-Sunstruck- [Sunflower + Multiship Omori Fanfic]

-A Flower Basket in Your Hands.-

"Hey.."
Kel reached out his hand, nudging it against the flower boy's with a gentle concern.

Basil didn't respond. He kept trying to avoid looking up at Kel. It seemed like he might cry if he did.

"Is... Is everything okay-?"
Kel started before being cut off abruptly.

"Everything is fine!"
Basil jumped to say, skirting deeper into his seat with a few nervous tugs at the sun flower bracelet around his wrist.
"..Everything is okay..."

Kel paused, nodding briefly without breaking their nervously lain gaze.
"..Did-... Did I- ..do something?"

"...No, I'm just being stupid."
Basil murmured weakly.

"Oh?"
Kel immediately responded, sitting down right beside Basil before taking a sip of some Orange Joe with his other hand.
"Why's that?"

Basil fidgeted, now tracing his fingertips around the rim of his glass of milk nervously.
"I'm just- I'm just being stupid about Sunny. I've somehow convinced myself that he hates me in the few minutes you were gone for.."
The flower boy's tired eyes frantically met Kel's,
"...He doesn't hate me too, right..? I'm not making that part up I think.."
He drifted off, scowling at the table.

"You're not making it up. He doesn't hate you."
Kel sreassured, his eyes absentmindedly glossing over the free coloring page he had gotten. He pulled his hand back and rolled a crayon to Basil, and picked one up to begin messily doodling some color in.
"Sunny cares a lot about you! We both do. That's why he decided to stay with you of all people! He trusts and cares about you. And it's why I asked how you were, too!"
Kel laughed; a dopey, light sounding means of shaking off any stress for the boy.
"..We care about you a lot, Basil. And that isn't going to change anytime soon."

"..I know."
Basil mumbled, taking up the crayon in his fingers as he folded the side of his face into his arms and began loosely coloring along the lines in firm, uneven strokes.
"Ugh, I hate this..."
His hand trembled a bit, his crayon accidentally bumping lightly against Kel's as the more energetic boy sloppily scribbled color in.
"I hate feeling like this! I don't understand why I always make myself feel this way. Why can't I just be happy for once?"

"Maybe you just aren't used to it!"
Kel suggested, not taking his eyes from the coloring page.
"For me, being happy is like getting SWOLE!"

Basil giggled and paused from drawing for a moment, eyes narrowed.
"How so?"

"Whenever I get sad, I think of it like the time I got really sick with viral pneumonia as a kid!"

Basil's eyes flickered up, his lips parted in a slight frown.
"You had viral phenomena as a kid?"

"Mhm! Had it for like, six months! Messed with my lungs a lot, I don't think I've ever really fully recovered from it, although I've built up a lot more stamina despite it!"

"Oh.."

"But when I got sick, I felt awful! I didn't want to get out of bed, I could hardly move around the house, and I felt like I was being eaten from the inside out by a bunch of big, scratchy, hairy ants! Kinda like that one scene from that one movie where the guy-"

Basil smiled and nodded at Kel politely.

"Ah! Yeah! You get it! The worst part of all, is that when I tried running or exercising like I needed to in order to get better, I would get these horrible coughing fits that were so bad I'd throw up and just lay on the floor trying to catch my breath for what felt like forever. Everything I needed to do to feel better just made me feel actively worse."