towerofanimus | 011 ♐ it's easy living in the house of your dreams ♐ ᴏᴘᴇɴ

Entry tags:

011 ♐ it's easy living in the house of your dreams ♐ ᴏᴘᴇɴ

Characters: Equius Zahhak (AU) and YOU
Setting: Floor 70, the machine.
Format: Starting in action, but I'll do whatever.
Summary: Equius gets his geek on in the worst conceivable way.
Warnings: Possible crushing, burning, or acid corrosion. YAY SCIENCE!

[...Wow.]

[There was no telling how big this floor was. The walls and ceiling were nowhere in sight, because they were completely covered by a massive breathing machine. There was a faint tinge of rust in the air here, and the outer reaches were further obscured by smoke of various colours. Metal parts clunked and ground against one another, making extremely unattractive noises as they did so. A truly staggering amount of the mechanisms here were burned or dented (or maybe they were supposed to be that way, since they were unfamiliar), but they all seemed to be working together towards... something that wasn't immediately clear. There had to be a million different platforms all around the place, but most of them were conveyor belts, carrying scraps of some kind of metal into a huge boiling vat of liquid that sizzled when something dropped in.]

[It was beautiful.]

[Not much to see here, Tower; just a troll, standing next to the staircase, gawking in amazement at the monstrosity in front of him. Judging from the oil streaks that have long since dried on this particular pair of pants, he could feel perfectly at home here... if he got an opportunity to look around. Right now, it's all unfamiliar. And way too big. All Equius can do for quite a long time is stand there and gawk. What could this thing be for?]

[He seems to want to find out, as shortly afterward he's examining the closer and less dangerous metallic innards. And then the slightly further metallic innards. And eventually he's crawling and jumping all over the place, still in view of the staircase, but observing mechanisms that could crush a hand and balancing on things that really ought not to be balanced on, all in the interest of getting just a little closer to that peculiar piece of machinery. It's just so interesting. He seems to be doing pretty well now; one of Equius' few talents is coordination and nimble movement. But who knows how long that'll last if someone startles him...]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Eridan bites back an almost hysterical giggle at that, biting the inside of his lips. Equius is being awkward. Ahahaha, right, right. It's funny because it's true and still pretty tame in comparison to the shit he's managed to pull and the pit of awkward churning in his guts. He continues biting on that lip until the urge to laugh is gone. He's been trying so hard to keep his shit together, ever since that ridiculous time asshattery, and he'd been doing so well. And when it stopped going well his first reaction was to hide. He talked himself out of hiding, though, as much as he wanted to just sink into a corner and die for a bit, but he'd kept his distance from both his quadrants in the aftermath of... well, that. But... well, Eridan's always irrationally afraid he's going to die one day and they'll be gone when he comes back. He can't help but seek them out now. Though now he's wishing he hadn't, a little. He worries his sleeves absently.]

...I don't think I have any grounds to judge you for that.

[Or anything else, really! But he's not gonna mention that, he's just gonna fidget a little more.]

I just. Wanted to make sure you were okay. 's all.

[Yeah, attempting to keep shit together is a pretty common pastime within the Homestuck cast, isn't it? Too bad they're all complete failures at keeping their shit in the same country, much less keeping it together. But, hey, they try, and they succeed sometimes, like what Eridan's been doing! Congratulations. If, uh, hiding from everyone and pretending that life doesn't exist is how Eridan keeps sane, well, Equius is in no position to deny that. A sane Eridan is a happy Eridan, right? He just wants his beloved to be happy.]

...Thanks.

[...As it turns out, another problem with the Homestuck cast: expressing true feelings. Because there is literally nothing he's doing right now that makes Eridan happy. Though really, he's standing in the middle of a literal death machine, that's kind of to be expected.]

Uh, yeah, I'm... I'm [mostly] [kind of] [okay not really] fine.

I'm glad.

[Eridan smiles ever so slightly at that, though the tension on his shoulders doesn't quite drop. He had been doing a spectacular job of keeping his shit together, all things considered, up to the point his death and kill count went up simultaneously. That wasn't so cool. He sort of stands there for a moment, chewing on the inside of his lip and slowly worrying a hole in the hem of his shirt with his claws, trying to put to words the overwhelming urge to reach out and hug his matesprit, just to make sure he's really fine. The setting isn't helping, either, but the fact Equius had seemed so... comfortable, when he was squirreling about between one death trap and the next sort of helped him curb the urge to make a fool of himself.]

...do you mind if I stay for a little while? I'll... I'll keep out of the way.

You can stay, I'm in no position to kick you out... [This wasn't a floor that belonged to him, after all. None of them were. He didn't own anything, and even if he seemed to be the only person who could stand to be in here, that didn't mean it was his.]

[Equius was familiar enough by now with the arm gestures that usually meant Eridan was fucking around with his shirt again. Sorry, but no matter how awkward he feels right now, he can't just see that happening and figure it was no big deal. Someone had to do something about it! So, completely ignoring the heart attacks he could be causing, Equius began to move a bit closer to Eridan's location on the landing. He was doing more of those goddamn terrifying stunts, with the same degree of competence he was earlier... but it was visibly different, because he wasn't enjoying this. It felt good, productive, and kind of fun to be running around on the machine like a giant killer jungle gym, but right now he had different goals to attend to. Different goals that involved getting close to that jadeblood and stopping him from ruining another shirt.]

Oh.

[Eridan sort of quiets down because that sure is Equius making his way towards him and he's still kind of terrified the guy is going to somehow find a way to die between point A and point B, especially now that Eridan himself seems to be point B. He is terrible with words - what else is new? - but that thing Equius did that terrified Eridan, he's doing it again. Though it isn't really a thing he does, to be precise - not that Eridan could be precise with his words to save his life - it's more like everything he was and he did and he made Eridan feel and do and what he made Eridan feel he could do. As a whole. It's pretty terrifying.]

...Eq?

[...That is pretty terrifying, Eridan. Why do all jadebloods seem to be critically incapable of simple grammatical processes? Is it an inherited trait? Or maybe the Virgin Mother Grub just really sucks (haha see what I did there) at reading and writing. That was also a possibility. In the meantime, Equius stops a little ways away, on another platform which is pretty stable; if by any chance it should fall, there were enough wires roped underneath to act as a safety net.]

Yes?

Is something wrong?

[Eridan sort of chewed the inside of his lip, following Equius movements with a little apprehension. They're different from before and that's kind of worrysome a bit. He's not sure what he's done but he probably screwed up again.]

[Well that's kind of a loaded question, Eridan, now isn't it.]

No. Nothing's wrong.

[He's just stopped dicking around, is all.]

Okay.

[Squirming a bit. You know he can't handle scrutiny very well. Also working on leaving a nice set of holes in that shirt.]

...What?

[Okay maybe he should be asking if YOU are the one with the problem, Eridan, because ~~that icon has a wedding dress and it's kind of freaking him out~~ you don't look too good, man.]

[...And casually looking at that shirt.]

Nothing.

[After a moment he catches that look and guiltily lets go of the shirt and folds his hands behind his back, like a scolded child.

Also he wants a hug, but he's not sure if he's allowed one. Because. Yeah. Reasons.]

...I guess... we both have something wrong with us today, huh.

[Eridan let out a strangled hoot of laughter at that, before he swallowed it back and started biting his lips nervously.]

...sort of, yeah. Sorry.

S'alright. [He looks off to the side somewhere.] It... yeah.

[They both remember Adulterystuck, right? Yes? Just checking.]

[Yeeeeeeah, we do remember that, though Eridan is endeavoring to not remember it because his past self is. Was. Will be. ...just. Purely undiluted asshole.]

I. Uh.

[This is the tone of voice that says he fucked up and doesn't know how to own up to it. Whoops.]

[That could easily be interpreted as just a general awkwardness "I uh", Eridan. You need to learn to be more specific.]

[Still, he doesn't like that tone of voice, and the fact that he comes back to look at Eridan again shows it.]

...so last. Time something like this happened. You got mad at me 'cause I didn't tell you. So. Here I am. Telling you. Even though it's kind of dumb.

[Sorry back to worrying that shirt with his claws.]

...I. Uh. Kind of died? Yesterday. I mean. I think. And. Uh. Yeah.

[aaaaaAAAAAAAAAnd that distance between them gets closed fast. Real fast. God damn. Equius is promptly very close to him, and maybe fretting a little bit because hE DIED, ERIDAN DIED, HOW DID HE NOT KNOW THIS?]

What?!

[Commence the fussing.]

Oh god. Oh god! What happened? Why?

[Eridan flinches at the question, sort of making himself really damn small in the time it takes Equius to get there. He raises his hands placatingly, wincing for all he's worth.]

It's... it's okay. It wasn't a big deal, really. Just. A dumb mistake. That's all. Just. No big deal, honest. I'm fine.

[He's really not, but it has nothing to do with him dying.]

[Equius stops the fussing for a moment, just long enough to look into Eridan's eyes with the kind of look that suggests he needs to know. Or else things are going to get altogether unattractive. And nobody here wants that.]

[And then he gets going again.]

It's not a small thing, Eridan, you died! What happened?!

[He shrinks back, some more, wilting under that look and desperately wishing for his sunglasses to hide behind.]

It wasn't... it was just dumb. Karkat and I got lost in the desert floor.

[...Ampora.]

[He stares for a while, and then supposes hey -- he got his answer. So just gonna. Back up. A little.]

I'm sorry.

[And then:]

...for, uh. That. Everything.

[That everything. Okay, dude.]

It's okay.

[It's really not.]

I just.

[He waved his hands a little, trying to figure out the right words for it.]

I'm trying.

[Honest. He is. He swears.]

You are.

[Not very hard, or so it seems sometimes, but Equius gives him the benefit of the doubt because he's Equius.]

Yeah, I...

[That whole thing was just Bad and he doesn't know how he feels about it. So he lets that sentence die.]

I'm sorry.

[He does actually sound sorry, for a change, almost like the words mean something and are not just another knee-jerk, meaningless platitude he likes to sprout out without thinking.]

You... are probably still angry at me, and that's okay. I fucked up and I keep fucking up but I'm. I'm not trying to weasel out of it, honest. I just. I figured it'd be another fuck up if you found out before I told you...?

[He sounds unsure there, like the concept doesn't quite stick to his brain, and it kind of doesn't because it goes against pretty much everything he is and has been and has made himself to be.]

So. Yeah.

[A w k w a r d.]

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