AN: This deviates from 4chords cannon a little, especially with Sollux's situation (at present). Again, this is just my personal take on things. I'll try to keep as much of the cannon as possible but for the sake of this story there will be some deviations ^_^; I forgot to mention this in the last chapter too. I KNOW that Eridan and Feferi aren't supposed to know each other, but..they do in this because I say so. More notes at the end.
Hurt
Chapter 3: Hipsters and Angels
Sollux tilted his head back, reaching up to run a hand through his wet hair. The water burned red imprints on his skin as he stood open and vulnerable toward the continuous spray. Steaming hot showers were always so soothing after sleepless nights hacking networks.
When Sollux wasn't up at all hours moonlighting tech support for pennies, he thoroughly enjoyed friendly competition with his best friend. Karkat, or as Sollux better knew him as KK, was a foul-tempered little brat. His language was decidedly vulgar and he seemed perpetually angry. Sollux guessed he was maybe sixteen, though he never asked not wanting to fuel an argument if he were wrong. His programing skills were rhudamentry compared to Sollux's but the kid was good enough. He always provided a fun challenge. A fun challenge that would keep him up for days on end. Maybe his priorities were a little skewed.
Sollux's breath hitched a little and his hips involuntarily trust forward, jerking his mind back to the present. He looked down at the naked brunette charitably servicing his cock. He moved his overhead arm to steady himself against the tile wall and ran his free hand through her damp curls. His fingers tangled in the tresses and tugged gently. Sollux guided her head to a more urgent rhythm as he felt orgasm creeping in.
"Aradia..."
The girl resisted his demand and despite his verbal protests, slid her mouth off him, instead running her tongue along the sensitive underside. Sollux gasped, sucking in a mixture of the hot water and salty sweat beading down his face. She licked down the shaft, tracing circles as she gild down to the base. Oh, she was a tease..she was such a good tease. He swore he even heard a giggle as she pulled off him entirely, leaving only one hand firmly gripped around him. Sollux opened his eyes slightly, giving her a half questioning half pleading look, a bare whimper escaping his lips. She returned his stare, her chocolate eyes sparkling with mischief. Aradia grinned and, keeping his gaze quickly took him fully into her mouth again. She engulfed him completely and Sollux let out a deep growl.
"Fuck...fuck...FUCK!"
Sollux lunged forward and turned ramming Aradia's head into the hard tile and pressing his body against it. He forced his weight onto her, pinning her head in place as he violently came. He could feel her hot tongue flicking over the length, lapping up any stray drops. Sollux closed his eyes tightly, savoring the enveloping warmth. As his knees began to grow weak he steadied himself with his forearms, still trapping his partner in place.
He felt Aradia's hands on his hips, pushing him back. His eyes shot open and he pulled out of her, a trail of clouded saliva going with him. The girl choked a little, recovering her breath but then smiled and looked back up at him gingerly licking her lips. Sollux held her gaze for moment, then turned away.
No words were exchanged between them as Sollux turned his back on her and shut the water off. He refused to look at her again as he pushed the curtain open and stepped outside the tub.
"We really need to thtop thith."
Sollux grabbed a towel from the bar on the wall and dried himself. He turned back around, handing the naked girl the towel. She took it and gave him a disapproving look.
"Why not?"
Sollux paused. He could think of a million reasons he shouldn't be doing this.
"Well, your boyfriend ith a pretty good reathon."
"Equius?"
"Ith that hith name?"
"Sollux..don't start this again, please.."
"Why the hell not? It'th the truth. You moved on, you're happy, I get it."
Sollux turned and put his hands on the sink. His head was down. He felt warm skin creep up behind him. He could feel her soft breasts against his back. She encircled her arms around him and rested her cheek on his shoulder blade.
"Why do you do thith, Aradia?"
"Hmm..I can't help it. You're just so tasty." she nuzzled her nose into his skin and gave a soft nip.
"Oh for fuck'th thake," he let out an angry sigh and pryed himself away. He didn't look at her as he stalked out of the bathroom, leaving her alone.
He closed the door behind him and leaned against it. He hated himself sometimes..why did he do this to himself? He knew better.
Sollux surveyed his bedroom, remembering he was still naked. He made his way toward his bedside where a heap of clothing from earlier was. He noted the plush bumblebee on his bed. The bee stared at him.
Sollux stared back at the bee.
The bee didn't flinch and continued its unrelenting gaze.
Sollux raised an eyebrow. This was stupid. Twenty-five-year-old men don't have staring contests with stuffed animals. He picked the plush bee up and hugged it to his chest. He didn't remember when he got it, only that he'd had it for a long time. Something was so familiar about it..familiar and comforting. But it never felt like it was his. Maybe it was from another time..when he was another him. He put it back carefully on the bed and continued getting dressed.
Once he had gotten his pants pulled on and zipped up he heard the click of the bathroom door as it slowly opened. Sollux held his shirt in his hands avoiding looking at Aradia, but then he heard her sniffle. He looked up. She was fully dressed again, her soaking hair starting to curl up as it air dried and...and she was crying.
"Aradia..."
"No, Sollux. You're right. I'm...I'm so sorry," Aradia looked genuinely guilty. Tears poured freely down her cheeks, but she kept as composed as she could.
Sollux desperately wanted to just take her in his arms and hold her, comfort her, dry those tears. But he knew better. He wasn't going to perpetuate this problem. Aradia must have caught on because when she realized he wasn't moving toward her she lost all composure.
Aradia broke down and sobbed. Her legs wobbled and gave out, and she let herself fall to the floor, her face buried in her hands. It broke his heart seeing her like this. Sollux watched, there's nothing else he could do. Eventually her sobs did die down and she looked out from behind her hands. Her dark eyes were bloodshot, her cheeks slippery with tears. Sollux recalled that wet face glistening minutes ago in the shower, flushed with lust..now here she was all sad and broken. He hesitated for a moment before walking over and offering her his shirt in his outstretched hands.
"Here..I don't have any tithueth around or anything tho jutht..uthe thith."
Aradia stared at it for a while as if contemplating his seriousness. She took the shirt and wiped her nose and eyes with it, but she didn't give it back. "Thanks.." her hands clenched around the garment. "Sollux..I..I'll wash it."
"No..jutht..keep it." Sollux stood up straight, letting the gravity of the statement sink in. "I think you thhould go."
"Sol-"
"GO!" Sollux raised his voice. He glared down at her no longer remorseful.
Aradia was a bit taken aback but she bit her lip and stood in front of him. She looked into his hetero-chromatic yellow eyes again, searching for even the slightest bit of hope. It wasn't there. Sollux was angry, and that's all she saw. She turned on her heel and gripped the shirt to her chest as she ran out of the room.
Sollux listened until he heard the front door slam shut. Certain she was gone, he sat down on the edge of his bed putting his head in his hands.
"Fuck.."
It wasn't his fault, was it? No, of course not. Aradia put herself in this situation, he wasn't obligated to hold her hand through it. They had a nice thing going. Maybe the relationship didn't work out, but the sex was still nice. It was just them..but no, she had to go and meet that muscle-bound ass hat. What was his name? Equius? Sollux only met him once but that was enough for him to determine he didn't like him. Aradia wanted to date again, that was fine, it's her life. But..why him? When was she ever into guys like that?
Sollux straightened up and leaned back on his hands. He looked down at his naked chest. He wasn't anything like Equius. He was thin, maybe a little too thin and hungry-looking. His ribs just barely poked through under his skin every time he exhaled. So he wasn't big and buff, so what? At least he could hold coherent conversations without taking ridiculous pauses. What was up with that guy?..Why does it even matter? It doesn't.
Sollux sighed and shook his head. He scanned the room for his glasses. Seeing them beside his pillow he reached for them and slid them over the bridge of his nose. He looked around the room again, everything gaining better focus. The tiny apartment didn't have rooms aside from the bathroom. Everything was laid out in the open. His bed was stashed in a corner right beside a large table of computer monitors. The apartment was always a little too warm and the electronic whirl of fans provided a constant white noise.
Peering through his two-tone glasses, Sollux noticed a familiar flicker on one of his computer screens. He sat up and walked over, bending over the desk. Trollian was open, it appears someone was trying to reach him. He clicked open the blinking tab.
carcinoGeneticist [CG] began trolling twinArmageddons [TA]
CG: HEY FUCKASS.
CG: WHY DO YOU EVEN HAVE TROLLIAN OPEN IF YOU DON'T ANSWER?
CG: HELLO?
TA: cool your 2hiit KK
TA: what do you want?
CG: I DON'T KNOW, MAN. SHIT'S JUST GETTING REAL WITH GAMZEE. I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO THINK OF IT.
TA: KK ii have relatiion2hiip ii2u2 enough.
CG: WELL MAYBE IF YOU WEREN'T SUCH DICK TO HER ALL THE TIME.
TA: you're one two talk.
CG: SHUT THE FUCK UP. WHAT DO YOU KNOW?
TA: yea ok KK whatever. we'll talk about it later.
CG: WAIT.
CG: JESUS, SOL. WHAT THE FUCK?
CG: OKAY FINE WHATEVER. BYE.
It's not really that he didn't want to talk to the twerp, he just didn't want to right now. Karkat was his friend and was always there for him when he needed advice. But right now he needed time alone, time to think. Sollux stood up and stretched his back. His stomach growled disagreeably. Maybe he should eat something first.
Sollux shook the water from his dark chestnut hair as he walked to the designated kitchen area. It wasn't much, rather small like the rest of the apartment, but it sufficed. It's not like he remembered to eat all that often anyway. He opened up the first set of cabinet doors.
Nothing. Literally, nothing.
Okay, let's try the next pantry.
Half a jar of honey and some opened, likely stale, crackers. Well, this isn't going to work. Sollux frowned as his stomach gurgled audibly again. He reached for the half empty jar of honey and popped the lid open. Better than nothing. He squeezed the bear's contents into his mouth as he slumped against the counter. The yellow substance was sticky and sweet in his mouth. He rolled it around his tongue a little bit to dilute it before he swallowed. It went down easier that way.
Grumble.
"What! I fed you, be happy."
Grumble grumble.
Sollux glared at his stomach. Clearly this wasn't going to cut it. He licked away a stray string of honey leaking from the corner of his mouth. Pushing himself away from the counter he went back to his sleeping area. He knelt down and fished under his bed for a shirt. He found one. It was a rather lame looking button up, but Sollux liked it. It was tan with a dark brown stripe running up the middle. The collar was white and either sleeve was red and blue in opposite correspondence to his glasses. He pulled the shirt up to his nose and sniffed. It wasn't too bad, clean enough, so he pulled it on and buttoned it about three-fourths of the way up. He looked around for some socks and put them on too before he made his way to the door.
His shoes, one white and one black, were kicked haphazardly to the side of the entrance. He slid his feet into them without undoing the knots, checked for his keys, and exited the apartment.
It was nice outside, bright with a slight breeze. For a moment you could almost forget you were in the center of a rundown, smoggy, filthy city. New York wasn't so bad but, Sollux hated coming outside anyway and would use any excuse to avoid it. He walked down the sidewalk absent-mindedly dodging the string of people on either side of him. Traffic wasn't too terrible at this time of day.
He walked down the sidewalk contemplating the previous events of his day. Consumed by his thoughts he hardly noticed the oncoming bicyclist until it was too late. The stranger had swerved to avoid hitting him, crashing into a heap in front of him. Sollux stared for a while debating helping him. He took a couple steps toward him, closing the distance, and knelt down.
"Wwhat the FUCK do you think you're doin'?"
Sollux had pulled the phone from his pocket and had it turned toward the crashed bicyclist.
"Taking a picture."
"WWHAT!"
"Yep. Thankth," he stood up and turned his back on the bicyclist, continuing on his way.
"Wwait! Come back here!"
"Nope."
Sollux kept walking. He heard the man cursing and shouting after him, but it didn't sound like he was following him, so he didn't bother turning back. He chuckled to himself, he had to show this to Karkat when he got home. Damn hipsters were everywhere now days.
Sollux made his way to the subway and took the short route to one of his favorite convenience stores. He quickly gathered up what he needed. Some bread, tea, crackers, an apple, a pack of Lucky Spike cigarettes and ten bear-shaped jars of honey. Yep, just the essentials.
As he made his way back to the subway platform, he stood waiting for the next train. He used this opportunity to dig through his bag for the pack of cigarettes. He broke the seal and pulled one out with his teeth, putting the loose cigarette in his mouth. He maneuvered a lighter out of his jean pocket and lit up. It was public territory and therefore illegal to smoke here but, it was New York, no one cared.
The ground began to rumble as the train approached. It screeched to a halt and the intercom blared the stop information. Sollux shuffled his back higher in his arm and stepped into the subway. He found an empty set of seats behind a female passenger. He sat diagonally to her and put the grocery bag into the empty seat beside him. He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, the cigarette dangling between his lips. The doors slammed shut and the train was off.
Sollux wasn't paying much attention his surroundings, preferring the quiet static rumble of the train. But something broke his concentration.
"Ohhh! You stupid, stupid phone! Why won't you unlock?"
Sollux opened one eye and tilted his head. The girl in front of him? He looked over her shoulder and sure enough she seemed to be fiddling with some high-end piece of technology. She looked frustrated.
"Um..shoot..that didn't work? For the love of cod..." the woman groaned.
"Do you need help?" Sollux sat up in his seat and scooted to the edge, draping an arm over the seat beside the woman. She jumped and turned her head around to face him.
"Oh! Umm," she stammered. Sollux couldn't help but stare. Her skin was pale with a slight pink hue in her cheeks, matching her startlingly fuschia eyes. Her eyes were large and doey protected by large circular glasses. Her nose and cheeks were flecked with barely noticeable freckles. She was gorgeous.
Sollux had to fight to suppress a bit of a blush. "I juthst notithed you were having some ithuses with your phone?"
"Um..well..yes. I'm not very good with electronics, heh." Her cheeks turned a brighter shade of pink as she looked down, obviously flustered.
"Maybe I can help? If you'll let me thee it," The woman grabbed her phone tightly and shot him a suspicious glare. "Oh, no, nonono. I'm not trying to rob you. I do a lot of IT work. I bet I can figure out your problem."
She didn't immediately let go of the device, still staring at him with uncertainty. Was he..blushing? That was sort of cute..with a sigh, she decided to hand him the phone. Sollux took it from her, and stared at it for a while before he began fiddling with it. The woman watched him with curiosity. When she was sure she could trust him, her eyes began to wander. She noticed the paper sack in the seat next to him, it was overflowing with honey jars. She cocked an eyebrow and tried to suppress a giggle. This man certainly didn't look like the type to buy out a store's honey supply.
She turned her eyes back to him, peering through her glasses. Sollux was still fiddling around on the phone. What interesting glasses he was wearing too. They matched his shirt, red and blue. Her eyes ran down his angled jaw, bits of stubble covering his chin. They continued down his neck and to his opened shirt, flashing a little bit of his smooth, tan chest. She blushed feverantly and looked away. Why was she ogling a stranger, anyway?
"Here you go. All fixthed."
"Oh! Um, yes, thank you." She reached out to grab the phone, her hand touching his. She let it linger there until Sollux pulled his hand away, leaving the phone in her palm. Neither said a word nor looked at one another. Awkward silence hung in the air for several seconds.
"I'm Feferi."
His eyes widened. "Oh..heh. I'm thol...Sollux."
"Hi..Sollux." Feferi blushed deeper and fidgeted in her seat. "That's um..that's a lot of honey."
"Huh? Oh! Yea..I guess so. I like honey. A lot."
"There's nothing wrong with that! Sugar makes the world sweeter after all!" She beamed. Was this girl for real?
"Uh..yea..it do-FUCK!" Sollux jumped and brushed at his chest, a string of newly formed black holes appearing in his shirt. He had forgotten to dump his cigarette ash and it had burned through his favorite shirt.
Feferi giggled candidly. Sollux looked down at her, red with embarrassment. She just smiled up at him. She didn't criticize him for smoking like he half expected. She didn't tease him for being so absent. She just smiled.
BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP
Sollux looked up, noticing which station they were at. He had missed his stop, but not by much. Determined not to miss another he quickly grabbed his bag and ran toward the closing doors.
"Hey! Wait!" Feferi called after him.
"Thorry! I'll call you!"
"But I didn't give you-"
The doors closed after him before she could finish her thought. He looked back at the train as it sped off, hoping to catch another glimpse of her, but she was gone.
As soon as Sollux got home he dropped the groceries in his kitchenette and rushed to his computer, hunting for his phone. When he found it, he powered it on and opened his address book. It's true, Feferi never actually gave him her number, but he was more than happy to commit to memory when he was fixing her phone.
Afterwards he scrolled through his contacts and opened up a text with Karkat. He attached an image,
KK, 2some iidiiot hip2ter triied to kiill me. Look.
Sollux laughed and put his phone back on the desk. He sat in the chair and leaned back waiting for the ping on his computer he knew was coming. Karkat wouldn't miss an opportunity to reprimand him for delighting in the suffering of another human being. Then again, it was a hipster after all.
AN: Sorry that was a little long ^_^; The bee is a reference to OHAC. I'm going to pimp this story quite a bit, yo :P I'm just being a deranged fan again~ Sollux's cigarettes are also a homage to one of my favorite writers. I can't figure out how to do the colored text here or else the pesterlog would have been color coated. Sorry :( As usual updates are here and on my tumblr! not0today (dot) tumblr (dot) com
Also, the scene with Eridan was inspired by this photo: deviantart (dot) com/gallery/31817646#/d46qiu6
And I was recently asked about if this story would be SolEri or SolFef or SolEriFef and the answer is, read chapter 2's notes or check tumblr :P