The Tree in the Forest

Chapter Twenty-One

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The date went great. You two just laughed and joked like you normally do, except your could feel one of his feet prod at your shin a little. You don't know why that made you so bashful.

You stayed over that night. You knew his dad was watching you two since you heard him walk by the room a good dozen times. You found it kind of cute, how he was so protective of Karkat.

You did kiss Karkat a bit, but you both waited until Cameron had stopped pacing the hallway. You liked how he kissed. He was a little sloppy, but always tried to be neat. But then again, what did you know about kissing?

  It was the first time you'd kissed with your tongue involved. You didn't know what you were doing and it was unlikely that Karkat did either. There was a lot of giggling and smiling against each other.

He let you feel under his newly donned sweatshirt a little. You got to feel the smooth skin underneath as he grabbed at your hair, trying to keep quiet so that Cameron wouldn't hear you.

You didn't go very far. The farthest you got was putting your hands up his shirt. You're not complaining, though.

He cuddled up close to you when he fell asleep. You fell asleep not long after, tired from running around town trying to get ready for a date and makeouts with Karkat.

                                    ~<>~

  You woke up with Karkat close to you, but he wasn't on your chest anymore. He had probably moved in his sleep.

  You sat up and stretched your arms above his head before leaning down again and pressing a kiss to his jawline.

  No hickeys were involved in the makeout last night, but he did a small bite mark on his lip where you may have nibbled him too hard. Hell, you lip was probably red and puffy, you just couldn't see you yours.

You laid back down, turning to Karkat's sleeping body. He was just so beautiful. It hurt that he couldn't see it himself. His face curved gently, but was still a little angular because of the weight loss.

You wanted to kiss him, but that'd be weird. He's sleeping, why would you do that? It just seemed creepy. Instead, you chose something a little less creepy: watch him.

When Karkat woke up, he turned and smiled at you and pulled you into a short kiss. You liked to kiss him and you wished they lasted longer, but less is better than none.

He got up and stretched himself. You could hear some of his joints pop.

"How long have you been up?" He asked.

"Not that long," You answered.

"Oh. You hungry?"

"Sure, when am I not hungry?" He laughed at that and got up from the bed. You followed him out into the kitchen to get some food. You were really fucking hungry, as always.

Karkat walked all around his kitchen, grabbing a few things. He liked strawberries on his cereal, which you thought was kind of weird. You two are in silence, which was also strange. He wasn't normally this quiet. It may have had something to do with the fact that Cameron was still asleep.

You laid your hand on Karkat's, wanting to be close, but not wanting to disturb the quiet. He just let you and sneaked you a small glance. He pushed his knuckles up through your fingers and you studied his thin digits. They were pasty and sharp, as always, but they were still warm.

  When he finished his food, he slipped his hand out from under yours and went to the sink. He hadn't eaten all of it, but you didn't expect him to. When he came back, you have him a quick kiss on the forehead.

  "Okay, we've been quiet all morning. It's weird," You smiled against the skin of his head. He hummed a little and hugged you.

  "There's nothing to talk about, really. Oh, I almost forgot, thanks for the date yesterday. It was really nice," He thanked you.

  "You realize you don't have to thank me, right? It was your birthday and you're my boyfriend. Of course I'm going to take you out," You said. Karkat tightened his grip around your waist and sighed.

  "I love you so much, Dave," He muttered.

  "Love you more," It felt so good to say that. You'd wanted to say that for years.

  "Oh really?" He smiled.

  "Yeah. Believe it or not, Karkles, I had that crush on you since we were ten,"

  "No way."

  "Yes way."

  "And I thought my crush on you lasted for a long time. It was only about six months, but yours was like six years." Karkat marveled. You laughed at his shocked look.

  "How do you fall in love with people like me?" He asked. What kind of stupid question was that?

  "What do you mean?" You asked him.

  "I mean how do you fall in love with terminally ill people?" He clarified.

  "Because the sickness doesn't matter to me, but the person does. I fell in love with you, not your sickness," You said. He called you cheesy and laid his head on your chest.

  This was a like bliss to you. Just sitting with Karkat, letting him lean against you. He was so sweet and loving, even if others don't see it. All they see is his angry side. You see this side of him and you feel like it was reserved just for you.

  You bent down a little and kissed him. You weren't going anywhere. You'd be here for him, no matter what.

~~~

Omg. A filler. This bugs me

I might skip forward a few months or even a year if I have to in the next chapter. Yeah, I'm skipping a year of their lives. It's pretty mundane tbh except with kissing.

But anywho, things are coming to a close! We still have quite a few chapters, but I already know what I'm doing with the ending.

While we have it, however, I'm going to write thE FUCK OUT IT.

Okay, bye!

~Ghostie