A/N: I always kind of wondered why Karkat gave Dave a chance in the first place.

(This took an hour and half, please forgive my mistakes.)

You don't know what makes you get out of your recuperacoon. Someone has been banging on the door to your respiteblock for the past five minutes, and the slime muffles that noise pretty well, so why you bother answering it, you don't think you'll ever know.

Maybe you just simply aren't in the mood for tolerance. It has been seven Earth-rotations since you started this journey, and Rose has informed you that there are 52 weeks in one year. Just one year, and then two entire more. You have made it through 1 out of 156. You want to turn around and take your chances with Jack. You were on pretty decent terms with another version of him, but if you can't strike the same alliance with this dog-hybrid version, then fuck it. Death would still be a welcome change.

One week, and you're already feeling restless. You want to fight or train or even just go somewhere, but you can't. You used to get stir crazy on Alternia quite a bit, but nothing like this. You at least had fresh air there. The dim glow of your two moons was always so nice against your skin. And, fuck, you miss the wind. The feeling of a breeze rustling your hair. Still, all of these things would be tolerable if it wasn't for one thing. Rather, one person.

See, the thing is, you kind of really hate Dave Strider. Technically, if you were to convert his age into the vastly superior unit of Alternia sweeps, he would be younger than you by quite a few perigees. You told him this once, and he looked you in the eye and said something you'll never forget. "So?" and then he went back to helping the Mayor draw on the floor, as if respecting one's elders isn't important. You nearly strangled him. However, the Mayor had expressed to you how important the development of Can Town was to him, and with a significant shortage of laborers on the meteor, you resisted the urge to see if Dave's skin was as thin as it looked. Barely.

He's a prick, and an insufferable one at that. You could at least tolerate Eridan, but Dave is on a different level entirely. You could barely deal with him just over text, and putting up with Dave all the time and in person is a challenge the likes of which have never been survived. Your nerves have been fried beyond comprehension, the last one just barely hanging on, and it's still only been a week, so it's really no surprise when you pull yourself out of your recuperacoon, yank on some clothes, and stomp over to the door.

"What the fuck do you-?" You start to snarl, then freeze. The person at your door is… Dave, but also isn't. The Dave you know is about your height, but this one is well over a foot taller than you. His hair is noticeably longer, his shoulders are broader, and his jaw is wider. You think that there's even… muscle? You don't know how that happened. This is not the Dave you know. The Dave you know is not attractive.

He opens his mouth, and he clearly isn't thinking correctly when he says, "Fuck, I forgot how cute you were."

There's a moment of silence as you just stare at him, brow creased in confusion as you fight off the flush making it's way to your face. You've just never been called "cute" is all. No other factors at play here. "You look…" You begin, struggling for the right words.

"Older?" Dave guesses, and you just nod. You know that he can time travel, but you didn't think that he could go back so far. Or that he even would. You don't know all the details, but you do know that Dave is against using his time powers for the most part. So you really can't even begin to guess why he's here right now and talking to you of all people. "Alright, first things first," Dave begins, catching your attention, "future Karkat had a few things he wanted me to tell you. Most of which I won't be telling you because a lot of them were very rude. Which is why he wasn't allowed to come with." He smiles a little at that. You remain unimpressed. "Anyway-" Dave bends down to be at your eye-level, and he puts a hand on your shoulder, much to your increasing confusion, "I'm here as your future boyfriend to give you some life advice."

Another pause. This one, longer.

"You must think that I'm a fucking idiot." You say finally. Dave starts to say something, but you keep talking before he can interrupt. "First of all, your future self actually coming back to give me any good advice is the least likely improbability that I've ever heard. I would sooner believe that a version of me actually went through with the promise to shit miles of rage snake. And secondly," You push his hand off of your shoulder, "you are not my boyfriend in this reality or the next, past, present, or future." You snarl.

Dave waits for a moment to see if you're done, and when you don't say anything else, he just sighs. "Future you thought that you might say that. Or, well, knew, since he was you. Either way," he reaches into his pocket, pulling out what looks like a small stack of papers, "he wanted me to bring these to you."

He presses the small stack into your hands, and you realize that they're pictures. The one on top features future him with his arm around the shoulders of future you. Dave is apparently the one taking the picture, posing for the camera, while you smile affectionately and give the middle finger. The completely undiluted happiness on your face catches you off guard. You give Dave a confused glance, but he has the same lovesick expression on his face as your future self does. He's looking at the picture, not at you. You press your lips into a thin line, something akin to longing clenching in your stomach. You ignore it, and start flipping through the photos.

It quickly becomes clear that you aren't the only troll with a future liking of creatures with light hair and no horns. The snapshots Dave handed you are from a wedding. Rose and Kanaya's. You get the feeling that you shouldn't be looking at the future of two girls who haven't even started dating, but you can't stop the morbid fascination that grows the longer you keep looking. There's a picture of Dave helping you with your suit, and quite a few with group hugs and nice moments featuring Jade and John and fuck, you didn't realize how badly you missed those two assholes. Rose and Kanaya kissing at the altar, and the after party, and just stupid little shots splashed here and there of you and Dave holding each other.

By the time you reach the end, you're crying, and Dave seems content to let you. He tucks the pictures away when you hand them back, and hesitantly reaches to wipe away your red tears. You wrap your arms around his wider frame, burying your face in his chest as he runs a hand through your hair. Dave starts making this little shushing sound, which confuses you (he's supposed to be your future matesprit, why is he shushing you?), but fuck it all if it doesn't sooth you anyway. You slowly calm down, small hiccuping sobs occasionally coming from you as you blink away the tears.

"You okay?" Dave asks softly, but he doesn't pull away. You don't think you would let him.

"We make it? We win?" You whisper, your voice cracking. You wonder if Dave will be put off by that, but he seems to understand. He somehow knows how important the answer to that question is to you. After all the utter bullshit you've been put through in your life, you need to know that there's something to look forward to.

Dave nods, smiling a little as he presses a kiss to the top of your head. "We win." He confirms, giving you an affectionate squeeze.

You have to bite your lip to keep from having another breakdown, and slowly pull out of his hold. You miss the warmth immediately, but you can deal with it. You take a deep, shuddering breath before you let yourself make eye contact again. "Okay, so… you're my future boyfriend." You say. Dave nods. It's still weird to think about him like that, but as far as you can tell, he turns out to be a pretty decent person. Likely due to magic, but you don't really care how it happens so long as it happens. "What advice did you come to give me, then?" You're done with the crying. Now it's time to get down to business.

"Serious time, then." Dave smiles. "Got it. This is a mission that Karkat gave me since we weren't really doing anything but watching TV. Anyway, he just wanted me to come back and make sure that this crucial moment in the DaveKat timeline comes to fruition." You grimace at the name he uses, but Dave isn't paying attention anymore. "Little me is going to come walking down the hall in a few minutes." He begins, pointing to the right. Your right. So, his left? Whatever, who cares? "He- I just had a nightmare. I'm not going to talk about it this early in the relationship, but literally all you have to do is give me an awkward hug or two, comfort me, and try not to be a dick." Dave looks down at you. "Think you can do that for yourself?" You nod slowly, and he smiles and ruffles your hair. "And don't expect an immediate change." He adds. "I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm kind of an asshole."

You snort with laughter, quickly muffling the sound. "I hadn't noticed." You remark dryly, but now you're smiling just as hard as Dave is.

"See you in three years." He pushes his shades up to wink at you. You don't get a chance to reply, because then he summons his timetables. They look bigger too, probably to fit his grown body, and with a flick of the wrist, Dave is gone.

For a few moments, you simply stand in your doorway. You're not entirely sure how to process what just happened. Maybe you're having an incredibly vivid dream. Or maybe Dave is just fucking with you. But those pictures… you want so badly to believe in that future. A future where you're happy- and with Dave, of all people! You never would have guessed.

"Hey." A voice puts your ponderings on halt, and you turn to look at Dave. He's your height again. You decide that you don't like it. "What're you doing out in the hallway at this hour?" He sounds on edge, and you can see that he's soaked in sweat and nervous despite the mask he wears.

You don't hesitate with your answer. "I had a nightmare." You tell him. "I was going for a walk."

This makes Dave visibly relax, and he hesitates. "Can I… come with you?" He asks, and for a moment, it's hard to relate the scared kid in front of you to the gentleman he's going to be. Regardless, you nod.

"Of course." You step towards him, and Dave tenses, but he doesn't fight it when you wrap him in a hug. He struggles internally for a moment - trying to decide how to react - and he slowly reaches to hug you back.

"Thank you." Dave whispers, burying his face in your neck.

You just smile.

A/N: Also- I think that fanart for this kind of general idea would be the cutest thing? Little Karkat and Older Dave hugging and shit like that. If anyone wants to do something like that, I mean. You don't have to.