Chapter Text
Dreariness clouded the Earth's sky right outside of the bar Terezi frequented. She always came here looking for a break from the chaos and noise of the outside, especially on days the dreariness of the air seemed to infect her. It was nice to chat with some new people, trolls and humans alike, or meet up with some old faces. Frankly, alcohol had no effect on her, or any troll for that matter, but she appreciated it all the same. She entered the building, and sniffed her surroundings, trolls and humans talked and chatted, laughs reverberating throughout the building, conversations bringing the quaint bar to life. Despite the pleasant surroundings, she couldn't sense the presence of any people she recognized, troll or otherwise; that is except for the bartender, a rust-blooded troll that must've been a refugee from Alternia. As she sensed her surroundings a familial scent finally caught her nose, a cloudy, sharp face. one she hadn't seen in a long while. Dirtied jeans, eyepatch, tank top, a scent of cobalt. She could hardly believe it.
"Vriska?" She blurted out, already drifting towards her direction in the bar. As she leaked the words out of her mouth, the lanky, dyed-black haired girl perked up unexpectedly. Her voice rang in her ears like the flash of an old camera, like a memory she kept in her pocket. Having made her presence known, she pulled out the stool beside her and sat down, setting her cane against the stool as well. The metal thunk further alerted the familiar face.
“Hey Terezi," she said, smugly as ever, her voice deep, and her head hung. "It's been quite a while." She turned to face the other girl and came to face Terezi looking adamantly behind her red glasses. As they faced each-other, a brief silence followed, both of them a bit unsure of what to say next. As they stared they analyzed each other's faces, looking for the familiar. A century was behind those glances, a history in every detail.
Vriska traced her long, black nail across the ring of her glass, even if she couldn't get drunk on the stuff, she sure wish she could. "What's it been, a year? I almost missed your constant meddling in my life." she chuckled to herself and grinned, her snark as apparent as ever. It almost made Terezi not want to hit her for saying that. "A year?! Its been two, Vriska! I thought you were dead, for sufferer's sake." Vriska paused for a moment before saying her next words. "Me? Dead?! I'd like to see anyone try. Plus, I mean I've hung out with some of our friends since then, surely they at least said something." Terezi scoffed. The last time she heard of anyone seeing her anywhere was when Karkat texted you to say he found her, her not so quietly crashing a hang-out she was obviously not invited to. He then proceeded to kick her out like a douche, and by the time Terezi got there to see her, she had left. Wasn't exactly a sign of well being. "Well, sorry if getting news of my friend crashing hang outs and everyone in a ten mile radius getting immediately uncomfortable one year ago wasn't enough." Vriska looked down, hiding her expression behind her wavy hair. "Naggy as ever! Missed you too, Rezi." Terezi was baffled by her, like always. Sometimes she found it hard to parch which one of them was the stable one in this relationship. She sure thought she was crazy, but Vriska? Holy shit, is that another a bag of worms.
After everything that happened, it seems like decades ago, but they were best friends, maybe even more. At least, Terezi thought so. Seeing Vriska was like seeing a ghost, she rarely appeared anywhere and when you turned to look for her she disappeared. They had spent years of their grubhood together, they were bonded through thick and thin. Through sweat and blood. Out of everyone she thought she would come to her. Especially after Tavros...Yet, she stayed avoiding nearly everyone and when she did show up, she was nothing more than a bad reminder. Still, Terezi found it hard to not smile upon the sight of her face after all this time. Her grin was infectious; with Vriska wearing a similar smirk. She stole some quick glances at the new clothes Terezi dressed herself in. Human culture's fashion was one mystery of Earth that Vriska could never quite figure out, especially when Kanaya hadn't spoken a word to her in who knows how long. But, here, Terezi seemed to have taken quite an interest in it. Her jean shorts fitted her perfectly, and her teal shirt and red plaid overshirt adapted her usual outfit choices to more conventional clothes on the planet. She was almost jealous, sometimes wearing the same outfit your ex-friend picked out for you every day of your life gets a bit old.
“Soooo," Terezi started, quietly ignoring the jab Vriska previously spat at her. "Whatcha been up to all this time?" Vriska hesitated for a moment before smirking and speaking; so she was still talking to her, even after everything, even after ghosting her for two years. "Honestly, nothing much. I wish I could say I've been FLARPing or going on some crazy adventures, or bugging some new friends. But, I guess It's been a quiet two years for me. Sometimes I almost miss fighting useless trolls and..." she trailed off, finding herself unable to bring up her lusus without biting her tongue. Terezi interrupted her, quickly saving the conversation before it could get too serious, to ask a different question, "Haven't you been hanging out with John? He's like half of the reason you were so excited to come to Earth!" Instead of the response Terezi expected, Vriska just took a long sigh. "I was for a little bit, but shit happened and he got pissed at me! End of that." She took another sip of her drink. "I could say the same thing about you and Dave, where's that asshole where you need him! Now we're both stuck at the same shitty bar on Earth!" Terezi looked down and made a disgruntled face, "Touché, Serket. Also, I find this bar quite nice actually." The other girl snickered and held her face with her hand, her eyes wandering the bar, as if pretending to be bored. "Whatever, freak."
"Ughhh, I was just curious! Geez. Y'all were together for a while so I just assumed." She muttered, turning her eyes back towards the spider girl and pouting. Vriska turned her attention back towards Terezi, perked up a bit and raised her eyebrows. Her mouth opened as if wanting to say something, but quickly closed shut again. "You-....You WERE dating right? I could've sworn you said that the last time we talked. Huh." Terezi feigned ignorance, as if trying to give her the benefit of the doubt, as if hoping what she was thinking wasn't true. Vriska glanced around again as she stumbled through her next words, "Shit. Shit, yeah of course. I forgot...I forgot I told you that." Tilting her head, Terezi opened her mouth in disbelief, "Told!?" She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Vriska...God I can't believe I was that stupid." Terezi groaned and rested her head in her hands, breathing a long sigh of discontentment.
Vriska had a reputation of this, she'd constantly lie and lie about the seemingly insignificant. Most of the time it was brushed off to be a part of her Terezi has long grown used to, "Usual Vriska", right? But, every now and then, one of her lies would explode like this. She remembered it like it was yesterday, clearly more than the other girl had. She clinged onto it on particularly sorrowful nights, when the wind was howling and she had nothing but memories to hold on to.. 2 years ago, after everyone finally established transportalization as means of transportation to and from Earth, she and Vriska would have their last conversation for two years. Vriska, lying on the floor of Terezi's newly bought apartment, started to let her mind wander. Whether she and Terezi would ever be able to be friends like they used to be, whether it was okay to push the wall between them out of the way. Whether the soft kisses were just. They weren't "girlfriends" ,or "matesprits", or "kismeses", or maybe not even friends. But they were agonizingly close. She was the only person not afraid of her. It wasn't an argument, or an accident, or any number of things. It was just a thought, a terrifying one. "What if she found out." What if she dug and dug their relationship deeper and deeper, only to find the coffin of a girl she was. And just like that, she ran away. She blurted out an excuse, one now fatefully back to haunt her in the present, left her apartment, and left her life. At least she had hoped. Yet, fate hadn't had enough of her, it had to have her running straight back into her arms. And back into this awkward position.
“Fuck." she muttered just under her breath enough that Terezi heard. She had a plan. She had a plan on how this would go the minute she saw the glare of red glasses. The second Terezi had sat down next to her, she had this all planned out, at least, rather slopfully. And it all just came crashing down. "Listen, Terezi I didn't know what I was saying, I just-" Terezi didn't even have to interrupt her this time. The daggers she stared into her said enough. Head hung, she spoke, "Now I remember how much of an absolute dick you are sometimes, Vrisks. Missed that." Bitterness seeped from her mouth. Vriska retreated into her seat. "I can't believe you--out of nowhere might I add--ghosted me for two years all on the basis of this lie you told me that YOU didn't even think to remember. What's with you? I just-" She regretted the words that were slipping, she winced a bit and tried her best to calm down, "I just, wish you would have returned my calls, just once." With that, she raised her hand, the bartender taking notice. "Bloody Mary." Maybe she could at least pretend to get drunk, it'd surely be a better time than whatever's waiting behind her excuses.
The silence that followed was certainly longer, and far more awkward than the previous. Vriska had no words. It was in her best interest she ghosted her. Sure, she lied, but hadn't it already gotten a little cold anyways? Does she even know how hard it was for her to leave her? To rid her of herself? It was only news to Pyrope. After everything she'd done, and after everything they went through together, they new each other. It was the worst feeling in the world. Her head spun with the might of thousands of orbits. If only she could understand. She was protecting her! She should be thanking her! Fuck. Did she? Shit, she just said that out loud. "Bullshit." Terezi repeated, once, twice...And then silence, once again. Even for Vriska, this was embarrassing. Terezi wasn't mad at her, wasn't angry, just unimaginably upset. So much for a happy reunion. She agonized at the thought of the lost time. So much time wasted on staying apart for nothing. Vriska's sudden leaving left her heartbroken; and to Vriska? Well, it was just another Tuesday. Another day she shattered someone's beating heart, what gives?
"Vriska," she finally began, after minutes of silence. The girl immediately jumped to look at her, as if looking for a way she could save herself from fucking this up further. "I'm not stupid. I know you. You do stupid things, and you hurt others, but I still thought of you. Every. Single. Day. Why? Do you wonder why I put up with your bullshit? It's because you're not this. It's because, I guess, when I talk with you I'm hoping there's someway I can finally dig through the trash of your heart and unlock the cage of the Vriska I love in there. You don't stay friends with someone for half of your life without understanding them a little. And if there's anything I understand about Vriska Serket, it's that she's-" Terezi took a breath, "It's that you're scared. You're terrified, it's why you're here, isn't it? You came here to escape. It's why you made up that stupid half-baked lie. I don't care what you think of in your head Vriska, I'm with you. No matter how hard you try to push me away. You're a strange Troll, and sometimes you're shitty and an idiot, but, there's a reason i'm still sitting beside you. There's a reason I missed you." The eight-eyed arachnid found it hard to stomach her words. Halfway through, she started perspiring violently. She couldn't decide if she wanted to hear her say that or if those words was exactly what she was afraid of. The bitter closeness was nice. Repulsively so. The feeling of her stomach churning made it difficult to breathe, Vriska, still looking at her, stumbled a bit. She muttered indistinguishably for a few seconds tripping over every syllable she was saying, before finally landing on what she should've said a while ago. "Thanks."
Vriska choked down her puke.
Behind her red glasses, Terezi's eyes widened. She didn't think she'd ever hear Vriska genuinely thank anyone for something, especially her. It wasn't exactly the reaction she expected. She anticipated some snarky come back, another lighthearted response, or complete silence. It made her smile a bit, it's endearing when she gets tired of her act. She'd heard some rumors of her whispered on the streets of Alternia, of her fleeing here, but she wondered if she even had a place to live? Vriska certainly doesn't seem like someone who would integrate gracefully into human society. She always thought if she was actually alive, and not dead in some river somewhere, she would've texted her at least. Even after the broken promises and burnt Polaroids, she would've always had a place to stay. She supposed she knew that. It's probably why she never bothered, sufferer forbid she ever back down.
She wasn't exactly expecting to speak the next words that came out of her mouth, but her heart took over her mind. "Well, if you're done making excuses, you could always stay over at mine's for a little while." Terezi said as she faced Vriska again finally. Vriska got a chill, it's a little bit scary she can do that, considering what she did to her eyes, but, "badass" was all that Vriska could think. It was also severely unnerving she had already guessed her situation, with not a word spoken about it. God damn it, Pyrope. It's so like her to reach her hand out towards her claw bearing one. Even after the blood she'd cast upon her grey skin. She softly chuckled, and responded, "Is this offer available now or will I have to wait for more Scourge Sister beat-downs? I'm also homeless if that helps you make up your mind." Terezi scoffed, Rose has had to have made her way to the one or two parties she crashed a year ago. After a long sigh she said the only answer that seemed right, "Yes. But no Scourge Sister Beat-downs! The Scourge Sisters are officially RETIRED! Effective immediately!" Vriska playfully rolled her eyes in response, "Fineeeeeeee I suppose I'll hold off!" Relief washed over Terezi as her teethy grin unveiled itself. She missed this. She missed this bad.
They both got out of their seat, Terezi neatly pushed the stool back where it was when she entered, started walking towards the entrance, and glanced over back towards Vriska. She yawned, her arms stretched out above her head, and then clumsily knocked down her stool, trying her best to catch up following Terezi out of the building. When they exited, Vriska noticed something strange; the sky outside had finally cleared up a bit. The dreary air had been washed over, trees rustled contently, and the bright summer sun uncloaked itself from its cloudy robe. She snickered, "How cliché."