Yeah I still don't own Homestuck, that honor goes to the guy with the horse thing. I'm the gal with the bird thing, big difference. Also this chapter and story for that matter still doesn't have a beta. So grammar Nazi's tread carefully upon this unmarked land called. You have been warned!

Four years

Warm. The car felt really warm compared to the unusually cold weather outside. The soft hum of the heater and steady breathing of his sleeping brother seemed to mold into the perfect silence.

Sparing a quick glance at said sleeping brother, Kankri quickly took in his brothers features. His messy hair, the slightly tanned skin, and the irritated look that seemed to have followed him into his slumber. His brother had grown a lot in four years. Of course that was expected at his age, but taking in his short stature and slightly chubby appearance it looked at if he were getting ready to grow again soon.

Four years... How could so much have happened in such a short time. Well.. Relatively short compared to the rest of the human lifespan, but that was beside the point. Giving his brother another quick glance he forced himself to bring his attention back to the road. Getting in a car crash this far from home, with his brother in his car would not be the most favorable of outcomes.

Though as he drove down the somewhat empty road he allowed himself to think back on his four year absence..

It had been a rash decision at the time. More rash then he'd ever been. All through out middle school he had been careful about others feelings, even to go as far as to think he knew what was best for them. He had been so focused on telling himself he didn't care what other people thought of him but in the end he couldn't care more. It had been a deadly combination, and it was definitely a wonder how he made it through middle school in one piece.

Something changed when he hit high school. Whether it was people around him or himself he'll never know. The only thing he is sure of is that it changed for the better. He got friends. A luxury he never aloud himself or was able to obtain before.

The constant need to sensor himself and others slightly faded and his use of the word triggered decreased daily. He was becoming a happier, better person. So when his parents said they were going to move.. He grew afraid. He remembered what it was like to be an outsider, working so hard for the sake of others only to push them away. He had refused to go.

His parents angered by his refusal had taken to using their parental authority over him. Feeling desperate he began to completely rebel against them, going out of his way to upset or make life harder for them. His father and him argued for quite some time, until the day his family would of left his father finally had enough and said if he wished to be on his own then he could live on the streets. Rushing Karkat and his mother from the house and into the car they left leaving with out him.

It was in that... Moment of terrifying freedom that he will admit, he changed. Smiling wider then ever before he called up his friend Porrim and told her everything down to the last detail of how his parents had abandoned him.

Confused by his elated state she had come and picked him up, questioning his mental stability. She then brought him to her house, where her parents aloud him to live until he had managed to get a part time job and a shitty apartment near by. He had never felt so happy to be by himself. That is.. Until he remembered Karkat.

Sadly it had been a whole month until he came to the realization that he had no way to contact his younger sibling. He had been devastated. He had left behind the one family connection he had ever truly relied on. His father had been a cruel man and his mother nothing more then a bystander who still clung to the illusion that her husband was the man she married.

Karkat though.. Karkat was the only real thing he had in his life before high school. From the very moment he had first held him something deep inside Kankri knew that Karkat Vantas wasn't just any other baby born into this world. Somehow he had known that the small child in his arms would grow up to be something great. So through his crabby infantry, his dramatic "i hate you"s, the start of his nightmares, to the simple "I'm sorry' at the end of each fight, Kankri had watched him. Waiting to see what exactly made his brother so special in his eyes. Until he came to realize, it was because Karkat was his brother. Karkat was his baby brother and that's all there was to it.

So when the realization that he had just abandoned his brother had finally come, there was no words to describe his remorse. Porrim had assured him that Karkat would eventually find a way to contact him, but he wasn't so sure.. At the time he had began to consider himself fortunate, but in his mind even luck had it's limits. After over a year he had all but lost hope.

Then in the middle of his junior year a miracle occurred. His friend Mituna in a somewhat joking matter said he had found some kid online who's profile looked like him. After showing him the picture he... For lack of better words, flipped the fuck out.

After practically stalking his younger brother on the internet for two days, Mituna was able to come up with a phone number for him to try.

Approaching the freeway Kankri tried to blink away the thoughts to focus more on the road. The rest was history anyway. He... Had felt.. So ashamed of himself when he had learned of his brothers condition. Slightly blaming himself for leaving his brother to face such a fate alone.. He doesn't really like to think back on that day much..

All that mattered now was getting his brother home and figuring the rest out from there. It was going to be hard for them both. His apartment was slightly run down and perhaps a bit on the small side. He also wondered if his current jobs would be enough to support them both. After all in this time of his life he could barely support himself let alone his brother.. but.. It would be a cold day in hell before he would give up on this with out even a fight.

A lot had changed in four years. For both him and his brother, and even more was probably going to change for both of them this year. Though for Kankri only one thing was certain. He wasn't going to abandon his brother. Not this time.


I am so sorry I forgot how short this chapter was. AKA really fucking short. I promise this will be the shortest chapter I ever post for this story. I would of gone back an made it longer, but I liked how it ended and it would probably thrown my other chapters out of whack. So yeah, this was kinda a mirror chapter to last year but hella short. As in response to JJSone22 who's review I just got 12 minutes before posting this, yes a few other characters might also remember and or start to remember things. Though you won't really know who until they are introduced.

The next update will ether be Wednesday or Thursday. Tuesday has been canceled do to a scheduling error. Feel free to follow and review about what you think, constructive criticism, and commentary about natures most dapper of birds the Inca Tern's. Thanks for reading and I'll see you guys soon.