A/N:

Okay, so! As close to none of you may know, I went on a vacation trip outside the country recently, so there's your explanation for the delayed update, in case you didn't see the notice on my profile. But anyhow, episode five is finally here! However, there are a couple of things I must inform you of!

(1) The script for this episode, unfortunately, is not ready quite yet. I can have it done by tomorrow and then upload it in the morning. As for the rest of the chapters and script, I'm going to need some time. I need one more week or so to catch up on all the time I missed to get the chapters and the script finished. I hope you all don't mind very much (anyhow, I assume many of you are reading because of the Katnep rather than because of my fantrolls :P).

(2) This chapter might be a little triggery for people who have experienced past sexual abuse, so take note and take caution before proceeding. To clarify, although the episode contains a situation involving dubious consent, there is no explicit content (yeah, I know, sorry to sorta spoil it, but this is important for you peeps to know!) and thusly, the rating remains as it is now. If many reviewers encourage me to move the rating up, I shall, but for now, it remains in the T-rated filter.

EDIT as of 01/16/2018: The rating has been moved up to the M-filter for consistency as I plan to archive all of my existing fanworks in one place on AO3. Don't worry; I won't be taking anything down from . If you're interested, please PM me for my AO3 pseud!

Alright, that's all I have to say for this episode. I put a lot of work into this, so I do hope you enjoy!

-Reddie

It has been nearly a month now that they have been kismeses.

Karkat figures, even if she hates him, at least they're on speaking terms again. Hell, he'll admit she's a wonderful kismesis too, making sure to wish him unpleasant dreams each night before bed via text. There's a certain new element of flair to their script-writing meet-ups now, where one-upmanship furthers their ideas for the storyline. She challenges him and inspires him to be more creative. He should be happy, he thinks. Everything should be okay now, he thinks. He really hates her, and she feels the same way. They're perfect for each other now.

But he still feels awful because having her around some days can really make him feel worse about himself.

Their make-outs are always preceded by Nepeta dropping the word "cheater" on him like a brick of shame. And it bothers him to no end. This isn't right. If she hated him for any other reason, he wouldn't feel this bad. But he's so bothered because she hates him for doing something he didn't do. Still, he refuses to argue his side of the story. He refuses to get a friend to vouch for him and tell her that all of her theories are untrue. It's because she's happy now. She finally has him right where she wants him, and who is he to rain on her black parade? And he feels like he's repeating himself with Terezi now in the caliginous quadrant: dancing around the truth to keep everyone happy.

But, in the very least, he swears for himself that he'll do everything in his power not to hurt Nepeta again.

Karkat often finds himself in need of other company as recourse from his bad days with Nepeta. He has only recently made up with Terezi, and, understandably enough, their relationship is still partially strained so he can't find the nerve to really talk as intimately as he used to with her. So that only leaves him with Eridan.

Not too long after the fiasco at Cupnuts, Eridan messaged Karkat via Pesterchum to ask if he was alright, to which he replied "I guess". It didn't take long for the two of them to push aside their pride and make up with each other. Now, they're closer than they'd ever been before.

As Eridan vents how over Nepeta he is, he gives Karkat a chance to vent his frustration with his tumultuous kismesissitude. And Eridan actually listens to him, never falling asleep in the middle like Gamzee usually does. Karkat finds a sort of comfort from with Eridan that he doesn't really get from his moirail, so it really makes him glad that they're friends.

Until, Eridan admits his flushed feelings for Karkat.

It happens on a muggy June night. Karkat and Eridan have the same teacher for AP history class. Though the subject seems to be Eridan's calling, Karkat is flailing to remember the important dates of the Survivor's War.

"C'mon, Kar, think. What happened on April 13, 2009?"

"Fuck, I don't know… is that when they shot the Signless?" Karkat answers resignedly for the sixth time. Staring dizzily at his half-naked friend, he remarks internally that Eridan's nipples look weird.

Clutching his head, Eridan groans, "Ugh! No!" With a sigh, he asks, "Is that really your only reply? Seriously, humor me, Kar. Change it up a little." In reply, the green-eyed boy stands up and opens up the window, only to be met with a gust of unpleasantly warm air. "Geez, what's gotten into you? Close the fuckin' window!"

"Already fucking on it!" He grunts, slamming it shut. Sinking with a sigh, he takes his history notebook and weakly chucks it onto Eridan's pillow, really ready to give up and bullshit the in-class essay he'll have to write tomorrow. He's thinking of writing an ode to Nepeta's fine plump ass as the intro and then reciting a Godzilla-like monster tale of the great Glubthulu-borg for the body, wrapping the whole damn thing up with a brief review of the movie Hitch. Now that, that would be an A+ piece of golden deep-fried shit.

"Now, now, Kar. What's got you so crabby?" Eridan prods, setting his friend's notebook to the side.

He slouches, murmuring, "It's too hot and I feel like shit, that's what." He exhales a groan, "I can't believe the AC broke down."

"Not my fault the damn thing gavve out." The hipster huffs, crossing his arms. If there's anything weirder than the shape of Eridan's nipples, it's that speaking quirk. Karkat muses to himself. Catching himself, he notices that the heat sure seems to inspire strange thoughts.

Casting his eyes towards the window, Karkat spots Eridan's pool and suggests off-handedly, "You wanna go swimming?"

Perking up, Eridan replies, "You know, that isn't a bad idea. We could evven study in the pool too! My notebook's water-proof, so that shouldn't be a problem."

The two boys make their way to the pool out back, stripping down to change into appropriate swimming attire. Eridan lends Karkat an old pair of trunks that don't fit him anymore, knowing how scrawny the black-dyed redhead is. But, just as Karkat's getting ready to step in, Eridan grabs him by the wrist.

"Whoa, hold on! You'll get your shirt wet."

"Yeah, I know." Karkat rolls his eyes.

With a slight laugh, Eridan replies, "Well now, no need to be modest, Kar. You're with a friend here."

"It's fine, Eridan."

"No, really, Kar. If you got a binder under that top or somethin', I won't mind at all! I mean, come on, we're not in the twenty-first century anymore. As if I nevver seen a pair of boobs. Fef used to swim topless with me all the time, so no worries."

"Dammit, Eridan, that's not it!" Karkat groans, "I'm just… not very confident in my body. Thanks for the reassurance and everything, but I don't want to take off my shirt, okay?"

"Ah. Alright then." Eridan smiles compassionately, sitting down beside him on the steps. The water is tepid on the top layer yet chilly beneath.

"Perfect." Karkat sighs as he sinks down to the second step, the water up to his neck. Scooting closer to his freckled friend, Eridan brings up the history tab on his binder and searches for the study reference.

"Now, are you going to actually try this time?"

"Yeah, sure." Karkat waves.

Deciding to give a big hint, Eridan asks his prior question in reverse, "What date did the Survvivvor's War begin?"

"April 13, 2009." Karkat replies, catching his drift pretty quickly. With a pleased noise and a nod, he continues.

"Now, what was the Mass Exodus plan? I'm assumin' you probably know that, so explain it in detail just so I can be sure."

"It was a plan laid out by a revolutionary and his family and friends." Karkat answers confidently, very familiar with this part from the lesson, "As a strategy to eradicate an exceedingly large majority of the zombies in their vicinity, they planned to lure the zombies out to sea and drown the damned things."

"Good! And, since he's the only cod-damned figure you remember, what do historians call the revvolutionary who led the Mass Exodus plan in action?"

"The Signless."

"Correct! Now why did they call him that?"

"Because, in the accounts provided by his wife after the war, he never wore his survivor colony's working-caste symbol. It was meant as a display of unity as he tried to rally other colonies together to join in on his plan via public broadcast invasion."

"Huh. You just might be able to write the paper all about this guy, Kar, if that's one of the options tomorrow. Tell me, what's the name of the colony official who shot him?"

"…fuck if I know." Karkat mumbles. Eridan is quiet for a very long time, and only after the silence is prolonged does Karkat find that his friend has been staring at him. "Eridan? What, are you so disappointed in me that you're at a loss for words now? It's just a fucking history cla—"

"No. That's not it, Kar." Eridan looks away, blushing. "That's definitely not it."

"Huh. Really? Then what is it?" When Karkat gets no response, he starts up, "Fuck, Eridan, you can't just stare at me like that and not give a fucking reason! Hey! What the fuck is wrong?"

"I fuckin' lovve you, okay?" He blurts in annoyance, pushing Karkat off of him. His friend's green eyes widen, surprised. Face flushed full red, Eridan growls and covers his face up. "Ugh, no, I mean—I didn't mean for it to come out like that! Holy shit…"

"Eridan… what—"

"Listen, Kar…" he sighs, "believve me when I say I know you deservve better than some idiot like me… but, I just… I thought, you know… maybe, since you aren't matesprits with Terezi anymore after all of that… if you'd let me… we could havve like some sort of, you know… red fling, if not a full-blown thing, because, honestly, considerin' our situations, you seem kinda too fragile to be jumpin' into a new matespritship after gettin' out of such a long one. And, well, I'm feelin' pretty fragile myself right now, seeing that Fef's gone for good and Nep's broken my heart by endangerin' the only part-time job I evver lovved." He sets his hands atop Karkat's shoulders, turning his friend to face him. A shiver emanates from Karkat's throat, Eridan's hands cold on his shoulders. "I been thinkin' about this for a while now, all those nights on the porch listenin' to you rant about Nep, in my room watchin' shitty romcoms, and, fuck, it really is awful to livve in a big house because it just feels that much emptier when you leavve. I wanna kiss you so badly that it burns my insides when I think about it, Kar. I wanna hold you so close that I can feel your heartbeat thumpin' against mine, so close that I can breathe in the scent of your skin and hair. Hell, I'll evven go so far as to say that I want to be yours for years to come, but if one night is all you can spare, that's more than enough for me. Come on, Kar. What do you say?"

"Shit." Karkat stumbles back slightly, his face ablaze at the pure passion of Eridan's red declaration. In his right, unflustered and unharried mind, Karkat would refuse the advance, knowing how badly it could fuck things up with the only friend he can really be open with right now. But after all the shit guilt Nepeta has dumped on him, all the strain between him and Terezi, and all that florid, romantic language uttered in his general direction, receiving some flushed love after such a long time doesn't sound unappealing, even if it's from a guy who's just about as broken and self-denigrating as himself. It's almost enough to make him cry. So, he replies in a shaky murmur, "Fine. Consider me yours for the night, you dramatic asshole."

"You fucked Ampurra?" Nepeta begins bawling with laughter, Karkat flushing as he tries to cover up the hickey with his turtleneck. Eridan himself is suddenly shy at the suggestion as he tugs on his own scarf and pulls Karkat by the sleeve.

"C'mon. We don't havve time for this. History class is all the way across the quad today, so we better get goin'." Eridan insists, but his friend won't listen to him, not without one-upping Nepeta first.

Karkat retorts, "Yeah, so what if I did? He's a way better fuck than you could ever be, that's for sure!" Eridan covers up his face at that comment, his face burning with embarrassment. Karkat said that so loud that students passing by are staring. Nepeta only starts laughing harder.

"Please! I bet it was only good up until you called Terezi's name or something!" At this, Karkat bites his lip, a bucket's worth of shame coming down on him again. But he isn't going to give Nepeta the satisfaction of knowing she's right.

Leave it to Eridan to spoil that.

"That's a fuckin' low blow, Nep! You shut your face!" Eridan growls at her, holding up a fist. And with that, Nepeta just about collapses on the floor, roaring with laughter so hard that she's clutching her belly.

"Holy shit! I didn't think I was right, but wow!" Laughter finally subsiding, she gets up and dusts herself off. "To think that you're even defending this cheater too! But then again, you've always been a dense douche." Eridan gives a glare, but she merely sticks up her middle finger and blows a kiss to Karkat with it. "You pathetic assholes deserve each other. See you around, Karkitten." And on that note, she walks off. The chime for passing period goes off, and it doesn't take Eridan more than the time's length of a snort to grab his friend's wrist and rush down the hall for class.

"Let's get movin', Kar. I did not read off all those study questions while we were fuckin' for no reason."

"And so that's what happened. I can't believe that no one else bothered to explain it to you after all this time!" Nepeta finishes explaining to her moirail everything that occurred last month on that fateful weekend. Her tail swishes from side to side, bothering Equius more than just a bit. Still, he knows it would be rude to ask her to stop, because he knows that making that motion helps comfort her in this harshly-lighted environment.

"Ah, I see. Well, that's rather disheartening." Equius sighs. "No wonder Vriska has that eye patch and prosthetic arm now. And no wonder I haven't seen Aradia at all in science class as of late." He breathes out that last statement with a tone of disappointment. It must be pretty hard on him, considering that Equius had a thing with Aradia back in ninth grade. Nepeta knows it was hard on her when she found out about a week later that Feferi died in the accident too.

For Nepeta, the idea of a dead ex brings mixed feelings, though the most prominent emotion is definitely sadness. To think that she's the last matesprit Feferi had before they broke up brings a strange, distant feeling. If Feferi's life was playing out before her like a movie in those final moments, then Nepeta can't help but wonder if the scenes she played a part in still held any significance to her cuttlefish-loving ex. Because, even if it ended badly, Nepeta still treasures the good moments they spent together.

That's why now she really makes a point to cherish all the relationships she has, whether they're romantic or platonic. She didn't waste any time making up with Equius, and now she's even been hanging out with Terezi, Sollux, Gamzee and Tavros. Also, even with her disdain towards Karkat, she treasures the better days of their kismesissitude. She enjoys the witty arguments and one-upping, however overwhelming it can get to be for her at times.

"I'm dropping by Karkat's place later today, so don't wait up for me."

"Oh, alright." Equius replies nonchalantly, having gotten quite used to the idea of his moirail and Karkat as kismeses. "Still, I can't say I quite agree with your taste in blackrom partnership."

"Whatever!" She sticks her tongue out teasingly. With a smile, he ruffles her hair with a sweaty hand. "Ugh! Gross, Equius!" She protests, pushing his hand away with a laugh. He smiles at her, giving a chuckle of his own. The chime to end lunch signals them to get up.

Equius waves to his moirail, "It was nice talking to you, Nepeta."

"See you tomorrow, meowrail." She replies blithely.

As Karkat slows for the yellow light on the way back to Eridan's house, he hesitates before going on to say, "Eridan, listen… for now, let's just… not hang out, alright? Text me or pester me online whenever you want, but… I don't want to visit your place anymore." Hearing this, Eridan releases the straw of his milkshake from between his teeth and looks towards his friend in surprise.

"Wha? But, Kar… why?" Karkat can hear the tinge of hurt in his friend's voice, and it sends a wave of remorse through him. He can't back out now though, not when he's certain that his heart is still clinging flushed to Terezi, not when he's certain that he doesn't feel red for Eridan at all. God forbid he hurt Eridan the way he hurt Nepeta. He knows how high Eridan gets his hopes up when it comes to romance, so to continue hanging out alone with him would be leading him on. He can't have the scarf-lover asking for one more night, and then another, and then saying he wants a real matespritship. But friendship is really all that Karkat can give him. "Look, if it's because my place is a kinda long drivve away, then I can always get off my ass and vvisit you!"

"No. Don't do that." Karkat sighs, "Please don't."

"Kar, I… I-I don't understand!" Eridan groans, slamming his dairy beverage into the cup-holder. "You can't just push me away now! Look… just so it's clear, I'm not sore at all ovver you calling Ter's name, okay? I know you're headin' through shitty times right now, so you're gonna need someone to be there for you! I wanna be that someone! I wanna be there for you!"

"Well… that's what I have a moirail for." Karkat replies, wincing once the phrase has left his lips completely. He can see Eridan shrinking into his seat out of the corner of his eye, and Karkat can really feel the sting he just fired at his friend.

Still, Eridan has a persistent heart.

"I nevver said I wanted to be your fuckin' moirail…" He protests softly, crossing his arms. "Hell, if anythin', I'll be you and Nep's auspistice if it means I get to stay in your life. You know I'd be good at that." Karkat bites his lip at the suggestion, knowing how much worse that situation would be.

"Fuck, no. I'm not dragging you into that." Karkat replies as coolly as he can, his hands trembling ever so slightly on the steering wheel as he pulls up to his friend's driveway. He turns to face Eridan as he adds, "And I never said I'd be cutting you out of my life. You'll still be in it. We'll still be texting."

"Kar…"

"Look…" He presses a palm to his forehead, "when everything blows over, I promise you that we'll start hanging out again." Eridan opens his mouth, ready to say something, but then he closes it, leaving any protest he was about to articulate unsaid.

"…if you say so." Eridan finally relents, unfastening his seatbelt so he can get out. Karkat watches silently as Eridan disappears inside the house, unable to hear the words his friend is murmuring to himself as he fumbles with the key card to his house. "If that's how it's gonna be, so be it! I'll wait as long as I havve to…"

Karkat finally drives away, his heart full of shame. It's not a fun situation. He keeps fucking things up. But, in the line of his fuck-up streak so far… he can't help but feel like he could've done way worse.

The first sound that Karkat hears as he opens the door to his house is the shattering of a jar. Distraught by the noise, he rushes inside, only to find his father grumbling to himself as he reads news articles through an app on his suitcase.

"Dad, what was that?"

"I don't know. Your kismesis is here though, and this is the first I heard outta her in hours. I guess she probably broke some of your shit?"

Karkat howls, "Why aren't you doing anything?"

"Come on, Karkat, you're a big boy now." His father pats his son on the head. "I'm not going to dictate how you handle your relationships."

"But she—what was—and I—urgh!" Storming past his dad, he marches down the hall and violently breaks into his room only to find Nepeta making a mosaic out of a broken glass jar on the floor. Her ears are covered with noise-cancelling headphones filled with classical music, and everything that the jar contained is gone.

And that jar contained USBs filled with his favorite romcoms.

With a nasty little glint in her eye, Nepeta looks up from her mosaic and smirks at Karkat, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. It's not even funny how frustrated he is. He's turned on a little too, of course, but that only makes him more frustrated because, dammit, he doesn't want to make out right now, he wants his fucking romcoms back.

"Nepeta, I know you took my romcoms!" Karkat grits out through his teeth, "Now give them back!"

"If you want them back, Karkitten," she purrs, waving a condom in the air, "you'll have to fuck me for them." He flushes all the way up to his ears, with another good portion of his blood rushing south. This can't be happening.

"A-Are you kidding me?" Karkat splutters, "My dad is home! You really think that's a good idea?"

She gets up off the floor and seats herself on his bed, taunting him, "I don't know. Depends, really. Do you want your romcoms back or not?" She shrugs her jacket off her shoulders so that the tank top underneath shows, revealing her soft but slightly sculpted mocha-skinned shoulders. "Because I'm not giving them back until you fuck me." He stares at her for a long, hard time, really hoping that this is just some drawn-out, sick joke. But when she starts tugging off her top and sliding off her pants, revealing the waistband her tail is attached to, he realizes she's serious. She actually wants to do it.

His voice is trembling, "F-Fucking shit, Nepeta."

Now, she's really crossed the line. She isn't playing fair. Those are his favorite romcoms, and he needs them back now. He can't trust her to leave his house with those! She'll probably do something like mix all their labels up just to spite him if he lets her leave his house with his romcoms!

Karkat has never felt more scared in his life, because here he is, stuck in a room with a girl holding his most valuable possessions for ransom at a price that he really isn't ready to pay.

"Come on, Karkitten." She lilts impatiently, "I can't wait forever, you dirty cheater…" Shakily, he avoids the glass on the ground and makes his way towards her, until, finally, he's atop her and they're face-to-face. Gulping nervously, he tentatively presses a kiss to her lips, only to be met with a more forceful one as she tries to flip their position. But he'll be damned if he loses the upper hand, so, in retaliation, he pins her up by the wrists and kisses back with the same intensity, pressing her body into the mattress with his own. Her tail curls beside her as he kisses again and again, the two of them becoming sloppier with each time their lips meet. It's a stalemate, and it's going nowhere fast until someone decides to make the next move.

Karkat's pulse fills his ears like it's the only damned noise in existence, and he's starting to shake so hard that he can't notice that Nepeta's starting to tremble too. Everything is happening so fast that she's having a hard time keeping up. They're both frightened now of what's about to come, but both are too stubborn to capitulate that easily. It's only a matter of minutes until one of them gets pushed too far.

Nepeta breaks her wrists from Karkat's grasp and shoves her hands up his shirt, causing him to gasp between their mouths as she scrapes her nails down his sides. And, almost as if it were an automatic reaction, he brings down his hands to grip her chest, eliciting a very small, surprised squeal, which he subsequently muffles with his lips. To retort, she undoes his fly and plunges her hands under the waistband of his boxers to clutch his rear. And Karkat, hesitating only a second on his counteroffensive, then decides to yank down her underwear, sending a wave of uncontrollable terror through her. She wants to scream. Fuck, she's not ready for this at all!

At last, Nepeta caves in before he can cover her mouth with his own, barely managing to get her voice above a hoarse whisper, "S-stop!"

Karkat doesn't need to be told twice as he backs off the minute he hears that word.

"Shit, shit, shit! I'm sorry!" He covers up eyes as the tears start leaking out faster than he can stop them. Whatever god or force or fate that made her want to stop, he thanked it. But his nerves are still on edge and his chest is still full of dread, like a sort of aftershock. Meanwhile, Nepeta takes a moment to catch her breath, feeling dizzy and sick as she berates herself mentally. Holy fuck, what was she thinking?

Once she regains her bearings, she pulls up her panties and inches towards Karkat, placing a hand on his shoulder. He flinches at the touch, peering up at her through puffy red eyes, still streaming with tears. He opens his mouth, wanting to say something, but all the words fall off his lips before he can even speak them. When she looks into those green eyes, she sees overwhelming hurt and brokenness and… terror. No… this is all wrong. This isn't what she wanted at all!

"Oh, Karkat…"she murmurs comfortingly, before taking him into her arms and embracing him, "oh no, oh no, don't cry, I'm sorry. Please, Karkat, don't cry… everything's alright now, okay? Everything's alright…" With quivering arms, he returns the embrace.

"H-Holy fucking sh-shit…" he hiccups through sobs, "c-can I just have my fucking r-romcoms back now?"

"Yeah! H-Hang on." She scrambles to take her phone from her jacket lying off to the side and dump all the USBs from her sylladex app. As she pushes the pile towards him, she sighs remorsefully, "Here. Take them." She sits there for a moment, watching Karkat gather up the flash drives. "Shit. I'm… holy shit, I am so very sorry. I-I just…" she shakes her head, "No! There's no excuse for this. This is my fault, and I am absolutely, truly, really sorry." Before Karkat can even form a reply in his head, she starts changing back into her clothes as quickly as possible. "I-I need to leave. I'm sorry. I… I'll see you tomorrow at school."

"Nepeta… wait—" he's spoken too late, as she's already shut the door on him. He slaps his hand against his forehead, and just sits there on his bed for a while, the day's last remnants of sunlight fading through the cracks of his blinds. It takes a few hours for the feeling of relief to finally settle into him. But then, a knock comes at his bedroom door.

"Karkat? A friend of yours here wants to see you."

"Ahem."

"Oh! Sorry, I mean, she wants to speak with you."

Flopping back on his bed and seeing no need to put on a shirt for someone who can't see it, he sighs, "Come in, Terezi. And be careful of the glass on the floor."