Thorns
By Slothy Astronaut
"Dammit!" Karkat yelled, yanking his hand away from the bundle of roses he was tending to. He felt the thorn embedded deep in his thumb, his candy red blood pooling up. He sucked on it angrily, trying to work out the thorn with his teeth. Bit by bit, it came out, until it separated itself from his finger, and he spat it into a trashcan. He grabbed a Band-Aid from a box next to him and quickly wrapped his thumb. Damn, roses hurt like hell. He had only pricked himself a dozen times, trying to remove all the thorns by himself. But, he had to do it; otherwise Terezi would get her hands torn up by them too. He plucked a few more off, and then quickly looked them over. He didn't spot any more, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Thank god, he thought. He took a length of red ribbon, something he had been saving for a while, and carefully wrapped the roses up, tying it with a bow. He picked it up. "This is stupid…" he grumbled. "She doesn't even like flowers…"
Still, he carried it with him and out the door. He held the bouquet of roses behind his back, and made for a comical sight as he tried to sneak around the meteor until he reached Terezi's room. He knocked twice, taking a deep breath as he moved the flowers in front of him. He could hear her moving around inside, and he took a step back right before she opened the door.
She was about six inches shorter than he was, and her head was covered by her scalemate cloak. She wasn't wearing pants, he observed, but just boxer shorts. She sniffled, looking up at him blindly.
"Who's there?" She asked, in a nasally voice.
"It's me, Karkat." He said softly.
"Oh, hey. What are you doing here?" she inquired.
"Uh, I guess… I uh, brought you something." He said.
He held out the flowers, but she didn't move.
"Karkat," she said, "I can't smell anything, my nose is all stuffy…"
Karkat reached down slowly so as not to startle her, then lifted her arm until her fingers brushed against the ribbon. She moved forward a step, and her hand wrapped around the flowers.
She raised an eyebrow, puzzled.
"Karkat, are these flowers?" she asked.
"Um, yeah. I got you some flowers." He said.
She smiled, bringing them close to her face. She tried to smell them, but her sinuses were so stuffy that she couldn't smell a thing. She reached out, searching with her hand until she found Karkat's hand. It was all bandaged up. Did he pick these himself?
"Thanks, Karkat," she said, smiling, "but why'd you get me flowers?"
He began to blush lightly, unsure of how to proceed.
"I uh, I got you flowers because, well, I…" his voice trailed off, and Terezi tilted her head , confused.
"You what?" she asked.
"It's a human gesture, someone gives flowers to someone they wish to…" He trailed off again, fidgeting with his hands.
Terezi was thoroughly confused. Was Karkat giving her flowers because he liked her?
"Karkat," she said softly, "do you like me, or do you like me, like me?"
He blushed a deep red, and he was glad she couldn't smell it.
"Um, yes?" he stammered, quickly fidgeting.
She smiled, holding the roses to her chest. She stepped forward, brushing her hand up his arm until she could wrap her arm around his shoulders. She stood on tiptoe.
"I like you too, Karkat, "she whispered into his ear.
He couldn't have blushed any redder, and he felt his cheeks burning. She held the hug for another moment, then let go and stepped back, sniffling.
"I'm really sorry I'm not feeling well, Karkat…" she said sadly, "otherwise I'd be able to enjoy these flowers you brought me."
He shrugged.
"That's okay," he said.
She rubbed her cheekbones suddenly, and then groaned.
Karkat stepped forward, concerned.
"Terezi? You okay?"
She shook her head.
"Got a pretty bad headache is all," she grumbled, "I should get some sleep."
"Is there anything I can do to help you?" he asked.
She shook her head again.
"You don't have to do anything, Karkat. It's okay…"
He crossed his arms.
"Terezi, please, let me help you." He said in a quiet, but firm voice.
She looked up, and he saw her face. She had started to cry, and she was biting her lip in pain.
"Do you think," she asked quietly, "you could just… hold me until I fall asleep? It'll help get rid of this headache…"
He smiled, using his sleeve to gently wipe away her tears.
"Yeah, I can do that." He said, moving to gently scoop her up. She wrapped both arms around his neck, and buried her face in his chest as he held her in his arms. He was careful to cradle her, and he gently carried her into her room, where her bed was overturned to make what looked like a fort, complete with scalemates at the "entrances". He paused for a moment, still holding her.
She pulled one arm away, pointing to a large chair in the corner of the room, dropping the roses on a table as she did so.
"Right there's a chair, Karkat…" she said, sniffling again.
He stepped over a handful of scalemates, careful not to jostle Terezi around too much, then turned around and sat in the chair. She shifted her hands down from his neck, letting them rest on her chest. Her head lay cradled in Karkat's shoulder, and he moved her cloak so it was covering her snugly, and then put his arms around her lower back and shoulders.
"T-Thanks, Karkat…" she said, no longer crying.
"You're welcome, Terezi," he said, holding her close to him and gently rocking her. He could feel her chest rise and fall against his, little puffs of air against his neck as she breathed slowly.
She smiled a little, and she felt her headache begin to subside as she started to fall asleep.
Karkat began to doze off too, and looking down at Terezi, swaddled in her cloak and his arms, he felt a sense of peace. The last thing he saw before falling asleep was Terezi, with that cute little smile on her face.
The End.