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[ As far as Prompto is concerned, apple flavor is apple flavor, and a flavor he likes, so that's good enough for him. Waaaaay better than, like, crumbled up bush leaves sitting at the bottom of a cup of hot water.

...As long as it's not made from apple tree leaves!! ]

Great! Can't wait to give it a whirl. [ And into the kitchen they go, Prompto mindfully stepping through the door so his cape doesn't get snapped in it. ] I can take care of the...hot water part?

[ Mostly because this is literally the only part of tea brewing he knows. He heads for a cupboard, withdrawing a kettle from it and starting to fill it in the sink. ]

[... why does crumbled up bush leaves sitting at the bottom of a hot cup of water sound suspiciously like something Prompto has tried?]

Yeah, all right, go for it.

[hopefully those aren't Dave's famous last words. he'll grab them some mugs in the meantime.]

[ (It's definitely something he's tried, and Ignis never let him make tea after that again...)

He finishes filling the kettle, before approaching the stove. It's already conveniently lit, saving him the trouble of having to figure out how the fuck to operate an old-fashioned wood-burning stove, and thank the gods for that. He wouldn't have gotten much further otherwise.

The kettle goes on top, and Prompto sighs, like he has just put forth a great effort. ]

Done and done! Now, it's apple time.

That was pretty much the best string of four words I've ever heard.

[fuck yeah it's apple time!! now, it's probably pretty obvious what one is supposed to do with the tea he's got here, as he rips the packets open and pulls out two teabags.]

[but instead of popping one into each mug to steep properly when the water's ready, Dave does the much smarter thing and just drops both bags right into the kettle as it's heating up.]

[ If Prompto was legally allowed to say "fuck", he definitely would have said "fuck yeah apple time", because it is. With no great concern, he watches Dave dump the teabags into the kettle, nodding as if this is definitely the way tea should be made, because as far as he knows, it is.

Once again, better than crumpled up leaves...! ]

Sooo, how long does this usually take, anyway?

[ Get ready for the tea-brewing equivalent of "are we there yet". ]

[ah, is Prompto not rated M for Mature.]

I dunno. Twenty minutes? Or maybe until it starts doing that whistling thing.

Oh! Right. The...whistling thing.

[ How the kettle knows when to whistle, he will never know. He finds a nearby chair to scooch over near the stove for Dave, before grabbing a seat for himself. ]

Too bad I can't use my power to speed other things up, huh...

Just yourself, right?

[he pauses, gears turning in his head, because that's as common a phrasing as gears are one of Dave's unintentional motifs. and then, he offers:]

My bro used to be able to do that.

[ Prompto's first takeaway from this is: ]

Oh — you have a brother? Way cool, man!

[ Guess who was an only child?

His second takeaway is: ]

...Wait, so he could control the speed of things around him instead?

That's what I called him, yeah, [though, the way he says that definitely implies that's not actually the full story. the full story is ... really weird. equally stupid. kind of unpleasant.]

[Dave wouldn't mind explaining, he'd just leave out the unpleasant parts.]

Nah. At least, I don't think so? He just moved really fast like you do — except instead of using it responsibly and scouring a lightning storm for broken sunglasses, he just used it to move his puppets around.

[ See, Prompto could ask about the odd way Dave describes "brother" as more of a title than a relation, but easily distractable as he is, he sort of...latches onto that last bit instead. He'll get back to that other thing later! But for now...

Puppets. ]

...His puppets? Was he some kinda...ventriloquist, or somethin'?

[ The thought of someone moving puppets around with their speed and then throwing their voices at said puppets is sort of horrifying, not gonna lie. ]

"Or somethin'" is a more accurate description.

[Dave leans against the wall, crossing his arms. "horrifying" is a pretty good word for it, too.]

It's hard to describe, I guess. It's more like he just had a fuckton of the things lying around — including in the shower and the microwave.

My room was pretty much the only place that was safe from 'em.

[ Ahh, a puppet in the shower...what a horrifying thought. Prompto may be easily spooked, but that's just messed up! ]

How'd you keep him out? Did you...

[ Thinking, thinking... ]

...lock the door?

[ Look, thinking while sick is hard. ]

[that's kind of getting into a territory Dave hasn't given himself a chance to really assess emotionally and move past — which isn't Prompto's fault, of course, Dave's the one who brought his bro into the conversation in the first place.]

I dunno. [that's both genuine and a non-answer.]

I guess even total nutjobs like him understood that my room was mine. Everywhere else, though? Puppets.

Ah. He knew what was sacred, huh? Sounds like some bros I know...

[ He means his friends, of course. They're as good as brothers, anyway, and he can sympathize — though perhaps not with something as strange as puppets. It's just that he's grown used to his friends' quirks, and has come to treasure them. And when it comes to giving him a hard time, he knows they'll respect him, and won't turn their back on him.

It's so good to finally understand that after so long.

He sits back, his shoulders sagging. ]

Hey...would you ever want him to show up here?

[ He asks himself this question a lot. ]

[while Prompto has nothing but fondness for the people he's come to see as his brothers, Dave's ... well.]

No. [hell no, even. it's complicated and unpleasant. somewhere out there in a different timeline, there's a Dave sitting at the top of an apartment building next to Dirk, hashing out those complicated things like they're meant to.]

He died like three years ago. And that's kind of a closed chapter, I guess. I wouldn't even know what to say to the guy if I had the chance.

[ He wouldn't have been surprised either way, people have valid reasons both for and against wishing their friends and loved ones here, but Dave's explanation that follows isn't quite what Prompto was expecting.

Not at all.

Oh.

He opens his mouth for an apology to stumble out, but he stops himself just before he speaks. Dave won't want to hear his apologies, and it's not like it matters, anyway. He doesn't speak hollow words, and how is saying something like "I'm sorry" to finding out his friend's brother died anything but that?

...But it still sucks. Loss in any form sucks. He doesn't know if Astoria would even have a power to...bring someone here who was no longer living, but it's...probably best that she doesn't, even if she could.

He worries at his bottom lip a moment, before finally speaking up again, his gaze flickering carefully to Dave, uncharacteristically serious and quiet. ]

Y'know, I....kinda know how you feel. Got a buddy who's here with me, he...heh. I didn't know if I would ever see him again, before we both showed up here. You bet I was glad as hell to see him, but...doesn't make it any easier.

[ Especially knowing what Noctis has to return home to, if he goes. ]

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