Sorry it took me so long to update again. I've been dealing with some personal stuff. Which may or may not include the fear of disappointing my lovely readers as this story continues ;_; On a brighter note, we have some movietime bonding between our protagonists. And Roxy uses the "L" word. XD
I do not own Homestuck. Sometimes I have dreams about the fanart and the fandom at large, though. and geeze are they weird dreams ._.
Karkat was supposed to sleep in the room with John, Jake, and Tavros. Dirk would have felt sorry for him if it wasn't pretty damn obvious that no one intended to stick with the 'room assignments.'
In fact, they were all already gathered in Feferi, Vriska, Nepeta, and Terezi's room, trying to decide what movies they would watch and what kinds of snacks they should buy. The hotel itself was by no means overly fancy, but the room seemed a bit extravagant. Then again, Dirk recalled that three of the girls were high in the Alternian hierarchy and probably had the money, and Nepeta's "big brother" would probably be willing to shell out a few extra dollars for her comfort.
Eventually it was decided that Aradia, Jane, Equius, and Gamzee would go pick up a rather large assortment of candy while everyone else continued the argument. Dirk almost volunteered to go with them, until he noticed that Karkat had abandoned the fight in favor of taking a prime seat on the sofa. He was leaning on the tall arm of the couch, rubbing his forehead as though trying to banish a headache.
The older Strider decided to follow the Alternian's lead, selecting the second best seat in the room. He sat down directly next to Karkat.
"What are you doing?" Vantas hissed when Dirk's leg pressed against his.
"Making sure I have a comfortable seat before everyone else starts fighting over the top-tier ass-space."
Karkat tried to press more closely into the sofa arm. "It would be a hell of a lot more comfortable if you would move out of my personal space and into your own!"
"No can do. See, everybody is coming over here now." Kanaya and Rose had already taken the two remaining spaces on the couch by the time he finished speaking. Both girls noted how close the boys were sitting, but made no comment. "If I try to move, I'll lose my spot. Same goes for you."
Karkat looked around. The short Alternian appeared to be weighing his chances of finding a good seat against having to sit thigh-to-thigh with Dirk for the next several hours. He could always go back to his own room, but from what Dirk understood he was antisocial enough and would get chewed out by his brother, John, and Terezi if he left.
Eventually he sighed and sank further into the couch, though he was still clearly trying to get some space between himself and the older Strider. "You are an obnoxious asshole and I hate your guts," he whispered. It was loud enough for Dirk to hear, but too quiet for anyone else to notice as the opening music for some random movie started to play.
The sound of the snackbearers returning with their haul helped to keep the response of, "Love you too," between the two boys.
Karkat's eyes widened. He said nothing, but turned to face the screen, making sure to pull his hood up over his head, obscuring his face.
Dirk could honestly say he was expecting a different reaction. When he sat down, he expected Karkat to cuss him out immediately. He had expected at least a flustered rebuttal for the sarcastic and insincere admission of love. He wondered why Karkat was so tight-lipped all of a sudden.
Somewhere between Cage reuniting with his daughter and that one Harry Potter actor pretending to be some weird sparkling thing, Dirk actually managed to drift into sleep. He probably would have stayed asleep and woken up with a stiff neck if something hadn't disturbed him.
As he started to wake he wondered why. He stayed still but opened his eyes behind his shades. He spotted Jake and John leaning against each other, both out cold. Jake was actually also next to Vriska, who had fallen asleep as well.
He felt slightly irked, but the feeling passed quickly. Getting upset was not worth it. He and Jake were no longer a couple. They were both allowed to move on with their lives.
Finished thinking about English, Dirk wondered what had woken him in the first place. He only wondered for a few moments until he felt something on the back of his hand. It felt odd, like something was prodding him. It took his tired mind a moment to realize that Karkat was poking his hand.
He kept his breathing even, and let the 'examination' go on for a few more seconds before quickly flipping his hand over and catching Karkat's. The other boy was obviously startled and his whole body jerked. Apparently, there was a person sitting on the floor next to the sofa, and the motion was enough to disturb them. "What's wrong, best friend?" Gamzee whispered.
"Nothing, go back to sleep!" Karkat whispered back, trying to extricate his hand from Dirk's.
"Okay." And with that, it seemed Gamzee was asleep again, if he had even really been awake in the first place.
With any possible eavesdroppers taken care of, Karkat turned his full attention to Dirk. "Let go," he hissed.
"Why should I? You were the one who kept touching me." Dirk quirked an eyebrow.
In the light from the TV, Dirk could easily see Karkat's scowl. "I was just making sure you weren't a figment of my imagination."
"Do you usually imagine your friend's hot older brother?" The older Strider teased, earning a huff from Karkat.
Karkat tried to tug at his arm to no avail. "You're not funny."
"So you do think I'm hot?" Dirk was honestly shocked by his own behavior. This was borderline harassment. He didn't understand why he was pressing the issue and his luck with the red-eyed boy.
"Just knock it off," Karkat hissed. "You are such a goddamn prick." He looked like he really wanted to yell, but didn't dare risk waking anyone.
The image on the television change to something lightly colored, so Dirk could get a better look at Karkat's face. He felt a little pang in his chest when he realized how bright Karkat's eyes were.
"Karkat."
"I can't stand you. I abide by what I said before; I wish you had never come to my chat room."
"Karkat," Dirk tried again. He needed a real explanation.
The younger man was having none of it, though. "Even spiderbitch doesn't piss me off as much as you."
"Kar!" Dirk hissed, yanking on Karkat's hand so that their faces were much closer together than either was really comfortable with. Luckily Vantas shut right the fuck up, so the older boy was able to get a good look at his face. Karkat was flushed, and his eyes were bright, and Dirk thought he finally got it.
"Look," the Strider began. "I just got dumped a month ago by the first guy I ever really loved. And you were in love with my younger brother. This is only the second time we've had a face to face conversation." It was sad how almost literal the last sentence was. "It's sort of strange, but it's not as complicated as you might think. If you have a crush on me, fine. It's like I told you before, I genuinely enjoy talking to you. This is our chance to get to know each other better, and see if we're compatible. If it goes somewhere, then that's fine too. Because, honestly," at this he hesitated for a moment, a little caught off guard by the mixture of shock and hope on Karkat's face. "Honestly, I sort of like you, too."
Karkat bit his lip, his upper teeth closing over his lip ring. It was clear he was at a loss for words. After a moment, though, his scowl returned. "You're pretty full of yourself," he muttered, pulling back slightly and sitting back against the sofa. "Why don't you just shut up and watch the movie? Wait, what is this bullshit? Is that a midget?"
"It's called a hobbit, dude," Dirk smiled, leaning back into his own seat, deciding he might as well try to get some shuteye.
He was somewhat irked to be the first one to wake up the next morning. His irritation was considerably lessened when he realized Karkat was still holding his hand.
"You're a lesbian?"
It wasn't exactly the ideal conversation, but Dirk could hardly expect better when Roxy was already tipsy and Rose and Kanaya kept exchanging glances. It would have gone better if Rose had mentioned something instead of being caught snogging, though. If Roxy could keep her voice down that would help too.
"You didn't know?" Dave asked, genuinely surprised. Terezi looked equally confused. Dirk just stirred his coffee and looked at the other two tables. Roxy's exclamation had caught the attention of Feferi and Jade from the next table over. Karkat and Gamzee, at the far end of the third table, looked concerned as well. Nepeta, Sollux, Aradia, and Equius were too busy arguing over something. Vriska had John, Jake, Tavros, and even Eridan's attention as she talked about god only knew what. Jane, next to Roxy, winced at the outburst.
Roxy made a grumbling noise. "No," she pouted. "Why didn't you tell me? You could've brought your girlfriend home over the breaks!" The words were somewhat slurred, but everyone paying attention was pleased nonetheless. She was being quieter, so the waitstaff was pleased too.
"I was uncertain how I should broach the subject," Rose admitted. It was sort of sweet, how shy she was being.
But then her eyes flicked very briefly to Dirk, and some of his amusement faded. Dirk was gay, Roxy liked Dirk, who knew how she would react when she realized her sister was lesbian? Jane looked his way then, waiting to see if he would say something. He gave the Crocker a lopsided smile that said, yes, it hurt, but he knew Rose didn't mean anything by it. Jane smiled hesitantly in response.
"Ooooh. Ooh. Kanaya. You need to come over some time. I have embaba… embrrarr… funny baby pictures of Rose.
The younger Lalonde looked vaguely mortified. Kanaya, on the other hand, looked excited. "I would love to be a guest in your home. Rose has told me much about you, and I would very much enjoy the chance to speak with you."
"She's shuch a shweety, just like Callie." Roxy slurred, looking pleased with the whole exchange.
Dirk's attention was pulled away briefly when he heard the gravely sound of Gamzee's voice. He couldn't make out what the guy was saying, but Karkat seemed irritated. The moment his friend stopped talking Vantas turned his attention to Dirk. They watched each other for a few moments, waiting to see what would happen next. Dirk smiled, earning a small flush and a scowl. Gamzee was smiling too, though Dirk couldn't tell exactly where the guy's attention was directed.
Regardless, the older Strider turned back to the conversation taking place at his own table. Jane looked highly uncomfortable for whatever reason, Rose was attempting to keep her sister from gossiping about her, and Kanaya, Dave and Terezi were encouraging the inebriated girl. It really was a good day.