Chapter Text
1994, September
You’ve never snuck out before. It was a thrilling feeling, but you couldn’t help but be nervous whenever your parent’s snores paused. It didn’t help that the items you were smuggling out of your home were a bit noisy.
A gift bag and a plastic container with a small cake you’d baked yesterday. Just the items you needed to celebrate your best friend's 14th birthday!
Due to unforeseen circumstances, your parents decided to last-minute ban you from leaving the house for the next week. Their explanation? None. It broke your heart. Bruno has been your friend for the past six years and they couldn’t let you go visit him?
Absolutely crazy.
So, you took matters into your own hands and decided to sneak out, leading you here at the Ospedale del Mare. He didn’t know you were coming- well. You weren’t even 100% sure he was there, but it was definitely a surprise.
It was quiet. The only thing occupying your ears were the soft beeps of the monitors, the quiet footsteps, and murmurs of the staff that made it past the front entrance. It was apparent to anyone that visiting hours were over with, but you knew that didn’t matter much to Bruno when it came to these special occasions.
You crouched and made your way around the hospital walls, peeking into the windows every now and then to see if it was the right room or not.
Peering into a window, you noticed the same old man sleeping the night away, still hooked up to the same wires he has been for the past two to three years… No matter how many times you’ve seen him like this, you were still not used to it. He used to be so lively, even teaching you the ropes of fishing alongside Bruno on his boat, and yet he’s been confined to a hospital bed for who knows how long.
You tapped on the window and squinted a bit harder. You could barely see anyone else inside. Where was Bruno? Was he actually not here???
Taking a chance, you tugged on the window panel and to your surprise it moved. Did the staff really not learn their lesson from the last-
“Who are you?”
You felt something sharp press against your back. You couldn’t move away. It felt like your legs weren’t even usable. As scared as you were, you still recognized the voice.
“B-Bruno?” Despite the grip you had on the window frame you were hopping to get in, you fell backwards and onto the ground. Looking up, you could see his silhouette standing above you with the knife that was just held against your back.
“(Y/n)-!?”
He seemed to mutter something and immediately came to your side. And just like that, you could move your legs again but couldn't bring yourself to stand up.
“I’m so sorry, I thought you were another- are you alright?” Bruno propped you up and held you with his arm. “I didn’t hurt you, did I? Can you feel your legs?”
“No, no I’m- I’m okay Bruno, I just lost my balance for a second,” you lied, moving your legs around on the ground a bit. “Wowww… Never get on your bad side I guess.”
Looking at him, you could see that your joke didn’t seem to land. In fact, it seemed like he was in a horror movie with the way he looked. It’s not like you could blame him for this reaction. A strange, unrecognizable figure coming into the room through the window at night? That’s terrifying. The only question you had was how did he get behind you???
“It’s fine, Bruno. Don’t worry.” You placed a hand on his shoulder and tried to give a reassuring smile. It gave a little bit of relief, but you could still see he was shaken. “Y’know what- Look! I have a surprise for you. I brought a gift and cake- aw man…”
It was smushed in the container, frosting covering every surface of it with fruits littered about. Not horribly so, but it definitely did not say the tiny ‘Happy b-day Bruno” that it read earlier. It seemed to have made him even more sad.
“It’s salvageable,” you said, looking at the inside of the container. The presentation was the only problem, it was the taste that was important.
Smiling, you held it up to his face. It was his favorite: a berry chantilly cake. Still didn’t work.
“Come on.”
You got up, dusting the dust and dirt off your pants and held your hand out to him who looked up at you like a pitiful dog. He still didn’t grab it, so you grabbed his hand yourself and pulled him up.
It always made you laugh whenever you looked down at him thanks to your height difference. You were one year older afterall. It wasn’t going to last long, so you embraced it when you could.
“It’s your birthday in less than 10 minutes, Bruno. Let’s go celebrate with your dad.”
It took awhile for you to get him inside and back to normal, but he was eventually able to give an authentic smile like there wasn’t a care in the world, especially once his father woke up to join the party.
The three of you were huddled together with the messed up cake's candles illuminating everyones faces. Looking at Bruno, you could see the worries of earlier were gone and he was genuinely happy. His eyes sparkled even more with the warm candle light on his skin, and the smile he had was irresistibly cute and only grew as you and his father sang to him.
“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you. Happy dear Bruno~” His father moved the cake a little closer to his son. “Happy birthday to you.”
Leaning in, Bruno made a wish and blew out the candle.