It's Not Your Fault -EriSol-

Your name is Eridan Ampora and you are so terribly alone. You are as alone as you were in your lifetime. None of your memories satisfy you- they only bring pain, because they usually involve Feferi or some other poor soul that you destroyed. So you prefer to stare at the purple tinged void around you, hugging your knees and blinking your white, blank eyes.

You miss Feferi. You miss Kanaya. You miss everyone. You wonder if they're dead like you. You wonder what you set into motion back at the lab.

But it's all out of your hands now. You're dead and nobody cares. Some might even be glad you're dead; relieved.

It's no less painful in a dream bubble than in reality.

You wish you could die again, to end the eternity you will spend in this dream bubble. You sniff, staring at a star in the Furthest Ring before suddenly a memory interjects in your peaceful- or peaceless- void. Your purple gives way to the shore, ocean breeze ruffling your hair slightly. You wonder what's going on before you realize that someone has stumbled upon your dream bubble.

And nearly pass out when you realize who it is.

"Ugh, my head hurts."

It's a familiar voice, but notably lisp-less. You look around for the source of the noise before you see a far off figure, obscured by ocean mist. You unfurl your frame, standing and stretching before approaching the figure carefully.

Once the mist lifts between the two of you, you get a clear look at who it is. You can't emit any sound but a small, surprised squeak, one that causes the being to hesitate for a moment.

"What- oh gog, is someone else in here too?" Sollux complains, his arms extending in front of him. You wonder why he's doing this before you see that red and blue is absent from his face.

My cod he's blind, you think to yourself, stepping closer to Sollux so that his flailing is intercepted by your chest. He pauses, patting your chest before jerking at your scarf.
Sollux makes a small noise, jumping away from you and, consequently, falling on the sand. You wonder if his expression is one of fear or hatred as he scoots further away from you.

"E-Eridan?" He finally asks quietly, his shoes slipping in the sand as he ceases his scuttling.

You make a small noise of affirmation, expecting his expression to morph into disgust, condemnation, or anger.

Instead he just reaches up, seemingly reaching out for you. You take it lightly, simply grabbing his hands and pulling him upright.

He pats his hands down your body and you stare at him questioningly before you realize he's looking for a wound. Some affirmation that you're dead. "A-Are you dead or dreaming?" He finally asks.

"... D-Dead..." You confirm quietly.

To your immense surprise, Sollux slips his arms around you, hugging your waist tightly.
"S-Sol, wwhat are you doin'?" You ask, looking down at him.

He lifts his head, and you notice that there are yellow tears forming on his face. "I-I don't really know... I-I guess I'm just... happy that someone's here?"

"B-But I killed you... an I thought you hated me..." You say quietly, reluctant to touch him.

He raises a hand to his eyes, wiping them and sniffing. "I really wish you had killed me, though." He steps away from you, his hands grasping your scarf instead. "Because then I could see... then I'd have teeth and I could lisssssspppppppp at you." He says, a small smile forming on his face. "And you didn't actually kill me. I'm unconcious, yeah, but not dead."

"O-Oh..." You laugh lightly, albeit a little sadly. "I wwas hopin' you wweren't, because I really tried not to kill you..."

"I thought you hated me though."

"I thought you hated me." You repeat at him, watching his hands as they finger the edges of your scarf.

"Well you gotta answer me first." Sollux says, chuckling slightly.

"Fine. I tried not to kill you because... wwell... I didn't actually hate you..." You admit quietly, closing your eyes as you gently close your hands around Sollux's.

"Why didn't you tell me this before you died?" He questions, his fingers slipping through yours seamlessly.

"... Because I kneww you wwouldn't believve me." You finally say, feeling tears gather in your eyes. "I wwas desperate for anythin'- just someone that wwould tolerate me. I nevver evven got that. And you wwere the closest I evver got to a quadrant bein' filled. But not the right one," You add under your breath, as tears begin to fall.

Sollux pulls your scarf, making you stumble a bit as he continues until you're standing in front of him. "Well if you had told me when you were alive, maybe none of this would have happened. Maybe you would still be alive. Maybe I'd still be able to see. Maybe Gamzee wouldn't have gone insane and killed half of us, probably more by now." He puts his arms around you, resting his head against your chest. "Maybe I'd be able to fill one of your quadrants outside of a dream bubble..."

You gently slip your arms around him, hands grabbing his shirt as you rest your forehead against the top of his head. "I'm sorry Sol... I really am... I'm so sorry..."

"It's okay Eridan." Sollux says quietly, rubbing your back. "It's okay, I promise."

"No it's not," You reply, tears falling from your eyes and into Sollux's hair. "Nothin's okay... I screwwed evverythin' up... It's all my fault..."

"No it's not, Eridan, it's not." Sollux says, beginning to gently sway. "It was just emotions... it's partially my fault too, y'know."

"But... I-I killed Fef... and Kan..." You say, feeling guilt slamming into you like a sack of bricks.

Sollux returns his gaze- or what would have been his gaze- to your face, gently patting up your chest before his fumbling hand finds your cheek. He rubs your tears away softly, almost lovingly. "Eridan, who killed you?"

"K-Kan... she wwasn't dead... she cut me in half..." You say, cringing as you remember the pain of her chainsaw slicing into your side.

Sollux pats down your body before his hands find the circle ringing your waist.

"I don't knoww howw the dream bubble put me back together... Guess it figured I shouldn't spend eternity in two halvves..." You say with a light chuckle as Sollux slides his hands along your waist, drawing you closer to him.

"I'm sorry Eridan..."

"Wwhy are you sorry?" You ask quizzically, rubbing the top of his head.

"If I'd been a little nicer to you... maybe you wouldn't have to be dead... maybe we could've avoided all of this..."

You put your arms around him, swaying gently back and forth. "It's not your fault. I could'vve been a little more understandin' of howw much you liked Fef-"

"-But I could've been more understanding of how much you liked me." Sollux interjects, burying his face in your chest.

You tilt his head up, pressing a gentle kiss to his forehead. "Sol, it's not your fault. You thought I hated you, and wwith good reason. I thought I did. But... before Kan came back to life, I wwas thinkin'... and I wwas thinkin' about wwhat I could'vve done differently... or wwhat I could'vve not done at all... and howw much I actually just wwanted someone to lovve me... Because I don't havve anyone... And it's so lonely in here, there's nobody to talk to, nobody to cry with..."

"Hey, Eridan." Sollux says abruptly, tugging on your shirt with a smile on his face.

"W-Wwhat?" You ask in a teary voice.

"I love you." And then he presses your lips to yours just as he wakes up, his body slipping away from yours as the ghost of his kiss stays on your lips.

You look around as the surroundings shift back to your purple void in the Furthest Ring. Then you sit back down and cry in utter hopelessness and despair, realizing that if you hadn't done everything that you had, you would've had a matesprit.