Chapter Text
hot topic anonymous: hey
hot topic anonymous: do u wanna hang out at the river
hot topic anonymous: wanna show u something
SmartGenius: Sure. My shift at the library is over in 20 minutes.
hot topic anonymous: cool
Kris wants to show me something? Berdly started mentally preparing himself. The library was empty, so he grabbed a sticky note and pen and thought of the absolute worst things Kris would want to show him. Then, maybe whatever it was wouldn’t be so bad.
Dead animal
Gross alive animal
Bug (dangerous)
Moss that they make me eat
Pond scum
Trash
Susie’s report card
At this point, he had run out of room, so he started wondering if “moss” and “pond scum” should’ve been condensed to the same entry. At the same time, this line of thought was becoming nauseating, so maybe it was for the best. Berdly crumpled the paper and tossed it in the trash, missing by a mile. Despite the library being empty, he scurried after it and shoved it down in the basket.
Close enough now to closing, he quickly grabbed his belongings and locked up, before heading down the road to their usual river hang out spot. The freezing, late winter air buffeted his face uncomfortably, and he was hoping whatever it was would be worth it. Walking the lightly beaten path through the woods to avoid the long way around town, he soon approached the picnic benches where Kris was sitting, laying halfway across the table and scrolling their phone listlessly. They sat up and put their phone down as he approached.
“Well Kris, what is so worthy of a genius’s viewing that it was worth being outside in March?”
“Damn, I don’t have to show you,” Kris huffed, standing and grabbing their bag.
“Hey, I came, didn’t I?” Berdly was pretty sure Kris rolled their eyes as they beckoned him off the path, into the dark woods. This did nothing to quell his anxiety. “Is it gross?” he whined after a few minutes of slow traveling.
“Well, it will be once you get there,” Kris snarked.
“Watch it, you cretin! We’re far enough from town now that no one would hear your cries for help.” Even he knew that was a ridiculous thing to say; Kris barked a laugh.
“I could kick your ass with one hand, bird boy, and don’t you forget it. In Smash Brothers and real life.” They turned to give him a crooked smile and he stuck his tongue out, knowing full well they were right. At least, it had broken the tension, and the rest of their walk was pleasant and uneventful. In the depths of the trees, the air felt a little bit warmer, and the wind was much less harsh. Suddenly, Kris pulled back the wide branch of a cedar, revealing a natural clearing.
Berdly was surprised at how beautiful it was; there was a large, open space that seemed like it was cleared out somewhat recently. Some large rocks that looked good for sitting dotted the edge of the clearing, and just behind it, a dip where he assumed a stream must run in the warm months.
“Woah… when did you find this?” He asked, mouth agape.
“Me and Susie found it a little bit ago. We’d been keeping it secret, but… I dunno, we decided we wanted to bring you and Noelle too.”
Berdly was touched that they would want to bring him in on something so special. Kris and Susie had been inseparable even since… then. He never would’ve assumed himself or Noelle on the same level. “Wait, then where are they?”
“They’ll probably make a date out of it or something. Figured I’d give them some alone time for once.” That was almost more surprising; if third-wheeling was ranked, Kris would be Plat I. “Don’t look at me like that. I know how to share, when I want to.”
“That’s certainly news to me,” Berdly replied. He started wandering around, noticing the smaller details of the area. Sure enough, a frozen creekbed lay at the far end of the rise, and the large rocks seemed like they’d been placed there purposefully, in the spot that would get the most shade. Then, curiously, he came upon a stack of sticks and branches, mostly thicker and straight limbs that were clearly deliberately collected. “What’s this? Were you making fires?”
Kris went quiet for a moment, staring at the branches and not at him. “Me and Susie used to come here to… spar. During uh- last fall. Y’know,” they said quickly. He did know, and in fact this was the closest Kris had come to addressing it directly since it happened, and he wasn’t quite sure what to say. Stepping forward, he reached into the pile and searched around until he found a thinner, longer stick, vaguely reminiscent of his Dark World halberd.
Straightening up, he leveled the branch at them, head tilted. “Well, Kris? Would you like to make good on your earlier assertion?” For a few moments, Kris didn’t respond, and he was instantly afraid he’d overstepped a boundary; then, they grabbed one of the shorter, thicker branches without looking and twirled it skillfully into an offensive grip.
“Alright. You’re on.” Their tone was playful, but confident. Fortunately, Berdly was at least Gold V at feigning confidence. They came at him fast, pulling back for a wide swing, but he found a nimbleness he’d forgotten he had and leapt out of the way. He attempted a counter-swing, but Kris batted it away. They jabbed forward, almost as if fencing, and very nearly missed his chest as he stumbled backwards; thinking quickly, he grabbed the stick. He didn’t manage to pull it out of their hands, but he did at least keep himself from falling.
“Hey! That’s not fair. If this was a sword, you couldn’t do that,” Kris complained.
Berdly smirked. “Well, it’s not a sword, and I’ve done it.” He took the opportunity to make an offensive move of his own, a swipe that nearly caught them on the arm. It was cheap, but he needed every advantage he could get.
“Smartass!” they spit.
“Thanks!” Berdly said in mock-cheerfulness. Kris scowled, and rushed at him with another hefty swing. This time he ducked, and as Kris overextended to try and change the angle of their attack, he swept their legs out from under them. As they landed on their side, they grabbed his stick this time and yanked it just hard enough to pull him off his feet. “I thought that was cheating!”
“You already made this an honorless battle. I’m just stooping to your level,” Kris replied haughtily, standing and brushing the leaf litter off their clothes. Berdly didn’t respond, focused on getting back up. They faced each other, tense for only a few moments before Kris lunged again, but this time, they were ready for his dodge; they caught his wrist and his stick went spinning into the leaves. Berdly fell flat on his back with the wind knocked out of him, as Kris stood over him breathing hard, leveling their branch at his throat.
In that moment, looking up at Kris silhouetted in the fading sunset, he was completely stricken by… something. He was pretty sure they were gloating, but he could barely tell past the blood roaring in his ears. Their hair was messy where it poked out under their beanie, their jeans torn and scuffed from their fight. Berdly couldn’t look away, and he had no idea what was happening to him. Eventually he realized Kris was offering him a hand to help him up; he took it in a daze.
“Dude? Hey, Berdly, are you okay? I didn’t hurt you, did I?” Kris’s genuine concern finally pulled him back to reality.
“No, no I’m good! That was uh.. a great battle! You were a worthy adversary!” What was wrong with him? He felt almost as confused and flustered as the first time he tried to play League of Legends. “I concede my defeat,” he finished, trying to sound normal.
Kris stared at him for a long time; Berdly knew full well that wasn’t a very normal thing for him to say. “Well, alright then,” they shrugged. “It’s getting dark. Wanna head home?”
“Yeah, sure,” he responded. “We can come back though, right?” Inwardly, he winced at how pathetic that sounded.
He caught Kris' smile before they turned away quickly. “Yeah. Of course,” they replied genuinely.
The whole walk home, Berdly felt warm.
SmartGenius: noelle
SmartGenius: i think something’s wrong with me
holidaygirl1225: Are you okay? What happened?