**Homestuck and all of its characters belong to Andrew Hussie, not me.

Chapter 1

Bro was sitting on the futon, idly flipping through channels to try and find something worthwhile to watch and occupy his time alone in the apartment. It was pretty late, so most of the channels were airing infomercials or old sitcoms. Sighing, he tossed the remote to his side half-heartedly as the Dick Van Dyke show flickered out at him from the screen.

Bro turned his gaze to the clock and rolled his eyes in a bit of annoyance. Dave was a grown man now, so he could do whatever the hell he wanted, but it was still hard not to worry about him when he was out really late. Bro let his head fall back over the edge of the futon and stared up at the ceiling. His shades stayed perfectly in place. He thought briefly about trying to locate some food before giving up on the idea. The refrigerator was full of shitty swords and if he really was hungry, he'd have to make a trip out to a 24-hour convenience store. Not worth it. Then again, convenience stores also sold beer.

Bro was snapped out of his reverie, however, when the apartment door opened and Dave half-stumbled in from the other side before slamming it shut and locking it again. Dave threw his keys down on the counter and stretched. Bro slowly got up from the futon and walked around it. Leaning back on it and crossing his arms, he raised his eyebrows at Dave.

"'Sup, Bro," Dave said as he brushed some hair out of his face.

"You reek of booze," Bro stated matter-of-factly, not moving.

"Yeah, so?" Dave replied, taking off his jacket and tossing it onto the floor next to a pile of smuppets.

"You could have at least brought some home, jackass," Bro said, lightly punching Dave on the arm.

Dave shrugged and walked over to Bro. His face seemed to drop a little as he settled against the back of the futon next to him. An awkward sort of silence filled the space between them as Bro turned to look at Dave. Dave's gaze was focused on the floor in front of him as he shifted his weight.

"Just don't come home completely wasted. I'm not cleaning up after you," Bro said, reaching out and slapping a hand to Dave's shoulder.

"I'm not drunk," Dave said softly, resting one of his hands on top of Bro's. He sounded sort of hesitant about something.

"Good," Bro retorted, pulling his hand back from underneath Dave's. He made as if to walk off, but Dave grabbed his wrist and kept him from going any further.

"What?" Bro asked, looking from Dave's hand on his wrist to Dave's shades. "I don't care if you drink, dude. You're a grown-ass man. What did you have, anyway?"

"What do you care?" Dave said, a bit harsher than he meant to. "I had a couple of shots, that's all."

Bro nodded and looked back down at the hand on his wrist expectantly. Dave finally looked back up from the floor and fixed his gaze solidly on Bro. Where there was previously hesitance lining his features, there was now determination. Bro cocked his head to one side, intrigued.

"Okay, so…" Bro trailed off, lightly tugging to get his wrist back from Dave's grasp.

"Maybe I had a fucking good reason to drink a few shots tonight," Dave started, letting his eyes fall over Bro's collar. "Maybe I needed a little bit of liquid courage for some shit."

Bro slackened his resistance against Dave and turned to fully face him. Dave's poker face had slipped beneath the mask of alcohol into something softer. Bro knew Dave too well to not know what kind of emotional rollercoasters he was capable of when he tried to just be the cool-kid.

Dave reached up with his free hand and removed his shades. As he pulled them down he took in a deep breath, then exhaled. When the shades were off, he set them on the counter next to his keys. Dave slowly opened his eyes and the deep fires of two rubies flared out at Bro. There was no glaze to them. It seemed Dave was completely sober. Whatever he was getting at, it wasn't under the influence of anything other than himself.

They stood there, staring at each other, for a few brief moments. Bro started to open his mouth to say something, but before he was able to get anything out, Dave had shoved him against the refrigerator and pressed himself against him.

"Hey! Dave, what the fu-" Bro started to protest angrily.

Dave leaned in and gently pressed his lips to Bro's. The kiss was soft, sweet. When he pulled back from it, he looked hard into the shades still covering Bro's eyes. Dave saw no immediate reaction, though. Bro's lips were hanging slightly parted, and his eyebrows were up on his forehead. He appeared to be frozen like that for what seemed like an eternity to Dave's adrenaline-fueled system. In reality it was only a few seconds.

Dave furrowed his brows together and turned sharply on his heel, fully intending to storm off and appear angry before he lost it and the waterworks started. He should have known better than to try something like this. Bro would never reciprocate these kinds of feelings. They had begun stirring in Dave early in his adolescence, really. It was unusual, though. It was wrong. Wasn't it? It was a stupid idea. The shots of whiskey had briefly convinced him otherwise.

Before Dave got two steps from Bro, he was jerked back. Hard. He was whipped back so hard, in fact, that his entire body was thrown back where Bro had just been against the refrigerator. His breath went out of him and he almost fell. He barely had time to process that before Bro's lips were smashed against his. He was already breathless, but this was just too much. He felt dizzy. It had to be the lack of oxygen.

Bro kissed Dave masterfully. It was like he was an artist. The scent of whiskey drifted over Bro's nostrils, but it wasn't sour or unpleasant. Dave felt one arm wrap around his waist and catch him before he could fall. It helped pull him back upright as he realized what was happening. Dave gingerly returned the kiss, wrestling with his thoughts over the meaning behind it.

Bro pulled back from Dave and took off his shades. Dave looked hopefully into the ocherous orbs, unsure of what exactly he hoped to see in them. What he saw appeared to be a minor battle. Emotions flickered across them at lightning speed. He wanted to reach out and cup Bro's face with his hand, but he dared not. Instead, he waited for Bro to reach whatever conclusions he was wrestling over in his mind. It didn't take long before the emotions melted away from Bro's eyes and all Dave could see was a sense of resolve and… love? Of course Bro loved him, he had always loved Dave, but this look was… different somehow.

Dave opened his mouth to say something and break the strange tension hovering in the air around them, but Bro simply put two fingers to Dave's lips. Bro smiled and his face relaxed. Dave was flooded with relief and he sagged a bit in Bro's embrace. Neither one of them really needed to say anything now. They could read each other's eyes like open books. To Bro, Dave's eyes seemed to be saying something like, "Shit, Bro. Really? Do you really feel that way, too? This has been torturing me for a long time now. Fuck."

Bro nodded and brought his free hand up to place his palm against Dave's right cheek. Honestly this was a relief to Bro now, too. He had been worried when he started feeling what he now did towards Dave a few years ago. He had watched Dave grow into a man and find himself as he transitioned into adulthood. All of those years of raising him had seemed like some kind of marathon preparing him for things to come, and Bro felt a bit sad that it had all flown by so quickly. Now, however, things were much different. The dynamic between them had shifted as Dave entered his mid-teens, and it was no longer muddled or tense.

There were times where Bro had almost made a move on Dave, but he could never bring himself to do it. Dave trusted and depended upon him, and he wasn't about to break that sacred trust. He wasn't that selfish. If he had to bottle everything up, put on his shades, maintain his poker face, and let Dave live his life apart from him, then so be it. Dave hadn't moved out, though. Not when he turned 18, nor when he turned 21. He had stayed. Bro figured it was just because Dave was too goddamned lazy to move out and support himself. That was part of it, yes, but only a small part.

The truth was that Dave had known for a few years now that he had some stirrings for Bro. It had taken him those few years to really come to grips with what those truly were, but deep down he had already known. They were so alike, and yet so very different. Dave was still headstrong, a bit childish, and forced things too much. Bro accepted him that way, and cherished it. It didn't really feel wrong to love Dave like he did. It felt wholesome. To know that Dave had been going through similar issues panged Bro a little. Dave shouldn't feel bad about it. If anything was anyone's fault, it had to be Bro's. He blamed himself for lots of things. Apparently Dave didn't notice Bro's transgressions after all.

Dave raised his right hand up and placed it on the back of Bro's neck. He pulled him in for another kiss. This one was deeper, needier, hungrier. Bro couldn't help but crack a bit of a smile as he kissed Dave back. Now that the formalities were out of the way it seemed the hormones had really kicked in. He knew it wasn't just that Dave wanted his body. He understood how Dave's mind worked, and he knew that the rigid feeling against his thigh was a natural progression for a young man. Bro took the opportunity to gently bite down on Dave's bottom lip and pull him closer. Dave gasped into Bro as he felt sudden friction against his body. This was going to get hot and heavy quickly, and staying here next to the refrigerator was simply not going to do.