They sat like this often, whenever Eridan visited her hive. On the floor, cross-legged with their backs pressed against each other, sometimes holding hands- it was odd, but comfortable, and they'd always sat like that ever since they were very young. Feferi tended to throw her head back when she laughed, and when she did her hair would cascade down over Eridan's shoulder, so sometimes he would make puns simply so that he could hear her giggle and admire the way the shining black locks looked on the vibrant violet of his cape. Sometimes she'd reach a hand back and toy with the end of his scarf or the high collar of the cape. She fidgeted a lot, and Eridan suspected she didn't even do things like that consciously. It was more of an absent-minded habit, and if anyone else had tried to do that he probably would have questioned or objected. With her, though, everything was okay. Even the fidgeting.
She had just shifted her weight and turned like she did when she was going to sit next to him. The movement had been sudden, and he had had to lean forward a bit so he wouldn't fall backwards, but he thought nothing of it. He'd kind of zoned out, actually, since they weren't having any kind of conversation. The silence was comfortable with her. Suddenly, his scarf tightened around his neck, and he could see her out of the corner of his eye pulling one end of it. For a second he panicked- was she trying to choke him? His hands flailed upwards and caught at his scarf. "Fef!" he called, sounding a bit strangled. "Wwhat the hell?"
"O) (! Sorry!" She loosened her grip a bit, moving so that she was sitting at his right shoulder. Even sitting down like this, he was nearly a whole head taller than her, and he glanced down to find her wrapping the scarf around her neck. He watched, slightly puzzled, as she put her hands up to her face and buried her nose in the fabric. "It's not as soft as it looks."
"I didn't pick it because it wwas soft. I liked the wway it looked." he muttered, tilting his head slightly and frowning.
"A) (A! So you admit it!" The scarf covered her mouth, but he could tell she was smiling. She straightened her back, folding her arms and looking haughty. "I'm Eridan Ampora, I can't say W or V, and I LOVV-E FAS) (ION!" she teased.
"Fef, I am gettin the distinct impression that you're mockin me." He felt a slight blush heat his cheeks, for a reason he couldn't quite place. He was embarrassed, sure, but all of this was oddly endearing.
"Glub glub" was all she said in response, laughing and throwing her arms around his neck in a friendly embrace. He wasn't prepared for how energetically she flung himself at her, though, and he toppled backwards with a slight shout of surprise. For a moment he lay staring at the ceiling, acutely aware of the way her head was resting on his chest, but she rolled to the side and elected to lay on the floor beside him rather than help him up. "You're so clumsy, -Eridan."
"That wwasn't really my fault, you knoww. You did kinda throww yourself at me." He paused, glancing over. She was tugging at her end of the scarf, trying to straighten it out, but it was hopelessly tangled.
") (ow do you manage to wear t) (is t) (ing all t) (e time?" she asked incredulously. Shaking his head, he reached over to help her out.
"Alloww me." he said, propping himself up on his elbow and straightening the scarf. Unfortunately, she'd taken a lot of it, and with a small surge of alarm he felt the rest of it unwrap from around his own neck and fall to the floor. He covered his neck with one hand, self-consciously. "Damn it."
"I didn't mean to take ALL of it." she said hurriedly, sitting up and pulling him up by the arm. ") (ere, let me-"
"No, I got it." he muttered, starting to turn away. She caught him by the shoulder, though, and tugged at the hand that was still covering his neck.
"-Eridan." she said, drawing out the word a little more than usual in a tone that was halfway stern and halfway questioning. "Let me ) (elp you wit) ( it!"
With a slight sigh of resignation, he let his hand fall away. There was a scar there, old and faded but still terribly noticeable, running from the top of his shoulder along his collarbone and stopping directly at the center of his throat. Watching her eyes widen at the sight of it, he couldn't help but cringe slightly, waiting for her to ask about it and fearing that she'd be repulsed by it. Instead, her expression changed to one of serene sympathy, and she wrapped the scarf around him without saying a word. "Sorry." he said quietly.
"W) (at is t) (ere to be sorry about?" she asked, and after a moment she kissed his cheek and wrapped the edge of his cape around her shoulders. The fabric caught on her horns, and she laughed.
Since he was sure she wasn't looking, he allowed one corner of his mouth to drift upward into a slight smile. He moved a hand up to his face, his fingertips resting where her lips had a moment earlier.
"Glub glub glub! I t) (ink I s) (ould get you a new scarf, -Eridan. One t) (at isn't so itc) (y."
"You don't have to do that." he said, in a tone that suggested that he would appreciate it much more than he was letting on.
"Okay, fine then." she teased. "I won't."
"You are the empress here, Fef. I think you can make a couple of executivve decisons about wwhether or not I get a neww scarf." He extended a hand, and with a rustle of violet silk, she reached out from where she was hiding under the cape and laced her fingers with his.
They lapsed into a silence that was periodically broken by her glubbing on about things, which was how their time together usually went. But that was okay. After all, everything was okay when he was with her.