Chapter Text
"911 what's your emergency?"
"I found this girl outside my place. I think she's been stabbed."
Karkat Vantas's head swam as he helped the paramedics lift the girls limp body onto a stretcher. He walked, uninvited, into the back of the ambulance. All he'd wanted was one god damn day to get some studying done. He probably wouldn't even go to his classes tomorrow.
The girl had no ID, apparently no family or friends, and no place to go. He had just glanced out his window and then he saw her all bunched up in a corner. He wanted to tell her to get lost because she wasn't supposed to even be outside his apartment but then as he approached her he saw she wasn't conscious.
It wasn't just a case of a drunk homeless chick because when he tried to haul her up he saw a huge blood stain soaking through her oversized olive coat. Then he grabbed his phone and called 911 and stayed by her side all the way to the emergency room.
"Karkat Vantas?" The doctor called into the nearly empty room outside the operating room. The short boy perked up and rushed over to the white clad surgeon.
"How is she? Is she alright? Dear god tell me she's okay!" He was near tears and he didn't know why. He suddenly felt responsible for the girl.
"She'll be fine. Were gonna put her in a rehab house since she has no ID and apparently no relatives in the area.." She consulted a clip board as if it would tell her what to say next.
"The fuck you are! I found her and I'm gonna take her home with me, thank you very much." Then Karkat walked into the OR. The girl looked to be around his age. Maybe a year younger. She looked so peaceful. Her Cupid's bow mouth moved gently as she breathed in and out. Her medium length black hair fell gently around her shoulders. Her eyelids fluttered and Karkat feared he'd woken her but she simply turned and went on sleeping.
That night Karkat toted the girl to his beat up Honda civic and laid her carefully in the back seat. He thought quietly to himself about nothing in particular as he drove into the darkness.
He parked as close to his apartment as he could. He carried the girl princess-style up the stairs to his door and in a feat of Herculean strength got the door open and her inside simultaneously. He laid her down in his bed ever so gently and tucked her in, all the while humming a song that his dad used to sing to him when he was little. And as he walked out of the room to go settle on the couch, he could swear he heard the girl hum the last couple of bars before drifting back into bliss.
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That couch sucked ass. Karkat could still feel the metal springs digging into his back even as he started his morning coffee. It was 8:30 am. He went in to check on the girl and saw she was still there. She stirred and he figured she was close to waking. He say down in a small arm chair. He didn't want her waking up and flipping her shit because she didn't know where she was. After twenty minutes or so her eyes fluttered and opened softly. They were a beautiful shade of olive green.
"Hey, good morning" Karkat whispered softly and strode to her bedside where he crouched. "You had a rough night last night, didn't you?" The girl looked around, confused.
"Wh-where am I?" She started to tremble and Karkat took her hand. He chose to ignore how creepily this could be perceived.
"Hey now... it's alright. You got attacked yesterday. I got you to the hospital and you're all patched up. This is my apartment." He grabbed the meager tray of food he'd collected while in the kitchen; two pieces of toast, some turkey bacon, and vitamins. He helped her sit up and balanced it on her lap.
"Who are y-you?" The girl asked shakily as she nibbled the bacon.
"I'm Karkat. And you are?" He gave a friendly and reassuring smile.
"Ne-nepeta Leijon" she stuttered. Karkat considered her for a moment. Her petite frame, angled face and soft hair made her look more like a model then a homeless girl.
"Well hi, Nepeta." Karkat offered his hand and she shook it weakly. He sat back and watched in silence as she ate the rest of her food.
After a long pause he decided to speak up. "So what the fuck happened to you? I mean, what did you do to get yourself stabbed?" She looked down and then back up. He could tell she was about to launch into a story.
"Well... when I was fourteen my dad left my family. It was my older sister and my mom and I. We didn't have any money so she..." Her voice broke and trailed off. "She sold my sister and I... " A single tear rolled down her cheek. "My sister was sent to Mexico as a sex slave and I heard that she got out. I stayed her in Boston though. It was hard... really hard... and it seemed like there was no end. But then, I got out. I just started running. But my owner was fast after me...." Another tear hit the bed and she was shaking now. "He called me a stupid whore and told me I had to be punished. And I was..." She choked back a sob and Karkat sat next to her on the edge of the bed and put an arm around her shoulders.
"Hey... it's alright. You're here now and you're safe. I won't let anyone hurt you, okay?" She looked up at him through a tangled mess of hair and watery eyes. She looked fourteen again, just a scared little girl. But she threw her arms around him and sobbed into his shoulder. Karkat let her. He patted her back and rocked gently like his mom used to.