Fallout and Future

Chapter 16: Daisy and Hyacinth

A/N: i'm on time, right (i have two chapters drafted which i just need to edit a little)

beta read by spooky, SubwayBossEmmett, and UdonPuddle. content warnings at the bottom

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Sunny locked the door behind him, then sighed and slid down the wall. The sun had set by the time he finished his conversation with Aubrey, and the lights were still on in Basil's house. Either he or Polly were up.

Sunny got to his feet after a few moments. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy spending time with Aubrey. He wasn't even an introvert, but it got more than a little draining to spend all day walking and talking.

He looked towards the kitchen, hoping to grab something to eat before heading to bed, and realized Basil had been staring at him from behind the island for the last minute. He had pulled up a chair and was holding a mug in his hands.

You must've been worrying him.

"Uh... hi?" Basil said tentatively, phrasing it more like a question than a greeting. "I... uh..."

"Why are you still up?" Sunny cocked his head at his friend.

"S-sorry, I was worried about you. A-and you don't have a phone or anything..." Basil set the mug down, avoiding Sunny's gaze.

"We live in the middle of nowhere. I'm not getting kidnapped, and I'm definitely not running away." Sunny walked over to Basil, sitting down next to him.

"Yeah... sorry." Basil apologized again and hugged his arms around himself, finally meeting Sunny's eye. "...I-if it's not too much for me to ask, could you tell me what you and Aubrey talked about?"

Why would it be too much for him to ask? Sunny wondered. Although, it did seem consistent with how antsy Basil had been around him thus far. And you can't tell him everything you talked to her about; he'd be too uncomfortable at the thought of having to confront Hero again.

...But there is a difference between not telling the whole truth and telling a lie.

"I spoke to her about Kel, and told her about that crush I had on her when I was younger."

Basil's eyes immediately glazed over, and his fingers dug into his sides. It took a full three seconds for him to respond, "...O-oh. D-did she... reciprocate?"

"No, not that it matters," Sunny replied. Basil... sure was acting strange, wasn't he?

It was probably nothing.

"I think I stopped really loving her while I was locked inside. Loving her romantically, that is," Sunny added.

"Ah... I... uh... I see." Basil's grip around himself seemed to tighten at that, and he avoided Sunny's gaze again. Odd. No time to think about that right now.

"On the topic of phones, I'd like to ask you out for tomorrow—to the mall. I still need something to call and text you guys on."

This time, the silence was four seconds long.

"...Who else is coming?" Basil asked, each word slow and methodical, like English was a foreign language to him. Technically it was, considering he'd first learned and then unlearned Austrian German when he was youn-

Sunny caught himself.

"Nobody, preferably," he replied. "We haven't really hung out together on our own yet." Are you sure he'll want to go with you? You probably bring up a lot of bad memories for him. It wouldn't be fair to expect him to put all of tha-

"I... o-of course! I'd love to, if that's what you want." Basil clasped his hands against his chest, a small smile now on his face and eyes bright.

"Oh. Cool," Sunny replied. "Good night, then." And with that, he left for the bedroom.