Close Your Eyes
2. Epilogue
"That was it?"
Karkat pats at his chest, trying to find a gaping hole which isn't there under an unmarked shirt.
"I guess so," beside him Terezi shrugs.
"That fucking sucked!"
"Burn out your think pan coming to that conclusion, Troll Einstein?" her grin is playful and his savage reply is replaced by a shy smile.
"So..." he shrugs. "I guess we're dead."
"Mmhmm, sure looks that way."
"Want to have sloppy afterlife make-outs?"
"Could be fun," Terezi drifts leisurely into the air over his head.
"Hey, what the fuck?" Karkat glares up at her as she begins to circle, arms folded over his chest. "You know I can't fly!"
She puts her arms behind her head and sprawls lazily in the air. "You're dead, Karkat. You can do whatever you want."
"How the hell do you know?"
Terezi kicks a foot in the air with smug satisfaction and Karkat's scowl deepens. She rolls onto her stomach and continues to circle.
"You realize I know the truth, right?" she says, cheeks resting in her hands.
Karkat grumbles sourly to himself and glares at his feet.
"It's nothing to be ashamed of. I can help you but you have to be honest with me, and yourself, first."
He huffs and continues to stare obstinately at his feet. Terezi adds a slow corkscrew to her meandering flight path just out of his reach. Karkat's shoulders sag and he mutters something to his shoes.
"Didn't quite catch that," her fingers brush his hair from above.
"Like fuck you didn't," he growls. "Jegus."
She comes to a stop and hovers in front of him, waiting.
He sighs. "I said I'm afraid to fly. Does that please Your Tyranny?"
After several moments of silence, Karkat looks up when a finger pokes him in the forehead. Terezi's hands are outstretched, an earnest expression on her face. Slowly and with a look of suspicion, Karkat unfolds his arms and takes her hands.
"Look at me," she says.
Immediately he looks down to see his feet rising away from the immaterial metal rooftop.
"Sweet Jegus!" he yelps, kicking his feet. "This is way too fucking high! Put me down put me down fucking put me down!"
"I said look at me, chumpass!"
Terezi yanks him up, mashing their lips together and wrapping her arms around his waist. Karkat exhales a muffled scream into her mouth as he throws his arms around her shoulders and clings for dear unlife. She pulls back, grinning.
"Sloppy afterlife make-outs are pretty fun so far," she says.
Karkat makes a small, high pitched sound that is half agreement and half terror.
She chuckles. "Close your eyes."
He swallows hard but does and she places a gentle kiss between them. Karkat smiles faintly.
"I like it when you smile," Terezi smile's back. "It suits you."
"I guess," his eyes are squeezed tight shut and he still has a hard grip around her shoulders. "So we're dead. What do you want to do?"
"Maybe there's a Prospit or two hanging around here with us. There was a lot of stuff I wanted to show you. Want to go?"
He pulls himself up to kiss her quickly. "Yeah, sure."
Terezi helps him rearrange himself so that they're flying side by side, arms around each others shoulders. With his free hand, Karkat takes hers and they rocket into the void, leaving the meteor's ghost behind.