literature

Another Stormy Night

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Literature Text

"Karkat! I'm going out for a little bit. I'll be home soon, you mentioned something about being out of popcorn, do you still want me to get you some?"

"Yeah sure," a voice called from the other room, "just make sure you actually remember to come home this time. I know how you love to fly around for hours." Karkat could hear John giggles until he was out the door. "Fucking idiot, I swear, why do I love him?" He paused flipping the channel, "Oh yeah, because he's somehow godly perfect."

The troll hadn't been paying attention to the TV but now he wished he had. It was always when he let his guard down that something bad happened. The news update provided Karkat with something he didn't want to think about. There was a line of severe weather heading straight towards them. It was a strong storm development that sprung up out of nowhere, and John was going to be right in the middle of it.

Panicking the troll leapt from his seat and ran outside calling John's name. Unfortunately the human was already a small dot in the distance. "Fuck." He tried texting his phone, "Fuck," then he tried calling him but it went straight to voice mail, "fuck." Karkat paced outside by the door until the wind picked up and he went inside. Quickly he nestled into a pile of blankets on the couch and focused on the television. The wind was whipping around the house and seemed to want to smash in. "I hope the idiot listens to the damn wind and comes home before the storm hits." But Karkat's hopes were dashed when he heard the rumble of thunder off in the distance.

He tried to be brave, he really did, but defeating a phobia isn't as easy as it sounds. As soon as the rain started to pelt down on the world and lighting streaked across the sky Karkat Vantas was reduced to a quivering mess that hid underneath all the blankets he could find. The weatherman said it was supposed to be a soaker, and the storm system would swirl around their area all day.

With every bolt of lightning and clap of thunder Karkat would jump and chirp. He knew it was stupid to fear storms, especially storms that couldn't hurt him, and especially storms when he knew he was safely inside where nothing could go wrong.

It had been an hour since the storm started and John still hadn't returned. Karkat was beginning to get scared.  He had all these horrible visions of his boyfriend getting struck by lightning, or blown into a tree or slammed into the ground, or struck by lightning… "Karkat, calm the fuck down, he's not going to be hit by lightening." But as the storm grew worse he couldn't stop himself from thinking the worst. But with each deafening sound of thunder he ended up deeper and deeper into his blanket pile.

"I'm the worst Matesprit ever. I don't even have the guts to go look for him. I can't even beat a damn storm." He shook and whimpered pathetically as the power flickered. "I faced so much shit in the game, and this is what scares me to death? Fucking bullshit."

After another agonizing hour drifted by the troll started to growl, "No, fuck you. I'm going to look for my goddamn Matesprit and there's nothing you can do to stop me." He felt confident, but after he finished another loud boom sounded throughout the room and he froze. "No…fuck you. Fuck, fucking, YOU!" Quickly he pulled on his shoes and grabbed an umbrella and charged into the street. The wind blew the rain so hard the freshly opened umbrella was deemed useless in a matter of minutes. Karkat tossed it aside and let the storm have it. He probably should have paid more attention to the alerts when it said flash flood warning. Suddenly Karkat was up to his knees in water. He swore and moved to the higher ground that the neighboring yards provided.

He was terrified, every drop of rain stung when it shouldn't. His brain was forcing him to remember what happened the first and last time he was caught in the rain. But he knew John needed him. He had to find him. He just had to.

So why was he huddled underneath a large pine tree and shaking like a troll before the culling drones? "F-f-f-fuck…" Karkat wrapped his arms around his chest and huddled as close to the trunk of the tree as he could. He was shaking and whimpering again, and he had never felt more pathetic. The rain soaked through his clothes and forced his hair to lay flat. Karkat was unsure whether or not the shaking was due to his fear of the storm or because of the cold that suddenly seeping into his bones. Honestly he had a hard time figuring out what was rain and what was tears. "I came all the way out here to find John… and I still couldn't do anything!" He wanted to scream, he wanted shout at the clouds and the rain and the noise and the wind tell each one how big of a piece of shit they were. But instead a cried and pressed his head into his arms.

In the chaos of the storm he was surprised he was able to hear a quiet voice ask, "Karkat?" And in the rain saturated ground and air he was still able to pick out the scent of a very wet human. His head shot up and he saw John's figure in the street.

"John!" He screamed and stumbled forward until he collided with the boy.

"Holy shit, Karkat, what are you doing out in this?" He hugged the troll tightly and noticed how much he was shaking.

"I was worried about you idiot."

"Karkat…" he held him tighter, "You're scared of storms though, why did you?"

"Matesprits protect Matesprits. I had to find you. I had to make sure you were ok. Though I did a pretty shitty job of it."

John told Kakrat to be quiet and started walking him back to the house. "You're freezing," he commented.

"Y-Yeah."

"I'm glad you care so much for me, but really, Karkat, you shouldn't have to put yourself in harm's way to find me. You shouldn't have to scare yourself half to death just because of a storm."

"But what if, what if you got hit by lightening or something?"

"Karkat, that's really not something you have to worry about. I'm smart; I heard the wind say that this was going to be one hell of a storm. So I landed and walked the rest of the way there and back." He smiled and ruffled the trolls soaked hair, "But your concern is adorable." He saw Karkat grin before his expression went back to fear. "Come on, let's get you home."

John pulled Karkat along, even when the troll wanted to do nothing more than run and hide under something. "Karkat, we're almost there, come on." For the last two blocks John resorted to picking up his small boyfriend and carrying him to the door. Karkat was too stressed out to complain. When they made it inside Karkat collapsed on the floor and panted. "Come on dude, let's get warmed up." John helped him into the shower and they made sure the lever was all the way to hot.

Karkat seemed to calm down in the shower, but John had a feeling it was mostly due to his constant touch and the soothing warm water. When they dried off and put on fresh clothes John asked Karkat if he was ok enough to go back downstairs to the living room, or if they should retreat to their bedroom for the remainder of the day and night.

"I'm fine, I think." John nodded and left Karkat on the sofa while he went to make hot cocoa. He sat down with the mugs and allowed Karkat to snuggle up to him. "Sorry I caused more trouble."

"You were concerned, it's ok, really. It was sweet." The boy scratched around Karkat's ears. "You were really brave facing your fear today. I'm proud of you."

"I didn't face anything; I made it a mile down the road and hid under a tree."

"Hey, it's a mile more than you would have done a month ago." John wrapped the blanket around them tighter, "besides, it's sorta my fault too. I told you I'd never leave you alone during a storm and I did." Karkat nodded and sighed. "You're doing much better this time; you're a lot less scared."

"I have a lot less to be afraid of." The troll buried himself into the blankets and John.

Wind still continued to pound and the hail banged against the roof and windows in between the soft padding of rain. John was amazed when he heard the troll start to purr and his breath even out into a pattern of sleep. He couldn't hold back a smile or a laugh; it was only four in the afternoon. But he figured the tiny troll must have been exhausted after today's anxieties.

Eventually the rain tapered off and John shook Karkat awake, "Hey buddy, get up, come on let's go outside for a bit."

Karkat sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "It's still raining out nookwhiff."

"I know. Just get up; I wanted to show you something." Karkat groaned but followed John to the door. The human grabbed an umbrella and unfolded it as they left the house. Karkat hugged his waist and followed close to the boy. "See? The rain is soft and gentle now. There's not thunder or anything. It's peaceful."

Karkat nodded and looked up at the lightning sky. "It's pretty I guess." He glanced back at John's smiling face and then back to the sky. The clouds didn't look so twisted or angry now. They were light and puffy and the setting sun painted them pink and purple. "Whoa, John is that a…fuck what's the word?"

John followed Karkat's hand to where the sun crossed the misting rain. "It's a rainbow Karkat, and yeah, that's a pretty one." He could feel the excitement pulse through the troll; he squeezed John's hand and strained for a better look. "What I meant to show you was that even in something as strong or scary as a storm, it can leave behind more than just destruction. There are soft things, and beautiful things."

"Kinda like trolls…" Karkat trailed off.

The human hesitated, "Y-Yeah Karkat. Just like trolls."  They watched the rainbow for a few minutes and listened to the soft sound of the rain gently falling against their umbrella. "Hey Karkat?"

"Yeah?"

"I remembered the popcorn."
So there were severe thunderstorms where I lived for a while, and that usually makes me want to write something storm related. I also promised Chibi that I'd write something that wasn't depressing...my latest entry for the HSO was really not happy at all.
So here's something fluffy I wrote while half asleep.
Enjoy.

If Karkat's fear makes no sense then go read Stormy Night, it's in my gallery somewhere.
© 2012 - 2024 Tien13
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CeceliaAlvertroxy's avatar
Omfg the popcorn... Goddmanit