Fallout and Future

Chapter 9: Marks

A/N: Content Warnings at the bottom. This chapter was beta read by UdonPuddle.

So... I'm back. 15 (kinda 16?) days later. lol

Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/arch-is-screaming (A 2.4k word Basil analysis can be found here.)

Discord: Arch#5011

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArchScreams (A Sunflower oneshot and really stupid Metal Gear Rising crossover can be found here.)

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🌻

Basil stared at Polly, still breathing heavily, while Kel and Aubrey had both gone slack jawed. After what seemed to be an eternity, his caretaker finally turned around, eyes widening as she took in the scene in front of her: Kel and Aubrey holding down Basil and lifting his shirt, exposing a network of scars.

"...Whatever you think this is, it isn't that." Basil slowly raised his hands. "Can you... erm... give us a minute?"

Polly and the trio continued their staredown for several moments before she sighed deeply, placing her coat on the rack and walking into the hallway. "You have ten minutes." She said quietly.

Basil, Kel and Aubrey sat in silence for a second, all avoiding each other's eyes. They'd dropped his shirt, at least.

"...So." Kel began.

"I-I'm sorry for keeping this from you." Basil said quickly. Both Kel and Aubrey just looked disappointed, which felt worse than anger. He was at least pretty used to people being angry at him. "I just didn't think it would... well, do any good now."

Aubrey finally met his gaze, opening her mouth, closing it, and then opening it again to speak. "...These aren't recent, right?"

"N-no!" Basil replied hurriedly. "I walked into a table last night. By accident. That was the only recent one, I swear!"

"Prove it." Kel said, voice curt.

Basil looked down and, after a moment of deliberation, gingerly lifted up his shirt. He really would rather not do this. Honestly, a selfish part of him felt a little angry that he'd been exposed by his friends after just asking them to not baby him anymore, but it still came from a place of care. They should know.

He could recognize every one of those marks - forty-five of them. With a shaking finger, he pointed at one right below his sternum. "...Th-that one's... the earliest. It was right before I tried to... uh... hang myself. But you already know that story, hah..." He chuckled a little, too aware that he held Aubrey and Kel's full attention.

"And after that..." Basil traced a finger down the second scar. "This was when Mari died. I tried to focus on what was real, and I f-felt like I should be in pain, and I had to... well, do something. So I did." Aubrey and Kel were both stone-faced.

"This one... I went to Sunny's house a little while after the Incident." Basil's gaze darkened as he recalled that day. "He didn't talk, I got scared and... well, that was when the photos were ruined." There was no way he could tell them who'd really blacked out the album; not when so much was already going on.

"I felt like I'd be able to keep a clearer head; remember that Sunny hadn't killed Mari. But it didn't work." Basil tapped his fifth scar. "I tried again. And again. But my grandmother came home, so I had to hide."

For minutes, Basil sat next to Aubrey and Kel, recalling the years he'd spent alone, recorded on his abdomen with a pair of gardening shears and vain hope. Every day, wishing that Sunny would come back, that Mari was still alive, that his friends hadn't left him. Days where he looked at the fresh bruise he'd gotten from Aubrey's gang and smiled, because he was helping her. Days where he hoped things would go back to the way they were, but knowing they couldn't and it was all because he had to be there that day.