Causalgia: Chapter 11- The Weight of the World
Your name is Karkat Vantas, and you have no clue whose bed you're in.
You slowly open your eyes and damn you feel really sore all of a sudden, the ache concentrated in your chest and lower back making you groan in pain. A hand makes gentle contact with your forehead, and you hear a sort of buzzing that you suppose is trying to masquerade as a calming 'shoosh'. It actually makes you want to laugh, but you decide against it when you gasp in a breath at the mismatched eyes that level with yours.
"…Sollux?" you manage to croak out (Jesus, you sound terrible) and you reach for him like a child.
He merely smiles and catches both your hands in his own, giving them a comforting squeeze that's surprisingly soft, considering all the angles in his fingers, "Rough day, huh?"
Again, you have to fight the urge to chuckle, "Yeah, sure, whatever…"
He's looking away, and you can see a glimpse of a frown from this profile view, a bad sign, and then he speaks again,
"You didn't have to do that."
Though his statement might be vague to the outside listener, you immediately know what he's referring to and you're quick to reply,
"Yeah, I did, you dumbfuck."
It's completely silent for a moment, save for the irritating beeping of the machine they've got you hooked up to.
Right.
Sollux. Car crash. Hospital. Brain Trauma. Coma.
Momentary death. Revival.
And that's about where you black out.
He whispers back, still looking away, his hands still around yours, "No, you didn't."
You roll your eyes and drop his hands to reach up and tug him back to you by his collar, his forehead clunking against yours in the process,
"Yes, I did."
He spares a moment's hesitation, eyeing you with a questioning air before you close your eyes and nod.
The kiss that follows is warmer than your favorite sweater.
== Be the other participant in the lip-lock festival
Hey, this guy saved your life, the least you can do is give him a smooch!
…Though that's not necessarily exactly why you're currently bent over his hospital bed and kissing him like you've wanted to since you met him.
He might not have come to terms with it yet, but you sure have.
You lean away from him slowly, still pretty close, close enough the murmur to him,
"KK, Karkat."
He looks up at you, eyes wide with surprise at your use of his first name instead of the usual nickname, "Yes?"
You swallow and you swear your heartbeat's sounding in his ears,
"Karkat, I lo-"
The door to the room opens wide, cacophonous, and the nurse from before walks in, presumably to check the object of your newly minted affection's vitals. Somehow you don't think that's the case, especially considering the giggles she keeps hiding into her sleeve.
You swear under your breath and quickly lean away from Karkat, sitting back in your chair next to his bed as she gives you a knowing smile and fiddles with the machine that tells you that the shorter guy is alive.
You're both alive.
Alive.
"Have you ever felt so alive?"
You, Sollux Captor, are discussing something with your dear moirail, a red-blood who has always been there for you, even though you haven't always been there for her.
"What do you mean, AA?"
She smiles and tilts her head to the side, "You seem so alive nowadays. It's like, before you were just smoke, and now you're a fire."
You laugh, at ease for once in your pitiful life, your head in her lap as she threads her fingers through your hair, carefully and skillfully avoiding your twinned horns.
"I don't even know what that'th thuppothed to mean, but alright, that'th okay, everything'th pretty okay."
"It's because of him, I'm sure."
She gives a little knowing smile much like the one Nurse Harley just gave you, her hands coming to rest, "I'm glad you're happy, Sollux."
You glance up to her, your mutated, solid colored eyes meeting her normal ones, "I'm athumming you're happy to, then, AA, tho I'm glad you're happy ath well."
"Of course."
Of course.
"Of course, you'll be ready to head home in a day or so, Mr. Vantas!"
You blink, coming back to reality, as Karkat squeezes your hand, glancing up to you with a confused look on his face, "You okay?"
You nod and try to shake of the sense of unreality out of your head, "Yeah, sorry, zoned out there for a second."
Your eyes don't leave his until the nurse finishes her round.
