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Chris hummed to himself as he typed out and sent another message on his phone - which, fortunately, was no longer horribly malfunctioning. He had previously arranged plans for Ben to come over to his house, conveniently timed so his father wouldn’t be home. Unfortunately, since Ben legally didn’t exist and therefore couldn’t get a driver’s license, he was forced to walk.
There had been a slight delay when Ben stopped to examine a nest full of robin chicks, but currently things seemed to be progressing very well with minimal deaths. It was sort of nice to see him interacting with the world anyway. Chris couldn’t imagine hell had much going on, and the normal world was probably a sight to behold in comparison.
A loud ding signified a new text from his tentative friend: “I think the angry boy from school is glaring at me through his window.”
Chris cursed a little under his breath, sprinting over to the door and flinging it open, giving him a perfect view of Ben engaging in a silent staredown with Nevin. “Hey, I’m over here!” He called.
Ben smiled at this, jogging over and completely leaving the annoyed emo in the dust. Chris waved sheepishly at Nevin, praying he’d be able to explain this later.
“Is… uh… Monika coming?” Chris asked, glancing around for any sign of the terrifying anime girl.
Ben shook his head. “Dez wanted to take her shopping,” he replied quietly, signing as he spoke.
Chris shuddered a little, the horrible image of Monika with dyed hair and Hot Topic merch flooding his mind. “Sounds really… interesting…”
His discomfort was seemingly very evident, as Ben quickly changed the subject with a smile. “What did you want to show me?”
“Oh!” Chris chirped, perking up. “Well, I figured if you’re from Majora’s Mask, you might not have been able to play the newer games? Wait, does hell even have video games?”
Ben’s face grew somber. “Only ‘The Wand of Gamelon’.” The long title looked hellish to fingerspell.
“I… honestly really did like having someone who enjoyed Zelda as much as I did,” Chris admitted, “and I was hoping we could play through the games you haven’t gotten a chance to see together? Um… I might need breaks to sleep this time though.”
With a snort, Ben nodded. “Of course.” He gestured forward, letting Chris lead the way.
The two of them made their way to Chris’ room, which had all of the Legend of Zelda games the older boy could find carefully compiled. Ben leaned over the pile, absentmindedly picking his way through. He stopped on Four Swords, flipping it over and reading the back.
“Nevin says the manga version of that’s good,” Chris mentioned from his place on the bed. “Something about homosexual tension?”
Ben seemed surprised at this, but put the game aside rather than returning it to the collection anyway. Twilight Princess, Skyward Sword, and Spirit Tracks were also added to what was quickly becoming the “maybe” pile.
Suddenly, he froze, staring at a relatively smaller box near the end of the conglomerate. He carefully pulled out one Chris recognized as Tears of the Kingdom, and nodded up to him.
“That’s the one? I didn’t expect you to pick it.” Chris replied, hopping down and joining Ben on the floor. “But sure!”
It didn’t take long to grab his Nintendo Switch and pop the game card in, so soon enough they were watching the start of the intro. Ben seemed fixated on the screen, as if trying to take in every last detail.
“…they’re blue now,” he finally mentioned quietly.
“Is that… good?” Chris asked, feeling himself start to sweat a little. He trusted Ben, but he also knew from experience that passion could be a strong drug, and part of him wanted to snatch the game away before the other could grow angry or sorrowful.
Ben hummed softly. “Green is better. But blue is good.”
He continued walking through the cave system as Chris released a breath of air he didn’t know he was holding.
The rest of the prologue was played through silently, Ben looked completely focused on the screen, and Chris didn’t wish to interrupt. He smiled a little when he killed the keese, and gasped when Zelda disappeared, but otherwise remained surprisingly stoic. In the blink of an eye, they were already free from the stone temple where Link had awoken.
With the press of a button, Ben sent the character soaring off the cliff, and the title screen appeared. This time, however, even as Link landed in the water, Ben didn’t move. He only stared.
“Is… everything alright?” Chris questioned, hesitantly laying a hand on Ben’s shoulder. “Do you want to stop playing?”
Ben shook his head rapidly, wringing his hands a little as he looked at the screen. “I… have seen lots of technology like this with Monika,” he spoke and signed slowly. “But somehow…?” He gestured aimlessly at the screen, out of words to describe what he wanted to say.
“It’s different when it’s something you really cared about?” Chris guessed. “Like, seeing it come so far is incredible but also scary?”
This time, Ben nodded, his eyes growing shiny with tears. “Thank you for showing me.” Before Chris could react, he’d moved in to hug him. His grip was tight, but Chris still hugged back.
“Of course, man. You can come over to play any time you want.”