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“Ah, I believe I have a solution,” Gilbert offers with a sage smile. “Why not let Leonardo stay at the office interim until he can find a new place to live?”Klaus slams his fist into his open palm and nods. “That’s a fine idea.”“What do you say, kiddo?” Steven asks the boy in question, sitting on the sofa looking rather dejected still and idly scratching Sonic behind the ears. “We can pick up what’s left of your things in the morning, okay?”Leo just heaves a sigh and looks up at his boss with a wry smile. “Sure, sounds good.”Standing at attention near the back of the sofa, Zed feels the guilt gnawing at his stomach and longs to see a smile on his friend’s again. He knows deep down that if it weren’t for he and Zapp passing by this morning, Leo may still have a place to live.“Will you two be all right, then?” Klaus asks, always so kind and concerned.“We’ll be fine,” Zed answers for the both of them and claps his hand onto Leo’s shoulder to give it a squeeze for good measure. “There’s plenty to eat and even more to entertain ourselves with.”Steven grabs his coat and casts a worried look over his shoulder, but before Zed or anyone else has a chance to glimpse his change in demeanor he replaces it with the same breezy smile as always. “You two take care of each other. See you in the morning.”“Goodnight,” Leo murmurs and waves to them as they leave.Zed takes a seat beside Leo and starts with a deep inhale. “I’ve wanted to apologize to you all day but between the UN meeting and seeing the ambassador off, I haven’t had a chance.”“Huh?” Leo turns to him with a lopsided frown. “Apologize for what? You didn’t do anything.”Shaking his head, Zed refuses to deflect his responsibility in the matter and explains, “If Zapp and I were more disciplined and better coordinated, you wouldn’t have been involved to the extent that you were today. Now you’re wanted by every mob boss in town and without a home. I’m sorry.”The gravity of the day’s events finally catch up to Leo and his shoulders feel like lead suddenly. He leans forward and presses his hands into his knees, struggling with his tears. Sonic squeaks frantically and hops onto one of his thighs so that he can pat his face.“I-It has been a day, huh?” Leo stammers and draws a shaky breath inward. “After all that running and running and running, I haven’t had time to think through what all happened. Like, I lost everything.”Zed places a comforting hand at Leo’s back.In spite of Leo’s indomitable willpower, the tears start to fall and he grits his teeth to keep himself from sobbing.“You have every right to be upset and I’m not here to invalidate those feelings,” Zed says in a low, soft voice that Leo hasn’t heard in a long time. He rubs Leo’s back and to his surprise, Leo leans in closer to settle against him. “Oh, Leo…”Sniffing and surrendering, Leo turns and pushes his face into Zed’s side.Zed puts his arm around those trembling shoulders and holds him there, offering what solace he can amid the storm of emotions currently raging within his friend. He’s never met a male Huma who feels his emotions quite as strongly as Leo did and he admires him for it. Vulnerability is a sure sign of trust and he holds that honor closest to his heart. Disappointing Leo in such a way has thrown his own psyche into chaos, but he refuses to let it show for want of supporting his friend instead.“Sorry,” Leo finally says at length and pulls away from Zed’s body all snot-nosed and puffy-eyed. “I got your shirt all gross.”“It’s fine. How do you feel now?” asks Zed with his arm still around Leo’s shoulders. “Any better?”Leo laughs in spite of his predicament. “Yeah, actually. I’m glad I have you here with me and I’m not all alone.”Zed smiles himself at last. “We’ll be roommates for a while. It’ll be nice to have someone to spend the evenings with.”“Oh, shit!” Leo gasps with realization. “I totally forgot that you’re up here every night by yourself and I just…Ack, God, I’m such an idiot!"“Hey, hey,” Zed hushes him and shakes his head with a chuckle. “I’m only alone for the night and then I get to see you all the next day, so it’s not so bad.”Leo puts his own feelings of loneliness aside to consider the fact that Libra is literally Zed’s entire world, his family, and that even when he does find a new place to live, he should start having sleepovers at the office to keep his merman friend company more often.Lifting Sonic back to his familiar perch upon his shoulder, Leo wipes his nose with the back of his sleeve and beams up at Zed. “So, uh, what do you do for fun around here, roomie?”Zed grins and fishes a pack of UNO cards out of the coffee table drawer. “I thought you’d never ask.”