Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A cold autumn afternoon. The large ambulance parked in the driveway, along with several cars.

The events of the incident were still fresh in Sunny's mind. "She'll be okay...she'll be okay...she'll be...o..kay..." His hands trembled, and tears filled his eyes, hugging his knees to his chest. Red and blue lights stained his vision. Kel sat beside him, Aubrey was on his bed fidgeting with one of Sunny’s plushes to calm down, and Hero was on the floor in front of him. No one had said anything for what felt like an hour, they were all still processing it. As if to pierce the silence and calm everyone’s nerves, Basil slowly entered the room. Sunny twitched at the sound of the doorknob. Aubrey sat up, and everyone’s eyes went to Basil expectantly. 

"Any news?" Kel tried to steady his words, a lump in his throat. Basil shook their head and spoke quietly. "I-I tried to look at her, but the adults told me to go back inside..." he sat down next to Hero, who was now staring at the floor. "Sunny's parents seemed to be arguing..." Basil said that last part in almost a whisper. The air was dense, everyone sat silently. Sunny was breathing heavily, and Kel put a comforting hand on his shoulder to calm Sunny and himself as well. He had no clue what happened, Basil just showed up and told him to come to Sunny's house as fast as possible. Basil occasionally cast glances at Sunny. He knew what happened. They both did. The others only knew what the adults said, "She fell, and she’s hurt, go to Sunny’s room for now."

Everyone sat in the dark room in silence, trickles of light came in from Sunny’s window. The atmosphere was gloomy. It felt like everyone had something to say but didn’t know how to. 

Eventually, Aubrey broke the silence, "Is Mari gonna be okay...?" Hero fidgeted with his hands before responding, "I-" he paused, "I don't know Aubrey...We'll have to wait and see." Hero fought tears in his eyes as he curled into a ball, burying his face in his knees. Sunny was still shaking. His eyes hurt from the tears, and guilt filled his mind as he thought back to earlier in the day. It all happened so fast, it was a blur.

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They all stayed quiet again for a while, no one knew what else to say while they waited on news from the adults. Eventually, Polly came into the room. "Hey kiddos, the medics checked on Mari-" Everyone but Sunny stood up and looked at her, Hero spoke first. "Is she okay?!" Sunny sat quietly and slowly looked up at Polly. Aubrey shifted positions, trying not to step on one of Sunny's hands as Kel moved closer to Polly. Basil stepped back a bit. "She'll is fine but she has to go the hospital..." Sunny's tears began to stream down his face, Basil teared up, and Hero sat back down. Kel and Aubrey stood there in shock. "She does..?" Basil's voice cracked. Polly nodded, "I came in here to check on you all, and uh," she turned to look at Sunny and knelt. "Your mom wanted to ask if you wanna go to the hospital or if you need to stay here." He slowly stood up, still shaking. Polly helped him up, and Kel grabbed her sleeve. "Can we come too...Please?" She smiled and nodded, then they all headed outside. 

Hero, Kel, and Aubrey went over to their parents, Basil stayed near Polly, and Sunny ran over to his mom, who was standing next to the ambulance doors. Mari was already loaded inside and his mom looked at her sadly, dried tears on her face. Sunny hugged his mom, practically sobbing as tears streamed down his face. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..." he mumbled over and over. "Hey, it's okay. Why are you sorry?" she asked, but he kept mumbling. His mom kissed him lightly on the forehead, "I know this must all be shocking...Come on, let's head to the hospital with your sister." She helped him into the back of the ambulance and sat down. Sunny avoided looking at Mari, it was his fault, he didn’t deserve to look at her. The ride to the hospital felt like seconds, before he knew it Sunny was in a hospital room next to Mari's bed.

Basil and the others arrived shortly after. They walked hurriedly into the room. "Is she alright Sunny?" Aubrey put her hand on his arm. Hero walked over to them. "Have the doctors said anything...?" Sunny just kept staring into space. "Sunny?" Kels's voice was muffled by the ringing in his ears and his surroundings started to blur. His heart was beating quickly, his breath was heavy. "Sunny, breathe hun," he could barely hear his mom. "Sunny." He quickly looked up. Kel and Aubrey backed up from the sudden movement. Mari's voice. Although instead of the normally sweet and caring tone, it sounded cold and bitter. He looked over at Mari on the bed, still asleep. His mom sighed quietly and put her hand on his shoulder. "He'll be okay. Mari, on the other hand..." Everyone quickly looked at her. "The doctors said she's going to be fine." Breathes of relief were shared as she continued, "However, her body is weak, and she'll have to go into a coma." Kel's eyes shot open, and Aubrey fell into the chair beside Sunny. Hero crumbled to the floor. "What!?! For how long???" Kel almost yelled. Sunny's mom looked over to Mari, trying not to cry again as tears welled in her eyes. "We don't know..." Sunny curled up in his seat, incoherently whispering. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."

Basil had said nothing the whole time. If they did, they'd probably start sobbing. They didn't know if Sunny wanted to tell them yet. He hadn't mentioned anything about it despite multiple questions. He had barely spoken since the ambulance arrived.

They spent all day at the hospital. If it weren't for Hero and Kel's parents, they probably would've spent the night there too. They opted for a sleepover at Sunny's house instead, Kel's idea, so they could all be there for each other throughout the night. Everyone got tucked into their respective spots. Sunny quietly set up Mari's bed as if she was in it. No one commented on it. His mom came in after a moment, "Do you need anything?" they all shook their heads. "No, thank you." Hero spoke quietly. "Okay, sleep well, everyone..." Sunny had never had so many nightmares in one night.

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Aubrey woke up and blinked a little, trying to get used to the darkness. The room was quiet as everyone slept, the curtains covered the window which kept any moonlight from creeping in. She glanced over at the clock, 1:30 am. Aubrey went to lie back down but noticed that Sunny wasn't in bed anymore. She had asked to sleep in his bed that night in case he needed support. He seemed indifferent and didn't mind when she laid next to him so she slept there, but now he wasn't beside her anymore and the door to his room was slightly cracked open.

She grabbed Mr. PlantEgg and made her way to the door, carefully avoiding stepping on Basil or Kel who were sleeping near the door. Their blankets were on the floor as well, which she almost slipped on. Luckily the floor in Sunny's room didn't creak, and she made it to the door without waking anyone up. She paused when she got to it though. "He might've just gone to his mom's room..." Her hand hovered near the handle, "Can't hurt to check though," she carefully opened the door, walked out, and closed it again. She turned to go to his mom's room but stopped. Sunny was there. He was just standing at the top of the stairs, quietly.

"Sunny?" Aubrey whispered as she walked towards him. He didn't respond, he didn't even look at her. "Psst, Sunny!" She was a little louder this time, sort of shout whispering. She made it over to him, stopped, and looked at where he was staring. His gaze was fixated on the bottom of the staircase. Even with their shoulders touching Sunny still didn't even glance toward Aubrey. "Hey, Sunny...you okay?" she said, still trying to be quiet but get his attention. "Is he...shaking?" Tears lingered in Sunny's eyes, although they were hard to see in the dark. The only light was the window behind them, sprinkling the floor with moonlight. "I'm...sorry..." Aubrey put her hand on his shoulder, "Sorry for what?" A tear rolled down his face, and he suddenly snapped out of his trance-like state. He blinked a few times at Aubrey before wiping his tears. Aubrey frowned a little. She hated to see him cry but couldn't do anything about it. "It's gonna be okay Sunny." She moved her hand from his shoulder to hold his hand. "Mari will be alright..." There was an uneasiness in her words. She didn't know if they were true, but she wanted to believe them. 

Sunny slowly nodded and squeezed Aubrey's hand back. She gave a light smile. "Let's go lay back down before the others wake up, okay?" They started walking back to Sunny's room, but he glanced at the stairs again. It was almost like there was a shadow staring through the dark.

Aubrey helped Sunny navigate around Kel and Basil and then back into bed. Hero was sleeping near the foot of Mari's bed. Aubrey looked over at him to make sure he was still sleeping. If he knew they were still awake he'd probably give them a mouthful. Aubrey got comfy again. Sunny just laid down, a blank expression on his face. He usually had a similar expression, but this one seemed empty in a way. Although, it could've been because it was dark. Aubrey couldn't tell. "Goodnight Sunny," she whispered. He didn't say anything back, just slightly nodded. Aubrey fell asleep rather quickly, a hand now on Sunny’s arm. He stared at the wall for a while, thoughts racing but none making enough sense to piece them together.

Sunny’s eyes grew heavy, and he slowly drifted to sleep, sinking into the bed and plushies around him.

Chapter Text

Sunny sat quietly on his bed with his face pressed against his knees as he sat in a ball-like position. Sunlight slowly crept into his room, illuminating the floor. Some of the sun was in Kel's eyes, but he slept through it. Basil had woken up earlier but hadn’t said anything to Sunny. The two just sat in silence, waiting for the others to wake up as well. Mari would've woken up by now. She loved to get up early and go downstairs to practice her piano. Sunny started joining her once he got his violin, which now sat in a toy box, broken and untouched. 

"Sunny...?" Basil whispered. They figured they would ask about what happened before the others awoke. Sunny didn't move his head, just his eyes. He slowly looked at Basil and waited for him to keep speaking. They tried not to stammer too much, "Uhm. I-I wanted to uhm ask," he paused and looked around. They were all still fast asleep, especially Kel, for someone with the sun beaming on his face. Basil continued, "D-do you wanna tell them...? About uhm, what happened yesterday?" Sunny froze. "No. No. No. No. No." He went to say something but couldn't. He felt himself choking up. Basil looked down. They felt bad for asking, but he wanted to know. Sunny buried his face in his knees, which Basil took as a 'No'. He didn't want to talk about it, so they decided not to push too much. Basil looked at the wall instead, although it seemed dark, even with the sunlight coming in.

Hero woke up quietly. He sat up near the foot of Mari's bed. His hair was a mess, and his eyes looked red from tears. He mumbled good morning to Sunny and Basil before going downstairs to the piano room. The house was quiet. He figured Sunny's dad had already left for work and his mom probably wasn't up yet. 

Hero walked down the stairs and into the room on the right. He sat on the piano bench and lifted the cover off the keys. He gently placed his hands to play but hesitated. "Her piano, where we had played so many songs..." He smiled at the memories, a smile that quickly faded. Their memories. They were a little sad now. Would Mari ever play the piano again? Would she even wake up? "I'll play for you as much as you want Mari...Just, please. Wake up soon..."

"Heroooo!!" He stood up quickly. He started running to where Kel's voice was but went through the doorway and stopped. No one seemed hurt. He took a sigh of relief. "Kel, why are you yelling? Sunny's mom might still be asleep." Kel pointed up at the top of the stairs, where Sunny and Aubrey stood. "Sunny won't come down. He's been standing there for like ten minutes..." Hero looked up at Sunny. Aubrey had a hand on his shoulder, the other on his back as she tried talking to him. "Sunny? Come on, let's go down." He was frozen, his gaze affixed to the bottom step. 

The corners of his vision were blurry, and his eyes hurt, yet he couldn't look away. He couldn't move. The room fell dark, something at the bottom of the steps. It moved. Slowly crawling up the stairs, strings tangled on its throat, long dark hair covering its face in the dark. It stumbled and crawled backward, its face looking directly at Sunny. He wanted to scream, run, and cry for help. He couldn't. Basil stood at the bottom of the stairs, camera in hand. They turned away as the thing got further up the stairs making no sound. It reached Sunny, and something shook him.

He blinked. It was bright. He looked at Basil, who had a concerned look on their face but no camera in sight. Kel stood next to them, sharing a similar expression. Hero was right in front of Sunny, offering his hand. "It's okay. We can go down together," his words felt like a thick warm blanket, and Sunny took a deep breath. Aubrey moved from behind Sunny and went next to Hero. She nodded, "Together." Sunny slowly took Hero's hand, trying not to shake. The three of them slowly walked down the stairs. Something was there. Sunny saw it. But where did it go? He shook his head as the five of them made their way to the kitchen. 

Sunny's mom sat at the island with a cup of coffee, dark circles under her eyes. "Mornin'!" Kel spoke loudly. She turned to them and smiled when she saw Sunny. She didn't know what had just happened or what was at the bottom of the stairs. "Good morning, everyone–” She paused to drink some of her coffee– “Sunny's dad is at work already, but if you'd like we can try to visit Mari today," she sounded tired but hopeful. Everyone nodded or gave sounds of agreement, so they quickly ate cereal and toast and loaded into the car.

Mari's room was cold and quiet. Everyone had said their hellos except for Sunny. He stood next to her bed quietly, tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry...I'm sorry..." he mumbled almost incoherently. The beeping of the monitors slightly drowned him out. He went to look at his friends, but they were gone. Where'd they go? They had only been there for a few hours. He looked at his mom, who tiredly watched Mari. Sunny tried to ask his mother something but couldn't find the words, so he stayed quiet. Aubrey walked in a moment after, her dark hair in a long ponytail. 

She was holding a small flower pot that held a lily of the valley. She gently placed it near Mari's bed and carefully leaned on the side. "Hey, Mari. Basil told us about some of his flowers a few days ago," Sunny was confused. He mentioned that an hour ago. Or was it two? Aubrey continued, "They said that this one reminded them of you...I thought it was pretty, so I figured I'd bring it to you." She had a soft smile as she spoke. "He said that Gladiolus reminded him of me! Maybe I can bring you one some other time...so you can be reminded of me too..." Her smile stayed, but her brows slightly furrowed. She quietly walked over to the side of the bed that Sunny was on and sat next to him. "The others wanted to come but couldn't. Basil's tending to their garden, and Kel and Hero are doing something today." Sunny lightly nodded. A while passed, and eventually, they left.

"Would you like to come over, Aubrey?" The keys jingled in Sunny's mom's hand as she unlocked the car. Aubrey smiled but shook her head. "No, my mom wants me home. I'd appreciate a lift though?" Mrs. Suzuki nodded, and the three of them got in the car. The ride was short, and the next thing he knew Sunny was in his room. He sat on his bed. The sun setting lit a bright orange that filled the room. It slowly left, leaving his room dark. He got up, made Mari's bed then laid down on his own. Eventually, he fell asleep, slipping into a dreamscape of wonder and terror.

Chapter Text

Monitors quietly beeped in the mostly silent room. A nurse wrote on a clipboard that held several papers, the scratching of the pencil punctuating the beeps of the monitors.

A pale, dark-haired girl lay on the bed in the middle of the room against the wall. Several cord-like things were attached to her wrists and other places which connected to the monitors. Multiple doctors and nurses had been in and out of the room to monitor the girl, who was currently in a medically induced coma.

A mother quietly walked into the room and began talking to the nurse, who was still writing. Murmurs were exchanged, including information about the girl on the bed. Their words were quiet as if the girl would wake up upon hearing them. Unfortunately for the girl, she could hear the words but sadly would not wake up.

Darkness filled the house. She didn’t dare check down the stairs, let alone go near them. It led to this mess. No, he led to this mess…even in the dark Mari could feel and see the blood that covered her arms and legs. A couple of stains sprinkled her dress. She took another glance around the room. However, this time there was a glow from the bottom of the door.

She stumbled to her feet and opened the door which led to a white room with tile floors. Sunny stood in the middle, facing the wall.

“Sunny.” She was surprised by the disdain in her voice. Sunny didn’t seem bothered by her presence or sudden irritation towards him, and she walked over. As she reached him she placed a hand on his shoulder. “Sunny, what are you doing he–” She was interrupted as he grabbed her arm and shoved her back, causing her to fall down the stairs that had now appeared and a quiet gasp escaped her mouth.

Sunny stared at her as she fell to the bottom of the stairs. He quickly walked down them and kneeled next to her, but his face was overcast by shadows. Basil suddenly appeared, also kneeling as they stared at Mari. The two seemed to talk, and Basil ran off, but Mari couldn’t see where to. She was stuck in place and couldn’t move, but she could feel Sunny’s violin under her. The sharp wood poked into her sides, and her neck felt tighter, her breathing heavier. Sunny hadn’t moved either. He just sat there and stared, saying nothing.

Eventually, darkness filled her vision, and when she opened her eyes she was back in her and Sunny’s room, blood once again on her arms and legs. It felt harder to move, her whole body ached. She heard whispers, different from the usual moving of objects or scratching of a pencil.

“Hey, Mari…Your friends are in school right now so they can’t visit until the weekend, but Sunny’s here. Say hi to your sister sweetie.” 

There was no hello from Sunny, just sniffles and something she couldn’t understand. Maybe an apology, maybe something else. She wanted to say something, wanted to greet her mother. But she couldn’t. Even if she spoke they wouldn’t hear her. By now, she had gathered that she was sleeping and possibly in a medical setting rather than home.

Quiet beeps could be heard in the dark. Occasionally they’d pause for a moment, but they usually came back. Mari heard what sounded like footsteps. Mrs. Suzuki and Sunny were most likely leaving. She held up a shaky hand as if to keep them there, to tell them to stay, but she knew they didn’t see it. They could see her, but nothing that she did or said would reach them, even if it were words of comfort to attempt to help her friends, like when Hero would visit and lean on the side of her bed while he quietly cried and told her about recent events.

It was the worst when the whole friend group came, because they’d each let her know about what was happening in their lives but she could never do anything. She couldn’t be happy for them, sad for them, comfort them, or give advice. All she could do was lend an ear and speak in an empty room. 

The room filled with silence once more, and the glow from the door was gone. Mari sat on the floor in a dark mimic of her room, with no light from anywhere to provide comfort or lessen the strain on her eyes. She ended up closing them since it would be dark anyway, and there was no point in hurting her eyes if her whole body was already aching.

Somehow as Mari lay there in dark silence, her mind drifted to Sunny. Any time she thought of him or this strange place conjured a mimic of him she got a deep pit in her stomach. She reasoned that she simply hadn’t yet forgiven Sunny for the accident. But she didn’t know how long it had been, and she was yet to forgive him. He was her little brother and also a child. Surely she’d be able to forgive him for a simple accident…Even one that landed her in the hospital…and put her in a coma…

Maybe that was the exact reason. Sunny had made plenty of mistakes, and so had she, they were human after all. But none ever led to the other being hospitalized. Especially not to this degree…Mari lazily sat up against what she assumed was Sunny’s bed, but she couldn’t tell for sure in the dark. The glow at the bottom of the door returned. She once more wobbled to her feet, prepping herself for the however many-th time for the scene to replay. When she opened the door and entered the room, she was met with a mirror instead of Sunny.

The first time she found the mirror she was startled and confused at the change. But now, she was used to it. Occasionally the mirror and Sunny would switch and she would be met with her reflection. Blood covered her arms up to her elbows and her legs seemed to match with it going up to her knees. Her white dress was sprinkled with bits of red and had several tears. Mari ran her fingers through her long messy black hair attempting to straighten it out a little. Often people described Mari’s appearance as perfect. Not a hair strand out of place or a wrinkle in her clothes. However, if she were to describe her appearance she would say rough, and messy. Raggedy, even.

She let out a raspy sigh and turned to the door, ready to either go back to her room or once more be put through the worst experience of her life. She put her hand on the handle and could suddenly feel herself falling, she tried to look around, but it was dark. Her hair swirled around her head, hindering her vision. She started to slow, and her feet touched gently the ground. She blinked and the room lightened a little. The floor was cold on her bare feet, but even with the light she couldn’t tell where she was. A flower pot holding a Gladiolus sat near a wall with the name “Aubrey” and a water can next to it. Mari remembered something she heard however long ago from Aubrey. 

"He said that Gladiolus reminded him of me! Maybe I can bring you one some other time...so you can be reminded of me too..."

Mari smiled and carefully picked up the pot and watering can. She went to find the way back to her room, but when she turned around she was there. She blinked a few times in confusion and set the flower by the door. Everything else in the room was still dark but the flower seemed to almost glow a little. Mari leaned against Sunny’s bed and smiled again. Even if she still didn’t know how this place worked or if she’d ever leave, at least she had a small remnant of her friends other than the occasional whispers in the air. 

She closed her eyes and tried to get some rest, knowing the happiness was temporary but still calming. When she reopened her eyes she was unaware of how long had passed, but the door beckoned her once again. She got up and gave the flower a bit of water, then went through the door to repeat the unpleasant cycle.

Chapter Text

Sunny lay in bed quietly. The only sounds he could hear in his room were his gentle breathing and Mewo’s soft purring as he stroked her dark fur absent-mindedly. He had forgotten how many days or weeks it had been since the incident, but every so often, if he blanked out long enough he could hear the sound of the argument, Mari’s light gasp as she fell down the stairs, and the worst, the crunch as she hit the floor at the bottom. He shivered as he thought of it and tried focusing on Mewo’s purring instead, which only slightly helped ease his nerves.

Sometimes he wondered what Mari would say to or think of him if she was still awake.  

“Geez Sunny you should go outside. Why don’t we go to the treehouse?”

“Come ooonn, you need to eat sooomething.”

“Tch, get up. Pathetic .”

He sat up quickly. That last one was different from usual. Mewo got up and crawled into his lap, expecting more pets as he sat there. He stayed there for a while, and Mewo left the room when she realized he wouldn’t keep petting her. 

Sunny thought for a moment. Would Mari go as far as calling him pathetic? He got a lump in his throat. It would make sense if she were upset, but previously she hadn’t expressed disdain towards him. “It…makes sense. I deserve that.” He stayed with his thoughts until Mewo came back in the room meowing and began batting at her bowl. He quietly stood up and fed her before collapsing back onto his bed.

Usually, he was in bed unless Mewo needed feeding or on the rare occasion his friends managed to drag him out of the house. They had recently…maybe not recently? Sunny had lost track, but either way, they were in school again, so they came over less often. Perhaps it was better that way, in Sunny’s mind. “I deserve the isolation. What kind of monster…” He put a hand over his face and sat silently for a while.

Eventually, he found himself humming the song he and Mari had been practicing for their duet. It was a slow melody that Mari had written, it was pleasant and almost nostalgic, but Sunny had grown to hate it and the constant practice. It always had to be perfect, but it was never enough. He was never enough. He moved the hand off his face to wipe the tears that had swelled in his eyes, trying to hold his breath to prevent himself from crying.

Many hours passed as he just lay there in continuous silence. Sometimes he would have a thought or two, but most were…concerning. He closed his eyes and ended up falling asleep. When he woke up the room was dark. He had a clock in his room but didn’t feel like getting up to check the time, so he closed his eyes to go back to sleep.

“Sunny.”

His eyes shot open as he quickly sat up. “Mari..?” his voice was quiet and hoarse. It had been a few days since he had last spoken. “Mar...i.” He shakily stood up and walked to where her voice was coming from.

“Sunny, I’m out here.”

He reached the stairs and stopped. Her voice was out here, but she wasn’t. Mari’s voice changed suddenly, it was coming from behind him and was colder.

“Sunny. I just wanted it to be perfect.” He felt a chill go down his spine as she spoke harshly. He slowly turned his head and saw a large shadow that roughly resembled Mari standing behind him. Tears began to swell as he trembled in place. “M-mari…I’m sorry..” Her “eyes” seemed to narrow at his apology, and he felt an icy hand placed on his shoulder.

“Oh, but are you? I mean, even they know what you did.” Sunny blinked. Did she mean Basil? Or…everyone else? He didn’t have a lot of time to think. The hand on his shoulder tightened, and he felt it push him forward. Right before he fell, he blinked and was back at the top of the stairs. He was still shaking as he wobbled back to his room. Maybe he needed to sleep it off.

Unfortunately, when he laid back down and wrapped himself in his blankets and plushies, he still couldn’t sleep. The darkness of the room wasn’t necessarily helping either. He could’ve sworn he saw someone or something in the corners of his room a few times. He lay there for hours, eventually being able to fall back to sleep.

The sun slowly crept into his room, and Sunny woke up, still tired as he sat up. He turned his head over to Mari’s bed, which despite no longer being used, he occasionally tidied. He let out a quiet yawn and got out of bed to see if there was anything in the fridge he could grab. Sunny stretched and walked out of his door, but paused when he reached the stairs. The more he stared at them the longer it felt they became, darkness starting to cloud the edges of his vision.

A quiet meow came from his feet. When he looked down he found Mewo rubbing herself against his legs. He gathered himself and cautiously walked down the stairs to the kitchen. The whole house was eerily quiet since his mom started taking the early shifts at work and his dad had been out of the house for a while. A house of four, recently two, people wasn’t necessarily hectic, but if they had people over it could get a little overwhelming and Sunny would usually retreat to his room. Mari often comforted him if he got overwhelmed or anxious, but now she wasn’t here to do that.

Sunny sunk a little thinking about it, but he shifted his focus to the possibility of food instead. He opened the door to the fridge and felt a little disappointed by the results. There was decent food, but none of it interested him enough to eat. He closed the fridge and turned his attention to the cabinets, maybe something more enticing would be in those. He checked all the cabinets he knew would have food and let out a small groan. A lot of it needed to be cooked, and while Mari had taught him how to make a few simple dishes for lunch, he didn’t feel like operating the stove.

He begrudgingly settled on a slightly stale slice of bread and put it in the toaster so it’d be crunchy in a warm way rather than an unpleasant way. It popped up, which made Sunny jump, and he grabbed it after it cooled a bit. He ate his slightly stale toast as he carefully walked back upstairs where Mewo was waiting for him to feed her. They both headed to Sunny’s room where he fed Mewo before collapsing onto his bed. He still felt hungry but wasn’t in the mood to make any more food, so he tried going back to sleep. Unfortunately, when that failed he just decided to let his mind wander.

He glanced over to the window in his room. A bit of sunlight still poked through the curtain. He tried to look at the clock on his desk, but he couldn’t see it from the angle he was at so he just laid back down. It was boring to just stay in bed all day and do nothing, but Sunny didn’t care. He occasionally had a chore or two to keep him occupied if the boredom got to him, and he could always call his friends, even though they might not pick up. Instead of trying to solve his boredom, however, he chose to feed it by staying in bed.

As he sat there in the unusual silence his hand moved to his mouth, and he started nibbling on a few of his fingers, then his palm, and eventually started biting his knuckle. At first, he didn’t realize what he was doing, but even when he realized he kept doing it until his hand started to hurt. He laid it by his side and Mewo hopped onto his bed for pets.

Sunny let her sniff his finger first then started absent-mindedly scratching her head again. His hand still hurt as he pet her, but he didn’t care. He just stared blankly at the ceiling listening to Mewo’s soft purrs.

Chapter Text

It was quiet when Sunny opened his eyes. He didn’t feel like moving, but hunger gnawed at his stomach. He shakily got out of bed and looked at the clock. The numbers were blurred in his vision, he assumed from the hunger, and he couldn’t make out the time.

Sunny walked out of his room and to the kitchen, the fatigue strong enough to make him ignore the stairs. He searched the fridge and cabinets but found them mostly, if not completely empty. Grumbling as he once again grabbed some bread to put in the toaster, Sunny made a mental note of anything that would be easy to make. He threw away the now-empty package of bread as the toast popped up. There were usually sticky notes and markers in one of the drawers. Sunny found which one and started writing things down to remember them better. His handwriting was shaky from hunger, tiredness, and the fact he hadn’t written or drawn in a while.

He ate the toast as he jotted things down, then started looking around the house for money to pay for said groceries. At first, he looked in the drawers in the kitchen but had no luck. He went back upstairs and into his room, guessing that he might have some allowance left. Annoyed when his search turned up unsuccessful, he realized the light on his phone was flashing, meaning he had a voicemail.

“Hey Sunny, we’re running low on food in the house, I think. I’m gonna be away for a few more days, but I left some money for shopping in the drawer on the end table in my room. There should be plenty for a few weeks worth of groceries and even a treat or two for yourself. Take care, and do your chores. Love you!”

Sunny put the phone back on the stand and cautiously went into his mom’s room to get the money, which he found, then grabbed his list and headed back to his room. He had been wearing the same white shirt and dark grey-ish brown shorts for a while, but he finally changed into something else. He threw his old clothes into a small hamper, and out on shoes for the first time in weeks. He grabbed the spare key from the top of the shoe rack by the door and headed out.

It was bright outside, which made Sunny wish he had sunglasses. Maybe he’d grab a pair at the store. He shook his head slightly remembering he had more important things to grab than sunglasses, like food, wood glue, some tape, and new strings. He walked down the road a bit and paused a few feet away from Kel’s driveway. Kel was in the front yard laying on the grass next to Hector, Sunny almost mistook him for being asleep until he shot up and started beaming at Sunny.

He put a hand up before moving it back to holding the sticky note. Kel ran inside for a moment, still grinning ear to ear. Sunny started to continue on his trek when Kel yelled behind him. “Sunny!! Waaaaaitt!!” A tired-looking Hero followed behind Kel and they both caught up to Sunny. “Huff, you’re finally, huff, out of your house! Huff..” Sunny just lightly nodded and motioned to the sticky note. Hero and Kel nodded back and walked with him. “Groceries? Easy peasy!” Kel seemed as energetic as usual, and although Hero looked tired he kept up and acted how Sunny remembered for the most part.

“What do you need from each store Sunny?” His voice was a little raspy, which he explained when Sunny gave him a confused look. “College prep, finals are kicking my butt.” Kel nodded in agreement and looked slightly annoyed. “He has to stay up reaaaaaaallyyy late sometimes–” He stretched out his arms to emphasize before folding them across his chest– “which is fine if it helps his grades and all, but neither of us can sleep.” Kel let out a dramatic groan, and Hero laughed a little. Sunny was focused on his list. Going over it time and time again in his head as they walked to the small shopping center in Faraway.

Kel and Hero went into Hobbeez while Sunny headed to Othermart to get food. He gathered the items on his list, paid for them, and then waited at the door of Othermart for his friends. He still had plenty of money left so he headed to Fix-It to get the last few things on his list. Wood glue and tape were easy to find, but he was having trouble with the strings. They didn’t seem to have any so Sunny went over to Hobbeez and found Kel and Hero.

“Got everything you need?” Sunny held up the grocery bags and nodded before walking around to see if they had the strings he needed. He could’ve sworn he and Mari had gotten some here before, but he had no luck. Eventually, the three of them left and started the walk home. “It was nice seeing you, Sunny. Glad to know you’re getting out of the house,” Kel pulled a rock out of his pocket and handed it to Sunny before he started walking to his own house next door. “It’s a pet rock! Take care of him!!” With that, Kel sprinted off, and Sunny went inside.

He tucked the pet rock into a grocery bag and carried them to the kitchen. By the time he had the two bags on the counter, he felt exhausted from the day. It was barely half over and he had only gone to the store with his friends, but with the recent lack of activity, it felt like he had run several miles. Sunny put the groceries away, made a half peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and took his pet rock upstairs, where Mewo was waiting for him.

She loudly meowed and rubbed against his legs before going over to his bed and lying down. Sunny placed the pet rock on the bed table under his lamp and collapsed onto his bed. He lazily kicked his shoes off before shimmying onto his pillow. Sunny’s movements disturbed Mewo, but she simply adjusted where she laid when Sunny had settled.

The two of them laid there and eventually fell asleep, Mewo before Sunny, as the sun crept out of the room. Sunny opened his eyes to his dark room but it was darker than it should have been. There was no moonlight peaking through the window, and he could hardly tell what anything was in the dark. He blinked and was now in a much brighter room, he had to blink more to adjust.

A door opened behind him with a sigh. “Alright number 10 of the day, Sunny or the mirror. Hey Sun-” She paused. Usually, the “Sunny” she was met with didn’t respond, move, or show emotion. This one turned around, and his eyes filled with tears. Another difference, this one spoke.

“M-Mari!?” His voice was shaky and dry, a tear rolled down his face. Mari took a step back, confused at the sudden change. He was supposed to be still, cold, and emotionless. But this was..this felt the most like her brother so far. “Y-you things can talk?” Mari’s response was careful. The door had disappeared behind her like usual. If she touched him it would happen again, she’d be sent to her room, and eventually, the door would call her again.

Sunny was entirely confused. Usually, his dreams were voids or memories of things he did with his friends. But never this, never Mari. “I..can. What things?” She crossed her arms and her brow slightly furrowed. “Suddenly my unconscious can act oblivious to itself? Great.” Mari scoffed and looked at the floor. Sunny wasn’t real, but seeing him cry still hurt. Even after what happened he was her brother, she hated when he cried and she couldn’t help or didn’t know why.

He looked down at his hands before biting one of them. It didn’t hurt, so he knew he was dreaming. Sunny cautiously started walking over to Mari. She might be a dream, but he could still apologize and get some closure. “Mari, I-” He reached out his hand to her, but she smacked it away. “Don’t touch me! I don’t know why you’re different from the others, but I don’t care. Stay away from me. You’re not my brother!”

Tears swarmed his eyes and streamed down his face. It felt like a knife to the gut, and he fell to the ground shaking. Sunny had already accepted that she’d be furious with him, but hearing it from Mari herself hit hard, even if she was only a dream. Mari started to regret saying that, he seemed genuinely hurt. Even if it was a trick she didn’t care. She had fallen down the stairs countless times, so what’s one more to comfort her brother?

Mari quickly knelt and hugged Sunny. “I’m sorry…” Sunny put his arms around her and mumbled. “Me too…” Just as she expected Sunny pushed her back, and she fell again. Sunny, however, was nowhere near expecting that to happen. He let out a gasp as she silently fell back, looking down at his arms that just moved of their own free will. He rushed down the stairs to her side sobbing. It was horrible when it happened the first time, but this? This was so much worse…Sunny clutched his sides and closed his eyes, he couldn’t bear the sight of this again. When he opened his eyes he was back in the void version of his room. 

Mari seemed mostly fine as she got up and watered a gladiolus that Sunny hadn’t noticed before. He sniffed and she spun around, careful to not spill the water. “You’re not…supposed to be here.” Her voice was quiet and she set down the watering can next to the flower pot. Sunny’s vision snapped to the corner, where some sort of shadow had started moving towards him. Mari stood frozen for a moment, confused at Sunny’s horrified expression. The thing crawled closer and closer to Sunny, the shadows starting to form something that looked like Mari. It clawed its way over to him and when it touched his ankle he went to call out to Mari but instead, he woke up.

His face was wet with tears. His room was normal now and Mari was nowhere in sight. He sat in bed for a moment, confused and scared. On Mari’s end, Sunny’s face had begun to contort and right before he screamed, he vanished into the shadows. Why was that one different? How had it followed her back to the room?

She stood there in the dark, confused. How did that happen?

Chapter Text

Mari stood in the mimic of her room silent. Sunny was there, in there. He wasn’t supposed to be…None of the other “Sunnys” followed her in there. Although, technically, he didn’t either. He just appeared there like she did. It couldn’t have been the actual Sunny, could it? Shared dreams happen, but Mari assumed they didn’t work like this. It should be impossible.

She glanced over to Aubrey’s flower, it still had its dim glow. Nothing in the room seemed to have changed, so Mari sighed and sat against the end of her bed. Just when she thought she had figured this place out, something new happened. “Why was Sunny here…? And how?”

Sunny sat on his bed quietly. The tears on his cheeks had dried by now and, Mewo sat in his lap still asleep. Of all the weird dreams or nightmares he had been having lately, that one was the strangest. He attempted to stand but didn’t feel like he could move. Hours had passed since he woke up, but Sunny was still shaken by Dream Mari’s words.

“Don’t touch me! I don’t know why you’re different from the others, but I don’t care. Stay away from me. You’re not my brother!”

He sat motionless. What others? Mari almost seemed scared if she hadn’t been so mad, and when he appeared in the strange darker version of his room she seemed more confused than he was. She kept mentioning “others”, but who or what they were Sunny didn’t know.

“You’re not my brother!”

Her words kept echoing in Sunny’s mind. He started absent-mindedly biting his hand. Mari’s harsh words felt like he’d been stabbed in the gut and kicked while the knife was still in him. He hated that what she said cut so deep. It wasn’t true, he was still her brother…Or maybe that’s just what he told himself to feel better.

“You are not my brother.”

The pain shifted to Sunny’s hand suddenly. He tasted something coin-like and looked down. He had bitten down a little too hard and broken the skin, which caused him to start panicking. He jolted out of bed, much to Mewo’s annoyance, and rushed to the bathroom. As he rinsed his hand in the bathroom sink, he realized the pain in his hand almost helped distract him from the pain of Mari’s words.

He finished rinsing his hand and rubbed the cut gently. He lifted the hand to his face and almost bit it again in the same spot when there was a knock at the door downstairs. Sunny flinched and shuffled out of the bathroom and to the stairs, his hands up to his chest like a t-rex. He quietly walked down the stairs, the only sound in the house being the light tapping of his feet on the wooden floors.

When Sunny reached the door, he realized he couldn’t peek out the window to check who it was without them seeing him, so he went onto his tip-toes and tried looking through the peephole to see who it was. He was a little too short to see but he could slightly make out the top of someone’s head, meaning they must be about as short as he was. They had brown hair similar to Kel’s, so Sunny assumed it was him.

He really didn’t feel like seeing anyone at the moment since he was still shaken from his dream, so he turned around to go back to his room. “Sunnnyyyyyyy!!! It’s meeeeeeeeee!!!” Sunny jolted from the unexpected yelling and sighed. It was Kel alright, and he likely wasn’t going to leave.

"I could ask him to leave…I don’t want to talk right now…” Sunny thought for a moment before turning around and sneaking across the living room and back to the stairs. The lights in the house were off so maybe Kel would think he was still asleep. Sunny shrugged it off and started sneaking up the staircase to make his way back to his room.

The first step creaked as Sunny placed his foot down and he flinched. He made his way up the stairs and finally back to his room. Sunny let out a sigh and flopped onto his bed. He turned to look at Mari’s empty bed, still thinking about his weird dream.

A faint banging sound came from downstairs which startled Sunny, causing him to quickly sit up. “Kel?... Is he okay? Should I check on him or…” He thought to himself quietly. On the one hand, he didn’t feel like seeing anyone right now, but on the other, what on earth was Kel banging on the door for?

He sucked in his breath and once more made the trek downstairs and to the front door, the banging getting louder as he approached. Sunny carefully opened the door but no one was there. It had started to rain lightly, and Kel was gone, likely back home. Sunny was puzzled. The sound hadn't stopped until the door was opened, meaning Kel wouldn't have had time to run back to his house and therefore it couldn't have been him.

"Who..? What..." Sunny sat there with the door open, blankly staring outside as rain drizzled down and cold air crept across his skin. His vision blurred as his eyes unfocused and he started to zone out.

The sound of the rain was soothing and the cold made him shiver. Eventually, Sunny closed the front door and walked across the living room to the back door. He pulled it open and stepped into the backyard, wet grass squishing beneath his feet and he walked and made his way to the treehouse he and his friends used to play in. He climbed up the ladder and sat in the doorway with his feet dangling off the edge as he watched the rain.

It was cold, he was wet and slightly muddy, but, it was a calming moment.

Chapter Text

Sunny sat there silently as rain fell around him. There was little on his mind, just sounds of the rain and- "If I fell off the treehouse...how much would it hurt?" He looked down. The treehouse was decently high up so he knew falling or jumping, from it would leave him in pain for a while. He stopped kicking his legs, which dangled over the edge near the latter.

The treehouse had always felt tall to him as a short 12-year-old, but right now it felt like the ground was shrinking away as the tree grew into the sky. Sunny blinked the feeling away and his surroundings returned to normal. 

He felt dizzy as he looked around the wet yard, trees rustling in the wind as the rain continued to trickle down.

A few raindrops hit his knees. His socks had been soaked for however long he'd been out here. Cold slithered through him as he looked down at the ground. It felt so far away..."If I lean too far I'll fall on my face." He leaned forward slightly.

The rain made it harder to stay still. Sunny's hand slipped, causing adrenaline to course through him.

His grip tightened.

The wind blew, and Sunny heard a quiet voice whisper behind him.

"Sunny..."

A chill ran down his spine as he turned his head around to look. A misty shadow loomed over him, long "hair" obscuring its face. It stretched out a thin hand and grabbed Sunny's shoulder, it was cold to the touch.

"Sunny, you're hogging the latter." The voice was almost a whine.

He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in confusion. He turned to face it better, but his hand slipped again. The shadow pushed his shoulder, and he fell.

Rain continued to fall around him as Sunny lay on the hard, cold grass. He stared up at the ledge of the treehouse he had fallen from. It looked so high from down here...

With ragged breath he got to his feet, heavily breathing through his mouth.

"Suunnyyyy~"

The voice came from behind him again. He turned to see a humanoid figure behind him.

"I'm gonna get YOØÜUUU." Its voice became a shrill laugh, the shape starting to unravel into something inhuman.

Sunny's eyes widened. Forgetting the pain in his sides from the fall, he began sprinting to the house. He could hear the thing chasing him. He didn't dare look back as he raced through the yard, mud splashing under his feet and rain pelting him in the face.

The backdoor was in sight and hope fluttered in Sunny. He picked up his pace, heart pounding in his ears.

And then, he slipped.

A loud splash echoed through the yard as Sunny landed hard on the muddy ground. Over the sounds of his ragged breath and beating heart, Sunny didn't realize he couldn't hear the Thing chasing him anymore as he scrambled to his feet and sprinted the last stretch of the yard to the backdoor.

He finally turned around to see how far the Thing was from him, but he was met with a quiet, empty yard. He stood silently, the back of his throat stung from the sharp cold air.

The glass door slid open behind him, and Sunny felt himself wrapped in a towel. Before he could react, he heard his mother's panicked voice.

"Sunny! What are you doing out here, it's pouring!" She turned him around to face her, a worried expression on her face as she spoke. "Oh no, you're covered in mud...Come on, let's get you inside and cleaned up," she led Sunny inside and slid the backdoor shut.

As he walked through the living room in his mud-covered socks, he noticed his mom casting an annoyed glance at the trail of mud and couldn't help feeling embarrassed. 

"She probably hates that I'm making a mess," he thought to himself with irritation.

As they reached the top of the stairs, Mrs. Suzuki paused at the bathroom door. "I'll set out some clothes for you on your bed, go ahead and take a bath." Sunny nodded lightly and watched his mom walk over to his room.

With a quiet sigh, he went into the bathroom and turned on the water for a bath. He shivered in the cold room as he set the muddy towel to the side. There was still a relative amount of mud caked onto his legs.

A knock sounded from the door, "Sunny, I left your clothes on your bed. I need to go to the store but I won't be long. Make sure you clean yourself up! Love you!" He heard her footsteps depart, leaving him alone once more.

He peeled off his muddy clothes and got into the warm bath, the water enveloping him gently.

He could hear a faint rumbling of thunder outside, the sounds of water washing away his thoughts. He took a breath and dipped his head under the water. Sunny could feel the gross mud melting away, and for a moment, he relaxed.

After a while the mud was gone and Sunny begrudgingly got out of the tub, making sure to drain the water. A towel sat on the counter and he used it to dry off, heading into his room to get dressed.

The clothes his mom had set aside were warm. After he dressed he plopped onto his bed, ready to sleep. However, the sound of the front door downstairs told him his mom had returned with groceries.

As much as he wanted to go down and help, his limbs felt like stone, and he couldn't bring himself to move.

With exhaustion he fell asleep easily, sinking into his warm bed.

Hours passed as he slept. By the time Sunny woke up the sun had gone down and his room was coated in darkness. He stretched half-heartedly, forcing himself to sit up.

A faint scent drifted into his room, pulling Sunny from his fatigue. It was warm and savory, a stark contrast to his room which felt cold and bitter. A yawn escaped him as he stood from his bed.

There was a small beam of light peeking through the bottom of Sunny's bedroom door. It dimly lit the floor and doorway, helping Sunny to find his way through the room.

His door creaked open and Sunny stepped out of his room. His gaze drifted to the stairs, and he realized the mud trail he left was gone. He cringed at himself.

"I should've cleaned that...I guess mom did."

The delicious smell wafted to him once more, and suddenly Sunny was reminded of his goal; head downstairs, find the food.

Sunny made his way down the tall staircase, blinking to get used to the light as he stepped into the bright living room. He could hear his mom humming in the kitchen as she cooked. He wasn't sure what she was making, but it smelled great.

And then, he looked at the couch.

Chapter Text

"Hi Sunny!"

Kel beamed, lighting tapping his feet on the ground as he sat on the couch. He scooted over and patted next to him, and Sunny awkwardly shuffled over.

"How've you been? I haven't seen you since we went shopping a few months ago," Kel spoke cheerfully. Sunny was almost intimidated by his friend's bright mood.

Sunny struggled to find an answer, which caused a moment of silence that made him even more uncomfortable. Fidgeting with his hands, he managed to choke out a quiet, "Alright."

Luckily not only did his answer seem to satisfy Kel, his mom chimed in from the kitchen and saved him from having to answer further.

"Oh, Sunny's awake? How are you feeling after earlier?" She tossed a hand towel over her shoulder and leaned on the doorway to the kitchen.

He shrugged lightly, which made him realize his shoulders were oddly sore.

Kel looked at him with concern. "What happened? Are you alright?" Sunny shrugged again. Putting how he felt to words was hard, especially with them both prodding for an answer. He muttered out a simple "I'm fine", and scooted away from Kel a little.

Seemingly noticing Sunny's discomfort, Kel stopped prying for details. Meanwhile, Mrs. Suzuki disappeared into the kitchen for a moment before walking back into the living room and handing Sunny a grocery bag.

He stared at it confused and looked up at his mom. "I found a shopping list you wrote and noticed this wasn't crossed off. I assume you need it for your violin?" as she spoke Sunny peered into the bag.

He pulled out a small package of violin strings and his eyes widened. "Th-thank you!" Sunny said quickly and then dashed to the stairs, almost tripping over the bottom step as he hurried up to his room.

Kel and Mrs. Suzuki looked at each other confused. Mrs. Suzuki shrugged and went back into the kitchen to finish up dinner, and Kel curiously trailed after Sunny.

Sunny pulled a toybox out from under his bed, moving it next to him so he could easily open it. It had stayed closed and under there for months...And now he finally had a reason to open it. He drew in his breath, but just as he was about to open it Kel came into the room.

"What's in there?" He pointed at the toybox and Sunny turned to look at him, his eyes wide. "Uh..it's...something..." He covered the box with his arms to hide it. Kel raises an eyebrow and took a few steps closer. "You sure? It seems kinda important," he prodded lightly.

Sunny just uneasily turned himself back toward the box, still attempting to cover it. Kel said nothing further but he stayed in the room, leaning against the doorway and attempting to sneak glances at the toybox.

Sunny reached under the bed again and pulled out a shopping bag and set it next to the box. 

He pulled out tape and wood glue from the bag and placed them next to the new violin strings. With a shaky exhale Sunny pulled open the box.

The smell of wood wafted into Sunny's nose as he stared into the box at his broken violin. 

He pushed the box back to make room to lay out the pieces, then attempted to steady his hands as he held up a few of the bigger pieces and carefully placed them on the floor in front of him.

He couldn't help but think of that day. The sound of the violin crashing onto the floor...How it looked when some of the strings had entangled themselves in Mari's hair and around her neck...The feeling of the scissors in his hand as he cut Mari free before dragging her into the living room.

A shiver ran through him as he assembled the pieces in the shape the violin used to be.

Sunny had forgotten Kel was even in the room, still leaning on the door frame watching Sunny work as subtle realization hit him, Sunny was going to fix his violin.

"But...How'd it even break?" Kel thought to himself silently.

He decided to go back downstairs for the time being to check on how dinner was coming along, leaving Sunny alone in his room.

As he walked through the doorway into the living room there was a knock at the door. "I'll get it!" Kel exclaimed as he rushed to the door. He opened it to find Hero and Basil, who were talking before realizing Kel was there. "Oh, hey guys! Where's Aubrey? We gotta all be here!"

"I know Kel, she's just running a little late. Basil was on his way when I walked out of the house so we came together," Hero responded patiently. Kel shrugged and brought them both in. Hero and Basil each hid a box under the coffee table in the living room before going into the kitchen to greet Sunny's mother.

Kel hung out in the living room on the couch and was soon joined by Hero and Basil. The three began to chat and eventually another knock sounded on the door, this time with Aubrey waiting cheerfully behind it.

The box she set under the coffee table was well decorated and neatly wrapped like the others, and she took a seat on the couch next to Hero. "Sorry it took me so long, I had to put the finishing touches on it," she explained, and the group quickly got back to chatting excitedly.

Basil felt nervous being at Sunny's house again. He hadn't been there since...the incident.

A faint sound came from upstairs and Basil's gaze crept over to the doorway. He could barely hear it over Aubrey, Hero, and Kel talking, but it was there.

The quiet sound of a violin being tuned.

The others seemed to notice too, and got quiet. 

Kel lit up, "Oh! He finished!"

The group stared at him confused and he quickly explained. "Well I got here waaayy earlier, and Sunny had come downstairs after waking up, I guess he took a nap. Anyway his mom gave him these strings for his violin and then he ran upstairs and--" Aubrey cut in annoyed. "Just get to it already! We don't need the whole story."

Kel glared at Aubrey, who stuck her tongue out in response. "Whatever. The important thing is that--" "Sunny fixed his violin," Basil finished. "Heyyy! I wanted to say it! But yeah, Basil's right," Kel pouted.

Aubrey and Hero looked confused, but Basil felt slightly horrified. He couldn't tell why, Sunny fixing his violin was a good thing.

"Wait, Basil, how'd you know it was broken?" Kel asked, only now realizing why Basil interrupted in the first place. "Wait yeah, and how'd it get broken in the first place? I thought he was super careful with it," Aubrey chimed in.

Hero got called into the kitchen by Mrs. Suzuki, leaving the three alone. Basil stared at the ground nervously, and Kel took that as a "I'm not answering you right now," so he started talking to fill the silence instead. "It's weird too, the violin was like totally smashed," Kel didn't realize it, but this was not helping Basil.

Kel and Aubrey kept speculating about how the violin broke, and eventually the sounds of tuning from upstairs stopped.

Eventually everyone was called to dinner, and Aubrey volunteered to fetch Sunny. She ran up the stairs and to his room, knocking lightly on the door before walking in the room.

Sunny was sitting on his bed staring at his violin with tears.

"Sunny?" she said quietly. He didn't turn to her, he just mumbled, "I did it..."

Aubrey walked over and sat next to him on his bed. "Yeah, you did it," she said carefully. She wasn't entirely sure what he meant, she assumed the violin, but it seemed like he needed encouragement right now.

"Do you think she's happy..?"

"What?" Aubrey asked, "Who?"

Sunny finally looked at her, and she realized who he meant. She smiled softly and nodded, "Yeah. I think she would be."

The two came down the stairs and into the dining room where everyone had gathered, and after dinner was finished Sunny went stand up but a Kel pushed him, gently, back into his seat with a grin.

Sunny looked up at him confused and Kel just winked at him before leaving the room. Sunny could hear hushed whispers in the kitchen and a few giggles. 

Before he could stand up to go see what was going on, his friends came back into the room and stood on the other side of the table in front of him.

He realized just how much they had changed with them all standing next to each other, even if it wasn't by much. Aubrey had dyed her hair pink, Kel was getting taller and was growing his hair out a little, Hero looked more tired than before, but Basil...Basil had barely changed at all.

He noticed Aubrey look over at Hero, who was standing closet to the lightswitch, and nod. He flicked off the light, but Sunny saw the flickering light of candle flames coming to the table from the doorway of the kitchen.

Suddenly, everyone began singing.

"Happy birthday to you~ Haappy birthday too you~"

Realization struck him like lightning. It was his birthday? When did that get here?

The cake had the number '13' on it with a few candles on either side of the '13'. His mom set the cake in front of him and sang with the others, then when they finished Sunny went to blow out the candles. But he hesitated.

What would he wish for?

...

He waited for a second, closed his eyes, and then blew out the candles.

The cake was cut and everyone got a slice, Sunny getting the biggest since it was his birthday, and they all sat back down to eat the cake.

There was smiling, laughing, bickering, everything a birthday needed to be just right. Sunny felt a smile tugging at his lips, but he couldn't bring himself to let it show.

"Hey, Sunny? This might be a weird time to ask but, how'd you break your violin?" Aubrey asked, which caused Sunny to almost choke on his cake. Aubrey started to frantically apologize. Sunny managed to clear his throat but couldn't speak.

He hadn't thought of what to tell them. He didn't think they would ask.

The air got tense and everyone stopped chatting.

Feeling the tension in the air, Mrs. Suzuki started gathering empty plates. "So, who's up for presents?" she asked, feigning a cheerful tone. Everyone nodded and Sunny was guided to the living room while Mrs. Suzuki cleaned up the table with the help of Hero and Basil.

Everyone gathered in the living room and Sunny opened up his presents. Sunny had pretty much zoned out for the rest of the evening, and eventually the party had died down.

Sunny managed to retreat to his room for a moment. He put away his gifts and turned to his bed to lie down, but paused. He had left his violin on the foot of his bed, sitting neatly next to the bow.

He stared at it for a moment, the strings seemingly whispering to him.

Carefully, he grabbed the violin by the neck. He eyed it in his hand, and picked up the bow as well. He made his way down the stairs, turned left, and walked into the room that housed Mari's piano. Regret pulled on Sunny's heart, but he shook his head to clear it away.

The violin was already tuned, the sheet music sat unread on top of the piano...All he needed to do was start playing.

So, he did.

He started slow, trying to remember all the notes. Then, once the muscle memory kicked in, he was able to play at the intended pace.

Sunny focused entirely on the song, cringing at the mistakes he made along the way. The Duet sounded quieter without the accompanying piano, but he found it easy enough to imagine the counterpart inside his head to help him along the way.

When he finished, he lower his violin into rest position. When he looked over at the doorway though, he flinched when he realized he had an audience. Kel, Aubrey, Hero, and Basil were staring at him in...admiration? Confusion? Sunny couldn't quite tell, but he felt embarrassed to know they were all watching.

"That was..." Aubrey started, "Beautiful," Basil finished.

Sunny shuffled his feet a little, and his friends came into the room with him. Kel remarked how well the violin still played considering its previous state and how well Sunny had fixed it, which made Sunny and Basil nervous at the mention of how broken it was.

"It's still a little out of tune in some parts...the glue messes with the vibration..." Sunny mumbled to himself.

He turned to the piano solemnly. "It's not the same," he said quietly. Everyone's mood seemed to dampen for a moment, before Hero took a seat on the bench and lifted to cover off of the keys. 

"It still wouldn't be the same, but, may I?" Hero asked nervously. Sunny paused. "It wouldn't be perfect if we can't practice at the same time, it's a duet after all!" Sunny could hear Mari say in his head. He nodded, and Hero started.

Hero was right, it still wasn't the same. 

But it was close...and that was enough.