Karkat sat on the couch in the hive, alone. He spent most of his time doing that, these days. There was a ton of stuff he felt like maybe he should be doing, but the Troll Kingdom ran itself pretty smoothly, frankly, and he didn't really want to get involved in all that anyway.
There was a knock on the door to his hive. Karkat's heart skipped a beat. Every time someone came, he always held out hope that there was good news, that they had come back. That he had come back.
But as Karkat rose quickly to answer the door, his excitement faded like it always did. The person he saw through the window was welcome, but it wasn't who he most wanted to see. With a small sigh, he opened the door. It was Jane, dressed in her God Tier clothes. She wore a big smile on her face, cheery as ever.
"Hello, Karkat! I'm here for our weekly session!"
Karkat gave a little nod. He'd forgotten. He stepped aside to let Jane enter the hive, not really feeling up for small talk. Sensing this, Jane moved quietly to the open room of the hive, where they typically worked. Karkat plodded behind her. With some space between them, Jane turned to Karkat. "Are you ready?"
"Yes." Karkat closed his eyes.
Jane raised her arms and began to cast. Soft waves of light flowed from her hands and into Karkat, covered him in a subtle glow. Karkat could feel the powers of the Maid of Life enveloping him, preserving him, keeping him alive and healthy. It was a pleasant, welcoming presence, felt throughout his body, and yet as good (and as necessary) as it was, it paled in comparison to the intimacy felt when… he used his powers to protect Karkat's life.
After a few minutes, Jane cut off the flow of energy and lowered her arms. She smiled. "Well, you should be feeling fine and dandy now, I hope! You're looking fit as a fiddle, hoo hoo!"
She was right. Physically, Karkat felt invigorated and restored. Part of him wanted to go outside right this second and run off some excess energy, to go out and do anything and everything. And yet, somehow, he just couldn't bring himself to do that. It wouldn't be right. It wouldn't feel right. Not without him.
Karkat remained so lost in thought that he didn't notice that Jane had walked up to him until she placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw her face. She seemed to be struggling to say something.
"Karkat, I want to tell you…" She bit her lip, clearly trying to find the words. "If you ever need people, I promise you that I'm here, that we're all here. I promise you we understand what you're going through."
Karkat responded more quickly than he thought he would. "Thanks, Jane. I appreciate it. I'm just… not quite ready yet."
Jane hesitated, then nodded her head. Karkat was relieved she didn't force the issue. He walked her to the door as a courtesy; she still had many other affairs to attend to that day. Jane opened the door to leave and turned one last time with a smile. "Don't be stranger, Karkat. We'll be waiting when you're ready."
Then she flew off and Karkat was alone again. With nothing left to do for the day, he moved back to the couch and sat down once more, lost in thought. Karkat suddenly wished he'd gone with Jane. There was no point to being here. They didn't want Karkat to be unhappy.
He wouldn't want Karkat to be unhappy.
Karkat felt himself going through the same motions he'd done so many times already, but he couldn't help himself. The tears seemed to come faster every time, no matter how much he tried to hold them off. As Karkat remembered the one he'd lost, lost so quickly, he cried out in a voice that was barely above a whisper:
"Please, Dave," Karkat cried, tears streaming down his face. "Please come home."
