sortinghat_rp | Two Smuppets

bro

astronomy tower

now

[Dave hesitates for a moment then decides it would be better to do as he's told than to wait for Bro to come to him. He gets out of bed, pulls on his robes again, and then, after a moment of hesitation, turns back and goes to his trunk, pulling out the sword that always comes to school with him.]

[He gets up to the astronomy tower, both his sword and his wand stowed for now because he doesn't know which one he'll need more.]

[When Dave gets there, Bro is nowhere to be found. For several seconds there's silence, and a normal person would have thought they were stood up. But not Dave, he's probably used to Bro screwing with him. But even this is probably pretty chilling, if he has any idea how utterly pissed off Bro is.

Finally there's the ghost of a voice, inaudible but it can be heard right next to Dave, though if he turns there wouldn't be anyone there. Just long enough passes that everything appears to settle down. And then there's a whisper right next to Dave's ear, audible this time. But still, Bro isn't there.]

So you think you fucking know anything about Lalonde.

[Nope. Dave has no idea the size of the cow pie he's stepped in. As soon as he knows that Bro is for sure up there, he starts looking around for little tells. This isn't the first time Bro's used his ventriloquism to fuck with Dave, and it probably won't be the last.]

[When he finally hears Bro actually say something, all of his anger and rustled jimmies start to come back out in force. He pulls out his sword, because he wants physical violence at this point, the need for physical exertion is pounding in his temples and making his blood start to rush.]

You mean the strung-out slag who didn't even care enough about her own flesh and blood to ask if I was fucking alive? The one who would have kicked me out on my ass as a fucking newborn if you hadn't been there to take me? I don't know how Rose deals with her. I'm glad she didn't want anything to do with me.

[His grip on his sword shifted in challenge.]

Fuck her.

[It was a good thing Dave had brought his sword. Bro had done the same. In fact he'd left his wand fuck knows where because when he was this angry, this bloodthirsty, all he cared about was physical pain. Fuck magic, fuck wands. They didn't hurt enough. So somewhere on the astronomy tower, Bro was there, sword clenched so hard it was a surprise he hadn't shattered the grip.

When Dave spoke, it clenched harder. The little shit didn't know what he was fucking talking about. He knew not a fucking thing about Lalonde. They'd fucking agreed that it was best. Bro was just as much to blame- if not more. He'd done it for Lalonde. Suggested it to make her life better. He would've taken Rose too, if she hadn't insisted. He was bad for her. She would never have been happy with him.]

Shut your fucking MOUTH.

[The whisper turned into a full on shout in the end and suddenly in a flash, Bro is right there in front of Dave, swinging his sword down hard.]

[Well maybe he would have had a chance at fucking understanding if they'd at least tried to make some sort of arrangement for like meeting up at the park once a month or something like that. There was something just downright fucked up about keeping someone's fucking twin a secret from them for fourteen years - particularly when there is literally a slim to fucking none chance that those two kids won't end up going to the same private school.]

[Dave had barely enough time to bring his sword up and parry when Bro came crashing down on him. In that instant, he could tell that something was different. This wasn't just normal brotherly frustration strifing. This was serious fucking business strifing and as Dave fought to hold Bro's sword at bay against Bro's stronger, heavier force, he thought about going for his wand and hitting Bro with a bodybind.]

What the hell are you defending her for? She left you too! She ditched you and left you with a fucking kid, and never even looked back!

[Apparently that feelings jam just wasn't good enough if Dave still held that many feelings inside about the whole situation. He'd apologized, wasn't that fucking enough? Dave needed to quit with the bitter Lalonde feelings. And Bro never thought it would be a fucking possibility- or maybe he thought baby Lalonde would go to a fancier school than Hogwarts. They'd never thought that far ahead.]

[The sword crashed down against Dave's with a near shattering force, and it definitely was clear that this was different than any other strife. Bro meant business. He was half out of his mind with rage and anger, plus the fact he found out his brother died... Bro was no in a good place at all.

He pressed against Dave's sword with all of his strength, easily pushing Dave back, the two of then inching towards the edge of the tower where the low wall would do fuck all for making sure neither of them fell over the edge. At Dave's words, he didn't speak at first, and twirled his sword away from Dave's, swinging it around and coming at him at a different angle.]

You think that's what fucking happened? You don't have a fucking clue, you dumbass! I- We... [He couldn't finish the sentence though. He was just so angry at Dave. Irrationally, because of course he wouldn't know, it's not like they'd actually talked about her at all. They'd fixed their relationship, but hadn't gone into the specifics of the situation.

But Bro wasn't thinking about that. All he was focused on was his anger. The fact that Dave was casually throwing around insults like they were nothing. They fucking pissed him off, and he lifted his leg and aimed a kick at Dave's stomach.]

[Dave was purely on the defensive now. All of his effort, all of his energy was being put into keeping Bro at bay, into keeping that sword away from his fleshy parts as much as possible. Bro was a fucking monster, hulked out like Dave had never seen him be before, and Dave didn't understand why. He was scared, and he was starting to get more and more scared that Bro was actually trying to kill him.]

[He took a step backward to stabilize himself, and glanced back to see that he was lined up to go straight over the edge if he didn't do something soon. Then Bro broke the hold, and Dave didn't think to drop and roll or anything, he just brought his sword up again to parry the new angle, pressing back. His arms were burning from the effort, all the way down his back, but he was totally outmatched, worse than he normally was.]

What the fuck else was I supposed to assume? 66 percent of motherless Striders were abandoned by their moms, why shouldn't my case make it a round 100?

[And yeah. Dave was scared. He looked at Bro's face, searched it for any sign that Bro wasn't seriously trying to murder him, and in doing so he missed the important tells. He was left completely vulnerable to the kick, and he took it, falling back with a startled, breathless yelp.]

Edited 2012-05-15 01:57 (UTC)

Have some more fucking faith in people and realize relationships are a goddamn two-way street and sometimes sacrifices have to happen for the people you love!

[He was a hypocrite. A complete and total hypocrite. But he didn't care, nor did he even really realize it. Knocking Dave down was more satisfying than it probably should've been. He was in control, he had Dave where he wanted him. He could make him hurt. Just like the words made him hurt, made him realize how much he still cared for Lalonde. The emotions were just piling up, and it was Dave he was ending up taking out all his frustrations on.

He lifted the sword high over his head, and brought it slamming down against Dave's. The force of it shattered Dave's sword and sent Bro staggering back slightly.]

Oh, yeah, like she had so much fucking faith in me. Does she even remember that she had two children, or was she too blacked out at the time?

[But that remainder of sass was gone as soon as Dave's ass hit the stone. He raised his sword when Bro lifted his overhead, even though he knew at this angle there was no way for that momentum to go but down. When Bro's sword came crashing down onto his, his sword broke into two and, before Bro rebounded off, Bro's sword sliced neatly through Dave's robes and left a deep gash in his upturned arm. He cried out with pain and let his sword arm fall, his glasses slightly askew as he writhed for a moment, blood dripping onto the stone floor.]

[He looked up at Bro, red eyes bright, wide, and terrified, and when he saw that Bro was only momentarily delayed, he wasted no time in drawing his wand with a shaking, bloody hand. His voice was shrill and desperate. If this didn't work, he was sure that Bro was going to kill him.]

Petrificus Totalus!

[Bro didn't have the chance to dodge the spell, nor did he have a means to block it, because he'd left his wand behind. He didn't even have the chance to feel stupid for doing that, because in the split second before the spell hit him and he fell to the ground, he'd seen Dave's eyes. He'd never seen them like that. He'd never seen Dave so terrified of anything- of him.

His whole body locked up, his arms snapped to his side and his legs drew together, and he fell backwards to the stone floor with a thud. His sword, bloody from the wound he'd inflicted on Dave, clattered to the floor next to him. His shades were knocked from his head by the impact, leaving his eyes exposed. They were the only thing he could move, but they were locked on the sky above him.

His mind wasn't frozen though. It was racing. Seeing Dave that scared was sobering. The anger he'd felt towards Dave vanished and was replaced with guilt. Because holy shit, what was he doing? What in the fuck was he doing? Trying to kill Dave over a few words about a woman who...had, in a way, abandoned Dave. It had been Bro's suggestion that they parted, yes... But she could've kept in contact with Dave.

He realized that now. Realized the source of Dave's frustrations were true and fuck he was being stupid. Fighting with his bro- his son- over a fucking woman. Yeah, he still had feelings for Lalonde. But he was stupid to let them come between him and Dave. He was stupid for trying to... to... Was he trying to kill Dave? The way his stomach churned made him feel like yes, if he didn't stop it might've been a thing he did. And that was more than horrifying.

The guilt mixed with his own feelings about his brother dying was finally overwhelming him. Tears welled in his eyes and he couldn't fucking stop them from overruning, tears sliding down his face. If he could've sobbed, he would've, but he couldn't even speak because of the spell. All he could do was try and blink them away, but that just created more. He was such a fucking monster. He couldn't believe he'd done that to Dave. He couldn't believe some of the things he'd said over the journals. He couldn't believe he'd been so stupid. And he just couldn't believe that his bro was gone.]

[Dave sat there panting for a couple of long moments once Bro fell to the ground. His arm was still dripping steadily, and when he tried to put weight on it it nearly gave out underneath him. He held it close to his chest as he finally went into action, crawling over to Bro on his three working limbs. He pushed Bro's sword away, cringing at his own blood on the blade, and knelt next to Bro's head.]

[His heart wrenched. He couldn't believe it. Bro was...crying? Shit. Shit, in everything that had gone down, Dave had forgotten that Bro's fucking brother had just died. God, Dave felt like a fucking tool. He waved his wand again and muttered 'finite' almost so softly that it was inaudible, and then he took off his own shades and set them aside, looking down at Bro as tears started spilling down his own face. He didn't say anything. He waited for Bro to break the silence.]

[Bro heard him murmur the spell just barely, and the feeling of movement returning to his limbs was the main thing that made him realize what Dave had done. He didn't love at first, afraid to because he just didn't know what would happen when he finally moved more than his eyes.

Finally after a few long seconds his eyes flicked over to Dave and he wasn't prepared to see Dave crying too. All at once his body began working completely as emotion overcame him. His lip quivered and he bit down hard on it just to get it to stop, as more tears flooded out. He clenched his hands into tight fists and... curled himself up in the fetal position, turning his back on Dave completely as he shook.

He hadn't cried for years. He hadn't seen Dave cry in years. He'd never felt this miserable either, and he just didn't know what to do. He felt like a child, but he just didn't know what to do or say and curling up and crying felt like the only thing he could do. He felt completely stupid, but instead of making him stop and put the facade back up, it just made him cry harder.

Your name is Bro Strider.

You're broken and your cool has been lost.]

[Dave's breath hitched halfway to a sob when he saw Bro move. He had never seen Bro cry like this before. He gathered up the non-bloodstained sleeve of his robe and wiped at the tears spilling down Bro's temples, pulling back when Bro curled away from him. At that...He didn't know what to do. Bro was shaking and crying, and it was Dave's fault, and somehow that made Dave start crying harder, but he didn't know what to do or say.]

[So he just shifted closer and laid down next to Bro, spooning flush against his back, his hurt arm around Bro's waist, and buried his face between Bro's shoulder blades as he cried along with him.]

I'm sorry...

[It wasn't Dave's fault though. Not really. If he'd realized that Dave felt like it was, he would've tried speaking and saying that it wasn't. It was Bro's fault, completely and totally. For being so stupid and overwhelmed with feelings, for letting them control his actions. He'd just... never dealt with death before. It made him act so irrational that he...

God, he was stupid. And it was so far from Dave's fault. He didn't even tense up as Dave moved to lay next to him. Under normal circumstances he would've. But his body seemed to act of its own accord and shift to make it easier for Dave. He needed it. His body was moving and acting by itself because it's what he needed even though his mind was so full of regret and hurt to realize it.

When Dave spoke, though, he finally did realize that Dave thought it was his fault. But he couldn't stop himself from crying, the tears just kept coming, he kept shaking, and as much as he wanted to say that no, he didn't have to apologize, he couldn't get them out. His mind wanted to say something, but only broken sobs came out when he tried speaking. God he was pathetic. Completely, utterly pathetic because he couldn't even fix the one problem that was right there in front of him. Or, behind him as it were.

Finally he moved one of his arms down, and his hand shook as it came to rest on the arm around his waist. He felt the warmth of blood and he shivered, as another sob broke its way out of him. He was the worst person ever. Flinging himself off of the astronomy tower seemed like a really fucking good idea for all the good he was to the universe. To the people who mattered.

He wanted to do more than just touch Dave's arm, but his body still wouldn't let him do anything but cry. Most of all he just wanted to hug Dave and tell him how sorry he was. And he would the second he could, but until then all he could do was bring his arm back up and stare at Dave's blood on his hand and shake harder.]

[Dave had never dealt with death either, and if he was being entirely honest he wasn't hugely affected by this one. He had never known his uncle well - or, well, who he thought was another older brother until just recently - hell, he didn't even know that he and his uncle shared a name.]

[But the longer time passed with Bro not saying anything, the more Dave slowly realized that it could have been Bro. He could have lost Bro, could have been the one in Dirk's position, and when that thought occurred to him Dave clung to Bro tighter as he let out a broken sob into the back of Bro's shirt. He just laid there, clinging onto Bro so tightly that it made pain lance up his arm, and as Bro shook and cried Dave's sobs reached nearly hysterical levels, wracking his body no matter how he tried to muffle them in Bro's shirt.]

[Then Bro's arm moved down, and his hand covered Dave's arm, and Dave didn't care that it kind of stung because it was warm and big. Almost as if he could sense Bro's thought about throwing himself off of the astronomy tower, he clung even tighter, fingers gripping the white cotton. Dave needed him. He couldn't imagine what he would possibly do without him.]

[When Bro started shaking harder, Dave started sobbing harder, pressing his entire body up closer to Bro's, begging him silently with everything that he had to stop, to stop making Dave have to be the responsible one, to at least stop crying that hard because it twisted up all of Dave's emotions into a tight ball of guilt in his stomach. Not just for hitting him with the spell - he knew if he hadn't hit him, something worse would have happened - but for talking all that shit that...that made Bro do this.]

[It was his fault. He'd broken Bro.]

[It was still a few minutes before Bro could actually calm himself down any at all. He felt Dave squeezing him so tight, it did make him realize he needed to stop and actually control himself. But it was really, really fucking difficult to do that. Especially because in a way, Dave holding him like that was so comforting that it almost made him feel like crying more. He hadn't been held while he cried since... fuck, he must've been a small child. And being hugged at all was still new, and he was just so... completely overwhelmed with emotion that it was just. really hard to stop crying.

But he finally managed to calm down slightly; enough that he stopped shaking so hard, though the tears were still coming heavily. He pulled himself free from Dave's arm, as he regained control of his body, and sat him. He scooted himself into a sitting position beside Dave and didn't even bother trying to wipe at his eyes. Instead, he just reached out for Dave and pulled him into his arms. He was careful not to hurt his arm, but he pulled Dave into his lap and just held him. He clung to him like Dave had moments before, and he was shaking a little again after a few seconds.]

I'm sorry... [His voice was quiet and a little shaky, but it was so sincere and full of pain. It was obvious that he felt like the worst person in the world and that he really, really meant his words. He loved Dave and he was so sorry for doing that, and he clung to him harder.]

[Dave let out a shaky sigh of relief when Bro pulled himself free and sat up. He looked up at him and started to push himself into a sitting position, when Bro reached out and just dragged him into his lap. Dave let out a shuddering sob and switched so that he was subtly cradling his aching arm against his chest. He tucked his head up under Bro's chin and just sat there, letting himself be held, closing his eyes as tears continued to spill down his cheeks.]

No, I...I was kind of asking for that. [Dave pressed himself up against Bro just a little harder.] It's okay. I'm fine. No harm done... [Because Dave had stopped him before he could. Even though he knew that he was no longer under threat, Dave was still immensely thankful that he'd had his wand with him.] I'm okay, Bro.

[At Dave's words, Bro just shook his head and let out a small scoff. He brought the hand that wasn't bloody up and slid his fingers in Dave's hair, holding him closer.]

No you weren't, and... no you're not. [His voice was still shaky. Still full of guilt.]

I... I was being stupid. It should be bros before hos. You... you have every right to be mad at Lalonde. Fuck knows I would be too. I mean, I am pissed off at my mom too, big surprise there. I'm a dumbass for actually expecting you not to.

[He was quiet for a few seconds, sniffing quietly.] I lost a lot of control there and I'm really fucking sorry, man. I just... I...

[He trailed off, because he didn't know what to even say. He didn't know how to admit how upset he was over his brother's death. He didn't know how to admit to anything he was feeling. He was just really, really bad at this.] Anyway, it... uh, wasn't her fault though. [So he was just going to defend Lalonde instead of face his own problems.] I mean, it kind of was. But- fuck. It's really complicated, Dave, and... Maybe you should talk to her. Write her a letter or something. Maybe you could see her over the summer. I don't know, but... this needs fixing. I can't fix my own problems so just... let's fix yours. Okay? Please?

[It was obvious he was rambling, obvious that he just didn't want to talk about the actual real problem, the real thing that was upsetting him the most.]

[Dave sat there quietly, closing his eyes to try to keep back tears as Bro's fingers slid into his hair and he was held even closer. For a minute, all he did was listen to what Bro said. It may have been selfish of him, but his arm was starting to burn like hellfire, and Dave was glad for the apology. Because Bro was right it should be bros before hos. But Dave had overreacted, too. He can't imagine that Rose wouldn't have kicked his ass, if she'd been able to see the shit Dave had been saying about her mom.]

[He may have been saying it with a big sense of bravado, but the fact that he was reduced to impotently attacking her behind her back meant that he was just as broken, just as full of issues as Bro was. And it had taken seeing Bro get so worked up over it to make him realize that his issues were seriously out of control.]

[He could also tell that Bro was still using her as a screen to hide behind, and that was pretty much confirmed when he said that they needed to fix Dave's problems. Dave shifted and reached up, cupping Bro's face in his hands and looking into his eyes.]

I don't give a shit about any of that, right now. I fucked up, I shouldn't have said all that shit. But the Lalondes aren't what I'm worried about right now. I'm worried about you, Bro. I just wanna know that you're okay. Or at least that you're gonna be.

[Bro let out a sigh. It was sad, it was frustrated, and it was tired. He didn't need Dave worrying about him. He didn't want Dave to worry about him. But he didn't pull away from Dave's touch, he just closed his eyes and shook his head.]

I'm fine. [That was a lie. That was obviously a lie and they both knew it was a lie, even though Bro didn't want to admit that it was a lie. He just didn't want to talk about it. Or maybe he did. He just didn't want to talk about it to Dave. He didn't know who he fucking wanted to talk to it about.

Or maybe he did. But that person was the same person who was grieving over. All Bro wanted to do was just... turn back the fucking clock. Maybe then if he could redo everything, he wouldn't have been such a dumbass. Maybe he wouldn't have let stupid shit ruin their relationship.]

Fuck, I just... he was so close and I never talked to him...

[Yeah, well, you're gonna get your kid worrying about you when you filet his arm and then sob like a baby, Bro. Dave reluctantly withdrew his hands when Bro closed his eyes and shook his head, although he didn't stop watching his face. You didn't have to be a genius to be able to see that Bro was hurting.]

[Hell, you didn't even have to have eyes. Dave sighed too. He knew Bro wasn't fine. But he also knew that he didn't want to push it. He was still just young enough that he could convince himself that Bro would work it out on his own. If Bro didn't want to talk to him about it, that meant that Bro was working on it.]

[But that was kind of shattered when Bro went on to talk about it. Dave didn't know what to say. So he did the only thing he could think of - he reached out and wrapped his arms around Bro's neck, heedless of the blood that this smeared all over the shoulder and back of Bro's shirt. He buried his face in Bro's neck.]

I'm sorry... [And hopefully, it would be obvious what he meant.]

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