Chapter Text
Terezi remembers a time when she and Vriska hardly saw each other, and it makes her stomach churn. It wasn’t necessarily either person’s fault, it just sort of happened-- Terezi was dating Gamzee, Vriska was off galavanting with her cool older friends and finding herself after college, they just fell out of contact.
Part of her was too stubborn to admit it, but she’s always known: she missed her old friend.
They were best friends actually, they teased and chased each other as kids, they grew up and pulled on each other’s hair, talked about boys and learned what it meant to be themselves. Together.
Vriska was there for Terezi when she thought she’d lost her vision forever, and Terezi was there for Vriska when she lost her arm and her eye. They’re bonded, and losing that friendship in her life, for some odd number of years, hurt more than she ever thought it would.
So, after Gamzee, after Dave, and after Vriska “found herself”, they found each other. Ever since then, they’ve wanted nothing but to be next to each other. It was as if they were making up for lost time, and Terezi couldn’t help but feel like Vriska was rewriting all the other touches she’s received over the years, that weren’t from her.
Her hands, slender in one, cold and metal in the other, yet somehow so warm, are nothing but comfort for Terezi. Even after all this time, they’re familiar. They’re Vriska, and there’s nothing more familiar than her. These hands cup her face, brush her hair back, hold her hand wherever they go. Making up for lost time is everything Terezi could ask for.
When she apologizes for never having the courage to just reach out to Vriska, cries even, because she knew she should have and she needed her best friend, Vriska’s hands hold her to soothe. They rub her back and assures her it’s fine. They’re better than ever, and Vriska is just glad they’re talking to each other again.
Sometimes she’s still in awe of the other woman. She’s beautiful, and the thought that there was a time she couldn’t see it, burns her to her core. How unfair that Terezi wasn’t allowed to see this beauty, to adore her and smother her with appreciation, when she so deserved it. Vriska is beautiful, even though she’s self-conscious of her scars and of her eye, Terezi is always staring in awe.
They go everywhere together now, and Terezi’s never been more aware of how Vriska attracts attention. To say she’s not territorial over it would be a lie, but knowing Vriska is all hers, makes it okay. It’s so good to be able to cook together in the small one bedroom apartment that Terezi owns. They both smile when they bump shoulders, because there’s no room, and they laugh when they knock into each other trying to get to the fridge.
They hold hands when they go to the grocery, they hold hands when they go to the pharmacy, the mall, the gas station, even. Because they just want to be close, and they have so much time to make up for.
A few times, Terezi found herself wondering if she was being clingy, and when that made her pull away, Vriska reached out to grab her and bring her back in. And that’s all she could ask for.
Even when they’re making their semi-daily 3AM cookies and milk runs at the local convenience store, they stay together and hold hands, lean on each other and peck each other on the lips or the cheek. Terezi knows it’s weird, but she likes the way Vriska looks under fluorescents, on their cookie run.
The light bounces off her skin in a way that makes a person just want to say “Wow,” even when she’s not wearing all her makeup, and she’s not hiding her scarred eye. She’s just-- wow.
Terezi leans on her shoulder, pretending to look over it at the selection of Oreo’s, but really she’s looking at the curvature of her face. The gentle slope of her cheek down to the point of her chin, the pout of her pretty perfect lips, the cute angle of her nose that just makes Terezi want to kiss it. She wants to kiss everything. She elects to compromise for a hand kiss, her silent way of saying “I love you, I missed you, thank you.”