Aubrey's last visit.

There she was, walking towards Sunny's home. The pink-haired girl was crossing the street alone, taking care not to draw attention from anyone from the gang. She would be asking herself what she was doing here, but hovering her hand over her stomach and feeling the scar was enough of a reminder.
Four years. She had to stay four years without seeing Sunny, having to bear alone with her feelings while he rotted in his house. And what happens once he returns?

She gets admonished by Kel of all people in front of her gang.
She lets her frustrations out on Basil and almost kills him and Sunny.
Sunny stabbing her...
Sunny stabbing her. She was really lucky Sunny's aim wasn't the best, right? Or maybe...
She didn't know what to think of Sunny yet, she had to see him with her own eyes.

After that scene unraveled at the hospital, the culmination of Sunny's return. Hero lashing out and screaming at Sunny, Kel trying to hold Hero back and getting the two out of the room...The two were left alone with the unconscious Basil. Back then, Sunny kept staring forward with his usual unreadable expression, was he waiting for her reaction? Waiting for her to assault him too?
Aubrey didn't know what to think back then, but she wasn't going to leave Sunny waiting. She had to confront him one last time.

Knock-Knock.
Sunny hesitated to open the door, he thought no one would come to visit him in his last days. When he opened the door, he was greeted with the towering figure of a pink-haired girl.
"Hey Sunny."
Aubrey could see him recoiling a bit, and why wouldn't he? After everything she did to him, to Basil, she couldn't blame him. And that was before she learned the truth.
"...I just wanted to talk. Before you move." She held both her arms up in a defeated fashion, as to signal she didn't come with her bat. That seemed to relieve Sunny just enough for him to let her in.

The walk into his room was a silent one. Aubrey felt as if she was being judged by every corner of the house as she walked further in, the very walls shunning her for abandoning them for so long. Suddenly, she hit Sunny, not noticing he had stopped dead in his tracks.
She was going to ask what was up, but she could see. They were at the bottom of the stairwell.
"...Here we are."
Sunny traversed those stairs a lot of times during the past few days, but he was freezing up now. Why? Is it because he told them the truth? Is it because Aubrey's here?
...He needed a second to calm himself down, but the two made their way into Sunny's room.

It was worse than what Aubrey imagined. All the time she was in Sunny's house her old memories came rushing back, only to crash and burn when taking in the state of the house. If Aubrey's house was offensively cluttered, Sunny's house was suffocatingly empty. The empty walls, the lack of life, and then on Sunny's room, seeing that Mari's bed was missing was the trigger needed to wake Aubrey up.
While Aubrey was taking it all in, Sunny finally gathered the courage to turn and face her. Whatever she wanted to say or do since the hospital, he would let her. All he wanted was for her to know the truth before it.
"...Aubrey, I'm sor-"
"No. I can't let you do that."

Sunny expected a punch, a shove, but the hit never came. Only when he lifted his head could he see the tears streaming down Aubrey's face.
"This is all wrong. I'm the one who should be apologizing here!" Aubrey was angry, not at Sunny, but at herself, she looked as if she wanted to punch something out of rage, but didn't find anything appropriate.
"After Mari...After Mari died, you had no one. We didn't visit you once. I never visited you once!"
"If at least I had been here...I should have been the one to stay with you, but I...didn't. I'm sorry."
"..." Aubrey had gone quiet, but thousands of thoughts were running through her head, she felt as if she was going to pass out. From anger? From sadness? From-
"...It's okay." It was his voice that broke Aubrey away from her trance.

"Aubrey, we all make mistakes. It's important that we own up to them, but..." Sunny stared right into Aubrey's eyes for the first time since the hospital. She could finally take a clear look at his face. How she still remembered talking to Sunny, spending time playing with him, she realized these feelings never left her.
"...But we can't let them eat at us from the inside either. You'll have to forgive yourself but...if it helps, I forgive you."

Ah, Sunny. What a dork.
Aubrey started smiling again. It was a smile that reminded Sunny from the Aubrey of his dreams. Maybe borrowing Mari's words was the right thing to do. Or maybe it wasn't, since Aubrey just shoved him into his bed.
"Idiot, you think acting like Mari is going to help?.. She did always have the right words, didn't she?"
Aubrey wasn't sure of what she was doing anymore, but one thing was clear in her head, she was happy now. The pink-haired girl quickly joined Sunny in his bed before he could protest. There was something she needed to do before they continue.
"If you really forgive me, you're gonna let me do this!"

She first went to grab him by the collar, but dropped the act and just placed her hand on his cheek, dragging him in for the kiss she's been dreaming of since she was a kid.

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Pub: 29 Dec 2021 05:15 UTC
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