The tight grip Colonnello held her in afterwards, same as the way all of the arcobalenos lingered in the room were mildly uncomfortable to Leilani.

Still she didn't protest. Something in her knew they needed this. No matter how the way all of their gazes were solely focused on her and the way Colonnellos head was buried in her shoulders, inhaling her scent was making her limbs tingle, she would hold still.

It didn't matter that she was calm, that it was still odd… but it had already happened. All of it had happened ages ago, decades. It didn't leave her unaffected but… it was different. It was what it was. It was her past. It was the things she had done, that she had needed to do and it had been her reality.

Still she didn't protest at their behaviour. She instinctively knew they needed it.

If Verde had the need to plan her meals to the last detail, if Reborn had to always hover at her side, if Colonnello had to constantly keep physical contact with her, if Lal had to keep on scanning her body and scars, if Fon had to constantly make her her favourite teas and if Viper had to write down anything about the situation and refrained from using their illusions around her for the next days then… It was okay.

It was still more than odd to Leilani, more than just unfamiliar. She has usually been confronted with awe, congratulations, jealousy or apologise afterwards.

Not with… worry.

It was strange and it was weird and hard to get used to.

Which maybe was the reason why she sneaked out in the middle of the night a week after the instance to head to her motorcycle. Colonnello had been put into a deeper sleep with her own rainflames, the soldier had awoken everytime when she had just moved or had gone to the toilet for the past nights.

She was tinkering on her motorcycle, just concentrating on something else and trying to put her magic into it.

She knew motorcycles could fly after all. Well at least magical ones and she knew her godfather had done the enchantments himself.

She was familiar with motorcycles, she had done her own maintenance for years. She took hours on the job. getting fully lost in it and finally able to shut down her surroundings. It was a much needed clam.

She had never been one that could stand constant attention like this. It was too… abstract for her to grasp. She could deal with attention if she was putting herself on the spot with her pranks or her stunts but… out of worry… it was… it was too strange for her taste. Too unfamiliar and too suffocating.

She wasn't the one who people had to worry about. She was the one who was sent into these dangerous situations to fix them.

All of this made her helpless. She knew that she had to indulge them but… she was struggling way too hard with it. Why was she needed for this? What was it that she had to do to get it back to normal?

She felt braindead, completely clueless what to do. She wasn't surrounded by a bunch of schoolkids that needed her guidance but… with a bunch of adults, way older than her that… needed her to be… alive? She was alive. She was doing well… What was all of this about? What was there even to worry about? She was together with them and she wasn't heading for another one of her suicide missions.

She hadn't done anything spectacular in the last week. She had really laid down, not done anything much besides gaming.

Verde had pushed so much food on her plate and… Reborns' gaze had almost been scary. It was just so focused on her and… she was struggling with it.

While they apparently had no idea how to deal with her past, she had problems dealing with their behaviour. How could she make them stop? Was it even right for her to demand them to stop? She had no clue. No clue at all.

She sighed as she anchored another bit of her skyflames in the metal she currently held in her hands.

This was all too complicated for her. She didn't want to complain. In theory she had always wanted people to worry about her but still… It was too strange for her. She wasn't used to it. Had never gotten used to it and… they were competent. To be honest she had expected Fon to want to fight a basilisk himself or that Reborn would criticise her for her approach. That he naturally knew better and that she had done a terrible performance… that Verde had maybe wanted to ask more about it… there were so many outcomes she had considered but instead she had these bunch of adults, that to be honest aside from her magic were way more competent than her and they were… struggling.

She didn't know how to handle it. How to deal with it. How do you calm someone like that down?

She was so utterly clueless it hurt.

Colonnello meanwhile had woken up, the missing presence next to him, the coldspot next to him left his heart racing and he was out of the bed before he could even blink. The bathroom was empty, same as the kitchen and without even bothering with shoes or a jacket he ran outside.

Leilani actually dropped her screwdriver the moment the door got thrown open. Her eyes falling on her panicked rain guardian "morning." she mumbled.

"Skull.. I.. you weren't there."

She bit her lip, conflicted "Well i was out here."

"I was worried." he took a deep breath, his eyes wandering over her form to check if she was alright.

She almost flinched at those words "You don't have to be worried about me."

"But…."

"but nothing."

"Skull…"

She got up on her feet "I'm completely alright. I have been for years. I'm here and I'm fine, Nello. What you saw has been decades ago. The last was when I was 14.. I'm 50 now, Nello. It has been ages. I'm alright."

He ruffled through his hair "I can't help it. It's just… It has been a lot and I just… can't help it. I need to know that you're okay, which is just… hard if you're not next to me."

"But I'm right here"

"I know but… it's just.."

"No, you misunderstood." She stepped towards him, her hand gently placed on his chest "I'm right here, aren't I? I exist in here as well. The bond is there, it won't go away. I'm always with you and you will alway know If I'm still there. no matter where I go or what I do. I always exist in there."

He sighed, his eyes completely focused on her own as he gently placed his hand over hers "You're right."

"I'm not disappearing. I'm not hurt. I'm fine, Nello."

"I… know."

"I would come to you if I'm struggling."

He bit his lips "It's just hard."

"Then listen to the bond. I'm fine. As long as the bond is there you will know that I'm fine."

He sighed again as he pulled her into his arms "I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry but…" she leaned her forehead against his chest.

"But you're getting restless?" he gently let his hands wander through her mess of curls.

"It's hard to deal with… this. Not with my past but with you all being so… intense."

"We're worried."

She raised her head "But you don't have to. I'm fine with it. I'm not breaking down or anything. Never have and never will. It's just a part of my past. Something I had to do. it might seem.. strange but… it was what I had to do. I don't regret one bit of it or… anything like that. It's something I did and that's all to it."

"Can't you understand that it's… hard?"

She chewed on her lips "I… Nello… I'm not the person one needs to worry about. It's… strange."

He crouched down, his hands on her cheeks "We maybe don't need to but.." he leaned his forehead against hers "But we care for you and… when one person cares deeply for another they worry."

Their nose were touching and Leilani couldn't stop her heart from fluttering "I… it's.. it's weird."

He closed his eyes for a second before lifting his head slightly to place a kiss on her forehead "How about a compromise? i try to curb it down and you try to get used to it a little?"

"what's with the rest?" she bit on her lip, leaning more into his gentle touch.

"They bother you more?"

"More than you."

"I talk to them, kora."

"Promise?"

He hummed, placing another kiss on her nose "Yeah."

She blushed slightly, before burying her face in his neck to hide it. She didn't quite know why she was embarrassed about it.

He chuckled slightly, letting his arms surround her as he pulled her even closer "Have you even slept?"

"...two hours."

"Breakfast and napping then?"

She hummed as an answer, her own arms holding onto him while he carried her back inside.