The Tree in the Forest

Chapter Eighteen

                                      ~~~

  You're sitting with Karkat. He was firmly tucked under your arm and you've realized that you really like how his body molds to yours. He's warm and soft, like a cat.

  Speaking of cats, you were at his house. Mayor was sitting in Karkat's lap, his eyes closed in pleasure as he was stroked and pet.

  You were watching nothing in particular on the TV. All that was showing was some bullshit reality TV show that you didn't care about. All you cared about was being close to Karkat.

  Karkat was starting to doze off and you watched him fight to stay awake.

  "You can go to sleep if you want," You whisper softly to him. He nodded and got up to go somewhere. You followed him with your eyes as he walked down the hallway and away from you, only to come back later on with his wig taken off.

You're happy that he's comfortable enough around you to do that. He didn't take it off around anyone besides you, his family, or Kanaya's family. He says that he's more comfortable around the Maryam's because Kanaya's mom is his godmother.

You'd met Kanaya's mom before. She's a pretty woman with an angular face and award-winning smile. She works as a seamstress for a local clothing company that sells clothes for cheap so that families that have a hard time making money can get clothes.

You can't say that you're that selfless without lying. You're selfish, but you've come to terms with it. It's not quite greedy, but you're sure as hell not a very helpful person.

Karkat had quickly fallen asleep against you. You couldn't shake how right it felt. It's like your side was made for him to lay against. Mayor had also joined the sleep pile.

Mayor was a Siamese cat with big, pale blue eyes. He liked to rule anything he could get his paws on. When Karkat had first gotten him, you both made a thing out of cans and called it 'Can Town'. Mayor, who still hadn't been named by then, walked around Can Town like he owned the place. That's how you two came up with his name.

You smiled and fell into a quiet sleep yourself. Everything was warm around you and you liked it despite the almost-summer heat.

~<>~

When you woke up, Karkat wasn't on your side anymore. At first, you assumed that he had gone to his own bed, but then you heard a retching sound coming from the bathroom.

You almost ran to the bathroom. Karkat's dad, Cameron, was sitting by him, rubbing his back as he sat over the toilet.

You went and crouched by him, looking up at Cameron for an explanation.

"This happens from time to time. He's normally okay, but I have to watch him just to make sure," He clarified. You nodded slightly and put your hand on Karkat's bent knee. You would've whispered in his ear that was going to be fine if Cameron wasn't right there.

Karkat threw up a few times, coughing and sputtering in between each time a new flood of gross, acidic material flooded from his mouth. It was clear, too, which was a tad disgusting, but it didn't really bother you that much. You just wanted him to be okay.

His eyes had begun to water when he felt like he was done. You ran a hand across his shoulder to calm him down. He just sat back on his heels and breathed deeply.

Cameron went to go grab him a cup of water, which seemed like a bad idea, but what do you know about caring for people.

While he was away, you gave Karkat a soft kiss to his cheek, the same way he had done to you. You'd tried to kiss him on the lips once while you were at your house, but he pushed you away, saying that he wanted the right moment. You didn't push yourself on him, and backed off.

He smiled weakly and accepted the water that was lifted over your head and to him. Karkat tried to drink the water, but threw it up quickly. He whined a little at his inability to do a simple thing like drink water.

Karkat threw up a few more times before he confirmed that he was done. You hoped he was. You knew that throwing up felt awful, so it probably stung like hell when he threw up multiple times.

  He got up and used the last of the water in the cup to wash his mouth out. He wiped his eyes and didn't look at himself in the mirror. He had been deliberately keeping his gaze away from his reflection.

  You follow him to his room and watch him crawl into his bed. You sit on the edge of the bed and rub his head. He batted your hand away, so you just laid your hand on his.

  "I hate doing that," He mumbled.

  "I can imagine why," You said.

  "I just want to be able to hold food and stuff down, but I can't. And it burns, too, which doesn't help at all." Karkat complained. You hummed a little in agreement.

  He eventually let you lay down beside him. He cuddled up to you, holding your arm close to his chest. He fell asleep again, but you don't say anything much about his sleep patterns. It's mostly because one of the symptoms of his illness is fatigue.

  You just hold him as he sleeps. When you're certain that he's not awake to flail his hands at your face, you give his head a kiss.

  He never really let you touch his head when he didn't have his wig on. He said it made him feel a little weird. He sometimes let you, though.

  You stared up at his ceiling, unable to fall back asleep yourself. You think about how almost every symptom Karkat shows makes you worried. The throwing up and rashes are the worst that you've seen, but there could be far worse symptoms, and that terrifies you.

                                      ~~~

Trust me, Dave, there are worse symptoms but maybe Karkat won't get them. Who knows.

But yes, we are now eighteen chapters in. Personally, I think that's kind of crazy. I mean, I've made it this far with an idea that I came up with on a train while I was coming back from a trip. 

Btw they are about a month and a week into their relationship in this chapter and they haven't even gone on a proper date yet. They just hang out at each other's houses and cuddle.

There isn't a whole lot to say about this chapter. It's all pretty clear. Bye!

~Ghostie