Sollux was starting to freak out.

It had been a whole week and a half since he had last heard from his best friend and long time crush, Karkat Vantas. Ten whole days of zero insults and zero late night rants. Now normally, this wouldn't have bothered him, because christ knew what sort of shit Dave kept his best friend occupied with. Except no one had heard from Karkat's boyfriend, Dave Strider, in those ten days either. And someone had mentioned that Dave had skipped town at some point, leaving Karkat alone. This meant Karkat would've messaged SOMEONE by now, as Sollux knew he got lonely and excruciatingly bored fairly quickly. But no. Not a peep to anyone. So, back to the original point, Sollux was starting to freak out.

He stood in front of the door to Karkat's apartment, having knocked several times, but still not receiving an answer. "Kk, open the door, I know you're in there!" He yelled while pounding on it again, glaring a hole through the thick yellow door.

Nothing. Complete and utter silence. Sighing, Sollux decided to try the doorknob, though he was sure it would be locked (Dave was big on that sort of shit). To his surprise and confusion, the knob turned, and he was able to push the door open easily. Something was definitely wrong here. Stepping inside and shutting the door quietly behind him, Sollux glanced around the apartment's small living room. Clothes and various other items were strewn across the floor, and Sollux noticed that none of Dave's belongings were in this room or in what he could see of the dining room. No extra shades, no turntables, no laptop; nothing. There was a deep, lingering silence in the room that the pale gold walls seemed to absorb and then reflect back into it. It was stifling, Sollux quickly realized, as he hurried out of the main room.

He continued down the hall to the master bedroom Karkat and Dave shared. Slowly, he pushed open the door and inhaled sharply at the scene before him. More clothes and belongings were littered along the floor; again, all of them Karkat's and none of them Dave's. The troll in question was lying curled up on the bed, eyes halfway open and dull. Sollux hesitantly stepped closer to the bed and called out to his friend quietly, "Kk..? Are you okay?" Sollux immediately berated himself for asking such a stupid question when it was quite fucking obvious he was not 'okay'.

Worry and fear welled up in him though, when Karkat continued lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling blankly without responding. Sollux mind immediately assumed the worst and concluded that Karkat probably hadn't moved from the bed in days, judging by his dirty, limp state. Figuring he should probably skip all the bullshit and cut straight to the important things, like the shit Karkat often forgot to do when on his own, he asked, "When was the last time you ate?" Karkat shrugged and Sollux let out a relieved breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. Good, a response.

"Slept?" Another shrug.

"Have you at least been drinking water?"

"Two days..."

Sollux shuddered ever so slightly. Karkat's voice was dead and rough, nothing like the loud boldness it normally was. "What?"

"Had water two days ago..."

"God fucking dammit, Karkat-"

He cut himself off in frustration (worry, his mind corrected), and picked his best friend up bridal style (was he a few pounds lighter?), carrying him like a limp rag doll down the hall to the small kitchen. He awkwardly set him down in one of the chairs at the small dining table, then filled a cup from the cupboard with water. Karkat slumped over on the table and closed his eyes. Sollux set the cup down in front of him and narrowed his eyes at the troll's slumped form in concern. "Drink this. All of it."
he commanded, crossing his arms tightly.

"No…"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Sollux was taken aback. He wasn't expecting that question out of everything Karkat could have said.

"So you can get hydrated and stay healthy." He explained slowly, eyeing him warily.

Karkat opened his eyes and slowly lifted his head. "I don't want to stay healthy.. What's the point.."

Sollux's stomach gave an unpleasant lurch. This was bad; worse than he'd thought.

"Karkat.." He said gently as he crouched down next to him, "you need to drink it, okay? For me?"

After a pause, Karkat hesitantly reached out and tried to lift the cup but let go of it almost immediately. "It's too heavy Sollux.."

Sollux frowned and felt tendrils of worry worming their way throughout his chest. He needed to get food and water into his idiotic best friend as soon as possible. He stood up and grabbed the water, gently pulling Karkat into a sitting position. Sollux held the cup up to Karkat's mouth and tilted his head back slightly.

As soon as the water passed his lips, Karkat came alive, latching onto the cup and gulping it down greedily. A few dribbles went down his chin, but he seemed to neither care nor notice. The cup was quickly emptied and Sollux tugged it away from him. He went back to the sink and filled it up again, handing it back to Karkat. He repeated the process, although Karkat was gentler with the cup this time around. Once he finished the second cup of water, Sollux returned to the sink and then set the now full glass on the table once more, running his fingers through his hair after.

If he was being completely honest with himself, he had no fucking clue what he was doing or going to do. He didn't know how to take care of someone else in this state; hell, he didn't even know how to take care of himself properly half the time. But he obviously had to try. He couldn't just leave Karkat alone (where was Dave?). Sollux was sure if he left Karkat alone here, he'd be dead within a week. And he loved Karkat too much to let him go like that. Fuck, seeing him like this was already screwing his heart up more than he cared to admit, and it would only get worse. A dull ache settled into his chest and he almost felt like crying. No, he couldn't leave him. He needed to be here, to make sure Karkat was alive, and okay.

First step in keeping best friend alive: food. Sollux bent down next to Karkat's face and forced himself to look him in the eyes. They were glittering like a dead fish's'; Sollux winced and swallowed down the burst of raw panic that suddenly ballooned in his throat. "Kk, I'm going to get you something to eat, okay? And I want you to eat all of it. Can you do that for me?"

The glassy, faraway quality of Karkat's eyes diminished slightly and he nodded slowly. "I can do that.."

"Good."

Sollux stood up once again, relief tumbling through his thoughts, and began rifling through the pantry and refrigerator. There wasn't much there, but there was enough for a sandwich or two. He pulled out a mostly empty bag of bread and jars of peanut butter and jelly. Sollux quickly slapped together two sandwiches (extra peanut butter, and jelly on the the opposite piece of bread, the way he knew Karkat liked them), and set them down in front of Karkat. "Eat both of these. All of them."

For a moment, it seemed as though he hadn't heard him. He got ready to repeat himself, but Karkat slowly reached out and picked up a sandwich. While he began his legarthic process of eating, Sollux fished his phone out of his pocket and pulled up Dave's number. He shot him a few quick texts asking just where the fuck he was, and telling him just how messed up Kk was, then harshly jammed the phone back into his jeans. Sollux was suddenly filled with rage, and his hands curled into tight fists. He was beyond pissed. What kind of fucking boyfriend, or even friend, would abandon someone they cared about like this? Especially when said someone was known to have problems with depression and self-destruction. Dave was in for some deep shit when he got back.

Sollux let out a sigh, relaxing his hands and pushing his glasses up. Getting angry wouldn't help jack shit right now. He glanced back at Karkat. He had finished the first sandwich and was making progress on the second one, occasionally sipping at his water cup. He looked. Dead. That was the only way Sollux could describe him. Paler than normal gray skin, a gaunt face, ears drooping, and that terrifyingly vacant, blank look in his eyes. What could've happened in only a few short fucking days?

Once he finished his sandwiches, Sollux knelt down next to him again and tentatively squeezed the smaller one's hand before quickly dropping it. "Kk, can you tell me where Dave is?" He asked softly.

Karkat's eyes immediately shot to his face and he jerked away as if he'd been slapped, his skin going from pale to downright ashen. Clear red tears began pouring from his eyes and Sollux frantically backtracked, pulling him into a tight hug. "Shh, shh, calm down, it's okay you don't have to tell me!"

He was shaking, Sollux realized grimly. Shaking and crying. Whatever happened couldn't have been good. Sollux carefully picked Karkat up again and carried him back down the hall to the bedroom. He was still shaking when Sollux set him down on the bed. He moved to pull away, but was stopped by Karkat clinging to his sweatshirt. Quiet gasping sounded from the smaller troll, and he whispered with pleading eyes, "Don't leave me too…"

Sollux's chest tightened for a moment and he swallowed the sudden lump in his throat. Christ, Karkat looked so small and helpless… how could he not stay? Awkwardly, he laid down next to him and kissed his forehead very lightly. "I'm not going anywhere.." Sollux murmured gently.

Karkat clung to him as tight as he could and buried his face in Sollux's hoodie. Sollux stroked his hair carefully and made quiet shushing noises. Eventually, Karkat relaxed his grip and tentatively began speaking in a quiet, broken (wrongwrongwrong screamed Sollux's mind) voice. "Dave… Dave left Sollux.. H-He left because he thought I-I w-was cheating o-on him and and!-" he started shaking again and his breaths came rapid and uneven, tears spilling down his cheeks. "He left m-me and he s-said he doesn't l-love me anymore! I w-wouldn't do th-that S-Sollux! Ever! And! A-and.."

Karkat sobbed into his chest, nearly hyperventilating. Sollux could only stare down at him in shock. Karkat? Cheat? Karkat was the loyalest fucking person he'd ever known. Everyone knew that, even that bitch Vriska. Why the fuck would Dave ever think he had cheated on him? A familiar surge of anger flared in Sollux's chest and he squeezed Karkat tightly. It didn't matter why. What mattered was that Dave wasn't there to help his shattered mess of a boyfriend. And that Sollux was willing to do it. "Shhh… breathe Karkat." He soothed in what he hoped was a calming way.

He slowly rubbed calming circles into Karkat's back through his thick black sweater. Sollux realized that he could easily feel the bones in his back, and made a mental note to get more food later. Karkat's wobbling sobs eventually mellowed into soft crying, and then, nothing. Sollux glanced down and sighed in relief. Karkat was fast asleep. His heart warmed a little (a lot) at the sight, and he sighed again, running his fingers through the smaller trolls hair. Fuckitty fuck. He was most definitely going to have to stay here to make sure Karkat was taking care of himself, no doubt about it now. Sollux didn't know exactly what the fuck had happened to make Dave suddenly go crazy and take off, but whatever it was, it had completely destroyed Karkat's sense of self-preservation. Slowly, as these thoughts whirled around in his head, Sollux fell into a light slumber with Karkat curled up at his side.

Of course the peace didn't last.