Devotion.

Eric had never had a girlfriend that wasn't jealous of his relationship with Vincent Chase. It was hard to be the most beautiful person in any room if you were sharing it with Vince, and Eric had never exactly been immune to the force of gravity of being in his best friend's universe. However, it wasn't just Eric that was impacted by the pull of being around Vince; in fact, Eric was the very center of the solar system as far as Vince was concerned. The longest relationship that either of them would ever know was the one they had with each other, whether it was business or friendship or something more.

Ashley was supposed to be the girl Eric used to get over Sloan, but in reality, she was a lot more than that. She was a distraction from the static that had been between himself and Vince since their fight in Queens and the long summer that followed. He had felt like he'd been through a breakup by the time September had come, and it wasn't something that had gone unnoticed by the other guys. Even Vince knew that this fight had been different, and he had done everything he could to make amends with E. It hurt his feelings that Ashley was the one that brought him out of it, the one who had finally put a smile on his best friend's face.

"Vince, I'll call you later," Eric called as he started toward the garage, his BlackBerry buzzing with unanswered calls. Vince followed him close behind, not relenting in his pursuit. He wanted to hang out with his best friend, a guy who hadn't seemed to have time for him lately after spending most of the last two decades being completely accessible to Vince. "I promised Ashley I would meet her for a late breakfast and then I have to go meet with Ari about your contract. We might be able to work out an early dinner. I'll have to check my schedule and get back to you."

"No."

Eric started to argue with Vince until he saw the seriousness in his eyes. "What's up, Vin?" Vince reached for Eric's ringing BlackBerry and pushed the end button. It started to ring again immediately. For a guy that rarely lost his cool, the shrill blare of the phone was enough to push him over the edge and throw the phone across the room. Eric watched as the pieces of plastic flew across the tile floor.

Vince sank to the floor and pulled his knees up to his chin. Eric couldn't see his face through the mess of curls as he knelt down beside him carefully. "C'mon, Vince, talk to me," Eric implored. He was worried. Vince never lost his temper. He was patient to a fault, even with his self-centered ways. Eric reached up and pushed back the curls tenderly. It had been a long time since he had allowed himself to touch Vince like this, not since that night their senior year of high school after Vince's dad had laid into him and nearly broken his jaw. "What's going on?"

"I'm losing my best friend." It sounded childish but there were no other words for how he felt. He was lost and had been lost for quite some time. "E, what's happening to us?"

"I don't know, Vin." He hadn't wanted to see it but he couldn't lie about it either. Things hadn't been okay since that day in the street, no matter how hard they had tried to make it better. "I feel like I broke up with the love of my life last summer, and no matter how hard we try to reconcile, we still have that fight between us."

"And Ashley is what, the rebound girl?"

Eric cracked a smile and ducked his head sheepishly. Vince probably knew him better than he knew himself. Eric definitely got Vince better than anyone. "What do you say I cancel breakfast and this meeting and we spend the day around the house?" E was sitting next to him now, their backs pressed against the fridge. Vince leaned his head uncharacteristically on Eric's shoulder and murmured his agreement. Eric reached up and patted Vince's curls, any thought of Ashley and Ari long gone. "What do you want to do?"

"Just sit like this for awhile," Vince mumbled sleepily. Eric closed his eyes and listened to Vin's shallow breath. It was a small moment but a "click" moment where things fell into place and E realized what the hell he had been missing for so long. He leaned his head against Vince's and sighed. "E, you know you're more than just my best friend, right?" Eric nodded but didn't bother replying. It just was what it was. "I've missed you."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry," Vince said softly. "Just don't do it again."

"I won't."

"I know," he retorted, and Eric believed him. It wasn't this big romantic moment. There was no kiss or even any affection to it. It was just a quiet comfort that came after twenty-five years of living in sync. What one felt resonated with the other. "You're gonna break up with Ashley, right?"

Eric laughed softly. "I probably should, yeah."

"Good, I'm kind of tired of being jealous of her," Vince chuckled. "I still don't get how a girl like her lands a guy like you. Then again, I don't get how a guy like me landed a guy like you."

"I'm not sure either," Eric replied with a laugh, knowing that most people would see both situations quite the opposite. However, it was never that Eric felt like he wasn't good enough for Vince. It was the other way around. Eric felt like a god in Vince's eyes, and Vince worked very hard to make sure he was worthy of the adoration that Eric gave him so freely.

"This is nice," Vince whispered.

"Yeah," Eric agreed. "It's just about perfect."