Sollux completely lost track of whatever it was he had planned on telling his matesprit when he entered the ablution block. The sharp scent of salt water permeated the air and assaulted his nostrils like a slap to the face. Upon hearing the psionic enter the room Eridan brought his head above the water and reclined against the angled side of the large tub. When the two had chosen to move in together they made sure both of their needs would be met within the same space. For Sollux that had meant plenty of space to store various computer parts and for his apiculture networks to function properly. Eridan had chosen to install a rather large tub in the ablution block which had plumbing that allowed for it to either be filled with regular tap water or water directly routed from the ocean.
"Thalt water, huh," Sollux more or less stated because it was pretty obvious by the smell and the vaguely cloudy look of the water that it was. Eridan only filled the tub up with salt water when he planned on being in there for a while.
"Did you need anythin' Sol?" Eridan asked curiously as he wiped his hands on a nearby towel and picked up one of the books that he had stacked on the side of the tub. Sollux had to admit he was a bit disappointed by this development as he had hoped the two of them would have been able to pick up where they left off before Aradia had come storming in. He supposed they still could but that would involve him sloshing around in a tub full of seawater and he'd rather just sit at his husktop and stay dry.
"Jutht wanted to let you know that my inthane moirail hath left tho you can come out whenever you're ready. I gueth that'll be awhile." Eridan flipped through his book until he found where he had left off.
"Yeah sorry about that. I just really felt like I needed to get in the water an' I figured I could catch up on my readin' while I'm at it," the sea troll explained.
"That'th fine. I've got thome work to catch up on anywayth," said Sollux. Eridan nodded his head in acknowledgment before diving back into his book and shutting the rest of the world out.
Sollux had been so focused on his projects that he hadn't glanced at a clock in hours. He was surprised at how early it was getting. The sun would be rising in only a couple more hours. He saved his work and leaned back in his chair to stretch his arms over his head. He heard a few satisfying pops before he stood up to make his way to his and Eridan's coon. As he passed by the ablution block he heard the unmistakable sounds of water droplets hitting still water. He paused by the door and thought there was no way Eridan wouldn't be in the recuperacoon by now.
Sollux pushed the door the rest of the way open and peered inside. The room still smelled heavily of sea salt but it was completely silent and still. The ceiling held a rippling light of reflected water from the tub. The yellow blood approached the tub as quietly as he could and peered down into it. Eridan lay curled up at the bottom of the tub fast asleep. Sollux had to suppress a sigh before he left the room to go climb into the recuperacoon. Eridan had slept in the tub before but it happened very rarely and Sollux had grown to hate sleeping alone.
The next evening the Gemini was awakened by the buzzing of his phone. He reached out a sopor drenched arm to grope for it on the edge of the coon. He somehow managed to not drop the device into the slime and brought it close to his face as he tried to squint through his sleepy haze to make sense of the message on his screen.
CA: can you bring me some breakfast im hungry
TA: where the fuck are you?
CA: in the ablution block
Sollux was now very awake. He was very awake, very confused, and also slightly irritated. The double horned troll pulled himself out of the recuperacoon and toweled off quickly before grabbing a pair of boxers and jamming them on. He stomped to the ablution block where sure enough Eridan was still in the tub although he was now awake and flipping through a different book.
"Good evenin' Sol," Eridan greeted in a chipper tone and placed his book on the edge of the tub. "Come here," he gestured with his arms out as if asking for a hug.
"What the hell ED?" Sollux asked in frustration. "Bring you food while you thtay in the ablution trap? Go make it yourthelf." The violet blood's expression fell slightly and he brought his arms back in to lean on his elbows.
"I would but I just…" he looked down as he struggled to find the words.
"You jutht what? Are too lazy?" Eridan's head shot back up but he didn't look angry. He just looked confused.
"No. I just don't feel like I should be leavin' the water. I just have this feelin'," he tried to explain. Sollux sighed and relaxed a bit.
"Thith ith another one of thothe thea dweller thingth ithn't it?" he acquiesced.
"Probably," the high blood still seemed confused by his feelings but decided to leave it at that.
"Fine. What ith it you dethire your majethty?" Sollux grinned. Eridan smirked at his matesprit's sarcasm and decided to play along. He sat up a bit straighter.
"Whatever your limited peasant culinary skills can prepare," Eridan answered in his best attempt at sounding regal. "Now make haste an' bring plenty as I have more than just my own mouth to feed." Sollux nearly laughed as Eridan ran a hand over his pregnant belly to emphasize his point.
"Right away my Lord," Sollux bowed to hide the grin he couldn't get off his face and backed out of the ablution block. Eridan hadn't just been playing the part when he mentioned Sollux's lack of culinary skills. The hacker really had no business in the meal block if it wasn't just to heat something up. Luckily, the violet blood had been known to occasionally eat fish raw and it seemed that there was plenty of that in the freezer. If his appetite had any correlation with the instinctual sea dweller behavior he was experiencing then he shouldn't mind raw fish for breakfast at all. Sollux piled a fair amount of the fish onto a plate, wrinkling his nose at the smell, and then threw a couple pieces of toast on the plate as well for good measure. That should work right?
When the low blood brought the plate into the ablution block Eridan immediately came up to the surface of the water and watched the plate move closer with a predatory stare. The second the plate made contact with the tiled edge of the tub a dripping wet hand shot out and grabbed one of the fish bringing it quickly to meet a set of shark like teeth. The fish was gone in a matter of seconds and replaced by another one that met the same fate. Sollux could only watch in a mix between fascination and revulsion as his matesprit devoured the plate of fish like a feral troll. In no time at all Eridan had finished off the pile of fish and began working on the pieces of toast.
"Well I'm going to go get mythelf thome food and finish my work," the Gemini said once he was able to break from his daze. "Let me know if you need anything elthe I gueth."
When Eridan stayed in the water for the rest of the night and it became apparent that Sollux would be sleeping alone again he was a little annoyed. When night two came around the psionic did pretty much what he had done on night one which was bring the Aquarius food and hang out with him beside the tub for a few hours so that they could still spend time together. It was when they were working their way into night three that Sollux decided he should probably get Kanaya in on the situation. He sat in the living room with his video game paused while he took out his phone and sent the jade blood a message.
TA: ED won't get out of the fuckiing ablutiion trap.
GA: Hello Sollux. What Do You Mean?
TA: ii mean he2 been ba2iically liiviing iin the ablutiion trap for goiing on three niight2 now.
GA: When You Say Living…
TA: ii mean he2 alway2 iin there. he 2leep2 iin there, hang2 out iin there, and he ha2 me briing hiim food iin there.
GA: Hmm.
TA: he ju2t won't come out of the water and ii'm 2iick of 2melliing iit.
GA: Smelling?
TA: 2alt water.
GA: Oh I See! Very Interesting Indeed. I Suppose It Is About Time For It Although It Really Does Not Seem As If It Has Been That Long.
TA: feel free two let me know what you're talkiing about at any tiime.
GA: He Is Nesting.
TA: ne2tiing?
GA: Yes! His Body Is Telling Him That The Eggs Are Coming Soon So His Instincts Have Told Him To Get To Where He Needs To Be To Lay Them.
TA: holy 2hiit he'2 about two lay the egg2 now?
Sollux felt himself begin panicking and nearly forgot to check his phone for more jade text.
GA: Probably Not This Very Second But Very Soon Indeed. It Could Be Any Day Now. Do Keep Me Posted.
Sollux texted back a quick affirmative before rushing back to the ablution block where Eridan was playing with his phone. The sea troll looked up at his matesprit and noticed that he appeared pale and out of breath.
"Sol? You okay?" Eridan asked a bit worriedly. The yellow blood tried to compose himself and took effort to steady his voice.
"Yeah," he answered casually as he strolled further into the room and sat on the edge of the tub. "Yeah I'm fine. How're you feeling? You feeling okay?"
"My stomach's kinda crampin' a bit but other than that I'm fine. Bein' in the water really helps take the weight off of my stomach, you know?"
"Oh your thtomach ith cramping, huh?" Sollux asked nervously as he immediately took out his phone to flip to his conversation with Kanaya.
TA: oh my god he 2ay2 hii2 2tomach iis cramping! what iif thii2 ii2 iit?
Eridan watched as the yellow blood seemed to frantically type out a message into his phone. "Sol?" he called gently.
GA: Most Likely Not. According To My Research, Once The Eggs Reach A Certain Level Of Development They Become Too Large And Heavy For The Egg Sack To Bear. It Is At This Point The Eggs Begin To Descend To The Bottom Of The Egg Sack, Right At The Opening To The Nook Canal, Which Causes The Egg Sack To Stretch Further Than It Is Capable Of Doing. This Is The Stage We Are Most Likely At. We Are Waiting For The Egg Sack To Break And Release The Eggs Down The Nook Canal To Be Laid. I Suppose The Short Answer To Your Question Would Be That It Is Normal For Some Cramping Or Discomfort To Occur But No It Is Not Time.
"Sollux what the fuck is goin' on?" Eridan demanded. The psionic finally looked up from his phone to meet the other troll's frustrated glare.
"I've been texthting GA about your current thituation," he began as calmly as he could.
"And?" the Aquarius asked impatiently.
"And apparently the reathon for all of thith ith becauthe you are going to be laying the eggth thoon. She thayth you're nethting." Eridan sat in silent shock as he re evaluated his reason for staying in a tub full of salt water for three nights and counting. He finally realized that it made sense. He could feel that it was almost time for that moment that had always terrified him everytime he thought about it
"How soon?" the violet blood asked once he felt that he could finally speak again.
"She thayth it'th a matter of dayth now," Sollux shrugged. He reached out and grabbed a cold, wet hand holding it tightly. Eridan turned his stunned face to his matesprit.
"I'm- I'm scared," the high blood admitted as if he were surprised by the notion. Sollux squeezed the cold hand in his grasp and offered one of those grins that just made him look like a dork because it looked as though he were tripping over his own large fangs.
"You can do thith ED. I know you can."