Chapter Text
Dave was coming back from one of his many adventures in the flipside. It was funny how he mostly went alone. But he liked it that way, no one to judge him.
As he neared their meetup room, one which resembled Jack's current house, he prepared himself for human interaction. Well, as close as he could get, anyway, seeing as no one here resembled a person enough to really count.
Don't be weird.
Well, do, but you've gotta own it.
Smile! Put that smile back on!
Despite Dave almost never dropping his large grin (Never let your guard down, someone could see yer not how ya should be, then what'll happen?) his thoughts always encouraged him to fix his expression.
Gettin' closer gettin' closer- Don't walk so fuckin' loud! They'll hear ya, then how will ya check before ya waltz in there like an idiot. What if ya make too much noise and they notice the wait between you arrivin' and you enterin'? They'll think yer a fuckin' stalker. Which ya are, by the way. Or at least were.
Dave took a peek through the doorway to the living room. Dee, Peter and Steven were all sitting in a circle, each of them with a handful of cards. Blackjack was nowhere to be found, per usual. Peter was faced towards the door, the other two faced away.
Ok time to walk in. Don't mess up, don't trip, don't say anything embarrassing.
Dave jumped into the room, “What up, party people?”
Ah, fuck. I think that may be a new record.
Steven jumped at the sound of his voice, and Dee spun around to see the ‘intruder.’
They're scared 'a ya, because yer a freak.
"Oh, uhh, hey Dave!" Steven greeted, meanwhile Peter just waved and Dee ignored him.
Dave skipped over to where the three of them sat, "What're we doin' over here? Playin' poker?"
“Go fish.” Said Peter. Now, Dave knew he wasn't the best at reading voices, but he could tell that the phone head sounded off.
Best to ignore it, If ya point it out, they'll either think yer weird, or deny it. People always deny shit like that.
“Uh, wanna join us?” Steven asked, “We haven't started the round yet, soo…”
Dave ignored the cold glare he felt coming from Dee, another thing he knew any normal person wasn't meant to point out.
Answer him ya idiot, say something. Answer him, an’ hurry up before it gets awkward.
“Sure! Deal me in, would ya?” He spoke, giving Steven a little pat on the head.
FUCK- NO? NOT THAT ANSWER, THE RIGHT ONE! Ya weren't supposed ta say yes! Why is that yer fuckin' default? You gotta say no-
Dave threw himself down with a thud, between Dee and Steven.
Fuck, should ya have sat somewhere else? Why do ya never think before ya do stupid shit like this? Look, there's a perfectly good spot between Peter and Steven, ya coulda sat there! Now it'd be too weird ta get up an’ move! Ah, imagine how embarrassing everything would be if you sat down between the siblings?
Steven handed him some cards, and they got to playing.
After a few rounds, all of which Dave won, Dee stood up and stretched her legs.
“HAH! That that, ya fuckers!” Dave put his hands on his hips, “Shouldn't have invited me ta play!”
He tilted his head up when Dee cleared her throat, “I'm kinda bored, we've been playing for a while, I think I'm gonna go take a walk.”
“Alright, be careful!” Peter said while Steven gave her a polite wave goodbye.
Dave watched as she floated towards the exit, “Don't let the animatronics fuck ya up.”
Ooh, should not say that. Do ya know how uncomfortable ya just made everyone with that one sentence? One that totally wasn't needed?
Dee's voice took on an annoyed tone, “Well, unlike you, I can heal myself if I get into trouble. I don't have to go wandering around, looking for help from some dead kid that I killed.” And with that, she floated out of view from the group.
Ya killed her ya fuckin' killed her it's yer fault she’s like this, she could've had such a wonderful life and ya took it away. Oh fuck, you messed up. Quick, say something nice about her so that at least these two know you meant it nicely.
Dave put a smirk on his face, “Well, she's sure a ray of sunshine, eh?”
Fuck no! Not like that! That totally came out sarcastic, now everyone knows yer a huge jerk.
Peter gave him a small head tilt, what Dave assumed was meant to be a smile, “Don't worry, Dave, just give her some time. Once, her and Jack got into a huge fight. She didn't talk to him for a month after that! So, as you can see, getting over the fact you killed her is probably gonna take longer!”
She'll never forgive ya, and I don't even blame her. If I were in her situation, I'd wanna see ya dead. I wouldn't be surprised if she did want that, you'd deserve it either way.
Steven swatted Peter on the head while Dave responded, “Ah, so ya mean I'm fucked then?” He said, thinking about their impending deadline to face Henry. “‘s not like we're gonna be here much longer.”
Peter gave Steven a small shove, “What? No, I'm sure you guys can make up. Hey, maybe seeing you beat up Henry will help her realize that you're on our side.”
Dave's face returned to his signature grin, “Hah, thanks phone-face! I'll be sure to remember that next time she says she wants to bash my face in.”
Peter gave an awkward chuckle before standing up, “Well, I think I'm gonna go find Dee, maybe see if I can join her for her walk. See you two later.” Peter took a few steps to the door before turning his head back, “Uh, Steven, you wanna come too?”
He's not inviting ya because no one wants ya here. Because yer an asshole that can't do anything right.
Peter turned to him, “I'd invite you too, but you just got back, and I'm sure you're tired.”
See? Not everythin's about ya, jerk. Quit thinking of him as a bad person for not wanting ya there, even though he doesn't think that.
Oh, wait, that's probably just his excuse so that he doesn't come off as rude. Well, my dear Peter, I'll have ya know that the only shithead here is me, and any thoughts ya have about ripping my head off are completely reasonable.
Dave gave him a smile and leaned back, “Hah, yeah. Besides, not like I even wanna hang around ya idiots.”
WHY THE HELL DID YA SAY THAT?
“I mean, I could use the quiet, ya know? Cause I totally haven't been alone with my thoughts all day.”
JUST. STOP. TALKING. YA. FUCKIN’. RETARD.
Dave internally winced at his thoughts, ones that mimicked Henry's favorite nickname for him.
Steven gave Peter a dismissal wave of his hand, “No, I think I'll stay here. Someone's gotta keep this idiot some company.”
They treat you like a child. So fucking annoyin’, always needin’ somethin’. You're such a fuckin’ disappointment-
“Alright, see you two later then.” Peter walked off after his sister, leaving them alone.
Dave's mind was going through all of the possibilities of ‘What if I had sat somewhere else’ and ‘What if I had said no’ when Steven spoke up. “So, how was your day?”
“Eh?” Dave's hands froze in the middle of playing with his hair, “My day? Whaddabout it?”
Steven shrugged, “I don't know, how was it? You were gone for a really long time, you almost had me worrying.” Steven got up and sat on the couch, motioning for Dave to do the same.
Fuck fuck fuck fuck- Why'd ya have ta make him worry? He shouldn't be worryin’ over a shithead like you!
Oh fuck, what if I'm makin’ him think I'm a good person? He don't know what a monster I really am.
Dave jumped off the floor and threw himself onto the couch, as far away from Steven as he could, “Oh, ya know, jus’ the usual. Me kickin’ animatronic ass, rip ‘em up for scraps. Chillin’ out in the safe room-”
Talkin’ to myself like I'm insane. Wonderin’ how much I could bleed before dyin’, but bein’ too much of a pussy ta try. Wonderin’ if I even could die from that, or if I'd just become even further from human than I already am. Thinkin’ ‘bout how I took so many lives without remorse. Because Henry told me to, because I was too terrified ta say no. All of you would've, I'm sure. All of you are good people, an’ I'm jus’ a disgusting freak.
“Ah- Y'know, that kinda shit.” There wasn't a pause between his sentences, but he wondered if Steven could tell how much his mood dropped.
I sure hope not. What would be the point in doin’ all ‘o that if ya jus’ break the second someone asks a normal question?
Steven leaned back against the couch, “Mm, alright.”
Ask him fuckin' damnit, ask him how his day was! Ask him why won't ya-
“So! How was your day, then?”
Steven turned his gaze to the floor, “Uh, nothing really happened. Mostly just hung out with Dee and Peter all day.” Steven laughed and brought a hand up to rest his head on, “I really asked the worst question for people living in the flipside, huh?”
“Nah, I wouldn’t say that!” Dave put his elbow on the back of the couch, “Most ‘a us don't count as people!”
Why the fuck would ya say that why the fuck would ya say that-
Well, Steven was laughing, so that had to count for something.
Laugh along, pretend you're normal. Don't let anyone see yer not. Jus’ like when ya lived with Henry.
After their laughter died down, the room went silent for a moment.
Ah shit, am I supposed ta talk next? Is it my turn? Why do I haveta be so shit at speakin’ ta people? Why didn't he jus’ leave with Peter and let me be alone, so I don't haveta bother anyone else?
“So,” Steven said, forcing Dave to stop overthinking for a second, “Have you been doing alright?”
Fuck fuck fuck why does such a big part of conversation haveta be puttin’ me on the spot? Please quit askin’ me questions, I don't got any interestin’ answers.
Dave put his feet up on the coffee table in front of them, “Yup! Everythin’s been doin' great.”
Why the fuuuck did he ask that?!?
He just wants to be nice. Because that's what good people do. They don't kill children, or be rude after said children don't want to be around ‘em. Good people don't have such terrible thoughts, always tellin’ ‘em what a disgrace they are. Ya don't even deserve ta be in the presence of the man, yet here ya are, forcing yer way into their lives again, and fuckin' everything up in the process.
“Ah, okay…” Steven straightened slightly, “So-”
“I think I'm gonna head ta bed, if that's alright.” Dave said.
Fuck fuck fuck fuck Ya CUT HIM OFF! What was he gonna say? What if it was important? Shit shit shit why-
“Oh, alright then. Goodnight, Dave.”
As Dave slowly rose from the couch, his mind remembered a different problem:
Where the hell am I gonna sleep?
He normally just crashed on the couch, seeing as everyone went to sleep long before him. But tonight (Is it even night? There's no concept of time here) everyone was still out and about.
Safe room- Go sleep in the safe room. You've done it before, when you were ‘alive’, you can do it again. Besides, that should be where ya normally sleep. You shouldn’t be around all these people while they finally get a break from ya. Plus, ya don't even deserve the comfort of a couch, especially not Sportsy’s.
Dave walked over to the exit, “Welp, see ya, Phoney!” He could see the look of confusion on Steven's face, despite him not having many ways to show it. Dave shut the door and started making his way towards the safe room.
On his way there, he remembered that Dee and Peter were still wandering around. And the reason he realized that was because he overheard them talking about him.
Are those voices?
Dave walked up to a corner and peeked around, instantly spotting the two that he'd parted ways with earlier.
“He killed me, Peter! He killed me!”
“I know, Dee.”
Dave whipped his head back, praying they hadn't seen him.
Who’re they talkin' 'bout?
Are ya really that stupid? Who else killed her?
“And everyone just expects me to forgive him!”
“No one expects you to do that.”
Oh, they're definitely talkin' 'bout ya.
Dee's voice sounded upset, “He’s just such a- a- manipulative asshole!”
“Jeez, Dee!” Peter said, “Don't you think that's a bit much?”
Manipulative asshole.
He was one, wasn't he? He made Jack think he was worth saving. He had him kill children for fun. And now he was tricking people into thinking he was a good person. That didn't even cover most of it.
At least someone saw through me. She's a smart kid, even though she never got ta live ta learn that shit.
An’ whose fault was that?
Dave tensed up as he heard footsteps get closer, and ducked into the nearest door.
He fell into a closet, luckily catching himself before he could knock into any of the cleaning supplies. Dee's voice traveled through the door, “He killed me, and you think that's a bit much? Well no, it's not. It's his fault that Jack started killing kids, and he manipulated a bunch of kids towards their death. No doubt he tricked a bunch of other people too.” She commented, causing Peter to sigh.
And then they left.
Dave rested his head against the wall.
I really am a fuckin' asshole, huh?