#crokar

Kankri had warned him about his version’s Ampora and what he needed to be wary of; strangely enough it was one of the things they could agree on.

Amporas.

Loud, obnoxious, dramatic, conceited Amporas.

They were a royal pain in the ass to deal with, a walking sob story, but they had a certain pitiable charm about them that could not be ignored.

Karkat missed his Ampora sometimes, missed the better days when things were less complicated with him.

Cronus exhibited many Eridan-esque qualities, the worst of them being his persistence.  He cornered Karkat on more than one unlucky occasion to suck up to him while simultaneously trying to wiggle into his pants.

And every time Karkat shot him down more harshly than before.

But here he was again on that log, alone for one glorious moment he couldn’t appreciate.

Karkat was lonely; sure, there were people around, alive and dead literally milling about, but he couldn’t relate to any of them.

His friends were preoccupied, and these new people were nothing more than strangers who vaguely resembled his friends.

Cronus stood a few feet off, helplessly watching Karkat.

He knew better than to approach Karkat with the same old antics; Karkat was not won by a few suave pick-up lines.

He lingered on the sidelines, weighing his options as he considered Karkat’s slumped form.

He lit up his dormant cigarette (in the absence of the very asthmatic Kankri) and wondered if he should be here at all.  It’s obvious Karkat wants nothing to do with him.

But then he heard a sniffle, saw shoulders sag and realized something was amiss when Karkat’s head fell forward.

Cigarette pinched between two fingers, Cronus ambled over and peered around at the young Vantas, confirming that yes his face was in his hands and yes, he was crying.

“‘Ey, ‘ey now chief, no tears…" Karkat sat bolt upright, startled and on the defensive, sheeny red liquid glistening around the rims of his sleepless eyes.

"I wasn’t fucking crying."  He insisted as he smeared the cuff of his sleeve very unconvincingly over his cheeks.

Cronus smiled and knelt in front of him.

He offered him his idly burning tobacco.

"Here, take a load off."

"Fuck no."

"Have you tried it?"

"No.  Smoking is for wannabe hipster jackwagon losers."

"Well, that was specific,"  Cronus replied with a deep chuckle before popping the filter between Karkat’s lips and held it there with thumb and forefinger.

"Just humor me, eh chief?  Take a puff.  It really does take the edge off."

He glared suspiciously at the humankin troll as he slowly inhaled.

"Not too deep.  Just a bit to get a taste of it.  Hold it in, nice an’ easy…"

Karkat did as he was told—or at least he tried—but he sucked in a breath too sharp and ended up coughing fitfully.

Cronus retrieved the cylinder and dashed to Karkat’s side.  He sat with him and clapped his back until Karkat’s lungs resumed proper function.

"Good try, kitten.  The first puff is never graceful."

Cronus wasn’t prepared for the cigarette to be plucked from his mouth and transferred back to Karkat’s.

Frowning in concentration, Karkat pulled another drag, this one much steadier.  He held the smoke as long as he could before releasing it in a slow hiss.

Cronus watched the little Vantas indulge with a brow cocked in amusement.

"See—"

"Don’t you say one more word."

Karkat’s frazzled nerves became nothing more than a bitter memory after draining half the stick.

After getting his fill, he passed it back to its proprietor.

"Sorry."

"For what?"

"I don’t know."

Cronus slunk an arm around Karkat’s shoulders, and the boy didn’t resist.

"You’re doin’ a fine job, Kar.  I can tell.  You’re sure as shit doin’ better than me and my buddies."

Karkat didn’t hear anything after Cronus dropped an all too familiar nickname.

He glanced up at the older troll, and Cronus met his stare.

They were looking for something.

Cronus tried to find Kankri in Karkat.

Karkat tried to find Eridan in Cronus.

It was like looking at an inverted mirror in a fun house.

Suddenly Cronus didn’t seem to sleazy or obnoxious.

"Y’know, you remind me a whole lot of Kan when he was young: feisty and full of conviction.  But you’re not boring or washed out.  Where he runs ice cold, you run hotter than lava, babe."  Cronus sucks in smoke and blows it out in wispy contrails that mesmerize Karkat.

"Was Kankri always so fucking awful?"

"Nah, but he’s always been a visionary."

Cronus contorted his mouth just so and tipped his head back, exhaling a vaporous heart.

"Okay, for a wanna hipster jackwagon loser, you do some cool shit with smoke."

Cronus licked his lips as if he were savoring the nicotine staining his palette and gently tucked Karkat tight under his arm.  He put their foreheads together and murmured inches from Karkat’s downturned mouth.

"Babe, you have no idea all the cool shit I can do."

Karkat groans loudly and nearly slaps Cronus’ face to steal his ciagrette and have another puff.

"That stuff’ll kill ya, chief."

"You wish."  He blew a smoke cloud in Cronus’ face and flicked the cancerstick off-screen.

"Call me Kar again."

Cronus arches a brow, a slow smile curling.