Music played loudly and bass pulsed throughout the club as strobes flashed multicolored lights. John sat at the bar, alone but for the bartender, having long since been abandoned by Rose and Jade, although it had been they who forced him here in the first place. Rose had left first, begging off when a pretty lady with short hair asked her to dance.

"Sorry," she had offered as she left, but John waved her off with a smile that he was nearly positive looked more like a grimace. The two had been eyeing each other for the past hour anyway, and he thought he had seen Rose with her before, too, perhaps on the campus of the university Rose was enrolled in.

Jade stuck around longer, trying to get him to smile, but she eventually got frustrated too. "Jeez, John, I swear it's like you want to be miserable! I bet Dave could cheer you up." Within minutes she was on the dance floor, having accrued a partner from god knows where.

What she said was true enough, but Dave wasn't there. That was the whole point; Dave was never there anymore. He spent all his time with Terezi. He swore up and down that he and Terezi weren't dating, but that just made it worse. John would have felt better if Dave were ditching him for his girlfriend, but if he was breaking all their plans for her and they weren't even together, it meant he was being replaced. Dave had found someone he liked hanging out with more, a new best bro.

Maybe he was overreacting. In fact, he was almost positive he was, but he was powerless to stop himself. It prayed on a fear that he had nursed for years, that he would find someone cooler to hang out with. He signaled to the bartender; the woman gave him a look that clearly said that he had had enough, but she went to mix a new drink for him anyway.

Someone pulled out the chair next to him and sat as John's drink was dropped in front of him. "Let me get a Corona," the guy said. "I don't take any of that fruity shit."

It was clearly a dig at him, John knew. The guy hadn't made any attempt to keep his voice down and the only other person at the bar was several seats away. "Do you have a problem with me?" he asked, turning to face the newcomer. It was hard to make out any of his features with the club's color changing with each burst of light; he was able to make out dark hair and dark eyes and not much more.

He gave John an unimpressed look over the rim of his newly acquired glass. "Not particularly. I don't give half a flaming piece of shit about you. My problem's with that noxious concoction of gay you deign to call alcohol."

"Look, mister, I don't know what crawled up your ass and died, but I'm in no mood for your shit tonight."

"My name's Karkat, not mister," he said, spitting the word like it was an insult. "I'm allowed to state my opinions, you unglorified shit stain, and it's not my fucking problem if you decide to take offense to it."

"Don't give me that bullshit!" John said hotly. "You said that just to rile me up and you know it."

"Looks like I was right when I thought you seemed the type to make baseless assumptions, wasn't I, shit stain?"

"Stop calling me that!" he exploded. "I am not a shit stain." He hated how petulant and childlike the words came out and glowered when Karkat smirked at him.

"What else am I supposed to call you? Would you prefer assface? Cunt licker? Stop me when you find one you like, I can go on for days."

"My name's John, fucktard," he retorted. He despised this man, despised the way that he was so obviously toying with him and how easily he was rising to the bait. Karkat didn't even seem angry anymore, just irritated and slightly amused.

"Do you want to dance with me, John?"

The words threw him. He felt his mouth fall open despite himself before he pulled himself together enough to answer. "What - no!"

Karkat scowled and downed his drink. "Fine," he muttered, slipping off of his stool. John watched him go, noting that he was shorter and slimmer than he had originally thought. Almost immediately he had disappeared into the crowd, the sheer number of bodies swallowing him up.

"Pity that," the barmaid sighed as she collected empty glasses. "He was cute. I'd go after him himself if I weren't on duty."

"It's impossible to see in here," John snapped at her. "Can I get a Sex on the Beach?"

"Maybe," she conceded, shooting him a knowing look as she shuffled away to make the drink. "But that must mean you tried to look, doesn't it?"

He knocked back three more drinks, all pleasantly colorful, and thought a mental "fuck you" to Karkat with each one he finished. By the time Rose found him again, her cheeks flushed prettily and a soft smile gracing her face, he was well on his way to wasted. "Oh, John," she said fondly, patting his cheek. "I think it's about time we head home. I'll go locate Jade, shall I?"

"I need to piss," he answered eloquently.

"After I find her, we will wait here for you to get back."

He stumbled out of his seat, the world swaying gently and every step taking an inordinate amount of concentration and effort. He was halfway to the bathroom when he spotted Karkat. He was going the opposite direction, towards the club's exit, and before he even realized that he made the decision, John was chasing after him. Karkat was faster than he looked and light on his feet; by the time John made it through the door, he was nearly a block and a half away.

"Wait! Karkat!" he called. Karkat turned back reflexively and looked like he wanted to kick himself for it. His face twisted into an ugly expression as he shifted his weight from foot to foot, like he was considering running. Instead, he waited impatiently where he was, stubbornly not moving forward to meet John.

"What the ever loving fuck do you want from me?" he snarled once John was close enough that he could speak at a normal volume.

John tilted his head to the side and shoved Karkat roughly against the grimy bricks of an apartment building in answee. His eyes blazed with righteous fury and, if John were a lesser man or perhaps just a little less drunk, he would have cowered. As it was, he had imbibed far too much liquid courage for that sort of self-preservation. Instead, he crowded into his personal space and kissed him.

There was a long moment of hesitation, but John persisted, working his lips against Karkat's lax ones. Then he felt Karkat exhale and carefully begin to respond work increasing enthusiasm. He licked gently at John's lips, his tongue slipping inside when they were opened for him. His mind was gloriously blank as he let Karkat tongue-fuck about fifty points off of his IQ.

John felt his knees go weak. "Fuck, sorry," Karkat muttered, his fingers sliding into John's hair. At this distance, Karkat's pupils seemed endless. For a startling moment, John though his sclera flashed a bright yellow, but when he blinked, it was normal.

"My apartment isn't far from here," John offered.

"Lead the way."

John, while not a virgin, was not in the habit of taking people home with him, and never another man. Even so, this had to be the most awkward walk of his life. With the few girls he had been with before, there was flirting and haphazard, drunken kisses on the street. Karkat, on the other hand, clenched his fingers into fists, his posture radiating discomfort and unapproachability. The entire fifteen minute walk was spent unpleasantly in near silence. The elevator ride may as well have been torture.

John pushed his key into the lock, allowing Karkat inside first before entering himself. He worried for a moment that he would change his mind. Some part of him wondered if that wouldn't be for the better; he wasn't a homosexual, but inviting a guy home with him did seem pretty gay. If nothing happened, he could still technically be fully straight.

But he needn't have worried. The moment the door was locked, Karkat fell on John like a junkie does to prescription painkillers. His head thumped painfully against his wall with the force of the kiss. "Fuck," he said, chanting the word like a prayer. John took him by the wrist, blindly navigating them through the dark apartment until they reached the single bedroom.

Karkat scanned the room briefly – John found it within himself to be embarrassed about the days old clothes littering the floor – before he pushed him down on the bed, forcing him to lay back when he attempted to get back up. John relented, laying on his elbows and watching him instead. Karkat pulled off John's glasses and stripped himself, pulling his shirt over his head and shimmying out of his skinny jeans. His boxers dropped soon after. John took a certain guilty pleasure at seeing Karkat's naked body. His eyes traveled, taking in a cinched waist and narrow hips. Further down, his legs were long and shapely and his dick half-hard already. He stood unabashedly, neither ashamed nor proud, but simply accepting of his own body with a sort of quiet self-confidence that he wished he could imitate.

When he bent down to kiss John, it was slow, unlike the frantic ones shared before. His tongue was deep, searching thoroughly for something. Karkat seemed to find what he was looking for, because he moaned deep in his throat. He swung leg over and slid sinuously down John's body. His palms laid flat on his chest for a moment before working on undoing the buttons.

John let his shirt fall off in what could be described as dumbfounded awe. He had never known that a guy could be so sexy, because that was exactly what Karkat was. His confidence in his own sex-appeal was refreshing and intimidating and damn arousing. He let his hands trail from shoulder to sharp hipbones, taking in all that naked skin on display, smooth like satin. He felt struck dumb, unable to move, unable to reciprocate except in the most meager of ways, but Karkat seemed to understand. He laved kisses and nips across his collarbone and shoulder and it seemed like it was meant to reassure him.

John's hands found their way into Karkat's flyaway hair and massages gently while Karkat busied his mouth with John's nipples and his hands with John's belt. "I've never done this before," he had the presence of minds too blurt out. "None of this. Not with a guy."

Karkat glanced at him before darting back down to press a teasing kiss to his tip. "I'll teach you," he answered. John thought it was amazing. In the club, he had come off as a very angry (and slightly snarky) panda bear. In bed, however, he was like a tiger, relentless and overwhelming in his pursuit.

Karkat lapped at his dick like a professional, and for a moment, John warred with the conjured image of shoving bills at Karkat on a stripping pole and a strange spasm of jealousy. He was deliberately playful, sucking on the tip, running a casual hand over his balls, loosely stroking the base twice. It was nowhere near enough for him, and Karkat knew and reveled in the information.

John moved his hand to Karkat's waist and dared to go lower until they reached the slight V of his pelvis and then pushed lightly. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion before relaxing in comprehension. "Rule number one," Karkat said as he moved until he was in a new position, his face still at John's cock and his legs thrown over John's stomach. "Don't do anything you don't want to."

He took these words to advice. It was hard to concentrate when Karkat's head was still between his legs, pressing kisses between his thighs and tonguing everywhere but where he most wanted. Even so, he knew what was outside of his comfort zone. Karkat's cock bobbed enticingly in front of his face and he reached out and stroked it hesitatingly. The angle was weirder than what he was used to, uncomfortable even, as this position was not exactly made for handjobs. Within moments, he'd developed a crick in his hand, but he dared not stop. Karkat rocked himself backwards into John's hand, having stopped sucking. He panted and moaned, eyes half-lidded and expression downright pornographic.

He looked up, his hair plastered to his forehead with sweat and grabbed a bottle from John's bedside table. He batted John's hand away, turning to face him once more. He snuck his hand snuck behind himself and John gulped, able to guess what he was doing and strangely wishing he could see it. Karkat distracted him yet again with another kiss.

Methodically, Karkat wiped his mind of all coherent thought. He used lips, teeth and tongue in every combination, slowly nipping, sucking and licking John into oblivion. His mind spun like he was drowning, but he could've easily died and not noticed as he was. When he drew away, he followed, seeking with his lips before he had the presence of mind to open his eyes.

Karkat positioned John's dick and slowly sank down onto it, hissing "Yesss." John groaned and thought his eyes rolled back into his head. Karkat was tighter and hotter than any girl he'd ever been inside. His hands quested for a hold, scrabbling from the sheets to Karkat's ass and finally resting firmly on his hips.

"Are you alright?" he whispered.

"I'm fucking amazing. Just give me a minute, alright?" he huffed, panting heavily, his hands planted on the bed and hunched over John's body. After a long minute, Karkat looked up and slowly rose and then sat back down on his cock. John allowed him to take complete control and he set a fast and brutal pace. The room was filled with the harsh sound of breathing and moaning, the crack of skin slapping against skin, the wet sound of hurried kisses.

"John, fucking touch me," he said and John did not need to be encouraged any further. He took Karkat's dick in his hand, pumping and twisting his fingers. Karkat's thighs started quivering with the stress of motion and his impending orgasm, but he determinedly kept bouncing. A few strokes later, he came almost explosively, his head thrown back as he let out a drawn out moan. John saw his eyes flash red and yellow, his skin gray.

Karkat's ass clenched rhythmically around John's dick, coaxing his own orgasm out of him. John felt him sag against his body, his dick still inside as come dripped out into a puddle before he passed out.

When John woke, the sun was at high in the sky. He glanced at the clock across the room and its neon colors told him it was nearing two pm. This was a surprise, as he was normally a morning person and usually woke by seven, and seldom ever past ten.

He yawned and worked to push his hand though his bedhead as he stood, taking in his room with a frown. He stepped delicately out of his room, making a mental note to remember to do laundry and clean up a bit. He went straight to the shower, washing the residual stickiness from sweat and other, less innocuous, fluids. Feeling lazily sated, he forwent his usual morning wank.

He got dressed and made his way to the kitchen, looking for something to eat. "I made breakfast earlier. There's some in the microwave, you can warm it up."

John jumped and looked over his shoulder with wide eyes. Karkat watched him from the doorway to the living room, eyes narrowed and arms crossed. "What are you doing here?" he blurted without thinking.

His glare hardened. "I foolishly thought that perhaps you wanted more from me than a casual fuck. God knows what I was thinking, because who would want anything more than sex from me. My only good feature is my moderately attractive face. I'm a loathsome person that deserves to fall off the face of this planet and land painfully, and preferably crippled worse than that smiling asshole, in hell. Then again, I doubt I'd be able to tell the difference since my life is basically a steaming vat of horse shit, failure and disappointments, all mixed into some bullshit version of Macbeth soup." He took a deep breath and continued, "But apparently I was just leaving."

"Wait," John said.

"Why should I?" he spat in distaste. "You've made it quite clear what you wanted from me and I've already delivered that. I bet you don't even remember my name."

John winced because the words were all too true. He had, in his intoxication, wanted nothing more than an easy fling that he could forget about in the morning. "Karkat," he said and then smiled. "I remembered because beep, beep, meow."

"I'm not even going to pretend that made even the slightest bit of sense to me," he sighed and resumed walking.

"Don't leave!" John said. "Look, I'll admit that I wanted sex and not much more, but you're here now, so why not at least try to work something out? We can make something happen!"

Karkat turned with obvious reluctance, ignoring John as he strode passed him and into the living room. He sat himself on the couch, although he looked anything but comfortable; his mien was defensive, with his limbs tucked close to his body and slouching enough that his chin nearly touched his chest. John followed, fretting internally as he sat in the beanbag chair opposite him. He immediately regretted the actionmas he sank into the chair, putting him considerably lower than Karkat was.

"Don't fuck around with me, John," Karkat said . "Don't lie to me out of some misplaced sense of archaic guilt or to make me feel better about my frankly low self-worth. You had better be aware of what you're getting into to. I'm not exactly the easiest person to get along with."

John wrinkled his nose. "I can see that. But I'm positive, I want to at least try."

Karkat studied him for a long moment until the silence felt overwhelming. "I'm not exactly human."

John gaped. His mouth opened, then snapped shut and opened back up again. "There were moments when I thought there was something different about you, but I didn't really believe it. I still can't believe it. But," he faltered before starting again, "that's not what you really look like, is it?"

"No."

"I thought not; you had red eyes didn't you? Can you show me?"

He saw the hesitation on Karkat's face and the exact moment he made the decision. It wasn't a gradual change, like he had expected. Instead, he blinked and when his eyes opened again, Karkat looked completely different.

The first thing he noticed was the nubs on his head that looked exactly like candy corn. He supposed they were supposed to be horns, but they looked like no horns he had seen before. Then he noticed the eyes. Now he could see properly what he had gotten glimpses of the night before. The whites of his eyes were no longer white, but a golden yellow instead and his pupils were ringed with bright red. His skin was gray and his nails yellow.

"You still look the same, obvious differences aside," John noted.

"What the fuck else did you expect? Did you think I was going to magically have the ability to shapeshift, perhaps wave some bullshit wand and whisper a few made-up words and suddenly have the ability to change my appearance at will?"

"Well, what was I supposed to think?" he exclaimed. "You just blurt out 'hey, by the way, I'm not human, John!' and I'm just supposed to take that? For all I know you could be a fairy! I'm not exactly in any position to rule out any of the choices, here."

"I'm not a fucking fairy, John!" he huffed back. "There's no real word for our species in any human language. The closest approximation is 'troll' but there are some severe differences. Most notably, no, we do not live under bridges and accost innocent children to answer stupid riddles. We have also been called incubi or succubi."

"Aren't those sex demons? You're a sex demon?"

"You have got to be the single most close-minded creature I've ever laid eyes on," he answered in disgust. "I'm not a demon, I'm another species, as I have already said. But yes, I do feed off of sex. That's why you slept for so long last night; I took energy from you."

"Alright," John said simply. "But if we're together, will I be okay?"

"If you're talking about health-related issues, there's nothing that can't be solved with a few adjustments. We'll never be one of those couples that just have sex whenever and wherever. There probably has to be at least a day in between so you can recover your strength, but other than that, you should be fine." Karkat paused and eyed him almost suspiciously. "Why are you taking this so well?"

"I've never really been one for being skeptical. I'm just happy I wasn't imagining things. It could have been worse," he said and shrugged. ""Under the clothes still looks the same, right?"

He scowled but nodded anyway. "The important stuff is the same."

John didn't bother asking for clarification. "I just can't believe you just blurted it out like that. What if I thought you were insane or something?"

"I'm not an idiot, John. If it went badly, I could have made you forget and there's no way you could have overwhelmed me if you tried to attack me. And before you ask, I can't actually erase your memories, it's just a glamour on your thoughts, similar to what I do to my appearance. And no, I won't do that ever unless we break up because I have fucking standards and you'll just have to trust me on that one."

Another awkward silence emerged as John tried to think of something to say. They weren't off to the best start, he thought, if they couldn't even find something they had in common to talk about.

"I have to go," Karkat said abruptly. "I have a paper due tomorrow."

"Oh, okay," he answered. He grabbed a sharpie from off of the coffee table and strode over to Karkat, writing his number on his arm in big blocky numbers. "Call me, okay? I want to take you out for a proper date and actually get to know you."

Karkat stared up at him from the couch. He curled his fingers around John's shirt and dragged him down. Taken off-guard, he lost his balance and fell into the chair with him, but when Karkat kissed him, he responded. The kiss was deep and slow, filled with an intimacy and nervousness that was absent the night before. As Karkat's tongue probed at his own, he took in the grey skin and a slightly pointed ear from the corner of his eye. He noticed his teeth were sharper and had to take care not to cut himself on them.

It was weird, yes, but John thought he could get used to it. Everyone could do well with a healthy dose of abnormal in their life, after all.

When Karkat pulled away, finally, his eyes were bright. "I really do need to go. I'll call." He disentangled himself from his space between John's body and the seat, heading to the door. John followed to let him out.

On a whim, he asked abruptly, "Do you know a girl named Terezi, by the way?"

"Yeah," Karkat answered, clearly puzzled by the question. "She's like me. An incubus."

"Oh," John said, and then, because it felt appropriate, again, "oh." He pulled Karkat in for another peck before shutting the door.

He thought of Dave's insistence that he and Terezi were only friends. He thought of his and Karkat's budding relationship and how his friends would take it. He thought about Rose and Jade, whom he had essentially abandoned at the bar last night and slowly sank down to the floor.

"Oh," he said a final time, and this time, it sounded more an abnegation than anything else.