Disclaimer: If Homestuck was mine, I would not have to save up my money to buy its merchandise.

Chapter Warnings: Dave is in denial. (Really, though, what else is new?)

A Request

It had been proven in the past that Dave really hated going home to an empty apartment. Now, that fact was more apparent than ever.

A little over a month had passed since John's extended birthday visit had ended, and the long stretch of silence after so many weeks spent among his friends was getting to him.

After having spent his life with the constant, looming presence of his brother - or was it father? (Does it really matter?) - and then spending three more of his most formative years in close quarters with Rose and the trolls, Dave was a bit ashamed to admit to himself that he simply didn't know how to be alone. His friends could no longer be online all the time, and during more hectic weeks, Dave would often find himself zoning out, staring at walls for hours and trying to figure out just what to do with himself. His friends all sympathized, even if it was never expressly stated, and they often went out of their way to invite each other over for long visits when the desire for company became too great to ignore.

They were all lonely, and there was no hiding that fact. This time, as rare of an occurrence as he tried to pretend it was, it was Dave's turn to require some company.

Unfortunately, Rose and Jade both had "important business" to take care of back at home, and bothering them about something as silly as 'not wanting to stay here' went against his Strider Code of Morals. (That was totally a thing, and it was something he now lived by.)

Rose needed to talk to her business associate (because seriously, only Rose fucking Lalonde could have a business associate by age 17) about selling a part of her mother's extensive wine collection, and Jade had to hire and work with a team of geologists to make sure that her island's semi-active volcano wasn't at a permanent risk of melting her house. Neither of them needed a desperate blonde tagging along and getting in the way of their productivity.

That, much to Dave's discomfort, left John as his only option.

Dave always felt incredibly awkward about asking John to stay over, even though he knew that he shouldn't. John was Dave's best bro, and there shouldn't have been anything awkward about asking a best bro to stay with you for a while. It was a totally normal thing to do. (So what if having John see all of his personal belongings - including a Smuppet or two, which Dave felt the need to hold on to based purely on irony, and in no way some deep-rooted need to honor his Bro - made him feel oddly self-conscious. So what, if maybe spending any alone time with John at all made Dave feel odd in a way he couldn't really place. Rose could jump to all the conclusions she wanted. It meant nothing, and Dave refused to dwell on it.)

All the same, Dave felt his hand reaching for his phone, fingers hovering over the familiar number without much thought. He had been using Pesterchum less often these days, finding that it was somewhat soothing to hear a friend's voice on the other end of a conversation instead of just cold, albeit colorful, text. He guessed that it must've had something to do with spending time with Rose, seeing as how they'd been conversing in person for long enough that he'd grown used to it, but a nagging in the back of his head told him otherwise.

(It's because typing makes it too easy to for us to cover shit up.

…That used to be something you enjoyed.)

A few rings, and a familiar voice answered curiously.

"…Hello?"

Dave fidgeted despite himself, straightening his shades and wondering why this was always so awkward.

"Hey, bro. It's uh, Strider." He began, ignoring his stomach's odd flip of nervousness and berating himself for sounding so hesitant. (Of course he knows who it is, dumbass. Nobody else calls him "bro", it is an easy fucking giveaway.) "I was wondering if you were busy."

There was a long pause on the other end, and Dave wondered for a second if John had hung up. Considering how the brunette had been acting throughout the duration of his birthday gathering, Dave almost wouldn't have been surprised. Almost. (Rose's lecture echoed in his head again for a moment, and he suppressed a wince.)

"Oh. Hey, Dave." Another pause on John's end. "No, I'm not really busy with anything. Why?"

He sounded hesitant, and there was an odd, stressed sort of undertone to his voice - though that may have just been the tinny quality of the phone - but at least he hadn't hung up. Dave wasn't sure what he would've done if he had.

Still, he mentally swore. John was apparently missing the meaning of his statement (though if this was intentional or not, Dave was unsure), and that meant that Dave was going to have to spell it out. That meant more awkwardness. (Fuck. I used to be good at this sort of shit.) Another pause, this time his own, and Dave couldn't remember a phone conversation ever being quite this awkward. (Word of the motherfucking day.)

"…Well. Wanna hang out?" he muttered, trying to phrase the request in a casual, Strider-ish manner. He was unsure if it worked. John seemed to sigh, before letting out a small chuckle - and probably grinning, if Dave's intuition was to be believed.

"Sure, Dave. Sounds great. Your place or mine?"

(Fuck. He even sounds fake over the phone.)

"Erm… here's fine." Dave replied, trying not to take John's question in any context other than the one given. Not that he would need to, because nothing outside of that context ever crossed Dave's mind. Seriously. Not ever. "My fridge is actually stocked with food, for once."

John laughed again, seeming to accept this reasoning on the matter without further question.

"I'll get my backpack. I should 'Port there in an hour or so, I've just got to take care of some things around the house first."

If there was one thing Dave would always be grateful for, it would be Jade's Transportalizers – now often known as just 'Ports' in casual conversation. She had made improvements to many of her house's technologies soon after their return home, including several that she had invented herself. Nobody could have denied Jade's genius beforehand, but still, Dave was impressed by some of her results. She had released one or two of these "inventions" to the public, and was currently living off of the resulting fortune. She had also been using some of said fortune to cover her friends' living expenses (much to their initial protest), but they had a hard time complaining for long; not when the alternative was homelessness. Not many places would hire an emancipated 16 year old, let alone any place that would pay enough to support said teen's house and/or need for food.

One of the modifications she had made to the 'Porter was a shorter travel time between long distances (using some global grid mapping system or something that went completely over Dave's head, as science was not his thing), which had the added benefit of letting the four friends routinely visit in person without the expense and hassle of traveling by plane.

(Yet another thing I owe her for.)

All this reminiscing left Dave rather startled when the signature spark-buzz of the 'Porter came from his living room, and though it went against his 'image' completely, he couldn't help it. He jumped. It seemed that John caught it as well, considering the momentary look on his face, but thankfully he said nothing. It was widely acknowledged (if 4 people count as a "wide network") that Dave Strider didn't get startled, he didn't jump, and that was all there really was to say on the subject.

John had indeed brought a backpack, slung over his shoulder and presumably puffy with the bulk of clothes, which he never bothered with unless he anticipated staying somewhere for more than a few days. Maybe the oblivious Heir could read Dave's tone better than he thought.

Dave, though he had yet to explain the thought to himself, was both pleased and terrified by the prospect.

John gave him an odd look – though all of his looks had been somewhat odd lately, this one was slightly more out of place than usual, nearing contemplative – before stepping over and casually dumping his stuff on the couch, and just like that, the strange moment between them was broken.

"…I brought movies." John said, and offered Dave one of his awkward, derpy little smiles.

And seeing it there, just for a second, Dave was able to pretend that everything was okay.

Author's Note: ...Derp. I am sorry for this terrible chapter. /die

I just feel the need to say that in this future-verse, I'm ignoring the existence of the Alpha kids (even though I love them) to limit the time shenanigans going on here. It's also a LOT easier to write about the kids missing their parents than it would be to write about them meeting said parents as teenagers from the future.

I'm also trying to be a bit realistic with their home situations, and it seems to me like 1) not very many regular, newly orphaned teenagers could make their own house payments in any logical sense, and 2) a lot of Jade's inventions seem really freaking advanced, but mostly unique to her little island, so I hope I dealt with that in a way that makes sense.