Karkat watched him leave the room from the corner of his eye. Eridan did so, not before letting out a deep sigh, of course. He was always sad now. Scratch that, he was always miserable now. It made Karkat feel bad for not being closer with him. He wasn't sure why his mood had worsened, and he'd like to know.
He stood up and followed him out of the lab. Eridan glanced over his shoulder and noticed Karkat trailing behind him. Instead of slowing down like he thought he would, he did the opposite; turning his walk into a sprint. Karkat did the same. Despite the fact that he didn't look fit, he was incredibly fast, and caught up to him without much effort.
Karkat reached forwards and grabbed onto the back of his cape. When that didn't slow him down, he leapt, still holding onto the cape, and tackled him to the ground.
Eridan groaned as he hit the floor stomach first, "Ow-w, fuck, Kar, w-what the hell are you doin'?"
"Should have stopped when you saw me, fucknuts," Karkat growled.
He glared, "I don't need to talk to you. Now-w if you'll kindly move off a my cape, I'd like to leav-ve," He attempted to stand up.
Karkat, in his true stubborn fashion, wouldn't have any of that. He reached for the clasp keeping his cape together and undid it with a quick flick of his wrist. He wrapped his arms around Eridan's body and pulled him down towards the floor before he had even noticed that his cape wasn't on his body anymore.
"Augh! Let me go!" Eridan said with flailing limbs.
He shook his head, burying his face into the back of his sweater, "Not until you tell me why you're so miserable all the time." The words came out slightly muffled.
Eridan's body went stiff. "I'm fine," his voice shook slightly, and he spoke in a voice below a whisper.
"No you're not," he stated bluntly. After a moment's hesitation, he added, "You can trust me, Eridan."
He shifted awkwardly against Karkat's chest, "There's nothin' w-wrong. I'm not miserable, I'm just… not happy, I guess." He looked down towards the floor.
Karkat lifted his face out of the sweater and rested his chin on Eridan's shoulder instead. "Fine, then tell me why you're so unhappy all the time."
"Why do you care?" Eridan attempted to wiggle out of his grasp again.
He held on tighter, refusing to let him leave, "Because that's what I do, dipshit."
Eridan sighed, hesitating a bit before speaking, "They all fuckin' hate me. I don't ev-ven know-w w-why either," From the angle Karkat was at, he could see the tears begin streaming down his face, "Its not fair!"
Karkat removed one of his arms and grabbed the cape. He put it in Eridan's hand so he could dry his own face. "I don't hate you," he said, almost in a whisper.
"Don't lie to me, Kar," he spat, "You do, but you care about everyone, so it seems like you don't."
He shook his head, "No, Eridan, I actually don't hate any-fucking-one. I genuinely care about them all, and as much as I feel like I do some days, I actually don't." He sighed, "Especially not you."
The tears didn't stop. If anything, they got heavier. "I don't believe you," he sniffled, "W-why w-wouldn't you hate me? I killed Fef, blinded Sol, and betrayed everyone's trust."
Karkat chucked, "Dunno, guess its just not in my biology to hate. Can't do it. Why do you think I've never had a kismesis? I don't hate anyone enough," he confessed quietly.
He saw Eridan frown slightly before relaxing into Karkat's back, "Fine. I believ-ve you," he spoke rather sadly.
He gave a small grin, "Good. Can we get off of the fucking floor now?"
Eridan groaned, "W-way to ruin a good moment, Kar."