/sus/ - Trust You Forever

/sus/ Thread #1016: Stardust Edition
https://desuarchive.org/trash/thread/64210846/#64247138
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Trust You Forever
By TwoDaysMaybe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lvn9apBXJY8
>He comes upon Veth giggling to herself one night, eyes glassy and a distant, manic grin on her face
>"It'll be perfect. Finally. After all of thethe years, I'll finally be able to...!"
>Her hair gleams umber in the moonlight, her skin glowing pallid, ethereal
>She is beautiful.
>Beautiful like a glass shattered on the kitchen tiles, like a drip of venom beading on the tip of a snake's fang.
>A cold, dangerous beauty that makes Kris's palms sweat even as his heart starts to race, just as it always does
>"Veth? Uh... Everything okay?"
>She startles, her head jerking out of her palm as her hand spasms into a fist
>"K-Krith?! What are you doing up thith late?"
>Before Kris can think of an excuse, though, she just shakes her head
>"Ah, well. It doethn't matter. I thupothe it was inevitable that you'd catch on thooner or later."
>Her eyes meet his, shining like cold iron as she smirks
>"Honethtly, I'd ecthpect nothing leth from you. Bethideth, it'th not ath though you can thtop me at thith point. I've already made all the nethethary preparathionth."
>Kris's mouth goes dry, and he swallows.
>This is it, he thinks.
>I knew it was a bad idea.
>Knew the price of my mercy would eventually come due, but I went and did it anyway
>"Veth, whatever you're planning..."
>He hoped his voice would sound stronger than he feels, but it wavers, cracks, and Veth puffs a nasty little giggle into her fist
>"Oh, don't look tho upthet, Krith. It'th jutht the culmination of my mathter plan. You thould be honored to be able to witneth it, when it finally doeth come to path. After all, you're an integral part of it."
>She stands, puts her half-empty mug of hot chocolate in the sink
>"Now get thome thleep. How many timeth have I told you not to thtay up tho late?"
>Kris doesn't sleep that night
-
>He doesn't sleep much for the next few weeks
>He spends his days calling Susie, Noelle, Catti, even Berdly, begging them to be on the alert for anything out of the ordinary, to come and look for him immediately if they lose contact with him
>And his nights watching Veth, watching her mutter and babble to herself in her sleep, trying in vain to draw any kind of meaning out of her unconscious ramblings
>Every moment of every day, he tries fruitlessly to preempt her master plan
>Years of careful, dutiful vigil that Kris knows he should have been keeping over Veth are compressed into days as he watches her
>Examines everything she does for the slightest hint of treachery
>He's so caught up in it that he doesn't realize it's his birthday until Veth tells him
>Kris barely eats a bite of the surprisingly delicious meal Veth cooks for him, his stomach clenched like a fist the entire time, his eyes frantically scanning the room
>As though Veth's armies will suddenly leap out of the cabinets, the fridge, the chicken noodle casserole she made
>And now he sits, gloomily staring at the neat slice of butterscotch pie she's set in front of him, watching the flame of the candle stuck in it flicker and sway
>Veth watches him, an unreadable expression on her face
>"...Make a with."
>Kris nods, takes a deep breath
>Please, he thinks.
>Please don't make anyone else pay the price of my mistake.
>Please let... whatever this is, Veth's revenge or her master plan or whatever only affect me.
>Please.
>He sighs, the candleflame fluttering before it finally goes out
>"Happy birthday, Krith."
>Veth's face doesn't move an inch, still as stony and still as before he blew the candle out
>She reaches into her pocket, and for a moment she hesitates
>Her hand curls into a fist, bulging the fabric of her pants
>"...Are you ready for your prethent?"
>Kris closes his eyes
>Is he?
-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrW9Di6dL-Q
>The adventures of his youth are far behind him now
>He's not sure he can survive another villainous plot, let alone thwart it
>But while some part of him just wants to settle down, to live a normal life, another, larger part of him burns bright red with excitement
>With a desire to see the next adventure, to see the next battle
>It has been too long.
>And it would be a shame to let whatever Veth has planned go to waste.
>So he opens his eyes and grins
>"Yeah. Let's see what you've got."
>But instead of the smug smile he expects, Veth's lips quiver
>She clutches at the hem of her shirt as she takes a short, sharp breath
>She is *afraid*.
>Kris has seen her afraid before, of course, when he had her at his mercy, held her life at the tip of his sword
>But something is different this time, and a sudden pang of uncertainty winds its way around his heart
>"...You know, I really thought I'd prepared mythelf for thith."
>Veth laughs, weak and awkward as she stares into the middle distance, her slate-grey eyes wide with panic
>"Ah... To hell with thith! I jutht have to thay it!"
>She takes a deep breath, then fixes her eyes on Kris, her gaze hawk-sharp and clear.
>"Krith. Ever thinthe we met, you have been a thorn in my thide. You have dethtroyed every thingle one of my planth, thwarted my dearetht ambitionth, forthed me to... to *debathe* mythelf like thith."
>She sweeps a hand across the lavishly set table
>"For God'th thake, you even made me learn how to *cook*! I mean, theriouthly!"
>Kris chuckles, even as he checks his phone under the table to see if any of his friends have gotten back to him yet
>No such luck. It's just him and Veth, or so it seems.
>Her long lashes shimmer in the low evening light as she glances away
-
>"...At firtht I hated you for it. Hated that no matter what I tried, you and your friendth would alwayth be able to defeat me. But then I... I thtarted to, um... admire that part of you. That... irregularity. That forthe of will."
>Her fist clenches again, her voice catching for just a moment
>She bites down on her lip, nods to herself, and pulls a small, jet-black box out of her pocket
>"I think some part of me always admired it, but it took me a while to realize that... that it was what I was missing. That *you* were what I was missing, the catalyst I'd spent so long searching for, the final cog in my master plan."
>She shoves the box towards him, eyes shut tight, buck teeth pressing into her lower lip nearly hard enough to draw blood.
>...It's not really what Kris was expecting from his final showdown with his archnemesis
>He takes the box, nonplussed, weighs it in his hands
>"Kris. I fully realize how this will probably sound. And if you should... if you don't want to do this, then please... I want you to know that there won't be any hard feelings whatsoever."
>His thumb flicks out the latch, and he opens it
>Inside, resting in something that looks a lot like but probably is not velvet, is a simple, unadorned golden ring
>As he stares at it, dumbfounded, it seems to wriggle, bucking like a living thing, reaching a metallic pseudopod out towards the heat of his fingers
>Veth slams her hands on the table, and he nearly leaps out of his chair
>"D-Don't touch it! It doethn't come off eathily. And it'th linked to one of mine, trackth your heart rate and other thingth like that-"
>She presses a hand to her forehead
>"Thtupid. Put the cart before the horthe onthe again."
>Veth wrings her hands together, a little shudder of tension rippling through her lean frame
>"Don't touch that ring until you answer this question."
>There is a quiet frailty in Veth's voice that Kris has never heard before.
>And all at once he realizes just how wrong he has been.
-
>"Kris Dreemurr. I love you. Dearly. More than anything in this world, or in any other. Will you marry me?"
>The words are like a bullet through his heart
>Like a stun gun to the base of his skull
>He's dizzy, his chest aches, his stomach roils
>The magnitude of his mistake makes him sick, and he presses his hands to his mouth, the blood draining from his face
>It's unthinkable. Unforgivable.
>This was Veth's master plan all along.
>All the nervous giggles, the wordless mumbles in her sleep, all of it was just Veth preparing herself for... this.
>And he doubted her.
>Assumed the worst of her.
>Treated the words she had to spend weeks steeling herself to even *think* of saying like she was planning on bombing an orphanage.
>Shame burns black in his heart. The shame of doubting someone he thought he cared about, of fearing someone he thought he trusted
>He stares at the table
>A few tears splatter onto the hardwood
>"I'm sorry."
>An infinite pain sparks in Veth's eyes, though she does her best to hide it
>She rubs the back of her neck, shows her teeth but does not smile
>"...Ahah. Can't blame you, I gueth. I... thupothe it would have been thtrange if you had thaid yeth. Um. Leth jutht-"
>Kris leaps up from his chair so hard that it tips over, slams against the floor with a deafening crash
>He strides towards Veth, wraps his arms around her shoulders, presses his face into her collarbone
>"I'm so sorry. I'm the worst. I thought that you were... that your master plan was something really bad, that's why I've been-"
>Veth's eyes go wide
-
>Her cheeks puff out
>And she throws her head back, howling, cackling with mad laughter
>"Ahahaha! W-Wait, you theriouthly- Kahaha! Oh my GOD, Krith!!"
>One cold, slightly bony hand pats his back as he tries to choke back a sob
>"...I thupothe I did a pretty poor job thetting it up. That'th on me. But, ah... doeth that mean...?"
>Kris pulls back, wordlessly takes the little black box from the table
>He reaches his left hand out to the ring, and in one swift motion it leaps out of the box and wraps itself around his ring finger
>It is tight, but comfortingly so. The strong, just barely tolerable squeeze of an inflated blood pressure cuff
>"I love you too, Veth."
>Veth sighs
>"...Finally."
>Her voice is soft, shivering
>"Finally, one of my planth worked."
>A happy blush rises in her cheeks, pink-red behind the grey like a clouded sunrise
>Tears spill over, flow in little rivulets down her face as she steps towards Kris and takes his hands
>His phone buzzes on the table, the congratulations from all the friends he thought he was warning of a catastrophe starting to roll in
>He will read them later, the light of the screen illuminating the embarrassed smile on his face
>Sitting up in bed as Veth mutters and mumbles in her sleep, and every so often giggles with a faraway grin
>But for now, it is just the two of them, together, finally interlinked
>The last step of a very long plan, and the first of another, even greater one.