A/N: Rated T only for implications, I just wanted to be safe :)
Patricia had never told anyone, and she swore she never would. She came close many times, sure. Every time Joy pestered her about it, every time Mara brought up the subject during heart-to-hearts, every time she looked at the door across the hallway. Even when she was drunk at parties, she would never cross the line she'd drawn for herself. She didn't know why it was a secret, exactly, but it had been secret for so long that she had every intention to keep it that way. Until the first grade homework assignment.
"Mummy, guess what we had to do today?" cried a little boy's voice. Patricia smiled and opened her arms to hug her son.
"What?" she asked. She observed him, the boy who looked nothing like her and yet belonged to her. He had blond hair and brown eyes. Patricia remembered his first ever day of school, over one year beforehand, when she'd been on the receiving end of knowing, patronizing looks from all the other parents. Patricia had been angry; there were lots of single mothers in the world, and it wasn't her fault that Nick didn't look like her. But she'd had to handle situations like that every day since he was born and she was getting quite adept at it.
"We had to write about who our hero was and why," Nick proclaimed, as though it were the greatest task in the world.
"Who did you write about?" asked Patricia, scenes of him exclaiming he'd written about her flashing through her mind.
"Eddie!" cried Nick joyfully.
Patricia felt a thwang in her heart that had nothing to do with not being her son's hero, and everything to do with the man who apparently was. "Oh, that's wonderful of you!" she said, her habit of hiding her feelings coming into use yet again. "May I take it over and read it to him?"
Nick tilted his head to the side, thinking seriously. "Well, I guess so. What if he doesn't like it?" The boy's face creased with sudden worry.
"I'm sure he'll love it," Patricia assured her son, patting him on the arm. "Now you stay here and eat your snack, and I'll be back very soon."
She took the piece of paper Nick held out to her, opened the front door of their apartment and shut it behind her. Then, she marched over to the door across the hall, took a deep breath, and knocked.
The door flew open almost immediately. "Hey, Patricia!" said a cheery voice that had never managed to lose its American accent.
"Hi," she said, feeling the butterflies in her stomach that appeared every time she saw him. It was ridiculous, because they were neighbors as well as friends, so she saw him nearly every day, but she couldn't help it. Love dies hard. "Can I come in?"
"Sure," said Eddie, smiling as he ushered her in, shut the door, and sat down on the sofa. "What's up?"
"Nicky said they wrote about their heroes in school today," Patricia said, seating herself beside him,
"and I thought you might be interested in seeing his paper." She held it out to him. He bent his head in and they read it together, squinting to decipher the childish handwriting.
my heroe is my naybour eddiee becuz he is nice and funy and he always lisenz to wat i haf to say also he is nice to my mum and she sez he has ben her best frend for a reely long time oh and he likes all the same htings as me that is all
Patricia felt tears streaming down her face. Eddie was smiling as he came to the end of the page. "That's so—what's wrong?" He looked up at the sound of her sniffle, his face changing from happy to worried in a matter of seconds. "I mean, it was very sweet and all, but is it worth crying over?"
Patricia managed to calm herself down. "No, it's not that…it's…it's…"
And for the first time in seven years, Patricia found herself teetering on the edge. Really, truly teetering. Feeling the way only Eddie had ever been able to make her feel. She hesitated. She couldn't give up the secret. He never had to know. Or did he?
Before she could stop herself, Patricia was saying, "It's just funny…you're the only one who's never asked." Then she stopped, second-guessing herself once again.
"Asked what?" said Eddie urgently, and Patricia knew it was too late. She could tell by the look on his face that he was not going to let this go.
She looked down at her hands twisted in her lap, then back up at him. She said softly, "You're the only one from Anubis House that's never asked who Nick's father is."
Patricia opened the door to her apartment, pulling Eddie in behind her.
"Mummy! You were gone for hours," said Nick, whose sense of time was not yet fully developed.
"I know, sweetie, I'm sorry," Patricia said, hugging him. She held her son close for a moment too long, then drew back and held him at arm's length. She looked him in the eye and said, "I have a surprise for you."
"Really? What?" said the delighted seven-year-old.
Patricia beckoned Eddie to crouch down as well, and he did so. "Nicky," she said, "I'd like to introduce you to your daddy."
A/N: Just a little something that popped into my head...really short and not too good but tell me what you think! Peddie is my absolute favorite HoA pairing and I'm planning something bigger and better for them :)