Chapter Text
Dave woke up alone, which wasn't unusual. He blinked his eyes open a few times before staring at the ceiling...
He didn't have a fan in his living room at home. He had forgotten that he had gone to bed in someone else's home last night and that he had gone to sleep next to him. Another moment passed before he started to sit up in confusion, looking around in search of John.
He was no where in sight from the couch. Dave was hopeful that he had to leave to attend to his daughters needs, but if she had cried, Dave would have certainly heard it. He was a light sleeper, but perhaps he was exhausted and just didn't wake up.After all, he hadn't woken up when John left him. He noticed that the beer bottles had been cleaned up, John must have cleaned up at some point...What time was it?
Dave stood up from the couch, steadying himself before making his way over to where he remembered the kitchen to be. There was still no John to be found and he was growing nervous. Fortunately, there was a clock on the wall which informed him that it was roughly nine in the morning.
He felt like he was intruding, staying in the house of someone he has just met last night. Maybe John was avoiding him so that he would feel pressured to leave...Dave shook his head at that thought and started for the other side of the house.
There seemed to be a faint snoring sound, but too high pitched to belong to John. It felt wrong opening the door, but Dave opened the door anyways. The room was purple and blue, and there were toys everywhere. It was a bit of a mess, but Dave wasn't going to judge it when his own room was no better. He glanced to the corner of the room and gazed upon two sleeping figures.
John was curled up around Casey, holding her close to his chest. Dave immediately assumed that Casey must have been crying at some point last night and that John had gone to lay with her to help her sleep. It was cute, John really seemed to be the perfect dad given his age. Dave really admired that.
Dave soon realized that if John woke up, this would seem really weird. He was watching John within his own home, almost stalker-like. He stepped into the room, unsure of what to do so far. He would hate to wake John, but leaving him without informing him seemed even worse. He stepped towards the bed and then beside it, hovering over it awkwardly.
It was one of those beds that was lowered to the ground so that younger kids could climb into it easily. It made it all even more awkward given that Dave was much taller than the bed. It would be bad to startle John or make a noise, because waking his daughter might ruin everything. She could wake up calm, or crying. Dave wasn't going to risk it.
Carefully, Dave reached over and placed his hand on John's shoulder He shook it gently and soon enough John's eyes opened. The confusion was evident on John's face but he soon relaxed as he looked up to Dave.
"Hey-" John cut himself off before speaking softer, he didn't want to wake Casey either. "Good morning, I can uh...." He slowly pulled away from Casey who in turn pouted in her sleep. John got up from the bed slowly and ushered Dave out of the room. Dave had no issues leaving the room, but he was surprised at how easily John had gotten up. He hadn't even questioned why Dave had woke him up yet. It was likely the skills that he gained while being a father, sneaking around without waking the kid up.
John closed the door when he left the room and immediately started for the kitchen, which Dave took that as his queue to follow after him. Once in the kitchen, John started pulling food from the fridge, eggs and milk. He turned to Dave after that and gave a small smile. "Do you want any eggs for breakfast? I didn't even ask if you had to leave..."
Dave shook his head too eagerly. "No, I don't have to but I will soon. Thank you for the offer of breakfast, but dude I really don't want to intrude-"
"You're not intruding at all!" John spoke in a rushed whisper as he interrupted Dave. His expression seemed to be one of concern. They hadn't discussed if they were going to continue dates, continue what had happened last night. It felt natural to just stay with John, but it was all too rushed. Dave knew that this would need time, and that it wasn't going to be a short fling.
"Thanks, but i'm going to head out. I'll catch you later Egbert.. that is if you wanted to do this again?" Dave raised an eyebrow as he asked the question, seeming hopeful once more.
"Well, duh. Of course..I had the most fun I've had in a long time last night, and we didn't even do much..." John had been quick to answer, which showed that he too was eager about this as well.
Dave let out an involuntary laugh at that. John had to be very busy with a kid for last night to be that great. He started to step back, out of the kitchen and towards the front door.
"Well just let me know when you're available again." Dave left through the front door after that, waving goodbye. No goodbye kisses, not very much small talk. It was awkward leaving, but as soon as he got in the car he sent John a text.
'I have a DJ gig tonight at Club Skaia, about ten until eleven. It's late, but maybe you could come.' Dave slid his phone into his pocket after that and drove to his apartment. He didn't live alone, he still lived with his brothers. If he was lucky, he wouldn't have to deal with any of them when he got back.
John took forever, literal hours, to reply. He was going to come to the club, despite how late it was. Dave was never nervous for these events, but he was now nervous because John was coming. He already had something established with John, yet he felt like he could fuck it all up tonight. By sucking at being a DJ? Most of his tracks were just prerecorded mashes that would be impossible to mess up. He was mainly worried that John would judge him for what he did, but why would he be coming.
Paranoia was a killer, and Dave was consumed by it for the rest of the evening. He talked to a few friends online, informed rose that he did not need dating help, and got ready for the club. It mainly consisted of him fixing his hair and just changing clothes. He had a few piercings, three on one ear and two on the other. He had a tattoo on his right shoulder, a dragon that went down his arm about halfway. That was something else making him insecure, what if John didn't like any of this? He was a /dad/.
The club wasn't that crowded when he arrived. There were many people, but he knew even more would show up later in the night. Dave made his way to the bar, to occupy himself for the time being. Roxy was working the bar tonight, which meant a few free drinks for him. Score.
"'Sup Ronxanne my man, how has your night been?" Dave sat himself on one of the bar stools and rested his elbows on the bar.
"Hey! Dave dudeamigo. My night has been good but it's a lot better now. Forgot you were doing your thing tonight honestly." Roxy didn't hesitate to make Dave a drink, the usual for him. He was here pretty often. It was a mixed drink. Something with Mountain Dew.
"I appreciate that. Really. I do. Being remembered is so hard." Dave scoffed and took the drink with a nod of thanks. "But i'm actually kinda having a date come and watch me. I'll show you him when he gets here, could you-"
"Yes Dave, I can watch out for him while you play. Yadda yadda. You didn't even need to ask. I've always got my eyes on these punks..." Roxy knew him well and was ready to help him out in any way. But of course Dave knew that this meant he would have to do a favor for her at some point, not that he really minded.
They chatted a bit longer, and off and on Roxy would go attend to other customers. It was drawing close to DJ time, and Dave had completely forgot to see if John was here yet. Still, his phone didn't have any notifications from John.
"Thanks for the drink Rox, I'll talk to you in a few." Dave slid a tip over to her despite her refusing to accept it. He just laid it there, refusing as well to take it back. Eventually she took it, but put it in the tip jar.
John was still no where in sight and Dave was honestly pretty disappointed. He figured that he would at least text and cancel, not just back out without saying anything.
Dave made his way over to the DJ booth and set his things up, getting it all prepared for his mixes. The music started and he played a few songs he was premixed so that he wouldn't have to do much, and the bass drop. All the good stuff.
It was at least twenty minutes in before Dave spotted that mess of hair on the dance floor.
John was squeezing through people just to try and get closer to Dave's booth. He was visibly uncomfortable, not used to the party atmosphere. It's been years since he's even been to a party, let alone a club. His dad instincts were telling him that he shouldn't be here, but he kinda liked it.
Dave's mood immediately got better, yet he was still the slightest bit upset with John. But it was alright.
Dave wrapped up with a final song before passing the job along to someone else. He stepped down away from the booth and headed for John.
John had the same idea and headed for Dave, but instead he just bumped into the Strider instead.
"Ah- sorry. My depth perception is all jacked up without my glasses." John gave an awkward laugh before holding onto Dave to steady himself.
Dave quirked an eyebrow before putting his hands on John's hips to help steady him as well.
"You look good without glasses, but can you even make out my beautiful face without them?" Dave was of course just messing around with John. He was enjoying being this close to him.
"I can see your face just fine, up close." John's dancing was pretty awkward, it's like they were slow dancing in the middle of the club.
"Egbert, put your hips into it. Dance." Dave have him a small example of club dancing after that, shaking his hips some and getting close to John. His hips were getting dangerously close to John's, but he didn't seem to mind.
John tried to mimic the dancing and just ended up wiggling his hips.
That earned a laugh from Dave who then just pulled at John's hand to get him to the bar instead. "Lets sit for a moment, talk."
John was happy to do that, and he even seemed relieved to be sitting down instead of shaking his hips on the dance floor. He plopped into a seat at the bar and yawned.
"Are you tired already?" Dave sat next to John and ordered them two drinks that he was sure John would like.
"Did you get enough sleep earlier?" Dave looked over the other male, admiring him some. Discreetly, because he doesn't want to be awkward.
John was wearing a tighter, dark blue shirt and dark jeans. He might have a slight dad body, but Dave isn't sure if he's just thinking that because John is actually a dad.
"Yeah, yeah. Duh. I got plenty of sleep, this club is just boring." John looked at Dave, giving him the most serious look before bursting out laughing. "You should have seen your face just now!"
Dave scoffed and shook his head before taking a sip from his drink that just arrived.
"It's not boring because I'm here, I know that. Do try again Egbert." Dave couldn't help but grin a little.
"You keep calling me Egbert. I know it's my username but it's weird. How about I call you Strider?" John took a sip from his drink as well before leaning slightly closer to dave.
"Don't call me that. Dave sounds just fine. It's a generic name, but I'm the alpha."
They chatted a bit longer before Dave pulled John onto the dance floor again.
"You move your hips like this, and just get into it." Dave once more gave an example of dancing before just getting closer to John and dancing with him.
"Well. That's pretty vulgar don't you think?" John pushed husband hips back some and gave a decent attempt at dancing this time.
"Not at all. Come on. Loosen up." Dave pressed up against John, making them go chest to chest.
"I'm trying." John seemed a bit frustrated at his own lack of dancing skills, and it was a bit cute.
They danced a bit longer and had a few more drinks before finally making there way out of the club.
John might have had too much to drink, and was clinging to Dave as they stumbled out of the club.
"I loooove you Dave. That was...uh so much fun!" John pressed a sloppy kiss to Dave's cheek.
Dave made a small face at it but held onto John. "I love you too?"
It was far too early for I-Love-You's and Dave knew that, but he desperately wanted John to love him. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with this mess of a Dad.
No. He hasn't even known him for two days. He was just having tha whole Puppy love thing going on.
"Is it okay for you to go home like this, John?" Dave wasn't really drunk, but John definitely was. He was a lightweight drinker.
"Can I go home with you? Uh...Casey doesn't need to." John had to pause to think about what he was saying. "See me like this."
Dave gave a nod before looking around. He had driven here, but he wasn't sure he should drive back. He wasn't about to call any of his family, especially not Dirk.
Dirk was a worry-wort who would nag at Dave for this, but it seemed that he had no other option. Roxy had already gone home.
John stumbled some as he headed for Dave's car, but Dave steadied him once more and pulled him back. "Hold on, Egbert."
Dave pulled his phone out and pressed Dirk's contact before calling.
It only rang for about three seconds before Dirk answered.
"Dave? What do you want." Dirk sounded monotone as usual.
"Could you do me a favor? I've had a little bit to drink and I have a guest with me and I don't feel like ruining both our lives if I drive."
"I'm already in the parking lot, Roxy called me twenty minutes ago."
Shit. Roxy was truly the MVP. Dave would have to return double the favor next time. Which was lame but still doable.
Dave glanced around the parking lot, having to keep a firm grip on John to prevent him from wandering off.
"Where? I don't see you." Dave might have just missed it, but there was a car pulling up towards them.
It seemed that Dirk was driving, and Hal was sitting in the passenger seat.
"Just get in the car, and give Hal your keys. He'll drive your car back." Dirk pulled up to the sidewalk so that it would be easier for them to get in the car.
Hal immediately got out of the car and held his hands out for the keys that Dave reluctantly gave over.
"Don't wreck my car." Dave squinted just a little.
"I'll take better care of it than you." Hal didn't bother to look back before just leaving with Dave's car.
Dave got the door of Dirk's car open before attempting to get John in there. He had been awful quiet.
John was half asleep in Dave's arms, which made it much easier to get him in the car. Dave buckled John in before doing the same to himself and closing the door.
"Uh, thanks Dirk. Real nice. I appreciate it. Way ahead of the game." Dave hoped that would be all the conversation they had, but that's never the case.
"You should know better than to drink when you're out somewhere. With your guest." Dirk didn't seem like he was angry though. "Is this another one night stand?"
Dave was at a loss for words for a moment before leaning over to the front seatbelt to look at Dirk.
"No. This is different. Like. Dating." Dave was a bit offended that Dirk already assumed that it was a one night stand, but Dave did that a lot.
"Hey, hey. I'm still here." John had somehow managed to become more awake in the brief time that Dave and Dirk had been talking.
"Well. Vouch for me." Dave nudged John a little who then in turn just wrapped his arms around Dave.
"This is not a one night stand." John's words were a bit slurred. "I haven't had this much fun in years. Dave is amazing."
Dirk snorted at that and continued to drive them home to the apartment.
Dave and John goofed off in the back of the car for the rest of the ride, arguing about movies after John brought them up.
"No. you have to watch some with me. Okay? I can't watch them with Casey so you should watch them with me. She doesn't like Con Air." John whined and leaned his head against Dave's shoulder as they pulled into the parking lot.
"She knows her movies then. Con Air sucks. Hate to break it to you, but not really." Dave opened the door and started to get out of the car, dragging John along with him.
"Did you get Jade to stay the night with Casey?" Dave helped John out of the car, and closed the door after he got out.
"Yeah. They were going to hang out anyways. Jade takes good care of Casey." John hummed and walked inside with Dave.
It was a bit of a mess, and there were even swords all over. Dave wasted no time getting John into his own room, letting him lay on his bed.
"That's so dangerous out there...what if a little kid just grabbed those swords? You could trip and die?" John seemed very confused at all of the dangerous things in this apartment.
"It's fine. My room is safe. So it shouldn't be a problem. You should sleep." Dave sat on the edge of the bed, watching John.
John gave a small pout before reaching out for Dave. "Lay down with me."
Dave complied and settled down next to John, laying on his back. "Is this good?"
John crawled closer and whined. "No. Let's do something fun. Kiss." He started to press sloppy kisses all the way down Dave's neck and then up to his cheek.
"Go to sleep. Let's not do anything you'll regret tomorrow." Dave ended up just wrapping his arms and legs around John to keep him still.
John still wouldn't sleep, and he was kissing all over Dave, and so the other male couldn't help it and gave into the kisses.
Dave reached up and held the back of John's neck with one hand, his other was under the pillows.
John's side of the kiss was pretty sloppy, but Dave still enjoyed every moment of it.
Dave pulled away after a bit longer and kissed John's forehead. He pulled John against his chest and just hummed. "Do you need to set an alarm for tomorrow?"
"Mmm. I already did..." John wanted to keep going, but Dave had him pinned down.
"Alright. Then sleep." Dave snuggled a bit closer and closed his eyes, attempting to get John to do the same.
Eventually John fell asleep, and Dave just laid there admiring him. "Good night."
Things were pretty good so far.