Re: Unspoken Attraction (Dave/Karkat)

[solarOrigins]

Karkat shifted the bean bag chair that blocked off the bottom of Dave's desk so that he could at least see out. Unfortunately all he could do was blink at the introduction of light, having been in the dark too long.

[raunchyJanitor]

Dave gave up looking under the bed, turning around to start searching elsewhere until he spotted the large green bean bag blocking off the space under his desk. Well, he couldn't remember that being there before. He stepped over to his desk and crouched in front of the obstructing bean bag, glancing at the gap where he could see a glowing, yellow eye. He moved to the side and tugged the bean bag out of the way, revealing the missing troll. "Karkat, what were you doing in there?" He asked, extending a hand to help him out.

[solarOrigins]

Karkat recoiled slightly from the light before crawling out and immediately attaching himself to Dave in a tight hug. He was not going to explain himself dammit. There was nothing wrong with being scared of another troll, especially when you're in its territory.

[raunchyJanitor]

Dave was crouched on his haunches when the troll popped out and hugged him, making him fall backwards on his rear. He nuzzled into Karkat's neck, hugging him back. "Woah-hey--" he muttered, gently raking his fingers through Karkat's hair. "Come on, I know trolls are territorial, but I really don't think Tavbro... would.. ever..." His speech slowed down to a stand still when he heard the creaking of floorboards and looked over Karkat's shoulder at the other troll in question who was leaning against the open door frame, watching them. Okay, he could easily say that he had never seen Tavros look quite so-- predatory? Yeah, that sure fucking seemed like the appropriate word to describe how the troll looked right about then.

Dave clutched Karkat a little closer, giving a half wave to Tavros with the hand he had on Karkat's back. "Hey... what's up?"

"Oh, you found him. Good," Tavros replied, the tone in his voice suggesting this wasn't a "good" thing by even the slightest margin. He pulled his weight off from the door frame and Dave flinched, that ominous gaze on Tavros's face making the human anticipate the worst. But just as suddenly as he had appeared, he slunk off back to the living room, Dave's skin turning to ice as he listened to the fading footsteps.

A deep breath of air gushed out of Dave's nose that he hadn't realized he had been holding until then. No wonder Karkat had been hiding. "You eaten anything?" He asked finally, trying not to think about how horrifying those last few seconds had been.

[solarOrigins]

Karkat shook his head, his face still mashed in Dave's shoulder. There was no way -no fucking way- he was going out there. Not even if Dave was with him. Trolls were way scarier than humans, and even the gentlest and weakest of trolls could do some serious damage when their territory was invaded.

[raunchyJanitor]

Dave sighed, rocking Karkat back and forth in his arms. "You like cheese cake?" He asked, kissing the top of his head. "I brought some home from work if you want it." He wasn't going to let go to get it out until Karkat stopped hugging him. Lord only knew how soon that was going to happen.

[solarOrigins]

Karkat nodded, slowly loosening his grip on Dave until he was just sitting in front of him. He looked nervously at the door before moving to curl back up under the desk.

[raunchyJanitor]

Dave moved over to the door and shut it, slipping his backpack off and zipping it open. He pulled out a small, plastic container and set it in front of where Karkat was curled up. "I'm gonna go grab you a fork. Do you want some milk to go with it?" He asked, rising to his feet.

[solarOrigins]

Karkat nodded, shifting uncomfortably. He picked up the plastic container, bringing it under the desk with him.

[raunchyJanitor]

Dave set his backpack on his desk before opening his door again and shutting it behind him closely, keeping an eye out for Tavros. When he spotted the other troll reseated on the couch, he took cautionary steps towards the kitchen, trying to act casual by not just flashstepping in there.

He opened the fridge door and saw two cartons of milk and picked one up, shaking it and hearing something solid, but wet thunk inside. Okay, not that one. He reached for the other one and shook it, hearing the appropriate noise for milk sloshing around. He was too lazy to just look for the expiration date, so he opened the top and gave it a whiff. Since it didn't smell sour, so he assumed it wasn't. He got out a glass from a cupboard and poured the milk into it, grabbing a fork from a drawer and heading back out.

Tavros was in the same place he was when Dave entered the kitchen. This was a relief for him since he was not comfortable leaving Karkat unattended for very long, especially after that darker side of Tavros coming out that he had never seen before.

Dave shut the door behind him when he re-entered the room, taking a seat in front of the desk to offer the glass and fork to Karkat. "Has Tavros been like that all day?"

[solarOrigins]

Karkat shrugged. He lifted his hands to sign, but they were shaking. 'in here all day' he finally managed before picking up the fork to stab the cheesecake. He shoved a large bite in his mouth, closing his eyes in bliss at finally having something to eat.

[raunchyJanitor]

Dave frowned, crossing his legs and resting his hands on his knees as he watched Karkat eat. "You want to come with me to pick up some real food for you?"

[solarOrigins]

Karkat looked at Dave with wide eyes and shook his head, scooting farther back under the desk, the fork hanging out of his mouth. He didn't want to go out there, even in passing, if the larger troll was there. He wanted as little contact with the troll as possible, until he could get out of there.

And that was where he was torn. Dave was his matesprit now, and he didn't want to leave him. But now he would have to, especially since Tavros was making it perfectly clear that he wasn't welcome in his territory.

[raunchyJanitor]

Dave crossed his arms when Karkat scooted further under his desk, sighing in a notch of lost patience. "So, you want to stay here with Tavbro all creepy, lurking about like he is?" He rubbed his temples, his gaze falling to the floor.

If it took less than three minutes for him to find Karkat, who's to say Tavros won't drop the barely-tolerant neighbor act and start attacking the other troll unprovoked? Of course he wouldn't plant those thoughts into Karkat's head; he didn't want to terrify the poor guy any further than he already was. "Tell you what, how about I shoo Tavbro out of the place for a bit and then we go eat?" He suggested, smiling weakly at the scared troll.

[solarOrigins]

Karkat shrugged. He felt guilty at the slight exasperation in Dave's tone, and the way he rubbed his temples like Karkat was causing him strain. He didn't want to inconvenience his Matesprit, but he wanted to stay in one piece too. He sipped his milk, leaning forward to try and get a glimpse of the time on Dave's alarm clock.

[raunchyJanitor]

Dave noticed Karkat leaning forward and trying to look at something, so he followed his gaze towards his alarm clock, glancing back at him as he made a guess at what Karkat was trying to find out. "It's a little after one now, but I thought I'd take you out to a late lunch somewhere, unless you think the cake will hold you over until dinner." He rubbed the back of his neck, about to suggest another alternative when he heard someone knocking at the door. It didn't really leave much to wonder as to who it was since there was only one other person outside of Dave's room who was currently in the apartment, so when he got up and opened the door, he wasn't surprised to discover that it was Tavros. What he was surprised to find was that the troll had been gnawing on the corner of his lip to a meaty breaking point and was tonguing at it, making his tongue resemble a bloodied slug trying to wiggle its way into the wound. Yeah, it pretty much looked exactly fucking like that.

Tavros's pupils were dilated. "Um, Dave, we need to talk," he spoke with his teeth showing, the edges of his mouth lifted crookedly as if in a permanent snarl.

Dave took a step closer and glanced over his shoulder towards his desk, not wanting Karkat to see any of this. He shut the door behind him quietly, staring Tavros down which wasn't as easy as it used to be when he wasn't at eye level. People are a lot less intimidating when they are in a wheelchair. Oh, and aren't a fucking troll chewing their god damn lip off.

"What'd you want to talk about?" Dave asked, his tone completely calm, though he knew he shouldn't be, and he wasn't.

When Tavros spoke up, his voice cracked. "His-- his smell Dave, it's-it's, all over the apartment."

But Dave couldn't smell it. He'd offer to get rid of the smell if he just knew what it smelled like-- if he had any idea why it was making Tavros get like this. It had to be pretty fucking horrible if Tavros was losing it this bad this quickly. They hadn't even been in the same apartment for more than a day and he was already nerve shot.

"And-?" Dave replied, crossing his arms. There had to be more to this than just the invisible scent all over the place.

"I can't stand it. It wasn't so bad at first, but the longer I, uh, stay here and the longer he is here, the less I can take, Dave. It's driving me crazy."

Maybe it was just the smell after all. It was probably something that was in the scent that was striking all of Tavros's instincts in all the wrong places. "I can bring him out of the apartment for a bit, give you some breathing space?"

"Would you? Please? I'd really appreciate it if you did," Tavros pleaded, his snarl losing its ferocious edge.

Dave shrugged. "Sure. How long you need him out?"

Tavros opened his mouth to say something, but seemed to retract the time he had in mind as unrealistic. Forever was a very long time. "Um, a few hours? Maybe come back when Bro gets home?" He'd be a lot better around Karkat if Bro was around to keep him in check.

"I'll see what I can do." Dave nudged Tavros back a bit, only now coming to terms that the troll had been slinking a little bit closer to him during their conversation. It wasn't like Tavros was moving near him directly, his eyes kept jolting past his head towards the door, as if he was trying to get closer to what was inside his room. Like he was trying to get a chance to sink his teeth into Karkat's throat. "How about you go sit on the couch and he and I will go for a bit? Sound good?" Back away from the door.

Tavros's pupils seemed to pulsate for a second before directing onto Dave's face, staring at him like he was waiting to read something held under the surface of rippling water. Dave could almost feel every major artery in his body pulsate at that exact moment. All Tavros did was nod his head dumbly before backing off, slowly moving over to the living room.

Dave didn't dare open the door until Tavros was a good distance away, swiftly opening it and slamming it behind him. God, he wished the locks on his door worked. He would sleep a lot easier knowing that Tavros couldn't just open that door right now.

He slumped his back against the door, clearing his throat as he tried to build up his totally-not-freaked-out voice that instead kind of went off in a slightly high pitched, terrified twang, "Karkat, finish your cheesecake and get your make up on. We're going out today."

[solarOrigins]

Karkat looked up at Dave a minute before looking down at his cheesecake. He hurriedly scarfed the rest down and crawled out from under the desk to get his bag. He shucked his shirt off and started to apply his makeup, but it would take him a little bit to do it.

He didn't need to know why Dave suddenly wanted to go out; when the door had opened, he could smell blood.

[raunchyJanitor]

As Dave waited for Karkat to get ready, he took the cheesecake box, fork, and glass, leaving the room to put them away in the kitchen. He quickly returned, not wanting to leave Karkat alone in his room unattended any longer than necessary. He picked up his bike helmet and waited at the door for Karkat, anxious to get them out of there ASAP.

[solarOrigins]

Karkat was done as fast as he could be, changing into clean clothes and jamming his had on his head while he was at it. He stuffed his feet into his shoes and attached himself to Dave's side so they could leave.

-------------------------

Bro let out and exaggerated groan as he shoved the door open at 6. He had gone in early so he could get off early and he was kind of tired and most definitely hungry. He noticed right away that Dave and Karkat were gone, it was too quiet.

"Hey, what's up beautiful. Where're the boys?" He asked, flopping down on the futon that Tavros never bothered to put up.

[raunchyJanitor]

"Out," Tavros answered vaguely, scooting closer to Bro and placing a hand on his thigh, rubbing small, affectionate circles there with his thumb. "I don't, um, really know, actually." He wished he could be more helpful. "They said that they would come back around the time you got back though, so, they should be here in, uh, an hour or so."

[solarOrigins]

"Got cha." Bro smirked, reaching out to gently tilt Tavros's face towards his own. "What's up with your lip? Run into something and split it?"

He shifted closer as well, already making a game plan in his head.

[raunchyJanitor]

Tavros tipped his head to the side, nuzzling into Bro's hand. "Bit it. I, um, didn't even realize I was gnawing until it got this bad. I think I scared Dave with it, though." More like gave him nightmares for life that would continue to haunt him in the afterlife. "But that smell, Karkat has, is gone now, so I haven't been gnawing any more." The hand on Bro's thigh slid a little more courageously towards his inner thigh.

[solarOrigins]

"I think you'll be okay if we just soak the apartment in your scent again. Karkat mostly stays in Dave's room anyway, so as long as the rest of the apartment smells like you, we should be good." Bro smirked. "And since we have an hour until they should be home, you maybe wanna go for a little ride? You can think of it as a welcome home christening"

[raunchyJanitor]

"That sounds great," Tavros beamed, ceasing his hand's descent. "Uh, where did you have in mind?" Honestly, he didn't care where they went so long as Bro was around. He had really missed him during his trip.

[solarOrigins]

Bro chuckled, letting his hand drift to his pants to flick the button open. "How does neverland sound?" he purred, slipping his hand around Tav's wrist and pulling it up to his crotch.

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