Communication is Important

Dave let out a small groan as he flopped down onto the living room couch. Carapacians loved to party HARD and Dave was working as the DJ in Can Town's hottest club. Almost every night until 4am, Dave would unleash his sick beats and dope rhymes onto the public. To say he was exhausted was an understatement. Dave knew that he should go to bed, but, whoever listens to reason? Instead, he got up from the couch and began to look around the quiet apartment, hoping Karkat might still be awake. There were occasions where Karkat was up late, working on one of his stories. When Dave arrived home, they would go to bed together. Dave was a little disappointed, although he would have a hard time saying it. He liked falling asleep cuddling with Karkat.

There were no lights on, so Dave concluded that Karkat must be asleep and he walked towards the kitchen. "Time to get my eat on," Dave said to the empty and spacious penthouse apartment overlooking Can Town. Due to the fact that every troll has to build their own hive, Karkat had been in charge of designing the apartment he shared with Dave. There were some… oddities, in Dave's mind, but he mostly didn't mind the crooked walls, irregularly shaped cabinets, or large hole in the bedroom floor. Dave's favourite part of their eccentric apartment was a large bubble window in the kitchen near the dining table. The window took up the entire wall and protruded outward from the building, allowing someone to sit inside and look down on the city and Carapacians below. Sunlight was abundant during the day, and the city lights at night illuminated the kitchen giving it a gentle golden glow.

Dave opened the fridge to find a meal that Karkat had prepared for him. When he picked up the plastic container, Dave discovered a note resting underneath. "PUT THIS FOOD IN YOUR SQUAWK GAPER" was handwritten in Karkat's messy English writing. A small chuckle escaped Dave, he loved these notes, it reminded him of when they used to communicate only through Pesterchum. With a quick two-minute microwave, Dave was enjoying one of Karkat's new experiments with the crops grown by the Carapacians. "I'll have to tell Karkat I unironically like this one" Dave said to himself. He threw the empty container and fork in the sink and headed upstairs to the bedroom. As Dave reached out towards the door, he noticed that it was already open.

"Something's whacked out wrong here" Dave whispered, slowly pushing the door forward and creeping in. The bed was made, always at Karkat's insistence, and even the recuperacoon was empty. Normally, if Karkat was going to be gone, Dave would have seen another handwritten note somewhere with an explanation. Dave walked over to the large hole and peered down into the room below. That was where Karkat worked on his novels and screenplays. Luckily, Karkat had left his computer on, so the soft blue light of the screen helped Dave locate where his boyfriend had fallen asleep.

A smile briefly graced the face of Dave, the ever ironic, unemotional cool dude. Karkat was adorable and Dave couldn't help but stare at the uncharacteristically peaceful face of his sleeping boyfriend. Even though the giant hole in the bedroom floor was made so that Karkat could quickly move between these two rooms, Dave was too cool to use it. Instead, he walked back downstairs and through the door into Karkat's study. Dave picked up Karkat as carefully as he could, and slowly brought his boyfriend back upstairs to the bedroom. Once Karkat was safely tucked into bed, Dave kissed him on the forehead, and went back down into the study to turn off Karkat's Computer. Electricity does not grow on trees; they all had to make it with their god-tier powers.

Dave sat down in Karkat's computer chair and moved the cursor over to shut down the computer. However, there was a text document still on the screen and Dave didn't want to close it without saving it. "Karkat must have been working on his latest novel" Dave said, briefly scanning the text. "Wait, this is something different" Dave said, again out loud, due to his habit of talking to himself. "Karkat hasn't told me about this story." Dave kept reading, and began to blush. "What the hell is this? Smut? I didn't know Karkat wrote this stuff!" Up until this point, Dave had never read anything from Karkat that was pornographic. Dave tried to stop reading. "I shouldn't read this… I don't have Karkat's permission." Dave kept reading. "Is… Is this what Karkat likes?" After finishing the story, Dave sat in silence. Occasionally he would reread certain sections. "Oh god. That is so uncool." Dave shook his head, "no. I need to be supportive of my boyfriend". Unfortunately, and despite a lot of emotional growth in the few years since the new world had been made, Dave was completely unsure of how to be supportive. "I need help."

At 2pm Dave's alarm clock went off and he begrudgingly got out of bed. There was no one else in the room, so Dave set out to find Karkat. Again, the apartment was quiet, and the only thing Dave found was a note. "I HAVE A STUPID REALLY IMPORTANT MOVIE MEETING. IT HAS BECOME APPARENT SOME ASSHOLE CAN'T KEEP HIS STUPID IGNORANCE TUNNEL SHUT AND IS IN NEED OF A NEW LOBE STEM. I'LL BE BACK AFTER ALL THIS HOOFBEASTMANURE HAS BEEN CLEANED UP." Dave could imagine what had happened this morning; Karkat woke up to a message, there was probably some setback or delay, and Karkat headed out in a rush to yell at everyone before thinking about the problem. "this, I guess, will give me some time to prepare for tonight" Dave said with a sigh.

Dave walked up to another large apartment building in Can Town and rang the door buzzer. "Hello?" said a voice from the intercom a few seconds later. "Hey, bro, let me in," Dave responded. An electronic whir came from the door, and Dave pushed it open. Dirk's apartment was on the fifth floor and that's where Dave was headed. The elevator doors opened up to a small hallway with a bench and Dirk's front door. Before Dave could knock, light spilled into the hallway as the door opened. Dirk stood there dressed in his usual white tank top and black pants, with his Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff tattoo still looking good.

"Hey, bro. Come in." Dirk stepped aside and let Dave through the doorway. Once Dave stepped into the living room, Dirk threw him a can of Carapacian Tab. Neither Dirk nor Dave were sure if it tasted anything like the old Tab, but that didn't really matter. "Hey Dirk, I uh, need your help with something" Dave said, his tone of voice unsure and nervous. "Yeah, sure anything, bro" Dirk replied as he sat down on the couch and motioned for Dave to join him. "Uggghhhhhhhh" Dave groaned, while falling into the couch next to dirk. He removed his sunglasses and brushed his fingers through his hair, before turning to look Dirk in the eyes. Dave choked out his question, "Am I a bad boyfriend?" After one too many seconds Dave groaned again, "I knew it. Don't say anything. Your face is speaking loud and clear."

"Dude, come on. I'm thinking." Dirk removed his sunglasses and the layers of irony that hid his sincerity. "I don't think you're a bad boyfriend, but we both know you have difficulties being vulnerable."

"Well, I sincerely want to support Karkat... I'm not sure I can do it."

Dirk studied Dave's face for a moment before asking, "Did something happen?"

Dave cracked open the cold Tab and took a sip. "No, not really. I mean kind of? It's embarrassing. He fell asleep at his computer last night working on some new story. I brought him to bed, but I read what he wrote."

"You've read his stories before, what's different about this one?"

"It wasn't really one of his normal books." Dave swallowed a large lump in his throat as his face flushed red. "It was… erotic fiction." Dirk stared emotionless back at Dave. "I've never read anything like that from him before! What's up with the secrets? Why didn't he tell me? I think it might be his own fantasy…" Dave could barely get those words out of his mouth. So uncool.

"oh? Why do you think that?" Dirk said, opening his own can of refreshing Tab.

Dave threw his arms up in the air, "I don't know! What if it is and he feels like he can't tell me because I'll freak out?"

With an incredulous look, Dirk said "You're not freaking out now? It can't have been that bad." Dirk scrunched up his face, "well he is a troll, but still. What is it?"

"I… I can't. I'm not sure I can say it out loud." Dave turned and whispered into Dirk's ear. Dirk started laughing, "Hey, man, did you ask me because I was the only one of us that was openly gay at the beginning?"

"No!" Dave shouted back, his face burning. This was definitely one of the most embarrassing things he'd ever talked about with someone else. "I came to talk to you because you're my paradox space brother! Dude, be cool." Dave's voice slowly returned to a normal volume, "please."

"Okay, Dave, don't worry, I think I can help."

It was 8pm before Karkat came home, bursting through the front door and making a lot of noise. "WE WASTED AN ENTIRE DAYS WORTH OF SHOOTING. I AM GOING TO THROW THEM ALL INTO THE LOAD GAPER" he shouted in a voice only slightly louder than normal. Dave poked his head out of his own work room, and called out to Karkat "Hey, I'm glad you're home". There was something about Dave's tone of voice and his lack of sunglasses that made Karkat stop furiously stomping towards the kitchen. "I have dinner ready for you… and I wanted to thank you for the meal last night." Dave cleared his throat, "It was really good." Karkat could feel that there was something different, but he didn't have too long to think before Dave grabbed his hand and dragged him towards the kitchen.

"Sit down, please" Dave said, directing Karkat to the dining table. There were candles and flowers on the table, with some romantic techno Dave had composed playing in the background. Now Karkat knew something was definitely going on. Dave was never this romantic without there being layers and layers of irony, eventually there was going to be a punchline. However, dinner proceeded rather normally. A plate filled with mushrooms, red peppers, and onions over rice appeared in front of Karkat. "Here, I remembered that this was a recipe we both liked" Dave said, looking slightly more eager than he'd usually show. Karkat grabbed his fork and took a bite, "WOW THIS ACTUALLY DOESN'T SUCK. MAYBE YOU SHOULD COOK MORE OFTEN."

"Yeah. I will. For you." Dave shifted uncomfortably in his seat before taking a bite of food from his own plate. Karkat eyed Dave suspiciously, and in his loud, boisterous voice responded, "OH. WELL I WOULD LIKE THAT." After a few moments of silence, and a couple more bites of food, Karkat and Dave began casually chatting about their work days. At the end of dessert, Karkat had calmed down, but Dave was only getting more anxious.

"Karkat," Dave cleared his throat, "I have something else I'd like to do for you." This was it, Karkat knew the joke was coming, something about how lame all this romantic, lovey-dovey shit is. "Up in the bedroom, that is… Will you follow me?" Dave held out his hand to Karkat and nodded towards the stairs. Karkat really wanted to enjoy this for what it was, a romantic dinner with his boyfriend followed by some time in a room with a comfy bed, but this was Dave, and this was abnormal Dave behavior. Not that Dave wasn't ever romantic, but it usually only happened around an anniversary, birthday, or holiday. Karkat was used to forcing Dave into a suit to attend one of Can Town's formal events or dinners.

"SURE DAVE, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SHOW ME", Karkat grabbed Dave's hand and let him lead them both up to the bedroom. "Sit on the bed," said Dave with a bit of a commanding tone, and Karkat sat down. "I'm going to put on something a little more comfortable." Dave brushed his hands against Karkat's cheek and they looked into each other's eyes before Dave leaned in for a kiss. Troll lips were quite similar to human lips with only a few differences in their pliability and shape. Dave pulled back and disappeared into the adjoining bathroom, leaving Karkat with a confused and raging bone bulge.

"I DO NOT WANT TO WAIT FOREVER, DAVE," shouted Karkat from the bedroom, "JUST GET YOUR SWEET SHAME NOOK OUT HERE ALREADY." That was when Dave flung open the bathroom door, and stepped confidently out into the bedroom. "AHAHAH OH MY GOG, DAVE, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU WEARING." Karkat quickly grabbed his sides and fell over onto the bed, laughing hysterically. In contrast to Karkat's mirth, Dave stood there confused and looked down at his outfit. It was almost exactly how Karkat had described in his book.

What Dave was wearing couldn't really be considered clothes, more like a collection of fabric straps and lace. The colours resembled those favoured by the former Prospit Carapacians, with hues of cyan, yellow, and pink. The thong was striped in different shades of yellow cloth, with a small lacy skirt curving along the crest of Dave's butt. A broad cyan band resting on top accented Dave's hips and abs. The magenta suspenders were connected to the thong with a small set of turntables, a personal touch that Dave liked. A bright pink bow sat in between Dave's shoulder blades covering where the two suspender straps connected at the back into one. The singular strap followed Dave's spine, leading the eyes downward.

"HOW DID YOUR THINKPAN COME UP WITH THIS IDEA?" Karkat shouted as he wiped a tear from his face. "I KNEW SOMETHING WAS UP BUT THIS WAS ABOVE AND BEYOND, DAVE." Karkat continued ranting for a while longer, but Dave couldn't hear anything through a storm of his own thoughts.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP KARKAT. WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM."

"WOAH, DAVE, YOU'RE THE ONE WHO CAME IN HERE DRESSED LIKE THAT." The laughter disappeared from Karkat's face as he sat back up. Now he was really unsure of what was happening.

"WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU LAUGHING AT ME?"

"BECAUSE THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A JOKE! WHY ARE YOU DRESSED LIKE THAT?"

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU. I MADE YOU DINNER AND THIS IS HOW YOU THANK ME?"

"I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON. ANSWER THE DAMN QUESTION."

"I DID THIS BECAUSE I MOTHERFUCKING LOVE YOU OKAY? WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM?"

"CALM DOWN AND TELL ME WHAT IS HAPPENING!"

"YOU'RE BEING AN ASSHOLE! FORGIVE ME FOR TRYING."

"STOP! THIS STUPID SHOUTING IS GETTING US NOWHERE."

"YOU STOP SHOUTING!"

"calm down, dude, this is dumb. Super dumb"

"DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!"

"Dave."

The energy in the room popped like a balloon and in an instant, everything fell quiet. Karkat had spoken at a normal volume. Dave didn't know that Karkat could even do that; even when whispering Karkat still sounded like he was shouting. They both looked at each other, Karkat on the bed and Dave standing by the bathroom door. "would you please come sit down," Karkat said as he patted the bed. "I'm sorry I laughed. Will you please talk to me and explain what's going on?"

Dave hesitated, his face still burning with embarrassment. "I… don't really want to. I feel stupid." Dave covered his face with his hands, "so stupid."

"I thought this was more of your human irony. I wasn't expecting this to be serious." Karkat patted the bed once more. "sit."

"Fine." In a few uneasy steps, Dave had made it over to the bed and sat down.

"Now, I need you to explain what's going on," said Karkat.

Dave looked down at the floor and began to study his feet. After a few moments of silence, Dave said "I read the story you were writing last night. After I brought you to bed." Karkat groaned, but Dave continued speaking, "I didn't mean to! I was shutting down your computer and didn't want you to lose any work. It was just there, and I couldn't help myself… I've never seen you write about that stuff…"

"Dave, that was a commissioned story. I was writing it for a Carapacian." Karkat rolled his eyes. "I wish you would have just talked to me."

Dave made a noise that was a mix between a laugh and a sob, "you're right. This is stupid. I concocted up some half-assed plan and made a fool of myself. I'm stupid."

"Dave, shoosh" said Karkat while planting a firm pap onto Dave's face. "You're not stupid. I appreciate your misguided attempt to do something nice for me." After another pacifying pap, Karkat gently grabbed Dave's hand. "I think we can still save this evening and I would like that. What do you want?"

"Maybe you could stop talking like that? it's weirding me out." Dave chuckled, poking fun at Karkat.

"THEN MAYBE WE CAN TAKE THAT OUTFIT OFF OF YOU, DAVE," said Karkat as he stuck a finger under one of Dave's suspenders and gently snapped it against his chest.

"I don't know, I kind of like it," Dave said with a smug look as he gestured at his body.

"COME HERE," said Karkat while pulling Dave down onto the bed, "let ME help you."