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James didn't know of Ruthie's broken arm or her limited writing abilities, no he only knew that she had texted him asking him to come over. So, with a break from his studies in mind he had embarked towards his destination. He arrived at her door, familiar bag slung across his shoulders(he never went anywhere without it anymore).

He took a minute to smooth out his hair, which had been become tussled by the wind, and straighten his outfit before he even dared to knock on the door. His knuckles wrapped against the wood before his hand wrapped around the strap across his chest. He stood there awkwardly because a part of him wondered if he was at the right place.

Oh god. What if he got the address wrong?!

He didn't expect to be tugged through the open door nor have a hand ruffling his hair. "H-Hey!" He protested, instantly moving to smooth his messy hair. "Ruthie!" But she was gone, having bounded back into her nest and settled comfortably. He frowned but followed her anyway, shaking his head. Emerald eyes swept across the apartment, taking in everything before he settled down at the other side of the couch.

"Nice apartment," he commented, sliding the bag's strap over his head and setting the whole thing down neatly by his feet. He turned to look at her, hand up already protesting anything she might offer. "N-no, I'm good. Wait. Why is it secret wine?" And as it left his mouth realization overcame his features.

How did he forget he was two years older than her?

But he thought no more about it when he saw her casted arm. Immediately a frown set on his lips and he was leaning over the space between them to touch the plaster. "What happened? When did this happen. Who did this Ruthie?" Someone hurt her and that wasn't okay.

Her response only made his frown deeper, was she involved with some douche who was abusing her? Because that was a million shades of absolutely not okay. "If you're protecting some boy from what could very be my wrath, then you shouldn't," he told her, very seriously. "If you were attacked on the streets," ugh it was such a real possibility here in DC, "You should file a report." It wouldn't do much, but it would make James feel better.

Still, he could tell that Ruthie didn't want to talk about it, so he stopped pressing the matter. "Games, we should play games. I can't stand that reality tv. Real reality is much better," he sighed, settling back into his seat. "Why would you want to watch a show about it?" He wasn't much of a tv person, when he did watch he got caught up in shows like Doctor Who and Merlin. They were well written.

"Sometime you should come out on a hike with me," he suggested, glancing over at her. His eyes dropped to the cast once again but after that he made a point of not looking. "When your arm is better." He looked around again and noticed the flower. "So, did you finally get an admirer to send you flowers?"

He tried not to think about it any longer but he couldn't help but wonder who did it to her. Was it one of those bow-wearing terrorists or one of his own, the vigilantes striving to protect the city and the Earth? He felt a little sick considering it could have been one of his faction. He had already learned that most of them liked talking with their fists. Had it been an energy draining gone wrong?

He just needed to stop thinking about it.

"Hiking's a great way to get away from it all," he told her, focusing on keeping himself distracted. "Nothing beats the fresh air and the view," he sighed contently. "God, some of the views are absolutely breathtaking." Especially in the fall, when the leaves were changing colors. He'd seen naturally pink leaves and they were gorgeous. "Well, you shoulda told me, I could've brought you some," he told her offering a half-smile. He would have brought yellow roses. He knew what the colors meant.

"And it's a shame about the admirers," he frowned, albeit briefly, while he fished around in his bag for his laptop. Loose papers fell out and he was quick to collect them. "And no, none for me. But I'm practically a shut in right now. Work and school are killer right now." Especially with his 'second job' in the mix now. "There's always secrets Ruthie," he chuckled, settling the computer on his lap. "They aren't secrets if you share."

James was terrible at picking up signals or giving signals of his own and it reflected in the internal notion that he would bring yellow roses. Yellow meant friendship and he wasn't sure he was ready to risk a friendship with any other color. Things tended to blow up in his face when he stepped outside his comfort zone.

"A gift?" His eyebrows arched in surprise and he half-turned toward her returning form. "You don't have to get me anything Ruthie," he told her quietly while she plopped the box down on his opened laptop. She brought up the secret admirer thing again, so he couldn't help but ask, "Are you trying to imply something Ruthie?" Again his voice was low and quiet.

His fingers traced the outline of the box before he pulled it closer, tugging off the top. "Thank you."

He had been staring more intently at the chocolate and taffy than intended and hadn't realize how close in proximity Ruthie had gotten. He looked up at tanky, pouting slightly. "Ruth--" he stopped suddenly aware of how close they were. How she leaned up against him as if it was second nature.

He swallowed, placing the lid back on the box and setting it on top of his bag. He tried to clear his throat and adjust his position. "Uh." He stopped, unsure of what he was attempting to say. "Uh, well...I'm hardly buff..." he mumbled, shifting the position of his laptop on his legs.

Oh god. What was he supposed to do?

He swallowed dryly before moving his arm to drape it over her shoulder. She was already pressed up against him. Might as well make her comfortable. "I'll play whatever."

It had been a long time since James had been in such a situation. The long past days of high school had been the last time that the man had dated anyone. Or been particularly close to anyone, not at least in an intimate way.

They were practically cuddling right now and while he was a little tense he didn't mind it all.

He offered her a small smile and shrugged, "they're okay." They weren't his favorite thing in the world but they were okay. If she wanted to play a game with giant robots then he would play it too. "I think I prefer fantasy games. With magic. Or assassins."

She scooted closer and he pretended not to notice by focusing on his screen. "Uh, yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"