Early in the morning Rufioh rose from the bed and groggily rubbed his eyes with his fingertips. His body still felt heavy with sleep and his head ached from all the alcohol he had consumed the previous night. The Taurus grumbled and held his head in his hands for a moment before looking up and around. The room he was in was one the Taurus had never seen before. Rufioh's eyes darted around the room taking it all in with a confused expression on his face. The walls were painted purple and there was an easel in the corner of the room with a paint stained sheet over it. The elder Nitram's eyes moved from the corner of the room to the middle where he seen a big screen TV on an old dresser. His reflection was not a welcome one on the screen. He could tell his hair was a mess and without looking any closer he knew he looked terrible. All he wanted to do was sleep the rest of the hang over off but first he needed to figure out where he was. Did he hook up with someone? By the looks of the dirty laundry near what seemed like a bathroom it was a man. 'Wait, that shirt near the top looks familiar.' He thought to himself as he squinted through sleepy eyes. Just as he figured out who's shirt that was Kurloz peeked into the room. "Oh, you're already up? Finally. Its already noon and shit." The Capricorn pointed to the clock above the TV. "Kurloz? D-did I... Did we hook up?" The Taurus asked a bit hesitantly with a worried look in his eyes. Kurloz's eyes widened with shock, "what the fuck?!" "Are you mad that I don't remember or are you mad I asked?" Rufioh asked as he pulled off the blanket revealing that he was fully clothed.
"Well you're dressed so I'm pretty sure you fell asleep and nothing happened." He chuckled as he eyed the smaller man. Rufioh chuckled with him a bit relived that nothing had happened between the two. "Come have a cup of coffee. Its the only thing we have besides pop tarts." Kurloz offered as he moved out of the room. Rufioh couldn't resist the offer of coffee, it was just what he needed to fight back the tiredness he felt. Following the Capricorn he couldn't help but admire the view of his muscular back. He had to remind himself a moment to look but don't touch. The shirtless man turned to face Rufioh and handed him the cup of coffee. He took it happily and drank the bitter drink quickly not minding the heat. Kurloz chuckled again and as he did the Taurus couldn't help but notice the tattoo on the other mans right peck, a purple Capricorn symbol. "Nice ink." Rufioh complimented as he pointed to the tat. "Oh that old thing? I got this back in highschool." Kurloz stated as he moved to put on a clean shirt. "Oh?" Rufioh said a bit surprised, "I never knew you got a tattoo." Kurloz was facing away as he spoke, "Yeah, this was after we avoided each other like the plague." Rufioh nodded in agreement, "Makes since. I didn't wanna have anything to do with you and you never wanted to have anything with me." Their was a long pause as the two !men drink more of their coffee. "You said something about a trip." Kurloz muttered as he looked at the shorter man. "Hmm?" Questioned Rufioh as he swallowed a mouth full of his drink. "Yeah, when you were drunk you mentioned something about a trip you were gonna surprise us with." Kurloz elaborated.
"I did?" Asked the elder Nitram confused for a moment. "Well I am sure it was a surprise or else Gamzee would be blabbing about it all the time." The taller man smiled wide at the shorter one whom blushed and face palmed. "Awe fuck!" The Taurus patted his pockets again before Kurloz pulled the iPhone from his pocket and started to scroll through the notes app. Rufioh looked up from his search and recognized the sexy fairy cover of his phone, "Hey! I been looking for that!" Kurloz smiled wickedly as he found the information he needed, "Ah, here we are, Motherfucker." He chimed as the Taurus put down his coffee as did the taller man, "Looks like you wanna take us to a hotel. Hotel Skaia." The Capricorn whistled impressed as the Taurus reached to snag his phone back but was stopped by the other mans free hand. "Stop stop stop! Its your surprise too!" The elder Nitram shouted trying to jump and grab the phone only for it to be held higher. "Too bad. I hate surprise's." Kurloz stated with a smile as he continued reading. "No!" Rufioh pushed the taller man a bit too roughly causing him to fall back however as the taller man fell he tripped Rufioh also causing him to crash down. Kurloz had enough control to keep his head from slamming into the ground but didn't expect the other man to land on top of him. The two men stared at each other seemingly studying their faces. Rufioh looked down at the Capricorn's lips before one of his hand moved to the scars at the corner of his mouth. "I'm sorry about this... I..." Kurloz's took the Taurus' hand in his as he sat up making Rufioh do the same, "This is my stupidity and drunken influence. Its not your fault. Beside I'm getting a tattoo to cover them."
Rufioh sighed and realized Kurloz had not leg go of his hand. He tugged his hand a bit to signal the other man to release him as he looked into his eyes. "Oh, sorry motherfucker." Kurloz said blushing and turning his face away. Rufioh pulled his hand to his chest, "Its no problem. Since you got distracted I took the opportunity to snag my phone back." The Taurus smiled and placed his phone to his lips with a devious smile. Kurloz was shocked and his expression was priceless as he looked around himself to see if this was a trick. The Capricorn chuckled and shrugged, "I already know we are going to a beach. You should really have a lock on your phone." Rufioh's face dropped with shock himself as he playfully shoved the other mans face back, "Ugh! You ass! If you knew why tease me?!" "For fun of course!" Kurloz chuckled with amusement as he pushed Rufioh back playfully. The elder Nitram smiled and stood up and offered Kurloz a hand, "You better not ruin the surprise for our kids." Kurloz smirked as he took the other mans hand, "Don't worry little fairy, these lips are sealed." Rufioh smiled and shrugged as he spoke, "oh I'm a fairy in more than one way." He winked and pocketed his phone. "Let's go. Don't wanna keep the boys waiting do we?" Rufioh chimed as he moved to put on his shoes. Kurloz looked down before opening his mouth to speak but then decided that it would be better to wait a bit longer, "Right." The two men hopped in the truck and drove off. "So, did I say anything embarrassing while I was drunk?" The Taurus added curiously as he turned to look at the taller man.
"Ah, just the usual shit really. You just laughed a lot... Mentioned something about me hurting you." "Wait. I did what?!" Rufioh asked as ha grasped his mouth. Kurloz laughed, "it isn't a big deal any more. It was when we were in highschool." The Taurus relaxed visibly and sighed, "oh okay." Kurloz raised a brow as he gave the Taurus man a side glance, "... Um, was there more to it than that?" He asked trying to pry out more information. "No, course not... Why would their be?" Rufioh asked as he gazed out the window to avoid the other mans gaze. Kurloz shook his head slightly, "No, its nothing." Rufioh pressed his cheek against the glass and slouched in his seat. "You know I used to live there." Kurloz said changing the subject. Rufioh looked to Kurloz again, "Live where?" He asked genuinely curious now. "By the beach near that hotel. Its been so long since we been their you know? I mean Gamzee is going to love it. He used to sneak out and gaze into the ocean. My wife always found him there and they would look for one shell to make him feel better." The Taurus gave the other man a solemn smile, "So why did you move?" Kurloz shook his head, "My wife wanted us to move into her childhood home and I couldn't say no to her. So we packed up as soon as it was available and the rest was history." The shorter man patted e taller mans shoulder reassuringly as they stopped in front of the two story Nitram home. "Do you wanna come inside?" Rufioh offered happily, "I can make lunch." Kurloz smirked, "Make it breakfast and you have a deal." "How about we meet in the middle and make it Brunch." Rufioh held out his hand as if they were going to shake on a business merger.
Kurloz shook the other mans hand firmly and nodded, "Deal." The men made their way inside and were surprised to hear utter silence. The two men gave each other a look before looking around the house for their teens. They didn't have to look far as Rufioh spotted them both on the couch snuggled up together. Rufioh smiled and couldn't resist snapping a photo of the two sleeping boys before moving to the kitchen. He looked about and had just enough ingredients for what he planned on making. He pulled out the steak, Bacon, eggs, bread and cheese along with a few vegetables. Rufioh heard footsteps behind him and smiled, "hand me those seasonings Tavr-" he stopped in the middle of his sentence and felt tears pool in his eyes. Kurloz moved beside him and patted his shoulder, "Rufioh?" He asked concerned as the other man began to cry, "It won't... I could never cook with Tavros again..." The Taurus choked out through tears. Kurloz didn't know what to say, he never had that type of relationship with Gamzee and he wasn't sure if Rufioh was right or not, "Look here little fairy, I'm here to help you now so stop the water works already." Rufioh sniffles and nods, "I'm sorry... I just... Never thought of him getting hurt like that... Like this..."
"Look, life is a bitch. Its unfair and cruel. You have to roll with the punches and punch back just as hard. You gotta show your boy how to stay strong. You taught me that even if it was the hard way and you taught my son to do the same. You showed him that when you told him about your wife. This is no different so buck up and show him how strong you are." Kurloz words had stopped the Taurus' tears and replaced them with a small smile. The elder Nitram nodded and moved to wash his hands and arms, "Wash your hands and let's get cooking, Makara." Rufioh chimed before getting started on cooking. The smell of the food had woken the two teens from their slumber. Gamzee looked down to see Tavros looking back at him from his resting position on his stomach. They both blushed and awkwardly muttered a good morning to each other before the young Capricorn helped his friend back into the wheelchair. With Gamzee pushing the chair the two teens enter the kitchen to find their fathers finishing up the cooking and setting the table. Tavros seemed to feel a bit left out but smiled anyway, "th-this looks s-so good you two." "Yeah, dad when did you learn to cook?" Gamzee asked as he wheeled Tavros to the table. "Before everyone eats." Rufioh chimed as he clapped his hands to get their attention, "I have some good news. I have been saving up to take you all on a trip." The two teens perked up and smiled at the adults.
"T-tell us w-where w-we are going dad!" Tavros sputtered out excitedly as he waited for his dad to tell them. The elder Nitram smiled and hesitated for a bit to build up the anticipation, "... We are going to the beach!" Rufioh and Kurloz said in unison. The two adults looked at each other both a bit surprised they had announced the news together. Tavros cheered as Gamzee jumped with joy before they began chanting, "We're going to the beach! We're going to the beach!" Rufioh looked to the boys and smiled happily before sitting down at the table with everyone. "When are we all up and going Mr. Nitram!?" Gamzee asked enthusiastically as he sat in his seat. "Well I'm sure we can all talk about this after brunch. For now let us dig in before all the excitement gets to our appetite." Rufioh beamed with delight as he moved to serve himself some food along with everyone else. Tavros cleared his throat and Rufioh looked to him immediately. The teen Taurus held out his hand to his dad and a bit caught off guard Rufioh took his sons hand. Kurloz took the elder Nitram's hand and then Gamzee's. Rufioh again caught off guard looked to the elder Capricorn whom already bowed his head along with his son. Rufioh took a moment to look down at his and Kurloz's hands before starting the prayer, "Dear lord..." Rufioh started before trailing off with tears filling his eyes once more. The elder Nitram looked up as his now disabled son and blinked a few times as a few stray tears left his eyes. Tavros looked up at his father, confusion blatant on his features. There was a long silence before Rufioh tugged his hands free from his son's and friend's grip, "... Let's just eat." Rufioh said with a quick smile as he took a bite of his omelet.
