Chapter Three
Sugar sat awkwardly in the too-big chair, his legs tucked under him, eyelights everywhere except on the human in front of him. Birdie stared at him shamelessly from their spot on the couch, curled up comically small, bundled up in the fresh-out-of-the-dryer blanket they had woken up with. Both clutched at a warm mug of goldenflower tea. The apartment was completely silent except for the sounds of Doc cooking for the three of them.
Well, technically four, but G insisted on manning the front while the three of them went upstairs for privacy and breakfast while Birdie and Sugar talked. It was a good idea, in theory, if the two of them could actually start talking, but Birdie and Sugar seemed content to sit in awkward silence, neither one willing to make the first move yet.
Doc walked past, setting down plates of food on the coffee table.
"Well this is an invigorating conversation," he grinned and clasped his hands together, sitting on the other end of the couch. Sugar and Birdie turned to look at him with blank, unimpressed expressions on their faces, "Absolutely riveting. I am so blessed that we're able to sit down and speak to each other like this."
"don't- weren't you gonna take a plate to g?" Birdie muttered into their mug before taking an experimental sip of the tea. They blinked at it, finding the taste to be a pleasant surprise. They had been picky about what they drank once upon a time ago and had been a huge tea drinker so having someone prepare a mystery tea and actually liking it came as a shock to them.
"Yes- well," Doc spluttered, then silently picked up one of the plates and went downstairs.
Sugar snorted, "Well, I Am Relieved To See That You're Feeling Better Now."
Birdie gave them a strained smile, that probably looked more like a grimace but at least they tried, "get-getting there. not re-really better yet but-but definitely getting there. um… i'd-i'd like to apologize, for the way i reacted when-n I saw y-you."
Sugar was taken aback, "No! No, Sorry, You Don't Have Anything To Apologize For, I Know That Seeing A Skeleton, Let Alone A Monster, Can Be Very Startling."
Birdie shook their head, but Sugar wasn't having any of that, "I would like to apologize for startling you!"
"if I don't have anything to apologize for, then you don't either. But I would like a chance to explain why I had reacted the way I did."
Sugar tilted his head, and Birdie took that as permission to continue.
"i- hm, where to start?" Birdie pondered out loud, glancing out the window. The trees were very green here, much more green than where they had come from, "about a year ago, the last 'verse, the creatorverse, had joined the amalgamation that was your- and the rest- world."
"The one with the video game, right?" Sugar blinked, raising a browbone. He tilted his head and prepared to say something, but Birdie bulldozed on, not allowing themself to get sidetracked from their train of thought. They didn't even know if they were able to say everything that needed to be said, and they needed Sugar to understand.
"yep. i was a huge fan of the game. wrote fanfiction, drew art, ran a blog, all that jazz. i had fallen in love with a way they had been portrayed in the fandom. the last thing i wanted was to run into people who had, at one point from my perspective, been video game characters." It was interesting to hear what they had to say, and Sugar couldn't help but wonder if the human would fall in love with the real him- them. Just for a moment, he couldn't help but imagine them with his brother. They would be good for each other. "i didn't know how to deal with, so i decided that the best way was to move to the middle of fuck-off nowhere."
He immediately shoved the thought away with an embarrassed flush. That was COMPLETELY inappropriate.
"Never Meet Your Heroes." Sugar seemed distressed but understanding, "So, Was That Your Original Reason To Move To The Middle Of Nowhere?"
"yep." Birdie said, slumping down, further into their blanket.
"What happened to you?"
Birdie paused, "i… that's- um. hm. that's a question." they stared off into the space in front of them, not really seeing what was there, "my plans got put on hold. my- uh, metaphorically speaking, my pot got put on the burner and i never noticed until the water started to boil until someone pulled me out."
Sugar grimaced.
The two cleared their plates while Doc and G were still downstairs, and finished off the last of the tea, leaving nothing left. The rest of the conversation was pleasant, steering clear away from touchy subjects.
"do you get a lot of business?" Birdie asked at one point, shoving a forkful of something Sugar had made into their mouth.
"Yes, But Also No? So Probably Not The Way You're Thinking But Since I'm The Only Grocery Store In The Town Its The Only Place To Get Food At. I Mostly Keep It As A… Community Pantry?" He had a desperate look on his face, as if he was trying to make Birdie understand something, "There's Too Few Of Us To Really Run The Grocery Store Properly, So We Use The Community Money To Buy Groceries From Outside Sources And Just Keep The Majority Of The Stuff There. There's A Kitchen In The Back Room If You Ever Need To Use It."
Birdie blinked, confused, "wait- uh, uhhh,"
"It's Okay," Sugar grinned at them, "I Know That It Must Seem Confusing From An Outsiders Perspective. I Don't Want Anyone To Be In A Position To Go Hungry When I Can Do Something About It, So The Foodstuff In There Is Free, Or You Can Pay What You Want For What You Need, And The Kitchen Is Always Open Too, The Only Trade Off Is That I Must Politely Ask You To Clean Up Whatever Mess You Make And That Non-Foodstuff Is Not Free."
Birdies face lit up in understanding, "that's impressive."
Sugar preened, "Thank You."
The two looked over as the door creaked open, Docs head poking in, "Ah, dear, G and I realized that we never got your name."
"oh, do I have to give you my legal name?" Birdie asked.
"Not right now, we just need a name for your file." Doc smiled reassuringly at them. That was probably illegal, but Birdie appreciated it.
"just- hm, just call me birdie."