You opened your eyes and immediately froze. It took a few harrowing seconds for your eyes to adjust until you recognized the corners and shapes of Danny's bedroom. You finally released your death-grip on the comforter.

It was just a dream. It wasn't real. I'm safe.

It had been jumbled and confusing, but you were fairly sure your ex had been involved, and you were trapped. Unable to escape, even though the door to your old apartment was wide open. A pressure gripped your neck tightly, and you were paralyzed, unable to save yourself.

Your heart was still hammering in your chest. Not quickly, but slow and hard, and the tips of your fingers and toes tingled from sudden blood flood.

Shaking off the foul nightmare, you climbed out of the bed and stumbled across the darkened room, wondering what time it was. Picking your phone up from the nightstand, you realized it was half past seven.

"Shit," you hissed as you put the phone back into your pants pocket. How long had you been asleep? Danny was probably pacing a trench into his lush, expensive carpet at your departure while Ward rolled his eyes at him.

Ward is worried too, you told yourself with a furrowed brow. Even if he hides it well, he wouldn't bother unless he cared. Right?

The question was left unanswered as you opened the bedroom door and walked down the hallway into the living room, expecting to find one or both of them lounging as they had the night previously. Instead, you were met with a silent apartment. Lonely with bright lights filling the empty spaces.

Dejection filled your chest, and you immediately tried to shake it off. Danny and Ward weren't here at your beck-and-call; they had lives of their own, and you were a guest in Danny's home. A poor guest at that, judging by the fact you had just ditched them for the last several hours to nap away your feelings.

Rubbing your arms to ward off the feeling of isolation and loneliness, you walked into the kitchen to find it was also empty. Where are they? The question hung over your head as you opened the cupboards one by one, eventually finding the glasses you sought. You weren't quite brave enough to raid Danny's fridge and pantry for food, but you could at least draw yourself a glass of water.

After you filled the cup with water from the sink, you stared at the wall above the facet. Instead of a window, there was a small painting in a dark frame. It was simple but beautiful; elegant black ink was etched across the thick paper, depicting a mountain range topped with snow. A solitary brown hawk floated above its peaks, and it only served to make you feel even more separate from the rest of the world. As if you were the only person left on Earth.

You didn't know how long you remained that way, ensorcelled by the painting with its haunting lines and mesmerizing grace, but you didn't sense the presence behind you until it spoke.

"You're awake."

"Shit!"

You cursed loudly as the cup you were holding slipped from your startled grasp, banging noisily in the sink.

At least it didn't break. Thank God for that.

You spun around, heart pounding once more even though you recognized the voice and knew its owner wouldn't harm you. Ward stood in the kitchen doorway, and… you couldn't stop staring.

Ward had changed into something far more casual, a dark blue shirt with black jeans and boots. His hair had been rinsed of whatever product he used to slick it against his scalp, and now it hung around the edges of his temples in a loose frame.

There was no way you could avoid noticing the appealing way his shirt clung tightly to his torso and arms (since when the hell did Ward have muscles?), nor the way his jeans fit snugly against his slim hips and long, lanky legs.

"Sorry," he said in a low voice, glancing from the sink to your face, and you prayed nothing of your thoughts had escaped into your expression. "Didn't mean to startle you."

"I… I didn't know anyone was here," you responded, mentally patting yourself on the back for your words not coming out in a squeak. "I just woke up," you added, as if that weren't completely goddamn obvious and your mind wasn't spinning in its tracks as you continued to stare at your friend as if you had never seen him before.

"I can tell," he said with the barest hint of a smile, eyes flicking upward to the mess that was your hair. You could feel the heat creep into your cheeks, embarrassed by how ruffled you appeared compared to this veritable Adonis in front of you.

"Sleep well?"

"Uh…" Holy hell, when had Ward gotten so damn attractive? Why did the ability to form words suddenly escape you? "Yeah, I guess. Uh. Where's Danny?" You were desperate for a change of subject, but also wondered where he'd gone and… Why was Ward still there anyway? Didn't he have a home to return to? He was obviously wearing different clothing and he looked like he'd washed up, so why was he still in Danny's apartment?

"Out," he said with a half-hearted shrug, but he looked away from you as he did. "You know how he is."

Actually, you didn't have a clue how Danny behaved normally, so you just kind of stared at Ward until he cleared his throat and pulled his phone from his pocket.

"You're probably starving. There's a Thai food place around the corner. I'll order us some food. If you want," he added, looking up from his phone with a seriousness that would have been sort of endearing if you weren't still reeling over the fact that he looked like some kind of Tommy Hilfiger model.

"I don't want to be a bother," you responded automatically, and Ward gave an amused snort.

"You're not." He went back to his phone, sliding his thumb across the screen as he casually added," If anyone is a burden and an annoyance to Danny, it would be me. Do you have any food allergies?"

"Huh? Oh. No." You blinked from the abrupt change of subject and wondered what he meant about bothering Danny. But Ward didn't say anything further, so you slowly walked forward, stopping about halfway across the kitchen as you leaned against the island counter.

Ward finally looked up from his phone, said, "Done. Food should be here in a bit," before blinking as he saw you had somewhat closed the distance. He was even more astonishing up close, and you were amazed that he somehow hid this casually, yet irresistibly alluring aura under the starched, refined business exterior.

"I wanted to apologize for this morning," you blurted out before you lost your courage, your left hand gripping the edge of the counter as if for balance. "I shouldn't have snapped at you. It was dick move on my part, especially when you were just trying to help. You and Danny have been nothing but wonderful to me, and I'm… I'm really sorry."

Ward didn't respond immediately to your awkward, heartfelt apology, though his forehead creased as he studied your face carefully.

"I shouldn't have spoken down to you like a child," he finally said, his expression relaxing in a way that made him look younger and less beaten down by the world. Even his dark eyes didn't seem as hard as they usually did. "It's not what you deserved. You're an adult, and I should have treated you as such. I… also apologize."

"Thank you," you replied with a small smile, and for just a moment you had the insane urge to move forward and wrap your arms around his chest. If he had been Danny, you probably would have, as he seemed receptive to casual physical contact. But in that moment, all you could think about was Ward clinically describing to Danny how his father beat him. And how you had rushed at him the night before. You had no idea how Ward felt about being touched, and from what little you had observed there was a significant chance it would only make him uncomfortable.

So instead of wrapping your arms around him like you really wanted, you smiled up at him in a way you hoped was composed as you asked, "So. What should we do until the food gets here?"

"Um." Ward seemed to flounder at the question, his jaw working but no words came out, and you took brief pleasure in not being the only one to have your tied tongued.

"I wonder if Danny has any movies," you commented with a perfectly innocent tone, noticing that Ward turned to continue watching as you walked past him into the living room. "I hope so. Poor guy has a lot of catching up to do when it comes to pop culture references."

Ward followed you to the far side of the living room where the wall-mounted flat screen was located, but didn't speak as you kneeled in front of Danny's collection of DVDs.

"I can't believe he bought actual physical copies," you murmured as you opened the cabinet below the screen to begin pulling them out, examining their covers before placing them back. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Danny seemed to have collected the biggest hits of the early and mid-2000's.

Just after he and his family went missing, you realized with a start. The thought made a stone drop into the pit of your stomach. Danny had missed so much, the rest of his childhood stolen from him. It really did feel as if Danny had come back from the dead, and an echo of the grief you had experienced over his disappearance rang in your chest.

"You think that's bad," Ward responded wryly, snapping your attention back as you rapidly blinked. "I had to stop from buying an old VHS after he wouldn't believe me that they don't make cassettes anymore." You looked over your shoulder to find him standing next to the couch in front of the TV, standing with his arms folded over his chest. You had to look back to the collection of films to keep from letting your eyes roam over his body, like some kind of degenerate pervert.

"I bet he was pretty impressed with how advanced cell phones are now. A lot different from the flip phones we used to have," you commented as you finished going through the sparse library. You found the one you wanted, and pulled it out with a barely suppressed grin. Perfect.

Ward gave an amused snort and said, "Danny thinks they're ridiculous. Said a phone was for making calls, and if he wanted to use the Internet he would just get on a computer. He's a regular Luddite, our Danny." You felt an unexpected flush of warmth from hearing Ward say those words. Our Danny. You didn't know why. What you did know was, you wouldn't be able to hide the blush in your cheeks now.

"Find one?" Ward asked when you didn't speak, silent and cross-legged on the ground.

"I did." You stood up, praying the blush wasn't as obvious as it felt, and walked to Ward with your heart pounding faster than normal. You held the DVD case up to him, trying to keep a straight face and failing. Ward squinted at the title.

"Is that the one with the talking fish?"

Your smile faded.

"Are… are you serious?"

Ward rolled his eyes and said, "Do I look like a ten year-old child to you?"

You made quite the offended noise as you pulled the case back, hugging it against your chest.

"Finding Nemo is a classic! It's for people of all ages!" You peered at him when he didn't respond, and you realized he was actually serious. "You've really never seen it?"

"I have better uses of my time," Ward responded, fixing you with a partial glare that you found oddly exciting rather than intimidating. What was wrong with you?

"Well, not tonight you don't."

Ward blinked and opened his mouth to object as you turned back to the DVD cabinet. The DVD player was sitting on a shelf next to the collection of films, and you supposed Ward had been unable to sway Danny into buying a Blu-ray player and was forced to settle on the older DVD player. The thought made you smile even wider as you placed the disc into the tray after it popped out.

"We are not watching a movie about cartoon fishes."

"They're high-quality, animated, CGI fishes," you corrected him patiently, quite enjoying the exasperation in his voice.

"I don't care if they're magical, real-life guppies who can talk out of their asses—"

Ding-ding.

"Door," you responded while looking over your shoulder at him, grinning widely. He gave a grand rolling of the eyes before turning away, striding toward the front of the apartment on legs that were so long they should have been outlawed.

"Classy, (Y/N). Real classy," you grumbled under your breath as you got to your feet, moved over to the couch and plopped down on it. You really had to get your lust under control. It was weird, and distasteful, and very, very inappropriate.

Unfortunately, it was also helpful. You realized you hadn't thought about the incident since you had woken up from your nap and Ward had appeared. He had successfully managed to take your mind off of things without even consciously trying. It made a slow, warm sensation spread across your chest, and you found yourself grinning like some kind of blissful idiot.

"Food's here," Ward announced as he placed the bag of take-out on the coffee table in front of the TV.

"Shouldn't we wait for Danny?" you asked, sitting up as Ward lifted out two white take-out containers and set them on the glass surface.

"He can eat his portion when he gets back." Ward pulled the utensils from the bag next, two sets of plastic forks.

"And when will that be?" you asked curiously.

"Haven't a clue. He didn't say."

Your brows furrowed from the cavalier statement, but Ward didn't seem to be worried, so that was probably a sign you shouldn't call in an APB on Danny just yet.

Still, Ward didn't have to be so obtuse about it. As petty revenge, you reached over and grabbed the paper-wrapped chopsticks he had just pulled out of the bag. It earned you a glowering look which you ignored as you ripped the paper, pulled out the chopsticks, and split them apart. All with a little, cheeky grin on your face.

"Really? You know how to eat with chopsticks?" he asked in a disbelieving tone and a quirk of his eyebrows.

"Uh-huh," you responded impishly, glancing up to savor the look on his face. It was an expression cause somewhere between amusement and annoyance.

"So, what did you order for us?" You pulled a box toward you and opened it to see thick noodles, bright carrots, green onions, and green beans. And on closer inspection, what you thought were chunks of meat was actually something else. "Is that… tofu?"

"It's Danny's favorite place. All vegetarian. I can't get him to order from anywhere else," Ward added, almost seeming sheepish at the confession. It made you give a small laugh, which felt really good after everything that had happened. The idea of Danny being stubborn and obstinate about everything while an exasperated Ward tried to reason with him was probably one of the most enjoyable mental images you'd had in a while.

"You two sound close. Closer than I remember, anyway," you asked in a smooth tone, glancing sideways at him. Ward didn't seem to buy your nonchalance as he peered back at you carefully. His own box of noodles was opened in front of him, but he seemed much more intent on you than the food. It made you want to squirm, his attention making it feel like there was a spotlight on you in a way it hadn't before.

"I suppose. We do run a company together."

"That's not exactly what I meant."

"Okay. What did you mean, then?" You could tell he was trying to keep the impatience out of his voice, but he definitely wasn't the sort of person to beat around the bush.

You inwardly winced at broaching the subject, but it had to happen eventually.

"I mean, are you two, like… together?"

Ward stared at you blankly. Apparently, you would have to clarify.

"You know, as in… are you two a couple?"

Ward blinked once. And then burst into laughter so sudden it actually startled you. He threw back his head and guffawed, and it was so unexpected you nearly dropped your chopsticks too.

"Are… are we…"

Ward could barely speak, he was laughing so hard, and all you could do was stare in disbelief. You had never heard him laugh like that before. It was a deep, throaty sound, and totally unlike the stiff, serious man you knew. You didn't know whether to be impressed or deeply disturbed.

Ward was wiping away the tears from his eyes now, still chuckling but managing to get his laughter under control.

"Wow… okay… Not what I expected, but okay…" he responded after a moment. You continued to stare at him in muted shock, and he cleared his throat as he tried (and failed) to wipe the grin off his face.

"No. Danny and I aren't together. I can barely be around the guy for more than five minutes without wanting to strangle him with his own girly tie." Ward gave another chuckle, pulling apart his own set of chopsticks as he shook his head. "God, can you imagine if we were dating? Rand would need a new CEO or two after one of us murdered the other in a homicidal rage. Plus, the office probably would have exploded. Again."

That made you blink, remembering. The top floor of Danny and Ward's office building had had a gas leak a few weeks ago, and basically leveled the penthouse floor in the middle of the night. When you had heard the news, you'd called Danny immediately. It had come as a staggering relief that Danny and Ward hadn't been there when it happened.

You also remembered how Josh had asked you who you'd been talking to on the phone, his tone even and relaxed but you could hear the anger on the edges.

You violently shoved the memory as you pulled your focus back to Ward. The smile was slowly fading from his face, and you fervently hoped nothing had been revealed in your expression.

"Why do you ask?" He was definitely looking at you more closely now, and you fumbled awkwardly with your words as you tried to compose yourself.

"Oh. Uh. Just curious." Ward didn't seem to buy that for a second, and the intensity of his stare forced you to look away. You picked up the remote from the coffee table, hoping to start the movie and change the subject of Ward's life (which was none of your damn business anyway).

"I know I'm not the easiest person to open up to," he responded slowly, inevitably forcing your gaze back to him. "But you can speak your mind here. No one will judge you. Certainly not me." He shrugged, almost self-conscious as he focused down at the box in his hands, poking at his contents with his own chopsticks. "Just a thought."

"Thank you, Ward," you responded, and you meant it. It had been a long time since you could be honest about your thoughts and emotions. About anything, really. Josh hadn't exactly been big on communication, especially towards the end.

"No need to thank me, just stating the obvious," he said with a shrug you could have sworn was embarrassed, and it made you smile. It was startling how comfortable you felt in Danny's apartment, sitting and chatting with Ward. Much more at-ease than you had been in your own home.

Just the thought of your ex sent an unpleasant shiver up your spine, and you turned your focus back to the television.