Work Text:
Vriska sighed, running her thumbs over the old leather of her steering wheel; she was biting her lip so hard she could feel her skin threatening to break. She let her leg bounce by the gas pedal, running her fingers through her hair and letting a huge breath out of her mouth before finally getting up and out of her car. It gave an elderly creak as she stood, and she fumbled mindlessly into her jacket pockets; she was looking for her lighter and a pack of cigarettes. It took a few tries to light it; her hands were too shaky for it to only take one go, and as she put it up to her lips, she leaned against the car door, her heel kicking against one of its tires idly. The blueblood took seven more drags, and after she had finished her eighth, she felt herself sigh again; the noise was loud enough to echo softly against the empty street as she set the half-finished cigarette in a cup holder. No one was out at four in the morning. At least no one could see her having her little moment of hesitation and self-doubt.
She had been parked outside of Terezi’s apartment building for half an hour, sitting in her car and now leaning against it. She knew exactly why she had driven there, and what she needed to do; she didn’t know why she was being so unreasonable, though. No one was awake at four in the morning, so why would Terezi be? Half of her really didn’t want anyone to see any part of her that wasn’t the cool, badass blueblood, but the other half wanted to let her flushed feelings burst like a pipe filled with sickeningly sweet red. Red was something Terezi liked. She scowled at the ground. What kind of a cerulean was she if she was spending hours worrying about what someone else thought of her? She just needed to get it done, she decided. To the dismay of her legs, which would have been content in just turning right back around and driving away, she began to walk towards the door. She’d have to ignore the mini version of herself screaming about how weak she was. She’d have to ignore how sick she was beginning to feel and the dread that was hitting the back of her throat. Her finger floated over the buzzer for Terezi’s apartment, as if time had stopped. Swallowing the egotistically stubborn lump in her throat, she pressed it.
“What?” Terezi’s voice came through and Vriska almost dropped dead.
Wringing her sweaty hands, Vriska bit her lip, and through a tight look of concentration, she replied. “Hi.” She had tried to keep her voice from shaking.
“Vriska? What are you doing here?” Terezi scoffed. “It’s open.” The door buzzed, and the ceruleanblood stepped inside the entryway, clenching her fists at her sides and breathing deeply before she ascended the stairs. She made the climb to the fourth floor; it felt like she had just run a marathon. She reached apartment 13, taking a deep breath and knocking on the door softly; she knocked eight times, each knock soothing her slightly.
Her tealblood friend opened the door soon after, red eyes accented by sleepy eye bags and a furrowed brow. Vriska just stood there. After all of this shit, she couldn’t even say a single word? It was beginning to feel like years were passing in seconds, and they both were still just standing there.
“Uh…?” Terezi gave Vriska a quizzical look, putting her hands in the almost non-existent pockets of her shorts. “You okay?”
Vriska held her breath. Maybe if she was absolutely silent, Terezi would think that there wasn’t anyone there and then she could run away and go home.
“What’s wrong..?”
Vriska let out a defeated sigh, her pride escaping with it as her shoulders slumped. “Listen-” She was quiet, but when she picked her eyes back up, Terezi was close to her, her nose twitching as she inhaled. She knew that it was just how Terezi made out fine details, and that she was concerned for her, but it flustered her in the moment. “C’mon, just…” She pushed the tealblood off of her tiptoes, her hands clamped firmly on Terezi’s shoulders. She couldn’t help but trail off again, and the two of them were stuck in an awkward and silent limbo as Vriska let her hands stay around her friend’s shoulders. The cobalt troll was glad that Terezi couldn’t see how flushed her face had gotten. She could probably smell it though. God, what a weird girl , Vriska thought, feeling a smile tug at her lips. She shook her head, dropping her arms to her sides and squeezing her hands into fists. Her body tensed up and her she could feel her throat closing up. It was almost like her brain was incapable of letting some sort of vulnerability out. She struggled past the roadblocks her conscience kept laying out, digging into her palms. “I’m such garbage.” The taller troll mumbled, before taking a deep breath. She wanted to break down and cry, fall to her knees and let everything out like a wriggler. Vriska Serket was so tired of watching herself fall in love and then failing to do anything about it because she couldn’t stand how weak and stupid she looked. Tears pricked at her vision. “Terezi, I can’t.” She gestured hopelessly, as if Terezi could see her moving. “I’ve got…” She stuttered, and Terezi just stood in her doorway, staring at her in a way that only she could. Vriska’s voice fell to a whisper. “I’ve gone flushed for you.” Her entire demeanor sank to the deepest depths of shame.
Terezi’s eyes were wide, pure scarlet beating into Vriska’s exposed mind. She fidgeted idly, before she broke her gaze, turning her head to the side, her cheeks bright teal. “So… you wanna come in..?” She mumbled, scratching at the nape of her neck; Vriska blinked at her. As soon as the door shut behind Vriska, Terezi had pulled the tall troll into the tightest hug she had ever gotten. The tealblood had buried her face in Vriska’s sweatshirt, pushing aside her leather jacket to get to the soft fabric underneath. “Your jacket stinks like cigarettes.” She said, and Vriska took a couple seconds to toss it to the floor, before wrapping her arms around the shorter troll and pulling her as close as she could. She let her face fall against Terezi’s hair, inhaling the tealblood’s scent; she smelled like chalk, and some sort of paint. It was weird when they had first met, but Vriska had grown to like it, and now, she would’ve been happy to stay wrapped in the scent forever, holding Terezi to her chest and feeling her chest move with each breath. She felt Terezi pulling at her sweatshirt, guiding her through her apartment and towards her respiteblock, where she fell into her bed and pulled Vriska down with her, the two of them becoming a tangled mess in the sheets. They lay there in silence for a few minutes, close enough for Terezi to make out enough detail in Vriska’s face, before Terezi found herself against the cerulean troll’s chest again, arms hooked around her waist.
As Terezi felt herself drifting off, she felt Vriska’s lips against her forehead, her fingers running through the tealblood’s tangled hair. “I’ve gone flushed for you too, you big, cute... idiot.” Terezi went to sleep flustered, face pressed against her new girlfriend’s chest.