Karkat/Terezi (Flushed): Remember When Terezi Smelled Karkat's Blood Under His Skin?
Terezi Pyrope is a godawful fucking terror. She's intimidating enough online (not that you'd ever admit it out loud because come on) and now here she is in person swinging that hideous dragon cane sword around like a full-grown legislacerator, and you're caught flat on your feet and uncomfortably aware that it was more luck than skill that you killed those imps. And yeah, fuck your life, turns out hours of CruelTube video tutorials don't teach you actual skill with your sickles, and you're pretty sure that at this point a brisk breeze could take you out, while everyone knows Terezi's been killing kids with Vriska for sweeps. Terezi Pyrope is made of sharp edges and grins with more teeth than any one troll should have and she's terrifying and you just asked if she wants to team up.
Okay, that's being generous. You said some junk about strong the imps were and how a dead annoying teammate was worse than a live annoying teammate so if she wanted to stick around while you fought off the monsters for a little while (and maybe try out that kickass jump-slash combo because you're sure you'll get it this time), you'd try to keep your disgust to a minimum. She laughed. She laughed for longer than was nice and you had to stomp off so she didn't see your ears going bright red and you were figuring that's it, time to go back to humiliating yourself all alone instead of humiliating yourself in front of her, but she followed you and slapped you on the back hard enough to make you stagger.
She doesn't let it go, because god forbid Terezi Pyrope play nice by any decent social standard. It's a good fifteen minutes before she bothers to vary on the theme of being a 'delicate little flower who needs the protection of a big strong threshecutioner' and extends her repertoire to include such classics as 'maybe you could teach a poor unlearned girl how to really fight' and 'don't move too quickly or you might leave the helpless blind girl behind.' She can't even keep a straight face for that last one, and once she gets cackling it's strangely infectious and you catch yourself almost smiling before you stop it and feel some of the nervous tension unwinding in your stomach.
And then she trips (on a completely flat piece of ground, fuck, it's the paved part of your lawnring, and you were a better actor than her when you were two sweeps old), and catches your arm and tucks herself in close and you're winding up to say something loud and angry but it all deflates out of you when you get distracted feeling her tucked up against your side, all grinning like she doesn't care that you know what her game is. There are sharp chilly ribs digging into your side and there is no reason that should be cute. You stumble over your words, something lame as hell about how maybe you should find her a seeing eye barkbeast? God, you don't want to remember was you said because past Karkat is a moron, and you're already wincing at her inevitable reaction, but she only pats your arm sympathetically and says that even the strongest of all trolls are vulnerable to her feminine wiles.
That startles a laugh (one laugh) out of you, and the tension fades away a bit more and things are almost normal between you again. You kill some imps together, and you think you maybe manage to look a little cool sometimes. And when your awesome jump-slash move fucks up she's even nice enough to pretend like she didn't smell the whole thing. You're kind of hoping that this might be a thing? A thing that lasts? It turns out you don't even mind your hideous mutant-red planet anymore because it makes it that less likely that Terezi will stiff out your hideous mutant-red blood. And you make a pretty kickass team even if she's providing a disproportionate amount of the ass-kicking at the moment. But she sighs and pats your actual cheek (and okay you guess you'll take that from her) and says that her quest and your quest don't really overlap so she has to stay out there and you have to stay right here.
She comes in for a hug before she goes, though, and there's an awkward moment where you're not really sure what to do with your arms because, uh. Have you ever hugged anyone but your dad before? No. And it's so weird (so nice) to have her there and patiently waiting while you figure out where your hands go, and then when you're all wrapped up together she gives you a fucking tight squeeze and takes a deep whiff of your neck. And stops. And takes another deep breath. You freeze, and you're not sure whether to bluff or run, but what's running going to do? Terezi Pyrope could take you apart in two seconds flat. Even about half a breath from panic, you manage rude (what can you say, it's a natural talent) and ask her what the hell she's doing. She giggles and says she just getting a good picture and asks if you have any photographs she can take to with her to remember you by. You relax because yeah, classic Terezi, and anyone who figured out your blood wouldn't be giggling, god, and say something snide about her slobbering all over other people's things (and you're not going to tell her about the photo album you put together for dad for Twelfth Perigee's Eve last sweep). You wave her off as she heads to the gate, and you aren't sure what the range of her nose is, but you keep waving until a few seconds after she's disappeared, and walk back to your hive wearing a goofy-as-shit grin.