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Listen, there was nothing weird about this. The three of them had hung out plenty of times, and just because Karkat was sure Dave and Terezi were now in some sort of secret relationship didn’t mean things had to be weird! Sure, he was a little hurt that they felt the need to keep it a secret from him, and maybe he was a little jealous (of whom was anyone’s guess), but that was neither here nor there. Karkat was still their friend, and they would tell him what was up when they felt comfortable doing so.
Karkat banged his head against his steering wheel, as though that would somehow get the sentiment more fixed in his mind, and cursed when his nose accidentally slammed into the horn, creating a short, but loud, honk. Well, if they didn’t see his car pull in, they sure as fuck knew he was there now. Resisting the temptation to rub his nose, Karkat got out of his car just as Dave peaked his head out the door, eyebrows raised over his stupid sunglasses as he looked around, then lowering, his face transforming into a genuine smile for a second before it settled into his trademark douche-smirk (as Karkat called it) once he caught sight of him.
Karkat’s heart skipped a beat at the smile, the cliché idiot it was.
“Is that Karkat?” he heard Terezi shriek from inside the house.
“You know it. Dude’s trying to wake up the whole neighborhood I guess,” Dave called back.
“Are your neighbors geriatric? It’s barely eight at night,” Karkat grumbled as he moved past Dave and into the house.
Terezi was sprawled on the couch, pajama pants on as though this were her house, not Dave’s. Somehow there was already a mess of popcorn and gummy worms on the floor.
“Hasn’t anyone told you that decent people wait for the movie to start before devouring all the snacks?” Karkat chided as he moved Terezi’s legs off the couch to give him room to sit.
“What’s that got to do with me?” Terezi asked, grinning from ear to ear.
Karkat heard the door shut and watched as Dave pushed Terezi into more of a sitting position to take his place on the other end of the couch. “Ain’t no decent people here, Kat,” he said, exaggerating his Texan drawl.
Terezi cackled and even Karkat couldn’t help but snort. “So what are we watching tonight?” he quickly asked, as though to cover up his amusement.
“You know what it is, dude. It’s Terezi’s turn to pick.”
Karkat sighed dramatically. “Fuck your brother for introducing her to Jake. At least Terezi didn’t latch onto John’s taste in movies.”
“Like you can talk,” Dave shot back.
“Ah, shut the fuck up,” Terezi said, launching her hands to either side of her, smacking Karkat and Dave awkwardly in the face (thankfully missing Karkat’s already sore nose). “Avatar’s a good fucking movie and you guys are just jealous you can’t see it like I do.”
“Because you can’t see shit,” Dave pointed out.
“Rude, Dave. Rude. Making fun of a blind girl,” Terezi said, fake pouting. “Maybe this time you should just close your eyes and get my superior experience.”
It honestly wasn’t a bad idea. Karkat had played around with the idea before, but he wasn’t sure if that was somehow… insensitive? Not that he had any clue how it would be.
“Alright,” Dave said. “Sounds like a good time tbh.”
“Really?”
Terezi perked up in a way Karkat had rarely seen. Not that any of them were great at showing actual vulnerability, but Karkat’s stomach did a flip realizing how much this actually meant to her.
“Wow,” she continued, her tone a little less sincere. “I’m so glad you guys finally realized I’m right in all things.”
Karkat rolled his eyes. “Not like much will change for Dave. No idea how he fucking sees anything on the screen while he’s wearing those fucking glasses.”
Dave shrugged. “Can’t watch movies if you don’t look cute, dude.”
“Then how have you watched movies up until now?” Karkat asked, snickering.
Terezi wildly slapped both of them again. “Shut up and close your eyes, dumbasses,” she said, smiling. In the second Karkat wasn’t paying attention, she had managed to load up the movie. Usually she used voice control, but for Avatar, she just had the process down by muscle memory.
The boys obliged and leaned back into the couch, ready for this new Avatar experience. But just before Karkat closed his eyes, he noticed Terezi tangling her fingers in Dave’s hair, and he was grateful for the excuse not to look.
Terezi was right – the experience really was something else entirely. Even though Karkat had seen the movie plenty of times, hearing the audio and letting his mind shape the images created a whole new Pandora. Jake had even managed to drag him to an actual 3D viewing at one point, but now he was more immersed than ever. Hell, forget seeing, he could feel what was going on! The wind on his face, water droplets on his skin, the hand tracing lines up and down his thigh –
Wait, what?
Karkat cautiously opened an eye slightly, as though seeing anything while the movie was on was cheating. Dave was completely slumped into Terezi’s shoulder, her arm wrapped around him and fingers now completely tangled in his hair. Her other hand, to Karkat’s surprise, was tracing lazy shapes on his leg. Karkat froze and stopped breathing, as though any movement would break the spell, then Terezi casually leaned her head on him, ridiculously pointy glasses digging slightly into his arm, and the air came out in a rush. Then back in slowly. Then out. Then settled into as much of an even rhythm as he could manage, with how fast his heart was racing. Hesitantly, he closed his eyes again, and leaned his head back on Terezi’s.
The rest of the movie felt like he was in a trance. It’s like Karkat didn’t hear the description or the dialogue anymore, there was just some part of his brain experiencing the movie and another part touching and being touched, and neither felt more or less conscious or controlled than the other.
Dave ended up sprawled across both his and Terezi’s laps, shades fallen to the floor (then, Karkat assumed, carefully set to the side). Karkat followed Dave’s pulse down his neck, then he felt his way to the divot of his collar bone, then back up to his jaw, where he collided with Terezi’s fingers tracing over his lips. Karkat turned his attention to her, up her fingers, over her knuckles, then over to her palm and her wrist, lingering until he could feel her pulse, too.
And Terezi explored Karkat in the way she preferred to explore everything. She bit the collar of Karkat’s shirt and stretched it over his shoulder, then tucked her face into the crook of his neck and breathed him in like she could inhale his soul. Maybe she could. It’s like Terezi had rediscovered pheromones – she could uncover all your secrets from sent alone, and Karkat felt she knew him in ways he didn’t understand. But soon that wasn’t enough for her, and Karkat felt her tongue dart out, lapping up the small beads of sweat forming from the pile of warm bodies. When it lingered, he imagined she was feeling for his pulse, too.
Dave seemed content to just lay and be touched, but eventually Karkat felt an exploratory hand slip under his shirt, stroking through his happy trail, then up to his chest, running a delicate thumb over the scars, and back down. A small, pleased sigh from Terezi indicated she was experiencing much the same.
Karkat wasn’t sure how long this went on – how long it took for gentle touches to turn to gentle kisses – how quickly they slid off the couch and into a heap on the carpet. At some point someone must have removed his shirt (had he removed his shirt?) because suddenly Terezi and Dave had unrestricted access to trailing butterfly kisses up his stomach, which he returned as soon as he was able.
There was fumbling, certainly, especially by the boys who were not used to moving without sight, but each misplaced touch was answered by a soft laugh and a hand guiding to where it was supposed to go. Even Terezi’s laugh lacked the roughness that usually accompanied it, turning instead to more of a rumble from her chest.
Eventually Karkat realized the movie was over – had been over for some time. But he didn’t want to open his eyes, not yet. Karkat had previously had sex (not to brag or anything) but nothing had been quite intimate as this. As the three of them laying on top of each other, skin to skin, all softness and silence except for their breathing. He was afraid once he opened his eyes, it would all end. Reality would set in. They would have to talk, figure out what all this meant, if it was a one off, a mistake, if it would happen again, if –
As though sensing his thoughts, Karkat felt Dave lift himself onto his elbows and scoot up far enough to plant a light kiss on his lips, and Karkat’s brain quieted once more.
All that mattered was this moment, and the two people he loved most in the world wrapped in his arms.