1. Chapter 1 (1/2)

a/n: woo, first fic! karezi is one of my biggest otps and i had this idea in my head for a while, so i just had to write it. i think it came out pretty well! enjoy!

psst, let's say john never forgot the pda in the wallet and was able to contact people while crossing the yellow yard, okay?

karkat sighed, frustrated. he had been thinking about this for a long, long time. there were so many possibilities to consider; what if she said no? he shouldn't be thinking about that, not now. he needed to talk to john. today was the day.

though he'd never admit it, karkat had always admired the ways humans proposed a matespritship to their partners. it was much different than the way trolls did it. much more...romantic. with the rings and kneeling and whatever, he thought terezi might like it; sometimes she enjoys the little romantic things. he figured john would know more about it than he did, there's sure to be some proposing in his shitty movies.

he left his respiteblock and transportalized to the computer lab. he looked around the room, just to make sure no one would see his conversation, but the room was empty. everyone was elsewhere doing their own thing. as he logged on to his computer went over how he was going to start the conversation out. 'hey john, i need your help' no way, that sounds too desperate. karkat was desperate for help on this, but he wasn't going to show it. 'john, can you use your think pan for once and give me some advice on something?' that's a bit better.

karkat opened trollian and started to pester john. whatever he had just planned to say went right out the window, as he became increasingly nervous about the ordeal.

- carcinogeneticist [cg] began trolling ectobiologist [eb] –-

cg: egbert drop whatever pointless shit you're doing i need some help

cg: not that you'll be much

cg: but you can't be entirely useless

eb: oh hey karkat!

eb: what do you need help with?

cg: romance

eb: uh, i don't really know much about your troll romance and your kisme-whatevers

cg: wait fuck not like that

cg: human romance, tell me what you do

cg: with the rings and shit come on john you know exactly what i'm talking about here

eb: oh! you mean like wedding proposals?

eb: hehehehe, why would you need to know about that?

cg: i would deny what you're implying but it is literally exactly what you think

eb: really? hehe, who's the lucky troll?

cg: this really isn't any of your business

cg: but, this may have to do with a specific crazy, justice-obsessed girl

cg: fuck what am i saying

cg: i never said that, okay?

cg: keep your fucking mouth shut egbert

eb: wait, terezi? i knew you guys were a thing!

cg: we're not a thing

cg: not yet, kind of

cg: things are complicated

cg: oh god how did we get off on this fucking tangent dammit john i need you to explain your human romance rituals

eb: oh, sorry!

eb: it's pretty simple, though.

eb: basically you get a ring, and you get down on one knee and ask her to marry you

eb: then there's a wedding ceremony, where there's a lot of food and dancing

cg: that sounds

cg: romantic, or at least better than what trolls do

eb: hmm, i guess so.

cg: so i need a ring, huh?

eb: yep! it's usually a diamond ring.

cg: i'm gonna assume that's an earth mineral

cg: now how am i gonna get that?

eb: actually, i could get jade to use her modus to get a ghost imprint, and i can send you the code

eb: that might actually work!

cg: i think there's a totem lathe and alchemiter somewhere in this place

cg: i'll find them

eb: okay! i'll talk to jade, so that she can draw up a ghost imprint of the ring

eb: oh gosh, this is going to be so cute! am i invited to the troll wedding? hehehe

cg: you're getting a little ahead of your fucking self, john

cg: i don't even know if she'll say yes

eb: i don't think you should worry too much about that, karkat.

eb: well, im gonna go talk to jade!

- ectobiologist [eb] ceased pestering carcinogeneticist [cg]–-

karkat sighed. what in the world did john mean by that? he's usually straightforward, but that sure as hell was not.

he read over the conversation and groaned. he had said a little too much. but sometimes it was so hard to stop talking about her once he started. at least it was john, who can keep a secret. any other person and he'd be screwed. it's a miracle he hasn't blabbed about her more than that, but he doesn't really trust many other people to even

ing it up.

but things were working out! the ritual itself is surprisingly simple, but it just sounds so romantic! if everything goes well, this could be just like a sweet scene from one of his favorite romcoms. karkat smiled to himself at the thought.

john put the pda in his pocket and got up to look for jade. this is going to be so cute! too bad he won't be able to see it. the fact that karkat trusted john enough to ask him for advice made him smile. now he had to show him his trust wasn't misplaced.

he found jade curled up taking a nap on the floor in one of the many rooms of the prospit ship. she looked so peaceful, he didn't want to wake her. maybe later, he decided, but only a few moments later he heard a soft yawn escaping her mouth.

"…john?" she said, still groggy from sleep. "oh, jade! you're awake!" john stepped towards her and leaned over. jade sat up on the floor and yawned again, her mouth wide. "did you need something?"

"actually, i do" john started. "i just need you to draw up a ghost imprint of something with your modus." jade pulled out the scribblepad and readied the tablet pen. "sure! what do you want me to draw?" john hesitated; this was going to be a weird thing to ask. "could you draw an, uh, diamond ring? like an engagement ring?" jade looked at him curiously. "what would you need an engagement ring for?" "it's for karkat, he asked me to get it for him." jade still looked a bit confused, but she shook her head and shrugged and started to draw.

it only took her a few minutes to draw the ring, as the modus didn't call for an incredibly detailed-or even well drawn- drawing. she finished drawing and waited for the modus to process it. a ghost image of the item appeared on an empty captchalogue card in jade's sylladex. jade selected it, the card appearing in her hand. she looked at the gray image on the card and frowned. "uh, that's not an engagement ring." she looked back at john, waiting for his response.

"hmm," john looked at the card. this could still work out; karkat didn't even know what a diamond was anyway. i mean, it's still a ring, just not a diamond one. "that's okay! this'll work just fine." he took the card from jade and smiled. "thanks!" he started back towards his room on the ship. "um, no problem?" jade called after him, sounding more like a question than a response.

he reached his room and sat down on the floor, pulling out his pda. he was super excited to tell karkat! it wasn't exactly what he wanted, but it would definitely work.

- ectobiologist [eb]began pestering carcinogeneticist [cg]–-