#earth-c

There’s something to be said about trying new things. The excitement tinged with the nerves that seem to appear no matter how small the activity may be. 

It was a warm afternoon on earth-c, the sun beating down on an already-sweaty Jade as she made her way to Rose and Kanaya’s hive. Upon entering, she noticed that Rose and Kanaya were nowhere to be seen, and Terezi was sat upon the couch gnawing on a carrot without a care in the world. The sight was silly, but in a way that Jade found rather endearing. 

“Hey Terezi,” she hummed, face flushed from the heat which she had just escaped. 

“Jade,” replied Terezi, going back to her carrot before sniffing the air. “You smell nice today,” she remarked.

“Thank you! Have you seen Rose or Kanaya? I came by to surprise them with some veggies I grew.”

“Nope,” replied Terezi, still focused on the carrot she must have pulled from the fridge. Jade decided that she may as well wait a few minutes for them, though she was curious what Terezi was doing there. She sat next to the troll on the couch a bit awkwardly, placing the basket of produce on the table and smoothing out the wrinkles in her skirt. 

She wasn’t completely sure why she felt so awkward around Terezi, or why the warmth radiating off of the troll made her want to lean closer, but she dismissed the thought. 

“Enjoying that carrot?” Jade joked, cracking a small smile in hopes that Terezi returned it. 

“I’m trying to,” she responded. Jade knew that Terezi didn’t necessarily intend to be rude, and that was just how she was, but it didn’t stop the small pang of frustration in her chest. Why couldn’t she connect with her? Jade typically was able to form a bond with just about anybody, due to what John would jokingly refer to as the “classic Harley charm.” And yet, it just didn’t seem to be working on Terezi. 

“Alright,” Jade said, more to herself than Terezi, before standing up. “I have to go, but  would you tell them I stopped by? I have a picnic with my brother to get to.” She smiled. Jade never got tired of calling John her brother. 

Terezi looked up, seeming to have changed her mind about being closed off. “What’s that?”

Jade turned to look back at the troll, unable to hide the flicker of surprise on her face before she grinned. 

“A picnic?”

“That. A what?” Terezi tilted her head in confusion. 

“You know, picnics! Didn’t they have them on Alternia? You wait for a nice day and then sit on a blanket and eat a bunch of food! They’re super fun,” Jade said

“We didn’t. That sounds weird,” replied Terezi. She was quiet for a moment before adding on. “It sounds fun too.” There was something that sounded suspiciously like longing in her voice, and the slight vulnerability surprised Jade, but she just nodded, smiling sweetly at the troll from the doorway.

“It is!” 

________________________

It was another nice day. Marginally cooler than the one before it, and partly cloudy with no chance of rain. Jade had spent several hours cooking for this, and she hoped that Terezi would enjoy the surprise. She had sounded like she really wanted to try out a picnic, and who was Jade to deny her that? 

A big smile on her face, she knocked on the door of Terezi’s hive, hearing a bit of crashing from inside as the troll made her way over to open the door. She opened it a bit, and her face appeared through a small crack between the door and the doorway. After seeing- or smelling, that it was Jade, she opened the door fully. 

“Well, well, well! Jade Harley,” she mused. “What do you need from me?”

“We’re having a picnic, silly!” Jade replied, beckoning for Terezi to join her outside. “I couldn’t let you continue to not know what a picnic is. Come out here while I get everything set up!”

Terezi was shocked that Jade would do something so nice for someone she barely knew, but she just nodded, following Jade outside. 

“If you’re trying to pail me, it’s working,” Terezi joked, though her cheeks were tinted a slight teal. Jade, however, turned bright red, spluttering.

“W-what?! No, I was just-”

Terezi laughed, clapping Jade on the shoulder and shaking her head.

“Relax, Harley, I was just kidding.” Jade hid her face in her hands for a moment, not sure why she had gotten so flustered over a simple joke. 

“Oh,” she squeaked out, continuing to set the food out on the blanket. “Um, I brought a variety of Alternian and Human foods, because I wasn’t completely sure what you liked. I hope this is okay?”

Terezi grinned, seemingly satisfied with the reaction she had gotten, as well as the selection of food. 

“Wow! This is great!” She exclaimed. After a moment of sniffing the air, Terezi paused. “Is that grubloaf?” She got closer, excited. 

Jade nodded, laughing softly at Terezi’s reaction. “Yep! I also brought grubsauce and some human foods!”

Terezi grinned, plopping down on the blanket and patting for Jade to join her. “Well? Let’s dig in, I’m starving!” Jade, becoming more excited due to Terezi’s infectious enthusiasm, obeyed and began unwrapping the food. Terezi wasted no time in grabbing a slice of grubloaf and eating it with her hands. Jade, in a slightly more civilized manner, grabbed one of the sandwiches she packed. 

After Terezi finished her grubloaf, she stared at Jade’s sandwich. Jade, noticing this, paused mid-bite. 

“Do you– want to try it?” 

Terezi nodded eagerly, and Jade laughed. 

“Okay, how about this,” she grabbed a slice of grubloaf and handed Terezi the rest of her sandwich. “You try some of mine, and I’ll try some of yours. Deal?” 

“Deal,” Terezi replied, eagerly taking a bite out of the sandwich at the same time Jade took a bite out of the grubloaf. After several seconds of chewing, they both spit out the food, grimacing. 

“Yuck!” Exclaimed Terezi, “that’s disgusting!” Jade wrinkled her nose.

“Blegh, at least it’s better than grubloaf!” 

They both cracked up, their laughter carrying on the breeze. After a moment of calming down, they both wiped tears from their eyes, and Jade suddenly realized how much fun she was having. She said as much.

“This is really fun,” Jade said, softer, “We should definitely do this again sometime.”

“Agreed,” Terezi laughed, still catching her breath. After a moment, she flopped down on her back. Jade did the same, laying down next to her with a grin. She stared up at the sky. 

“The clouds are really pretty today,” she mused unthinkingly before immediately regretting it. Terezi is blind, why would she say that?!

Luckily, Terezi did not take offense. “Describe them to me?” she asked, and Jade obliged.

They spent the next hour or so laying there, Jade describing every cloud she saw as it floated past, and Terezi listening intently. At some point, Jade found her hand in Terezi’s, but, not wanting to ruin the moment, she didn’t say anything, just giving it a soft squeeze and continuing to describe the clouds. 

When Jade had finally finished, they lay there, hand-in-hand in a comfortable sort of silence. The only sound was the soft breeze blowing through the grass and the trees, and Jade turned her head to look at Terezi. 

“You know, you’re sort of beautiful,” she said softly, and Terezi turned her head. 

“I think you are too,” she responded, and Jade let out another pretty sounding laugh.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, you are.” Terezi said, more decisively this time, “I can smell it.”