Chapter Text
Your name is David Lee Strider. You’re 21 years old and a little more than half way through your first semester as a Junior at Skaia University in the beautiful city of Houston, Texas.
You’re also completely fucked.
Rent is due in less than a week and you’re almost two hundred dollars short.
You remember how excited you were for this apartment at the end of the Summer. “No more dorm bullshit.” You promised your roommate. At the time it seemed like such a good idea, what with Karkat’s new job. Of course, you failed to budget just how much water and electricity two college aged boys could use up in a month so here you are, calling your brother for help.
“It’s not even two hundred bucks dude.” He’s giving you a hard time and you’re trying very hard to keep the irritation out of your voice.
“Not even two hundred.” He mocks back, “Who the hell am I talking to?”
“Bro, stop. I know you have it. You could probably wipe your ass with a hundred dollar bill on a daily basis and be totally fine for the rest of your life.”
“Yeah probably.” You can feel the smirk you know is there through the damn phone.
“So what, you’re not going to help out your little brother? Your own flesh and blood?”
“Kid, the value of the dollar-”
“Is that a no?” He fucking laughs. That goddamn douche-chuckle that makes you want to punch him right in his perfectly angled jaw. You can’t, though, so you settle for pressing the end call button hard enough for the pixels around your thumb to go dark and wavy.
The groan you let loose has Karkat peeking out of his room, a mop of dark hair coming around the corner.
“You ok?” He asks, and you’re pretty sure it’s the quietest you’ve heard him.
“Yeah,” You laugh, the sound bitter. “Just, y’know, totally broke.”
“Second job?” He comes around the corner and leans against the wall, arms crossed against his chest.
“Starting to look that way.” The admittance comes out in a sigh, and you run your hand through your hair in pure agitation.
“Mario Kart?”
“Fuck, yes.”
__________
School the next day is awful. You can’t concentrate worth shit because all you can do is worry. At least you get to see Jade in your Biology class later in the afternoon. The professor is droning on and she honestly seems just about as bored as you do. You nudge her foot under the table until she looks at you.
“What?” She whispers, and leans in towards you. She looks genuinely curious and interested in what you have to say, god you love this girl.
“Know any places that are hiring on campus?” Her back straightens a bit and you can hear the gears work in her head as she chews on her bottom lip.
“There’s Buddy’s?”
“I am never working in a bar.”
“Roy’s?”
“Could you imagine me in a fucking apron?” She laughs at that, loudly with her head thrown back. The room goes quiet, the professor looking pointedly at her before clearing his throat and continuing.
“That’s all I can think of!” She and Karkat are the only two people alive who can pull off a loud whisper. “Besides, coolkid, I thought you worked at that one music store?”
“Melodee? Yeah, and the shit hours they give me on top of minimum wage ain’t cutting it.”
“Well, you could always get a sugar daddy!” She giggles behind her hand as you raise a brow to her, an uncontrollable grin coming over your face.
“The hell has gotten into you, Harley? Did that really just come out of your mouth?”
“Just saying! For someone with your looks it wouldn’t be hard to get someone to pamper you.”
“Aww, thanks Harles, your confidence in my ability to be a successful prostitute brings a tear of relief to my eye. Here I thought I’d be an old, dried up ho by 30.”
“More like 25,” She sticks her tongue out at you. You shove her and she screams.
The two of you are, of course, kicked out of class.
You decide to walk her home, since it’s not horrifically far in the other direction of your place.
The conversation with her is nice. You kind of missed her. The two of you got along famously freshman year. To be honest, you had a really big crush on her for a few months. You guys just kind of got busy and stopped hanging out and the infatuation just kind of faded on its own.
You walk her to her door and she calls you her Knight and you barely resist the temptation to kiss her hand before you start your trek home.
By the time you get inside, it’s almost 7 o’clock. Jade’s suggestion rings loudly in your head.
A sugar daddy. Riiiiiight.
Do people even do that shit anymore?
Or ever, for that matter?
You could definitely see that being like…an Urban Legend or some shit.
Karkat should be home so you drop your backpack in your room and invite yourself into his.
“Hey, Karkarooni, what are you up to?”
“Homework.” He growls, finishes a problem, and looks up at you. “And if you ever call me Karkarooni again, I’ll fucking gut you.” He looks down to his homework and shakes his head. Unfortunately for him, you can see that smile he’s trying so hard to hide.
“Yeah, not my best work.” You lean on his desk and cross your arms, staring down at him for a solid three minutes before he finally gets uncomfortable and looks over at you. “Wanna get drunk?”
His reply is rushed and absolutely immediate. “Fuck, I thought you’d never ask.” He stands up and leaves the room, pulling you by the sleeve.
Three days after you moved in, you made a list of house rules. Number four on that list, now that you can legally have alcohol in the house, is that there always needs to be alcohol in the house. If it’s running low, you buy more before you drink the rest.
You follow him to the kitchen and he pulls out the Viniq. That was your buy, you told him it was for ironic reasons but it honestly makes you feel really cool to pretty much drink the universe in a wine glass.
Tonight you get cups though. Big boy cups where one and a half of those fuckers will definitely get you somewhere. So he pours one for you, and himself, and he sets up a movie that you know the both of you will end up talking through anyway.
“So,” He says, and fuck are you two really that predictable? “Any leads on a job?” You groan and stretch your feet out on the coffee table.
“I asked Jade today and she says she thinks Buddy’s and Roy’s is hiring.” He scoffs.
“I can’t even imagine you in an apron.”
“That’s what I said!” You laugh and take a big long sip of your drink. Maybe it was a little closer to a guzzle. “And then she says ‘you should get a sugar daddy!’” Your laugh tapers off into your drink and Karkat shoots a look over to you.
“Dave, you’re not seriously considering…” You choke on your drink and furiously shake your head.
“What? No dude, c’mon.” The hand that’s not holding your drink comes up defensively.
“Dave, I know that little drifting ‘hehehe’. You’re really fucking thinking about it.”
“Ugh, dude stop. I’m not.” You throw your head back into the couch with a groan.
“Don’t lie to me, asshole.” He sighs and straightens up, “Y’know what, Dave? I don’t even give a shit. You wanna go ride some old guy for money, fucking go for it. I’m not going to get involved.”
“Watch the damn movie, Karkat.”
You hate yourself half an hour later for pretty much signing up for 2 more hours of Good Luck Chuck in total silence. You pour yourself a second glass halfway through, mostly to get out of the room for the sex scene. When you get back, after taking your sweet-ass time, Karkat is drifting on the couch. You help him stumble sleepily to his bed, turn off the movie and retire to your room.
You try to sleep, you really do, but your brain won’t shut the fuck up asking questions, mainly about how to get into that kind of relationship with someone. A sigh rumbles in your chest as you sit up and pull your laptop in front of you and open it.
After a quick Google search (just wanna know, just curious) you find a few sources on it. Apparently the community abhors the idea that it’s basically prostitution. They claim it’s a relationship, and a mutually beneficial one at that. You find a site called Seeking Arrangement, that’s basically a dating site for these people.
Couldn’t hurt to try, right?
You hate every muscle in your body that helps you to make your profile, filling it out with your information. You don’t even remember filling out your bio, you just kind of blacked out for a minute, but up it goes, and now all you need to do is wait while it’s approved and then….
…and then what exactly?
You really should have thought this through a little better, but as a wave of exhaustion sweeps over you, you promptly decide to worry about it in the morning.