Eridan screamed as he threw Ahab's crosshairs across his room, successfully lodging it in the wall. He kicked his chair over and threw his computer across the room, it landed in the sand with a faint thud, something within cracking. He flipped his desk, sending everything on it flying in every direction. He cried out again, this time, agony piercing the anger. He sat heavily onto the ground, his rage quelled and now replaced with something far more destructive: despair. He unclipped his cloak and let it fall to the ground beneath him. He put his face in his hands and wept, hating how weak he knew he was being. If there was one thing in this world he hated more than land dwellers, it was that he cried when he got angry, when he got hurt, and in the most unfortunate of times. But this time, it felt as though his chest was being ripped open from the inside, as if his heart was trying to free itself from the confines of his body.
He slowly came back to his senses, his tears dwindling and his cries quieting. He sat in the middle of his ship, ignoring the storm that was brewing outside. The wind had already begun to howl through the wreckage. He pulled his hands back from his eyes and gazed disgustingly at the lavender tears drying on them. He swallowed a lump in his throat and sighed, his breath still uneven.
Equius stood just outside the door to Eridan's room, listening to him weep, slightly surprised at his sudden disregard for dignity, but then again, he didn't know Equius was there. He had followed him after seeing an eerie look on his face as he left. It had startled him, and everyone else, when Eridan had quit everything and strode quickly from the room, headed towards the transportalizer embellished with his sign on it. Equius had followed, after getting a slight 'go check it out' look from Karkat. If it had been anyone else, they wouldn't have gotten on fast enough to trick the machine to take him to Eridan.
Eridan's cries slowly quieted, and a wind brought the scent of his highblood tears to Equius' nose. A slight film of sweat formed across his body, an involuntary reaction to the pure blood. He shook himself and slowly stepped out from his hiding place.
"Sea dweller, pardon my intrusion," he said quietly. Eridan jumped up and spun around, brief panic flittered across his features before anger settled back into it's familiar scowl.
"Wwhat the fuck, Eq, are you doing here and-"
"Why were you crying?" Equius' cold, calculating voice sliced Eridan deep, silencing him. "You have been acting unlike your usual self today, some of the other trolls are worried."
"Wwell that is, actually, none of your fuckin' business, noww is it you sweaty freak," Eridan snarled back. He felt the grip on his facade slipping and just needed to be alone.
"Forgive me, Ampora," he replied coolly, his skin shiny with a new layer of sweat. " I know it is not my place to question your word, but I was told to make sure you were alright."
"Alwways followwin' orders like a fuckin' pupbeast, pathetic," Eridan was glaring at Equius, but his control was slipping... fast. He raised a shaky hand to his forehead, hiding his eyes.
"I must admit, that I also felt concern when you acted so, well, Un-Eridan," he said, taking a step toward Eridan, his hands held out in an amiable way.
"You, you wwhat?" Eridan asked, and with that bit of shock, he felt everything fade. He slumped towards the ground, but Equius acted instinctively and grabbed the highblood before he could hit the floor, albeit a little roughly. "Ow," Eridan muttered.
"Ampora! Are you alright?!" He cradled Eridan as gently as possible, and was trying to suppress his urge to sweat in the close proximity. "What is the matter?"
"Lil' dehydrated, is all," Eridan mumbled dreamily, his surroundings dim. He had lost more liquid than he thought, and this was one disadvantage of being a sea dweller. The need for water made his body treat it like an oasis in a desert, preserving it for emergencies only. "Just need to get some wwaaa-"
He passed out in Equius' arms, thoroughly freaking the troll out. "Water? Uh, right."
He turned and quickly strode out of the wrecked ship, and wading into the ocean right on Eridan's doorstep. Eridan's limp body weighed next to nothing, and for some reason, that worried Equius more than anything. He walked through the water, until it reached his chest, and the sea dweller's face was only left above water. Equius waited for a few minutes, but nothing happened. A nervous sweat broke out across his brow. He thought quickly, and remembered that this was a sea dweller, he was bound to have gills, right? That must be how he breathed under water.
"Oh, right," he breathed, letting Eridan float as he gingerly removed the blue scarf bound tightly around his neck. He wrapped it around his own shoulders to keep it from floating away in the growing waves. He gulped as he looked at the smooth skin on Eridan's neck, no gills in sight. "Okay."
He noticed a small flap of skin lifting rhythmically just under Eridan's shirt collar. Oh, Jegus.
He tried not to pant, or sweat too much, as he carefully peeled the shirt off of the highblooded sea dweller. He swallowed a hard lump in his throat and let out a shaky breath. As his chest was exposed, Equius was painfully aware of how well a life under the waves had treated Eridan. His young body was lithe and muscular, with faint freckles littering his chest. His skin was nearly flawless, and the grey pallor of the troll skin they all shared had the slightest hint of lavender. His eyes grew wide as he took in the large gills just under Eridan's ribcage and slicing over his collarbones.
He watched them slide open and start to pulse open and shut, open and shut, as though he was breathing. Wait, duh he was, for a sea dweller anyway. It was somehow disgusting and fascinating to watch. Eridan gasped awake, thrashing in the water and drenching Equius. He sank into the water up to his chin, and leaned into Equius. Frankly, the poor guy didn't know how to take it, he just stood kind of awkwardly, still cradling Eridan.
"Take me home, Zahak," Eridan muttered when he pulled up out of the water. "I think I can wwalk."
Equius carefully put an arm around Eridan's midsection and Eridan kept his arm wrapped around the stronger troll's shoulders. They walked up and out of the increasingly choppy waves and up the beach toward Eridan's hive. The sea dweller didn't so much as walk as he did stumble. Equius noticed that the gills had sealed themselves to fine lines, barely visible on his skin. He blushed when Eridan noticed him staring at his naked chest. It didn't help his skin was glistening from the water. He looked away pointedly, keeping his eyes straight ahead, guiding Eridan into his respite block. He heard Eridan sigh.
He stooped slightly to pick up the chair Eridan had turned over earlier and set the sea dweller in it. He slumped back into it, and Equius thought, for a second he would fall right out of it, but he righted himself, albeit shakily.
"Thanks," Eridan said, his eyes on the ground. He can't believe someone had seen him like this. He gave a mirthless chuckle, it caught in his throat and turned into a half hearted sob. Equius stiffened visibly.
"Ampora, I-"
"Feferi broke up with me," Eridan said simply, just putting it out there. Equius froze, realizing what that statement actually meant to this troll. His accent was gone, something he had never heard before. His voice seemed lifeless, almost mirroring the ghost Aradia's. He shuddered. Feferi was Eridan's oldest miorail, and probably a potential matesprit. "She said since Sburb let us free ourselves from our old lives, she wanted to be her own troll, and as she put it, I wasn't needed anymore."
Equius didn't know what to say to try and console his comrade.
"Said she didn't need my protection, and completely rejected me, just like all the others," he breathed, his voice barely audible over the growing storm. "Fuckin' scum, making her leave me like that." He shuddered, goosebumps were prickling his skin. Equius swallowed hard, and dropped Eridan's wet shirt on the overturned desk and picked up his cloak. He draped it around the Eridan's shoulders and stood off to one side, still unsure of what to do next. Eridan mumbled thanks and cast a glance over to Eq.
"Can't believve I'm saying this, but that looks good on you, freak," He managed a ghost of a smile, which did nothing to soothe Equius' feelings. At least the accent was back, mostly. Equius did manage to blush as he looked down; he had forgotten he was wearing Eridan's scarf.
"Th-thank you, Ampora," he replied, starting to breathe a little heavier under the other's praise.
"Eridan, if you don't mind."
"Oh, okay."
The smile disappeared, and the long stare returned to his purple eyes. He reached up to remove his glasses, which were smudged and streaky from the water. He absentmindedly cleaned them, remarking, "I feel pretty damn loww."
The glasses dropped to the ground and cracked, the highblood's hands going still.
"Wwhy? Wwhy does no one like me, no matter wwhat I do?" his voice broke and he dropped his head into his hands, struggling not to break down again.
Equius felt something inside him stir, something unfamiliar at the sight of this grieving man. This half naked grieving man. This handsome, hal- FOCUS! - Ahem. It felt like pity, but it was mixed with something else.
"I - uh *cough* - like you, Ampora." He placed an arm around the smaller man's shoulders, stooping a little to do so. Eridan froze, then turned to look at Equius, shocked. It pained Equius to see tear smudges near his close, he could see just how deep the purple in his eyes were. He felt himself start to sweat, but only a little. He very gently patted his shoulder, trying his best not to hurt him. Though, since he was a highblood, it was probably okay.
"Y-you do?" Eridan asked.
"Well. Yes. I do. I do not like the fact you are a seadweller and you have a lude tendency when it comes to the use of your language and you dress absurdly if you don't mind my saying, but otherwise. Yes."
Before Equius could react, Eridan stretched up and placed a light kiss on his cheek. He froze and a new layer of sweat covered him. He stood up abruptly, lifting a hand to touch his cheek.
"Thanks, Eq. You're not so glubbin' bad yourself."
"Am-ampora, is this is some sort of advance or..."
"I'm sorry Eq, I shouldn't havve kissed you." he blushed, a wonderful purple hue filling his cheeks. Equius tried his best not to stare at it too much, its royal hue making him sweat.
Eridan rose shakily from his chair, clutching his cloak shut. He took a careful step, but his legs gave out. He was still weak from the dehydration. Equius had stepped forward and held him up before he realized he was even leaning into his chest. Eridan sighed, his breath tickling over Eq's chest, sending shivers up his spine. He leaned into the strong man,letting Equius hold his weight up.
"Perhaps you should sit back down, until you are stable. What has made you so unwell?"
"I havven't eaten in days..."
"That is unhealthy. No matter the way you have been treated, in order to stay STRONG you should-"
"Eq," Eridan replied simply, he released the cloak, which fell to the floor, and rested his hands on Equius' chest, which was heaving with breath. He could feel the strong muscles just underneath the tank top and power radiated from this being. Maybe it was his turn to be protected. "I want to forget her, Equius. Can you make me forget?"
Equius shuddered, and his mouth had gone quite dry. "Is. That an order, Ampora?"
"Eridan," corrected the sea dweller.
"Is that an order, Eridan?" he was eager to obey any order, and Equius felt himself stir in inappropriate places.
Eridan reached up and removed Equius' trademark cracked shades, tossing them to the floor. He looked, or tried to look into Equius' eyes. He had to look up a little. The strong troll met his eyes steadily, sweat forming on his brow.
"If that's wwhat it takes."
"It would help extensively."
"Equius, make me forget evverything. That's an order."
"Yes, Eridan."
He sweated heavily, panting lightly. They looked at each other for a moment, before Eridan kissed him. As Equius gently, and somewhat awkwardly, reciprocated he felt heat stir inside him and as it grew so did an unexpected hunger. A hunger to please, to obey any order given, and a hunger for the sea dweller he had never felt before. As Eridan's arms slid around his shoulders, and his lithe body pressed up against his own, he lost himself in the heat of the moment.
