Hi everyone, I really hope you enjoy this chapter, sorry I couldn't upload this sooner, but at least it's on time for my usual updates!
I'm going to try and start updating every 5 days instead of every Thursday, but we'll see what happens.
Thank you so much for all the views, reviews, favourites and follows! It means the world to me to know that you guys are having fun with this fanfiction, so thank you all.
Hold onto your butts for future chapters.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Following the events of the horrific dream, Sollux decided that enough was enough, there was something he had been putting off until now, and it was time to do something he should have done a long time ago. He had spent the weekend texting Aradia when he began thinking about the fact that he had never actually told her that he had a boyfriend, and truth be told, he couldn't tell whether this was because it had just never been brought up, or because he didn't want her to know.
When Aradia asked if he wanted to spend Wednesday with her again, Sollux realised that it would be the perfect time to slip it into conversation. Afterall, it wasn't like he was hanging out with her as anything more than a friend, so why would it matter if she knew about Eridan. In fact, seeing as they were friends, she should know about him. Shouldn't she?
He gave a friendly wave as he approached Aradia, who was sat on a bench outside a book store, "hey, Aradia."
She returned the gesture, and stood up, "I was just getting worried that you had forgotten all about me, Sollux." She quirked an eyebrow and smiled knowingly.
Sollux checked his watch and realised that he was actually half an hour late, but it wasn't as if he had left late or anything, he had just gotten caught up looking at the window display for a new video game. "Oh shit, thorry about that," he itched the back of his neck, and watched her put the book she had been reading back in her bag, "tho, where do you want to go?"
Aradia shrugged, and glanced around at the various shops, "well, I wouldn't mind getting an ice cream again, I really enjoyed it last time," she smiled and pointed at the small ice cream shop that was only a little way away.
There wasn't really enough time for Sollux to respond before Aradia grabbed his hand and began dragging him towards it, "shit, you really want thome, don't you?" He laughed, wriggling his hand a little to make it more comfortable.
She didn't even turn back, "well I was waiting for quite a while, and I was tempted to run over there to grab one before you came, but I was afraid I'd get my new book dirty." When they walked into the shop, they both began eyeing up the plethora of flavours, "oh God, I think I'll have to get one of those pots instead of a cone, you know? I can't decide on a flavour!"
Sollux frowned as Aradia squeezed his hand, "then get a mixth? I know which oneth I want." He hesitated before pulling her arm playfully, "want me to treat uth? I'm feeling generouth today." He grinned as he felt his arm being yanked gently, there was something oddly satisfying about playing around like this, it felt just like old times, and that was something that Sollux missed most about their relationship, they really did have a lot of fun together.
"Nope, it's my turn to treat us, and I insist on you getting the four scoop pot, so get choosing, Captor." Aradia flashed that beautiful smile, and Sollux felt his chest tighten ever so slightly.
When they walked out of the shop, they finally let go of eachother's hands in favour of eating their frozen dessert; Sollux started eating both of his mint scoops before he touched his double chocolate scoops, and he glanced down at Aradia.
She was happily tasting each of her flavours, and Sollux noticed the slight pink dusting her tanned cheeks, and the way her wild hair bounced gently as they walked, and the way her bright red lips brushed against the little white spoon-
"Sollux? Are you alright?"
He jumped back a little, and blinked furiously, "fuck, yeah, shit. Thorry, I wath looking at your ithe cream."
Aradia giggled, and shook her head, "I thought so!" She held out the pot, pursing her lips slightly, "I suppose that just this once you can have a try, but I expect to taste yours in return!"
They swapped pots, and Sollux tried her strawberry, white chocolate, fudge and caramel icecream before handing it back, smiling sheepishly, "fuck, I wish I'd gotten the caramel one now, that'th fucking amathing." He quickly lifted his own pot above his head as Aradia tried to share it with him, "eat it yourthelf! I wathn't hinting for you to give me yourth, you idiot!" He couldn't help but laugh as Aradia slapped his arm with her plastic spoon.
While they ate, they shared small talk and looked at the various display windows of the shops. It was pretty relaxing, and Sollux started to thoroughly enjoy himself; he found himself smiling, and he didn't even mind that he was lisping in front of her, it just felt so natural. They didn't stop walking until they had reached a park, and Sollux was surprised to see that it was empty.
After throwing their now empty icecream pots in a bin, Aradia ran over to one of the swings, and sat down, "come on, Sollux! Let's have some fun!" She called, waving him over.
Sollux didn't even hesitate, and although he refused to run, he did hurry his way over to join her. He sat down on the second swing, and kicked off, "shit, I haven't been on one of thethe in ageth." He thought wistfully back to the last time he had taken Mituna to a park, he didn't do it often, as Mituna did most of his outdoor activities with Latula.
Aradia laughed as they competed to get higher than eachother, but Sollux eventually slowed down to a more relaxed motion. He was actually enjoying being outside in the sunshine for once, and he couldn't help but think that this was because of the fact he was spending it with Aradia.
"Sollux," Aradia slowed to a stop. She didn't look up from the floor as she spoke, "I know we've been dancing around the subject, and I appreciate that you might've been doing that because you're still upset, but I think we should talk about it."
This came as a shock to Sollux, and he watched her curiously, "what?"
It obviously took a lot of effort to do, but Aradia finally dragged her eyes away from the ground, to hold Sollux's eye contact, "I'm sorry for what I did to you, Sollux." She shook her head as he opened his mouth, "no, what I did to you was unforgivable, and I'm nothing but ashamed of myself. It was just, sometimes it was like you was fluctuating between loving me and... Not."
Sollux couldn't react, he sat frozen in place, with his lips parted.
"That's no excuse though, my actions are only the fault of my own, and I just can't apologise enough, Sollux." Though Aradia's eyes welled up a little, she refused to cry, and Sollux felt that familiar tightness in his chest. She had always been so strong, it was such a rarity to see her cry, she had always been his rock. "I'm so sorry, Sollux."
It was a difficult situation. One on hand, the wounds that Aradia had inflicted on him were still a little fresh, even after all this time, and Sollux still felt bitter about how she betrayed him. But on the other hand, she was Aradia; she had been the one thing that he had ever loved unconditionally, asides from Mituna. She was apologising to him, and Sollux realised that it was the one thing that he had wanted to hear, and he had been waiting to hear it for so long.
He swallowed the lump in his throat, feeling incredibly conflicted; he could tell her to fuck off right now, and never have to see her ever again, or he could forgive her, and continue hanging out with her.
The hesitation allowed a heavy silence to hang in the air, but Sollux was too consumed in his own thoughts to notice. After a moment, he finally pulled himself out of the chaos to speak, "look, AA, I think if I wath thtill pithed, I would have told you to fuck off inthtead of hanging out with you." He kicked his legs, and started swinging again, "tho don't worry about it, it'th water under the bridge."
Aradia jumped up, and grabbed Sollux into a hug, holding him tightly, "thank you Sollux, it means so much to hear you say that! And I promise, I will make it up to you." The momentum of Sollux's gentle swinging almost made them topple over, so Sollux grabbed her and planted his feet firmly on the ground.
They continued to embrace eachother for a little while, and Sollux rested his chin on the top of her head once again. He could smell earth and roses, and he remembered how they would cuddle in bed, and how Aradia would drape herself over him when he was working on a code, and they would laugh. His breath caught, and he remembered every detail of the body that he had explored with gentle kisses and lingering touches.
He remembered just how much he had loved her.
When they pulled away, Sollux blinked away the tears that pricked his eyes, and gave a wide grin, "tho, are you feeling a bit better now?" He asked, trying desperately to ignore the aching in his ribcage.
Aradia nodded, and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, grinning sheepishly, "yeah. Thank you, Sollux." She smiled gratefully, and returned to her swing.
Sollux felt like a piece of shit. He wanted to tell Aradia about Eridan, but it just didn't seem like the right time. He rationalised that there was nothing stopping him from texting her once he got home, though. Yes, that's what he would do.
When they left the park, Aradia took hold of Sollux's hand once again, and they talked about college and their plans for the rest of the week. It wasn't until Aradia asked if Sollux wanted to come round to visit her new place, that Sollux excused himself and told her that he had too much work to do and that he really should getting home, but he promised that next time they hung out, he would.
Aradia gave Sollux a big hug, and tiptoed to press her lips to his cheek before they parted ways.
As Sollux started walking home, he couldn't help but try and deny, and ignore, how she had made him feel. It physically hurt him knowing that she still had an effect on him, and he desperately tried to lie to himself, but the ache in his chest was undeniable.
This was not what he had wanted to happen.
-.-.-.-.-
Eridan beeped his horn as he pulled up to Sollux's apartment building. It was Friday, and he had been planning on taking Sollux out for a nice day at the spa, but the nerd had complained so much that Eridan had scrapped the idea, and had spent another three days trying to come up with something that they would both enjoy.
He looked down at his outfit, and huffed. It was baggy, and quite frankly, a scruffy abomination in his opinion. Unfortunately, it was the only thing that he could actually bear to see getting destroyed, which was an inevitability considering the date he had planned.
After waiting patiently for another half a second, Eridan beeped the horn loudly once again, "what the hell could Sol be doin' that's more important than gettin' his ass out here an seein' me?"
"Erifin, clam down," Feferi poked the side of his head from the passenger seat, "he'll be out in a second, if you gave him half a chance!"
This only made Eridan fold his arms grumpily, and he glared at the door until it opened and Sollux walked out, followed promptly by Karkat and Gamzee.
"Sea, there they are!" Feferi leant over and waved at the entourage through the passenger seat window.
Sollux opened one of the back doors, and let himself in, looking a little confused, "hey ED, hey FF, what the fuck'th going on?" He had no idea about the date, all he had been told was that Karkat, Gamzee and Feferi would be coming, and that he needed to wear some thick clothes that could get messy, and possibly thrown away.
The back seat looked like a bit of a squeeze; Gamzee was sat behind Feferi, and Karkat was sat in the middle, as usual Sollux had taken his place behind the driver's seat.
Eridan ignored Sollux's question in favour of starting the car, and pulling away from the curb. He turned on the radio, and kept it on a low volume so that they could all talk over the top of it, "what took you so long, Sol? I was waitin' for ages."
Feferi stopped rifling through her bag to reach over and flick Eridan's ear, "shut up, Eridan, we were only waiting for a minute! You're just too impatient." She returned to her bag and pulled out a little pot of face paint, "aha!"
This comment just caused Eridan to huff dramatically, and when nobody tried to insist that it was bullshit and that he was in no way impatient, he just grumbled under his breath about the injustice of it all.
After a minute of fumbling with a makeup brush, a bottle of water, and the pot of facepaint, Feferi finally turned round to look at everyone. She had painted two thick black lines on both her cheeks, "you buoys had better prepare your asses, I'm not going to be gentle with anyone!" She cheerfully handed the brush, bottle and facepaint back to Gamzee when he reached for them.
Soon Karkat was yelling at Gamzee, "get that fucking shit away from my face, or I swear on everything good in this world, I will shove that brush so far up your asshole you'll never be able to pull it back out!" This warning was promptly ignored by Gamzee, who quickly painted a line under each of Karkat's eyes with an experienced hand.
Sollux's laughter at his best friend's misfortune died as he was suddenly grabbed into a headlock by the shorter man, "KK! Get your handth off me, you bitch-turd!" He yelled, punching Karkat's leg angrily. It was to no avail though, as he was only released after he had received the same paint job as Karkat.
Once they were out of the way, Gamzee began working on himself, and Feferi giggled as she saw that he had drawn black camouflage streaks down his own face, "you motherfuckers should have sat still for longer, because I would have gotten my Van Gogh on, and made you look as good as me." He handed the items back to Feferi, and looked a little smug.
They continued driving, and Sollux became more and more confused as he realised that they were getting further away from the city, and Eridan wasn't arguing against the face paint situation, "ED, where the fuck are we going?" He asked, hoping that this time Eridan would give him an answer.
Eridan allowed his eyes to flick up to the rear-view mirror for a second to look at Sollux, "well, seein' as you didn't want to go to the spa, even though it would a been the most relaxin' day you'd ever experienced, I was thinkin' we could do somethin' else I enjoy doin'." He smiled as it was only Sollux who hadn't been told about the plans, "Sol, we're goin' shootin'."
-.-.-
When they got to the forest area of the paintballing place, they had been split up to join the already-established groups. Any other group of friends would have asked to stay together, but Eridan and Sollux were too competitive, and they took it as a fun challenge, so they stayed separated.
Sollux, Karkat and Gamzee were all put on the yellow team, and they were hiding out in a small wooden shed-like building. The rest of their team had split off in order to find the members of the blue team.
"Shit, thith ith fucking thtrethful, I haven't theen anyone from the blue team in ageth." Sollux narrowed his eyes, and wiped a fleck of mud off the visor of his mask.
Karkat snorted and tapped his large gun against his own leg, "they've got Eridan on their side. That git's probably given them fucking strategy tips to help hunt us down."
Sollux frowned, "fucking bookworming bathtard." He muttered.
They finally made the decision to leave the safety of their shed, in order to hunt down the other team. It was only after they were no longer within a short sprinting distance from their barricade that the blue paint began flying.
Karkat screamed and leapt behind Gamzee, using him as a very tall human shield, but Sollux didn't even notice; he had already legged it, and was sprinting away from the ambush, running blindly through the trees, desperately looking for another safe place to catch his breath.
Once his lungs began burning, Sollux finally allowed himself to slow down, and he hid himself behind a tree. He gulped down mouthfuls of air, and sagged against the tree; he was surprised that he could feel the rough bark through the layers of his own clothing and the camouflaged overalls.
He looked to his side, and suddenly realised that he was alone. Despite the fact he had shot off like a rocket, he had kind of expected Karkat and Gamzee to follow him, but they were nowhere to be seen.
A slight panic settled in his chest, and Sollux tried to pretend that his quickened respiratory rate was an effect of him still being out of breath, rather than because he was alone in a fucking forest, and he might be alone for hours. He clutched at his stomach, and doubled over, trying to force himself to calm down. It would all be okay, it would be fine, someone would find him. He wrenched his mask off, and leant against the tree, once again trying to force himself to take deep breaths.
Everything was not going to be okay.
Just as Sollux started to give in to the onset of the panic attack, he saw someone ahead of him. His eyes snapped to the bright blue armband, and the gun in their hands. In his chaotic mind, he could only think that the person was about to shoot him, and that somehow terrified him just as much as being lost did. He couldn't hear anything above the blood rushing through his ears, and when the person began jogging over, he couldn't stop the yelp of terror that wrenched itself past his lips, and he lifted his own gun and fired.
Unfortunately, the person was pretty close, and the paintball thudded into their chest at pretty much point-blank range. They grabbed their chest as the yellow paint exploded over their overalls, and they yanked their own mask from their face.
"SOL! You fuckin' idiot that hurt!" Eridan shouted, looking livid. His angry disposition dissolved as Sollux pulled him into a hug, "wwhoa, come on, I ain't that pissed off, it just hurt is all."
Sollux leant down and pressed grateful kisses to Eridan's face, feeling incredibly relieved that he had been found by Eridan of all people. He continued his flurry of kisses until Eridan pushed him away.
"Get off, you sap, what's gotten into you?" Eridan raised an eyebrow as Sollux refused to let go, "I followed you to shoot you in the ass, an I find that you've taken your mask off, so I can't shoot you, an then you shoot me!"
He was so relieved that Eridan had found him, and that he was saved, that he didn't even care about what the hipster had just said; he just wanted to be with Eridan, because Eridan was safe, Eridan wouldn't abandon him, Eridan was-
Eridan pulled away from the embrace, as something wet landed on his face. He was about to scream at the bird that must've just shit on him, when he saw that Sollux had teared up, "oh God, Sol, wwhat's wwrong?"
"Pleathe don't leave me alone." Sollux blurted out before he could stop himself. The floodgates had cracked a little, and he could feel himself straining ever so slightly under the weight of the distress and panic that was clawing it's way through his gut. "P-pleathe, Eridan, pleathe."
"Shit, Sol, I ain't leavin' you, come on. I'd never leave you." Eridan pulled a glove off to stroke Sollux's cheek soothingly, "why the fuck would I ever leave someone as brilliant as you?" He offered his boyfriend a warm smile.
Sollux shrugged and suddenly couldn't hold back the flood of self hatred. He felt so pathetic for not being able to cope with something as simple as just getting lost in a fucking paintball forest without feeling like the world was going to end. He was just the worst person, he was weak and worthless, and no one really liked him, he was ugly, and he wasn't good enough, he was selfish, and all he wanted was to have someone who wouldn't abandon him, and who would help him, oh God, someone help him, he couldn't breathe, he couldn't think, he was drowning again, and no one would care, and-
Eridan pulled Sollux towards him, and made a calming, shushing noise. He wished that Karkat was there, because he was better at helping Sollux through his panic attacks, but he had to step up to the mark and do his best, because Sollux needed him. "Sol, I'm right here, okay? Everythin's goin' to be fine, I promise."
"I'm pathetic, oh God, I'm fucking pathetic. You're better off without me, everyone would be better off if I wathn't here!" Sollux sobbed quietly, and Eridan flinched, then grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled away from the embrace, with a burning glare.
"Don't you evver say anythin' like that evver again, Sollux Captor. Do you hear me? No one wwould be better off wwithout you, an I'll kick anyones ass wwho says otherwwise." Eridan's glare wavered ever so slightly, and he watched as Sollux wiped his nose with a clean sleeve, "you're the best thing that's ever happened to me. You just can't see all the good shit you got goin' for you, is all. You're the smartest person I've ever known, you're hilarious, you're brilliant, you're surprisin'ly romantic when you want to be, you're fuckin' gorgeous, an your eyes are the most amazin' things I've ever seen in my life, you have the most wonderful laugh, an your smile can't be beaten, an I can't help but love you a little more every time I see you or hear your voice! So don't you dare say that anyone wwould be better off wwithout you, because it ain't true!"
Sollux kissed Eridan desperately. He couldn't find the words to thank him, but he felt so much affection and love for the hipster, that he couldn't stop himself.
Between the hurried kisses, Eridan mumbled little compliments; blurting out everything that he adored about Sollux.
"Sol, I-" Eridan smiled as the lips were pressed against his own, and he returned the kiss before trying again, "I wanted to say-"
Sollux listened intently. Every time Eridan spoke, a little more of the weight on his chest was lifted, and the dark fog that clouded his brain was blown away.
Eridan smiled, and pulled back slightly, looking up into those heterochromia eyes, "Sol, you don't have to feel bad anymore, okay? I'll always be here for you, no matter what. I promise that shit'll get better, an if it doesn't, I'll be there to wade through it with you, because..." He hesitated, as his cheeks turned a little pink, "because, I lovve you, Sol."
The world seemed to stand still, and Sollux looked down at his boyfriend, feeling better than he had done in ages. He wouldn't have minded if the world ended at that moment, because he had never felt happier. Breathing was a hell of a lot easier for Sollux now, and he ran a paint-flecked glove through Eridan's hair, "thank you, Eridan." He whispered before leaning down and kissing him once again. He felt the hipster melt against him ever so slightly, but Sollux pulled him backwards towards the large tree, and held him against it.
Eridan tilted his head a little, and parted his lips to give Sollux's tongue entrance into his mouth. There was a slight desperation to the kiss, and Eridan imagined that it almost felt like it could have been the last one they would ever share. He nipped Sollux's tongue as he felt a thigh being pressed between his legs, but he didn't move away from the contact, instead, he moved himself against it, and relished in the feeling.
They clung to eachother for at least a minute before Eridan reluctantly pushed Sollux away, "alright, seriously Sol, I need a minute here." His cheeks were bright red, and he closed his eyes to calm himself down. After a minute Eridan pulled his mask back on, mostly to make sure that they wouldn't start making out again, "come on, I'll take you back to everyone, an then you can spend the rest a the time we got left here with Kar an Gam, okay?" He flinched as Sollux nudged him.
"What'th wrong, ED?" Sollux asked as he followed suit, and put his mask back on too.
Eridan frowned and touched his own chest tentatively, "you shot me, remember? Fuck, this is goin' to bruise like a bitch."
Sollux shrugged and took hold of Eridan's hand, "yeah, thorry about that, blame the panic attack." He paused for a second and took a deep breath, it was amazing just how different his chest felt now that he was calm, "thankth for coming after me, even if you wath jutht hunting me to shoot my ath."
"Well, I might've been a little worried about you too, you know. Seein' as you ran off away from all the fuckin' safe places an shit." Eridan began leading them back, watching the trees for people from either team, "besides, bein' alone sucks, especially when you're in an unfamiliar place. I would know." He left it at that, and Sollux didn't ask any more questions.
When they spotted two people peeping out a safehouse, they stared at eachother suspiciously, until the incredibly lanky person waved lazily and called them over with a loud, "hey best friends!"
Sollux gave Eridan a gentle and affection-filled forehead bump, which wasn't really that sweet seeing as they were still wearing their thick face masks. He ran over to Karkat and Gamzee, and turned back to wave at Eridan, who was already jogging away to hide in the trees.
"FUCK!" Eridan spun around quickly as he felt himself get shot three times; his back, his left leg, and his right ass cheek were the victims. He saw Karkat and Sollux suddenly duck out of sight, but Gamzee remained standing, once again waving.
-.-.-
Once they were all back in the car, Eridan began grumbling about how it was almost like everyone was looking for ways to disrespect him, especially seeing as Feferi had shot his left ass cheek only five minutes before the end of the game. He listened to the four of them talking happily, and on any other day he would have appreciated the comradery, but not when it was being used against him.
To make matters worse, Eridan couldn't even stay mad long, because Feferi knew all of his buttons, and as soon as she began bragging about how amazing his aim was, he quickly joined in with the conversation. Mostly to boast.
Gamzee and Karkat were both dropped off at the apartment building, while Feferi was brought back to Eridan's. When they got to Eridan's house, Feferi unbuckled herself, "whale, it was a lot of fun, wasn't it? Thanks for bringing me along, Erifin!" She opened the car door, and offered them both a wide smile, "sorry about shooting you in the boat... bass... Wow, there are so many bum puns!" She giggled and jumped out of the car, just as Eridan and Sollux followed suit.
"Fuckin' hilarious, Fef, really, thanks for that." Eridan pouted, slamming his door shut. He shot Sollux a glare as the nerd failed to stop himself from snickering behind his back, "oh yeah, laugh it up, asshole. You're the one who'll be sleepin' in the garden."
Feferi rolled her eyes, and stepped in to stop the inevitable squabble, "oh you buoys, why don't you just have a nice, relaxing bubble bath?" She frowned a little at Eridan, "you definitely need one, seeing as your hair has paint in it."
This made Eridan pull a horrified face, and duck down to check his reflection in his car's side mirror, "oh God! This is all your fault, Sol! Right, I need a nice fuckin' bath, an a shower!" He stomped up to the front door, and unlocked it.
Sollux snorted and waved to Feferi as she got into her own car, which had been parked on the pavement outside Eridan's home, "later, FF, it wath fun theeing you!" He called.
"You too, Sollux! Maybe next time your team will actually win!" Feferi poked her tongue out, and started the car. She drove away, leaving Sollux on the garden path with Eridan.
The both of them headed inside, and Sollux followed Eridan upstairs. He wasn't surprised when he saw that the first thing Eridan did was start running a bubble bath, "bubbleth, Eridan? Theriouthly?" He snorted as he watched Eridan pouring the viscous, lilac liquid into the bathtub.
"Yes. It'll help sooth my muscles, you asswipe." Eridan huffed again, and began pulling off his baggy clothing. Once he was down to his socks and boxers, he plodded around to grab two large towels, and then held one out to Sollux, "here, you may as well have a shower while we're... What's wrong?" Eridan frowned and tilted his head.
Sollux was staring at the large bruise on Eridan's chest; it was a sore-looking red in the centre, but it deepened to a maroon. There was also a band of purple, which peppered the blue skin. It almost looked pretty, like a speckled, blossoming flower, but Sollux knew that it must've hurt like hell, and he felt nothing but guilt when he looked at it.
"ED, I am tho fucking thorry." Sollux whispered, reaching out with shaking fingers to touch the large bruise. He leant forwards and pressed a kiss to Eridan's forehead, feeling like an absolute dick once again.
Eridan poked his stomach, and smiled, "Sol, it's fine, I'm probably covered in bruises, and if you got undressed you'd probably find a load on yourself, too." He would have been angry, but he knew that Sollux had been in the midst of a panic attack, so it wasn't as if he'd done it maliciously or anything. He pulled himself away from his boyfriend and returned to his bath; he swished the water around with a hand before turning to look at Sollux again, "oh my God, what now? You look like you've just seen a baby bein' kicked or somethin'."
The scratch on Eridan's back hadn't completely healed, and Sollux stared at it sadly. His panic attacks were the cause of so much pain for his boyfriend, and it was starting to make him feel like the worst person in the world. He got himself undressed, and tried to focus on all the small bruises on his own body, but he couldn't.
The only sound came from the sloshing water, and Eridan felt a little uneasy with the awkward silence. When he saw Sollux fiddling with his own hair in the mirror, Eridan strolled over. He knew that his boyfriend was feeling guilty, so in his mind, there was only one thing to do. He took a deep breath, and moved in between Sollux and the mirror; Eridan noticed that he would have to lean up to kiss him on the lips now, as the nerd had been standing a lot straighter recently, instead of slouching.
Sollux jumped as Eridan began pressing little kisses against his neck, "ED?" He smiled a little as Eridan pushed him against the sink. He opened his mouth to say something snarky, when he felt a sharp pain, "OW! Fuck!"
Eridan reached up and pulled Sollux's hair playfully. He rolled his tongue against the bite mark, then sucked roughly. When he felt Sollux shiver slightly,he pulled away,"there, we're even now." Eridan smiled, stepping back to allow Sollux to look at his new bruise.
"Thankth, athhole. I really fucking appreciate having you bite the fuck out of me." Sollux mumbled, but he smiled slightly, knowing that this was Eridan's way of trying to absolve him of the guilt of causing him any pain. He looked at the purplish bruise on his reflection, and thought that it was a bloody good hickey.
While Sollux was admiring his handiwork, Eridan strolled back over to his bath, and turned the taps off, he pulled his socks and boxers off, then climbed in. He sighed loudly and stretched as soon as he was sat down; the water was lovely and warm, and he considered never leaving. Just as Eridan was imagining his future as a water-dwelling bath goblin, he opened an eye, and peeked at Sollux, "hey Sol, can you bring my shampoo and conditioner over here, please?"
Sollux hadn't even noticed that Eridan was no longer stood next to him, he gave a quick thumbs up before stepping over to the shower, and grabbing the two plastic bottles, then walked over to the bath. "You look pretty relaxthed in there, ED." He smiled as Eridan took the bottles off him, but he yelped as a wet arm circled his waist.
"Sol, are you gettin' in, or are you havin' a shower instead?" Eridan pulled at the waistband of his boxer shorts a little, and looked up hopefully.
"To be honetht, I wath planning on having a shower, but how can I thay no to you?" Sollux covered himself with a hand as he pulled his boxers down, and climbed into the bath. The water felt pretty fucking good, and Sollux had to admit, his boyfriend really did know how to run a good bath. "It'th been yearth thince I've had bubbleth." He mused.
Eridan leaned back and disappeared under the water for a second, before surfacing and wiping bubbles away from his face, "I have them when I'm feelin' particularly stressed." He smiled as he began vigorously lathering shampoo into his own hair, "Sol help yourself to my hair shit."
This comment almost passed without notice, as Sollux's head was filled with that wonderfully faint aroma of coconut. He had grown to love that smell, it calmed him and he found it almost reassuring.
While Sollux appeared to be day-dreaming, Eridan took the opportunity to rinse his hair off with the bath's shower-head attachment. He smiled as Sollux finally seemed to snap out of his daze, "welcome back to the land a the livin'."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever, jutht path me the shampoo."
Once they had both completed Eridan's routine, Eridan leant back against Sollux and closed his eyes. They didn't speak, nor did they need to, they just held eachother contently, and relaxed.
Eridan could feel Sollux's heart pounding, and he tipped his head back against Sollux's chest. It was only after the nerd began complaining about how pruney his hands were getting, and also that the water was getting 'cold as fuck', that they both climbed out and wrapped themselves up in Eridan's fluffy violet towels.
Sollux threw on a pair of thin pyjama bottoms, and a plain black t-shirt, and he watched Eridan get changed into a thick jumper and jogging bottoms, "Jethuth, it'th like you're cold blooded, or thomething!" He laughed.
"Yeah well, we can't all be livin' radiators like you. Now get over here, I'm goin' to blow dry your hair before you catch a fuckin' cold." This was a lie, Eridan knew that Sollux wouldn't have caught a cold, but he couldn't resist the temptation to have a play around with his boyfriend's hair, especially seeing as the nerd never seemed to do anything with it.
Once Sollux was sat at his vanity table, Eridan promptly set to work drying it, as promised, but he pouted when Sollux refused to let him style it in any way.
-.-.-
The spaghetti bolognese that Eridan had made had been delicious, and once the dishes had been washed and packed away, Eridan and Sollux had gone out to the garden. They were sat on the deckchairs, and Eridan was chatting away happily about how well he'd been training Barbossa the Horsea, and that it had evolved into a Seadra on the Tuesday. He was also pleased about the fact that he only needed to trade with Sollux and then he'd finally have a purple Kingdra, but he wanted to trade Barbossa over and have Sollux put the Dragon Scale on him before trading him back, so that Barbossa evolved on Eridan's DS.
Sollux listened to Eridan's speech with a smile on his face. He loved the fact that Eridan was enjoying the game so much, and he loved the fact that Eridan really gave so much of a crap about the shiny Pokemon he had spent so long breeding, but more than anything else, Sollux loved the fact that Eridan looked so happy, and was so damn passionate, and...
"ED."
Eridan stopped in his tracks, thinking that maybe he had pissed Sollux off with his constant talking, "yeah? What's up?"
Sollux smiled, and reached over, grabbing Eridan's hand, "I jutht wanted to thay that I'm pretty fucking happy right now, I mean, with thith, and you, and everything."
"Wwell I'm happy wwith you too, Sol." Eridan's cheeks turned a little pink, and he squeezed Sollux's hand firmly.
"I know. Look, I'm thorry that I'm not all... Poetic and shit, like you, and I can thound like an idiot ninety-nine perthent of the time, but I..." Sollux cleared his throat, and turned away from Eridan. This stuff didn't come naturally to him, and it was hard to come up with a way of saying it that would stay true to himself, while also helping him not look like an idiot.
Eridan watched him hopefully; he had been a little self conscious seeing as he had admitted his feelings to Sollux, and hadn't received anything back, but it was finally happening. He suppressed the smile that was threatening to appear on his face, and instead tried to look cute and inquisitive.
"Shit, I jutht wanted to thank you for earlier, and thay that I altho... I kind of..." Sollux wrung his hands together and cursed himself, because normal people shouldn't find things like this so Goddamn hard, "I-"
Sollux's phone blasting it's usual ringtone made them both jump, and Eridan screamed, "GOD DAMN IT, KARKAT VANTAS!" As they both saw who was calling.
Eridan grumbled to himself as he stormed back into the house to get himself a glass of water, he couldn't believe that Karkat had gotten in the way again, and he was thinking that the next time he saw the short asshole, he would punch him in his stupid fat head and-
He jumped as he felt arms curling reassuringly around his chest, and Sollux's soft voice whispering against his ear.
"I love you, ED."