Dave
You lose track of time too quickly.
It’s been about four days since you found Jade and Karkat, and to be frank, you’re a little jumpy.
And last night, you saw Dave. (That’s probably a contributor to your jumpiness).
Kanaya approaches you, as you try and search for anything else about where Dave is. All you got was red- likely, he’s in his land. Sitting on the edge of a tall building. Not that you ever actually visited his land; all he told you was that it was covered in lava and he had the tallest building.
You are doubtful he’d recreate Texas, not after he told you what had happened.
And yes, he had told you. It had meant so much to you that he had come to you. You hadn’t even tried to psychoanalyze him; you just hugged him, and thanked him, and told him that Bro would never be near him again.
You knew he knew that, since he’d seen Bro’s body. Still, you felt the need to remind him, and he seemed to appreciate it. (If, by appreciate, you actually mean he cried).
Kanaya sits next to you, yanking you out of your thoughts. She placed a hand over one of yours, resting on your lap. Her hands are cold, as always, and you look into her white eyes.
“Hey,” you say, managing to keep your voice steady.
“Hey,” she replies, a soft smile gracing her lips. God, but you love that fucking smile. “What are you thinking about?”
You take a minute, sit back against the sofa. Jade had moved all her grandfathers creepy dolls out, and taken out the wall, so you stared out onto the open green. “I saw Dave last night. I want to find him, Kanaya.”
She turns her head slightly. “I’ll tell Karkat. I assume you want to leave immediately?”
You smile too. “You know me all too well. Get them to stay here- we don’t want to lose this place.”
She nods, and leaves, her hand leaving a lingering coolness on yours.
You stand after a few moments, trying to pinpoint his location. He’s your brother, after all- surely sharing genetics does anything to help you find him?
Nope. Ectobiology sucks.
Kanaya appears with Karkat after a minute or two more. “Are you sure you don’t want us with you?” He asks, and you smile wanly and shake your head.
“He might be more likely to come with us if it’s just Kanaya and me. Also, it doesn’t feel like a good idea to leave Jade’s home. It’ll likely disappear and we’ll have to find a new place.”
Karkat shrugs. “Fine with me. Just, tell him we’re here too? It feels rude not to, doesn’t it? Also, tell him I’m going to kick his fucking ass for dying,” Karkat grumbles. You think it’s kind of cute.
“Sure. But we really should get going, before he moves someplace else. We’ll see you in a few hours, if you can tell what that is.”
Karkat barks out a laugh, and Kanaya gives him a wave. She grabs your hand, and pulls you through the broken-down wall, and out onto the grass. You hold her hand tight.
She turns to face you, and stares straight into your eyes. “So. Where have you seen him- will I be able to find it?”
You shrug. “Maybe. He’s in his land, on his apartment, or a building of similar height. You saw all of our lands, right?”
She colours a little, blushing the same shade as the grass beneath your feet. “Mostly your land, but I did see parts of the others. I can get us there, but it may take a few tries.”
You nod, breaking away from her hand to scratch an itch on your nose. “Okay, I just… I just hope we’re not too late.”
Kanaya grabs you hand again as it falls. “Don’t worry, I’m sure we will.” She smiles, and your surroundings blink to that familiar white.
As Kanaya said, it did indeed take her a few tries.
First try made your land materialise, and she glowed. You chuckle, and she tries again, her concentration stemming the light coming from her skin.
Second try brings you into your house, where you’d first seen Kanaya. She flushes even greener, and you don’t laugh, but instead encourage her. She squeezes her eyes shut, and you’re moved again.
This time, to the right place. A wave of heat hit you immediately, and you began to wonder how you’d stand being here for an extended period of time. Fuck knows how long Dave’s been here; then again, he grew up in Texas, and not New York.
Luckily, you don’t have to go far. Dave doesn’t even notice your arrival, doesn’t turn to acknowledge you. Just sits, legs hanging off the edge of his building, facing down into the lava below.
You can’t tell how he died. No blood on his clothes, not even openings that swords might have torn in them.
You tiptoe to his side, sit down beside him. The lava sears your eyes, as if the heat from the molten rock was burning your retinas. You look away, up to the sky.
“Hello, Dave.” Your voice is a murmur, but loud enough for him to hear it. Kanaya stands behind you both, as if she was trying to give you space. You appreciate it.
“Hey, Rose.” His voice is despondent, a far cry from any other tone you’d ever heard from him. You wince slightly.
Death must have really hit him hard- actually, come to think of it, you don’t know how your Dave died. You’ll just have to hope.
You swing your legs a little, look over at him. He’s staring into the lava like it has all the answers.
“Kanaya and I have been finding people.” You decide to get straight into the point.
“Come to pick up me next?” He lifts his head, faces toward you. Those damn glasses prevent you from seeing if he was looking at you.
“Obviosuly.” You look straight ahead. “We found Jade and Karkat already; they miss you just as much as I do. Are you coming with us?” You ask, floating yourself up to your feet. You stand on the edge, looking down.
You extend a hand. He looks at it. “C’mon. Being around people helps.”
He sighs, and stands up without for help. He brushes his trousers of the nonexistant dust, and looks at you. “Alright, fine. How do we get to them?”
You rub your eye, thinking. “Kanaya seems to be able to get me from place to place. I don’t see why her powers would exclude you.”
He shrugs. “You’re the one who knows everything here.”
You give a small laugh. “Trust me, Dave, I certainly am not.” A tiny quirk of his lip. You’re pretty sure that’s as good as you’re going to get.
“Okay, then,” you mutter under your breath, beckoning Kanaya close. She extends her hands, ready to hold both you, and Dave.
“Back to Jade’s we go,” Kanaya says, almost singsongy. It makes you laugh again, and she beams (not literally. She’s got it under control, at least for the moment).
You clasp Dave’s hand, his grip not quite as tight. His skin is rough and hot, compared to Kanaya’s. She’s smooth and cold.
You think it’s a nice equilibrium, and then the world blinks to white. Dave holds tighter to you, startled by the sudden change. You squeeze his hand gently, trying to be reassuring.
When the world blinks back to colour, Dave looks ill. You apologize swiftly.
“It’s a bit jarring the first time- I do apologize.”
He slips his hand away from you and Kanaya. You keep ahold of Kanaya’s, and she shows no sign of pulling away.
He bends over at the waist, almost ready to puke. “You don’t say, Rose,” he tells you, through gritted teeth.
After a few minutes, he stands back straight, his face back to its usual colour. He runs a hand through his hair, and it looks identical to the past three years. With his shades on, he could be the only living one out of the three of you.
You take a second to check around you. The placing isn’t perfect, but definitely in the right area. Green hills- if you squint, you can make out the frog temple.
“Are we close?”
You shrug. “I’m not completely sure. Not far, though. Likelihood is, we’ve got to fly.”
He pushes up his shades with a knuckle. “You guys need any help?”
You give him a smile. You look over at Kanaya, who smiles at you. In one fluid, smooth move, you pick her up and carry her bridal style. Even though you did it not long ago, she still glows slightly.
You grin at him. “We’re good. Let’s go.”
You just float. He does the same. The air is comfortable, and you focus on going even higher.
Dave is by your side, instantly. He knows the landscape; you’d forgotten about him helping Jade with the frogs. He spins in the air, shakes your shoulder. He’s pointing into the distance, at Jade’s house.
You’re pretty glad to see it, even if Kanaya is light in your arms, you kind of really want to sleep. You’ve slept a lot recently, although you are quite sure that you don’t require it.
Oh well. It passes the time, you suppose. And you see your friends. That’s an upside.
Dave’s already off, flying towards the white building. He’s going fast, but not as fast that you couldn’t fly beside him if you wanted.
You decide not to. Of course, he’s spent enough time alone. But maybe he’s psyching himself up to meeting Karkat again, seeing Jade after three years. You’re sure they hadn’t talked- you’d tried enough times to contact them, but the signal didn’t reach any further than the meteor.
The building grew closer and closer. It cast a shadow across the ground, from an artificial, memory-sun. You touch down a few feet behind Dave, stroll up to stand beside him.
You lower Kanaya to the ground, stand her up. She’s glowing a little, and as you kiss her cheek, she glows a little brighter. You decide that you’ll never get enough of her glow.
“Do we go in, then?” Dave asks. He’s facing the wall that was taken out, right into the living room.
“We do. I’m sure Jade and Karkat will find us as we get in,” Kanaya says. She grabs for your hand, and you let her get it.
Dave walks first, through the wall. He looks around. You follow soon after, looking for Karkat and Jade.
You hear an ‘oof’ of surprise from Dave, and a thud. You look over to see that Jade had tackled him, much like she had you. You chuckle. Karkat rounds a corner, and stands in the doorway, quiet for once.
Dave hugs Jade, then pushes her off. She scrambles to her feet, laughing at something he’d said. You look at Kanaya, who gives your hand a squeeze.
He sees Karkat, who just nods to him. Dave raises his eyebrows, and you hope it’s in a joking way that Karkat will get.
“Ooh, that was cold. Not even a ‘hi’? Dude, you wound me,” Dave says, laying a hand on his chest. He’s being overdramatic, and Karkat smiles. Actually smiles.
Oh man, you missed something on that meteor.
“You know I missed you,” Karkat grumbles, and steps toward Dave.
Dave raises his hand for a fistbump, and Karkat gently hits it with his fist.
Awkward bro time over, Dave collapses on a couch, an arm on the back of the chair. Jade settles in beside him, and you wonder if she’s going to fill him in on what’s been happening, on Kanaya and your plan to find everyone. He just nods along.
You look up at Kanaya, beaming. Her free hand brushes a piece of hair away from her eyes, and she looks into your eyes.
“One down, several to go.”
She laughs.