The Words "Best Friends"Becomes Redefined.

Karkat sighed as he hung the phone up. He tossed it onto the couch and rubbed his temples before turning to Gamzee. The phone call had clearly distressed him; if the way his face had fallen and he thrust the phone at Karkat said anything. The crab had kept an eye on him the whole time he was on the phone with his father, but Gamzee did little more than take that shuddering breath he did when he was trying to hide just how upset he was, and rolled over, arms folded over his chest tightly. He'd rushed through the phone call, making up a poor excuse to his dad to get off the phone after a few minutes.

Well, he could safely say the mood was officially dead. He didn't know how he felt about that, to be honest. He supposed he was a bit relieved, as it was clear their activities were getting to be more than just a little pink. At the same time he was...a bit disappointed. He shoved that thought away, however, and settled back into the pile besides Gamzee. “...Wanna tell me what that was all about?” He had a pretty good guess, but it would be better all-around if Gamzee told him on his own, as opposed to leading him on with assumptions.

Gamzee licked his bottom lip, his clean face able to show every emotion running across his face. He sat up, giving a few feet of distance between himself and Karkat but enough to still be in arms reach. The clown didn't like being /too/ far away. He shifted again, his long nails dancing across his forearms. It seemed to be a nervous tick that he'd picked up over the years, helping him string his thoughts together.

The Capricorn’s voice was strained as if he was fighting off his own emotions. He started scratching harder at his forearm, leaving light purple lines to decorate the skin. He looked down at a few horns on the ground. "A daddy ain't got no motherfuckin' love for a stupid idiot clown, Karbro."

Gamzee's shoulders were trembling and his eyes were darting everywhere around the room that wasn't the small troll meant to pacify him. He gripped at his hair, feeling utterly disgusting. "Why would a motherfucker all pristine and goddamn royal need ta get his pan all muddled with the happenin's of the bastard son, Karbro? Why would a motherfucker be carin' 'bout a rusted pan holder like me?" The words spewed from his lips before he could stop himself. Tears brimmed his eyes, his vision blurring. His head hurt and it felt like everything was closing in on him.

“Hey now,” Karkat murmured softly, inching closer to his moirail. When Gamzee was upset he liked his space, but Karkat wasn't going to sit back for this one. He shifted himself awkwardly on their pile until he knelt before the sad clown and slowly brought his hands up to lightly brush against Gamzee's. “You know I don't like it when you hurt yourself like this,” he mumbled, lacing their fingers together as he pulled Gamzee's hands down and away from the still-damp mane of his hair. He glanced down at the little pinpricks of purple that ebbed to the surface of the clown's skin and his stomach rolled a bit but he turned his attention back to Gamzee quickly before he could upset himself as well. That wouldn't be of any help to his moirail, after all.

This was going to be hard. Gamzee loved his father and always defended the asshole against anyone, no matter who they were or what his dad did – or didn't do, Karkat reminded himself sourly. So what he had to say to Gamzee wasn't going to be easy for either of them, but it had to be fucking said.

He took a metaphorical deep breath and dove in. “I don't know what the fuck goes on inside your dad's pan any better than you. And yeah, this is pretty shitty of him and he's been a real asshole lately – no I'm not going to sugarcoat shit for you this time, bro, not gonna happen. We both know I'm right. But what I /do/ know is you're not a rusted pan holder. You got me? You're dad's a festering bulge sore sometimes, but there's nothing wrong with you.” He squeezed Gamzee's hands and leaned forward, kissing him softly on both cheeks. “I know you don't like hearing that about him, and I'm sorry you got dealt such a shitty hand in the load gaper that is life, but I'm always gonna be here for you. That's not gonna change, Gamzee.”

The clown looked up at Karkat sadly, nuzzling his face into Karkat’s hands almost pathetically as he begged for some kind of sympathetic or soft touch. He grasped at Karkat’s hand, unsure of how to feel about anything anymore. He wanted to scream, to just tell Karkat that he was wrong. The clown didn’t deserve this treatment. He didn’t deserve someone like Karkat wasting their life away taking care of him. Translucent purple tears streamed down his face, but he stayed quiet. Who was he to tell Karkat he was wrong? If… If Karkat said it, it had to be right… but… Daddy. The Capricorn started shaking, burying his face in his knees. Everything hurt and it was so confusing. His head felt like something was stabbing him in the back of his brain. “B-but… what…wh-what did I motherfuckin’ do? Wh-what did I do ta m-make Daddy h-hate me? T-to not love me n-no more…?”

Karkat frowned. “I don't think he hates you, Gamzee,” he murmured, running his fingers through his moirail's silken hair. He hated himself right then, his inability to reassure his best friend about something like whether his own fucking father loved him or not. “Whatever the fuck is going on with him, it's not fucking you, okay? You didn't do a damn think wrong, you get me?”

As he sat and held his crying diamond, the crab began to realize what he had to do. He patted at Gamzee's hair, running reassuring strokes over his horn beds. He wasn't quite sure how long they sat there, his arms around his tall clown as he shook with sobs, the Cancer glaring off at the purple trim boards of the wall. After his back began to ache, he nudged Gamzee to lay down with him, ignoring the press of what felt like an old pen in his ribcage, and pulled him into his chest, continuing to pet his horns and hair and whisper reassuring things about how he was there for him and he would be okay, even after Gamzee had ceased sobbing and simply just clung to him, as if afraid to let the mutant blood go. He began to lose track of time, though he was sure it had only been half an hour, possibly an hour, his hands and fingers mechanically moving on their own as his pan pieced together what he was about to do. He was so focused on his internal script that he didn't notice when the sad clown began to stir.

Gamzee lifted his head from Karkat’s chest, his body ridged but slowly working through the emotional lapses. He sniffled, running his fingers over his face. He was really happy that he hadn’t bothered with his face paint after his shower with Karkat; he looked over his moirail’s body and gave a faint smile. Karkat really was so good to him. He didn’t deserve to have to put with a clown’s shit constantly. Gently, Gamzee nudged his nose into Karkat’s collar, purring slowly.

“You uh, you wanna motherfuckin’ watch a romcom or get somethin’ ta eat, Karbro? I didn’t mean ta waste yer day all out like this with my stupid stuff. Anythin’ ya want.” He gently ran his fingers over Karkat’s sides, drawing small patterns over the skin to get his attention.

The Cancer smiled at his diamond, doing his best to cover his anger. He saw straight through Gamzee's act but said nothing, knowing it was the Makara's way of coping: just trying to move on with life and pretend nothing was wrong. “Sure. You feel like, I don't know, baking a cake or some shit like that?” Baking was one of Gamzee's favorite things, after all, and it tended to take his mind off things, calm him down.

Gamzee nodded softly. "I think we have some motherfuckin' wicked strawberry stuff left. I know you like that crazy ass chocolate swirl."

The clown stood up, helping Karkat to his feet. "I can make it an' get it ready. We can motherfuckin' veg out in the pile an' have a right motherfuckin' movie marathon er whatever ya want."

Gamzee loved making things for Karkat, or getting to make the food for their pale dates. Cooking calmed him down and kind of helped remind him that he was good at something that made others happy. He had learned to cook from his nanny a few years prior and been experimenting with it ever since.

Karkat nodded, still smiling softly. “Sounds fine to me.” He couldn't deny he loved his pale boyfriend's cooking and baked goodies, /especially/ the chocolate that he mentioned. He liked trying to help Gamzee as well. He was easily annoyed by a lot of it, and was really fucking shitty in his opinion, despite how much Gamzee assured him he wasn't. But sometimes it calmed his anger, and he did like to see the smile that came on Gamzee's face when he watched Karkat trying to figure out how the fuck to stir the delicious chocolate batter without spilling it all over the counter and himself.

He followed Gamzee to the kitchen, going directly to the fridge while  his moirail got out the shit he still didn't quite understand. He looked around inside, his eyes landing on the near empty carton of milk and the eggs next to it. He pulled the egg carton out and popped it open, finding one lone orb inside. He chewed on his lip for a moment. He didn't want to just ditch Gamzee, not after a breakdown like that, but they would need the items, and it was a good excuse to leave, to do what he had planned the entire hour he sat stroking his crying clown's hair. He straightened up, forcing the guilt off his face.

“Looks like I gotta take a run to the store,” he admitted sheepishly, holding up the items. “We're pretty much out.” He set them back inside the thermal hull and closed the door, sighing. He chewed his lip again, not noticing the nervous action. “...Will you be okay if I go out really fast? I won't be that long, I promise.”

Gamzee looked over at Karkat, putting down the flower and sugar bags. Karkat was...leaving? Gamzee swallowed thickly, unsure of how to process that fully just yet. His eyes darted between the milk and eggs, realizing they were incredibly low. The clown had made a grand breakfast for the two of them a few days prior and had forgotten to buy more... He really was stupid sometimes...

"Oh... uh, okay Karbro." He gave Karkat a smile, not wanting the little crab to worry so much about him. "Go and I'll motherfuckin' have this bitchtits ready and hot when ya get back."

Karkat watched the emotions spill across the indigo's face, feeling guiltier by the second. But this was something he felt he had to do. And he knew if Gamzee was really not okay to be alone, he would say so. But that look told Karkat he needed to hurry his ass up. He gave his moirail a hug and leaned up on his tiptoes, stretching to kiss his cheek. “I'll hurry. I promise.”

With that he grabbed his wallet and crammed his feet into his worn shoes before heading out the door, shutting it softly behind him.

When Gamzee heard the door shut, a near deafening sadness fell over the apartment they shared. Gamzee looked around, licking the color of his bottom lip. He flushed softly, unsure of how to really battle the silence that ate away at his mental state. He scratched at his arm slightly, feeling where his skin was lightly scabbing. Gamzee mentally took not that he really did have to stop doing that. He walked into the living room and turned on the television to curb some of the silence. It was somehow on PBS, with a show about a comfy couch. Gamzee smiled softly when he saw the female clown bouncing around and talking to her doll friend. His brother and father always told him that he should have grown out of these shows years ago... but what was so bad about laughing over harmless jokes and remembering to be a good person? Gamzee ran his fingers through his hair and remembered how Karkat would do it when they were in the pile. It made him want to purr. After a few moments, he stood up, making his way back to the kitchen so that he could start on the cake he promised his pale lover.

-

The mutant pounded on the door of the massive townhome he stood before. He was dangerously close to attempting to kick the door in, even knowing he would probably just break his ankle. After counting to a very fast ten, he brought his fist up once again, taking his anger out on the fancy oak with his fist.

“God damn it, I know you're in there, Makara! Open up!”

As if on cue, the door opened. A broad male with skinny hips and curly long brown hair stood there. His lip piercings glittered in the sunlight. The obvious Makara was wearing a solid black wife beater and a pair of black skinny jeans with a ripped knee. The jeans looked worn and that the outlines of bones going down the legs. Looking down, Kurloz saw the rather short mutant boy. He signed towards him, rolling his eyes. 'What could the likes of you possibly want here?"

Karkat's eyes flashed dangerously, the red he would one day grow into showing through yellow orbs momentarily. He stepped into the home, shoving Kurloz out of the way, easily knocking the larger boy out of his way if only thanks to the benefit of surprise.

“I didn't come here to deal with your fucking shit,” he snarled at the pierced troll as he moved through the house, traveling the now-familiar route to the office of his diamond's father. “I'm assuming your good-for-nothing father is home?” he snapped rhetorically.

Kurloz didn't even bother to answer the angry 16 year old. He didn't have the energy to care what the little piss ant was doing. Kurloz walked up the stairs to his room. The mime decided that if there was anything the little mutant needed his father for; it wasn't any of his business. Let the Grand Highblood squash him.

Karkat didn't even paused long enough to knock, opting instead to throw the door open, slamming it with enough force it had surely damaged the wall it bounced off. The fact barely registered in the angry Cancer's mind as he made his way straight to Garret's desk, slamming his hands down atop the clearly important paperwork in front of the large highblood.

“You busy?” he demanded sarcastically, not giving a damn what his answer would be. “Here,” he continued, shoving his desk clear, “that should clear your schedule up for a minute. Now you have plenty of time. All you have to do is sit your worthless ass back and listen to me. Is that gonna be hard for a high and mighty asshole like yourself?”

Garret saw the small teenaged troll storm into his office. He would be lying if he said that it didn’t unnerve him just a bit. No one just simply barged into his office, not even his son. Garret's lips pursed and he tightened his grip on the cellphone in his hand. "I'm sorry; I do believe I'll have to call you back." He ended the call before dropping his phone into his jacket's pocket.

The highblood did everything in his power to not growl at his son's moirail. His nails flexed under the table, his blood pressure rising. It did not do well to show such little respect in his office. His tone was acidic and sweet, much like a cyanide kiss against your auditory nubs.  "And what do I owe the pleasure of this visit, Mr. Vantas?"

Karkat didn't resist his own urge to growl, the low sound coming deep in his chest. “I guess I'll get straight to the point, Mr. Makara. That's how you businessmen do shit, right?” he sneered sarcastically, barely refraining from scratching his claws along the desk. That would probably be going just a bit too far, and instead balled his hands into fists, letting the sharp nails did into his palms. “Let's start with this: Do you hate your son?”

Garret's ears perked and he looked Karkat dead in the eyes. What was this little mutant playing at? His brow furrowed and he cocked an eyebrow. "What are you getting at, Vantas? Of course I love my son. I pay his rent, I supply him with food. I do the same for you." His tone was bitter, a growl at the peak of his words.

Karkat laughed suddenly, a short humorless bark. “I'm not surprised that the definition of 'love' is the same as money to you.” He became serious again, setting his jaw. “Then again, what piss poor excuse do you have for the way you treat that other asshole you call a son? You know the one who bullied the living shit out of Gamzee and is clearly your favorite? The spoiled little brat that still lives at home with his daddy while you kick Gamzee out so you don't gotta deal with his shit?”

Garret fell silent and rose to his feet. His jaw twitched and he flexed his claws again, this time quite visibly. His stature towered over Karkat, his shoulders square. The older male ran his fingers through his hair and a small laugh passed his lips before something in him just snapped. He slammed his hands down on his desk, the small lamp on the corner of the desk teetering close to the edge. "You don't motherfucking understand. Gamzee is a special case. He isn't mentally right. I had to do what I did. If I didn't, he would never have gotten out from under me. He is Autistic, he isn't right."

The crab had kept himself together pretty nicely so far, he'd thought. But when those words met his ears he lost it. He didn't give a damn about how much larger the indigo was than he, nor the fact that he could easily snap Karkat in half. He didn't even give a damn that this was the troll who was pretty much paving the road for not only Gamzee but for him as well. All he cared about right then was the things he'd just said to him.

“He isn't right?!” Karkat snarled, baring his sharp teeth as they snapped together. “What the fuck is wrong with you? This is your god damned SON we're talking about here! You think I'm fucking stupid? I've known him for six fucking years, and I know him better and have spent more fucking time with him than you have in almost three times that. Of COURSE I knew something was different, you stupid grubsucking shitsponge.” The mutant stopped for half a second to intake a fresh mouthful of air before going on. “That's not the issue here, you failure of a parent. So what if Gamzee's fucking different? Who gives a fuck? What, you don't know how to love your own kid just because he's not perfect like the other little shit that crawled out of your genetics?” He suddenly pounded his own fists down on the desk, nearly throwing himself in the highblood's face.

A snarl ripped from Garret's throat. His own nails dug into the cherrywood of his desk and he did everything he could to not leap over it and punch Karkat in the face. His arms were shaking and his eyes shut tight. "You don't goddamn understand what it's like to be a single parent. I have a business to run. Kurloz had private schools and Gamzee could have followed him, but he chose to be with you. I tried my best to treat them the same. Gamzee had the best nannies and teachers possible."

“I don't give a flying squeakbeast's ass about any of that!” The Cancer was livid now, shaking with anger. “You think that's the shit that really matters?! Tell me, what do you think is important when I'm holding him in my arms trying to get him to stop crying because the phone rang today with my father on the line and he'd gone and gotten his hopes up that it might actually be you on the other end for a change? Do you have any idea how often I do that for him? I don't even know how many times I've let him cry on my shoulder because you were too busy to just fucking look at the picture he drew for you. I don't even know why the fuck he needs your acknowledgment anyway. He doesn't need a damn thing from you. Not you, not your fucking money. I can take care of him. I'll get a fucking job, drop out of school if I have to. I'll be there for him, because I actually fucking love him.”

The highblood was shocked into silence. He let his hands slip off of the desk and fall to his sides as the young male spoke. Every word was like tiny needles injecting the most icy and frozen water into his veins. Gamzee...cried over him today? When... when had he spoken to his son last? A hollow pit formed in the business man's gut. Sheer pride is what kept him from dropping his head and sitting down. He looked at Karkat, taking a deep breath. "I-I'm sorry... I didn't know. I let my own motherfucking life get in the way of taking care of my own son."

Karkat snorted, turning his back on the troll. He was done here. Just looking at the public figurehead everyone knew as the “Grand Highblood” made him sick. “I'm not the one who needs to hear such a pathetic fucking excuse for an apology.” He realized he was shaking, nearly trembling with his rage. “You know, it's pretty fucking sad that any of this even needs to be said. In fact, it's a bit pathetic that I even have to tell you that your son still fucking loves you. His eyes sparkle like goddamned diamonds at the mention of you, and he'd probably rip anyone to shreds who badmouthed you. Fucked if I know why.” Against his better judgment the crab glanced over his shoulder at the Capricorn. “You can fix it, you know. Maybe you can grow some shameglobes and be a goddamned parent to him for once. But I won't hold my breath.” With that the cherryblood walked out, not even bothering to close the door behind him.

Garret took a deep, shuddered breath. He had no idea how to even fully process what he had just been schoolfed. Karkat was right though... absolutely right. He sat back down in his chair, the plush padding feeling cold and uncomfortable. He didn't deserve to be comfortable after that. Shakily, the purple blood reached into his pocket and pulled his phone out. He sat it on the desk before opening one of the bottom desk drawers, pulling out an overflowing manila folder. Gamzee's name was written across the top and even the letters were painful to see. He hit redial on his phone, waiting for the only person he'd ever let hear him like this to pick up. Once that familiar voice rang through his auditory clots, he smiled sheepishly. "Y-your son has the biggest pair of balls I've ever witnessed, baby." He choked slightly, holding back his tears. He couldn't cry. "I'm proud t-to say he is what G-Gamzee deserves."

On the other end of the phone Samuel smirked sadly. He crossed his legs, getting himself more comfortable to listen to his secret matesprit confess what he already knew.  Before Garret had hung up he'd heard the all-too familiar yelling of his youngest son storm into the highblood's office, and he'd spent his time sitting patiently, waiting for this phone call exactly. “He's right, you know,” the Signless murmured into the mouthpiece softly. “I don't think I can remember times you've treated that poor boy nearly as well as you treat your eldest.” Samuel was sad to say that to his lover, but he wasn't going to lie to him.

The tall highblood's breath hitched and he nodded, knowing his lover was right. A small smile spread across his lips as Garret opened the folder, several drawings sliding free across his desk. "I...I do love my boy, Sam...You know I do." His voice was harsh, sore from catching in his throat. The small mutant had really put things in perspective for him. "Gamzee..." Just saying his son's name seemed wrong now... Garret was unworthy. "He always has been an exceptional artist..." Small droplets of purple cascaded down the highblood's cheek but he didn't notice until they would land on the picture of what he assumed to be him as he was tracing with his fingers.

Samuel Vantas had never seen or heard the highblood cry before, but he knew his lover was doing so now. He had never been prouder of his youngest, despite how much he knew his boy had pained his matesprit. “Has he now?” the Signless murmured quietly, gently, listening carefully. He'd never heard Garret say much about his youngest boy, and was intent to hang onto every word, cherish the moment. “Tell me more about your child, Garret.”

The business man tried to group himself together, thumbing through the pictures. "He...he is so loving and forgiving, Sammy," He thumbed through the pictures, feeling his chest restrict. It was getting hard to breathe as he looked over the pictures."I'd...I'd love to show these to ya, sometime... I have some from when the boy was really little..." he laughed softly, seeing the little comics his littlest son would draw. "I do love him, baby... more... more than anything. I just... I'm a real shit father."

“Hey now,” the Reverend scolded. “You're talking like it's the end of the world. I'm not going to pet you better and tell you you're wrong, I'm you're matesprit, after all, not your moirail, but it's not to late to change and start anew. The boy is sixteen, and you're nowhere near your deathbed. Just...give him a call. Talk to him, say hello and ask him how he'd doing. Tell him you love him for God's sake.”

The oldest Makara sighed and nodded, though he knew his lover wouldn't be able to see him. "You're right, Sammy. I... I have to fix this..." He swallowed thickly, his pride shattered into bitesize pieces. "I'll... I'll call you later, okay?"

Garret hung up the phone, resting his head in his hands; the tears freefalling down his cheeks now. The CEO didn't deserve a loving son like Gamzee, nor did the boy deserve such an awful father. It wasn't Gamzee's fault that he was a little different. He shook softly, Karkat's words ringing in his ears. He'd learned to take care of Gamzee and /love/ him without even knowing that his son had anything /wrong/ with him. No. Gamzee didn't have anything wrong with him... He was perfect. The highblood gripped at his hair for a moment and whimpered before drying his eyes. If this was going to get better, he had to make the first move. He grabbed his phone, dialing the number with shaking fingers.

The dial tone and ringing was almost deafening. He focused so hard on the noise that he'd nearly missed Gamzee answering. "Uh, hello? Karbro?"

"Nah, my lovely motherfuckin' son. S'your Daddy. How are you, Gamzee?" The older male almost choked on his tears when he heard such a shocked but happy gasp leave the younger's mouth.

Karkat Vantas juggled with the handful of grocery bags he lugged down the street. Once more he cursed himself for being unable a fucking vehicle. At least he lived within walking distance of the grocery store. He shifted the bags around again, the one containing the milk particularly annoying as it caused the bags handles to dig into the palm of his hand. He was actually a bit grateful that he couldn't afford too many groceries, so he didn't have nearly as much to pack home.

He reached the rental long past the time it felt like his arms were going to fall off,  and quickened his pace, dropping the groceries on the porch so he could unlock the door. He pushed the door open, gathered the bags up again and stumbled inside, all but tossing them onto the table. He went about putting the items away, the task taking very little time with the almost pitiful amount of items. He finished and leaned against the counter, letting his arms drop to his sides to rest. He realized it was strangely quiet and frowned before pushing away from the counter and going back to the fridge, pulling out an orange Faygo. He'd decided to buy a few for Gamzee since the pup had seen a commercial for the particular flavor and wanted to try it, having liked the on Karkat had gotten him that time at the park. He hadn't asked Karkat for any, of course, so the albino decided to surprise him with the drink.

“Gamzee?” he called, walking through the house. He wasn't on the couch watching TV, which was strange, but he was probably in the bedroom. “Gamzee, I have something for you...” He walked toward his bedroom, frowning a bit at the sight of the closed door. Since when did the hybrid hole himself up in the bedroom? That was honestly kind of Karkat's thing, not Gamzee's.

Gamzee rolled around on the bed, finally getting used to actually being allowed on the furniture. He glanced over at the clock, it read "5:14". Karkat had taught the Labrador that he would always be home around the time the clock said "5:30". A gradual heat was building up in the base of of his abdomen. Gamzee scratched under the shirt he was wearing, noticing how his own touch was making the heat worse. Was... was he actually in /that/ season again? He whimpered, pressing his palm into his groin, trying desperately to not buck his hips. Doc Scratch had never let him indulge in heats, saying they were dirty and not gentlemanly. But... would Karkat?

Karkat pushed open the door to his bedroom and smiled tiredly at Gamzee, holding up the bottle of Faygo. “Didn't you hear me, Gamzee?” His smile dropped just a bit at the flushed look on the dog's face and the way he was touching himself. “Uh, you okay, Gamzee?” he asked hesitantly, a blush of his own forming on his face. Had he just walked in on Gamzee about to masturbate? Well, that would explain the closed door and lack of greeting, he supposed. “I'll just....leave this here for you,” he muttered, his cheeks tinted pink, and laid the bottle of Faygo on the foot of the bed. He really needed to give Gamzee his privacy, like, now.

Gamzee's head shot up. He couldn't believe how amazing Karkat really smelled at that moment. He scrambled off of the bed and practically tackled his master to the ground, sniffling at his neck and collar, licking it softly. "You smell so good, Karkat," His voice was husky, either from lack of speech all day, or the blood pooling in his groin. Karkat's skin tasted so sweet. He gently nipped at the human's skin, being as gentle as possible with his sharp teeth. "Nhm, so, so good."

The smaller male's breath escaped in a small gasp as he suddenly found himself on the floor, Gamzee above him...sniffing him? His cock twitched a small bit at the sound of Gamzee's voice, the sound of his name added with the words and his rolling voice. He squirmed a bit beneath the pup, hissing quietly from the feel of Gamzee's teeth on his skin. They hadn't done anything remotely like this since that rainy day he'd brought the hybrid home, and Karkat had had way too many nights alone with his hand. This made it hard for him to hold onto logic and caution, but he did his best despite the growing need below his waist. “Ga-Gamzee? What the hell are you doing?” he managed to gasp out, biting his lip at the soft nips to his neck.

Gamzee whimpered when he pulled back from Karkat's neck. There were tears in the corners of his eyes. The blood rushing to his crotch in such speeds was making his head dizzy and groin throb near painfully. He had a whine building up in his throat and his ears flickered. "H-hurts..." He blinked, just sure Karkat would make him stop like his daddy had. "I-it hurts..."

Karkat's eyes widened. “What hurts, Gamzee? Are you al-” He suddenly trailed off, slowly realizing what Gamzee was talking about. He reached upwards and gently thumbed a tear from one of the pup's eyes. “Are...you in heat, Gamzee?” he asked gently, staring at him in reassurance.

The Labrador hybrid nodded sheepishly, his cheeks flushed brightly. He shifted his hips, chewing his bottom lip. He was obviously embarrassed by this but he just couldn't stop. Everything felt too tight...too hot. He backed away slightly, suddenly realizing he had just mauled Karkat to the ground. His eyes widened and he freaked out, ears flat against his head. "I-I'm so sorry! D-don't be mad at me," His voice was morphed into a whine and tears made it hard for him to see. "I-I didn't mean to hurt you! I-I..." He backed away, off of Karkat quickly. This is where his Daddy would punish him for being a bad dog.

The albino realized he'd phrased his reaction badly and shook his head, sitting up quickly to follow the pup. “No, no, no, you didn't hurt me Gamzee!” He reached forward and scratched at Gamzee's ears, smiling gently at him. “I'm not mad. I promise.” He licked his lips nervously and leaned forward slowly, giving Gamzee a slow careful kiss. “Would you like....me to help make the pain go away?”

The dog leaned helplessly into the kiss and was quite breathless when Karkat spoke. He nodded all the more shamelessly, his tail beating against the carpet. He grabbed at Karkat's hand, shaking nervously as he pressed it to his own stomach. It was possible to physically feel the temperature rise against his skin. "P-please, Karkat..."

Gamzee's skin was heated, unbelievably hot to the touch. It made Karkat groan inwardly, and he couldn’t resist the urge to slide his hand down, slipping it under the waist of the loose polka-dotted pants Karkat had found for him. His fingers teased the flesh lightly, tugging the pants down as his hand moved down, and stopped just above his destination, caressing the skin across the warm pelvis. He imagined how the puppy's heat would feel inside him and flushed, his cock coming to life faster thanks to the thought. His other hand came up to grip Gamzee's hip and he lightly pressed his thumb into it, rubbing circles into the fleshy part between bone and stomach.

The puppy whimpered and arched his hips up. His whole body was running on instinct as the fire in his gut grew. Gamzee was puffing for breath, trembling. The puppy had never been allowed to participate in one of his heats before... He had no idea that it felt /this good/. Gamzee kissed Karkat's shoulder, gently nipping the flesh. He wanted to make Karkat feel this blissed out too, so he reached forward, massaging the bulge in the front of Karkat's pants.

The reaction he received from the dogboy spurred him on, and he groaned quietly, bucking his hips up while dipping his hand lower, fingers wrapping loosely around Gamzee's already hard cock. He was so /hot/ against his palm and it made him tighten his grip. He /needed/ to feel Gamzee's skin against his own so he used his free hand to tug at his shirt, successfully baring the beautiful chest that hid beneath the cloth.

The hybrid moaned softly into the kiss. He gently tugged at Karkat's shirt, not wanting to be the only one exposed. His ears flicked and his  tail brushed against Karkat's thigh. "N-nhm," The still-naive dog was flushed at the exposure of his owner's skin and shivered, starting to kiss and lap at the other male's now exposed collar bone. He let a playful growl rumble in his chest as he grabbed at Karkat's length gently through the fabric of his pants.

Karkat let his eyes fall closed, pleasured pants and the occasional moan passing his lips. He had to admit that it was endearing to him, the way Gamzee was a bit awkward and unsure, fumbling along as he tried to figure out how to go about it. It was clear that he had experience, but Karkat was willing to bet he'd only been a toy before, and had only ever had any sort of control the first and only time the two of them had had sex. So Karkat was more than willing to let the pup have his chance, let him figure things out. Besides, his innocence seemed to be a bit of a turn on for the albino, from the way he kissed at Karkat's collar to the way his face turned the lightest bit of pink. Karkat rolled his hips up slowly, guiding Gamzee with the roll of his pelvis. He gave one last stroke and began tugging the hybrid's pants and boxers down, carefully slipping his tail from the hole in the back before sliding them off his hips down his thighs, exposing the lab's large arousal.

Gamzee whimpered as the cold air attacked his groin. He shivered softly, glancing down. His own body feeling too hot to be natural. He grasped at Karkat's hips, his fingers massaging and kneading at the flesh. The puppy was shy, very contained in his actions. He didn't want to hurt Karkat or do something stupid that would end up stopping the whole process. He licked tentatively at Karkat's chest, moving to take one of his nipples into his mouth, gently biting before suckling it slowly.

The careful attention Karkat received made it so hard for him to hold back and let the puppy work, but he managed it somehow, arching his back up off the floor just a bit, small moans slipping from his throat. It felt absolutely amazing, but he couldn't help but crave that hot wet mouth elsewhere. He licked his lips and fumbled with his jeans, pulling at the button and zip quickly. He shoved them down, lifting his hips to allow them to slide off easier. He then tugged at his boxers, exposing himself just as much as the hybrid was now, his nearly hard cock twitching against his abdomen. There was a bead of precum already escaping, dripping down the head from its slit.

Gamzee glanced at Karkat, his body shuddering. The puppy gently grasped at Karkat's length, his fingers slowly working over his shaft. He adored the look on Karkat's face when he touched him like this. Slowly Gamzee stroked the smaller male, much like Karkat had done for him. He worked at kissing Karkat's chest again, a sweet whine in his voice. "W-want me to..." He felt his face flush a more vibrant red. "T-take care of you?" He didn't know how to flat out say what he wanted but he licked his fingers gently before touching the tip of Karkat's cock to express what he meant.

The words combined with the touch caused Karkat to intake a shuddery gasp and he nodded furiously, bucking his hips upward. "Please, Gamzee," he murmured, leaning up to catch the pup's lower lip in his teeth. He sucked it gently but hungrily into his mouth, panting lightly. He wrapped Gamzee's fingers tightly around his shaft and groaned quietly.

The hybrid kissed Karkat back hungrily, feeling a bit more confident in his kisses as time moved forward. He let go of his owner's near pulsing length and gently knocked his hand off of his own as much as the puppy hated it. Gamzee pushed  Karkat down again, his mouth kissing and biting at his friend's hips before he flattened his tongue, taking long licks from the base to the tip of his arousal. Gamzee slowly moved his head, giving like kisses to Karkat's head and upper shaft, slowly suckling at the slit, tasting his precum.

Karkat found himself moaning loudly, his back and hips arching dramatically. He loved the way Gamzee shoved his hand aside, the dominant way he pushed him back to the floor, the teasing nips and sucks, but he had no words for the things the pup did to his cock. This was even better than the first and only other time Gamzee had done this for him. He sure knew what he was doing. Karkat had mixed emotions about the fact on a regular occasion, and did his best to not think of it normally, but right now all he cared about was /how/ those skills were being put to use.

Gamzee hummed needily as he worked Karkat's length. He wrapped his lips around his length, his cheeks hallowing as he moved down, swallowing at Karkat's tip. He wanted to move quickly, his own arousal feeling like he was on fire. The heat building in his stomach felt like it was going to burst. He grabbed at Karkat's hips, his nails digging in slightly before he found a good rhythm of suckling or moving down Karkat's need.

The albino's head dropped back, his eyes shutting tightly. His right hand came up to cover his mouth, doing his best to muffle his moans and pants. It was all he could do not to grab Gamzee's ears and fuck his mouth. It was too much, too fast, and there was no way he'd be able to last inside the wet heat. He didn't want to get off before the dogboy. He wasn't the one in heat, after all. He reluctantly dropped his hand to Gamzee's jaw and gently urged his mouth off, almost whimpering at the loss of contact. He climbed to his feet rather shakily and made his way to the bed. Karkat then patted the mattress, signaling for Gamzee to get on it while he turned his attention to his bedside drawer, rummaging around for his small bottle of lube.

Gamzee noticed the signal and tilted his head before following the silent command. He climbed onto the bed and shifted, his stomach still filled with liquid fire. The puppy sat on his haunches, gently stroking his hand over his own heated flesh. His arousal was throbbing and the sight of Karkat in the nude and just so damn gorgeous wasn't helping in the slightest. His tail brushed against his leg and the bedspread, his eagerness showing through.

Karkat found what he was looking for and climbed onto the bed after the pup, laying back and spreading himself out for Gamzee to see what he was doing. He slicked his fingers up carefully and, making sure Gamzee was watching, he leaned back, lifting his hips a bit, and propped himself up on an arm while his slicked fingers sought out his heated entrance. He rubbed a fingertip against himself, closing his eyes at the sensation, before he slowly, so slowly, began pushing the digit inside himself, groaning quietly.

Gamzee watched in pure fascination. He could remember this happening to him on occasion, his shoulders shuddering at the memory. He gently kissed Karkat's knee and moved down his thigh, just simply showering the Cancer in affection. He loved how Karkat's face would contort between mild irritation and pleasure. "Pretty," he breathed, not wanting to distract his master much more.

The small attention and praise made Karkat's face heat up, a small moan passing his lips. He began to slide his finger in and out of himself, slowly at first but picking up speed before he decided to slip in his second. It was just a bit of a tighter fit, having been awhile since he'd actually had anything inside him. He gave a quiet groan as the thought occurred to him that the last time he'd been touched was by Gamzee, and the heated memory made him push his two fingers deep and spread them out, the tips pressing just so against the soft, sensitive walls.

Gamzee's gaze was intense and he tried to stay quiet, but a moan bubbled against his lips. He watched Karkat work, definitely not trying to disturb him. His stomach cramped and twisted, bringing his attention back to his own need. The dogboy sat back on his ankles again, slowly working his hand against his shaft. He was still fairly clumsy with himself, not truly ever allowed to do it. The Capricorn shuddered, his eyes falling closed despite still envisioning how Karkat was working himself open.

It didn't take much more for Karkat to work in his third finger, stretching himself as much as he could to allow for Gamzee's thickness. Finally his patience wore out and he reluctantly pulled his fingers from his heat before kneeling forward, crawling toward Gamzee. He grabbed the lube again and held Gamzee's erection up, dripping the cool oil onto his head. He stroked the lube into the shaft, coating as much of the length as he could. "Are you ready for me, Gamzee?" He stared into those deep blue eyes. They were almost purple in his dark, hungry lust.

Gamzee nodded, his whole body feeling tingly and utterly /ready/. He let a snarl ripple in his throat as he pushed Karkat down onto the soft padded bedding. He debated just climbing on top of his friend like he had finished last time, but he wanted to try something that he'd seen in one of those late-night movies. He nudged Karkat, trying to get him to roll over. Once complying, the puppy lifted Karkat's bum into the air and spread his legs, shuddering at the way Karkat just /let/ him contort his body. The hybrid took a deep breath, grabbing his shaft right under the head, and shuddered as he pressed it to Karkat's wanting entrance, slowly pushing inside of the suffocating heat as to not hurt his owner.

Gamzee definitely surprised him with the way he moved Karkat around, easily pushing and pulling and prodding gently to get him where he wanted. It made his cock throb and his stomach clench, knowing that Gamzee was really capable of doing literally anything he wanted to the human. Before he knew it, he found himself in the familiar doggy-style position (and oh would his old lover just die from the irony). Just as he turned his head to look over his shoulder, wanting to make sure Gamzee knew what he was doing, the pup had his legs spread and oh fuck /yes/. He'd began pushing inside Karkat, so slowly, too slowly, but experience told him not to bitch, not to push back to make him go inside faster, because that could potentially hurt and fuck that was an uncomfortable pain so he would really rather fucking /avoid it/.

Of course, that didn't keep him quiet at all, as he merely dropped his head between the arms propping himself up and bit his lip, the flesh between his teeth almost zero barrier to muffle to moans and whimpers that passed his larynx. He stared hard at the ruffled bedding, his thighs trembling desperately from the outright /need/ to tilt his hips back just /so/. He finally gave in and squeezed his eyes shut, moving himself back as slowly as he possibly could to help Gamzee sheath himself inside, stopping only when he ended up flush against warm hips.

Gamzee shuddered as he watched his entire length sheathe itself inside of Karkat's gorgeous and tight body. The heat wafting through them was causing the dog to shudder and writhe despite his instinctive need. He tried to stay as still as possible, scared of hurting Karkat. His tail thumped against the bed and his ears were down against his skull. He couldn't stop himself from gently rutting, hoping Karkat wasn't in pain. He needed to stop this uncontrollable heat building in his gut; he needed to make Karkat feel as blissed out as he did last time.

The small movements Gamzee made against his ass caused a low keen to escape the Cancer's throat, and he couldn't control himself anymore. He pushed his hips back harder, despite being completely encased around the larger male's cock, and made his own small movements, grinding into Gamzee's pelvis. “Fuck, Gamzee, I can't take it. Fuck me, damnit!” To get his point across he pulled his hips forward a few inches and slammed them back, groaning loudly at the impact of the hybrid's dick to his warm insides.

Gamzee almost teetered backwards from the force of Karkat's hips. He groaned deep in his throat, grasping at his partner's sides and shuddered. The puppy thrust forward, his body shuddering at the sensation. He hovered over Karkat, Gamzee kissing and nipping at his shoulders and the back of his neck. His teeth were sharp so he was sure not to apply too much pressure as he moved. "N-nhn," Gamzee grunted into the flushed skin, the heat in his stomach stirring rapidly.

Karkat spread his legs further, lowering his upper body onto the bed to allow for deeper access. It had been far too long since he'd had someone take him like this... Right then Gamzee could do literally anything he wanted to Karkat's body and the albino would happily take it like a moaning whore. He buried his face in his arms, doing everything in his power to not bite clean through his lip as Gamzee's mouth found his neck. The action, the sensation of teeth against his skin, at such a vulnerable area, made his thoughts run to the way some animals mated, and as dirty and disgusting as he felt for it the visual made his cock pulse. His gut clenched in an incredible heat, causing him to bring his hand up to stroke his neglected shaft. Gamzee....was literally fucking him like a dog right then, and he loved every second of it. But it still wasn't enough, and he heard himself give a low growl. “I love that you're not trying to tear me in half, but come /on/ Gamzee! FUCK. ME.”

Gamzee could feel his length pulse inside of his owner at those words. He pressed his forehead to Karkat's shoulder, his ears lightly grazing the back of Karkat's neck. He snarled, the sound coming from deep in his chest at the demand. The dog grasped at Karkat's hips, lurching them backwards to meet with every thrust. His shoulders shook and Gamzee continuously rolled his hips, giving in to the practically insatiable heat in his stomach.

A loud moan fell from Karkat's mouth and he felt his teeth break the skin of his lip. Fuck everything in his body was just pure fucking bliss and heat and right now and he never wanted it to stop. The pull the stronger male gave at his hips caused him to fall forward, the one arm balancing himself giving out, forcing himself onto his face. Every thrust caused his cheek to brush against the sheets, but he made no move to remedy this, allowing the Labrador to quite literally pound his face into the mattress. His mouth was wide open with his cries and groans, and he felt a dampness fall past his dry lips as he drooled into the sheet. The sensation of his own saliva on his skin added to the fucking, and he pumped his cock harder, faster, spreading his legs as wide as he could, confident Gamzee's almost-bruising grip would prevent him from falling further.

Gamzee's hips worked rhythmically against Karkat, the sound of their skin meeting and the cancer's moans spurring him on. He added a bit of force, feeling guilt spread through his stomach. He definitely didn't want to hurt Karkat... but the heat he was feeling rattled his brain. All he could truly focus on was that if he did as Karkat said, he would tighten around around his throbbing need. His stomach was aching and Gamzee's eyes closed. He blindly kissed and lapped at the soft ridges of Karkat's spine, raking his teeth over his sweet smelling skin.

The force of Gamzee's hips slamming into his ass harder and the way Gamzee pulled him into him made Karkat pump himself harder, faster, getting even closer to his release. It occurred to him momentarily that he wasn't sure if Gamzee was nearly as close as he was or not, but the thought left his mind at the hot breath at his back. He was straining to hold out, moaning louder and louder despite his own teeth biting into his lip harder. He was sure he was going to make himself bleed, but he didn't fucking care, just so long as Gamzee never stopped. One particular hard thrust, brushing right up into that delicious spot inside him, sent Karkat yelling, nearly screaming into the sheets, white hot pleasure bursting over his eyes as his orgasm spilled out of him.

Gamzee stuttered and moaned, the way Karkat's insides clamped around his thick shaft was absolute bliss. His eyes were shut tight, stars forming behind the lids. Karkat's sounds and the way his back arched so sharply was absolutely beautiful. The hybrid's heat was bubbling over, so close in toppling over as his thighs tensed. He grabbed at Karkat's sides, encasing his dick deep inside the albino. He bit into Karkat's shoulder with a snarl, bucking forward a few times before his orgasm wracked his body. Gamzee groaned against Karkat's sweet-tasting skin and he came deep inside of his mate.

A second wave crashed over the crab, the force of Gamzee's increased pounding causing his orgasm to falter and stutter before intensifying into something much stronger than moments before. Everything, every little thing maximized the experience, from the way Gamzee gripped his body, to the snarl that met his ears, to the sharp teeth that sank into his shoulder, to the way the dog boy’s dick hit impossibly deep places, rubbing and pressing hard into those sensitive areas before shooting his release. Even the tickling from Gamzee's floppy ears against his heated skin got to him. His own cum made his hand sticky-slick, making it all the more easier to finish himself off.

Gamzee was sitting on the couch like a normal human, watching TV and waiting for Karkat to come home. He adored his new friend. Karkat made Gamzee's heart flutter and it felt...wonderful. He lounged on the couch, his tail wagging happily at the thought. Karkat had been coming home later and later the last few days... He missed his friend.

Karkat sighed as his small rental home came into view, a feeling of guilt making a pit in his stomach. He felt like shit... He'd been staying later at work every day, and a few times he'd gone to play video games with Sollux afterward, all to.... well, not really to AVOID Gamzee, really, but... Fuck. He was the worst human being on the face of the earth, but it was true. He HAD been avoiding the hybrid. He knew it was a shit thing to do, but he was just kind of "bothered" when he was home with him. He felt hypocritical, but he couldn't help it. Sure, he didn't believe Gamzee was less than human, and he sure as fuck didn't deserve to be treated any less, but... He WAS part dog. Kind of. Had the ears and fucking tail, and he acted and seemed to think a lot like one.

And.. He'd fucked him. He hated himself for thinking it, but there just had to be something wrong with that. He shook his head free of the thoughts when he realized he was on his porch and slowly made his way inside, bracing himself for the hello he knew he was going to get. Maybe Gamzee wouldn't knock him over this time.

Gamzee heard the click of the door and ran to greet Karkat. He hugged the male tightly fora second, happy to see Karkat alive and home. He smiled and his tail wagged happily. "Hiiii Karkat! Welcome home! I promise I didn't tear anything up this time! I swear it! I stayed on the couch and watched the TV box." He grinned widely, his ears perked.

Karkat couldn't help but smile up at the dog boy. Despite all his mixed feelings and inner turmoil, it was pretty nice to be greeted so enthusiastically. Even though he would never admit it, he liked knowing someone out there actually gave a fuck about him. It just made him feel all the more worse about distancing himself. He probably would have been happier if he'd come home to find Gamzee had torn something up again. He reached up to scritch at his ears and refrained himself from saying "Good boy," instead saying, "Glad to hear it." He knew it sounded blunt and rather uncaring, but he kind of hoped the pup wouldn't really catch on.

One of Gamzee's ears flicked over and he looked at Karkat as he walked away, presumably to get something to eat. Gamzee followed Karkat, a dopey smile on his face. He was just genuinely happy to be around Karkat again. "How was work, Karkat? Did you see Sollux today? I can't smell him." One of the plus sides of being a hybrid, Gamzee had an insane sense of smell and used it quite often.

Karkat internally bristled. He didn't regret saving him from the streets for a second. He would always be glad he had. He may very well have saved the dog's life. But could he just tone it down a fucking notch or two? Did he have to follow him everywhere? Did he have to play twenty questions? He did his best to ignore his own exasperation, but it was getting more difficult by the second. He briefly thought about getting him a muzzle, then inwardly flinched at the cruel thought, wondering what the fuck was wrong with him. He glanced at the pup as he was followed and went about making them something to eat. "No, Gamzee," he forced out as nicely as he could. "You're brilliant sense of smell won this round. I didn't see that asshole today."

Gamzee's tail wagged happily and he nodded. "Oh. I like Sollux. He always smells like honey candy. Daddy used to give me honey candy when I was little. I haven't had it in a long time though. He said it was bad for my teeth." The dog simply rambled, not even considering that Karkat DIDN'T want to be around him. He had been cooped up in the house all day by himself and it got lonely, so he just assumed Karkat would feel the same way. "What are you cooking tonight?" His ears perked as he sniffed the air.

Karkat wasn't really listening to Gamzee, to be honest. He forced all his attention onto the kitchen, moving from pantry to fridge to freezer and back. There wasn't really much to choose from... His income wasn't big enough to keep up a steady supply of groceries, and now that he was feeding a second person it was even harder. He finally gave up, just in time to catch Gamzee's question, and shut the pantry door a little harder than intended. He wasn't even sure what was really annoying him so much this time. Maybe it was everything together. His boundless energy. His constantly rambling. His short attention span. The way he kept bringing up his stupid fucking Daddy. It was all too much for him. "I'm not hungry, Gamzee. What do YOU want for dinner?" He struggled to keep his voice level.

Gamzee could see the anger flashing through Karkat's eyes and his ears dropped. He stepped back a few times before debating sitting down. "I'm not that hungry. You don't have to make anything." Had he just made Karkat mad? He chewed his bottom lip, feeling scared. That look appeared on Karkat's face a lot lately...

Gamzee's reaction made Karkat wince. Fuck. The look on his face.... He was a goddamn idiot. "I'm sorry, Gamzee." He sighed and scritched Gamzee's ears in reassurance. "I just had a bad day at work, that's all. I didn't mean to take it out on you." He closed his eyes, bringing a hand up to rub at his temples. "Now. I'm sure you didn't eat while I was gone. What do you want me to feed you? I'm sure as fuck not gonna starve you like the last assho-I mean... Fuck. You need to eat, alright? What do you want?"

Gamzee mewled softly at the feeling of Karkat messing with his ears and his tail wagged. He kissed Karkat's wrist rather than licking him like a real dog would. When he heard the question, he looked down at his feet. “I, uh, I liked that chicken you made the other night. Or those noodles you keep up there.” Who knew a dog would fall in love with ramen?

Karkat felt a wave of unease hit him when Gamzee kissed his wrist. It was something he'd been doing the last week or so, instead of licking him, and he still wasn't sure what he felt about it. He pulled his hand away and went back to the fridge, moving a few things around to find the leftovers the dog had mentioned. May as well eat it up. He popped the lid from its storage container and put it in the microwave before grabbing a couple plates while he waited. “Do you want a drink, too?” he asked absently as he pulled out the milk carton.

Gamzee nodded happily and sat down on the floor as he waited. “Yes, please.” He didn't like sitting in the wooden chairs Karkat had in the kitchen. The space between the bars wasn't big enough to fit his tail through, so he just opted for the floor. Karkat sure was getting frustrated a lot more lately. Maybe he could cheer him up? Gamzee nuzzled the side of Karkat's leg with his face and gave off a happy whine. “Why did work make you angry, Karkat? You can rant to me.”

Karkat poured them both glasses and handed one to the dog, trying to ignore the fact that he was on the floor again. He was getting used to it, and it didn't bother him nearly as much as it used to, but it was still...Well, it was fucking weird, and kind of unsettling. It confused him that much more, and made it hard to decide whether to think of Gamzee as a person that acted like a dog, or as a dog trapped in a human's body. He knew he wasn't being fair to him, and it just made him feel worse. “Don't worry Gamzee. It's not a big deal. Just stupid fucking people and my idiot manager.” The microwave went off and he proceeded to dish out their meal, handing Gamzee's to him.

Gamzee nodded softly. “Oh, well...things will get better soon! Things will always get better and hopefully you will be happy again and not look so sad all the time. You look so much better when you're happy. You should be happy, you deserve it.” Gamzee rambled on, just simply adoring Karkat. He took his food to the table to eat with his....caretaker. It took some practice, but Gamzee had fully learned how to eat with silverware. He stood, still not liking the chair, but eating at the table did make him feel a little closer to Karkat.

The human sighed quietly. All Gamzee seemed to care about was whether Karkat was happy or not, and here he was being a gigantic jackass. He cocked an eyebrow at him when he climbed onto the chair. “Gamzee, not that I don't appreciate you wanting to sit at the table, but I thought it hurt your tail?”

Gamzee's tail gave a faint wag and he shrugged. “It does, but I haven't seen you all day. And you're always busy in your room when you come home. I wanted to sit with you. It isn't /that/ bad. I can deal with it a little bit.” He rubbed his arm meekly, starting to eat the cheesy meat in front of him.

Karkat felt guilty again. He stabbed at a piece of meat, pushing it around his plate while his mind ran in twenty different directions. A thought occurred to him, and he felt horrible for not thinking of it sooner. “What if I find a stool for you to sit on? You know what a stool is, right? They don't have back to them. Your tail should be able to hang over without anything to hurt it. Would that work?”

Gamzee nodded softly, that same happy grin on his face. “I'd like that! Then we could eat together all the time. You don't have to get one now though. You look tired. I can wait.” He gently touched Karkat's hand, just a simple loving touch and his ears were perked in excitement. He finished his meal quickly, having always been a fast eater but sat there like a good dog and waited for his friend to finish eating.

Karkat flinched at the touch but resisted the urge to pull away. Gamzee seemed to have a strange sixth sense, always able to sense his basic emotions and feelings, though he never seemed to know why, just that he was feeling it. Or maybe it wasn't a sixth sense, but a dog thing. He was right; he was tired. He gave him a small smile. I'm fine, Gamzee. But I'll look into it, okay?” He poked at his meal for a few more minutes. He just wasn't hungry... He sighed and pushed it toward the hybrid. “Here. I'm not hungry.”

Gamzee's head tilted at the food presented to him. He glanced up at Karkat and arched an eyebrow. “Are you sure Karkat? You haven't eaten a whole lot in the last few days.” He was worried about his friend. He didn't want to just take his food if Karkat was hungry.

Karkat shrugged. “I'm fine, Gamzee. Don't worry about it, okay? Just eat it.” Gamzee was right yet again. He'd been so stressed he'd fallen back into a stage of not caring for himself. Little did the dog know the only reason he even still had this job, or even climbed out of the bed every day, was because it wasn't just him anymore. It never mattered before if he didn't eat or go to work or any of that shit when it was just himself. That lack of self care was probably one of the reasons he was so small. But now he had someone to take care of. Now he had to get out of bed and try to keep his job.

Gamzee didn't like the sound of that. Instead, he cut a big piece off the chicken and gave it back to the smaller male. “I'll eat the rest if you eat that.” He didn't like that he always got so much more to eat than Karkat. That... that just wasn't how it was supposed to be. If anything, it was the human before the pet.

Karkat managed a smile at the dog, quickly covering it up with a scowl and a roll of the eyes, but he took it anyway. ”Fine.” He nibbled on the meat as he watched the pup, making sure he ate it. He was happy to see him eating. He'd gained so much weight since Karkat had found him. He was still lean, of course; it was all the body weight he'd lost from starvation, or possibly never had due to malnourishment.

Gamzee ate quietly, and by the last bit he was really full. He rubbed at his stomach slightly, feeling it bulge out quite a bit more than it ever had before. He hadn't been this big even when he lived with Daddy. Was...was he getting too big? Is that why Karkat didn't like petting him much anymore? Daddy didn't like it when he gained a lot of weight either... The pup glanced down at his stomach and gave a slight frown before shifting off his tail and standing, wagging it softly as he grabbed the dishes and put them in the sink. “Wanna watch TV with me, Karkat?” His ears were perked and he gave a slight pleading look. “Or do you have more work to do in your bedroom?”

Karkat had found himself lost in his own thoughts while Gamzee finished eating. The clang of dishes in the sink brought him back to the present and he felt another pang of guilt. He had really been ignoring the dog lately... A thought occurred to him and he drained his milk, standing up. Gamzee had a lot of energy pent up, having been cooped up in the house the whole time. “How about we go to the park?”

A part of Gamzee's heart hurt at the way Karkat said that. The park. His ears fell. That was almost exactly what his daddy had said when he tied him to that fence and walked away. He chewed his bottom lip and nodded softly, not wanting to disappoint Karkat.”Sure!” He wagged his tail happily and bound for the door.

Karkat flinched at the expression on Gamzee's face. Fuck. Why the hell had he thought of the park? There he went again, screwing up. He felt a little better when the pet's tail wagged and he enthusiastically ran for the door. Maybe he'd imagined Gamzee's expression. He followed the pup and grabbed his keys, locking the door behind the two of them. He hesitantly reached up and scritched those soft ears and forced himself to smile at him.

Gamzee walked beside Karkat happily, smelling the fresh air of the city. He grazed his tail over Karkat's leg with ever swish, subtly claiming him away from every other animal in the walk way. Karkat didn't have a leash or anything... So... Maybe they were just having a nice moment in the park? He... he wouldn't leave him, would he?

Karkat realize the anxious way Gamzee was acting. “Hey,” he said quietly, reaching up to his ears again. “I'm not gonna fucking leave you, okay?” He gave what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “If you don't want to go to the park we can go somewhere else.”

Gamzee smiled sheepishly and nuzzled his ears up against Karkat's hand softly. There was a very...hopeful sense to the way he was acting. Could you blame the pup for having awful flashbacks? He looked over at Karkat. “No, the park sounds really fun.” He used to love going to the park with Daddy... Maybe he could feel that way again with Karkat.

Karkat smiled and withdrew his hand to lead him from the sidewalk over green grass and toward the trees, making sure to avoid the section where he'd found Gamzee. He briefly wondered if his leash would still be tied to the fence.

Gamzee was bouncing happily beside him, watching all of the leaves and helicopter seeds falling from the trees. He caught a few of them, showing them to Karkat. “It's so pretty! I love the park like this! All the colors and spinney things!” He nuzzled Karkat happily.

Karkat watched him, amazed at his energy. He stiffened up when Gamzee nuzzled against him. The Cancer stepped away, trying to look casual, and walked toward a bench. “Go, I don't know, 'play' or something.” He waved the pup off him and motioned toward the grass as he sat down.

Gamzee nodded after giving Karkat a tilted but confused look. He ran off into the grass, a few children coming up to him. They asked him about his tail and asked if they could pet his ears. He agreed, dipping down. Gamzee's ears flicked against their hands, causing the kids to squeal in happiness. The kids asked him to play and he accepted, glancing back at Karkat. He wanted to play with Karkat, not a bunch of little kids....

Karkat watched Gamzee for a few minutes before he found himself staring off into space, losing himself in his thoughts once more. He had so much to worry over, so many important things he needed to figure out, like finding a better paying job and making rent at the end of the month. However, his thoughts kept turning to the pup, and more importantly, how he felt about him. He.... he liked him. He was responsible for him, of course, considering the way he found him. He definitely was attracted to him. If he didn't have fucking dog ears and a tail he would definitely pursue him romantically. And that was the problem right there. He COULDN'T get over the fact that he wasn't human. And he hated himself for it.

Gamzee rolled around and played with the children, trying to get his mind off of actually being in the park. A women, presumably a mother, came to grab the kids before too long, giving Gamzee a very disgusted look which fell on blind eyes. Gamzee wouldn't hurt a fly; especially cute little kids. After a while, he ran up to Karkat, nuzzling him softly. "Karkaaaaat, those little kids were really cute but they kept pulling at my ears."

Karkat looked up at him irritably. Did Gamzee really have to fucking rub on him every goddamn minute they were together?! He shrugged his arm, trying to nudge him away. "Yeah, yeah, motherfucking adorable little shits," he grumbled. He found he was quickly falling into quite a sour mood, and it was made worse every second with every little thing Gamzee did. Even the way his tail was brushing back and forth against the bench as it wagged pissed him off. He knew he wasn't being fair, and he no longer had it in him to care.

Gamzee sat up and curled his knees to his chest. He was genuinely just happy to be with Karkat, but why was he so irritated? "Are you okay? Do you feel good? Please be happy!" His ears flicked and he got an idea. Slowly, He leaned in and kissed Karkat's cheek. "I love you! Don't be so angry at everything."

Karkat froze for a few seconds, his mind starting to understand what had just happened. Before he knew it, he was shoving Gamzee away and jumping to his feet. "Stop fucking touching me! Just stop! You can't fucking love me, Gamzee! You're a fucking dog! Fuck!" Even as the words spilled out of his mouth, he knew he was making a mistake. He really didn't mean all of what he was saying, but he just couldn't stop himself until it was too late.

Gamzee fell back, almost slipping off of the bench in shock. Gamzee's ears flattened and his tail stilled as he processed what was being yelled at him. He was just a dog... He couldn't love Karkat because he was just a worthless pet. His stomach soured and tears prickles his eyes. "Wh-what?" Karkat was the one that made him start believing that just maybe he was more than a collar wearer. He raised his arm to touch Karkat again but stopped half way, dropping it back to his side. Everything felt like hot prickles against his skin and his heart was shattered in a million pieces. If he couldn't love, how could he experience heartbreak?

Karkat felt sick with himself. He'd fucked up, worse than he'd ever done. Gamzee's face.... "Fuck, shit Gamzee, I..." He didn't know what to say. There really wasn't anything he COULD say, really. Nothing could fix this. "I'm sorry," he mumbled pathetically, backing away.

Gamzee's stomach flipped and he curled into himself. A pathetic whimper radiated from Gamzee's chest and tears streamed down his face. The puppy wrapped his tail around himself and buried his face in his knees, not so unlike when Karkat found him. The Capricorn refused to look up at Karkat, his entire body wracked in shock and the pain of rejection.

"Fuck," Karkat whispered under his breath. He was so fucking stupid. He was a fucking asshole. Gamzee didn't deserve this. The puppy - the GUY probably didn't even know better! He was just trying to make his friend feel better, and this was his reward? "I didn't mean it," Karkat whispered, but it was so quiet he was sure Gamzee couldn't hear it. His hands went to his head, fingers running through his own hair. He had no idea how to fix this. He wasn't very good with comforting people, even though everyone he knew came to him for advice, came to him to fix their problems. Yeah, well, how the fucking hell was he supposed to fix his own?

He sighed, the breath that came out trembling. Maybe.. Maybe he needed to give Gamzee some space. He sure as fuck needed it. "...I'll be right back. I'm going to get us something to eat... Stay here, okay? Don't move." He flinched when he remembered what Gamzee had told him about how his owner had left him and reached a tentative hand forward to rub at a flattened ear, but pulled it away after just barely touching the fur. "I promise I'll be right back." He quickly turned and walked away, toward a vendor on the edge of the park that was there every day. He looked around, suddenly self conscious, and was glad to see no one had been there to see the scene he'd caused.

"D-don't go." Gamzee whimpered and looked up, his bright blue eyes waterlogged and irritated from the tears still streaming down his face. Gamzee's shoulders were slumped and he was shaking softly as he watched Karkat walk away. The ice in his stomach dropped even lower. Why would Karkat go and get them food if they had already eaten? Had... had he just been left behind again? A deep sob wracked his frame as the sinking realization washed over him. Karkat left him...just like his Daddy.

Karkat knew leaving like that was probably the second stupidest thing he'd ever done - the stupidest being, of course, yelling at him the way he did. But he had to get away. The longer he was away, of course, the worse he felt. He really should go back to Gamzee... He was probably having flashbacks of his stupid owner leaving him.

He sighed as he reached the vendor and knew he had to get back to his pup. He noticed a guy standing close by, eating a burger, but he paid him no mind. He really didn't want to wait for something to cook... He wasn't hungry anyway, and he knew Gamzee wouldn't be either, so he just asked for a bottle of water for himself, and a bottle of orange Faygo for Gamzee to try. He wasn't sure if he'd like it or not, but it was something new. Besides, if he didn't like it, he could have the water. He grumbled to himself as he had to break the only bill – a twenty – in his wallet he was saving for a meal at work, but it was all he had so he was just going to have to deal with it.

"Hey, buddy. Wait up."

Karkat turned at the voice. It was the guy from the vendor, the one who'd been standing there eating. He cocked an eyebrow at him. "What the fuck do you want?" he growled.

The man ignored the question and got up close to him, putting a hand on Karkat's wrist. The cancer bristled. "Don't fucking touch-" His sentence fell apart at the feeling of something sharp and cold sliding under his shirt. Fuck, was that a knife?!

"Just come with me, kid." The guy shoved him hard, pushing him into a more secluded area, closed off by a bunch of trees.

Karkat's mind raced. Was he about to be fucking robbed? He stumbled in front of the guy, mind numb with shock. At another sharp prick of the knife, he lost it. He wasn't about to just let some asshole with a knife push him around! He spins around and shoves him away, clearly startling the man. "Let me the fuck go!"

Gamzee's head shot up when he heard Karkat yell. Was he in trouble or getting hurt? A growl ripped from the puppy's throat and his body lurched forward. He might be hurt, but he'd be damned if Karkat got hurt. He ran off towards where he heard Karkat scream, coming through the tree, where he saw a guy in a leather jacket, pointing something sharp at Karkat's throat.

The Labrador suddenly saw red, tackling the person from the side. He grabbed the robber's arm, moving the knife away from Karkat. This caused his own arm to get cut up fairly well. The man threw a couple of punches and they hurt but Gamzee could take it; he had been hit harder than that before. The man yelled and fought against Gamzee, but for once his hybrid abilities were on his side. Gamzee was far stronger and faster than the average human; without a doubt.

After a while, and sickening crunch coming from the man's wrist, he backed away, leaving the couple. Gamzee spit out blood, having taken several hits to the mouth, and cupped a hand over one of the nastier cuts. He looked over to Karkat, giving a sheepish wag of his tail. Bits of his fur was missing, and there was a rather large gash on his ear, but he didn't care as long as Karkat was okay. "S-sorry, I didn't stay like you said." Gamzee's legs were shaking and he hit the ground, on the verge of passing out at the sight of his own blood.

Karkat stood by, watching in horror as Gamzee seemed to come out of no where. The next few minutes were a blur to him as he watched his pup wrestle with the robber. He'd wanted to step in, wanted to protect him from getting hurt, but all he could do was stare on watching the blood and fur fly. Finally, after a sickening crack he prayed hadn't come from Gamzee, the greaser fled, gripping his arm.

Karkat stared at Gamzee in shock, taking in all his injuries. He felt tears in his eyes at the blood that flowed past the hybrid's fingers, and he winced when he saw his ears twitch, to see one was cut. And his mouth... Karkat hurried toward him, kneeling next to the pup as he went down. He found himself with his arms around his shoulders, crying hard. “I'm so fucking sorry, Gamzee!”

Gamzee's tail thumped gently against Karkat's leg and he gave his friend a soft smile. He was hurt, but it didn't feel like anything was life threatening. The sight of his own blood just made him lightheaded. He looked up at Karkat, trying to pull away from him. "N-nhm... d-don't get too close...you'll get blood on your shirt." Gamzee's ears dropped and he winced at the feeling of the cut on his left ear. He sat up, breaking the contact with Karkat, and moved about a foot away, knowing Karkat hated him constantly touching him. "Are you okay?"

Karkat shook his head furiously and pulled him back. "I don't care about my fucking shirt, dumbass! I care about you!" He held him tightly, hoping he wasn't hurting him worse. "I'm sorry Gamzee. I shouldn't have said any of that to you. I didn't mean it. I promise I didn't!" He cried onto Gamzee's shoulder, vaguely realizing he was getting blood on his face but he didn't care. He'd just spoken the worst things ever to leave his fucking mouth, and minutes later... Who knows what might have happened. He might be injured badly, dead or dying. Gamzee? Gamzee could have easily been killed. And right after hearing that? He took a deep shuddering breath and pulled back enough to look at Gamzee. "I really am sorry. I... I love you too, Gamzee."

Gamzee's ears perked and he looked down at Karkat, his heart swelling in his chest. The way Karkat was crying, he couldn't help but believe him. He pressed his non-blood soaked fingers to Karkat's lips, shushing him. "Shh. Its okay, Karkat. Don't cry." He gently nuzzled his right, unharmed ear, against Karkat's face, knowing the smaller male liked the feel of his fur.

Karkat adjusted the hood of his jacket to cover his face better as the rain fell harder. He was on his way home from work, and the walk wasn't too far, but it was made all that more miserable by the storm. He hurried over gutters flowing with miniature streams, avoiding the worst of them when he could. He turned a corner, taking a shortcut through a park. The trees should provide some cover from the rain, and maybe he could stand under one for a few minutes before gaining the balls to trek the rest of the way home. He kept his eyes to the ground for the most part, watching carefully to avoid puddles, and had wrapped his arms around his body, trying to retain as much body heat as possible.

He glanced up at one point to gauge how much distance he had left and stumbled over uneven ground in surprise as he saw something ahead of him. He narrowed his eyes and quickened his pace. Was that...a person? Chained to a fucking fence? As he got closer, he realized slowly that no... It was.. It was one of those hybrids, wasn't it? A guy with dog ears, dog ears that were flattened down sadly, the fur dripping wet from the rain. He wore a collar with a leash connected to the fence. Karkat glowered. Who the fuck had left him there like that?! He hurried toward the poor thing, feeling himself get sick from the thought of him being abandoned like that.

A rather tall male was sitting on the ground, shivering and grasping at his knees to try and conserve as much body heat as he could. His tail was curled around his torso, it being the only fur he had besides his ears. He was sniffling and trying to watch the people walking by. He hated days like this; it was so cold and people sped by, usually accidentally kicking him or splashing him with water on their bicycles. He bit at his bottom lip, a whimper escaping him. He hated sitting here, he really did...but Mr. Scratch had said he had to... Gamzee was hungry and scared, not to mention a rather bit on the sick side. He noticed someone walking up, flinching away. Hopefully, this guy would ignore him and keep walking rather than some of the other people who hassled him or stole what little food the doctor had left him.

Karkat knelt down beside the poor hybrid, his movement slow so as to not startle him. "Hey there..." he whispered, suddenly unsure how to go about this. He remembered hearing somewhere they could talk, but he wasn't sure, as this was the first he'd ever been in contact with. He tried anyway. "What are you doing out here?" he asked gently. It was hard to keep his voice at a calm, level tone, especially with how much he felt like hunting down whoever had left him there and beating the shit out of them. With how cold and wet the tall male looked, he had to have been out here for a few hours at least. He was trembling, and long wet hair clung around his face, flattened to his head to fully expose the furry black ears that pressed against his scalp, as if they were trying to keep water from getting inside. His gaze landed on the collar around his throat and followed the leash connected to it, to where it was tightly secured to the fence.

Gamzee coughed slightly, turning his head so that he didn't get it on the male talking to him. The soft tone the male had made Gamzee's ears perk just slightly. Was he finally going to get adopted? A loud whimper pulled from Gamzee's throat and he bit at his lip to try and muffle the sound. When was the last time someone had talked to him? Doctor Scratch...maybe? He opened his mouth, his throat incredibly sore from the multiple days of different weather and not having talked to anyone. "D-da-addy told me to st-stay and b-be a g-good boy..." he lifted the sign that Doc Scratch had originally propped against his feet. 'Free Pet! Unchained him and Gamzee is yours. 9/06/13".

Karkat's eyes widened when the "pet" spoke and he frowned. "Daddy?" He shook his head and looked at the sign he lifted. He refused to think of him as an "it", like so many other people did. He hadn't noticed the sign before, his concern for the male being his top priority. He read the sign and felt sicker than he already had been by the situation. "Gamzee, huh? Is that your name?" He read the sign over and over again. 9/06/13. The current date was the 19th of September... Had he...had he actually been out here, chained like this for that long?! He looked over him again, this time making out the - no, /Gamzee's/ near emaciated body through his baggy clothes. The poor thing was starved... He felt a spark of determination light through him. He was /not/ going to leave him out here like this. No way in hell.

Gamzee nodded, his tail giving a faint thump against his lap to show that he was actually happy to be talking to someone. He couldn't read the sign, his owner refused to teach him to do that. He shakily reached out and touched his new friend, his eyes wide and hopeful. "A-are you gonna t-take me b-back to Daddy?" He missed curling up in his bed at his father's feet and hearing him complain about the big white and gray papers in his hand. "D-daddy said I-I have to be a g-good boy an n-not leave until s-some sap takes me h-home...I d-dont...know...what that means..."

Karkat shook his head angrily but did his best to keep his face blank. He shivered himself at the touch of Gamzee's cold fingers on his hand but he just made himself smile and reached up to unclasp the leash from Gamzee's collar, then unbuckled the collar and dropped it to the wet ground beside them. "Don't worry about that right now, okay? You're coming home with me." He shrugged his jacket off and wrapped it around Gamzee before helping him up. He left the sign and leash where they were, wrapping his arm around Gamzee's waist to help him stand. He was taller than Karkat, which made holding him up awkward, but he was so starved it wasn't too hard. "Can you walk?"

Gamzee moved slightly, his bare feet numb and almost frost bitten. He nodded sheepishly, his legs wobbling at the blood rushing back to them after sitting so long. The way the doctor had tied his leash prevented him from actually standing up. He didn't blame doctor scratch though; he was a shorter man. He had to lean on Karkat slightly but his tail wagged to show how happy he really was.

Karkat gave a small smile to see his tail waggling. It was a sad sight, drenched and tangled, but it was so hopeful. "I don't live very far away. I promise. Then I'll get you nice and warm and get you something to fucking eat, alright?" He wanted to hurry, wanted to get Gamzee off the streets as soon as possible, but knew he couldn't take it too fast, watching the way the hybrid limped. He supported all the weight he could and held him closer, trying to supply as much body heat as possible. At least the rain was slowing a little.

Gamzee wanted to nuzzle Karkat but he knew he shouldn't. Gamzee knew that he smelled bad and hadn't been given a bath for weeks. The walk was painful but he didn't want to stop and get left again. "Al-almost," he turned his head and coughed, "h-home?" There was a distinct sound of hope in the dog's voice.

Karkat glanced up at the question. "Yeah, just about." He hugged the dogboy tighter to him. His small rental came into sight and he quickened their pace just a bit, wanting to get Gamzee inside soon. He helped him up the steps, fumbling with the keys both because he was using his non-dominant hand and because his fingers were numb and pained from the icy cold. He finally got it unlocked and turned the handle, pushing it open with his foot. He helped Gamzee to his sad living room and started for the couch. "Come on, sit down."

Gamzee immediately started shaking once he got into the warm house. It was such a climate shock that goosebumps formed on his skin and a prickling sensation washed over him. "W-warm." Gamzee smiled up at Karkat, his ears weakly perking. He did as he was told, curling into himself like he had at the park. He watched Karkat, genuinely confused as to why he was helping him.

Karkat stood nervously, fidgeting. He wasn't sure what to do now that he got him off the street. "Okay," he started, kicking his wet shoes off. "First things first. I need to get you warm." He looked Gamzee over, staring at his drenched, dirty clothes. "Can you, uh, can you take those off? You'll warm up faster without all that wet shit on you." He did his best not to blush and started walking to the bedroom to get a few blankets, pulling his own wet shirt off along the way.

Gamzee did as he was told, slipping out of his shirt and sleeping pants. He stood in the living room, shaking softly as his body still hadn't readjusted to the temperature. He pet at his tail, water rushing off of it slowly. Unable to fight it anymore, Gamzee shook his head, getting water out of his hair and ears.

Karkat walked in with the blankets just as Gamzee shook and froze as water hit him in the face. He blinked a few times, staring at him in surprise. How the hell had his hair held so much fucking water?! He finally raised one of the blankets edges to wipe his face, hiding a small smile under the cloth before looking back at Gamzee. "Sit, on the couch." He kept his gaze on Gamzee's ears, staring very intently at them instead of lower places. He realized if he had a nicer couch it would be a dumb idea to let him sit on it before giving him a bath, but he didn't care. He'd only paid ten bucks for the damn thing, anyway.

Gamzee's ears flicked slightly as he turned his head and nodded. He sat down, noticing Karkat was shirtless as well. His eyes trailed down the little male's body but stopped quickly; scared that he would get flicked in the nose like his daddy would do to him. It was rude to stare after all. The dog hybrid's tail thumped happily against the couch as Karkat approached him again with the blankets. Without the water logging his hair, it was noticeably curly and long, almost covering his ears if they weren't perked at the moment.

Karkat smiled a little at the way his tail wagged against the couch and how his ears moved. He dumped the blankets on him, covering and wrapping him up, covering one over his hair. "What... uh... What do you eat?"

Gamzee shrugged, unsure of what to say. “Daddy said it was expensive stuff from a bag.” He finally got the cold stutter out of his voice thanks to the blankets Karkat had given him. “What's your name...? Thank you for savin' me.”

Karkat's eyes widened. He was fed dog food?! He shook his head again, trying not to think about it. “Uh, Karkat.” He shrugged. “I couldn't just fucking leave you out there.” He wandered into the kitchen. “...Can you eat a sandwich?”

Gamzee trilled happily, his tail wagging a bit more in excitement. “Daddy ate those. I hope he wouldn't be mad if you gave me one. Pets ain't supposed ta eat people food.” He nuzzled into the blanket, not realizing his owner had been quite the abusive asshole to him.

“Don't worry about that right now, okay?” He set about gathering the items needed and considered. Gamzee was completely starved. He wasn't sure how much to feed him. Just in case, he made him two sandwiches, all ham and cheese to get some protein in him, and brought them out to the living room. If it wasn't enough he could just as easily make more. “Eat /slowly/, okay? I don't want you throwing them all back up.” He handed the plate to him and went back to get him a glass of water. He was trying extremely hard not to think of what kind of guy his owner had been.

Gamzee's throat was scratchy from the weather so it was kind of hard to chew and swallow the first few bites of his food. When he had tasted it though, he couldn't believe it. Human food was so much...better! Slowly, he kept eating til the first sandwich was gone and looked up at Karkat. He smiled sheepishly. “Thank you Karkat.” He finally uncurled his legs, a sign of comfort. He offered the plate back to Karkat. “I, uh, I can share.”

Karkat smiled and shook his head. “Eat what you need. That's all for you.” He watched the dogboy carefully, happy that he finally seemed at ease. He handed him the glass of water. “I'm sure you need this.” He hesitated suddenly, something occurring to him. If Gamzee had been forced to eat dog food, would he even know how to drink out of a glass?

Gamzee tilted his head at the glass. He hadn't ever used one. Slowly, he did the only thing he could think to do: dunking his fingers into the water before bringing them to his mouth and licking them off. He'd seen Daddy's cat do it several times. He smiled, repeating the process after he realized that it worked for the most part.

Karkat's eyes widened as he watched. He was not reassured by the fact that he'd been correct. He shook his head. “No, Gamzee. Here.” He took the glass from him gently and held it up. “Do what I do. Like this.” He put the glass to his mouth, every movement slow so Gamzee could catch on, and tipped water into his mouth. He grimaced at the taste of grime from Gamzee's fingers but ignored it. He handed the cup back to him. “Now you try.”

Gamzee did as he was told, his hands now a little slick from the water. He took a drink, only a little bit dribbling from his mouth. He looked over at Karkat, hopeful that he'd done it right. His tail thumped, taking another sip. “Like that? ...Gamzee did it right?” His eyes widened and he looked sheepish, hoping his new friend wouldn't chide or reprimand him.

Karkat laughed quietly and nodded. “You'll get the hang of it.” He sat back and watched his new house guest. It occurred to him that, despite his anger at the guy that tied him up out there, he was actually in a pretty good mood. He didn't have a lot of friends, and he was overworked almost constantly. It felt good to smile and laugh for a change.

Gamzee nodded and smiled, nudging his head against Karkat's arm. He didn't know how to thank Karkat for his good will and hospitality, but he would try. The other male smelled so good...a lot different from his previous owner. Before Gamzee had realized, he was flopped on his back with his head in Karkat's lap, wriggling around and hoping for a belly rub.

Karkat looked down at Gamzee in surprise. What the hell? “Gamzee? Uh...what exactly are you fucking doing?” When he thought about it, Gamzee kind of was acting like a dog begging for a belly rub... It slowly occurred to him that that was exactly what he was doing.

Gamzee looked up at Karkat with his bright purple-blue eyes open wide and gave his best puppy dog pout. It didn't work on the doctor but maybe it would work on this guy? He pawed at the air, only one of his ears tickling softly against Karkat's leg. “Pet?” He nudged his nose against his new owner's hand.

Karkat couldn't help himself as a soft laugh escaped his throat. “Fine,” he said, moving his hand to scratch behind one of Gamzee's ears. “Like this?”

A happy noise rumbled in Gamzee's throat and he nuzzled against Karkat's hand before nodding. His ears were super sensitive but not near as much as his stomach and tail. He trilled softly, his eyes fluttering shut.

Karkat smiled, watching Gamzee's reaction. He sucked on his lip for a moment as he considered, and finally decided to rub Gamzee's stomach lightly, thankful for the blanket that still covered him below the waist.

The puppy-like male grinned widely and licked Karkat's arm before resting and enjoying the sensations wracking his body. Karkat's fingers were nimble and light, a lot different than his daddy's. “Feels real good.” He smiled, nuzzling his head against Karkat's lap.

Karkat scratched a little harder, still trying to be as gentle as he could. “I'm glad you like it.” He scratched for a few more minutes before poking the end of an ear lightly. “Well, I think it's time to get you in a bath, since you've finished eating.”

Gamzee nodded happily, sitting up. He pulled the blankets off himself, sitting up like a good boy. He didn't know where anything was or he would have probably raced the smaller male to the tub. He swayed his tail lovingly, letting it hit Karkat's let gently.

Karkat raised an eyebrow at Gamzee's behavior. He really was acting just like a dog. He looked down at the tail thumping against his leg and smirked, standing up. "Follow me," he told him, making his way down the hall to the bathroom. He stopped inside and stared at the tub for a minute. How was he supposed to go about this? He glanced back at Gamzee and mentally shrugged before turning the water on to a decent temperature. He looked up from where he knelt on the floor. "Do you know how to wash yourself?"

Gamzee nodded shyly. He tilted his head up at Karkat. "I can uh, get everything clean but my tail an' hair. Daddy always did that for me." A wide blush spread over Gamzee's cheeks and he looks down at his hands.

Karkat nodded. "Alright. Well. Uh. Okay." He plugged the bathtub and motioned toward it. "I'll stay right here. You go ahead and do that, and I'll get the rest for you when you finish." He smiled reassuringly at him before getting him the soap and sitting on the lid of the toilet.

Gamzee sat down in the tub and for a split second, actually looked completely human in the way he would run the the water and soap over his body to clean himself. He took extra time on his legs and feet, seemingly needing it the most. After a few moments, he looked up at Karkat with a a soft smile.

Karkat watched him, completely perplexed. Gamzee didn't make any sense to him, and he'd barely known him an hour. He acted just like a normal person in his bath. Karkat's mind was spinning with it all, wondering what life had been like for Gamzee up to this point, and what had made his "daddy" dump him on the streets like that. Not that Karkat wasn't glad he was away from the asshole, considering what he'd heard of him so far, but he wished he'd found Gamzee much, much sooner. He realized Gamzee was staring at him and he smiled back. "Are you ready for me?"

Gamzee nodded and barked a quick "Yeapp!" Before turning in the bath and giving the smaller male complete access to his ears, hair, and tail. He smiled happily and tried to relax, knowing this was the first time anyone had touched his tail besides his daddy.

Karkat winced a bit at Gamzee's volume but just chuckled quietly. He picked up his shampoo bottle and looked Gamzee over. It couldn't be too hard to do this, could it? As he looked him over, he felt himself grow sick all over again at the sight of his emaciated body. He shook the thought and poured a large amount of shampoo into his hand, knowing with the length of Gamzee's hair and how dirty it was he would definitely need it. He rubbed it into Gamzee's hair gently, before speaking again. "So, how exactly do I wash your fucking tail?"

Gamzee tipped his head back, looking like a small child trying to play limbo as he tried to reply to Karkat. "Daddy washed it like the rest of my hair." He got on all fours in front of Karkat, now resembling a dog quite well. He wagged it slowly, knowing it was soaking wet from the water. "See?" He reached behind himself and stroked his tail a few times, shocked at how good it actually felt. "Y-yeah, that's how daddy did it."

Karkat raised his eyebrows at Gamzee's demonstration, scowling at the drops of water that hit his face and still-bare chest. He wiped his eyes from a drop that hit quite close to his left eye and raised his right eyebrow once more at the stutter Gamzee gave when he stroked his tail. "'Kay," he muttered quietly, watching the carefully to make sure he did it right. "Turn around. I want to finish your ears first."

Gamzee nodded and yet again did as he was told. No one could ever say he wasn't an obedient puppy. He sat on his haunches and dipped his head down, a happy trill leaving his throat. He liked bath time and playing in water; he always had. "Thank you Karkat."

Karkat smiled. "Well, at least you're polite." He scrubbed the shampoo up the black fur of his ears gently, careful to avoid it getting in his ears. The soapy water that ran from his ears and hair was dark gray and he grimaced. He couldn't imagine having so much grime on him. Then again, he couldn't imagine being left out on the streets for two weeks, either. He got his hair and ears nice and soaped up before pouring another handful of shampoo. He honestly wasn't sure if he should put shampoo or soap on the dog boy's tail, but he figured shampoo would be fine. It was fur, after all. Just really thick coarse hair. He reached into the tub and began stroking up and down his tail, careful to rub the soap in exactly how Gamzee had shown him.

Gamzee bit at his bottom lip, a soft sound leaving his lips. Oh Jesus, that felt really good. Karkat's fingers brushing against that delicate part of his body felt absolutely amazing. He glanced back at Karkat for a second before dipping his head and arching his back up like a puppy in submission. He remembered this. This was always when his daddy would have "special play time" with him. Most of the time it hurt, but on occasion it felt really /really/ good. A flush graced his cheeks and he sighed.

Karkat smiled a little bigger at the sound Gamzee made and the way he arched his back. He must like this a lot. He scrubbed a little harder, making sure to get all the soap in before he was satisfied it was enough. "Can you rinse yourself or do you need help?"

Gamzee looked back at Karkat and his ears perked. "I can do it but Daddy never let me. Said I never got all the soap out." He licked over his bottom lip, swishing his hips just a bit. It wasn't enough to slosh the water or flick soap everywhere; just enough to get the cancer's attention.

Karkat nodded and stood, pulling down the shower hose that hung above their heads. He drained the murky water and turned the faucet back on. "Close your eyes."

Gamzee did as he was told and scrunched his face up slightly. He felt the rush of water hit him and he jolted slightly but managed to not move away. He felt the water on his tail and bum, gasping softly.

Karkat rinsed him quickly, making sure to wash all the grimy soap away. He ran his fingers through his hair and ear fur, getting it as clean as possible. He contemplated conditioner but decided against it this time. He would use it next time. He moved his attention down to his tail, running the water over the fur. He ran his fingers through it gently, working free any tangles he could find as he let the warm water run over it.

Gamzee would have purred if he were a hybrid kitten. He arched just a bit higher, adoring his new owner's fingers on his tail. It caused a swirl of warmth in his stomach that he hadn't felt in a long time. He bit at his bottom lip, slow and happy trills falling from his lips. "Mnnn, that feels so good..." he tried to stay quiet but Karkat's fingers were absolute bliss.

Karkat raised an eyebrow at the sounds the other male made but gave another amused smile. "You like that, huh?" he asked distractedly, focusing on a bit of soap that he couldn't get to rinse out of the base of his tail. He rubbed just a bit harder, turning the water flow onto it directly. Finally he felt satisfied and pulled his hand away, moving it up to scratch at Gamzee's ear. He raised the hose to give Gamzee one last all over rinse before turning the water off and turning to grab a towel. He held it out for him, holding it open to wrap him up in it.

Gamzee nodded when the other male spoke and a small shudder wracked his frame when he felt Karkat squeeze at the base of his tail. The only reason Daddy ever squeezed his tail like that was to get Gamzee to put his head in his lap. Maybe that was how he could repay Karkat! Daddy always loved it when he did it for him! Gamzee took the towel and smiled widely. "Thank you Karkat."

Karkat continued smiling and grabbed another towel. "This," he said, dropping it over Gamzee's head, "is so you don't shake your hair out on me and my bathroom. I remember what you did in the living room." He scrubbed at his hair, careful of his ears. When he was satisfied he had it dried enough he wouldn't drip everywhere, Karkat turned him around by his shoulders and rubbed the towel over the end of his tail where the fur was thickest, squeezing the water from it with his best efforts.

The puppy felt another gasp tumble from his lips as Karkat grabbed his tail again. He had to brace himself on the side of the shower so that his knees didn't shake. He noticed what Karkat had said though. "I-I'm sorry, Karkat...I won't shake anymore..." He felt bad for already displeasing his new master. He would definitely have to make it up to him somehow.

Karkat reached over and gently gripped his arm, helping him balance. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make you almost fall over," he told him sheepishly. He focused on Gamzee's apology, frowning. "It's alright, Gamzee, I'm not upset. I just don't want to get wet again until I take my own shower." He smiled at him reassuringly, hoping to make Gamzee understand he really wasn't unhappy with him.

Gamzee's ears flattened slightly as he listened to Karkat again. "I hope you ain't upset with me...good boys only make their owners happy..." He took the towel from Karkat and wrapped it around his slightly cold body. He stood there awkwardly, looking around.

Karkat's frowned deepened. He didn't want to "own" Gamzee, exactly, and wasn't too sure of how he felt about Gamzee calling him his owner, but he felt that saying as such would give the hybrid the wrong idea and make him think he didn't want him at all. He decided to wait until he got him settled in more to really talk about it. "Let's see if we can find you some dry clothes. I don't think I have any pants long enough to fit you, but maybe my shirts will." He took Gamzee's hand and helped him out of the bathtub, leading him to his bedroom.

Gamzee's eyes widened but he followed anyway. "Clothes? Dogs don't wear clothes inside..." He looked around Karkat's room and smiled at all of the red color everywhere and the little crab plush toy on his bed. Crabs...that kind of fit the small male. He sat in the floor, waiting on Karkat to decide what to do.

Karkat looked at Gamzee in surprise. "You're not really a dog to me, you know," he informed him. "You can wear clothes inside." He realized Gamzee was looking around his room with a little more interest than he should have and blushed slightly, before scowling and moving toward his dresser. He searched around in it for a moment before finding a pair of shorts and a t-shirt that had always been too baggy on him. He would have to do without underwear for now. "Here," he said, turning around. "Try these on." He stopped and stared at the boy sitting on his floor. "...why are you on the floor?"

Gamzee flushed before responding. "...Daddy never let me on the furniture. Said it was for humans cause my hair falls out and gets on stuff..." He slid the shirt over hid head and it just barely fit; had he been properly fed, it would have been skin tight. He looked at the shorts and lifted them up slightly. "Where does my tail go?"

Karkat stared at him for a moment, listening to what he said about his owner. He couldn't shed that badly, could he? It wasn't as if he were covered in hair, like actual dogs were. And besides that, just the thought of making someone sit on the floor, human, hybrid, or whatever the fuck they were, that was just too much for him. He realized Gamzee was speaking to him and blinked. His tail? He hadn't thought of that. "Well, where did it go in your other pants?" Had there been some kind of hole in them for him? He honestly hadn't even paid any attention, too concerned with getting the poor thing inside, fed and warmed.

Gamzee pointed to the butt of the pants. "Daddy said he liked my tail being seen a whole lot so he got pants from a special store for dogs." He stood up, putting on the shorts and tucking in his tail. "I ain't got ta have anything special though...I'll just tuck it in like that." The shorts fit the Labrador but yet again, just barely. The tip of his tail hung from his left pants leg and it swished quickly when he wagged it.

Karkat laughed quietly at the sight. It was pretty cute actually. "Would you like me to cut a hole in them for you?" he asks. "It will probably be more comfortable." He wondered what Gamzee meant when he said his daddy liked his tail to be seen but brushed it off, not wanting to think too hard about it. It probably didn't really mean anything, anyway.

Gamzee looked up at Karkat with wide eyes. "Really? But they are yours..." he wiggled his hips slightly. "If you put a tail hole in them then you can't wear em. You ain't got a tail, do ya?" He looked at Karkat's bum, touching it lightly to see if he was hiding a tail.

Karkat gasped in surprise and stepped away, his face heating up. "No, I don't have a tail." He blinked down at the hybrid unsure how exactly he was supposed to react. "It's fine, really," he stated, quickly changing the subject, knowing he was still a bit red. "I never wear them anyway. Take them off."

Gamzee nodded and slid the shorts off of his frame slowly. He stepped out of them and handed the clothing back to Karkat while swishing his tail. "Here ya go." He noticed Karkat's blush and smiled widely. It was really cute to the Labrador pup.

Karkat took the pants and turned. walking toward the desk he had pushed against his wall. He searched around the drawer for scissors, only needing to search for a moment before finding them. He stared at the article of clothing in his hands before finally picking a spot to cut, hoping he was in the right spot and that it would be the right size. He turned back and held them out for Gamzee, noticing the way his tail was cutely wagging.

The dog took the clothing back, giving Karkat a wide grin in return. He slipped the article of fabric back over his hips and pulled his tail through the hole. The hole itself was big enough, but it was just small enough to press against his fur and make it puff out quite a but. Gamzee's ears were perked and he kept wagging his tail despite the fur displacement. "Thank you!" He wanted to pounce on the other and play but he knew better. He couldn't play unless he was told he could.

He smiled again. "You're welcome, Gamzee." He cocked his head to the side, watching his tail, the way it wagged and the little tuft of fur that puffed out. There was no way he was letting him go. No way in hell. Not after what he'd heard of his "daddy", and not after what he'd heard other people do to their "pets". He didn't want Gamzee as a pet, though. If he wanted a dog, he'd get a fucking dog. Despite how much Gamzee acted like one, he had trouble thinking of him as an animal. He was a human with ears and a tail who'd been taken in by the wrong guy and treated the wrong way. He shook his head and looked up at Gamzee's face. "What do you want to do now, Gamzee?"

Gamzee crouched down, not used to standing just on his legs for long. He looked up at Karkat, unsure of how to answer that. He tilted his head. "I dunno. What would you like to do, Karkat?" He liked how Karkat was looking at him, with a light smile on his lips. It made the dog's chest feel funny but in a good way.

Karkat shrugged. "I really don't know." He sat down on the floor next to Gamzee, leaning against the bed. Without thinking, he raised his arm and began scritching at Gamzee's ears again. He didn't do it because he was like a dog. He did it because he knew Gamzee liked it. He let his head fall back and closed his eyes as he scratched, thinking about what to do now. He was going to have to look into so much, like getting him clothes and making sure he was healthy. Where would he fucking sleep? Not to mention, there was breaking him of his puppy dog thoughts and habits, those he could, at least.

Gamzee trilled happily, scooting closer to Karkat and resting his head on his new owner's leg. He looked up at Karkat, noticing how stressed out he looked. Slowly, Gamzee inched closer, nuzzling his nose into Karkat's inner thigh. His tail beat happily on the floor, his smile wide.

Karkat glanced down at Gamzee, smiling softly as he slid his hand down from Gamzee's ear to his neck, rubbing the soft skin beneath his jaw. He let his fingernails drag lightly across his skin as he rubbed, hoping Gamzee liked it. He closed his eyes once more, still trying to figure out his next move. He had to admit, he enjoyed the dog boy's company. He was always so alone, and work put him in such a bad mood. It was nice to just lay back quietly with someone like this, not having to talk.

Gamzee shivered softly at the feeling of Karkat's nails. He chirped quietly, deciding how he was going to repay Karkat. He was going to make Karkat feel good just as his daddy used to make him. Slowly, as if not to startle the little crab, Gamzee mouthed over Karkat's exposed stomach, leaving slow open mouth kisses.

Karkat gasped and looked down at Gamzee. He squirmed a little from the feeling of his mouth, his face turning red once more. "Uh, G-Gamzee?" he gasped, sucking his lip into his mouth. "What are you doing?" His mind spun, but he blew it off. It was probably some weird fucking dog thing that he picked up somewhere along the way. Had to be. If he'd been raised as a pet, surely he wouldn't have any idea what he was doing here, right?

Gamzee gently suckled the taut skin of Karkat's stomach. His tail swished again and he looked up at Karkat. "I wan'ta help ya relax an' feel good." He nuzzled hos nose lower until he gently rested his lips against Karkat's zipper. He trilled once again, slowly mouthing over his owner's groin.

Karkat gasped again, this time throwing his head back. "Fuck," he whispered, dragging his fingertips across the carpet hard as he clenched his fists. "Wait, Gamzee," he spoke, biting his lip lightly. Fuck, fuck, this was so wrong...

Gamzee stopped, looking up at Karkat with wide eyes and flattened ears. "W-what? Did I...I do something wrong?" He had stopped the motion of his tail, scared he had messed up with Karkat again.

Karkat shook his head quickly, reaching down to tilt his head up gently and scratch under his jaw. "No, you didn't do anything wrong," he reassured, scritching at the skin of his throat. "Just..." He struggled to find a way to express himself. "I just don't want you doing anything you don't want to, alright?"

Gamzee nodded, "I wanna make you feel good, Karkat." He nuzzled into Karkat's hand, his tail thumping once again. He lifted his hand, slowly massaging Karkat's leg to get it across. He was so much different than his daddy... he really liked that.

Karkat bit his lip hesitantly. "Gamzee..." He squirmed, closing his legs as a jolt of heat hit his insides. He wasn't sure if Gamzee understood what he was doing, or, hell, if he was even doing anything intentionally at all. As far as he knew, he was probably just innocently rubbing his leg. He rolled his lip between his teeth, thinking about everything he'd heard of Gamzee's owner and his stomach turned all over again, considering possibilities he'd never thought of before. "You don't have to make me feel good, Gamzee. It's okay. Really."

One of Gamzee's ears flopped over and he looked at Karkat with soft eyes. Now he was really confused... He sat up slightly and looked up at Karkat after staring at the forming bulge in the front of his pants. He pawed at it gently, proving that what he thought was happening was actually happening. "Are you sure? I don't mind if it helps you look less sad?"

Karkat hissed in slight pleasure at the contact and threw his head back, closing his eyes. He felt extremely conflicted. This wasn't right... He didn't want to use Gamzee like this, didn't want him to feel like he needed to do anything like this, but... He couldn't deny the way his cock was quickly coming to life with the things he'd done so far. He took a deep breath, feeling he was probably going to regret the decision, and nodded, looking down at the dog boy in his lap. "...do whatever you want to, Gamzee."

Gamzee's tail thumped louder against the bedding as if he had just been rewarded a treat. He grinned and kissed Karkat's stomach again, working his fingers to get Karkat's jeans down. It didn't take much, seeing how small the other male was. He dipped his head down, and looked at the bulge forming in Karkat's boxers. He wasn't as big as his daddy so this seemed like it would be a lot easier. He placed his mouth over the cloth, mouthing and rolling his tongue against the fabric, just wanting to see how the other male liked this.

Karkat gasped at the damp heat that enveloped his clothed erection and couldn't help himself as he bucked up, letting a small moan escape his lips. His fingers scraped at the carpet, desperate to grab on to something and finding nothing of the sort. The things Gamzee was doing with his tongue... And he was still inside his boxers. He realized he was biting down on his lip, eyes squeezed shut, but he didn't care, and just focused on what that mouth was doing to him. This was so wrong, so fucking wrong, he felt like he was taking advantage of him but... It was just so good. "Gamzee..."

Gamzee smiled against the fabric, tilting his head to gently mouth at Karkat's shaft. He reached forward after a few moments, sliding his new master's cock through the slit in his boxers. His bum was lurched high in the air, much like he was in the shower as his tail swayed. Slowly, he took the head of Karkat's arousal into his mouth, gently lapping at the slit.

Karkat groaned and clenched his fists, trying his hardest not to thrust his hips upward into Gamzee's mouth. He watched Gamzee's ass bob and his tail wag as he worked and threw his head back, making small sounds in the back of his throat that after a few moments he realized were desperate mutterings and pleas of "more Gamzee more please fucking please!"

Gamzee sighed against Karkat's rather inflamed arousal, his head bobbing lower on the shaft. He curled his tongue slowly around Karkat's underside, looking up. He hoped his owner would like this. Being quite a bit bigger than Karkat, it didn't take as much for Gamzee to deep throat him. He swallowed at the little male's length, his hand gently grasping, massaging at what he couldn't fit.

Karkat gasped loudly, his hands shooting up to grip the back of Gamzee's head. His fingers tangled into those soft long locks of hair and and tightened, before moving up to massage behind his ears. "Gamzee... Fuck, so good, fuck..." He moaned louder, his hips jerking lightly at the feeling of Gamzee's tight throat around the head of his cock. He massaged his ears harder, reveling in the softness around his fingertips. He wasn't going to be able to last long if Gamzee kept going like this...

The puppy gave a strangled moan as Karkat worked at his ears. He grinned as much as he could before pulling back just enough to give extra attention to the tip of his owner's dick. He swirled his tongue, very gently running his teeth over the shaft. His tail beat the floor happily and he grinned.

Karkat continued his ministrations on the dog's ears and curled his fingers around them, trying to find the most sensitive spots, wanting to make the pup feel good too. He listened to the thudding as his tail hit the floor and let out a low whine when teeth rubbed along his shaft. His face flushed, knowing he was already so close, too close too fast, and he arched his hips slightly in need. Gamzee was much too good at this...

The smaller male's noises and the way Karkat was gripping at his ears made Gamzee's toes curl. He shivered softly, grasping at Karkat's thighs trying to finish his owner off. The dog bobbed his head, swallowing at the other's length again. He wanted Karkat to cum, to feel less stressed out than he had looked before.

Karkat gasped at the way Gamzee's actions quickened, turning more furious. He realized he was moaning loudly, gripping at his ears as he tried to hold still, tried to hold back. Every time Gamzee swallowed him, he came closer, closer. The grip on his thighs brought him to the edge, and before he knew it he was jerking Gamzee's head off him as he released, not wanting to come in his mouth. He'd thrown his head back and cried out, dropping one hand from the dog's ears to jerk himself, riding out his orgasm.

Gamzee looked up at Karkat, blinking a few times as he watched Karkat ride out his orgasm. He could feel Karkat's finish on his face and his ears, both of them flicking uncontrollably. He rubbed at us face, licking the mess off of his hands as he watched Karkat. His owner did look quite a bit happier now. He rubbed at one of his ears, trilling softly.

Karkat slowly came down from his high, his thighs trembling. He gave his cock a couple final tugs before dropping his hand away, letting it fall to the floor. He opened his eyes and his mouth dropped at the sight before him. Gamzee's face was splattered with his cum and the puppy was licking his fingers clean of it. He noticed it was even on his ears and he blushed at the sight of them twitching cutely under the thick substance. He let out a quiet whimper as the sight made his softening cock twitch once more. "...thank you, Gamzee."

Gamzee's tail beat against the carpet again and he smiled widely. "Yer welcome, Karkat." He continued cleaning his face just like the cat he had lived with used to. He couldn't get over the sensations on his ears though. He rubbed them against his shoulder, trying to get it off. Karkat sure was a lot more messy than his daddy was, but it was okay; he tasted a lot, lot better. Once he was sure the majority of it was off of his face, he nuzzled Karkat's outer leg again, laying his head down happily.

Karkat smiled down at him and looked around his room before detecting a t-shirt he'd discarded to the floor that morning. "Hold still, you missed a spot." He scrubbed softly at the spunk on his left ear and wiped a dab from his cheek and shoulder before tossing it to the side. He sighed contentedly and scratched the ear he'd just cleaned before nervously biting his lip. "...is there anything you want me to do for you, Gamzee?"

Gamzee looked up at Karkat and titled his head. He wanted to do something for him? His daddy had never wanted to do that for him. Gamzee smiled sheepishly and shook his head before nuzzling back into Karkat's leg. "No sir, I'm real fine. You don't have to do anything like that for a pet."

Karkat frowned and shifted his leg out from under Gamzee gently, moving to kick his pants off his ankles. They were awkward to have around his thighs, and were still a bit damp and uncomfortable anyway. He knelt in front of the hybrid and took a soft hold on his jaw, tilting his chin up to make him look at him. "You're not my pet, Gamzee. And I told you before, my name is Karkat. Not sir. If you want something, just ask for it. I'm happy to provide for you." He smiled at him, hoping it looked friendly and reassuring. "Now. Is there anything you want me to do for you?"

Gamzee flushed softly. Why was Karkat so nice to him? He trilled softly. "Y-you don't have to." He felt a little bashful, having never asked anyone to touch him before. Like his father said...pets are seen, not heard. "I-I really like it when y-you play with my tail..." He chewed his bottom lip, his ears flattening just slightly.

Karkat grinned. Well, that was a start, he supposed. It was clear Gamzee had never asked for anything before, or at least, had always been punished for doing so, and he was pleased to see him giving it a try. The way Gamzee's ears expressed his feelings just as well as his face made him warm all over with how cute it all was. He nodded and inched closer to Gamzee, still unsure about what he was about to do. "I can stop at any time if you want me to, okay?" He leaned forward and pulled Gamzee's lip from his teeth with his own, placing a chaste kiss to it as he reached around and rubbed the base of his tail. "Here?" he asked quietly, watching Gam's face. "This where you like it?"

The puppy gasped against Karkat's lips, having genuinely never been kissed before. That was for humans who loved each other... not for dirty pets like Gamzee. His ears perked and he clumsily tried to kiss Karkat back. He hummed, nodding lightly. He felt so meek and small despite being quite a bit bigger than Karkat. "Y-yes, my tail is r-really sensitive." He arched closer to Karkat, his body unused to such good feelings.

Gamzee's lips were uncoordinated, as if the pup had no idea what he was doing, but it was endearing to Karkat. He wanted to do right by him, and led by example, moving his own lips softly against him. He pulled away just a touch, panting against them. "Is there anywhere else that's really sensitive?" He licked his lips gently and squeezed the base of his tail while his other hand trailed up to his ears. He hoped he wasn't touching them too much, but he just couldn't resist. They were too cute and felt amazing under his fingertips.

Gamzee trilled softly. He broke the kiss and went back to chewing at his bottom lip. It was gently swollen, making him look that much more flushed and needy. "M-my stomach and ears are super sensitive." He leaned into Karkat's hand and he scratched his ear and couldn't control the gentle wagging of his tail. Everything was starting to feel warm.

"Really?" He gave one last rub to the base of his ear and ran his hand down his neck and shoulder to his stomach, making light trails across the skin of his abdomen. He slid his hand down the waist of Gamzee's pants and started scritching at the fur on the base of his tail, playing with the area where fur ended and skin began. He adjusted his position and scooted closer to the puppy, still kneeling, and pushed his legs apart, settling between them.

Gamzee groaned and looked at Karkat, his body hadn't felt like this in a long time. He gave off a soft trill, bracing his weight on his hands. His daddy never touched him like this. His eyes fluttered closed and he lifted his hips closer to Karkat out of instinct. "O-oh...y-yeah..."

Karkat smiled and lifted the hem of his t-shirt, pulling it off the pup. His frame was nice, despite being emaciated, and Karkat ran his fingers over the muscles that lined his shoulders and chest. He wondered what Gamzee looked like when he was well fed, and for a moment wondered if he'd ever even been well-fed. Probably not, if he'd lived off dog food. He trailed his hand down to his stomach again, rubbing softly, before tugging at the waist of the shorts. He gave the dog boy's tail a light squeeze and leaned forward to nip at a furry ear. "Can I take these off?"

Gamzee nodded softly, peeking his eyes open. He lifted his hips and helped Karkat remove his shorts. His arousal, which was a fair bit bigger than Karkat's, was only at half mast. He flushed softly, feeling slightly embarrassed that so little got him worked up. He gently shifted, trying to hide his length bashfully. The way Karkat was speaking to him and nipping his ear was causing the heat in his stomach to stir.

"Hey," Karkat whispered softly, pulling Gamzee's legs open again. "No need to hide from me..." He gave his tail one last teasing squeeze and ran his fingers over Gamzee's hips, rubbing his fingers in gentle circles. "You like this?" he asked quietly. "I want to make you feel good, Gamzee."

Gamzee nodded, his ears flattening softly. Karkat's soft hands felt so good. Almost as good as his lips. Gently, Gamzee lifted up, boldly leaning in to kiss his master once again. The little puppy really really liked kissing.

Karkat nibbled on his lip as he contemplated, before he decided to let his right hand trail further down, tickling the flesh between Gamzee's thighs. He rubbed at his inner thighs for a moment as he deepened the kiss, before gliding his fingers up to close around Gamzee's shaft, working the soft flesh into complete erection.

Gamzee grasped at Karkat's shoulders and mewled. It sounded almost catlike. He arched his hips up, trying to keep pace with the kiss. Luckily, he was a fairly quick learner and caught on to kissing quite fast. "Nmh," he groaned into Karkat's mouth.

Karkat moaned into the hybrid's mouth at the feeling of his shoulders being gripped and with how quickly he'd figured out how to kiss back. He tightened his grip on Gamzee's cock and he quickened the pace, wanting to hear what other kind of sounds the pup could make.

Gamzee whined and bucked his hips into Karkat's hand, his tail gently rubbed against Karkat's leg, knowing Karkat liked the feeling of his fur on his skin. He sighed into the kiss, feeling absolutely elated.

Karkat sighed at the touch of fur brushing his leg, and jerked his cock harder, faster. He felt his own erection had returned completely and he dropped his other hand down to grip it as well before giving Gamzee's mouth one last kiss, pulling away to trail kisses down his body. He licked, sucked, and nipped at the flesh down to his hips, where he sucked on one, leaving a small hickey. He glanced up at the pet for a moment, making sure it was okay, and gave his cock a tight squeeze as he put his mouth over its tip, rolling his tongue against the slit.

Gamzee gasped loudly, in utter shock. Karkat was treating him like he was /his/ master. He moaned gutturally and watched Karkat almost lovingly. He whimpered and gripped at the smaller male's hair but not enough to hurt him. "O-oh God,"

Karkat moaned around Gamzee's cock at the tug on his hair and gave a bit of a suck as he bobbed his head lightly over the first couple inches, not taking any more than that. He continued to squeeze at the base and moved his hand up and down with his mouth, running his tongue around the crevice beneath the head. Gamzee's cock was definitely too big for him to take all of it but he would do what he could, wanting to make the pup feel good.

Gamzee whimpered louder, his fingers gripping at Karkat's neck, gently massaging the skin. "M-more,  pl-please..." Gamzee's voice rose an octave, his body shaking softly. He wanted more, he needed more. His body was hot and his head spinning.

Karkat smirked around Gamzee's cock. He wanted more? The human was happy to oblige. He suddenly dropped his mouth down, Gamzee's cock sliding a few inches into his throat, as much as he could take, and he held it there, swallowing his throat around the thick member. He continued squeezing what wouldn't fit in his mouth with his fingers and found himself reaching down to grip his own cock, rubbing himself into a complete erection once more.

Gamzee's eyes rolled into the back of his head and the his tail twitch wildly. The pup's ears were flat against his head. Gamzee's hips were widening and he threaded his fingers into Karkat's hair again, petting and scritching much like the other had done for him. He whimpered again, feeling like he was close to his own release.

Karkat could feel how close Gamzee was and he gave one last swallow before pulling his mouth off and looking up at him. “...Do you want to be inside me, Gamzee?”

Gamzee's eyes shot open. He gave the non-hybrid a near pathetic sounding  whimper at the loss of sensation from Karkat's mouth. The puppy looked Karkat over, surprised to be asked such a thing. He nodded not long after that though, his own arousal calming just enough not to  completely blow with just a touch. He glanced around sheepishly, his tail giving away just how happy and rather excited he was.

Karkat grinned at him and stood up, offering a hand to Gamzee, helping him climb up and motioning to the bed. He climbed up after him and reached into the bed stand drawer, pulling out a bottle of lube. He laid back on his side and lubed up his fingers before rubbing them across his entrance, panting slightly. His eyes closed halfway and he licked his lower lip as it fell open slightly. He looked up, watching Gamzee carefully, his cheeks flushed from the lewd act he was performing.

The puppy watched Karkat in pure interest and arousal. He wanted to touch Karkat the way he was touching himself but was rather scared of messing something up. He could feel his arousal throbbing as he watched the male in front of him, a slight territorial growl in his throat. His ears were perked and his tail wagging, enjoying the show Karkat was giving him quite a bit.

Karkat moaned quietly at sounds Gamzee was making, capturing his lip between his teeth. He began pushing his finger inside himself slowly, groaning at the sensation. Everything was heightened for him, the thrill of being watched making him needier, impatient, but he knew he had to do this right, considering the pup's size. He glanced up at it and pushed his finger deeper, slipping in a second impulsively at the sight of the thick shaft.

They hybrid leaned over, unable to just sit and watch anymore. If he just kept watching, he would have exploded. Karkat was making him feel so hot and...playful. He hadn't felt like this since when he'd gone into heat the first time. Gamzee kissed over Karkat's neck and flexing shoulders, lapping softly. Karkat had done this to him, so he hoped it felt good to the other.

Karkat moaned quietly and tilted his head to the side, allowing better access to the sensitive flesh. He looked down at Gamzee's cock again, considering before deciding he would need to add a third finger, groaning desperately at the stretch. “Gam-ah-Gamzee....” He spread his legs more and fisted his cock tightly.

Gamzee's tail thumped the bed loudly at the way Karkat's voice sounded saying his name. It made the pup's chest tighten in an odd but good way. He gripped Karkat's sides, gently biting and kissing at his neck. Slowly he felt his ears flicking gently against the side of Karkat's face.

Karkat moaned at the feeling of Gamzee's hands gripping his sides, the feel of his mouth, lips, teeth. It was the light feeling of the puppy ears flitting across his skin, however, that made his control snap. He pulled his fingers free with a sound similar to a whine and got back to his knees, gently pushing Gamzee onto his back. He leaned down and kissed him deeply and reached between them, gripping the larger boy's cock. He held it in his fist upright and lowered himself, positioning it against his entrance.

Gamzee's eyes widened and his ears were as physically perked as they could possibly be. He kissed Karkat back, still in shock over the whole ordeal. The way Karkat was sinking onto his dick though; it was like a fire lit behind his eyes. A mewl left Gamzee's mouth and his hips arched. It felt so good that he couldn't even be distracted enough to wag his tail.

Karkat mewled quietly with the way he was being stretched, more than his fingers could ever do. He lapped greedily, hungrily at Gamzee's mouth, nibbling the flesh, sucking at it, delving inside. He continued to take Gamzee into him, making noises akin to whimpering into the male's mouth, until his hips were pressed flush against his ass, his shaft fully unsheathed inside him. He took a moment to rest his head against his shoulder, gasping, still trying to get used to the sensation of being so filled.

Gamzee's hands fell to Karkat's sides, his palms massaging up and down his ribs. He arched softly, the heat and utter tightness engulfing his arousal was enough to have Gamzee soundlessly beg for more friction and sensation. He kissed softly around Karkat's jugular and up to his ear, sucking it slowly.

Karkat mewled in pleasure at the sensation of Gamzee's mouth on his ear and took a deep breath before he lifted himself off slowly once more to drop onto his shaft once again, much quicker this time, repeating the motion again and again, faster each time. He sat back and pulled Gamzee up with him into a sitting position, one hand moving to play with an ear while his other stroked the base of the puppy's tail.

Gamzee's body was going into shock at the sensations and pleasures he was feeling. The pup gently thrust upwards, meeting Karkat's movements. He didn't want the other to do everything. He wrapped his arms around Karkat's waist, helping him with the rise and fall. His body felt tight and all he could do was moan into Karkat's shoulder as he bit into it.

Karkat cried out as Gamzee bit into him, clenching up around him. He rocked against him, reaching down from the pup's ear to stroke his own cock, rubbing the leaking head against both their stomachs. He leaned forward, grazing his teeth lightly on a furry ear. “That's it, Gamzee. Fuck me hard...”

A growl left Gamzee's throat at the way Karkat bit at his ear. He bucked his hips up, a little more demanding now. His fingers gripped into Karkat's sides, forcing the smaller male down onto his cock as he thrust into him. Several groans passed Gamzee's lips as he felt the pressure of Karkat's hands on his tail and the fluid trailing down his stomach.

Karkat moaned around the fur between his lips and wrapped his legs around Gamzee's waist, the movements made easier with the hybrid gripping his body, helping him move. His grip on both his cock and the tail tightened and he realized he was getting close already. He whimpered quietly, not wanting to finish before he made Gamzee feel good. He gave a slightly harder nip to his ear before gasping into it. “I want you to come inside me, Gamzee...”

Gamzee's body stutter-stepped at Karkat's words. They sent shock waves straight to his dick. He pushed Karkat onto his back before thrusting into him again, having far better control over his hips. The dog kissed and laved at the bed owner’s chest, his hips pistoning inside of him. Karkat was so tight, so perfect around his cock; it didn't take long for Gamzee's ears to flatten and his tail to stop wagging as his stomach flipped and he came in hot spurts, filling the small male.

Karkat gasped in surprise when he found himself on his back staring up at the dog as he pounded into him. The change in position made him tighten up, clenching harder around him. He yelled with every thrust, bringing his hands to squeeze Gamzee's ass frantically. He felt it when Gamzee came inside him, filling him with his hot cum, and the sensation set him off, a hand moving to jerk himself quickly into completion, crying out Gamzee's name.

Gamzee slumped against Karkat's shoulder, his breathing just pants. His tail started wagging tiredly and he kissed the bitemark he left on Karkat's shoulder. He pulled out of Karkat, a gasp leaving his lips at the sensation. He didn't know what to say; he just looked down at Karkat, noticing the puddle of spunk on his stomach. Slowly, he dipped his head, lapping at Karkat's tummy, cleaning it.

Karkat lay, breathing heavily, eyes closed as he basked in the afterglow. He opened one eye when he felt a tongue on his stomach and he moaned quietly at the sight. “You don't have to do that, you know,” he whispered quietly. He reached up to scritch his ears, smiling tiredly at him.

Gamzee shrugged and smiled. He looked up at Karkat and nuzzled his face into the small, now clean, stomach. He leaned into the other male's hand, loving the feeling of Karkat's fingers in his fur. “Wanted to,” he answered softly.