"JOHN YOU'RE ALLERGIC TO PEANUTS."
"oh fuck you got me."
John and Karkat have been talking about foods they avoid.
"ARE YOU FUCKING STUPID OR SOMETHING?"
"uh... maybe i was just hoping you didn't know about that...?"
"OF COURSE I KNOW. I DON'T WANT YOU TO DIE OR ANYTHING."
"oh. well okay then. i guess... thanks."
John smiles.
"I JUST... DON'T TRY HURTING YOURSELF OR ANYTHING, OKAY?"
Karkat appears genuinely concerned.
"what? no! what gave you the impression that i'd do something like that?"
John appears genuinely surprised.
"YOU'D BE SURPRISED IF YOU KNEW WHAT I'D GONE THROUGH. I DON'T WANT TO LOSE ANY MORE OF MY FRIENDS."
John wonders to himself how this conversation has suddenly turned so heavy.
"gosh, i'm so sorry, i didn't know!"
John acts on the impulse to hold Karkat's shoulders and look him in the eyes.
"well i promise, promise, proooooooomise you don't have to worry about that over me!"
Karkat stares back.
"...OKAY THEN. I TRUST YOU."
"i trust you too... c'mere, you!"
John pulls Karkat into a hug.
"WHAT NO WHAT ARE YOU DOING-"
"it's called a hug! surely you trolls know what a hug is!"
"OF COURSE I KNOW WHAT A HUG IS I AM NOT AN IDIOT."
"then what is even the deal, silly!"
"I'M NOT EXACTLY IN A 'HUGGY' MOOD AT THE MOMENT..."
"awww why not?"
John moves to look at Karkat again.
"IT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS."
Sniffle.
"come oooon, tell me what's wrong."
John's voice softens.
"N-NO I DON'T HAVE TO," sniff "SAY IF I DON'T WANNA."
"come on, come here."
John pulls Karkat into a closer hug and pets him.
"WHAT NO DON'T TOUCH ME-"
But then, before he can stop himself, Karkat pulls himself into John's chest sobs. John rests his head on Karkat's as he further wraps himself around.
"it's okay; it's okay."
Karkat holds tightly to John's shirt and lets out fumbled words under his breath.
"ssssssssh, sh-sh-ssssh."
John follows the compulsion to console and plants a kiss between Karkat's horns. Karkat struggles to say something, but his choked sobs turn the words into jibberish in John's shirt.
"hmmmmmmmm?"
John turns his head and gently raises Karkat's face to his ear.
"D-DON'T... LEAVE M-ME..."
"i'm not going anywhere."
This is it, John. It's now or never.
John pulls Karkat into a light kiss, surprising him; but he kisses back, a little harder. His tears continue to stream down his face. John catches the tears in his hands, given how he still holds Karkat's face.
Karkat gives a light moan in response to having his tears wiped, and he presses his tongue against John's teeth to ask for access.
John opens his mouth.
Karkat proceeds to stretch his long tongue into John's mouth, almost choking him. John stops himself from coughing, which causes him to make a sort of half-moan and tighten his grip on Karkat in response. Karkat, feeling the tightness on his face, opens his eyes and sees the somewhat pained expression on John's face. He panicks and begins to withdraw his tongue, but John quickly uses his hands to show reassurance. They stop Karkat from leaving his mouth entirely by wrapping around to the back of his head through his hair and petting his scalp.
Karkat understands, but returns more slowly to avoid hurting John. A soft purring begins in his throat from having the back of his head stroked.
John's sighs slowly turn into groans.
Karkat's hands wander by instinct to John's pants, still purring and now also moaning. John presses himself closer as an invitation, and his hands bury deeper into Karkat hair. Karkat presses himself closer as well, making himself more comfortable, and slowly undoes John's pants.
John finally removes his hands, slowly, to slide them up Karkat's sweater. Karkat pulls them both onto their knees as John's hands remove the sweater of their own will, thus causing a brief break to the kiss.
John stares at Karkat for a moment, giving himself a moment to take in what they both find themselves preparing for.
"...WHAT'S WRONG?"
"what? nothing, i was just taking your sweater off."
John wipes a thumb across Karkat's face, still wet.
"you?"
"WILL YOU GIVE ME A HAND AT REMOVING YOUR TROUSERS?"
Karkat realizes he gave himself the hiccups from crying so hard. John refuses to let on how adorable he finds them while he shifts on his knees, arms around Karkat's shoulders, and lifts his chest to eye-level with Karkat. But Karkat first removes his own pants for John. His hiccups continue to aggravate him.
John gives a sympathetic smile and, after removing his shirt, another kiss to distract him from the hiccups. Karkat then nuzzles his nose against John, purring into his neck. John leans into Karkat as well, having now positioned himself.
His hands wrap around again.
Karkat takes a deep breath, then tells John he can proceed.
John tenses and relaxes, then carefully slides in.
Karkat's breath hitches, and he wraps his legs around John's body.
John cannot stop himself from tensing, as much as he tries to relax again.
His hands are beyond his control.
His everything is beyond control.
John leans further forward to encourage Karkat to lay back, and fails to restrain a long groan.
Karkat kisses John's neck and shares his purring.
John slowly quickens pace with his moans that downright refuse to stop. He presses himself as close as possible to the loudly purring body.
Karkat returns the moans and tenses, pressing his claws deep into John's back. Deep enough to draw blood.
But John barely notices the scratches. His hands run up and down Karkat's sides with a strengthening grip, causing him to squirm slightly.
Until the hands slide further up to his shoulders. They hold their place there for a moment, then glide more gently up his neck over his ears, through his hair, and to his horns.
Karkat's legs squeeze John's body as his own follows the rhythm of John's thrusts.
John strokes through the messy black hair around the before he rubs Karkat's horns.
He breathes heavily and loudly into Karkat's hair.
Karkat lets out a mild whine as well while raking harshly into John's back, as slippery as sweat has rendered it. John feels the additional heat radiate from the accumulating gouges, but they can fucking wait.
Karkat adjusts himself from sinking too far under John.
John releases one of Karkat's horns to instead lick it, while the freed hand traces down his thorax and abdomen to his bone bulge.
Karkat's back arches as he lets out a massive moan.
John releases with an equally loud enunciation.
Karkat bites into John's neck and feels the heavy stream of blood immediately well up around his mouth.
John's groan adds notes of surprise, and his hands close further around their respective captives. He slowly relaxes with a deep sigh of relief.
"i-i... i love you... karkat..."
"MMM... I LOVE YOU T-TOO..."
John further relaxes and slowly pulls away to assess the thoroughly red messes they have made of themselves.
The one hand traces down Karkat's head, down the shoulder and arm to his hand. Their hands lock together, and Karkat gives John a kiss on the cheek. John giggles warmly and moves the kiss back to their mouths, aware but not giving much thought to how he can taste his own blood in Karkat's mouth. His body still shakes intensely with the aftershocks of the excitement. Karkat covers the previous kiss with his hand; John would meet it with his own hand, but that would appear... a rather... messy notion at the moment.
John prolongs the kiss before pulling away with a grin.
"well, now that we've thoroughly made a mess of our selves, how about a nice long soak in the tub in the other room?"
He laughs like a dork.
It is something of a miracle that he can still show so much affection above the intense pain in his back and neck, now that he can pay any real attention to it.
But Karkat can see the pain in his lover's face.
"...I DIDN'T HURT YOU, DID I?"
"huh? oh, it's fine, don't worry about it. come on, let's get all cleaned up."
John kisses him again for reassurance. He stands up over Karkat and pulls him up by the knotted hand so that he stands too. Karkat brings his long tongue back to the bite to clean up some of the red stream. John cannot decide which of several feelings to respond with, so he can only give a slow inhale and stroke Karkat's hand with his thumb.
Karkat, still reaching over to lick the injury he left, takes the lead to the aforementioned hygiene block, and to the tub. John carefully starts the warm stream of water; first with the spray nozzle to give them both a quick rinse-off, taking no time at all to soak the tile floor before Karkat lays a few towels down. John then switches to the fixed faucet as he decides on a bubble bath.
One the tub fills, Karkat looks in for a moment and makes a dramatic dive into the bubbles, drenching John. John laughs excessively in surprise, but then worries that Karkat hit his head and searches through the remaining bubbles.
Karkat finds his way back to John's hands and looks up with eyes full of apologies. John simply giggles again and reaches down to forgive him with his lips before he begins to step in as well.
He leaves the faucet on to fill the tub again.
Damn, he had no idea just how deep this tub is! Practically a jakoozie!
John slowly slips under the bubbles, anticipating how the scratches and the bite will react to the hot water. He finally submerges up to his shoulders with a deep, long sigh. His glasses fog completely over.
Karkat takes on a playful mood as he circles around John in the water, ears perked, with only his eyes and higher above the bubbles. He rubs against John's sides as he swims around, tickling him. John squeaks with laughter and splashes reflexively at his face. Karkat squeaks back and dives under.
He nudges his horns against John's abdomen. John cannot stop laughing and flailing, splashing more bubbles out of the tub, but he finally remembers to stop the flow of water.
Karkat gives raspberries before he takes a swift moment to surface for air and give a quick smooch before submerging again.
John searches the water with his hands to return the smooch, all but blinded by the steam on his lenses.
He finds Karkat's face just below the bubbles and the water, and brings it to his.
Now that John's glasses obstruct his vision more than their absence, he removes them and sets them on a towel somewhere outside the tub.
Karkat finally surfaces again and scoots himself over to John to cuddle with him. He takes a deep breath. John pulls him closer with one arm as he squints and searches for the shampoo bottle with the other.
Somehow, he finds it and grabs it...
...until it slips out of his hand and into the water.
"I'LL GET IT."
Karkat reaches into the water and retrieves it. He hands it to John.
"ahaha, thanks, i can't see anything with all this steam!"
John squirts out a small handful of the multi-berry-smelling stuff and attacks Karkat's hair first, horns included.
"UGH, THIS STUFF SMELLS LIKE SHIT, JOHN."
"no it doesn't, hold still! oh my god!"
Karkat squirms under John's hands and splashes around frantically. John scrubs as deeply into Karkat's scalp and as quickly as he can.
"okay, now you can wash it out!"
Karkat slides under again and rinses it all out as thoroughly as possible. Meanwhile, John squints at the shampoo bottle and does the same for himself.
Karkat resurfaces and makes gagging sounds, pretending to drown.
"karkat, no."
John smiles and teasingly pushes him back with a soapy hand. He dips himself next.
"IT'S NOT MY FAULT THIS SHAMPOO SUCKS."
John bubbles back up.
"i'm sorry, what?"
"I SAID THIS SHAMPOO SUCKS."
"WHAT EVER. it is shampoo and it cleans hair."
Karkat gives a nasty glare before John splashes and tickles him, muttering empty threats under his breath.
But John gives yet another affectionate kiss, at which Karkat cannot resist giggling and kissing back.
So sweet and so warm, they simply melt him like chocolate.
But Karkat eventually seizes the opportunity and leans John toward him.
"buh?"
Now Karkat can look over his shoulder to tend to the gashes he inflicted, and e has every intention to. He reaches around John, delicately tracing each inflamed scratch with his fingers and his eyes.
Such fragile bodies...
"oh, umm. thanks, i mean it's fine but... thanks."
John wraps his arms around Karkat's ribs and lets him do his thing.
"ONCE WE GET OUT, I'LL BANDAGE YOU UP."
Karkat continues to lightly touch the red lines, confirming to himself that they will not need stitches.
John wants to protest, since ascension means that they will heal fast, but he has a strong feeling that it will just make Karkat feel better if he lets him go ahead.
"...okay."
John strokes Karkat's back and nuzzles the corner of his neck in an effort to wipe away any guilt over, really, an accident. Karkat nuzzles John's neck in return, but careful to avoid upsetting the obvious teeth impressions.
A hand rises up to Karkat's face to tell him "it's okay."
With the close cuddles and the warm water, John begins to nod off.
But Karkat notices the drowsiness and slowly carries him out of the tub. He does not want John to fall asleep in the tub where he could slide into the water and potentially drown, even though he could revive. He grabs a towel and gives John a dry-off.
"...huh-what? oh, did i fall asleep?"
"SOMEWHAT. I'LL PATCH YOU UP NOW."
"okay."
Karkat fetches some wraps from a nearby drawer.
"oh, where did my glasses go? i can barely see anything..."
John tries to keep his eyes open. Karkat finds the glasses near the side of the tub and puts them on John's face.
He then proceeds to wrap over the gashes, going over the shoulder and its bite mark twice, while John wraps his arms back around Karkat, around the waist this time, and smiles sleepily. Karkat smiles back and finishes, then steps away for a minute to find them both some fresh clothing.
John slouches happily against the wall while he waits.
Karkat returns with fresh clothing for them both, and helps John into his before he dresses himself. John runs his hands through Karkat's damp hair and presses his mouth to Karkat's neck with a whispered request.
"WHAT DO YOU NEED?"
"will you go to sleep with me?"
John's hands make a scarf around Karkat's neck.
"OF COURSE."
Karkat pecks John's head gently and helps him onto his feet, leading them to Karkat's own respite block. John glides under the blankets like a feather with one hand holding Karkat's. Karkat slides in next to him and cuddles closely with a soft purr.
John tucks his face under Karkat's chin.
"i love you."
"I LOVE YOU TOO."