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Day 10

Karkat slowly opened his eye to a slightly unfamiliar room. His entire body ached and burn with pain. He began to cry as he remembered why he was in so much pain. Eridan had started out being the voice of reason as Vriska was touching him in ways he didn't really enjoy, but then Eridan joined in with her. They hurt him so bad that his mind shut down and his body somehow responded to his distress. He stiffened a bit when he realized that someone was holding him hand.

Karkat's line of sight followed his arm to his hand then lead his eyes to fall on the sleeping form of John. John was sitting in a chair and had his head laying on folded arms which where on top of Karkat's hand. Karkat smiled as he felt John's hand slightly grip his hand that was under the folded arms. He blushed slightly and squeezed John's hand, wondering how long the human had been sitting with him.

"Oh! Uh...Wow, you're awake" Tavros's voice startled Karkat as he didn't realize that the door to the room was open.

Karkat tried to speak but his throat burned when he opened his mouth. He hissed in pain, which woke John up instantly. John was out of the chair in an instant and pulled Karkat into a warm embrace. Karkat didn't struggle, but instead, wrapped his arms around John. He cried into John's shoulder as he breathed in that wonderful, relaxing scent that was John. John tightened his hold and placed a hand on Karkat's head, whispering soothing words to the troll.

"Karkat, I'm so glad that you woke up. Kanaya told he what happened and that you hadn't woken up. You're been asleep for two day. I'm so happy that you're awake now" John said as he climbed onto the bed next to Karkat, not releasing him from the hug.

"Yeah! Uh...John hasn't left your side since...uh... Kanaya told him that you could have visitors" Tavros smiled before opening up his grubtop and began messaging everyone that Karkat just woke up.

"When I saw you in all the bandages...I don't ever want to see you like that again. I'm sorry that I didn't come visit you that day" John whispered in Karkat's ear.

"John, please let go of Karkat. He still needs another day for his wounds to fully recover from his ordeal" Rose said as she walked in with Kanaya.

"Oh sorry" John said as he released the Cancer from the hug before intertwining their fingers together.

"How are you feeling, Karkat?" Kanaya asked as she looked as all the machines that where next to his bed.

Karkat whimpered as his eyes filled with tears again. He honestly felt weak, helpless, and scared of being left alone, but speaking that would be too painful for him. He hide his face in John's shoulder, seeking comfort from the human.

"Shh! It's alright, Karkat. Please don't cry anymore. It brakes my heart to see you shading so many tears" John cooed and rubbed Karkat's back.

"Oh my! Did I say something wrong?" Kanaya asked, confused about why Karkat suddenly started crying.

"Maybe we should examine him, Kanaya. He's awake, so if he's in pain then he'll be able to tell us during the examine" Rose suggested.

"That's a good idea, Rose" Kanaya smiled before approaching the bed, "Karkat, do you mind if Rose and I examine you?"

Karkat moved his face out of John's shoulder to look at Kanaya. Fat red tears still rolled down his face as he nodded in agreement to an examination. He wrapped his arms around John as Kanaya left to get some medical equipment. John surprised Karkat by kissing his forehead causing the troll to blush bright red.

"I'm...uh...going to go...uh...find Gamzee" Tavros said as Rose looked at him as if asking if he was going to help out or do something.

"I'm sure Karkat would like to see his morail after we finish his examine" Rose smiled, watching Tavros leave before turning and looking at John who still hadn't moved from the bed.

"Is it okay if I stay here with Karkat?" John asked when he saw Rose staring at him.

"It's fine with me, but you may have to move when we start the examination. We have to have Karkat naked for pair of the exam, so I don't know if you want to be around for that or not. Also, have you come to a decision at the matter we discussed the last time you visited me?" Rose asked, raising an eyebrow with a knowing smirk.

John blushed at Rose's question as he looked at Karkat, who had begun to shiver in fear when he heard the word "naked" come off Rose's tongue. John instantly pulled Karkat from the confines of the blanket and into his lap. It was then that Karkat realized that he was only wear a hospital gown and plastered himself to John's chest, blushed and trying to make himself as small as possible.

"Karkat, easy! Shhhh! It's okay. I'm here. I'm here, Karkat" John whispered and rubbed his back.

Karkat breathed in John's scent, relaxing instantly. He panted a bit as he realized how close he and John were. Fuck! John smelt so good. Karkat suddenly felt that all too familiar heat in the pit of his stomach, but it was way stronger than before. He purred as he looked at John before capturing the shocked boy's lips with his.

"Oh god! Karkat! Not this and not now!" Rose shouted as she pulled Karkat out of John's lap before pulling John off the bed.

"What's wrong?" John asked in shock, seeing Karkat whimpering and reaching for him as Rose tried to keep him in bed.

"Kanaya! Karkat just went into the final stages of heat!" Rose yelled, not paying John any mind.

Kanaya dashed into the room suddenly and jumped on the bed, grabbing hold of Karkat. She pinned him to the bed and ripped off a bandage on his neck before sinking her teeth into the wound. Karkat cried out in pain before passing out. Kanaya panted as she let go of his neck, blood dripping from her fang, and replaced the bandage before tucking Karkat back into bed.

"That was a bit shocking. Why so soon?" Kanaya asked as she wiped the blood from her mouth and got off the bed.

"John? Care to tell us why Karkat acted like that?" Rose asked as she hugged Kanaya in thanks.

"I don't know. I just pulled him into my lap to try to comfort him better and he started purring before he kissed me" John blushed as the last words left his mouth.

"John, you shouldn't have done that. Karkat is basically naked under that hospital gown and after the ordeal with Eridan and Vriska...His body kicked into overdrive because he's going to have to collect all the genetic samples again" Kanaya sighed sadly.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know" John looked at Karkat unconscious form laying in bed like he hadn't woken up at all.

"It's not your fault, John. I was going to explain it to both of you after Karkat's exam, but I didn't realize that you pulled his out of bed" Rose sighed as she watched John sit back down in the chair and began holding Karkat's hand again.

"Karkat, please wake up soon" John said, worry thick in his voice.

"John? You never did answer my question" Rose stated as Kanaya wrapped her arms around her.

"I can't deny it, Rose. I'm in love with him" John sighed, kissing Karkat's hand gently.

"Love? Who?" Kanaya asked, still a bit unclear about human romance.

"I'm head over heels in love for Karkat. I'm...flushed red for him" John said, remembering what the term Karkat and Kanaya had used when describing troll romance.

"I knew it" Rose smirked.

"This is wonderful news. I'm so happy for you both" Kanaya smiled, knowing how happy Karkat would be now that he had a matesprit to help him through the genetic collecting for the matriorb.

"I haven't told him yet. I was going to, but I wanted us to be alone" John sniffed as he remembered the face Karkat had made as he was reaching out for him. That look of pure fear, sadness, and helplessness as Rose was separating them.

"Don't be sad, John. You know Karkat is in love with you too" Rose smiled when she saw that her words made John perched up.

"He does?" John smiled in his tradition goofy way.

"Karkat kept crying out your name when Rose and I were injecting him with muscle relaxers. He didn't stop until after we found one of your shirts and wrapped it around his head" Kanaya chuckled at how adorable she though it was.

"Really? Karkat wanted me that badly?" John smiled and got onto the bed with Karkat.

"John, don't move him out of the bed. You can lay next to him on top of the blankets and hold his hand, but that's about it. He's not allow to get your genetic sample yet" Rose warned.

"So...When can he?" John blushed as he looked at Karkat's sleeping face.

"He needs to get at least 8 troll genetic samples before getting any of the human genetic samples," Kanaya sighed, "I think we are going to have to have a group meeting about this entire ordeal"

"Why?" John asked

"Because Karkat's genes can't be reset. Seeing as he will still need tomorrow to recover...He is only going to have about 10 days to collect all 13 genetic samples" Rose said in a serious tone.

"13 samples in 10 days! Karkat..." John looked worried as he moved closer to the sleeping troll.

"Don't worry too much, John. Rose and I though that something like this would happen and we have a solution" Kanaya blushed a bit as she nuzzled Rose.

"Yes! Seeing as a few of the trolls have asked us about it already, we figured it was a fair solution" Rose smiled and pecked Kanaya on the cheek.

"What?" John's curiosity was peaked.

"Karkat will just collect more than one sample a day. Some of the trolls, that have matesprits, said that they would be willing to submit their sample with a partner" Kanaya said.

"Actually, Gamzee brought the idea to us because Karkat had already agreed to let him and Tavros do this" Rose added.

"You mean...like what Eridan and Vriska did to him?" John looked concerned.

"No! No! Not like that, John. More like...All three of them would be in the same room, but only one of them at a time" Kanaya tried to clarify.

"So...what are you going to do about Eridan and Vriska?" John asked, only half understanding what Kanaya and Rose were talking about.

"They are only allowed to come around Karkat if they are going to submit their sample and they will be watched the entire time that they are with him" Kanaya growled.

"Don't worry, John. We've already decided who will being watching each of them and Sollex will still be monitoring Karkat's room. No one will put him in this situation again" Rose smiled.

John nodded before laying down next to Karkat, lacing their fingers together. He smiled and ran his free hand through Karkat's hair, being careful not to touch his horns.

"When will he wake up again?" John asked.

"I didn't take a lot of blood, but he still needs his rest. He's probably sore and weak from the whole ordeal. My guess is that he could wake up any time, but I suggest that you let him sleep" Kanaya smiled.

"Maybe, I'll take a nap while I wait for him to wake up" John smiled, cuddling closer to Karkat.

"We'll leave you alone then. We can't really do the examination on him now" Rose said before taking Kanaya's hand and leading her out of the room.

John smiled as he watched them leave. He knew that they had formed a matespritship with each other and was happy for them. It seemed to him that almost everyone had paired up with someone. That though brought him back to the troll sleeping next to him.

"Don't worry, Karkat. I'll be here when you wake up again" John smiled, burying his face in Karkat's hair.

John was a bit shocked when he felt Karkat unlace his hand before wrapping both his arms around John's chest. He looked at Karkat, wondering if he had woken up, but saw that the troll was still asleep. He chuckled as he wrapped his arms around Karkat as well, enjoying the closeness as he cuddled up to the Cancer.

Outside the room, Rose and Kanaya observed the interaction between their two friends. Rose smiled and looked at Kanaya, who also had a smile on her face.

"How long do you think it will be until Karkat's heat starts affecting John?" Rose asked.

"That's hard to say. Just my short interaction with Karkat was almost too much. It will become increasingly more difficult for me to examine him as his deadline gets closer. Of course, it maybe different for John. He is the Heir of Breath and can control the wind. He might be the only one who will be unaffected due to his ability to control the wind" Kanaya sighed as she looked at Rose.

"So, John is commanding the wind to shield him from Karkat's heat?" Rose asked, wonder clear in her tone.

"I don't know, Rose. You may know that a bit better than I would"

"I guess that is true, but I don't think John knows that he is doing it. I think it is something he has done for so long that he doesn't realize that he's doing it anymore. After all, he started mastering his wind powers when he was hiding from Jack"

"Perhaps, we can discuss this in a place that's a bit more private?" Kanaya smirked, drawing Rose close to her.

"Oh! Karkat got you that excited?" Rose asked knowingly, wrapping an arm around Kanaya's waist.

"He roused me a bit, but you excite me a lot more than he does" Kanaya purred, kissing Rose's neck.

"Well, how about we go to your room and I put on that one outfit that you like so much" Rose giggled, played with the neck line on Kanaya's dress.

"Forget the outfit, Rose. I just want you" Kanaya smiled as she took Rose's hand and lead her towards her room.