Slinking out of bed, you follow Dave outside onto the balcony. "This is borderline harassment."
"It's a borderline obsession," he corrects, leaning again the railing.
You mimic his action, quipping, "I know I'm hot shit, but why go through all the trouble of making up lies about me? Is my attention really that important to you?"
Dave rolls his eyes. "Aren't you a riot? Nothing I've said has been a lie. Why are you denying it when you know it's true?"
"Because it's not true," you hiss, glaring over at him.
He scoffs, barking out a laugh. "Wow. Jake was right. You are a stubborn ass."
"How the Hell do you even know Jake?" You growl, digging your nails into your palm.
"That's a funny story actually," he hums, looking out at the neighborhood. "You see, when I died, I got stuck wandering the Earth. Naturally, I blindly followed Karkat around because, well, I didn't know what else to do. But the night you grabbed him... God, I was pissed. I was ready to kill you, but I couldn't. I was so aggravated and I just... I couldn't believe I let the guy who killed me grabbed my baby."
"Hey!" You snap quietly. "I put you out of your misery. I was the one who killed those fuckers who were mugging you an then burned the bodies to cover my tracks. I would've turned you, but I just... I know how hard it is to be like this. You wouldn't have wanted it. You were basically dead anyway. I just wanted to end your suffering."
"I never said I was bitter about it. I can appreciate the fact that you saved me. It was a kind of badass way to go out," he reminds you.
"Then why are you so insistent on following me? Why were you so pissed off that I grabbed him? I didn't know you two knew each other," you question.
"I'm getting there," he says, so you shut your mouth and grit your teeth. "I was pissed because that's my fiancé. Of course I'd be mad that you hurt him. That's besides the point. So when I saw you two, I also saw a figure hovering at your side. That was the first time I met Jake."
"He was with me?" You ask in disbelief.
"He always has been, dumbass." Dave rolls his eyes.
You frown. "The why has he never shown himself?"
He shrugs. "He was afraid? I don't know. Stop interrupting," he shushes you. "So, yeah. I stopped him and we got to talking. I told him how I knew you and he told me that he was already aware of all of that. He'd been with you for decades. He saw you kill me. Just like he saw you fuck my grandmother. He knew who I was from the moment he saw me. It is a pretty striking resemblance."
You shake your head. "Impossible. I don't have any idea who your 'grandmother' is."
"Roxanne Lalonde. To put it simply, she was a stripper at some bar in her younger years. You two screwed and boom. My father Brodrick was born. Then the cycle repeated with some random bimbo and I was born. Ringing any bells, Dirk?" He asks with a coy smirk.
A shudder runs down your spine. Oh. Her. Okay, you may have the faintest recollection of her. It was about twenty years after Jake died. It wasn't because you were interested in her at all. Hell, you don't even know why you did it. You're gay. But the fact of the matter is that you two did the dirty and now the ghost of your grandson who you killed is tearing you a new one.
Fabulous.
"Okay, yes. Fine. I believe you. I know who she is. I remember her, albeit not well. Now what do you want with me?" You ask exasperatedly.
This seems to catch him almost off guard. He hesitates for a moment before admitting sheepishly, "I'm not sure... I mean, I know I wanted to confront you, but the truth is, I'm not sure what I really wanted out of this. Maybe it was jealousy. Maybe I don't want Karkat to fall in love again, especially not with you."
"He's not in love with me," you counter.
"I know the way he looked at me when I was around. The look of joy he got when he saw me. He's starting to look at you the same way..." Dave crosses his arms over his chest and looks away. "I just... I miss him, you know? And I don't like the fact that he's starting to forget me..."
"Dave..." You rest your hand on his shoulder. "He won't forget you. I can never replace you. I would never try. You're something special to him, very similar to the way Jake is to me. Don't sweat all that shit."
"Jake misses you," the ghost mutters.
You swallow thickly, adverting your gaze. "Yeah... I miss him, too..."
There's a long pause of silence before Dave speaks again. "I'll let you be with him. I won't show up anymore..."
"Really?" You question as your eyes flicker over to him.
He nods. "On one condition."
"Fair enough. What is it?" You ask skeptically.
"You have to tell him the truth about you and I by tomorrow night or I'll come and tell him myself," he says determinedly.
Your eyes widen in shock. "Whoa. Tomorrow night? Don't you think that's a little much? Can't I get more time?"
Dave smiles and purrs, "Consider it payback for macking on my man. I'll see you soon, Pops." With a two finger salute, he dissipates.
You stand out in the cold chill of the night for a while before finally deciding to go back in. You have no idea how you're supposed to break the news to him. There's no way this can end well. Needless to say, you aren't eager for tomorrow night to arrive.