A/N: And now we're back for the final chapter! I hope you guys enjoy! You've waited long enough for this.

There's an important note at the end.

CoLu Week 2019
Day 8
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The coffee Erik had been sipping, rockets right into his fucking lungs. Layla smacks his back to stop him from coughing, but it's not doing a whole lot of anything to help. Next to him, Lucy's nose turns into a spigot for her coffee.

Jude couldn't possibly have said what Erik is sure he just did. There's no fucking way. He can't find the will to glance at Lucy, to find out that she's staring at Jude with much the same expression as him.

Jude's serious expression cracks a moment later, and he laughs, rather loudly, at the looks on their faces.

That scares Erik even more. He can't remember ever seeing Lucy's father laughing like this.

"Can I assume that you two are together again?" he asks.

Cobra finally stops coughing and looks at Lucy. She looks back at him, her whole face red. That's something they haven't really talked about all that much. He refuses to answer for her, even though everything in him is hoping that it's a yes. He wants her back. He wants it more than he's ever wanted anything in his life. He just wants to be with her again.

"Uh," she says. "W-We haven't uh… I mean, we haven't really… Well… There was a lot of catching up, and… I mean, we talked a lot! And, um..."

Jude shakes his head, still smiling. He takes a bite of his egg whites. "You do realize, there's already a video of you two dancing posted on the alumni's Facebook page? It showed up on my feed a few minutes ago."

"What?!" Lucy screeches.

Erik is slightly unnerved that her father's able to use the internet effectively. In his experience, most Boomers are inept where technology is concerned. Like his own father… Alex still calls him up asking how to get the internet to work right, regardless of the amount of times Erik's told him that there's more to troubleshooting "internet problems" than "there's a dinosaur on the screen."

Layla sighs, and when Erik looks at her, she has a dreamy, dewy look in her eyes. "Such a romantic song," she hums, then seems to come back to herself as she turns to Lucy. "And was that Loke I saw? Was he there?"

"Yeah," Lucy says. "He showed up with some girl."

"I never did like that Loke fellow," Jude says, frowning. "You wasted your time with him."

Erik's jaw drops. In high school, everyone said that if Lucy wasn't with him, they could see her with Loke. He'd always thought that was the sort of guy Jude wanted his daughter to be with.

"Well, that's a given, since he cheated on me," Lucy says.

"No, I didn't like him before that," Jude says. "He was too… nice around us." He points his fork toward Erik, causing his target's asshole to tighten slightly. But Jude's still looking at Lucy. "None of the men you dated compared to this one."

Lucy frowns. "I thought you hated Cobra."

"Nonsense," Jude huffs. "This boy was nothing but respectful, but he didn't try to be someone he wasn't just to please me and your mother. He treated you well. You never came home crying because of him."

Erik was officially fucking confused. He'd always thought Jude hated him. Had… Had that not been the case? But all those years, all those interactions between them (however seldom). Erik was sure he would've noticed her father trying to offer an olive branch of some sort. Had he just imposed his own perception of the situation, and perpetuated that in their every interaction? Had Erik really been the one who'd been so untrusting of the stereotype her father fit into, that he'd assumed they would never get along… and then they never did?

Jude pauses in his speech for a moment, letting out a heavy sigh as he takes another bite of his food. "You have no idea how many horror stories I've heard from coworkers, lamenting about their teenage daughters."

"And when they ask how he dealt with you when you were that age, they think you're just an absolute angel," Layla laughs. "You should see the terror Junelle's daughters have become. They're running circles around that poor man."

Erik has no idea who that is, but Lucy laughs. The sound is almost vindictive. He'll be sure to ask her more about that later on.

"And I tell them that you found a boy who was perfect for you, and you two were together all through high school," Jude says. "So there was never any issue." He looks at Erik and smirks. "And I didn't have to deal with a great number of things… Because someone was there, fighting those battles for me."

Jude frowned at his Blackberry when it started ringing. This was his day off, and he damn well planned to enjoy himself. Layla was on her way back from lunch with Grammie and Spetto, and Lucy was at the mall with her boyfriend. He nearly ignored it, but then he saw the name on the caller ID. He pressed the little green call button, and put the phone to his ear. "Detective Ackerman, how can I help you?"

"I just got a call from Marie, saying Cobra was brought into the ER with a broken arm."

"What?!" Jude sat up on the couch, his eyes wide. Lucy and Cobra had been at the mall together. How in the world had something like that happened? Was his daughter alright? "Is Lucy-"

"Marie says Cobra won't say what happened, just that he got into a fight, and told Lucy to go home. She's fine, I'm assuming."

He relaxed only marginally. It was good to hear that Lucy was alright - and he knew to expect her home any minute, more than likely in tears - but he was still worried about Cobra. He knew that boy had a rough streak, but he'd never known him to get into a fight. Regardless of his appearance, Jude had seen for himself that Cobra was a sweet kid. Especially when it came to Lucy.

"I hate to do this, but Marie's on shift all day, and I'm downtown following up on a lead. She said as long as there's nothing more serious, he should be discharged in a couple hours…"

"When will we know if there's anything more serious?" Jude asked. He couldn't imagine the pain Cobra must be in. What if there was something worse? What if he had internal bleeding? What if-

"Marie's not allowed to help treat him, but the hospital's letting her be there with him for a few minutes. The doctor knows who he is, and he'll tell Marie right away if there are complications."

"Good," Jude said. He stood from the couch, and started pacing. It was a habit he'd picked up years ago while on the phone, usually on business calls, and Layla always laughed at him over his potential to wear a hole in the carpet. It helped him focus, though.

"When he's discharged, could you… Or Layla… Could you take him home? I hate this. No one will be there to take care of him, but-"

"Say no more," Jude chuckled. "We'll bring him home with us, and you or Marie can pick him up later on."

"I don't want to inconvenience-"

"Nonsense. Lucy is probably worried sick right now. She'll feel better if she can stay with him." He turned when a car pulled into the driveway, then made his way to the living room window. His daughter turned off her car and sat behind the wheel. "She's home now."

"If it's too much trouble, I'm sure they can release him to Marie. He'll be stuck at the hospital until she's off work, though."

"Let her know we're happy to help," Jude said softly. "That boy has grown on us in the last three years."

Levi chuckled on the other end of the line. "He's a great kid. See if you can get him to talk about what happened. I need to know if there's someone who needs arresting."

Jude snorted, watching Lucy finally get out of her car. She slammed the door and stormed up the front walkway. "I'll talk with Lucy, as well. We'll head over to the hospital soon."

"Thank you so much, Jude. Really, thank you."

"I know you would do the same if this was Lucy," he said. "Try to stay calm, Levi." They said their goodbyes and hung up the phone. Jude turned as Lucy opened the door. Once she was inside, he noticed her puffy red eyes. His eyes narrowed. Had Cobra been the one to make her cry? Or was it something else? "Lucy."

She sniffled and kicked her shoes off. "Hey, Dad."

"You should put your shoes back on," he said softly. "Once your mother gets home, we're going to the hospital."

Her eyes widened. "Wh-What?"

"I got an interesting phone call from Detective Ackerman," Jude said. "When that boy is discharged, we'll be picking him up and bringing him back here."

Lucy sniffled again, then rushed forward and hugged him tightly. "Th-Thank you, Dad!" Jude smiled as he held her in his arms.

Jude sat in the car, waiting as Layla and Lucy went into the hospital to pick up Cobra. It took longer than they'd anticipated, but Marie had been texting Layla updates as often as she could manage while still effectively working her shift at the nurse station in the ICU.

What they had thought would only be a couple hours for his bones to be set and a cast to be put on, ended up having Cobra at the hospital overnight. His surgery took an hour and a half, but he'd needed to wake up from the anesthesia, then the doctor wanted to keep him under observation in case of complications from the surgery. Jude wasn't sure what had happened, but Cobra was stuck in the hospital another three days after that. From what he understood, he had a mild reaction to the medication they'd put him on.

Apparently, Cobra was allergic to opioids.

His phone chirped, and he checked the text message from Layla.

Layla: On our way out now. Pull up to the ER curb. They have him in a wheelchair. It's so precious.

Jude chuckled and set his phone on the passenger seat. He drove through the parking lot, and stopped by the emergency entrance. He put the car in park and got out to open the passenger door in the back seat. Lucy would more than likely want to sit with Cobra, and he'd already sent Levi a text letting him know that Cobra was welcome to sleep over and head home the next day. With how late it was, it just seemed like the right thing to do.

Jude was even willing to concede letting Cobra sleep in Lucy's bed, so he could be comfortable. As long as her door stayed open the whole night.

His wife and daughter appeared at the doorway, and Jude's gaze slid down to find Cobra slouching in a wheelchair with a dark purple cast leading from just above his right elbow, down over his hand. His eyes were half-lidded, hazy. The poor child must have really been out of it with the medication they'd given him.

Lucy stopped the wheelchair next to the car, and tried to help Cobra stand. "Come on, Cobs," she giggled. "It's time to go home."

"I wanna go home with you," he moaned. "Baby…"

Jude put a hand on her shoulder, then leaned down to wrap his arms around Cobra's chest. "Up we go," he whispered. "We're taking you home with us. But you have to get in the car."

"Sweet," Cobra sighed. He helped as much as possible while Jude settled him in the back seat. It wasn't all that helpful. The boy must have been a lightweight with medication, because Jude was murdering his back trying to help a teenage-sized ragdoll into his car.

Once it was all finished, and Layla had returned the wheelchair to the hospital lobby, they drove away from the hospital. Thankfully, Layla was the one who broke the tense silence five minutes into the drive.

"What happened, Cobra?" she asked, turning to look at him. "Lucy said you got taken away from the mall in an ambulance."

"Bunch of idiots started talking crap about her," Cobra sighed. He leaned his head back on the seat and closed his eyes. "I was right there with her, and they kept talking. Got into a fight. Told her to go home when the ambulance came."

"How did your arm get broken?" Layla asked. Jude adjusted his rearview mirror, and he saw that Cobra's lip was split. A large bruise was already plain to see on his jaw.

"One of 'em kicked me in the nuts," Cobra sighed. "'Nother one pushed me. Landed wrong, I guess."

"You were throwing freaking haymakers," Lucy muttered.

Cobra chuckled, turning his head toward her. Jude kept his eyes on the road, glancing back every once in a while. He didn't miss the moment Cobra's eyes opened and honed in on Lucy through his medicated haze. That was nearly identical to the way Layla had looked at him after having Lucy. "There was one guy left?"

Lucy nodded. "Just one," she said. "He's the one that kicked you. And then he picked you up and tried to bodyslam you, and you stuck your arm out to break the fall…"

"I'll be fine, though," he sighed. "You okay?"

Lucy nodded, and Jude's brows drew together when she looked out the window. "Worry about yourself for once," she muttered.

"This is nothing," Cobra chuckled. "They've got me on great pain meds…"

Lucy scowled at him, and Jude listened as she crossed her arms. Layla's hand reached across the center console, and she laced her fingers with his.

"I'm sorry I made you cry," Cobra breathed.

Jude didn't see Cobra kissing her knuckles, but Layla definitely did. "No more fighting, dear," she said. "If someone starts talking about Lucy, you walk away. Be the bigger man."

"They upset her," Cobra said, frowning at Layla. "I wasn't just gonna stand there and not defend her."

Jude's grip on the steering wheel tightened as he slowed the car. He put on his blinker, then turned at the entrance for the pharmacy closest to their house. "There are other ways to get back at someone," he finally said. "Using your fists will only get you into trouble."

"... Yes, sir," Cobra muttered.

"Layla, please help him inside to get his prescription," Jude said. He parked, and waited as Cobra and Layla got out of the car. Jude didn't turn to look at his daughter. He didn't need to see her to know that she was trying not to cry. But he'd given her several days to come to him on her own and talk about what had happened at the mall, and she hadn't done it. "What were they saying, Lucy?"

"It's not important…"

"Tell me," he said, frowning at her in the rearview mirror.

She crossed her arms over her chest a little more tightly. "They said I looked like a slut," she finally said. "The one that broke Cobra's arm… He kept saying 'Only whores have tits that big,' and 'I can't wait to motorboat those.'"

Jude's grip on the steering wheel tightened. He'd seen what Lucy was wearing when she came home from the mall. He didn't allow her to buy clothes that were too revealing, but he also understood that the size of her chest gave her very limited options if she wanted to stay modest. In his eyes, she wasn't dressed inappropriately in a tank top and jeans. So many girls her age wore the same clothes…

What was the world coming to?

"They were just being gross, Dad," she said. "Cobra didn't have to go off and started beating them up."

"I understand why he did," he mumbled under his breath. His eyes narrowed as Layla led Cobra out of the pharmacy with her arm around his shoulders. He would need to talk with Lucy's boyfriend about what he'd done. Now that he had the whole story, Jude wanted to pat that boy on the back.

"But you," Jude says, looking right into Erik's eye. "You were someone I approved of. Of all the boys in that school that she could have picked, you were the one." He eats another bite of eggs, then wipes his mouth and moustache with his napkin. "The fact that you asked my permission to even take her to prom, gave me a great deal of respect for you."

Lucy frowns, and looks at Erik. "You asked him for permission to take me to prom?"

Erik hides his suddenly flushed cheeks by taking a large gulp of coffee. It was stupid as hell, but he'd wanted to ask for permission from her father. It's what he would've done if he'd been able to propose to her. He would've asked her parents for permission, first.

"Did he not tell you?" Jude chuckles.

Jude looked up from his computer in the study when Layla gently knocked on the partially opened door. She smiled while peeking into the room. "Cobra's here," she said.

Jude frowned. "He knows Lucy's at her yearbook meeting," he said.

"Yeah, he says he wants to talk to you. It seems pretty important, Jude."

With a soft sigh, he stood and saved the document he'd been working on, then followed his wife down the hall and into the living room. Cobra sat on the couch, his leg nervously jumping. Jude took a seat in his favorite recliner, and waited.

"Is your cast coming off soon?" Layla asked.

Jude was so thankful for her continued presence in his life. She was always so good at opening up a conversation, making up for his shortcomings.

"The doctor says another month, tops," he said. Cobra turned his attention to Jude. "So, you know how I've been dating Lucy for three years... And this is probably gonna sound stupid, but… Is it alright if I ask her to go to prom with me?"

He knew his wife was nearly bursting with excitement. Jude's eyes narrowed. It was still the beginning of the school year. Was he really already thinking about prom? "Why are you asking me this?"

"Because I know you don't like me," Cobra said. Well, that was surprising. Did he really think Jude hated him? "You haven't liked me since the day you met me, and I don't know if it's because I'm a foster kid or because of how I dress, or something else. I just know you think Lucy deserves better than me."

Well, Cobra wasn't wrong there. "She does," Jude said. He could feel his wife glaring at him, but it was the truth. No one would be good enough for his daughter, in his opinion. But Cobra was the closest she could probably get to a perfect boyfriend.

"Look, sir, I love Lucy," he said. "I've loved her for a long time. And it probably doesn't mean a whole lot to you, but it means the world to me. We've both watched our friends jump from one person to the next, and all the drama that comes afterwards. And maybe you think Lucy deserves a guy who fits your standards. I never will, and that's fine."

Jude truly appreciated how he didn't break eye contact. He nearly smiled at Cobra, then. This was definitely a serious matter for him, it seemed.

"I'm not really one for school dances, but she is. And if I can make her happy by going to this dance with her, then I will."

"Then why are you asking for my permission?"

"Because I want to show you that I have enough respect for her parents, and for her, to ask you first."

He was silent for a moment. That was interesting. It seemed Cobra had a bit of an old-fashioned spirit. Or maybe that was just something he'd learned over the years. Jude couldn't be sure how much of his personality had been affected by moving from one house to the next, but he did remember Layla telling him about the scene Cobra had caused just before his arm had gotten broken…

The instability in Cobra's life did worry Jude. It was even worse when Layla told him that Cobra had eventually been taken away from the Ackermans, even though they'd wanted to adopt him. Apparently, Cobra's social worker had made the recommendation for denial based on their current living situation and the knowledge that Marie was pregnant, and the judge took it at face value.

He was just happy that Cobra hadn't been forced to move to another school district. Still, Jude didn't know what his new foster family was like.

When he thought about it, he wasn't sure of a lot of things where Cobra was concerned. The boy had been in his daughter's life for nearly three years, and Jude had never really had a full conversation with him.

"I still don't know what she sees in you," he finally muttered. Jude cleared his throat. "Tell me, what made you want to date her?"

The question seemed to take Cobra by surprise. His cheeks flushed a soft pink, and he finally looked at the floor instead of staring into Jude's eyes. Interesting. "She looks really cute when she's grossed out," he mumbled. Layla giggled beside him. "We had to dissect a frog in freshman year."

"Yes, I remember," Jude said. "She got an A on that."

Cobra scratched the back of his neck and smiled. "Because I asked her to be partners with me," he said. "I heard her telling Levy that she was too freaked out to do it. I did the dissecting, and she wrote everything I told her to."

Jude's eyes narrowed and his nostrils flared. So that was how his daughter, who'd always avoided dissections in her science classes in the past, had aced the assignment? By having someone else do the work for her? Still, the fact that Cobra had mentioned something like that over his daughter's appearance was definitely a tick in the boy's favor. "What else?"

Cobra frowned, and looked back at him. "She's funny and smart and she's the sweetest girl in the whole school," he said. He still hadn't mentioned anything about thinking Lucy was sexy. Maybe that was intentional. Maybe cobray wouldn't be stupid enough to say that to her father. "Lucy's always been there for me when I need her. She doesn't ever bring up the fact that I don't really have a family, and she's helped me more than I can say."

"In what way?" Now they were getting somewhere. This was what he really wanted to know about the boy his daughter had fallen for. There was something in his soft indigo eyes that spoke of how deep his affection for Lucy ran, but Jude wanted to know if he could out those feelings into words when it mattered.

Cobra's jaw clenched, and he looked away again. He must have been angry over the line of questioning, but Jude needed to know. "She's asked me to come over to study when we don't need to… since she knows I don't really want to go back to that house."

Jude frowned, glancing at Layla. That was definitely concerning. What in the world could he mean by that? Was there really something wrong with the family he'd been moved to? Maybe it was just that he still missed the Ackermans. He'd been with them far longer than any other home, from what Layla had said.

"Cobra," Layla whispered, her brows furrowed. "Is everything alright?"

Cobra nodded. He stayed silent as Layla sat down beside him. She wrapped her arm around him, pulling his head to her shoulder. He looked so small and fragile like that. "She's the best friend I could've ever asked for," he said, looking at Jude again. "I just want to make her happy."

Jude was silent, thinking as he looked back at Cobra. He really didn't have a problem with the boy. Sure, he'd been dealt a horrible hand in the way of his home life, but it was clear that he tried to make the best of things. He worked so hard to keep his nose clean, to do the right thing. Finally, Jude stood from his recliner. He really did need to get back to work. "It's up to Lucy," he said. "If she says yes, then I won't stop her. This is her life, so she should make those decisions on her own."

He left the living room, but paused once he reached the hallway. Something, he wasn't sure just what it was, but something made him lean against the wall where he couldn't be seen.

"Are you sure everything's okay?" Layla asked. "You know you can talk to me, sweetie."

"It's fine," Cobra said. "I just really wanna make her happy…"

"You do," Layla laughed. "Lucy loves you, Cobra."

Jude nearly took another step, but he froze when he heard paper crinkling.

"I got a letter from the college," Cobra said. "It's early, but me and Lucy applied together… Will you open it? I-I'm too scared to do it myself."

Jude wasn't aware that he was holding his breath as Layla took the letter from Cobra. She opened it, and he stood there in silence, wishing she would read faster.

"You got accepted," Layla said.

Jude smiled, breathing out a sigh of relief. That was just what Cobra needed. If he went to college, he could break out of the cycle life had thrown at him. He could truly make something wonderful of himself. He peered around the corner just as Layla wrapped Cobra in a tight hug.

"I'm so proud of you!"

She rocked Cobra back and forth in her excitement. But Jude's own smile faded when he saw how sad Cobra looked as tears dripped down his cheeks.

"You never told me you got into college," Lucy says, finishing the last of her coffee.

Erik wipes his mouth on a napkin, then takes a sip of coffee. "I couldn't go," he says. "I didn't get the scholarship I needed to go to an actual university, so I couldn't pay for it."

Lucy's shoulders slump and her brows draw together. He's sure she realizes exactly what happened to give him one more reason that he didn't go to college with her. Erik nods.

"And then when they took me out of that house, I had to spend all summer figuring things out so I could actually get my diploma. I started down at the community college the following spring."

He still isn't sure how he'd even survived that summer. Alex and his wife had taken him in, sure, but it was mostly a blur. A painful blur he hated thinking about.

"Why did you never call, Cobra?" Layla asks. "We missed you so much."

He winces, but Lucy grabs his hand and gives an abridged version of the story he told her the night before. He's so glad that he doesn't have to tell them all the details. He's positive she'll be doing it later on, after he's left. For the time being, she simply tells them that he'd found out his foster family was cooking meth, and reported them to the police. And that his social worker whisked him away on prom night, without giving him a chance to say goodbye to anyone and without his phone.

Erik looks at her parents. "You guys were like parents to me. You took me in when I needed it, and you never tried to stop me and Lucy from seeing each other. I really appreciated it, even back then."

He can feel his cheeks heating up when Lucy smiles up at him.

"Well, what are you up to now?" Layla asks. "You said something about students?"

Erik nods, smiling fondly. This is something he's truly proud of. "I'm a high school science teacher." Then he smirks down at Lucy. "I make the Biology kids dissect pigs."

"Not fetal pigs," she whimpers.

"Yep. The Anatomy kids get cats."

"Cobra, you… ew!"

He laughs when she lets go of his hand and wipes her hands on her pants. "If it's any consolation, I let them write an essay if they can't stomach it. Those kids get sent to the library to work away from the smell of formaldehyde." He has no trouble admitting that, every time one of those students pops up, he's reminded of Lucy. The teachers in the science department said it was endearing, that he took the time to understand his students' needs like that, but he just… He remembers how Lucy was so grossed out, and he doesn't want to put his own students through that for no reason.

"Monster!" she huffs. "I can't believe I had sex with you. It's so gross!"

"You agreed to date me after I dissected a frog for you," he laughs. "You've always known how gross I am."

Something warm bubbles in his chest when Jude and Layla laugh along with him.

"Also, it's state mandated," Erik adds. "I'm required to have them dissect animals. They've been donated for scientific research, so…"

Her lips purse and he can tell that she's trying with everything she's worth to stay mad at him. Then he playfully pinches her side, and she laughs. Yeah, he's still got it. "You're lucky you're cute," she grumbles.

"I know," he chuckles. "I've been getting by on looks alone for years. Can't you tell?"

While Layla laughs along with Lucy, Jude looks at Erik with a curious frown. "I must ask, though. About your eye."

"Jude!" Layla hisses.

"What?" he asks. "He had two of them last time we saw him."

This is definitely different. Jude must have mellowed out a lot in the last decade, because he suddenly seems much more like the slightly awkward husband, rather than a domineering father. Maybe it's just that Erik's matured in that time. He's able to see Jude as just another man, instead of his girlfriend's father. But he only recognizes this little back and forth between them because he's seen Alex do the same thing with his wife.

How did he never realize that Layla's the one running this household?

"Car accident," Erik says. "My friend Macbeth took out a few mailboxes, a stop sign, and half a fence before we hit the tree."

"He's the one I told you that everyone called Midnight," Lucy says. "Because he was always falling asleep in class." She giggles while looking into Erik's eye. "Did he fall asleep at the wheel?"

"Actually, yes," he says. Lucy blanches, but he waves it off. "We both went to community college for our Associate's, and we went out to celebrate when I got word that I had enough in scholarships to go to a university." He'd been ecstatic to see Macbeth roaming the campus during his second semester. Erik had latched onto him, just one small taste of the life he'd left behind.

"Drinking and driving?" Jude asks.

Erik shakes his head. "It was the middle of the day. I had to work that night, so we went and saw Inception. Macbeth ended up getting diagnosed with narcolepsy later that year."

"Y'know that does make sense," Lucy says. "Poor guy."

"You want poor… He's married to Angel."

"No!" Lucy gasps. "But he was kissing Natsu last night!"

Cobra laughs loudly when he sees her putting the pieces together. "Yeah, I try to stay out of their personal lives. I don't even want to know." All he knows is that Angel and Midnight have the strangest relationship he's ever seen. Midnight claimed years ago that he didn't like being emasculated, but he fell head over heels for Angel… And at some point, Erik assumed she'd found out that Midnight swung both ways. And she'd somehow accepted it.

He vaguely remembers a drunken conversation with Angel about how she liked watching Midnight with other men.

"Oh my god…" Lucy's speechless.

Cobra turns to Jude and Layla then. He's taken up more than enough time with his own life. What he cares about now is them. It's been so long since he's seen them. He wants to know about what he's missed. "What about you guys? What have I missed in the last ten years?"

"Well, our daughter moved back home," Layla says, smiling at Lucy who pouts. "Which I don't fault her for, because her stupid ex-husband got the house."

"And the dog," she mutters. "He took my little Plue."

"That thing was not a dog," Jude says. "It was a chihuahua, and it humped everything."

"Plue's just a lover!" she says defensively.

"It is, by far, the ugliest mongrel in existence," Jude says to Erik. "It has an underbite-"

"I think he's adorable," Lucy says.

"It's cross-eyed."

"It gives him character!"

"I watched that dog walk into a wall, back up and turn around in a circle, and do it again. For five minutes," Jude says flatly. "It's stupid."

"You're stupid," Lucy mutters under her breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing!" she squeaks. Erik chuckles quietly. God, she's adorable. "But yeah, Loke got the house. But I got his car. And alimony. And since I have, like, no credit score… I had to move back home."

"Oh, I took up scrapbooking!" Layla says. "I've got a whole blog thing about it."

Erik blinks. "That… seems like something you'd do." Layla smiles at him, and he shakes his head, chuckling quietly. Honestly, that's such a Layla thing to do. She would write a blog about scrapbooking.

"And Dad has a corner office now," Lucy says.

"And I bought a Mustang," Jude says. "Midlife crisis. I hate it now."

As the conversation continues, Erik feels the warmth in his chest growing. This is the family he's missed so much. This is why he'd always felt like he really could be part of Lucy's family. Because they love each other, and he can feel that love reaching out to him, wrapping around him and drawing him closer. When Alex told him that he was being adopted, just before his 18th birthday, it was this same feeling that had drawn him into the Armstrong family.

He's wanted, here. He's loved. Even though he's been gone for so long, they still care about him.

It's while Lucy talks about her options for using her B.A. in English, and her fingers lace with his under the table, that Erik finds a kernel of hope blossoming in his chest. Maybe he doesn't have to worry about her wanting him out of her life.

Maybe this could be the place where they start over.

Lucy's nervous now. She's so unbelievably nervous, she's positive that her body is going to condense into a mass of molecules with enough energy to cause a supernova that will take out the entire galaxy. Erik has been at her parents' house with her for hours already, and they both know that it's nearing time for him to leave.

He's adamant about taking an Uber, though. He's dead-set on her not driving him home. It has worry coiling in her stomach, because she doesn't want this to be the end. She doesn't want him to just leave.

He'd said he loves her that morning. And she's sure that she's given him enough hints to know that she's serious about them getting back together. But maybe he has his own life that he doesn't actually want her to be a part of anymore.

What if he's moved on? What if this was just a one-off thing for him?

There's something in her that bellows how he's not that type of man, and he never would be.

Erik's collecting his clothes in her bedroom, and she takes a moment to replace his old Slipknot hoodie with a crop top that's much more appropriate for the June weather. She's fully enjoying the way it looks when he bends and picks up his ruined shirt from last night. He folds everything and tucks it under his arm. She's silent while he makes sure he has his wallet, keys, and phone.

Is it too much to want to beg him not to leave?

"All set," he says. She thinks she detects a hint of hesitation in his voice. But he still walks closer to where she's standing by the door, and he holds her hand while they walk down the stairs together.

She doesn't bother with putting shoes on as they walk out the front door and sit on the stoop. If he's going to be leaving, then she has no reason to wear shoes on the porch. Erik surprises her when he holds out his unlocked phone.

"I don't have your number," he says softly. Her cheeks flush as she looks up at him. "If you put it in my phone, I can call you later on. After I've had a chance to shower."

Lucy laughs while taking the phone. She puts in her number, then pauses. Just for good measure, she adds her email address as well. Just in case he decides to email her for some reason. She's tempted to log into his Facebook page and search for her profile, but that's a step too far. He can do that on his own… Or she can search for him from her phone.

She's reluctant to hand it back to him, but she does. He taps the screen a couple times, and she jumps when her phone vibrates in her pocket. It's a habit her mom is always getting on her case about, but she never has the ringer turned on… Regardless of the cute ringtones she's added for people. She pulls out her phone and frowns at the unfamiliar number. Then the call ends before she can decide whether or not to answer it. "Weird…"

Erik chuckles beside her. "And now you have my number too," he says.

Lucy smiles and sets her phone on the step beside her. A soft breeze rustles the leaves of the old oak tree in front of her house.

This is awkward. She knows he's waiting for his Uber to show up. She knows that they don't have much time left together before he'll leave, but she doesn't want it to end. And at the same time, she can't bring herself to talk. They'd talked for so long, catching up in her room after breakfast and going through that box that her mother had labelled for her after she'd left for college.

So many memories had cropped up, and she can't remember the last time she'd laughed so hard. It was so much fun reminiscing with him. Their first concert together. The school trip out to Akane Resort where he'd almost lost his swimsuit on one of the water rides. The set of size 0 plugs he'd gotten for her when she told him that was as large as she'd gauge her ears.

Erik had been shocked when he realized that her ears were still gauged. Lucy discreetly reached up to toy with the plug he'd popped into her ear, nearly laughing when she thinks about how surprised she'd been by it. And then how she'd realized that he was still missing one of his own plugs from when they'd been rolling around on the floor.

The resulting search had them both laughing upstairs.

This is even more awkward now. She doesn't want him to go. Why can't she just say something? Why isn't he saying something?

He glances at his phone, and she peers over to see that he's watching the Uber app. The car that's going to take him away from her is right around the corner. Shit. This can't be happening. She doesn't want this to be the last time she sees him.

She has to do something. But what the hell can she do? There's no time! She wasted too much time just sitting here next to him.

Erik bites his lip and glances at her again. "It's a bit of a ride," he says. Lucy turns to look at him fully.

"I could text you," she says softly. "Make it less boring."

He smiles, and she wants to believe there's relief there. Is he just as nervous as she is? "I'd like that a lot," he says.

She wants to cry when the silver Prius with an Uber sticker on the windshield pulls into the driveway. It can't be over so soon. She doesn't want to sound needy, though. Or clingy. She can have patience. She can-

Lucy gasps when Erik's lips cover hers in a tender kiss. She can feel how desperate he is to deepen it when he groans and kisses her more intensely. His hand curves around the back of her neck, sifts through the short hairs at the base of her skull. His touch makes her tremble. She wants him like this, every day. Every second of every minute of every day, until she's a decrepit old bag of bones with saggy tits and enough flabby skin under her arms to morph into a damn flying squirrel.

The thought nearly sends her into a fit of hysterical laughter, but she refuses to ruin this kiss. It might be the last one she shares with him.

The driver honks his horn - it's in that moment that Lucy decides that only dickless, cockblocking cunts drive Priuses - and Erik pulls back on a gasp. "I-I should get going," he says.

"Yeah," she breathes. She completely disagrees with this. But if he really has to go, she can't force him to stay. "I'll text you."

"I'll be waiting," he says, smirking at her. Erik leans in for another quick kiss, pausing when the Uber driver honks his horn again. "Whoever this guy is, I'm gonna kill him."

Lucy grins and gives Erik one last quick peck on the lips. "Kill him extra hard for me."

Erik finally stands, but Lucy can't find the will to do the same. She just wants to sit and wallow for a minute, and watch him leave. She deserves this much, at least. She watches as he walks away, leans down to talk with the driver for a second - probably to make sure it's the right driver in the first place - then gets in the backseat. The driver backs out almost instantly.

Someone's in a fucking hurry.

Lucy sighs heavily and waits until she can't see that piece of shit Prius anymore. Then she picks up her phone. She finds herself smiling at the notification for a missed call. It takes no time at all to add his number under the name Cobra. She's sure it would be easier if she saved him as Erik Vivas, but it just doesn't feel right.

With a shake of her head, Lucy finally stands and goes inside. She sighs while plopping down on the couch, staring at her empty text conversation with Cobra. She'd said she would text him… Now she has to think of what to say.

She could pour her heart out in a long message. She could send him some memes to make him laugh. She could ask him questions, maybe see if he'll send pictures of random stuff. She doesn't even know how far away he lives from her. It's close enough that he doesn't have to fly in a fucking plane, but that's not all that helpful.

Finally, Lucy decides to take a chance. Maybe it'll backfire. Maybe it won't. She won't know unless she just goes for it.

Lucy: Hey.

Real smooth. Still, she wants to be sure he'll text her back. Within seconds, she gets his response.

Cobra: Hey.

Well, that's a relief. Still, she has to do this. It's now or never. With a deep, steadying breath, Lucy types the message out and sends it. She realizes after the fact that she didn't proofread it, but she knows that if she had, her brain would have overruled this stupid decision and made her erase the whole thing.

When she reads it after the fact, she's relieved to find that there aren't any typos. The auto-correct gods didn't shit all over her for once.

Lucy: Cobra, will you go out with me again? Pick one.
- Yes.
- Never again.
- I'd rather dig up the corpse of the frog I dissected for you 13 years ago and eat it, Lucy.

She winces as she reads it. Maybe this is too forward. But it reminds her of the note he'd sent her in high school. And she'd learned after the fact that the reason he'd done it that way was because he was too nervous to ask her face-to-face. She'd thought he was even cuter because of that.

As one minute becomes two, she starts questioning whether this was a stupid idea. Why isn't he answering yet? Did she scare him off already?

Lucy jumps when her phone vibrates, swiping across the screen and checking the text he sent back. She frowns at the thumbnail that makes up his response, but clicks on it. And then she grins at the screenshot of their conversation that he's drawn on.

Lucy: Cobra, will you go out with me again? Pick one.
- Yes!
- Never again. ;(
- I'd rather dig up the corpse of the frog I dissected for you 13 years ago and eat it, Lucy. T_T

She wants to scream with joy. He said yes. Holy fucking shitballs, he said yes! Was this how he felt when he got her response to his note in Mr. Tucker's Biology class?

Lucy's heart jumps into her throat when he sends her another text.

Cobra: I still love you. I never stopped loving you. This is probably way too soon, but… Will you marry me?
- Hell yes.
- Maybe.
- Where the fuck is the ring, jackass?

Lucy sits up on the couch, her spine rigid. Fuck. What?

What even…

"M-Mom?!" she shouts. "Mom! Oh my god… O-Oh my fucking god... Mom!"

Lucy stands on trembling legs when Layla comes running down the stairs and rushes into the living room. "What?" she asks, her eyes wide and searching for the axe murderer Lucy's shrieking led her to believe had broken into the house. "Lucy, what's wrong?"

"He…" she sputters. "C-Cobra…" She has no words. She doesn't know what she's supposed to say or do now, so she just shows her mom the phone. Lucy doesn't care that Layla's reading their conversation. She would've found out eventually that they were back together. But this? A proposal?

"Oh my god," Layla breathes. "Sweetie…" She can't tell if her mom sounds excited by this sudden turn of events, or sad.

"What do I do?" Lucy whimpers. She loves him, too. But they only just reconnected. It'll break his heart if she tells him no.

"I can't tell you that," Layla says. "This is your choice."

"B-But…" She can't breathe. This was what she'd wanted years ago. When they were still in high school, Lucy dreamed of the life they'd have together. Going to college together, getting married, having a family. She wanted it all with him.

Things hadn't gone that way, though. Cobra had been taken away from her. She'd gone to college without him. She'd married Loke, and gotten divorced, and uprooted her whole life when she came back to Magnolia.

It's too soon. He's right. It's way too soon.

Lucy glances over at her mother just as Jude pops his head in from the hallway leading to his study. "Is everything okay?" he asks, frowning.

Layla hands the phone back to Lucy, and when she looks at it, her eyes widen further. Her whole body is on fire, but she can't tell if it's from the sheer terror of this situation, or anger at her mom responding on her behalf… or something else entirely.

There on the screen is a message sent from her phone. A screenshot similar to Cobra's, and when she clicks on it, she can see that Layla used her Markup app to circle the response.

Where the fuck is the ring, jackass?

The reply from him is almost instant. She checks the timestamp and realizes that it took five minutes for him to get a message back from her. Oh god. How long must those five minutes have felt for him? Just to get a question about where the ring is.

Cobra: I bought the ring a long time ago, and it's one of the few things I never got rid of, no matter what happened.

Fuck. He actually has a ring? This isn't just some off-the-cuff decision to pop the question. He'd planned this to some degree. She knows that Erik had no idea she was going to be at the reunion. She know that their friends had planned that without their knowledge, to get them talking to each other again. She even knows that their romp the night before had been wholly unexpected.

She'd been the one to jump his bones that morning, too. But he had a ring.

Does that mean he was planning on asking her ten years ago when they were still in high school?

She has no idea what to say to him. She doesn't know where to take the conversation from here.

Her phone vibrates again, and tears well in her eyes.

Cobra: Knock knock.

Lucy nearly drops her phone as she turns and runs back to the front door. She wrenches it open, nearly bashing herself in the face when she forgets that it opens inward. And then she sees him, kneeling on her front porch with a black box held open, baring a simple golden band with a small ruby in the center.

Lucy's phone clatters to the floor. She can hear the blood rushing through her head. "Wh-What the hell?" she breathes, though she's barely even aware that she's spoken at all.

Erik's laugh is tense as their eyes meet. "It's fucking stupid," he says. "But I saved up when we were in school, and I was… Well, I was planning on asking you at prom."

He was going to propose to her at the prom? Knowing what she did now about him even asking for permission to take her to the dance, she wonders if her parents knew what he'd been planning.

"Well, I held onto it," he continues. He looks so scared. So worried. She knows how much he's struggled with opening up to people. Even with her, Erik has always had a hard time letting his guard down when it comes to how he feels. But now he's throwing it all out there. He's taking a chance. "I couldn't let it go."

Her vision goes a little blurry as her tears break free. She blinks, and that's when she notices how intense his gaze is. All this time, he loved her. He really never stopped loving her. And when he says he couldn't let this ring go, she knows that he means he couldn't let her go, and how he felt about her.

"I know it's not much," he adds, and her lips curl up just a little at the corners. "And I can get you a better one now that I actually have a real job-"

"Yes."

Erik freezes, his brows furrowing. "What?"

"It's perfect," Lucy says. She's shaking. Her legs won't hold her much longer. "Don't change a thing. I'll marry you."

She doesn't care that there's so much they've missed in the last ten years. She can feel it. He's still the same person she fell in love with. He loves her more deeply than anyone else ever has. And she's always loved him.

She never would have told anyone else this, but he was the only one she wanted to marry.

"Seriously?" Erik asks, suddenly bewildered.

Lucy lets out a sound that's somewhere between a laugh and a sob, nodding when he stands in front of her. "S-Seriously."

They look down as her trembling hand lifts in the space between them, and that's when she sees that he's shaking just as much while pulling the ring from the box and sliding it onto her finger. It's a perfect fit. When she thinks about it, that must be why he'd wanted her to get measured for a class ring their senior year.

She loves that he got her birthstone as the gem for her ring. And when Lucy looks back up at him, she can see how happy he is shining in his glossy eye.

"I love you, Erik," she sniffles.

He doesn't say it back. He simply wraps his arms around her and kisses her with everything he has. And damn it all to hell, she doesn't ever want him to stop. She's not scared this time as her head tilts to one side and she deepens the kiss, her tongue spearing between his lips as her fingers sift through his hair.

By the time they separate, she can barely remember how to breathe. But it doesn't matter. She has him. They're going to get married. And he loves her. And she loves him. And she'd told him! She'd been so scared to say it back earlier. The last thing she wanted was to admit it - even though he'd already said it - and not have things work out.

"Wait, your Uber," she says, her eyes widening as she looks past him. The little silver Prius is gone.

"I had him turn around," Erik chuckles. His hands clasp at her lower back. "Did you know that Sting is an Uber driver?"

"Gajeel's little brother's boyfriend, Sting?"

Erik nods. "He had no problem with it when I told him what I texted you."

"What if I'd said no?" she asks.

He chuckles and shakes his head. "I have his number. He said he'd drive me home for free if I got rejected."

Lucy can't stop herself from laughing. She pulls back enough to wipe her eyes. And then she gets an idea. "How soon do you want to get married?"

"I dunno," he says. "I hadn't thought that far ahead. I want my parents to at least meet you first."

"How about right now?" she asks. It's spontaneous, and she's sure this is rushing things a bit, but she's excited to start her new life with him.

"Why the hell not?" he laughs. That's right. Erik has always been the adventurous type. He's always happy to jump feet first into a pile of fuck only knows what just to have a good time. "Alex is gonna love you."

Lucy steps back and turns to stomp into her boots, picking up her phone from the floor. "Shit, my purse."

"Right here!" Layla yells. She dashes down the stairs and into the foyer with Lucy's purse, an overnight bag with what Lucy is sure has all of the essentials from her bathroom and at least one change of clothes, and a manilla envelope. When the hell had her mother gone upstairs and started packing things?

"Will someone please tell me what in the world is going on?" Jude bellows as he runs down the stairs after Layla. "And why did you snatch her divorce papers from my file cabinet?"

Lucy's jaw drops, and she laughs along with Erik. She looks up at him, and their smiles widen even further while Lucy takes her purse and Erik takes the duffel bag and envelope. They turn and run out the door with her parents following behind.

"Have fun!" Layla calls out as they reach Lucy's car.

She unlocks the door and Erik hops into the passenger seat. Lucy looks back at her father, the poor soul. He looks so lost. "Cobra asked me to marry him!" she calls back.

"What?!" Jude bellows. He takes a step forward, then stops when Layla tries to drag him backward. "Lucy Anna Heartfilia, you get your butt back here right now!"

"Bye!" she hollers. Lucy jumps into the driver's seat and turns on the car. She rolls down the windows to combat the sweltering heat inside, and pulls out of the driveway. "I'll be back later!"

"Have fun!" Layla calls out.

"Cobra, bring my daughter back!" Jude yells at the top of his lungs. "Cobra!"

Erik and Lucy laugh, because it's the first time Jude's ever called him that. In all the years he'd been around, Erik had never been addressed directly by Jude. He'd never called the boy Cobra or Erik, instead just using eye contact to let him know that he was being spoken to.

Lucy puts her phone on silent as she drives away from her parents' house. She won't answer her father's phone calls. She'll talk to them later on.

"You're insane," Erik laughs.

She glances over at him when they reach a stop sign, and the smile she finds on his face is refreshing. It fills her chest with warmth and something new and exciting. Something she's never quite felt before. "But you love me," she says.

He reaches across the center console as she starts driving again, linking his hand with hers. After a minute, Lucy realizes that she has no idea where Erik actually lives. They'd both been too excited to think about that.

"Uh… So, how do I get to your place?" she asks.

Erik laughs and lets go of her hand long enough to pull up the directions on his phone. Once it's ready, he holds her hand again. "Up on the highway," he says. "We've gotta head about 50 miles east."

"Holy shit," she breathes.

"Yeah," he says. "I told you, it's a bit of a drive."

"No," she says, smirking over at him. "We should stop at Mickey D's to get some all-day breakfast for this excursion!"

The way he grins over at her has Lucy's insides wriggling with heat and desire. "I love the way you think."

Now they have a plan in place. McDonald's, then off to his house. Erik tells her as they finally make their way to the highway with two steak, egg, and cheese bagel meals that he needs a shower before they go and see Alex. By the look in his eye, he has more than just a shower planned. But that's something Lucy can fully get behind.

She's got ten years to make up for, after all.

By the time August rolls around, the video of Erik and Lucy dancing at the reunion has gone viral. The weeks leading up to the new school year are hectic, and he hates that he gets so little time with Lucy when he's stuck in pre-planning meetings and professional development classes. But they're a necessary part of his job, and the one that he opts in to take concerning recognizing mental trauma in students, and using restorative practices schoolwide for behavioral issues, is eye-opening. He's even happier that he convinced Alex to tag along with him for it, because their conversation afterward has him rethinking some of the procedures in his classroom for the coming year.

On the first Friday after school begins in early September, he's already gotten his homeroom under control. They're seniors, and they've spent four years being terrified of having the one-eyed monster as their science teacher. He's busy taking attendance in homeroom while the morning show plays on the television mounted in the corner above his desk. Erik rarely pays attention to what's said on the morning show, but his class knows that they have to stay silent in case there's an important announcement.

When the principal, Dr. Tartaros, appears on the screen, and Erik hears his voice, he stops what he's doing. This is one of the few times he actually does pay attention. The principal really doesn't make a habit of making announcements on the morning show. He prefers to do it over the intercom.

"Good morning, students and faculty. I hope you had an enjoyable summer, and that you've already completed your required reading assignments. Don't forget that Monday is the last day to request schedule changes. Please visit Mr. Jackal in the main office today for the appropriate forms, and return them to your homeroom teacher with a parent signature."

Erik nods and makes a note to keep an eye out for an email later on with information on where he'll need to turn those forms in. Most likely, they'll be returned to Ms. Seilah, the principal's secretary.

"Additionally, I would like to remind you all that your time at school is meant to be used for learning."

Erik's seniors groan and slouch in their seats, and he smirks. Yes, the annual lecture from the principal is about to begin.

"While it is important to maintain rigor in your studies, do not forget that these are the times you will make lasting memories. A shining example of this is our very own Mr. Vivas."

Erik frowns and looks up at the screen to find the principal's coal black eyes piercing his soul. Fuck, no wonder he never gets on the morning show. He's a creepy motherfucker, even in his grey power suit with his long, flowing hair tied up into a high ponytail.

"Let us all hope that we can use Mr. Vivas as an example of the way we should live our lives."

The screen cuts to black for a moment, and all that can be heard is a round of cheers.

"We didn't get the satisfaction of watching them dance to whatever bullshit song the school picked. So, to the Prom King and Queen of 2008, this one's for you!"

Erik's jaw drops. He recognizes that fucking voice. Laxus. At the reunion. Motherfucker.

The camera lifts into the air and focuses on Erik in his black slacks and purple dress shirt, gently taking Lucy's hand in his, stopping her from running off the dance floor. He smiles at her as the song begins, and she kicks off her shoes, placing both hands in his.

"Looks like we made it. Look how far we've come, my baby." It's clear that he's singing along to the song as he pulls her closer. Lucy laughs as he spins her around, stepping in behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"You're still the one I run to, the one that I belong to. You're still the one I want for life."

Erik smiles as he watches the video, seeing from what he realizes is Laxus' perspective how Lucy flails when she's dipped, how she clutches herself to him and he helps to pull her back up.

He and Lucy never actually got around to watching this video. They'd both agreed that it was a little weird. Regardless of how many times their friends (and parents) shared it on social media, or the fact that Upworthy decided to write a fucking article about their story and how they'd gotten married within a week of being reunited (and, of course, embedded the damn video on the article's webpage), Erik and Lucy never actually watched it.

But now he's seeing it. And he sees what he'd missed before. He sees the way she looks up at him, how her fingers hesitate a moment before she lightly touches the tips of his hair. And he can finally see the way he looks at her. Erik knows how he feels when he sees Lucy, but it's written, clear as day, across his features every time she's close to him. It's obvious that he loves her in the way his hand rests on her lower back, how he gently strokes her spine.

Some of their dance moves are on the cheesy side, but he can't help but smile even wider when he sees her laughing in the video.

He completely forgets that he's in his classroom, and that his students are there, watching this video of him being reunited with the love of his life. Erik's thumb brushes across his wedding band, and he hums the song under his breath.

Now he's tempted to text his wife and tell her to watch it. But then he thinks better of it. He wants to be with her when she sees it for the first time.

"I'm so glad we made it. Look how far we've come, my baby…" She steps closer to him, leaning into his embrace as they look into each other's eyes. Erik smirks as she touches the scar on his cheek, and her blush is fully visible.

Their quiet conversation isn't caught on the camera, but the way they quietly laugh together is. And then she grabs his face and drags him into a steamy kiss that raises loud cheers from the others in attendance at the reunion.

"Damn, Mr. Vivas," a student hollers as the class watches the way Erik crushes her to his chest and kisses her with everything he's worth. "Get some!"

"She's hot af, bro!"

Erik smirks over at his students. "I'd be careful what you say," he says.

"Ugh, that was so cute!" Chelia sighs in the back of the room, leaning over to her best friend Wendy. "Wasn't that the cutest thing ever?"

"I'd fuckin' tap that shit so fast," Dan groans. He chuckles while fist-bumping his friends.

The class goes silent as the principal's face appears on the television again. Erik's eye narrows at the shit-eating grin stretching over Mard's thin lips. That fucking troll. He's sure Alex and Mard teamed up to do this. This is the thanks he gets for inviting the asshole to the wedding.

"We would like to wish Mr. Vivas our congratulations on his nuptials, and well wishes for the future."

"What's that mean?" Dan asks, frowning.

"It means," Erik says, spinning in his chair to look at the class again. He smirks as he looks at the group of boys. "She's my fucking wife."

The silence that reigns supreme in his homeroom after that revelation is nearly enough to make him laugh. It's so quiet, he's sure he can hear miniature explosions going off in his students' heads. His phone vibrates on his desk, and he sees it's a text from Lucy. Erik doesn't make a habit of checking his messages during class, but just this once he'll make an exception. And when he reads it, he's glad he did.

Lucy: Ready for the mind-blowing moment of the century? Doctor says I'm pregnant. Say hello to our Baby Cobra.

The picture that follows is a blurry black and white image that he vaguely recognizes as a sonogram. He has no fucking clue what's what in the picture, but her name is at the top.

Vivas, Lucy A.

He's wide-eyed and in a daze as his phone falls from his hand. He doesn't know whether to jump for joy or just jump out the window, but he quickly picks his phone up and texts her back.

Cobra: Fuck yes! So glad I punctured holes in the condoms like Layla suggested!

Lucy: Lol! Funny, Alex did the same thing with me! Said something about Armstrong family traditions.

His students are utterly terrified when Erik starts laughing so hard that tears leak from his eye. He married the woman of his dreams. If he questioned it before, he knows it's true now. His life is perfect.

.The End.

So, this is the official end of the story. I'd planned on writing a few scenes of Lucy meeting Alex and seeing what Cobra's adoptive family is like, but… I didn't feel like it, to be honest. I may return to this story one day to add a bonus chapter where we get to see that. For the time being, this story is complete. I hope you all enjoyed the happy ending that these two so totally deserve.

And with that, I have now completed CoLu Week 2019!