"Oh, I didn't realize you could hear us," Aradia admitted almost embarrassed.
"There's nothing more shrill than a couple of fangirls gossiping," Vriska sneered before collecting herself into a more aloof posture. "Besides, I was practically standing right next to the two of you the entire time," she said as she flipped her long hair nonchalantly over her shoulder.
"So you think it's a good idea to get Sollux and Feferi together?" Nepeta asked gingerly.
"I mean, the evidence is all right there," Aradia affirmed. "There's definitely something up with Sollux."
"Oh definitely," Vriska goaded, "you two should totally go for it." Aradia beamed at her co- conspirator.
"After the party we'll start drafting some plans," the Aries said excitedly. The cerulean blood pouted.
"Why make the lonely freak wait any longer for true redrom than he already has? I say you should get started now!" Vriska reasoned. The other two girls looked a bit reluctant.
"I don't know it's so sudden. Where would we even start?" Nepeta wondered. Vriska flashed her fangy grin, a mischievous glint returning to her eyes.
"You're two smart girls. I'm sure you'll think of something," she replied slyly.
"Alright, Operation Redrom is now underway," Aradia announced enthusiastically.
"Thanks Vriska," Nepeta called as the two set off to scheme up some ideas.
"No problem," Vriska answered falsely sweet before turning away laughing maniacally to herself. "Finally this lame party is about to get interesting," she muttered as she found a good spot to settle in order to watch the chaos unfold.
Not too long after Sollux, Eridan, and Kanaya discreetly rejoined the party, the yellow blood was being flagged down by their short-tempered host.
"Hey Sollux, we're starting a video game tournament over here. You in?" Karkat hollered from across the room. The Gemini felt himself relax a fraction at the thought of having something to distract his mind from constantly worrying about his matesprit. He surreptitiously glanced back at the violet blood regardless, silently checking to make sure it would be okay. The sea troll rolled his eyes back at him with a slight smile on his lips before nodding his consent.
"Fuck yeth I'm in," Sollux grinned as he headed over to where Karkat and Terezi were seated on the couch, controllers in hand, as they began the first round. Several of the other party attendees were also gathered around to watch the battles take place.
"You can play the winner," Karkat informed him once he reached the couch. "Which of course means you'll be playing me after I hand Terezi's perfectly plush rump to her on a silver dining device by the end of this round," the Cancer gloated.
"As much as I enjoy your flattery, Karkles, you are going down," Terezi laughed as she viciously mashed the buttons on her controller.
"You can't even fucking see what you're doing!" Karkat cried as he stared the game down on the screen in front of him.
"Aw, Karkat, your words wound me," the teal blood pouted dramatically before suddenly delivering the winning move. Her shrill victory cackle nearly drowned out the tirade her stunned matesprit launched into immediately following her win.
As Sollux took his seat next to Terezi on the couch, Eridan decided to return to the refreshment table for another cup of water. He passed by Gamzee on the way and the juggalo seemed to follow him to his destination.
"Hey there Eribro," the purple blood greeted. Eridan flinched in surprise and nearly dropped the cup he had just filled.
"Oh, hey Gam. You snuck up on me there," the sea dweller answered quietly.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to all up and motherfuckin' startle you, brother." Even though the Capricorn was in a sopor induced stupor there was an unfamiliar glint in his purple eyes. Eridan was suddenly aware of how close the other troll had gotten to him. Something about the other high blood's demeanor seemed off.
"You smell kinda different, motherfucker," Gamzee commented. "It just don't smell right. Kinda like all vulnerable or some shit."
"Oh, really? Well that's weird," Eridan said, slowly backing away to put a few more inches between himself and the other troll. Gamzee's normally dormant instincts seemed to be filtering to the surface of his inebriation. Eridan realized he was reacting to the pheromones. It seemed that no matter how much Eridan backed away from the painted troll the distance between the two remained the same- too close. Pretty soon the violet blood would have his back against the wall and nowhere else to go.
"I just can't motherfuckin' decide what to do with all these feelings I've got trapped up inside me right now," Gamzee continued. His voice still retained his usual airy demeanor but it held a dark undertone to it.
Eridan's back finally pressed against the wall behind him and he glanced frantically around the room. Sollux was still on the couch completely absorbed in his match against Terezi and Kanaya was nowhere to be seen. It took every ounce of self control in his body to not place his hands protectively over his stomach. He wanted to sass the other troll back but was terrified of starting a physical confrontation and putting his eggs at risk. He wasn't sure what else to do. Should he call out for Sollux? Should he just call out in general to bring attention to the situation and get Gamzee distracted?
"You're my motherfuckin' friend, Eribro, but something just tells me to all up and wrap my hands around your fuckin' neck and squeeze until all the miraculous life leaves your body," Gamzee said as casually as if he was commenting on the assortment of foods at the party. The clown nearly had his body against the sea dweller's. Eridan felt his blood pusher speed up and his blood turn even icier than normal. Gamzee offered him a lazy grin that appeared deranged at such close proximity. This is was it, he needed to call for help. He took a deep breath.
"Uh, Gamzee?" Tavros's squeaky voice came from behind the purple blood. The troll in question stepped away from Eridan to turn to the troll in the wheelchair. "What are you doing?" Tavros questioned with uncertainty in his voice.
"Just chattin' with my fishy brother," Gamzee answered seemingly back to normal.
"Oh okay. I'm going to go join the video game tournament. Do you, uh, maybe want to watch?" the low blood asked innocently.
"Sure Tavbro," Gamzee said happily and left Eridan with his back against the wall as if nothing had even happened.
Eridan released the breath he didn't realize he was still holding and placed his trembling hands over his stomach not caring about anything else at the moment. He wished he could have Sollux by his side right then but he knew they had to keep up appearances and remain distant from each other. Not to mention the fact that he was involved in that video game tournament which meant he was going to be occupied for a while. Eridan decided to do the next best thing and silently retreated back to the block that Kanaya had pulled him away to earlier.
Sollux's video game playing presented the perfect distraction that a certain rust blood needed in order to talk to Feferi without him noticing. The royal blooded troll was observing the tournament from a distance when Aradia approached her.
"He's pretty good, isn't he?" the Aries said conversationally. Feferi turned to smile at the other troll.
"Oh yes, he's always been fintastic when it comes to gaming," she agreed.
"Yeah, he's a pretty great guy," Aradia responded lamely not really knowing what she was doing with the conversation. "He's my moirail," she decided to add.
"Reely? Congrats," Feferi commended earnestly. She was beginning to wonder where the conversation was headed herself.
"Thanks," the rust blood said politely before deciding that she was just going to get right to the point. "He still has feelings for you. Just thought you should know." Feferi looked over at her with shock written all over her face.
"He does?" she asked incredulously. It had been so long since they had broken up, they were really just kids when they had been together.
"I'm his moirail. I know these things," Aradia grinned and tapped her temple thoughtfully. "Do you still feel anything for him?" she asked innocently.
"Oh my," Feferi was still stunned. "I'm not shore. He is reely great and handsome." The fishy princess blushed at her own honesty. "I just don't know if I could even handle any quadrants right now," she said almost sadly.
"Maybe you should try giving him another shot," Aradia suggested. "You must get awful lonely with no quadrantmates."
"It does get lonely sometimes," the sea dweller admitted wistfully. Aradia could tell that Feferi had taken the bait and it was now time to move on.
"Well, it's up to you really. I was just putting the idea out there," the Aries shrugged noncommittally. "It was nice chatting with you, Feferi."
"Oh you too," Feferi called as the other troll waved and moved on to a different part of the room. The tyrian blood glanced back over to the couch where she had last seen the yellow blood. She couldn't even remember why they had parted ways in the first place. The psionic was no longer seated in front of the television which had Feferi scanning over her surroundings in an attempt at locating the missing troll. She finally spotted him leaving the meal block eating a handful of chips from the bag he was holding. She approached him with a smile on her face.
"Hi," she greeted cheerfully. The Gemini looked over at her with a mouthful of chips and nodded his head in greeting. He attempted to finish chewing quickly enough to give her a proper greeting.
"Hey FF," he finally said once he had swallowed. The Pisces giggled back at him which made him raise an eyebrow at her but otherwise he remained silent.
"Sorry we didn't get a chance to talk much earlier," she said with a smile. Sollux was regretfully reminded of how ridiculously possessive he was being over Eridan when he first spoke with the princess at the party. Luckily, it didn't seem like she noticed his behavior. Now that his mind had brought up his matesprit he was beginning to wonder where he went. He couldn't smell the other troll at all in the same room as him. He thought he could faintly pick up the scent a little farther off, perhaps Eridan was using the load gaper.
"What have you been up to?" Feferi asked, snapping Sollux's attention back to the conversation he was supposed to be participating in.
"Not much. Jutht coding and gaming," he answered evenly. He dug down into his bag of chips and popped a few more into his mouth as he added on to his answer in his head, 'Reproducing.'
"I'm surprised you aren't still playing in the tournament," the sea troll commented.
"I got hungry," Sollux shrugged.
"You know we don't stay in touch nearly as much as we used to," Feferi pouted. "We should chat on Trollian more or maybe hang out some time," she suggested.
"Well we're both pretty buthy," Sollux reasoned. "But yeah I gueth if you want." The yellow blood was completely oblivious to all of Feferi's flirtatious hints. Eridan had finally calmed down enough to rejoin the party. He noticed Aradia and Nepeta hanging back from the rest of the group as he approached the opening of the hallway.
"Feferi's totally flirting with Sollux hardcore," Nepeta giggled as she and Aradia watched the two from a safe distance.
"Why is Fef flirtin' with Sol?" Eridan asked from behind the two girls, causing them to jump slightly in surprise. They calmed down immediately when they realized who it was.
"We're trying to set up Sollux and Feferi!" Nepeta announced excitedly. Eridan lifted a brow at her in amusement.
"You are?" he asked. "Why would you two do that?"
"Because Sollux has a flush crush on Feferi," Aradia explained. Eridan couldn't stifle the laugh that bubbled up his throat. The two girls looked at him critically.
"Sorry but that's just not fuckin' true," the violet blood laughed again. "Where did you even get that from?"
"Well, from Sollux," Aradia said a bit flustered. Eridan scoffed.
"I seriously doubt that," he interjected haughtily.
"How would you even know, Eridan?" Nepeta questioned skeptically.
"That's neither here nor there," he waved his hand dismissively. "The point is that Sol is not red for Fef."
"Whatever you say, Eridan," the Leo rolled her eyes before turning her attention back to Feferi's failing flirtatious advances. The violet blood scoffed before brushing passed the two peeping trolls to make his way into the main room. He had his sights set on heading to the meal block to find something a bit more substantial than the small finger foods that had been set out for the party.
Eridan strode across the living room with his head held high and even managed to not give Sollux a second glance when he walked right passed him to enter the meal block. As soon as he stepped foot over the thresh hold he froze in place when he noticed Gamzee staring into the refrigerator. A wave of panic washed over the Aquarius and he immediately turned back around to abscond. Sollux didn't miss the quick change in the sea dweller's demeanor.
"Hey ED what'th wrong?" the Gemini asked, not even noticing that he was cutting off Feferi's story about some colorful sea creatures. The fuchsia blood looked surprised by the sudden interruption. Eridan froze and kept his eyes on the floor.
"Nothin' Sol," the violet blood responded quietly but his matesprit wasn't buying it.
"Eridan," Sollux repeated sternly, "what'th wrong?"
"Nothin'. Everythin's fine," Eridan fidgeted with his scarf and hoped that the yellow blood would let the subject drop. He knew if he told Sollux about what happened with Gamzee the psionic was likely to cause a scene.
Aradia and Nepeta were starting to become confused as they continued observing Sollux's interactions from a safe distance.
"What is happening right now?" the Aries demanded.
"I have no idea," Nepeta answered anxiously as she strained to catch the words exchanged by the trolls they were spying on. "I can't hear what they're saying but Sollux is completely ignoring Feferi," she huffed.
"Yeah I noticed that," Aradia nodded. "Eridan looks terrified and Sollux looks pissed. Do you think they're back in blackrom or something?" she asked curiously.
"Nah, if they were Eridan wouldn't look so scared right now," Nepeta explained. "I don't even know what is going on." The Leo glanced around the room to see if anyone else had noticed the scene that was taking place. Her eyes landed on Vriska seated not too far from Feferi. The cerulean blood looked as if she was watching her favorite soap opera and had a wicked grin plastered on her face.
Eridan tried to walk away from Sollux but the yellow blood reached out and caught his wrist. Feferi look around anxiously.
"Um, Sollux?" she tried unsuccessfully to get the other troll's attention. Sollux stepped closer to Eridan, all of his attention on the violet blood.
"Eridan, I know thomething ith wrong," Sollux said quietly. "Jutht tell me what happened," he soothed. Eridan finally looked up from the floor.
"Sol you have to promise you won't start some shit," Eridan pleaded even though he knew it was useless.
"I can't promithe you that," Sollux replied feeling a bit uneasy. Eridan frowned but took a deep breath through his nose anyway.
"Earlier Gam kinda cornered me and was actin' creepy and altogether unsettlin'. He was probably just actin' out of his instincts or whatever but I've got to say I was gettin' pretty scared," the sea dweller confessed. "I think he even threatened to strangle me," he added under his breath. To say that Sollux looked livid would be an understatement. Eridan looked away awkwardly because he knew what was coming next.
"This doesn't look very good," Aradia whispered to Nepeta, the worry evident in her voice. Nepeta glanced around the room again. Vriska looked as though Twelfth Perigee's Eve had come early. There was now one more spectator. Kanaya was wringing her hands nervously and looked as though she was caught between whether she should intervene or let the events play out. Feferi was looking back and forth between the two males trying to get a clue as to what was happening.
In a matter of seconds Sollux was storming into the meal block where he figured Gamzee must be since Eridan looked so frightened after leaving that room not too long ago. As soon as he spotted the juggalo he had him in a psionic hold and slammed him back against the refrigerator he had been standing in front of. Gamzee looked a bit confused for a moment before realizing who had entered the room.
"Hey there Solbro," he greeted lazily as he seemed completely oblivious to the psionics restraining him. The commotion had caught everyone's attention and Karkat made his way to the meal block to see what was going on.
"What in the bulge sucking-," the Cancer began muttering to himself but was stopped short by the scene he walked in on.
"Lithen up shit fathe becauthe thith ith the only warning you're getting," Sollux hissed. His eyes were sparking and his psionic grip tightened involuntarily. "Thtay the fuck away from my matethprit! You got that? If you go anywhere near him and my gr- quadranth again I will fucking end you, you unholy piethe of shit!" He slammed Gamzee back against the fridge again for good measure but still didn't let his hold waver. There was no way anyone present at the party couldn't hear what was going on. Everyone had gone deathly silent.
"No problem, bro," Gamzee responded still unphased by the rough treatment he was receiving. "Now who the fuck is your matesprit?" he asked in confusion. Sollux growled in frustration.
"Eridan you ath hole! Eridan ith my matethprit and you'd better thtay the fuck away from him!" The violet blood was suddenly aware of nearly all eyes on him.
"No problem, motherfucker," Gamzee assured. Sollux let out another frustrated growl as he released his hold on the intoxicated troll and began storming back out of the meal block. Gamzee stumbled forward slightly but quickly regained his balance. Karkat finally broke the silence.
"Hold up here just a mother fucking second," he fumed as he followed Sollux into the other room. "Since when are you and fish face matesprits?"
"Thith ith not up for dithcuthion right now KK," Sollux warned as he rejoined Eridan's side and took his hand. "We'll talk about it later. Right now ED and I are going home."
"Wait, no, what? You guys live together too?" Karkat shouted. "How long has this been going on?" demanded the shorter troll.
"We'll talk about it later!" Sollux snapped.
"All this time I've video chatted with you at your hive fish douche was probably right there just out of sight and I had no-," he froze in mid sentence, a look of horror washing over his face. "Oh gog, that one time you pailed someone while I was right there on the video chat…" he couldn't bring himself to finish speaking the thought.
"Not now KK," the double horned troll repeated. "Come on ED let'th go." He began walking with Eridan towards the front door when suddenly a voice stopped him.
"He's not the only one you should talk to later," Aradia said bitterly as she stepped out of the hallway and into the main room. The hurt in her voice was evident.
"AA pleathe-"
"Not right now Sollux," she cut him off before turning angrily and disappearing back into the hallway. Nepeta appeared contemplative.
"Well I was right about the fish part," the olive blood mumbled to herself.
"Sollux," Feferi spoke up shyly. "I'm sorry, I'm confused. I thought you were red for me," she admitted quietly.
"What?" Sollux asked in surprise. "No, thorry FF but we broke up thweepth ago." Eridan caught Nepeta's eye briefly.
"What did I tell ya?" he muttered.
"What?" Sollux asked Eridan. The sea troll shook his head.
"Tell you later, hun."
"Fine, you two leave," Karkat said once he had found his voice again. "But there will be talks later," he warned. "There will be so much talking you will want to light your protein chutes on fire and then stomp on the disgusting ashes to further punish it for putting you through such a torturous hell of letting so many words babble forth from it."
"Happy wrigglin' day Rezi," Eridan managed before Sollux pulled him out the front door of the hive.
"Well that could've gone better," Sollux said flatly and the two made their way back to their hive together.