Okay, so I had quite a few people who reviewed on my oneshot which was previously called Reckless Serenade, which revolved around a similar situation, and can be found here - fanfiction .net/s/7538283/1/Reckless_Serenade_01 . So I decided 'hey, why not make it a story?' Though I kind of don't like how I did the oneshot, so things are kind of a lot different this time around. I'm not sure of how many chapters or any specific details, but I'll try to keep things coming at a steady pace. For now, enjoy!

Chapter 1

It had been five years since the game. After the scratch and narrowly making it out before everything reset, we had lost all contact with the trolls. They were never on Pesterchum, and no matter how many offline messages were sent, none were answered. Dave, Rose, Jade, and I decided that it was best we all move to a new state and start over. After all, we didn't really have anything to go back to. Our houses would be empty, constant reminders of those precious to us we had lost. So with what little money and supplies we had, we managed to get out to Colorado and rent a small apartment to share. It was crowded the first two months, the four of us alternating between the two beds, couch, and recliner. Instant mac n cheese and ramen became breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and we all worked full-time at our respected jobs: Dave at a music store in the mall, Jade at the grocery store, and Rose and I worked at a book store only a few blocks from our apartment.

After four months had passed, Rose got her own apartment on the level below us. At month six, Jade announced that she would be moving out to the apartment complex about half an hour away. Dave was the last to leave, moving into the open room only a few doors down. It was kind of sad, watching us gradually drift from each other to begin our own lives. We had lost so much in the game, and even though we had spent the last five years in foster care, we were only now rebuilding our lives. But even though we weren't in the same small apartment together, or talking nearly every day on Pesterchum, we never stopped being friends. I still saw Dave every morning getting the mail, not to mention we spent half our weeks together, Rose still worked at the bookstore, and Jade would call to check up every few days.

It was November 11th, and a rather cold morning. Dave always complained about my refusal to turn the heater up more than a few degrees, but hey, warm air cost a lot of money, and if saving meant having to deal with a chilly house, then so be it.

The alarm next to my bed beeped angrily at six AM, and as usual, I groaned and smacked my hand around the nightstand until I found the snooze button. I had set up a system to waking myself up in the mornings, you see. I had been using it for years, and it has never failed since. Seeing as my initial reaction to waking up at ungodly hours of the morning is to go back to sleep, I gradually wake myself up. The snooze button will go off every five minutes until six thirty, when I will finally be ready to get over myself and climb out of bed.

And at six thirty that Friday morning, that is exactly what I did. Sure, maybe it didn't help with my mood, but at least I wouldn't be late for work. So, grumbling the entire time, I made my way to the kitchen to start brewing some coffee and then the bathroom to take a shower and get ready for the day ahead.

By the time I was done and dressed the coffee pot beeped to signal it was ready, and I gratefully poured the scorching brown drink into a portable container and added a generous amount of creamer, and then some milk for good measure. I could never stand the taste of coffee unless it had so much creamer it could hardly be called coffee, and the flavors had to be sweet; like caramel macchiato or Italian sweet cream. Today's choice was the last bit of the Italian sweet cream, much to my dismay. I'd have to remember to pick some more up when I went grocery shopping that weekend.

After breakfast (which consisted of a slice of toast and my coffee) I made my way out of my apartment and down the stairs to the mailroom. That placed sucked horribly to be, all tiny and cramped with the little cubbies lining one wall. Thankfully only Dave and an older woman were in there.

"Morning Dave! Get anything exciting this morning?" I asked, hopping over next to him as soon as I got my mail.

"Hey I don't know, lets take a look: bills, bills, college crap, bills, and… an add for face cream." He said in his usual deadpan voice, staring blankly through his sunglasses. I had a love-hate relationship with those things, because even though it warmed my heart that he wore them every day, he wore them every single day. And – in a totally non-homosexual way – Dave's eyes were gorgeous. They stood out so much compared to his pale blonde hair and even paler skin, yet he was never seen without them on. I could probably count on one hand the number of times I've seen him without them.

"Guess that's a no, then." I grinned, shuffling through my own mail, which looked similar to his. It was mostly bills and worthless adds, nothing worth getting excited over. "Hey, wanna meet up for lunch today?"

"I don't know John, I'm a busy guy. Lots of things to do, people to please." There was a long pause, in which the lady with us gathered her things and left, and Dave's hand smacked against my back. "But I'll see if I can squeeze you in."

"I'd be honored if you could make time for a lowly commoner like me, oh prince of cool." I said, bowing slightly, my grin growing wider.

He let out an exaggerated sigh, leading me out of the tiny mailroom and into the more open hallway. "The price I pay for royalty."

"Well, if you're so busy today, your majesty, don't let me keep you waiting."

"Don't you have work to get to?" he called over his shoulder, heading back towards the elevator.

I glanced down at my watch, grimacing. I was supposed to be there at nine and it was already a quarter till. "Crap, right! See you later Dave!" I yelled, running back up the stairs as fast as I could to get my coat, coffee, and shoes before running all the way back and out the door.

Rose greeted me at ten that morning, setting her coat behind the counter. "Morning, John."

"Good morning to you too, Rose! How's school treating you?" I smiled widely, tapping my fingers on the wood. The bookstore was hardly ever busy, especially towards the earlier hours. Only two people had purchased anything since I had arrived an hour ago, and no one had appeared since.

"Beautifully. Whoever said it was impossible to juggle a full-time job and college at the same time was horribly mistaken." She said, her voice sharp as she removed her had and made sure that no strand of hair was out of place. How she could tell without a mirror was beyond me.

"That bad, huh?" I grinned sheepishly.

"I'll survive." She shrugged.

"Just don't push yourself too hard. I'd hate for all your hard work to go to waste – you'll make a wonderful psychiatrist once you get your degree."

"Yes, well, we can only hope. But thanks for the compliment."

"Anytime, Rose."

A short, stubby elderly woman appeared at the register, ending our conversation when she cleared her throat.

"Hello! Can I help you, miss?" I smiled brightly, standing up straight. Rose scoffed and attached her nametag before wandering off to do whatever needed doing around the store.

"Yes, please, I put a book on hold a few days ago." She said, her voice rough and squeaky and absolutely adorable for an old woman.

"Alright, if I could just get your last name I'll look it up for you." I said, opening the correct page on the extremely outdated computer, but who was I to judge when I was using a chunky old laptop I found at a garage sale?

"Garret." She said, prodding through her purse as she spoke.

"Lisa Garret?" I asked for clarification, even though that was the only entry.

"That's the one." She smiled, her face wrinkling up more than it already was.

"Alright, just let me find it…" I said, turning to find the book that was listed. Thankfully it was right on the second shelf, and after ringing her up and handing back the change, I waved goodbye with a 'have a nice day'. And so the cycle began.

Working at a bookstore was actually pretty fun. All different kinds of people were there for all different kinds of things. It was rare nowadays to see adults and elderly mixed with toddlers and teenagers all come to the same place but for different things. Though of course that also meant the occasional douche-nozzle who thought books were a joke. It took all of my self-control not to start yelling and instead politely inform them that if they were not respectful that they would have to leave the store.

By noon my stomach was growling and I was thankful that it was finally time for my break. Dave had called the store from a payphone minutes ago, telling me to meet up at the sub shop just down the street and he would be in the bench on the right. And, after quickly yanking on my coat and making sure someone was manning the register before bolting down to the restaurant, Dave was true to his word, sitting in the very first bench on the right.

"Hey, sorry for the wait." I said, shrugging off my coat as I slid into the seat across from him.

"Don't get too comfy." He said, standing up to get in line.

I followed after him, taking our place in line behind a very talkative couple. Once our subs were made and we were sitting across form each other in the brightly colored, leather bench, our lunch consisted of halfhearted arguments and idle chatter. The wind smacked us in the face like a dagger every time the door opened, and the floor underneath was sticky, but at that moment I was completely content with my life.

At twelve forty-two we parted ways, Dave hopping on his bright red bicycle, complete with ironic tassels and a horn on the right, and rode off quickly back towards the mall while I stuffed my hands in my pockets, burying my face in my collar and turned the opposite direction to head back to the book store.

The rest of the afternoon was spent arranging books and putting them away in their respective places, sectioned by topic and arranged alphabetically by author's last name. The job was easy work, and if I was lucky, sometimes a cute girl would be in need of assistance in looking for a certain book here or there, though most of the people that shopped here weren't really my type, I guess. All these years and I still hadn't nailed a single girlfriend.

It was around six thirty when the rain started. Slow at first, just a drizzle to add to the already chilling temperatures. But then it really started acting up. Rose appeared next to me, both of us staring out the window with books in our arms and a begrudging look on our faces. "Did you walk here too?" I sighed.

"Yup."

"No umbrella?"

"Nope."

I shrugged my shoulders, letting out another sigh. "Well, at least the apartment isn't that far. Maybe we can catch a taxi together."

"I'm getting off at seven, since I have a night class." She said, sending me a slightly apologetic face.

"Right, college." I grinned. "Hey but we should all get together for a movie or something soon. I can't remember the last time I saw everyone at the same time."

"That's a good idea. And soon we'll have to figure out what to do for thanksgiving." She said, gently stuffing a book into its place on the shelf behind us.

"That's right! Wow that's in a few weeks, isn't it? Man time is going by really fast."

"John, are you ever going to go to college?" she asked, raising an eyebrow my way.

I thought for a moment, scrunching my eyebrows together. "Well, right now I can't afford it. You got a scholarship in high school, so you're set, but I've barely got enough money to keep me going as it is. So maybe later I might. I mean I don't even really know what I would want to do with a degree anyway, so it would be pointless to go now."

Rose nodded slowly, and after seeming to accept that answer, excused herself to finish putting away books. I continued with my book stacking as well until seven, when Rose left with a wave, and then switched to working register until nine. There were two other people who worked with us, but they all had about twenty years on us, and weren't all that polite, so I was pretty much alone for the rest of my shift.

Once it was a few minutes past nine and the last person had left the store, I got to work cleaning up. It wasn't part of my job, and I was technically off at nine, but the other workers always left right away and I felt bad leaving the place without helping the owner, who usually got stuck cleaning up after everything. I had come in multiple times at opening to find him sweeping the floors, having to stop often to catch his breath and stretch his back. So I started staying late, sweeping up, throwing away trash, and putting any stray books back.

It was kind of eerie, being in the store at night. The lights were dimmed and everything was silent, the rain outside the only thing to break the quiet. Sadly it had only gotten worse as the evening went on, hitting the windows with great force.

In the middle of my sweeping in the back of the store I heard what sounded like a fist on glass, making me jump about ten feet in the air. "Probably just a bird…" I told myself, remembering the number of birds that had flown straight at a window and scared the crap out of me. But then there were two more bangs, and then four.

I gulped, setting the broom against the wall and inching towards the door. I peered out, glancing back and forth quickly before slowly pulling open the door. A person in a black hoodie stood in the middle of the sidewalk, a few feet away from the door. A hood covered their face, hands stuffed in their pockets and a deep frown on what little of their face I could see. They were about a foot shorter than myself, and completely soaked from the rain.

"U-um, I'm sorry, the store is closed." I said hesitantly, keeping the door opened only slightly.

"I'm fucking freezing my ass off out here and I've been looking all over the gog damn world for you. Let me in." he snarled, a strange growl escaping from their throat.

"I'm sorry, I think you've got the wrong-" but then I saw him. His head raised to glare at me, skin a pale grey and what should have been the whites of his eyes were a piercing yellow, the irises pitch black. "Oh my god. Karkat?"

"No shit! God you're so fucking stupid, Egbert. Now are you going to let me in or not?"

"I-I can't believe this. What are you doing here?" I asked, stepping out of the shelter of the door.

"Here's an idea, why don't you ask questions once I'm inside and dry?" he growled.

"Um, well actually it's against store policy to let people in after hours, but come in for a second and I'll get my things and we can go to my apartment." I left the door open for him to follow, running back behind the counter to pull on my coat and other late autumn/winter wear, my mind racing.

This was crazy. It was Karkat. It was actually Karkat. I had talked to him so much throughout the game, and at the end, we all met up on Jade's ship, and then… nothing. We separated after getting through the next wall, the four of us humans waking up in my house, the trolls nowhere to be found. And after almost six years, there he was, standing in the rain with as deadly a glare as ever.

After getting all of my things and once again pulling Karkat out the door, locking it behind me, I wasted no time tailing down a taxi to get us to my apartment. My hair was damp from just the short amount of time I was out in the rain, but I had no idea how long Karkat had been out there. From the looks of it, it was a long time.

We reached the building in less than five minutes, and once we buzzed in and reached my room, Karkat was off. And by that I mean he was yelling and yelling and yelling. I ran around the small apartment, finding a fresh pair of clothes and my smallest pair of pants (which were still a bit big for him), a towel, and finally started cooking some ramen on the stove. All the while Karkat went on about the game and how he and the trolls had gotten separated, or at least he did, and hadn't heard from them for over a year, and where fuck were you John Egbert I swear to gog I went looking all over your shitty Washington state and you weren't even there.

"I'm sorry, we started there but after we graduated high school we figured it would be best to move somewhere else." I said, blowing on the bowl of noodles to try and cool it down. "If we had known that you guys were here we would have went looking for you, but we hardly ever had a computer and when we did you were never online."

"I don't even know if any of the others are on this shitty planet." He growled, examining the ramen suspiciously before scooping a large spoonful and stuffing the whole thing in his mouth. "Last one I talked to was Gamzee, and he wasn't any fucking help. Just went on about miracles and how it was fucking beautiful that we got out alive, even if we were separated."

"Well he does have a point. We would have lost everything if we didn't get out in time." I sighed.

"Yeah, well, it would have been nice if he would have answered my fucking questions and told me where he was."

"Hehe, yeah I guess you're right. But… how are you Karkat? I mean that might be stupid question, but it's been like, what, five and a half years?" The troll, much like the others and myself, had grown a considerable amount since then. Karkat was taller, though still not as tall as John, his eyes turning a more maroon than black now that he was getting older, and all forms of baby fat had vanished. His horns, though still nubby as they were, were longer, jutting out more. He was, dare I say, awfully handsome for a male alien troll. On human standards, at least. I still wasn't sure what exactly trolls found attractive. Wait… why was I even thinking about that?

"Egbert." Karkat snapped, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"Ah, uh, yeah?"

"Ugh, I forgot you were a total space-case." He said, rolling his eyes. "I said that I'm fine, if you don't count the five freaking earth years I spent running around your sorry excuse for a planet."

"I'm really sorry you went through all that trouble."

"No use complaining about it now. The point is that I found you, I'm dry, and I have food, no matter how strange it may be. Where are your human friends anyway?"

"Oh! That's right, they need to know that you're here!" I said, jumping up to grab the phone bolted to the wall. "Dave and Rose live in the same apartment, just below me. Jade lives out a little ways, though." I explained as I dialed Dave's number first.

"Egbert it's eleven at night this better be fucking-"

"Karkat's here!" I cut him off, knowing that he'd go off on some long and supposedly ironic rant because he always went to bed so early.

"What. Like, the angry little troll from the game. Are you sure it's Karkat? What if it's some weirdo who likes dressing up?"

I rolled my eyes. "Dave, I think I could tell the difference between Karkat and some weirdo in a costume."

"I'm not so sure about that."

"You know what, whatever! What I'm saying is that he got separated from the rest of the trolls. They may or may not be somewhere on earth, but none of them are answering their Trollians." I said, resting the phone between my ear and shoulder as I cleaned up Karkat's bowl, rinsing it out in the sink. "I think you should come over. If not today then tomorrow, but I'm gonna call Jade. Can you tell Rose for me? She should still be up."

"Yeah okay. I'll be over in like two minutes, but you owe me for waking me up this fucking late."

"Okay." I grinned, pressing end before dialing the number for Jade.

"Hello?"

"Hey Jade! It's me, I just wanted to tell you that I found Karkat. Well actually he found me, but he's at my apartment now. The trolls got all separated and stuff and even he can't get a hold of them."

"Wow, really? Man we haven't seen them in years! Mind if I come over tomorrow to say hi? I was planning to stop by soon anyway." She asked.

"Sure, Dave is coming over tonight for a while but we should all hang out tomorrow. I wanted us to all hang out soon too, so we could do it then. And this time Karkat will be with us."

Jade laughed, her voice ringing through the phone. "That should be interesting! Okay, I have to get to bed soon though. I'm tired. See you tomorrow John!"

"Night sis!" I grinned, hanging up the phone and turning to Karkat only to find that he was nowhere to be seen. I looked around the living room, bathroom, and then lastly checked my bedroom. I smiled when I saw a large lump under the covers. "Karkat?"

"God why is your hive so cold? It's practically the same as outside." He growled, curling up further.

"Heat is expensive." I sighed. "I have more blankets in the closet if you need some, but Dave is coming over soon."

"And why exactly is that insufferable prick coming over?"

"To say hi!"

"Egbert… you're an idiot."

I frowned but left him be. The troll was probably tired, and who knows the last time he actually got a good nights sleep? Though he had said he hardly slept anyway, but still. Seconds later there was a knock on the door, a very grumpy looking Dave standing on the other side. His hair was ruffled and he hadn't bothered to change out of his pajamas.

"Where is the idiot?" he asked, pushing past me into the room.

"He might have fallen asleep." I said, but that didn't seem to faze him. Dave headed straight to the bedroom, throwing the door open. And then the yelling started. Well, Karkat was the only one yelling. It had started by screaming about knocking and privacy, and when Dave threw back his almost bored sounding remarks, it just got Karkat even angrier. I did my best to step in, but neither seemed to hear me. With a sigh I left them to battle it out and went for fresh cup of coffee. Lord knows I was going to need it.

Eventually the yelling ceased and Dave plopped down next to me on the couch, both arms hung loosely over the back. "He's asleep."

"What?"

"You heard me. I rocked the little baby to sleep. All the yelling snatched the energy right out of him and he passed out. I know what I'm doing." He said, the hint of a grin at the corner of his mouth.

"Wow. I wasn't really trying to force him or anything, but I guess that's good. I wonder was the last time he got a decent nights sleep."

"I'm going to be asking myself that same question soon."

"Can you two try to get along, at least? You might be seeing a lot of each other for a while." I said, sipping at my coffee.

"That all depends on him. How did you find him anyway?" he asked, raising an eyebrow over his sunglasses. Isn't that horrible? He put his sunglasses on in the middle of the night just to come over to my apartment.

"I was cleaning up at the shop and he started banging on the door. He probably saw me while I was working or something. Anyway I thought he was just some creepy kid at first but then I saw his face and called me Egbert." I explained, stretching my head over the back of the couch.

"So what's the plan, then?"

"What do you mean?"

"How long is he staying? What are you going to do?" he clarified.

"Hm… well, however long he needs to. Or wants to, I guess. I know we should try to help look for the others, but we may have to wait a bit for that. And he'll have to wear a hood all the time, but even then with his gray skin and eyes he'll still stand out…"

"People tend to not really notice that stuff. Just keep him out of trouble." Dave shrugged.

"Yeah I guess you're right, but still." I sighed, slumping down and kicking my feet onto the coffee table.

"I should get going. Gotta get back to my beauty sleep." He grinned, standing up. "Hey Egbert, don't strain yourself."

"I'm fine, Dave." I assured him, smiling brightly to prove my point.

"No, no you aren't. Don't even play that shit with me." He said, wiping the smile right off my face. "You're working day and night, you hardly eat half of your food, and now you've got that fucking troll to take care of. Just… be careful." And with that the door slammed behind him, leaving me to stand in the living room.

I let out a sigh, ran my fingers through my hair, and went to check and make sure Karkat was really asleep. Leaving a note on the nightstand explaining that I was working and would be back at four if he woke up during the night, I put on my coat and shoes, stuffed my keys in my pocket, and left.

Okay, so maybe I did strain myself a bit, but I needed the extra money. Now before you get any suspicious ideas, it was a very modest job that I did at night. A 24 hour Walgreens about fifteen minutes away paid extra for anyone willing to work the early morning hours of midnight to four, and I had signed up immediately. The money added up, giving me just enough extra money to pay for food. The bookstore was wonderful and everything, but it didn't pay very much.

The store was quiet, two other people working and only one customer in the store at the moment. After signing myself in I took my place at the open register, yawning. It was going to be just another long night.

Alright, there we have it. For those wondering, this is also posted on my Archive of Our Own account, which can also be found here - /works/296721 for anyone who prefers to read there. The two will be updated simultaneously, so don't worry about being left out on either :P

Anyway, reviews would be great! Thanks everyone for reading and I'll do my best to update quickly.