Okay so basically this is super late and I'm a horrible person. I'm sorry. I swear I didn't die or anything, just a busy month or jesus how long has it been since I updated this what the fuck. Warnings: continuing themes from last chapter.
Your name is Kurloz Makara and you haven't pulled yourself off this couch in two days.
Two days. Two whole days have been wasted on absolutely nothing other than feeling sorry for yourself and occasionally looking for jobs online. It's not like there's many that would take you- being mute kind of puts you out of the customer service game. This ableist society is just begging for you to stay unemployed and miserable.
Only a couple hours after Cronus left you had decided to go after him. Of course, you'd kicked up a huge fuss over nothing and scared both Mituna and Latula out of the house. And broke your toaster. You never even eat toast, but now that you can't, you kind of want some. Anyway, you've gotten off point. You left the house in a bit of a rage, and were half way to go confront Cronus before you got the texts.
'I'm gonna assume a phone call isn't the best idea, so text me back as soon as you get this.'
At the time you had fuck-all of an idea about who this could possibly be, and literally stopped in the middle of a busy street to stare at your phone in disgust.
'Who is this.''Eridan. Cro's brother. I need to talk to you about him.'
Well that didn't sound good. This was the same brother that walked in on the two of you almost-kissing, right? The English one? You still don't know what that whole accent thing was about, and you decide to keep it in mind to ask Cronus about later. Right now, however, you're more concerned about whatever issue is important enough to warrant your boyfriends little brother to be texting you about.
You reply with a series of question marks and sit on a nearby bench, pulling a cigarette from your pack, which only has a couple left in it. You've been chain smoking since everyone left- that's sixteen cigarettes in the space of two hours. No wonder you feel like shit.
'So basically you need to lay off. Go do something else I don't really care but leavve him alone for a wwhile, okay? He's a pretty messed up guy in case you havven't noticed.''Are you implying I've done something wrong here.''Not at all Cro just needs space.''Is there an actual reason or have I inexplicably become the bad guy?''Look I don't knoww and I don't care just stay awway until I'vve sorted him out. He'll come talk to you wwhen he's ready. Can you do that?''Yeah I guess.''Good. Also it's probably better if you don't mention I texted you.'
You stop responding after that, pissed off and fuming in the middle of the street. You finish your cigarette and start heading home, disappointed but not surprised to find the apartment empty. As soon as you get in you attempt to smoke another cigarette, but apparently that was one too many because it makes you sick and you spend an unholy amount of time retching into the toilet bowl.
What a waste of two days. No text from Cronus, or even his piece of shit brother who has no right to meddle with your relationship. Okay, so he has every right, but that doesn't stop you from being mad about it. Admittedly you got some texts from Mituna and spent a lot of time apologising for being such a violent sack of shit, but he was surprisingly cool with the fact that you tried to kill him with a toaster. You feel kind of weird about people being nice to you, but you got over it soon enough. It's Mituna. You've done worse to him and managed to get away with it.
Not that you feel good about any of that. At all. There have been a lot of sleepless nights over the strange and awful things you've done to people. The problem is that sometimes you just don't think. God you're so stupid. All the shit you put Meulin through...
Oh god you haven't even thought about Meulin in the longest time. You've been too focused on Cronus to think about your old failure of a relationship. But this one seems to be going along the exact same lines as the last one. It all starts off weird but good, and then suddenly she stops talking to you and you're left in the dark with your younger siblings trying to sort everything out.
Gamzee is always trying to help you with these kind of things. Granted, he's never held down a relationship in his life, the kid's too weird for words, but he at least tries and that has to count for something. You don't exactly get on with your brother (your fathers failed circus tended to put a strain on your family, and Gamzee was something of a lost cause to begin with) but you kind of wish he was here right now. He'd probably spew some half-assed motivational bullshit and make you laugh, and then you'd at least be in a good enough mood to go talk to Cronus like a civil person.
But Gamzee's not here, you're not a civil person, and you're not allowed to talk to Cronus; hence the two days of sitting on the couch and being miserable.
And on the third day, you decide you really don't like Eridan. You're not going to get anywhere if you revert back to letting other people fix your relationships. And literally what the fuck is even going on? You'd be fine with giving Cronus some space if you were even slightly aware of whatever problem he was having, but he just kind of… got weird and left. That's not a problem, that's just Cronus. And besides, he hugged you before he disappeared, so he probably isn't that mad about anything.
You have no idea what you did, but you know that what you're doing now isn't helping anything. So you're going to get your shit together and go fix it. You hop off the couch, shower, change into the cleanest clothes you currently have at hand and grab your wallet before heading out. You text Mituna to let him know that you're going out, and you assume that he'll take up residence in the apartment once he knows it's free of you and your horrible attitude.
On the way to the Ampora household you pick up some junk food. Your general plan is to force Cronus into watching movies with you in some strange attempt to make him be near you. You don't know if you'll be kicked out of his house, it's not like you called in advance or anything, you're just going to turn up and hope for the best. With a shopping bag full of popcorn, you gear yourself up for the inevitable rejection but go ahead and knock on his door.
The face you're greeted with shocks you- practically identical to Cronus in every way, but old. The two parallel scars running across the bridge of his nose don't exactly make his appearance any less threatening, either. You assume this is Cronus' father, because who else could it be? He could even be considered attractive if he didn't look ready to kill a man.
"And who might you be?" his accent is thick and British, and oh god that's wrong coming from someone who looks so similar to your dumb greaser boyfriend.
This guy doesn't look like someone you want to piss off, or even get involved with, so you write him a note that says 'Kurloz. Cronus' friend.' Of course you feel stupid afterwards but you're way too nervous to tell this man that you're dating his son. He doesn't exactly seem like the accepting type.
The guy sighs and rubs at his temples "He got off work about ten minutes ago. Should be home any time now. Feel free to come in." he tells you, and then stalks his way back upstairs, leaving you in the open doorway and more confused than when you first saw him. Cronus' family is so weird. Well, probably not as weird as yours, but still pretty high up there.
You wander upstairs and into his room, which is startlingly clean in comparison to the last time you were in here. Honestly you shouldn't be here at all, but now his dad knows you're here, and you're going through with it. You search the contents of the cupboard with the old TV sat on top of it, and flick through DVDs until you find what you're looking for.
Grease. Yes. Absolutely. This has to be the best way to make Cronus like you. This shitty abomination of a movie is his favourite in the world, and as much as you dislike musicals and sappy, meaningless endings (you're more of a horror movie and cartoons kind of guy) you're going to sit down and watch this pile of steaming horse shit like the noble prince you are. Fuck yes.
It's only a few minutes more of waiting around until Cronus shows up, practically dragging himself through the door. He looks tired. Hell, you probably look tired too. You make eye contact for a whole five seconds before his face contorts into an expression of shock and what you assume is anger. Instead of pandering to this however, you cut off his short expletive of "What the fuck?" with a quick kiss, determinedly holding him to you as he struggles to get away.
"Kurloz-" you kiss him again, dragging him slowly across the room as you do so "Kurloz, jesus, stop."
You let go of him, sitting down on the bed and patting the space next to you. He reluctantly obliges, obviously more than confused about what you're doing here 'I thought we could watch Grease.' You write for him, shuffling back a little so you can lean against the wall behind his bed.
He reads, raises one eyebrow, and turns to face you "You wanna watch Grease?" you nod and he cracks this little disbelieving smile, and you think you've got to him, but it disappears as quickly as it came and once again you're left disappointed.
"Look, chief, you should probably just go, or give this up or whatever. I ain't worth it." He sighs, and tries to stand up. You grab his sleeve and haul him back down again.
'Quit being melodramatic. You are definitely worth it. Now you can either tell me what's going on or you can sit here and watch this shitty movie with me.' You insist, and he frowns.
Cronus doesn't say anything, but sits cross-legged on the bed and stares intently at the TV. You give in and just play the movie already. You forgot just how much you hate musicals- Gamzee used to watch Disney movies 24/7 when you were younger, and you're pretty sure he still does, and now anything with singing leaves a bitter taste in your mouth. Even thinking about Gamzee makes you a little uncomfortable, but that doesn't stop you from missing him. Stupid kid.
The movie is almost over by the time Cronus shows any kind of interest, and then he's singing. What a complete and utter nerd. He's fucking singing along to this drivel, and you don't know if it's cute or not. It's one of those rare moments you're thankful for your muteness, because if there was even the slightest indication that you should be singing too you'd probably punch him. You decide this is a good time to attempt some physical contact and slide an arm around his shoulders. He instantly curls into you, going so far as to throw both his legs on top of yours, and suddenly this movie is a lot more bearable. What a shame it's ending.
As the credits roll he seems to freeze up, all tense and anxious. You absently reach up to rub small circles at the nape of his neck, which relaxes him somewhat, but he curls even further into you and hides his face before speaking.
"Look, uh… I know I'm kind of being a total asshole here-" you bury your nose in his hair to comfort him, but regret it a little when you realise just how much product he uses "But it's really not your problem. I mean, I can handle it. I'll tell you when it's fixed, okay?"
You seriously have no idea what he could be talking about. Personally you don't think Cronus can handle much of anything, but you're just going to trust him on this one. He still has his annoying little brother, right? You tell him that you're going to come check up on him at some point, but you don't specify when, which manages to piss him off. You give no more information and decide to kiss him again- which turns out to be a very good idea because this time he's more than enthusiastic. It's just starting to get good when your phone goes off. Someone is calling you. Why in gods name would somebody call you? On the phone. On the fucking-
Breaking off the kiss, you reach into your back pocket and retrieve the device, shooting a menacing glare at the inanimate object. Cronus watches this, and seems to realise that someone decided to call you on the fucking telephone because he starts laughing. What's even better is that it's an unknown number. You shrug and press 'answer', making sure it's on speakerphone.
"Kurloz! My bro! What is going on motherfucker?" came the slurred drawl from down the line. Some muffled movement and a crash can be heard in the background "Shit. Wait, this is Kurloz, right?"
Of course. The only person in the world who would forget that you're mute long enough to think this was a good idea- your very own brother. You sigh through your nose and gesture to Cronus, who seems to get the idea.
"Uh, yeah, he's here, chief. And who might be calling?" he says, taking the phone and holding it a little too close to his ear so that he flinches back when the honking laughter can be heard from down the line.
"Why motherfucker, I am his brother. In the conventional sense, like, blood related and shit. Now you tell me, who the fuck is this?" you think Cronus is taking the swearing as a form of aggression, but it's kind of funny in a really surreal way to watch him try and hold a conversation with your brother.
"I'm his boyfriend." He says simply, and you get this overwhelming sense of pride rising up in your chest. This pride turns to sickness when Gamzee replies.
"Well, that was pretty motherfucking fast." He laughs again. Cronus gives you this look, the same one he was giving you when he left your apartment the other night, and now there's only ice in your stomach. Oh come on, it wasn't that fast. And what does it matter, anyway? You hardly think about Meulin anymore "So, Kurbro, I need to ask you a quick question. I happen to be at a payphone, you see, and I ain't got much change left, so, you know, all that wasted time and shit."
You nod, and it takes a second for Cronus to realise that he has to reply again "What's the question, chief?"
Gamzee clears his throat and once again you are filled with dread "I might be in a spot of trouble. You know, dad trouble. I might need to stay with you. Uh, just for the holidays and shit, I'm sure he'd have cooled off by then." The holidays? Its October. That's two months. No fucking way "And, well, I need to know what that town you've gone and lived in is called, 'cause I been in Cali for two nights now and turns out it's one hell of a big place."
There is absolutely no way this is happening- and yet, it is. You give him permission and Cronus recites the address. He even gives Gamzee some directions from where he is, some place you've never heard of but apparently Cronus used to live there or something, and soon enough Gamzee's saying goodbye and you're left with the realisation that your brother is coming back into your life.
"You know what," Cronus starts, turning to you as soon as the phone call is over "I've got, like, this voice in my head that I read your notes in and stuff, and by now I just kind of think it's your voice, but then that," he starts laughing, gesturing to the phone "What the fuck is that? Was he high? Where are you even from, cause that's not an accent I ever heard."
You rub a palm across your forehead, feeling something of a headache coming on. But for now, you decide not to focus on the upcoming Gamzee issue, and instead enjoy the fact that your boyfriend is actually talking to you. Yep, Gamzee did it again. Accidentally came along and fixed your shitty emotional problems. One stupid phone call and suddenly Cronus is laughing again. It'd only been a few days but you really missed him- you decide not to tell him that, lest you remind him of literally anything that had happened. You don't think he's necessarily forgotten, more like he's trying to, and you're trying to, and while together you can just be oblivious to the world.
And plus, you really don't want to think about having to live with Gamzee again.
Yes yes yes yes yes yes look there's the chapter. I'm actually really sorry it took so long I don't think I even tried to get this out on time and you've all probably forgotten about this stupid fic by now, but I swear to god I will finish it. So if there's anyone out there whose still reading this, please review and tell me what you want to happen. A wild Gamzee appears, high and dysfunctional- enter a cute taurus with a Mohawk who takes him off Kurloz's hands. Hmmmn maybe idk.
Thank for reading ! – Jak x
