You blame your inability to fall asleep on how loud the TV in the living room is rather than any possibility of insomnia.

Yet, the closer you approach the expansive room, the sounds don’t seem to grow any louder. You’ll have to find a new scapegoat next time.

“Can’t sleep either?” James asks without so much as looking over at you. Beneath the dim lighting’s warmth, his hair leans a tad darker. It’s moments like these where you think he could possibly pass off as your biological father.

“I remember when the show still had their original cast.” he says, pairing an arm around your shoulder with a forehead kiss when you unceremoniously slump beside him on the couch. A rerun of Law and Order, the one about special victims, plays in front of you two quietly.

“Christopher Melloni, he was Detective Stabler. There was Florek, too. He was Captain Cragen — y’know, bald guy that was always on everyone’s ass.”