WARNING. FOLLOWING MATERIAL IS POSSIBLY TRIGGERING.
Seriously though, not to spoil the chapter or anything, but if you've had a traumatizing experience with drowning or the ocean, skip to the middle-end section of the chapter.
All of that said, I hope you guys like this chapter! Eridan and Nepeta start to finally get a little closer. :33
"Nepeta, have you had a single beer this entire night?" Eridan asked as they walked back to their towels and things.
"No...I don't want any," Nepeta said.
"You should really try it. You don't have to get drunk, but you should just try one drink," Eridan urged.
"I don't know..." Nepeta said, messing with her hands nervously.
"Alright fine...how about you either drink...or you go into the water with me," Eridan said with a smirk.
Nepeta crinkled her face in annoyance. "I don't have to do either of those things."
"You might not have a choice," Eridan said, his smirk remaining prominent.
Nepeta eyed him. "Don't even try anything Ampora."
"So what's it going to be?" Eridan asked as they sat down.
"Why do you even care? Why are you trying so hard to get me to drink?" Nepeta huffed.
"I just want you to have a good time," Eridan said defensively.
"Well fine. I'm going to have a grand ole time lying down and relaxing," Nepeta said, sprawling out on the towel.
"Looks like the water it is," Eridan said. He scooped her up in his arms before she could react, and in that moment Nepeta realized just how screwed she was.
He sprinted towards the ocean as Nepeta threw curse words all over the place. She tried to push herself away from him, but to no avail. She didn't want to hurt him, so she suppressed her urges to punch him in the face.
"Feferi! Tell him to stop!" Nepeta shouted.
"Looks like ocean time has been moved up a little! Come on Karkat!" Feferi said playfully, chasing after them.
Nepeta scowled and continued her futile struggles until she felt the water splash onto her back and feet. She squealed and clung as tightly as she could onto Eridan.
"You're fine! You're in shallow water!" Eridan said, smiling at her adorable-ness.
Nepeta ignored his comments.
Eridan was no longer sprinting, but he didn't stop walking and continued to go farther into the water. Only when the water was at his waist and slapping Nepeta's lower back and rump did he stop wading deeper.
"I've stopped now," He said.
Nepeta let go of him as if on command, but had her hand resting on his back. She looked at the water distastefully and watched for a few moments as it slapped against his waist.
"Nep, how well can you swim?" He asked her playfully.
She didn't quite have time to process what he was saying before she was launched out of his arms and into the blue waters.
She thrashed wildly, barely capable of keeping her head above water. Unfortunately as she was flying through the air she screamed, and being so unprepared led to water filling up her lungs. Her feet searched for solid ground but found none. She heard Feferi screaming something in the distance and Eridan shouting something back. She coughed up water and tried to hold her breath at the same time. Between the mix of water and blinding sunlight, her vision was anything but helpful. Her efforts plummeted by the moment and she quickly found herself engulfed in water. Fear gripped her heart as she closed her eyes tightly and focused on holding her breath. Before she was able to sink far however, she was abruptly pulled to the surface.
She opened her eyes and coughed up water. She gasped for air and clung onto her rescuers arms as her body shook and trembled. She looked up, expecting to see Eridan and slap him-but instead saw Karkat and rethought her actions.
"Shit did you never learn how to swim?!" Karkat said, more out of shock than anger. "I thought you were going to die! Come on, you need to relax a little."
He held out his hand and Nepeta looked at it, unsure.
"Nepeta for Christ's sake you nearly died you can hold my fucking hand." Karkat said, rolling his eyes.
Nepeta grabbed his hand and he slowly led her back to their little set up as Eridan ran towards them with a towel.
"Nep, I am so, so sorry." He draped the towel over her shoulders and she pulled it around herself tightly with her free hand. "I didn't realize there was a drop off I thought the water was still going to be shallow...I'm so sorry. How are you feeling? Are you okay?"
Nepeta shook her head and tried to find the words she wanted to say. "Just, just leave me alone-I...I need some space."
Eridan backed off and nodded his head slightly. "Yeah...okay."
Karkat and Nepeta sat down and Karkat didn't let go of her hand the entire time. He patted her back softly as they sat to attempt comforting her. When they had been sitting for a little while, Feferi approached her. She sat down in front of her and smiled shyly.
"Hey, are you feeling alright?" Feferi asked.
Nepeta nodded. "I'm getting better. I'll be fine real soon, I was just shocked."
"Eridan feels awful. He didn't know you couldn't swim. He wants to make it up to you. He says he can drive you home if you're up to it," Feferi said.
"Oh...sure I guess. When?" Nepeta said.
"Wait, so you're not mad?" Feferi asked, surprised.
"No...he was just messing around. He didn't know. Besides, I should know how to swim. It's one of my petty fears. It's okay, I forgive him."
Feferi laughed and beamed. "Wow. He's going to be so relieved. I didn't think he was going to get this far...I was kind of hoping he wouldn't get this far-I mean, it's really funny to see him getting yelled at by girls."
Nepeta cocked her head in confusion. "Wait, does he do flirty things with girls often?"
Feferi nervously chuckled. "Oh, never mind that. He's just really bad in those types of situations."
"What do you mean? What are you talking about?"
Feferi bit her lip. "I'm going to tell Eridan you're ready. I think Karkat and I are going to leave soon too." She jumped to her feet and ran off.
Nepeta sighed and rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Don't think too hard about it Leijon." She mumbled to herself.
"Do you like him?" She heard Karkat's voice boom. Startled, she wrenched her hand from his.
"Oh wow, I forgot you had been sitting there..." Nepeta said bashfully. Truth is she had honestly forgotten about his presence. In her state of recovery his touch and body warmth had become comforting, but just mere background noise as she replayed the incident in her mind.
"Thanks." Karkat said sarcastically. He rose to his feet and dusted the sand off his body. He was unusually grumpy, his expression not so much sour as it was solemn. She thought his face was showing a little bit of...jealousy, perhaps? She dared not think that again.
"I didn't mean it like that...I was just...I'm sorry."
"Whatever. Let's just get your things together. Put your day clothes back on," He said, not looking at her.
Nepeta bit her lip and eyed him for a moment. She then did as he said without a second question. Feferi had given her a towel to borrow, and she didn't bring anything extra, so all she had to do was change into her day clothes and grab her phone. When she was done, she scanned the beach for Eridan and found him standing at the entrance. With a sigh she walked over to where he was waiting.
"Do you have everything?" He asked her quietly.
"Yeah. I'm ready to go."
He nodded and they walked over to his car. After unlocking it, they both got in and buckled up, not saying anything and trying not to think about how awkward it was already.
"Are you just taking me home? No one else?" Nepeta asked.
"Yeah. So where am I going?" He asked.
"I don't really know how to get back from here-" She pulled up a GPS on her phone, typed in her address and gave it to him. "I set it to go to my apartment."
He began driving, and they probably drove a good thirty minutes in complete silence. Nepeta would have gotten on her phone, but he was using it. She wished there was music to listen to, but he didn't turn on the radio and she didn't want to just turn it on either. She glanced over to him and saw he was looking troubled.
Finally, Nepeta worked up the nerve to break the silence. "Eridan...you're not looking too well. Are you okay?"
Eridan hung his head and clutched the steering wheel tighter. "I'm so sor-"
"Stop." Nepeta interrupted without hesitating. "Just, stop. I forgive you, okay? It was an accident. Really, you didn't know. I know you wouldn't have done it if you did know. You were just trying to get me to have a little fun, to loosen up a bit. And I get it, it's okay. I'm fine now, so just don't feel sorry."
"Okay. I won't. And I won't allow anything like that to happen to you again, okay?" Eridan said.
Nepeta didn't respond.
Eridan lightly chuckled and hung his head backwards. When he came back he shook his head. "You know Nep. Something funny happened today. We became closer because the two people we love the most love us the least."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, It's obvious Karkat and Feferi don't think of us the same way we think of them. I mean, and this might sound crazy, but I would give anything right now to call Feferi my wife. I love her so much, and she doesn't even know. She thinks she does, but if she truly understood, she would be too creeped out to talk to me." He let out a nervous laugh and Nepeta's heart began racing. "But hell, who am I kidding, here's you, who's most likely thinking I'm some love-struck stalker. And hell, who am I kidding-it's true! I adore her in every way possible and she doesn't even fucking know it! She thinks of me as nothing more than a friend! It hurts so damn much to know she never will!" He looked as if he were fighting back tears and his face burned red.
"No, no! I completely understand! I understand!" Nepeta cried. She felt a wave of relief wash over her as she sat up straight in her seat and tested the restraints of her seat belt. "I would be in the arms of Karkat everyday if I could! He occupies all of my thoughts, all the time! I just want to be with him and I get that it hurts...I know how you feel completely. You couldn't have said it in a more perfect way exactly the way I feel about him. I love him...I know I do. And I also know he doesn't love me back...every simple act of kindness he gives me sends my brain into overdrive. Every little glance-little motion to me sparks a fire in my heart, makes me think he might be feeling the same way towards me!"
Eridan was now crying. "After...what happened-when you two were sitting together, I can't explain how that felt, Nepeta." She flinched at the sound of her full name. "I...I guess I'm just really grateful to have someone who understands. You and I, we need to stick together."
Nepeta paused. "Try to."
"What?"
She shook her head. "I mean...try to explain-how it felt. I'm not going to play dumb anymore. Both of us know today sparked something...both of us know we're growing feelings for each other...so, just, try to explain how it felt when Karkat and I sat together."
Eridan was a little taken a back, but did not deny anything she said. "Well...It hurt. As if I didn't feel bad enough about almost letting you drown...then I see you and Karkat. My God you two looked like a damn couple. I was jealous. I was...sad."
"There's nothing to be jealous of. Karkat and I will never happen. I can think of three girls off the top of my head that he likes," Nepeta said sourly.
"I'm sorry Nep."
She scowled. "You know what, no. I'm sorry. I just...ugh. No. I need to forget about him. I'm sorry I even said that."
Eridan smiled sadly. "It's fine. You're in love. It happens."
Nepeta slumped in her seat and looked out the window. "This is crazy. We've fallen hard for two people who are starting to fall for each other...while we are falling for ourselves. Is this like a...love square or something?"
Eridan chuckled. "Whatever it is. I hope everything works out right."
"And what is that right way for it to work out?"
"...I don't know. Hell I wish I did."
"Is anything even going to happen beyond today...between us?" Nepeta asked sadly.
"I don't know that either."
"Oh."
"...Yeah."
They drove another five minutes in silence.
"Hey, looks like we're here." He pulled into the parking lot, gave back her phone, and they both got out of the car. He escorted her into the lobby and up to her apartment. They did not speak as they walked, but after the conversation they had in the car, there was nothing left to say. She unlocked her door and then hung in the doorway, facing him for a moment. "Goodbye, Eridan."
He paused for a moment and fidgeted with his fingers. Just as she was about to close the door, he cupped her jaw in his hand and kissed her lips in what seemed like an instant. She froze under his touch. He slowly pulled away put his hands in his pockets. "Until next time, Ms. Leijon."