closed

[alienates]

WHO: karkat (alienates) & rin (gnasher)
WHERE: outside their apartment building
WHEN: march 10th, evening??
WHAT: two dumb boys have a dumber reunion
WARNINGS: stupidity, probably. also language?? SHRUGS

[ karkat never knows how to spend his days off, to be honest, so he usually just ends up wasting them. he could be out doing things, but instead here he is, walking home after stopping by a nearby chinese restaurant for some takeout and getting some groceries.

when he reaches the front door of the complex, though, he realizes that he... can't goddamn open it?? there are too many bags and not enough hands, alas. karkat struggles for a few minutes, determined to open it on his own. when he hears footsteps approaching the entrance, he quietly accepts defeat and will let this other person open the door instead.

HE LOOKS VERY ANNOYED THOUGH?? poor whoever this person is??? ]

Comments

[gnasher]

[whoever this person is happens to be Rin Matsuoka, recent addition to this apartment building, and currently in over his head. he typically prides himself on being quite adept at time management, yet this first year of college is testing him; he came in over winter break and is still very much finding his feet. usually, by this time of the day, he'd have a free schedule for relaxing and getting ready for the coming day. yet it's nearly six and, having rushed from appointment to responsibility today, he hasn't eaten since lunch, didn't have time to dry off at the gym, and has a stack of homework still left to do]

[rushed as he is, he doesn't quite take in the face of the person he opens the door for, with a distracted sounding;]

Here, let me get that for you.

[he certainly hasn't had time to meet any of his neighbours, either, as it were -- his wet hair drips onto his sportsy hoodie as he reaches for the handle]

[alienates]

[ a kind, thoughtful person would thank rin for the offer. karkat does not do that. instead, he just gives rin a funny look for some reason

he seems kind of



nah. ]

Why are you dripping?

[gnasher]

[he is expecting that thank you, as he opens the door, and instead gets -- an invasive question??]

-- I just came from training in the pool. It's water.

[not sweat... geez, this is why schedules were important. you looked like a sweaty monster mess otherwise]

[something about the other guy's voice is weirdly famil -- god, that guy's takeout smells good. he needs to make dinner. go through the door already!]

[alienates]

[ fuck you don't be rude and rush him???

karkat does go through the door though, but he looks over his shoulder at him and... hm. ]

Do they not have towels there? That seems like a pretty good investment for a pool.

[gnasher]

[Rin follows this rude guy in, face going deadpan as they head for the same stair case. I guess... this great conversation is continuing...]

Do you not have a backpack? Seems like a good investment for a guy with too many things to carry.

[alienates]

I'm not sticking my damn food in a backpack. What if it spills? That's such an idiotic idea.

[ this is a thing that has 100% happened to him before. ]

And I didn't leave my house with the intention of buying all of this. You had to have known what you were in for though.

[gnasher]

[Rin's shoulders hunch, and hunch, as this guy keeps rudely talking, and calling him names, and implying he's a moron -- ]

Oi, I'm not gonna get into it with a guy I barely kno --

[and then it hits him, with that last bitchy, cranky, bitch-baby statement, echoing so many he's heard in what feels like a previous lifetime:]

-- shit, wait, I do know you.

[and his head whips to the side fast, sending droplets of water directly into Karkat's face]

Vantas...?

[alienates]

[ HE CAN'T EVEN WIPE THE WATER OFF HIS FACE BECAUSE HIS HANDS ARE FULL THIS IS BULLSHIT

it takes karkat a little bit longer to Realize, partly because he is annoyed about the water thing. the other part is because he has gotten more used to people recognizing him on the street because of that whole retrospec app; it's not that unusual to run into someone you've spoken to before on it.

still that doesn't... seem right. ]

Yup. That's me. [ ... SQUINTS ] Rinrin?

[gnasher]

[and it's like an electric shock goes up along his spine, like a cat]

Don't call me that!

[echos, of an embarrassing past]

I-it was bad enough back then!

[what is this fateful meeting bullshit? Rin's literally stopped in his tracks, a flood of memories coming back to him -- it's been ages since he thought about cranky Vantas in elementary school, yet another boy in a fairly sizable list of boys whose attention he sought in the most desperate, embarrassing ways possible]

[alienates]

[ the name had slipped out automatically when karkat realized who it was. he would be more embarrassed by saying "rinrin" now, but rin being mortified at it someone counters his own embarrassment so it works out.

this is... kind of weird. when karkat moved back to recolle a few years back, the only person who knew him from when he was a little kid had been ainsley, one of his elementary school teachers. she's still the only one, until... now, apparently? he's not sure what to think. ]

Oh my god, it seriously is you. That explains the pool I guess.

[gnasher]

[Rin's looking Karkat up and down like a newly discovered organism, also not sure what to think]

Yeah, I'm still swimming. I got back from my abroad program a couple years ago, and then I went to the all boys' school just outside the city. -- Do you want help?

[he probably should have offered earlier, but wasn't much inclined to help out an asshole. but this is now an asshole he was (well, he's not sure how Karkat actually felt) very close with, back when he was little]

Shit, I can't believe it's you!

[alienates]

[ he holds out one of the bags (the one with takeout) out to rin. please help. one of the droplets got in his eye and he cannot live in this hell for any longer. ]

Do you live here? [ karkat has been at this building for like three years and he has never seen rin around? or maybe he's just visiting someone.

all of karkat's questions sound like a police interrogation, tbh, but he's just. too surprised to do proper reunion greetings right now. ]

[gnasher]

Yeah, I just moved in last week.

[Rin takes the bag, thinking -- he doesn't look terribly different, Karkat. older, obviously, more tired around the eyes in a way, but they're Adults now, living Out In The World. Karkat's probably got a job and juggling coursework, just like him. hell, maybe he's even on a sports team. RU had some pretty good ones, besides swimming]

How about you?

[alienates]

I've been here a while.

[ give him a sec to finally wipe his face off. once that's done, karkat will also finally give rin a proper once over. he got hot, which is unfortunate and unfair, but whatever. ]

On the fourth floor.

[gnasher]

Uoh, that's where I live. [another whip to the side -- sending... more water... in Karkat's face] With a -- [SUPER WEIRD GUY!!!] -- guy named Henry Lovett.

[up the stairs they go, bags in hand. wait until he takes his jacket off, this isn't even the height of unfair yet]

[the shock finally wears a little ways off, and Rin grins a bit, a little unable to help himself. it's... a romantic kind of situation, isn't it? not only to run into such an old friend, but to end up living in the same city, the same building, the same floor. it's the kind of stupid thing he thought when he was a kid: friendships were binding across time and distance]

You got taller.

[this sounds like an insult.]

[alienates]

[ oh god that got into his mouth??? he coughs, glares at rin because YOU SHOULD HAVE TOWELED OFF PROPERLY YOU FUCKIN JOCK!!!!!!!!!!!!! ]

And you now seem intent in slowly drowning me with tiny drops of water. Stop splashing me, dickhead. [ let him live. ] Also, fuck off, you can't say that when you're the one who obviously got taller?

[gnasher]

[Rin's shoulders roll back (as if he's enjoying the call out) as he huffs]

I wish. I have to swim twice as fast to catch up with these lanky Western swimmers.

[sad truths: he's not that tall, compared to some of the behemoths on his swim team]

Are you going to RU? I just enrolled for the Spring semester.

[alienates]

[ HE'S THAT TALL TO KARKAT!!!! ]

No. I'm starting next semester.

[ he tries to remember everything he has ever known about rin, and he wonders what exactly has changed. ainsley didn't change much, but she was already an adult when karkat had met her, and he was her student. you really don't know much about your teachers in comparison to what you know from your fellow schoolmates. ]

Does your sister live here too?

[gnasher]

Haah? No, she's still back home.

[in the house by the beach Karkat was invited to, quite frequently]

Freaking out about finishing high school, you know.

[said like, that is something so... so behind me... An Adult]

[speaking of which, they arrive at floor four. Rin nosily looks around the hall, like he doesn't see it every day, as if suddenly he'll see a sign that his old friend was here all along]

[alienates]

Huh. [ karkat had no idea she was still around. then again, this is a pretty big city. it's easy to miss someone when you aren't actively looking for them, even when you've apparently been going to the same school for years.

there is no obvious sign that one of the doors belongs to karkat, except for him just walking straight to it. ]

She's not suddenly buff and tall or whatever, is she?

[gnasher]

[that gets Karkat a funny look, as Rin follows him to his door]

I can't tell if that was a compliment to me or an insult to my sister. Either way, it's none of your business how my sister looks now, oi.

[#gross siscon]

[alienates]

[ he doesn't know if she turned into a huge sports freak too!!! he needs to prepare himself because if rin lives here, then karkat is definitely going to run into her at some point!! ]

It's just a question! Most people would be curious about that kind of thing about someone they haven't seen in years.

[gnasher]

I thought about writing you. Uh, in Australia.

[what a completely awkward thing to say, especially because he is no longer that bright genki boy, but riddled with all kinds of social anxiety, and relatively certain that every boy he befriended before the age of 16 didn't actually like him all that much?? he's got a Friend Type, it seems]

-- It, seemed a little embarrassing, though, so...

[alienates]

[ karkat gets his door open and walks inside, not really checking to see if rin will follow him but kind of expecting him to, simply because karkat didn't retake the bag he has.

he sets the ones he has on the dining room table and takes a moment before answering. karkat can't help but wonder how things might have been different for him if he remained in contact with rin. when karkat had left recolle for a few years, the only person from the city he still talked to was ainsley, and while he appreciated it... she was still his old teacher, so talking to her would have been different from talking to someone his age. ]

It's a little embarrassing. What would you have said?

[gnasher]

[following Karkat in, he likewise puts the bag on the dining room table (completely unsure if he's... staying... any longer after this act is complete)]

[don't ask him those questions?]

...I don't know. Things got a little rough. I didn't have a lot to say, either, I guess.

[he's going to gawk around at the apartment to avoid eye contact]

[alienates]

[ the important is pretty normal. it's not too decorated and there isn't anything like, family pictures up. there's a stocked kitchen, and over in the living room area there's a couch, a smaller sofa, a coffee table, and a tv on a stand. there's some random stuff around that seem like more stuff they don't know where to put versus actual decorations. ]

I didn't either, so they would have been pretty boring letters.

[gnasher]

-- That's hard to believe. You were never boring.

[a huff, Rin thinking that -- this apartment doesn't match, what he remembers of his cranky childhood friend. Karkat always had opinions and hobbies. this place seems so impersonal]

[alienates]

[ karkat's actual bedroom is more decorated, at least, but he is making no move to head that way. that would be weird, for one. ]

I'm still not boring. Where I lived was boring as fuck though. As you can see, considering I'm back here now.

[gnasher]

Where you're livening things up, huh?

[Rin crosses his arms, stance widening, an implicit Challenge suddenly in his tone. there was a lot of that tone, back then]

Pigging out on take-away in your apartment...

[alienates]

I had a reservation with Chef Boyardee but had to cancel it due to conflicting plans.

[ it's said completely straight faced ]

Also, don't pretend I didn't see you slobbering over my dumplings.

[gnasher]

[Rin snickers, and remembers all at once why he liked Karkat so much -- it was never easy, to get a reaction out of him, which made it so thrilling when he did. he's a dumbass for hard work, maybe]

Shut up. I gotta make my own dinner still, like a real adult.

[it's not a denial: those dumplings smelled amazing]

[alienates]

Real adults can just buy shit other people make too. There aren't any laws against it, the last time I checked.

[ speaking of dumplings, karkat is going to open the box they came in. yup. they definitely do smell amazing. ]

[gnasher]

Ch.

[and Rin looks awkward as Karkat seems to become interested in his dinner -- is that his cue to get the hell out? what are the rules about being a houseguest as an adult?what are the rules about reuniting with old friends? he doesn't have many left, after Australia (hell, even before Australia -- nobody's ever been really able to quite keep up with him, with a few rare exceptions)]

Right. I guess I should give you and your mushu some space... uh.

[and there's a difference: Rin of Back Then would (and did, frequently) invite himself over, insert himself into other's lives, come crashing through without apology. this stupid hesitation is certainly new]

[alienates]

[ karkat actually takes note of that. it's why he just assumed rin would follow him inside, because it's what rin would have done before when they were kids. it's pretty strange, trying to figure out where you are in a relationship after not seeing each other for a while. ]

If you want to watch me stuff my face I don't care. It's a little creepy, but. [ SHRUGS. he wouldn't mind catching up. ]

[gnasher]

[and, in a turbulent mix of the old and new:]

Oi, seriously? You're gonna offer a seat, but not a dumpling? What kind of shitty host are you?

[like that shy hesitation before had never been -- though Rin flushes after the incredulity bursts out of his mouth, writ large: Immediate Regret. figuring out where you were was tricky indeed]

[alienates]

I see that you're finally being upfront about using me for my take-out that you were criticizing earlier.

[ karkat moves to the kitchen though, grabs a paper plate and a fork, and then walks back to the table and sets it down. it's far enough from karkat that it is obviously meant for rin. ]

[gnasher]

[and Rin seems to relax after that, huffing out a laugh. he sheds his light blue and white RU jacket, putting it on the back of the chair, and then sitting down at the table diagonally from his friend]

I'll make you a homemade meal sometime to square us up, so you can stop your complaining. It's not very neighborly.

[alienates]

[ hm. he has muscles??? that's unfortunate. ]

Shut up, we just found out we were neighbors like ten minutes ago.

[ the day karkat stops complaining is the day he's dead. ]

[gnasher]

[a stupid grin splits across Rin's face again, at the reminder. he's a sentimental guy, take pity on him]

Right, and I've already helped you carry your shit up the stairs, putting me ahead as a neighbor. Catch up, would you?

[reaches for a box, mmmm]

[alienates]

Feeding you gives me points! You haven't actually cooked anything yet so that doesn't count.

[ well, that part of karkat has not seemed to change either. he also will not back down from a challenge. ]

[gnasher]

It will, though. And it's gonna blow this stuff away -- my technique's improved a lot since we last met.

[casual anime villain brags; homf homf, dumplings]

[alienates]

You were like, two the last time I saw you. I would fucking hope it improved.

[ karkat stop exaggerating. ]

[gnasher]

[more obnoxious cockiness]

I always aim for improvement. I understand you'll have a hard time keeping up...

[what a rude houseguest]

[alienates]

The only thing I'd have trouble keeping up with is all those delusions that you're running with.

[ he says, as if he'd be able to keep up with rin at all? he hasn't even regained any of his cool fighting abilities yet he can't do this right now. ]