Ugh, I wrote some crap and though I might as well share it. If I ever update it will be chapters about this length and will not be very long. I estimate no more than five chapters. GamTav is my OTP and sometimes you've just got to let the feels flow. Enjoy it to the best of your ability.
}:o)(o:{
Coexist
Chapter One
It had been ten years since the aliens first arrived. Though they preferred to be called trolls as that was their official species. There had been quite a panic when the first few arrived but it was made clear quickly that they actually did come in peace. Their planet was dying and they were simply seeking a planet for their colonies to take refuge. At first it had only been a few but soon it was normal to see trolls walking around everywhere. They mostly inhabited cities and larger towns. A troll living in rural areas was nearly unheard of. So when Tavros Nitram found himself face to face with a troll he was beyond shocked. He had seen trolls on the news before and they were slowly being worked into sitcoms and movies. But meeting one in person was totally different.
He was tall probably around six feet. Maybe a little more. He had a mess of long curly black hair atop his head that framed a face covered in white clown makeup. The skin on his arms was a dark grey that looked rough to the touch and he had sharp fangs that poked out over his bottom lip. But what really got to Tavros were his eyes. They were yellow, the iris a shade of deep purple he couldn't quite place. He thought he should probably be scared but he found himself feeling intrigued instead. The troll just stared at him with an unreadable look on his face.
Tavros had been in the cluster of trees behind his house looking for his dog when he encountered the troll. He had run out of the open door when he'd gotten home and it was going to be dark soon. He'd been calling his name and heard a rustle of leaves and snap of a twig nearby. He immediately went in the direction he'd heard it but it was not Tinkerbull he found.
Clearing his throat he finally looked away from the trolls eyes. "Sorry, I'm looking for my dog." He said, glancing back up at the taller boy.
He nodded his head before looking around the area they were standing in. "Need some help?" His voice was deep and gravely and held the hint of a southern accent.
"Uh, yea, sure. That would be great!" He smiled seemingly taking the troll off guard. "His name is Tinkerbull. Oh, um, and I'm Tavros." He held his hand out and after a moment of hesitation a clawed hand returned the shake. Just as he thought his skin did feel rough but it wasn't unpleasant.
"Gamzee." He responded. "So, what does the little motherfucker look like?"
"He's small with white fur. He's really fluffy and has a brown collar around his neck. He usually comes when he hears his name."
Gamzee nodded as he took off in a different direction. Tavros could hear his gruff voice calling out his dogs name and for some reason it made his heart jump. Their voices got farther from each other and Tavros began to worry until he heard something that made him jump out of his skin.
"Hey, Tavros! I think I found him!" Gamzee called.
He quickly went toward the voice until he came to a break in the trees. Sitting in the middle of the small clearing was Gamzee with Tinkerbull curled up in his lap. Letting out a sigh he made his way out of the trees and sat across from Gamzee reaching out to scratch his dog's ear.
"Jeez, don't run off like that Tink…you scared me." Tavros said earning a sleepy look from the dog. "Thanks for helping."
"No problem." Gamzee ran a hand over the dog careful of his claws.
"So, do you live around here or are you visiting?"
"I just moved here with my moirail." He explained.
Tavros had to try to remember what a moirail was. Bits of pieces of troll culture had been worked into the school curriculum before Tavros reached high school. He knew their relationships were broken into quadrants but that section of the class had always confused him. He was signed up to take a troll history class this year. They were currently on spring break but he'd be going back in a week.
"That's the pale one right? Sorry, I'm kind of failing my troll history class." He asked, a light blush coming to his cheeks.
"Nah, it's cool. Yea it's the pale quadrant. He got sick of living in a busy city so we moved out here instead. His matesprit up and lives with us too." He raised his eyebrows when Tavros perked up.
"Oh I know that one! That's the love one right?" He grinned.
Gamzee gave him a fang filled grin. "Yea, that's right." He eyed Tavros from head to toe catching the glimmer of metal in the gap between sock and pants hem. He leaned in closer trying to get a better look.
"Um, is there something wrong?" Tavros asked, made a little nervous by the trolls actions.
"Looks like you've got some motherfucking metal on your leg or somethin'."
Tavros's blush only grew worse as he pulled his leg up and pulled at the pants leg to hide the gap. He adverted his eyes and cleared his throat. "My legs aren't real." He usually tried to keep this a secret from anyone besides his best friends but he couldn't make up an excuse.
"Not real? What up and happened to your real legs?"
"Last year I went hiking during the winter with my dad and uncle. I got lost and it was so cold and my clothes got wet so…" He trailed off and cleared his throat again feeling uncomfortable admitting this to a troll he hardly knew. "Well, I got really bad frost bite on both legs and they had to amputate them. I didn't want to live in a wheel chair so I went through months of physical therapy to wear these." He rolled up his pants leg slightly to reveal the metal leg.
Gamzee nodded and hummed in understanding. "At least you got some pretty motherfucking cool metal legs out of it though, right?" He grinned trying to make the other feel better.
Tavros smiled and chuckled lightly. "Yea I guess."
"So, you go to that high school near town?" He asked, setting back on his hands.
"Yea. I'm a Junior. You?"
"Mhmm. I'm what you guys call a senior. Eighteen in human years."
Tavros smiled. He hardly knew the boy but for some reason knowing he'd be going to the same school as him made him excited. It's not that he didn't have friends but Gamzee was just…different. In the best possible way of course.
"So," Gamzee broke the silence that had set in, "why Tinkerbull?"
"He's sort of named after the fairy from Peter Pan. I changed it to "bull" to make it more, uh, manly." He admitted, feeling silly.
"What's Peter Pan?"
Tav's eyes widened. "You've never heard of Peter Pan? There are movies, books and plays. It's a fantastic story of never wanting to grow up! And then there's the prospect of falling in love and-!" He stopped when he saw the way Gamzee was smiling at him. "Um, it's just really good." His eyes focused on the ground and his voice grew quiet. He usually didn't get so passionate about his likes in front of others for fear they'd make fun of him.
"Maybe you could tell me more about this Peter Pan. Sounds interesting." Gamzee suggested.
"Um, well, if you want I can lend you books and movies. Or…we could watch the movie together."
"Sounds like a motherfucking plan Tav."
They rose, Tinkerbull reluctantly leaving Gamzee's warm lap. He pulled out his cell phone as they walked towards Tav's house muttering something about his moirail.
"Hey, Karbro. I'm going to a friend's house to watch a movie." He said into the receiver.
"What friend? We left all of our friends in the city." The voice on the other end replied.
"A new friend. One of our neighbors."
There was a paused. "A human?" he finally asked, uncertainty in his voice.
"Yea."
"You sure it's safe?"
"Hell yea. Tav is a motherfucking cool bro. He's like my…Tavbro." He grinned down at the shorter boy who smiled and blushed.
"You'd better be right. Sollux and I aren't going to save your sorry ass if you get yourself into trouble. Remember why we left the city."
"Yea, yea. Relax bro I'll be back later."
He hung up as the house came into view. Tinkerbull ran ahead of them to wait by the door. Before he could open the back door Gamzee stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.
"Is anyone else home?" He asked, eying the house with a somewhat worried look.
"Hm? Yea I think my dad is home but my brother is still out."
"They're not gonna freak the fuck out over a troll being in their house are they?"
"Well…I don't think so…" He said noticing the worried arch in the troll's eyebrows. "Relax it'll be fine. My family doesn't really judge others." He grinned, opening the door.
Tinkerbull went inside and straight to his water dish by the door. Gamzee followed him in with his shoulders hunched.
"Tavros, that you?" A male voice called from somewhere in the house.
"Yea, I'm back." He called back.
"Did you find your dog?"
"Mhmm. I had a little help."
A tall well built man peeked his head around the corner, his brows furrowing at the sight of Gamzee. He rounded the corner and approached with his chest puffed out.
"Who's this?"
"This is Gamzee. He's our new neighbor. He found Tinkerbull for me."
The man nodded before reaching for Gamzee's hand who warily shook it. "Welp, thanks for helping Tav. He's useless on his own." He teased, ruffling the mohawk atop the boys head. "What are you boys getting up to?"
Gamzee was thoroughly shocked and barely heard Tav telling his dad they'd be in the basement watching Peter Pan. He finally snapped out of his stupor by Tav waving a hand near his face. "You ok?" He asked.
"Mhmm. I'm fine. Just a little..shocked is all."
"By what?"
"Well, parents don't usually like me hanging out with their kids. Some are still against us living here with y'all."
"I think trolls are fascinating." He smiled shyly, quickly glancing up at his horns before leading him to the basement. "Do you want anything to drink?" He asked, going to a fridge in the corner of the basement.
"You got any Faygo?"
Tavros frowned. "What's that?"
"It's the best motherfucking pop in existence. When we first came here we were living in Michigan. They always had it there. I haven't been able to find it since we left there."
"Hm, well I've never heard of it. I don't think it's sold here."
He sighed and nodded. "I figured as much. What've you got?"
"We've got coke, sprite and some off brand orange pop."
"The orange stuff sounds good."
Tavros grabbed a coke for himself before setting the drinks on the table and moving to put a copy of Peter Pan in the DVD player.
"Which would you prefer? Cartoon or the 2003 live action?"
"Whichever is fine."
Tav opted for the live action before settling back on the couch and pressing play. Throughout the movie he glanced over to see if Gamzee was enjoying it. He really liked Tinkerbell and honked with laughter when she tried to get Wendy killed. He seemed legitimately worried when Hook had Peter nearly defeated and had an unreadable look on his face when a kiss from Wendy saved the day. When the movie was over he stretched and the two talked for another thirty minutes about what he liked and disliked about the movie. As he left he turned back to the younger boy and grinned.
"Got any plans tomorrow?" He asked, shoving his hands in his pockets.
Tav shook his head. "Nope."
"Well then, how about you show me more of this Peter Pan bro tomorrow?"
Tavros nodded and waved goodbye as Gamzee headed back to the woods. He'd been apprehensive about meeting any trolls but now he felt silly. Gamzee wasn't any different than him and his friends. He just had grey skin…and claws, fangs, and horns. But those things didn't matter. Not to Tavros at least.
}:o)(o:{
Mkay, first up Tavros will not be a ridiculous shy mess in this. Why? Because that is not Tav. His issue is that he lacks confidence. Being shy, at least in my experience prevents you from doing things. Tavros does things he just second doubts himself. I mean, does no one remember him hitting on Jade? Cause that definitely happened. And as for swearing? Yes guys, he does swear. He's not this innocent little shit everyone makes him out to be. So, if you're looking for adorable baby Tav you won't find him here, mkay?
He will blush a bit (or a lot) though that's a pretty standard response when you're embarrassed or uncomfortable.
Also, the lack of Faygo where they are makes perfect sense. I grew up in Michigan and the only other state I've ever found "the wicked elixir" was in Ohio. And even then it's pretty hard to find. The shit is bottled in MI and I was actually pretty shocked when I found that those from other states had never even heard of it. But, my headcanon for Gamzee is that at some point he was in Michigan which is how he discovered Faygo to begin with. I imagine they lived in Detroit for a while before moving to maybe…Chicago? Now excuse me while I walk two blocks from my house to pick up a couple bottles of Faygo…cause I can totally do that. Jelly? ;]