It had been a particularly miserable couple of months. The grizzly November weather was just enough to put anyone into a foul mood, and Karkat Vantas was definitely no exception to this.

"This whole month is a load of shit." Karkat complained to his close friend, Sollux Captor, who was busy tapping away on his laptop whilst lying on his bed, and not really paying much attention to him. "It's basically like a whole month dedicated to pre-Christmas bullshit. Everyone always gets too excited over this cheap excuse of a religious holiday."

Sollux peered up from his work momentarily; he had been slaving over some evidencing document for his Information Technology class. He seemed a little dazed as he looked over to Karkat (who seemed to be getting absorbed into the old squishy beanbag he was sitting in), but that was to be expected, as he had been staring at a computer monitor for little over an hour. Adjusting his stereoscopic spectacles, Sollux tilted his head thoughtfully.

"Well, the retail anticipation leading up to the actual holiday is pretty annoying. Especially when they play the same stupid Christmas songs in the shops." Sollux replied dryly. "But I guess I can put up with that? It's all worth it for the sweet gifts you get. It's the time when my extended family suddenly remembers that I exist, and pelt me with spending cash."

"Don't those ridiculous adverts on TV drive you insane?" Karkat leant forward from the red beanbag he was seated in. "I'd rather be forced to watch your shitty cartoon shows than have to endure those ads."

"Yeah, KK, kind of..." Sollux mumbled absentmindedly, and by then, Karkat realized that his friend had completely zoned out of the conversation and was now back to his normal position; sprawled out of his stomach on top of that red-and-blue duvet, mashing his fingers into the keyboard once again.

Karkat sighed. Sollux had invited him to stay over for the weekend, as they'd seen little of each other since school started. This was mainly due to a couple of reasons, one being the fact that another term meant another shit load of work, and both boys were under a lot of pressure with their college courses. And secondly, Sollux hadn't forgotten about his beloved boyfriend.

In fact, any spare time Sollux had, he'd spend it with Eridan. And Karkat despised that. Suddenly, his best friend was immobilized by the disgusting powers of 'love'. No longer would they be down at the local park, exchanging harmless banter and taking jovial jabs at each other. Nor would they be playing videogames, or generally just messing around. Eridan Ampora had his devoted boyfriend wrapped around his little finger, and Karkat was powerless to this. And now, even though he'd invited him round, Sollux was neck-deep in homework and revision. Karkat could at least appreciate the gesture. At least he'd tried to make an effort to hang out with him. Unfortunately, his efforts were as futile as he was around Eridan, leaving Karkat with bruised feelings.

Karkat knew he'd have to accept that Sollux was moving on sooner or later. But it hurt him. Hurt to think about how one day, they might not be as close. He hated Eridan even before the two were together, and now he resented him even more. But he just had to grin and bear it, as upsetting Eridan would mean upsetting Sollux would mean that—

He squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his fingertips to his temples. Thinking about it was just going to make things worse, and Karkat was brilliant at over-thinking and making things worse than they actually were. He sunk back into the cushy material of the beanbag, defeated.

"Hey, Sollux."

Sollux turned his head away from his work. "Yeah?"

"Is the thing between you and Eridan still in secret?"

Sollux grimaced slightly. Well, it looked like a grimace, as the corners of his lips drooped and his dark honey eyes narrowed. "Unfortunately, yeah. I know we'd both love it if everyone was nice and accepting, and wished you merry wishes of rainbows and unicorns, but obviously the world doesn't work like that."

Karkat winced at Sollux's tone. A sharp, sarcastic response; a warning sign to Karkat to leave the other boy in peace. He clearly was in no mood to talk right now, anyway. Karkat hauled himself up from the beanbag's cushiony grip, and turned to leave. Sollux didn't even seem to notice; totally consumed by the assignment he'd been given.

"Uh, I'm going for a walk. The fresh air might clear my mind a bit." Karkat said, zipping up his blood-red jacket as he prepared to leave. "I guess I'll be back in a while?"

"No problem, dude." Sollux didn't bother to look up again, his gaze fixed firmly on his computer monitor. "Ask mum what's for dinner tonight if you see her."

Karkat closed the door behind him. He could just about feel the indifferent attitude towards him, and that stung. Stung like a god damn bee. He shuffled down the stairs and into the hallway.

It was so strange not to be ambushed by Sollux's dog every time he went downstairs. Poor Bumble. And although Karkat didn't particularly like being slobbered all over by the now-deceased retriever, he couldn't help but feel slightly empty inside. Naturally, Sollux had taken the dog's untimely death worse than he did, but he still missed that pure-hearted pup. His dad had offered to get him another dog, but Sollux had simply replied that he could never replace Bumble, nor did he want to. So the Captor household was pet-free once again.

He passed Sollux's mother in the hallway and; to comply with her son's request, asked her what she was making for the evening meal.

"I actually thought I'd treat you two tonight," she said with a smile, "I'm going to order pizza from Dominos later. What would you like?"

Well, Karkat wasn't exactly going to deny an offer of a pizza takeaway. "Pepperoni would be awesome. Do you think I could get some chicken fingers with it, too?"

"No problem, dear. You're no trouble at all compared to Sollux and my husband, those two eat like troopers!"

Karkat forced a laugh. He saw a lot more of Sollux's mum than he used to, and he was especially glad that his friend's parents had figured something out between them and had gotten back together. It was a while before Sollux's mum decided to move back in with his dad, but ever since she did, things had only seemed to be getting better for the Captors. Despite the unfortunate accident with Bumble earlier that year, their lives seemed to be looking up. Sollux's dad got promoted at work, and was now earning a higher salary that could support his family pretty comfortably. Sollux's mum dropped her working hours on hearing about the promotion, meaning she was often in a better mood. And Sollux was happy maintaining a great relationship with the person he cared the most about. It still pained Karkat to think that someone else was making him happy, but there was nothing he could do about it. He was moving on, and eventually, he'd have to do the same. Maybe his life would get better too? Karkat shook these thoughts from his head, because there wasn't really much point in worrying about the future at that precise moment.

"I'm actually going out for a walk. Do you have any idea of what time the pizza will get here?" Karkat asked, slipping on his trainers and fastening the Velcro straps securely.

"I'd say around 6-ish? I'm going to order it soon. Make sure you put something warm on, it's rather cold outside. Wouldn't want you to catch a chill."

"Haha, it's okay." Karkat patted his jacket. "This old thing tends to keep me warm, but thanks for your concern."

Sollux's mother disappeared through the door leading into the living room; presumably to ask her husband what he wanted from Dominos. Karkat saw this as his cue to leave, and quietly opened the front door and stepped out into the cool night air.

It really was pretty cold outside, and as soon as Karkat had closed the front door behind him, he'd wished he'd brought a thicker jacket. Oh well. He plunged his hands into his pockets and shuffled down the driveway on out onto the street.