Work Text:
At first you and Karkat didn’t think much of each other, but it didn’t take long for the two of you to become close friends. It was almost hard to imagine how your relationship with him used to be, the two of you squabbling over the pettiest shit when now you were a regular guest at his house, cuddling up to him while the two of you mocked each others taste in films, but now in a weirdly affectionate way.
You didn’t remember how you ended up sitting while Karkat doodling on your arm in pen, but here you are.
“Is it done yet?” You look down at Karkat, his face stuck in an almost… cute focused expression.
“Shut up, Dave. It’ll be done when it’s done.” Karkat shoots back, although there was absolutely no bite to his words. The pen running along your skin tickled, but you manage to keep still while he draws. It helps to focus on Karkat’s face, watching the little ways he moves as he works. Later you’ll probably have a long talk with yourself in front of a bathroom mirror about how fucking gay this is, but for now it’s keeping you from moving so you try not to question the tingly feeling shooting through your body too hard.
“Aaand done!” Karkat’s gravelly voice brings you out of your self-imposed gay daydreams. You look down at your arm to see a doodle of a crab. It’s not very good, but you’re not about to say that to Karkat’s expectant face.
“It’s great.” You give him a genuine smile. “Guess I gotta immortalize this moment, tattoo it on my body now. Can’t be seen without this sick shit on my arm anymore. Watch out world, we didn’t think Dave Strider could get any cooler but with this trusty Karkat Vantas original crab, it just happened.”
Karkat snorts and shoves you, but the joy in his eyes is hard to hide. Then again- it’s Karkat. He’s probably never hidden an emotion in his life. “Oh now you’re just making fun of me, asshole.”
“I’m shocked and offended you would think so low of me!” You hold your hand to your chest in mock offense. “Even cool guys can be genuine sometimes, Karkat.”
“Oh, so Dave ‘irony is my middle name’ Strider is talking about being genuine now? Let me get out my calendar so we can mark this date!”
You can’t help but laugh at that one.
You notice as you’re getting ready for class the next day, the drawing on your arm hasn’t faded at all. You don’t think much of it, simply happy that little reminder is there. You rifle through your closet, trying to find a shirt with short enough sleeves that you can actually see the drawing. For once you wish you didn’t wear long sleeves a solid 90% of the time. You finally settle on a baseball tee that you can at least see part of the crab under, before going through the rest of your morning routine.
At lunch, you make your way towards where you usually sit with Karkat. He takes a look at you, his eyes stopping on your arm. “You really weren’t kidding about showing that off, huh?” His tone is indecipherable. You ignore the swirling feeling in your stomach, dismissing it as hunger.
“Hell yeah I wasn’t.” You sit down next to him. “It’s my brand now, Kitkat. No take backs, you’re the one who insisted on drawing this on me. In 10 years when I’m a famous dj you’re gonna see people asking ‘Oh damn, what’s with that sick ass tattoo?’ and I’ll be all ‘Oh this? It’s an exclusive one of a kind from my bro Karkat.’”
Karkat rolls his eyes, but he still smiles at that. Tension you weren’t even aware of eases from your shoulders. “You’re such an insufferable shithead, you know that Strider?”
“No need to flatter me so much, Kitkat.” He gently smacks you over the head for that one.
“Hey, guys!” John sits down on Karkat’s other side. You tell yourself you aren’t disappointed- John’s your best friend, after all. It’d be fucked up to be disappointed just because he decided to join you and Karkat. You’re lying to yourself, though.
“Hey asshat.” Karkat greets John.
So maybe, just a little bit, you wanted to just hang out with Karkat right now. And maybe, just maybe, you wished John would go sit with any of your other friends right now. You wouldn’t admit that to anyone though. Hell no.
“So you’re spending today with us cool kids, huh?” You tease. “Hoping some of our combined coolness will rub off?”
John just smiles and opens his lunch. “Can’t a guy hang out with his best friends?”
You feel a small pang of guilt. “Never said otherwise, bro.” It wasn’t like you didn’t spend a lot of time alone with Karkat anyway.
You push aside the confusing feelings swirling around your head after that, just enjoying your lunch with Karkat and John.
It hits you that Saturday night when Karkat dozes off on your shoulder while you’re watching a movie with him. You look down at his relaxed face, looking over every cute little feature. The way his dark messy hair frames it, how soft he looks, how appealing his lips look right now. You, Dave Strider, have fallen for Karkat. You want to check your body to see if a soulmate mark has appeared, but you also don’t want to wake Karkat up. The thought churns in your head as he sleeps- what if it isn’t destined to be? What if he doesn’t like you back? You like to pretend you don’t care about this soulmate business but you know trying to date someone who isn’t your soulmate is an uphill struggle with everyone so focused on it. You are also realizing you very much would like to date Karkat and you know he’s exactly the type to obsess over the idea of soulmates.
No point in worrying about it now, you tell yourself. As if you’re taking that seriously. You wrap an arm around Karkat, trying not to disturb him. This is nice. You wish the moment could last forever.
What feels like a few minutes later, you find yourself laying down and snuggling Karkat, a blanket draped over the two of you. Did you fall asleep? You look over at the tv. It’s been turned off, and the clock on the cable box reads 2am. Karkat is still fast asleep. You feel your heart thumping as the circumstances finally hit you- you passed out snuggling your crush, and he’s still sleeping right there looking way too pretty for his own good.
Karkat stirs, and you’re not sure if you’re disappointed or not.
“Dave…?” He still doesn’t look fully awake when he looks over at you.
“Uh. Hey. So it looks like we fell asleep and I guess we may have ended up having a mad sleep snuggle fest and somebody put this blanket on us.” You always ramble when you’re nervous. It’s just your luck that that’s not the only time you ramble.
“Oh.” Karkat nods.
“Do you… want me to get off?”
“No.” You try not to smile.
“You got it.” You pull your sunglasses off and set them aside. No point keeping those on when there’s almost no light. They were digging into your face anyway.
“Dave.”
“Yeah?”
“This couch is cramped as fuck, let’s go upstairs.”
You’re grateful it’s dark right now, with how hot your face feels you’re probably red as a tomato. “Sounds good to me.”
You and Karkat untangle yourselves, making your way up to Karkat’s room. Karkat gets under the covers, holding them up for you to join him. You do, and instantly he’s cuddling you again, and god it feels great. Fuck all that soulmate anxiety. You’re just happy to be with him.
You fall asleep again, waking up when the sunlight peaks through the windows. It is way too damn bright, and you sit up to shove your sunglasses back on. Karkat grumbles, pulling you back down. “Strider stop moving around and lay the fuck back down.”
You chuckle, letting him pull you back into an embrace. “Sorry Karkles, it’s just kinda bright in here.”
He lets out a few incoherent annoyed sounds, and you can’t help but find it endearing. God you’re in deep.
“Are you going to keep me in your bed all day? Just think about it- local teen keeps his own bedroom Strider. It’s a real collectors item folks, only 2 in the world now, and it’s too late to reserve one for yourself.”
“Not if you don’t shut up, dickhead.”
“Ooh, a tough deal. Guess I have no choice but to accept though.” You fall quiet, letting Karkat hold you. Good things don’t last forever though, an unfortunate fact you’re forced to deal with when you realize you’re getting hungry.
“Karkaaaat….” you whine, “I’m hungryyy.”
Karkat sighs, but he still sits up. You mourn the loss internally. “Is cereal fine?” He asks.
“I can do cereal, yeah.”
“Cool. I’m gonna take a shower.”
You shuffle out of the bed, going down to the kitchen to pour yourself a bowl of cereal. Just as you’re sitting down, you hear Karkat yelling what sounds like a long string of Yiddish curses. In an instant, you’re back out of your seat and dashing up to check up on him.
“Karkat!?” You can’t keep the concerned panic out of your voice. “Are you okay?”
Karkat opens the bathroom door, refusing to meet your eyes. “Yeah. I’m. It’s.” Whoa, you can’t think of the last time you saw Karkat at a loss for words. “Just come in here and take a look.”
You nod, following Karkat into the bathroom. He pulls his sweater up to reveal what looks like a shitty crayon drawing of a dick. You don’t process immediately what it means, but Karkat doesn’t give you the time.
“Dave Strider, you fucking shithead, do you know what this is?” He doesn’t pause long enough for you to answer. “It’s a soulmate mark. Of a fucking dick. I cannot believe of all things, not only did you just have to be my soulmate, but of course your mark is a dick. Of fucking course.”
Your head is spinning, and you just barely manage to get out a “Wait, you like me?” Good job Dave.
“Well if I didn’t, I wouldn’t have this damned mark, would I? Who else would leave me with a… I have a dick on my stomach Dave!”
If it were any other time you’d probably be laughing your head off. It isn’t any other time. You feel decidedly uncool right now, as you reply with a short “I like you too.”
Karkat pauses his tantrum when you say that. “Oh.”
“So.”
“So?”
“Is this the part where we run off into the sunset like one of your movies?”
“Hold on, wait just a fucking minute. What about you, do you have a mark anywhere?”
“Uhhh… I haven’t noticed one?” You admit, feeling a pit in your stomach.
Karkat scrunches up his face. “Well if we like each other and I have a mark, shouldn’t you have one too?”
“I mean yeah, maybe it’s just something I haven’t… wait a second.” Your mind races through the past week. You pull up your sleeve, Karkat’s crab doodle still on your arm. It hasn’t faded one bit- if anything it looks like it’s only gotten more vibrant. “Pen drawings don’t last that long on skin...”
“It’s just my luck that my soulmate doesn’t even notice his own mark.” Karkat groans. “And just my luck that mine is a dick.”
“Aww come on Kitkat.” You coo, your sense of humor returning. “Isn’t it perfect? I don’t have to pay to get this crab tattooed on, and who else would that mark remind you of but me?”
Karkat shoves his face in his hands. “… I hate you.”
“Love you too.”
“You’re the worst.”
“I’m your worst. At least I think I am. Karkat are we dating now?”
Karkat drops his hand and looks at you, a smile forming on his face. “I guess we are. You’re not off the hook though, you know that?”
“I know.” You wrap your arms around Karkat. He leans his head onto your shoulder, hugging you back.
“I hate you.”
“Love you too.”