Thank you guys so much! The reads and reviews mean so much!
P.S. I got some suggestions and requests from people and I will try to encorperate them in future chapters, now that the romance is going to pick up!
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It was early morning when I woke up to the sound of pained groans from beside me in bed. I knew by now, as it had been weeks since I had first been captive here, that this was the sound of Gamzee shifting back into his human form as the sun came up.
To be honest, the whole 'turns into a wolf at night' thing still scared me when I really started to think about it. But being me, I tried to keep my mind on other things. I concentrated on the pure wonder of it all, the sheer magic quality that Gamzee held within himself. Sure, I had practiced wizardry back home. But I had never imagined something this horrifyingly amazing could happen to someone. I had asked Gamzee about how he came to be this way. But he only looked away and said it was a sad tale and would tell me some other time.
Despite only knowing him for a matter of a few months and still being a little nervous around him, it actually pained me to see him so bitter and hurt. From what I could tell, he would be one of the sweetest people in the world if he weren't so full or remorse. I knew how much he regretted killing my father, and apparently any others as well. He reminded me he was sorry almost every day. I told him I forgave him, of course.
But whether I really did or not was another matter entirely. I knew he was forced to by some form of magic order under which he could not dissobey, lest his body's controll be taken from him. And I certainly tried my hardest to forget. But the pain was still there, digging into me like a thorn into my side.
Nonetheless, I managed not to blame him for it. I put my anger off on the Dark Brotherhood, the organization that held us there. I wasn't entirely sure what they did exactly, minus the fact that they used people for their own dark needs. It was them that forced Gamzee's part in my father's death. In all actuality it was them who were to blame. And it is them whom I bestowed my anger.
"Are you awake?" I heard Gamzee call as he shifted to a sitting position in bed. I looked over and hummed, letting him know I was alert.
That was the first time I had actually payed attention to his body. He sat with his back turned to me, slouched in on himself as if he thought he were a disappointment to the world. I stared at his back with my eyes wide, aknowledging one of the worst scars I had seen in my entire life. Even the three parallel scars across his face, the ones that made my heart sink with sorrow, were nothing on comparrison to this ghastly stretch of pale skin. It ran diagonally from his right shoulder blade to his left hip, several tails traveling out to reach other parts of his back. It ran fluidly like a pinkish river of scar tissue, melting into normal skin perfectly.
I winced as a pang of symapthy pain hit me. Slowly, I rose to kneel behind Gamzee on the bed. Taking a shuddering breath tho still myself, I reached out gingerly to touch the scar. Gamzee tensed slightly and I could tell he was contemplating moving away. But he stayed, perched on the edge of the bed, as I spread my hands out flat. I traced my hands over the little trails that split off from the main line.
"What happened to you?"
The way I said it made me wish I could just swallow it back into my mind again. Gamzee froze, even his breathing stopped for a moment. He was a stone beneath my touch. But eventually he took a deep breath, relaxing slightly, and replied. It took me a few seconds to realize he had said " My father often got angry with me."
"What did he do?" I wondered aloud, my voice tight with astonishment. "He got into one of his moods where he's already drunk and he work himself up. This was one of the times I was around for him to take it out on." Gamzee said after a pause, his usually care-free persona had been burnt to ashes. "One of the times?!" I burst, anger welling inside of me.
I wasn't entirely sure why it made me as furious as it had, but I still felt as if a fire burnt within me. I felt like I should hit something or maybe yell, but I kept calm and took a deep breath. I closed my eyes, extinguishing the intense anger.
"It happened often. He was almost always drunk and almost alway unhappy. I'm just glad he disn't take it out on anyone else." Gamzee replied as he turned his head to the side. This reminded me a lot of when I first conciously saw him in his human form. He just seemed to curl into himself, sitting there like a broken clock that needed fixing. One look into his eyes could show you that he was silently suffering, just counting the days until it would all be over. He really needed someone to rely on. And I supposed I was a good enough candidate. I bit my lip, deciding to act before the little voice in my head could remind me that Gamzee was dangerous and I needed to keep my distance.
I wound my arms around his torso, gripping him tightly and pulling myself closer. I buried my face into his back, squeezing him slightly. I felt a blush creep it's way onto my face as I placed a kiss against Gamzee's scar. Gamzee froze a little again and I panicked. "Oh, uh... My mom used to kiss my wounds when I was younger, so... I just though..." I trailed off awkwardly.
Gamzee let out a slight laugh as he turned in my arms, breaking my hold, and patted my head. "Don't be so awkward about it. It was sweet of you." he replied in his normal, nonchalant tone. I breathed a silent sigh of relief and smiled up at him, pulling back a little.
Something about this whole sittuation just seemed different. We were growing closer by the minute and it was slowly getting easier to be less afraid by now. By now it was as if we were the best of friends, but none of that was what felt strange.
It was a soft, fluttering feeling, coming drom deep within my chest. It ran deeper and thicker than anything I had felt before and it kind of scared me to feel this way.
I looked up into Gamzee's eyes and the way his eyes cut into mine was almost as if he could see straight through to my soul. It was chilling yet comforting all the same. His face was covered with concern and it made my stomach do a little flip when he leaned down and placed his hands on my shoulders.
"Tavros?" his voice shook me from my thoughts and I looked back at him again. "Yes?" I replied sheepishly. "I asked if you were all right. You were staring pretty intensely." Gamzee recalled, raising his eyebrows at me. "Oh, uh... yes. I'm fine." I confirmed, looking down at my hands that were folded neatly in my lap. I could feel his eyes staring at me interestedly, but he only nodded and pulled away.
I'm not sure why, but I was a little disappointed when he pulled back. I kind of liked him worrying over me. It was different and new from what I was used to. And it felt nice.
