Suurpriiiise

[givesyouaboner]

WHO: Dirk Strider, Dave Strider, Bro Strider
TONE: cute and derpy
RATING: PG
WHEN: 27 May
WHERE: the hospital wing
WHAT: Dirk's giving Dave a surprise visit!
STATUS: ongoing


Bro didn't offer Dirk much explanation of why they were going; he'd only interrupted Dirk's gaming to tell him they were going to Hogwarts for a bit because Bro had to talk to someone. Of course, Dirk had absolutely no complaints about this. He'd been dying to see what his new school would look like for ages now, and it was exciting to actually leave the apartment for once.

And boy, was Hogwarts something! He'd never seen such a large castle in his entire life. And he would be going to school here! Shortly after arrival, he and Bro found out that Dave was in the hospital wing because of something called Quidditch. Despite his confusion about what that even was, Dirk didn't question it because he figured Bro was definitely in a hurry, and even more than that, he wanted to see Dave as soon as possible.

For the entire time he was walking with Bro to the hospital wing, Dirk held onto his arm as he looked around at everything. He was so overwhelmed. He was in castle. The people in the paintings moved. One of them even spoke to him! And most importantly, he was finally getting to see Dave after what was literally forever.

The moment they arrived to the hospital wing, Dirk let go of Bro and broke out into a sprint. He wanted to tackle Dave and give him the biggest hug ever, even if it wasn't cool of him. But right when he reached the edge of Dave's bed, he remembered that Dave was hurt so he settled for bouncing at Dave's bedside, unable to contain his excitement. "Hi Dave!"

Comments

[clockspinner]

Dave had missed a lot after he got knocked off his broom. He didn't know he was a hot topic of debate among the professors, he didn't know that Bro was on his way solely to kick another professor's ass for his sake. He didn't know much of anything, aside from the fact that when he woke up he was told that he would have to stay in the hospital wing overnight in case he had a concussion, but he'd be free to go to breakfast and classes the next day (just what every kid wants to hear).

So he'd settled into the time-honoured practice of stewing over the fact that he'd lost the game - and the Quidditch cup - because he hadn't been watching where he was going.

That was until he got a visitor that he definitely wasn't expecting. He looked up in surprise when he heard small feet sprinting across the hard floor toward him, and he'd prepared himself to be tackled before he even registered who it was.

"Wh-- Dirk?" He couldn't help but smile, as he patted the bed next to him. "Hey kid, what the hell are you doing here?"

[givesyouaboner]

The only thing that could have rivaled the excitement Dirk was trying to contain was being told that he could spend the entire day at the theme park of his choice without having to wait in any line. Of course, this was far more rewarding than that, because it was Dave. He wasn't even supposed to get to see him for what, weeks now! And yet here he was. It was the best thing ever, really.

The small boy eagerly climbed onto the bed, immediately slipping off his shoes so he didn't get the bed dirty. "Uncle Dirk had to go talk to someone, and then we found out you got hurt in a ditch...?"

[clockspinner]

As soon as Dirk climbed onto the bed with him, Dave wrapped his arms around him and selfishly pulled him into a hug. "C'mere, squirt." Because this was the hug he'd wanted to give Dirk since the other day. Hell, this was the hug he'd wanted to give Dirk since he found out he was going to stay with them. But it was also the hug Dave needed after letting his team down on the pitch.

"Quidditch," he muttered into Dirk's hair, closing his eyes and totally unironically snuggling his cousin. "It's a sport. I got cracked in the head and fell off my broom."

[givesyouaboner]

Immediately, Dirk shifted around so he was directly facing Dave and gave him the biggest hug he could. He all but threw himself at Dave's chest, wrapping his arms around him the best he could. He was hugging him because he missed Dave. Because Dave got hurt. Because he was so excited to see him. Because Dave was pretty much his hero. He was totally okay with cuddling like this for a while. Prior to moving in with Bro, he'd been starved of a lot of physical contact, so...

"Are you okay? How do you fall off a broom. They don't really... do anything that warrants them to be fallen off of."

[clockspinner]

Dave let out a little 'oof!' as Dirk slammed into his chest, and he held him even tighter if anything, burying his nose in his little cousin's hair. He hadn't seen Dirk in years, but at that moment it felt like it had only been a few weeks. He eased into it when Dirk settled down for a good long cuddle, gladly obliging him. It felt so good to be...wanted. Fuck, he'd had a harder couple of weeks than he thought.

"It's a flying broom, dumbass," Dave muttered affectionately. "You know, like football is played on horses. Quidditch is played on flying brooms."

[givesyouaboner]

Dave was a lot bigger than last time Dirk saw him, and it was easier to tell this when he was so close like this. Of course, he'd grown too, but it was apparent to him that he still had a long way to grow if he wanted to be big and strong looking like Dave!

"I think you're wrong, Dave, 'cause footie's played with feet. Polo's the one on horses. I don't think you can play footie on a horse anyway. They don't like you moving around like that too much."

[clockspinner]

"Shit, I thought basketball was the one played with your feet," Dave said. "What if you got the horse to kick the ball. Think that'd work?" He's mostly being playful. Mostly. "Anyway I'm not wrong about the brooms. You'll see when you start flying class next year. Bro teaches it with some other guy."

[givesyouaboner]

"Daaave, everyone knows that basketball's the one where you throw it in the hoop. But you have to bounce it the whole time or it's cheating." He tilted his head up slightly to try to look at his older cousin, but he really wasn't in the position for that. "I think the horse would trip. That wouldn't be good, because their legs break easy and then people just shoot them. It's sad."

Dirk fell silent for a long moment before responding. "I don't want to take a flying class."

[clockspinner]

Dave realized he'd fucked up right as the words left his mouth, but by then it was too late. He waited anxiously through the long moment of silence that hung between them, and then when Dirk spoke again he squeezed him tightly. One hand came up to pet his hair, while the other rubbed his back. "It's not scary on a broom," he said, trying to make it better. "Look at me, I probably fell about 400 feet and I took more damage from the steel ball to the head." He sighed. "I'll take you on my broom with me over the summer. And I'll even let you borrow my broom for flying class."

[givesyouaboner]

Just the idea of flying made his anxiety rise. He didn't want to do it. He didn't want to get hurt. He didn't want to die. As soon as that though crossed his mind, he wished it hadn't. He didn't want to feel sad right now. He didn't want to act like a baby in front of Dave, especially not when Dave was the one who was actually hurt. "I'll think about it," he said hesitantly. "Can you promise that I won't fall?"

[clockspinner]

Dave sensed that he really wasn't helping, and that just made him feel worse about it. He shouldn't have said anything, but flying was such a huge part of his school year he hadn't even thought. He smiled sadly at Dirk's hesitant answer, and nodded, giving him a reassuring squeeze. "I promise I won't let you fall."

[givesyouaboner]

"Then... okay. But if I change my mind you can't hold it against me." Because he honestly didn't know how he would actually handle it when faced with flying. More than anything he preferred keeping his feet firmly planted on the ground. "Do I have to take the flying class?"

[plushaeusrumpified]

Bro was not a happy little camper right at that moment. He'd not meant to have a fight with Dave. He didn't even want Dave to know he'd had a fight with anyone. But what did he expect? If he expected Dave not to want to see him before he and Dirk went home, he was stupid. But he'd not counted on having a fucking bruise on his cheek, either. There'd be no hiding the fact Bro had been hit.

But it didn't stop him from trying though, and he'd put a very large amount of concealer on his face to try and hide it. Whether or not it worked, he wasn't sure. He'd not had a mirror, and he'd been in a hurry because Dave was so pissed that he didn't want to just make it worse by taking his time. There was also some weird powdery shit that had gotten onto his clothes that he didn't know the name of. So his shirt was stained tan in spots

Maybe the fact he was wearing makeup was pretty obvious, when you really got down to it. But he was oblivious. He had too damn much on his mind to really care. Makeup was supposed to be goddamn magical, okay? If chicks could do it, he could hide a fucking bruise. He was Bro Strider, and he could do anything.

Except face his son with a bruise on his face.

He stopped in front of the hospital wing door, pausing for far longer than he probably should've. He was nervous, because god. It seemed like every time he and Dave's relationship was getting better, something screwed it up. He'd came here for Dave, he'd not meant to start a fight. Why'd everything keep going to shit? He was getting tired of it.

With a shake of his head, he pushed the door open and headed to Dave's bed.

[clockspinner]

Dave had shut his journal and all but tossed it onto the table next to his bed, doing his best not to disturb Dirk, who was curled up asleep with his arm slung across Dave's waist. But oh, he was so mad he could just about punch Bro. It had rankled from the moment he realized Bro wasn't going to pop in and say hi, but finding out that Bro hadn't even come on official business? It would have been one thing if Dumbledore had called Bro back or something, but Bro came all the way back to Scotland to pick a fight, and he wouldn't even tell Dave?

And who was Bro kidding, Dave knew if he'd come back pissed that meant someone was either dead or bleeding. Bro had come back to kick someone's ass, and if he was pissed enough to drag Dirk all the way to Scotland, then he was sure as fuck gonna succeed. Or maybe that was Dave having too much faith in Bro.

It just...hurt, to think that that fight had been more important than him.

He looked up when he heard the huge doors to the hospital wing creak open. What he was definitely not expecting was for Bro to appear with half of his face completely blanched out to almost an unearthly white in unnatural splotches. Dave's anger faded, and he snorted.

"No wonder you didn't wanna show your face, Jacko, is that the first symptoms of flesh-eating bacteria or are you just happy to see me?" He kept his voice down because Dirk was asleep.

[plushaeusrumpified]

Bro opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Well he hadn't been expecting that reaction at all. What the fuck? Was this shit not working or something? It was makeup, how could it not work? Seriously. Girls used this shit all the time, didn't they? Of course it had to work. Ugh.

"What are you talking about?" he asked. His tone was actually slightly genuine, because he still hadn't actually seen his face and he was still under the impression that makeup. was. magical.

[clockspinner]

Was Bro shitting him right now? Dave raised an eyebrow and silently gestured to the side of his face mirroring Bro's pasty splotches. "You got a little something on your face. All over your face. Who'd you piss off, the Avon lady?"

Because yes, Bro, even your 14-year-old son knows how to makeup better than you do, apparently. This is what you get for making puppet porn and not touching a real woman since 1997.