"Fuck," Karkat breathes, but he can hear that relief, and although in its way that's sort of more terrifying, it also means there's some kind of progress here, even if what's apparently prompting that relief is... clinging to him and weeping. Fuck!

He lets his hand settle at the older troll's back, taking another nervous glance up and down the thankfully empty street. "It's okay," he says, almost on a reflex – and then, because he knows it isn't, actually, okay, "It – it's not your fault."