A sigh came from Eric as he watched you continue to try and cram all of your items into your suitcase, keeping his distance from you as you had requested. His head shook as he watched on, knowing that there was no chance that it was all going to fit in, but you were far too stubborn to listen to what Eric had to say.
You wanted to make sure that you had everything to join him on tour, trusting that eventually, you'd find the way to get everything in. There was a tension in the room, a tension which had seemed to linger for several weeks as your walls continued to build up.
Eric wasn't too sure what changed as all of a sudden you found yourself closing off from him, with a determination to do everything yourself. Feeling as if you were beginning to rely on him too much, you decided to start doing the complete opposite.
More than anything Eric wanted to step in and try and help you as you packed, but each time he moved, your eyes were on him. He was left feeling helpless, despite being able to see several things that could be changed to make life easier for you, he knew that you wouldn't listen to him.
"Why don't we just get another bag?" He suggested eventually as his patience with you wore thin.
"I can get this done; you don't have to watch."
Eric's head continued to shake, "We've been here for nearly half an hour, and you've got no further than you were then."
"Again, you don't have to watch," you coldly replied, keeping your eyes on your suitcase in front of you, "go and do something else if you don't want to watch me do this."
The stubborn attitude that came from you was something that Eric had come to expect over recent weeks. He was more than happy to let you be stubborn when he felt that you could do something, but your suitcase was not something he knew you could fix.
"Haven't you got any of your bags that you should be packing up instead?" You then asked him.
You felt a horrific pressure with Eric's eyes watching over you, not wanting to cave and admit that he was right. You were squashing everything down, stamping down on the top of your suitcase to try and bring the zipper together, but each time you managed to get it together, it popped as soon as you lifted a hand.
Eric continued to watch you though, wanting to reach out and help you. He could see it all ending in tears, he'd packed enough cases on his numerous travels all around the world to know when something wasn't going to happen.
"Why don't we go through it and see if we can find a couple of things that you can take out?" Eric proposed, feeling that perhaps you had packed a little too much anyway. "I might have some room in one of my bags for the things that you don't need straight away."
Your head shook as you rammed the top of your case down yet again, "all of this is going to fit in, it just needs moving around a bit to be able to make some more room."
"Once you've packed up all of this, do you even think that this is going to be under the weight limit for the flight?"
Eric's question only wound you up more, determined to make it fit, and weigh the right amount too. Whilst he only ever meant well, you couldn't help but feel as if he was doubting you, determined to step up and prove him wrong.
When you remained silent, Eric opted to push you a little bit further, "Do you really want to be that person having to unpack their bag in the middle of the airport?"
"Can't you just go away?" You frowned, finally looking across the room in his direction, "if you're just going to annoy me, then leave."
You were expecting Eric to walk away, but yet again he stayed, not pandering to what you wanted at all. One way or another he was going to get you to listen and most importantly realize that you couldn't do everything alone.
As you went to jam your bag down yet again, your hand gripped your zipper, managing to pull it across. It soon jarred with so little room to move though, sliding underneath your finger and trapping your digit.
"Y/N, you're bleeding?" Eric noted as soon as you pulled your hand away, glancing down when he heard the sharp intake of breath that came from you.
Your heart sunk as you looked down and noticed several drops of blood fall from the mark that the zipper had made along the side of your finger. Across the room, Eric raced to get a tissue, hurrying back to you, only for you to move your hand away.
"Let me help you," he tried to tell you, wrestling in your lap to grab your hand and wrap the tissue around it. "Don't you think it's time to admit that you can't do this? That you need some help to pack up your suitcases?"
"It's just a scratch," you argued, "it's not going to stop me from packing."
"Stop pretending that you're fine," Eric pleaded.
His words caused your body to freeze, feeling his eyes on you from your left side. You were too scared to look across at him as you listened closely to the anguish that was in his voice as you continued to build your walls up.
"Stop being a stubborn mess," Eric added in a whisper, "it's alright to admit that you can't do something Y/N."
"I should be able to do this," you finally began to cave.
"It's alright," Eric assured you, moving his free arm to wrap around your shoulders as the other continued to take care of your cut. "There's nothing wrong with not being able to do something, we all fail sometimes."
Your eyes looked ahead of you to the mess that your suitcase was in. Frustration hit you hard as you noticed just how little room there was for your zipper to shut, knowing deep down that there was no way that it was ever going to close.
"Let's get your cut sorted and then maybe we can find a more suitable way to pack," Eric suggested, offering you a comforting smile as you looked to meet his eyes. "There's plenty of space in my suitcase as long as you're alright with putting your nice and clean clothes in with some of my messy things."
"Of course," you agreed with a gentle chuckle, leaning across to rest your head down against Eric's shoulder, "I'm sorry that I'm too stubborn and determined for my good," you then added, bringing a chuckle out of Eric too as he looked down at you.
"You know that I only ever want to help you, don't you?" He asked you.
Straight away your head nodded in reply to him, glancing down to notice that your cut was beginning to heal too as the tissue came out clear. "Even though I might not always show it, you know that I always appreciate the help that you offer me too, right?"
"I do," Eric replied, pressing a kiss against the side of your head, "I just wish that you accepted that help more often."
"I'll try my best to from now on," you vowed, "learning that others want to help me and mean it is one of those things I'm still working on."
Eric hummed back at you, "Why don't we try and work on it together from now on?"
"I think that's a good idea."
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