Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/638528.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Graphic_Depictions_Of_Violence, Major_Character_Death, Underage
  Category:
      F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi
  Fandom:
      Homestuck
  Relationship:
      John_Egbert/Jade_Harley/Rose_Lalonde/Dave_Strider
  Character:
      Trickster_John_Egbert, Trickster_Dave_Strider, Trickster_Jade_Harley,
      Trickster_Rose_Lalonde
  Additional Tags:
      Horror, Blood, Gore, Violence, Dehumanization, Incest, Codependency,
      disturbing_sex, Unhealthy_Relationships, Post-Sburb/Sgrub
  Stats:
      Published: 2013-01-15 Words: 4783
****** the tricky bit ******
by somehowunbroken
Summary
     Your name is John Egbert, and you love, love, love your friends. [A
     Trickster story.]
Notes
     Read the warnings, read the warnings, read the warnings.
     I started writing this the night before Jane turned into Trickster
     Jane, so... yeah. I don't think the updates really had an effect on
     the story I had planned to write, and Trickster Jane isn't mentioned
     at all, so there aren't any spoilers for current goings-on.
     Slight clarification: they're underage, but it takes place post-
     SBURB, so they're all 16-17.
     Just to reiterate: please read the warnings. All of the things in the
     "archive warnings" section and the "additional tags" section appear
     in this fic, and they're not subtle (with the exception of the major
     character death, which is insinuated at the end). If you want further
     clarification on any of the warnings, email me (somehowunbroken at
     gmail dot com) and I'll go into more detail.
See the end of the work for more notes
Your name is John Egbert, and you love, love, love your friends.
“Dave,” you laugh, grabbing him by the hand and yanking. He tumbles into you
and you fall back, catching yourself on air just above the ground. Dave grins
down at you, peering over the top of his heart-shaped sunglasses. “Dave, that
was awesome!”
“I know,” he says, tossing his head like he’s posing for some kind of photo
shoot. From this angle, it’s hard to tell which parts of his hair are his
normal candy pink shade and which are streaked through with blood. “Either I
hit it harder than I meant to, or heads pop off way easier than I thought.”
You giggle and run your hands up his arms. “My, what big muscles you have, Mr.
Strider.”
You and Dave both turn to look as Jade laughs. She spins around, arms
outstretched, dancing in the puddle that’s growing around Dave’s kill.
“Come on, you sillies,” she says as Rose touches down next to her. Rose
crouches to inspect the body, running her fingers along the neckline like she’s
never seen anything so cool. She smiles as she drags her fingers from the front
of the neck to the back. Jade laughs again, reaching over to scratch Rose’s
scalp as she plays. “There are more, and they’re getting away!”
“But I want to celebrate,” Dave pouts, sticking his lower lip out so much that
it’s ridiculous. “That was a good one, Jade, come on!”
You slip your hand into Dave’s hair and turn him until he’s facing you. Then
you lean up and peck him on the mouth, pulling back almost immediately. He
tries to follow you, but you tighten your fist in his hair and keep him an inch
away. He pokes his tongue against your lip, your nose, your teeth, and you
laugh as you slide your hand from his hair to his cheek. You leave a smeared
trail on his face; apparently you stuck your hand in a bloody spot instead of
just into hair gel.
“We can celebrate more later,” you promise, tracing your fingers across his
face, watching as the trails fade as you go. “Jade’s right! There are more that
we can get!”
“You owe me,” Dave says, still pouting, but now he’s not really upset. You
smile as brightly as you can and he smirks, leaning back in and pressing a tiny
kiss to the end of your nose. “More later.”
“More later,” you agree. He climbs up and you float back to your feet. Jade
crouches so she can grab Rose’s hand and pull her upright, and then the four of
you are off, flying down the street towards where the rest of them had gone.
“Last person to get one is a rotten egg!” Jade crows, dropping Rose’s hand as
you get to the end of the street. She flies to the left, and Rose grins like a
shark and heads for the right. Dave shrugs at you when you glance at him.
“I already got one,” he says smugly. “If I try for any more, they’ll all fall
down dead from sheer fear, and then you’ll all be rotten eggs. I don’t want to
live with the smell.”
“You smell,” you shoot back, rising into the air and heading away from Dave.
Dave laughs and gives you a lazy salute as you fly higher, already scanning
your surroundings.
“Best of luck,” he calls up to you. “No, really, you’re going to need it. I
think Jade is already on her way back.”
You glace to the left; sure enough, Jade is already bounding back towards you
and Dave, dragging one behind her.
“I’ll beat Rose!” you declare, spotting one hiding in a clump of bushes and
taking off. “I’ll be right back!”
-0-
You do not, in fact, beat Rose.
You’re only gone for five minutes, maybe six, but when you get back to the
starting point with your kill in hand, Rose is sitting serenely in Dave’s lap,
cradling a head between them.
“Aw,” you complain, dropping yours to the ground. It makes a really gross
sound, and you pull a face at it. “I would have won if it hadn’t yelled and run
around so much!”
Rose is up instantly, leaning over to poke and prod at your kill. It makes some
more gross noises, and she smiles.
Dave snorts and reaches out with his foot to poke at your kill. “Jegus, John,
it was a rotten-egg competition, not a who-can-hit-the-hardest competition.” He
tilts his head so his sunglasses slide down his face and smirks at you.
“Besides, yours still has its head on, so I win that anyway.”
“I threw my hammer at it,” you admit, and Rose puts a hand over her mouth as
her shoulders shake. You pout at her. “It was running away!”
“It’s no fun if you don’t play with the toys,” Jade agrees. She’s already taken
her prize from this one, a big yellow-and-white striped bow that she’s stuck in
her hair. It looks really weird against the bright orange, but you think that’s
probably the point. Maybe. You have no idea; your sister is weird. She smiles
at you as she twirls again. “Did it beg?”
You puff up your chest. “Of course it did! Wouldn’t you?”
“Of course,” Jade agrees immediately. “If you were running after me, I’d beg…”
She trails off, and you wait, wait, wait for the punch line that you know is
coming. Finally, she whoops. “I’d beg for you to run faster and give me a
challenge!”
You put your fists on your hips and stick your tongue out, but Jade has
collapsed across Dave’s lap, and he’s laughing with her.
Rose stands up and moves to your side, sliding her arm around your waist and
leaning her head against your chest. You immediately toss your arm over her
shoulders and try to stick your tongue out even farther. Dave and Jade just
laugh more.
“At least you still think I’m scary,” you mutter to Rose. She blinks through
teal bangs, shaking her head and patting your hip comfortingly.
Dave laughs so hard he falls over, and Jade follows him right down. You sniff.
Serves them right.
-0-
“I’m hungry,” Jade whines as you head home. It’s a long flight, and you kind of
agree with her by the time you land; you feel like you haven’t eaten in ages,
even though you all had a huge breakfast before you went hunting this morning.
Dave tosses his prize at Jade and jerks his head towards the stairs when you
land. “Put mine upstairs and I’ll find us some food.”
Jade catches the card and grins, flying over to give Dave a hug that would
probably crush his bones if he weren’t a god. “Thanks!”
“Anything for you, doll,” he says, shoving his sunglasses up into his hair and
winking. She giggles and floats up the stairs, heading for the prize room.
“What did you grab?” you ask, spinning the watch you took around and around
your wrist. It’s way too big for you; the one you killed today was really,
really big. It’s a nice shiny toy, though, so you don’t mind.
“Driver’s license,” Dave says, shrugging. You roll your eyes.
“One of these times I’m going to guess it, and that’ll be the one time you pick
something else,” you complain. Dave always takes the driver’s license. He says
it’s because they stack up easily and it saves a lot of room for the big prizes
you and Jade sometimes get. You think it’s because he secretly wants to
wallpaper the prize room with his kills, and he’s just biding his time.
You grin as he shrugs and think you’ll probably just let him, when the time
comes.
Dave disappears into the kitchen and you drop to the sofa. Rose curls in beside
you, laying her head on your chest and grabbing a fistful of your shirt.
“Hey, Rosie,” you say, wrapping an arm around her waist. You’re always afraid
that you’re going to break Rose, at least a little. You know how strong she is
and you’ve seen her get clocked pretty hard without getting hurt, but she just
seems like she might snap like a twig at any moment. It makes something swell
in you to think about it, something big and awful and sad, so you just pull her
in a little tighter and watch your strength carefully. “Did you have a good
time?”
She nods and smiles into your collarbone, and you laugh. “Oh, good! You sure
were fast today, Rosie.” You wait until she nods again, still smiling. “Did you
get a prize?”
She lifts her hand from your chest and brushes her hair behind her ear. You
look down and see the earrings, big and full of some glittery red stone. You
whistle. “Nice one. You might win for prizes today.”
She reaches across your body and taps your new watch and you grin, bringing it
closer so she can inspect it. “Yeah, mine is nice, too, but yours really
sparkle.”
She shakes her head and the earrings catch in the light, glinting off of your
glasses. You laugh and tease your fingers along the line of skin at her
stomach. She squirms, breathing out gaspy little laughs, and you grin so hard
your face might crack as she knocks her head against your collarbone.
“Rosie, Rosie, Rosie,” you sigh as you still your fingers, resting them against
her hip. “What would I do without you?”
She shifts so she can look up at you, and when you turn to look down at her,
she gives the most exaggerated pout you’ve ever seen on anyone’s face. You
laugh and squeeze her the smallest bit. “You’re right. It would be just awful.”
She nods and leans up to kiss your chin. You smile and hum, and she moves to
straddle your hips. She fits comfortably, folding her legs to either side of
your knees, and you link your fingers together behind her body and rest your
hands on her lower back.
Kissing Rose is fun. You really like kissing in general, and when you’re
kissing Rose, you’re close enough to hear the noises she makes, the gasps and
the hitches and sometimes, if you’re really good, the tiny, tiny whines from
the back of her throat.
Your concentration breaks when Jade sighs from the bottom of the stairs, and
Rose pulls back to look at her. She smiles and reaches a hand out, and Jade
doesn’t waste any time in making her way to the couch and leaning into you.
Rose leans down to nip at Jade’s ear where it sticks up out of her hair, making
Jade giggle and pull Rose down for a kiss.
You untangle your hands and pull one of your arms back, draping it around
Jade’s shoulders as you tuck Rose in a little closer to your chest. You play
with the ends of Jade’s hair, running your fingers through it again and again
as Rose kisses Jade and rocks in your lap.
“And here I thought I was the one who wanted to celebrate,” Dave says. You tip
your head back on the couch and find him standing in the door to the kitchen,
head tilted as he looks at you. You smile.
“Nothing says you can’t join us,” you point out. “In fact, I think it would
make everyone a lot happier.”
Dave shakes his head and jerks his head back into the kitchen. “Food’s ready,
or I would take you up on that.”
You sigh and tug on Jade’s hair until she pulls away from Rose. “You ruin all
the fun, Dave,” you accuse, setting Rose on her feet as Jade stands. She yanks
you off the couch as soon as Rose gets clear, and you can’t help but wrap your
arms around her and squeeze, lifting her off the ground and carrying her
towards the kitchen while she laughs and smacks around your ears.
Dave grabs your elbow as you pass him and you pause, turning to look at him.
Jade hits your glasses and your drop her with a yelp. She backs into the
kitchen, laughing, and when you fix your glasses and look at Dave, he’s
smirking, too.
“Next time, invite me,” he says, tugging you down and biting at your lips. You
groan and slide your fingers into his hair, tilting your head and tipping his
up, and yeah, yeah, you really like kissing.
Dave bites you again and you press the length of your body against his, pinning
him against the wall. He reaches up to shove his shades into his hair and
kisses you hard and deep and wet, and the only thing stopping you from
celebrating everything Dave has ever done right here in the doorway is the feel
of Rose’s hand in the crook of your elbow, tugging you away from him.
You break away to look at her and she raises an eyebrow, glancing over at the
table. Jade is sitting in her spot, looking longingly at you and Dave before
turning the same gaze on the tray in the middle of the table. Rose taps your
elbow again and you let go of Dave, taking a step back and shaking your head to
clear it. You smile down at her when the world stops spinning. “Sorry. You know
how it is.”
She smiles back at you and taps two fingers to her chest, then taps them
against yours. You can feel your smile grow as you lean over to kiss her
forehead. “I love you too, Rosie.”
She takes Dave’s hand and yanks him towards the table, and he laughs as he
pulls out her chair for her. “It ain’t special, but it’s good,” he says when he
leans over and heaps food onto Jade’s plate. It’s pasta tonight, full of melted
cheese and butter, and you shove your plate towards the center to make getting
your share a little quicker. Dave grins and serves you, and you wait while he
does the same for Rose and then himself.
Dave sits down and puts his elbows on the table, one to either side of his
plate, and then raises his hands into the air. The rest of you copy him,
turning your palms to the ceiling, and you smile as Dave starts. “Good hunt.”
“Good hunt,” Jade says, looking at you.
“Good hunt,” you agree, and Rose nods twice.
“But not the best,” Dave continues.
“Not the best,” Jade says immediately, showing her teeth when she smiles.
“Not the best,” you say. Rose shakes her head three times.
“Maybe tomorrow,” Dave says, his own smile appearing on his face.
“Maybe tomorrow,” Jade repeats, and you do the same. You all look to Rose, who
smiles, closes her eyes, and tilts her head down. After a moment, she looks
back up and bares her teeth.
Jade whoops and slams her hands against the table as you laugh and do the same,
and Dave claps his hands and grabs his fork. “Carb time,” he says. “Then we
celebrate.”
-0-
“So, Mister Big Shot,” you say when the food is done and the dishes cleared.
You’ve made your way up to the big bedroom that you all share, and you look at
Dave expectantly. “Your celebration, your choice. What are we doing tonight?”
“Rose’s choice,” Dave says immediately. You’re not surprised; Dave doesn’t love
being in charge of much of anything, not when it’s between the four of you, and
you’ve all got a soft spot for Rose. She smiles and leans into his side, and he
wraps an arm around her shoulders and presses a kiss to the top of her head.
“What’ll it be, sis?”
Rose closes her eyes and drums her fingers against her leg for a moment before
nodding and opening them up again. She looks around the room for a moment
before turning back to Dave, going up on her toes and wrapping her arms around
his neck. He immediately leans down to meet her lips, holding her hips to
steady her. She bounces slightly and he bends and lifts, and then Rose locks
her legs around his waist and settles against him.
You reach down to pull Jade against your side, and the two of you watch as Rose
tangles one hand in Dave’s hair and taps on his back with the other. You miss
half of what her fingers tell him, but he starts moving after a moment. He sets
her on the edge of the bed and steps back, yanking his shirt over his head and
tossing it back to the burn pile. Rose raises an eyebrow when he looks back at
her, hands already unzipping his jeans, and he stops and shrugs. “Sorry.
Impatient.”
She waves a graceful hand and you laugh as Dave skins out of his pants, leaving
them where they drop when he moves back to the bed. Rose pats the mattress
beside her and Dave sits immediately, waiting for her to climb into his lap
before he curls his hands around her hips again.
“Rose,” he breathes against her lips, so soft that you wouldn’t have heard it
if you weren’t cheating, moving the air and bringing the sounds towards you. It
ruffles Rose’s hair, and she rolls her head on her neck. She raises a shoulder
and looks over it, tilting her head at the bed. Jade beats you there, but only
just.
Rose keeps one hand in Dave’s hair and reaches out to tap Jade’s knee with the
other. You grin; she’s learned not to bother dictating to you while she’s
kissing Dave like that, because you absolutely cannot concentrate enough to
listen when there’s something like this to watch. You want nothing more than to
lean in and lace your fingers with Dave’s, to really participate in what’s
going on, but you wait, wait, wait.
“Oh, Rose, I like it when you make the plans,” Jade says after a minute. You
turn back to face her and raise an eyebrow, and she grins at you. “Naked time.”
“My favorite time,” you joke, standing and pulling Jade after you. She hovers
and snaps her fingers, and your clothing flies apart at the seams. She beams
down at you as you pull her in by her forearms, both of you laughing as you
kiss her.
“I need to do mine,” she protests when you break to let her breathe. “Rose said
I should take my panties off.”
“Can do,” you say, tweaking the breeze to slip up her skirt. You make the
elastic snap against the flat of her stomach before pulling her panties down.
She balances on your shoulders as she steps out of them.
“Teamwork is the best,” Jade giggles, kicking her panties in the general
direction of the burn pile. She slides her arms around your shoulders and
presses up against you, grinning. “Guess I don’t have to ask if you’re ready,
huh?”
You grab her hips and thrust against her. You only mean to do it once but your
hips rock forward again, and then again. She hums and pushes away from you, and
you can’t help the whine that falls from your mouth.
Dave groans, and you turn to face him. Rose has her face tucked against Dave’s
neck, and from the way Dave is breathing, she’s probably biting him just how he
likes. When he rocks against her, you can see the curve of her smile peeking
out.
“I think they’re ready, Rose,” he says. She pulls back and turns, and a grin
flashes across her face before she climbs out of Dave’s lap. She shoves at
Dave’s shoulder and he lies back obediently, legs still sprawled over the side
of the bed, though he spreads them when she nudges at his knees. She leans over
to kiss him again as she works at the sash holding her skirt up.
Jade moves behind Rose and takes over, loosening the sash and pulling Rose’s
skirt and panties down in one go. Rose rocks back when Jade slips a thigh
between hers, but she bats Jade’s hands away when Jade goes to slide them up
her shirt.
“What’s the plan, Rosie?” you ask as she stands between Dave’s legs. She looks
at you over her shoulder before stepping away and pushing you forward to take
her spot. You grin and rest your hands on Dave’s thighs. “You want me to do
him, or the other way around?”
Rose taps on Dave’s thigh and he lifts his leg obediently. She keeps raising it
until you lean forward and get his ankle hooked over your shoulder, and she
nods approvingly.
“Sounds good to me,” you tell her, reaching down as Dave hands you the lube.
You’re really not very good at prep; you’re way too impatient to take the time
to do it right, and you always end up rushing. Dave hasn’t ever complained,
though, not once since the very first time you all decided this was a good way
to celebrate, or commiserate, or just spend a night.
He groans when you push two fingers into him, cold and slick with lube. You
count to five in your head before you start moving them, spreading the lube
around and stretching him out as you thrust. Dave whines and grabs for your
arm, but Rose snatches his hand in midair and holds it tightly. He turns to
look at her, eyes wide behind his glasses, and she reaches over and plucks them
off his face with a smile.
“Come on,” Dave says, blinking first at Rose, then at you. “This isn’t
celebrating anything. This is torture.”
“You love it,” you reply, shoving your fingers in and curling them up just
right. Dave lets out a sharp noise and jerks his hips. You reach for his cock
but pause before touching it, looking at Rose. She shakes her head and you
shrug, pulling your hand back.
“Please,” Dave whines.
You shrug again. “Sorry,” you say. “You put Rose in charge, and Rose says no.”
Dave turns to look at Rose, and you take his distraction as a good time to pull
your fingers out and grab the lube. You pour a bunch into your palm and grab
your dick, making sure you’re good and slick before wiping your greasy hand
against Dave. He looks back to you as you push in, and you watch as his eyes
flutter shut.
“Better?” you tease, and he opens his eyes up enough to look right into yours
as he smiles, big and bright, and hooks his other leg over your shoulder, too.
You pull him in by his thighs until he’s resting against you, and he lets out a
happy little noise and reaches up to brace himself against the top of the bed.
You’re about to really start when you feel Rose’s hand on your arm. You turn
and pout at her, but she just grins up at you and shakes her head. She grabs
Dave’s ankle and makes him bend his leg until his foot is resting on the edge
of the bed. It makes you slip out a little and you whine, but Rose just pats
your cheek and moves to repeat the process with Dave’s other leg.
“Okay,” Dave says, “less comfortable position, I’m in. Is there a reason we’re
doing it this way, or-”
Rose pulls her shirt off, tosses it to the side, and bends over to swallow
whatever else Dave was going to say. You slide his feet apart a little more on
the bed as you start moving, and he groans into her mouth.
“Rose,” he gasps when she pulls back. “Can I – please-”
She pats him on the cheek and turns, holding her hand out to Jade. Jade grabs
her hand and helps Rose balance as she swings a leg over Dave’s torso, shimmies
back towards you, and sits lightly just above his pelvis. She could have used
her powers and gotten herself there, sure, but you’ve learned that as much as
you like using your abilities in every situation, Rose prefers doing things the
mortal way for dramatic effect.
It works; Dave arches his back when Rose leans forward to rest her hands on his
shoulders, and the sight is so amazing that you stop moving and just watch.
There’s part of you that wishes you had Jade’s vantage point because she can
see their faces, but then Dave moans and shifts and, right, you were doing
something.
“Wait,” Jade says when you pull back. You and Dave groan at the same time, but
she just laughs. “Let Rose get comfortable before you make her seat move, John,
geez.”
“Nobody ever said I wasn’t a gentleman,” you say, going still and grinning.
“Anything for the lady.”
Rose sits back up and turns so she can give you a sweet smile. She flutters her
eyelashes and you laugh, putting a hand on your chest and bowing your head.
“Whatever your heart desires, Miss Lalonde,” you say, grinning at her. She
turns away from you again, and you watch as she reaches behind herself to grab
Dave and hold him steady while she kneels up and then sinks down onto him.
“Oh,” Dave groans. “God, Rose, John, oh my God.”
“Gods,” Jade corrects, smirking down at Dave. “Don’t pick and choose favorites,
Dave. It’s not nice.”
“I would never,” Dave says. You think he’s probably going for solemn, but you
probably wouldn’t be able to manage it either, not if you were in his position.
He opens his mouth again, but all he can do is groan as Rose starts to move.
You are a gentleman through and through, so you let her set her own pace before
starting to move again.
“Jade,” Dave gasps, flinging his hand out towards her. “Jade, Jade-”
You figure out what your sister is going to do half a second before she does
it, so you flick the breeze at her skirt as she flies and kneels over Dave’s
face. The skirt settles around his head, blocking out all the light, and he
whines when Jade lowers herself towards him.
“Please,” you hear him mumble, and you watch as Rose taps twice on his bare
stomach. Go ahead.
Dave moves his hands under Jade’s skirt, and a moment later Jade hums happily.
You grin harder and pick up your pace, watching as Rose does the same. You work
together, the four of you, a well-oiled machine here as you always are, and you
always, always take care of each other.
After all, that’s what family is for, right? You all keep each other happy,
with everything you do.
And oh, oh, are you all happy.
-0-
You’re satisfied, you’re a little sore, and you’re exhausted. It’s been a long
day, and you all need your rest. Pulse and Haze has been making noise about
bringing some friends by for a challenge, and you get the feeling that it might
be soon.
“Tired,” Dave mumbles from beside you. Rose nods in agreement, her head resting
on his shoulder, and shoves at your arm until you sit up in bed.
The shelf isn’t anything special, not really. It’s a trophy shelf just like any
of the others you have in the house, but it’s the only one in this room, and
it’s for the real trophies, the special ones. These are the ones you all make
sure you touch every day, and it’s become sort of a tradition to sleep with
them. These are from your first kills, after all. It’s important to remember
where you started, isn’t it?
Usually you each grab your own on your way to bed, but you don’t mind getting
everyone’s when you’re all this tired. You’ve got enough energy left to stir
the wind, to pick them all up and deliver them to their rightful owners.
Jade smiles at you as you drop the bowtie on her chest. She wraps it around her
ponytail as usual, then helps Rose wrap the pink scarf around and around her
waist. Dave already has the baseball cap tugged down over his eyes when you
turn to look, so you smile and reach up to put the fedora on your head. It’s
still a little big, but you don’t mind. You lie back down and fit yourself
along Dave’s side; Jade presses against your back, and you close your eyes.
You sleep, and even in your dreams, you smile.
End Notes
     I warned you about this fucking fic, bro.
     There's more in my head, but I firmly stopped it here, because I
     think that's enough insane bloodthirsty tricksters for everyone in
     one go. If anyone is actually interested, I may write a sequel.
Please drop_by_the_archive_and_comment to let the author know if you enjoyed
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