Karkat woke up to a cold bed and an empty room. It was human Christmas and his matesprit was nowhere in sight. The smell of freshly baked pie hung in the air…maybe he could sneak a piece. Technically, Karkat was pretty sure they were meant for the party tonight, but eating one little piece wouldn't ruin everything. Right? He lazily made his way through the hall towards the kitchen. Five pies all on cooling racks, Dave must have been up all night making them. He had been practicing on and off for the past few months. Karkat had to convince him to at least TRY and make a different flavor, eating apple pie every day had been making him sick. The inside was always fine anyway, it was the damned crust he had issues with. From then one he had made blueberry, blackberry, raspberry, and just about every other kind of pie you can make. Some were pretty good, the chocolate crème was to die for. Karkat could tell from the smell, that all of those pies were apple. They had a big crowd, so that made sense.

Dave was hunched over his laptop playing a game.

"What're you playing?" Karkat yawned as he poured himself some coffee.

"Dirk and I exchanged Christmas gifts last night. I gave him a game called Lisa and he gave me one called Undertale. Shit is addictive." Dave's phone buzzed next to him. He ignored it. Karkat picked it up, just to make sure it wasn't anything is important.

"What did you do to your brother?"

"I didn't do anything." Monotone voice, he couldn't be bothered.

"According to Jake you did. He's asking why Dirk is clearly on the verge of tears."

"Oh, that's probably the game…and the fact that neither of us went to sleep last night. Sleep deprivation does that shit to you. Makes dizzy and emotional as fuck. Bro sometimes pulled all-nighters, as many as four in a row, he was always an emotional mess by the end of it. It was a long while before I learned how to handle it."

A brief pause while Karkat texted Jake an abbreviated version of Dave's semi-ramble. He received a quick response. "He would like some advice. He wants Dirk to rest some before tonight."

"Find lil cal, I'm sure Dirk alchemized a new one at some point, Bro was always kind of childlike when he was sad. Give him lil cal, some hot chocolate, and a fluffy blanket and he should be out in no time."

Karkat texted the information to Jake. "Okay, now what about you?"

"What about me? It's Christmas, and I'm fine, not blubbery or anything. I've only been up one night, I'm fine."

"We have a party tonight, and I've seen you with mild sleep deprevation before. All those nights on the meteor, some of them sleepless. You don't become childlike, you become a pissy bitch. Remember the time you made Rose cry?"

"That wasn't my fault, she was on her period."

"I still don't get how that absolves you of responsibility."

"She was emotional. Periods do that to girls."

"You were still the fucking cause for the tears."

"Fuck! I died again! Sans is the toughest fucker to ever live…or not…WHATEVER!."

"Dave…"

"NOT NOW! LEAVE ME ALONE FOR A FEW MINUTES AND MAYBE I CAN BEAT THIS FUCKER!"

Karkat had had enough. He unplugged and closed the laptop, taking it away before Dave could react. Another side-effect of a night without sleep. Dave glared at him with contempt, Karkat knew better than to take it personally though. He stashed the laptop away, moving to the stove to make apple cider, the one thing he could make. Once it was ready, he poured it into the cup and topped it with whipped cream. Dave and his brother may react differently to lack of sleep, but they were soothed in very similar ways. However, Dave had been more tired than he realized and had fallen asleep at the table. Likely refusing to move out of sheer stubbornness. For once, Karkat was happy for his over-muscled body, picking his matesprit up and carrying him to bed, tucking him in.

Dave didn't wake for several hours, and even then it wasn't of his own volition. Karkat's eager hand rocking him in a hurried, yet gentle motion. "Davey, you need to shower before we leave. It's three, we have to be there by five, and we both know how long it takes you to get ready." Shit….he's right, and it's Christmas, and he's been kind of a dick. He got up without complaint, taking Karkat into a sleepy hug before stumbling towards the bathroom for a shower.

The party was rather quiet for a group so large. Kanya and Rose were off somewhere. John and Terezi were having hateful sloppy make-outs under the mistletoe. Dave had made a smart-ass comment towards those two as he passed, earning him a middle finger from John and a cackle from Terezi before they resumed. Kankri and Cronus were off in a corner, Cronus giving affection, Kankri obviously having an inner conflict, he always did struggle with PDA. Dirk was red faced, which was rare, and Jake was teasing him. "Golly Dirk, I never knew you could be that emotional. You were cute! All pouty and upset of over the fate of fictional characters"

"Jake just shut up." Dirk was trying desperately, and failing to maintain his stoic veneer, every once in a while bringing his hand up to shield his face before forcing it back down. He was so caught up in his desperation to maintain the cool kid façade that he didn't notice Jake taking pictures of his state, smiling good-naturedly to himself.

Dave brought the pies into the kitchen, where there were about ten other desserts. He should have thought about Jane. Roxy welcomed his pies with open arms…before taking one and a fork and eating straight out of the pan. Dave laughed. "Wow, this is as good as Janey's, good job Dave!" She brought him close, forcing him to bend down a little so she could give him a sweet peck on the top of his head. Then, she brought him into a crushing bear hug. Dave enjoyed every moment of it though. Despite being the same age…the two had developed a type of mother-son bond that Dave cherished. Little did he know Karkat cherished it too. He called it a pale relationship, but Dave vehemently denied it. There was nothing romantic, asexual or otherwise, about his and Roxy's relationship. He didn't like it thought of that way and Karkat was respectful. Still, he thought their relationship was cute, taking pictures of the two together, mostly candid, some posed.

There was a mild imbibing of alcohol, but no one was drunk. They ate and exchanged gifts. Despite his nap, Dave tired quickly and his stubbornness had worn out. They left at about ten.

Entering the house, Dave realized he had forgotten something. "We never exchanged our gifts."

"Yeah, I wanted to wait until we got home tonight."

Dave moved towards their small tree. Picking up the two gifts, the two boys sat on the couch, smiling at each other. Karkat was the first to open his. His gift consisted of several t-shirts and sweatpants. Impossibly large.

"I know, you've struggled with your body changing and all that muscle….you were upset that your clothes didn't fit like they used to. I know you like to drown in your clothes, so I spent some time and made you these." Karkat was blubbering like a wiggler. Dave worried that he had done something wrong, when Karkat pulled him into a hug.

A small "Thank you." In his ear, too small for someone so big…and Dave knew he had picked the right gift. "Now you."

Dave carefully opened his…it was a book…it said…."Family Album?". He opened and was blown away, they had only been in purgatory since April…but there were so many pictures. It was a certifiable fancy scrapbook that you'd expect to see on a stereotypical grandma's shelf. Pictures of Jade and Jake, running through the forest, sparing with their pellet guns. Davesprite and Dirk patching them up afterward. Dirk and Dave lounging on the beach together, and pictures of them asleep with the worst sunburns imaginable, and John laughing like an asshole off to the side. Pictures of everyone eating ice cream. Hanging out together. The Halloween parties.

Tears were streaming down Dave's face, but a dorky smile was there. Karkat explain "Rose said 'family albums' were a staple in human families, but your Bro never had one? So…she helped me make you one. There aren't many pictures, but I figured it was something we could work on together. We have a big family now, so there will be plenty of opportunities to take more and put them in with the others."

Dave enthusiastically reached forward, clinging to Karkat. "Thank you Kitkat, I love it." He had always wanted that regular family, like the ones you see in the movies. A caring father, a loving mother, a sibling to bicker with, but always cared about hom. He didn't get that, but the game had awarded him something better. A family of thirty people, plus a loving boyfriend. It was an amazing feeling, he cared for every single one of them in his own way. This Christmas was better than he could ever imagine. They're hug grew into a cuddle on the couch where they spent the rest of the night.

Notes:

Hikary Sanoko: I'm glad you liked it, there will be a little bit more (this chapter and I think one other) that addresses Karkat's body. Thanks for reviewing! ^-^

Linda065cliva: Not offended at all! Everyone has their own headcannons. To be honest, I prefer shorter Karkat myself and I like him muscled, but not bulky. However, I figured if I'm going to acknowledge troll puberty I might as well experiment and see what pops into my head. Massive muscles and towering height was just what came into my mind at the time so I went with it. XD Sometimes I like writing stuff I don't personally identify or agree with just to see if I can...because I'm weird.