Sometimes it was really nice without Karkat around. Of course she still loved him to death and would die without him, but hey, sleeping in a couple more hours in the morning was pretty nice. And by saying a couple of hours, she meant more like, three and a half hours. Karkat usually got her up around 7 so... She got up around 10:30 this morning. Boy did it feel great.

She turned over, arms stretching out and creating snow angels in her sheets like usual. Though, unlike the usual, she bumped into something; more importantly someone. Nepeta squeaked and spun around to get away from whoever the hell it was next to her, only wrapping herself up tighter in her comforter during the process. Finally, she fell to the floor with a thud, unable to see anything because of her sheet cocoon. "Nepeta? Are you alright?" She slowly pried the blankets away and peeked out from under them, eyes finding the blurry image of Equius.

Her mouth fell open. "Equius! What the hell are you doing in my bed?" She stepped out of her sheets and curled her arms around herself instinctively, face a little red from the idea of him in her bed! What if Karkat had to come home and saw them? He probably would have thought theyd- "We... We didn't do anything right? PLEASE tell me we didn't do anything." Equius's own eyes went wide and he held his hands up in defense, waving them to stop her train of thought right there.

"Of course not! You told me sleep with you and I mean I suppose I could have declined but you looked so upset at the idea of me leaving so.." Nepeta's eyes softened as he continued on. She had asked him to stay? She couldn't really recall anything from that night, except for a few things like Eridan of course, and then... there kiss. Her face brightened a bit at the thought of it, quickly pushing it somewhere else in her mind. Nepeta furrowed her brows, trying to think back hard to the night before but it was all dark and hazy.

She eventually gave up and lifted her head, picking the sheets up off the ground as she climbed back up on the mattress and sat there next to Equius. "I don't remember anything from last night, except for a few things but... What all happened after, you know, our uh..." Nepeta trailed off, though the man next to her already knew what she was talking about. Equius nodded and slid away from her mattress after setting his pillows up neatly against her headboard. He leaned down and scooped his shirt up from the floor before pulling it over his head.

"Um yes... I know. It almost seemed like you had been the one downing drinks last night." He laughed gingerly, which forced a small smile on her lips. Nepeta rose from the ground as well, having really payed no mind to the fact that he was shirtless last night until now. Her cheeks got a nice glow to them, foot now kicking across the ground lightly. "Oh hah, yeah probably... You want to talk over it some more during breakfast? I call playing chef." Nepeta weaved her way to the door, shoving her feet into some of Karkat's slippers next to the said door before exiting the room. Equius trailed behind her loudly, not that he was trying to be loud, his footsteps were just heavy and the floorboards weren't appreciating the new weight.

She patted a spot on the table that was just before a chair, indicating for him to sit, which he did. He sat up straight with perfect posture, hands folded neatly on the wood. Nepeta snorted and shook her head as she stole an apron from behind the pantry door and wrapped it around herself. Of course, it was a little too big for her since it was Karkat's, and clearly Karkat's at that. Someone would probably expect something red, or something with crabs on it, but come on, that wasn't creative enough! Nepeta and some of the others in their group of friends had picked out the apron that read: "How can you help? GET OUT OF MY KITCHEN"

It fitted him pretty well. She faced him while tying it in the back. "You know you can loosen up some, this isn't like breakfast with the president or anything, just breakfast with lil ole me Nepeta." Lil ole her smiled as she finished her bow, turning back around to face the stove and prepare their scrambled eggs. "I hope scrambled eggs are fine? We don't have much of a choice when it comes to breakfast, usually its just cereal and go." She slid, literally, over to the fridge, locating the egg carton that was buried deep in the terrifying, never-ending cavern that was their refrigerator.

Equius watched as she moved around the room, taking note of a few things like decorations and pictures since he hadn't exactly had the time to last night. She was clearly singing a song in her head, her hips swaying to the silent music. "I would rather be having breakfast with you than the president." He said shyly, offering an even shyer smile until he realized he was staring. Equius cleared his throat and quickly looked away. "So, who was the man that was in your apartment last night if you don't mind me asking. It's really not my business."

Nepeta turned to looked at him, pausing the playlist she had going in her mind to speak. "No no, it's plenty your business at this point. The guy's name is Eridan, we have known each other for a long time. He's always been kind of strange... Anyway, what happened last night was something that was completely out of the ordinary. He was drunk and uh..." She paused, rethinking her choice of words. "He's never been drunk before and he was lost I guess and remembred I lived close, I dunno." Nepeta hated not telling him what exactly happened but she didn't want to worry him. Breakfast was soon dished up on plates, along with some toast. She slid a plate in front of him and set the orange juice in front of him along with a glass. "There ya go, enjoy. This is the second time I've cooked for you right? Might as well call me your wife." She grinned teasingly before sliding into the seat across the table.

Equius chuckled gingerly at the thought, too distracted with the Eridan guy. He had a feeling that she wasn't telling him something, she wouldn't have locked herself in that room and wouldn't have cried so badly if he had just broke in. He must have tried doing something to her. Equius got hot at the very idea of someone hurting her. He pushed it away for now and poured himself some orange juice before handing off the carton to Nepeta. "Well hopefully it won't happen again..." She nodded solemnly, her mood having changed rapidly as she sat there with her own thoughts. Equius quickly chimed in. "You know, I'll have to repay you for all of these meals." Nepeta glanced up from the eggs she was stabbing, a small smile forming.

Ahh, there it was. The smile that gave birth to an entire population of butterflies in his stomach, the smile that hugged his throat so tight it stole away his ability to breathe. The same tender smile that made the most brutal of mens' heart falter. It certainly did him. "How does lunch sound?" Nepeta nodded and put on an even bigger smile at the idea. "I would love to! I'll just have to see if I have time to get off from..." She trailed off as her eyes widened, daring a glance at the clock.

Oh god she was late for work. Nepeta pushed away from the table, grabbing her plate and dumping its contents into the trash been before running over to the sink and nearly breaking it as she set it inside. Equius had apparently gotten the point since he had retreated to her bedroom to get his shoes and jacket. He shoved his feet into the said shoes and shrugged on his jacket as he headed for the door. The taller one paused though in the middle of the living room. "Nepeta... Would you like me to stay back for a few and tidy up your apartment?" He turned around to look at her as she came hopping out of her room, tugging on a new pair of khaki jeans.

"Oh no! I certainly couldn't let you stay here and clean up Eridan's mess by yourself! You are welcome to come over later and help though if you want, I won't force you." She smiled as she walked by him, jamming her toes into her sneakers as she grabbed the door and opened it for the both of them. Equius stood there for a moment, simply watching her bustle around before realizing she was waiting on him. "Right. I'll come over later than. It's spring break for school so I'm free whenever." He slipped out of the door, which was soon closed as they headed down the apartments hallway. Nepeta dug through her bag, finding a small mirror as she brought it up and groaned at herself.

Her hands picked at her face, rubbing at her eyes and attempting to make herself at least OK. She turned and looked up at Equius, holding his gaze as they waited for the elevator. "Do I look ok? Or do I look like I was dragged through a rose bush face first?"

He chuckled gently and shook his head, his hand now having a mind of its own as it reached up and tucked some hair behind her ear. "You look fine" Nepeta nodded slowly, looking away once the elevator chimed. They both stepped in, taking their proper side of the metal contraption as its doors slid shut and sent them down to the parking garage. Nepeta swayed from heel to toe, holding her bag in front of her as it hit her knees gently. Glances were stolen from behind his glasses as he stood there, smiling to himself. There was no way he was going to chicken out tonight.

Eventually the doors opened again and Equius walked Nepeta to her car, or rather ran with her to her car. By the time they got there she was breathing heavily and grinning from ear to ear, looking up at him as they both used the hood of the truck to keep themselves up. "Thank you, I'll see you later today." She said this between breaths, leaning up to press a lingering kiss to his cheek before she climbed into the car. Equius tapped on the window though, which she rolled down with a questions expression. "If you need anything, anything at all, you have my number."

She nodded quickly, leaning through the open window to steal one last kiss from his cheek. "Of course. I'll call you when I get off for lunch. So don't run into any pretty girls before then and forget about me ok?" Nepeta laughed teasingly but he simply shook his head with a smile, uttering one word before he left for his own car.

"Impossible."

Her stomach did somersaults as he walked away, watching him until she could no longer see his figure, and then she stared a little longer. Work, was now the least of her worries to be honest. She wondered if this, whatever this was, was something that would last, of course, Nepeta certainly hoped so. This was like nothing she had ever experienced and she couldn't get enough of it. Nepeta didn't have an experienced, or great love life. Usually, her feelings were unrequited, or she went out with one of those guys. You know the ones, the kind that use their hands to fix problems instead of talking out the issue. Really, now that she thought about it, she couldn't blame Karkat for how he had acted at the café when meeting Equius.

The drive there was a quiet one, usually she would have her music on, blasting the soundtracks at obnoxiously loud volumes. But this time, she allowed the radio to drone on about, politics maybe? She wasn't listening that closely, her mind was mostly locked on driving correctly while thinking of Equius. Was she suppose to be thinking about him this much? Did he think about her this much? Were they even a thing or did he have to ask her out first? WOULD he even ask her out? Nepeta exhaled deeply, blinking a couple of times to clear her mind. Just chill, none of this had to be decided on her way to work.

Nepeta, was completley oblivious to the many calls she was missing right now from Karkat. Each one went straight to voicemail, since it was a habit of hers to turn the sound off at night. Her brother called at least seven times, and it wasn't just because he wanted to talk to her. Once Nepeta pulled up next to her shop, she shut the engine off and dug sat up, trying to reach underneath her butt so he could find her phone that had slid from her pocket. This time, Karkat's call wouldn't go to voicemail. She frowned gently as she picked it up and answered.

"Karkat? Yeah, yeah I'm fine. No... I'm just pulling into work now I slept in, why? Wait, what. Are you serious?" Her eyes widened as the conversation progressed, fingers curled so tight around her phone she was afraid she might crush it. Nepeta nodded quickly to her brother's panicked and shaky voice. The shakiness of it now matched hers. "Y-Yeah, I can do that. I'll be at the hospital in a few minutes. I love you too." She swallowed as he hung up, continuing to stare bug-eyed at the car.

She could not believe this was happening. She... She needed to call Equius. Her hands fumbled around with the plastic box in her hand, and for the second time now she would be calling him because of a personal emergency. Thankfully this time she had her phone.

"Equius?"

"Oh, hello Nepeta, is it already time for your lunch break? I swore you only left a few minutes ago..."

"No no, It's not that.. Uh..." She twisted her hair around nervously, contemplating wether or not she should lie and hang up, but then how would she explain not being able to make lunch?

"Yes?"

She sighed and continued on hesitantly.

"Would... Would it be ok if you meet me at the hospital?"

"At the hospital? Is everything alright, you aren't hurt are you?"

"I'm fine... It's uh, a really close friend of mine. He got into a car accident. Karkat will meet us there with his boyfriend."

"Alright. I'll starting heading there now."

"Equius...?"

"Yes?"

There was a moment of silence that passed between them.

"Thank you. For everything. I know you don't have to help me since we aren't even dating and it's not like i'm your top priority, but thank you."

Another moment of silence passed before Equius cleared his throat.

"But you have become a priority, Nepeta. And the dating part, that, that might change very soon. I'll see in a few minutes. Be safe."

Click. Nepeta thought she was going to have a heart attack from how fast her heart was racing. She dropped her phone in her lap and raised a hand to cup around her mouth, feeling tears begin to prick in the corner of her eyes. They were far from unhappy tears though.