Chapter Text
The wind whips Jade’s hair about her face, and she holds down the hat over her head to keep it from flying off. On the one hand, she appreciates the coming winter, allowing her to wear a hat constantly without attracting attention, but after thirteen years on a tropical island, she can’t pretend to be fond of the cold. She still loves the snow, but this kind of weather - chilling winds and grey skies - can go kick itself in the butt as far as she’s concerned.
Luckily, their house is only a couple of blocks away from the bus stop, so Jade doesn’t suffer long. It's not the largest place, but it's perfect for the four of them. It was billed as a single-story, three-bedroom, two bathroom house when they bought it with some of Rose's mother's left over money, though only the master bedroom is actually used as a "bedroom." The second one has become a study, where Rose keeps her books and where they can all plug their laptops in and relax for a bit, and the third is simply a "work room," whenever somebody (usually Dave) needs some open space for a project.
When Jade reaches the front door, she is not surprised to see that only the lights in that work room are currently on while the rest of the house remains dark. She's home late tonight due to some malfunctioning equipment in the lab and had told them not to wait up for her - but she's also well aware that Dave has a painting due tomorrow, and fully expects him to pull an all-nighter on it.
Jade is quiet as she steps inside the door, letting out a happy hum as the warmth of their house hits her face, starting the process of unfreezing her cold cheeks. She hangs up her hat, fuzzy white ears perking straight up from her tangled hair. Her coat and her scarf (one of Rose's creations) go with it, and she tugs her boots off before tip-toeing into the work room.
Sure enough, Dave is in there, though the sight would look odd to anybody not used to him. Rather than one haggard looking Dave there, slaving over his work, there are three Daves and three easels, working on what appears to be the same picture in different stages of completion. The one seated in the middle peers over to the canvas on his right, as though to cheat off of him. Jade rests her hands on her hips and clears her throat.
"Ahem!"
Two of the three Daves turn at the sound of her voice, but the one on the right (the one furthest in the timeline, she assumes) continues working, unsurprised. The Dave in the middle grimaces, quickly turning back to his work, but the one on the left continues to look at her, fiddling with the paintbrush between his fingers. "Hey Jade," he greets, trying to act casually. "Lab finally let you go?"
"Yeah, I got my equipment fixed up!" Jade says. "But right now I'm more interested in what you're doing! Is this... three time loops right now?"
Dave glances surreptitiously to his time clones, who are doing their best to keep their heads down. "Well- yeah, maybe."
Jade sets her hands on her hips, narrowing her eyes at him. "And are all three of you pulling all-nighters?" And suddenly the Dave on the left won't look at her, turning back to his painting and working furiously. "Dave!"
"We got important work to do," says the one on the right, still focused on his canvas. "This is due tomorrow, gotta make sure it wows the professor and all."
"But sleeping is also important, Dave!" she insists. "One of you is getting sleep tonight; I don't care which one it is. Volunteers?"
None of them move. Jade takes that as a sign that she can do whatever she likes with them, then, and without further warning, she steps forward, looping her arms under the middle Dave and picking him up. Dave, much to his dismay, had stopped growing at about five foot one, which makes him the perfect size for carrying.
The middle Dave lets out an ungraceful squawk when she lifts him, but he knows that struggling won't help his cause - Jade is strong enough to keep her hold on him, and with three easels and a lot of paint nearby, things could go disastrously if he were to kick the wrong thing. So, with a resigned sigh, he relaxes in Jade's hold as she shifts him to bridal style.
"There, see?" she asks, planting a quick kiss to his cheek. "This isn't so bad. You can get back to it in the morning, but I want you to get at least six hours, OK?"
"Fine," he grumps. "But only six hours. I'm gonna time that shit out."
"I know you will," Jade says, laughing as she hoists him out into the living room, then into the bedroom. She doesn't bother with the lights; she doesn't want to rouse Rose or John, and she can see just fine anyways. Without a hint of delicacy, she drops Dave onto their bed. “Stay,” she whispers as she retreats to the bathroom. Dave grumbles something in return and rolls onto his side.
Jade quickly brushes her hair out, detangling the strands that always end up caught around her ears, before washing her face and brushing her teeth. Her sweater goes off over her head and is tossed thoughtlessly into the laundry basket, and is followed by her bra, jeans, and panties. She considers a shower for a moment before deciding against it - there's always tomorrow, after all, and after such a long day, the only thing that Jade wants to do is crawl into bed with her three favorite people.
She doesn't bother dressing as she returns to bed, liking the freedom of it. Dave is already curled up against Rose's back, his face pressed into her shoulder, and so Jade gladly takes the other side of the bed, settling in behind John. He stirs slightly as she wraps an arm around his waist.
"Jade?" he asks, though the ending consonant is swallowed by a yawn. Jade grins, tilting her face up to drop a quick kiss on the back of his neck.
"Yep, it's me," she says softly. "But go back to sleep. You need to get up early tomorrow."
"'K," he replies, and with another yawn, he's out again. Jade stays awake for a few minutes longer, listening to the sounds of all four of them breathing, pressing her ear to John's back to hear his heartbeat.
It's soothing after such a long day, and she couldn't be happier.
----
Jade and John both have classes early in the morning on Wednesdays. While this is hardly a concern for Jade, who would be happy leaving even earlier to get more work done, it is always a struggle to get John out of the house.
"But this class is so dumb!" John says as Jade attempts to shove him out the door. John is the only one of the three that Jade is unable to carry easily; he has a good three inches on her with muscles to match, and while she is capable of carrying him if he's compliant, John is all too good at pitching a fit when he doesn't want to be moved.
"I know, but you need to pass it!" Jade insists. "The professor takes attendance! You. Have. To. Go!"
“Ugggh.”
“John!”
“OK, OK, I’ll go!” John throws his hands up in defeat. “But that doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
"You're a year and a half away from graduating," Jade reminds him, voice softer now that she knows she's convinced him. She teleports his bag over for easy access. "You've made it this far, right? What's the point of giving up now?"
"Sleeping in?" John offers.
"Well, not today, mister." Jade gives him a light shove so that he'll step outside the door, and this time John doesn't resist her. "Anyways, hurry up so we don't miss the bus!"
"You could always just teleport us if we did, though," John says.
"And risk being caught? No way!" Jade tugs her hat down over her ears, just to be sure they're hidden.
"Laaaame," John complains.
"No, you're lame," Jade retorts, though she's grinning a little, and John is too. They both board the bus, taking the first two open seats, and Jade lets herself rest her head on his shoulder.
"Don't fall asleep," John teases her.
"Shut up, like that would even happen!"
It's two more stops before a young man about to board the bus has apparently run out of change to give to the driver. Much to the surprise of everybody, he begins swearing up a storm, listing off profanities as he digs through his pockets. Jade's ears perk up underneath her hat, and she sits up again to get a better look of what's happening.
Finally, under her breath, she can't help but note - "Doesn't he... kind of remind you of-"
"Karkat?" John finishes for her. "Yeah."
"I mean, it's obviously not!" Jade continues. "Like he's not a troll, for one, and he's tall and even if Karkat were a human I don't think he'd look anything like that..."
"But I know what you mean," John says. "Just the language sounds like something he'd say."
"Exactly."
Somebody else on the bus eventually takes pity on the man, paying his bus fee and allowing him to quiet down again, but the thought of it doesn't leave Jade's head.
"I really miss them sometimes, you know," she murmurs, leaning into John again.
"Them?" he asks. "You mean the trolls?"
"Yeah."
“Me too,” he says. “Like, even the dumb conversations I had with Karkat when we were little, and he was trolling me backwards? Is that weird?”
Jade laughs at that. “Yeah, and I had to set up passwords just so he wouldn't do the same thing to me! Ugh, and he got sooo caught up in all that Past-Karkat and Future-Karkat stuff too!"
"No kidding," John says, grinning a bit. "Man, who thought we'd get nostalgic for those conversations?"
"Definitely not Past-Jade!"
Both of them laugh at that, falling into silence for a moment.
"I wish we could talk to them again," John murmurs, so softly that Jade almost doesn't catch it, her ears covered as they are. "Like, even if it were just over pesterchum or something, you know? At least we could know they made it out OK..."
Jade's mind sparks.
----
"...so I thought that maybe I could use some temporal and spatial mechanics to set up a connection to their new universe through the old Sburb session, and then we could connect that to a computer, and then they could talk to us again!"
They're seated in the school cafeteria, sharing their usual Wednesday lunch together. Jade gesticulates wildly, a brilliant smile on her face; Rose's face remains passive.
"And you believe that this will actually work?" she asks. "You may have the theory, but do you think you have the mechanical prowess to pull this off? We no longer have contact with Dirk and Roxy, need I remind you."
Jade rolls her eyes. "Come on, Rose, I know my way around machines! I'll have you know I fixed my dream bot plenty of times, and she was connected to Prospit, which was part of the game! It's not too different!"
"Of course - I don't mean to disparage your talents," Rose assures her. "Simply... I do not wish for you to get your hopes up."
"I'm not! Look, I even drew up these plans during class today!" Jade rummages through her backpack, pulling out a college-ruled notebook. She flips through several pages littered with doodled hearts and flowers until she finally reaches the notes with today's date on the top. Written there are rough schematics and equations, covering three pages.
Rose raises her eyebrows slightly as she flips through them, and Jade knows that to be a sign that she is legitimately impressed, even if she doesn't want to show it. "Shall I take it that this means you did not pay attention to your lecturer today?" she asks.
"I didn't need to!" Jade assures her. "That class is super easy!"
"Is it? What class did you have this morning again?"
"Quantum Mechanics. Baby stuff, really!"
"Oh, naturally," Rose says, smiling. "I'm sure half the students there are taking it just for the easy 'A'."
"Well if they aren't, they should be!" Jade replies, matching her smile. "Either way, this was a much better use of my time!”
"And where do you plan on getting the equipment for all of this, dare I ask?" Rose questions, sliding the notebook back over.
“Well, I think most of it can just be done with an old computer!” Jade assures her. “I mean, it’s only connecting messaging systems, and I think with some help from Dave I can alter the parts I need! And we still have John’s old computer lying around, right?”
“Yes, I believe we do.” Rose returns to focusing on her food, smile fading only a little. “Just promise me you won’t get too invested in this, Jade. I realize we’ve all missed them, and I would be as eager to reconnect as you. But you still have school and work to focus on. Let those take first priority.”
“Of course, Rose!” Jade says, leaning across the table and pecking her lips. “It will just be a side project! That’s all. I promise.”
“I’ll hold you to that.”