A/N: It's hard when troll night is Earth day and troll day is Earth night.

Good morning, Gamzee

The day spent with Gamzee had been a fun one. They had played games, baked a half decent cake, watched Gamzee's favourite film from Karkat's collection (a half decent film to go with the half decent cake in Tavros's opinion) and then chilled on the horn pile until the sun rose.

Gamzee helped his friend over to the cushion pile before disappearing for a few minutes. He returned with a face devoid of paint, his true face being revealed to Tavros for the first time. The Taurus refrained from saying anything and merely took in the sight, appreciating the shape of Gamzee's face that he hadn't noticed like this before.

"Good night, Tavbro."

"Night, Gamzee." The troll smiled sweetly at the other before laying his head down on the cushion. Gamzee had been so thoughtful to make a make-shift bed for them to share. He hadn't thought that the troll would give up his recuperacoon for the night, but here he lay beside him, giving him the space his horns needed. Any other night he'd be happy to be able to stretch out like this…but he wished that Gamzee would come a little closer…perhaps he should reach out and take his hand… No. He wasn't so bold. He closed his eyes, thoughts of the one next to him filling his head until sleep took him.

Gamzee woke the next day, head as clear as the cloudless sky when he looked out the window. He looked over at Tavros who was still sleeping, chest rising and falling rhythmically. The juggalo quietly moved around the room, coming to sit in front the mirror as he did every morning. He took the pot of white paint and a sponge. One hand pulled his hair back as the other began to smear the paint across his forehead with practised strokes. His mind wandered as he sat there completing his morning ritual. He thought of the mirthful messiahs, as he always did, and the dark carnival…could he convert Tavros to its cause? He glanced over at the still sleeping troll, so innocent in slumber. Perhaps he could have his uses… He set down the sponge and picked up a brush, leaning closer to the mirror as he began to define the lines between the paint and his own skin. He always strove to make them sharper each day; this was one thing that was never sloppy. He was working around his left eye when he heard Tavros move, but he never stopped concentrating on today's work of art.

"Morning, Gamzee," the other said, voice still drowsy. Tavros stared at the other in the mirror, noticing how this Gamzee seemed slightly different to the one he was used to. There was a sharpness to his gaze as they made eye contact. His eyes didn't carry that heavy lidded glazed look…it wasn't because he hadn't slept in his recuperacoon was it? He was already beginning to feel guilty.

"Good morning, Tavros." Gamzee made a face at himself in the mirror, only one he would notice. He hadn't expected Tavros to wake up before his morning ritual was completed and if he did then he had decided that he would act normal and arouse no suspicion that anything was different. But he had blown it already; that greeting was far too formal for anyone other than a highblood. "Go back to sleep." It wasn't really a request; it was an order, but he tried to deliver it in a neutral tone.

Tavros cocked his head and looked out the window to see the sun had well and truly set. What was the time anyway?

"Gamzee, are you okay?"

The highblood set the brush down and turned to look at the lowblood. "Sleep."

That scared Tavros who buried his face into the cushion he was clutching, but not before Gamzee saw his eyes widen with fear.

Motherfuck. Gamzee clenched his fist and then reminded himself not to smash anything. So maybe he had screwed this up a little, but it was nothing he couldn't rectify, right? He pulled himself up and walked over to where Tavros was. The smaller troll felt the other sit down and he hugged the cushion tighter. Gamzee placed a hand on the back of Tavros' head, gently stroking his hair. At first Tavros tensed, but slowly he began to relax.

"I'm sorry, Tav." It came out sounding much more natural than anything else he had said that morning.

Tavros turned so that he was on his back, looking up at his friend and his half finished make up. He waited for Gamzee to return to what he had been doing, but the juggalo continued to stare down at him, the hand that had been stroking his hair now resting against his cheek. Tavros looked so cute from this angle...innocent and… A sigh escaped him. He hadn't told Tavros about his flushed feelings for him and now he was having an internal battle as he brushed the soft skin of the other's cheek with his thumb. Right now he wanted nothing more than to swoop down and show Tavros the extent of his affections, but at the same time a little voice in the back of his head said that now was not the time. The image of Tav's scared face flashed through his mind. Yes, whatever this troll liked about him it was not the clear minded guy who had to keep his violent tendencies under wraps.

"Gamzee?" Tavros squeaked, wondering how long it would be before Gamzee removed his hand. The highblood smirked; maybe he could have a little fun… He bent over and gently touched his lips to Tavros' before whispering in his ear. "Sleep just a little longer."

He went to get up and walk away, but Tavros had a hand around his wrist. It was only a loose grip, as if to say 'you may walk away', but Gamzee accepted the invitation to stay.

"Gamzee…" Tavros gulped. He wasn't expecting this, but he couldn't say he wasn't pleased with that development. "Are you, uh, red for me?"

"I sure am, motherfucker." There was complete sincerity in his voice and in that statement; Tavros didn't need to question it.

"I, uh…" Tavros pushed himself up so that he was sitting. "I'm red for you too." He placed a quick kiss on Gamzee's cheek before dropping back down and burying his face in a cushion once more.

Gamzee smiled at the cushion, then slowly took it and threw it a fair distance so that Tavros wouldn't be able to hide behind it again. He nestled himself between Tavros' legs and lay down on his chest. He began to kiss the other with the passion he had envisioned earlier.

Gamzee was getting progressively rougher, nails beginning to dig into his shoulders, a tongue pushing further into his mouth. He wasn't sure if he liked this…it was all a bit faster than he had imagined. He had thought that the two of them would share sweet kisses in the first few weeks of matespritship and do something like this at a later date, but he didn't have the heart to tell Gamzee to stop.

The Capricorn began to press his lips to Tavros's jaw and neck, sucking at the skin a little gentler much to Tavros' surprise. Gamzee's hands were at his shirt hem, slowly pushing it up to reveal his chest, hands making sure to feel the soft skin of his waist and then his ribs. This was too much…he felt so exposed. Tavros pulled his shirt down once Gamzee's hands were out of the way. The juggalo's eyes narrowed and he suddenly felt as if he had done something wrong. Gamzee moved forward so that Tavros was trapped between his knees. He looked down and Tavros saw a crazy look in his eyes.

"I motherfucking want you." Gamzee smiled in a way Tavros could only describe as disturbing. Then he took Tavros's hand and pressed it against his groin, forcing the other to feel the bulge that has been awakened under the fabric. Tavros's breath hitched. He didn't want things to be like this… He couldn't pull his hand away with Gamzee's tight grip on his wrist, having to wait until the highblood had finished grinding against it.

"Uh, Gamzee, I -"

A finger was put to his lips and Gamzee shooshed him. The finger remained there as Tavros watched the other begin to tug his clown pants down over his slender hips, but averted his eyes to look at a point just over Gamzee's shoulder before anything could be revealed. He wasn't ready for this. He felt a hand tugging at his own trousers.

"Gamzee, please stop."

He popped the button, pulled on the zip. Tavros grabbed Gamzee's arm.

"I said no." His voice shook a little.

Gamzee moved quickly – he took Tavros' hands and pinned them above his head rendering Tavros unable to do anything to stop the juggalo. The lowblood struggled against him, but the difference in strength was too great. He felt a hand slip into his underwear and he squeezed his eyes shut.

Gamzee barely registered Tavros's lack of unsheathed bulge, fingers going straight for his nook. He pushed one into Tavros causing the troll to grunt in pain.

"G-Gamzee, why are you hurting me?" He was trying so hard not to cry, but he couldn't stop the sob that escaped him.

The juggalo looked into Tavros' pained eyes and there was a change in his expression. Gamzee removed his hand and fell back into a sitting position, head in his hands.

"FUCK." He banged his fists against the floor, barely missing Tavros' legs. "MOTHERFUCKING…" He let out a growl before carrying himself out of the room in long brisk strides. Straight to the fridge, a hand dipping into the first sopor slime pie he came across. He stood there, his clean hand pulling at his hair while he ate. How could he let that happen? He couldn't get the image of Tavros's terrified face out of his mind. It was nothing compared to what he had looked like when he first woke. Every detail was crystal clear to him; the monster within had taken over and he'd let that happen. Tav had even asked him to stop and he hadn't listened. A fist smashed against the counter. How could he face the other troll again? He raised the dish to his lips and let the last of the slime slide down his throat.

Tavros had lain very still for some time after Gamzee had left. Then slowly he had begun to move. He had considered crawling over to his wheeled device and making a break for it, but he wasn't feeling up for such a journey right now. Instead he pulled some of the other cushions up against the wall and sat back against them, pulling his legs up so that he could wrap his arms around them and rest his head against his knees. It was a while before he moved; he was quite content to sit there and let the tears he held back fall. It was only when the other troll re-entered the room that he looked up.

Gamzee stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame. Tavros could see the change in expression on his face.

"Tav, I am so motherfucking sorry," Gamzee began. "I just…I'm not a morning person and I am sorry I didn't motherfucking warn you last night. But it's in my nature to do these things and I'm just glad I didn't all up and kill a motherfucker." He paused. "Can I come in?"

Tavros was surprised that Gamzee would ask such a thing in his own hive, but appreciated it nonetheless. He nodded and Gamzee walked in and sat opposite him, but well out of arms reach. He didn't say anything at first and Tavros took that as an opportunity from him to air his thoughts.

"Uh, I wanted to ask…did you mean it when you said you were red for me?"

A strained smile crossed Gamzee's face. "Right down to the bottom of my blood pusher, Tav, but if you don't want to be in that red with me then I completely understand. It's motherfucking cool with me after what I did. Gotta accept the consequences." He let out a sigh. "I was waiting for the right time to all up and tell you. I was going to do it today at some point, but then I just couldn't control it and it all just went motherfucking wrong. You were never meant to see me like that…"

Tavros held out a hand and Gamzee leaned forward to take it. "I know that wasn't the real you."

Gamzee shook his head as he squeezed Tavros' hand gently. "But, Tavbro, that is the real me. That's how I am naturally…when I'm sober. I'm a motherfucking disgrace."

"But that's not who you are to everyone else. The real you is the person you are to your friends…that's the person you want to be, right?"

"You know it, brother."

"Then just be him and don't let the nature of our species get you down. Come here."

Gamzee hesitated before crawling over to Tavros who put an arm around him.

"Did I hurt you?"

"Yeah, it hurt a little, but I'm okay now."

"You're too nice, Tav. So I want to take this all slow and if you're ever wanting to drop me just say it."

"You're being too hard on yourself now. I say we forget about the monster that came out earlier and start our matespritship starting right now, this very minute and nothing before it."

"Whatever you say, Tavbro." Gamzee smiled. "So, shall we get out to the beach and get our rap on or what?"

"I'd like that a lot."

A/N: Woo. Shitty ending for a shitty fic. Hell, it wasn't even meant to go that far. . But oh well.