*Buzz buzz* Sollux felt his phone vibrate and sat up from where he had fallen asleep. He looked around the hospital room he was in and remembered where he was. The soft beeping of the heart monitor, the sound of the air conditioner, and finally the soft breathing of the girl next to him were all so familiar to him. Aradia was so peaceful when she slept, but this wasn't her sleeping this was something more. As he looked at his phone he noted the time, 2:45 am, visiting hours were long past so he began to pick himself up just as a nurse walked in, "Oh you're awake."
Sollux cleared his throat, "Yeah thorry about that I'm heading out now."
"It's no problem," the nurse said as she replaced the IV bag, "honestly it's nice that she has someone to visit her."
Sollux twinged at the thought that he was to only routine visitor but it made sense. Her mother was in Japan for work constantly and Damara was in her stupid band, "Well the dethervthe the betht."
The nurse chuckled as she worked over the charts, "I'm glad to hear that people still care for each other."
Sollux laughed and said his goodbyes, both to the nurse and to Aradia, then made it down outside. He looked back at his phone to see the message that woke him up.
Nepeta
h3y ar3 you awak3
2:30am
I just hav3 a qu3stion
2:30am
I gu3ss it can wait
2:44am
no II'm up what'2 up
2:50am
pfft what's with th3 "ii" and th3 "2"
2:50am
what'2 wiith the "3"
2:51am
fair I gu3ss
2:51 am
it's a typing quirk
2:51am
it h3lps m3 f33l pawsative I gu3ss
2:51am
noted
2:51am
ii2 that your que2tion?
2:52am
no
2:52am
i'v3 h3ard a nam3 a f3w tim3s r3c3ntly and want3d to ask
2:52am
do you purrchanc3 know who T3r3zi is
2:53am
Sollux stared at the screen, the text was the last thing he expected from Nepeta. He looked up into the sky as snow feel around him in the city, he felt like this was a test for everyone not just Karkat.
Nepeta
where diid you hear that name?
2:56am
Karkat may hav3 pawsibly said it
2:56am
h3 has b33n distant about it
2:56am
ii'm not 2urpriised iit'2 a rough 2ubjet for
hiim
2:57am
are you able two call ii can tell you ea2ier
that way
2:58am
A few minutes went by with no answer and Sollux found himself inside his car driving to his family's property. As he turned onto the main road his phone began to ring through his speakers.
"Hello?" came the sheepish voice through his bluetooth.
"Tho how did you hear her name? What happened?" Sollux asked with a sigh.
There was a long pause and then she spoke, "The other night I was cooking dinner fur us and Karkat came home and he hugged me and called me Terezi, then he ran off up stairs realizing I wasn't Terezi."
Sollux was confused so he asked, "Why would he think you're TZ…uh Terezi?"
"Well that would be beclaws Kurloz gave me a sweater out of Karkat's room on purrpose." Nepeta huffed and Sollux could hear her accent thicker than normal.
Sollux cursed but he had to know, "Teal, hand woven, wath it really warm?"
"You know it too then? Sollux am I in the fallout of a bad break up or something?" Nepeta asked sounding more worried than anything else.
Sollux sighed and thought for a second, "Let'th go with 'or thomething', it'th really complicated and could take a bit to ethplain."
"I've got time. Karkat is asleep down stairs and I'm on the balcony of his room."
Sollux chuckled, "Let me guethth the power'th out and he'th thleeping on the couch?"
Nepeta chuckled back, "Yeah he mentioned you guys purrferred the power out when you were kids."
"No they preferred it, I hated being thtuck out in the woodth with only a fireplathe to keep uth warm." Sollux recalled his childhood always being the "scaredy cat" of the group, "No Karkat, Gamzee, Eridan, and TZ liked the power to be out becauthe it meant ghotht thtorieth and hotdogth."
"We did the hotdogs but he must have furgotten to tell ghost stories or that Terezi was with you guys. Did you guys all grow up together?" Nepeta started to question him and he knew that she had a right to know something, it's affecting her now.
Sollux sighed, "Yeah, we all grew up together, it'th a thmall town and we all jutht ran together. The group conthithted of ten of uth, until high thchool then john moved into town. But the clothetht of uth were Eridan, Gamzee, Terezi, and mythelf with Karkat ath a thort of leader. We 'ran the town' you might thay, we were alwayth a group package."
"What happened?" Nepeta asked
"We grew up," Sollux felt weird explaining what was common for most of the people he had to speak to, "thome of uth grew clother to our thiblingth or friendth and otherth grew away but out of all of uth KK and TZ grew the clothetht." Sollux waited for a moment hoping she would say something but she was listening closely,he could feel it. "KK got into a really nithe thchool becauthe his dad wath good at networking, the only way he would go though wath if mythelf, TZ, and Eridan got in too. We all got good educathionth and one night KK and TZ thtart dating, then before anyone knowth it they are engaged. We all thaw it coming, they were alwayth attached at the hip."
"That doesn't really answer my question Sollux." her voice sounded strained from the cold, here he was in a warm car while she stood on a balcony in the snow.
Sollux pulled into a parking lot, the snow was getting out of hand and he hated not staying in the hospital but sleeping in a motel would have to suffice tonight, "About five yearth ago, almotht to the day, there wath a huge party being held by another of our group, Feferi. Kurloz, Gamzee, my brother Mituna, and mythelf got too damn drunk for our own good. Karkat thaid if we needed to get a lift home he'd be up, tho I called him." Sollux began to choke on his words, he'd never voiced his side of it all and the tears were starting to fall again. "Terezi picked up the phone and the two of them thounded tho happy, the thaid the'd be picking uth up in her car thince KK wath tired and didn't like driving in the snow." Sollux felt his face warm as the tears streamed down his face, but he kept his voice calm and he continued, "The thowed up and my brother inthithted on being in the first run, tho he and Kurloz got in the car and they drove off. Terezi looked at me before the left and told me not to drink anymore, thothe were the latht thingth the thaid." he felt his words catch but he pushed through, "Gam and I waited for about two hours before we thtarted thinking thomething wath a mithth. Then I got a call from my dad, they had all gotten in a wreck, drunk driver hit their car. Terezi pulled my brother and Kurloz free but the wath wounded too. When the paramedicth arrived they had called parentth firtht. MItuna had a bad concuththion and TBI, Kurloz had his wind pipe cruthed and hith vocal cordth were damaged beyond repair, the driver wath killed on impact with the car tho he got it lucky…" Sollux stopped to catch his breath, he was getting angry and he knew that would make him anxious before sleeping.
"And Terezi?" Nepeta's voice was startling, for a moment he forgot he was talking to someone.
"The bled out in the ambulanthe. Karkat identified her becauthe he was closer to the hothpital than her mom and thithter. The thweater Kurloz gave you wath the latht thing he had of her."
"Why would he do that?" Nepeta screamed.
Sollux let out a small chuckle, "My guethth, he wantth the thame thing we all want. Karkat hathn't been home thinthe it happened, I think he wath hoping Karkat would move on."
"Well I think I blew the chance he'd be with me." Nepeta sighed.
"Why would you think that?"
"We were talking and he was showing me how to start a furire when we both kinda…sorta… kissed." Sollux was sure she was blushing as she spoke.
"Really? What happened?" Sollux felt himself getting excited about his friend being happy for a change.
"I don't know, I thought we were connecting, he's so genuine. I've had terrible luck in the love department." Nepeta began divulging more than Sollux thought she would which meant they probably drank. "But as soon as we kissed he pulled away, he just started getting efurything ready fur bed."
"That would be him deflecting, I'll have to talk to him, he hath a habit of thooting himthelf in the foot over thethe thingth."
"I don't want to push him if he isn't ready Sollux." her concern only made Sollux want this to work between them more.
"No he'th ready he jutht doethn't know it yet." Sollux reassured her, "The better quethtion is are you ok with thomeone like him. I know finding thith out might make him theem like a little much."
Nepeta was quiet for a minute then she said, "He's definitely better than any boyfriend I've had up til now and…" she was quiet for a moment, "I really liked how he held me tonight."
"I can't really thay anything on that but I know you'd be good for each other, your thithter wath the one who wanted to get you two together the most."
Nepeta laughed a little, "Yeah this has her paws all over it. Well I better go, it's really early and the power company is supposed to come out in the morning"
Sollux finally disconnected the bluetooth and walked into the lobby grabbing his key and paying his bill for the night, "Fat chanthe, they alwayth thay the next morning but it'th uthually the morning after that. Plus the thnow is getting thicker, I have to thtay in a motel for the night."
"Well sleep tight I guess." Nepeta said and he heard the balcony door on her end open and close.
"You too Nepeta." When he hung up he sat on the bed, he knew he needed to text Karkat. She knows now so maybe he can move on, or maybe he'd tell him later. His phone was at thirty percent and he only had a cord, no power box to use and this motel was out dated to say the least so there were no USB power ports. He turned his phone off, set the alarm clock on the motel night stand and slowly fell asleep.
On the other side of town, in a cabin, in the woods, Nepeta began to fall asleep surrounded by a scent she never wanted to be without.
Wow, three years, I'm so disappointed that I stepped away from this story. I never stopped thinking about it but life pulled me around a lot and things always change. I'm gonna do my best to keep this story going and to finish it so here's chapter 8 everyone.