It was nearly winter now, and all of the leaves were falling, or had already done so, there reds and oranges painting a normally green landscape, adding color to the dying grass and freezing soil. The air was just cold enough that you could make out your breath in it, but not enough to bite. More like a soft nibble, that could be avoided with a jacket. Not when most people would be outdoors, but nevertheless a joint family picnic was planned for thanksgiving break. Terezi would be picked up by Karkat, and Gamzee would bring Kankri along to get Tavros. Upon protest, Gamzee was informed that just because he was an adult didn't mean that he and Tavros got to do anything they wanted, and with the trigger police following along, they wouldn't be able to get into anything that would make them late. Gamzee had pouted, but had no choice but to agree.
And so this was how he ended up in the car being scolded for holding Tavros' hand, while the smaller man sat and giggled, thinking the eye twitch that had only developed when Kankri moved in.
"It isn't funny, Tav! And there is nothing wrong with either my handholding or my driving." Gamzee said, pulling over to glare at his uncle. "I'll hold his hand, and you know what? I may even give him a motherfucking hug, and there is nothing you can do about it." This wasn't his crazy, kill people anger, but simple, normal annoyance, and he was happy to note that, although his heart rate increased, there were no voices to be found. To prove his point, however, Gamzee pulled Tavros into a deep kiss, making sure Kankri saw their tongues. Tavros gave the adult an apologetic look, and stunted the kiss as much as his teenage hormones would let him. Moments later, Gamzee pulled away, panting.
"That…was…oh my gosh…" Kankri was blushing dark red, making his sweater look pink by comparison. Without his make-up, Gamzee could look quite intimidating with his dagger-glare, and Kankri silently watched them hold hands for the remainder of the car ride to the field.
When they got to the large oak tree that marked their destination, Gamzee pulled over, right next to the mustang. He got out, walking around to open Tavros' door before his seatbelt was undone. He missed being able to get in an ass-grab as he lifted him out and into his chair, but watching his new legs maneuver out of the vehicle, moving with more grace than those who had always had the ability to use their limbs was an okay substitute. He let Kankri let himself from the car, and walked over to where Karkat was glaring at Terezi who was trying to feed him candy corn, a food he had long since hated.
"He'll never eat it, Terezi. I tried every Halloween since he was four months old." Kankri called, thankfully not being a rat and telling Karkat about his pull over make-out session.
"I don't know." Gamzee said, grinning the grin he only had right before he was about to make a dirty joke "If he had the same reasons to keep you happy as he does her, something would be pretty motherfuckin wrong with this picture."
"Gamzee!" Tavros shouted, meanwhile, Kankri just turned red again.
"What? Tav you're turning seventeen in a week, and I can't make dirty jokes around you? Do I need to keep you away from Kankri?"
"Still, It's my sister!"
"Fine. I'd rather talk about our sex life instead." Gamzee, his mind no longer clouded with the pills he had taken four or five of every day, had a sharp, if a bit sexual, wit, and he was happy to use it for flirting purposes.
"We don't have one!" He loved the way Tavros sounded when he shouted; much better than his self-conscious stutter.
"I can fix that." Gamzee whispered, moving to kiss where the other's jaw met his ear, resulting in Tavros shoving him away, he and Kankri equal shades of crimson. Gamzee just laughed, and sat down, grabbing a sandwich.
"You're such a perv, Gamzee. I don't know how Tavros puts up with you." Karkat said, a sly grin on his face. Coincidentally, he had been a lot less grumpy since about the third date he and Terezi had.
"I am not. But we've been together for almost three months, and he barely lets me do anything." Kankri excused himself, mumbling something about needing to use the bathroom, and wandering into the field. Terezi just chuckled.
"Just let him tap it once, Tavros. For my sake if nothing else. I'm getting tired of hearing your name in the dead of night." Karkat said, and this time it was this chill Gamzee who turned bright red, though his partner was far from pale.
"What are you talking about, Karkat? I have no idea what you mean?" Gamzee lied, looking away in embarrassment.
"Oh. Must be dreams then. Almost every night, all I hear is 'oh God Tavbro, right there…yes.'" Karkat imitated a voice laced with lust, and Gamzee gave him a glare that held not daggers, but machetes. Not that it kept the two remaining adults from laughing.
"Yeah, yeah. Like I wanna hear you talk about Terezi's boobs for half an hour every time you come home from a date? I don't even like boobs. I'm gay." Gamzee said, hoping to embarrass his guardian, but watching it fail miserably as Karkat simply shrugged.
"They're nice. What do you want from me?" He said, causing Terezi to "aww" as if he had given her a real complement.
"I give up." Gamzee said, "I'm gonna go drink bleach now." He said, though obviously making no movements to get up.
"C-can we just eat now? Tavros asked, being the only one with any sort of decency still present.
"Fine. I hope you like Peanut butter and jelly. It's all I brought." Karkat said, seeing as how he had been in charge of the sandwiches.
The meal was done, and Karkat and Terezi were cuddling under the tree while Gamzee played one-one-one tag with Tavros, deciding that should he catch the other, he got a kiss in return. Because of the stakes, Tavros would sometimes let himself be captured, only to use the mechanical legs that never got tired to quickly chase Gamzee down again. the elder boy called it cheating, but Tavros insisted the robotics made up for the slight height difference. Kankri was still off by himself, watching the sun set, laying in the yellow grass, happy to simply enjoy nature.
It wasn't until a sixth person arrived that the happiness died. None other than Vriska appeared, and gathered everyone's attention with the cocking of a gun. Gamzee wished that he had brought his pills with him. His normal morning dose wasn't nearly enough to keep the voices from whispering when he saw her face. Not only did he move in front of Tavros, but he also ensured that he was the closest to her of everyone, not wanting any of the people he cared about to get hurt.
Suddenly, the cloudy sky unleashed a crack of lightning, hitting only yards away, the dry grass catching fire, as wind started picking up. Gamzee snarled like an animal, and Karkat moved in front of Terezi, while Kankri started walking back toward the group.
"You enjoy taking things from me, don't you, crazy clown?" She snapped, lifting it at none of them in particular.
"The only thing I should take from you is the life you use only to hurt the people I love." Gamzee replied, the wind getting stronger and whipping his hair around to showcase maddening eyes.
"Gamzee! Tavros shouted, hoping his voice could bring his lover back from the cliff of insanity.
"I love Tavros more than you ever could. I was only trying to make him stronger!" She shouted above the gale.
"I was strong for him! And you can't love anyone other than yourself!"
"We'll see whose stronger, little clown." She had tears pooling in her eyes, but no one really felt pity for her at the moment, "When I take the people you love. I'll take your brother like you did mine!" She aimed the gun at Karkat, and fired. Blood spurted everywhere, and the Vantas fell.
Just not the one that had been the intended target.
"Brother!" Karkat yelled, catching Kankri as he fell, clutching the hole in his chest.
"You haven't called me that in so long. If I had known this was what it took, I would have gotten shot years ago." Kankri joked, coughing up some of the blood pooling in his punctured lung.
"Dammit, what are you saying? Why the FUCK would you try something like that? Don't you get that you're more important than me?" Karkat shouted, punching the dirt beneath them in his frustration. He was a year away from being a medical doctor, but had no clue how to save his own brother.
"No I'm not. And I never was." He said, but was interrupted by Tavros stepping forward.
"Vriska what the HELL is your problem?" The usually shy boy yelled, his fists clenched. "You can't do things like this!"
"I can do whatever I want! And if I can't have you, then this crazy son of a bitch defiantly can't." She snarled, another shot ringing out, as crimson flew from the smallest boy. Gamzee's head was spinning. The voices that had been but whispers before were a cacophonous chorus of hatred, and tears of rage boiled out of his violet eyes.
"Tav?" Gamzee fell to his knees next to the youngest, which was lying on the grass with his paling face illuminated by the orange and scarlet flames. When he failed to respond, Gamzee let loose the most bloodcurdling of screams, leaving Terezi to tend to him as he ran at Vriska, no real reason to live other than to ensure she didn't at this point. He barely registered the bullet as it tore through his arm, the same flesh that pulled back to land in her face.
The punch sent her to the ground, but she kept strong hold of the gun, aiming it to fire again, but having it put off course when Gamzee took her arm and cracking it over his knee. She let go with a scream, and he grabbed it, pointing it at her head.
"He kept telling us that killing you would make Tav sad. But now there is no Tav, and there is no Gamzee. I killed him, and now I will kill you for taking the Tavros away from us." Gamzee's voice said, though it was clearly not the happy, jovial boy controlling the lips.
"Fine. But you'll be blamed for all of this. You're the one holding the gun, and you have a history of violence." Vriska said, thinking that this could work to her advantage. She got a laugh in the face.
"We will be going to see the Tavros soon enough. Far before you're police can harm me." They said, as the voice was more of a legion in one, really.
She had no more smart comments. She had no more witty escapes, and she could only look up at Karma as he pulled the trigger.
Karkat had no idea what to do. His brother was dying in his arms, and the boy who he had come to see as a son was essentially dead as well. Terezi was still alive, but if Tavros died, he feared that she'd retreat into the same grief fueled train wreck that she had been in before.
"Be strong, little brother. There's a reason that everyone always leans on you. It's because they see someone with the strength to do what they must. You've always been the action, Karkat, even when I came up with the pretty words…" Kankri said, smiling, before his head lolled back. No matter how much CPR Karkat did, the heartbeat wouldn't start again, and the blood was slowly dripping out, like spilled syrup, rather than the lively waterfall it had been before. Pale peach had become ashen grey, and warm kindness had become cooling sadness, as tears ran like rivers down Karkat's face.
"And you, motherfucker…" Gamzee turned to him, the gun on the floor, but his eyes shining with bloodlust, his paintless face now covered in blood. "You were always the one to put me away. You were the one who kept me from winning all this time."
"Where is Gamzee?" Karkat demanded, standing up to look the other in his empty eyes.
"He's dead as the others. You can never save anyone, not even the one who you put your very soul into." Gamzee's hand shot out, grabbing him by the throat, only to be stopped by a single phrase, from trembling lips.
"Gamzee, please come back to me…" Tavros said, sitting up in his sister's arms, tears rolling down pale cheeks. Intelligence flared back into his eyes, and he dropped Karkat, looking around. He dropped to the ground once more, and they heard sirens as the emergency services arrived, summoned by the smoke from the flame. The wind weakened, almost as if had fed solely off of Gamzee's hate for others, which was now consumed by his hatred for himself.
"I'm sorry Tav…" He whispered, wrapping his arms around his own lanky frame, suddenly feeling a chill that his jacket could never keep out: The chill of a killer.