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what if dante was replaced by a doppelganger and everyone liked the new one better but randal could tell something was off. something happened that confirms to him that it's a monster imitating dante so he goes to find the real one.

it's night and randal checks dante's house first but he's not there, but the clone is. dante's parents are confused when randal immediately leaves.

he finds dante, the real one, outside mooby's, sitting against the wall and eating some fries. he can't bring himself to leave town, to stop hurting himself by watching the clone, but he stays out of sight. it's late enough that he had to leave the building because they closed. randal can only guess how long dante's been sitting there, but he cracks a joke about dante being a customer that comes in right before closing, the very kind of customer they often complained about together. it's a joke that would annoy dante, but getting this attention, the fact that randal seems to have gone out of his way to see him and not that clone, prompts tears he needs to blink back.

randal sits down next to him and asks to hear dante's side of the story, listening to it all as he steals a few fries. there's this undercurrent to the way he talks about it. as if it's his own fault and he should've been better. everyone likes the fake one more than the real one. no one even thought to think about why "he" changed. they just liked "him" more this way. feeling hot tears on his cheeks, dante feels like his throat is being restricted, airways in a tangle, his voice cracks, and he hates it because the clone would not break down like this.

but randal says, it's a relief to see dante like this. of course, he doesn't like seeing him sad, but the clone is so inauthentic, like every emotion it puts on is an act. he says the clone never complains, it never plays the opposition to randal's talking points, it's so focused on being a "model employee" that it makes randal cringe. worst of all, it's just... that's not his friend. that's not his dante.

randal isn't sure what to do about all this, but he knows he wants his dante back, back at work, back at home. he says he can stay at his place for the time being, and if he has to, he'll fight his parents to let him stay.

dante, teary-eyed, is receptive to the living situation (and touched by the offer), but worries that taking his life back will just make things awful. because everyone likes the new one, they'd be disappointed to see him "go back to his old self". randal says, if they like the new one more, then fuck their opinion, because dante needs to prioritize his own happiness for once. they need to accept the real one. and also their opinion sucks because the real one is so much better.

and randal hugs him, admitting how badly he missed him. this finally gets dante to let the tears flow, dropping onto randal's shoulder. they stay like that for a bit, both thankful to be in each other's presence again.

when they let go, randal stands up and says they're going to leave, but dante insists on staying here just a bit longer. randal makes a remark about how he's gonna make dante drive, when he was gonna be nice and be the driver for once. dante laughs softly at this, and it makes randal smile wider, because he was used to the clone's fake amusement. a blessing to hear his friend again.

randal has always been there for him, in the moments he's been emotional or rude, in the moments he's clearly been in the wrong. randal can like him despite that. randal can like him because of those things, maybe he finds it funny when he's mean, and maybe his flaws make him interesting and more fun to hang out with instead of making him insufferable. who knows. he's just trying to see things from randal's perspective, here. the clone kept proving that dante would be more liked if he were... devoid of any flaws.

but "flaws" are subjective.

right now, as he keeps throwing quick glances at randal, as if to check if he's still there (they're close enough to be touching, now), he tries not to let randal catch him doing it. if he's caught, he can only hope his attempt at sneakiness comes across as cute rather than pathetic (or, god forbid, creepy).

randal's face is outlined by moonlight, and dante looks over once again to try committing that vision to memory. but randal's already looking at him. they both freeze.

now, dante thinks.

it's a cruel thing to do, and he recognizes it as such. but he can't let this go untested. if randal truly likes the real him, including the parts that most people shun…

dante kisses him.

it's rushed, uncertain, brief, seemingly impulsive. flaws are subjective. dante recoils as if he was possessed to do it, as if he wasn't planning it for several minutes beforehand.

randal smiles. "what'd you do that for?"

dante wants to ask so many questions at once, they all topple over each other in his brain. he settles for, "do you like that i...?"

"i'm not used to you being so upfront, but... that's a change i can get used to."

"you know that's not what i meant."

"i liked that, yeah."

"you're okay with me being gay? and... that i love you?"

The first is a man who wants to change his place in life, but refuses to figure out what he truly wants enough and do it because he's afraid of what could come of it, and the consequences of true happiness.

The second is a man who knows exactly where his happiness lies, but can never quite reach it because he has no idea how to express the way he feels towards a man who probably doesn't feel the same.