Warnings for this chapter: Solkat. If you really hate this pair, you may want to skip this chapter entirely.
This chapter basically just tells us what was going on with Karkat while Terezi was in the infirmary. I promise this will be the only chapter with this much solkat.
Karkat's P.O.V
Almost twenty-four hours ago
I'm standing on the Astronomy Tower at night, looking out over the Forbidden Forest and the lake which catches the moonlight in the folds of its waves. There is a little wind stirring my hair and sounding off the castle walls. It's beautiful and eerie. It's cold enough that I can see my breath in the light of my wand, and I'm out here alone even though it is past curfew. If I'm caught, I'll be in trouble, but it really isn't hard to sneak around. With how big Hogwarts is, the teachers really can't keep track of everyone, and I am no exception.
The Gryffindor common room felt wrong and depressing without Terezi there, so I snuck out earlier than I'd planned.
I hear footsteps coming up the stairs, and turn to see Sollux approaching. He's tall—at least by my standards—and lanky, a pair of enchanted 3D glasses always perched on his nose. His uniform is wrinkled carelessly, and his shoes don't match. Somehow I find all of this incredibly attractive.
"Hi, KK," he greets me, and walks to where I am standing. He rests his arms on the wall and looks out at the lake. "Tho where were you after dinner?"
"I went to visit Terezi. She woke up," I explained.
"That'th good, I gueth."
"Yeah. It's really good," I heave a long sigh.
"You were really worried about her, weren't you?"
"I still am, asshole. Weren't you?"
"Well, yeth, but I think the nurthe can handle it. Quidditch acthidenth are pretty common. It'th not like they haven't dealt with broken boneth before."
"She's blind, douchewad!" I nearly yell, clenching my fists. He turns to look at me and frowns. "Terezi is important, okay? We've known her longer than we've even been going to Hogwarts, and just because she has that tone-deaf frond nub now doesn't mean that she doesn't need us anymore. Terezi may seem strong but she's still a girl and—shit, that's not what I mean. Just the fact that that sniff-node of hers can smell colors doesn't make her completely independent. What happens if she gets sick and can't smell anything? Then she's resorted to licking everything, and you know how that would end. You and Terezi are friends, too! Why don't you care what happens to her?"
"I do care, dumbath. I jutht know that the'll be fine." He puts his hand on my head and rubs my hair, making it messier than it already was. I duck out from under his reach and cross my arms.
"You don't get it!"
"Yeth, I do. You love TZ."
"No!" I shout. "I mean, of course I do, but no!" I did love Terezi once. I had the stupidest crush on her that ended in me with a broken heart when she started dating Strider. Their relationship had lasted long enough that I'd had to make a serious effort to get over her. Sollux had been a big help then in more ways than one. I still loved Terezi, but it just wasn't the same kind of thing. I would sacrifice anything for her, but the object of my affection had shifted. I can't tell if Sollux believes me, though. He knew about the Terezi situation, and I thought he knew that I was over her. But things had been getting tense between us lately when I heard that he had a crush on me and confronted him about it. Now we were at some awkward stage that I can't define because I really don't know where we stand.
Sollux shakes his head. "Whatever, KK." He turns his back to me and starts to walk away. I want to call after him and end this fight like every other, but something feels different. It's not like our usual banter, full of name-calling and empty insults. It's heavy, and I don't like it.
"Are we still friends?" I ask. That's what I always say after our fights, because I value his friendship more than whatever kind of a grudge I might hold over something that was said. But this time, I'm not sure what I mean by it. Apparently, neither is he.
Sollux pauses and looks back at me for just a moment. And then he says over his shoulder, "I don't know, are we?" And then he disappears down the stairway. I can't be sure, but I think I saw a smirk on his face.
I hope not.
I stand alone on the Astronomy Tower for a few moments. There is a howling in the distance. The wind picks up, swooshing hair into my face and blowing right through my sweater, making me shiver. I hear Sollux's echoing footsteps fading away. The cold air wraps around me and I go still for a moment, my breath hanging in front of me, and then I take a step forward, spring into a run, and bound down the stairs after him.
"Sollux, wait up, you shitty excuse for a friend!" I yell after him, and I can hear his footsteps hesitate slightly then keep going.
I pick up my pace, almost leaping down the spiraling stairs, and suddenly he's right in front of me and I can't stop and wham. I crash into him and the two of us tumble down the steps and come to a stop on the landing.
Now we're on the ground in an awkward heap and I quickly disentangle myself. He sits up and rubs his head, straightening his glasses. "What wath that about, KK?"
I take a deep breath and grab his blue-striped tie, pulling his face close to mine. "You can't just leave me hanging like that, you miserable ass-face!"
He's laughing now, and that only fires me up more.
"Who do you think you are, walking off and leaving me with a question as if you expect me to rethink what I've said or have some sort of epiphany? What business do you have waltzing away leaving me wondering if we're even still friends, or not at all, or something more, or whatever the fuck you wanted me to think! I'm sick of all your bullshit and fucking around with my emotions with your stupid attitude and that sexy lisp and your damned Ravenclaw brains! Why can't you just answer my fucking question and-"
"KK," he interrupts.
"Shut up and let me finish! You're a-"
"Karkat," he says.
"Just listen to me, damn it! Every day I have to put up with all of your-"
Suddenly I can't say anything else because his mouth is covering my own. It takes me only a millisecond to realize that he's kissing me, but I can't process it. I freeze as I try to understand the situation. My mind is blanking. What should I do? I begin to mentally berate myself as the answer is obvious, but quickly forget this train of thought as I close my eyes kiss him back. He responds enthusiastically, reaches a hand up to cup my face. I let go of his tie, which I realize only then that I am still holding, and let my hand drop gently to his knee.
I'll be honest—this is my second kiss ever. The first was Terezi, during our third year at Hogwarts, about a year before she started going out with Dave. It was the result of enchanted mistletoe, where I was waiting for quite some time to catch her. This was totally different. With Terezi I felt bad about it because I didn't think she actually liked me. And even though she seemed perfectly fine with the whole thing, my own guilt had ruined my first kiss for me. But Sollux started this. And there is something so incredibly romantic about this—kissing on the landing of a tower staircase, sitting in a puddle of moonlight that's coming in the window.
I pull away first and we take deep breaths and try to regain our composure. Sollux is smiling and blushing, and I realize with embarrassment that I am too.
"Sorry," I say, although I don't know why.
"It wath my fault," he says, standing up and offering me his hand. I take it and don't let go when I'm back on my feet. Sollux laces our fingers together. We stand there in silence for a moment, and then I kiss him again, shorter this time.
I hear something in the distance and both of us are still as we strain our ears to make it out. Yes, someone is definitely coming up the steps. There isn't much to be done now. We'll be caught out of our dorms one way or another.
A prefect emerges from around the corner. She's a Ravenclaw with a round face, short dark hair and glasses. Jane, if I remember correctly.
"Sollux!" she says, her voice scolding. "And... Karkat, right? What are you doing out after curfew? I'm sorry but I'm going to have to report this."
And so we receive detention. But it's worth it.
The next day, I don't see Sollux until our History of Magic class, which is during second period. We sit in our usual seats, him on my left and Terezi on my right. I feel like I need to say something to him, but I can't right now. He grins at me slightly, and I grin back just a tiny bit. He passes me a piece of paper before the class even begins, but I wait until the teacher starts talking to read it, mostly because I know that Terezi is likely to try to read it over my shoulder.
2o about la2t niight...what diid that mean?
Well this is awkward. I have no idea how to answer this question. I just stare at the paper for several minutes, until he gets fed up with waiting and starts scribbling something.
Fiine, ii'll 2ay iit. KK, ii really liike you. a lot.
Fuck fuck fuck. What do I say? I've got to be flushing so hard right now. I put my head down on my desk so that hopefully Terezi won't notice, and write on another piece of paper which I slip under the table to pass it to him.
I LIKE YOU TOO, SHITWAD.
He's smiling now as he replies.
ii ju2t wa2n't 2ure what wa2 goiing on with you e2pecially wiith the TZ thiing
I TOLD YOU I WAS OVER HER.
yeah but iit diidn't 2eem liike iit wiith how worriied you were
I write my reply, but the teacher is looking directly at us so I slide the note partially under my book and wait for him to turn around again. But he doesn't for quite some time, and Terezi grabs the paper before I can give it to Sollux.
Her face is mischevious, but her grin fades as she reads the note. She picks up her quill and writes on the back, creating a giant ink blot in the process.
WH4T T3R3Z1 TH1NG?
I crumple the piece of paper up and shove it in my pocket. This is none of her business. But Terezi is persistent, as always.
4R3 YOU H1D1NG SOM3TH1NG K4RK4T? She writes on the parchment in front of her, tilting it toward me. I write under it with my own quill
ITS NONE OF YOUR FUCKING BUSINESS.
1T 1S 1F 1TS 4 T3R3Z1 THING.
She has a point. But it was my stupid crush that I had on her, and it was over now. Over. No longer relevant. Therefore, she had no business in my old beeswax.
ITS NOT IMPORTANT.
1 SM3LL L13S.
WHY DO YOU EVEN WANT TO KNOW? ITS NOT LIKE IM HIDING ANYTHING FROM YOU. It isn't entirely true. I went to great lengths not that long ago to make sure Terezi didn't know I liked her. And if she finds out about it now, it could really mess things up with Sollux. And I really like the direction we're heading at the moment.
K4RK4T YOUR3 B31NG R34LLY 1MM4TUR3.
YOURE THE ONE STICKING YOUR NOSE INTO EVERYONE ELSES PRIVATE CONVERSATIONS.
4T L34ST 1 DONT T4LK 4BOUT MY FR13NDS B3H1ND TH31R B4CKS.
IT WASNT LIKE THAT! I WAS JUST MENTIONING YOU IN PASSING. IS THERE ANYTHING WRONG WITH MENTIONING MY FRIENDS? LIKE, HEY, DID YOU SEE WHAT JOHN DID TO THE BOOKS IN THE LIBRARY? IM SURE JOHN WOULD BE REALLY UPSET IF HE HEARD ME SAYING THAT.
:[
I turn my attention back to Sollux.
we need two talk for real. let2 meet iin the liibrary at lunch
OKAY.
The library is one of my favorite places in Hogwarts. There is actually a pretty decent selection of romance novels if you know where to look. It's surprising to find them in a school library, but this is Hogwarts, so who cares?
Sollux is sitting in the windowsill of a great round window that looks out over the hills on the other side of the lake. The sun is lighting up his face and the ends of his hair and he looks so damn sexy like that.
"Hey there, douthefathe," he says as I approach.
"Hello, nincompoop," I reply
"You're getting weak, KK. Nincompoop? What kind of a half-athed inthult ith that?"
"Nincompoop is a great insult, grubsucker."
"Eheheheh," he laughs, getting up and stepping toward me."Whatever, KK."
I'm at a loss for words. I suddenly want to kiss him really bad, but I don't give in. He puts his hand on my waist and I instinctively draw a bit closer. His free hand takes my own and he pulls me to him. The heat of my face tells me I'm blushing like crazy.
"F-fuck," I say. Sollux is smirking. I don't care anymore. I grab his collar and pull him down into a harsh kiss. I can feel he's smiling and I pull away quickly, spin around in the other direction so I don't have to look at his pretty face. He wraps his arms around me from behind.
"Thankth, KK."
Damn that lisp is hot.
"So where does this leave us?" I ask, taking a deep, shaky breath.
"I don't know. What do you think?"
"Boyfriends?" I say quickly, sqeezing my eyes shut. It's incredibly hard for me to ask.
"Yeth. I like that," he replies.
A/N: Hang in there, Karezi shippers! I promise that this will be a Karezi story.
I plan on posting the next chapter tomorrow, since this one was kind of a downer. The next one will much much happier.
Please leave a review!