Chapter Text
Benrey was sitting on a river bed, jeans rolled up past their knees, feet in the water. They kicked their feet idly, watching the small fish zip by, pond skaters skating to whatever they urgently needed to do. The sun sort of burned, but it usually did in July so they weren't that bothered. Mosquitos buzzed in their ears but never actually bit them. No blood to drink, anyways. They were waiting for something that they couldn't quite remember. They leaned back onto the mud and grass, looking up at the clouds. Their mom would scold them for the mud in their hair and on their clothes. They couldn't find the energy to care, though. They just watched the clouds and birds.
"Benrey?"
That's right. Now they remembered. They were waiting for Gordon.
"over here!" Benrey yelled, sitting up to find him, scanning the trees. He stepped through the underbrush, shaking off leaves and rubbing his arms.
"Why do we have to meet all the way out here?" He whined. He was carrying a backpack and a lunch box, like he was going to school or some shit. But they were having a weird mini picnic and then going to their house.
"'cause, uhhh." Benrey smacked their lips. "adventure!" Gordon rolled his eyes and sat next to them, a bit farther back so he didn't have to sit in the mud. "what'd you bring?"
Gordon opened the lunchbox. There were two sandwiches, a massive fucking water bottle, and those dorky little fruit cups.
"who packed this, your mom?" They teased, elbowing Gordon. Gordon rolled his eyes.
"Shut up, you're literally the worst." Gordon took his sandwich, struggling with the wrapping. "I think she wrapped the sandwiches, actually. I wanted to put them in normal plastic bags."
"like little Christmas gifts." Benrey said absently, tearing through the plastic wrap with a claw.
"That's a pretty shitty Christmas gift, especially since you can see it." Gordon pointed out. Benrey tilted their head thoughtfully, eyes drifting off to the birds above.
"that's true. i would hate it if i got a sandwich for Christmas. especially a turkey one."
"Ye- Hey!" Gordon smacked Benrey's arm. They laughed, curling away from him, trying not to lose their grip on the sandwich with probably way too much mayo. "You're such an asshole!" But there was no venom or malice in Gordon's words, just a huge grin and a breathy laugh.
"thx." They drifted off, looking around for a soft splash they had heard when they suddenly stood. "Gordon, holy shit, look!" They whispered, reaching back, trying to find Gordon. He took their hand and stood, getting pulled into the water.
"C'mon man, my socks-"
"shut up, Loudman, look at how crazy that is!" Gordon finally looked to where Benrey was pointing and holy shit. A whole herd of deer were jumping across the river and into the other side of the forest. Just a massive wave. This is totally unnatural, but Gordon and Benrey were in a trance watching. A fawn stopped running to stop and stare at the teenagers, studying them nearly as hard as they studied the herd. But a doe ran up behind the fawn, urging it along. Benrey found himself waving without really thinking.
"Holy shit." Gordon whispered. He glanced at Benrey and couldn't help but love the awestruck look on their face. Their eyes were shining and their lips were parted just slightly, sharp teeth poking past. "That was- freaky." That snapped Benrey out of their wonderment and they snorted, shaking their head.
"you're so fucking dumb. 'freaky'. what are you, in the 80's? cringe. Gordon Cringeman." Gordon rolled his eyes.
"Come on! That was freaky! There were so many deer, and they were all moving in unison! If we had been sitting any farther down the river, we would've been trampled." Gordon sort of started ranting and Benrey couldn't help but smile as they dropped back on the river bed.
"no we wouldn't." Benrey declared, finishing their sandwich. "i would've heard 'em. saved your sorry ass."
Gordon laughed. "Sure, Ben." He said in a fake reassuring voice, patting Benrey on the shoulder. "I so believe you." Benrey rolled their eyes, leaning away.
"i would! then you'd be all like-" Benrey tried their best Gordon impression, "-whoa, Ben, you're so fuckin' cool! that was so crazy, you're like my hero- or some cringe shit like that. blackmail material shit, y'know?"
There was silence for a moment. Gordon was still standing in the water despite his complaint about wet socks. "I already think you're cool, Ben." Benrey sputtered, the water they were drinking spraying from the corner of their mouth, pink zipping after it. "Aw, man, you got sweet voice on the lid! It's gonna taste weird now!" Gordon leaned over, snatching the water bottle from Benrey's hand, using the hem of his shirt to wipe the pink off. "I take it back, you're the bane of my existence."
"nuh-uh, no- no take backs!" Benrey protested, taking out their fruit cup.
"I can take back my own compliments!" Gordon argued, drinking the water when he thought it properly cleaned. "You'd be able to keep them if you didn't make shit weird!"
"sweet voice isn't weird!"
"The taste is!"
"not this one!"
"Oh yeah?" Gordon shot a challenging glance at Benrey. "Let me try it then." Benrey blushed, covering their mouth before the pink could shoot out. They shook their head. "Why not?" Benrey only spoke when they couldn't taste the pink anymore.
"you know! you've had the others!"
"Yeah, but only the shitty negative ones! I'm assuming the pink is a good thing based on the circumstance, so let me try it!"
"absolutely not." Benrey shook their head, crossing their arms. They could practically hear the whirring of gears in Gordon's head.
"Fine." He plopped down on the ground beside Benrey, pulling off his shoes and socks. He ate his fruit cup quietly for a while, and the two just sat there, watching the river. "You look great today, Ben. I like the new hat, it frames your face really well." Benrey shot out pink before they could stop it and they swore.
"Gordon, you ass!" Benrey tried to reach up and swat it away but Gordon shot out a hand, popping the pink on his hand and licking it. "you're literally insufferable. the bane of my short existence. the sun in my eyes."
Gordon ignored them, tilting his head. "This one actually tastes fine. Your sandwich ruins it a bit, though. What is it, strawberry?"
"bubblegum." Benrey mumbled, stabbing a mandarin with their claw. They waited for the usual thing to happen. When they looked at Gordon, he was looking back. His face was all red and he wouldn't stop staring at Benrey. They looked away quickly, trying to get out clear sweet voice but it just came out in pink.
"What are you doing?" Gordon laughed, nudging Benrey. It startled them and they jumped, leaning away. "Why are you being so weird?"
"the- the sweet voice effect thing, it's uh-"
"What does pink mean?"
"e- embarrassment, uh, l... love- or something." They mumbled the last bit, Gordon almost missed it. He just hummed thoughtfully.
"Oh. So it's like, mm, a love potion, sort of?" He offered. That just flustered Benrey more and they covered their face.
"yeah, sure, whatever. I'm ready to go home now." Gordon laughed a bit.
"Alright, then, let's go home then."
Benrey had predicted correctly. Their mother fussed over them, picking at the dried mud in their hair. "Gordon, why didn't you keep them out of the dirt?" Their mother accused jokingly, smiling. Gordon flushed and laughed.
"Sorry, ma'am." She just chuckled, shaking her head. An ocean blue buzzed in the air. Blue like a wave means I'm glad you're safe.
"It's alright, Gordon. Are you staying the night?" He nodded, lifting his bag. "Alright, I have a long shift tomorrow so your parents will have to pick you up, alright?"
"That's okay, I can just walk." Benrey rolled their eyes and grabbed Gordon's arm.
"c'mon, video game time."
They had stopped playing hours ago. They were laying on the rug, looking up at the glow in the dark stars on Benrey's ceiling. Music drifted from Benrey's radio and they just laid there.
"Hey, wanna see something cool?" Gordon whispered, sitting up. Benrey sat up too, looking over at him. Gordon dug in his hoodie pocket and pulled out a little frog. Benrey gasped, scooting closer.
"whaaa, how'd you get it here without it making any noise?" They demanded, reaching out to pet it gently. Well, as gently as the monster could.
"I dunno, she's just polite, I guess." Gordon shrugged. Orange and yellow spilled out of Benrey's mouth, filling the room with a soft sunset-like glow. Gordon watched Benrey take the frog into their palms, lifting it up to their face, whispering at her.
"i'm keeping her." They declared, settling the frog on their shoulder. She just perched there, blinking at the lights.
"I don't think you should, Ben."
"you're the one who caught her!"
"Well, yeah, cause it makes you happy, stupid." Gordon retorted. "But I don't think it's ethical to keep her." Benrey frowned, looking at the frog.
"i think you're dumb. she'll love it here. i have tons of lizards, i know how to take care of them."
Gordon laughed quietly. "C'mon, Benrey, catching them is fun, but you shouldn't keep her. She's used to being wild." Benrey frowned, taking her from their shoulder and petting her head.
"i guess.." Gordon stood, opening Benrey's window. They stood and set the frog on the roof just outside their window and waved. "bye, Link."
"Link's the boy, Benrey."
"i know!" Benrey argued, crossing their arms. "it's a neat name, asshole." Gordon shrugged and smiled.
"Sure, I guess. But you're implying that Zelda isn't neat or cool. Zelda's- what do you say? Zelda's an epic name."
Benrey let out a startled laugh and buried their head in their elbow. "you're so dumb! but yes, Zelda is an EPIC name." Benrey sat up, leaning out the window. "but she likes Link, so her name is Link."
Gordon shook his head. "How do you know? Maybe she hates it."
"she blinked when i named her that."
"She blinked?"
"uh, yeah, Stupidman, that's what i said."
"You're acting like she's a cat."
"she's kinda like a cat." Benrey chewed their lip for a moment. "speaking of cats!" They clambered out of their window, leaning over the edge, whisper-yelling. "Sonic! pspspspsps, c'mere Sonic!" A quiet mew rose from somewhere below and Benrey reached down, glowing just a little bit as they did. Gordon looked away. He hated the weird eldritch thing Benrey could do. It creeped him out a little bit. Not enough to be afraid of him, he just didn't like the look and the noises. Benrey climbed back through the window with a blue-gray cat in their arms, much to big for a normal cat.
"this is Sonic."
"I know who Sonic is, Benrey, I've been coming here for a few years." Benrey shrugged.
"it never hurts to reintroduce yourself." They picked up one of Sonic's paws, waving. Gordon snorted, reaching out to scratch behind his ears.
"Hey, Sonic."
Benrey thinks about that memory as they sit in their void. What they would give to be going home to their apartment, to Sonic and their games. That was kind of rude of Gordon, to kill them. They used to be friends. Really good friends. They wonder if Gordon remembered any of it. Remembered Link, or the deer, or tasting the pink sweet voice, or talking to Benrey's mom, or staring at Benrey's glow in the dark stars, or listening to shitty, tinny music coming from Benrey's radio. Remembered Benrey at all. They closed their eyes, trying to shut out the thoughts of Gordon, trying to just focus on their mother, Sonic, their lizards, their games, but no matter how hard they thought about all the other things they cared about, they could only think of Gordon, butting in, with a huge, gap-toothed grin, with almost always broken glasses. With his stupid laugh and his constant experiments.
Gordon Gordon Gordon.
They tried to focus on nothing after that.