Chapter Text
John stumbled in through the front door, his arms overloaded with bags of shopping. He had to use one foot to keep the door open as he walked in, dropping all the bags into a pile by the front door.
"Dave?" He called out, trying to free his foot, which had somehow gotten stuck in the handle of one bag. "Dave?"
"Dave's not here," a voice said. John looked up curiously, foot now free, and found Karkat leaning casually against the living room door frame, arms crossed, watching him with an amused smile.
"Oh, Karkat," he mumbled, "I didn't know you were here."
"I moved in like a month ago, remember?" Karkat said.
"Oh, right, yeah," John mumbled, "So, where's Dave?"
"He just went down to the shops for some food or something," Karkat said with a shrug.
"Right," John mumbled. He scooped his bags back up, and headed for the stairs. "I'll see you later," he called over his shoulder.
John rushed upstairs, and collapsed onto his bed. He buried his face in the pillows, and let out a long groan. There had been a time when this had all been normal. Then, a few months after him and Dave had moved in together in a new house on Earth C, John had started to feel... strange. First, it had been Karkat. The troll was nothing like what John had first thought. Sure, he was loud and annoying, but once John got to know him, he realised that he was also absolutely adorable, and fun to spend time with. Somehow, John had fallen in love with him. But having a crush on his roommate's boyfriend wasn't the worst problem John had. He was also in love with his roommate. Dave had always been John's best friend, but since the end of the game, John had been getting even closer to him. It was just John's luck to fall in love with two people who happened to be dating each other.
After a while, John heard Dave come back home, and worked up the nerve to head back downstairs. As he walked into the kitchen, he saw Dave pull Karkat into a tight hug, and felt his heart skip a few beats. Dave nuzzled his face into the side of Karkat's neck, causing the troll to giggle slightly and stumble backwards against the kitchen table.
"Hey guys," John said awkwardly, walking past them to get one of the cupboards. They turned to him as he poured himself a drink.
"Hey, dude," Dave said with a grin, "How was shopping with Jade."
"She made me buy so many clothes," John said with a small laugh, "Apparently my outfits aren't good enough."
"Eh, she might be right," Dave said, stepping towards John and looking him up and down with a smirk, "You're pretty, you need some clothes that show that off." John instantly span around to hide the fact that he was blushing. Dave had always been much too flirty, and even though John knew he was just joking around, it still made him feel uncomfortable.
After a few moments of mostly silence, John turned back to find Dave whispering playfully in Karkat's ear. As they broke apart, they turned to look at him, as if surprised to still find him there.
"Uh, you guys doing anything tonight?" John asked.
"Yeah," Dave said, looping one arm around Karkat's waist, "We're just going to chill... you know, just hang out and watch movies."
"Oh, great," John mumbled, "I might go out."
"Where?" Dave asked.
"Oh, umm... Roxy's," John blurted out the first name that came to his mind. Thinking about it, that wasn't actually a bad plan. Roxy sometimes had good advice.
"Oh," Dave said with a smile, "Have fun."
"Yeah," John said with a small sigh, "I will."
Later on, he did head out to Roxy's house. He hadn't called her to see if she was even at home, but he decided that if she wasn't, he'd just wander around aimlessly for hours. Luckily for him, she was home, and invited him in with her usual amount of enthusiasm.
"So, why are you here?" She asked as the two of them stood in her kitchen, waiting for the kettle to boil.
"What do you mean?" John asked, "Can't I come around and see my friends from time to time?"
"No," Roxy said, "Well I mean you can, but you obviously didn't. You quite clearly have something to say."
"No, no, nothing," John mumbled. Roxy handed him a mug with a cat on it, and raised one eyebrow at him.
"Tell me," she said, taking a sip of her own mug of tea. She hopped up onto the kitchen side, and patted the space next to her.
Once John had awkwardly seated himself on the side next to her, he said, "Okay, So, I have a crush."
"Oooh!" Roxy squealed, "I didn't know this was relationship advice you were looking for! You have come to the right person. So, who's the lucky person you've got a crush on?"
"It's not just one person," John sighed. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Roxy sit up a little straighter. " It's Dave... and Karkat," he murmured quietly.
"Oh, sweetie," Roxy murmured, "How did this happen?"
"No idea," John shrugged.
Roxy let out a long breath, blowing her hair upwards out of her face. "You could just talk to them, you know?" She said, "Maybe you guys could.. work something out. I don't know, Trolls have weird romance anyway, right?"
"I guess," John said, "I'm just scared they'll get mad at me."
"Dave loves you, even if it's just as a friend," Roxy said, "He won't get mad at you."
For the next hour, Roxy tried to convince John to talk to them. He felt slightly more confident, but he wasn't quite sure.
"Come on," Roxy sighed, "You told me about your crush on me. How can this be worse?"
"Oh yeah, because that went so well," John sighed.
"Well, we're still friends, aren't we?"
John dropped his head into his hands. "I guess."
"You know," Roxy said, "In another life, we'd have a made a great couple."
"You think?" John asked.
"Yeah," Roxy said, "You're so sweet, and kind and you care so much about your friends. If I didn't have such a great girlfriend, you'd have been the best boyfriend."
"Thanks," John said, blushing slightly.
"So, you gonna talk to Dave and Karkat?" Roxy asked
"Maybe," John said with a shrug. She got up to hug him as he started to leave.
"Tell me how it goes, okay?"
"I will," he smiled.
When he returned home, Dave and Karkat were locked away in Dave's bedroom. Through his bedroom wall, he could hear them giggling and talking quietly. The sound made John feel sick with a mixture of jealousy and sadness. He put his headphones on and watched endless tv programmes for hours until he passed out.