So a lot more people were disappointed/upset about the last chapter than I had anticipated so here is an epilogue.
I apologize if this isn't a sufficient ending either.
John was roused by Karkat's constant stirring. The boy- or maybe it was more accurate to say man?- seemed to have only napped for an hour or so. It was three AM, which must have been more like the middle of the day considering Alternian's preferred the night time. John looked up at him, still marveling at the taught muscles.
Karkat looked down at him with an air of calm, something John had never sensed from him before. It was odd...he used to be so lively and rancorous, but now he had something different about him. Something like...peace? Yes, he was very peaceful. Very accepting and controlled, it seemed.
"You're a lot different," was the first thing John said.
Karkat frowned, his hand snaking under John's big night shirt to run his fingers along the other's ribs. "You haven't been eating," he countered. "You weren't even this skinny when we first brought you to Alternia."
John shivered at the touch, letting out a small mewl as his matesprit's yellow claws, caused his skin to feel inflamed with heat and passion. "There was...a time. It wasn't a good time." John moved to take Karkat's hands from under his shirt, playing with his lover's fingers.
"Tell me about it." Karkat shifted John so they were closer, sharing each other's heat.
"You don't want to hear about it I think," John murmured in embarrassment, burying his face in Karkat's neck, his lips brushing oh so gently against the other's skin.
Karkat grimaced slightly at the rejection. "I bet you I do."
John frowned in return, looking up at him. "What if you get mad at me?" he asked hesitantly, his eyes averting at the thought of Karkat becoming upset over his self neglect, but with one affirming look from his love, he easily spilled the past three years out into the open. "When I got back I was fine. My dad told me everything that happened was a dream. Dave told me to forget about it, and for a while I sort of did."
"Like a suppressed memory?" Karkat asked.
John nodded, clinging to Karkat. "Yeah. A suppressed memory. I stopped dreaming, but I always got that Deja Vu feeling...you know when you're in between asleep and being awake?" Karkat offered a confused, look, but John only smiled in return. "I was so confused. Eventually I just convinced myself none of it ever happened, that it was just my childish imagination, but then suddenly everything came back to me one day."
Karkat nodded in understanding, sliding his hand under the blankets to hike John up a bit, closer against him. He nuzzled his matesprit. "You forgot about me?"
"Not on purpose! Geez, what am I supposed to do? Dave never brought it up and my dad told me it never happened, so I didn't even know," John sighed exasperatedly, still donning a smile despite his tone.
Karkat scoffed at him, burying his face in his lover's neck. "Go on."
John turned his gaze up to the ceiling, marveling at how warm Karkat was. "When I rembered, it was like it had just happened. I was fourteen, attending a normal school, but I was always passing out and falling asleep in class. Sometimes I'd just start crying for no reason and was completely inconsolable. I couldn't even control it either! God it was so embarrassing."
John was flushing at the mere thought of his occasional mental break downs that spawned from nearly nothing. But then again, considering the vivid memories of being taken from the love of his life who he was positive was killed by Jack was awful.
"I had to stay in the psyche wing of the hospital for awhile. I just got really depressed and emotional...I guess puberty kind of didn't help my hormones or anything, but man...it's really embarrassing to think back on."
Karkat watched John carefully. "You were crying because you wanted my hot alien dick, weren't you?"
John flushed and punched his beloved in the shoulder to the best of his abilities in the strange position. "Geez Karkat I'm really serious here!"
"Me too," Karkat chuckled. "I'm not sure what a psyche wing is, but I'm sorry you had to be in it," he added, more seriously.
John nodded. "What really made me crazy was not knowing what happened to you. I could hardly move, not even to lift my hands to eat! And a lot of people were really worried. Like my nana and my dad and Dave and even his bro not to mention Rose and Jade," he sighed and closed his eyes. "But you're back now, and even if I've just gone crazy and you're not really here, I'm happy."
Karkat smiled and kissed the top of John's head.
"So...I mean-" John looked back up at Karkat. "How did you escape Jack anyway? I-I mean...with...Tavros and everyone- what happened?"
Karkat's smile sunk down into a small frown. "Oh yes. That would probably be good to tell you." He looked up in thought, letting out a small and thoughtful noise. "When I transportalized you, Jack broke into the room. I fought off the carapaces as much as I could, but when I had defeated them all, I wouldn't have been any good against Jack. Sollux and Gamzee blind-sided him though-"
"I thought Sollux died!" John gasped, clinging to Karkat tightly.
Karkat shook his head. "Gamzee found us and revived him, Sollux told Gamzee to go find the others afterwards. Me and Sollux turned our back on Jack's body- It wasn't even two seconds..."
"He was gone?" John asked, eyes wide. "But...how? Where?"
Karkat shrugged. "We didn't even know at the time. He was just gone."
John nodded slightly. "How scary..."
"Fuck yeah!" Karkat growled a little too aggressively, causing John to tense, before the claws of his matesprit kneading comfortingly into his back brought him back to relaxation. "We found the others tending to eachother's wounds in one of the abandon areas of the labs. Tav had this huge gaping hole in his chest, Vriska's arm was ripped off and she was stabbed by Terezi in the back...we were a little apprehensive to try and revive her considering she's a huge conniving bitch, but we did it anyway. It ended up being the right choice-"
He looked down at John who was listening with all the wonder of a child being told a bedtime story. He nodded for Karkat to go on, clinging to him with balled up fists.
"Anyway, we were all pretty fucked up, but we ended up rallying in Nepeta's cavernous hive. Jack didn't even know it existed so it worked out well. And basically..." Karkat sighed. "You don't need to know the rest. It was war, John, it was awful."
"You can tell me about it," John confided quietly.
Karkat shook his head. "I killed so many trolls, so many carapaces. I saw comrades die and lovers taken from one another-" He turned onto his back, pulling John on top of him. "It made me so angry at first- because it was so pointless. But then I remembered you. And I remembered when Jack wanted to kill you and it scared the living shit out of me. Gog John I just...fuck it was terrifying."
John listened intently, nodding where he thought was appropriate, and giving Karkat small words of encouragement when he could manage his voice properly. "Is everyone okay?" he asked hoarsely.
"By some fucking miracle, all the trolls you came to know are fine. Other than a few scars and injuries, they're fine."
John nodded slowly. "Is Alternia okay?"
"Ravaged with war, but okay nonetheless," Karkat explained. "The Empress' fleet was so far gone in the galaxy, by the time they'd turned around to defend the planet, the war was already half over. They returned to a bruised world, but were mostly bitterly impressed with us 'wrigglers' protecting our planet."
John gave another succinct nod. "I understand." He smiled lightly, wrapping his arms around Karkat's neck. "I missed you so much."
Karkat kissed him lightly, content.
"Karkat I had a thought," John said, looking up at him. "So an Alternian week is one earth day, pretty much. Which means that you're actually nine years older than when we left each other."
Karkat watched him with a vague expression. "Go on."
"So you're technically like 22 years old or something, which makes you a big dirty pedophile," John giggled, lacing their fingers.
Karkat quirked an eyebrow. "What on Alternia is a fucking pedovial?"
"No, no! A pedophile it's a person who is really bad and likes little boys and is weird," John teased, jamming his finger in Karkat's side to shock him.
Karkat flinched, exhaling a loud 'pft' as his side was tickled by the motion before grabbing John up in his arms so the boy couldn't wiggle around anymore. "That's stupid! Humans are stupid! Trolls are way better because they don't have stupid things like that!" he snapped.
John smiled brightly. "Seeeee!" he called a bit too loudly. "That's the Karkat I knew three years ago! Sheesh I thought you were broken or something!"
"You fucking wish Egbert," Karkat grumbled, pulling John closer, more possessive.
They sat in a small, comfortable silence before John spoke again. "So how did you get here anyway?"
"Ship," Karkat murmured, eyes closed and exhaustion laced under his voice.
"Like a spaceship?" John gasped. "Wow!"
"Yeah. Sollux's gonna come here soon and install a transportalizer in your room so you can come to Alternia any time you want and so I can visit you without having to travel," Karkat said with a tiny yawn.
"Cool!" John gasped, wide eyed.
The boy's eyes softened a bit and he leaned in, curling up against Karkat's chest. There was another silence, this one slightly longer than the last. John was the first to speak again. "Karkat?"
"Hm?"
"I love you," John said.
"I love you too John," Karkat murmured, smiling just so.