An Unscratched Surface: Part 9

"You and Terecita seemed pretty close," Gamzee cut into Nepeta's rambling about her moirail once the legisticator excused herself, claiming some motherfucking work she want to get done. "How'd that happen?"

"Oh. Well, we bonded over a mutual disappointment. And Terecita is such a cute name for her. I'm sure she's pawsitively love it!"

"Mutual disappointment?"

"Well, if you purromise not to tail anyone..."

"A sister's got my motherfucking word of honor. Ain't nothing going to pass these lips. So spill. What's this mutual disappointment that bonded a pair of chicas?"

"Karkat," Nepeta said, the troll's name all soft and breathy when she said it this time, not mention she didn't call him Karkitty. "Both of us... We're..."

"Flushed for him," Gamzee whispered, the words too much for a motherfucker to bear. He couldn't quite understand why, and yet there it was. The idea of not one, but both of the sisters helping him with Karkat being flushed for him was just painful.

"Yeah. He's just so unappurroachable, so sad, so angry. And yet we're flushed. Doesn't make sense. A sweep I've been watching him, hoping he'd pawsibly notice me. Terezi's been interested since she first came here about a perigee ago. But when we figured it out, we purromised each other we wouldn't go after him until he started to notice things himself."

"But that ain't gonna stop a sister from helping him, is it?"

"What kind of possible matesprits would we be if we didn't help him when he needed us?"

"I don't know," Gamzee admitted, pushing the remains of his grubloaf around with a fork. "I ain't got much understand about quadrants beyond pale."

"Really?" Nepeta asked, looking motherfucking confused.

"Sister, if you cut me, do I not bleed purple? Goatad himself has got at least a few hundred sweeps left pumping in his veins, and he's already got a hundred and three. Ain't seen as a pressing issue for a purple. Don't get our schoolfeed on about it unless its through seeing our guardian's quadrants, or falling in pity or hate early and getting it all explained."

"There's also romcom movies," Nepeta pointed out, "but I guess I understand. Things don't play out the same for our bloods, do they?"

"No. What even motherfucking is a romcom?"

Nepeta stared at him, her black and olive eyes all wide with disbelief. "You've never heard of romcoms? Wow, no wonder you don't know more about quadrants. My guardian started me watching them when I was just out of wrigglerhood. Maybe they'll help you. Okay, so give me your Trollian handle and I'll send you some of my favorites after work today, okay?"

"Alright sister. I'll try them."

"Good. Now, lunch break is almost over, so I've got to get back to work. I'll stop by your desk later for the Trollian info."

"Sure," Gamzee said, not even knowing why he agreed. Then again, the only thing in his motherfucking thinkpan at the moment was Karkat, and the way these sisters he'd gotten to help him were all up and flushed for a brother. What was he even supposed to do with that information? Should he tell Karkat? How would he even do that? He hadn't even thought to get the brother's Trollian...

Fuck.

* * * * * *

By the close of the office, Gamzee had been forced to give over his Trollian handle to not only Nepeta, but to Terezi as well, the latter still eying him suspiciously even as she cackled over the piece of paper. Something about that sister just didn't sit right with a motherfucker, though he couldn't explain why. Soon Gamzee and Goatad were the only ones left in the office, left to lock up and start the trek home.

"Have a good night, little brother?" Goatad asked he ushered Gamzee out of the office and into the pale pink light of the night.

"Don't much know yet," Gamzee admitted. "Got things that I've got to get my think on about."

"What kind of things? Maybe I can get my wicked helpful on."

He sighed, unsure of how to respond to that. At last, though, he dodged the question altogether. "How'd your meeting with Karkat's guardian get on?"

"Wicked bad," his guardian admitted. "Spided doesn't seem to care much about what happens to Karkat. Ain't the greatest guardian I ever knew."

"And there's nothing you can do about that?"

Goatad shook his head, looking for all the motherfucking world upset by the thought. "I don't even know what the motherfuck I'm going to do. Karkat hasn't opened up to anyone, so we don't got a motherfucking idea of what he's interested in. He won't work with us, and his guardian can't tell us anything."

His guardian sighed, and shrugged. "I'm motherfucking worried. If this keeps up..."

Gamzee didn't have to ask what that meant. While all trolls were required to have at least two meetings with a guidance adjustor, most rarely did more than those two. Lots of trolls figured out what they wanted to do with their lives in the sweeps before that first required meeting. Only took a bit of questioning and filing to get them lined up with a place to get schoolfed, and sometimes it didn't take that if the troll's guardian was in the same line they wanted to work. Others took a perigee or two to cut down their ideas to something specific, leaving the guidance adjustors to figure out specifics. Few lingered even half a sweep, and less a sweep or more. But Karkat... He'd been with the adjustors for sweeps, and if they didn't figure something out soon, he'd be given over to his guardian fully, with no real choices left to him. They needed to help Karkat, and soon.

"Have you considered applying for temporary guardianship?"

That froze Goatad in his footsteps.

"Where did you motherfucking learn about that? No, wait, don't even motherfucking tell me. The legisticator girl. She's been sniffing after Karkat ever since she was assigned to us. Trust the chica to come up with such an idea."

"But is it a bad one?"

"No, brother. That's the problem. It's motherfucking perfect. All but impossible to pull off, but motherfucking brilliant."

"Then you'll do it?"

"I'll motherfucking try. No better way to figure out something for him than to see him longer, when he's got his chill on."

And he'd be free of his guardian, but Gamzee didn't mention that motherfucking part.