Title: Sing Sweet Nightingale
Author: Ryuuto
Series: Homestuck
Disclaimer: It all belongs to Andrew Hussie, okay.  This in no way profits me, except by way of seeing people enjoy what I write.
Warnings: Boy Love, Karkat's mouth, fantasy AU, Cinderella parody
Characters/Pairings: Karkat, John, Vriska, Terezi, Aradia, Jade, Dave (more to come); Karkat/John, probably others?

The room was horribly silent.  The curtains were drawn, blocking out the sunlight.  Not even the birds were singing on that fateful spring day.  There was a candle on the nightstand next to the canopied bed, casting a dim light in the bedroom.  It only added to the respectfully mourning atmosphere, the shadows hanging away from the light like funeral veils.  Karkat sat on a stool next to the bed, hands clutching tightly, desperately, on the frail hand of his sickly father, the last of his blood family.  Tears pooled in his eyes, blurring the colors like an oil painting, but refused to let them drip.  He had to be strong for his father, unable to believe that he was dying, that he would never see him again after that day.  The child couldn't stand thinking about it.  Karkat's stepmother and step-siblings stood off to the side silently, respectfully, but he pretended they weren't there, that it was just him and his father.

"Karkat," his father shakily whispered, voice so quiet that the young troll had to lean in to hear him.  The man rasped out a weak chuckle, gently pulling his hand free from Karkat's in order to cup the boy's face.  His son put both hands over top of his father's, not wanting to let go out of fear that if he did, then the man would disappear from his life forever. "You remind me…so much of your mother."

The boy remained silent, his small body shaking slightly from pent up sorrow and grief.  Father rarely spoke of his mother, who died giving birth.  He always asked questions about her when the two of them were alone, frequently wishing that she was alive so that he could meet her, and so that his father never married that huge witch of a stepmother.

"Listen to me carefully," he continued, immediately reclaiming Karkat's attention, "Your mother once told me that there's a happy ending for everyone…humans and trolls and half-bloods alike.  You just…need to be patient and brave.   Promise me you'll never, ever forget."

"Promise," Karkat replied, his voice scratchy and thick with emotion sliced through the silence like a rusted blade.  He almost lost it, a couple tears rolling down.  In the low-light, it was hard to see the red tint of his tears.  His father smiled peacefully at him.

"I love you, Karkat," the man sighed out before closing his eyes, as if to sleep.  His hand went limp, and Karkat's eyes widened, streams of what would look like diluted blood freely running down his face as the dam crashed apart.  The boy visibly shook in his grief as he realized that his father was gone for good.  He wanted to scream, but he couldn't make a sound.  He wanted to turn to his stepmother and scream and rage at her, blame her for his father's death, but he couldn't.  His sorrow was choking him as he rested his forehead against the cooling hand.  Karkat only had his attention on this man, this man who had cared for and loved him for only a short few years.

"Dad…please, don't leave me!"