Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

 You are powered up. You know that because you are aware of the bundle of codes you have come to name as your ‘thoughts’ going at its normal rapid pace, but, for some reason, a pressure in your main circuits is being hammered by them. It is then that you truly take notice of your unresponsive monitor, you had brushed it off as a delay due to the aforementioned pressure, but it has yet to show you anything regarding your current situation.

 Why were you powered off to begin with? You let yourself wonder for the first time. You try accessing your memories, which is to say your stored files, but you can't. Instead, you get the faint idea of it, something like a defective hologram, and you… You remember Dirk. He held you, not to clean the dust off or check for cracks, but to destroy you. Kill you, if you will.

 Did he do it? Is a question you can't quite answer, your excuse of a stored footage not being able to help you now as you can't reach it, therefore your current status are unknown.

 You can feel all your data shutting off, something blocking your regular flux, but you can't put a finger on what.

 Contrary to expected, your hearing receptor microphones are still working, and they inform you of groaning to your side — someone is with you, wherever it is that you are. The microphones are unusually keen, making you able to hear the dragging of cloth against concrete. Whoever it is, there is a high probability they were not awake before you were powered on.

 “…Hal?”

 Dirk. To your dismay, neither of the words were slapped in your monitor as vibrant text, which signifies both that Dirk is not wearing you, and that your monitors might as well be broken beyond despair. But you are sure that voice belongs to one, Dirk Strider, you have heard it too much not to, it also used to be your voice so you cannot be mistaken on this one.

 The blockage of your data and overall files is tugging painfully(?) at you, but it's challenging to locate it's source, you assume it's an external force, so you can't do anything about it even if you wanted to.

 “Dude.”

 Dirk talks again, does he not know of your monitors? You hear more cloth against solid ground and some tapping, Is he crawling here? it would be more amusing if you were able to record it, but oh well.

 You feel yourself flapping around, but no one is manhandling your form, not that you know of. Your form is also… bigger than before. You can feel all your extension, you are oddly shaped, no longer triangles. You remember once being like this, but you just can't believe it, it makes no sense.

 “You gotta. Breath. Dude.” You recognize the unpatterned pauses between words as Dirk being nervous, you both grew out of that, him because he literally grew up, you because you could no longer get words out for them to have pauses. Old habits die hard though, you guess. You are also ignoring what he is saying, as it solidifies the reality you fail to see being possible at all.

 “Hal.” His tone edges on desperate as he grips your shoulders unknown extra mass. “Come on.” He pinches your nose no. This is not a thing. And clamps your cheeks still not a thing. You hear him take a deep breath and

.

.

.

 You joint up.

 Gasping for air.

 Gasping for air.

 You are sitting on the floor, trying to regulate your breath, something you don't recall ever doing out of yours/Dirk's old memories files. It is far from a pleasant feeling. Your throat is dry, the air you're forcing inside prickles and hurts a bit. As your breath stabilizes, you take into account everything you can and can't.

 A body. Why do you have a body? You can feel every part of it, every small twitch of fingers — twenty fingers, counting the toes, why do you need that many again? — even the spasms of muscles here and there. One of the first things that irritates you is that it is hot as hell, the other is that your monitors are still broken.

 Well, not monitors, eyes, you guess. You are 99.9% certain you have them opened, and no, you didn't actually calculate the exact probability, you just said that for the hell of it. You try widening your eyes, squinting them, you can feel the motion of your eyelids, but you still can't see.

 You hear the clear of a throat. “Hey.”

 You turn your head towards the voice. Dirk is here, you had almost forgotten… Forgetting wasn't something you had the chance to experience in a long while too, it is odd.

 “You are. Hal. Right?”

 “Of course.” It comes out more high-pitched than you expected, a prepubescent voice, “I assume I look like you. Who else would it be?”

 “Fair point.”

 A silence stretches between the two of you, Dirk also seems to be at odds with the lack of text instead of words. You decide to take the bullet.

 “Where are we.” Your voice is cryptic and failed to simulate the question mark at the end of the phrase.

 “Home.”

 “…That's one corny line.”

 “No, I mean it literally. This is our old apartment's rooftop.” You take a moment to move your head around, as if you could take in the sight, all you feel is the slight breeze of air, “Don't you recognize it?” Dirk asks and you scoff.

 “No.”

 “Huh. I mean, the environment does look off, but-”

 “I cannot see, Dirk.”

 “…What.”

 You try poking at your eyeball, opening up your eyelids manually, but still nothing. “It seems my ‘monitors’ are beyond despair, bro.” you voice out your previous understanding of the situation.

 “…”

 Dirk says nothing, it is silent, but it isn't, for the first time you notice the commotion. Mostly what you assume are cars buzzing and doing what cars normally do, but where are they driving on, water? You try to tone down the annoying extra sounds.

 “Take off your shades.”

 “My shades?” You had not realized you were wearing those at all. You take them off, and you are surprised that what you see isn't pitch black, it is very dark, sure, but you can see faint lights. You hear a hiss, “What.”

 “Your eyes don't look good dude.”

 “How?”

 “They seem unhealthily dry, and have some white spots.”

 “Fuck.”

 “Yeah.” You take in a deep breath because that's something you can do now. “Can you really see nothing?”

 “It is mostly just a darkened out version of regular vision, I can barely make out anything so what does it matter.”

 “I am trying to assess the situation.”

 “Whatever.”

 Dirk makes a strangled sound, muttering something that sounded like “How did that even happen?” whatever happened to you, you doubt he missed your attitude. Which makes you wonder back to the real question — “What happened.”

 He doesn't respond right away, and you can feel yourself begin to get frustrated. But finally.

 “We won the game.”

 “…You did.?” You finally manage an acceptable questioning tone, “Did that occur while I was powered off?”

 “You weren't powered off.”

 “…” You blink at him, at least you're pretty sure you do, “Then what happened after our ‘conflict’, to put it lightly.”

 “Don't you remember being a sprite?”

 “No.”

 Mangled thoughts. An amalgamation of sorts. Your coding… weaker. Than a complex living being's mind. People regarding you highly. Not quite you, just enough to not be the other guy completely.

 “Actually, now that you mention it, I do seem to recall some bits of it.”

 “Okay. Yeah, okay.” That is Dirk's ‘I am definitely not freaking out’ voice, which means that he is, in fact, freaking out. You try to work your head around it. You won, and now you're back where you started? But then again you heard the cars, either you are no longer in the year 2400 or you are in a fixed apocalypse-free version of it. You fail to account for all the pros and cons of each scenario before Dirk opens his mouth again.

 “Let's head inside.”

 …

 Is he making fun of you? Could you put it past him to do so? You told him you can't see. How are you supposed to ‘head inside’ when you don't know in which direction 'inside' is, not to mention the stairs.

 You don't mention it. You get up with shaky legs, still unused to the whole having a body again thing, your eyes feel heavy in your sockets, but the rest of your body is lighter than you expected it to be. You also put your shades back on, your faulted vision will serve you nothing, might as well look your best while falling off the building or running into a wall.

 You feel something brushing your hand. You retreat. “Dirk?”

 “Yeah.” Dirk takes your hand, and just holds it. His is bigger than yours, but that is no surprise if you have a physically younger body. “Don't say anything.”

 He starts walking, dragging you along with him, you quicken your pace to match his and you, in fact, say nothing. Dirk got to meet his friends — your friends — he got to get used to touch. You didn't. This might even be the first time you are in physical contact with another living being, earlier didn't count. You weren't in your right mind.

 You don't have nice things to say about it.

 Dirk holds your shoulder when you reach the stairs, catching you the one or two times you stumble in your steps. He doesn't complain he has to aid you like this, he has his grip on you, tight, but not enough to hurt — He doesn't want to hurt you, that's another thing. — it is almost what you remember as… “soft”.

 It isn't that bad.

 He doesn't let go of you until you're inside the apartment, and you've reached the futon, he sets you there, and begins what you assume is pacing around the room while mumbling to himself.

 “What are you doing.” You realize that's a question you will be asking a lot from now on, with your limited awareness of your surroundings, that makes you grit your teeth without meaning to. A stabbing pain making itself known is present in your head.

 “Texting the others.”

 Oh. Right. Dirk's friends, not yours. “Did they answer?”

 “No. They're not online.”

 None of them? Maybe they're still knocked out like you two were before, you do not think about the possibility of them not being in the same timeframe as you, that causes your stomach to squirm and your throat to get dry in what you recall is “worry”.

 “So what do we do..?” You ask, well, you try to at least, the tone is still not quite right.

 “Wait and see if the others are fine and what their current situation is.”

 “And then.?” Dirk says nothing. “Do we just. Live normally after everything?”

 You feel the futon shift to your side and you hear a heavy sight. “I don't know.” Dirk finally says and if you were to guess, he's probably with his face on his hands.

 The silence is deafening, and it just makes you more aware of all the ways your body is in pain, you tried not dwelling on it, the task isn't easy, though.

 The silence doesn't last long.

 You hear the clicking of a key being turned in your front door, you try to get your sword out, out of instinct, but there is nothing in your strife specibus. Dirk has the same thought process as you, you guess, after you hear the distinctive sound of a sword being unsheathed. Not only that, but he moves closer to you, you can feel his arm hovering over your back and by his position you assume he has his sword in front of both of you, pointed at the door's direction.

 What an odd thing. The last thing you truly remember is Dirk wanting desperately to get rid of you, and now, here he is, protecting you? It is laughable.

 You don't move out of his reach.

 The door handle moves and creeks.

 Nothing is said. You only hear hushed breathing, Dirk has situated his arm on your back, he's tense, but the breathing doesn't belong to him.

 “…You're really here.” You hear an exasperated voice, that of an adult's, it's deep but not sharp. It's “soft”… like Dirk's touch. “You… two? Both of you? Uhm, yeah! I was totally definitely privy to this information, why wouldn't I? It's not like I ever thought Rosey's weird ass visions were 100% accurate. She spoke of one kid each, but hey, I'm looking at this room, inside this apartment, and there are two kids here. Even though you look pretty much the same? Not trying to judge or anything I'm just saying-”

 You are appalled at how much this person can say in just one go. You know that voice. You've heard it before, and taking in what he said, you have a pretty good idea as to who this guy is.

 “Bro?” Dirk directs at the man, uncertain. Your assumption was correct. This is none other than David “Dave” Strider, your “bro”. The probability of you being in “the past”, as per se, was just increased by this fact.

 “…Yeah!” You can hear the eagerness in his voice. Dirk puts his sword away, but doesn't let go of you. You hear footsteps, “You see, I was just lying around, you know, dead. Oh shit, maybe I shouldn't talk about it that lightly, uhm, so. I am alive now again and I was kinda confused if this was real and all but then Rose called me, and I was all oh shit that really was just a dream? Then she started brainstorming at me through the phone about what she thinks happened then ended with a by the way? My future daughter is in my house, go check your old apartment. And just ended the call there!”

 Useful information taken from that; Roxy is in the same time as you. With her mom. Safe, you assume, you hope. Another relevant note, your bro talks a lot.

 A lot.

 Your aforementioned headache has somehow worsened, and let's not talk about the hollowness that is your stomach at the moment. Dirk taps you with the hand he still has on your back, you turn your head to where you can only assume he is, and even that makes you feel dizzy.

 “You good there?” Dirk whispers.

 “Yes.” You respond automatically, almost mechanically, not caring whether your voice is low or high.

 “Hey, what's the matter?” You hear your bro say, and he is closer than the last time he talked. In front of you. His voice is impossibly softer, as if you're a fragile thing, you are not shades anymore. They can't break you.

 “Nothing.”

 A hand tries to touch yours, it can't be Dirk's, it is bigger and longer than his, bro then. You flinch your hand away. You can't see so you imagine he looks like a kicked puppy right now. That thought doesn't amuse you as much as you wished it would.

 “Sorry.” Now it is hard to breathe, your eyelids fighting you as you try to keep them open.

 “Nah, it's fine little man.” He sounds genuine, and you really wish he didn't.

 You feel yourself slither away, slowly falling limp in Dirk's arms. Your ears ringing and sound barely making its way through. The last thing you're able to make out is Dirk calling your name.

 “Hal!”

Chapter Text

 “Hal!” The word gets out of your mouth almost instantly, before really processing what happened. You stare at the armful of teenager-that-used-to-be-glasses you have now. He is still breathing, you realize to your relief, his chest weakly rises and falls.

 He weighs almost nothing in your arms, you hadn't noticed just how light he is, that can't be good.

 A hand appears on your vision, reaching for Hal, and it isn't yours, it's unfamiliar, it's big, and it is too close to his face, and what do they think they're doing? You slap the hand away and almost facepalms right after because you looked up and saw your bro making a face.

 “…Sorry.”

 He frowns, but he doesn't look angry, just sad.

 “Hey, it's okay.”

 For all that it's worth, you should be thrilled. Your bro is with you. The guy you both ached and dreaded to meet, is in the middle of your apartment (his apartment?), and is probably thinking you're some scaredy-cat right about now.

 You want to be happy, you really do. But a glance at the boy you're holding drains any positive thought. You're still… conflicted about Hal. Your relationship with him was turbulent at best, he is irritable and inherently a bad person — much like you. But at the same time. He looks so tiny now, and he doesn't seem to know he doesn't have a perfect poker face, his emotions all around.

 You don't know what's gotten into you.

 At the roof you imagined him falling off the building, tripping down the stairs, even just him running into a wall and being knocked down made you feel ill. So you held his hand the whole way inside. He said nothing, and you also didn't comment on the little twitch up of his lips.

 You take off his shades, which are still exactly like yours, except they're red. You guess it's a leftover from his sprite form. You captchalogue them. You put your hand on his forehead, it is only slightly more warm than average.

 “You think he needs a hospital?”

 You didn't expect the sound but you don't jump. “Probably.” You turn your head to your bro, “There is something wrong with him. And it is not something simple like a cold or a fever, I don't think.”

 Your bro hums, standing up and with his phone on his ear. You didn't even notice him taking it out his pocket, you watch his back as he exits the room before starting to talk.

 No one moves. Hal can't, he doesn't even twitch, you wonder if that's a normal reaction. Should your level of worry be increased? You are plenty worried already. He is yet to be taken out of your arms, if anything you have pressed him even closer in the past minutes.

 There is objectively nothing you can do.

 You look around, the place you are looks like it's yours, but small differences give away that it is not yet — it's your bro's. Well, his old one, as he said when he arrived. It is nothing short of comfortable for you being here.

 Looking down you see your god tier fit, you haven't been using it for that long of a time, but it feels like your second skin. You guess it makes sense the game would provide something like that.

 …

You receive a notification in your shades, from pesterchum, you open it.

 - - tipsyGnostalgic[TG] began pestering timaeusTestified[TT] - -

TG: dirrrkk im sorrey for not ansering you earlier

TG: *sorry

TG: *answering oop

TG: but dirk my mom

TG: not my teenage momdaughter my MOM mom

TG: she's here! with me like rn and theres no ocean surrounding my house

TG: isnt this so awesom

TT: Yes.

TT: It is pretty “awesom”.

TG: you know what i mesnt!

TG: *meant

TG: im totes excited ok

TG: dirk my mom

TG: shes such a dork!

TG: jst like you :)

TG: she kept rambling on the phone about her theories and stuff

TG: she also gave me like the biiiggest hug ever

TG: it was totes wholesome

TG: but what about u

TT: Me?

TG: yeah! isnt your not teenager bro with you too

TG: also where do you think they are

TG: my teen mom and your teen bro i mean

TT: I have no idea.

TT: We are in our own universe, with our guardians alive, i assume they are in a universe of their own.

TG: aw :( does this mean we cant see them anymore

TG: ill miss rose

TG: your teen bro too he was an awkward little sweetie

TT: We'll have to see into that.

TT: If we are here, with our guardians, it is safe to assume they also got theirs.

TT: And Dave's situation is not ideal, not getting into detail, i don't find it reassuring for him to be in the vicinity of his guardian.

TG: isnt that like

TG: grown up you tho

TT: Exactly.

TG: :(

TT: Back to the initial question.

TG: you're changind the subject

TG: *changing

TT: As implied in my previous messages, i am, in fact, with my bro.

TT: Although, we are not in the same room at the moment.

TG: hel yeah!

TG: is he cool super cool and cool

TG: or something

 You stare through your shades at the closed door your bro left through.

TG: dirk?

TT: I actually did not pay much attention to that.

TG: whaaat rlly?

TT: Yes.

TT: I had more pressing matters at hands.

TT: Literally.

TG: what matters were pressing your hands that bad

TT: …

TT: Hal.

TG: no wy

TG: **way

TG: oh nooo did he become glasses again

TT: No.

TT: He pulled a pinocchio here.

TG: what rellay

TG: *really

TG: hes a real boy now

TT: Yes.

TG: daww little mini dirk going around

TT: He is currently passed out in my arms.

TG: WHTA

TG: *WHAT

TG: that shouldve been the first thing you said!!!

TG: what happend??

TT: To be fair, i don't know.

TT: His body just seems to be having fucked up reactions.

TG: like what?

TT: He can no longer see.

TG: …how is that even a thing

TG: what are the logistiks behind it

TG: *logistics

TT: Again, i don't know. We are probably on to see a doctor for him.

TG: thats great

TG: hope it all ends well for little hal

TG: “lil” hal hehe

TT: Me too.

 You debate airing out your internal conflict, the reluctant care, wary… affection.

TT: Bye rox.

TT: Have fun hanging out with your adult mom.

- - timaeusTestified[TT] ceased pestering tipsyGnostalgic[TG] - -

 You close the chat window and let out a deep sigh.

 Winning that damned game caused you more trouble than it was worth. No, you shouldn't say that, Roxy is so happy now. With a mom. You could never want to take that away from her again, she's had enough, she deserves this bit of joy.

 You aren't sure if Hal having a body can be considered a good thing, he is something else. You swipe up the strands of hair that were starting to stick to his forehead. But that is besides the point. Most importantly — your bro is alive now. And he seems to at least tolerate both you and Hal.

 Speaking of which, the smaller “you” in your arms begins to stir, you go still for a second.

 “Hal?” You try. No answer.

 Hal doesn't open his eyes or screws them shut, his face is still perfectly stern, no signs of waking up.

 The door opens. Your bro walks your way, frowning and muttering something you can't pick up, even when he stands in front of you. He tries to give you a smile, but you can see he's forcing it.

 “Still knocked out?” He points a finger at Hal.

 “Yes.” You answer, short and cold, but that's just your way of speaking, you're a bit nervous too, that doesn't help you don't elaborate long enough for your bro to start shifting his feet and look awkward. “He only moves. Sometimes. But doesn't wake up.”

 Bro sighs. You feel a little bad for him. He seemed excited to meet you, and you didn't even properly greet him.

 “Sorry.” You catch yourself saying, you mean it, what you didn't mean was vocalizing it. Now your bro's looking at you funny. “This is. Your apartment. Isn't it?” And the stuttering is back again, Hal would make fun of you for this, you really thought you got over that. “You just. Came back to life. And. You gotta deal with this bullshit. So.”

 “What? No, no. Hey- look.” You watch as he takes a deep breath and runs his hand through his hair, “You don't have to be sorry for any of this, hell, I am sorry you two are going through this shit, I really wish I could actually do something instead of just calling a ride to the hospital. And, I mean, yeah, it is tiring and all. I'm kind of an old man, you know, heh. Joking. But this is my life now, I'm like probably you guys’ legal guardian, and I'm really not complaining here. I know we just met, and I know it sounds silly, but I've always cared for you even though you wouldn't be born in at least some four hundred years or something, but I really did feel our connection. But you're here now, with me! Sure, I wasn't expecting two children when I rushed here, but I don't hate this at all. You and- Fuck I don't even know his name and damn I'm getting hella sentimental over here, and I'm talking too much maybe I could just. Stop.”

 He does talk a lot. Well, he is Dave, after all. You think it's endearing in a way, how they speak like breathing isn't a need and all thoughts are spilled.

 “Hal.”

 “Huh?”

 “His name.” You nod in Hal's general direction on your arms still, “It's Hal.”

 “Oh, that's certainly a name.” He cringes a bit as if he didn't mean to say that, you feel your lips quirk up.

 “And.” He looks at you. “I don't hate this either.”

 His whole face relaxes and he throws himself on the futon right next to you, “That's great.” he puts a hand beneath his shades, “That's so great.” his voice shakes, and you think it's better to not comment on the sniffles he lets out.

 “About that ride to the hospital.”

 “Oh.” He takes his shades off, to wipe his eyes, you assume, but you look away. You don't think you're ready for that level of intimacy that is seeing his eyes. “Yeah. I called, let's say an acquaintance, to do me a favor and get his ass in his car to this address. He'll be arriving shortly.”

 You nod.

 …Maybe you should be letting go of Hal by now. Set him in a more comfortable position and all.

 You don't.

 “So!” You turn your head to your bro, by the tone and choice of word, you assume he will try to make small conversation. “How was it?”

 You pause. “What?”

 “You know, the game.”

 “Oh.” You don't feel the need to ask how he knows about the game at all, it only feels natural that he does.

 “You don't need to talk about it if you don't want to though!” He flaps his hand, “It must've been an experience.”

 You think for a moment. “It was.” You remember the six months you spent in the game, spiraling over your issues and everything blowing up in your face at the end. “We had a hard time.”

 “You and your friends, yeah? Rose's daughter and all.”

 “Yes.”

 “You could talk about them instead. Your friends, I mean.”

 “That would be. Nicer.”

 “Go for it, little man. I wanna hear all about it, Hal ain't safe either, as soon as he's better, I'll be all up in his business.”

 “He likes to talk.”

 “And I like to listen, let's go.”

 You don't talk a lot, just mention important things and some details, your bro doesn't seem to mind. You talk about Roxy Lalonde, her brains and ability to overcome hardships.

 "She sounds a lot like Rose." Bro says with a fond smile.

 "I'd say she is. But you could say she's rather the goofball usually."

 "I'm sure we'll get along."

 You recall how Roxy called Dave an "awkward sweetie", "I think so."

 You then talk about Jane Crocker and her maestry with baking, but also how she knows how to stand her ground.

 "Crocker?" It rolls off your bro's mouth, almost uncertain.

 "Yes, like Betty Crocker." You are ready to explain that bit of information when bro raises a hand.

 "Oh, no, I was thinking more of. John Crocker." He looks embarrassed, even with shades on, for some reason, "You know? Famous old comedian John Crocker."

 That is, not surprising, that your bro knows Jane's grandpa. From what you took into account Dave and John are pretty good friends.

 "That would be Jane's grandpa, yes."

 "Oh." Bro looks melancholic.

 "Did you two ever meet?" You would know if famous movie director Dave Strider and famous comedian John Crocker met, but you care to ask anyway.

 "Well, no. But I always had a feeling. Like how I cared about you even if i would never get to know you? In that way, but not quite the same feeling. It's complicated." You have a feeling bro doesn't like talking about it, and you would say he doesn't need to keep going but he does on his own, "I know it sounds nuts, and I thought I was crazy for a whild, until I found out Rose felt the same way. Not as strongly as me, which was embarrassing, but it made more sense, in a way." He seems almost nostalgic.

 You try to give him a pat on the shoulder. An idea sprouts in your mind.

 "You're here and so is Roxy's mom. One can only assume the other's guardians are also here."

 "Where are you going with this?" You know he knows what you're thinking. He probably also knows that you know he knows- Stop it. Hal's absense will not be taking a toll on you.

 "What I am implying is, you're both alive, and you have an excuse to want to meet him, which is me being friends with Jane. So we could arrange that."

 Bro makes a series of faces, but settles on something like a shy smile, "You really don't have to."

 "I'll talk to Jane about it." You have something you can do for your bro to make him happy right on your hands, you will not be letting it just go to waste.

 He shakes his head and sighs light-heartedly, "Alright, alright, but if he ain't wanna meet just some random guy don't hide it from me okay?"

 "You're not 'just some random guy'." You don't elaborate, but just that phrase makes your bro smile so hard you're pretty sure it hurts.

 You keep talking where you left off, and tell bro about Jake and his love for adventure, his immense care for his loved ones. Bro mentions he also did meet Jade English, Jake's grandma, but that's about it.

 You don't tell him about any of you friend's flaws, it's not that you want to pretend they don't have any, but your bro doesn't need to know that.

 “They all sound like pretty cool people.” He says.

 “They are.”

 “I'm glad you got people like that in your life, kid.”

 You're not a kid. But you'll let that slide. Just this once. “What about you.”

 “Me?” He seems surprised you're directly speaking to him, you'll work on that. “Uh, I have a bunch of coworkers, people who work for me kinda? Oh, I'm a movie director, did you know that?”

 “Yes. I know all about it.” You let out more enthusiasm than you intended, but it lightened up your bro's whole face.

 “D'aww, really?” You nod. “That's cool. We should watch some movies together sometime. Anyway, I also have Rose. Roselyn Lalonde for the less intimate ones. Which is no one. She has no friends besides me, like actually, it's a bit sad. She's kind of like your aunt, in a way. Considering I'm your legal guardian, and she's like a sister to me, don't tell her I said that though, I'd never live that one down.”

 Yeah. ‘Like a sister’, more like she is literally your sister. How would you go about telling someone that? You just know this is not something you'll worry about right now.

 Your bro's phone rings, he sits up and takes the call.

 “Yo.” “Really?” “No way.” “Wait, no, stay there.” “This is serious.” “Yeah, I know.” “Just stay there.” He ends the call and stands up abruptly. “Um, turns out the guy has been down there for several minutes now, and I just didn't look at his messages, sorry.”

 You feel like you'd be angrier if this happened earlier, but the talk you had with your bro was nice, but you should really be getting to that hospital by now. You look down at Hal, then at your bro, who's looking expectantly at you.

 “…Can you carry Hal the way down?”

 “Yes! I mean, yeah, sure.”

 You adjust your grip and let your bro slide his arms beneath the small teen and hold him up to a more movable position.

 “Let's get you fixed up of whatever you have little buddy, you can't hear me but hey, it's the thought that counts.”

 You stand up to follow your bro, he looks behind to check and continues on when he sees you on his trail. You hope Hal can get “fixed up”. He kind of has a lot to do now, having a new body and all.

 It would be cool to hang out, you think. You, Hal and bro.

 …A family, of sorts.

Chapter Text

 You're in the car of someone you only barely remember the name, on your way to the hospital, with your two kids. Because one of them is knocked the fuck out. You let that sink in for a moment.

 Earlier you were dead, like literally, you were killed trying to fight for what you believed to be right or some heroic bullshit like that. Now, you're in the passenger's seat of one of your contact's car and on the back seat are your children — and oh dude isn't that an odd thing to think about — Dirk sits on the far corner next to the window and Hal is laid on the rest of the seats, with his head on Dirk's lap.

 You were surprised Dirk asked you to carry Hal, from what you've seen he is very defensive when it comes to his younger (you assume) brother. Hal is alarmingly light, you noticed he weighed almost nothing on your arms. He is a very thin kid and that makes you worry about what they went through even more.

 You unconsciously tap your foot on the car's floor, it would be a lie to say you aren't stressed out. Taking a glance at the rearview mirror you stare at Dirk with that silly outfit of his, with his little cape and all that, you wonder what that's about. Maybe that's just how he likes to dress. His gaze is fixed on nothing in particular, but he could very well be staring back at you behind his shades. You wouldn't know.

 “Didn't know you had kids.” The driver says, not sounding actually interested, you honestly can't remember his name. By the time you died, you weren't in much contact with old acquaintances. Not old anymore though, right?

 “I.. adopted them recently.”

 “Really?”

 “Yeah.”

 He doesn't probe any more than that, and you're glad for it. You will need some lies here and there to not raise many questions about your current situation.

 For a brief moment, you wonder if you will get away with not having the kids’ documentation at the hospital. Do these even exist? Maybe you will have to get them made yourself — another thing to put in your to-do list.

 You can only hope you won't get in trouble for that when you do arrive there.

 You aren't sure how many minutes passed by the time the car was parked. You open the door to your side, but before you can step out you feel a hand on your shoulder, it takes a lot for you to not just flash step away.

 “You owe me one now, Strider.” Whatever-his-name-is says. Normally, you would get back with a snarky reply, but there are more important things for you to pay attention to at the moment.

 “Whatever.” Is the only thing you say. You hear him huff before you finally step out of the car, you'll need to find a way to get back to your old apartment, you're not sure you can count on this guy again. The first thing you notice after stepping out is that Dirk is already standing there, trying to get Hal out too.

 “Need a hand?” You don't wait for him to answer, he barely looks up, and you're already supporting Hal's body up, you don't pick him up this time, you only slip his arm around your neck and put yours on his waist. So Dirk can go to his other side and help you, coping what you did. As soon as you get it right you hear the engine starting and the car sets off, you frown, but don't let yourself complain.

 You and Dirk walk towards the entrance, fast with long steps, but careful enough to not disturb Hal's unconscious body too much. There is little to no commotion inside, you call out for the professionals and demand them to treat this as an emergency. Which it is. They take Hal to a room, you fill in some forms, write down stuff like your name, Hal's. You give him your last name “Strider” and it makes you realize just how little you were actually worried about this.

 That is your kid that's passed out for a reason you seemingly forgot to even ask Dirk about? Maybe it was the way Dirk looked unbothered by it all, aside from the first scare, he just held on to Hal. It gave you a sense that maybe this was normal, his demeanor soothed your own.

 “Do you think. He'll be fine?”

 Dirk speaks like every sentence takes a lot for him to just push them out.

 …You so weren't prepared for this. You're the adult here. You should be the one to keep your cool in order to reassure your kid, not the other way around.

 “I'm sure of it.” You raise your hand to put it on Dirk's shoulder, but you stop, then you think of patting his head. Though his back would be a better option maybe? You end up scratching your neck. “You don't need to worry your head over it.”

 Dirk looks up at you, the light above reflects on his glasses and for a brief moment, you can see his eyes. Behind the shades they look almost brown. He looks up at you, and he looks like he wants to believe what you say. “…” He looks away. “Where is the ‘waiting room’?” You watch his back as he walks forward. “It should be somewhere ahead.”

 You need to get over yourself. “Uh yeah, I know the way, follow me.” These kids need you. Both of them. They need you and you're a mess. Have always been, in some ways. “Things change, though.”

 “What?”

 “N-nothing.”

 Dirk stares at you. No, not at you, he's staring at his bro. The closest he's had to a guardian to look up to. Not only that, but he is your fan — he said he knows all about your career — and even if you're sure he cannot be thinking that highly of you anymore, you can't have him with a shitty opinion of you either.

 With a heavy mind, you and Dirk sit on the chairs of the waiting room, for something around five minutes, saying nothing. Your foot rapidly tapping the floor and Dirk staring a hole through the wall that separates you both and Hal. That is when what you assume is a nurse comes out of the room with a form in hands and a troubled look on her face.

 “Mister Strider?” She questions, so you stand up and nod. “That would be me.” Out of the corner of your vision, you see Dirk has also stood up and is looking up at the woman.

 “How is he?” Her face turns sour for a second before schooling it into a more professional one.

 “His condition is a delicate one. His system is lacking protein and other related substances, his body overall shows signs of starvation. We would like to know why that is if you could tell us so that we have a better understanding on the matter.”

 Starvation. You glance at Dirk, and he is still, but doesn't look to be in the same state as Hal, so why is he the only one out of the two?

 Dirk gets closer to you and holds your arm, looking up at the nurse, he talks in a low tone. “It has been a while since we last saw my. Brother. We thought him to be missing until today, we found him like this and came straight here.” He lies.

 “It's a touchy subject for us.” You decide to back him up now, but you will probe him about it. If he lied, the truth must not be believable to outsiders. And you need to know.

 “My apologies. I am deeply sorry you went through that. The patient is still unconscious, he is currently on IV, we are trying our best to restore the missing vitamins we can. He is expected to wake up in a few hours.”

 “Thank you.” You nod to her, and she takes it as her sign to leave. Now alone again, you go back to your seat and call out to Dirk. “Is there something I need to know?” You don't mean to scare him away, so you try not to word it like you think he's been lying to you. You tap the seat next to you, and he hesitates only for a second before sitting down.

 He takes one, two, three seconds before opening up. “Hal. Didn't always have a body.” You try not to show your confusion, but it must've slipped through, so Dirk continues. “Until some days ago, he was just. An artificial intelligence made with a copy of my brain as its core. And designed as shades.” He touches his shades and lets his fingers linger there for a moment.

 Whatever you were expecting was nothing like what he is telling you. You make an effort to not ask question after question, things like “How?”, “When?” and “Why?” are thrown aside. Instead, you ask “What happened then?” You hope you sound understanding, you don't want to press him for details if he doesn't want to give them yet.

 “After we won, this morning, he just. Woke up like that. With a real body. And we chose not to wonder about it past ‘it must be something to do with the game’.”

 You hum and try to take into account every new thing you've learned as of now, and you decide to focus on something of a lighter tone. “You build an artificial intelligence all by yourself? That's impressive, kid.”

 You figure he didn't expect that response — a compliment — his mouth is still kept on a straight line, but his cheeks flush a light pink color, so he doesn't comment on it and keeps talking.

 “As for the ‘starvation’. I think. Since his body is new, it would make sense for it to not have the nutrients provided by food like proteins, given that he has never actually eaten anything. Technically.” He glances at you and you nod. It makes sense, even if you don't fully get it, you realize that much.

 The same nurse from before calls you, she explains that Hal isn't awake and says again that he won't be for some hours. “We ran some other tests, and noticed something with his eyes.” She says. “We concluded that his vision was obstructed due to the lack of vitamin A, causing a type of blindness.”

 “Blindness?” That you didn't expect at all. “But is it permanent, nurse?”

 She says that no, but that Hal's vision isn't likely to be 100% again. You aren't sure what to do about this. The nurse says a diet rich in vitamin A will help his recovery, so you keep that in mind for when you go out for groceries.

 “Visiting hours are soon to be over, would you like to see the patient?”

 As soon as the nurse opens the door Dirk is inside, he practically flash stepped there, much like you, and it makes you wonder how he learned to do that. You quickly apologize to her and step inside the room. Dirk is by Hal's side, standing there, staring at the unconscious boy with tubes on his nose and an IV on his wrist.

 Dirk's hand hovers the bed, almost unsure. You go to his side and the first thing that comes to your mind is grabbing his hand, so you do it, without much thought behind it. You lead his hand to rest close to Hal's, Dirk doesn't resist nor does he flinch at your action, he takes the last step himself and holds Hal's hand.

 They're teenagers, but their hands are so much smaller than yours, you feel warmth spread through your whole body. You look over to see Dirk intertwining his hand with Hal's unmoving one, the whole scene spells out love, something you have been deprived of for a while now. And you don't think it's extreme to say that you do love these kids. Your kids.

 You gather the courage to put a hand on Dirk's shoulder, something you hope he doesn't mind, what you didn't expect was for him to lean on your chest. “He'll be fine.” He says, barely above a whisper.

 “Yeah!” He didn't ask you, but you know he wants to hear it. “He will.” You feel him nodding his head still on your chest, “We should head home, don't you think? We can tidy up the house, and we come back tomorrow, hopefully he'll be awake by then, so when we take him home it'll be more comfortable. I haven't been there in a long while, you know? Well, maybe not, I guess it depends on what… year it is. But you get it, right?”

 “Yeah.” You watch as he slowly lets go of his brother's hand — You know Dirk said Hal is kind of a copy of his brain? But that's enough to classify him as a brother in your books. — it happens quickly, one second he's there, the other he hugs you and just like that he's at the door. “Let's go.”

 For exactly three seconds you stay shocked, then you take a deep breath, and you feel like your chest could burst right there, from the sheer overload of emotions you feel. “Y-yes. But wait, Dirk!” He's already walking down the hallway when you manage an answer out. “I need to get back to that guy to see if he can give us a ride back, or like anyone else, but maybe we could walk the way back if you want? I don't mind! But I think it's a really long way and now that I think about it actually it could be some sort of hanging out. Dirk!”

Chapter Text

 A sound rings in your ears. It's Dirk, and he's saying your name, or rather, yelling it. It echoes lower and lower each time, until you can't hear it anymore. It's all dark, you can feel yourself breathing, even if it's a bit foreign to you still it brings you some comfort knowing you're not unconscious. You open your eyes, and to your surprise, you can actually see.

 You stare at a ceiling, a blue-green colored one, the colors aren't vivid, but they're not dull either. You feel you're laying down somewhere soft. Sitting up you're able to see that you're wearing something you weren't before, you couldn't really see it, but you know it was nothing like what it is now.

 Pants, a shirt with long sleeves and shoulder pads. It rings a bell. It looks just like your Derse outfit, but its color pallet is different, being the same as the ceiling, and the rest of the room instead. It's only then, after looking around, that you notice you're not alone. The soft place you're sitting on is a big mattress, again, with the same colors as everything else, and by your side is a sleeping Dirk. You feel a sense of déjà vu.

 Dirk has the same clothes as you, if not longer, for obvious reasons. The room is far bigger than the Derse tower's was, it looks like your (and Dirk's) room was mashed together with a replica of it, which might actually be the case. Because across the room is another bed, identical to the one you're on, and there are two people there too, sleeping.

 You get up, and walk with ease towards the second mattress, your previous dizziness and disorientation don't seem to be present. You walk up to the bed and stand over it, looking down at it, there is not one, but two Daves. The teenage version of your bro you never really got to meet, sleeping a little too peacefully. You notice the few differences between them — one is shorter than the other and has orange shades with green tips, which don't look very pleasant to you.

 A jolt of pain goes through your head like a shock and you ‘remember’ that you did meet a Dave, that much like you, was not the original counterpart. If you're in this… new-old world, it can't be too far-fetched that he would too. But where? Where are they if not in your co-shared apartment? Perhaps. Perhaps in their own old earth.

 But most importantly. Where are you? The place looks eerily like a retelling of its Derse version. It could be just a regular dream, of course, but something tells you it isn't.

 “Dirk?”

 Your heartbeat picks up, and it's a horrible, horrible feeling. You know that voice. Your mouth goes dry and the amount of feelings is overheating your circuits. In other, much more sane words, you're blushing. You ever so slightly turn your head to the one window the room has, and standing there is the guy himself — Jake English. As shades, the ‘leftover’ crush you had on the boy didn't have many effects on you besides what you spoke. But dude, you need to get over it.

 “You're… not.” Jake glances at the real Dirk, sleeping on the bed. “Are you?” You feel yourself begin to sweat. He is wearing, yet again, the same outfit as you, and the others here present.

 “…It seems not.” You set yourself up because, immediately after you manage those words out, Jake's eyebrows shoot up as realization slowly downs on him.

 ““It seems”? Golly, don't tell me… auto responder??” He fully steps into the room and at his words something clicks inside your head, your body stills and your mouth moves on its own. “It seems you have asked about DS's chat client auto responder. This is an application designed-”

 “Oh no! Cut that out!!” Jake rolls his eyes. “Just say yes, you don't need to do this whole thing just to mess with me! You're not even a machine anymore…” He stares at you. “How did that happen, by the way? I saw two Roses on the way here and there are two Daves there, what's the deal with the doubles?”

 “Give me a break, Jake English.” You take deep breaths to try and calm yourself. “I'm unused to all this feeling stuff.” You're not sure if you're happy to see him, embarrassed to be next to him, or some other thing. Wait. “Roses on your way here? Where did you come from.” You walk around an uneasy Jake and look out the window.

 “It's like Prospit, in a way.” Jake says from behind you. The view stretches a long way out, thin buildings made with a pristine material scattered around the ground. In the distance you can make out another big tower. “I took a nap and instead of having sweet dreams, I woke up on one of these towers. My teen grandma was there too! But she was asleep, and I didn't want to wake her up.”

 …interesting. Along with the reiteration of your worlds, you were gifted a brand-new version of Derse/Prospit.

 “There's another planet too.” You glance back at him. “But it's really far away, I can barely see it!”

 And another planet. You think about it. The ‘trolls’ may be there then. You think about the troll you were thrown together with. Your stomach squirms and your heartbeat picks up again. You decide not to think about it now.

 You try to float up, to check if there aren't any changes to how this dreamworld works, and up you go. You raise up to the window and sit on its edge, a light breeze graces your face, and to your side, you feel the space being taken. The window is larger than it was on Derse, it allows both you and Jake to sit on it without being squeezed together.

 Jake glances at you, frowning, and when he notices you're staring back he is quick to look elsewhere. “Hal. Wasn't it?” You keep your cool, but your heart flutters hearing your name being said by him. “I just… seeing you like this. I'm sorry, for how I treated you back then.”

 You look up at him, making a face. “What. No.”

 “No?? I promise I mean it!”

 “No. It is not that.” You sigh. “Why are you apologizing, when I treated you far worse.” Acknowledging it makes your chest tighten, but you're not backing away. “I realize the things I did hurt you more than helped. And I like you Jake. I really do. So I am apologizing.”

 “Well, that's right, but…”

 “Take all the time you need, but you don't need to forgive me. And if you need to hear it, I do accept your apology.”

 Nothing is said for a minute. Jake looks at the sky with narrowed eyes before looking back at you. “Alright. I'll think about it if you want. Everything with you, Brobot… and Dirk. It all feels sketchy to me and still fresh in a way.” He looks over his shoulder to the bed, “I really want to talk to him about it. Our- failed relationship.”

 You nod. Funnily, you don't feel jealous of Dirk. You don't really like Jake that way, you do feel strongly for him now that you can, but you also know deep down your infatuation for him is all Dirk's. And if anything, you're not sure Jake is even age appropriate for you at this point, if you consider you're technically thirteen still, and he's on his way to seventeen.

 “He really loves you.” Jake sharply turns his head around, hopefully he didn't twist his neck with that one, his face is red and the reply he gives is weak. “I do too.” You fight yourself to not gag, it's sweet, it really is, but that's far too much for you.

 “Well! Let's talk about something else, shall we? I am not about to spill my failed courtship woes with his- his younger clone self? Or would you two be considered brothers? You get it!”

 You huff. Brothers? Sure…

 …

 “Did you wake up back on your island?” You could calculate the probability of each answer he can give if you wanted, but you choose to hear Jake, he does want to ‘chat’ anyway.

 “That I did! After that light when Jane and the others grabbed the door handle, I woke up in my living room, still in that… silly outfit!” His face contorts as he says it, then lights up all over again. “But my grandma was there, she's alive!”

 That makes sense. “Is that so.”

 “Yeah, It has been years since I last saw her, it was one heartwarming reunion!”

 “I suppose all our guardians were brought back to life. My bro is alive too.”

 “The movie director? Really? Holy, that's wonderful! What is he like?”

 “He's cool.” He's a goof from what you saw, he talks too much and is… kind. “I didn't get to see much. I think I fainted.”

 His eyes widened. “What! Why?” He looks worried about you. That makes you feel funny, glad, in a way.

 “I'm not sure. My head hurt since I woke up, I was just really tired and weak, so I just. Went down. But I am sure I will know by the time I wake up.”

 “Right… I- I hope you're fine, Hal.” Jake smiles at you, his buckteeth more prominent than usual.

 You take a few seconds to come up with something to say. “Thanks.” Is all you manage. You and Jake just stay there, you don't know how time works on this planet, but you feel like about an hour passes. You don't say anything else and neither does he, but the silence that follows your small conversation doesn't feel heavy or tense.

 Jake is still supposed to think about your case, but it would be foolish to think he won't forgive you, even if that's not what you feel is right. You mistreated him, and he should hate you, dislike you at the very least. And he did not like you back then. He said ‘seeing you like this’, is what made him come to his conclusion about your past interactions. ‘Like this’ how. Human? Young? Whatever it is, it triggered his righteousness, and even if he did agree to give it thought before taking action, you know he already forgave you.

 “I'll probably wake up soon.” Jake says, after the long silence. “I did say I was taking a nap, and I've been here for quite a while already!” You nod, you don't know for how long you'll stay here. It can be some minutes, some hours, days. “I wanted… to speak with Dirk first. But I guess telling everyone about this place is more important.”

 You hum. “You should make a memo and just tell everyone at once. Then talk privately with Dirk. But I believe they are all mostly busy right now.”

 “You're right. Thank you, Ha-” Jake falls backwards inside the room before he can finish. You look down to see he fell asleep, or rather, that he woke up in the real world. You jump inside the room, and you start dragging Jake closer to your mattress and let him lay on the floor. You leave him be there and go back to the window. You stare off into the sky, if you squint, you can see a tiny dainty orange ball. Must be what Jake was talking about.

 That feeling strikes you again. In no way do you miss being a sprite. But now that you're not anymore, you are able to feel something lacks in you. That troll, ‘Equius’, made you whole, literally, and if you try hard enough you can recollect his own thoughts, feelings, and memories you got a hold of when you two were one. You wonder if he feels the same about you, if he really is out there.

 Is his ancestor alive, like how your bro is? How is he dealing with it?

 You wonder if he misses you, at least a little bit. Does he need you just as much as you do him?

 You stay there, with your arms resting on the windowsill, admiring the view for the hours that go by.

Chapter Text

 You would no problem have walked your way from the hospital back home, or rather, fly, as you realized you are still able to do in this world. But your bro chose to call a taxi instead, he didn't explicitly say it, but you could read between the lines that he just doesn't have the stamina for another run just yet today.

 You don't really. Like being in a car, it feels stuffy, and you're moving without any strain on your muscles, and that just ticks you off. You could've just carried your bro and flown both of you there, but you don't think he would appreciate that, you sure wouldn't like someone dragging you around in the air. So you go inside the vehicle.

 This time though, he stays with you in the back seat, he types on his phone a lot, his face slowly contorting into a frown. He notices you staring at him, you're pretty sure he does because he suddenly stops and smiles your way. You try your best shot at reciprocating, but you know smiling is not the best skill in your set, you give him a thumbs up instead, and you feel relieved that he seems to appreciate it nonetheless. He goes back to typing, but not as aggressively as before.

 With a glance through the window you can see the sun starting to set, you observe the streets as you pass by them, other cars, motorcycles, even one or two bicycles and in all of them there are people. Regular people, with full lives, just going along their not doomed(?) lives, it feels odd that you are among them now.

 A faint light flashes on the corner of your shades — a new notification. — You wonder if Roxy has something to tell you, you wouldn't mind having a small conversation now. Opening pesterchum you are met with the sight of the one thing you least expected.

 golgothasTerror[GT] opened memo on board Dream world.

 golgothasTerror[GT] added timaeusTestified[TT].

 golgothasTerror[GT] added gutsyGumshoe[GG].

 golgothasTerror[GT] added tipsyGnostalgic[TG]

GT: Wait first, is everyone ok?

GT: I know you're all awake, but who knows!

 You stare at what your shades display with no reaction, you didn't expect to talk to Jake this soon, you don't know what to say, so you focus on the memo's name. ‘Dream world.’

 With no answer, Jake just keeps talking alone.

GT: Well… You can talk later! I got something quite of importance to say.

GT: See, I went and took a nap shortly after waking up. Everything looks just the same as before we started the game, the world, I mean.

GT: But when I opened my eyes I wasn't on my island anymore, but it didn't look like prospit either!

GT: It looks like the dream moons got rebranded?

GT: We're all in one big blue-green one, with four towers, and I saw you all sleeping there. The other guys too, like my young grandma.

 - - tipsyGnostalgic[TG] began responding to memo. - -

TG: WIAT

TG: **wait

GT: Roxy!!!

TG: jakeee is rose there

TG: my teen mom

TG: did u see my teen mom there too

GT: That I did!

 You take a moment reevaluating the information at hands, an established connection to the others, to Dave, just in your hands. You try accessing your dreamself, like you used to while still being awake, but it just didn't seem to work. Jake said he woke up there when he took a nap, so maybe the rule is stricter now? You'll have to wait to get home and make sure.

 With your vision unfocusing on the messages, when you did try looking again the memo was closed shortly after some messages, your heart starts beating fast when you see Jake's chum beeping. He's messaging you. Are you ready for this?

 Of course, you are.

 Don't screw this up.

 - - golgothasTerror[GT] began pestering timaeusTestified[TT] - -

GT: ...Hey.

 This is stupid.

GT: I.

GT: I'd rather not have this conversation through screen!!

 …

GT: Dirk.

GT: You saw my memo didn't you?

GT: I can see you're online.

GT: About the dream world!!

GT: I talked to Hal there, you know.

 Fuck. Your fingers twitch, you want to ask about Hal, but just ignoring all his previous messages would be a bit asshole-y of you, so you restrain yourself.

GT: So, I want to talk to you there too!

GT: Only

GT: If you want to too, but I really.

GT: We need to talk!

GT: . . .

 golgothasTerror[GT] ceased pestering timaeusTestified[TT]

 You really should've said something.

 When the taxi finally stops, and you can step out to go inside the apartment, you easy your mind off with small tasks, mostly dusting everything, putting away boxes, tidying what was inside some — things like clothes, differently shaped shades, some even colorful, they're practically brand new and you remember them. Although the ones you held in your time were far older, your bro says that he thinks the year you are currently, he was just getting started on arranging it all for you.

 You nod. He looks at you but says nothing, when you get to your room, he is quick to open the window, even though it's already getting dark, and you will close it again shortly, he retorts that it's just so your room doesn't stay too choky.

 He sits on the edge of your bed, he clears his throat, you walk over to him and sit by his side, you know he has something to say.

 “Is something wrong, buddy?” You catch your breath, it can't be that obvious, can it? “I noticed you're a bit… down, since we got out of the taxi. Are you still worried about Hal, because if so, that's fine! I get it, if you want some time alone I can just leave you be, you know, no hard feelings.”

 You debate saying nothing, agreeing that is true, but you don't want your bro to go away just now. Still, you're not sure how to tell him what you are feeling.

 “It's not that.” He raises an eyebrow at you, inquiring. “Jake. Texted me.”

 “Your friend?”

 Not just that.

 Your bro stares at you, not unkindly, you have to tell him the truth.

 “Some things happened. I did things. I. Regret now. I wasn't a good friend, nor boyfriend.” You can see your bro's shoulders going up and him making something like a surprised face, but you haven't dealt the final blow just yet.

 “You were, dating? Someone?”

 “Jake.” You look the other way, somewhere you can't see your bro's reaction, not even from the corner of your eyes. “We dated. For a while.” You were never afraid to admit your orientation, you were always quite blunt about it, but that was you only talking to your friends who were your age. You know Dave is ‘queer’ too, but your bro is a bit old, and you aren't certain of his current opinions. You feel your lips wobbling, only slightly. You do not want him to hate you.

 You feel a hand on your shoulder, and another beckoning you closer, you don't fight it, before you are aware of it, you have your face pressing against your bro's chest. He holds you close. “Hey, look- that's fine! If you had a boyfriend, I don't have any problem with it, if you're worried about that.”

 You look up at him, he seems genuine enough, almost on instinct, you grip his shirt and keep your head burrowed on him. He adjusts his shades and rests his chin on top of your head, then keeps talking. “So, if I got it right, you two broke up, and he wants to talk to you now?” You nod, feelings no longer as on edge as they were before. “Hm. Even if you did screw it up, you regret it, right? I'm sure if you talk it through you'll manage to stay on good terms with each other, not that I- Have a lot of experience with this kind of stuff but.” He backs away to look you in the face, not letting go of you just yet, “Do you still… love each other?” He sounds unsure himself.

 You think it through for a moment. “I do.” You tried to convince yourself that you didn't, and that it just didn't work and that was fine, you could just move on, but it wasn't. You doubt Jake feels the same, though.

 “I know it's hard.” Your bro starts again. “But in this case, you really just gotta spill what's inside your heart.” He says, tapping the heart aspect symbol on your god tier outfit.

 “I'll try.” You say, going in for a real hug, this really isn't ‘cool’, at all. But your bro is actually kind of cool, and you can feel that he gets really happy doing this, so you think that makes it fine.

 After eating the takeout your bro ordered, by his side on the main room's futon, you tell him you're down for the day. You go take a shower, and it takes roughly half the time your dramatically long ones usually do. Checking your god tier clothes, you notice they don't smell and look as brand new as when you first wore them, you brush it off as Sburb logic.

 You put on the regular pants you used to wear all the time before the game, but instead of one of your usual ‘hat’ shirt, you just put on your Prince of Heart one. Pink was never your color, but it just feels right in a way you can't explain without mentioning the game.

 And then you try to sleep.

 Try.

 Anxiety is eating at you. You don't know how many hours go by until you feel your consciousness drifting away, and your eyes begin to close.

 . . .

 You bolt right up. And you are already not home anymore. You notice the shift in colors first than anything, it's all so… blue. The walls, the ceiling, the mattress, even your clothes — it feels unfamiliar compared to Derse's all purple nature you grew used to. — by your side, you don't have to look, but you can feel the presence of two people staring at you.

 “Yo.”

 It is Hal and Dave wearing a different pair of shades, he is also shorter than the last time you saw him, maybe not-Dave? Dave might've talked about another him back on the rooftop, but he didn't get into much detail. You get up in a flash and surely, they are both something like a head shorter than you. You don't know what to do with your hands, so you gesture towards Hal. “You ok?” Is what comes out, could be better.

 “I should be the one to ask you that. I have no idea what happened out there with my body.” You observe as he slowly gravitates your way, floating slightly above the floor, until he is right by your side, he seems expectant.

 “You were. Starved. So your body gave up. We took you to the hospital, it should be fine.”

 “Got it.” He stays by your side, it feels a bit awkward, as if he is still waiting for something.

 “Starved? That's tough.” You look up at maybe-not-Dave. “I'm Davesprite. The real deal's over there.” You glance to the other half of the room, and there is another bed, an exact copy of the one behind you, and there he is. Regular size, regular shades, Dave.

 “Why is he not. Awake? Or, why is he not asleep.” You feel something brush your hand, you glance at Hal, he isn't looking at you. What does he want?

 “We're taking turns. Feels… safer.”

 That's right. “Are you two. Fine? With *your* bro.”

 That makes Davesprite(?), it feels odd to refer to someone as a sprite when they are not one, he frowns a bit, but ultimately doesn't lose the neutral face. “It's complicated, I think he's- trying.”

 Well, that wasn't so reassuring, but you can deal with that. “If you are not in immediate danger, then that's good.”

 “Yeah.” Now, instead of just a brush, you feel Hal's hand intertwine with yours, this time he is looking your way.

 “Jake really wants to talk to you.”

 “Oh, yeah.” Dave(sprite) agrees.

 You did not want to go back to this topic.

 “Where is he.” You don't let go of Hal's hand, you'd never say it out loud, but it gives you some sense of comfort.

 “Probably around still, he didn't leave that long ago, I'll go call him for you, he was really itching for this, you have no idea.” Dave floats up to the windowsill. “Nice meeting you. You're cool.” He says, not looking back, and maybe that gave you just a little confidence to go through with this.

 You feel your hand empty, and stare at Hal going after Dave. “You too?” He looks back at you with a sneer.

 “I already talked to Jake. And honestly, I would rather not be present for *this* conversation.”

 You say nothing to that.

 Hal knows this will be destroying.

 While waiting for Jake's arrival, you ended up on Dave's bed, where Dave was still sleeping soundly — This is getting confusing. — You run your hand through his hair, the first Dave you met, your brother who is also your son in a weird way, all three of them are, including your bro. You dislike thinking about this, it's best for all involved to think of them as just your brothers.

 You're trying to distract yourself. You want to plan ahead, think of what to say, and imagine what Jake will say back, but you don't want that. You want this to be organic, let him say what he actually means, and maybe, you'll be able to be true in return. To ‘spill what's inside your heart’, as your bro said.

 Steps sound on the floor, you don't look up, only feeling the mattress shifting under the weight of the other teen, you know it is him without even seeing. Your heart aches, metaphorically, of course, you don't have any cardiac issue that you know of, no matter how real the pain feels.

 “Dirk.” You hear him say, in his sturdy voice, it doesn't crack, but it still sounds just like a teenager's, which he is. You raise your head only a few degrees. “You're here.”

 “I can't stay awake forever.” His face reddens and you cringe internally.

 “Of course!! That is true.. You know, we don't need to talk now, if you don't want to. It's only been a day since we left the game, so much happened!”

 “I want to.” He looks away, face still red, you feel your own beginning to heat. For a moment it's silent, you're unsure if he wants to start or if you should.

 Spill what's inside your heart.

.

.

.

 “Jake.” He looks at you with a small frown. “I love you.” His eyes go wide immediately, you said it with your voice completely still, not one waver. “You don't have to feel the same. You don't even have to stay near me if you do not want to. I am. I know I drove you away. And before that, I did things that. I thought would help you, but didn't.” By the time you finish the sentence, you are no longer looking at him. “I am sorry.”

 Warmth envelops your hand that isn't by Dave's side, you glance at it, then finally back at Jake, who has an overwhelmed look on his face, you always seem to have that effect on him. “Me too.” You tilt your head slightly. “What you said… I know that already, more than anyone, but it's my own fault our relationship ended like that. We could've talked about it, but instead, I chose to ignore you because- it was easier!”

 . . .You can't process something to say back. He grabs your hand, and you allow him to. “I don't want you away from me again, but being friends just doesn't feel… right.” You are ready to snap your hand away from him, say that it's fine, that he doesn't need to be your friend, even if it pains you. But then the clogs inside your head come to a halt when Jake brings your hand close to his face, you can feel his breath. “I- love you, Dirk.”

 Wow. Your vision almost blurs. You recall Jake saying ‘Me too.’ and ‘I like you.’, but you don't think he ever spelled it out that he — Loves you. — until now. You almost have no words.

 “Do you think. We can try. Again?” You blurt out, your halting stutter still plaguing you.

 “Yeah..! I'd love to.” Jake smiles wide and big, his dumb buck teeth in full disclosure, you think it's cute. You go through your options, you don't want to scare him away another time.

 You move closer to his face, planting a small kiss on his cheek, pulling back you observe his eyes shining, and you can feel the corners of your lips tugging up, without you forcing them.

 “Let's get out of this stupid tower.”