Karkat's POV

Chapter 5: Quadrants

I marched right back into her room, furious.

"I CAN'T TAKE THESE MIND GAMES ANYMORE."

"What? Mind games...?" She asked, confused and innocent.

"ARE WE FRIENDS, REALLY? JUST FRIENDS? AFTER EVERYTHING WE'VE BEEN THROUGH?" I questioned her.

She blushed, and stuttered nervously, "W-what are you trying to say?"

I groaned again and pushed her up against a wall. My heart was beating out of my chest, and I could feel her heart matching my pace. I pinned Cat with my chest pressed against hers, and my hands covered her tiny little fists on the wall. My forehead gently leaned against hers.

"What is going on between us, here?" I asked through gritted teeth. I was trying to contain my anger, but it was close to boiling over.

"You tell me," she challenged, her eyes teasing, but the rest of her, nervous and self conscious.

"You have me right where you want me, what are you waiting for?" She was shaking lightly in my arms, her words much more bold than she.

That drew the line. I kissed her roughly, and put my hands on her waist, pulling her closer to me. She quickly responded, pulling me in as well, and I bit her bottom lip, demanding entrance. She refused to let me win, and I could feel her stupid smug smile against my mouth. I brought one hand up to her breast and squeezed, hard. It was too soft and squishy to really hurt her, and she gasped and moaned slightly in return, allowing me to explore her mouth. Our tongues fought for dominance, and the wet noises from our sloppy makeout filled the room. Her hands moved into my hair, and I felt her fingers inching towards my horns. My bulge started to unsheathe from the heavy kissing, and I unconsciously was rubbing up against her. Before things got too far, I reluctantly pulled back for air, and looked at her poor, kiss-bruised lips, and her stupid adorable face, flushed with red.

"Cat," I began, my voice husky. I hated her and loved her so much at that moment.

She was panting, her breath hot in my face.

I was vacillating between quadrants for her, but for her sake, I tried to keep my cool.

"Cat, I... You know how I feel for you, right?" I tried to confess.

Still breathless, she looked up at me, her eyes looking dazed and almost trancelike.

"Fuck, you probably don't even understand the relationship quadrants... But, you know that I like you, right?"

She nodded slowly, taking in the kiss and my shitty confession.

"This... This is all so overwhelming, but I like you too, Karkat. A lot..." She blushed.

I sighed in relief and released her from the wall, and she almost fell back into my arms, her feet wobbly. I caught her, and together we walked into the common area.

Caterina's POV

I could hardly believe what just happened. After he took his clothes and left, I threw on some respectable pants on and a new t shirt, and then as soon as I turned around, he was at my doorway again, yelling at me some more. What could he possibly want now? Before I knew it, he had me pinned against the wall, and I could have fainted right there. Then he kissed me and my heart stopped. Time stopped. All there was was here and now, his lips against mine, my fingers in his soft hair, and his hands on my waist. When he pulled away, a tiny string of saliva stuck to our lips and I was panting hard from the intense kiss. He confessed some vague feelings for me that I assumed were red, but I couldn't be sure. I didn't understand the mechanics of the quadrants too well.

I felt conflicted about him, but at least the tension between us was finally addressed.

Did he love me? Did he hate me?

I pondered this as we walked together down to the common room.

"well well well you guys look like you got busy." I heard Dave joke, and I blushed furiously.

"FUCK OFF, STRIDER." Karkat yelled in his usual irritated voice, his grip tightening on my hand.

"Ow," I said softly, and Karkat apologetically let go of my hand.

"Hey, Dave," I called out.

"what's up?"

"How do I become God Tier like you and Rose?" I asked, curious about their strange "pajamas."

"oh, uh.. you complete all the puzzles and quests on your planet and off yourself on the sacrificial table." He said simply.

My eyes widened.

"I have to what?!"

"yep."

"O-okay... Well, Karkat, I have to go back to LOSAS then." I started to walk away.

"WAIT, I'M COMING WITH YOU." Karkat proclaimed firmly, his hand grabbing hold of mine.

"Alright, then let's go, Karkat."

In LOSAS, it was pitch black. It was always this way. In order to see, you had to make noise and the sound waves would light the way. The loss of sight forced us to rely on our other senses, our hearing and smell, for example. Karkat of course, didn't have any problem complaining.

"HOW DO YOU EVEN SEE ON THIS DAMNED PLANET?"

"The sound wav-"

"IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE, HOW DO YOU SEE THE IMPS? I MEAN, HOW STUPID IS IT TO USE SOUND TO SEE?"

"Karkat, just shut up," I sighed, exasperated.

"You were the who wanted to come here, right? We have to find this sacrificial bed now."

"ALRIGHT," he grumbled.

Our steps illuminated only a few feet around us, so we didn't have to worry about bumping into anything directly in front of us. From time to time, I shot a bullet into the distance, to light the way ahead. It took honed skill to be able to see the sound waves coming off the imps and shoot them from far away. In the waters nearby, we could see splashes of color when the whales and dolphins bellowed out their wails and calls to one another. The beaches had rolling waves of sound that resonated throughout the area.

"IT'S... PRETTY," Karkat marveled.

"Yeah," I agree, admiring the view.

"I wonder how we're going to find it, the bed, I mean." I wondered aloud.

"YOU HAVE TO TALK TO YOUR CONSORTS AROUND HERE TO FIND CLUES, BUT CAN YOU SPEAK WHALE?"

I looked back to the sea. A row of dolphins rise and fell in the waves.

"I think we should follow them."

One dolphin poked its head out and playfully clicked at me, as if confirming my thought.

"Come on," I smiled, holding onto Karkat's hand.

With a look of apprehension, he followed along as the dolphins guided us.

Karkat's POV

My face began to flush and show my shameful blood color when she suddenly reached out for my hand, but it didn't matter because it was so damn dark in this place. It was so dark and the use-sound-to-see thing was annoying, but there was still a type of natural beauty to her planet. I was amazed at how much she actually trusted me, even though I would have to be the one to kill her on that bed. A feeling of dread began to fill my gut, but I swallowed it down and reminded myself why I volunteered to go with her: I couldn't trust anyone else to do this but me.

At last, we reached it. The dolphins swam away, and we were left alone on this hill.

"CAT... YOU KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO, RIGHT? WHY I CAME WITH YOU?"

She nodded, slowly laying on the cold stone bed. Out of context, this would be a different situation entirely, but now wasn't the time to think about that.

"Here, Karkat," she said softly, handing me her rifle/sword. I swung it in the air to transform it.

I lifted the now sword into the air, and I looked into her deep brown eyes. In them, I could see her love for me, and her trust that it would all be okay. Sword raised high, a single red tear streaked my cheek. I figured out my feelings now. I couldn't possibly hate her.