AN: Excuse the shortness of this chapter I got writers block halfway, though I have a clear concept of what I want to happen next so stay tuned! -thank you
The drive home was quick, mostly silent as Mituna made small talk, asking if he had fun with Sollux, and if he was rude though Eridan couldn't complain. He had felt happier than he had ever been in a long time, so far back it was before his father passing. Though his smile had fallen as the car pulled into the crappy car park of Cronus's crappy apartment building. He felt as if the warm feeling that he shared at Sollux's house was being pulled out of him the closer he got to the building.
"Come on Eridan." Mituna snapped Eridan out of his trance of thought as he peered up at the older male who was holding the door open for him. Mituna could see the sadness overtake Eridans features before getting out of the car, he really felt like telling him to stay in the car and taking him home and letting him live with his family. Sadly he couldn't, there were thousands of documents to fill out and taking home a child is a little harder to do than taking home a new pet.
Eridan slowly took his suitcase out of the back of Mitunas car and before Mituna took it from him and lead him into the building, the cold harsh scenery caused Eridan to sigh. Mituna had noticed how much quieter Eridan had gotten despite being quiet in general; it felt as if he was torturing the kid by taking him back. Though nothing could be done, he knocked on the door and the smell of dry smoke reeked out from behind it as Mitunas nose scrunched up in distaste as he fumbled through his pockets.
Whipping out his key and opening the door to reveal Cronus's couch almost blocking the doorway as the door hit the back of the couch, Mituna froze, the entire house was a mess; there were cups everywhere chips on the ground, ashtrays everywhere and the back door leading to the small balcony was open. It smelt like smoke and slight smooth music played from the TV as Mituna clutched the doorhandle tightly and gritted his teeth while Eridan peered up at Mituna, not sure what to do.
"Eridan go to your room and unpack." Eridan nodded as he moved around the couch after taking his suitcase from Mituna and hurried into his thankfully clean room though he didn't close over his door, instead left enough room to peer through it into the other room. He spotted Cronus on the couch as Mituna lifted the side of the couch and practically tossed it out of the doorway with a huff.
Eridan was impressed by his strength as he grabbed Cronus by the collar of his open shirt and lifted him from the mess on the couch.
"CRONUTH GET THE FUCK UP!" Mituna growled loudly as Cronus grumbled, his eyes opened weakly and a smirk took over his features.
"Mornin' beautiful~" he said smoothly as Mituna tugged harder at the collar as he stared at Cronus.
"What the FUCK ith thith!" Mituna gestured towards the messy room as Cronus chuckled, staring at the room with a slight sway.
"I had a party babe, I told you hehe" Cronus slid his hands up and around Mitunas neck, taking some of the pressure off his collar as Mituna growled again.
"You can't do thith anymore, you have a KID now Cro, a LIVING CHILD" Mituna pressed as Cronus simply nodded with a content sigh.
"I kept them out of his room, did that 'jutht' for yooou" Cronus smiled out as he lent closer to Mituna as Mituna shook his head.
"No Cronuth you thhould be doing it for yourthelf, you're a parent now…" Mituna groaned, Cronus didn't seem to be listening as Eridan watched, at least Cronus had protected his room.
"Yeah sure doll, I did it for me, vwhatevwer you vwant." Cronus moved closer with his words and soon enough his mouth was pressed against Mitunas softy as his eyes closed over. Mituna hesitated before leaning in and letting go of Cronus's collar and closing his eyes behind his shades. Eridan looked away as the two men continued to kiss, Mituna took a seat on the couch to deepen the kiss before pulling back.
"Oh my god Cronuth your high right now aren't you!" Mituna questioned as he whipped his mouth away and Cronus chuckled as he fell back onto the couch.
"I can tathte it, it'th dithguthting, and you thmell like a hooker." Mituna grumbled, Cronus stretched slightly as he fell into the couch chuckling awkwardly.
"A cheap hooker or a hot hooker?" He questioned as Mitunas frown faded and was replaced with a smile as he watched Cronus for a moment.
"A hot hooker…" He mumbled, Cronus began to laugh openly on the couch as Mituna chuckled next to him before moving over and lying next to Cronus. Mituna placed his head against Cronus's chest slightly and mumbled something to Cronus as Cronus mumbled back.
Eridan could no longer hear what they were saying but was glad that they weren't going to fight, he hated conflicts. Though as he reached his bed to lie down himself he realised something, Mituna had calmed down pretty quickly when Cronus had started to talk to him. He guessed that Sollux was right about Mituna having Bipolar, either that or Mituna couldn't get mad at Cronus easily. He secretly hoped he wouldn't have to help clean up as he fished out his laptop.
He was about to check his blog when he noticed a new Icon on his task bar, a small black demon with a fiery background. It unnerved him, he had no idea what it was but he clicked it anyway, It quickly installed something before he could do anything and a chat client opened. The logo was in the corner and it looked fairly simple, off to the right there was user names with a mustard yellow name under it as he read it, "TwinArmageddons?" That was Sollux's user on the other website, he had added him?
Before Eridan could react, a chat window opened and buzzed with the message in Sollux's writing style.
"2up Eridan" Eridan couldn't whip the smile off his face as he typed back quickly, he couldn't believe that Sollux had added him and wanted to talk to him. Though as he sent a quick reply he spotted his user name, "caligulasAquarium" His user name from the game he played before and his font colour was royal purple. It made him grin wider as he waited for a reply from Sollux, it felt good to have someone to talk to.
The boys talked for a while about the video game they had been playing and Sollux had promised to get on it later and play for a bit. Soon enough Mituna popped his head in saying that he was going home and that Cronus had managed to sign off the enrolment papers and that he would not have to worry about it anymore. Mituna gave Eridan his number before leaving, however after he left the house felt cold again and the constant shuffling from the next room over made him nervous.
Chatting to Sollux in the dark of his room did make him feel somewhat protected as he would always reassure him with a message with in the span of five minutes. Eridan would chuckle to himself when Sollux would complain about having to do a job for his mother, Eridan ended up huddling in his thick blankets with a stupid grin plastered over his face with nothing but Sollux's chat window open.
He did this for two hours before Cronus entered his room un announced and startled him slightly, though he was holding a big bag with one hand and slicking his hair with the other.
"Hey Kid" his voice was a bit croaky and his cheeks where pale and a frown was plastered over his face, Eridan simply looked up at him as he turned on the light.
"Look I got some food… and Mit said I should have a talk to you about shit, so… come out and watch a movie in the lounge with me." Cronus mumbled as his eyes linked with Eridans. Eridan nodded as he typed a "brb" to Sollux as Cronus exited the room and Eridan crawled off of his bed. His throat dried slightly as he followed Cronus to the couch slowly, what did they need to talk about, had he done something wrong? The room had been cleaned mostly but the occasional chip was noticeable, though the furniture had been moved back to their original positions. His stomach twisted as he sat on the edge of the couch while Cronus unpacked the unhealthy amount of Mc Donald's he had purchased.
"I didn't know what you wanted and I sort of forgot you were there so I got heaps of shit." Cronus mumbled as he fiddled with the DVD player and slipped in a movie, Eridan settled on grabbing the Nuggets as the title screen played. "Grease" was the movie Cronus had selected and Eridan had to stop himself from chuckling, it was so fitting. However he silenced himself as Cronus clicked play and dropped himself heavily onto the couch grabbing a burger on the way down.
The two ate silently as the movie played out, Eridan could hear Cronus hum along with the songs between sips of his McDonalds drink and tap his fingers along. However after the song "Summer Loving" Came to a close Cronus's eyes darted to Eridans, It was slightly intimidating.
"Look kid, fuck this is stupid." Cronus sighed and shuffled, racking a hand through his slick locks,then his eyes returning to Eridan.
"Okay see here, Mit vwants me to, vwell… tell you that I am your guardian and that you can rely on me…" That strange accent appeared again, Cronus seemed to be struggling to remember what Mituna had asked him to tell Eridan.
"Screw Mituna, Look chief, I may be your "Adult" like figure in your life now if that's hovw you see me or vwhatevwer, but to put it bluntly Mit's right I ain't ready for a kid, shit I'm only 20 for gods sakes." Cronus seemed to be rambling slightly.
"Vwhat I'm gettin' at is, Evwen though someone keeps tellin' me I have to change who I am, I ain't, understand?" Cronus questioned as Eridan simply nodded, even though he had no real Idea of what he was trying to say.
"In other words, I'll mind my own business and you mind your own, I took you in out of pity alright? Don't go forgettin' that anytime soon. Basically kid, I vwill pay for your expenses until you're out of high school then you go your vway and I'll go mine." Cronus couldn't look at Eridans frown, instead he faced the movie again as Eridan nodded. He may have looked alright on the outside but inside he felt sick, taken in out of pitty.
"I don't like you kid so you don't havwe to like me, stay out of my vway and you vwill be set." Cronus warned as he swiped a pack of chips off the table in front of him and munched away. However Eridan felt a clump in his throat, he had a million questions for Cronus but Cronus had warned him to mind his own business.
"Then w-why pity me?" Eridan almost covered his mouth as he stared at Cronus with wide eyes, frozen in shock. He hadn't meant to say anything but when he opened his mouth the clump had come out, almost like word vomit. Cronus froze mid-chew and averted his eyes to Eridan with a risen eyebrow, as if questioning Eridans ability to listen.
"Vwhy? Kid didn't I just warn you about minding your own business?" Cronus grumbled as he took another bite, though froze as he watched Eridan.
"THE REASON YOU ADOPTED ME, IS MY BUSINESS!" Eridan choked out as he glared at Cronus, feeling all his anger and hurt from the past couple of days building its way up from his stomach and to his throat. Cronus looked almost stunned as Eridan glared at him, though he was barely intimidated as he smirked dangerously back at Eridan.
"You're real stubborn kid, raising your voice to me, maybe I vwasn't clear enough with my vwords, mind your own fucking bus-"
"NO, TELL ME SOMETHING FOR GODS SAKE!" Tears now ran down Eridans face, his glare fell to a frown as he sniffled, Cronus only seemed to get more anger.
"DON'T… don't interrupt me kid, and stop fucking crying, you're getting on my last nervwe." Cronus peered away once more with a loud sigh as Eridan watched him. He really didn't care, Cronus hadn't been lying before.
"I just… I don't w-want to be kept in the dark about everythin', Cronus please, tell me something, anyfin'" Eridan sniffled as he wiped his eyes, Ever since his father's death everyone had been talking about him behind his back. He was never told anything about what was happening in his life anymore, and not knowing, scared Eridan.
The air between the males fell silent, except for the movie playing, as Cronus shuffled one last time to look at Eridan, covering his dripping eyes under his glasses and biting his lip to hide his hiccups. Cronus growled as a small feeling of guilt struck him before he slicked his hair back and sighed heavily.
"Alright kid, cause I like your persistence, you get one question." Cronus quickly peered back at the television as Eridan removed one of his hands from his face to gaze at the older male. One question? But Eridan had a million questions like, did Cronus know his dad, did he know the school he was going to, why he had adopted him. Eridan stayed quiet as he thought through the questions in his head, one however struck him as important as wiped his eyes one last time with a sniffle.
"Are w-we related?" Eridan asked as his blue eyes locked with Cronus's green ones, Cronus stared as if he was questioning Eridan. Breaking their eye contact Cronus sighed and watched the screen one more time, knowing by answering this question he was giving into the kids demands.
"Yeah, Kid we are." Cronus grumbled before lying on his side and facing the television, signalling the end of the conversation though Eridan perked up.
"How-w are w-we related, like cousins or are you my unc-"
"Kid don't push it" Cronus mumbled as he grabbed a packet of McDonalds fries and began to lunge them into his mouth as Eridan fell silent. Cronus didn't seem to be the kind of man that likes to be pushed into doing things, just like Eridan didn't. Eridan gave a few hiccups and sniffles as he proceeded to wipe his face with his sleeve, his shirt would defiantly need to be washed after this little emotional fiasco.
"Thank you Cronus." Cronus gave Eridan a glance and couldn't hide his slick smirk underneath all the chips despite still feeling pissy at the emotional wreck of a kid sitting at the end of his couch.
"Whatever kid, just grab your food and get out of here." Cronus's voice had changed from before, it was less intimidating and his weird voice had faded out, though Eridan did not hesitate to grab his drink, some chips and nuggets and sneak back into his room without another sound. He had decided it was probably better for him, if he only spoke to Cronus when he had to.
Eridanquickly returned to his conversation with Sollux, but didn't mention what had happened instead just made the excuse of eating dinner and not wanting to spill it on his bed or laptop. Sollux bought the excuse, their conversation not really being continuous instead a message popping up every so often as Eridan checked his blog and searched the internet. However the long pauses between messages allowed him to have time to think of something to say back, and also constantly reminded Eridan that Sollux was not mad at him and was in fact talking to him.
Despite the constant distraction of the internet his mind still drifted back to his conversation with Cronus, they were related; they must be closely related otherwise the child services wouldn't have even bothered contacting Cronus. Though he knew that his dad, like himself was an only child and that his grandfather had passed, or perhaps his mother had a sibling? That seemed unlikely though because Cronus lacked any resemblance to the women in the photographs that his dad had shown him.
Eridan sighed out loud and gave his hair a thoughtful stroke, slicking it back though stopping mid stroke. Cronus slicked his hand through his hair just before, Eridan shook it off as he returned to his computer with a groan. There was still so much he wanted to know, so many questions he wanted to ask Cronus ones that he would probably never get the answers too.