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Kel always missed Sunny when the two were apart from each other. That was all too often now, after he’d moved away. They had been away from each other for so long before, almost four years, but it felt different now, now that Kel had seen Sunny again, learned the truth, and visited him in his new home. Kel really hadn’t known just what he was supposed to feel that day, when Sunny confessed to the truth in Basil’s hospital room. The past few days before that one he’d realized again how special of a place the boy had in his heart, how his heart skipped a beat when he saw him and how he wanted nothing more for him to truly be happy. It wasn’t all that simple, though. He knew that it could never be that simple. The world wouldn’t let it be.
He wasn’t sure if his jump to forgiveness was a hope for once was, or for something more, and any rationale he had that could let him think the situation through seemed to be overridden by his affections. Kel loved Sunny; there was no doubt about it. But the one he loved had done something so terrible. Incomprehensible, even.
Kel, though: he knew it was an accident. The look on Sunny’s face as he told the three of them what he’d done all those years ago said it all. Kel had known he’d gone through much pain. That was a conclusion that anyone in Faraway town could make. Knowing the truth, the real truth, made it hurt him so much more. Sunny had managed to make it through the hardest parts of his life to make it there. Kel…Kel couldn’t let Sunny suffer anymore than he already had. No matter the mistakes he’d made, Sunny didn’t deserve to be left in the dust.
Even when he was unsure of how he was really feeling that day, Kel told Sunny that he forgave him. That he should have told them all sooner and they would have understood. That he cared for Sunny, no matter what. He gave Sunny a hug, and the boy held on tight. Kel had to be there for him. He was scared of what could happen if he didn’t.
Sunny moved away not too long after. He was far away, just out of Kel’s reach once again. Only days after he’d decided to stop locking himself in his house. It felt like he was losing him all over again.
But Kel had to tell himself that this wasn’t the end. He wouldn’t be gone forever.
Only around a month later, Kel went to visit him. They were friends again. Sunny still wasn’t doing amazing, but Kel could at least see he was doing better. And that was what mattered. Kel’s feelings had only hit him harder, now. He knew he loved him. But, Sunny wouldn’t be ready for something like that. He hated keeping it to himself, but it felt like the only real option.
Speaking of hiding feelings, Kel thought with a soft sigh to himself, he’d be going to see Sunny today. His parents didn’t feel like driving him, as he’d expected, so he decided to take the bus there. Kel walked out his front door, just then putting his jacket on. Winter would end up freezing him, otherwise. Thankfully, the city wasn’t too far away, so it wouldn’t take much longer than an hour to arrive there.
Kel had to admit…this wasn’t a planned visit. Most of his visits weren’t, usually. Sunny hadn’t seemed to mind so far. If this was the one day that Sunny decided to turn him down, sure, he’d be a little sad, but he’d understand. Planning things just wasn’t his strong suit.
As Kel got on the bus, a quick daydream popped into his head of showing up at Sunny’s apartment doorstep with a bundle of roses in hand, asking him on a date or something like that, and Sunny gladly accepting the invitation. Kel couldn’t make himself do such a thing, however. Was there even a chance that Sunny liked him like that? Though he often could tell what his friend was feeling, when it came to things like that Kel was a bit clueless. He shook the thought out of his mind the best he could, sitting down on the bus seat, resting his head in his hand, and closing his eyes. He was a bit tired.
That wasn’t going to stop him from going to see Sunny when he missed him, though. It never could.
The bus trip went by much quicker than Kel had anticipated (though it wasn’t entirely an impossibility that he’d fallen asleep by accident once or twice). After thanking the bus driver, he got out, and began the rather short walk to Sunny’s apartment building. The city was something that wasn’t Kel’s favorite; he much preferred the cozy confines of his small town. The city had so many buildings, and they all looked the same. A single apartment building could be full of a hundred people that he’d never know.
Seeing Sunny was worth it, of course. He didn’t hate the city. It felt even colder there than winter in Faraway, snow falling from the sky and onto Kel’s hair. After brushing it off a few times, he’d given up, letting the cold flakes land on the top of his head undisturbed. Winter was not his favorite season either. His favorite things about it were winter break, Christmas, and staying inside drinking hot chocolate with his friends. And the last one was just about getting away from the winter and going to where it’s warm instead. And in January, Christmas was already over and winter break was going to come to a close in just a few days. Oh, well.
Only a few minutes later, Kel was walking up the stairs in Sunny’s apartment building up to the third floor where he resided. Honestly, Kel had never bothered to count just how many floors there were. It was taller than any building you’d ever see in Faraway, that was for certain.
When he got to his door, the full realization that he was really there had come to the front of his mind. He was likely about to see Sunny, since he knew his mother would still be working at the current time (not that she’d mind him stopping by). Taking another deep breath of cold air, he lifted his hand and knocked on the door just three times. Likely less than a minute later, the door opened in front of him, where Kel was greeted with the sight of Sunny.
Sunny looked the slightest bit surprised, his one eye that wasn’t covered by an eyepatch widened only a little bit. After a moment, he just gave a simple, “Hi, Kel.” Though the smile his face held was small, Kel couldn’t help but noticed. He smiled, too, almost unwillingly.
“Hey, Sunny!” He replied, “Sorry for barging in again, I hope you don’t mind me stopping by! I just like, uh, hangin’ out with you, you know?” Kel realized quickly that he was rambling, as usual, and he hadn’t really planned what he would say when got here. Not that this was the first time this was happening.
Sunny smiled just a little wider. “Don’t mind,” he assured. “You can come in.” He moved out of the way of the door, and Kel was more than glad to follow him inside his apartment, closing the door behind him. They went straight for the living room, Kel sitting down on the couch, grateful for a seat that was actually comfortable. Sunny sat down, too, and the closeness had Kel actively having to make an effort not to get flustered. Sure, nothing crazy had happened, his friend just hadn’t sat at the complete opposite end of the couch! That wasn’t weird, it didn’t mean anything, it was just-!
“You okay?” Sunny asked in usual tone, breaking Kel quickly out of his thoughts.
“Oh, yeah, me?” Kel had failed at hiding his slightly panicked self as he’d planned the moment he had to actually reply. “I’m great! Really great!” Technically not a lie! “How have you been, Sunny?? Been up to anything, uh, interesting lately?” Changing the subject ought to work, right? Was he obvious? Maybe. Probably.
Sunny raised an eyebrow for a moment, but didn’t question him any further. “Alright. Not really.” He paused for a moment. “Went to the park yesterday.”
Kel was soon calmed, any hint of nervousness he had washed away by the comfort that being around Sunny had always seemed to bring him. “Oh, that’s nice! I didn’t even realize they had parks here…is it anything like the one we have back in Faraway.
“No,” Sunny said. “No playground. Just grass, few trees, sidewalks, and a couple benches. Still nice, though.”
“What?!” Kel exclaimed, jokingly, “No playground?! What sort of childhood are these kids here meant to have??”
Sunny let out a single humored huff of laughter, smiling again for a moment. “Dunno.”
As Sunny looked into Kel’s eyes when he spoke, Kel refrained from giving his friend a surprise hug. Kel thought he was pretty beyond words, but Sunny couldn’t know he was feeling the way!
After just a few moments of silence, Sunny asked Kel, “Want some coffee?”
“Oh, yeah, uh, sure!” Kel beamed, more than appreciative of Sunny’s offer, and following him into the kitchen after they’d gotten up again. Kel could only assume his friend wasn’t too sure where to go with the conversation after Kel had shown up out of the blue for the third time within the past few weeks. Still, it was nice to be around Sunny. Kel fidgeted with his fingers on the counter as Sunny boiled the water in the electric kettle. Honestly, coffee was the last thing he needed since he was now full of energy. But he didn’t want to turn down the offer.
“My mom only drinks coffee with cream and sugar, so you’re in luck,” Sunny told him, grabbing the vanilla flavored creamer out of the fridge and the bag of sugar out from the cupboard. “If it were just me we might not have it. I just drink it black.”
The very fact that Sunny knew that he liked his coffee with those things, something rather simple, gave Kel a case of the butterflies that he personally believed were unwarranted. Again, that was nothing out of the ordinary! Kel already knew Sunny liked his coffee black, right? If Kel liked him and he knew that, was there a chance that..?
No, Kel refused to just desperately grasp for clues of something more. Being friends was okay. Kel wouldn’t call it just friends, the way some would. Really, he loved being Sunny’s friend. As long as they were close, he was happy.
As Sunny finished up making coffee for the two of them, he handed one of the mugs over to Kel. “Thanks, Sunny! I really appreciate it,” Kel smiled wide again, happy to take a sip. Kel’s eyes went wide. “Hot!” Oops. That was almost a burn. His bad, really.
Seemingly without thinking, Sunny put his free hand on top of Kel’s free hand that was resting on the counter in an attempt at comfort. “Really, you alright? The water was boiling moments ago. Be careful, okay?”
Kel barely managed not to flinch, not wanting to break the contact wanting to break the contact when he didn’t have to. Look, he was just easily flustered and easily surprised, alright? It wasn’t his fault! “Yeah,” he chuckled, “I’m okay. And I will! I just wasn’t thinking about it, hah..”
Sunny’s fingers intertwined with his and Kel could have sworn his heart was about to spontaneously combust! Was Sunny always like this?? Was Kel overreacting?
Kel decided it didn’t matter. Really, he was happy.
“Thanks for visiting,” Sunny paused, before saying, “I missed you.”
“Yeah, of course, man!” Kel nervously laughed, “I missed you, too!”