Just something cute and silly I wrote a while ago for someone on Tumblr.

I've just been a little lazy about posting it. Oh well~

Enjoy!

Homestuck (c) Andrew Hussie

The world outside was coated in a blanket of white. The trees, the grass, even that silly tire swing. It was nearly blinding, but he couldn't stop staring out the window in amazement.

And that's where John found Karkat. Sitting next to the window staring outside. Curious, the boy stood behind the troll and peeked outside.

"Oh man, look at all that snow!" John said with a low whistle. "It must have been a blizzard last night! There wasn't any on the ground last night…"

Karkat's head tilted ever so slightly. "Snow?"

"Yeah, snow." John said, leaning over the troll's back to get a better view of his driveway. "Oh man, shoveling that is not going to be fun."

"What the hell is snow?" Karkat asked, frowning.

"Well, snow is just frozen rain. When it gets really really cold, it freezes, but not enough to be like ice bullets…" John said. He paused at the look of utter confusion on Karkat's face and tried again. "Its like… its like a slushie! Except eating it probably is a bad idea…"

"So this shit falls from the sky?" Karkat asked, looking out the window again, looking doubtful. "How did we not hear it?"

"Well when it falls it kinda floats…" John said, his hands making a fluttering motion, trying to explain it. "…Okay I'm not explaining this right…"

"And the list of things you suck at grows."

The Heir stuck his tongue out at the troll. He wasn't sure why he was surprised at the fact that Karkat had never seen snow before. According to what Vriska had told him during one of their movie nights, Alternia's sun was so bright it made the entire planet feel like a jungle. That at least explained why Karkat had started complaining when it got colder out. (John was still trying to figure out why the troll bitched at him about spending time with Vriska though.)

Maybe there was an easier way to explain this snow buisness.

Grinning at the idea he had, John ran off to his closet, returning a moment later with an armload of clothes. He dumped the pile next to Karkat, who stared.

"What the fuck is this for?"

"Winter clothes." John said, wrapping a scarf around his neck as he spoke. "Its really cold outside, so you'll need these to keep warm."

Karkat raised an eyebrow. "When did I say I was going outside?"

"You didn't~" John sang, hopping on one leg as he put snow pants on over his jeans. "You gonna get dressed? Because I think the best way for you to understand snow is to actually go outside and experience it…"

Karkat folded his arms, glaring at the pile of clothes. If he needed to wear all that just to stay warm, it probably wasn't worth it. He was perfectly happy with staying inside, wrapped up in one or two blankets to stay warm. This cold weather was just obnoxious, and he hoped it would go away soon.

Of course, there were some upsides. That hot chocolate drink John had given him a few days ago was pretty good, and he wasn't objecting to letting the boy sit close to him when they watched movies. The idiot kept him warm. That was the only reason he allowed it!

"Fuck that." Karkat snarled, settling back into his seat. "I'm not going outside."

John pouted as he tugged a hat onto his head. "Aww, come on Karkat! You can't stay inside forever!"

"Watch me."

"Oh fine. But I have to go outside, so I'll be right back." And with that, the Heir walked out the door. Karkat looked out the window again. He saw John appear a moment later, a large shovel in hand. Karkat watched as he began scooping up the snow and tossing it aside. From the looks of it, he was going to be out there a while. The house was silent.

…Maybe it wouldn't hurt to go out there. For a little while.

xXx

Aside from the sounds of John's shovel scraping against the asphalt, the world was silent. No birds chirped, the wind didn't blow, everything was muffled. It was eerie.

Karkat shivered, pulling the coat around himself tighter. He hadn't realized it was this cold! He could see his own breath for crying out loud! …Actually that was kind of cool. But still, it was too damn cold. At least the clothes he had borrowed from John were doing their job and keeping him somewhat warm.

Speaking of John, he hadn't noticed that Karkat had come outside. He was bent double, still scooping up snow and tossing it to the side. It looked like a lot of work, but Karkat was impressed. John had only been out here for thirty minutes but he was already halfway done. Deciding to leave John alone to finish or break his back, Karkat turned and walked around behind the house, slipping a little on the ice hidden under the blanket of snow. In the back, the snow was untouched. It was pretty in its own way.

Peeling off a glove, Karkat knelt down to the ground and scooped up a handful of the white stuff around him. John was right, it was a lot like a slushie. It was cold, and immediately started melting in his hand. He let it fall back to the ground, wiping off his hand and pulling the glove back on, before scooping more snow up in both hands. He smashed it together in his hands, fascinated by how it molded together. He vaguely wondered what would happen if he whipped it at Strider.

Meanwhile out front, John had finally finished clearing the driveway of snow. Satisfied with the job, the boy turned to go put the shovel away, but paused when he saw a set of footprints leading around the house and into the back. Leaving the tool against the door, the Heir followed the snow tracks. Turning the corner, he clapped a gloved hand over his mouth to silence his giggle. Karkat was still squatting near the snow, one arm stretched out, tracing words into the snow. They were in Alternian, so John couldn't read them, but what ever they said, they seemed to make the troll happy. Or close to it. He wasn't scowling anymore, so John just assumed that was a good sign. Grinning widely, John went up and knelt next to the troll.

"What'cha writing?" He asked.

Karkat yelped. "When the fuck did you get here!"

"Just now." John said with a giggle at Karkat's jumpiness. "Snow muffles everything, so its no wonder you didn't hear me walk up."

Karkat scowled, and resumed tracing shapes in the snow.

"So what are you writing?" John asked, tilting his head, as if hoping the new angle would help him make sense of it.

"Nothing important…" Karkat mumbled, drawing his hand back. John frowned, but had a feeling that even if he pestered the troll the rest of the day, Karkat wouldn't tell him. But John wasn't to worried, he had a way to find out. He'd worry about it later though.

"Weeeeell~?" John said, grinning slyly at Karkat. "What do you think?"

Karkat leaned back a bit, slightly alarmed. "Of what, dumbass?"

"The snow silly!"

"Oh," Karkat said, looking at the large expanse of white. "Its okay, I guess."

"I love snow~" John said, scooping some up into his hands. "Its fun to play in, and it looks so cool when it covers everything."

Karkat rolled his eyes. "I don't see what's so fun about this stuff."

"Well that's because you haven't done anything yet." John said, getting to his feet and pulling Karkat up with him. "Here, I'll show you what fun things you can do with snow! Lets make a snowman!"

The troll blinked, but didn't have time to ask, for John had pulled him back into the front yard near the small pile of snow from the driveway. Letting go of Karkat's hand, John grabbed the biggest piece of snow and started rolling it on the ground, where it steadily got bigger. The boy looked up at the troll.

"Come on Karkat, help me out." He said. "Grab a snowball and make it bigger!"

Karkat looked at John like he was high, but did as the boy asked, grabbing a snowball off the pile and packing more snow onto it. Slowly but surely, the two snowballs got larger. John's got to the point where he couldn't roll it anymore. Leaving it alone, the Heir turned to see how Karkat was doing. The snow ball was just shy of being the same size as John's.

"Okay, that's big enough."

Karkat paused, holding the massive snowball in his arms. "Now what?"

"Hee hee, go put it on top if the one I made."

"This is so stupid!" Karkat cried, but he couldn't help but be curious. What would this thing look like when they were done? He placed the snowball on top of the other one, making sure he didn't smash them together. John came up beside him a moment later, holding another snowball. It was considerably smaller then the first two. He placed it on top, smiling widely.

"Alright! We're almost done!"

"We are?"

"Uh-huh," John said with a nod. "Now he just needs arms and a face. A hat wouldn't hurt either…"

"We're not supposed to make it all out of snow are we!"

John shook his head. "Nope! Here, I'll go get some stuff we can use. Just wait here."

Karkat watched as John ran back into the house, and sighed. Looking over at the snowman, he couldn't help but feel proud. It was kinda nice being able to build something and not have a few pounds of Gamzee destroy it in minutes. What the point of building this pile of snow was, he still didn't know, but he couldn't really find it in himself to care. He was having fun for the first time in a while.

Something wet landed on his nose, and he blinked, looking up at the grey sky. All around him, puffs of white were floating down, carried on the wind. Karkat just stared.

Oh…

So this is what John meant when he said it floated from the sky…

xXx

ectoBiologist began pestering grimAuxiliatrix

EB: hey kanaya?
EB: can you maybe help me with something?

GA: Of Course John
GA: What Can I Assist You With

EB: i need you to translate something for me
EB: karkat wrote something in alternian and i can't read it.
EB: he won't tell me what it is either :[

GA: Really
GA: Well If That Is The Case Then I Suppose I Could Translate For You

EB: thank you so much kanaya!
EB: i'll send the picture now
EB: but i have to go back outside

GA: I Understand
GA: Just Contact Me When You Get Back
GA: And I Will Tell You What It Says

EB: :]

ectoBiologist sent the file 'snowwriting' to grimAuxiliatrix

ectoBiologist ceased pestering grimAuciliatrix

Smiling, John hid the Pesterchum window and grabbed the small pile of items he had found for the snowman. The pile consisted of one of his Dad's old hats, one of his old pipes, a hideous scarf John had found under his bed, the fake arms, and one of his disguises. It would be the greatest snowman ever.

Getting back outside, the boy saw it had begun to snow again. As he drew closer to the soon to be complete snowman, he paused at what he saw. Karkat was standing a little ways away from the snowman, eyes closed and head tilted back. His tongue just poked out from between his lips, and John realized that he was trying to catch a snowflake with it.

It was really quite cute, in that 'Oh hey look a kitten' sort of way. Totally.

"See," John said, approaching the troll. Karkat jumped slightly and looked away guiltily, like he had been caught doing something he shouldn't have. John giggled. "I told you snow kinda floated when it fell."

"Well you did such a shitty job of explaining it, so naturally I thought you were lying." Karkat mumbled, pouting slightly. He quickly changed the subject. "Is that the stuff for the snowman?"

"Yep! He'll be the best snowman ever built with this stuff!"

Karkat looked like he highly doubted this statement, but he took the hat and scarf out of John's arms nonetheless. They spent the next few minutes decorating the snowman, Karkat yelling about where things should go and John laughing the whole time. After securing the hat to the top so the wind wouldn't blow away, both stood back to admire their work. It was really the greatest snowman ever. No one would recognize him, he was free now. Free to pull as many snow pranks as he could before the sun melted him.

John dubbed the snowman Harry Anderson. And he would lead an amazing life.

Karkat rolled his eyes. "So that's it? He's all done?"

"He sure is! I should take a picture and send it to Jade…"

"Yeah, I'm sure she'll get a kick out of this stupid thing…" Karkat mumbled. The troll shivered again. He hadn't noticed how cold he was until now. They must have been out here for over an hour now, how had he not noticed the cold? He looked at John, who was taking a picture of Harry the Snowman. His nose and ears were pink from the cold, and flecks of white clung to the hair poking out from under his hat. And he was smiling…

Karkat suddenly didn't feel so cold.

Feeling flustered, Karkat pulled the scarf over his nose and cheeks, trying to keep his face warm. The action didn't go unnoticed by John.

"Are you cold?" He said, trying to peer into Karkat's hidden face.

"What the fuck do you think!" He hissed, closing his eyes against the whiteness, and also so he wouldn't see John's blue eyes trying to look into his own. He heard the boy laugh softly, reaching up to brush a bunch of snow out of his hair.

"Hee, your hair is nearly white." John laughed, ignoring the glare he was receiving. "If you're really that cold, we can go back inside and watch movies."

Karkat grumbled that he would pick the movie before stomping back towards the house. Giggling at his reaction, John followed.

xXx

ectoBiologist began pestering grimAuxiliatrix

EB: back!
EB: oh man its really cold out.

GA: Are You Alright

EB: oh yeah!
EB: i'm just a little chilly
EB: not as much as karkat though
EB: he was shaking when we came back inside

GA: Well Karkat Was Never A Big Fan Of The Cold
GA: But I Have Translated What Was Written In The Snow
GA: Would You Like Me To Tell You Now

John turned around to make sure Karkat was no where near him before responding.

EB: yes please!

GA: Very Well
GA: All He Wrote Was One Word
GA: Home

EB: home?
EB: thats all?
EB: :o

GA: Yes That Is All He Wrote
GA: I Hope That Was Helpful

EB: oh it was!
EB: thank you kanaya!

ectoBiologist ceased pestering grimAuciliatrix

John closed the chat window and leaned back in his chair for a minute. So the word Karkat had written was 'home'. Why would Karkat write that? Was he homesick? That kinda made sense, especially considering the recent weather. Somehow though, it seemed like there was more…

"Will you get the fuck over here and start the movie already!"

Guess he would have to think about it later. Calling to the troll that he was on his way, John got to his feet and went into the living room. Karkat was curled up on the couch hugging a blanket around him for warmth. His hair was still a little wet from the snow, and he was shivering in the blanket, looking crabbier then ever. John smiled, putting the movie in. Karkat had picked The Princess Bride.

"Why'd you pick this one Karkat?"

"Shut up." Karkat grumbled, curling tighter into his blanket. John sighed and covered himself in a blanket of his own. As the movie played, John continued to think about Karkat's snow message and why the troll wrote it. Next to him, Karkat's eyes were beginning to droop. Sitting next to John and being curled up in the blanket had made him warm and sleepy. He was starting to lean sideways a little.

John was watching Karkat fall sideways and giggled slightly. He realized something and poked the trolls shoulder. Karkat groaned but sat up. "What?"

"I left the shovel outside, so I'll be right back, okay?"

"Whatever…" Karkat muttered, his head falling back, eyes fixed on the TV. John put his boots back on and darted outside. He had left the shovel out there, but there was another reason he was out here in his pajamas freezing his butt off. He darted around to the back.

When he came back inside, shaking snow out of his hair, he saw that Karkat was nearly asleep. Smiling softly, he tiptoed over to the couch and sat down as gently as he could. Karkat's eye opened.

"Are you gonna get up again?" He asked.

"Uh…no…?" John replied, blinking slightly. "Why?"

To answer his question, Karkat fell sideways so he way laying down, his head resting on John's leg. He pulled the blanket up so he could hide his face in it and his voice was muffled when he spoke. "Because I'm going to sleep and if you keep getting up its going to piss me off."

John giggled. "Alright, I'll try not to move so much. Sweet dreams Karkat~"

"Bite me, fuckass."

After that, Karkat really had fallen asleep. He looked gentler in his sleep, curled up in the blanket like a little kitten. John smiled and patted the trolls hair softly, being careful of the horns. Karkat shifted closer, and John would swear on his Con Airposter that the cranky troll was actually purring slightly in his sleep. It was really endearing, because it meant that he was happy. Probably for the first time in a long time.

The human boy smiled, thinking of the message sitting out in the snow. The next morning when Karkat looked out the window, he would see that John had added on to his single word.

You'll always be welcome here.