"It just shouldn't have happened." All he wanted was Hartley back and to repair what they could have had and everything just came at him at once. And it the pressure, it was too much. Between Barry fucking up, Caitlin being weird and Dante dying, he struggled to keep up with everything else. He really wished that Hartley could have called him, just once, but he knew why. "I don't know how to handle him any more."

Especially after that kiss.

Axel didn't wait, he hugged Hartley as soon as he saw his eyes and just stayed like that, ready to get off if he was pushed. Not the first time that had happened to him. "I'm really sorry. Can I do anything? I can hurt him for you or walk you home or ... something. Leave, I guess."