Erisol Oneshot Collections

Growing Up

I swear to god when I started writing, it was meant to be happier than this. It was also meant to be more..... erisol.

Oops

Warnings:
Child abuse
Homophobia
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When Eridan was born, his mother had smiled and held him close. He did not remember how her heart began to slow as he laid against her chest, wailing. His brother did.

When Eridan's mother passed away, he wasn't even an hour old. When the doctors asked his father if he wanted to see his son, he took Eridan into his arms and cried. Eridans brother sat by their mother silently until the doctors wheeled her body away.

When Eridan was little, his father spoiled him rotten. He got all of the toys he wanted, when he wanted them, and was doted on by everyone he came across. Except for his brother. His brother watched Eridan be treated like a prince while he was forgotten.

When Eridan started his first day of school, a lanky boy named Sollux stole his glasses. He had ran crying to the teacher, and smugly watched as she punished his bully and returned his glasses. The two boys struggled to get along thereafter.

When Eridan was six years old, he came home from school with tears in his eyes and blood on his lip and he ran to his brother, seeking comfort while he waited for his father to return from work.

"Cro, he punched me!" Eridan clung to the sleeve of his brothers leather jacket, crying to him for attention. "That Captor jerk punched me!"

His brother brushed him off and tied his shoes. "Suck it up, Danny. You ain't a baby anymore, are ya?" Without waiting for a response, his brother pushed him away and walked out the door. "Don't tell dad I left, or you'll havwe more than that split lip to wvorry about, got it?" Without so much as a backwards glance, the teen stalked out into the crisp October air outside and slammed the door behind him. Eridan felt tears prick at the back of his eyes and he sat quietly on the couch while waited for his father to get home.

When Eridan was seven years old, his brother slapped him for the first time. He had gotten the teen in trouble earlier in the day when he found a pack of cigarettes underneath the couch, and the angry shouts of his father were still echoing in Eridan's ears when his brothers hand made contact. He jerked and reeled away, tears blurring his vision.

"Cro, I-I didn't mean for dad to get mad at you, I swwear I didn't!" He stumbled over his words and his voice was quieted when he looked up at his brothers furious scowl.

"You knovw, Eridan, you ain't been nothin but trouble for me since the day you vwere born. You'd savwe evweryone a hell of a lot of trouble if you just fuckin' ran off already." A whimper escaped his throat as the taller boy towered threateningly over him.

"Cro... Cronus go awway. I-I'll call dad!" Eridan hated the way his voice cracked, but not nearly as much as his brothers condescending laugh. Without a word, Cronus turned and walked back into his own room. Eridan thought he was safe. He wasn't.

When Eridan was 10 years old, he was put into a class with the same skinny boy that took his glasses in the first grade. The teacher had them work together on math.

"Why'd you got a bruithe on your cheek?" Eridan jerked and looked up at the boy, sneering at the way his lisp mangled his words.

"None of your business." He looked back down and continued to try and understand the problem on the page before him. There was a moment of silence, and Eridan could almost hear his brother telling him how stupid he must be if he can't even do some dumb math. The fact that someone was sitting with him slipped his mind, until Sollux spoke.

"Did thomebody hit you?" Eridan opened his mouth to reply, to tell him to go away, and then shut it once more. He fiddled with his pencil and kept his eyes trained on his paper. The boy reached over and gently pat his back, then didn't speak again. The next day, they sat together at lunch.

When Eridan was 12 years old, he more often than not found himself on the couch of Sollux Captor, crying his eyes out. He found it easier to spill his secrets to the scrawny nerd than share with his father.

"Did that jerk hit you again?" Another whimper tore itself out of his throat, despite his best efforts to keep it contained.

"No... no. I made him and dad fight again." He felt Solluxs arm snake it's way around his waist and he leaned against his friends side. "Cro told dad I'm the reason my mom died." Sollux said nothing for a while, then spoke softly.

"That ithn't true. He jutht mitheth her." Eridan buried his face in his hands, fighting off another sob. Neither of them spoke again for a long time, preferring to sit and hold each other close. Eridan went home that night without saying goodbye, scared of what he felt for his friend.

When Eridan was 16 years, his brother looked through the history on his laptop and gave him a bloody nose. He could hear his brother shouting things at their father in the living room from where he sat on his bed, and he couldn't stop his tears. The words bounced around in his head and he dug his fingernails into his arms. Faggot. Disgusting. Freak.

The yelling continued for several long and excruciating minutes, before he heard a door slam and a motorcycle speed off outside. Eridan sat quietly and his father entered his room.

"Is Cronus telling the truth?" He felt numb as he nodded his head slowly. "Look, Danny... maybe it's better if you leave." A few moments of painful silence passed, then Eridan spoke softly.

"Cronus is 23. Wwhy havven't you kicked him out?" His only response was silence, and the tears flowed freely.

When Eridan left his house that night, he had a backpack and a suitcase in tow, and he never looked back.

When Eridan was 17 years old, he was living with Sollux Captor and his family, and for the first time since he was very little, he was happy. He was free.

When Eridan was 18 years old, he graduated from high school with good grades and a smile on his face, and he proved his brother wrong. Sollux's fingers gently squeezed his hand and he turned to smile at his boyfriend.

That night, as he fell asleep in a tangle of bony limbs in Sollux's bed, he looked back on his past and realized that he couldn't be happier with who he had become.