IT MEANS EVERYTHING.

“Good…” The less time Aubrey spent around her “mother” the better, in Mari’s eyes. If she felt safe and happy around Kim and her family then that was a win. “I’ve been…alright, I guess? Some downs with Sunny, but I’m not gonna give up! Hero and Kel have been helping me a lot with my rehab as well. I was actually moving around the house without my chair for a good while the other day. Much to Hero’s frustration.~” She said with a giggle. “Kel suggested I start keeping a diary and for the most part its been working. At the very least I’m not bottling stupid things up anymore.”

“Aside from that though… You kept my old ribbon, I see. It looks good on you, Auby. Matches your eyes too.”

          { 🏏 } ❝ wow, kel made a good suggestion for once? that’s news to me. i didn’t think he had it in him. glad you're doing good though. hopefully it stays that way. ❞

she hopes that the light-hearted joke helps keep mari’s spirits up, as the way she trails off for a bit during her explanation makes it clear that some things are affecting her more than she’d probably like to admit. but that was fine, they didn’t have to focus on those kinds of things.

at the mention of the ribbon in her hair, aubrey brings a hand up to touch it, as if she had forgotten it was there and needed to remind herself it existed.

@plcntegg·

“I’m fine, I’m fine~ What’s a little tingle, anyway? Besides. My Auby is WAY overdue on her hugs. I can spare a few seconds out of my chair to give you that much at least.” 

She gave one last squeeze before sitting back down. Mari didn’t show it outwardly, but her spine was giving some mild discomfort by the time Aubrey hugged her back. Though compared to it being unbearable, this was barely noticeable.

“How have you been? Are you and Kim doing alright?”

          { 🏏 } the childish nickname makes aubrey blush once more, but she doesn’t really comment on it. she’d allow mari to call her that if she really wanted. nobody else, though.

          { 🏏 } ❝ w-whoa, mari, are you sure you should be getting up so suddenly like that...?! ❞

though she appreciates the hug, her features contort into concern more than gratitude. she knows that mari is older than she is, and thus likely knows what she’s doing, but still...

after she gets over her shock, aubrey awkwardly returns the hug. physical affection clearly isn’t her strong suit.

“…Why don’t you come over for a weekend sleepover? You could stay for a few days.” The unspoken reasoning, is of course, that Aubrey’s mother will cool off and have fully returned to vegetating in a drunken stupor by the time Aubrey returns to her own house.

And naturally, she’ll have plenty of time to coddle Aubrey to bits.

At the moment, she pets Aubrey’s hair soothingly, with the maternal nurturing and finesse otherwise unknown to the poor younger girl. “My parents adore you, they wouldn’t mind.” 

Indeed, its almost troubling how little resistance her father puts up to Aubrey’s presence. If there was anyone in their friend group she’d expect him to disapprove of, it would be the troubled teen, not the fellow immigrants next door who happen to be somewhat darker skinned than their family.

But oh well. It works out.

          { 🏏 } ❝ ...yes please. ❞

aubrey wasn’t going to make any excuses, or try and play off how she felt at this point. she wanted out of this house right now, and she wasn’t about to pass up a perfect opportunity to do just that. she knew she would be safe with mari until her mom went back to being catatonic.

standing up and using the hand that wasn’t holding the ice pack to her face to hold onto mari, aubrey couldn’t help but sniffle and let a couple tears fall from her eyes as mari gently patted her head and made her feel safe. it felt like she was 12 years old again. a little kid looking for someone to comfort her when she needed it.

@plcntegg· - starter.

everything is different, and everyone is different. It’s a fact that Sunny is still having trouble digesting, even more so when he comes to Faraway and stays at Kel’s home; of course, a nostalgia-attuned mind spots every similarity possible. He is comforted by those similarities, but dwelling on them only would cause more of a rift in his mind then there already is… and it doesn’t help his anxieties that Aubrey is probably the person he’s interacted with the least since he left his house. 

He wants to try and be her friend again, and that means learning about what he’s missed. Kel’s mother had invited Aubrey for dinner, and it seemed she’d accepted. A bit after the meal, Sunny finds Aubrey lingering on the porch, so he capitalizes on the opportunity that presents itself. The boy hovers quietly nearby like a one-eyed ghost, mind slowly calculating what words to speak.

“ …hi. ” Sunny greets in that whisper-tone of his; he’s so bland and bad at starting conversation, but he knows he needs to try. “ how… how have you been? recently. ”

          { 🏏 } honestly, aubrey wasn’t sure why she had accepted the invitation. kel always drove her up the wall, and this time was no different. maybe she felt like she owed it to the group to come. maybe she just missed kel’s annoying... kel-ness. maybe she was just trying to make things feel normal again.

whatever the reason, she finds herself deep in thought after the dinner is over, and she’s only pulled from said thoughts as she hears sunny behind her. the only indication sunny gets that she’s acknowledged his presence is how she jumps a bit at hearing his voice; she doesn’t turn around at all.

❝ ...hey. ❞ she responds back, keeping her voice low and calm. ❝ i’ve been... fine. i’ve just been thinking. about stuff. it’s not important. ❞ a brief pause so she can take a breath before speaking again.

@plcntegg·

When she arrives for her weekly cleaning visit, Mari immediately notices:

“Aubrey, you have a bruise on your face.”

In seconds, she’s gone to the fridge and pulled out an ice pack, ran back over and placed it against the other girl’s cheek. “Did you get in a fight with someone? Maybe Kim or Michael?…Or your mom?”

          { 🏏 } aubrey can’t even muster the smile she usually has on her face as mari shows up and immediately notices the bruise on her face. she didn’t really do anything to hide it, but she was still hoping that mari wouldn’t mention it.

as the ice pack is placed on her cheek, aubrey holds it there herself, hesitating for a moment before speaking.

    not like him at all? NOT LIKE HIM AT ALL? as a boss he couldn’t be like himself! hero would have to maximize profits and make jawsum proud – it wasn’t a question of being himself at all. all that mattered was doing a good job & not letting jawsum down, hero would change if it meant doing that for him! that – and the sheer power he’d get from continuing down this path? it appealed to him, despite his seemingly permanent malewife status. he was no longer malewife, he wanted power. 

   “ i understand .. work’s a big deal, you know? especially at a place as big as this. but, i’ve got a deal for you, friend! “ hero begins, jumping down off of the desk to face aubrey properly. can’t make a deal if you’re not being nice && friendly! “ if you sign this contract to become my secretary, you can have a business covered date with berly! she works for me too, so i could make that happen! “  another pause, as hero smiles pleasantly. “ would that make it worth your while? “

          { 🎀 } aubrey scoffed as hero jumped down from the desk to talk to her, as if anything he could say would ever change her mind! she needed to return hero to his old self, no matter what! he could say whatever he wanted, and nothing would tempt aubrey to his si--

❝ wait, really? you can do that? i-i mean, i’ve been wanting to see if berly wants to hang out sometime, but i... i mean, i just...! ❞

suddenly, she became tongue-tied, and she seemed to fall deep into thought for a moment, seriously considering hero’s offer. she stayed silent for a few seconds more... before suddenly walking over to hero’s side with a smile on her face.

    “ aubrey, how about instead of fighting, you just be my secretary instead? “ charms were always hero’s strong suit, not exactly good to have when you were fighting against the guy though. “ think about it, with the power we can get, we can destroy anyone who gets in our way! sweetheart will finally stop annoying us! “ his offer felt like one that no one could refuse! the position that they were in was one of a lifetime, why else would jawsum have given it to him? 

  “ cmon, we’ll be able to do anything! “ with their skills combined they could take over the entire business world, he knew that in his heart from the moment he was given this tie. a certain assurance practically radiated off of hero in waves, he had never been so sure about anything in his entire life. “ just hear me out! “ 

     @plcntegg·  // BOSSMAN HERO STARTER CALL!

          { 🎀 } ❝ wh-- hero, what are you talking about? this isn’t like you at all! ❞

jeez, you give a man a tie and a little bit of power, and he goes completely crazy! this is why boys were so dumb! sheesh...

...though aubrey had to admit hero’s charm was working on her just a little bit, and she hated to admit that fact. she could see why everyone always helped him out when he asked...

stare.

“Of course, Aubrey. We’ll always be together. Even when we’re not.” She smiles gently. “That’s how love works! When you give your heart to someone, they take a piece of it, a copy of it, and they carry it with them forever and ever.”

“That’s why…you can’t get away from me!” She suddenly tickles her companion and laughs. “Wherever you go, I’m always going to be with you, so don’t bother trying to run!”

She giggles and stares, grinning, into the younger girl’s face to gauge her level of alleviation from the fear and anxiety that Mari herself inspired.

          { 🎀 } aubrey was still deep in thought about what mari had been saying, and thus was not at all prepared for the sudden tickle attack from the older girl. immediately, she burst into a laughing fit, and tried to push mari away from her, still giggling even after mari had stopped.

❝ hehe... yeah, you’re right! i love you a lot, mari, and that means we’ll always be together, no matter what! you, me, and everyone else! ❞

she wraps herself around mari’s arm, hugging it tightly as she continued to giggle and smile. it was impressive just how quickly her good mood could return...