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When the warm glow of their hive finally came into view, Eridan was relieved. She was almost home. She'd been out too long this time, and she was sure that Sollux was freaking out. If only phones worked in the middle of the wilderness and then in the ocean, she would have let her know that she was okay. At least she'd be able to tell her soon.
Eridan missed her mate like crazy. After spending the last couple of weeks almost completely alone aside from her lusus and the massive beasts she hunted, she was dying for company. Even Mituna's bitching would be welcome now. Well, she'd get to hear plenty as soon as she was inside, she was sure.
Quietly, she brought her tired skyhorse into the stable to rest with the large biclops that had raised the Captors. The two curled up together while Eridan cleaned up and fed her lusus, making sure they had plenty of water available. Only then did she go inside the hive.
It was getting close to sunrise, so she was willing to bet that Mituna was already in bed. Sollux would still be up, and probably hadn't been sleeping well. She went in through the laundry block, where she could hang up the Crosshairs and strip out of her dirty clothes and into a violet terrycloth robe she kept here for just this sort of occasion. She was usually messy when she came hive after a hunt, and her first stop would be the master ablutionsblock. The robe wasn't meant to be pretty, just to cover her up on her way through the hive and keep any residual dirt or blood from getting on anything else.
She'd had to get used to Mituna getting to see her less presentable than she would normally have liked, sharing a living space like this.
On her way through the hive, with her fluffy meowbeast, Caligula, on her heels, she stopped at the library to peek in and see if Sollux was in there. The light in the library was off, but the light for her jellyfish tank was on, and she could see the faint glow of red and blue beside it. "Sol," she called, keeping her voice low.
Within moments, almost without Eridan seeing her move, Sollux flung herself across the room and into Eridan's arms. "You were gone too long," she scolded, making Eridan smile. "You should have been back nights ago, ED. I was so worried!"
"I know. I'm sorry, darlin," she said, winding her arms tight around Sollux's middle. She was gross and sweaty still, and exhausted on top of it, but Sollux didn't seem to care. "I'm okay. Just had a hard time fillin the quota. I came hive as soon as I could, an I came an found you before goin to the shower. C'mon, I need you to come with me. I don't want to be alone."
"Carry me," Sollux demanded, so Eridan obligingly scooped her up in her arms. "I missed you so much. You'd better not need to hunt again for a while."
Before she'd been with Sollux, before learning of her mate's preferance for sharing every one of their quadrants and spending as much time together as possible, Eridan had been afraid of being too much. Too clingy, too needy, too emotional. Now, she knew, it could never be too much for Sollux. On the contrary, Sollux was just as needy and clingy as she was. There was no worry that after being gone for too long, her mate would be mad and refusing to spend time with her. If she was upset, she would just cling that much tighter. She never made Eridan feel rejected. They were perfectly compatible.
"No, I don't need to hunt again anytime soon. I won't bore ya with the details, but I managed to get enough to keep that beast fed for a good long time. Dropped it all off before comin back, so I swear I'm all yours. I ain't goin out anytime soon neither, need to be close to you. It's horribly lonely out there, Sol. An I started havin dreams the closer I got to feedin her… They don't matter, not now I have you in my arms again, but just know I ain't lettin you outta my sight for at least a week." Eridan carried her up the stairs while she talked, right into the big master respiteblock and then into the ablutionsblock.
"More than a week, if I have anything to say about it," Sollux insisted. She clung tighter when Eridan tried to set her down, a pout on her face. However bad Eridan had had it, she knew it had been harder for Sollux.
Eridan kissed her on the cheek, and then on the temple. If she was cleaner, she would have gone for real kisses. "I have to set you down so I can help you undress an get in the tub, my slitherbeast. I'll stay hive with you as long as I can, I swear. I ain't eager to get back out there myself." It was only after that promise, or maybe it was the kisses, that Sollux let her put her down. She obediently held her arms up, waiting while Eridan put on the water to begin filling their big tub, and then let her mate undress her. Eridan added the robe to the pile of dirty clothes, and then sank into the water behind her mate.
Sollux settled back against her chest, unbothered by the contrasting chill of Eridan's skin and the warm water they were both enjoying. Often, Eridan wondered if she liked the dichotomy of it, the way it played into her love of twos. "You'd better stay hive. This is where you belong, right here, with your arms around me. I need you."
How wonderful, to have a place she belonged. Not just a place she had to be, not a place that was expected of her. A place where she was wanted and needed, and loved. She kissed the top of Sol's head, right between both sets of horns. "I need you, too."