A/n: Sorry I'm so late! Between midterms and having a boyfriend now I haven't had as much time to write about the boys. Thanks to the anon on tumblr who helped me get out of my funk. You know who you are.
"Oh my fucking god, Dave, will you stop messing up and combing your hair over and over?"
"There is a delicate balance between looking like you really don't care and looking like you really don't care, okay Karkles?"
"It's John. He's known you for, what, eight years now? Nine? I feel like his first impression is pretty well made."
"Yeah, well at least I'm not putting on makeup."
"A: that took thirty seconds. B: there's nothing wrong with wanting to look a little better than usual for a date. C: you're being culturally insensitive as fuck. You know all trolls used cosmetics on Alternia, and it's not like I went the fuck of the deep end."
"Dude, you're wearing eyeliner."
"There is nothing wrong with eyeliner!"
"It's hella gay."
"Dave, I don't know if you realize this, but we had our bulges in each other's nooks last night. We're hella gay."
"Well, okay, you have a point there."
You smooth down your shirt and give Dave a superior sort of look. He rolls his eyes and goes back to fussing with his hair. You might be playing your cool a little better for once but you're nervous too and he knows it. The difference is that you get yours out by arguing whereas he gets his out by preening. You already know you look as good as you're ever going to, and there's no arguing with hair as curly as yours so you've given up at this point.
Of course, now you're also staring in the mirror and wondering what John will think. You suddenly can't remember if he's ever seen you without your big fluffy sweater on. You tell yourself that he must have over the sweeps (the humans may have made you change your vernacular to match the new timekeeping in this universe, but they can't touch inside your head), but you can't seem to remember a specific time.
Well, he will now if nothing else. You're wearing a nice button down shirt, black with your sign embroidered on the pocket, and a bright blue tie. His blue. It doesn't quite look right against the black, but Kanaya has an eye for color and she wouldn't allow you to fuck up by wearing the wrong blue (she did, after all, find the perfect red shirt for you to wear on your first date with Dave). Dave more or less matches, but instead of actually buttoning his shirt it hangs open to show off the bright blue tee he's wearing underneath.
Looking down you realize he's wearing gray shoes, much more obvious than your red socks and undershirt. You suddenly feel better about this whole thing. Even if this date is a total flop, he's still your mate-rail-mesis-boyfriend-thing and it won't change that. Then you glance at the clock.
"Holy shit, we're late!"
"Nah."
"Dave, it is 8:35."
"Going back half an hour isn't exactly gonna doom the timeline."
"But shouldn't we have noticed?"
"We did it while you were in the bathroom. We still have two minutes, 12 seconds, and 6 milliseconds starting now."
"Shit that's specific."
"That's how we keep dead Daves from piling up."
"Right."
He lowers his hands and turns to you.
"Okay, I think I'm good. How do I look?"
"Haven't you been standing in the mirror long enough to figure that out?"
"I'm asking for a second opinion."
"You're fine, Dave."
"Do I… do I look normal enough?"
You pause, lift a hand and brush back his bangs. You were kind of expecting him to wince, but he doesn't. This is too serious, you suppose. "Dave, you look great. You are great. You're manly as fuck and don't forget it."
"Thanks, man."
"Just don't try comparing yourself to John, because we're all still astounded by his and Jake's miraculous transformations from wriggler-faced children to fur-beasts."
"True that."
He gets onto his tiptoes just as you lean down to kiss him and you end up smacking your nose right into his teeth. You decide to cut your losses and just go.
Dave being Dave, you get to John's hive at exactly 8. When he opens the door you're happy to see he's dressed up too. The colors aren't quite the right shade, Dave's red a little too rusty and your gray a little too black, but you're not too mad because it means he must have done it all by himself.
"Hey guys!" he says, all smiles and bright eyes.
His teeth are big and crooked and oh so white. You can pretty much see the old-fashioned glossy blur around him. You want to swoon, but Dave puts his hand around your waist and keeps you grounded.
"Hey yourself," Dave says.
"So where are we heading?" John asks.
"No idea," You reply, "Apparently Dave has a plan."
"That I do. Hold onto your asses."
You recognize the subtle shift, that little twinge in your gut that comes with time travel. John, apparently does not. He doesn't even seem to notice the fact that his hive is gone.
"Okay," Dave says.
"What?" John asks.
"Just look up."
You do as Dave says and your eyes go wide. The sky dances, colors whirling as the cosmos rearrange themselves.
"Where are we?" You ask.
"Same spot, a few minutes before we entered the new universe." Dave sits on the ground and stares at the sky. "When the croak happens there's like a factory default, but when we get our prize everything rearranges itself for us. Just watch."
John plops down next to him and you soon follow. None of you say a thing as you watch. Slowly, patterns begin to emerge. The wild waves that had rocked the heavens settle. The bright pinks, greens, purples, and oranges begin to fade to blue. Intentionality begins to take hold, and you see the very beginnings of your singular white moon and the eight constellations that mark this world's seasons. Far-off galaxies swirl into shape. Rings gather on some of the nearby planets.
You lie there for what must be hours. Even after the sky settles it's just so clear and beautiful that none of you want to take your eyes off of it. Eventually the three of you end up laying down, you and John both have your heads on Dave's chest and he's gently petting the both of you.
Words begin to creep back in. Conversations never seem to be frivolous in the dark and this is no exception.
"What's gonna happen to religion if we're still around?" John asks.
"I haven't really thought about it," you admit. "I was never really into that kind of shit."
"It's different for you, though," Dave says. "You were told your whole life you would bring about the end of the world."
"True," you say. "They weren't exactly wrong, though."
"What if people want answers from us?" John asks, "What if they need purpose or motivation? We don't know anything."
"We can just tell them not to be dicks and find their own meaning in life," Dave says. "I just hope they don't all try to emulate us, or we'll have one fucked up hedonistic society."
"Oh come on, we're not that bad," John says.
"You used your windy powers to TP our hive," You reply, "Three times."
"Yeah, but I helped you clean up."
You shift just a little so your heads bump together and he laughs. God he's got a great laugh, and unlike Dave he doesn't try to hide it.
"Still, though," he says, "I really do have to wonder about the future sometimes."
"We're not popping ahead. Oh my god does it take the fun out of things."
"I never really thought I'd have enough of a future to worry about," you admit. "I mean, I was always so sure that I'd get culled the day my irises started filling in. And then I thought the game would kill me for sure. Now I'm staring eternity in the face and I still can't really believe it."
John looks at you sympathetically and you just turn away. You feel a hand on one of your horns, too small and familiar to be John's.
You begin to hear animals. Familiar insects and owls and, of course, frogs. John asks about life on Alternia and you tell him. You tell him every detail, all of your bloody and wonderful memories, the exquisite cruelty of your race and how you kind of miss it even after all they did to you.
He asks about what they taught you, what they didn't teach you. Eventually he thinks to ask you more about your ancestor, and you're honest. If he wants to be on an even field with Dave he should probably know. So you tell him about the dreams you had since you pupated, about the troll who told you about your destiny, who hinted at the game to come, who gave you the weapons and the knowledge you needed to survive. You're pretty sure that's what they meant by 'knight of blood,' arming yourself with what bonds you could muster. You tell him that's why you hated Kankri so much, he was a mockery of the troll who'd saved your ass since the day you'd hatched.
"Do you think you'd like to live on his Alternia?" To your surprise, it's not John but Dave who asks.
You look up at him, and he's tilted his head down to look at you.
"A world that can still be kinda violent, but without everything being decided by blood and where adults still got to stay on-planet," he clarifies.
You turn your eyes back to the sky. "Kinda," you admit. "Not being culled while still being a badass would be kinda nice."
"You're already pretty badass, I think," John says.
You're not blushing. Who says you're blushing?
"You ever miss him?" John asks after a moment.
"Not really. I still dream about him sometimes."
"That must be nice."
"Yeah. I mean, it happens less and less often as I get older. I guess I just don't need him as much."
"Ah."
"It's okay," Dave says. "You can still miss your dad." He pauses for a minute. "I mean, I miss Bro."
"I thought you were too cool for that," John says jokingly.
"Are you crazy?" You ask, "Dave is about as cool as LOHAC."
"What Karkat's clearly alluding to is my undeniable hotness."
"Sure, Dave."
"Seriously, though. He was like the coolest guy ever. How could I not miss him? Besides, he still owes me like eight years worth of testosterone and surgery."
John laughs again, but you don't miss the way he grabs Dave's hand and squeezes it softly.
"Could they have picked a more fucked up bunch people to rule a universe?" You ask.
"Yeah," John says without a hint of doubt, "I feel like for all we've seen we turned out pretty okay."
"Do you really believe that?" You ask.
"I do."
You actually roll onto your belly so you can get a better look at him. Pinks and oranges are beginning to dot the eastern horizon, and the light reflects beautifully on John's dark skin. You feel the sudden urge to kiss him, but it's like there's an invisible wall between you. So instead you content yourself with watching the sunrise and what it does to him. Dave's doing the same thing. You've stayed up all night with each other before, but with another person it's a brand new experience. For his part, John just watches the sky as it changes with a far-off sort of content look on his face. Together you watch the first sunrise a second time.
"So," Dave says, "what time do you want to get home?"
"Is it time to go already?" John asks.
"Yeah. Past us are going to go exploring soon."
"Oh. Uh... can we keep it in real time? I feel like that'll make it easier for me to keep track of."
"Sure thing."
Dave stands, making you and John get to your feet. This time the shift and the twinge go the other way and you're back on John's doorstep, though the light hasn't changed.
"So, uh," John says, "I guess that's it?"
"Yep. Have fun?" Dave asks. His calm tone probably isn't even fooling John.
"I did. So… wanna do this again sometime?"
"I'm in," Dave says.
"I suppose I can put up with you one more night," you say about as convincingly as Dave.
John's looking back and forth between the two of you uncertainly.
"What's up?" You ask.
"I- Well, a kiss is pretty standard for the first date, but I don't know who to…"
You push Dave forward. "Go on, asshole. It was your idea. Besides, it'll be funny to see you stretch."
Dave smiles and rolls his eyes. Normally he goes up on his tiptoes for you, but he doesn't move other than to tip his head up. Instead John leans down and, wow, they're being chaste as fuck so why is it so hot? They pull apart after about a second and a half and John motions for you to come over.
He's different from Dave. His lips are thicker and softer. You already knew that he smelled different, but with your nose practically against his skin it's even more obvious. And now he smells a little like you and Dave, which makes it even sweeter. His nose is bigger than Dave's so you have to angle your head a little differently and the shape of it means that you feel more of his breath on your face, but even that's attractive for some reason.
You pull away and feel the same gut reaction to him you did when you were six. Holy hell do you want him in one of your quadrants. You're pretty sure there's plenty of room for him in this big wonky one you share with Dave.
"Well," he says, "I'll see you guys later, then."
"Yeah, later."
"See you around," you say.
John turns around to reopen the door. Suddenly your eyes can't seem to leave his butt. It's pretty flat, but still kinda nice. And those pants fit him really well. Really, really, well… He enters his hive, closing the door behind him.
"Dave."
"Yeah?"
"When we get home you're fucking the shit out of me."
"I was just about to say the same thing."
You're really glad you already have one partner to get your sexual frustrations out on.