Eridan stood outside of Gamzee's dorm, his old history text book in one hand and a bag with his sewing project in the other. For a brief moment he considered turning around and walking back to his room two floors down. Then the moment passed. Gamzee and Kanaya were two of his best friends, which said a lot about his personal life. His two best friends were a juggalo in a perpetually high state, and a person who was only here on scholarship. He shuddered, but finally set the bag down to knock on the door.
After a moment Kanaya opened the door. Her jade eyes narrowed at the sight of him. "Eridan?" She questioned in her motherly tone. "I thought you weren't coming until later tonight. I've got Rose over now."
She opened the door slightly, and Eridan spotted the thin blonde making polite conversation with Gamzee. From the look on his face, Gamzee was not hearing a single word she said, but was nodding just as politely. Eridan rolled his eyes.
"Yeah I came early so I could give that sad excuse for a college student a bit of tutorin in the art of war fare." Eridan replied, pointing his empty hand at said college student.
Kanaya's face lit up. "You're going to get him out of the living quarters? Oh thank you!"
"Quarters?" Eridan asked as he followed her into the living room.
Rose looked up when he walked in. They had a long history of not getting along that started when they were both thirteen and Rose had blown up his laptop. She pulled her thin lips into a smile, making them appear smaller until they almost disappeared. "Eridan. How good it is to see you again. Still practicing 'science'?"
"No actually. Still trying to summon the elder gods?" Eridan quipped.
"When I'm successful you'll be the first to know." Rose smiled. "Because you will be dead."
Gamzee caused a distraction then by falling of the couch. He landed with a loud WHUMP and stared up at the rest of the people in the room like he couldn't believe what just happened. "So." He started, not even bothering to pick himself up. "Who wants to get their motherfucking learning on?"
"Come on Gam, let's go to your room where there are no wicked vixens watchin our every move." Eridan sighed, stepping around the couch to pick his friend up.
Gamzee smiled as he took Eridan's hand. "Sure thing my brother. Though I'm sure these ladies are anything but wicked."
Eridan marched him to his room. He had never been there before, but it wasn't very difficult to figure out which door was his. :o) Honk hOnk was painted in dripping purple paint on the room furthest down the hall. Gamzee was not getting the security deposit back, that was for shore.
The room was worse than the door, which Eridan hadn't thought possible until he saw it. The bed wasn't made, the floor was littered with dirty clothes and bike horns, and the walls were covered with posters for the Insane Clown posse. It almost hurt Eridan to step in the room, but he preferred it to the company of that Rose girl.
"Not wicked?" Eridan asked as he sat down on the bed. He drew his feet close to him so he wouldn't have to touch the floor anymore. Gamzee sat down across from him at the desk, sitting in the chair backwards so he could face his friend. "Has she been brain washin you? Do her eyes glow yellow or somefin? I have this theory that she's actually a blood suckin fiend but I haven't found any solid evidence yet."
Gamzee just laughed. "No, I have not had my think pan addled. They're both just fine to me. It's her brother Dave that I don't find myself likin so much."
This caught Eridan of guard. "Whoa, there's someone out there that the great soft guppy Gam doesn't like?"
Gamzee shrugged. "I find myself getting along just fine with everyone, but that deviant made fun of the faith. You can be yourself around me as long as I can be myself around you, and he has a problem with that."
"Cod knows you don't have a problem with bein yourself. When's the last time you cleaned in here?" Eridan asked disdainfully.
Gamzee glanced around. "Since I up and made this my place of residence. I guess."
"Good glub." Eridan sighed. He set the bag on the ground and pulled out his history book. "This is from last semester, but I doubt Slick changed the curriculum at all. He's not the slipperiest fish in the sea. Whats the last thing you mackerels studied?"
"Explicating poetry."
"In history Gam. I meant in history."
Gamzee laughed innocently, leaning back in his chair. "Oh, I don't motherfuckin know. Tavros takes all the notes in that class while I get my nap on. You feel me?"
"The only thing I feel is disgust in your lack of focus." Eridan sighed. He cracked open the book and searched for the chapter that Slick started with the semester before. "Does this look like somefin you've done before?"
They spent the next hour like that. Eridan did a quick review on what he found to be important while Gamzee sat at the desk. Occasionally he would write things down or ask questions, but mostly he just listened. Eridan found that he was actually paying attention to him, not just smiling and nodding like he did with Rose. It felt good to be payed attention to, even when he went on his rants about how the fall of Vicksburg was far more important than historians would lead you to believe.
Gamzee finished jotting down the notes about Vicksburg when he looked up suddenly. "Is this going to be on the final?" He asked.
"Well, no. But it's glubbin important! The only thing me and Slick ever argued about in class." Eridan replied passionately. It had been a while since he had been this riled. Sure Feferi listened to him, but as his best friend she had an obligation to. She tried, she really did, but Feferi just didn't understand him.
"Is it?" Gamzee smiled. "Well then, I'll do my best to keep it in the old noggin then."
Eridan paused, closing the book. He had had enough history for one day, and that was saying something. "Hey Gam, uh, thanks for listening I guess. I reely appreciate it." he mumbled.
"Hey, my ears are always open for any motherfucker that wants to talk. Can't be sure that I can help, but its nice to have a brother." Gamzee replied fluidly. Eridan smiled back at him and was about to say something else when there was a knock at the door.
"Eridan? Rose left did you want to work on our projects now?" Kanaya asked without opening the door, making her sound muffled and hollow.
"Er," Eridan said, grabbing his bag of supplies. "Yeah! We're done here."
To his surprise Gamzee followed him out to the living room. Kanaya looked less than pleased about it, but she didn't say anything. "Gam? The lesson is over-"
"I understand that Motherfucker, I wanted to continue to hang out with my best brother." Gamzee plopped down on his couch, his purple pants and black tee clashing badly with the green fabric. "I've always wanted to learn needle pushing."
"You mean sewin." Eridan sighed. "And reely? I could help you after I'm done with this shitty glubbin project." He took the half finished blouse from his plastic bag, along with a small pack of sharp needles, pins, and a spool of string. The professor that decided they had to do a fashion piece by hand was Satan in Eridan's book.
Kanaya produced a nearly finished skirt from her sewing basket and sat on the couch across the room. "Don't encourage him Eridan." She said calmly, already pinning on the next scrap of fabric. "He does not keep up with his projects, and will leave another mess for me to clean up. I would rather not step on a needle."
"Aww come on Kan, don't dampen the mood." Eridan frowned. He pulled out an extra needle, threaded it, and handed it to Gamzee. "Do you have any scraps?"
Kanaya glared at him for several moments before reaching back into her basket and pulling out a rectangle of blood red felt. Eridan took the fabric with surprise. Kanaya wouldn't be caught dead wearing something made of such a cheap fabric. Did she keep it to practice on? Eridan handed Gamzee the felt before returning to his own work.
The three of them worked in silence for a few minutes before Eridan let out a frustrated growl. "It's too glubbin quite!" He complained. Kanaya and Gamzee watched as he pulled out his ipod and dock, plugged both of them in and turned up the volume.
After a few minutes Gamzee was swaying to the music, which admittedly didn't make his sewing any worse, and Kanaya was putting on her own set of earplugs so she wouldn't have to listen to 'Eridan's awful choice of tunes.' Since Gamzee had no preference for music Eridan switched it to classical music so everyone would be happy.
Time passed quickly after they settled back into a routine. Kanaya added another patch to her skirt, and finished with it. As she folded up her piece she glanced over to Eridan, giving him critiques and pointers. Then she looked at Gamzee. He had folded the felt hamburger style and was stitching up the sides.
Eridan followed her gaze and saw what Gamzee was trying to make. "Hey." He said, setting down his shirt and reaching over. "Before you do the third side flip it inside out and stuff it."
"Stuff it?" Gamzee asked.
"Well, yeah. You're makin a pillow right?" Eridan asked with bewilderment.
"I was making a sock." Gamzee replied. Then he laughed and pulled the square inside out. "But a pillow is a motherfuckin great idea too! Do you have any stuffing?"
Eridan looked up at Kanaya. He expression was clear. 'I didn't bring any stuffin I'm makin a god damn shirt.' Kanaya glared back a him. 'no I will not give this insufferable oaf any of my spare stuffing. I told you not to encourage him.' Eridan frowned. 'Don't be a beach! It's just this one time!' Finally Kanaya sighed and got up. She headed to her room to get the fluff while Gamzee stared at Eridan in a baffled manner.
"What? You never have silent conversations?" Eridan shrugged. "She said she'll get stuffin, and that's glubbin good enough."
"Miracles." Gamzee shrugged, in a way of explaining it to himself. A moment later Kanaya reappeared, holding an open and nearly empty plastic bag of fluff. She tossed it at Gamzee and walked back into her room.
"Aright, let me show you-" Eridan said, taking the unfinished scrap from Gamzee. He showed him how to reverse it so the ugly seams were inside and invisible. Then he poked some of the fluff in and handed it back so Gamzee could finish it. He had to take it back several more times before they were done, but finally they had made a somewhat decent three by five inch pillow. Gamzee had even stitched a design in the side. It looked like a circle with spikes on top.
"What's that?" Eridan asked, pointing at it.
"It's my best motherfuckin friend, Karkat." Gamzee smiled. "See the hair."
Eridan burst into laughter. "That looks nothin like Karkat!"
"I see it, and so will he." Gamzee shrugged. Then he held the pillow above him. "I made this with my own hands. Isn't that miraculous?"
"Shore is." Eridan agreed. He stared at the curves of Gamzee's mouth, the way they twitched when he smiled. And suddenly he realized that he wanted to see that smile more.
"Do you want to do this again?" Eridan asked before he could stop himself.
Gamzee put the pillow back down. "Why not my best of brothers?"
"No no." Eridan shook his head. His face felt a little hot, oh god was he blushing? Eridan Ampora does not blush! The girls practically fall at his feet! "I meant like, a date."
"A study date?" Gamzee was confused now.
Eridan really was blushing now. Oh cod, this is stupid. "Yeah a s-study date. I have to go."
He angrily shoved his still unfinished blouse into the bag, and went to grab at the box of needles. One of the silver pins escaped the lose cap and fell out, pricking Eridan's finger before falling to the floor. Eridan let out a yelp of pain and shook his hand. This was not his night.
"Hey Motherfucker, calm down. Take a deep breath." Gamzee said, taking the injured hand in his. He kissed the small pin prick and Eridan instantly felt conflicting emotions. Those lips could be kissing other choice parts of his body, and that paint cannot be good to be putting on open wounds.
Eridan pulled his hand back. "Yeah. Yeah ok. See you again soon?" He nervously shouldered his bag. Some smooth operator he was.
"It's a date." Gamzee grinned.
After a moment Eridan grinned back. So it was going to be a date. He could deal with that.