The Willow - DaveKat

One

" down by the water, under the willow
sits a lone ranger, minding the willow
he and his wife, once lived happily "

The troll sat against the willow tree him and his husband had planted many years ago. His eyes were shut, his freckled face tinted a light red from the tears that flowed like rivers out of his eyes. Things had been hard on Karkat ever since Dave died. What they don't tell you when you play, is that god tier is temporary. Your timeline shifts and the world is seemingly normal. Except for the fact that all the relationships and traumas everyone had experienced were still relevant. Dave and Karkat were able to survive on their own, seeing as they were legal adults by the time the timeline shifted back.

Years passed and their relationship only grew stronger, eventually leading them to preform a human ceremony, also known as marriage. On the night of their wedding, once they had gotten back to their small home in the forest, they planted a willow tree by a nearby river. They had their happiest and saddest moments there by the riverside. It was where Dave proposed. That was where Karkat had found out about Dave's incurable illness. A genetic thing, the doctors said. They now had a beautiful willow tree to symbolize their love.

But that was many years ago, when Karkat wasn't alone. When there wasn't a gravestone by the willow tree.

I rose a hand to wipe my cheeks of the candy red tears that endlessly had began to stream down my face. I sniffled and looked at my sleeve, noticing how my tears had seemingly stained the sleeve of my grey shirt. I hate being here but it's the only place I feel like I'm closest to him. Maybe because 6 feet under, his bones lay. Glancing at the marble gravestone, I feel a lump in my throat. If I swallow, I'll start crying again. I hold my breath until it's gone. Carefully, I allow myself to lean on the stone. I know it's odd, but I hug it. It's like I'm hugging him again.

The sun starts to go down by the time I open my eyes. "I need to go now.. I love you.." I mumbled to the stone as I get up and stretch my arms out in front of me. "I won't see you for a while, alright? It's hurting my mental state, Dave. I hope you understand. I'm not leaving you. I haven't for the past 10 years. I don't ever plan to, and I don't think I will." I mumbled, picking a daisy from the riverside and setting it in front of the stone. Dead daisy's were scattered across the grass and the roots of the willow. I always leave a daisy. For him. Sometimes when I visit I'll find a shiny stone. Nobody comes around here, so I like to believe it's Dave, trying to comfort me in a way. Even if it's just a weird coincidence, it helps me cope.

Karkat began to make his way back his home. Their home. But something stopped him in his tracks. He felt arms appear around his waist, a secure grip on him. He looked behind him and saw nothing. But when he turned back, ahead of him on the trail, was a beautiful albino dear. The feeling of arms didn't go away. Something had held him there to see the dear. That something wasn't scary. Karkat felt safe. The deer stared at him, taking a step towards him. He felt the lump come back in his throat. As soon as he let out a quiet sob, the dear seemed spooked and ran off. He forced himself to keep walking, despite the red tears dripping off his face.

As soon as he made it back to the house, he trudged to his room and collapsed on the queen bed. The bed seemed too big and empty now. Too much for one person. He hugged a pillow, closing his eyes and crying into it. The arms wrapped around him again as he felt someone whisper 'it's alright' into his ear. He started to feel numb before his vision went black.