I STAYED UP LIKE THREE HOURS PAST MY BEDTIME TO WRITE THIS AND I DIDN'T EVEN GET DINNER I HOPE YOU GUYS ARE FUCKING HAPPY also it's Mama Greene's birthday (yes my mom is 62 now and our last name really isn't Greene but she is my mommy and I love her muchly) so yay, in honor of her birthday, you all get MoThErFuCkInG mIrAcLeS.
Many thanks to Wolfen Artist of Hetalia, Golden Dragon Girl, thepeopleofthecrysis, iDreamBig, SmileyFacesSmile, Bitblondetoday, obsessed01616, AtrueFighter, Rand0mAn0nym0u2, CatastrophicAquarius, and LinkinPark X for your reviews to last chapter, and I'm so glad that so many of you are glad that Vriska appears to finally have a friend. (I figure you wouldn't be nearly so pleased if you didn't have Intermission IV to help you with that.)
Sollux was pretty sure dates were not supposed to be this awkward.
Neither he nor Eridan had said much of anything on the way to Eridan's apartment. It was a really awkward silence and Sollux wished he could crawl into his backpack and not come out. He might have had to clear out some of the toothpaste for that, but it was a risk he was willing to take.
He'd just started to contemplate the dimensions of his backpack and how many pieces he'd have to slice himself into in order to fit when Eridan awkwardly announced, "W-we're here," throwing his car in park.
Sollux had been here, outside the building, on Friday night, but he hadn't gone in, so he didn't know what to expect as he followed Eridan into the building, across the lobby (okay, here he had expected something a little swankier than the sparsely-furnished lobby with a plant on a pedestal in one corner and a mirror hanging on the wall), and to the elevator. Eridan smacked the up button and the two of them waited in another awkward silence until the elevator dinged and the doors slid open. Eridan pressed the button for the eleventh floor and they rose steadily until he broke the awkward silence by asking, "So... how-w w-was school?"
Sollux rubbed the back of his neck. "Pretty good. Boring. The usual."
"Homework?"
"Calculus, but I finished it during lunch. You?"
"Couple a' bio worksheets. Maybe twenty minutes a' work. An' a Photography assignment, but it's not due for a couple a' weeks." Eridan shrugged as the elevator slowed, stopped, and opened up. He stepped off the elevator and turned left, leading Sollux down the hallway and stopping in front of 1174. He made a little surprised noise at the back of his throat and dug through his pockets until he found his key and unlocked the door.
Again, what Sollux saw was not what he expected. The whole apartment seemed drab and dingy, even by the standards of Sollux's apartment (he at least vacuumed once in awhile). He wasn't quite sure what to make of it—it wasn't necessarily messy, but the walls were dirty and everything about it just seemed cheap. Plus he could smell cigarette smoke and something else that he suspected was marijuana lingering in the air. There didn't look to be any sign of Cronus in the apartment living room, although what "a sign" of him would be, Sollux didn't know. Either way, Eridan quickly crossed the room and went to a door on the right-hand side of the adjoining hallway, so Sollux followed him. Eridan opened the door and disappeared inside, and as Sollux followed him in, Eridan set down his bag on the bed.
"Wow. This is..."
"Small?"
"Different."
"Yeah." Eridan looked around, as if seeing the room for the first time. "Well, you probably noticed the mess out there an' it drives me crazy so I pretty much just stay in here an' hate life," he half-joked. "I got really neat when I started livin' here."
Sollux caught sight of the fish tank and wandered over, still with his backpack slung over his shoulder. "No fish?" he asked, turning around.
"Not yet. I just got that tank... last Monday, I think it was. Rufioh at PetCo's got a few on hold for me, though."
"Why couldn't you get the fish then?"
"The water needs to get to the right pH level. You can't just put in regular tap water an' expect fish to live. You gotta dechlorinate it an' run it through about fifty filters before it's habitable to fish. It usually takes about a week so it should be good now, but Rufioh wanted to wait a few extra days to be sure." He shrugged. "Either way, I still like lookin' at it."
Sollux nodded slowly. "I didn't realize it worked that way."
"Yeah, me neither," Eridan said, grinning. "I went in last week thinkin' I was gonna come home with a bunch a' fish, an' that didn't happen. But I'm gettin' them on Wednesday, so no big deal." He cleared his throat, suddenly looking awkward again. "Um, lemme just do my bio homework really quick. It should only take a few minutes. Um..." He looked around, as if trying to come up with some way for Sollux to keep himself entertained.
Fortunately, Sollux had come prepared. "No problem. I have to go to the bathroom anyway. Where is it?"
"Right next door," Eridan said, looking relieved.
"Alright. Be right back." Still clutching his backpack as discreetly as he could, he slunk out the door and to the bathroom.
The first step was to lock the door to make sure no one accidentally barged in. Then he turned on the faucet to cover up the other noises he was bound to make. He set down his backpack and scanned the edge of the tub, but there was nothing he was looking for there. Then he checked the closet and pulled out two bottles of matching shampoo and conditioner. Score. He popped the tops, preparing for victory, but something about them didn't seem right. To check, he sniffed one, and then the other. Fuck! Neither of them smelled like Eridan's hair. He remembered that smell vividly, and nothing in here smelled familiar. Eridan probably kept his shampoo in his room, making his job that much harder.
Sollux scowled and replaced the bottles in the closet. He would have to ransack Eridan's room... or he could take a shower later and casually ask if he could borrow Eridan's shampoo. That would work, and in addition to laying down a masterful prank, he would end up smelling like Eridan.
Even as he thought that, he knew it was creepy.
He sat on the edge of the tub for a few more minutes until he figured a suitable amount of time had elapsed and turned the water off. He picked up his backpack and went back to Eridan's room.
Eridan was perched cross-legged on the chair in front of his desk, scribbling something on a few sheets of paper. Sollux wondered if it was safe for him to open his backpack and get out his laptop and then decided against it. The toothpaste would no doubt make noise and attract Eridan's attention. He silently cursed himself for not having the foresight to pack his phone charger (especially if Aradia was right and he did end up spending the night) and played Tetris until Eridan set his pen down, spun his chair, and asked, "You hungry?"
"A little," Sollux admitted.
"Pizza okay?"
"Pizza is fine."
They ended up watching Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on Eridan's Mac desktop while they ate pizza from Big Rico's and lounging on Eridan's bed. Sollux was acutely aware of the proximity of their bodies, in contact from their shoulders to the knees, and wondered if Eridan's heart was beating as fast as his.
Then again, Eridan seemed pretty absorbed in the movie, so maybe it was just him.
He didn't know how he managed to keep himself from making out with Eridan, but he managed. It probably helped that every time he thought about it, he stuffed his face with pizza, but when the pizza ran out, that became another problem.
"Hang on," Eridan said. He hopped off the bed, paused the movie, and picked up the pizza box. "Lemme just throw this out. I'll be right back." He hurried out of the room, and for a second, Sollux wondered if he should follow.
Actually, he realized this would be a great time for him to hunt for Eridan's shampoo and conditioner—even if he didn't end up implementing his prank right now, it would certainly help to know where it was. He slid off the bed and, telling himself he was not being creepy, looked around at the shelves lining the walls and the wardrobe in the corner. His first instinct was to check the nightstand, but he was afraid he'd open it up and see lubricant or condoms, and frankly, either one of them would have sent him hyperventilating. He hovered with indecision in the middle of Eridan's floor, and then the door opened again, and Sollux's chance to locate the pranking items was gone.
"Still can't seem to find Cro," Eridan said. "I told him to behave last night, so I guess he thought that meant 'clear off.'" He shrugged and un-paused the movie. Then he finally looked at Sollux. "Hey. You okay there?"
"Uh, yeah."
"You look like you're—"
What he looked like, he never found out, because he closed the two-pace gap between them and pressed his lips to Eridan's. Eridan let out a tiny, surprised sound, but wrapped his arms around Sollux's waist, and the two of them just kissed until Sollux was pretty sure his knees were about to give out. Then he slowly backed Eridan up until his back was to the wall.
He couldn't stop kissing Eridan. It was the one constant that buzzed at the back of his head, the only thing he knew with absolute certainty. If he stopped kissing Eridan, he would die. Oxygen wasn't even a necessity for him anymore, not when he could suck the air out of Eridan's lungs.
His fingers tangled into Eridan's hair, stiff and slick with product, and yanked, tilting the shorter boy's head back until it smacked against the wall. He let out a grunt of pain and Sollux mumbled a hasty, "Sorry," against his lips but Eridan, rubbing his head where it had connected, mumbled right back, "Stop talkin'."
There were far too many layers of clothing between them and it was driving him crazy. Even with the slick slide of tongues against teeth and the breathless moans that they both let out and the way hands grabbed at asses and the pure, unadulterated taste of Eridan that would never leave his mouth again—fuck, Ampora had completely ruined him and they hadn't even slept together, they probably wouldn't, and Sollux would never forget how it would feel to have Eridan's hipster-slim frame between his and the wall or his artful stubble scraping his face—he wanted to feel more. He wanted to strip them both down to raw flesh and just feel his solid, soothing heat against his skin. He knew he had to stop, he had to regain control, this was rapidly slipping into something intimate—all they'd done was make out and already Sollux was off the deep end, sinking into this ocean of nightmares where everything was Eridan—Eridan Ampora was the fucking ocean and he just wanted to swim in him until he drowned—and he'd never made any indication of wanting to take this any farther than sloppy makeouts; Sollux wanted him way too much for this to be a good idea. It was a huge mistake.
He had to slow this down. It was rapidly approaching the territory of Too Hot To Handle and he didn't want to be caught pawing at Eridan's jeans like some horny teenager even though he was a horny twenty-year-old. Reluctantly, he dialed down the heat on this kettle of ill-advised tonsil hockey before it boiled over and scalded him, and pulled back to gently nibbling on Eridan's lower lip. The shorter boy's fingers laced together behind Sollux's neck and he just started to think he was really cooling down when Eridan let out this needy little sigh with just the right end note of desperation and Sollux, who had seconds before climbed out of the Sea of Ampora, cannonballed right back in, cradling Eridan's face in a graceless mashing of lips and scraping of teeth that, nevertheless, had Eridan tugging him closer.
He could feel Eridan's heart racing in his chest, feel his pulse beneath his fingertips, and he wanted to leave more marks on Eridan's neck for him to cover up with a stupid fucking scarf. He wanted to do something more than this, but he'd promised Eridan and promised himself that he wouldn't force anything, he'd let Eridan set a pace he was comfortable with, but this was agonizing. He wanted to touch him somewhere, and he settled for sliding a hand under Eridan's shirt and just resting it there on his side, a few inches above the waistband of his jeans.
Eridan groaned, pushed Sollux back a couple of inches, and pulled his shirt over his head in about five seconds, knocking his glasses clean off his face. Instead of picking them up and putting them on the desk, he left them where they fell and drew Sollux back to him, bringing their mouths back together. Then Eridan was tugging on the hem of Sollux's shirt, and through the hormone-fueled haze in his head, he managed to get his shit together enough to help Eridan rid him of his shirt as well.
He was brought back to Saturday and making out in Eridan's living room, leaving hickeys on his neck, and Sollux was internally pleased to see that the marks hadn't quite faded. He slid his mouth from Eridan's and trailed down his neck, biting and sucking his way to Eridan's collarbone, removing his own glasses and dropping them onto the pile of shirts. The shorter boy hissed and buried his fingers in Sollux's hair, leaning into him and tilting his head to the right to allow Sollux better access.
"There somewhere you don't want me to leave a mark?" Sollux murmured into Eridan's skin.
Eridan shook his head and let out a faint moan. "Wherever you want's fine," he gasped.
"You sure?"
Eridan nodded and, before he could stop himself, the words flew out of his mouth. "I'm yours."
Sollux froze for a moment. He looked up to meet Eridan's gaze, and for a second, neither of them moved or even breathed. Then, Sollux tentatively straightened up and kissed him again.
He felt like he was burning, even with his shirt off and the cool wall against his back. All he knew was that the moment he'd told Sol, "I'm yours," he hadn't been mistaken. He wanted Sol to keep kissing him, he wanted to be able to see those gorgeously mismatched eyes every day, he wanted to hold his hand and kiss his neck and run his fingers through his hair and smell his skin. But right now, above all, what he wanted the most was for something more than this. His jeans felt about eleven sizes too small and he was impossibly hard from just a few kisses and when he accidentally-on-purpose ground his hips against Sol's, drawing tiny groans from both of them, he was relieved to discover he wasn't the only one. He just knew he had to get out of his fucking pants.
He pushed Sol backward, keeping their bodies as close together as possible, and walked them toward the bed until Sol's knees hit the mattress and he sat down, hard. Eridan moved over him, keeping their mouths connected as he straddled Sol, pushing him flat on the bed.
"Mmmm, hang on," Sol murmured between kisses. "You sure you're ready for this?"
"Um..." Eridan pulled back for a minute to think. "Ready for what?"
"Um. Sex. It's... um, a bit ill-advised without lube."
"Oh. Uh, yeah, I don't have any." Eridan scratched the side of his head, feeling awkward—made all the worse by the fact that he was still straddling Sol and both of them were still ready to go.
"Yeah, me neither," Sol admitted. "I didn't think it was gonna get this far, actually."
"Ah." Eridan leaned down and kissed Sol's lips again. "Well, we can probably think a' somethin' else to do." He carefully balanced himself on one elbow and reached down between them, unbuttoning Sol's jeans before the taller boy took over and unbuttoned and unzipped Eridan's jeans. Eridan let out a faint groan as the pressure in his jeans was released, and then a louder one when Sol's hand dragged over his boxers.
"You like that?" Sol asked, his lips quirked up in a mischievous smile, and Eridan nodded despite the trembling in his elbows, his arms threatening to give out. "Hang on," he added, and deftly rolled them over so Eridan was on his back. "Better?" he asked, and Eridan nodded again. "Good. Let me know if you want me to stop." He placed a light kiss on Eridan's mouth and started running his hands over Eridan's still-covered cock.
Eridan's eyes slid closed and he moaned, feeling himself rutting into Sol's hand and half-hating himself for loving it, but he needed more. "Please," he breathed, the word escaping him without his conscious control. "Fuckin' touch me, Sol, please...!"
Sol only waited a few agonizing seconds longer before his fingers slipped past the waistband of his boxers and wrapped around him. Eridan let out a loud groan and he prayed Cronus either wasn't home or had his headphones on because there was no way he was staying quiet, not with Sol stroking him like that, and he shimmied his jeans down further to make it easier for Sol and he thrust mindlessly into Sol's hand, remembering that the last time he'd masturbated, he'd been thinking about this very boy and now he was here, in his bed, with him—Sol's fingers wrapped around his dick and Sol leaning over and panting in his ear and he could still feel how hard Sol was against his leg and Sol was hard because of him, Sol wanted him, too, Sol probably wanted to fuck him until he screamed—
That thought combined with Sol's skilled hand working him had him gritting his teeth and gasping out, "Jesus fuck, Sol, yes—!" and before he had time to mentally prepare himself, he was coming, all over Sol's hand and his own jeans, and beneath the subsiding hormones, there was a deeper undercurrent of satisfaction that had less to do with the physical release and more to do with the look on Sol's face. He laughed giddily and pulled Sol down to kiss him. "That felt good."
Sol smiled. "Good."
Eridan kissed his lips, his cheek, his jaw, his neck before drawing back, remembering that Sol still hadn't gotten off. "Uh, you want me to...?"
"You don't have to," Sol murmured.
"But I want to," Eridan said, surprising himself by how true it was. "Is that okay?"
Sol nodded, his mismatched eyes widening almost imperceptibly, and Eridan scraped his teeth over Sol's neck as he was finally able to use both hands to finish undoing Sol's jeans. His fingers trembled slightly as he pushed down his pants and pulled out Sol's cock—he was still incredibly hard and it felt weird to hold an erection that wasn't his own, but definitely not unpleasant. Without further ado, he started pumping Sol's cock, and almost immediately, Sol was slumping against him, panting in his ear and cradling the back of his head and giving small thrusts into Eridan's hand and murmuring, "Oh, God, faster, faster—yeah, oh, God, Eridan, fuck...!" Sooner than Eridan expected, Sol's nails dug into the back of his scalp, and sure, that hurt, but he couldn't believe the sounds Sol made as he came, filling his ears and causing Eridan to close his eyes. It was nearly enough to get him hard again, and while he wouldn't have minded it too much (not with Sol here), he was exhausted and the movie was still playing on his computer and he desperately needed a shower.
For a few long moments, the two of them sat there, arms around each other, and just breathed, listening to each other's heartbeats. Finally, Sol murmured, "Are you gonna get into the shower or can I?"
"You can go first. I'm gonna take awhile," Eridan said. As Sol slid off his lap (somehow, during their escapades, they'd twisted together like that), Eridan reached across his bed, opened up his nightstand, and tossed his shampoo and conditioner at him. "Here. You can use mine. Cro's is kinda cheap. Towels in the closet."
Sol nodded, picked up the bottles and his backpack, grabbed his shirt and located his glasses, and murmured, "Be back in a few."
Eridan waved in acknowledgment, but the moment the door closed behind Sol, he buried his face in his hands and fought back a very undignified giggle. The night had definitely gone better than he'd expected.
Definitely more than sloppy makeouts WHOOPS. (Hey, if you're on Tumblr and you're reading this, you can post your reactions as you read and tag them "coming to terms erisol" because I am tracking that tag and also I will still count them as reviews on here and everyone still gets their virtual cookies YAY) (I swear to God I am 23 years old...)
Eridan in this act: wwhoops i accidentally gayed a lot
