They definitely hadn’t fought the sleep that overcame them- luckily for the two, it was a weekend- meaning Leo had no fears of being late to work as a consequence. When Nick had awoken facing the other way with Leo’s arms wrapped around him, he almost wasn’t sure if he had actually woken up or if he had simply been dreaming- but when the man behind him began to stir, his body went tense, unsure of what to do.

When the pair had finally both come to, it was followed by a lot of apologizing on Nick’s part- “that was irresponsible”, “I should have asked if it was okay to fall asleep”. Leo only laughed and thanked him- it was the best sleep he’d had in years, no way in hell would he be upset over sharing that space and time with his friend.

And then friend didn’t seem like the appropriate word. Surely they’d work on that, right? Nick agreed with a sleepy, eager nod, earning a gentle pat on the head. He wasn’t used to this anymore, it felt so foreign to him- yet he had no intentions of giving that up. Nick was going to happily plunge head-first into every feeling this relationship was bound to offer him.

So he let Leo out early in the morning, before the others could see them and make any assumptions- though Nick was sure they’d peeked into his room the night before, curious of their silence.

It had been a few days since then and Nick had scurried back to work, early in the morning as he usually would. Unlocking the door to the shop he admired the new window in the front- Meg had even used the opportunity to apply her newly designed logo to it, courtesy of Kato. He admired it for a moment longer, basking in the pride and slipping his way past the door. For whatever reason he thought he should be quiet, he wasn’t sure- there was just something about the peace of the shop in the morning that granted him serenity. 

Apron on, register counted, open sign on- he was ready for the day.

-

Leo, on the other hand, was less than pleased to slink into his office that morning. He’d been spending the weekend with Nick, dropping by for dinner and relaxing in his room, side by side on the bed as they toiled away at the mobile game they would often waste their time on- Star Sector Saga. Leo was surprised to see Nick open the game beside him, and they’d spent hours comparing builds and dungeon crawling. 

Then Nick had pulled his favorite character, Val twice back to back, and suddenly he felt a little less smitten with him- only briefly. 

The time they’d shared during the weekend was something Leo was craving the moment he sat at the meeting table, staring at the papers in front of him as the others in the room quietly awaited their orders for the day. His mind was on anything besides the schedule and notes written in front of him, and he could feel a faint rumble of anxiety with all of the eyes on him waiting for him to speak.

“Kaul.” He started, sitting upright and fixing his air of faux-confidence as their Commanding Officer. “Your team is taking Precinct One today- Cambridge will relieve you at four. Check, your team will take Precinct Two, later relieved by Yvette’s team at five. Kaul, what’s the status of the level three I’ve assigned your team to?”

“We’ve yet to capture or dispose of the signa.” Kaul replied, unable to make direct eye contact. “It’s been especially evasive with its ability to phase through objects, and its speed overall is difficult to keep up with.”

“That’s disappointing- and embarrassing. It has no eyes- use that to your advantage. I expect this will be handled by the end of the week, no later.” Leo actually hated to speak this way to others, but if his subordinates ever saw the real him, there’d be no way they’d take him seriously there on out. “There’s no other notes, so you’re all dismissed. Questions can be directed to Lt. Messer.”

Everyone else in the room began to disperse and Leo waited, elbow on the table as his fingers covered his mouth. He noticed his friend and subordinate, Jack Messer across the room waiting for him, eyeing him knowingly- so Leo sighed and tilted his head, pursed his lips, then stood up to meet Jack in the hallway.

“Your brows do this thing when you’re tense,” Jack teased with a sly smirk, his tired eyes glancing at Leo, “you really make some weird expressions when you’re stressed.”

Leo rolled his eyes, but smirked back- it was all in good fun, he could trust Jack to respect his feelings if he knew he needed to. “Yeah, thanks a lot. I’m fine- just tired.”

“You’re not allowed to be tired until your newborn keeps you up until five in the morning.” Jack scoffed, but shook his head, following Leo as he made his way down the hall. “What’s up? Something is bugging you, that much is obvious- is it the guy you’ve been talking to? I know you said you were hanging out quite a bit this weekend.”

“No- well, yes.” Leo replied, unsure of what the answer was really supposed to be. It was Nick, but to no fault of man’s own. “We’re fine- I mean, I wouldn’t say things have an official label or anything, but we had fun together this weekend. There’s just some business we’re trying to sort out- nothing I can talk about here, but if you’re up to drinks some time I can fill you in.” Jack was someone Leo trusted with his life- he was the first officer he’d befriended when he entered Nightingale as they both worked in the same department, and when Leo transferred, Jack was quick to transfer with him, earning a spot on Leo’s team.

“Sounds great, actually. I’ve been trying to give Rebecca some breaks from Hannah, and she’s been insisting I need one as well.” Jack yawned, as if for emphasis in his exhaustion. “Can’t guarantee I’ll stay awake I guess. What are you up to now?”

“I have some things to do, so I won’t be on the field today.” Leo replied, glancing at his friend. “I told Lior this morning he’d have control over you all- hope you don’t mind.” He heard Jack groan in response. “I’m hoping giving him some responsibilities will keep him off my back for a day. Text me if you need me, though.”

“Course.” They came up to a fork in the hallway and stopped to give each other their full attention. “Keep yourself out of trouble- I have a feeling whatever you’re up to isn’t Nero approved.”

Leo rolled his eyes. “Is he in the building today?”

“Not to my knowledge.”

“Then he doesn’t have to know.” Leo shrugged and smirked, spinning on his heel towards the lab. Jack sighed as he watched him walk away, crossing his arms.

Leo’s first stop of the day was the lab with the hope of finding information that could help with Nick’s situation. He had attempted the reports from the incident that brought them together, but as he read on, eyes scanning every possible bit of information it offered…he realized perhaps he didn’t need to be privy to the information inside. The more he read about what had happened to Nick, things he hadn’t even told Leo- it became more of a breach of trust than useful to their cause, and he promptly shut the folder, his chest heavy with guilt and sympathy. 

Nick hadn’t deserved any of that.

Leo walked with faux confidence into the lab, peeking around to see if any of the technicians were available- either to help him or to avoid, depending on who he found. Luckily, Eden was nearby, toying away at a core that had most likely been given to her that morning. His heavy footsteps caught her attention and she spun around, immediately lighting up to see who had interrupted her.

“Leo!” She called, dropping her tool to wave at him. “I never see you down here- what do you need?”

Leo smiled, crossing his arms. “You assume I need something?”

Eden returned the gesture, her head tilted to the side. “I know you, Leo- no way you’d willingly come down here when you could very well say hi during our lunch break. It’s fine! I’m alone in the lab until ten, so any company is good company.”

Leo was more than pleased to hear he’d have the lab to himself for the next few hours, sighing in contentment. “Well, I was wondering if I could snoop through the archives, actually.”

Eden cocked a brow at him, her head now tilted out of confusion over sass. “The archives? What could you possibly need in there?”

“Well,” Was it safe to tell her the truth? “I’m looking for information on demi-signa, and I wasn’t sure if you’d have any leads for me here.” Considering his station was just one of hundreds, there was a chance their headquarters had zero information on the subject at all. “Studying an interesting case given to me.”

“Oh!” Eden’s face lit up, as if she were excited about the subject on hand. Her fascination with signa and their cores was somehow refreshing- Leo had never given the subject more than a fleeting thought as his entire career was simply “kill the monster, collect the core.” What the lab did with them once they left his hands was none of his business…But he began to wonder if it should be. "I have a few things- I didn't think demi-signa were public knowledge!"

"It's- uh- they're not. I wasn't even sure if they were a thing, but I couldn't think of a better person to ask." He followed her to the room where they'd kept their reports and findings and watched her pull out a small ring of keys, letting him in. "This has to stay under wraps- no one else can know I was in here."

Eden gave a cutesy salute and beckoned him into the room. "No problem! Secrets are my specialty. There's been a few cases of demi-signa in the past, people who were able to maintain their true self longer than the typical victim, but in the end they all died or turned. It just took a long time in compare to the usual." She bent down and pulled out a single black box- based on the way she handled it, it didn't seem heavy. "This is all I've got for our area- two cases. These took place years ago, sadly before my time in the lab, but I've read the reports a bit when I was bored!"

Leo took the box and set it on a nearby table, taking the top off and looking inside to see the two manilla folders for each case- both fairly thin. They would offer very little information. He bit the inside of his cheek and turned to Eden. "Did they say much, was anything scribbled out?"

She sighed, looking dejected. "A lot of information was left out- any personal information of the victim was unavailable besides their age, so I wasn't able to do any cross-investigating there. The reports are bare bone basic, almost like they didn't know what to make of it. Help yourself though! I gotta get back to that core."

Leo thanked her and listened to the door shut quietly behind him as he pulled the folders out, flipping the first one open. Sure enough, the pages were littered with thick black lines to block out the text that weren't meant for the average Nightingale's eyes, but a small paragraph managed to catch his eye.

'Specimen A, young male, 27 years of age. Showed no outward signs of signa possession any time during the period of possession. No differences between an average human and Specimen A found.'

The document went on to note that the victim died to suicide, a single note scribbled with the horrors of nightmares experienced. Leo shut the file and picked up the other. Similar notes to the last one, no differences between a normal human and the demi-signa. Unfortunately, this victim died via execution, as the unidentified person had turned over night, killing a few scientists in the process. Leo sighed and put the files back into the box and returned it to its spot on the shelf-

None of this described Nick. Surely if the two victims had the same abilities Nick did, they would be noted, right? Instead they stated the victims could be considered an average, non-affected human. So the little amount of information these files offered were moot anyway, giving Leo the idea that Nick's case was vastly different from them. He could very well be another person granted a gift from Daianha, but it wouldn't explain the signa energy he carried.

If Lior wasn't willing to answer his questions about it, his next stop was a library.