Archive of Our Own

He watched her with dark eyes, the hem of his cloak flitting in the wind. The flurry of snowflakes mingled in his hair and fell on his lashes. He was like the stain of blood in a stark white snow.

"We won," he says, looking to the empty abyss beneath them, as they floated near a cliff side. "We did it."

Jade nods, and a lock of her hair falls into her tear-filled eyes. She quickly brushed it away, but the short gusts of wind kept tossing her hair haphazardly about her face. She was attempting to make meaning of the graves in front of them, which were just near the edge of the cliff, but it was impossible. They were at a dead end timeline. Or, at least, one of the lesser of desirable outcomes. Her and Dave and survived, but none of the others had. She pushed all of the horrible moments from the last few hours out of her mind. There had been nothing outstandingly rewarding about their "winning". If anything, they had lost. It was a horrifying, terrible joke. If Jade ever caught her breath, she would never get the chance to have a last laugh.

It's been a few moments--Dave is sniffing, rubbing his face with his sleeve, saying nothing.

"I'm sorry." he finally says.

Jade can't say anything besides, "Oh, no. Dave..." But in her mind she wondered if he could have fixed it. Regardless, there was nothing he could do now. Jade didn't care to linger on the thought, because it was pointless if it wouldn't help him (or Jade). She reaches for his hand. At first, he retreats, but he holds it stiffly after a moment. It's the first warm contact Jade has had in a while. It makes her chest ache unbearably.

For quite a while, Dave was withdrawn. They built a home together on her planet. It was small so as to make the space seem filled. And still, he spent most days within his darkened room, glancing out the window. She would come and sit on the windowsill with him sometimes, holding his hand or resting against him. Wondering if it was possible that she was enough to keep him alive. It crossed her mind all the time if she was not the one he had wanted to save. It was a constant reminder of what she could have done better.

She didn't remember the last time he had played music. But through all the hallways, a soft sound was wafting from his room through a closed door. Jade knocked on it softly and a moment later Dave opened the door. He was smiling.

"Listen to this," he said, pulling Jade in by the hand. "Do you remember this?"

Jade knew it was among the first of files they had shared when they had first become friends. A smile spread across her face as they sat in silence listening. The last time she had smiled was...

Jade pushed the thought away. She wanted to let herself be happy--she wanted to think about what she had now. Her home planet was familiar, and she lived in a small home with her best friend. Jade was okay.

She also knew, at least, that Dave had her. If he ever wanted her.

She woke up in the middle of the night screaming, the blood of her friends painted on the backs of her eyelids. Her bedroom door flung open and Dave entered, at first alarmed. When he realized she was only dreaming, he crossed to her bed and softly murmured to her until she drifted off again in his arms. She couldn't seem to put any sense to the words he was whispering in her dreams, but she was vaguely aware of his presence, even in sleep.

The smell of baking bread filled the house. It brought Dave from his room. They didn't ever actually use the kitchen for cooking, since they had the alchemizer and Jade had a garden. When he came in she was crying on the floor, with a loaf of bread discarded next to her.

"What happened?"

"We didn't have a hot pad, and so I just tried to grab it," she said and Dave investigated bright red fingers. He got some ice from the freezer and had Jade hold them. They sat there while she sniffled and stared at the bread. "It seemed ok. I'm a god."

Dave laughed, unintentionally. But it was funny. He guessed being a god still made you a permeable human in most aspects. Jade giggled too.

After a while there was a pile of water on her lap and a loaf of warm bread still sitting on the ground. It was cool enough to touch now, so Dave dropped it from the pan. He stood to find a knife and realized they had none. After thirteen years of storing swords in the fridge, he couldn't really believe he had forgotten to ever alchemize something so simple. He guessed it was just a lasting effect of the game. Life wasn't really normal anyway, even if you could call it "life".

He tore off a large chunk and handed it to Jade, who nibbled it at first, and then ate without regards. Dave did the same. They finished the loaf within minutes.

"Who taught you to do that?" Dave asked.

"I taught myself!" She nodded.

"It's good. We should make food more often."

She nodded again, this time with more vigor.

Dave watched her from the sliding door as she shivered outside in a tank top and undershorts. It was a frigid day, and Dave needed a sweatshirt and jeans just to be in the house.

"Jade," he called out, but she didn't even glance at him. Her hair rolled and flipped in the icy breeze.

"It feels good to be numb." She said flatly, and Dave doesn't say anything. He comes to her and puts an arm about her shoulder.

"I don't want you to get sick." He says. "I haven't really figured out the whole medicine thing yet."

She sighs. "I don't want to be fixed. I want to stay out here."

It's Dave's turn to sigh. "C'mon Harley.."

He only needed to ask once before she turned to him and placed her head between his neck and his shoulder. "I want to go home."

He wrapped his other arm around her head and smoothed her hair. He desperately wished the same, but he knows he would never go back even if he could.

Feathered tufts of hair floated to the floor.

"Your hair has gotten really long, Dave!"

"It's been a few months."

Snip snip. A few more chunks fall.

"Shit! Oh no!"

Dave turns to look in the mirror. Nothing seems out of place. In fact, it looked pretty good. "What's wrong with it?"

She pulls up a ridiculously short lock of hair from the top of his head. She can't hold it for more than three seconds without covering her face, scissors still laced in her fingers.

"I ruined it."

"It looks fine. Look." He takes another pair of scissors and chops another piece, the blunt ends of the hair falling unceremoniously.

"Dave! Don't do that," she says, grabbing the scissors with a strange sort of violent recoil.

"Shit!! Ow!" Dave jerks when the shears nick him.

The scissors clank to the ground.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Jade steps back quickly, her hands stumbling over the walls as she tries to retreat. Her voice is so desperate, it's almost a howl. Dave tries to respond but there's blood on his fingers.

She runs out the door, the sound of her feet fading behind her in the empty halls. Words struggle to leave his mouth, and they won't come for days.

His hands run nervously over his arms, rubbing them until they feel like they're burning. He can't get the images out of his head, not for anything. Dave scans the room for his shades. Where in hell are they? Why are they always gone? He lost track of them all the time.

He shuffled about his desk, random objects plodding and scattering out of the way. The abrupt thuds were increasingly overpowered by the sound of Dave cursing. His hands were shaking so bad he was no longer intentionally knocking things over. The panic was rising in his throat as his eyes darted about the room. Every place the shades could be filtered through his mind. None of them seemed right.

Just then, Jade entered the room. "Dave! What's going on?"

Dave avoided her gaze and shook his head unevenly. "It's nothing. I don't need help."

He stole a glimpse at Jade, only to see that she was studying him. His breathing was quick and uneven. Dave felt like he had run miles in a
millisecond. He was all too aware that she was staring at him. His skin was on fire.

"LEAVE, Jade." He barked at her, and her eyes widened in a sort of fear.

"I'm sorry," She mumbled and she swiftly turned to vacate.

As he sidestepped away, he saw the flash of light reflecting on a glassy surface. His sunglasses were just barely pushed underneath his bed. Dave retrieved them quickly, and fell to the floor in a sort of heap. His hands folded over his lap as he breathed in and out, the breaths slowing to a quiet pant. Slowly, the gloomy images drifted out of his mind and back into their dark, hazy place in the back of his memory.

It took him a few minutes to realize he had hurt Jade. He was still shaky, but he stood quickly to find her. She wasn't in her room, or the bathroom, or the kitchen. Wherever she was, it wasn't in the house.

He looked out the back window from the kitchen, toward the garden. There she sat, obscured by the surrounding greenery. Her dark hair glimmered in the afternoon light, and her face was devoid of emotion. Dave pinched the bridge of his nose. He was such an ass. He was always screwing up.

He opened the back door and made his way over to Jade.

"I'm sorry," He said suddenly. She flinched at the sound of his voice. "I was panicking."

"It's fine." She nodded like it was nothing.

Dave shook his head. "Honest, Jade. I didn't mean to hurt you."

She turns to look at him. "Dave, it's okay, honestly!" Her voice seemed to show that she was genuine in this thought. Dave only watched her. She didn't back down.

"Alright. I'll be inside."

"Ok."

Dave kept his eyes on her another moment while her mouth twitched. She avoided his eyes. Thankfully, Dave thought to himself.

"I mean, Dave. I can't ever help me if you don't let me. I know you're having a hard time. I am too. And you're always helping! All the time! Why don't you just let me help you do something? It's pointless. Everything is pointless."

"What do you mean?"

Her eyebrows furrow. "I mean, if we can't work together, then I don't have a purpose. I just... exist. I'm not anything."

"Jade, that's not true."

Jade huffed and held out her arms. "And here I am! Sitting in a pile of dirt! I could be creating worlds and traveling the universe and looking to be happy again! I'm just so angry, Dave. I don't know what I'm doing wrong."

The wind picks up suddenly, billowing and pulling at the garden plants. Jade pulls her hair up behind her head before it can whip around enough. Her other hand goes to her face, covering her eyes beneath her glasses. Even when the wind settles into a nice breeze, she doesn't move. For a moment, Dave thinks she's almost frozen in a painting. It's so picturesque that he doesn't really want to look away.

"You're important, Jade."

She glares at him like daggers could come at him any moment.

"I didn't mean to leave you in the dark," He licked his lips, looking away for only a minute. He swallowed, hard. "I can't really help it. Sometimes I just lose my shit. I don't know why. Probably the same reason I can't seem to pull myself together."

"Can I help you next time?"

"Okay."

"I just want everything to be okay again."

Although Dave isn't convinced of it, he says, "It will."

She wakes up to flurries of snow floating into her open window. Her room is so cold she thinks she's going to freeze. If she leaves bed now, she'll turn into ice. But if her window stays open any longer, she knows her room will transform into an icebox.

Bare legs and bare shoulders, she leaps from her bed to the small window. Before slamming it shut, she sees a familiar smudge of red against the white. She grabs her glasses from the bedside table and sloppily slaps them on.

Dave was standing outside, in a baggy red sweater, hands tucked into his pockets. With the crystalline world around him, he was completely out of place in ragged old clothes. He seemed at ease, slowly looking about as if the world was unfamiliar. She started to call to him but his name caught in her throat--she took it as a sign to stay quiet. After a moment, she tugged at the window and it whooshed closed. Startled, Dave's head turned to look at the sound. Jade's embarrassment could only be hidden with a gentle wave, and in return, he gave a small smile and raised a hand.

"Hi," Jade said to the empty room. She couldn't look away from him, even when he turned back to stare at a silent world.

Jade wandered into the hallway some time after 12 am. It was pitch black, but she could see alright. Her and Dave were careful to go to bed early, because in the night hours the house was even more quiet. She found herself in the small living room with just one couch and a TV set. They could only watch movies, so it was sort of dumb. She didn't think they had in the months they had lived here together.

On the coffee table, there was a small notebook, with a spiral binding on the top. She flipped it open, knowing it was Dave's. The only words scrawled inside were:

"THINGS ARE GETTING BETTER"

She smiled, and she wants to take out the page and pin it to her wall. It made her feel warm, like there was a sort of hope that they both shared. She sets it back down and flops onto the couch. She withdraws into her mind, where she always sees these same distant stars, which she pretends are her friends. She knows that John and Rose and everyone else are out there in dream bubbles, but she's coming to terms with the fact that they're gone. Her and Dave are time and space. They were properties of the universe itself. Together, they had complete control of the world around them. Even if all they had made thus far was a simple house, she didn't care. It was what she wanted, what made her happy.

Jade entered Dave's room with armfuls of buckets.

"Jade, you would freak out Karkat with all those sick innuendos."

"It's paint!"

"Paint?"

"This house has been white for too long. Let's paint it."

His mouth tilted into a grin and he rose up from his bed, and took a few of the buckets from her. They found themselves in the living room first, with all the furniture moved to the kitchen.

"Blue," Dave says, picking up a bucket.

Jade nods and they both begin painting. They're both silent, and Jade doesn't hear him leave. She only knew he left when a small set of speakers start blaring music from years ago. He turns it up so loud that you can't hear the sound of frogs croaking or the wind blowing. Jade gleefully sang along.

Before long, their living room is a deep blue, their kitchen a pale yellow, the hallways a light gray. They paint Dave's room red and Jade's a spring green. Their house is full of color and feels more alive. As time passes, Jade starts pulling potted plants from her greenhouse inside, and hanging failed alchemized pieces on the wall as if their house was a strange art gallery. Dave loved it.

It started to feel more like home.

He knew Jade was having a harder time than he was. She internalized things more, and took them more personally. Dave had always just sucked his problems inside of him like he didn't care, and tied them to the back of his mind. Sometimes things would breach the surface, but he could usually control his emotions and feelings. It was necessary, if either of them were ever to get any better. In the very least, he took care of Jade the best he could.

He hides himself. It's what he does. He wanted Jade to at least know he was alright, and so he had to act that way.

It had been a long time since Dave had cried, like, really cried. Before that, it had been years. And here he was, the heel of his hands pressed into his eyes like he was trying to shove the tears back in. He wasn't even really sure why he was crying. He had just been looking at old pesterlogs in his archive that were going to expire soon. He missed John, but he didn't know he would miss him like this. He talked about dumb things, but he was Dave's best friend: he had grown to like the dumb things, no matter how stupid he'd thought they were. After all, John had liked all the dumb things about Dave. If he even ever thought much of anything was dumb about him in the first place.

He was trying to weep softly for his late friend, but it was fairly difficult. If he was too loud he would--

The door made a gentle whoosh as it slipped open. "Hey, Dave?" a small voice wafted in.

He straightened up quickly and cleared his throat. "Yeah? What's up?" His voice cracks a little.

"I was gonna ask if--hey! Are you crying?" Her voice turns to concern, but Dave couldn't bring himself to face her. Her voice is so silky and quiet it almost hurts him to lie.

"Crying? Cmon, Harley. I'm cool." He wipes the streams from his eyes with his arm. "Im fine."

Arms snake around his neck almost immediately. "I'm sorry, Dave," is all she says.

They liked to take "trips". They would float (rather quickly) past galaxies, star clusters, and occasional solar systems. They visited various dream bubbles, some with of the alpha trolls and occasional beta tolls. There were even strangers, from who knows where. Sometimes they stumbled on alternate versions of themselves or their friends, but they were so distant that they couldn't relate to them anymore.

What was more interesting to them though, was that they discovered in their travels that their powers could be combined. Out of sheer laziness, they created massive worm holes to skip large distances. They knew they had the power to create practically anything with the reward of finishing the game, but they didn't know how. It was like being handed a giant, powerful sword and not knowing how to fight. It was just a baby step. A smile bite of the interstellar, shitty space-time S-Burb pie. Or so Dave put it.

It was on one of these trips that they discovered a dream bubble with John and Roxy. It was fortunate for them that they were the versions they knew before passing. For the late friends, it was like Dave and Jade only stumbled upon them. When they arrived, it was like John and Roxy couldn't be bothered by their presence, as if they were unanticipated and undesired guests.

"Man, you guys look like you're twenty." John laughed.

Dave and Jade glanced at each other, but didn't seem to notice any real change. They WERE almost twenty.

They chatted for a while but their old friends seemed so dry. Jade laughed later when Dave said they were lifeless.

When they found their way home again they came to an agreement that they didn't want to search for the others. They were alright on their own, and their journey no longer involved their loved ones.
It didn't change that they missed them. It was easier said than done, but it was a step forward.

Jade had fallen on her recent trip to her old house and hurt her foot. She was slowly trying to go back to their place in the forest, but night was falling. She knew earlier that it would be okay to navigate in the dark, so she didn't tell Dave to look for her after a certain point.

However, it wasn't long before Dave intercepted her on her way home.

"Jade!" He took a quick few strides toward her. "Are you ok?"

"I just tripped and hurt my foot a little."

"Shit, Jade. Be more careful." He hefted her up under his arm and they hobbled on their way home.

When they entered the kitchen it was 10 pm. Neither of them had eaten, so Dave cooked them a pot of pasta.

"Thanks for coming to help me, Dave!" she says as he sets down a plate of penne pasta with red sauce in front of her. He seems to smile, but it feels like he hadn't meant to. He leans down and presses his lips to her forehead, almost shaking. Dave sits down beside her at the table. Neither of them say anything as they eat under the warm yellow glow of the kitchen light.

"Happy Birthday, Dave!" Jade sets down a huge cake in front of him. It's hot pink and looks a little like its layers are going to slide right off. The top is absolutely covered in rainbow sprinkles, with a poorly drawn Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff in icing. The twenty candles on top were half melted already.

"Jade, this is the best fucking cake I have ever seen in my life. Buddy Valastro would be embarrassed about his colossal shit rice krispy piles if he hadn't been mercilessly incinerated." He snaps a picture of it. "It's going in our fuckin' history books."

Jade laughs. "Blow out the candles or we'll be eating piles of wax!"

He inhales deeply and puffs out all the candles in one go. Jade cheers and claps joyously. Dave bows. When the bravado is over, Jade seems to glow--especially in the evening light.

"What?" Dave says.

"I need to show you your present after we have cake. It's the best ever!" She slices into the cake and plops two pieces onto party plates. After they finish, Jade pulls him down the hall by the hand, and there's a door at the end of the hallway where there didn't used to be one.

"Where did this come from?" Dave asks.

"I made it! Myself, I mean. It was a surprise. That's why I haven't let you leave the house in a few days. I made a little addition." She swings open the door to reveal a large white room with tall windows on the opposite end. It's mostly empty except for a large stereo set at the back of the room.

"What is it for?" He asks before realizing that it came off a little rude.

"It's for anything you want, but it's a good music room. It has a tall ceiling and it's small and has wood floors."

Dave steps in, a little in awe. He claps a few times and it bounces off the walls in an almost pleasing way. "This is really cool, Jade."

"Do you like it?" She asks, and he smiles. She takes a step over to the stereo and presses play. Soft classical music starts to come through the speakers and she starts to change to another CD, but Dave stops her.

"Oops! Sorry, haha... I was testing the room. I'll change it."

"Jade." He asks her after a minute of Jade looking for another CD to pop in. "Do you know how to dance?"

"I mean, yeah! I do!"

"No, I mean." I looks at the stereo. "Dance. To this."

Jade's face turns hot and red. "Well, ah, no, not exactly! I mean, I was alone on an island for my whole life. No one to really teach me that kind of stuff!"

Shaking, he takes her hand and she glances at him. She stands and they fall into a strange embrace. They only seem to step in time with the music, swaying in a sort of awkward dissonance. Out of step and out of time. But the brilliant, warm light soaking the room couldn't have made Jade happier. With stumbling and shuffling feet, she reaches up to kiss his chin as sweetly as she can muster. Dave exclaims, but he pulls Jade a little bit closer to him.

"Where did you learn, Dave? Middle school dances? Getting all the babes with your smooth moves?"

"Oh, shut up."

-

They stayed up watching Con Air, but Jade falls asleep about an hour in. Dave understands why, because Nic Cage had never been more boring. How in hell did John ever watch this garbage? He turns off the TV and looks down to Jade.

"Hey. Jade." She doesn't move.

"Earth to Harley, it's bed time." She nuzzles into his shoulder.

"Hey. Seriously, Jade." A snore.

He sighs, drapes her arms around his neck, and hefts her into his arms. Her head lulls a little bit, but he can't do much to help her. He walks slowly to her room, watching her breathe softly. The rise and fall of her chest is utterly comforting to him. But he can't hold her much longer. He stumbles into the room and places her on her bed. Dave pulls the blanket to her neck. After a quick weighing of his odds, he kisses the top of her head.

It had been a good birthday.

They were taking a walk through the forests, just generally exploring the land, when they find Dave's grave. Or at least, another Dave's grave. It was a small mound of dirt patted down solidly, and there were patches of grass and wildflowers dappling the top. Jade had probably raked at the dirt hours later to make the shallow grave. The thought made Dave shiver.

"God, Jade. I'm so sorry."

"About what?"

"I'm sorry you had to see me die. I knew that whole time I was with you."

She blinks a few times but she smiles. "It's fine, Dave. You're not dead."

"Are you smiling because I'm alive or smiling because you're the reason I'm alive?"

She blushes, but she stares at him hard. "That was like, the hardest thing I've ever had to do! I had to kiss your dead, bloody lips! Tell me there's nothing funny about that, Dave! That is SO not funny!!"

He smirks. "Well, a little."

She elbows him. "It's not."

"Was it the kissing part or the dying part?"

"GOD, Dave! What are you trying to fucking do? It's not funny, it was terrifying. It hurt me more than you know. If you know it was hell then why are you pestering me about it? What the fuck is wrong with you right now?" Her eyes start to fill with tears and her fists are tight against her sides. She glares at him so long and hard Dave thinks her gaze will burn him. She turns tail and starts stomping into the forest.

"Jade, wait. Jade! I'm sorry. Stop. Please. I'm sorry." Dave calls after her, but she's moving quickly. She's already put quite a distance between them.

He's such an idiot. He's always pulling this now. He went from sullen and withdrawn to careless and douchey. Dave broke into a sprint, desperately trying to follow her as she wove through the trees. He kept calling for her and she wouldn't stop. Eventually, she disappeared in front of him. He kept running and running until he couldn't breathe. The coolness of the air stings his lungs.

With his hands on his knees, he tries to assess the surrounding trees. He spots her, behind him. She's got her knees tucked up to her chest with her back against the trunk of a tree. He trots over to her and sits beside her. Dave puts an arm around her shoulder and she doesn't shrug it off.

"Jade, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to push you like that. I'm sorry."

She says nothing.

"If I had to tell you all the times I had to complete time loops with holding you dead in my arms, Jade, you wouldn't be able to count them on my fingers. I understand. I'm sorry. I know I acted like a douche but I care, I promise. Shit, Harley, I care so much. Please look at my sorry ass, at least."

She looks up at him, her eyes worried but her face still soft. "I still have dreams about you dying, too. I have dreams about you dying and leaving me here to be alone."

"Jade, I can't--"

"I know you can't, but it still terrifies me." She looks away again but it's not because she's angry. Dave pulls her into his chest and in turn, she wraps her arms around him.

"I love you," he says, and the words disappear into the trees. She holds him tighter and gives a gentle nod.

"I love you too, Dave."

Dave lay awake in his bed, listening to the silence. Occasionally he would hear Jade stir across the hall, or a lone croak from outside his window. He woke up from a dream about Jade and couldn't seem to sleep again. He couldn't stop thinking of cool, misty forests where he would be chased by a dark wolf. Or hot, Texan summers in the apartment where sleek, dark ravens sang a shrill song. She seemed to be everywhere in them, as shades of jet black and startling greens. She was never quite Jade, but she was there. He didn't know how to feel.

Ever since he had said he loved her, nothing had changed for them. At the time, it just seemed like words to simply comfort, even though he had meant them. Dave knew it was possible to love someone many ways, but how anyone ever dissected each type from each other was fuzzy to him. He was worried he was psyching himself up about something he could never be sure about. He didn't want to love Jade because she was the only one he had.

The only thing he decided was that he would never hurt her. He was going to be with her forever, and he wanted to be careful.

"This is weird. Didn't we find the last puzzle ages ago?"

"Yeah, but this could be some shitty post-game quest. Since we're gonna be here eternally."

"Yeah, and we don't have any sprites to consult about anything. Maybe it's just another extra fun thing."

Dave snorts. "They're not exactly fun."

She elbows him in the ribs. "Hush Dave! Let's get a better look at it."

Jade trots down the side of the hill, alternating between jogging, jumping, and floating over rocks in her way. She's really quite graceful.

When they get to the center of the small valley, the gigantic stone tablet is surrounded by vines and bushes and short trees. The tablet itself is kept upright with a number of smaller tablets. A rock beneath them has a slot for an extra one. They are all covered with the same unreadable, scattered english.

"God, how are we supposed to read this shit? It looks like my third grade handwriting. Like what english looks like to people who don't speak it. It's fuckin' SimSpeak." Dave says rubbing his fingers along a rough edge.

"It sort of looks like a recipe, the way they're arranged. See? The way they're grouped together. The ingredients and all the steps. Doesn't it?"

Dave looks closer at each tablet before agreeing: "I think you've got the right idea. But I don't know how we're supposed to decode this garbage. I forgot my Rosetta Stone at home."

"Very funny, Dave. There's a missing stone, so maybe there IS a sort of Rosetta Stone we need."

Dave rubs his face with his hands. "Where would we even find one?"

Jade looks forlornly at the tablets. "I don't know, I guess. We could look by the other ruins and puzzles to see if we can find anything!"

"Alright."

After a few more hours of searching, they can't seem to turn anything up. With the sky going dark, they decided to start again the next day.

Dave wakes up to Jade on top of him. "Wake up," she whispers harshly.

"Why are you whispering?" He says, rubbing his eyes. Her hand covers his mouth instantly.

"Shh."

"Why?" He tries to force through her fingers.

She looks at the door and back to him. "There's something in the house and I don't want to scare it."

They both get up from the bed and Dave slides into his jeans and a pair of sneakers. He grabs the sword behind his door and they sneak into the hallway. Although the house is quiet, Jade continues to growl behind him.

"There!" She hissed, a finger outstretched to a corner of the kitchen. Without thinking, Dave flipped on the light. It was a white cat. It startles and disappears through the open kitchen window.

"What? Jade, it's just a cat."

"You say that as if you can find those here!"

He ponders what she says for a split second, then breaks for the kitchen door. He can still see it in the distance as Jade calls his name. She's not following him.

He comes to a small clearing, where a pond is nestled at it's center. The cat sits there, licking his paw like he'd been waiting for Dave. He comes a few steps closer and the cat stands, and disappears.

"Wait! Fuck," Dave mutters to himself. Although he's frustrated, he can't help but be transfixed by the pond. There was nothing particularly interesting about it except that it was perfectly placed in the center of the grassy clearing. He slowly paced towards it and glanced in. It was only about a foot deep, but it was clear as day and the surface was glassy and still. At the bottom, a smooth-faced tablet was set among soot and rocks. He reached in and pulled it up effortlessly. Dave swirled it in the water to wash off the remaining dirt. He flips it over, and finds that the other side is just as smooth.

Confusion filled his mind. He took the tablet up in his arms and ran home as quickly as he could. When he got to the kitchen door, Jade was curled up in front of it. She perked up when he came in.

"What happened?" She said, staring at the tablet. "What is that?"

"That weird-ass cat took me to a pond. This was in the bottom. There's nothing written on it."

"Oh," Her eyebrows furrowed. "Why would that happen?"

He shrugged. "Maybe we have to carve a meaning for the recipe."

"We could try. There's always the other side."

A few minutes and a couple nails later, they still had a blank tablet. The surface was so solid that it's impermeable.

"Wait! Maybe we just need to take it to that pedestal?" Jade exclaimed.

It's about 6 in the morning by now, and they're walking through the forest towards the crop of tablets. The white cat is sitting at the base. When they approach, it's the same ruse. He dissipates, but they don't really give much thought to it. It must just be a guide implemented by the game.

Jade wiggles the tablet into place. It fits in perfectly, but nothing happens.

“Great. Why are these dumb things so hard!!” Jade says, falling to her knees.

“Hey,” Dave puts a hand on her shoulder. “It’s alright. We’ll figure it out.”

She nods slowly, and he takes her hand to help her to her feet. When she’s standing and situated, he doesn’t let go. They start the long walk back home in the dark of the morning.

“Dave,” she says at some point, looking straight ahead at nothing in particular. “I’m glad we’re together. I mean, I’m glad it’s you. That’s here.”

Dave feels himself smiling as he crunches through small piles of leaves. “I’m glad, too.”

She pauses, and Dave feels as though he’s about to fall. He has the same anxious, strange feeling of weightlessness that no one truly enjoys. He turns to watch her.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s just…”

“What?” Dave looks directly into her eyes. She seems a little uneasy.

She moves her jaw about, as if she’s searching her mouth for an answer. “Are we supposed to populate the planets we create? What are we supposed to do? That’s how Karkat explained it, but I’ve never understood if it was true or if you had ever thought about--um. I mean, ever thought about…”

“Sex.” Dave says flatly.

Her eyes widen and she immediately releases his hand to rub at her shoulder. “Well, I mean, to be lewd about it, yeah.”

Dave scoffs under his breath a little, being a little embarrassed by the thought himself. “There’s no rush. It’s fine. Even if it is true. We'll figure it all out. And the last time I checked, Karkat never fuckin' won the game.” This pulled a giggle from Jade and the words comforted him as much as they seemed to comfort her.

A few months go by. They spent so much time together that it almost felt like they always had. By now they had realized all the planets had the same formation of tablets and clearings where smooth keys were hidden. Each time the tablet was replaced, nothing happened. They spent hours switching them around to see if they were the right panels, and nothing worked. Many breakfasts and lunches and dinners were spent pondering what they could possibly be doing wrong.

"I think we'll just have to give it up." Dave says one day as Jade pours over the surface of a smooth tablet.

"I guess you're right," she says, and they return the tablets to their respective planets.

The windows rattled. It startled Jade, especially when Dave wouldn't answer her calls. She searched the house for him, and felt stupid when she had realized he was in the extra room.

Dave had been blasting "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing".

He was laying on the floor with his hands across his stomach. She wasn't sure if he was laughing or crying, but she joined him nonetheless.

Jade found herself sleeping less and less. It was almost like it had been at first: restless nights with anxious soul searching. Like, who was Jade Harley anyway? It was like she had restarted the game all alone with Dave. Even if they had won, it felt like they had so much work to do. Time was on their shoulders and it didn't matter how quick they were. But every night was a caper of "what should we be doing right now?"

She decided at some point to crawl into bed with Dave. He stirred when she had come into the sheets, but he put an arm around her and instantly fell back asleep. It used to be a normal routine, but it had lessened when they started to spend more time together.

His face was turned timeless by sleep. The freckles lining his cheeks beneath a thick row of lashes reminded her of thirteen year-old Dave. His face was so sweet. Jade bit her lip thinking about it.

Hardly an hour later, Dave's eyes fluttered open and he squinted at Jade through the dark.

"Hi," She said.

"Hey." He yawned. "What time is it?"

"Oh, what does it matter?" Jade said, and she buried her face into the pillow. Dave stretched beside her. The first arms of morning light had just started to seep through the window.

"It feels like 1 am. I could hibernate for about thirty more years."

Jade giggled. "We have too much to do."

"Like what? Is Obama banging at the back door? Fuckin' Lord English? My mom? We don't have anywhere to be." He pulled the blanket up to his shoulders. "Not to mention the AC is turned all the way to ice demon cave. I'm not getting out of bed today."

Jade doesn't really object.

"Did you sleep okay, Jade?" he asks after a minute.

She shrugged. "I haven't really been sleeping lately."

"Oh. Why? Nightmares again?"

"Well, no. I guess my mind has just been really busy the last few days. Isn't that funny? I think I used to be narcoleptic before the game. I guess that WAS the game's fault. But I mean, I would rather be narcoleptic than unable to sleep. It drives me crazy!"

He nods. "I've been a little restless. I just have weird-ass dreams."

"What about?"

His lips part to speak, but he closes them again. "I don't know."

"What! Don't lie to me, Dave!" She exclaims.

He sighs. "They're usually about you. But don't get any funny ideas. You're not even usually Jade. You're like a shitty wolf or some stars or shit."

Jade looks puzzled. "I guess I don't know what you mean."

Dave is frustrated and embarrassed and he didn't know what to say.

"What's wrong? Dave? I don't understand!"

His vermilion eyes penetrate the dark and he's glaring at her. "I have feelings for you, Jade. I know that's why I dream about you. I don't know why else I would. You're everywhere in them. I can't sleep half the time because I'm trying to figure out why in hell you were a patch of grass in my subconscious."

Jade falls silent, but she smiled shyly.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do." He says. "I don't know what you should do with those words."

"We don't have to do anything. We don't have anywhere to go."

Dave tries not to smile at her and turns over onto his back. "That's a pretty good idea."

"Wait!" Jade whispered. She rested her jaw on his chest, only a few inches from his face.

"What?" he whispered back, turning slightly.She leans into him softly, and her frizzed hair brushes against his face.

She only has to reach a little bit to close the distance between their mouths. His lips were warm and and soft but at first, he seems too shocked to follow her. Jade didn't really care too much, because in a few seconds' time he's facing her, kissing her gently and slowly. His hands are resting on her shoulder blades almost carefully. Although the moment seems to pass so slow and smooth, her stomach was hot and fluttering with excitement. She pulls away to look at Dave, and his eyes remain closed for a moment.

"God, Jade. Just... my god."

She blushes deeply, but it doesn't stop her from smiling. "Sorry!"

He embraces her, pulling Jade to him tightly. "God. I love you."

In the distance, the dormant tablets begin to glow. The cat sits and waits patiently, knowing his gods would soon return to reap their true reward.