He lifted the weights again, feeling his muscles start to strain. This was a feeling he felt often anymore, as he brought the weights back down, then up again. The light layer of sweat felt hot on his skin, and his hands felt slick. He sighed, setting the weights down on the bars above his head and standing, across the room in a moment, gulping down water from the bathroom sink and sighing.

"How many fucking times do I have to tell you, not to drink the fucking sink water? It's not filtered as well as the water made for drinking, moron."

He stopped, and he smirked a little bit, looking to the crabby man.

"Karkat, why are you in my room?"

"I need to talk to you."

"Then talk."

"...We need to break into the indigo base already."

"..."

"Look, I know you don't want to, but he's gone, okay?"

"He's not gone. You know very well he's in there."

"Yeah, but the him we knew is gone Tavros. I don't like fucking saying it either, but he might as well be dead."

"Just shut up. I'm not going." Tavros was across the room again, laying down under the weights and going back to working out.

"My fucking God Tavros." Karkat growled, glaring at him. "We're the leaders of this unit, we're supposed to agree on shit."

"I'm sorry this is inconvenient for you," was all he said.

Karkat glared after Tavros, a long, hard glare, then he sighed and left.

Tavros' thoughts were getting away from him, as the idea of long ago flowed into his think pan. He remembered when things were so much simpler. When he could walk to Gamzee's house without a care, when him and Aradia could wander around and not worry about stares, when he didn't have to shield himself everytime a highblood threw him a nasty look.

The last few sweeps has changed just about everything. Tavros remembered everything clearly, too clearly. He remembered the phone call, he remembered the voice on the other end the most of all.

"I... Fuck Tavros, just fuck!"

"Uh... Karkat, is something wrong?"

"...They took him. They fucking TOOK him."

"...I don't understand?"

"M-my fucking God, Tavros!" That impatient tone he always took with the brownblood rung loud in his voice. Tavros swore he was crying.

"They took him. The imperial drones just up and took him the fuck away."

"...Karkat, I, umm, I'm sorry, but... Who are you talking about?"

"...You're a fucking idiot, I swear. Tavros, they fucking took Gamzee. Okay?"

Tavros stopped, going silent for a while. Karkat yelled at him, and yelled at him, but to no avail, he just stared at the wall for a while. It took a while to process what Tavros was feeling, the raging, fire that was filling him up. Tavros rarely got angry. It just wasn't something he did, but right at this moment, he swore he hated the government, and all the highbloods that ran it.

"I hate them," was all he got out, before hanging up.

That was the night he swore to himself that things were going to change. The night he swore he'd never bow another highblood or ride a different train car because he was on the lower end of the hemospectrum. He swore that this was going to be the last friend he lost to these highbloods.

If only he would've actually kept that last part true.

That thought rang loud in his ears and he stopped. This wasn't a thought he needed. He had lost a lot to the government.

First Gamzee, they took him against his will, and hell, that had Tavros beyond upset, but at least he was alive. Unlike Feferi. They killed her off quickly, a stupid move on their part Tavros thinks. Equius joined the army, but that was expected. But he made Nepeta join with him. Tavros hadn't heard from her since. Vriska has joined, working hard to become a general as far as he knew. He had a brief conversation with her over a riverbed and hoard of dead bodies. Karkat, Aradia, Sollux, and Kanaya stayed here. Terezi lived in the city, keeping her act in the rebellion silent, but useful as her part as a legislacerators. She often wired you information the government kept secret. It was quite helpful when you wanted to know plans to attempt an attack. When you knew what base was holding who, everything got easier.

Tavros sighed again, the almost drying sweat being refreshed, dripping, as he sighed and laid his hands over his chest, feeling his heart pound. Patches of his shirt were wet with sweat, and his skin felt warm to the touch, flushed a light brown. He panted and stood, ducking into the bathroom for a quick shower and change of attire.

He ignored the growling in his stomach as he laid down and closed his eyes. What was he going to do? They had attacked the near by blue blood base not long ago, and when him and Equius' eyes met, and he thought for a moment he'd have to kill him, what that would do with Nepeta, he hesitated. He couldn't imagine being thrown into an indigo blood base and... having to fight him.

He couldn't do it. He would never be able to fight Gamzee Makara. He just, wouldn't be able to. He'd drop his weapon in a heart beat if he ever had the chance. Or rather, running would be smarter. Running for his life. He sighed at the thought, coming eye to eye with the indigo, barreling down that hallway, just to be intersected by another, or to get caught by his friend himself.

…

His friend?

Tavros stopped, and he realized, Gamzee will always be his friend. There was no stopping that, unless the feelings went deeper. Or rather, redder.

Tavros stopped, eyes going wide. WOAH, UM, WHAT? He wondered if that thought had just happened. There was no way he let that slip. Gamzee was now a cold blooded killer for the army, not his old, joy happy friend. Tavros sighed, turning over and laying face down on his pillow.

He didn't get any sleep that night.

AN: Wow I should probably we working on my other fanfiction but this idea just hit me and bam I need to write this.