Chapter 3 - A VIsit

John was in the barn again, this time helping Jade with the chicks, about a week later. A ball of poofy blue down-feathers was blinking up at him with eyes too big for its face, and John was unable to restrain himself from gently stroking beneath its beak.

The wild chocobo was in its own stable, having bitten John again, this time on the bridge of his nose beneath his glasses. Now the boy's face was split by a long gash that ran from beneath one eye to the other, and there were a few layers of gauze and bandage masking him.

“What are we going to do with her?” Jade asked, jerking her head toward the chocobo. “If she never calms down, I mean.”

“Probably let her go,” John answered. “We can't keep feeding her if she's not - ”

The gradual sound of a large engine approaching cut him off and he straightened, a grin spreading across his aching face. He turned to Jade, who looked confused, then set down the baby chocobo and forced himself to walk – not run – outside.

A small dot in the eastern sky was just visible above the small stack of mountains there, and John watched as it progressively got bigger and bigger until at last it was a small, gray-colored aircraft that landed smoothly on the other side of the small house. All restraint was forgotten as his legs carried him in a sprint toward it.

Toward Karkat.

He was just getting out of the Bronco as John came around the side of the house and tackled him, miraculously not throwing him to the ground. The angry expression that Karkat usually wore melted away into a smile as his own arms went around John to return the embrace.

“Hey, frackass,” he said gently. “Miss me?”

“No,” John mumbled facetiously, his voice muffled as he nuzzled into Karkat's neck, and was horrified to realize his eyes were wet with tears of happiness. He pulled away and scrubbed furiously beneath the glasses, having temporarily forgotten the bandage was there. “Ow!”

Karkat's hand was immediately on his boyfriend's cheek, stroking questioningly at the layers of fabric on his face. “What happened here? Anything I should kick someone's @$$ for?”

John grinned. “No, just a wild chocobo. It doesn't like me that much.”

“I see that.” And then their lips were together. The months they'd spent apart felt completely worth it if they got to share moments like this.

“I missed you,” John whispered.

“You said you didn't,” Karkat chuckled.

John smiled, but before he could say anything a shout came from behind him. “Hi, Karkat!”

The boys looked up to see Jade approaching to hug Karkat, though she didn't tackle him like John had. Bec, her fluffy, blind dog, followed behind, brushing against Karkat's legs in welcome like a cat.

“Come on in,” Jade said, yanking on Karkat's sleeve. “Unless you want to see the chocobos first?”

Karkat, though he hated to admit it, was almost as in love with baby chocobos as he was with John; and John didn't mind a little competition in this case. And, because he hated to admit it, John cut in before he could refuse.

“Yeah, we were just feeding them! It'll go much faster if you help.”

Karkat's cheeks became dusted with red. “Okay, I can help with that. I'm starving, though.” The midday sun peeked from behind a cloud as he spoke, as if reminding them that noon was lunch time.

“Dad should be in the kitchen right now. We'll go in when we're done. Come on,” Jade asserted, pulling on Karkat's sleeve again. He let himself be pulled to the barn with little complaint, except when Bec walked in front of him in an attempt to follow Jade.

John caught a sign of movement out of the corner of his glasses, and turned to the kitchen window, where his father was smiling as he chopped up vegetables. Noticing John staring at him, he lifted one hand in a wave. John waved back just before he followed the small parade to the barn.

–

“So, you're the frackass who hurt my boyfriend?” Karkat stood in front of the wild chocobo's stable, arms crossed over his chest, as he stared down the enraged bird before him. Once the chocobo tired out from her flailing, he put a hand out to grab the reins that John hadn't taken off yet due to facial injury. John and Jade watched with bated breath.

After a moment of feeding the chocobos, Karkat had noticed the restless bird in the corner, and something had caught his interest; John could see it in his eyes. The other boy had gotten up and planted himself in front of the stable.

“Careful,” John breathed now, more to himself, as the chocobo snapped at Karkat's hand. He hesitated, then after a moment's pause reached further and touched the leather straps gently. When the bird did nothing more than huff angrily at him, he gripped the reins more tightly and eased the gate open.

“Easy,” he said soothingly, backing up and gesturing for John and Jade to get out of the way. “Easy. It's all right, you dumbass bird.” The profanity was said in the same even tone as the rest of his sentence, and though the chocobo was still angry she let him lead her out of the barn and into the corral outside.

Once Jade had closed the gate, Karkat let go of the reins. John was held back by Jade's arm held in front of him as the chocobo dashed around, trying to find an escape out of the wide, fenced area; finding none, she returned to stand in front of Karkat, tail feathers raised and wings splayed out in a show of intimidation.

Karkat was not impressed. His stance was open, steadfast; his arms were crossed over his chest again and his legs were shoulder-length apart. He glared up at the threatening bird through his dark eyebrows, his face resolute, and stayed where he was.

When Karkat remained unfazed, the wild chocobo faltered. She unwound slightly, her tail feathers remaining fanned out while her wings pressed against her body, but retained her furious look. Karkat reached his hand out again, only to have it chomped on by a vicious beak. John cried out at this.

However, rather than retract and hurl profanities at her – as would be expected of him – he grimaced in pain and ground his teeth together as he made no move to withdraw his hand. His other hand came around and carded the feathers on the back of the chocobo's head, stroking gently. The beak tightened on his fingers, and this time he was unable to suppress a gasp, but still he did not pull back.

It seemed an age before the chocobo let Karkat's hand go, and John released a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. The visitor ran his uninjured hand along the long, feathered neck, crooning comforting gibberish to the bird, and slowly lifted his leg to mount the saddle on her back.

As soon as he was on, however, she bucked violently; if not for his balance he would have ended up on the ground. But as it was, the reins wrapped tightly in one hand and his legs digging into her sides were the only things keeping him from letting gravity work its science. He held on tight as the chocobo bucked and kicked furiously, trying to throw him off – once or twice she nearly succeeded, and John and Jade were ready to run toward him if he fell.

Finally, after several minutes that seemed like hours without being able to unburden herself of the human's weight, the chocobo came to a stop, exhausted. Karkat's hand brushed her neck again, softly, and he spoke softly to her again. “Shoosh. It's okay.”

He guided her to the corral gate, where John and Jade were waiting. “How did I do?” he said, smirking at their gaping faces. “And you call yourselves ranchers.” He slid off the chocobo's back and tickled under her beak. “That's right, you're not such a bad bird, are you?” he joked.

Light applause sounded from the door of the house, and their father approached. “Bravo,” he said. “You seem to have a knack for this. Put her away, though, it's time to eat,” he added, and reached out to ruffle Karkat's hair. “Welcome back, Highwind.”

“Thanks, Mr. Harley,” Karkat replied, as John stood beside him and laced their fingers together.

)O(

It was the end of the day, and Karkat was feeling great about everything, as he always did when he and John were together. The two sat on the edge of John's bed and talked about everything that had gone on since John's last visit to the Highwind residence.

This conversation ended as it always did: with one of them initiating the first kiss. This time it was Karkat who leaned forward first, pulling John toward him with a hand fisted in his blue shirt. They pressed against each other, and Karkat slowly forced John down to lie on the bed beneath him, holding the younger boy down by his wrists.

One of Karkat's hands left John's wrist to cup the back of his head, fingers knotting in his untidy hair. He felt John reach up with his free hand to grip the back of his shirt, pulling the two closer together, and the boy's mouth opened beneath his, nipping lightly at Karkat's lip.

Karkat pulled away then, only slightly; he had missed this, missed John's soft hands on his back. “John,” he said softly, his eyes only half-open. “Do you want to...go farther?”

The other shook his head. “I'm fine like this, Karkat. Sex isn't a mandatory thing for relationships. Besides, this is nice.” His free hand went to Karkat's cheek to brush it with his knuckles.

Karkat smiled. “Yeah, it is.” He went back down, but to nuzzle into John's chest rather than take his mouth again. “It was just getting a little hot in here, that's why I asked.” John's hand was on the back of his head now, petting him, and he closed his eyes.

“Mm,” John agreed. “Well, we should probably go to sleep now. I want to get all the farm things done before we get to the spelunking thing, and that means getting up early.”

John's hand was soft on Karkat's hair. He placed a hand on John's chest to feel his heartbeat, and his head moved in a tiny nod. “Okay. I'll help you tomorrow so it'll go faster.”

“Thanks.”

There was a rustling as John brought a blanket from the foot of the bed to cover them, surprisingly without shifting Karkat too much, and he reached out to turn off the light beside his bed. Promptly that hand returned to Karkat's head, and the latter breathed deep and slow, tightening his arms slightly so the two of them were pressed even closer together. His ear was against John's chest, and the metronomic thudding of the boy's heart lulled him into subconsciousness.

But not before he heard a breathy whisper of, “I love you, Karkat.”

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