chapter update! XD slightly harder for me because of laziness. XD haha I'm a horrible author. XD

enjoy! XD

XXXX

Saturday came surprisingly quickly.

Tavros stood in the shadow of Gamzee's house, staring up at the building in slight awe. It was much bigger than he anticipated it being, despite seeing the address and knowing it was in the richer area of town. It was at least three stories high, though Tavros wasn't sure if there was an attic or the third story was just another floor of rooms. And there was most likely a basement as well, which meant Tavros was going to keep his phone on him lest he accidentally get lost.

"Tavbro!" Gamzee's voice came from the doorway. Tavros checked in again and smiled shyly, clutching at the strap on his messenger bag.

"Hey, Gamzee." He called back, forcing himself to take a few steps forward. Makara loped forward easily, wrapping his arms tightly around Tavros and lifting him up off the ground like he always did. Tavros felt a genuine smile break on his face and he patted Gamzee's back; before he'd even managed to step into the house, his friend had already calmed his fears with his familiar gestures.

"What's up, best motherfucker?" Gamzee asked as he put Tavros down. Tavros opened his mouth to answer, but Gamzee's gaze slid from him to a spot just behind him. Makara waved enthusiastically, while Tavros turned to see who'd arrived behind him.

"Oh, hey, um, Nepeta!" Tavros waved and smiled warmly at the Leijon he was familiar with; in response, Nepeta bound up to him and rubbed her face against his, greeting him as warmly as she could with her arms full.

"Mama, this is Tavrrrrows!" Nepeta pulled away long enough to turn and yell at her mother. She had several paper bags in her arms, and she didn't seem to notice when a box of pasta almost fell out of the bag; Gamzee reached out easily and caught it, placing it back in the bag without Nepeta realizing it. Tavros looked around his friend sheepishly to wave at the other woman with only one of her arms full.

"Uh, hello." He murmured.

Meulin looked like Nepeta, almost exactly. Tavros instantly picked out all the similarities between his friend and her mother, though she looked young enough to be an older sister rather than a mother. Where Nepeta's dark hair was cropped around her face, Meulin's was long and wavy, falling down her back in gentle waves. She shared her daughter's bright olive eyes, though they were worn down slightly by life. Meulin Leijon was a few inches taller than Nepeta, her body a bit curvier, and her face a flurry of gentle emotions that made her entire being softer than her daughter's.

Her free hand was moving quickly as she communicated with her daughter; though Tavros knew a bit of sign language, he only knew the alphabet and Meulin was speaking too fast to follow.

"Mama wants to know how you know Gamzee." Nepeta translated between giggles. Tavros opened his mouth to answer, but the sound of a window opening made them all turn again and look up; Karkat was squished up against Equius, who was leaning out of the window. Zahhk was sweating profusely, a sure sign that he was nervous and slightly uncomfortable, and though Karkat had wedged himself against him, Vantas looked more pissed off than usual.

"God damn it, Gamzee, get your ass up here!" His dark eyes zeroed in on Tavros and they narrowed. Almost without thinking, Karkat's lip curled in annoyance. "You too, Nitram, we don't have all fucking day!"

"Nepeta, perhaps you should hurry up a bit?" Equius called over Karkat. He tugged at his collar nervously, managing to elbow Karkat in the eye. The already enraged Varsity student let out a loud, long string of curses, ducking out of the window. His voice was still audible outside, damning the Scholastic to hell and back; Equius's face switched from nervous to pure, unadulterated horror. He ducked out of the window, and his voice joined Karkat's as he attempted to get his apologies heard.

"I, uh, I take it everyone is already here?" Tavros asked quietly. Nepeta and Gamzee both beamed at him, Gamzee a second late, while Nepeta giggled brightly and bounded ahead of them.

"Yep!" She called back as she moved. "Eridan and Fefurri don't live too far from here, and Karkitty spent the night last night too." Nepeta shot a friendly smile to Tavros as soon as she reached the door. "Equius and Vriskers got here about twenty minutes ago, though." She seemed to realize that everyone being on the second floor meant that no one was going to answer the door for them. "Hey!" She screamed loudly, kicking the door with vigor to get someone's attention.

"Come on, my main motherfucker." Gamzee drawled lazily, wrapping a secure arm around Tavros. "We'd best be up and getting our think pans full of all sorts of miraculous thoughts." Meulin fell into step beside them as they walked up the pathway, signing at Gamzee. Makara frowned slightly for a second before grinning widely, though he made no move to translate for Tavros.

"Um, I joined the AcaDec team this year." Tavros stammered slightly, trying to answer Meulin's earlier question. He was busy staring at his feet, but he stopped when nimble fingers lifted his head slightly. Gamzee nodded over at Meulin, who hadn't even looked at Tavros.

"Bitch can't hear a motherfucking thing." Gamzee reminded Tavros. A dark flush warmed Tavros's ears, and he buried his face in his hands. He couldn't believe he'd forgotten such a crucial thing, especially since he'd just watched Meulin signing. Gamzee laughed loudly and ruffled his mohawk, coming to a stop in front of Tavros. A few steps away, Meulin turned as well, suddenly aware she was walking alone and curious for the reason behind it.

"Can, um, can she...?" Tavros swallowed heavily. "Y'know, like read lips?"

"You mean the miraculous thing where she can read what you say without motherfucking hands?" Gamzee's face lit up. "Sure, she got all kinds of miraculous motherfucking tricks up her skin hiding shit." Tavros frowned in confusion, but Karkat's voice coming from the window again had them both rushing to catch up with Nepeta's mother; he didn't have a chance to try and decipher Gamzee-speak.

The trio caught up with Nepeta, who was still abusing the door in hopes of getting it open. Tavros was about to open his mouth and ask her to maybe move aside so her mother could open the door; Meulin was already pulling her keys from her pocket with her free hand, but the door opened abruptly. Nepeta nearly lost balance, her foot still swinging. She couldn't stop in time, and her foot connected with someone moments before the rest of her body followed.

Nepeta squeaked as she fell forward, but her descent was stopped by bony hands on her shoulders. A thin male stood in the doorway, his brow arched as he steadied Nepeta. Once he was sure she wasn't going to fall, he reached down and rubbed slightly at his knee where she kicked him.

"Sorry, Papa!" She raced past him into the house, and he watched her go with an amused smile on his face before he turned again.

It was almost like looking at an older Gamzee, and the thought gave Tavros the courage to smile uncertainly at Kurloz Makara. He had the same indigo-tinted eyes as Gamzee, though his eyes were sharper and more focused, his hair just as long and wild. It was pulled away from his face in a messy low ponytail, and his face was covered in the same white face paint Gamzee always wore. The make up was skeletal around his eyes, lines drawn in black in a sloppy mimic of stitches on his mouth.

Meulin entered past him first, smiling brightly at him when he leaned forward and pressed a careful kiss against her cheek. He smiled back uncertainly at her as she skipped past him after Nepeta; the smile faded away when he turned back to Tavros and Gamzee.

"What's up, motherfucker?" Gamzee grinned back, pushing past Kurloz as well. He dragged Tavros with him, though his grip was much gentler on his arm than Karkat's had been earlier that week. Tavros didn't mind his grip on his arm, staying as close to Gamzee as he could. "This is my bro Tavros. We're all up and doing some motherfucking miraculous readings upstairs." Kurloz nodded at them, closing the door behind them as Gamzee tugged him up the stairs.

Tavros did his best to look around while he was pulled. The house was just as dauntingly refurbished on the inside as it was on the outside, with spotless walls and lots of dark doors. The stairway Gamzee dragged him up was just to the side of the front door, Meulin and Nepeta disappearing down a slightly darkened hallway to the left. The hallway the stairs opened up to was wide and bright, with dark wood floors that matched the banister on the stairs. There were six or seven rooms on the second floor, with one door leading to what must have been a closet and another a bathroom. A table and chair lined the hallway between each door, small and circular. Some held a case with flowers; others were bare, under elegant paintings of Gamzee and Kurloz as kids, or under an intimidating figure that was probably their father. Gamzee didn't bother pointing out anything, other than a couple of bathrooms on the first and second floor, the room where Kurloz and Meulin were staying in until their remodeling was done, and Nepeta's room.

"Why does Nepeta, um, have her own room here?" Tavros asked. Gamzee twisted around a bit, showing off a blinding grin. Tavros felt his heart stutter a bit at the sight, but he pushed it away.

"My miraculous little kittysis is over so motherfucking much, the room's all up and made for her and her only." He explained. "Karbro's always fucking over too, but he just all up and gets his snooze on in my room."

"Where, uh, where is your room?" Tavros asked, peering around the second floor. It looked like it had several guest rooms, but all the doors were painted the same shade of indigo; he couldn't even remember where the bathroom was.

"Right up there, motherfucker!" Gamzee pointed cheerfully at the stairs at the other end of the hallway. They were surprisingly less refurbished, the wood appearing a bit more worn and a shade or two lighter from the rest of the house. "Motherfucking attic is my motherfucking private space." The taller boy loped back a bit and wrapped his arm around Tavros's shoulder, grinning down at him. "Maybe I'll all up and show you later, once we've all gotten done with this miraculous reading shit Karbro wants done." He said it enticingly, and Tavros felt his smile waver just a bit.

"S-sure." He agreed softly, feeling as though he was agreeing to something much more than just seeing the Makara's room. Gamzee beamed at him, looking much happier than Tavros thought he should be; before he could question it, Gamzee strode over to the door, taking Tavros with him, and threw it open.

"Let's get it all up and started, motherfuckers!" Gamzee burst out, pulling Tavros behind him. The smaller Varsity student waved at everyone, noting that besides him, there were only eight other people in the room.

"Where's, uh, Feferi?" He asked Eridan as he was pulled past the Honors student and Sollux, their usual third musketeer missing.

"Ask Kar." He muttered sullenly, not looking up. Sollux rolled his eyes, shoving his shoulder into Eridan hard enough to knock the Honors student off to the side. Eridan slammed on the floor, his arm shooting out at the last minute, causing papers to fly around him. The group snickered, and even Tavros worked hard to suppress a small smile, but Eridan glowered darkly at Sollux. "The fuck, Captor?" He snapped.

"Stop moping and just fucking study." Sollux shot back. "The sooner you finish, the sooner KK will let you go home to your beloved girlfriend. "

"That's just disgustin', Sol, the hell's a matter with ya?" Eridan bit out at the same time Vriska made an over exaggerated gagging noise. Eridan sneered at her, a dark flush crossing his face. "An not one w-word outta you, V-Vris, cause you know-w I'll play just as dirty as you."

"Oh, please, Ampora." Vriska bit back sharply, tossing her braided hair over her shoulder with a simple flick of her hand. She was balanced on a taped box across from Eridan and Sollux, her packet in one hand while she leaned back on the other. On the other side, her fingernails made a rhythmic tapping noise. "Everyone here knows- - -ah, shit!" Her hand slipped and Vriska tumbled back, falling off the box with a loud crash.

Everyone burst out laughing, even Eridan and Gamzee, but Tavros felt his brow furrow in worry. Vriska hated being embarrassed, and when she was caught, she got violent.

Sure enough, Serket launched herself over the box, reappearing so suddenly nobody had time to move. She crash landed on Eridan, who let out all his breath in a sharp whoosh at the sudden weight, and socked him across the face. He let out a yelp and fell to the side, away from Sollux, with Vriska still on top of him. Though he struggled to get away, Eridan didn't punch her back; most likely because, even fighting, he was mindful of the damage he could cause with the many rings that always littered his fingers.

"Whoa!" Sollux yelled, throwing himself on top of Vriska to grab her arms when it became obvious Eridan wasn't going to do too much in terms of fighting back. He tried valiantly to hold her back, but after the third time he got elbowed in the eye, Sollux resorted to calling for help.

"What the fuck?" Karkat roared at the same time, snagging on the collar of Eridan's jacket and trying to pull him away. Serket followed Ampora as he was pulled, the two thrashing around as they fought. Eridan let out a yelp when Vriska punched him again, followed by a shriek from Serket when Ampora managed to get her wrist in his mouth and bite down.

Karkat and Sollux both quickly realized they couldn't control the fighting, and looked around for help until Equius appeared out of nowhere. He picked up Eridan in one hand and grabbed Vriska by her waist with the other, pulling them apart easily. He passed Eridan to Sollux, who dragged him back to where they were sitting with a dark glare at Vriska. Serket tried to lunge at Eridan again, but Equius kept a firm hold on her waist as he marched over to where he had been sitting alone. Retaking his seat, Equius sat Vriska down in his lap. She twisted around, scratching and biting, trying to force him to free her, but Zahhk wouldn't budge. He ignored her movements, though he was sweating profusely once again.

"Whoa." Gamzee said, breaking the tenseness that had fallen around the group. He hadn't moved from his spot by the window, holding onto Tavros from behind as if the shorter Varsity had been a lifeline. Tavros felt Gamzee's breath in his hair, and hoped that the Honors student wasn't getting any face paint in the mohawk even as he wondered when Gamzee began holding him the way he was.

"Um, that was, dramatic." He sniffed, trying subtly to work his way out from Gamzee. The Makara's arms tightened around his waist only briefly before allowing Tavros to abscond away. The Nitram smiled reassuringly before sitting right next to Gamzee's legs.

"Seriously, what the fuck guys?" Karkat snapped loudly as Makara plopped to the floor. "We're supposed to be fucking studying."

"Next time you won't be so lucky, Ampora!" Vriska snarled, moving to go after Eridan again. Eridan bared his teeth at her in response, but stayed huddled by Sollux when Captor wrapped an arm around his shoulders and squeezed him warningly. Blood was already gathering from his nose, as well as dripping down Vriska's arm where he bit her.

"Enough, Serket." Equius responded as well, tightening his grip on her. Vriska settled with a dark glower, daring any of them to say anything.

"So." Dave coughed mockingly, drawing attention to him as he waved a packet in the air. "We gonna get any studying done, or can John and I just take off like the awesome dorkiness that we are together?"

"We're gonna fucking study!" Karkat howled furiously. Dave snorted and John rolled his eyes, but their usual responses to Vantas's anger only made him more furious. "Don't you fucking move, Strider. Don't you dare!"

"We've got snacks!" Nepeta crowed, appearing out of nowhere with a plate of steaming cookies and a bowl of chips. She had kicked in the door, a bag swinging and clinking ominously on her arm. Meulin entered the room much slower than her daughter, smiling and holding another bowl of chips. The younger Leijon stopped short, looking around in confusion at the situational positioning in the room.

"Fucking finally!" Sollux breathed, reaching toward the cookies until Eridan poked his side harshly. He recoiled with a wince.

"What the?" Nepeta frowned in disappointment. "Where's Fefurri?" The whole group groaned again, Eridan's head falling on top of Sollux's shoulders.

"She's not fucking here!" Karkat growled, his hands clenching on the paper and crinkling it up. Nepeta made a playful face at him, sticking out her tongue.

"I see that Karkitty." She shot back. "I mew she said she was coming. Why didn't she stay ofur?"

"Kar wouldn't let her." Eridan grumbled sulkily. Sollux rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulder, making Ampora's head bounce.

"And the sooner we study, the sooner you can have her pick you up." He sighed, as if he'd said it far too many times already. "So let's get this over with."

"Can I help?" Nepeta bounced around, dropping chips from the bowl as she plopped it down and grabbed the other one from her mother. As she settled the snacks and what turned out to be an assortment of drinks on the floor, Sollux and Dave dove for the food; everyone followed soon after, save Tavros, Vriska, and Karkat.

"No!" Karkat yelled, being too busy fighting with Nepeta to focus on the snacks. "If I didn't let fucking Feferi stay, there's no way in hell you're staying either!"

"I am staying!" Nepeta stomped her foot.

"Only because you're Gamzee's fucking niece and you're living here right now anyway!" Karkat stomped up to her and picked her up easily; Nepeta mewled and struggled, her mother snickering silently in the doorway. "If not, you wouldn't fucking be here! Now fuck off, dammit!" He dropped her by Meulin, who bent down and picked her up by her arm. With a wave, Meulin dragged Nepeta out while signing quickly. Nepeta turned and stuck her tongue out at Karkat, who responded by slamming the door shut.

"You sure you don't wanna just ditch studying and go have a hate date with your pitch crush?" Vriska taunted Vantas as he stomped back. Karkat flipped his middle finger at her, ignoring her as he plopped on the other side of Gamzee. Makara responded by wrapping an arm around Tavros and Karkat, smiling blankly at the ceiling as he chewed on several cookies.

"Now." Karkat shuffled a couple of papers around and picked up one of the packets. "We'll start with fucking science."

"Fucking science is right." Sollux groaned, falling back. He had chip crumbs on his mouth, though he didn't seem to notice. Eridan did, though; the Honors student reached over and gently wiped the crumbs away, making Sollux's lips quirk in a thankful smirk. Tavros watched the two boys with a slight frown but hope blooming in his chest; Eridan had confided in him about having some pretty intense feelings for Sollux, though he hadn't been sure if he really hated Captor or just liked him intensely. It seemed like he was making an effort to find out, and Sollux didn't seem to mind the advances. "Who the hell gives a fuck about geology?"

"Stop whining." John said, his voice chipper. He was already halfway through the packet, having been reading it while everything had gone on around him. A small pile of cookies was by his knee, Dave having placed them there for the trickster while obtaining his food. "Geology isn't too bad, you just need to- - -"

"John, no." Dave cut in blankly, placing a hand over his boyfriend's mouth. John gave him an affronted look as he was shut up, but the Strider shook his head. "No, John, no. Just no."

"C'mon, Dave- - -" John whined, but each move of his head brought Strider's hand with it.

"No." He repeated firmly. John gave up, staring at his boyfriend with accusing blue eyes. Dave kept his hand on John's mouth a moment more before pulling it away, certain his boyfriend would take the hint and stay quiet.

"But why?" Egbert whined almost as soon as he could. The team groaned and Dave dropped his head to rest on his boyfriend's shoulder.

"Because, Egbert," he said as patiently as he could, "geology fucking sucks. It's almost as boring as one of your goddamned rom coms, and just as bad as Con Air, all right? Like, Con Air can't even look at geology without wincing and comparing its total assfuckery to the godawful acting in that damned movie."

"Hey!" Karkat and John yelled at the same time, having both of their movie genres shot down in one sentence. Dave shrugged a shoulder, not moving.

"It's fucking boring as hell." He stated. "Just like a Nic Cage movie."

"I'll have you know- - -" John started; Karkat recognized the on coming battle and waved his hands around in an attempt to prevent it.

"Anyway!" Karkat yelled loudly, gaining everyone's attention once again. "We've gotta fucking start. Take your damn notes, assholes." He cleared his throat while the rest of the team grumbled but moved to do as he said. Once everyone was situated- - -Vriska was seated on the box again, carefully not leaning back just in case she fell again and looking absolutely disgusted at having to put up with Equius's sweating so personally, Eridan and Sollux were huddled together as far from Vriska as possible, Dave had John leaning against his chest, Equius was seated as far from the group as possible (he was still shooting ignored apologetic looks at Karkat and seemed to have self-exiled himself until he was sure he had forgiveness), Tavros was sitting next to Gamzee by the window with Makara's arm loose around his shoulder- - -Karkat sniffed once before reading the introduction to geology.

Tavros tried to pay attention, he really did; he knew how important it was to remember the stuff they were being tested on, but Sollux and Dave were right: geology was so boring! Karkat actually had a soothing reading voice, though it was loud and mixed with expletives; mixed with the content of the packet and Gamzee's body heat from his side, Tavros felt himself nodding off. His head dropped until it hit Gamzee's shoulder, making Makara freeze just slightly before shifting a bit and wrapping his arm more firmly around Tavros's shoulder. The movement engulfed Tavros in warmth; lulled by Gamzee's warmth and Karkat's soothing voice, the Varsity fell asleep.

A click brought Tavros out of his sleep, and he tried to use his hand to push himself up; it had fallen asleep at some point, though, and Tavros's helping hand instead plunged the boy face first to the ground. His resulting yelp made Gamzee jump next to him, and the Makara was instantly hovering over him.

"You all right, Tavbro?" He asked, his voice heavy and thick from sleep. Clearing his throat, Gamzee tried again. His voice came out more natural sounding, though the thickness didn't go away. "You ok motherfucker?"

"Fine." Tavros sighed, managing to get his other arm around and pick himself off of the ground. Rubbing his eye with his slowly-waking appendage, Tavros glanced at the window and nearly jumped out of his skin. "O-Oh, god, is it that, um, late already?" Gamzee looked confused for a moment before turning and looking out of the same window.

Stars twinkled down at them, the moon half full and rising in the sky. The room was dark, only a light in the corner lighting up the room with ambient lighting. It was also strangely silent, soda cans still littering the floor where people had been sitting. The plate and bowls were gone, though, and Tavros wondered what time it was to have gotten so dark.

"It's only fucking seven." Karkat snapped, causing both boys to whip their heads around guiltily. Karkat was standing by the door and Nepeta stood in the middle of the room; Vantas's arms were crossed and he was glowering darkly at the two, showing how pissed off he really was as he leaned against the doorframe. Tavros cowered slightly, afraid of Karkar's anger and what he would do to them.

"Efurrybody has already gone home." Nepeta added when it became clear Karkat wasn't going to be saying anything more. There was a camera in her hand, and she looked slightly disappointed behind her smile. "Though Equius's dad just picked him up."

"Wow." Tavros winced as he stood up, patting his pockets in search of his phone. "I, uh, I didn't realize it was so late. Should I, um- - -"

"Stay fur dinner!" Nepeta beamed widely, pocketing the camera and grabbing Tavros's hands to stop him. He stared at her with wide eyes, and Nepeta shook his hands with excitement. "It'll be fun! Gamzee doesn't mind, right?"

"Nah, bro, shit's cool." Gamzee sounded as bewildered as Tavros felt, though there was an undercurrent of something rough still in his voice. Nepeta's excitement waned a bit and she looked over at Gamzee curiously, Karkat snorting and disappearing from the doorway.

"Gam?" Nepeta purred, concern in her voice. Her eyes widened and she darted away from Tavros, getting only as far as the door when Karkat appeared again.

"Here, idiot." Karkat tossed a white pill bottle, and Tavros watched as it sailed into the room and right into Gamzee's outstretched hand. Frowning just a bit, Tavros watched as he opened the bottle neatly and poured out a couple of pills, downing them dry.

"Now." Gamzee grinned at them blearily after a tense moment of silence. "You were up and saying something about food, kittysis?"

Nepeta beamed.