A/N: I wrote this as a gift to my friend Julianne. I hope you all like it!
Christmas Confessions
Karkat reached into the hat and wrapped his fingers around one of the papers in there. He pulled it out and inspected the crumpled piece of paper with an expression of distaste. The paper held the name of the person who's Secret Santa he would be. John was such an idiot for coming up with this terrible idea. But most of them had loved John's idea of a Secret Santa, so that's what they ended up doing. Well, hopefully Karkat got someone who he didn't completely hate.
"Alright guys, go ahead and see who you've got! Remember no telling anyone, and no trading names," John said to the group. Karkat rolled his eyes and opened the piece of paper. His eyes widened as he stared at the name printed on there in green ink: Nepeta Leijon.
Why did he have to get her of all people? There were 15 other names he could have gotten, and he had pulled out her's. He wasn't upset because he didn't like her. No, the reason why this bothered him was because he was in love with her. He had been for as long as he could remember. From the day they had met, he had known she was special. They had just been small children back then, but he had been drawn to her wide olive eyes; her round, pretty face; her beautiful smile. How could he not like her?
Everyone in the group dispersed. Karkat went and joined Sollux, since they both had to take the bus home. They had to hurry, since getting their Secret Santa names had delayed them. The pair of them got to the bus in time though, and slid into a seat.
"So, who'd you get, KK?" Sollux asked him. Karkat gave the other boy a disbelieving look.
"Isn't the whole point of this stupid thing to not tell everyone who we got?" Karkat responded. Sollux rolled his eyes at Karkat.
"Yeah, and? Who cares, dumbass. Since when do you listen to John anyway?" Sollux pointed out. "Besides, I need to complain to you. I got Ampora!" Karkat couldn't help but laugh at that. It was pretty hilarious that Sollux got Eridan's name. The two of them had been rivals since they first met. Things had gotten worse between them when Sollux had dated Feferi.
"Yeah, well I got Nepeta," Karkat replied. Now it was Sollux's turn to laugh. Karkat lightly punched the other boy.
"KK, this is your chance to tell NP how you feel," Sollux said. "Get her something she'll love, and then confess your feelings to her. Make it all romantic and shit so there'll be no way she can turn you down."
"Sollux, I can't just tell her how I feel! There's no way she could ever like an asshole like me! She's never dated anyone, so she definitely wouldn't date me," Karkat said.
"It's unbelievable how stubborn you are. Just talk to her. God you're pathetic. NP is nice, you have nothing to worry about," Sollux insisted. "Anyway, this is my stop so I gotta go. See ya, KK."
"Whatever, Sollux," Karkat grumbled as he watched his friend exit the bus. What did he know anyway? He seemed to have no problem getting the girls he liked, despite being a rude smartass. How did Sollux manage it? Maybe it was his confidence. In any case, it wouldn't work for Karkat. He just knew it.
Still, he really should get her something that she would love. She deserved to get a great present. But what could he possibly get her? He knew she would probably appreciate anything he got her, just because she was sweet like that. But that didn't mean he could get her any random gift. He would need to put a lot of thought into this. He was probably the only person who was panicking this much, unless someone else was unlucky enough to have to find a gift for the person they love.
Two weeks later, it was December 23rd, and Karkat had just arrived at Rose's house. She had offered to host the Christmas party for the 16 of them since she had such a large house. Feferi did as well, but a lot of them were terrified of her mother. So that was why they had decided on Rose's house. He rang the doorbell, and Jade opened the door.
"Oh, hey Karkat!" she greeted him with a smile. He remembered when he had once had a crush on her. Yeah, he'd loved Nepeta for years, but that didn't mean he hadn't liked other people. He had found Jade to be appealing, with her long black hair, pretty green eyes, and her outgoing personality. But he had decided he liked her better as a friend.
"Hey, Jade," Karkat responded. She hugged him and then stepped back to let him inside. He saw that John and Dave were also already there, as well as Kanaya, Terezi, Vriska and Sollux. He went inside the house and greeted everyone before deciding to hangout with Sollux.
"So, did you find a good present?" Sollux asked him.
"Yeah, I guess so," Karkat replied. He tried to sound as though he didn't care, but he knew Sollux could see right through that. He quickly changed the subject, and the two talked and waited for the others to arrive.
Half an hour later, everyone was finally there. Karkat had felt awkward but happy when Nepeta had greeted him with a hug. Sollux had given him a look, which he had ignored. The group all chatted and caught up with each other. Finally the time came to exchange presents. Jade had gone over to Karkat and given him a gift bag that contained a movie (a romantic comedy, of course), some chocolates, a card, and some candy canes. He thanked her, and then went to find Nepeta.
He tapped Nepeta on the shoulder, and she turned around. "Hey Nepeta, here's your gift. Merry Christmas," he said as he shoved the bag into her hand. She smiled at him.
"Oh, thank you Karkitty!" she responded. She opened the bag and let out a happy squeal. Inside there was a shirt relating to one of her favorite animes, the newest season of another anime, a cat hat, and a card. "This is great!" She looked up at him with such a delighted look on her face. He hadn't felt so happy in a long time. He couldn't help but smile, which pleased her even more. Then her gaze shifted to above his head, and her eyes widened.
"What is it?" he questioned.
"Um.. well… we're standing under a mistletoe," she responded. Her cheeks were tinted red, and she looked nervous. Karkat felt himself blushing as well. He looked up and saw that she was right.
"Well… we can't go breaking a Christmas tradition," Karkat said quietly. He wasn't sure where this boldness was coming from, but for once he decided to just trust his instincts. He looked back down at her and lowered his head. She closed her eyes as he pressed his lips against her's. It only lasted for a few seconds, but when he pulled away she seemed happy. "Nepeta.. I love you. I have for a long time."
"You do?" she asked. Her eyes were wide with surprise. "Karkat, I love you too! I haven't loved you for as long as you've loved me, but over the past year I fell in love with you." Karkat knew he most likely looked even more shocked than she did. After all, he hadn't thought that she would ever return his feelings.
He found himself smiling again. He didn't know where things would go from here, but for once he felt more optimistic about the future. He had told Nepeta that he loved her, and she returned his feelings. What more could he want? He felt kind of amused that Sollux had been right. Getting her name for the Secret Santa had been a good thing, after all.