Chapter Text
John was already drawing the curtain between the cab and the cargo space when he realized what a silly thing he'd said. 'Do you want to see my van' -- when Karkat had already ridden in it on the way to the restaurant. But Karkat had known what he meant, so there was no point worrying about it now.
Karkat cleared his throat."You bring a lot of girls back here?"
John switched on the tiny battery-powered reading light he used because it didn't cast shadows on the curtains. It revealed Karkat kneeling awkwardly beside the edge of John's futon. Lucky I didn't roll that up this morning, he thought dazedly. He made a supreme effort to get his mind to stop distracting him with trivia. This was important, dammit.
"Only once," he said. "She got really offended that I assumed we were going to have sex. Oh. Shit. Should I not be drawing the curtains? Because if you just wanted to talk --"
All the awkward went out of Karkat's eyes, chased out by that half-smiling intensity that took John's breath away. "If I don't get to make love to you pretty soon, John, I'm going to explode and die. That'd make a great ending for your movie. But no pressure."
John laughed nervously, moving to sit on the futon. He struggled to get his shoes off without looking away from Karkat's eyes. They were so dark, but in the bright lights of the restaurant they'd had a rusty gleam, almost red. Not pinkish red like Dave's, but deep brown-red like Earl Grey tea. I hope my feet don't smell. Clean socks, at least.
"What are you thinking?" Karkat shifted so he could unlace his boots. "You look like your brain's going a mile a minute."
"It's trying to distract me," John confessed. "I'm nervous, and I've never done this before. Dave gave me too much advice. I mean, I asked for it, but -- I can't remember anything now. And there's a part of me that wants to pretend this isn't happening so I can tell myself I'm straight and that's retarded and I don't do that, I'm not going to do that to you, but it's just happening on its owmf!" It was a relief when Karkat shut him up by kissing him. When they parted, he was able to keep the babble behind his teeth.
"Stop thinking you have to do everything right," Karkat said softly, pushing spread fingers into his hair so his hat fell off. "I'm already impressed."
"Really?" John felt his smile start to turn from nervous to pleased.
"You're not the only one who had to figure your shit out on the fly, John. You're doing a better job than I did." Karkat brushed his fumbling hands aside and took his socks off for him. "I've never had a boyfriend like you. Sweet like you. I'm not going to fuck this up. I'm sure as hell not going to fucking judge you. Okay? So." Karkat looked up to his face again. "So that part of you that's trying to like... talk about the weather or whatever... I'm pretty sure the part of you that tongue-fucked fifty IQ points off me a few hours ago is capable of shutting it up."
For a moment, John was fighting giggles. Because. Who actually says that? But it was like Karkat had summoned that part of him by naming it. That coiling heat in his belly, the tension that made his hands feel strong and his teeth crave flesh. He was capable of kissing Karkat stupid. He had that power.
Karkat curled forward and pulled his shirt off. When he straightened up, the light outlined muscle built by manual labor, steel rings in his nipples, a line of dark hair running from navel to fly. Karkat reached for John's glasses. John caught that hand and surged forward to press Karkat to the futon. Karkat's breath hitched, his eyes widened, his stomach hollowed.
Yes. The babble in John's head had ended. Uncertainty was for people who didn't have this raw gorgeousness pinned to a bed. "Yes," he breathed. Then, for good measure, "Fuck yes."
He plucked his glasses off and dropped them -- somewhere, who cared -- as he fell on Karkat like a breaking wave. Karkat groaned into the kiss. His hands shoved frantically at John's shirt and hoodie. John sat up to whip them both off together, then poured himself back into kissing. Sucked Karkat's tongue into his mouth, ground against Karkat's hip, not even trying to silence the needy noises he was making.
He used a fistful of Karkat's hair to pull his head back so he could bite him under the ear. Karkat gave a growling moan. His nails dug into John's back. John left a line of bitemarks down his neck, across his shoulder, shifted down to suck at one of those nipple rings and tug it with his teeth.
"God," Karkat gasped, squirming under him. "Gotta get my pants off, shit --" He yanked at his fly impatiently. "Ow, ow."
John rolled aside to shimmy his jeans and underwear off. Turned back to find Karkat with his thumbs under the waistband of his own underwear, and grabbed his hands to stop him. Red boxer briefs, a damp spot growing at the peak of the tent he was pitching. John just took in the sight for a moment, wondering distantly if the babbling coward in the back of his head was going to start up again. After all, he was staring at another guy's erection and licking his lips, which wasn't something he generally pictured himself doing.
Except that it wasn't just 'another guy', it was Karkat, watching him with wide dark eyes, body tense, breath harsh and shallow. John curled down and mouthed that dampness, huffing hot breath across it.
Karkat's back arched, and he let out the most unbelievable sound, a whimper chopped in half by a caught breath. It made John's cock jump, so that he knew if he'd been a few years younger he would've come right then and there. He ran his spread hands up Karkat's sides, letting Karkat take his shorts the rest of the way off.
"John, don't tease, I'm gonna lose it," Karkat begged. "I'm just too -- ohmygod." His voice dropped to a rough growl as John surged up to face him, so their dicks slid against each other's stomachs.
More kisses, hungry, urgent, bodies twined together and writhing, fingers clutching, scratching. At first John thought he was going to come every time Karkat's hips rolled. Gradually, though, the first shock of amazement wore off and he was able to enjoy things a little more clearly. He wanted to know what Karkat liked best. He knew Karkat was working on the same puzzle. John made sure to let him know when he got something especially right.
No girl had ever grabbed his ass with both hands and growled "Jesus, you're so fucking hot" in his ear. He hadn't known he liked that, but holy shit, he liked it. And the slight roughness of Karkat's face against his cheek, the size and strength of those hands, the depth of that voice -- those were fucking amazing.
Among the flood of advice Dave had given him had been things like don't try to do anal the first time, it's not like that's the ultimate home run, there's lots of other ways to get off. But he wasn't even thinking about doing things right anymore, or being smart or sensible about this.
He wanted all the Karkat, right now. Period.
"Can we fuck," he gasped, drawing back just far enough to see that Karkat's eyes were as lust-glazed as his own. "Can I fuck you. Or."
"Yes oh my God," Karkat breathed, cutting John off before he could offer to do it the other way if Karkat would rather, totally contrary to another piece of forgotten advice. "Do you have supplies because I'm a stupid pessimist and didn't bring anything --"
"Yeah. Yeah, I." John lost interest in talking; another kiss was absolutely necessary, and then he had to fetch the condoms and lube he'd stashed in here because he was an optimist.
"You don't have to uh --" Karkat gulped, half sitting up to watch him fumble with the stuff. "All that stuff about fingers and stretching your friends probably told you? Fuck that shit. Just use a lot of lube and go slow."
John stared at him in admiring horror. "Are you serious?"
"So fucking serious. Jesus Christ, hurry the fuck up, John. The sooner you get started the sooner you can pound me through the chassis and into the parking lot." He bent his knees up and spread them apart, his posture an urgent demand.
All John could say to that was "Nngh."
The nervous part of him was surprised he didn't lose his erection at the sight of an asshole. All the rest of him was on fire and shaking at the hunger written on every line of Karkat's delicious body. He wanted to claim that gorgeousness for himself, own it, own the hollows of Karkat's thighs and the bands of muscle that wrapped just above his hips and the prominent tendons in the backs of his hands, everything masculine and fearless about him. He couldn't tear his eyes away as he rolled the condom on and made a mess with the lube.
At the first push, Karkat's fingers dug into the futon and his breath fluttered. "Wait," he commanded. They paused for a long moment, both trembling, both struggling to keep still. John couldn't help whimpering at the tightness. It almost hurt. But at last it eased, and Karkat took a deeper breath. "Okay," he said hoarsely.
It seemed to take a year. He moved when Karkat said move, waited when he said wait. When at last he was as deep as he could go, it felt like the end of a long journey. He kissed Karkat to celebrate arriving, and Karkat moaned against his lips, digging both hands into his hair.
"Can I move?" John begged.
"Yes. Fuck. Yes, fucking move, I'm not a --"
He never heard what Karkat wasn't a, because he drew back and shoved in hard, and Karkat's voice choked off. John did it again, and again, watching Karkat's face, amazed. Those eyes wide and locked onto his, those lips, despite their armor of steel rings, parted and trembling, all defenses gone and walls torn down.
He laced his fingers with Karkat's, pinning his hands above his head, and sped up. He could feel Karkat tightening around him, it was the most incredible thing, it made his head spin, and was that really his own voice calling Karkat's name, gasping I love you and yes and you're beautiful you're so fucking beautiful --
"Yes don't stop," Karkat growled, neck arching, spine curving, heels digging into the small of John's back. "Don't you fucking dare stop ohgod John more. More yes. Fuck yes --" His body went rigid.
Wet heat painted a streak up John's chest, and then another, and somewhere in there a few drops hit John's lips and John's world exploded.
"Damn," someone said eventually. John had to think about it for a little while to be sure it wasn't him. Karkat slapped him weakly on the hip. "Leg cramp. Get off."
Still in a daze, John dealt with the condom, found the tissues, began unfolding them and placing them in a nice neat line down the middle of Karkat's chest. Karkat, one arm crooked behind his head and the other hand playing absently with John's hair, watched curiously until the tissue pavement reached his pubes.
"You're weird as shit, John. You know that, right?"
"Mhm." John used a less tidy wad to wipe his own chest.
"There's some on your chin."
"Seriously? Wow."
When they were as cleaned up as they could get without a shower, John settled in against Karkat's side, trying not to look self-conscious about it. Trying not to feel weird. Karkat curled an arm around his shoulders and pulled him closer.
"Shut up, dumbass," Karkat said fondly, and prodded him between the eyes with a fingertip.
"I didn't say anything."
"I can hear you thinking. 'What if, what if, what now.' Shut up, you were amazing, and I'm fucking crazy about you, and no you didn't hurt me. I mean yeah I'm sore, but not that sore, and I don't have to work until Wednesday. That's better," he added as John broke out grinning.
"Awesome," John said.
"Yes," Karkat said with an answering smile. "Yes, I am."
"You have a bunch of huge bite marks on your neck, by the way. One of them's pretty high up, I don't think even a scarf would hide it. Sorry."
"I do not even fucking care."
* * *
"Holy shit, somebody call FEMA," Dave drawled, coffee cup paused halfway to his mouth. "We're gonna need some emergency aid here. Hurricane John scored a direct hit on Karkat City. This shit is brutal, there are places our news cameras can't even go."
Karkat couldn't wipe the smile off his face as he and John slid into the booth together, arms around each other's waists. He didn't even try to hide his wince. The way it made Tavros double-take and start blushing was worth the embarrassment. "It was the storm surge that did the most damage," he agreed.
John spread his hand on his face. "You guys..."
Tavros cleared his throat. "So um, I guess you'll be staying in town a while, John?"
"Yeah." John nodded shyly, and Karkat's heart melted into a hopeless puddle. "Look -- you guys -- can I just --" He glanced at Karkat, then back to his friends. "Official announcement. Dave, Tav, this is my boyfriend, Karkat Vantas."
"Jesus," Karkat grumbled, and hid his face against John's hair.
"Oh, that embarrasses him," he heard Dave say. "He's fine with being a federal disaster area, but say 'boyfriend' and he blows a gasket."
"Shoosh," Tavros said fondly. "You were exactly the same way."
Karkat felt John's cheek curve against his temple as he smiled.
- end -