Sollux knocked on the door to the hive and the two trolls waited in ominous silence. Eridan fidgeted with the hem of the cape he wore strategically draped over the left side of his body. Kanaya had advised him on exactly what to wear in order to best conceal his pregnant stomach. The stretchy waistband of his pants was covered by his somewhat loose fitting shirt which had another shirt layered underneath. The entire ensemble was completed with the royal purple cape worn to the side like a great conqueror would wear for his portrait. Layers, Kanaya had told him, were the key.
In the last moments before anyone came to the door to greet them, Sollux reached out and grabbed Eridan's hand to give it a final squeeze. Eridan could hear the deep inhale and exhale from his matesprit as he attempted to mentally prepare himself for the next few hours. It was going to be difficult for the yellow blood to not only have no physical contact with the sea dweller but also have to try his best to act like he wanted nothing to do with him. Eridan gave Sollux's hand a squeeze back and the two released their hold on each other right before the door finally swung open to reveal their short, stubby horned friend. Karkat seemed t notice Sollux first.
"It's about fucking time you showed up," the Cancer complained before realizing that Sollux wasn't alone. He turned his attention to the high blood and narrowed his eyes. "You smell really fucking weird."
Both Sollux and Eridan began to panic but luckily Eridan was able to think up a decent response. "Oh thanks Kar, it's nice to see you too," he replied sarcastically.
"Did you two come together?" the Cancer asked in confusion.
"Fuck no," Sollux said. "We jutht ended up on the thame public four wheel tranthportation devithe." He feigned disgust at having to be anywhere near the violet blood.
"Oh," was all Karkat replied, seemingly already bored with the subject. "Well get in here." Karkat stepped back and opened the door wider for his two guests to enter. "Everyone else is already here."
As soon as they stepped inside Sollux noticed Aradia waving to him and made his way over to her. Eridan was unsure of what to do without Sollux's presence nearby so he made his way over to the refreshment table. He really had developed quite a thirst recently due to the growing eggs.
Eridan stood by the table anxiously sipping his drink. He really hoped his layers of clothing hid his stomach well enough. He made eye contact with Kanaya from across the room and she made her way over to him.
"Are you well, Eridan?" she inquired with a bit of concern.
"What if they can see it? What if they know? Kar already mentioned somethin' to me about my scent bein' off," Eridan rambled. Kanaya patted his shoulder for comfort.
"Relax. I am certain they will not see. If I did not already know I would not be able to tell. The layers really worked out nicely," the jade blood assured him.
"Thanks, Kan," Eridan sighed. The two chatted about various things for a little while until Feferi approached them.
"Hey you guys!" she greeted happily. "It's so great that we were all able to get together like this."
"Yes it is a rare treat to see everyone gathered together for one occasion," Kanaya agreed. Suddenly Feferi looked slightly confused and she blinked her large fuchsia eyes a few times.
"What is that strange smell?" she asked in wonder. Eridan froze up and glanced at Kanaya for help.
"I am not certain that I smell anything," Kanaya lied smoothly. Feferi leaned forward and sniffed at the air.
"It smells like it is coming from you Eridan!" she said in surprise.
"Me?" he asked as calmly as possible.
"Yes!" the Piscies confirmed. "I'm not sure what it is and honestly I'm not sure what to make of it. It makes me feel kinda strange." It was silent for a moment between the three trolls before Kanaya decided to speak up.
"That is quite peculiar. Feferi, didn't you mention that you had expanded your cuttlefish collection recently?" The topic was smoothly changed and the female sea dweller's attention was successfully diverted.
Aradia had settled with Sollux on the couch and was attempting to get him up to speed with the current happenings in her life. He was trying to enjoy the time spent with his moirail but couldn't stop glancing over her shoulder at Eridan standing by the refreshment table. Luckily, the Aries hadn't noticed her moirail's divided attention, but the longer Feferi stood chatting with her fellow sea troll the longer Sollux's gaze lingered on the two and the more he felt his anger rising.
Everyone knew that back when they were all much younger Eridan had harbored red feelings for this then moirail, Feferi. When he finally worked up the nerve to tell her how he felt she rejected him and confessed that she was red for Sollux instead. Eridan felt so heartbroken and betrayed that he became bitter and pushed Feferi's moirailegence away, instead preferring to sulk in the solitude of his childhood shipwreck hive. Sollux and Feferi briefly filled each other's red quadrants which added fuel to the kissmesitude he would later have with Eridan.
Under normal circumstances, Sollux wouldn't care one way or another if Eridan talked to Feferi at a party. The circumstances were currently far from normal and under the influence of Eridan's pregnancy pheromones Sollux couldn't stand the sight of someone else standing that close to his matesprit, talking and laughing with his matesprit, touching the arm of his matesprit who was carrying his eggs.
Aradia stopped herself mid sentence when she realized Sollux wasn't paying an ounce of attention to what she was saying and followed his angry stare over her shoulder to see Eridan and Feferi standing near the punch bowl. She smiled, happy for the two former moirails having a chance to catch up with each other, and turned back to Sollux. "They sure seem to have a lot to 'glub' about," she giggled while using the fish pun to refer to the two sea trolls.
" Yeah, apparently," Sollux responded tensely. Aradia was caught off guard by how angry her moirail was getting and glanced back at the two trolls by the punch bowl for a moment to consider the situation. It was her moirail's ex matesprit talking to his ex kismesis. "You don't really like Eridan talking to Feferi do you?" she asked as she turned back around to the Gemini. "Sollux!" she exclaimed in shock. "Calm down you're sparking!" The rust blood scooted forward on the couch to attempt to shoosh pap the angry troll in front of her. Sure enough, once she had said something about it, Sollux became aware that his vision was becoming obscured by the crackling of his psionics.
"Excuthe me for a moment," he said while shrugging out of Aradia's grasp and reigning in his powers. He stood abruptly from the couch and made his way towards the two royal bloods.
"Hey what are we talking about over here, hmm? Thure theems interethting," Sollux chimed in almost hysterically as he inserted himself between the two and forcefully joined their conversation. Eridan seemed almost mortified while Feferi paused at the unusual interruption with an uncertain smile on her face. Aradia sat on the couch watching her moirail's odd behavior in a state of confusion. The whole scene had briefly turned the heads of nearby trolls, mainly because Sollux was not usually the one to act crazy over his ex quadrantmates.
"We were just reminiscing about old times when we were wrigglers," Feferi informed the double horned troll that now stood between herself and Eridan. "We reely used to be inseparabubble," she giggled. Eridan forced a smile in order to keep up appearances and pretended not to notice how Sollux was subtly bumping him with his hip to scoot him farther away from the tyrian blooded troll.
"Well that mutht've been fun," Sollux added facetiously. Eridan was glaring daggers at him and Feferi was beginning to pick up on the somewhat hostile vibes Sollux was putting out.
"Yeah it was," she laughed nervously. "Well, I'm going to go say hi to the wriggling day girl. It was nice glubbing with you Eridan," she had to call over Sollux's shoulder, considering the taller troll was now almost completely blocking the other sea dweller from view.
"You too, Fef!" Eridan called back. Sollux turned back to face Eridan satisfied that he had gotten the other troll away from his matesprit, and by extension, his eggs. Eridan gave Sollux as look of disbelief. Before anything could be said between the two Kanaya approached them.
"Could I get you two's opinion on something for a moment?" the jade blood announced once she was in front of them. They both look at her questioningly before she hauled them off down a hallway and into an empty room. As soon as the door was closed behind them Eridan turned to the other male troll and glared at him.
"What the fuck was that, pissblood?" Eridan hissed harshly. Sollux glared back at his matesprit but he knew the other troll was livid. Ever since they had become red with each other Eridan only reserved serious insults for when Sollux pissed him off big time. He hadn't had his blood color insulted in sweeps. The Gemini remained silent, unable to justify his actions.
"Why don't you just go ahead and announce to everyone that we are together while you're busy actin' like a complete fuckin' asshole?" the violet blood persisted. The room fell silent. Sollux glanced over at Kanaya silently standing by the door.
"I gueth I shouldn't be thurprithed that she knowth," he mumbled while nodding his head in her direction.
"Yes I do know," Kanaya spoke up, leaving the door to walk closer to the psionic. "It may be because I know that I am extra perceptive to any interactions between you two, and I must say that if things continue down the path they are heading you may have no choice but to come clean about this clandestine relationship." The jade blood placed a hand on Sollux's arm for reassurance.
"You guyth have no fucking idea how hard thith ith for me," Sollux groaned. He looked at Kanaya with a pleading look on his face. "When he layth the eggth will my think pan go back to normal? I mean, ath normal ath it geth for me with the voiceth and all. It ith tho hard dealing with all thethe feelingth of paranoia that I have to protect him from thome thort of danger that ithn't even there," he admitted.
"Yes the pheromones should wear off once the eggs have been laid," Kanaya answered softly. "I know it must be difficult right now but if you could just," she stifled a giggle, "placate your metaphorical heft sacks." Sollux gave her a quizzical look before glancing over at Eridan for an explanation.
"She means calm your tits, Sol," the Aquarius explained in an almost bored tone. His anger had left him and now he was beginning to feel a bit antsy about someone noticing they were missing. "Come on you guys before someone notices somethin's up," he urged. Sollux approached him with a smirk.
"I have to at leatht take a little advantage of thith opportunity," he waggled his thick eyebrows over his anaglyph glasses to which Eridan rolled his eyes. Sollux swooped down and placed a kiss on the violet blood's cool lips as his hands slipped under the Aquarius's shirt to feel the roundness of his stomach. Sollux could never resist placing his hands there as reassurance that , yes, Eridan was still pregnant with his eggs.
"Couldn't you jutht maybe wear my jacket or let me bite you or thomething?" Sollux muttered once he broke the kiss.
"What the fuck for?" Eridan asked irritably.
"Jutht tho they know you're mine," Sollux whispered against his lips before kissing them again.
"For fuck's sake, Sol," Eridan gasped while breaking the kiss. "The whole point is for 'em not to know we're together. Besides, I already wear your ring if that wasn't a dead giveaway an' accordin' to Kan you've basically permanently marked me with your scent." Sollux looked at the sea troll's hand to see the half yellow, half violet gemstone proudly on display on his left ring finger. "Not to mention that puttin' your hideous jacket on would probably ruin the effect of these strategically placed layers which are concealin' the fact that you knocked me up," he added in mock annoyance.
Sollux grinned which showed off his large double sets of fangs and lifted Eridan's shirts up to expose his belly. The violet blood yelped in protest but his matesprit ducked his head down and blew a raspberry on the exposed skin causing the other troll to laugh wildly. Kanaya giggled at the two males' antics. They really should get back to the party before anyone noticed them missing but first there was one thing she wanted to do. She approached the other two silently with her eyes on Eridan's exposed stomach in curiosity.
"Pardon me," she cleared her throat. Eridan and Sollux paused their horseplay to look at her. "Do you mind if I…?" she asked while nodding towards Eridan's abdomen. Sollux stepped back hesitantly, still finding it difficult to let other trolls near his matesprit, especially when their sole intent is to touch where his eggs were.
Kanaya crouched down to get a better view and Sollux took deep breaths as he watched her every move. Eridan looked on curiously as she reached out a hand and brushed her fingertips along a pregnant troll's belly for the first time. A low growl bubbled up from Sollux's throat without him meaning to and Kanaya glanced at him to see that psionics were once again crackling around his glasses.
"It's okay, Sol," Eridan soothed while reaching out to grab his matesprit's bony hand. The contact immediately calmed him. "You need to get used to her bein' around me because she's goin' to be there when I lay the eggs," Eridan informed him. Sollux bristled a bit but said nothing as Kanaya resumed her exploration. She brought her other hand up and applied gentle pressure with her fingers as she felt around.
"That feels weird" Eridan frowned at the odd sensation. Suddenly Kanaya gasped and froze her movements.
"I can feel one," she whispered in astonishment. Sollux immediately perked up.
"Theriouthly?" he asked excitedly. Eridan looked back and forth between his matesprit and the top of the jade blood's head that was crouched in front of him.
"It is a definite lump," Kanaya explained as Sollux knelt down beside her and she took his hand to guide it to where she felt the egg. The Gemini gently pressed his fingers into the area his hand had been positioned. Indeed, his fingertips felt a round-ish lump underneath Eridan's flesh. He tilted his head back to look directly into Eridan's curious violet eyes. His glasses concealed the glimmer the yellow blood had in his own eyes so he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the cool skin that his lips were so familiar with.
"We need to get back out there," Sollux said once he had stood back up and collected himself.
"Agreed," Kanaya said as he brushed the wrinkles out of her skirt. "In another month I will try to feel your stomach again," she told Eridan with a smile. "I could not feel any others but they could be positioned in an odd way. Then again, they are still developing."
"That would be great, Kan," Eridan smiled at her appreciatively.
"It would be helpful if we could know how many we are expecting once you start to lay them," she added.
"Think you can control yourself this time?" Eridan teased the Gemini once they reached the door.
"I'll try," he stuck his forked tongue out at the violet blood before reaching over to straighten out the cape hanging over the other's shoulder to make sure everything was hidden. The three left the room and rejoined the party without a hitch. The only person who would've noticed them missing was Aradia but she had been otherwise occupied while they had slipped away.
The Aries had been so puzzled by her moirail's strange behavior that when she finally had an idea as to a reason behind it she immediately rushed off to find Nepeta. She never even saw Feferi leave the conversation. Aradia found the olive blood chatting with her long-time moirail Equius.
"Nepeta!" Aradia caught the other girl's attention. She grabbed her arm and looked at her with wide eyes. "I think you were right about Sollux!" she said breathlessly. Nepeta blinked at Aradia in confusion and glanced over to Equius who simply shrugged.
"I was?" Nepeta finally asked, cocking her head to the side.
"Yes!" Aradia continued staring the other girl down hoping she would catch on but had no such luck. "About him being red for Feferi?" the rust blood supplied as if it should have been obvious from the start.
"Oh!" the Leo squealed in realization. "Really?" she asked excitedly.
"Yes!" Aradia repeated, glad they were now on the same page. Equius sighed once he realized his moirail was about to launch into another shipping discussion.
"If you ladies would excuse me, I am going to fetch a refreshment," he informed them before extracting himself from the conversation.
"Yeah, sure," Nepeta responded distractedly before turning her full attention back to the female troll in front of her. "So what happenend?" she demanded eagerly.
"Well, I was sitting on the couch talking to Sollux earlier and he kept looking at something behind me, but I knew the only people behind me were just Kanaya and Eridan talking," Aradia explained.
"Mmhmm," Nepeta hummed.
"Eventually he got so angry that his eyes were literally sparking so I turned around to see what was happening and it was Eridan talking to Feferi. Kanaya wasn't there, just those two alone."
"Oh, juicy!" Nepeta giggled.
"Here's where it gets even more juicy," Araida teased. "Sollux actually left me on the couch to go butt into their conversation. And where does he place himself? Right in between the two to get Eridan away from Feferi," Aradia said. Nepeta gasped.
"Well, Sollux and Feferi were red for each other all those sweeps ago," the olive blood stated. "And of course Eridan used to be red for her too. Maybe Sollux still has feelings for her and didn't want to risk Eridan having a second chance at winning her over," she reasoned.
"Do you think we should help set them up?" Aradia asked furtively.
"Help set up the socially inept loser with the fish girl whose sole purpose in life is to have a fight to the death to become empress?" Vriska chimed in from a couple of feet to their left. She approached the other two trolls with a devious smirk on her face. "Why not? I don't see anything wrong with that scenario at all," she added sarcastically and cackled.