Closure (Karkat X Reader)

Chapter 11

Karkat and I spend our day squandering around the city, but we don't really do much aside from walk around the areas downtown. We live in the suburbs, but the deep city is only a few minutes away. We walk the urban streets, staring at the tall buildings and bustling individuals. The rain has thinned down to a small drizzle, but more rain is expected in a few hours. We take advantage of it, though, and walk the streets with our umbrella haphazardly covering our heads. The shopping center in our town seemed lame, so we decided to find a restaurant here.
"The city is so pretty, don't you think? I mean, I know it's gloomy, but I think it just adds to the beauty of it." I ask, looking around the street for a good sandwich shop. I see a sub parlor and point to it.
"Meh. I'm used to the city, so all it really is to me is a bunch of angry taxi drivers topped with cancerous smoke." He grumbles. Market's acting really grouchy, but I can tell he's enjoying himself.
"You, my friend, are far more than a pessimist," I reply, dragging him by his arm towards the shop.
"I just realize the truth about life, and don't lie to myself about it." He holds the door open for me, and I walk inside to warm air and the comforting smell of toasted bread.
"So are you saying I lie to myself?"
"No," The floor is checkered, and a large black furnace from behind the counter warms up the whole room. Pedestrians eat lunch and work on their laptops, sipping coffee and chatting about pop culture and whatnot.
​​​​​​"This place seems pretty nice. The sign said it's been open since 1913." I say, taking in the homey aura of the place.
"Hopefully they live up to their expectations. These damn sandwiches are priced for the queen of England." He says, eyeing the menu.
"If you want, I'll pay. The government gives me allowance, and my aunt likes to give me a lot of money. I'm more than well-off." I reply nonchalantly, taking out my wallet.
"Like hell you are. That would just be cruel." He snatches it out of my hand and shoves it in my purse, then takes out his own.
"How gentlemanly" I reply in a deep voice.
"Shut up and order your sandwich." I walk towards the cashier and order a veggie sub with a small soda, and he gets a BLT. We wait for our order and eat outside when it's ready. The rain echoes a calming pitter-patter as we quietly chew on our sandwiches.
"I think it was worth the pay, Karkat." I say with my mouth full. A car thinks in the distance, and the sounds of busy heels clicking on the sidewalk simmers down into a low him of background noise.
"Mmhmmm. You can say that again, because this shit is fucking heavenly,"
We walk around some more, window shopping until our legs get tired. Karkat buys me a vintage hair clip from an antique shop, and before we leave, we share a milkshake from an old slow-churned ice cream shop. By the time our legs get tired, the sun is already beginning to go down. After grabbing dinner, we head home while eating in the car.
"I had a really nice time, Karkat." I say, slurping up the last bit of spaghetti from my to-go box
"Really?"
"Yeah! I did. We should do it , uh, again... some time."
"II think we should, too. If you want. I mean, you don't have to." A blush creeps onto his grey face as he focuses on the road with a furrowed brow.
​"Didn't I just say I did?" I reply with a laugh. The rain is beginning to pour harder now, with more urgency than before. The radio mentions a flash-flood watch again. He turns the volume up, listening in on the areas of caution. Our town is mentioned as soon as his phone dings.
"Could you grab my phone out of my pocket? It's probably Kankri having a spaz attack because he thinks we drowned, or something. I've been keeping tabs, but he's still worried.
"Sure," I say, taking it out and looking at the messages. They're the same as usual, so I just call him and let him know we're on our way home. His voice is worried about the flood watch, but I just say it's probably a false-alarm. The rain would have to keep up for a few more days, at least, before we would have to worry.
When we get home, Karkat says that he's tired and he'll see me tomorrow, then heads back to his apartment. He wanted to stay, but Kankri said Karkat should be home. I have no problem with it, but my apartment is still pretty lonely. I just have a burrito snack and pass out on the couch, not aware of the swirling thunderstorms outside of my window.

***Karkat's POV***

I look outside, worried about the bullet-like downpour wreaking havoc outside of our apartment. I hope that y/ n is okay. Maybe I should call her. Or would that be weird? I have no fucking clue as to how to handle contact with her without sounding desperate-- she's my first-ever friend, and second-ever flushcrush. Not that I'm head over heels, or anything. You can't love someone after five days, but there's still just something about her that I can't shake off. I wish I could hold it back, but I have to be honest with myself, and the honest truth is that I like her. The only problem is that it's far too soon to make a move, and I'm not sure if she would return the feeling. And on top of it, my last one left me for a psychotic clown who I also considered to be my best friend. That shit was complicated, and I tore myself apart after that for months on end, which did my health no fucking favors.
"Should you call y/n, and see if she's alright?" Kankri asks, sipping his green tea. He refuses to drink coffee, but he got a writing job that requires extensive articles almost daily. It suits him, but he obsesses over their perfection to the point where he goes to bed at two in the morning every night. The bags under his eyes grow daily.
"Maybe if it gets bad, but not yet. I don't think it'll flood tonight, but it might tomorrow. Her room's higher up than ours, so maybe we could crash there tomorrow if it gets bad." I say, grabbing a soda from the fridge.
"Are you sure this amount of people won't trigger her?"
"Yeah, not with us anyways. She likes you, no matter how much I refuse to ignore that fact." I sit down next to him and look over to his laptop. It's something about triggers on teenagers. Go figure.
​​​​​​"Really?"
"Yeah. She thinks you're a good guardian, or something." I say reluctantly.
"Huh." He says, going back to his paper. I put on a romcom and fall asleep on the couch, praying the weather wouldn't get worse.

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