(A/N) Thanks so much for all of those lovely people who pitched in their opinions, even if it was just to tell me they liked it. Thank you thank you. And in return, I grant you with the next chapter. From here it may get a little more... violent.
Chapter 2 - Theriouthly?
"Come on in, then." Turning his body, he dropped his hand back down to his side before reentering his hive, glancing over his shoulder to motion the Cancer in.
"Shut up," Karkat mumbled back to him quietly as he stepped into the Gemini's rather large hive. He kept his eyes on his sneakers as he walked inside, as if his shoes were the most interesting thing in the world and peeling his eyes from them would just be internal torture. Truth was, he had never been to Sollux's hive before, or not in a long time, he couldn't really remember the circumstances. Either way, he didn't know what to expect and he was afraid to look up. It was no secret that the taller troll was a computer nerd. He knew everything there was to know basically. A master coder. Something Karkat would forever and always be jealous of. So instead of taking in his surroundings he kept a casual gaze on his feet, awkwardly playing with a loose thread on his slate grey pants.
By human standards, and troll standards for that matter, Karkat was short. He couldn't have been much over five feet tall. It didn't help his case much that he had a tendency to slump his shoulders a little, enough to make him look even shorter. Standing properly was just too much work. He had unruly black hair that puffed up in all directions around his rounded horns. He had pale grey skin, paler than most trolls as he almost never went outside. His eyes were yellow with dark, almost black circle under them from hours of sleep he never got. Perhaps even with all of these features that would be considered undesirable (next to his personality and tendency to be an absolute douchebag) Karkat had one saving grace. He was adorable as fuck. His face was perfectly round and he had thin black lips that were just plump enough to add to his overall cuteness. Despite the tired circles under his eyes, he always had this little sparkle in them, like a tiny flicker of happiness. As for his hair, in combination with the cuteness of his face, it gave him a scruffy puppy look. Of course, the female trolls often made a point of telling him he was adorable but Karkat never believed them at all.
The psionic noted that blank personality the Cancer seemed to keep as he entered the hive with little interest. Karkat made it seem like he so badly wanted to keep Sollux company that it made the Gemini chuckle slightly. Turning his body and shifting his weight on his heel, he quietly shut the door to his hive behind him as he eyed the Cancer with sudden interest. Why was Karkat so shy in person and yet when it came down to knowing him face to face, he was the most shy troll Sollux had ever seen? Was it because he was in a completely new and different environment than his own? "Jutht don't touch anything. Here, follow me." He lifted a hand and gently brushed it along Karkat's shoulder the moment he walked by, almost to motion the other to follow him up the long pathway up the stairs.
As he passed, the Gemini noted the others height, and Karkat seemed a lot shorter than he thought he was before. Did he shrink or was Sollux's mind playing tricks on him again? He wouldn't be surprised, honestly. It did that all of the time. Sollux was at least a whole foot taller than the nubby horned troll. If not an entire foot and a few inches to add on more height that was obviously there. If the psionic was one to judge trolls by their outer appearance, he would be judging Karkat nonstop to the ends of the fucking planet. That pale skin, his shortness, those tired eyes. his unkempt hair - did he even bother to take care of himself? The more he thought about it as he walked up the stairs, the less time it took for him to suddenly stop and grip the railing as he turned his head to stare at Karkat from over his shoulder.
"Are you doing alright, KK? You theem really out of it." He decided to ask just because it was bothering him. Not for Karkat's sake, right? Okay, it was for Karkat's sake but Sollux was going to continue to act like he really didn't care.
Karkat jumped a little as Sollux' hand brushed over his shoulder. After his mini-heart attack he turned to follow the psionic. Walking the path to the stairs he didn't say anything. Although, he kind of wanted to speak up once the Gemini told him not to touch anything as if he was a fucking grub or something. He followed after the troll nonetheless down the corridor, shuffling his feet ever so slightly and keeping his eyes down. The Cancer was never the face-to-face kind of guy. In fact he was horrible in person.
Online, Karkat was fearless, rude, blunt, and loud. But in person, in reality, that was a tough façade that he put on from time to time. It wasn't something that he couldn't do, it was just easier not to do anything. So he was almost expressionless. As Sollux spoke to him he looked up suddenly to meet eyes. He stopped his trekking up the stairs to narrow his eyes into two glowing yellow slits, "I'm fine. Get the fuck out of my business. Just because I fucking 'seem out of it' doesn't mean a fucking thing. What do you know about me? Nothing, so stay out."
Karkat might not have been so defensive had Sollux not just noticed that. How was it that someone who barely talked to him could figure things out faster than his closest friends? He shouldn't be that easy to figure out and thus, he got defensive of himself. He didn't need anyone's help, he was fine on his own. Or at least that what he kept on telling himself. He would never admit anything to anyone.
The presence of the Cancer online was completely different than the one that Sollux could sense compared to the one in front of him right now. Well, following behind him up the stairs anyways. The psionic wouldn't have told Karkat to not touch anything if he was used to having physical company within his household, but because he wasn't, Sollux was not going to take any chances in something breaking. Shit already breaks every day from his angry lusus from atop the hive making earthquakes that would knock shit over. In turn, the psionic would have to clean it up, but that was actually rather simple since all he had to do was use his psionic powers to do so.
Upon hearing Karkat's harsh words, the dual horned troll stood still and held his composure as the shorter of the two almost began ranting. Honestly, he was tired of Karkat's cursing even if he followed close in his footsteps with that language. He could easily read people, and he could easily see that Karkat was irritated with what he had asked. But why? It was all in his secret best interests to wonder if the little guy was alright, but if he was going to act like this-
Shifting his weight, he swiftly turned around and reached an arm up to quickly grasp the front of the Cancer's shirt, fisting the material in his hand as he pushed the shorter troll against the stairway railing. His other hand still held onto said railing, but his body was slightly hunched over to be face to face with the little annoyed troll. It was funny, really. What the other trolls had said about Karkat being adorable was true. He was stubborn - and Sollux liked that.
"Look, KK-" He hissed out, lightly pushing his back more into the railing, "I athked out of interetht, okay? Don't get tho fucking butthurt over that. You act ath if no one giveth a shit. For once do you ever thtop to think that maybe thomeone doeth? For once, thtop being tho defenthive. The only reathon I don't know anything about you ith becauthe you never share with anyone."
Karkat might not have flipped his shit if Sollux hadn't just practically manhandled him. Not only was it embarrassing to be pushed around, but it was also demeaning. Karkat snarled lowly as he was pressed up against the railing. His eyes narrowed even further and his black lips pulled back from two rows of razor sharp teeth. It was rare for him to become hostile in a near feral way towards another troll but on occasion it happened. But then again, there was only one other occasion and Karkat was high as fuck then. In other words, he was really pissed off right about now.
Shoving the Gemini off of him into the opposite wall he made no advance to grab him into the same vice grip treatment. Mostly because he knew that if it turned into a fight between him and Sollux, he would not be the victor. But Karkat did promise himself if another finger was laid on him again, he was going to be vicious about it. He couldn't stand people looking down on him. It was like he wasn't worth their time and there was nothing good about him.
Huffing for a moment he glared at the other, "If you EVER fucking lay a finger on me again, I will rip you to pieces. And furthermore, nobody does give a shit about me. Welcome to reality Sollux. If you want to be a douche and poke fun of the way I fucking am, then go ahead. But don't expect to wake up the next morning. At all." There were so many things he wanted to say, so many things he wanted to do. But right now, he was so mad there was no comprehension. Not only had Sollux figured him out in two seconds, he had also pissed him off beyond belief in about the same number.
His fingers twitched with the urge to do something, to absolutely annihilate the troll in front of him. But this was pretty much the normal rage he felt towards everyone. He just had a genuine hate for everyone. They were all nuisances to him. But right now, there was a specific irritation gauged towards Sollux.
Ironically, never until now was he afraid of how another troll might act.
Sollux had figured the smaller troll would suddenly act like this towards him. He expected it within mere minutes of placing a hand anywhere near Karkat. And his suspicions were deemed true when he felt the smaller troll shove him back into the opposite wall, in which he gladly let go and slowly stood up to his full height to glare down at the other with narrowed bi-colored eyes. His glasses gleamed with an eerie tint from the light beaming in from the windows, making the psionic's silence all the more threatening.
He read Karkat within minutes. Seconds. The shorter of the two was just highly misunderstood. If one would think about it really hard, Karkat and Sollux had a lot of similarities with secretly caring for other people but not giving a shit if they cared back. Thing is, he could tell Karkat cared about it in reciprocal ways. It seemed as if the Cancer wanted someone to care - no matter who it was, he just wanted someone to care and he was never shown that before. Well neither was the psionic but he was going to shove that thought aside.
Oh, he was feisty. "Funny, KK.." The psionic murmured, placing his palms against the wall and pushing himself off of it and slowly walking back towards the Cancer. "You thay no one giveth a thit when you don't even know people." It was true. If Karkat could read people as easily as he could, then the Cancer would be able to see that deep on the inside, Sollux really did give a shit about him. It just wasn't in the psionic's nature to show it in a rather nice way. In fact, it was really hard to express a feeling that he never had to use before.
He noted Karkat's actions, and his eyes crackled with red and blue electricity as he tilted his head to stare at the shorter troll. He couldn't have been that stupid, really. Both trolls knew who the victor would be if they ever got into a physical fight.
Karkat was a rather impressionable troll and might have been easy to intimidate had he not been the most prideful troll in all of Alternia. Being the moirail of Gamzee also played a large part in that though. He wasn't afraid of much after seeing the juggalo act like a psycho from time to time. Additionally, he didn't know a whole lot about psionics. Sure some trolls had them, but he had never seen someone like Sollux who was a master of the psionics. Needless to say he knew that Sollux had the advantage but he didn't know quite how enormous that advantage was.
He didn't like when people could read him. He hated being simple to figure out. He hated when a troll could tell him exactly what was on his mind. It killed him inside, at least a little. Karkat wasn't one to admit to any feeling no matter what it was. He didn't like to admit that he was insecure in any way. And he hated when someone named what was wrong with him before he did. When it came to other trolls, he knew exactly what was going on with them and was fantastic at solving it. When it was himself, it was something different entirely.
"I fucking know people, maybe if you weren't so caught up in being a douche you might have noticed that the only one who is around all the fucking time is me." As the other moved towards him he growled rather territorially as if the mustard blood was invading his space.
As the other stepped closer still and looked down at him with his red and blue eyes Karkat glared up at him with a burning intensity. He was angry and Sollux was mocking him. Now he was furious. "One more fucking step, I dare you." He snarled as his hands curled into fists.
The Gemini had a rather impressive amount of pride in himself as well, but even then he knew when to stop. Karkat didn't however, giving him a rather hard shell and it was sometimes hard to get along with him. Either that, or their personalities were so different, they were bound to get into an argument one way or another. They could have easily been alike as well. Both were very prideful in what they did, both trolls had an attitude and often had comebacks of their own to arguments, and both trolls seemed to be highly misunderstood in the eyes of others. Both Sollux Captor and Karkat Vantas – all they seemed to truthfully want was acceptance. But for different reasons. And Sollux was too ignorant to even realize that thought.
His psionics had a rather large advantage in battle when it came down to it, but the dual horned troll often would tone it down a bit. If he ever used his full potential to his powers, he could possibly tear Karkat apart with the force of the psionic abilities he obtained. That thought right there showed himself that he at least cared a little for Karkat – if not even more, but that thought was to stay inside his mind and never be spoken aloud. People were easy to read to him. He would observe actions and personality switches with attitudes, along to being accustomed to their natural behavior. Karkat was way too easy to read and he was surprised no one ever noticed.
"I know people a lot more than you, Kk." Karkat did have a point, though. The fact that he was there when really no one else wasn't. But Sollux wasn't about to admit that he wanted to thank him. Nope. He would keep this up, and as if to piss the smaller troll off ever further, the Gemini put on a smug smirk as he took a step towards the Cancer. "What now, athhole?"
Karkat never compared his personality, goals, or interests with another troll. The main reason for that was because he was never really sure exactly what those all were. He didn't know how he himself thought, as previously stated. All he /really/ knew was that he cared about others to some level. He hated to see trolls suffer if he could have done something to fix it. That being said, he /would/ stand to see another suffer if it was exactly his intent, save the guilt for later.
Like most low bloods, Karkat didn't have much at his disposal. Each and every troll had some kind of advantage whether it be one thing or another. But Karkat, being the lowest of the low, had nothing at his disposal. Not that he really was going to admit either of those things. He wasn't an idiot, he did find some value in life and if he really needed to, he would back down. But it would take an awful lot to get him to step down. Or at least, in his head it would take effort from a troll. In reality, it probably wasn't going to take much. There were a few things that the Cancer kept secret more than others.
Good question, what now? What the fuck was he thinking of doing? What was the plan now? His instincts pretty much answered those questions in between heartbeats. The next thing he could feel was his fist colliding with the side of Sollux's jaw. If the Cancer was surprised he had just done that, he didn't show it in the least bit. He wasn't one to simply explode but right now he was. He was pissed and now it was probably pretty obvious to the Gemini. All of that previously pent up anger? Yeah, this was the release of it.
If anything, Sollux could give less of a fuck than Karkat ever could with people. He could read him. He knew him, although they didn't visit each other as much, and this was the perfect example of why that never happened and why they never got near each other a majority of the time. It was possible for the psionic to not care at all, to have his external shell appear cold and as a complete asshole, a complete douchebag. During a physical fight with a troll, which he didn't have often, an example of his kindness was given by not using his powers on someone he knew. However, if Karkat were to push it too far, there would be no hesitation, only complete retaliation in his defense.
A small smirk began to tug at the Gemini's lips as he sensed that anger within the tiny troll grow. It was actually pretty amazing that such a tiny little body could even hold that astronomical amount of hatred. Funny, really. Karkat came over for a visit, and the conversation was just fine up until they got into one simple argument – and now they were at each other's throats. Sollux Captor had no problem with that. Regardless though of Karkat's size, that tiny little troll could actually take him down – he wasn't that stupid. The Gemini was one to think before he acted in this type of situation. However, Sollux's taller and lankier stature could also retaliate with an attack of his own strength and take him down right back.
And it was at that exact moment where the psionic's head snapped to the side, dual lensed glasses falling onto one of the stairs with a loud crack as the glass of the red lens shattered across a few of the steps. That hit was fucking hard. The Cancer was angry, and that was more than obvious as he just exploded with it. Another crack was heard the moment the other troll's fist had connected, resulting in Sollux lifting a hand and gently grabbing at his lower jaw and moving it back and forth to see if it was broken. Thankfully, Karkat did not knock his jaw out of place, but the little fucker came close. Too close.
He slowly turned back to the Cancer, stature still completely calm regardless of getting slugged across the face. His eyes began to glow with a faint amount of blue and red electricity, fingers flexing as the knuckles cracked – the Gemini readied his claws for a possible retaliation. However, no such attack would come so quickly. Spinning slightly on his right heel, he took a step to the right and placed his foot onto the lower step of the stairs he was currently on. With a swift action, he launched his arm out and wrapped his fingers around the Cancer's throat, claws digging into the sensitive skin. Red electricity began to travel up his arm, stopping at his wrist as if threatening to actually shock the smaller troll's red blood for a full body effect.
"Theriouthly, Kk..?" He asked, sticking his forked tongue out between his fangs, a shit eating grin present on his face. "Theriouthly..?"
(A/N) I am aware this chapter is significantly shorter than the first but the next one I do believe is on the longer side so don't worry about it.
Please do continue to pitch your opinions and let me know what you think. Or even just to tell me that you are reading it. I love to hear from you. Thank you my lovelies, VialCreatures