Chapter Text
When he looks at you dead in the eyes and tells you that you need a bath because you look terrible, you just stare back, the poker face you perfected through all these years not showing the real turmoil going on inside your head as you look at him, smiling confidently as he's covered in tar-coloured blood. You swear there's a strange gleam of sadness in his eyes, that you can see even from behind his shades, but you dismiss that thought. That's clearly your imagination trying to play tricks on you. There's no way Bro would let something like that slip.
You two have been fighting ogres and other nasty creatures for a while now, and getting a brief time out sounded like a plan. So the both of you head back to your apartment - or at least what's left of it - and agree on taking a good bath before proceeding.
The only thing is, he wants to be in the bath with you.
You accept that request though. So much happened in such a short amount of time, bathing with him doesn't really sound so strange. It almost feels comforting.
As the bathtub fills up with water, there's an uncomfortable silence between the both of you while you sit on the edge of the tub, trying not to stare too hard at him as he takes off his stained and dirty clothes. You have nothing to take off, except for your shades that are already sitting neatly on the edge of the sink.
When he's out of his clothes, there's already enough water in the bathtub for the both of you, so you reach out to cut the water as you hear Bro get inside, back against the wall as pretty much only his legs and hips are underwater. You follow accordingly, sitting in front of him and with your back turned to him.
You are a bit far away from him, but he quickly 'fixes' that by putting both his arms around your chest and pulling you against his own, his chin resting on your head. You try to pretend that didn't make your heart skip a beat for a moment there.
Suddenly, the inner turmoil going on inside your head comes back at full force, as things you thought that were buried in the back of your mind resurface.
Your timeline, the one you erased for the sake of going back and trying to get John to see how wrong he was, that was your world. The one with your actual friends... and your actual brother. None of the things in this timeline you're living in belong to you. It pains your heart when you think about it, but it's the truth.
Mindlessly, you start thinking about how things went down on your timeline, until you decided to call it quits and go back, because there was no use living a doomed existence. It took some time for you to make this decision though. More exactly, it took you four entire months.
After John's death, Jade's followed shortly thereafter, since no one was there to bring her into the game and save her from the incoming apocalypse. In an attempt to fill the void in your heart, you joined your brother and you both killed countless monsters.
That is, until he died.
You were caught in a sort of ambush, monsters swarming around you from all sides. They kept coming non-stop, clearly decided to end the both of you once and for all. Bro didn't let that happen to you though. He grabbed you by the wrist and threw you into the nearest teleporting portal he could find, paying no mind to your protests.
When you finally got around returning to the spot where you were fending off those blasted creatures, there was nothing there except for his body, covered in black and red.
And that was the last straw. Before Rose ended up dying on you as well, you decided it would be better to erase that timeline completely, with you as the only proof that it ever happened.
Suddenly, Bro's voice reaches your ears and you snap out of your thoughts. You actually have no idea what he just said to you. And apparently he notices that because he soon speaks again, a bit louder.
He asks you why you are so quiet and if there's something bothering you. Indeed there are countless things bothering you. For starters, the fact that this really isn't your Bro. He's the brother of the Dave in this timeline, but you think this isn't the time to discuss this issue.
Especially because he treats you as if you were his Dave, and that's reassuring. When Dave told you that you were free to do as you pleased and that you didn't need to be around him anymore, you wandered around the medium for a while until you crossed paths with his brother and, without even taking a second look at you, he let you stick with him so then you could fight side by side.
Just like in the timeline you erased.
More than that, he just calls you Dave. He never calls you Davesprite, like everyone else does. He never even asked you what you were called to begin with. And the first time he called you Dave, you admit that your eyes went wide in surprise. He really sees no difference between you two.
Even with all that going on inside your head, you just shake your head and tell him nothing's wrong, that you are just a little tired. He laughs at that and says that you are too young to get tired so fast.
You finally move from your spot, reaching for the soap to start your bath properly, Bro's arms still around your chest. He has no idea what that's doing to you.
It's strange bathing with your 'new' body, since your skin is completely covered by a thin layer of feathers, sans for your hands and face. Maybe you should just sit on a puddle and flap your wings like crazy as birds do. You still didn't get used to this whole bird anatomy deal.
Out of the blue, Bro moves his arms away from you and snatches the soap from your hand, one of his hands going for your back to wash it.
The self-control you are exerting right now as to not shudder under his touch is actually admirable. You always had lots of feelings towards your brother, and they just intensified when you started fighting together.
Of course that, you were an idiot and never told him anything. And he died without knowing how much you were helplessly in love with him.
For a moment you wonder if the Dave in this timeline ever brought that up, but you quickly conclude he didn't. You are him after all and you know how his mind works. If you didn't say a thing, he wouldn't either. Not to mention that he definitely doesn't have time to deal with that right now.
There's a sudden kiss on the back of your head, what catches you off guard and makes you flinch a little, and you know Bro noticed that but you hope he didn't.
One of his hands slide to your chest and he pulls you closer again, his other hand moving to pet one of your wings. And this time you can't fight back the shuddering taking over your body.
In the back of your mind you keep telling yourself this isn't your brother and that you shouldn't be getting excited about this. You try to put in your head that this is Dave's Bro, not yours.
Yes, you are aware that your dead and now non-existent Bro is the same as the one sitting behind you and caressing your wings, but it still feels like something's off. Almost as if you are 'stealing' him from Dave.
Trying to focus on something else, you decide to ask him what they are going to do once they are back into fighting. And he tells you he's going after Noir, and that he's doing it alone.
With your breathing stopping for the longest time, you just stare at the water. Is he crazy? Is he really going against the strongest guy around without any back up? No... This is sounding too much like your timeline. You aren't going to let him do such a thing all by himself, and get killed. Again. You can't lose him yet another time.
You move in the bathtub to face him, and you don't care if your eyes are filled with sadness and anger as you tell him you aren't going to let him do that. Not by himself at least. You are going to be there by his side. And without thinking it through all that much, you cup his face on your hands and leans forward, planting a kiss on his lips, eyes closed as you feel a tear or two stream down your face.
In the end, you weren't lying. You are tired. Tired of keeping your feelings all bottled up inside, tired of seeing people you love die around you, tired of keeping a stern face when you just want to break down and cry...
He places a hand behind your head, caressing your hair, and another on your back. And before you stop to think about whatever the hell you are doing, you kiss him even more intently, pressing your chest against his, not caring nor noticing if he's kissing you back. He means so much to you and you'll never forgive yourself for not letting your Bro know that. All because you have to play the 'cool kid' role all the damn time.
Suddenly, you move away from him, hands moving from his face to his shoulders, your eyes now open and staring deep into his, orange-tinted tears running down your cheeks as you silently cry. You don't even care if that makes you look uncool.
The way he smiles at you in response to your tearing up is almost heart-wrenching. He smiles as if telling you everything's going to be OK. The both of you know this is bullshit though. Then it hits you why you felt as if there was a gleam of sadness in his eyes earlier on. He knows, just like you, that shit is about to get serious, and there's no way he's going through that untouched.
For some reason you suddenly want to punch him for trying to give you such a fake sense of security. And at the same time you just want to lean forward and kiss him again, for trying to protect you so blindly like that. You are just an alternate version of his Dave. You wonder why he cares so much.
You bury your face on his neck, an arm around his waist. The water is still warm and you feel just so comfortable there, laying with him, your tears progressively drying up as you try to put your feelings in check again.
"Dave, what really is going on?"
You tense as he calls you by that name yet again, more so due to the tone of worry in his voice.
"What's been bothering you?"
With your fingers tensing into fists, you find it really hard to keep your emotions to yourself, and you start crying profusely against his neck, telling him all about your timeline. How everything went wrong and how bad you feel by not being able to help anyone back then, especially him. You tell him all about your Bro and how he died protecting you and just how frustrated you are about that, and that you don't want him doing the same.
He pats your head while you talk, in a clear attempt to comfort you, and it's such a soft gesture it almost feels strange coming from him. Not that he never treated you with affection, but his way of showing it has always been a bit unusual, and certainly lacking on the 'delicate' department.
When you are done talking, almost two minutes pass before you start regaining your composure, your crying subduing and your breathing going back to normal. More under control, you back away a little, looking at his face again. He's still smiling at you in a reassuring way before ruffling your hair, now straight out telling you 'everything will be OK' and that you 'shouldn't worry so much'. You nod just for the hell of it, because you don't believe that at all, but you appreciate that he's trying to put your mind at ease.
Moving on the tub again, the water now barely lukewarm, you go back to sitting the way you were before: with your back against Bro's body. He's back to caressing your wings with one hand, as the other massages your chest. Your breathing is almost hesitant as he does those things, your own hands resting under your tail. Then, the hand he has on your chest move up to your neck, brushing off the plumage around it before brushing his lips against your skin. Your tail swishes almost instantly in response to that and your body heat raises.
You can't help but think how ridiculous it is for you to get so excited by so little. But then again, no one can blame you for that. You had it with hiding feelings, especially the ones concerning your brother.