[Dave quiets again, just looking at Karkat, then tries to tuck a lock of hair behind his ear.]
Some people are really close with their family. I guess maybe it helped, for him.
[He knows trolls don't think of people in family terms, knows the word doesn't mean a whole lot. But what's a lusus--a caretaker linked literally by blood, if not species; a presence in the troll household, a constant--if not family? That's the only way he knows how to think about it.
...Then again, what does Dave know about that shit.
He strokes Karkat's hair back again, then sighs.]
C'mere.
[He doesn't pull his hand out of Karkat's, just folds his fingers around his palm for a moment and scoots in, slips his other arm under the blanket so he can wrap it around Karkat's back. He rubs between his shoulder blades, pats the nape of his neck.]
'S better. I was cold.
[It's transparent enough not to count as a lie, he thinks, while still allowing Karkat his dignity. If that matters, really, when they've opened this much.]
no subject
Some people are really close with their family. I guess maybe it helped, for him.
[He knows trolls don't think of people in family terms, knows the word doesn't mean a whole lot. But what's a lusus--a caretaker linked literally by blood, if not species; a presence in the troll household, a constant--if not family? That's the only way he knows how to think about it.
...Then again, what does Dave know about that shit.
He strokes Karkat's hair back again, then sighs.]
C'mere.
[He doesn't pull his hand out of Karkat's, just folds his fingers around his palm for a moment and scoots in, slips his other arm under the blanket so he can wrap it around Karkat's back. He rubs between his shoulder blades, pats the nape of his neck.]
'S better. I was cold.
[It's transparent enough not to count as a lie, he thinks, while still allowing Karkat his dignity. If that matters, really, when they've opened this much.]