"I think you should get a dog," I say, adjusting my square shaped sunglasses. I remove them to put them back on, perching them on top of my head. "Name it Ralph or something like that."
My younger sister throws back her head and laughs, "that's a horrible name, Latula. I love it."
Her tone is a little menacing there at the end, but I don't mind. Terezi has always been sort of off.
"I'll get online later and look it up, find a program or something," I reply.
The dog and program in question are, of course, a seeing eye dog and a charity to gift little blind kids one, because, of course, my sister is blind.
We'd been here for three whole days, my mom and I both, sitting up with Terezi. I didn't know days could pass so slow. When your sister has a catastrophic accident, you find out a lot of things you didn't want to. Terzei's partner in crime was next door, down one arm and one eye from the same accident. She would be able to see though, and she would be able to get around on her own. I wasn't mad at Aranea's little sister, but why did it have to be my Terezi?
I balled my hands in to firsts. Terezi didn't need to see me so upset anyway. She just needed to sit in her little hospital bed, eat Ice cream, and get those bandages off her face. In due time, of course. She still had a few more days before she could leave.
We had the lights shut off in this little room, and I'd described the sunny summer mural on the wall to my sister twice. We'd tried to watch some TV, but with just the audio, Terezi didn't get much out of it. It was frustrating for me and mom to watch her try to deal. She kept asking for her 'scourge sister', whatever that meant. We decided not to tell her Vriska was still unconscious.
"Hey, TZ! Guess who!"
My head whipped around to the door where light flooded in, and the most handsome, almost high school senior in the world stood.
"Mituna!" Terezi's shrill voice exclaimed.
He'd washed his hair since the last night when he'd drove me home, but it was still wild and untamed, and still hanging in his face. He'd put on clean cloths too, unlike me who'd been wearing the same socks since we called the ambulance. My totally rad boyfriend swooped in, pecked me on the cheek and then moved quickly to sit next to my sister on the bed.
"How you feeling?" He asked, wrapping an arm around her as she wrapped one around him.
"I'd be better if they had more than cartoon channels on this TV, I'm missing Judge Judy!" Terezi complained.
"Your not gonna have time for TV," Mituna smiled, squeezing her tight to him, "guess who I brought along?"
"Sollux!" She guessed.
"Yup! Somebody else too. Guess again," Mituna urged, smiling up at me. He was always so good with her.
"Oh, not Eridan?" Terezi grimaced. Mituna laughed at her.
"It's not nice to laugh at a blind girl!" My sister shot back, and Mituna only laughed harder.
"No, TZ, I wouldn't do that to anybody I actually liked," he replied, ruffling the back of her short hair, but careful of the bandages. "Okay, Come in guys."
From around the corner came Terezi's surprises. Karkat, a longtime friend if Terezi's was leading. Following behind him was Sollux, Mituna's younger brother. Karkat slouched, like usual, but I noticed he had writing on his hand under his long sleeve. "KEEP YOUR VOICE DOWN, FUCKASS," it read, and that sounded like advice Karkat should take from himself. What, with being the loudest kid in the tri-county area. Sollux was back rocking his mismatched vans, one red and one blue. The kid had some interesting fashion choices but I wasn't going to say anything.
"Hey TZ, what'th up?" The younger captor brother lisped.
"Hi Terezi," Karkat greeted, grumbling in that perpetually grumpy tone of his.
"Oh, not much," my sister replied dryly, "just bored out of my mind."
Mituna got up off the bed, moving away from the kids, and grabbed my elbow, sliding us out of the room. He closed the door to Terezi's room and turned to face me, grinning like a man mad. He wrapped his free arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him, his other still resting on my elbow.
I closed the distance between us, coy eyes fluttering shut as our lips met. He tilted his head, pressing closer to me. It didn't last though, we were in public after all, and sloppy make outs were generally frowned upon. When he pulled away he was still smiling, and now I was too.
He'd given me mouth to mouth smile resuscitation and I'd taken to it like a bee to honey.
"How's my tulip?" He asked, leaning his forehead to mine where my bangs stuck to my forehead.
"Better," I replied, giggling, "now I've got my Tuna."
"That's good," he huffed, still smiling, and gave me a chaste kiss on the nose.
"I wanna take you somewhere," he continued, "if you feel up to it."
I frowned, sighing as my gaze drifted down, "I would love to, babe, but I can't. I can't leave Terezi."
"I've got it covered," he said, much to my surprise. "I've got Meulin and Kurloz on it. I called everybody and I've got a goddamn sheriff's posse assembled to come keep her mind off stuff while you're gone."
"Did you call my mom?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows, directing my gaze back up to him.
"Didn't, nope," he was still grinning, still my overconfident Tuna, "I figured you could tell her you're with me and it'll be fine."
"I guess it must be pretty special if you pulled Kurloz out of the smoke haze for this," I mused, "I'm still not sure if I should leave my sister though."
Mituna had some hair brained scheme to do this if I knew him, chock full of bribery and instant-messenger shenanigans. His grin broadened, if that was possible, as he launched his explain action. "I've got Sollux and Karkat here now, Kankri is coming to pick them up later. At two, Meulin is bringing Nepeta and Equius. When they leave at four, Kurloz is bringing Gamzee and Tavros. Then Meulin is gonna bring Nepeta back up with Aradia, and they'll stay until your mom gets here at eight. It's covered, she won't even notice you're gone."
"But Terezi hates Gamzee," I objected.
"Yeah, well," Mituna's voice dropped to a hush, "I guess the kids tripping on shit so hard right now he probably won't even speak."
"That's gross," I said, sticking my tongue out, "how can Kurloz let him do that?"
Mituna just shrugged. Kurloz's business was not his business and what two kids did alone in a drug house was not his problem. Kurloz was his best friend though, and he wouldn't let Mituna down.
"I've got everything ready," he redirected, "go say goodbye to Terezi, you'll be back."
I'm reluctant to move. I don't want to leave Terezi, but then again, I haven't been home for more than than two hours at a time since the accident.
My summer, my last big hurrah before senior year, before stuff got serious, was turning out tremendously different than I'd wanted it. It wouldn't kill me to leave, but I didn't want to.
Mituna raised his eyebrows, silently asking me what was up.
Oh, just screw it!
This was handled. Terezi would have a ton of friends here, she wouldn't be alone. I deserved a break.
I pulled out of my boyfriends arms and slipped back into the room, approaching my sister from the opposite side of the bed her friends stood on.
"Latula?" She asked. She must have been able to hear my shoes or something.
"Hey, Sissy, I'm gonna go with Mituna for a while. You gonna be alright here?" I asked, reaching down to hold her left hand.
"Oh yes," she grinned, squeezing my hand before she let go, "Karkat brought crayons. Look at this."
She presented me with a piece of paper, covered in scrawl. She cackled, and I laughed too. It was supposed to be me, I think, except the once talented drawer now couldn't see her hand. It was just a black blob on top of a teal blob, with a red line across the middle. My sunglasses, I figured. I could see her doing portraits of Karkat and Sollux too.
"This is a masterpiece," I grinned, folding the paper to stick in my pocket.
"Isn't it? I've found my calling," she said, and then she cackled again.
"Okay, well," I found myself procrastinating, standing awkwardly by her, "if you're sure it's okay."
"Have fun," she grinned, but then a look of worry crossed her face, "oh, wait, Latula?"
I perked up, thinking she needed something, and I was about to jump to go get it for her.
"Thanks," she said, a little softer this time, worry morphing into sincerity, "for being such a rad big sister and staying with me so long."
I bite my lower lip to keep it from quivering. I pulled her into a quick hug and rested my face near her temple. My sister smelled like hospital and antiseptic, not like her cherry shampoo. I had to leave, now, before I cried. I didn't kiss her, just sniffled a little, and pulled away. I still didn't want to leave her.
"Bye," I bid, and I quickly left, shutting the door and sealing Terezi inside.
Mituna grabbed my hand as I walk by, blazing a path through the halls to the elevator. I was hyper aware of where I was. I dodged the same nurses I had been for the last three days, except this time I'm walking fast enough they're a blur. I jammed the button repeatedly for a lift once we reached the elevators. It infuriated me that it just wouldn't come fast enough.
"God damn this shit," I cursed, and finally I'm just all done holding back. I buried my face in my hands and Mituna wrapped me tight against his chest, and cradling my head into the crook of his neck.
Why Terezi? Why my little sister?
She used to be a talented artist. She used to like to make role playing costumes. She used to like to run and jump in the woods, and she liked playing in the cul-de-sac we called home. I wondered if she could still do any of that? She was only thirteen, she was still a baby.
It hadn't been my turn to watch them. Aranea had been right there when it'd happened and there was nothing she could have done. There was nothing I could have done.
The elevator binged, and its doors opened. People stumbled out of it, but I couldn't see their faces. They didn't spare me a second glance, people crying at hospitals was common. Mituna ushered me inside. We rode it down to the ground floor, and he walked with his arm around my hips out to his car.
Mituna's car was a silver beater from two thousand five. It had six dents on the driver's side, two of which he had put there. His dad had paid for half of it last summer when Tuna got his license. It had a hundred thousand miles but a convertible top, which he'd left down.
I loved it when he let the top down.
He loved it when my hair blew loose in the wind. He always told me I looked so pretty.
He scooted the car out of the parking lot and got us on the road, jumping on to the highway nearby. He had tissues in the console and the music turned up, blasting down the highway as we flew away from the hospital.
My favorite song was on but I couldn't be bothered to care.
I dried my eyes and decided looking out the window was probably best for me right now. I wanted to know where we were going, but I knew Tuna wouldn't spill it.
I pulled my hair out of the pony tail it'd be in for days and let my head lean back on the shotgun seat. I was so tired. It hit me just then. I tried to remember how much sleep I'd gotten, but I couldn't. Mom still had to work so she was the one that needed to rest, not me. It didn't matter though, even when Terezi was asleep I was still awake.
"If you wanna nap on the way there, go ahead 'Tula, I don't mind," Tuna offered, turning down the radio.
I shook my head, not that he could see. The sun was so bright and warm, the air on my skin felt good. I was glad now I'd come.
"Reach me my sunglasses from behind the seat?" Mituna asked, not taking his eyes away from the road. I hummed in response and leaned over in my seat belt until I could peer into the back seat. His sunglasses were laying forgotten on the ground, but placed carefully in the seat was a trio of bags. His canvas duffle bag he used when he stayed over, my school bag from last year, and a bag we usually took skateboarding. I snatched his sunglasses up and righted myself in my seat.
"Tuna, where are we going?" I asked, turning to him. This is serious, I couldn't fathom why we would need all this. "And what's in the bags?"
"There's just normal stuff in the bags. Extra cloths, your phone charger, don't worry," he explained, trying to brush the question off, "and before you ask, I didn't go rifling through your underwear. That was Meulin.
He let Meulin in my house? Oh, God what? Not cool. Not cool at all. He might have known my garage door passcode, but that was not an okay to just go using it whenever around whoever. I wondered if Kurloz was there too. That was a scary thought, I don't even know how Meulin's family stood him.
"Mituna, what's going on?" I asked. Suddenly I don't think I'm so okay with this road trip. I hand him his sunglasses anyway.
"It's a surprise Tulip," his grin never faltered and he put on his shades as he speaks, "we're going boarding. Is that a good enough explanation? I don't want to ruin it."
I'm not happy about it, but I accepted that answer. I crossed my arms and leaned back into the seat.
An hour later we were still on the road. Two hours after that and I'd fallen asleep.
I'm not sure where we were when I woke up, but it was four hours away from home, and according to my phone it was four o'clock. Terezi was on my mind even before my eyes opened, and I couldn't believe how far he'd taken me away from her. Even with her friends, even with mom, she still needed me.
We still had time, mom gets out of work at eight and heads home around eleven. We have time to get back, but that's not what worried me, what worried me is the car was stopped and Mituna wasn't here. I unbuckled my seatbelt and I opened the car door. I was freaking out, this is so, so not cool. Best I could tell, this was some ice cream parlor on-Wait, hold on.
In front of me, blind to my eyes, was the ocean. I could see it, I could hear it. Waves crashed on the sand, and the sun was still bright. The air smelled like salt and there's was a lot of moisture in the air. Gulls cried overhead. I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe I was standing there, my jaw on the pavement and the car door open.
I'd never been here before. I'd never seen the ocean.
It's so big. It spans all the way to the horizon and it kept going. It kept going in every direction. I'd never seen anything like these sparkling waves before.
"Latula?" I didn't expect Mituna to come up behind me, but I didn't jump.
I felt my boyfriend's hand on the small of my back, and he joined me, gawking at the vast body of water. He leaned in, kissing my cheek before he whispered, "I feel like that every time I look at you."
A blush rose to my features and I looked over at him. He's just standing there.
Suddenly my mind is clear. It's okay. He maked me feel okay.
"I got the boards in the trunk, wanna explore?" He asked, his grin from earlier returning.
"Sure," I smiled, because his was contagious. He puts the top up on the car, locked it, and then grabbed our skateboards out of the trunk.
Mine was my favorite color, teal, and I'd stuck all kinds of stickers on it. A heart for Tuna, a couple little Pokemon (because who didn't think Pokemon was rad?), and a dragon. It was big and white, and it was from a band I didn't care for but it was cool at least. Tuna's board was gold. He's had all kinds of quotes scrawled on it, things I'd said to him, stuff Kurloz said when he was stoned, quotes from books and movies and stupid doodles.
We strode out of the parking lot and onto a wide sidewalk where we both sat our boards down and pushed off, riding off down the beachfront. It wasn't busy, there weren't a lot of people, being a weekday and still inside normal work hours. We rode down the beach so far I couldn't see the car anymore, and we kept going. Eventually we reached a more populated area, a boardwalk with stores and a few flights of stairs with railing to grind on.
We did stupid couple shit for hours.
We skateboarded, took selfies, walked down the beach with slushies, and just hung around being cute. If it wasn't me on his arm I'd be gagging with all the PDA.
I threw the cup to my cherry slushy in the trash as I rode by it, pushing my foot off the ground to keep myself rolling. As we reached the car, I stepped on the back of my board, the front of it coming up so I could pick it up. My boyfriend popped the trunk, put his inside, and places mine next to it as I hand it to him. Our legs ached, and just as I think he's probably ready to go home, he pulls a blanket out of a bag in the back seat and asked me to watch the sunset with him.
He'd never been sentimental like that. Most days I wasn't sure if he was aware the sun even orbited the earth, but there he was. Today had been a weird day, a weird couple of days actually. I didn't pay it any extra attention.
I can't say no.
He took my hand as we walked down to the beach. As we got closer to the water and closer to where the tides came in, the wind picked up. Mituna spread the blanket out and I we both lose our shoes, and our socks. The sand wasn't burning hot like I thought it would be. He spread out eagle, and smiled at me when I settled down next to him. I propped my head up on his arm and angle my legs away from his. My hands laid palm up. Even though everything was loud, the gulls, the water, the other people, I was pretty relaxed.
"Did you decide which classes you're gonna take in the fall?" Mituna asked, folding one arm over his abdomen.
"I wanna take drafting and design," I huffed, "I'm really hoping that does it for me. I still don't know what I wanna be."
"Me either," he confides.
"Terezi's got it in her head she wants to be a lawyer. I don't know how that's gonna go over now," I said, almost bitterly. Mituna smirked.
"Sollux, that little shit, he's getting better and better at computers."
That made me giggle, because it figured. Mituna's house was pretty much nerd central. Sollux had the place overrun with computers and parts and all sorts if technogeek nonsense. Mituna and their dad just put up with it.
It's weird how the kids already had a career and I was laying on the beach, thinking about a whole lot of nothing. My cell phone was long forgotten in my pocket. I didn't even think to call my mom even though was eight fifty and there was more dark in the sky than there was light.
"What are you gonna take?" I asked, looking over at him. His eyes were anchored to the purple sky.
"I dunno. Auto shop maybe, or newspaper or year book or something that won't bore me out of my head," he said that last part like it was funny. I looked away from him and followed his gaze to the star peppered sky.
"I'm excited for college, even if I don't know where I'm headed," I added. He noded even though I didn't see it.
"Me too," he agreed, and not to be outdone, he continued on to the next subject.
"You know, I'm gonna be eighteen in September, and you will be in November. But I guess that doesn't have anything to do with it, not if we don't want it to," he bit his lip, "but I've been thinking about this a really long time."
"Yeah?"
"Mhm. Probably since last summer," he agreed, "I just wanted to see where this was gonna go, at first, but I think I know now."
My eyebrows furrowed. "What, Mituna?"
"Well, it's just, I've had this planned out for a while. And then Terezi got hurt and I wasn't sure if it was a good idea anymore."
He's not trying to be careful, but I can sense apprehension in his tone.
"Well I'm here," I grinned, looking over at him while he's staring up at the stars.
"I'm glad you're here," he hummed, and then he met my gaze. "I have a really important thing I wanna ask you."
"Ask me," I said, looking back up at the stars. I closed my eyes for just a second. I could hear his voice over the sound of the waves, I could even feel him breathe, he filled my senses entirely.
"Okay," he snorted, like something was funny, and then he shuffled around for a second.
Something cold pressed into the palm of my hand and my eyes opened to see what it is.
It's was ring. A skinny, gold band with a single stone in the middle. It was tiny, and white, and it wa anchored into the ring, not set outside of it. It was clean, like it just came from the store and I couldn't help but stare at it.
"Latula, would you marry me?"
"Mituna…" I trailed off, my mouth hung open in awe.
"We can't, until the fall. I know that, but I know you're the one for me too. I'll marry you this fall, next summer, ten years from now, whenever you want. I just want you to be mine."
I swallowed hard as I turned the ring over in my fingers. This wasn't a promise ring, this was a wedding ring. I can't just not look at it, I can't look away. For just a minute I didn't hear or feel anything, there was just this cold metal band in my hand.
I should say something, I realized. Mituna's probably freaking out because I haven't answered him.
I don't know what to say.
I wanna marry him, I wanna marry him so bad. The nagging thought of college is picking my brain though, and senior year. God, we still had all of senior year to go.
"I mean it," he said, and I managed to pull myself away from the ring to look up at him as he spoke.
"I'll wait as long as it takes for you to be ready," his voice was firm, but I can seat his eyes are glassy.
I could feel tears welling in my eyes too. I used the hand not holding the ring to scrub my left eye. I smiled, taking my sunglasses off so I could look at him, really look at him.
"I don't understand why you're asking me now," I choked out. It sounded more confident than it actually was.
"Well," he laughed a little, wiping his own eyes.
"Like I said earlier, I didn't count on Terezi getting hurt. Some crazy stuff happened. Sollux getting a scholarship for his programming, my dad getting promoted and then fired," his hands dropped to the blanket, "stuff just changes so fast. This is senior year, and everybody keeps telling us to get out of this town and make something of ourselves."
I remembered all of that happening over the last few months. He told me everything after all.
"I can't do that, Latula," he continued, "I can't do that without you. I don't want to be alone."
I just nod, slowly.
I understood.
"It's crazy," I laughed nervously, "how stuff changes. Your right."
We were changing right now.
"Do you want me to ask you again later?" He asked hesitantly, "when stuff calms down?"
"No," I spit out quickly. I could tell he's not sure how to respond to that.
Neither of us said anything for what felt like an eternity. I was sure he was beating himself up over this. I really needed to answer him. He looked scared.
If I was upfront, if I said I wasn't ready and gave it back, we could keep going like we had been the last two years. No, actually, it wouldn't. This changed everything.
If I was upfront and told him now, he wouldn't be… Hurt? No, let down, as bad if I just squirreled around the question. I loved Mituna. I loved him from the bottom of the heart, as much as I loved my little sister. Was I ready for this? I honest to god didn't think so.
"Hey, Tuna?" I asked, hiccuping a little as a grin rose to my lips, "this is a pretty rad ring."
"You like it?" He questioned, "I know it's small, but I figured it was your style."
"Yeah," I said firmly, "I really like it. Just one problem."
He quirks an eyebrow, frowning. "What?"
"It ain't gonna put itself on my finger."
Suddenly everything melts away except for the sound of his laughter. He put a hand over his mouth, trying to stifle himself, but to no avail. I could see tears leaking out at the corners of his eyes and I'm sure mine are wet too. I hand him the ring, and he takes it, gently. He was careful about sliding it onto my left ring finger, like it would crumble away if he was too rough.
What had I just agreed to?
He laced his fingers with mine, and he moved to rest them on the blanket, grinning like a badger in a beehive. I realized I was smiling too, because my face was honest to god starting to hurt.
We lay there, on the beach, in the dark under the stars for the rest of the night. At least until my mom called, demanding to know where the hell I was.
"Chill out," I told her, "I'm with Mituna."
"I get here and this strange girl and all these kids were in Terezi's room!" She shouted, "you'd better have a pretty good explanation for this!"
"I do!" I exclaimed, "I have, like, the best explanation ever."
So you'll have to forgive me? This is what i did instead of update my other two stories this month. I've been binging on Homestuck for the last month, more like three weeks really. Mituna and Latula are my new OTP, I thought they needed something happy. This is Mituna pre-accident. If I write another it'll be post accident.
Also, I tried to write this like the comic, in command from, which is weird. Half way though i changed it but I kept switching back for some reason? I'm exhausted trying to edit this, so if there are errors its because I missed them when I went though.