Pick the Date.
AN: Homestuck isn't my fandom. I read Act 1 about three years ago, but didn't enjoy it. Blasphemy, I know. Still, a friend of mine wanted me to write this for them, so I did! Any errors, please let me know.
Disclaimer: I do not own Homestuck.
Dave straightened his tie once more, glancing into a nearby mirror to check his reflection. He mussed up his hair, running his hands through the straight locs. Sighing, he stopped his fidgeting. He was cool, calm, and collected, and he needed to remind himself of this. His hands twitched once more, before he breathed in deeply and walked to the door, opening it, and headed towards his car.
"Calm down, Dave. It's just a date. Just a date. Just a date with John." he muttered to himself. A neighbor gave him an odd look, but he paid her no mind.
Unbeknownst to Dave, John was also struggling with a bout of nerves. Unlike Dave, however, John hadn't managed to calm down with a simple mantra.
"Calm down, John, it's not that big of a deal," Jade laughed, swinging her legs back and forth while sitting- and messing up- John's bed.
"I'm going on a date-date with Dave! It is entirely a big deal, Jade! What if I mess it up? What if the restaurant we go to has only peanut dishes? I hate peanuts!" John panicked. Jade snickered and placed one dainty hand on John's shoulder.
"Calm down, John. It'll be fine." she promised him. His hands shook as he tightened his tie, and he choked for a moment before inhaling deeply.
Eventually, John managed to quell his nerves long enough to get into the car and drive himself to Questo Piccolo Posto, the Italian restaurant Dave had suggested they meet at.
He saw Dave, sitting in front of the restaurant on a small wrought iron bench, looking entirely bored. And hot. Mainly hot, John thought to himself before shaking the thoughts away.
"Dave!" he called out, before internally wincing at his own overeagerness. Was it really necessary to make that much of a fool out of himself? Why couldn't he be as blasé about this date as Dave was being?
Dave looked up calmly, and a smile tugged its way from the corners of his mouth. He stood up, and offered John his arm, before quietly walking in.
"Table for two?" a blonde-haired hostess asked. She had a beam on her face, but both men could tell it was entirely fake. Dave nodded, and she led them to a table out on the terrace, before leaving.
"Wow, er, this is nice." John stuttered out, looking around at the twinkling faerie lights artfully strung around the gazebo.
"I suppose.." Dave mused, quietly signalling a waiter to come over and bring them wine and water, before turning back to John.
"So, how have you been?" John asked, wringing his hands slowly, wishing he could stop his spluttering heart. Bum-bum-pum-pum-bum, it went. On and on, beating like a hamster running on a wheel.
"Better, now that you're here." Dave said smoothly, without missing a beat. John grinned.
"That was smooth," he found himself laughing, before taking another sip of wine.
"I aim to please." Dave joked, winking. This date was going along far better than he could have hoped. Or imagined, really.
They continued lightly bantering back and forth, while waiting for their food. When that had arrived, they could barely manage to keep their eyes off of each other, and keep their voices from speaking to each other.
John twirled a piece of cake around his fork, before shoving it in his mouth, listening and nodding along to Dave- who was talking about music, what else. He coughed once, then twice, then three times.
"Ha, cough-ee cake!" he cried out, seizing the opportunity to make a pun. After all, who didn't like puns? They were very punny.
Dave looked at John, silently wondering how many more puns he would have to suffer through on the rest of their date. John shifted nervously, before the mood lightened once more.
Their date continued on, filled with easy smiles and cheeky grins. Dave felt himself fall just the tiniest bit in love with John. In return, John felt his heart sink under the murky depths of love.
Not like either of them would admit it to each other. That would be far too easy, after all.
"So," John found himself saying at the end of the night, long after the waitress had left with their bill, long after the restaurant went from bustling to mostly empty.
"So," Dave echoed, for once losing his slick confidence.
"Where does, where do.." John trailed off, not exactly sure what he was asking, not exactly sure what he was wanting.
"Where do we go from here?" Dave finished quietly. "I'm not quite sure."
"Don't you have loads of experience?" the shorter man asked. Dave bit out a quiet laugh. It seemed that Rose's ongoing joke had turned into belief in some people's eyes, including the man's eyes who he desperately wanted to impress.
"Not-Not really. This is my, er, first date in quite a while?", he managed, phrasing his answer awkwardly into a question.
"I haven't dated anyone since Roxy." John replied simply. Dave shifted awkwardly, inwardly panicking at how far he had managed to lose his cool. John pretended not to notice. "Well, this was my favorite date. By far."
Dave smirked, regaining his posterity. "I try." He pulled on his coat- a dark charcoal- and flipped his sunglasses down, before offering a still-shuffling John his arm.
John managed to shift his ill-fitting light grey coat on, before grabbing John's arm tightly, and allowing himself to be whisked out from under the white gazebo, only to see the shining moon.
"Awfully romantic view," he mumbled.
"Mhmm." Dave agrees, leaning closer, admiring the way the moon shines into John's hair. (Which, he notes, smells exactly like coconuts and cucumbers, oddly enough.)
John stared at Dave, biting his lip once. He was eager to kiss Dave, true, but his mind whirled through all the possibilities and consequences of him kissing, well, Dave. 'Fuck it.' he thinks to himself, before leaning in.
'Best date ever', both men think to themselves.