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ashes-writing · 2 years

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burnin for you pt two | stranger things ; g.emerson

A/N ; So uh... I swear, this is not the chapter I intended to write when I sat down earlier but... I really wanted to give Gareth a moment or two to shine. And I personally feel like he definitely gets mean/mouthy and has anger issues, hates to see people being picked on. So... I guess this chapter stemmed from that. So if you wanna see a grumpy drummer get protective over a 'princess' type.. That is this.

ALSO OMG Y'ALL HAVE ME CRYING RN HAPPY TEARS BC LIKE... i did not think anybody would even look at this when I posted it. The fact that people did and they actually seemed to want to see more, like.. fuck, I'm blown away. emotions, man. Thank you thank you thank you so much you don't know how much it means to me. The feedback and stuff really does help and you don't know how much it inspires me.

Pairing ; Gareth Emerson x Sweet!girly!rich reader.

Timeline / Other Stuff to Note ;

pt one - two - three - four found by clicking since tumblr can't be trusted to show my shit in the tags and it's hit or miss..

set in season four but none of the unholy terrors of the upside down will be happening here. eddie will not be dying. huuuuge note here. Gareth's actions within stem from my own personal headcanons about him having anger issues. And being v.v protective -especially when he's close to someone. Reader, i'll remind you is sweet!girly!rich fem reader. With soooo much insecurity, i s2g. There are reasons for this that are hinted at -will be hinted at. This is gonna be a bit of a slow burn with heaps of sexual tension starting from the next chapter, most likely. Not an intense slow burn but it's not racing towards the finish line either. A jog. that's what this is.

Tag List ; @musichealsscars @aries-arcade @allelitesmut @hcloangcls @krys-orion @rampagewriting --absolutely ignore if you prefer bb and @scoobiessnacks are the only ones I have to tag bc they're on my taglist. if you'd like to be added to my taglists for anything including Stranger things, please let me know or add yourself -> here.

Warnings ; the jocks. they are the warning. there is a confrontation. There is a fight. There is the teeniest mention of blood/injury. There is a v.v. insecure reader. more internal pining on both sides but no real... romantic type stuff... yet.

Other Stuff ; tag list doc || my rules - fandoms and some characters I write for || requests are open (pls.. pls... send me things) but they're limited to headcanon asks + filth/fluff alphabet letters -> send me things.

I do not consent to my work being reposted elsewhere or copied/reworked/rewritten and reposted here or elsewhere. You don't own this, I do. So like... don't steal my shit.

“You.” your nose wrinkles with disgust as you tilt your head slightly and shield your eyes from harsh sunshine above. Mason Allen is standing there, but he’s not alone. No, he’s got two of his idiot friends with him because apparently, stupidity and being an actual creep are spreading diseases. You swallow hard as the three of them step closer. Surrounding you.

“Relax.” Mason’s voice is quiet. His eyes drag over you longer than necessary. Long enough that you pass over from discomfort to real fear. He steps closer to you. Gently guides your chin up to make you look at him and he’s giving you that plastic fake grin when he does it and you just feel so sick… You shove his hand away with disgust and this only makes him step even closer. There’s an angry gleam in his eyes. It’s scary as hell.

“I’ll scream…” you trail off, eyes darting around yet again and finding no one, “ I bite.” you mumble quietly.

And you will. You do. But you’re hoping to fuck that whatever this is, it doesn’t come to that.

Your stomach does a lazy flip.

“You’ve been hanging all over that fuckin little freak like a bitch in heat since you got here. It’s disgusting. I just wanna know what he has that I don’t, sweetheart.”

You rub the bridge of your nose. Now there’s annoyance mixing in with your fear and neither of those are emotions you handle well at all. They both tend to make you mouthy as all hell. And this is not a good time for that to crop up.

This could go very,very badly if you get mouthy.

Before you even have a second to stop and think about it, your eyes are scanning the parking lot a third time, searching for anybody who looks even a little familiar, a little safe.

You’re mainly hoping to find Gareth but you’re pretty sure he was gone the second the bell rang. He doesn’t usually hang around after school for no reason. Except on Hellfire night and that wasn’t tonight. And given that you don’t know for sure what he drives just yet, you can’t tell if you’re right or not.

“C’mon, doll. Answer the guy. We’re just curious. Y’know Carver beat his ass once, right? Last year, actually.” Mason rubs his chin thoughtfully, gazing at you. That stupid fucking pervy gleam in his eyes the entire time. “You really want a pussy like that, doll?”

Carver. That prick. The one who gave you an entire ten minute lecture on those ‘satanists and their fucking cult’. The one who seems to be something of a wannabe cult leader himself. He pretends to be one of those white knight types but there’s something about him that just makes you a little afraid of the guy. The only jock that you’ve met lately that you’re not afraid of at all is the kid Lucas, you babysit for his mother regularly.

But then you stop and think about it, you’re afraid of a lot of things. Insecure as hell.

“Why would you want that when you can have this, hm?” Mason gestures to yourself. And you’re trying so,so hard to bite your tongue, to keep the sarcasm in check so this doesn’t go off the rails somehow.

“ He’s not an asshole who likes to gang up on somebody and scare the living shit out of them, for starters?” you list it off. But you’re in full blown panic mode, so naturally, you don’t stop there. Between the anger and the fear, your mouth is about to land you in serious shit.

Or so you think.

“You’ve been with him almost two weeks. You gotta be gettin tired of the freaks by now. How do you know you don’t like me, hm? You never really gave yourself a chance. You were under him from the word go.”

“Better him than you.” you mumble.

“What the fuck did you just say?” he asks, clenching his fist.

“You’re ugly,deaf and stupid? Damn. Somebody really pissed in your gene pool, didn’t they?” you retort and somehow, while you’re feeling feisty enough to do it, you shove him out of your way and you’re running.

Your only goal is to put as much distance as you can between you and Mason Allen. In the process of running away, you collide with Gareth, who was coming around the side of the building from the shop class on the back side.

“You know I’m right, buddy. You know it, Gare.” Jeff insists. He catches sight of you in a full on blind run and he’s about to nudge Gareth. “Case in point… Do you really think she’d keep seeking you out if she didn’t like you at least a little?”

“We both know what’s going to happen.” Gareth insists, still totally unaware of you, approaching at break-neck speed. He’s looking down at writing covered sneakers. “Just leave it alone, damn it.” he snaps calmly.

“Yeah, I know what’s gonna happen. You’re gonna keep being weird around her til she just leaves you alone. Look, she’s not exactly the most confident… Kinda like somebody else I know.”

And then, it happens.

Gareth glances up to look around, see if he can spot you in the parking lot anywhere and he sees you alright, you’re running straight for him, full-throttle like you’ve got the hounds of hell right behind you.

You collide with him and before he can brace himself and keep you upright, you’re on top of him and his back is against the ground. And he bites back a groan because this is… Not going to help him and the situation he’s in with his little dumb crush on you and he knows it. The way you fell straddling his hips is going to haunt his memory for a long time. Even after you’ve come to your senses and abandoned him and the guys for a chance to be popular.

“C’mon. Run, now.” you’re stumbling over your words as you scramble to pull yourself off of him and trying to pull him off the ground too. Gareth is looking at you with a brow raised, taking in the way you were just running like your life depended on it, the widened panic deer-in-the headlights look on your face, all of it. And he just knows.

Somewhere at the bottom of it all, Mason Allen is involved. The guy’s been sniffing around since your first day. Popping up. Watching you. It’s creepy as hell, it never fails to piss Gareth off and his rants and tangents since this all began and Mason developed his odd fixation on you are nothing short of legendary. It’s just a matter of time until no amount of telling himself this is not his business won’t be enough anymore.

Gareth has been diligently telling himself that this is not his problem and sooner or later, you will wind up among the popular kids and hell, you might even date Mason at some point, pretty girls always go for his type, don’t they?

But seeing you so freaked out. The shake he felt as it raced through your body when you ran into him, nearly knocked him down just now, it starts to sink in.

You’re actually terrified of the guy. Of a lot of people in general, come to think of it. You disguise it with disdain, disgust and sarcasm but the fact remains.

And the anger he’s been telling himself he doesn’t have a right to feel because you’re not his girl, that all comes rushing to the surface real quick.

When this happens, he pretty much decides to hell with running. If the guy scares you this fucking bad, maybe it’s time to put a stop to the him.

Drumsticks and Gareth’s notebooks are shoved at Jeff in haste. “Keep her over here, alright?”

“Gare, wait. There’s fucking three of them, idiot.” Jeff tries to reason but Gareth isn’t listening. He’s probably hit that black out level, the one where he’s not thinking, he’s just angry.

“Keep her over here.” his voice is deathly calm when he turns around to look back at Jeff.

It hasn’t been this calm since way back in sixth grade, right before he completely messed Jason Carver’s face up. What’s surprising is that everyone seems to have forgotten just how scary an angry Gareth Emerson can actually be since then. He’s calmed down a lot since. He tries so hard to avoid fights. Even to a point where he just let Jason beat him up last year.

Jeff sees you about to make a run for it and go after Gareth but he swings his arm out in front of you. “Oh hell no. You’re not going back over there, alright?”

His tone is firm. You swallow hard and nod.

Eddie makes his way out of the back of the school and as soon as he sees what’s about to go down, he rubs his hand over his face. When he spots Dustin, he whistles to signal him over.

“There’s three of ‘em. Me and Jeff need to go help Gare, alright? Gare told Jeff to keep her,” he glances at you, “over here. You’re gonna do that, alright, Henderson?”

“O-okay.” Dustin nods, a little worried because he doesn’t know what the hell is going on. His gaze settles on you and you’re biting the edge of your thumb, you look freaked out. “What happened?”

“Stupid fuckin Mason. Again. I… I collided into Gareth and tried to get him to run but he stormed over there.”

Dustin grins to himself.

The way Gareth protests to anyone who will listen in Hellfire about the two of you not being a thing, this is only proving everyone else right.

“I need to go over there. This is my fault. And like.. He’s the only friend I..” you’re upset, you’re scared and you’re disgusted with yourself because this is completely your fault. There is no mistake. You’re about to lose the only friend you really have, all because you were too pathetic to stand up for yourself.

,, This is precisely why no one ever stick around.” the thought comes and it doesn’t help. Not a bit.

“It’s not your fault. I mean if you were egging it on, I’d say I agree but you’re not. Also, he’s not your only friend, okay? I’m your friend too.” Dustin answers quietly.

“It is my fault. If I would have just been brave enough to deck the guy in the first place..” you glance over just in time to see Gareth put his entire body into Mason’s which sends him sprawling back and doesn’t stop Gareth. Not even a little.

Gareth is straddling him now, he’s got him pinned. “You’re gonna leave her alone… Right, Mason?” he asks, snarling the words as he holds onto the front of the other guy’s shirt. Mason is about to flip him but Gareth uses the fact that he’s actually got muscular legs and more strength in them than anyone really seems to realize to his advantage and he grips Mason’s sides, keeping him from flipping them. “You’re always talkin about us… You guys are the creeps. Not us.” he spits when he says it. “Pickin on somebody who can’t do anything because that’s so manly, right?” he lets go of Mason’s shirt and lets him hit the dirt of the schoolyard.

Jeff and Eddie went over to help out, but so far, Gareth has kept the upper hand. Ducking punches thrown, coming up with his own harder ones, a stray punch or two landing with him but he doesn’t seem to notice.

They’re shocked because the last time Gareth got this angry was all the way back in middle school and it took years for any of the jocks to even consider pissing him off again. Some of them who haven’t forgotten the whole thing still keep a pretty wide berth when it comes to Gareth.

Two of Mason’s buddies act as if they’re going to go help and triple team Gareth but Jeff and Eddie grab hold of them and hold them off with a smirk. “What the hell do you think you’re doing, hm?” Jeff asks, smirking at the one he’s got hold of. Eddie chuckles. “No, no no.. Three on one, that’s not fair, right? You’re gonna stay right here, buddy.” he tells the one he’s grabbed and holding back. “This is gonna happen, bud. Just accept it.”

Gareth happens to look up just as you come running over to try and stop it from getting out of hand and this is what kind of calms him down a little and brings him back to reality. The angry haze begins to clear out and he pulls himself up off of Mason, wiping the back of his hand across his bloodied mouth. “Don’t even look her way again.” is the last thing he tells Mason Allen and Mason waves his hands defensively when he doesn’t answer quick enough and Gareth looks like he’s going to punch him one more time because of it. “Okay, alright. Fuck. I won’t even look at her.” he insists, but at this point it’s as if he’s pleading more than anything, there’s a slight shake to the jock’s voice that has Eddie snickering and Jeff chuckling quietly with amusement.

With the potential that the fight was seen, the jocks scatter away, retreating to the gym. Gareth’s taking deep breaths to calm down. “Dude, you want your emergency inhaler?” Jeff asks when he sees Gareth trying to catch his breath. “Just to be safe, man. I’ll go get it.”

“Yeah.” Gareth answers, panting, digging down into his jeans. He tosses the keys in Jeff’s general direction and Jeff bends down to scoop them up then he takes off towards the truck Gareth drives. You make your way over, wincing and grimacing as you catch sight of the busted lip and the bruise on his cheek.

And you’re conflicted because seeing him get that angry was scary, but on the other hand, if you’d been braver, if you’d stood up for yourself to begin with back around the third day when Mason made this a pattern, it wouldn’t have happened.

You’re worried about him. He could have gotten seriously injured if things had gone just a little differently.

“You didn’t have to do that.” you mumble softly. “I should’ve.. I should’ve done something.”

Gareth shrugs. He really doesn’t say anything. Neither do you.

But you have to do something. You untie the pink silk scarf tied into your ponytail and you step up to him cautiously, holding it out. You wince and you gingerly press the fabric against his mouth. It’s not ice, but it’ll get some of the blood off.

“Dustin?” you motion the younger boy over.

“Yeah?”

You nod to your own bag discarded on the lawn because it was too heavy and you needed to run fast and get the hell out of dodge minutes ago. “There’s a dollar in the pocket. Go get me something cold out of the vending machine, please?”

“On it.” Dustin makes his way over to the dropped bag and picks it up, finding the money. Then he takes off for the gym.

Gareth’s breathing is back to normal and he’s calming down, but he’s kind of thrown for a loop because you didn’t see everything you just saw and run like hell. Or decide that maybe giving in and just hanging out with them was the better idea.

As it sinks in for him, he’s staring up at you.

“I can go if you want.” you mumble quietly, your stomach twisting as you say it.

This has to be too much for him. It has to be.

“No. It’s fine.” he mutters quietly.

You nod. Dustin comes running back over with a cold drink and you hold it against Gareth’s lip. “You shouldn’t have done that. I..I should have done something about it myself.”

“Do what, exactly? He would’ve had his friends waiting. That’s how those assholes operate.” Gareth answers quietly. Hissing at the cold against the heat in his busted lip. Trying to cringe away a little because of it, only to have you step a little closer, just enough that he’s slightly towered over you and your body’s just barely grazing his. The cotton candy scent of your perfume gives him something to focus on and he breathes in and out slowly.

“I know, just..” you take a deep breath. “It’s my fault.”

“But it’s not. You didn’t ask the guy to be a fucking creep.” Gareth states quietly.

You shrug. But you don’t say anything because you don’t know what to say. You only know what you feel and you feel like this is all your fault somehow.

“He didn’t… do anything, right?” Gareth asks, tensing up.

“No, no. No. I ran.” you reassure him. You back the cold drink away from his mouth and grimace, shaking your head.

“Good.” he takes a deep breath or two, relieved. Wincing because his lip is throbbing and he feels like shit after the adrenaline has started to wear down. He’s eyeing the aluminum can in your hand and you pop the tab, holding it out to him. “H-here.”

When he takes it, his fingers brush your hand and for the millionth time, it feels like someone’s just dragged a live wire over him. He takes a sip of the drink and holds it out to you.

You don’t realize how big this is yet. Gareth’s not the one who shares everything easily. The fact that he’s sharing a Dr. Pepper with you right now is definitely a bigger deal than he makes it seem or that you even realize it is just yet.

“Did you drive here?” he asks quietly. You shake your head. “Uh uh. Walked.”

“Do you uh… Do you want a ride home?” he asks quietly.

You nod. If he takes you home, you can at least get him cleaned up a little better.

“Yeah. Only if you don’t mind and it’s no trouble, though.” you stumble over your words. You’re relieved because you know at least two of the jocks happen to live out near the same area as you and you always see them driving past when you’re walking.

Gareth steps closer because something else is starting to sink in. You’re never outright asking for anything nor will you say yes to anything without tacking on “Only if I’m not bothering you” or some variation of it at the end. And he’s starting to realize that really, really bothers him too. Makes him want to find anybody who ever made you feel like you have to make yourself small or whatever it is you’re trying to do and show them how it feels.

And he realizes finally that he can’t just continue on keeping you at an arms length. And he really doesn’t want to, either. Even if all he ever gets is friendship, it’s better than nothing, right?

He decides then and there that yes… yes, it is.

“Hey, Emerson.. We’re going ahead to Grants. Just come by when you get her home.” Jeff calls out and as says it, he nudges Eddie. “Doesn’t have a crush on her my ass, right?”

Eddie laughs, nodding. “Cmon. I gotta stop by Reefer’s on the way.”

– ( an hour later )

“You’re sure this is okay… Right?” you ask him for the third time and Gareth chuckles quietly as he nods. He brings the truck to a stop behind Eddie’s van at the curb of Grant’s house. You’d cleaned out his lip and fussed over the bruise. More than once during the amount of time he was in the house you live in, he got the feeling that you were alone there a lot.

When he asked you about it, you told him your parents were always away with your dad’s work. You acted like it wasn’t a big deal at all but he could tell it bothered you. So, he’d asked again if you wanted to come with him and watch the band practice in Grant’s basement. He’d had to really convince you that it would be fine, that he wasn’t angry about everything that happened in the schoolyard, that no one was, but he managed to and you’d agreed to come back with him.

After changing of course. And if he thought the little soft sundresses in their varying pastel hues were something of a distraction, he had not prepared himself at all for the sight of you in a pair of shorts and a soft pink sweater that hung off of one shoulder with the sleeves hanging over your hands slightly.

Because he’d damn near forgotten to breathe when he saw you.

Your hair was out of it’s usual ponytail and bow and it was loose, a little wild.

He was still trying to decide which way he liked you better.

Distracted as hell and nearly turned down the wrong damn street when he got to the part of town Grant lived in just because you were sitting in his passenger seat.

“I’m telling you, it’s fine. C’mon.” he chuckles quietly and you nod. He gets out and makes his way around to help you out of the truck. The two of you make your way into Grant’s basement via the door on the side of the house and Grant’s immediate response is to grin and high five him and say that he wished he hadn’t missed the whole fight.

Gareth shrugs it off.

Eddie smirks and nods to you. “Decided to come with you finally?”

“Yeah.” he answered, glancing back at you where you’re sitting on an old sofa in the corner. He drags his hand through soft,curly hair and shuffles his feet. “Don’t start shit.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it, Gare.” Eddie laughs, giving the shorter boy a friendly shove. “C’mon. Let’s play.” he tells the others as he picks up his guitar. You watch as Gareth takes a seat on his stool behind his old drum kit. Scooting forward on the sofa a little more as they cue up a song you haven’t ever heard before, but it’s a little catchy.

You’re bouncing your foot with the music and smiling.

You feel a little more relaxed for once. Hopeful.

Maybe if nothing else, you can finally make friends again…

But there’s that nagging doubt in your mind too… What if you push him away too somehow? What if he’s not what you’ve got yourself thinking he is and the same shit that happened to you before, in your old school, happens again?

All you can do is see where everything goes. Carefully.

#gareth emerson #gareth the great #gareth emerson imagine #gareth emerson fanfiction #gareth emerson fanfic #gareth emerson x reader #gareth emerson x fem!reader #gareth emerson x fem!reader imagine #gareth emerson x fem!reader fanfiction #// all i can say is.. i uh.. have no clue where this came from + say that this is my own personal interpretation of the character so... yep #// fight #// jocks being jerks #// jocks being creeps #// protective!gareth #// goddamn it my boy deserved his moment to shine so here we are.

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hero-deserves-to-be-happy · 5 months

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When Sun Shines Again Chapter 4: "To Lead A Better Life:" Part 3

⛅CHAPTER 4⛅ "To Lead A Better Life" Part 3

Chapter Description: When Hero visits Basil one last time before returning to college for the fall semester, Basil gives him a letter that forces him to confront bittersweet memories, painful truths, and the complicated feelings that Hero had tried so hard to bury.

This Chapter is Hero & Basil's Friendship-Centric.

Chapter Word Count: 6700. Link to Chapter 4 on AO3.

Description (for the entire work): When tragedy struck, Hero lost not only his dearest friend but also his dreams for the future. Even years later, Hero doesn't know what his "forever" looks like without Mari in it, but somehow he finds the strength to carry on and build a new life for himself. With his family and friends both old and new by his side, Hero struggles through life's ups and downs--the joys and sorrows he faces in a world without Mari. In the beginning, he's only looking to survive it all, but somewhere along the way, he might find a purpose, a reason he's still here. Maybe there really is a way he can learn to be happy again, and maybe, just maybe, when he's least expecting it, he might even find himself slowly opening his heart to love again--he might even find himself believing that even the darkest, stormiest of times will eventually pass and the sun will shine again.

A Hero-Centric story spanning 15 years of his life post-good end. Focuses on Hero finding healing & building a life for himself after the loss of Mari. Eventually includes him learning to love again after an extremely slow burn. All pairings are tagged upfront. Rated T for heavy themes & some language. Reading the prequel is recommended.

⛅Tags For The Story As A Whole (So A Lot Of These Are "Eventual" Tags):

Romantic Relationships: Main Ships: (Past) Hero/Mari and (Eventual) Hero/OC. Side Ships: Brandi/OC and a brief mention of Mikhael/Bebe are the only side ships involving canon characters.

Platonic Relationships: Hero & Brandi Friendship, Hero & Original Characters Friendship. Some Hero & Kel Siblings Relationship & Brotherly Friendship. Hero & Aubrey Friendship. Hero & Basil Friendship. Hero & Sunny Friendship. Hero & His Family.

Characters: Major Canon Characters: Hero (POV Character), Brandi [Intimidating Girl], Mari and Mari's Memory, & Kel. Major Original Characters (Hero's college friends): Kyle, C.J., Zoey, Tamra, and Lorraine. Other Included Canon Characters: Sunny, Basil, Aubrey, Sally, Hero's Parents, Bebe (Short Haired Girl/Fountain Girl) & Mikhael (The Maverick).

Genre: Hero-Centric Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Slice of Life, College Life, Lost Love, Finding Love Again, Finding Healing After Grief, Slow Burn, Developing Friendship, Developing Relationship, Greiving, Catharsis, Heart-To-Heart Chats, Hopeful/Happy Ending, Post-Good Ending, Hero Needs A Hug, Hero Deserves To Be Happy

Rating: T for some heavy themes and thematic elements (i.e. grief & healing from grief and trauma. Implied/Referenced Canonical Character Death & Implied/Referenced Mental Health Issues including depression & suicide. Mentions of Underage Drinking & Partying). Some language.

Warnings: Major Spoilers for OMORI! Heavy themes and thematic elements (i.e. grief & healing from grief and trauma. Implied/Referenced Canonical Character Death & Implied/Referenced Mental Health Issues including depression & suicide. Mentions of Underage Drinking & Partying). Some Language.

Link to Entire work on AO3.

⛅ Link to the "When Sun Shines Again" Masterlist. ⛅

Full chapter text below the cut. Thank you for reading! ⛅

“Do you have any sevens?” asked Kel.

Twisting her mouth to one side, Aubrey frowned at her cards, but she shrugged her shoulders. “No. Go fish.”

Curiously, Hero glanced down at his own hand, then at a nearby clock on the wall. They had been playing Go Fish for nearly an hour, and Hero couldn’t for the life of him understand how no one had managed to win yet. Even thinking back on the many rounds of Go Fish he and his friends had played in their youth, he couldn’t remember a game that lasted more than half an hour, at the most, but it seemed that ever since they had started playing cards with Basil whenever they visited him in the hospital the games were growing longer and longer.

Hero wondered if that was on purpose—if his companions were somehow purposely dragging the games out so they would have something to do, something to keep Basil distracted so he wouldn’t start crying again. After all, their first couple of visits had mostly consisted of Basil weeping in tearful apologies, and Hero was certain he was not the only one who wanted to avoid that going forward.

Something ached in Hero’s chest whenever he thought of how emotional things had been in the beginning—how fragile Basil had been and that heartbreaking look on his face like he was always on the verge of tears. If Hero was being honest, it scared him, and though it made him feel overwhelmingly guilty to admit it, somehow he couldn’t help but wonder if that’s what his family had seen every time they had looked at him after Mari had died: a shaking, shivering shell of a person they had once known and loved. It was painful to watch, and as much as his heart ached seeing Basil suffer, he could only imagine that his family had suffered even more in watching Hero, himself, suffer in the same way. Knowing he had put his family through that… It was nearly enough to make Hero not want to get out of bed in the morning.

There was something surreal in being on this side of it all. Even having gone through a similar period of deep depression himself—even knowing firsthand how painful and hopeless that darkness and numbness could be, Hero felt completely helpless when it came to Basil and his suffering. He had no idea what to do—if there was even anything he could do to make Basil feel better. This feeling of helplessness coupled with the sickening, twisting feeling in his gut whenever Basil burst into tears at the mere sight of him had given Hero a new and incredibly painful appreciation for Kel and what his brother must have been through these last couple of years stuck on the periphery of his loved ones’ collapsing world. But maybe that was Kel’s strength. He could be so supportive and attentive to the needs of the other people around him, and he just had this way of knowing what might help someone, even someone at their lowest, feel better. It had been his idea to start playing cards to cheer up Basil, after all.

After a long and ongoing debate about whether or not the three of them should just stop visiting Basil altogether, Hero, Kel, and Aubrey had sat down with Polly to discuss whether or not their visits were actually helpful or were just hindering Basil’s recovery, which, Hero knew, was the last thing any of them wanted. When Polly had told them that she thought that it would be much more hurtful to Basil if his friends never came around, Kel had suggested that they try to think of activities to do when they visited so Basil would be too busy to think about being sad.

It turned out Kel was right. They soon found that their visits with Basil at the hospital went much more smoothly if they all did an activity together—sometimes a puzzle, other times arts and crafts. They quickly settled into playing board games or, more frequently, cards just like they used to when they were kids.

As time went on, Basil seemed much happier, especially when he was distracted. The color slowly returned to his face. He started tending some flowers in the hospital’s garden and even started taking some photos again. Most promising of all, the last time they had visited, Hero saw Basil laugh for the first time in possibly years at a silly joke Kel had told them about a pirate’s pet parrot of all things. It was good to see Basil beginning to heal and come back to his old self again. Still, they didn’t want to undo any progress so they kept playing infinite games of cards which, if Hero had to guess, they probably did drag out on purpose, at least on a subconscious level.

“Are you sure you don’t have any sevens?” asked Kel, pulling Hero out of his thoughts. His brow furrowed as he glanced over at Aubrey with narrowed eyes.

“No,” she huffed, growing more exasperated. “I don’t have any sevens, Kel.”

“I—I have sevens,” sniffled Basil “You—you can have my sevens…”

“Sweet!” exclaimed Kel, reaching across the table to take Basil’s cards, but Hero gently stopped him with a pat on the arm.

“Kel, that’s not fair. You can ask Basil for sevens on your next turn.”

Basil sniffled again, pulling his sweater tightly around his shoulders. “It…It’s okay. I don’t mind. Kel can—”

“You’re ruining the game!” Aubrey interrupted with a huff. “It’s just Go Fish. There’s no reason to get so competitive about it!”

“Competitive?” Kel repeated so loudly that Basil practically jumped. “If anyone’s getting competitive, it’s you!”

As Kel and Aubrey began to bicker, Hero looked over at Basil with a certain concern in his eyes. Hero had always known that Basil was almost as conflict avoidant as him, and it was obvious from the way he cowered at Kel and Aubrey’s bickering—twisting his hands and biting his lip—that he would give just about anything for this fight to be over, including an entire hand full of sevens, if he’d had them. If Hero was being honest, he felt the same way.

“C-c’mon now,” Hero gently interrupted, trying to keep the peace “This is just supposed to be fun. We’re here to visit Basil and spend time with him. There’s no reason to start fighting.”

Kel and Aubrey stopped—each letting out a heavy sigh as they stared down at their hands of cards. “Hero’s right,” said Kel “Who cares about this stupid card game—we’re just happy to see you Basil. We can even do something else if you want.”

Basil’s eyes widened, but a smile twitched in the corners of his mouth. “I don’t care what we do—I’m just glad you’re here. It’s really good to see you guys.” Basil paused and sighed. “It gets…kind of lonely here sometimes.”

Something ached in Hero’s chest, and his expression softened. He couldn’t help but feel sorry for Basil all alone in the hospital far away from his family and friends. Even if he knew it was the best thing for him and was glad that he was getting the help that he needed, it made Hero sad to think that Basil was going through such a difficult time alone.

Hero sighed. He supposed Basil had been suffering alone for a very, very long time, and regardless of the complicated feelings that Hero himself may have been feeling towards Basil and everything that had happened, it was more important to him that Basil wouldn’t have to suffer by himself anymore—that he would never have to suffer by himself again.

He supposed Aubrey had eventually realized she felt this way too. It wasn’t long after their conversation about Basil and her complicated feelings towards him a couple of weeks ago that Aubrey had started visiting Basil again. She had never talked to Hero about it, but he could only assume that, like him, ultimately the love, friendship, and concern she had for Basil far outweighed her own hurts and feelings.

It meant a lot to Hero to see Aubrey offer Basil forgiveness, even when it was hard, and he knew how much it meant to Basil that she was there for him—that they were all there for him, even after everything that had happened. These days, it felt like the only person who hadn’t forgiven Basil was Basil himself, but Hero knew that would be the hardest part of all.

“Don’t worry, Basil,” Kel reassured him, patting his arm. “I’m sure you’ll get to come home really soon.”

Basil bit his lip but nodded as he quietly admitted, “I hope so…I uh…I’ve been really worried…about my flowers.”

“Oh you don’t have to worry about those. Hero has been taking care of them for you!” Kel beamed at Basil, giving him a pat on the back.

Basil’s eyes widened, but his hands began to tremble as he turned towards Hero. “Oh…you didn’t have to do that.”

“It’s no trouble at all,” Hero gently insisted with a slight smile. “Your house is on my way home from the pool, so I stop by on my way home from work. It barely takes any time at all, and it’s nice to have a hobby. Besides, Polly has been doing most of the work.”

“Aubrey and I have been helping out too,” added Kel. “But we’re not as good at gardening as you or Hero.”

Basil cleared his throat. “Well, thank you—all of you. I really appreciate it. I just…” He paused, biting his lip and staring at his twisting hands. “I just…hope it’s not ruining your summer or taking up too much of your time.”

Aubrey, Kel and Hero quickly glanced at each other with somewhat awkward smiles—silently agreeing not to tell Basil that this had probably been one of the worst summers of their entire lives even without having to look after his garden for him. Hero had spent most of it working long hours at the community pool, cleaning his house, tending Basil’s garden, going for runs around the neighborhood, and desperately looking for anything else that would take his mind off of things. He craved being busy, but more than that he craved a distraction from his crumbling world. Sunny had moved. Basil was in the hospital. Kel and Aubrey were struggling. Everything in Hero’s life seemed to fall apart again this summer—collapsing under the weight of the truth. He could only imagine that Aubrey and Kel felt the same way. They couldn’t wait for this summer to finally be over…but they could never say that to Basil who stared up at them with frightened but hopeful eyes.

“How—how are you all doing?” Basil stumbled, in what Hero could only guess was a desperate attempt to fill the silence. “Is there…anything new and exciting in Faraway Town?”

Hero wracked his brain, but he couldn’t think of even one piece of good news to tell Basil. From the look on Aubrey’s face, it seemed she couldn’t think of one either. They both turned to Kel, who twisted his mouth to one side—his brow furrowing thoughtfully as if he, too, was scrounging to think of something positive to say.

“Uhhh… Hero got a postcard all the way from Venice, Italy.”

“Well…that’s pretty cool” said Basil with a slight smile.

Hero shrugged his shoulders. He supposed it was kind of sad that the most exciting thing that had happened all summer was that he had gotten a postcard from Italy, but his family, Kel especially, had been very fascinated by it. They had never gotten something in the mail from somewhere so far away before.

“It was really cool!” exclaimed Kel “It had a bridge on it.”

“Who was it from?” asked Basil.

“My friend from college, Kyle, sent it to me while his family was on vacation there,” said Hero. “It has the Bridge of Sighs on it. Kyle said he always buys postcards with bridges on them because one of his best friends is a civil engineering major and wants to build bridges someday. He gets her postcards of local bridges from all of his vacation destinations, but he had an extra one this time so he sent it to me.”

Basil smiled. “That was really nice of him. I think my parents went to Venice once. I saw pictures of it, and it was really pretty. I’ve always wanted to go someday”

“Then you should!” interjected Kel “We should all go. Someday when you get out of this place and we’re all grown up and stuff, we should all go to Venice—and then we can ride on those cool boats they have there!”

“They’re called gondolas, Kel,” Aubrey corrected with a huff.

Kel rolled his eyes, but he beamed at Basil. “Sunny can come too. It’ll be an adventure!”

Aubrey sighed. “It’ll be years before we’ll be able to go to Venice, Kel. We might not ever be able to go there.”

“Well…” said Kel. “In the meantime, maybe Hero can bring his postcard to show Basil the next time we come to visit.”

“Oh wow!” Basil’s face seemed to light up as he smiled at his friends. “I’d love to see it.”

With a shrug of his shoulders, Hero tilted his head and gave Basil a bittersweet smile. “I’d love to show you my postcard, Basil. I’m sorry I didn’t bring it. I didn’t know that you wanted to see it. Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll be able to come visit you again because I have to go back to college next week.”

Basil’s face fell, but Hero could tell he tried his best to smile at him. “That’s okay” he said. “The doctor doesn’t think I’ll have to stay in the hospital for too much longer anyway. He hopes I’ll get to go home by the time school starts again.”

“That’s awesome Basil!” exclaimed Kel, and Aubrey nodded in agreement.

“I’m so happy to hear that,” said Hero. “I’m sure Kel and Aubrey will take really good care of you and help you get settled back in when school starts.”

“Yeah,” agreed Kel “And if anyone gives you weird looks or something, Aubrey will just beat them up with her nail bat.”

“Kel!” huffed Aubrey.

Before anybody could say anything more, however, the nurse came by to tell them that visiting hours were almost over and that they would have to leave soon. Aubrey and Kel both got up from the table to go to the bathroom before their long drive back to Faraway Town, leaving Hero and Basil alone.

“Are you excited—to be going back to college?” asked Basil.

Hero bit his lip. The honest answer was yes. In fact, he had never been happier to go back to anywhere in his entire life—though he supposed that wasn’t an entirely fair statement. It wasn’t going back to college that Hero was looking forward to—it was the idea of this long, horrible summer finally being over.

He didn’t want to upset Basil by telling him that, however, so he merely shrugged with half a smile and said “A little. It’ll be hard to leave my family again but…I missed school and my friends in the city. Plus, I made plans to see Sunny”

“Really?” asked Basil.

“Yeah. I called him last week and asked if I could take him to one of my favorite coffee places near campus. It’ll be nice to see him again and see how he’s settling in after the move.”

Basil’s expression softened, and he smiled. “I’m so glad to hear that. I’m sure it will mean a lot to Sunny that you want to visit him.” He paused, fumbling around for something in the pocket of his sweater. “That reminds me, I have a letter for Sunny. Do you think you could give it to him for me?”

Hero nodded. “Of course”

“I have one for you too,” Basil continued, handing Hero two envelopes. They were both heavy and lumpy like two small packages rather than letters. Whatever letters were inside must be several pages long.

Hero swallowed hard—trying his best to calm himself with a deep breath. He could only imagine what his letter said, but the truth was, he didn’t want to imagine it. He wasn’t sure he even wanted to read it.

For the entire summer, Hero had been trying his absolute best not to think about what Basil had done. He hadn’t lied to Aubrey when he told her he wasn’t angry with Basil, but he knew there were still complicated feelings, hurts, there under the surface. He supposed he had been running from them—pushing them aside like a kind of self-preservation or, perhaps more accurately, a somewhat desperate attempt at triage.

Triage, Hero thought. That certainly seemed like a good word for it.

In a medical ethics class he had taken last semester, Hero had learned about disaster triage or how to prioritize individual emergencies during a large-scale disaster. It was the best metaphor he could think of for how this summer had felt, especially as far as Basil was concerned. Whatever Hero may have felt or may have been dealing with on his own—it was small and inconsequential compared to Basil’s well-being when he was so fragile and such a danger to himself. Hero knew that he, himself, was hurting. He accepted that, but he couldn’t accept that that mattered, so he had buried his own complicated feelings so deep that he wasn’t even sure what he felt anymore. As he stared at the envelope in his hands, however, his stomach coiled and twisted with the sickening, sinking feeling that as soon as he opened that letter, he wouldn’t be able to run from it anymore.

“Do you…uh…want me to read this now?” Hero stumbled with a crack in his voice. He tried not to sigh too loudly in relief as Basil shook his head.

“It’s kind of long… You should probably read it when you get home. Or uh…”—his voice hitched—“you don’t have to read it at all, if you…”

As Basil’s voice tapered off, Hero reached out to gently pat his twisting hands. “No, um…I will. I’ll try to read it tonight. Thank you.”

“I have letters for Kel and Aubrey too, but I’ll see them when I get to come home so…” Basil’s voice trailed, but Hero nodded.

“I’m really glad that you’re going to get to come home soon, Basil. I’m sure Aubrey and Kel will look after you, but I’m always here too. If you need anything, just call” He reached for a nearby pad of paper and a pen, which Aubrey had been using to keep score during their card game and wrote down his phone number “This is my phone number at college. Feel free to call me anytime.”

As he handed the piece of paper to Basil, Basil smiled and muttered a quiet but grateful, “Thank you.”

Hero sighed. From the look on Basil’s face, he knew that Basil was never going to call him. If Hero had to guess, Basil was probably thinking that as soon as Hero read whatever he had written in that letter, he would regret giving him his phone number and would never want to speak to him again. Hero wished there was a way to reassure Basil that this wasn’t the case, that there was nothing that Basil could possibly say that would ever make Hero abandon him, especially when he needed him most. But as it was now, Hero just didn’t have the words…so he hugged Basil goodbye, wished him well and headed back home to Faraway Town, where he spent the rest of the evening staring at that thick envelope wondering when he would ever have the strength to open it.

When the clock at the bottom of the stairs chimed 8:00 PM, Hero, finally, tentatively reached towards the letter. He held his breath—biting his lip as he carefully opened the seal with trembling hands, bracing himself for whatever might be inside. He pulled out a dense stack of notebook paper which he slowly unfolded counting not two or three but ten pages filled with small, delicate script on both the front and back sides. Thankfully, the pages were numbered.

Hero swallowed hard and staring down at the paper in front of him, began to read.

Dear Hero,

This is the fourth time I have tried to write this letter. My doctor suggested that it would be good for me to be honest with you about my regrets to try to make amends and move forward. I don’t think I’ve been doing a very good job of that, and I’m really sorry if I, or this letter, am a burden to you.

I want to start by saying that I have always looked up to and admired you. I’m sure you know that my family wasn’t ever really around. For a long time, it was just me and my grandma. I never had any brothers or sisters, but I had you and the rest of our friends. You were all like a family to me, especially you, Hero. If I ever had a big brother, I imagine he would be a lot like you—always looking out for me.

You are one of the kindest people I have ever met in my whole life. You always think of everyone else before yourself and try to take care of everybody. Even now, when I know that you’re really hurting, you’ve still come to visit me. You still talk to me and take care of my garden. That really means a lot to me, more than I have the words to say, but I want you to know it’s okay if you’re angry with me. I know I would be. I really hurt you—hurt everybody with what I did, and I am so, so sorry.

I know there’s nothing I can say or do to make amends for what I’ve done, and I’m not writing you this letter to make any justifications or excuses. I only want you to know that you mean so much to me—that my whole life all I ever wanted was to be like you. I never meant to hurt you and knowing that what I did hurt you in ways that I can’t even imagine breaks my heart. But what hurts even more is knowing that even now, even after everything I did, you’re still trying to protect me like you always have.

But you don’t have to do that anymore, Hero. If after you read this letter, you never want to forgive me and never want to talk to me again, I completely understand. There are certain things that can’t be fixed with apologies and regrets. I have a lot of regrets—one of the biggest is hurting the one person in the world I knew would always be there for me. I am so, so sorry…

Hero’s breath got caught in his throat. His eyes burned. He couldn’t read anymore.

“I’m going on a run,” he choked out—frantically reaching for his running shoes. Kel looked up from the video game he had been playing with a confused tilt of his head.

“You’d better bring a jacket. It’s cold out there. I heard on the radio that there’s supposed to be a cold snap tonight.”

Hero nodded, but he couldn’t say Kel’s words really registered with him until he was running against the chilly wind. He wished he had listened to his brother and grabbed his jacket, but at the time he had just been so desperate to get out of there—or, he supposed, more accurately to get away from that letter. There was perhaps something poetic in literally running away from it, but Hero hadn’t really been thinking of that at the time. His jogs were his one lifeline—sometimes the only thing that kept him sane, kept him together when he was about to fall apart. It seemed like the only thing he could cling to now.

As Hero turned the corner out onto the main street again, a cold gust of wind blew past. He shivered. It was far too cold for this time of year. Cold snaps weren’t particularly common in Faraway Town, but they generally happened in the spring rather than the fall, at least as far as Hero could remember. He couldn’t recall a lot of cold snaps. As much as it pained him to admit it, a lot of his memories from before Mari had passed away were becoming hazier and hazier, but he could remember a particularly nasty cold snap from about five years ago…

*-*-*

“And watch out for that unexpected cold front,” said the disc jockey on the radio. “Temperatures will drop to the low 30s and below tonight, so you’ll want to get your coats and sweaters back out for the morning.”

“So much for that spring weather…” huffed Aubrey shaking her head as she stared at her hand of cards. “Also, go fish.”

Kel groaned seemingly upset about both the upcoming cold snap and the fact he was losing at cards. “I don’t even know where my coat is.”

“I’ll help you look for it,” said Hero patting his brother on the arm. “I think I just saw it hanging up in the closet.”

As Kel just shrugged and reached to draw some cards from the pile in the middle of the table, Hero felt a hand tugging at his shirt sleeve. Sunny blinked at him then motioned to his coat in the corner where he had left it weeks earlier, back when the weather had finally started warming up.

“That’s very nice, Sunny, but you don’t have to loan Kel your coat. He has one at home, and you’ll need it yourself tomorrow.”

Sunny nodded though his eyes widened in surprise as Mari snuck up behind him wearing his coat and wrapped her arms around him. She giggled as she playfully waved the sleeves around, and Hero stifled a laugh as she teased, “This coat is a little heavier than usual, isn’t it?”

A slight smile tugged at the corners of Sunny’s mouth, and he let out two quick, heavy breaths—which Hero knew meant he was laughing. Seemingly pleased with herself, Mari’s smile widened, and she ruffled her brother’s hair before slipping out of the coat and handing it to him.

“I already boxed up my coat,” said Basil, nervously twisting his hands. “I think it’s under my bed. I’ll have to go home and check.”

Hero tilted his head at him. Somehow Basil seemed more nervous than usual. Mari seemed to notice as well as her face softened, and she gave him a reassuring smile.

“How about I walk you home?” she suggested. “So I can help you look for your coat.”

“Thank you, but you don’t have to do that, Mari,” sniffled Basil. “I’m sure it’ll be okay.”

“I don’t mind at all. It’ll be easier to look for it with several people helping.”

“I can help too,” said Hero. “After I walk Aubrey home, I’ll stop by and help you look for your coat.”

Basil’s eyes widened, and he held up his hands. “Oh no. You don’t have to do that. It’s really not a big deal at all.”

“And you don’t have to walk me home either,” huffed Aubrey with a slight frown. “I just live a street away.”

“But it’s dark out. I just want to make sure you get home safely.”

Aubrey rolled her eyes, but her mouth twitched in the corners as she shrugged her shoulders. “Alright, fine, but we should probably get going, huh? It’s getting late.”

As they all started to say their goodbyes for the evening, Hero watched as Mari gave him a reassuring smile and a look that said, “Don’t worry. I’ll find out what’s bothering, Basil.”

Hero sighed. Of course she had noticed there was something bothering him beyond just his lost coat. Mari was so good at reading people. She always knew when something was wrong and what to do to make someone happy again. It meant a lot to Hero to know that Basil was in such good hands—though he was sure he would feel a lot better once Aubrey was home safely and Mari had helped Basil work through whatever was troubling him.

After dropping Aubrey off at her house, Hero headed to Basil’s house where he was surprised to see Mari and Basil, who was now wearing his winter coat, out in the yard.

“Basil is worried that his plants will get too cold overnight so we’re going to cover them with some tarps and old picnic blankets,” Mari explained. How she had managed to get Basil to tell her this in such a short amount of time amazed Hero, but he supposed that was just Mari’s way with people. He always admired that about her.

Hero reached for one of the tarps and covered a nearby flowerbed. The cold wind biting at them, loosening the coverings as soon as they had been placed, made the task more difficult than it needed to be, but eventually every flowerbed in Basil’s garden was properly covered, warm enough to survive the cold night.

As the three of them surveyed their work, Basil sniffled. “Thank you so much for helping me. You really didn’t have to do that, but it means a lot.”

Hero smiled as Mari threw her arms around Basil and hugged him tightly.

“It was no trouble, Basil,” she said. “We’re always happy to help. That’s what family’s for.”

Tears pooled in Basil’s eyes as he choked out, “Family?”

“Of course. You’re like our little brother.” Giggling, Mari beamed at him and gently ruffled her hand through his hair. “If you ever need anything, we’ll always be here to help you—no matter what.”

Hero nodded in agreement and patted Basil’s shoulder before giving him a hug himself. Wiping the tears from his eyes, Basil sniffled again before saying his final thanks and goodbyes and heading back into his house.

As Hero and Mari started to walk home, Mari reached for Hero’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Hero smiled at her, but watching her shiver in the wind, he immediately let go of her hand and tried to disentangle himself from his jacket.

“Here, you can take this…” he said holding out his coat to her.

Chuckling, Mari wrapped the jacket around her shoulders and playfully teased, “What a gentleman! Thank you.” She took his hand again—intertwining their fingers. “You’re always so sweet, Hero.”

Hero blushed. He watched his feet shuffling on the sidewalk as his face grew warm. “You’re sweeter,” he gently insisted. “What you said to Basil back there was so kind. I could tell it really meant a lot to him.”

Mari’s expression softened, and something bittersweet passed over her eyes. “I feel so sorry for Basil. It’s just him and his grandma. He must be so lonely…and he’s such a gentle-hearted person. I…” She paused. “I worry about him sometimes. He needs somebody to look out for him.”

Hero nodded solemnly, but he gave Mari’s hand a reassuring squeeze.

“Hero?” As Mari looked up with him with wide, kind eyes, Hero’s heart could have melted. A smile twitched in the corners of her mouth as she quietly continued, “Promise me…that we’ll always take care of Basil…?”

As Hero nodded, a bright smile once again spread across Mari’s face. “Of course, Mari. We’ll always take care of Basil…and his flowers too.”

*-*-*

Hero stopped. Basil’s flowers. What if it got too cold for them and they froze before Basil even got to come home and see them?

Rubbing his hands together for warmth, he took off running towards Basil’s house where he found Polly out in the yard putting tarps over some of Basil’s flowerbeds.

“Hi Polly. Can I help?” asked Hero with a slight smile. “I was out on a run when I remembered Basil’s flowers and…with this cold snap coming in…” His voice trailed, but Polly smiled.

“Oh that’s so sweet of you, Hero,” she replied. “I’m just about finished, but if you want to cover that flowerbed over there”—she paused, motioning to her left—“that would be a big help.”

Hero nodded, and he reached for a nearby tarp. His brow furrowed as he turned towards the flowerbed—his chest aching at the sight of the clusters of lilies. Lilies had been Mari’s favorite flower, and Basil had always used to say they reminded him of her. When they were kids, Basil had had flowers that reminded him of all of his friends. If Hero was remembering correctly, his flower had been roses—though he had never felt he deserved it.

Hero’s eyes narrowed, and he tilted his head. There were rose bushes in this flowerbed too. When had Basil planted these?

“This is one of Basil’s favorite flowerbeds, you know?” Polly said quietly. “When I first came to work here, I once found him curled up in it in the middle of the night during a cold snap like this. He had covered the plants but was worried they still weren’t going to be warm enough, so he took the blanket off of his bed and dragged it out here and curled up next to them himself.”

Polly sighed. “When I tried to tell him that they were probably warm enough now and he could come back inside, he wouldn’t. He said he planted these flowers for his big brother and sister, and he wasn’t going to leave them. I was so confused because Basil is an only child, but…after everything that happened this summer…I started thinking…”

Polly stopped and turned to look at Hero. She didn’t say anything more, but she didn’t have to—Hero knew what she was thinking. He was thinking the same thing.

With a heavy sigh, he sunk to the ground. Something coiled and twisted in his chest as he thought about what these last four years must have been like for Basil. Not only was he grieving the loss of Mari, blaming himself for her death and everything that had come after, but he was grieving the loss of his family too, worrying that as soon as they knew the truth, they would see him as he saw himself: unredeemable, unforgivable, and unlovable. Hero could picture him shivering in the garden, desperately clinging to his few remaining memories of the only family he had ever known—waiting for the other shoe to drop, for them to learn the truth and leave him behind forever.

As Hero stared at the flowerbed, the carefully tended roses and lilies that had always reminded Basil of him and Mari, Hero’s eyes burned and his vision grew blurred and misty. He could hear Mari’s words, “Promise me…that we’ll always take care of Basil…?”

Hero watched as Polly’s eyes widened in concern. As she leaned forward with an outstretched hand, his brow furrowed. He reached up and touched his cheek—cold from the chilly wind and damp from the tears that had finally struggled free.

*-*-*

“H—Hero?” stammered Basil in surprise as he walked into the hospital’s common area.

Hero gave him a slight smile. “Hey, Basil. How’s it going?”

“I…I thought you were going back to school.”

“Yeah…I…I leave Thursday, but I…” He paused—twisting his hands around the handles of the gift bag he had brought with him. “I wanted to see you one more time. I hope that’s okay…?”

As Hero’s voice trailed, Basil blinked at him with wide eyes, but he managed a brisk nod.

“I brought this for you,” Hero continued, handing Basil the bag. “They’re from your garden.”

Basil pulled out a jar filled with roses and lilies that Hero had carefully picked from his garden with Polly’s permission of course. Hero stared down at his hands and took a deep breath. “Polly told me that flowerbed was one of your favorites. It’s still in bloom and really pretty. I hope you’ll make it home in time to see it before the Fall.”

Basil nodded again but sniffled. “You…you didn’t have to do this. And you didn’t have to come either. I…I know you’re really busy.”

“I always have time for you,” said Hero with a smile. “And after I read your letter, I just…I wanted to come see you because…there’s…something really important that I have to tell you.” He swallowed hard with a slight shrug of his shoulders. “I tried writing it down, but I just couldn’t find the right words and I—”

“It’s okay,” Basil quietly interrupted him with a wavering voice. “You can…say whatever you need to say. I’m ready.”

“No. Uh…um…Basil…I—” Hero stopped abruptly. As he watched Basil tremble, watched the tears pooling in his eyes as he braced himself for the worst, his heart ached. He completely forgot all the words of reassurance he had planned to say and practically leapt forward, wrapping his arms around Basil and holding him tightly. He could feel Basil’s shoulders stiffen—could feel him gasp in surprise.

“He—Hero?” choked Basil—his voice cut off by a strangled, garbled sob in the back of his throat. As he started to shake, Hero knew he was crying, and it broke his heart but not as much as his whispered, “I’m so sorry…”

Hero pressed his chin to Basil’s shoulder as tears began to prickle in his own eyes. He hugged him tighter—hoping that simple gesture would say everything he didn’t have the words to until finally, at long last, he took a deep breath and said, “I forgive you.”

“What?”

“I forgive you, Basil,” Hero repeated in a trembling voice—taking a deep breath to brace himself for the next part, the hardest part, of what he knew he had to say. “I…what happened…it…it hurt me.” He paused—suddenly struck by the weight of those words and of finally saying them aloud. “But…but that doesn’t make you unforgiveable and that…that doesn’t mean I don’t care about you anymore. I forgive you, and I know it’s probably not my place to say this but…I think…Mari would forgive you too and…she’d want you to forgive yourself. It’s…it’s what I want too.”

Hero’s throat grew dry and burned, but he took a long, shaky breath and continued, “You’ve suffered enough, Basil—punished yourself enough. I know you think that’s what you deserve, but that’s not what Mari would want for you. She really loved you, and all she ever wanted was to take care of you. Beating yourself up about what happened, only hurts you…It’s not going to bring her back. I…I”—his voice hitched— “I know that better than anyone. Believe me…if it did, she’d be here.”

Hero stopped—a lump forming in the back of his throat as his eyes burned with tears. “Mari—Mari isn’t…here…anymore…” he stumbled over his words, until finally he pulled away from Basil, placed both hands on his shoulders and met his teary eyes. “But I am, and I will always be here for you.”

At these words, tears began to pour down Basil’s cheeks as if he had never needed to hear something more in his entire life. He threw his arms around Hero and broke down sobbing. Hero’s face softened, and he pulled Basil close. As he gently patted his back, as he often did whenever he comforted any of his siblings, he caught sight of the jar of flowers on the table: the much loved lilies and roses. Hero sniffled, wiping a tear from his eye, as he thought of Mari and her wish: “Promise me…that we’ll always take care of Basil…?”

“I will always take care of you,” Hero gently whispered. “For both of us…”

#omori hero #hero omori #basil omori #omori basil #hero and basil friendship #hero needs a hug #poor hero 🥺 we only want good things for him #hero deserves to be happy #omori spoilers #hero friendships #when sun shines again⛅#hero fic #our content #thanks for reading

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