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The sun's been up for a few hours, and John should be out of bed by now. Instead, he's laying with his face pressed into the pillows, duvet pulled up over his head, trying to pretend that the day hasn't started yet. He's probably had about an hour's sleep, and he can't quite bring himself to even sit up right about now. It's just another morning, and he's really not sure if he can face it right now.
He's finally forced to sit up when he hears his phone beep once again, much like it's been doing all morning. Reaching out and grabbing his phone from the side of his bed, he rolls over and squints at the bright screen tiredly.
-- turntechGodhead [TG] began pestering ectoBiologist [EB] at 09:43 am
TG: hey dude
TG: hey
TG: john
TG: john
TG: seriously john answer your phone karkat and i are worried about you
TG: okay were coming over
EB: wait no don't do that!!
TG: oh wow youre awake congrats
TG: also too late were on our way
EB: why?
TG: because we miss you
TG: see you soon
John tosses his phone aside and lets out a long sigh. He has to admit, it has been a long time since he's seen Dave and Karkat. But there's been a lot on his mind and... no, he has no excuse. The three of them have a good thing going, and he really does love them both. It's just...
His thoughts are completely cut off as his doorbell rings loudly, echoing through the house. With a huff, John stumbles out of bed, and tiredly makes his way downstairs. He's still wearing the clothes he slept in; underwear and an oversized blue shirt, but he doesn't bother to get changed before he opens the door. It's just Karkat and Dave, it doesn't matter what he's wearing. As he pulls the door open, he wonders briefly if it actually is them. There's a chance it's just a random visitor. Luckily, the people he finds standing on the doorstep are the two he's expecting.
"Morning," Dave says, stepping past John before he's even invited in. Karkat follows after him quietly, hand tightly clutching Dave's.
"Welcome, come in," John mutters under his breath as he pushes the door shut with one foot and turns to work out where the two of them have gone. He expects to find them in the living room, or the kitchen, but as he heads that way he spots the end of Dave's cloak disappearing up the stairs.
"Where are you going?" John sighs, though it's not loud enough for anyone to hear. He just follows him up the stairs and heads towards his bedroom.
"Egbert, your room is a mess," Karkat says. He's standing in the doorway to John's room, arms crossed as he leans against the door frame.
"Nice to see you too," John grumbles, pushing past him. Karkat follows him into the room, and crouches down to pick up a pile of clothes from the foot of the bed. He folds it over his arms and moves the pile to the side of the room to be deal with later.
"So, are we gonna talk about why you haven't talked to us for like two weeks?" Dave asks, taking a seat on the edge of John's bed and tucking his legs up under him.
"I'm sorry," John mutters sadly. He very slowly moves to sit next to Dave, the space between them just slightly too large for comfort.
"Hey, you don't have anything to be sorry about," Dave sighs, "Unless you did something bad. Did you?"
"No!" John quickly protests. "No, I just... I've just been feeling sad and I didn't want to stress you guys out."
"John that is the stupidest thing I've ever heard," Karkat declares, sitting down on John's other side, "The whole reason that we're doing human dating instead of one quadrant is so that we can help each other with everything."
Dave laughs softly. "Yeah. Karkat's right," he murmurs as he drapes one arm around John's shoulders and pulls him close to his side. "So, you gonna tell us what's upsetting you?"
"That's the problem!" John declares, putting one hand to his forehead in frustration, "I don't know what I'm sad about! I just don't quite feel right It's like... like things don't make sense anymore."
"Oh," Dave says softly. He looks over at Karkat, and sees that the troll is staring at John with sad, wide eyes.
"I shouldn't have pushed you guys away, I know," John sighs, looking down at his feet, "I just really didn't want you have to deal with me."
"You have literally dealt with so much of our shit," Dave says with a small smile, "Of course we're going to be here for you. We're better when we work together."
"Thanks," John says quietly, "I just..." He trails off miserably, and Karkat reaches out to brush away the single tear that runs down John's cheek.
There's a long silence then, and John moves so he's laying on his back and staring up at the ceiling. The other two curl up on either side of him, and Karkat instantly starts to run his fingers slowly through John's messy hair.
"You wanna talk about it?" Dave asks.
"Not really. Not yet," John replies. They fall back into silence, John trying to think of exactly what he can say to them to explain how he's feeling.
"You need to get dressed," Karkat says after a while, tugging at the bottom of John's shirt.
"Yep," Dave agrees, before poking at John's stomach, "And when was the last time you ate?"
"I had dinner yesterday," John grumbles, swatting away their hands away despite his small smile at the two of them.
"Nope, not good enough," Dave declares. He sits up, stretching his arms with small cracking sounds, and holds out a hand for Karkat to take. "Me and Karks are making you breakfast," he says, "And you are going to have a shower."
"Fine," John sighs. He sits up slowly,and watches as Dave and Karkat head out of the room. Slowly, he drags himself to the bathroom.
Half an hour later, Dave and Karkat come back into John's bedroom, and find John curled up on the bed in a pair of his godtier trousers and an oversized blue hoodie. His hair is still wet, and strands of it are plastered to his forehead and the sides of his face.
"Hey," Dave murmurs, sliding onto the bed beside John and passing him a plate of pancakes. Karkat wriggles onto the other side of the bed, tucking his legs up under him.
"Thanks," John smiles, clasping the plate tightly and smiling slightly to himself. "Did you not make yourself breakfast?" He asks.
"We ate whilst you were in the shower," Dave says. John nods, and takes a few bites of pancakes slowly.
Karkat shifts slightly, tugging John into his lap slightly, and picks up a hairbrush from by the side of John's bed. As John keeps eating, Karkat slowly brushes out John's hair, using his claws to gently tease out a few tangles. Dave just lays out on his back beside them, staring up at the ceiling and humming softly to himself. It's calming, and John leans further back so he's at the right angle to rest his head back against Karkat's chest.
"I love you guys a lot," John mumbles quietly.
"We love you too," Karkat replies, and Dave lets out a small hum of agreement, raising John's hand to kiss his knuckles gently.
"I shouldn't have pushed you away and I'm really sorry," John continues, getting slightly agitated.
"Shoosh," Karkat says quietly, gently resting a hand on John's cheek, "It's okay." John relaxes slightly, leaning his head sideways into Karkat's hand. He turns slightly, cuddling closer to Karkat's chest and wrapping his arms around his waist. Karkat looks over John's head at Dave, and nods for him to join them. With a soft laugh, Dave wriggles closer and wraps his arms around the both of them tightly.
They stay huddled together on the bed for hours. Karkat never moves far from John's side, running his hands through John's hair and occasionally pressing tiny kisses all over his face. Dave curls up behind John, pressing his face into the back of his neck, and soon starts to fall asleep, one arm draped lazily across John.
"Love you," Dave murmurs tiredly whilst he's half-awake.
"Love you too," John replies quietly, and it's echoed by Karkat. Dave lets out an almost inaudible happy murmur, and shifts closer to John before he finally falls asleep.
"You need sleep too," Karkat says to John, "There are circles under your eyes." John sighs.
"I know," he replies softly. Karkat smiles, and pulls John close to his chest, and tucks John's head under his chin. He whispers and murmurs quietly until John starts to fall asleep, and then Karkat too lets himself go to sleep.
When they wake up a few hours later, it's the middle of the afternoon. John still doesn't feel good, and there are way too many thoughts in his head, but he feels a little happier with Dave and Karkat around. He feels a little more hopeful when he's in their arms.