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Looking repeatedly at his phone in a desperate last ditch attempt to escape his impending reality, Dave Strider glanced out the window of the shotgun seat towards the passing trees and carapacians. They were going through one of the various Cantowns cities to head out to a newly opened Starbucks, which was great for Dave because it meant getting either Rose or Jade to pay for his drink. This was not his idea after all, he greatly protested to such a mundane thing when it was brought up by the two, but he gave in as the two girls “missed him and his engrossing tangents of parade” which made him have a slight tinge of sympathy for them.
He never intended to be the obscure person in the friend group at times, but when it came to all for the now officially tilted ‘Beta Kids’, Dave was shy. This was nothing new, no, Dave had his moments of rambunctious antics alongside his friends. Pranks with John, learning to knit with Rose, or helping Jade with a gardening competition for states biggest pumpkin, but… he didn’t start any of this with them, they brought it up first always. Which created the system they’d worked out subconsciously that if they asked Dave to do something with them, he’d completely clear his schedule for them because he loves his friends. However, that aside, coffee, right? He was never the type, nor planned to be the type, to head out frequently for coffee anyways. Karkat Vantas, boyfriend of 5 years, was, but he didn’t go to work trips with Karkat so obviously that excluded him from the equation that is Karkat’s obsession to spend ridiculous amount of multiple coffee drinks and the snacks that come alongside them.
Dave much more preferred coming up with his own concoction though, however when asked whatever he drinks, he plays it off as whichever that he got used to drinking on his time on the meteor. Rose and him are still trying to figure out what they had made from their makeshift alchemy machine so many years later. They’ve come close, but the code is somehow so specific. Whatever string of numbers it was, Rose loved the coffee and Dave tolerated it. It was actually quite shit in his opinion, but Rose has a taste of the pointedly different. She is a spectacle in that regard, Dave can never wrap his head completely around the concept that his ecto-sister actually enjoys fruitcake and having multiple different types of silverware for different meals. Speaking of Rose,
“Dave? Would it be wrong to incline that perhaps you aren’t okay? You’ve been staring out the window, not joining our conversation on monoculture for five minutes. By now I would completely figured you to break down some rejected purposefully, ilk ridden rhymes right about now.” She must’ve been mid conversation, as Jade as turned to lean out from the backseat to look at Dave, and she is giving him a quizzical look while her overbite, buck teeth, are poking out on her bottom lip. Dave jerked his head up at Rose when she began speaking, and his face furrowed a bit at the multiple little points she makes after another, as though she’s throwing darts and hitting the middle repeatedly. The first dart has been split in half somehow, like a bow with how hard shes throwing this shit in Daves direction.
“Oh, what? Nah,” He swiftly looks away from the two towards the front of the seat, at the road as they are parked in traffic. “I’m sure whatever conversation on homogeneity or single crop use is like, super boring. Any sick rhymes I may be able to pour from the brain chasm would def’ be lost in the void of meaningless shenanigans. I.E, not useful to whatever either of you had to say..” He crosses his arms a little, somewhat defiantly but also out of habit when he gets interrogated. Jade giggles before sitting back into the lower seat. “Man! If this is how you guys talk during knitting sessions, you definitely need to start a podcast. Imagine how silly that’d be? Two sibling gods, on an audio based talk show!! Hehehe, man… the off putting conversation you guys would get up to. Truly wacky excursions.” She’s swinging her feet back in forth, and Dave can hear her tail thumping on the seat happily. Dave finds this adorable, his best friend Harley has simply always been adorable.
Both Rose and Dave are looking at Jade from the corner of their eyes but when doing so accidentally look at one another. This makes Rose smile, and Dave falter. Something, something, eye contact is the window to the soul and he totally just got his ass read. “Ah, perhaps. While Dave isn’t unfamiliar with the medium, I believe having hosted one himself at the beginning of Earth C?” She looks back at him smugly. “I have zero experience with it, but with our witty banter, I’m sure it’d accumulate a following great enough to bring flocks of guests into my knitting circle.. ah, that would be fun.” She says, reminiscing on it as if it had already happened. Dave rolls his eyes and smirks, just slightly. “Rose, you’re too old schooled and riddled with puzzle galore, and mind my manners for using the word galore in your presence, that I think you would up and fuckin’ implode at the concepts of using a microphone or any tech equipment for that matter. Do you even know what sound proofing on walls is?” Rose seems amused by this, playing along. “Oh, no. What is this.. sound proofing you speak of? Never heard of such a contraption outside of white padded rooms to silence the screams of my terribly ill, old brain. As you can tell, I am not even fit to drive and am about to crash the car.” She says while pulling into the parking lot of the Starbucks.
“Oh nooo!!!” Jade says through a large smile, her teeth full of gum and spunk. “I don’t want to die so young, not in a car without John to experience it alongside me!” Dave and Rose seem to smile at this while exiting the car. “Oh yeah, Johnathan. He would most definitely aid in our junket of my fleeting mentality, crashing the car into the local Starbucks.. what a shame.” Her hands are crossed over themselves as she walks alongside the two, Jade practically skipping as she flings her hands side to side and Dave calmly having his hands wrapped neatly into the pockets of his hoodie. Yes, a true reading of a character is the posture they hold, and Dave was no exception, especially with his posture.
“Man, John, John, John! What’s up with that guy? He’s been so busy lately that he flunked out his ticket straight to free coffee town.. then again, if he was here he’d insist to pay for it like a total goon.” Rose looks at Dave amused while Jade opens the door for both of them. Dave nods in thanks and Rose waves a hand in gratitude, the siblings love nonverbal communication, of course. “Hm, perhaps. But it’s bold to assume I would just not split the bill between the three of us.” Dave rolls his eyes at Rose. “Oh please, and make it hard for the poor worker to use three different cards? Yeah, sure. Right at the correct hand of gratitude Rose. I’ll just pay you two back okay? One less means less workers quitting in the spot, and I truly, deep in my bones want this place to at least thrive a little. It’s new, like a god damn baby fresh out the oven womb. Can’t let it go to waste, you feel?” While this has been happening, the three have walked in line. A few carapacians, two trolls, and a human have stared them down. It’s not often to see godtiers out and about at your local Starbucks. One of the carapacians even considers giving up his spot in line just for the higher ups. Higher up should be in quotations, as these guys were so go with the flow that it shocked the others. Especially with their conversations.
Rose smiled softly, rolling her eyes almost stereotypically pleasant and common. “Whatever you say Strider, I’ll appease.” She says very softly, and Jade seems to be rocking back and forth on her heels. She’s stimming, Rose thinks. Which is good. Recently she’s been making more and more mental notes on her friends physical demeanor, it was much more complicated then okay or not okay. See, having spent so many years just texting them was quite the not so fleshed out way of understanding them. And not to get personal, but Rose needed to understand her friends in ways they couldn’t comprehend. It helps her get by, a emotional crutch as much as people view her as. Her reply was small however, and Dave, being her sibling of oh so many years, stares at her out of the corner of his eyes. Jade seems to not notice their conversation and is muttering different orders under her breath.
She clasps her hands together and turns over to the other two smiling, “I think I know what everyone is going to order!” Dave and Rose both perk up curiously. Usually they just order randomly every time, but Jade seems to have something up her non existent sleeve. She loves wearing tanks. “Soo.. Dave will get the pineapple, passionfruit refresher because it’s the closest to apple juice! That and a cake pop cuz’ he loves those. Rose will get the dark roast coffee and a chocolate croissant with it to dip it in! And I’ll gettt…” She peaks back at the menu, floating up a little to get a closer look. She comes back down and smiled wider at the two, “Blueberry muffin and a caramel frappe.” She says casually before turning back to the line, staring down at people as her tall stature made her over most.
Dave and Rose just look at her, then at each other repeatedly. In a silent shrug, Dave pockets his hands with a small smile of amusement at Jade, and Rose straightens her posture accordingly. Jade must’ve caught her off guard. “Nah yeah, that sounds about to a fuckin’ T, Jade. Everything about that sounds so perfect I might keel over, just so desperately wanting that cake pop in my mouth right now.” Jade giggles and looks behind her at Dave, and Rose gives a smirk at him. “Oh please Dave, spare us the details of such a engrossing conversation. No one wants to hear about your mouth of all things, considering we get a good handle of it daily.” Dave smiles, genuinely. He looks down to hide his toothy grin. Man he loves these guys, though he still wishes John was here.
Almost like reading his mind, Rose speaks up. “You make a good point about John, by the way. It would be good to question why he’s been so absent as of late, work is simply not a refreshing advice point. I mean, how many times do I have to go over with him on the phone that he’s allowed to take breaks? And even one he does, it’s work. Yikes. I am getting a migraine thinking about it.” Jade peeks behind her softly at the other two, her mood flattened. “Honestly, you’re right!! I begged him to come and it was effortless. Plus this isn’t even the first time..” She’s turned towards the other two, complaining about her brothers absent nature. Dave nods along between the conversation of the two, but deeply he’s fumbling in his mind on the topic of John. He misses the guy, sure. But there’s more there. A childhood longing if you will, is boggling his brain that he feels the need to spill, but how?
Before Dave can even get a sentiment into the girls conversation about John Egbert, Jade speaks up out of an idea. “Oh! By the way, you guys can technically go find a place to sit.. I’ll order for us!” Rose nods, and begins shuffling her card out her purse but Jade puts a hand over hers. “Nah, no need! I’ll pay, Rose.” Dave could’ve sworn to see a blush on Rose’s face as she slowly put your wallet back into her purse. “Are- are you sure? I mean, I don’t mind Jade..” She seems to be almost whispering, her flushed face looking agape at Jade’s smiling one. Jade nods curtly before ushering the two out of their spot in line. “Find somewhere cozy for me, mkay?” She gives a toothy grin at the two as Dave promptly speed walks to a nearby booth to claim before anyone else. He loves booths, they are the epitome of perfection. The best type of lounging items there can be.
Dave was already scooting into back of the booth against the window, reaching out to fiddle with the sugar packets on the table and its sweets menu. Rose sat comfortably also scooted in across from Dave, her hands folded over the table as she stared at whatever he was doing. “So, David.” Dave peaked up with a frustrated look, “Thought we left this joke on the meteor when I explained my chosen name.” His extremely thick eyebrow was raised at her, and she just giggled idly. “Oh- yes, I suppose so, Strider. Perhaps though, I’m in the mood to indulge the past?”
Dave looked at her confused, but continued brushing his thumb against the sugar in the packet. It was a fun texture. “Do tell.” He gave a hand motion to continue as he looked at her with a still curious expression. “I guess you could say I’ve been in a mood, lots of them recently. Kanaya and I.. well, she’s used to it. But I was wondering how things were going with you and Karkat?” That seemed like a loaded question, one he couldn’t fully answer with revealing other romantic, quadrant blurring bull shit. God, meteor days be damned, they still haunt his psyche. “Right.. do your taking out whatever relationship issues you’re having onto my life? Real smooth, Rose. I’m sure whatever happening between you snd Kanaya will be much resolved by the time we all get home. You guys are like power duo number one.” Her lips thinned, and sighs. “Dave.” He immediately noticed the contempt in her voice, and he peaked towards her softly. “Sorry, I don’t mean to assume. Talk to me Rose, what’s going on?”
“So now you want to be nice to me? Today I thought was a diss out shitty burns to people day, Dave.”
“Stop that, I’m being serious here. I’m.. worried.”
“Right, presumably like last time?”
Dave huffed, “Okay.. listen, last time we hung out I was being stupid, I shouldn’t have embarrassed you about anything to do with shitty relationship issues. That was my bad. But please, Rose. What’s wrong?” She softened at Dave’s gentle admissions, and sighed. “Kanaya has been.. in her molting process, and while this wouldn’t regularly be an issue.. she’s upset with me. I’m not being enough for her, I suppose at the moment.”
Dave’s heard of the fabled molting process from all the trolls, Karkat says troll’s go through one every five years.. and that he had went through his own one on the meteor, but that was when they weren’t on talking terms. Now, his is technically scheduled to be soon if Kanaya’s is. Which makes him nervous, so he bites back his tongue and gives Rose the most sympathetic look he can muster. “What do you mean enough? I thought you guys just like.. loved each other.” The over simplification of it ticked at Rose’s already forming headache, and she gave an irritated look. Dave immediately shuts up. “Please, as if its that simple. See, our relationship has been miscommunication after miscommunication. Originally, Kanaya was very open to the idea of learning of human culture and still is. We spent countless of hours rambling about the different remarks to be made in yeh continuum of our cultures.. it was, wonderful. And she gracefully accepted me as her matesprite, but at times she got confused by the quadrant vacillation.. she began to wonder if we’d be better off as moirails, or even in some kind of auspitice situation. Lets just say it was exhausting trying to get her to apply the concept of human romance to our own situation. Now, however, its quite lax, of course we still have our moments but its nice and quant.”
Dave has had his own horrible experiences with quadrants, especially the vacillation aspect of it. Karkat was a nightmare of arguments any time he wanted to kiss but also have intimate moments of shush papping. It wad exhausting.
“So, whats the issue now?” Dave asked calmly, trying to still get the full scope of the situation. “She feels upset that because I introduced her to these concepts that, I’m not fully able to apply it to myself.” Which to Rose hit the nail on the metaphorical coffin, but Dave just tilted his head confused. “Dave, I’m not vulnerable enough.” He made an ‘O’ shape with his mouth and frowned afterwards.
Rose averted her gaze, “Shes worried I will somehow misread situations or even, put myself in bad ones.” Which didn’t seem like Rose, to Dave she was always cold and calculated. He felt like he was being flipped on his head with all this Rose lore. “Which, is to say that.. I need to stop being so abundant with my wording all the time. I just need to be blunt, and say I’m not sure If I can give her the intimacies she needs without feeling embarrassed or emotionally stunted..” She’s frowning now, and this breaks Dave’s heart. This is his sister after all, and he needs to help her somehow. Offer something. “I think, and cut me off if this is a bit of stretch..” Dave begins, which Rose gives a furrowed look at him for. “Maybe it’s just a common thing between us? I mean, I am shit about vulnerabilities, Rose. I didn’t know uh, it ran in the family so deep but, speaking from personal experience..”
“Listen to what she has to say, its important to like.. make super baby steps. Which is the cheesiest thing I’ll ever say, but those baby steps are god damn stepping stones to some good shit. Without them I wouldn’t be able to have cuddle piles with my boyfriend.” Rose smirks, because its not often Dave refers to Karkat as such and it makes her unbelievably proud of him. “Wow, Dave. Thats very meaningful to have being said from you. I do need to try.. especially for her. She deserves the support right now with her molt.” Dave nods, the mention of it etching into him again. “You know, I’m not fully unaware of everything you have to say but It is very nice hearing it from a loved one.“ Dave smiles softly at her. “Course’, Lalonde. Any time.”
She seems to shift slightly though, which confuses Dave for a moment before she gives him a snarky look as if she had something brewing in her mind. “How about you? I did ask earlier that lead to quite the conversation, you seem to have a lot on your mind anyways.” Dave moves uncomfortably in place. He appreciates Rose, sure, but he doesn’t exactly love when she does this. “Uh.. right, so yeah. Karkat and I.. we’re practically perfect, what else is there to say on the matter?” Rose raises her eyebrow at him and he just sighs, before letting go of the sugar packet and crossing his arms on the table. “Okay, so maybe its just been a little confusing. He’s just been.. he’s fine! He hasn’t done anything, it’s me I think. T’ think yeah, Dave being the problem? Yeesh, doesn’t that happen way to ofte—“ Rose wavers a hand upright. “Dave, lets not get self destructive. I just asked a simple question of what’s on your mind. I told you mine, now I’m just trying to be appropriate.” He clenches his teeth before visibly un-tensing up.
“It’s.. just that, I love him a lot and I don’t want him to question that.”
“Why would he?”
“Because..”
Dave bites back, “I’ve just been worried about John.” This doesn’t exactly click at first until she opens her mouth to comfort Dave at this newfound information til Jade come’s back, holding a brown cup holder with three drinks in it and stacked on top was a few treats. “Hey guys!!! I got the stuff, sorry It took so long.” She grins at both of them, and Rose closes her mouth, piercing her lips like a makeshift smile at her. Dave on the other hand visibly tenses and just leans back into his seat. Jade doesn’t seem to notice however, and sits down next to Dave and hands out the drinks.
“I could tell you guys were having a meaningful conversation..” She looks between the both of them with a somber expression. Dave cautiously took his drink and let the burst of flavor be the leading force of energy keeping him going. Rose gave a meaningful gaze at Jade before sipping her own personal drink slowly. “Its okay, I just hope your guys relationship problems get sorted out!” She says taking a sip of her sweet concoction.
The two shared quiet gazes at one another from Jade, and hoped as well that whatever it is was brewing in their minds found a solution.