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Karkat couldn’t breathe correctly since he got here, this was the first time that they had met, and it would be at the most popular place in the entire world. He stared at his phone that was nearly cracking at the look of it,Dave never actually told him where he was at. Was he already in the park? Was he still in his shitty car Karkat had seen pictures of? He heard the ping of pesterchum go off loudly in his pocket and saw Dave was running a little late. Karkat wondered if he was just as nervous as him or if it was just him being fashionably late. He thought that saying was stupid.
Dave took one look at the park and sighed.
“Holy shit, I can’t do this...” he was seriously considering not getting out of the car, and just reversing as far as he could go until he crashed into a different car and had an excuse to not go. It wasn’t because he hated Karkat, but because he was scared. If Karkat was already outside of his car and waiting there then he had balls. Dave knew it was wrong in any case to ditch, and it was just him being weird. He shut the car off and messaged Karkat to wait at the C entrance. Karkat agreed and Dave walked over there with jello legs, anyone who ran by him made him freeze.
When he finally got to the entrance, there was still a lot of people. He felt it made it more calming to possibly indirectly spot Karkat than to actually find him easily. But when he looked at the benches he saw him. No doubt about it. He looked so short, he never said his height, but due to the anger he gave when the question was asked he assumed probably a little over 5 feet. That was when Karkat felt the stare and looked at him directly. His face turned the brightest red Dave has ever seen in a troll. The troll slowly pulled up his phone to text him, this was all without looking at his phone. In perfect, all cap text, Karkat asked if that was really him.
Dave knew this was it, no turning back now,he walked to Karkat as best as he could while trying not to sweat too hard. Like a stone he stood there, was he supposed to wait? Karkat stood up with shaken legs and stared in awe. Suddenly in a blink Karkat was hugging him, Dave felt himself jump instinctively but didn't refuse the hug.
'god, he's... so short.'Dave had unconsciously put his hands around karkats chest while thinking and it was the most warm hug he felt. When Karkat realized he hugged him he let go fast and his face got more red.
"I-im sorry."
"No dude, you gotta say no homo." Karkat's eyes got wide and he punched Dave lightly.
"DAVE STRIDER." Dave started to laugh at his embarrassment. It seemed like the whole world fell away while he laughed. Karkat couldn’t help but notice that he was feeling the same way. He brushed himself off mentally and stared at the front gates of the amusement park, it was the first time he’s been here.
“Dave, have you ever been here before?”
“Only once with John, it was pretty great we went on almost a fourth of the rides and we were here from opening to closing.”
Karkat didn’t understand at first but the conversation gap that he saw on tv and movies where all the matesprit pair can do after having a reunion or meet up in real life is sit and stand awkwardly wasn’t real. It felt silly to him, this seemed like it was so natural.
Karkat walked next to Dave unsure if it would be too early to hold hands yet. John told him that premarital hand holding happened all the time but it was dangerous to just ask Dave now, he might think he was weird. Dave’s hand had nearly grazed Karkat's but he decided by the look on karkat that it wouldn’t be best.
When they walked into the entrance, a sweet smell of tea and sugar was wafted in the air. Dave and Karkat weren’t taken too far back but when they observed the area it was a mostly pastel teen paradise. They really didn’t look like they belonged there but they weren't too disposed to leave fast. The rides were not so entertaining but most of the scenery was pleasing.
When they got out they decided to look at the directory, which had a map. Unfortunately they landed in the kids play area section. The rides would increase in intensity and be more adult themed the more you progressed.It would be easy to walk there if they didn’t brick off sections. Dave lifted his finger off the directory and pointed to the Skaia Lift.
“It looks like we gotta go on those, in order to get there faster.” Dave looked at Karkat who had looked away from the ride. “What’s wrong? Scared of a little height?” he started to chuckle but when Karkat didn’t respond he stopped this banter and immediately got serious.
“I- I am...“ Karkat admitted, he took a small glance at the sky lift.
“Don't worry, me too,” he took karkat’s hand as gently as shaky hands could and stared in his eyes. “I got you, we got this.” Karkat was surprised, he’d never thought that Dave would be so... suave with his movements. Karkat tightly held on and started blushing again.
“Don’t tell anyone about my fear of heights.”
“Eh? Oh right don’t worry, I won't tell a soul...” Dave said while grinning and texting on his phone. Fortunately Karkat was too busy staring at the Skaia Lift. Karkat kept leaning farther away from everything except Dave, who was enjoying every moment.
When they had gotten on the Skaia Lift they were only twenty-five feet off the ground as Karkat started to wail to get off, but they kept going higher. Dave grabbed his hand and like a pacifier, had calmed down the nervous wreck. Dave started to make beatbox sounds but not in an attempt to freestyle rap but swinging his feet slightly and laughing.
“Karkat, look, if you do this with your feet and look down, you’ll look like a giant.” Karkat didn’t dare look down, but when he stared at Dave from this angle, he could see his red colored eyes, staring down showing the reflection of the ground which made him look around when they got to the maximum height. Karkat’s eyes widened in amazement seeing all the rides, people, trolls and the themes for some sections.
“It looks so... massive.”
“That’s what she said.”
“LET ME ENJOY THE SCENERY.”
“I am already.” Dave wasn’t staring at the sky, the people or the themes of sections. He was staring at Karkat’s eyes that didn’t notice.
When they got back down into the part of the park that was better, Karkat pointed to the Heat and clockwork section that had a lot of high rides. Dave looked at him questionably.
“What about your fear of heights?”
“Well, I can side step that... as long as you’re with me and hold my hand.” Karkat’s skin flushed slightly after he said that. But Dave continued to smile.
“I don’t mind.” he said quietly, before he could take his hand again he looked at the directory map next to them. There was another place simply titled carnival.
“We should go there first though, it seems pretty interesting.” Dave started to lead but karkat was unsure, could it be a human carnival with animals and fun rigged games? Or was it a culturally troll themed carnival? Karkat shook his head at how absurd that would be, the thought was erased and they headed where the directory and the signs pointed.
Karkat's fear had mostly dissipated when they had arrived. Until they were going to enter the section. They were handed a small stack of papers. Dave and Karkat looked at each other questionably. The employee of the section was covered in face paint, Karkat’s assumptions were far true than he thought correctly. These papers entailed that there could be possible injuries, possible death??? Karkat's hands trembled while he held the paper, and looked at Dave who was finishing signing his name at the bottom. Karkat started to shout.
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?”
“Hm? What’s it look like? I'm signing a paper.”
“DID YOU EVEN READ WHAT IT SAID?”
“Oh... No, but really I don’t care.”
“Are you shitting me?”
“It’s okay, remember, I’ll be with you the whole time,” karkat couldn’t refuse another offer to hold hands. Besides this is an amusement park there no way in hell they would get too hurt. And so with trembling hands Karkat signed the paper. The moment his hand held up the papers the employee took them. Leaving Karkat with a massive papercut. He winced but he pretended that it didn’t happen.
Karkat was upset that he had to quietly keep the blood from spilling out instead of holding hands, but if there were a better time to explain, it should have been immediately. Dave’s ignorance had grabbed hold of Karkat’s hand and saw the blood.
“Oh my god karkat, your hand is-”
“BIZZARE!!!IT IS HIM!” Karkat froze in place. Before Dave could turn around, someone had his other hand. Karkat began to flail and try to rip his arm away from the person which was now turning into a crowd. Karkat's eyes looked at Dave wildly as if to ask for help.
“Hey dude, let go of him-” Dave was violently pushed away by another bystander. It was at his point that they hoisted Karkat in the air. He now started to shout but the moment he did the others did as well. Not in fear but excitement. Before Dave was nearly trampled by the people of this nightmare, he followed the crowd, getting as close as he could to find him again.
Karkats yell was supposed to be the loudest thing he’s heard but in comparison to the hundred people around the area laughing and also cheering it was drowned out like the being at the bottom of the pool. Dave knew that no matter what Karkat was to be rescued, any other shrew of a person would have run off hoping they would return, Dave was always different. He took into consideration of where the hollers were going and kept running farther and farther into the dark carnivals maze.
He had spotted where they had taken him. It was nearly a twisted, specific spot of a place where they held Karkat. The cheers had died down and now he could hear Karkat screaming for help.he tried to push through but there were people stopping him. Dave knew this wasn’t some silly game. If there was anytime to showcase just how powerful he could be was right now.
Dave swung at the first two people in front of him, stunning them enough to jump on the shoulders of two unsuspecting people and launching himself up, the crowd stopped to focus on where Dave would land to capture him. But the moment he fell back on the ground his shoes barely hit their palms before he pushed off of them while spinning harder than normal, making him fall down on the ground surrounded by people trying to attack. In one fell swoop he knocked half of them to their feet and had nearly gotten on stage.
Two people got a hold of him and started to pull him away ready to destroy the process he built up to only for Dave to somewhat wiggle out of their grasp and fight off more people. The last row of people were ready to attack until he hoisted himself off of them and onto the stage.
The brutes that were going to initiate the part had lurched at him, with almost precise training, Dave had completely knocked the two out faster than anyone could register and yanked karkat off of whatever he was on and ran.
“I am so sorry for not listening.” Dave said out of breath, as the angry mob of clown conspirators chased them down. Karkat looked like he was dead in his arms, but it was just him being passed out of fear.
“...you can’t hear me can you?” there wasn’t a response but he could tell he was going to get completely yelled at and lectured by Kanaya the moment Karkat shared his experience. The moment they got to the gates of the exit.
Dave flipped off the employee that let them in and took karkat to the nearest water fountain, splashing his face with water. Dave had heard something absolutely horrifying, it had sounded like a chainsaw. Did Kanaya already catch wind of the commotion somehow? He looked down to see it was his boyfriend coming back to his senses, maybe that seemed more horrifying at the moment.
“DAVE I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!” he started to go on about how awful he felt, like he was going to throw up, until Dave saw his eyes after looking away for so long. Tears. Karkat was crying but it hardly sounded as if he was.
This was Dave’s fault, he knew that already, but he didn’t expect it to be this disheartening, to see the only person that he cared for this much break down because of his actions. Dave’s hands trembled, they weren’t trembling even during a fight with drugged trolls and humans, but now they were.
Karkat was done with the shouting and only wiping tears that just didn’t stop pouring. Dave couldn’t hold back anymore and held his Karkat’s face with his hand, drying the red tears for him.
“I’m sorry, you warned me, I made a promise, and I broke it.” Dave stopped himself and turned his own face to the side.
“If you want to go home and never see me again, I understand. It won't be the first time.”
“...no.” Karkat said softly, then he leaned forward to put his head on Dave’s shoulder.
“You deserve to feel bad, yeah. But I can’t say that you broke your promise.”
“What do you mean?”
“...i’m not sure.” Karkat muttered, Dave started to hug him, but it wasn’t like the first one where he felt weird. It was one that felt so much more comforting for the both of them. They both knew they were here together, in each other's arms and both reflecting their feelings of uncertainty for what was really next. It lasted for a while.
“To think, we still have another two weeks together.”
“No, we’re not coming back here.”
“Well shit. Actually that might be a good call. The tickets are a hundred dollars a piece.”
“WHAT!? THEY’RE SO EXPENSIVE I SHOULD HAVE PAID FOR MY OWN!”
They both decided enough was enough for one day, and they left. Instead of feeling like they weren’t for each other like movies told them sometimes, they knew at this point they were inseparable.
END