It had been a few days since Sollux and Karkat's movie day, and ever since, Sollux had been a mess. Every minute consisted of Sollux trying to work through his emotions, and he was growing more and more tired as the days went by. He had been avoiding Eridan ever since the thought that he could have liked him became a possibility, and although Eridan tried to bring it up, Sollux would play dumb and claim to not see a problem. They'd had only one solid conversation in three days, and that didn't help Sollux's confusion at all.

"So you're finally going to start classes soon, hm? Is your father paying for your tuition?" Sollux asked curiously over dinner.

Eridan was sitting on the counter, swinging his legs as he ate his vegetarian lasagna. He looked up at Sollux, who was sitting at the island, also eating the damn meatless lasagna that he made just for Eridan's stupid diet. Eridan chewed a moment more before swallowing, his gaze dropping.

"Um…No. He won't pay for anythin' of mine. He's pretty upset about my leavin', so I'm kinda cut off from the family funds. I have to pay with the money from my own account, which is honestly not a lot. That's why I got a job as a lifegaurd. I need a job just in case my account starts to run dry," he explained slowly, looking as though he were choosing his words carefully. Sollux nodded, studying him with interest.

"If he wanted you to stay, and he was willing to continue paying for you at home, why did you leave?" Sollux asked, still curious.

Eridan looked almost sick. He set his plate down, reaching for his glass of water next to him. He took a long drink, his nauseous expression turning into one of anger as the nausea faded. He grabbed the plate, his hard gaze directed away from Sollux.

"I'm not into what my family does. Stayin' meant that I had to do what my family does for a livin', and I'm not too fond of bein' around that kind of environment," he explained slowly once again. Sollux raised his eyebrows, looking even more interested.

"Wow. You make them sound like a bunch of gang bangers," he said with a slight laugh.

He took a long sip of his water, glancing down at his plate after his comment, then back at Eridan. He then noticed that Eridan had tensed. Sollux's eyes widened and he swallowed wrong, slamming the glass down as he began coughing violently. Eridan looked up in surprise, staring at Sollux as he coughed hard. When he was finished and was barely breathing, he looked at Eridan in astonishment.

"Your family's a bunch of gang bangers?!" He exclaimed, causing Eridan's eyes to widen as well.

"What?! No! No, I wouldn't say that they were 'gang bangers'. Well, I mean, they're nothin' like gang bangers, but-. You know what! I said no family talk, Sol!" He yelled, as if mad at Sollux for bringing it up. He jumped off of the counter, grabbing his plate and throwing away whatever was left on it. He then dropped his plate into the sink, marching out of the kitchen angrily.

Sollux sighed at the thought of the memory as he walked through the door of his apartment, shaking out his wet hair from the storm raging outside. Any other time that Eridan had tried to make conversation after that conversation, Sollux had avoided him. Actually, any other time that Eridan had entered the room, Sollux had left it. The urge to get closer to Eridan was there and only getting stronger in the midst of Sollux's unsure feelings.

He had just gotten home from his second class of the day, and he was exhausted. He set his laptop bag down next to the door along with his umbrella, running a hand through his dark, damp hair. All he wanted to do was lay down on the couch, relax, and not think about-…

"Eridan!" Sollux exclaimed, seeing Eridan curled up on the couch with a text book.

He expected Eridan to be at work today. It was his first day, so why wasn't he there? If he had known that Eridan was going to be home, Sollux would have gone to the library or something. Eridan looked up at Sollux, smiling in reply.

"Hey Sol. What's up?" He asked, closing his text book and sitting up. Sollux cleared his throat, staying where he was near the door. He looked at the knob, then to Eridan, contemplating his options.

"Um, not much. Why aren't you at work? Wasn't today your first day?" He asked, fiddling with his watch on his wrist as he remained in his spot. Eridan rose an eyebrow, smile still present.

"I don't know if you've noticed, dumbass, but it's a fuckin' hurricane out there," Eridan replied with a laugh. Sollux looked at the window, then to his umbrella, then to his shoes.

Oh. Duh.

"Oh, right." Sollux looked at his watch, then to the door knob again. "Sorry you couldn't go, I guess." He then grabbed his bag and his umbrella again. "See you later!"

Eridan furrowed his eyebrows, sliding off the couch. Fuck. No, stay there.

"Wait, you're leavin'? You just got back from class, where are you goin'?" He asked, a slight suspicion joining his accent on his voice. Sollux cleared his throat again, sliding his bag onto his shoulder.

"Um. Work. I decided that since we're shorthanded anyways, I'd lend a hand," he made up quickly, turning back towards the door.

"Sol, wait," Eridan said quickly, causing Sollux to wince just as he had grabbed the door knob. He looked at the door a moment before turning around, putting on a fake smile.

"Sup?" He asked, heart pounding harder as Eridan made his way over to him. The suspicious look hadn't left Eridan's face as Eridan walked over, stopping in front of his roommate. He looked Sollux over for a second before speaking.

"You've been fuckin' weird lately, Sol. We just started gettin' along, and now you're actin' all weird. I'm not a dumbass. I can see that you've been avoidin' me. Is this about dinner the other night? Because if you're avoidin' me because you're poutin' about me not talkin' to you about it, that's pretty fuckin' stupid," Eridan began, stopping when Sollux shook his head.

"I'm not avoiding you, and I'm not upset about dinner, ED. You want to keep your personal things to yourself? I'm totally cool with that. I just didn't know if maybe you wanted to talk about it," Sollux explained, hoping that he wasn't blushing.

Jesus, what was wrong with him? One fucking talk with Karkat, and that's all it took for Sollux to become a complete and utter mess around his roommate. The thought of Eridan coming any closer made Sollux's heart leap, and it was starting to drive Sollux crazy. Did he really like this little bitch? When did he start liking him? When the hell did any of this ever happen? Was it when he realized that Karkat might have been right, and that his anger towards Eridan in high school was just him denying his feelings for the guy? Or was it when he realized that Eridan might have actually liked him? He didn't like not having the answers, and he didn't like being flushed for this guy.

Eridan's eyebrows had rose at Sollux's comment, causing Sollux to swallow hard.

"You mean, like…Comfort me, about it?" He asked, as if it were the hardest concept for his mind to wrap around. Sollux furrowed his eyebrows, looking away as Eridan stepped closer.

"Yeah, I guess," Sollux mumbled, glancing up at Eridan once again. Eridan just looked at him down in surprise, his eyes studying Sollux's deeply.

"I just…I wasn't under the impression that you really cared," Eridan admitted, looking almost desperate in that moment for what he said to be true.

Shit. That look that Eridan was giving him made Sollux's heart hurt now. He looked like he needed the comfort so badly…But Sollux didn't want to admit that he did care. Karkat was right, the feelings were there, but Sollux was ignoring them. He'd be mad at himself too if he were Karkat.

"Yeah, I do, I guess," he repeated, his eyes darting back and forth between Eridan's. Eridan looked back at him, a fondness creeping into his eyes that caused Sollux's breath to catch in his throat.

No. I'm not going through this again. Not again, and definitely not with him. I don't have feelings for him. Karkat wasn't right, he was wrong.

Sollux looked back at Eridan a moment, before he made the mistake of allowing his eyes to glance down to Eridan's lips. At that brief action, Eridan's eyes had widened, causing Sollux's heart to speed up tenfold and his face to flush.

"Alright, so I guess I'll see you later!" Sollux said quickly, spinning around and opening the door. He walked out quickly, closing the door behind him. He made his way for the stairs, and it wasn't until he got to the bottom that the relief flowed through him.

Maybe…Hopefully, Eridan was as oblivious and stupid as Sollux thought. Maybe he didn't notice Sollux's sudden attraction, and Sollux could get away with this.

Yeah, probably not.