#eric:aggie

The last cheat day he could allow, the last "well fuck that" day, because tomorrow he had to be in LA, showing off how much he had learned and what he thought about his character to start giving him that Eric Sanders.

Oh well... Cup Cake's.

"Aggie?" He was so happy to see her after everything she had been through, and he wanted to talk to her anyway, because now Vivienne was in New Jersey (that was very temporary). And... because they could finally have that coffee together, even if it wouldn't be a date anymore.

Well, he didn't care. He liked Aggie's company, especially since she told him why she disliked him at first.

"It's so good to see you Miss Robshaw. How are you?" Eric smiled, trapping them in the bakery with that question. "Vivvy loves Maddie, but she misses you tons."

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With his two charming companions disappearing for a moment to pet and feed all the zoo animals, Eric decided it was the right moment to run a top-secret errand. No way he was going to be the only reindeer in their tiny group, so he had to buy matching antlers for Autumn and Vivienne, but that was just a side quest. Now that everyone had already donated and the booth wasn't so swarmed, Eric decided it was his turn to contribute, and...-

And now, it was also much easier to notice who was sitting in the booth. Aggie Robshaw. Miss Ballerina. Not that he wasn't happy to lay his eyes on her; the sight infallibly made his heart skip a beat. The problem was that all their interactions were far from successful and left Eric somewhat dumbfounded.

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With his parents leaving for LA this morning and Veronica's arrival postponed a few days, this was going to be Eric's first lazy day in the new house. He could leave his phone at home (he didn't) or turn it off (he didn't), do whatever he wanted (not really), and eat whatever he craved (in moderation). A well-deserved hiatus, when he could focus on himself and his daughter, has just begun. For a month – or even two, if his manager allowed this whim – Eric could disappear and just live his life in peace.

Except, he still had a famous face, and it didn't take long until his uneventful stroll turned into an impromptu meet&greet. He stopped for a photo here, signed an autograph there; every time he thought he was free to go, another person or group spotted him. Some acted like it would be more polite to take his picture from afar than to approach him, while others seemed to let fate decide – if our paths cross, I'll stop him.

Maybe when people know that he lives there, they'll let him be, like his parents told him about living in Los Angeles.

And then a group of a few women approached him; two asked Eric to sign their tickets from the Grove Theatre, joking about how unfortunate it was that he wasn't in the movie they saw, another one preserved the moment on camera, and...- And then he raised his eyes and saw her. Waiting for her friends to stop flirting with the actor so they could carry on, go wherever they were heading; definitely not interested in getting anything signed.

"Anything for you?" He asked, (seemingly no one in particular, yet looking at the blonde), following the question with the most charming, magnetic smile he could muster, and waved the pen tucked between his index and middle fingers.

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Here Comes The Bride - event & season 3 intro

I do.

They signed, then said these two words out loud, smiling so much he was positive it guaranteed wrinkles. She had the most beautiful bouquet, a dress so impeccably white it didn't fit the damaged world, and she looked like an angel he had fallen in love with the moment he saw her on the beach over two years prior. Only this time her bright smile must have looked much more like the old Aggie, and Eric knew he wanted to give her a thousand more reasons to bring it out more often.

A simple white gold wedding ring joined the diamond ring that once belonged to Anne Sanders; the very same one that had to be retrieved from Eric's house in Brooklyn so he could propose to Aggie using his mother's favorite ring.

"I've been in love with you since I saw you. Since I first talked to you. Since the day you saw the most broken version of me I've ever been. I want to breathe the air that carries your scent and never leave your side. My guardian angel. My friend. My most valued treasure. My wife...?"

With a little help from Knox and Petronella, it was more like a fun trip to a different borough rather than something close to a suicide mission. The universe simply didn't dare stand in the way of their love and Eric was ready to fight it if it did.

"I said I'd never die for a woman, but she's so much more; what would you do for Emily? See, that's me and Aggie. I never felt like that around Veronica or anyone else."

And then he and the Lovelace siblings left the Wexley, while Zach stayed with his family, definitely not invited to join them as his family needed him. With a freshly done tattoo and the keys he hadn't used in not less than three years in his backpack, Eric knew what he needed to do to get his life back.

*

"There is something so badass about being armed on your wedding day," he joked to Aggie, meaning the gun in the holster glued to his side. Leaving the Wexley's safety equaled carrying a weapon of choice to ensure safety - one of the laws The Council had agreed on. He put his arms around his newly wed wife in a slow, nearly ethereal dance now that they could finally catch a breath. His fingers moved against Aggie's back, drawing some pattern.

I-LOVE-YOU.

"Until my soul dies," he added so quietly that only Aggie could hear him.

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At first, when he finally embarked on a journey to find Aggie, he wanted to go straight to where she could usually be spotted, but something told him to check the hospital suite first. Not because he knew she would be there, but mostly because Eric wanted to see if anyone he cared about would be there. He spotted Aggie sitting on the bed, playing with the hem of one of the many layers of clothes she wore. Boredom, sadness, or a painful mix of both was all he could read from her expression.

Eric quietly made his way to the bed, careful not to startle Aggie and not attract too much attention either. He wanted to thank her for what she had done for him and check on her, so he immediately thought of the other language they spoke fluently, aside from ASL - food. He only shared from his secret stack with Zach and Ashton, and now - Aggie. The apartment the brothers grew up in allowed more freedom and creativity with hiding spots, but this floor offered some good ones too, and Eric never copied their old ideas. Sada's people had ransacked his studio and taken most of the fun stuff. What they didn't know was that Eric liked to hide the best stuff in plain sight. That's why Zach never found his protein puddings and honey-roasted peanuts. He simply looked in the wrong place.

He picked the best treat for her. The last hot chocolate.

"Hi, Aggie." He put the mug on the table next to the bed and pointed to it with his chin, smiling. "For you." He switched to ASL. Better safe than sorry, now that he had fallen from grace and ended up on the dictator's bad side. He could probably crawl back, it wasn't like he didn't know how to. He didn't want to. "It's hot. Be careful."

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Eric liked parties; for booze, for food, for beautiful women, and for meeting influential people who could help him make his dream come true... Eric liked this party for entirely different reasons. It had nothing to do with drinking or flirting, and it would be unfair to everyone involved and their efforts to say that the apocalypse had lowered his standards. Far from it. Like any other guest (hopefully) he had learned to appreciate the small bits of normalcy they held onto. And human as Eric was, he had also re-learned to look for something more than beauty in women. "Trust" was too big a word but an unnamed "something more" fit perfectly. Now that he didn't feel like his failed marriage defined him in any way, or showed that he was a horrible man, he slowly drifted back to how he was before. Before an unknown point from his past changed him.

Dwelling too much on such matters? Of course, it's a fun evening, not some Eat, Pray, Love.

He wouldn't call Aggie his date, but damn, did his mind decide he could be hers, just to make sure she enjoyed the party in her own way. Judging by the crumbs encircling her petite frame when he spotted her, her own way didn't differ that much from Eric's. Food.

He finished his drink and walked over, wishing he had brought Doom with him, but he and Zach left the dog napping with his favorite toy.

"Hey. It's me." He smiled a little - giving her a moment to recognize him dogless. "I didn't think you'd come here," he added, unable to hide how surprised he was to see her there.

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Taking care of Doom was the only chore Eric would volunteer to take care of for Zach, mostly because it didn't feel like a chore. Ever since they let the dog run around the building more or less freely, he would find the dog scratch on his studio's door sometimes and the two would play fetch on the stairs. Doom's ball bounced down the stairs as he waited for the right release command, impatient to chase it.

They sat at the top of the stairs and even though the pup must have ran the two Wexley buildings worth, it seemed like a warmup - he brought Eric the toy and wagged his tail, waiting for him to throw the ball again.

"You like a challenge? Let's see if you'll like this one." He threw the ball harder, wondering if this one would discourage Doom. The first few moments when he didn't run up back like lightning, Eric felt proud of himself - he broke the invincible pup. He beat him at his own game! But the longer Doom didn't come back, the more suspicious the man grew and soon he decided to check on his furry friend. There were only two things that could stop that crazy dog from fetching his ball - food or belly rubs.

When he finally saw a very familiar happy tail swiping the floor left and right, he knew someone had been chosen for the latter, but when he saw who was The Chosen One his heart skipped a beat, a cartoon-like sigh escaping his lips. Sitting on the floor next to Doom was the blonde he saw for the first time during the rescue mission, a literal angel. He couldn't stop rambling about her being his guardian angel and the only reason he survived the explosion, ignoring Zach's inquiries about the other two men and their guardian angels.

Remembering how she acted around other people, with few exceptions, Eric stopped right where he stood and watched them in silence, smiling a little at the wagging tail and how it pushed the tennis ball in his direction.