#nedwrites

You make a beeline for the fridge and pull out a carton of orange juice, opening it and taking a drink straight from it as you close the door with your hip. With the carton still in your hand, you move into the living room and plop into your chair, taking another swig of juice as you do. It's at this point that you realize that you are decidedly not alone.

It's not just Kankri, though. With him is a woman you haven't seen since last year and she is giving you the most scathing look that you've ever gotten. Even from her. You raise your juice carton in a wave and just stare at them, eyes still sleep bleary and contacts stinging a little. “Sup, Kanny. Porrim.”

Porrim scrunches her nose. “Why is it whenever I hear about some obnoxious pig man it's always you, Cronus?”

Your jaw drops and you push the hair that had fallen in your face over your night back into place. “Obnoxious pig man? I'll have you know that none of what Kanny and I did was the moves of some obnoxious pig man!” You slouch into your seat and scowl. “And this is my place where the fuck do you get off on coming here and telling me that shit?”

She crosses her arms over her chest and her left leg over the right. Her verbal fighting pose. Awesome. “You knew about his vow, Cronus and you took advantage of that!”

“Vow? What fucking vow? I didn't know anything about that!” The two of you are yelling at each other now. You didn't like this woman when she was your TA and you sure don't fucking like her now. She might be hot but she's holier than thou in the same way that Kankri is, but with most of her scathing looks reserved for the opposite sex.

It doesn't go on for more than a few minutes before you hear Kankri actually shout. “ENOUGH!!” He's standing in the middle of the two of you and you have never seen him so angry in these past few days. But then you don't really know him, do you? You only know what he's told you and what you've seen of him.

And that's nothing.

But this anger, this pure rage, is more that you've ever seen on someone so small. He stares Porrim down and you can practically see the fire in his eyes. “Porrim. He had no idea about my vow and I chose to break it of my own accord!” He crosses his arms over his chest. “Surely you can understand making your own decisions about your own sex life.”

He narrows his eyes and you can practically see the challenge he's sending to her. But she stands up, nearly a head taller than him, and just stares right back. “You weren't pushed into anything?”

“Of course not! I'm not some uneducated child that can't make their own decisions about sex!”

She sighs and brushes a long strand of hair from her face. “So he didn't coerce you into anything?” You notice the harsh look thrown your way and you can't do anything but give her a look of disbelief as she turns back to Kankri.

“Of course he didn't, Porrim!” He rolls his eyes. “The only thing even remotely coercive about our relationship is that he talked me out of jumping off a bridge!” His voice is loud and booming in the room, and it seems to make the whole world go quiet.

She stares at him, pierced lips parted and lined eyes wide. When she speaks, her voice is softer than you've ever heard it. “What do you mean?”

And that's when you hear the story of how Kankri had more or less disappeared from campus for the past week and how you'd found him at the edge of his rope. There was so much he hadn't said to you on the radio or in person. It was so apparent to you now how little you knew about this boy, even more so than it had been before. And now you're left wondering if you were just his bad decision.

You take another swig of your juice and just listen to the two talk. It's mostly a garbled mess of social justice to you. Something about Kankri being sexist and Porrim hating men. You really don't pay attention until you hear your name brought up.

“I can't believe you didn't tell anyone that you were staying with Cronus, Kanny.” Porrim tosses her hair and lounges back on your couch like she owns the place.

“I don't see how it's anyone's business but my own who I'm staying with.”

You chose this point to finally speak up. “I'll have you know that he's only been here since yesterday. I took him back to his dorm on Thursday and then he came here with me on Friday.” You lean back in your chair and take another drink, watching Porrim.

“I believe that you took him back to his dorm, Cronus. But he's still been missing since last week. I haven't seen him in class in even longer. This wasn't your doing?”

“Fuck no!” You're offended. How the fuck could she think that?

Kankri's arms cross over his chest. “Porrim I think you should leave now. I'm fine. You don't have to mother me like this.”

“I'm not leaving you here, Kanny. I've been looking for you since Tuesday and I'm not leaving without you.” She sighs, eyes closing. “Your father asked me to come.”

He sinks down a little and nods. “Of course... I'll go get dressed.” Like a soldier doing his duty he rises and trudges back to your room to change into the clothes he came to your apartment in.

Porrim gives you another look. “I hope you're not leading him down a dark path, Cronus.”

“Doll I would do no such thing. Those days are behind me.” You shrug and notice the face she's making. “What?”

“Don't you dare call me doll, pig man.” You roll your eyes and get back up, going to your fridge to put the orange juice away. She follows you. “And you aren't going to hurt that boy, are you?” You look back to see a sincere look of concern on her face.

As you lean against the cold door of the fridge, you cross your arms over your chest. “Why do you think I even would?”

“I don't. But I don't trust you. You're not exactly a man of your word and you've been known to make some bad decisions.” She sighs. “You care about him, though?”

“Of course I fucking care about him, why else would I have had him here? He's a good guy. He's just had some hard times.” You swallow, hanging your head. “I want to help him as much as I can, Porrim. I don't know why. But I do. I promise.” You look up at her, a contemplative look on your face. “He needs someone. Maybe not someone to fuck him. And maybe not even someone to look after him. But he needs someone to care.”

A soft smile spreads across her sultry features. “You're right. I'm glad that you realize that.” Her head turns when both of you hear footsteps.

“I'm ready now, Porrim. Will you be taking me to see my father...?”

“No, I'll be calling your father after I get you home safe and sound.”

He nods an she starts to lead him off. And you know that this could easily be the last time you see him if you don't do something now. So you walk after him and grab his hand. “Kanny!”

He looks up at you and the tears in his eyes are apparent again. “Yes?”

“I'll talk to you later?” You smile down at him and he returns it.

“Of course.” You bite your lip and pull your phone out of your pocket. “Uh, here. Put your number in and I'll send you a text later.”

He nods and puts the number in, handing it back to you. “I'll talk to you later, Cronus.”

You pull him into a hug and press a soft kiss to his lips. “I'll talk to you later.”

With those words, he leaves with Porrim and you know. You know that this isn't the end for the two of you.

Epilogue

You wake up with a little bit of a headache and make your way out to the kitchen. You can hear the radio on and you groan a little, glad that at least you don't have a shift today. The air in the apartment is cold and outside the windows the spring sun shines brightly, nearly blinding you. You scratch the side of your face and note that you need to shave as you sit down on the already occupied couch.

With a stretch you lean against your boyfriend and nuzzle against him. He laughs and just pushes you off. “Cronus don't that hurts!” He says this but he's laughing. Your stubble always seems to do that to him.

You just yawn and hum. “Eh, you'll get over it, babe.” You press a kiss to his neck and just lay on him with your eyes closed. You could fall asleep laying here against his warm skin.

His hand runs through your messy hair and he just hums. “You're a ridiculous man, Cronus.”

“So they tell me.” You shrug a shoulder and just stay laying against him. It's only been four months. Four fantastic months since you'd met him. And he spends so much time here now that everyone knows about the two of you.

You haven't slept together since that first time you did, but you've done other things. You've taste him and he's tasted you and you know that it's more than you could have ever asked for since you've come to know about his vow. But it feels so warm. So perfect.

And with your unshaven face and your unstyled hair hidden against his neck you let out a sigh before saying those three little words. “I love you.” Your voice is quiet against his neck and you feel his breath hitch in his throat.

“You love me?” He asks like its really a question.

“Yes.” You kiss his neck again and he lets out a content little sigh.

“I love you, too, Cronus.”

He tilts his head against your with a quiet hum and you know.

So you do the only sensible thing that you can think of and find a radio. You turn it on and are only a little disappointed when it's not the show you were expecting. But the music isn't horrible and it passes the next hour while you search for something to do.

It turns out that Cronus has a lot of things in his apartment and, luckily, an unlocked laptop is one of them. You open it up and aren't really all that surprised that his background is a leather clad pin-up girl on a fancy car near the ocean. With a roll of your eyes you open up Chrome and log into your D2L account to look at the homework you have for the weekend. Nothing too much, though you do have a short paper to work on. Luckily you saved it in your drive before you'd left the dorms, which means that you can at least work on that while you wait.

And so you listen to The War Room when it starts and laugh at the “arguments” between the four of them. Honestly it's more entertaining knowing that Cronus is the Orphaner, though you still have no idea who the other three are. You write as you listen, being sure to double check everything so that you don't phrase anything poorly.

You're not sure how many hours actually pass as you write, but you realize that food might not be a bad idea.

And as you cook it makes you think about what Cronus had said about his voice.

About his real voice... And how it's his American accent?

You stand over the pot, watching the water while you wait for it to boil. How is his American accent the real one? He's been here... He said since he was sixteen? And he'd been twenty the last time he... So how old is he now?

You stare at the pot, doing mental calculations and then move to sit at the table. “He's been here at least four years... He said he took a little time off from college when he was twenty... He's a second year here...” You rest your head on the table. “He's at least twenty-three isn't he...” You swallow thickly. “So his accent... Probably is real isn't it?” You groan as you tug at your hair. “I'm an idiot...”

You get up and turn off the water, going to his room instead. You feel like you need to just sleep. You pull on the pajamas that you'd worn the night before and just lay in his bed.

It doesn't take you long to fall asleep, which is unusual for you if you're being honest. The scent in his room is comforting, though you never would have thought that stale cigarettes and spearmint and something like sea water would smell good, but it does somehow. It smells like him.

You hold onto one of his pillows as you drift to sleep and you almost don't wake up in time for his show. But you do and you're ready with your phone in hand to call again.

When you reach him his voice is low and beautiful, but you're beginning to realize that it's not real anymore. “Hello listener. This is Daddy Dualscar. Who's calling?”

You smile broadly. “Hello, Dualscar. It's Signless.”

You sense a pause on the other end before he speaks. “Signless? You doing all right?”

The concern is so genuine. And you realize that that isn't Dualscar. That's Cronus worried about you. “Yes, thank you. I just wanted to tell you that I'm waiting for you to come to me.”

“Oh? Uh, is that so?” He's flustered. You've managed to fluster him. How did you do that?

“Yes. And... There's something that I figured out today. Something that I probably should have asked earlier about a... Friend.”

“Really? And what's that, Signless?” You practically feel a velvety smile spread across his lips.

“His age. He's older than I thought.”

A pause. Is he worried? “And is that such a bad thing, Signless? Age is just a number in friendships after all.”

“This friend may be... More than that.” You sigh softly. “I really like him. He's so much different from what I thought he was, but it's... I only knew one part of him.”

You hear him swallow. “Well, I hope that things work out for the two of you. Do you have any plans?”

“Yes. We may be continuing something that I started earlier.” You smirk, waiting for him to say something.

“Wow. Sounds like he's a lucky guy.”

“He is. I think that... That I really like him.”

“More than you like me, babe?” That's Cronus asking. You're positive just from the fact that he used babe.

“I'm... Not sure. I know that I like him a lot. I don't know why. I don't even know if I should... But I do.”

“I wish the two of you well, Signless. But I have to leave you now since station management is telling me to go.”

“Okay, Dualscar. I'll talk to you later?”

“Aye, love. I'll talk to you later.”

And with that the line goes dead and you hear him on the radio again. You listen to him and you curl up in his bed, waiting for a little while before you go to the door.

He's coming home. You know that much. And you're ready for him. When the door opens you pull him inside and press a soft kiss to his lips. You can hear the door close as he moves in and the two of you stumble back. With a whimper he pulls back, eying you like you could strike at any moment.

“Babe...”

“Cronus.” You study him and watch the twitches in his face as he does the same to you. “How old are you?”

He winces a little. “Twenty-five. Almost twenty-six...”

You sit and do a little mental math. “That's a little old for me, isn't it?”

“Does it really bother you?”

You swallow, thinking for a moment. “No.”

“Then it's just a number for us. Not like you're a kid or nothin'. We're consentin' adults here, yeah?” He sits next to you, head tilted as he grins hopefully.

“I... I suppose.” You swallow.

“Then you wanna... Pick up where we left off...?”

You look at him, still unsure as to why exactly you want to do this. Or why you want to break your vow now. Maybe it's because you didn't expect to be alive. Maybe it's because his voice seems to do strange things to you. But you've set your mind. “Okay.”

He grins at you wildly as he stands up. “Then follow me.” He walks away from you and you just do as he says, following behind.

But he breaks away and looks scared of what you're about to do. “Cronus?” His voice is breathy and lower than it had been earlier.

“Yeah, babe?” You tilt your head, eyes scanning for whatever it was that was bothering him.

“Why are you taking off my, er, your jacket?”

You chuckle and put a hand on his face. “Because it's way too hot in here to be wearing it.” Your thumb traces against his cheek. “That and I figured since you were staying...”

He pulls away from you and gets off your lap. “This... This is a bad idea.” He's pacing now and you watch him as he lectures himself under his breath. It would be cute if it weren't so sad.

“Babe, there ain't nothing wrong with that we were doing. We were kissing. It's nothing.”

He whips around and you can see the look of righteous fury in his previously placid features. “Nothing? Nothing?” He moves closer to you and suddenly you can't help but to feel a little intimidated. “A kiss is far from nothing!” He leans in and suddenly you're pressed against the counter. If he were any bigger of a man, you would be petrified. “A kiss is intimate and deep. It connects two people.” His hands are on your face, brushing down to your neck. “It's sweet and not something to just call nothing.”

You swallow and nod. What else can you do? “You're right. It's intimate. Very intimate.” You bring a hand to his face, cupping it softly. “But it's only something if you make it something.”

He sighs. “It was something for me.”

You smile and lean forward just a little. “Then what's the problem?”

He lets out a shuddering breath, cheeks flushing. “I... I'm not sure if I want more than just kissing.”

“That's fine. Let's just get some sleep.”

He leans in more and his lips are against yours. “Okay.” The way his lips move against yours makes you feel like you're floating. He's so unsure but so soft and sweet. It's like you've been waiting your entire life for these kisses from him and for some reason it just makes you want to scream. Why did it take so long?

And why is he so fucking young?

But you push all of this to the back of your head and just keep kissing him. Again you're not sure how long the two of you are moving lips on lips, but he pulls away again and is scanning your face. “Can we just... Can we get some sleep?”

You nod. “Sounds like a plan to me, babe.” You stand up and offer him your hand. He takes it and you smile widely at him as you lead him to your, admittedly not very tidy, room. He lets go of your hand and pulls off the heavy leather jacket, hanging it on your desk chair, before sitting on your bed.

The nervousness on his face is more than apparent and you sit down next to him. “Do you need anything to wear for bed?” You try to put him at ease. At least you didn't start stripping down, right?

He fidgets and you just put a hand on his shoulder, which seems to calm him down. “Pajamas of some sort would be most appreciated.”

You nod and stand up, digging through your dresser. After a few minutes you walk back to him. “Here. I don't really wear pajamas, but I got some basketball shorts and an old t-shirt that should work.”

He smiles and nods. “Is your bathroom through there?” He points at your closet and you just smile.

“Well that's a closet, but you should fit inside it. Go ahead.” You sit back down as he moves over to your closet to change. You lay on your back and sing a little to yourself while you wait. You're honestly surprised at just how long it takes him, but the door opening again tells you that he's finally out of the closet.

You snort a little. Out of the closet.

While you laugh to yourself, he sits next to you on the bed and lays down with a look of trepidation in his green eyes. You put a hand to his face again. “Babe. There's no reason to be so fuckin' freaked out. If you just wanna sleep then we're just gonna sleep, all right?”

He gives you a slow nod and just keeps his head against your hand. “I think I'm ready to sleep...”

You yawn and sit up. With a stretch, you get off the bed and turn out the light. As you strip out of your clothes, you wonder if you should let him know that you tend to really not wear anything when you sleep, but instead you decide that you've got some sexy purple boxer briefs on. May as well keep those on, right?

You back back down and pull your covers over both of you. There's a moment where you think that maybe you shouldn't pull him close while you sleep, but you throw caution to the wind and hold him lightly. He lets out a tiny squeak and you just press a soft kiss to the top of his head. “Night, babe.” You murmur to him and feel him move a little closer.

“Goodnight, Dualscar.”

That keeps you up for quite some time. Had he really called you Dualscar? It's your DJ name, but still... The fact that he would use that for anything not radio-related makes you feel like the sanctity of the name has been violated somehow. Like there's a stowaway on your pirate ship. But at the same time you feel like he's a world that's all your own. No one but he and Dave know that you're Dualscar. Well, no one that matters anyway.

And, as much as you'd love to take the attention for being him, you'd rather keep him separate from Cronus Ampora. Keep him smooth and graceful where you're...

You sigh and shake your head a little. You're thinking too much is what you're doing. So you close your eyes and do your best to fall asleep with your nose buried in Kankri's hair.

When you wake, he's still pulled close to you and that brings a smile to your face. You kiss the top of his head again and just watch him for a little. “Morning, babe.”

You see a little smile of his own and a bright red flush spread across his cheeks. “Good morning.” He pulls closer to you, almost like he doesn't want to let go. And as he whispers you realize why. “This isn't a dream is it?”

You swallow and just grip him a little more tightly. “No. This isn't a dream.”

“That's exactly what someone would say in a dream.”

You roll your eyes and put your hand under his chin to bring his face up. “It's not.” You lean down and press a soft kiss to his lips. “That enough proof?”

He hums a little, opening his eyes. “I think so.”

You laugh softly and just stay close to him. “Then seein' as we're in a not-dream...”

“Use your real voice...” He pouts up at you, moving closer.

You sigh and drop your American accent. “Fine. Now. Seeing as we're in a not-dream, let's get something to eat because I am fucking starved.”

He furrows his brow and makes what you can only describe as the most precious miffed face ever. “Cronus. You are far from starved. There are people who actually are starved and your co-opting of the word is—!” You cut him off with a kiss.

“It's way too early in the morning for a lecture. Food is the only thing on my mind.” You yawn as you get out of bed and stretch.

He huffs a little at you. “Very well. Food sounds... Reasonable.” He gets out of bed after you and follows you as you leave the room, not even bothering to get dressed.

When you get to the kitchen you open the fridge and pull out your orange juice, taking a swig out of the carton before sitting down.

“That is disgusting.”

“Huh?” You look at the carton in your hand. “Oh yeah that. It's the problem with being a bachelor for so long. You forget how to live with other people around.” You smile at him with a low chuckle. “But I was gonna make up some eggs and bacon. Maybe some hash browns. You eat meat?”

He smiles. “Yes, I do. Thank you for asking before simply assuming that I did.”

You take another drink out of the carton and stand up. “Figured I should. Never fucking know who doesn't anymore.” You put the carton back in your fridge and pull out all the necessary foods with a quick sniff to each to make sure that they're all good. “Now just sit back and I'll get this cooked up.”

You cook your breakfast quickly and listen to him while he talks about vegetarianism. You honestly had no idea just how many different types there were until he started talking, and now you're not sure you really wanted to know every possible scrap of information that he had in his wrinkly little brain. But you serve up his food first, half hoping it would get him to at least slow down, but he's courteous and waits for you to finish cooking.

With a sigh you take your seat and eat quietly, still listening to him speak. He really does have a great voice. And he certainly knows how to use it. But when you've both finished eating, you realize you have a question yet to ask. “So... Do you want me to take you home today?”

He pauses for a few minutes, staring at his plate as you watch the internal debate move across his features. Eventually he shakes his head, though. “No. I want to stay here for now. I want to stay with you.”

You swallow and nod. “Sure. I've got a pretty long shift at the station today, though. It all right with you if we go there?”

He nods. “I'd love to see you at work.” He smiles at you warmly and something hits you.

After a few moments you can swear that you can hear soft sobs from him and you can't help but to just hold him a little tighter as both of you slump to the ground. It's been a hard couple of days for him and you can tell that he needs someone there for him. With your voice, your real voice, soft and low, you finally speak. “I'm here for you.”

He whimpers and rests his head on your chest. “Why isn't anyone else, though?”

That hurts. You've been where he is. You know how lonely it can be. “I'm sure that there are other people there for you. You got any siblings?”

He swallows and he looks up at you, which makes your heart race. He's so close to you. He's so close and at this distance you can see gold flecks in his blood-shot green eyes. “Just one... My younger brother, Karkat.” His lip is trembling and you just want to kiss him and tell him that everything will be okay.

But instead of his lips, you kiss his forehead. “I'm sure that he loves you and that he cares about you.”

“He isn't here.” His voice is broken and soft as he speaks.

“That doesn't matter. He loves you, I'm sure.”

“You've never met him.” The bitterness in his voice comes as a surprise to you.

“And does that really make a difference, love?” You keep your head on his shoulder as you speak, not wanting to see his face. Or rather not wanting him to know that you'd be looking.

He pauses, though and you feel him pulling closer. “I... I suppose not.”

“Then you know that he's your brother and, no matter how much you two might hate each other or bother each other, he'll care about you.” You rub his back, feeling the supple leather of your own jacket beneath your fingers.

“If you say so...” He moves and you can feel his head resting against yours. The weight is somehow reassuring, but you know that the two of you shouldn't say like this.

“Hey, uh, you want anything to drink?” Smooth. You lean back a little, smiling at him reassuringly.

“A glass of water would be nice.” He pulls away from you, breaking the hug. You suppose that it's only natural. He was the one to start it after all.

So you stand up and lead him to the kitchen, talking the whole way through the short trip. “Just water? C'mon it's the weekend. Have a drink and let loose!” You smile as you pull two beers out of your fridge.

“I'm nineteen.”

“And I won't tell anyone.” You wink as you open them on the edge of the counter and slide one to him. “It's just a PBR. Try it.”

He sighs and wipes the mouth of the bottle off. “I'm not sure that this is entirely appropriate.”

You shrug as you take a drink of yours. “Might not be. But it might help you relax a little. I think you need a little less stress right now. I get that.”

He gives a little half smile and snorts. “I suppose you have a point...” He lifts the bottle to his lips and takes a long drink, making a face as he does. “This is absolutely repugnant.”

You laugh and then take another drink. “Yeah if you ain't used to drinking it can be.” You sit on a stool and motion for him to sit down next to you. “But sometimes drinking can help with your problems. Sometimes it can make them worse. But if you got a friend with you, at least you're not alone.”

He furrows his brow and thumbs the bottle before taking another drink. “You're... Not entirely what I was expecting.” His cheeks are already a little flushed. It's obvious to you that he's never had anything to drink before now.

“Oh? How so?” You take another long drink, finishing the first bottle, before getting up to get another as you listen.

“You're... Younger than I'd expected.”

You turn around and raise your eyebrows. “Really?” You open your second bottle and look down at yourself. “My voice not fit my body or what?”

He shrugs, sipping slowly at his bottle. “It just seems like... As Dualscar your voice should belong to an older man? But hearing your real voice it seems more like you're my age.”

You laugh as you sit back next to him. “You think this Brooklyn thing is real? That mighta just made my night, babe.”

You watch as a flush spreads across his cheeks and you're unsure if it's from the beer or at being called babe. “It... It isn't?” His jaw drops a little and you can't help but to notice how full his lips actually are.

With a shake of your head, you try to force the thought from your head. You'd already thought that he was cute when you'd seen him yesterday, but he doesn't need flirting or fucking right now. He needs a friend. “Uh, nah, not at all.” You shrug a shoulder. “Was kinda a copin' mechanism when I got here for my A-levels.” You look at him. “That's like my junior and senior year, you know? My dad got transferred here so me and my bro came to the states. It was tough, though. Obviously it was tough. I told you what happened.” You take another drink. “But yeah. I started to cover my accent more and more the longer I was here.” Another shrug. “And now I'm everyone's favorite greaser.”

“But... Your radio voice...?”

“Is my real voice I guess. Little lower than how I'd normally talk, though. Guess that's why you thought I was maybe older.” You chuckle and watch him as he finishes his beer.

“I... I fell in love with that voice of yours.” His words are soft and you know that you can't hide the surprise on your face.

“With... My voice?”

He nods, playing with the bottle, sliding it slowly between his hands. “I heard you one night on the radio. You were cool and kind to everyone that called in...” He smiles and sighs softly. “That's why I had to call yesterday. I wanted to speak to you... Just once.”

You swallow roughly. “And was I everything you'd hoped for and more?”

He smiles, nodding. “It was so much more than I could have hoped for. I think I knew that if I called you... that if I called you I wouldn't do it. But speaking to you was one of my last wishes.” He swallows. “I wasn't sure you would be so kind...”

You scoff. “I ain't always been this nice. I used to be a real fuckin' jerk.” You run your fingers through your hair. “But that's all in the past, you know? I'm me now. Still an asshole but not always on purpose.” You smile at him, showing off pearly white teeth.

“I... I suppose we all have those traits. But you certainly aren't unkind.” He leans in a little closer. “I still love your voice, though. Could you use it? Your real voice?” He smiles at you and you can feel a flush spread over your cheeks.

“Uh...” So fucking smooth. You clear your throat and nod before dropping your act. “Anything for you, babe.” You smile at him and you can hear him make a soft little noise in the back of his throat. Is he already drunk?

“Your voice is magnificent.” He moves closer to you, knee brushing against yours. “I wish that I had a voice like yours.” His hand rests on your thigh and you wonder if he knows what he's doing.

“Yeah? Well when I came here I always wanted a voice more like yours.” You lean in a little, tilting your head.

He bites at his lip with a grin. “I bet there's a way we could trade voices.” He giggles, leaning in a little more.

“Oh yeah?” You move in, keeping your lips inches from his. “I think I know how.”

He looks confused for a moment but then you close the gap, feeling his soft lips against yours and his hands on your neck. You move slowly, letting your lips meld in a slow burn as your arms wrap around him. He's so light. You can't believe how fucking light he is as you pull him into your lap and just bask in this warmth and contact.

But soon he pulls back and a worried look spreads over his face, like he thinks he's done something that he shouldn't have. “I...”

You put a finger to his lips. “Shh. Don't worry about it babe.” You smile, moving your hand to cup his face. “That was real fucking nice.”

He shudders in your lap and rests his forehead against yours. “Can I stay the night here?”

You chuckle. “I thought that's why you were here?”

“I mean... Can I sleep... Can I sleep in your room. In your bed.” He pauses again. “...with you.”

You swallow roughly and kiss him again. “If that's what you really want.”

He doesn't answer you with words at first. Instead, his lips are on yours again, soft and sweet, and his hands are in your hair.

You hope that he isn't rushing this for some reason, even though you know that he might be. But you realize that this is what you've wanted these part two days. To hold him and to touch him and to have him.

And yet here the two of you are.  Left with your sire because your blood was a match to his.  And your horns, what were the chances?  But your blood twin is so much like him, it’s incredible.  Tall, lean and intimidating.  Both of them with scars on their faces.  A sign of a true troll your sire would say.

A fucking losers mark if someone asked you.

But they never do.  So you sit on the shore and throw rocks into the sea, watching the fauna below scatter.  You take pride in this ability.  Few trolls can throw with enough force to scare away some of these white skinned lusii.  And you’re one of them.

You look up when you hear footsteps, though.  You may be a violet blood, but on these shores you can never be too careful.  There’s only one of you and there are at least three sets of footsteps coming toward you.  One of the trolls is tall.  Even compared to you and you’re not exactly short by any standard.  And they all look just emaciated.  You’re beginning to wonder what’s brought them here and that’s when you remember your sire saying something about a meeting?  A group of twelve, blah blah, something about a game they played as kids, blah.  You were only half paying attention if you’re being honest.

But these trolls are such low blooded filth that you find it hard to believe that your sire would have ever had something to do with one of them.

That’s when you notice their eyes.

Each of them has one red and one blue, and they give off a faint glow.  You can practically smell the psionics from where you’re sitting and you tense, ready to fight them if you have to.  They might have shitty mind powers but you’re strong.  You’re bigger than the littlest one anyway.

What a fucking relief.

You stand your ground, ready for them to do something to you, but instead they pass you by completely.  They don’t even falter when they see someone of your caste.  You growl softly at them and the apparent youngest of them turns to you.  He smirks and send you flying into the sand with a shock of red and blue.

For a few moments you lay there, completely stunned.  No one tosses Eridan Ampora around like that without you exacting your revenge.

No one.

Karkat

Your blood twin, as per usual, is refusing to shut up.  He’s just fucking going on, and on and ON about god knows what.  And that leaves you sitting at this table, in this sea dwellers castle looking around and eyeing everyone up.  You’ve seen a few of these trolls before.  And you’ve heard stories about others.  But some of them look pitiable and even more look absolutely loathable.  Good thing you’ve got all those quadrants filled or you’d feel like a starving troll being forced to look at a buffet of the most tantalizing delicacies imaginable bt being told to not.  Touch.  Anything.

Oh right.  None of your quadrants are filled and you are that starving bastard.  You slump into your seat and your sire gives you a look and you sit right the fuck back up.  You know that look.  Pay attention, Karkat, he’s trying to tell you.  Pay attention.  This is important.

So you roll your eyes and turn toward the front of the table where your host apparent is seated.  He’s a tall, imposing figure and as you watch him assess the room, you can’t help but to be a little grateful that he isn’t your sire.  The two trolls on either side of him, his descendants you assume, are forced to stand.  One of them looks completely relaxed.  At ease in any kind of situation, despite an arrogant, sleazy air about it.  And the other stands bolt upright, a look trying to mimic that of his sire’s on his face.  On him it’s completely comical.  A joke to be enjoyed by everyone else in the room.

And you pity him for it.

Not in a red sense.  You don’t even know this asshole.  But you want to tell him that it’s going to be okay.  That he doesn’t have to stand like that.  You feel this pale tug at your heart and you just want to pull him to your chest and stroke his hair.  You swallow and fall forward, hitting your head against the table.  No one here should see you blush.  You’d be killed for it.  For fucking blushing.  Though... your sire’s eyes are a brilliant red and no one has said anything.

You wonder if everyone here already knows.

It would be hard not to know with how your sire dresses and your insufferable blood twin spouts off about the hemospectrum’s treatment of mutants.  You sit back up when you feel a hand on your back.  Your sire again, probably.  But the hand is too cold.  All hands that don’t belong to trolls in your mutant hue are too cold.

You look up and see a yellow blood smirking down at you.  He’s your sire’s age and the they embrace quickly after you sit up.  Soon they take their seats and you can’t help but to notice that he also has two descendants.

Fuck, all of the adults here do.

You’re beginning to wonder what it is that brought all of you together, but the smallest yellow blood is someone you know.  You had no idea that your sires knew each other and you just shrug at him.  He shrugs back and then looks at your crush, no no no your PALEcrush, throwing psionics his way.

Perfect.  Your best friend is already black for someone that you’re pale for.

That’s some real troll-opera level bull shit right there.

You slink back into your seat and wait for the rest of the chairs to be filled.  It’s going to be a long night.

Sollux

You sit in your chair like a fucking king because hey.  Fuck everyone here.  All these high bloods and their fancy-schmancy shit anyway.  You’re fine with your computers and codes.  All those organic parts just make you fucking purr with excitement.

You’re glad to see that Karkat’s here too, though.  That means at least one troll’s going to take more shit that you.  But who are you to judge?  You do not give a shit about the spectrum.  What the fuck is even below yellow anyway?  You shake the thought out of your head and just watch the mayhem in the room.  The high bloods are, of course, all being polite to each other though you can tell that they will slit each other’s throats at the drop of a hat.

Meanwhile the low bloods and mid bloods are all sitting around enjoying a nice, almost calm not-meal at this table.  For fuck’s sake the host didn’t even bother to get some food out for you. How are the energy-consuming psionics here supposed to even stay alive all day if there’s no food?

You shrug again and pull out an energy bar, even though your sire glares at you.  You know he’s jealous.  He’d be doing the same fucking thing if he’d thought ahead.  Heh, sucker.

It takes like shit, but you don’t really care.  If you don’t eat something now in a few hours you might not be here and no one fucking wants that.  Except for you on some days, but you’d rather not think about that.  You look up to the head of the table at your host.  He’s a grisly fucker with some impressive scars.  Hasn’t said a word since you’ve walked in and you assume that he hasn’t said one at all.  And won’t until everyone is here.  Which you hope is soon because you’re fucking starving.

But next to that stoic fucker stand his descendants.  Wow you are so glad that you are low blood filth because standing this long would make you want to blow a hole in someone’s head with your psionics.  You want to throw even more psionics his way, if you’re being honest, but you don’t have the energy.  Not right now.

Fucking metabolism.

Instead you just make faces at him, trying to get him to break out of whatever fucking face he’s pulling.

But before you can do anything, the room goes silent and Her Imperial fucking Condescension is in the room with the heiresses.

You may as well just sit back and wait for her to sign you, your blood twin and your sire up for her crew of helmsmen because unless some miracle happens, none of the three of you will be walking out of her of your own free will.  You look over and see Karkat slink into his seat and you want to try and protect his short ass, even if it throws you in her way.

But instead of saying anything she walks to the head of the table and shoos your host out of his seat.  He and his descendants move to the other end of the table and actually sit.  He looks like, under any other circumstances, he’d be livid having to sit with the low bloods.  But his eyes are locked on her in a reverence that you know can only be red, putting a softness in his hard features.

You swallow, watching Karkat introduce himself to the asshole you’d shoved over and you want to pull him away and growl at the violet blooded fucker.  Mine.

But he isn’t, really.

But something pushes you back and you hit the floor.  A weight sits on top of you and a terrible voice taunts and teases you.

So weak.

So fucking weak.

Are you sure that you’re really a sea dweller?  Or are these just for decoration.

You hiss and feel a hand at your throat.  Not wanting to kill, but going for pain.  Claws dig at your gills and you know.

Chapter Sixty-One

He sat with his legs drawn to his chest and looked at Cronus. He was afraid of what this question could mean. And of what his answer could do. He knew the answer. He was the only one that knew the answer. He didn't like this question, though. It pried. It was just so... personal.

But why was he so nervous about it? This man had had his penis in his mouth and down his throat. He'd seen him more vulnerable than anyone else.

So he took a deep breath. He just had to tell the truth. And to ask some questions of his own.

He kept his gaze on Cronus. “I...” He swallowed. “I've tried to... In the past month. On occasion. But it never felt right.” His face flushed darkly and he hid it behind his knees. “I don't see why you need to know this! In fact I feel highly triggered that you would even ask if I have as that's incredibly personal information!” He could feel himself crying a little.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Kan! Kanny! Kankri! Babe!” Cronus had a hand on his back, rubbing circles. “I just... I needed to know if you'd done anything like that so if, like, we get caught up in the heat a the moment and you decided that you wanna do it? I mean it'd be horrible if you didn't like what we were doin' yeah? I don't wanna hurt you, so I had to ask.” He swallowed hard.

“I suppose that makes sense...”

“Babe, are you okay?”

He sighed and pulled his knees closer. “I'm perfectly fine.”

Cronus leaned in and quirked an eyebrow. “Babe you look about as far from fine as I've ever seen you.” He reached out to touch him, but drew his hand back.

Kankri sighed again and ran a hand through his hair. “I'm just not sure why exactly you need to know. Explain.”

He let out a heavy sigh. “Babe, like I said. I gotta know so that, like, when you're ready, I know how much we gotta, like, prepare you. Cause if you ain't done nothin' like it before then it's gonna fuckin' hurt. And I don't wanna hurt you, babe.”

He swallowed hard and looked back up at Cronus. “Prepare me?”

“Uh, yeah, I gotta like... Stretch you.”

“Why?” His brow furrowed.

“To, uh, to be able to actually have some full on sex? I mean we don't fuckin' have to, but you said that you wanted to earlier so I thought maybe like doin' some research on how to do that might not be a bad idea.” He let out a deep sigh and Kankri could feel him as he leaned back into the couch. “I don't fuckin' know, babe. Just fuckin' forget I said anything and we'll go on our way. Have some sloppy make-outs, give some killer blow jobs. We both seem to like that.”

He took a deep breath and let it out. “I suppose that I hadn't thought about it that way. It just felt... Dirty.” He glanced over at Cronus to seem him looking back at him inquisitively.

“Babe. If it feels dirty then you don't gotta go through with it yet. I mean yeah, I'll be a little disappointed, but that's just the way it goes. I'm willing to wait until you're ready.”

He swallowed and nodded slowly before finally relaxing a little. “It's not that I don't appreciate the sentiment, love. I'm just not sure if I really am ready. I was so caught up in the heat of the moment before...”

“And that's fine. I don't want you to do nothin' that you don't wanna, but you gotta tell me. I ain't a mind reader.”

He smiled and gave a little laugh. “I know that you're not, Cronus.” He moved over to him and wrapped his arms around him softly. “And I greatly appreciate that.”

Cronus sat for a few moments before returning the hug, being careful not to embrace him too tightly. “I just want you to be happy, babe.” His voice was soft as he nuzzled against him.

Kankri turned his head a little pressed a kiss to his lips. “Thank you.” He tightened his grip on him and Cronus did the same.

“I just love you so much.” He laughed weakly.

“I love you, too.”

Cronus's grip tightened and he pressed another soft kiss to his lips. “Then do you just wanna forget about what I said?”

He thought for a moment. “No. No I don't think that I do.”

“Really?” He pulls his head back and stares intently into Kankri's eyes.

“Of course. It doesn't make sense to forget about it. It's a very real step in our relationship and I'd like to have a few days to think about what it could mean for us.” He pressed another soft kiss to his lips. “I'm a little nervous about this step.”

He chuckled and kissed him back. “Yeah babe I'm a little nervous about it, too. But I think we'll both like it.”

He took a deep breath and hummed. “I hope you're right.”

He pressed another kiss to his lips. “If you don't like it I'll stop. If you don't like anything I'll stop, babe.”

“I know you will.” He nuzzled against his shoulder and smiled.

The two sat in silence for a few moments, listening to each other's breathing and heartbeats.

Cronus spoke first. “Do you wanna maybe just go to bed? I mean I know it's early but...”

“Yes. Let's just go to bed.” He leaned up and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips before standing and moving back to his room. Cronus followed behind him closely and they both stripped down and got into bed. They wrapped their limbs around each other, saying their good nights and I love you's before closing their eyes and trying to sleep.

After a few minutes Cronus began to laugh. “Babe it's like eight thirty, what the fuck are we doing?”

He laughed with him. “We're getting a good night's sleep.” He pressed another kiss to his lips.

“How can I get a good night's sleep when the most beautiful guy in the world has his arms wrapped around my chest?”

His face flushed and he chewed on his lip. “Cronus I'm not beautiful.”

“Yeah you are.” He pressed another soft kiss to his lips. “Now let's pretend to sleep for a while.” He laughed again.

“All right, love. Goodnight.” He nuzzled back against him.