[For Serena] The pragmatist.

[up_off_thefloor]

Chuck was gone. Roxas was gone. And Eric...Eric was in the kitchen with Cooking Basics for Dummies open at his side, trying to focus on the recipe for scrambled eggs, the first recipe in the book. He'd been trying to read it from the beginning ever since it appeared two days before, as well as Gourmet Cooking for Dummies and his entire mini-fridge

Comments

[turnthebadinme]

"Hey, hey, easy," Serena said, soothing as she swept in to rest a hand on his wrist. "Remember what Chuck showed us last semester." She'd only been looking for something to snack on, a notebook and some magazines tucked under her other arm so she could jot down plans for Nate's birthday as a distraction. Something was clearly terribly wrong here, though.

Setting her things down away from the egg, she laid her hand on his shoulder, ducking her head down to look at him. "Eric, what's going on?"

[up_off_thefloor]

Eric took a deep breath, shaking his head. "Sorry. I know," he murmurs, staring down into the bowl of eggs. He almost didn't want to say the words, because saying them would make them so much more painfully true, but that was silly and childish. "Roxas is gone," he admitted in a low voice, giving a half-shrug and then looking up to add quickly, "I'm okay."

[turnthebadinme]

"He's -" Serena glanced away, hand staying on his shoulder. Her breath caught in her throat a moment and then she sighed. It wasn't supposed to work like this. Bad enough that the island should take Beat from her, bad enough that Chuck was gone - Eric deserved better, he always had. Stepping forward, she slipped her arms around him. "Oh god, Eric, I'm so sorry, that's awful... I'm so, so sorry."

[up_off_thefloor]

Eric leaned into the embrace, even as he shook his head. "It's okay. I mean...it's not, it sucks, but--that's how this place is. I'll be fine," he promised in a low voice.

[turnthebadinme]

"That doesn't make it any less terrible," said Serena, not wanting to let go of Eric yet. At any minute, he could go back, too, and she just couldn't deal with the idea. She'd worked too hard not to let it show how badly the last few disappearances had affected her, but that was one she didn't think she could survive. "If there's anything I can do..."

[up_off_thefloor]

"Thanks," Eric said quietly, curling up against her, turning away from the eggs to hug her fully. "Just...at least we still have each other, right?" he commented with a weak smile, turning his face up toward hers.

[turnthebadinme]

Serena nodded, wrapping both arms tightly around him. "Always," she promised, throat tight. "You'll always have me, okay? I'm not going anywhere." It felt true to her, like she would be stuck here forever, but in this, at least, that was a reason to count her blessings. She couldn't leave if it meant leaving Eric alone.

[up_off_thefloor]

"Okay." Eric could feel a lump growing in his throat and he swallowed it back, refusing to give in to the urge to cry, to mourn his losses when he had so much to be grateful for, so much still here. Most of all he had Serena, and through the years he'd proven to himself that was all he really needed, when it came right down to it.

He took a deep breath, exhaling a not-quite-steady sigh, and eased back out of the hug. "...You want to stick around and sample my scrambled eggs when I get them done?"

[turnthebadinme]

There wasn't anything Serena wouldn't have agreed to right then, not if it made him feel better. "Of course," she said fondly, rubbing his arm before letting her hand drop back. "How could I pass up an offer like that?" She didn't wait for an answer, sinking back to lean against the counter with a small smile. "So what brought on the sudden desire to cook?"

[up_off_thefloor]

Eric patted the cookbook that was sitting on the countertop, then flipped it closed and held it up. "The island thought I should learn, I guess. I got a couple of books and a bunch of ingredients."

[turnthebadinme]

"Oh, that's cool," Serena said, turning to look at the book he held. She could manage alright in the kitchen these days, but she still felt it was to everyone's advantage if someone else did the honors when it came to cooking. "That'll be fun. A new hobby, something to do."

[up_off_thefloor]

"Exactly. Maybe the island is bribing me to keep my classes at a sane level?" Eric suggested, summoning up a faint smile.

[turnthebadinme]

"Would bribes work?" Serena asked, reaching out to ruffle his hair, all fondness. "Because if they would, I can find some way to bribe you." It was a way, sure, for him to keep busy, but that didn't mean he needed to work himself half to death when he wasn't even going to be able to use his grades to get into a school.

[up_off_thefloor]

Eric laughed at that, a genuine laugh. "Don't worry, I learned my lesson last year. No bribes are necessary--though if you insist, you can promise to eat my cooking no matter how bad it is."

[turnthebadinme]

Serena rolled her eyes playfully, holding up both hands. "Even if it's the worst in the world," she promised, then clapped her hands onto his shoulders, grinning. "But it won't be. No matter what you do, you're amazing."

[up_off_thefloor]

"And you're an unbiased judge of that," Eric teased in a dry tone, rubbing his hands together as he turns his focus back to the bowl of egg. "Okay. Where was I? Right, fishing eggshells out. Hey, how do you feel about scrambled eggs with a little crunch?" He turned and grinned at Serena, feeling genuinely better with her here.