After everything that had happened today, it wasn't long after we got back into the water that my eyelids started to droop and the moment Gamzee noticed that, he quickly ushered both Nepeta and I out of the water with a smile, slowly making our way up the hill once we all reached the top we found many of the others had disappeared inside of their tents, though Karkat and Terezi were still sitting outside by the fire, talking quietly as they leaned against each other. As I took a few steps closer, candy red eyes reflecting embers of the dying fire turned to me, he looked all at us for a moment in silence then sighed and spoke, his voice in a hushed tone, his eyes scanning the tents with a mild interest.
"We're going to head to bed soon, so when you come into the tent, be quiet Egbert. Oh and, Terezi here forgot a tent so she's going to crash with us, do you have a problem with that?" Shaking my head as I moved over to my bag, I quickly dried off with my towel then pulled my shirt over my head before turning to the pair sitting by the fire.
"Yeah that's cool, I'll probably stay out for a little while longer." He nodded then climbed to his feet and helped Terezi up. "Now you two behave~" Karkat shot me a nasty glare as his face went beat red, sticking my tongue out at him in reply, he just quickly ducked into the tent and disappeared from sight with Terezi following after. Glancing around, I realized Nepeta had all but disappeared, so she probably slipped into her tent while I was talking with Karkat. "You heading to your tent Gamzee?" He paused and looked up at the sky for moment before turning back to me with a soft smile.
"Nah, not yet, think I'll stay out and stargaze. Wanna join me bro?" Rubbing my eyes slightly, I glanced up at the night sky, just now noticing how many more stars were out here rather than in town, where they were all being blurred out with all the bright lights. Even though I felt like crashing right now, as I watched Gamzee look up at the stars once more his smile just seemed even more genuine than any I had seen up until now, and his eyes held a sign of life that I hadn't yet seen.
"Yeah, for a little while at least." When he looked at me, his eyes seemed to shine and his smile was captivating, yet it didn't last long as he started walking towards a further off hill, one overrun with tall grass. Confused for just a second, I hurried after him but stopped about halfway up the hill my jaw going slack just enough for my mouth to hang open slightly. From where I stood when I looked up, all I could see was Gamzee's silhouette against the night sky filled to the brim with bright stars, and as he turned to look back down at me, I couldn't help but keep staring, my heart racing. There was no way to fully describe the scene I had just witnessed, but I was certain it was something I would never forget, as the startling beauty of it was now etched into my brain.
We stood there silently staring at each other for a few seconds before he shook his head, a low chuckle just barely reaching my ears as he sat down in the tall grass, the top of his head just barely poking out as the rusting of the grass was the only sound that filled the air at that moment. Chuckling slightly I ran up the rest of the hill and sat down next to him, pushing down the more annoying pieces of grass on my side, Gamzee just watched me for a moment and then laid back, staring up at the stars. Seeing him point up suddenly caused me to jump a bit, until I realized he was tracing some of the stars with his fingers. "Hm? Do you know constellations?" He turned his head and shrugged slightly, the light from the moon illuminating his face, allowing me to see he was smiling, but this one was tinged with sadness.
"A few, when I was a kid my dad used to take my brother and I out on his boat and at night he'd teach them to us. I've forgotten a lot of them, but some stuck with me." He started tracing one again, then looked over at me with a lopsided grin. "There are five stars going this way," He made a short motion with his hand, which drew my eyes up. "and seven this way." He made another motion and at last I found the group of stars he was talking about. "That's Cygnus, The Swan. If I remember right, the motherfucker was a becoming a Trojan hero, I don't remember his name anymore, but he was killed by Achilles in battle. So Poseidon, his father, turned him into a swan and brought him up to Mount Olympus, and now he's engraved in the stars. At least, " He chuckled as I stared at him in awe. "that what my dad always told me." Laying down next to him, my eyes searched for what he was pointing at, I could make out the stars he meant, but I didn't see it as a swan, it just wasn't coming into focus for me.
"How is it a swan…" He chuckled again and looked over at me as he sighed jokingly. "Seriously, I don't see it…" Leaning my head against his arm, I barely noticed him light up another joint while I stared up still trying to see the shape of The Swan, but I decided to give up on it and instead turned my head to look up at him. "What other ones are there that you know?" He took a long drag then raised his hand again.
"Well," A large cloud of smoke escaped his lips as he started tracing another set of stars. "This group of, uh shit, fifteen stars is Pegasus, it's harder to see than The Swan." Scanning the group, I actually saw what he meant this time, and it brought a smile to my face.
"No no, I see it!" I pointed at two lines of stars. "Cause those are the legs, then the body," I made a general motion of the body. "then the head is here!" Making one last motion for the head, he chuckles and shakes his head.
"So you see the Pegasus, but not The Swan? Really?" Laughing quietly, I rubbed my eyes again, stifling a yawn as Gamzee sat up, and he looked down at me with a smirk. "Come on bro, you gotta get some sleep." Groaning at the thought of having to move, I slowly pushed myself up to a sitting position and sighed, then looked back up at the constellation.
"What's the story of Pegasus? Do you know it?" He chuckled again then took ahold of my hand with his, and he kept his eyes down while running his fingertips over my palm. After a while of silence he opened his mouth, then quickly closed it, looking puzzled before sighing and bringing his gaze to mine.
"I don't remember much about it… Just that when some hero cut of Medusa's head, it was born from her blood that fell into the sea that turned into a foam." His hand slipped away from mine as he took another hit, blowing smoke up into the sky afterwards, a smile on his lips. "Now come on, you distracted me for a moment, but it doesn't get rid of the fact that you're tired."
"Perseus." He stopped at looked at me with wide eyes, confusion evident in his gaze, which made me laugh, I probably shouldn't have, but I couldn't help it. "I mean, it was Perseus that cut off Medusa's head, I know that little bit." He rolled his eyes and lightly pushed his shoulder against mine. "…What time is it anyway?" Gam just shrugged as he jumped up to his feet, then turned around at once and held out his hand with a smirk. Rolling eyes at his smirk, I took his hand only to be pulled up to my feet and up against him. "Come on it's not fair, if I have to go to bed, so do you." Giving him smile, he just shook his head and playfully pushed me back towards camp, but I only went back about a step or two.
"That's not how this works motherfucker." He smirked and stretched his hands above his head, his smirk growing into a grin. "The kids don't get to tell the adults when to sleep." Staring up at him in surprise a sudden lump in my throat, he looked at me and his grin quickly faded as the realization of what he said hit him. "Shit man! No I'm not some creep! I'm not even nineteen yet! I only meant that I'm graduated!" Letting out a relived sigh, I shook my head then headed back towards the camp slowly, Gamzee quickly falling in step next to me.
"You about gave me a heart attack…" Getting into the camp he lightly pushed me towards Karkat's tent with a goofy smile but then must have decided against it as he quickly closed the small distance between us, only to lean down and bring his lips to mine. Once more the feeling it gave me was intoxicating, so as I wrapped my arms around his neck his hands came to rest on my hips which in turn he used to pull my body against his. Without warning his lips pulled away from mine, only for his breath to tickle my ear as he whispers, his voice sending a small spark running through my nerves.
"Come stay in my tent tonight…" Opening my mouth to reply, his lips crashed against mine before any words were able to form, thankfully he pulled away again before I could be completely drawn into him, his purple eyes now holding a strange shine to them as they stayed locked with mine. Oh how I wanted to… I wanted more of his intoxicating kisses, more of his tingling touch…
"I… I can't. Karkat would flip his shit…" A silence fell over the two of us for a rather long time, but he shattered it as he sighed and nodded, a small sad smile slipping onto his lips. His hands moved off of my hips not long later, but he continued leaning down over me and it took a lot to resist the urge to kiss him again. "Don't worry," I started, my voice in a hushed tone, though I was reassuring myself as much, if not more, as I was him. "it's not like we have to cut our ties after this party."
"Yeah, you're right bro." He grinned once more and pressed his lips to the top of my head, his fingers lightly running across my cheek. "Now, we need to crash, else we'll be draggin ass tomorrow." Nodding, I smiled up at him then took a step back towards Karkat's tent, we both sorta just stared at each other for a moment before moving to the separate tents, though as I settled down on my sleeping bag, all I could do was stare into the darkness and try to ignore the sudden wave of cold that had crashed over my body.
A/N: Well, guess who got bored enough to think of another chapter! I also went back and fixed up the older ones, so hopefully the mistakes are gone, but I can't promise anything! I hope you enjoy the new chapter! ~Imoto out!