Work Text:
“Can’t see a goddamn thing…woah back up….crap…s’what I get for living with a dingus airhead…freakin- FUCK!”
Karkat reached down to rub at his pinkie toe which now throbbed in remembrance of its brief encounter with some random object that had been lying on his and John’s apartment floor. Giving it a brief squeeze he straightened back up and cautiously continued his trek towards the kitchen where they kept their only flashlight. The power outage was unexpected, as most tended to be, and had thrown their home into utter darkness. While neither he nor John were particularly scared of the dark, each room tended to have one or two faint lights glowing from various electronics and the like and as such, the two were rather unaccustomed to the complete lack of light.
“Hey did you find the flashlight yet?!” John called out from their living room. Tonight had been one of their movie nights, dedicated solely to marathoning the few movies they both liked. John had stayed back on the couch under their blankets, complaining that it was too cold to get up.
“Not yet you friggin’ bum rider.”
“Hey! No homo Karkat! Remember?”
“John you are about as no homo as Equius is no horso. Ugh seriously are you sure you stuck it in pantry? And why did you even put it there? Of all the places, yeah sure, the pantry is totally the wisest place to put a flashlight-“
“Karkat.”
“I mean really I honestly can’t believe I didn’t think to put it there. Next time I need to store something somewhere it has no place being-“
“Karkat!”
“I’ll make sure to get into the mindset of what you, heir to the throne of imbeciles and bucktoothed nerds, would do. Ha! Found it!” Karkat grinned triumphantly as he flicked his thumb over the device’s switch, only for his face down into a scowl. “John.”
“Yeah?”
“When I asked you to put batteries in this after we last used it, did you?”
“Hmm…yup! I most definitely did. Also if you have it you should really get back in here, I wouldn’t mind being able to see again.”
“Well tough shit, because you obviously didn’t put in any batteries dickwhistle.” Karkat dropped the flashlight back on the shelf he had grabbed it from and began shuffling back towards the living room, cheeks blown out in annoyance. His fingers ran along the hall as he walked the short distance, finding small nicks and grooves in it he didn’t realize were there. He made a note to check on those when the power came back.
“What? No no I so did. I remember walking down to the corner store and asking for some and they…oh…yeah they were out haha. I was gonna get some later but I guess I forgot!”
Having managed to make it back to the living room without any more injuries, Karkat let himself fall on top of John and their blanket pile, causing the other to let out a surprised “Oomph.” John’s arms wrapped around Karkat’s shoulders and pulled him against his chest, which was warm as always.
“Sorry about that. I’ll get them next time.” John pressed a kiss to Karkat’s head and tightened his hold in a small hug. Sighing as dramatically as possible Karkat reached up to knock his fist against John’s head then let it rest in his short dreads. “You know…we could have just used our cellphones. Or our laptops.”
Tilting his head back against John’s chest Karkat just glared up at boyfriend, trying not to explode.
“Jonathan Egbert I swear to the love of god hnng frm hisch…” John quickly covered Karkat’s mouth with his hand and let out another chuckle.
“As much as I love your ability to go on tirade’s and create some of the most sexually colorful insults ever heard, I think we should just pretend I never said that and enjoy the fact that for once we can’t hear music from upstairs.”
Karkat stopped trying to talk around John’s hand and nodded his head in agreement. Their upstairs neighbor had a horrible habit of blasting disco music at night and he could definitely appreciate the lack of noise. He pulled John’s hand off his face and instead slipped their hands together. The two sat in silence, enjoying one another’s company and the faint tick of the clock above the television.
“Hey Karkat?”
“Yes dingus?”
“Well I was just thinking…about when we met. It was pretty funny actually!” John let out a short laugh and poked Karkat’s cheek, laughing again when it was swatted away.
“If you think invading someone’s personal space in a public facility and pestering them all hours of the day with incessant and useless chatter is funny then yes, it was absolutely hilarious.”
“Aw come on Karkat. Admit it, you loved it. No one can resist the Egbert charm!”
Karkat elbowed his boyfriend in the gut and grinned as John bent over from the blow. He didn’t expect John to take advantage of the new angle however and blinked in surprise and the other continued leaning over to press their lips together. It was a chaste and quick kiss, a simple peck on the lips, but it left Karkat blushing and mumbling. They hugged, held hands, and saw each other naked plenty, but it was always these little kisses that left him flustered as hell. Karkat smacked both his hands over his mouth and burrowed further down into the blankets to avoid John seeing the red that covered his face, even though the dark prevented either of them from seeing much.
“Hey where’d you go? Karkaaat,” John whined, shifting his body to get a feel for where Karkat was hiding. “Nooo don’t hide on me! And you say I’m the dork…” His hands found and ran through Karkat’s wiry curls, pulling the locks up gently over and over. It was maybe one of the only weak spots Karkat had that he’d let John find out about, and the tiny sigh of pleasure he made only encouraged John to continue.
Karkat felt himself began to fall asleep, the lull of John’s hands guiding him towards unconsciousness. He hummed in content and let out a yawn that John chuckled softly at.
“You’re such a goof ball.”
“Says the…hmm…I’m too tired to try and insult you.”
“Well do you want to crash out here or should I carry you back to the bed your majesty?”
“How about you shut up and let me sleep?”
“Couch it is then.”
The two readjusted their positions, finding one that was comfortable for both. It was probably only nine at night but with the power out and their breathing being the loudest things in the apartment, the couple found themselves drifting off, their arms wrapped loosely around each other. Karkat tucked his head under John’s chin, listening to the steady beat of his heart. He guessed the power outage wasn’t all that bad, and as John began snoring he decided he wouldn’t mind there being another soon.