“He slept over?!”

Meg’s tone was one of shock and excitement, making Nick recoil just a tad- she truly did remind him of his mother when it came to his love life. “Yes- nothing happened, don’t give me that look. We ate dinner, played some games- and slept.”

Teno was off setting up a new display nearby, turning his head to get in on the conversation. “You two are getting along well.”

Nick smiled at him. “We are! It’s been great so far- I mean, it’s been less than a week, but it’s been a good week.”

“Tsk tsk, less than a week and you’ve already invited him to your bed.” Meg teased him, covering her mouth with her hand and giggling. “Don’t tell your dad you’ve been having a boy over!”

Nick rolled his eyes at her as he continued to sort packets of seeds that had been delivered in disarray. “I’m almost 23, I think my dad’s last concern is who I’m sleeping with- well, I guess when he’s a Nightingale, he might be a little concerned.”

“So you are sleeping together!” 

“No!”

Teno shrugged, standing straighter and giving the conversation his full attention. “Perhaps it would be good to? You seem stressed- apparently sexual release can be very calming.”

“Oh not you too.” Nick groaned and tossed a pack of daisy seeds at him, which anti-climatically hit him in the chest and fell to the floor. “You wouldn’t know- you don’t have sex.” Counting their single encounter the two had shared seemed moot, given Teno’s usual lack of sexual attraction. In fact, it was Nick who had helped Teno discover his asexuality, in a roundabout way.

“Yes, but I choose not to.” Teno stated matter of factly. “You, on the other hand, seemed deprived. When was the last time you-”

“Ah, ah-” Nick stopped him quickly. “That can stop there, you know all about that- and I’m not…deprived, I’m just not looking for that kind of…intimacy right now.”

Meg looked at him inquisitively, placing a hand on her chin. “And here I thought taking T made you really revved up.”

Nick’s head snapped towards her. “I mean- it can-”

“Then you should put yourself out there!”

“Or at least in Leo’s bed.” Teno added quietly, turning back to his display. He could feel the ominous stare behind him from his shorter friend, Nick’s mix-matched eyes burning a hole into his head.

“Do you want to fight me, is that it?” Nick leaned forward, his fist firmly in front of him on the counter. “Are you taunting me? We can duel this out, you wouldn’t even last a minute. I’ll arrange for Mathir to bring weapons back from the armory-”

“I’m not sword-fighting someone who’s been doing it since they were five!” Teno called back, finally turning his head to match Nick’s gaze.

“Coward.”

“You’re so eager to pick up a sword!”

“You spoke up, you square up.” Nick relaxed his body, sighing- it was all just fun, afterall. In reality, he had no issue discussing these topics with Meg and Teno- they really were the only two he actually felt comfortable enough to bring it up to- but it wasn’t his personality to not make a fuss about it.

“Well, pushing that aside, you two really are cozying up better than Rebecca and I had initially predicted.” Meg stated happily. “Any plans to start using the official labels?”

Nick glanced at her, thinking about his answer. “I mean, we haven’t spoken about it, y’know, directly- we’re kind of just seeing where it goes, I guess. He knows I'm moving back to Drand later this year, so we don’t want to make any hard commitments we can’t keep.”

“Responsible enough.” Meg nodded approvingly. “I think you two are perfect for each other, personally, so if you end up getting married, remember where to order your floral decorations from.”

Nick rolled his eyes and smirked, going back to organizing the seeds. The shop to the bell rang and he waited for Meg to greet the customer, his hands and mind occupied- but she didn’t speak, and when it’d been too quiet for too long he looked up to see a signa looming in the doorway-

A big, big signa. He clocked it at maybe level three- something he couldn’t possibly handle on his own. The signa stayed unmoving, giving Nick time to scan it over; six arms hung off of the heaving beast, various horns scattered around his body- then he realized it lacked eyes, and he began to wonder if it’s stagnant position was due to their silence.

No one dared speak, as they had all silently caught on to the signa’s senses. Meg glanced at Nick, and when his gaze shifted towards Teno, he’d caught onyx eyes as well, as if they were asking him what the plan was; what they needed to do to survive. There was no way he was going to be able to call Leo- one wrong move could easily mean another busted up shop with three dead inside. He could see the headlines now as he pursed his lips, attempting to calm his breathing.

Slowly bringing his finger to his lips, he made a gesture which begged silence- the other hand slowly pulling his phone from his back pocket- Leo would certainly answer a text message, right? But how quickly? Just how good was the signa’s hearing, would it hear the tap of his phone? The vibrations?

He started typing with his right hand, unwilling to move his left from its position- yet between the subtle shake of his hand and a single misplaced tap, his phone fell to the floor, the sound causing the signa to lunge for him. Nick immediately shoved himself back to avoid the hit, the counter taking the brunt of the damage, chips of wood flying towards him. The sound of a single footstep caught its attention and the signa made a lunge towards Meg, Nick diving to grab its leg just in time to stop the beast from reaching her.

“Backroom! Go!” Nick ordered and the signa thrashed, kicking him off and dashing for him. He dodged it to the right and scurried past it, watching as Meg did what she was ordered as the signa was distracted. “Call Leo! Be quiet”! As much as he wished he could do the same, the sound attracted another attack, Nick barely dodging the hit as the wind whizzed past the skin of his arm. “How did this thing even get in?! It’s huge!” Another dodge.

Teno, desperately wanting to take the heat off of his friend, tossed a planter towards the opposite side of the room, causing the signa to bolt to the sound. Nick stayed panting and watched it trash the poor display, looking for whatever had caused the distraction. 

His new objective was to get it out of the store. It wasn’t something he himself could fight- not without outing his situation anyway, and there was no way he could afford to do that. He looked to Teno and attempted to convey his plan in hand signals- and Teno just squinted at him bizarrely, trying to decipher Nick’s charades. The redhead rolled his eyes and made for the door, giving a quick whistle- and Teno glared at him, scolding him with his eyes, but there was no way to corral the situation any longer. 

As Nick skidded out into the street he eyed the shop’s front, watching as the signa phased through the front door- so that’s how it got in. The many sounds of the outside had the signa’s senses going wild, its head turning in every direction in an attempt to capture a promising sound, and Nick was unsure what to do at this point. He couldn’t fight the signa out in the open- he would need to use his powers, and that was off limits- but he also couldn’t let the signa wander off, potentially finding a less-equipped victim. The best he could do was try to keep its attention in the area and survive long enough for Leo to arrive. 

A quick whistle to grab its attention and he dodged the dash, nearly tripping on himself as his feet slid across the asphalt. The signa continued to follow the sound of his feet, just barely scraping by Nick’s skin too many times. His training with his grandfather was definitely coming into play- he’d have to say this signa was even taller than Dain-Lah, the man standing about six-foot-eight, a towering foot taller than himself, while the signa stood around a massive eight feet. The signa pauses and huffs, as if frustrated with its inability to even graze his victim and Nick couldn’t help but smirk.

This kind of rush provided by the game of cat and mouse was exactly what Nick needed, his worries replaced with adrenaline- he wanted nothing more than to go all out, exhaust himself in an exciting fight…it wasn’t fair.

So wait for Leo he shall.