Flying.
Flying.
It was amazing, maybe the best thing about being a god. It made him feel…
Free.
And the wind swooshing in his cape, glasses shielding his eyes, hair blown back, smile stretched across his face where no one could see, like some sort of Superman-
Imagining himself. A hero like that.
Unbidden shivers, not from the biting chill of the breeze, would wrack his body, and he'd have to land for a little while.
In the sky, he was not of Earth. He stopped being that a long time ago, he guessed, but in the sky, he was unattached, weightless, and he could lose himself. Forget, for a little while, that he was only a teenager, and would never see adulthood. Never drive a car. Never have that moment of panic when he met his partner's parents for the first time.
And he could leave behind the absolutely overwhelming notion that he of all people would save the day.
So flying, he could have for himself.
Well.
Until Karkat looked at him with those eyes, like he wanted something but he was too shy to open his mouth- he wasn't like that around him, ever, Karkat was a troll who would not hold his tongue- and he assumed.
With shaking hands, he led Karkat up to the top, to the roof, of the Meteor. His hands hadn't shaken like that since their first date, when his hands were so clammy and cold he'd thought the warmer-blood would leave him on the couch immediately.
Karkat was full of surprises though. Always had been. Heh.
He was already hovering by the time they reached the edge, and Karkat looked worriedly over the edge. His body longed to join the sky above them, dark and cold, height be damned. Then he remembered.
Karkat.
Flying required almost no conscious thought, like breathing. But he could feel steely eyes on his back as he floated gently to rest on the very tip of the roof- one step, vast blackness. He could disappear.
But.
Karkat.
He took a breath and moved out, spinning in midair to catch Karkat's gasp. A smirk fleetingly graced his lips, and he stuttered up a few inches. He pretended to walk on solid ground for a few seconds, right foot, left foot, repeat. He thought he heard Karkat mumble something about him being a showoff.
But the troll already knew that.
His heart was hammering. This was private. His. He was thankful for the reflective plastic masking his eyes, and he closed them for good measure. It was Karkat, though.
He held out a hand, and his boyfriend/matesprit shook his head. Pretending to huff, he shot away from the meteor, not as fast as he normally would, allowing Karkat to follow his movements. Unable to help himself, he took a deep breath and did a few loops, corkscrewing in an effort to shake off the inevitability of his impending doom.
He stopped once he was at Karkat's level again, who stood with his mouth agape.
And.
Oh.
That look, in his eyes, acting almost like a direct shot to his heart.
He looked... amazed.
Like he was some sort of hero. Maybe to Karkat, he was.
Maybe for Karkat, he could be.
Ignoring the bubbling in his chest, he held out his hand again, and Karkat reached for it hesitantly.
Then, an idea struck. Yes, this would be good.
He reached up to his shoulders, under the neck of his god hood, to release his cape.
Before Karkat could protest. he whipped it around the shorter's shoulders, tying it swiftly.
Karkat was a hero. He was Superman.
He should have been able to ascend.
And so he swept Karkat up, leading him in an airborne dance that included a lot of screaming and cursing.
They could both be heroes, after all, he supposed.