Hot for Strider (Karkat/Bro)

Jeff hissed when he heard the door. "Kids such a fucking dick," he mumbled. "I have no clue where he gets it from." He patted Karkat's back and stood up. "I'll be back in a flash." He left and was back a minute later with a t-shirt. It was plain white and looked like it was a large. "Didn't feel like going into the kid's room. You can use one of my shirts." He kneeled in front of Karkat. "Lift you arms kiddo."

Karkat let go of the toilet and sat up, lifting his arms over his head obediently.

Jeff slipped of the red shirt and tossed it into the shower. He'd deal with it later. And by deal with it later, make Dave deal with it later. He put his shirt onto the Karkat. "I'll let you decide wether you want to keep the pants on or not." He slipped his shades down the bridge of his nose and winked. "I will get you out of your pants one day though." The shades were quickly slipped back into place. He grabbed the water and pills. "You need to take two of these."

Karkat let out a little groan but nodded. He took the water and held out a shaking hand for the pills.

It took Jeff about a minute to open the bottle. "Damn child-proof caps. Stupidest invention ever. Besides the croc. Ugliest pieces of shit on the planet." He scooped two pills out and handed them to Karkat.

Karkat shoved the pills right into his mouth and downed them with water. He only gagged a little, but he made sure to drink all the water

Jeff took the glass from his hand and placed it on the counter. Dave could deal with that later too. He picked up Karkat bridal style and took him into the living room. He placed him on the couch and placed a kiss on the top of his head. "I'm gonna change the sheets."

Karkat nodded, closing his eyes. Maybe if he was lucky he just wouldn't wake back up. Ever.

Jeff was being as quit as he possibly could as he changed the sheets on the futon and put the dirty one in the laundry room. The poor kid looked even worse today. If he ever met this Sollux guy he planned on kicking his ass. When the bed had sheets on again, Jeff went back to the couch and picked Karkat back up. He laid down on the futon, letting Karkat rest on top of him. He pulled the comforter over both of them. "Sleep kiddo. Tell me if this gets uncomfortable."

Karkat nodded, nuzzling his face into Jeff's chest. He sighed softly, drifting to that peaceful place between sleep and awake where nothing hurt and everything was okay again. Jeff was warm against his one side, and the blanket kept his other side warm, and the medication was slowly working its magic. He was barely even aware of when Dave came back, the click of the door not even registering as that in his half awake state.

Dave was still in a pissy mood when he went back home. He'd walked around town for a couple hours. He almost went to see John, but decided against. He had turned his phone off and still hadn't turned it back on. He really didn't want to talk to anyone. He scowled when he saw Bro and Karkat on the futon. That should be him with the smaller male, not his dick of an older brother.

Jeff was spacing out when Dave came back. He had been staring at the ceiling for a few hours. He didn't want to wake Karkat, so he just laid there. Dave was upset with him. Why? He had an idea, but didn't want to jump to any conclusions just yet. Didn't him and the little Egbert have something going on anyway?

Karkat made a little noise, shifting and slipping right off Bro's side and onto the futon next to him. He grunted with the impact, curling into a ball, Lil Cal being pulled into his sleepy arms.

Jeff chuckled as he got up and stretched. He needed to leave for work in two hours. Dave had went to his room. He'd have to talk to him later. He went to the kitchen to start dinner.

Karkat made a soft noise at the absence of Bro's heat, pulling the blankets tighter to himself and rolling into Bro's vacated spot for the warmth.

Half an hour later dinner was ready. Jeff went down the hall and softly knocked on the door to the younger Strider's room. Dave opened his door enough to see him. "Dinner's done." He nodded and walked out, squeezing between Jeff and the wall.

They let Karkat sleep. They made him a plate and put it in the microwave. Neither one of the Striders had said anything else yet. "So......" Jeff wasn't sure how to approach the subject. Yeah, it was fun being a dick to the kid. Hell, it was one of his favorite things to do. But, this was a touchy subject.

"Do you like Karkat?"

Dave scoffed and put his fork down. "Yeah, he's a friend."

Jeff wanted to smack him, but stopped himself. "No I mean. Do you like him as in you want him to be your boyfriend?" Dave's face was almost as red as his shirt sleeves. He crosses his arms over his chest.

"I don't know why you'd think that. It's none of your business anyway."

"Whatever kid." Let the kid be that way. He didn't deserve Karkat if he wouldn't even admit he liked the kid. "Clean the dishes. I need to get ready for work."

Karkat groaned softly as he started to wake up. He sat up suddenly, having a coughing fit and clutching Cal to him as he covered his mouth in an attempt to keep himself from retching anything up. Thankfully he didn't retch at all, just cough.

Dave was getting done with the last dish. He was by Karkat almost instantly. "Are you alright? Do you need anything?"

Karkat gave Dave a half lidded sleepy look before just closing his eyes and resting his head against Dave's shoulder. He let out a heavy breath, pulling the blanket up to rest on his shoulders.

Dave slowly wrapped his arms around Karkat's waist. He got on the futon and pulled them backwards. They were in the same position Bro and Karkat were in earlier. Now was Dave's chance to spend time with Karkat. Thankfully the older Strider had to leave for work soon.

Karkat shifted once before going slack against him. Dave was warm and comfortable and Karkat couldn't help but snuggle into him.

Dave buried his face in Karkat's hair. His grip tightened. They were in the same position when Jeff walked out into the living room. He smiled as he grabbed his keys. He scribbled a quick note, left it on the kitchen counter, and left.

After a while, Karkat began to stir again. He moved off of Dave clumsily, stumbling off the futon, and heading to the bathroom, still holding Cal to his chest.

At some point Dave had fallen asleep. He groggily patted the side of the bed. He laid on his side and yawned. He hadn't noticed Lil Cal wasn't on the bed either.

Karkat stumbled out of the bathroom after relieving himself, yawning as he crawled back onto the futon to curl up next to Dave.

Dave wrapped his arm around Karkat when the younger got back. He gently rolled him onto his back. "Here's to hoping he doesn't punch me or something," he thought. He lightly pressed his lips against Karkat's. "I don't know what you did to Cal, but I'm glad he's not in the bed anymore."