And in came barreling his older brother, closely followed by Sollux, and Karkat had never felt so relieved to see their familiar faces.

Several beats of silence passed. Dave stared down at his fists in sick shock, while Karkat cupped his throbbing cheek, trembling slightly. And then the silence splintered when Kankri's furious voice cracked throughout the room; "Get the fuck away from my brother."

Dave paled and threw up his hands in defense as Kankri stalked towards him, and Karkat flinched away from the movement, eyes frantic and wild. With a start, Sollux realized Karkat was shaking and panicking, and something sick rolled in his stomach at the sight. He rushed forward and climbed onto the small bed without hesitation, carefully tugging Karkat into his lap. Karkat allowed himself to be pulled and shuddered slightly, trying to keep himself calm, but failing miserably because it was his goddamn fault Dave was hurt and now it was his fault Kankri was mad at him too. Sollux made quiet shushing noises, pulling him out of his own hell, and Karkat felt a brief moment of gratitude before the blind panic overwhelmed it again and he was dragged back in, lost to his own thoughts. At least he didn't fuck up Sollux as bad as he'd fucked up Dave.

Kankri finally reached Dave and glared fiercely up at the taller boy. "Get. Out." He hissed quietly.

"Kankri, it's not what it looks like I swear, I would never hurt!-" Dave's panicked yelling was swiftly cut off. Kankri shook out his fist and nearly snarled. "Get. Out."

A terribly tense silence settled over the room. For a moment it seemed as if Kankri would hit Dave again, but eventually Dave sagged and nodded. "Fine.." he mumbled, "I'll be back to see Karkat later though." He started towards the door.

"The fuck you will. As if I- we'd ever fucking let you near him again." Sollux snapped, pulling Karkat closer to him.

Dave twisted around and flashed a bloody palm at him. Karkat stiffened in Sollux's arms, and any calm he had managed to grab onto scattered instantly. "I'm pretty sure he'll want to see me." he chuckled grimly, turning back around and breezing out the door.

Sollux grit his teeth together and released Karkat, shooting off the bed. "I'm going after him." he snapped, before taking a moment to squeeze Karkat's hand. "I'll be back." he murmured softly.

Kankri watched the scene in front of him play out with crossed arms, a curious frown tugging at the corners of his mouth. Karkat simply stared as Sollux left the room, a small burst of something warm chasing away some of his guilt and internal panic. He then shakily drew his knees to his chest and rested his head on them, a barely restrained sob building in his throat, begging to be released. He could still see the blood on Dave's hands in his head, hear the pleading in his voice, feel the stinging of his cheek. He was a terrible boyfriend, a terrible person; for fuck's sake, he was the one who forced Dave to fucking hurt himself!

He bit down hard on his tongue and trembled slightly. Before he could finish mentally tearing himself to shreds, a warm, familiar arm slid around his shoulders. Kankri squeezed his brother tightly and pulled him closer, struggling to keep his own emotions in check as Karkat finally broke down in his arms. Hatred for that fucked up idiot of a boyfriend licked at the edges of his mind and he pressed his lips together into a thin line. Karkat was his little brother. His little brother who he would protect with whatever it took, even if it meant breaking his heart in the process. "Karkat," he said firmly, "how many times has something like that happened?"

Karkat lifted his head, hiccuping with tears streaming down his face and prepared to lie to his precious older brother. But he stopped before he could choke out the first dishonest word. Kankri's eyes were filled not with anger, not with annoyance, but with a warmth that promised understanding. He took in a deep, rattling breath and dropped his head onto his brother's shoulder. "This would be the fifth time.." he whispered.

Somehow, through a powerful self control he didn't know he possessed, Kankri didn't outwardly react to the statement. Inwardly however, a dark, deep hatred attached itself snugly to his heart, and Kankri sincerely hoped that Sollux caught up with Dave and broke his undeservingly beautiful face. "Karkat, I need you to listen very carefully to me." Karkat peered up at his older brother with red rimmed eyes and hesitantly nodded. "Dave is not good for you. It is not your fault he's like that, and it is certainly not your fault he walked out of this room with bloody hands." Kankri forced Karkat to hold his gaze as he spoke firmly.

"But.." Karkat protested weakly, unconsciously pulling away from his brother.

"No. I'm not going to let him fuck up your head anymore, pardon my language." Kankri's tone left no room for arguing, and Karkat chewed on his tongue.

Perhaps Kankri was right, and the relief that promised nearly took his breath away. But then.. Kankri was only one person. What if Kanaya blamed him? Or Cronus? Or Rose, Dave's half-sister? Or.. or.. Sollux? The thought sent his head reeling and Karkat's heart clenched painfully. For some reason, he cared even more about Sollux's opinion in this fucked up situation than anyone else's. What if Sollux blamed him for hurting Dave? And even worse, considering what he had put his best friend through all week.. well, Karkat wouldn't be surprised if Sollux hated him for all the shit he forced him to endure. Karkat's eyes burned, ready to cry again at the very idea. "Sollux!" He gasped loudly, jerking his head up to glance at Kankri's alarmed face, "I have to talk to Sollux!"

To his confusion, Kankri didn't try to convince him to stay in bed. Instead, a small smile gradually grew, and his eyes softened. "Well, you better go get him before he gets in trouble for fighting." He urged lightly.

Karkat paled and flung himself out of the bed, swaying dizzily for a moment. He ignored Kankri's warnings and steadied himself quickly before rushing out the door. The hall was nearly empty, given the late time of day, and Karkat felt a rush of relief. No time for prying doctors. He had to find Sollux, had to see him, thank him, ask forgiveness from him, hug him, kiss him- Karkat abruptly froze in his running and stumbled head-first into the hallway wall, struggling to process the sudden, vivid image crashing into his brain. A few stray passerbys stared at him oddly, but he ignored them.

"What.. the.. fuck." He muttered to himself in between catching his breath, the image of him kissing Sollux of all people still lingering.

Karkat wasn't a cheater. He really wasn't. In fact, when he'd first gotten with Dave, he'd massacred the small, growing feelings he'd had for his best friend at the time, attempting to focus his heart solely on loving Dave. He thought it worked. Sollux had remained blissfully unaware, and currently was probably in love with Aradia or something, and Karkat was happy with Dave. Or had been at least. But apparently, he fucked up. Those feelings appeared to have festered inside him for the last two years and now…

"Fuck." He growled out and smacked his head on the wall. "Fuck fuck, fucking fuck FUCK!"

Karkat pulled away from the hallway wall and shoved the annoying warm feelings in his chest away, not willing or able to deal with them at the moment. He started down the hall again in search of his best friend and stupid boyfriend. Or was Dave his ex now? The guilt and panic from earlier on threatened to overtake him suddenly, and he dug his nails into his wrist without thinking. Calm the fuck down. Panicking wouldn't help. He opened his eyes, unaware he had even closed them to begin with, only to see a tall woman in a pair of blue scrubs turn the corner. He ducked into an empty patient room to avoid discovery and growled quietly. Where the fuck could they have gone? Peeking his head out, the small troll confirmed the nurse had left before he slipped out of the room and continued down the hall.

After passing several more empty rooms, the frustration he felt was almost palpable, and his fingernails unconsciously buried themselves into the flesh of his arms once again. Karkat squeezed his eyes shut, and inhaled sharply, desperation blanketing him. He had to find them. If not to confirm Sollux didn't hate him, a small, weak part of him admitted, then to see Dave before he took off. Again. Abruptly, he heard a shout behind him and to the left, and Karkat's eyes snapped open. "Sollux," he breathed, already rushing towards the bathroom door the sound had emanated from.

Whatever Karkat had expected to see when he finally found the pair, it certainly wasn't this. Dave stood in the middle of the bathroom with his back to Karkat, sobbing loudly, and Sollux stood in front of him, more furious than he had seen him before in his life. Karkat's stomach lurched, and he stepped forward with trepidation, ready to make his presence known to them. But before he could so much as open his mouth, Sollux's next shout echoed throughout the small bathroom, slicing right through him, and he was suddenly struggling to even breathe, let alone move. "THO YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT YOU'VE BEEN THE THNEAKY FUCKING CHEATER THITH ENTIRE GODDAMN TIME?!" He bellowed, towering over the cowering blonde.

Karkat vaguely noted in some corner of his mind that Sollux was upset enough to let his lisp slip completely loose, but he was hardly aware of it. A thousand instances ran through his head, moments that suddenly clicked into place and shone with painful obviousness. Dave's insistence on meeting some mysterious 'friend' at every Pride parade for years, the weekends he came home late and refused to speak to him, the occasional, almost guilty looks he had when they kissed. The wave of numbness that he had so easily managed to shove away before yanked him back under, dragging him with the undertow, and he nearly gave in. It would be so much easier to simply let go, to dissolve into pieces again and not care..

Sollux's furious gaze finally shifted to Karkat, standing partially behind Dave with wide, wet eyes. His expression immediately softened, and a look of regret crossed his features. "Shit, Karkat, how long have you..?" he trailed off, already knowing that the damage was done, and guilt pinched his stomach.

Dave whirled around and blanched at Karkat's still form. He said nothing, only looked down at the floor, shame written all over his face.

Karkat's thoughts had snapped back into focus when Sollux said his name, and his soft expression jerked him out of the tide; he could suddenly breathe again with a bloom of warmth that exploded in his chest out of nowhere. Karkat closed his eyes and tried to focus on that instead of the sharp pain that threatened to make tears appear again. He'd always had an inkling that he wasn't good in relationships, and here was the goddamn proof on a silver platter. Dave had to go to someone else for love, and somehow, Karkat knew it was his own fault. Maybe if he was quieter, or nicer, or anything besides an asshole hothead, Dave wouldn't have needed to cheat.

That didn't mean Karkat wasn't furious with him, he realized, as he opened his eyes and focused on Dave. "You're a disgusting fucking hypocrite." Karkat said dully, refusing to look away from him, "Get out. We're over."

Dave's expression became panicked and then angry, throwing up his hands, now covered in dried blood. "You're really going to do this to me?! After what you did?" He shouted, bordering on hysterical.

Sollux stepped forward, ready to defend him, but Karkat held his hand up at him, gesturing for him to stay. Sollux frowned, but stayed in his spot. The smaller troll shifted his focus back to Dave and swallowed hard. His palms were sweaty, his heart was thudding, and a terrible anxiety unfurled in his chest like smoke. But he kept going, ignoring all the alarm bells in his head telling him to shut up. "You- I- Y-You're the one who did that to your fucking self! It's not my fault! And you're the one who started all this shit, not to mention you're also the fuckhead who was actually cheating!" He yelled, unconsciously squeezing his hands into fists to stop them from shaking.

Dave stared at him, uncomprehending, until he let out a harsh laugh, shaking his head. "Fine," He said, his voice trembling slightly, "leave me. But good luck finding another poor fucker who can put up with your bullshit. I wish that you'd actually succeeded. Then I wouldn't be at this stupid fucking hospital."

For a moment, it felt like all the breath in his chest was ripped away, and Karkat fought to control the painful tightening somewhere near his heart. He.. Dave.. wished.. he'd succeeded.. at killing himself. Sollux said something he didn't quite hear, and before Karkat could recognize what was happening, Sollux was attacking the blonde. He blinked and their positions changed, and suddenly Dave had his fist cocked back, ready to hit Sollux. And the weakness inside him fell away, and all he felt was pure rage for the fucking bastard he used to call a boyfriend. Karkat was just so fucking done with all his shit. "Let go of him right fucking now."

Dave's twisted to face him for a split second, and was instantly met with Karkat's angry fist. Sollux staggered away from the pair as Dave stumbled back, shock clear on his face. Dave barely had a moment to recover before Karkat's knee slammed into his stomach, and he doubled over groaning.

Something inside him was screaming and crying for the boy on the floor in front of him. Something inside him was ready to forgive this boy completely and beg for his forgiveness. Something was ready to give in to him again. But, Karkat realized as he squeezed his eyes shut, that person was the same one who that kept him weepy and compliant. He couldn't be that person anymore. Karkat let that person inside of him go. He turned back towards Sollux and reached out blindly for him. Warm hands closed around his, and he swallowed roughly, keeping his eyes shut. "Come on KK.. let's get the fuck out of here.." he heard Sollux murmur.

Karkat let himself be led out of the bathroom, carefully blocking out Dave's quiet sniffles in the background. He kept his eyes closed as Sollux guided him back to his room, and only opened them when the warm hand holding his released. The bright white of the room made him squint and Karkat blinked blearily at the lights above. He glanced at Sollux, who was watching him with a concerned expression, shifting anxiously from foot to foot, and he blanched. The small measure of calm he'd been holding tight to cracked, and all the emotions it had been holding back crashed down on his head. Panic laced with sorrow swirled in his mind and Karkat shook his head back and forth rapidly, breathing suddenly much more difficult. He swayed unsteadily and sucked in deep breath after deep breath to calm himself down because he needed to calm down and why is he freaking out he should be fucking happy.

Familiar arms slid around him, and Karkat leaned into Sollux without any hesitation. He felt his best friend's (crushes'? Loves'?) fingers running through his hair, and the motion relaxed him, the gasps mellowing out to almost normal breaths. But the brief calm came with the overwhelming urge to cry again and Karkat bit down hard on the inside of his cheek to stop it from happening. His attempts proved futile though, and a harsh sob ripped through his chest briefly before he tried to force it away again. No luck. The small spell of calm evaporated, and suddenly he couldn't breathe properly again. "I-I'm! So! Tired! O-Of! Crying Sollux!" Karkat gasped out between panicked sobs, his voice finally breaking at the end.

Sollux tightened his hold on his friend and slowly backed towards the hospital bed. He carefully sat down and shifted Karkat into his lap while he continued to run his fingers through his hair. "It's okay to cry Kk.. I'm not here to be a judgemental ass for once.." he murmured softly.

Karkat choked out a small laugh, more tears dripping down his face as he shook his head. "You're not- you're not an ass, you're my best fucking friend, and I'm so-" his voice broke again, and he fought to keep speaking, "I'm so sorry, I made you stay all week and put you through all this dumb shit and now you'll h-hate me too and!-" Karkat couldn't force his voice out clearly anymore, and another loud cry sounded from his throat as he gave up on speaking.

Sollux eyebrows shot up in shock, and he jerked back to stare at him. "Hate you?" he asked incredulously, "Why the fuck would I hate you? I lo!- You're my best friend, dumbass, I couldn't hate you if I tried!" He grimaced slightly at his almost slip up, but continued to hold Karkat's gaze earnestly. The last thing he needed was a sudden declaration of love after all the shit that had happened.

Karkat searched his expression silently, trying to brush away the tears still streaming down his face, looking for any sign of doubt or dishonesty. Nothing. The sudden lifting of pressure off his shoulders was enormous, and he let his head drop onto Sollux's chest in relief. "And… you don't blame me for what happened with Dave…?" he asked quietly.

Sollux swallowed the burst of anger that flared up, and shook his head sharply. "Fuck no. That shit is all on him. You deserve someone way fucking better." His voice came out bitter, and he huffed, squeezing the smaller boy closer to him.

Karkat shook his head in disagreement, but otherwise stayed quiet. How long had it been since he'd been held like this, and he was actually able to appreciate it? He sighed in contentment and pressed himself closer to Sollux, reveling in the warmth he felt inside and out. That was something else he was also going to have to deal with, his feelings. The thought brought a sharp sliver of anxiety, but it melted away quickly. It was hard to get worked up when Sollux was holding him like this, all bizarre kindness and affection. Karkat doubted it would last long, as Sollux generally wasn't this lovey dovey with people, but he chose to focus on the fact that it was happening now and not worry about the future.

A warm thumb unexpectedly brushed across his bruised cheek, and Karkat frowned, peering up at his silent friend. There was a curiously somber look on Sollux's face, but before Karkat could even open his mouth, Sollux's quiet voice spoke up; "This is my fault.." he murmured, "I should've fucking helped you when I could.."

"Shut up."

Sollux paused, and raised his eyebrows at Karkat's scowling face questioningly. "Shut the fuck up Sollux. You don't get to say bullshit like that when I'm the one who fucking made you stay quiet. It's not your fault, so just shut up, okay?"

The scowl had disappeared, replaced with an earnest expression that Sollux rarely ever saw on his friend's face. It only ever appeared at Karkat's most stubborn moments, often his most caring moments coincidentally. Yet, still… "But KK, I knew and I still didn't-"

"No. Don't take the blame for this. Please Sollux.. don't blame yourself.." Karkat trailed off, swallowing hard to remove the lump in his throat.

The taller troll sighed slightly, but nodded his head in agreement nonetheless. Arguing would've been pointless- Karkat wouldn't let him take any fault, and he felt his heart warm briefly. And so, Sollux stayed quiet and ruffled the other troll's hair fondly. "Alright Mr. Grumpyass," he teased with a small smirk, "you win for now."

The sorrowful expression quickly slid from Karkat's face, and he relaxed into his friend with a playful smile. "Yeah yeah, fuck you Sollux." He muttered, laughing quietly.

They kept up the banter for several minutes longer, and eventually, Karkat dozed off in his best friend's arms, the first peaceful sleep he'd had in a long while.