Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

You are still Karkat.

You are awoken by a Converse shoe meeting your ribs, barely protected by your clothes.

“Wake up, fairy.”

It’s Vriska. She looks like she just woke up herself, with a very cheery John beside her. His hair is messy, his glasses slightly crooked. He looks even happier to be alive. Weird.

“Vriska? What time is it?” you mumble, holding your hand over your face to block out the blinding sun.

“Half past seven. How’d you even get out here?” She laughs, scanning the imprint of your body in the soft snow.

You blink, realizing you didn’t make it back inside. Somehow, you’re not dead out in the cold. Your head is pounding with an ache that makes you feel concussed. As you push yourself out of the snow, you remember the van—Dave on top of Terezi. The thought makes you gag. You firmly hold your hand over your mouth, just in case you actually barf from the disgusting scene that keeps torturing you.

You trail sluggishly behind Vriska and John. John looks like he wants to be attached to her by the hip. Okay, something’s definitely going on between those two—and it makes you feel even more sick. Gross.

Rolling your eyes, you step inside Sollux’s house, having picked up your shoe from the yard. Rose and Kanaya had slept upstairs in the living room, already awake before everyone else. John joins them in the kitchen with whatever they’re doing. Vriska disappears.

You start thinking about everyone else. Sollux and Aradia obviously slept in his room, no mystery there. John and Vriska? Who knows. But what really gnaws at your mind is Terezi and Dave. How long had this been going on? Was it just a drunken mistake?

Descending into the basement, you make sure Dave and Terezi—who are sitting next to the pool table with juice boxes—don’t notice you. You sink into the couch, fiddling with your thumbs to distract yourself.

But how could you forget the image of them casually going at it right next to your drums? It pierces your heart every time the memory resurfaces.

Not long after, Sollux comes downstairs in a Transformers tee and what you assume are a pair of Aradia’s shorts. He plops next to you on the couch, holding a piece of paper.

“Hey, KK, check this out,” he says, handing it to you.

You grab it. At the top it reads: Homestuck Album Ideas. A list of potential song names fills the page. Presumably, this is what he’s calling the stuff you’ve been playing. To you, it all sounds stupid.

“Wow, Sollux. If I wasn’t so hungover, I’d tell whatever preschooler decided one of our songs should be called Spider-Man that it’s the dumbest shit I’ve ever heard, and I’m not playing it again.” You groan, handing the paper back.

“Jeez, man, who pissed in your Cheerios?” He looks offended—but honestly, you would’ve reacted the same way to that name, maybe just less harsh.

“Sorry. Rough night.” You rub your temple.

“It’s okay. I saw you leave but got too caught up in something to check on you. Sorry, dude.” He gives you what might be sympathy. Hard to tell.

Your conversation is cut short when Vriska thunders down the stairs, holding a shiny wrapper.

“Who fucked in the van?” she demands. “I went out there looking for John’s lyric book, but I found evidence of you freaks getting it on. Who was it?”

Dave looks guiltier than OJ. The image of him with Terezi flashes through your mind again, making you miserable.

Vriska notices the fear in your eyes when you glance at Dave. She smirks. “Karkatttt, was it you and Dave?” She laughs, tossing the wrapper before slamming herself onto the couch with you and Sollux.

The wave of embarrassment hits you hard, then fades.

Soon after, John comes downstairs with Rose and Kanaya behind him, carrying plates and cups. They’ve made breakfast and coffee. Kind of them, you guess.

You pick up a plate of eggs and what you assume is bacon John definitely overcooked, and take a bite. Gross. But not the worst thing you’ve ever eaten.

You sigh into your plate, wishing the day would end faster. You can feel Dave’s nervous gaze stabbing into the back of your head.

But you keep eating your breakfast anyway, already planning to arrange a ride home with Vriska and John.