Work Text:
“If you think a highblood like me would even stoop to somethin’ as low as sleepin’ on the floor, you’re dead wrong, Captor,” Eridan huffed. His feet were freezing cold against the bare concrete of Sollux’s floor, and he sorely missed the fuzzy socks that were waiting for him back at home.
Sollux shot him an uncaring glance.
The nerve! Eridan was practically on the verge of hypothermia and the Gemini couldn't care less.
“Shut the fuck up Ampora, or I swear I’ll leave your sorry ass outside where it belongs,” Sollux replied. The agitation in his voice with which he normally regarded Eridan had dissolved into a gritty exhaustion.
The Highblood watched as Sollux promptly tugged his worse-for-wear comforter over his head, so that only the bright little edges of his horns peeked out. “Shut off the light,” He mumbled.
Eridan gritted his teeth.“What sort of hapless idiot doesn't even own a couch?!”
“Someone who can’t afford one,” Sollux grunted back in a half-sleep state. “Shut off the light.”
“Well maybe if you land-dwellers actually bothered to work a day in your lives, instead of trashin’ Alternia’s glorious oceans on your never-endin’ vacations, you’d actually be able to afford a glubbin’ couch!,” Eridan replied, his arms folded across his chest. He was always passionate about the destructive terror of litter, and filthy, uncaring land-dwellers in general, but his lashing out was more a product of the ever-present stitch in his side that was Solluxander Captor, and less about the real agenda.
Sollux slowly sat up, his matted cocoon of blankets cascading around him in plush waves. He squinted at Eridan, partly from subjecting his eyes to the stark lighting in his basement, but mostly because Eridan was a total asshat.
“I work every single day you god damned pansy,” He said after a moment of silence. “I bet you haven't worked a single day in your pompous-ass life."
Eridan blinked for a moment, then let out a loud string of guffaws.
“What’s the problem this time?,” Sollux inquired, slightly taken aback from the out-of-place laughter. His alarm clock flashed 3:47 am. It was way too late for him to be dealing with this bullshit
Eridan quickly recovered from his stint. “Nothin’, it’s just..you just forgot to take off your glasses,” He smirked. Sollux’s entire appearance was off-kilter, as if someone had tossed him in a blender and let him go for a couple of spins. His hair was disheveled, his glasses were askew, and a faint red mark lined his cheek where he had cushioned his face with his hands. Sollux slipped off his shades, revealing the enticingly strange sight of his two-tone eyes. He leaned over and placed them next to his bed, on the ground, a practice that Eridan was sure had lead to him stepping on them in the morning on at least more than one occasion.
Sollux sighed, unquestionably fed-up. “For the love of god, please turn off the light,” he groaned, turning over once more and pulling the blankets over his head. He could feel a slight headache beginning to form behind his eyes. Eridan reluctantly obliged, and the small excuse for a living space was shrouded in a thick darkness. Sounds seemed sharper now, with the absence of light. Frigid, late January wind wailed relentlessly outside, reminding Eridan that he was a tad grateful not to be stuck outside. He sat on the floor with his back flush against the wall, rubbing some warmth into his toes absentmindedly. A thin trickle of moonlight spilled through the cinderblock sized window at the top edge of the room, illuminating a trace outline of Sollux’s sleeping form. Eridan watched the rise and fall of his chest for a bit.
Maybe the guy wasn’t all that bad. He did take Eridan in for the night, instead of leaving him to wander around lost, and possibly die of hypothermia for real. Eridan wasn’t sure if he'd have done the same if it had been him in Sollux’s place. A foreign type of guilt bit at him. He wasn’t used to relying on someone, especially someone he was supposed to hate. But did Sollux really hate him if a little bit of compassion had slipped through?
The Highblood stood wordlessly, feeling around in the dark before slipping under the covers next to the guy he was supposed to hate. He wasn’t going to sit on the ground and freeze all night! what else was he expected to do? He slipped off his glasses and placed them on the ground, mimicking Sollux’s careless habit.
“What the hell are you doing?”Sollux hissed. Despite his shocked tone, his words were soft with sleep. It made Eridan want to laugh again, but he choked it down because he didn't want to be forcibly removed from the bed.
“Its fuckin’ cold as fuck on the floor an’ I really don’t wanna sleep down there,” Eridan whisper-yelled. There was something about pitch-darkness that made him feel like he was obligated to whisper.
“You’re lucky I don’t have the energy to deal with your sorry ass,” Sollux muttered, lazily kicking Eridan in the shin in attempt to knock him to the ground.
“You’re gonna have to try harder than that if you wanna get rid of me,” Eridan challenged. His words were returned with silence, then soft, drawn out breathing. Sollux had fallen asleep.
Eridan held his current position uncomfortably for what felt like an eternity, before deciding that moving around a little wouldn’t really wake Sollux up too much. He shifted his weight, trying to find a position that wouldn’t ensure he was pressed against the other troll in any sort of way, before defeatedly noting that Sollux’s “twin size mattress” was more like the type that were made for grubs. His chest ended up pressing flush against Sollux’s back, their bodies lined up like two fancy spoons in the cutlery drawers back at home. Sollux gave off a pleasant heat that Eridan tried not to notice too much, simply because it was too nice to really acknowledge without admitting he liked it, even a little bit. The weird guilt he had felt earlier dissipated into something that resembled feeling content, almost at ease with himself. Not that it was entirely gone either.
“Hey, Sol?”
“Mmnm?”
“I actually have worked before in my life. Fef an’ I are always advocatin’ when it comes to keepin’ the ocean clean and stuff. As a matter of fact, just last week we made a ton a’ posters, and hung them all around the beach. It took us, like, a whole week to do. I mean, ya’ gotta be effective with stuff like that or else no one will even pay attention to you. That’s why we used a shit-ton of glitter. It made them really nice,” He stated proudly. Sollux’s body shook lightly with a chuckle.
“Mm’kay, sure. Please shut up now,” Sollux murmurred. Eridan could feel the trolls chest vibrate against him when he spoke.
It went quiet for a bit, save for the sound of Sollux breathing, his chest expanding and contracting slowly. Sol was really much skinnier than his tall frame allowed him to look, Eridan mused. His waist was waif-like, almost like a girls. He wondered if Sollux really got enough to eat, and judging by his living conditions he deduced that the Gemini was probably always a little bit hungry. Despite himself, Eridan felt a little bad, and he found himself pressing closer to the other. His face was lined up with Sollux’s shoulder blades, and he dipped his head lower, closing his eyes. Gently, his arms snaked around Sollux’s waist, and he let himself pretend that it was Fef he was holding, and not the guy who made him pissed off just to look at.
But then he couldn’t. Fef always smelled like seaspray with a hint of something sweet, and her hair was long and wavy and coarse. Sollux was entirely different. He smelled of cleanliness; cheap laundry detergent, the kind of hand soap you buy at the dollar store, and something faintly metallic. The hair at the nape of his neck was soft, and it tickled Eridans forehead gently. Fef was curvy and feminine, while Sollux was all edges, albeit extremely warm and comfortable to hold. Eridan felt a pang of guilt over comparing the two of them, and tightened his hold on Sollux just a little bit.
Outside, the wind picked up, howling even more ruthlessly than it had earlier. Sollux’s hips shifted against his own, and a tingling warmth pooled in his gut.
Sollux turned in his sleep, his chin resting atop Eridans head and facing the other, his thigh slipping between Eridans legs.
Eridan was so fucking wide awake. He could feel Sollux’s warm breath against his horns, and he had to use every ounce of self control within him to stifle some really embarrassing sounds that would probably ruin him forever and ever. He felt hyper-aware of everything, the slight pressure against his crotch that his (secretly) virgin mind did not know how to comprehend, the calloused fingers that were plowing gently through his hair, Sollux’s collarbone jutting against his cheek, the steady pulse of the other trolls heartbeat. Eridans throat felt dry. He squeezed his eyes shut a little too tight and desperately tried to ignore himself. sleep, sleep, sleep, sleep, he repeated like a mantra in his head. Sleep, sleep, sleep.
Through the haze of not-quite-wakefulness, Sollux could feel the hummingbird flutter going on in Eridans chest. He grinned into the others hair, his initial thought being to cruelly tease him while pretending to be fully asleep, but then decided against it. This was Eridan, not some hot chick like Aradia or Fef. This was Eridan, a total and complete idiot with an unhealthy fixation for the Harry Potter series, Eridan, who automatically assumes anyone in the universe could afford a couch if they just worked hard enough. Eridan, who believed that making glittered posters with his grade-school crush was considered work. Eridan was the kind of guy who would insist a barista remake his drink seven times over before deciding he liked it. Eridan, the guy who actually told people that he’s a master of all things alchemy at parties. A clueless, self absorbed moron, whose arms are coiled too-tightly around his waist, whose fingers are toying with the hem of shirt nervously. Sollux shifts a little bit, and Eridan lets out the cutest sound he’s ever heard in his entire life. It’s almost like a mewl, but it's raspy and shy at the same time and holy shit Sollux would have never thought in a billion sweeps that Eridan Ampora could ever be cute, but here he was, thinking it as Eridan presses his face closer against the Sollux's chest, as if trying to hide his own embarrassment even though it's completely dark and neither of them can see a thing.
“Hey, Ampora?”
“Y-yeah?”
“That was a pretty fucking cute sound you just made.”
Eridans heart felt like it was going to break through his ribs.
cute cute cute cutecutecute
He’ll never forgive himself for letting that awful sound slip past his lips. He’s never hated himself more has in his entire life.
He can feel Sollux unabashedly shifting so that his leg rubs against Eridans groin, and the Sea-dweller has to bite the inside of his cheek hard to keep from letting out any more unwanted noises. The pressure between his legs is steadily growing more and more unbearable.
He can’t help it- he’s openly panting . His breathing is ragged and he can't focus on much of anything. Something in that back of his head is screaming at him to just fucking stop reacting, that he shouldn't like it, but, fuck it, he does. He’s supposed to hate Sollux, but all he can think about is the scent of fresh laundry, and their mutual needy warmth.
Sollux begins palming him through the thin fabric of his shorts, and the heat pooling in his abdomen aches sweetly.
“S-Sol.”
Sollux paused, and the friction between Eridans legs slowly dissipated.
“I..I don’t really wanna..do any of this…,” He mumbled, his breathing still a bit shallow. He could feel Sollux silently nuzzling into his shoulder, and suddenly he felt really terrible.
“I mean, uhm…,” He laughs awkwardly. “I don’t really want to do anythin'...uhm.. sexual.. I haven't even have my first kiss…,” He trails off, realizing he’s just admitted to having never kissed anyone before.
He can feel the reverberation of Sollux's laughter against him. It’s a gentle laugh, not a taunting one. Regardless, the sea-dweller feels the tips of his ears turn pink with shame. part of him feels naive, and the other part feels like the words inexperienced virgin have been tattooed onto his forehead.
“C’mere, you dumbass,” Sollux instructs, his voice edged with sleepiness. Eridan obliges, and Sollux’s hands find their way to the edges of Eridan’s face in the dark. The pad of one of his thumbs runs along Eridan’s jawline.
“Calm down,” Sollux breaths, his lips tugging into a self-satisfied smirk. Eridans pulse was going crazy.
“I am calm!,” Eridan protested, feeling the opposite of calm. Sollux shifted so that he hovered slightly above Eridan, whose back was pressed as flat against the mattress as it could go. He could feel the others chest brushing against his own with each breath. It wouldn’t take much for him to pin Eridan down entirely.
“Are you still calm?”
no.
“Yes.”
“Well,” Sollux thumbed Eridans’ bottom lip idly, ”Someone’s a fucking liar.”
Sollux's lips were slightly chapped, but warm, Eridan noted. The kiss lasted for mere seconds, nothing but the slight brush of Sollux’s lips against his own. A tease. It was exactly like Sollux to behave that way and it pissed him off.
Uncharacteristically bold, he leaned forward and grasped at Sol’s hair gently, pulling the other troll's mouth down to meet his own, this time adding a bit more pressure. There was nothing desperate or needy, just cautiousness. Sollux could sense Eridans hesitance, and he didn't want to ruin things for him by going too fast. Eridans lips were soft and full, which easily made up for his lack of experience. He guided him slowly, and Eridan followed his movements, while absentmindedly tugging at Sollux’s hair. An index finger grazed the base of one of his horns, and Sollux broke away with a gentle ‘chu’ of their lips parting. He buried his face into the crook of the others neck, and could feel the rhythmic thrum of Eridan's jumpy heartbeat. His hands were still in Sollux’s hair. Sollux’s mouth tingled, his thoughts feeling just a little muddled.
“That..I..-”
“-Go to sleep, Ampora,” Sollux muttered, cutting Eridan off (though he couldn't keep the grin out of his voice). Stealing the asshole’s first kiss was quite the responsibility, after all.
Eridan ‘hmmd’ approvingly. Outside, birds sang mournfully, and Sollux’s alarm clock blinked ‘4:42 am’.
☆☆☆☆
“Here.” Eridan handed Sollux a latte. The two stood under the awning of a local coffee shop, scarves and hats obscuring most of their faces. Sollux accepted the paper travel cup with silent gratitude. The heat emanating from it warmed his fingers, slowly bringing them back from their numb state. He took a scalding sip, feeling cold and warm in ways that felt right.
Eridan’s violet gaze remained fixed on the ground. His cheeks and the tip of his nose were pink from the cold, contrasting nicely with the paleness of his skin. He appeared to be fighting an inner battle.
Sollux took a second swig of his coffee. “You know, things really don’t have to be awkward, but you’re making it kind of impossible for me,” Sollux observed aloud. He watched as Eridan’s cheeks grew ruddy.
“I...I still really hate you,” Eridan muttered.
“The feeling is mutual,” Sollux rolled his eyes. “And that kiss doesn’t have to mean anything unless you want it to,” He added. He meant it, too. “I can pretend it never happened, if you will. Just say the word.”
Eridan finally looked at him-really looked at him. There was a crease between the sea-dweller’s eyebrows, as if his inner battle had been stressing him out a little too much. He held Sol’s gaze. Then, feeling like his personal space had been violated, he shifted his eyes back to the ground, even though Sollux hadn’t moved closer to him at all.
“Thank..Thank you for letting me stay the night,” Eridan said stiffly. There was a lot to say, but that was all he could really get out. He walked off without another word, slightly numbing hands jammed into his coat pockets.
Half-way down the street, he paused and glanced back subtly over his shoulder, but, true to his word, Sollux was already gone.