In this setting, trolls are a recently discovered species found on Earth. Troll-rights has become a recent practice and hate-crimes are at an unfortunate high. I won't be going into detail much on this because that isn't what I want the focus to be about. Most of the time it will only be mentioned when it effects a character directly.
If Karkat were to honestly describe his relationship with Terezi, he would say that it was turbulent at best.
They were in an on-again-off-again relationship, one that never seemed to even start or end well. Karkat was - unsurprisingly - the one who started all the fights. He was also always the one to come back. The fights started when Karkat thought he didn't deserve her crap and ended when he realized he was nothing without her. Terezi, overall, was apathetic about their relationship, Karkat realized later on in their journey. He feels as though he is the only one who strives to make it into some semblance of a relationship.
That's not to say either of the trolls were in the wrong, oh no. The two just had different ideas of a relationship.
This particular fight started when Karkat came home after being fired - again - from his crappy job at Petco for yelling at a child so much they started to cry. Apparently tapping the fish tank did not count under the minute list of reasons you can yell at a customer. Karkat felt as if his job at Petco was like his relationship with Terezi. Petco isn't going to hire him again some day, just like, one day, Terezi may not take him back.
Pissed off for the afternoon, Karkat wasted no time in beginning in a monologue about appreciating your partner and simultaneously filling a bag full of his clothes when he saw his "girlfriend" straddling the hips of her usual fling: the douche bag who never takes of his sunglasses.
And here we find Karkat, translucent red tears running down his gray cheeks as he drove around in his crappy faded red Mazda 323.
Already, he realized he wanted to go back to Terezi, apologize for calling her a "stupid, blind slut", and go back to his normal routine with her. He wanted Sunglasses Guy to disappear so he could be the only one to hold her up and tell her that she is so, so beautiful because she can't even tell.
On the other side of the coin, he knew that he was always going to come back to Terezi as long as she lets him. He had no job now, not to mention the fact that Terezi was the only one who put up with his bullshit.
"His bullshit" being the fact that he was the most self-deprecating fuck in the natural world. Not only was a troll - lesser to humans - he was lesser to the trolls too. Mutation ran deep into his red blood and he was certain that he was worse than the scum built up from a pool never cleaned a day in its life.
But the teal-blood's favorite color is red and sometimes Karkat thinks that is the only thing that is keeping her with him.
That's why Karkat finds himself in the parking lot of a Wal-Mart Supercenter, fidgeting nervously. He felt as if he should come back bearing a gift, as if that would make Terezi forget about all of shit he has put her through. He hoped that maybe, it would soften any blow she might deal him.
He pulled down the visor from above the steering wheel, looking into the mirror and dabbing at this eyes with the sleeve of his sweater. His face was swollen and his hair a mess, but he knew from experience it would become untraceable to the naked eye - or rather, tongue - by the time he gets home to Terezi. He gathered eventually that he read a lot more into detail than most did, often being quick to observe a person from where they stand and guess what they are, but Terezi was a lot better at that, being an aspiring lawyer.
Karkat spent most of the time going through the aisles, everywhere from beauty - "No, Terezi doesn't wear that much makeup." to food - "But she doesn't eat all that often..." before he finally made his way to the garden center.
He wandered around, muted, muddy red eyes jumping from fertilizer to lawn mowers, and then finally settling on the automatic doors that led to the outside portion.
The warm wind blew his already disheveled black hair as he continued to jump from place to place. At last, he decided on flowers. Terezi was always complaining about how their apartment patio never tasted right. "The yellow tulips always clash with the taste of the red chairs." She would say upon being questioned why she was throwing away perfectly good flowers. It was the subject of many fights. But now Karkat knew to stay out of the way; Terezi was always antsy and different whenever a room didn't taste right. She also had Sunglasses Guy over a lot more.
Long rows of flowers welcomed Karkat as he sighed exasperatedly. There were way too many flowers to choose from. Karkat was never any good at gardening - or anything regarding decor - so he normally left it Terezi. He remembered why, now, as he attempted to find out the difference between carnations and chrysanthemums besides just looks. He had to get this right or else Terezi would probably throw him out for threatening the feng-shui of their apartment.
"Do you need any help finding what you're looking for?" The voice was odd. The owner stumbled slightly over pronunciation of her 'ing's and 'd's. She pronounced 'you're' as a weird median between 'your' and 'you are'. It was mostly untraceable but Karkat's superior - in comparison to humans, anyway - hearing picked up all the lilts and pitches in her voice.
Karkat jumped, turning to come face to face with an employee.
One brief look told Karkat that the owner of the odd voice was very, well, attractive. Long, black, messy hair billowed in the wind, whipping lazily every which-way around a tanned face. Green eyes colored with amusement glowed from behind big, circular, thin-framed glasses. An equally amused smile beamed back at him, all pink lips and slightly protruding buck-teeth. The soft curve of her neck traveled until it hid under a dark blue polo-shirt which covered her still-apparent curves. The khaki slacks hugged her legs until they bunched around the ankles, leading to some sort of black slip-ons.
Overall Karkat noticed her body shape was a lot softer looking - as most humans were - and filled in in comparison to Terezi's bones and sharp angles. Her skin was dark compared to the pale gray of his own skin, hiding under the sweater he kept around his torso, even in early September. Karkat was no expert in human races, but he still couldn't help but wonder as to where she was from. At first glance one would think she was Asian, but looking further, he could tell that here were definitely some Hispanic attributes.
He ceased his analysis on the employee before it got too awkward. Okay, Karkat. Don't clam up in front of the human. She probably can't even tell you're a red-blood. Say something at least half-eloquent.
"Huh?"
It took a few seconds for Karkat to realize he was the one who had dumbly stuttered out the interjection.
"I asked if you needed any help finding something." Her smile grew wider.
The troll felt his face heat up and knitted her eyebrows together. She had a really weird accent. Curiosity building, Karkat couldn't bring his usual angry, shouty facade up to block his emotions. His brain panicked and he hastily tried to brush all thoughts about the employee out of his reverie.
"I uh..." He began to fidget, looking everywhere but the girl. His eyes connected with hers, desperate to find something to be angry about. He happily welcomed the scowl on his face when he noticed that she was considerably taller than him. "Fuck you, I didn't ask for any help. If I needed help, why the hell would I sit here like a handicapped wriggler instead of asking for it? I'm not three sweeps old you stupid bitch. Oh, wait, you're a human. Should I translate that to years for you? Or how about you save us both time and go ahead and do whatever hate-crime you're planning on whenever I walk back to my car alone. I was already thinking about just letting it happen and not fight back the inevitable, you know? Maybe I should just go ahead and die so you stupid humans and highbloods can have a better day without my mutant blood marring your life in some way, shape or form!"
The employee frowned, but it didn't seem to be directed towards Karkat. She looked as if she was holding something back as she ground out a "So what kinda flowers are you looking for?" Her smile returned, but there was this knot in between her brows that Karkat had to consciously make an effort to not smooth out.
The troll felt his resolve breaking as he noticed her regard the flowers softly, smoothing invisible creases on a petal close to her hand's original position.
"I've tried to do my best in keeping the flowers in tip-top shape in this heat." She said conversationally, gathering back her thick tresses into a ponytail holder on her wrist and quickly wrapping it into a well-practiced, messy bun. "Though as you can imagine, nobody's perfect." She removed a dried, crunchy leaf from the bed of soil in a pot holding some pink flower Karkat didn't know the name of. "They need to be watered soon so be sure you do that when you take yours home."
"Something red." Karkat blurted out. When the employee looked at him inquisitively, he pointedly looked away. "My matespr-my girlfriend's favorite color is red and she wants something for our patio. I figured this would make her happy or some dumb shit like that."
The employee beamed at the sign of cooperation. "Oh you're adorable!" She giggled. It was the dorkiest giggle that Karkat had ever heard. She snorted a little and squeezed her big green eyes shut.
"I am not -" Karkat was about to begin when the human cut him off by briskly walking a ways down the rows, twisting and turning to get a full view of all the flowers they had to offer. She pointed at a few and shook her head at others and Karkat could hear her mumble to herself saying "Oh, that would be good! Wait no, that's too big. That one is perfect! No, no what am I saying, the color is all wrong."
Karkat imagined if she was in a dress that it would be flowing wildly with her movement and the wind would carry her hair in its breeze as she bent down to inspect a plant. He shook his head quickly to dispel the thoughts. The employee stopped and grinned. "I know just the one." Looking around quickly, her eyes paused on a row of flowers next to the one they were at. She walked backwards a ways and then took a stance. Karkat watched as her back foot pushed off the concrete and sent her sprinting towards the next row of flowers. Suddenly, she jumped, raising one leg perpendicular below her and the other stretched out, each high enough to not get caught on the flowers below.
Landing, she wasted no time in recovering and grabbing a flowerpot of 3 red flowers and holding it above her head like a trophy.
"What the ever-loving fuck was that." Karkat fixed her with an incredulous look.
"I was in Track & Field in high school. Jumped a lot of hurdles in my day." She said, as if that explained everything. "Plus this way's quicker." She grinned. Karkat came to the conclusion that this was the weirdest Wal-Mart employee he's ever met.
She walked around the rows this time, cradling the flowerpot to her chest. "Oh, now you decide to take ten fucking years. Hurry the hell up. I have to catch her before she decides to lock the deadbolt and never let me in so I have to spend my nights in my crappy little car. Then I have to go a find another job by myself while living off of beef ramen cups and toilet water. Do you really want to be held responsible for that? Do you?" Karkat knew he was being dramatic, but he couldn't deny the fact that he thought it was going to happen.
When the employee met up with him, she handed him the pot, their fingers brushing against the plastic. "These are carnations. Do they seem to be what you're looking for?" She tilted her head slightly. Karkat couldn't tell whether he respected or hated her for ignoring his pitiful rants, as if he had never said anything. He stared at the flowers. They were very pretty and he hoped Terezi would deem them worthy of their patio.
"Yeah. Thanks I gues - "
An old woman approached the two, looking pointedly away from Karkat as he quickly ended his sentence. He knew why. It seemed the older adults from human culture were harder to convince on the subject of troll-human equality. Karkat was used to the disrespect he had received from old humans, but that didn't stop the dull sting in his heart. "Excuse me, miss? Do you know where I might find the hedge shears?"
"Yes ma'am, right this way." The employee said, hastily turning to Karkat. "You can pick out a pot for the flowers over there. If I'm not done with the customer by the time you're done, just go inside and pay for it there. Bye!" She pointed to some shelves on the far wall next to a set of trees and then waved.
Karkat scowled at her. "Fuck off."
The old woman looked extremely offended, but let herself be led away by the employee, disappearing around the corner.
Karkat pretended he wasn't stalling when he was choosing a flower pot. Really, he couldn't decide between terracotta and porcelain. He didn't even know why he would do something so stupid as stalling. She was just a stupid, attractive Wal-Mart employee. He's seen attractive people before - troll, human, boy, girl - so why is she any different? Besides, he doesn't even know her name. Come to think of it, he wonders, why isn't she wearing a name tag?
He doesn't know why this bothers him so much. He continues pondering the stupid girl and what her stupid name might be as he pretends to look at pots. He wonders if she would have a name matching her nationality. Not that he can really tell what it is. "This is dumb." He mutters, feeling his cheeks grow warm.
When he looks up, he notices her coming his way and he ducks his head, grabbing a random pot he found suitable in that second. When he turns around, he sees the employee sitting in front of a fan clamped to a support beam next to the register and he notices that she looks really worn out. She has bags under her eyes that rival his own, but her's are less noticeable, blending more into her skin.
The employee gives a tired smile and absently waves at Karkat. "Did you find a good pot?" She puts the flowers in the new pot and squints at the ensemble through her glasses, her tongue sticking out of her teeth in concentration. "This will be marvelous." Her smile looks a lot less tired now and she relaxes. "Do you think your girlfriend will like it?"
Karkat's scowl deepened. "If I didn't think she'd like it, then why the hell would I buy it?"
The woman stares at him. Really stares. Karkat felt bare, as if his super thick sweater wasn't doing anything to block her soft green eyes.
"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked, and somehow Karkat knew she was talking about his problem with Terezi. Suddenly his sweater seems too large, too hot, too suffocating. He's never talked to anyone about his problems with Terezi. Never the details. All his friends know he and Terezi aren't exactly stable, but they didn't know how bad it could get. Karkat pushed the idea of sharing it away. Why would he tell her of all people?
The first thing he notices is a concerned frown and the employee pointing the fan in his direction. "Are you okay? Maybe you should take off your sweater." The troll visibly loosens at the cool breeze the fan brings. "No, shut up. Just ring up my stuff you stupid fuck." He bit, looking dazedly at the sun setting behind the girl.
She scowled and went along scanning his stuff. Karkat decided it was more of a pout than a scowl as it did nothing to scare him. If anything, he felt as if she was a small growling puppy. "Will that be all for you today, sir?"
Karkat felt the "sir" was too formal. It was like the employee had been a longtime childhood friend that he had just reunited with after many sweeps. That said, he couldn't fight the feeling of obligation as he grabbed a Butterfinger bar from beside the register and slammed it down.
Fuck. I don't even like Butterfingers. Karkat berated himself. Why the fuck did I do that? He looked up slightly at the employee, blushing a little as she gave a small, sweet smile and rang up the candy bar. Well, humans like the stuff, for some dumb ass reason.
"Your total will be $34.92."
Karkat jumped as though he forgot he was going to have to pay for all this and he scrambled to get his wallet out of his back pocket. He slid his credit card in the machine and put it away before signing his signature. "Have a nice day, Mr. Vantas!" She said, handing him his receipt and his things.
"Just call me Karkat, you dumbfuck. Why the hell do people think using someone's surname is all formal? It's just damn stupid. Fuck last names."Fuck fuck fuck! Why did I say that?! Shit, now she's going to think that I want to talk to her more than this because I told her to call me Karkat but I don't, I hate her stupid attractive face and her stupid fucking nationality and fuck that stupid broad. Flustering and fidgeting, Karkat pulled the Butterfinger from his bag and threw it at the employee. It hit her square on the forehead and he heard her squeak. "Hey, that hurt, you fuckass!"
Karkat didn't allow himself time to feel shock at her sudden language as he bellowed "I hate Butterfingers!" And ran to this car.
He did, however, allow himself a grin that was way too big and probably really scary as he pulled out from his parking space.