First and foremost, let me apologize for the delay on this chapter. I spent the last two weeks doing odd jobs to make some money and I didn't have time to update. So as part of the apology, I made this chapter longer than the others and advanced the plot quite a bit. I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. So, that's all for now. Enjoy!

...

Karkat and John spent most of the day ducking between houses and darting across roads in search of materials John would need. So far, they had found some rope, a few sheets and some spare snacks. Karkat made a mental check on his list for every item when they broke into their 30th or so house. All that was left to get were these things the humans called bobby pins. Karkat wondered why they had such a strange name when they were quite simply just hair holders, but regardless of the name, they served well for picking locks.

"So you can really pick a lock with a bobby pin? I thought that was only in the movies," John marveled.

"Not everything in a movie is impossible," Karkat spat as he tore through the drawers next on the bedside table. "Now shut up and look. It's getting close to patrol time and I'd rather not be here when they go on patrol."

Karkat continued his search in the drawers as John went out to the closet in the hallway. He rifled through the contents of the closet before finding a box labeled "Bobby Pins".

"Hey, Karkat! I found some!"

Karkat came rushing into the hallway and tore the box out of John's hands. He opened it and was relieved to find it mostly full.

"Thank Gog." He visibly relaxed.

"So… Could you teach me to pick a lock?" John asked tentatively.

"Well, no shit I will, bulge-muncher. It wouldn't do you much good to have these if you didn't know how to use them. But we have to head back first. I'll teach you after we eat. Now come on." Karkat stormed over to their bag that they'd found on their looting adventure. He carried it to the kitchen and threw some of the food he found there in the bag and slung the pack over his shoulders. He marched out the back door with John close on his heels.

The sun had just begun to set and the patrol would be out soon. Karkat silently cursed. Again he was risking his neck for this human and he didn't even know why. 'Gamzee, what has happened to me?' he thought, 'I'm losing my mind.'

After a long walk containing mostly of slinking between houses and avoiding roads whenever possible, they arrived back at the house they had spent the last night in. Karkat opened the door silently and ushered John in. He had just shut the door when he heard the motor in the distance. His finger shot to his lips as he gave John an urgent "Be quiet" look. John nodded in reply and the two snuck to the closet in the back bedroom.

They both went into the closet, and Karkat shut the door behind them. They sat on the uncomfortable shoes for what seemed like hours as the hum of the truck motor gradually got louder until it was so loud it could be nowhere else but in front of the house. As if to confirm this, the sound of car doors opening and closing followed by stomping footsteps around the house told Karkat that the patrol was searching each house. He inwardly cursed, repeatedly. 'Please, oh Gog, please let them not come inside,' he thought fervently.

A light shined through the bedroom window casting eerie shadows on the floor. Karkat held his breath and heard John do the same. The light moved from side to side then lingered for a bit on the bed before moving on. A short while later, the car doors opened and closed again, and the truck moved on to the next house.

Karkat didn't breathe until the truck had moved on for sure, but he didn't come out of the closet with John until after the sounds of the truck had completely faded. Even with the sounds of the truck completely gone, they crept out to the kitchen quietly. Karkat fixed up some canned beans and they ate in silence, each too scared to talk.

After they finished eating, Karkat finally spoke. "I guess I should teach you how to pick a lock with these hair holder things." He got up and rifled through the pack until he found the bobby pins. He went to the back door and pulled out the Allen wrench he had in his pocket. He carried it everywhere, even after he ran out of bobby pins. "The process is really simple, fuckass. You push the little bent bar thingy into the lock like so." He pushed the Allen wrench's short side into the lock, just barely fitting it. "Next you take a hair holder, bend it apart and insert one end into the lock above the bar thingy." Karkat did this as he said it. "And now you jiggle the hair holder while slowly turning the bar thingy, but don't turn it too fast cause you'll break the bobby pin. Aaaannnnd… There. Unlocked." Karkat pulled out the Allen wrench and bobby pin. He hand them to John and relocked the door. "Now it's your turn."

The next few hours were filled with lots of broken bobby pins and lots of Karkat cursing at John and telling him how much of an idiot he is and how he was so stupid, or yelling that he said NOT to turn it too fast. Karkat finally ended the session to save the remaining bobby pins as well as his own sanity. Karkat grumbled a good night and headed to the sofa to sleep.

John stayed up a little longer, attempting the lock picking a couple more times before giving up and heading off to get some sleep himself.

"Motherfucker, I'm home." Gamzee walked into the hive he and Karkat shared. Smells of cooking came in from the kitchen. "I didn't know you could motherfuckin cook," Gamzee said as he wandered towards the smells.

"I don't normally, fuckass, but I wanted to do something special for today." Karkat rushed around the kitchen, in the middle of fixing up some meat from a local indigenous bird. It was supposed to be tasty and maybe it would be, if Karkat could manage not to burn it. Usually Gamzee did all the cooking.

"What's all so special about today?" Gamzee asked, and Karkat froze. Gamzee looked at him confusedly until it hit him. It was their 2 year anniversary. "Shit, man, I up and forgot. It's just the Condesce has been piling on the work. Something about preparing me for my future duty and some shit, and it just totally slipped my mind, man. Shit, I am so sorry, Kar-bro."

"I-it's fine. I'm almost finished." Karkat pulled the bird meat out of the oven and let out a sigh of relief; it wasn't totally destroyed. He set the tray with the meat on the counter and pulled out plates, fixing them and setting them out on the table for him and Gamzee. He started lacing Gamzee's with just a tiny bit of sopor slime. Karkat was trying to slowly wean him off of the stuff, make him less dependent on it to control his rage.

Gamzee smiled up at his moirail-turned-matesprit. "I'll make it up to you. I promise best friend"

"I know you will." Karkat smiled quickly then wiped the emotion off his face. "Now eat this bird meat before I force feed it to you, fuckass."

Gamzee grinned and dug into the bird. His eyes went wide with surprise. "This shit is good, motherfucker. What do they all call this bird-miracle?"

"The man selling said it was a Chocobo," Karkat said, sitting down. He reached for his fork and froze when he saw Gamzee staring at him. "What's the matter? Is there not enough sopor slime? I can put more?" Karkat's heart started racing. He couldn't have Gamzee freak out on him, not now.

"Your hand, motherfucker. What the fuck happened to your hand?" Gamzee looked alarmed, shocked, scared even. Karkat looked at his hand. He had a cut. The blood had dried but it was a visible red.

"I… I.. I must have cut it while cooking." Panic flooded Karkat as he dug through the kitchen drawers throwing utensils everywhere, looking at all the knives. Searching for blood anywhere. His motions were frantic, and he kept screaming. "I HAD TO HAVE CUT IT HERE! I HAD TO HAVE!" He was ripping drawers out of their holdings and picking up knives and forks and throwing them against the wall. He collapsed among the wreckage, his hands cut and bleeding new, pale red tears pouring from his eyes and dripping from his cheeks.

"Kar-bro, it'll be okay. Maybe no one saw." Gamzee got up to comfort his lover but was stopped short when a knock at the door stopped him. He looked Karkat in the eyes and spoke plainly and clearly. "Hide."

Karkat slipped out of the room, his face a mask of pure terror. Gamzee headed for the door, waited to regain his composure and opened it.

"What all seems to be the problem, man," he drawled.

There was a troll police officer at the door. The troll officer looked him up and down and then looked at the door frame. The metal clasp had red on it as did the floor bellow. "Are you harboring a lowblood?"

"Nah motherfucker. That's some Chocobo blood. Those bird-miracles all up and bleed red." Gamzee grinned.

"Mind if I come in?"

"Hold on, motherfucker. I kinda made a mess." Gamzee unlocked the door and ran into the kitchen, quickly shoving Karkat's untouched dinner into the fridge. He spun around as the Troll officer entered the kitchen. He looked around at the mess then at the plate on the table.

"Quite a mess you've made, indeed." The troll officer walked around the mess gingerly. He picked up a knife and stabbed the bird on the plate. It did indeed bleed red, luckily, as the bird meat was still a little raw. "So it does bleed red. But what of this mess?"

"I like it messy." Gamzee said with a shrug.

"Indeed. What is your blood color, troll," the officer demanded.

Gamzee picked up a knife and carved three long stripes down his face in a diagonal. "Purple as fucking purple gets. I don't believe I gave you permission to enter my house, motherfucker. I suggest you leave." The officer hesitates, frozen in place. He had not expected this to be the residence of the indigo blood."I SAID MOTHERFUCKING LEAVE, MOTHERFUCKING BLUE BLOOD!"

Without another moment's hesitation, the officer ran out of the house and away. Gamzee went to the door and slammed it shut.

"Kar-bro. It's safe."

Karkat awoke, groggy from the bad sleeping position. He roused himself and went to the kitchen. He started preparing breakfast for himself and John. He decided it was best to have food ready when he woke the human.

With the beans laid out and waiting, Karkat made the trek to the bedroom. He threw the door open only to find John not only awake, but also in the middle of changing. Karkat was spared no images as the human had just dropped his boxers when Karkat entered.

"FUCK!" Karkat covered his eyes and turned away.

"Karkat! Shit!" John dressed hastily and then ran out into the hallway after Karkat.

"Breakfast is ready, and do me a favor, fuckass: next time you decide to get naked, put a fucking sign on the door. In fact, it should read, 'Karkat do not open this door or your eyes will be blinded from the disgustingness of my naked human body.'" Karkat fumed, his cheeks flushing red though not from anger.

"Sorry… I didn't think you were up." John blushed. "I promise not to let it happen again."

Karkat turned to face him and immediately regretted it. His imagination ran away with the image of naked John and he suddenly couldn't be angry, only embarrassed. "The… food is on the table…" was all he managed before turning away again.

John smiled and followed Karkat to the kitchen. They both sat and ate, Karkat avoiding eye contact. When they had finished, John busied himself with trying out the lock picking some more and Karkat went to take a shower. When he got out, he grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist. He was on his way to the bedroom for some clothes when he stopped abruptly. He heard John in the living room, probably on the sofa. It was the sound he was making. The sound tore Karkat's heart out. He could hear the human crying. It was a pitiful sound and it hurt Karkat. He walked down into the living room and stood in the doorway, unsure of what to do.

John looked up from the sofa, having heard Karkat come in. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be crying on your bed. I just… I miss my friends."

Karkat was beside John in an instant, his heart bleeding for him. He pulled John into a hug. "It'll be okay. You're gonna get them out of there tonight."

"How? I can't even pick a lock."

This comment seemed to stab at Karkat's heart. He couldn't think of what to say. John was right; he couldn't pick a lock. But he had to comfort him somehow.

What Karkat did next baffled not only John but himself as well. Without knowing what he was doing, he felt his lips connect with John's. John's body tensed at first but then relaxed, and Karkat slid his arms around John, holding the human to him, his tongue pressing to John's lips. John parted his lips with a moan, and Karkat immediately pushed his tongue in, exploring John's mouth. John let him until he suddenly came to his senses and pushed away.

"What… what was that?" he asked, more shocked than angry.

Karkat just looked at his hands. "I… I don't know."

John got up and paced. He wasn't sure what to think but then again neither was Karkat.

"I… did you not like it?" Karkat asked, his face completely flushed.

"I… it's not that… I just… I don't know… I'm not gay though…"

"You aren't what?"

"Gay? I don't like other guys."

"That's a thing?"

"Well, yeah…"

"Oh…"

"I didn't mean that it was bad… It was kind of… nice but… Oh gosh…. I need time to think…"

Karkat merely nodded and got up to leave the room feeling dejected. He went to the bedroom and got dressed, his head still reeling. He couldn't stop thinking about the kiss. He couldn't believe he'd done that. He just… It wasn't him. Karkat shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. He sat on the floor just sorting through his thoughts. He spent the rest of the day there, just thinking. He was finally brought back to reality by a soft knock at the bedroom door.

"Karkat, Shouldn't we leave before the patrol starts?" John said softly, kindly.

Karkat looked at John as if in a daze then he suddenly snapped back into focus as what John said sunk in. "Shit! Yeah. Grab the bag and let's go."

Karkat got up, and John left the room to get the pack. Karkat met him in the kitchen and they both left, slinking between houses once again until they reached the edge of the woods.

"We have to wait here for the patrol to pass." Karkat told John. And so they waited, nearly thirty minutes for the truck. Karkat began to wonder if it had already gone out. Just as he was about to move he heard it, the familiar hum from last night. And soon he saw the headlights as the truck made its way down the dirt path towards the houses.

Karkat and John slumped down even closer to the ground and held their breath until it had passed. They waited for the truck noises to die down a bit before they got up and started their long trek to the compound. It took nearly forty-five minutes, but they soon found it. Karkat led John to the holding area. They set up just in the brush and trees, nearly twenty feet from the fence.

"Look, it's simple, but you need to be fast. Throw the sheets over the barbed wire so you can climb over it. Tie the rope to the top of the fence when you get up there. You can climb the fence on your own, but they may not have enough strength to, so they may need the rope. You jump down and let the rope hang on the inside of the fence. Next find the right building, pick the lock, get them out, climb back over the fence, take the sheets and rope down, and then get the fuck out of there. Clear?"

"Clear." John said nervously. "You sure you won't come with me?"

"Positive. You can do this." Karkat smiled, a rare sight. It was quick, but John saw it and beamed back. "Now get going, fuckass."

John nodded and headed out for the fence. He reached and dropped his pack to get out the sheets. Karkat turned to leave but froze as something caught the corner of his eye. His heart sank. Troll guards were advancing on John from both sides and the human was oblivious. Karkat had to do something and he had to do it fast. Without a second thought, he bolted out of the woods, but the guards were already on John, drawing back their batons to strike.