It seemed like Dave met everyone else first.

He already knew the trolls and his sister, of course, and seeing Davesprite for the first time in three years was probably the most lackluster reunion ever hosted in any universe. John and Jade (once everything was worked out on the mind-control-and-also-death front) were enthusiastic enough for all of them. The first meeting with Jane had been awkward for obvious reasons, but once everything worked out it was nice. Jake was exactly as enthusiastic as his ecto-offspring. Roxy was a combination of all the worst parts of Rose and himself and he loved her in the most unironic way possible.

He even met the other sprites first. Fefeta's blown kiss and bright smile was adorable and sugary, but by the time Erisol was flipping him off Dave was ready to start bursting into frustrated rhymes if he didn't at least get a glance at the bastard he just kept missing.

It was understandable, of course, since they had still been getting important bad-guy-defeating shit done the whole time since they'd arrived in the new session, and everybody was doing their own crucial thing the whole time. Dave was pretty sure John hadn't met one of his ecto-parents yet either.

That didn't make him any less impatient.

It wasn't until after everything was over and fucking done with, and they were all standing in the last dregs of the alpha session before heading out to (hopefully) claim their prize that Dave finally got to do more than watch him from a distance.

There thankfully wasn't a large crowd around them as they studied each other silently from a few feet away, most of the dark-haired dorks doing something loud and amusing elsewhere, but they weren't alone either.

Dirk's hair was a bit lighter than Bro's had been; it would probably darken with age. He was shorter, too, and chubbier, though it was hard not to be chubbier than Bro. He stood with less confidence, but more lightheartedness, less tense. His outfit was ridiculous, of course, but in a way Dave could appreciate. His lips were pursed and his face was arranged in a kind of weird expression that Dave assumed was his concentration face.

They stared at each other for a while, boring Karkat into walking away to join the others, leaving Rose, Roxy, and Terezi to watch them.

Finally, Dirk opened his mouth and before Dave could stop him said the absolute worst thing he could have ever possibly said:

"Wait, if you're exactly like my Bro in every genetic way, why aren't you blond?"

Rose's laughter haunted Dave for weeks.