8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Time Traveller

[hamburellakind]

Who: John, Dave, Terezi, Bro, Vriska, aaaand anybody else they think to tell!
Where: Various places around the mansion (probably people's rooms to start)
When: Backdated to Saturday afternoon
Rating: Q for Quest
Summary: John and Dave are doing it all over the mansion so they figure they should tell the important people in their lives before they

Comments

VRISKA

[hamburellakind]

John had to visit Vriska alone. He knew she'd be upset that she didn't know the instant he had feelings about Dave at all, but there was no way he could've talked about this before it was an actual thing. He just wished he could explain why being gay was so scary for a kid like him.

He wondered if there was any sort of troll equivalent. Maybe pacifism was something you had to come out of the closet for?

In any case, he was kind of doomed to have to put out some Vriska-fires no matter what he did, so hopefully arriving at her door with a bouquet of cerulean flowers would help.

[vision_8fold]

Luckily, Vriska was actually in her room and hadn't decided to wander off and explore - because even if John mentioned it beforehand, it wasn't unlike her to show up late and make her wait for him.

Okay, so maybe she forgot and maybe she's been caught up watching more Nic Cage movies (again) while doodling Mindfang. But she pauses the movie and stands, eyes lighting up as she sees the flowers before she sees John.

"For me? You shouldn't have!"

She'll move to snatch them from him, because she's not the type to wait to be given her gifts. "What's the occasion, or did you simply feel like spoiling your favourite troll?"

Because screw Karkat.

[hamburellakind]

John laughs, glad she likes the flowers. But the sound comes out a little breathy and halting, betraying his anxiety before he was really ready for it to be apparent.

"Uh--well. I have something to tell you. And I...don't want you to get mad or anything." Pause. "Or like, hate me. And not want to be friends anymore."

[vision_8fold]

Vriska looks up at that, her expression surprisingly neutral for what her head was thinking. While flowers, specifically, weren't much of a troll custom, gifts as a whole were and if she thinks about it, when she'd confessed she'd sort of been banking on Rose not being a failure at passing messages on so maybe he didn't know about that.

Which of course, leads to think that maybe John's about to confess himself, where she would sit and let him stew and then maybe admit that she'd technically beaten him to it but it wouldn't matter.

Deluded? Pretty much. But then she always has held expectation that things would go her way. Why wouldn't they? She does have all of the luck.

Oh right, answering him. She moves back, stepping back from the doorway. "Well, I'm not making any promises. But I guess you'd better come in."

[hamburellakind]

He walks in, hands shaking a little. He grips the hem of his sweatshirt to keep them more still. Time to take a deep breath and jump in headfirst!

"Me and Dave are together now...as matesprits."

[vision_8fold]

Vriska's first instinct is to laugh. He's joking, he has to be; he has, after all, always been a bit of a prankster. He's just winding her up, trying to get her to make the first move by making it seem like she's too late.

That has to be it, right?

She struggles to get her laughter under control so she can reply. "I'm sorry, I think I must have misheard you. I'm sure I just heard you say you're sharing a quadrant with another human and I'm not even sure that's a thing."

[hamburellakind]

John winces. The laughter seems, well, almost cruel? And actually it kind of hurts his feelings, somehow. Why can't he and Dave be together?

"I was just putting it in troll terms as best I could..." He thought that was culturally sensitive! "And it's true..."

[vision_8fold]

The laughter stops as abruptly as it started as his words began to sink in.

Someone - Terezi's stupid douchebag human kid - had stolen her John from her. The one person left who hadn't turned his back on her and he had been stolen away.

Had allowed himself to be stolen away.

She throws the flowers back at him with surprising force, her anger expressing itself in a guttural roar.

"What the fuck are you doing, bringing me an offering like this when you have a matesprit? Are you mocking me? Is that what this is all about? Let's fuck Vriska over one more time because she hasn't had enough shit thrown at her lately!"

Of course, she's still assuming here that he did get her message, so the only explanation to her mind is that this had all been purposefully designed to ensure maximum hurt.

Obviously, that "not everyone thinks how I think" thing is still a work in progress.

[hamburellakind]

John flinches and, for lack of any solid thinking anywhere else, scoops up the flowers and holds them to his chest.

Vriska's scary when she's angry. Didn't help that she was obviously hurt.

"I...I meant them as a friendly...thing." He was mumbling, making excuses. And they both knew it wasn't really about the flowers.

Although John wasn't positive he knew what it was really about. "I didn't do this to hurt you. I've been...you know, really confused about my feelings and it just...it happened. I just figured you'd be mad I didn't tell you sooner since we're, like, you know...really good friends."

He doesn't know what presuming they'd be moirails still would do right now. For one thing, it was an event. For another, this Vriska has no memory of it happening.

And for yet another, he's not really sure what that means.

[vision_8fold]

Vriska stares at him as he speaks, eyes burning with hurt and anger that he would lead her on like this. Of course, John was still new enough to troll culture that he wouldn't understand why his description of them as friends, even as good ones, was hurtful especially in light of her own hopes for them. But that wasn't about to stop her blaming him for this.

"That's how it always is with you, isn't it? Things happen and you just go along with them without stopping to think whose blood-pumper you're stepping on. I just can't believe this is how you're repaying me for all the help I gave you."

Were she more rational, she'd know it really wasn't like that. But she's angry and hurt and torn between making absolutely clear to him why she was so hurt and not wanting to let slip her feelings now it was painfully clear he'd never thought that much of her.

[hamburellakind]

John's focus stuck to his feet. He didn't want to hurt her. He didn't want to hurt Dave either.

Frankly, he didn't know what to do at all.

And like most times when John begins panicking, he just said the first thing that came to his mind.

"When you were here before we were moirthingies. I didn't know if you'd be okay with that so I just, I was waiting until after this or-- or something, because, I don't know, I've been so caught up. You don't understand what it's like for us, being gay! It's a big deal!"

He huffed and panted, rubbing at his face, vaguely aware that he'd started crying if the wetness on his cheeks were any indication. Why was this such a sore spot for him?

"I don't want you to hate me but I don't know how any of this works!"

[vision_8fold]

At the mention of them once being moirails, Vriska's expression darkens further. "You know when would have been an excellent time to mention something as huge as that? When I first got here. Or fuck, any time that isn't right now you imbecilic moron!"

She turns and stalks further into the room, rage stirring her violent tendencies to a point where she's fighting not to lash out even as she very, very much wants to. And if she keeps looking at him, she's going to and she knows it.

"Did you really think that would help? Did you really think you could breeze in here, tell me you're matesprits with him - and just so we're clear, I couldn't give a fuck if he was male, female or a fucking hoofbeast, that is so far from being the issue it's in a whole other building in a whole other universe. And then what, offer me the pale quadrant as a consolation prize? Do I look like Ampora?"

[hamburellakind]

"I-- I didn't even know you liked me that way..."

John sniffled into his palms. God, he was so bad at this stuff. "And I know you don't care about the gay part but I did and it made me too confused to talk about other quadrants or other-- other feelings and--"

John felt himself wavering and allowed himself to fall back against the wall beside the door. He was pretty sure he was going to pass out if he didn't calm down. This stuff was way too much for him. Maybe his windy thing was acting up too. Pulling the air out and away, creating a vacuum for him to hide in...

"I just thought, what with you telling me about what you did to your friend and-- I mean, moirails help keep each other in check, right? I thought that's what you wanted but then I got hints that it was more and I wasn't sure and-- and you left, Vriska, you left."

[urnewkingbitch]

Dave had shadowed John all the way to Vriska's room. His comm was also broadcasting what he was doing directly to Terezi's, but he had muted it to not give him away. Dave was essentially alone, unless Terezi jetpacked all the fucking way to Vriska's room.

Once the two were inside the room, he camped out right near the door. If all went well, then he wouldn't be needed, but Dave highly doubted that.

Then, he heard John crying and Vriska getting angrier. That was all Dave needed to open the door and get in between the two of them in a matter of a second. Bro would be proud of the excellent flashstep utilized. Dave wasn't in any sort of defensive posture and neither did he have out his sword. He was just calmly standing there, his eyes on the angry fairy luck troll.

"How about we leave this discussion for another day."

[vision_8fold]

Vriska had been all geared up for another retort at John, to demand how she could possibly have left somewhere she didn't remember being and how the fuck was she being blamed for something she didn't do again, when someone else entered the room.

Someone she very much did not want to see right now, if only for the fact that she wouldn't hold back like she did for John.

"What the fuck? Who the hell invited you into this?"

And even as she said it, she knew the answer and her expression grew darker still. Her hand tightened around the dice she didn't really remember grabbing, her knuckles paling and nails piercing the flesh of her hand.

"So that's it. Not enough to reject me, you do it with a fucking audience that I don't even know about?"

[hamburellakind]

John sniffed, too exhausted by the emotions of the day to glare at Dave but the feeling was certainly there. "I didn't know he was out there either."

He rubbed his face, suddenly more worried about Dave than about his relationship with Vriska. This had been complicated enough when it was just the two of them. Now he was looking at possible violence, and he didn't like it.

"Dave's right. We should just...later, okay? We'll both calm down and...just, later." John reached out to tug gently at Dave's sleeve, trying to get him to leave first. Just in case.