Night over Alternia.
It was wonderful; a darkness perforated by the neon of the green moon and highlighted by the pink binary. A peaceful time, a gathering of the trolls. No hatred, no loathing, no seething anger that stereotyped their species. Just the twelve of them, orphans under the moons, scattered over the field like lost souls, drifting together, meeting wordlessly, and lingering a delicate beat of their hearts before fleeing to be alone again.
The grasses were dark in the night, but everyone knew their way. Most were barefoot, the muddled mix of sand and dirt along the sparse strip where the land met the shore being a strange mix of grainy softness and cushion-like lichens. Gamzee held a long-legged stride along this strip, passing his fellow trolls with courteous nods as each of them wandered under the moonlight, coloring each face in stark pinks, greens, and shades of grey to black. It was hard to tell who was who until their eyes could be seen and the differing shapes of their facial features registered in each of their night-hazed minds. Everything seemed on slow motion, each footstep silent but taking an age to fall.
The wonderful thing about night was how the flowers grew. Most were day bloomers, but the most beautiful of them opened in the moonlight, assisted by bio-luminescence. Emitting a faintly eerie glow, the trolls carefully avoided squashing such beauty, though picking them was just fine. Nepeta had found a spot clear enough to kneel in , picking the yellow-green buds and weaving their ivy-like stems round and round until they made a crown, Equius watching over her idly, his mesmerized gaze drifting over his most precious friend and her creation.
Turning, Gamzee watched as Karkat began to sit on the grasses to join Sollux in his peace, the latter turning slowly to face him and smile fondly. He shyly leaned onto his side, placing his head in Karkat's lap, the Cancer troll running his fingers through the short hair lovingly. As Gamzee turned back to his own leisurely stroll, a voice peeped up, a soft whisper.
"Gamzee...?"
He looked up. Tavros was sitting cross-legged in a clump of yellow glowing flowers, causing a very handsome underlighting to caress his innocent face. He held one of the blooms in his hands, clasped at his hips and bashful in every definition of the word.
"Uh...Hi, Gamzee." His words were as delicate as the flower he held, uncertain and yet trying so desperately not to waver. "I, uh, picked this f-for, uh...you."
Holding the gift out with a faint blush, Tavros smiled and waited. For rejection. For acceptance. For Gamzee to just pass him by. For Gamzee to pick him up, metal legs and all, to sweep him off his artificial feet and woo him with a kiss. Anything, as long as it was Gamzee...
Carefully parting the flowers, Gamzee knelt down and sat back on his feet, a grin coming over his face at the sweet gesture from his matesprit. His long fingers curled around the stem, around Tavros' hand, and pulled them both close. Allowing himself to fall effortlessly forward onto Gamzee's chest, Tavros was met with a light thump at their joining, his ear pressed over Gamzee's heart and their hands clasped together around the flower. "Wh-what is it?"
Gamzee remained silent a beat. Two beats. Three. Tavros couldn't help but listen to the heart going, healthy and strong.
"I just love you..."