A/n: As it so often goes – I have no idea where this came from. Just a dewdrop-size fill-in tribute to The (Worst Witch) Weirdsister College series that used to amuse me way back in the day and to one of the first TV pairings I ever got invested into. Nick Hobbes and Millie Hubble, that is in case you're wondering. Seeing as I'm apparently going through a bout of nostalgia.

Set on the outside margin of Ethel's hissy-fit at Nick's quarters in ep. 12 – The Whisperer. Nick gets to ponder something he was told.

Disclaimer: No character and/or plot-points mentioned belong to me.

The problem

The problem is you don't need me, Hobbes (c) Ethel Hallow

Ethel got it all wrong. Didn't she ever... It wasn't about him not needing her. 'Cause it wasn't about Ethel at all. As if it ever had been, for Merlin's sake. It was that he needed someone else entirely. Someone he could appreciate and cherish, and challenge, and who – he had quite a bit of a hunch – could really appreciate him back. Could have appreciated him back, had he not blown it to pieces, that is. Someone he couldn't have. Not anymore. Possibly not ever. And that was the problem.