“Meg will be here soon.”

Leo looks up from his place on the couch to see Nick returning to the room, placing his phone in his back pocket. Dried blood littered his arms and shirt- some spatter left on his chin, and Leo grimaced. 

If he hadn’t been here, how worse would it have been?

“She’s bringing her dad with her to help board up the windows.” Nick grabbed the first aid kit and fell into the couch, sighing. “Promise is a promise.” He hands the kit to Leo, who hesitates for a moment before accepting it. Nick noted how quiet he’d been since they returned to the shop, but he wasn’t sure if it was something Leo wanted him to make a conversation out of. He knew how the man could be when his mind was in too deep of thought, how his eyes would droop just a little as he wracked his brain on whatever problem he was currently stuck on.

Nick was sure it was about him, and it wasn’t like he really wanted to talk about it. He hated seeing Leo so locked in thought, but at the same time, he couldn’t stand the idea of coming clean just yet.

Once Leo had the necessary supplies laid out he finally shifted his body into a more upright position, his hands making an “up” motion. Nick cocked his head to the side, confused.

“Shirt off.”

Nick’s hands shot up quickly to cover his chest- it was so instinctive. Leo raised an eyebrow at him, now just as confused.

“The wound on your chest- it needs to be treated as well.”

Nick released the breath he’d been holding, laughing awkwardly. “Aha, right, yes- the- yeah. That.” His arms wrapped around himself to grab the bottom of his t-shirt, but as he pulled up he audibly winced- the pain in his shoulder was sharp as he tried to remove the clothing.

“Let me help.” Leo offered, taking the hem of the shirt in his hands. Nick’s face was tomato-red as Leo pulled the top off of him, exposing a toned torso littered with various scars. Leo tried his best not to make himself too obvious as well, instead trying to clear his suddenly very dry throat.

“Sorry,” Nick’s voice was quiet as he avoided eye contact, “y’know, that you had to see all this.”

Leo was dabbing alcohol on a cotton pad with his eyes turned up to look at Nick. “Why should you be sorry?”

Nick hesitated, making a face that Leo wasn’t able to properly read. “The scars- there’s a lot of 'em, and they’re ugly.”

Leo gave the scars another look over, taking them in. He doubted Nick was referencing the top surgery scars- Leo personally found them stunning. He eyed the scars around his chest and abdomen instead- he was sure there were more on his back- the small ones, the large ones, ghosts of less enjoyable moments in his life. 

“They’re on you,” he started, making sure Nick was looking directly at him as he spoke, “so they’re hardly ugly. Lean forward a bit.”

Nick promptly did what he was told, moving his hair to give Leo access to the hole in his shoulder. 

“This is gonna sting.” Leo warned, holding the cotton pad over his wound.

“I’m used to it.” Nick attempted to be nonchalant, but the hiss that escaped through his teeth when the alcohol met skin said enough.

Leo’s eyes found their way to the tattoo on Nick’s shoulder- something he’d never seen before. Nick rarely wore anything less than a t-shirt, and the one time Leo had seen him in a tank top, the tattoo was covered with a large square bandage- he began to wonder if it was something others weren’t meant to see.

Before he could fully consider the implications of such, he asked, “what’s the tattoo about?”

Nick’s eyes glanced at his shoulder reflexively, and he shrugged. “Dranduin thing.”

“Dranduin thing” was Nick’s usual answer for why he did or had anything. The training he did with his grandfather, keeping his hair long, the tattoo on his shoulder- Leo realized that he didn’t know as much about his friend as he thought, as Nick tended to keep things as vague as possible.  Not that he could fault him for it- Leo often did the same thing when speaking about himself. 

He decided to push it a bit, his curiosity getting the better of him.

“Like what?” He asked as he finished cleaning the wound on Nick’s shoulder. He worked on pulling out gauze and tape as he eyed the man across from him, waiting for an answer.

The tattoo itself was simple in design- in the middle was what appeared to be a minimalist eye, with two lines extending to a point on the top, and a single line narrowing to a point below it, all in a muted, dark blue. He watched Nick smirk, leaning forward, his attitude cocky.

“It means I’m a king.”

Leo couldn’t help but snort at the reply, his smile finally returning after their stressful encounter. “Right, sure. You’ve mentioned sword-training with your grandfather- is that your thing? Fantasy, knights?”

Nick leaned back once more, holding out his arms so Leo could begin working on them. “You could say that. I go back a few times a year so we can train together- we do bow training as well, you know, if you want some pointers.”

Leo stuck his tongue out at him in response, then grinned, a small laugh escaping him. “I am pretty bad with a bow, yeah. They’re not my strong suit.”

Nick watched Leo dab his wounds with alcohol, thinking. “Why don’t you use something else? What about a gun?”

Leo audibly inhaled, like he had been waiting for the question, but Nick didn’t see him release the same breath back into the world. He held it for a moment, then sighed, shrugging.

“Just not my thing.”

Nick left it at that, nodding. He wiggled a bit as he attempted to navigate the awkward silence he’d caused.

“Speaking of..Drand-” this probably wasn’t going to help a bit, he thought- “I should…preface a bit about that.”

“Hm?” Leo’s hummed, focusing on his task. Nick cleared his throat, staring at his arms.

“I know I- said…yes, to a date-”

Leo’s head shot up quickly- he tried to force a neutral expression, but the anxiety peaked through, and Nick internally chastised himself.

“H-hey, don’t give me that look! I just-” he paused, sucking on his cheek, “we go on our trips all the time, and we’re going again in November- if the trip goes well…my family is moving back to Drand in December.” He eyed Leo’s expression the whole time, hoping for less of a “kicked puppy” look. “I thought maybe I should warn you. I really…really wanna go on this date, I really like you, a lot-” a lot more than he was willing to admit at this moment, “I just don’t know if that’s- y’know, gonna be a problem.”

Leo stared at him for a moment, lost in thought, then looked back to Nick’s arms, going back to work. It was the longest ten seconds of Nick’s life as he waited for a response.