sortinghat_logs | I believe I can touch the sky

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I believe I can touch the sky

WHO: Gamzee Makara and Tavros Nitram
TONE: Goofy and sweet
RATING: PG, except R for language, as ever with Gamzee
WHEN: Just back from Easter hols
WHERE: The quidditch pitch.
WHAT: Gamzee has an Easter present for his bro.
STATUS: Ongoing

Gamzee knew things had been weird with Tavros lately, after the shack thing. That had been a mistake - ever since, he'd had problems with both his best friends, and Karkat didn't even talk to him much any more, even when he could have really used a sympathetic ear. And that sucked.

But he'd decided, pretty firmly, that he couldn't just let that get in the way of his friends. So they were both straight? So they didn't want to do that stuff with him and it made them feel weird and uncomfortable? That didn't make them any less his friends, did it? No motherfucking way. He had to stop being hung up on this whole being in love and wanting to make out thing, and pay attention to the important stuff, like rapping and just hanging out, and doing things for the people he cared about that would make them smile, not have strange dreams and get upset and fight with other friends, all because they really just liked girls.

Which was why he was waiting on the Quidditch pitch now, shifting impatiently from foot to foot, waiting for Tavros to show up. There'd been something he'd wanted to do ever since that thing with Dave in the Great Hall, but he hadn't know how to. And unusually for him, Gamzee had hung on to the idea stubbornly, not letting it fly out of his head the way so many other things had. And he'd finally figured out how to do it, over the hols, had picked up what he needed in Diagon Alley before coming back to school (though it had cost him almost all his pocket money for the next couple of months), and now he was ready to give it to his friend.

This was going to be motherfucking amazing.

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Tavros was nervous for multiple reasons. Things definitely had been weird lately, that was for sure. But Tavros was willing to forget about them, because he cared about Gamzee too much to let it actually interfere with his relationship. Things might have been... complicated, with Karkat, but it didn't mean he was going to let it be with Gamzee. He was just really scared that it was awkward for Gamzee, after finding out Tavros was dreaming about him.

But the biggest reason Tavros was nervous was because this was going to be the first time he had gone to the Quidditch pitch since the day he'd had his accident. So going back was definitely pretty terrifying. But Gamzee had seemed excited and Tavros wasn't going to turn down a present! He would never do that.

He also felt bad for not getting Gamzee anything, still. Even though he'd been told it was okay, he still wished he had... he just, hadn't really gotten anyone anything besides an egg, which he tried to customize to each person anyway, but... all he'd gotten Gamzee was a polkadotted egg, which just didn't seem all that great. But he decided he would get Gamzee something later, the next opportunity he had. He didn't know what, but he definitely would.

So with that in mind, Tavros finally wheeled onto the pitch, his pace slowly as he began shaking. His arms didn't want to really work anymore, not that he was there, and the memories from when he'd fallen off his broom came back to him. His stomach twisted and he felt like vomiting a little. When his eyes found Gamzee standing there, he felt a little better at how excited he looked. The sight of Gamzee was just comforting in general; he always felt a lot better in the presence of his best bro. But even Gamzee wasn't enough that day to make him feel a hundred percent better.

He wheeled over to Gamzee and looked up at his friend, trying to give him a smile as his stomach continued to churn as he kept thinking of his accident. "Hey..." he murmured.

Gamzee, usually so oblivious to the rest of the world, occasionally had the odd ability to pick up subtle shifts in the moods of the people he cared most about, and he could see now that Tavros was uncomfortable being here. He would have had him come somewhere else, but there was really nowhere near the castle with the open sky they'd need. So instead of commenting, or asking if Tavros was all right, he just leaned in and wrapped his arms around his friend in a warm, smoke-scented hug, before dropping to his knees in front of the Hufflepuff and smiling up at him.

"Well, ain't you a sight for these sore peepers?"

Tavros returned the hug, wrapping his arms around his best bro and just... trying to put a kind of apology of sorts into it, just to let him know that they really were still best bros. No matter what, even though things had been a little weird. Because despite how nervous he was, that was still one of the most important things to Tavros. He'd take nervousness if it meant making sure things with Gamzee were absolutely, one hundred percent okay.

At Gamzee's comment, he smiled. "Thanks, and... you too!" because it was true, he definitely was a comforting sight in all of his nerves and feelings.

Gamzee honked his weird laugh, reaching out to ruffle his fingers through Tavros's mohawk briefly. It hurt a little. Being close like this and knowing it wasn't ever, ever going to go anywhere. But that was okay. He could handle that, for friendship's sake. He could handle whatever he had to.

He reached into his pocket then, and pulled out a slim vial that held a potion as bright, brilliant blue as the summer sky, a slice of the heavens captured in a bottle. He held it out to Tavros almost shyly. "Made this for you."

Tavros gave the potion a questioning look, but he reached out and took it in both hands and held onto it firmly so he didn't drop it. He'd never been given a potion as a present before! And it was weird getting a potion from Gamzee, of all people, and Tavros had to wonder just what it could even be. The possibilities seemed kind of endless. Almost a little scarily so! But he trusted Gamzee absolutely, and while confidence didn't come to him easily, he was confident that the potion was safe.

"Oh...wow," he murmured softly, his tone surprised and a little excited. And it made him feel more guilty, because potions were complicated- at least to him, and he really hoped Gamzee hadn't went to too much trouble. "You didn't, have to do that!" But his tone made it clear that he was extremely thankful for it, even though he had no idea what it did. "What's it, actually do?"

"It's a motherfuckin' surprise," Gamzee informed the younger boy with a sly little grin, which turned into something a little wider and sweeter as he contemplated what the potion would actually do. He only wished he could have made more - but the ingredients were so expensive, and it had been insanely tricky to get even this much right.

"Oh, but you better take off your motherfuckin' shirt," he added thoughtfully. "I mean, before you be shooting that fine potions down your gulp hole."

A surprise? Okay, that kind of made him a little nervous. But, again, he trusted Gamzee. So, he would definitely drink it no matter what. He was actually excited, in a weird way...because knowing Gamzee, it was probably something really awesome. Like when he'd made that potion that'd made them both completely quiet, kinda like ninjas...

He was definitely started to get excited, and it showed on his face- until Gamzee told him he should take off his shirt, and then his eyes widened and he froze. "...Uhh, wait, why should I take off my shirt?"

There was a perfectly reasonable reason for that pause, but Gamzee's mind couldn't help but turn to what had happened between them before Easter break, and he inwardly flinched at the distrust he read into the Hufflepuff's words, whether it was there or not. Still, he kept his smile pasted to his face, and shook his head.

"I told you, it's a motherfuckin' surprise. You just have to trust me, bro. Look, I can turn my back and shit, and ain't no one out here, it's just- it ain't gonna work, I don't think, otherwise."

Tavros swallowed, looking down as his cheeks turned red. He tried really, really hard not to think about any of the dreams he'd had- but of course, he failed. Finally he sighed. "Uhh, no, it's okay! I-I can, just do it. I mean, it's really no big deal, I guess."

Nervously, he handed the potion back to Gamzee before he shrugged off his robe and began undoing his tie, trying not to let his hands tremble. Oh god, he felt really awkward. Finally, he got the tie off and then reached down to the hem of his shirt. His hands gripped it and stayed there for a few seconds, before he tugged his shirt up and off.

True to his word, Gamzee turned his back and stared up at the sky. The day was brisk, but not rainy - it was bright and clear and the sun was warm enough that he could feel it soaking into the skin on his upturned face. Just about perfect for what he wanted.

When he turned back around, he really tried not to stare. But Gamzee was 15, hormonal, and in the presence of a shirtless boy that he'd wanted for a very long time, and had only recently decided to give up on. He couldn't help the way his eyes flicked greedily over bared skin, the slight flush on his cheeks, or the way his breath caught, just a little. But he swallowed, and forced himself to look at his friend's nervous face instead.

Handing the phial back, he went to one knee again and gently wrapped his arms around Tavros's body, just to scoot him forward a bit in his chair. The proximity was doing funny things to his heart, making it race in his chest, making him feel tight and hot in other areas, too, but he did his best to ignore it as he pulled back.

"There. Motherfuckin' perfect. Now you can drink it."

He felt so, so, so awkward, wow. And he wished that he didn't, because he knew he wasn't supposed to, but he was for so many reasons. Mainly he just wasn't comfortable with his body- didn't have the confidence to even begin being comfortable with his body. Even though he had the very slight makings of some really nice upper body muscles, from his wheelchair, it didn't matter. He just felt so exposed, and very shy.

If he'd noticed the way Gamzee was staring him down, he would've felt about a hundred times more awkward, but he was staring down at the ground, face pretty much permanently red by that point, as he chewed on his bottom lip. When Gamzee's arms were suddenly being wrapped around him, he let out a small gasp and tensed up, because... touching and shirtlessness and... oh wow, this was a lot to handle. But he got through it, and didn't freak out too terribly much when it became clear what Gamzee was doing.

When he spoke, Tavros nodded shakily. "O-Okay," he said, grabbing the potion again. It didn't take him long before he was back to feeling kind of excited, despite his nerves. He still really wanted to know what the potion did, even though the fact he had to be shirtless for it definitely made him question just what it might do. He pulled the stopper out, and raised it to his lips. His eyes darted to Gamzee as it reached them, eyes wide with anticipation, as his heart started racing a little. What was even going to happen? He had no idea, but he was about to find out.

It tasted light. Like air and sunlight and a summer breeze, but with a strange dusty undertone, and it tingled all the way down to Tavros's belly, swirling around down there and then seeming to explode out. The tingles ran over his skin, bright sharp prickles that weren't painful, exactly, but a bit like the pins and needles that could be felt after a limb had gone to sleep. They seemed to concentrate on his back, up his spine, along his shoulderblades, and then-

It didn't hurt. It probably should have, considering what was happening, but it didn't. It just felt like something slipping free, sliding so naturally from his back it was like they'd always been there. They were huge, as they unfolded, wet and magnificent, but they were already drying, would be done in the next minute or so.

Wings.

Beautiful, browns and oranges, with a slight fuzz over their surface, and they sprang from Tavros's back like they belonged there. Only the slightest movement on his part would make them flap, fanning the breeze around the younger boy in lazy sweeps, and Gamzee stood up and actually jumped up and spun around in the air, he was so excited. It had worked! It had worked!

Edited 2012-04-24 07:19 (UTC)

Tavros couldn't help but enjoy the taste, and somehow it brought back all the positive memories of when he used to fly on his broom, before the accident. They just came to him, as if the taste had awakened them and brought them back fresh and new. It helped to take his mind off the weird way his body was suddenly feeling; but even then, his heart began to race and he tensed up, before shivering.

He opened his mouth to speak, to ask what was even going on, but then the feeling intensified at his back, his skin feeling so completely weird and it scared him. He couldn't get any words out, so he looked to the one thing that might comfort him, Gamzee. It got him through the worst of it.

Tavros gasped when it was finally over and it felt like something sliding out of his back. It didn't hurt, but it felt so unnatural that he was a little afraid to look- he could feel it, and even see their shadow, but the shadow looked a little intimidating. When he tensed, whatever was on him moved and created a breeze that kicked up a little dirt.

When Gamzee appeared so excited, it made Tavros feel a little better, a little less nervous, because... it had apparently worked. So, with that in mind, he tentatively turned his head to look behind him.

And his mouth hit the floor.

"Oh my god," he let out, and his voice was shaky from the sheer surprised excitement and disbelief he felt upon seeing them. They... they were amazing. They were beautiful, and perfect and- and they were his! They were attached to him! He had WINGS. He turned to look at Gamzee, his eyes wide with excitement and adoration, because. Gamzee had did this for him, he'd given him wings! This was the best present he'd ever been given in his entire life. All fear had gone out the window when he'd seen them, replaced only by his excitement. "W-wings...you...you gave me wings!" He still sounded so... amazed and shocked and in complete and total disbelief, as if they might disappear at any moment, and he would wake up from what he was sure would be the best dream he had ever had.

"HELL MOTHERFUCKIN' YES!" Gamzee hooted, doing another crazy spin and nearly falling over, his mouth split in a ridiculously wide grin. "I mean, they ain't forever and always, and I gotta cast that one motherfuckin' charm to make you lighter, but ..."

He dropped to his knees in front of Tavros again, his pants all muddy and grass stained by this point. "You can fly."

He leaned in, hands on Tavros's knees, and his eyes shining with happiness for his friend. "Today, you can motherfuckin' fly."

Tavros let out a laugh; between Gamzee being so infectiously happy and the absolute joy he felt at having wings, how could he not? He couldn't stop- didn't even want to stop, the grin that spread across his face, too. This was real, and it was happening, he just couldn't believe it.

"I-I can't... I can't believe you did this!" he said, and his own eyes were shining with happiness and gratitude and so much excitement. He didn't feel scared anymore, just so excited and ready to get out of his chair and go. "... Will you fly with me too?" he asked after a seconds pause. Because he didn't want to do this alone, couldn't imagine seeing Gamzee on the ground while he flew around. The thought actually did scare him, the more he thought about it. He was about to fly...! But even as he thought about it, the fear vanished to be replaced with more excitement. "I could carry you!"

Gamzee had been about to protest that he was no good on a broom, never had been. His plan had been to lay flat on the pitch and watch his friend swoop and soar, the way he did when the Quidditch players were practicing sometimes. He'd never even considered that Tavros could carry him, and the surprise showed on his face as he blinked his dark eyes.

" ... yeah, I guess if I used that motherfuckin' charm on me, you could, too," he said slowly, and then grinned as a thought hit him. "Like all them times what I was carrying you!"

Tavros's stomach nearly leapt out of his stomach when Gamzee said the last bit. It was true! He could carry Gamzee just like that, and it would almost be like he was making up for the times when his confidence (and paralysis) had caused so many difficulties. Maybe it would finally make him a better friend.

He nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! I could carry you, and we could fly all over the place... I would be, just like Peter Pan and you would sort of, be kinda like Wendy! Only, not exactly, I guess, but..." he trailed off, shrugging- which causes the wings to flap, kicking up a pretty rough breeze, which only made Tavros laugh. "Oops... I think I'm gonna need a second to figure these out... and, when I do we're gonna fly! So... you go ahead and, get the magic ready while I concentrate on figuring out how to, control these."

"I can be your Wendy, motherfucker, any time," Gamzee told him solidly, then got to his feet so that Tavros could experiment with the great copper-brown wings on his back. The spell would be easy enough, all he had to do was draw his wand, so he did that, watching with fascination and delight as his friend fiddled with his new appendages.

It didn't take long for Tavros to actually figure them out at all. Getting them to work came almost naturally to him, like a pair of limbs he'd always had, but just didn't know about. In a way... it almost felt like he had legs again, with the way he just knew how to use them, but how they felt foreign. It was confusing and familiar all at the same time.

So before too long, he could flap them easily, and he laughed an excited, joyous laugh because this was just amazing. The breeze they created ruffled his hair as he flapped them softly, and he just stared behind him at them for a few long seconds, flapping them lazily, and then experimenting by picking up the pace, all the while laughing and just having fun with them.

But then he remembered what Gamzee said, they weren't forever and he didn't know how long he actually had with them. So he turned his attention back to his bro. "Alright, I'm ready!" he said, and the excitement made his voice a little higher than normal.

It was so good to hear Tavros laugh. It felt like there hadn't been a whole lot of that lately, and it made something flutter pleasantly around in the region of his chest, like a crowd of butterflies all flapping in time to the Hufflepuff's wings and his laughter. Gamzee just smiled blissfully as he watched, and it took him a moment to realize his friend had spoken to him.

"Oh! Shit, sorry motherfucker!" Grinning sheepishly, the Slytherin gestured with his wand and spoke the words, casting the spell to make Tavros about a third as light as he had been before, so that the wings could easily support his weight. Then he cast it on himself, feeling the odd lurch and sudden sensation that was similar to the one he got when he was in water - like gravity still had a hold of him, but it was so much slower, a gentle drag as opposed to a solid yank down to Earth.

Tavros had to shiver as the spell began working, and he actively focus on making sure his wings didn't flap, because he felt like he would just float away if they did, which sent a small jolt of fear through him. Now that it was happening, he was starting to get nervous. But he was going to push through this, because it was going to be amazing.

Once Gamzee was finished casting it on himself, Tavros patted his lap. "Okay, hop on!" he said, "And then I'll, uh... 'blast off' doesn't sound fitting," his tone was thoughtful, "Uhh... take flight?" he giggled like a child, clearly enjoying this way too much. "I don't know, but the point is, we're gonna fly together, and it's going to be so fun!"

"You will get your tastyfine winged ass up into the motherfuckin' air!" Gamzee cried out cheerfully, and he moved over and settled himself in his friend's lap, looping his long arms around the other boy's neck and grinning at him. With the spell on him, he hardly seemed to weight much at all, and his presence was just a just a warm pressure against Tavros's thighs and groin.

"Wow," Tavros commented in surprise as Gamzee sat on his lap. He was too excited to really feel awkward about it, too focused on what was about to happen to think anything. He reached out and wrapped an arm around Gamzee, and looped the other under his legs. "The, uh, spell really worked! I can, barely even feel you at all." And then he took a deep, steadying breath. For as nervous as he felt, the excitement was ten times as strong. He was about to fly, and he could barely believe it, but it was going to happen.

"Alright, let's...uh, do this!"

He had to close his eyes, because somehow leaving them open made it harder to focus on his wings and also made his nervousness grow stronger. So he clenched them tight, and absently he held onto Gamzee tighter for comfort. And then he gave the wings a flap, followed by another, and with each beat he rose into the air. He kept his eyes clenched as tight as possible, and he barely breathed as he felt weightlessness overtake him.

When he finally opened his eyes, he was several feet off of the ground, and he very nearly dropped out of the air as he let out a gasp. "O-Oh my god," he let out, his tone a mixture of excitement and fear. He gripped Gamzee even tighter for support, beating his wings harder, making them rise higher in the process. "I-I'm...I'm flying! I'm flying, Gamzee...Oh my god, I...I...Haha!" A grin broke across his face, as the realization that he was in the air flying washed over him, completely obliterating his fear again.

When Tavros turned to look at Gamzee, there were so many emotions in his eyes, but the biggest look in them was gratitude. "T-thank you," his voice was suddenly small, as if he honestly couldn't believe his bro had done this for him. It was honestly the most wonderful gift he could have ever been given in his entire life. He kind of felt like crying- no, he was crying, those were definitely tears welling in his eyes, but he couldn't reach up and wipe them away without dropping Gamzee. "Uh...S-sorry!" he said, his tone embarrassed as he tried to blink them away, which only ended up making them slide down his eyes. "I-I just... y-you're the best!" And then he hugged Gamzee, leaning his head down on Gamzee's chest and squeezing him with the arm that was wrapped around his waist.

The older boy's heart swooped and soared when he saw how excited, how happy his friend was, and he knew, in that moment, that everything was worth it. There were a lot of things wrongs with Gamzee - he was pretty fucked up in multiple fundamental ways that could make hima challenging person to be friends with. But one of his redeeming qualities was his true dedication to making the people he cared about happy. He thought there was probably no better thing in the whole motherfuckin' world than seeing his boy smile like that, and when Tavros hugged him, tears or no, he laughed. His stupid, honking laugh that was never mocking, and he reached down to gently wipe the tears from the Hufflepuff's cheeks.

"You're the one what be tripping the motherfuckin' sunlight fantastic, bro," he said, grinning. "I think you be the top of the pile today."

Tavros had to let out a laugh at that, and he shook his head lightly. "Nah, I think that you are, for doing this!" he said, and there was a small grin of his own as he looked at Gamzee. He gave him another squeeze, before pulled his head back. The tears were gone, and he was ready to fly. "Okay, let's go!" He tilted his body a little, and beat his wings. It took a little concentration to figure out just how to move forward, but after a few seconds he was flying forward towards the castle, and he could help but let out another happy laugh.

"Woah!" Gamzee clung a little harder, and though he had been prepared for this, it was something else entirely to be experiencing it, to be grabbing on to his friend and actually moving in the air toward the castle. He'd never been much on a broom, never used them past the first flying lessons, so being this high up was pretty weird. Even if if felt entirely different with the beat of huge wings fanning his face and the more erratic way Tavros had to move, just like a butterfly.

It was also pretty amazing. "Motherfuck!" he was grinning, too, now, and honking his laugh to the wind.

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I believe I can touch the sky

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