"Miss (Y/n). I need to yap real bad, so call your guard dog off for like two seconds."

You sighed at Tony's dry voice sounding from the doorway of the Francesca's backroom. The alleged 'guard dog' was Oakley, whose features then drew into an agitated smile as he gazed at you, facial muscles likely straining not to openly sneer at the kid in your presence.

"I think you already took up enough of her time this morning when you droned on and on about your riveting first few days of the fourth grade," he retorted back, still not sparing the teen a glance.

"Fourth grade? I'm a junior in high school, you disease. Miss (Y/n)- it's not too late to fire this forty-five-year-old virgin loser, you know? I'll even help you find a replacement."

"Forty-five? Please. She'd never fire a young and dashing man like me. You- practically a snotty toddler, on the other hand, I wouldn't be so sure. It might even be considered child labor to keep you around, so you-"

"Shut up!" you snapped, cutting off their petty feud. "Oakley, are you seriously being a dick to a high schooler right now? You're a grown adult and should know better. And, Tony, you can't just call people virgin losers! Not even- well, no matter what, it's just not polite. Both of you need to show each other respect."

They mumbled half-hearted apologies to you (not to each other, of course... never to each other) and you shook your head dejectedly. This was how it'd been all shift.

It was the weekend- the first one since your new hires were acquired as well as the first one since Tony and Eloise had started school. You had wanted to schedule the two teens together so you could hear how their junior year had begun, but Eloise had a cheer bonding exercise that prevented her from coming in, so in her stead, you scheduled Oakley for his second shift.

Disappointingly, your two employees of the day were failing miserably at getting along, as evidenced by the non-stop bickering. On Oakley's side, he was still seemingly put off by anyone who wasn't you. On Tony's side, he was put off by the fact that Oakley was insistent on not regarding him with any respect whatsoever. You wanted to remain as impartial as you could as their boss, but it was a lot harder to defend a grown man's blatant immaturity than it was to empathize with a teenager's insecurity.

Regardless of who you felt was more in the right, though, the result of their mutual dislike was the most torturous for you, who had to endure their digs at each other as well as their constant bids for your attention. Like how they were both cornering you now in the backroom as you attempted to craft arrangements.

"Tony," you addressed him again less sternly. "You just got off of your break, bud. Why couldn't you have talked to me then? And Oakley's sort of right, you already did have a yap session this morning about how the school year began."

"Ha!" Oakley grinned smugly. "Of course, my princess agrees with me!"

Tony glowered at him. "Did you miss the part earlier when she alluded to agreeing with me about you having absolutely no play? Not the first time she's done it, either. And 'princess'? Really? You're trying so hard to be a part of the super harem but you're the furthest thing from super that there is. Why would she choose you when she's already got two perfectly hot superhumans competing for her attention? Pit-i-ful."

"There's no super harem," you sighed.

"Yes, there is," Tony doubled down, leaving no room for any back-talk. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about, anyways, it has to do with one of your past hoes. The only one even more shameless than this ass-kisser, which is a fucking feat. Rowan. He wasn't nearly as sniveling as this sad excuse of a man, however. Rest. In. Peace."

While you found it insane that Tony was empathizing with Rowan solely to further insult Oakley, you found it even more insane that Oakley wasn't hurling back insults of his own towards the kid. Instead, he looked at him with intrigue and what could be perceived as respect, if you didn't know any better.

"You're gonna take that, Oakley? Or are you one of the few people who obsess over supervillains instead of superheroes? It would explain a few things," you said, murmuring the last part under your breath.

"I actually agree with the brat, to an extent. I admire the strong, and you deserve to be with the strongest," he smiled, pointing to himself. "Me. I'm the strongest. But I can also recognize that Rowan was quite strong himself- a groundbreaker, if you will." He turned back to Tony, less animosity behind his eyes as he addressed him. "Well then, boy- what's this about the man?"

Tony grumbled something about being a man and not a boy, before returning all his attention back to you. Oakley may have gotten somewhat past his stark dislike for the teen, but Tony, as always, was too proud to openly relent. "I was deep diving on a forum during my break, that's why I couldn't tell you then. I was still in my rigorous research process."

"I see," you smiled amusedly, aware of his habitual frequenting of obscure blogs and corners of the internet discussing superhuman history and lore.

Tony truly was a superfan at heart, but a respectful one- never intruding on the privacy of heroes' personal lives. He simply admired and respected those who were gifted, even, on occasion, a few supervillains. His fascination was endearing, and you tried to humor him when he wished to discuss his recent findings, often thinking he'd make a fine journalist one day.

"So you saw something about Rowan, then?" He nodded. "Huh, I'm kinda surprised. His death was a while ago so I thought discussion about him would sorta just... die with him, I guess?"

"I hope that wasn't a poor attempt at a joke," Tony scoffed. "He was one of the strongest supers in the world- he's gonna be on the forums for as long as they're up, even in death."

Oakley hummed in agreement. "He's right. The man's legacy will last long after his physical demise."

You chuckled softly, embarrassed by your distinct lack of superhuman trivia. "Okay, okay. I get it. I didn't know I was working with two superhuman nerds today."

"It's common knowledge, actually," Tony clarified. "You're just uneducated."

"Well damn."

"Don't worry, sweetheart, I still find you absolutely adorable when you're dense! Adds to the charm," Oakley tutted with an obnoxious bat of his eyelashes.

You glared at him, his words a harsh insult to injury. Still, you decided to let it slide, though only because it seemed he'd finally found common ground with Tony regarding their superfan statuses (although maybe there was another, unintentional common ground- that being their shared ability to irritate you like no other.)

Tony, after also recovering from Oakley's unfortunate flirtation attempt, continued. "Well, what I saw wasn't about that Rowan, anyways. It was about another one."

"Why would that be something you think I'm interested in?" you asked. "Plenty of Rowan's exist, I'm sure."

"You're not getting it. He's another Rowan who happened to also be superhuman."

He stared at you expectantly like what he'd said should've blown your mind, but you didn't really understand the significance of his words. You turned to Oakley to see if he was similarly indifferent, but his face wore an expression that while largely unreadable, couldn't mask his inner interest in the boy's findings. You'd been mostly joking earlier, but maybe you truly were working with two superfans. You turned back to Tony with an apologetic shrug, and he sighed dissapointedly.

"This wasn't just about your interests, woman. I wanted to share my findings with someone, but if you're this uninterested then I'll just shut up. Frankly, it's insulting."

Guilt plagued you at his sour expression, but just as you went to apologize and insist on his continuance, Oakley beat you to it. "No, Tony. Please. I'd like to hear what you've found."

Something in your heart stirred at his soft tone as he addressed the teen, this being the first time you'd seen the often insensitive man treat someone else respectfully without explicitly asking him to. You also sensed a melancholy undertone in his voice that had you curious about what he was feeling at the moment. Had he some deeper connection to superhumans than he'd let on to? You were tempted to reach out and ask- to be there for him like you were for your other friends- but you didn't feel quite close enough to pry, so you held back. Still, you kept an eye on him as Tony continued, just as a caring boss ought to.

"Someone around here sees the intrigue of those gifted beyond mere human comprehension," the teen said. "Thank you, Oakley."

"Okay, Rowan" you muttered under your breath. It was a lighthearted dig at the teen, who you highly doubted was actually trying to sound like the late villain, but you couldn't deny the similarities between his words and the deceased man's.

Your employees shared an amused glance as you sulked, clearly more fond of the other in light of their mutual regard for supers. You felt relieved, though the prospect of your haughtiest employees forming an alliance did unnerve you a bit... You brushed the thought away, opting to focus on and appreciate their current break from brutalizing each other with words, and you motioned for Tony to continue.

"So basically, someone was doing a Rowan deep dive or something- I'm not sure why, nor did I care to check- but anyways, in their search for your Rowan, they found some old newspaper from like twenty years ago about a different one. Not like a persona or alias- his actual legal government name was 'Rowan.' The clipping was faded and they couldn't make out many more details, so they looked him up, and guess what? There's, like, nothing more about him. Anywhere. It's like the only record he ever even existed was in this one print of this newspaper. "

"Woah, weird," you replied, more interested in Tony's findings than you'd anticipated. "So his hero name wasn't mentioned? Or villain name, I guess."

"That's the thing- he wasn't a superhero. Or a supervillain. Well, at least by our standards." He glanced at Oakley quickly, who you noticed looked distant and somber again.

You understood what Tony was implying about this other Rowan, or at least you thought you did. It sounded like this man made the newspaper for using his powers outside of government-sanctioned work, classifying him as a supervillain in the eyes of law and unfortunately in the eyes of most civillians too. Tony was probably being cautious in his verbiage because Oakley was present, whose stance on superhuman ethics was unknown to him.

"Oakley's chill, you're good," you reassured the boy, remembering your strange first interaction with the man where he'd rather unconventionally revealed his opinions on superhuman rights. Thinking back, it was kinda crazy that you'd hired him after that horrendous first impression, yet here you were, staring at him in his Francesca's apron. Maybe James was onto something about your recklessness...

"Cool. Got it," Tony nodded. "So this other Rowan uses his powers illegally-"

"Used his powers," Oakley cut in. "Past tense. He's dead."

You turned to him, slightly startled by the intensity in his eyes as he looked at you- although it almost felt more like he was looking through you.

"Wait, what? How do you know that? It wasn't in the post anywhere," Tony mumbled, pulling out his phone again, likely to recheck the forum.

Oakley ignored him, eyes remaining locked on you almost pleadingly. "You- do you think they should call him such? That he should be remembered as a villain?"

"I'm not sure," you began slowly. "I don't know how he used his powers, so I don't think I can make a fair-"

"No, that doesn't matter." He suddenly staggered towards you and grabbed you roughly by the arms, brows pulled into a pained expression as his hands trembled over your skin. His emotion was so tangible you almost felt like the room temperature surged hotter, but his fiery conviction didn't seem aimed toward you specifically. "Do you think it is right for a man to make one mistake- no, one choice- and be remembered solely as a criminal?"

He began to shake you as you searched for an answer that would best placate him, his grip growing tighter the longer you remained silent. You probably should've been afraid. He was a strong, large man angrily jostling you around in the backroom where onlookers couldn't aid you if needed, after all. But your self-preservation instincts be damned, you truly didn't sense any malice being directed your way in his despairing expression. He was just having a panic attack of sorts, and you could see the immense pain that lay beneath his more obvious rage.

The quiet tension broke when the shop bell rang out from the front alerting your trio to customers, but Oakley's blazing stare never left yours. You maintained the intense eye contact, even as you addressed your other employee. "Tony, can you help the person who just came in, please?"

"Definitely not until he takes his hands off of you," he replied, his sharp and charged voice a stark contrast to his normal, nonchalant tone.

Oakley shakily released you, Tony's words seemingly breaking him from his trance. You finally allowed yourself to face the teen, whose protective instincts and rare display of affection you appreciated greatly, and you sent him a reassuring smile. "Thanks, bud. I'll keep him in check from here on out."

He hesitated, looking between you and Oakley unsurely before shaking his head and obeying your instruction. He paused at the door to send a final glare at Oakley. "I will call heroes on your ass if you pull that shit again, Oakley. Don't disrespect Miss (Y/n)."

Once he was gone and the door closed, you stepped to Oakley and placed a hand on his arm gently. "I don't want to pry and if you don't want me to press you on this, tell me to stop. But... is there something deeper going on here? That was a little bit unlike you, and I wanna make sure you're okay."

He looked up at you and exhaled heavily. "I know a superhuman- or, I used to know one, who was a great man. He was wrongly incarcerated after being seen using his powers, and he... during his brief time in the system, he was murdered. I've familiarized myself with similar cases, like this Rowan's, in a sort of solidarity. That was essentially what I did in my last job. Advocacy works for those who are bastardized and abused by our society unjustly. What society says and does, and more than that, the ways that the government and the Commission specifically justify and even push for these bigoted narratives- it's detestable and it-" his voice cracked like he was holding back a sob- "It's not right, (Y/n). "

You shook your head in agreement, hand rubbing his arm soothingly. You didn't entirely relate to him, but you'd recently experienced great loss too with Gran Gran, and your heart ached for him as you knew how easy it was to lose oneself in the grieving process. His anguish weighed heavily in the room, and his rare sullen demeanor and vulnerability made you even more upset on his behalf, as it must've taken so much pain and trauma to break his spirit.

"You're right, it's really not okay at all," you said softly, floundering in your mind for something more consoling to say. God, how you wished you were better at elaborating your thoughts and feelings into spoken, comprehensible words. Until then though, you'd have to try a different tactic at easing the man's pain. "Um, Oakley... would you like a hug?"

His face snapped to yours immediately, hints of a smile playing on his lips. "You'll hug me now? After I've been practically begging for your affections for so long with flowery words and compliments, you'll only hug me after I've had a tantrum and physically shaken you?"

You frowned, suddenly embarrassed by your offer. "I- well- I can tell you're hurting, okay? And I wanna help you. I care for my employees and... I care for my friends. So, yes. I'm offering you a hug."

You held your arms out and looked away, still not used to offering and receiving physical touch so casually with someone you were hardly that close to. In the corner of your eye, however, Oakley couldn't look less uncomfortable, his old, slightly obnoxious demeanor back and kicking as he chuckled flirtatiously at you.

"Ah ah ah, I'm just... so sad!" he crooned. "I need you to come to me because I really am quite distraught!"

The lengths of your empathy seemed to stop right about there, and you dropped your arms as you fixed him with a scowl. Clearly, this was just a scheme for him to be able to claim that you initiated physical contact, and you were no longer too sure that was something you wanted him to be able to honestly profess. What if word got around to your employees? To James? Yeah, no way. That was just too embarrassing.

"You didn't seem sad so much as you seemed angry, pal," you muttered. "But seeing as you're fine now, I take back my-"

You were suddenly pulled into his embrace, preventing you from revoking your offer. Not ideal. Although, he'd seemed to put his flirtations on pause, and rather than hug you sensually as you might've anticipated he instead swept you into a bone-crushing, Angel-style bear hug. Emphasis on bone-crushing. The man hugged you with a strength rivaling even your two superhero friends', and you sputtered out a sad wheeze as he held you tight, your arms fleshed to your sides and your feet lifting a few inches from the floor as he nuzzled into you.

"Don't strangle her, you fiend!" Tony's voice rang out from behind Oakley's back.

Dammit. So much for no one else witnessing this unfortunate moment. You felt Oakley stagger ever so slightly, yet he failed to release his grip on you as he steadied himself. A large clang sounded seconds later, and you quickly put the pieces together to realize Tony had thrown a chair at the man. You would've laughed if it weren't unable to breathe, so you finally managed to tap out of the hug to be released. You stumbled slightly as your feet met the ground, but you stabilized yourself just in time to see Tony reach for the other breakroom chair, evidently gearing for round two against his perceived enemy.

"Wait," you sighed, stopping the teen in his violent tracks. "It was a hug."

He blinked at you skeptically. "That was a hug?"

You raised your hand to give a 'sorta' gesture, but Oakley nodded adamantly with a wide, giddy grin on his face. "The first I've had in years! And with my darling, too!"

"Wow. Sad," Tony replied, deadpan.

The customer bell rang again, Tony taking the initiative and turning to leave without your asking him to as he shook his head disappointedly. His reaction to Oakley's confession was admittedly pretty amusing, but you found yourself actually feeling quite bad for the man. Still, you withheld a sympathetic frown at his words as you realized that he wasn't focusing on the sad aspect of the fact, but rather the joy of finally getting to indulge in physical touch after so long.

You'd come to appreciate physical affection recently too, so despite your reserved nature and against your better judgment maybe, you decided to hug Oakley again, this time of your own free will. Initially, he tensed up, likely having not anticipated your actions, but soon enough he was reciprocating the embrace with a newfound gentleness as his head found the crook of your neck and rested itself in it. You felt him matching his breaths to yours as he melted into the embrace, clearly relishing in your touch.

You patted his back gently, slightly disbelieving of the fact that you were so casually offering a man physical comfort. It wasn't romantic in nature (obviously... this was Oakley you were hugging) but it was certainly intimate, and as of late, interactions like this had sort of become your new norm.

You used to believe that you needed to reserve everything for James- from the tiniest, most innocent touches to the deepest, most meaningful glances. But lately, as you'd begun to let more people in, you were starting to wonder if maybe there was a better version of yourself waiting to be discovered outside of your current, James-centric identity. It was a bittersweet thought, one that made you mourn every good thing and relationship you'd tossed aside or missed entirely in a potentially futile pursuit of your friend while also inspiring a bright hope within you that one day you'd become that better, more fulfilled woman.

Now, you still loved James deeply, and your love for him wasn't reliant on a potential romantic conclusion to your relationship. It transcended things like titles or rings on fingers, and you weren't gonna just drop him all of a sudden now that you were beginning to see things more clearly. Still, Piper's words rang true in your heart and mind, because it was getting tiring waiting around and asking for something your best friend might not be able to provide you. There was no harm in investing in new bonds where both parties were receiving what they were looking for, like your friendship with Angel, and now, maybe your friendship with Oakley, too.

You smiled warmly at the man before you as you broke from the embrace. "I'm here for you, okay? If ever you need to talk or you need a friend, you can always come to me. Oh, and if you need to you can take today off. You relived a lot of hurt and that can be tiring, so please don't feel the need to stick around if it's too much. Seriously. Just let me know."

You gave his shoulder a soft, friendly pat as you stepped past him, aiming to reassure Tony out front that Oakley's intentions and actions weren't cause for alarm and that you were okay. You were glad you'd been able to share such a vulnerable moment with the man, and just as you were about to exit the backroom, you turned to face him again.

"I hope today you began to see that there are others that share your beliefs besides just me like Tony, and a few of my other friends too. It's less lonely when you remember there are other good people around, I think. Maybe it's time to open up? Let other people help you heal, y'know?"

He nodded slowly, and you flashed him one final bright smile before you turned around again and went back out front.

...

Oakley brought a hand to gingerly touch the spot on his shoulder you'd just patted as he smiled to himself, thinking of you. Sweet, empathetic, endearingly stubborn you.

Your insistence that others were anywhere near as good still could only make him laugh. Sure, today he had felt a small degree of kinship with that brat when he spoke of superhumans, but he watched the kindness fade from the boy's eyes as soon as Oakley'd revealed an ounce of emotion that he couldn't immediately understand or make sense of. He might've only been a child, but that's how willfully ignorant and repugnant grown people were too.

Not you, though. The kindness never left your eyes- even as he shook you, even as he showed his ugliness to you. You were gentle and kind to him in a way the world hadn't been even when he was a young boy.

You were so impossibly different from the rest, and the more time he spent with you or watching you, the more perfect you grew in his eyes. He wouldn't lie and say you hadn't changed his views on others at all. Frankly, such a concept was laughable.

He could admit that you were helping him heal, though. You were helping him rid himself of the inner rage that had ravaged him for years. You were the reason the hatred was fading, and he didn't need anyone else to help ease his pain. As long as he had you, he didn't feel the anger, and that was enough for him.

Much to his disdain, you didn't seem to think you similarly needed him alone, and you were insistent on not only his reliance on others, but also on your own. Technically, it made sense that you didn't view him as importantly as he viewed you yet. He had more time to watch and pine after you back when you were so stubbornly refusing to let him into your life pre-Rowan's demise- time he'd spent getting intimate and close to you in ways you hadn't even always been awake to notice. But even though it wasn't your fault, exactly, it still stung to see you equate him to your other temporary relationships.

That's really all that the pests surrounding you were: temporary. They had to be, because anyone prohibiting Oakley from obtaining you would need to exit your life one way or another. He didn't only mean his love rivals, either- brats like that insolent child would be tossed aside and discarded just as easily, because you belonged to Oakley now. You were the first beacon of light after all the pain, and you were his hard-won prize for all he had gone through and all he had been made to sacrifice.

Everyone around you would be either swiftly dealt with or used to aid him in his pursuit. And should you resist, that would only make it all the more rewarding once you were his officially.