Yes, that's right! I've set off to do the 30 day OTP challenge once again!

Last year I did it for drawing (still with erikar; and I've definitely improved a lot of that since then), but… this time around, I'd like to write drabbles.

Writing is more my thing anyway. Some prompts will be changed out, just because they really don't work (kigurumis come to mind).

So, today's prompt is: Holding Hands!

It's from Karkat's point of view; both Eridan and Karkat are dead. Hope you guys enjoy!

Death wasn't exactly what you had expected. Well, it was at first, but not anymore. When you had first lost your pathetic life, you had brooded over the multitude of things you should have done that could have fixed the assfuck of a session you and your friends had been stuck in. Yours had been a doomed timeline, but you hadn't known it until it was much too late to fix the damage; the blame naturally fell upon your shoulders, as you were the leader. Though, if you were to ask the others, most would disagree. You didn't ask; you didn't really want to hear it.

That being said, you tended towards avoiding everyone else at the beginning unless you couldn't. There were times when you hardly had the energy to even yell at them; some "nights" were harder to deal with than others. If the passing of time even mattered in the stupid dream bubbles. At one point you kept track of the nights that went by, but after a while you just gave up on it. Who cares, anyway? You're fucking dead and weren't about to be helpful to those of the main timeline.

After a long while, you decided it was time to get the fuck over yourself and started bothering with everyone else again. Relationships had changed by that point; some of your friendships had gotten awkward, and others got... well, better in your opinion. Sollux was still your rival; Kanaya, always willing to lend a listening ear; Terezi tended to be busy a lot of the time, so you didn't talk to her much anymore; you met some dead ancestors; Eridan, well, you were with him right now.

Wait, why the fuck were you thinking over all this hoofbeast shit when you're with a friend? You could over think this idiocy whenever, but instead you chose the dumbest time possible. Figures with you.

Speaking of the fishy douche, you had been spending a lot of time with him lately; you would gossip with each other, watch movies, and just hang out in general. This particular hang out was actually rather odd; he had asked you out of nowhere if you wanted to walk along the beach that had been conjured in this particular bubble. He knew you weren't exactly a fan of the water, and it wasn't like he usually swam despite being a sea dweller, so it seemed like a stupid idea. You agreed anyway, because you thought it romantic in a sense.

At first you had just talked about random shit, but now things were kind of quiet. Not in an awkward way, but... you frowned, looking up at Ampora. He had been acting a bit off for a few nights, and it seemed like something was on his mind.

Well, thinking about it wouldn't change anything, so after a few moments, you decided to speak up; it's not like you were a quiet troll, anyway. "Is something up? Being quiet doesn't exactly suit you, man."

He seemed a bit startled and looked down at you, the hints of a purple blush on his cheeks. Probably thinking about a flush crush, then. If you were to be truthful, you were interested in him but... Ha, as if that would get anywhere. You couldn't imagine him reciprocating and you weren't about to ask him. That could ruin your friendship and that was the last thing you wanted.

You sucked with your own romantic endeavors, anyway. At least you could try to help him with his shitty issues. "Let me guess; judging by that violet hue to your face, you've got a flush crush. God damn it, Ampora, this is the sort of shit you're supposed to tell me about; obviously not Feferi, you're over her. So spill, who the hell is it?"

A smirk formed on your face as his blush intensified. You always felt a strange sort of pride at being right about this sort of thing. He could probably tell from your triumphant look that denying it would get him absolutely nowhere.

"Fuckin' hell, Kar, it's nothin'. Really." And yet he was still willing to make an attempt.

"Sure, it's not. You've been off in your own little world and now your face is completely purple; I'm definitely wrong. I was just being a gigantic assfuck and guessed wrong."

"Wwell, you hawen't exactly been talkatiwe tonight, either. You're just makin' accusations out a nowwhere; anyone wwould be embarrassed at that sort a thin'."

"You were blushing before I said anything, dumbass."

At that, the tall sea dweller looked away and didn't actually give a response. Well, fuck. Maybe you shouldn't have said anything about that sort of thing? It hadn't occurred to you, but maybe he just... didn't want to tell you about his quadrants. Oh. Great. Leave it to you to try to cross a line and fuck things up.

Silence descended upon the two of you again, but it wasn't as okay anymore. You were looking down at the sand, the fake, dreambubble created, sand. It was a bit odd to you that he wouldn't want to spill something like that, though. Usually you were the first person he went to for romantic advice; had you finally proven yourself as incompetent? Did something change when you disappeared for a while after dying? Shit.

You almost jumped in surprise as you felt Eridan's hand brush up against yours before he took it, entwining your fingers. Part of you wanted to look at him, but you could feel your face getting hot and you didn't want him seeing the red on your face. He knew about your blood by now, but it still made you uneasy.

What the hell was he doing though? You had just sort of started an argument, apparently, and now he was holding your hand? It felt... really nice though. His hand was much cooler than yours; high bloods were always on the colder side of things, while low bloods were warm, so it made sense there.

"The reason I didn't bring it up is kinda... wwell, wwho the fuck tells their crush about their feelin's before they're ready to, right? You'd hawe to be some kinda idiot. An' I thought you wwere the romantic expert, Kar. Wway to put me on the spot, though."

Oh. Wow, okay, you really weren't expecting that. If your face wasn't already a bright red, it definitely was now. You turned your attention back to his face, your mouth open slightly out of pure surprise. Just by looking at him, you could tell he was being completely serious. Not that he'd ever joke about something like flushed feelings; you didn't really think he would. You knew him better than that.

You knew better than to open your mouth at this point; you'd probably say something extremely idiotic. So instead you just squeezed his hand in a reassuring manner and leaned against him. Better to say you felt the same way wordlessly then fuck it up by asking him what the hell was wrong with him for being interested in you.