Terezi listened to the sound of Karkat's breathing carefully. In and out. In and out. He sounded more relaxed now. He wasn't shaking, either.

Good Nubby. Have only good dreams, she thought absently. She shifted slightly, but her arm was trapped beneath him. Oh well. It wasn't that uncomfortable. At least, the limb hadn't fallen asleep yet.

She rested her head in the crook of her arm. Her hair fell over her face but it didn't matter. It wasn't like it would obscure her view! She was sort of glad she didn't have to worry about stupid things like that anymore. At least hair didn't block taste or smell.

Unless it smelled like liquorice. Her lips twitched. Liquorice and candy apples and candy corn. Like a super fun carnival.

She felt Karkat stir and his arm lifted. His claw brushed the hair softly away from her face. She wanted to laugh or to tease him or to say something, but that would give everything away. It would be so much more entertaining to just let it play out instead.

He kept playing with her hair. She wondered why. It wasn't like he could smell the liquorice.

"Why are you so fucking perfect."

No, this was too good to pass up. "Hm, well, just because." She grinned.

Karkat quickly pulled his hand away, but he wasn't quite fast enough. Terezi snatched his wrist before she lost "sight" of it.

"How long have you been awake?" He sounded horrified. His hand shook beneath her grasp.

"Hehehe." Terezi couldn't stop laughing. Awake? That is a word used only when someone goes to sleep.

"Terezi!" His voice cracked in the middle of the word. This only made her laugh harder.

"I just wanted to see what Nubby would do if he thought I was asleep! I didn't know you'd be so squishy!" she giggled. "By the way, your face smells extra delicious this morning. I wonder why." Maybe it was the tears, she thought. She should have licked them when she had the chance. Delicious candy apple tears.

Terezi felt Karkat writhing under her gasp, trying to escape. As if she would let him! The thought was ridiculous. No one could escape the reach of Lady Justice! She pulled him back roughly.

The two had a brief struggle, in which Karkat punched Terezi in the face, which was surprisingly ineffective. He obviously wasn't being serious enough! She would have to punish him for that.

Terezi grabbed a pillow from the pile—ranch flavour, of course—and shoved it in his face, pinning him against it. He struggled for a while, then fell limp. She decided that this was enough of a scolding and released him.

Panting heavily, Karkat rolled onto his back. He was too out of breath to swear. It was amusing. When she noticed he was just lying there, she decided that his chest was begging to be sat on. She complied.

"Get the fuck off, Terezi," he wheezed.

"Aww, Nubby, but I'm perfect!" She protested, crossing her legs. "I can do what I want." She grinned down at him, sightless eyes wide.

"You weren't supposed to hear that." She could feel his skin growing warmer beneath his shirt. Tiny Nubby was embarrassed!

"Then why did you say it? Hmm?" she pressed.

He struggled again, but it was futile and they both knew it.

"Fuck off," he growled at length.

"Witty reply, Squishynub."

"Will you get off?"

Terezi considered this option for all of two seconds. "No. I want to know why you said that." She tapped his chest.

"You're a sadist. A fucking asshole of a sadist."

That sounded accurate enough. "Well, I'm still perfect!"

"Terezi?"

"Yes, my nubby horned leader?"

"I think you're really pretty."

She grinned. Nubby was stupid. Looks were stupid. She definitely wasn't satisfied with just this. "And?"

"And I'm glad you came over."

Now they were getting somewhere. "Aaaand?"

"And I…"

Terezi waited. And waited. And waited. She was being awfully patient. But if she had to wait any longer, she would have to resort to beating the answer out of him. Her fingers curled around the fabric of his shirt in preparation.

"Don't laugh."

"I promise nothing, Nubby," she said truthfully. If it was funny, she would laugh. If it was silly, she would laugh. If it was stupid, she would laugh.

Nubby was all of these things.

"I just…argh, this is bulgebracing shit. This is the icing on the squishy shit pile. Fuck, it's like—"

"Karkat," she warned. She slid her hands up his neck and on to his face. So this is what he "looked" like. He wasn't too bad, she supposed. He was probably a relatively attractive troll. Not that it mattered to her.

Without another moment's pause, she slapped both cheeks roughly. Stupid Nubby. Get to the point.

"Fucksticker bulgecrack," Karkat swore.

"Focus and tell me." Terezi would put up with a lot of things for Karkat, but waiting for an eternity was not one of htem.

"I said it because I really fucking like you."

Terezi pulled her hands back. "Of course—"

"Yeah, of fucking course I do, we're matesprits, I fucking know! Shit, Terezi, don't you ever fucking wonder if you can like someone more than that? Do you not ever fucking think like that? Is it just me? Am I just fucking having weird ass feelings for you? Shit!"

Terezi considered this for a moment, tapping on his collarbone with her yellow nails. How to reply? Hmmmm. She could talk it out with him. Maybe he'd be able to explain it if she waited a little longer.

Terezi was tired of waiting.

She leaned over and pressed her lips to his.

That was an answer, right? It was a very good answer, she thought.

She was a little surprised when he reached up and drew her to his chest, though. She grinned. Tiny Nubby was being pretty brave! How exciting!

Maybe too exciting.

Unthinking, she bit into his lip. It was an act of pure instinct, and definitely not her fault! The blame was all Nubby's, really. That's what she told herself, anyway, as he shoved her away.

She rolled a little ways across the pillows. She wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it all, but she did realize that she was in the wrong. It was too visible a mark. If she could smell it, people could see it.

"What the fuck were you doing?" Karkat was shouting. She could smell the red, delicious and strong. Candy apples were everywhere and she couldn't think straight for a moment. "Terezi, gogdamn it, just gogfucking dammit!"

Tremors ran through the pile. Terezi sobered up. It was last night all over again. Karkat was shaking, terrified. He was panicking. She could feel it.

She sat up and slowly padded back over to him. He seemed to be ignoring her now, rocking a little on a cushion. Liquorice was obscuring the candy smell—he was covering his face.

"Nubby," she said, reaching out to pull his arms away.

"Fuck off, Terezi!" he shrieked.

Undeterred, she forced his hands away. Karkat struggled but it was futile—Terezi's calm demeanour was ever an asset in their tussles. She shoved him back down. She paused, listening to his ragged breathing. She frowned. Scared Karkat was infinitely less fun than raging Karkat. Obviously, she had to fix the situation.

So she licked the candy apple away. After all, if there was no evidence, there was no crime. That was just the way justice worked.

"Fuck, Terezi, stop it! I'm not in the fucking mood for your stupid shitty licking bullshit!"

"Stupid Nubby. You don't even know how good you've got it. I am fixing this for you."

"What the bulgeshitting douchewriggler hell are you talking about?"

The trail of blood was gone now, as though it had never existed. She couldn't taste the sweet flavour anymore, at least, and that was good enough for her. All that was left was to stop the bleeding at the source!

"Terezi, get the fuck off me, this isn—"

She didn't let him finish. She bent down once more and sucked briefly on the affected area, just long enough for the bleeding to stop. She straightened up, grinning. "All fixed!"

She waited.

Karkat's breathing had calmed down, though she could still feel his chest twitching beneath her with every thump of his beatpump. He moved a little. She frowned slightly. This was boring.

A sharp tap on her forehead. She blinked sightlessly. "Watch what the fuck you're doing."

Oh, well. She supposed that was a reaction, at least. She grinned. "You don't seem that upset, Nubby! I told you I'd fix everything."

"Fuck off. I am plenty upset. I am so fucking—"

There it was. There was her invitation. She bent forward, face only inches from his. "Do you want me to lick you again?"

"Fuck no. Get off. You're crushing me."

Karkat didn't push her off. Terezi didn't move. She laughed instead. Silly Nubby. She could smell cotton candy and it was delicious. She slid her hand up his cheek and to his forehead, patting him. There's a good huntbeast, she thought, grinning. Good huntbeast. Good, calm, huntbeast. She wondered if that comparison would ever stop being amazing.

The answer was no. No, it was a perfect comparison. Everything was perfect.

But Karkat was shifting beneath her and she had to change her balance to keep from falling off. Stupid Nubby, moving without her consen—

She felt his breath on her face and his lips against her cheek. What?

"Warn me before you bite my fucking face, Terezi."

Terezi laughed harder. This was a much better reaction. "Okay, nubby. Next time I bite you during sloppy makeouts, I will make a point to tell you."

"Good," Karkat agreed. "Wait, shit. No. That wasn't an invitation to keep doing that!"
"Too late!" Terezi giggled and gently slapped his cheek a couple of times. She wasn't sure he noticed. It was funny when he didn't notice things. She wondered how much she could get away with. Before she could consider her possibilities, though, he spoke again.

"Gog, Terezi. How the fuck do you do it?"

She shrugged. Wasn't it obvious? "I am perfect. That is how."

Another sharp tap. "Get the fuck off me."

Silly Nubby.