A/N What am I doing there are lessons to finish what is this mutiny –shot-

Enjoy this chapter.

Time eased her mind. Slowly, gently, it washed away her mental pain. That,

And she was with him. Although, she never really expected being with him here, in this lovely flower shop. Fall break was on its last leg, college about to beckon them back into business. Had the days really passed that fast? They couldn't have. The slow mornings of sleeping in and roleplaying with random strangers on omegle was over. Well, almost. But anyways, about today. Why was she here? Why was Karkat here? And why was Bec chasing his tail? Well, the previous morning, before she even had time to even gain awareness, her phone had rang harshly, demanding attention. Thinking it was her alarm, she had smacked her clock, fingers trying to jab an off button. Pounce meowed irritably, and Nepeta finally realized that it was, in fact, not her alarm clock. Uttering an apology to the cranky feline, she reached over to the phone, flipping it open and examining the number. Her heart raced, grogginess gone as she brought the phone to her ear quickly.

"Karkitty?"

"WHAT IS THIS ABOUT NOT STUDYING?!" Oh… Oh wait, shoot!

"I, erm, what?"

"I tell you to study, 'yes okay karkitty, you can count on me!' then I check out Terezi's phone—" Why was he even looking through her phone..? Her heart sank a little, and not because she had been caught. "And I see a fucking forty seven page long forum of roleplaying?! Are you seriously that hopeless?! Well lucky for you, I'm going to save your sorry ass! Do you hear me?! Prepare your mind for some fucking hell, because I am going to give you a shit ton of it! Meet me at Folly's tomorrow at ten, or I will come over and drag you out of your damn house, whether you're dressed or not!" And with that, he had hung up, leaving a dial tone. But she wasn't ashamed. Actually, she was excited! She was due to be with him again soon! And then she realized,

Great. There was no time to roleplay.

Other than that, they had a meet up at Folly's. After a nice cup of honey tea and a loooong lecture, he had demanded on her status.

"Well," She purred, stirring her tea in an animated fashion. "I met someone the other day." Karkat had his head propped up by with an ivory skinned hand, glasses askew. He had forgotten to order new contacts, so his dark red eyes were painfully obvious against his alabaster skin. Was he self conscious about this? Oh definitely. When he was ordering his coffee he refused eye contact with the waitress, constantly glancing at the coffee and tea packets on display for purchase.

"And how is that relevant to anything I just told you," He snipped, raising an eyebrow. "I asked you if you were studying or anything. Cant your tiny mind even compress a simple question?" Nepeta giggled, earning her a frustrated snarl.

"Like I said, last week I met someone. See that flower shop," She askeed, pointing through the window. Bec, Jade's loyal and bestest best pal, was laying out in the autumn sunshine, white fur gleaming gloriously. His head was resting on his paws, tail wagging as he guarded his master's colorful treasures.

"The one with the giant white bag of fur?"

"Yes, that one." She sighed dreamily. "The owner has the coolest flower shop. It's very green, and there's little ivy like vines crawling up the wall. It's really neat-o." She took a sip of her tea. The lemon and the honey clashed nicely against her taste buds, brightening her spirits.

"Again, how is this relevant to our conversation? Did you even fucking listen?" Karkat was gazing at the flower shop intently, as if accusing it as a distraction to his pupil.

"The owner wanted me to take pictures for a garden catalog. It's my first job! Isn't that great?"

"Wait wait wait, you got a job?" Karkat's attention snapped back to her. The sunshine beamed down on his hair, white strands standing out dramatically. "Why the hell aren't you doing it?!"

"Jade said I could drop by any time I wanted."

"WHAT THE FUCK! You have plenty of time right now, why didn't you say anything sooner?!" He downed his coffee in at least two gulps and stood up hurriedly, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. "Move it, Lejion! Grab your bag and let's get this shit done! Fucking hell, you are so spacey."

Well, in other words, that was a summary of her morning! Karkat had stepped cautiously around Bec and apologized that Nepeta was so useless and clumsy. Jade had stared at him in an odd fashion, pushing her large glasses further atop the bridge of her nose. Her dog had sat up to observe. Nepeta offered Jade a small wave.

As of this moment she was focusing intently on an arrangement of baby's breath, lavender, and some really pretty white flowers she didn't know the name to through a camera's lens, zooming in and out experimentally. She shifted on her knee delicately, sliding a little to the left. Karkat was watching her from his seat on the bench, sipping another cup of coffee, and Jade was sitting on her register desk, daintily swinging her legs and strumming her bass contently. The chords mingled in harmony with the delicate sound of the wind chimes outside. There was some sort of peaceful trance casted over the shop as Nepeta studied multiple flower arrangements, trying to find the best angle. She also had an eyedropper full of water at the ready, so she could apply small amounts to the flower's petals to give them a fresh sort of feel.

"Try to catch the sunlight," her companion advised. "But not too much. Too much of a glare is irritating."

"I'm sure she'll do fine," Jade argued. "She knows what she's doing."

"Okay okay, and who's the photographer here?"

"She's one too." Even though they both had vicious tones, the calmed space remained as it was. Jade and Karkat argued a lot during their half hour here, but in some views, it was almost as if they were playing. Well… Jade was.

"Sunlight," Nepeta piped up through their glares. "Goooot it." Her camera clicked as she captured the picture. She squeaked, happy to see that she had caught a drop of water falling from its place from the lush green leaf. It was a very nice angle. In all honesty, this was Nepeta's favorite.

"Let me see," Karkat demanded, taking another swallow of his coffee. He must really like it. She stood and bounded over to him, handing him the picture. He stared at it with judgmental eyes, scanning every single pixel his vision could lock on to. After a few moments of silence, he handed the camera back to her. "Not bad," He allowed. "The drop of water has a nice effect. Don't overuse it though. Have some pictures without the water." She felt like her body was about to burst from pride. She was doing a good job! And if Karkat was the one complementing her, that REALLY meant she was doing this photography thing right! She bounced over to Jade, who squealed along with her.

"You take the coolest pictures! I knew I'd like you!" She let go of her bass's fret board to point to Bec. "Make sure you get him too," she requested. "He's my little trademark. Yes you are, yes you are my little poochie woochy, aaaaaaww!" Karkat was busy staring out at the street through the window, the sun reflecting off of him in a lovely fashion. Nepeta looked away, noticing she was staring a little too intently. Right. "Hey is it me," Jade whispered suddenly, staring at him as well. "Or is his hair, like, extra shiny?"

"Um?"

"Lookie! What kind of shampoo does he use? I didn't know men's shampoo was that awesome."

"Oh. That's his natural color," Nepeta informed, also pointing. "His natural hair color is white-ish."

"No way! You mean he's albino or something?"

"Shh! Yeah he is. He's really self conscious about it, so he colors his hair."

"I thought there was something off about his eyes. Hey blondie!" Karkat looked over at her as if the botanist had grown a second head. "Stop coloring your hair! You'd look way cooler!" He stared for a moment before his eyes lit up with anger.

"And in what god forsaken universe do you think you're allowed to boss me around like that?!"

"I'm just saying, stop coloring your hair! Do you know how much it kills your scalp?"

"Do you know how much of a shit I don't give?"

"I'm just saying!"

"Listen to what I'm saying, and shut the hell up, four eyes." There was an intense silence as they stared each other down, both of them shooting daggers at each other. Finally Jade turned away disdainfully, fingers crawling along the fret board as she started up another tune. The atmosphere returned to its gentle nature as Karkat looked away out the window, busying his lips with the coffee before he most likely started up another round of insults. Actually, if Nepeta looked closely, it's almost as if the cranky comrade looked hurt… Maybe even ashamed. She knew better than to address him right away. That'd be like poking a mine to see if it'd blow up in your face. Only it wouldn't be a mine. It'd be some sort of atomic bomb that'd turn the continents to dust. Which is less than what she wanted. So she allowed him to sit by himself as he tried to make the inhabitant's of the street outside head's explode.

After long hours of trying to slide into the right angle and snap some pictures, she noticed that the clock had struck five. Wow, they'd been her for how long? When did they even get here?! She looked over her shoulder, suddenly noticed the change of surroundings. Jade was standing by the right window, a hand planted on her jean skirted hip as she watered her thristy plants. Bec was now laying beneath the Karkat absent bench. Alarm took over her as she looked around for the missing grouch, and some part of her sighed as she spotted him outside the shop, gently fluffing the flowers with his fingertips as he applied water directly to their roots. When he glanced up, Jade must have made a face, because Karkat's face went from normal to irritated, and he flicked the glass. Jade snickered, turning.

"Hey there! You done?" She approached swinging, her watering can playfully. Nepeta pouted, looking back at the remaining flowers she had yet to capture on film.

"I wish I was. I still got those two to do."

"Wait wait wait, whoa, how long does it take you to take pictures?"

"A while," She admitted bashfully. "Perfection demands time. "

"Well geez, that's for sure!" Bec had approached, and Jade turned to grab his face, playfully ruffling his hair all over the place. "Where do they get the time? Where do they get the time?! Where?! Where?!" She waved her hand and Bec danced around her, startling Nepeta with a deafening WROOF! From outside Karkat loosened out a panicked yell, a flower pot dancing from between his hands. He caught it with a 'FUCKING JESUS', stood there breathing heavily, then placed it gently on its rack before storming in, murder in his eyes. He stared at Jade, who eyes him mockingly, half her face in snowy fur. Bec's tail thumped loudly on the tiled ground, little bits of dirt skittering away. Karkat raised his hands.

"… What the fuck." Jade, raised an eyebrow, removing her face from the fur and leaning forward with a low giggle. Karkat slapped his hands on his shins and looked over at Nepeta. "You done yet or what?"

"I'll be back tomorrow," she said with a small smile, standing up.

"Fine, whatever." Karkat walked carefully over the bench, taking up Nepeta's bag and tossing it to her. She caught it with a swift hand, and gently fitted her camera inside.

"Hey, when will you be back," Jade asked, Jumping to her feet and jogging over to them, her great white dog bobbing behind her. "And not just for pictures, I mean for visiting and such?"

"Whenever I can!"

"Never." Nepeta smacked his shoulder.

"He'll come too, I swear!"

"Yay!" Jade threw her arms around them both in a bear hug, squeezing them until Nepeta was sure her spine would collapse inward. "Come around anytime you want, feel free to stop by—Oh! He Nepeta wait!" Jade spun on her heel and hurried over to her little window garden. She returned with two small lemons and miniscule strawberries. She gingerly took Nepeta's hand and pressed the fruits into her palm. "Don't underestimate how small they are." She winked. "Their flavor packs a punch!" Nepeta broke into an almost painful grin.

"Thanks!" Karkat took her by the shoulders, pushing her away gently. "I'll see you later!" Nepeta continued to wave back, even after Jade turned to switch her door sign to close and shut her door.

"Ugh, I have the worst fucking headache."

"How come?"

"She was seriously getting on my nerves!"

"You liked her."

"Hell no."

"You two fought like siblings!"

"We did not! She just had to be right about every little thing, no matter how much I didn't care about it!" He stopped for a moment, turning to fish in his bag. He retrieved a black wool beanie. He placed it upon his head, attempting to shove all his hair into the hat and continued forward, even though Nepeta didn't trot after him.

The way he put on the hat in that hurried fashion. It was as if her were afraid, attempting to hide from the world. He kept his head low, as if the ground were vital to his vision. A weird feeling came over her, some sort of nagging instinct. Without a word, she hurried forward, steps quick, and grabbed the back of his hat, pulling it off completely. Karkat let out a growl and turned around.

"Lejion, I'm fucking serious I am not in the mood for your stupid-!" He stopped. She stared at him with wide green eyes, lips pulled down in a slight frown. Their hair blew in the gentle breeze as they gazed at each other silently, the sunset casting their shadows on the gray concrete. Her eyelashes brushed her cheek as she looked down, biting her lip. Her companion retracted his hand, and he gazed at her, eyes softening. He was afraid. She could feel it. She looked up suddenly, holding his hat close.

"Um!" An awkward silence. She looked across the street, at the flickering lamppost and back at his face. He waited, brown locks falling into his face. "U-Uhm, I…" She swallowed, dragging whatever strength she had to make her statement. It was now or never! "… I like you the way you are! S-so please don't dye your hair!" Everything in the world seemed to slow dramatically. Karkat's eyes had widened and his finger twitched as he gazed at her. There. She could see it. That part of him that he kept locked away so tightly, never allowing it to see the light. That part of him that wanted to be accepted, that part of him that hated his hair, his skin, his eyes, he was so alien, so ugly, why would anyone want to be with him?

He wanted to cry. He opened his mouth slightly, as if to say something, then closed and cleared his throat. He stepped forward, causing Nepeta's legs to tremble slightly. What if he was really angry? What if he was totally mad? He reached forward, gently taking the hat out of her fingers. His gaze never left hers as he tossed it into the trash can without even the slightest bit of hesitation. Again that agonizingly long stare.

Please…. Tell me what you need to..!

"Beep beep." Nepeta shrieked in alarm, and she was sure that Karkat had jumped to Saturn and back as he turned around.

Dave stared on, eyes hidden behind shades. His hands were stuffed in his skinny black jeans, orange sunset slightly coloring his ivory t-shirt.

"STRIDER," Karkat hissed.

"Sup."

"Hi Dave," Nepeta squeaked, trying to find her pulse. "Wow, don't scare me like that!"

"Can't help it." He quirked an eyebrow. "You were too busy staring each other down. Karkat made some sort of noise between a growl and a groan.

"Whatever, what the fuck ever, come on Nepeta, Let's go." He took a hold of her hand and practically dragged her down the side walk. She glanced over the shoulder back at Dave.

He walked down the street casually and suddenly swerved to the left,

Where he knocked on Jade's door.

A/N You can strangle me later, I promise Sorry for the short chapter. I'll try to make them longer.