"You're with who, doing what?"

You kissed your teeth as you nervously switched your phone to your other ear, trying to decide how to answer James' question without being told off. Peering over your shoulder you gazed at all of your younger employees who were sat on a picnic blanket, conversing and munching on snacks idly beneath the shade of a slowly turning tree.

"I'm at the park with the kids, Piper, and Oakley," you began cautiously. "El wanted to have a staff bonding day."

You chuckled lightly as you remembered Eloise's multiple texts practically begging you to put one together, Tony even being roped into the girl's scheming just before you caved in. And it had taken quite a while for you to cave in.

It wasn't that you were against team bondings by any measure, in fact, you held them pretty frequently. What you were against, though, was taking off work, and being that it was the afternoon on a weekend, you were doing precisely that. But even once Eloise had somehow convinced Montell and Maeve to run the shop in your short absence, you'd still been hesitant to say yes.

You were slightly unsure how your employees would all fare together, and you didn't feel too inclined to sit through a tense, hours-long get-together if it meant you'd need to mediate and essentially babysit them the whole time. Your main concern was the ongoing Oakley vs. Tony feud, which prompted Eloise to enlist the teenage boy to ensure to you himself that after his last shift with Oakley, he'd come to better understand and respect the man- although he did stress he still didn't quite trust or like him since he'd put his hands on you, which you honestly appreciated.

In the end, Eloise's efforts paid off and you finally agreed to put the picnic together. It wasn't without a vaguely threatening text sent to everyone to be on their best behaviors lest you lose your mind, but that had seemed to do the trick as things so far had honestly been quite pleasant. In fact, Pre-James' phone call you'd been genuinely enjoying your company as you got to know Piper better– and your other employees too, of course! Not just Piper or anything. All of them. Even Oakley!

James sighed on his end of the line, bringing you back to your conversation. " What's that about? I didn't see an issue-"

"Didn't see an issue? I just..." James sighed again, you could practically see him dragging his hand across his face in exasperation. "I thought after our last talk you said you'd be more wary of them? This doesn't seem-"

"I am! I was! I just- I've talked to both of them since you and I talked and I trust them. I really do. Piper is cool, and just the other day I made a breakthrough with Oakley! He even told me he did advocacy work in his last job, Jamie. That's good! ...right?"

"Miss (Y/n)!" Eloise called out to you. "Come back! There's way too much testosterone over here! I just wanna girl in peace."

You peeked over again and saw her, Piper, and Oakley looking at you expectantly. Tony was scrolling disinterestedly on his phone, though you thought you heard him mention quietly that 'girl' wasn't a verb with a scoff. You sent them a quick thumbs up before turning around and attempting to wrap up your conversation.

"Listen, if you're just gonna lecture me about making adult decisions then I'm gonna-"

"What's Oakley's last name at least? Just so I can do a quick check on him for my peace of mind."

You rolled your eyes. "Is that really necessary?"

"When it comes to your safety, yes."

"Fine, his last name's...huh." You paused, your mind drawing a momentary blank. "I don't know off the top of my head, actually. 'Williams' or something, maybe? It's on his application somewhere, though. I'll text you when I remember. Or I could just ask the kids to find his socials to make your job easier?"

"No need. Just his name is fine. Thank you, hon."

You were tempted to ask what this 'quick check' would entail when you heard the sound of Piper's warm laugh from afar. Unsurprisingly, this sound felt significantly more inviting and preferable to James' voice calling your every decision into question, and it only made you want to wrap things up quicker.

"Was that all?"

"No, sorry. I forgot why I called in the first place. Just wanted to know if Angel's given you any trouble lately?"

"Uh. No?" you replied, confused as to why he brought Angel up. Although, the last interaction James knew of you having with his sidekick was the night of the poor guy's episode, so you could sort of understand why he was checking in. Actually, that was your last interaction with Angel, or rather your last in-person one as you both had still texted frequently every day. He hadn't been as active or lively over text though, not even asking to hang out in person with you like he normally did... Well, now you were a bit worried. "Is he okay? I haven't seen him since you called him into work the morning you dropped me at home."

"What? I didn't call him in that day. He came in voluntarily to speak with me and we had a bit of a fight. I ended up giving him a shit ton of hours after to set his mind straight, so that's probably why you haven't seen him. Today was his first day off, so I just wanted to make sure he wasn't going psycho on your ass again or bothering you."

"Hey, you can cut that rude shit out. He wasn't going psycho, he just had a breakdown," you sighed agitatedly, only growing even more concerned for Angel. Why would James engage in a fight with him after knowing the emotional state he was in that day? That was probably why Angel seemed so down when you were communicating with him- Megistos was his idol and his boss, so fighting with and disappointing him was sure to take a large toll on the man. "How much extra were you working him? He's seemed exhausted over text."

"A good few extra hours. Heroes have to work long shifts anyways, it's not a huge-"

"He's a sidekick, Jamie! And he's still new to your branch! What could he possibly have done that warranted discipline this extreme? You're treating him like a little kid."

James groaned on his side of the line. "It doesn't really matter to you, (Y/n). I'm the head of my Commission branch, so I decide how to train the heroes and sidekicks under my care. You need to let me do my-"

"Okay. I'm sorry. I'm done arguing with you over this. I love you, bye."

You hung up the phone dejectedly, placing it back in your pocket. Everything about James seemed to have you feeling dejected lately.

You took a short moment to collect yourself before turning around to rejoin your group, an amused smile taking over your lips as you silently took in the scene before you. There seemed to be a heated debate occurring, one so lively that it allowed you to approach your friends undetected. Eloise was grinning wildly at a very distressed-looking Oakely while Tony jeered at the man, and while you couldn't quite make out his words yet, you were able to infer that the man was being teased relentlessly by the teens. Piper's poorly contained laughter supported your hypothesis, and you found yourself chuckling lightly too as you drew closer.

Despite James' displeasure at how you were spending the day, you didn't allow his sour mood to bring yours down. You couldn't, not when your employees all seemed to be enjoying themselves so much. Well, maybe minus Oakley, but even he didn't seem quite as explosive as normal as he restrained himself from lashing out... although the vein on his forehead did look like it was about to burst, so it was probably for the best that you were now rejoining the rowdy group to make sure he remained in check.

You quietly sat yourself between Piper and Eloise, intending to organically figure out what they were discussing. Instead, upon realizing you'd returned, Eloise latched onto your arm and began excitedly shaking you as she brought you up to speed explicitly.

"Miss (Y/n)- what do you think Oakley's superpower would be if he had one? Tony and I said he'd secrete slime from his body!"

You stifled a laugh, now understanding why the man looked so aggrieved. "Why do you guys think that?"

"Just look at him," Tony began with a devious little grin, his arrowed eyes doing a quick, scathing scan of the man in question. "Look at how he tries to flirt with you. Look at his hair. Look at his overall energy. Straight. Slime."

"My hair is slicked back with designer mouses and gels, you little-" Oakley began to sneer, immediately freezing when he caught sight of your warning glare and altering the course of his speech grumpily. "...young man... whom I... respect...?"

"Great save," Piper chuckled under his breath, and you gave his arm a light, reproachful whack.

"It was a great save!" you insisted with an incredibly forced grin, trying to give Oakley the benefit of the doubt. "Ideally you wouldn't have been about to curse a high schooler out at all, but you'll get there, though!"

"Yeah, you'll get there one day, slimeball!" Eloise agreed cheerfully.

You groaned at the group's collective fuckass-ery, burying your face in your hands to hide the tickled smile threatening to overtake your face. Laughing openly at one of your employees' expenses just didn't feel very 'impartial boss' of you, and you wanted to maintain at least a small portion of decorum for poor Oakley's sake.

"Your words can't hurt me because they don't even make sense," he scoffed. "Powers aren't based on personality, you dimwits. Certainly not on your incorrectly perceived idea of another's personality, either– so your reasoning is entirely faulty! And I'll have you know that no matter what the basis for powers is, I'd have a powerful and dignified gift. Something dynamic. Something that set me above the rest. Be realistic. I'd be a god."

You lifted your head slowly, a brief and unprecedented silence falling over your group at his vaguely self-righteous tirade. He looked proud and highly esteemed until seconds later when you all simultaneously erupted into laughter. Impartiality and decorum be damned, you clutched onto Eloise as you both giggled into each other, Piper's head tilted back as he struggled to contain himself, and even the ever-emotionless Tony had to stifle his laughter into his hand as you all took in Oakley's pitiful expression.

"You're seriously a crack-up, man," Piper managed to voice as he recovered from his laughing fit. "And that's coming from the comedy master himself."

"What's a comedy master to a comedy god?" you added through your own lingering giggles, much to Oakley's further despair and Piper's further amusement. "Don't worry, bud. I don't think you'd have slime powers, even if they were personality-based. I think, hmm..." you trailed off as you began to think, and the man perked up as he awaited your assessment– likely the only one that truly mattered to him. "If they were personality-based, I don't know... maybe you'd just like... glitter."

Oakley deflated once more, Piper and Eloise's laughter picking right back up. You tried and failed to shush them as you yourself began to laugh again, and this time Tony buried his face in his hands, his shaking shoulders revealing he was no better than the rest of you.

"What do you mean I'd glitter?" Oakley pleaded, hands dragging down his face in obvious despair. "Darling..."

"I dunno. You just have a certain flair to you. I'm sure some gods sparkle, y'know, so don't feel too down."

"You're so right, Miss (Y/n)! He would glitter," Eloise nodded excitedly, releasing your arm so that she could place her head in your lap. "What power would I have?"

You hummed in thought as you met her wide eyes, your hand playing with strands of her faded pink hair that cascaded around your legs. "Maybe you'd be a shapeshifter, cause you wouldn't have to spend all your paychecks on hair dye. Oh, and you could try out tattoos and makeup styles for free without needing anything to be permanent too. That'd be the perfect power for you."

"Wait... Oh my God. Yes. I love." Eloise sat up excitedly, as her eyes set on her next target. "Now do Piper!"

You looked quickly at the man beside you, not knowing if he was that open about his superabilities. Many who had powers and didn't pursue hero work opted to not disclose their powers publicly, as it was pretty frowned upon to not be a hero if you had the capability to do so. That didn't sit right with you at all, as you felt that there shouldn't be an obligation to risk your life just because you were born differently than the majority of the population, but that was just the state of the world and your country. That being said, Piper had revealed his powers to you about five minutes into your reunion, so maybe he was a part of the minority of superhumans who weren't shy about their gifts.

He smiled at you knowingly before answering on your behalf. "I'd probably have every power. Just cause I'm a super guy, ya know?"

So he wasn't that open about it, then. Not that you blamed him or anything. Honestly, you felt flustered knowing that he trusted you with such sensitive information. Woah– flattered. Not flustered. Definitely not flustered.

"Right," Eloise agreed with him sarcastically.

"Listen, if I was a super I'd simply be too powerful," he shrugged. "The powers that be knew what they were doing when they decided on my ultra-normalness. Luckily I have my looks and wits to supplement what I lack in the superhuman department."

You nodded exaggeratedly as you jokingly went along with his cocky charade, much to Oakley's disbelief. "Oh, but when I say it you just laugh?"

"Can you not? You're glittering all over the place," Tony commented dryly as he scrunched his face up in fake disgust. "Anyways, what powers would I have, Miss (Y/n)?"

"Tony, Tony, Tony. Hmm." You gave him a hard stare as you began to contemplate his hypothetical abilities. "Honestly? There's not a single power that I think would be able to encapsulate all that you are."

"Exactly," he nodded with the tiniest smile, a symbol of approval you received with high honor. "What would you have?"

You smiled awkwardly as everyone's attention suddenly fell on you, all their eyes staring you down pensively as they mulled over Tony's question and awaited your response. Their silent scrutiny was somewhat uncomfortable and you found yourself wishing for any kind of relief, which actually came in the form of your phone vibrating in your pocket.

You quickly pulled it out, seeing Angel's contact light up your screen with an incoming call. It was his first contact with you of the day despite it already being the afternoon, so you were quick to pick up to make sure he was alright. You tried to excuse yourself and stand to talk to him, but Eloise gripped onto your arm again to prevent you from leaving.

"Hi, sunshine," you began quietly, only for Eloise to still hear and squeal in excitement.

"'Sunshine?'" she parroted in an energetic 'whisper'. "Is that Angel? Can you invite him to come watch my next cheer performance? Oh– and tell him to come here today, too! He technically used to be your employee so he's part of the team still! He'll come if you ask, I know he will, so–"

With a single glare, you managed to silence her before you returned your attention back to Angel. "Sorry about that... what's up?"

"Aw! Hey, precious! I missed the sound of your pretty voice so much! Sorry for being so distant the past few days, I had a lot more hours and I've been so tired lately."

"No, it's okay. Megistos told me some shit went down, and I'm so sorry. He can be a real dick sometimes."

"Well, he was a bit harsh and tried to keep me away– or, uh... he just told me how I should spend my time focusing more on the job," he chuckled nervously, presumably because he was still shaken up by James' questionable disciplinary habits. "It's okay though, 'cause he also helped remind me of some things that I was feeling sorta confused about...? Which is good! So I shouldn't be too mad, right? I don't know. I'm almost more confused now, but at the same time I'm not?"

You furrowed your brows, just as confused by his words as he seemed to be. You chalked his slight incoherence up to his sleepiness, as his voice was lower and more gravely than usual, like he'd just woken up. "Um, what were your hours looking like? Megistos didn't offer any specifics, which only made me worry more, honestly."

"Don't worry about me! It wasn't anything too bad," he chuckled nervously again.

"If wasn't too bad then you should be able to tell me," you pressed, your irritation with James beginning to rise again. "Angel. C'mon."

He hesitated a bit before answering quietly. "Well, I mean I kinda just woke up because I got off at like... three this morning, maybe... But that's normal for some shifts to end then!"

"When did the shift start?"

"Um... I got to the office yesterday at around nine... in the morning."

"What the fuck? That's insane, Angel" you snapped, in complete disbelief that James was working him that many hours overtime. You couldn't remember a single time he'd ever worked that long at any point in his career, even when he'd begun as a sidekick. "What was he so upset with you over? There's literally nothing that justifies him working you that much."

You heard him sigh deeply, taking a moment before answering you. "I'm sorry, cutie pie, but I can't tell you. If I do, then you'll just... it's um– it's confidential. I'm sorry,"

You didn't know if you bought his words, but regardless of whether or not he was being honest, the sad, downcast tone to his voice had you feeling all kinds of upset on his behalf. Your mind automatically began to seek out ways to soothe him like it always did, and when you glanced absentmindedly back at Eloise, who was mouthing the words 'invite him' at you over and over again, you realized that it inviting him to spend in-person time with him would likely do the trick.

"Hey, I'm doing a team bonding thing with some of the Francesca's staff at the park. Do you wanna join us?" you asked him warmly. "El really wants you here, and I'm starting to think she may like you more than she likes me." You playfully narrowed your eyes at the girl who'd been the true mastermind behind the day's get-together.

"Of course!" he quickly agreed, his returned cheerfulness lifting a weight off your chest. "I wanna see you so bad! Oh, um– and Eloise, haha... You just send me the address! I'll get ready and fly over as fast as I can!"

"See you soon," you replied, promptly hanging up the call.

When you looked back up, you found the group was still staring at you intently much to your returned discomfort. You'd assumed that everyone excluding Eloise the Instigator would've stopped staring at you like a freak when you picked up the phone, but you were sadly mistaken.

"Wow," Piper remarked with a light chuckle. "So, your power would definitely be the superhuman magnet whatnot Tony told me about the day you hired me, because every super around you clearly covets your time and your affection."

"It's the super harem," Tony affirmed with a solemn nod.

"There's no super harem," you mumbled back as you texted Angel the name of the park, the words rolling off your tongue almost reflexively with how often you'd had to say them lately. "You guys didn't need to listen in to my private conversation, you know. You could've talked to each other."

"I'll pass," Oakley huffed dismissively. "Why don't you spare me any of that prized attention you give to all these other men in your life, sweetheart? It just breaks my heart to see you so happy around others when I'm right here!"

Your nose wrinkled up in discomfort at his unfounded, borderline possessive words, thinking back to James lecturing you for allowing Oakley in your life when all he did was disregard your rejections to flirt excessively with you. You opened your mouth to attempt to shut him down again, but the words got caught in your throat as you felt a strange, almost suffocating pressure build in your gut.

"Alright, pal," Piper scoffed after a few seconds of your unintentional silence. "Shouldn't you just– I don't know– want her to be happy in general? Hmm. Well, a weird thing to say regardless, and I'm afraid this is why you're not even ranked in the super harem."

You felt the tension exit your body as you snorted at Piper's chipper tone, not missing the fact that this was the first time mention of the super harem didn't annoy you all that much. He glanced your way with a smile, and the two of you shared a quick, poignant moment as the kids began to tear into Oakley again.

"He doesn't have powers, but he'd so be last in the super harem," Eloise agreed solemnly.

Tony hummed affirmatively before adding in his two cents. "He'd barely have a spot in my eyes. He'd be like a substitute or a bench warmer, even– but the starting lineup is full of D1 supers so he's never getting any playtime, you know?"

You giggled at his long-winded insult. "All that sports knowledge and you use it exclusively to be a hater. You never cease to amaze me, kid."

He shrugged at the compliment, though the ends of his lips curled in a small, proud smile. Oakley couldn't have looked any less amused as he gawked at your unspoken approval of Tony's assessment.

"So there's a ranking, then? Who dares take the first spot?" he implored forcefully, his expression more intense than you felt the unserious conversation called for.

You could sense his genuine indignation, and despite your displeasure at his non-stop flirting, you were still ready to drop the subject if he was really that upset. The teens, on the other hand, began to seriously consider the question, both blurting out their answers at the same time.

"Megistos is number one."

"Angel's number one!"

"I'm number one what?" an energetic voice sounded from above as a pair of large hands found your shoulders.

You tilted your head back to see Angel staring down at you with a sweet smile that you were quick to return.

"Hi, Ang," you greeted him as Eloise scooched to the side, patting her old spot for him to take.

He plopped down, giving your cheek an affectionate pinch. "Hi, baby!"

While you were slightly taken aback by the new pet name, Eloise practically melted when she heard it, 'ooh'-ing and 'ahh'-ing about how cute it was and claiming it proved he was perfect for you. You didn't have time to shut down her delusions, because as soon as you'd overcome your own surprise you were being swiftly pulled into Angel's lap. His arms promptly encircled your waist and his chin tucked itself over your shoulder tenderly, and while his movements were sudden, they weren't nearly as jarring to you as they might've been weeks ago.

You almost allowed yourself to relax in the embrace when you met Piper's burning gaze. 'Boundaries,' he mouthed to you covertly, before sending a soft, encouraging smile. You frowned, immediately understanding and knowing what you needed to do. The uncomfortable pressure from earlier built up in your chest again, but you tried to push it back down and ignore it. Setting these boundaries was an important step to reinstating normalcy with James, and that was what you wanted more than anything... probably. Your feelings were just so muddy these days– more reason to set things straight with Angel.

You stood from your place on his lap, reaching a hand down to him that he wordlessly took, and you pulled him up. You released it as soon as he stood, struggling to meet his eyes as he looked to you for an explanation.

"Angel, can we talk for a sec?" you requested timidly.

His confusion was written all over his face, but he still nodded and followed you a little ways away from the group to preserve privacy. When you stopped and turned to face him, you froze as you met his eyes– his wide, watery eyes, looking at you the same way a kicked puppy might. You wondered how James could've found it in himself to be mad at or punish him if Angel'd been looking at him with a similarly gut-wrenching expression, but you couldn't dwell on that or the guilt pulling at your heart if you wanted to go through with things.

"Are you okay?" he asked, eyes raking over you like he was checking for any ailments or issues.

"I'm okay, don't worry," you assured him with a tight smile. He brightened at your words, his renewed joy causing you to falter again as you knew you were about to snuff it out. You took a deep breath before continuing. "Um, Angel. Do you remember that day when you asked about being able to touch me and stuff? And the limitations I gave you?

"Mhm!" he replied immediately. "You said no lips and no neck."

"Right. Well... I was thinking more about it, and, um... I think I want to have less, maybe?" You cringed at how unsure you sounded, so you tried again more resolutely. "I want to have less."

"What do you mean?" he blinked at you confusedly.

"I realized that we act kind of couple-y, and I..." you trailed off, not too keen on revealing to yet another person about your humiliatingly unreciprocated crush, but then what should you say? You decided to keep it general. "When you're so affectionate with me, while I really, really, appreciate it and I cherish you so much, it makes it less special to me when I do enter a relationship one day. Like a, um... a romantic one. Same with calling me 'baby' earlier... it's just a bit too romantic for what you and I have."

"But you said..." Angel began confusedly, not finishing his sentence as he looked to you for further elaboration.

"I know I said everything you were doing was fine, but I think I was wrong when I told you those things are platonic. Well, maybe they are for you, but I've for me I'm not so certain they are. I'm so sorry for confusing you, but I only just began to understand better, and... well, do you understand?"

Angel's lips parted as he searched for the right words, and you felt like you could see the hurt and betrayal slowly etching itself across his face. "So what, then? I can't sleep in your bed with you?" You shook your head sadly, guilt building as his face fell even further. "Or kiss your face or play with your hair?" You shook your head again, averting your eyes. "And that's why you didn't let me hold your hand earlier? Please look at me– I'm just trying to understand..."

You closed your eyes and took another deep breath again before meeting his eyes. "Yeah, Angel. I really do value your affectionate personality– I mean that– and some touching and nicknames are okay. Like cuddling when we watch a movie and your older nicknames... but-"

"I don't get it, (Y/n)," he cut you off, his voice breaking as he started tearing up. "Megistos helped me remember that we're just friends! And that's– that's true! I'm okay with it! I'm okay with it because you said you would let me do those things if we were friends, and I want to do all those things with you. So why did you... did you lie to me? When you said I could touch you? And when you said that friends could do those things?"

"No, Ang, I didn't mean to lie to you." You reflexively moved to cup his cheek as your heart screamed at you to comfort him, but you forced it back to your side so you wouldn't confuse him further. "The things I said and how I felt, it was all true for some time, I promise. I promise you I would never intentionally lie to you. Ever. I just have to create some space– a healthy boundary, y'know?"

"No. I don't."

You frowned at his answer. His confusion was somewhat to be expected given what you knew of his past, but that didn't make you feel any less guilty. You wanted to make things easier for him, but you just weren't sure how to.

"If it helps, then we can spend some time apart," you offered.

"No!" He anxiously wrapped you in a tight hug– a physical action you decided to allow in the moment as you felt it was much needed for the both of your mental states. "Don't take more away, (Y/n), please. Okay? I'll be your friend– I am your friend! Your best friend. So I'll be happy with whatever, as long as I'm the one by your side. Your number one... right?"

You hesitated in answering, patting his back as you struggled for an appropriate response. You wanted to remind him that your number one would also be your partner one day, and you knew you probably should've, too... but he'd been through so much rejection in the past few minutes alone. You decided instead to nod wordlessly into his chest, hoping you wouldn't regret your compliance in the future.

"Are you sure you're okay with still being around me?" you asked as you pulled away from his hold, searching his face for the truth– his face that was now grinning? Grinning so widely, like he wasn't just devastated moments earlier... grinning too widely, maybe?

"It's fine!" he energetically assured you, startling you as his hands found your shoulders again and he began to back to where the group was sitting. You didn't have time to further scan his face since he was now behind you, but you still had a feeling he wasn't being entirely honest with you when he said he felt 'fine' about your new arrangement. It was likely he was just going with things so that you wouldn't 'scare away' and drawback even further- things you recalled he expressed being afraid of that one night.

You didn't want him to feel like he needed to lie, and you wanted to tell him he couldn't scare you away– not after all he'd become to you, but by the time you recovered from your slight surprise and were ready to press him further, you were already seated back between him and Piper on the picnic blanket. You decided to drop it for now, both for privacy's sake and because he'd been through enough lately between you and James, but you still kept an eye on him, just as you always did.

The group was just as lively as they'd been earlier, Tony and Oakley debating the top villains of the decade and Eloise frequently interjecting to deliver her oftentimes questionable 'smash' or 'pass' verdicts. You felt Piper poke you lightly in your side after a few rowdy minutes, and when you turned your attention to him you found him peering at you over his glasses inquisitively, silently asking how your chat with Angel went. You gave him an unsure thumbs-up that left him looking slightly concerned and unconvinced, but you waved him off with a small smile. He grinned back and ruffled your hair playfully before you both turned your attention back to the ongoing debate, your smile a bit more genuine as it remained on your lips.

Things felt good-ish again, with Eloise and Angel acting like their normal bubbly selves, Tony and Piper quipping back and forth sarcastically, and Oakley simpering at you flirtatiously. You still felt that unnamed discomfort residing in your body and weighing down your psyche, but you were able to ignore it well enough to still enjoy your precious company for the rest of the picnic.

...

And while you didn't notice it as you laughed at the group's antics, the men surrounding you were all too aware of the glares and looks being sent each other's directions whenever your attention landed on one of them for a bit too long. Each of them could only hope you'd remain oblivious to the growing tensions and envy surrounding you, though some of their reasonings for this were a bit more selfish than they'd have liked to admit.