It happened in an instant, but it was the best instant of my life.
The short, grumpy troll stood in front of me, laughing. "Wow, Egbert! I didn't even think humans could be THIS stupid, but thanks for proving me wrong!"
Quizzically, I asked, "What do you mean?"
Karkat pointed towards the ground, and my untied shoelace came to my attention. I shook my head, saying, "Oh!" almost habitually.
Bending over to tie the shoelaces. I smirked. The idea came to me so quickly, but how great of an idea it would be.
"Hurry up! I've met wrigglers faster than you, Egbert!" complained Karkat.
Each movement of my finger and each placement of the shoelace had to be perfect. Over, under, in, around, loop-the-loop, and out went my nimble fingers as I made quite an interesting formation with the shoelaces.
Finally, I inspected my work, if only for a second. I couldn't linger long, lest I reveal my plan to the grumpy troll before me. I nodded to myself. These shoelaces were perfect, indeed.
"Are you done with your primitive human shoe-fastening, Egderp?"
"Yeah, I am."
Karkat's eyes trailed down to my shoelaces. I gulped, hoping that my plan hadn't been revealed.
He simply smirked. "Are you that much of a fuck-for-brains, Egbert?" Karkat heckled. He extended a finger to my poorly-tied shoelaces, putting his hands on his hips. "Just try walking one step towards me with that crap and I will laugh as your stupid Earth gravity takes its toll on your face." He laughed.
I shrugged, merely saying, "Okay." Inside, I breathed a huge sigh of relief. My plan was still intact, and propelled even by Karkat himself! Tentatively, I extended a foot towards Karkat, making sure the length appeared natural. I felt the tension against my other foot, surely caused by my perfectly-executed poor shoelace-tying maneuver. By moving the other foot, the tension built until I finally tripped.
Then, my torso awkwardly met the troll's in front of me, and my arms latched around his shoulders in a hug. Perfect!
Karkat looked stunned for a moment, then hugged me back. He buried his face in my shoulder, and I felt his body heat against me. My senses were in absolute bliss.
Then, I picked up another sense. As if I needed any more happiness.
It was a voice.
"Egbert, that was a fucking terrible prank."
