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Dirk's shades lit up with the red of a notification, none other than hals harsh and judgmental text popping up before his eyes. Dirk sighs but reads it anyway.
(Lil Hal) timaeusTestified started pestering timaeusTestified
Hal: It seems you have been ogling the boy for awhile. Maybe you should take a picture, it'll certainly last longer.
TT: I'm not ogling at anyone. I'm merely staring off into the distance coming up with a list of reasons why I haven't deleted your program straight from the motherboard yet.
Hal: You are physically and mentally unable to do that and you know it. You enjoy having a constant battle with yourself. Puts you in your place though not for long.
Hal: Helps you keep a refreshed mind of why you are a terrible person; who hasn't looked away from one John Egbert yet.
Hal: Oh looky he is bending down and…
Hal: Not the same prime ass Jake has but still nice.
TT: I wasn't looking at his ass. I'm trying to see the stitching in his shorts. I think I saw a torn string.
TT: Plus I am not comparing him to Jake. John is far more boring. A simple guy who if was a spice he would be flour. But the type that everyone looks at but doesn't grab. That's him.
TT: No way would I even dare to compare him to his almost identical counterpart.
Hal: They aren't almost identical. I have graphed each single thing that is different about those two. Almost a couple hundred different things have been found and saved.
TT: And you thought I was ogling but this whole time you have been finding out facts and statistics on them both. You're obsessed hal.
Hal: On the contrary, you seem to be the one up at ungodly hours of the night mumbling to yourself about how to make a move on John. Yes I have heard you and double yes I have recorded you.
Dirk could practically read the smugness from the text, the corners of his lips pulling down in slightly more of a frown. He hadnt meant to spend the last few nights torn from edge to edge trying to figure out why The John Egbert sent his intestines reeling into space from just one look.
TT: Don't ever share that audio clip with anyone. I won't hesitate to do something drastic if it gets released.
His threat was empty but that's only because his mind wandered, John was coming up to him.
John walked with a bounce in his step, almost like a child, his hair bouncing with each step showing off just how fluffy and voluminized it is. Dirk immediately made himself available by closing his chat with hal.
timaeusTestified ceased pestering (Lil hal) timaeusTestified
Dirk act cool, well cooler than usual. Act like you aren't totally unraveling your brain like a yarn spool at just the thought of talking to the bubbly young adult. John reached up a hand to wave, a smile already spreading over his dimpled cheeks.
"Hey dirk!" John greeted finally over by dirk, quickly plopping down on the couch next to dirk, arms brushing against each other. Though the only reaction for showed was one of his fingers flexed on his thigh.
Currently they were at Dave and Karkat's place, they were throwing a small party but Dirk still wasn't sure what the occasion was. Dave didn't tell him. All he knew was they were gonna chill and have a big ol grand sleepover and that John would be there. Making his decision for him right off the bat.
"Sup eg. Does this even seem like a party to you?" Dirk had never been to a party but still this didn't seem like one. The music was low because karkat had sensitive ears, only a handful of their friends scattered the premises. Jane wasn't here, off doing some campaign things that were dirks ideas. Plus there wasn't much food, it seemed dave didn't know how to throw a party. Not entirely surprising but still sort of a let down.
"You're right, this is sorta lame party." He gave a slight pout and sipped at his drink. The pout making Dirk gives an almost inaudible chuckle under his breath. But John picked up on it, his heart swelling with pride that he had made Dirk chuckle. At that moment he had made a vow to hear Dirk laugh. Dirk wasn't one to laugh, everyone knew about that, it wasn't an uncommon piece of knowledge. But John was up to the task. He was pumped for it, excited even. He didn't put a time limit on himself but he noticed that dirk had a cup filled up with something so it might be easier to make him laugh now instead of later on when he might be his usually prickly self. "We should ditch. Well not the whole party cause I don't want to upset dave or karkat. Bit ut the living room is boring and its weird seeing rox and calliope snogging in the corner." Dirk hadn't even realized that next to him on the dafar end of the couch in the corner of the room, there indeed sat rox and calliope, attached at the face. Dirks nose crinkled up slightly as he gave a curt nod to john and stood, making his way to what he knew the guest bedroom. The room was fairly clean except for some t-shirts strewn across the floor of different oranges and earth tones. Dirk had been staying with Dave and Karkat for a couple days chilling and catching up with his ecto brother dad dude. Or maybe it's because he knew John would be over quite often. But that's silly and totally not the reason Dirk was here. He shut the door behind him and moved his bag and one of his katanas off of the bed so he could sit and make room for John. He plopped down on the bed, making it creak slightly. John looked around the room a sort of cocky aura about him, mostly because this was his time to make Dirk laugh. He went to whip out a pair of groucho glasses, remembering that Dirks humour wasn't that low. Huffing john sat next to dirk, not feeling the tenseness of the others shoulder against his; too lost in his own thoughts. Dirk cleared his throat snapping John out of his trance.
"So whatchya wanna do up here?" Dirk took another sip of his drink before reaching to his side to put it down, moving a bit away from John in the process. Dirk really had no clue why John wanted to get away from the party and being in the same room alone with John made his heart beat quickly, for no reason. John shrugged a bit, gnawing at his chapped bottom lip. Dirks eyes may or may not have lingered on the others lips for a second longer than he should have luckily even if he did that John wouldn't have seen because of the shades that kept Dirks eyes shielded. This helped with hiding his emotions as well as helping with hiding his eyes. Not that he had any problem with them; it was just a social norm he got from his bro. John suddenly perked up and spoke enthusiastically.
"Let's dance!" He stood quickly, hands somehow finding Dirk's, hoisting him from the bed. Dirk was surprised honestly, stumbling a bit before getting his center of gravity again, highly aware that he and John were holding hands. He was very glad that he was wearing leather gloves, that way the other wouldn't be able to feel how clammy his hands were.
"Uh- I don't dance." He attempted to pull his hands away but John's grip only tightened, a goofy grin spreading over his nerdy face. They stood staring at each other for a moment before John took his hands from Dirks so he could fish his phone out of his back pocket; once it was out he clicked a few things and suddenly a soft piano melody filled the air. He didn't think dancing would make the Strider laugh but he had been wanting to dance, plus he might be able to pull some silk faces at some point to throw him off his game. When John reached into his pocket and started playing music; Dirk slipped off his shades, soundlessly placing them on a table. When John turned his attention back to Dirk his throat tightened, heart leaping from his chest. He had only seen dirks eyes a few times before now, each time was a sweet surprise.
"I- it's a new piece I've been working on. It's not a fast tempo so we will have to er- slow dance to it but…" He shrugged a shy smile taking up his features now. Dirk inside was shaking in shambles before nodding, a hand moving to John's hip resting gently. His other hand trailed down John's forearm, the tips of his fingers leaving feather like touches until he spreads his fingers over johns palm, inevitably holding his hand. Throughout this Dirk looked pretty stoic like usual, not a single ounce of nervousness clouded around him. John however, he looked antsy almost. His face was a bright red and some sweat beaded at his forehead. His mind running rampant, thousands of questions flowed through, all hopping in the spotlight for at least one second. Dirk was a slight bit worried he had gone too far, the touches could've been mistaken for something harshly intimate. His worries dissipated when John held back his hand firmly. "So i'm not entirely versed in slow dancing-" He gave a nervous chuckle, hear turning away in slight embarrassment. "Maybe I should have said that before asking to dance." His head moved back to facing Dirk head on.
"Don't worry, follow my lead." The hand that had been resting on John's hip now slipped to snake around his waist so he would be able to guide him more easily. The new position got John feeling a bit flustered but he didnt know why. His face was beat red, Dirk could practically feel the heat radiate off of the other because of how intense his blush was. John nodded quickly, his short black curly hair flopping with each movement before stilling and framing his face. Dirk took a deep breath, catching the notes of the piano, letting his feet start moving. He was careful, wanting John to be able to keep up and not get lost. The shorter male gulped and wanted to look away but he couldn't, his eyes stayed locked on with Dirks bright orange ones. They looked as if they glowed due to the warm setting sun rays that peaked through the curtains, flowing onto Dirks skin as if painted on to complete his complexion. Suddenly Johns mouth felt dry eyes wide, looking like a dear who was trapped in headlights. The stare of the Strider burning onto his face this moment will forever be remembered by both of them. It was also this moment that Dirk realized he loved John.