hey i just kinda miss erisol a lot so have a oneshot
humanstuck!
It's 3 am when your phone starts blaring the music you know that's assigned to your stupid ass boyfriend because it's annoying as hell especially at three in the fucking morning when you just fucking managed to get a few minutes of shuteye after two days of slaving over your laptop screen with a code you couldn't not do. You are tired, so so tired, but you know better than to ignore Eridan's calls. For one, you'd never hear the end of it if you don't pick up, and two he actually never calls you this late unless it's something relatively important.
With a heavy sigh you grab your phone and answer, press it against your ear and hope he just butt dialed you so you can go back to sleep. "Hello," you say unhappily and wait for whatever it is he's got to say.
"Hey," he says in a tone you're not really familiar with. It's odd, kind of dreamy, and you've heard it somewhere before but you're not too sure. It sort of sounds like he just woke up or something, and honestly when he's talking like that instead of grumpily ranting about one thing or another, he sounds stupidly cute. "Sorry, did I wake you?"
"Yeah," you mutter back because part of your relationship is being honest. It causes problems, sure, especially since you're both assholes and kind of blunt, but you've never felt more faithful with anyone else. It's kind of ridiculous. "Whaddaya want?"
"Can you pick me up?" he asks after a beat.
You pause because it's a little bit odd and your still half asleep brain is trying to process things. He's asked you to pick him up before when he was distressed or literally ugly crying in a bathroom stall; with Eridan picking him up is never really for his safety (you are the brain to his brawn, loath you are to admit. He's still pretty smart though, you're just a whole lot smarter) but more for his emotional well being, when he feels like he needs someone to just be there with him. But the way he sounds doesn't sound distress at all, he just sounds... happy? You're not certain but there are a few red flags rising in your head and you sit up a little more awake. "Where are you?"
"Near Denny's," he provides helpfully. It's not very helpful at all.
"Wow, I'll just check out every Denny's within the perimeter I guess," you tell him sarcastically. You're pulling on a shirt and a hoodie anyway, slipping into your shoes and stepping out of your small apartment. It's cold out and you shiver but patiently wait for his reply.
"It's the one where we saw those drunk guys fightin’ over a pancake," he tells you with an airy laugh.
You remember that day, you asked him to tutor you with history because fuck you were failing that class pretty badly. The study session lasted well into the night, and ended with the two of you trying your best not to laugh at the drunkard fighting over a god damned pancake. It was a good study session. "Oh, yeah, I remember," you relay your thoughts and can't help but feel the corner of your lip twitch upward. "I'll see you in a bit."
"Thanks," he murmurs and hangs up.
You shove your hands into your pockets. It is cold as fuck. You wonder what the fuck Eridan is doing at 3 am at Denny's on a week night, then decide not to think about it too much. You'll just ask him when you get there. If you had more energy, you'd probably be pretty upset. But as it is you're too tired to muster up any anger or irritation, and the fact that he actually asked you so nicely is actually putting you in a pretty good mood. It's a small thing but whatever, you prefer a good mood over a bad one anyway.
When you round the corner you see him, leaning against the Denny's building like an idiot with a little smile on his face. It's cold as hell, and when you come closer you see his nose and ears are red. What an idiot your boyfriend is. But before you can scold him, because god damn is he irritating when he's sick, he pushes his thermos into your hands and smiles. It smells like coffee, and you are eternally grateful. Instead of scolding him as planned, you slap the side of his head then huddle up against him. "Stupid."
"You love me anyway," he says with a shit eating grin, though it doesn't really have the sarcasm that he usually shows you. No, what you see in his smile is someone who's genuinely glad to see you, someone who is absolutely certain of your loyalty. It's kind of unfair how he has you so easily wrapped around his little finger. But you guess you have him around yours too.
"Did something happen?" you ask instead of acknowledging his jab. He huddles up closer, and you do too.
He presses his face into your arm and breathes. "I'm high as fuck," he laughs like it's the funniest thing. "I didn't think it would be a good idea to drive home like this."
You roll your eyes really hard. "You don't own a car, you own a bike you hipster," you remind him then look around. "Wait, where is your bike?"
"Left it," he tells you. "Like I said, bad idea to be drivin' like this."
You tug at him, pull him away from the building, and start leading him home. "Where'd you leave it?"
"Gamzee's," he answers. He follows your pace, holds your hand in his, and swings his arm back and forth like a kid.
Of course it's at Gamzee's. Gamzee's the only dealer either of you are on really good terms with. "Right," you reply. "Let's just get it tomorrow then."
"Mhmm," he agrees.
"Do I take you home, or are you coming home with me?" you ask.
"With you," he answers easily.
"Why were you getting high in the first place?" because he rarely does this, and usually he gets high when he's feeling stressed about something. You've been pretty busy, and so has he, so you didn't really notice that anything was amiss.
"It helps me think about the things I don't want to think about, minus the anxiety that comes with it," he tells you like it's simple math. "It's like looking at my problems without the emotional baggage."
"Well, talk to me," you pry gently. He's a lot more talkative when he's high, and he's a lot less strung up too. Now would absolutely be the best time for him to put all his worries out on the table where both of you can see it, so you can work on it together. It sounds so stupidly cheesy but his problems are yours now, and two heads are always better than one.
He hesitates though, keeps walking towards your place. Though his hesitation probably is more because he's trying to rearrange his thoughts into coherency. "I wanna move in with you," and when you reply with a shocked expression he backpedals and grins wryly. "Or you move in with me, I ain't picky."
Now it's your turn to backpedal, because that was completely out of the blue. It's been a though the two of you have been dancing around, but never had the courage to bring up. You didn't think it was stressing him out to the point where he had to be high to address his problems. "Really?"
"You're not mad, are you?" he asks and his eyes look so big and shiny and what the fuck your knees feel weak.
"You'd know if I was mad," because if there's one emotion you wear on your sleeve, it's anger. "I'm just a little surprised."
"Well you don't gotta decide now," he says slowly, moving his jaw a little excessively like he's playing with a jaw breaker in his mouth. "But I just want you to know what I want, an' it's completely fine too if you don't wanna."
You drag him up to your place, your place that is too small to accommodate two people comfortably, your place that is a little bit far from where Eridan works part time. "I don't mind," you whisper at him, pull him into your messy room and you hold his hands in yours. "I really don't, but are you sure? I'm kind of a slob," you tell him as you gesture around your room, at the small mountain of clothes, and the various empty bottles of water.
"I know," Eridan laughs at you like you’re an idiot for even thinking that your mess is a valid point of disagreement. "We'll figure things out."
And you look at him, really look at him, and feel your stupid heart beat in your chest. You can't believe you hated this guy so much you legitimately wanted to kill him. You can't believe that somehow you ended up falling in love with him. Your friends warned you before that your relationship with Eridan was a mistake, a burning dumpster truck that was going to explode, but here you are and if you weren't already dating him you would have asked him to be yours.
You smile at him because fuck. Fuck. "We'll figure things out," you echo. You'll figure things out like you always do, that's how your relationship has worked all these years anyway, despite all your stupid arguments and disputes.
And dear god the way he smiles makes you melt. He pushes at you, until the back of your knees hit your bed and you fall with him on top of you, makes you laugh. Life's been shitty, but wow, you never expected happiness in the form of Eridan Ampora.
He presses his lips against yours, all soft and gentle. He smiles, his hands flanked beside your head, and asks you softly. "Do me?"
And fuck if he isn't the cutest thing ever. "Yeah," you say breathlessly. "Yeah, okay."