The next morning Daisy felt like death warmed over even with all of her precautions. Her head was splitting. What she wouldn't do for some Tylenol right now!

Leo frowned when he saw her. "…you look terrible. Are you really going to be able to make it into work today?"

She snorted before wincing as another wave of pain hit her head. "No but I still have to go over and tell them I won't be able to make it to be polite. I'm not looking forward to it since I can hardly see straight."

"I'll do it. You stay here and take it easy. If I pop by headquarters quickly to let them know where I'm going they won't give me a hard time for it. Why don't you eat something and then go back to bed? I can come check on you on my lunch break."

Ah, he was an angel! Daisy stumbled forward to hug him tightly. "Thank you. Really."

"Any time," Leo replied with a kiss to the top of her head.

He had her lie down on the couch while he buttered some bread for her, watched her eat it, then sent her back upstairs with firm instructions not to overdo it and to get some rest. No one had ever taken care of her like this and she was stupidly tempted to cry again.

How many times had she suffered in silence when she didn't feel well? Yet he immediately knew something was off and did whatever he could to fix it.

Daisy curled up under several blankets feeling very loved. She closed her eyes and did her best to go back to sleep but drifted in and out of consciousness for the next several hours until she got hungry again and went downstairs to get herself a snack. She was in the middle of eating it when Leo came home to check on her as promised.

"Are you feeling any better?" he asked seriously.

She smiled at him. "Much. My headache is almost completely gone now. Thanks for covering things for me at the flower shop."

"You're welcome. Miette and Nia both send their well wishes. I told them you should be back tomorrow."

Leo sat down across from her at the table after grabbing some food of his own and began eating, completely nonchalant. He wasn't acting awkwardly about having to take care of her this morning or last night at all.

Daisy appreciated that. She was still terribly embarrassed so it was for the best that he was acting like nothing weird had happened. He was usually pretty good about reading a room.

He had never been the type to push things, likely because he was keeping secrets himself. They were kindred spirits in that way. Content to let the other person do their own thing as long as it wasn't self-destructive. Though come to think of it, he knew much more of her secrets than she did his now.

It was her fault for accidentally saying the wrong thing yesterday, which was funny because that was how this whole thing started. Leo likely never would have told her about his fire magic if not for the fact that he slipped up thinking she already knew about it.

She wasn't going to ask though. He would tell her if he wanted to.

What Daisy could ask was, "How was work so far today?"

Leo swallowed before answering with a sigh. "The same as any other day. I hate waiting for news. At last report all of the Silver Wolves are still alive but I've lost some people I fought with back in Aveleen."

She was horrified. He hadn't said anything about that before! "I'm so sorry, Leo! I didn't know."

"How could you if I didn't say anything? Don't worry about it. Conrad promised he would bring all of his squad back and I believe he'll do his best. What I hate is waiting around doing nothing while my people are fighting pointlessly."

Daisy remembered what he said before about thinking countries should mind their own business. That general mindset was likely to make him think any war was pointless.

She reached her hand across the table to clasp it in his. "I'm sorry you have to deal with that. Is there anything I can do?"

Leo cracked a smile. "You're already doing it."

Of course she was. That was exactly the sort of answer she had come to expect from him about things like this. At the very least she could try to keep him extra distracted when he was done with work. They could play cards or something.

When he finished eating he caressed her face before pecking her sweetly on the lips. "I have to go back now but I'll see you tonight."

Daisy's cheeks turned pink and she nodded. "See you."

How could he be so calm about this? Wasn't he the one who had no romantic experience while she had dated before? Though she supposed he had always been the calm type. She was the more excitable one between the two of them.

Leo could be hard to read sometimes. Occasionally, she could see hints of his true feelings about things lurking in the back of his eyes but for the most part he carried on as if things were fine even when the world was falling apart. He had always been like that.

He was acting like all of this romance stuff was perfectly normal and she had no way to know what he was really thinking. Was he happy about the turn of events? Or was he still dealing with how fake it all felt?

Daisy wished she knew. She also wished she had something to do right now since she was feeling better so she didn't continue overthinking.

She cleaned up the remains of their lunch before meticulously going through the entire house looking for chores to do. She dusted, straightened, did laundry, and otherwise put things to rights.

She didn't want to be intrusive or anything but she had run out of things to clean. She had gone into Leo's room before in order to get dirty clothes from the hamper but never stayed in there long because she felt like that would be an invasion of his privacy. Things were looking a bit dusty though so she got to work on that as well.

His room was completely minimalist. The wallpaper was the same generic kind found in most of the house and he had only the furniture he needed in there. His desk was tidy (albeit dusty) and the only things on it were an ink pot, a stack of parchment, and a quill.

The only personal item in the room that she could see at all was the quilt she had sent him as a birthday present a few years ago on the bed. She hadn't expected a nineteen-year-old's bed to be made so neatly but supposed he must have picked that up in the military. She hadn't made her bed most mornings at that age.

If Daisy was being perfectly honest with herself, Leo was very mature for a boy his age. He hadn't been very childish most of the time they had been together but that was likely because of whatever he had lived through before he came to her. Then he went to war.

Somehow he had managed to retain his lighter side—which she was grateful for—but he was a very serious kid. Serious, responsible, and stubborn.

There was no denying that. When Leo wanted something he wouldn't budge no matter what. Particularly when it came to her. He had dug his heels in and here they were. No one had ever fought for her like that before.

He was a special case in a variety of ways. He was unpredictable and frequently did things she didn't expect when it came to emotions. She honestly didn't know what to do with him more than half the time lately. Even dealing with him as a guarded twelve-year-old had been easier than this.

Daisy wouldn't trade him for the world though. She might not be in love with him but he was still her best friend. Her family. The one real connection she had.

She really needed to make more friends. Since she wasn't around anyone who had known the real Veronica May anymore it should be easier. She could be herself aside from using a fake name.

Maybe she should spend more time with Nia. The problem was that she spent most of her workday in the greenhouse while her coworker manned the shop and dealt with the floral arrangements. They passed each other occasionally but that was the extent of it.

She knew the girl was busy going on dates most days after she got off work so it wasn't likely she would want to hang out. Besides, there was Leo to contend with. That would cut into the only time during the work week that she was able to see him.

Daisy wasn't sure what she was supposed to do. How did you even make friends? She had always been terrible at it!