Work Text:
Karkat walked into his girlfriend's apartment on a cloudy Saturday to find her in the throes of death.
Or at least that's what it seemed like, from the way she was groaning and how tightly she was curled in on herself. Her arms were crossed over her lower abdomen, her knees drawn up to her chest, and her eyes were squeezed shut tightly as she bit her lip, clearly in some sort of agony.
Karkat shut the door. "What the hell is wrong with you, Terezi?"
Terezi opened her eyes and looked straight at him--it still creeped him out that she could do that, even though she was blind--and let out another pitiful noise. She scrunched up her nose. "Karkat?"
Karkat took off his coat and hung it up on the wall hook, going to sit by her on the couch. "What's got you messed up like this? I thought we were going to hang out today."
Terezi puffed air out of her mouth, blowing her bangs further sideways into her face. "That was before I got the worst cramps ever today, and--agghhh!" She grimaced and squeezed her arms tighter as another wave of pain throbbed in her stomach.
Oh.
Karkat narrowed his eyes at his girlfriend, whose own unseeing eyes were closed again. Terezi wasn't one to be incapacitated by pain like this--it must have been pretty bad to keep her in the fetal position on her couch.
Karkat watched her writhe in agony, unsure how to help. "Where does it hurt?" he asked, wondering if he should be afraid of the answer.
Terezi hissed air in through her teeth. "Lower stomach," she said. "And my back."
After a silent moment of mild panic and choosing the best way to proceed, Karkat shifted closer. "C'mere."
Terezi's eyes opened again, and she faced him curiously, but crawled up next to him. As she settled against his side with a less-than-comfortable sigh, stretching her legs out on the couch, Karkat carefully placed a hand on her lower stomach, right at the top of her jeans, where she'd indicated. "Here?"
Terezi nodded, her head against his chest. She'd leaned her back against his side, his arm around her shoulder. Karkat began to rub her stomach in slow, tentative circular motions, hoping he was doing the right thing. "Does this help?" he asked, praying he wasn't making it worse. Hell knows he did NOT want to make Terezi mad under normal circumstances, let alone a hormonal, cramping Terezi.
Thankfully, Terezi nodded again. "Yes...a lot." She slid down against him slightly with a sigh, relaxing as he massaged her abdomen gently, moving in careful circles at the bottom of her t-shirt.
After a few minutes, Terezi's breathing no longer hiccuped, and her arms weren't squeezed at her front anymore. Karkat rested his face in her hair, his fingers still soothing the cramps as best as he could. He'd never done anything like this before, but he assumed he was on the right track, as Terezi seemed about ready to fall asleep against him, with his hands working easy patterns on her body.
But after a few more circles, she spoke. "You're good at this, Karkles," she said, a sleepy grin spreading on her face. "You should do this for me more often."
"Don't ruin it by being so entitled. I don't have to do this for you at all," Karkat murmured, no trace of heat in his voice. Terezi smiled wider at his words, muffled in her hair, and reached back to touch his cheek. Karkat shivered as her fingertips made contact with his face; for a blind girl, she was incredibly aware of where things were. But he relaxed again as her fingers traced down his cheek, softly.
"Thanks, Karkat," she murmured, sounding even drowsier as her hand slipped down his face. Karkat kissed the top of her head gently, as she nodded off to sleep.