Work Text:
May 23, 2002
The sun hung low on the horizon, a slight chill in the air made Aubrey shiver under her white jacket. After a long day at school, she decided to spend the rest of her afternoon hanging out with the Hooligans at Faraway Park.
Despite the name, the Hooligans were nothing but a group of harmless kids, the worst of their offenses being property damage and minor theft. It didn’t matter much these days though; they left that rebellious lifestyle years prior. Now, they were just like any other teenage friend group…a group of colorful characters, but that’s what gave them their charm.
Aubrey watched in amusement as she watched the group get into their usual shenanigans: Kim and Vance haggling over how to split up their taffy supply, Angel and Mikail engaged in a ‘ferocious battle’, and Charlene watching silently with her as all of this unfolded. It wasn’t anything she hadn’t seen before, but the repetitiveness was comforting in a way.
It had only been a year or two since her life had found some sense of normalcy again. Her life was better than it had been in years, but try as it might, it hadn’t fully erased the pain she had experienced for four long years. It was hard to forget the feelings of abandonment and loneliness, culminating in a fiery phase of anger that persisted far longer than she would have wanted.
That phase of her life was destructive to say the least. She had done many things over that period, most of which she regretted even to this day. Over the years, she had done her best to make up for those mistakes, even patching things up with her old friend group. Her efforts hardly felt enough to soothe the guilt still trapped in her heart, but the pain got lighter with each passing day.
“Hey, Aubrey.” A familiar voice called out from behind her, snapping her out of her thoughts. A shock of blonde hair greeted her as she turned around.
“Basil? How’d you get there?” Her question gained the attention of the Hooligans, who turned to face the newcomer.
Basil tilted his head. “I…walked?”
“That’s not what I...” Aubrey groaned, “...nevermind. Do you need something?”
“Ahh, right.” Basil tapped a finger on his chin. “Kel and Hero are inviting you over to their place.”
“What for?”
Basil looked unimpressed with the answer. “Your birthday. It’s your birthday today, Aubrey.”
“Oh, right.” Aubrey smiled sheepishly at her lapse in memory.
“You forgot your own birthday?”
“I guess so. It’s not like I celebrate it much nowadays.” Aubrey scratched the nape of her neck. “You know how it is back at home.”
Basil wore a sympathetic look on his face. “Well, you get the chance to celebrate it now.”
“I guess you’re right.” Aubrey shrugged before a thought crossed her mind. “Why did they send you instead of coming to me themselves?”
“Kel’s busy looking after Sally right now, and Hero is busy baking a cake for the occasion.” Basil paused as he saw scarlet hues blooming on Aubrey’s face. “It was supposed to be a secret, but I figure it wouldn’t hurt telling you.”
“A cake? He didn’t have to do that for me.” Aubrey hid her face in her hands to conceal it from the rest of her friends.
Basil chuckled. “Come on, Aubrey, it’s your birthday! And you’re one of our closest friends. Why wouldn’t we do this for you?”
“Fine, you’ve made your point.” Aubrey looked up as soon as her blush subsided. “Alright, let’s go.”
Aubrey briefly turned to Kim, ordering her to keep an eye on the Hooligans. With the Hooligans under Kim’s watch, Aubrey could safely leave the park without any catastrophes. She waved back at the group as she walked out of the park with Basil in tow.
Aubrey couldn’t believe it; despite all that had happened, they still cared enough to celebrate her birthday.
“Something on your mind, Aubrey?” Basil asked, some concern lacing his gaze.
“How did you figure that out?”
“I think I know you enough to sense if you’re bothered by something.” Basil remarked earnestly.
Aubrey rolled her eyes. “I guess you got me there. I’m just thinking about something you said earlier, while we were talking about Hero baking a cake for my birthday.” She looked Basil straight in the eyes as she spoke. “I’m one of your closest friends, huh?”
“Of course you are!” Basil exclaimed. “Why? Are you alright, Aubrey?”
“I don’t know.” Aubrey sighed. “I haven’t really been much of a friend to you for the longest time; heck, I was downright mean to you for a long time. I-I just don’t know if I…”
“...deserve it?” Aubrey froze as Basil finished her sentence. He picked up his pace to walk side by side with Aubrey, looking at her squarely in the eye. “Aubrey, you don’t need to worry about that. Sure, you were in a pretty bad place then, but you aren’t there now, are you? You pulled yourself out of that rut and fixed your relationships with all of us. I think that’s good enough.”
“You think so?”
“Yeah. I honestly felt the same way for such a long time; I’m sure you know why.” He said, looking down at the floor. “But I’m better now, and I try to steer myself away from those negative thoughts.”
Aubrey hummed as she lay deep in thought. “I never really thought about it that way.”
Basil had a small grin on his face. “You forgave me a long time ago, I think you should do yourself a favor and forgive yourself.”
“Thanks, Basil,” Aubrey reciprocated his expression, “I think I needed that.”
“No problem, Aubrey. I’m glad to help.”
Aubrey pursed her lips. “You know, the way you spoke earlier, it kinda reminded me of Sunny, and how he used to comfort me when I was down.”
“Well, Sunny was the one to give me that piece of advice.” Basil said as a smug smirk stretched his lips. “It’s nice to know you still think about him.”
“Why wouldn’t I?” Aubrey’s face turned a light shade of pink. “He’s my friend.”
Basil had a mischievous look on his face. “A friend, huh?”
“Don’t tease me, Basil.” Aubrey groaned.
“Alright, alright.” Basil threw up his hands defensively. “But you have to admit…”
“Basil!”
“Fine.”
The two remained silent until they reached the familiar Rodriguez residence. Hector barked playfully at them as they passed by his doghouse. Basil kept the aging hound occupied as Aubrey knocked on the door. It opened to reveal Kel on the other side, carrying a sleeping Sally on one of his arms.
“Yoo, Aubrey!” Kel exclaimed, “You came!”
“Hey, Kel. Sally kept you busy huh?”
“Busy? Looking after her is basically a full time job. She’s more active now; even I can’t keep up sometimes.”
“That’s a first.” Aubrey remarked.
“You’re mean.” Kel said with a small smile on his face. “Come on in, we’ve got a surprise for you.”
“I have a feeling I already know what it is.” Aubrey sneered.
“We’ll see.” Kel turned to face Basil. “Basil! Can you do me a favor and buy us some pizza?”
“Oh, sure.” Basil ran up to Kel’s position. “Just give me the money to pay for it and I’ll be on my way.”
Kel used his free hand to rub the back of his head.
Basil nodded knowingly before leaving. “Figures. Just pay me back later then.”
“Don’t count on it!” Aubrey quipped at Basil, who was already a good distance aways from them.
“Hey!” Kel pouted.
“Just let me in, Kel.” Aubrey walked past Kel and sat down on the couch. “I think Sally’s worn you out enough.”
“You don’t know half of it.” Kel muttered under his breath, taking a seat next to Aubrey. “Sally’s soooo hyper. Ever since she learned how to walk, she’s been running all over the house.”
“At least she’s asleep, right?”
Kel let out a relieved chuckle. “Yeah, I guess I am.”
The two spent a few minutes catching up on the minutiae of their lives. It wasn’t often now that they did that, college preparations had kept all of them occupied.
“It’s nice, you know, not bickering with you for once.” Aubrey sighed contentedly.
“Yeah. I mean, we’re all still friends at the end of the day, right?”
Aubrey stretched on the couch as she spoke. “I guess so; I’d hate to fight with you all the time anyways, so I’m glad we’re all at peace with each other.”
“I think it’s what Mari would’ve wanted.”
“It probably was.” Aubrey said with a small huff.
A knock at the door interrupted their conversation, luckily preventing the mood from dropping any further.
“Kel!” Hero’s voice rang out from the kitchen, “can you get the door for me?”
Kel looked at the door, then at Aubrey. “I’m gonna put Sally back in her crib, so can you answer the door instead?”
Aubrey shrugged, there was no reason for her to refuse. She failed to notice the smirk forming on Kel’s face as he left for the second floor. She pulled open the door to reveal a familiar raven haired boy holding a box of pizza.
“Pizza delivery.” he said in a low monotone, though his lips curled upwards to betray his true emotions. “Surprise.”
“Sunny?” Aubrey stood shell-shocked on the front porch. “How did you…?”
“Bus. You wouldn’t believe how much begging I needed to do for mom to allow me to travel on a school afternoon. So will I just stand here or will you…”
Sunny yelped as Aubrey tackled him into a hug, having just enough time to set the pizza box safely out of the way. “Oh, Sunny,” tears began rolling down Aubrey’s cheeks as she continued, “you didn’t have to do this for me.”
“Don’t say that, Aubrey,” Sunny managed to chuckle amidst Aubrey’s tight embrace, “I wanted to do this for you, because you mean a lot to me, Aubrey. Don’t you ever forget that.”
Aubrey had no words left to say, instead continuing to wrap her arms around Sunny. Sunny seemed to enjoy this as well, a hint of red tinging his ears as he nuzzled into Aubrey’s chest.
“I knew it!” Kel cried out as he approached the two, picking up the pizza box from where it lay. “You had no idea what the surprise was.” he concluded with a satisfied grin.
“Huh?” Aubrey loosened her grip on Sunny. “But Basil told me…”
“I lied.” Aubrey turned her head to see Basil hiding behind Hector’s doghouse. “I’m glad it all went according to plan.”
“So all of you were in on this plan?”
“Yeah.” Kel and Basil said simultaneously.
“I can’t believe you two.”
“It was worth it.” Basil remarked. “I got you two lovebirds together.”
Aubrey blanched, finally letting go of Sunny and standing up. “Hold on a minute, you know that me and Sunny are a thing?”
Basil couldn’t help but laugh at the statement. “Of course I did! I’ve known about Sunny’s crush for years now. He stopped by my place right after he confessed to you. I only had to see the goofy look on his face to know that he snagged you.” He placed a hand on Sunny and Aubrey’s shoulders. “This was a long time coming, so why don’t we celebrate it over a slice of cake, Hero really worked hard to get it just right.”
Kel invited Basil in and the two of them slipped into the house, leaving Sunny and Aubrey on the front porch.
“I guess this makes us official now.” Aubrey said, fidgeting with her hands.
“No, not yet,” Sunny pulled Aubrey in close, “but this will.”
Aubrey felt her face heat up as Sunny’s lips met hers. Their kiss only lasted a moment, but it certainly left an impression on her. Everything felt warm, the passing wind, their interlocked hands, Sunny’s lips; she wanted the feeling to last, but it soon passed.
Both of them took a breath as they drew apart, bright blushes evident on their faces. Aubrey’s flush darkened as Sunny flashed her one of his rare full smiles; he looked positively ecstatic.
“Was it any good?” He asked rather bashfully.
His question was quickly answered as Aubrey gave him a peck to the cheek. “It was perfect, Sunny. Thanks for being here.”
Sunny only managed a nod, his ears still burning from the kiss. “I think I can get used to this.” He murmured, taking Aubrey’s hand and walking inside.