Karkat was woken by the sound of music. It was drifting up the stairs and had slipped into his dreams, and now that he was awake he could hear it faintly through the door. He sat up and looked around groggily.
"Dave?" he mumbled sleepily. He groped around to his left, feeling for the blond boy, but found only the cold sheets. Karkat rubbed his eyes with the heel of his palm and slid off of the bed. He wrapped the blanket around his shoulders and pushed open the door. As he padded downstairs and into the living room, the music grew louder. Sure enough, Dave was hunched over the piano. In the dimness of the room, he looked small.
"Dave...?"
The music stopped mid-measure and Karkat could see him tense visibly.
"Dave, what are you doing up? It's like 2am," Karkat said, pulling the blanket tighter around his body. The house got cold at night and he was only wearing a pair of thin black shorts.
Dave sniffled and wiped his hand across his face. "Hey...s-sorry, I, um....couldn't sleep," he said weakly.
Karkat leanaed against the piano and lightly pressed down one of the keys, producing a soft F. "I didn't know you played piano."
"Yeah, it's just..." Dave sighed and rubbed the back of his neck wearily. "I don't really...It's just this thing that I can do. I-I'm not that good."
Karkat cocked his head to the side. "You sounded pretty good from upstairs."
Dave chuckled softly and shook his head. "No, I didn't...I never practiced enough."
"'Practiced'?"
"I don't really play much anymore. Not since..." Dave looked down and took a soft shuddering breath. Karkat knew what he meant. It had been nearly six months since Dirk died, and Dave still wasn't the same. Most of the time he was fine, but every so often Karkat would look over and find him staring into space with an empty look in his eyes, and he knew that he was thinking of his brother.
"Why's that?"
"He used to really push me to practice..." The blond boy sighed. "But I never really wanted to myself. It just never seemed worth it, I guess. And now that he's gone...what's the point?" He sniffled softly, and Karkat knew he had to change the subject before Dave completely broke down.
"Can you play it for me?" he murmured. Dave wiped his eyes again and nodded. He placed his fingers gingerly on the keys and after a brief pause, began to play.
The music floated gently through the air, swelling and falling like waves in an ocean, and crashing over him with the same effect. It was so beautiful and haunting that it send shivers down his spine. Dave's fingers seemed to flutter across the keys in an intricate, mesmerizing dance that looked incredibly complex, but when Karkat glanced at Dave's face it was calm and stoic. Suddenly, the melody started to sound familiar, and he knew exactly what song it was. He'd heard it at least once a week when Dirk was still around.
"Sing us a song you're the piano man," Karkat sang softly. "Sing us a song tonight..."
Dave nodded ever so slightly, indicating that Karkat was right. The pair continued on like that, Karkat singing and Dave playing along until the latter suddenly stopped. Karkat opened his mouth to ask him if he was alright, when he noticed his shoulders trembling. He let out a soft sob and seemed to collapse in on himself. His hands that had seemed so beautiful and delicate curled into angry fists and slammed down on the keys, producing a loud discordant sound.
"It's n-not f-f-fucking fair!" he shouted. "W-why did he have to die?!" He squeezed his eyes shut and let out a choked, tortured whimper. The sound stung Karkat to the core and he gently wrapped his arms around Dave from behind.
"It's n-not fair," he gasped between sobs. "It's not fair..."
"I know," Karkat murmured. "I know."
"It still hurts so much..."
Karkat sniffled softly. He could never stand it when Dave got upset. "I know, baby. I'm sorry..."
Dave pressed his cheek into the other boy's arm gently. "It hurts..."
"I know it does. I'm sorry...I'm so, so sorry."
