Chapter Summary: Sunny has a good time. He cannot believe it either.
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"Happy Birthday, Sunny!"
The words echoed in his head, bouncing around without registering just yet. At the same time, without even realizing it, his lips slowly curved up into a smile.
His gaze crossed the room in seconds, taking in every detail.
The decorations came first. They were surprisingly tasteful, all things considered. A few strings of colorful lights had been hung along the walls, accompanied by paper decorations that looked handmade. There were even a few balloons floating near the ceiling.
The cake was the next thing he noticed.
Rain was holding it behind her, apparently attempting to hide it, even though she was standing in the middle of the room with nowhere to hide it. The attempt was so terrible that Sunny almost laughed.
Then there was the table, stacked to the top with food. A lot of food.
Effie was standing beside it, staring at the dishes with such naked hunger that Sunny briefly wondered if she had been starved on purpose before coming here. Her eyes were practically sparkling, and there was an unmistakable look of anticipation on her face.
His gaze moved on to the next person.
Teacher Julius stood a little farther back, holding up one end of the banner that hung across the room. Someone had painted Sunny's face on it. It was a rather... imaginative interpretation.
Sunny stared at it for a moment before looking at Julius.
Given the bashful look in the old teacher's eyes, he was definitely responsible for that monstrosity.
Then came Cassie, standing slightly to the side beside a table where a few boxes he assumed to be gifts rested, a large box wrapped in colorful paper most prominent among them all. Sunny had no idea what was inside, but he got a vaguely ominous feeling from it.
Kai stood near her, looking distinctly uncomfortable being in her presence.
Sunny's gaze lingered on him for a moment.
The sight was almost funny. Kai, who had overcome all the horrors that the Forgotten Shore had thrown at him, looked as though he would rather face a Corrupted Titan than stand beside the petite Master.
He could understand the feeling.
And then Sunny's eyes reached Nephis.
She stood at the front of the room, slightly behind Rain, her posture straighter than everyone else's as though she had spent a lot of time and effort trying to figure out what the correct way to stand at a birthday party was, and that was the best she could come up with.
Her smile was awkward, small, and uncertain, almost as though she wasn't entirely sure whether she was doing it right.
Sunny couldn't help but stare.
For some reason, that smile made her look even more beautiful than usual.
He swallowed, suddenly finding his throat far drier than it had been moments before.
They were all here for him.
For him.
He kept repeating that to himself, and he still couldn't believe it. What if—
Sunny forced himself to stop overthinking and say something. He had already been silent for far too long, and they were starting to look worried.
"Can't say I expected this to happen."
If anyone noticed that his voice cracked a little, they didn't comment, and for that, he was thankful.
Rain shot him a smug look. "We are just that good at hiding our plans."
Sunny rewarded that statement by placing a hand atop her head and ruffling her hair in the exact way he knew she hated it. Served the smug brat right for hiding things from him.
"Hey!"
Rain immediately tried to swat his hand away, but Sunny was far faster. He laughed as she glared at him, her carefully arranged hair becoming a complete mess beneath his merciless assault.
"Stop it!"
"Who's that good at hiding plans now?"
"Sunny!"
He finally relented, taking a step back with a satisfied grin.
Rain immediately began fixing her hair, muttering darkly under her breath.
Sunny smiled at her and, without warning, pulled her into a hug. She returned it a second later, though not before pinching his side. Hard.
His little sister pouted, and he couldn't resist ruffling her hair again. She was just that adorable. Then, as Rain kept muttering darkly, he decided to approach the others.
"Thank you for coming," he told Kai after a quick hug.
The archer's uncomfortable expression disappeared for a moment, replaced by the warmth Sunny had grown accustomed to expect from his best friend.
"I wouldn't have missed it for anything."
There were no jokes this time, nor any teasing remark to hide behind. He knew just how much it had taken from his friend to show up, and he didn't want to make him regret it.
Instead, Sunny nodded, genuinely touched, and patted his shoulder amicably.
"Thanks again."
"No reason to thank me for it," Kai replied.
Sunny moved on to give Effie a hug, only for the brute to turn it into a crushing embrace that felt like his bones were going to be shattered. And [Bone Weave] made them almost unbreakable.
"Happy birthday, Doofus," Effie said, squeezing him a little tighter before finally letting go.
"Thank you," he muttered back, feeling a little bashful.
Given the smirk she shot him, it hadn't gone unnoticed.
Of course it hadn't. Effie never missed anything she could use to torment him with later. One of these days, though, she was going to be the embarrassed one.
And when that day came, Sunny was going to treasure every single second of it.
He approached Julius next.
"I apologize for the intrusion," the old teacher said when Sunny came close.
"There is no need to apologize," Sunny replied with an easy smile, accepting the handshake he offered.
Julius smiled as well. "Still, I hope you don't mind an old man intruding on your celebration."
"Not at all. I'm actually glad you came."
The old teacher's expression softened for a brief moment. "Happy birthday, young man."
"Thank you."
Julius gave his shoulder a friendly pat before taking a step aside to let him continue mingling.
Cassie was next, smiling serenely while standing beside the gifts table.
"Happy birthday, Sunny," she said the moment he came close.
"Thank you," he replied somewhat tensely, his voice filled with suspicion. "Was this your plan?"
"It's not," the blonde woman answered immediately. "But I helped."
Sunny's eyes narrowed dangerously. He studied her face for a few moments, but upon finding no sign of dishonesty, he had no other option but to accept her words.
For now.
Sunny shook his head and moved on.
There was only one person left.
Nephis was still standing where she had been before, looking almost comically awkward, unsure whether she should approach him or not.
Sunny watched her for a brief moment.
It was almost funny.
They had fought side by side countless times. Faced things that would have made ordinary people lose their minds. Killed together, bled together, and trusted each other with their lives more times than either of them cared to count.
And yet, apparently, she didn't know how to handle something as trivial as a birthday party.
Sunny rolled his eyes and closed the distance himself.
Nephis's eyes widened slightly as he stepped toward her, but before she could react, Sunny wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. She stiffened, looking down at him like one would look at a dangerous predator. Which, admittedly, he was, but not toward her.
A second later, she relaxed, her arms slowly coming around him as well.
"You planned this, didn't you?" he asked.
"We all did," she admitted quietly. "Though it was Rain who insisted on making it a surprise."
Sunny felt tempted to laugh.
And here he had spent the whole day moping around, thinking that nobody cared enough to remember, and meanwhile they were preparing him a party.
Him.
It was absurd.
"Thank you," he whispered.
"You are welcome," she replied immediately, a hint of warmth peeking through her normally emotionless voice.
He didn't let go immediately, and neither did she.
For a few heartbeats, the rest of the room seemed to disappear.
There was only the warmth of her body against his, the faint scent of her hair, and the strangely peaceful feeling that came from knowing that she was here.
For how long had he wished for something like this?
And now that he had it... he couldn't believe it. Sunny kept waiting for the rug to be pulled out from under him, to wake up the next day and realize he had dreamt it all, for them to say it was just a cruel joke and that they didn't actually care, for anything.
Good things like this didn't happen. Not to him, at least.
Sunny was startled out of his thoughts by the sensation of Nephis's arms tightening around him. It was as though she could tell what he was thinking and wanted to banish the very idea with her presence.
And much to his own surprise, she succeeded to a small degree. The voices were still there, but they had grown fainter.
Eventually, he pulled back, and Nephis did the same.
Their eyes met when they did, and Sunny couldn't make himself look away.
Sunny couldn't quite explain it. Maybe it was the closeness, or the lingering warmth from the embrace, or maybe it was simply the fact that Nephis was looking at him with that small, awkward smile again.
Whatever it was, he found himself unable to look away, and neither did she.
Sunny still didn't believe it. The fact that she loved him.
Try as he might, he couldn't wrap his head around it. A bitter part of him kept telling him that it was all a ploy, that she was only pretending to care to lower his guard, that the betrayal was imminent, that his leash would be yanked at any moment, that he was a fool for even entertaining the idea.
He couldn't believe it, just like he couldn't believe that all these people had gathered here today for him and him alone. It was impossible. Why would they trouble themselves so much for him, of all people?
What had he done to deserve such a thing?
That bitter, jaded part that was an intrinsic part of him would never believe it.
But at this moment? He wanted to.
And so, Sunny cast the dark thoughts out of his mind, silenced the voices claiming that it was all a trap, and smiled brightly.
They would be back. They always were. But for now, he wanted to enjoy this.
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Sunny was already regretting his decision.
"Happy birthday to you~ Happy birthday to you~"
He stared at the people gathered around him in mounting disbelief.
How could they be this terrible?
They were all Awakened. Most of them were among the most accomplished warriors of their generation. They had fought Nightmare Creatures together, survived countless battles, coordinated their attacks under pressure, and worked as a team in situations where the slightest mistake could mean death.
And yet somehow, when it came to singing a simple birthday song, they were completely desynchronized.
Cassie was half a beat ahead of everyone else. Effie had apparently decided that the only thing that mattered was being the loudest. Julius was singing in a completely different key. Rain was trying desperately to follow someone, anyone, but seemed to be switching between them every few seconds. Kai was the only one singing competently, but even he had apparently given up trying to correct the others.
And Nephis...
Sunny wasn't entirely sure Nephis knew there was supposed to be a melody.
He covered his face with both hands, cringing at the secondhand embarrassment.
He had faced creatures capable of tearing him apart without flinching. He had stood before Gods, fought Sovereigns, and stared down horrors that could have driven ordinary people insane. And somehow, none of them had ever made him want to disappear quite as badly as this.
Then he noticed movement through the narrow slits left open by his hands, and Sunny lowered them slowly. His Shadows were gathered around him, staring at the spectacle.
Gloomy had both hands over its mouth as though cheering them on.
Happy was pretending to sing along.
Creepy was shaking in delight.
Naughty was openly laughing.
Crazy looked like it was having the time of its life.
Even Lazy looked unusually cheerful.
Sunny glared at them all. He would remember this betrayal.
Eventually, mercifully, the song came to an end.
There was a brief moment of silence, followed by a few uncertain claps, and Sunny exhaled in relief.
Finally, he could escape this torture.
All the gazes fell upon him, and Sunny knew that now it was his turn to step forward and cut the cake.
It was a simple thing, decorated with colorful frosting and twenty candles flickering gently on top. There was nothing particularly extraordinary about it. And yet Sunny found himself staring.
The candles reflected in his eyes, their tiny flames dancing softly.
He thought about that day, then smiled, leaned forward, and blew out the candles.
The flames went out one after another, quickly vanishing, just like the years had. He was twenty now, and for the first time in his life, he was better off than he had been the previous year.
He could get used to this, if he didn't know it wasn't going to last.
Rain looked at him with a smile. "How does this one rank among the previous birthdays?"
Sunny considered the question for just a moment before answering. "Top two for sure."
They all looked at him with curiosity.
"Do you mind sharing what the first one was?" Nephis asked.
Sunny shrugged lightly, trying to downplay the answer. "The last one I had with my mother."
The words left his mouth easily enough. His mind, however, wandered somewhere else.
To a tiny apartment he had long since left. To his mother sitting beside him, visibly sick but still doing everything she could to make his birthday special.
There hadn't been a proper cake, as they couldn't afford one. Instead, there had been a small muffin, and even that had been far too expensive.
He remembered her smile. The way she had tried to hide her exhaustion. The way Rain had babbled incoherently beside them, too young to properly grasp the occasion just yet.
Sunny remembered his mother's singing next. It had been soft, tired, slightly offbeat, but to this day, it was the most beautiful thing Sunny had ever heard.
That memory alone had kept him going for a long time.
There had been nights, in the Outskirts and the Dream Realm alike, when he had clung to it with everything he had.
Sunny blinked and forced himself back into the present.
"But this one is close," he added with a smile. "So that's more than I can ask."
There was a brief lull in the room, no one knowing what to say.
Sunny decided to spare them, and himself, from the awkward silence.
"Alright! Who wants cake?"
Several hands went up immediately, Effie's the highest, eager to get out of the uncomfortable moment themselves.
Sunny rolled his eyes and manifested several shadow tendrils around the table. Before long, the cake was sliced and distributed without pause.
He cut one for himself last and took a bite.
It was delicious, sweet, everything he had ever thought a cake would be. And it still couldn't compare to just how warm the people in this room made him feel. Sunny had to resist the urge to look around suspiciously, searching for something out of place that would reveal this was all a dream.
He had already decided to enjoy the moment, and he fully intended to do so. Real or not.
A few minutes later, Effie clapped her hands to gather their attention.
"Alright! Present time!" she proclaimed cheerfully.
Sunny looked at her. "Already?"
"What do you mean, already? We've been waiting."
Sunny sighed, feigning exasperation. "Fine."
Maybe he should thank her? He had been looking forward to that himself...
Nah, she would never let him live it down.
He approached the table, and everyone immediately looked with curiosity at what each one had picked.
Sunny decided to start with Julius's, a small rectangular box wrapped in black, elegant paper and crowned with a white ribbon.
He unwrapped it carefully and found a book inside, with a leather cover and what smelled like real paper. He stared at the title next: Aleras: The Full History.
Sunny blinked, then looked at the old teacher.
"It took me longer than expected, but I finally compiled a full report from the encyclopedia you gifted me," Julius explained warmly.
Sunny smiled. "Thank you. I will read it with care."
"I know you will. Besides..." There was an amused glint in the old man's eyes. "I credited you as co-author, so you should receive a hefty sum of credits, too."
Sunny's expression immediately brightened. "Really?"
The change was so sudden that everyone burst into laughter.
Sunny looked around, utterly unashamed. "What? It's a good gift."
Julius chuckled. "Nobody said the contrary."
"Thank you, Teacher Julius."
"You're welcome, young man."
He decided to take a look at Cassie's gift next, only to realize there was no box with her name on it.
Noticing his confusion, she stepped close and briefly touched his arm. Immediately, Sunny felt the familiar sensation of a Memory entering his soul sea and didn't waste time checking the Memory.
It was named [Darkest Hour], and Sunny couldn't help but quirk an eyebrow. It was a weapon whose enchantment made its power increase as the surroundings grew darker.
Sunny considered it for a moment. While its Ascended rank made it unlikely he would ever use it, it wasn't useless. Quite the opposite. He was going to study the enchantment and add it to his repertoire to use later.
"Thank you," he said, somewhat reluctantly grateful.
Cassie merely shrugged, smiling mysteriously. She probably knew exactly what he had been thinking.
Sunny rolled his eyes and moved on.
Effie stepped forward before he could decide what to check next, a shower of sparks already coalescing in her hand. The huntress reached into her storage Memory, plunged her arm inside, and began rummaging around.
Sunny watched with growing suspicion, a faint sense of foreboding starting to take root in the back of his head.
Finally, Effie pulled her arm out, and Sunny's blood froze at the sight.
Held in her arms was a massive plushie.
It wasn't even hyperbole. The damn thing was bigger than him.
Worst of all? The plushie was of him. Sunny stared at it in horror for a moment longer before turning toward Effie.
"Better be thankful, Doofus. You have no idea how hard it was to get one of these limited-edition plushies." She even had the gall to hold it up proudly while grinning. "Almost all of them were bought the moment they went on sale."
Then, as if she hadn't wronged him enough, she squeezed the plushie, and it let out a high-pitched "Damnation!" that left him wishing any of the Nightmare Creatures that had almost killed him did so.
Sunny continued staring. There were no words that could do justice to just how annoyed he was at that moment.
Finally, he sighed.
"You know this means war, don't you?"
"Bring it, shorty."
They glared at each other for a few seconds. Then Sunny snorted, Effie started chuckling, and soon both of them were laughing uncontrollably, with the others joining in shortly afterward.
Sunny shook his head. It was annoying, embarrassing, ridiculous, and, somehow, incredibly endearing. It was such an Effie gift that he couldn't even bring himself to hate it.
He was still going to take revenge, though.
Doing his best to cast the monstrosity out of his mind, he looked at Kai next.
"It's already waiting in your wardrobe," the archer said.
Sunny raised an eyebrow. "Why is it there?"
Kai smiled proudly. "I bought you a full set of clothes that are in vogue this season. Believe me, Sunny, nobody will be as stylish as you."
"Thanks…?" he answered.
Was something wrong with his usual clothes? Maybe he didn't wear enough black?
Curious, Sunny sent one of his Shadows to investigate. A few moments later, he had already seen everything he needed to.
The clothes were stylish. Very stylish, actually. They were also clearly expensive and of excellent quality. Sunny approved. Except that...
"You didn't lie. However, there is one problem," Sunny said gravely.
Kai tilted his head. "Did I get your size wrong? I just told Edna to make the smallest size for everything."
"No, and my height is perfectly respectable, you tall bastard. Anyway, I would have understood such a thing." He shook his head in disappointment. "What I cannot understand is that most of them are not black."
"Ah!" Kai snapped his fingers, as though having a divine revelation. "I knew I was forgetting something. I guess you'll just have to use other colors."
Sunny stared at him flatly. "You are a terrible liar."
Kai smiled innocently. "I don't know what you are talking about."
His gaze grew even flatter for a moment before the smile he had been trying to hide broke through.
"Your terrible taste aside, thanks."
"My pleasure," Kai replied brightly.
Sunny's gaze turned back toward the table and was immediately drawn to a small envelope with Rain's name on it.
Noticing her expectant gaze, he didn't beat around the bush and opened it immediately. Inside, he found two tickets dated for the following week, with NQSC Natural History Museum boldly stamped at the top.
They were for an exclusive museum tour, the kind that the general public wouldn't be able to attend. He had mentioned wanting to attend it only once, almost in passing. It was such a small thing that he didn't think anyone would remember it.
Rain noticed his stare and scratched the back of her head bashfully.
"I had to ask my father for help, but I managed to get two of them. We could go together if you want."
He smiled. "Of course I want to. Thank you, Rain."
Rain smiled back and gave him a quick hug, one that he returned gladly. Holding her in his arms, Sunny was startled to realize one simple fact: she was almost as tall as he was.
Where had the time gone? When did his little sister, who followed him everywhere, turn into a young woman? How much had he missed already? How many things about her would he never know because he hadn't been there to see them?
Sunny squeezed a little tighter before finally letting go, vowing to himself that he would never miss any other moment.
"Thank you," he muttered quietly.
"You already said that," Rain replied cheekily.
"Then I'll say it again."
She rolled her eyes, though the smile remained on her face.
He rolled his eyes back at her. Two could play at this game, after all.
Then his eyes landed on the final gift on the table. It was Nephis's turn.
Sunny looked at her, wondering if she had any introduction to make, but she just silently pointed toward the large box sitting atop the table. Suddenly, he felt wary.
That box had been there all evening, waiting for him. He had deliberately left it for last due to the ominous vibe it was exuding. He didn't even think it was anything bad. Nephis wasn't like that, and he didn't think she was going to change her tune now of all times. He just had the feeling that it was going to be a bittersweet gift. Did bittersweet apply to a gift? Or to the situation?
Sunny shook his head. Pondering semantics was as good a sign as any to stop overthinking and get to it.
Gathering his courage, he reached for the lid and threw it open in one move to avoid any last-second hesitation. The moment he lifted it, his eyes fell upon a large sign carved from real, dark brown wood.
Across its surface, written in black letters with golden borders, were the words Sunny's Brilliant Emporium.
He blinked, staring at it for a long moment before finally raising his head and looking back at Nephis.
"You used to say that you wanted to open a shop," she explained quickly, looking somewhat bashful. "I handled all the paperwork for you to do so in Ravenheart, and have it all ready to open at any time you want."
She hesitated before hurriedly adding, "But that's only if you want, of course."
He looked down at the sign again, finding himself at a loss for words.
Slowly, he reached out and ran his fingers across the smooth surface of the wood.
A shop. His shop.
The dream was so old that he could barely remember when it had first taken root in his mind.
He had wanted to open a little store, become his own boss, grow fat and lazy, and, preferably, rich. He would spend his days sitting comfortably behind a counter, selling Memories to Awakened and complaining about how difficult his life was while never actually having to risk it.
No Nightmare Creatures, Gates, or dangerous expeditions.
No desperate battles where one mistake could cost him everything.
Just a quiet, comfortable life.
Sunny allowed himself to imagine it for a moment. It was beautiful, almost painfully so.
Then again, dreams tended to be so, and before long, reality intruded upon it.
The guardian of the Nameless Temple, Ki Song, Anvil, Merias, Shadow, Weaver, Fate, and who knew how many other bastards who would gladly chain him down, use him, or simply kill him if he remained weak enough for them to do so.
He had abandoned that dream for a reason. Banished the possibility of a quiet, peaceful life from his mind. Steeled himself to climb all the way to the peak or die trying.
It was a beautiful dream, but like all dreams, it had to end at some point. And yet, his fingers lingered on the wooden sign.
He glanced at Nephis, her face apparently stoic while she waited for his reaction. Apparently, because he could tell just how nervous she was. It was all in the little things, like how she was slightly looking sideways, or in the way she stood suspiciously still.
Sunny's lips curved upward. "It would be a shame to waste all of that effort, no?"
He could indulge himself a little.
Not now. He had way too many things on his plate to waste one of his incarnations on such a thing, but maybe in the future, once things were calmer...
He could spare one.
While one Sunny sat behind a counter in Ravenheart, enjoying a life of luxury and peace, the rest of him could deal with the unpleasant reality of surviving the world.
It wasn't quite the life he had once imagined, but it was close enough.
And perhaps, one day, once all of this was done and if he was still alive... then maybe he could have more.
"Thank you, Neph," he said warmly.
Her expression softened. "You're welcome."
He looked at the sign again, then at everyone present in the room, at his Shadows, at Saint resting in his Soul Sea, at Serpent hiding in Rain's shadow, and smiled.
For some reason, his chest felt warm.
He made no joke, no attempt to hide what he felt behind an irreverent remark, no careful wording to lie while saying the truth. He just said what he felt and meant it.
"Thank you. All of you."
Sunny looked around the room one more time.
Rain was smiling.
Effie was already reaching for another slice of cake.
Julius was admiring his own handiwork on the banner.
Cassie had that mysterious little smile on her face.
Kai was laughing quietly at something Rain had said.
Nephis was standing beside him, having come closer at some point, as though attempting to banish the dark with her mere presence.
And his Shadows were watching the whole scene from the corners of the room, looking far too pleased with themselves.
Sunny sighed. What had he done to deserve this?
Perhaps he had just been very, very good at fooling people.
After all, somehow he had managed to convince all of these people that they actually liked him.
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Sunny sipped from his glass of juice, listening with half an ear to the story Effie was telling.
He had stopped trying to follow it somewhere around the part where she claimed to have wrestled an Awakened Tyrant into submission with nothing but her bare hands. Sunny was fairly certain that wasn't how it had happened, but it was too entertaining to stop her.
"...and then the bastard tried to chew my face off!"
Effie slammed a fist into her palm for emphasis, nearly spilling her drink.
"How rude," Nephis said flatly.
"It was!"
"Absolutely devastating," Kai added, eyes alight with amusement.
"I knew you'd understand."
When the huntress looked in his direction, Sunny nodded solemnly and took another sip of his juice.
His gaze drifted away from her a few moments later, drawn toward the large window overlooking the lawn.
At some point during the party, it had started raining.
Tiny droplets slid down the glass, catching the warm light from inside and turning into countless golden streaks. Beyond the window, the lawn had grown darker beneath the cloudy sky, the grass bending gently beneath the steady downpour.
Sunny watched the rain, lost in thought, until he noticed someone standing on the lawn.
A teenager.
He was short. Far shorter than a kid his age should have been. His body was painfully thin, clothes hanging loosely from his narrow frame, while his skin was so pale that he looked almost ghostly beneath the black sky. His dark hair was scraggly and plastered against his forehead by the rain, and his eyes were just as dark, surrounded by deep bags that made him look exhausted beyond his years.
Sunny regarded the image of the past silently, wondering what his past self would think if he could see the scene unfolding inside the house.
Three years ago, Sunny had witnessed something similar.
Back then, he had gone looking for Rain, expecting to find her living the same miserable existence he had known all his life. He had hoped to be her savior, the knight in shining armor come to rescue her and grant her a better life.
Instead, he had discovered that she had never needed him in the first place.
She had a home, a family, people who loved her.
He remembered the bitterness that had filled him when he realized it. He remembered the resentment, the ugly feeling of having been cheated by a world that had apparently decided to give someone else everything he had ever wished for.
Most of all, he remembered standing outside in the cold while watching her family eat.
There had been so much food.
His stomach had groaned painfully as he watched them eat until their bellies were full, while he stood outside in the rain, shivering as the cold seeped through his clothes. He had stared through the window for a long time, watching a life that seemed impossibly distant from his own.
At the time, he had hated them for it. Perhaps he had even hated Rain for a little while.
Now Sunny looked at the boy standing outside his window and wondered what that younger version of himself would think if he knew how things would turn out.
What would he think if he knew that one day he would have a house of his own? That he would be warm, that he would have more than enough food, and that he had already gone months without once worrying about whether there would be something to eat the next day?
What would he think if he knew that there would be people who cared about him enough to spend an entire day preparing a surprise birthday party, people who would remember his birthday and bring him gifts simply because they wanted to see him happy, as unbelievable as that still sounded?
Sunny's lips curved into a faint smile.
He already knew the answer.
"It's a trap," his younger self would have said.
That child wouldn't have believed for a second that any of this could be genuine. The fancy house would have looked like nothing more than a target painted on his back. The abundance of food would have made him suspicious rather than grateful, because a full stomach meant lowered vigilance, and being warm made a person complacent.
The people surrounding him would have wanted something. They always did, after all.
It would only be a matter of time before everything came crashing down.
Sunny couldn't help but chuckle at the thought.
"I was such a paranoid little shit." He paused, then snorted. "I still am, I guess."
The little boy continued to stare at him through the rain, and Sunny looked at him for a few moments longer before turning away.
Effie was still talking, apparently having reached the part of her story where she had somehow gone from wrestling a Nightmare Creature to winning some kind of cooking competition. Sunny had no idea how she had managed that transition, and he wasn't going to ask.
He listened to her for a moment, then his attention drifted around the room.
Maybe his younger self was right.
Maybe this really was temporary.
Maybe one day the warmth would disappear, the house would be destroyed, he would be hungry again, and the people around him would leave or be taken away. Maybe some terrible twist of fate was already waiting for the perfect moment to rip all of this from his hands.
Sunny knew better than most that good things could be lost, that happiness didn't last, that people and the world were cruel enough to take something precious away simply because they could.
But so what?
Was he supposed to spend the rest of his life running away from anything that could make him happy? Was he supposed to keep everyone at arm's length simply because they might eventually hurt him? Should he refuse every kindness because accepting it meant giving fate something it could later take away?
Sunny had already lived like that once, and it wasn't a life worth living.
His gaze moved across the room again.
Rain was smiling as she argued with Kai over something he hadn't caught. Effie was gesticulating wildly as she approached the conclusion of whatever increasingly ridiculous story she had decided to tell. Julius was admiring the banner he had made, seemingly unaware that everyone else was trying not to laugh at it. Cassie talked quietly about something with Nephis.
His Shadows were scattered around the room as well, watching everything with an enthusiasm that Sunny found both ridiculous and strangely comforting.
He looked at all of them and felt warmth settle in his chest.
Sunny glanced toward the window one final time.
The little boy was still standing there, soaked by the rain and staring at him, and Sunny couldn't help but smile.
Perhaps the child wouldn't understand him. Perhaps he wouldn't have understood either, back then.
That was fine; some things couldn't be understood until you experienced them yourself.
Sunny raised his glass slightly, as though making a silent toast to the boy.
Then he turned away from the window and continued listening to Effie's story.
This? This was a life worth living.