Chapter Text
"A couple hours down that way, and that's where the giant redwoods are. They're really fricking nifty, John, we'll have to show you someday, you'll love them."
Jade had been running a live commentary as Dave had driven through the California countryside and small towns. Every once in a while, he and Rose would throw in their two cents, but for the most part, Dave just watched the road and occasionally his passengers, who were watching the scenery pass by. John had been quiet- especially after Rose had pointed out an exit to a cafe she preferred when she needed a quiet space to think, and Dave had added in, without thinking, how it was a great place, the locals were pretty cool, and the 'razzi barely ever showed up, only to bite his tongue when he noticed John pale slightly-, but he seemed pretty interested in watching the countryside passing them by. California had definitely been the right choice for a steady home, despite the ridiculously high taxes. The weather was a perfect compromise that they could all live happily with, they were all close enough to their place of business that commuting wasn't a big deal, there was plenty of space and places they could go to get away, and they happened to own enough acres that Jade could play with explosives and guns to her heart's content. All and all, it was the perfect place for them to come back together and heal as a unit.
Green plains slowly melted into lightly forested roads, and soon enough, Dave was turning into a nondescript, almost hidden back road, stretching out for as far as the eye could see- which actually wasn't as far as it could be, with the trees and the bends in the road, following a more natural path instead of a perfectly straight man made one.
"What, no giant iron fence with a pretentious buzzer?" John asked on the third turn, having figured out they were on the last short stretch home without having to be told. The path was too isolated, obviously not used enough to be anything but private, and the way he could see his friends relax, shoulders loose and their expressions, if not outright smiling, were at ease.
"We saved that for the New York villa," Dave answered, and wondered for a moment if he should feel bad that he wasn't joking. They didn't need two houses, no, but it was nice to have a private place to go to when their work would take them over to the East Coast, or when Rose just got tired of the laid back Cali attitude and wanted to hear a harder accent. And when schmoozing had to be done, everyone preferred to do it in the less personal house in the Hamptons then at their own personal Sanctuary.
John, for his part, was almost oddly unaffected by the concept of his friends actually owning a house that did have a cliched, rich person wrought iron fence to keep the plebeians at bay. If he were to be honest with himself, that was more along the lines of a home he'd picture them owning then anything else. Although he hadn't been raised up below the poverty line- had, in fact, his father had been quite a bit above the average income of typical middle class business men, though that wasn't really all that obvious if one didn't take into account the small fortune he'd spend about once a month or so on cake mix and shaving cream-, he didn't really consider himself anything more then financially average. His friends, were not average by any stretch, especially financially so. Jade's grandfather was an eccentric old coot that came from Old Money and somehow stored away more then he spent buying weird mummies and pictures of blue women and whatever antique happened to catch his fancy. Had enough, in fact, to make a ship made of practically solid gold and still had more then enough left over to make sure Jade would never want anything for at least twenty lifetimes. Rose's Mom had been a scientist, which was apparently pretty lucrative, enough so at least that she thought nothing of going out and buying ludicrously expensive booze and overpriced statues and bronzing a whole vacuum cleaner. And then, of course, Dave's Bro had a multimillion dollar puppet industry- which, John had learned with a little bit of googling, apparently did not exist before Dirk took it over a year after they "returned" to their earth, though Dave had told him that he still had the funds from them, just like Dirk still had the fund from Alpha Dave's movie industry, which did not exist either.
In short, his friends would never have to worry about money separately, let alone together, and he would have been much more surprised if they hadn't bought something ridiculously unnecessary without a second thought then if they hadn't.
Which was why, when the forest cleared and he could see a wide, open plain of grass and flowers, what looked like a homemade Ninja Warrior obstacle coarse, and a greenhouse that was about the same size as the relatively small, picturesque cabin that could have been right out of a Kinkade painting, John couldn't help but be taken aback. Other than the sheer size of the front yard, and the obstacle coarse, everything seemed normal. Certainly not average, but no giant apartment building out in the middle of nowhere. No magic zen palace. Not a tower topped with a large sphere in sight.
It was a surprise. Not an unwelcome surprise, but a surprise nonetheless.
Dave glanced in the rear view mirror, and could barely keep himself from literally puffing up with pride from the look of wonder on John's face. The inside was definitely more eccentric then the outside, filled with their own collections, definitely more weaponry then most people, especially those in government agencies, would be comfortable with, but as a whole, it was as quiet and peaceful and downright scenic a home that could ever be wished for.
John let out a low whistle as they pulled into the driveway, and smiled a little when Jade elbowed him, grinning back, sharing a moment that needed no words, a moment that almost had Dave sighing with releif. It was nice to finally see the two of them able to share that almost twin like synchronicity, even a little bit. Jade had handled herself well, in those years without John, and Dave honestly didn't have any kind of concept of what it was like to be separated from someone that close to him, having not been more then a phonecall away from Rose since they actually met each other. But he did know how much better his life was when she was there for him, where they could keep each other in check. Or, a little in check, at least. Better then nothing, at least.
They'd barely gotten out of the car when the front door opened, revealing a tall, leanly muscled, freckled strawberry blond, and it manged to surprise Dave how, no matter how many times he'd seen him, Dirk still managed to take him by surprise. Almost as tall as Jade, wearing a plain tank, and those triangular anime shades that, for the life of him, he couldn't find anything but endearingly ridiculous. Stood there looking so much like Bro, from his gracefully high cheekbones to where Dave knew they both shared a- according to both Bro and Dirk- heart shaped birthmark on the outside of their left thigh. Looking nothing like Bro, without his hat, starting to show the first sign of laugh lines around his mouth, a mouth that didn't say words quite the right way, his accent off, just a little, just enough that it would sometimes make Dave dizzy.
Rose called out his name softly, with a nod, their usual greeting as everyone got out of the car, and Jade began to wave, thanking the other Strider for babysitting the pets while they were out, especially on such sort notice, but Dave quickly tuned her out, all his attention on his big-little bro, feeling like he was walking down the cobblestone path and up the couple of steps to the porch that Jade had insisted every cabin needed like he was moving in slow motion. Dirk's attention wasn't on either of the girls, though nobody else could probably tell, his eyes completely hidden behind the inscrutable shades. But Dave knew, he could tell, and as he watched the seemingly apathetic young man in front of him like a hawk, feeling his hackles rise.
Sure enough, John had just reached the top of the porch when Dave saw the slightest twitch of Dirk's fingers, the only warning they got before both Striders flashed forward: Dirk straight for John, Dave to put himself in between the two.
Or, that was his aim, at least, to shield John from the high speed hit that was coming his way, except something ended up hitting his shoulder, keeping his momentum going, and then a leather clad hand was on his side, pole-volting over his body, and the resounding smack of someone getting well and truly clocked. Dave hit the porch with a thump at the same time he felt the reverberation of John skidding upon the ground, barely letting out more then a pained groan.
There was the sound of a flurry of movement, clothes rustling softly as the wearers moved swiftly, so Dave didn't bother to look at John as he pushed himself up to his feet, knowing if he did he wouldn't be able to keep control of himself. Instead, he turned, grabbing onto Dirk's wrist, on the hand that he'd been shaking, sore from the impact of his hit, bruisingly hard, and yanked the other man towards him.
"You. Me. Roof. Now," he hissed, before shoving him away and climbing up the side of the house so swiftly that to anyone watching he'd only look like a blur. He didn't check to see if Dirk was following him, because i wasn't even questionable. A roof strife couldn't be ignored, or brushed aside. And if it was, Dave was going to do something he would probably regret later, as pissed off as he was about his own brother daring to do something like that to his John. Pissed off because he'd only had his John back for less then two days and he was already literally pushing him away, not allowing himself to be protected.
Fuck that noise.
A blink after Dave found himself up on the slanted roof, feet finding an easy balance out of familiarity, when Dirk joined him, his katana already pulled out. The same damn one as always, Dave couldn't help but notice. Same plain, steel katana he'd had apparently since he was just a child.
Dave had to hand it to him, it was a hell of a reliable blade. And fast, much faster then even the bastard sword he pulled out, the one he kept specifically for when he sparred with someone who was particularly agile, when a broadsword would be more of a hindrance then a help. It was fast, and Dirk was fast, but Dave had the advantage of familiarity.
He was familiar with his own roof, and he was familiar with Dirk's moves and patterns, having more then ten years of practice fighting against him, while Dirk only had a few spare weekends of strifing against himself.
The other Strider made the first lunge again, looking for the element of surprise, but he'd already pulled that card, and it was a simple dodge, a sidestep that turned into a heel hook. Dirk jumped, avoiding the kick, but wasn't able to get away quick enough to fully avoid the uppercut Dave threw as he closed in on him, too close for either sword to be used efficiently.
Too close for the headbutt Dirk delivered to be effective, but it had the desired effect of putting some distance between them, Dave sliding back on the shingles.
"Hey! Be careful!"
Dirk's head turned, brows raised in surprise as he glanced down, seeing John yelling up at them, voice so obviously tinged with concern it made him hesitate. Dave's head turned, and he saw purple on John's jaw, already bruised, blood on his elbow, staining his coat, ignoring Rose as she attempted to usher him inside, and it fueled him into movement.
A quick snap of his wrist, and the broad side of his sword smacked against Dirk's hand, numbing it even as it caused it to go limp, dropping his katana with a clatter, sliding off the roof the thump mutely onto the ground below. Another turn, and the blade was held underneath Dirk's chin, making sure Dave had his complete attention.
"He had it coming." Dirk stood still, resolute, unconcerned about the sharp steel biting against his skin. "You know he did. He hurt me and mine. Two directly." He lowered his head, pushing more against the blade in a way Dave knew had to be painful, but allowed his shades to fall a little down his nose, just enough for those bright, tawny eyes to zero in on him.
Dave fought a wince, and had to take a deep breath before he responded, lowering his sword. He knew Dirk took it personally when Jane was left alone, knew that just that alone, one of his dearest friends being left to fend for herself, scared, would have brought down his fury. Dave didn't exactly put out the flames when he'd isolated himself for months afterward, leaving Dirk alone to deal with the aftermath of Jake and Roxy having to deal with Jade and Rose.
"I'm not going to say you aren't justified to feel that way. But Egbert is mine, and no fucking one is going to touch him in any way, shape, or form without his extremely clear consent, and not even then if it's done in violence. And if you ever hit what's mine again, I'll cut your goddamn hand off, ecto-family ties or not."
Dirk reached up with the hand he had feeling in, pushing his shades back up the bridge of his nose calmly.
"Seemed a hell of a lot to me like he was giving consent, Dave, whether you wanted him to or not."
"Totally irrelevant. What I said stands, and that's all there is to say on the matter, bro."
He hoped so, at least. God, please let that be irrelevant, just a one time deal, just John allowing the single comeuppance that he felt was coming his way, because Dave wasn't sure he could handle the guilt if it was anything else.