Sollux released a loud sigh as he pushed the door to his apartment open. It was dark and silence veiled the room, just the way he liked it. He dropped his keys into the bowl next to the door, looking around. Fef was normally home by now, which made his eyebrows furrow in worry. She didn't have a late class, and her shifts at the diner were over at noon on Fridays. It definitely wasn't like her to disappear without texting or calling him…

He pulled out his Iphone as he walked across the main room, knowing his way around fine in the dark. He scrolled through his texts and calls just to make sure, eyebrows furrowing further when he saw that there was no word from her.

He dropped his bag on the floor next to the sofa, which he happily plopped down on, relaxing immediately into the cushions. He propped his feet up on the glass coffee table and reached over, turning on the lamp next to the sofa as he dialed her number, holding his phone to his ear.

He wasn't always this protective over his friends. Hell, he really didn't give half a shit about people in general. But Fef was different. He'd always felt protective over his roommate. Not just because she was his roommate, but also because of how much he cared about her. Romantically? Even he wasn't sure of that yet, but Sollux didn't allow himself to get close to many people.

Since opening up allows you to get the shit end of the deal.

He pursed his lips as he stared off into the dim space of the room, heartache fizzling out as soon as it appeared. He listened to the repetitive ringing, buzzing in his ear as his patience begun to wear thin and the worry begun to rise.

Just as he was about to leave a voice-mail, the door opened gently and Feferi made her way inside. Sollux huffed, ending the call and sliding his phone into the pocket of his jacket as he rose.

"You're in a bit late, aren't you? You finally give in to that horny jock in your Com class who has been after your body for half the semester?" He joked, crossing his arms.

Her face remained hidden from him as she set her purse down, along with her keys on the table next to the door. Her long, curly auburn hair hid her tanned face, and all that he received in reply was a sniffle.

His smile faded immediately, arms uncrossing. He quickly made his way over to her, his worry rising once again.

"Hey, hey, hey, FF? What's up?" He asked, sliding his hand onto her full cheek, tilting her face towards his. Her big blue eyes were glistening, her cheeks wet from her now very obvious crying. Tears hung off of her dark lashes, causing Sollux to furrow his eyebrows once again, lips forming a line. "Alright, whose ass do I have to kick?"

She shook her head, causing the tears on her lashes to fall as she sniffled and choked back a sob.

"M-my mom is sick, Sollux," she managed, her chin quivering. He blinked his mismatched eyes down at her, not sure what that comment entailed.

"Sick?" He asked, masking his ever threatening lisp. "Sick as in 'I'm skipping first and second period so I can sleep in sick', or…?" He asked slowly.

That's when she finally broke, throwing her arms around Sollux's neck as her body shook with tears. His eyes widened as he caught her in a hug, sliding his arms around her as he pulled her close. She sobbed quietly, her warm tears seeping through his black and yellow striped jacket.

He wasn't good at this comforting shit. Normally he tried to stay away from the pansy-asses who always needed assurance and care, simply because he didn't have the heart for it. Nevertheless, he stroked the back of her thick hair, shushing her in comfort.

"It's okay, FF. Just tell me what's wrong, okay?" He offered, pulling away and leading her to the couch. He sat her down and he sat down with her, only to have her throw her arms around his neck once again. He tensed, but sighed, relaxing into the hold as he slid his arms around her for the second time.

"Th-They just don't know what's wrong. They don't know what's wrong, but it doesn't look good," she squeaked. He relaxed further, allowing her to cry against his shoulder.

"I'm sure everything's going to be alright, FF. If it was really bad, they'd know what was wrong, right?" He tried to assure, a comforting tone to his voice.

She let out a shaky sigh. She then unhooked her arms from around Sollux's neck, pulling away as her blue eyes made contact with his mismatched ones.

"Sollux, I have to go," she said softly, sounding like she regretted it. He just looked between her eyes, nodding in understanding, although an uncomfortable feeling had blanketed the room.

"Yeah, okay. Go visit her, I can hold down the fort for a while," he said, swallowing hard. She shook her head, and Sollux's heart slowed.

Shit. No, shit.

"I mean for good, Sollux. I have to move to California with my mom. I need to take care of her, and-…"

The rest of her words faded out as his heart practically slowed to a stop. Move? Leave? But she couldn't leave. She was the only person that Sollux was close to, aside from Karkat, his best friend. She was one of the only people that Sollux had allowed himself to grow close to, since…He shook his head.

"Feferi, what do you mean?" He interrupted, making her slowly close her mouth. "I need you here, you know that I can't pay for this place on my own," he said, a slight anger filling him, which made him feel slightly guilty. She couldn't help that she needed to take care of her mother, but what about him? He couldn't afford rent by himself, and without another roommate…

"I know, I know Sollux and I'm sorry. I know that you hate generally the entire human race, and I understand that living with someone else is going to be really, really hard, but its okay! I've got someone else for you to live with! You don't have to leave and go somewhere else, because he's willing to help pay to live here and he can take care of himself…well, kind of take care of himself, I guess…but-"

Sollux shook his head again, once again interrupting her.

"I'm not living with some jackass that I don't know, FF. I refuse."

"But you do know him! Well, at least, you knew him," she said slowly, her voice growing softer as she spoke.

He looked at her, confused and unsure. His mind raced as he tried to think of someone that both he and Feferi knew that could move in with him, but no one was ringing a bell.

"Who?" He asked, his voice also slow as he looked at her with uncertainty. She looked back, looking beyond the definitions of worried and concerned, causing his heart to slow once more.

"Um, well, you knew him back in high school…"

"Fef, who?" He demanded, his voice growing hard. She shrunk back and gulped, looking down and away as she answered.

Sollux froze. He felt his blood run cold as he looked at her, eyes wide in disbelief. No way. There was no fucking way in all nine levels of hell that it was happening. No. He would refuse. He would move out and take his chances living back with his parents, because he would not live with that son-of-a-bitch.

Despite the stubborn thoughts rushing through his head, he knew that he had no choice. He couldn't leave, and if she was leaving, he would need a new roommate. Although taking his chances with a complete stranger seemed almost like a pretty good option, he knew that he would have to face the facts. This is what he would have to do.

Her thin, worried voice echoed in his head, the name repeating itself over and over like a flickering 'Open' sign at a cheap, run down Laundromat. He let out a slow hiss of breath through gritted teeth as he looked away from her, the name screaming in his head.

Eridan Ampora.