Time passed in the ICU. Seconds turned to minutes, minutes into an eternity. Karkat recieved no information about Nepetas condition, something which simultaneously worried and comforted him. He was fairly sure that if Nepeta wasn't going to make it, the hospital staff would at least afford him the dignity of knowing that she wouldn't.

Equius didn't look quite as... Well, he wouldn't have dared call himself composed at the moment, but whetever he was, it was angrier than Karkat found himself. His knuckles were nearly white they were clenched so hard, and he'd stopped talking some time ago. Karkat didn't dare try to open communication right now.

Eventually, it was time for the visitors to leave, and both of them were ushered out. Equius was given a rather wider berth than karkat, his tight demeanour couples with his physique painting the picture of a man who wasn't to be told something he didn't want to hear. Karkat lost himself in thought as he walked from the car park, regretting not having a car for the first time. Dimly, he recalled that he'd left the shop open all day, but pushed it to the back of his mind. He'd deal with the inevitable thefts and vandalism tomorrow.

He was dragging his feet by the time he reached his home. Had the day really drained him that much? He supposed it hadn't been the easiest of days, but emotional draining couldn't really affect his physical wellbeing so much, could it? Shaking his head, he dislodged rhetorical questions from his mind before he chased them in circles, dropping down on the couch.

That was when the first tear fell. His defences finally crumbled as his head fell into his hands, hiccuping sobs echoing throughout the lonely place he called home. Nepeta wasn't dead, but that didn't change the fact that she wasn't on the brink of life or death at all. He'd also assaulted Gamzee and lost a whole days worth of money, something that would haunt him with extra, hard hours and possibly even a second job for many months to come.

His tearful reverie was interrupted with a knock at the door. Karkat shot to his feet. Nobody ever visited here. As far as he knew, nobody knew or cared where he lived so long as he gave the people who knew him something to drink. Maybe there was some strange, angry mob of coffee lovers awaiting their drinks. Or not, because that was legitimately the dumbest thought that had ever entered his head and he was obvously mentally deficient for thinking it.

He slowly opened the door, not caring for the streaks of water down his high cheekbones. At the door was someone who looked remarkably like him, dressed in a red sweatshirt, accompanied by both Gamzee and Terezi, of all people. The sight was so strange that for a few seconds all he could do was blink, before he furiously cleaned his face, red eyes still a dead giveaway.

Kankri Vantas was the first to speak up, in that gentle, lilting tone of his that betrayed nothing of his intention to talk the ear off of anyone that looked like they might be interested. For now, though, it looked like he had something other than inane preaching to do, stepping in closer and assessing Karkat.

"I heard what happened to the employee. It wasn't your fault. Terezi has been making motions to have all medical fees paid by the drunk driver, and there really isn't anything anyone can do to stop her. I asked around and for some reason, only Gamzee here knows where you live. Strangeties aside, I offer my condolences, and if there's anything I can do to help, rest assured that I will do my best to make it happen."

Terezi and Gamzee followed him into the flat, flicking on the lights and seating themselves quietly. Karkat followed the trio in dumbly, unsure of whether to be mad or just content that people cared enough to actually visit him. However, the previous issues still echoed on his mind. He chose not to speak of them. The last thing he needed was to drag the few friends he had down into the same dumps he was in, so he just put a kettle on and soon, everyone had a mug of tea in front of them.

They talked, eventually. About Nepeta, and how they all knew her. On some level, Karkat knew this was wrong. She wasn't dead, and all signs pointed to her making it out of this incident perfectly alright, with no permanent injuries, but the idea that she might truly die was a sobering thought, and it felt like a necessity to think of her as much as possible, whether or not she ever came into work again.

Once more, time passed, as solemnly as it always did. Kankri was the first to go, apologising for his continued absense, which basically assured continued absense in his terms, and left, having hardly touched his tea. Gamzee was next, giving Karkat a mostly unwelcome hug before leaving, off to wherever it was that he spent his nights.

Then, it was just him and Terezi. Karkat fidgeted uncomfortably, remembering Nepetas recent words about his attraction to her, which, he eventually had to admit, rang scarily true. When Terezi wasn't pushing his buttons, she was a competent, clever person whos interests matched his own more often than not, although this was more than either of them would ever admit.

Terezi finally spoke first, breaking the deafening silence of the apartment.

"Karkat... Are you going to... You know, be alright? God, I know it's stupid to ask, but I don't know what else to say. I guess I should leave soon, but I don't want to until I know you're not going to go on some insane rampage and try to kill the guy who... Injured... Nepeta."

He sighed, looking down at his hands. Sure enough, he'd had plenty of offhand thoughts about what he might do to the drunk driver who'd ruined a large piece of his world, but for all his anger and bravado, Karkat Vantas was not violent. He'd talked himself into trouble time and again through his life, but in the end, raising his fists was more than he could bear.

"Even if I wanted to, I couldn't. I'm just not built for that kind of thing, you know? I hate the guy who did this, believe you me, but no matter how this ends I'll never be able to physically hurt him. It wouldn't even fix anything, you know? Not that I care about fixing anything at this point, god knows today has been such a royal fuck up that it's going to take me months to sort out all the cash and pay for Nepeta's hospital fees and still pay all my bills and-"

That was as far as he got before slim arms wrapped around him and suddenly Terezi's scent was his world. He'd teared up again, unbeknownst to himself, and he sniffled and Terezi held him quietly. This was so against who he knew her to be that for a second he thought himself to be dreaming, until she spoke.

"You're going to be alright, Karkat. Today has been terrible for you, but it's just one day, and it's almost over. Things will pick up again tomorrow, same as they always do. I hate that you'll have to work so soon after this kind of tragedy, but I know you're sturdy enough to do it."

Eventually, the two broke their embrace, looking at each other despite Terezi's eerily blank eyes. Karkat found himself moving a little closer. If Terezi noticed, she didn't back away, possibly even reciprocating the forward movement if he wasn't mistaken.

He wasn't, and soon the two were together again, arms around each other as Terezi sat beside him on the couch, huddled into him. Then, before either of them really knew it, their lips met silently, the soft yellow light illumating the two figures softly as they met, sat beside each other and yet with no space between them, falling slowly onto the couch.

Karkat lay atop Terezi, panting as their lips left each other. However, he found himself without the desire to go further, quite understandably. Wordlessly, Terezi nodded, and the two retired to the bedroom. Not for carnal acts, or quiet lovemaking, but merely for each others presence. They passed out together, breating softly as their heartbeats aligned, the moon shinining high in the sky.