#so sorry if this has errors i haven't slept at all this is so embarrassing

[sweet-peachie]

Thinking about a yandere with a depressed darling.

A yandere who's patient with you no matter how bad it gets. On easier days, when it's just the lingering inexplicable sadness that has you staring off into space every now and then between conversations, he's quick to jump to another topic to distract your mind. When he sees your gaze lower and your brows pinch in thought, he makes your favorite meal under the guise of having been craving it himself. When you're both sitting on the couch and he sees your leg bounce, your fingers trembling against your thighs - he feigns tiredness and leans against you to 'absentmindedly' take your hand in his.

A yandere that on harder days, ones where you can't even muster up the energy to get up from your shared bed, stays there with you for hours on end. Arms wrapped around your waist and his face buried in your hair. If you're lying down, he'll let you rest against his chest and listen to the sound of his heartbeat - the soft sound lulling you into a state of calm. If you're sitting up, he'll keep his arms around you and gently rock the both of you back and forth, keeping his weight pressed against you to keep you grounded. You enjoy silence? No problem, he finds the quiet peaceful too. You need background noise to distract yourself from your thoughts? He's going on and on about anything and everything he can think of.

He tries his best to only leave your side for absolute necessities at the start of these periods. He knows that taking care of you when you're down makes you feel guilty, so he never makes it seem like he's only doing something just for you (even if he knows he is).

He's feeling pretty hungry. No worries though, he'll just go ahead and order some food from that restaurant you both (read: you) like. No, you don't have to get up from the bed to get it from the door, he needed to use the bathroom anyway so he'll just grab it on his way back!

(He was never really hungry. Hell, he could survive off of the smell of you alone if he could. But he'd be damned if you didn't get at least one full meal in today.)

A yandere that never judges you for your lack of motivation to take care of yourself sometimes. You don't feel like you can take a shower today? That's perfectly fine, a missed shower or two never hurt anyone! You felt too drained to brush your teeth before you went to sleep? That's alright, he's feeling pretty tired too so you're both in the same boat! Even if you're someone who prefers to eat in bed because you don't have the energy to eat at the dining table, he doesn't mind one bit. Crumbs aren't an issue for him, and having to wash the sheets is only a small sacrifice to make sure you're comfortable. Hell, if you didn't feel so iffy about it he'd even feed you if you asked.

A yandere that never in his wildest dreams would ever shame you for something you can't control. But, he does care about your health, of course, so he wouldn't allow you to skip too many days of hygiene without stepping in. One of his favorite things to do with you is shared self-care. If you don't take a shower that day, you can both just take one together the following day. He takes great care in washing you off, lathering your hair in your favorite scented shampoo and conditioner before turning around and letting you do the same to him. If you don't feel like brushing your teeth or washing your face that night, that's perfectly fine, he's already setting up a playlist for you two to dance to in front of the mirror when you both get it done tomorrow instead.

A yandere that, although he makes sure you're comfortable during your more difficult days, still wants to help you gradually recover. If your lack of motivation and tiredness spans over a few days or more, he'll slowly but surely coax you out of bed. First it starts out small, like using the restroom or grabbing something from the other side of the room. And then it moves on to leaving the room entirely, getting you to stay outside for longer and longer intervals until the emptiness is finally pushed to the back of your mind once again - dormant until the next time it rears its ugly head. But that's okay. Progress is slow, and it's far from perfect. And he'll tell you just how proud he is that you've taken a step further, no matter how small it may seem.

A yandere that doesn't consider you a burden for the way you feel. Who doesn't ask what caused your mood, even if the shift was sudden. Who doesn't judge you when you fall back into old habits (now, with larger intervals in between) - your hair getting tangled, your skin oily and your clothes stained. Because no matter what he'll be there with you every step of the way, and he'll happily help you up again and again.

[whateverthedragonswant]

That "Fire" in the kitchen in 5x09 is Buddie

"Have no fear. LAFD is here. I heard you have a fire in your kitchen."

We have May accidentally walking in on a role play situation between Bobby and Athena. (notice how Harry is nowhere near this setup, not only so the scene could work butttt we get the whole Bobby and May scenario in 5x16)

And we get:

Athena could have been role playing anything, even, yes, as a cop. Bobby could have been hiding behind the couch instead of in the kitchen. Not to mention we got that whole "editing error" 3 episodes prior between Buck and Eddie when their phones were taken by the fugitives.

And then more importantly we get:

"What are you wearing?" "It's all I could find in the kitchen to cover up."

Kiss. The. Cook. They literally could have given him any other apron to tie on. While this adds to the humor of the moment, as we all know by now, this show makes choices.

And sure enough, then:

1) Bobby: "I just had to clear the counters off before we, uh--" ("Sorry about the mess. But I guess it's your mess now." [5x03] & this episode's title is 'Past Is Prologue' -> Eddie is effectively clearing his mess the rest of the season)

2) May: "This is embarrassing." Athena: "For whom? I will have you know that it is perfectly normal for a couple to experiment from time to time."

And then two episodes later we get:

Eddie's cooking has been mentioned before (he is definitely no Bobby) but in this episode specifically, they show us that since Eddie has some extra time on his hands due to his new job, he's worked on his cooking and it turned out well. And who is the first person he invited over? Buck (with Taylor). And Buck is eating it up heartily (Christopher is eating, too) while Taylor is not.

Eddie: "And all this time everybody thought I was a bad cook." (aka something he wasn't)

Christopher: "You were." ('you used to be')

And then: "You gotta make this when you come back to the firehouse." (the only other two people to cook in the firehouse kitchen? Bobby and Athena)

Taylor: "Practice definitely makes perfect."

And the convo after the meal, Buck says "You look tired"

Bonus:

To go back to 5x09 - after the Bathena scene, we see Taylor and Buck in the kitchen doing dishes. Taylor is distracted as Buck talks (we find out why later on). When he asks her if she's okay, she says: "Yeah. I'm just tired. I haven't really slept well in the last few days." She says she's going to go home when Buck offers for her to stay, that he can "make you breakfast in the morning and yes, by make, I mean putting some frozen waffles in the toaster." (we know Buck can cook so while he might be trying to make her loosen up slightly here, it's an odd thing to say considering he wants to entice her to stay; she also declines his dinner invite later in the episode; then we see her preparing to cook solo when she tells Buck she loves him)

Then the very next scene, the 118 is in the firetruck talking about Buck's relationship with Taylor & how he thinks it might be over, where Eddie is amused while Hen tells him he's overthinking it.

Eddie: "When was the last time a woman told you she had to go home and wash her hair? 1952?" -> something traditional/vintage is being highlighted here, why else would Buck mention that age-old excuse for Eddie to call him out on? Plus, we see Buck's amusement at this line even though he thinks his relationship is over yet again

And Bobby cuts in with this (and they keep showing us Hen's and Buck's reactions here): "Why does this keep happening to you? No, I'm gonna tell you why. Because you don't talk to the women you're dating. You just go with the flow and find yourself in a relationship with no idea how you got there or what to do when things start to go wrong." (Eddie interrupts with "Yeah, who does that?" & Buck gives him a look because Eddie literally just went through this with Ana before the breakup -> point being, Eddie's past relationship is brought into focus here for a second) "My point is, breaking up is not inevitable. You can turn it around, you just have to make the effort. Talk to Taylor. Tell her how you're feeling. Find ways to reconnect." (Buck and Eddie have literally been doing this exact thing all season)

Then Hen says: "Cap knows of what he speaks. Apparently, May walked in on him and Athena while they were reconnecting in the kitchen the other night."

Eddie: "God, parental nightmare." (purposeful interruption here)

Hen: "I mean, I just wasn't aware we were able to bring our gear home for recreational purposes."

Ravi: "You been playing sexy firefighter, Cap?"

Bobby: "What makes you think I was the firefighter?"

We then get a shot of Eddie laughing and then of Buck saying "Oh, I don't want to think about that! Now, I can't stop" and then a shot of Hen laughing.

They get to the emergency where Clive has accidentally shocked himself with the battery charger. Hen is front and center for this one though so is Eddie slightly. Clive asks what year it is after seeing Hen's name tag. We later see Clive and Toni reconnect with Hen, Toni's daughter, somewhat in the middle. Hen, who he finds out at the emergency, is indeed Toni's daughter.

Hen: "So you and my mom were close?"

Clive: "I certainly thought so. But if I know Toni, she certainly wouldn't want me discussing her personal business, even with her own daughter."

May is not Bobby's biological daughter -> Hen is not Clive's biological daughter -> Christopher is not Buck's biological son (it hurt me so much to write those lines but I'm trying to make a point here, obviously these are all parents and their kids)

Toni initially denies knowing Clive to Hen while they're at Bobby and Athena's

And there is the 3 past year link between two romantic relationships and Buck & Eddie: 1987 (Bathena) & 1978 (Clive & Toni) [notice the inverse of that #] -> 1952 (Buck's relationship in trouble & Eddie is the one to make this comment)

& the 3 past event link: Casino heist & long lost love -> convo about Abuela's telenovelas which Buck teases Eddie about him & Christopher still watching it (past [Abuela] & long lost love theme[telenovela] is now in the dialogue)

Plus:

(they purposely had Oliver move to the right more so they could fit that in the background, after he teases Eddie about the telenovelas)

Buck & Taylor also have a link to the past in this episode but we find out it's her father being in jail for her mother's murder -> the other past events are either positive (Clive & Toni) or originally had love behind it (casino heist)

Double bonus:

In 5x09, Bobby and Athena do more roleplaying (reconnecting as a couple & having fun together) to figure out the casino heist

In 5x15, Hen and Karen start going out more because Karen is feeling like time has passed her by & they finally find balance by the end of the episode, they catch a credit card thief and then stay out to dance & have fun together

They literally had Bathena and Henren paralleling with each other in this particular scenario. And they had Bathena paralleling with Buddie for the kitchen scenario. And we know how important the kitchen is to Buddie. Which is literally called back to in the balcony scene in 5x04 which has them paralleling to Madney. (Buck's mention of Eddie wanting to punch him & "want to go for the title?" in 3x09 vs Chimney punching Buck in 5x04 & Eddie bringing him ice -> a parallel but also contrast for both relationships as well as Eddie & Chim)

And they also had Hen paralleling with Buck in this season: Toni tells Hen in 5x09 "You always do this. You never know when to leave well enough alone." (which funnily enough is about Clive & Toni); Eddie tells Buck "You're the guy who likes to fix things" in 5x04 (which is about Maddie & Chim) [plus "I'm not sure how to fix that" - Hen, 5x15]

Which they do again with not only Hen (with Karen) but also Athena (with Bobby) in 5x15 by them all watching/having watched the reality wedding tv show. And the groom of that tv show had a similar collapse to Eddie back in 5x01 though the groom actually had a heart condition/event going on.

And they paralleled Karen (and Maddie) to Eddie in 5x15 as well. Karen says she feels old at work, that everyone there is at least about a decade younger than her. Eddie has scenes with May this episode, not only trying to help her figure out what to do about USC but also how to track down the young social media influencer that collapsed.

Plus, 87 cupcakes Karen made for the marching band bake sale (after eating 3):

Plus, Athena saying "I know I'm where I'm supposed to be" when in the next episode (5x16) "God has spoken" with Eddie rejoining the 118 for the 911 dispatch emergency, and this is after Buck says in 5x11 "Yeah, but it's not what you're supposed to be doing. You're a firefighter."

It's all connected.