"Tell me about your dad."
Sollux was sprawled over a chair in Eridan's room. Eridan had invited him over to his house – "Don't worry, Cro isn't goin' to be there." – which had been too nice an offer to turn down. Sollux was pretty lonely. Mituna was always off with his girlfriend, and his own dad still wasn't home from his most recent trip. Eridan's house felt cramped and reeked of smoke, but at least it was something.
He heard Eridan shift, an uncomfortable noise emitting from where he sat.
"You don't have to if you-"
"No, it's fine. He was a really good dad, for a while. My mom died when I was a baby, and even Cro has a hard time remembering her. But he took care of us. He smoked a lot, though. I was too young to really understand why that was bad. The only thing I ever complained about was the smell, and when I did, he'd laugh and put out his cigarette good-naturedly. The next day, however, he was smoking another one.
"There was a period where he got pretty bad. He drank a lot, and he was always bringing home women, especially Vris's mom, who really didn't like me. She was scary, but I didn't ever say anything, 'cause Cro warned me he was drunk, and that was bad. After a while, he got better, but he still smoked.
"When I was about twelve, he developed cancer. I was terrified, y'know? I was at home alone a lot because of all the medical appointments, and then I was never alone at all because he was bedridden. He was hooked up to this god-awful machine and couldn't do anything. Cro was in his senior year of high school and had somehow gotten into this really elite college, but since dad wasn't working anymore, we couldn't afford it. I was in seventh grade and freaking out over where I would go to high school, because once I was in eighth grade, we'd have even less money than we already had.
"Cro got a part-time job and we got a small income. Luckily, we had insurance, which covered most of dad's medical bills. In the middle of my eighth grade year and Cro's first year at our local community college, dad died. Just like that. Cro dropped out of school so he could keep working, and, since he was eighteen, was able to become my legal guardian.
"That's it, I guess."
Sollux swallowed, hard. He didn't really know what to say.
"I'm…sorry."
"It's fine. It's kind of a typical story, I guess. I had a girlfriend, too. Feferi. We broke up just before he passed away. She came to his funeral, and she was really nice, but we never really spoke after that."
"Huh. My girlfriend's name was Aradia, but…"
"But what?"
"She died."
He heard Eridan draw in a quick breath.
"How?"
"We were going to her house. Y'know, just like any other day. Her mom was driving us, not like that's really of any importance. And we got into a car crash. That's how I went blind."
"Did her mom survive?"
"Yeah. We both had major survivor's guilt, though. My dad flew home, he goes on all these trips for his work, to visit me in the hospital, but he had to leave again really quickly. Mituna…he's not…you know, normal; he has a condition, right? But he did everything he could for me, which must've been pretty hard for him. Makes me wish I could do more for him."
Sollux's voice was shaky, and he had to breathe heavily to keep from crying. That was then, this was now.
"Do you…would you mind if I hugged you? Or…something?"
He snapped his head up, staring in the direction of Eridan's voice.
YES. YES, THIS IS YOUR CHANCE.
Shut up.
GO FOR IT, MAN. YOU GOT THIS.
Jesus Christ.
"N-no, not at all."
He let Eridan hug him, which wasn't as awkward as he thought it would be. After what felt like both an eternity and not long enough, they pulled apart.
"Sorry."
"No problem."
Sollux managed a smile. This was okay. Maybe it would all be okay. He heard Eridan snort, and he started giggling uncontrollably.
"I-I thought we were supposed to be sad!"
Eridan was full-on laughing now.
"I know!"
Yeah. It would be okay.
(Yup. Still no real romance. Don't want to make it too mushy, but it IS a love story, I guess. Haha, it's been a month since the last chapter. Sorry 'bout that.)