Presented without comment.
Many thanks to DarkBlueMahogany, grimjaws (you reviewed on Act 1, but I think that was an accident), Bitblondetoday, RandomAnonymous (I hope I'm doing okay but you really need to get an account so we can discuss this in-depth), Wolfen Artist of Hetalia, BlOo KiSsEs, thepeopleofthecrysis, ILLLovvv3TTThhheNNNo.-3, obsessed01616, crimsonkoteto, iDreamBig, CatastrophicAquarius, LinkinPark X, and marshmallowgilbird for your reviews to the last act.
Sollux straightened his glasses, took them off, wiped them clean on a dry corner of the towel wrapped around his waist, and put them back on. He'd set his phone on the coffee table in the living room when he'd walked in, feeling incredibly nervous as Eridan got up from the sofa and looked everywhere but at him. Sollux scratched his arm nervously and part of him felt like running and hiding, but his feet were rooted firmly in place; he couldn't move even if he tried.
But Eridan looked just as nervous as he felt, if not more. He hadn't put any product in his hair yet and it kept falling into his eyes, making them look even more purple than they were. Whether it was his hair getting into his face, his nerves over the conversation they were about to have, or some combination of the two, he kept running his fingers through his hair, trying to brush it out of his eyes and failing miserably. He momentarily glanced up anxiously at Sollux but didn't make a move to say anything.
We have to get this out of the way. I guess it's up to me. Sollux cleared his throat. "Um... FF told me you wanted to talk."
Eridan swallowed. "Uh... yeah." He exhaled slowly and finally looked up to meet his gaze. "I guess, first, I'm sorry. About ev-verything."
The cold weight of dread settled in Sollux's chest and he found himself struggling to breathe past it. He should have known better than to expect anything else but the icy burn of rejection. Why would Eridan want anything from him, let alone a legitimate relationship? He hadn't acknowledged it, even to himself, but the thought that there could have been something between them had implanted itself in his subconscious. It felt like last night all over again—Eridan was straight, and just because he didn't have feelings for FF didn't mean that had changed. This time, though, he promised himself that he would check his reaction. He wouldn't let Eridan know how much pain he was in, how much this was hurting him. He could at least pretend to be okay for his sake and AA and FF and everyone else.
He just wished he wasn't affected so totally, so severely, so irrevocably by someone he'd only met two weeks before, but Eridan had gotten into his head that first night with the same laser-focused look he wore now and Sollux hoped it wasn't obvious from his expression that he just wanted to scream, anything to relieve the pressure in his chest. "Okay," he said.
"Like... w-what I said that first day... that w-was a dick move. An' puttin' that hot sauce in your honey," he added. A smile tugged at the corner of Eridan's mouth and Sollux found himself smiling a bit in response, too. It had been pretty funny, now that he thought about it. "An' I guess in general just bein' a dick to you. So... sorry. It's still your turn to prank me, though. Fuckin' w-with my car w-was pretty lame."
Sollux's smile widened a bit. The cold ache in his chest was still present, but it had eased a little. Faking it might not be as hard as he thought. "Actually, I started one but you didn't really bite," he admitted. "Not the most well-thought-out plan, but it got down to the wire and I needed something."
Eridan looked confused. "W-what are you talkin' about?"
"Um. Does the Pesterchum handle 'alkalineTwisted' ring a bell?"
"No... w-wait. Girl by the name a' Jane but not Jane Crocker?"
Sollux chuckled nervously. "Yeah."
"That w-was you?"
"Yeah. Like I said, not the most ingenious idea.
Eridan grinned. "Definitely not. I thought that w-was you! I asked you about it an' you said you didn't know-w w-what I w-was talkin' about."
"Actually, I believe I pretended not to know who you were and blocked you," Sollux corrected. "But did you really expect me to admit, 'Yeah, that was me'?"
"Nah, I guess not," Eridan said, laughing softly. Then, more seriously, he asked, "Am I still blocked?"
Eridan had no idea how he was looking at Sollux, did he? His expression was so full of concern and hope that it very nearly broke his heart again. He wanted to tell Eridan to fuck off, that this wasn't how you let someone down easy—because he'd realized that's what this was. Eridan was trying to soften the blow as much as possible, to make him believe it was Eridan's own fault, not Sollux's, but he knew this was all on him. It was his own damn fault he was in this mess, his own fault he'd fallen for a straight guy who'd never return his feelings in the first place.
He shook his head and admitted quietly, "No. I unblocked you awhile ago."
And then Eridan smiled, wide and relieved, and Sollux wanted to scream at him, "Don't fucking look at me like that!" but he couldn't. Eridan was looking at him like that was all he wanted in the world and his wish had been granted and it was only killing Sollux. "Good," the shorter boy said, still smiling at him in that way that made Sollux want to hit him, kiss him, and die all at the same time.
But then his smile slipped and Sollux braced himself. Here it comes. "But anyway," Eridan said, twisting his fingers together although he never looked away from Sollux, "there's somethin' else I w-wanted to talk to you about."
Sollux nodded, not trusting himself to speak. This must have been what it felt like moments before you let someone push you out of an airplane with no parachute.
"Do... you remember that thing I said? About... not likin' guys?"
He nodded again, wishing he could just hit the ground already. Just say it. Make it quick, like ripping off a Band-Aid. Get it over with. Say it—you still don't like guys, the kiss meant nothing, but you still want to be friends with me or whatever bullshit you want. Just kill me and be done with it.
"W-well, I might a' been a bit hasty w-with sayin' that," Eridan said, so quickly that Sollux wasn't sure if he'd heard him correctly. Without waiting for a response, Eridan went on. "An' I don't know-w if it's just you or w-what, but I do know-w that I like you a lot an' I w-was hopin' you felt the same."
Sollux was struggling to breathe again, but for a completely different reason. He... he likes me. He likes me? He likes me. How...? He couldn't quite process this revelation but it must have sunken in somewhere because a huge grin had broken across his face and he didn't care if this was some offshoot timeline or alternate reality because it was actually happening to him, to them, right now and Eridan liked him!
Without thinking, Sollux reached out, grabbed him, pulled him close, kissed him. That was when his brain kicked in, just as Eridan let out a stunned little gasp against his lips. Fuck! he thought. He'd jumped the gun, hadn't he? But before he could let Eridan go, the other boy's nails were digging into the skin of his bare shoulders and dragging them closer together.
His heart pounded just like it had the night before when the two of them had first kissed and Sollux had given it everything he had, as if it would be the last chance he'd ever have to do it—and at the time, he thought that was the case. But they were kissing again, Eridan's hands trembling in expectation even as he dug his nails harder into Sollux's skin. He was grateful for the pain, though—it rooted him to the moment, and it was Eridan touching him, kissing him, Eridan's chest, his whole warm body pressed against his, the taste of Eridan in his mouth, getting under his skin again.
One of his hands disappeared into Eridan's hair and he was pleased to discover that without a vat of hair gel in it, it was actually quite soft. He gave a tiny, pleasured whine as Sollux's fingers slid through the strands and it only encouraged Sollux. He fisted his fingers and pulled, tugging Eridan's head back by his hair, and slid his mouth down until his lips found Eridan's neck and brushed against the skin. He couldn't help it—his skin looked so smooth and tempting, how could he resist? Eridan's mouth suddenly freed, he moaned and keened nearly nonstop until Sollux was sure he could drown in those sounds.
"You like that?" he murmured, his lips still against Eridan's neck. He punctuated his question with a light, quick bite.
Eridan gasped. "Oh, cod," he whimpered softly. "Yeah, yeah, I—oh, fuck," he whined. Sol had bitten him again, but instead of a quick nibble, he'd locked his whole mouth down, sucking on his skin and licking. He ran his fingers encouragingly through Sol's still-damp hair—it had been so long since he'd made out with anyone that he'd forgotten just how much he liked having his neck kissed, licked, bitten—and subconsciously ground his hips against Sol's. He knew Sol was bound to leave a hickey, but he could not summon one single fuck to give. Let them see. It was what he wanted right now—proof that this was happening.
Admitting it, saying the words, flat-out telling Sol, "I like you," had been the hardest thing he'd done, especially when all he could think was that maybe Sol didn't think of him as anything special—but he'd run from the house after seeing him and Fef kissing, and he wouldn't have pegged that as the reaction of someone who was anything except jealous. But if it was a drunken jealousy... No. He'd shoved that thought away just as quickly as it popped up. It couldn't be. But it just drove home how little he and Sol actually knew about each other.
He wanted to know more, though.
Every word had been easier than the last, although talking fast helped. Sol had looked so nervous after he apologized that he just knew he'd been expecting the worst. He could almost see the thought running through his head: Brace for shock. Boom! Hit alpha! But all Eridan wanted was for Sol to smile, and he had. That relieved, "I can't believe exactly what I want is actually happening" smile had been contagious, especially after how certain he'd seemed to be that Eridan was about break his heart.
The last few minutes already seemed like a dream, Sol's mouth on his neck and his hand in his hair and their bodies pressed together so hard it felt like their was only one heartbeat between them, but it would have been the best dream he'd ever had. He didn't want this moment to end, wanted to cling to Sol forever and revel in how right it felt, how sweet Sol's mouth felt against his skin—
"Damn it! Again?"
Shit. Eridan was brought back to reality with an unpleasant bump and he quickly turned to glare at Cronus, who was standing in the doorway with headphones over his ears and his hand over his eyes. "Oh, come on!" Eridan snapped. "You gotta be shittin' me with this!"
"Look, daddy-o, I'm givin' you an' your boyfriend thirty seconds to fix yourselves an' get the fuck out a' here. Meenah an' me are gonna watch a movie in here."
"Go watch in the basement!" Eridan protested, taking a reluctant half a step back from Sol, just far enough to readjust his swim trunks and take a breath that didn't taste or smell like Sol. Meanwhile, the other boy in question was doing the same, turning bright red as he did so.
Cronus shook his head. "Nuh-uh. All you cats are out there in the pool. We're makin' sure no one drowns."
"Are you serious? We're all fuckin' adults, and Fef's a registered lifeguard!"
"Out!" Cronus barked, pointing toward the pool with his eyes still covered.
Eridan groaned and led Sol back out to the pool by the wrist. "Sorry."
"Not your fault," Sol said. He still looked embarrassed at having been caught making out with Eridan by his older brother for the second time.
Eridan let go of his arm a few seconds before anyone noticed them, let out a war cry, and jumped into the pool. While he was underwater, Fef caught his eye and gave him a thumbs-up with one hand and a thumbs-down with the other.
He smiled and gave her a thumbs-up in response.
I changed my Tumblr URL. I am no longer markpelledreamy. I am now eridayumampora.
Also, next act will have an intermission, like usual... but for the first time, it won't follow Kanaya and Rose.
Also also, hoping to have the first chapter of my meowrail fic (from this 'verse entitled "You're Lucky to Have Me") up sometime today.
