Bewildering Love

Tension

Cronus's p.o.v.
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My eyes flicker open and I am staring at the ceiling of my room. Chilly air brushes over my arm and I lift my blanket higher up on my chest. My head is pounding with a headache and my stomach is churning violently.

Something tastes slimy and sour in my mouth and I cringe. Did I throw up earlier?

I mosey on up out of my bed and toward the bathroom. I curse when I trip over my backpack. Once I stand in front of the mirror, I gasp when I see my face. I have a huge bruise on my cheek and my nose has dried blood under it. I look terrible.

What the hell did I get myself into?

I wash off my face and hiss as my skin touches the sore bruise. I then wash out my mouth and dry off with a towel. I growl when I see my purple blood on the white fabric. Whoever beat my beautiful face up is going to pay.

I don't seem to remember what happened last night at all. Well, I guess I remember half of it. I danced with some people, I flipped out when I saw Kankri so I took a couple of shots... Ok, maybe not a couple. The rest is history.

I walk out onto the balcony and I light a cigarette. Damnit. Did I even talk to Kankri? I must have ignored him the whole time, at least that is what I am assuming. I probably blew my chance to hang with him.

The only thing I remember seeing is his face in a book when he was sitting in the dining room at Meenah's house. I brood over the way he looked while I was standing in that doorway.

His eyelashes were hanged down, standing out against his skin. He had one hand holding his chin and the other resting on his arm. He seemed to be engulfed by whatever he was reading... And I liked that. I like how Kankri always listens into different stand points, and looks closely at the image that is being put across. The way his eyes would squint barely when he didn't like what he was hearing, or when the corners of his mouth seemed to smile.. Just a little bit.. When he absolutely adored what the subject was.

The clouds are starting to get heavier and darker, and low rumbles escape from their fog. A raindrop falls on my face and I wipe it off. I continue to smoke until the rain quickens it's pace and quantity and puts out my cigarette's flame. I grunt and throw away the drenched cigarette and I look up at the sky.

My hair is completely wet now and the blood from my nose is mixing with the water and running down my neck. I sigh. Who the hell punched me? What happened last night? Cod.. I want to see Kankri.

An instinct in me tells me the obvious. Come on, dumbass. Just message Meenah or Aranea what happened. But I push it away. In fact.. I kind of want to wait to find out. Heal up a bit before I meet the opponent head on.

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Kankri's p.o.v.
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After running home like a complete incompetent fool who can't man up and fix their own problems, I went straight to my bed and started crying. I couldn't even get the courage to do an easy task of lecturing my brother about things he should be careful of with his interspecies relationship.

It's Sunday now. I am making a grilled cheese sandwich and I am recalling what happened last night. Cronus's grip on me was cold.. And when I focused hard enough to block out the beer on his breath, I remember smelling a hint of.. Lilac? His lips were softer than anything I have ever felt, and I actually... Enjoye- no.. No. No. My finger touches my lips and and I look down at the pan. No.

I flip the grilled cheese sandwhich over on the pan, and it starts to sizzle. Outside, the walls seems to shutter when the clouds boom with thunder. The noise of rain starts to come from the ceiling, and run down the walls.

I look over at Karkat to see he is on the couch, a blanket over his face and his body is shaking. I put the sandwich on a plate and walk over to the couch, putting in on the coffee table in front of him.

Karkat shows his eyes and he looks down at the grilled cheese and smiles a little. "Thanks."

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It's Monday now, and I just finished my test. It actually was pretty easy, out of all of the vocab words I studied, the teacher picked the easy ones to question about. And the quotes were pretty simple enough to match to the sonnets.

I walk out into the hall and I freeze and grip my books. Cronus is facing away from me, and all I can see is the back of his head. He has his arm against his locker door and he is looking down at Meenah.

"I-I don't know what to tell ya, Cronus." Meenah shakes her arms and puts them down defeated. "I didn't see it happen, and I am sure as fishsticks that no one else saw!"

Cronus looks at me and I avoid his gaze, putting my books in my locker as quickly as I can. I grab my math notebook and journal and close my locker to see Meenah gone, and Cronus grabbing my arm and pulling me aside, in a separate crevasse in the hallway were no one else will see us. That grip is so familiar, and I look up at him and gasp. His cheek is bruised and his noses awful with a tape stretching across the bridge.

"I- I have t-to.." I stumble on my words. "I-I have to go-"

"Kankri, why are you avoiding me? Do you know who punched me? I don't remember a thing from last night." Oh gog... He doesn't know what he did, does he?

"Uh-er.. C-Cronus please go of me.."

He narrows his gaze. "Not until you tell me who punched me-"

"I did! I punched you!" I blurt out and his eyes widen. "I.. I know it is aberrant of me to do such a thing.. But I knew it was needed. Don't you remember what happened? I-I don't know why or how to tell you!"

I shove my arm out of his grip and take a deep breath. Then I lean to his face and try to look as menacing as I possibly can. "You were drunk. And you were kissing me. There. I said it."

If Cronus's eyes could widen any more than they already are, he definitely would. His shoulders tighten and he grimaces at the words I am saying. "Oh cod.. Did I really do that? Was I... Handling you...."

"Roughly, yes. That is why I punched you. Because I was flustered and because you were not your usual self." I clench and unclench my fists. "I... Just want to forget it. I bet you learned from what you did now so we can move on, right?"

Cronus scratches his neck. "Kankri... I'm sorry.." And with that, I leave him behind, and head to my next class.