Trying a new format.

Homestuck does not belong to me!

It had been a week since Gamzee had stepped foot in that home, a week since he had turned his life around. Instead of smoking pot, he visited Tavros. Instead of going out for drinks, he visited Tavros. Instead of watching Oprah in his underwear all day and snacking on Cheetos, he visited Tavros. So, maybe he was becoming a little obsessed with this kid. He shouldn't really say kid though. Tavros was just as much as an adult as Gamzee was. So what though? It was probably for the better that they spent a lot of time together. And Gamzee thought the feeling was mutual. It was. Tavros got to be around someone, to know what a friend was like. He got to feel happy. And Gamzee... Sure, he got his dirty habits out of the way, but it wasn't only that. There was something else he got. It was something he'd never been able to place. It was a warm feeling that he didn't want to let go. He knew that.

Gamzee twisted the key. The light was on this time. Tavros was looking out the window with a grin on his face. He was watching the people go by, as he did every day. Except now, he left the light on every day, so Gamzee could look up outside and see his face. And once they caught eyes, Tavros would start smiling, and he'd wave.

He whipped around in his chair, as he started doing lately.

"Hey, Tav," Gamzee started calling him by that nickname lately too. He called almost all of his friends by nicknames. Saying their full names, he thought, was just too formal. Gamzee needed to let people know he was their friend, a good friend. Why? Hell, if he had known.

"Hey, Gamzee. What're we going to do today?" Tavros asked with a grin. Right. Gamzee had gotten him talking lately too. But he only talked around him. If someone else were in the room, he'd shut right up. He wouldn't even talk around Aradia. It was only Gamzee. Gamzee didn't know what he did to deserve that privilege, but he wasn't complaining.

It started like this...

Gamzee was sitting on his bed. He'd been there for a couple of hours, talking to Tavros about some stuff. Then, Gamzee started asking him questions. He started asking, "What's your favorite food?" "What's your favorite color?" You know, questions you couldn't just nod or shake your head to. He never answered; he just kind of looked down at his feet in shame. Gamzee crouched down in front of him, tilted his chin up with his hand and made him look at him in the eyes. "Tavros Nitram. I will not bite you. I'm here to talk with you, get to know you, be friends with you. I want to be your friend. Your best motherfucking friend. I promise my mirthful messiahs I will not lay a hand on you or call you names. I will not hurt a motherfucking hair on your motherfucking head. I just want to be a friend... And I can't do that if your motherfucking trap is closed every single second..." After a moment, Gamzee sighed and decided that it wasn't the time or place for him to get his chat on. He turned around and grabbed his coat off of his bed. Gamzee turned around, flashing a grin at him, "See you tomorrow, Tav." He started for the door but paused. "B-Brown." Gamzee turned around to face him with an astonished look, "What?" "Brown... M-My favorite color... i-is brown..." he stuttered, looking away. Gamzee grinned so wide. If that wasn't the most motherfucking beautiful sound he had ever heard someone make, he didn't know what was. His voice was angel-like. Sure, he stuttered a lot, but it had a nice ring to it. He never found out why someone would ever want to hide away something that beautiful.

"I don't know, man. We can do whatever you up and feel like doing," Gamzee replied, closing the door and walking over to the window. He sat on the window sill and pointed his thumb towards the trees outside. "I always see you looking out this motherfucking window all day. You ever go outside much?"

"Outside? Uh, no. Actually, I haven't been outside in a while. It's not that I don't like it out there... I love going outside! It's so nice and warm. And there are so many animals and people to talk to and things to do..." Before he got carried away, Gamzee arched his eyebrows to cue him to get to the point. "Oh, right. I love going outside, but no one ever takes me. Before you came, every one who came in here just talked to me for a while and then left. They never really took interest in me. They just wanted to get in and then get right back out, I guess. So, uh, you're the first person to ever ask me that..."

There was a silence. He was just pressing his fingers together, and Gamzee was waiting for him to continue. When Tavros didn't, Gamzee spoke up, "Do you want to go outside?"

After a minute, he let out a sigh and looked up at Gamzee with those big brown eyes, "More than anything."

Gamzee got up from the window sill and popped his back, "You should've said something, Tav." He walked around his chair and grabbed the handlebars.

"Where are we going?"

"Outside."

"Really?" His eyes lit up like Gamzee had flipped a switch or something. The expression on his face was priceless as Gamzee wheeled him down that hallway and on to the elevator. A woman Gamzee had never seen was on there with them. Tavros's face was like a child's when you get them their first puppy, when someone has their first kiss. Hell. If he had known that going outside meant this much to him, he would've taken him out ages ago. Suddenly, Tavros turned to his right and looked up at the lady. "I'm going outside," he said. The lady smiled at him and got off of the elevator.

Gamzee let out a laugh and wheeled him out. He took cautious steps by the desk, knowing that someone was going to stop them.

"Where do you think you two are going?" a female high-pitched voice stopped them in their tracks. Damn it. He turned around without turning around Tavros. He put his hands in his pockets and looked to the left.

"Um. Outside?"

"Did you get permission to go outside?" Aradia asked.

"Um. No."

"Don't you think you would need permission?"

"Uh. Probably."

"Why didn't you get it?"

"Because... I didn't think about it."

"You guys are just like children, you know that?" Aradia asked, crossing her arms. Then, she started laughing, and she put her hand over her face. "Fine. Come here."

She walked behind the desk and sat down at the computer. Gamzee followed her, stopping at the front of the desk, dragging Tavros backwards as he walked. He let out a little, "Eep!" And after Gamzee stopped, he turned himself around and punched him lightly in the arm, giving him a stern look at screamed,"Don't do that!" Gamzee laughed and replied with, "Sorry about that, bro."

After a couple of signatures and after filling out some papers, they were through the doors in a flash, eager to get out of there. Aradia had said they were only allowed to go around the hospital. There would be no leaving for ice cream or going into the woods. But that didn't really bother Tavros that much.

The warm wind hit his face and he was happy. He was leaning out of his chair and looking around and smiling and laughing. He high-fived a little girl as they strolled around gravel path that stretched around the building.

"It feels really nice out here," Tavros commented for maybe the third time. Gamzee chuckled. He had never seen him so talkative. The two stopped for a minute as Tavros looked down at bright yellow flowers that hadn't died off from the fall chill. He pushed himself forwards a little and bent over. He beamed down at the flowers. Not noticing it was even there, a butterfly leaped off and landed on his nose. He crossed his eyes to look at it on the tip of his nose. He grinned from ear to ear and looked at Gamzee with bright eyes. They both started laughing, giggling, making the butterfly fly away.

And then it clicked. That warm feeling that Gamzee felt...

He stopped laughing and stared at Tavros for a minute. He stared up at Gamzee, eyes wide and curious. "G-" he started to talk but then stopped. Gamzee smiled warmly and took his handlebars again, "Come on, Tav. Let's stay outside until I have to go, okay?"

Tavros nodded enthusiastically and put his hands on the hand rests, gripping them. They stopped on a bench later once Gamzee got tired of walking. They talked for a while. Tavros would stop once someone would walk passed. He'd hide his face away by looking down, and when he'd look back up his face was covered in blush. That was an amazing sight to see.

And that warm feeling came again every time it happened. And Gamzee decided he never wanted that warm feeling to go away, so he gripped it tight and held onto it.