"C'mon, (N/n)," Piper groaned impatiently, giving your arm a tiny nudge with his elbow.

You sent him a tired, halfhearted glare. "No. Just because you can apparently manipulate dirt somehow, doesn't mean I'll let you. You could get arrested. And you're off now anyways so you have no obligation to help. I can do it myself."

Although you spoke dejectedly to the man by your side, your eyes remained focused on the large shipment of soil sitting on the sidewalk outside Francesca's that you'd just received from your supplier– a shipment that had arrived both later in the day than expected, as well as in the wrong quantity. In the very wrong quantity.

"Fine," Piper sighed, though he still stepped toward the objects of your frustration. "I won't use my powers. I'm still gonna help though." You opened your mouth to protest, but he was faster. "Come on! I know you've got your whole 'I don't want to rely on superhumans for help' mentality going on, but this is a shit ton of dirt and I won't even be tapping into my inner plant juices. Don't be so stubborn and just let me help you."

You irritatedly side-eyed him, but your shoulders slumped in resignation as you looked back to the upwards of thirty large bags of soil on the sidewalk. You did not want to spend the next hour performing hard labor alone, and you also supposed you wouldn't mind spending time with Piper...

"Don't ever bring up your 'inner plant juices' around me again. But fine, you can help. Don't see why the delivery guy couldn't at least bring these inside, anyways- shit's so annoying," you grumbled as you moved to grab the first bag. It was too heavy and too big, and this was a terrible end to an already long day.

Nothing could improve your mood after your supplier and the delivery company's colossal fuck up. They'd brought more soil than you'd likely even order in a year, but for some reason, they refused to take back any of the extras. You didn't even know yet if you'd been charged for their mistake, but regardless, the entire situation was annoying and inconvenient after a long day of rambunctious customers and tourists visiting the shop.

You rolled your eyes as you trudged inside and placed the bag in the backroom before moving to repeat the process. As you turned around, Piper's face- though almost obscured by the three bags of soil he was somehow managing to hold at once- smiled at you brightly. You automatically matched his expression, realizing reluctantly that maybe something, or rather someone, could improve your mood.

You stopped in your tracks before him as you also recognized with slight surprise how often it actually was that Piper's mere presence alleviated most negative emotions you held. When your relationships with your other friends in your life seemed to be riddled with confusion, hurt, and annoyance, yours with him was so simple and easy. You had begun to even look forward to seeing him, and even though you'd tried to send him home today after his shift, you couldn't deny that having him around was nice. Really nice.

When did he become someone so important to you, and when had your feelings of apprehension towards him shifted into ones of deep appreciation? There was no denying that Piper wasn't some rude little kid from your past anymore. Now he was someone important to you– someone you valued and admired. You wouldn't go so far as to think that he felt the same about you, but that didn't mean you couldn't still appreciate him for the man he'd become.

He was still smiling warmly at you as you stood in front of him deep in thought, but the warmth twisted into slight confusion and amusement the longer you silently stared at him. "Uh, hello? You just gonna stand in the doorway and pout at me here, or are you gonna move? I know I'm incredibly yolked, but I'm still not exactly trying to balance this much weight for this long."

Registering with slight embarrassment that you were in fact still gawking at him from the doorway, you quickly stepped to the side and allowed him entrance, though you followed his form with your eyes. He was in another short-sleeved band tee from his seemingly endless collection, meaning you got to watch as his arms flexed and constricted to place his bags atop yours, and– wait, had they always been that toned?

He suddenly turned around, and your gaze shifted a few seconds too late from his arms to meet his eyes, causing your cheeks to burn as you looked away. Struggling to find words to convince both him and yourself that you were not checking him out, you quickly turned on your heel and made your exit to grab another bag. He followed close behind you, he graciously refrained from mentioning how he'd caught you lacking.

A comfortable silence fell over you both as you managed to move past your flusteredness, and you entered into a steady rhythm of lugging dirt inside– him still carrying three bags at a time, and you one. You were slightly curious as to how Piper was able to haul so many at once, but you chose not to ask as you didn't want to openly admit to silently ogling his strength and muscles. He might've let your earlier behavior slide, but you didn't wanna press your luck. He'd never let you live such a question down.

Eventually, you plopped your final bag of dirt down on a short pile and you stepped to the side for him to place his final ones atop yours, making the pile just tall enough for him to prop his elbow on it right next to where you stood. He placed his head on his fist as he grinned at you, and you couldn't help but mirror the happy expression again, his consistently upbeat attitude frustratingly infectious.

"I bet you're glad you let me stay, huh? This would've taken you three times as long without having a pro bodybuilder turned rigorous academic helping you out."

He raised his hand that wasn't propping up his head to slap his bicep ironically, but you refrained from letting your eyes stray from his as you feared you may like what you saw a bit too unironically. You could admit now that you enjoyed his presence, but acknowledging and admitting your growing physical attraction to him was pushing it, and you could explore its implications another time. Or, preferably: never! At least not today, though. Definitely not today.

"Piper. You were not a pro bodybuilder."

"Okay, hater. I was still super helpful though, right? Like the super employee that I am. You're even smiling like an idiot when twenty minutes ago I could practically see thunderclouds forming around you. Your energy was seriously unsettling."

"I'm not smiling like an idiot, and my energy is never unsettling," you countered, forcing a deep frown on your lips that you could tell he was struggling not to laugh at. Unbelievable. You were unsure how to feel about how aware he was of his effect on you, but you still knew to give him credit where it was due, so you nodded begrudgingly. "But... yes, okay. Fine. Thank you. I'm sure you would've rather been spending time with friends or doing work for your other job."

His brows knit together for a moment as confusion flashed across his face. "No, I'd rather be here. Why would I stay after my shift if I wanted to be somewhere else?"

Now you were confused too, as the answer was quite obvious to you. "Because you felt obligated to. For the job."

"What? No," he replied incredulously, as though you were insinuating something far more bizarre than what you believed to be a fairly plausible response.

"Oh. I just thought someone outgoing like you would spend most of his time with his friends, and if not that then you'd be studying since you're kinda a glorified nerd now."

"You think you got me, but you basically just admitted that I'm a genius, so who's the real winner?" he teased. "And, no, actually. I haven't made a ton of friends in the city since moving back. The only people I really have time to see are my students, who I'm not meant to be involved with outside of class and office hours, and the other faculty in my department who are all a bunch of shitty old people. It may come as a surprise to you, considering my alluring approachability and boyish charm, but my senile academic colleagues aren't really interested in befriending the controversially young and progressive new hire. So, not a lot of people are lining up to be friends with me."

He chuckled light heartedly, but your gaze lowered as you internally chided yourself for accidentally drawing attention to what might've been a genuine sore spot for him. You'd probably set off an Angel-esque mental spiral in his brain, so you mentally fumbled around for words to alleviate any pain you thoughtlessly surfaced within him. You could only hope he didn't get upset with you for being so callous.

"(N/n), look at me." You complied and slowly peeked up at his face, and rather than being met with the anger or disgust you'd begun to freak out about, he smiled at you as brightly as usual. "Stop beating yourself up. I'm not lonely or anything."

"Oh, right," you mumbled unsurely, your soft tone betraying your slight distrust in his claim.

"Wow. You could at least try to sound like you believe me. I've got tons of friends from Uni and where I used to live. And I've got you."

"Huh?" you questioned lamely, quite taken aback since you'd never for a minute considered that Piper might've grown to appreciate your presence as much as you had his since you'd hired him. "You actually see me as a friend? For real?"

"Uh- yeah. For real, for real." he nodded slowly. "I thought that was obvious. It's like I said earlier, I wouldn't hang out with you as much as I do if I didn't want to."

"And like I said earlier, I thought that was all just for the job."

Piper tilted his head down to peer at you over his glasses, like he was checking to see if you were being so obtuse on purpose. "Did I get paid to go to the picnic?"

"...no."

"Did I get paid to go to the 'cheer performance'?"

"No."

"Am I getting paid to be here right now?"

"Uh, no again."

"Right. So..." You blinked at him expectantly as you waited for him to finish his thought, but he shook his head at you. "No, I'm not solving this one for you. You're a big girl, (N/n). It's time for you to start putting two and two together yourself. God knows we need to up those social awareness skills. 'So' what?"

"Okay, bud. This isn't university and you're not my professor, so I don't need to answer anything," you scoffed defiantly before immediately caving into his instructions with a deep sigh. How embarrassing. "So you spend time with me because you want to?"

"Say it like you mean it."

You sighed again before clearing your throat, repeating the question again as a statement rather than a question. "You spend time with me because you want to."

"Wonderful. My star pupil," he cooed while patting you on the head with a wild grin, and despite the fact that he was obviously teasing you, your heartbeat quickened at the gesture. "I don't get why it's so hard to get it through your mind that you're likable. You are literally constantly surrounded by people who want to be close to you. I'm surprised I'm even getting this precious one-on-one time with you, but Montell left today in a hurry since he's the only man not caught under your spell."

You knew who he was alluding to, but honestly, you had your doubts regarding most of your friendships lately. With James, his constant frustration with you and your decisions as well as his open surprise at the fact that others wanted to be around you were only serving to tear you both apart from each other. And his comments were crushing your inner confidence too, because you'd begun to question why people as charismatic and interesting as Angel and Oakley even wanted to stick around you. Your best guess was that they'd grown attached because you were one of the first people to show them genuine kindness and empathy, but soon enough it was likely they'd both realize that other good people did exist– people who were also more captivating and engaging than you– and they'd move on from you in pursuit of better people.

But you couldn't say all that to Piper. Yeah, he'd asked, and yeah, you'd used to pride yourself on being exceptionally normal, but it was too raw and too embarrassing to admit that these days, that same normalcy had you feeling almost inadequate around your new friends who were obviously out of your league. So you put on the most convincing smile you could, and you hoped that Piper wouldn't see through it or realize that he too could do better than you for a friend.

"Oh yeah," you said instead, forcing out a soft chuckle. "I guess you're right."

His eyes sharpened as he scanned your expression, and you deflated knowing he'd broken through your weak facade almost immediately. You braced yourself emotionally for him to come to the inevitable realization that he was wasting his time on you, but instead (and in typical Pier fashion) he surprised you with his next words.

"Christ, (N/n). Looks like I need to beat a bitch up."

You choked out a surprised laugh. "I'm sorry, who do you need to beat up?"

"You tell me. Who has you convinced that someone as empathetic, funny, and endearing as you isn't deserving of being cherished and appreciated?"

Oh. Oh no.

"Hello?" a low voice called out that wasn't yours or Piper's.

Based on the voice, you were pretty sure it was James who'd just entered the shop, but you couldn't be 100% certain, because while Piper's head had turned to identify the newcomer, your attention remained pinned on him. All you could think about in the moment was him, really– sweet, witty, attentive Piper, who had acknowledged your insecurities, but rather than validate and cast you aside for them as you'd feared, instead openly contested them. He'd framed his words with a flippant tone and a teasing grin because that's just how he was, but that didn't mask his genuine frustration that somewhere along the line you'd been made to feel less than.

Warmth and butterflies flooded your chest, and it was like you could physically feel your appreciation and admiration for him deepening and morphing into something far more intimate than simple friendship. With one simple question, you were forced to finally confront your budding emotions towards him you had fought so hard to ignore these past few weeks. You had somehow caught feelings for Piper fucking Greene.

The third presence in the room cleared its throat, and you reluctantly tore your eyes from Piper's face to see a very peeved-looking James in the backroom doorway. He was dressed casually, though he additionally wore a baseball cap and had a face mask pulled down to his chin, both accessories likely intended to prevent any nosy onlookers from noticing his features and speculating as to whether or not he was Megistos visiting you out of uniform. That had never been a concern of his before you blew up online, but this was his first time actually visiting you since then, and he evidently didn't want to chance anything.

"(Y/n), why didn't you answer me?" he questioned suspiciously. "And why's Greene here forty-five minutes after close all up in your face? Thought you'd be alone by now."

Your and Piper's heads both snapped back to face each other, and you realized bashfully that you were still mere inches from each other's faces. Both of you were quick to pull back, and although you weren't doing anything crazy at all, the charge of emotional intimacy between you– at least on your side of things– was enough to make you feel as though you'd practically been caught making out. And great! Now you were thinking about making out with Piper, so your cheeks began to burn as you faced James, who was coincidentally the only man you used to think you'd ever picture yourself engaging in such activities with. Yeah, totally great, and not at all overwhelming and confusing for you to process!

"Hello?" James spoke again, helping bring you back to your senses. "And why the fuck's there so many bags of dirt back here?"

"Hi, Jamie," you began, your voice a bit wobbly. You cleared your throat and chuckled awkwardly as you continued. "I didn't realize that much time had passed, sorry. But that's actually why Piper's here still. Uh, because of the soil, I mean. Delivery service fucked up the order and obviously brought too much, so he helped me move it all in. I tell him he's a lifesaver every shift, but today he really came through. He carried like three whole bags at a time somehow."

You glanced at Piper, who flexed his arm jokingly as he addressed James. "What can I say- I'm a unit. I'm kinda her hero."

You both snickered to each other, but James clearly didn't find it funny, scoffing as he made his way into the room. "I could carry every bag here at once without breaking a sweat. Three is hardly impressive."

"Yeah, if you used your powers, maybe," you mumbled. "Which is illegal. So..."

"Is that really what you think?" James laughed cockily, and you cringed at his strange and arrogant behavior. "I wouldn't get in trouble. You can get away with a lot when you're the strongest hero in the world and the head of a branch, hon."

You and Piper shared a quick look that conveyed the same unspoken sentiment: 'Ew.'

Why James had shed his normal humble nature in order to brag about how the superhuman system unjustly put him above others you had no clue, but you weren't exactly amused. You also didn't like how it felt like he was trying to embarrass and belittle Piper in front of you. What was he even playing at?

"What's the face for?" James inquired. "I obviously wouldn't. I'm just saying that I actually could. Greene, on the other hand, couldn't if he tried."

You had to hold back a laugh, knowing that Piper quite literally also could've moved all the bags at once if he employed his powers. James thought he was a normal civilian though, so you remained externally impassive and internally annoyed.

"Uh... sure, pal," Piper agreed flippantly before placing a hand on your upper arm, his gentle touch causing the limb to erupt into goosebumps. "I'm gonna head out before someone's ego threatens to shatter mine, but I'll text you later. Since we've established that I hang out with you because I want to and we're friends, there's a farmers market I heard about around here that I wanna take you to, okay? And before your workaholic self says anything– I already checked and it's open after Francesca's hours! And tons of local flower farmers and shit will be there, which is right up our alley. How's that sound?"

"It sounds fun," you responded with a shy smile, butterflies back and kicking in your stomach at how much thought he'd clearly put into the idea. Regardless of the new nature of your feelings for him, the thought of getting to spend one-on-one time with him that was planned deliberately rather than out of convenience or someone else's machinations only made your smile grow. "Good work today and thanks again for the help."

"Sure. Wasn't even for the raise this time- so I must just actually like you. Wild," he beamed, before making his way towards the exit.

"Drive safe! Seriously!" you called after him, watching as he waved you off and finally exited the shop. For a moment you stayed still as you allowed yourself to soak in the lingering warmth Piper hadn't taken with him before you faced James again, who looked genuinely disgusted by the exchange he just observed. Odd... "You good?"

"I'm great, (Y/n). Are you?" he fired back, eyes narrowed. "Because last I checked, I'm your best friend. I can take you to a farmer's market."

"Piper's my friend, too," you began, your irritation beginning to rise. "Also– what? You never wanna go on outings with me because you think people will figure out you're Megistos somehow. We only ever hang out outside of our apartments if you take me along for quick errands. I don't get why you're acting like I should've asked you to go when all you've ever done is decline my offers. I wasn't even the one to make the plans anyways, Piper was. Forgive me for wanting to spend time with someone who's actually willing to be seen in public with me."

You clamped your mouth shut, partially regretting your last sentence. It was a low blow, and you knew things were more nuanced than him simply not wanting to be seen around you. Still, his recent excessive avoidance of you hurt, and his acting like things hadn't been off between you too lately was salt in the wound.

"Okay, I didn't know you felt that way," he said softly, hurt visible in his expression. "You could've told me."

You traded your irritation for guilt as you sheepishly backtracked. "I... I know. I'm sorry. I get that it's more complicated than you not wanting to see me, and I shouldn't have lashed out."

"Hey, it's alright," he shrugged, smiling as he ruffled your hair. "I just can't seem to stay upset with you."

You smiled back, though it was hesitant. You'd hoped maybe he'd apologize too, or at least engage in understanding your frustrations, but maybe you were blowing things out of proportion. You should probably just be appreciative that he was back to his friendly, usual self, and move on with the conversation– so that's exactly what you did.

"Was there a reason you stopped by? I didn't get a text, I don't think."

"No, sorry," he chuckled. "I didn't text because I wanted to drop in as a surprise, but I do have a few things to bring up."

"Oh?"

"Yep! First things first, the Head Chief of the Commission is retiring so he's hosting this whole huge gala in his honor and to announce his successor: his kid. All the biggest heroes in the country will be in attendance and they actually asked me to say a few words. It's not something I'd normally like to do, but they've been framing me as the face of the organization lately so I didn't feel like I could really decline. Plus, the kid's been shadowing me in the office and coming over to my place a shit ton like he's trying to be my friend or something, so I doubt he'd be too happy if I said no to the offer. He's super uptight and awkward, but I should stay in his good graces since he's gonna be my boss soon."

"Okay, that's still a huge deal, though Jamie! It's so exciting that they're honoring you! Be more excited!" you ordered him playfully. He rolled his eyes, but you knew he secretly reveled in your praise– he had since he was a kid.

As genuinely proud of him as you were, you did wonder why he felt the need to share this with you since he usually refrained from divulging much about his hero when you talked (both because neither of you liked to discuss it all that much, and because a majority of his work involved security clearances and classified intel that he was legally barred from disclosing). Despite recent... romantic developments, you noticed that you clearly weren't entirely over James, as deep down you were secretly hoping that he was gearing up to ask you to be his date to the gala, and that maybe he was about to confess to harboring unspoken feelings beyond friendship for you like you also had all these years.

It made no sense how you could've been feeling intense butterflies for Piper just minutes ago and then feel them again in this James-centric daydream, but you tried to momentarily disregard your inner fantasies to focus on your current discussion. You could discern the inner workings of your mind when you weren't conversing with one of the sources of your puzzlement.

"This is where you come in," James continued excitedly, and your hope (read: delusion) surged. "They asked if Francesca's would provide flowers to the event because of your recent connections to the hero world, and they also offered an invite for you to send a representative. What do you think?"

As he smiled brightly at you in anticipation, you fought the urge to slap yourself for entertaining the idea that he'd actually invite you as his date. Why would James, after weeks of denying Megistos was anything more than your business partner to the public, take you openly as his plus one to a hero event? Tony was right. You really were a dumb bitch sometimes.

However– possibly because of another brunette you were growing closer to– you didn't feel as defeated as you usually might following an indirect rejection. It was humbling but it wasn't debilitating, so you were able to smile back at him just as brightly. Times were certainly changing, and you had no clue what your new feelings for Piper meant for your old ones for James, but maybe you were moving on. Slowly, but surely.

"I'd love to cater and attend," you said. "That sounds like a really cool opportunity, so thank you."

"I actually wasn't the one to bring it up," he clarified, and your smile began to slowly fall. "I didn't really want to invite you to a Commission event, 'cause a bunch of heroes together drinking and off guard is the perfect breeding ground for a bloody supervillain attack. But it's apparently not going to be openly advertised to the public or televised, so I think it'll be safe enough. I'll keep an eye on you anyways since I won't be distracted by a date or that stupid shit.

"Right," you responded dryly. "Well, thanks for allowing me to do it, then."

"It's not like that– I'm not 'allowing' you to do it, Okay? I just..." he searched for a euphemism you knew would convey your exact prior sentiment. "I greenlit it when it was brought up. I know you don't like to hear it, but you're vulnerable, hon. If the event got ambushed, how would you be able to hold up against a bunch of superhumans?" You shrugged half heartedly, not in the mood to fight him. "Exactly. You wouldn't be able to. But like I said, it'll be safe and I'll be there by your side the whole time. You can always look to me when you need saving, you know that right?"

"Yes okay, Jamie. I'll look to you. Is there anything else?"

"Yeah, actually. While we're on the topic of safety. I ran your 'Oakley Williams' through a background check, and well– did you know he's a superhuman? I'm willing to be you didn't."

You blinked at him, confusion evident on your face. "I'm sorry, how did you run a background check on him and how did that tell you that he's a super?"

"Like I said earlier, I can do a few more things than a regular civilian or even most heroes, so I was able to run an in-depth investigation on him and his records."

"What the fuck, Jamie? That's a total breach of privacy!" You closed your eyes and took a deep breath, attempting to calm down so you could at least try to understand where James was coming from, but his words didn't even make complete sense to you. "I don't even– what records even say whether someone is a superhuman or not? I don't remember that being on birth certificates or shit so I'm just... I'm so confused. But this is definitely fucked up."

"I told you I was gonna look into him," he shrugged, and you didn't miss his condescending tone as he frowned at you. "Looks like I was right though, 'cause he didn't tell you, did he?"

"He didn't have to tell me! You know how most people react to superhumans who don't pursue hero work. Fuck, James! Answer my question– what document states that information?"

"I'm not supposed to share that with you. You don't have clearance."

"Oh my God," you groaned. "You've shared quite a bit already, so how much can it possibly hurt?"

He raised a hand in a 'stop' gesture. "Okay, you can calm down, (Y/n). I checked for you. Besides, the search wasn't that invasive. It didn't tell me what his powers are specifically or anything like that. Still, you should know these things about the people you let into your life. And, well, I might look into it further now since he's been lying to you. That's a clear sign he isn't a good guy."

"That's not your call to make! He could have a perfectly valid reason to not share that information openly, and you've just– ugh!" You thought back to what Oakley had shared with you about his own connection to superhumans and the trauma he'd faced. Maybe he'd kept his abilities a secret from you, but you weren't entitled to know every intimate detail of his life unless he wanted you to know. "You haven't been background-checking every person that I've gotten close to lately, have you?"

"What, like Angel and Piper?" he asked, and you nodded. "No, I didn't need to. We grew up with Piper and– I mean Angel's already been screened since he's practicing hero work. Listen, it's not like this is something I plan to make a habit of, but I've been suspicious of Oakley since your first interaction with him. It was for different reasons at the time, but even you can't deny that he's disrespected you countless times since then."

"Wow. Great! At least you aren't abusing your power all the time– just once on Oakley! I know he's been a dick, okay? I'm working on it! This is so unlike you, James. I don't like it."

He narrowed his eyes at you in disbelief. "Why can't you understand that I'm trying to make up for and correct your reckless behavior? I know I haven't been around as much lately, but it seems like when I look away for two seconds you go off the deep end and run headfirst into dangerous situations! It's driving me fucking insane watching you carelessly let a bunch of men into your life who clearly have horrid intentions for no reason other than this weird rebellious phase you're in where you seem to crave male attention! And I just sit and watch and lose my mind while you constantly push me aside, even though I've always been enough before! You never think about what I've sacrificed to protect you, but I do it anyways because all I've ever wanted is to keep you safe! Why won't you just let me keep you safe? What's it going to take for you to realize that you need protection?"

Silence filled the backroom as you gaped at him. In all your years of friendship, you'd never seen him this upset with you. He'd never even raised his voice at you before, but just now he was practically screaming. You both were usually so good at keeping your cool when it came to any minor spats you had with each other, so to hear and watch him seethe at you instead of on your behalf was jarring, to say the least.

"You're not my dad or my older brother, Jamie," you eventually said, your voice coming out in a slow, strained whisper as you struggled to find the right words. "You don't get to police my every move just for your peace of mind. I don't know what you've apparently sacrificed to keep me safe, but I never asked you to." Your voice broke as hot tears threatened to spill from your eyes, but you blinked them away to avoid coming across even more as the pitiful, stupid child you felt like you were under his disappointed stare. "And seeking male attention? Really? That was so fucking mean and unfair, Jamie. I don't crave male attention, I just– I get so lonely when my only friend in the city doesn't even want to be seen around me anymore. You can't 'be enough' if you're never around in the first place. I'm not... no, I don't have anything else to say to you, so you can– you can just go."

You weren't sure when it had happened and maybe the shift had been gradual, but at some point, the anger on James' face had melted into deep remorse. It didn't matter, though– at least not in the moment. You didn't want an apology, you just wanted him gone. Thankfully, he seemed to be on the same page as you, He sighed and turned to leave wordlessly, but before he was fully out of the backroom he paused in the doorway before turning around, closing the distance between your bodies and pulling you into a tight hug. You made no move to reject or return his embrace, your body limp in his hold.

"I'm sorry, (Y/n). I... I love you, and I shouldn't have yelled at you," he whispered, his grip tightening slightly. "I'll leave you alone for a while, okay? Give you some space. And you just.... you text me when you're ready."

He held you a few more moments, but if he was waiting for a response you weren't able to deliver. After a few more seconds of your silence, he ultimately let go and actually took his leave of the shop.

You stared blankly at the floor for an indiscernible amount of time, your mind failing to grasp anything that had occurred within the last hour or so. Things were so sweet and unserious when it was you and Piper, but he left, and it seemed he took the sunshine with him. Then it was just you and James, and somehow you were now standing in the aftermath of what felt like your first serious fight with your best friend.

Fuck.

Eventually, you came back to your senses enough to finish closing up shop, and you dragged yourself upstairs so you could wallow in the wreckage of the night from the comfort of your apartment. And of course, your tears had dried up before you'd been able to shed them, leaving you a numb, emotionally clogged-up mess, and largely unable to experience any tangible release.

As you made dinner your mind circulated thoughts of Piper, James, Oakley– of yourself– it was all too much to process on your own. It was times like these you wished you had a therapist.

As if on cue, just as you sat down to eat, your phone vibrated on the table. You reached a tired arm to grab it, and upon seeing the video chat's caller ID your lips curled into a soft smile. Tapping the green 'pick up' icon was the easiest decision of the night, and you finally allowed yourself to take a deep, grounding breath. Neither member of the duo on the other side of the connecting call was your therapist, but, hey! One of them was licensed, and the other one you trusted with your life. It was about time you caught up with Sarah and Benny.