You wake up wrapped in a soft warmth- literally. Whatever it is, it's super soft against your skin and you can't help but make a small sound of contentment at the pleasant feeling and slip back into a surprisingly peaceful slumber for who knows how much longer until it's gone, the sudden chill leaving you blinking back into consciousness on your bed, staring up at the ceiling while you wait for your brain to catch up with your body.
In the meantime, you glance over at the little clock you keep on your nightstand out of habit alone only to see that its cord has been harshly yanked from the strangely placed outlet halfway up the wall and there are scratches across the poor electronic timepieces face which remind you of the reason you're still here, instead of back at Karkat's house as the two of you had originally planned. You don't know whether to lament or rejoice that Karkat hasn't come looking for you yet.
Luckily, your glasses are undisturbed, so you slip them on and stumble out of bed. You only hesitating a moment to psych yourself up to leave the room and possibly see Bro again. You hate him. You hate everything about him, from that leering smile to the way he makes your guts tie themselves into knots in fear every time he so much as lets his gaze pass over you. Last night, one of your greatest fears around him had very nearly come true, only to be saved (though likely only temporarily) by the other monster. It would seem that being so awful was simply a personality trait of Bro's, not some part of his monstrous nature; that, or the second, younger monster was simply an anomaly. Taking a deep breath and trying to soothe your shattered nerves, you push open the door to the main room and peer out.
Bro and Dave- you think that was his name, knowing how Bro is fond of pet name and it's unlikely his name is actually Davey -are curled up together on your couch, a mixture of soft chirps and harsher clicks coming from the pair. You grit your teeth and feel vaguely betrayed by Dave, even though it was stupid to hope that maybe, just maybe, someone would be on your side against Bro. You suppose Karkat would help you if he ever found out, but you'd rather your boyfriend not get mixed up in this mess if you can help it.
You can't stop the exclamation of disgust that escapes you when Bro kisses Dave and he actually kisses back. You shut the door, not even trying to keep quiet now. Was last night all an act to gain your trust? Sinking down to the floor, you pull your knees up against your chest and focus on your breathing. Your main concern now is to stay alive, stay as safe as you can, and escape the moment you see an opening. Maybe you'll take a page out of Dave's book and play along with them until they start to relax, then run for your life.
== Dave: Talk with Bro
You already did that, duh. You got him to concede that attacking John like that was a little uncalled for (though you have a feeling he only said that to appease you) and by some miracle, you convinced him to 'give' John to you, even if the thought of Bro seeing John as a pet made you more than a little queasy. Better than Bro keeping hold of him.
You were wary of his behavior ever since the incident with John- sex should be about trust and love, or plain old mutual pleasure, not to be used as a punishment -but you'd let him lure you into a cuddle session on the couch that had been on the road to a make-out session, at least until you'd heard John come out of his room only to slam the door behind him as he retreated. You can only imagine what he's thinking right now. Pulling back from Bro, you untangle yourself from him and murmur a brief, "Hold onto that thought," before pushing yourself up from the couch and exhaling. John was an adventure when you were just messing with him, and interacting with him properly is a whole other level, so really, it's perfectly logical that you need to prepare yourself before turning the knob on his door.
Or trying to anyway, since it's locked. You really should have expected that from him. "John, open up. Please." There's a muffled noise that sounds vaguely like an expletive or three.
Bro snickers. "He's going to be handful, sure you don't want my help retraining him?" You huff out through your nose. Yeah, that wouldn't help matters much, just make John even more scared of you; which was fine and dandy when you were trying to scare him to death, not so much when you wanted to earn his trust.
"I'm good. I just need a minute." You turn your focus back to John. "Okay, John, look, I know you're not thrilled about this, but I need you to let me in here. I'll try not to bother you too much after this, I swear." Technically speaking, you weren't lying since you're the one who gets to define 'too much', not him. Five tense seconds tick by before John cracks open the door an inch and just barely peeks out.
"What do you want now?" He doesn't sound angry anymore, just tired and sad, his resigned tone tugging at your emotions. You have a sudden urge to push the door open the rest of the to barge in and sweep him into a hug, but then again, that'd only serve to further terrify him. He is a delicate flower you remind yourself, to be treated with as much care as you can muster without going totally soft.
Of all the things to come of Bro already knowing John, you think the fact that you don't have to kill him is the best one.
You glance back at Bro before you answer, carefully selecting your words. "First I want to talk to you in private."
"About what?" You don't blame him for needing to know your reasons for wanting to be around him, especially not after what happened last night. Unfortunately, you can't give him any good answers, not yet. "Just- just some things that need to be discussed, alright?" You don't think you did a very good job at concealing your waxing frustration at the situation, or even letting it be known that you were more frustrated with Bro than John. You lean forward and place one hand on the door frame, using your other to push the bottom of your mask just enough to the side to let him see you mouth 'about Bro' to him. It would look like you were merely adjusting the fixture from Bro's vantage point, nothing suspicious or out of the ordinary.
John doesn't react much, exhaling as he steps back from the partially closed door to make room for you.
AN: Sorry about the wait. Chapters are going to be pretty spaced out, but they will most definitely be longer than around a thousand words apiece. Please try to keep in mind I'm also juggling two other fic's chapters, as well as writing a particularly long oneshot.
Also, going to give Bloodmaster a big update in around a month or less if I keep up writing at this pace.