Chapter Text
==> Be Jade
You open your eyes and blink several times, trying to work at the dry feeling that seems to have settled over them. Your body hurts. You vaguely wonder why.
Judging by your pink, cuttlefish-plush-littered surroundings, you’re at Feferi’s… but why? you tilt your head to see what’s at your right and are startled to see Karkat’s sleeping figure there. He’s draped on the edge of the bed like a worn out pillow, with his head buried in one arm while the other hangs uselessly at his side. The dangling one is wrapped in a loose bandage, and you can see a slight tinge of bright red soaking through the gauze. He’s clearly been there long enough to need to change the dressings on his arm, at least. His black hair is sticking up in impossible angles, as usual, and he isn’t wearing his usual black shirt. Instead he’s in a red-grey tshirt that hugs his form. It’s slightly wrinkled, contributing to the impression that he’s been up for too long with not enough to do.
It’s so… Karkat of him.
You take this all in and resist the urge to run a hand through his hair in gratitude to his loyalty. You fail to resist the urge.
You lift your arm and stretch it across your body, but you stop short because
“Owwww!!” you hiss, scrunching your eyes shut. You open them and are horrified to see purple, green, and various other shades of bruises wrapping around your arm like a tattoo. Does the rest of your body look like this? You sigh, and it hurts.
Setting your jaw, you stretch your hand out further until- oh?
His hair is so much softer than it looks it’s… smooth. And fluffy.
And then Karkat purrs in his sleep and lets out a low, whirring sound, like a content sigh, but more animalistic. Your face tilts into a smile and you giggle, ears standing up to better capture the sound.
Feferi walks in. you yank your hand back, but that was a horrible idea, because holy-fucking-shit that hurt.
Feferi pauses in surprise, her eyes flicking between you and Karkat and at the blood that has started leaking from your collarbone and onto your covers. Karkat lifts his head, now awake and alarmed, but groggy.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” you yelp.
You panic and try to prop yourself up on your forearms. Your body screams and shudders in pain and protest. Feferi’s voice rings out high and fast, “Don’t let )(er sit up!”
Karkat is suddenly there, looming over you, both arms holding your shoulders firmly against the cushion of the bed. His eyes burn into yours and jegus is he angry. Any thought of opposing him evaporates into the atmosphere.
“Don’t. Fucking. Move,” he orders in a low, angry whisper.
Without breaking eye contact, you nod, slowly. Pain creeps from the opened cut and air slips through your teeth in a low moan. But the pain isn’t enough to keep your from seeing Karkat’s arm spasm. His eyes leave yours and he grimaces at his cut before sinking back into his chair by your bed.
Your eyes water as Feferi busies herself in cleaning up the blood. Then she lifts her hand and the air around you grows warm and glows a faint fuchsia. The throbbing aches slowly lessen.
“He never left the room,” she says happily. Karkat growls.
You fall asleep with vague happiness bouncing around inside your head.
***
==> Be Karkat one hour later.
You are now Karkat Vantas, and you are tired as hell. You woke up to a dull burning sensation in your arm after you fell asleep leaning on Jade’s bed. Again. Now you’re shuffling out of the room to take the opportunity to ask Feferi how her coffeemaker works.
You enter the kitchen, where she sits, reading a troll glamor magazine. You idly wonder why anyone would ever pay to read that garbage, and you’re about to spit out your own brand of slander against it when she speaks up.
“Karkat, can we glub for a minute?” She gestures to a chair, which you plop into like a tired sack of skin. That’s not actually too far from the truth.
“Sounds to me like we already are. What’s on your mind?”
“Is s)(e really wort)( all of t)(is to you?” Feferi asks. You grimace.
“Feferi, tell me. Why the fuck would I be here if she wasn’t? She’s my best friend! She’s…” Fuck, how do you explain just how much you care?
Feferi breaks your concentration by giggling. “It’s okay!! I get it. S)(e's my frond too! You don’t )(ave to explain anyfin else, Karcrab. If s)(e’s im-port-ant to you, I’ll be )(appy to kelp.”
You flush. “Thanks. Like. Really, this is more than I could… than I should ask for.”
She just smiles at you and her earfins flap in a sickeningly adorabubble way.
“)(e)(e)(e! Don’t carp on aboat it. You are very s)(ellcome!” She slides her chair a little closer to yours and sets your injured arm on the table. Her hand hovers over your cut and she slides the worn out gauze off. Your arm glows a faint pink and begins to sting. It feels like the edges of the cut are buzzing. Then she stops and wraps your arm back up in clean, white linen.
“It’s not muc)(, but it’ll )(ave to do.”
“You should have used your energy on Jade, she’s hurt worse than I am,” you grumble, trying to be grateful and failing due to your impatience. Feferi bites her lip.
“Karcrab, aboat t)(at… T)(ere’s… w)(elp, a problem.” You look into her eyes, concerned. “T)(e Drones visit me every few days, trying to kelp an eye on me. I’m expecting t)(em in tube days, but…if t)(ey followed your blood trail, it could be sooner t)(an t)(at.” Her expression is concerned, and she’s not using as many of her terrible fishpuns, so you know she’s being serious. Two days?
“You should still worry about Jade, not me,” you insist.
“S)(e’s already doing a lot beta!! Plus, if you )(ave to leave fast, s)(e needs someone who is going to be abubble to carry )(er if s)( still can’t walk w)(en you )(ave to leave.”
You look away in reluctant defeat.
“Got any coffee?” you mumble. She’s already buried herself back in her magazine, so she wordlessly points at a small section of her counter that’s dedicated to the caffeinated savior of your life. You walk over and start fumbling with the volume-measuring devices and the bag of pre-ground coffee. Pre-ground? What an amateur coffee-drinker. You roll your eyes.
“S)(e was petting your )(air.”
“WHAT?” you yell, dropping everything and spinning around.
“Shh!!” Feferi whispers, eyes widening and dancing to the open door of Jade’s room.
“Sorry.”
“She was running )(er )(and t)(roug)( your )(air. You were purring, )(e)(e!” Peixes giggles, positively beaming at you.
You twist back around and violently finish starting your coffee. Purring, why the fuck would you purr. No one is supposed to know that you do that, especially not Jade Harley. You were asleep, and JEGUS FUCK why did she have to find out like that?! You can think of at least 480257 different ways you’d have preferred for her to find out, if paradox space decided that just fucking had to be part of the alpha timeline. But fuck paradox space and its ability to vomit bullshit all over your life. You are soaking in unfortunate realities. You don’t think you’ll ever be able to pry yourself from this self-perpetuating clusterfuck ever again. Purring. Shit.
The coffee machine beeps and you jump and abscond the hell out of there before Feferi can get another word in. You resist the urge to slam the door shut behind you, and flop onto your chair, huffing with embarrassed indignation.
Then, hesitantly, you extend your arm. Your fingers reach her white ears. They’re silky smooth and twice as soft as they look. Your jaw drops into a pleased ‘o’-shape, and Jade lets out a tiny “woof” and sighs happily in her sleep. Deciding to press your luck, you stroke her hair with nervous fingers, feather-light touch until you realize, wow. It may look poofy and cumbersome, but it’s softer than her ears and your fingers don’t tangle in the strands the way you anticipated. It’s a feeling you could get used to.
You draw your hand back, shocked at your thoughts, then spend the rest of the afternoon eyeing your blushing reflection in the black liquid you hold in the mug in your hands.