Hi everyone!

So, I'm still not sure which version I like more but if you have a preference please tell me.

Trigger Warnings: Death (though it is an unknown troll), blood, and swearing.

Everything belongs to the Huss.

Sollux wasn't proud of the way he had found out, mostly because he never though Karkat was, or could be, afraid of him. Sure, Sollux was a douche with incredible mind powers, but he had always assumed Karkat was some sort of blue blood and therefore had no reason to be afraid. Karkat always wore those ridiculous sweaters like he needed the extra heat and pranced around like he was far superior in every way. However, Sollux didn't think Karkat could be too high up because he still cared for those whom he let talk to him on a regular basis. Aradia even reported KK calling Sollux his best friend (though Sollux wasn't too sure how to react to that little piece of gossip).

Hell, KK had even been one of the ones to insist he go get some meds to help with his mood swings. The meds didn't help his powers and didn't help the voices of the soon to be dead, but he felt more like he could control himself better which was a plus. It also meant he would be taken to the ships a little early but that was his fate, to begin with, so it didn't matter much since he could enjoy his wriggler sweeps better now because of it. Fuck, going even landed Sollux a moirail in Aradia.

It was before he went to the mediculler that Sollux found out though. Karkat had asked him to come over to help with some sort of computer problem that later Sollux realized Karkat had caused on purpose to make sure he didn't do anything dumb while coming up from a particularly low period. Not even KK is stupid enough to let such a dangerous and beginner level virus loose on his computer. Of course, Karkat does a lot of stupid stuff and it's not like he's going to admit to helping another outright.

It was also the first time Sollux had been to Karkat's have and boy was he glad Biclops-dad was large enough to carry him and his equipment. Sollux guessed he could have just used his powers, but he wasn't feeling it that evening, so he didn't. Stupid bipolar. Thankfully Karkat's Lusus is big enough and familiar enough with Biclops-dad to be chill about the company. Both have to hang out outside though because Biclops-dad would throw a fit if he went into another trolls hive with their Lusus. Sollux isn't sure if he's jealous as fuck or protective. Sollux also isn't sure which is worst.

Sollux doesn't notice that the Crab isn't waiting outside this time like he normally is when he hears Biclops-dad's powers humming. Sollux also fails to notice the teal droplets on the walkway.

There is nothing spectacular about KK's hive and doesn't give any hint about blood color. He could be lime for all Sollux knows. Not that that is on his mind when he arrives. Nope, all Sollux wants is to get out of the open, eat some of Karkat's food, and go home. Seriously, he is not in the mood for shouty assholes and their failures at programming. But… Fuck it, he was more in the mood for it now than he was a week ago when Karkat first asked and KK is his friend so he might as well help. If nothing else, Aradia said getting out and about should help with the pick-me-up prosses. Besides, Sollux sorta wants KK to unblock him so he can get back to gaming. Gaming really helps too.

Sollux knocks, and to his surprise, the door swings the second any pressure is applied and a strong smell of iron, salt, and decay waves out through the door. That gets Sollux's attention. All hives are locked all the time and the smell of death isn't one to just sit in the hallway. Behind him, Biclops-dad hums in worry. Ignoring him, and readying his powers, he slips into the hive and follows the stench. The red and blue light coming from behind his glasses gives the dim hall an odd glow and makes the shadows dance in such a way that Sollux wished he's brought a different light source. He doesn't go far before he finds a massive teal stain in the middle of the recreation block. Thankfully the lights still work, but even with them on Sollux knows there isn't a body.

Sollux stares at the stain. Teal? Was Karkat seriously teal? Where is his-the body? From the size of that puddle, there should be one. Is the attacker still here? The red and blue lighting gets bigger, brighter, and louder; his psionics crackle and pop with eagerness and the hope that Karkat's killer is still looting the hive. He really wants to… meet them. Yeah. With much more confidence, than before, Sollux stalks through the halls and peeks into every room. Oddly enough, nothing looks like it has been touched. If Sollux wasn't so pissed off with whoever thought they could get away with killing Karkat, he'd find this a bit odd. But he's a psionic, and more powerful than most high-bloods so who gives a fuck? All he can think about is making that stupid fucking asshole pay. No way in hell are they getting away with killing KK. He'll even enlist TZ if he has too, she'll defiantly be down with finding them for this. Fuck, how should he tell her? How should he tell all of them? How dare this fucking bastard put him in this position and how DARE they touch KARKAT!

The sound of running water from the floor above draws Sollux's attention and forces him to try to contain his powers. He doesn't want to just kill them in a blast of light. He wants to savior their death, wants them to know how not okay it was to kill Karkat, and wants them to bleed the same way Karkat did. With the help of his powers, his feet don't touch the stairs- he knows how they groan under any weight- as he ascends and stays low in the hall, staying as quiet and as hidden as possible, not using his powers at all. The pictures of movies and various props hanging on KK's walls seem more mocking than anything and saddening than worthy of the laughs he would have thrown at the troll who owns them…Owned them. He wants to take this bastard alive more than ever, give them no chance to fight. The water turns off. The door to the absolutions block is opened.

The second they come into his line of sight he warps his powers around them, lifts them off the ground, and forces their limbs to their bodies. It was almost too easy to contain them. Too easy and nowhere near as satisfying. Sollux let out a growl and throws them against the door frame when they start struggling. Hard.

"OW! What the fuck!?"

Wait, Sollux knows that voice. He knows that voice very well because there is none like it. And he never thought he'd hear it again. His powers disappear, and the troll falls to their knees, one hand on the shoulder that was thrown into the door frame and the other helping them stay in a crouched, ready to strike stance.

"…Karkat…?"

"Captor!? What the hell did you do that for!?"

Sollux doesn't answer but flips the lights on with a thought. Karkat is lit up and his glare becomes less feral and more familiar, but it doesn't soften.

"What the hell do you think you're doing sneaking around my hive you like a huge fucking slither beast, you lispy freak?! Didn't your Lusus teach you its polite to knock!"

"You're alive," Sollux answered, suddenly sitting on the ground, just staring and his friend. "Holy shit… You're okay."

"Yeah, duh," Karkat answers, attitude changing and scowl disappearing into a frown. "Did you seriously think I'd die if I didn't talk to you for a few days?" The humor is lost on Sollux.

"I saw the blood in the other block," Sollux realizes he hasn't stopped staring but the sudden absents of the rage in place of relief is a bit disorienting.

"Blood," KK, asks looking a bit frightened before the pieces click. "Oh, you mean the teal blood staining my carpet? Yeah, some asshole FLARPer thought it was okay to raid my hive to get an advantage over his advisories. Dad was taking the body away."

Okay, that makes sense. And clearly Karkat's alive so Sollux can stop acting like a stupid wriggler with a flush crush now. Right now. Any time will do.

"Sollux… You want to say something," Karkat has moved and is suddenly kneeling in front of him, concern obvious as he continues to frown because it's Karkat and all he ever really does is frown.

"I thought you were dead," And okay, that wasn't the best thing to say to help with the awkward moment Captor, get your shit together. KK was the one attacked by some out of line fucker, not you.

"Oh… Yeah, not dead," KK answers like it needs to be said or like Sollux can't see that. Like Sollux can't reach out and touch him if he needed proof that his best friend was still alive.

Sollux swallows and looks down. Karkat's hands are still on the ground, his knees right by Sollux's feet, hands on either side. Karkat's hands caught Sollux's attention, well just one hand. The one that was slammed into the door frame. The one with a small smear of neon red were KK's sweater rubber down lower on the wrist when he moved it. The one with mutant blood on grey skin and darkening the sleeve of the sweater.

"Um… KK, what's that" Sollux asks like the genius he is because nope, that's not a color blood is allowed to come in. Sollux hears when Karkat sees what he's looking at because he shouts out a loud "FUCK" and leaps away from Sollux, rushing back into the ablutions block, slamming and locking the door behind him. Sollux stairs up at the closed door, in shock for a different reason. Sollux recovers faster this time.

"KK," Sollux calls out several moments too late. No answer. It's too quiet on the other side of the door. "KK, answer me."

There is the sound of something metal shifting. It's so faint he might have imagined it.

"Karkat, answer me. You don't have to come out, I'm not going to make you, and I won't come in, but I need to know if you're listening."

"…I'm listening," Karkat whispered. The only reason Sollux could hear it was because he was probably leaning against the door.

"Okay. Good." What now? This is not something that can be laughed away. Karkat should have been culled as a grub. He knows that, and so does Karkat. Hell, he should be culling him now. Or running to turn him into the drones. Maybe using Karkat as a bargaining chip for his own safety in the Empire. That is what any other troll with a proper think-pan would do. It's a good thing Sollux never had a proper think-pan.

The thought of Karkat dying makes him sick to think about. It was just two minutes ago he though KK was dead. The rage at whoever might had taken his life was all-consuming, but there was grief; true, horrible, devastating grief that might have sent him deeper into depression than he had ever been before. It would be so much worst if he was the reason Karkat was dead. No one would want to talk to him again. He wouldn't want to talk to him again. But he can't just say that, there's no proof he can give his friend for his… well, friendship. Not with the dirt he has on KK now. He could blackmail Karkat to do anything for him now that he knows. Somehow, that's just as sickening as being the cause of his friend's death.

"Sollux…" Karkat's louder this time, shaking Sollux from his thoughts. Shit, he took longer than he should have. Karkat's probably even more frightened now.

"Yeah, I'm still here asshole. I'm just trying to think this through," Sollux answers trying not to sound too harsh because their normal banter isn't going to help anything right at the second.

"What's there to think about," Karkat bits back, back to his normal volume, but his tone is too fearful and cold. "You saw it. I can't beat you in a fight. I'm trapped, and you must choose between culling me yourself or turning me over to a public, fucking humiliating and painful execution. At least give me the dignity of a quiet death Sollux." Karkat's shouting had turned to whispers broken up by fast breathing by the time he finished. And, fuck it, Sollux is going to have to try convincing him. Shit.

"Quiet death? You want me to cull you!? Did you not see how I reacted when I thought you were dead just a minute ago, fuckwit? Do you seriously think I can go through with that? And why is that an option to begin with! Who said I was turning you in or culling you or thinking about how to kill you at all? Do you seriously have such little faith in me that you think I would throw away our friendship for a blood mutation?"

"Well, what else was I supposed to think! You were so quiet and made sure I hadn't jumped out the window or some other shit," Karkat shouts back. "You could have been calling the drones. You could have been planning to break in, you could have been trying to reach through the walls and squeeze me to death. You could have been thinking about anything for all I know!"

"I already told you I wasn't going to force you to come out or force my way in," Damnit, Vantas never listened on the best days. This wasn't going to be easy. "And for your information, I was trying to think of some way to convince you I am not a threat to you! You have a good reason not to trust me, but when I thought you were dead you saw how angry I was. And when you weren't you saw how relieved I felt. Fuck, I literally fell over I was so relieved to see you breathing! I couldn't take you dying because of me Karkat. I can't kill you or do anything to get you killed directly or otherwise. I know I'm shit at this. I wouldn't believe me if I was in your position. Just…think about? Please."

Silence.

"Karkat?"

Nothing.

"Okay, well… I…I'm not leaving until you feel ready to come out so…yeah."

It took a few minutes, but soon he heard water running again. There were some other sounds, but the water muffled them to make too much of a distinction beyond the sound of drawer closing. At least he didn't smell any more iron and salt. Sollux sat down beside the door to wait. He heard the Crab come back, chattering at his dad outside, and come in. Probably to finish cleaning up the mess downstairs. It took a while, and Sollux was glad he brought his palm husk with him. He tried to play a few games with it to calm his nerves, but mostly he used it to keep track of the time.

It takes exactly thirty-three minutes for KK to open the door and come out. He's wearing a shirt now, but it's still long sleeved and a blackish sort of grey with his symbol. He won't look Sollux in the eyes, but at least he's not armed and attacking. Sollux stood up slowly. He remembered Tavros mentioning something about not making any sudden movements with a frightened animal. It might not apply to trolls but not surprising KK sounds like a good plan given the seriousness of the moment.

"Hey," Sollux starts.

"Hey," Karkat answers still far too quiet, but with a lot more confidence. "Okay, so I thought about what you said and you are totally right. There is no fucking way I can believe that. And not in the good 'Oh I can't believe he pities me back I'm gonna die' can't believe either. No, this is the 'I can't see the lie, but I know there is one because it's conditioned into my fucked up thought prosses that was trained to always look for any and all faults that could be hidden kindness and good will towards all' sort of can't believe. But I also know that if you had called the Drones they'd have gotten here by now and neither of us would be standing so that means you were waiting for me to come out to ambush me -don't glare at me like that I'm not done- or your shitty excuse for a friendship proposal was actually sincere for once. And since you have yet to kill me option one is looking less and less likely. So, while I still don't completely believe you right now, I guess I can try too. Maybe. I can't win a fight with you at any time and now is no fucking exception. But if you want to keep me around for… whatever, then I won't- well I'll try not to complain. We both know I'm going to complain a little bit. So. Yeah, that's all I've got to say about that at the moment."

Sollux just stares at him for a moment because wow. Where does he even start with that? Maybe the beginning would work? Karkat is looking at him now, which is an improvement, but there is still too much nervousness and an undercurrent of fear for Sollux's taste. Karkat should not be afraid of him. Ever.

"Okay. So, I think you're saying you don't believe me fully, but you believe me enough. For now," Sollux starts and hesitates enough for Karkat to nod sheepishly. "And… That you think I'm going to use your blood as leverage to make you do things?" Karkat blushes and looks away scowling.

"Sort of."

"Wow, KK." Something in Sollux's voice forces Karkat to look up. "I'm…Trying not to be insulted right now. Yeah, that's a logical conclusion-"

"Damn right it is!"

"-And I get the whole not believing me fully thing because that's just common sense on your part given everything. But blackmail? Seriously? I'm not the Scourge Sisters KK! I'm not going to force you into anything with this. Fuck, I wouldn't even do that to a Kismesis, let alone a friend."

They glare at each other for a second, and Sollux can imagine the grey irises filling with the neon red only one of his eyes has. Surprisingly, Karkat breaks eye contact first.

"…Fine. Whatever." Sollux can't tell if that means he passed some test and Karakt believes him now or if KK is still waiting for Sollux to laugh and blow his brains out. "Why did you come out here in the first place?"

Yes, a change of topic! That works, Sollux can defiantly work with that!

"You blocked me because I wasn't coming to fix your husktop remember? I am here to fix it."

"Oh. Right. Come on," Karkat starts to lead the way back to his block. The silence is terrible. Maybe a change of topic wasn't the best idea after all. Sollux sits down at the desk and Karkat wanders someplace out of his sight. Sollux doesn't turn around though. If he wants Karkat to trust him again he needs to show he trusts Karkat, even with his back to him. Hopefully, Karkat doesn't try anything. Sollux doesn't want to lose Karkat, but he wants to live too.

It was a stupid virus, too be honest. It doesn't take two minutes to fix. When he stands up Karkat is looking out the window intently. Sollux tries not to take it as an implication of mistrust and insult. He doesn't quite succeed. He calls Karkat over and explains what it was. Karkat doesn't act surprised and irritated as he normally would (he thanks Sollux for the help?). Again, Sollux tries and fails not to take it as an insult. The silence back down to the main level is deafening. Sollux can't take it.

"Normally getting knocked around isn't enough to make you bleed."

"That teal blood I killed got my arm kind of bad and getting thrown around by your panicked ass messed up the bandages and reopened the wound. Thanks for that by the way."

"Oh." Welp. There goes the conversation. Way to go, Sollux. Real smooth.

They reach the front door and head out. Crab-dad is laying down but his head is raised so he's clearly alert. Bi-clops-dad is sitting but his heads are sagging and the snores a loud. Stupid city Lusus. At least he wakes up when they get closer.

Shit, he has to go, and he still hasn't found a way to fix things with KK.

"Are we still friends," He blurts, then winces internally. That's the sort of sad thing KK would say, not him. But it did cover everything he wanted to know so…

"…Yeah, we are. I just need a little time to calm down and shit," Karkat answers. It isn't very convincing.

"Right," Sollux answers. They stand there for a second longer and everything just gets more awkward. "So… bye then?"

"Yeah. Bye," Karkat steps away and heads back to his own Lusus. Sollux tries not to feel the sting as bad as he does when he climbs on his own Lusus and gets it to take off for home. This was the roughest visit to KK's yet. He tells himself that the wind is the reason his eyes sting.

Then Sollux's palm-husk goes off.

carcinoGeneticist [CG] ceased blocking twinArmageddons [TA]

carcinoGeneticist [CG] begin trolling twinArmageddons [TA]

CG: YOU BETTER KEEP TALKING TO ME YOU ASSHOLE

CG: I MIGHT NEED YOU TO COME OUT AGAIN

carcinoGeneticist [CG] ceased trolling twinArmageddons [TA]

It shouldn't feel like a victory as much as it does, but no one needs to know it felt like a victory at all.