Eridan woke up feeling foul and irritable. Still in last nights clothes, phone pressed to his face, leaving an embarrassingly red imprint on his cheek, he shook himself, wiping a small amount of drool from his chin. He grumbled, not bothering to check his phone.

He took a long shower, feeling better after rubbing one off. He didn't want to admit, even to himself, that Sollux kept straying into his thoughts.

In nothing more than a pair of purple, whale-patterned boxers, with a towel around his neck, he jumped back onto his bed and picked up his phone. It was flashing a little green light up at him. Fef messaged him back! He unlocked it, and opened up Trollian, he had one new message waiting for him.

- twinArmageddons [TA] began trolling caligulasAquarium [CA] -

TA: cc gave me your trollhandle

TA: ii hope you dont miind

TA: not much you can do about iit now though

TA: you there?

TA: ed?

- twinArmageddons [TA] ceased trolling caligulasAquarium [CA] -

He was disappointed, but glad, in a way. He didn't know if he wanted to message him. Not just yet. He'd let him wait just a little while longer. Like he made Eridan wait.

Though in his mind, he was still going about his normal train of though, it seemed his rebellious body had decided there would be a second date. He was washing all of his clothes, staying in his boxers as there wasn't a point of getting dressed up. Not today. Today was his day. Grooming day!

It wasn't until a little after lunch he even remembered he had a phone. He swung by his room, snatching his phone off of his bed, and heading back towards his livingroom. He clicked on his television, and flipped through the channels until he got to the Military History Channel, and plopped himself on the couch.

He sprawled out, relaxing quite a bit, a bowl of Salt and Vinegar chips standing faithfully by his side, munching on handful after handful of them. Shaking his hand free of clinging crumbs, and sweeping them off his relatively hairless chest. He looked at his phone, and felt a tiny stab of disappointment when he saw that he had no new messages. He opened up the old chat log with Sollux, and began to message him.

- caligulasAquarium [CA] began trolling twinArmageddons [TA] -

CA: hey sorry about that

CA: i wwas really kind of busy

CA: ivve got some time noww to chat but i dont knoww howw much longer thats gonna last

TA: no worriie2

TA: ii had 2tuff two occupy my tiime

TA: ii thiink ii can manage wiithout you

TA: you know, 2iince your 2o bu2y

CA: no no

CA: its fine

CA: i find you alwways havve to make time for the little people in your life

TA: thank2

TA: ii gue22…

CA: havve you heard anything from fef?

TA: cc?

TA: yeah

TA: what diid you do two her?

TA: 2he2 really pii22ed at you

CA: oh

CA: i dont evven fuckin knoww

CA: wwe had a fight, i cant evven remember wwhat for

TA: bummer

CA: yeah

TA: 2o?

CA: so?

And for a long while, it was quiet. Eridan dozed on the couch to the sound of gunfire floating softly out from the speakers. He'd turned the sound down to a mild buzz. The air was charged with a sort of calm energy. He almost fell asleep, and probably would have if not for the small vibration that his phone gave off, shuddering to life in his weakly grasping hand. Eridan jolted back away, the spell broken.

TA: 2peakiing of cc

TA: 2he told me you really liike the beach

TA: and ii know of thii2 cool liittle place where we can go and get a biite two eat

TA: you know

TA: liike a date?

TA: but maybe make thii2 one 2uck ju2t a liitle biit le22?

CA: are you asking me on a date?

TA: no 2hiit 2herlock

TA: thought that wa2 obviiou2 enough

CA: you

TA: ye2

CA: are askin me

TA: ye2

CA: on a date

TA: keep goiing

CA: wwith you?

TA: diidnt know ii wa2 dealiing wiith the next eiin2tiien

TA: congradulatiion2

TA: you won the grand priize

CA: oh really

CA: wwell then major sarcasm

CA: wwhat do i wwin?

CA: more sarcasm?

TA: you wiin a date wiith a 2uper hot model

CA: didn't knoww you wwere a model. you dont looke like one

TA: daaaw ed ii diidnt know you thought ii wa2 2uper hot

TA: thank2

CA: no

CA: no, not like that

CA: god no

TA: two late

TA: no take2ii2 back2iie2

TA: later ed

- twinArmageddons [TA] ceased trolling caligulasAquarium [CA] -

Eridan stared at his phone for a long time, reading over the conversation. He didn't feel like it was him talking to Fef's ex anymore. It felt like he was talking to, well, somebody whose company he really enjoyed. In fact, for a few minutes he completely forgot about Fef, or life sucking as bad as it did, or even that he usually turned out to be an unlikeable character. For a few brief moments he had somebody, a friend, who he understood, and who understood him, and it was the best feeling in the world.