Notes:
[f/n]= first name
Together, we are floating in endless space. Millions of stars, all that is left of the galaxy, surround us. What was known as Earth, and Alternia, no longer exists. It is just Karkat and me. After all that blood, tears, defeats, loss, and hard work, we had beat the game. And now, everything in the universe is being reset so that a new universe can be created. Meaning that soon, Karkat and I will no longer remember each other. Everything we've been through together will be wiped away, so that we may start over. All of our friends have already disappeared, one by one. Soon, either Karkat or I will disappear next.
Karkat's hand grips mine tightly, his slight tremors causing my own hand to shake. He is trying so hard to hold back his tears, but the translucent red liquid persists on falling. Tears pool at the edge of my eyes as well, but I don't bother holding them back. Unlike Karkat, I have a smile on my face. Albeit a saddened one, but a smile nonetheless.
I look him in his eyes, his frightened and sad eyes. "It'll be ok, Karkat," I tell him. "Me and you, we're connected by destiny. In the new world, I just know we'll meet again. Deep down in my soul, I can never forget you. I'm red for you, forever and always."
Karkat, my Karkat who is always shouting and unable to shut up, is incapable of speaking. He pulls me close in a tight embrace, choked sobs escaping his mouth. It makes it hard for me not to break down myself, but I'm holding on to my strong conviction that this is not the end for us.
"I love you, [f/n]," Karkat chokes out. "I don't want to forget you. This isn't what I fought so hard for."
"I know, Karkat, I know," I whisper. "But you'll see, we'll be together again. No matter what. We are the ones who are making the new universe, after all. It has to abide to our wishes and desires. I won't say goodbye. Instead, I'll see you later."
Whatever Karkat's response was going to be, I would never hear it. Slowly, I faded away, Karkat's wide and remorseful red eyes burned into my mind.
Karkat's existence will forever be burned into me, even with my memories gone.
I hold onto my dad's hand, toddling on while trying to keep up with his pace. Today, Mommy and Daddy are getting me a new brother or sister. I smile widely, imagining all the fun things I'll get to do with my new playmate. I'll let him play with all my toys, we can play hide and seek, color together; we'll be the bestest of friends!
We reach what Mommy and Daddy calls an orphanage, a place where kids wait to get new mommies and daddies. While they are taking care of adult stuff, Daddy tells me to go play with the kids of the orphanage. A lady takes me to a big play area with a bunch of other kids; the sounds of laughter, shouting, and thudding feet surround me.
The lady leaves me to wander around and do as I please. Shyly, I look at all the kids playing. One of these kids could be my new brother or sister. I scan the room, looking for someone who seems friendly enough to play with. I spot a black sweater, which stands out among the colorful summer clothes of the other children. Unlike the happy children, this lone boy has a grumpy look set on his face. I can tell he wants to cry, he is just acting tough.
Drawn to him, and concerned, I decide to try and help him out. "Are you ok?" I ask the boy, who looks up at me with a glare.
"I'm fine!" he shouts at me, his voice surprisingly very loud. "Leave me alone."
I look at the boy with concern, and crouch down so we are eye level. "You look upset. If you tell me what's wrong, I can help you!" He scoffs at me. Normally, such behavior would of made me upset. But looking at him, I can tell he is the one who is upset, so I don't mind his mean behavior.
"You're lying, you don't want to help me. You just want to make fun of me like everyone else!" he accuses.
I shake my head rapidly at him, denying his accusation. "No, I'll help! I promise!" I tell him. I hold out my pinky finger to him. "I pinky promise."
He stares at my finger suspiciously, and for a moment I was scared he was going to bite it. But slowly, he wraps his pinky against mine. "It's a pinky swear, if you're lying you're going to get it," he tells me. I smile widely at him.
"Got it! Now, what's wrong?" I ask him.
He bites his lip, casting his strangely red eyes downwards. He points at two boys playing with a stuffed toy that looks like a crab. "They stole my toy and won't give it back."
I stand up and dust myself off. "Ok, I'll get it back for you," I tell him.
I march over to the boys and stand before them, outstretching my hand. "Hey," I say to them, trying to make my voice sound stern, "can I please have that toy back?"
They snicker at me. "Make us," one of the boys sneer.
I cross my arms and look at them sternly. "I'm going to count to five," I tell them, just like my mommy. "If you don't give me back the toy, I'm going to scream really loudly and tell everyone you are being bullies." They laugh at me, still refusing to give me the toy. "One," I say loudly, voice firm. They shake their heads at me. "Two." They stop moving and look at me unbelievingly. "Three." I can tell they are starting to get nervous. "Four," I say menacingly, stretching out the four.
Finally, the boy holding the toy tosses the toy at me, hitting me in the face with it. He looks at me angrily. "Here's the stupid toy," he spits at me. "We didn't want it anyways, that gross Karkat kid had his hands all over it and it was ugly." With that, both boys storm away.
"Then why steal it," I mumble to myself, miffed at the boys. Still, I got the toy, and that's all that matters. I walk over to who I assume is named Karkat and hand him his toy with a smile. "I got it back!" I tell him proudly.
He reaches out and gently takes the toy from me, hugging it to his chest. He looks at me shyly, cheeks red. "Thanks," he mumbles.
"No problem! I'm [f/n], what's your name?" I ask him.
"Karkat," he tells me, his voice returning to its normal loudness.
"Can I play with you?" I ask him.
"Do what you want," he tells me, but I can tell he is secretly happy.
I plop down beside him. "Does your toy have a name?" I ask him.
"He's Crabdad," he answers.
I poke the soft plushie. "Hi, Crabdad," I greet. Karkat, Crabdad, and I play together for awhile until it's settled in my mind, though my heart had already made up its mind a long time ago. I want Karkat to be my brother. I grab Karkat's hand. "Can I ask you something?"
"What?" Karkat asks.
"Would you like to be my new brother?" Karkat looks at me in utter shock.
"You want someone like me to be your brother?" he asks me, dumbfounded.
I nod my head enthusiastically. "I like you lots! Please, please, please be my brother!" I beg him.
His face goes beet red. He grips my hand a little tighter and nods. "I ain't got anyone better to be my family, besides Crabdad. I guess you'll do."
I laugh, delighted he said yes. "Follow me!" I command him, and drag him along in search for my parents. Just in time, they had entered the playroom. I march over to them, hand-in-hand with Karkat. "Mommy, Daddy! I found my new brother!" I exclaim, tugging Karkat closer to them. Karkat looks intimidated, like he'll be rejected soon.
They look surprised, but then smile at each other before Daddy hunches over so he can see Karkat better. "Hey there," Daddy greets Karkat. "What would your name be?"
"Karkat," Karkat answers, his voice once again losing its usual loudness.
Daddy glances at me, while I watch Daddy intensely to see his reaction. Daddy turns his attention back to Karkat. "Would you like to be part of this family?" he asks Karkat.
Karkat looks Daddy in the eye. "Yes, sir," he answers, surprisingly polite.
Daddy smiles warmly at Karkat. "Then, Karkat, welcome to the family."
"Yay!" I shout out of joy. I pull Karkat into a hug. "You're my brother now! Wait till you see our house, it's so cool!"
Meanwhile, Daddy straightens himself. "You sure about this?" Mommy asks Daddy. "We didn't even get to know him."
"[f/n] likes him, and chose him. If [f/n] likes him, he can't be a bad kid. Let's give him a shot," Daddy tells her.
Daddy, Mommy, Karkat, and I go home as a family. Oh, and Crabdad! When we reach the house, I grab Karkat's hand and dash out of the car. "I'll show you your room!" I say as I tug Karkat to his new room. Mommy and Daddy follow from behind.
I open the door to his room, located right next to mine. It's very spacious, but at the moment, empty except for a lone bed. "We'll take you shopping tomorrow to pick out some stuff for your room," Mommy tells Karkat.
"You'll be at home in no time!" I exclaim.
Starting today, Karkat is my precious brother.
Karkat has been a part of my family for years now. I blink away the sleepiness and bang on my alarm clock with pure hatred for it. I hate waking up early! I glance at a photo of Karkat and me, when we were kids. Has it already been years? Karkat and I used to be two peas in a pod, but lately Karkat has been a bit distant, and I don't know why.
I bury my face in my pillow with a heavy sigh. It's been bothering me a lot that Karkat seems angry at me for something. I close my eyes and try to remember the dream I had. Karkat was in it, or at least it seemed like Karkat. He looked very different, with gray skin and horns that looked like candy corn. Yet somehow, I just knew it was Karkat.
But...I blush heavily thinking about it. In the dream, we were lovers. I shake away the dream and stretch my sleepy bones. I throw on some clothes for school and exit my bedroom. I head for Karkat's door, opening it to reveal a sleeping Karkat. "Time to wake up!" I shout.
He bolts up, face flushed red. "What the fuck are you doing here?" he screams at me, flustered.
"Um, waking you up for school?" I reply. "What are you being so embarrassed about?"
Karkat ruffles his hand through his hair. "I had a weird dream," he tells me.
"About what?" I ask.
His face gets a little redder and he looks away from me. "None of your business," he replies. "Now get out of here so I can change."
"Ok, ok!" I say and back out of the room. I tilt my head at Karkat. "You know, I had a weird dream too."
He looks at me curiously. "About what?" he asks.
"None of your business," I reply with a smirk, and shut the door. I head on downstairs for breakfast.
"Morning, honey," Mom greets me. She places my plate of food in front of me as I sit down. She places a kiss on my cheek and says, "Cussing again?"
I laugh. "Yep, Potty Mouth is at it again. But don't worry, Mom, he's working on it, honest." Once Karkat had hit his adolescence years, he developed a bad habit of cursing, which caused him to get into a lot of trouble both at school and at home.
Mom shakes her head disapprovingly, but with a smile. Like me, she can't help but find Karkat's cussing to be amusing. Of course, she wouldn't tell Karkat that. She has to be a responsible parent, after all. Speak of the devil, Karkat comes stomping downstairs. Mom walks over to him and lightly bonks him on the head with a wooden spoon. "No cussing! You know that," she scolds.
Karkat rubs his head mockingly. "I know!" he yells. He sits down and Mom places a plate of food in front of him. Mom, Karkat, and I eat together in awkward silence. I sneak glances every now and then at Karkat. Normally, we'd be bickering teasingly by now. Is he really upset with me?
"Ah, the bus is here!" Mom cries.
"Shit!" Karkat curses, dashing for his bookbag and heading out the door.
"Language!" Mom yells after him.
"Bye mom!" I shout and follow Karkat.
I enter the bus, spotting Karkat already settled in his usual seat. I smile and head over to him, ready to sit with him as usual, when he places his bookbag on the seat. I stare at him in confusion, but he refuses to look at me. I feel a blow to my heart. Yes, he isupset with me. Feeling a lump in my throat, I plop down on a empty seat. What if Karkat hates me? I wouldn't be able to handle that.
Karkat is my precious brother, I love him. I really love him…
To Be Continued
