I don't have much to say other than there are quite a few spoilers for Under Pressure and I hope you enjoy it.

At least he helped him up.

At least he was the first to.

He could have asked if he was alright.

Yet the first thing out of Cal's mouth followed a pattern, a usual pattern.

"Getting beaten up by school kids."

Well, it wouldn't be a first for Cal. He didn't have to say it and make Ethan feel worse. It was difficult enough having a knock to your pride - though Ethan had become used to it, what with having Cal for a brother, such knocks were frequent. In public, though, was more difficult to take.

Cal just made it worse. He didn't need to say anything. He just wanted to. Had they been younger, Ethan may have said it was spite, though he had outgrown it (though never really had grown into such ways anyhow), Cal had not. He was a child when he wanted to be and an adult when he wanted to be. He did what he wanted and didn't think about the consequences, he dived in head first and put his heart on a plate.

Ethan just picked up the pieces.

Always.

Cal pushed his luck. He pushed it with everyone, but more so with Ethan.

He didn't even know he was doing it some times.

There were limits. Then there were Ethan limits. Limits that had never been pushed too far, despite everything. Ethan had let go, they'd reconciled.

Now Cal was pushing buttons again, buttons that had been pushed too much to take the rest of the abuse being force down upon them.

It was bound to happen sooner or later; many times it nearly had. Yet here it began.

"I want you to move out tonight." It was the beginning.

They were splintering again.

They were fracturing again, breaking apart like bones or atoms.

They were on the road to shattering again, or at least, Ethan was.

Who would die this time?

Who would be the Safety Net?

Who would be the first to stop pushing back?

It would be Ethan. He always backed down, never grappled with the elder; maybe it was time he did?

But he wouldn't. He didn't push back, he stepped back. He was always the one being pushed.

Cal was the one pushing Ethan.

He'd always been the one.

This time he pushed too far.

This just came to me when Ethan was pushed over tonight. I'd been picturing how such a moment could happen in the show and I have to say, once it did happen, my inspiration went right up, so this sort of wrote itself.

I hope you like it and pick up on the reference to Born Lucky. Anyway, there are still a few more ideas from this episode to come, so I'll see when I can get them up by. :) x