SOY: this year's Nanowrimo has this fanfic as one of its projects, so you can count on another update by the end of the month. I hope you like this fic, and again, if you find yourself annoyed at the lack of colour in the pesterlogs, please head over to AO3.

…–…–…–…–…–…

Rating: Mature for themes and later content.

Warnings: the link Dave gives Karkat is an actual cat vid on tumblr, hehe.

Disclaimer: I don't own HomeStuck.

…–…–…–…–…–…

Phantom Limb

Chapter 06

It was a particularly sunny day, the morning quickly changing to noon, and the people still out in the streets were hurrying to get away from the sun.

The air was growing hotter, and with no clouds in sight the light was almost blinding.

Terezi, who had been dead for a while already and could not really feel the warmth of the sun, tilted her head up with a disdainful sniff and slowly levitated towards a small shop in the corner, where the ample red curtain angling above the entrance provided a semi-decent protection from the annoying light.

Mouth hanging open, she kept her attention idly focused on the passers-by, following them as they walked by the shop.

The bland taste filtering through the veil never stopped her from wanting more, and today she was feeling pretty good, for being dead. The living were always interesting.

Even in her state as a ghostly spirit, Terezi still had a range of emotions she could feel, though something had indeed changed since her passing; emotions passed through her like she was an empty container, they came abruptly to her and left just as quickly, so she could still feel anger, or sadness, but they did not usually linger for too long. The only one that was almost always present was her worry for Karkat, and she guessed that was her particular grief that tied her to this plane, or something.

Because of this, the giddiness she felt at the moment was so acute it made her almost jittery, threatening to make the world around her seem even blurrier than it already was, but at least this giddiness was definitely better than some of her gloomier bouts.

The reason for this particular rush of happiness was simple, and she was reassured of the fact every time she turned around, seeking someone who was not here –she had left Karkat on his own for the first time ever, or at least, for the first time of her own volition.

Resolute to take Aradia's suggestion, Terezi had decided to let her anchor behind and explore a bit.

The convoluted tangle of their one-sided relationship was mostly what had pushed Terezi into this action, especially considering how both of them needed some time alone… even though Karkat was never aware he had company all the time. But it was, sadly, needed. Terezi did not want to think about a time when she would not be there with him, but that time was going to come and Terezi… she did not want to linger around forever. It was not fair. She wasn't there because of an obsession, or because of a curse. She was just worried, but once that was done, once Karkat was on his way to be happy again, she could also move on.

It was her decision to stay behind and see things through, because she cared for her matesprit enough to want to postpone her own resolution. For a bit, at least.

And… she had the feeling that Karkat had just taken the first step down the road of recovery, and the thought was also part of why she wanted out.

Aradia's words –would she be ok if Karkat did move on?– echoed through her mind, taking an almost physical form, and he pushed them away, holding onto her cane with all the determination of the young Legislacerator she had been.

It wasn't a good thought, even for a ghost, to mourn for things like that, but… nobody wants to be left behind, not even if it is for the best.

She needed to build up for her own continuation too.

One of the first things Terezi realised, once lost within the streets of the city, was that it was a very different experience when she was not focused on a single mortal.

Her surroundings seemed to blend and then rush forwards around her if she stopped paying attention, and if her focus shifted on something –like maybe the trace of a particular smell, a vague scent or colour– she found she'd moved without floating, like distances didn't matter if there wasn't a human at her side to make them real.

This was why she had to stop often, forbidding herself to drift away without noticing –really, a prosecutor had to be attentive all the time, least lose an important clue– until she was ready to move again.

When she found herself in front of the Tea shop Aradia worked at, her primary stop, Terezi was surprised to see that it had taken her barely half an hour to get there, despite all her breaks.

The thought should have scared her, but it didn't.

She shimmered through the window pane and glanced around but much to her disappointment she could not see Aradia inside. The barman was still the same –blueblood, tall and grim– but there was another waiter there, cleaning the tables.

Lost for a moment, Terezi let her thoughts astray, then moved out of the tea shop and focused on a troll that was walking down the roads, heading left. If she allowed herself to travel without a fixed point, she would get truly lost, but Terezi wanted to stick to this part of the city, at least for now, so she needed an anchor.

Holding her attention to someone who was not Karkat was not easy, as she was used to him, to the way he moved, his personal signature and faint smell; following a person she wasn't familiar with meant having to focus more than she had expected, and as such her attention on her surroundings wavered.

The troll only walked for a little bit, turning around a corner at the end of the road, and Terezi blinked, noticing there was a garden behind a tall metallic fence. Deciding to stop there, Terezi parted ways with the troll and floated inside the communal garden.

The trees offered a cool shade on the path across the garden, spreading further inside, and Terezi smiled to herself, following the path and keeping away from the sunny patches.

She didn't really have a destination in mind –though she remembered Aradia saying there were other spirits in town, and that she could find them if she paid attention– so it was easy to just let herself float by.

The garden didn't have many visitors at this time of the day, just some human mothers with their children and even a couple small lusii with their grubs, and Terezi observed them for a while before turning her attention on the ponds, some with ducks, some with fish inside.

It was pleasant, and for a moment Terezi allowed her mind to leave Karkat behind. Oh, it was easy –even though her reason to stay was him, it was so easy to push him out of her mind for a bit. She could do that with frightening ease, even going as far as to ignore her past life, and her living friends, and forget them all. It was almost unfair since this detached attitude was linked with being a ghost, living Terezi had never cut ties with her friends or her matesprit.

They had always been important to her, and now even though Karkat was the reason she was still around, even he could be pushed to the back of her mind if she was not wary.

Unfortunately, Terezi was no more part of the living, and she was different, and she had no guilt for the way her thoughts could so easily focus on other things unless she willed them to.

There was a vibration in the air, and that alerted Terezi that her moment of peace was being disturbed by something.

It was like a slow exhale, only it happened to the air around her, making her sneeze. When she opened her eyes again, someone was sitting on the bench under her.

Eyes wide open, she immediately parted her lips to taste the faint smell of the living, but was instead surprised by a wave of different scents assaulting her senses, just as strong as they had been while she had been alive; one was that of carved wood and lacquer, another was that of white plastic hair, something familiar that enveloped her entirely, then the smell of liquorice sticks and gunpowder.

The figure was small, would have looked like a kid if not for the fact that it was not a human, nor a troll. The skin was completely black, like polished plastic, but not plastic at all, and the eyes were white without pupils or irises, relatively small compared to the shape of the head. Terezi observed the creature, surprise holding her still, sniffing so many details that she was momentarily overwhelmed.

Finally, the assault of smells lessened, and Terezi shook herself out of her trance, lowering down to the bench slowly so not to scare the person away.

White eyes moved to look at her, obviously seeing her, and a small smile appeared on the creature's face, a wrinkle in whatever that polished skin was.

"What… who are you?" curiosity taking the best of her, Terezi hovered inches from the ground, observing the weird creature. It was wearing some sort of purple-ish clothes, but they were partially covered with what looked like yellow police tape, so the details all came out like a blurred mashup of colours to her.

'AR,' he replied, though there wasn't really a voice. He looked away from her, focusing on the pond in front of the bench and observing the ripples in the water.

One duck, attracted by a small insect on the grass, waddled their way, and AR's eyes followed it.

Terezi considered the two-letter word for a second –where those the initials of his name? Was it a foreign name? What creature was it? She had never seen anything like it, at least not on Earth. She wondered if this 'AR' belonged somewhere in space, one of the many beings inhabiting their galaxy that neither trolls nor humans were familiar with.

Earth wasn't exactly an open port for intergalactic diplomacy, as it barely allowed humans and trolls to live together, especially as trolls were not genetically Earth's children. The Troll Empire reached out to planets far away, colonizing them through the universe, leaving behind some of its children to grow and continue to expand further. Humans had barely started moving to the closest planets in their system when the first motherships from the trolls had found them, and at first communications had been tense and worrisome for both races, but in the end they had managed to settle differences, even if slowly, and in the following fifty years both species had thrived together.

Humans had used troll technology to reach out of the Milky Way, and trolls had gained a growing ally in their travels, and even if things were still bumpy on the road, they were getting there.

Still, that did not mean the two species were the only ones travelling through space, it only meant it was rare for other races to reach Earth as opposed to any of the other planets that were more open to alien encounters. Having otherworldly tourists station on Earth sometimes wasn't unheard of, just very rare.

But this creature, this AR, was closer to Terezi than he was to Karkat, or Dave, or even Aradia. He was not alive anymore, just like her. A spirit.

"AR, ok," she smiled, surprised but gleeful at the meeting. "Do you haunt this place?"

AR's eyes returned to her, wide and surprised, and he quickly shook his head, looking frantic in his attempt to dispel her words.

"Ok, no haunting then, too bad!" she cackled at his affronted face. "Don't look at me like that, haunting doesn't mean anything bad! I am the personal haunting presence of a dear friend of mine!"

AR shied away from her a bit, and she couldn't restrain another amused chuckle.

"Don't worry, little guy, I just waiting for him to start living again. His distasteful stubbornness is just like a pickle covered in honey!" she made a wide motion with her arm, exaggerated enough that it seemed to relax her companion a bit. "But I guess I do make a good impression if he's unable to forget about me, isn't it?"

Wrinkling the space where his nose should have been, had he been a human (or a troll), AR made a soft, whiffy sound, accepting Terezi's casual joke.

'Waiting,' he finally answered Terezi's question. 'I'm waiting for someone'.

Terezi perked up at the thought of seeing more of AR's companions, perhaps of the same species even; she smiled, tapping her cane against the ground and striking an expectant pose. "If they're coming soon, I could hang around a bit to greet them, wouldn't that be nice?"

AR shook his head minutely, a small smile on his face. 'No,' he replied, a fluttery feeling that felt like smelling freshly cut grass. 'Not coming yet'.

Terezi wasn't sure what that meant exactly, but then her senses zeroed on something AR was holding on his lap–a small, wooden judge hammer with fading edges, perfectly painted and glossy. He was fumbling slightly with it, almost an unconscious motion, squeezing his small claw-like hands around it.

That was such a pleasant surprise that she bounced up on her feet, twirling around and staring down at the surprised face of AR with a wide, honest smirk. "Your Honour!" she gasped out, covering her mouth with one hand in mock-surprise. "It seems we might have a lot more in common than I first thought! I hope you don't mind if I stick around some more now, do you?"

AR looked at her sharply, then down at the little hammer he was holding, and his eyes widened almost comically, his face breaking into an excited smile.

Oh, it looked like he didn't mind in the least.

Mondays were, for Karkat, a by-product of hell.

He had never wavered from this conviction, as he'd collected enough proof during his earlier years to last for at least a lifetime more, and every start of a new week only rekindled the feeling, like a never ending cycle of loathing and despair.

The fact that on this particular Monday morning he didn't feel like burning down a building, and instead felt almost ok with getting out of his recuperacoon and into the street, was possibly a first for him… and if he remained true to himself, also the only exception to the rule.

The reason for this weird uplifting mood was to be found in the past weekend, spent reconnecting with one of his best friends, not to mention in the long cam-conversation with his moirail that followed that. He had been feeling disconnected from him for a while, both because of his own reluctance to talk about Terezi and because his moirail, due to his shade of blood, had been stationed on a facility orbiting Earth for the past perigee and a half, where he was being instructed by his peers; Karkat had been unable to admit that there was a problem between them… until now.

Karkat was still fond of him, and definitely still felt pale for him, but the distance was straining their moiraillegiance and Karkat's own attitude wasn't making it any easier to mend things up, but with his new attempt at being proactive, Karkat was hoping that during his next leave Gamzee and himself would be able to reconnect, and maybe start to fix things.

Considering Gamzee had another quadrant filled, Karkat had often pushed him to spend time with his Auspistice, but this time would be different, and he had requested him to come down on earth so they would talk. He had not wanted to sour his moirail's off-time with his own fluctuating moods, but now… with things between them the way they were, he had been honest, and told Gamzee they needed to talk.

Gamzee had been more than appreciative, in his clumsy way –it was obvious he had been worried, but wasn't sure how to start working around that with the distance between them, and had promised him they would talk.

While the idea of facing his moirail sent a thrill of worried apprehension down Karkat's back, he knew this was the right thing to do, and he marked down the day on his agenda. Just two weeks left.

With that settled, the rest of his weekend had been… quiet, Karkat settling back down into his usual routine as a way to gather some energy back from his self-imposed socialization. It wouldn't do to force himself too much, because Karkat knew himself and he knew it would only make him revert back.

Coming Monday, he found himself looking forwards to his usual visit at Dave's workplace, both for the pastries and for his friend's presence, as Dave had been completely absent on trollian during the weekend.

He didn't quite 'rush' to Crocker's Pastries, but his pace was faster than normal, and it resulted in him arriving at the shop with a few minutes to spare compared to the previous days, peeking from the glass window to see where Dave was.

Terezi floated behind him, cracking her neck and pushing her head through the glass pane to take a hopeful sniff, and both were quite disappointed when they could not find Dave anywhere inside. Instead of seeing his familiar blond hair at the counter, Karkat noticed his friend John standing there, looking somewhat disgruntled as he served an old lady some croissants.

Karkat frowned a bit, almost expecting to see Dave pop up from behind the backdoor, then pushed the door open and entered the shop, breathing in the now familiar aroma of sweets and freshly baked goods.

John turned to look at him, and there was a sparkle of recognition on his face as he waved at him. "Hey! Nice to see you!"

Karkat automatically looked down at the pastries on display, and pointed at the usual one with a finger, feeling somewhat awkward. "Hey," he replied half-heartedly.

He had only talked with John a couple times, really, and one of those he had been discussing his dubious tastes in movies while at Dave's house. All he remembered about him was his love for muscly actors and action movies, and that was it. Not exactly enough to hold a casual conversation with him, by any means.

He watched in silence as John fumbled with his pastry, having it slip twice out of his tongs before he finally put it inside a bag and handed it to him with a sheepish smile. Karkat snorted and paid, still not sure what to say; John on his own had absolutely no trouble holding a small conversation though, because he started to chat about the weather, how it was getting colder, then about college, prompting Karkat to answer with monosyllables, impressed with John's chatty attitude.

It was only when John made a casual joke about Professor Lodge getting close to his second leave of absence for the month that things clicked inside Karkat's mind, and he finally recognised John as the one helpful student that had alerted him of Lodge's erratic lesson plans on the day he'd met Dave.

That was really embarrassing, because John was quite unique and not one to easily disappear in the background, but Karkat wasn't a people-troll, and he didn't really pay attention to faces unless he absolutely had to. Still, John did not seem to even notice Karkat's sudden epiphany, so maybe it was better like that, without him embarrassing himself further.

Nodding along with the joke, Karkat felt some of his reservations about John dispel and he asked him about his own classes, feeling pacified with the established link; since the shop only had another client other than Karkat, and the woman was now busy perusing the displayed selection of bread, Karkat felt he could spend a couple minutes to make up for his horrible memory.

"Things are going ok, just the same ol' boring shit," John shrugged, but seemed cheery despite his words. "Having trouble finding a job, bet you get me, huh?"

Karkat nodded, grimacing. While his scarce finances were properly administrated and he wouldn't go hungry anytime soon, having some sort of income would make him able to indulge sometimes. Unfortunately, not many places hired nowadays, especially students with no experience. Same old, same old.

"Aren't you working here?" he had to ask though, moving to the side of the counter so the woman could finally purchase her bread.

John lost a few minutes catering to the client, shuffling around obediently and bagging her selection before cashing her money and waving her out of the door. When he was done, he returned his attention to Karkat, and shook his head.

"Nah, I'm just substituting for Dave. Don't get me wrong, this extra money's useful, but I'd rather work anywhere else but here. Unfortunately, Dave really needed some help, so…" he trailed off, noticing Karkat's confused frown, and his eyes widened. "Oh, of course! You don't know!"

John's entire demeanour changed to one of unadulterated glee, so much that Karkat was left baffled at the sudden switch.

"Wait, did something happen to Dave?" Karkat felt the beginning of a worry knot inside his stomach, but John's amused attitude soothed the worry before it fully formed. As his friend, he wouldn't laugh if some serious misfortune had happened to Dave, right?

"Weeeeeeeell…" John motioned for him to scoot closer, as if wanting to share a juicy secret.

Karkat snorted, but did inch closer to listen, and unbeknownst to both, Terezi also leaned in, just as curious and with an expectant grin.

"You see, this weekend Dave n' 'radia went out for one of their usual exclusive field trips…" at Karkat's resurfacing confusion, John waved his hand. "They just go dig stuff from dirty places, it's as boring as it sounds. Icky," he rolled his eyes, then continued, "As I was saying they were gone to have one of their icky boring weekends out, and well, Dave got too excited for what ended up being plastic forks peeking from a muddy slide, and… well, to be faithful to Aradia's tale, he rolled down a slide like he was born for that, then slipped right at the bottom and broke his arm".

Well, John's words were sure to make Karkat react, since he wasn't expecting that at all. He backed away, concern replacing his worry, but all he got for his obvious distress was a small snort from a very nonchalant John.

"He's fine, he's fine," he said, downplaying the situation in a way that made Karkat stare at him with a perplexed frown. "Dave's used to broken bones. He got up like it was nothing and was actually disappointed when there was no undiscovered skeleton waiting for him, so they had to cut their trip short," he shrugged, unimpressed. "Long story short, he's not allowed to work here at the bakery for at least a week, and even if I don't want to be here, friends obligations made me reconsider. Alas, the money's appreciated, you know?"

With that, John straightened his back and wiped his hands on his apron.

So far, Karkat's thoughts on John had been positive. He was a cheerful fellow, even if his taste in movies was a bit lacking, but now he was starting to wonder if he wasn't a bit of an asshole or something. What friend took the news of broken bones so nonchalantly? Well, maybe one used to it, and Karkat had the feeling that in a similar situation, Sollux would behave probably the same, downplaying the situation because, after all, it was 'just a broken arm', while Karkat would flail around like a fishbeast out of water.

Realising he would run late if he stayed any longer, Karkat fidgeted and looked towards the front door. With Dave, he'd never had to mention he needed to get going, because Dave seemed to know exactly how long Karkat could stay, and always seemed to know when to cut the idle chat, but with John it was different, and even though he did not want to be late, Karkat also did not want to seem uncouth.

"I have to go, or I'll miss the start of the lesson," he told John, who nodded and made a shooing motion.

"Yeah, keep up that perfect attending score mister!" he replied with a smirk, then hesitated. "Maybe afterwards you can go see Dave, if you have time. I'm sure he'd like that".

Karkat blinked and nodded absently, and John's face split into a smile. "Perfect! I'll tell him you're going after class then!"

Spluttering slightly but not having enough time to take back his assent, Karkat left the shop and hurried down the road, hoping he would get there in time to pick a good seat.

He had been caught by John's suggestion without being able to say no, but he didn't mind going to see Dave after class… he was a bit worried for him, and at least this way he would see the extent of his injury and see if he could do anything to help, he was just a bit sour because he had thought about going on his own, but now it would seem like it was John's idea, and that… made it seem a little less genuine.

Damn it.

Behind him, following him as usual with a slower pace, Terezi smiled to herself, and idly wondered if Karkat remembered where Dave's house was.

Finding Dave's apartment, contrarily to his expectations, seemed to prove to be difficult.

Karkat had visited only once, but he had thought that finding his way back there would not be too hard, even if he hadn't been paying attention to the way there last time.

Back then he had been so busy discussing movies with John that he hadn't thought to look around and locate landmarks, and of course he had totally forgotten to ask John for an address, and Dave hadn't been online either, so he couldn't have asked him during class.

The situation wasn't entirely helpless, because if push came to shove, Karkat could just as easily return home and declare the mission a failure, but he did not like the idea, so unless it was necessary, he would keep looking around.

Dave's neighbourhood was nice, though –a far cry from where Karkat lived, a more secluded area with only a few hives here and there, mostly belonging to trolls; this was a human neighbourhood, with only a communal building that looked like it could host trolls just as well, and the houses were tidy and neat, but lacked the garden space that most troll hives had.

It was expected, as humans did not need to accommodate much in terms of space, definitely no lusus, but in case of college buildings, the gardens were reduced in size in order to fit more hives in the same lots, so to save up space.

Karkat's hive was cheap for the price he'd been asked, and he was thankful for all the help that having a highblood moirail offered him, because without him, the rent would have been doubled even if he was living there on his own rather than with his matesprit.

As he searched around the street for something he recognised, Karkat idly wondered whether Gamzee would agree to share the living space, in case his job with the Empire didn't pan out the way he wanted it to.

Gamzee was not a naturally violent troll; his belligerent instincts were seemingly absent, and it wasn't because of his childhood consumption of sopor in form of pies, but simply because there was a switch inside his brain that was always off, no matter what. His superiors had tried more than once to switch it on for their own devices, but nothing had worked. Gamzee had remained the same placid, vacant asshole Karkat pitied dearly, and he was grateful for that.

With a career as a violent highblood precluded to him, Gamzee had been recruited for more menial tasks, and he spent most of his time learning his future duties away from Earth, probably because his superiors had still yet to give up on him.

He had seemed so promising, but he had failed to perform the way they wanted him to, and the rules in place prevented them from culling him right away. His blood was important enough as it was.

Thinking about Gamzee coming to live with him was just wishful thinking, though. Karkat honestly expected Gamzee to find himself a matesprit at one point, and then perhaps go live with them… and he honestly did not expect their relationship to come out intact from the serious conversation due in two weeks anyway.

They'd have to wait and see.

Karkat was busy pondering over that when he heard a voice call his name, and he shook himself out of his thoughts, glancing around until he located the person trying to catch his attention.

He recognised the building right away, and looked up to see Dave waving at him from the second floor.

"Oi Karkat! The door's open, come up!"

Relieved to see he'd gotten there without getting lost, Karkat used the stairs and reached the correct floor in less than a couple minutes, finding Dave waiting for him in front of his apartment door.

There was a sling around his neck securing his arm in a plaster, and he was amused to see that the cast was a bright pink colour.

"Trying to set a new fashion?" he said first thing as he approached his friend, and Dave sneered at him.

"I don't have to create new fads, I am the fad".

"Sure, keep telling yourself that".

Dave led him inside, and had him sit down on the couch as he moved to the kitchen. Karkat scrambled to follow him when he realised Dave was planning to get him a drink, and forced his friend to sit down instead while he fixed himself a simple glass of water, glaring at Dave until he stopped fidgeting.

"It's going to be fine, it's not my first broken bone," the casual tone made Karkat feel a vague annoyance. "It itches but it doesn't hurt and I know how to work around it".

"Last time I heard, humans don't heal overnight," Karkat replied in kind, looking as annoyed as he felt.

"Special case," Dave snickered, but then gave up, lifting one hand in surrender. "Don't worry Karkat, Ara's taking good care of me. She's gone now for work, but she promised to get dinner when she's back".

Karkat grudgingly backed down at the mention of Dave's moirail, but not pacified with his nonchalance he decided to stick around for a while, just a couple hours at most. After all, Dave was spending time by himself, and Karkat had nothing else to do.

"Man, I'm glad you decided to come though I wasn't sure you'd remember where my house was. John texted me a while ago to let me know, I hope he didn't pressure you into coming here," Dave patted the sofa at his side with his healthy hand, then stood up and moved to a corner of the room, rummaging through a box of stuff until he found what he was looking for. "He's an asshole but he covered for my shift, so he can't come to entertain me, and didn't want to let me die here in complete isolation or some shit".

Dave turned around, flashing Karkat a smile, and Karkat snorted in amusement. He guessed Dave had some good friends.

"Hey, I'd suggest us to play a game but," he nudged his cast with a sheepish look. "Do you want to sign it? I have a lot of sharpies in the other room so c'mon! Give me a hand, oh you strong, buff knight of mine".

Karkat snorted but followed Dave to the other room. He had a vague recollection of coming here, but he hadn't wanted to pry much the first time, so he glanced around curiously at all the knick-knacks Dave had scattered around the shelves.

There was a collection of what looked like rocks on a polished wooden dresser in the corridor, but at a closer inspection Karkat realised they were actually fossilized plants and even a nautilus ammonite one, pretty well preserved.

"Found those myself," Dave looked pretty proud of himself as he noticed what Karkat was looking at. "Don't get me wrong, I'm holding out for something bigger than these small things, but I was eight when I found that one," he pointed at what looked like a six-leaf stem impressed into a small slate. "It was the first time I'd seen this kind of shit and I felt so proud of it".

Karkat tried to picture Dave at that age, but the mental image was ruined by the fact that all he could picture in his mind was a replica of today Dave, only with way bigger shades slipping down the bridge of his nose… maybe thinner and scrawnier, too.

There were three doors in the corridor, all close, and Karkat had to marvel at the size of Dave's house once again. His own was big, but that was because he had plans to live with someone which had gone unrealised, but…

"Did you say you used to live here with your familial bond?" he asked, glancing at the pictures on the wall.

"Yeah, my bro Dirk," Dave answered, pointing at a particular photo in a frame next to the bathroom door. "This guy here is his boyfriend. They're living together now, but have had a couple problems in the past and he's returned here once last year for a couple months before giving it another go," he shrugged.

The guy in the picture looked like a carbon copy of Dave but with a wider jaw and darker hair, not to mention a pair of weirdly pointed shades. "Is that a family thing?" he had to ask. "Your brother looks even worse than you do. What's with that?"

"Irony, man," Dave said, mock-serious. "Had a pair myself, but John apparently set out on a personal war against them and saved up money until he could buy me these babies I'm wearing now".

Karkat sent out a grateful thought towards John, because he wouldn't have taken Dave seriously at all with a pair of shitty cartoon-y shades on, not even a bit.

There was another photograph on the wall, and this one had four people in it.

Karkat observed it curiously, because it looked like this was all of Dave's family, and it didn't strike him as strange that there was no adult present in it until he remembered that humans did not have lusii to take care of them, nor benefactors set through organizations like Karkat had when growing up.

One of the four people was, obviously, Dave, but Karkat had some trouble distinguishing him from his brother considering they were both younger in the pic, around maybe four sweeps old, and both were wearing the same pointed shades. Karkat had to restrain an undignified snort at that. The other two people were both girls, skin a shade darker than Dave and much to Karkat's relief, neither wore shades.

"That one's Rose," Dave pointed at the one with a black cat in her arms. "She's my twin. The other one is Roxy".

"You have a twin?" Karkat examined the photography with wide eyes, as genetic setups like that were exclusive to mammals, not trolls. "Where is she now?"

"Studying in New York, living the life in the Big Apple," Dave pushed the door at the end of the corridor open, and Karkat peeked inside, curious. "Up there man, the sharpies are in the boxy over the shelf".

Dave's room was probably the most interesting part of the house, and Karkat stopped right in the middle to take a good look at everything.

There were mixers and other music-related setup scattered everywhere, with a big amplifier in a corner of the room next to the biggest stereo system Karkat had ever seen.

"Should have known you would be into that shit, Strider," he commented, noticing how the walls were padded to ensure there was no noise escaping the room.

Dave's smile was wide and genuine, and Karkat directed his attention to the shelf, filled with CDs (who even used CDs anymore?) and random books, and of course the box Dave had mentioned, right on top of everything else.

Karkat reached out and pulled the box off the shelf, encountering no problem whatsoever, and discovered a small mine of colourful sharpies inside, together with other tools of the trade, plus what looked like a library ID. The photo on it could only ever be described as ironic, because otherwise it would only qualify as possibly the worst picture ever taken for an ID card, with Dave looking like he was in the middle of a sneezing fit.

"Didn't strike you as a library kid, Dave," he waved the card under Dave's nose, making him squeak.

"My ID! I had to issue another copy since I had lost mine! Shit, now this one's pretty much useless…" there was a flush on his cheeks, clearly because of the state of his picture, and Karkat chuckled, poking him.

"C'mon, Mr. Photogenic, let's make an art piece of this crappy cast of yours".

"I'll let you know my selfies are always top tier quality," Dave sniffed in reply, and they both left the bedroom to return to the sitting room.

Despite his determination to stick around only for a couple hours, by the time Aradia finished her shift Karkat was still with Dave.

They had spent at least one hour squabbling over what to draw on Dave's cast, because Dave wanted something that would look like a statement but did not want to do any work on it himself, citing irony as his reason while Karkat called him out of it, then Karkat had started to write in Alternian on the corner, until Dave had grabbed his hand and tried to get him to draw pretty little penises all over the rest of the arm, despite Karkat trying to tug his hand away.

After this silly game of Penis Ouija Board, and Dave's pink cast properly covered in Karkat's scratchy scrawls, they had moved on to greener pastures and started a marathon of a troll TV–series on Dave's computer, much to Karkat's pleasure.

Most of the nuances of troll romance were somewhat lost on Dave, especially those related to blackrom, but it seemed Dave was an avid fan of pale relationships, because he seemed to catch those instantly, and it was almost endearing to watch him rant about them, and how over the top most of this drama was.

Karkat was left wondering, more than once, about Dave's relationship with Aradia, and how the two had bonded like that, but he refused to ask about it, feeling like it would be too personal to know.

"Blackrom is a bit too much for me," Dave stated after a particularly vicious ploy from one of the main antagonists backfired on him on screen. "Had a guy try to engage me in one once… he was in my lit class, dabbed with mixing tapes like me you see… shit turned nasty because I didn't even think he was coming onto me until he tried to kiss me after class," Dave awkwardly tugged one edge of his shirt up, revealing a small scar on his side. "Beat the shit out of him because he thought I was playing hard to get, forced him to apologize and asked to move classes… a shame, I liked the course".

Karkat whistled. He hadn't had a chance to peruse his own black slow, and all the people he met didn't quite seem up for the challenge, but he knew that trying to engage a human like that was against the rules. He said so, feeling angry on behalf of his new friend, but Dave simply shrugged.

"Shit happens, really".

Karkat was about to say something, when Dave's phone started ringing, and Dave fumbled with it.

"Yo".

Karkat watched Dave's face melt a bit, and knew instantly that there was Aradia on the other side of the phone. What he didn't expect was for Dave to turn to look at him expectantly. "Oi, Ara asks you what you want from the Thai take-away, she's stopping there to get dinner".

"What? It's too early to– holy fuck, it's this late already?" with a surprised glance at the clock, Karkat shuffled to his feet.

"Shhh, it's fine, you can stay for dinner and then you can go back home afterwards with your stomach full of delicious Thai food," Dave freed his hand to try and stop Karkat, but his phone slipped from the crook of his neck and Karkat's hand darted out to grab it.

Hearing Aradia's voice from the phone, Karkat held it to his own ear. "Dave? Dave? Is Karkat staying for dinner? Does he like chicken with peanut curry?"

Karkat curled his nose a bit. "Uh, I don't really like curry, can you get beef satay with extra grub sauce instead?"

"Duly noted!"

"Aradia, get an extra portion of ginger pork! You ate it all last time and I didn't even get my share!" Dave hovered behind Karkat, trying to get his phone back.

With a giggle, Aradia closed the call.

Karkat grunted and flopped back down on the sofa, fidgeting a bit. "Let me know how much I owe you, ok?"

"We get a discount cause the owner is a friend of Bro," Dave reassured him, strengthening his conviction that Dave knew every single restaurant owner in the city.

Dave and Karkat returned to their marathon, exchanging scathing comments about the actors of the series, which ended up in Dave trying to swat Karkat with a pillow for daring to test the bonds of moiraillegiance of a couple Dave liked, and Karkat retaliating with shoving Dave down on the couch –mindful of his arm, of course– until Dave called 'uncle'.

When Aradia arrived, delicious smell of freshly cooked chicken spreading in the air and eliciting twin growls from their stomachs, the three of them moved to the kitchen to eat, with Aradia adding her personal addition to all the crude penis on Dave's cast by drawing Indiana Jones hats on each one of them, effectively ruining the effect and forcing Dave to erase them all with a pout.

The fact that Karkat was having fun did not register until he was on the door, ready to leave, and Karkat only dignified it with a thought when Dave lingered with him outside of the apartment, poking his shoulder to attract his attention.

"Thanks for coming man, I was pretty bored before you arrived".

There was an embarrassed smile on Dave's face that made Karkat realise that even if he was pretty used to getting broken bones, it was still quite the shitty situation for him, and not a pleasant one, especially with having to take it slow with things.

"I had fun too," he replied easily as a way to reassure his friend, but it was surprising how much truth those words held for him. "We should finish up the show next time".

As the two boys awkwardly chatted in front of the door, Aradia waved at Terezi from the kitchen, and the ghostly troll made her way there with a smile.

Unfortunately for her, Terezi couldn't exactly join in the fun, and even if watching romcoms was something she could enjoy just the same as the two boys on the couch, the inability to interact with anybody was getting to her nerves, especially since Aradia was aware she was there but was equally unable to chat due to Karkat and Dave's presence in the room.

"I'm sorry," Aradia offered her a small sheepish grin, which Terezi returned with a wry grin on her own. "It's not an ideal situation, huh?"

"No, not really," Terezi turned around, spying Karkat's honest smile from her position, and her grin turned a little more heartfelt. "But it's nice to see that butt look so relaxed, sooo I don't mind!"

"Yeah, and he kept some company to Dave so I didn't have to worry".

Terezi noticed Aradia's quieter tone, and had to ask, "Is he ok?"

"Huh? No, of course, it's just a broken arm!" Aradia shrugged. "It just brings back bad memories, that's all. I didn't want to leave him alone while I was working, that's all".

Terezi nodded, deciding not to pry.

"Tomorrow I'm taking a break from work to exorcise a ghost," Aradia spoke up quietly, glancing over at Dave and Karkat to make sure they were still talking. "If you come by around ten, you can come with me!"

At the offer, Terezi perked up. "Count me in!"

The two smiled at each other, then Karkat turned around to look at Aradia. "I'm going, thank you for having me!"

"Hey! It's my house not hers!"

Aradia smiled brightly. "But I'm the one who provided dinner! You're welcome Karkat!"

Dave made a show of pouting and shuffling back inside, with Aradia ruffling his hair gently, and Karkat glanced at them one last time before finally leaving the building, out in the cool air of the night.

He sort of envied Dave's relationship with Aradia, because he could see her often, every day, while his own moirail was somewhere above him in the orbit, close yet too far.

This abrupt longing startled him a bit. He had always been ok with Gamzee being away, but with admitting the current problems they were facing, and fixing a date for them to talk them out, Karkat guessed he had finally recognised that he wanted something like this… an open moiraillegiance, and not a long distance one.

Unfortunately, while fixing his pale quadrant could be done if both of them wanted it, Gamzee still had a lot to do. That would have to wait for a bit longer at least.

With these thoughts fluttering in his mind, Karkat quickly made his way to his hive, Terezi idly floating behind him.