Jam

By Slothy Astronaut

Aradia's hive was small and cozy, Nepeta observed as she sat in a large pile of pillows, a cup of tea in her hands. She looked over at the other troll as she settled into the pile with her own cup of tea.

"So, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" Aradia asked.

Nepeta shifted a little.

"I wanted to talk to you about Equius, if that's okay." Nepeta said.

"Equius? What about him?" Aradia asked, puzzled.

"You were his matesprit, weren't you?" she asked, "I mean, what was it like?"

Aradia stayed silent a moment, sipping her tea.

"It was nice while it lasted, but we didn't have all that much in common, so we broke it off." She said after a few moments. "Why do you ask?"

Nepeta fidgeted a little, and blushed lightly.

"I think… I think I might be flushed for him," she said slowly.

Aradia seemed to recoil in shock a little.

"Really? Flushed for Equius? What happened to you and Karkat?" she inquired, taking another sip of her tea.

Nepeta sighed, frowning.

"I… I found him with Terezi at the dance a few nights ago. He's with her now. Sometimes I wonder if he ever really cared…" she said, her voice trailing off as she looked down to her tea.

"Hey, forget Karkat. He's trouble, anyway. Tell me about Equius." Aradia said, trying to lighten the mood with talk of Nepeta's moirail.

Nepeta kept staring at her tea, watching a lone bubble swirl around the surface.

"Well, I ran off after I found Karkat, and Equius came looking for me. I didn't even know he was at the dance, but he found me. Probably just looking out for me, as usual." She smiled.

"Anyway, I lost my shoes when I was running, but he had found them and brought them with him. How sweet is that?" she asked, looking at Aradia.

Aradia smiled. "Pretty sweet of him, yeah. So then what happened?"

"Well, I… I asked him if he would dance with me. I went to the dance to dance with Karkat, and I never got to. I almost thought he might say no, but he didn't. He danced with me, Aradia, and it was amazing…" she said, smiling.

"Sounds like a great moirail if he did all that to make you feel better," Aradia said, before drinking the last of her tea and setting the cup aside.

"Yeah, he is a great meowrail, the best ever, but…" she paused for a moment, hesitating.

Aradia raised an eyebrow.

"But what?" she asked, curious.

"But I kissed him," Nepeta blurted out, blushing.

Aradia appeared to be surprised, and she spoke slowly.

"You kissed him?" she asked.

Nepeta nodded. "We had just finished dancing, and I pulled him down and I kissed him."

She went quiet a moment before continuing.

"Oh, Aradia, what do I do? I don't know if I'm flushed for him, and if I am, is he for me?"

Aradia laughed a little.

"Nepeta, relax. Give it time. If you're flushed for him, and he is for you, sooner or later you'll see. And if not, hopefully you'll be able to move past that kiss and just stay moirails."

Nepeta drank the last drops of her tea, looking down at the dregs.

"I think… I think I'll just ask him what he thinks. Is that being too straightforward?"

Aradia shook her head.

"No," she replied quietly. "If you feel like you need to ask him, to get some answers, that's understandable. Equius is great like that, he'll listen to you and he'll probably tell you. There's really not much else I can say to you, Nepeta." Aradia smiled at the little troll.

Nepeta looked back up.

"Thanks, Aradia," she said, moving to hug her.

Aradia laughed as she embraced Nepeta. "You're welcome, Nepeta. Happy to help."

Nepeta checked her watch. It was half past five, and she needed to get home before it got dark at six.

"Aradia, I hate to cut and run, but it's getting dark soon. He'll start to worry if I'm not home soon." She said, climbing out of the pile.

Aradia smiled. "No problem, just come back tomorrow if you need anything else, okay?"

Nepeta smiled, nodding. "Sure. Thanks again," she said as she hurried out the door.

Aradia flopped back into the pile. It was cute, really, she thought. She'd never seen a relationship go from pale to flushed in such a way before. Like a fairy tale, she mused, as she closed her eyes, resting on the pillows.

The End.