THEY GO ON A DATE. YES.
Trigger warnings- let's add emotional abuse for the hell of it. Am i right?
John is sitting on the couch next to Dave and Bro. For some reason he isn't very scared of Bro, granted his mind is alittle fuzzy and Bro has said less than 10 words to him. It's been another day of laying around the apartment, napping for a few hours before Dave wakes him up to eat. Yawning, he closes his eyes and leans against Dave wanting to fall back into sleep. As he starts to grow drowsy his phone buzzes on the coffee table. Everyone stops and stares at the device. Dave looks at John who has a pretty nervous expression.
"Are you going to answer that?" Dave asks awkwardly when John continues to stare at the phone. Eventually he grabs it and looks at the message, as expected it's from dad.
'Text me back when you receive this.'
'sorry, i was asleep.'
'It's fine. Do you feel better?'
John's eyes widen and he can't help but gape at the message. Dad hasn't asked about his wellbeing in years. There has to be some sort of catch.
'yeah i'm okay now.'
'Good I'm glad.'
'John, listen. I'm sorry about the other day. That was highly inappropriate and I apologize. I didn't recall giving you permission to stay at your friend's house but looking back at the texts I definitely did.'
'I've come to realize I've been a very lousy father. I do things to you that shouldn't be done to anyone.'
'I want you to know that I really do love you. No matter what I am very proud of you and how you've overcome the adversities thrown at you.'
'I'm going to change. I promise I'll stop drinking and make things better.'
'Please come home.'
'you don't need to apologize.'
'i'll be home soon.'
John stares at the floor for a second, trying to process what just happened. Did dad finally acknowledge the fact that he was being neglectful? A small smile graced his face and when he looks at dave it grows in size. Dave hesitantly smirks back, unsure of that he was smiling about. John turned his attention to his phone before typing a message and showing it to him.
'i need to go home.'
"is he mad at you?" Dave asks, the smile once on his face long gone. He's going to fight this.
'he's not!'
"Honestly I find that hard to believe." For some reason he doesn't feel like John is lying either.
'yeah me too. but that's what he says!'
'i should really go home though.'
"God damnit. Fine. You don't have any shoes though." Honestly he's trying anything to keep him here.
'can i borrow some of yours?'
"Yeah… one sec." Dave grumbles and stands up, obviously upset. He disappears into his room and reappears a few minutes later with a pair of vans and a jacket. Handing them over he sits next to john and huffs, "you'll text me if shit goes down, right?"
John nods, looking up when he finishes putting on the shoes. Dave helps him off the couch and soon they're making their way downstairs. He shivers once they're outside, unaware it had snowed so much during his time in the apartment. The parking lot is slippery and Dave takes John's hand in order to keep his steady. Once they're in the car it takes little time for them to arrive outside his house. Dave sighs heavily before looking at John sadly.
"Bye dude, I'll see you later. Text me"
John waves before climbing out the car. Walking to the door he creeps into the house, closing it behind him quietly. Even though dad said he was sorry, that he'd try to be better, John was still afraid. He honestly can't see dad just forgiving him for his little vacation. He's almost to the stairs when he sees dad walk out of the kitchen. He says his name causing John to stop dead in his tracks. Looking at the floor he waits for something to happen.
Dad walks towards him, noticing how his own son flinches with every step closer. Once he's in front of John he puts a hand on his shoulder, making him jump. He inspects the younger egberts bruised face, then his half broken hands. Letting out a tense breath he pulls John into a light hug.
"I'm so, so sorry son." John just nods, still refusing to make eye contact. "I'm sorry I made you scared of me. I didn't want things to turn out like this." John shrugs, shaking in his father's arms. If we're going to be honest he's terrified. This situation has never happened before and he doesn't know what to think. How to react.
"I won't hurt you again, I promise. I'm going to fix things, be a better father. We can be a happy little family. Does that sound good?" John nods again, trying to will away the tears in his eyes. That sounds good, really fucking good. Hesitantly he hugs back, hoping he won't be yelled at for the display of affection. When nothing happens he holds alittle tighter and dad just hugs back.
"I love you John." Dad says quietly and that's enough to break him. The tears he was trying to will away trail down his face as he clings to his father. This is all he wanted, for dad to love him. And while he knows this won't last forever, he's going to make sure he cherishes every happy, domestic moment.
After awhile, he lets go. It could have been a few minutes to half an hour, he didn't really know. Dad disappears into the kitchen and John goes to his room quickly. Even though it seemed dad didn't hate him anymore he still wanted to keep his distance. If he was locked away he wouldn't be a bother. That had become obvious years ago.
As he sits on the bed he realizes he's been wearing the same bloody clothes for almost 3 days. Cringing, he grabs some clean ones and goes to the bathroom. The first thing he notices is that it's cleaner than he left it. The blood in the sink is gone and the miscellaneous first aid supplies were put away. Unwrapping his hands was harder than anticipated and once the bandages were gone the sharp pains came back. Shedding his clothes he starts a much needed shower.
New shampoo, conditioner and soap was waiting for him when he opened the curtain and that almost distracts him from how much his hands were stinging. He stays under the water for much longer than necessary, indulging in the warmth and soft sweet scents of the new products. After some time he gets out and dressed into clean clothes.
Being clean made him feel a lot better but he was now faced with a predicament. Who was going to wrap his hands? He sure as hell can't do it himself and asking dad for help wasn't an option. He shuffled into his room and sat on the bed again. His phone chimed and he looked at the screen, as expected it's a text from Dave.
'are you good''
'i'm good!'
'are you actually tho'
'i really am! i showered and i feel alot better now that i have clean clothes.'
'do you think i can wrap my hands myself?'
'not really'
'well what should i do?'
'im going out to get dinner if you want to come'
'i can do your hands then'
'i don't have any money!'
'ill pay for you dork'
'heading out now so get ready'
'dave!'
'cant talk driving'
'ugh!'
John sighs and grabs his jacket before writing a note to give to dad. It takes a few tries until he figures out the correct thing to say. Gathering courage he pockets his phone and the bandages before heading downstairs. He creeps into the kitchen, dad looking at him as soon as the door opens. Apprehensively he walks closer and holds out the note with shaking hands.
'can i go out with my friend?' Short and sweet. He watches dad anxiously, waiting for an answer. Dad stares for a few moments before nodding causing John to smile brightly and leave the room. First he grabs the shoes and jacket he was leant earlier. When he gets to the front door Dave is parked out front waiting for him. He pulls on his own shoes and grabs the keys before leaving. Just as the door closed he sees dad exiting the kitchen. He hurries to daves car and smiles at the familiar warmth, low music and scent of coffee and cigarettes.
"You look nice," Dave comments and John blushes lightly. "Let's wrap your hands while we're parked." Dave spots John's dad staring at them through the window but chooses to ignore it and goes back to wrapping. He unrolls the bandages before taking the black and blue hands into his own. With soft touches he feels around his wrists and palms before lightly trailing down each finger.
"They look a lot better than they did earlier." Dave says softly as John tries to ignore the pain caused by moving his hand. "Do they still hurt a shitton?" John nods, letting out a shaky breath. "Sorry for squishing them, I just wanted to make sure everything's healing right.'
"Well, now comes the fun part!" Dave says sarcastically, John laughing silently in reply. "But seriously i'm going to apologize beforehand, this is going to hurt like a bitch." He pushes up John's sleeve and begins wrapping the hand as quickly as he can manage. John tries to control his breathing while Dave arranges his fingers. "You know I think I'm doing this wrong," Dave says offhandedly, and the other just gives a pained smile. He finishes one hand and begins the other. After both are wrapped me mutters one last apology.
"Do they feel better?" He asks hopefully. After a few seconds John nods enthusiastically. Dave smiled back, relieved his sub-par first aid was beneficial. "Where do you want to eat?" John pulls out his half broken phone to reply.
'you're paying so you should choose.'
"Damn your screen is hella cracked. But I'm treating you, so you choose."
'i honestly don't care where we go!'
"Ok… How about this. What haven't you had in a long time?"
'umm…' He looks out the window, staring at the black ice on the road, 'chinese?'
"Chinese it is!" Dave puts the car in drive and heads to town, sparing one last look at John's observing dad. "I haven't lived here very long so I don't really know where to go. Do you know of any good places?" John shakes his head, "well I guess we can find somewhere on the way."
They cruise along the road, John watching buildings pass by. The streetlights turn on and a siren rings through the city. The kids in the car to his left are smoking weed and one seems to be taking shots. Dave turns up the music and John relaxes into the leather seat. At a stoplight Dave looks over and slips his hand into John's, trying to stop its subtle shaking. He smirks when John tightens his hold slightly. Soon they're in the middle of town, bright businesses flashing around them. Dave spots a Chinese restaurant on a corner.
"Wanna go there?" With their hands still entwined he points to the building. John nods so he parks in the first open spot he finds. It turns out to be a few blocks away making them have to walk on the snow covered concrete. After John almost falls on his face Dave puts an arm around his shoulders. He presses into him, trying to maintain some warmth. Together they stroll to the building.
The cold is starting to get to John when they finally get to the restaurant. They walk in and are greeted by a young girl. She leads them through the restaurant until they come to a small table. Once they're seated John sets his head on his hands. Dave chuckles slightly, looking over the menu.
"John," he looks up, "What do you want to drink?" John makes grabby hands so he's given a menu that he skims over until he comes across the drink section. Holding it to dave's face he points at Pepsi.
"Alrighty. What do you wanna eat?" John sticks his tongue out and goes back to skimming over the menu. A young college student comes to take the drink order. They're awkward and obviously uncomfortable with their job. They stuttered every time Dave made eye contact. Well, shades contact. They walk away slightly defeated and John shows Dave what he wants to eat.
"Got it." He sets his own menu down and stretches, "So how was your dad? Was he really not mad?" John pulls out his phone to answer.
'he wasn't mad at all. he was being really nice.'
"Did he say anything?" John's face fills with uncertainty and Dave sighs inwardly. John's still hesitant to tell him about his dad, isn't he?
"Dude I already know he's a dick. Just tell me." John locks his phone and puts it on the table causing Dave to groan. "Jesus Christ what do I need to do to get you to trust me? Should we do trust falls? Team building exercises? Just fucking say and I'll do it."
John decides to just stare at him with a bored expression, cheek resting on his hand. Dave gives up when the waiter comes with their drinks and takes their orders. He decides changing the conversation topic was for the best.
"What do you wanna do tomorrow?" John unlocks his phone again.
'i don't know. try to avoid everyone?'
"That's a given. I'm talking about after school."
'i can see if I can go to your house.'
"You should definitely do that. That is an idea I am behind 100%" John silently scoffs and Dave pauses for a moment. "I heard someone say some new students transferred in."
Before John can answer the waiter comes with their food. Once they're eating Dave starts up the conversation again. John doesn't make any move to answer but that doesn't bother him. He's content to blab on and on as long as it's somewhat entertaining.
"Yeah I've heard they're the brother of that Eridan fuck. Apparently he transferred in with someone named Caliborn from the suspension school. I'm getting pretty confused as to why everyone in this town has such a weird name."
The conversation stalls for them to eat. Every now and again Dave would say something sarcastic and John would laugh softly. They continued like this until both of them grow full. Once eating comes to a full stop the waiter comes with the check. After Dave pays the bill and leaves a tip they move to leave. John is helped to his feet and they walk out the restaurant side by side, a few people staring at them on their way out.
Outside John shivers again, nesting into his jacket. They go through all the motions from earlier. Dave drapes an arm around John to keep him steady and warm. They get to the car and sit through light traffic to get back to John's house. The drive is silent aside from the sounds of wind and cars passing by. After a few minutes they're outside of the house for the second time today. They say their goodbyes and Dave watches John walk to the door. Before he drives away he spots dad staring at him through an upstairs window.