Chapter Text
It was Father’s Day.
Eric was feeling…less than ideal.
He…honestly didn’t know how he felt. His dad was dead. He was very dead, curtesy of the other egos. He wasn’t…he wasn’t sad about that, but…well, it was Father’s Day. Some small part of him missed his dad. He didn’t miss any of things that came with him, God no, the hand Derek had ground on with his heel still had small little scars that would never go away and his torso ached with the phantoms of the horrific bruises that had only just finally completely healed a couple of weeks ago whenever his father came to the forefront of his mind.
It was…difficult.
…Yeah.
Eric was sitting on his bed, picking at the hem of his shirt as he stared blankly at the floor, deep in thought. A small little smile crossed his face. While Derek may be dead and gone and out of the picture…he wasn’t without father figures. Bim and Ed had both immediately gravitated toward him the second he stepped into the manor. They were overprotective in a way that probably would’ve been incredibly annoying to anyone else, but Eric didn’t mind. It was…it was nice to have such adoring attention from people who genuinely cared about him. They cared about him for him. Sometimes, he thought his actual father only cared about him because he was his last heir to his company. He doubted Derek even knew his name before the accident that claimed his siblings.
Eric jolted as if to stand before he hesitated. Fidgeting with his hands nervously and pushing up his glasses, he followed through with the thought, pushing himself to his feet before exiting his room. He felt…oddly giddy as an idea flooded his mind.
He had to track down the Host.
Bim – well, the only thing to describe how he was moving is pranced – toward his room, absolutely ecstatic. Wilford and Dark’s wedding is Friday. Less than a week. He was losing his mind with anticipation. No one actually knew where the wedding was going to be, except of course for Dark and Wilford, and King, who had shown them the spot. King was refusing to tell him where, despite his constant pleading. But Bim had a few select ideas on how to get his boyfriend to open up.
Hence why he was going to his room.
He opened his door with enthusiasm, still prancing inside with his hands on his hips. He moved toward his desk, intent on rummaging around through some drawers, but he paused, brow furrowing. Lying on his desk was a card, handmade with some of the Host’s parchment, with the words ‘Happy Father’s Day’ written on it in purple ink. Gingerly, he lifted it in his hands, flipping it open with a definitely not shaking hand. The inside message was simple, just four little words, but they brought tears to Bim’s eyes.
‘Thank you.
Love, Eric’
Bim was bursting back out his door within seconds, glancing to his left when he heard another door slam open. He locked eyes with Ed, the cowboy’s sunglasses slipping down his nose, and in the brief moment before he pushed them back up Bim could see the tears shining in Ed’s eyes. He held up his card. “Did you…?”
Ed nodded, holding up one of his own, the only difference being his was written in green ink. “I completely forgot it was Father’s Day.” Ed’s voice sounded a little choked up, and Bim couldn’t help but smile, though he didn’t have the heart to tease him out loud, not when he probably sounded the exact same. “And I never thought…”
Bim’s smile softened. “Me too. What do you say we go track down our kid, huh?”
Ed scoffed, crossing his arms. “As long as it’s a ‘joint custody’ situation and he’s not ours together.”
Bim gave an exaggerated gag before muffling a snort. “God no. I already have a boyfriend, thanks.”
Ed just rolled his eyes, though he, too, was smiling.
They found Eric in the kitchen, sitting at the table and nervously tapping his fingers on the surface. He glanced up when Bim and Ed walked in, face steadily growing redder when he saw them holding the cards before he glanced back down at his lap. “Um…You…Hi.”
Eric ducked his head further, but then he was letting out a startled squeak when he was suddenly being hauled from his chair and pulled into a crushing hug, sandwiched between the two of them with Bim at his from and Ed behind him. He didn’t quite reciprocate (well, it didn’t help that between the two of them his arms were completely pinned to his sides), just teared up as Bim began to mumble into his shoulder. “You don’t have to thank us, Eric. You shouldn’t…you shouldn’t have to be thankful for being treated like a human being.”
Eric buried his face in Bim’s shoulder, trying to hide his face and the tears he knew were cascading down it. “I…I-I-I know, but…it’s hard.”
“That’s what we’re here for.” Ed’s grip on him tightened briefly, before they both pulled away.
Bim grinned at him, pressing a kiss to his forehead before taking his hand, leading him toward the stove. “Come on. I have a cinnamon roll recipe I’ve been wanting to try out for a while now. Wanna help?”
Eric’s mouth fell open, practically salivating already. “Yes. Yes I do.”
Bim chuckled, shooting a look over his shoulder at Ed, who’d taken a seat at the table and facing them with both his legs and arms crossed. “Ed, wanna help, too?”
Ed raised his hands in surrender, shaking his head. “Nope. Bakin’s not…my thing.”
Bim snorted, pulling up the recipe on his phone and he and Eric set about digging up all the ingredients. “You’re choice, man. Fair warning, if you sit there I absolutely will throw icing at you.”
Ed raised an eyebrow disbelievingly. “I’ll take my chances.”
Eric giggled as they began, Bim gently guiding his hands whenever he needed help. They hadn’t even gone five minutes into their little project before Bim’s eyes lit up and he summoned a blank label from thin air, scrambling for pen and writing ‘Precious cinnamon roll’ on it before sticking it to Eric’s forehead. Eric had just blinked in confusion while Ed snorted so hard he nearly fell out of his chair. Bim just grinned, leaving Eric to make the icing as he set about preparing the dough.
True to his promise, when the cinnamon rolls were in the oven and the whole manor smelled like heaven, Bim had dipped his hand in the bowl full of icing before launching himself at Ed, smearing it all over his face. Eric had burst into laughter, gripping the counter for support as Ed’s mouth fell open. “I didn’t think you would actually do it, you fuckin’ weirdo!” Bim had just blown him a kiss in response, grinning like mad as he walked back over to the oven, crouching down to check on the cinnamon rolls through the window.
A devious grin spread across Ed’s face, and he stood slowly, tip-toeing closer to Bim as he locked eyes with Eric, raising one finger to his lips, before he stuck his hand in Bim’s hair, ruffling it and coating his hand in silver glitter was so worth the horrified shriek Bim made, shooting back up to his full height as he stared at both of them with wide eyes and a raw, betrayed expression as he immediately set about fixing his hair. Except, his one hand was still coated in icing, so all he succeeded in doing was making his hair stick up further and making him look like an angry, betrayed, sparkly cockatoo. “You…utter…bastard!”
Eric had long-since collapsed the floor at this point, laughing so hard tears were streaming down his face and his stomach hurt. As such, he missed the look Bim and Ed shared, one absent of any of the petty emotions they displayed just moments prior.
Eric may not have a biological father anymore, but he had no shortage of father figures.