A/N: Hot damn, I'm sorry for taking so long with this! My laptop's broken completely now, and thanks to my drunk auntie I lost my fanfiction USB that this was saved on for a while. I also have to "take turns" with my mum's laptop with my sister, so yeah. I'm really sorry, updates will hopefully be a bit more frequent now, and they definitely will be when I get my laptop fixed/get a new one.

Anyway! Wow…this is way more popular than I thought it would be, dang son. Thank you to all my dear, sweet readers! Some find it irritating that I thank you in every chapter. I say that I'll stop when you people stop being great.

Which is never, by the way.

Since last chapter was mostly DaveJohn, you get DirkJake now! Enjoy!

==Be the asshole finally emerging from his eternal shower

Okay, one – two hours is hardly eternal, and two – you are now the asshole finally emerging from his "eternal" shower.

You are currently stood in your bedroom in nothing but boxers, trying to find some clean clothes that don't make you look like Ms. Frizzle threw up on you. Your endeavour has so far been an absolute failure. While living alone with your brother, as teenagers, has a lot of bonuses (such as being able to sit on your computer watching Netflix for sixteen hours straight without any disturbances except a possible text message of 'yo man you still alive') it also has a lot of downsides, such as the fact neither of you ever do the fucking laundry. That being said, you don't think you've actually been out and bought clothes since you first moved here and your mum forcefully took you out and bought them for you. You've never got round to it since, but now you've got the perfect excuse to go out and spend all the money you've collected in your chores for your neighbours and part-time jobs. You're currently working at a small Co-Op store, so you get a fair amount of money coming in, and Bro sends you copious amounts every month 'cause he knows you're not the best at keeping jobs. Or spending money wisely, you add on with a sweeping glance at your bookshelf full of manga and figurines that you can't even remember the titles and names of.

During your absent monologue, you managed to unearth an old wife beater with a peeling design of a hat on it, and some pretty ratty, faded black trousers. You decide they're better than nothing and get dressed quickly, running a comb through your hair in an attempt to make yourself at least mildly presentable and making your way downstairs to find someone to interact with. Surprisingly, you pass John on the stairs and offer him a smile (you've decided to abandon the "Rules of the Strider" or whatever the fuck Bro called it, for now at least), which he quickly returns before passing you and rushing off to Dave's bedroom door, freezing nervously in front of it. You call for him and give him a thumbs-up and reassuring nod before rushing off yourself. You hear the door opening and an unfamiliarly sweet tone of Dave's voice drift down the stairway after you.

Moving quickly through the quiet house, you eventually decide that Jake must be in the lounge. Unsurprisingly, Jake is sat on the futon humming to himself absently. You greet him softly before sitting down next to him, but leaving a considerable amount of space between you. He smiles, and you quite suddenly notice he has dimples.

You don't have a clue why this discovery almost jolted you.

The silence that falls immediately after that it unpleasant, but you don't know how to break it. Will you make him uncomfortable by talking to him? What would you even talk about? You can't ask him any more about his life before the streets, not yet at least, so what else is there? Ask him what he likes? Would it even be possible for him to like stuff? Was he allowed to watch TV, listen to music? God, you kinda underestimated what kind of life he and John were living.

It takes the deepest breath you can manage (while still being quiet) to calm yourself, and you'd just about worked up the courage to address him…when you hear the front door bounce off the wall and footsteps fill the hall once again. God fucking dammit your friends have got to start knocking. It isn't Jane and the others again – Rose, Jade and Jane have work, Roxy's going to the pictures with Nepeta, and Kanaya's busy working on dresses she's been commissioned to make. That means it can only be…

"Doorbell!" Meenah's loud voice, thick with an accent you still can't place fills the room exactly as she swings the lounge door open and enters, hand-in-hand with a giggling Aranea, "Enter the lesbians!"

Aranea's wearing a pretty cobalt dress, with her short blonde hair curled nicely, and Meenah's wearing distressed leather trousers and an oversized tank top, snapback with "BITCHES AIN'T SHIT" written on it in pink rhinestones ever present on her head, her overly long hair that she refuses to cut yanked messily into two plaits. Apparently Aranea didn't do her hair for her today.

"Yooooooooo!" Latula tunes in, pushing past Meenah to get inside, with Mituna right behind her. She's in a teal skater dress, with red leggings underneath and mustard-yellow knee-high Converse on. Mituna's dressed hurriedly in a red tee-shirt and faded jeans, ratty old combat boots on his feet. Damara stays stood at the doorway, arms crosses with a cigarette hanging from her dark red lips and scowl-ish smirk present on her face. She's dressed in a dark red tank-top, clearly exposing her torso, and a very short pleated black skirt hanging loosely on her hips, hanging onto the several studded belts that she had most likely thrown on as an afterthought for dear life, and bright red heels so high you're surprised she can walk without stumbling on her feet.

"Dirk" she greets, her accent thick and her lack of skill with the English language prominent, "Very nice see you. Happy."

"Hey, Damara. Latula, Mituna, Meenah, Aranea" you greet them flatly, pointing at them as you list them off as a weak attempt to introduce them, seeing Jake spin around looking alarmed out of the corner of your eye. "Oh, this is Jake" you add as an afterthought, waving an arm to him. You stand up, and Jake kneels up to look over the back of the futon. He inspects your…odd friends with what could be fear, and very suddenly jolts and freezes when his gaze falls on Damara. He starts trembling very slightly, and you get worried. Is he scared of her? You suppose she is quite threatening, but no more than the rest of them, including you, but then their eyes meet and Damara freezes too, smirk falling from her face like a dropped brick.

"Uh…You alright, Damz?" Latula asks, turning around to look at the girl who was still frozen in place and approaching her slowly. She rests a hand on Damara's shoulder, and for once she doesn't slap it away.

Damara whispers something inaudible, and everyone asks her to repeat herself in unison.

She says it again, louder, and you can just about make it out as "Jake". And then she starts saying it again, and again and again and again, getting louder every time until she's almost screaming.

"Jake, Jake, Jake!"

And all of a sudden she's hugging him, tears filling her eyes, and talking so fast that she's forgetting to speak in coherent English. You're pretty sure she's reverted back to Japanese; she's so wrapped up in her emotions that she seems to forget that the friends she's so desperate to be cool in the presence of are still stood watching her.

A quick look around the room shows that everyone except Jake and Damara is just as confused as you.

"Little baby, Damara's little baby, Damara's little alive baby! Alive, alive, alive!" she mutters desperately in between whatever else she's trying to say.

Uh, okay, what? 'Damara's little alive baby'? How does she know…?

"You were dead" she whispers, and she's almost sobbing now, "He said you dead. I think he kill you, so angry, so angry. I look, I look so hard but I not find you! I so sad, but now you here! You here, you here!"

As if all of that isn't shocking enough, Jake hugs her back and pulls her closer as if he's missed her for a long time. You're not dumb, you can put two and two together, and by doing so you quickly decide that Damara must have had something to do with the man who was abusing Jake and John before. But what did she have to do with him? Is she Jake's sister? She could be, you guess, they share the trait of dark hair, and Jake looks as if he could be at least part Japanese.

Damara has got some serious explaining to do. Why has she never mentioned Jake and John before? It seems she definitely knew they were being abused and was pretty close to their abuser, surely that's something you fucking tell someone about?

It takes almost a full ten minutes until Damara calms down a bit and pulls away from the tight grip she has on Jake. They both struggle to their feet, straight into the questions everyone immediately throws at them.

"Oh my god, calm!" Damara yells, using the hand that wasn't still clutching Jake's to signify 'tone it down' and sending a glare to the overexcited group. Everyone shuts up immediately.

"Well?" you ask, sending what could be considered a glare to both of them. Jake shrinks back as if he's done something wrong, but Damara stretches to her full height as if rising to your challenge. She's one of the oldest in your friend group at twenty-four, and she's only a couple inches or so shorter than you, but about the same height in killers like she's wearing now.

She never breaks eye contact with you, even when she clicks her fingers for the others to stop talking again and addresses them to listen.

"Settle, kids, settle. Mama going to tell you story."

Everyone is suddenly silent and listening attentively, but Damara seems distracted. She turns to Jake very suddenly and starts desperately asking where John is, if he's here too. He nods and she seems excited, begging him to bring John down here. Jake obliges, rushing off upstairs and returning quickly with John in tow and a confused Dave tagging along a few steps behind them. John looks as shocked as Jake when he sees Damara, and she seems even happier than before. She hugs him tightly and grabs his hand like she did Jake, and then beckons Jake over to hold his hand too.

Dave is still stood at the door looking confused as hell, "Can I please get the tiniest explanation as to what the hell is going on here?"

"Well, shut up and you might!" Meenah snaps, still staring desperately at Damara, and Dave shuts his trap. For the first time in years all of your loud, boisterous friends are quiet and cooperative.

"Everyone know that I live with adoptive dad until few year ago, yes? I run away five year ago and say 'never speak of him to me!' Dad had other kid when he adopt me – Jake, and he not nice at all to him. Dad hit and yell and be so mean to Jake! He never hit me, because he know I fight back. I never try stop dad, because that just make him angrier, but I did best to look after Jake and make sure he not get hurt too bad. A few year after I start living there, dad adopt other kid – John. I hope having him there mean dad be less mean at least, but no. He mean to John too! Especially when he try help Jake. I got too angry with dad, and I run away and leave Jake and John behind. I realize mistake and go back, but they not there anymore. Dad say you run away, and that..." Damara trailed off, suddenly looking nervous as she looks from Jake to John, "...th-that he was going to find you. He said he would find you, a-and kill you."

Looks of pure terror spread on Jake and John's colourless faces, and Damara squeezes their hands in an absent attempt to comfort them.

"He go out and look every day, he never stop. He so desperate to find you, he get so angry and I get scared and move all the way over here to get away. I...think he still looking, I not see why he would stop. It been very long time, I think he know where I am...and I think he know that if he find me, he find you."

If Jake and John didn't look horrified before, they sure do now. Jake stumbles a little, eyes wide, "Oh god...oh dear god, he's gonna find us, he's gonna...he-he..."

Damara looks apologetic and wraps an arm around his shoulders, while John collapses weakly to his knees beside them, looking just about ready to either throw up or pass out. Dave, who looks pretty pale himself, rushes to John's side and puts a nervous hand on his shoulder.

Aranea steps forward, waving a nervous hand in the air to catch everyone's attention, "Um, Jake and...uh, John? I'm sorry, I really haven't a clue what you're going through, but I wish you the best. I'm sure things will turn out alright! You've got the Striders, and all of us, on your side! I wish we could stay and help out, but we've all got family to deal with and jobs to go to..." she trails off briefly, wrapping a strand of hair around her finger before suddenly turning to you, "Dirk! Promise you'll call if you ever need anything?"

Latula and Mituna nod their enthusiastic agreement, and Damara and Meenah agree slightly less passionately. You give them a half-smile and promise, and they all start filing out. Damara gives Jake one last squeeze and pushes Dave out of the way to give John a hug and kiss on the cheek, then leaves herself, plunging the apartment, once again, into a suddenly unfamiliar silence, save for Jake's incoherent muttering and John's weak sniffles.

And all of a sudden, you realize.

For the first time in your life...you're scared.

A/N: Why the hell did this take so long oh my gooooooood. Thanks for being so patient with me, guys! The plot is developing!

Oh, and also, you remember my other fanfic? A Beautiful Red? I'm rewriting it! I really don't like how it was turning out, so I'm writing it all over again and making it a lot better, so look out for that!

Thanks for reading, and pleasepleaseplease review! 0u0