I hate this chapter. I dunno why, but I think it sucks. Oh whale.

Read on~

"Is it time yet?" Tavros asked for the fifth time in ten minutes. Karkat's eye twitched but he ignored the brunette, continuing to read the plaque he had been reading for ten minutes now. The famous Heart of the Ocean sapphire glittered under the single bright light that was shining directly on it.

Karkat slowly started walking around the glass cases, his dark eyes making note of each gem, how it looked from a certain angle, and how deep the light reflected upon it. Tavros followed him, slightly bored.

"Honk."

The brunette jumped nearly five feet in the air, whirling around. He turned to see the black-haired man who had called him adorable. His eyes widened and a blush spread across his cheeks. The guy motioned for him to come closer, winked, and disappeared down a dark hallway. Tavros hesitated, casting a glance at Karkat. His partner didn't seem to notice, as he was too busy studying a dark green emerald.

Tavros slipped down the same hallway, slightly nervous. For all he knew, the man could be a crazy axe wielding maniac, or worse. But for some reason, he trusted the mysterious man, almost as if—

WHAM!

Something slammed into his head, hard, and he stumbled against the wall, blackness threatening to blur the edges of his vision. He gave a little cry of pain, throwing his hands up to block his face instinctively.

"Aw, you didn't have to hit him so motherf*cking hard." Tavros head the familiar voice of the man from somewhere above him. He tried to move, but someone was holding his legs.

"Going thoft, Gamthee?" a smirking voice echoed, and Tavros felt his heart beat faster despite his injury. The second guy had a lisp…the thieves!

His eyes flew open and he struggled to stand; he pressed his back to the wall, eyes widening. He blinked hard, his vision swimming. He saw a brunette with tinted black glasses looking pleased with himself and the man from before, Gamzee apparently. He wore a guilty smile, his bright purple eyes looking down on Tavros in concern.

"Tho, Tavroth, where'th your little friend?" the man with tinted glasses leaned in, his voice cocky. Tavros swallowed hard and narrowed his eyes at the guy; he wasn't going to tell them anything.

"He isn't going to spill, Solbro." Gamzee grimaced, reaching out a hand to touch the detective's cheek lightly. Suddenly, a voice called out, "Closing time!"

"Thit. Where do we put him?" the man with tinted glasses muttered, glancing around in apprehension as the lights started to close.

Tavros took this opportunity to lunge forward into the growing darkness. He hit a wall and fumbled blindly for an opening. His hand waved at empty space, and he ran in that direction, almost banging into a few displays. Karkat and him were to meet in the storage room, where there was a place to hide it out and wait.

"Where did he go?!"

"Not chill at all…"

Tavros ducked when the security guard passed by him, the flashlight beam cutting through the inky black. He eventually found his way to the room, but by that time his head was swimming so much that he could barely walk. His head spun like crazy and he nearly fell over but someone caught him and dragged him behind a tall glass case. Blinking hard, Tavros felt his head, sticky with blood, and then looked up into glowing red eyes.

"K-Karkat!" he gasped in relief.

"Thank god, Tav. You f*cking idiot." His partner looked equal parts relieved and pissed as he looked around suspiciously.

"We have to stop the thieves." Karkat stated, and Tavros nodded. They both knew that the only way was for each of them to take one of them.

"Whichever one you find first, tackle, ok? And use this." Karkat shoved a piece of cloth that smelled acidic into his hands. He assumed it was chloroform, and nodded. Both split up; Tavros headed for the main room while his partner explored all the little side rooms.

Karkat was examining a small purple gem when he heard it—a subtle cough. His interpretation skills were rusty after all these years, but he assumed it came from the right. He whirled around to see a taller brunette with a slender face and tinted black glasses. His eyes narrowed and he ducked as the man swung a fist at him.

"Ugh!" Karkat grunted when the guy slammed his fist into his stomach. The crimson-eyed man ducked and delivered a swift roundhouse kick to the other's chest. He thief groaned and fell back, breaking one of the glass cases. Karkat leapt at him, but the guy used his own leverage to throw him at the opposite wall. Just before he blacked out, he saw a pair of eyes, one azure blue and the other a rich brown with red flecks.

He fell limp just as the alarms began to blare.

Sollux grinned as he picked up the guy in his arms. He was quite attractive, with those dark, soulful, eyes and messy hair. He ran for the storage room, luckily not encountering any security guards. He wondered where the hell Gamzee was, assuming he was fetching the other detective.

Suddenly a loud shattering sound made the alarms blare even louder. Swearing under his breath, Sollux eyed the darkness. He didn't sense any movement, which meant Gamzee and Tavros were in a different room.

"Go, go, go!" Gamzee jumped out of nowhere, his eyes wild and blood on his hands. He was clutching a round green gem in one hand as he used his other to shove Sollux towards the storage room. They both leapt inside, Sollux still carrying the guy. They climbed the ladder to the sewers, dragging the detective between them as they tried to avoid the murky water.

Finally emerging a good mile away from the museum, the two hauled the still passed out guy and dumped him in the back of the van. Sollux hopped into the driver's seat and shot forward; within minutes, they were miles away from the crime scene.

"Why did you bring him, Solbro? Hostages weren't part of the plan." Gamzee frowned a little. His makeup was starting to drop thanks to the sweat he produced because of the heat and his eyes were dark.

"Neither wath flirting and then killing the other guy!" he hissed back, trying to concentrate on where to go.

"I didn't all up and kill him! I just knocked the motherf*cker out. I didn't mean to throw him and break the motherf*cking glass!" Gamzee defended, crossing his arms.

"Well, we can uth this guy to help uth." Sollux grinned deviously.

"How?" the black-haired man asked curiously.

"We can tell Tavroth to theal the gemth for uth if he wantth Karkat back alive." The hacker smirked, turning the corner sharply. Gamzee nodde, understanding the plan. He hadn't meant to hurt Tavros; the little guy was quite cute. But he had his career—if you could call stealing a career—to think about.

"Let's get this game motherf*ckin on."

I cannot write Gamzee properly, huh? So sorry. And for the shortness.

Please review!

~samx