Chapter Text
It had been years since the end of the game and everyone was starting to feel it. Some felt it positively, people like Jade who was glad to be with her friends again, or all the alien/human couples that had appeared. Others were still recuperating, even years later. Can Town was thriving, Jane had started her business, everything was good. A standstill.
Dave knocked on the door of Rose’s home. “Hey, it’s been a while.” His southern twang still had not gone away, in fact, it almost seem enhanced.
“Does a week really count as ‘a while’? How are you and Karkat doing?” she smirked as she led him inside.
Dave smiled slightly, trying to hide it, as he scratched the back of his neck, “Good. How about you and Kanaya?” His voice was slightly shaky. “Where is she?”
“She’s taking care of the grubs, I normally would join her, but we had an appointment.” Rose showed him over to some elegant furniture for him to sit at. He sat down, the sofa squeaking. He guessed Roxy had summoned all this furniture, because it looked nothing like any furniture the citizens of Can Town could make. He stared into a crystal ball on a wizard stand next to him as Rose brought over a teapot. There were two teacups on the coffee table in front of them, one was decorated with purple roses and the other was an elegant red with black vines. There was a case of teacups near them, one for everyone they knew. Some of them were starting to get dusty.
Rose handed Dave his tea bag, “Passion Tea, correct?” she asked as if he didn’t drink the same thing every time.
“It takes time to appreciate Earl Grey,” he said as he took it and Rose put her Earl Grey tea bag into her cup.
“And here I thought you were the Knight of Time,” she said. “So what did you want to speak about in person?” She seemed slightly concerned.
“It’s not about me. Or Karkat for once. It’s about everyone else. Is everyone else doing okay?”
“Well, Jane, Roxy and Calliope are doing fine, you would know from our tea parties. Jade seems happier than ever, she finally has her friends with her. Have you heard from Jo-” She could tell from his somber face that he had not heard from John.
“That was one of the main things I wanted to ask about. I wanted to know if you heard from him. Or anyone.” She looked down and subtlety shook her head no. “What about Dirk?”
“You haven’t heard from Dirk?” she asked, perplexed. “Have you asked Jake?”
“Well, I’ve tried, Jake says he’s fine but I don’t know if I believe him. He says he’s still adjusting. I’m worried about him though.”
“Yes, we all love Jake but I’m not sure if he would be the one to tell if anything is wrong.” She sighed, “Not that I can usually tell either, but I feel like Dirk might need some help. Is Jake doing alright?”
“He actually answers my texts, so I guess. Though I don’t have a fucking clue what the fuck he’s saying. I think he’s making up words and I can’t tell from his accent, which I’m fairly sure is fake.”
“Sometimes I think that about you,” she smiled, trying to break the tension.
“Hey, my accent is barely noticeable,” he responded, smiling back for a second. Both of their smiles fell. Rose took her teacup and lifted it to her mouth, letting the fumes softly glaze over her face. Dave took his, thinking that maybe it was cold enough to drink, and burned the end of his tongue. He smacked his tongue and tried to pull it off as if he didn’t, but Rose had seen him burn his tongue enough times to know he had. She held back her laughter. Then they had a few seconds of silence.
“So what do you think we should do about it, if anything?” asked Rose.
Dave leaned back and looked up at the ceiling, then back down at the floor. He shuffled a bit. He didn’t really have an answer. “I’m not sure, just worried about them.”
Rose looked off pensively, taking a gentle sip of tea. The clacking of the glass and their breathing was the only noise in the room. Dave drunk some tea, not burning himself. He didn’t like it that much, but the calming warmth of the water was welcoming for once. “How many times have Dirk and John talked? If they are going through similar things, maybe they could help each other.”
“I’m sure they…oh. I don’t think they’ve ever talked to each other directly. I introduced them, well once, I think, they seemed to get along. They didn’t really talk to each other though. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to try.”
“Jake enjoys movies right? Maybe John, him and Dirk can all spend some time together?”
“I guess that could help. Not sure if Dirk would go along with it, but it’s something.”
“I wish we could be of more help, but I don’t want to meddle into things or overthink the situation, like I usually do.”
“I don’t want to think too much of it either, I just care about them. My best bro John has been AWOL and we’re sending a search party to find that fucking idiot wherever he is in his own fucking mind.”