"What do you think they're doing now?" Karkat asks Sollux as he rubs slow circles into the fine China.

"You have got to stop, KK. She is not going to fall in love with Equius in one weekend, especially when she knows she'll have to come back and face you every day after."

"She could always fire me."

"She wouldn't do that."

"Equius's ranch is pretty nice. It's a lot better than this place. She's probably enjoying herself more over there than she ever will here."

"Am I going to have to listen to this for the rest of the weekend?"

"I'm sorry, Sollux. I have a very limited freedom of speech and excuse me if I want to exercise that small right."

"Oi, you are so dramatic. Don't you trust TZ?"

"Of course I trust her. I just… I guess I just love her too much not to stress over this."

"But have you seen Equius? Terezi would never fall for a stiff like that."

"I just don't understand why she likes me in the first place. So I'm not sure what kind of guys she's actually into."

"What. No, like seriously what the hell."

He tucks his chin in and dries a dinner plate, his eyes staying on its reflective surface and not daring to meet the eyes of the cook.

Said cook releases a strained sigh through his teeth before handing the servant another plate to dry.

"Okay, sorry. Forgot you were so sensitive."

"The only thing that's going to be sensitive is your nose when I punch your face in."

"And touchy. Aren't you the complete package? Terezi's a lucky girl."

"Or a girl who's about to get lucky."

Sollux slapped him on the arm.

"Stop that."

"I can't. If I don't get these done, I'm pretty sure Mrs. Pyrope will flip."

"You little bitch, I'm the one who's going to flip if you don't let me help you."

"I don't need your help."

"Oh? Who are you going to rant to about this then, huh? Why don't you go tell Mr. Pyrope that you're worried about the state of your relationship with his daughter? Yeah, I'm sure that'll go over real well. He'll totally understand."

"…Sorry."

"You don't have to apologize. I'm just…not good at this consoling thing. Maybe you should tell Kanaya, she'd be able to help."

"Yeah, right after she saws me in half for not telling her earlier. Kanaya can't know about Terezi."

"Why not?"

"I don't think she'd approve."

"Man. It's Kanaya."

"I know…" he sets his last plate in the mahogany cabinet.

"Well, look at that, I'm done, bye."

Before he could run off, Sollux grabbed the back of his collar.

"And where are you going off to in such a hurry?"

"Nowhere, it's not important."

Sollux gives an exasperated sigh and let's go of the poor kid's uniform.

"Fine, fine, do what you want. But just remember what I said. Terezi's not going to break up with you over one weekend."

"Sure." And he gives a little smile that would look miserable on anyone else, but on Karkat, it gives Sollux a semblance of hope.

"Pick up, pick up."

Terezi's near-silent pleas are only met by a disconcerting dial tone.

"Come on, Karkat, I need you to pick up." The right side of her face is warm and damp with sweat that makes the dark auburn of her locks stick to her pale skin. Her eyes are also warm and damp, pooling to the brim and making the lights of the city appear like the smeared strokes of a child's frosted window paintings.

The dial tone is cut off.

"Terezi?" His voice brings a swell of emotions left unvisited for the better half of a year. She remembers instantly how they met, he had been accused of stealing and the student council had to assign him a lawyer, she remembers falling in love with him as they worked together on the case, two fifteen-year-old problem sleuthing boyfriend and girlfriends, and she remembers spending as much time as she could with him from that point on to her sophomore year in college when he became clingy and overly jealous of a certain blonde rapper.

Speaking of certain blonde rappers.

"I don't think he's breathing," she babbles, "He could be dead I need help and I didn't know who else to call and I know you went into the medical field and I —"

"Deep breathes, Terezi, who's not breathing?"

"Dave, it's Dave, we were climbing down the fire escape and he fell and it was pretty high up and I'm not sure if he's going to live or die and I know you probably hate me and him but I really need your help and I'm willing to pay whatever price you —"

"That's not necessary. Just breath and tell me where you are."

"My apartment, the same one I've always lived in. In the alley."

"Okay, I'm going to call my friend, he's a paramedic, and then I'll head over there. Okay? By—"

"Wait, no, please call your friend and then call me back I don't want to be alone while —"

"Okay, one second —" Terezi heard muffled frantic voices before he got back to her, "Alright, my roommate is going to call my friend the paramedic. He happens to be both of our friends. Now just stay on the phone with me and if you could give me an estimate of what height you think he fell from."

"Um," she bites her lip, looking up at the fire escape, "It was at least two stories up."

"Is anything bent the wrong way, does it look like too much blood?"

"No, there's not a lot of blood, but, Karkat, it's so red, and not in a good way, it's that kind of sour red and I think I'm going to puke."

"Hey, hey, remember that one oriental coffee shop on campus?"

"Wasabi Java? Yeah, I still go there."

"Can you remember what their jade expressos tasted like? How they smelled?"

"Yeah." There's a slight relaxed tone in her voice.

"And you and Kanaya would order them and everyone else thought you two were crazy because who mixes jade and expressos anyway?"

"We thought that whole coffee shop was a whack job at first. But I think even you liked their teriyaki chicken wraps, and those green tea frappacinos."

"I'm willing to admit that not everything there was completely senseless."

"And then there was that girl, Aradia, who worked there and she would give Sollux discounts when he ordered two of everything."

"I don't even know how he hasn't run out of money yet with that kind of ordering strategy."

"I don't know, I found it kind of funny, like how Feferi only ordered things having to do with the ocean."

"Oh, speaking of Feferi, you know I met her cousin the other day."

"Meenah?"

"Yeah. She does the fish thing too. It must run in the family."

"I can't imagine what a family reunion would be like."

"Fish sandwiches and crab cakes galore."

"Wow our friends are weird."

"Look who's talking."

"Right back at ya. You're terrified when someone gets a little prick on the finger, and yet you're going into the medical field that handles needles the most."

"…Can I just say I appreciate how you didn't say nurse, that is a really nice thing that just happened. And, yes, hemophobia makes my job a bit harder, but I do it so well, man you should see the doctors, they take a couple steps back and their jaws hang on the floor they are so impressed with my sweet skills."

"You can't be that good."

"I can."

"Oh, shit."

"What?"

"…Terezi?"

"…Karkat?"

Kanaya moves her hand to wake the tealblood, but he holds his hand up resignedly,

"I'm awake."

"Couldn't sleep?" she sits down next to him and smooths the folds of her royal nightgown.

"You don't mind that I spent the day, do you?"

"Of course not." She rests her hand on his and smiles reassuringly, "You know you're always a welcome guest."

"Did anyone else?"

"Everyone else has gone back to their own hives. Why have you stayed?"

"I…I needed to talk to you, but you were busy with Gamzee and I didn't want to intrude."

"So you stayed outside my room the entire day?"

He gives a slight nod, bringing his knees up to his chin.

"Well, it must be important. What did you need to talk to me about?"

"I…Terezi and I had another fight last night."

"What was it about this time?"

"I don't know, I think she was mad about something, but I can't remember what I did to upset her. And then I may have suggested asking Nepeta to my matesprit —"

"Karkat! Why do you always —"

"I don't know, it was dumb, I guess I was kind of upset too, and it just came out. She probably hates me in the most platonic shade now."

"She doesn't hate you, Karkat, she probably was just feeling bad because of her lungs. So close to sea, it probably upset her breathing."

"She's not going to talk to me again."

"No, she won't. At least not until you apologize."

"But how do I do that? I mess up everything with Terezi, I'm just going to make things worse and she's going to hate me even more."

"Just tell her how you feel."

A look of undisguised horror flashes across his face.

"Oh, come on, would it really be the end of the world if you were just honest with her?"

"You don't understand, you and Gamzee have the perfect matespritship, it's too difficult, it's going to ruin being able to hang out with her, she's going to hate me."

"Well, the way you see it, she's going to hate you no matter what, so you might as well take the road that has a chance of leading to happiness."

"Is there any road that has been confirmed to lead to happiness?"

"You can never know these things for certain, Karkat, you simply have to trust that what you've built with Terezi is strong enough to handle a little honesty."

He sighs.

"So say I do go with this road you preach of, how am I even going to do it?"

"Well, first, you have to look presentable."

He groans as she takes his hand and leads him to her sewing room.

"I'm proud of you," says the teal-eyed cook with a smile.

"I don't deserve it."

She frowns.

Karkat's only been here for a few weeks, and he still hasn't show any signs of improvement, which some people have blamed on the one year age difference between him and his advisor.

Except today he almost made slight marginal progress, and Terezi, his assigned counselor, decided he deserved a little pick me up.

But Karkat was difficult and self-loathing, no matter if she was scolding or rewarding him. Everything was just so hard with him.

"Okay, if that's the way you feel…" she slides the plate to her side of the table.

"Hey!"

"You said you didn't deserve it."

"Oh, come on," he reaches for the plate, but she holds it over her head, "Terezi, please!"

"I'll give it back to your once you admit that you deserve it."

"Terezi." He practically growls.

"Those are the rules."

"I thought I was shipped off to this misery camp to learn how to stop lying."

"Yes. You're going to stop lying to me, and to yourself. You deserve this food. I know it, your father knows it, Jade knows it, and deep down, you know it too."

"I don't deserve it!" he shouts, "And don't you dare bring Jade or my dad into this!"

"Karkat, their deaths were not your fault —"

"They were! All of them, my dad's suicide, my girlfriend's suicide, people are willing to die to get away from me, I don't deserve anyone's kindness."

"But you still want the food?"

He slouches in his chair resignedly, "Yeah, but like everything else, I'm not going to get it."

"All you have to do is tell me that you deserve it."

"I came here to get better, Terezi. I don't want to kill more people —"

" — You didn't kill them —"

" — You're not helping me, you're just —"

"Tell me you deserve this food."

"I don't."

"You do."

"I don't."

"You do."

"Fine. I do. Now give it back."

"Not very convincing, give me a reason why you deserve it."

"Trick question, there is none."

"There is one, Karkat, I know you can find it."

"I deserve it because..." the rest is an unintelligible murmur.

"I can't hear you."

He shudders, "I deserve it because everyone I've ever loved has turned around and hurt me in one way or another and I'm willing to admit that .99% of the time it's not my fault that they do these things and I haven't had a proper meal in who knows how long."

"It's never your fault that these things happen, Karkat."

"Yeah, but I seem to be the only constant in every relationship that's ever failed."

"It is not your fault, okay? It's just terrible accident after terrible accident, and you have a very unfortunate series of events to call a childhood."

"I said I deserved it, didn't I? Can I just have my food?"

"I do suppose that is the deal I made." She sets the plate down in front of him and ruffles his hair.

"Try not to be so hard on yourself." She whispers as she leaves.

"Terezi drove back to her apartment to get those Twizzlers you like so much," Karkat explains as he closes the curtain around Dave's hospital bed, "She wants you to have something to look forward to when you wake back up. She's sweet like that, you know, and she'll deliver them with a bang, with that style only she can harness. You'll be better in no time, I bet."

He sits down in the visitor chair and buries his head in his hands.

"Just getting to see her again is so great, I can't imagine how you must feel every day, knowing that Terezi Pyrope loves you. I have to thank you, Dave, for letting me have this chance to be around her again. It's been a year. A whole year since she ended it with me, and every day since I've missed her with everything my inadequate self is made of. You know I almost screamed when she called me, I didn't, but, man, you should've seen my roommate freak out at all the expressions I made. So, yeah, thank you for that. You're treating her well, right? I know she likes you, a lot, really, and I can only hope you don't do anything dumb to mess up what you two have, like I did. Don't make my mistakes, Dave. Make Terezi happy, please. Be the man I'll never be, the man of her dreams. Before I have to say goodbye again, and have that smile of hers see me out with a guarantee of never to see its radiance again, promise me that you'll make sure she's happy. She doesn't want me in her life anymore, so I'll never know if she stays that way, but, please, oh, God, please, make sure she's happy."

Karkat's trying to keep the tears back, but they rush down his cheeks as if in a hurry to meet their fate on the hospital's sterile tile.

"Tell her you love her every day, always make sure feels safe and protected, listen to her when she has something to say, surprise her every now and then, give her someone she wants to come home to, never question her love of the color red, in fact, indulge it, she likes two whole packages of splenda in her coffee, not two scoops of the powdered can stuff, never refuse going to one of her trials, go to all of them if you can, and don't, and I mean absolutely fucking don't, ignore the signs until they all come crashing down on you in overwhelming waves and sweep away all you love in the surf. But most of all just make sure she's happy. I'm fucking counting on you, Strider, do not let me down. I—"

There's a loud clatter as Terezi falls through the pale green curtain.

Karkat can only stare as she brushes herself off, a bright blush spreading over her cheeks.

Terezi sits at her hive-office, red-rimmed and gray-bagged eyes running through convoluted page after page of ancient text. If there's a loophole anywhere in Alternian law, then who better to sniff it out than the decedent of the great Redglare herself? And she'll find it. She knows it's there. Something than can help them.

She nearly screams when she sees Karkat standing at the door to her private office.

"What are you doing up at this hour? Shoo, shoo," she waves him off, "go back to sleep. I have work to do."

His frown deepens.

"So nothing, I take it?"

She stares at him a moment before slowly shaking her head.

He sighs and flops down onto one of the teal couches.

"I'm sorry, Terezi. I'm so sorry that I'm doing this to you."

She grabs some blankets from the closet and sits on the couch next to him, bundling the teal and red fabric in her lap.

"Your execution's on Tuesday. That gives us a full 96 hours to find some way to get you out of it, we can do this. There's still hope."

She holds his hand and pats the avalanche of blankets commandingly. He sets his head down in her lap and sprawls himself out along the rest of the couch.

"But there is no way out of it. I'm going to die, Terezi, they're going to kill me. But I don't want to leave you alone like this. I don't want to leave you at all!"

"Karkat—"

"Promise me you'll be alright."

"But—"

"I'm not asking. I'm telling you. Promise me."

"Karkat, don't waste your tears on me," she wipes the salty salmon tint from his red eyes, completely ignoring what he's asking of her, "you have so many other reasons to mourn—"

"Promise me."

It would've been a more convincing growl if it hadn't broken off into choked sobs.

"I'm going to be a mess when you're gone. If you're gone, if." She corrects herself fiercely, "But I'll be alright, eventually. I promise."

He turns on his side and buries his face in her stomach, wrapping his bony arms around her skeletal frame, sobbing with all the emotions he'd never let bleed through the duration of his life.

"Shh," she runs a hand through his hair in an effort at consolation, "It'll be alright."

"Mhaht ef her er mhmnerte ognhvegrsis." He chokes out, his breath tickling her stomach slightly.

"What?"

"What if there are alternate universes?" he asks once he's calmed down some and removed his face from her stomach.

"You really need to get some sleep." She smiles tiredly.

He holds her a bit tighter.

"Please. Don't…make me go back in there. Just…just let me stay here, for a bit."

She hums her answer and runs another hand through his hair.

She knows there are no loopholes. Only miracles and alternate universes.