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Sollux is constantly on his phone, and you can admit that for the first little while it bothered you because you felt like he gave some shitty, ancient phone more attention than he gave you. You're bad at sharing. And at backing off. And at pretty much everything. But so is he, so, it's sort of been working out alright, all things considered.
Well, better than expected, at least.
He grumbles about leaving the house, about you dragging him to fancy dinners with your parents, about how he could be at home with his laptop, working or doing anything more entertaining. But he still holds your hand, lets you tie his tie for him, and sometimes you even get a snarky little comment out of him when your dad starts talking out his ass over dinner.
Everywhere you go, he's always had his phone in one hand, and your hand in his other. He tried to explain it to you once, that he's not always the best at face to face interaction. That he likes having a screen between him and other people. You spent the majority of high school playing fucking Second Life because everyone in your classes were terribly cruel to you- so you understand that part, at least.
He's not the most eloquent with his words. Stumbles over them a lot. Mangles his S's, comes off rude and sarcastic. The smooth, sassy comebacks he delivers online just don’t happen when they're not coming from a keyboard. So you definitely get the appeal of only talking to people through computers.
But.
Well.
He's your boyfriend, has been for about six months. He's not the most dedicated guy, but you're also a spoilt brat- he's told you that much, and after careful consideration, you kind of agree. But you're maybe starting to feel like he definitely spends more time typing away on his phone than actually talking to you. And you've started to wonder if he's been talking to someone else? Is there someone he texts all day and that’s why his phone is such an important piece of technology?
Is there someone he'd rather talk to than you, even when you're right there holding his other hand?
He spends the night sometimes, usually after the two of you play games and tease each other well past 3am- games is the one time he puts down his phone, and even when he goes to bed, the old thing is tucked under the pillow of yours that he always sleeps on. He doesn't really go anywhere without it.
So when you have a lazy morning with him, wake up to him sprawled across your chest, already awake but comfortable enough not to move, you know the hand that’s under his pillow is holding his goddamn phone. You almost get mad about it. You're jealous of some shitty phone, or someone who he's not told you about that he's been texting for the six months you've been together! And just when he pulls it out, to do who knows what, he drops it next to his face on your chest instead, and just smiles.
You fucking melt.
Sollux Captor smiling should probably be illegal. Smirks, sure, those are a common thing. He does the knowing, sarcastic smirk so well its pretty much his trademark expression when he's actually listening to a conversation- but a smile? a sweet, genuine smile? Not fuckin allowed.
He nudges his phone with his finger tips, pushing it towards you, still smiling, and you're almost too busy admiring the way his whole face lights up to catch what he means. He rolls his eyes and gets up- you protest with a little whine.
"Read it." He says, smile settling back to that smirk, a hint of playful sincerity sneaking into his morning-heavy voice.
He's got his messages open, when you pick up the old phone. There's a crack in the screen but you can still read everything clear enough.
There's nearly two hundred messages in his drafts. Almost every one of them is to your phone, written but never sent. There's the odd one to Karkat, but the content is still similar.
you're the only person to ever get me to sit through a movie without throwing candy at other people. I had so much fun, I fucking hate it
your dad is too harsh on you. you're so sweet and he has no idea
you look really good in the mornings when your hair is all messy and you're too tired to care
karkat help he's so pretty I want to kiss his face forever
your mac is a piece of shit but its cute as fuck that you have that picture of us as your background
I'm so lucky. you're awful and I'm so lucky to have you
You scroll through them, reading each one in silence as he rests his cheek on your shoulder. Sollux watches you for the first dozen or so. He starts out pleased, then gets worried when you don't say anything. You feel him fidget with the hem of your tshirt, catch him worrying his bottom lip.
I don’t want to go home tonight, your bed is better. mostly because you're in it.
you can put me in as many suits as you want so long as you keep kissing me
karkat how soon is too soon to tell someone you love them
so I'm pretty sure I love him
is there a point where stupid bullshit stops being endearing? because I've not hit that yet. Everything he owns is purple and its still adorable.
He reaches for the phone but you swat his hand away, then change your mind and catch it, bring his fingers to your lips so you can kiss at them while you keep reading. Sollux makes a distressed little noise, but otherwise doesn’t protest, hiding his face against the soft material of your shirt.
I don’t know how to tell you I don’t know what I'd do without you
google search: how to tell a dude you love him, but not in a super cheesy way, it needs to be cool
I'm sorry I'm so bad at this romance shit
please don’t ever stop holding my hand
I love you so fucking much you idiot
You're maybe going to cry. Yeah, okay, your cheeks are wet. That sure is a thing that is happening. You nearly drop the phone on your face in your rush to turn and catch him for a kiss before he can protest. He doesn't though. Sollux willingly less you kiss him silly, even though you're a gross sniffly mess and you've got him wrapped so tight in your arms and the blankets that you're pretty sure he's uncomfortably warm.
"I'm bad at feelings." He admits, as if that explains everything. "And I write messages to you a lot."
"I'd wondered, y'know." You kiss his forehead and he huffs. "You spend every waking minute clutching some form of techy gadget."
Sollux shrugs, but doesn’t try to wiggle out of your hold, or the pile of blankets. Perhaps he's accepted his fate.
"It's a crutch, sort of." He scrunches up his nose, won’t meet your eye. It's not a dishonest not meeting your eye, more of a shy one. As if he's been scolded for it before. "I get nervous or bored or even just, need to fidget and its there."
"So you write me sweet messages an' don't send them?" You're grinning. His cheeks are bright red. "That’s so cute. You're cute."
He tries to disappear under the blankets but doesn't get very far.
"I love you too, y'know. Two hundred messages an' how many more deleted ones just to tell me?" You grin, but the corners of your eyes are pricking again. He's red right up to his ears and you can't help but bump the ends of your noses together. "You don't have to fret that much, Sol."
"My Bejeweled score is the current record holder." He blurts out, and instead of being offended, you just fucking laugh.
You laugh and you kiss him, and neither of you leave bed until well past noon because he spends at least an hour showing you every game he's ever downloaded and how to cheat in all of them.