Work Text:
When Sunny opened the door, Basil had seemed asleep, but he had just been resting. The nurse kept telling Sunny that he needed plenty of rest, and that surely meant Basil needed it even more. He felt a bit bad for having interrupted it, but at least Basil hadn’t been startled.
He looked from his bed, at first confused. When he noticed it was Sunny the one visiting, he smiled politely, or as politely as he could with the little energy he had, with a hint of disquietude in it, a hint of guilt too, a hint of sadness and a different kind of exhaustion. Any smile of his was more than good, and Sunny would keep it as the precious treasure it was, but he would also take note to remind him there was no need for smiles between them if he didn’t feel like it.
"Hi, Sunny." Weak and tired, but still a sweet voice.
Sunny closed the door behind himself. The beeping was slow but constant, and it remained being slow even as it got slightly faster as Sunny walked closer. That was a good sign, right? He had to wait the whole day to finally see Basil again… He appreciated his mom wanting to stay so long with him, but with his best friend being just down the hallway, Sunny just… missed him so much. If anything though, the longing made these short moments they had more special, and Sunny’s heart definitely beat of happiness.
There were a couple of plastic chairs in the room, neither particularly comfortable. Only one was right next to Basil’s bed and Sunny guessed that’s where Polly had previously sat on. He choose the same spot, because even dragging a chair was an effort for his weak body.
Once sitting, letting is hands rest on his lap, he returned the greeting with this quiet and foreign voice of his. “Hi.”
The beeping continued, a little hitch here but soon keeping its rhythm. Basil tried to sit up, dragging himself up to lean his back on the pillow, an effort of a couple of seconds that left him panting. He had tried the same the previous day.
“Sorry, I still can’t move a lot…”
Because of that injury on his stomach. The injury that could have taken him away forever, but didn’t.
...It had been way too of a close call, and all because of what? All because he had to wait until the last second-
No, no, that wasn’t it. Sunny… he had his reasons, it wasn’t just a whim of his, he… he was struggling. He could have done things differently, always, but what mattered was that he had been there when Basil needed him the most.
…Sunny just wished he didn’t have to move away.
The only reason he was still in Faraway was because he was injured. Once he was better enough, he would be driven away. He didn’t know where, just that with was pretty and perfect for a family of two and way too far from there.
How long would this borrowed time last? Some days? A week? Two? A month? He could only hope his weak body healed slowly enough. If he tried to make his injury last longer the nurse would surely notice.
So… all there was to do was to make the most out of these moments they could spend together.
Injured and weak, the clock still ticking in the background.
But alive.
In that thought, Sunny reached out and took Basil’s hand into his own, interrupting his friend’s hasty efforts in thinking of what to ask to start a conversation. Silence had never mattered between them, and there was no need for it to matter, even with the beeping and the distant footsteps on the hallways.
“A-are you cold, Sunny? Your hand is cold…”
Basil’s hand wasn’t so much warmer, but it was the warmth he wanted to keep. He was too weak to squeeze back now, but it was okay, it was okay. He opted to run his thumb over his knuckles instead.
“Wouldn’t it be better if you went back to bed?… I appreciate that you are so thoughtful about me, but… you should think of your health more...”
Hospitals were so cold. White tiles, white sheets, white hallways, white uniforms, white, white, white...
It all seemed much colder, when Sunny’s first response was ‘why go back when I could lie next to you?’
They used to cuddle all the time when they were children. At their picnics, at their pillow forts, with bellies full of home-made snacks and bodies tired from playing all day long…
He was reminded of how he might never feel that kind of warmth ever again, that kind of happiness.
It almost made him ask Basil if he could only move a little bit to the side please please please please-
But no, Sunny shook his head. Basil was injured and shouldn’t move at all. Sunny had been cold for four years, it wasn’t anything new.
“Oh… okay, if you’re sure…”
The cold wouldn’t last for the rest of his life, he had to remind himself.
“Mom will bring a coloring book tomorrow. I’ll bring it here. We can color it together.”
“Sounds fun…”
He had to remind himself there was always a tomorrow. Always. Always.
Many, many tomorrows to spend together, to say nothing for hours, to cuddle for hours, when injuries were harmless scars to caress and his mom didn’t forbid them to be friends.
Even… even if the others decided to never be friends with them again, Sunny wouldn’t let his friendship with Basil end as well. No matter the distance, no matter the time, he wouldn’t make the same mistake again, not after being so close of loosing him forever.
Not after remembering so viscerally how much Basil meant to him.
Sunny would always be there for him. It was a promise he wouldn’t break for anything.