packed, and his thoughts in order, he heads for the door once more. He carefully unlocks the door, before quietly stepping out the apartment, backpack in hand and silently shutting it behind him, locking it before he leaves. Once out, Sunny takes the elevator down, avoiding the stairs.

He soon reaches the main lobby and walks out onto the street, feeling the cool night air hit his face. He looks around and takes in the outside, realizing just how unfamiliar he actually is with the City he's lived in for the past two years. It's the first time he's ever gone out on his own, at least without knowing where he's actually heading. In fact, the only times he ever leaves home nowadays is when his mother drives him to School, or the occasional trip to the Park or Clinic. So knowing that the park is the only one of the three open, he makes his way there.

The park isn’t far from home, not at all actually. He lives on the corner of his block, right next to an intersection. Does it get annoying at times with all the cars honking and driving by? Yes, but… so anyway, he crosses the street to find himself in front of Bellucci’s, a small coffee shop. Sunny remembers once asking his mother to bring him something like a cake pop from here. The thing cost basically the same amount if not more than a whole sandwich, and to this day he still doesn't understand why. All he knows is it’s some kind of scam, and he’s never getting anything from there again, because either there’s something seriously wrong with those sandwiches, or they’re just crazy thinking their cake pops taste better than the real cake he can get at the bakery next door. At a discount, too, because the people there like him.

Next to Bellucci’s is a place that Sunny is much more fond of; the Clinic. He’s very appreciative of the woman that works there. A kind and helpful woman that at times he feels may care for him more than his own mother. He wishes he could stay the night there, but she has places to be; mainly her own home and bed, so he’s forced to continue with his plan of sleeping in the park. Crossing the street one more time, he makes his way into the Park. He keeps his hand in his hoody pocket, gripping his knife, afraid that someone or something may be near and unappreciative of his presence

.After some searching around, he finds a nice secluded area near the playground surrounded by trees with a nice stump to set his stuff on. He begins to unpack some blankets and a pillow he took from home, laying them out to form a sort of makeshift picnic spot, just like he and his friends used to do back in the day.

Eventually he finishes setting up, and so he kicks off his shoes and lays down to rest. The blankets do an okay job at softening the ground for him, but it's nowhere near as comfy as his bed. He'd rate it a 2/10.

He lays back and looks up at the starry sky as he settles in for the night. It's a much more beautiful sight compared to his room's ceiling, but that's about the only improvement that comes with his new living arrangements. With that, he focuses on falling asleep, pushing aside the worries of tomorrow to find some rest tonight.

Chapter Text

May 26, (Afternoon)

Sunny wakes up in the late day, the sun beaming down upon him from above. “Mom… turn off the light…” He opens his eye and stares at the nonexistent ceiling, forgetting where he is. He holds his gaze on the light far longer than he should. The light practically blinds him as he awakes to the sun’s glare scorching his eye. He cries out in pain and quickly rolls over. Tears begin to form. It’s a burning feeling that won’t let up. He crawls out of “bed”, scrambling for the trees.

Sitting in the shade, back resting against a tree, he keeps rubbing his eye, hoping the pain will stop, but it doesn’t. “This again?” Recognizing the burning pain, he rushes back to the stump where he slept and grabs a small glass bottle out of his backpack, containing his medicine and dropper before hurrying back. In the shade once more, he opens the bottle and takes the dropper. He finds that there’s little left in the glass, but it should be more than enough for this.

Raising the dropper up above him, he struggles to hold it still and keep his eye open through all the pain. He squeezes gently, missing, with the first drop hitting his cheek. He flinches on the second drop, having it blocked by his own twitching eyelid. His hands shake, but the third and fourth drop manage to land in his eye.

He blinks rapidly, hoping the pain will ease, but it only dulls. Frustrated, he squeezes the dropper again. Another miss. The liquid drips down his nose. “Ugh!” This time, he presses the dropper too hard, releasing more medicine than intended. Most of it misses, but a few drops hit. Enough for some relief.

Most of it misses, but enough lands in his eye for him to finally feel some relief. “I’m never doing this myself again.” With that task done, he gets up and walks over to the stump before putting away the dropper and what little medicine is left in the glass back into his backpack. Afterwards he packs up the rest of his “bed”.

Once that’s taken care of, he sits against the stump and just takes it all in. “What do I do out here? Beg for money, right? That’s what the homeless do in shows and movies, I think. Maybe stand on a corner and play my… Oh. Right.” He lets out a deep sigh. “I should just go home. Mom might still be asleep, and I can take everything back without her knowing. Throw away the sticky note and go to school till I drop out… ” He resigns himself to his fate and sits there for a while longer, not even thinking, just existing for the moment.

After what feels like an eternity, Sunny finally gets up and grabs his things. He makes his way out of his little clearing in the trees, walking towards the nearest park exit home. With yielding determination, he begins to think up what he'll do once getting there. “Get in quietly and throw away the note. It’s too late to go to school, so just pretend I overslept again. Mom will get mad and probably yell at me, but it’s still better than her realizing I tried to run awa-”

Just as he’s about to finish that thought, he sees his mom’s car speeding past. She drives by at a reckless speed, circling the block once, then twice, before finally heading somewhere else. Once the sound of her car fades into the distance, Sunny opens his eye and realizes he's on the ground. Heart pounding, he dove to the dirt before he even realized what he was doing, acting on fight or flight. “Did I just do that? I’m not afraid of her… She’s my mom. I have no reason to be.”

As he tries to convince himself of his mother’s love for him, he remembers the night before and flinches at just the memory of how close she came to potentially striking him with that wine bottle. “I… I can’t go home, can I? She saw the note, that's the only reason she’d be driving like that. She’s probably called the school already, so I can’t go there either. They’ll hold me until she shows up and then…”

He grabs his face with both hands in frustration, as if clawing at himself will bring him any closer to a solution to his problems. With a huff, he picks himself off the ground and walks to the nearby swings. He sets his bag down nearby and just enjoys himself for a moment. Alone in the park, Sunny swings up and down. The cool morning air hitting his skin as he falls and rises draws his attention to the hollow, empty feeling in his stomach. Once that feeling of hunger becomes stronger than that of his momentary contentment, he hops off the swing and goes to get a snack from his backpack.

Grabbing two granola bars from his bag, he unwraps them and eats slowly, rocking himself on the swing as he does so. “Is this it? Do I just sit around waiting for something to happen?” Eventually, the quiet is broken as the park begins to fill with people. Little stands start to open up for the day, kids flood in to play, and the world seems to go on without him.

He wastes the day away on that swing in the park, feeling there is nothing to be done. He snacks a bit when he's hungry. He drinks from a water fountain when he's thirsty. And when nature calls, he takes care of business. He simply goes through the motions his body demands of him till the sun sets low enough for it to decide it's finally time to rest.

As he lays in his “bed”, a burning ache pushes him to do something, anything, but it dies out just as quickly as it started. “Tomorrow will be different… It has to be different.” Clinging to that fragile thought, he lets sleep take him.

May 27, (Afternoon)

In the park, a dark haired boy can be found attempting the monkey bars. Attempt being the key word, as he fails to get even three bars in before his arms give out on him. A kid points and laughs before their mother flicks the back of their head and drags them away.

Sunny lies there in the sand panting, exhausted from his repeated failings. “This used to be so easy as a kid. Why did they stop making PE a requirement? STEM school failed me.” He finally picks himself up and dusts himself off before going to sit down at the bench where he left his bag.

He pulls out a small bag of chips then looks around as he eats. “So many kids playing and you’re just watching them… Maybe I could join their game? No. That's weird… You're an adult; you'll get weird looks.” Throwing that idea out the window, along with the empty bag of chips, he looks out towards the city. “Mom isn't driving around today. Did she give up already? Probably crying at home… I'm sorry, Mom.”

He takes a long drawn out breath before sighing. A few moments later, a basketball rolls towards him, stopping at his bench. “Hmm?” And not even a moment after that, a kid runs halfway over and starts waving his hands at him. Putting two and two together, Sunny grabs the ball and tosses it back. Once the ball reaches the kid, he picks it up and runs back to his friends.

With nothing better to do, Sunny watches them play from across the park. “I don't think I was ever good at basketball. The only reason I'd play it was because of Kel.” He leans forward on the table, resting his chin on his folded arms. “Yeah, I remember now. He'd toss it and then it would hit me in the head. I learned to catch it eventually though… I wonder how he's doing.”

As he processes those thoughts, an idea strikes him. He abruptly stands up. “I could visit,” he mutters, eyes drifting to the bus stop. “If I explain my situation, his parents might let me stay for a while. Or I could stay with Basil. His house has an empty room now…” The moment that thought crosses his mind, guilt hits. He lowers his head, closes his eyes, and makes a silent prayer for Basil’s grandma.

With that done, he grabs his backpack and makes his way to the bus stop. Once there, he takes a seat on the bench and waits… then he waits… and waits some more. Half an hour passes. He sits there silently fuming, time dragging on until a bus finally rolls up. He hops on and pulls out the $20 he stole from his mother. Before he can feed it into the farebox, the Bus Driver stops him. “We can't take bills of that size, Sir.” Sunny stands there frozen for a second, not sure how to proceed. The bus is luckily empty and a bit ahead of schedule at this time, so the Bus Driver shows him some patience. “Another bus will be here in about half an hour. In the meantime, you should find a store willing to break that bill for you. Have a good day, Sir.”

With that, the Driver gives a dismissive wave, expecting Sunny to leave. Instead Sunny hesitates. “Does the next bus go to the same place?” he asks nervously. The man just looks at him in confusion. “Yes… Every bus that stops here is going the same way. That’s how bus stops work.” Sunny nods along, pretending he knew that.

At that revelation, he realizes he should probably get some other assumptions cleared up while he’s here. “Okay… But this bus goes to Faraway Town, right?” Realizing what he’s dealing with, the Bus Driver facepalms. “This is a city bus. We stay in the city. I don't know where your Faraway Town is, but I’d assume it’s not close by.” He reaches down beside his seat and pulls out a folded map. Standing, he hands it to Sunny. “This has all the buses and their routes outlined on it.” The man then nudges Sunny off the bus. “I hope you find your way, Sir.” With that, the Bus Driver leaves.

Left alone at the bus stop, Sunny unfolds the map and attempts to read it. He immediately recoils back upon seeing the thing. “How is anyone supposed to make sense of this? It’s all colored lines and numbers.” He takes a closer look, squinting at it. “I don’t think Faraway Town is on here, but I should get a second opinion.” He looks around for anyone that could help him, but finds no approachable faces.

That's when he turns in his seat to look over his shoulder at the bakery behind him. “Those two would probably know how to read this. They seem smart, or at least they talk smart.” He pauses for a moment, then shakes his head “No. I shouldn't bother them while they’re working.” Turning back around in his seat, he thinks for a moment. “I could walk to Faraway Town… No. Terrible idea. Nobody sane would do that.” Letting out a sigh of defeat, he gets up and heads back to the park, leaving the map on the bench.

Back in the park, he makes his way to where he slept the night before. Upon reaching his little spot, he sets his backpack down with a huff. “Carrying this everywhere sucks. I’ll just leave it. Nobody comes by here anyway.” He unpacks his “bed” and lays down, leaning against the stump with his pillow. Feeling peckish from having eaten a single bag of chips today, he decides to snack on another bag. Sitting against the stump, watching the trees sway as he eats, Sunny manages to doze off.

May 27, (Night)

Some time passes before the dark haired boy is startled awake by the faint screech of metal on tracks and a low rumble that, if he were just a bit groggier, he might’ve mistaken for his own stomach. “Hmm? Oh… I forgot the city had a subway.” Content with having identified the source of his abrupt wake up call, he properly lays down on the bed and covers himself with his blanket… He then shoots up again. “We have a subway?! Maybe it’ll take me to Faraway.” Half awake, Sunny gets up and makes his way down to the subway entrance at the corner of the park.

Holding the handrail tight as he descends the stairs, he’s eventually met by the blinding artificial light of the subway station. “Egh.” He raises his hand to shield his eye from the light as his pupil adjusts. “Why do lights always have to be so bright? Is there no dim option?” Once he reaches the bottom of the stairs, the discomfort in his eyes begins to fade, and he lowers his hand to look around.

The place is relatively empty, only two other people waiting around. There's a bit of graffiti on the walls, but that’s not exclusive to the station. Surprisingly, they have potted plants down by the benches. “Tulips? It's nice, but who waters these and how do they grow without sunlight?” Pushing that thought aside. He turns his attention to the map on the wall just down the aisle… It's worse than the bus map.

”None of these lines make sense. It looks like that one screensaver on the computer.” Ignoring the routes themselves, he looks to the names of the destinations and finds that he recognizes none of them. “A name doesn't mean anything if I don't know it… Faraway isn't here.” That's when it finally hits him. All at once the fog of drowsiness clears. “This is the city subway. Faraway Town isn't in the city… Why did I bother getting out of bed?”

May 28, (Afternoon)

In the park, a dark haired boy can be found sitting on a seesaw by himself, nobody on the other end to raise him up. A kid points and laughs at him. Sunny glares at the child, sending him running crying to his mother, who promptly flicks his forehead and drags him away.

A silent rage builds as he thinks about that kid. “He laughed. He laughed like my situation was a joke to him… He doesn't know anything!” The thought echoes in his head, and he soon realizes just how right he is. “That kid doesn't know anything.” His grip on the seesaw’s handlebar tightens, his knuckles going white. “He just saw a loser on a seesaw by themselves and thought it was funny. He's just a dumb kid.” He processes it all slowly, anger slowly fizzling out, replaced by a heavy feeling in his chest. “I’m getting mad at a kid… Pathetic.” He slumps back in his seat, tired of everything.

He sits there, putting his head in his hands, unsure of how he let himself end up in this situation. “I shouldn't have left. Being home hurt, but at least I was used to it. I knew my place there… I don't know anything out here.” His breathing starts to shift into quick desperate inhales as he feels himself about to break. He looks around and sees people just enjoying themselves, oblivious to his inner turmoil. A man walks his dog. Kids chase one another. An old lady feeds the birds. And in the middle of it all is him about to come undone. “Not here. Don't cause a scene here. Anywhere but here.”

He stumbles off the seesaw, legs stiff, barely able to hold him up. His feet move on their own, carrying him toward the trees, towards the only place he can feel safe. At the stump, he drops to the ground feeling weak in every sense of the word. He yanks open his backpack and pulls out a bar of chocolate with shaking hands, tearing into it in hopes that it’ll alleviate the pain.

“I miss how my mom used to be.” He sobs between bites, choking on the sweetness meant to help him through this. “I miss when school was fun. When it was easy and boring and I didn't feel like my future was in danger.” He tries his best to steady himself and it almost works, but more thoughts flood in and it feels as if everything is starting to break down around him again.

Realizing that nothing is fine, he breaks. Years of resentment finally come spilling out.“I miss home. Real home, not the apartment!” He bites his tongue and stifles a cry. “In Faraway I knew every street and every face, even if I didn't know the names that belonged to some of them." The tears begin to poor, warm and quiet, streaking down his cheek and dripping onto the last few pieces of chocolate.

“Aubrey, Basil, Kel, and Hero… I want to see them. I should have visited when I had the chance, but the thought of going back after dropping that on them…” He feels his throat uncomfortably tighten. “It would have been better if we never moved. We could’ve eventually put the bad memories of home behind us... instead, we left the people who made them worth keeping.”

Remembering his friends, Sunny's breathing starts to even out, his resolve slowly coming back to him. Finishing his treat, he tucks the wrapper away to properly dispose of later. He stands on weary legs, carefully making his way out of his hiding spot. “I can't ask now. But if I see Mom… if she looks better. Like she used to… then maybe I’ll ask if we can visit.”

He steps out from the trees, his tears finally having dried. “I'll give her space until then. It's the least I could do after being such a handful of a son… She might not want it, but we both need time apart to grow.”

May 28, (Night)

A muffled cry of pain can be heard from an alley. Realizing that he's in it for the long haul, Sunny decided to take this night to practice scavenging. In the process of digging through a trash bag, he managed to cut his hand on a broken wine bottle. He grits his teeth and bears the stinging pain till it dulls.

He walks out towards the street lights to get a better look at his wound, letting out a sigh of relief upon seeing it. “It's not the worst.” He takes a few deep breaths to calm his racing heart. “I'll be fine… I'll be fine…” The wound is shallow, barely more than a particularly bad paper cut, but the unexpected sting was a bit more than startling.

Feeling he's learned enough tonight, Sunny makes his way “home”. As he enters the park, he feels a thick liquid trail down his hand. “It's bleeding. How do I deal with this?” He looks around for anything he can use to clean the wound, settling for the water fountain. Running his hand under the water, he feels the gash burn. Once done, he pats it dry with his arm sleeve. “This won't get infected. It was just a little cut… Worst case scenario I ask Miya for help.” Done assuring himself for the second time tonight, he heads to his spot.

Upon arriving at the stump, he unpacks and makes his “bed” for the night. Leaning against the trunk, Sunny sits there quietly, gazing at the stars as he reflects on the past few days of his new life. “I kinda have a home. That's good. I’m down all the tasty snacks. That's bad. Mom hasn't been searching as much. That's good. I cut my hand… The cut could have been worse.” He shifts against the stump, sliding down and under his blanket as he cozies up for the night.

Sunny takes his knife out of his pocket and reverently tucks it under his pillow as he continues with his thoughts. “I only have to last till mom sobers up permanently… I should probably go back once school starts no matter what though.” At that idea, he quickly remembers the state in which he last saw his mother. “Then again, I could wait till she's for sure better. That GED will wait for me.” Done stressing about his future for the night, he relaxes, leaving thinking about serious topics for tomorrow him.

Just as Sunny begins to settle down, he hears footsteps approaching. He grabs the knife from under his pillow and quickly sits up, looking around at the surrounding trees. He grips the blade, shaky and afraid, as he frantically searches for the source of the noise. Just then, a familiar voice calls to him from the trees. "Sunny?"

Hearing his name called, he lowers his blade and is shocked when he sees the shrouded figure finally step into the light. "Basil?"

Chapter Text

May 29, (Night)

At first, Sunny thinks his hallucinations have come back to haunt him once again, but as the familiar shape steps out from the trees, the moonlight reveals an old friend. In the glow, Sunny makes out what appears to be Basil. He smiles, overjoyed at this surprise, like a wish come true… but that smile fades as he takes in the almost uncanny sight before him.

Far from the well-kempt and almost pretty boy he remembered, walks out a disheveled and dirty mess. He's unmistakably real, for Sunny would never have been able to imagine his friend in such a sad and sorry state.

This Basil wears a clearly worn and heavily stretched out green knitted sweater, one that hangs off his shoulders and catches onto his arms to stay up. Under that is the same old white button up, though now dirtied and a bit torn. As for pants, he's still wearing those same old shorts as well, but they've definitely seen better days. If that all wasn't bad enough, the poor guy doesn't even have shoes. Instead, he wears what appears to be garbage bags tightly wrapped around and secured to his feet with tape.

Basil's physical appearance isn't really any better. He looks even thinner than before, though still somehow not as bad as Sunny did during those four years of isolation. On the bright side however, he had grown quite a bit. He might be almost as tall as Kel was when last he saw him. Then again, he never actually got a good look at Kel from afar. Kel seemed to always be right next to Sunny throughout those last few days in Faraway Town, whether he liked it or not.

Gone are his pretty blond locks, now dirty and more of a brownish hue, especially at the roots and edges of his hair. It looks almost like a bad dye job rather than his natural hair color. As for his face, there are clear scratches and cuts, with a bandaid on his left cheek and a white medical patch on his right, most likely covering up some particularly bad scrapes or bruises.

That along with what appears to be a black eye and some terrible eye bags, give Basil the kind of face only a mother could love... not Basil's mother, but definitely someone's mother. A far cry from his soft boy look from before. To top it all off, those legs... Ugh. Sunny almost couldn't stand the sight of them, having to fight off the urge to look away in disgust. They were littered with cuts, bruises, scrapes, and what appeared to be a large scar, only just barely healed over. Sunny could feel only sympathy as he gazed upon his friend in abject horror.

Noticing the mortified expression on Sunny's face, Basil attempts to awkwardly break the ice, putting on an awkward smile before beginning to speak. "H-Hey, Sunny. It's nice to finally see you again... Haha..."

Sunny doesn't even respond to Basil's greeting. "What happened?" he asks bluntly, a hint of concern in his voice.

Basil is a bit surprised by his friend's bold and albeit a bit rude comment, but he knows to take no offence. That's just how Sunny is after all, or at least how he remembers Sunny anyway. He nervously fidgets with the hem of his shirt for a bit before finally responding.. "It's... It's a long story and I'm kinda tired... Think I could tell it to you in the morning?"

Sunny can hear the tiredness in his friend's voice, the way his legs shake when a breeze comes by, so he nods, agreeing to wait til tomorrow. Basil weakly smiles back at him, then asks something of him bashfully. "Thanks, Sunny... umm, do you mind if I sleep with you? I haven't slept under a blanket in a long time a-and it's really cold..."

Sunny is a bit hesitant to share his already small sleeping space with Basil, but seeing just how depressing he looks, he can't help but agree. With a defeated sigh, Sunny pats the space next to him, signaling Basil to come over.

Basil goes ecstatic, his face immediately lighting up upon being given permission to sleep beside his friend. "Thank you, Sunny!" Right after thanking him, Basil quickly moves to get under the covers with Sunny. He places his head right next to his on the shared pillow. Basil is a bit too close for Sunny’s liking, and he kinda smells, but he can't take it back now... not that he would anyway.

The way Basil curls up next to him, reminds him of when they all used to cuddle on his bed in the past, along with his dozens of plushies... He misses those plushies, but sacrifices have to be made and if being separated from them is what it takes for him and his mother to figure themselves out, then it's worth it. Besides, despite his appearance, Basil is still pretty soft himself, albeit a bit boney. “I guess he'll do for now," Sunny thinks to himself as he curls up with him.

"Ahh... you're so warm, Sunny..." Hearing that sends a chill down Sunny’s spine. He tries to brush it off, assuming Basil hasn't had any real human interaction in a while, which he can relate too. "Thanks… You too?" And with that, they both attempt to peacefully drift off to sleep.

Said attempt is quickly interrupted when Basil feels the ground lightly rumble, startling him. “What's that?” Tired, Sunny shushes his friend. “It's the subway… You'll get used to it.” With that answered, Basil settles back down, deciding to cuddle up a bit closer to Sunny out of lingering fear.

May 29, (Morning)

As the sun reaches his "bed", Sunny stirs awake. "Ugh...." he groans as he wakes. The dark haired boy stretches before quickly stopping after hearing one too many bones crack. He then looks over to Basil who is also just now waking up, though with far fewer complaints than him.

As soon as Basil wakes, he takes out a few small pieces of candy and begins swishing it in his mouth for a bit. He mixes the sweet flavor with his saliva like some sort of makeshift mouthwash. Once that’s done, he swallows the liquid. Basil turns to see Sunny’s face of mild disgust as he sits upright. “Umm… Sorry about that. You having to see that, I mean…” He quickly clarifies. “My mouth just… never mind.”

Sunny doesn’t even bother asking, just picks up where he left off yesterday. "So why are you here, and so... dirty?" He attempts to ask in the least offensive way possible, but that's something of a failure.

Basil is taken aback by the sudden questioning again. "Umm... could I tell you later? I'm really hungry... s-so I should get looking for food now..." he says as he looks away from Sunny’s gaze, embarrassed by the admission.

In response to that, Sunny grabs his backpack off the stump and produces a couple granola bars and a bag of chips. He holds them up to Basil. "Take."

Basil's eyes light up at the sight of the snacks and he eagerly snatches them out of Sunny's hands. He starts to tear apart the packaging like an animal. Once opened, he begins to gorge on them as if he may never have a chance to eat proper food again.

Seeing his friend's ravenous consumption of the snacks, Sunny comes to the frightening realization that he had slept right next to this starving animal all night. He feels a cold sweat begin to take him at that thought, but quickly dismisses the idea knowing his worrying is silly. Basil would never hurt him... right? This Basil is a different person entirely, but seeing him stuff his mouth with food like some chipmunk puts Sunny at ease, enough to get a quiet giggle out of him.

Hearing Sunny laugh, Basil's cheeks flush red, and he slows down, suddenly self-conscious of his ravenous consumption. Once he's done, he decides he's stalled long enough. He takes a deep breath, and nervously looks Sunny in the eye before he begins speaking. "So... I guess I owe you a story... huh?"

Sunny simply nods in response. Basil gets himself comfortable before he begins recounting his tale, sitting up and resting his back against the stump. "Okay... my parents never really liked to be around me... you know that, right?" Sunny thinks for a moment, then gives a sorrowful nod.

Basil takes a deep breath before he begins to speak again. "Well... they finally came back! Can you believe it…” he says with sarcastic joy. “Just before turning eighteen they decided to enter my life again... And the first thing they do back is try to get rid of Polly! Crazy, right?” he laughs awkwardly.

"They wanted to stop paying her for my care, and since they were technically around for me now... they sorta could.” Basil's breathing starts to become somewhat labored. “Polly knew I wasn't ready to be left alone… not with them. S-So she tried her best to convince them to let her stay just a while longer… At l-least until I was ready for her to go. She offered to work for less… more than less, but they just wanted her gone.” He looks away, staring off at nothing as he loses himself in recounting the tail.

“Eventually, she couldn't afford to lose more time arguing with my parents, so she left... B-But I don't blame her. She probably has bills to pay, or something... p-plus, she said she was sorry before she had to leave. Even gave me her contact information in case I ever felt… unsafe with them… so I forgive her... " He says with a weak, and most likely forced smile.

"They told me that if I wanted to stay, I'd have to pay rent. I tried getting a job for a while… went through a few different places, but I couldn't stay long at any of them. They said I was probably the slowest and saddest worker they'd ever seen.” He laughs, but the smile doesn’t reach his eyes. “Plus, apparently, I made the customers... uncomfortable. Some places were nice enough to let me work in the back, away from the shoppers... but then I got in the way of other employees and made them feel awkward too... so they also fired me."

Sunny just sits there and listens quietly to Basil's story. He gets progressively more and more bummed out as Basil talks, but he knows that his friend just needs to let it all out right now. So, he lends him an ear, just like he used too. Though time has replaced Basil's books and his silly daily worries with stories of true struggles, Sunny is still more than happy to let Basil vent to him.

As Basil gets further along in his story, he begins to tear up and soon enters a rant, spiraling as he recounts his tale. "So since I couldn't hold a job, they kicked me out... my own parents kicked me out! I know that maybe I wasn't always the best son, b-but did they really not want anything to do with me? Was I just an obligation to them? A-And now that I'm gone they're probably just traveling even more... Was I a burden to them? No, THAT’S NOT RIGHT! If they didn't… WEREN’T going to love me, why would they have had me? Why would they have even bothered in the first place if they were NEVER going to love me?! Was I just a mi- " Sunny puts a hand on Basil's shoulder, grounding him back in reality before giving his friend a reassuring look.

Basil steadies his breathing with the help of Sunny. Then he gets back to his story. "Thanks, Sunny... So after they kicked me out, I left Faraway Town pretty fast. I didn't want the others to see me like this... some homeless bum... I think they probably still had mixed feelings because of what we did, so I didn't want them to have any other potential reason to think less of me. And I especially didn't want to have to ask them for help... or for them to feel like they needed to offer it…” He takes a second to clear his throat.

I started wandering from place to place... I think for half a year at least... maybe more? No. It's probably a lot less… You sorta lose track of time out here. I've mostly been getting by on the kindness of strangers and money from... ‘odd jobs’… It hasn't been easy, not at all... on particularly cold nights or hot days when I haven't eaten in a while... I start to think... I thought of some... bad ideas... but I guess it was all worth it, cause eventually I ended up here and found you..." he says with the first genuine smile of tonight.

Sunny wants to say something. He opens his mouth to speak, but words don’t come out. He can't imagine what his friend has been through, or what he's had to do to survive, but he's glad that he made it to him. Finally, Basil decides to ask a question of his own, one that bugged him all night.

"So... why are you out here?" Sunny flinches at the question. The truth almost spills out right there, but he catches himself. After everything Basil just told him, how bad it’s been, how he ended up here, saying he chose this for himself suddenly feels... dangerous. So instead, he says something easier for Basil to hear.

"Oh... My mom was tired of me failing at everything, so she kicked me out. She said that maybe this would help me 'Figure it out'." Sunny worries that Basil won't buy his lie, but since he said it all in that same monotone voice Basil has grown to love, he doesn’t question a thing.

"Oh, Sunny..." Basil says in a sympathetic tone, oblivious to the complete lie he was just fed. He hesitates for a moment before deciding to take hold of Sunny's hands. At that moment, he feels the large cut across the back of his friend's hand. The wound just barely scabbed over. “W-What's this? Are you okay!? When did this happen to you?”

Caught off guard, Sunny fumbles for a moment, unsure of how to respond. Luckily Basil does all the talking for him. Grabbing onto Sunny's shoulders, Basil looks his friend right in the eye as he speaks with newfound resolve. "I won't let you go through what I had to… We'll get through this together, Sunny.” With those words, Basil pulls his friend into a hug.

Unsure of what to say or do, but feeling confident that Basil doesn't suspect him of lying, Sunny returns the hug. The embrace fills him with a sense of warmth that's been lacking in his life for quite some time. After a few moments, Basil pulls away and stands before helping Sunny up. Both of them now on their feet, Basil aids his friend in packing up his stuff.

Before walking off to do whatever it is he feels like doing with his newfound "freedom", Sunny stops, a feeling of guilt holding him in place. “He deserves the truth. Lies hurt us before… but that lie was selfish, made to protect ourselves…” He looks at Basil, his friend's face lit up with genuine joy. “This lie is to protect that.”

Turning around, Basil sees Sunny lost in deep thought, a sorrowful expression on his face. Unaware of what truly troubles him, Basil walks over and stands in front of him. He bends down, lowering himself to Sunny’s eye level. Hoping to silence any and all worries or concerns his friend may have about their future, Basil puts a light smile on his face and says, "Everything is going to be okay."

Chapter Text

June 13, (Morning)

Sunny walks up and loosely wraps his arms around Basil’s neck from behind, casually resting his head on his friend's shoulder. “Anything edible?” Basil doesn't even react to the physical touch, having once again grown accustomed to Sunny’s strange habit of hiding close behind his friends whenever he can. “Nothing yet, Sunny,” he replies disappointingly, as he continues digging through rubbish.

It had been roughly two weeks since Sunny and Basil had first reunited in the Park, and a few days since they had run out of the snacks Sunny had taken from home. Finding themselves with a lack of food, Basil had taken the initiative to start teaching Sunny how to survive out here, working together to try and scrounge up anything at all.

While Basil used his skill for digging through garbage, acquired over what felt like a lifetime of homelessness; Sunny would play the role of beggar. With his one eye and skinny frame, along with looking like just a young kid, which in all fairness, he still sorta was; he made the perfectly depressing centerpiece to any street and alley. This cycle of looting and begging would quickly become a bit of a daily routine for them.

“This sucks,” Sunny said in annoyance as he unwrapped his arms from Basil’s neck and exited the alley, heading back to the sidewalk to continue asking for change from passersby. Basil would continue to scrounge in the background, not having much luck until he found a crumpled piece of green. He wouldn't get his hopes up just yet, though, not before carefully uncrumpling it to find a $5 bill. “Sunny! We get to eat something tonight!” Basil exclaimed excitedly. Sunny quickly rushes over to look at the crumpled bill, staring at it in awe, with the same wonder as a child looking upon a newly released Captain Spaceboy Comic.

“So… do you know any good places to eat, Sunny?” Basil asked, expecting a useful answer, but Sunny simply shook his head. “You don’t? What… how do you not know any good places? You’ve lived here for, like… TWO YEARS! What do you mean you don’t know?” Sunny simply shrugs in response to Basil’s bafflement at his lack of any knowledge of the city he lives in. “Well… I guess there's a Mall in this city, right? That would probably be a good place to start…” Basil hangs his head as he begins to walk.

Seeing his friend’s disbelief in his lack of knowledge of his own City, Sunny decides to share what little information he has. “There's a pizza place.” Basil looks up from his defeated stooper. “Do you know where it is?” Basil asks, having regained a bit of hope in Sunny. He then subsequently loses that hope as Sunny shakes his head at him once more and says, “Mom usually brings the pizza… after giving her my allowance,” Basil then lets out a long and drawn out sigh, the sound a mixture of equal parts disappointment and disbelief. “Let's just find the Mall.”

With that, the two set out in search of the mall. They wouldn't have to look too hard however, as it was basically the only notable tall building in the area that wasn't obviously an apartment building or something else entirely.

Coming out from the alley and walking to the nearest intersection, Basil could see what appeared to be a bakery across the street. “Why don’t we go get something from there, Sunny?” As he looks over to where Basil is pointing, Sunny just shakes his head and keeps walking as he looks away. Basil furrows his brow, confused at his friend's reaction, but he doesn’t ask any questions and just keeps on walking with him towards the mall.

Reaching the next block, it’s now Sunny who ends up getting distracted once he spots what appears to be a movie rental place by the name of Movie Market. “Sunny, where are we going? The Mall is right over there… Sunny?” Before Basil knows it, he’s followed Sunny into the building and is now looking around at movies with him. “I really shouldn't be here, Sunny. I don't think the owner would appreciate someone like me in their store. A-And the customers probably-”

Before Basil can finish his sentence, he glances around and realizes they’re basically the only people here, and the woman at the front desk is asleep on the job. Basil glares at her, silently seething at the sight of someone so careless with their work. His eye twitches as he mumbles under his breath, “You work so hard to try and find a place willing to take you, and people like her are the ones that get to stick around… You should go over there and-” Before he can finish that dark thought, he’s pulled out of it by his friend’s strange behavior.

Sunny has wandered off and now stands frozen in front of a shelf full of soap operas, staring at them like they’ve personally wronged him. Basil watches for a moment, then calls him over to look at something else. Sunny soon joins him, finding himself in an aisle lined with Sweetheart movies, including a life-size cardboard cutout of the character herself. “You used to like this show, didn’t you?” Basil asks. Sunny stares up at the cutout, giving it an almost dirty look. “She has a pretentious face.” He walks off, leaving Basil standing there, dumbfounded that Sunny even knows that word.

Once Basil steps outside, he again finds Sunny not heading towards the Mall, and instead further down the street. Upon reaching Sunny, he finds him staring at Pizza Haven, and another movie rental place by the name of Movie World. “So this is where that pizza spot you were talking about was. Wanna go inside?” Sunny shakes his head no. “I want something new.” That comment confuses Basil. “If he didn’t want pizza, why even bring it up earlier?”

Basil shakes the thought and looks at Movie World next, taking note of how there’s two movie rental spots right next to each other. “You think they’re rival stores, or that they secretly work together… and why is the one named Movie World smaller than the one named Movie Market?” Sunny just shrugs. “So, do you want to go there too?” Sunny looks up at Basil and shakes his head. “We don’t have a way to play movies anyway. It’s a waste of time.”

Sunny finally makes his way towards the mall with Basil following behind. “If looking at movies is a waste of time, why did we even stop at the first movie store?!”

Upon finally reaching the Mall, they would quickly make their way inside and begin looking around for something to eat. A security guard gives them a dirty look as they walk in, but doesn't say anything, just keeping his eye on them in case of anything.

Basil would be immediately drawn to the Food Haven, a burger joint. “I want a burger sooooo bad!” Sunny raises an eyebrow, then turns to Basil curiously. “I thought you were vegetarian?” Basil turned to Sunny to reply, “When did I ever say that?” Sunny shrugs, “I’ve never seen you eat meat before.” Basil simply replies in turn, “You haven’t ever seen me never not eat meat before.”

Sunny just stares up at him blankly, and Basil does the same, though, having to look down at his friend, because of the height difference. This silent stare off goes on for longer than it should. “Your favorite food is Tofu,” Sunny says, breaking the silence. “And?” Basil quickly retorts. Again, more awkward staring. After a bit more of that, Sunny just walks off and Basil goes back to looking up at the Food Haven sign.

Sunny returns just as fast as he left. “I found The Taco Spot” He says in a monotone manner, devoid of any apparent interest, but having known Sunny for so long, Basil can tell he’s mildly excited. “You found a taco spot?” Sunny shakes his head. “I found The Taco Spot.” Basil gives his friend a puzzled look. “That’s what I said… you found a taco spot.” Sunny furrows his brow in slight annoyance at Basil’s lack of understanding. “No, I found The Taco Spot.” Sunny grabs Basil’s shirt and tugs it a bit before pointing to a little outcove, turned restaurant.

Basil turns to look and is both amused and slightly annoyed by what he sees. Right above that little restaurant outcove, there lies a large sign plastered over it simply saying, The Taco Spot. “That place… it's actually called The Taco Spot.” Sunny simply nods at Basil, affirming it. “Huh… a bold name choice. As if they’re the only place in this city that sells tacos.”

Basil’s voice is cynically, as if the name of that place has somehow caused him to lose an argument that was never had. “Welp, what do you want, Sunny?” Before Sunny can give his preferred choice of dining establishment, he feels minor irritation building in his right eye. “Medicine,” Sunny says, answering Basil’s question, just not in the way his friend probably thought he would.

“Your eye acting up again?” Sunny nods. “Okay, let's step outside for this. People are trying to eat here after all… Haha…” Basil laughs awkwardly, trying to hide his nervousness for having to attend to Sunny’s injury again. Sunny however, does not realize that this was an attempt at humor, instead taking slight offence as he bluntly states, “You did it." Those words hit Basil right in the heart. “Please don't remind me of that, Sunny…” he says weakly and apologetically. Basil leads Sunny out of the food court and back to the sidewalk.

They both take a seat on the edge of the pavement. Sunny removes his medical eyepatch and places it on his lap. Basil stares at the injured eye, cringing at the grotesque sights, and the memory of how it was made. “Okay, Sunny… I'm gonna need you to lean your head back for me, alright?” Sunny does as told, tilting his head back for Basil, with Basil helping him out by tenderly holding his head up. WIth his other hand, Basil gets Sunny’s prescribed eye drops out from his pocket. Sunny had entrusted this careful and surprisingly intimate procedure to Basil. Usually, his mother would do it, but that wasn't an option anymore, so he made Basil do it instead.

“Okay, Sunny… I'm gonna drop it now, so just hold still for me.” Sunny doesn't move an inch, not even blinking with the other eye. Basil gives the dropper a gentle squeeze, causing a drop to fall out. He then goes to squeeze it again… but there's nothing. Growing a bit impatient, Sunny reminds Basil of the procedure. “It’s three drops when I feel my eye burn.” Basil squeezes the bottle harder between his fingers, but nothing comes out. “Umm… I think we’re out.” Sunny’s good eye shoots open. “Out?”

Basil tilts Sunny’s head back up and helps him put his medical eyepatch back on. “Yeah… There's no more in the bottle. Where do we get you more?” Basil asks, worried for his friend's health. “Clinic.” Sunny responds in a short and concise manner. “Do you know where the Clinic is?” To Basil’s surprise, Sunny actually nods. The short boy then takes Basil by the hand and leads him to the Clinic.

They soon arrive at the place and as they step inside, Basil notes the soft colors that make up the place. From the bubblegum pink of the counter, to the lime green of the furniture, the mellow yellow tile floor, and the baby blue carpets. This place just looks comfy. Behind the counter, was a pretty and mature looking woman, with smooth skin that resembled that of a fine bronze. In her raven hair, she sported a golden coil, adorned around a singular large bang, hanging from the right side of her head. She wore the traditional attire of a doctor, though adding her own unique touch; a pair of rectangular and dark green glasses, worn over her gentle dark eyes. Though, saying she added them for aesthetics alone is probably incorrect.

As the two of them walked in, the lady would turn and quickly take notice of the approaching pair. “Hmm? Oh, hi Sunny. What is it? Need bandages or something?” The woman then takes notice of Basil. “Who’s the lanky one? He looks like he actually does need bandages.” Basil stands there nervously, but Sunny quickly removes all stress from the encounter. “Hi, Miya. I need a refill.” He then points up at the lanky one. “That's Basil.” Sunny nudges his friend. Basil looks down at him confused, but quickly picks up on the hint and hands Miya the bottle.

Miya takes the offered glass. “And your prescription paper?” Sunny quickly hands that over himself. Miya then disappears into the back of the Clinic for a moment to get his refill. Basil looks down at his friend. “You actually seem comfortable around her. Do you come here often?” Sunny nods. “Sometimes Mom would feel tired and not want to go out, even when my eye hurt. On those dates, I would go out to get my own medication.” Basil just stands there, fidgeting awkwardly with his sleeves, avoiding eye contact, and feeling bad for making Sunny bring up his poor family life. Noticing his friend's unease, Sunny decides to uncharacteristically add a little more to that statement. “I also come here sometimes after eating microwaved steak and getting sick.”

Basil looks at him in horror, but before he can say anything about Sunny's diet, Miya returns with the dropper refill, and without even need for asking, a roll of bandages for Basil as well. “The eyedrops will be $30 and your friend can just have the bandages. I’ll even help disinfect and wrap up his legs since looking at him just makes me feel so sad,” she teases. The two boys exchange nervous glances, both knowing damn well they don’t have $30.

Basil is the one to have to break the news. “I’m sorry Ms. Miya, but we don’t have that kind of money…” She looks at the two a bit confused, but she quickly comes up with a compromise. “Okay… how about I give you two the things now, and once you’re feeling better, you can head home and get the rest from your mom. Sound good, Sunny?” Both of them look at each other again, even more nervous than before. This time Sunny is the one to speak up. “I… can't go home right now.” That statement and the tone at which it was said by the usually monotone Sunny makes Miya tilt her head and raise a brow. “Why not? Is something going on at home? Something bad? Do I have to call CPS?” She reaches for the phone.

Sunny’s face goes paler than usual. Miya snickers at his reaction. “I’m just teasing, kid.” Just as quickly as she picked it up, she puts the phone down. “I can tell you got something going on. The state of your clothes is a dead giveaway. But you’re an adult now, and I'm not anyone who can make you talk. You’re a smart kid. I trust that whatever reason you have for not wanting to go back to your mom is a good one. And if you’re the one in the wrong here, then I'm sure the police would already be searching for you and your sad lanky friend." She gives a warm smile and lets out a heartfelt laugh.

Basil decides to speak up for Sunny, to add some context, feeling that Miya deserves to know. “Thank you, Ms. Miya… Sunny is going through some stuff with his mom right now. A-And me, well… I’ve had it bad for a while now.” Hearing that, Miya seems to lose her smile and her eyes fill with pity, but she takes a deep breath and straightens up, remembering she’s running a Clinic and not a charity.

“Okay… I’d love nothing more than to just give you two this stuff at no charge, but I can’t. Someone takes inventory of everything here, and while they might not notice a roll of bandages missing, they’ll definitely notice an entire bottle of your rarely ordered medication gone with no charge made. And they know I like you, so I’d be suspect number one on the list of would-be Robin Hoods. I’d really rather not lose my job. I’ve got bills to pay after all. So just give me whatever you’ve got, and I’ll cover the rest, okay?”

Basil is the one holding the money. He has the $5 he found in the trash today, and the $20 Sunny stole from his mother; something they've been saving for a true emergency. He begins to fumble with his pockets as he thinks about what to do. “She’s offering to pay, maybe you just hand her the $20 and pretend that’s all we have… Or you could give her the $5 and put on that sad boy act. Actually, you’re not that cute anymore, it might not work…” As he thinks, he looks around a bit and catches a glimpse of Sunny’s eye. “He’s staring… Is he judging you? Does he know what you’re thinking!? He understands we need this, right?” His friend's watchful eye doesn’t let up. “Fine! Just stop staring, please!” Succumbing to the imaginary pressure, he hands over the full $25.

“Thank you very much. Basil, was it? I’ll help you with your bandages in a second, dear. Just let me help Sunny with his eye… and that old cut while I’m at it.” Miya walks around the counter and removes Sunny’s medical eyepatch with practiced ease, gently tilting his head back. “Just two, please. Basil already dropped one earlier.” Miya does as told, giving Sunny his two drops, before then looking over at Basil. “You helped Sunny with his eye? He must trust you quite a bit. You two know each other? Cause I just assumed Sunny was helping a homeless bum at first… He likes to do that sometimes,” she says in a teasing manner.

Basil nervously laughs at her comment. “Yeah… we know each other. We were best friends back where he... we used to live.” Miya straightens Sunny up, then quickly cleans around the scabbed-over cut on his skin, patting it dry before pressing on a fresh bandage. She turns to Basil next. After wiping his legs clean with gentle strokes, she dabs them dry, then pulls a small tin of petroleum jelly from her pocket. Carefully, she applies it to the dried-out cuts and scar tissue, then wraps both legs in clean bandages. Not even a moment later, she’s already tending to the smaller cuts on his face. As she works, she continues casually asking questions, like patching up kids is just second nature to her.

“So how did you end up here, and what's up with all the cuts and bruises?” Basil thinks about how to respond. “Do you give her the truth? No… We don't have time for that. She probably wouldn't want to hear it anyway if she knew the whole story… Just give her something easier to hear.” He clears his throat and puts on a confident yet unserious voice. “I just sorta wandered around and ended up here, you know? And the cuts and bruises… I got from fighting people for shelter and stuff… I even had to fight a few animals too.”

Miya lets out a low whistle, followed by a small chuckle. “Wow… so you’re a big strong man, huh? Fighting to survive with those noodle arms. I bet you’ve managed to fend off the meanest bunnies. But in all seriousness, please try and avoid getting into any conflict from now on, or sleeping on rough surfaces where you most likely got most of those cuts.” Basil just laughs, but it’s a hollow sound. Hearing Miya tease, Sunny smiles just a little.

Once she's finished helping the two, she sends them on their merry way. “You two be safe now, you hear? I can't afford to keep handing this stuff out for free.” As they exit the Clinic, they both turn around to wave an appreciative goodbye at Miya before continuing with their day.

June 13, (Afternoon)

Once the Clinic door shuts behind them and Miya is no longer able to see the two boys, Basil drops the worry free facade. “She was really generous… and so very kind… but even still, we can't afford to eat anything anymore. What should we do?” Sunny stands there unblinking for a moment, potentially lost in thought or simply disassociating with life. Basil can't tell, not until Sunny finally speaks up, and in an exasperated voice he says, “Follow.”

Just as he and his other friends have done plenty of times before, Basil follows Sunny to wherever it is he may be going. Walking just a little down the street, Sunny stops in front of that bakery Basil pointed out earlier in the day; the place going by the name of Baker’s. Sunny knocks on the glass door. “Why don't you just open it?” Basil asks as he watches Sunny knock. “They're closed.”

“Closed? It’s barely-” before Basil can finish that sentence, a familiar face opens the bakery door. “Hi, Daphne.” Sunny greets while staring at the ground, attempting to avoid eye contact, thinking about what to say. “I shouldn't be here. I don’t ever go out of my way to talk to them. Why would they help me or Basil?” Those thoughts and accompanying shame quickly dissipates as Daphne seems to light up upon seeing him.

“Sunny? What a wonderful surprise. Bowen! Come here, dear brother! Sunny has paid us a visit, and he brought a… friend?” From the back of the bakery, noise can be heard, the likes of pots and pans being hastily put down on counters and racks. Once the noise subsides, out pops out a boy who is eerily similar in appearance to Daphne. “Sunny is here? What a wonderful surprise. And he's brought a friend? Why, I don’t know If my heart can handle such joyous company.” As Bowen makes his way to the group, he is given a clear view of Basil.

Surprised by what he sees, he doesn’t even attempt to think before he speaks. “My, what a dreadful sig-” Before Bowen can finish commenting on Basil’s appearance, Daphne elbows her brother in the side. Attempting to salvage this less than ideal introduction, she puts on an awkward smile and formally greets the pair. “What Bowen meant to say is welcome to Baker’s!” After some silence of equal awkwardness to her smile, she ushers them in. They all take a seat at a table, Sunny and Basil next to each other, parallel to Daphne and Bowen.

After a few quiet moments, Basil breaks the ice. “So… Baker’s is the name of the place? Because there's two of you, and you're both bakers. I get it… yeah.” Daphne and Bowen exchange glances at each other, gauging what to say next. Daphne clears her throat. “Yeah… it's not the most creative name, but it's accurate. And umm… I mean no offence, but who are you? I don't think we've ever met, or if we have, you didn't look… You were probably much more charming in the past!” She blurts out nervously in an attempt to not insult Basil. Her brother leans over to her and whispers, “Good save.” She responds to his cheeky remark by elbowing him again.

Basil attempts to laugh it off, but is clearly becoming anxious. “Haha… yeah, I've probably seen better days, but you two look the same.” “That is because we are twins,” Bowen chimes in. “That's not what he meant,” Daphne corrects. Basil softly giggles, enjoying The Twins' banter before continuing where he left off. “Yeah… I remember. You two The Twins. The Maverick's older siblings, right?”

The mention of their brother catches their attention. “The Maverick? Ah, yes, that was what he tried to go by for a while, wasn't it? Would you happen to know if he’s moved past that phase yet? We haven’t been able to visit for quite some time, and we don't believe the way one speaks over the phone is entirely indicative of their character. So is our dearest little brother still too cool for us, or has he matured since we last met in person?”

Sunny gets up and wanders off to stare at random things around the room. Basil pays no mind to Sunny’s antics and continues conversing with The Twins. “I don't think he was ever actually cool, but yeah, I guess he's matured. He stopped bullying me along with the rest of his friends a while back.” Basil says this with a cheery smile, as if getting bullied was just an everyday annoyance that finally let up recently.

The Twins noticeably flinch hearing this. Daphne is the first of the two to speak up. “Our brother, a bully? And doing it in a group, no less? How cowardly... And to think we would go to church once every week.” “Sometimes twice,” Bowen adds. “Sometimes thrice… but anyway, why would our little brother do such a thing?” Daphne questions, hoping she's given a very good answer for her brother's sake.

Basil clears his throat. “Well… he wasn't the one who started it, that would be my friend, Aubrey. She was sorta the leader of their little gang… b-but we're on better terms now… Haha…” The Twins just sit there and stare at Basil’s attempt at a not awkward smile. “And why did this Aubrey girl pick you as the target of her… ‘gang’ if you're friends with her?” Hearing Daphne's very reasonable question makes him drop the forced smile.

Basil lets out an exhausted sigh before he begins to speak again. “Honestly… it's a long story. A-And the reasoning behind it all wasn't even my fault, but I couldn't let her know that… I don't blame her for anything as much as I probably should… it would make me feel wrong if I did… b-because I did sorta deserve it, but not for what she was mad about specifically… Her new friends joining in on the bullying wasn't appreciated, though…”

The Twins sit there in uncomfortable silence, especially Daphne. In hindsight, she wishes she would have just taken his word for it instead of prying deeper. Bowen clears his throat. “We seem to have much to converse about. I'll fetch us some bread.” “Fresh bread?” Basil asks, hoping to be able to finally eat something closer to real food than to scraps and leftovers; flavors he’s become accustomed to over the course of months.

Bowen shakes his head in shame at lacking fresh bread at this current moment. On his way to the kitchen, Bowen passes Sunny, who has just come out of the bathroom. He notices a few sheets of toilet paper clinging to Sunny’s shoe but says nothing as Sunny continues toward the table where Daphne and Basil are sitting.

With her brother having managed to successfully escape this awkward conversation, that leaves Daphne all alone to continue this talk. "We're going to have to schedule a visit back home and get this sorted. I mean, really? Ganging up on a poor kid like that is unbelievable..." Basil hears Daphne’s muttering about planning a visit home to scold Mikhael and turns a shade of red, realizing that he basically just tattled to the guy's older siblings.

Noticing Basil’s unease, she attempts to steer this conversation back to something more casual. “So… you two ever visit our family's humble little bakery back in Faraway? Well, I know you did, Sunny, but how about you, Basil?” Basil straightens up at the sudden question. “Me? Oh… I-I might have gone when I was a lot younger, but I don’t remember. A-And in recent years, I never really left home, at least not until I got kicked out.… It was usually my caretaker, Polly, that did all the shopping.”

Hearing Basil mention a caretaker gets Daphne thinking. “Why does he require a caretaker? I probably shouldn’t pry… I may just end up with more answers than I care for again. Let’s just steer the conversation somewhere I know.” She clears her throat. “Polly? Oh, I remember her. She was such a sweet lady! And she LOVED our fresh bread!” “Fresh bread?” Bowen perks up at the mention of fresh bread, finally returning with a platter of not so fresh bread.

He places it down on the table and returns to his seat beside Daphne. At the sight of the bread platter, Sunny and Basil immediately begin digging in. Sunny eats slowly, but Basil eats at a lively pace, making cheerful sounds as he does so. The Twins smile hearing the sounds of joy their bread is causing Basil to produce, taking it as a great compliment.

Seeing that Basil has his mouth full at this moment, Daphne turns to speak to Sunny who is currently just nibbling on some bread. “If your friend likes our bread this much after it’s already been sitting out the whole day, then you should bring him over in the mornings at eight. That's when our bread is freshest.” “Very fresh.” Bowen adds. Sunny’s eye twitches a bit hearing that. “How do I tell them we have nothing? I don’t want to guilt them...” He lets out a deep sigh. “There's no other way to say it.”

“We don’t have money.” Hearing the blunt statement causes Basil to start choking on his bread. The Twins don't even flinch at that response, as if they were expecting that to come up at some point. Daphne just smiles at the two, then Bowen gets up to help Basil.

As Bowen starts to perform the heimlich maneuver on Basil, Daphne turns to Sunny.  “We sorta guessed that you two weren't faring well. It’s obvious your friend has been on the streets for quite some time. And as for you, Sunny… We know you love that sweater, but it's wearing out. While it’s cute you’re using the holes at the ends of your sleeves to wear them like gloves, the rest of the holes aren't quite as charming or useful."

Hearing this, Sunny looks down at his clothes, taking his first proper look at himself in a while. He quickly realizes that Daphne is right and so was Miya. His sweater has formed a few holes in places beyond just the ends of his sleeves from all the constant wear and tear, leaving him looking a bit like a bum.

This would normally never happen as he basically never leaves home, and while he's there, he doesn’t wear anything besides some shorts and a tank top, but having been forced to wear that same sweater for about two weeks straight now has worn it out quickly… and it’s starting to smell. “Oh, and you smell a bit, but I didn’t think it was appropriate to bring it up until now.” Daphne says with an awkward smile.

Bowen finally manages to dislodge the piece of bread blocking Basil’s airway. As Basil catches his breath, Bowen takes his seat again. “Should we leave?” Sunny asks softly. Not wanting to take advantage of The Twins or their kindness, he’s ready to head out without another word. However, before either Sunny or Basil can even stand from their seats, Daphne quells their nerves with one simple verse.

“Proverbs 22:9; Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor. In other words, please stop by tomorrow morning and every morning after that until you two can find your bearings. We’ll have hot chocolate and fresh bread prepared for you two. Feel free to wash up in our restroom as well, if you feel so inclined.” Bowen nods along in agreement with this.

Basil begins to choke up, no bread required this time. It had been so long since he felt that someone was unconditionally looking out for him. As for Sunny, he had to look away and take a few deep breaths to calm down, wiping his eye with his sleeve before anything could even come out.

Bowen walks around the table to hand the two a few napkins to wipe away any tears that may have fallen. Basil tries to express his gratitude properly in what can only be assumed are his repeated attempts at thanking them, but his words come out as complete gibberish through his quivering voice and light sobbing.

Daphne reaches across the table to hold Basil’s trembling hands. “We don’t need any thanks, really. Your company, and Sunny’s each morning, would be more than enough. So please, just head to wherever you two plan to spend the night and rest well. We wouldn't want to have to prepare coffee instead to get any meaningful conversation out of you, now would we?”

With that, Daphne ushers the two to the door and prepares to lock up behind them. Just before she can close the door, Bowen walks out and hands each of them a slice of cake on a paper plate, along with a plastic fork. He gives a slight bow. “An apology on behalf of our dearest brother for his past behavior.” Sunny looks at the cake in his hands before looking up at Bowen. “Thank you.” The twin just nods, then backs into the bakery and closes up for the night. After all, they have to wake up bright and early to prepare for their guests tomorrow.

June 13, (Night)

Sunny and Basil walk back to the park in silence, each too busy being lost in their own thoughts to speak. Once they arrive, Basil instinctively heads toward their stump hidden in the trees, but Sunny stops him with a gentle tug of his sweater. He wordlessly points to a better spot to rest for now, a set of benches and tables just across from where they sleep every night.

Once seated across from each other, they remain silent, not even touching their cake. Neither wants to be the first to speak, but this silence can’t last forever.

Basil is the first to try the cake. It’s a Tres Leches cake and possibly the best thing Basil has had since leaving home. No, it is the best thing Basil has had since leaving home. The cake’s appearance alone had his mouth watering. It was made of three layers, two of a porous and sponge-like cake bread with a layer of a whipped cream frosting to separate the two. On the outside of the cake is a fair coating of more of that sweet and smooth cream, with almond shavings adorning it. Finally, on top of each of their slices is a fresh and luscious strawberry.

Unlike the bread offered to them before, Basil takes his time and savors this gift. He picks up his fork and breaks a small piece of the cake off from the rest before carefully lifting it into his mouth. As the cake hits his tongue, he takes note of just how sweet and light it is, the cake practically melting into a soft and wet mush against his tongue.

The layer of cream adds a subtle flavor, complementing the rest of the cake's natural sweetness. The taste is simple, but that only leaves you more time to busy yourself savoring it rather than deciphering what it is that makes it so delectable.

It's almost refreshing to eat from just how chilled and soaked it is with sweet milks and creams. The flakes of almond that coat its surface give the cake an added layer of texture, providing a slight chew. Funnily enough, the cherry on top in this case is actually the strawberry adorning the slice. Its inclusion wasn't required to make this a perfect experience, but its slight sour sweetness does make for the perfect palate cleanser to save for the end of this meal. For now, though, a single bite of it will suffice.

Seeing his friend dig in encourages Sunny to take his first bite. He picks up his fork and breaks a piece off the cake to sample. “It’s good, right?” Basil pauses eating the cake just long enough to ask. Sunny simply nods. Not wanting to finish his cake too soon, Basil starts up a conversation to distract himself from the remains of the slice in front of him.

“So… you seemed to be on pretty good terms with The Twins. How do you three know each other? You aren’t exactly the type to get to know people willingly… No offence.” Sunny stops to think for a moment, reminiscing about his time back in Faraway. “Hide and Seek.”

Basil furrows his brow and fidgets with the fork. “Hide and Seek?” Sunny nods. “Mikhael was outside his house. He said he sensed evil. I wanted to see the evil so we went insi-” Basil cuts him off. “Wait, you went inside Mikhael’s home? And what do you mean we? Are you saying it wasn’t just you breaking into his home?” Sunny takes a bite of cake before defending himself. “Kel and Hero were there… and we didn’t break in, the door was unlocked.”

Basil rubs his temples upon hearing this. “So you casually walked into someone else's house and then played Hide and Seek with their siblings? Am I getting this right?” Sunny’s eyes begin to trail off towards the ground awkwardly, realizing that this scenario does sound pretty silly when said out loud. “Yes…” Basil puts his hands together and takes a deep breath. “For someone so meek, you seem oddly comfortable walking into random people's houses… And why did Hero and Kel follow you in?!” Sunny shrugs. “Supervision.”

Basil's mouth hangs open in disbelief. “Let’s just move on to a different topic… Umm, did you make any friends here? You had to have met someone in the past two years, right?” Sunny seems to perk up hearing this, a promising sign in Basil’s eyes. Sunny licks some frosting from his lips before speaking. “There were three kids. They were part of a theater club that I joined, or at least I think I joined?”

Basil stops him right there. “You don't remember? Wouldn’t this have been like a year or two ago at most? How do you forget a commitment like that in such a short amount of time? Actually… no, I can believe it. You’ve forgotten much more important things in roughly the same amount of time. Anyway, please continue.”

Sunny glares at Basil for a moment before continuing his story. “There was… Lucy. She was obsessed with Captain Spaceboy. Then Max, who liked Sweetheart. And Howard who kept those two from fighting,… He was nice.” Basil taps the table in slight irritation. “You said these three were your friends and that's all you remember?”

Sunny looks up and thinks for a moment. “Lucy once sent me to the Clinic with a kick.” Basil puts his head in his hands and just stares down at the table in disbelief. “And where are these three now?” Basil asks with exasperated breath. “They graduated and went to make something of their lives. I think Lucy got a scholarship somewhere in Connecticut. I don’t know about the other two… So, how are our friends doing back home?”

Basil lifts his head from his hands and looks at Sunny, surprised that he’s actually attempting to make conversation of his own. “The others… they’re… they’re actually doing pretty well. Aubrey’s mom finally died and-” Sunny starts choking on his cake upon hearing what has to be that last thing he expected to learn today. “S-Sunny! Are you okay?!” Sunny raises a hand up to signal to Basil that he’s fine. It’s just a simple coughing fit and it soon passes, though, not before leaving Sunny with a few tears to wipe away. Once he’s caught his breath, Sunny looks to Basil to continue where he left off.

“You sure you’re fine, Sunny… okay. So like I said, Aubrey’s mom died some time before I had to leave. It was from alcohol poisoning, or at least that's what we were told... One too many drinks I guess…” Sunny stares off at nothing, thinking about his own mother’s recent drinking problem for a second. However, he quickly brushes those thoughts aside, knowing his mother is better than that, before returning his attention to Basil.

“There wasn’t much of a ceremony for her. Only our group and the preacher showed up. Aubrey didn’t even cry… When I asked her about the whole thing, she said that this funeral service was more than what her mother deserved, that she would have buried her in a trash bag if given the option… Something about the way she said it makes me feel that she meant it.”

The pair sit there in heavy silence, tension hung in the air like… so anyway. The two would eat some more of their cake in silence before Basil, after some hesitation, finally gathered the courage to continue where he left off. “So… after her mom passed, Aubrey took some time to fix up the house on her own. I guess it made a good excuse to get some time to herself and process everything…”

Basil sits there, tightening up like a coil before he snaps, slamming the table, causing plastic forks to clatter. “She says she didn’t care about what happened, but I just feel like… I mean, she might have been a terrible mother, but that was her only family! Family is meant to care for each other, and I… I don't know… She seemed a lot better once she was done at least, more herself for sure.”

He seems to deflate the more he speaks. “Walking in there after what she did to the place was a surreal feeling to say the least,” he begins to lighten up as he continues the story, taking another bite of cake as he resumes.

“There was so much more color, and the air felt breathable. Bun-Bun even got to move into her mom’s room, the whole thing having been turned into their pen. It was so cute!” Sunny begins to smile along with Basil, happy to hear the news. “She got her life figured out too. She has her own little bike and scooter repair shop now, right beside Fix-It in that empty space they've had for years. I guess she became friends with the guy there at some point or something… probably explains where she learned to fix things.”

Sunny listens intently, forgetting all his worries for just a moment as Basil continues to recount how the rest of their friends are doing, finding some solace in the fortune that has befallen them. “Kel managed to get into some school basketball team, or something. He’s not going pro or anything yet, but he’s doing well… Oh! Then Hero is finishing up med school, just like we knew he would! And this other thing happened with-”

Lively chatter filled the air for the next half an hour as Basil talked about all the good that was going on back home, but soon they would run out of cake and lighthearted topics along with it. As things quieted down, the two relaxed, leaning onto the table and resting for a moment, enjoying what felt like true normalcy for the first time in a long while. But just as quickly as they settled down, conversation would begin to flow again.

“Why the candy every morning?” Basil would look at Sunny, a bit confused before he realized what he meant. “The candy? Oh, yeah, that… Well, I haven’t brushed my teeth in a while… obviously, so I wake up with this really bad taste in my mouth. I just use a piece each morning to wash it out for the day. Though, with The Twins offering to make us hot chocolate every morning now, I might not need it anymore. Good thing too, I'm basically out…” Basil smiled awkwardly as he spoke.

Sunny accepted that reasoning, but a new question would pop up after. “Where did you get the candy?” Basil’s awkward smile faded just as quickly as it had appeared upon hearing this question, a look of shame creeping into his expression as he thought about the answer he had to give. “I… I got it from Kim and Vance just a few days before I left town… it was just a coincidence. I hadn’t told anyone I was leaving and exactly for this reason. When they gave me that candy, it was as an apology for what they had done before… I-I didn’t like the way they looked at me as they handed over the bag. Their eyes were full of pity… I-I didn’t like it… I'm not sure why, but I just hate being looked at like that… I guess that’s why I didn’t bother asking anyone for help before I left… Everyone has always done so much for me… I thought it was about time I solved my own problems… Same reason I didn’t call Polly when I had the chance.”

Sunny understood that feeling well. Having so many people to reach out to, but afraid that your presence would only inconvenience or hurt those you care about most was an all too familiar concept, but he now knows it's a terrible way to think.

Sunny reaches out to place a comforting hand overtop Basil’s before looking him in the eyes to speak some wisdom he’d been given in the past. “Friends… Friends are supposed to be there for each other.” Basil doesn’t know how to react at first, staring blankly at his friend... he then breaks into laughter. “That's so cheesy. Did you get that one from Kel?” Sunny just sits there silently, listening to the proof of Basil's joy.

But just as quickly as it started, the laughter dies down. “Thanks, Sunny… Maybe I should have, but if I did, I wouldn't be here helping you now... a-and I can't exactly take back my decision anyway. Not unless I want to walk all the way back to Faraway Town at least...”

They eventually get up from the benches and dispose of their plates and forks before making their way back to the hidden spot in the trees to sleep. Basil helps Sunny set up their “bed”. Two blankets on the ground to soften the dirt and one to cover them as they sleep. They rest the pillows against the stump and crawl into their makeshift bed alongside each other.

Seeking further warmth, Sunny assumes the role of little spoon and presses his back against Basil’s chest. The blond boy doesn’t mind, instead he instinctively wraps his arms around Sunny before wishing him good night as they both quietly drift off to sleep; their dreams filled with the savory pastries that await them at the bakery tomorrow morning.

Chapter Text

June 28, (Morning)

This morning, just like every morning since re-establishing a friendship with The Twins, is spent chatting in their bakery, eating fresh bread, and sipping on hot chocolate. This kind of peace feels like a luxury, one not taken lightly. Both boys make sure to always leave before the real customers start showing up, not wanting to hurt the reputation of the bakery with their presence.

On occasion, a customer will walk in earlier than usual, but they always grab the seats in the far back corner in case of this, giving them the chance to leave while the patron is busy staring at the pastries, deciding what to eat. But on this day, a special customer walks in.

Basil is sat facing away from the entrance today. He hears the door open, but can't see who entered. All he sees is his friend’s face go pale. Curious, Basil goes to turn around in his seat, but before he can do that, Sunny has already stood up and grabbed his hands. “Sunny?! What the-” He’s yanked out of his seat and quickly dragged away.

The two boys burst into the bathroom, and Basil is finally given a chance to speak. “S-Sunny, what's gotten into you? You know how weird it is to drag someone into the bathroom with you? What if Daphne and Bowen saw? They might get the wrong idea… God, the last time something like this happened to me, at least they-”

While Basil rants on in the background, Sunny feels the room spin around him, any and all noise being reduced to static. All that can be heard is the beating of his own heart and a ringing in his ears. He turns on the sink faucet and splashes his face with cold water. “That wasn’t her. That couldn't have been her. I’m just seeing things!” As he finishes washing his face, the ringing dissipates and the beat of his heart returns to his chest, leaving his head. The room quiets and he can finally make sense of what Basil is saying. “$20 was not worth it! I can still remember the taste…”

Sunny looks at Basil with a puzzled expression. Basil clicks his tongue at his friend. He opens his mouth to start again, but quickly shuts it after quick reconsideration. “I… nothing, just talked a bit about one of my… ‘odd jobs’… so what happened to you?” Sunny quickly shushes Basil and gestures for him to follow.

The two boys creep toward the bathroom door and open it just enough to peek their heads out. “So what has you acting like you just saw a gho-” Before Basil can finish that sentence, he sees exactly what caused Sunny to run. There at the counter stood a brunette, middle aged woman, with short wavy hair, and a red dress. “S-Sunny… is that… is that your mom?” Basil doesn’t even need an answer, and he isn’t given one. Sunny clings to the doorway, his knuckles going white, shaking as he sees his mother order and take a seat.

“She seems tired… and stressed, but she seems sober. I thought you said your mom was starting to look like Aubery’s?” Sunny quells his nerves and takes a closer look. Basil is right; his mom’s hair is well done and her clothes don't have any signs of spilt wine. She’s even wearing makeup today, with her bright red lipstick visible even from across the room. “Maybe she’s cleaned herself up? You should try to talk to her, Sunny… it’s been like maybe a month since you got kicked out, right?”

Sunny backs away from the door. He considers his next move carefully. “I said I'd go to her if she looked clean… If she looked like she used to...” His knees buckle as he leans against the wall for support. “I can’t do this. I’m sorry, Mom. I’m not ready yet.” He shakes his head, trying to quickly think of any excuse to not talk to her, whether it’s real or fake. “I… I can’t. What if she's still mad and doesn't want me back yet. It’s too soon.” Basil steps away from the door as well, letting it shut behind him. “Too soon… TOO SOON?! Sunny, she’s your mom a-and only family! What other reason would she have to clean up her act if not for you?!” Hearing Basil scream at him, Sunny runs and shuts himself away in one of the stalls.

Realizing what he just did, Basil quickly goes to apologize. He goes up the stall his friend has hidden away in and starts knocking on it. “Sunny… come out, please? I didn’t mean to yell, I just want you to understand that maybe it’s about time you try and get her to take you back?” His knocking becomes more frantic. “She might have kicked you out, but you’ve grown, and I think she’s grown too… I’m sure you’ve ‘figured it out’, whatever she meant by that… a-and she probably misses you! S-So you should go out there and talk to her…” Basil stops his rambling and gives Sunny a chance to respond, but the only response given is that of the bathroom light’s electric hum.

Basil patiently waits, but realizing that he’s only wasting time and that Sunny’s mom could leave at any moment, he makes a drastic claim. “You have the chance to go home today and you’re just gonna waste it sitting in a bathroom stall?!” He begins to slam on the door. ”I-I am not above sliding under the door and dragging you out, Sunny!”

He keeps hitting the door till hands hurt. Unable to keep this up, he leans against the door and speaks softly. ”Please come out? Give her a chance… Take the opportunity I wasn’t given.” He gives him one last chance to respond… SIlence. “Alright… if you don't want to try and talk to her, then… then I guess I will.” Basil steps away from the stall door and just as he does, he can hear the squeaking of rubber shoes on the tile floor as Sunny scampers to stop him. Basil hasten his exit from the bathroom all while Sunny fumbles with the bathroom’s sliding lock.

By the time he opens the stall door, Basil is nowhere to be found. His heart races and he does the same, bolting for the exit, almost slipping as he does so. He bursts into the bakery lobby, preparing himself for the worst, but luckily for him, he only finds Basil talking to Bowen at the counter.

”You’re saying you have no idea what direction she went, only that she left like three minutes ago?” Bowen nods in response to Basil’s question. Basil lays his head down on the counter, letting out a groan. Sunny walks up and places his hand on Basil’s back. Basil raises his head from the counter to look down at Sunny, giving him a frustrated look. “She’s gone. Are you happy now?” Sunny looks down to the floor, trying to avoid Basil’s disappointed gaze.

Basil stares at his friend’s sorrowful expression and contemplates. “Maybe you’re in the wrong? What if hasn’t told you everything that went down between them? Maybe it's worse than he lets on… You always were the type to suffer silently, weren't you, Sunny?” Basil takes a deep breath before muttering. “Sorry…” Sunny slowly lifts his head and looks up at his friend. “I'm sorry too.” Basil gets down on Sunny’s level and looks him right in the eye. ”You don’t need to apologize for anything. I shouldn't force you to try and do anything… It’s just that you have an actual chance at normalcy again… A-And I don’t want you to have to live like this for as long as I have…”

“So that was Sunny’s mother? Now everything makes sense.” Bowen cuts into the conversation as he disinfects the spot on the counter where Basil’s head was resting moments before. “That would explain why you both hid in the bathroom together. And here I was thinking that you two were-” “It’s nothing like that!” Basil interrupts, clearly flustered. Sunny looks away from the two boys in embarrassment at the realization that dragging Basil into the bathroom with him could be perceived in… that way. Bowen lets out a small chuckle. “I understand, you two weren’t up to any debauchery, but I wouldn’t judge you if you were. Contrary to popular belief, the Lord doesn’t frown upon that kind of relationship, just please don’t do it in our bathroom. This is a family business, after all”

The two boys only grow redder in the face as Bowen keeps up his antics, Sunny even going red in the ears. “I thought Daphne would be the tease.” Sunny mutters under his breath as he tries to compose himself. Basil feels lightheaded by this point and tries to wrap up the conversation to leave. “Yes well… thank you for everything as always, but I think we need to go now… bye!”

As Sunny and Basil rush out the door, Daphne enters the lobby from the back of the bakery just in time to see them escape. “Running off without saying goodbye? Rude. Next time I'm charging them for the hot chocolate… What has them in such a hurry anyway?” Bowen just watches them as they disappear from sight, a smug look on his face. “Guess they have places to be. But you know, dear sister… I’m quite fond of this arrangement we have with them. They make for such delightful conversation.”

After having practically run away from the bakery, the two find themselves just down the street in front of Bellucci’s. The short sprint has Sunny out of breath, but surprisingly Basil has no such issue. Not wanting to look pathetic in front of his friend, Sunny straightens up before Basil can notice his exhausted state. Sadly for him, he’s gonna have to make another small sprint before Basil makes a “terrible mistake”, at least in Sunny’s eyes… eye.

”It’s so hot out here, the cement burns! Let’s wait out the day in here, at least till they kick us out-” Before Basil can walk into the little coffee shop, Sunny grabs him from behind, and yanks him by his collar. Basil gags as he’s stopped in such a rough manner, something Sunny didn’t mean to do. “Sunny, why would you-” Before Basil can finish his sentence, Sunny interrupts, voice genuinely shaky as he realises the pain he was able to cause on complete accident. “Sorry! I didn’t mean to do that. Just don't go in there, please.”

Basils rubs his throat in attempts to soothe the pain. “Why not?” Sunny looks Basil dead in the eyes and in full seriousness says, “$4 cake pops are a crime.” Basil doesn’t even know how to react to that, all he knows is that they’re not entering Bellucci’s. “Fine… how about…” Basil looks around and spots what he believes is an electronics store across and down the street. “How about there?” Basil points to the end of the street where said store is located.

Sunny looks over and sees that said store is past his mother’s apartment building. “No… She might be there. We can’t… But if I don't go, he might ask why. He can't know she lives right here. He might find her and tell her where I am! No… He wouldn’t do that. It’s fine… It’s fine. Let's go.” Sunny reluctantly nods and walks with Basil.

They make their way across and down the street till they reach the end of it and find the electronics store. “I only saw this place from all the way down there because they had a cutout of a TV out here. I wonder if they have polaroids inside… Are you serious?!” Sunny is slightly startled by his friend's seemingly random outburst, but then he follows Basil’s gaze up and lets out a small giggle as he realizes just what has him this unreasonably annoyed. “Again with this?! Why is this city so unoriginal with their store names!?” Basil gives the electronic store’s sign a scrutinizing gaze as he reads that this place is simply named, Electronics Store.

“It's The Taco Spot all over again! There have to be other places near or in this city that sell electronics, so why! Why name yourself, Electronics Store, as if you're the only one!?” Sunny hides his light snickering as he begins nudging Basil into the building before teasing him. “At least it’s not The Electronics Store.”

Inside they find that this place isn't just an electronics store, but also a mini snack bar by the name of Tissu. “Tissu? I didn’t even notice there was another store in here… was there a sign outside for them too?” Sunny nods in response to Basil’s inquiry. “I guess I was too busy being annoyed at Electronics Store… anyway, let’s look around.” Once inside, they find that the place has two cashiers, one for each store. Luckily both seem too engaged in their work to notice the two boys entering.

They start by looking over the MP3 Players and Personal Phones of varying colors. “They got the whole rainbow, Sunny! Green for me, orange for Kel, blue for Hero, and…” Basil trails off as he realises that the whole rainbow excludes a few members of the group. Sunny looks at the MP3 players and realises that as well, deciding to poke fun at Basil. “Go on, Basil. What colors for Aubrey and I?” Basil just looks at him then back to the MP3s and Personal Phones. “I guess you get Yellow and Aubrey gets Red.… Ooh Polaroids!” Basil immediately forgets about Sunny’s light jab at him as he rushes over to the shelves, staring at precious reminders of better days past.

He picks one up and starts snapping imaginary photos, messing around with it. Sunny watches with a smile as Basil plays with the camera. Once that’s out of his system, Basil lowers the camera, holding it against chest and takes a deep breath followed by a mournful exhale. “I miss my camera…” Hearing this, it finally clicks for Sunny that Basil doesn’t have his camera on him. That his friend's most prized possession is missing and he's only just realizing it.

“I forgot you had a camera. What happened to it?” Basil puts the polaroid back on the shelf before slowly turning back to face Sunny. "I fell in a ditch and broke it… I was so busy crying over it, I didn’t even notice I dropped Polly’s contact info there too." Basil stares off at nothing. Noticing him lost in thought, Sunny tugs on his shirt. “Wanna talk about it?” Basil looks down at Sunny, a bit surprised. He then nods and sits down against the wall in a corner, Sunny following suit.

“I remember the noise it made when I landed on it. The lens shattered and the camera split open. It was kinda interesting seeing the inside of it… But I was a little too busy picking out glass shards from my side to really care.” Sunny cringes hearing that, and Basil smiles a little after seeing the face his friend just made. “Yeah… I should have told Miya about those cuts when we visited. Guess it slipped my mind. I think I might still have some bruises from that fall too. But I feel pretty good now actually, or at least as good as I could feel…” He trails off for a moment. “Do you still have the photo album? You didn’t sell it or anything, did you?” Sunny smiles at the absurd question and shakes his head. “No, Basil. I did not sell the photo album.” They share a bit of quiet laughter. “Good… that’s good to hear.”

Basil lets out a sigh. “T-Thanks for that… for letting me vent, I mean.” Sunny nods. “Tell me about everything that happened to you on your way here someday, okay?” Thinking about what that story entails makes Basil cringe, but he nods. After a moment of shared silence, the two go back to looking around, and to their surprise, they find some video games.

They spend the rest of their time reading the descriptions on the backs of the boxes, until they're eventually spotted sitting in the farthest corner of the store by the electronics cashier, and unceremoniously kicked out.

June 28, (Afternoon)

Walking out of the store, Basil immediately begins to head in the direction they came from, but Sunny redirects him, afraid of having to cross the apartment building where his mother lives more than he needs to. “Let’s go across the street. I don't think we’ve ever been on that block.” Basil nods and follows, not really caring what direction they take so long as he’s walking with his friend, but then something about what Sunny said bounces around in his mind and he just has to ask. “WE’VE never been there? That includes you? You’re saying that there’s even more places in this city you haven’t seen? The city you’ve lived in for TWO YEARS?”

Basil pokes Sunny in the back as they walk, once again teasing him about just how little Sunny seems to get out. Sunny feels a heat begin to build up near his ears as Basil makes fun of him. Not wanting Basil to see his ears go red, the tell-tale sign of his embarrassment, Sunny puts on his hoodie and begins to walk faster. Basil picks up the pace, quietly giggling as he chases after him. They eventually run far enough down the street to reach what appears to be a police station, causing both boys to slow down to take the time to look at the new sight.

Basil takes an especial interest in its odd design. “The entire building is painted red except for the entrance… Why? Did they run out of red? No. Bricks are always red, so they purposely went out of their way to make it blue. But why also make it so uneven? Did they just not want half painted bricks? It looks like someone took a giant bucket of blue paint and just lobbed a glob of it at the entrance. That, or the giant jam guy from those commercials broke through it and all they had around to fix the damage was conveniently blue bricks… It does frame the door really nicely though. The kind of spot you’d take a group photo.”

“Why are you staring at the entrance so much?” Sunny asked, snapping Basil out of his mini trance. “Huh? Oh! Sorry, I just thought the entrance looked… unique. It would make a really nice spot to take a picture, you know?” Sunny just nods, not entirely sure how to respond to Basil's interesting perspective on the building. What has Sunny more interested is the fact that they parked their police car on the sidewalk. He points towards it before addressing his concern to Basil.

“Are they allowed to do that? I know it’s a big sidewalk, but no other cars are doing it.” Basil stares at the police car casually chilling on the sidewalk before looking at Sunny. “You want to tell the police how to park?” Sunny quickly shakes his head. “That's what I thought. Just leave it alone. It’s not worth interacting with them unless you really need it. Nothing good comes from striking up a conversation with police….”

Sunny feels that there's a story behind the way Basil talks about law enforcement, but he’s not the type of person to go prying into other people's business… Well, actually, that's a complete lie. He just feels that this is something he should probably let Basil bring up on his own when he's ready.

Noticing what appears to be two homeless bums standing outside their station for an odd amount of time, a Police Officer steps out to confront them. “You two, what are you-” Sunny turns to look at the Officer, inadvertently giving him a clear view of his face despite the hood being up. Just then, the Officer seems to enter a small panic and begins approaching at a quickened pace. “You, Sir! Come here for a second, please!”

Sunny goes pale at being called out by the Police Officer. He doesn’t know what the man wants, or why specifically him, and it has him paralyzed with fear. Noticing his friend's distress, Basil instinctively grabs Sunny by the arm and breaks into a sprint, pulling him along to get them out of there. The Officer gives chase, only making it half a block before giving up and heading back to hop in the awkwardly parked police cruiser. He starts up the car and begins his chase by immediately almost hitting a passing car as he drives off the sidewalk, said car’s driver honking and yelling an obscenity as they go by.

Basil takes a left upon getting to the end of the road, bringing the two of them to a street neither of them have ever visited before, at the bottom left of the city. Basil drags Sunny into an alley to hide and not long after, the Officer drives by in search of them. Once the Officer passes and things quiet down, Basil checks if his friend is okay. “Sunny, hey, look at me. Just breath, okay? I don’t know what that Officer wanted, but it couldn't have anything to do with you. H-He probably confused you for someone else. Grey hoodies are in season nowadays… I think?”

After some cradling of his head, Sunny pulls away to speak. “Nobody is wearing grey hoodies in the middle of summer! They’re after me…” Sunny begins to shake again so Basil reaches out to hold him. “You haven’t done anything wrong, Sunny; neither of us has… that the police of this city would know about anyway.” Sunny shoves Basil away. “That’s not comforting!”

The two argue for a bit about what the Police Officer could want and whether it has anything to do with certain events from six years ago. “Well, it couldn’t be the whole… you know? Our friends didn’t even know about that until recently.” Sunny nods frantically, not wanting to continue talking about that. Seeing his friend genuinely shook, Basil tries to make light of the situation, to the best of his abilities. “M-Maybe Aubrey decided to finally press charges on you for stabbing her that one time?” Basil’s eyes shoot open with fear as his usually level headed friend stands up in a fury.

Sunny gets right in his face. “That’s not funny!” Basil attempts to back pedal, realizing that this is a sore subject for his friend. “I-I’m sorry… I thought enough time had passed…” Sunny takes a step back, distancing himself from Basil. He rests his back against the alley wall and covers his face with his hands. “I… I wasn’t right back then. I should have never… How could I do that!? How could she forgive me?!” Sunny lets out quiet whimpers, sounding as if he’s on the verge of tears.

Basil is about to say something to try and smooth things over with him, when suddenly the crashing of tin lids puts a complete stop to their argument. They turn to see a man sitting up and stumbling out from behind some trash cans. "You three…” The man leans forward, staring a bit harder, clearly disoriented. “Two… are in my space…” The two boys watch as the disgruntled man in front of them, clearly drunk, walks towards them. The man has a greasy mop of brown hair, tan skin, and is wearing a wife beater along with grey shorts. Sunny takes a closer look at the man and, to his surprise, recognizes him as the Smelly Hobo from the park back in Faraway Town.

”That Smelly Hobo is here? Maybe he remembers me. He might help us.” Sunny walks towards the man, hoping to start some sort of conversation. Basil stands up to follow suit, not to speak to the man as well, but to get ready for what's to come. As soon as Sunny gets within arms reach of the Smelly Hobo, the man swings an empty beer bottle at him. Having been expecting confrontation from the beginning, Basil reacts fast enough to pull Sunny back by his hoodie, just barely keeping him from having a glass bottle cracked over his skull.

The man stumbles forward after that swing, giving Basil enough time to quickly run up and shove him to the ground before spraying him in the face with the pepper spray he’d received from Sunny after reuniting in the park. While the man is down, Basil kicks him a few times, aiming for the stomach and crotch. He just keeps kicking, striking with more force each and every time, letting out a rage that’s been bottled up for far too long.

Sunny doesn’t move, seemingly frozen with fear. Not because the man scared him, but because he’s seen this before. He was here just a month ago. Cornered, with someone yelling at him, and a wine bottle in their hand. The smell of alcohol and the way the man swayed was all too familiar. His hands shake. His chest tightened. The world around him fades to static. It isn’t until the man’s cries of pain pierce the haze that Sunny comes to. Back in the present, he finds Basil’s still going, still beating on the man. That violent sight finally pushes Sunny to turn and run. Once Basil’s sure the man won’t follow, he takes off running as well.

Basil can hear the Smelly Hobo screaming fade as he runs from the alley. Upon exiting it, he looks around, but can’t seem to find Sunny. With no idea of where he went, he makes his way to the only place he could have gone and hopes he’s right. As he runs to the park, he notices a handful of other homeless people, like the hobo from before, in alleys, with one even walking the street. He pays them no mind, knowing that they’ll do the same as he continues his sprint. Eventually, he makes it to their spot and finds Sunny sitting on the stump they sleep against, with the Police Officer from before standing right in front of him.

Wanting to know what's going on before he approaches, Basil slowly walks up just close enough to listen to what the Cop and Sunny are talking about. “Why did you run?!” Not stable enough to speak yet, Sunny turns away from the Cop, turning his back to him as he tries to steady his breathing. The Cop takes a step back, baffled by the perceived audacity. “I told you to come over and you ran! You can’t do that! It’s illegal, Sir!” The Cop sounds almost whiny in tone, which Basil gets a kick out of. “Where does it say that?” Sunny retorts in between deep breaths. “Where does it say that, he says… You know what? I have nothing better to do. Give me a few minutes and I'll show you exactly where it says that, Sir.” The Cop pulls out a small notebook and starts skimming through it.

Basil stays hidden, watching this funny interaction. "Is this guy serious? This has to be his first time trying to arrest someone. He actually keeps a little cop cheat sheet on him. What a loser." Basil steps out from where he was hiding to get a better look. He sees the guy’s young, maybe only a few years older than him and Sunny. “He looks like someone they’d put on a youth recruitment poster,” he thinks as he silently judges the Officer.

Confident that this cop isn’t a threat. Basil starts to walk over. Just then, the Cop finally finds the page. “See! Right here, Sir!” Sunny turns around to look at whatever the Cop finally found. As he turns, he sees Basil approaching and feels his heartbeat steady in response. The Cop notices Sunny’s eye wandering and puts the notebook directly in front of his face. “It says, and I quote, ‘Officers may be justified in initiating a foot pursuit of any individual the officer reasonably believes is about to engage in, is engaging in or has engaged in criminal activity.’ So take that, Sir!”

Sunny is not impressed and pushes the notebook away from his face before pointing to something lower on the page. “And this?” The Cop looks down the page to see where Sunny is pointing. There he finds something that he regrets writing down at that moment. It reads, “Mere flight by a person who is not suspected of criminal activity shall not serve as the sole justification for engaging in an extended foot pursuit without the development of reasonable suspicion regarding the individual’s involvement in criminal activity.” The Cop finally looks up from the page to see Sunny giving him a smug little grin. “What criminal activity were you suspicious of?”

The Cop glanced at the page, then at Sunny, then back at the page, then back at Sunny. “Well… these rules don’t apply, because technically this wasn’t a foot pursuit since most of my chasing was done from inside a car… so there… And none of it matters at all, because I had reasonable suspicion from the start, Sir” Sunny raises a brow. Before the Officer can explain his claim, Basil steps into view, startling the Officer with his sudden and ghastly appearance, causing the man to almost drop his notebook.

After recovering from the initial shock, the Cop straightens up and clears his throat. He then takes a step back so he can keep both of them in view, to prevent another surprise like that from happening. “Please don't do that again, other Sir. I don’t want to accidently taze someone else this week…” he says meekly. Basil holds in a laugh as he sits on the stump beside Sunny. The Cop, acting on social norm instinct, sits as well.

Once having made himself comfortable on the ground, the Cop continues from where he left off, turning to address Sunny. “Listen, Sir. I have reasonable suspicion that you are the missing person in our missing persons case… That sentence doesn’t sound right, but it’s the best way I can put it, Sir.” Sunny's eye jolts open hearing this, but before he can say anything in response, Basil chimes in first. “T-That’s not possible, but that’s… that’s so great!” He lets out a breath that sounds almost like a wheeze. His hands twitch slightly. “That’s… t-that’s really good. I mean, it’s… it is good…” His voice tightens, and his face twitches as he speaks through a strained smile. “She finally realized what she was missing… changed her mind.” He exhales shakily, then mutters under his breath, “I just… I just wish my parents…” He stares at the ground for an uncomfortably long moment before suddenly raising his head and giving Sunny a pat on the back. “You’re lucky, Sunny.”

Basil grits his teeth and turns to look in a different direction before anyone notices the tears forming in his eyes. Sunny and the Officer share awkward glances with each other before continuing with their conversation. “So… you’re a missing persons case, Sir. I know nothing of your situation other than your mom is looking for you.” Sunny almost can’t believe what he’s hearing. “Are you sure you have the right person?” The Cop lets out a small laugh. “Yeah, I think I do. Your homeless friend just called you Sunny and you have an eyepatch. Not many people fit that description, Sir… The report for you got filed today actually, so it’s kinda funny how you sorta just walked up to our doorstep. I could have caught you right there if your friend wasn’t so darn fast!”

Sunny stares off at the trees as he thinks about the Cop’s words. “So she did see me at the bakery? Did she know that was me for sure, or did I just remind her of the son she remembers? I should have just hid in the booth! Why did I run? That was stupid!”

The conversation hits a slump, neither party really sure what to say next, but feeling like he’s meant to be the authority figure in this situation, the Officer tries his best to get it going again. “So… are you gonna come with me down to the station, or…?” Sunny looks down at the Cop, who’s now rocking back and forth while sitting criss-cross applesauce. Sunny’s eye shoots open. “I get a choice?” Surprised by the question, the Cop stops mid rock.

“Hmm? Of course you do, Sir. You’re an adult from what your mother wrote down. That means we can’t take you by force… That is unless you pose a danger to yourself or others… Do you pose a danger to yourself and or others?” That question hits Sunny right in the heart. He thinks about everything he’s done. The truth could very well be yes. But if he says it, even in his own mind, he’s admitting he hasn’t changed. So he shakes his head. “Then I guess it’s entirely up to you, Sir.

Basil gets mentally ready to be alone out here again, but then he hears something he wasn't expecting. “No… I don’t feel comfortable seeing her yet.” The Cop nods and stands up. “Anything you want me to tell her, Sir? I’ll deliver any message you give me.” The Cop stretches and shakes his legs, trying to wake them up after sitting on them too long. “What to say to her… I guess, tell her I’m safe and don’t wish to return… yet. That I forgive her for everything she said… Could you also please not tell her where to find me?” The Officer jots everything down in his notebook without a word. When he finishes, he stomps his feet a few times to get the blood flowing. No way he’s allowing himself to walk off with a limp in front of them.

Just before the Cop can leave, Basil stops him. “No, you wait there a minute!” Caught off guard by this command, he straightens up and salutes on instinct. “Yes, Sir!” Basil stands up and finally turns back around to face Sunny. “You finally know for a fact your mom wants to take you back and you’re just gonna turn her down?” Sunny opens his mouth to speak, but Basil continues before he can even get a single word out. “I didn’t get that choice, but you did! Why throw it away!?” Sunny opens his mouth and is again shut up immediately. “You could go home right now to a warm bath, a fresh meal, a… I don’t know… other things! L-Like an actual bed and not-” He points to the open backpack with half a blanket falling out. “Not that! You could go to sleep tonight without the fear of a bug crawling into your mouth, so why are you still here!?”

Before Basil can cut him off again, Sunny yells out, “Because you’ll be alone again!” That shuts his friend right up. “I… I left you once… let me make it right, please?” Those words leave him stunned for a moment, as if someone had just spoken the exact words he never knew he needed to hear. Escaping the trance, Basil looks down at Sunny with tired yet hopeful eyes. “Okay… but what if you went back to her and asked her to help me?” Sunny raises his hand to his chin, then thinks of just how to respond. “You just want me gone. I know you wouldn’t accept pity from my mom, would you?” Basil lets out a weak chuckle, then nods. “Yeah… I guess I wouldn’t. I don’t know how I’d handle finding out your mom cares more about me than my own parents did.” He laughs awkwardly, trying to mask the pain from the truth in his own words. Sunny just nods.

”This has been a very touching moment and I am grateful to have witnessed it, but can I go now, Sirs?” The two boys look over to the Cop, Basil’s cheeks and Sunny’s ears flushing red with embarrassment for having forgotten he was there. “Y-You didn’t have to stay this whole time!” Basil yells at the Officer. “You told me to stay a minute, Sir…” Basil scoffs. “A minute has passed! Get going! Don’t you have cop stuff to do, like filing this case as solved or something?” The Cop drops his shoulders in defeat. “That’s all I have assigned to me, Sir. We have a very slow flow of work. Makes you wonder why we even have a station…”

The Cop lets out a deep sigh, before perking up a bit. “At least that’s bound to change soon with the sudden migration of homeless to the city… Actually, our lack of police might be the very reason they’re here… Something to think about.” The Officer shrugs. “They seem to like the lower left corner of the city, so stay away. There’s not anything there for you anyway, just two buildings, construction… Then again, looking like that, you two might just fit right into their community. But watch out, there could be some crazies in the mix who might just walk up and stab you for no reason.” The Cop laughs. Nobody else does. Especially not Sunny. Especially not after running into exactly the kind of person the Officer is talking about. And especially not because, not too long ago, he was the “crazy”.

Feeling the sudden change in atmosphere, the Cop begins to awkwardly shuffle away. “Yeah, umm… Stay safe, Sirs.” Once he’s gone, Basil lets out a sigh of relief. He then turns to address his friend. “Wanna turn in early for tonight?” Sunny doesn’t respond, too busy looking at nothing, thinking about the past. “Sunny? You wanna go to bed early today? Hello?” Basil claps his hands in front of Sunny’s face, snapping him out of it. “Huh? Oh… yeah. That’s a… I like that idea.” They quickly set up for the night and try to get some sleep.

June 29, (Night)

Sniffling and quiet weeping could be heard as Basil stirred awake. Upon sitting up, he found that Sunny was no longer beside him. He looked around and spotted him curled in a ball, sitting some distance from where they slept. Basil gets out of “bed”, the freezing night air hitting his bare legs as he exits the warmth of the blanket. He quickly makes his way over and sits down next to his brooding friend.

”You okay?” Sunny shakes his head. “Yeah… that was a stupid question.” The sulking boy nods this time. “What’s wrong? Besides the temperature, that is…” Basil’s attempt at humor is meant with silence. “You really should come back to bed. You’ll catch a cold.” Basil tries to grab his friend’s arm in hopes of leading him to bed, but Sunny shakes his grip off. Taken aback by his stubbornness, Basil takes a slightly different approach. “You… You might not be cold, but I'm really cold, Sunny. A-And I want to talk about whatever has you upset. I can’t do that if I’m cold… Come back to the bed, so we can talk where it’s warm, please?”

Sunny remains seated. Basil looks down at his hands and fidgets with his fingers, trying to ignore the slight pain caused by his friend’s actions, or lack thereof. After another short moment, Sunny gets up and returns to their spot. Basil follows and helps him back under the blanket. Once settled down, Sunny takes a deep breath and finally speaks. “Am I a good person?” That one catches Basil off guard. “Umm… of course you are, Sunny! W-Why would you ask?” Sunny shakes his head slightly, as if that wasn’t the answer he was looking for, but he continues. “Was I always a good person?” Basil opens his mouth, ready to say yes again, but this time, the words won’t come out.

Sunny nods this time, feeling that this answer was more honest. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about our run in with that man in the alley.... I had a nightmare and-” Basil cuts him off. “It's okay, Sunny. I-I’m sure it was a scary experience for you, but-” Sunny is the one to cut him off this time. “No, just listen... In my nightmare, I’m in the alley. Then Aubrey is the one to walk in. She approaches me… I swing my knife… but you aren't there to pull her out of the way…”

Basil feels his palms begin to sweat as he listens. He starts to wipe them off on his sweater as he speaks. “S-So this is about Aubrey? I’m sorry for bringing her up earlier. I shouldn’t have joked about any of that… I-I should have been more mindful of your feelings, a-and, umm…” Basil begins to trail off nervously. Guilt at the idea that his words had affected his friend so greatly begins to cause his throat to tighten. “It’s not all about Aubrey… She was just the main victim of a larger problem… I don’t… I don’t think I care…”

Basil feels the tightness in his throat dissipate as Sunny clarifies, but his guilt is now replaced with confusion. “What do you mean you don’t care? Of course you care. We wouldn’t be talking about this now if you didn't.” Sunny shakes his head. “I did so many bad things, because it made things easy… I stabbed Aubrey to end a fight… I beat up her friends to find her and to ‘save’ you… I even interrupted a sermon to fight her, because I couldn’t wait thirty minutes for her to walk out.”

Basil lets his friend vent, but he can't help but ask one thing. “Wasn’t Kel with you for all of that?” That question catches Sunny off guard, pulling him out of his self loathing for just a second. “Well… yeah, but he was sorta just following along. And he wasn’t even there for my… worst moment… I just had to hold out a few more hours, but running away up those stairs was so much easier…” He drops his head and rests it in his hands. “And because I did, Mari is-” Basil silences that thought. “NO! You don’t get to blame yourself for that one… Or at least not all of it… You’re not that same person anymore. You smile more. You talk more. A-And if you really were still the Sunny who would take the easy way out… then you wouldn’t be here with me… in more ways than one, I think.” Basil feels his chest tighten at that thought.

Sunny listens, but he can’t accept those words. He doesn't feel that he earned those yet. “What if I haven’t changed? What if I’m still exactly who I was?” Sunny lifts his head from his hands and looks at Basil with teary eyes. “What if I hurt someone tomorrow… What if I hurt you? Would I really care, or would I just go silent? What if I'm one accident, one bad fall, just one more loss away from being someone else?!” He sobs in between breaths.

He grabs onto Basil’s hands tightly. It hurts, but Basil doesn’t pull away. “I’m scared that I'll hurt you all again. And I’m even more scared that when I do… I won’t feel bad about it…” Sunny’s voice begins to break and he looks down, away from his friend’s gaze. Basil feels droplets hit his hands. When Sunny raises his head again, Basil can see tears streaming down his cheek. “I’m afraid of myself.”

Those words hit Basil right in the heart. Sunny finally lets go of his hands and Basil wastes no time hugging him tight. It takes a moment, but soon, Sunny returns the hug. They hold each other for what feels like an eternity. Finally, Basil breaks the silence. "You… I… We've been through a lot together. And even if you don’t believe what I’m saying, just know that I know, you’re not that person anymore. You’re my friend… and I trust you to stay that way. Forever."

Basil rubs the back of Sunny’s head, and slowly, Sunny begins to calm down, though, still occasionally letting out a quiet sob in between breaths. “I never said sorry for everything I did… Will Aubrey forgive me?” Basil continues to rub his friend’s back as he speaks. “She’ll forgive you… Actually, I think she already has.” Sunny disengages from the hug to look Basil in the eyes. “What?” The blond smiles before continuing. “She hoped you’d show up for her birthday this year. You don’t usually hope for people you hate to show up for your birthday, do you?”

Sunny begins to tear up a little again. “I missed her birthday? That’s right. I did… I missed them all again.” Basil places his hand on his friend’s shoulder in an effort to reassure him. “It’s okay… I did too. But we missed yours, so we're kinda even? Then again, you didn't exactly invite us. Sorta cut contact actually…” Basil mutters that last part to himself. “B-But we’ll be there for her next year. And you can be there for mine and Hero’s too. Kel’s… we can actually still make it to his if we get lucky!" The two share a hopeful silence, before the moment is cut short by Basil’s yawn. “I think we’ve stayed up too long. It’s been an eventful day. We really should go back to sleep now.”

Sunny shakes his head. Basil freezes for a second, worried that he’s about to have to listen to and help Sunny through another one of his traumas, but luckily for him, he’s given a much simpler problem to solve. “Crying irritated my bad eye. Can you help me put in the drops?” Basil lets out a quiet sigh of relief, grateful it’s just a physical issue this time. He nods and gently helps Sunny with his eye. Once they’re done, the two finally settle back into their relatively peaceful slumber.

Chapter Text

July 4, (Evening)

The sound of tin and glass clashing together can be heard from inside a dumpster, along with the rustling of plastic bags. “What about this is fun?” calls out a voice from inside the container. Leaning against a wall in the alleyway outside, Basil calls back. “You're meant to find stuff. It's like the world's most degrading treasure hunt. I once found a thrown out Sweetheart toy phone. The ones with that annoying upbeat ringtone that start with the high pitched ‘Hello!’, you know?”

Sunny grabs onto the edge of the container rim and lifts himself up, popping his head out of the dumpster like a groundhog does with its burrow. He looks over at his friend leaning against the wall. “That's a treasure to you?” Basil shakes his head and smiles. “No, but it was funny for a few minutes at the time… Just keep looking. You'll find something eventually, and if you don't, there's another dumpster right next to this one… And make sure not to cut yourself. Dig how I showed you to.”

Sunny nods before going back to searching, disappearing into the large green container once more. “I regret asking what you did for fun before you found me.” Basil laughs, a sound that almost echoes a bit inside the dumpster. “I did more than this actually… And I’ll still do it on occasion. Usually when you start wandering around staring at random things and people. Why do you do that anyway?”

Sunny's ears go a bit red as Basil questions his odd tendencies, but luckily Basil can't see that from outside the container. Sunny takes a second to think about how to phrase his words without sounding stranger than usual before responding. “I like to imagine what people are thinking about, the conversations they might be having with themselves. But objects… I can't explain that one… But I don't stare at everything, just interesting things!” he yells from inside the container.

Basil snickers a bit. “Just interesting things? You once walked up to and stared at every potted plant in a room as if each of them had something different to tell you.” As Basil giggles to himself, an empty can flies out from the dumpster and almost hits him. “Hey! You know I'm right.” In response to that, Sunny throws a few more pieces of random garbage at his friend, all of which either miss or are avoided.

After things calm down a bit, Sunny goes back to properly searching. He lets out a sound of annoyance which echoes around inside the dumpster. From outside, Basil can hear his friend’s growing impatience. “Daphne said you’d hate this. I said you’d hate this. Bowen wanted to say you’d hate this, but found the mental image of you getting stuck in a dumpster funny so he didn’t say anything to you…” Another can flies out and almost hits Basil. “What I’m trying to say is that you really should just leave this kind of stuff to me and go back to begging on the sidewalk.”

”You go beg! It’s embarrassing the way they look at me… I kinda understand what you meant now…” Basil smiles at that comment. “Yeah, but it’s something almost necessary out here. And we’ve tried that before. People seem to avoid me… I guess I give off some kind of look… But they find you sad and that's good… Good for getting money, I mean… So how about you hop out and we swap places now?” The rustling of glass and tin stops for a moment, then a voice echoes out of the container. “I’m afraid of being out there… She’s looking for me now and I don’t know what to say if she finds me…” Hearing him say “She” like that, Basil knows Sunny can only be referring to one person. He doesn’t try to push any further, just lets Sunny continue doing what he’s doing.

After a few more minutes of this, Sunny finally tires himself and goes to hop out of the dumpster. He makes an attempt to climb out, but can't make a proper jump with the softness of the trash beneath him, and the weakness of his arms leaving him only just able to support his own weight isn't helping either. The poor boy is effectively trapped. “Bowen said this would happen,” Basil quietly mutters to himself with a cheeky smile. “Need some help?” He reaches his hand inside but has it lightly slapped away. “No, just give me a second…”

The rustling of plastic bags and the clashing of tin and glass can be heard as Sunny attempts to jump out. His head can occasionally be seen poking out as well as his arms before they lose grip and slip back inside. “Why do they make these like six feet tall?!” The short boy yells out from inside the container in mild frustration. “Just let me help you.” Basil reaches his arms inside again, but isn't pushed away this time. After releasing a dramatic sigh, Sunny allows himself to be lifted out.

With some assistance from his trapped friend, Basil is able to pick the embarrassed boy up by his arms, leaving him looking like a cat when their body is fully outstretched. Finally back on solid ground, Sunny dusts himself off and looks up at Basil. With an expression and voice equally devoid of life he mutters, “Your turn.”

Basil gives his friend a puzzled look, and next thing he knows, he finds himself inside the other dumpster he himself mentioned earlier. “Find something good!” Sunny shouts from outside the container as he leans on the wall. Reluctantly, Basil rummages around for his friend's amusement, but with his experience it doesn't take long for him to find something of worth.

”Sunny, you got anything to bet?” Confused, but intrigued, Sunny responds quickly to his friend's odd question. “I have $2.50 in quarters.” Basil stands up and triumphantly raises a stained pack of playing cards before answering his friend's question. “Good, because we're going to play cards! It'll be like old times back in the tree house. There shouldn’t be anyone hogging the benches at the park today, we can do it there.” He tosses the pack of cards to Sunny before hopping out of the dumpster with practiced ease, much to the short boy’s annoyance.

Once making it to the park, the two boys take a seat at the table furthest away from most people. Sunny dumps the cards out onto the table and begins sorting through them. “We're missing a few cards,” he says with a hint of disappointment. Basil begins to look through what cards they do have so they can choose a game, or at the very least find whatever game would be the least affected by the lack of cards. “We're missing a queen already, so how about Old Maid?”

Sunny nods and they begin by getting rid of whatever cards are missing their pairs, ending up with a game of Old Maid that is just a bit shorter than it should be. “You want to start, Sunny?” He nods. Basil takes the Old Maid before shuffling it into his hand. “Alright, pick a card.”

For the next few minutes the two would go back and forth exchanging the Old Maid and putting down pairs till they both came closer to victory. It would come down to Sunny holding the Old Maid along with a Four of Clubs. All Basil has to do is not pick the Old Maid and he wins, but Sunny’s lack of facial expression is making it impossible for him to get a read on where it is. In the end, he would grab the Old Maid and then lose as Sunny could easily tell where it was from watching how Basil's face subtly changed to that of relief when his hand hovered over it, and to that of worry when he was about to select the other card.

Basil places his remaining cards down on the table after his loss. ”Man… I was always better at Poker anyway,” Basil whined. “But we can't play Poker with these cards, now can we?” Sunny fires back in a teasing tone. “No, we can't… But we can make things more interesting.” Basil grabs the cards and redistributes them again before shuffling his hand around. “Get out those quarters! This time we play for real.”

Sunny smiles, amused by his friend's enthusiasm. After a quick run to their spot in the trees, he returns with a plastic baggie of coins; the kind you'd see an old lady use at a laundromat. Basil then gets out his own stash of coins which he has scattered around his pockets, $4 worth total. “Why do you carry everything on you? And why not put it in a bag, or something?” In response to his friend's curiosity, Basil shakes his head and nervously smiles. “I-I don't like bags… and I'd rather have everything that's mine on me.”

Sunny raises an eyebrow at this, but doesn’t press further. Quickly getting back to their game, both put down $1 to start. At first both don't seem to care, their expressions lacking, because whether they accidentally pick up the Old Maid or not doesn't matter this early. It's only once they get down to their last few cards when things begin to heat up. Basil decides to close his eyes so he can't tell what card Sunny is going for as to not give away his concerns with his facial expressions, leaving it all up to luck. Sunny on the other hand has begun to fake his concerns, making it hard to tell if he actually cares or not. Seems the threat of losing money is enough to get even the most cliff faced to respond.

Down to their final cards, it's Basil who has to grab from Sunny's hands. He hovers his hand back and forth between the two cards again, and again, and again. He keeps doing it and at this point he's just messing with his friend. “Pick already…” Sunny groans. Basil laughs at his friend's frustration. “Nope… I'm going to wait till you tell me which is which.” He teases, his gaze fixed on Sunny’s ever-growing look of annoyance.

Doing this, Basil eventually gets Sunny to properly react as he hovers his hand over the left card. It's a look of something close to relief, or at least that's what Basil is able to discern. Most others would think that Sunny is in neutral, but Basil can tell, so he picks the right card. He looks at the card and then loses the smug expression immediately as he realizes he just selected the Old Maid, Sunny was faking it the whole time, and now he's on the receiving end of this unique form of torment.

The game eventually ends with Sunny another dollar richer and Basil wondering how someone so devoid of expression can look so smug. “Wanna play again? Another game or two and I'll be deciding where we eat this week.” The blond sighs in defeat. “Man… that's a quarter of my money…” Basil sits there silently. “Wait… a quarter of your money? That was just $1. Shouldn’t we have more? You should have… AT LEAST $9?! And Sunny with $2.50? He’s bad with money, but he should have somewhere around $5? We haven't been buying anymore than usual… What's different?” It finally dawns on him. “You know, I just realized we're not getting as much money as we used to… And I think it's the other homeless people's fault.”

Sunny tilts his head curiously. “Are we not?” Basil counts with his fingers for no practical reason as he thinks. “No… Yeah, no, we're not. We used to get maybe…. $12 a day together on, like, a good day? Now it's more like $7.” Sunny looks at his winnings like they're not even worth anything anymore. “I used to make $20 an hour at Gino's… And that was the starting salary! We make less than half an hour's worth of work at Gino's in a whole day here?” Basil shrugs. “I mean… All we're doing is holding out a cup on the sidewalk. You can't expect too much… Plus, I think Gino was just being nice to you,” he says as he slumps onto the table in defeat.

Sunny quietly takes it all in before abruptly standing up. “Where are you going?” Basil asks with his face still smushed against the table. “There's a recycling lady paying a dollar per hunk of trash. I'm going to pick up trash.” Hearing this, Basil gets up and goes to follow his friend. “I guess an honest day's work never hurt anyone. I’ll get the backpack”

They start with the park itself, but after some searching, find that it’s surprisingly clean, meaning they have nothing to turn in. Basil quickly thinks up a plan to solve this issue. “Why don’t we just grab garbage bags out of the dumpsters and give that to her?” Hearing this, Sunny stops in his tracks and turns to glare at Basil. Feeling heavily judged, Basil quickly scrambles for a defence. “Sorry, I lost my integrity trying to stay alive,” he says cynically. Sunny keeps eyeing him, making his friend increasingly uncomfortable. “S-Stop looking at me like that… I wasn’t going to actually do it… It was just an idea… Please stop… This is just like that time I invited you in after you returned my photo album…” Feeling Basil has finally had enough, Sunny keeps on walking in search of whatever litter he can find.

The two spend a good hour walking around the entire city, except conveniently for the block where Sunny’s apartment resides. All this walking accompanied by the summer heat is practically killing the two boys. They’d normally waste their day sitting in the shade below trees, or enjoying the smell of fresh bread and The Twins’s banter till the bakery gets busy, but today it seemed like they wanted more than that.

They eventually make it to the Mall and finally find some trash in the parking lot. Sunny seems surprised that this place of all places has garbage, but he also feels like he somehow expected it. A hunch gained from past experience I guess.

The two start picking up the litter and eventually end up with backpacks worth of glass bottles and cans. Sunny lifts the backpack up and down like a dumbbell to get a feel for its weight. He notes that it’s got some decent heft to it, though, he could also just be weak. “How much is this worth?” Basil stares at it for a bit and thinks. “From my experience… like $2? Three at maximum.” Sunny almost drops the bag from disappointment. “All this for $2?” Basil nods. “We can get a soda each, maybe? It would probably have to be Orange Joe, though. They’re the only soda that cheap.”

As the two boys mentally prepare themselves for the taste of Orange Joe, they hear what sounds like a shopping cart rolling by. Turning to look, they see an old and short hunched backed woman pushing around a small cart filled with something. She wears a bright blue handkerchief with a white floral pattern as a headscarf, covering the majority of her head, but allowing her short, white, and fried hair to fall out the back. The rest of her apparel consisted of an old pair of jeans, worn out white shoes, sunglasses, and a bright red shirt with missing sleeves, worn inside out either by mistake or because she couldn't be bothered.

She walks around slowly, pushing her cart with care as if it were the only thing keeping her steady. She seemed to be looking for something, going as far as to hunch forward when looking around. During one of her scans of the area, she “sees” the two boys and approaches them.

As she got closer, they were able to identify the stuff in her cart as tin cans, glass bottles, and small plastic bags most likely filled with trash. They quickly come to the realization that it had been her who cleaned up all the streets they visited of any worthwhile litter. Suddenly, the Old Woman calls out to them in a high pitched voice, but her words sound unnatural. It takes them a second to realize that she is speaking with a heavy Mexican Spanish accent. “Kids! You see garbage?! Trash!?”

Once she gets within a yard or two of them she stops and hunches forward. She then removes her sunglasses to get an even better look before finally realizing that from appearance alone, they are just as homeless as her. She lets out a sound of frustration before going into a rant they can't even understand. "No me digan que también están sin un peso. ¿En serio? Tan jóvenes, tan capaces, y ni para barrer una banqueta sirven. ¡Pónganse a hacer algo, carajo! Si yo todavía viera bien, ya estaría trabajando en una fonda, no aquí perdiendo el tiempo con un par de buenos para nada."

The two boys exchange confused glances before whispering to each other. “Spanish One didn’t prepare me for this, Sunny. Do you know anything?” The dark haired boy thinks for a moment before responding. “A little, I guess… Mari practiced it so she could tease Hero in his language. Some of it rubbed off on me… I was personally more interested in learning French.” Basil lifts a brow, wanting to ask about the French thing just to know, but he honestly doesn’t really care either. “So what did she say?” Sunny cringes and shakes his head. “Something like, ‘Get a job, lazy kids.’ That’s all I know…”

Hearing that, Basil almost screams at the woman, but he stops himself. He balls his fists and clenches his jaw. “Tell her that we have been searching for trash all day. That we walked all around the city in this heat to try and earn something through honest work…” Old memories begin resurfacing and he has to hold back tears as he speaks. “I-I tried really hard for a really long time to earn a living, and it’s n-not my fault that I was in a really bad spot during that time, and it affected my work performance, a-and people didn’t like me, and… I AM NOT LAZY!” Forgetting about their plan to attempt proper communication through Sunny, Basil snatches the backpack from his friend and opens it up to show the bottles they’ve collected.

Seeing the backpack stuffed with cans and bottles, the Old Woman smiles and lets out a small laugh and whistle. “Buen trabajo, escuincles. No es mucho, pero se ve que le echaron ganas. Hasta me ganaron a estos, y eso que caminaron toda la ciudad. Chavos como ustedes no deberían andar viviendo así… deberían estar en su casa, cuidados por su mamá y su papá, hasta que se mueran. Así hice yo con mi hijo… Pero luego… él agarró todo lo que tenía y me dejó. Lo sigo queriendo, sí… pero si lo llego a ver otra vez, ¡lo mato al cabrón!... Caminen conmigo.” She motions for them to tag along.

The Old Woman starts to walk away. Basil stops his sniffling and turns to Sunny for answers. “What did she say?” His friend grabs him by the hand and leads him along the Old Woman's path. “Something like, ‘You don’t deserve a hard life.’ Then to follow her… And I think she understands English.”

Basil doesn’t know why they’re following her, but he’s not about to start questioning it now after walking a whole block. It’s only once they reach the crosswalk when they realize why the Old Woman asked them to follow. “Ustedes dos, díganme cuándo cruzar, ¿sí? No veo ni madre.” Not even Basil needed a translation for that one, letting out a sigh of disbelief as he realizes they’ve managed to become her chaperones.

Hearing the sound of disbelief, the Old Woman responds in kind, mocking the sound before going into another long winded spiel. “Ay, haaayyy... no eres el primero, mijo. Llevo todo el día consiguiendo quien me cruce la calle. ¡No me pienso morir todavía! No hasta que se me acabe el seguro de vida. A ese hijo parásito no le pienso dejar ni un peso más de lo que ya me robó.” Feeling obligated at this point, the two stay and help her get across the street. “Ay, qué buenos son… vénganse, mis niños. Les tengo un cariñito.”

Before Basil can even look over at him for an answer, Sunny says. “Just keep following.” So they do follow, all the way till they reach the center of the park and are made to help the Old Woman unload her cart for the recycling lady to weigh. Once the lady is done with the woman's trash, she weighs theirs and distributes the money. “I guess we're done being her help. Let's go, Sunny.” As Basil goes to walk away, he's stopped by the Old Woman. She holds out a $10 bill and presses it against his chest. “Ándale, esto es por la chamba. Vayan por unas nieves. A mí tráiganme una paleta de coco, ¿eh?”

Basil takes the money then looks over to Sunny with a puzzled expression, seeking answers. “She said to buy ourselves ice-cream… and get her a coconut popsicle.” Basil turns back to the Old Woman with watery eyes. “T-Thank you…” She looks up at him and smiles. “Darles feria a ustedes, chamacos, para sus antojos me hace sentir como una mamá joven otra vez. Me acuerdo cuando llevaba a mi chamaco por unos raspados.” She reaches up and grabs Basil by his cheeks before bringing him down to her eye level. He stays silent, too startled to speak. She takes off her sunglasses and gets a good look at his face. “Te pareces tantito a mi hijo... nomás que más larguirucho y como si te escondieras del sol desde hace cuatro años.”

Basil doesn't know what she said, and Sunny doesn't translate, but he feels at ease somehow, relaxing even as this strange Old Woman holds his face. She eventually lets him go and waves them off as they head back to the Mall for some ice-cream to cap off their day. "¡Aquí me voy a quedar! ¡Como si pudiera cruzar la calle y largarme!" As they walk, Sunny turns to look up at his friend. “You looked happy for a bit when she held you… Does she remind you of-” Before he can finish, Basil answers. “Yeah… just… just a bit. At least when she's being kind.” Sunny nods, then they continue to walk in silence.

Once reaching the mall, they make their way to the Fruity Freeze-X in the back. The employees there see them enter and quickly go to take their order. Not because they're kind, but because they don't want two bums in here longer than necessary. Basil orders for himself one scoop of strawberry cheesecake in a sugar cone. Sunny orders the coconut popsicle for the Old Woman, then begins to think about what to get himself.

He looks over his selection before stopping on the flavor cotton candy, thinking it sounds interesting. Before he can place his order, though, Basil stops him. “Don't get that. Not from here at least. These ‘cheap’ places don't know how to make it without adding a weird metallic aftertaste.” Sunny looks up and furrows his brows before looking back to the counter and ordering it anyway. They soon leave with ice-cream in toe, rushing to get back to the park before the Old Woman's popsicle melts.

Seeing the pair approaching, the Old Woman gets up from one of the park benches and hobbles over along with her cart. "¡Ya volvieron mis hijos consentidos!" Sunny runs up and hands the Old Woman her popsicle, already dripping a bit from its short exposure to the summer sun. They sit at a park bench and each enjoy their frozen treat as the sun finally starts to fall. Sunny gets a spoonful of ice-cream from his cup and eats it greedily. At first he seems to enjoy it, then he makes a face at the aftertaste. “I told you.” Basil smirks as he enjoys his own treat with zero recoil from it.

July 4, (Night)

They soon finish up and throw away whatever trash they may have. The Old Woman turns to the two boys and points towards the top exit of the park. "¿Me acompañas a casa, mijos?" The two nod, and follow the Old Woman out of the park. Seeing her take a turn in the direction of his mother's apartment building, Sunny shakes a bit, but keeps walking. They reach an alley beside Sunny’s mother’s apartment building. The woman settles in, pushing her shopping cart aside and resting her sunglasses on it before removing her headscarf and setting it down as well. Tucked away in a corner is a lawn chair, which she pulls out and sits in, wrapping herself in an old, worn-out blanket from the floor. Seeing her settle in for the night, the two boys go to leave, but stop as they hear her call out. “Kitty! Kitty! Kitty!”

They stare at her like she's crazy, but eventually a cat does appear. Two cats in fact. A pure black cat, clearly older and tired, slowly appears before climbing up onto her lap after some struggle, falling off the seat once or twice. A second one, brown in color, runs around before settling nearby on some cardboard. Sunny approaches the cat on her lap and hesitantly holds out his hand. The cat looks up at him with big green eyes. It stares for a second, making Sunny think about pulling away before he gets hurt, but then it sticks out its neck and rubs against his hand purring softly. "Éste es Calliham, mi'jo, y aquél de allá es Paquito." Sunny pets the black cat and feels a wave of nostalgia hit him. "Yo antes tenía otro, se llamaba Galletita… pero ya se me fue con Dios."

While Sunny pats the black cat, Basil looks over at the skittish brown one and attempts to do the same only for it to swipe at him, luckily missing. “Hey!” Basil yells as he backs away. The Old Woman laughs. "Ése le tiene miedo a los desconocidos, pero a lo mejor un día le vas a caer bien." As Basil backs away from the brown cat, Sunny continues to rub Calliham's belly. The cat lets himself be jostled around a bit, too old to get mad. “Antes eran gatos de la calle… y pues, yo creo que todavía lo son, pero yo los cuido. Me los traje conmigo cuando viajé pa' acá, y si me vuelvo a mover, lo más seguro es que me los lleve otra vez… Pero siento que este va a ser el lugar donde se quede Calliham… Ya casi no quiere comer… y… yo nomás quiero estar con él al final…”

The Old Woman begins to tear up. The cat turns to look at her with big curious eyes, not understanding why she cries, or who her tears are for. Sunny feels his throat tighten up. Basil just listens quietly, not understanding the full context. Eventually, the silence is broken by a thunderous crack against the sky. Basil jumps and so does the brown cat, scurrying away… The brown cat scurrying, not Basil. The old cat doesn't have the energy to be afraid, instead it looks up at the light filling the sky; the first firework of the night.

The Old Woman holds her cat close. “Antes siempre salía corriendo cuando oía los cohetes.” She tries not to cry in front of the two, but when she realises it’s an eventuality, she gestures for them to leave. Respecting her wishes, they do so…

Just the two of them again, they sit in silence as the night fills with bursts of light and the crackling sound of fireworks. Basil glances over at Sunny, staring into his eye. In it, he sees the brilliant sparks dancing across the sky, reflected like tiny stars. “We're not gonna get a lot of sleep tonight, are we?” Sunny keeps watching the show, shaking his head. Basil lets out a small laugh. “You wanna just watch?” Sunny smiles and nods, placing his hand on Basil’s. He takes a second to turn away from the spectacle, facing Basil. “I'd like that.”

Resting against the stump they call home, both sit in silence for the rest of the night, watching the fireworks till eventually knocking out in each other's arms, heads slumped together.

Back in the alley, the Old Woman strokes her cat as she chokes back sobs. She can feel his heartbeat begin to slow as she runs her hand through his matted fur. The old cat gazes up at the sky, marveling at the vibrant colors. For the first time in his life, he isn’t afraid of them. He welcomes the lights, the sounds, and everything they bring. As the night passes, the light in his eyes fades, replaced by the reflection of dozens of colors painted across the sky. “Buenas noches, Calliham.”

Chapter Text

July 7, (Morning)

”Closed!? What do you mean closed?!” Whether because it was too early in the morning to be reading, or because he refused to accept the words as true, Basil kept repeating the sign’s words to himself. “It's closed! Closed for a few weeks?!” Sunny, who has had to listen to Basil go through each stage of grief twice now decides to finally snap his friend out of it himself. “They're visiting family.” He points to the smaller text at the bottom of the sign stating as much. “Let’s go.” Sunny tugs on Basil’s sleeve and tries to walk away with him.

Basil snaps back to look at Sunny. “Go and do what?! This is all we have in the mornings! It's all we know…” Basil begins to process the sudden and drastic change in their entire daily schedule for what's basically the whole month. “What do we even do in the morning anymore? Sit there and play cards?! How are you going to get the taste of blood out of your mouth in the morning? Water? No, that’s terrible! What about food? We don't have the money to be eating twice a day, we could barely do it once! That bread was everything… Their company was everything…”

He feels as if he's sweating when his body appears normal. His breathing is reduced to short, quick gasps. The iron-rich taste in his mouth becomes more prominent, as if it's all he can focus on. He hears his heartbeat in his head, while his ears only catch ringing. Finally, he turns away from the closed bakery and looks toward the park, the one place he has left.

“I-I need to… I need to go home.” In a panic, he rushes to cross the street, ignoring the intersection or the colored lights that accompany it. He hears a muffled voice as he steps off the curb, but he ignores it, too focused on getting to his perceived safety. Suddenly, he's yanked backward by his shirt collar, just as a car speeds by in front of him. The driver honks and yells an obscenity as they pass.

Being pulled back like that, Basil falls to the ground. Sunny drops down with him, making sure he's okay. It takes a second for the gravity of the situation to sink in, but once Basil realizes what almost just happened, he shuts down. He curls in on himself, crumbling into a ball as he holds onto his friend for dear life. “I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sorry…” Sunny quietly listens to his friend's needless apologies as he holds his head against his chest, stroking Basil’s hair in subtle reassurance.

Time passes and people start to emerge from their homes. Not wanting to continue causing a scene, Sunny helps Basil to his feet and his friend follows along instinctively, too tired to add his own input or resist being guided away. He holds on, but keeps his eyes closed as he walks, too afraid to look Sunny in the eye.

He feels himself come to a stop, then starts walking again. Then he feels himself come to a stop once more before beginning to walk yet again. After some more walking, he feels himself being lowered to the ground. Once seated against a wall, he feels Sunny's guiding presence disappear. A few moments pass, then another, and another. Finally, Basil opens his eyes and realizes he's been left in an alley. “Is this it? Did he finally get tired of you too? Maybe you are just a burden? You shouldn’t even bother returning to the stump tonight…”

As those dark thoughts begin to make themselves at home in his mind, a familiar presence rounds the corner. Basil turns and looks up to find Sunny having returned with a box of pizza and two cans of soda. He sits down across from his troubled friend and places the box in between himself and him before reaching out to hand him a soda. Without a word, Basil reaches out as well and takes the drink. He wastes no time in cracking it open and taking a hefty swig, swishing it around his mouth like mouthwash before swallowing to finally rid himself of that iron rich taste.

As the carbonation burns down his throat in that pleasurable way only soda can, Basil lets out a sound of satisfaction. Feeling somewhat himself again, he tries to explain his actions earlier. “Sunny… I'm sorry abo-” Before he can finish what he was saying, Sunny opens the box and rips out a slice of pepperoni pizza before tossing it to Basil. He reflexively catches the slice, before realizing it's fresh out of the oven and still piping hot. Basil passes it back and forth between his hands as the heat makes it impossible to hold onto for too long before finally just tossing it back into the box.

With the impromptu game of hot potato over, Basil turns his attention back to Sunny before speaking in exasperated voice. “Sunny!?” The dark haired boy blows on his own slice before taking a bite. He relishes the taste for a moment longer than anyone should before swallowing. “I haven't had pepperoni in so long… Cheese was always more affordable, but I thought I'd treat us since a lot happened this morning…” Hearing this, Basil can't help but wonder just how much this cost, but then he remembers something.

“Wait… You definitely used the money you won off me to pay for this.” Sunny snickers hearing this, almost choking on his slice for a second. “It’s my money, so it's still my treat.” Basil laughs a bit to himself hearing that response. “Okay… I guess!” He throws his hands up in humorous defeat. “Thank you, Sunny.”

July 7, (Afternoon)

Both boys exit the alley sometime later, feeling content in the moment after devouring the entire pizza. “You kept your can, right? We need every bit of money we can get.” Sunny nods, pulling out the crushed can he put in his pocket. Basil nods back before beginning to walk again.

“Actually…” Basil stops and the short dark haired boy stops along with him. “How much do you have left over after that pizza?” Sunny thinks for a moment before pulling out a small plastic bag of loose change. He shakes it around a bit and finds that he's down to maybe $2 at most. Seeing that, Basil reaches into his own pocket and feels around… $9 is what he feels. Sunny hears the loud rustling of Basil's many many coins. “How do you have so much?” The blond stops jingling his pocket of coins, then turns to address his friend. “I'm just being careful. You like to snack, so I have to be the one that has enough for when we need to eat a real meal.”

Sunny wants to argue, but then he remembers the entire box of cereal he recently bought sitting in their backpack at the stump. With no grounds to stand on, he leaves in a huff towards the park and Basil follows like usual.

Once at the park, the two lay out their blanket beside their stump, hidden among the trees, and sit down together. Sunny places his backpack in between his legs. Basil lets out a tired sigh and thinks for a bit. “We're going to have to start begging more… Without The Twins, we'll have to choose between eating something every day, or having an actual meal maybe three times a week? It just sucks…. This all sucks! You finally had…. We had something good and now it's gone. You'll probably have to try more dumpsters, maybe even try and take from the other homeless…. Hope you really don't want to run into that Smelly Hobo again…”

Done with his internal rant, Basil turns to look at just what exactly Sunny is doing to his left… He’s eating handfuls of cereal straight out of the box. Caught red handed, the red eared boy holds out the box in offering and gives it a shake. Basil looks away, hiding a small grin. “No, thanks. I'm fine, just make sure not to eat too much. That needs to last at least a week.” Sunny nods and puts away the box, but not before grabbing one more handful.

Basil puts his hand on his friend’s shoulder. ”Okay… I need you to listen to what I'm going to say now. Got it?” Sunny just looks at him silently. Basil takes a deep breath and starts. “You're going to have to start sitting on corners again. Unless we want to live off handfuls of cereal for… however long we might be out here…” A sense of dread washes over him as he utters those last few words. Sunny thinks for a moment then shakes his head. “No, I can't be out there. What if she sees me?”

Basil sighs. “Just keep an eye out for-” Sunny glares at him. The blond immediately realizes his mistake. “Just hope it doesn't happen, okay? We've been lucky enough to not run into her more than once so far, so let's hope it stays that way… It's either that, or we starve. Do you understand, Sunny?” The quiet boy simply nods. “Good… Thank you, Sunny.”

Basil thinks more about just what he's asking of his friend and feels the need to justify himself. “Look, I don't want to make you do things you're not comfortable with, but we need the money. And people don't give to me like they do with you! T-They probably think I'm some junkie or… I don't know… B-But they see a small… kinda cute kid with a… missing eye… and they eat that up. You get it, right?” Sunny just keeps nodding, though he doesn't look at Basil as he speaks.

Seeing Sunny avoid eye contact with him, Basil stands up to get some space, and maybe give Sunny a bit of his own. “Where are you going?” The blond stops dead in his tracks hearing his friend call to him. He turns around and gives a forced smile. “I'm just going to… I'm gonna go look at what the other homeless are doing. Maybe they figured out something we haven't… W-Who knows, I might even make a friend, so don't expect me back for a bit… Just go to sleep without me if I'm not back in time, okay?” It's a bold-faced lie, but Sunny has no reason to not believe him. He settles back against the stump and waves his friend off.

Basil lets out a sigh of relief as he walks away, disappearing into the trees. The second he's out of sight, Sunny reaches back into his backpack and grabs one last handful of cereal… and maybe one more.

July 7, (Night)

Basil walks around the city on his own, taking note of just how different everything looks at night. It's cold. Wind blows against exposed skin making his bones ache, but he's used to that by now.

He starts his walk of the city at the mall, finding the sight of such a large building almost unsettling when devoid of any and all life or light. Yet, it's kinda beautiful in a way. Its glass reflects the night, giving it an ethereal sort of glow. He stands at the very edge of the parking lot, putting the full view of the building’s front in frame. The structure practically looms over him, a hauntingly beautiful sight… If only he still had his camera.

He walks up and across the street, stopping to look at both movie rental spots for a moment. Both have their front windows covered in advertisements and sale notices. Through the glass of Movie Market a cardboard cutout of Sweetheart can be seen, it's aura mocking. In the competing movie rental store, there's no Captain Spaceboy cutout to match the rivalry. Though, he can't remember if that was always the case… “They have to be sister stores right? Why would anyone set up a store that does the same thing as another store right next to the other? It’s a fake rivalry to boost sales, has to be… But why is the smaller building called Movie World, and the big one called Movie Market?” he thinks to himself before walking down the street some more.

He spots Slice of Heaven, the city’s pizza spot, and right next to it, the alley Sunny had dragged him into earlier. He walks in and finds the pizza box still on the ground... He feels his stomach growl as he eyes the box, remembering the meal they had that morning. He opens it in hopes of finding a pepperoni they might have left, but there’s only cheese stuck onto the soggy cardboard. He feels his stomach ache at the sight once more… He picks at some of the cheese, eating a bit before closing the box again and walking away like nothing happened.

Right next to that is the Fire Department. It's not much to see, just a big red building, but it's good to know that there's first responders so close by.

Done looking at that, he heads up and across the street again, then takes a left and crosses once more. “The top right of this city is just apartment buildings… Not very interesting or a particularly nice sight.” He thinks before stopping right in front of Baker's. He presses his face against the glass and remembers the little bit of time he spent there. That one month of feeling like he had somewhere safe, a place that welcomed him, and people looking out for him. “At least you still have Sunny.”

He releases his hold on the bakery and steps over to look at the Clinic. “Is Sunny due for another refill yet? Probably not… He hasn't been using the drops too often. You should ask him tomorrow just in case… Actually, we can't even afford his medicine. Guess you’ll just have to save up for that, because he won't remember to…” Basil sighs, exhausted by merrily the thought as keeps walking, passing straight by Bellucci’s to cross the road.

<He passes Sunny's Mother’s apartment building, unaware of its significance, seeing it as just any other apartment building. In the alley next to it, a small brown cat runs up to him. “The fu… Oh, hey little guy!” Basil picks up the cat and begins talking to it in a high pitched baby voice. “You're Paquito, right? What's up with you, little guy? Silly little baby.” He holds the cat up in the air by its arms. The cat just stares at Basil with big, round, black eyes… It's a little unsettling, but he finds it strangely adorable. “You're so goofy looking. You and your bulbous little head… Kinda reminds me of someone.” Basil laughs to himself as he makes fun of the creature. The cat purrs at him in return, not understanding the ridicule it’s receiving. He sets the cat back down and it immediately runs back into the alley from whence it came. “Bye, little guy.”

Done with that funny little interaction, Basil skips along just a bit further to find the Electronics Store. He stares up at its name and feels some sort of annoyance begin to build. ”Stupid Electronics Store… that's not even a name, it's just a… genre? Is genre the right word? A brand? How do you refer to a store's general product? Is there even a word for that? Marketing? No… it's too late to be thinking about stupid questions… A specialty? Yeah, let's go with that…” His thoughts and reasoning are only becoming increasingly scattered as he grows more tired and the night drags on.

He makes his way down to the police station. “That center blotch of blue does look nice. It really frames the door and the stairs… Shame it belongs to a police station… Wonder what that dumb cop is doing now? Probably dealing with the homeless, but that is what he wanted, right? More work to do. Something to make him feel like he's making a difference even if it's just telling someone off for a misdemeanor… The real crime is his parking. Stupid car is right on the sidewalk.” He laughs at his own inner monologue a little too loud. If someone saw him right now, they'd probably think he was crazy, maybe even a junkie.

Once done laughing, he finishes his lap by getting to where he said he was heading in the first place, down the street one more time to finally reach the homeless block. A street with only two apartment buildings and a construction zone. It didn't look that nice before the homeless showed up, but now it especially has some issues. “At least the blue tarp compliments the building,” he says quietly to himself as he stares at a makeshift tent.

There's not much of any sight of the homeless sticking out on the street, but peeking his head down the alley, he can see what might be a few sleeping bodies. “Why are there so many cramped into that alley? There's a whole other one… unless…” Basil walks over and peers into the second alley, the one where they ran into that Smelly Hobo… empty. Or at least that's how it looks from the outside. He takes a step into the alley, either out of dumb curiosity or being currently too tired to think straight.

At the very end of the alley, behind a partially moved dumpster is the Smelly Hobo, lying there completely unconscious on a dirty mattress, surrounded by empty beer bottles and cans. “Drunk… You make everyone else trying to survive out here look bad," he quietly mutters under his breath. Basil then looks just a bit deeper into the alley, spotting a few bottles, yet to be drunk. That's when he gets a terrible idea.

He walks over and quietly grabs some of the Smelly Hobo's beer bottles. From his pocket, he pulls out the pepper spray Sunny gave him and opens one of the bottles. He laughs quietly to himself, lost in his haze of exhaustion and “righteous” fury, giggling like a kid pulling a prank as he moves onto another bottle. “It's crazy how easy it is to mess with a drunk's drink. You could probably spike it and get away with murd-” That thought finally snaps him back into reality. “Why would you consider such a thing, Basil? Wait… Why are you doing any of this? This is stupid! What are you thinking?!” The bottle slips from his hand and clatters to the ground. “You’re not thinking! Go to bed already!” He stumbles out of the alley in a rush, heart racing, forgetting the other tampered beer bottle left behind.

He hastily makes his way back to the park. There he finds Sunny sleeping on his back, spread out and taking up the entire “bed”. Basil sighs before lifting up the blanket and rolling Sunny over to make room for himself. Once settled in, he turns Sunny back over towards him. The sleeping boy unconsciously drapes an arm and a leg over his friend as he's rolled back, but Basil doesn't mind. With that, he covers both himself and Sunny up before finally turning in for the night.

Chapter Text

So I've kinda put no tangible work into the next chapter yet, because I've been doing nothing but playing Hollow Knight Silksong, and when I'm not doing that, I'm stuck at my job. Sorry guys, I hope you understand. I do have ideas for this next chapter. The only real issue I have is that I kinda wanna just get to my big finale (not the actual finally, but more of a climax?) and move onto the next arc of the story (because yes, I actually do sorta have a plan for where I wanna take this.) But, I also don't wanna rush this, so maybe another small chapter, or a big story split into mini chapters like how I did with chapter 2 would make it flow better? Idk. What's the opinion? I'll take any opinions honestly, not just for story, but for characterization and my writing in general as well. I like engaging with you guys the few times it happens, makes me feel like there aren't just a ton of eyes on my work, but some mouths too.