Sollux came to with a headache. The disoriented feeling was on he knew well as he sat up, holding his head. The walls were so blank. They held no story, no reflections of the past. Just emptiness, as solid and blank as the contents of his head.
Still, he remembered he was home again. He remembered . . . Karkat. Where was Karkat? He got out of bed, and stumbled into the living room, where Karkat laid lazily on the messy couch, his backpack pull and sitting on the floor next to him.
"Hey." Said Sollux blankly, trying to match the flat attitude he remembered Karkat having.
Karkat turned his dark eyes away from the tv to look at him. "Oh. Hey. You're up. There's a whole bunch of pills for you to take on the counter."
Sollux sighed. "I know." He went over to them, knowing that if he didn't comply and take them, they'd know, and he'd be scheduled for a no so pleasant appointment where they would either shove the meds down his throat or inject them directly.
Karkat frowned at the resignation in the mustard blood's voice and on his face. He felt bad for the guy, and guilty for letting him suffer that fate, even though he hadn't had much choice. "Hey, man let me make you some breakfast." He offered hesitantly, though his cooking skills were limited to bland Betty Crocker freezer burritos and toaster pastries, which he was almost sure wasn't actually troll food.
"Really?" Asked Sollux. "Aren't you that guy who only looks out for himself, though?"
Karkat shrugged. "Well yeah, but you look more out of it than usual, and you've put up with me this long. I thought I might as well do something for you . . . but don't go expecting this to be some sort of regular thing."
Sollux sorted through the pills. "I won't. Thanks, though."
"Whatever. Don't worry about it." Said Karkat simply.
"You know, even though you have this whole loner thing going on, I think you and I could make good friends." Commented Sollux.
Karkat tensed as he took a burrito out of the freezer. "Yeah . . . about that. I don't think that's going to work out very well."
Sollux looked at him in confusion. "Why not?"
Karkat sighed. "Because I'm going to be moving out soon."
Sollux felt suddenly very distressed for reasons he couldn't quite remember. "You are, but why?"
Karkat didn't dare look at him. "Because of the things that happened to make you get a touch up. They don't think it's safe for me to stay with my kismesis until they know that I don't need to touchup too."
"Oh." Said Sollux simply. "I understand . . . It's okay." He sat down, his shoulders dropped as he took his medication. "I'm used to losing people, and numbing my emotions."
Karkat looked at him sadly, and continued cooking. When he was done, he put the breakfast in front of Sollux and went over to the couch, sitting far away so he could have an easier time detaching himself. He looked at the tv as if he didn't even care, even though inside he really did. Sollux was the closest person Karkat had to a friend, and here he was, leaving him like he was nothing.
"Thanks." Said Sollux quietly, taking the last of his pills before digging into the burrito.
The apartment fell into silence for a very long time. Sollux eventually sat on the floor in front of the couch, and interrupted Karkat's tv watching to put in an old video game. Karkat didn't even care. Watching Sollux play was a lot more entertaining than anything he could be watching on batter-witch-brainwash-food-network anyway.
The time neared for Karkat to be picked up, and Terezi wasted no effort in making sure he was aware of this. Though it didn't show on the outside, he was very afraid. He was afraid to move back with Terezi. He was also afraid of remembering and getting another touchup, but that didn't compare to his fear of being alone in that hell. It was that fear that drove him to write his cellphone number and online chat handle on a piece of paper, and hand it discreetly to Sollux.
"What's this?" Asked Sollux, looking at him in confusion.
"My number and chat handle. I know I said we couldn't be friends, but if you . . . uhh . . . ever need someone to talk to, I'll always be around to talk to you. It would be nice to have someone who isn't hostile to talk to for once, so if you feel like it you can just send me a message. Just . . . keep that safe . . . and don't forget about me."
Sollux looked at him, dumbstuck, as there was a knock on the door. "I will." He whispered, shoving the paper into his pocket.
Karkat put on a pretty pathetic smile because that's all he could manage. "Thanks. Anyway I gotta go. Bye."
"Bye." Whispered Sollux as he watched Karkat put his jacket, shoes, and backpack on, exchange words with Terezi, and close the door behind him.
o0o0o0o0
(Author's note: Just wanted to say thank-you to all of you who have stuck with me through the update gaps and are still following this story. Thank-you to those who have gotten into it, and thank-you to all of you who have left such great reviews on this story. You guys are my motivation to push on and continue writing this huge au. I consider this chapter to be a milestone in the story, as well as a turning point in the plot. Next chapter, we put Karkat's story on hold, and move on to Dirk and the rest of the kids. Again, thanks for reading. I will strive to write more story of the best quality I can muster in a relatively timely manner. Sincerely, Blissful Cacophony.)