Chapter 1: ==> READER: BE KARKAT VANTAS.
Chapter Text
Your eyes open to bright, blinding sunlight. You hiss instinctively, and recede back into the cracked hull of the vessel you were sleeping within. As you adjust to the brightness, you scan your surroundings breathlessly to get a grasp on your situation.
Your name is Karkat Vantas, and you are currently huddled under some sort of spacecraft that has been cracked like an egg into the sun-warmed soil and grass. You stare forward at a deep trench, clearly left behind by the craft; your eyes dart around in search of some sort of shade, but you are completely exposed. The air is floral, rich with life. Through the peaceful chirping of birds, you hear a frantic voice shouting words you can't quite make out. You conclude you have crashed onto a foreign world, but the preceding events still escape you.
You slowly reach your hand out into the warm rays of the sky, and find that your skin does not instantly combust. It doesn't even hurt a little bit. In fact, it's almost pleasant. Is this what it feels like to be Kanaya, roaming in the daylight and fighting shadow droppers?
You cannot be Kanaya, as you are still being Karkat and trying to figure out what the fuck is going on here. Your memory is so poor right now, you don't even know where the name Kanaya came from; she must be one of your friends, and a Jadeblood. One of the friends you must have left behind, since you're now completely alone. Just you and the unidentified voice creating a background noise above you.
A gloved hand suddenly appears, blocking the warm yellow sun from your view. You stare at it stupidly, hunching back into the safety of your wrecked escape pod.
“Hey man, you fucking awake yet? C'mon and take my hand. Let me help you out of there already," speaks the voice that's been harassing you since you regained consciousness, suddenly in completely understandable Alternian. Her face comes into view as she stands directly in front of the opening and crouches down. Her greasy blonde hair blends to red at the tips, and she’s got a pair of jeans beneath a velvet dress. She smiles warm and inviting beneath a pair of dark black sunglasses.
You feel compelled to reach out, hesitantly locking fingers and allowing yourself to be pulled out of the wreckage and onto your feet. You take a moment to roll your shoulders and stretch your limbs out, looking at your surroundings. The planet you're on is quite similar in appearance to Alternia, even if the colors are all off. And the alien standing before you even has a similar appearance to trolls, even if she’s missing horns–maybe tiny little ones hidden in her hair? One thing stands out to you as you slowly turn your head around: you're taller than you remember.
“Karkat, are you okay?" she asks with a tone of genuine concern. You notice her lowering her raised arms down to her sides; you didn't even notice that they were ever lifted.
“How do you know my name, alien?" you immediately retort. Something inside you twists.
“Alien? What the hell happened to you in there?"
“I clearly crashed onto this desolate alien world while attempting to escape certain execution on my own. I have no idea how long I've been out, but given how tall I am," you flex your shoulders and straighten your back up at that, “it must have been a few sweeps."
"So… you have no idea who I am?”
"Of course not. And I have no idea how the fuck you know who I am, either,” you snap.
"Uh…” the person stares at you, mouth slightly agape while her mind races. "Stole your wallet.”
"Not possible. I do not CARRY a wallet, that's such a fucking risk. Just ASKING to get pick pocketed.”
"Seemed more plausible than saying I'm a telepath," she says, shrugging.
You know a telepath. You don't remember who they are, but you know that telepathy is an entirely more reasonable idea than stealing some unconscious alien’s fucking wallet .
“Who, and what, are you then?" you ask.
“Lark," she responds. “Lark Strider. I'm a little past being lumped in as a human."
“Humans, huh. The dominant species on this world?" you ask, stroking your chin. Stubble scratches your fingers and surprises you. You've grown a lot since you were last awake.
"Yeah, fairly. I mean, there's trolls, too. Carapacians. But Earth belonged to humans first, y'all are just recent additions. Karkat, you seriously lost your fucking memories dude?”
"Don't be fucking insensitive, you freak waste of bulgefluid. I’m the victim of the tragic accident before you. And for the record, YES, I ‘lost my goddamn memories’ and can barely remember the names of my crushes, let alone what happened before I climbed into this escape pod and took off.”
You roll your eyes at this Lark human, pocket your hands, and start walking along the trench away from her. She quickly follows behind you, until she's shoulder to shoulder with you.
"Wait, where are you going?” she asks.
"You're clearly off your fucking swaychair here. Acting like I'm the one with fucking thinkpan damage, sheesh. So I'm getting the fuck out of here, I'm gonna figure out my bearings by myself. Despite whatever impression I've clearly given you to think I'm some sort of delicate little newly hatched grub, I am actually fucking competent, and also suddenly buff as fuck which is a nice addition to my toolkit. So, so long, Lark Strider. I've got this. ”
Lark stares at you with an utterly unreadable expression, stoic and stationary. After an uncomfortable pause, you clear your throat.
"You're still fucking following me?" you ask.
“Oh well y'know…” she starts off nervously. "I just, you're brand new and all, and…"
“What, you think I'm some super fucking cool exotic alien for you to stalk and study?" you interject.
“No, not really. More like, I dunno, I'm like an ambassador, dude. I gotta give you the tour, show you around, take you to the city, maybe get you some local delicacies like ice cream or whatever, y'know. You understand. I can shut up."
“I think that's wholly unnecessary," you state abruptly. You stop walking, and she stops beside you, staring at you as you ponder her words. "But sure, give me the special treatment, I deserve it. Make me feel like a god."
“This way, then," Lark says, turning around and gesturing for you to follow her.
Without hesitation, you pick up your feet and climb outside of the trench with her. The two of you continue to walk a respectable distance apart from each other, strolling through a forest full of green and flowers. The dappled light leaves spots of sun and shade like a rug across the worn dirt footpath you're on. The both of you stay quiet for a surprising length of time. After what must be ten minutes, you fail to resist the temptation to break the silence.
“So uh,” you start. Absolutely stellar attempt at conversation from you, really. 10/10.
“Yeah?” she replies.
“There are more trolls here?”
“Yup.”
“And other aliens, too."
“Yup."
“...all living on this mystery planet in perfect unison?"
“Yup."
“Oh come on! Give me more than a yup . I’m just shy of BEGGING you to expose all over me like I know you’re dying to do. I can tell, I can read you like a fucking over-cited trollpedia article. I just asked you the most OPEN-ENDED question I could have possibly come up with, and you’re actually just gonna yup me instead of info-dumping hours of hoofbeastshit from your unrepressed load gaper?”
You’re met with a pause that leaves you wondering if you’ve said too much. As you wonder if you’ve said too much, you have the realization that up to this point in your life, you’ve never actually given a squeakbeast’s ass if you overstepped your boundaries, least of all with a stranger. The feelings this Lark Strider instill in you are worrisome. Not only do you believe flush at first sight is fictional fairy-tale bullshit reserved for the sort of trashy cinema even you keep your interest in secret, you also still aren’t entirely sure you can even feel normal emotions like they do on the screen.
Before you can finish having your silent dilemma, Lark interrupts your thoughts.
“You know what, sure, I actually am dying to dump so much useless dribble down your throat right now. I am fully loaded, cocked, and ready to go. Except the moment you get on your knees and tilt your head back and open your mouth nice and wide for my informational payload, it fucking runs dry. I have no goddamn idea where to start or what to say, for once in my stupid little life. I've been rolling everything over in my head this whole damn time, trying to figure out exactly what I should say and what I need to keep from you."
Lark’s words stop you, and you take a moment to ponder and swallow them fully.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you were flapsdeep in a personal crisis over there,” you say after your silence, like a jackass. “I’m just busy dealing with MY OWN FUCKING CRISIS right now, and since I literally have NO ONE, because I left EVERYONE I’ve ever known or loved BEHIND on my homeworld–MIND YOU, I STILL DON’T EVEN KNOW WHY I DID THIS!!!--I was hoping you might be able to offer me some fucking assistance, since you’ve been so god damn helpful today.”
“You know what,” Lark says abruptly. “You’re right, Karkat. You’re dealing with so much more than me right now. Fuck it.”
Once again, you’re met with the strange sense that you should perhaps tone it down when speaking. You take a deep breath, and prepare to act like the adult you are.
“I’m sorry,” you say with much personal strength. “Uh, I’m sorry, Lark. Let me phrase my question a little more personably: how are trolls existing on a world with other races in general? We conquer. We slay. We eliminate. We do not befriend .”
“This world is a special case. The trolls here are not Alternian conquerors, they’re–” Lark stops, and rolls her words over in her mouth carefully. “The trolls here are descendants of a few who escaped the Empress. Trolls and humans are pretty well integrated at this point, both socially and… genetically.”
“Crossbreeding?” you exclaim stupidly.
“Yes. I mean, not that much–usually interspecies couples will adopt from the Mothergrub if they want a troll baby. Or the human will get pregnant, if they can. There’s other techniques, I guess, but uh, those are reserved.”
“Reserved techniques?” you immediately inquire.
“Yeah, forget I said anything? Forget I said anything. Thanks, ‘preciate it,” Lark says briskly.
“Well now I won’t let you brush it under the rug, actually. I’ve got more questions too, like about you having a Mothergrub on this bizarre mixed world, and what is pregnant, but more importantly. RESERVED PAIL FILLING TECHNIQUES? You realize this sounds like a line directly out of a video title on a sleazy pornographic website, right? Reserved Pailing Techniques, 10 MILLION views, 28 HUNDRED THOUSAND thumbs up, top comment ‘I am twiddling my bulge so fucking hard over these illicit methods, can’t believe this fucking moron put up the secret for all of us to massage our rocks to,’ and then you click on it and it’s actually just normal boring ass vanilla sex.”
Lark slows her walk to turn and stare at you with a bright smile stretched across her lips. You’re stopped in your tracks as she starts to chuckle, then shrugs her shoulders to shake it away. She starts to mouth something, but clears her throat before actually speaking.
“We had an egg for the Mothergrub, so one of the escaped trolls hatched it and we created a cavern. Pregnancy is what humans do, they grow their own babies inside of themselves,” Lark explains.
“Pregnancy sounds absolutely horrifying,” you respond without missing a beat. She nods in agreement.
“So, the trolls who came to this world did so with a group of humans. This whole universe is uh…” she pauses and turns to look forward, in the direction you’re both walking once again. You can tell she’s thinking of how to explain something that is going to sound absolutely stupid.
“Why don’t you just tell it to me straight,” you offer. “And I’ll suspend my sense of reason, just for you .”
“Well then,” she starts instantly. "This universe was created from a game called SBURB, that took literally four different iterations to finally get right. Twelve trolls and eight humans and one cherub and a few carapacians came through the door, and dropped this Earth into it. Set some shit up, then time-skipped to the future when set-up shit was rolling, and now rule over as a combination between Gods and Kings and shit. There’s no empire, no presidency, no capitalism, everything is good. So yeah.”
“So the reserved techniques are ones only the Gods can use,” you piece together.
“Yep. We make all of the normal people go through the traditional methods to keep babymaking as natural as possible. Try to keep it a hands-off, no interference type of ordeal,” Lark says casually.
Through these conversations, you’re certainly starting to piece some things together. Firstly, that it’s awfully convenient for you, a freak of nature doomed for culling from the moment of your hatching deluding yourself into thinking you could survive in a society that would inevitably end your life the moment you stepped into it, to have arrived on magic everything-is-better-now planet with a race of creatures suspiciously similar to your own. Second, that this Lark person has an awful lot of intimate knowledge of the goings on of the world, and while she could be recounting fairytales passed down through the generations, her frequent use of the word we is leaving you uncertain. You suddenly feel as though you’re being led down into a deep unknown by a red-haired temptress, speaking sweet words of safety to lull you into her trap. Maybe she’s a cultist, and the worldview she’s pouring into you is such a skewed perception of reality that you’re being poisoned against the truth. Or maybe she’s a nice person with a pretty smile on a planet far enough away from the Alternian Empire that you can finally be safe and learn to relax for once in your short, pathetic life.
You see the silhouette of a city on the horizon, and start to feel an uneasy sense of dread grow in the pit of your stomach.
Chapter 2: ==> KARKAT: BE LARK STRIDER.
Chapter Text
You are now Lark Strider.
At the moment, you do not feel like being Lark Strider. Unfortunately, the narrative insists, as no other characters have yet made themselves known. As such, you persist as Lark Strider against your will, and recount the events of the worst day of your happily ever after to date.
You were exploring the surface of the planet Earth with your husband, Karkat Vantas, something that you and your friends have done quite frequently since arriving at this specific point in time. After beating SBURB and entering this universe, your Hero of Space transplanted this Earth from your brother’s universe into this one to make yourselves a home. You, the Hero of Time, are the one responsible for progressing the planet to a more civilized, liveable state, which resulted in a great deal of both old Earth artifacts resurfacing and the ruins left behind from the Alternian Empress’s temporary occupation scattered across the globe like confetti.
You and your husband were playing Indiana Jones around an old crash site when he fell into the crater, and the partially-extracted spacecraft fell down on top of him and knocked him out cold. After the initial fear that your significantly-more-killable significant other had perished beneath the debris, you extracted him to find that he has awoken with no recollection of you, or seemingly anything from before he first played his own universe-creating game of SGRUB. You see flashes of the Vantas you know in his eyes periodically, but not only is he as crass as he was in his youth, he's also just as distrustful.
You tread your words delicately around him, something you're not used to doing. You're terrified of losing his trust, and cannot imagine what would happen if he wandered off while he’s like this. No, for now, the best course of action is to continue playing along and hope that he wakes up tomorrow like this never happened, or that you can gently guide his mind back to where it used to be.
You and Karkat approach the edge of the city, where you instinctively walk toward your house. You stop abruptly and Karkat careens into you from behind, nearly knocking you over.
“Hey, what the fuck?" he shouts.
You turn around and put a hand up to grab his shoulder. Realizing this is a particularly intimate gesture for a total stranger, you nervously run your fingers through your hair instead.
“Well, now that we're almost in the city, I uh, I was thinking about where I should take you to. First stop on the tour, can't let it be lame." You stuff your hands into your pockets and shrug your shoulders.
“Oh, that's all? Seems a little ridiculous to full on freaking stop in the middle of fuckall nowhere over, but who am I to judge?" Karkat asks, arms crossed.
”Just needed a minute to think. Calm down, I've got this shit so under control you can't even believe. I'm at the control panel, flippin’ switches and twistin’ knobs like a fucking DJ ripping out a fresh set and you are the only one privy to these hella sick techniques. I fucking got this bro.” You definitely do not got this, but your mindless rambling gives you space in your brain to try to determine your next course of action.
"Alright, you've had your minute. In fact, you've had several, like, a whole slew of minutes between us walking in silence and us standing here stupidly. What's your plan, ma’am?" Karkat says, brows raised.
You start to giggle, and immediately bring a hand up to cover your mouth and stop yourself. You clear your throat.
“What's so funny?" Karkat demands. He sort of sounds like an aggrieved toddler.
“Oh, just. My girlfriend says that every time we decide to go out," you say. This is the first time you've heard Karkat use it; he mostly dropped any sort of gendered terms around you.
Something twitches across Karkat’s face when you use the word girlfriend , something like jealousy, maybe.
"How about you troll her and ask her for advice, since you can't seem to figure anything out today?”
"It never stopped being funny how y'all use the word troll as an all purpose every word,” you chuckle.
You don't exactly disagree with asking Jade for advice, although you don't necessarily think you need it. You've been handling things just fine until now, even if you're so high strung those kids will need a ladder to reach you when it's all said and done. You pull out your phone to see you actually have unread messages from Rose. You lean your back against the brick fence you two have awkwardly stopped beside. First things first, you need to try and get into contact with Jade. She is your girlfriend after all.
– turntechGodhead [TG] began pestering gardenGnostic [GG] at 10:28:230 –
TG: hey jade
TG: i need your help
TG: well
TG: advice more like
TG: time sensitive
TG: it's urgent pls respond
Without a response, you redirect your attention to the other flighty broad who might be able to help you.
– tentacleTherapist [ TT ] began pestering turntechGodhead [ TG ] at 08:38:272 –
TT: And perchance where is the Lark, herald of morn?
TT: Nay, tis the nightingale, that rings in the hollow of thine ear!
TT: I watch as daybreak crests the peaks of the mountains, yet I still am without the call of the Lark.
TT: What a pity, that this poetry shall go to waste, fallen upon the deaf ears of the dead.
TT: Lark, you missed your e-njection.
TG: shitting hard or hardly shitting sister
TT: Sober as a firefly and dutifully doody-free, my dear sister.
TT: What have you been up to? It is rare that I can get a line of Shakespeare in without being immediately enraptured by some form of Eminem plagiarism in response.
TG: karkat and i have been exploring
TT: Ah, yes.
TT: The ever descriptive “‘splorin’" response.
TT: Need I pry for details?
TG: found a troll space ship crash site not too far from town i have no idea how we managed to miss it its not fresh or anything but like its right fucking there whats the odds its new
TT: Or are you already typing up a winded explanation?
TT: Ah.
TT: The implications if it's new? I suppose it depends, a carapace could have found one and taken it for a joyride with a pisspoor landing.
TT: I think that's actually the more reasonable explanation; the likelihood of trolls happening all their own in this universe is pathetically slim.
TT: Actually the implications are fascinating. You've never seen it before but it's clearly old?
TT: I was going to suggest some tectonic activity had pushed it to the surface, but perhaps the simplest answer is merely that it was overlooked.
TT: I presume it is in the woods, so not too unlikely that you would have missed it among the forest. If it's old enough, trees could have grown enough to conceal it from the air.
TG: hey totally unrelated and irrelevant
TG: but
TG: since youre better than google
TG: i wanted to ask what does a concussion look like
TT: A concussion?
TT: Concussions can be mild and merely leave you dazed with a headache and maybe nausea, or they can be quite severe and give you the symptoms of a migraine and possibly amnesia.
TT: I take it one of you had a rough time playing in your crash site.
TG: ah fuck
TG: god dammit
TG: i g2g
TG: thanks rose
– turntechGodhead [ TG ] has ceased pestering tentacleTherapist [ TT ] –
You stuff your phone into your pocket and drop a skateboard from your Sylladex so you can haul ass. You have no fucking clue where Karkat went.
Rolling around at the speed of not fucking fast enough, you rush up and down sidewalks in search of your troll. You pass by random citizens going about their daily lives, before eventually finding him in a garden, squatting, staring contemplatively at the ground.
You stop and slowly approach Karkat from behind. You actively try to make noise with your skateboard, since your normally quiet footsteps might spook him. You decide to crouch down beside him, arms folded over your knees, and stare at the freshly turned soil where a few bugs are crawling around. Karkat is staring at them, enraptured.
“Whatchya lookin’ at, buddy?” you say, tilting your chin up to look at his face.
“Seeing grubs is always humbling,” Karkat says calmly. “A reminder of how lucky I am to have even survived past my hatching. How many trolls are never actually given the chance to pupate, dying in the caverns from inattention or the brutal fights with each other. And the ones who are culled intentionally–if they're missing limbs, or formed incorrectly, or they’re the wrong blood color. What a waste of resources I ended up being.”
“The hell do you mean, waste of resources?" You snap. Karkat looks up sharply and scowls.
"I don’t know how much you know about the hemospectrum , beyond human , but I am not on it. Trolls risked their lives and probably died just so I could carry on some imaginary legacy. And what did I do with those good graces gifted to me by idiots I’ll never meet? I fucking ran away. I turned tail and fled like a pathetic, sniveling little pupa. I’m worthless. I spent my whole youth convinced I could do better and make something of myself…” Karkat stops there, but you can tell he could keep going.
You realize you’ve bitten through your lip in your attempt to stifle yourself. You massage your tongue over the tear and try to think of some reasonable way to respond. You’ve seen Karkat go through so much, and you even have some memories of helping talk him through this very topic. It’s eating you up inside to see him, to see your husband wallowing in pity like this, even moreso to know that to him, you’re just a stranger. You don’t think he would even listen to anything you’d have to say.
“Karkat, listen," you start, before taking a pause to start again. "Look, Karkat. You’re not a waste of anything. You’re a universe away from Alternia, you’re beyond… all of that. Uh, I think…” you trail off awkwardly, and reach up to put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it tightly. He blushes from the contact. “I think you seem cool?"
"Thanks, that means nothing coming from a complete stranger. I don’t even know why I said any of that,” Karkat coughs awkwardly. “You have no fucking clue who I am, you could care less about my problems. If anything, I think you’re fucking weird for still being here.”
"Where else would I be?” you say without missing a beat.
"With your girlfriend, I guess,” Karkat states, shrugging off your hand. “If this planet is as safe as you’re trying to convince me it is, then I should be able to roam around unattended, but the moment I left your sight, you started freaking the fuck out.”
“Of course dude," you start with no idea where to go from there. "We got something, going on between us, you know. A good vibe, like we were born to be bros , y’know? And, y’know, with the whole space crash bullshit thing that happened, who’s to fucking say you don’t need like, a doctor or something? Like, I feel like… a sort of obligation.”
“Born to be bros?" Karkat starts, looking you up and down. He’s clearly questioning the terminology given your feminine physique, but something seems to stop him from saying anything else. He simply nods in acknowledgement. You wonder if perhaps that’s jogging his memory.
“Yeah. Soul siblings. You wanna go find somewhere quiet and not full of fucking bugs to sit down and uh… Just, talk?" you mumble.
“Uh, sure," Karkat says and stands up straight. He reaches his hand toward you, and you accept his help getting to your feet.
The two of you walk for a bit, strolling along the sidewalk in a quiet cantown neighborhood side by side. Occasionally, your pinky brushes by his, and you consider locking them together. You pussy out every single time. You’re like a child again, like you’re trying to court a really cute boy who you’re convinced will beat the shit out of you the moment he finds out you’re gay. But you can’t accept staying friends forever and pining in silence across the hall–this man is your husband , literally legally wedded to you with a fucking ceremony and everything.
You eventually end up in your own backyard, a massive garden maintained by your girlfriend and roommate and long time friend, Jade Harley. A winding path of paved stone strolls through the flowers and trees; from the sky, it’s shaped like a squiddle, but from the ground, it seems delightfully esoteric. At one of the eyes is a bench with a canopy full of vines, with dozens of blooming fuchsia clematis poking out between the leaves.
You take a seat, and pat the spot beside you for Karkat; the bench fits three people comfortably, but you’ve intentionally sat more towards the center to force him to be closer to you.
“I haven’t seen this many colors together in one place since–” Karkat stops abruptly. He stares into the distance with his mouth agape, taking almost a whole minute of silence to finally find his thoughts. “Since Gamzee went apeshit murdermode on the meteor.”
“This is the first time you’ve mentioned the meteor," you say.
"Yeah, let me reiterate the words apeshit murdermode and go back to not talking about it. Fucking inconsiderate.”
“Seems like an arbitrary line you’ve drawn between what you will and won’t overshare with me, dude.” You immediately feel as though your toes are slipping over the edge, and you angrily remind yourself to tread carefully.
“Sheesh, jackass, fine. I was busy being the worst fucking moirail ever and stopped paying attention to Gamzee, my palemate, when he ran out of his pacifying sopor pies. Then he went through the meteor and killed a bunch of us. So did Vriska, and Eridan. It was horrible. We went from twelve to uh. Seven.”
“What meteor? Thought you came here straight from Alternia.”
“Yeah thanks for reminding me that my memory is still hazy as fuck.” Karkat rolls his eyes, then looks off into the distance. “Tell me about yourself for once. I’m done capitalizing on all the tragic fucking backstory whatever, it’s getting excessively desperate and pathetically stupid.”
“Sure, I can talk about myself. Uh…” you weigh a few ideas in your head. “What do you want to know about me?"
"You’ve got a girlfriend. Matespritship, I presume?”
“Her name is Jade. I don’t really, uh, do quadrants. That’s distinctly a troll thing. I am a human. But, I do have another partner. My husband,” you say.
“Girl and Friend make sense to me. Hus and Band do not,” Karkat says.
“Husband refers to a man you’ve married. Marriage is a human thing, it’s a legally binding, permanent courtship. Uh, all love. No hate. Humans don’t really do the whole hate-fucking thing–well, I guess we do , but we don’t have a name for it. But marriage is love-fucking , not hate-fucking. So, I’m married to a man. And I’ve got a girlfriend that I’m dating.”
“You chose a permanent partnership with one and not the other?”
“I love ‘em both, don’t get me wrong. To an extent, marriage just doesn’t feel right for me and Jade. There’s also this big whole taboo from my old culture on marrying multiple people, so you gotta kinda choose one in the end. Jade was a long time friend, and she and I sort of went through a really long period in total isolation together, time traveling through the same 24-hour period over and over. I still care about my other two best friends, but she and I have spent longer together.”
“And your husband?" Karkat asks. "Because you chose him .”
“We just click. We spent three years traveling together with a few others. We actually fucking hated each other at the beginning, and were fighting over the same girl as if she didn’t have the ability to choose for herself. Lo and behold, she chooses neither of us because we both sucked and were being total cockheads. Well, we spent a lot of time together during all of that, and just fell into this groove, y’know. Like, we realized a lot of our trauma and shit is similar, we got a lot of the same problems.”
You fall silent, and the two of you sit in the quiet of it all for a couple minutes.
“And I fell in love with him. As long as it took me to realize I was in love, it took me even longer to admit it to myself, then to him. I miss him,” you add.
“Where is he right now?" Karkat asks earnestly.
"Uh, away. It’s whatever, I’m being stupid sentimental,” you say dismissively.
You take a deep breath, and Karkat lets you have your moment of silence. You have no idea what he's thinking about, but your frustration for the situation is mounting, and you’re praying that he’s thinking about you.
Chapter 3: ==> LARK: BE JADE HARLEY.
Chapter Text
You are now Jade Harley, alone in your home, trying your best to tidy up.
You’ve never been good at cleaning. You lived alone for years after the death of your dear sweet Grandpa, who himself was terrible at tidying and cleaning. You lived in such a large tower, and the rest of the island by extension, that you never really had to worry about running out of space for your things. You’re very good at sweeping dust under the rug, but finding a home for your clutter?
You eventually get all of the dirty dishes in the house into the kitchen sink, and a load of them into the dishwasher to wash. You go through the refrigerator, a common hull for forgotten leftovers and rancid produce, leaving only fresh fruits and raw ingredients behind. You make your way to the living room, collecting plushies and blankets onto the couches, and work on clearing the clutter from the coffee table onto the TV stand instead, so it's at least out of the way. You move your half-finished replanting project to the window sill, and center the photo album you and Lark have been working on together onto the coffee table.
You flip open to a random page of the album and look at a photo collage of you, Lark, and Karkat roaming around the surface of Earth C as teenagers. It makes you smile, but you can't enjoy it; every time you smile, you feel some sense of guilt or sorrow in the back of your head. You look up from the memories of being with your friends at the empty home you spend your time in, reminded once more of the loneliness you've been dealing with your whole life. You migrate up to your bedroom, which has become more of an art studio and engineering laboratory since you've started sleeping with your partners.
You lay down on your bed, a carbon copy of the same one you grew up in, with the same science patterned sheets you used to use. In the corner, three quarters of a robot stares at you, a project you abandoned a few months ago when you needed to take a creativity hiatus. You sigh, and turn your gaze up to the ceiling, painted baby blue with Skaia clouds floating overhead. You'd considered doing a night sky with a smattering of stars, but you decided you wanted to avoid leaning into the space motif too hard. You want this room to be a cheerful look back at where you started! Not a painful reminder of the hurt you endured. Your room is very much a little slice of your childhood, a perfect escape away from people. You never have gotten used to living with other people, no matter how much you care about each other or how your lives synergize.
You open your eyes and sit up abruptly. You have no idea if it's been five minutes or five hours. You check your phone and see it's still early afternoon, thankfully, with plenty of time to catch up on your many, many chats.
Your sister June asked about plans for Earth C Day, Rose sent you a poem, Kanaya asked for your opinion on two dresses, Lark asked for some advice, the Mayor has business reports for you to look over, Dirk asked how your robot project is coming along… Wait, Lark messaged you?
– turntechGodhead [TG] began pestering gardenGnostic [GG] at 10:28:230 –
TG: hey jade
TG: i need your help
TG: well
TG: advice more like
TG: time sensitive
TG: it's urgent pls respond
TG: fuck me
TG: gdi rose took up all my goddamn time again I gotta jet
TG: sorry babe
TG: message me later when you get this
– turntechGodhead [TG] ceased pestering gardenGnostic [GG] –
– gardenGnostic [GG] began pestering turntechGodhead [TG] –
GG: lark!!! im so sorry
GG: I went from the clean zone to the sleep zone
GG: im here now!!! D:
GG: ill just sit right here and wait for you to see this, I promise
GG: …
GG: :(((
GG: god dammit, I'm sorry
GG: im gonna fly around so i don't fall asleep this time, message me when you see this. if it's not too late.
GG: I love you…
– gardenGnostic [GG] has ceased pestering turntechGodhead [TG] –
You close the chat so your phone will ping you when Lark finally messages you again. You looked at the timestamps to see that you missed her by a whole half an hour; she must have texted you the moment you fell asleep. Frustrated and feeling useless, you ignore the other chums waiting to pester you and you take off to the skies to destress.
You hit top speed quickly, and for a moment, you are nothing but a bird on the breeze. You watch the countryside scroll beneath you, houses to fields to businesses to lakes. You feel free.
You slow down to a hover and stare at the deep hole of an ancient mined rock quarry. You release yourself, letting your body free fall, tail wagging from the adrenaline. You're merely feet away from the surface of the stone when you catch yourself. You can get closer!
You fly away from the quarry and eventually find the New Golden Gate Bridge, a faithful recreation made on the coast of not California where the original had been submerged underwater. You take a seat on the top, sigh, and pull out your phone to catch up on your other unread messages.
Chapter Text
You are now Karkat Vantas once again.
You are sitting on a park bench in the middle of an oasis of greenery and flowers. You aren’t quite sure if this is a public location, or someone’s private garden, but it’s surprisingly peaceful, especially with Lark sitting shoulder to shoulder with you.
Speaking of Lark, you and Lark were discussing her partners when she fell into an awkward silence. Your foggy brain has been filling with flashes of faces since the rainbow of flowers brought up some pretty traumatic memories of your friends dying. You’re trying to remember your friends, whom you definitely knew back on Alternia. You remember having eleven, for a total group of twelve individuals, but you keep coming up with more and more names. Maybe fictional characters from movies you watched and forgot?
The random flashes of memory from the meteor and the game definitely make you realize you were not unconscious for approximately five sweeps like you thought. You look at your hands, and how soft and well manicured they are. You reach to your face and stroke the stubble on your upper lip–it’s coarse and thick, something you’ve clearly shaved recently.
In your silence, Lark pulls out her handheld and pulls up a bright green chat. You choose not to lean over her shoulder and read it, but you do notice that her color is the same as your blood, an interesting choice. For some reason, you get the impression that humans’ chat colors don’t hold as much significance as trolls’ do. She tilts her head, and you whip yours away, looking out into the garden like you weren’t snooping on her private chats.
“Finally got a hold of Jade. Wanna come inside and see our place?” she says to break the quiet.
“This is your fucking lawnring?" you say stupidly.
"Oh, yeah. Jade likes plants,” she shrugs, and stands up.
You follow Lark around the winding path and to the door of a multi-tiered cylindrical building. You think it’s definitely weird that the hives on this planet are all shaped like cylinders, but there’s something aesthetically appealing to you as well. Like a town made out of nutrition cylinders…
You enter into a well-loved meal block from the sliding glass doors. Everything has a clean, steel and black aesthetic, but it's covered in layers of life and personalization. Crumbs, spills, stains; photos and stickers all over the thermal hull; pots and pans covering the crisprange; small potted plants on the windowsill. As you pass through, following Lark to the next block, one of the pictures on the thermal hull stands out to you. Three people of approximately 8 sweeps stand next to each other, smiling; one is obviously Lark, the other is another human with round glasses and long black hair, and beside them is a troll with a square jaw, short hair, and rounded horns. Your lip curls instinctively, and you quickly turn away and dash after Lark.
You find her in a cozy little block with a large L-shaped loungeplank with a cluttered low table between it and the television. You seat yourself dead center, and find that the cushion gives perfectly beneath your weight. You lean back, start to put your feet onto the table, and feel compelled to put them down and act like a civilized fucking gentleman.
“Kinda messy, huh," you say to break the silence.
“Astute observation, jackass. Three very busy adults live here."
Lark sits down on your left, and you feel an odd sense of unease. She's on the edge of the seat, reaching onto the table for something.
“Can you move to the other side?" you ask. You clear your throat to soften the blow, and immediately wonder when you started to give a shit about being rude.
Lark smiles with an odd sense of familiarity, and moves to your right with a big book in her hands. Your attention is immediately enraptured with this bizarre script you can somehow understand perfectly.
“Family Photos?" you read aloud.
“I like to dabble in photography. I think I'm getting better at doing people's portraits," she nods.
Lark flips it open and starts thumbing through the pages. There are dozens of people in there, and all of them are eerily familiar. You recognize the three from the hull photo appearing most frequently. Lark stops on a page with a photo of a flower filled meadow and two trees grown and groomed into an arch. There are rows of chairs lining either side of a walkway coated with red rose petals.
“Yeah, I can see you improving. Shits getting less blurry with each page. I wish I could get half as good as you at my stupid fucking hobbies," you say.
You continue awkwardly when Lark doesn't respond to your attempt at kindness. “Anything special about this uh, wherever it is you took?"
“This is the venue. Where we had our wedding," she says somberly.
“Is that some kind of party, like a twelfth-sweepiversary?" you ask.
Lark shakes her head and flips to the next page.
“A wedding is an official ceremony for two people to become married."
You stare at a photo of you, Karkat Vantas, an adult, standing at the altar in a crisp suit with a red bowtie. Besides you is Dave Strider; looking at his clean face and well groomed hair floods back memories for you. Dave was one of the ones on the meteor, the meteor you spent three long Earth Years on in isolation, where you grew closer and closer. Dave was one of the people you came to this Universe with. Dave was your matesprit.
You close your eyes and lean back into the loungeplank, pressing your balled up fists against the sockets of your eyes. You breathe slow and hard, you're so overwhelmed you scarcely hear the thump of the photo album falling.
Lark places a hand on your thigh, and rests another around your shoulders. Your body screams, desiring to lean into her and accept the comfort, but fighting against it like it would tarnish your fucking pride. You sit there, tense and quivering, as a migraine brews in your thinkpan. Slowly, you realize your body has voluntarily melted into Lark, and she has wrapped her arms around you fully in a tight embrace. You feel her cheek on yours, wet with fresh tears.
“Lark? I–” you start, but you're finding it more difficult to find words to speak than it is to think.
"I'm sorry dude, I should have fucking known better,” she whispers. "I've been so fucking stressed out all day trying not to fuck this up.”
"Fuck what up? Who the fuck am I, who the fuck are you? I, I have no idea. I don't know what's going on!” You shout, bursting. You instantly regret it, and try to smother yourself once again with your hands.
"Karkat. I want to help you remember. You've been living here for years now,” Lark whispers. Her voice is quivering, and hearing the cusp of a sob in her voice sends a shiver down your spine and instantly grounds you.
"I'm not an Alternian escapee,” you state, suspending your belief for a minute.
"I mean, you kind of are. You didn't fly here in a ship. You played some stupid game. God what did y'all fucking call your SBURB? It was something stupid, like SBUG?”
"SGRUB.”
"You beat the game, and our fucked up session poisoned yours. You, me, Rose, and a few others had to ride the meteor to another game session,” she continues.
"Who the fuck are you, Lark?” you say, pulling away and lowering your hands.
Lark raises her sunglasses, placing them on top of her head, and stares at you with familiar, warm, red eyes. You forget to breathe, and stare into her eyes until your own go cross and you're lightheaded. She puts her hand on your chin and you gasp. Lark leans in and places her lips onto yours, and you melt into her. Everything makes sense. Your head aches, your lungs hurt, your stomach turns, but you press your mouth firmly onto the lips of your lover and you let the rest of your mind fade away. You've remembered the only thing that matters.
You are Karkat Vantas, and Lark Strider is your wife.
Notes:
This is the only fanart I ended up drawing for this fic; I'd considered doing other photographs, but I'd rather post it than let it sit completed in my drafts forever.
Chapter 5: ==> KARKAT: BE LARK STRIDER.
Chapter Text
You are now Lark Strider, and Karkat Vantas is your husband.
You pull away from the kiss you initiated, and wipe the tears off of your cheek.
“I love you, Karkat," you say quietly; you hate to hear the shake of tears in your voice, but you're too overwhelmed to keep it down.
“I love you, too, Lark."
Karkat leans in and places another kiss into your lips, and you slide your hand to the back of his neck to hold his head firmly in place.
Eventually, the two of you find yourselves sitting side by side, staring at each other, knees touching and hands held.
“My mind is still hazy," he admits after a long silence.
“A fucking space ship fell on your head. I'm lucky you're alive," you respond.
“I'm not that fragile, dic–cunt.”
"Do you…" you start off, and almost shy out of the question. “...Remember my transition?"
“Um. What do you mean?" Karkat asks.
“I'm a woman. I didn't used to be. You met me before, you knew me, uh. Well, we got super close and got together before I'd even realized. I didn't even know I could , and it wasn't until some time after we got married I realized I wanted to. I've been on HRT for uh for a bit.”
"Honestly, as my mind was sort of going in and out… I sort of had a sense we had some sort of something together,” Karkat says. He sticks his tongue out and bites it thoughtfully. "At first I thought you were my daughter, I guess.”
"Haha, gross. I'm not gonna start calling you daddy during sex,” you respond playfully.
"I don't care how long we're together or how long I'm exposed to mixed culture. Human family roles will never be sexy to me.”
"Whatever you say, daddy…" you tease.
Suddenly serious, Karkat bends over to pick up the photo album and flips back to your wedding picture. You look at it, then up at him.
“Something up?" you ask.
“I never knew you'd put together a photo album," he says. His thumb runs over the corner of the photograph, and he slowly covers up your suit so it's only him with your face showing.
“Jade and I have been working on it for a while. I had to jump back and take some other pictures, too. We were going to present it to you for Earth C Initiation Day." You reach over and try to flip to the next page, but Karkat moves his hand to prevent you.
"Lark, do you regret wearing a suit?” he asks calmly.
"What?”
"On our wedding day. Do you ever want to go back in time and stop yourself?”
"Stop the wedding? Fucking never. I'm so fucking happy with you, I couldn't imagine having to spend the rest of my life with you as a roommate or a neighbor or an internet friend or–"
“No no, not the wedding," he interrupts. “Do you want to have a redo ceremony, where you get to wear a wedding dress?"
Karkat flips forward several pages, until he finds a photo of you wearing a deep red ball gown for Promstuck night. He then turns to look at you, genuine concern on his face.
You take a moment to soak it all in. Karkat has never been upset by your transition, but he's never seemed to explicitly embrace it. You'd describe his attitude until this point as indifferent , and you really weren't prepared to suddenly have this question placed on you. You take a deep breath, not needing any extra time to think, and you nod in agreement.
"Yes, yes I do. That's… that's a good idea,” you say quietly.
"I'll get started planning it,” Karkat states boldly. "It's also… well, it sort of feels like I just speedran meeting you and falling in love with you, and I want to experience my ceremony with Lark."
“Is there anything else I can do to help your memory, Karkat?" you ask gently.
“What? I mean, I think I'm fine. Should we include Jade this time? Should we ask Jade to marry us, is that weird–"
“Karkat," you interrupt this time. “You haven't made a single fucking reference to 50 First Dates, or any of the hundreds of fucking amnesia romance movies I definitely was paying attention to and didn't forget the names of."
“Life isn't a fucking romcom, Lark," Karkat says, deadpan.
“I dunno, today sort of felt like one," you laugh, and lean back into the plush of the couch. You lace your fingers tightly with Karkat’s and squeeze his hand, breathing deeply.
“You fucking made it one. Why the hell did you play along like we'd never met before? Hell, why didn't you ask Rose or Jade or fucking Terezi or God damn ANYBODY for help?" Karkat squeezes your hand back.
“I dunno dude, I was scared. You weren't responding at all at first, and when I got down and saw you, you looked like a scared child. I thought you'd died. I was flashing through every thought on what I'd do, who I’d tell and how, where I’d go, I wasn't ready for you to not recognize me. It sort of was like losing you. Once I was committed to the fucking bit, I kinda lost myself in it. I forgot that I could even ask other people, I got so worried something would happen to you if I didn't like, behave perfectly.”
"I cannot believe you forgot about literally anyone else for help? You seriously thought smarty-pants Rose would have made things worse? Or that you’d be any better at fixing me than our fucking girlfriend?” Karkat says.
You roll your eyes and sink deeper into the couch. You realize this is going to be a very long criticism of everything you did wrong, and you decide to bunker down and let Karkat get it out of his system. You're so happy to have him back.
Chapter Text
You are now Jade Harley, several miles away on the outskirts of the city.
You are sitting on the edge of a bridge stretched across a wide river, watching the flowing water glisten beneath your feet. In your hand is your phone, with the chat pulled up from your girlfriend that you both have been struggling to reach at the same time. You have no idea what’s going on with her today, and it’s starting to piss you off a little. You hope to finally get some answers so you can put your mind at ease.
– turntechGodhead [TG] began pestering gardenGnostic [GG] at 14:29:2839 –
TG: hey
TG: hey jade
TG: hey jade are you there now
TG: im spamming you so you know it's me
TG: ding ding dinging up your pc like a goddamn bell at midnight
TG: sorry I freaked you out earlier I noticed you seemed upset
TG: to be fair I was also but it's better now
TG: i hope youre not in the shower this timeTG: I wouldnt even be mad itd be funny as hell
TG: id have to go find one of the light girlies and beg her for some fucking luck
TG: bc it would mean I cant catch a goddamn break
TG: anyway
TG: respond when you see thisGG: i waaaaaaaaaaaas not in the shower in fact!!!!
GG: i was on the toilet ;P
GG: go ahead and ask your queue!
TG: so you are at home currently
GG: i was using our toilet
GG: the master bedroom toilet that we all share
GG: doing extremely unladilike things to it ;)
TG: great
TG: beautiful job
TG: smash that shit
TG: absolutely tear that porcelain a new one
GG: is that all you needed to know? you sounded soooooo desperate a minute ago
TG: oh yeah
TG: can you clear out for a few minutes
TG: i need
TG: karkat and i got into something and i need privacy
GG: i mean, yeah of course i can. o_o
GG: im actually not at home already, i was messing with you.
GG: but…
GG: i do wanna know why!
TG: ill explain later
TG: once ive managed to fix it
TG: promise ill explain
TG: ive got so many moving parts
TG: turning gears if you would
TG: some might even say
TG: irons in the fire
TG: i just
TG: need a minute alone with him
GG: are you two fucking on the couch. :/
TG: NO
TG: i mean
TG: no
TG: i promised i wouldnt
TG: have i broken a promise
GG: yes
GG: like
GG: a few
TG: ok well
TG: its not for sex
GG: are you sure you dont need my help?
GG: you made it seem like a problem that you needed a second opinion on
GG: and if it involves karkat
TG: uh
TG: honestly
TG: no im not sure
TG: but id like to try on my own first
GG: you know what. that’s respectable! I respect that answer.
GG: i’ll be back in 30
TG: thanks babe
TG: i love you
TG: <3
GG: love you too <333!!!!!!!!!
GG: (mines bigger >:)))) teehee)
– gardenGnostic [GG] ceased pestering turntechGodhead [TG] –
You consider asking a few more questions, but you’re a nice, mature adult who can respect boundaries, even if you don’t like them. You literally just had a conversation not too long ago with both of them separately about how you’re feeling sidelined in the relationship.
You stop to remind yourself not to wallow in anger and instead consider the best possible outcome. They’re busy setting up a big surprise for you. You’re about a week away from Earth C Day, and the whole planet has been gearing up to prepare for their big festivals. That means it’s getting close to your anniversary of getting together with both of them (where you had previously only been dating Karkat, a separate anniversary). You start to get yourself excited, and you cast away all of the negative thoughts you were having about the two of them by chucking rocks into the water below.
When your promised thirty minute timer is up, you slip off of the bridge and enjoy the rushing wind of free fall, stopping yourself just before hitting the water. You take off flying, the wind whipping your long black hair around you, taking the winding scenic route to home.
You have always enjoyed flight since it became a part of your repertoire, and while some of your other God Tier friends prefer to live a normal life, you and your sister June can constantly be seen racing each other in the clouds. You still remember the first time you and Lark took Karkat flying; he refused to go with any one of you, and demanded a second set of hands to ensure his safety. You remember you and Lark holding each of his hands and flying from the city to the ocean, and the look of terror on his face melting away to one of wonder. You close your eyes for a moment and slow your speed, savoring the thought. Savoring having such a wonderful memories. You thumb over a few of the colorful bands tied around your fingers, the ones that represent memories you still never got back.
When you open your eyes, you're levitating over your home. You drop down at the tentacle-end of your squiddle shaped garden and enjoy walking through the plants. You do this most days that you come home, unless you've done grocery shopping or are in a rush. You open the sliding door and stand in the kitchen, eavesdropping on the two voices from the living room.
“Hah, thanks for reminding me. I always fucking hated her," Karkat laughs.
“Y'know, I do actually feel bad for the like, two people who actually liked her, but I'm kinda glad she's not here right now. I don't think she could take a happily ever after sitting down," Lark laughs in response.
You inhale deeply. You remind yourself that you've been dating both of them for two years now. You remind yourself that you don't have the context for what or who they're talking about. You remind yourself that you're an adult, and you're not going to cry from hearing your partners shit talking you behind your back. You remind yourself to handle this like an adult, and beat the shit out of them instead.
You approach slowly, from the back of the couch, behind them. Your footsteps are intentionally quiet.
“I agree. She would get bored after a perigee and make up something to fuck with. Even with Terezi around to keep her in check," Karkat says.
“I think we've deserved a life of rest, where the only problems we have are solving land survey disputes and raising kids," Lark sighs, leaning back, revealing the photo album on her lap opened to a photo of Vriska taken like she's a cryptid.
“And losing our memories, I guess," Karkat adds.
“Nope, definitely not that one," Lark says quickly.
You pop your head over the back of the couch between them and say “hi!"
Karkat immediately looks at you, grabs your face with his hands, and pulls you over the back of the couch and on top of himself as he lays flat on his back. You're swept away, lips locked firmly and passionately. His arms move around your waist, and your hands find his chest, so that you can push yourself up when he's finally done with you.
“Jade, holy shit, I missed you so fucking much Jade," Karkat says uncomfortably loud. “I love you so goddamn much it makes me look like a fucking moron," he adds, kissing you again.
“Hi Karkat, I love you too! Um, what the fuck is going on?" you ask.
Karkat releases you and lets you sit up, making you take his other side so that he's sandwiched between you and Lark. You use the hem of your shirt to polish off your glasses, which got very smudgy during your impromptu make out session.
Lark slides the photo album onto Karkat’s lap so it's easier for you to see too.
"Lark and I were playing around in an incredibly unstable crash site, and I hit my head, hard.”
"What he means is that a goddamn spaceship literally fell onto his head. And gave him fucking amnesia, and scared the everloving tits out of me.”
"Holy shit, you're okay now?” you ask, suddenly grabbing Karkat by the horns and leaning the top of his head closer so you can examine him.
"Yeah, I'm okay now. I've taken some pain medicine. We've just been sitting here going over the photo album you worked on ever since,” Karkat replies.
"I was wondering about that too, since it was supposed to be a surprise…” you say.
"I showed him our wedding photo, to jog his memory,” Lark admits, flipping over to it.
"I told her that she handled the situation with incredulous stupidity, by the way. Wanna know what she did?” Karkat asks, leaning onto you.
“Yes!!!!" you shout gleefully, throwing Lark a glance while you wrap your arm around Karkat’s shoulders. She rolls her eyes. “Tell me."
"Fuckin’ gossips,” Lark mutters playfully.
"So I wake up inside a small, escapepod-esque craft. I have like, no memories; as far as I know, I'm 6 sweeps old, getting ready to play SGRUB with my friends in a few weeks. But I'm clearly in the body of a handsome, mature adult–"
“Very handsome!" you interject.
“Yeah yeah, very handsome, mature adult. Waking up inside a space ship that clearly crash landed on a planet that is distinctly NOT Alternia–’
“Actually Earth and Alternia look extremely similar. Maybe the colors are a little different but–" you interrupt again.
“Jade, focus. I'm telling about my heroing quest of near death and amnesia here!! So anyway, I put two and two together and assume I must have escaped off Alternia, been in stasis in my pod for several sweeps, and crash landed onto an alien world. Lark is there to greet me, except I have no fucking clue who she is. I get this vibe from her, of course, but my THINK PAN, PLAGUED BY LOGIC, assumes I just think she's hot."
“You also allegedly thought I could have been your progeny," Lark interjects.
“So, how exactly did she handle the situation?" you ask.
“I fucking panicked,” Lark says, sinking into the couch. "I thought I lost him, and he crawls out acting like an alien on a strange world, I don't know how to handle that sort of thing, so I did my fucking best and followed my gut.”
"She played along,” Karkat nods. "And didn't ask any one of our friends for help. She lead me along like I was some sort of easily startled prey animal."
“You didn't think to ask me for help?" Jade asks, suddenly whipping around to look at Lark. “You don't think I could have whipped him back with one DON'T TALK TO ME WITHOUT YOUR PASSWORD FUCKASSSSSS!!!!!"
“THAT'S WHAT I SAID!!" Karkat exclaims.
“Sheesh, fucking fork me and sandwich me betwixt two graham crackers with a little slab of chocolate, fucking gonna get an open camp fire in the living room to make it easier for you to roast me .”
"Or you could have asked Rose, she probably knows things about this stuff. Or she could literally use her powers to see the best route to take, if it really was that delicate,” you say.
"Or my friends, Kanaya, Terezi, or honestly any fucking troll who has known me since Alternia. I think a quick conversation with Terezi would have fixed me,” Karkat nods.
"You really think if 6-sweep-old Karkat told current Terezi he's on an alien world with a blonde hottie and no memories of how you got there, she would take it seriously and not fuck with you harder? Even if I had asked her to help, there's no way that prankster could resist the temptation," Lark states.
“Ok you have a fair point," Karkat concedes. “Anyway, I did get to enjoy a day of following around Lark and having a little falling in love with a stranger sort of experience with her. Then she let me inside and showed me the photos leading up to our wedding, and it finished clicking." Karkat sighs dreamily, looking over at Lark.
Lark smiles and finally relaxes, draping her arm around Karkat’s shoulders so her hand rests on you, too. You squish in close, resting your cheek onto Karkat’s shoulder, and feel the weight of Karkat sink beneath you as he snuggles into Lark. The three of you sigh peacefully, with the orange glow of the setting sun illuminating the dust particles in the air around you.
"I'm glad everything turned out okay, in the end,” you finally say to break the silence, eliciting a nod of agreement from your partners.
"Jade, sorry to drop this so casual, but,” Lark starts, voice cracking. She clears her throat, and pushes her sunglasses up the bridge of her nose. “Um. Karkat, help?"
“It's not my cultural tradition. You did it last time, you can do it again!" Karkat says.
“Jade. Do you want to. Well, Karkat brought up, like, he pointed out the last time and how things have changed since then and all…”
You have an idea of where this is going, but you decide to stay silent and enjoy watching Lark flounder over her words. She's always fronting as someone so put together with creative diction, so you enjoy the private moments of her struggling.
"We're going to have a vow renewal ceremony where Lark gets to wear a dress and make memories she can enjoy looking back on–” Karkat says.
"I enjoy it regardless, it's not that big of a deal to me–" Lark interjects.
“--and I want you to join us, Jade. I mean, not like before. I want you with us. Rings and all."
“Jade, will you marry me?" Lark finally says, taking one of your hands and squeezing.
“Yeah, what she said," Karkat says awkwardly, rushing to copy Lark and squeeze your hand too.
“I mean, kinda? I mean, sure, I don't mind, I don't think it makes much of a difference,” you say immediately. You then take a moment to think about your answer in the silence that follows. "It really does make me happy that you're asking me. I don't think marriage is something I've ever really cared about, so, I need some time to think about it? But that doesn't change a single thing about how our relationship is going to be, right?"
“Yeah," Lark says softly.
“Yeah, exactly," Karkat agrees.
You lean over and give Lark a kiss on her lips, and then to Karkat as well.
The three of you melt together on the couch, chatting and giggling and reminiscing. The commitment of them asking you to marry them–to become a permanent triad–it fills you with so much warmth that the negativity brewing throughout the day melts away. You're reminded that you're actually wanted here, that you're a positive presence in both their lives. Regardless of how much attention and affection they show each other, both Lark and Karkat care about you and the unique bond you have with each of them. You place a big kiss on Lark’s cheek in the middle of her sentence, then Karkat’s in the ensuing silence, and you sink back into your seat with a pleasant grin spread across your face. You're in love with your best friends, and you matter, and they make sure you know that you matter by returning your kiss and squishing your cheeks in with their lips.
Your name is Jade Harley, and you love your partners and how they take time to make you feel accepted, even when their problems seem so much bigger than yours.
Your name is Lark Strider, and you love your partners so much. You wouldn't trade Jade for the world, the one person you can hang out and vibe with. And your husband Karkat, who means so much to you that you're tearing up right now just thinking about him.
Your name is Karkat Vantas, and you love your partners and are so extremely grateful to be loved by two amazing, caring, thoughtful individuals. You aren't sure how they're able to put up with someone like you, especially looking back at how you acted today without your memories or any of the emotional maturity you developed, but in this moment, snuggling together with two beautiful women, you realize that this is what your life was always meant to be. Love and relaxation.
Notes:
Another Homestuck fanfiction to add to my collection. Originally under the idea of "Amnesia Davekat on Earth C", but not only did I decide to transition Strider, I also decided to add Jade. I actually went back and rewrote a significant portion to include her and make it a more balanced relationship between the three of them, you can kind of tell by the chapter lengths lol.
Thank you so much for reading all the way to the end! I love each and every one of you for supporting me <>
ClosetedBasilik on Chapter 4 Fri 16 May 2025 06:41AM UTC
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foolsdiamond on Chapter 4 Fri 16 May 2025 11:44AM UTC
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vivianviolet on Chapter 6 Mon 19 May 2025 05:00AM UTC
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foolsdiamond on Chapter 6 Mon 19 May 2025 11:45AM UTC
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