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WHO: Tavros Nitram and anyone who happens upon the sad little Hufflepuff boy
TONE: Frustrated and Sad
RATING: G?
WHEN: 4/17
WHERE: A quiet little corner somewhere.
WHAT: The events of the accidental love potion weigh a bit heavily.
STATUS: [ONGOING]

Tavros sits alone in an out of the way place, curled up in the inlay of a large window. He leans his head against the glass and watches all the nothing going on in the air around the school. One hand is pulled into his robe where he has a pocket spelled to keep the baby snake he stole from the egg he hatched with Gamzee. It's likely the only good thing to come out of that holiday, but it feels like he ended up trading his best friend for it.

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"Well, yeah, course we did," Gamzee starts, though the thought of Shinra is a painful one, since there have been no owls from the other boy, and he has no idea if the ones he's sending are getting through. The thought is so distracting that he almost misses the thrust of what Tavros is saying, but when he manages to actually process the mess through his somewhat impaired brain, he stops, giving the Hufflepuff an uncertain look.

"But. I do-" he starts again, then interrupts himself with a question of vital importance. "Do you want me to be heels-over-head red for you?"

Tavrose freezes, looking nervous near the point of fear, put on the spot with what is for him something that feels like a life changing question. It isn't just a matter of coming out, its changing his relationship with Gamzee forever. As it is they may never be able to go back to the way things were, but there's still a chance?

If he says yes and something goes wrong he'll lose him forever and he doesn't think he can handle being that alone.

But what if it doesn't go wrong? What if... what if...

It takes so long for him to respond it starts to seem like he just isn't going to answer the question. He still can't seem to get the words to come on their own, but he finally just reaches out and takes Gamzee's hand, holding on tightly.

Gamzee blinks, then sits down next to the other boy abruptly. It's enough of an answer for him - he knows Tavros well enough to know what the gesture means, and the significance of it hits him square in the heart.

"I thought ... " His fingers curl around the Hufflepuff's hand, squeezing back, as he looks up into warm brown eyes, the ones that had featured in his dreams so many times. If Gamzee was the kind of guy to appreciate irony, he'd be shaking his head internally at the fact that when he finally, finally feels like he's gotten over Tavros, when he's made his peace with them always being just amazingly tight bros, then he discovers things can be different. But he's not - the Slytherin is often embarrassingly sincere, and all he's thinking is, This is real?

"I thought you weren't into that kind of thing. That it was just that snakey love all creeping up in your pan."

Those bronze eyes were welling up with tears again, not even sure what his emotions were doing anymore after being whiplashed around so hard in too many directions. He wipes at them with the back of his free hand, the other clutching Gamzee's like a lifeline. "I was, s-scared..."

Gamzee reaches out, using his own long fingers to get whatever tears are left on the smaller boy's face, peering at his friend. "Scared of what?"

He keeps clutching at Gamzee, needing the support at the moment. "C-coming out, I guess?"

Tavros shrugs half heartedly, a lot of things had scared him but he's not sure how to put them all in words. "I like girls, but then, uh... liking you, made me all confused."

The taller boys nods slowly - he can actually understand that. Being gay, not even being interested in girls at all as far as he could tell, had made him unhappy for a long time. He honestly wouldn't wish that on anyone else, especially his bro Tavros. Maybe he should offer to keep things secret? But no, the Hufflepuff isn't built that way, he's not sly the way Gamzee can be, and he never pretends not to like the things he likes just to avoid ridicule.

"That was before the whole snake thing?"

Coming out was scary. It wasn't just an affirmation of who he is but an actual lifestyle change. People look at you differently and treat you differently, at least in the muggle world. He's not so sure about the wizarding world, but so far it hasn't seemed that different.

Tavros nods, finally able to take at least somewhat of a deep breath to help calm himself down. "I, uh... dunno know when."

Gamzee doesn't say anything for a long few moments. Still holding Tavros's hand, he wraps his other around his knee as he brings it up to his chest. Leaning his chin on the upraised knee, he studies the smaller boy for what seems like a long time.

"I've been having this thing for you, this tight-bright red feeling up in my pump biscuit, for years," he admits finally.

His brows furrow and he looks more than a little shocked and even more confused. Sure there'd been a comment here and there but he'd always figured it was just Gamzee being Gamzee, affectionate to everyone he likes. "R-really?"

The taller boy nods slowly. "Yeah. I asked, you know, that one time, but you weren't into it, so ... "

He shrugs. He wants to say if he'd have known sooner, he would have gone after Tavros harder, that he wouldn't have wasted time with other stuff. But the truth is, no longer under the influence of the love potion, he doesn't think time with Shinra was wasted. The other boy is still dear to him, even if they're not going to be together, or maybe even never see each other again, and he doesn't regret the time they had together.

"Guess our little hissbro did do something good," he adds, smiling a little. "If it got you to be all speaking up on your real feelings."

"Y-you...?" He pauses a moment, thinking back. It breaks his heart a little to realize what he's talking about, how he handled that must have seemed so cruel at the time. "I thought... I thought you were, uh... just joking around."

There's no way he'd ever have thought it to be serious, especially back then. H'ed honestly believed that no one in their right mind would like him like that, even going so far as to think there was something wrong with him because why else would people keep pushing him away. A lot of the time he still thinks these things.

Tavros looks down, somehow feeling both happy and crummy at the same time. He sneaks his hand into his robe letting the tiny white snake curl around his hand before he lifts him back out for Gamzee to see. "Yeah.."

"Nah, there were lots of time when I wanted to kiss you, 'cause you looked-" Gamzee starts, but he interrupts himself when he sees the baby snake, his face brightening. "Oh, hey, you did keep him!"

The taller boy leans over, to look at the tiny serpent snout-on. "Hey, little motherfucker," he crooned, "Ain't you got the best da in the world? He's gonna be taking the finest-kind care what there is of you, bro."

He smiles again finally and tries to pull himself closer to Gamzee so he could get a better look. Tavros wants to just curl up against his friend's side. Are they more then friends now? He's not exactly sure yet, but at least he feels better now.

"He's... you're too, you know."

Gamzee slides in next to the smaller boy on the window ledge, shaking his head with a little smile.

"I ain't so good with animals, though, not like you," he admits, and then almost shyly, in a way he wasn't when under the influence of the potion, nor when there had been no admissions between them, he slides his arm around Tavros's shoulders, leaning in to him a little. As always, he likes the way the smaller boy fits there, but it seems different now. More charged. Yet still warm and fond and comforting.

"But whatever you need for this little bro, I'll be getting it," he declares after a moment.

He still sniffs here and there, eyes and face still puffy from crying -that he still feels like he might do again at any moment from the sheer amount of slingshotting emotions he's been dealing with in a too short amount of time. Tavros curls himself against Gamzee's side in a more familiar way than he would usually. Hesitantly at first, but he relaxes into it soon enough.

"He, uh... won't need food, for a while. Snakes don't eat all that often. And maybe, next time we get to go to Hogsmead, I'll get him a small trunk, and make it a place for him to live, using magic. Since we have to keep him hidden."

Gamzee raises his hand and gently strokes the hair at the nape of his friend's neck, the 'tail' of his mohawk. "You can use mine for now, if you want. Or I bet we could be all finding an old one around somewhere, before we go to Hogsmeade, if you want. He's probably pretty happy all snuggled up in your pocket right now, though, ain't no warmer or sweeter place to be."

Tavros noticeably relaxes at the affectionate touch, easing even more comfortably against the larger boy's side, or as much as his braces would allow. "It doesn't need to be, all that big. Not for a long time. I'm sure we'll, uh... figure something out."

He holds the snakeling up so Gamzee could pet him if he wants. "He, uh... still needs a name."

Gamzee rubs the tip of his finger under the little white snake's chin, pursing his lips to one side thoughtfully. "Oh, man, I dunno ... 2 Dope Scalez? Dr. Wrigglez? Whitey S? You probably got better ideas that what's all up in my pan."

He chuckles lightly at those, and he rubs at an eye with his knuckle as he leans his head against Gamzee's shoulder. "Busta' Scales? Oh! Slick Beats?"

"Slick Beats!" Gamzee exclaims, delighted. "Hell to the yeah, that's perfect!"

He squeezes Tavros's shoulder, smiling down at him and then resting his cheek on the top of the smaller boy's head as he looks at their little snake.

"Y-you think so?" Tavros is smiling finally, despite the lingering red, puffiness to his face. Little Slick lifts his head and smells at the air with his tongue before resting back down again, content to stay wrapped around the warmth of the younger boy's hand.

"Hey, Slick. This is Gamzee, he was there... when you hatched, remember? He's your Da too, and a Slytherin! Snakes are, a big to do for them." Tavros slides his free arm around Gamzee, fingers clutching tight in his shirt at his side.

"Yeah, you little motherfuckers are being like ... the whatchamacallits, sigils for all what is the bitchtits about our House," Gamzee informs the snake. "So you always gotta remember you are extra special and shit, 'cause of that, and 'cause you are like this motherfuckin' snake-badger hybrid! The snake shit, that'll be coming natural, but you can learn the badgering from your other da who has been keeping you warm and safe and shit. He's pretty much the best motherfuckin' badger there ever could be."

His heart lurches a little when Tavros puts his arm around the older boy, and then he smiles, tipping his face to kiss the top of the Hufflepuff's head.

Never you mind that badgers eat snakes. He'll just avoid that topic for the time being.

"I, uh... wouldn't go that far." The kiss had him chewing on his lip again though, and he tilts his head up so he could peer up at Gamzee again. He wanted a real kiss again, and he's trying to muster up the courage to actually do it, but he ends up almost staring.

Gamzee, luckily, is pretty ignorant on the ways of the animal kingdom. Or maybe not luckily, depending on how much Tavros would like an eyebrow-waggling joke about snakes getting swallowed by badgers.

"Yeah, but I would, and you can't be playing yourself down to our wriggler baby," the Slytherin explains to his friend matter-of-factly. He looks down again when Tavros looks up, blinking, eyebrows raised and a puzzled half-smile on his face. For all that they spent a week attached at the lips, Gamzee's not used to the Hufflepuff wanting kisses from him, and the hint in the way the smaller boy's face is upturned just sails right over his head.