Chapter Text
The past couple of weeks had been really good for Dirk. He’d gotten lots of commissions, worked on some personal projects, visited with Dave then Roxy and Hal. He’d even managed to buy himself some decent groceries that week. Though, that was mostly because John had nagged him until he’d done it.
He and John had been going steady, and even though they hadn’t had the chance to go on any real official-like dates yet because their schedules ended up conflicting, they still met up to walk around and watch movies in John’s room and get distracted from said movies because their lips had better things to do together. It really hadn’t been long at all, and it both felt that way and like Dirk had been dating John for longer than that. The relationship itself was new, sure, but they still picked on each other and dissed each other’s tastes. The dynamic was familiar. Things didn’t actually change much between them. Dirk could just kiss John now, whenever he wanted, which was pretty rad.
Spending so much time at John’s had the consequence of meeting John’s father much sooner than he thought he would have to. Neither John nor Dirk had really cleared up Mr. Egbert’s impression that Dirk was just a friend, but it was fine. John wasn’t ready to tell anyone that he wasn’t as straight as he’d thought, and that he was dating Dirk. It didn’t bother him. Considering Dirk was still trying to figure out how to tell his own friends and family how he’d bounced from being all over Jake to all over John so quickly without sounding like a douche, he wasn’t keen on anyone knowing about them either.
It just meant he had to come up with some creative excuses for why he couldn’t hang out with Roxy when he was getting ready to kiss his boyfriend stupid. And seeing as it had been almost two weeks, he still had plenty to spare. Sure, the longer Dirk and John kept their relationship on the downlow, the less excuses he’d have, but for now it was fine. John was happy, and Dirk was productive, and they were having fun exploring their new relationship together.
At least they were, until John casually announced during their viewing of Little Shop of Horrors in John’s bed that he and Jane would be having a joint birthday party the weekend before their actual birthdays. It would be held at her and her dad’s place. Dirk hadn’t talked to Jane yet to apologize for what he said almost two months ago, and he didn’t want to until he actually knew how to. There was no way to avoid talking to Jane if he were at her fucking birthday party .
Staring at John, Dirk shifted until he could give him an accusing glare without actually moving from his spot, tucked against John’s side. “John, what the fuck.”
John just shrugged, not looking bothered in the slightest. “Dirk, you’ve been waiting to apologize to her for, like, two months. And you said you’d do it after Jake got back. And Jake’s been back for weeks.”
“Almost two weeks, actually,” Dirk frowned at him, “and I said I’d talk to Jane after I talked to Jake. Not when he got back, specifically.”
John paused. His arm behind Dirk’s head shifted as he propped himself up to look at Dirk properly. “Have you not talked to Jake yet?”
Realizing his mistake, Dirk suddenly found himself with nothing to say. He opened his mouth, hoping to have an explanation or excuse at the ready, but instead all that came out was, “Uh. Not exactly.”
“Dirk!”
“I’ve been busy, John. What do you expect me to do, double book myself when we have already agreed to watch the newest and shitties Marvel movie that I’ve pirated? Tell you I can’t come, I have to go see my ex? Is that what you want to happen?”
“Kind of, yeah! If you told me you were going to talk to Jake, I’d understand and not worry about it!” He flopped back onto his pillows, exasperated but not moving away from Dirk. “Ugh. But whatever, the point is, you should talk to Jane while you have the chance. Because if you and her dance around each other and act all passive aggressive and shit on her and my birthday, I will be really disappointed in you.”
“Oh no, disappointment, however will I survive,” Dirk kept his voice flat to hide the fact that he would probably do most anything to keep John from actually being disappointed in him.
John snorted, using his hand to turn Dirk’s face and leaned in. “Shut up.”
Dirk did. Mostly because then John’s lips were on his, and Dirk wouldn’t turn down make outs. His stomach still filled with giddy little bursts whenever they kissed, and it made him a little breathless, and Dirk wanted to take advantage of the feeling while it lasted.
Pulling away a little, John brushed their noses together. “You’ll still come to my birthday party even if you end up not apologizing to Jane, right?”
Sighing through his nose, Dirk tilted his head, muttered ‘fine’ into John’s lips, and pulled him into another kiss. He could feel the way John grinned against his mouth, and couldn’t find it in himself to resent John for his smugness.
They didn’t talk about it again. But what they had said was enough for Dirk to actually think about how to approach Jane and apologize.
He kind of hated how good John was at getting him to do stuff. He tried telling himself he was just entertaining John because their relationship was new, and he wanted to lull John into a false sense of security so he was less likely to fight Dirk when Dirk started saying no. In reality, he knew that was false, and just one of his coping mechanisms against vulnerability, and John would likely continue to be able to get Dirk to do things with just one conversation. But he still pretended that wasn’t what was happening, for his own sanity.
When the weekend rolled around, Dirk had failed to talk to Jane still. He’d thought about calling her, or texting her, but it seemed like a waste when she could just ignore him. Or maybe he was just stalling until he literally couldn’t stall anymore, the same way he’d ignored John after they’d kissed for the first time until he couldn’t anymore. Since he didn’t contact her, it would end up being a messy face to face interaction.
In a vain attempt to solve things before he had to interact with everyone, he ended up walking to her place three hours before the party was supposed to start. John was coming an hour later to help set everything up, but knowing Jane, she had probably started the minute she woke up. So Dirk figured, fuck it, no better way to apologize than to dive into helping Jane set up for her birthday party.
She lived just down the street from John, close enough to tell their houses had been designed by the same architect. The outsides looked almost exactly the same, save for the absence of a slime pogo. Now that Dirk had been inside John’s house, as well as Jane's in the past, he couldn’t help thinking how weird it was that their places were so similar. Not that he could talk much, he lived in an apartment, but still. They felt the same, on the inside. Homey and lived in, with ever burning fire places. Though Jane’s place might not feel so homey anymore, if she decided she was really pissed at Dirk.
Schooling his features and straightening his posture, Dirk walked up to the door. He knocked, stood back, and waited.
There was a voice, then footsteps, then the door opened and Jane, wiping her hands on a white apron, stood with a pleasantly neutral expression that shifted sour very quickly. Her gaze narrowed, immediately searching Dirk’s face for something. Dirk did his best to keep the set of his mouth straight.
“Dirk. John informed me you would be making an appearance at the party,” Jane said, ever diplomatic, “which is in three hours.”
“Yep.” Dirk shrugged. “I came early to do something else, though.”
Jane eyed him for a long moment, lingering in the doorway. Then she looked back into the house, sighed, and stepped aside. “Well, if that’s the case, come in. I will be putting you to work, I hope you know.”
“Wouldn’t expect anything less.”
Stepping inside, Dirk kicked off his shoes then followed Jane as she moved towards the double swinging kitchen doors. The smell of baked goods and sugar was thick in the air, and the temperature was a couple degrees higher due to the lit fireplace and the oven. It was almost hot enough to feel like he was back in Houston. The worst of it was in the kitchen, where there was a mess of ingredients and utensils and Jane’s dad. Dirk couldn’t tell what they were working on at that moment, but he knew the end result would be way too much food for how many people would be coming.
Looking over, Jane’s dad smiled at Dirk and offered him a greeting with a few quick motions. A little surprised he was being polite even though he most definitely heard about what happened from Jane, Dirk returned the hello and working a little slowly in spelling out ‘Mr. Crocker’. He really had to brush up on his asl.
“Dad,” Jane said, hands moving as she spoke, “could you start on the decorations? Dirk has offered his hands for baking.”
Mr. Crocker nodded, reminded Jane to take the cookies out of the oven soon, and slipped out of the room. Once the western double doors swung shut behind him, Jane grabbed a pink apron and shoved it at Dirk.
“Here. I assume you can mix the dry ingredients without problem. All the measurements are sorted out, you just have to put them together.”
“Guess we’ll see.” Dirk took the offered apron and put it on. “John gave me a crash course on a couple foods, so I know how to not make a complete mess now.”
Cocking a brow, but not looking at him, Jane briskly pulled the wet ingredients towards herself and began pouring them into a bowl. “Roxy informed me you two were spending a lot of time together recently. I’m still surprised he managed to shove some kitchen comprehension in your skull.”
Shrugging, Dirk dumped the cups of flour, sugar, and some other powders he wasn’t sure what were into a larger bowl. Picking up one of the dozen Crocker Corp spatulas around, Dirk began stirring. “Not that he isn’t a good teacher, but most of why I remembered it was because we got in a food fight after and I used my newly acquired skills for evil.”
Jane hummed. Glancing at his bowl, she seemed to deem it acceptable because she picked up hers and started pouring into his slowly. “Keep stirring. As grateful as I am that you finally know enough not to ruin my kitchen-”
“It’s already pretty ruined Janey.”
She smacked his shoulder. “As I was saying. I’m glad you won’t set everything alight, and that you offered your assistance, but I would like to know what prompted your sudden need to help me hours before the party when we both know this is not your forte and you have little interest in baking.”
“Damn, caught red handed. Nothing gets past you, miss detective, master sleuth in a world or knock-off Sherlock’s. Will you cart me off to the slammer or do I get a trial?”
“I’ll decide once you state the motivation behind such fraudulence.”
“Fair enough.” Dirk paused, insides twisting at the thought of being open and genuine. He swallowed it down and stomped his hesitation out as best he could. “I wanted to apologize for snapping at you and accusing you of being the reason Jake broke up with me. You were right, our problems persisted long before he talked to you. Even if you had been though, I shouldn’t have said what I did. Jake took your advice, so he wanted it on some level. I shouldn’t have taken out any of my emotions on you, and definitely shouldn’t have accused you of just wanting to get in Jake’s pants. That was a low blow. And then I shouldn’t have let that hang over us for over a month. I’m sorry.”
Setting her now empty bowl down, Jane took a breath and sighed. Her fingers drummed along the counter as she took a moment. Dirk kept stirring, letting her think. After a moment, she turned her head to look at him. She looked tired.
“When you first said those things, I was very angry. I swore I wouldn’t speak to you again until you grovelled enough, and though Roxy told me that was a terrible idea, I didn’t listen. But the days passed, and I grew less angry, and you didn’t talk to me. But I couldn’t reach out first, you said some very hurtful things! And though my anger was diminishing my stubbornness stayed true and I began to think-” Jane blinked as her eyes grew wet, and her voice wavered a bit, “I began to think you would never speak to me again. That I lost one of my very best friends.”
Aw, shit. He made Jane cry. If there was anything that made him crumble, it was seeing his friends cry. Feeling like shit, and cursing himself for acting like shit, Dirk stopped stirring and turned to wrap an arm around Jane’s shoulders and pull her into a side hug.
“Hey, no matter how much of an idiot I’m being, you and Roxy will always be my best friends. I love you no matter what, you got that? I’m like black mould. If you really want to get rid of me, you’ll have to burn down the goddamn house.”
Jane’s giggle was a little strained, but she rested her head on Dirk’s shoulder. “I would never. Thank you for apologizing.”
“Don’t thank me for that.” He squeezed her shoulders. “I should have done it long ago. Thanks for accepting it.”
“You’re damn right to be grateful.”
Snorting, Dirk pressed a kiss to the top of Jane’s head. She sighed, using one hand to take her glasses off and the other to wipe at the moisture that gathered. They stood there for a few peaceful moments, basking in their mended bridge. Dirk hadn’t realized how much he’d missed her. It was a cold month without her burning house and baked goods.
Taking another breath, Jane stood up straight and replaced her glasses on her face. “Now! Hand over that bowl, you’re doing a terrible job of getting rid of the lumps.”
With a smile, Dirk gladly slid the bowl over to Jane. She got to work immediately, a smile on her face and a whistle on her lips that paused only to tell Dirk what to do. Now that they were good again, Dirk was actually looking forward to the party. It would be nice to have her and Roxy near him again.
The only problem left was that Jake would be there too, and Dirk couldn’t guarantee that he wouldn’t be weird. He ignored that though, chopping fruit for a platter. As it turned out, cooking was another good way he could keep his hands and thoughts occupied.
***
Double checking that he had everything as he approached Jane’s door, John muttered his dad’s instructions about what to do with the pile of food in his arms when he got inside. It was a big pile, and a long list, and he really wished his family could calm down with the baking when it came to celebrations. Especially his birthday. Even though it wasn’t actually his birthday quite yet.
John had woken up with his house littered with cakes he was planning to offer to his friends like party favours, and was almost instantly recruited to help dad bake some goodies for his and Jane’s party. There were going to be thirteen people there, but he knew that Jane’s family was probably also baking up a storm. Their combined efforts would produce ridiculous amounts of baked goods. John would probably be offering extras to their neighbours for days.
Knocking with his foot, John stepped back. The door opened, and Uncle James’ crows feet wrinkled with amusement. He’d insisted on being called Uncle James by John, Jade and Jake ever since they were little, even though he wasn’t actually their uncle.
With his hands occupied by the containers, and his mouth blocked, John had no way to properly greet him. Uncle James seemed to realize this, too, because his amusement only doubled. He made no effort to move out of the doorway, only staring at John expectantly while signing a greeting. John gave him a flat look as he said ‘is something the matter son? You’re awfully quiet.’
“You’re being a dick,” John said, knowing full well Uncle James wouldn’t be able to tell what he said. He still received a disappointed look, like Uncle James could just sense what he’d said, and John offered a sheepish, “Sorry.”
“John? Is that you?” Jane came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron. When she saw his predicament, she laughed, but tapped her dad on the shoulder. “Please let him in, Uncle Joseph said he would make ice cream sandwiches and I’d hate to see them melt.”
Uncle James waved a hand and went back to decorating. Rolling her eyes, Jane offered John a smile. “Happy early birthday, John.”
“Happy early birthday, Jane!” Stepping inside, John nodded to the containers in his arms. “Dad’s going to be coming a little later, he’s just finishing up a couple things and cleaning up. Also, can you take a few containers? There are actually ice cream sandwiches in one of these.”
“Oh, but my hands are awfully dirty.” Jane batted her eyelashes, her smile just a touch too mischevious to be sweet. “Would you mind taking them to the kitchen yourself?”
“You’re evil.”
Jane laughed in her weird ‘hoo hoo’ way. John kicked her toes lightly as he walked to the kitchen, turning to push through the swinging doors since Jane didn’t offer to hold them open. Said devil only smiled, a couple steps behind him and looking far too smug. The trickster's gambit was ticking slowly into her corner. That was fine, John could get her back later. They’d be together until tomorrow after all.
Spinning back around, John paused. Dirk was crouched in front of the oven, staring in at whatever was baking. John doubted he could actually see that through both his own shades and the tinted glass, but he seemed really focused, in a pink frilly apron, so John didn’t pick on him immediately. Instead, his heart fluttered with pleasant surprise and affection that had him grinning wide.
“Dirk!”
Dirk looked up as John rushed to the counter to set down the containers. He stood, offering John the beginnings of a smile before John slipped over and wrapped him up in a big hug. Dirk chuckled against his shoulder, arms coming up to hug him back, and John would have kissed him right on the mouth if Jane wasn’t also entering the kitchen. Instead, he just squeezed Dirk a little, trying to convey the amount of joy he felt when he saw his boyfriend like that.
And didn’t that just send bubbles bouncing around in his stomach? His boyfriend. Dirk was his boyfriend, had been for almost two weeks, and John hadn’t gotten over how great that was. He could kiss and cuddle Dirk practically whenever he wanted, could text him good morning and good night and things that reminded John of him, and got to see Dirk like no one else did. It all felt so special, so real, and so good. It was really nice to have Dirk as his boyfriend.
“Hey,” Dirk muttered into his shirt, his thumbs rubbing John’s back.
Resting his head against Dirk’s for a moment, John whispered ‘hey’ back before pulling away. He wanted to hug Dirk for so much longer, to just stand in the warmth and hold him until John got his fill, but Jane was standing right there and he wasn’t quite ready to tell anyone about him and Dirk. He was really grateful that Dirk understood that and let him take his time. He had the best boyfriend.
John smiled at him. “What are you doing here? The party isn’t for another hour.”
“Oh, so you’re not happy to see me?”
“I didn’t say that.”
Giving him a little smirk, Dirk shrugged. “You told me to talk to Jane. So I talked to Jane.”
John lit up, resisting the urge to reach out and take Dirk’s hand. “You did? That’s so great! I’m so proud of you!”
Dirk snorted. “You sound like your dad.”
John didn’t have time to process the horror of that statement, or how true it was, when Jane cleared her throat. Jumping a little, John turned to her with a sheepish smile. Brows raised, Jane motioned to the containers he’d left on the counter, and John groaned but went to put them away. Eyes bouncing between John and Dirk for a moment, Jane cleared her throat again.
“Roxy did tell me you’d become friends, but I hadn’t thought you’d be so close already.”
“Yeah, well,” Dirk crouched in front of the oven again, “John has a disregard for personal boundaries.”
“What!” John shoved the ice cream sandwich container in the freezer, looking over his shoulder to narrow his eyes at Dirk. “Dude, you’re the one who keeps demanding we wrestle!”
“A decision I stand by.”
Jane smiled, a little confused but mostly amused. “Well, if that’s the case, I trust I can leave the rest to you John? There’s only a few things in the oven, and once they’ve cooled call me in to ice them. Until then I will be helping dad with the decorations.”
With that, she slid her apron off, properly wiped off her hands, and left. John leaned over a bit to make sure she was actually leaving, then turned to lean down and give Dirk a kiss. Dirk, apparently expecting this, tilted his head up and accepted it happily. Humming, John pulled back just enough to look at Dirk.
“So, apologizing went well?”
“Mmhm. Don’t look so smug.”
John grinned, giving Dirk another peck before standing straight and going to put away the rest of the containers. “Why not? I was right, and now my birthday party is going to be a lot better without you two being weird!”
“But not perfect?”
“Well, it would be perfect,” John mused, opening the tupperware filled with cookies and starting to set them on a plate with a ton other cookies, “if you and Jake would talk too.”
Dirk frowned. He was silent for a long moment, then looked back into the oven. “Yeah, well. Can’t get everything you want.”
“I’m not the only one who wants it. I’m pretty sure Jane and Roxy really want that, too.”
Dirk didn’t reply. Sighing, John decided not to push it, hurrying to get everything organized and shove all the dishes in the sink. Standing still wasn’t his forte, and he had a while to wait for the baked goods. He touched Dirk every time he passed him- a kiss to the top of his head, a brush of his fingers across the back of his neck, knocking their socked feet together- not quite able to keep his hands to himself. He was pretty sure Dirk appreciated it though, because it meant John wasn’t taking his dickish comment to heart.
On one pass by, Dirk caught John’s fingers as they teased at his nape. Turning his head, he kissed them very lightly, muttering, “Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
John smiled, readjusting their grip so he could tug Dirk to standing. “It’s okay. I know you didn’t mean it.”
Looking at him, Dirk hesitated for a moment. He glanced out the door, and when he saw no one in their immediate vicinity, reached a hand up to John’s neck and tugged him into a kiss. It was very hard not to sink into it, especially since Dirk’s fingers curled into the hairs there, and John crumbled very easily. He kissed back, his free hand coming to Dirk’s waist. It was hard to resist Dirk, especially when he really should be.
John could have stood there kissing Dirk for hours, and might have, if the oven timer didn’t go off. John lept into action, mind still buzzing a little, and left Dirk blinking to open the oven and retrieve the things inside. Dirk caught the back of his shirt just as he was reaching and gave him a blank look.
“Dude, gloves.”
“Oh, right. Thanks!”
Shaking his head, Dirk grabbed the oven mitts and handed them over. There was still a small, fond smile on his lips. John returned it, pulling the pans out of the oven and setting them on the counter, bumping the door closed with his hip.
“Okay,” the oven mitts muffled the sound when he clapped, “time to decorate!”
***
Guests started showing up ten minutes before the designated time, the first being Rose and Kanaya. The next, exactly on time, was Roxy and Hal, followed closely by Jade and Jake. Fashionably late, as always, was Dave and Karkat. Roxy dragged the birthday people out of the kitchen upon arrival, which left their fathers to put the finishing touches on the ridiculous amount of food. The house found itself to be very crowded very quickly, as did the study, where everyone set their presents and overnight bags for the time being. It felt like they were all still teenagers, coming over for a birthday sleepover.
Dirk mingled with some people, but generally skirted around the edges of the crowd, doing his best to avoid Jake. It was pretty easy at first, he just stuck to the kitchen and offered to help Mr. Crocker and Mr. Egbert, but then his dumb twin had swooped in (no doubt at Roxy’s insistence) and scooped him out to the main party. Hal had yet to let Dirk escape since, because he was evil and the worst.
“Harold,” Dirk started through clenched teeth, knowing full well that wasn’t actually Hal’s name, “would it be terribly inconvenient to ask to you fuck off?”
“It would, Deitrich, as my handsome partner specifically asked me to make sure you didn’t hide away.” Hal flicked him in the side, expression neutral. “And we both know you’re just as much of a sucker for Roxy’s big ass eyes as I am.”
Grumbling, Dirk leaned against the wall behind him and cast his eyes over the crowd. His shades connected with Daves from across the room, standing awkwardly next to Karkat as he talked with Kanaya. He glanced between his boyfriend and his brothers, said something, then slipped quickly around the edges of the room to come stand at Dirk’s other side. He leaned against the wall and offered a fist.
“Sup.”
“Sup,” Dirk tapped his knuckles to Daves, then leaned back to let Dave reach Hal, “you had a chance to greet John and Jane yet?”
“Nope. It’s like the CEO security from Sweet Life of Zack and Cody over there, a wall of people with no way of getting through no matter who you are. Jade and Jake are monopolizing their space, then the Lalonde’s are being the Lalonde’s. I’m afraid that if I try shoving my way through the crowd that they’ll just pick me apart and tell me I have abandonment issues or some shit.”
“Well,” Hal started, but shut his mouth when Dave threw him a look.
Dave continued to stare him down for a bit more, then turned to Dirk. “But how you holding up, man?”
“What do you mean?”
Hal cocked a brow. “Don’t play dumb dude. You’re trapped by social obligation in a room with your ex in it. The ex you were with for years and who broke up with you on the phone then took off to Europe to avoid you. Who came back only a bit ago and you haven’t talked to yet. It seems like that would be the exact kind of thing you’d be having a silent meltdown about.”
“Wouldn’t put it like that, because that was tactless Hal damn,” Dave shrugged, “but yeah. That’s basically what I mean.”
“Well, this may come as a surprise, but I haven’t been thinking about that,” Dirk half-lied. He had been thinking about that, but he was more antsy about not being able to hold his boyfriend’s hand rather than strategizing how to avoid ending up in the same conversation as Jake.
Both Hal and Dave stared at him. Hal said ‘bullshit’ the same time Dave said ‘come on man’, in the exact same inflection. Dirk wondered if it was any more obvious that the three of them were related, if the shades and their general complexions didn’t give it away. Rolling his eyes, Dirk spotted Roxy peeling away from the conversation to grab a snack, and took the opportunity to chase him down before Hal did.
“Rude. Your distrust in my words hurt. Betrayed by my brothers, my own flesh and blood, in the most heinous of ways. I knew Hal was the evil twin, but Dave, how could you? I trusted you.” Dirk pushed away from the wall and started walking away. “Looks like there’s an opening to Egbert and Crocker, you two better take it before the hole closes up.”
Flash stepping away before either of them could retaliate, Dirk pushed into the kitchen and over to the counter, where Roxy was filling up a plate of various sweets. Before he could say anything, Roxy offered him a cupcake without even looking to see who was there.
The cupcake was obviously John’s work, if the slightly shaky Ghostbusters logo had anything to say about it, and Dirk couldn’t help but smile a little as he took it. John didn’t even like most baked goods, and he still demanded to decorate his own. Jane hadn’t been too thrilled about that.
The slimer was a simplified smiling one, in John’s favourite shade of green. The circle and line over the ghost were in orange instead of red, something John could easily say he ran out of red frosting for. Dirk’s insides flipped a little and his smile widened at the thought of John doing it for Dirk. It could have not been for that reason, but it was nice to think that it was.
It took a moment for Dirk to realize that Roxy was staring at him, an all too knowing grin on his face. It was the kind of look that said ‘caught you’ and made Dirk nervous. He took a bite out of the cupcake, both almost pointedly to say he wasn’t being sappy about it and to ruin the design so he would actually stop being sappy about it.
“Diiiiirk,” Roxy said, singsong, “is there something you wanna tell me?”
“Nope,” Dirk replied, muffled by his mouthful. “I’m just here because you set Hal on me, and I’d like to complain about it.”
Roxy giggled. “My boo is good at what he do. Did you get to talk to anyone else yet?”
“Yes actually. I arrived early to talk with Jane, so we’re good now.”
“Oh!” Roxy’s teasing expression broke, relief and joy springing to his eyes. “Oh thank GOD. I love you Di-Stri, but oh em gee, y’all can really make a person tired with all the fighting. I was just like, yo, can you get your shit together? And you did! Can't wait for the squad to get back together.”
Dirk felt a little guilty for putting Roxy through being the middle manager again. The first time it happened hadn’t been fun either. But he was a little more guilty at what he was about to say.
“Right. The squad. The group. Back in action.” He absently unwrapped the cupcake. “And by that do you mean you Jane and I, or…?”
The look Roxy gave him would make a lesser man wince. Luckily, Dirk was a greater man, and only took another bite of the cupcake to avoid looking at him or saying more. Putting one hand on his hip and holding the plate a little away from himself (and looking a bit like he was about to start singing little teapot, though Dirk held his tongue), Roxy faced Dirk fully.
“Dirk,” he started, “you better not be hinting that you and Jake haven’t talked yet. Because he told me you talked, and I thought, woah, so soon? Good on them. Don’t make me revoke my pride in you.”
Dirk frowned, chewing thoughtfully for a moment, then swallowed. “Well. We did talk, sort of. Did he… say what we talked about?”
Roxy frowned, too. “Kind of? He was going around in circles a bit after I drilled him for up and leaving like that, then not checking in, and what I picked up on in the end was that you both moved on and it was chill.”
“...Hm.”
Roxy’s eyes narrowed. “... What did you actually talk about?”
Dirk looked down. Eying the cupcake, the happy slimer’s grinning face still visible, he thought about how much easier this would be if John were next to him. Or at least, if they were open about their relationship yet. Which neither of them were ready for. But it would be easier.
“...So.”
“Jesus Christ.”
“I went over to talk to John, and it turned out Jake was back and John forgot to tell me. So I may or may not have shaken John’s address out of him like a bully before school holding you by the ankle taking lunch money, then immediately bailed and went over to John’s and hung out with him. And then never tried to go back or call Jake up again.”
Slowly, Roxy set down his plate. Putting his hands together, he raised them to his lips and took a deep breath. He pointed his fingers at Dirk, looked him in the eye, and said, with conviction, “Dirk, what the fuck?”
Dirk shrugged. Roxy looked off to the side and sighed. They were both silent for a long moment.
“...Okay, but you cannot deny you have the biggest fucking crush on John now. That’s, like, undisprovable. You got it bad, bad enough you fuckin ditched Jake. I didn’t think that was a thing that could happen.”
Dirk didn’t say anything to that. He couldn’t exactly keep denying it when Roxy had that kind of evidence against him. Roxy watched him for a few more moments, then turned back to his plate and started piling on food again.
“How did Johnny react when you showed up like that?”
“Pretty well. We watched some Cage flicks and I refrained from making fun of them.” When Roxy gave him a look, Dirk revised his statement. “I refrained from talking through them completely.”
“LMAO, that sounds about right.” He paused for a moment. “So, when are you planning on asking Johnny out? Gotta pounce while you can, twink.”
Dirk smacked his shoulder. Roxy only giggled.
***
John was pretty used to Jade tucking his head against her shoulder and holding him there. She was the tallest of them, sans Kanaya, and had always been taller than Jake and John. This caused her to develop the habit of squishing them to her and not letting go. But it was pretty comfortable all things considered, so John didn’t mind and wouldn’t unless Jade started messing with him. It wasn’t like he could twist out of her grip if she decided to get her knuckles in his hair anyways.
What John wasn’t used to was having Rose stare at him, smug and knowing, like she was just waiting for the right moment to pounce. John had been expecting this a little bit, ever since his conversation about sexuality with Rose, but she hadn’t mentioned anything for so long that John forgot about it. But now here he was, face to face with her in a setting he couldn’t really escape, entirely up to her mercy. It was weird, but it was Rose, so John had to be used to weird.
He was also getting some weird glances from Jake, which he really didn’t care for. It was like everyone who had a vague inclination about his and Dirk’s relationship was here to make him nervous about it. It made him ansty, both wanting to go find Dirk and to not, wanting to seek his comfort but also wanting to keep it a secret. It was a weird combination that had John’s palms sweating.
He knew, logically, that none of his friends would mind much in the end and they’d support him and if he decided to confirm Jake’s suspicions, there would just be some confusion and then it would all be fine. But John just didn’t feel ready. He was still figuring things out. Like what label he wanted to use, now that he wasn’t straight.
His friends were there to help him if he asked, obviously, but John wanted to do this on his own. So many of his opinions and experiences were formed through his friends, he wanted to be able to find at least this answer by himself.
When Jade finally released him to go talk to Dave and Hal, Jake and Rose looked at each other in a way that told John they were silently arguing over who got to talk to him first. It made him wonder if they knew what the other wanted to say, but since they wanted to talk separately with John about basically the same thing, he doubted it. It seemed Rose won, though, because she cocked a delicate smile at Jake as he sighed and slipped over to Jane, who had gone to talk to Kanaya and Karkat. Leaving John to deal with Rose’s sharp expression by himself.
“So,” she started, her voice quiet enough to not be overheard over the chatter, “have you put any thought into what advice I gave you all those weeks ago?”
“Uh.” John shifted uncomfortably. “Yeah, I did.”
“I see. That’s good. Have you drawn any conclusions? It’s alright if you haven’t, I wouldn’t want to rush your revelations, but if I might be of service I’d like to assist.”
Mouth twisting to the side, John’s eyes drifted to the kitchen doorway, where he’d last seen Dirk disappear. It was a mistake, of course, because when he stopped wishing for Dirk to appear and save him from this conversation and looked back at Rose, her expression was downright gleeful. John had to bite down on his annoyance at how observant and smart Rose was. He kept forgetting that she was really good at drawing conclusions, and that they were right more often than not.
“Sort of,” John settled on saying. “I’m still working some things out. It’s just… confusing, you know? I’ve never really thought about it before. It feels like one of those things that I should probably figure out on my own?”
Rose hummed, expression softening. “Yes, it does feel like that, doesn’t it? I can understand that. But John,” she reached out, setting a hand on his elbow, “keep in mind you have many friends who would love to help. Myself included. You don’t have to do it alone, I’d hope you’d seek someone if you needed the assistance.”
Smiling a little, John took Rose’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “Thanks, Rose. I know. You’ll be the first person I turn to if I do need help with that.”
Lighting up a bit, Rose smiled genuinely and squeezed back. “Good. I’m also here if you need any… romantic help. Such as, say, asking a cute boy in dumb shades out on a date.”
Sputtering, and probably flushing, John snatched his hand back and shoved Rose lightly. His reaction made it hard to deny that he was interested in that, if Rose’s giggles and knowing looks were anything to go by. He was right, she was too smart for her own good.