Karkat Vantas really didn't know what possessed him to agree to this. The very concept alone was ridiculous. What creature in their right mind would want to strap wheeled shoes to their feet purely for the sake of enjoyment? Certainly not any trolls. If Dave had asked him to go roller skating a few months ago, Karkat likely would have screamed some expletives in his face about precisely why that sounded dumb and trivial and some people had better things to do with their time.

However, things were different now. The game had been played at long last. Everyone had settled down, and started to figure out what to do with the rest of their lives. It wasn't like there was any important game-related business to take care of. No unbeatable bosses to somehow try to beat, no dumb quests, no pointless journeys on meteors, and no ghosts (thank Gog for that).

Besides all that, Karkat had been trying to reinvent himself as a person. Before the game, he had been miserable all the time, and he could cite many reasons why (terrible planet, terrible friends, mutant blood color, etc). But now? He no longer lived on a terrible planet, and his friends turned out to not be so bad after all. Maybe now was a good time to not be so uptight.

So when Dave asked Karkat if he wanted to go roller skating with him, Karkat said yes. So what if he didn't know what roller skating was? It couldn't be that hard, right?

Wrong. So very wrong.

Presently, Karkat Vantas was trying his hardest not to fall on his face. Dave, on the other hand, was having no problem at all. Karkat considered asking Dave if he could hold his hand, but was that too forward? They hadn't been dating for that long. Karkat was trying to recall typical human romance protocol when he slipped. Before he knew what hit him he was facedown on the floor.

Dave thought it was the most hilarious thing he'd ever seen. He tried five times to ask Karkat if he was okay but dissolved into giggles each time. Karkat felt the shame and embarrassment rise in him, and he just knew that his face was probably bright red at this point. He remained on the floor, and was perfectly content with staying there.

Dave finally pulled himself together, and looked at his boyfriend on the floor. Poor Karkat. He casually knelt down and offered the troll his hand. Karkat studied it for a few seconds before grasping it in his own. Slowly, exceedingly slowly, Karkat rose to his feet. He almost slipped a couple more times, but Dave provided him with stability.

Karkat expected Dave to let go of his hand, but he kept it there.

So. Hand-holding. This is a thing now.

Slowly, carefully, they started up again. They roller-skated for several hours, and Dave didn't let go of Karkat's hand once.

~000~

Could you tell I had no idea where this was going?

-Leo