It was the last day of the semester before everyone was to go home.
Sollux waited on Eridan's bed while the other guy did his hair. He didn't exactly mind; not only had Sollux become well-acquainted with Eridan's preening routines but the flashes of his body and his skin were rather nice to be peeking at through the open bathroom door. He swung his feet a little bit of the edge of the bed, but this could only interest him for so long before he decided to do a little snooping. He reached over to his desk and grabbed Eridan's camera and rifled through the SD cards tossed haphazardly in the drawer until his eye fell upon one that was marked with a swipe of...was that nail polish? Well, whatever, might as well check that one out.
Meanwhile Eridan busied himself in the bathroom; damn these bad-hair days. He wanted his hair just so, but it wasn't cooperating in the least. Maybe he was due for a trim...fuck, it's not easy being this perfect. He scowled at his reflection in the mirror, completely engrossed in his hair, not noticing anything outside of the bathroom.
Sollux turned on the camera and began browsing through the photos. At first it was all the usual moody art school fare, shadows off of things to create artificial melancholy, a broken swingset, more outside crap. But soon enough he got to a few pictures that felt like they were touching on something less self-preening. His favorite was one of a wide yellow flower with several small insects laid inside with their legs in the air at the bottom of each petal. When Eridan tried, he was really an excellent photographer. Sollux kept his praise to himself, naturally, and stumbled upon something far more interesting. A male model leaning against a wall, some big beefy guy with long hair, dressed up pretty nicely. The next photo was the same model seemingly embarrassed, rubbing at his forehead. He looked a little shiny, maybe kind of sweaty?
Sollux looked up briefly as Eridan growled a few curses at his hair, his mirror, his hairbrush, and the makers of his product, and various gods and prophets. Typical for a bad hair day, Eridan tended to be more florid whenever the weather made his hair harder to tame.
Sollux turned his attention back to the camera, and the fairly innocent photographs began to take on a perverse bent, focusing on parts of his body, eventually breaking down to the model worshipping the photographer's feet and sucking the cock that by now Sollux had come to know quite well. Sollux's stomach dropped and he blushed deeply, biting his lip. He checked the dates on the pictures, all from this semester but weeks before the two of them had started hooking up. Conflicted, Sollux continued to flip through the photos; on the one hand, this guy was like some unholy amalgamation of every shitty romance novel cover since the late eighties. Was this the type Eridan liked? Sollux couldn't help but compare against this long-haired model and found himself sorely lacking. On the other hand, there was pretty much no way to deny he was feeling a little more heated with each passing photo. Traitorous dick. He turned the camera off at one of the pictures of the model touching himself; somewhere a line seemed to have been crossed. He didn't know this guy. This frighteningly hung, impossible-to-unsee guy. He cleared his throat and tucked his feet back up on the bed, trying to play it cool like he hadn't been snooping. Who the hell was he anyway? Sollux had never heard of him from Eridan, was he just some random model? A perk of the photography track? Damn...
About this time, a can of hairspray came flying out of the bathroom, "AN' FUCK YOUR COUCH TOO." Eridan turned on the sink and quickly rinsed some of the product out of his hair before briefly toweling off and stomping to the closet to get a hat.
Sollux's eyes widened behind his sunglasses before snorting a bit with laughter, "Problem?"
Eridan flipped two middle-fingers up, as his only way of reply, before even looking at Sollux. Instead, he focused on yet another mirror that hung from his closet, and tried to get his beanie just right. Only when he was satisfied did he deign to turn to face Sollux, though the man seemed a little...off. He quirked an eyebrow. "Somethin' up, Sol?"
Sollux deflected the comment with another chuckle, "No, it's always hilarious to see you turn into such a fucking diva over your damn hair."
Eridan gave two one-finger salutes again, and pulled a vest from the closet that matched his hat, pulling it over his button-down shirt-silk of course, closely fitted and shirt tails untucked-over his slacks. A matching scarf, and the outfit was complete. He grabbed his messenger bag. "Fine, ready when you are."
Sollux rolled his eyes at the idea that he had anything else to do in Eridan's room, "Well, let me just gestate here for the next week or so I can have some apples to bring." He hopped off the bed and walked to the door with his thumb in his pocket, grabbing his coat.
Eridan made a quick grab for Sollux's ass, squeezing it, as they left. He locked the door behind them, as if nothing had happened, though a mocking grin on his face.
"So we're meetin' Ara's beau, huh? Anythin' I ought to be aware of before we meet up?" Eridan asked, as they walked through the chilled streets just off of campus. There was an odd blend of fatigue and excitement in the air that one often finds near colleges around finals, and several of the buildings had their Christmas lights on, beckoning students to come in and buy gifts to bring last-minute souveniers and gifts home to their parents. Soon, the bars in town would be filled with students toasting to the coming vacation and congratulating themselves on surviving the semester. Eridan smirked, "An' have you had the conversation yet a how regular I been plowin' you?"
Sollux hid any potential embarrassment behind a huff and an eyeroll, "She knows you're a constant pain in my ass in a non-literal sense," he spat, nudging Eridan with his elbow. "And she's very much aware that you can go get fucked. If she wants to take subtext from that, that's her own business." He looked at Eridan only to be met with a raised eyebrow, and he threw up his hands with an exasperated sigh. "She knows we fucked, but amazingly, we have other things to talk about besides you, fuckstick."
More or less satisfied with the answer, Eridan kept in step with Sollux as the cafe came into view. "Do I have to watch my language or avoid any topics, any shit like that?" he asked. Although he had clearly established that Sollux was his delightful fucktoy, he did care about him, and didn't want to make a completely bad impression on his friends. "Ara's an' alright dame an' all but I don't aim to go makin' matters awkward by sayin' the wrong thing."
"Nope, you can be just as big an asshole as you usually are, just try not to insult HER or anything. As for Captain Stallion, I never met the guy. He's supposed to be a dreamboat but who the fuck even knows." He pulled the door open to the cafe and looked around for Aradia. He subconsciously leaned his hip back against Eridan's without thinking.
Eridan smirked, leaning into Sollux. Aradia waved to them both, getting up from a table and coming over to hug Sollux. "Sollux! Hi!" she kissed him on the cheek, which Sollux accepted with a chuckle, before offering Eridan a big hug which surprised both him and Sollux. "Great to see you too! Oh, I like your hat!"
Eridan reached up and patted the hat that was currently hiding the travesty of his hair. "Yeah," he said, trying to play it off, "I was just thinkin' people don't wear hats enough, you know? An' a damn shame it is, too, seein' as accessories make the man every bit as much as clothes do."
Sollux rolled his eyes and shook his head, snorting to himself. Honestly, it was kind of cool that his best friend got along with his...well, anyway. Someone was missing, however. "Um, so where's this Equius guy anyway?"
Eridan froze immediately, staring at Aradia. She didn't notice, only smiled brightly at Sollux. "Oh, he's on his way. You remember what a wreck Nepeta drives, right? It died again, it sounds like it's just the battery though, so he went over to give her a jump. He should be here soon. Come on, what are you guys having?"
Sollux strolled over and contemplated the menu-as if he hadn't seen it a hundred times before, this was where Aradia worked, after all-before getting himself some green tea. He went over to the little island of coffee condiments and squeezed himself an entire dixie cup full of honey and fetched himself a spoon.
Eridan, slightly panicked, talked himself down in his own mind. Okay, fuckbuddy's best friend is dating former fuckbuddy. Current fuckbuddy doesn't know, current fuckbuddy's friend probably doesn't either. Would Eq tell her? Shit no. Calm down, it's fine. It's fine. It's absofuckinlutely fine. He ordered a half-caf soy latte with caramel and foam.
Meanwhile, Aradia got herself something that was far more desert than coffee, and a large strong black coffee for Equius, and joined Sollux at a table. Sollux sat in his seat crossleggedly and sipped his tea and ate his honey, adorable just licking honey off a spoon. He looked at Aradia, "He's a reliable guy, huh? How long you been seeing him now? I forget."
Aradia slid to the seat by Sollux's side, and Eridan took his other side. "Oh, since October, though I had the biggest crush on him for a while. He's big and intimidating, but he's actually very sweet, and a lot of fun! A gentleman through and through, and fantastic in the bedroom!" she laughed, and Eridan managed to choke on a mouthful of foam.
Sollux's eyebrows raised in slight awkward discomfort, "Well then, that's pretty awesome." His eyes darted over to the obviously-perturbed Eridan; hearing about some straight chick's sex life was enough to make him uncomfortable? Damn, Sollux hadn't figured him for such a prude.
"I'm very happy with him," she smiled, sipping her drink.
Eridan wiped his mouth, trying to save face, "No offense, wasn't expectin' you to be forthcommin' around so many pryin' ears. Gossip over text is one thing but you never know who's listenin'."
Aradia rolled her eyes, "Sex is fun! Sex with someone I love is wonderful! I don't see a reason to associate stigma to it, is all."
Sollux had chuckled at Eridan's answer, but at Aradia's, he looked a little embarrassed, "I guess, I never really um, thought about it like that." He tucked his feet under him as he licked another spoonful of honey.
"Yeah, but, being honest? I admit, it's pretty funny to see how flustered Equius gets when I talk about it so openly. That's not why I do it, but his blush is definitely a bonus, haha! Oh, Sollux, it looks like you've got a blusher, yourself!" she giggled, and Eridan tried to cover his cheeks with his napkin. "Is he always this way around you?"
"I have to admit, the moe aspect is new," Sollux answered quietly, not wanting to be overheard admitting to anything more than he had to. Eridan had a point, openly admitting to things in a public setting was a little different than in private. Maybe not as bad as he had thought it would be, but definitely different.
"Just who the fuck are you callin' moe, you tsundere cockbite!" Eridan hissed, getting more uncomfortable than he had anticipated. Anyway, wasn't he the dom here? It wasn't just that he'd have to sit face-to face with a one-night stand, and it wasn't just that he didn't want to seem to lose his cool in front of Sollux (or Aradia, who he'd gotten kind of fond of). This was, however, turning into a perfect storm of awkwardness that couldn't possibly get any shittier.
Aradia just laughed and idly stirred her drink, "You guys are fun! I'm going to have to hang out with you together more often!"
Sollux was rather entertained, himself. The previous concerns slipping from his mind, he simply enjoyed Eridan's discomfort for the moment. Maybe it was Aradia, she could be pretty unsettling sometimes. He smirked and sipped his drink, making a mental note to hug her just for that later, "Suits me fine, now that I' not the sole center of your fascination, that means I'll get to see you work your creepy obsessive charm on someone else for a change." He turned to Eridan and pointed to Aradia with his honey-dipped spoon, "I remember when this girl was six, following me around and yelling about my magic eyes."
"Hey, I didn't yell! I squealed. It's more ladylike," she corrected him, pulling her phone out from her pocket. It was after the time Equius had estimated he would arrive, but there hadn't been any texts or calls from him.
"They are nice," Eridan admitted, settling down for the moment.
Aradia quirked an eyebrow, a wry smile playing on her lips. "They are, aren't they? You know, he really doesn't let too many people see them. You must be really special to him indeed. I'd take it as a compliment, if I were you. A sign of trust."
"You're seriously making too big a deal here, lambchop," Sollux said, shifting in his seat. It was weird, how he liked it when Eridan said that. But why did Aradia have to go and say that? Sure it may have been true, but that was no excuse...
There was a jingle at the door and Aradia jumped up to her seat, bumping the chair against the wall. "Equius!" she called, bouncing to the door to greet him with a big hug and a kiss.
Equius smiled, easily catching her embrace and cradling her against him, kissing the exposed joined flesh of her shoulder and neck, "Hello, lamb."
She tittered, kissing his temple as he did, "Goodness, you're getting less shy all the time!" She helped herself to another quick peck on his lips, slipping an arm around his waist, as she guided him to the table.
Sollux turned to notice it was the same male model from Eridan's pictures. His heart and jaw dropped at the same time, immediately looking at Eridan, bare-faced shock across his features.
Eridan, however, could not see Sollux's reaction, as he panicked and began mentally repeating "be cool, for god's sake, be cool" over and over in his mind. He turned, watching the two take their seats, and only then he saw Sollux staring at him with a palpable anger that tinted his ears red. As soon as Eridan made eye contact with him, however, Sollux looked away in apparent annoyance.
When Equius noticed Eridan at the table he was being led to, his heart jumped and his eyes widened behind his sunglasses. He was not so panicked, however, that he could not see how Eridan tried to stay calm as well as Sollux's subtly livid stare at him. This was going well.
Aradia, eyes locked on Equius, quirked an eyebrow. She looked at Eridan and then to Sollux. Something was certainly afoot, and she was far too curious not to find out...but perhaps this was not the appropriate time. Sollux probably knew, but, introductions first. "Equius, my love, this is my oldest, truest friend Sollux, and his partner Eridan. Gentlemen, this is my boyfriend Equius."
Eridan swallowed hard, nodding in greeting.
Sollux jumped at the way Eridan was introduced, his face going red, "Aradia don't say it like that!" Not that he particularly wanted to be referred to as Eridan's boyfriend, but especially not at that moment.
Equius nodded his head slightly, rather uncertain as to how to proceed with this, clearly Sollux had some sort of problem with him. Did he know of his tryst with Eridan? He hoped that Eridan had the foresight to not say anything about it, though he knew how the man was capable of running his mouth. On the other hand, for all he knew, Sollux was just as likely to do the same, and if Aradia's friend knew...oh god. He needed a towel.
Aradia showed Equius to the empty seat between herself and Eridan, who shifted uncomfortably. "I got your coffee for you," she pecked his cheek. She looked between the three men, completely certain that this was not how this meeting was meant to be going. There was a secret, something she wasn't in on, and she needed to know. Even if she wasn't directly involved, her curiosity demanded answers. Besides, if something didn't happen this was going to be the most awkward cup of coffee of her life. Batting her eyelashes, she turned to Sollux and sang sweetly. "Solly? I need your help with something, can I speak with you privately?"
Equius nodded and lightly rubbed the back of her hand, "Thank you." He was mildly panicking, was Sollux going to say anything?
Sollux nodded, eager to get away from Eridan as quickly as possible, "Sure Aradia, you just know how I love that monkier."
Eridan whimpered just a little, turning to his drink and not daring to look at Equius. Fuck. Here he was, Equius, and worse yet, Sollux seeing him a complete wreck, and what did Sollux even look so mad about. Fuck, did he know? HOW did he know? Did he hack into Eridan's computer and find the saved photos? Did he find the SD card? Fuck fuck fuck.
Aradia took Sollux by the wrist and pulled him from the table, leaving Eridan and Equius to sit alone in uncomfortable silence, "Yeah, yeah, mister sarcasm. Come on, you're almost out of honey and you need more diabetes." She pulled him into the breakroom, away from curious ears and prying eyes. Sure, not strictly allowed seeing as she was off and he didn't work there, but she needed answers immediately. "Okay, spill it, what the hell is going on? I know SOMETHING is."
Sollux looked as uncomfortable as he felt and tried to put up an ignorant front, dropping it before he barely even got the first shrug completed. "I saw pictures of him on Eridan's camera. I was bored and I happened to look and...look. It wasn't from anytime soon or anything, it was from like months ago before I even started hanging out with Eridan but... I dunno I was just..." He couldn't quite work out the word 'jealous'.
Aradia put her hands on her hips and tilted her head. Sollux seemed really hurt by this, whatever it was. What did it have to do with Equius...oh. She raised an eyebrow, and gestured towards the breakroom door, "Pictures of him? Equius mentioned doing some modeling and I saw some pictures from that, but he seemed not too keen on giving me any details."
Sollux didn't look at her as he answered, "Um, just the usual kind of stuff, you know? ...he was shirtless in a few." He looked over at Aradia with a grin that seemed a hair closer to his usual winning personality, "You really know how to pick 'em, he's really built."
She smiled briefly, eyes drifting away, "...Yeah..." She shook her head, "but that isn't enough for this much weird to happen. You look furious, and a shirtless picture or two isn't enough to do that, is it?"
Sollux nodded with a sigh, "Um, do you know if he's into guys or anything?"
"It's never come up..." she began, realization setting in, her eyes widening, "Oh jeez, are you saying they were together? Just what kind of photos were they?"
Sollux felt like absolute shit at that moment, she and Equius really were cute together and he was going to single-handedly wreck it by telling her the truth. He was also kind of embrrassed to relay what was in the pictures in words, "He was, uh. Um, blowing him. And sweating. And licking his feet."
In a move that surprised both of them, Aradia burst out into laughter. She couldn't help herself! "I knew for sure it was him when you said sweating. Oh my god, how awkward is this! You said these photos were from a while back? Like, before October, right?"
Sollux looked up with raised eyebrows, "Yeah, September, I think. You're...taking this awfully well."
She shook her head, still chuckling. "He told me I was the first one he made love to, and believe me, we're going to have words...but if he had a few purely sexual dalliances before me, who am I to be upset about that? Honestly, I'm kind of curious to see the photos if neither of them minds..." she giggled. "But what about you? You're pretty clearly upset about this...what's going on in that mind of yours?"
"Well I'm..." He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose in this thumbs, "Well look at him and look at me. Clearly I have none of that built shit going on, you know?"
Aradia made a sympathetic noise and pulled Sollux into a big, soft hug, "You're perfectly good-looking, Sollux, I've been telling you so for years. You don't have to be super-built, you don't have to be anything other than yourself.. And clearly somebody thinks you're hot, because I saw the way Eridan keeps close to you and checked your butt out when I greeted you. So stop being so down on yourself! Maybe if I say it enough times, you'll finally listen, but you're perfectly fine as you are."
Sollux snorted a laugh into her shoulder while tightening his embrace around her, "Thanks Aradia..." When he pulled back, he was smiling. Curse her infectious amusement, who did she think she was, making things so much easier to handle? "If you want the truth, ED's sort of like a spoiled little kid, I get this feeling he'd keep me naked and on a leash if I wouldn't bite his fingers off at the idea of it."
She kissed his cheek again, "Kinky, I like it. Seriously though, are you okay?"
He nodded, holding up his dixie cup, "I need more honey. You think we kept them crazy long enough?"
"Eh, let 'em stew for a minute or two. I'm going to have words with Equius pretty soon, and they can just be uncomfortable for a bit. Besides, more Sollux-hugs are always good." She squeezed him again.
Sollux hugged her again, "Yeah, but I want to see the look on ED's face when you completely ruin his day. And like I said, need honey."
She giggled and led him back to the condiments island, getting herself a little honey in a cup.
When she faced the two back at the table, she put on her best serious-business face and sat down, sipping her drink.
Sollux did his best to keep a straight face as well, darting his eyes between the two men. Equius tried to subtly wipe his forehead with the back of his arm, but said nothing.
Eridan wished the chair would just swallow him already. The last few minutes of waiting were torture, and he'd probably be lucky to make it out of this without drinks thrown in his face, much less having any chance of his thing with Sollux continuing.
"Equius," Aradia said with nigh vulcan stoicism, "We may have to talk later." She took another sip of her drink, looking to Sollux and trying not to burst into giggles. Sollux was just barely succeeding at not laughing.
Equius tried to maintain a poker face, his mind racing over all the unworthy things he did and was before turning to her and speaking rapidly, "I adore you Aradia, I promise I do. I can't stand the thought or idea of you being upset with me. I pledge myself to you as I always have, you're the only one. That was from far before I even knew that you mirrored my affections as well, please..."
Eridan muttered a weak, "traitor..." that probably couldn't be heard by anyone else.
Aradia melted, smiling softly, taking his hand, "Equius, sweetie, I know. I love you, I was only fooling, but we are talking about this later, okay?" She kissed his cheek before returning to her drink, but did not let go of his hand, squeezing it in hers.
Sollux looked at their hands and his face relaxed. Wow, he really was devoted to her. It was really touching to see. He glanced over at Eridan as Equius said softly, "Yes, Aradia."
Eridan looked pathetic, almost wistfully at how they held each other's hands. Fuck if he ever would get a thing like that, because he sure as shit didn't deserve it. He looked apologetically at Sollux, before fixing his eyes to the floor, "I, uh...guess you found 'em. Sorry."
There was a dull burning in Sollux's eardrums that left sound going fuzzy for a moment. He shook his head and cleared his throat, "Yeah. No big deal though."
It wasn't, it seriously was not a big deal, was not important. There wasn't a fight to be had here or anything, there was just a gaping hole that seemed to lurch with more pain the longer he dwelled on it. Being alone was probably the best option if he could just keep it together.