Vanilla Twilight

by Freedomconvicted

Dream bubbles are a home for losing players. Dream selves are second chance to live. But what about a regular dream? The places where the imagination is set to live a life however you desire. Eridan and Sollux find a new found ability to not only discover the dream world but also sets of memories in their fellow comrades minds.

A/N: I guess the biggest warning I should give is that its an RP and sort of lengthy. There'll be 5 parts and I have every intention of publishing each part every Friday. So just sit and enjoy it y'know. Its sort of a doomed timeline but at the same time I want to consider it an AU; take it however you'd like to. There are character deaths and sexual content but come on its Homestuck.

Not all the story I can take credit for. This RP was between me and Erica (you can find her on tumblr: user name cheesemonkey119)

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Part 1-

Only a few minutes must have past.

He knew that had to be true. Eridan let the lids over his eyes lift slowly to gaze upon a dull ceiling. His body cramped up in his attempts to move off of the hard floor. Well that was great, not only was his mind sore but so were his muscles. Several small cracks echoed through the room filled with monitors and several transportalizers. Eridan rubbed his hand against the back of his neck, releasing a tense muscle there and sighed.

Fucking around with people's minds was tough sometimes. Today Karkat's was like a raging whirlpool with no stops or a proper direction. Eridan would need to play around in Karkat's dreams first before getting to the good parts of his memories. The troll grimaced, knowing that would probably take time. Well, no use in sitting in the dark waiting for something to happen. He hopped onto one of the transportalizers and entered the lab where his friends crowded around and engaged themselves with their own conversations.

---

Zeros and ones made sense. Zeros, ones, and incoherent technobabble. Not other people's minds. It had been a while since Sollux had gained his strange new power, and he was still mastering it. But he didn't much care for the state of some of his friends' minds.

Karkat's was, eloquently put, a box of cats.

Nepeta's was LITERALLY a box of cats.

Terezi's was jumbled, but very colorful.

Feferi's was fairly organized, but there were still a few files out of place. He had felt bad for snooping too much in her head.

He hadn't dared try Vriska, since she would have been able to tell if someone was fucking with her thoughts. And he would have felt too bad to see the memories in Aradia's mind.

And he really didn't want to sneak too far into Equius or Gamzee's minds. Whatever was in there was definitely not on his 'list of must-sees' before he kneels over and dies.

So instead, he preferred to stay within his own mind. His own, confused, practically dual-thought mind. He liked it much more than everyone else's; even if his thoughts flew in a few different directions most of the time.

He furrowed his eyebrows, his eyes darting across his computer screen once more. How the hell had Karkat even managed to fuck the lab computers so much?

---

Eridan had to admit he was slightly disappointed to see Feferi wasn't around. The lab wasn't filled too much; Equius and Nepeta went about their day and Kanaya sat elegantly while sewing some new masterpiece. At the corner of the lab though, Eridan spotted Sollux. He was a bit hesitant to approach the other but he wanted to make sure of something. Now, there wasn't much evidence to this hypothesis he created but he had reasons to make it up.

Ever since discovering this new found ability Eridan was neither hesitant nor reluctant to try them out on anyone he could. He had waited his turn on the more difficult trolls who's mind he imagined to be a pain to get a hold of, Gamzee's would be a good example. It wasn't until he had tried to fondle around Sollux that something strange happened.

Now, before reaching to Sollux, Eridan had made a quick glance towards the defense Vriska made up to see how strong her tactics were. The result? She was a fucking nuclear bomb waiting to explode. Eridan didn't bother going near her mind, especially while she was conscious. The electric fence she put up radiated everywhere and it nearly terrified him. So, when Eridan fully believed he could waltz right on into Sollux mind he was surprised to see there was also and electrifying guard that surrounded his sub cranium.

Now how was that?

Eridan had an idea but he'd need to try a few things out first. He strolled over to the troll, his cape flapping against the air as he walked to the other with folded arms.

"Hey Sol," Eridan started.

Sollux tapped away at the keys of the computer in front of him absent-mindedly, much more focused on creating a better like of defense in his mind. He wasn't taking any chances. He remembered what happened last time his mind was invaded.

He sighed, rolling his eyes slightly as he heard Eridan's footsteps grow closer. Great. Now fish-breath wanted to chat? Right when he was on the verge of figuring out what was wrong with this piece of shit machine in front of him too, figures.

"What the hell do you want, Fishdick. I'm busy." He replied flatly, his lisp spitting out almost violently.

"Ugh, when aren't you busy wastin' your time away on that thing. It's like your life is encompassed around such a machine." Eridan sneered, still keeping himself up straight. "Look, I was just wonderin' if we could have a little chat is all. Nothin' much than that."

Sollux tore his hectochromatic eyes from the flickering screen, and turned his chair to face the seadweller. His eyelids lowered and he formed a glare behind his glasses, eyebrows furrowing in annoyance. "What do you actually want, fuckwad. I don't have all day to waste, unlike your sorry ass."

Okay, now to look for an opening. Eridan let his mind slip around Sollux's, trying to keep his banter as long as he could until he found a weak point to worm into. "Oh right, like you're doin' anythin' important for the benefit of our life span. Sheesh. Look, I've just been wonderin' about somethin' for a bit and I was hopin' to get a little bit of your opinion on the subject although it wouldn't matter much or change my opinion on the idea."

Eridan licked his lips, managing to find one soft spot. Now then, just carry on a bit longer and you should get through.

"This whole game with a red team and blue team, don't you think we should like, have shifts or somethin' on who could be the leader. I mean aside from Gamzee's fucked up mind and Nepeta's cat crazy head there could be some pretty well based leadership by other trolls. More specifically me but you get the picture." Eridan felt his mind slowly slipping into Sollux's, progressively making its way out of the air and into the shadows of Sollux's head. Just a little longer and he was in.

Sollux's eyes rolled hard in his sockets, practically rolling entirely backwards. He raised his hand and pushes his glasses down his nose, pinching the bridge between two slender fingers and massaging. Eridan was such a gigantic pain in his as-

What the FUCK was that.

His eyes widened and shot up at Eridan, his psionics beginning to spark the smallest bit. This asshole had them too. How the fuck did he get them? He could feel his mind being penetrated, but it was hardly a challenge to push Eridan back out.

"Just what the fuck do you think you're doing?" He hissed, his teeth and jagged fangs barred, and psionics in his eyes crackling.

Shit, shit!

Eridan flinched slightly but covered away his pain as quickly as it came. "Uh... look, if it pisses you off that much just say so Sol. It was only an idea."

Dammit, he'd need to get Sollux when he was sleeping. Eridan knew that'd be trickier, especially since Sollux probably kept his mind guarded 24/7 but it wouldn't be as deadly as the binary troll being awake.

"How the fuck did you even-?" Sollux glanced around the room a bit (not that anyone could tell. He loved his eyes sometimes.), checking to see if people were listening at all. They weren't. His eyes shifted back to Eridan, narrowing a bit more. God Eridan pissed him off. Platonically. Still, he lowered his voice slightly. "How the fuck did you even get in there in the first place?"

Well, no point in playing dumb. "If my guess is correct, the same way you have been as well." Eridan tapped the side of his head, a wide smirk creeping across his lips. "But I haven't felt much outside activity from you Sol. Not like Vris. In a way I'm glad but then again it seems you've just been sittin' on home base buildin' up a stronger barrier."

Sollux just wanted to punch Eridan in the face. Give him a good, hard punch, right between the eyes. Maybe he'd break those ridiculous glasses of his. "Can you fucking blame me, with assholes like you trying to creep their way in? I'm not taking chances."

Eridan tapped his finger against his chin. "Oh, but I don't think it'll be that hard to get in Sol. At least not for long. Once I get through you than I can make way to see how I can get through Vris and the real games can begin."

Eridan chuckled a bit, thinking about the sweet taste of revenge he could receive gain after he was through with both Vriska and Sollux.

"I bet your head is far more interestin' than Tav's or Ara's for that matter. Why would I want to sit back and ignore that?"

Sollux clenched his fists, seriously holding back the urge to fly out of his chair and strangle Eridan with that douchey scarf of his. "Stay. The fuck. Out of my head, Eridan. Or I will kill you and spill that disgusting 'royal' blood of yours all over the god damned lab." His lisp became more accented as he got angrier, his fist clenching tighter with every word.

Eridan wanted to try something. It would either SERIOUSLY piss off Sollux or do what it had been doing for the past times he used it. It was a sort of method he found beneficial and, if he felt like calling it, a nice sort of gesture. He had done it to Karkat and Gamzee before whenever they were too much for him to take. It was like a wash over of the mind and all it did was settle the hormones of the mind to calm the fuck down. Any feeling; anger, joy, sadness, it just fell back and left the person calm. Eridan bit down on his lip and let his mind strike right through Sollux's, feeling a rush of Sollux's emotions but they quickly evaporated once he left the mind. Eridan readied his body, in case he needed to make a quick escape.

Sollux's entire body suddenly tensed, a quick shock of panic shaking his entire frame. He leapt to his feet, lifting Eridan off the ground and against a wall with his psionics.

"WHAT THE FUCK DID I JUST SAY?"

He didn't give a shit who noticed. Most of them knew better than to mess with Sollux when he was like this, not that many would have leapt to Eridan's defense anyway. His hand reached up and gripped the end fabric of Eridan's scarf, pulling it tightly around the seadweller's neck.

"STAY. THE FUCK. OUT."

Eridan choked the tighter his scarf grew around his neck. He made an attempt to grasp the fabric and tear it away. It was literally no use. Amethyst eyes could only glare back at a bi-colored set.

Don't think this can stop me.

Eridan let the words flutter through Sollux's mind as if they were small butterflies. Before a second thought could even proceed to make its way, Equius mindlessly grasped Sollux into a head lock, forcing him back and away from Eridan. Eridan coughed slightly when the abrupt motion startled away Sollux's psionics. He took the chance to make a quick escape to the transportalizer, catching a glimpse of Nepeta's confused and scared face.

Sollux's eyes only flashed brighter when he heard that asshole inside his head, but before he could react, he was pulled back by a ridiculously swollen and sweaty arm.

"Euqius! What are you doing?" Nepeta cried out, raking her hands across his muscles.

Sollux clawed at Equius's arm as Eridan made his escape, gasping for air when the indigo blood released his grip. He stumbled forward and grabbed onto a chair, catching his breath before running for the transportalizer. Equius and fell flat on his bottom, holding his head.

"Wha... what...?"

Nepeta was close by his side, trying to comfort him and ask what happened.

Eridan glanced around another level of the lab. It was a wide room with separate halls that led to other individual rooms. He needed Ahab's Crosshairs and quick. He was no match up against Sollux's psionics with just his head unless he wanted to experience a major head ache and possible amputation. Eridan leapt into one of the rooms, searching around until he decided he'd need a place to hide. He found a door into a small closet with junk left by Gamzee who never would put in the effort to clean or stock away his materials. Without a second thought Eridan hid himself within the garbage and silently shut the door, hearing Sollux's foot steps in a distance.

Sollux stepped into the lab floor, glancing around for a few seconds before advancing forward. Where the fuck did that nubsluping fuckpod go. It crossed his mind that Eridan may have just transportalized somewhere else by now, but he then decided he didn't care. Fuck his mood swings. Maybe this was a delayed side-effect to the stunt Eridan had pulled earlier, he wasn't sure. Either way, he wasn't in the mood to participate in one of Eridan's fucking tricks. He looked around the room once more and let out a disgruntled huff before stepping onto the transportalizer once more, sending himself to a platform between twelve others, all with hovering holographic signs floating above them. He moved to the one bearing his own sign and blood color, sending himself back to the security of his own hive.

Eridan sighed when Sollux made his way out of the room. Good, he was gone. He crawled out of Gamzee's pile of junk and went in search of his rifle. It had taken some time to find it but eventually it came into his possession. Eridan didn't do much after finding his only weapon of security. Instead he sat down against the wall and closed his eyes. He wanted to get into Sollux's mind, really badly. Assaulting him wouldn't do any good though, it'd only anger the other.

He pressed his lips together, touching the center of his chest to feel his heart beat. Adrenaline still ran through his veins. He gave a soft sigh before releasing his mind outward into the world, searching for Sollux's coordinates. Maybe he could find some creature to snatch a hold of and spy on the other.

Sollux settled down in his computer chair, leaning his head against the back. Screw Eridan. He was such a pompous gigantic prick. Sollux hadn't tried to invade his god damned mind, what the fuck gave Eridan the right? He pushed Eridan out of his thoughts, and instead focused his attention to fortifying the defenses he had in place, and putting up new ones. Nobody was going to be getting into his head again.

Eridan sighed to himself, taking a few more minutes before finally finding Sollux's mind. He kept his mind lingering until he could find something to grasp onto, any creature. That was when small little buzzing monsters flew through him. Yeah, one of Sollux's stupid bees. Eridan's mind quickly raced into one of the bees, causing it to jerk up and down until Eridan grasped an awkward function on its wings and landed upon one of the servers. His sight was strange but he saw everything he needed to see, especially Sollux. Now all he had to do was wait until Sollux slept.

Sollux really didn't like this.

Not at fucking all.

He was glad to have the power to step a bit out of his own mind once in a while, even if it meant being stuck in someone else's. But he didn't like other people's minds, either. He instead distracted himself. He would write codes, or play games, or create things or destroy things, anything that would get him out of his bifurcated mind set for even a little while would do.

He hated the bipolar. It was probably his least favorite trait. Because of it, he could never stay mad for as long as he'd like to. He couldn't stay happy for overly long, either. Every emotion was cut down, so he'd preferred to feel nothing at all.

So, he confined himself to his codes. His creation. His modification. Destruction. Re-creation. Anything to keep him away from the more...dangerous parts of his own mind. Anything to keep him thinking rather than feeling.

It was a perfect solution for him. His bipolar never invaded the thoughts. It never crept it's way into science, or math, or systematic processes of the sort. Thoughts were never cut short to make room for another extreme, contradictory thought. Thoughts never made him want to dump his own think pan all over the floor, never made him want to scream or cry, never made him want to do something stupid like have a feelings jam in a horn pile. No. Thoughts were simple. So he stuck with them, as he carefully laced the fortifications in his mind.

Eridan let the bee pace back and forth before trying to take flight again. He was awkward in his motions but he managed to hop from the servers onto the curtain and stay there. He looked over the drawings on Sollux's wall, mentally whistling at all the scriptures and such scratched there. Eridan made one more jump across the curtain, trying to get closer to Sollux. He made the dramatic flight over to Sollux's desk, nearly scaring himself half to death as he crash landed onto the desk but sighed when he made it.

He could get used to this.

Sollux wasn't sure when he had closed his eyes, but he no longer saw the world around him. Instead, he saw the world inside his head. The barriers he had placed were given depth and color from his imagination, there were even armed gunman guarding it. They walked along the walls, resting the barrels of their guns on their shoulders and swinging their free arms at their sides. They had some type of pattern to their movements, but Sollux couldn't follow it. Soon, he began to feel drowsy, and the images and colors distorted, dragging his consciousness entirely away from the fortifications and instead into his imagination, where he was finally gripped by sleep. The fortifications remained, guarding his mind heavily, but the infantry vanished along with the vivid color, and Sollux's chances of real defense.

Eridan glanced up towards Sollux, seeing he had fallen asleep. He felt his lips quirk up in a grin and decided now would be a good chance. Eridan moved himself into a comfortable position, making himself fall asleep. When he was sure he was in a slumber he set his mind out of the bee and climbed around Sollux's head. Sleeping would make Eridan's mission more like a spy movement, not a one on one army battle. The dreams were the most lenient and easy areas to manipulate. They were like clay, just waiting to be molded unlike memories which already have a structure. Eridan took one more sweep around when he found a small opening that was only temporary; he immediately took the spot, trying to get without getting noticed. Eridan could feel the electricity in Sollux's mind wire around him but never grasp him completely. He slipped in and out of many loose ends and openings, whatever made it easier and safer for him. Soon he stumbled into Sollux dream state, home free for now until Sollux noticed his presence.

Sollux dreamt about bees more often that he'd like to admit.

It wasn't that he really enjoyed them or anything, but rather their systematic movements. Their hive mentality. He admired their bravery and mindlessness, protecting their hive, or in this case the server boards, no matter what. Over the course of the dream, he watched a fairly large swarm of bees fly over his head and toward the water, beckoning for him to follow. He did, and the bees touched down and took the form of another troll. A familiar one. He couldn't exactly place which it was until it was no longer bees he was staring at.

His dream became one about Eridan.

Not about killing Eridan, either. About civil things. About kind things. Fun things, even. In the dream, they didn't fight. They got along well. (Maybe too well, but Sollux didn't care. Inhibitions meant nothing when you were asleep.) He watched Eridan's every move, as he subtly had in the waking world. Every twitch of his finger, every smirk and every time his eyes sparked. He didn't know it, but he dreamed about Eridan almost as frequently as he dreamt of bees. Often times he wouldn't remember, and when he did, he denied it entirely. He would rationalize to himself 'no, I just remembered it wrong.' or 'I guess he WAS the last one I talked to today.', but somewhere, deep down he knew. And it terrified him so much. So he would retreat back to his thoughts. His codes. His simple answers. And deny everything.

Eridan wandered about the current dream Sollux held blindly. There was no clear structure around the area; it was Sollux's room but then again it wasn't. Eridan kept himself cautious and on his toes the whole time he went about his journey. He first wanted to see how Sollux interacted with his dreams, how aware of himself he was when within them. Eridan wasn't too sure if Sollux had the same mental power he did so he couldn't reveal much more than he already had to the other. He snuck around a few building blocks of the troll's dream, following a scent that grew stronger and stronger the further he walked.

He was reaching Sollux.

Quickly Eridan snuck behind a structure, hiding away from some guards which monitored the area but not as thoroughly as they did the perimeter. When the security made they way across the structure Eridan swiftly snuck through. He stopped when spotting Sollux mingling with the core of his current dream. Well wasn't that something. Eridan studied the physical responses Sollux made to a mock version of Eridan. He was expecting the other to snap, to fight and bicker and claw at the projection but there was no feeling of that. The emotions usually ran across the air like words in a book, you could practically spell out the feelings but… there was nothing. Eridan tucked himself carefully within his hiding spot, making sure neither the security or Sollux would spot him.

What was Sollux doing dreaming about him? Was he still unaware of how to control his dreams or was he incapable of controlling them at all?

Sollux ran along with his dream-Eridan, flying around the structures that would appear and disappear, steering himself through forests and fields, underground caverns, whatever he could think up. But then suddenly, he was back in his respiteblock. Sollux was situated in front of his computer, when suddenly purple text flooded the screen. He couldn't read it, but the color made him smile. He must have agreed with whatever Eridan had been staying, because before long, he was typing responses. They held conversations, and Sollux was happy.

Genuinely. Happy.

His emotions never shifted to anger or indifference, he just smiled and rested his head against the heel of his palm, and watched the purple text appear. He wished Eridan would be civil with him in real life too, and not just his dreams. However, he doubted that would happen. He wasn't even sure it would be the same.

Eridan let his mental eye follow the two in a fantasy not even he could ever conjure up. It wasn't until Sollux rested himself in the confines of his own respiteblock that Eridan found himself with a hand over his cheek smiling small. Eridan blinked quickly before shaking his somewhat content feeling away. There were now emotions here and he needed to be careful. If he got caught up in Sollux's emotions, even that happy ones, it could spiral down into something worse and he'd be brain dead for quite some time. He waited until Sollux was rested at his chair, typing away as usual but this time with a smile. Since Sollux's manufactured Eridan was more acquainted with the troll he figured he might have an easier chance to communicate without gaining any commotion. Eridan looked around the respiteblock and structured it just as it looked in real life, neglecting no detail or anything. He wanted to make sure that if security came he'd have a way out. When the coast was clear Eridan climbed out of his hiding spot, rubbing his hands together and approached Sollux from behind.

"Sol…" he breathed carefully.

Sollux turned around, still smiling to himself. "Jeez, Ed, That was fast." He smirked. "You're just as fast on land as you are in water, I guess." He scratched his arm, his eyes watching Eridan fondly. "So, what do you wanna do now?"

Okaaaaaaaaaaay. This felt kind of weird but Eridan wasn't going to lie, he liked seeing Sollux nice. Eridan could actually see himself having a decent conversation with the troll if he wasn't so pissy and rude all the time. Even if he was a low blood.

Eridan licked his lips, keeping his gaze straight at Sollux. "Um... whatever fancies you I suppose. I don't have much in mind."

Sollux shrugged, taking his eyes off of Eridan for a moment before they were back on him. "Well, to be honest, I don't know. At this point I'm kindda just waiting for something stupid to happen."

With that a giant spider came crashing through the walls of his respiteblock, screaming and shooting webs toward them both. Sollux reacted quickly, (In his dreams he was the hero, not the destroyer. It was him.) pushing Eridan out of the way and catching the webs with his psionics. He shot them back toward the spider, trapping it in a web of its own making, and pushing it back out through the gaping hole it created. He turned back to Eridan and smiled, the wall repairing within seconds.

"Well that was fun. What next."

It was at that point that Eridan made the assumption that Sollux did indeed have an idea of who he was when he was dreaming. Eridan wasn't really into action or explosions, at least not today (he did get choked and chased by this bastard earlier anyways). Eridan brushed off his pants and walked towards Sollux.

"Let's just... settle down for a bit."

Eridan turned the troll to face a beautiful aquatic garden. It was filled with streams that traced along the wall and pads floating on top of rivers of water. Ivory statues of trolls reaching out to the sky and dancing with one another posed over separate pedestals, as if waiting to come to life. Eridan grasped Sollux's arm, looking at the fine suit he were, sewed together with fine silk and other materials. There was a distant sound of a piano within a glorious hive just ahead of their walk. Right now Eridan just wanted Sollux to remain calm as he interrogated him.

"Do you want to come sit with me?" Eridan asked, guiding him to the porch of the hive structure.

Whoa. Sollux was a bit taken aback by the sudden change in scenery, but he didn't mind it much. He couldn't help but feel underdressed. He glanced around, but turned his attention back to Eridan when he felt Eridan's hand on his arm. "Uh...sure." He shrugged, following Eridan to the porch and seating himself.

Eridan sat down on a love seat, glancing at a troll who set down a tray of a tea kettle and two cups for them. This was a typical dream Eridan had constructed for Feferi whenever he entered her mind. He just wanted to have nice chats and this was the only way he seemed to get it nowadays. Eridan scooped up some sugar and mixed it with his tea, bringing the warm drink to his lips.

"How has your programmin' been goin' Sol? Get any good stuff done?" Eridan asked after sipping his tea. He didn't really give a shit about Sollux's programs but he wanted to make sure the troll was comfortable.

"Yeah, I guess..." Sollux furrowed his eyebrows a bit at Eridan, raising one slightly. Since when has he cared? "Uh, how are things with you?" He suddenly felt awkward. He felt himself slipping into his more calculative self, but stopped. This was just a dream. Why should he have to worry about that kind of thing?

Then he realized.

This wasn't his dream anymore.

He stood up, staring at Eridan with wide eyes. "...Are you really this shameless, you insufferable prick? Getting me in the ONLY place where I feel normal?"

Eridan dropped his head into his hand, sighing. "And here I thought we were actually becoming friends. I guess you only enjoy the company of the things you control."

Sollux's eyes widened for a moment then narrowed again. He seated himself in a chair across from the loveseat in which Eridan was situated with a heavy sigh, and crossed his arms. "I don't control this place, numbnuts. If I did I would have made sure you stayed bees. Now what do you want."

Eridan covered his hand over his mouth. "That wouldn't be possible because I'm not the manufactured... well me. Anyways, point aside I was hopin' we could let our caliginous differences aside and come to some sort of an agreement."

Sollux full-out glared at the sea troll. How many fucking times did he have to say it before he got the point across? "The only hate I have for you is PLATONIC, you nooksucking scumweed. There's nothing caliginous about it." He over-accentuated the word caliginous, then leaned back and ran his hand through his hair. "...but what kind of agreement did you have in mind."

Eridan flinched a bit, feeling Sollux emotions snap against his head. His eyes drifted across from Sollux's shoulder, seeing the mock version of himself with a dreaded, almost heart torn face. The figure disappeared into bees, flying away into the sky and molding into the scenery like a painting. If Eridan knew anything from his experiences in dreams it was that the surroundings said a lot. That mock dream didn't like something Sollux said and now it was hurt. He wondered if that would affect their relationship in the future or would it have completely forgotten this happened.

Eridan cleared his throat, looking back to Sollux. "Fine. I wanted to propose a sort of trade. I'll leave my head open to you so long as you leave yours open to me. You can make boundaries and watch my every move, so long as I can linger around here for a bit and in return I'll let you do that same to me."

"...Why the hell would I agree to something like that? Seriously. That's the stupidest fucking thing I've ever heard. I don't even LIKE going into other peoples' minds anyway, what makes you think I wanna go snooping around yours?" He leaned forward again, the lisp in his voice worsening as his discomfort and annoyance grew.

"If you won't do it for the sake of discoveries do it for your own protection." Eridan leaned in, trying to see if he could calm Sollux. "Listen, you and I are both lucky Vris hasn't found out our new found abilities yet but as strange as it is for us to gain them who's to say no one else will get such a thing as well? If you won't travel around you need to learn how to fuckin' protect your home base properly but you can't do that toying with your own mind. I mean, I got in here easily, who's to say there isn't another troll that might come in as well. I know Vris wouldn't think twice about fondling around with your mind and she has far more control than you possibly could gain. But you could still protect your own head and with the different things we know it'll come by easier and faster. Just let us make this deal.

Eridan made a persuasive argument. And Sollux really didn't want Vriska back in his mind, fucking around. He would rather not repeat what happened last time. He watched the seadweller carefully, sure to watch every movement he made. "...Why the hell do you want in my mind so fuckin' bad anyway? I swear if this is about another rivalry thing or some shit you can fucking forget it, and I'll leave you brain dead right here and now."

Eridan rolled his eyes and scratched the back of his head. Dammit, he really didn't want to say it but if he had to.

"Alright look, just take a minute and forget about any form of a relationship I have with any troll here. I don't honestly care about the others here that much and nothin' interestin' has been happenin' since we got stocked up in this lab just bouncin' around different opponents. It's been the same damn thing for the past few weeks and I don't think I can play along with this deja vu any longer. This though, this new ability, I don't want to stop it. I want to learn more about it Sol. It's the thing that'll break me out of the repetition we have developed here because it's not a thing of survival and its not a thing a judgment, its a discovery. All I want is to get my think pan to work and not have to slave away to the thought of survival like every one else is doin', aside from talkin' to those plump pink hornless aliens."

Sollux eyed him suspiciously. Sure, what Eridan was pitching was valid and all, but he still wanted Eridan as FAR from his mind as possible. He figured that as much as he wanted Vriska away from his head, he wanted Eridan away maybe even a bit more. "Why don't you just go explore the veil? I'm sure there's lots left to discover out there."

Eridan rolled his eyes. "There's not much more to discover. Look, I ain't sayin' I'm gonna stay here long, I just want to try it out. Let's say for some limited amount of time for now. If we can miraculously find common ground then we can continue this but for now lets just leave the war zone open while holdin' white flags when ever we're near each other."

"...And you promise that you'll help defend against VK, should she try anything?" What the fuck was he SAYING? Whatever. If Sollux was going to agree to this, he'd need ground rules. A fucking lot of them.

"Of course." Eridan said, looking as if that was a stupid question. "I want her away from my head as much as you do but right now I don't have nearly enough strength to push her out, let alone try to get in her head. I'll help with whatever I can do so long as you do the same for me."

Sollux hesitated, but nodded slightly. "...Okay. But if you're going to be crawling around in my fucking head I'm putting some restrictions into place first."

Eridan raised his hands in defense, looking to Sollux nonchalantly. "Fine. I understand."

"Rule number one, stay the fuck out of any kind of control center. Do not touch anything. You can observe or whatever the fuck, but start going beyond that and I won't hesitate to make you a brain dead blob." Sollux couldn't believe he was actually agreeing to something this stupid. But, he was this far in, he couldn't back out now. "Rule number two, don't go rifling through my memories."

"Fine, fine, fine. I'll remain an observer, I get it. Anythin' else?" Eridan asked, folding his hands over his lap. Seriously, Sollux could be no fun sometimes. He wouldn't be able to do anything but... oh well.

"Don't make anything up. Don't change anything, I just got this fucking place the way I wanted it." More or less. "Don't go fucking with shit. Just remember that this is the mind of a guy who could snap your neck with a flick of his dainty fucking wrist."

"Your wrists are pretty fuckin' dainty. Why don't you ever work out?"

"Why bother when I never have to lift anything."

"Yeah, but wouldn't your psionics become stronger if you managed to work out physically as well. I mean, sure, as far as I can tell you use your mind power to whip up a electric furry from 'em but if you made some physical progress you could probably cause more damage." Eridan said, swirling his finger in the air when describing his thought.

"They wouldn't change. They haven't got shit to do with my physical abilities. If I make my mind stronger, they get stronger." Sollux shrugged, watching the bejeweled finger twirling in the air, subtly. "I could be paralyzed like Tav and they'd still be just as strong."

"Hm," Eridan said placing his finger over his lips before letting the hand fall on the arm rest. "Very well. Just a thought." He stood up, making his way out of the porch and onto the back yard of the mansion. As he walked further the scenery changed back to what Sollux had originally created in his mind; even their clothes changed back to how they originally were. "I'll see you in a bit then. I have other minds to bounce around before I can get ready for any observations in here. It wouldn't make sense to mindlessly look at things without knowing what you're specifically looking for."

Sollux rose and followed, only getting progressively more annoyed with the prick. "Wait, what the hell are you looking for? And why do you feel the need to fucking meddle with other people's lives, why not just leave them alone?"

"I'm not meddling with anyone's life Sol. God." Eridan looked back to the other, folding his arms. "Look, I'll let you in on what I've been able to do for the past weeks I've found out about this ability. I've exercised the ability to manufacture, alter and completely change memories however and when ever I please. That, though, I haven't done to a state that could completely affect a troll. All I've done is alter small things, like the colors of the scenery or a small statement made. I'm learnin' to control it Sol but doin' it on myself isn't gonna get me far. There are lot's of other challenges when you place your objective upon other individuals. I haven't completely fucked up someone's mind; I spend most of my time in their dreams. Okay?"

Whoa, what? Altering memories? Sollux's heart sank. What the hell did he just get himself into? "Okay, new rule. No memories. They're off limits entirely."

"Well aren't you a ball of fun?" Eridan scratched the back of his neck and looked to Sollux from an angle. His eyes seemed larger with the way he gazed to Sollux, more rich with a violet hue and intense.

"So what fun have you been doin'? Somethin' from that reaction tells me my abilities are different from yours."

"I haven't done anything. I prefer to stay out of other people's minds. What's private should stay private. I don't find it fun to know what other people are thinking, I don't care." Sollux stated bluntly, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Boo," Eridan said, glaring slightly at the other. "Fine. I was going to make restrictions on my head but I feel like you've built more for yourself then I could think of." Eridan opened a door that illuminated a harsh white light. "I'll see you around."

Sollux swallowed. "'Bye, I guess." What was he getting himself into, he wondered. How far was this going to go? He would just have to watch Eridan's moves carefully. Make really certain he wouldn't overstep his bounds...then he should be fine.

Eridan escaped back into his head, gasping slightly as he woke up. He blinked several times before rubbing his eyes. Ugh, his back hurt again. He looked around himself, seeing how he hugged his weapon close to his chest. He figured for now he'd have to mingle within the thoughts of others since no one was asleep at this time. Sluggishly he kicked himself off the floor, leaving his weapon aside and started for the transportilizer, heading back into the lab where it was filled with everyone.

Sollux woke up and sat forward, pushing up his glasses and rubbing his eyes. This was it. This was the worst decision of his life. No, no. Second worst. The worst was still agreeing to make this game. He shook his head, pulling his chair forward and starting his computer up.

Eridan sat on a chair and started looking for memos that may have been placed by Karkat or any other. He wanted to appear to be doing something as he went through the minds of his so called friends. When he found a large memo filled with a whole bunch of rants he began to slowly scroll through it, jumping around mind after mind. This went on for hours until one by one the trolls began to find their way to a recooperacoon.

Sollux's sleep schedule was fucked. Well, implying that he had one in place from the beginning. When the rest of the trolls began to go to sleep, he could still he found awake on his computer, still coding, gaming, doing anything that didn't involve sleep. It was a waste of his time. Why bother. He could run just fine without it.

Eridan rubbed his eyes furiously before falling into a deep sleep over the computer he really had no use for. This night was encompassed on his own territory, faced with a dream that opened memories and thoughts fixed within his subconscious. It was rather peaceful as he roamed the territory, fixing up some things as he debated whether to make a journey tonight or not.

Sollux sighed. He couldn't stop thinking about exploring what his new powers could do further, but he didn't want to do it at the expense of his friends. If only there was some way he could test the waters without hurting someone.

Wait. He could.

He closed his eyes, quickly locating Eridan's presence. He shut his eyes, falling asleep and making his way into Eridan's mind.

Within his dream, Eridan's world was a sort of fantasy that couldn't thoroughly be described. He was within a city that was flooded several inches under water but so was the sky. The towers were filled with vines and plant life sprouting through the walls and windows. At the center of the city there lay a massive hole, filled with more water and led to a cavern of a massive mepire. At the center of this hole, just over the water did Eridan stand there, holding his hands out as if touching an invisible wall. To the front of him a mock image of Sollux copied the same actions Eridan did, tracing symbols in the air. They both looked instantly at the symbols, fixing a wall with each letter that was traced in the air.

"Just one more sentence and the defense should be complete."

The mock Sollux nodded before looking around as if the dream was being disturbed.

Sollux didn't have to sneak. He walked into Eridan's dream fairly easily, though he decided to stay out of it. Instead, he found a nice place to sit down within the city, and just observed his surroundings. Eridan had quite the imagination. It far surpassed his, at least most of the time.

Once Eridan was finished with his actions a massive wall split the city into two parts. It sliced right through and began to separate from each other, tearing the city apart. The water from above began to tremble and slip down into the ground like water spouts. As the city began to flood deeper into water Eridan shuffled his hands together and took a notebook the mock Sollux held out to his.

"Sol, you don't need to watch from afar. I promise you the view is much nicer close up."

The ground beneath Sollux rumbled, and he jumped up from where he was sitting. He stifled the urge to scream something, but instead looked around, confused. What the fuck was Eridan doing? Did he just split the place in two? He walked more toward where Eridan was, but still stayed out of the seadweler's view. Wait...was that...Eridan had a dream version of him?

The mock Sollux followed Eridan as he began to flip through the pages and walk down the city. He was listing places where they would break the dream in half and had the projection repeat it back to him, confirming each word. When Eridan was pleased with the other's correct responses he closed the book and watched as the water spouts began to disappear.

"Remind me to collect more dormant memories when we're done here Sol, and don't forget to make sure the others stay at their place as well okay?"

"Memory stored."

"Good. Now then, go fetch me the real Sol, he's bein' a total weenie right now."

The dream troll nodded and within a flash he disappeared only to reappear behind Sollux. Without a second thought he took the troll by the scruff of his shirt and practically dragged him out into the open where Eridan could see him. The dream troll held no expression, no emotion, only a face that looked just like Sollux's.

"Holy shi-" Sollux flinched as the parallel version of himself dragged him out into the open, where Sollux stared, confused. "...What the hell am I to you, Ampora, a slave?" He smirked a bit, pulling free of his dream clone. "You didn't even give him my natural charm and wit. What a fucking shame."

"You wish you had to luxury of being my slave. Let him go." The dream Sollux did as he was told but kept his stance. Eridan folded his arms, smiling a bit. "I needed someone to help bounce off ideas from while in here. This Sol is only a body filled with any ideas, concepts or theories I come across but have lodged somewhere in the back of my head. He's not here to question, he's here to help me out with ideas."

"Why make him look like me if you're not gonna make him a total asshole?" Sollux's smirk grew a bit, turning to the clone and giving him a once-over. "Pretty accurate, though...right down to the dainty wrists. Good job, Ampora. It's the thought that counts."

"I didn't create you or the others to make you seem like who you really are, except maybe my personal decoy and Fef. You're all here for a job, not to entertain me with banters and insults you all can conjure up to then walk away and neglect me." Eridan responded. "But I will accept the compliment, no matter the sarcasm I detect in it."

Sollux looked at the sea troll over his shoulder, raiding an eyebrow. "C'mon, isn't the neglect part of the experience though." He turned to face him completely, gesturing to the city around them. "So...what is this place anyway."

When Sollux turned the projection Sollux began to make his eyes flicker. Eridan held a hand up, seizing the troll's reaction, knowing he himself was causing it. The dream troll fell back to normal and began to walk away from the two, disappearing into the water. Eridan clasped his hands together and looked up at the towers.

"It's no place specific, just somethin' I built from my fantasies. I've almost created a whole planet here all to myself. I have yet to fill it completely with people." Eridan took several steps towards the large crack in his dream. "This place is just another section for me to hide in incase my mind is ever attacked. It's like a part of a maze I guess you can say."

Shit. Eridan had a really intricate system in place. Sollux never thought about putting some type of labyrinth down, in case an attack ever did happen. "That's...actually not a bad idea. I'll give you a few points for outdoing me here. So this is what you do in your spare time?"

"I also sometimes I jump around my memories." Eridan said. "A lot of these places are built by memories of the others in this game. There might even be a place or two you could recognize if you wander around long enough."

Sollux wasn't sure he wanted to wander. He didn't like strolling down memory lane too much. "No thanks. I'll take your word for it..." He said flatly, looking around at the buildings some more before turning his attention back to the violet blood. "Why did you split it in half?"

"To create more room. You see that cavern down there," Eridan pointed down to the water filled opening. "There's more space and layers you can fit the deeper you go but the problem is the deeper you go the closer you get to the memories. I've already created one layer of defense. I'm beginnin' to build the second one."

Shit. That was a really good idea too. Why hadn't Sollux thought of that? "...Huh. Creative defense system. Good idea."

Eridan chuckled, ruffling the troll's hair. "Don't get too excited Sol, it's only a floor plan."

Sollux jerked away from Eridan's hand, crossing his arms and glancing at the cavern. "I'm not excited. It's just a good idea. I'm surprised you managed to think up a better floor plan than I did."

"Well you're the one who insists on stuffing yourself in a computer with your own thoughts to yourself." Eridan pointed out. "You should really consider explorin' every now and then."

"It's none of my business what other people are thinking. Or what their memories are. It's not my place to know." He shrugged. "I don't want people fucking around in my mind, so I pay other people the same respect and stay out of theirs."

Eridan rolled his eyes and started for the edge of the city. "You're no fun." As he began his walk the street broke off from within the city and rose up high like a ramp. It stabbed its way into the water above the sky where Eridan headed towards.

"Well excuse me for respecting people's privacy!" Sollux shouted, rolling his eyes and heading for Eridan. Suddenly, he felt that his powers were better left unexplored, and that staying out of Eridan's mind would be all for the better. However, he knew Eridan didn't feel the same for his mind.

This city was lively, filled with unnamed trolls but a life nonetheless. It was dark but by god was the city most fascinating. Coral reefs helped to structure the buildings and they illuminated with pigments against the harden shells. People were chatting away, walking about, some even dancing on the streets to a band playing outside. The stars were bright, not hidden at all by the lights around and the world just felt right for once. Eridan smiled at this fantasy land, walking across a street and passed several younger trolls running along laughing. This was his favorite dream to visit.

Sollux shoved his hands in his pockets, slouching a bit as he walked. He shuffled through the city, trying to make himself as small as he could. He wanted out of Eridan's mind. It was even less familiar then his own.

Eridan took Sollux to a building, letting the door man open the entrance for them before he glanced back. "Sol, do you know how to dance?"

Sollux stood up straight, looking around, surprised. Well, he definitely hadn't wandered far enough...this was still Eridan's mind. "Uh...no?"

Eridan chuckled, grabbing Sollux arm as they entered the building. "Then you have yet to live."

The loft of the building was enormous with a fountain in the middle and sculptor dead center. It appeared to be a hotel but it was filled and connected to other buildings. Eridan nearly dragged Sollux across the many golden traced walls and sculptures that leaned every other angle. He approached a set of twin doors that were closed off and secured by two massive trolls. As he approached the door the trolls both grabbed a handle and opened the doors to introduce a glorious ballroom, the center piece a chandelier with many trolls dancing around back and forth.

It seemed everything Eridan dreamt up was...classy. Sollux felt very out of place, to say the least. And whenever Eridan's imagination was involved, he felt extremely underdressed. His eyes widened at the ballroom, feeling a small shock of panic run through him. "Whoa. Hang on dude what are we doing here-"

"We're gonna stand here and watch everyone have the time of their life." Eridan spoke sarcastically as he looked at himself at the mirror. A picture of him with a nice tuxedo shaded with violets, black and a plum purple morphed against his figure as Eridan looked back to Sollux. "We're going to dance. Go ahead pick a partner. I'm sure there's some gal here willin' to dance with your two left feet."

Fuck. That. Sollux wasn't dancing. Not happening. He would rather something heavy come suddenly crashing down on top of him, severely injuring him instead of making a total fool out of himself on a dance floor. "Uh… no thanks. I'll just watch." He half-nodded, making his way to a table to the side of the dance floor and sitting down.

Eridan rolled his eyes and walked towards Sollux. "Come on Sol, you need to stop bein' such a stick in the mud. Take a fuckin' chance, live a little. If you keep yourself reserved in that tiny world of yours you're only goin' to feel like shit for the rest of your pathetic life. This place isn't even real Sol so who's to say when you get out it even happened. Just..." Eridan held out his hand cautiously, looking directly at Sollux, "do somethin' a bit crazy for once."

Sollux's heart jumped. No. It leapt. Right out of his chest cavity and into his throat, where he promptly swallowed it back down. Smart ass remark. C'mon man. You can muster one, he begged himself. Don't make a total ass out of yourself. "...are you offering to be my partner then?" He stared, expressionlessly at the other. Wow. Not the clever quip he was expecting. At fucking all. It just sounded sappier. Damnit.

Eridan raised an eyebrow, feeling his bejeweled fingers about to retract but he kept them steady. "If that's what you want then sure. I'll be your partner."

Welp, that didn't go as expected either. Sollux stared for another few moments, before deciding, fuck it. Nobody else will ever know, not that anyone else really mattered. Reluctantly, he grabbed Eridan's hand and pulled himself up, promptly letting go once he was standing upright. "So uh...after you or whatever."

Eridan held Sollux's gaze for a moment before slowly moving his eyes away from the other. He slipped his fingers back between Sollux's and guided him between the trolls who got on or left the dance floor. The crowd slowed their pace as a new song echoed through the ball room, something up beat but not too wild. It would be a fast dance but Eridan was sure Sollux would manage. He turned around when finding a spot to begin dancing, unaware that he had been smiling the whole time.

"For now we'll take it at a steady pace, alright?" Eridan clarified.

"Okay, I guess..." Sollux was so nervous. Why the hell was he so nervous? As if he didn't know. He had been aware of his flushed attraction for the purple blood for quite a while now, but he never said a damn word. He doubted he ever would. He did not want to take his chances. "So uh...how do we even..."

Wow, Sollux really was hopeless. Eridan placed Sollux's hand over his shoulder and grasped the other one, clasping their hands firmly together. With his free hand Eridan placed it over Sollux's hip and pulled their bodies close against one another. He held his amethyst gaze right to the other but with his nose slightly lifted.

"Alright now the basic steps are pretty easy. You're going to want to follow my steps though for the most part. With your right foot step forward, then with your left foot step forward. Right after you step forward trace a line like and upside down L. Got it?"

Holy shit, were they supposed to be this close? It took all of Sollux's willpower to stop his face from turning yellow. And wow, he was glad to have this close of a view of Eridan's eyes. He loved the shade of purple they were. Once Eridan started talking, though, he listened.

"Uh...I think so?"

Eridan couldn't help but chuckle to the other. Seriously, this poor soul DID NOT know how to do a simple waltz? Peasant life must be real hard. Eridan looked down to their feet and shuffled his left foot back and forth a bit. With his head still facing down a bit he brought his eyes back up to Sollux, smiling small.

"Okay let's try it."

Eridan went with a steady pace, performing the first foot steps that he ordered Sollux to try out.

Sollux looked down and watched their feet, making sure he wasn't stepping on the other's feet. It took him a few tries, but he soon got the hang of it, moving in time to the seadweller's steps. He was lucky he was a fast learner. His eyes didn't leave their feet, though, even after he'd gotten the hang of it. He dared not look the other in the eye. Not right now. Once Sollux managed the first three basic steps Eridan gave him the rest piece by piece. He let Sollux fix them together, amused at how desperately he tried to keep from stepping on Eridan's feet. Eridan wasn't too sure how many songs they went through until Sollux got the whole dance down but it was at this point that a slower song was playing and by instinct he had pulled Sollux closer. He rested his head against the other's shoulder and listened to the rhythm of the song and let his mind follow its own pattern in his footsteps. He let his body relax to the soothing sound of a soft sound that caused him to smile to no particular object. Sollux noticed every movement Eridan made. Though he wasn't watching his face, he felt every squeeze, every tug and every time Eridan attempted to lead him. His heartbeat quickened when Eridan rested his head on his shoulder. He had never realized before his bony he was. He wondered if Eridan was comfortable, since his collar bone stuck like a razor blade out of his chest. He really hoped he wouldn't mind. He smiled a bit to himself.

Maybe he had been a bit quick to judge this dancing thing.

Eridan made one last tight grip around Sollux's waist before letting the song come towards an end. As the small concert came to an end for an intermission everyone separated from their partner and clapped for the trolls playing. Eridan did the same, placing his hands together as he watched his mental figures bow and wave. When the musicians left the trolls left the dance floor and attended their booths or tables at the sides of the ball room. Eridan hadn't noticed his fingers interlaced with Sollux's once more as he took the other towards the crowds.

"See, that wasn't so bad now was it?" Eridan said, proud of himself and, although he wouldn't admit it, the other.

Sollux clapped weakly for the band, much more fascinated by the troll standing beside him. He felt a small pang of resentment toward the band for cutting his dance short. "Well, I guess it could have been a lot worse…" He muttered, following Eridan toward the crowd. Why was he still holding his hand?

Eridan smiled at the other, grinning with amusement. He drew the troll out of the ball room, seeing the hotel lobby filled with more individuals. "Do you want to go get a drink?"

"Sure." Sollux shrugged. "Why not..." He mumbled, allowing himself to be pulled through crowds by Eridan's hand. He had so many rings. It made hand-holding slightly uncomfortable, but not so much so that he wanted to let go. Ever.

Eridan took Sollux out onto the streets and led his to an outlet. Here it was casual with structures familiar to landdwellers but still held a bit of an underwater theme to it. Eridan found his way to a small cafe that served coffee, tea and soft drinks. It was a place fit for trolls just around their age or a few sweeps older. The music was some fruity pop music that sometimes was remixed. There rested many tables and a leveled floor with a small aquarium. Eridan took Sollux to the counter, looking at whatever drinks he may have come across in real life or had heard of.

"I think I might go for a coffee." He said tapping his finger against his lips.

Sollux nodded, turning to the menu himself and reading it over. He was becoming acutely aware of Eridan's mannerisms. Even more or so than before, since where wasn't other trolls around to catch him watching. He wondered if they should still be holding hands, but he wouldn't bring it up. "So...what are you here, just another citizen? Or are you like...the supreme overlord or some shit."

Eridan chuckled, telling the troll over the counter to bring him his own special order of coffee. It was at that point that Eridan let go of Sollux hand to adjust his outfit. "Right now I'm just any other citizen. I did try havin' it as me bein' an all important figure but then nothing interestin' happened. Everyone had their eyes on me and they did nothin' else so I changed the mannerism in which they interacted with each other and me. Whenever I am in need of attention though I will pick out which ever specific bystander I desire attention from and use it. They're sort of like dolls in a way; they'll do whatever it is they believe they should do until I make an appoint to control them."

Sollux was disappointed when Eridan took his hand away, but only showed it for a split second before his expression went back to normal. "Hm. I figured you would have loved the attention. Like, 'Yes, pay attention to me, pitiful landdwellers, I am you god' kinda shit." He smirked a little, hoping to get some sort of rise out of the high blood.

Eridan pouted his lips, looking at the other slightly annoyed. "Ha ha. How amusin'. It's not any fun to control trolls around these parts. Their life styles are all repetitive until I change the pattern. They aren't any fun to talk to anyways," Eridan looked at the group of trolls laughing and enjoying their time, not knowing at all that they are simply a figment of his imagination. "It's like they're all just ghosts."

Sollux smirk grew when Eridan pouted at him, but faded when he turned to face the other trolls. "Wait...then why even bother having them around? Couldn't you just kind of...have the entire city to yourself if they weren't here?"

Eridan glared at the other, thinking he was still mocking him. "Yes Sol, 'cause it's clearly obvious that I enjoy being in solitude not only in real life but within my own mind." His abrupt flare began to cause the constructed individuals to look to Sollux. Shit, calm down Ampora, calm down. Eridan inhaled, taking the coffee into his hand and shuffled it back and forth. "They may be dolls or ghosts or whatever but at least they give me some form of company."

Sollux raised his hands at his sides in surrender. "Whoa, no need to get defensive. That's not what I meant..." Eridan...really was lonely. Even in his own head. He looked at the seadweller, trying to think of some way to show his compassion, but failing to come up with anything. "... sorry."

Eridan swallowed hard, looking to the other with slight irritation but the emotion faded. The figures went back to their routine and Eridan pressed the lip of his cup towards his mouth. "Are you goin' to get anythin'?" He asked, looking to the counter before he drank.

Sollux shrugged, raising his hand to rub the back of his neck. "I don't think so...'m not really thirsty..." He said quietly, turning back to the counter.

The sea troll didn't glance at the other as he made his way to a table. He sat there with his hands wrapped around the cup, having it warm up his hands. He waited for Sollux to attend the opposite side of the table where and empty chair resided.

Sollux got up and followed the other to the table, leaning back in the chair opposite Eridan and crossing his arms. Shit. He liked it better when they were side by side. That way subtle glances would be more subtle.

Eridan glanced out into the crowd, watching them mingle the same way they have for several weeks ever since he constructed this place. Once he was done taking an eye-full he made a reluctant motion to face back to Sollux but kept his eyes on his drink. "So... anythin' else you'd like to ask."

"Uh...not really." Sollux lied. He had so many questions just screaming in his head, but he wouldn't bother asking. He maintained steady eye contact with the corner of the room, raising his hand to chew his nail a bit. "...Is there anything else to do around here?"

"That all depends on what you mean." Eridan said, finally looking to Sollux. "Do you mean what else we can do in this town or within my mind in general?"

Sollux shrugged, looking at Eridan with a slightly annoyed expression. "I don't care, jackass. Anywhere."

Eridan kept calm, folding his fingers together. "Look, if you want to leave go on ahead. I have other preparations I need to have made."

Oh. That was how he made it sound wasn't it. "I never said I wanted to leave...do you have other places like this in your mind?"

Eridan scratched the underside of his chin, thinking for a second. "Sure, I have suburbs constructed, some form of a desert with several oases, several farms, an island, another city but its more of a place for land dwellers and such. Then there's also the underwater empire still under construction, the one within that gaping hole."

Sollux's eyes widened; he prevented his mouth from falling open. Whoa. "...Wow. Okay. So, do you wanna show me around those then?"

Eridan looked to the other; slightly baffled that he was willing to journey around. Those were only like, the top few places he found himself slightly proud of when constructing but he guess Sollux could handle a surprise.

"Let's go then."

Eridan walked up to the doors leading to the bathroom, opening it. On the other side there resided a street filled with homes lined up against one another. They mocked the appearance of one another but with slight differences every now and then. Several kids played ball with each other, a few adult figures chatting amongst themselves within the suburbs of their community. Eridan stepped off the porch and onto the side walk, glancing at the chalk design under his feet. Sollux followed Eridan to the doors, eyes widening in pure amazement when he saw what was on the other side.

"..Wow." He remarked intellectually, (mentally chastising himself for being so dumb,) as he followed Eridan to the sidewalk. "This is insane."

"It's alright." Eridan said. "I pieced it together after visiting Kar's mind a while back. I have to admit he lives in a nice community."

"Don't you ever feel bad for snooping in other people's minds?" Sollux asked, though he already knew the answer. Eridan didn't know what it feels like, being taken over by someone else. How could he know? So why would he feel bad?"

Eridan shrugged. "Not really. I've only made my jumps in order to get ideas and places to construct. I haven't really sat down and listened to conversations or thoughts that someone might have. The only time I actually sat down and watched a memory play through was whenever I stumbled upon something containin' Fef and me within her mind." Eridan fiddled with the loose threads of his outfit, biting at his bottom lip. "Its... kindda nice rememberin' the times I used to actually smile."

Sollux felt a quick stab to his chest cavity, then a drop to his stomach. Shit. "...Oh." He said, breathlessly. He wanted to help. He wanted to make Eridan smile again. "I uh...sorry..." He muttered, shoving his hands in his jean pockets and staring at the ground.

Eridan shook his head. "There's nothin' to apologize for. Don't worry." He pointed down the street, beginning his walk. "Want to continue on?"

"Uh, yeah..." He said, following Eridan's strides. "Sure."

Eridan took Sollux down the street, pointing out several places and things that he specifically put together. When they reached the end of the suburbs which had a long road leading back to the town they escaped from Eridan started for one of the houses.

"Shall we?" He asked about to open the door.

Sollux nodded as Eridan pointed out the specifics, impressed at his foresight. He glanced around, studying his surroundings until Eridan started toward a house. Sollux raised an eyebrow, but followed him inside anyway.

This house led into a tree house, which was very large. A huge wooden platform held the structure up and rested quit nicely between two branches. Several planks led to several other homes within the forest. The trees were absolutely tall, towering into the sky like it meant nothing.

"This place I don't visit often but I do some reconstruction every now and then."

Sollux grinned. Now this was cool. It was completely on the other end of the spectrum from the other places they had visited so far. He wandered toward the open door of the tree house, looking out at the rest of the forest. "Okay, this place is cool."

Eridan smirked, folding his arms over his chest. "It sure is."

He watched Sollux for a moment, sort of blushing a bit with how fascinated the troll was. His heart may have fluttered a slightyl too in seeing the other grinning so wildly. Wait what? The troll blinked a few times before shaking his head. What the hell was he thinking? He turned around, trying to hide whatever small blush he felt, gazing out to the grassy floor. Sollux's grin disappeared a bit, as he stepped outside of the house and onto a plank, leading to another house. Yes, he was definitely getting ideas for his own defenses.

"C'mon, let's keep looking." The plank was wide enough that he could walk comfortably, so Sollux walked at a steady pace as he waited for Eridan to catch up.

Eridan rubbed his hand across his mouth, looking to the other. He wandered to the troll, letting him guide the way for the first time in his mind.

"You really like this place don't you Sol?" Eridan asked.

"Well, it's pretty cool. It reminds me of something AA would think up." Sollux said, looking around at the foliage that surrounded them. He remembered all of the times Aradia would take him out exploring around her hive, or when she would force him into excavations. He smiled a little to himself. As much as he complained about going outside, he didn't mind the adventures.

Eridan smirked. "Well, considerin' what I've already come across there is a temple just at the end of this forest about a mile out." Eridan shuffled his hands together, recalling the memory he found within Aradia's mind. He had to admit it was really cool, not so much for the adventure but the historical pieces and artifacts it held.

"So you definitely had a field day in AA's head then." Sollux remarked, but then fell silent. Aradia remembered too. He swallowed hard, his frame slouching a bit more as he walked. Maybe he hadn't gotten that far.

"I've been in everyone's mind Sol, except for yours and Vris'. But like I said I didn't invest much time in watching their life's story pass through my mind, everything here is for the purpose of my protection, not to preserve memories." Eridan clarified.

Sollux nodded, still remaining relatively silent. If Eridan had seen the memories, he wasn't saying anything. He knew Eridan had knowledge of what happened. Everyone did, because of course, Vriska had to brag about it afterwards. But nobody but he and Vriska had really seen the details. He sighed lightly, praying Eridan wouldn't want to see them. It was a memory he had stuck far behind all of the others, for the sake of his own sanity. "...So, you like temples and shit too?"

"I like the artifacts and history it holds. More importantly all the defenses they hold and weaponry some contain." Eridan said, explaining his fascination for warfare material. He wandered across the tree houses, passing one by one with each plank road they went through until he found a wooden ladder to climb down. "what about you?"

"Hm... the part I liked was the technology some had. A lot of the stuff was written in really early Alternian, but when you figured out what it said you realized how smart they were. It was cool, figuring out how to use their old stuff." Sollux shrugged, stopping at the ladder and looking down.

"I agree." Eridan took the ladder and started down, shuffling onto the grass floor once he reached the bottom. He looked around the massive trees, trying to find the land marks he had that led to the temple.

Sollux climbed down the ladder after him, following him through the underbrush of the forest. "So...did you take this straight from one of AA's memories?"

"Somewhat, some of it was part of Tav's and Rezi's as well. She has a lot of memories with them too." Eridan said, finding one land mark and starting for it.

Sollux grinned a bit. "Yeah. They were close. They FLARPed or whatever all the time. AA always tried to get me to join, but it wasn't ever my thing." Sollux said, looking forward. He knew where they were going. He remembered the path from Aradia's hive to the temple all too well, having traversed it as many times as he had.

Eridan nodded, starting down the path he began to remember. He was about to make another step when the world began to swirl before his very eyes. He felt a pressure on his shoulder and someone shaking it.

"Shit, someone is waking me up." Eridan said, holding his head.

"Oh shit-" Sollux said, turning to the other troll and stood in front of Eridan, holding his arms out to try and steady him. Was it okay to stay in someone's mind while they were awake? Well, Eridan had done it before, hadn't he?

Eridan tried to keep the dream intact but his world was fading. "You should probably go." Eridan chewed on his lower lip, struggling to point at a doorway that led into one of the trees. "Just go out through there."

Sollux nodded, and reluctantly stepped toward the door, barely taking his eyes off of the sea troll. "See you later." He said, waving a bit and walking into the door. He woke up in his computer chair, with his head resting on his keyboard. He wiped some drool off his chin, grimacing. He sat up, signing onto Trollian and waiting.

Eridan opened his eyes, looking over his shoulder to see Kanaya trying to attract his attention.

"Kan? What the-"

"I found it some what strange to see you slumber here at a computer. Is something wrong?"

"No, of course not." Eridan said, rubbing his eyes. "I just dozed off."

She looked at the other strangely. "Also, could you please stop your attempts at forcing Sollux into a black quadrant? Or, if you insist on doing such, take it somewhere else where other's won't be harmed or involved."

Eridan pressed his lips together, frowning at the troll. "Yeah, yeah. whatever."

"Eridan, I mean it."

"Yes, I hear ya."

Sollux stretched his arms above his head, yawning a bit. Strangely enough, that had been one of his soundest sleeps in a while. It was really weird to think that it was spent in Eridan's head. He rubbed his eyes, peering again at his computer monitor. Well...what now?

When Eridan managed to shake Kanaya off he logged onto Trollian and dicked around for a while. He was a bit surprised to see Sollux was already on. Was he conversing with some one already?

Sollux saw Eridan pop online, and wondered if he should make conversation. Initially he decided against it, but after a few minutes, he clicked on his name, opening a window.

-twinArmageddons [TA] began pestering caligulasAquarium [CA]—

TA: 2up.

CA: havve a nice time sleepin in my head

TA: 2omehow ii managed two wake up wiithout wantiing two kiill my2elf, 2o ii'd 2ay iit wa2 tolerable.

CA: youre wwelcome then

CA: does this mean that anythins c'hanged or are you goin to hold the idea that nothin wwent on betwween us

CA: like hittin some form of common ground or some shit like that

TA: well ii can't ju2t deny what happened, ii gue22. ii probably wouldn't anyway. iit wa2 pretty fun.

TA: and iit'2 not liike anyone el2e ii2 goiing two know. 2o why would ii even bother denyiing iit?

CA: just wwonderin

CA: i wwas just encountered by a wwarning Kan wwho insisted on me stoppin any black approaches wwith you

CA: or at least take them outside

CA: but seein as wwe found somethin to not fight about i feel like i could let those feelins aside

CA: unless you conjure up somethin to bring em up again

TA: uh-huh.

TA: well ii'll be 2ure two avoiid that bull2hiit agaiin.

CA: good

CA: noww then

CA: im goin to make my wway and travvel around the vvoid to kill some time because it seems like evveryone else is out and about their owwn things

CA: no reason to keep myself cooped up here

TA: yeah okay.

TA: do what ever ii gue22.

TA: ju2t don't do anythiing two 2tupiid.

CA: ah but sol

CA: thats what makes the advventure more fun

-caligulasAquarium [CA] siezed pestering twinArmageddons [TA] –

Sollux rolled his eyes, leaning back in his chair and cracking his knuckles. He never realized how boring the waking world was until he had been to such amazing places. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that he had made things similar to Eridan's in his head, they just hadn't stayed. He sighed. He had to stop thinking about it.

Eridan went about his time in search of new ideas. He wasted quite a lot of time jumping around in search of whatever the veil had to offer but it wasn't as amazing as his own imagination. Several hours passed and it wasn't until he returned to the lab that he encountered Feferi.

That was when he ended up getting in a fight with her and escaping into a separate floor with bleeding knuckles.

He couldn't really remember what started the fight, all he did was begin to chat with her but then he said something that upset her. Finally their conversation escalated and Eridan was now yelling.

"Fef I'm only tryin' to say is-!"

"Eridan just stop! Please!" She begged, throwing her hands out to the floor. "I've had enough and you're not making it any betta for yourshell. Please just stop."

Eridan clenched his fists tight, glaring at the other. He could feel his tears finally fall from his eyes and stream down his cheeks. "I WASN'T ASKING YOU TO DO ANYTHIN' FEF! COD DAMMIT I JUST WANTED TO TALK WITH YOU BUT IF YOU FUCKIN HATE MY PRESENCE THAT MUCH THEN FINE!"

Feferi looked at him slightly pained, reaching out for him this time. "Eridan, no. That's not what I-

"JUST FORGET IT!" He made his escape to the transporilzer, leaving the room filled with trolls before he could make the scene any worse.

Sollux hadn't moved. It was customary to stay put, since the only times he really moved before were when Aradia came to get him. So, he wasted his time away typing up new codes, or building things in troll minecraft, or just generally surfing the internet. He bothered Karkat occasionally, since it was always fun getting a rise out of him. But for the most part, things were uneventful.

Until a few hours later, that is, when Feferi started pestering him. She typed mostly in caps lock, and had it not been for the fishpuns and the font color, he would have sworn it was Karkat. After a while, she calmed down and explained her falling out with Eridan, and Sollux became concerned. He told her that she did what she thought was best, yadda yadda, then signed off. He stood up, walking away from his computer and transportalizing to the lab. He had to find Eridan before he did something really stupid.

Eridan ripped and yanked his hair, yelling and swearing every curse word he could and even made up a few. When speaking wasn't enough he began slamming his fists to the wall. The pain from his rings pinching his skin and potentially cutting through only made him more upset. He started slamming his fists against the wall, beginning to break the concrete.

God dammit he was just so pissed off!

Sollux asked the other trolls around the lab where Eridan had gone, and got progressively more annoyed when nobody knew where he was. "..fuck.." He said under his breath, approaching Kanaya.

"Kanaya, do you have any idea where Eridan stormed off to."

"I'm afraid I do not...why would you, of all people, want to find him? Surely you're not perusing a black quadrant as well." She said, cocking one of her thin eyebrows slightly.

Sollux's eyes narrowed. "No. Just tell me where he is."

"Well, I saw him leave on that transportalizer." She said, pointing. "Perhaps if you go now you'll be able to catch him."

He nodded, grateful for the fact that Kanaya didn't like to prod into people's personal lives just as little as he did. He walked toward the transportalizer, and disappeared from the lab.

He found himself in a mostly empty room, another unused part of the lab. He stepped a bit further in, and with every step he took, Eridan's sobs became a bit more pronounced. Once he had found him, he felt a pang of guilt, for some reason. "Eridan..?" He said quietly, very cautiously approaching the other.

When the anger in Eridan's body finally drained out he fell back on his bottom and covered his face. His violet blood smeared all around his face, rings and glasses as he left himself to cry; tired and alone. He didn't know what to do anymore. He just wanted to sleep, for good.

"...Eridan..." Sollux said, kneeling beside Eridan gently. He examined him, looking for any signs of damage. His eyes rested on the blood smeared over Eridan's fingers. "Hey, you're bleeding..." He said, reaching slowly for his wrist. "...Can I see...?"

Eridan sniffled a bit, jolting a bit when he felt his wrist lightly touched. He looked to Sollux wide eyes, tears still filling up and falling. He swallowed hard, running his free wrist against his nose.

"S-Sol... what are you doin' here?" He asked, choking a bit when speaking.

Sollux gently took Eridan's hand in his, slowly pulling off his rings one by one. "Well...FF started trolling me after what happened...She told me you ran off. I wanted to come see if you were okay." He said, looking up to face him. He smiled a little bit, before redirecting his attention to Eridan's hand. "Wow, you really tore yourself up here, ED..."

Eridan pulled his hand back, rolling up in a ball again. "I'll be fine. Why not make way to Fef since you two seem to have a thing for each other." He choked back another sob threatening to tumble out of his lips. God he felt so stupid right now, especially in front of Sollux. He didn't know what to make of it.

"Eridan-..." He sighed, sitting down in front of the little ball of black and blue fabric Eridan had turned himself into. "...It's not mutual. The flushed thing she has for me. I've told her it's not mutual. We're just friends." He explained quietly, looking at the ground between them. "She's kind of baffled by the fact that I don't feel the same but...she respects it. She's just a bit clingy...not that there's anything wrong with that of course but..." He stopped. He didn't want to accidentally say something wrong in a situation as delicate as this.

"Whatever..." Eridan said closing in tighter around himself as if it would keep him from crying again. "It's not like I care or anythin'."

Sollux smiled a little bit, sadly. "You're a pretty shitty liar." He remarked, pulling himself back onto his knees. "Now let me see your hand."

Eridan didn't move at first but finally he let out his hand. His fingers trembled as he pulled out the hand Sollux had first inspected. The blood collected at the bridges of his fingers and dripped onto the floor.

Sollux very gently took Eridan's hand as it was offered, pulling a small wad of gauze from his sylladex. His eyes flickered to the sea troll's face for a moment as he reached for them, before he turned his attention back to the injured hand. "...It's a habit I picked up from AA. I always carry first aid shit on me, just in case." He started, gently wrapping the gauze around his bloodied knuckles.

This information didn't pull Eridan out of his shell. Just when Sollux was finished wrapping the gauze around Eridan's fingers curled up and he started to sob again. The room filled up with the echoes of his hiccups and choking cries. He didn't say anything in particular, only murmuring "why's" while pressing his eyes into his knees.

Damnit. It was times like this that he wished he had been around people more. He had no idea how to deal with them. "H-hey..." He stammered, moving to lean on the wall beside him. Awkwardly, he reached his arm around Eridan's shoulders, pulling him a bit closer. This is what Aradia used to do when he was having a bad day, right? He thought so. He rubbed Eridan's shoulder with his thumb, desperately thinking of some way to cheer him up.

Eridan grasped onto Sollux with his unrepaired hand, having the blood smear across the troll's shirt. He practically had crawled over the other's lap, pulling him close as he tried to stop crying. It had taken a moment for him to gather up the strength to end his tears but he still trembled and hiccupped in between his berthing.

"M' sorry..." He whispered. "I feel -hic- like an idiot -hic- havin' you see me like this."

Sollux froze when Eridan clung to him, but relaxed once he was situated. He hugged Eridan close, rubbing his back, even after he had stopped crying. "It's okay. I don't mind." He whispered back, hugging him a bit tighter.

Eridan sniffled once more, running his wrist across his nose before closing his eyes and keeping close around the other. He made an attempt to keep a steady breathing pattern as he let Sollux comfort him. It seemed a bit strange, having the troll he made an attempt for a black quadrant with show any gesture of kindness but at the moment he didn't feel like judging or picking a fight. He just kept himself nuzzled against the other, curling his figure around the troll. Sollux continued to rub his back, eventually just stroking with his thumb. No words were exchanged, but not for a lack of trying. He thought desperately of words of encouragement to feed Eridan, but all of them felt wrong somehow. It would just be feeding him shit he either knew of didn't want to hear. So, he just didn't say anything. He simply hugged Eridan tight, letting him calm himself down.

By the time Eridan had calmed down he managed to bring himself to sleep. It wasn't on purpose, it was just that the comfort of being in Sollux's arms caused him to fall in a peaceful slumber. His head was rested nicely at the crook of Sollux's neck, breathing against his collar bone like he had done when they were dancing. For that time he kept in his mind again, bitterly keeping to himself within his labyrinth.

Sollux waited a few minutes after Eridan had started breathing normally before he looked down at him. That's what he thought. He sighed a little, deciding not to disturb him. He seemed happier when he was dreaming. He thought about joining him, but decided he would wait a little while. He didn't want to leave this just yet.

Eridan didn't make any attempt to remove himself from Sollux. His figure kept tight against the other as he mentally found a place to settle down. In his mind's eye, Eridan sat within a cove, watching the water rise inside the pocket of air of the nature made structure. His body was under an opening with water endlessly falling over him. He kept like this for a while, back against the rocks he rested over with his eyes closed.

It didn't take long for Sollux to fall asleep. And it took even less time to make his way to Eridan's dream. Well, kind of. He found himself on a beach, overlooking a vast ocean. He could tell that Eridan was...somewhere in that ocean. He sighed, sitting down in the sand. He slouched over the sand, watching the tide come in as he waited.

Eridan slid out from under the waterfall and sat at the edge of the rock. He slipped into the water, removing his clothes to roam around freely within the ocean. He swam out of the cove and into open sea, going against pods of fish and several waves crashing against the beach. When he managed to clear his head a bit and calm down Eridan kicked himself from the sea bed and shot out of the water, bobbing back as he floated within the ocean. He pushed his hair back, inhaling the oxygen around him and examined his hands. They weren't damaged but he could still feel them throbbing a bit from out of the water.

Sollux watched the water, when suddenly something came shooting out of it. Wait a second, was that Eridan? Holy shit it was. He raised his hand and waved at him, then shook his head and turned his attention back to the sand.

Eridan felt something that wasn't him within his dream. He looked out to the beach, squinting his eyes a bit to see Sollux out on the sea. Oh, so he actually came. Eridan dived back into the water, swimming through the currents before coming up on shore again. He climbed over a rock, ruffling his fingers through his dampened hair.

"I didn't think you'd actually come here." Eridan said while picking off a piece of seaweed on his leg.

Sollux looked at him for a second. Something was...off. Wait. Something was LITERALLY OFF. His eyes widened at the discovery, his face turning a pale shade of yellow before he covered his eyes calmly with his hand. "Of course I came. I wanted to make sure you were okay. Now where the hell are your clothes?"

Eridan looked down at his body, not seeing anything wrong about having taken off his clothes. "I took them off back at the cove. I don't like wearin' heavy stuff when I'm swimmin'."

"Well maybe you should go get them. Or dream up some fucking imaginary clothes, I don't know. Just put something on."

"I'm not puttin' clothes on." Eridan said slipping back into the water. "It feels nicer to swim like this anyways. Why?" Eridan smirked when pressing his upper body over a rock. He kept a wide grin and almost fluttered his eyes to the other when saying, "Does my body make you flustered Sol?"

Sollux parted the fingers over his eyes, glaring indefinitely. "Listen, I don't give a shit how normal it is for sea trolls to just go swimming around or whatever the fuck in the nude. But it's not normal for landdwellers, so yes it makes me uncomfortable. So have some cultural sensitivity or something, I don't fucking know. Just put some clothes on." He spat, closing his fingers again. He was visibly blushing now, his cheeks and ears having turned progressively yellower as he had spoken.

Eridan wasn't going to deny the fact that seeing Sollux like this made him a bit giddy inside. He ducked his whole body into the water and rose up from it, having the water morph into his usual clothes around him. The scenery changed slightly into a large cliff side with fruits and planets growing over them. A hive resided upon the edge they kept over. The sea was still close by, hives over one another with life going on about just under the cliff. Eridan picked at a fruit and took his place over Sollux's lap, letting one hand hold the back of his own head as he ate away his fruit.

"You know Sol, your face looks kindda cute when it's like that. I'm not gonna lie." The troll said while eating.

Sollux jumped out of his skin when the troll sat down, turning a brighter shade of yellow and tearing his hand from his eyes. He sighed in relief when he saw that Eridan was, in fact, dressed, but froze when what he realized what was said. "Wait a second. I'm not cute."

Eridan chuckled, plucking a grape from a vine hanging over them and pressed it close to Sollux's lips, trying to coax him to open his mouth. "Yeah ya' kindda are. Especially with that yellow blush."

Sollux hesitated for a moment, before opening his mouth and taking the grape. "I'm not cute. Fuck you." He said, glaring a bit at the seadweller on his lap.

"A' course you are Sol." Eridan teased, bringing another grape to Sollux's lips. "It's just a fact you might as well accept no matter how many times you say you deny it."

Sollux rolled his eyes, accepting the second grape. "I'm not cute, Eridan. In no definition of the word am I cute."

Eridan grasped Sollux's face and gently had the troll look to him. His amethyst eyes were soft and adoring. He pulled out another grape, this time having Sollux try and notice what exactly what it was they were doing; from the way Eridan was resting over his lap, to him feeding Sollux, to them not fighting. He pressed the grape to Sollux's mouth, leaving the tip of his finger to the troll's lips when he accepted it as if waiting for him to react.

Sollux froze entirely when Eridan grabbed his face. Whoa. Hang on. When did this happen. He felt his face heat up, and he swallowed hard. His heartbeat accelerated, and suddenly something fluttered in his stomach. No better time than now, he thought to himself, as he brushed Eridan's finger from his lips. He leaned forward, cautiously, but not too slowly, and stopped when their lips were locked together. Eridan's eyes grew wide when feeling Sollux's lips press against his. RED ALERT! RED ALERT! HE did NOT expect this to happen. So, he knew the troll may have potentially felt SOMETHING for Eridan but he did not expect to be kissed.

Eridan inhaled quickly through his nose when watching the other for a brief moment. The moment the startling sensation finally settled down Eridan loosely left his arms wrapped around Sollux's neck, kissing him back.

Okay, this most definitely WAS NOT what he expected to happen.

Well, that's not what Sollux expected, but he definitely wasn't going to object. He wrapped his arms around Eridan's torso, pulling him a bit closer and deepening the kiss. He was surprised Eridan hadn't pulled away and stormed off yet. This was good, right? When Sollux began to deepen the kiss Eridan unintentionally let out a soft moan. He grasped the troll's shirt tighter, leaning in on his body. The tips of his fingers slid over Sollux's shoulders and just at the curve of his neck. Eridan let go of the other's lips, inhaling quickly when looking to Sollux with a lust-filled gaze. His face held a needy appearance, sort of begging more for that sort of attention.

Hang on, did Eridan just moan? Sollux opened his eyes as Eridan pulled away, blinking. Whoa. Shit. "...um...do you wanna take this somewhere else?"

"Uh..." Eridan breathed heavily for a moment, keeping his figure curled around Sollux's like a puzzle piece. "Sure, did you have any place in mind?"

He swallowed hard, just as confused and...well, aroused as the other was. "Well...it's your mind, so uh..."

Eridan made a small noise of acknowledgment, bringing the troll back to his lips. His eyelids rested over an hazy amethyst gaze, letting his mind race through many mental images of architecture and lands. They soon found themselves seated in a small cottage peering out into a massive empire. Eridan kept his limbed laced around Sollux, not really showing any sign of wanting to let go.

Sollux barely noticed the change in scenery. His attention was entirely on the troll in his lap. He ran his slender fingers through Eridan's hair, pushing their lips slightly closer together, and hugged their bodied closer with his other arm. Eridan cupped the troll's face, giving him small pecks on his lips. His tongue ran across Sollux's bottom lip, nibbling against the plump grey skin. He returned to keeping their lips locked, once more leaking out a soft moan from the back of his throat. Slowly the troll wrapped his legs across Sollux's waist, pressing closer and leaning forward. Sollux's mouth widened, giving the other troll's tongue entry, and he ran his hands down from Eridan's back to his hips. Slowly, he trailed his fingers along the skin just under the soft fabric of his shirt, as if to ask for permission. Eridan raked his fingers through Sollux's hair, leaving his body open for any action Sollux was willing to take. He tilted his head, trailing the tips of his nails towards Sollux's horns to scratch at the base of his horns.

"Sol..." Eridan moaned, temporarily letting go of the other's lips.

A shock of electricity ran from the base of Sollux's horn to his crotch, a small moan escaping his lips. He trailed his hands under the other Eridan's shirt, his fingers reaching up to his pectorals, and then finding their way back to his sides. The tips of his fingers trailed over Eridan's gills, and he stopped. "Whoa...are those gills?"

Eridan looked down to his stomach. He found it the perfect moment to take off his shirt which was exactly what he did when Sollux claimed there were purple gills slit across the troll's sides. He trailed his fingers across the gills, nodding slightly.

"Yeah... I have some on my neck too." Eridan said, tugging slightly at his loose scarf.

"Huh...really?" Sollux remarked, tracing the gills gently. "Are they sensitive..?"

"The..." Eridan hesitated a bit, not sure if he wanted to reveal such information. It was kind of personal and he knew he was the only one with this problem. The troll looked into the two colored eyes, swallowing through a dry throat. "Not... not the ones on my sides but... these are," Eridan said, pressing his fingers to his neck, "really sensitive."

Sollux nodded a bit, leaning forward to press their lips together once more. He moved his hand up to the seadweller's shoulder. He pulled his lips away a bit, moving his fingers a bit toward his neck. "...Can I?"

Eridan gripped a bit tightly at the end of his scarf. He licked his lips, loosening his grip and sliding his fingers off. "Just... be careful." He said.

Sollux nodded, pressing their lips together again, and gently unwrapping Eridan's scarf from his neck. Once it was unraveled enough, he pulled it off, letting it fall to the ground beside them. He moved his fingers back to the gills, softly tracing along them, waiting for some kind of reaction from the troll on his lap. Eridan shivered slightly, letting out a soft moan once the ginger touch trailed across his neck. His eyes were blurred slightly, lust filled and submissive to Sollux's actions. The muscles around his shoulders and legs tightened for a moment, shocked by the sensitivity and adrenaline rushing through from his neck. Eridan's body curled about as if a cat would, leaning into Sollux's touch without a word. Sollux grinned a bit at Eridan's reaction, kissing him lightly before trailing his lips to the other side of Eridan's neck. He kissed the gills softly. Teasingly. With his hand, he continued to trace the gills on the other side of his neck. Eridan's head fell back slightly, angling outward to give Sollux room to ravish his neck gills. His body jerked out a small moan, led by a sigh. A sort of tingly sensation ran through his veins and rolled down to the bit of his stomach, resting there as more of the feeling gathered on top of each other. He gripped Sollux tight, biting down in his lip to keep from making any other noises as the other kept to his gills.

"Oh god," Eridan breathed before biting back any more words.

Sollux smirked, bringing his tongue to the gills and slowly licking down from his collarbone to his jaw. He kissed his jaw, and moved back to the gills, gently sucking and licking them, moving his hands to rest on Eridan's hips. Eridan this time couldn't fight off his moans. He gripped Sollux's shirt tight, his body jolting slightly to this unfamiliar sensation. He had kept his gills hidden for so long; having any form of physical contact only left him weak and trembling. The troll began to grind up against the other, the sensation of an arousal starting to grow with each time Sollux lapped his tongue against the other. Sollux moved his hands down and rested them on Eridan's backside, gently squeezing and kneading as he moved his tongue against the sensitive gills. Wow, this was fucking great. With every sound Eridan made, every time his body moved against his own, the heat in his stomach (and his bulge) grew. Wow. He didn't think things would get this far, but he definitely wasn't about to protest. Eridan began his own rhythm in grinding against the other. He couldn't seize his heavy panting and moans that escaped through his throat, making him blush more. Oh jeeze, he sounded atrocious. Every noise he brought out made him want to shrivel up and die but with Sollux handling his most sensitive area on his body he couldn't do much about it. His hands slid to the front side of Sollux, sliding his arms around the other's torso. Eridan pressed his face to the side of Sollux's head, looking dazed at the furniture in front of him.

His breathes wouldn't seize their frantic manner, even as he spoke, "Sol... ho- how far are ya willin' to go?"

The question caught him off guard. Not even he was very sure of the answer. He pulled his lips from the other troll's gills only barely, still having them in range of his heavy breath. He took a moment to breathe, bringing his hands to rub Eridan's thighs gently. "How far do you want to go..?" Eridan hugged the other close, leaving his head pressed and the troll's neck as he brought back some composure to his excited body.

"I don't know..." The troll sighed. "I didn't even know it'd get this far. I don't... I don't even know what to feel."

The troll blushed more, trying to hide his face within the confines of Sollux's shirt. This was actually really embarrassing and he had no clue this would happen. Okay, he would admit he did feel something for Sollux but... well fuck he had no idea it would be red feelings. He was so sure he could gather up a black relationship with the other and now he was so confused. Was he just so convinced that some day he'd get Sollux into a black relationship that being exposed to him like this was just something he would take advantage of?

Fuck.

"I'm sorry," Eridan murmured. "I'm totally ruinin' the mood ain't I?"

Sollux shook his head slowly, wrapping his arms around Eridan's waist and hugging him as tightly. "I didn't think it would either, to be honest." He said, his mouth suddenly going dry. He licked his lips, why was he suddenly nervous? "But uh... if it helps at all... I'm flushed for you, Eridan...and I...I have been or a while..." He said, quietly, struggling to keep a consistent volume before he ended and fell silent.

Eridan stiffened up a bit. W...what? He lifted himself up, looking at Sollux both stunned and slightly confused. "I... but... I thought... you." Eridan was blushing furiously now, trying to make up a coherent sentence. "But you always... I didn't know... you always picked on me an' got angry at me. You're not..."

"I uh..." Sollux muttered, scratching the back of his head. "I was kind of...trying to get myself to hate you, I guess? I don't fucking know, it made sense at the time, I mean..." He sighed, staring the other in the eyes. "That was the quadrant you wanted. And I figured...it was the only quadrant I could have been in with you. So I decided it was better than nothing, and...well, tried my best, but..."

"You mean..." Eridan felt his throat grow dry but his heart began to flutter. A collection of winged beasts fluttered across his stomach when looking at the other, "you... actually want to be with me?"

Sollux smiled a bit, leaning forward and pressing their lips together for a moment before leaning back again. "Yeah. A lot."