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WHO: Karkat Vantas and YOU
TONE: light
RATING: PG-13 (for Karkat's mouth mainly)
WHEN: backdated slightly to April 22nd
WHERE: the library
WHAT: Karkat's doing homework and you're invited to bother him
STATUS: ongoing

Eighteen inches for Charms and twelve inches for Care of Magical Creatures. Who the hell set these ridiculous amounts of homework? Oh right, the teachers. If there was one thing about the school that Karkat abhorred more than maybe the lake or how long it took to get to class, it was the homework. Who the hell wrote in inches anyway? He couldn't count on his aunt to give him a good grade in Care just because they were related either which was disappointing but he guessed that was how things went anyway.

He'd been sitting there since after lunch, and he stretched, placing his head on his arms with a huff. This was ridiculous.

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Tavros couldn't help but let out a small laugh, shaking his head lightly. "You shouldn't keep it, uh, just to spite someone," he said, "you should keep it, because you like it!" In Tavros's opinion, he definitely needed to keep it, because it looked really good on him. And he might've been thinking about the little mermaid a little bit, but that was beside the point.

"I think that, it suits you," he added after a seconds pause. Despite his insecurities a few seconds ago, he was starting to feel better already, slowly. He was still sad that he couldn't do anything about it, but he was trying really hard not to think about that.

It didn't help though, when he considered offering to fix it for him if he wanted to actually get rid of it, because he remembered the last time he tried fixing a hex on Karkat. It hadn't ended well. Why was he so bad at trying to do things for people? It was really discouraging. And just like that, he was back to feeling like a failure. "I'm sorry," he murmured suddenly, unable to really keep it from coming out.

He was sorry for being so bad at helping, and also that it had happened in the first place. Because he knew in a way it was his fault, for actually telling Karkat about the dress in the first place, prompting him to try and help, leading to a fight. He wished he was better at keeping secrets, because every time he spilled one, it tended to end badly. It wasn't like he meant to, it just kind of happened. He dreaded what would happen if anyone (aside from Jade) actually found out that he and Karkat were trying to figure things out together. It was the one secret he was trying his hardest to keep, and he was starting to feel terrified of letting Karkat down.

It was probably a good thing he hadn't mentioned what Equius had said then. How the Ravenclaw had even known what kind of insult to fling at him was beyond him, because he was pretty sure they weren't that obvious. Were they? He also dreaded what would happen if anyone found out, particularly because of the ridicule he feared would happen, but also because of Gamzee.

Fuck. He hadn't thought about the taller Slytherin since they'd decided to part ways for a little while. At Tavros's apology, he pursed his lips together, leaning his head down to look the other boy in the face. "What for?"

Tavros let out another sigh, tilting his head down so he didn't have to look Karkat in the face. "That... that this, happened and for... not being able to do anything, about it," he finally murmured after a few seconds of silence. His tone was a mixture of sadness and frustration at himself.

"I'm just, not good at helping people, or keeping secrets, or... anything," he continued, "You and Gamzee are just, so cool and, confident... And I can't do anything, like you can." He was quiet again for a few more seconds, before he finally looked up to Karkat, sad eyes meeting Karkat's. "I just, want to be a good friend."

He blinked a little in surprise before shaking his head. Tavros didn't know how wrong he was. He let his thumb rub the other boy's hand, hesitating again before slipping his hand under Tavros's.

"I'm not cool or confident, man. Hell, I'm not even a good friend most of the time. It probably would've happened sooner or later, because Zahhak just pisses me off. It's just a coincidence that it happened right now."

Tavros shook his head, not believing for a second anything Karkat said. As Karkat's hand slipped under his, he squeezed it without really thinking about it. "That's, not true- that you're not cool or confident. You, definitely are! A lot." To me, he added in his head. "And, it's still my fault. For the whole unicorn thing. I, shouldn't have even told you, about it... Or, actually even wanted to, do it in the first place. Not, with him anyway..."

"He's a douche, and it's not your fault for getting caught up in your ideas." Really, he didn't see anything wrong with it. Karkat ran his free hand through his hair a little, closing his eyes. "It's my fault for even saying anything to him in the first place about it. Maybe if I'd kept my big mouth shut you could've still done it."

Tavros was glad, in a way, that he wasn't going to go in the forest with Equius. He still wanted to, but only to see the unicorns, so that was the only reason he was at all upset about it. He'd tried denying that Equius was so mean, but now he was starting to actually see it firsthand... He didn't want to go with him. He kind of wanted to ask Karkat if he would go instead, just the two of them, but... He didn't have the nerve.

"It's okay," he said, squeezing Karkat's hand again. But this time he realized what he did. And then he realized he was pretty much holding hands with Karkat, and he jerked his hand away, face going red. He hadn't meant to actually do that, but it was startling to realize and he knew they were in the library, and he was just... feeling awkward. "S-sorry!" he said quickly, "I just... uh, I...I dunno..."

Honestly? It was getting pretty late, and Karkat hadn't seen many students around after talking to Gamzee so he was a little surprised when Tavros pulled away, but he let the Hufflepuff do it. They were supposed to be keeping it a secret after all. He raised the hand to scratch his cheek before hunching his shoulders.

"...I'll do it with you if you want," he murmured, hands finding the pockets of his jeans. It kind of didn't seem like a bad idea and honestly he'd been planning on tagging along. He didn't trust Equius, and he'd kind of ruined it for his b--for Tavros, so...it was only fair in his mind.

His stomach did a flip at Karkat's offer- it was like he'd read his mind! Happiness began to rise up inside of him, and a smile spread across his face. "You- I- really?" he asked in surprise. He just... hadn't been expecting it. He knew Karkat had wanted to go with him and Equius, but he also knew that it was just to keep an eye on him. He hadn't thought that Karkat actually wanted to go at all for real.

"Y-You don't, um, have to wear a dress," he added, because that seemed to be one of the biggest dealbreakers for Equius, even though Tavros didn't understand what was so horrible about it. Especially if it was a secret and no one would find out about it. But even then, it had seemed like more than a big deal than it should've. "That was, I guess, a bad idea..."

But it also meant he wasn't going to be able to wear his Peter Pan fairy costume, because he would've felt silly being the only one dressing up. It was okay though, as long as he got to see unicorns...

He actually kind of had wanted to go for real. Keeping an eye on Equius had been the perfect excuse. Karkat slouched a little in his eat, a flush covering his face at the thought of wearing a dress. Kanaya sometimes forced him to help her out by modeling, so there wasn't really much of a difference to him. Though it would...probably be weird.

"It would be kind of weird," he said, but his voice didn't sound scathing at all. His flush grew deeper, something that stood out among the bright red of his hair. "Especially in the Forest. I don't think Kanaya would appreciate one of her dresses getting torn or something." He knew that all that hard work gone to waste would be hard on the Ravenclaw.

He paused, tilting his head. "When's your birthday?"

"Oh... Oh, you're right," he said at Karkat's comment about Kanaya. He hadn't thought about that... the forest wouldn't be good on a dress at all, and he would hate for Kanaya to put so much work into something that would only get ruined. "Yeah... it's a stupid idea," he murmured quietly, and there was a little sadness in his voice.

It took him a second to to realize when Karkat asked him about his birthday, but he looked up at the gryffindor after a moment, "Oh, um... May 5th," he said. "Wait, uh, why?" He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. That was a random thing to be asked.

May 5th. That didn't give him a lot of time to work something out. He blinked a little when Tavros asked what for and smiled secretly to himself, shaking his head. "If I told you it wouldn't be a surprise, would it?"

"Wh- Karkat!" he said, as he realized what Karkat was thinking. No, no, no, he didn't need presents or anything. He didn't really deserve presents! Especially not when he'd been such a bad friend to Karkat. "I- you, you don't have to get me anything!" he said in a hurry, shaking his head. "Really, it's okay! I, don't need or, deserve anything!"

"Shut up. I want to do this so I'm gonna fucking do it." He leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest with a small huff. There was nothing Tavros could say that would deter him from doing something, especially since he'd been such a douche the last month or so.

Tavros folded his arms too, letting out a sigh. "Karkat..." he murmured quietly. He wanted to tell him no, not to get him anything. Because he didn't need anything! All he needed was Karkat's friendship! Heck, he didn't even deserve that. "I..." he murmured, trying to find the best words to use to convey how adamantly he did not want anything.

But he knew Karkat wouldn't listen. Karkat never listened, when he had his mind set on something. Finally Tavros just let out a huff, and stuck his tongue out rebelliously.

The fact that Tavros poked his tongue out made Karkat blink a little bit before he started sniggering. It was just a quiet laugh, but the amusement was plainly there on his face. Leaning forward, the Gryffindor reached out, taking hold of the other boy's tongue between his fingers.

"Aahck!" Tavros let out, try tug his tongue back in, but Karkat's grip was a little too tight and he couldn't pull free. "Kahkatlemmego!" Despite himself, he couldn't help but laugh, though, because this was just so... silly. And he didn't want to be the only one at a disadvantage, so he reached out and took Karkat's nose and held onto it firmly. It wasn't quite the same, but it still felt like a victory to Tavros.

He was expecting maybe the protesting but he didn't expect the other boy to take hold of his nose. Karkat leaned forward into Tavros's hand, teetering on the edge of his seat. He guessed even he could afford to be a teenager instead of an adult sometimes. "You legh me go firth."

Tavros's eyes narrowed slightly, but it was only in a mock attempt at being annoyed and crafty. "Eyoo thtarted ith!" he managed to get out, with a lot of difficulty. "Tho I think that eyoo thould lemme go firtht"

"Abually you sbarbed ib." He attempted to look annoyed but it only ended up making him look silly when he went cross eyed. There was a small moment when it looked as though he was going to fall off his seat, and then it happened, and he found himself face first in Tavros's lap.

Tavros gasped as Karkat fell, and his tongue shot out from between Karkat's fingers and back into his mouth as he jerked from the surprise. His whole body tensed up, because. Faaaces were not meant to go there. But at the same time, he couldn't help but start giggling madly. "Ahaha...K-Karkat, are you alright?" he asked, looking down at Karkat with an amused yet embarrassed look.

Karkat spluttered a little bit before he pushed himself up using the armrests of the wheelchair, lips curling into a pout as he looked up at Tavros. His face felt warm, mostly from landing in the other boy's lap. "Yeah. Fine."

His own laughter at the situation made it easy for him to forget just where Karkat's face had landed, and he giggled even more at Karkat's pouty expression. "Haha...good, I'm glad you weren't hurt." He looked into Karkat's face, and as he noticed how red he looked, it made Tavros's giggles subside and he suddenly felt a little awkward again, as his palms turned sweaty, and his stomach did a weird flipflopping thing.

"...I, uh, really do like your hair," he said in an effort to get his mind off the butterflies in his stomach, and he reached out to touch Karkat's hair again, stroking it softly. Somehow it didn't help the butterflies- what was up with them? Geez.

It felt weird, having someone stroke his hair. Jade and Feferi had been all about getting into his personal space...well, Feferi less so than Jade. But hair stroking had never been something that happened. It just made Karkat's face redder, standing out with the red hair surrounding his face now.

"At least someone does," he murmured, lips quirking a little before he pushed himself away and up a little reluctantly. They were still in a public place after all.

When Karkat pulled away, the realization that he was doing something he probably wasn't supposed to hit Tavros, and he froze with his hand still outstretched. His face was slowly turning even more red, and he bit his lip nervously as he finally withdrew his hand from midair, where he clasped his hands together and started twiddling his thumbs awkwardly in his lap.

Tavros didn't know if he should apologize or not, and he wished that he could just... stop doing things like that, since it seemed to make everything worse. And then there was the voice in the back of his mind telling him that he shouldn't even be doing anything like that with Karkat because he was a boy, and the whole point of figuring things out was to hopefully figure out that he wasn't like that.

But it just wasn't happening, and he was starting to feel frustrating. "Anyone who doesn't, is a jerk..." he murmured softly, trying to just push away all those thoughts he was having. But the conflict probably showed a little in his face, because it wasn't like he was good at hiding his emotions. "S-So...um," but he didn't even know what he was even asking, he was mostly just talking to keep himself from focusing on his thoughts. "Uh..." He let out a frustrated sigh. "I don't, even know what to say, right now."