Chapter 10
A/n: Haha, PLOT TWISTS! Sorry about that, guys! I had it planned for a looonnggggg time! Maybe I'm losing a bit of my "Actual Karkat Katy" charm, and getting a little bit Johnny boy on you! Faygo was, again, consumed during the making of the chapter. And I love you guys, seriously, these reviews have made me almost cry with joy. I love it when somebody even just puts it in their favorites, or alerts, but these reviews are so a;kghslfnvjsdkvbh. Warning: Next chapter may cause excessive feels, that may or may not wind up on the floor. The last Homestuck update may have given me some new ideas… Sorry for that, lovelies! Love: Katy
BR/N: Again, Katy is not sorry for the overload of feels. Internally, that is. We did have that kiss planned for a while, since about Chapter 2. Anyways, enjoy the chapter!
John sat in the kiss for a moment, before realization kicked in. He shoved himself back, dropping off the couch, and crashing to the floor in a mess of folded legs and crooked glasses.
"What the hell, Dave? You just kissed me!" John cried, his friend quickly putting his sunglasses back on.
"Yeah, I did just kiss you. Is that a problem? It's not like you like anybody," Dave said blandly, his mouth clenching.
"But I do like somebody!" John retorted, standing up, fists clenched.
"Oh, let me guess, you like Karkat, don't you?" Dave teased, smirk on his face.
"YES!" John yelled, and Dave's eyebrows went up. John sighed, looking at the ground.
"Yes, Dave, I like Karkat. I'm not a homosexual, I honestly don't know what I am, but Karkat would never think of me that way. And you, Dave, you're my best friend! Randomly kissing me isn't cool!" John's blue eyes were filled with sadness and hurt. He sighed again deeply as his friend said nothing.
"Never mind, I'm sorry," he muttered, before turning on his heel, feet carrying him to his music room. He slammed and locked the door, sinking down against it, taking off his glasses and searching for damage.
His glasses were unscathed, but a glint of something caught John's eye; a chain was half buried in the fluffy carpeting, and when John plucked it up, he saw a small silver locket at the end. The heart shape had what looked like tiny ropes covering the surface, and it simply had a large "S" engraved in it. He rolled it over in his hands, running his thumb over the sparkling surface.
"Only Karkat's been in here since I last vacuumed…" John thought aloud before pulling out his phone.
"karkat, can I come over?" He pressed send, and looked back to the locket. His phone buzzed quickly. Karkat sure was a speedy texter.
"YEAH, SURE. WE'RE ROOM 615." John stood up and peeked from the kitchen. Dave wasn't there. He must have retreated to his bedroom. John slipped on his shoes, and set out of Derse house to go see Karkat.
The campus was well lit, even at night, but the street lamps did little to warm the frosty air. John made quick work of finding Void house, jogging up the 6 flights of stairs. He found room 615 and tapped gently on the door. Karkat opened it, clad in a pair of baggy plaid pajama pants and a black hoodie.
"Hey, Egbert, what's the rush?" Karkat asked, ushering John inside the warm apartment-like room. It was clean and orderly, and smelled like good cooking.
"I found this," John said, holding out his hand with the locket. Karkat's eyes went wide, and he quickly took it, slipping it in his hoodie pocket. "It was on the floor of my music room."
"Oh, thanks. Well, fuck, was that it?"
"Not really, can we talk for a while?" John asked shyly. Karkat nodded.
"My room is the last one down the hall on the right, next to the big snoring bear I call a room mate. I'll be there in a second," Karkat directed. John nodded before heading off to find the bedroom.
Karkat bustled around the kitchen for a few minutes, gathering snack cakes and other various junk food before brewing two steaming cups of hot chocolate and plopping a few marshmallows in the top. All the necessities for a good feelings jam. Karkat scooted the door open with his hip and closed it with his foot, balancing the goodies in his arms. John sat on the neatly made bed and watched as Karkat set down the treats, handing him one of the steaming cups.
"You didn't have to do this, Karkat."
"And you didn't have to return the locket either, but you did, so I want to return the fucking favor," Karkat said gently, the bite taken out of his voice. He sat down next to John, their knees touching.
"What is it, Egbert? It's almost 11 o'clock," Karkat asked. John finally realized he was still in his uniform.
He took a deep breath and looked around, taking a drink from his cocoa, trying to avoid it.
"John…." Karkat trailed off, staring at him.
"Dave kissed me," John blurted, eyes squeezing closed. He felt Karkat stiffen beside him.
"Oh… Really?"
"Yeah, I hated it." An instinctive smile spread across his lips.
"Oh…" He could sense the sadness in Karkat's voice.
"He doesn't understand I'm not a homosexual, and that I like someone else." Karkat froze, completely torn apart inside. "Not saying that I'm completely straight, I don't really know." Karkat's chest hurt as John continued speaking, his heart literally felt like it was breaking. John looked at Karkat, and saw the sadness on his face.
"What's wrong, Karkat?"
"I like someone too, and I'm afraid they don't share the same feelings. I think they like someone else, because I mean, I'm a fucking piece of shit and nobody could love me."
"I love you, Karkat."
"But you love me as a friend, John. It's totally different," Karkat sighed, picking the marshmallows out of his cocoa and chewing them. John's hand moved to Karkat's and squeezed it lightly. Karkat paused in mid-chew, a blush creeping up his face.
"What the fuck are you doing?"
"You're not a piece of shit, or unlovable, okay? I'm sure whoever it is that you like would love to have you as a boyfriend," John reassured, smiling his sweet, sweet smile.
"The necklace was my mom's," Karkat whispered impulsively, letting out a deep breath. "I keep it with my violin, because she taught me how to play and sing. That's what's so important on Wednesdays, I go see my mom."
"Oh. She must live nearby then," John said, happiness starting to seep back into his voice.
"Yeah… yeah she does." Karkat tore into a pack of Zebra cakes, white cream sticking to the side of his mouth. John wiped it away with his finger, and smiled wider at Karkat's chipmunk cheeks.
"You like sweets and junk food, don't you Karkat?" His friend only nodded as he swallowed the mouthful.
"I fucking love it. I never gain weight, either." John glanced at the clock, dreading to go back to his own room. He was so nervous about seeing Dave.
"Karkat, can I sleep over tonight?" John asked cautiously. Karkat looked up from his snacks.
"If you want to, the couch is always open." Karkat licked his fingers clean and went to his closet.
"You're about the same size as me…" he muttered, opening it. The interior was lined with uniform jackets, black button downs, and black hoodies. Karkat dug around before pulling out a black tee shirt and tossing it John's way. He then dug in his dresser, yanking out a pair of pants similar to his, and also tossed them at John's head.
He bustled around while John changed. The clothes fit near perfectly, if anything they were a little too large. Karkat had yanked the big crimson duvet cover from his bed and grabbed some pillows from the headboard. He carried them out to the sofa, John trailing not far behind. He set down the pillows.
"Lie down," he instructed, and John did so. Karkat flicked his wrists, the blanket billowing up in the air, and coming to rest all around John. Blue eyes watched as his friend tucked him in on the sofa, watching every move his body made in awe.
"Goodnight, John," Karkat said with a small smile.
"Goodnight, Karkat," John replied, sighing into the comfortable surface. Karkat returned to his bedroom, shutting off lights as he went. He laid down, burrowing into his sheets, Karkat was a heavy sleeper, only usually awakening to his alarm. He fell into a heavy slumber, hopefully not riddled with nightmares.
John lie awake for hours, before finally getting up and wrapping himself in the pillows up in the puffy blanket as he approached Karkat's room. He opened his door and peeped inside. Soft, heavy breathing met his ears.
"Karkat?" John whispered, and the big pile on the bed shifted.
"Hrmph?" was the sleepy reply.
"Can I sleep in here with you?"
"Mmmnfuck whaaeber," came Karkat's sleepy voice. John tiptoed in; the heavy breathing once again resumed as Karkat almost instantly fell asleep. John sat on the opposite edge of the bed, Karkat curled in a small ball near the right side of the bed. John lay down next to Karkat, spreading the big red blanket over them. He rolled on his side to look at Karkat, and was surprised when he found Karkat had rolled over in his sleep and snuggled up to him.
John examined his face in the dark. Creamy moonlight seeped in the window, softening the shadows on Karkat's pale face. His eyelashes brushed his cheeks, and his upturned nose had no scrunch in it while he slept. His full lips were parted lightly, and warm breath feathered in and out of it. Karkat's hair was tossed lazily all over the place, thick and soft. John leaned in slightly and planted a soft kiss on Karkat's nose, which wrinkled in response. Karkat's body moved closer, curling into John's chest, his face gently nuzzling his collarbone.
John felt instantly drowsy, and wrapped his arm around Karkat loosely before nodding off himself. Both slept peacefully, warm, and comfortable with the close proximity they were in.
John awoke slightly as he heard the shuffling of Gamzee, but quickly ignored it and looked at Karkat, who was still soundly sleeping, snuggled up to him. He closed his eyes once more and drifted off. Karkat had forgotten to set his alarm, so by the time he woke up, it was nearing noon.
Karkat's eyes opened to the chest of John, who he had apparently snuggled up to in his sleep. Karkat squirmed back embarrassed, watching as John's eyes opened, foggy, but beautiful as they weren't hidden by his glasses.
"Oh god, what time is it?" John said stretching and yawning.
"Almost noon. Shit, I think I forgot to set my alarm. Gamzee probably thought I had already left…" Karkat said as he checked his phone.
"Guess we're playing hooky today, eh?" John said smiling. Karkat seemed totally unaware of the kiss from the previous night. He sneezed, the burst small and high, like a kitten, and John couldn't help but smile even more.
"Guess so. You want breakfast? And if so, what?" Karkat asked as he stretched, back cracking.
"Um… what can you make?" Karkat looked over his shoulder, and smiled.
"Whatever the fuck you want, John. Whatever. The fuck. You want."
Karkat was busy flipping pancakes and bacon while whisking eggs. John sat with a pack of gushers on the sofa. Pulling cinnamon baked apples out of the oven, Karkat piled two plates high with all the food he'd made. He brought out the aromatic plates, along with two big glasses of coffee and orange juice. John stared in amazement at the dishes.
"Wow, Karkat! This looks spectacular!" he cried, poking the fluffy eggs with a fork. Karkat said thank you and sat next to him, digging in to the expertly crafted food. John took a bite of everything, and a little noise of happiness escaped his throat, making Karkat look over, and start laughing.
The two sat on the couch watching reruns of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, seeing how fast they could determine the killer. Karkat went into one of his rants about how the uncle isn't always a pedophile.
"Just because he's an uncle and is single doesn't make him a pedophile! The cops always go to the single uncle first! They say it's because he has the easiest access to the child, well what if he doesn't! He doesn't own a creepy rape van, does he? No! He has no criminal history, or issues with previous relationships, he's never had a bad word spoken about him! So why is he the pedophile?" Karkat grumbled loudly, cheeto residue coating his waving fingers.
John was right about that episode, it had been the uncle.
When Gamzee walked in the door, and saw the two of them under a blanket, sprawled on the couch in their pajamas, he only smiled.
"Man, motherfuckin best friend, I thought you were sick or something. Here you're just playing skipsies with John? C'mon man, that's not cool to leave your best friend out on," Gamzee laughed, heading to his bedroom. Karkat blushed at his friend's teasing. John sighed.
"I should be going home soon."
"You could stay another night," Karkat said too quickly, before adding, "If you want to. We wear the same size, and I have the uniform pants. They're too long, so they'd be perfect for you." John smiled, liking the idea of getting to cuddle with Karkat again, and Karkat secretly liking the same thing.
"Alright, I like the sound of that. Remember to set your alarm, though!" John nudged his side, and Karkat threw a cheeto at his face. John tossed a gusher back in retaliation, and soon their blanket was covered in their processed ammunition.
Later that night, after showering, John checked his phone, seeing he had multiple messages from Rose and Dave, both asking where he was. He ignored them, turning his phone on silent again, and watched as Karkat set his alarm speedily. His fingers moved over his flip phone keyboard almost too quickly to keep track of. John lay down in the bed next to Karkat, and the smaller boy curled up on his side, shutting off the light.
It was only a little while before John felt a small, warm body pressing up against his. He held back the urge to grin. Karkat was awake at the time, so when he felt John's lips gently kiss his head, his face went scarlet. Karkat quickly tried to fall asleep, but the long arm now encircling him kept his heart racing.
No way. John Egbert is cuddling with me. In bed. JOHN EGBERT, the boy you have a massive crush on, is snuggling with you. Oh my god, Vantas, go to sleep already, Karkat thought. His brain obeyed, not long after he was sleeping soundly. He rolled over and nuzzled himself into John while asleep. John's lips curled into a smile.
BR/N: Katy is not sorry.