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]

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. ]