Terezi swayed slightly at her computer, the overpowering scent of mint making her lightheaded. Usually she didn't notice it, of course, but as it was presently staining her desk… Well, it was getting rather hard to ignore.

And what a waste! All of this mint and no one to brag to. Well, she would fix that. Maybe she could even add a spot of colour to Karkat's drab little hive if she played her cards right.

Terezi spun once and began to tap at her computer.

[gallowsCalibrator has begun trolling carcinoGeneticist]

GC: YOU TH3R3?

CG: YEAH I'M HERE

CG: PERUSING THIS FOUL SLUDGE THAT HAD PRESENTED ITSELF AT MY DOORSTEP FOR SOME SEMBLANCE OF HOPE FOR OUR RACE.

CG: THERE IS NOTHING TO BE GLEANED FROM THIS EXCEPT THERE ARE IDIOTS IN MY NEIGHBOURHOOD.

Terezi pursed her lips. What was Nubby going on about this time?

GC: WH4T?

CG: I GOT A STUPID FUCKING PITY CONFESSION

Well, that was unexpected! She wondered who would have ever developed red feelings for such a troublesome, problem-plagued idiot like him.

Besides the obvious, of course.

GC: H3H3H3 R34LLY?

CG: YEAH.

CG: I DUNNO WHAT TO DO WITH IT. NOTHING SEEMS APPROPRIATE.

GC: 34T 1T!

CG: FUCK NO.

There was a lengthy pause in which Terezi drummed her claws on the desk, leaning rather heavily on her good arm.

CG: THAT WAS A HORRIBLE IDEA.

CG: FUCK YOU.

GC: YOU 4CTU4LLY D1D 1T?

CG: SHUT UP.

GC: H3H3H3

CG: YEAH LAUGH SURE

CG: I JUST HAVE PAPERCUTS

CG: ON MY TONGUE

GC: W4NT M3 TO F1X TH4T TOO?

CG: …MAYBE.

GC: TH3N M44444444YB3 1 C4N 4RR4NG3 TH4T!

CG: NOT THAT I LIKE THAT OR ANYTHING.

CG: CAUSE THAT'S FUCKING STUPID.

GC: Y3S SO L4M3

GC: L4M3 L4M3 L4M3!

CG: TOTALLY LAME.

CG: BEYOND LAME.

CG: ALMOST AS LAME AS CONSTANTLY BITING SOMEONE DURING SLOPPY MAKEOUTS THAT ARENT' BLACK IN NATURE.

GC: H3Y THOS3 W3R3 N1C3 B1T3S!

GC: 1 W4S B31NG N1C3!

Terezi paused, feeling the familiar grin stretch across her lips. She had missed this. She had missed the amused, satisfied feeling of delivering Nubby a good taunt or two.

GC: OR DO YOU WANT M3 TO B3 M34N?

CG: NOT IN PARTICULAR.

CG: SAVE THAT SHIT FOR VRISKA.

GC: 1 DO!

GC: B3S1D3S

GC: YOU L1K3 1T!

CG: BESIDES

CG: SHUT UP.

GC: YOU C4N'T H1D3 FROM TH3 S33R OF M1ND H3H3H3

CG: YES I FUCKING CAN.

GC: OH R333333334LLY?

CG: OF COURSE.

CG: WHO WOULD WANT SOME BLIND CHICK DRINKING THEIR BLOOD?

GC: YOU! TH4T 1S WHO.

GC: YOU 4R3 4LL L1K3 OH GR34T T3R3Z1 ACC3PT M3!

GC: 4ND 1 DO!

GC: B3C4US3 C4NDY 4PPL3S 4R3 D3L1C1OUS

CG: I THINK IT HAPPENS MORE LIKE

CG: KARKAT I AM BITING YOU NOW.

CG: THE END.

GC: YOU 3NJOY3D 1T!

GC: YOU M4D3 FUNNY GRUMBLY NO1S3S.

GC: L1K3 4 F4NGB34ST!

CG: THAT NEVER HAPPENED.

CG: GOT IT?

GC: H3H3H3

GC: 1T W4S SO 4DOR4BL3!

GC: YOU 4R3 SO CUT3

GC: WHATEVER.

CG: YOU'RE PRETTY CUTE TOO

GC: H3H3H3

There was a long period of messageless waiting. Terezi spun in her chair again. Maybe it was time to tell him? She wasn't 100% sure, but…

No, this was as far as she could get with the information she had. It was time to start the action.

GC: NUBBY…

CG: WHAT?

GC: 1 4M ST1LL WORR13D 4ND 1'M NOT SUR3 1F TH1S 1S P3RF3CT Y3T

GC: BUT 1 DON'T TH1NK TH3R3 1S 4NYTH1NG 3LS3 1 C4N DO NOW

GC: SO

GC: 1 TH1NK 1 F1N1SH3D?

CG: …YEAH?

CG: I'M SURE YOU'VE DONE PLENTY.

GC: 1 WORK3D R34LLY H4RD!

GC: 1 W3NT THROUGH 3V3RY POSS1B1L1TY

GC: 4ND TH3 POSS1B1L1T13S TH4T C4M3 FROM TH3M

GC: 4ND TH3N ON3 ST3P FURTH3R!

CG: THANK YOU.

CG: REALLY.

GC: Y3S B3 V3RY GR4T3FUL

CG: I AM.

GC: 3SP3C14LLY S1NC3 SOOOOOOOOM3ON3 W4S 4LL L1K3 OH NO W3 C4N'T S33 34CH OTH3R FOR 4 R34LLY LONG T1M3!

CG: YOU STUPID FUCK YOU KNEW WE HAD TO.

CG: BESIDES, I DIDN'T THINK YOU WERE THAT NEEDY.

GC: 1 KNOW W3 D1D STUP1D!

GC: 1T W4S JUST R34LLY T1R1NG.

GC: BUT 1 V1S1T3D SP1D3RTROLL 1NST34D

GC: SO 1 F3LT B3TT3R 4FT3R, 1 GU3SS.

CG: FUCK, YOU WENT AND VISITED SERKET?

CG: AND UH, HOW DID THAT…GO.

GC: 1T W4S…

GC: 1NT3NS3!

GC: H3H3H3

CG: IN A GOOD WAY?

GC: 1N 4 BL4CK W4Y!

CG: HOW IS THAT SERKET ANYWAY. WE DON'T TALK MUCH.

GC: W3LL, SH3 W4S GOOD H3H3H3

GC: SH3'S WORK1NG OUT H3R OWN PROBL3MS

GC: TH3R3'S 4 LOT GO1NG ON OUTS1D3 OF YOUR STUP1D L1TTL3 BUBBL3!

GC: BUT 1'M SURE YOU OF 4LL P3OPL3 KNOW TH4T H3H3H3

GC: 1 TH1NK W3 M1GHT W41T 4 WH1L3 B3FOR3 M33T1NG 4G41N THOUGH.

CG: THAT HATEFUL HUH?

GC: H3H3H3 Y3S

GC: SO…

GC: DO 1 G3T TO S33 YOU NOW TH4T 1 F1N1SH3D?

CG: YOU HAVE TO SOUND MORE DESPERATE THAN THAT.

GC: W3LL 1F YOU DON'T W4NT TO 1 W1LL JUST GO SL33P : /

CG: OF COURSE I WANT TO SEE YOU STUPID.

GC: 1 4M COM1NG TH3N!

CG: YEAH HURRY YOUR STUPID ASS UP.

Sniffing the air, Terezi made her way to Karkat. She grinned. He was probably going to do something stupid. Something really squishy. "Now who is the desperate one, hmm?"

"Still you," he snapped.

"Hehehe." Terezi did her best to walk naturally, but the day's earlier events had taken a toll on her. She should have been more wary of the stairs. Had she learned nothing from her conversations with the humans?

She leaned down, grinning her maniacal grin, her olfactory protrusion nearly pressed to his. "Oh, so you don't appreciate all the hard work I did to save your stupid ass?"

"Of course I…" His voice cut off with a funny squawk. "What the shit did you do?"

"Nothing…?" She blinked sightlessly at him, then leaned closer, running her hand up his arm. "Oh, right! Hehehe. Do you like it?"

"Your fucking arm!" he spat. "Are you trying to become even more handicapped?"

"Of course not! I am just gaining lots of levels. And that's just the one you can see!" She wasn't about to let Karkat be the only one to get stronger. Vriska was the perfect sparring partner, really. She could practice the physical and the mental abilities with her. She wasn't the squishsick fool that Karkat could be, after all. "Are you proud?"

"…A little."

"Only a liiiiiiiittle?" She brought her face closer still, driving Karkat to slouch down, now nearly half off his seat.

"You know what I mean!"

"And what do you mean?" Her hand shot out, striking him square in the shoulder. She felt his responding jab between the eyes. Weak! This was why Vriska was infinitely better at sparring.

"Of course I'm fucking proud," he growled. "You're the best."

"Hehehe. Good." Terezi thumped down on his lap, earning her a pained grunt from the grumpy troll. Now, to work. Terezi began to run her fingers across his face, his chest, his arms. How many muscles had he managed to build up in their time apart? How much had he grown?

After she had gathered the necessary data, of course, she continued to let her fingers dance across his body. She wondered when he would snap and yell at her for lingering.

But it didn't come.

Curious, she rested her hands on his arms. Maybe it had been all the time apart. He must have built up a tolerance for her quirks. Well, that was no fun. She'd have to work harder if she wanted to see the grump rise to the surface again.

"I've been working pretty hard training," he was bragging.

Terezi raised her eyebrows slightly. "Oh really?" She pulled her hands from his arms and slid them up his shirt, pressing them to his stomach. "So, do you have all the muscles yet?"

She felt him shove her and she laughed, earning a light punch to the shoulder. She only laughed harder.

"I never didn't have muscles, you fuck. It's been a while, but I am so amazing with a sickle."

Her nose twitched. "So you hadn't been practicing at all?"

He nudged her, indicating he wanted her off his lap. Reluctantly, she stood. Karkat got up, then started to walk back and forth, obviously bothered. "I'd practiced. I just hadn't fought in a while.

SO YOU H4V3N'T B33N PR4CT1C1NG 4T 4LL, she repeated in her mind.

"That is not good, Nubby!" Terezi said reproachfully, searching the air with her fingers, trying to connect with his body. He slapped her away.

"Hey, it's an issue and it's been resolved," he rumbled, trying to walk away. Terezi had other ideas, of course. She wasn't about to let him get away.

Quickly, she cut him off on his next turn, grabbing his arm, then his face. "Don't make me worry more than I have to, then!"

"I'm not trying to," he growled back.

"Nubby…" The fact that he had been lax for so long was pretty damn frustrating in itself, but… The sheer weight of the "bad end" threads loomed over her threateningly. She took a slow breath, reminding herself that he had been training recently. If she factored in his new strength, she might be able to bump the percentage up a percent or two.

Maybe.

"What?" he asked.

A percent or two wasn't enough, though. Not by a long shot. There were two many pathways and—

Shit, Karkat had said something. She grinned in cover. "No, never mind! Hehehe."

"No. You are telling me right fucking now," he grumbled. "I haven't not seen you for this long for you to be a stupid shit about talking."

Instead of explaining, Terezi leaned in, sliding her arms around his neck and pulling him close. "I am just happy to be here again!" She grinned wider.

He didn't need to know. What was the idiot human phrase?

Ignorance is bliss.

"You miss all the delicious clay?" he snorted.

She punched him in the forehead. "Here with you, stupid!"

But then Karkat was kissing her and she felt the knot in her stomach begin to loosen. Not disappear—no, it was a permanent fixture at this point—but it was less pressing now. She gripped him tighter, returning the favour.

At last, she stepped back, shaking her arm off as she went. It was starting to feel unpleasantly sticky, not that she would ever admit it.

"I'm happy you're here, too. Even if you are going to stain the floor if you keep bleeding," he said.

Now she had to try and bleed on as much as she could. He couldn't issue a challenge like that and expect her to ignore it!

"Well, then at least your hive will finally have some colour in it!"

"Yeah, you can just sniff out the spots when you drop by. We'll remember it as the place you fucking bled on my floor and it never came out."

"Maybe I should bleed on a few more things, then!" She laughed. It had already been decided. Karkat could protest as much as he wanted, but leaving directional markers would actually be pretty helpful to her.

Terezi began to explore the once familiar room. Nothing had moved, not really, but it was hard to really remember where everything was. Grinning, she caught whiff of what should have been a really expensive piece of furnitu—

Karkat grabbed her arm and she stopped.

"Or not," she said, shrugging it off.

Silence.

Terezi began to tug at his hand, but he wouldn't let go. Instead, he reached out and started toying with her hair. As always. The familiar feeling was almost nice.

But she wasn't about to let him distract her from what was important here. Squishy feelings could wait. Happiness could wait.

It would have to.

"Nubby."

"Right here."

She pressed her head against his shoulder, gripping him tight. "You have to live."

He pulled her close. "There are a bunch of possibilities where I die, aren't there." She could feel him running his fingers through her hair.

"…It…doesn't matter." She wasn't supposed to do this. She wasn't supposed to let him know. He would obsess over it, and that wouldn't do either of them any good. "I won't let it happen. So you can't, either!" She shook him and he grabbed her face.

"I'm not going to. You're not going to have to see those again. I promise."

Terezi sighed. "Nubby, don't laugh at me. But I'm so tired. So, so tired. I don't want to think of these stupid outcomes anymore." What was she saying? This was weak. She was weak. She was supposed to say it would work out fine.

She was supposed to lie.

Terezi pressed her claws against his stomach, leaning harder against him. It was getting harder to stand upright. Maybe she had gone a little overboard with Spidertroll…

No, she reminded herself, it was necessary. It was a necessary thing.

"Then don't," Karkat was saying. Stupid, naïve Karkat. "You've done enough, Terezi. Just. Relax. I can handle this for a bit."

"Just don't go anywhere. I need to refill on candy apples. Then I will be fine," she said. Yes. Better. That was less detrimental. Maybe he wouldn't panic.

"I'm not going to go anywhere. You're just stuck with me for now."

"Thank you." Her lips twitched in annoyance as he shifted one way, then another, repeating the process over and over. "I'm a little dizzy. So stop moving!"

"Stop losing blood!"

"Make me!" she laughed. Honestly, what was she saying? It was bizarre. She felt lightheaded now, but leaned in to kiss him anyway.

Once she finally drew back, he spoke. "You're an idiot. I can't believe I went this long without seeing you."

"…I missed you, Nubby."

"Yeah," he replied, wrapping his arms around her. "I really missed you, too."

"It…it was scary. But don't laugh! If you tell anyone, I'll destroy you!"

"Why the fuck would I tell anyone? And I told you to come over if you ever felt like that. Way to listen."

She punched him in the shoulder, glaring in the direction she assumed his face was. "I wasn't about to ruin everything! There were enough bad end possibilities as it was!"

"It's a bad ending if you're fucking scared, Terezi," he said.

Idiot.

Idiot idiot idiot idiot idiot idiot idiot idiot.

"If you're scared enough to tell me, then just…fuck. Just calm down, alright?" he continued. "Fuck, what am I saying."

"I'm sorry, Nubby," she said through gritted teeth. "I shouldn't have said anything."

No. I'm glad you did. I hate the fact that you're scared, but I'm glad you can tell me."

She frowned slightly. As always, he was focussing on her instead of the bigger picture.

Idiot.

"We'll work this out," he promised. "All of it."

No, no, he was going to obsess. She had to turn this around. She had to do this right. She twitched her lips back into a smile. "Do you want the good news?"

"Sure."

"If you tell Sollux, there is an 83.4% chance it will go fine."

"Heh. Looks pretty fucking good to me. Besides, he's been on my bulge about seeing him. Stupid shithead."

"…Yes. The meeting will probably not end in your death."

"Terezi. I am not going to die. Not now."

"Come here, grubnuts."

"I am here, you idiot blind shit. Can't get much more here." Nevertheless, he shuffled closer and she put her hands on his shirt. Yes, that was fine.

"Good. Close your eyes, Bulgepants McNooknub."

"Behold. I have closed my fucking eyes."

Terezi kissed one eyelid, then the other. He tried to move away but she slid her arm around his waist and leaned in, mouth close to his ear. "Nubby. I love you, Nubby."

"I…holy fuck. I love you too."

"I know." She kissed him briefly. There. That should satisfy him for a while. Maybe he wouldn't freak out now.

"Shit. Just. Shit. That…it means a lot to hear that. Really."

"I know. But I do."

Probably.

"Yeah….yeah. Wow. I am such a speechless shit right now." He ran his fingers through her hair again. The familiar gesture was enough to nearly send her completely off the edge, the complete opposite direction of the way she had been trying to go. Now she was the one who was panicking. She gripped his shirt tightly, trying to figure out what to do. How was she supposed to react to this feeling?

"You can't die, Nubby." The words started spilling out, unregulated. "You can't. You can't. …Please."

He kissed her forehead gently. "Then I won't. It's that simple."

Her mind buzzed furiously. The room was starting to wobble beneath her feet. "It…it's not, Nubby."

"I know. I'm sorry I made you look so far ahead. I don't want you to have seen so much. The last thing I'd ever want to do is hurt you."

"I know. I know. I…I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize." He kept playing with her hair, kept reminding her of what she had to keep her mind clear of. It was torture, plain and simple. "It's not your fault. You're just trying to keep me safe and I love you for it. But take a break. I'm not dead. I'm right here. And I'm going to be right here forever, okay?" She felt him tilt her head so she was facing him.

"I can't afford to take a break," she replied, narrowing her eyes in frustration. "I can't. You don't understand."

"Terezi, maybe I don't. Bt you're not going to be any help worn out and pessimistic. There's always going to be a chance I can die. But I can handle that myself for now." He gave her a squeeze, pressing his forehead to hers. "So just try for me. That's all I ask."

She buried her face in his chest for a moment, trying to steady herself. PULL YOURS3LF TOG3TH3R, she scolded herself. She breathed slowly, evenly. The room stopped wobbling but her head still buzzed, making it hard to focus. L13. YOU H4V3 TO L13.

She grinned. "You ask for a lot!" she said, injecting her words with as much cheer as she could muster. "But I will try."

He started talking again, but she was done talking. Letting him whittle away at the rest of her restraint would be disastrous. She knew what she had to do.

Now.

He started to say, "Good—"

And then she kissed him.