Archive of Our Own

“Basil, you don’t have to worry so much about this…”

Basil, rushing around the house in a flurry of cleaning and preparation, turned to his concerned caretaker with a look of incredulity. Despite his hurried pace, he gently set down the flower pot holding a small cactus on the floor so he could speak to Polly more comfortably.

“B-But Polly, it’s Sunny who’s coming over to stay… I want everything to look as nice as possible for him when he arrives,” he explained, his voice filled with soft urgency.

It had been quite a long time since Sunny last visited Faraway Town, ever since he and his mother moved. The most recent visit had been a few months ago during Christmas time, but it was short and fleeting. Since then, they had only stayed in touch through phone calls and the occasional letter.

Initially, after being discharged from the hospital, he and Sunny had understandably taken a long time off from talking to each other—even from a long distance like phone calls or letters. Sunny's mother also felt very distrustful or worried about her son trying to contact the boy who had literally stabbed his entire eye out, regardless of the context behind these actions.

However, within the course of several months, Sunny and Basil were finally able to reach out and start keeping in contact with each other, with Sunny’s mom finally caving in and letting them talk to each other again, albeit with certain conditions for her son’s safety.

At first the conversations they had were mostly awkward and relatively short talk, but as they continued contacting each other, their old bond and friendship that they had together repaired itself slowly but surely along with that of their friendship—in some ways even feeling stronger than it had ever been. Basil had even managed to pick out a gift for Sunny’s last birthday and send it to him at his new home thanks to their friends' help, which Sunny had expressed his gratitude for once they started contacting each other.

Now, to Basil’s surprise, Sunny had called a few days ago to ask if he could come over for a sleepover—something they hadn’t done in over four years. Basil wanted everything to be perfect for his best friend.

“Well, I’m sure he’ll appreciate the effort and thought you’re putting in just for him,” Polly said gently. “But you two are still close friends, right?”

“Y-Yeah…?”

“Then I believe just being here with you again is all he’d really want. Don’t you think so?”

Basil paused, letting her question sink in. For as long as he could remember, ever since Aubrey had introduced him to the friend group, Sunny had always been selfless, kind, and deeply caring. Heck, Kel had once mentioned that Sunny spent most of his last three days in Faraway Town helping the entire community, not just reuniting their group of friends. A part of Basil wondered if this was Sunny’s way of atoning for having shut himself away for four years after what happened to Mari.

Whatever Sunny’s reasons, Basil believed—no, knew—that Sunny was one of the greatest people he had ever met, and a friend he truly cherished. That’s why he was working so hard to make his home welcoming.

But Polly was right. If he truly knew Sunny, he would be happy—at least, Basil hoped so—just to spend time together again.

“…Yes. I can’t help but overthink things and worry how Sunny will react, but… I believe he’ll be happy if I just be myself,” Basil finally replied, still a little uncertain but genuinely comforted by Polly’s reassurance.

“I’m glad to hear that, Basil. Now, why don’t you take a bit of rest while I finish tidying up the house?” Polly offered, motioning toward the sofa.

Basil nodded, settling down and allowing himself to rest as Polly continued in his stead. He’d pitch in again later, but for now, he let his mind wander, wondering how Sunny was doing—and what they’d do together once he arrived.

*

About two hours passed until Basil heard knocking at his front door, hurrying over to open it.

Sure enough, Sunny was here waiting on the other side of the door—carrying a grey duffel bag which most likely contained his extra clothes and stuff for this sleepover. For what he was wearing right now, he had a navy blue hoodie underneath a light and grey jacket, jet black jeans, and his lost right eye covered up by an eyepatch with a sunflower designed onto it.

One that Basil had given him for his last birthday.

“Sunny! I’m so glad to see you made it safely!” Basil chimed after a moment of silence between them, a relieved smile casting along his face.

“It’s good to be back and see you again too, Basil,” Sunny said, smiling back a little to his friend—that same cute smile that still made the flower boy’s heart flutter, but he tried to ignore it and focus on getting Sunny inside and settled in.

“O-Oh, you should come in now! Sorry for keeping you waiting on the porch step…” He chuckled awkwardly, looking away in embarrassment.

Sunny simply nodded in understanding, patiently forgiving Basil and patting his shoulder a little as he stepped inside from the cold air outside. As he did, Polly welcomed him warmly as she clasped her hands together.

“Ah, Sunny! You’re here!—it’s so good to see you again!” She greeted happily. “Did you make it to Faraway Town without any problems?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Sunny reassured. “My mom would have driven me here, but she was too busy with her work, so she suggested I take the bus here and call her if anything went wrong.”

Polly nods. “I understand. I think I still have your mother's phone number somewhere. I can call her anytime I need to!”

Sunny and Basil both nodded appreciatively as Polly excused herself, heading back to the kitchen to check on the dinner she was preparing, leaving the two friends alone.

“S-So…” Basil speaks up with another light stammer after some silence. “Wh-What would you like to do, Sunny?”

Sunny would think for a second. “How about a movie?” He suggests with a smile.

Basil perks up happily. “Of course! I have a few of our childhood favorites still here! Let's go through them!”

*

And so Sunny and Basil spent their sleepover watching their favorite Captain Spaceboy movie and finding time to get away with watching a sequel that neither of them have ever gotten the chance to watch before.

Once they were done, they both thought that it wasn't as action packed nor had as good of a musical score as the first one, but the way the message of the second movie was presented and how it was built up and presented was arguably superior in this sequel along with its animation. Ultimately, while the two boys liked both these movies, Sunny preferred the first movie while Basil found himself liking the second one a little more.

But what they both could agree on was how good the message of the second movie was with how Spaceboy had come to terms with the crimes his lineage was associated with in the past, and finding the strength to move past it and not let it define who he was as a hero even as he made mistakes.

In a few ways, this vaguely reminded both boys of themselves and what they were trying to do for their own lives.

Sunny even found himself subconsciously leaning against Basil’s shoulder and getting comfortable on it. The flower boy was initially very surprised and even a little flustered from this sudden sense of intimacy, but he didn't protest and even felt mildly disappointed when Sunny realized what he was doing and quickly pulled away.

“S-Sunny, y-you’re okay,” Basil stammered, looking at his friend with shy reassurance. “I-I thought it was pretty nice…”

Sunny had a small blush on his face—though not nearly as pronounced as Basil's—as he nodded to his friend, unsure what to say to him.

“It’s okay,” He finally says after a moment, his voice gentle and patient. “I just felt very comfortable. Like when we were kids.”

Basil felt that fluttery feeling again as he settled back down with Sunny and watched the movie’s credits, slowly and hesitantly leaning his own head on Sunny's shoulder.

And to his quiet joy and relief, Sunny accepted it and let Basil get comfortable, even if they would have to get up soon.

*

Later into the evening, Polly had finished preparing dinner for herself and the boys, serving some well-seasoned rice with steak bits mixed into it, and judging by Sunny’s pleased reaction, it was the perfect choice.

“So, are you enjoying my cooking, Sunny?” Polly asked gently as she watched the one-eyed boy chew on some rice and a bit of steak.

“Mhm.” He hummed as he chewed, savoring the combination of food and seasonings in Polly’s cooking.

“It was Basil’s suggestion, by the way! He knew that you had a particular liking for steak so I decided to include it into this dinner, so you’ll have him to thank for that.” Polly explained, with Basil blushing a little as he stared down hard at his food.

“Thank you, Basil.” Sunny quietly said, looking over at his friend with another small smile. It really does seem that Sunny was more willing to smile a little more for Basil and their friends, especially these days; not that Basil minded at all. He always loved Sunny’s little smile, and it made him feel much more proud of influencing what they were having for dinner.

As the group had dinner, Sunny decided to ask not just Basil, but Polly, about how they'd both been doing since the last time he saw either.

“Oh, I’m not really sure what to tell you two boys about a silly old lady like me that you would find interesting,” Polly insisted with a soft chuckle, being the one to start first. “But, to give you something—I’ve managed to find some time to revisit my old work as a nurse, though I won’t bore you with the details.” She laughed lightly.

“Do you have a family to check back on besides watching over Basil?” Sunny asked with some curiosity. Basil nodded in agreement, also wanting to know a little more about his caretaker’s life outside of watching over him and the house.

“Oh, of course! They're all… doing fine, and I sometimes call them every once in a while to let them know how I’m doing and ask how they're doing. I suppose that's all I can say about them.” She concluded after a moment of trailing off.

Sunny and Basil both nod, noting how Polly kept it mostly vague, but nonetheless somewhat satisfied with her explanation and its conclusion. “And how about you, Basil?” Sunny suddenly but gently asked his friend after turning to him, making him jump a little.

“O-Oh! I haven't really done too much—just taking care of my garden, even adding some new flowers and plants to go with the old ones you might remember.” Basil explained with a smile, his nerves calming as he got to talk about plants to Sunny, who nodded in affirmation that he remembered them.

He always seemed to have a really good memory even after over four years, Basil thought.

“And what about you and the others? Have you all been alright?” Sunny then asked, referring to the rest of their friend group.

“Oh, even though Hero’s been back at university and working harder there—and Kel’s been juggling basketball along with his other friends besides us, we’ve been all getting along alright together, even between me and Aubrey.” Basil notably kept this a bit vague in front of Polly. Sunny knew that his friend preferred not to talk about the specifics of the bullying their friend and her gang had done to him. “I’ve even been accepted into her friend group's hangouts, and they even helped me with my garden! Charlene was especially happy to help with my garden and get to know it!”

Despite all the complicated if not outright awful experiences Basil has had with Aubrey and the Hooligans after what had happened these past few years, Sunny was relieved and happy for his best friend that he was able to get along with Aubrey again and (mostly) accepted by her gang. This definitely felt like real progress.

“As for me,” Sunny began, taking a deep breath before finally beginning to explain how his life has been. “I’ve just been living in the city with my mom, slowly trying to get settled in.”

“Ah, that's good to hear, Sunny!” Polly chimed, Basil nodding in agreement. “How is that working out for you two?”

Sunny gives a small shrug before answering. “It’s alright. My mom got a better job, so our income is a lot better. She's even around a little more now.

He pauses before continuing, “As for myself, I’ve been doing okay. I’ve been trying to make more friends and fully adjust to city life, but I admit that it's not the same as my old life here in Faraway Town.” Sunny finishes with a hint of sadness in his tone as he glances down.

Basil nodded sympathetically. “Y-Yeah, I can imagine that it's not the same, especially with how unfamiliar and noisy it must all be.”

Truthfully, this wasn't the example that primarily came to mind, but it was still something he worried about regarding Sunny’s new home at the very least, to which he ended up nodding to Basil.

“Yeah. Thankfully, my mom bought me a white noise machine to help me sleep during most nights, and it definitely helps for the most part.

“But honestly, I’m very happy to be back here in Faraway Town, if even for a couple of days. I missed all of you.” Sunny gave Basil another soft smile, causing the blond’s heart to flutter once again.

Sunny was genuinely happy to be here! Basil thought, his heart swelling as it was filled with joy and relief. Despite all that happened and how imperfect his house was right now, Sunny was having a good time!

“...Basil, you should catch up! Your dinner’s getting cold and you haven't eaten as much as me or Sunny!”

Polly’s words had snapped Basil out of his thoughts, causing him to jump in surprise.

“O-Oh, right,” he stammered, feeling embarrassed as he continued eating, trying to distract himself from his embarrassment.

Despite his embarrassment and his earlier self-consciousness and worrying, he was truly happy right now.

Just as happy as Sunny was to be here as they all had dinner.

*

After dinner had finished, the rest of the sleepover went pretty well. Sunny had let Basil show him how his plants were doing, especially his beautiful new ones.

They both couldn't help but feel like kids again. It admittedly wasn't too often that the friend group visited Basil’s house for hangouts that much at all, given that they all usually hung out at Sunny and Mari’s house or Kel and Hero’s, Aubrey’s house being very much out of the question, and Basil’s house not really having any cool stuff that stood out besides a TV, but even then the worries of disturbing his late grandmother when she was there with a lot of people and noise going on was still a problem back then.

But Sunny and Aubrey were particularly the ones who had visited Basil the most often when they were kids—Aubrey always made sure to be quieter for him and his grandma and Sunny was generally fine the way he was, in which the kind older woman was always happy with their company whenever they had dropped by.

Although Basil sometimes got the impression that Sunny wasn't listening or even didn't care about his passions (especially when he sometimes rambles on for a long time once he starts unless Sunny snaps him out of it), he couldn't be any more wrong about that; Sunny was almost always willing to listen and often enjoyed hearing about his friends' passions, stories, and how their days go, even if he doesn't often show it.

And here they were again—over four years later, still very close friends and hanging out together for a sleepover, Sunny occasionally telling a few jokes or sharing a few compliments to Basil as the latter talked about and showed his plants, and as they both reminisced about any funny or neat things that happened between them, Kel, and Aubrey and her gang.

But once it reached later into the evening, the two boys were now getting prepared to go to bed later—They brushed their teeth, changed their clothes, and cleaned themselves, appropriately becoming bed-ready.

However, it was quite clear to both of them that there was an uneasy feeling as bedtime approached. Sunny, while experiencing these feelings and thoughts, did mostly well at hiding them with a few exceptions of visible and brief discomfort or uneasiness etched on his usually stoic or calm expression—along with the most obvious one being how he preferred getting changed in the bathroom while Basil changed in his bedroom and going out of his way to insist that it was fine.

“S-Sunny, are you okay? Y-You seem a little bothered about something.” Basil nervously asks after noticing how bothered Sunny seemed once they both met up with each other after getting changed and cleaned. “D-Did I do something wrong?”

Sunny’s eye widened slightly in surprise at his question, then softened. “Huh? No, of course not. You didn't do anything wrong, it’s just,” Sunny pauses, taking a deep breath as he thinks about the right way to explain what was bothering him. “I guess I still feel a little anxious about… the possibility of going into your room for the first time since, well, you know…”

Basil’s face fell so quickly once Sunny admitted what was troubling him, one of fear and realization. They both knew that this was going to come up in one way or another, remembering that night when Sunny had entered Basil’s room to save him from taking his own life, ending up in a fight as the latter had taken out the former’s entire eye in an attempt to kill something behind him, along with the injuries they had given each other earning them a stay at the hospital for over a whole week.

Despite having forgiven each other and having been finally taking some therapy and overall proper steps to moving on from the incident that haunted them for four years, being in this house together again for a sleepover, even without the possibility of Sunny sleeping in Basil's room with him since their fight on that night, the unpleasant and traumatic memories still lingered, and was very much a topic that came up when arranging this sleepover in the first place—Sunny’s mother being particularly against it before finally yielding, but not without the expected precautions for his safety.

“O-Oh! I-I'm so sorry, Sunny…” Basil apologized while stammering, his expression betraying some guilt and discomfort. “Um, i-if you’re worried about sleeping in my room anywhere, w-we could work out any possible alternatives!”

Despite his lingering unease, Sunny couldn't help but feel slightly better as his friend was willing to do what he could to make him feel welcome and not have to worry about being within proximity of Basil’s room.

They both also realized and felt embarrassed by the fact that they had completely forgotten to discuss where Sunny was even going to sleep, not even talking about it with Polly! And given that their unease and discomfort were now quickly having embarrassment being added to it, Basil particularly saw that it was especially now a good time to begin listing out some alternatives for Sunny.

“W-We could arrange something in the living room for you, o-or on the couch!” He started with those, but the ravenette didn't seem too enthused by these suggestions. “M-My grandma’s room is out of the question since Polly’s sleeping there tonight, a-and there's also-”

“Basil.”

Basil abruptly stopped talking as Sunny coolly interrupted, his expression firm but patient.

“S-Sorry, Sunny.”

“It’s okay, and I appreciate that you're trying to make me feel comfortable and welcome here regarding what happened… the last time I was here, but I made up my mind.”

“S-Sunny, what-?” Basil was interrupted promptly by his best friend suddenly placing a hand on his shoulder, looking at him eye to eyes with a newfound semblance of resolve in his eye.

“I want to sleep in your room.”

Basil was dead silent for several moments, his face flushing a little at how close they were as Sunny held his shoulder, but those words were now ringing in his ears for a bit.

“W-What..?” He uttered out in a small breath.

“I… I think I wanna try sleeping in your room tonight.” Sunny reaffirmed, retracting his hand from Basil’s shoulder slowly, worrying that this whole gesture was a bit too much.

After a little more silence between them, Basil managed to continue. “B-But Sunny, are you sure? I-I don't want you to feel forced to do this if you're uncomfortable or worried about being in there, o-or in the same room at night with me after all that I did…”

Sunny, while feeling pity for Basil feeling this way, actually rolled his one eye. “Dude, I’m here sleeping over with you at all. If I was scared of you hurting me or if I was still uncomfortable around you at all, I wouldn't even be here right now.”

Basil felt a mix of frustration, amusement, and some reassurance at Sunny’s words. He really didn't expect his best friend to just brush this to the side like that, but he still sounded so sure that he wanted to at least try to sleep in the flower boy’s bedroom.

“A-Are you absolutely sure?”

“Mhm. I also believe that I should confront this head-on and get adjusted to being in your room again. I… I think I have to.” Sunny glanced down, his eye casting some sadness that melted Basil's heart.

“O-Oh, Sunny-”

“And if I do feel uncomfortable and can't handle it, and want to leave and sleep somewhere else in the house, I’ll be honest and let you know. I promise.”

Basil felt his heart warm up even more and his earlier tension softening as Sunny reassured him and made his resolve clear, one black eye locked onto a pair of shining blue ones. He could see very clearly that Sunny was being sincere and looked determined to give this a try.

“O-Okay, Sunny. I’m glad you trust me enough to try this. Let's go and discuss this with Polly and see if she’ll let us arrange it.” Sunny nods and heads with Basil to his caretaker in the hopes that she’ll allow it.

*

To Sunny and Basil’s lack of surprise—but still some worry and disappointment—when coming up to Polly and Sunny requesting as much as he did to sleep in Basil’s bedroom tonight for their sleepover, she looked initially unsure and hesitant about this, taking some moments to think about her answer.

“I don't know, boys... It’s not that I don't trust you two,” the caretaker pauses every few seconds to think about how to say this. “Really, I do—It’s just that I still have that subconscious worry that something similar to what happened… that night might occur again.”

Sunny took a deep breath before responding. “Miss Polly, I know that you're worried about me and Basil, but you have to believe that this is different, and that you have to trust us,” he looked almost like a begging cat in a way for a moment. “Basil and I promise not to do anything bad, and that we’ll be sure to tell you as soon as possible if anything is wrong.”

Polly considered Sunny’s words for a moment, but she then turned to Basil. “And Basil, what do you actually think about this? Do you really want Sunny sleeping in your room?”

Basil nods anxiously. “Y-Yes, Polly. I will be honest and say that I am nervous about Sunny sleeping in my room, and I'm still guilty about… what happened, but he really does mean it, and… I think I would be really happy if he did.” He admits with a faint blush as he glances to the side. “And I promise not to hurt or bother him at all.”

“Well… alright. I trust you boys.” Polly gave in, smiling a little at them. “But just so you know, I’ll likely try to check on you both frequently in the night to make sure nothing bad happens.”

They both nod, Basil smiling in relief and joy that Polly was granting them permission and trusting them enough. While Basil did feel a slight twinge of disappointment that Polly was still going to peek into his room to check on them every now and then, both he and Sunny otherwise completely understood and accepted her terms.

“Now, Sunny, I assume you're going to sleep on the floor?” She then asks, turning back to the one-eyed boy. He nods, accepting this.

“Yeah. I brought a sleeping bag for the sleepover that I can lay out on the floor with a pillow I brought with me.” He explains nonchalantly. Basil couldn't help but feel a small twinge of guilt that Sunny was going to sleep on the floor like this.

“Okay. You two can go on ahead and prepare for bed!” Polly excuses them, letting them walk out and head to Basil's room to prepare to sleep. “I’ll be out here, attending to some smaller chores that need to be done.”

Once the two boys made their way back to the doorway to Basil’s room, Sunny suddenly froze right outside the door frame as Basil was politely letting him in first.

“Sunny, a-are you okay..?”

Sunny didn't quite register Basil’s anxious voice; his head was slowly being filled with horrible sounds and memories from almost a year ago as this horrible recollection began forming and flashing in his mind, his eye staring forward—his vision darkening even more than the night was already naturally bringing as the sun was setting.

Static. Deafening stark white noise rang across his ears as he felt pain across his body, the icy cold feeling of both his and Basil’s SOMETHINGS surrounding them and engulfing the room, encroaching on his skin and within his stomach, also forbidding his escape out of the room.

The physical and sharp pains he was feeling across his body and knuckles as Basil had attacked him in his attempts to repel SOMETHING away from him, and Sunny using his fists and clawing nails to defend himself with no other options at the time.

The sickness that was forming in his head and stomach from all that was going on around him, and having just learned the truth of what happened to Mari—how he had the reawakened strong belief of himself as the monster who took her life.

How a pair of garden shears were diving right

I n t o

H i s

“SUNNY!!!”

Sunny felt a pair of sweaty, but warm and calloused, hands cupping his cheeks as he snapped back to reality—his eye meeting those of his friend’s shining blue ones.

“B-Breathe with me… I-It’s going to be okay. Y-You're safe, I promise.” Basil's voice shakily, but softly, whispered to Sunny as he did as much as he could to try to calm him down. “J-Just take some d-deep breaths.”

Sunny was fearful for a moment as he saw those shining blue eyes from that night stare so closely at him, but he refocused and began taking deep breaths to try to focus, but they were very labored and shaky.

Basil, feeling as though being this close to Sunny any more right now was doing more harm than good, hesitantly stepped away from the one-eyed boy, hoping that he could calm down on his own.

As Basil drew away, Sunny managed to finally breathe in… and out. His heart rate steadily returned to normal as he slowly composed himself from what had happened.

And then… he stepped over the door frame and into the room, persisting through his buried trauma and overcoming it, Basil gasping in surprise.

“Sunny… y-you did it. I-I'm so sorry, maybe we shouldn't have-”

“N-No,” Sunny spoke up, steadying himself. “Y-You're okay, Basil. I-I just still have some lingering problems here, I guess.”

There was dead silence as Sunny some time to properly recollect himself, Basil not daring to speak yet.

“...Can you please go and get me some water from the bathroom, Basil?”

Basil nodded, immediately hurrying to the bathroom next door to get Sunny a small cup of water from the sink in there, leaving the latter alone to take in his surroundings of the room.

The room was generally very tidy save for some bits of soil and dust in a few places and mostly exactly the same as it was before, but with some small but interesting changes as far as he could tell. Most of Basil's old bedroom plants were also not only accompanied by a few plants that were usually outside to keep them safe from the currently colder temperature outside, but the rest of those new plants Basil had previously mentioned and showed off earlier to Sunny.

The ceiling above the general area of Basil’s bed was also decorated with some fairy lights, accompanied by a couple of small pill bottles full of sleeping pills in one bottle, and antidepressants he presumably got from his own therapy sessions in the other, along with his very own white noise machine. Good for him, Sunny thought as he took this in. He was glad that the blond was presumably doing well to take care of himself like he was. But then he noticed that his camera was-

His thoughts were interrupted by Basil hurrying back with a plastic cup of water. “H-Here you go, Sunny.” He quickly turned around and gingerly took the cup from Basil and then proceeded to drink down the entire cup of water into his mouth.

“Thanks…” he muttered, setting the cup down and wiping his wet lips with his other arm. Basil hummed a little as he pats his friend’s back comfortingly.

“A-Are you going to be alright in here?” He nervously asks as he did his best to be soothing.

Sunny sighed, taking a moment to take this question in and then answer. “I think so. I’m in here now, and I guess I’m just still processing what happened a little… But I’ll be okay.”

Basil nodded, now letting the silence and ambience speak for itself as he and Sunny took some time to compose themselves after the latter’s brief panic attack, seating themselves on the former's bed.

“Thank you, Basil.”

Basil lightly gasped as he turned to Sunny, who was just looking towards the window as he suddenly spoke this.

“Wh-What for? Getting you water?” He asked, half serious, half joking.

This got a small chuckle out of his friend. “Well, I already thanked you for that, but also… Thank you for helping me calm down back there.”

Basil's tension softened after hearing this, then he chuckled a little. “I-It’s no problem. Honestly, I was worried that you wouldn't want to be in here, or near me, right now after that.”

Sunny looked down a little. “Yeah, I won't lie and say that I instinctively still feel nervous about being here, but I'm still willing to fight it, enjoy my time here with you, and put it behind me all the same—and I can only hope that you’ll be able to do that too.”

He then reaches over and gently grabs Basil’s hand and gives it a soft squeeze, Basil gasping a little at the gesture. “Despite everything, you still mean a lot to me, Bas’, and I don't want that to change.”

Sunny then suddenly but carefully pulled Basil into a soft hug, the blond letting out another soft gasp of surprise as Sunny held him gently like this, his face flushing fiercely as he tried to process this sudden intimacy while also feeling touched by this gesture and his words.

Sunny let this moment be still for a small while, Basil occasionally stammering softly before finally relaxing, their foreheads gently pressing against each other as their arms eased and were now wrapped lightly around each other's shoulders.

They could feel each other's heartbeat as they remained close to each other for several moments—their hearts felt like they were beating in sync as one, their heights roughly the same size as each other with the exception of Basil beating Sunny by a few inches (earning the latter some rare moments of teasing from the former), and remained like this uninterrupted, close together.

“Hey, Basil?” Sunny quietly said to get his friend’s attention, remembering that he wanted to ask about his camera. He retracted from the hug just a little to talk to him better.

“Yes, Sunny..?” Basil tilted his head a little, wishing that they could continue this embrace, but still wanting to answer whatever's on his best friend's mind.

“Where’s your camera? I noticed that it's gone from where I remembered it being. You didn't throw it away, did you?” Sunny genuinely found it unlikely that his best friend would ever throw away his camera or dispose of it at all, but he wanted to ask and make sure.

“Oh, I never threw it away, Sunny..! It’s still around, I just moved it away to a different spot in the house when I was moving all these new things there.” Basil’s face lit up as he got to explain and talk about his camera.

“I-In fact, remember when I said that I’ve been accepted by Aubrey’s friends and spending time with them and Kel?” Sunny nodded.

“Well, I was hoping I could surprise you with this for next morning, but I’ve actually received a new photo album for my last birthday and have been using it again..!” Basil’s voice slightly rose with excitement as he revealed this.

“Really? That's amazing…!” Sunny's eye widened as his own voice rose slightly in excitement for a moment before continuing as normal. “I still have your old one after you insisted that I could still have it. It's still in my bag right now.”

“Oh, that's very nice of you, Sunny. Maybe tomorrow morning, we can look through both that photo album and my new one together?” Basil smiled gently, a new sense of excitement filling up inside him.

“I would love that, Basil…! Seeing all these new and old memories together tomorrow will be very nice.” Sunny once again looked and even briefly sounded more open and excited than he usually let on in this moment, causing a great deal of happiness for Basil as he hugged Sunny a little more tightly—the latter reciprocating it for a few more moments.

“Alright,” Sunny then sighs, moving away from Basil and ending the hug. “I think I’m ready to try going to sleep now. Are you?”

Basil felt a twinge of disappointment as Sunny pulled away, but focused on his question and once again tilted his head slightly. “D-Do you need anything first?”

“Well, I’m just going to go get my bag and lay it out here, but that's all.”

“Alright.” Basil giggled, preparing to tidy up his floor of any loose soil or any other small messes in the way as Sunny went to get his duffel bag and returned with it a short time later, laying out his black and cozy sleeping bag and a white pillow on the now-tidier floor.

Once they were done, there was nothing left to do now but to lay in their respective sleeping areas and get comfortable enough to sleep, Basil turning on his white noise machine for both himself and Sunny to listen to; knowing that Sunny also has one at home and mostly needs it to sleep better, it was convenient that he could play it here without worrying that it would be a disturbance to him. He also turned on his fairy lights for a soft but relaxing glow from above the room, satisfying them both.

“Good night, Sunny…” Basil said gently.

“Good night, Basil.” Sunny said in response, removing his eye patch and resting it on the side.

*

About over half an hour has passed and Basil, despite how comfortable he was, couldn't quite sleep just yet. And apparently, neither could Sunny.

Polly has also done her first check into the room for the night, also having wished them good night when she saw that everything was okay and that they were awake. Unfortunately, it was already proving to be difficult right now for Sunny, and it was ultimately distracting Basil as a result.

“Can't sleep, Sunny…?” He decides to ask; Maybe he could help with this.

“Yeah…” Sunny murmured, rubbing his eye.

“Is it my room’s fault?”

“No, not really. In fact, I think it's cozy so far. It's just that… I don't know. I don't feel comfortable or restful right now.

“That, and you also got me too excited for tomorrow to get restful yet.” He added with a mix of annoyance and amusement.

Basil noticed how Sunny pouted a little as he explained himself and felt a sense of amusement himself, but focused on thinking of what to do.

“O-Oh, I suppose I did,” he repressed a chuckle at Sunny’s addition to his explanation. “I’m sorry to hear that, though. Is there anything I could do to help..?”

Sunny made a mumbled and tired sound that sounded like “I don't know” while shrugging a little. They both then just sat in silence as they thought of something.

Then, Sunny's face brightened as he remembered something. “Hey. Do you remember when I sometimes came over to your house and had to stay for the night during the night when we were kids?”

Basil looked confused while nodding. “Yeah, a-and we also slept together in my-”

Ah. He froze mid-sentence once he realized what Sunny was considering, his face already starting to turn a bright red.

“S-Sunny! I-I really don't think that's appropriate for our ages anymore, o-or-”

Sunny cleared his throat to interrupt Basil, then spoke up. “Look, I’m not worried about you hurting me while I sleep next to you, or the other way around for that matter; in fact, I… would really like to be close to you.” He admitted, his voice becoming quieter as he added that last part, but still very clear for his friend to hear.

And oh goodness, was Basil’s face becoming so hot as he barely dared to believe what he heard his best friend say. “S-Sunny…”

Neither of them knew what to even say as they sat there staring at each other, their faces different shades of red, Basil’s especially so. He wasn't even too bothered about directly facing the scar on Sunny’s eyelid over his empty eye socket, courtesy of what he did.

This was also related to one of the many questions swarming the flower boy's head right now. Why would Sunny like him? They were lucky enough to even be friends anymore after all that's happened between them!

Basil admittedly also figured out the possibility at one point that he indeed has a big crush on Sunny, but he had given up nearly all hope that anything like that was even possible anymore.

And yet here Sunny was, wishing to sleep with him in his own bed like they used to as kids, but they're both teenagers now, specifically teens who have had a very difficult past together.

Back to reality, Sunny just sighs, actually feeling embarrassed with himself. “I’m sorry, that was a stupid idea. I’ll just try harder to get to sleep-”

“Let’s do it.”

The black-haired boy stopped and turned back to Basil, his eye staring at him in surprise.

“What…?”

“I-I wanna try this. L-Letting you sleep closely to me in bed again, I mean.”

Sunny looked surprised and shocked that Basil actually wanted him to move into his bed and sleep with him. He slowly started inching out of the sleeping bag as Basil invited him.

“Are you absolutely sure?”

“Y-Yeah. I-It’ll just be like when we were kids, like you said..!” Basil said this with a smile, but knew deep down that it wouldn't quite be the same thing.

Not that Sunny was really convinced either, but he chuckled and got out of his bag, standing up and looking at Basil and his bed.

“Er, could you scooch-?”

“O-Oh, right, s-sorry.” Basil couldn't help but giggle anxiously as he scooted to a further side of his bed for Sunny to squeeze in, letting him get into the bed and carefully put the covers over himself along with Basil.

They were also both very aware of how close they were to the point that their shoulders were touching each other, but all that mattered right now was for Sunny to become fully comfortable.

And sure enough, Sunny was surprisingly feeling more comfortable in the bed just barely fitting him and his friend roughly his size together than he was by himself in that sleeping bag; he looked so peaceful and at ease already.

“Are you comfortable..?” Basil asks, smiling at the peaceful sight of Sunny looking so content.

“Mhm..” He mumbles comfortably. Suddenly, when Basil least expected it, Sunny slowly wrapped his arms around his chest and snuggled closer to him, almost nuzzling his face into the crook of the blond’s neck, earning a very flustered and shocked squeak from him.

“Wh-What..?! S-Sunny, you’re-” Basil was at a loss for words, wondering if he was hallucinating this.

Sunny heard Basil's flustered stammering, but only loosened his snuggle on him, not outright letting go. “Oh, is this… too much for you?”

Basil wasn't even sure how to respond. He was already enjoying the feeling of Sunny's arms around him, something he missed and hadn't felt for years and didn't fully appreciate back then, but now that he was actually living to feel them again like this, he was so nervous and unsure how to process it or what to say to his best friend.

Sunny, however, couldn't help but chuckle softly and give Basil’s hand a reassuring squeeze before speaking again. “You can just nod or shake your head for now if you want.”

Basil then shook his head, letting Sunny know that he wanted this.

“Okay, good,” Sunny sighed slightly in relief before continuing. “To be honest, Basil, I… I’ve been hoping for something like this to happen for a few months now. I was worried that it wouldn't, or that you wouldn't like it or feel the same way.”

Basil gasped, his eyes wide and shining as he stared at Sunny's own eye. “Do you mean…?”

“Yes, Basil, I… I think I like you. As more than a friend.” Sunny finally confessed, slightly tightening his hug on Basil.

Basil felt like he was on cloud nine right now. Sunny actually likes him back! Despite everything, and how he felt like he messed up a few things for this sleepover, Sunny likes him back. Basil felt so excited that he couldn't help but quickly press his lips against Sunny's before he realized what he was doing and pulled away just as fast as he started it, catching the dark-haired boy off-guard.

“O-Oh, I’m so sorry, Sunny..!” Basil covered his beat-red face with his hands. “I-I j-just got so excited a-and I really sh-should’ve asked, or just-” He paused as he heard that Sunny was actually… Laughing. And a very sweet laugh it was that it actually calmed him down a little, his hands prying open from his face a little so he could peek at Sunny.

“Basil, it’s fine. It caught me off-guard, but… I liked it,” The one-eyed boy reassured after taking a moment to calm down. “And also, you weren't exactly being that subtle with your crush on me sometimes—and I was worried that I was being too obvious.” He then boldly but carefully wrapped both his hands around Basil's wrists and pried them away from his face as he teased, seeing how flustered he was.

“O-Oh, I-I guess I wasn't… I-I just really, REALLY liked you for so long, Sunny,” Basil confessed, just barely managing to keep eye contact with Sunny as his eyes welled up with emotion and tears. “And I just thought that you wouldn't ever feel the same way, especially after everything that I did to you to “help” you that just made things worse… Do you really feel the same way?”

Sunny sighed, still gently holding his wrists, but slowly loosening his grip. “Hey. It's… We’ve been over this several times now, so I’ll just say that we’ve been moving on, we’ve forgiven each other, and we’re both still here and still friends with the others; we’ve even watched a movie where Spaceboy ended up doing the same thing.” He added with a hint of a smirk.

Basil giggled a little, looking sheepish as he glanced to the side. “I-I guess that's true, yeah.”

Sunny then moved his hand a little to brush a stray rolling tear off of Basil’s cheek with his thumb. “So yes, I really do feel the same way for you, and I want to continue experiencing these emotions with you. AND you've also helped me and made me feel happier more than you truly realize, especially just from today.” Sunny was genuinely starting to pour his entire heart into what he's saying, melting Basil’s heart more and more.

“So, to come clean and straight to it… I love you, Basil."

Basil's entire body was basically feeling a hurricane of many emotions, almost all of them positive. His face was streaming with tears with a wide watery smile on his face as he was sobbing. And as Sunny’s grip on his wrists weakened enough, Basil then threw his arms around his best friend—now his boyfriend’s—neck, hugging him tightly.

“O-Oh, Sunny, I l-love you, too… Even after everything, we’re still here for each other, a-and it's all real! W-Wait, is this real?”

Just as Basil wondered with worry that he was dreaming this, Sunny suddenly pinched his arm, a light pain that reassured him that he was indeed awake and experiencing this right now.

“O-Ow, Sunny-”

“Basil, we’re still trying to be quiet and go to sleep, remember?” Sunny reminded him.

“A-Ah… Right. Sorry.” He said in embarrassment as he took some deep breaths to calm himself down. “Wh-What would other people think about us being together? What would your mom think?” He began to worry and think about some of the worst case scenarios. It was unsurprising of Basil, but understandable, Sunny admitted.

“...We’ll cross those bridges when we get there. We don't have to tell anyone immediately, and we can take things at our own pace. We are just starting the idea of a relationship between us, after all.

“And besides, we have a lot to look forward to tomorrow. I think we should start getting comfortable and going to sleep.” Sunny yawned, particularly feeling tired from the amount of emotions he felt and expressed in one sitting to his best friend, now his boyfriend.

“Y-You're right… I-I’m very happy, and I want to keep talking to you right now, but we should really just go to sleep and see where the morning and our future take us.”

Sunny nodded, laying back down on Basil’s bed, and muttered “10 out of 10” just loud enough for Basil to hear.

As Basil laid down himself, he giggled a little. “Hehe, you still rank beds?”

Sunny actually felt embarrassed as Basil caught him red-handed. “O-Oh, I guess I still do. You know, as a kid, I grew into the habit of ranking any bed or anything resembling one on a scale of 1 to 10.”

Basil nodded, playfully smirking as he remembered this cute little habit of Sunny’s all too well. “That sounds about right… a-and what did you say was the rank of my bed?”

Sunny faintly blushed, pausing for a moment before answering. “A perfect 10 out of 10, the only one I've seen so far that's for that category besides my own.”

Basil smiled warmly, feeling a strange sense of honor and privilege in a way, but also a sense of teasing. “I’m glad that my bed has fit your very professional bed ranking standards and criteria for a perfect score, Sun'.”

Sunny decided to play along with this teasing while also feeling flattered by the endearing shortened version of his name. “Why, yes, my dear Basil Fey. Your lovely little resting place surrounded by flowers and plants of incomparable health and beauty simply matches my own in the truest perfection.” He spoke this in an exaggerated British accent, his usual monotone and reserved voice having long been casted aside just for Basil at this point.

Basil was doing his absolute hardest to keep himself from bursting into laughter. “Okay, okay, w-we should really start going to sleep now.”

Sunny sighed, feeling very tired now. “Yeah, yeah, you're right.”

Right before he fully settled in, he leaned forward and kissed Basil on the cheek. “Good night, sunflower…”

Basil flushed quite a lot, feeling very fluttery and happy again as he returned the favor and pecked Sunny near his lost eye, being careful not to kiss it directly, but just enough on the scarred area around it with the same loving energy as though a parent kisses a child’s small injury, or “boo-boo,” to make it feel better.

“Good night, s-sunshine…” Basil was still rather nervous on the idea of giving Sunny such a cheesy pet name back, but the latter seemed to like it a lot, and seeing his satisfied smile as he got more comfortable and closed his eye, the former boy could at least take solace in that.

And with that, the two boys finally got settled into bed, cuddling each other in their arms and getting comfortable with each other's presence; despite all that's happened, their bond and friendship has not only remained the same, but is blossoming to be something more.

They fell asleep, knowing that no matter what happens in the future, they will make sure to face it together this time.

At this moment, everything was okay.

*

Polly was sitting down on the couch in the living room, having just got a call from Sunny’s mom, who called to ask how the sleepover was going so far and how safe her son was.

It was admittedly a rather stressful conversation that otherwise went smoothly enough. Sunny’s mom was understandably still rather cautious with her son being in Basil’s house and especially felt very nervous that he was willing to sleep in his bedroom, vehemently telling Polly to please make sure that Sunny remained safe and to check him frequently.

Polly of course agreed and promised the worrying mother that she would before hanging up, but while she would indeed do her best and put her trust in both Sunny and Basil to not hurt each other or make each other uncomfortable, she truthfully wasn't so sure of herself to be able to keep such a promise should anything disastrous happen.

That aside, she was about to check back on the boys for the second time tonight and see how they were doing, quietly stepping through the hall and slowly opening the bedroom door to peek in.

But as she looked into the room, the caretaker had to stop herself from letting out a gasp as she took in what she was seeing: not only was Sunny out of his sleeping bag, but he was directly sleeping in Basil's bed, both of them holding each other close as they slept so peacefully.

And while multiple thoughts on this were already forming in her head, one in particular came into place above the others:

They were so adorable.

Polly had literally no idea what to even do at this point. It wasn't like she was going to come in and ruin this—quite the contrary in fact. Naturally, she was going to make sure to check on them more carefully, but at the same time, she was willing to let them sleep together like this, admiring how strong and heartfelt their friendship must really be.

While also wondering if there was something more to their friendship that she wasn't expecting, but would probably make some sense when she thought about it more later.

But, remembering how Basil briefly mentioned while they arranged plans for this sleepover that he wanted to show Sunny his new photos and album, she then had an idea to catch them by surprise, quietly stepping away from the room to fetch something.

She then silently returned to the doorway with Basil’s camera in her hands, fetching it from the shelf that he left it on. Now, Polly was normally very much not the teasing type and even then felt like she was pushing it a little, but she genuinely saw that this was a perfect moment to not only preserve what she assumed was a precious moment for both Basil and Sunny tonight, but to give them quite the surprise for when they open up his photo album and then stumble upon an unfamiliar new photo tomorrow morning.

Thankfully, the fairy lights shining above Basil’s bed gave her the best opportunity she could to carefully take a picture of them with just enough lighting without needing the flash feature on his camera, and without causing too much of a disturbance or getting caught. The click that sounded from the camera caused them to stir a little, but they fortunately didn't outright wake up from it, the photo printing out and beginning to develop.

“Hehe, I hope they can find it in their hearts to forgive me for this…” Polly whispered to herself as she barely contained a hint of a mischievous giggle, walking away from the room as she held the photo and the camera carefully, preparing to put the picture in his album to surprise them tomorrow.

Despite all the worries and doubts that she felt for this sleepover and how it was going to go… Everything seemed to turn out as well as it could be, and she couldn't ask for anything more. Both these boys have been through so much together—but in spite of everything, they are here now, together and sleeping peacefully in each other's arms.

And she looked forward and hoped for the best for tomorrow and their futures, whatever they may bring from here.