Eridans was surprised when he awoke under the covers of his bed, he didn't remember tucking himself under before he drifted off. But there he was tucked in with his glasses folded on his bedside table by him along with his phone, it couldn't have been Cronus could it?
One thing Eridan did remember was that he had cried before he had fallen asleep and that his cheeks felt hard with the dried stains of his tears. He gave a heavy sigh as he sat up in his bed and peered around the blurry room, if he really squinted it almost looked like his room back home. Though Eridan shook his head as he grabbed his glasses and slipped them on before rubbing his head as he left his bed and stretched.
He peered about at his belonging's as he lifted his arms up and then down to his feet in a stretch as his eyes set on his laptop, he would have to ask Cronus for the Wifi passcode if there was one, he sighed as he stopped stretching and yawned. He felt a headache coming his way due to the tears last night and wasn't looking forward to it but shrugged it off as he headed towards his door to grab some food, though something stopped him. Mumbles were heard on the other side of his door. He leaned in and gently placed his ear to the door and listened in, unsure if he should enter the other room.
"Cronus you seriously need to straighten out your life I mean have you ever considered that your actions affect others around you more then you know?" It was the red sweater man's voice, he must have stayed the night, Eridan frowned as he pressed harder.
"Well I mean your sex life is none of my concern but I just want you know that it might not be effecting me but I have a small understanding that you and Captor are still somewhat together, in whatever it was you have, you're just lucky that I am able to keep my mouth shut—"
"Not doing a very good job right now are you?" Cronus's voice sounded blunt and emotionless as the other man's was continuous and somewhat cocky.
"Like you can talk, sleeping with me so you don't have to pay me so much—"
"Does that mean that I don't have to pay?" Cronus groaned out he sounded frustrated as the room fell silent for a moment before a piercing chuckle filled the room.
"Alright, since you saved me the amount of money you owe me, in which I would of just spent on a hooker, and this face you are giving me is worth i—"
"Don't touch me…" Cronus's voice sounded angry as footsteps were heard heading towards the door as Eridan backed away from the door, afraid that they might enter his room.
"Touchy now aren't we? Enjoy the bruise's." The other man's voice rang out as the door closed over and the apartment fell silent once more and Eridan backed away from the door, even more confused than he was last night. Did this mean that Cronus and Mituna were together, in a relationship? And who was this man in the red sweater that Cronus cheats on Mituna for, and why did he owe him money. Eridan shook his head it was probably none of his business, and probably had something to do with the needles Eridan found in Cronus's room.
Pressing on Eridan sighed once more before reaching for the door and exiting the room almost silently as his eyes glazed over to the man sitting on the couch with a blunt stare at the ceiling, he looked unresponsive and his left eye looked darker than yesterday, did he have a black eye?
Eridan shook his head as he quickly scampered into the kitchen and began to go through the cupboards being sure to close them quietly as if not to disturb Cronus, there wasn't much in here but there was bread and a toaster so that's what he settled for as he put the things on the bench and lifted himself onto the bench. His eyes drifted to the top cupboard as he used the bench to help himself to look in there as his toast cooked and eventually found the plates and set two down.
Soon enough the toast was done and Eridan began making another set for Cronus as he buttered his and began to slowly eat it, it wasn't very tasty it was just butter though it was better than going hungry. Though as Cronus' toast popped out and Eridan grabbed it to butter it Cronus's voice cooed throughout the house as Eridan froze to listen.
"Hey Mit, I know you were here yesterday but- I don't want to go to work—just cause you at work doesn't mean I have too- Mit not I'm not." He must be on the phone, Eridan pushed the second set of toast to the other side of the bench in hopes that Cronus would notice it as he chewed his own piece.
"The kid—yeah his fine I think his making breakfast—what I didn't ask him to—Mit shut up." The one sided conversation continued as Eridan finished off his toast and jumped off the bench and began to scurry back to his room without a glance to Cronus though he continued to listen.
"Fine I'll go to work, for you—haha thanks Mit, hey by the way, I love you." Eridan almost froze in his tracks though continued walking to his room, so Mituna and him were dating? Eridan shook his head as he entered his room, no it was any of his business though it would explain why Mituna was being so nice to him, because he cares for Cronus and he was just a mistake that he had made.
Eridan groaned as he fell onto his back onto his bed and closed his eyes, at least he wasn't forced into a foster home but then again… he rolled onto his stomach as he stared at his purple sheets that matched his PJ's as he swirled his finger in the sheets. If he had gone to a foster home he probably wouldn't have been there long, who didn't want a rich little boy who came with his own furniture and car? Eridan frowned at his sheets, Cronus probably took him in due to his inheritance.
Though Eridans thoughts were interrupted when his door swung open as he rolled over to be met with Cronus standing in the doorframe.
"Thanks for the toast kid, I'm going to have to head off to work…" Eridan just nodded at Cronus, he was wearing some baggy jeans and a black top, nothing special no uniform.
"It's just down the road, so yeah do whatever you do and be sure to lock the door if you leave, spare key is in the photo-frame on the computer desk." Cronus sighed out as he turned and began to leave the apartment, Eridan just waited for the jingling of keys to cease as the door pulled shut. Alone again, at least now he could get the Wifi password off the modem itself without sharing another awkward conversation with Cronus, it was going to be a long day.
A long day it was, Moments after Cronus had left Eridan went out and managed to connect to the Wifi and search and update his blog. He drowned out the rest of the day with showering, snacking on what little snacks were available despite the large amount of soda that Cronus keeps in his fridge though soon enough after finishing watching a stream of "hook" he heard the front door open and heavy footsteps enter the house as he swallowed the un godly amount of French fries he had stuffed in his mouth and stood brushing off his clothes, giving the clock a glance it was five thirty.
He could not be seen in that kind of state, not even by Cronus. After a quick re-makeover which included restyling his hair and straightening the baggy purple shirt and his black jeans he had chosen to wear he grabbed the wrapper of the fries and opened his door and peered out, Cronus had disappeared into his room letting Eridan place the wrapper in the bin and return to his room and search for another stream of some funny movie to fill his day with.
Though about thirty minutes into the little mermaid Eridans door swung open and Cronus stood there in a leather jacket with some black ruffed up jeans and a white shirt, Cronus gave him a once over before slicking his slicked hair.
"Kid you want to come to the shops? Get some groceries, Mituna told me you need snacks or somethin'" Cronus grumbled as Eridan nodded and Cronus leant against his doorframe and watched Eridan scurry for his shoes as he slipped them on.
"Alright come on kid." Cronus smirked out as he waited for Eridan to walk past him before closing over his door. Cronus was quick to lock up the house and get in the elevator, but the awkward silence lingered between the two as they walked out into the odd atmosphere of the lobby though instead of leaving through the large double doors Cronus began walking off to behind the counter and into the room behind it. Eridan hesitated but followed his guardian into the dark room in which filled with light as Cronus flipped the light switch to reveal two cars, one was black slick and looked stunning, the other was an odd green and looked a little run down and rusty.
"You like Sally huh?" Cronus asked with a smirk as he pulled out his car keys and clicked the button on it as the black car cherped, Eridan simply stared. How was it that Cronus owed the sweater man money if he could afford to firstly rent out the garage of his apartment building, have a large apartment and then own such a classy car?
"Are you coming chief?" Cronus asked as he slipped into the driver's seat and closed his door as Eridan quickly shuffled into the car and stared about at how clean and nice it smelt, Cronus fiddled with his keys and the garage door opened as he started the car. Eridan fell Silent as Cronus drove to a different shopping centre from the one that Eridan had visited yesterday, it was just an average supermarket it was more modern and less dirty as the centre yesterday. Cronus easily found a park with his reckless driving and slipped out, Eridan hurried to his side as Cronus locked his car and pocketed his hands as he began to make his way into the store.
Eridan glanced about the friendly environment it was bright and had a natural smell of the foods that filled it's insides. The cashier's seemed nice and the sound of families talking and checking their lists was heard. Eridan liked this place much better than the other stores, Cronus grabbed a basket as they entered and peered about until his eyes set on Eridan.
"Alright kid here's the rules, we will walk down every aisle, you grab what you need, I'll grab what I need." Cronus mumbled out as he grabbed another basket and handed it to Eridan and began his way down into the store to start at the back aisles. Eridan thought it was weird coming to the supermarket without a list, but then again what wasn't weird about his new life?
The two made their way down the aisles of the supermarket surprisingly slow, it turns out that Cronus's hair-gel selection process took ten times longer than Eridans did but this allowed Eridan to grab some purple hair dye whilst he waited. Cronus didn't really talk the whole time though he did often point out that Eridan wasn't getting many snacks before they went down the snack aisle and practically brought Cronus's basket worth of snacks. Overall the experience was natural and by the amount of noodle cups Cronus had purchased Eridan had a feeling that's what they would be eating for at least two weeks, aside from take-out.
Though as the two drove home, after stopping to get some drive-thru Mc Donald's Cronus gave Eridan a small glance. Eridan felt Cronus's eyes on him in the car but didn't move instead he pretended not to notice before Cronus spoke up.
"Mituna likes you" was all he said before focusing on the road again as Eridan stiffened slightly as he stared down at the bag of food in his lap, he already knew that.
"He thinks he can help you kid, just like he thought he could help me." Cronus rambled on as Eridan continued to look away as he felt a tug at his stomach, he didn't understand what was going on. Cronus let out a heavy sigh as he watched the road for the rest of the trip as Eridans mind raced, what was that even supposed to mean?
Though before long, the two boys returned home and lugged their shopping into the apartment, put it away and ate their dinner in silence, a thick silence that was growing painfully uncomfortable as Eridan frowned at his burger. He wasn't even hungry after Cronus's words in the car, what was with Cronus and Mituna, Eridan didn't understand their relationship. Eridan finished eating quickly even though he wasn't hungry and snuck off to his room, where he shed his clothes and slipped into his silky PJ's and checked his growing popular blog.
"Oh three new messages!" he smiled out as he clicked and waited for the page to load, the first was a compliment on his looks, the second was a message from one of his loyal followers about and upcoming fashion contest and the other, Eridan froze.
"You think you're better than everyone because of your looks, well here's a news-flash you're not even that good looking!" Eridan read it out loud as he stared at the text for a good five minutes, he knew he wasn't that good looking but to hear it from some else hurt. Though Eridan simply added below the comment in reply.
"Thank you for your opinion." And closed the tab, it was only an anonymous comment there was no need to over think it like you always do, Eridan sighed as he slipped his glasses off and placed them on the bedside table before tucking himself in.
It was just a silly comment.
The next morning Eridan awoke surprisingly late, and to his surprise Cronus had already left, leaving him to partake in another boring day in which he planned to fill with watching movies and checking his blog. After he showered and ate his breakfast in which was one of those noodle cups he retreated to his bedroom and started up his laptop and began to drown out the boring atmosphere with movies and sleeping.
After hours of movie watching, sketching and taking photos for his blog Eridan heard the door open and once again found himself running around his room in order to make himself presentable for Cronus. Though it was pointless as Cronus didn't enter his room instead he was shuffling about next door, moving papers and placing items everywhere. Eridan didn't want to investigate what Cronus was actually doing though he had an off feeling about it all, why was Cronus moving the furniture?
It took a good twenty minutes before the rustling next door stopped and the television was heard and Eridan now believed it would be a good time to have a peek into the room next door. When he did though nothing had massively changed, another fold out table had been placed in the centre of the room with snacks and drinks placed a top it, they were not soda they were obviously alcoholic as there were cups and bowls of food placed around the apartment. The TV had been put on a sideways angle to allow more people to view it, the couch was in the same kind of angle and the cushions on the couch had been removed and placed else where, it seemed that Cronus had big plans for tonight.
Though before Eridan could step out to ask Cronus what he was going to have on tonight the front door jiggled before the clinking of keys was heard, Eridan retreated to his room and peered through the crack of the door as the front door swung open to reveal Mituna. His scruffy black hair remained scruffy and he wore a black shirt with a logo that Eridan couldn't make out and grey slacks, he had just come from work. Eridan noticed the paper's in his hand and remembered that Mituna said he would return with his enrolment forms two days ago.
"Fuck off, CRONUTH" Mituna called as he entered the room, obviously having more of an idea of what was going on than Eridan did. So Eridan exited his room and watched the other male walk towards Cronus's bedroom and knock violently on the closed door, he seemed upset.
"Hang on Mit!" Cronus called as his footsteps where heard heading towards the door as he opened it Mituna took a physical step back, was he blushing?
"vwhats up?" Cronus asked Mituna in an odd tone that forced Mituna to look away and clear his throat.
"I thaid I wath bringing Eridan'th enrolment formth today remember?" Mituna mumbled out as he turned from Cronus and proceeded to place the forms on his bench as Cronus emerged from the room and Eridan snuck back into his room and watched Cronus from his doorframe. He was wearing a soft looking button up shirt, which was a royal purple and the tightest black jeans Eridan had ever seen, even tighter than his, but they suited him, and his hair was slicked back but gave off a certain shine and his face was toned and looking rather radiant.
"Thanks for that Mit, but hovw about you stick around for the party?" Cronus offered as Eridan now confirmed that there was some kind of party happening today, Mituna didn't look impressed.
"Are you theriouth? Or are you forgetting that you have a kid now or thomething? You can't have thith kind of party with him around!" Mituna grumbled out as he didn't look at Cronus, Eridan slowly emerged from his room and waited for Mituna's eyes to slip onto him as a smile forced it's way to his lips.
"Hey Eridan how you going?" Mituna asked as he slipped away from the bench where Cronus groaned, Mituna approached the younger boy and Eridan simply nodded as Mituna peered down at the younger male with a slightly upset look, then peered back at Cronus with a sigh before turning back to Eridan.
"Hey Eridan how about you come thtay over at my houthe tonight, you and thollux can hang out or thomething." Mituna offered as Eridan froze, Sollux didn't like him and he doubted that coming over would improve anything between them. Eridan slowly shook his head as he took a step back towards his room as Mituna frowned and straightened his back in a stretch.
"Trutht me kid you don't want to thtay here, get you thtuff." Mituna sounded slightly irritated so Eridan complied and backed into his room with another nod, but left his door open. Eridan frowned as he grabbed his PJ's and began packing up his laptop as he listened to Cronus and Mituna.
"vwhat are you doing, don't you havwe to ask the parent first, haha?" Cronus chuckled out as Mituna sighed.
"I'm not making thith kid thit through thith, I can't believe your even having a dealer meet!"
"Vwell to be honest I'm failing behind on payments again and I don't vwant to go out so I'm bring them here." Eridan finished packing his laptop and grabbed some of his hanging clothes from his wardrobe as he began to fold them and place them in the suit case he was using.
"Kankri, he didn't hurt you did he?"
"I'm be alright." Cronus chuckled out once more as Mituna fell silent and Eridan finished packing his suit case, zipped it up and placed its wheels on the ground and made his way to the door, staring at the two males. Mituna had his arms around Cronus's waist in a soft hug as he pressed to Cronus's chest gently as Cronus raised his hands slowly to hug him back. Eridan found a small grin reach his lips though he hid it under the scarf around his neck as Mituna quickly pulled away when he noticed Eridans presence and cleared his throat as Cronus smirked.
"Come on Eridan, let'th go." Mituna called as Eridan nodded and quickly followed Mituna towards the door, despite not wanting to go he wasn't sure that he wanted to stick around to see this "Dealer" party he was hosting. Though as Eridan exited the apartment he turned to wait for Mituna as Cronus reached out and grabbed Mituna's shoulder and spun him around before forcing their lips together, Mituna froze and soon pushed Cronus off him with a smile, his lips refused to hide a smile as he turned back around.
"Fuck off Cro, Im piththed at you, come on Eridan." Mituna grumbled out as he managed to get away from the other man and into the hallway where he proudly marched away with Eridan trailing behind him as Cronus stepped out into the hall and waved at Mituna. Mituna didn't wave back instead he waited for the doors to close and huffed. The two boys made their way down the apartment building and headed towards Mituna's car, it was nothing like Cronus's though Eridan kept his mouth shut as Mituna loaded his bag into the back of the car and joined Eridan in the front seat moments later. Eridan froze as he stared down at his feet, he really didn't want to think of what Sollux might do to him after his little break down a few days ago. Mituna must have noticed this because as they pulled out of the car-park Mituna spoke up.
"Don't worry about thollux, if he thart'th on you I'll take care of it." Mituna frowned out as he concentrated on the road though Eridan just nodded, he didn't want Sollux to hate him anymore then he already did.
"Don't look tho upthet, you will get to tathte my mother'th cooking." Mituna grinned out, Eridan could tell that Mituna was trying to make him feel better, he just gave another nod and straightened himself up as he peered out the window at the passing buildings.
What would Sollux's house be like?