Archive of Our Own ^beta

“i’ve been rambling, sorry about that kid. i ain’t gonna dump all my problems on ya, this might be the last video i make for you. i wanted to get the important stuff you should know at this age out of the way-”

The door creaked, scarlet eyes flickering towards the sound but his attention remained on the camera. His smile wavering as he sighed, running a hand through his hair.

“i should probably redo this, but i think i've run out of chances. i’m just hoping you’ll find these tapes, even if it’s a little late for each thing. hopefully, they bring you solace, knowing that your bro left these for ya. that being said, happy 16th birthday, dirk.”

Dave was hesitant, he could squeeze out four more messages right? Maybe five if he really tries. What kind of brother/parental figure would he be if he didn’t prepare a 21st birthday message in advance.

“David.”

“rose. you stopped being my manager three years ago, even then, i told you not to call me that. i know it’s formal but i still-”

“Dave.”

Her tone was laced with exasperation, sympathy budding at the end. Rose walked over to her brother, taking a seat beside him as a frown tugged at her neutral expression. The silence was never something Dave could deal with, he’d lean forward, shutting off the camera before scribbling on the date and number of the tape on the paper. He’d put it with the other 15 tapes, stuffed neatly in a showbox.

16 tapes. Each ranging from an hour to two hours depending on how much Dave rambled, or how much he believed he needed to talk about in those tapes.

“this is bullshit, lalonde. there’s not a chance in hell that we are going to make it out of this.”

Rose shifted from her more relaxed position to straight up, hands neatly folded in her lap as her gaze focused on the window.

“I know. But, we’ve discussed this before. This is how it has to be, disheartening as it may be, we both knew that fact from the beginning. Your ‘movie’ career granted you the wealth to provide sizable comfort and accommodate your stockpiling to fit the needs of a growing adolescent.”

Rose gave the other her best smile, a small pat on the back to offer some comfort. She could feel the whirlwind of emotions radiating off of her brother, going from his normal denial, to anger, disappointment and reluctant acceptance. He didn’t say much, just leaned to the side, letting his head rest against her shoulder.

Right, She forgot how the striders were with their emotions. Dave especially, he was a new breed of stubborn. but, she sees where he’s coming from, her own dread starting to bubble at the thought of not getting to be there.

The thoughts only seemed to grow during the fight. 12 hours ago she was sitting with Dave on the floor of his penthouse, recording some extra videos for the kids.

Now, she could see him struggling in her peripheral vision, a sharp pain pulling her attention away from her brother. Only to see the handle of a golden trident, the prongs on it lodged in her side.

Dave only managed to catch the end of it, watching as his sister’s body hit the ground.

They didn’t deserve this, no one did. This was never a fair fight. The Condesce only proved his point as she commanded more of her ‘soldiers’ to take out the remaining rebellion.

The strider fought the best he could, losing his sword as he stumbled back, falling next to Rose’s body. He’d rested his hand on top of Rose’s, even if she couldn’t feel it, he wanted to comfort her in this moment.

It’s what brothers were supposed to do.

He could see the glint of his own shitty sword from behind his shades. He turned his head as the sword pierced his chest, his fading mind wandering back to the previous hours.

24 tapes. 21 birthdays he accounted for, and two shorter ones that just featured Dave and Rose being themselves. The last one was another short one, an apology and a goodbye.