Work Text:
He was staring.
Karkat was fucking staring. At her.
At her.
Nepeta fidgeted for a moment, playing with the cardboard siding to the thin box in her hands as she waited for him to respond somehow. She wanted him to just say something, even if all he did was call her stupid and get up to walk away. Why was she doing this again? Why exactly had she walked over to the tree he was sitting under and suggested something so ridiculous? Oh, that's right. Because her best friend had very politely told her to grow some balls and make a goddamn move already.
Finally, fucking finally, he blinked, then closed his mouth. He swallowed. He licked his lips. He looked at the box. Then he looked back up at her. "That's...that's what the fucking pocky game is?"
She struggled to decipher his tone and came up blank. She nodded, forcing a small smile, making it as innocent and casual and sweet as she could muster. Oh god she could not have picked a worse pick-up. She held up the small pocky box again, as if to remind him of
its existence.
He returned his stare to it. "So, it's basically like a game of fucking chicken with stupid Japanese... What is that? Candy?"
She giggled. "No silly, it's - "
"Stop. Save it. I don't want to fucking know. It's like that ridiculous Lady and the Tramp shit, with the fucking spaghetti."
"Basically, yes, I suppose you could think of it that way..."
He shook his head. He had that look on his face, the one that said he couldn't believe how stupid the situation could possibly be and why the fuck was he in it again? He usually only wore it when he was with Gamzee, which was purretty often, actually. It was purrobably - probably - safe to say she spent way too much time watching him, if she could identify his thoughts and expurressions - expressions! Stop it! You know he thinks your cat puns are stupid! - expressions so easily.
"I can't believe I'm about to fucking say this, but... Okay, sure, yeah. I'll play with you."
She stared up at him. She hadn't heard right. He was really going to play? With her?
Really?
He looked away quickly, his face turning the tiniest shade of pink. "Stop fucking staring," he grumbled, folding his arms and leaning back against the tree.
She grinned. "Yes!" She pulled the little cardboard tab off the length of the opening and slipped out the packaging, tearing it open in seconds. He eyed it warily.
"Am I even going to like the shit?" he asked, his tone forcibly irritable. "It's pink. What the fuck does it even taste like?"
She held one out to him. "Here. To taste, befur we play."
He eyeballed it for a moment, as if he were expecting it to pounce on him or something, before taking it from her fingers and bringing it to his nose to sniff. "Strawberry?" he asked, taking a tentative lick.
She nodded. "I know you don't like dark chocolate, so I thought the strawberry would be better." She bit back a gasp when she said that, not having meant to reveal that she'd bought a box of pocky with him and this "game" in mind.
He slipped the end into his mouth and sucked at the pink icing as she spoke. Fortunately he ignored that statement, focusing on another little fact instead. "You seem to know a lot about me, Nepeta."
She blushed and pulled out a stick for herself, ignoring the mild accusation. "Well? Do you like it or not, Karkitt - Karkat?"
He cocked an eyebrow at her before nodding. "It's edible, I suppose. At least it doesn't taste like the shitfucking potbrownies Gamzee always tries to make me eat."
That was a definite confirmed Karkat Vantas "I like it" if anyone ever heard one.
After a moment of mutual crunching between the two of them, he sighed and held his hand out. "Well, if we're going to fucking do this shit, let's get on with it. I don't plan to waste my life away in a disgusting park, you know."
She swallowed and pull a new stick out, setting the box on the grass beside them as she got on her knees to face him. She waited for him to mimic the position and handed it to him. "Remember. It's like chicken, so whoever pulls away loses!"
"Whatever, just shut up so we can do this." He popped the end of the stick between his teeth and awkwardly leaned forward, a faint pink dusting his face.
Nepeta giggled and leaned toward him, easily taking her end - the end with the icing, he was so very nice enough to offer - between her teeth. They locked eyes for a moment until Karkat closed his and bit down, catching the stick with his lips. She closed her eyes as well and began on her end, swiftly devouring bite after bite. She popped her eyes open and squeaked when his nose bumped hers, causing her to fall backward on her butt.
He grinned down at her as he pulled the remnants of the treat into his mouth and finished it. "That means I win, right?"
She pouted. "I want a rematch!"
He snorted. "Of course you do. You're the one who lost."
Her eyes narrowed. "Rematch. Unless your a scaredy cat."
Karkat just rolled his eyes at that. "Just pull out the fucking stick, catgirl."
She did just that, putting it in between her own teeth. This time she kept her eyes open, keeping watch on his quickly approaching nose. It isn't until they were an inch apart when she lost her nerve and pulled back, a deep red blush clear on her face.
His eyebrow is raised by the time she looked back at him. "I'm honestly a little disappointed here, Nepeta. I thought you would be a worthy adversary in this pointless game."
She glared at him. "I'm as worthy as you're ever gonna get Karkitty!" She didn't bother correcting herself this time, too focused on pulling out another pocky stick and putting it in her mouth. She kept her stern gaze as he smirked and took his end. She moved first, taking her bites quickly, forcing him to move just as fast. She didn't back off this time, not even when they were centimeters apart. She could feel his warm breath on her nose and lips, and she kept going, closing the distance. Their lips brushed, her heart just about stopped, her pulse fluttering almost violently....and he pulled away, turning his head quickly as his blush returned.
She struggled to put a triumphant look on her face. "I won that time!" She tried to grin. "I told you so, Karkitten!"
He scowled at her, his face quickly returning to its original color. "I still won two out of the three," he argued.
She shrugged. "I still proved you wrong." She picked the box up, folding the lid down over it as she stood up. She was embarrassing herself way too much. She had to get out of there.
He reached up and grabbed her hand. "Hey, where the fuck do you think you're going?" he demanded, his voice a real level of irritation now. She looked down at him and he scowled again. "Let's try to at least make a tie, okay?"
Her eyes widened and she grinned for real. "Seriously?"
He rolled his eyes and tugged her hand, pulling her ungracefully to the ground. He reached for her other hand, pulling the pocky box away from her and grabbing another piece. "Don't be fucking fooled. I just want the pocky."
She laughed. "Sure, that's all it is, Karkitty - Karkat," she swiftly corrected.
He looked up at her sternly. "Stop fucking correcting yourself." He popped the pocky in his mouth before she could respond. "Now get over here and finish what you started," he mumbled out around it.
She wasted no time, placing her mouth around the new piece. When they were inches apart, she held her ground, making him come toward her this time. She closed her eyes, expecting him to pull away again. So, naturally, she was surprised when she felt his lips brush against hers, pulling the rest of the pocky from her teeth. Her eyes flew open but she made herself hold still as he continued working his lips against hers. His eyes were closed, but he popped them open halfway and raised an eyebrow, giving her a look that clearly said "Well? Are you gonna sit there all day or what?" She felt her cheeks heat up and slammed her eyes closed again as she nervously moved her lips against his. Her breath hitched when his tongue slid across her mouth and she opened up, shivering when it slid inside, running along her teeth before seeking her own tongue out.
She squeaked and popped her eyes open when he suddenly pushed her to the ground, hovering just above her as they worked their tongues together. She couldn't stop the quiet moan that left her throat when he pulled her tongue into his mouth and began sucking lightly. He tasted like the strawberry pocky, and she decided right then that pocky was her favorite treat in the world. She closed her eyes again and hesitantly put her arms around his neck, pulling him in even closer. He sighed into her mouth and kissed her harder, lowering his body onto hers as he shifted his weight from his hands to his forearms.
And pulled away quickly, cursing as his phone began to ring in between the two of them.
She opened her eyes to see him kneeling above her, his legs on either side of hers just inches from truly straddling as he fished his phone from his pocket, still cursing as he answered it. "Fucking damnit, Gamzee, you goddamn cuntsucker! What the asshumping hell do you fucking want?!"
She bit back a giggle. She could hear Gamzee's low laugh on the other end followed by his long lazy drawl. She didn't bother trying to listen. It was always so hard to follow Gamzee's strange juggalo speech. Instead she opted to close her eyes again, smiling as she listened to Karkat's end of the conversation, mostly consisting of how much of a dickrubbing fuckhead Gamzee was and exactly how Karkat was going to kill him later, naturally punctuated by his best friend's rolling laughter.
Finally he sighed and hung up. She opened her eyes to see him staring down at her forlornly. "I have to go. Gamzee - "
She laughed. "It's alright, Karkat. You don't need to explain yourself."
He stood up and offered her a hand, helping her up. When they were face level once more he stared at her, his face an expression of contemplation. Finally he leaned down and kissed her again, this one quick and simple. When he pulled away he gave her a small smile and handed her the half-empty box of pocky back. "Keep making those stupid cat puns. They're actually kind of cute." With that he turned and began walking away, his hands shoved into his pockets, leaving her to grin after him.
-
Karkat looked up from his Ipod at a tug to his hoodie. He cocked an eyebrow at Nepeta as he pulled his headphones around his neck. Before he could ask her what she wanted she pulled a fresh box of strawberry pocky from behind her back.
"Ready for a tiebreaker, Karkitten?"