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“ED,” Sollux whined, brattier and more pointedly than she’d initially meant to be. “Where are you going? Do you really need to go out?”
Eridan was at the bottom of the stairs, all dolled up in a stylish skirt and blouse, pulling on a pair of sky high violet heels that came close to eliminating their height difference. Very clearly going out somewhere. That was not what Sollux wanted. Not on her girlfriend’s day off, when she was supposed to be at home giving her all the attention she could dream of. Deciding that she’d spent long enough gawking at Eridan over the back of the sofa, and that that wouldn’t be remotely sufficient if Eridan stopped touching up her lipstick and started moving towards the door, Sollux got up and scuttled right over to her.
“Hm? We ain’t got any plans today, do we? I was just gonna pick up a couple things from the office real quick so Dad don’t bug me about it over the weekend, then do a little grocery shoppin’. Won’t be out long.” She pursed her lips in the mirror, examining every sparkly fleck smeared over them to ensure even coverage, and Sollux took that as her opportunity to snake her arms around Eridan’s waist and press in close to her. She made a noncommittal noise, reluctant to settle on an answer at first. What Eridan was saying made perfect sense, which meant it was much harder to argue against.
“No… no plans other than all the spoiling I need from you,” she mumbled, leaning her head down to rest her chin against Eridan’s shoulder. It wasn’t as much of a strain as it normally was. That was always a little weird when Eridan was walking around the house in some of her tallest heels.
“And you’ll get plenty of that, babygirl. Don’t you always?” Eridan finally capped her lipstick tube and slipped it into her purse, then zipped the compartment it vanished into. She turned away from the mirror too, using her newly freed arms to pull Sollux in closer and hold her too. “You’ll have me all to yourself for the whole evenin’ and night, just like usual. Well, you might have to share with our little menagerie, but you’re well accustomed to that,” she said with a soft laugh. Their pets were always adorable distractions, pleading for attention or treats with no regard for what their humans might be up to around the house. It was true; Sollux would never mind sharing with them.
“I do, but… Just don’t wanna be away from you. Dunno why.” Sollux squeezed her a little tighter. It was more of a challenge to avoid Eridan’s searching gaze once they were facing each other, but she did her very best anyway, hiding in the crook of Eridan’s neck. If Eridan saw that she was close to tears over a regular outing, it was only going to make her start crying for real.
“It shouldn’t be much more than an hour. Is that so bad?” Sollux could feel as well as hear Eridan humming thoughtfully after that. Ringed fingers combed through the back of her hair, surely crisscrossing black and blonde and making a mess of it just so Eridan could sort it back out again for her. “Suppose you could come with me if you really wanna, but you gotta get ready quick if that’s what you’re doin’. I need to pick up those files before 4:00.”
“Mm,” she replied wordlessly. It would be a little embarrassing to go out in sweats and an oversized tee when her girlfriend was dressed to the nines. She didn’t feel much like errands. But she didn’t want to watch Eridan walk out the door either. “Just need you close.”
“Somethin’ is botherin’ you. You know I love your clinginess, Sol, but you’re not usually this clingy. Tell me what’s wrong, gorgeous.”
“Just the date. You know what time of year it is.” Sollux could feel the awkwardness radiating off of herself as she delivered the news. They could normally talk to each other about anything, but she felt so guilty about mentioning that worry in particular that it felt wrong to be telling Eridan the truth at all. “Reminds me of back then.”
“When I got sent away,” Eridan answered, catching on quickly enough to make Sollux feel even more guilty. Was she thinking about it too, beating herself up for not being strong enough to resist her family back then and avoid the years of enforced distance they faced. Sollux nodded, wordless, and redoubled her efforts to phase right into her girlfriend’s body, where she would never have to make eye contact again.
“When you left me. When I thought I wasn’t ever going to see you again.”
“When you thought I didn’t love you enough to fight for you… That wasn’t ever true though, you know that, right? Always loved you more than anything. I was just… too afraid to do what I really wanted, knowin’ that the consequences would blow up my life. Hope you can forgive me for bein’ so late to that.”
“Of course I forgive you,” Sollux mumbled then, finding the courage herself to pull back and look Eridan in the face. “Forgave you a long time ago. I know it’s all in the past, but… knowing you’re not going to leave me again doesn’t stop me from feeling anxious about it at times like this, I guess. Sorry.”
“I get that. No need to apologize, Sol. I’ll be makin’ up for all the pain I caused you for years to come.” Eridan, making no attempt to protect her still-damp lipstick, leaned right in for a kiss. Sollux reciprocated eagerly. She situated one hand at the back of her girlfriend’s neck, tangling fingers in the loose waves of her hair for the length of their lip lock. Though it started off chastely enough, neither one of them drew back until they were both flushed and a little short of breath.
“Tell you what, maybe I can get someone to bring those files to the house for me if I use the real commandin’ boss tone. And we can order in for dinner too, put off that grocery run ‘til tomorrow. That way you can cling to me all you want. Sound good?”
Nothing could have sounded better.