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[He stills, when he sees John. It's only been what, three fucking years, and the sight of him in glorified pajamas shouldn't be shocking. John had reached God Tier first, and he'd always known that. The part that was shocking, was that John had shot up like a beanstalk, Dave knew the second he stood up from his sprawl on borrowed troll-pile, he'd have to crane his chin back, just a little, to meet John's eyes from beneath his shades.

This is all kinds of totally uncool, and it's enough to make him want to drop kick John back to his little battleship floatation with Jade. If that didn't require getting up, anyway]

Yo.

[Yeah, that's the only Strider greeting your getting. Suck it]

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[ It's not that John can't appreciate that Dave is trying. He can! He really can, because he knows that Dave didn't have any part of this if it was a troll thing, and he knows that even if Dave has time powers at this point it's not something he can just go back and fix. He gets it, but it doesn't make this easier to swallow.

He's shaking his head now. He wants to say something back, but he really doesn't know how well he can talk for a minute here. He's scrubbing his eyes, taking deep, slow breaths trying to reign it in. It's sort of working, he's not bawling his eyes out here but he's still crying. ]

[It's not something he would change, even if he could. Not if it means sacrificing everyone else. They need the numbers, even if he had been able to defeat Jack, they're still down some, and he's not their only concern. More likely, he'd have wiped them all out and it would be just them. Not exactly something he's about to volunteer, though.

Logically he knows John wasn't going to just stop crying because Dave was willfully wishing him to, or because he put his hand on his fucking shoulder. The whole way his body shifts is stiff, arm falling away so he can turn and scoot towards him more carefully. There's a second where he hesitates, before he puts one hand on the back of John's head, and the other loops stiffly around his shoulders and he tugs him forward, patting lightly.

He is the worst at hugs okay, it's not like he sat around three years practising ]

[ He's... pretty damn awful! But it's not like John doesn't appreciate it, and the closeness here is sort of a go ahead, a sign that Dave is trying to comfort him. So John doesn't think twice about wrapping his arms around Dave's chest and burying his face into his shoulder. And normally even for a guy like John this sort of behavior wouldn't exactly be acceptable but... maybe just this once he can be allowed an exception. After everyone he's lost, and everything he's had to go through, this was not a blow he was expecting to receive. ]

[Just this once, sure dude. Dave is even willing (going to prefer) to pretend this never happened. While it's not something he'd do, or do where anyone could see if he'd been pushed to it, he's not going to look down on John for reacting this way, or feeling it.

Even if glasses are the most uncomfortable thing digging into his shoulder right now, he's just going keep him in close, hand doing less of that idiotic patting and moving to rub circles on his upper back instead, fully intending to do this for as long as John needs him to]

[ It's not like John really has long grieving periods. In fact, this might be the first time in a long while he's really let out a good cry after all the shit that's happened to him, but he's... well! He's not really sure how to deal with this news. Because with Rose, he was able to bring her back, and with his dad he will hopefully be able to see him again now that they're on this new world, but he doesn't get to do that with Vriska.

If it helps though, at least John doesn't cry for crazy long amount of times, it doesn't take long for him to lift his head up and go back to trying to rub the tears away. He lets out a really forced laugh. ]

Wow, this is really uncool, isn't it?

[In ways, it surprises him that John hasn't cracked under the strain sooner. And it brings into stark relief, just one more way that John is more of a hero, a stronger, better person than he is. But he swallows that down, because it's not something he'd ever voice, and it's not the kind of thing that is important, in the face of everything else.

When he pulls back a little to rub at his tears, Dave will drop his hands to sit on his shoulders properly, adopting the slight smug air John is accustomed to, and burying the discomfort deep]

There's not much to expect out of you Egbert, when the train wings haven't even come off, and you're still attempting to doggy paddle across the pool and just going in circles.

[ Jeez, Dave can be a real douche sometimes! But oddly enough, that's okay. The fact that he's trying to act like everything is normal is... probably really good right now. It makes pretending easier for John too.

A few more swipes at this eye and a deep breath and he's forcing a smile back into place. It still hurts for sure! He's not happy right now, but... but they've got a lot to get accomplished soon, and he can't really think about all of this right now. ]

No way, I've definitely been doing laps.

[When John jumps on the distraction, Dave is relieved. If he's going to break down over this again, something that's inevitable, he's sure, especially if anyone else opts to bring it up once they find out he knows, at least it will be with someone more equipped.

Putting the goal, and pretending everything is normal first, is a much better move. So he pulls back his hands and resettles himself, amused]

Do we need to find the definition of laps in a dictionary for you?

[ It's not exactly easy right now, but it's easier than the alternative. IE standing here sobbing over something he can't fix. He wants to know what happens, but... but maybe after he's had some time to calm down so when he hears the story he doesn't have a breakdown or something. ]

I know what laps are, dude! I swim them around you all the time.

[ ... Burn? ]

[...He'll give him that. That was a pretty good comeback and it throws him off his feet for a second. There was a time, when John would never have been able to do it, not without a pause in the typing of his conversation.

But then, he's had his own Dave to play with for three years, to grow up with. And like Davesprite had likely felt before, now Dave's the one who feels on the outs]

Man, it doesn't count if you wake up at the end. But I'll give you half points for having enough dream swag to pull it off.

[ It's mostly because John just takes longer to type than Dave! Also taking a moment or two to actually type out punctuation probably makes a differences as well. Either way, John likes to think that he was always a witty rhetorician. Whether he actually was or not is another matter completely.

The constant banter with Dave hasn't hurt his quipping abilities, though he's probably rusty when it comes to the passive aggressive Rose-esk banter. ]

It counts extra if I pull it off like that! That's style and speed points.

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