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For as long as Nepeta can remember, Equius has been her moirail.
She wouldn’t change it for the world, honestly. Equius was the best moirail, even if he did try to order her around all the time. But he was sweet and he cuddled with her and he always made her feel special.
But this was not okay.
“You’re in a what with who?” she screeches, her usually cheerful and lighthearted voice, angry and unhappy.
“Please don’t make me repeat myself,” he says, a smudge of blue staining his cheeks. “It’s so…lewd.”
“Repeat yourself right now, mister!” she says, still scowling, placing her hands on her hips and staring up at him.
“I am…er…in a kismesis…with…uh…Vantas.”
Nepeta could not believe this! Equius, her moirail, her closest confidant, had gone and done this to her?
“You should think, Nepeta,” he says in that slightly fearful, yet assertive tone (because he knows she’s deadly and he knows she could fuck him up, hemocaste be damned), “that we are in an entirely blackrom relationship, which is completely different that the quadrant you wish to be involved with.”
“But you’re still in a quadrant with him!” she whines, hitting his chest, despite that it doesn’t affect him in the slightest. She harrumphs and plops down on a pile of robot parts, their prime spot for feeling jams. “Farther than I ever got…”
Nepeta knows it’s no where near the relationship that she wants with Karkat. They were on completely different sides of the spectrum, after all! Still, it was something closer than what she had with Karkat, which, really wasn’t much.
Equius sits down next to her in the pile and puts and arm around her shoulder. He’s used to holding back his strength around her now, and he would like to think he’s gotten pretty good at it. “Would you wish for me to say something?”
“No!” she bursts out, face flushing a deep olive. “Nonono! Don’t you dare tell him anything!”
He shrugs. “If you wish.”
Nepeta bites her lip, mulling the idea over. “Okay,” she says finally, “you can’t tell him outright, but hint at it.”
“Alright.”
“Be very subtle!” she says, looking him in the eyes. “Subtle!”
“All right,” he repeats, patting her head. “I will be subtle.”
“Nepeta’s flushed for you,” Equius says, breathless, one night after a particularly violent session between the two of them.
Karkat gapes at him. “What?!”
Yes, Equius was proud of himself. He was very subtle.
-- carcinoGeneticist [CG] began trolling arsenicCatnip [AC] --
CG: HEY.
AC: :33 < *ac pounces on karkat as he enters her cave*
AC: :33 < *hi! says ac*
CG: HEY, LOOK, I’M NOT GOING TO DO THIS ROLEPLAYING THING TODAY LIKE I USUALLY DO WITH YOU.
CG: I ACTUALLY KIND OF HAVE SOMETHING IMPORTANT TO TALK ABOUT.
AC: :33 < *what? says ac curious*
CG: WELL.
CG: UM.
CG: OKAY, I’M JUST GOING TO TRY TO GET THIS OUT AS PAINLESSLY AS POSSIBLE.
CG: EQUIUS TOLD ME YOU’RE FLUSHED FOR ME.
AC: :33 < …
AC: :33 < he literally just said it blunt didn’t he
AC: :33 < blurted it right out
CG: YEAH.
AC: :33 < im going to kill him
AC: :33 < i
AC: :33 < um
AC: :33 < im just going to go
CG: NO, WAIT.
CG: I ACTUALLY KIND OF WANTED TO TALK. ABOUT, YOU KNOW. THIS.
AC: :33 < …really?
AC: :33 < *ac says*
CG: YEAH.
CG: BUT COULD WE REALLY NOT DO THE ROLEPLAY THING.
AC: :33 < habit sorry
AC: :33 < but um
AC: :33 < what do you want to talk about
CG: ITS KIND OF OBVIOUS.
CG: IT’S JUST, I DON’T KNOW.
CG: HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN FLUSHED FOR ME?
AC: :33 < oh
AC: :33 < um
AC: :33 < a while
CG: HOW LONG IS A WHILE?
AC: :33 < uh
AC: :33 < two sw33ps
CG: JEGUS NEPETA
CG: YOU’VE BEEN FLUSHING FOR ME FOR TWO SWEEPS AND YOU’VE SAID NOTHING?
AC: :33 < maybe
CG: WHY?
AC: :33 < i was nervous!
AC: :33 < ive never really gotten myself into quadrants aside from equius!
AC: :33 < plus you had a chance with terezi
AC: :33 < i didnt wanna ruin that fur you
CG: YOU’RE REALLY FUCKING STUPID, AREN’T YOU.
CG: WHY AM I EVEN ASKING, OF COURSE YOU ARE.
CG: YOU’RE SO STUPID YOU NEVER SAID ANYTHING ABOUT FLUSHING FOR ME BECAUSE YOU WERE AFRAID ABOUT RUINING MY CHANCES WITH ANOTHER TROLL.
CG: WOW, YOU ARE UNBELIEVABLY STUPID.
CG: LOOK, I NEVER HAD A REAL CHANCE WITH TEREZI ANYWAY, DESPITE WHAT I THOUGHT.
CG: IN THE END, I WAS JUST SOMETHING TO HOLD HER OFF UNTIL SHE FOUND THE NEXT BEST THING.
AC: :33 < well you still never acted interested in me anyway!
AC: :33 < i was just annoying catgirl to you!
CG: I NEVER ACT INTERESTED IN ANYONE.
CG: AND YOU WERE NEVER ANNOYING CATGIRL.
AC: :33 < …really??
CG: YEAH.
CG: REALLY.
AC: :33 < well, thanks
AC: :33 < i guess
AC: :33 < but lets be honest here
AC: :33 < you dont think of me like that
CG: WHO THE FUCK YOU DO THINK YOU ARE TO DECIDE HOW OTHER PEOPLE FEEL.
CG: YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW I FEEL.
CG: THERE’S A REASON I DON’T SHOW ATTRACTION TO ANYBODY.
CG: I PREFER FOR IT TO BE SOMETHING I KEEP TO MYSELF.
AC: :33 < so
AC: :33 < are you saying
AC: :33 < that i have a chance?
CG: YOU ARE SO FUCKING STUPID.
CG: I CANNOT FATHOM HOW MUCH OF A GODDAMN IDIOT YOU ARE.
CG: I AM NOT SAYING YOU HAVE A CHANCE.
AC: :33 < oh
CG: LET ME FINISH ASSHOLE.
CG: I’M NOT SAYING YOU HAVE A CHANCE.
CG: I’M SAYING THAT I’VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT THIS SINCE HE TOLD ME AND I’VE ALREADY FUCKING DECIDED.
CG: AND, WELL.
CG: THAT WOULD BE NICE.
AC: :33 < i
AC: :33 < really
AC: :33 < are you serious
CG: YES, I’M FUCKING SERIOUS.
CG: I DON’T JOKE ABOUT QUADRANTS.
AC: :33 < holy shit
AC: :33 < um
AC: :33 < i wasnt expecting you to f33l anything fur me at all to be honest
AC: :33 < but i
AC: :33 < wow
AC: :33 < um
AC: :33 < ahahaha
AC: :33 < im crying wow
CG: WHY ARE YOU CRYING?
CG: YOU SHOULDN’T BE CRYING.
CG: SHIT, DON’T CRY.
CG: I THOUGHT THIS WOULD HAVE MADE YOU HAPPY.
CG: FUCK HOW DID I FUCK THIS UP.
AC: :33 < nonono you didnt fuck anything up!!
AC: :33 < i am happy
AC: :33 < ive just
AC: :33 < it’s b33n a long time and i had given up hope
CG: OH.
CG: WELL.
CG: UH, KEEP CRYING THEN?
AC: :33 < youre silly!
AC: :33 < well look
AC: :33 < to be honest i have to go
CG: BUT WE JUST.
CG: YOU KNOW.
AC: :33 < i know!
AC: :33 < but i was actually supposed to start heading over to eqs hive today
AC: :33 < i put it off so we could talk!
AC: :33 < but hell get worried if im late!
CG: OH.
CG: OKAY.
AC: :33 < but ill talk to you soon, ok? :))
CG: ALRIGHT. AND I HAD A QUESTION.
CG: DO YOU THINK WE COULD MEET UP SOMETIME.
AC: :33 < *ac would love that!*
CG: GREAT. THAT’S GREAT.
AC: :33 < *ill talk to you when i get to eqs hive ac tells karkitty*
CG: OKAY. I’LL TALK TO YOU LATER THEN.
-- carcinoGeneticist [CG] has ceased trolling arsenicCatnip [AC] –
“Equius!” she squeals, before pouncing on her moirail as he opens the door. She kisses his cheeks multiple times, not caring about his stutters and the beads of sweat trailing down his face. She hugs him tightly, both of them still sprawled on the floor. “You are the best meowrail ever!”
He smiles down at her, something he doesn’t do often — something that is, so far, only reserved for her. “I take it everything went well with Vantas.”
“Yes!” she says, hugging him even tighter. She considers telling him how much of a dumbass he was for the way he delivered, but she decides against it. She was not one to be ungrateful. “Thank you, Eq.”
“You are welcome.” A pause. “You tell me when he is unsatisfactory to you and I will hurt him beyond his wildest imagination.”
“Eww!”