deercountry | January and February Catch-All

[Honestly, Sunny isn't sure what to say in response to that, either. Getting into the whys of it was... really raw still.

He shifts uncomfortably, looking anywhere but Mob for several moments.]

He- He blamed me. [His mouth was dry. The sickness in his stomach that hadn't gone away yet was burbling to the surface again. He wanted to vomit. He was shaking.] It was my fault.

[boy.

there's nothing mob can say to that for a moment. he can't say 'it isn't your fault,' because he doesn't know what happened. he can't say he's sorry, because it isn't about if he's sorry or not. it isn't about him at all, so he shove down the image of ritsu lying bleeding on the pavement.

ritsu. what would he do if this were ritsu? someone young and probably confused, scared, like his brother was.

ah.]

Can I hug you? [he asks quietly.]

[Sunny's head snaps up at the question. His eyes was wide as he stared at Mob, before his face started to contort to an expression of anguish, eyes welling up.

Silently, he nods. He wanted that hug. He very much wanted it.]

[yup, that's all he needs to move over and carefully wrap sunny up in his arms. it isn't a particularly tight hug but he leans into it, shibe padding over to sit by the bed silently.

and will not break away until sunny does, of course. he deserves this as long as he needs it, as far as mob's concerned.]

[Sunny wraps his own arms around Mob, tightly, fingers clinging to the back of the other boy's shirt. He buries his head into Mob's shoulder, body shaking from the sobs he's started letting out.

This was the second time he'd cried like this in front of Mob. Normally he'd feel more ashamed about it but his heart hurt too badly to think about it now. All he could do was cling to Mob like a lifeline.

He hadn't been held like this- been comforted like this- in so long. Openly weeping against another person. The last time he'd done so was with Mari.

Mercifully for the both of them, Sunny's powers don't hop to Mob during the embrace. They were free to stay like that with no interruptions. And they did, for a long time, until Sunny finally manages to get somewhat of a hold on his breath. He slowly pulls away from Mob, hiccuping a little and rubbing his eye.]

Thanks. I- [I'm sorry? Maybe so, but he felt like maybe there was nothing to apologize for here. Instead, he just repeats:] Thanks.

[thank god mob doesn't go 100% rage and just slam sunny out a window until he's not sad. thank you, sunny's powers.

still mob stays in place, a hand still hovering at sunny's arm when sunny does pull away. there's a twinge in his chest at seeing him cry so freely, one he ignores for the easier concern and sadness.

a nod.] You're welcome. [then a small, halting pause,] I don't know what happened but... I think you're strong for making it through.

[To be fair that would make him not sad anymore due to him being at the very least unconscious.

Sunny strives to control his breathing and calm down. His breath is still shaky, but he's starting to ease up a tiny bit. There's still a large lump in his throat when Mob speaks. And tells him he's strong of all things.

He leans forward a little, hugging his arms. Mob might not think that if he knew what really happened.]

I'm... trying. I'm trying. [And that was all he could do, wasn't it?]

What about your parents? [Kind of awkward now, but he wanted to know. And also a change of subject would be good.] And your brother? What are they like? [From what Mob had already said, he was getting an idea. But he was still curious.]

[see? violence solves all problems if you think about it. haha.

ah, all of this seems really complicated. it's probably a good thing sunny is crying about it, that's what your supposed to do with tragedies, right? let it out. haha. how terrifying, really. sunny was so much stronger than he was.

how cruel for his father to walk away.

he nods to sunny trying, yeah he can tell. the question he assumes is more so they can move on a bit from this complicated topic, but he does give it thought.] My brother is amazing. He's a year younger than me, he's really smart and good at sports, and on the student council. He's good at solving problems. Unlike me he's really reliable.

[said with a soft pride.] He also tries really hard, that's what I admire most about him. My parents- [a pause again as he considers.] They're pretty normal. They work a lot, but we usually have dinner together unless I'm working too.

[Sunny curls up against himself tighter, holding his knees up against his chest as the blanket still laid cozily around him. His focus is on Mob and what he's saying about his family.

A distraction from... what had just happened.

It's curious how Mob has a lot to say about his brother, but little to say about his parents. Not that Sunny couldn't relate.]

I think you're reliable. [Said straight up. Mob had only ever looked out for him since he'd got there. And, really, he'd had no reason to. Even now they'd only known each other for a few days. But Sunny felt he could count on Mob.]

Your brother seems nice. He sounds a lot like Mari. [Good at sports (until she hurt her knee), good at school, hard-working, present in extracurriculars, really smart, reliable.

The biggest difference was that he was the younger sibling.]

It's good you all can have dinner together. Sometimes I miss that. [Obviously he missed eating with Mari, but just the feeling of having a normal family that could eat together at night.]

[oh, that's nice to say... does mob believe it? well, he believes it a little more when other people say it. he has grown a lot, hasn't he? so that gets a vague perking up.

mari though, that gets a nod.] He's pretty harsh when he needs to be, but he's one of the kindest people I know. [besides the times he'd probably kill a man and not bat an eye, but that's just 13 year olds baby.

he wonders if mari was protective like ritsu could be. if maybe she could come here, and how sunny would feel about that.

complicated, probably.]

I miss it too. [a beat] We can have dinner together more. With Miss Makima, or maybe go to see Robby or sensei.

Yeah... so was Mari. [Sometimes she could be too harsh, even. She was a perfectionist and sometimes expected the same from others. That was... not something that Sunny wanted to think about, though.

But oh, dinners. Despite the discussion, he somehow seems surprised that he's being offered to partake in them with Mob.]

I'd like that. [He pauses for a long moment.] You'll probably have to remind me. I'm not good about remembering to eat.

I think being smart like that can be tough. Ritsu worries so much. [maybe mari was the same, he thinks. clever people expecting too much of themselves. that was ritsu.

and that makes mob nod. easy instruction, he could do that.] Okay. Maybe we can cook again, you were really good at it.

[he has. low standards to be fair but still, good stirfry.]

[Sunny nods.] It's a lot to have on your shoulders. [How much did Mari worry? Sunny didn't know. Now he never would.

He blinks at being called a good cook.] Oh, really? You think?

[That was nice to say. Usually he just heated up old food in the fridge, so he was glad he was able to make something edible. And that someone else liked it. It felt good.

He has a light tinge to his face, before he pulls the covers off of himself abruptly and goes to search through is bag. Sunny doesn't say anything until he pulls out a photo album. The new one he'd just started.]

I wanted to show you something.

[mob nods to that. a whole lot. he had no idea how much ritsu had on his shoulders for too long.

he needed to pay attention to people better. like sunny, who was going through so much.

he nods at being a good cook, then tilts his head at getting up and showing him something. he scoots over a little to get a look.]

A photo album? Is it from your home?

I have one from home, but not this one. [Sunny says, opening the new photo album so that they both of them could see it.

So far it's pretty empty. There are only two photos in it. One is of the batcat they'd fed on the roof.

There's a description written next to it that reads: Batcats. They are both bats and cats. They feast off of blood and are both soft and surprisingly friendly. They are common enough that I'm hopeful I will get to see more.

The other picture is of Mob bending down to give the batcat a dish of blood. This description reads: Mob is giving some blood to the batcat. We are trying to find the best tasting blood for them. This one was pig's blood. It seemed to like it. If I had to guess the batcat would give it a 7/10 for flavor. ]

The photo album from home- my friend started it to keep good memories of us and our friends. I wanted to start one for here, too.

[oh. mob loves this.

he leans in, looking over the pictures, a little smile for the bat cat one especially.] This is really good.

[extremely good. what a nice idea, a photo album. kind of like master's board full of pictures he started.] Can I help? I'll take pictures sometimes, if you want.

[There is the slightest upturn of Sunny's lips at Mob's reaction. He's really glad the other teen likes it.]

Yeah, that's why I wanted to show it to you. I thought you could add pictures if you wanted to. [It would be nice to see what fun stuff Mob got up to when he wasn't around.]

[mob's never taken pictures before. maybe that can be a hobby? he doesn't feel particularly strongly about it, but that's not new. he wants to be passionate about something. maybe it just needs time.

regardless this would be nice.] Maybe we can take some pictures with Miss Makima, or at Miyagi-do.

[Sunny nods.] I'd like that. [A lot. Taking pictures and putting them in an album put him more at ease. It felt familiar.]

Thank you for wanting to be a part of it.

Of course. We're friends.

[said very simply. it strikes him maybe he shouldn't assume that, but sunny was like tome, like hanazawa, like the club. like robby and miyagi-do. he used to be more unsure about these things but now he thinks he knows pretty well what friendship is, how he feels about it.

sunny is definitely a friend.]

[Though it shouldn't surprise Sunny, it does. He stares at Mob for a second, before a slight blush appears on his cheeks.]

Friends. Yeah. [Friends!!]

[he's looking at the book again though. ah, batcats. a good time.

a glance to sunny, then a tilt of his head.] Are you feeling sick again?

[surely that's not the happy blush of friendship and instead fever. obviously.]

[The questions makes Sunny blink a few times, before he shakes his head.]

No, I'm fine. I'm just... happy. [An emotion he wasn't very used to anymore.]

January and February Catch-All

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