"Terezi! Slow down!"
"How about you speed up!"
"Terezi!—Damn it! Shit!— Sorry!" Karkat shouted as he ran through a family picture, leaving disgruntled adults and whining children in his wake to catch up to his girlfriend. Somehow, she had managed to skirt around every obstacle in her way, leaving him to fall over them and take the blame. How she did it, he'd never know—though he had a deep suspicion that she'd say it was the synesthesia.
"C'mon!" She shouted with a cackle. And with a sharp turn, he lost her again in a throng of people that he would have to squeeze through. He sighed and rolled his eyes, momentarily stopping before diving headfirst into the crowd.
After nearly being stepped on several times, and being shoved countless times, Karkat surfaced on the other side just to crash into the petite girl.
"What the fuck, Tez?" He muttered as he managed to regain balance before falling completely on his ass. He glared at the girl as she turned around and laughed with her infamous shit-eating grin.
"Maybe if you would learn to slow down, you wouldn't run into people. We are in public, Karkat. Try to behave." She laughed even more and brought a hand up to her mouth to cover up her smile. If anyone else had said that, Karkat would have insisted on fighting them; Terezi was different though. It was, dare he suggest it, cute when she pushed his buttons. He just tried to fight back the smirk that threatened to show and rolled his eyes again—hoping that he was close enough for her to see his movements.
"Oh, you're a funny one. I think I just cracked a rib from laughing so hard. Come on, Pyrope, what is it that you wanted to show me?" He said and reached for her hand. Her hand curled around his instinctively.
"I didn't hear any laughter, Karkles."
Karkat smiled at how bubbly she was today—not like it wasn't any different from other days. He looked around him to see they were in the reptilian section of the zoo. "So, what did you want to show me here?"
"My favorite animal!" Terezi chirped and tugged on his arms slightly.
"Hate to break it to you, but dragons don't exist, dumbass." He said lightly, though his annoyance was still present as always. "Besides, I thought your favorite animal—that actually exists, Terezi, because dragons don't exist—is a fox." Karkat looked around again and reread the signs designating the Reptile House just to humor him. "And last time I checked, foxes aren't fucking reptiles either, let alone kept in a zoo."
He nudged her with his elbow and she laughed before elbowing him back. "No! I have a new favorite animal, Karkles. You should know this!" She tugged at him again and he had no choice but to follow her. Her vise-like grip didn't give him another choice but to follow as she led him not too far away to a not so overly crowded exhibit.
When they got to the glass, a group of children were complaining how nothing exciting was there and they wanted to see the lions again. The parents were trying to escort them away and keep them all in one group. Another small family had walked up behind the couple and was trying to get a view at the creature behind the glass.
Karkat was doing the same as he looked on next to Terezi. A large lizard—it was the best way Karkat could identify it even though it was nowhere near the size of a usual lizard—was basking in the warmth of the sun and high-intensity heat lamps of the environment. It was rather ugly and its tongue flickered out every once and a while. As many times Karkat had been to the zoo as a child he had never really noticed this creature nor knew what it was.
Karkat took a step back and glanced at the plaque towards their left. "KOMODO DRAGON" was engraved in it along with some facts in smaller print.
His first reaction was to roll his eyes and chuckle as he looked back over to Terezi, who harbored a wide grin on her face. "Told you dragons were real."
"Whatever, fuckass." He then bit his tongue as the parents that stood by them gave him a hard glare and he fought off the urge to flip them off.
"Language, Karkat." Terezi chided before pulling him back to her side. "Isn't it the greatest?" She pressed her hands to the glass, letting go of his hand in the process. She rested her forehead against it and grinned.
Karkat looked from her to the creature again. They stood there for a while before Karkat began to shuffle his feet and look every which way. "Does it do anything?" He groaned as he shoved his hands in his pockets.
A limp hand swatted at him half-heartedly. Her eyes still glued onto the unmoving, uncaring, creature.
"Seriously, Tez. At least foxes do stupid shit all the time. Interesting shit… like walking."
She shushed him and continued to look.
"Terezi," He whined, though he refused to call it whining. "Can we go see the lions now?" It didn't matter that they had already been to the lion exhibit and that the lions had only basked in the shade the whole time. Lions at least were known to be vicious and fearless. Karkat liked lions. He did not like this fake "dragon" thing.
She briefly pulled away and looked at him, glaring at him from behind her glasses. "Karkat Vantas."
The boy grumbled quietly to himself as he stood next to Terezi again. He knew that tone of voice she just used. It was her no-nonsense tone that she got from her mother. The tone that made Karkat positive that she could become a lawyer and that she could make anyone confess to their crimes.
"That's going to be me some day."
Karkat almost jumped by the confession from Terezi. Her chipper mood evaporated in the heat of the summer day.
"What do y—"
"You know how shitty my eyesight is, Karkat." She whispered. "I live in a world of mostly blurs. I'm lucky I can see some things. And you and I both know that one day there is a strong chance I'll never see again."
He watched as the tears brimmed her eyes. As one fell down her cheek carrying a bit of mascara with it.
"Tez…" Karkat trailed off not knowing what to say. Her eyesight was always the elephant in the room. He always knew it was a problem but they both preferred not to speak about it. Not since the day of diagnosis. Whenever she went to get an examination done, a few tears would be shed, but that was all.
But this. This was unexpected.
"If you read the plaque or paid attention in Ecology—which I know you don't judging by your grades—, you would know that the Komodo Dragon relies mostly on its sense of taste and smell to lead it to its prey. They don't stop until they get it." A slim smile formed and her fingers curled loosely into her palm like wilting flower petals. Tears falling down her cheek like rain.
Karkat placed a hand gently on the shoulder further from him in a comforting half hug. A sign of support. He didn't care that she just made fun of his grades that were worse than hers again. He didn't care that he could have been doing a million other things than looking at possibly the most boring animal the world may ever have the honor of inhabiting. Because the strongest person he knew was now crying openly in public with children and adult all around them.
"Terezi, I don—"
"I've gotten used to the idea, Karkat. I enjoy what I can see now." She looked at Karkat and her dark brown eyes had a watery sheen over them. " When I heard about the Komodo Dragon, I was so excited. There was a creature that though they may not be exactly blind, didn't have perfect eyesight. There was a creature that relied on smell and taste. It made me feel less like an outsider. I've accepted my condition. And this gives me hope that I won't be helpless."
She laughed and suddenly her hand tightened, snapping shut into a tight fist.
"People underestimate me, Karkles. If they think that I can't see will stop me from being a lawyer then they don't know what's going to hit them. Because I won't stop until justice prevails. I won't stop until I've reached my goals." The tears subsided into a slight drizzle.
Karkat had been staring at her and he smiled slightly at the conviction in her voice. The dedication that radiated from her. She was going to make a brilliant lawyer one day. He was proud of her. He didn't respond though, he just pulled her closer to him to show how he supported her decisions and goals. Words would seem too insincere now.
They stood there. His arm still wrapped around her. People came and go, complaining how stupid the exhibit was. They knew though how extraordinary it was. How amazing and potentially wonderful this creature could be.
How extraordinary she was and would be.
First off, in this humanstuck AU, I didn't give out the official reasons as to why Terezi has poor eyesight. It's because I'm torn on using progressive glaucoma as the reason for poor eyesight or because when she was younger she stared at the sun too long and keep it more down a canonical route.
Anyway though, I feel like I'm really losing my touch at making solid endings. I wanted to somehow include the lions again and being fearless as one but it just wasn't working out so I guess this is final enough?
The oneshots in this story will be updated sporadically when I get an idea for a humanstuck. When I decide on the reason for Terezi's sight, there will be a chapter explaining that. Other than that, your regularly schedule program of canon Karezi oneshots will be coming up soon. Working on a new one right now.