Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

            It’s a Sunday morning, and you refuse to get out of bed for food, free time, sharing circles, or anything short of a dire emergency.  Somehow you think your babysitters understand this, because apart from checking up on you every hour or so, they leave you alone.  This goes on until well into the afternoon, when Feferi finally takes a seat on the edge of the bed.  She looks even more energized than usual, if that’s even possible.

            “You have a visitor coming tomorrow.”

            You roll over so your back is facing her.  “Not interested.”  Truth be told, you do want to know which one of your “friends” drew the short straw this time.  But if obligation and pity are their only incentives for a visit, you’d rather they stay at home.

            “My cousin’s girlfriend works at the troll hospital.  You know, Sgrub?”  The name stirs pain up inside you, but you mumble an affirmative.  “She says there’s a troll boy there who has similar symptoms to your own.  So we decided to bring him here so that you two could meet!  Isn’t that exciting?”  You tug the scratchy blanket over your head.  Just the thought of talking to a psychotic stranger makes you anxious and fidgety.  Feferi’s frown is almost audible.  “Just give him a chance.  Please?  Who knows; maybe you’ll kelp each other and become good friends!”

            Sitting up, you toss the blanket aside and look her straight in her big blue eyes.  “The last time I had a ‘good friend’, you people fucking took her from me.  So I reiterate.  Not interested.”

            She leaves without another word, but you have a feeling you haven’t heard the end of this.

            Droog hops up onto your bed.  “Maybe it ain’t none of my business, kid, but you ought to at least meet the guy.  Can’t be too bad, knowin’ there’s someone else and you ain’t alone.”

            “I know.  I don’t know.  Ugh…”

            “Think about it, yeah?”

            “Yeah, okay.”

~

            Apparently the park is the ideal place for two deranged children to meet for the first time, because that’s where you find yourself the next morning.  You don’t want to be here, and you are doing everything you can to make it known to your escort without shouting it at her face.

            “Dave, I also do not wish to be in this place, but Ms. Peixes has been very kind to us both, and we should show her some gratitude for that.”  Of all the people in the world to be your escort, why did it have to be the uptight Miss Maryam?  You swear she’s even worse than she was on the meteor, and you wish Rose was still dating her.  She was at least more bearable when your ecto-sis was around.  You agree to sit still, but your arms are crossed so tight that the circulation is nearly cut off.

            Your visitor arrives at last.  You aren’t sure who you were expecting to see, but it certainly wasn’t him.  The familiarity in his eyes is unmistakable, though, and for a moment you are stunned just by the notion that he might recognize you.  He and his shepherd (who you identify immediately as one of the Serkets) approach cautiously.  Even after your escorts give you some space, he seems to be holding something back.

            “Karkat.”  It has been so long since you’ve said his name; you can’t resist.

            The short troll is gaping at you, and you can’t help but notice that his scrubs are also long-sleeved, maybe for the same reason.  For one horrifying minute, you think he’s going to flip his shit and accuse you of insanity for knowing his name.  But he doesn’t.  His head cocks to the side in the same adorable way a confused puppy’s might.  “Dave?”  Your heart flutters, and you can’t help yourself.  You throw your arms around him, only resisting enough that you don’t actually twirl around with him in your arms.  He seems to be in shock for a moment, but he returns the embrace hesitantly.  “You remember me?”

            You pull away just enough to get a look at his face.  “You remember me!”  You want to laugh, scream, cry, dance around, voice a million emotions all at once.  But all you can do right now is hug your best friend.

            And then it hits you.  Of course Karkat would remember!  You remember, Latula remembered, and now Karkat remembers.  Only the knights can remember because only the knights have protected memories.  You aren’t crazy!  You know you aren’t, and knowing is the best feeling in the world, aside from learning that your best friend remembers you.

            Karkat pushes you away suddenly, and you are taken aback.  “This is a trick.  I’m being played, aren’t I?”

            That thought never occurred to you.  “What?  Don’t be stupid.”

            He gets right up in your face.  “Then tell me something only Dave would know.  And by Dave, I mean my Dave.”

            “Okay.  Your favorite song is ‘Wonderwall’, your favorite book is Pride and Prejudice, your favorite movie is the troll version of ‘Hitch’ (the name of which I don’t care to try and remember), you wear a black shirt with a symbol that looks like a sideways 69 and a pair of painfully tacky sweatpants, and even though you act like you don’t give a shit about your friends, you’re actually the most caring guy I know.”

            His hug is crushingly tight now.  “It’s you.”  You can’t help but wonder how the nurses are reacting to this.  As long as you aren’t hurting each other, they don’t have any reason to interfere.

            Now it’s your turn to push him away.  “Jesus christ, is that a snake?”  The slim reptile is winding its way up Karkat’s torso, but he is perfectly calm.  Maybe you’re hallucinating.  Or this is a dream.  That figures.

            “Dave, it’s fine!  It’s just Slick.  Wow, I can’t believe you can see him.”

            “How’sssss it goin’?” the snake hisses at you.

            A certain amphibian finds his way onto your shoulder.  “Slick?”

            “Droog?”

            “Slick.”

            “Droog.”

            Judging by the bewildered expression on Karkat’s face, he is able to see your frog just as you can see his snake.  The two animals scurry off to reminisce, once again leaving you alone with Karkat.  Sort of alone; you’re still being watched.  The two of you sit side-by-side in the grass silently.  There is no need for words.  Just each others' presence is enough.  At any rate, you both need time to let the incredible news sink in.  In the meantime, you are closer to him in every sense of the word than to anyone else on the planet.  Just this once, you are perfectly okay with bro cuddles.