Stupid. That seemed to be Brady and Severa's favorite word to describe pretty much anything. From their stupid idiot friends to the stupid name for Severa's stupid society thing. Although, that stupid society was made from their shared interest in calling things stupid, so was it really that stupid?
Yeah, it was.
They didn't hold back on using the word. Hell, not even their own significant others (also known as each other) were safe from the word. Again, hence the (stupid) Snark and Bark Society. Of course, Brady didn't think it was stupid that he was dating Severa, but the sequence of events leading up to it was pretty dumb. Either way, they were together and while they weren't the cutest or the most affectionate couple, they certainly managed to last.
Longer than all of Inigo's frivolous hook-ups anyway. That is to say, they lasted long enough to actually get down to some less than savory business. Which, in hindsight, was kind of stupid because if Brady's mom ever found out that her son of such a noble bloodline didn't wait until marriage to get laid, she'd have a cow and call it a better son. Brady didn't think it was that big of a deal, but that didn't mean he went and bragged about it to everyone.
The act also proved a great way for the two of them to relieve stress, what with struggling for their lives every single day. After a long day of almost dying, it was nice to wind (and strip) down and have some good, not-quite-clean fun. It might have been stupid to start trusting each other so wholly so soon, but what harm could come from it?
One day, however, Severa seemed stressed in a different form than usual. She stumbled around camp, looking dazed and slightly confused, with skin paler than a corpse's. When Brady asked what was wrong, he got a look of pain and a very sick Severa throwing up, missing him in favor of the ground by inches.
"Whoa! Watch where yer spewing, Sev! I just cleaned these robes."
Severa looked at him with a miserable, in pain expression. "Sorry, B. I just don't know what's wrong with me today. I've been feeling kind of woozy for a couple of days now, but it didn't get bad until...urp, just now."
Brady put an arm around her and held her up, as she was looking like she was about to stumble into a misplaced weapon. "Alright, let's get ya to a healer, okay? I bet Lissa can fix you right up."
"You're a healer, you idiot," Severa spat in her usual tone.
"Good to know you're not too sick," Brady said with a laugh. "But I've got some busy work to do today. I can't be accused of wastin' time with my girlfriend even though she's actually sick. 'Cuz you know my ma and Chrom would do that."
"Good points, I guess," Severa admitted.
A week or so passed and Brady saw neither head nor tail of Severa. After so many days of increasing worry, he nearly sobbed out loud when he finally saw a wavering, unsure looking Severa wandering around camp. "Are you okay? What the hell happened to you?" He demanded.
"Don't worry," Severa assured him. "It was just a worse sickness than I thought. I'm better now. Promise."
"Alright well, you better be."
"Trust me, I am." Severa took a moment to look around and observe the area. "Where is everybody?"
Brady shrugged. "I think they're preparing to go out and fight some Risen we found wandering around."
Severa's eyes lit up at the possibility of combat. "Let's go join them!"
"Are you sure that's such a great idea?" Brady asked. "You kinda just got better. Ain't it a bit too soon to jump into the fray just yet?"
"Nah, of course not," Severa said. "Let's go grab a sword and a staff. And hey, if you're lucky, you might just get lucky after the fact." The wink she gave him as she passed meant he couldn't exactly turn her down, so, after confirming with Robin that it was okay, they set out with the rest of the small group to take on the Risen.
It didn't take long at all for everything to go south. This particular group of Risen was much stronger than anything the time travelers had encountered after making the trip across time, so they were caught a bit off guard. These were also exceptionally smart mooks, so they had the sense to go after the vulnerable healers. Severa and Brady fought hard, trying to keep each other safe, but something went wrong along the way. Somehow, a sword got thrown into the mix that didn't belong, and that blade found itself aimed squarely at Brady's back. A scream and a jump later, Brady heard a sickening sound and turned around slowly to see Severa with a sword lodged in her body.
"Severa!" He snatched her dropped sword and desperately lobbed off the hand that belonged to her assailant. The Risen stumbled back and Robin jumped into the fray.
"Brady! You get Severa the hell out of here. We can handle this."
"R-right...Thanks Robin!" Brady picked Severa up and ran her back to camp, the sword still sticking out of her awkwardly. "Oh, please be okay please be okay please be okay."
Severa coughed, signaling she was still alive at least. "Shit...I got careless. My mother would never have let this happen to her."
"Severa, you're alright!" Brady didn't slow down for a second, but he wanted nothing more than to collapse in his usual state: a puddle of tears.
"I wouldn't say alright...but alive. Alive works." Then she noticed the tears streaming down his face. "Don't you dare cry on me..."
"Can't help it." When they finally managed to get to safety, Brady lay her down gently and started healing her wound, only to have his staff smacked away. "Wh-what the hell? Don't you want to get saved?"
"Lissa...Get Lissa," Severa pleaded. "I need her to get over here."
"But I'm a healer!" Brady yelled. "And I'm right here!"
She gripped his wrist so tight he thought he was about to lose his hand. "Get. Lissa. Now."
"...Fine." Brady left her, prayed she wouldn't bleed out, and fetched Lissa as fast as he could. Lissa seemed to understand why Severa wanted her and hurriedly ran to her side with Brady in tow.
It didn't take long to heal the wound to the point where Severa's life was no longer in danger, but Lissa was somber and silent, unlike her usual demeanor.
"I...is she gonna be alright, Lissa?" Brady asked in a shaky voice.
A moment passed before Lissa made a move to speak. When she did, she was interrupted by Severa. "I don't give a shit about me. What about...?"
Brady raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Me? Robin? We'll be fine."
"No, not either of you, you dolt!" Severa snapped. She immediately regretted getting loud and groaned in pain. "Lissa, please tell me it's going to be alright.
It was at this point Lissa's eyes started watering. "Severa. I'm sorry. It didn't make it."
Suddenly, something clicked and it all made sense. "Hold on a sec. It...? Severa, were you...?" Severa burst into tears and made no effort to hide her loud, ugly crying. It wasn't said in words, but it was all the confirmation Brady needed. "You stupid idiot! You were honestly rarin' to go into battle while you were with a child?! And you didn't even tell me you were...pregnant?" He tried to put as much authority and anger into his voice as he could, but his sentences came out in between sobs. "Stupid...stupid, stupid!"
Severa nodded, still crying harder than anyone had ever seen her. "I'm so sorry..."
"I can't believe you! And you said this was okay, Lissa?"
Lissa swallowed hard. "I thought it was early enough for her to exert herself without hurting it. I didn't think she'd actually get hurt."
"Gods DAMN IT!" Brady threw his staff to the ground, shattering it.
"I'm so sorry, Brady," Severa sobbed.
Brady was beyond words now. The anger jumbled his thoughts before melting into soul-crushing sadness and agony. He struggled to choke out words, but the only sounds that left his mouth were sobs and whispers of a single word.
Stupid stupid stupid.
His vision was fixed on Severa's exposed belly. The scar from the wound was already fading thanks to Lissa's magic, but he knew just looking at it that he would never be able to get the image of what took his future child from him out of his memory.
Stupid stupid stupid.
How could she be so stupid?
"Brady, say something," Severa pleaded. "I'm so sorry."
Brady stood and stared down at the tear-stained face of his girlfriend. "It's alright," he whispered. He wasn't even sure it reached her ears, but he couldn't handle the sight of her crying any longer. He turned and ran into camp.
Stupid stupid stupid.
It was his fault, too. If he had watched out and seen the attack coming, he could have dodged it and Severa wouldn't have had to jump in. As stupid as she was to fight, he was almost as stupid, not seeing an attacker coming.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
"Ma! Ma I need ya!" He yelled in between sobs and pants. Finally, Maribelle emerged from a tent, looking annoyed. When her eyes landed on her distraught son, her scold caught in her throat.
"Brady...are you alright?"
Without a word, Brady took her into a hug and squeezed her tight. "Ma, I need ya right now. I'll explain later."
Maribelle wrapped her arms around her son and accepted his hug. "Shh, it's okay."
Again, a whisper that Brady wasn't even sure fell on ears. "It's not okay."
"Well, I'm here now. Mother's here."
"Thanks Ma."
It was a long time before the Snark and Bark Society could stomach the sight of each other without bursting into tears, and for good reason.
A rift was caused between the two, and their relationship would probably never be the same again.
But even though they couldn't save an unborn child, maybe they could salvage their relationship.
It was going to take a lot more than a mutual affinity for the word stupid.
The fact that they were both stupid probably helped a bit, though.