Chapter One: Duality

Everything felt sluggish that warm summer day. Sollux Captor had no idea why everything felt… thick. Thick and slow. But he knew that he hated it with every fiber of his being. He hated it even more when he thought about the implications, based on the research he'd done. Sometimes things were slow and sad and sometimes everything moved too fast, and in the few times the world wasn't one or the other, Sollux almost felt normal. But he was scared, scared for what that might mean. Sollux had everything in either twos or halves; he had two dads, he was one of two adopted sons, his eyes were two different colors, he had two weird uncles- one on either side. He was biracial, bisexual, nearly bilingual, and… no. He didn't want to add another 'bi' or 'two' to that list. It was overwhelming enough having one mental disorder, though that one was much more tolerable than what Sollux was experiencing now, with the possibility of another. He just had to double check things a lot.

He closed out the open tab on his computer. He didn't want to read about it anymore. It was fine. He didn't want to worry himself, or more importantly, his dads, with another weird quirk. God, he was such a freak already, Sollux thought to himself as he caught his reflection on the computer screen. Stupid fucking heterochromia. Stupid glasses… stupid braces… Sollux laid his forehead on the desk. Why did he have to hate himself so much?

Sollux heard the front door open and went to the stair balcony to see who it was. One of his dads opened the door. Sollux saw a very lean, gangly-looking man with somewhat unkempt dark hair, clutching a suitcase in either hand. His dad didn't say anything, not that Sollux could here, and then the man let himself into the house. Sollux furrowed his brow. What on earth was Uncle Simon doing here? Immediately, Mituna's voice came screeching from the living room, and Sollux decided against going down to say hello, at least until things calmed down. Along with Mituna's voice, moments later, came both his dads', louder than usual. Awesome. Now he really wasn't going to go downstairs. Instead, Sollux returned to his computer. His pesterchum went off almost immediately.

apocalypseArisen [AA] began pestering twinArmageddons [TA]

AA: hey sollux?

TA: what?

AA: can i come over for a while?

AA: i'm not handling this whole sister thing very well

TA: well what the fuck makes you think my house is any more stable?

TA: my dads are fighting, tuna is throwing a tantrum, and my uncle simon is here

TA: it's a fucking shit show right now

TA: kind of driving me crazy

AA: well if you don't want me to add to that mess its fine

TA: you know it's not that i don't want you here; i just don't think it will help you any

AA: okay

TA: what even happened anyway?

AA: damara

AA: she blamed me for breaking something and called me a bitch

AA: and i think she was glad to hurt me

TA: wow

AA: yeah i mean i knew she was bad from when she was around tavros' brother all the time but i don't think she was ever this bad

AA: theres some part of the story missing

AA: but yeah im not… feeling too good about the family right now

TA: well, AA, you can come over if you really want

AA: oh wow don't be so persuasive sollux

TA: AA, come on. my family is so god damn embarrassing

AA: hah

AA: you shouldn't be embarrassed of them

AA: for the record i like your family

TA: yeah, i don't get that. you're smart enough to know better

TA: youre not supposed to like my family

TA: what are you, like my girlfriend or something?

twinArmageddons [TA] ceased pestering apocalypseArisen [AA]

Sollux felt slightly less like an abnormality after that conversation. Aradia had a way of doing that. God, he wished they would just date already. They joked about it a lot, and there was definitely a mutual attraction, but it seemed like neither of them were really willing to act on it. It was the worst sort of limbo to be stuck in.

Sollux darted downstairs, trying to settle some of the chaos in the household. "Hey, Uncle Simon," he said, giving a casual wave to his uncle, who grumbled something incoherent in response. Mituna seemed to quiet down after a moment, now that SImon was done ranting about whatever the hell he'd been ranting about. "Dads," Sollux said, gaining both men's attention. "Aradia's coming over for dinner. She's having family issues, I guess. Is that alright?" Barry looked to Carl, who hesitated for a moment before nodding.

"I suppose that's okay," Carl said. Sollux grinned a little lopsided grin before finding a place on the couch next to his uncle. He turned on his Gamecube and started playing a solo round of Mario Kart while his dads went right back to arguing. Mituna reached aimlessly for the controller in Sollux's hand.

"Mituna, stop it," Sollux hissed at his older brother.

"No, I wanna play."

"Wait your turn!" Sollux retorted, impatience clear in his voice. Mituna all but crawled into Sollux's lap in an attempt to wrestle the game controller away from him. Sollux yelped, pausing the game as he started wrestling back, taking both himself and Mituna to the floor. Simon chuckled, whereas Carl chided the boys.

"Sollux! Be nice to your brother," he said. Sollux groaned.

"Yeah, Sollux, be nice to me!" Mituna echoed, sticking his tongue out. Sollux rolled his eyes.

"You started it and you know it," Sollux grumbled, getting up and sitting back on the couch next to Uncle Simon before he resumed his game.

"I still wanna play!"

"No, Mituna. Wait your turn." It sucked having to act like the older brother, despite being 3 years younger than Mituna. He hated to think it, because there was no way anything could be changed, but he liked Mituna a lot more before… so much changed after that day. Sollux shook the thought out of his head, focusing more on beating his fastest time on Rainbow Road. His dads started bickering about something again, but Sollux tuned it out. It was easier to tune things out, even if it made him look very rude. He was marginally aware of Simon, sitting next to him, but Simon was usually quiet. At least, the handful of times Sollux had actually met him. He was Craig's brother, and most of Craig's family was pretty estranged, Simon being the exception. Apparently their parents didn't approve of the whole gay thing, which made Sollux glad he'd never met those grandparents. He could only imagine how they'd feel about bisexuality. Simon grinned at Sollux a little bit, Sollux catching it in his peripheral vision.

"So, Sollux, school starts soon, right?"

"Yeah," Sollux answered, shortly. "Tomorrow, actually."

"Mm, cool. Did you do anything nice over the summer?"

"Nope."

Simon continued asking those pervasive questions that just reeked of an adult trying too hard to get to know an estranged child relative, and Sollux was ready to make a snappy retort, but bit it back when he heard Aradia let herself in. He was mildly aware that his dads were fighting, but they stopped as soon as Aradia came in the room, both of the men hugging her. Sollux smiled internally, but was still focused on his game. Simon fell quiet when she sat next to Sollux. Sollux thought about putting an arm around her, but faltered. The line in their relationship between friend and dating was definitely blurred, and Sollux hated that he didn't have the courage to ask her out. Once Sollux finished racing his own top score on Rainbow Road, (he beat it, yes!) Mituna turned to him.

"My turn, my turn!" Mituna said excitedly. Sollux grumbled, tossing Mituna the controller.

"What, aren't you going to play me, Sol?" Mituna hissed.

"No. Knock yourself out, loser."

"Afraid I'm going to kick your ass?" Mituna said, snickering a little bit. Sollux frowned. Why was Mituna trying to entice him into a race? Wasn't he just asking for a turn to play solo? Whatever, Sollux tried not to question Mituna's logic, or lack thereof.

"Fuck that noise…" Sollux said, catching a glimpse of his father glaring at him for 'poor use of language'. "I have a guest, Tuna. Don't be rude." Not like Mituna would win anyway. For the first time that day, there was a silent moment. Sollux saw Simon and Aradia looking at each other for a moment, before Simon took a breath to speak.

"You remind me of Hana…" he murmured. He spoke very quietly, but Sollux saw Aradia's face drop, and he couldn't help but be angry. Simon didn't know, of course, but Hana and Damara made Aradia very upset, and Sollux hated to see her upset.

"Yeah, she's… my stepmother. Hana Megido-Droog," Aradia said, in a semi-sarcastic way. Sollux could tell she hated that Hana had the name 'Droog' attached to her now. Simon had just made the rest of the night incredibly awkward.

Things seemed to ease up at dinner, as much as dinner could be eased up for Sollux. His compulsions seemed to amplify at dinner, and Sollux had to keep himself from checking to see if the stove was off more than once.

"It is good to see you, Simon," Craig said, giving Barry a sideways glance.

"Yeah, thanks for putting me up, bro," Simon answered back. "I just… I'm sorry for any inconvenience, Barry, but I couldn't work for Candace anymore. She just… is the worst. Running me ragged all the damn time, like I'm some kind of slave, like her ship will just stop running without me. I couldn't take it, couldn't take it, and, you know, she owns so many damn subsets of companies it's almost impossible to get a job without getting sucked back in. I'm looking, don't get me wrong, and you know, Craig, you know I would have gone to Solomon and Dessie, but it seems like they've got their hands full already…" Simon continued rambling on about his past, and eventually Mituna started chiming in about Candace's daughter, Meenah, and all of their friends, and Sollux had to tune it out again. He made sure to clear out of the kitchen as soon as he and Aradia were done eating.

They retreated upstairs, where it was quiet enough for Sollux to get more than two words out.

"So what's your uncle doing here?" Aradia asked.

"He quit his job. I guess his boss was really over-demanding, and has been for years, and he finally blew a gasket working for her. So he's crashing here until he finds something else."

"Well, he certainly does add to the volume level around here," Aradia said, giggling a bit. God, Sollux loved her laugh, and her smile. It made him hate his own cowardice.

"I mean, we're used to the noise, but Simon gets going, and it sets Tuna off, too, so he's throwing tantrums and getting mad at stupid shit Cronus said like a year ago, and it's ridiculous. But my dad is all defensive for him, saying 'he's my brother, and we need to be there for him, Barry' and they're fighting about that, too, so it's a whole mess right now." Sollux sighed, collapsing into his pillows a bit. Aradia laid down next to him and they looked up, though Sollux would have rather been looking at her. "So how's the Droog household doing?"

"Megido-Droog now," Aradia corrected him, a certain amount of disdain in her voice. "And not good. I mean, my dad really does seem to be in love with Hana, which is… good for him, I guess. It was a really dark time after my mom died for both of us, but Hana is awkward around me, and Damara is horrible. It's just… weird around there lately.

Sollux rolled onto his side, facing Aradia, just looking at her. The girl had no idea just how beautiful he thought she was. Her thick, dark hair and tan face and red-brown eyes… the way she smiled and looked at him and… dammit, Sollux got too wrapped up in his own mind. He'd been looking at her silently for far too long.

"I think we both just need some time to adjust," he said, knowing it was pretty poor advice. Aradia shifted a little bit.

"Yeah," she echoed, "time to adjust."