Hello, folks! We are now back to our regularly scheduled Dirkat programming. YAY!

The dreaded school season is coming up, so expect updates to be less frequent. This is assuming I don't manage to finish writing this before the school year even starts. We're headed into the last few events of this tale, and I hope you'll find the ending satisfying. If you don't, thank you all for being so supportive up until this point! (but really please don't leave)

Trigger Warning: Homophobia. I am a full supporter of equal rights, but this sort of thing is all too common, so I was hoping to both make a point and add another layer to this story. You've been warned!

I do not own Homestuck. Good fortune, Clown Hunter!

The pleasant mood carried on into the evening as the group of nineteen and twenty-five year olds headed to check out the Skaian nightlife. Eventually they found a rather unusual looking place called The Felt. Dirk felt a little apprehensive as he followed Aradia inside. He and his buddies were the only ones old enough to drink legally. To his relief most of the kids had headed straight for the dance floor.

Then again, he had turned a blind eye to Roxy's problem, so did he really have any room to talk?

Satisfied that he wasn't going to have to keep anyone from drowning in alcohol or vomit, he finally took a good look around the place. Thumping base, headache inducing lights, and enough bodies to make a can of sardines jealous, not to mention almost everything was in shades of green. Not really his scene. As much as he missed hearing Dave blasting music while he worked on his car or his latest project for work, and the lights were fine, it was just too crowded for him.

He spotted Jane heading up a set of stairs out of his peripheral. As he glanced around, he realized she was the only one that left, so he decided he ought to go and check on her. It was sort of odd to see her in a large group and not glued to Roxy. He started making his way through the crowd, even having to awkwardly shake his way through some dancing couples.

As he finally arrived on the second floor he was surprised to find a whole other bar and dance floor. It was considerably less crowded, so it was easy to spot Jane already seated at the bar. "Too hectic for you?" Dirk asked as he sat down in the seat next to her.

As he settled onto the barstool, he was doubly surprised to see that she had a drink in front of her already. "You okay?" Dirk asked, genuinely concerned.

"Yeah," Jane replied, taking a small sip of the fruity looking beverage. "I just couldn't stand being in that crowd."

"I know how you feel," Dirk agreed.

There was a slightly awkward pause. They were still on shaky ground even after Jake dumped Dirk. After a few moments though, Jane spoke. "Jake told me about what happened," she said.

He was glad he had decided against a drink, as he might very well have spat it out. "I thought Roxy told you."

"She did, later. Much later."

Dirk pursed his lips. "He was talking to you about it actually doing it, wasn't he?"

"He talked about it," Jane admitted, taking another drink. "Quite a bit, actually. I just wasn't sure if I should tell you. I didn't want you to think I was instigating something," she confessed guiltily.

"Jane," he said, taking the hand not holding her drink. It was far past time they made amends, and Dirk would be damned if he let this perfect opportunity pass him by. "You would never purposefully try to sabotage me, I know that."

Jane smiled sadly, then with a little more spirit. "Thank you, Dirk." And then she laughed, startling the slightly older boy. It started out small and then grew until she felt the need to clap a hand over her mouth. "I can't believe we were fighting because of him!"

Dirk cocked an eyebrow. He had to agree. "When did you change your mind?" he asked.

After she calmed down a bit the Crocker girl explained, "When he started talking about breaking up with you, I was sort of excited at first, even though I felt bad," she admitted. "After a while I started getting sick of it, though. It was all so self-centered. And when I heard about how he dumped you, both from him and Roxy, I realized, he just isn't the sort of person I want to be romantically involved with. Oh!" she exclaimed, looking at the serious expression on Dirk's face. "Is this… Is this too soon?" she asked.

Dirk shook his head and smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry about it." His mind had actually drifted to the red-eyed Alternian on the floor below. He should probably go and find the boy later. "It definitely isn't too soon. We just… We were looking for different things I guess. And I think I-" He cut off. As much as he wanted to talk about Karkat, he wasn't sure if that was a good idea at this point. It was still way too early to tell, really.

"You what?" Jane asked. "Wait, is there somebody else?" She started to get a little excited, almost like Roxy would. The two girls really were besties.

"Sort of," Dirk hedged.

Jane tilted her head, thinking. "Oh," she gasped for the second time that night. "It's not one of Dave's friends is it?" she asked, one part scandalized and two parts excited. Whatever was in that drink was probably stronger than she was used to having.

"Yeah, but we've talked before. Online," He admitted. He refused to give Karkat's name. The boy seemed a little shy for all his blustering, and having Dirk draw attention to their not-quite relationship would probably send him running. "That was some pretty good sleuthing you did just then."

"Di-irk!" Jane teased. "I can sleuth that you don't want to talk about it right now, too. Do you want to head back downstairs? Maybe you should try to find him."

"Sure," Dirk replied. Maybe he could find a way to talk to Karkat without all of their friends interfering. It was crowded, after all, making it easy to hide amongst the other bodies. It was amazing how easily one could find solitude in a sea of people.

He followed the Crocker girl downstairs, keeping by her side until she rejoined Roxy, who was talking with Sollux and Equius about some sort of virus. Jane struck up a conversation with Aradia and Feferi, who looked about as lost as Crocker would have been had she tried to join the other conversation.

Dirk wandered around the bar for a few minutes, trying in vain to spot the shorter boy. It would have been easier if his clothes weren't so dark. It was just by chance that Dirk glanced over to the far wall when he heard a raucous laugh. Jake, it seemed, was already well into his cups, as were Ampora and Serket. Dirk was pleased to note the John and Nitram were behaving, even if they were having a glaring match. Movement above the group's head caught his eye, and Dirk moved his gaze just enough to catch Karkat heading up the stairs.

Figures, he thought as he crossed the room for a second time, finally managing to reach the stairs. He squeezed past a couple heading down and made a beeline for the bar. Vantas had already taken up there, and was just receiving a beer when Dirk sat down next to him.

Dirk snatched the drink before Karkat could even touch it. "You're too young for that," he whispered low enough to be unheard by the bartender. He took a swig of the beverage himself before the underage boy could protest.

"Asshole," he snapped, crossing his arms.

"Why are you up here anyway?"

Karkat huffed. "I just wanted to get some alone time without everyone and their grandmother sticking in their nose into my business."

"I know what you mean. It can get pretty annoying when people refuse to take the hint and leave you alone when all you want is some peace and quiet." He leaned on the counter a little closer to Karkat than was strictly necessary.

The red-eyed teen moved away until he realized what Dirk was doing. He sat up straight once more and looked straight ahead. "Were you born this obnoxious, or is there some sort training program?"

"You called it. I'm a certified nooksniffer; graduated at the top of my class," he replied proudly, earning a scowl from Vantas.

"What did I do to deserve this?" He asked no one in particular.

"This is what you get for trying to be a troll. It's called karma," he smiled wider when Karkat whipped his head around to stare at him.

Vantas didn't respond at first, but eventually he quirked a smile in return. "Karma's a bitch." The smile faded from his face and he lowered his head to look at the countertop.

Dirk felt his own smile slip from his face as he tried to come up with something to say. It was funny how words were always the most elusive whenever they would be really useful. It was so much easier when they were on other ends of an online connection, where he could take a few moments to think about what he wanted to say or be impulsive as he chose. After a moment he tuned into the music playing and looked over his shoulders at the couples dancing behind them. "Want to dance?" he asked, trying to fill the silence.

Karkat looked at him as though he had started spouting Japanese. "What?" he asked, not really confused but clearly missing the point.

"I asked if you wanted to dance with me. And don't you dare tell me you can't dance," he warned, knowing he wasn't exactly a professional either.

"I can dance just fine!" the Alternian snapped. "Just not, not like that!" he added, looking at the couples bumping and grinding. He had the decency to blush when he spotted one couple practically having sex in the middle of the floor.

Dirk hoped his more 'sensible' friends weren't subjected to a similar experience downstairs even as he responded, "Don't worry so much. We don't have to copy them exactly."

"But we're also both…" Karkat didn't finish the sentence. It wasn't a denial of his sexuality, but his fear of causing a scene.

Dirk had to wonder if Karkat had gotten into trouble before due to his interest in guys. The thought didn't sit well with the elder Strider. "Anyone who gives us a hard time can go fuck themselves." The words were somewhere between a statement and a snap, but it seemed to be enough for Karkat. He finally grumbled his reluctant agreement and followed the older male onto the dance floor.

It was clear as soon as they were facing each other that neither had any idea what they should do. After a few minutes of trying to decide how exactly they should hold each other to dance, which they also weren't sure how they would dance, Karkat had a moment of 'fuck it.' He turned around and pressed back into Dirk. Startled by the move, Dirk threw his arm around the boy's waist. He was even more surprised when the hoodie gave way and he could feel how slender the Alternian was. He'd thought there was a little more hidden underneath the black fabric.

Taking advantage of Dirk's surprise, Karkat grabbed Dirk's hands. "This is fine, isn't it?" he asked, somehow trying to look down and up at the same time.

The taller boy realized the shorter was trying to hide the almost unnaturally bright blush on his cheeks. He leaned over Karkat's ear. "This is fine," he exhaled, hoping to get a shiver. All he got were a few Alternian cusses, an elbow to his ribs, and some looks from the other patrons. One couple even had the gall to look at them in disgust and then vacate the dance floor. Dirk thought it was fortunate Karkat was too busy being embarrassed to notice. He might have had a change of heart if he knew how some people were reacting.

"You really don't know how to do this, do you?" Karkat asked as they swayed awkwardly, trying to find some sort of rhythm.

Dirk was glad to be pulled from his somewhat dark thoughts. "Are you really that surprised?" he asked.

"Well," the shorter boy started, tilting his head to look at the elder Strider in his peripheral vision. "Didn't you ever do this with Jake?" he asked.

Dirk halted their motion. "How'd you know he was my ex?"

"He gets jittery every time he looks at you. And despite how well you got along with Serket in Fruity Rumpus Asshole Factory she seems to piss you off."

The sunglasses-wearing boy pursed his lips. He was far from irritated, but he was uncertain of how to interpret Karkat's observation. Was Jake having second thoughts, or did he believe Dirk was still heartbroken? "She's fine. I'm more worried about John than Jake, since he's younger and had less experience. And Jake never wanted to do these sorts of things, so I'm just as clueless as you."

Karkat stayed quiet at first. He pushed his hips back slightly against Dirk, encouraging him to get back into their previous rhythm. "Okay." He sounded anything but, and his dance partner had to wonder what cause the sudden change in attitude.

"Since you're interested in Jake, can I ask why you liked my younger brother?"

Karkat winced, pulling his back away from Dirk's chest, but not trying to escape from the taller boy's grip. "I already told you," he snapped. It was almost too quiet for Dirk to hear. Then, he added at a higher volume, "You are a little bit like him, but when it boils down to it you two are nowhere near the same."

That hadn't been what Dirk was asking. It wasn't about whether he was a replacement for his brother. He was genuinely curious; but as he let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, he was grateful. His insecurities had come to the forefront, and he was glad Karkat was considerate enough to reassure him.

"Hey, faggots."