It was rare to see Jesse cry.

Not because she was stoic or because she had no reason to cry. No, she had plenty of reasons to cry. Probably more than the normal person could handle. And yet, she rarely did.

Or maybe that wasn't true either. Maybe she did cry a lot. Maybe she cried every night.

But Lukas wouldn't know.

Because Jesse, a girl who'd mastered skills from treasure hunting to sword-fighting, picked up a new skill in her years of heroism. That skill was this uncanny ability to find the perfect hiding spot to retreat to whenever she was on the verge of a breakdown.

He didn't notice it for years. It was after their return to their home following the weeks lost in the Portal Network when Lukas really began to see it in action. He saw her duck away from a town meeting where tensions rose and harsh words began to get thrown around, and she was unable to calm fiery tempers quickly enough. He saw her slip into a storage room when a fan who didn't know the definition of "personal boundaries" started asking about Reuben.

He watched her say goodbye to Axel when he departed for BoomTown with a big smile on her face, then watched her lock herself in her office the moment he was gone. She did the same when Olivia left for Redstonia a month later.

Each time it happened, Lukas would be watching the door she disappeared behind. There would be this temptation to walk up and knock. To let her know with a simple gesture that he was there. He was ready to listen, to offer a hug or a plate of cookies or anything. But instead, he retracted his hand and simply waited for her to come out on her own. He would still offer that hug and sweets, but by that time, she would politely deny them and return to her work. A smile on her face, clashing with poorly hidden tear marks.

Coward. He scolded himself.

Lukas found himself facing her office door again. He could hear muffled sobs on the other side.

Not this time.

He rose his hand and knocked.

"Jesse? Can I come in?"

There was a pause. He heard a sniffle and shaky breaths.

Finally, her quivering voice replied, "Sure."

He entered. He found on Jesse on the couch of her office. She was curled up on the far right side, her arms hugged around a pillow that hid her face.

"Hey," Lukas said softly as he made his way over and sat on the opposite side.

Jesse moved her head up from the pillow, her eyes were red and puffy. Fresh tear marks ran down her cheeks.

"Hi," She glumly replied, her voice hoarse. "Sorry, I'm a mess right now."

"Don't apologize. Friends are the people you're allowed to be a mess around." He playfully elbowed her shoulder, "I mean, you've seen my bedhead in the morning."

She snickered at that comment. Through her tears, she then smiled at him, "Fair enough."

The smile dropped immediately afterward as Jesse rested the side of her head on the pillow in her arms. Her eyes were still on Lukas though, pitiful and searching for comfort.

"Do you think she hates me?" Jesse asked.

He shook his head, "Petra doesn't hate you, Jesse. After everything you two have been through, one little fight isn't going to end your friendship."

"But that's the thing," she said, shifting into a crossed-leg sitting position and resting the pillow on her lap, "it hasn't been 'one little fight'. We've been arguing a lot lately. Every single stupid time we fight, she storms off to Champion City. And now, she's been staying there overnight. I'm just…worried."

Lukas frowned. It would be pointless to ignore the obvious. Petra and Jesse had been butting heads recently. With Axel and Olivia gone, and Lukas working on his book, Jesse was suddenly swamped with all the work that came with being Beacontown's Hero-In-Residence. Her stubborn insistence that she was perfectly capable of handling everything alone led to her scarcely having any free time. This cut into what used to be her designated adventure days with Petra. And Petra wasn't happy with being a second choice to paperwork.

It started off with passive aggressive remarks, which led to strained disagreements, which then spiraled into arguments. Today in particular, after Jesse gave Petra a raincheck for the third time, went from a spiral to an all-out shout battle, with both Jesse and Petra saying things that he knew they would regret later.

Petra, just as Jesse predicted, stormed off to the recently established Champion City across from Beacontown. Thankfully, Ivor was around today and took the position of running after her while Lukas stayed behind for Jesse.

Jesse shuddered, a new wave of sobs following, "All I ever wanted was to live a happy life…I wanted to be fine!"

"I know," Lukas said. He scooted closer to her on the couch and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her into a hug.

"What am I supposed to do? I can't make it up to her without falling behind in this dumb paperwork!"

Lukas stole a glance to the load of said paperwork towering on her desk. He attempted to lighten the mood by saying, "Ever think of hiring an assistant?"

"Lukas," Jesse groaned.

"You're right, sorry, not the time," He said quickly.

She sighed. Despite her annoyed tone however, Jesse leaned into Lukas more. The pillow she was holding slipped off her and slumped against the couch.

"We can think about solutions later," Lukas continued. "Right now, you just let yourself calm down. Sound good?"

"Mm," Jesse snuggled closer to him. After a slight pause and a few more sniffles, she slowly glanced upwards to him, "If it's not too much trouble, think you can whip up a batch of cookies?"

Lukas smiled, "Sugar, or chocolate chip?"

"Surprise me."

He nodded, "You got it."

She smiled too, one that lasted longer, "You're the best."