Each Touch

Dad

It was Thanksgiving break, the one holiday where John's dad cooked other things instead of sweets as a majority. Currently, John stood in the kitchen watching his dad from the counter in which he sat on, head whirring with thoughts and outrageous scenarios. He hadn't seen Dave at school for almost a whole month, actively avoiding him the first two weeks but it seems Dave was actively avoiding him as well.

Mr. Egbert arose from his crouched position in front of the oven and looked over at his son who had a somber expression. His eyebrows scrunched together as he took the pipe away from his lips and sighed softly. He hasn't seen Dave over at their place in the longest time, which was odd, the boy was over nearly everyday of the week whether he walked John home or stayed over for a few.

"John." said Mr. Egbert

"Yes, Dad?" perked John, awakened from his devastating imagination.

"Say, I haven't seen David over. Why don't you invite him over tomorrow."

John's lips parted as he stared at his dad. If only he could, if only he had the courage to. He gave a strained smile and nodded, saying he'll try to convince him on such short notice. Jumping off the counter, he walked over to the living room and looked at the urn that held his Nanna's ashes. Maybe she'd understand what he might be going through.

This situation, now that he thought for a bit, had been going on for quite some time; he traced it back to his birthday where the both of them shared their first kiss. The memory brought John's hand up to softly touch his lips, a warm sensation started to burn at the pit of his stomach. He shook his head and sat on the couch where he pinched the bridge of his nose; he was frustrated with everything. 

"Why..." he groaned softly as he followed through the details after his birthday. The following day with Karkat with the words that he had told him, "You have sealed your damn fate John. This is it. That's your whole life right in that damn boy." Was what Karkat said true? Did a simple kiss really seal his fate with Dave. It didn't feel like it.

"What would you like for dessert, John?" The blue eyed teen looked up at his dad who was standing in the door way of the kitchen and living room, an apron around his dad's clothes and his sleeves rolled up a bit above his elbows.

"I don't really mind. I mean, you bake sweets everyday. Whatever you make is sure to be great." smiled John.

The older man smiled softly as he nodded, moving back into the kitchen where a lone cupcake rested on the counter, cooling. He has naught of an idea of what might be going on between his son and Dave, but one thing for sure is John was struggling with himself. And he knew why.

Lined colors of red, white and black frosting laid in pouches in front of him as he quickly went to work. The struggles his son is having is something he shouldn't meddle with too much, but if a small push, poke, and nudge will bring him upon the right path then that is something he holds personal responsibility for. A life struggle isn't the end of everything.

Soon after Mr. Egbert was done decorating the cupcake, he set it on a small plate and walked back over to the doorway connecting the kitchen and living room; John was lying flat on the sofa softly talking to himself, a habit he's seen Dave do quite often. He smiled and took a step towards John, calling his name once more to catch his attention.

John looked up, seeing his dad holding a plate with a cupcake; he sat up to make room for his dad, hand going to up fix his hair. He felt his dad sit beside him and looked at his guardian, there was a soft look in his eyes; a loving look, but something more, something indescribable to him. They stared at each other for a few seconds before Mr. Egbert spoke up.

"Here, have a snack. Dinner will take a while." he told John.

"Oh- yeah. Thanks." said John, taking the plate from his dad into his lap not paying any mind to what his dad gave him per usual.

"Are things going well at school?" asked the older male.

The younger Egbert gently pursed his lips as he looked down to contemplate. Things at school were okay...Boring...Lonely. He hung out with Karkat but without Dave nothing felt the same. No snide remarks or sly jokes, no sudden bursts of laugher or soft mumbling of self rants or lyrics, no more soft taps of beats or the comforting warmth Dave's hand.

"You know how school is, not good but not bad either." he replied to his dad.

"Nothing troubling you? The classes aren't too hard for you are they?" asked Mr. Egbert to his son, of course he wasn't going to outright state the obvious problem but poking at it was something.

"Not at all! Karkat has been great help in science and Dave's been..." trailed John, his eyes lowered as he thought of what to say, "Dave's been amazing help...."

Dave has always been his go-to man for help with homework and projects, he was smarter than he let on. Of course the real reason for that is still unknown, all Dave had to comment on was, "Who knows when you might need it?"

"That's good. I'm glad that David has been there to help you; he's such a good friend for my Johnathan," smiled Mr. Egbert, "Don't let a friend like that go, okay."

John nodded as he felt his dad's hand ruffle his hair before standing up to go back in the kitchen. Blue eyes looked at the empty seat next to him and sighed, his dad was right; letting Dave go off like that was literally crumbling his whole world apart.

As he shifted his his seat, the plate resting him his lap moved reminding John of its presence. He looked down at the "snack" his father gave him, his breath getting caught in his throat as he saw what was decorated on it. A red base with Dave's disc on top just like Dave's favorite shirt. He stared down at it and closed his eyes; maybe his dad could help him.

Bringing a hand up, a finger swept through the red, black, and white frosting splitting the disc in half diagonally. He brought his finger to his mouth, sucking the sweet substance off his finger as he stared down at the broken disc. A few memories ran through his mind as he mumbled.

"Thank you, Dave."