"Wake up, hunny." Said Terezi softly, running her fingertips up a fishnet clad leg, careful not to get her long, red acrylic fingernails caught on the leg wear.

"Do I have to? I have a nasty hangover." mumbled the owner of the leg, her dark jade green eyes sliding open, her shiny green lips covered in drool and booze that ran down her white chin, her makeup trashy and sloppily done.

"I think it will be well worth your time, Kany, baby." Terezi's fingers made it to the hem of Kanaya's cheap, short, red dress. A smile spread on her cherry red lips as she took in the scent, which mixed with the faint green tea smell of Kanaya's blood, and masked the scent of alcohol and unwashed sweatshirts that usually lingered around her. "You dressed up for me. What's the occasion?"

"Oh I just thought I'd surprise you for being the best matesprit ever, but then I had some booze and fell asleep because yeah. I think there's still some left." She reached vaguely for the bottle with the arm that was hanging off the side of the couch, but Terezi snatched it up instead, smirking. "Hey!" Kanaya protested, but she let it go. "Whatever. Why is waking up worth my time?"

Terezi got on the couch, straddling Kanaya, and running her fingers through her short, messy, black and green streaked hair. "Because guess who didn't come when I told him to?"

Kanaya chuckled. "Are you going out to get me dinner?"

"Of course. How does cherry syrup sound to you?"

Kanaya tried to grab at the bottle in Terezi's hand, but Terezi jerked it away. "The finest, love."

"Good." Terezi got off the couch and picked her cell phone up off the table. "Now to track his texts and find out exactly where he lives. Of course he wont actually tell me."

"He moved again?"

"Yeah. He broke curfew and landed in the Public Hive Division with some looney mustard blood."

"Looney?"

"Let's just say he's had way too many touchups for his own good."

"Ohh, that kind of looney."

"Yeah." She chuckled. "Maybe he'll get frustrated and come crawling back to us hmm?"

"I don't know baby, he'd have to be pretty desperate."

"Yes, but he will be eventually. That's just how he is. Just give it some time." She looked back down at her phone. "Ah ha!" She took her red leather jacket from where it was draped over the armrest of the couch, pulling it over her top, which consisted of a loose turquoise shirt that exposed her grey stomach and shoulders, a black, netted tank top that only went to her waist under that, and black fingerless gloves. She zipped up a pair of black, high-heeled ankle boots over her black and red striped skinny jeans, and combed her fingers through short, red-tipped, turquoise hair, adjusting her red cat eye glasses. "I'll be back soon, hunny."

"Hey not so fast." Said Kanaya. "Come back here. You can't leave me looking that sexy without a kiss first. Oh, and I want my bottle back."

Terezi walked back over to Kanaya, leaning over, kissing her, and putting the bottle back in her hand. "You know I wouldn't leave without doing that. I'll be back soon with dinner, baby." She stood up, took her red purse, and walked out the door.

o0o0o0o0

Karkat laid on the couch, where he'd been all day. His torso was bandaged under his tank top, and his eyeliner was the smudged remainder of yesterday's application. He really hadn't felt like doing anything after that fight. Those cuts hurt like no other. He felt so lazy that he hadn't even managed to shove the entirety of the mess that once occupied the couch onto the floor, before claiming the space as his own.

"I thought you were only here to sleep, eat, and use the utilities or whatever." Pointed out Sollux uncomfortably at one point in the day as Karkat flipped through the channels on the TV, none of which had anything good on them.

"I'm in pain." Said Karkat. "That's the other reason I'd stay here."

Sollux tilted his head. "You are? What happened."

Karkat sighed. "I already told you three times. If you can't remember, then I might as well not tell you at all."

"You did?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

Sollux frowned. "Well you don't have to get all worked up about it."

Karkat looked back at him blankly. "Do you I look worked up to you?"

Sollux thought about this for a minute. "No, just really annoyed. Hey, be patient with me I've had. . .six. . .no wait. . .seven touch ups. My brain doesn't work so well anymore." As if to prove his point, a couple of red and blue sparks snapped up from his head, and he shivered like he had just gotten a really bad chill before walking off.

Karkat stared after him. He really was such a weird guy. Not only was he messed up in the head, but he had those strange blank eyes, like Terezi's except only one was blue, and his glasses matched them. He had gotten the impression that this guy had been born with some kind of powerful psychic ability. No wonder he resisted the brainwashing so well.

After awhile Sollux went to his room, and settled to mumbling to himself nonsensically. Karkat went about flipping through channels again. He settled on a mindless action movie. He always had this looming feeling when he watched TV that, because of the censorship here, he had never experienced quality entertainment, at least as far as he remembered. Still, he was glad he wasn't Sollux at least. He had already caught him staring in awe at the static, and when he asked, Sollux tried to tell him about some ridiculous game he once played. Something about creating universes. What a nut.

He was just thinking that he might have a nice evening to himself when there was a knock on the door. He sighed and sunk deeper into the couch. He knew exactly who it was.

"Come in. The door's not locked." He groaned.

"Aww, you left it open just for me?" Asked Terezi, opening the door, walking in, and looking at Karkat. "Was it because you were expecting me or because you were too lazy to get up, you slob?"

"Both." Said Karkat, glancing over at her. "And that's funny, you calling me a slob. With that girlfriend of yours and the awful smell lingering over your apartment, I thought your standards were a lot lower than this place."

Terezi flipped her hair. "Whatever Vantas. Just get your ass over here so we can get this over with."

"And what makes you think I'm going with you?"

Terezi walked up to him. "The fact that I said so, and you're my bitch remember? Now get up, and let's go. I promised Kanaya food."

Karkat looked at her, pretending he was considering. "No. I'm going to pass this time."

Terezi looked miffed. "No? You're saying no to me?"

"Yeah. You got a problem with that?"

"Since when do you say no to me?"

"Since I decided I wasn't in the mood. Now get out of my apartment, Pyrope. I'm tired."

"I don't think so." Said Terezi, straddling him, grabbing a fistful of his hair, and grinning when he bared his teeth at her. "Come on, baby. You can't do this to me. You've been putting me off for weeks. If you wanna break up, just say so instead of torturing me like this."

Karkat rolled his eyes. "I don't want to break up, I'm just not in the mood to deal with your disgusting face because I went out and got myself hurt. Is that too much to ask for?"

Terezi considered this. "Well, according to the consent agreement, it's not." She slipped her hand behind Karkat's neck, and Karkat's eyes flew open when he felt something poke his skin, sending an onslaught of dizziness through him, making everything blurry and muddled. "But my matesprit is hungry and we can't have that."

He put his hand up to his face and closed his eyes, chuckling a little. "Oh that was low, Pyrope, even for you. You'll owe me for this one, you know."

Terezi turned him roughly over onto his stomach. "Oh, I know," she said, handcuffing his wrists behind his back, "but I'll worry about that later."

"Fine, baby." Slurred Karkat, another wave of nausea coming over him as Terezi pulled him to his feet, and dragged him to the door.

"I'll have him back tomorrow." Shouted Terezi, before taking Karkat and closing the door behind her.

Sollux heard the door close and paused, stopping the red and blue chalk writing he'd been covering the walls with. "What?" He called.

He curiously walked out into the front room, and noticed Karkat was missing before shrugging, turning the TV to static, and settling himself in front of it.

o0o0o0o0

Karkat couldn't remember much about getting to Terezi and Kanaya's apartment, only the hum of Terezi's cherry red motorcycle as they sped through the streets, and the cool feeling of her bare back against his cheek as he leaned against her, his arms secured around her so he wouldn't fall off. Terezi hadn't been nice about getting his hands behind his back again, shoving his face into the handlebars as she forced him forward to do so. He'd tried to refocus his vision as she pulled him off the bike and back to her two-story apartment. No one stopped to help him of course. He was a nobody, and besides, they were all too afraid of Terezi to even look in their direction.

"I'm back." Shouted Terezi into the apartment as she entered, pushing Karkat onto the couch, where he laid, half on it, his face buried in the fabric, which reeked of rainbow drinker sweat.

"With food?" Came Kanaya's slurred voice as she sauntered into the room, having changed into a large sweatshirt that hung off her shoulders, a white miniskirt, black thigh highs that were scrunched up at her knees, and fluffy, tiger-print house slippers.

Terezi motioned to where Karkat lay on the couch, and Kanaya chuckled, a sharp-fanged grin crossing her face that never failed to send shivers down Karkat's spine. He gulped when he felt Kanaya crouch over him, brushing her lips against his neck, probably drooling all over him. He scrunched his nose at her smell. How did Terezi stand her?

"Careful now dear." Said Terezi. "The poor thing got himself all beat up." She moved Kanaya out of the way, and turned him so he was facing her. "Heard you took on Leijon last night." She grinned as she ran one of her fake fingernails down his bandaged chest. "Care to show me the marks she left?"

Karkat didn't even bother to protest as she pulled off his tanktop. Underneath, his chest was wrapped in bandages soaked with blood in thin, candy red slashes.

Terezi chuckled as she pressed her nose against them. "Ooh, these smell delightful. You didn't even stand a chance against her did you?" She stared Karkat in the face with her sightless eyes and caressed his jaw. "Oh, but how dare she touch you. She should know how I feel about other trolls doing my job for me. Damn. Now I have to make plans to get payback from her and Nitram. What a pain." She turned to Kanaya. "Go ahead and have your way with him, babe. I'm going to get dressed so he and I can have our fun after." She grabbed Karkat's face. "Remember, I want to hear you scream."

She walked off, and Karkat suddenly felt sick to his stomach as he was left alone with Kanaya, who straddled him, and went about brushing her lips across his neck, trying to find the perfect place to sink her teeth into. She locked her arms around him, and he uselessly tried to struggle like a trapped animal.

"Hey, go easy on me." She slurred. "It's been so long since I've had a drink. I'm wasting away here."

Karkat felt the iron rainbow drinker strength in her grip, and wondered what she thought wasting away meant. Either way the idea scared him. Still, it didn't scare him nearly as much as the moment when he felt her jaws unhinge and screamed aloud when he felt her fangs sink into his skin, sucking greedily at cherry syrup blood. The dizziness from before seemed like nothing compared to how he felt now, as his vision blurred, his strength being literally sapped from his body.

He was beginning to wonder if Terezi would ever come to make Kanaya stop, when he heard a smack and Kanaya let go.

"Hey! That hurt!" She protested, her mouth coated messily in red.

"It's the only way to get you to stop sometimes." Said Terezi. "I don't want you taking all his blood. I like keeping him around, and it would be such an awful mess with the drones if we killed him."

"It's comforting to know you care enough to keep me alive, sweetheart." slurred Karkat.

"Well, don't get too cocky about it, Vantas." Said Terezi, combing her fingers through his bleached hair. "Oh, look at you, barely keeping your eyes open. That wont do. I'll be back."

She got up, and walked into the kitchen. Karkat noticed that she was now only wearing black shorts, fishnet thigh highs, and a red bra, and cringed because that meant he was in for a serious beat down this time. For a moment he considered not neglecting her so much in the future, to keep her moods in check, but he hated working around her. Letting her control the relationship too much would allow her a lot more fun than he was willing to let her have.

Terezi returned with a glass of ice cold water, which she proceeded to dump over Karkat's head. Karkat pulled at the handcuffs, spitting out the water as it ran into his mouth. He looked up at Terezi in annoyance, his eyeliner making black streaks down his cheeks.

"Better?" Asked Terezi.

"How is that supposed to make things better?" Muttered Karkat, even though the water had helped to clear his head slightly.

Terezi shrugged. "Whatever. It will just have to do." She grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet, catching him when he stumbled. "Stop being pathetic and walk." She demanded, but Karkat ignored her and made her drag him all the way up the stairs to the spare bedroom, which used to be his in those dark months when he had been forced to live with them.

When they finally got to it, Terezi tossed Karkat onto the bed, and repositioned his wrists so they were above his head, threaded around one of the bars on the headboard.

"Call me if you need anything, hunny." Called Terezi to Kanaya, before slamming the door shut, laying stomach down on top of Karkat, and giving him the kind of maniacal grin that he could only expect from her.

"If you expect me to be worried, I'm not." Started Karkat, even though his dizzy head pounded, and his neck hurt, and his heart was beating rapidly in his chest.

"Shoooosh." She hushed, wrapping a blindfold over his eyes, plunging him into helpless darkness. "We both know that's a lie." She ran a finger down his chest. "Ready to have some fun?"

o0o0o0o0

Karkat felt all kinds of horrible when he woke up. His head pitched and swam, pounding insanely, as he slowly remembered that he couldn't see because the blindfold was still over his eyes. His wrists were sore from the handcuffs, and his body ached entirely, feeling stiff overall. On his neck, the puncture wounds from Kanaya's bite stung and pulsed, and he found himself wondering how hideous the scabs probably looked.

The room was silent. Terezi probably went to bed, or it was morning and she was just waiting for him to come to.

"Pyrope?" He called, and his voice was horribly horse.

"Yes?"

Karkat jumped upon hearing her voice, and feeling her cold hand on his stomach.

She chuckled. "Now you know how I feel. . .well not really. I at least have my smell and taste so you're more disabled than I am." She leaned over him, and he felt her lips press roughly against his, which were sore and bleeding now.

For awhile he let her kiss him, before she withdrew and began playing absentmindedly with his hair. "Hungry?" She asked.

"Why do you care?" Asked Karkat in response.

"Because I saved some breakfast for you. I figured I'd at least let you go home on a full stomach. The humiliation of how you must look with red lipstick all over your disgusting beat-up face is enough punishment I think. I'm not all cruel."

Karkat suddenly felt awkward, not quite trusting her. "Thanks. . .I guess."

"Open up."

Karkat sighed, and did so, letting her feed him what tasted like scrambled eggs with a funny after taste.

"So your roommate is a mustard blood."

"That's right."

"Are you particularly partial to mustard bloods?"

". . .no. Why?"

"Because these eggs were cooked with yellow blood I bagged for Kanaya a month ago."

Karkat suddenly started coughing. Blood eggs. Bloods eggs! Why wasn't he surprised? Why hadn't he called that one?

Terezi chuckled. "Come on, Karkat, eat up."

"I'll pass, thanks." Said Karkat bitterly.

"Hmph. Fine. Insult my cooking."

"Can I go home now?"

Terezi sighed. "Come on, Vantas, you're being no fun."

"I'm not in the mood to be fun. Let me go home. I get to keep you as long as you keep me."

"Ugh. Are you really pulling that card on me Vantas?" Asked Terezi, insulted. "Fine. Whatever. I'll take you back to your stupid apartment. You served your purpose."

"Thank-you."

He felt her take off his handcuffs, and then his blindfold. He sat up, rubbing his eyes and his wrists, seeing that he was only wearing black boxers. He looked calmly up at Terezi, who looked miffed and annoyed, just how he liked her. "My clothes?"

She threw them at him.

He smirked, catching them. "You upset baby?"

"Just shut up and get your clothes on. I always expect too much of you, you know? It's good we have these roughhousing sessions. Just reminds me why I hate you so much, you soulless, stoic prick."

Karkat couldn't believe it. Even half-conscious as he was during the whole thing, he'd still somehow managed to make her mad somehow. He guessed they really were meant for each other.

When he was done getting on his jeans and tank top, he walked outside with Terezi, and she took him home.

o0o0o0o0

Sollux heard the door open, and in surprise saw Karkat, looking very bruised storm into the room.

"What happened to you?" Asked Sollux from the couch.

Karkat only gave him an exasperated sigh. "My kismesis did."

"You have a kismesis?"

"Do you remember anything I tell you?"

He didn't give Sollux a chance to answer. Instead he shut himself in the bathroom, cleaned himself up, and went to bed, a place that he didn't plan on ever leaving again.

Sollux quietly watched him, and sighed. "This is why I should never talk to my roommates."