You stepped into the welcoming shade of your house after enduring a long, grueling day of sweltering in the sun's merciless radiation. You basked in the coolness the dimly lit room provided, safe away from the crippling heat just outside your door. Sweat still beaded down your back as your body struggled to cool off.

You'd just spent all day with your friends swimming in a lake which was only accessible through a two hour hike. You usually went to this lake on this very weekend every year. It was kind of a tradition now. However, this year was much hotter than you remember, as if the sun was leaning closer, eager to get a closer look at your summer activities. Its overbearing nearness didn't help with the fact that you forgot sunscreen, but you didn't worry much about it. Really, when was the last time you got sun burnt? You reached a hand up to your neck, your hair having been pulled up to allow what little breeze there was outside to stifle the summer's heat.

Apparently, the last time you were sun burnt was earlier today, and, by the intense pain you felt at even the lightest of touches, you guessed it was really bad. You made your way to your bedroom, feeling the burn as your shirt rubbed against your sensitive skin. This was even better. It seems that you're entire back was burnt. The next few days were gonna be hell. First would come the intense pain, and then the crippling itching sensation before finally your skin would peel. You groaned in annoyance at your lack of luck today. You heard the front door of your house slam as you sadly examined your reddened face. Only one other person had a key to your house. Speaking of which, only one person would slam your door like that.

"_, are you fucking home?" the rather loud voice of your matesprit rang throughout the house so that if you were home, no matter what room you were in, you'd hear it.

"Yea Kar. I'm in my room," you yelled. Within seconds stomping could be heard coming down the hall. Your door flew open to reveal a messy haired troll with a seemingly permanent scowl plastered on his face. He looked you up and down, his facial features softening as he noticed the way adorably messy wisps of hair had escaped their holder and framed your rather red face.

"Hey," he spoke softly, something only you could make him do. He strode forward standing next to you, studying your reflection as you studied his features. He was hardly an inch taller than you, not that his nubby horns helped much with his height, but compared to the other trolls he was much shorter. Noticing your eyes were on him, he turned his gaze from the mirror to your actual eyes. The way you looked at him, as if you saw much more than what was skin deep, made his blood pumper tighten in his chest. Gog, he was so flushed for you. Which lead him to indulge in the undeniable urge to wrap his arms around you and hold you close, feeling the beat of your heart against his chest.

"Ah! Karkat!" you cried out in pain as his arms pressed against your exceptionally sensitive skin. He quickly released you, backing away with a startled blush dusting lightly over his cheeks as he tried to figure out how he'd hurt you. Were you injured? Who'd hurt you? You would have found the look on his face extremely and kissably cute, that is, if you weren't currently recoiling in pain, your back beginning to dully throb. "Sorry, I got sun burnt really badly today and it hurts to touch."

"Sun burnt?" he asked, his brow furrowing in confusion. Did the sun burn you itself?

"Um, yea. If humans stay in the sun too long their skin gets really red and sensitive and stuff," you tried explaining. He seemed to get the gist of it.

"Oh, uh, is there any way I can help?" he asked. He hated seeing his matesprit in pain. Even more so he hated not being able to hold you.

"Yea, can you go get me the aloe? It's in the fridge," you informed him. He left to do as you'd asked. After a few moments a slightly annoyed voice called from your kitchen.

"_, what the fuck does aloe look like?" Karkat yelled as he rummaged through the contents of your fridge. You resisted the urge to laugh in case he could hear you.
"It's green. Kinda see-through. It should be somewhere on the side shelves," you replied. Karkat turned his attention to the shelves on the door of the fridge. Sure enough there was a bottle of green slime. He took hold of the chilled container and made the small trek back to your room. "Thanks," you said, reaching for the bottle. You nearly had your fingers on the lid before Karkat pulled it away. A mischievous grin lit up his face.

"Here, I'll put it on." He twirled his finger in a circle, signaling for you to turn around.

"Oh no Kar, it's okay. It's on my back. I'd have to take my shirt off. Just hand it here and I'll put it on myself." You lunged for the bottle once again, only to have it removed from your grasp.

"No, I'll put it on," he stated firmly. A blazing blush only added to the heat your cheeks were already feeling. You waited to see if he was joking, but was disappointed to see him straighten up and cross his arms over his chest, careful to keep the aloe out of your reach. He arched his eyebrows as if to ask you what you were waiting for.

"B-but Kar! I'll be practically naked" you whined. Just the thought of it heated your face, even all the way up to the tips of your ears.

"Oh my gog, we're matesprits. It'll be fucking fine," he snapped, rolling his eyes. "Just take the fucking shirt off! I won't look."

Nervously you tugged the fabric carefully over your head after he had turned around. Your heated skin ached at even the light touch of the fabric and your body craved the cooling relief the aloe would supply. However, there was some relief when the tightness of your bra released your tender skin. "Okay," you whispered, tightly holding the disregarded parcel of clothing in front of your bare chest. Karkat watched the way you refused to meet his eyes and how you fidgeted with the clothing in your hands.

"I'll be fucking careful, okay?" he spoke sharply, taking hold of your chin, careful not to touch the reddened areas, and softly pecked your lips. You nodded, still completely uncomfortable, but it's not like you had much of a choice. Karkat pointed to your bed, "Now lie down."

You climbed onto your bed, lying on your stomach and resting your chin against one of your pillows. You tried to control the blush crawling up your cheeks as you felt the indentions made in the bed from Karkat's weight. He straddled your waist, taking caution not to touch your sun burnt back. He smiled as he looked down on you. Gog, he loved it when you looked so vulnerable. You felt Karkat lean forward and felt his warm breath against the skin of your neck. Lightly, he pressed his lips against your shoulder. Feeling you tense he pulled away.

"Sorry, did that hurt?" he asked with actual concern.

"No," you mumbled into your pillow. Relieved, he continued to place feather light kisses against your burning skin. Somehow, they were actually soothing. You relaxed deeper into the comfort of your bed. "Mmmmmmm."

"I'm so flushed for you," he whispered in your ear, before gently licking along the edge. You sighed at the enjoyable sensation, the coolness of his tongue contrasting nicely with the heat of your skin.

Karkat sat back, squeezing a reasonable amount of the green slime into his hand. He rubbed his hands together before gently touching them to your tender skin.

"Mmmmmm, Kar, that feels amazing," you mumbled against the pillow as his hands began to move in circular motions, his touch bringing long awaited relief to your irritated and burning skin. He continued massaging the slime into your skin until nothing was left but a slightly moist sheen. Without the nagging burn a sleepy haze was taking over your mind.

Karkat climbed off of you only to lie next to you, somehow sensing your tiredness. He wrapped the sheet around your naked form and pulled you against him. Looking up through sleep heavy lashes at your matesprit, the same loving look he was giving you spread to your own face and caused your heart to beat faster. Once again there was a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

"You know, your lips still look a little hot. Maybe I can help," he purred before firmly, but gently, pressing his lips into yours.

"Mmmph," you moaned into the kiss as a hand began to slide under the sheet that was the only separation between you and Karkat. Fingers brushed over your stomach and slid up your side. While you were distracted Karkat slid his tongue into your slightly open mouth, tangling his free hand in your hair. An explorative hand made its way over your breast.

"Kar," you groaned into the kiss, though it came out kind of distorted since his tongue was inside your mouth, slowly roaming its familiar surface. He begrudgingly pulled away.

"What?" he asked, trying to look innocent but that look was totally lost on him.

"I'm tired." To prove the truth of your statement you added a somewhat authentic yawn for extra affect. He sighed in slight disappointment, removing his hand only to secure it around your waist. He wrapped his body around you, cradling your head on his chest. The heat given off by his body was welcoming, unlike the heat of the sun burn.

"I'm flushed for you _," he purred, lightly stroking your hair with his free hand.

"I know." You nuzzled into his neck, eliciting a rumbling purr. "I'm flushed for you, too, Karkat."

He tightened his hold on you so that you were nearly lying completely on top of him. He continued to nuzzle your hair, taking in its scent. "Aloe smells good," he observed as he buried his face in your hair. The rumbling vibration of his purring lulled you into sleep, drifting away into the loving embrace of your matesprit.