IRON / FIST.

                                                        Sunny Side Up was one of the very few places that’d become James’ hangout spot. He liked the food there, the atmosphere, and... For some time, he’d taken a liking to one of the waitresses there as well. He and Marley shared brief history that consisted of sleepless nights and days full of adventure. Their adventure came to a sudden end after she bailed on him without a word. Three years after this happened, he ran into her in Sunny Side Up---only to find out later on she’d left town. At this point, he’d picked up onto the pattern and decided he was going through too much to let it bother him. It was who she was; at least where he was concerned. Thus, he kept on going to the little restaurant for all the other reasons, except Marley’s presence. He firmly believed she wouldn’t return.

He was wrong.

                        Fifteen years later and there was still this comfort lingering between the two - a vibe James gave off that made her feel like everything was going to be okay. Throughout her life, Delilah could count the people that made her feel like this, on one hand. Never being one of the loud, outgoing children, the blonde would often be disregarded by not only the adults but the other children and later teenagers. James’ attention had been different, for the first time someone was actually acknowledging her presence, her character. She wasn’t just the weird, quiet girl no one cared about. He probably had no idea how those few moments had shaped her life for the better. With a small nod of her head, the smile on her lips grew slightly bigger; his promise giving Delilah all the reassurance she needed. “Just do what’s best for you, okay?” She responded. If the paperwork was what the had to do, then she hoped he would stick with it throughout his recovery. That, and getting back to Rory was all that matter to her now. I could drive you home, James said and she instantly looked up at him; wondering if it was a sincere offer. Not finding the strength to reply right away, Delilah remained silent - thinking about how that could go down. “Are you sure?” She asked, giving him an opportunity to rethink. “You really don’t have to..” 

“It just might.” she laughed, shaking her head. “Maybe just one beer, who knows.” Athena shrugged. “I think I’m more into the wine, though.”

“Alright. Let’s get both,” James finally decided. He went and grabbed a pack of six black beers before heading to the wine section. “Which do you usually go for?”

“Just one? Man...”

                           For someone who needed a crutch to walk around, Delilah was awfully worried about him to the point, she almost forgot the terrifying day she had to focus on James. After she found him again, after their conversation and all truths coming out - it was impossible to not care about him. There were two significant people in her life and whether she liked it or not, he came right after Rory. Her eyes moved frantically from his face to his shoulder, wanting to make sure he was telling her the truth. “You promise?” The blonde whispered, sad eyes eventually settling on his face. Didn’t they do that when they were younger? Promise each other things, whether it was a birthday cake or sneaking out to stargaze. She was careful not to put too much weight on him, too afraid she would hurt him but as soon as they both made themselves comfortable in the empty seats, Delilah turned to look at him. “Are you going to take a few days off then?” She asked, letting out a heavy sigh. “It could have been worse..” Her voice trailed off, “How bad is it out there? Do you think I could get a taxi to take me home?” 

                                                         Memories old, buried deep in his mind---the mind of a boy who didn’t know how to face the world without being angry at it just yet---rushed back into surface when she asked him to promise her he was okay. They’d certainly given each other promises of this kind back in the day. He’d not once admitted not to be okay---a trait he’d kept despite all the years dividing the sixteen year old boy who’d found his first crush on the quiet, shy girl with the blonde hair and the blue eyes, and the man he was today. “Yeah. Promise,” he reassured her. The smile on his lips was quite slight, but gentle. He didn’t like looking back at the past, but he did know for sure the orphanage had treated him better than his own parents. As for Delilah? She’d been the kindest of them all. He owed her that. “Don’t think so. I’ll be fine over the weekend. They might stick me into paperwork for a few days,” he admitted with a shrug of his shoulders---a move he instantly regretted. However, he hid the flinch of pain as good as he could. “Not too good. There’s a bunch of people still in line to be examined.” He’d taken a peek before entering the hallway. “It’s gonna be a long night.” At least the worst didn’t happen. From what he’d heard, nobody died. This was good news. “I could drive you home.” The words came out before he really thought them through. Drive her home? With their daughter up there? His heart began to race at the mere thought and his palms sweated. “I mean.. Finding a cab tonight’s gonna be hard. I could drop you off.”

Athena laughed a little, nodding her head. “Well, I’ll definitely let you know if it qualifies as a special occasion.” she smirked a little. “But, you may need to get a few beers in me first.”

                                                      “Why? Will that help make up your mind?” he wondered. His own expression remained peacefully serious, and a smirk of his own cracked its way onto his mouth when he added “’Cause that’d be cheating. And I like winning games fair and square.”

                           That was the only thing that kept her from losing her mind – the fact their daughter had stayed back. She wouldn’t be nearly as calm if Rory had tagged along, though the fact James worried.. it didn’t go unnoticed. His reaction pulled on her heartstrings and even though she mentally cursed herself for appearing as weak, Delilah’s eyes once again began to water. This was all her fault, the years they lost because of others. At the mentioning of his shoulder being hurt, her eyes fell on it, green hues focusing there for a moment. She wanted to reach out to him, but with all this fear settling inside her, the blonde woman couldn’t really move. “Did you have it checked?” She asked, voice weaker than ever. The idea of anything happening to James now, that upset her, more than she thought it would. “No.. they – they said something about a second-grade sprain.” From what Delilah understood, the third grade would required surgery and the thought was as scary as going back outside. Glancing up at James when he offered help, Delilah held her breath for a moment; only to exhale when his arm went around her waist. Her foot hurt enough to not question him twice and with a small nod of her head, the young mother, mattered a simple. “Okay.” He didn’t seem to have a hard time helping her out and as soon as they made it to the empty chair, Delilah took a seat and winced, eyes turning to look down her leg. “T-Thanks. Are you sure it’s nothing serious?” She questioned, “Does it hurt?” 

Kamille knew he was right, and it made her feel a little better that James had her back. Most of the time she let stuff roll off her shoulders, but every now and again, it would eat at her. “Thanks, James. I’m sure you’re right. If they only knew the kind of shit I could put on their dossier, they might ease up on it a bit.” She was a hacker at heart, but Kam was mostly talk when it came to actually doing something like that. She wouldn’t ruin a person’s reputation over silly, sexist remarks. “The dumb kid, huh? Well they were clearly morons. You’re far from that– and I’m glad you showed them up. I mean, look at you now!” Her smile curled into a full one; it was nice having someone from work that she could chill with. “London though? I didn’t realize you started there. How long were you there for, and why the hell did you leave?”

                                                      James quirked an eyebrow when Kami casually mentioned she was skilled enough to ruin her colleagues’ reputation. “Hell, why don’t you just tell them that? And thanks for the tip, by the way. I’ll make sure to never get on your bad side,” he joked as a response. While his eyes remained on the road for the most part, the corners of his mouth were curved in a smirk that reached his eyes. A rare fact, most likely occurring because he was simply hanging out with someone who seemed to be cool. He wouldn’t be as foolish as to throw his trust at her, or anyone, but those kinds of talks didn’t reveal anything he wasn’t comfortable with. At least, that was until she asked about London. By that time, they’d reached Endless Pizza (for real, how bright could the owner be if they named their 24/7 pizza shop like that?). James pulled into the empty parking lot as he gave her a brief answer. “Yeah, I was born there. Never left until I had the genius idea to move in Crownsville.” Sarcasm was evident in his dry tone. “I came with my ex.”

Liv had always been an emotionally fragile individual. She wore her heart on her sleeve and trusted people far too easily, so that usually came back to bite her. Liv’s ex-fiance never treated her all that nicely, but she had been completely blind their entire relationship. When she found out he was cheating on her, she was completely broken. Letting James pull her into a hug, she slowly brought herself to hug him back. He was such a good friend to her. “I gave him my entire heart and he completely shattered it.” She had gotten over him fairly well by now, but occasionally she was still bothered by what happened. “Was I not worth an explanation?” It felt like she wasn’t. “Anyway…I apologize. I didn’t mean to make this all about me and my problems.”

                                                  Anger and sorrow boiled in James’ chest as soon as Liv opened up to him, admitting her ex-fiance had shattered her heart. In his eyes, that scum had never been worthy of her affection in the first place. Seeing he still held some power over her made him angry; angry he didn’t beat the shit out of him when he had the chance. Angry he’d never warned him to stay away from her. He’d kept his thoughts to himself because Liv was already with him when they met. It’d never been his business to say anything or press her onto leaving him before he did something...something like what he ended up doing. “Of course you were,” he responded. Liv was worthy of an explanation and so much more than that. “He should’ve adored the ground you stepped on.” His words were firm. Honest. After all the years they knew each other and the brief time he used to have a crush on her, James was glad, after all, that all they ever shared was a friendship. His relationships ended up fucking him up and Liv had such a big heart. He hated the thought he wouldn’t have her friendship in his life then, had he made a move back in the day. “And she apologizes again,” he murmurs sarcastically after letting out a sigh---a n attempt to light up her mood. “You should make it about you, every once in a while.” He gave her shoulders a gentle squeeze before pulling back from the hug to look at her. “You want an explanation? I’ll give you one: He’s a fuckhead. Plain and simple. People who go out of their way to hurt, don’t give explanations. They can’t. ‘Cause they’re the only ones to blame for their shitty actions.” He’d learned this truth to his bones. He’d seen it in his job and in his personal life as well. “You did nothing wrong.”