Something unique was growing between Leo and Rachel. A sensation neither could define, nor really felt the need to.
Leo had taken Rachel to meet Maria on one of her days off.
Initially, Leo felt anxious about this.
Maria already held a sort of silent contempt towards her mother, so naturally he was concerned how she'd feel about another woman near him in a way that could easily be mistaken.
To his surprise, their time together had gone wonderfully. Rachel wasn't too interested in books as she was with paintings, but this didn't stop her from listening to Maria's thoughts.
Every now and then, Rachel would even go to visit on her own.
Leo felt relief that Maria had company she could rely on, but something still ate at him.
It could've been Charlotte that was visiting her.
But no, instead, it was another woman that she was accepting.
He tried his best not to linger on these thoughts, using work as a distraction.
Delving too far into work though made him remember just how tiring the paperwork was as a Reveur.
The morning sun rose, sprinkling streaks of orange into his apartment.
He stirred awake, raising himself to his knees and moving the hair out of his eyes.
Opposed to the traditional right side of the bed, Leo had woken up in the middle.
He sat there in bed for a while, staring off to nowhere.
After this, he got up and began his morning routine. This consisted of him tidying up his bed, bathing himself, then getting dressed.
Only one cup of coffee was made this morning.
Before heading out the door, he took one last look at the apartment.
He had filled the emptier parts with different sorts of furniture and wall pieces he hung up.
Despite being much more cramped than before, the large feeling of the room persisted.
The vastness made him feel as though he could fit a hundred of himself in it.
A few blinks later and he closed the door behind himself.
Upon arriving at the Reveur Headquarters and entering the main lobby, Leo couldn't help but notice the looks he was getting.
It had only been a day or so since Caspian was ordered to appear and give a debrief on the Rougarou attack.
Of course, the blame of this event was put on himself.
He didn't expect or feel as he deserved anything different from this, so he decided to simply endure the disappointed and uneasy looks.
At the very least, due to his oversights, the security of the walls were enhanced.
Of course, this was only ever applied to Section Three.
As he walked towards Caspian's office, he felt a tug on his coat from behind.
Leo shifted his body to see Desmond.
"Did you miss me, old man?"
He looked at Desmond blankly for a few moments before cracking a smile.
"What would make you think that?"
Desmond simply shrugged.
"I don't know. I thought you'd be surprised to see me again so soon. My recovery process was way faster than I expected."
Leo's face subtly fell into a softer expression.
"Hey, don't assume I don't care just because I wasn't surprised. Being able to use Channeling comes with a natural enhancement in recovery. Plus, dying doesn't really fit our training schedule."
Desmond laughed a little and started walking beside Leo.
"No, it definitely doesn't."
The two had spent most of their day together underground, going through several drills in swordsmanship and Somnia usage.
Some of this was experimentation with Desmond's newly awakened Art.
Leo had given him the advice that giving your Art an internal name makes it easier and faster to manifest.
After some attempts of Desmond's corny naming schemes, Leo decided to name his Art for him.
"Tendrils."
This support-based Art allowed Desmond to summon powerful, inky ropes to wrap around his targets and restrict their movements.
In extreme cases, like with the Rougarou, Desmond could use it offensively.
Though that was only possible due to the Cryptid's preexisting injuries and dwindling strength.
The sun had long set by the time they left the Headquarters.
Desmond looked up at Leo for a while, hesitant to speak at first.
Finally, he spoke.
"Hey, Leo."
He returned the gaze without moving his head much, acknowledging him.
"Hm?"
"Well, I've been meaning to mention that… I have to move out of the Orphanage soon. I stick out like a sore thumb as an official Reveur. So, they requested I leave."
Leo listened before inquiring,
"So? What's the problem? Are you not getting paid enough to afford your own place?"
Desmond shook his head.
"No, I think I make enough. Really, I just… I don't think I'm ready to live on my own just yet."
Leo grew silent for a moment as he understood the implications.
"Ah, I see now. You're asking to move in with me?"
He nodded silently, keeping his eyes forward.
Desmond was more nervous about asking this than he was trying to let out.
Unfortunately for him, Leo saw through these attempts.
"I've been meaning to move somewhere nicer. I've lived in a shitty apartment for years now, so I should probably look for something with two rooms then?"
Desmond looked up again and smiled. He exhaled, his tense posture relaxing. He gave a simple nod.
The two went their own ways at a split in the roads.
As he walked, he thought of visiting Maria.
It was late, but not quite midnight yet, so he decided it would be appropriate to visit shortly.
Upon arriving at the hospital, his eyes widened to see Rachel at the front desk.
He walked up from behind.
"Hey, Rachel. What brings you here?"
She turned to see Leo. The sides of her mouth curled up in a grin.
"Funny timing! I was here to visit Maria. It's been a few days since I've been able to, so I thought I'd stop by with a treat."
She lifted a small, detailed to-go box. This likely came from the cafe she had shown him.
He returned the grin. It was nice to know someone cared about his daughter this way.
"She'll probably be ecstatic to see that. Want to give it to her together?"
Rachel nodded and took the lead as they walked to Maria's room.
She had entered the room first, walking around the privacy screen to see her.
Leo followed, only gazing from beside it as the two interact.
Maria excitedly thanked Rachel for the cake.
She turned from Rachel to Leo and gave a wave, before quickly looking back to the dessert.
With a vacant expression, Leo observed the two interact.
He turned to the window.
The dancing lights had met his gaze. It was as if he was holding eye contact with the stars themselves.
Finally, he turned back to the two. Rachel was pointing out words that Maria didn't know how to pronounce.
He thought he would've felt content to see something like this.
Instead, something else stirred in his heart.
Something he couldn't put into words or even begin to understand.
"Hey, you two. I'm heading back."
Maria looked at him for a while. Her face fell a little.
Rachel blinked before speaking,
"Oh. Can I ask why?"
He breathed in.
"I… I've got work early tomorrow."
Rachel turned to see Maria's expression.
She smiled brightly and put a hand on her back.
"That's okay. He can always visit again tomorrow, can't he?"
Maria looked up to her.
A moment later, she nodded.
"Good night, you two."
Slowly, he slipped past the door and went home.
The walk back to the apartment felt like a blur. He focused mostly on his thoughts rather than the directions, which he made up for by the muscle memory of every other walk home.
` Nothing is waiting for me there. I'm not tired, nor do I have to work exceptionally early. So why? Why do I feel like this is wrong? Why am I upset to see her happy? `
Finally, arriving at his apartment, he closed the door behind himself and put away his uniform.
Stepping into the shower and setting the water temperature unusually cold, Leo stood there in silence.
Everything was fine. He had nothing to worry about.
His body slowly grew a bit more rigid and tense.
He put a hand on the wall of the shower, clenching his fist in an attempt to grip it.
` I am fine. Everything is fine. `