Ch. 2 - What You Yearn For
Pairing: Kris Dreemur/Ralsei (Kralsei)
Summary: Ralsei can't forget what that voice said to him in that white room. Was what happened even real? Or was Ralsei's brain making it all up in an effort to cope with his feelings for Kris? Either way, he only had three days to figure it out - and he wasn't sure which possibility scared him more.
A/N: I like writing Kris and Susie's friendship a lot :) enjoy!
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Chapter Two
DAY ONE - AROUND NOON
Ralsei blinked, and he was back in the doorway. Warm yellow and green lights danced in front of his eyes, instead of the harsh, blinding white of the void. He was frozen in place, Susie and Kris far ahead of him. Ralsei stared at their backs, his heart pounding in his chest.
Whatever had just happened, it didn’t feel real. Has it even happened? Or did Ralsei just imagine it? But what could have even led to Ralsei’s mind conjuring up something like that? Was he so desperate for Kris’ affection that his brain was starting to play tricks on him?
Three days.
Three days to kiss Kris.
And if he failed… he could lose his magic.
“Ralsei?”
He flinched. “Dude, are you coming?” Susie asked. She had finally noticed the gap between the three. Ralsei stood there, still in shock, and before he knew it, Susie was standing right in front of him.
“Are you okay?” She asked. There was a look of concern on her face.
Ralsei shook his head from side to side, trying to pull himself out of his own thoughts.
“Yes, I’m okay! Just the lights distracted me, that’s all,” he lied.
Susie looked over to watch as the lights from the ceiling moved to create a pattern of red and blue stars that slowly descended down the wall. Her eyebrows raised, and she stared at it for a second before she looked back up at Ralsei and said, “Yeah, it is pretty trippy, I guess.”
She flashed a smile at him before taking hold of Ralsei’s hand, surprising him a little, and pulling him down the hall to where Kris was standing. He shrieked as he tried to keep his feet moving on the floor and not fall flat on his face - which was a little hard since Susie was so tall she basically had him hovering off the ground.
Susie stopped them in front of where Kris was talking to some sort of receptionist who was enthusiastically explaining how their ranks and the rooms worked. Ralsei suddenly felt very aware of how close Kris was. He looked over to them, and his stomach twisted. They were standing there, expression neutral as they listened, no emotion on their face. Sometimes Ralsei wished he could tell what Kris was thinking.
Three days… He thought. Ralsei still didn’t believe it was entirely real. Even though it had just happened no less than a minute ago, it felt like it had been ages since he was in that white room. Since that… voice had talked to him. He swore he had met a person who sounded like that before. For some reason, though, no face would come to mind when he searched his memory for one. It was like he forgot about someone and could only remember the sound of their voice. It almost felt like when you wake up from a dream and your brain can remember little bits and pieces of it but can make no sense of it all. Ralsei found it frustrating.
He also found it terrifying. He knew everything about this world. It was his entire life, his purpose to have the answer to anything. But this - whatever had just happened to him - he didn’t have the answer to. It made his given role in the dark world feel futile.
Susie banging on the vending machine next to the front desk made Ralsei realize he had been unconsciously staring at the receptionist. He smiled at them sheepishly and then awkwardly shuffled over to where his friends were standing.
Apparently, the machine had failed to dispense one of the snacks in it all the way, and now Susie had taken it upon herself to shake it with all her might. Various packages and containers inside were rattling around as she moved it back and forth aggressively. Kris was standing next to her and watching with an amused grin on their face. Ralsei watched them and took notice of the way the corners of their eyes wrinkled when they smiled. In this lighting, they almost looked red.
“A KISS TO THE LIGHTNER YOU YEARN FOR WILL SET YOU FREE AND EARN YOU A PLACE IN THE LIGHT WORLD.”
The words suddenly echoed through Ralsei’s head. How could he ever kiss Kris? When would he ever be put in a situation where it would be appropriate to kiss them? It would be impossible to do without making Kris feel incredibly uncomfortable. Maybe even disgusted. He had never even considered that to be something he could actually do. It seemed so absurd to even imagine himself kissing Kris. After all the time and effort he put into pushing all of his feelings towards them down, now he would have to face them head-on.
“You okay?” Ralsei heard Kris ask. They were right in front of Ralsei again. He jumped. Ralsei’s paws had absentmindedly come up and started to tug at his ears while he was thinking. Kris was following the motion with their eyes intently. It made heat bloom across Ralsei’s face.
“Oh yeah! I’m okay! I promise,” He said. He faked the best smile he could and pulled his arms back down to his sides.
Kris didn’t look very convinced, though.
“I don’t know, dude, you’ve been acting weird,” Susie said from beside Kris. “You’ve been staring off into space… Like, a lot.”
Ralsei laughed nervously. He looked up at the ceiling, trying to come up with any excuse he could find. “I’m sorry, I’m just a little overwhelmed, I guess.”
Kris continued to stare at him with the same neutral expression as always. “Why?” They asked.
Because of you.
Ralsei felt himself tense up. He clasped his hands behind his back and said, “The… This new place, of course! It’s just a lot to take in all at once.”
Susie hummed in thought. “I don’t know. I’d say the last dark world was way worse. I could barely navigate that Cyber City. I swear that place was designed to piss me off, specifically. We walked in circles for like an hour before Kris finally figured out where we were going.”
Kris turned and punched Susie’s shoulder, hard enough to make her stumble to the side.
“OW!” She yelled. She turned and shoved him right back. Kris faltered a little but managed to catch their balance. They started to rush at Susie, hands up in front of them. Susie laughed and caught them by their wrists and pushed back with maybe a little bit too much force, sending Kris backwards. It was meant to be playful, but Kris couldn’t manage to catch themselves and their feet slipped out from under them. They go toppling towards the wall beside them, hit the back of their head with a thunk, and fall to the ground onto their back. They land right at Ralsei’s feet.
Both Ralsei and Susie let out a startled gasp.
“Oh, man, Kris! I’m so sorry!” Susie apologizes.
Ralsei could barely hear her. He immediately dropped down onto his knees and slipped his paw under the back of Kris’ head. He forgot to move it away and kept it there as Kris moved to sit up in front of him. Ralsei was acutely aware of how close they were. He could feel Kris’ legs brushing against his, and their faces were inches apart. He gulped.
“Are you okay?” Ralsei asks. If everything that had happened was real, if he actually had to kiss Kris, this was his opportunity. All he had to do was close the gap between them. He could become a lightner and have a place in the real world. And Kris was right there. Ralsei’s eyes flicked down to their lips. His heart pounded loudly in his chest.
It almost looked like Kris realized what Ralsei was planning to do for a second, and it made the fur on the back of his neck stand up. But the moment was cut off by Susie crouching down next to them. She tucked her hands under Kris’ arms and lifted them up, surprising both of them. Ralsei’s paw slipped away from Kris’ face and fell back down to his side. He watched from his place on the floor as Susie made a big deal of making sure she didn’t actually hurt Kris.
Ralsei felt a wave of shame. He was selfish to think it was a good idea to kiss Kris while he was down like that. He could tell Kris was still a little bit dazed from having their head practically bounce off a wall. Kris was his friend. How good of a friend would Ralsei be if he took advantage of them while they were vulnerable like that?
He still wasn’t even sure if any of it was real either. His feelings for Kris were not part of the prophecy. That white room and ultimatum given to him by a weird, disembodied voice were not part of the prophecy. Ralsei felt like he was going crazy - which wasn't part of the prophecy, either. But then again, if he was, and the prophecy did predict him going crazy, he wouldn’t know that. Because he would be crazy.
“You too!” Ralsei heard Susie say, and suddenly he was being lifted back to his feet. Susie smiled at him, and Ralsei smiled back.
All Ralsei could do now was try to ignore everything. They were all in the middle of trying to close a dark fountain. He couldn’t let himself get distracted from that. He didn’t have the time to let himself be distracted by it/.
Kris had already started to head towards the doors at the beginning of the hall that would continue their journey in the dark world. Ralsei watched for a moment before quickly following, trying his best to ignore the knot slowly growing in his stomach.
