This was the day Eridan Ampora left his house.
After Sollux left his room, however, Eridan continued to play Castlevania. He never paused. Never spared a beat. His glasses reflected the light of the screen as he stared, unblinking, tapping at the controller. Sending Alucard jumping onto platforms and hacking at monsters. He went through each passageway, shattering every candelabra and lamp that he could find, watching as the MP-restoring hearts fluttered down as his reward.
He wished it was so easy to collect hearts in reality.
Eridan blinked as a spray of blood erupted from his character. He gave his thumb a few quick jerks and dispatched the Axe Knight assailing him. He then continued on. He couldn't think. Thinking would get him killed. He just had to immerse himself in the game. Let it come up around him like a glass bubble and block out all the noise in his head. The ache in his chest.
His throat was tight.
He had procured the Soul of Bat and was making his way out of the castle library when the door opened. He didn't see it at first. It was the soft poff of a pizza box hitting his covers and the subsequent shock it sent to the mattress beneath him that made him blink and look. Feferi was smiling at him, both hands clutching a Toppers pizza box.
"I got you guys a treat!" she exclaimed.
Eridan stared at it for a moment. He then turned back to his game, hitting the D-pad to send Alucard darting forward once more. "You shouldn't have bothered yourself with gettin' a large."
Feferi's smile dissolved into a frown. She released the pizza boxes, tugging on the bangles at her wrists as she cast her gaze about the room. She backed slowly toward the door and leaned out of it, staring down the hall.
"He's not here, Fef."
"Why not?" she asked, pulling her face back into the room. "He didn't go out to get you two something to eat, did he? I knew I shouldn't have tried to bother with a surprise." She put a hand to her forehead in dismay.
"No, he didn't go out gettin' anything, are you stupid?" Eridan's voice erupted suddenly and violently from his mouth, tearing at his throat as it went. He immediately snapped his lips shut, trying to blink back the heat stinging at his eyes.
Feferi looked taken aback for a moment before her expression seemed to deflate. She pulled the pizza off the bed and set it on the dresser. By the time she came back to climb up on the bed next to Eridan, the man was already running a sleeve over his eyes, his controller abandoned in his lap.
"Fuck that guy," he said, his voice cracked and watery. "What does he even want from me?"
"What's going on?" She rubbed his back, ducking down to look up at his face. The expression she met him with, however, was petulant. "I thought you guys were getting along! How do you manage to start fighting in the time it takes me to get a nice Californian pizza from the place down the street?"
"I don't know, why don't you go across the street and ask him? Ask him what his fuckin' deal is because I don't have a fuckin' clue at this point anymore, all right?" He sucked in a breath as he pulled his arms from his eyes, letting the tears drip freely. "I'm so tired a this shit, Fef. I'm tired a bein' all lost and confused and constantly in the dark about what that guy's thinkin' or feelin' and I just can't do it anymore. I can't."
Even her slightly vexed tone was washed away at this point, and Feferi could only stare at Eridan with bald concern. "I think you seriously need to let me know what's going on here, Eridan."
He ran a sleeve under his dripping nose, trying not to think about how pathetic he must have looked, buried in a purple comforter with snot and tears running down his face. The thought only served to make his mood worsen, and the tears surged forth anew.
"He kissed me, okay?"
Feferi pulled away from Eridan a bit, her bangles clinking. She lifted one side of her mouth in confusion. "That's why you're upset?"
"God, it's obviously more complicated than that, can you just let me finish? I'm tryin' not to make a mess a this new comforter that was so generously fuckin' donated to my sad and hopeless cause. Seriously, someone should just go ahead and slap my face on one a those fuckin' commercials askin' for donations while Sarah McLaughlin sings in the background."
"Okay, I can see that this is going to be one of those times that we need a whole tissue box, so just sit tight," Feferi gave Eridan's knee a pat before leaving the room for an instant, returning with the box of Puffs that Eridan had bought for himself during the first week of his stay. She set it on his lap and he drew from it with muted gratitude, blowing his nose and wiping up some of the tears.
"So do you want to tell me why it's more complicated than being kissed by a guy you obviously like?" Feferi asked. Her tone was still light, but it was more delicate now. Careful.
"He did it outta nowhere, all right? Like, I was just sittin' here, sorta jokin' with him about how he has shittier comebacks than I do, even though that's not really a joke because he's not as great at slingin' insults as he thinks he is, and then all of a sudden his face is right up on top a mine and we're kissin' and…"
He trailed off as the memory flared behind his eyes, sending feathers exploding inside him, light and soft against the walls of his stomach, tickling him with possibility. But then those light touches of hope had turned to pain. They did so once again, and he suddenly felt as if a beast made of daggers were trying to tear its way out of his gut. He grimaced against the pain. The pain of how good those thoughts had felt inside him, for just the barest of moments.
It was a struggle to continue. "I thought it was gonna mean something, Fef. I thought that maybe all the hangin' out we did and mutual sorta enjoyment of each other's company was possibly culminatin' into like a fully blown relationship and I thought about it and I thought about all the stupidest fuckin' shit for like two seconds, like 'Wow, I'll really have to put a second shelf into the shower for his shit because I'm never sharin' shower shelf space' or 'I wonder if he likes Indian food maybe I could take him to an Indian place someday.'"
He paused to rip another tissue from the box and scrub at his leaking eyes. "And I was doin' all a that because I'm the most pathetic piece a shit ever and that's all I've ever done for my whole fuckin' waste of a life. Just sit and daydream and hope things will be better than they are but they never will be. They never will be, Fef, because the universe just wants to shit on me forever until it finally decides to put me outta my fuckin' misery."
He threw his glasses aside and buried his face in his tissue, feeling it moisten in his hands as tears continued to drip from his eyes. He felt the pressure of Feferi's palm as she rubbed small circles over his back.
"Hey. Come on, Eridan, we've talked about this stuff plenty of times before. I wish you could just get it through your big stubborn head that the universe doesn't just have this huge agenda drawn up specifically to torment you. I know you think you're a pretty big deal sometimes, but I honestly believe the universe has better things to worry about."
Eridan took the tissue away from his face and mopped at his cheeks a bit before crumpling it up and grabbing a new sheet. "That's real easy for you to say when you're off gettin' your fuckin' doctorate at some rich private school where you have fifty guys a day beggin' you for your number. Yeah, I'm sure you can fuckin' empathize with my situation."
"Your situation and mine are practically the same thing!" Feferi rebuked. "I've been caught up in this since I was eight years old. It's not fun for any of us, Eridan. Everyone worries about you. I'm sure Sollux is just worried too."
"And that's just fuckin' it!" Eridan snapped, whipping his tissue away. "That's all anyone ever does for me. They just worry. They don't talk or hang out or laugh at stupid shit or love. They just worry. It's just a lot a fuckin' worry and pity and I don't mean fuckin' shit to them outside a some obligation to take care a me that they've cooked up outta guilt."
"Eridan—"
"I don't want to hear you arguin' this point with me," Eridan snapped, throwing off her comforting arm. "Because you're just like everyone else. Just fuckin' look at you. I'm horrible to you. Everyone sees it. Fuck, even I do. Why in the fuckin' name a hell do you stick around here helpin' me?"
Feferi looked shocked. She blinked at Eridan, her lips parted. But no words passed through them.
"Yeah, that's what I thought," Eridan muttered, turning away from her.
She pressed her lips together until her mouth was nothing but a tight black line. Her limbs shook. It was with restrained politeness that she finally asked, "Do you want me to get angry, Eridan? Is that what you're telling me?"
"I'm tellin' you to stop givin' me your charity because I don't fuckin' want it."
She climbed out of the bed. She slowly turned around and stared at him through her pink-rimmed glasses, her fists balled at her sides. Her voice was quiet as she spoke.
"Well, good. Then I will just give you something else." She walked over to the dresser and opened the pizza box.
She then promptly turned and threw a slice at his face.
Eridan's head jerked from the impact. His face stung as he sat in utter shock, blinking ranch sauce and cheese out of his eyes.
"I've known you for fifteen years, Eridan!" Feferi shouted. "For fifteen years I had to watch as they cut you open and ran tests and talked about whether you'd ever make it to middle school. Fifteen years I watched you prove them wrong every time. I sat in the back of class with you in fourth grade and traded gel pens and made butt jokes. I was there when those jerks in middle school laughed when you tried out for track. I baked cookies with you at my mom's house every Monday after high school classes so we could talk about Dirk's stupid boycrush on Jake. Fifteen years I watched you be a huge pompous creep and a mopey blowhole and a whole lot of other things. Fifteen years!"
Her voice caught in her throat and suddenly there were tears dripping down her cheeks. With renewed rage she threw a finger toward him. "So I am not just going to let you sit there and tell me that none of it meant anything. I listen to you whine about a lot of shit, but I will not let you tell me that I don't care. Not when I've stayed up at night while you've been in the hospital, wondering whether it was the last time I'd ever get to see you. Wondering what my life would even be like without you in it. I care, Eridan. I care in a way that your dumb selfish brain couldn't even begin to process!"
She ripped her glasses off and ran a knuckle under her eyes before putting them back on. She sniffed as she glared down at Eridan.
"That's why I'm going to tell you right now that you need to stop this. Stop acting like some kind of victim all the time. If you don't want people to pity you, then do something about it!"
"I tried to do something about it!" Eridan snarled, wiping ranch from his brow before it trickled down into his eyes. "And all that happened is that my body gave out on me like it always does. I can't do anything about it. Don't you think if I could change or ignore my own bein' sick that I would do that?"
"You don't listen! You never listen!" Feferi stomped a foot. "I'm saying to stop acting like everyone always has it in for you! Because we don't! More people care about you than you think, Eridan, you're just always ready to assume the worst."
"I can't help that that's the way I think when this is the hand I've been dealt my whole life," Eridan snapped. "I assume the worst because the worst is what always happens to me."
"You're so stupid! You are so stupid, Eridan Ampora. And you are going to miss out on someone that really cares about you because you refuse to believe that he does."
"He doesn't, though! He fuckin' said it himself, all right, I'm not makin' this shit up for my own personal enjoyment." He whipped another crumpled tissue aside.
"Fine! You know what? Maybe you're right. Maybe your life is just as horrible as you say it is and it will never get better. And it's all everyone else's fault and even the universe's fault but it never has anything to do with you! That sounds absolutely one hundred percent accurate, doesn't it?"
She stomped out of the room and slammed the door behind her.
Eridan sagged back against his pillows, fuming.
And then the door opened again.
Feferi marched over and slapped a warm, moist cloth down on Eridan's comforter. "Here, clean yourself up. I'm sorry that I threw a piece of pizza at your face, but sometimes I just don't know how else to deal with you."
Eridan stared sourly down at the cloth before plucking it up and using it to wipe off his face. He then began scrubbing the ranch out of his comforter. Feferi grabbed a paper plate and put the remnants of the projectile pizza onto it before dumping it in the garbage. She then took the pizza box over to Eridan and set it next to him as the man finished wiping cheese off his sheets.
"You should at least try to eat some of this. Because I might have snuck a piece when I was on my way back here, and it's really pretty good," she said.
Eridan replaced his glasses. "Yeah, well, the stuff that hit my face didn't taste too bad, actually, and I guess it'll be nice to have something that isn't hospital food."
Feferi gave him a small smile. "I'm going to head home now. I would stay longer, but I thought Sollux was going to be here, so I made other plans."
"No, it's fine. Whatever. You've put up with me enough for one day and we both fuckin' know it."
They were silent for a moment as Eridan lifted a slice of pizza out of the box and began to chew it. He stared at it as he swallowed. "Yeah, it's not the best fuckin' thing I've ever put in my mouth but I guess it'll do."
He sighed, putting the rest of the slice back down in the box.
"Fef, I'm thinkin' you're probably right about all of this."
Feferi looked as though Eridan had just slapped her. "What?"
"I mean, I'm not sayin' you're right about Sol, because you're not. But I don't blame you for misreadin' the situation or whatever because I wasn't really too detailed in my description a what he said. But you are right about the other shit. All I've been doin' since I got that operation is mopin' and gettin' angry and bein' generally pretty useless, which is exactly the kinda thing that I moved here to try to stop doin'."
Feferi sighed, closing her eyes. "Well, I guess it's good I've made you change your outlook like that. Even if it wasn't exactly what I was getting at."
"The point is, I came here to do stuff. And I'm not gonna let hang-ups like this or the fact that Sol's a fuckin' bastard keep me from my callin'."
Feferi put her face in her hands. "Well, I am glad the passion has been rekindled inside of you, Eridan."
"A course it has, like any a that bullshit could really keep me down," he finished with a note of bravado before deflating and looking to Feferi.
"Are you gonna come over tomorrow?"
"Why not ask one of the guys next door?"
Eridan crossed his arms over his chest. "Fuck all those guys. The only thing that bein' in their company does for me is get me workin' up a good rage. Or like, a fuckin' panic, in the case a Gamzee. Because he's fuckin' unsettling."
Feferi rolled her eyes. "Maybe I'll come over. We'll see. But Eridan, I really do think you should talk to Sollux, okay?"
"My response to that is the same as your response to me. 'We'll see.' And I'm also gonna add that it's pretty fuckin' unlikely because the only thing he ever does is sit on the computer, and I have absolutely zero intentions a wastin' time playin' video games right now. I need to start bucklin' down and actually gettin' to work on honin' my musical skills."
And that was what he did. For the most part.
When he wasn't taking breaks playing video games.
In the following weeks he fell into a sort of routine. He was still consigned to bed rest, so aside from getting up to use the bathroom, he found himself in his room for the better part of each day. He had laid his guitar case right next to his bed so that, upon waking up, he could immediately reach over and begin tuning it. He would then set it aside and watch videos on his laptop about guitar playing until around noon, which was when he would finally venture out into the kitchen for a bowl of cereal. Once finished with that, he would try to fix himself up in the bathroom before returning to his bed, where he would play about an hour of Pokemon. Tavros' damned card had gotten him thinking about the game again after years without touching it, and so he'd downloaded a ROM of Blue version.
But fighting trainers could only stay so exciting. He began to spend his afternoons surfing the web for a different sort of MMO he could play. He had tried going in some of the public Minecraft servers, but found that without the intricate world and potential for large projects that he'd developed with Sollux, the game felt strangely empty and meaningless. So he decided that he was just probably over Minecraft, and downloaded World of Warcraft instead.
Except that people were fucking jerks in World of Warcraft and so basically fuck that game. What the fuck was DPS anyway? He could fucking hit things with his staff as a mage, there were no laws against melee being a thing that could happen in video games.
By the time evening rolled around, he would usually be visited by Feferi with dinner or he would actually pick up his guitar again and lean back against his pillows for about an hour to practice scales and chords. But no matter what he did, he just couldn't seem to get his fingers to listen to him. And so it would be with angry frustration that he would curl up in bed and scroll through the text messages on his phone.
hey.
i'm working on some of the troll hives in alternia if you want to come see.
i'm putting your hive next to a creeper spawner. eheheh.
all right don't answer, whatever.
ff told me you were still alive so thank her for me I guess.
i'm on skype every night if you want to talk. which i guess you don't. so i'll leave you alone.
He hadn't received any more messages after that. He had been rather surprised that he'd gotten any to begin with. He thought back to the beginning of their relationship when he had been the one dicking around by himself in Minecraft, making stupid shit and texting Sollux about it. Knowing that the jackass would never text back, but just liking the idea that he had sent the guy a stupid message that would set his phone off, and maybe even having the smallest hope that Sollux would take his phone out of his pocket and read it.
He rolled over in his bed, staring at the messages. He wondered if Sollux had ever stared at his messages like this?
He threw his phone aside. No. He was done thinking about all this bullshit. He had bigger fish to fry. But he supposed he could at least do Sollux the common courtesy of letting him know as much.
He pulled on his headset and pulled his laptop close. Ever since he'd arrived back home, he had been constantly signed in to Skype. He just never took his status off Invisible. He did so now, however, as he spied the green dot indicating that a one twinArmageddons was currently online. He sent him a request for a voice call, and it was accepted.
"Hey, Sol." He tried to keep his voice easy and casual.
"Wow. To what do I owe this privilege?" Sollux's voice sounded more hoarse than usual. Eridan paid it no mind.
"Not to anything special, I thought I'd just let you know how things have been goin' on my end and how they're likely to be goin' for all a the foreseeable future."
Sollux was silent for a moment. When he responded, his voice was dry. "Oh really?"
"Yeah. I would've contacted you earlier but I've been really busy lately. I guess all the troubles I've been goin' through have really sparked my muse, so I've kinda had my hands full with my music."
"Uh-huh."
Eridan could feel his stomach shrinking inside him. This was not exactly how he'd imagined the conversation to go. When he spoke again, his tone was decidedly less flippant. "Yeah. So I'm just lettin' you know that I probably won't be available at all to talk or play trivial bullshit video games with you since I've got better things to be doin'."
Again there was a pause. When Sollux's voice came again through Eridan's headset, it was dim and quiet. "Yeah, well, I guess I'm sorry for wasting all your time."
It was like some creature had reached through his chest and raked at his heart. But he kept his mouth shut. He couldn't take it back now even if he wanted to. Not that he did. Because everything he'd said had been completely one hundred percent true.
"Well, I don't want to keep you from all the important music shit you have to do. So I'm probably just going to go to bed or something."
Eridan swallowed before he replied to make sure that his voice was in no danger of breaking. "Yeah, that would probably be a good idea. But I'm pretty thankful for you makin' yourself available to me like this so I could let you know what the scoop was."
"Sure."
"All right, well, have yourself a good night, Sol."
He heard a sound. A soft inhalation. As if the man meant to reply. But then the call ended, and Eridan found himself staring at Sollux's screen name as the green dot next to it disappeared. He stared at it for a long time. Wondering whether Sollux might not suddenly appear online again.
A wondering that drifted uncomfortably close to hope.
He slept poorly. Even after taking a needless second shower just to envelope himself in warmth and cuddling down deep under his plush purple comforter, he still felt cold. And a persistent pain throbbed under his ribs, as if someone had lodged a knife there. He rolled onto his other side. Onto his back. His stomach. Anything to try and alleviate the pressure. Despite his best efforts, however, sleep refused to take him. Instead it left him alone with his thoughts. His memories.
Odd that he would have so many after only a month.
By the time morning arrived, he'd had it. Had it with staying in the house. Had it with staring at the computer all day. Had it with the constant ache in his gut. He threw off the covers, took yet another shower, and pulled on a pair of khaki shorts and a fitted white T-shirt. He shaved and styled his hair before throwing on a scarf and packing up his guitar.
He was done with bed rest.
He needed to get out.
Eridan was about half way to the park when he realized he had made a very poor life choice. He huffed under the hot August sun, his scarf barely managing to stay wound around his neck as he lugged his guitar up an enormous hill. He'd forgotten about this bastard hill. He didn't know how it was possible, but he had.
He set his guitar down, his heart thrumming in his chest. He put a hand to his sternum. He'd since been able to take off the gauze dressings covering the incision, but he was getting worried that his heart would come bursting out of his chest through the old wound at any moment. He could only imagine what a sight that would have been. Just him standing there like a moron and watching his heart flop around on the ground like a fish.
He put a hand to his head. Fuck, he was hot.
He made himself smile with that.
He was so clever sometimes.
It gave him the lift he needed to finish the trek. And soon he was sitting back in the area of the park with the picnic tables. He hoisted himself on top of one, setting his guitar case beside him as he ran a shaking hand over his sweaty brow. He must have looked a mess. He tried not to think about it as he pulled his guitar onto his lap.
He expected it to be easier. He expected the ache in his chest to suddenly surge into his fingertips, letting his emotions guide him as he tickled the strings. He expected sharp and fierce and overwhelming relief as he was drowned in the sounds of his own music, raw and bleeding and beautiful.
But all he managed were a few awkward fingerings and a couple sloppy chords.
He slammed his guitar back in its case. His entire body felt like it was being crushed. He ran another hand over his brow.
"What the fuck are you doing here?"
He jerked his hand away, his gaze darting over toward the source of the voice.
Sollux approached him from across the picnic area. He looked more put-together than Eridan had ever seen him. His hair was shorter than usual. He must have gone to the barber since their last meeting. It still stuck up in that awkward way on the sides of his head, though. It was stupid-looking enough to be endearing, and Eridan hated himself the instant he let the thought cross his mind. The rest of the man's wiry frame was clothed in an Aperture Science T-shirt and a pair of faded jeans. His brows were knit together fiercely over his black sunglasses as he stared down at the man on the picnic table before him.
"I could ask you the same question, Sol," Eridan tried to snap back, but it came out as more of a stammering warble than anything else.
"I'm looking for Rufio. He got out of the house again." Sollux's words were clipped as he spoke. His brow lowered further. "You're supposed to be on bed rest, you stupid fuck. What are you doing out here?"
"How do you even know about my bed rest, Sol?" Eridan did his best to sound indignant. "You know, I would really fuckin' appreciate it if you could stop tryin' to squeeze Fef for information regardin' my person, it's really fuckin' rude and also kinda creepy."
"She volunteers that information to me. I guess to stop you from pulling idiotic bullshit like this. What the fuck were you thinking, ED?" His voice was quivering with anger. "You had to walk up that fucking hill with a guitar case to get here, are you out of your mind? Do you want to land yourself back in the fucking hospital?"
Eridan felt his cheeks begin to burn with anger as he slammed his guitar case shut. "Whatever, Sol, I don't have to check in with you. Like you give a shit about what I get up to these days anyway."
Sollux's jaw set, his face livid. "Don't even start that shit with me. Don't even start. I sat online waiting for you every day. I texted you for five nights straight."
"Yeah, well, I'm just actin' based on what came outta your mouth verbatim. Which was that you've just been guilted into havin' feelin's for me. Which I guess is the fuckin' truth, since the second I told you that I didn't want any a your fuckin' pity, it was also the last time you bothered to show your face around me." He felt his chest tightening.
Sollux looked as if he'd received a blow to the gut. He looked away, the face behind his dark shades suddenly pale. "I figured you wouldn't want me around."
"Well, I did, okay?" Eridan burst out. He hefted up his guitar and began walking, trying to shove past Sollux.
"Hey. Hey! Knock it off you fucking moronic piece of shit." Sollux caught him by the shoulder and yanked the instrument from his hands. Eridan refused to look at him, focusing instead on trying not to let the dam in his chest burst.
"I'm sorry," Sollux said.
Eridan looked up at him, his throat tight. He licked his lips. "Sorry for what? Not visitin' me or just leadin' me on with your fabricated emotions a romantic interest?"
Sollux's face was nearly inscrutable from behind his dark sunglasses. "Both, I guess."
Eridan yanked his shoulder away from the man. "Yeah, well, apology fuckin' accepted. Now we can both move on with our lives and pretend like none a this ever happened. Because if there's one thing I'm good at, it's pretendin' up a lot a fake bullshit to make things seem slightly less like the piles a steamin' refuse that they are."
He tried to grab his guitar from Sollux, but the man held it out of his reach.
"Stop," he snapped. "Look, why don't you just shut your fucking trap for two seconds, okay? I'm not saying… None of what I just said means that I don't want to see you or that I don't still worry about you pulling moronic stunts like this. But you made it pretty fucking clear to me yesterday that you had better things to do than waste time on me. Which I get. I can't really get pissed off about that. But I'm just letting you know that I'm sorry. I'm sorry for being such a fucking wreck. I'm sorry for getting you all confused and shit. Okay? I'm sorry…"
His voice trailed off, and he looked away. Eridan stood with his arms crossed tightly over his chest, hoping it would keep his aching heart from bursting out of him.
When Sollux spoke again, his voice was small. "You don't have to talk to me again if you don't want to. But can I at least help you carry this home?"
Eridan turned away, the knife still stuck in his gut giving a painful twist. "Do whatever you want."
So he did. They walked silently together, side by side. Eridan found himself wondering, as they made their way back down the hill, his shoes scuffing against the sidewalk, whether this would be the last time he'd ever walk with Sollux anywhere.
He wanted to stop. Wanted to dig his heels in and take it all back. Wanted to tell Sollux that none of it had ever felt like wasted time at all.
But he'd spent his whole life wanting things he could never have. And so it was easy to keep his mouth shut. To keep his feet moving forward.
By the time they made it back to their street, Eridan was ready to turn to Sollux to bid his farewells and disappear forever back into the gloom of his own house. But when he glanced up at the man walking beside him, he noticed Sollux was frowning over his shades again. Blinking, Eridan turned his gaze back ahead of him.
Gamzee was sitting crouched in the driveway of the house, his hands on Tavros' shoulders. His face was bent close to the boy's, but he must have heard Eridan and Sollux approaching, for he suddenly lifted his head and turned to face them.
Next to him, Tavros was sitting on the ground, his fingers loosely clutching a tiny red collar. His face was streaked with tears.
Eridan felt a chill sweep through him.
Sollux's expression was pale. "What's going on?"
Tavros' fingers curled tighter around the collar at the sound of the question. As if by reflex. His voice was broken with choked sobs and tears and he replied, "W-we went…the road, and…"
Gamzee stared up at them. And for the first time since Eridan had met him, he saw sadness in the man's eyes. As if he were lost. As if, in that moment, Gamzee too understood nothing about the world.
"He's dead, bro. Our pal Rufio's dead."