As Leo sat in the small kitchen at Nico's apartment bandaging his hand, Nico was by the stove making some tea and some muffins. How that guy knew how to cook like a chef was mystery to Leo, and how he had found him was a mystery to Leo too. Come to think of it…

"You aren't here to kidnap me are you?" he asked lightly but there was an edge under his voice. Nico didn't look up from the stove and he said.

"I am not a rapist. I just saw you walking in the middle of the street with a duck in your hand and I thought that perhaps you needed to clear your head."

"So you're not going to ask me to tell you what happened?" asked Leo doubtfully.

"Tell if you want. I'll listen and try to give advice. If you don't want to tell I won't ask what happened but I am going to ask you, how to you feel?"

"I…" Leo paused and considered a good word but seeing there was none he said. "I don't really know how I'm feeling."

"Ah." Was all Nico said in a very long time. Leo stared at the other boy meanwhile, analyzing his clothes. He was wearing a black shirt, with worn dark blue jeans, a necklace with a half cut charm, that Leo recognized as a parabatai charm, a black leather jacket that was perfectly fit and combat boots. Leo had to admit that the guy was pretty hot but then again, there many hot guys in Sweet Amoris. If Leo had known this before he would have come here before but… it was in London where he had really wanted to study, coming to Sweet Amoris had been his second option. Unlike Rosaline who had received a full scholarship in the University (as she called it) of Sweet Amoris and seemed satisfied by it.

Leo had a full scholarship too, but he wasn't completely satisfied with the result and he had to say that frankly, he would have preferred going to his first option university but, not everything had been too bad after all. He had had a special course in the university of his choice during the summer and even had gotten a diploma there which was a relief. He was still working to go to his university off first choice.

His love life? Well…that was a tad bit more complicated. He was a playboy. He wouldn't deny that, (in fact he was proud of the fact) he didn't like being rejected because…shit he hadn't ever been rejected in his life. It wasn't pleasant situation.

"Nico have you ever been rejected?" Leo blurted out. Nico turned to him with an eyebrow raised.

"Who hasn't?" he asked. Leo looked down to his shoes embarrassed by the obvious question.

"But yo answer the question, yes. I have been rejected a lot. Especially in my teenage years." Leo snorted. In his teenage years he was already….

"It hurt in the moment but you know, after some time I slowly forgot about it and moved on."

"Really?" Leo asked mystified.

"No, I went home threw myself on my bed, threw tantrums for a week, ate a lot of ice-cream, watched chick flicks and then felt better." Leo started laughing and Nico sat down opposite from him on the table of his little apartment and set down two coffee mugs. When Leo stopped laughing and looked up at Nico he was smiling.

"Better?" he asked taking a sip of his mug.

"Not really."

"Well, I tried." Said Nico with a half-smile.

"You're as bad as rose." Nico snorted.

"Nobody is as bad as Rose when it comes to comforting."

"Can't agree more."

"About Rose, I need your help." Leo raised his eyebrows in inquiry. "She summated a novel to a publishing company that I helped her edit, and it got accepted you see but she doesn't know it yet, I told the guy of the publishing company to tell her next Friday cause' I want to plan something to celebrate."

"And what would my abilities be required for?" asked Leo unmoved. Nico sighed.

"I need you to make her a party outfit." Leo eyebrows went to his hairline.

"And you think she'll wear it?" nico smiled mysteriously.

"She won't really mind." if she without people of her university. added Nico silently. Leo looked at him doubtfully.

"What kind of party would we be talking about?"

"A party in which basically, I want to get her to…loosen up."

"Ah." Leo pondered his decision for moment. "You know I'll make something sexy, right?"

"The idea is for the outfit to be sexy." Said Nico as if stating the obvious.

"And I suppose this has nothing to do with the fact that you want to have easy access to get your hands on her?" Nico raised an eyebrow.

"I don't want to get my hands on Rosaline, she's my frined."

That's what he said. Though Leo. Out loud though,

"You'll have to pay me though, my services are not for free."

"I'll pay as much as you need. I just want the complete outfit, it has to be sexy but it can't be slutty."

"With elegance?" in leo's mind a design started to take place, it was a simple yet…

"No, not elegant. I mean sexy but not way too much." That made Leo's idea drop like 50 foot fall from the 10th floor of his building.

"Oh." Was all leo said for a moment before pursing his lips and then freeing them. "I'll see what I can do." Nico leaned back on his chair and exhaled air.

"Glad to make business with you."

Leo took a gulp from his coffee which was a mistake because it was still hot and he burned his tongue. He gagged, coughed and then started cursing as Nico in front of him fought the urge to laugh out loud.

When Leo got back home he wasn't surprised to see Rosaline sitting cross legged by the chair with papers laid everywhere around the table. She was supporting her head with her hand, elbow on the table, her eyes looking up at the wall as if there was something in there that no one else could see. Leo thought that she looked like a typical model striking a pose for an invisible camera.

"Yo." Was all he said and Rosie's head turned on him. She frowned for a moment, blinked and then recognition lit her eyes and her lips twitched as if her habit was smiling at people but she was fighting it.

"You're quite late, dinner is in the kitchen."

"Does no one say hello, how are you anymore?" Rosaline shrugged.

"People are starting to lose their manners."

"Not that I can blame them. With people like you anyone would want to lose their manners." Rosie raised an eyebrow and looked at him coldly. Then she bent her head to her papers and became absorbed in them again. Leo sighed her really wanted a fight right now and it was easy to tweak Rosie bur she didn't seem to be in the mood today.

He padded to the kitchen and sighed when he saw Rosie's Veggie Pizza. A combination he considered heavenly, spinach, boiled egg, onion, tomato, oregano and pizza crust. Simple, No junk food, healthy pizza which was equals to no empty calories. One thing that Leo hated that people assumed was that men didn't have issues with their bodies. The thing was that most men did. If they didn't then…they were lucky or stupid. As a hot guy himself Leo did his best to look good, his 100% always. Because good appearance and good looks, like a second language and good manners opened doors. And Leo needed those doors if he wanted to get out his middle low class economical situation and buy his mom the house she wanted so much. It was Leo's dream to make that dream true because… well, she was his mom. And she had always accepted him, she never cared if Leo was bisexual, or that he was an overconfident bastard, or that he liked to play pranks. If he had good manners, if his pranks were not life threatening and was a good person his mom would always love him.

And he loved his mommy a lot. He once tried to tattoo her name and heart over his bicep when he was 14 but when her mom discovered him at the tattoo parlor she had forbidden him to get a tattoo in her honor. She had told him that those tattoo's made him look like he was momma's boy. When Leo had replied her that he was a momma's boy her mother had smiled and she told him.

"Tattoo's are art they symbolize who you are not what others are in your eyes."

There was a ding as the microwave indicated that his pizza was warm and ready for his growling stomach to digest. He took his plate and went to the living room sitting down to eat. He did it partly because he wanted to have company and partly because he needed to observe Rosaline for a few days and see what type of outfit he should design for her.

Rosaline was of course, utterly oblivious of all this.