January 1, 2012.

Eridan crossed his arms tightly as he trudged through the underground parking lot to Sollux's car. As much as he wished he could have spent all day hanging around with the guys he had a very important person to visit. He also wished he could have taken a shower or something. He had just managed to comb his hair into some sort of order, his bangs dropping over his forehead; but his shirt was wrinkled and his pants felt too tight for a 1 o'clock in the afternoon outing.

Eridan sighed, his breath puffing into a small white cloud as he spotted the rental car. He hurried over an unlocked the vehicle with shaking hands. He slid in, almost hitting his head in his rush to get some heat going. After a few moments of letting the car heat up and blowing warm air into his hand Eridan pulled out of the lot.

He had only given Sollux a half the reason about why he needed the car on such short notice. The main thing was, "I'm going to Karkat's," which was exactly where Eridan was heading now. The other half of the story would be, "Because I think he's fuckin dyin."

Eridan was actually pretty worried about his little devil. Karkat didn't think anyone was noticing, but Eridan wasn't just anyone. Over the past few weeks there had been a certain dullness to Karkat's usual fiery mood; and the night he had slept over had been a fitful sleep for the smaller man. On top of that he had completely called off going to the party last minute saying he wasn't feeling too good.

Eridan chewed his bottom lip, a worried habit of his. He probably should have called before making his was to Karkat's house, he thought, but it was a bit too late for that. Eridan pulled in next to the familiar truck and turned the car off.

"No turnin' back noww," he breathed to himself, unbuckling and forcing himself out of the car. He took his time walking up to the house, still nervously chewing his lower lip. He didn't even get a chance to raise his arm to knock when then door opened. A pair of sharp eyes peered at him through a mess of tangled black hair.

"Hey motherfucker."

"Uh, hi, Gam," Eridan responded, Gamzee looked almost… scary. His eyes were attentive and clear and dark icy blue. Despite his hair being a mess of bangs it looked more orderly, freshly washed and poofed up. Even his clothes were clean and for god sake he wasn't wearing pajama bottoms. The most off-setting feature though, was the make-up; or more correctly, the lack of. Without the make-up and high as fuck look Gamzee looked like a fucking badass, he even had the scars running down the side of his face. "Is Kar here?" Eridan asked, finally finding his voice.

"Sure is, Motherfucker," Gamzee barked, followed by a bitter laughter, "All fucking cooped up in his room. He's got it REAL FUCKING BAD!" The lanky man's voice soared into a growl before soothing out again, "He needs you," Gamzee said, the rage flickering in his eyes again, "MOTHERFUCKER NEEDS ALL THE GOOD HE CAN GET, BEFORE THE UN-MERCYFUL FUCKING GOD MURDERS HIS MIRTH."

Eridan felt his fingers twitch as he resisted the urge to flinch back. Gamzee had gotten closer, forcing Eridan to look up to meet the others eyes. Those eyes that were just filled with rage looked beyond empty now, filled with coldness instead. A large hand clamped down on Eridan's shoulder and Gamzee trembled, his lips twitching into a bitter smile.

"You're alright, for a motherfucker," Gamzee mused, his hands slipping away as Gamzee walked past and off the porch. Eridan turned to stare after him, watching as the man hunched over and walked away.

"Will someone close the fucking door? Why is it even open? Gamzee?!"

Eridan spun around, quickly entering through the still open door and closing it behind him. He toed off his shoes and followed the irritated cursing down the hall until he came to a slightly open door.

"Kar?" Eridan asked slowly, giving the door a slight nudge with his foot. The room beyond was dimly lit by a bedside lamp and the television, as he pushed the door open further he spotted the bed across from the T.V, a small figure covered in a mound of blankets. "Kar?" Eridan repeated, stepping into the room. The pile of blankets let out a choked sound, pulling down to reveal the top half of Karkat's face.

Eridan had been right. Karkat's bright eyes were now dim and heavy black and purple rimmed his eyes. His hair looked messier than ever and his whole body seemed to be shrinking in on itself.

"Jesus, Kar you look like shit," Eridan frowned, stepping over piles of clothed to reach the bed. Karkat attempted what was probably supposed to be a mean glare, but instead it just looked weak.

"Thank you, oh wise one," Karkat grumbled, his voice low and hoarse. Eridan dropped down onto the corner of the bed and pressed the back of his hand to Karkat's forehead. The other flinched away at first, but stayed still as Eridan checked his temperature.

"Ya don't feel hot," Eridan frowned, moving his hand to Karkat's cheek. "Wwhat's the diagnoses then?"

"Just my throat, dumbass," Karkat breathed. His voice cracked in random places like he was loosing his voice.

"Wwhat, just sore or somethin'?"

"No. Worse," Karkat lowered the blanket and went into a fit of coughing, wincing with each one. When he finally recovered there was the hint of tears in his eyes. "It hurts, so bad," he whined.

"Shit, Kar," Eridan started, only to be cut of as Karkat held up his hand for him to stop talking.

"I've lost almost five pounds in the last week…and I've tried to eat, I swear…but even that hurts," Karkat shivered and wiped at his eyes.

"Howw long has this been goin' on?" Eridan asked softly, cautiously brushing back the tangled matt of hair.

"Started around Christmas, I guess… Thought it was nothing, just a sore throat. But it got worse in the last few days." Eridan decided to ignore the fact that he could have been infected with whatever illness Karkat had and stood up instead.

"Come on, let's get ya cleaned up a bit an I'll make ya some tea, okay?" Karkat nodded weakly and Eridan helped him up off the bed, slipping his arm around the other's shoulders. Karkat leaned on him all the way to the bathroom where Eridan started up the shower for him.

"Thank you for he—"

"Shh!" Eridan interrupted, "Save your voice. You can shower on your owwn, right?" Karkat nodded again and Eridan smiled softly. "I'll grab ya some clean clothes and put them on the counter for wwhen you're done."

Eridan back tracked to the bedroom and flicked on the actual lights. The room was messy, but under the clothing was shiny brown hard-wood flooring and the wall that wasn't covered with movie posters was red. It was a fair sized room that was for sure. Eridan shuffled through the mess to the closet and looked through Karkat's wardrobe.

Someone needed to be taken shopping. It should be illegal to own this much neutral clothing. Eridan sifted through the clothes and finally settled on a soft pair of black sweats and white V-neck. For someone not feeling well they should be most comfortable. Eridan quickly folded them up and carried them to the washroom. Inside the shower was still going with the irregular sound of water hitting the floor as someone washed themselves. As much as Eridan might enjoy the sight of Karkat's shadow behind the curtain, he closed his eyes and went in blind.

Somehow he managed to set the items on the counter and leave to room without running into anything like an idiot. Once in the hallway he closed the door again and made his way to the Vantas/Makara kitchen. It looked about the same as when they had come for Christmas dinner. The tiled counters were nice and cleaned and the only dished in the sink looked like they were from today's breakfast and lunch. Eridan noticed there were only dishes enough for one.

Eridan frowned, remembering Karkat's weight loss and lack of eating. 5 pounds in one week sounded like a lot. Actually, for him that sounded like way too much. Even if Karkat wasn't eating a lot he shouldn't have lost that much in a week. Eridan shook off his thoughts and started looking for their electric kettle. He found it on the counter tucked away in the corner. It was easy enough to plug in and start up.

The hard part was the tea. They had a small arrangement from Earl Grey to some minty shit. So Eridan just laid out their selection and looked for a mug instead. Karkat could choose his choice in drink.

"Ahy," Eridan turned at the sound, his brows furrowing, "Dick, Towel." Karkat was calling hoarsely from the bathroom.

"Towel?" Eridan repeated dumbly, setting the cup in hand down. "Oh! Towel, uh, one second!" Eridan looked around the kitchen quickly as though a towel might appear; which it didn't. By some stroke of luck Eridan found the laundry room around the corner and a nice clean sack of towels. He grabbed a creamy one off the top and scurried back to the bathroom, knocking on the door with one hand while sticking the cloth out with the other.

"Thanks," Karkat huffed, reaching out with his bare arm to grab the towel and reel it back in.

"Sure, also, wwhat tea do you wwant?"

"The one with my name on the box, obviously."

Eridan blinked and stalked off to the kitchen. There was a box with Karkat's name on it? How could he have missed that! After checking all the containers and boxes again Eridan found the one with Karkat scrawled on the side in red sharpie. The box was just a regular old one but the name was some cryptic shit. All Eridan knew for sure was that it smelt sweet and fruity ish.

The tea was made by the time Karkat entered the kitchen, the towel draped around his shoulders and the clothing Eridan had picked out resting on his damp skin. Through the white shirt you could see the faint outline of Karkat's ribs. Eridan looked up from where he was sitting at the table and waved Karkat over.

"Your tea, sir," Eridan mused, gesturing to the steamy cup in front of an empty seat. Karkat smiled weakly and shuffled over, sitting down in the seat.

Eridan stayed sitting at the table with Karkat for the time it took the other to finish the tea. They didn't say much, even when Karkat had shyly reached out for Eridan's hand. Instead they sat in mostly silence, clasping onto each other's hands.

"You wanna watch a movie?" Karkat rasped, setting down his empty cup.

"I'd love too." Karkat smiled and pushed back his chair, waiting for Eridan to do the same before he led him by the hand to his bedroom. Karkat flipped the lights off again and pushed Eridan over to the bed, looking almost excited as he went through his movie collection. Eridan shifted the blankets around to make a sort of nest for the two of them to sit in.

Karkat joined him in the nest a minute later, the trailers and pre-show stuff for the movie already flicking across the screen. Karkat had ended up picking 'Stranger Than Fiction'. A nice, safe, romantic comedy the both of them could enjoy with their love for Will Ferrell. Almost two hours later they were listening to the ending lines, Karkat quietly whispering them beside Eridan.

"Sometimes, when we lose ourselves in fear and despair, in routine and constancy, in hopelessness and tragedy, we can thank God for Bavarian sugar cookies. And, fortunately, when there aren't any cookies, we can still find reassurance in a familiar hand on our skin, or a kind and loving gesture, or subtle encouragement, or a loving embrace, or an offer of comfort, not to mention hospital gurneys and nose plugs, an uneaten Danish, soft-spoken secrets, and Fender Stratocasters, and maybe the occasional piece of fiction. And we must remember that all these things, the nuances, the anomalies, the subtleties, which we assume only accessorize our days, are effective for a much larger and nobler cause. They are here to save our lives…"

Karkat broke off his reciting of the movie with another couching fit. This one seemed to make the bed even tremble with the violence of the fit. When he finally finished he was gasping for air, tears stinging the corners of his eyes. Eridan looked at him fearfully.

"Are ya sure you're okay? Do you need to go to a hospital?" Eridan asked, rubbing his friends back.

"No. I'm fine," Karkat said curtly, standing up. "I'll be fine. But it's late, you should probably get going. Sollux probably wants his rental back."

Eridan slowly got up and nodded, "You're probably right," He mumbled, allowing the other to usher him out into the hall and back to the doorway. "If ya wwant I can probably swwing by an visit tomorroww," Eridan offered, leaned down to pull on his shoes. He was answered by another bout of coughing, making him frown as he slipped his other shoe on. Eventually the hacking passed, a small thump following.

"Karkat?!" Eridan launched forward and kneeled beside Karkat, who flinched and turned his head away. "Kar, wwhat's wwrong?!" he demanded as the other lunched into more coughing. Eridan tried to get Karkat to face him again, and when he did Karkat was still covering his mouth.

"Wwhat? Kar, wwhat is it!" Eridan worried, holding the other's shoulders. Karkat began to shudder, sobbing behind his hand and tears began flowing freely. When Eridan tried to pull him closer Karkat weakly shoved him away. Eridan fell back on his butt, frowning deeply.

Something was very wrong… feeling hurt and rejected, Eridan looked to the floor. A small glimmering puddle caught his attention and he propped himself up on the balls of his feet to get a better look. It was red, scarlet, it was… blood.

Eridan looked up sharply at Karkat, Karkat who was coughing again, trying to keep his mouth covered. The blood was seeping through his fingers and down his chin and neck, some blood had already started to stain the sides of his V-neck. When the coughing stopped Karkat dropped his hand weakly, keeping himself from falling forward. His hand made a sickly splatting sound and blood continued to drop from his wet lips, joined with tears still streaking down his face. Eridan gaped at his friend, his heart clenching.

"Oh cod," Eridan leapt to his feet and raced back to the bedroom, grabbing the creamy towel Karkat had used after his shower. He rushed back to Karkat's side, first mopping up some of the blood on the floor and on Karkat's hand before handing him the towel. "Hold this, I'm takin' you to the hospital."


Woot! I got this done before Sunday :D

That's the pro's to this chapter. The con's is pretty much Karkat is coughing up blood and that's never good, is it? And the second con is that I don't know when the next chapter is going to be done but I'll try to get it done in a weeks time. Maybe get it weekly updating XD

Thanks for the reviews guys! They make me happy to see and I'm glad you like the story!

-Sydney.