"What? Noooo," you whined to Angel as you belly-flopped onto your bed. "If you call him sounding all freaked out like this then he's gonna come over." Your words were muffled since your face was flat against your mattress, but you were sure even if the blond couldn't hear your complaints, he probably understood your sentiment through your body language, the sentiment being dread. Because you did not want to see James in person yet. You'd hardly been texting him back and you had yet to be in person with him or call him since your last little spat. You were honestly hurt by the distance and you weren't prepared for things to be weird between the two of you. Also, it was getting late and your body was ready to sleep. "Can't this wait until tomorrow? Or like, never?"

"I don't think it can this time... he'll hurt me if I don't fill him in right away." You pouted at him in your lying position as you looked over your shoulder. "Don't look at me like that, you're too cute to say no to!"

"I'll make you sleep on the couch if you tell him to come over," you threatened him with a glare. It was honestly a bluff because you wanted to cuddle with him that night almost as much as he did with you, but he didn't need to know that.

He gasped as he leapt onto your bed and therefore on top of you, placing all his weight on your back. "No! Don't say that, precious!"

You wanted to keep up the tough guy act, but broke out into giggles as he nuzzled into you, a few soft strands of his hair tickling your neck. You laughed harder when his arms wrapped around your torso and pulled you further into his body's embrace, childlike neediness behind the action. And although the idea of acting so sickeningly sweet with someone might've made you cringe in discomfort just weeks ago, these days you'd be lying if you said you didn't actively crave it. Angel was most definitely making his impact on you, and you only hoped you were bringing him similar amounts of happiness.

"This is what you'll miss if you call your lame ass boss," your muffled voice pointed out to him, though you knew at that point it was a losing battle. James was coming whether you liked it or not, and you were gonna have to confront both him and whatever it was that Angel was so worried about.

"I know... but I'm still gonna call him, (Y/n). I'd rather sleep one time on your couch than sleep forever six feet under." Angel muttered half heartedly into your hair before his weight suddenly lifted off of you and his hands were excitedly tapping against your back. "Or wait- I'll play with your hair and um- I'll let you lay on me! The whole time he's over! I know how cuddly you get when you're sleepy, right? But only if you let me still sleep with you tonight- er, sleep next to you! I'll do all the talking when he comes too!"

You sighed exaggeratedly to feign reluctance in accepting his proposition, but unbeknownst to him a tired grin spread across your face that was conveniently still hidden, smooshed against your mattress. James was coming over no matter what, but now at least you got extra cuddling time out of this whole fiasco. You felt a little bad, knowing Angel would never take advantage of your kindness in such a way, but being held was just too good to pass up now that you knew what it was like. Besides, he liked cuddling even more than you did, so it was probably fine!

You rolled over once you'd successfully concealed your smile, to find him looking down at you expectantly. "Okay, I guess you can call him then. But what's got you so stressed anyways? Fog isn't that crazy... is it?"

Angel got up from your bed and rooted through his bag, quickly pulling out his pager. "One sec, cutie pie."

Blinking lethargically, you sat up and watched him leave your bedroom and close the door behind him so he could call James. Another yawn escaped your lips, and you felt your eyes begin to droop as your sleepiness started rearing its head. You tried to keep your body upright and awake until James arrived so that you could be filled in on what Angel perceived to be an emergency, but your body wanted nothing more than to sink into your covers and shut down for the day. You felt your upper half fall towards your bed before you could stop it, and just as your eyes began to slowly close, you were being shaken back into consciousness by a large hand on your shoulder. As your eyes cracked back open, it was James' masked and worried face gazing down at you from where he sat on the edge of your bed.

"(Y/n), hon- why didn't you tell me or Angel about the fog outside earlier?" he questioned quietly. His voice was so distinctly soft and tender, a tone it felt like you hadn't heard from him in ages.

You missed his soft voice. You missed when he called you 'hon'. You missed him when he was like this. You missed him.

What you did next, you decided in a move to alleviate your own responsibility for your actions, was entirely on Angel. Because if he hadn't been around that one time when you were as tired as you were now, then you wouldn't have learned that you desired physical touch more than anything when exhausted. And then you wouldn't have sat up now and taken your best friend into yet another rare hug- a fatigued and warm embrace you couldn't help yourself from melting into.

"Jamie," you whispered, your voice just barely audible to him. "Missed you so much. Don't stay away from me anymore, 'kay? And don't be so mean, please... you're m'best friend."

James wasn't responding or reciprocating the embrace, likely due to shock, but you couldn't care less in the moment as you began to doze off again with your arms around his neck. You felt his fingertips eventually graze your back and the back of your head, but they were removed immediately at the sound of a gasp at your door. You removed your head from his broad chest to meet Angel's eyes, pouting at his betrayed expression. Your eyes fell back to James, only to find that he was too had been staring at Angel- with a notable bright flush visible underneath his mask you were far too groggy to read into or overanalyze.

Angel called out your name gloomily, drawing your half-awake attention back to him. "You were supposed to be doing that with me- I'm your cuddling partner."

As upset as he was attempting to appear, his little sulky expression was too adorable for you to take him seriously. You immediately moved on from your embrace with James- something that would normally have you reeling for hours and blushing like crazy- to address the wilted sidekick.

"Aw, sunshine- 'm sorry. C'mere," you invited him warmly, patting the empty spot beside you. "Megistos will move so you can come over here and we'll snuggle all you wanna."

A presumably happy glow shone from the man's once-again smiling expression as he practically skipped over to you, and you felt a pair of strong arms pull you into his chest. Except it wasn't Angel's chest if the white latex you were flush against meant anything. It was James who'd pulled you in tighter into his embrace, which just... it didn't make any sense. Maybe you were asleep or something, because it was only in your sweetest dreams that the man would hold you so intimately for so long.

"I can hold her- I'm her best friend," James said directly into your ear, the sensation sending a very real chill across the back of your neck that confirmed you were in fact awake, and that James was in fact holding you. Weird, but you weren't exactly complaining. "Don't worry, kid- you're off the clock now so honestly, you can leave. Thanks for informing me of the threat, and uh- get home safe."

The reminder of Angel's presence bringing you half back to your senses, you turned your head and fixed your gaze on the man, who looked extremely hurt as he looked between you and his boss. The look of betrayal on his face, while maybe a bit dramatic for something so unserious, sent a sharp sensation right through your heart, so you spoke up on his behalf. "No, he's gonna stay! He's one of my best friends now too, so he's... um, he's not going..." you trailed off with a huge yawn, nuzzling back against James but still gazing at Angel with a sleepy smile.

"Aw, thank you, cutie pie!" he beamed, sticking his tongue out at James triumphantly before moving to sit in front of you on your bed, attempting to pull you from the other man's grasp. "Let go, Megistos- she's my little cuddle bug!"

"She's not your anything, other than your employer!" the other hero snapped, tugging you back towards him roughly.

This continued for much longer than it needed to, leaving your arms sore and your brain rattled. Initially, you'd been too tired to attempt to cut in, but the longer it went on, the grumpier you got, and the grumpier you got, the less self-control you had. Not that either of them were exhibiting much self-control either, yanking you back and forth like spoiled children fighting over a toy.

"Hey!" you huffed, bringing the game of tug-o-war to an abrupt pause. "I'm not a teddy bear, so stop acting like I'm some thing that either of you are entitled to. I wanted to cuddle but now I'm just tired, annoyed, and feeling a bit blue balled to be real!" You groaned when the men both turned a bright red, sending them each an unamused glare. "Not sexually, you dumbasses! Now why is Megistos here? And- let go? Christ, I just wanted to cuddle..."

Both men sheepishly removed their grips as you sent them both a final glare, your frustration interrupted only by another yawn.

James spoke up first, albeit quietly. "So.. you're just gonna cuddle or whatever with your bodyguard, then...? He's not even supposed to be here, you know."

You could only stare a him blankly for a few seconds, trying to find the right words to gently, and eloquently move the conversation forward past this strange, childish rivalry.

"No, bitch!" you snapped instead, both of the men wincing at your sudden outburst. "Now, why are you here?"

James swallowed guiltily. "Um, right. Shit. The fog."

"I am well aware of the fog! Man, I swear to god if f you don't elaborate right now..." you warned.

You could tell you were exiting the dreamy stages of your exhaustion now, and you were entering into a more snappy phase. You also were becoming more attuned to what was actually occurring around you again, which left you with a few major questions and concerns. You still didn't know why James was being so touchy with you, and you didn't know why Angel was acting so possessive- but those issues took a backseat to whatever had compelled Angel to call the other hero over. That was the only answer you could really hope to receive tonight anyways, so the heroes really needed to pull their shit together and wrap up their petty little back-and-forth so that they could bring you into the loop.

"Sorry, hon- I, uh... I don't know what's gotten into me," James said clumsily, and for the first time ever, you found yourself wanting James to enter hero mode. "Um- so, Angel and I have reason to believe that the reason there's been fog around your apartment at night is because Rowan has been watching- well, no, he's potentially been stalking you ever since our fight."

You looked between him and Angel in front of and beside you on your bed with a furrowed brow. "What? What's the correlation?"

Angel's gaze softened as he met your confused expression, his hand cupping your cheek as he brushed your cheekbone with his thumb soothingly. "Maybe you're just forgetting cause you're so sleepy right now, but Rowan can manipulate water molecules to shroud himself in a mist. He does it sometimes- like when he's escaping a crime scene- to prevent others from spotting his form. Does that maybe sound familiar to you?"

"Oh yeah," you nodded slowly, memories popping up from when he kidnapped you and used that exact technique to nab you from Francesca's. "He's not that strong though, right? Enough to cover a whole neighborhood with his fog? I mean, maybe it wasn't him..."

"He could, hon. He's stronger than your little stubborn self will admit," James clarified, hand ruffling your hair gently. "But he didn't. That's why we think it's him. I surveyed your street on my over- the fog was slowly dissipating, but the traces left were only around this building. Scientifically, that doesn't doesn't make sense. Your building isn't some fog-attracting abnormality."

The gravity of the situation began to weigh upon you heavily the more James spoke, and honestly? You felt sick to your stomach. What if Rowan had been doing things to you at night- planting cameras in your home, stealing things from you, or even touching you? You seriously wanted to hurl, and then- peering at your window again- the feeling intensified.

"Oh my God- I've been keeping my window open every night."

James' hand clamped on your shoulder firmly, the look in his eyes not making you feel any better. "(Y/n)- what? Fuck, Angel, you didn't tell me that."

"I didn't know," Angel replied, swallowing thickly.

"Shit, okay- we need to scour the place to see if he tampered with anything. And..." James trailed off as he looked at you hesitantly. "Have you noticed any... weird sensations or feelings at night, (Y/n)?"

You lowered your gaze, unable to meet wither man pitying stares as you shook your head. "No, I don't think he touched me. I- I don't know what I'd even- I just..."

"It's okay, precious, it's okay," Angel piped up, thumb rubbing against your cheek softly. "You go and sit in the living room while we check out your place for anything fishy. And stay away from windows, please."

"Okay," you complied verbally, voice stretched thin as you forced your body to also follow suit.

Soon enough you were fidgeting on the couch, torn between a miserable mix of fear and self-loathing. You didn't want to admit that obnoxious and egotistical Rowan of all people had you feeling so anxious, but the thought that someone could've been stalking you made you feel deeply unsettled. And it would have been your careless, unthinking fault if that were the case, too.

You gnawed on your lip and dug your fingernails into your palms- fruitless self-soothing attempts that really only served to amplify the dark cloud you felt was swirling around you and threatening to swallow you whole. You could sense the tears coming any minute- until suddenly, light reappeared in the form of Angel's familiar, comforting arms wrapping around you and pulling you towards his chest.

"It's okay, we've got you," he said in a hushed voice as he situated you across him, snug in his lap. The position was similar to the one he held you in the night everything went down online, and its calming effect was once again, surprisingly effective.

"(Y/n)?" James called out softly, and you only then realized he was crouched before you, his knuckles grazing your cheek lightly. You met his gaze, noticing the way his other hand was anxiously rubbing his own face as he struggled for the right words to better help calm you down. "It's... it's all gonna be okay, hon. I'm here. I won't let him take you and I won't leave you or anything, like I... Okay, um... I've kinda been a dick these past few days, haven't I? I know I have, and I'm sorry. I'm sorry for not being there, and I'm sorry for being so harsh. But you can still trust me, right? I'm really here now. So, can you just try to breathe for me, please?"

You nodded weakly, his reassurance doing more to calm you down than you'd have anticipated given his past inefficiency with words (not that you'd ever been much better at expressing yourself verbally). His vulnerability was somewhat grounding, and Angel's body beneath yours tried to physically reinforce the feeling, but you still felt a tiny, unmoving pit of dread that no soothing seemed to be able to shake.

"I'm okay," you finally announced, a half-truth you hoped would reassure the two men trying so hard to keep you together. "I'm sorry- I'm just... I'm so tired and this is freaking me out more than I thought it would. I'm okay, though. Really."

Angel sighed in relief, clearly satisfied with your words, but James' expression was more unreadable as he took them in. It made sense that if one of them caught on to the anxious truth that was simmering within you secretly, it would be him: the man who'd known you inside and out for nearly two decades. But he didn't press it, so you could only assume he'd bought your more confident act. You were glad, you supposed selflessly, that he wouldn't be plagued by your inner turmoil, though a different, more selfish part of you wondered how the mental spiral would lessen and go away unless given the chance to escape.

Angel spoke up again, an appreciated distraction from whatever was brewing in your frustratingly active brain. "You don't need to apologize for anything, precious. This is a really scary thing. And if it makes you feel any better, there's no signs of anything here being tampered with!"

"So I can still stay here?" you asked as you looked between the heroes with pleading eyes, deflating as they instead made grim eye contact with each other that dashed your hopes.

Eventually, James looked back to you, expression sober. "You can't live on your own, (Y/n). Not until we've fully apprehended Rowan. You really shouldn't be anywhere on your own anymore until then. We have no clue what he wants or plans to do to you. I think it's time you move in with me and take a break from the shop."

"No, that's all I have... The store and living here- that's my life. I can't just stay holed up for God knows how long- I can't. We found a compromise last time, so what's changed?"

James' face remained firmly decided, so your sad eyes moved on to Angel. The younger man was much less resolute, and you could tell it was taking everything in him to not succumb to his guilt and appease you. James must've sensed this too, as he was standing up and speaking before the blond had a chance to promise you something he couldn't deliver on. "Angel, let's discuss in her room. You're swayed too easily when you're around her."

The blond gently removed you from his lap and attempted to plant a parting kiss on your cheek but was yanked away by an irate James before his lips made contact. And while you knew the separation was more so that Angel could see or hear you, you wondered if they were aware that you could still hear everything they said clearly due to your cheap, thin walls.

Angel's voice sounded first, desperate and pleading on your behalf. "What if I stay with her? I'll protect her 24/7 like I pretty much already have been, and I won't let her spend any time alone so I'm always there to face any threat. She can go about life normally- just with an extra shadow that wouldn't let anyone ever harm her. We can still give her daily pleasures and freedoms while keeping her safe!"

James scoffed, and you could picture the scowl he was likely wearing. "Why do you think I've stayed away from her all week, Angel? You think I don't want to spend time with my best friend? You think I didn't want to be the one who was her bodyguard after everything went down? I know you're still just a rookie and a sidekick, but it's time to be an adult and look at the bigger picture. All (Y/n) being around heroes does is put her further at risk- that's how she got into this mess in the first place- because she knows me! There's no way to keep her safe and to keep everyone happy, okay? It all ends in her getting hurt, no matter what. I just... I don't want her to get hurt."

Somewhere in his rant, you could hear the anger in his voice fizzle out into something so distinctly sad and desolate that you felt like crying yourself. And though his admission of his true feelings hurt you to hear, it also was partially helpful to you in explaining the ways James had been so distant after everything happened. It seemed that in the middle of this recent mess, you'd forgotten why you didn't confess to him in the first place and why you and James could never be as close as you wanted to be: his fear of what your association with him could spell out for your safety.

Standing from the couch and silently making your way to your room, you made a beeline to James and wrapped him in a tight hug- the first one you two had shared recently that you'd initiated of a sound mind with clear intention. You needed him to know that even if you didn't agree or even fully understand why his fear had to manifest this way, you still appreciated his care for you deeply. It was a bit awkward for a moment, and he didn't seem to know what to do as you clung to him tighter, but you got over your embarrassment and fear of rejection to try and impart him a tiny bit of reassurance.

"S'okay, Jamie," you whispered so Angel couldn't hear the usage of the hero's real name, and continued speaking into his chest. "Angel's plan is good if you can let go of your fear. I don't wanna live in mine, so you've gotta let go of yours too. And if it makes you feel better, you can spend some nights here too and I'll come over to your place at night sometimes to quell your anxieties. But at the end of the day, you still can't always be protecting me. You have to believe in me and also believe in Angel just like you believe in yourself to keep me safe. That's what I've been telling you since day one. Okay?"

Sighing heavily, he finally wrapped his arms around your body, fingertips trembling slightly where they made contact with your skin. "Okay. I'll try, but I don't- no. I'll try." He pulled away from you, releasing you from his hold with a small, flushed smile. "But you need to get in bed, because the only reason you'd ever initiate a hug would be because you're exhausted beyond belief. Angel and I will figure everything else out tonight and fill you in on the final details later."

You giggled, and as the tension began to lift from the room, you felt yourself fall back into your sweeter, more delirious sleepy state again. "I do get touchy when I'm tired- just ask sunshine- it's all his fault."

You trudged to your bed, slipping into the covers as both men sat on opposite sides of your exhausted form. You yawned widely as Angel tucked you in further, and you looked between your friends fondly as they both smiled down at you. Everything felt so perfectly dreamlike and warm in the moment, though even your sluggish self knew wanted to wish the men both a proper goodnight.

You addressed Angel first as you sent him a small smile. "You can come in and big spoon me once you finish with Megistos, just like you love to... k'ay?"

He gasped gleefully. "Even though I didn't play with your hair and you didn't lay on me?"

"That was a bluff, Angel. I like to cuddle with you. A lot," you revealed to him in your drowsy haze, cursing yourself inwardly for letting your leverage slip.

Your eyes then moved to James, who was sulking at the tender interaction. You brought a hand up to his cheek as you whispered to him sweetly. "Sorry 'm so sleepy, I wanna talk more. Stay over on the couch so we can catch up in the morning, okay? Please don't just go."

He brought his hand to rest over yours as he leaned into your touch, expression wistful in a way you'd never quite seen on him. "Okay... yeah, okay. I'll stay, hon."

You hummed in contentment at his words. "Kay, love you guys, g'night."

"Love?" Angel squeaked, elated in every sense of the word by your simple sentiment.

You giggled softly, finally dozing off to the sound of Angel's excited murmuring of his own affections to you and for you, as well as the harsher sound of James' scolding him. Maybe things were finally turning back to normal, or even better, you were falling into a new normal that you were already growing to love. Things almost felt too good to be true.

You woke up later in the night intricately entwined in Angel's long limbs, feeling particularly parched. You huffed to yourself in minor annoyance as you looked to your nightstand, which was noticeably lacking a glass of water. Prying yourself from Angel's grip, you quietly exited your room and entered the living room to creep stealthily towards the kitchen, not wanting to wake James from where he was sound asleep on the- oh.

James was not on the couch.

You surveyed the rest of the open apartment and saw no sign of him either, feeling progressively more crestfallen every James-less second. Maybe he went for a night walk to clear his head? Or he had a last-minute mission? You ran countless understandable explanations through your mind regarding his absence (though 'abandonment' felt more accurate to you) as you headed back to your room, picking up your phone with the hope that one of those suitable explanations would be written out to you in a text. Anything to dry the tears already forming in your eyes.

10:37 - the greatest!!!

- Hey, hon. Decided to head home after my talk with Angel. Missed my own bed haha. Maybe next time!

- Love you, sleep well.

- Stay safe!

Right. Of course. You should've done better- should've known that when things seem too good to be true, they often are.

Shutting your phone off and not even bothering to plug it into its charger, you slinked back into your bed, huddling next to Angel and burying your face in his chest as he snored lightly. And once again you tried to doze off, only this time it was to the sound of your poorly withheld sobs and lingering sniffles.