Chapter Text
⇒ Be Jade
Your name is Jade Harley: Jade, for the color of your eyes, and Harley, inherited from a grandfather who died when you were small. You are ten years old, but it is only today that you will get to go on a picnic with your friends.
Picnics have never been difficult for you to organize. But a picnic by yourself, or even accompanied by a very good dog, is a little boring. You usually eat outside anyway, so long as it's not monsoon season. The problem is that your friends are usually too busy to have a picnic with you. One day, you will have friends who are less busy. But for now, you take what you have been granted: one beautiful sunny afternoon in the meadow with two of your closest friends. You leave the house to go to them.
When you get there, you find your friends are already seated on a checkered picnic blanket. One of them, a goddess dressed in billowing, red and blue summer wear, smiles at you as you draw near with the picnic basket. "Hello, Jade," the horned woman calls.
You grin, gap-toothed and bespectacled and brown in the sun. "Hi, Terezi! You made it!"
Your other friend, who's wearing a dark hoodie and is hunched over a phone, is not paying much attention. You turn to him and say, loudly, "Sollux, I'm very glad you made it, too! I know you’re super busy all the time!"
"How many times have I told you to aggregate the plug-and-play methodologies, you assholes," mutters the hooded figure. Terezi bats him lightly on the head, and he whirls with a scowl, eyes flashing. "Damn it Te—"
"Jade was talking to you," says Terezi calmly. "Pay attention."
Meanwhile, you seat yourself next to the two gods, and open the picnic basket. "I brought sandwiches," you say, and hold one out to Sollux.
"Oh," says Sollux, and stares at the proffered food item. "What is that? Did you burn half of it?"
You giggle. "No, It's just pumpernickel. I made it half white and half brown. Because you like halves."
"Oh. It's very...food."
"You eat food, Sollux." Terezi says, nudging the other god with a grin. "I know you don't eat often, but if you dig deep you'll remember."
"I know what to do with food!" Sollux snaps, and finally accepts the sandwich offering.
You tilt your head. "Have you never seen pumpernickel before?"
Sollux takes a huffy bite of the sandwich, then says with his mouth full, "Whatth pummernicgkl?"
Terezi swats him again, but gently. "Don't talk with your mouth full."
He swallows irritably. "And you wonder why I don't go out in public much. I don't have time for this shit."
"No, it is because we don’t let you," Terezi replies.
You dig into the picnic basket for another sandwich. "Huh. I thought you guys knew everything." You sit up and offer lunch to Terezi: a bacon-tomato-strawberry jam concoction, which the goddess accepts graciously.
"Studies are going well, I trust?" Terezi asks.
"I thought you already knew?" you reply, and Terezi laughs.
"Yes, from an objective stance, but I want to know how you perceive it."
"I like the science and math a lot!" you tell her. "But the politics stuff is kind of boring."
"Not everything you learn will demonstrate its value right away," Terezi advises, and then she turns to smack Sollux, who has begun texting while eating his sandwich.
"Hey!" he objects.
"No multitasking at the picnic blanket." Terezi's voice is solemn. "That's the rule."
"Do you realize how inefficient this is?" cries Sollux.
"I will break all your devices if you try it again."
Sollux glares at Terezi, who ignores him and takes a bite of her own sandwich.
"This is delicious, Jade."
"Thanks!" you say. "Oh! I brought drinks, too!"
Sollux perks up at that. "Red Bull?"
You smile, contrite. "No, I have Coke, lemonade, and root beer. Sorry, none of it's red. Or blue."
Terezi pats you on the shoulder. "The court finds you innocent of wrongdoing. I'll have a lemonade, please."
"Coke for me," says Sollux. "I don't suppose it's the old-fashioned kind? With real co-"
Terezi jabs him again, and you hand both of them their drinks, unperturbed when Terezi removes the top of her can with her teeth.
You go back to the picnic basket and take out a peanut butter-banana sandwich and a root beer for yourself. Between bites, you say, "So, when I looked up picnics, I read that you can do things like play frisbee or fly kites!"
Sollux snorts. "Nobody does that. Who even does picnics anymore? Everybody stays inside where they should be, with their computers."
You continue, undaunted, "Well, I'm doing a picnic today, and so are you, so that can't be true."
Terezi smiles at Sollux, takes a slow bite of her sandwich, swallows, then turns to face you. "You are correct, Jade. Millions of people are having picnics at this very moment, all across the universe."
You grin at Sollux. "Ha. That's another thing I knew and you didn't! It can't be that bad, anyway. You're having fun, right?"
"I'm a prisoner of war is what I'm—" starts Sollux, then he catches a glimpse of the expression on Terezi's face. He sighs, then continues in a mechanical tone, "I would be delighted if you could give me another sandwich, Jade. These are delicious."
Terezi nods in approval, and you smile broadly. "I made a bunch!" you chirp, and begin rummaging in your basket again.
Sollux frowns at Terezi. "Well, if you think my people can engineer a viral convergence without my supervision then you don't know the heights of their incompetence."
"I only made one that was half-and-half, sorry," you say, offering Sollux another sandwich, which he takes with a simple "Thanks."
Terezi gasps in mock-surprise. "I'm shocked, Sollux! You just displayed actual manners! Without being reminded!"
Sollux gives a half-grin. "I'll invoice you for the trouble, don't worry." Then, he turns to you. "How's the dream robot working out?"
"It's working great!" you enthuse. "I keep running it into walls, though! So, um, I'm trying to cushion the walls."
Sollux chews thoughtfully. "You know, I could rebuild your house for you. Get me a map of Prospit and we could get some work done."
Your eyes widen. "Wow, really? That would be a big change!" You glance in the direction of your home, though it is out of view. "Grandpa built the house. I dunno if I want to change it too much."
"Well, you could remodel Prospit instead. That would probably be cheaper, too."
You smile. "I'll ask the Architectural Supervisor about it!"
Terezi interrupts the scheming. "Jade, I advise against reconstructing an entire planet at this stage."
"Oh." You tap your chin with a finger. "Well, I won't redo the whole world. Just the parts where I might crash the dreambot."
Sollux nods his approval. "Integrating the architectural functionalities is a good step."
"Yeah!" You finish off your sandwich, then reach back into the basket, withdrawing a white disc. "Anyone want to try frisbee?"
Sollux immediately looks less enthusiastic. "I'm pretty sure that involves running."
"And catching!" you agree.
"Yeah, no," says Sollux. "Isn't that what your lusus is for?"
"Well, I usually play it with Bec, but I thought today...?" You look imploringly at the god of Doom.
"Sollux, play nice," says Terezi, giving him a look that, for all that she is blind, is quite effective.
"Ugh!" cries Sollux. "Fine, fine! I get it! Fuck!"
While you snicker at the cussing, Terezi extends a hand to pap her fellow deity. "Shoosh. It's not so horrible."
"Okay," you say, stepping back and talking quickly. "Whoever catches it gets to choose who to throw to next!"
Sollux gets up slowly, moaning and groaning in an award-worthy "woe-is-me" act, then toddles a short distance away. He glances at the distant horizon in consideration.
Meanwhile Terezi stands and stretches, changing in a blink from her sundress to an athletic tracksuit. Without turning, she calls to Sollux, "Don't even think about flying away, bub."
Sollux sighs long-sufferingly, and holds his arms up floppily.
"Go long, I think!" you yell, and throw the frisbee, but it flies right past Sollux's limp fingers.
"Oops," says the powerful, ancient god, who then shuffles off to get the wayward plastic plaything. Then he returns, walking to within five feet of Terezi and tossing the disc at her.
Terezi, for her part, catches the frisbee, spins with the momentum, then sends it back to you in a fluid motion.
"Show-off," mutters Sollux, watching as you run after it and just barely catch it. "Was the spin really necessary?"
Your fingers close around the disc. "Whoo-hoo!" you shout. "I got it!"
Terezi tilts her head towards Sollux. "Efficiency-wise, no, but ask Jade if you think it wasn't worth it."
"Sollux, try again!" you call, and you all continue in that vein for a while, long into the afternoon. Sollux barely puts any effort towards the game, while Terezi ensures each throw is incrementally faster, higher, more difficult, pushing you to the edge of your ability. Eventually, you tire and lie down, stretching out on your back next to the picnic basket.
"Ready to turn in, Jade?" asks Sollux hopefully, walking over.
"Nah," you say, smiling tiredly. "Just resting. Looking at the clouds. Wouldn't it be funny if Earth clouds had visions, too?"
"It'd be different, certainly," says Terezi. "And perhaps troubling, as well."
You frown. "Really? I think it'd be nice. No one would have to have questions, and no one would have to worry either, 'cause we'd all know how it all turns out. We could just have faith."
"Not everyone accepts fate easily," says Terezi, sitting next to you and withdrawing a coin. "Especially when it does not flip in their favor."
"But then there's no point in feeling bad about it," you insist. "That's just how it is. Feeling bad just makes it worse. Right? "
"Hmm." Terezi flips her coin. "One may conclude that one's own feelings are the only thing one can control about any given situation."
"Well, then they should choose to be happy!" you exclaim. "That's what I'd do."
"Even when the fate dealt is unjust?" Terezi's expression and tone are neutral.
You sit up and look at the goddess of law. "I thought that's what you guys were for?"
Terezi smiles, this time not showing her teeth. "Servants and masters both, we are."
"What's that mean?" you ask.
"TZ," says Sollux. His voice, too, seems very carefully bland.
"Nothing," answers Terezi, after a moment. "Just that I wish you luck in your own molding of fate, when the time comes, Jade."
You smile uncertainly. "Alright. Thanks, I guess?"
A bark echoes over the meadow, and you stand to welcome Becquerel, laughing uproariously as he appears out of thin air and pounces on you, filling your face with slightly-radioactive kisses.
"FF's remembering to clean up her DNA regularly, right?" mutters Sollux, and Terezi shooshes him.
"Let's walk back to the house together," suggests Terezi. "I think Sollux is starting to get a little restless."
The god sputters, but you, giggling, agree. So you go, the gods arm in arm, your fist buried deep in the ruff of Bec's neck.
Strange creatures and gods are an ordinary part of life, for you. But one day you will have human friends, too.
⇒ Be Future Rose