A/N: I would have posted this earlier, but I went to MCM Expo in London over the weekend so

Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

Tavros ==

At around six in the morning, Tavros rolled off of the couch and hit the floor with a dull clunk. The sky was dark and it cast a pale light over the room, illuminating the scarcely furnished living room that he had fallen asleep in. He looked around groggily, his head pounding. He winced as he turned his head, earning a razor of pain slicing through his brain.

Fuck alcohol.

He led down on the floorboards and sighed, noticing the cold feeling against his back. He sat up again, rubbing his spine when-
His shirt.
Where was his shirt?
Tavros looked around frantically for it, trying to stand before he flopped down again, making another clattering.

"Dammit..." Tavros hissed, holding his head and curling into a fetal position. He had forgotten to take off his prosthetics, so they were stiff against his kneecaps.
Groaning, he opened his eyes, sat up, and registered where he actually was.
Gamzee's apartment. He shivered and rubbed his arms in an attempt to warm himself up.

It's so, cold.

Tavros stood with difficulty and made his way towards the window, being careful not to wake Gamzee. From what he told Tavros, he wasn't very agreeable when he first woke up, especially if he was made to stir unwillingly. He looked out of the window. Snow fell thickly down and coated the floor, a constant torrent of white against the grey pavement.

He breathed out a foggy breath and drew on the window pane, so absorbed in the calming tranquility of the driving snow that he hardly noticed a rustling from the couch behind him. It was only when he noticed a hostile growl and a hand clamped on his shoulder that he snapped out of his trance and turned.

"What the motherfuck do you think you're doing?" Gamzee asked coldly, his eyes flat and predatory. His grip tightened and Tavros winced.

"G-gamzee, you're hurting me..." Tavros flinched as Gamzee smirked, canines glinting. He lifted Tavros' chin up roughly, forcing him to look into his eyes.

"So what if I motherfucking am? Suck it the fuck up." His eyes were wide and terrifying.

His... meds, they've worn off, Tavros realised in horror.

"Gamzee, you're not yourself..."

The crazed man finally released Tavros from his grasp and stepped away, waltzing around the room in some kind of odd dance-macabre, a deranged smile plastered on his face.

"The thing is, Tavros, this is the genuine fucking article, brother! Ain't never gonna get more self-y than this." He laughed maniacally. Tavros shivered, disliking the way Gamzee called him "Tavros" rather than "Tavbro" or "Tavvy". If this was the real him, did this mean the Gamzee he knew was just a false charade created by the medication he took?
He noticed that Gamzee too had his shirt off- his figure was slim yet sculpted, and he had gouges running down his chest, dried blood clinging to the skin. Tavros blushed deeply at the image, curious to find out what could have made those scratches. And why they both lacked shirts in the first place, since every time he tried to remember what happened last night, his head hurt.

You're steering away, from the point! Just calm Gamzee down, or something!

"T-that..." Tavros swallowed dryly and coughed, looking slightly more confident (even though inside he was near tears because of how scared he was). "That may be true. However, you need to calm down!"

"I'm totally motherfucking calm, brother!" Gamzee moved closer to Tavros, gripping his upper arms. "It's you who ain't all up and chilling. Why don't you just calm the FUCK down?" His grip was hard enough to bruise, He was sure, but Tavros stayed motionless, trying with all his might so he didn't show the pain he was in. From the corner of his eye, Tavros swore he could see the flash of scars and slices going up Gamzee's arm. But, it must have been the light, because the way his friend's arms were held meant he couldn't see the inside wrists. Besides, there were bigger things to worry about right now.

"Gamzee. Take your meds. Please." His voice barely shook. In any other case, Tavros would be really pleased, but this wasn't 'any other case'.

"THAT poison!?" Gamzee pushed Tavros against the wall, his chest flush against the smaller's. His hand moved to grip Tavros' mohawk tightly and painfully. "You're motherfucking one of them! You're tryna' get me! The voices told me that. And they don't fucking like you very much!" He hissed, the words laced with malice.

"No..." Tavros whispered, fists balled up and kept to his waist. He wanted to badly to calm Gamzee down, but he wasn't sure if it would do so, or just make him tear Tavros to shreds and piss on the remains. "I'm not trying to, 'get you'."

"Oh? Then WHAT, motherfucker. Do enlighten me." The sneer turned into a smirk as he put his head level with Tavros, his pupils dilated fully.

"I'm your friend." Tavros stared stubbornly into Gamzee's eyes.

A laugh. "I don't fucking need friends. Especially not runts like you." Gamzee let go of his hair and stood with his arms by his side.

Tavros fought the tears forming in his eyes.

He doesn't mean it, Tavros. He doesn't mean it.

"Yes you, do." Tavros sniffed, pulling Gamzee towards him into a hug. Gamzee tensed, hands gripping onto Tavros's arms hard enough to break skin.
Eventually though, his arms grew limp, reaching instead to wrap around Tavros' back, face lowering to bury itself in Tavros' soft hair.

"I'm so sorry, Tavbro." Gamzee whispered into his mohawk, and it took Tavros a few moments to figure out that Gamzee was crying. "I all up and motherfucking scared you, didn't I?"

Tavros said nothing, but started to sob quietly into Gamzee's chest.
It was true; he was so, so scared. His arms were burning and bruised, and his heart filled with the sensation of fading dread and remaining anxiousness.

"I'm so sorry..." Gamzee repeated.

The two moved and stayed on the couch together, Tavros curled up against Gamzee's chest, and Gamzee's arms wrapped around his friend's protectively. Ironic, seeing as that the only one who was a danger to his Tavbro was himself.

A knock on the door woke the two from their slumber, a groan emitting from the pair. Tavros' eyes flickered open, squinting at the brightness of the room. His headache was still very much there, although it was considerably less-pronounced than before. He moved to get up but a pair of pale arms wrapped around his torso and held on tight.
"No, you're warm, Tavbro. Stay here." Gamzee mumbled, sighing into the smaller's back. Tavros jumped, the contact surprising him, although the possibility of doing absolutely nothing for the rest of the day was appealing to say the least. He glanced at Gamzee, pulling away, and noticed the usual half-lidded, soporific quality to his eyes.

He must have taken his medication, while I was asleep.

Gamzee whined a little as his main source of heat was taken away. "Come ooon..."

"No, uhh, there's someone at the door." Tavros explained, pushing Gamzee's pawing hands away and laughing.

"No, mine!" Gamzee protested.
The two giggled as Tavros half-heartedly fought Gamzee's grasping arms away.

"Any time would be totally great." A deadpan voice called from the other side of the door. "Are you guys fucking in there, or what?"
It was Dave.

Tavros' face burned as he located his shirt and pulled it on, moving towards the door. He opened it, smoothing down his disheveled hair and coughing anxiously. "U-uhh, hi Dave. Can I help you?"
The blonde's eyebrow shot up as he glanced at Tavros, or more particularly, his neck. A flicker of a grin was seen before Dave's face returned to it's stoic state.

"Yeah. Can I talk to Gamzee?" He asked, leaning on the door frame.

"What's up, motherfucker?" Gamzee advanced behind Tavros and supported himself with a hand on the doorframe, still topless and grinning like a fool.
Dave raised his eyebrows even higher. "Dude, what the fuck is with the goddamn claw marks? Did you get attacked by a freaking raccoon?"

Gamzee looked down and frowned at the shallow gouges in his chest. "They weren't there before." He commented, surprised. "It actually stings a little."

"A raccoon? There aren't any raccoons, in this apartment building." Tavros mumbled thoughtfully and anxiously. "I hope not, anyway..."

Dave ignored him and pressed on, the twitch of a smirk on his lips again. "Or maybe you two were having some fun last night? We all saw you playing tonsil hockey on the loveseat. Tav looked pretty eager. You never know, maybe he's a feisty bastard in bed?"

Tavros' face went red and he fidgeted, flustered.

What!?

Gamzee's mouth formed into a straight line. "You came over to motherfucking tell us something?"

"Oh." Dave remembered, although he seemed disappointed that his fun had ended already. "Yeah, can you not smoke in my bathroom? There's a bunch of fucking burns in the sink so I'd appreciate if you could not do that. Thanks."

"Oh, yeah. Sorry man, but I wasn't the only motherfucker smoking that shit in there. You should tell that Hipster guy to stop too." Gamzee held on to the door and frowned at Dave. Dave looked on in what Tavros could only assume was an assertive look on his face.

"Okay. Later." He turned and left the hallway, opening the door to hos apartment and stepping through. Faintly the pair could hear a loud bang and a scream of "Fucking Smuppets!", followed by the laughter of another male, whom Tavros could only assume was Dave's brother from the other side of the wall.

Tavros gave a nervous titter as he looked at Gamzee. Or more specifically, his chest. "Does it hurt?"

Gamzee shook his head and grinned. "Nah, bro. Just stings like a bitch."

"I'll put bandaids on them, then. I don't want them, to get infected." Tavros led Gamzee to the couch and sat him down, moving then to the kitchen where he knew a medical box was kept. He returned, smiling, and he pulled out a roll of colourful bandaids. As he looked for the anticeptic, he dwelled on what he thought he might have seen on Gamzee's wrists. Although none of the cuts looked recent, it was worrying how many there were. Gamzee didn't seem like someone who would succumb to depression, although he also didn't look like the type of person who would be so considerate of another human being, which he so obviously was. He located the antiseptic wipes and closed the box, placing it on the floor beside them.

"You don't have to do this, Tavbro." Gamzee assured him sternly.

"I want to."

"Oh." Was all Gamzee said as Tavros got to work on his chest. He wiped an antiseptic pad on the broken skin and hummed.

Gamzee shifted uncomfortably as the wipe made contact with his chest, his gaze lingering curiously on Tavros' neck.

Why is everyone doing that, Tavros wondered as he concentrated. His gaze shifted briefly to the other's arms,which were pinned tightly to his sides, the insides virtually impossible to see.

That can't be comfortable...

Tavros pushed the thoughts out of his head and concentrated more on the task at hand, humming a song that was stuck in his head.

"What's that you're humming?"

"Huh? Oh...uh, I think it's from a lullaby? I heard it before, but I don't know where from. Why?" Tavros stuck his tongue out as he cleaned the small wounds absent mindedly.

"Uh, just heard it before, is all. My mom used to sing it to me. It's an Italian lullaby." Gamzee looked at Tavros carefully as he worked.

"Really? How's it go?" Tavros stopped and sat back, trying to figure out where he put the bandaids.

"You really sure you want to hear me sing, Tav?" Gamzee chuckled. "It's kind of embarrassing, I haven't even done any vocal exercise..."

"Don't be patronising." Tavros chided, looking under the coffee table.

Ah, there they are.

"I'm not!" Gamzee protested.

Tavros put a few bandaids on the cuts and smoothed his hand over his handiwork. He looked at Gamzee, mock pleadingly.

"Come on. Please?" He put emphasis on the 'ea'.

"If you insist. It goes 'Dormi, dormi, ninna, nanna'..."

Tavros shivered visibly. It was like he had heard it before, and it was attached to a memory that was so amazing and intense. The fact that he couldn't remember it aggrivated him. His cheeks turned pillar box red as he thought of what could be so "intense'.

Why is that so familiar? Why am I, blushing!?

Gamzee stopped and looked at Tavros. "What?"

"I, uhh, have to go. Thank you for having me, but Rufioh will really wonder where I am!" Tavros stood and stumbled, sitting to pull his shoes onto his feet hastily and walking swiftly to the door. "I'll, uhh, see you, Gam!"

"Oh...bye." Gamzee replied, looking downtrodden. Tavros shut the door behind him and made off down the hallway, getting in the elevator and exhaling. It had only just occurred to him that he had forgotten his coat. But he couldn't go back up there! Not after that hasty exit.

Instead he rushed home, ignoring the snow clinging to his hair and the ice settling on his clothes and skin. The snow fall had subsided a little; although it was still frightfully cold without a coat.
By the time he arrived home, he was sopping wet and shaking like a leaf. He quietly opened the door and listened closely. He could hear mumbling and chuckles sounding from the living room.

Maybe he has a friend over.

Although, to be honest Tavros could care less about how his brother was spending his leisure at this point in time. His head still pounded dully from the recesses of his brain, reminding him of the excessive intake of alcohol from before.

"I've said it before, and I'll say it again; fuck alcohol." Tavros muttered bitterly. Almost instantly someone shuffled in the parlor and the door opened. There stood his brother, leant against the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest and a disapproving look in his eyes.

"Ah, so the prodigal son returns." Rufioh's eyebrow raised, amusement clinging to his dark eyes. Tavros grinned pathetically, raising a hand in greeting.

"Hey, Ruf." He chuckled, ignoring the persistent pain in his lower cortex.

"Where's your coat?" Rufioh asked Tavros. The younger rolled his eyes in distain and ran a hand through his sopping wet hair.

"At, uhh..." Tavros began, halting before he finished. He knew that Rufioh would have something patronizing to say about whatever he said, so he might as well tell him the truth. "...Gamzee's."

"And, why haven't you got it?"

It's like Twenty Questions in here.

"...I don't, want to talk about it." With that Rufioh's eyes lit up with glee, and he smirked, opening his mouth to say something.

"Who is outside, Rufioh?" A distinctively male voice called from the parlor.

"My brother. The genius forgot his coat at his boyfriend's so he's drenched to his skin."

Tavros felt his cheeks grow warm as he denied his brother's claims. "He's not, my boyfriend!"

The man in the living room chuckled lowly and footsteps made their way to the doorway. Behind his brother stood a tall gentleman of something between Greek and Egyptian descent, with his hair tied in a ponytail and his well-toned arms crossed over his chest. Tavros could have sworn he looked familiar.

"You must be Tavros." The man mused, his voice soft and reserved, his eyes staring at you kindly.

Sleep sounds so good, right now.

"Uhh, yeah. I guess you're Rufioh's..."

"He's my boyfriend. Horuss, meet Tav." Rufioh briefly introduced the two.

"Oh, um, nice to meet you Horuss..." Tavros grinned nervously, unsure of whether to shake his hand or not. Horuss' face cracked into a bright, pleasant smile and Tavros changed his mind; He wasn't so familiar after all.

"The pleasure is all mine. Shouldn't you go to bed?" The tall man asked. Tavros looked at him, bewildered.

"Huh?"

"You're shivering and shaking like a leaf- If you're not careful, you could develop a fever." Horuss commented, concerned. Rufioh nodded in agreement.

"Take a shower and then sleep, okay?"

"Sure, whatever." Tavros sighed, not even listening. He practically crawled up the stairs and into his room, peeling off his clothes and bundling up in bed, forgetting about having a shower as soon as his head hit the pillow, and he soon dozed off.