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Characters: Davesprite & AU!Jade
Format: action!
This log is: closed
Location: Infirm & outside of it
Summary: Dave is in a coma so Dave goes to Visit Dave and Jade comes with Dave.
Warnings: EMOTIONS

[ Dave makes his way to Fortitude's infirmary and waits with his back pressed against the wall, arms folded over his chest; Jade should be here soon. He basically flew over as fast as he could-- or well, glided-- the second he hit submit on his PDA. But still, he's surprised he managed to get there first.

In all honesty he's a bit worried about the other Dave-- he doesn't want to see himself get hurt, it's upsetting in a way that he can't quite articulate without sounding majorly uncool. So it's with a knot of hidden anxiety in his stomach that he wonders just what the fuck Dirk could have possibly done to knock him into a fucking coma. ]

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[ She's been trying not to cry -- getting angry was helpful, because it meant that she could concentrate on yelling at Dirk and not at making herself into a mess. But without any means of contacting Dave, she was grasping onto straws at the moment, wiping at her eyes furiously. When she arrives at the infirmary, she's already picking at her hands, even though Dave told her to stop that week ago. It's just a good stress release, she thinks. A stress release for something that should never have happened in the first place.

Jade dragged her fee from the prefect's dorms to the infirmary, dreading what she'd see. Would he really be okay? Would Davesprite be there? No, not -sprite, he's the real Dave. Her Dave, she thinks, with a shiver. She can't help remembering that this is the Dave that left her behind.

And so when she spots him, the smile that she gives is awkward, not really a smile at all. ]

Um. Thanks for coming.

[ He really hates that, he thinks. The guilt hits him every time he sees her or her writing on the network and he hates it. It feels like suffocation and he takes a shaky breath in. He tries to smile at her, but like Jade's own smile it comes out awkward. Forced.

He can tell she's trying not to cry, and he tries to push away the pang of jealousy. She's very attached to this Dave, despite him not being her own. He's terrified of being replaced again.

And there is a bitter moment where he thinks about what it'd be like if she forgot about him and moved on from him like the other Jade seemed to have done, and the other John had done, and the other Rose had done. But he pushes that away because he can't let the tiny grimace on his face turn into something more telling.

He can see her picking at her hands, and when she comes closer he can see the scars. He wonders how he didn't see that before just now, but he supposes no attention was brought to it.

There are a lot of things he doesn't consider or pay mind to, and he thinks that's the worst part of himself. ]

Hey. No problem. Let's go in.

[ He wants to tell her to not hurt herself like that, but he hesitates. Is it really his place? He wonders that, and floats a pace closer, placing a hand on the doorknob. ]

[ She hasn't forgotten about him -- she's a little ashamed to admit that sometimes she keeps tabs on him too, though she can't access the Conquest network (which is frustrating, because she'd like to). But he's terrifying, familiar and ominous all at the same time. Because what if he leaves again? Jade has to watch him like a hawk to make sure that he's not going to do that.

But if she did, she also thinks, her anger would be justified. The same anger that curls up in her stomach and won't go anywhere, waiting for her to release it on the person that deserves it.

She shoves that aside and steps forward as well, jamming her hands into her pockets when she catches him looking at them. No one else needs to know about her injuries. It's embarrassing, a conditioned habit that she can't really stop. ]

Sorry. I don't mean to, I just forget, and then I look down...

[ Oops, she's rambling, trying to justify her actions to him. Once she realizes it, she clams right up. ]

Yeah, I get you. ... But. Don't pick, Jade. [ There is hesitation and then, in a show of something he considers utterly uncool... ] It's no good to see you hurt yourself, even if it's just something little like that. I guess I worry.

[ Continuing on. He says nothing more, pushing open the door and moving inside. It doesn't take long to find other Dave. When he sees him, he barely resists profanity. He looks like total hell.

And it's fucking bizarre to see himself so beaten up outside of a mirror. It's bizarre in a way that turns his stomach and it's scary in a way that seeing a dead or broken Dave always is.

So he says nothing. The small expression on his face-- lips parted and eyebrows furrowed-- should be telling enough. ]

[ She stops in her tracks at his concern - since when has a Strider ever outright said that they worry? - blushing a little bit. She doesn't follow him into the room immediately. Jade is still too awestruck to continue forward. He worries about her? She worries about everyone of course, it's in her nature to worry and try and care for her friends as best she can. But she never thought a Dave would openly admit to being concerned for his friends.

Realizing that if she doesn't follow him, he's going to notice her absence, she pushes the door open right before it clicks in the latch and basically tumbles into Davesprite, arms wrapping around his midsection. She peers over his shoulder, spots Dave, and then buries her head in his shoulder. ]

He keeps fighting with people. I hate it.

[ He jumps a bit at the contact, but doesn't pull away. Dave just lets her do what she wants. But he thinks it's weird. It's really weird. Even though this isn't the first time Jade's touched or hugged him, he can't get used to it after going so long without.

Human contact is comforting, Dave thinks reluctantly, and he thinks as well that he missed it a lot. His wings lower and fold so they don't get in her face.

He doesn't try to peer over at her, just looks towards the other Dave. ]

Strife's the name of the Strider game, Jade. ... I'm not going to pretend he doesn't look like he crawled out of Black Friday at the biggest mall in the country. But I managed to fight for-- shit, probably a year when you calculate all the time loops, even if the time that passed for everyone else was just four months. That was straight. I didn't take any breaks.

[ Straight faced: ]

What I'm saying is I'm fine. So he's gotta be fine too. Daves just sometimes get hurt. It always heals.

[ She nods into his back, but doesn't want to look at him. Four months was practically an eternity for her -- how could he stand living in that place for a year? With no friends, no future, everything dying...or maybe that was just her, she thinks. Of course, Dave still had Rose. They could talk to each other. Maybe even in person. ]

I wish Jades healed like that.

[ It's practically a murmur, more about her own self than about any other Jade. Because she's never seen another one, which is fine -- she's not sure if she'd want to see them. Because that means she really did die. She doesn't like to think about that.

She speaks again, louder this time. ]

I know he'll be fine. I'm really worried, that's all.

Jades are tougher than Daves.

[ He nearly shrugs, but catches himself before he manages to. A little awkwardly, he slowly pries himself out of her grip. She's still upset. So he's not going to get go. Just... move the position a bit. She might not want to look. But Dave wants to see her.

He's not embarrassed to draw her into the firm hug he does, because she's Jade and she's the Jade from his own timeline. But he feels a strange mix of emotion at it. So he swallows that down and keeps his voice level. ]

I don't think saying it will do jack shit since you're too fucking nice. You'll keep at the worry thing no matter what. But I'll say it anyways: don't worry, Jade.

I'm not.

[ She doesn't want to talk about that any more. She doesn't like admitting that she's weak, especially since it took so long to admit it to herself. Several months, in fact. Months spent alone, waiting for someone else to come and save her.

The hug surprises her. She wraps her arms around him carefully. Hugging properly like this, he can probably feel how small she is. How easy to break. ]

I'm trying, I just don't want anyone to get hurt any more.

[ He wants to insist to her that it's true. Because it is. Jade is strong, stronger than he is, and he wants her to know that. He wonders what that implies, and decides he doesn't care. But he'll drop it because he can tell she doesn't want to talk about it more.

She isn't easy to break. She's small, but she's tough. He feels her arms and pulls her against his chest a little tighter. The fact that she's still around and trying her best is, he thinks, really goddamn something. ]

Yeah. ... Me either.

[ He's tired of that too. He's tired of his friends being dead or gone. So having Jade here really inspires gratitude in him. ]

[ She lets out the breath that she was holding, relaxing into his embrace. She was worried that he wouldn't want her to hold him -- maybe he hated her (he probably hated her, she would hate herself) but she wanted him to know that she still cared about him.

The niggling part in the back of her mind reminded her, gently, that this was the boy that left her behind.
She bites her lip, letting out a small "ow" as it draws blood. At least the voice went away. ]

...um. I'm bleeding.

[ He's grateful when he feels her relax. He hates that she's been hurt by him. Dave just wants to wave his arm and make that go away, but it's really not so simple. So feeling her actually relax around him is relieving.

But then she is saying that and he blinks down at her, pulling away once he sees the blood. He turns to get her something-- a cottonball is what he finds-- to hold against her lip. It's just a little thing like that, but... yeah, he's worried. What other destructive little habits does she have? He wonders.

Levelly, coolly. As though it didn't matter, even if the quirk of his lips gives away that yeah, it does matter. ]

I just told you not to hurt yourself, Jade. I'm sending you to the time out corner, ten hard cold minutes of doing nothing but staring at the wall.

[ She takes the cotton ball from him, looking repentant. She's sorry that she bit her lip -- especially with that look he gives her, the disappointment radiating from his stoic face. She doesn't need to see his eyes to know that he's worried and upset. ]

Oh.

[ Jade feels tears well up in her eyes -- she disappointed him, she sucks -- and her eyes lock firmly on the floor. ]

Sorry.

[ He looks her over, surprise on his face, before glancing away. Did he say something wrong? Probably. ]

You're being...

[ He means to call her stupid or silly, but he reconsiders at the last second. ]

Jade. Look-- you didn't do anything wrong. Just try to stop stuff like that, got it? ... So. Don't cry.

I'll try. I'm sorry, I just keep crying and it's really silly!

[ Playing this off as a laugh, but there are still tears streaming down her cheeks. ]

I just...keep getting sad. There's a lot to worry about.

[ He doesn't say anything, just awkwardly looking around. He doesn't know how to deal with tears. He wants to comfort her in a way that will actually do something. But he finds words are hard to grasp.

He looks back to her, moving a pace closer. If she lets him, he'll be wrapping his arms around her shoulders and placing a hand on the back of her head, hugging her tightly.

Dave finally manages to mumble out a single word. ]

Sorry.

[ She nods, her assent very clear. But the tears keep coming, even though her head's pressed against his chest. ]

It's-- it's okay! It's okay-- [ but then it's not ] y-- you left me behind...

[ He holds her for a long minute in total silence. Just when it's starting to get awkward... he speaks up. It's just a mumble, but she's close enough that she should be able to hear it just fine. ]

Shit, no it isn't. Stop making excuses for me because I done fucked up. I fucked up so bad and guess what, I'm sorry.

[ The guilt is hitting him hard, and so he sucks in a breath and steadies his voice. If Jade is paying attention, she'll notice he's shaking. ]

I don't admit to this shit often. Christ I am a tool right now. I sound fucking stupid. But every time I look at you all I can think about is how bad I blew it all. I never wanted this bad shit to happen to you, and it's completely my fault.

I get it if you hate me for it, that's cool. I don't expect anything different, I kind of deserve that. Lay it on me. I can handle it, so don't hold back. I just want you to know I'm actually sorry.

[ she shakes her head, but can't find the words for anything. An uncomfortable silence passes. ]

I don't hate you.

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