Homestuck 7 Minutes in Heaven

Your Turn

The juggalo stood in front of you. His too-large t-shirt hung sloppily over one shoulder, his eyes were unfocused. Not looking away from you, he lifted a heavy-looking bottle of soda to his lips and took a swig, held it there for three good seconds like the weight meant nothing, then lowered it to his side. 

"Gamzee?" You ventured. You didn't bother speaking softly. You outranked him. You were clear-headed, focused. There was no reason to be nervous. And yet, you knew he made the others nervous sometimes, as much as they loathed to admit it. "Are you going back?"

He stirred at that, gaze focusing on you for the first time. A lazy smile spread over his face. He said, "SuP' sIs, HoW'S It hAnGiN'?" 

You sighed, not really sure how to answer that. Talking to Nepeta and Equius had made things...clearer. You were strong, you could survive on your own if you had to, but you didn't want to. If everyone was going to hate you, you had to make it right. The fact that you wanted to make it right at all was more troubling than you cared to admit, and utterly uncharacteristic if you went by blood caste alone. If your face betrayed your thoughts, it seemed the clown had noticed. "WhAt tHe mOtHeRfUcK GoT YoU LoOkIn' So-" he belched loudly, cutting himself off. You couldn't help it. You laughed. He laughed too, and you felt relief begin to settle in.

"You drank that too fast."

"I'M DoWn tO My lAsT BoTtLe aNd i dOn't kNoW WhErE I cAn gEt mOrE iN ThIs mOtHeRfUcKiN' hIvE, sO." He shrugged. 

"There's some Tab back with the others," you suggested. He stepped closer, and before you could react, he slung an arm around your shoulder. Your instinct was to tear the offending limb from his torso, but you suppressed it. It was even nice after a bit. The walk was slow, you were supporting a lot of Gamzee's weight, but soon voices began floating down the hall, and you could see the light of your destination just ahead. Independent of your will, your feet stopped moving. 

Gamzee didn't stop with you. He stumbled as he lost your support, and turned back. "ThE FuCk?"

"You're close to Karkat? Kind of?" You asked. Gamzee's eyes had some of that glossed-over sheen from before, but he reacted to your question.

"YeAh? ShOuTy mOtHeRfUcKeR Is a fRiEnD."

"I pissed him off," you explained. "I don't want to go in there if everyone is going to be mad at me."

Gamzee shrugged. "MaD? wHaT'S ThE PrObLeM? hE GeTs MaD As a hOrN BeAsT AlL ThE MoThErFuCkIn' TiMe."

"But the others-"

"ThEy dOn't." He said simply. With that, he turned and walked into the room. You heard a couple of shouts of recognition as Gamzee was joyfully received by his friends. Their friends. They didn't have any reason to be mad at you, not all of them anyway. You took a fortifying breath and followed the clown.

The scene was much as you left it. Tavros and Aradia were sitting on the couch on the left, closest to the closet door. She was teaching him the hand and string game from before. On the floor beside them was Sollux, one arm looped around his matesprit's leg, a casual embrace that you envied just a little bit. He was keeping himself occupied by fixing his two-toned stare on the timer. You couldn't see the count down from where you stood.

Kanaya had usurped Eridan's position next to his morail on the second armchair, though the seadweller hovered nearby dipping in and out of his own conversation with Vriska to eavesdrop on theirs. Gamzee was sprawled out on the couch closest to you in almost the exact position he had been in at the beginning of the game. He flashed you a dopey grin as you walked past. It looked like Nepeta and Equius hadn't made it back yet. The loveseat and the last couch were empty, and presumably, the two uncounted trolls were in the closet.