Helllooooo there! Ready for more?

I would like to point out that a few of these chapters may be slow going, and might not span much time. All of it is for a purpose, I promise.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Homestuck.

Chapter 14

"Thanks for the ride, EQ. See ya later." Sollux said, stepping out of the car and walking around to open the door for Aradia.

"Why thank you." The girl said, giggling as she took his hand, getting out of the car herself. The two waved goodbye to Equius as he drove off and headed inside.

As they were heading for the elevator, Sollux heard a shrill shout behind him. He smiled, knowing only one person with a voice like that.

"Hey Mituna." He said, turning around to hug his older brother. He then smiled at Latula, who was carrying a couple grocery bags. "Do you need help with those, Tula?"

The woman with multi-colored hair nodded. "Yeah that would be great. Thanks." She passed over two full bags to the boy, who took both in one hand so he could still hold Aradia's hand in the other. The four walked down the hall to Mituna and Latula's apartment. Well, three of them were walking, and Mituna was skipping. They all walked in and set the bags down on the kitchen counter.

"I'm gonna go play with my legos, k Tula?" The older Captor said, already bounding off to his room.

"Okay Mituna have fun. Don't step on any like last time!" Latula shouted in response.

The three of them put away the groceries and sat down on the couch. "I should probably introduce some people, huh?" Sollux said, chuckling. "Latula, this is Aradia, the girl I've been protecting. Aradia, Latula. She's my brother's wife."

"It's nice to meet you, Latula." The brunette said, smiling.

The older woman sat back. "Yeah, nice to meet ya too. So, Sollux, you've been protecting this girl. Is this the English girl you were telling me about then?"

"Uh, yes. It is." Sollux responded. "But not only am I her protector," he looked at Aradia and smiled. "I am also now her boyfriend."

"Ah congrats you two. Young love. I would say I don't know what that's like anymore, but as you can see, I seem to live the young life everyday with Mituna around. Keeps me going." Latula remarked, looking at her watch. "Speaking of going, I need to leave for work. Those four jobs don't do themselves." She sighed, standing up.

The younger Captor nodded. "Alright. Well, we should probably head up anyway. Good to see you Tula. Call me if you need anything." He stood up, taking Aradia's hand as she did the same. They exchanged last hugs and Sollux and Aradia headed up to the apartment.

"I'm going to get a drink. Do you want me to make you anything?" Aradia asked, heading for the kitchen.

"No thanks." Sollux responded. "I'll be in my room when you're done." He sauntered off to his bedroom, where he sat on his bed, thinking. Man. I know I shouldn't do it anymore. I promised I wouldn't. But, considering I had one earlier and I'm really stressed out right now, it will be fine, right? Or does that make it even worse? Ugh screw it I really need one. With that, he opened his nightstand drawer, pulling out an ashtray, cigarette, and lighter. He put the cigarette between his lips, lit it, and took a long drag, sighing. I'm so glad that whole Snowman ordeal is over and Aradia was okay, but I don't know how I'm suppose to watch out for her all the time. I mean, she has her aunt, but I can't hover over her like some sort of predator watching it's prey. It's just a learning process. And time. With both of those, Aradia will eventually be with her family again.

The boy's thoughts ceased when he heard a gasp from Aradia, who was standing in the doorway holding a glass of water. Her face read nothing but utter shock. "S-Sollux? Since when did you think it was okay to do something like this? When were you planning on telling me?"

"Okay. I owe you an explanation, I'll give you that." The boy sighed, pushing up his glasses. "To be fair, I didn't think I would have to because I assumed that I was done with the whole thing. Back when I was about 14, gang stuff was pretty bad, and I was under a lot of stress. I wanted a way to cope with it, and after seeing Karkat get sent to the hospital for 'coping' with his stress, I needed something different. So, one of the other members gave me a pack and a lighter, and for about a year and a half, I was hooked." He paused to take another drag as Aradia sat down next to him on the bed. "I mean, obsessed. Like at least 3 packs a day, and that was on a good day. You wouldn't catch me without one of these in my mouth. But then when my brother had his accident two years ago and I couldn't help pay for the bills easily, I realized how much of my life had gone to hell because of these. So, I just quit, cold turkey."

The brunette looked at him, puzzled. "So if you quit, why are you smoking right now?"

"That," Sollux said. "Is because of you. Well, not because of you as a person, but because of what happened to you. See, when you were out cold, I didn't know what to do. I was so scared of losing another person I held so dear to me, it triggered feelings I last felt when my brother was in the hospital. I started to get really stressed. I guess old habits really do die hard. I get it if you don't want to be around me because of this." He took another drag.

The second he cigarette left his lips, he felt a pair of lips replace it. Without thinking, he exhaled the smoke into Aradia's mouth, who instinctively breathed it in. Sollux enjoyed the kiss for a few seconds more before he realized what he had done and pulled away. "I am so sorry Aradia I don't know what came over me oh my god I-"

"It's alright Sollux." Aradia stopped him. "I figured you were going to do that. I don't really mind. People go through different stuff. I am not the person to tell you what you're doing is wrong. I can tell you I'm not all that fond of it, but what you do with it is really none of my business."

Sollux was dumbfounded. Most people right then and there would have rejected him purely because of his smoking. Damn this is why I love her so much. "Thanks. Oh, hey, since we're revealing way too much about ourselves, I feel like we don't know a lot about each other. Wanna do lightning round Q and A type stuff?"

"Sure. Sounds fun. I can go first." Aradia responded, shifting her weight, which in turn made the old bed give a shrill creak. "Hm. Okay. Favorite color?"

"Blue." Sollux responded. "Wait. No. Red. No! Dammit. Yellow. That's my final answer. Yellow because it's the color of daffodils, and those were my mother's favorite. What about yours?"

The girl considered for a second. "Red. But not like bright red carpet red. Like a dark red, sort of like the color of like a rose that's near death but is still full and beautiful."

They carried on like that for several rounds, asking anything as simple as favorite food to as weird as if-you-were-any-animal type questions.

"Alright I have one, but you're allowed to not answer this if you don't want to." Aradia said. "You know a lot about my parents, what about yours?"

Sollux tensed up as soon as the question was asked. She said I didn't have to answer it. Maybe I should take that offer. No, I promised myself I would be open and honest with her. I can't afford secrets at this point. "Okay. Um… well, I told you how they helped me through all the bullying I got about my eyes when I was little, so I suppose they were like any old parents really. Then when I was 12, we were walking home kind of late at night, and those goons from the Crew ambushed us. My mom called out to Mituna, who was 19 at the time, to take me and run. I, being the 'hero' that I was, tried to refuse, but he just picked me up and ran around the corner. He stopped, letting us watch, in hopes that the whole thing could be resolved." He sighed, tears stinging his eyes.

"You don't have to keep going if you don't want to." The girl said, placing her hand on his leg.

The boy tried to regain composure. "No it's fine. I just haven't told anyone this story since… well, probably since I first roomed with Karkat. It's just been a while. So anyway, that was a big mistake. The second we poked our head around the corner, we saw each of my parents get shot, once," he placed his index finger on his forehead. "Right between the eyes. I had to bite down on my arm just so I didn't scream. My brother had to drag me away, back to our house. That was the last time I saw them."

"Oh Sollux I am so sorry. That is absolutely terrible. But wait, I thought the Crew usually took people as hostages first. Not to sound rude, but why didn't they?" Aradia asked.

"Well, back then, that's not what the Crew was about. They were relatively new to Houston, and needed to exert their power and take over from the other competing gangs." Sollux explained. "So at the time, they didn't need to take hostages. They tried to rob people, and if people refused, they would be shot."

Aradia just sat their, her face sad but it at least looked like she was trying to learn from all of this.

The brunette boy continued. "Anyway, I joined the gang when I turned 13. My brother didn't know I had joined, and I intended to keep it that way. I didn't need him getting involved. But I trained. I tried to get stronger, in hopes of one day getting revenge on the people who killed my parents. Other than that, my brother and I sold the house and moved into an apartment close to the school. He dropped out of college and took a job so he could pay the bills. We got on okay, but that only lasted for a few years. Two years ago, when my brother was 22, he was in a car accident. Most of the doctors didn't think he would make it, and frankly, neither did I. But he did, however not without severe consequences. He had permanent brain damage, with zero chance at recovery. That's why he is like he is now. Latula, who he had married about six months prior, decided he couldn't take care of me, and the two of them moved in together. She offered to take me in too, but I couldn't stand to see my brother like that. I felt like I had once again done something wrong. So, I kept the apartment my brother and I had, and eventually took in Karkat as well."

Without another word, Aradia leaned in and embraced Sollux, who had started to cry. Dammit. I probably look like a wuss now.

"I'm so sorry that happened to you. I know what it's like to lose your family. But hey," Aradia said, leaning back to look at him. "We will figure this out. Together."

They sat and talked for a little while longer before Aradia stood up. "I should probably head home. Auntie Lynn is probably wondering why I'm not home yet."

"Let me take you home." The boy offered, standing up as well.

"That's sweet Sollux, but how? You said you didn't have a car." The brunette asked.

The boy nodded. "True, I did. But if I recall," He opened his closet doors, pulling out two helmets. "I said I had a motorcycle." He flashed a mischievous grin.

Sorry for this being a week late! Hopefully it was worth it.

See you in a week!

~Jane