Patricia had walls. They were like a castle: thick, strong, and impenetrable. People had tried, but they were impossible to break down.

Eddie didn't want to break them down; no, he loved the walls.

He loved the way that she acted so tough and strong, like she didn't need anyone or anything. Because he knew inside those walls, she had all the teenage girl emotions she refused to acknowledge. He wasn't trying to break down her walls, because he had something better that. He could see right through those walls, and just like a superhero he loved his x-ray vision.

Saturday's were Eddie's favorite day of the week. He had the whole weekend in front of him to put off homework and just chill out. Most Saturdays he found himself sleeping in until noon, making a big American style breakfast, and lounging about. Recently, he had discovered a much more pleasant way to spend his time.

Patricia was not interested in PDA. No, she was too tough for anyone to see her with that kind of vulnerability. Sometimes, when they would walk to class, Eddie would intertwine their fingers and walk a little closer to her. She would sometimes learn her head a little closer to his shoulder and for a few minutes they would have complete bliss. As soon as they were close enough for anyone to see though, Patricia was back to snark and teasing.

It's not that Eddie didn't like the late night kisses in the hallway when everyone was asleep, or the dates in the middle of the woods. Sometimes he just wanted to feel like they weren't hiding anything. That is what brought him to his current situation.

It had started last month, when Fabian had accidentally woken him up getting ready for an early morning library session with Nina. He had apologized profusely as Eddie groaned into his pillow. Once he was up, he was up. He couldn't fall back asleep no matter how hard he tried, which absolutely sucked considering it was 6:30 in the morning.

He got out of bed, and sleepily walked to the common room. It was quiet, no one would be up for hours. He pulled out his phone, his lockscreen picture of him and Patricia gave him a moment of inspiration.

He moved swiftly upstairs, and as quietly as possible entered Patricia's room. Careful not to wake her roommates, he tapped his girlfriend on her shoulder. "Yacker" he whispered as loudly as could into her ear.

She awoke with a groan, swatting him away. "Go away, Edison, it is way too early for this."

It only took a few minutes of quiet arguing and threatening to play the voicemail she left him once where she said that she both "loved him" and "needed a hug" at the dinner table tonight for her to follow him downstairs.

"You better delete that voicemail before I do." She said, hitting him on the shoulder.

"Bold of you to assume I don't have copies of it." He laughed, "But also I like listening to it when I miss you."

"Ew." She said, leaning against the kitchen counter with her arms crossed defensively. "Don't get sappy on me Miller."

"Oh come on, you're telling me you don't do that? I have left you multiple very kind voicemails and you're telling me you don't listen to them sometimes?" He put his hands on the counter beside her waist, locking eyes with her.

"Okay, okay. If it'll help that little ego of yours maybe sometimes I do. But only if I haven't seen you in a long time." She brought her hands around his waist, pulling him closer. "Why am I awake right now?"

"Well, my lovely roommate accidentally woke me up this morning, and I thought to myself, what better morning than just the two of us, my incredible pancakes, and some cuddle time with your incredible boyfriend before everyone else is up?"

"Did you seriously wake me up for that, you slime ball?" She said. The snark was evident in her tone. To anyone else they would assume Patricia had no desire to be awake or do anything Eddie had said. But Eddie knew, not just because Patricia hadn't removed her arms from what could almost be considered a hug, but because he really knew her.

"Okay then, you go back to bed then." He said, stepping out of her grasp with a smirk.

"Well, if I'm already up," She began, moving her hands to begin playing with the hem of her shirt, "I guess you might as well make me some pancakes to make up for it."

That morning led to four blissful hours of the two of them making pancakes, playfully throwing the ingredients around, and watching tv together on the couch before anyone woke up. Patricia leaned into Eddie's chest, one hand intertwined with his and her legs crossed over his. Of course as soon as they heard the noises of their housemates starting to awake she moved away from him.

After that, it became their routine. Eddie wasn't expecting it, but the next Saturday at 6:30 on the dot, Patricia was in his doorway. Fabian had already left for the library, again. "Wake up, Slimeball, I was really feeling some pancakes this morning."

Eddie rolled over, a smile on his face, as Patricia walked over to him, sharing a small grin.

"Oh? Just pancakes?" He teased, knowing that if she was going to get what she really wanted she was going to have to say the words. "I'm pretty sure you don't need me for that."

"I want your pancakes." She said, sitting down on his bed.

He grabbed on to her hand, pulling her in closer to him. "Just pancakes."

"Yep." She said. A small blush growing across her cheeks.

"Okay. So I'm going to make pancakes and then just go back to bed I guess." He said with a smirk.

"Fine." She groaned. "I want to cuddle with you after. But don't make me say it again."

"Oh well in that case, I might stay in bed for a few more minutes." He said, pulling Patricia on top of him, placing a gentle kiss on her lips.

And so, every Saturday became their time. It was their time to cook together, with Eddie holding Patricia's waist as she placed the pancakes on the griddle and kissing on her the neck every so often. It was their time to share a plate of pancakes, with Eddie laughing when Patricia got whipped cream on her face and being more than happy to wipe it off and kiss the spots he just so happened to miss. The best part of the morning was when the two of them would cuddle on the couch, and Patricia definitely wasn't letting any walls down when she would tell Eddie how much she loved him.

Nights were similar to mornings in a strange kind of way. When everyone was tucked away into their rooms Patricia was there to find a place in Eddie's arms. At 11 on the dot, every night Patricia would sneak down the stairs to meet Eddie outside of his door. In hushed words he would would tell her he loved her, and pull her into a hug. Always just loud enough to hear when she would whisper it into his ear she would say those three words back to him. If anyone ever asked Patricia, she would tell him that Eddie made her go downstairs, and she didn't care about something as silly as a goodnight hug and kiss.

Some nights, as Eddie was falling asleep, he would plug his earphones in his phone and press play on a certain voicemail from a long weekend three months ago when Patricia went home to see her family.

"Hey slime ball. It's 11, and I thought you'd be up but I guess you're already asleep. Um, I just kind of wanted to talk to you before I went to bed. I guess it's kind of silly, it's just been a really long time since I've gone to bed without seeing you first." Her breath hitched a little at that moment, her voice becoming a little more raw with emotion, "Um, I don't really know what else to say because I really thought you would pick up. But I don't care. I just really need a hug right now. I can't wait to see you tomorrow, I love you. I really, really miss you, like I'm going crazy right now. God that was ridiculous, I don't even know what I'm saying anymore. I'm going to bed." In a quiet voice she whispered one more "I love you".

When Eddie had originally gotten the voicemail he had felt so bad for taking a shower and missing her call, but having those words to listen to over and over again whenever he missed his girl was what he needed.

And on that night, when she had gotten back from her long weekend, he held on to her as tight as could and ran a hand through her hair. After a few moments Patricia whispered, "I should get to bed."

"Give me a few more seconds," He whispered back, "I wanna make up for missing last night, and all the nights I missed before I started dating you."

Patricia squeezed him a little tighter, "I can stay for a little longer."

And in those words, Eddie knew just how much Patricia loved physical contact, and how much she loved him.