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Your first thought upon waking was, What the fuck.
One minute you were about to take off to challenge Jack, and the next minute had you on the floor with a bitching pan-ache. There had been a shout, and then a flash of blue, and then you had blacked out.
Putting two and two together, you realized you had just been on the receiving end of a knuckle sandwich for the second time in less than an hour. How embarrassing. Mindfang probably never had to deal with this level of disrespect.
You were so lost in thought that it took you a minute to realize Terezi was saying something.
“...okay?”
“Uh. What?”
“Are you okay?” she murmured. Her voice was softer than you had heard it in sweeps and for a moment your head went fuzzy and the throbbing in your pan subsided.
You swallowed and tried to ignore the way her hands on your shoulder and back sent jolts of electricity through your body. You were dimly aware of Karkat throwing one of his signature hissy fits in the distance. His pathetic histrionics made you feel slightly better about yourself. It gave you the confidence to cock a grin at Terezi.
“Never better. Nothing like getting decked by a dumb windy nerd to really knock some sense into a girl. That was John, wasn’t it?”
Terezi nodded.
You sighed. It was no use trying to figure out a rational explanation as to how that was possible yet. There would be plenty of time for that later, but right now there were more important things to worry about. Karkat continued to lose his mind, shouting something about a scarf? Whatever. It seemed like it was up to you to actually get shit done. As usual.
Terezi was still crouched beside you, though she wasn’t touching you anymore. “Vriska…” her tone was uncharacteristically timid.
It didn’t escape your notice that her sword had been unsheathed from the cane, and you had a feeling she wanted to address what had just happened between you two. Or what almost happened.
That conversation was also something that would have to wait until later, because there was no way in hell you could talk about it now. Not in front of your goober friends, anyway. Luckily for you (because of course you had all the luck), you were a skilled subject changer.
“John may not be here anymore, but I guess it’s time for us to meet up with the other humans, huh? Judging by that bright light in the distance, it seems like their plan was successful,” you said.
Terezi didn’t seem too keen on dropping it. The words she left unsaid hung heavy in the air. You could see it in the furrow of her brow and the crinkle in her nose and the way she pinched her lips together like she always did in the old days whenever you did something she didn’t approve of. But all she said was, “You are sure you’re okay?”
“Yes!!!!!!!! God, I said I’m fine! You know damn well I’ve survived much worse than a stupid punch,” you snapped.
It came out harsher than you meant it, but at least it did the trick. Even if her pained expression made you want to rip your tongue out.
She wordlessly helped you to your feet, and you made your way over to the others together. Soon after, the meteor was hurtling towards the Green Sun thanks to Sollux’s psionics. During which Terezi remained at least an arm’s length away from you. It was more difficult than you’d care to admit to affect an air of indifference about that.
When the newly ascended Strider and Lalonde joined your ragtag party of survivors, Kanaya supplied them with a brief and unhelpful, “Shenanigans apparently,” to their request for a rundown of the recent events. Neither of them pressed for more information. At least some of the lingering tension that remained in the group dissipated with the addition of the humans.
If anything, the atmosphere was bittersweet. As you waved goodbye to Sollux and Aradia, you found yourself wondering when you would see them again. You hoped it wouldn’t be too long, despite the turbulent past you had with both of them.
The group gained yet another addition— this time a Dersite carapacian for some reason. The poor guy would have died had it not been for the ghost of a dead god tier Feferi. The sudden existence of ghosts was yet another revelation you had to contend with. Yet it somehow almost made sense within the abstract parameters of Sgrub. In a game that turned kids into gods and created universes out of frogs, why wouldn’t there be ghosts?
Regardless, it was all a bit of a spectacle. The group crowded around as Feferi healed him. You weren’t sure how one measly carapacian could possibly be significant, but Rose seemed convinced that he had an important role to play. And you recently learned not to question seers. They knew what the fuck they were talking about. So you kept your mouth shut and just let it go.
Once it seemed like everything was more or less settled down, you all agreed to relocate from the roof back down to the lab to discuss next steps. Terezi was no longer avoiding you by this point. Her shoulder brushed against yours as you made your way down the stairs.
Dave wouldn’t stop prattling on about how he’d rather work on his comics or “sick beats” than talk strategy.
“What is there to even discuss?” he was saying now. “We just shit around for three years until we reach the new session.”
The group reached the lab and he was somehow still talking despite the fact that nobody was paying any attention to him. It blew your mind that Terezi seemed to like him. If you had to talk to him for any prolonged period of time you would probably go insane.
You hadn’t been to the computer lab since before everything went to shit, and you were mildly taken aback by the state it was in. Feferi’s corpse was splayed out on the ground, her blood intermingling with what remained of the horn pile. Likewise, Sollux’s and Kanaya’s bloodstains decorated opposite ends of the room. The floor near the transportalizer was charred and several computers were shattered.
You were by no means a stranger to blood and dead bodies, but even you had to admit that it was disconcerting. And if you were unsettled, you had no doubt that the humans were even more so. Sure enough, Dave let out a string of curses as soon as he entered.
“Nope,” he said emphatically. “Absolutely not. We are not holding our little get-together meeting or whatever in this horror-movie-lookin’-ass room. As if dealing with my own dead bodies in our session wasn’t bad enough. Fucking hell.”
Rose cleared her throat. “I agree,” she chimed in. “It does seem to be… in poor taste that this particular location was chosen out of anywhere we could’ve gone instead.”
“Well, pardon my fucking ignorance!” Karkat shouted, throwing his hands up in exasperation. “Maybe I just wanted to go somewhere familiar after having my thinkpan so thoroughly obliterated. Maybe it just slipped my mind that more than one of my dear friends was murdered here, okay?!”
“Seems like a weird thing to slip your mind,” Dave muttered.
“In his defense, I forgot as well. And I was one of the aforementioned murder victims, so…” Kanaya added.
You pinched the bridge of your nose to fight the oncoming return of your migraine. “Look, how about we all agree that it was an extremely stupid lapse in judgment on our part and move on with our fucking lives? We have over a sweep to figure shit out, so we can just do this later, alright?” you said.
“Yes, I agree. A rain check on the planning session would be for the best. Maybe it would be more beneficial to familiarize myself with the layout of the meteor. If anyone would be willing to show me around, that is,” said Rose, looking over at Kanaya hopefully.
Kanaya smiled back at her. “My newfound phosphorescent complexion is ideal for navigating these dark corridors. I’d be happy to give you a tour.”
And with that, they were gone.
Karkat and Dave followed not long after, bickering with each other, and the carapacian trailing after them.
It wasn’t until you were alone with Terezi that you realized Gamzee, who’d recently been untied, was now nowhere to be seen. How had that even happened? You mentally cursed yourself for your shortsidedness. You should’ve never agreed to let Karkat remove his ball and chain. Of course he would take advantage of his momentary freedom to abscond. Oh well. As long as he wasn’t killing people anymore, it would probably be fine to just leave him be.
Without the others present, the silence was nigh unbearable. Terezi was looking at you expectantly, and your palms began to sweat as you racked your brain for something to say. Thankfully, she spoke up first.
“That was some fine work you did just now. Getting the situation under control. Have to say I’m impressed.” she grinned.
Okay, so apparently she wasn’t going to bring up what happened on the roof. That was fine. You could work with that.
“Oh. Um, yeah. Honestly, I’m a little surprised too. I mean… you were always the one who was good at handling people. I’ve always admired that about you.”
Terezi gave you a look, as if she didn’t believe you. You’d blurted it out without thinking, but it was the truth. Your face grew hot.
“Well, maybe you should consider trying your hand at leadership. I think you’d be good at it,” Terezi replied.
You breathed out a laugh. “And usurp Karkat? I doubt he’d be too happy about that.”
“Since when do you care about what other people think?” she shot back with a smirk.
She had you there.
You playfully punched her arm. “Damn, Pyrope, you’re right. Maybe I’m losing my edge. I could learn a thing or two from you.”
The laugh she let out was the best sound you thought you’d ever heard. And you were the cause of it. You would give anything to make her laugh like that all the time.
There was a lot the two of you would have to work through eventually. Maybe then you wouldn’t have to feel like you were walking on eggshells around her. But right now, you could almost pretend that nothing had changed since your falling out so long ago. Because she was finally talking to you again. And for the time being, that was enough.
Teal words on red cloth. Your hands trembled as you clutched the scarf. Nobody seemed to notice.
“And that is pretty much all I know,” Terezi was saying.
Everybody was crowded into what had become the common room. It hadn’t taken long for Terezi to fill you all in on the retcons another version of herself and John had undertaken. Compared to Rose at least, who had droned on at length about her knowledge of the Scratch and what to expect in the new session.
The others were still talking to Terezi and asking questions, but you were no longer paying attention. Your focus lingered on the fabric you were holding.
A pit formed in your stomach. Terezi’s penultimate instruction that she wrote on her deathbed had been to save you from your own foolishness. Was it not your own fault for backing her into that lose-lose scenario?
You weren’t supposed to be alive. Yet here you were, surrounded by friends as if you hadn’t almost doomed them all. Actually, you had doomed them all, just in different timelines. Great.
You jumped when a tentative hand brushed the top of your shoulder. Terezi quickly pulled her arm away.
“You okay?” she asked, taking a small step back.
“Sorry, guess I just spaced out for a bit,” you replied.
You didn’t elaborate, and she didn’t press you. As you gave the scarf back to her, you realized that everyone else was already gone.
Terezi sat down next to you on the couch, close enough to make your heart speed up, but far enough that you weren’t at risk of touching. You fell into a comfortable silence, and for a while, the only sound came from the ticking of the clock that Dave had hung over the coffee machine.
You were beginning to wonder if you should suggest putting on a movie, when Terezi suddenly said, “I have a favor I wanted to ask of you.” The words came out in a rush, and you looked over to find her absently picking at a loose thread in the couch. She wouldn’t meet your gaze.
“What is it?” you asked, furrowing your brow in concern.
Terezi hesitated, and then muttered, “Promise me you won’t laugh.”
“I promise!”
She sighed. “Could you help me…deal with Gamzee? He’s been making caliginous advances towards me lately and won’t listen no matter how many times I tell him to leave me alone. I know he’s always been intimidated by you, so maybe he’ll finally stop if you intervene…”
Your mind spun as you registered what she said. Was this an ashen solicitation? Was she asking you to be her auspistice? Did she really trust you over everyone else to mediate for her?
Being comforting was far from your forte. But for Terezi, you were willing to give it a shot. You leaned forward and tilted her head up so she would actually look at you.
“Of course I will, Terezi. You should have told me sooner! How long has this been going on?”
She shrugged. “I dunno. A little while. I didn’t want to involve you unless I felt like I had to. If it’s too much trouble, you don’t need to help me.”
“I already said I would! Terezi, I want to help you. I want to be there for you. I want you to feel like you can talk to me about anything! I mean it,” you replied.
She was silent for a second, her mouth slightly open in astonishment. And then it spread into a smirk.
“Wow, Vriska. That sounded awfully pale. Are you proposing we be moirails?”
Shit. She was right, what you said could be interpreted as a pale proposition. But honestly, that didn’t sound so bad. It actually sounded really fucking good. So you doubled down.
“Yeah, let’s be moirails!” you declared.
She was momentarily taken aback before shaking her head in fond exasperation. “You haven’t changed at all. This is exactly how we formed the scourge sisters, remember?” Terezi said.
“Yeah.”
Of course you remembered.
Shortly after the two of you met, you recognized her sign to be the same one that Mindfang had described Redglare’s to be in the journal. You were a strong believer in fate at the time, so naturally, you told her all about your ancestors.
You’d spent hours reading Mindfang’s journal together. Curled up next to each other like meowbeasts in the moonlight emanating from the windows in your hive.
“‘…a striking scourge,’” you’d read. “Maybe that could be like us.” You had suggested forming a FLARP team a few days ago, but Terezi had been apprehensive.
By that point, it was past dawn and Terezi had been half asleep when she drowsily mumbled, “Scourge sisters.”
What had been an offhand remark from her, you had taken to heart. And the rest was history.
Now, looking back on that moment, you knew with absolute certainty that you wanted to be moirails with her.
You’d always secretly felt like your relationship with her went beyond friendship, but could never settle on a quadrant that accurately matched your feelings. That was part of the reason you were so attached to the idea of being scourge sisters.
But you were both older now, and what you wanted was a real official romantic relationship with her. You had meant what you told her, even if it hadn’t been initially intended as a pale confession.
Terezi still hadn’t given you an answer yet, and you held your breath as she considered it. Finally, she grinned and poked your cheek.
“Relax! You smell like you’re about to throw up,” she laughed. “I’d be honored to be your moirail, Vriska.”
You swatted her hand away with a relieved chuckle. “Great! Glad we settled that, then,” you said, throwing an arm around her shoulders.
She elbowed you in the side but didn’t pull away. As Terezi rested her head against your shoulder, you realized just how much you missed this. How much you missed her.
The guilt you were feeling earlier hadn’t gone away, and you weren’t sure if it ever would. But what if this could be your chance to redeem yourself?
You recalled Terezi’s words from the other day. Maybe you should consider trying your hand at leadership. I think you’d be good at it.
Maybe she was right. You could make up for your past mistakes by guiding your friends to victory. This was a fresh start. A fresh start that Terezi had given you. You swore to yourself that you wouldn’t fuck it up.