Bros being bros

[plushaeusrumpified]

WHO: Dave and Bro Strider
TONE: Casual
RATING: PG-13 for language
WHEN: Saturday, July 7th - 8th
WHERE: The flat, then Diagon/Knockturne Alley and also the Leaky Cauldron
WHAT: Bro takes Dave to Diagon Alley for the weekend, and then they stay at the Leaky Cauldron
STATUS: Ongoing
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Bro was excited. Really, really excited, and probably more than he visible showed- though it definitely showed, just by how cheerful he'd been acting. It had been too long since he and Dave had done anything together. Hell, they really hadn't ever done much together- at least, not like this. Yeah they'd gone out and did some things, but there was always a certain... wall, between them, due to the fact Bro was too cool for showing real affection and doing anything with Dave. But that had changed- he'd come to realize he didn't have to be the stoic asshole that he used to be. He'd come to realize that he could let his guard down and it was okay. He wasn't really sure what had made him realize this- maybe it was just everything that had gone on lately.

What he definitely knew was that the strife on top of the astronomy tower with Dave had really, truly opened his eyes and made him realize that things needed to change. He realized he wanted a better relationship with Dave- Dirk, too, but mainly Dave, because he knew their relationship was the one that needed the most work. He wanted to be someone Dave could depend on. He found himself wanting to actually be a good father. He just wanted to do things right for once. And he was excited to finally have the opportunity to start fixing things, to do things with Dave that weren't laced with irony and that weren't 'to make Dave a strong person'. No, he just wanted to have some quality time with his son.

He's gotten Dirk and Roxy a babysitter and sent them off on Friday night, which left Dave and Bro alone in the flat that night. Bro took advantage of this by ordering the best, greasiest pizza he could find and the two had stayed up watching shitty movies together and gorging on the pizza. And then that Saturday, he'd woken Dave up a little earlier than usual so they could get an early start. Bro was already ready to go when he did wake Dave up, so all he had to do was wait for Dave to get ready, all the while making lightly teasing (and maybe a little impatient, shut up) remarks about how Dave needed to hurry the hell up so they could go. The Leaky Cauldron was within walking distance, so he didn't bother for side-along apparition, he figured they could both just walk there.

Bro peeked his head into Dave's room for probably the third time. "You ready to go yet?"

Comments

[clockspinner]

Dave was not used to being woken up before the crack of noon during the summer. That plus the heavy knot of greasy pizza and late night sitting in his digestive tract made him cranky and belligerent when Bro first woke him up. Once he remembered why he was being woken up, however, he was quick to hop to and start getting ready.

He had shoved a change of clothes and his camera into a backpack, and was currently lacing up his chucks when Bro poked his head in again. "Just lemme get my shoes on, Jesus," he muttered, looping a big bunny-ears bow with the dingy, beat-up laces that were once white. Once his shoes were tied, he stood up and adjusted his backpack on his shoulders, looking up at Bro expectantly (of course, he was wearing his shades, so his eyes were hidden).

"We hoofing it there?" he asked.

[plushaeusrumpified]

"Jesus, I've been waiting forever," Bro shot back, resisting the urge to stick his tongue out childishly. He'd been waiting only a half hour at most, but it felt like forever to him. He'd packed his own bag the night before, and he wore a similar backpack of his own slung over his shoulder.

At Dave's question, he gave him a nod. "Yeah, s'not too far. Or, I mean, we could be total d-bags and wave down the Knight bus. Or the Day bus. I mean, does it change its name?" He shrugged, not really caring. "The point is, yeah we're totes walking, so c'mon." As he headed out of Dave's room and towards the front door, he called over his shoulder, "Oh hey, you wanna grab breakfast on the way, or you still got a pound of pizza sitting in your stomach?"

[clockspinner]

Dave tripped over one of the bundles of wires that ran across his floor, nearly going sprawling. His stomach made an angry gurgling noise at the prospect of putting more food in it, and he patted it to pacify it. "Nah, I'm still incubating a major food baby."

He sidled along at Bro's side, glancing up at him. "I dunno, I thought we might take. You know. The real bus or something." He shrugged. "We gonna go drop our shit off at the Leaky Cauldron and then just head straight to Knockturn Alley?"

[plushaeusrumpified]

Bro stopped, his hand on the door of the apartment, looking over at Dave. "Oh, we can do that, I guess. No big deal." He shrugged, too. "And yeah, that sounds like a good plan. I wouldn't want the dark wizards to be stealin' our shit, eh?" The truth is, he really... really, really hopes there are no dark wizards there. He hasn't been in Knockturn Alley in a while, so he doesn't know how bad it is lately. He imagined it probably wasn't too bad, now that their head asshole was gone.

[clockspinner]

"...We don't have to if you don't wanna, I just needed to know if I needed to grab my Oyster or something. I'm fine with hoofing it." Because he didn't want Bro to think he was a sissy who wasn't willing to walk. Especially not when they lived so close to Diagon Alley already.

"You really think there'll be dark wizards there?" Then, the much more important question: "Can I buy something while we're there?"

[plushaeusrumpified]

"Nah, I think I wanna take the bus now that I think about it," he said, because he knew Dave would rather take the bus. This was Dave's weekend, if Dave wanted to take the bus, then damn it they were gonna take the bus and Bro wasn't gonna complain about it. "And there could be, I dunno..." He finally opened the door, and stepped out into the hallway. "And dude, I kinda assumed I was gonna be dropping some major bucks on you while we're there..." He shrugged, like it was no big deal. "S'not very often we get to do this kinda thing, gotta make it worth it."

[clockspinner]

Dave diverted from his path and ran back to his room, getting his wallet (which he hadn't thought he would need, since it only had muggle money and his Oyster card in it) and flash-stepping back into the living room.

For a brief moment, he looked way excited at the prospect of actually getting a goddamn keepsake from this trip. But then he slapped his poker face back on and followed Bro out the door. "Lemme guess, you're gonna do all sorts of spells on whatever I pick out to make sure it ain't gonna electrocute me or something."

[plushaeusrumpified]

Bro leaned against the door, arms folded across his chest as he waited for Dave to get his wallet. Once he was back, Bro closed the door behind them. Dave's comment made him let out a low laugh, though it had a slight edge to it. "I trust you a little more than to pick out something that might have dark shit all over it." Reading between the lines would reveal that yes, he was going to do exactly what Dave said.

[clockspinner]

Dave raised his eyebrow over the top of his shades at the edge to Bro's tone, a clear sign that yeah, he didn't really buy it. "I'm sure you do. Like you trust me not to hold your hand." He glanced at the door to the flat as it slid closed, and then looked up at Bro. "C'mon, what're we waiting for?" he asked impatiently.

[plushaeusrumpified]

"Oh just for that, I'm gonna hold your hand all the way to the bus stop." He stepped closer to Dave and held out his hand. "I mean, you have no room to be impatient. I waited, like... What, twenty minutes for you to get your ass ready to go? So c'mon. Hand. I'm waiting."