White︱BenEarth AU

9

He saw colors.

He could breathe air. Clean air.

He could feel the delicate breeze on his hair.

He could smell the grass and flowers around him.

He heard birds chirping, people giggling with each other, dogs barking and children playing.

This was the first time Earth had been out, at least according to his memory. 

Of course his wanders were still limited, and he couldn't go just anywhere, but this was enough for him for now. He couldn't have wished for more. 

"Have you ever had hot chocolate?" Ben asked from the sobbing boy. He wasn't quite sure why Earth was crying, but he believed it to have some relation to the psychiatric hospital, his files didn't say anything about that though. Maybe Earth had never been out before. It would make sense, since he seemed to love colors so much. Maybe he hadn't seen any in a long time. 

Maybe they were tears of joy.

Earth shook his head while picking up roses from the garden. He didn't care that his hands got picked by the thorns, he just wanted to hold the pink roses.

His rose hunt was over soon enough, since Ben took a hold of Earth's arm and pulled him with himself. "Then we're getting some." 

The nurses had given strict orders to how far Ben could take Earth, which was a few miles. Luckily for them, there was a mall near here, that had a coffee shop. 

Earth still had his hospital clothing on, since he didn't have any other clothing. He didn't need any, since he never left the building. Ben didn't actually have the money to buy him new clothes just for this occasion, so he just decided to hand his own brown coat to him. 

Earth was much shorter than Ben was, and the coat was long, so it almost reached Earth's ankles. It didn't seem to bother the smiling boy though.

They started walking towards the mall, but they had to stop every minute or so, because Earth found something new and different to gaze at. From different flowers to dogs. He found his new favorite flower, the sunflower, he loved the yellow coloring of it because it made him feel all happy inside. 

He also found out that he likes cats more than dogs. The street cats were nice to him, as the dogs only barked at him. Maybe they didn't like him. He had to admit, that he was slightly afraid of the dogs since they were loud and their teeth seemed to be very sharp.

They reached the mall soon after. Earth gained some looks because of the coat and his clothes underneath it. It was extraordinary, but luckily the people who visited this mall, knew very well that there were various hospitals and wards around this area, and the patients visited this mall very often since they weren't allowed any further. It was common knowledge. 

Ben went to order the drinks for them as Earth got a seat for them. Earth's eyes widened as he looked at the cup Ben brought in front of him. There was a lot of whipped cream. He didn't like whipped cream, it was white, and it always coated his birthday cakes at the hospital. He wasn't disrespectful, so he took the cup and drank straight from it, the whipped cream getting onto his nose without him noticing. It made Ben laugh out loud. 

Only if things would stay like this.

Only if life was fair.

Only if life was colors and happiness.

Only if life wasn't just plain white.