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"So, uh, is this right?" Tavros asked hopefully, presenting his work.
Gamzee stepped over to the counter and surveyed his pupil's efforts. The nervous teen fidgeted under the scrutiny, awaiting his verdict. After a brief silence, Gamzee shook his head, causing Tavros to groan dejectedly.
"Sorry bro," He apologized "But it's too motherfuckin' thin," He explained. To further demonstrate his point, Gamzee lifted the sheet of dough that would have been Tavros's pie crust, only to have it rip apart under the force of its own weight. The Taurus sighed, disposing of his failure, and reached into the bowl of extra pre-made dough on the counter next to him. He plopped a mound onto the counter and prepared to begin attempt number three.
Despite not being able to bake worth a damn, Tavros had to admit that he was still enjoying himself. The house was empty for the day, so he was finally able to spend some quality time with his boyfriend. Gamzee all but begged Tavros to let him teach him how to bake. Despite preferring cooking over baking any day, Tavros couldn't say no to Gamzee's pleading. Besides, he figured it couldn't have been too hard, right?
Of course, once they actually got started Tavros was eating his words. He quickly discovered that baking was not for him. It demanded a strict adherence to directions and recipes that made his head spin. Skip one step or add one teaspoon too many of whatever, and everything fell to pieces. He couldn't help but wonder how his goofy airheaded boyfriend was so well versed in the frustrating art. Though by this point, Tavros was grateful that Gamzee possessed near infinite patience, because he was fairly certain that most people would have given up on him by now.
"You ready to try again, Tav?" Gamzee asked, doing his best to sound encouraging.
With a nod, Tavros reached forward and took hold of the rolling pin. As Gamzee watched the other boy work, a lazy grin spread across his face. The Taurus had an earnest look in his eyes, his frame rigid with determination as he molded the dough.
Tavros abruptly looked up from the counter, confused as he felt Gamzee's warmth behind him. The taller teen's arms reached over his to grasp the rolling pin. Tavros felt his cheeks redden just a bit at the intimate contact.
"You're way too tense bro," Gamzee's gruff voice crooned near his ear as he rubbed his thumbs soothingly over Tavros's tightened knuckles. "Just relax and you'll make the best motherfuckin' pie ever." Well, if there was any truth to his words it would explain how the Capricorn always did it so well. It was hard to find a more relaxed person than him.
With Gamzee's guidance, they proceeded to gradually roll out the pie crust together. A small smile grew on Tavros's face as their arms moved in sync. It had him in a pleasant, almost trance-like state. In fact, baking in general seemed to be something he had a hard time focusing on. Luckily, his boyfriend was able to prevent him from rolling the dough wafer thin this time.
Tavros let out the most gratified sigh of relief when Gamzee finally told him the crust was "Motherfuckin' perfect!" Alas, his personal victory was cut short when he remembered that they were only halfway done. They still needed to create the top crust for the pie. With an exasperated breath, the Taurus moves to retrieve another wad of dough, only to find that the bowl was now empty.
"Uh, Gamzee…" He said, tilting the bowl into the Capricorn's line of sight.
"Aww shit. How'd it all run out so fast?" Tavros knew the answer to that question, but didn't feel like bringing attention to his failures. "Oh well. Guess we'll just motherfuckin' make some more!" Gamzee said, undeterred.
With a resigned "Yeah…" Tavros reached up to open the cupboard. Much to his surprise, however, the flour that he was grabbing for came tumbling off the shelf towards him. He flailed and fumbled at the bag, trying desperately to stop its descent. Unfortunately, his failure resulted in the already opened bag of flour hitting the floor, causing its contents to explode in a dramatic puff of white powder. In the midst of trying to prevent this catastrophe, Tavros somehow ended up falling flat on his ass, to top it all off.
When the flustered teen rubbed the grainy substance out of his eyes, he opened them to see much of the kitchen as well as both boys in it covered in a fine layer of flour.
After Tavros was finally able to get his boyfriend to stop laughing at his expense, the two of them got to work on damage control. After cleaning up the kitchen as best they could, Tavros went to take a shower. As much as Gamzee wanted to join him, he was tasked with finishing the preparation of the pie. By the time the Taurus was finished, they were able to trade off, with Tavros putting the pastry in the oven and Gamzee showering. He had to borrow clothes from Rufioh (albeit begrudgingly) due to none of Tavros's clothing fitting properly over his taller frame.
When all was said and done, everything including themselves was cleaned and they had a delicious apple pie to snack on.
Later, they were lounging on the couch in the living room, not really paying attention to whatever was on the TV at the moment. Tavros was sprawled out on top of the taller teen, head resting against his chest as Gamzee's fingers carded through his Mohawk. Just as he was about to slip into a contented slumber, the responsible voice in the back of Tavros's head reminded him of something.
"Gamzee?" He said through a yawn.
"Hmm?" He hummed questioningly in response.
"I uh, hate to say it, but you should probably leave soon."
"And why's that, Tav?" Gamzee asked, ruffling his hair.
"Rufioh said he might end up coming back early, remember?" he reminded the other teen, trying to stay serious.
"Aw, you know how that motherfucker is. He's probably just tryin' to make sure I'm not around," Gamzee replied with a slightly irritated look.
Though as much as Rufioh hated his boyfriend, so much so that Tavros wasn't even allowed to label Gamzee as such, he also wasn't the type to resort to lying like that.
"Gamzee…" Tavros pleaded, lifting his head to give his boyfriend a worried look.
He grinned in response. "Alright, alright. One more hour for this motherfucker?"
"Okay…I guess," How could he say no to that? Gamzee's expression brightened. He leaned forward to give Tavros a soft peck on the lips, before letting his head fall back onto the sofa. The smaller teen snuggled back into his spot on Gamzee's chest with a serene smile, as he felt long arms moving to encircle him.
Before he knew it, Tavros was drifting off to the soft rhythm of his lover's steady heartbeat. Gamzee must've followed suit, because soon after one hour became several, and eventually the entire evening passed.
The pair of them were so far gone, in fact, that they didn't even stir when Rufioh Nitram pulled into the driveway. He lethargically made his way up to the front door and fumbled with his keys, exhausted after his long trip.
"Hey Tav!" He called out after closing the door behind him "I'm bac-"
Rufioh halted his greeting upon turning into the living room. His face twisted in rage at the sight before him. His younger brother was curled up on the couch with that fucking Makara kid. And he was pretty sure that little shit was wearing his favorite DBZ T-shirt.
But just as Rufioh was preparing to drag the Makara out of the house by his crazy-ass hair, he remembered the last time he and Tavros had an argument over Gamzee. In all honesty, the older Nitram still felt pretty guilty over the whole thing. And as much as he despised that little punk, Rufioh was also far too tired to deal with disturbing them. Instead, he quietly padded up to his room for the night. But not before taking the remainder of the pie from the fridge as payment.