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Also, a BIG THANKS to my 1 reviewer and my sister for beta Reading this for me. you two are kind of what keeps me going on this story for moral~ Thank so much~
And all you viewers, you guys rock! 3
-3 weeks later-
For the most part, Eridan was looking much better; he and Karkat were spending much more time together, and with friends. However, today was one of those few days where Eridan broke down when alone, or so he thought. Karkat hadn't left from the older boy's apartment; he ended up crying into the other's chest. It wasn't quite as dramatic as when this whole thing started, but still, it was when his mind retraced to some pretty painful memories, and Eridan envied the other's ability to calm down all people of the world.
During his shaky breaths, he felt the other take his glasses off, not like they helped much considering he still had an eye patch look going due to his eye taking longer than expected to heal. The doctors were sure it would have little to no vision. His friends teased him and said he was Terezi's long lost half-brother to which everyone else except him got smacked by her cane in lieu of that comment, and the two of them laughed and playfully plotted the ends of the other's lives in front of them.
Still, eyes looked up to Karkat with curiosity and the other smiled down to him from their sitting position, having pulled the other close and Eridan slumped some. It caused their height to be reversed for once. "What's got your ass all up in a mess?" He asked softly of the sea-dweller troll. However, the answer he got made him blush. "The first time you ever defended me…." Karkat coughed for a moment into one of his fisted hands. "W-what are you talking about?" And Eridan's ears drooped some. "You knoww, wwhen wwe wwere little. I wwas in the courtyard, playing at the school, and because I wwas from… there, evveryone picked on me. Except you…." He smiled softly with a sad look in his eyes. Karkat watched and lifted the other's face by his chin to make the other look at him. "Hey, stop that crying stuff, alright? You'll get that damn eye injury infected with that act." Eridan's eyes gazed into Karkat's, both of them started to build a blush as Karkat began moving closer and closer, till Eridan looked away with a small cough into one of his own fisted hands and Karkat pulled back, realizing what he almost did. His face was red from ear to ear, and he looked away. "I just…. I'm grateful, is all. I kept thinking that day, that… that no one cared about me.., but y-you…. you defended me then and evven when we greww up, you still listened to me, evven though we never got along. I-it just meant a lot, and I felt so stupid for thinking no one cared."
Karkat scoffed. "You were stupid for thinking that. I'm a bit of an ass… Okay, a really big ass, but that doesn't mean I stop caring, okay? I remember what I said back then and I still mean it. I'm always here for you, damn it. Okay?" He asked, a serious expression on his face. Eridan nodded and smiled cheerfully up to the other, despite his one eye showing leaking tears. "Still a damned crybaby, though." A thumb gently wiped away the older boy's tear. " Honestly, what the hell am I to do with you?" He asked rhetorically, but got an answer nonetheless. "Don't knoww, but, wwhatevver it is, I am happy if it's you wwho does anything at all."
-1 week later, Start of Fall semester-
School was back in, Orphaner and Cronus transferred themselves down work-wise to this large city while their brother healed, slowly. Six months is what they figured they would need, and while there they spoiled their baby brother. However, the youngest refused to let them go in his apartment, ever. That was one thing Eridan had always been proud of, was that at a young age he worked hard enough and sold enough of his photographs and such, Artistic photographs at that, that he could afford his own small apartment, utilities and all. However, the brothers still sent their artistically inclined brother plenty of funds in case every once in awhile the youngest couldn't make ends meet, and he was, in no way, going to let his brothers try and run his life or baby him forever, though he had been unsuccessful at that mission since the accident.
Most of the stitches were finally healed and gone. His arm was still in a sling; the other, however, was completely healed. His eye was without his eye patch. His eye had healed with two diagonal scars against its lid, skipping some flesh near where his brow line protruded. He looked similar to his brother now, though his scars weren't as big nor were they as long or in the same spot. His glasses were still on his face over the injured eye that was starting to scar its torn flesh. The eye itself was just slightly paled compared to the other due to vision damage and it was much harder to see with that eye, but he was looking into some fancy contacts as well as surgery to see if anything could be done about it.
Blue striped scarf around his neck, a comfortable black turtle neck and long sleeved shirt clung to his tall form. Dark denim skinny jeans clung to his legs and hips. His feet were adorned with worn purple converse and hair combed back in its usual style. He was easy to spot for the hot-tempered troll whom was looking for him. "Eridan, get your ass over here!" It was about lunch time and Eridan had just gotten out of his class, walking to a bright red table under some trees by their cafeteria. Feferi and Sollux were there as well, but he ignored them in favor of Karkat. "Hey, Karkat. Howw wwas first day of classes for you?" Karkat let out a long and annoyed groan of displeasure.
"How do you think it was Eridan? Fucking terrible, I've never seen so much homework on the first day of class in my life." To this Eridan laughed as did Sollux and Feferi. Feferi looked to Eridan with a soft smile. "Eridan I wanted to apol-" "Don't bother. It's fine. Let's just all get along. It's a new school year, and the past is over wwith, okay?" Feferi perked up with such a grand smile. She wore very casual and hippie like clothing almost with her whole 'save the ocean' and 'save Animals, go Vegan' phase going on. She eventually went over and hugged Eridan, whom blushed and hugged her back with his good arm gently. Karkat seemed about as peeved as Sollux did though at this display, and Karkat just turned around and pouted, not even sure himself why he was so upset about it, but he was.
Sollux pushed up his glasses and didn't really speak to Eridan, apparently he was more sore over the situation than Eridan was. "Sollux, can wwe at least be civvil for the sake of our friends? Please?" He asked trying to be reasonable and Sollux grumbled something and then sputtered out. "F-fiine, but don't think this meanth we are friendth or anything!" Eridan smiled some, happy they could at least be reasonable for their friends and Feferi clasped her hands together. "Hee-hee, this is wonderbubble~ You guys are getting so much more mature now that you are becoming adults. I'm so glad we could come to an agreement and be friends again." They both spoke up at the same time at that. "Not friends." However, Sollux's lisp was much more noticeable at that moment than Eridan's pissyness.
Karkat rolled his eyes at the whole scene, still sitting at the table. "Well this shit is all nice and dandy and happy, but can we wrap this damned threesome of a love story up and get food now?" He inquired. Feferi and Eridan's cheeks lit up in embarrassment at the thought, putting Sollux in a pissy mood. "We are all not together! Just me and Fef!" However, Feferi's name was so lisped the other three couldn't help but snort and giggle and try to suppress their laughs as they tugged him along to get food with them, because at the moment, his could mood made him want to go elsewhere.
- 2 weeks later-
Karkat actually asked Eridan on a date. Okay, so maybe not a date 'date'. They weren't together or anything, but still, dinner and movies. That was a date, wasn't it? Well, it was close enough for the slowly fantasizing sea-dweller, who gushed to his brothers almost endlessly about the Vantas boy. It was currently after they had gone out to eat together that he was sitting in the car with the other whom was driving, letting him surprise the older boy for the movies while he texted his brother Cronus about how well the dinner went and all. 'Awwesome bro! Gonna pull any movves on him tonight? Maybe get that smooch you missed out on last time you two were alone?' Eridan's cheeks must have been pretty bright, because at a stop light, Karkat had to ask about them. "Why the hell are your cheeks so colored, and what's with that damn creepy smile. Are you texting someone something preverted like those humans do?" He asked and Eridan blushed harder and gasped. "W-Wwhat? N-no, I'm just texting my brother, that's all…" He pouted and Karkat perked a brow, but dropped it since the light turned green.
Orphaner peaked over his younger brother's shoulder to read what he was texting the youngest of them and scrunched his nose before a firm slap was given on the backside of the man's head. "Don't you try to rush things with him, and so help me gog, if that Vvantas boy hurts our little brother. You make him rush this and he gets his heart broken, I'm killing you first. Mom wwon't miss you too terribly." Cronus growled after a yelp from the back of his head getting hit, glaring daggers at the eldest of the three. "Hey! Wwatch it, big guy. Just cause you're older doesn't make you any tougher or better than me!" Orphaner perked a brow and gave an amused smirk to the middle brother of the Ampora trio. "Oh, but I think it does. Wwhat wwar did you fight in? Wwhat medals and titles do you have? Think you can take me, then bring it!"
With a growl and a phone discarded mid-message, he tackled Orphaner to the ground and the two began to wrestle. "Tonight will be the night the famous 'Dualscar' falls! Just watch me kick your ass!" he snarled and the two of them began rough housing, much to their female roommate and host's amusement and joy. "I love when two built men fight~!" the girl practically purred and added them as an incestuous pair to her book of couple shipping.
Back where Eridan was, the two of them got out of the car and grabbed tickets, still a bit early for the movie. Eridan blinked when he read a horror film's name on the ticket. 'The P-possession. K-karkat wwe havve been ovver this. I hate horror movvies! I'm too easily scared." Karkat blinked as he paid for some popcorn and drinks for them and then smiled with the devil's smile. "Well if you get too scared by some silly human's damned movie you can hug yourself against me and duck your face into my chest if it gets too scary." He teased the other, and Eridan pouted, though both of them blushed. He wondered if Karkat meant to be that forward or if perhaps he was just that comfortable around him at this point. Still, it seemed like the first, considering Karkat had yet to let the boy pay for anything since he was picked up from his apartment.
Giving up for the time being, he followed the other, carrying the popcorn and drinks after insisting he do something polite before the night was over. After finding a comfortable spot and situating themselves, Karkat made sure that nothing rested on the armrest between them and placed his arm down, palm up. "There, crybaby. Now you can hold my hand." Eridan looked at the offer and then pouted at the teasing name before he threw a handful of popcorn at the other. "No thanks, I'm good." However, just through the previews of other scary movies, he ended up holding Karkat's hand, much to the younger and shorter boy's pleasure and delight. He texted while they waited for the movie to start. 'DUDE, GAMZEE, WHAT THE FUCK? YOU WERE SO RIGHT ABOUT THIS SHIT. HOW THE HELL DID YOU KNOW THAT WOULD WORK?" Karkat frowned before sending as he tried to get the shift button to unstick, but to no avail and sent the message anyways and smiled over to Eridan who look mortified by the many different horror movies coming out so soon. "Wwhat the hell is wwrong wwith people? Wwhy do they wwant to be scared!?" he whispered in a hushed voice of terror that made Karkat chuckle. "Because the damned rush of fear and other emotions excites them. Plus, they get to be with the people they care about and get to comfort them as well." Eridan looked to the other with a suspicious look before some of the previews had some scary monstrous face making quite the terrible sound that made Eridan squeak and his hand gripped Karkat's just a bit harder than a natural brace which had the younger chuckling. "Pansy." " Hush you, before I smack you, you fool."
Gamzee texted back with a devious smirk on his face. ' ToLd Ya MaN, I'm A pRo At ThIs ShIt! MoThErFuCkEr'S gOtTa Be SmOoTh To BeD TaVrOs FoR mOrE ThAn A nIgHt. EsPeCiAlLy WiTh ThAT FuCkInG dAd Of HiS, tElLiNg HiM tO AlWaYs PlAy HaRd To GeT!' Karkat read the message and rolled his eyes, not responding due to the movie starting. Tavros, however, on Gamzee's end now had the other pinned in a make-out session anyways to somehow prove a point that his father did not make him play hard to get or teach him to be any more or less promiscuous then he chose to be.