Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Dark, darker, yet darker. An empty void. How did you get here? Where even is here? Feels like you’ve always been there, floating in empty space. No floor beneath your feet, no ceiling or walls. All you can see is a faint red glow in the distance. You squint your eyes, trying to get a good look. It’s getting brighter- no. closer. Slowly inching its way to you. You can’t move. You can’t turn away. What is that? What’s happening? You start to panic, the darkness becomes suffocating. The red glow inches closer. You can’t run away. Closer, closer, closer, the red light is now a couple feet away from you. You can start to see it a little better. Is that…?

“KRIS!” 

Kris is suddenly awoken by that same annoying voice that put them to sleep a couple of minutes ago. They slowly lift their head up from the desk they were sleeping on, eyes still heavy from the nap they were taking. “Huh- I’m up I’m up…” Kris attempts to put their head back down in hopes the voice won’t notice. 

“Kris, for the last time, if we don’t get through this lesson today we’ll get behind. If we get behind, we won’t be able to get your grades up in time for the final exam because we’ll be too busy LEARNING LAST WEEK’S LESSONS! This is why SLEEPING IN CLASS is the GREATEST SIN YOU CAN COMMIT IN A CLASSROOM!” The voice currently going on and on about nerd shit was Berdly, Kris’ annoying classmate and, as of yesterday, tutor. “We’re not even in a classroom.” Kris said, resting their head on their hand. They were sat at a school desk in THEIR own room (at the request of Berdly, of course. Toriel had to bring home a spare desk from her classroom to make the “atmosphere more legit”) during THEIR afterschool freetime, all because they had a couple of F’s. “It’s not that big of a deal, I can pass the exam just fine.” 

“Your grades say otherwise.” Berdly said in that annoying, know-it-all tone he loved to use. “Mrs. Dreemur said, AND I QUOTE: ‘Kris needs to get a passing grade this semester or-” “or I won't pass, I know I know. Also your impression of my mom is horrendous. Never do that again.” Kris interrupted. “But she’s also said that about every semester I've ever been through in my entire school career. I always manage to slip by. What’s so different this time?”  “What’s different is this time, your grades are at an ATL. That stands for all time low  in case you didn’t know.” Berdly confidently said. “Wow really? I thought it stood for Atlanta.” Kris fully expected Berdly to misinterpret Kris’ sarcasm, and when he started rambling about “contextual differences in acronyms”, Kris was already zoning out again. 

It’s not like they were dumb or anything. They always had a basic understanding of whatever they were learning in class. It’s just that actually asserting themself felt so pointless. Doing homework and classwork and stupid group projects would always be put off until the due date was tomorrow and they could say “whelp, i don’t have time to do it now” and then play roblox till 2am. Sure, they were failing most of their classes, but at the end of the day all Kris really had to do was just enough to get a D and then pass the test. They learned this loophole at a very young age and decided to stick with it. Sure, their grades were getting lower and lower throughout the years, and maybe they were slacking a little too much as of late, but who cares. They’ll manage to slip by, they always have.

“Kris are you even paying attention?” Berdly interrupted their train of thought. “Huh? Yeah sure totally?” they said dismissively. “Oh yeah? What did I just say then?” He got them there. “Uhh… something dumb? What does this even have to do with school?” Berdly sighed dramatically. “Kris. If you were LISTENING to me you would have HEARD me explaining logarithmic functions. THAT HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH SCHOOL.” oh. Apparently the conversation switched back to the lesson while Kris was lost in thought. Whatever. They already kinda knew how those worked anyways.

Before Kris could make another remark, Berdly’s watch timer beeped. He sighed. “So much for a first lesson. At this rate we’d be lucky to get through the chapter by the end of the month.” As Berdly packed up his things to leave, Kris stood up and stretched, relieved to finally be out of that uncomfortable desk. “Same time tomorrow?” Kris asked, rolling their eyes. This whole thing was stupid. “Don’t forget to do tonight’s homework. We went over it today in class and I just spent two hours going over the same material. You really do need to get your grades up if you want to pass.” Berdly stated, zipping up his backpack. Kris sighed frustratedly. “Yeah yeah I got it.” 

They walked downstairs, Berdly following close behind. “Oh, is it that time already?” Toriel asked, pausing her knitting on the couch to check the clock. “Yep, day really flew by, lots of learning, Berdly really has to leave now-” “oh really?” Toriel asked, growing suspicious. She turned to berdly. “How was teaching Kris? Did they behave?” “Behave?? I’m not five-" "I wasn’t asking you” Toriel interrupted. Kris sighed and crossed their arms. They were really hoping she wouldn’t ask this question, knowing Berdly would sell them out in an instant. They braced themself for the lecture Toriel was definitely going to give them later. 

“It went swimmingly Mrs. Dreemurr!” …huh? “I really think the one-on-one learning combined with my above average teaching skills has gotten Kris motivated to learn. They’ll be a C average student in no time!” Kris decided to ignore the fact that it was apparently surprising that they had the capabilities  of being a C average student. What was he saying? Motivated to learn? Was this some kind of joke? Kris waited to hear a loud “ NOT!!! ”, but it never came. Kris glanced at Berdly, and it looked like he was being sincere. Was he not the same bird that was in their room rambling about being ignored? Toriel seemed just as surprised as Kris. “Really? Wow Kris, finally turning around, aren’t you? Thank you Berdly!” She said, delighted that someone had finally gotten her child to care about school. Kris walked Berdly to the door, suspiciously eyeing him as he waved goodbye.

Kris went right up to their room after that, telling Toriel they were “too tired from learning” and had to go to bed. It wasn’t exactly a lie, they had been doing schoolwork for what seemed like all day. As they plopped down onto bed, they got a notification on their phone.

Unsaved number:

HOMEWORK!!! DON’T FORGET!!!

Kris groaned.

doin it rite now.

Oh yeah? Proof. 

Kris decided to change the subject.

Y did u tell my mom I was learning better? 

Was it because he wanted to feel better about himself? Was he too proud to admit he wasn’t as good a teacher as he thought he’d be? Was it so Toriel thought he was smart or something?

Because. I knew Mrs. Dreemurr wouldn’t want to hear that, and I’d rather not be the reason why you get an earful from your mother. Although I am very opposed to lying, I decided to bend the truth just a little bit this one time to keep you out of trouble. Please just focus on doing better in the future so I won’t have to save you again next time. 

Kris couldn’t believe what they were reading. This was so unlike him. The Berdly they knew would snitch on anyone in a heartbeat to get the approval of an authority figure. What did he have to gain from letting them off easy? The more they laid there, the more their head hurt. Whatever. Now they didn’t have to get yelled at. It didn’t matter why he did it, what matters is Kris now has the rest of the night to themself. They glanced over at the homework sheet sitting at the desk that was now in their room.

…It couldn’t hurt to do one paper of homework, especially since Berdly went over it and they basically knew all the answers now. How many more F’s could they really afford anyways? As they rushed through the problems, they convinced themself it wasn’t because of Berdly that they were actually doing homework right now. No. Definitely not. Besides, after they finish this they get to play roblox feeling like they actually earned it.

Chapter Text

There you were again. That same darkness. That same red glow. You couldn’t move, you never could when this happened. You figured it was a waste of effort to try, you knew what the outcome would be. The red glow inches closer. You hear whispers. That’s new. You couldn’t make out the words, they were too quiet, too loud. Too many voices yet not enough. The red glow was now inches from you. You could clearly see it now. It was your SOUL. The very culmination of your being. It’s never gotten this close before, yet it’s still creeping. Closer… closer… closer…

Kris was suddenly awoken to a loud bang on their desk. They jumped up to see an empty classroom, aside from Susie. “Finally. Kris, dude, I’ve been trying to wake you up for like, five whole minutes.” Susie said, exasperated. Whoops. How long had they been asleep for? “What time did you go to bed last night??” They avoided Susies gaze suspiciously. “...You played roblox ‘till 4am again, didn’t you?” still no response. “you’re such a loser Kris” She laughs and punches them in the arm. Kris hides in their hands. “Leave me aloonnneee I was grinding on Dress to Impressss” “Whatever makes you feel better buddy.” Susie rolled her eyes, smiling. “Anyways, now that you’ve had your little nap, IT’S TIME FOR THE ARCADE!!!” She excitedly jumps up and down, like she’s been waiting for this all day (She probably has). “COME ON WE GOTTA HURRY BEFORE IT GETS PACKED!!!” 

Without waiting another moment, she grabs Kris’ hand and attempts to yank them out of their chair. “Susie WAIT HOLD ON-” Kris interjects, barely managing to pull their hand away. Susie turns to look at them, confused. Kris sighs and looks at the floor. “I.. I can’t actually… go with you… today…” “What? Why??? Tuesday is arcade day! It’s sacred!!!” The defeated look in Susie’s eyes makes Kris’ stomach hurt. “What about tomorrow? I’m sure I can ask my mom-” “Susie” Kris knows how much she values spending time with them, even if she would never admit it out loud. That’s why they couldn't tell her about the whole tutoring until now. They still weren’t ready to see her all sad and disappointed. “I won't be free all week… or at all until I can get my grades up… my mom got me a stupid tutor and I'm stuck doing that everyday afterschool now.” They chose to leave out who their tutor was, because they would rather die than let Susie know they were spending the afternoon studying with Berdly and not at the arcade with her. Fucking Berdly .  

“Oh… and the weekend?” Susie asks, trying to hide how dejected she sounded. “I’m pretty much grounded until I fix my grades. I’m sorry, we’ll find some time to hangout soon.” Kris attempts to reassure her, but she just brushes it off. “Nah, you’re all good. I get it. Just, uh, let me know if anything changes. See you later Kris.” She walks away, very clearly upset. Maybe not telling her was worse, she spent all day excited to hangout afterwards… Kris sighs and gets their bag together. All this because of Berdly. Fucking Berdly.

At the end of the school day, Toriel needs about 30 minutes to get her classroom clean and grade papers, so Kris just waits outside by the car on their phone until she leaves. As they left the classroom however, a certain blue bird caught their eye. “Oh, Kris! I was waiting for you. I figured Susie would wake you up eventually, it’s fine we can just go over everything you missed while you were napping.” This was new. Berdly was always the first one to leave when school was over. “Waiting for me? Don’t you usually go to the library after school?” Kris asks, remembering how yesterday he had to spend some time volunteering before he could come over. “Yes, I do. Usually. They said they didn’t need me today, and Mrs. Dreemurr offered to drive me to your house with you! Did you know, if everyone carpooled with just one person, up to 7.74 billion gallons of gas could be saved per year?” Berdly just seems to have this way with words. Really makes you wanna punch him in that smug face of his. “Yeah I actually did know that. I knew that already. You sound dumb coz you just told me something and I already had that information stored in my brain.” Kris retorts, clearly not in the best mood. “I can tell when you’re joking, Kris. I’m not stupid.” “Oh really? That’s a first.” Kris rolled their eyes. This was going to be a long day.

Once they got in the car, Toriel wouldn’t let Kris call shotgun because “leaving Berdly in the back by himself was mean”. Wonderful. First, he controls Kris’ social life, now where they sit in the car? Where will it end??? They just stared out the window, not listening at all to the conversation between Toriel and the bird. All they talked about was smart stuff anyways. Once in their room, Kris sat at the desk, ready to do some more zoning out until, “By the way, Kris, I saw that you turned in yesterday's homework. I guess my teaching really paid off.” Berdly said, oh so full of himself. Damnit. Kris was really hoping he wouldn’t notice. “Well yeah, aren’t I supposed to be getting my grades up? Isn’t that, like, the whole point of you being here?” “I never said it was a bad thing. I’m honestly a little proud, you’re finally taking steps to improve your academics! If you keep that up you’ll be just barely passing in no time.” Kris didn’t know why the thought of Berdly being proud of them felt so embarrassing. It almost made them never want to turn in another sheet of homework ever again, especially if he was gonna act all high and mighty about it. Just as Berdly started the lesson, Kris felt a buzz from their phone

Suzilla👹: 

Yo

hows tutoring goign

*going

Rlly freaking lame. Wish i was @ the arcade </3

Yeah me two

If u wanted i cud do ur wokr for u so ur grades go up lol

Hell no my grades wud plummet-

“KRIS!! NO TEXTING DURING CLASS!!” Of course, for the second time today, Berdly just had to get in the middle of Kris and Susie time. Before they could even send the message they were in the middle of typing, they begrudgingly put their phone down. “My sincerest apologies, dear teacher” Kris said through gritted teeth, holding back homicidal urges. “Oh, why thank you for the genuine apology. Just try to do better next time.” This bird was going to die. 

Chapter Text

Genuinely, Kris didn’t know how much more of this they could take. And they were trying, too. Really freaking hard. An hour into the lesson, and Kris hadn’t dozed off once. They may not have been giving Berdly their full, undivided attention, but it was a start. Honestly they were just counting the seconds until this was over. 

“And if you take a look at question number three, you’ll find that you have to use what formula to get the answer?” Berdly’s question fell on deaf ears. Kris was too busy idly scribbling in their notebook. Berdly tried again. “The formula would beeee????” Still no response. “Earth to Kris?? Hellooooo” He waved his wing in front of their face, and they finally snapped out of it. “Kris, you gotta work with me here.” “Hey man, I’m not sleeping this time. Baby steps.” Berdly rolls his eyes. “So, like I was saying, the formula you’d use for this equation would be…?”  

After a moment of careful consideration, they go back to scribbling on their paper. “Krissss, come ooonn. At least try-” They hold up their paper, which reads: y = log_bx. “I didn’t know how to say it and I didn’t want to sound stupid.” Kris deadpans. “Oh. Well, you’re correct. Great jo- Wait, is that a drawing of me?” Berdly points to the doodle Kris drew of him with a gigantic forehead. “Yeah, it’s your final form. Keep acting like a smartass and that’s gonna be you one day. Your brain’s gonna get so big you won't even be able to fit in the door.” Kris couldn’t hold back their giggles as Berdly started heatedly defending himself. “Wha- That’s just preposterous! Your brain doesn’t grow when you get smarter, I would know!” “Oh yeah? I’m pretty sure I saw it grow a couple of inches just now-” “STOP THAT!!!”

Just then, there was a knock at the door. “Kris, Berdly, I brought snacks in case either of you wanted any!” Toriel says through the door. “Oh, sick!” Kris jumps up to open the door, revealing a tray of cookies and two glasses of apple juice. “Thanks mom!” “Oh, Thank you Mrs. Dreemurr!” Kris goes to grab the cookies excitedly when their mom stops them. “Kris, you’d better share. I don’t want to hear that you ate them all, I made them for you and your friend-" "ok ok, I won't eat them all, promise” Kris says, rolling their eyes. They guess they could spare one cookie. If he earned it. Toriel closed the door and Kris laid the cookies on the floor, promptly sitting down beside them. “Lunch break nerd” They said, hastily shoving a cookie in their mouth. “Uh- why not sit at the desk?” Berdly asks. “Because, if I have to sit in that chair any longer than necessary I'm gonna go insane. Now hurry up and grab some before I eat them all.” Kris says, mouth full of half eaten food. Berdly hesitates for a moment before sitting down across from Kris, keeping a distance between them. He picks up a cup of juice. “Don’t talk with your mouth full, it’s rude.” Kris responds by opening their mouth and making a “bleehh” sound. “Ewww, gross” Berdly looks away taking a sip from the cup. Instead of lifting the cup to his mouth, however, he keeps the cup at his chest and just tilts his head down, dipping his beak into the drink. Kris nearly spits out their cookie. “PFFT- that’s how you drink? You look like a doofus.” They say, barely holding back their laughter. Berdly stammers, clearly embarrassed. “I- Yeah, well- That’s how I have to drink!! You try having a beak, I think you’ll find it’s quite convenient. Saves me the extra effort of lifting my arm.” 

“Wait, you can’t drink normally? Come on, just try” Kris demonstrates by bringing the cup up to their mouth. “See? Super easy. Now you try” Berdly hesitates. “Come on, you teach me stuff all day long. It’s my turn now.” Kris says eagerly. Berdly huffs and eventually lifts the cup to his beak, slowly tipping it. He manages to get a small amount in his mouth before it spills out and onto his shirt. Kris snickers as he frustratedly puts the cup down. “See?? This is what happens when I listen to you. Now I have juice on my CLEAN WHITE SHIRT!!.” He crosses his arms, huffing and puffing. “Ok fine, i'll get a napkin ya big baby.” Kris hurries off before he can complain more. They find a paper towel in the bathroom and return to the room, dropping to their knees right in front of Berdly. “See? You’re fine. It's not that big of a deal.” They say, taking the paper towel and attempting to soak all the liquid out of his shirt. Berdly’s silent now. That’s odd. Kris looks at his face to see him staring at them, eyes wide.

“What?” They ask, stopping. “Oh- uh- nothing. Carry on.” He says quickly, suddenly averting his eyes. Kris raises an eyebrow. “...oookay?” They continue, wondering what was up with him. They guess they were pretty close right now, but it’s not like they could do this from across the room or anything. Did he have a problem with this? They were just trying to help him. They look at Berdly’s face again, and as soon as they do, he turns away again, trying to make it seem like he wasn’t staring. It was then that Kris noticed just how close they were. They could see the individual feathers on his face, the shape of his eyes, they could even hear his breathing…

Kris pulled away as they felt their face heating up. “Uh- you can do the rest if you want.” They say, handing him the napkin without looking at him. He takes it and attempts to get the rest of the juice out of his shirt, mumbling awkwardly to himself. That was weird. Kris eats another cookie, attempting to distract themselves from the awkward feeling in the air. Nobody says anything for a moment until Berdly finally speaks up. “We should… Probably get back to the lesson. We might run out of time if-” “Yeah yeah we should do that.” Kris agrees, standing up and wiping the crumbs off of their sweater. They both assume their usual spots, Kris sitting at the uncomfortable desk (without complaint this time), and Berdly standing in front of them, reopening his textbook and picking up where they left off. Berdly seemed to keep his eyes glued to the textbook this time, only taking breaks to momentarily look at the wall next to him. Kris, on the other hand, kept finding themselves staring at him. They still weren’t exactly paying attention to what Berdly was saying, as they found themselves replaying the situation in their head, studying him. Why was he acting so weird? Well, he was a dork, and very awkward in most situations where he couldn’t ramble about things that made himself seem smart. That reaction was still unlike him, though. Usually he would’ve just complained or told Kris the statistics on “Juice spillings leading to trauma” or something stupid like that. Kris couldn’t remember the last time he was completely silent, or anytime the two of them had been in such close proximity. Why were they thinking about this so much? And why were they still staring?? They looked back down at their notebook, hoping Berdly didn’t think they were a weirdo- wait, since when did they care what Berdly thought of them???

Thankfully, Berdly’s watch alarm beeped and brought Kris out of their head. “Oh, uh, I didn’t have time to go over that last question, but I’m sure you could figure it out using what I’ve already told you about question 14.” Crap. They were not at all listening when he explained that. Whatever, they could figure it out later. They helped Berdly gather their things and walked him to the door, waving bye as he left. 

As they entered their room again, Kris noticed the cookies remaining on the tray. Berdly never ate one. They pulled out their phone and took a picture, sending it to Berdly.

Nerdly:

U forgot to eat these

My moms gunna kill me lol

Oh! My apologies. Just bring one to school tomorrow. 

k

Goodnight Kris! Make sure you do your homework!!

Night

Kris thought for a moment. Since when were they like this? Why didn’t they just say “more for me” and shove the rest in their mouth instantly? Their mom did tell them to share… Yeah, that’s what it was. They’re only doing this because they’d get in trouble if they didn’t. Makes perfect sense. They gobbled up some cookies, leaving two on the tray. If they were bringing one for Berdly, they might as well bring one for Susie too. Ugh, Kris was turning into a good samaritan, it made them sick. They decided to distract themself by doing homework, choosing to ignore how ironic that was because they really needed this grade. Even after they finished and laid down in bed, they couldn’t stop replaying the day over and over in their head. They had only one person to blame for how strangely they were acting all of a sudden.

Fucking.

Berdly.

Chapter Text

It was early. Way too early. Even though Kris always managed to get to school right before the late bell rang, it was still definitely sleepy time. Of course, it didn’t help that Kris never went to bed at a decent time, but still. It was the school’s fault they were so tired all the time. Definitely not Emo Band Tycoon on Roblox. 

As they strolled into the full classroom, they were surprised to see Susie there, actually on time for once. They sat down where they usually sat, right in front of her, and turned around to talk to her. Usually Berdly was in front of Kris, but he was talking to the teacher at the moment. “Wassap” Susie said, smiling big like she usually did. Kris replied with a tired groan. “Kris, come on man, you gotta start getting more sleep.” “I do get sleep… During school...” Susie laughed. “You know that’s not what I meant, ya goober. How was tutoring yesterday?” Kris glanced around, making sure Berdly was still on the other side of the room before speaking. “Ugh, it was soooo boring I was dying.” “Yeah, figured. You, uh, never got back to me so I was just double checking, haha!” Susie laughs, but it felt a little bit more forced this time. Kris suddenly remembered that they forgot to text her back after Berdly told them to put their phone away. “Oh- crap I’m sorry my tutor’s really strict on phones- Wait, that reminds me.’ They quickly reach into their bag, hoping this would cheer her up a little. “My mom made cookies so I-” Right as Kris pulled out the cookie, wrapped in a napkin, Susie immediately grabbed it out of their hand. “YOUR MOM MADE COOKIES??” She shoved the whole thing in her mouth before Kris could get another word out. She finished her sentence with her mouth full. “This was for me right? Sorry man, your moms baking is NOT to be messed with.” “Dude careful don’t eat the napkin-” Kris laughs, just as Berdly sat down in front of them. 

Kris hesitated a moment, then reached into their bag and pulled out the other cookie they saved for him. They tapped him on the shoulder, and when he turned around, they handed him the cookie without saying a word. “Oh, Thanks Kris!” They just nod their head, quickly turning back around to face Susie again, finding her with a puzzled expression on her face. Kris quickly changed the subject.

A couple of hours later, and the teacher was endlessly droning on and on about stupid functions and equations and all the things that made Kris’ eyes heavy. They crossed their arms on the desk, letting their head fall. They were just resting their eyes, they wouldn’t actually sleep. Just a quick break to let their head down. Slowly, everything became quieter. The teacher sounded far away. The classroom melted into the darkness and soon, even with their eyes closed, Kris could see that faint, red glow…

Just as they were about to succumb to their nap, they felt something being put on their table. They slowly lifted their head to see what it was. It looked like a piece of notebook paper, neatly folded into a small square. As they sat up, still tired, they yawned, reaching for the note. Opening up the paper revealed a drawing of Kris, sleeping on their desk, with the word “snoring” connected to them by an arrow. Before Kris could wonder who created this slander, they found a signature at the bottom of the page. 

They quickly made their own additions to the drawing and passed it forward.

Berdly snickered quietly at the goofy drawing, and quickly started drawing his retaliation. By the end of the school day, the paper had been passed back and forth so many times that they couldn’t fit anything else on it. The final bell rang and Kris started packing their things, securing the paper in their folder. They didn’t want to throw it away because their drawings looked good, that’s the only reason. Susie clears her throat behind them. “Whatcha got there?” She asked, peeking over their shoulder to try and get a peak at the paper Kris was now hurriedly stuffing in their backpack. “Don’t worry about it.” They mumbled, trying not to act suspicious. Susie eyed them, trying to figure out what their deal was. “Ok… well… I’m uh, gonna head home now. I’ll text you later. Don’t leave me on read this time lol.” Ouch. A pang of guilt hit Kris like a truck. “I won’t, I won’t. Later Susie.” Kris said, waving goodbye and turning to leave the classroom. “Kris, wait for me!” Berdly called after them, hurriedly attempting to stuff his ginormous binders and textbooks in his backpack. The only thing Kris could do was sigh and wait, a little embarrassed as Susie walked out, her expression unreadable. When he finally met Kris at the door, he smiled excitedly. “I don’t have to go into the library today so I’m riding with you again!” “...nice” Kris deadpanned, walking outside to wait in front of their mom’s car.

Berdly spends the entire time talking Kris’ ear off. He went on a whole rant about how wavedashing in super brawl brothers was cheating (Kris knew it totally wasn’t and happened to be one of the players that spammed the move, but they let him ramble on anyways.) For once, Kris wasn’t entirely zoning out. Now that they were actually paying attention, they started to notice all the little details they never picked up on before. Like how Berdly always pushed his glasses up anytime he was quoting a statistic. Or how when he got really excited, his feathers would ruffle slightly, and how he talked with so much passion and- 

It took Kris a moment to realize he wasn’t talking any more. He was just looking at the floor, pondering. “You good?” Kris asked, and Berdly turned his head toward them. “It’s just…Usually when I talk about this stuff people get really annoyed, or tell me to shut up, or just block it out entirely. It feels like someone’s actually listening for once. And that got me thinking… Why would Kris Dreemurr, or all people, actually listen to what I had to say? I can only think of one reason why.” He says, squinting his eyes and leaning closer, almost as if he were scanning them. They instinctively pulled back a little, looking away nervously. “Uh- what would that be?” They asked, not really sure why they felt so nervous. It’s not like they had anything to hide, they were just paying attention for once, was that really such a crime? Berdly took a moment before finally responding. “You……… ARE A TRUE GAMER. FINALLY. SOMEONE THAT MATCHES MY INTELLECTUAL WIT WHEN IT COMES TO VIDEO GAMES. DO YOU PLAY SUPER BRAWL BROTHERS TOO??” He said excitedly, like he’d just won the lottery. Kris let out a sigh of relief, and responded. “Oh, yeah, I mean, I used to play with asriel all the time. I have the original game system at my house-” “YOU WHAT.” Kris couldn’t help but find his enthusiasm endearing. They giggled. “Yeah, we should totally play it sometime. Maybe today…?” They ask slyly, but Berdly quickly shuts them down. “Absolutely not. Although I am what you might call a ‘Pro gamer’ or ‘video game connoisseur’ or an ‘expert SBB champion’, I would never interrupt learning time with such hobbies. You still need to get your grades up, in case you’ve forgotten.” “awe maannn, come on it would be fuunnn” Kris whines, really wishing they could have gotten a break. “I didn’t nap once today in class, I deserve this.” “um, yeah you did??” “no, that doesn’t count. I was just closing my eyes.” “THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT SLEEPING IS” “Nuh uh, doesn’t count” “WHAT-” 

Toriel approaches them, smiling. “Well, aren’t you two excited? Apologies for taking so long, a student requested my help after class.” “It’s alright, Mrs. Dreemurr. Me and Kris were just discussing a topic of common interest.” Berdly pipes in, polite as ever and always eager to get on the adult's good side. It always seemed to annoy Kris in the past, just like most of everything else he did. Maybe it was the exposure therapy, or maybe they were actually starting to enjoy his presence. Nah, definitely the first one. Regardless, on the way home that day, Kris wasn’t entirely bummed about spending the afternoon with Berdly.

Chapter Text

Friday. Finally. The end of what might possibly be the longest week of Kris’ life. A whole week spent sleeping at night and not during class (their sleep schedule was finally evening out, what was wrong with them). A whole week spent slowly starting to focus more and more in school. A whole week spent actually doing their homework.

A whole week spent with a certain someone. 

They couldn’t exactly explain it. They never really had a good understanding of how they were feeling most of the time. It was strange. Kris has friends, not very many but it’s not like they were a complete loner. Susie was probably closest to them. Whenever something happened she was always the first person they went to. They enjoyed her presence, and going to the arcade with her was always a lot of fun. They could understand her, and she understood them. She had been absent after they saw her on Wednesday, and when they texted to check in on her, she just said that she “wasn’t feeling well.” Kris felt like something was off, especially considering how strangely she had been acting lately, but they decided to take her word for it and not push. There was no need. If something was actually wrong, Susie would tell them. That’s what Kris liked about her. She was upfront, honest, blunt. Easy to read. What wasn’t easy to read was how they were feeling around Berdly all of a sudden.  

It was weird. They went from not wanting to even be around him to hoping he would glance at them every chance he got. Before, turning in homework was embarrassing, because Berdly would notice and think they were doing it for him. Now, they waited until he was looking to hand it in. They were actually answering questions when he asked, paying attention, and writing actual notes instead of zoning out when he lectured. Call Kris an A+ student, ‘cause suddenly schoolwork was all they did. For some reason, seeing Berdly get excited when they raised their hand was enough motivation for them to ask extra questions, even ones they already knew the answers to. Watching him explain things and talk about anything he was passionate about made Kris feel happy inside, and they weren’t used to that. They actually started dreading the eventual beeping on his watch that let them know it was time for him to go. 

It was all so confusing. When did this start? Why was this happening? Why did they want to be close to Berdly of all people? What did these feelings mean? Why did they get that feeling in their chest whenever he smiled at them? The more they thought about it, the more all the evidence pointed in a singular direction. And Kris didn’t think they were ready to accept that just yet. It was all so sudden. How could they really be sure? Maybe it’ll blow over, maybe it’ll leave just as fast as it showed up. They had just gotten used to being friends with him, would feeling this way mess with that? 

What would Berdly think? 

No. That can’t be it. Kris just really enjoys him as a friend. Nothing else. It couldn’t be anything else. The thought of anything else made their head hurt. They just really needed to drill it into their heads that they were overthinking it, looking into it too deeply. There really wasn’t anything there. As they sat there for a few moments, repeating the same thoughts over and over in their head, their mom finally snapped them out of it. 

“Are you alright, honey?” Toriel asked, not looking away from the road. They were driving home from school, Kris sitting in the front seat because Berdly had to stop by the library for a bit before tutoring today. They weren’t sad about it. They only slightly missed him like they would miss Susie or Noelle or any one of their other friends- “Hello? Can you hear me, my child?” Toriel asks again, this time glancing at Kris. “You seem upset. Is something wrong?” “Hm? Oh, nothing. I’m good, just… thinking.” Kris replied, turning their head to look out their window. Toriel chuckled. “You must be thinking pretty hard, you’re going to get frown lines before you’re twenty. What’s on your mind?” “It’s not my fault I’m a serious thinker, mom. I don’t think casually.” Kris responded, dodging the question hoping she wouldn’t press further. Toriel saw right through it. 

“You can talk to me, I promise there’s nothing you can’t tell me. Did something happen at school? Are you sad Berdly isn’t here-?” “What? No, why would it be that?” Kris interjected, maybe a little too quickly. Toriel glanced at them again, squinting slightly. “Really? What’s up with him, anyways? I thought you didn’t like him.” She was really bad at hiding it when she wanted information, Kris could always tell when she was probing. “we’re friends now. He’s chill.” “Oh, well that’s lovely. Always glad to hear you’re making new friends.” As she spoke, she turned into their driveway. Thank god, Kris did not want to talk about this any more than they needed to. They quickly grabbed their bag and got out of the car, rushing to their room to avoid further conversation. They only had twenty minutes before Berdly would arrive anyways, and they wanted to make sure their room looked nice before then. 

They picked up the few clothes scattered across their floor, shoving them all in their hamper and throwing the hamper into their closet. They tidied up the extra desk in their room, setting up their notebook and pens on it neatly. One last once-over in their room and they figured it was clean enough. They checked the bathroom to make sure they looked ok, then left once they started questioning why they actually cared. Too much to think about. They plopped back on their bed, checking the time. Seventeen minutes. They sighed and pulled out their phone, opening Roblox and picking the first game that popped up in their recommended. As they pulled the blankets over themself and got comfortable, they felt their eyelids start to get heavy. No. They had to stay awake. Berdly would be here soon, and they needed to be awake when he got here. They tried to focus a little harder on their game, a random “escape the movie theater obby” as they started drifting off. 

Darkness. The red glow. Unable to move. Whispers. Here you are again. Everytime you rest, you find yourself here. This reoccurring dream has been popping up more often lately. Was it even a dream? The red glow, the SOUL, floated slowly towards you. The whispers in your ear were somewhat distinguishable, if you really tried to listen. “Vessel... SOUL… excellent…” you try to figure out where the voice is coming from, or who’s speaking, but it felt like it was coming from every direction. The voice sounded distorted, strange. It made your stomach twist. “How do… you feel… what will… you call it…” the SOUL was inching closer and closer. you didn’t like how close it was getting this time. “Your… name… is…”

“Kris?”

They jump, quickly sitting up, gasping for air. When did they get so sweaty? Why was their heart racing? They clutch their chest, gripping the sweater covering their heart. Holy shit. What just happened? When they looked up, they wished they had died of a heart attack or something. “Kris?! Are you ok?? Your mom told me to come in and you were sleeping I- I didn’t-“ Berdly jumped back, giving them space, clearly worried. They take a minute to catch their breath before responding. “Sorry I… had a bad dream…” Kris looks away, wishing they were anywhere else. Of course he had to see this. Just great. Berdly looks at the floor, unsure what to do. It’s painfully quiet, aside from the heartbeat pounding in their chest. Berdly finally speaks up. “You… uh… looked peaceful… I’m sorry I startled you.” He anxiously messes with the feathers on his wing. Kris looks at him, offering an apologetic smile. “You’re all good. Don’t worry about it, I’m fine.” That seemed to ease his mind a little. 

He suddenly perks up, reaching into his bag. “Oh, wait, hold on, I brought you something.” He rummages through his things a moment before pulling out a small, black, hardcover book. He hands it to Kris. “I noticed you like to draw on your notes sometimes, so in order to leave more space for your learning I decided it was best you found a better place to put them. This way you can have all your doodles in one place and you don’t have to use your notebook. This should improve your learning quality by about 24%” he pushed up his glasses, waiting for Kris to respond. They just sat there, holding the book that he had handed them, silent. They didn’t even open it. They just stared. Berdly’s smile faltered slightly. “Uh… if you don’t want it that’s ok, I could always-“ “huh?” Kris snapped their head up, remembering they were supposed to react a certain way when they received things. “What? No, I like it a lot. I just wasn’t expecting it.” They carefully open the front cover, almost as if they were scared to damage it. The paper was clean white and entirely blank. Kris had never had a sketchbook before, they occasionally drew on their notes or on random pieces of paper in the past, but they never put much thought into it. They looked back up at Berdly, who was smiling expectantly at them. “Thank you” they said as genuinely as they could, because they really meant it. This was the best gift they’d gotten in a while, actually really the only gift if they thought about it. They were really weird when receiving things and people always thought they were rude or ungrateful, but Berdly seemed to understand and quickly assumed his usual routine whenever he started his “lesson”. “Now that that’s out of the way, pull out your- oh you already have your notebook here. Excellent. We’re going to be picking up where we left off in school today.” He put his textbook on the floor so he could check it to be sure and stood in front of the desk while Kris got up from the bed and made their way to the chair, bringing the book with them. 

A present from Berdly. A genuine, thoughtful gift from their friend who they thought about a normal amount. Gift giving was an entirely normal thing that friends do, nothing out of the ordinary here. No need to analyze it or think about it too much. Just a nice gesture from a friend. 

“By the way, Kris, your room looks nice today. It’s nice to see all the effort you’ve been putting out lately, I’m proud of you.” 

Dear god and then he has to go and say things like that. “Thanks” Kris said awkwardly, now reevaluating every decision that brought them to this moment. 

Chapter Text

Today’s tutoring seemed to be more relaxed than usual. Kris didn’t know if it was because it was friday, they were doing better in school, or the whole dream incident, but Berdly seemed to not really care about the lesson today. The two spent most of the time getting sidetracked and talking about something unrelated. And by that, they meant they let Berdly rant uninterrupted while they doodled in their new sketchbook. The one Berdly thoughtfully got for them. It was really nice of him- wait, shit, were they supposed to get him something back now? Was he expecting something in return? Kris figured even if he wasn’t, it would be nice to return the favor anyways. What would Berdly like? …Well, Kris knew he liked video games… Maybe a super brawl brothers figure? What other video games did he play? Maybe he’d want a vintage console??? They aren’t very good at this. 

“And that’s why-” Berdly said, suddenly interrupted by the beep on his watch. “Oh…” He said quietly. He began to pack up his things, moving noticeably slower than usual. “Ugh I can’t wait to nap.” Kris yawned, stretching in their chair before getting up. “Heh… yeah…” he responded, sounding a little off. Did he want help getting his things together? Kris examined him for a moment, attempting to read him. He seemed nervous about something. Once he slowly zipped up his bag, instead of putting it on and moving to leave, he just let it sit on the ground an extra moment. “Uh… Kris?” He said, sounding a little shaky. “Hm?” Kris cocked their head to the side. Berdly attempted to say something, but was clearly struggling. They patiently waited for him to figure out what he was trying to ask. “Do… so, this- uh… This weekend, amirite?” He eventually settled on, attempting to seem cool even though he was very clearly freaking out. “...Yeah? What about it?” Kris was really confused. Berdly panicked some more. “Uh- well- it would appear that- uh… My schedule is… Empty.” …Where was this going? Berdly took a deep breath before speaking again. “And… If I’m not mistaken, yours is too..?” 

“I mean, yeah, I guess it is???” Kris said, knowing full well they planned to spend the entire weekend returning to their nocturnal ways. “Well then… if you consider the previous statements that were made about playing SBB, that stands for Super Brawl Brothers in case you didn’t know-” “Nah really-” “Do not interrupt me with your sarcasm, I have a query.” Berdly really wanted to get this off his chest. “If you consider the previous evidence combined with the fact that you and I are both free in the upcoming two days before school starts again, it would appear that logically it makes sense if we were to-” “If you wanna hangout this weekend you can just ask, dork.” Kris stopped him before he rambled himself into oblivion. He let out the breath he seemed to have been holding in the entire time he was talking, relieved they saved him from himself. “Y-yeah, I guess, in simpleton terms, that would be accurate.” He says, pushing up his glasses. “... So… Would you?” “Would I what?” “KRIS YOU KNOW WHAT I'M ASKING-” Kris smiled impishly. Messing with him was way too easy, he was so cute- FUNNY. He was funny when he was mad. That's what it was. How’d that word sneak in there?

“Yes, I’d like to hang out with you this weekend.” Kris finally said, offering Berdly a rare smile. He gasped excitedly, quickly attempting to regain his nonchalant composure. “Yeah, I figured you’d say that. I calculated there was a 78% possibility of you saying yes. I am very fun to be around, after all.” He said confidently. “Whatever you say man” Kris rolled their eyes, still smiling. They did that a lot around him. 

“Ok, so, my house, 1pm?” Berdly asked, walking down the stairs. Kris followed close behind. They personally didn’t care about timing, but they knew how Berdly was with plans, so they just agreed with whatever worked with him. Toriel perked up from the couch hearing them talk. “Hm? What’s tomorrow at 1?” She asked, stopping her knitting. Oh that’s right… Kris was technically grounded. They could use all the homework they’ve been doing as leverage, but she might just say “You should have been doing that anyways”. They had to choose their words carefully if they wanted her to say yes- “Can Kris come over tomorrow to hang out?” How was it easier for him to ask their mom than them??? Kris turned to Toriel, fully expecting her to hit them with a big fat no. To their surprise she looked… puzzled more than anything else. “You two… want to hang out? For fun?” She turned to Kris, and for some reason the look on their face made her understand something even they didn’t know. She simply smiled, said, “As long as you two stay out of trouble,” and resumed her knitting. “YES!! PARENTAL APPROVAL!!” Berdly pumped both fists in the air, then he walked (more like jumped excitedly) to the door, waving goodbye and saying “Bye Kris!! See you tomorrow!!!” with a huge smile on his face. Kris awkwardly waved back, mumbling a goodbye and watching him close the door. 

“He seems excited to hang out with you.” Toriel said with a certain smugness to her tone. “Yeah. I don’t think he gets out much, much less with friends.” Kris replied flatly, not wanting her to get the wrong idea. “Right.” She said, clearly assuming a lot more than she was letting on but choosing to keep her mouth shut. Kris just rolled their eyes. She always thought she knew everything. This hangout was just that: A hangout. Between friends. All they would do is play video games for a couple of hours and then go home. Why did she always have to be so weird about everything? 

As they returned to their room, they felt a buzz from their phone.

Nerdly:

What’s up Kristopher

My parents also agreed in case you were wondering.

Also for no reason in particular what’s your favorite food?

Kris didn’t know why but they felt some sort of compulsion to answer his question with “Pain”. That would have been funny. Instead they gave him a normal answer.

pie

… What’s your favorite snack?

pain. 

They tried. 

Ok, it seems I'll just have to invest in Pizza Rolls. 

yum

Would there be any other games you enjoy playing? So we don’t get stuck playing the same one all day? (That might become boring for someone that’s not used to the grind, such as yourself)

I liek roblox

Oh… nevermind the event is cancelled I didn’t know your gaming standards were so low

damn ok fine -_-

That was merely a jest dear Kristopher

thats not my name

It’s ok Kristoff, we’ll just have to expand your gaming horizons. 

thats also not my name 

Just out of curiosity, what would your Roblox username be? 

I need to assess how much aura you have

kys

I will indeed Keep Myself Safe! Thank you for the kind remark Kristine!

They gave up on trying to correct him. They just sent him their username and waited for him to “assess their aura” (did they really want to hangout tomorrow??) While they waited, they decided to open their messages from Susie.

Suzilla 👹 :

No new messages

That’s weird. They haven’t talked in a few days, come to think of it.

yo

Wassap

u feelin any better?

Just then they got another text from Berdly

Nerdly:

KRIS WHAT THE FREAK IS THIS AVATAR?????????

They couldn’t help but giggle

peak.

DESTROY IT NOW.

never.

They checked their messages with Susie again

Suzilla 👹 :

Read 2 minutes ago.

Oh. They turned their phone off. Suddenly they were feeling very tired.

They would much rather worry about this tomorrow.

Chapter Text

Sunlight shines through Kris’ window. It’s bright. And early. The first time in a while they woke up without having that stupid nightmare. It felt peaceful. They roll over, pulling the sheets over their face and attempt to go back to sleep. They were so comfy, a few more minutes couldn’t hurt. It’s the weekend, it’s not like they need to be getting out of bed anytime soon… oh yeah, Berdly’s house. They should probably get out of bed around 11:30, that gives them enough time to get ready and head over to his house, right? What time was it, anyways. They check their phone and immediately jump up, seeing 16 messages from Berdly and a big 12:51 at the top of the screen. Shit .

Nerdly:

That avatar is absolutely atrocious Kristian please fix it so I can play roblox with you without losing aura.

You probably fell asleep early.

Goodnight Kris, I will see you tomorrow :) 

Good morning! 

I bought the pizza bagels last night, they’ll be ready around the time you arrive. 

My room’s a little messy, I’ll tidy up but I don’t know if ill be able to clean it all before you get here, LOL (Laugh Out Loud)

Just send me a message when you wake up so I know you’re getting ready!

I’ve also set up the gaming system where I will kick your butt in SBB (Super Brawl Brothers) later. 

If there's any other games you would like to play with me, bring them with you and I will assess whether or not it’s up to my gaming standards.

If you really want me to, I will TRY to play roblox without getting bored by the sheer lack of intelligence/skill it requires.

Only if you pick a normal avatar. 

Are you on the way yet?

I can’t tell if you’re getting ready and choosing not to text me back until you’re ready to go or if you’re still asleep. 

I’m going to assume you’re still asleep. 

Krissy wake up. The time for hanging out is approaching.

Hellooooooooooo

They jump out of bed, racing to get their clothes on and brush their teeth. How could they oversleep this bad?? Berdly was so annoying about being on time too, he would never let them hear the end of this. They quickly typed out a response while they shoved some things in their bag. 

Nerdly:

hey sry overslpt omw now

They ran downstairs, finding their mom in the kitchen. “Oh, good morning sleepyhead. I was just about to make lunch. Shouldn’t you be heading over to Berdly’s house right about now-?” “yeah about that. I slept in. Can you drive me?” They ask, still trying to get their shoes on. Toriel sighs and goes back to cutting vegetables. “I’m afraid I’m in the middle of something right now dear. Plus, do you really want to go anywhere with your hair looking like that?” “what??” Kris runs to the bathroom, quickly brushes down their bedhead and bolts to the front door. “Kaythanksmombye!” They call out just as they step onto the grass on their front lawn. They run to find Berdly’s apartment, and by the time they get there, it was 1:26. Not too late, but knowing Berdly, being on time was late. Whatever, they still showed up. They freaking ran here, Kris never exerts this much energy onto anything. They knock on the door. 

The door finally creaked open, just enough so a part of Berdly’s face could be seen from inside. He was squinting very aggressively at Kris. “You’re late” He said seriously. Kris, still catching their breath from how fast they ran to get here, raised an eyebrow at him. “You… said one… I overslept… I ran here as… fast as I could… doofus…” They wiped sweat from their forehead with their sleeve. It was way too hot outside to be doing this. “Can you at least… yell at me inside… It’s freakin hot…” Berdly squinted for a moment before opening his front door all the way, gesturing for Kris to come inside. When they walked in, they saw a much taller, more feminine bird sitting on the couch. She had a pink button down shirt and white pants on, with glasses on her face. She looked very friendly. She stood up and held out a wing to shake their hand. “Oh, you must be Kris! We’ve heard so much about you, you have no idea how excited Berdly was to have a friend over today, he just would not stop talking abou-” “OKAY MOTHER THAT’S ENOUGH” Berdly quickly shouts over her, shooing her away from Kris. His mom just smiled, rolling her eyes. “Ok ok, I wont embarrass you, jeez. Your father and I were just about to leave.” Another Bird leaves a room across the hall, looking far more serious than Berdly’s mom. He wore a suit with no blazer and tired eyes. He didn’t seem as friendly. He looks at Kris for a moment, almost as if scanning them. They glance at Berdly and notice he seems a bit anxious. The bird finally speaks. “You stay out of trouble, ok? I don’t want to come back to a mess.” He grabs his coat and takes Berdly’s mom by the wing. She attempts to reassure him. “Oh relax you party pooper, they're just going to play video games. Kris seems like a very good kid, aren’t you Kris?” She turns to look at them. “...uh… yeah…” They didn’t really want to lie to his parents but what other choice did they have? His dad didn’t seem pleased with that response. “Right. Well, we’re off, we’ll be back tomorrow morning. Don’t stay up too late.” He opens the front door for his wife, and she waves goodbye to them one more time. “It was lovely to meet you Kris! Have fun you two!!” 

When the door closes, Berdly finally speaks up. “Ok, now that they’re gone, I’ll go reheat the pizza rolls. That are cold. Because you were twenty minutes late-” “oh my god I’ll heat them up if it's that much of an issue- “NONONO. I GOT IT. I was just reminding you that you were LATE.” Kris rolled their eyes while Berdly walks into the kitchen to reheat the pizza bagels. Kris decides to follow him, sitting on the counter while he puts the food in the microwave. “Sooo…” Kris attempts to start a conversation. They’ve never hung out with Berdly outside of an academic setting. Even when he came over to their house it was for tutoring. What were they supposed to talk about??? “...Who’s your main? In Super Brawl Brothers?” Berdly just snickers, pushing up his glasses and smirking like an anime villain. He’s such a dork. “Kris, Kris, Kris. You naive, low level gamer. I don’t ‘ main ’ anyone. I am a pro at what I do, I could beat you with any character. I memorized each of their attacks, strengths, weaknesses, every statistic I could possibly intake has been stored right here.” He points to his brain. “I guarantee I could win any match, regardless of who I’m playing as.” “oh… I like Smirby.” “WHAT. YOU MAIN SMIRBY?? Why am I not surprised? Let me guess, you spend the entire match in the air so I won't be able to attack you. Typical noob behavior.” “yeah, well, at least I’m not a dweeb.” “I AM NOT A DWEEB I AM A SBB, A.K.A. SUPER BRAWL BROTHERS TOURNAMENT CHAMPION AND ILL BEAT YOUR SMIRBY WITH NO PROBLEM AT ALL.” Kris giggled. He was so easy to ragebait. The microwave beeped and Berdly pulled the plate out. 

As they both made their way to Berdly’s room, he opened the door and mumbled “Mind the mess”. There was no mess. Zero mess. Kris genuinely didn’t know what he was even talking about, if this was a mess Kris’ room was a disaster. They ignore the comment and sit on his bed, crossing their legs and taking in the scenery. The blue walls were covered with posters from various video games, the desk had a monitor hooked up to a computer box with a see-through case and green LED lights inside it. There were a couple of action figures scattered about the room on shelves, along with other nerd shit. Wow. He really was a geek. Berdly sat at his desk, turning his chair around to face his bed. “We should wait a minute to eat, it’s really hot.” “ok” Kris responds, pulling their sketchbook out of the bag they brought. “So, if you don’t have a main, who’s your favorite character?” They ask, starting a drawing on a fresh page. Berdly sits up, clearly excited to talk about this. “Well, most of the characters have good redeeming qualities, even…” He scoffs dramatically. “Smirby… I will say, although Smirby mains are the most annoying players, I could understand why unskilled players would choose them. I would have to say… My favorite is R.O.B.O.” As he rambled on about all of the characters strengths and cool features, Kris munched on the Pizza bagels and listened while they sketched. 

Usually, listening to somebody ramble on and on to Kris was the most draining, annoying experience ever. They more often than not had to pretend to be paying attention or respond to questions, otherwise the person would get upset and think Kris didn’t care. Which was fair, Kris didn’t usually care, but it was still a headache to deal with. They just weren’t a big talker. Getting to sit, listen, and not worry about how they were perceived was nice. They knew Berdly understood they were listening. Plus, when they looked up to see him happily ranting on and on about statistics and fun facts, the look on his face made them care enough to stay engaged. They wished they could stay in this moment forever. 

Eventually, Berdly stood up and turned on the old game console that was hooked up to the TV. He sat down on the floor, holding out a controller for Kris. “Ready to lose?” He said with all the confidence in the world. Kris scoffed. “Pssh, yeah right.” They closed their book and sat down next to Berdly, close enough for their shoulders to almost touch. They did that on purpose. Psychological warfare, trying to get into his head, you know? Definitely not because they liked being close to him. No, this was all a part of their plan. They selected Smirby (duh), and Berdly groaned. They were NOT about to let him win, they hated losing. 

(Berdly was pretty cute when he was frustrated).

Chapter Text

“STOP. CHEATING.” Berdly squawks, waving away Kris’ hand from his face. They won the first five rounds, but Berdly was quickly adapting to their tactics and they had to resort to other measures to stay in the lead. “YOU’RE NOT EVEN PLAYING RIGHT YOU’RE JUST BUTTON MASHING!” “It’s working.” “IT’S STUPID!!!” The TV screen flashes and Smirby does its victory dance, signaling that Kris won again. They give Berdly a smug grin, slyly saying “what’s the score now? 6-1?” He glares, scoffing and spamming the rematch button. “New rule: nobody is allowed to obscure their opponents' vision. It’s just plain childish.” Kris rolls their eyes. “Whatever, you’re just mad you’re losing.” “I WOULDN’T BE LOSING IF YOU PLAYED THE GAME LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!” 

When Berdly invited Kris over to play, he must not have realized that they’ve been playing this game with Asriel since they were 6. They might not have played a lot since he left for college, but it’s not like all those years of muscle memory just disappeared. Berdly was very technical, strategic, all of his attacks and combos were carefully practiced. Kris opted for more of a “go with the flow” style. Sure, sweats called it button mashing, but Kris liked to think of it as keeping their opponent on their feet. It’s not like they were losing, anyways. Although, Berdly did seem a little more… frustrated than usual. They look at him, hesitating for a moment. He was laser focused, eyes glued to the screen and eyebrows furrowed. “You really have to try that hard to beat me, huh?” They say, taking the opportunity to rub it in his face. He falters a moment. “What?? I’m not even trying, I’m letting you warm up first!” “Really? Coz I’m pretty sure I can see you sweating from here.” “That’s preposterous, birds don’t sweat, nimrod.” He said the last word a little harsher than necessary. Kris didn’t respond, they just turned to the screen. He wasn’t even really engaging in banter anymore, he kinda just seemed annoyed. Was he really getting upset over this? Another round goes by, and Kris decides to keep quiet instead of antagonizing him. His reaction was usually funny, but if he was gonna be a baby about it then it wasn’t worth it.

Another win for Kris, and Berdly sighs frustratedly. “You know I’ve been going easy on you, right? You haven’t even played against me when I’m at my full power.” He says dismissively, biting back the venom in his tone. Kris knew he hated losing, but was it really this serious? “Ok, then don’t go easy on me??” They say flatly. The atmosphere went from lighthearted to tense in a matter of minutes. Kris shifted uncomfortably. Another rematch, and it looks like Kris is going to win again. They glance at Berdly and he’s gripping the controller and tensing his jaw. Kris furrows their eyebrows, wondering what’s got him so angry. There’s no way it was the damn game. All of a sudden, Berdly throws the controller to the ground, the Smirby victory screen flashing on the TV. Kris jumps, looking at Berdly with a bewildered expression. “Are you serious?!” They ask, taken aback by his sudden outburst. Berdly huffs. “Yes I’m serious!! That’s a perfectly normal reaction, you’re cheating and button mashing, there’s no skill to how you play you just confuse me till you win, that’s BS!!!” He’s shouting in their face now, and Kris stands up. “What the fuck is your problem, dude. It’s a video game. Chill out.” Berdly continued angrily muttering to himself as he stood up, turning off the TV and game system. Kris just stared in disbelief. 

Kris never handled negative emotions very well. They were quick to see when they weren’t wanted, or when someone didn’t like them. Once they got even a tiny hint that someone felt that way, it was hard for them to think clearly about it, and more often than not, their emotions would take over. They start picking up their things and putting it back in their backpack. They guessed they were wrong about this whole thing. About him. All that shit about how he understood them, how they enjoyed each other's company, it was clearly just Kris looking too far into it. He’s still just Berdly. The know it all, childish, stuck up asshole- “where are you going?” Berdly asks, noticing Kris making their way to his door. They pause for a moment, hand on the door handle, before speaking. “Home.” They say blankly, not even turning to look at him before they close his bedroom door behind them. He was just their tutor. He was only being nice because he wanted to prove he could get the failing student to pass, a real noble feat. He invited them over to show off, and now that he’s losing he’s throwing a temper tantrum. They felt stupid for hoping it was anything different. Berdly follows close behind. “Wait- you’re leaving?? Why???” Kris turned their head to look at him, in awe of how oblivious he seemed to be. They crossed their arms, using every ounce of strength they had in them to not start yelling. “Uh, hello??? You just screamed in my face about how I wasn’t playing right and how I made you lose! Do you even hear yourself right now? You threw a fucking controller, I’m pretty sure you broke it too. I’m sorry for actually being good at something, I know you didn’t expect that, but it’s not my fault you suck.” They said, raising their voice. They both stood there for a moment at a loss for words. Kris takes this as an opportunity to leave. “I’m going home.” 

Just as their hand reaches the door knob, Berdly grabs the other one, stopping them from leaving. “Wait! Don’t leave!” He says, not really sounding angry anymore. Kris turns their head slightly, just enough to be able to see him. He looks away from them, dropping their hand and muttering a “sorry”. He looks at the floor for a few moments, trying to find words. Kris turns to face him, not really having the patience to deal with this, but not leaving regardless. Berdly sighs, messing with the feathers on his hand. “Look I… I’m sorry I got mad. I… I didn’t mean to…” he tries to find his words, but Kris just wanted to get to the point. “Why’d you freak out on me? Why’d you throw the controller when you lost? It’s not that big of a deal, it’s a stupid game and you were overreacting. Are you really sorry, or do you just not want me to leave?” They say bluntly. They never were one to sugarcoat things, or beat around the bush. They saw no point in it. Berdly swallows, messing with his feathers even more. Kris noticed he did that when he was anxious. They took both his hands in theirs, separating them so he couldn’t mess with them. “Stop that, ur gonna mess up ur hands.” He looks at them, still holding their hands. He finally manages to speak up. “I am- uh… I have been known to be… prone to fits of rage when I…lose… I shouldn’t have taken it out on you, it's just…” he sighs, clearly having trouble admitting he was wrong. “It’s just…?” Kris repeats, just wanting him to spit it out. 

“I’m not… very good at… most things.” He admits, unable to look Kris in the eye. “I might be the smartest in the class, but that’s just because Noelle usually helps me study. I started playing video games so people would think I was cool, I spend hours trying to improve, but the truth is I’m still really not that great at it. I wanted you to think I was a pro gamer but… I’m just a noob. A fake.” He looks down, sighing heavily. “Can you forgive me, Kris?” He slowly looks up to see Kris, desperately trying to hold back laughter, tears in their eyes. They finally let it out, letting go of his hands to hold their stomach, tears streaming down their face from laughing so hard. He crosses his arms, offended by their disregard for his vulnerability just now. “What? What’s so funny? Are you just making fun of me now???” Kris barely manages a response “Yes, I am you dork. Do you hear yourself? Stop saying gamer as if it’s a serious word, I can’t take you seriously when you talk like that.” They wipe a tear from their eye, still giggling. “What- so do my words mean nothing to you?? That was a genuine, sincere apology!!!” “You really think I care that much about how cool you are or how good you are at video games? I already know you’re a loser, you don’t have to perform in front of me.” Berdly looks away again, eyebrows furrowed. Kris puts their hands on his shoulders, trying to get his attention again. “Listen. The way you reacted wasn’t ok. If you ever throw a fit like that again I’ll be pissed. That being said, I understand where you’re coming from. It’s hard feeling like nobody likes you or appreciates you or whatever. Just be yourself man. That’s the side people really like.” Kris was never good at being mushy gushy. Berdly looks at them again, almost untrusting. “You really think so?” He asks suspiciously. They just shrug. 

“It’s what I like.”