Your head snapped up from where you had zoned out and to your horror and surprise, you realize that was the case. You felt like running out into the hallway and telling N that you could not look after Leo but the idea of disappointing your superior did not sit well with you.

"Yes..." you cleared your throat, turning to look at the dark haired man in his bed connected to an IV drip. "I guess we are."

The air turned awkward as if it were unusual for the pair of you to be left in each others company. Then again, you were not used to seeing your boss in this weakened state. You racked your brain for something to say and you felt lucky it did not take half as much time as you thought it would.

You walk over to the table where you had abandoned your things in haste. "I'm sure you must be ravenous after today's events." you asked conversationally, removing one takeaway carton of still hot abalone porridge and a spoon.

Your boss made a sound signifying you were correct in your assumptions. Moving to seat yourself on his bed, you open the carton to spoon out a bite of the delicious food.

"I can do it myself." Leo huffed just as you expected.

"You're still recovering." you countered, avoiding using the word 'weak'. "And I don't want you to mess with your IV drip."

Staring each other down for a few moments, he nods and you bring the spoon to his lips, watching closely at how he savored his food.

You continue on in silence, ensuring the amount of food you ladled on to the spoon would satisfy him but at the same time not cause him to became nauseous at the speed he ate. So focused on the job were you, that you were startled when you see Leo reach out his hand to wipe your cheek.

"You were worried." he stated simply, not offended or embarrassed by your tears. He manoeuvres himself to lean against his headboard; now sitting up. "I'm fine. I promise." his soft voice continued and it was not lost on you that he had dropped his formal speech.

You felt a roller coaster of emotions. Were you really worried about him? If you were not, why was it that you shed tears? It was unlike you to be so unprofessional, even in the deepest of undercover missions. It was an act, you decide. You unconsciously did it to make it look like you were the perfect little soldier. Yes, that was it.

In any event, you nod your head, indicating you trusted his words.

"You should eat. You'll need the energy." Leo joked dryly, leaning forward to reclaim his lunch.

You roll your eyes and grab the other carton from the table and resume your position on the side of his bed. You munch thoughtfully before something occurs to you.

"I wonder why no-one's called yet?" you asked, half to yourself and half to your companion.

You do not miss the sly smile tugging at his lips. "They know you'll do a better job than them. They're right."

Your first reaction was to scoff. If only they knew. "I hope so." is what you reply with instead.

A somewhat comfortable silence fell between the two of you as you ate lunch and continued through to you doling out the  medication that Dr Wang had prescribed.

"Do you think we're as close as the others?" Leo asked a few minutes later and you knew it was the medication speaking. Personal talks hardly happened between the two of you. When he received no reply, he continued. "We're not like Ken and Sunny who enjoy being cute or Ravi and Hyejoo who enjoy composing or even Hyuk and Seohyun who play pranks on each other." the dark haired man pondered as he stared at the ceiling, looking as though it was something that bothered him.

You were momentarily taken aback at his reasoning. Moreover it bothered you that the answer to that question bothered him. You spoke before you could stop yourself. You leaned forward in the chair you occupied, causing Leo to look at you, "That's because we aren't like them. I'm sure one of the factors was picking someone who had something in common with you. We don't mind...just being together. Whether it's working or eating, it doesn't matter." you could not display the horror on your face at what left your mouth. This was not part of the plan.

"You know me well." he simply said as if you had given him the most satisfactory answer he could hope for. "is that how you knew where I was?"

You nodded, not knowing what else to do. "It's not like you to be late and when I asked where you where, Hyuk said something about thinking you were with me. The only answer I could think of was to start where I had last seen you."

"Hmm.." he responded, mulling over something you must have said before turning his back to you. "I should've listened to you." the proud man mumbled, referring to the dispute that occurred between the two of you over his declining health a week before.

You stare longer at the sleeping figure than you ought to before quickly reaching for your smartphone to busy yourself.

You counted yourself lucky that you had acclimatized to being in the Captain's quarters for your one day care had extended - not that you could blame anyone else but yourself of course. N kindly offered to take over the duties from you especially since the influenza had now developed to coughing and sneezing. Convincing yourself that it was because Leo would be lonely and might give you information on Conception, you insisted that you did not mind taking care of him.

Breakfast, lunch, dinner and pretty much whatever free time you had was spent in his room, cautiously watching over him for any sign of complications that may arise. You do not think about the fact that work barely comes up when you talk - nor do you find yourself changing the subject. Though Leo - Captain Jung (you needed to keep it professional you internally scolded yourself)- was well-known for being shy and reserved, when you came to know him better, you found he spoke a comfortable amount. Enough that it was sociable but not to the point where you wished he had laryngitis instead.

You were instructed by your superiors not to discuss work with your boss - although you were authorised to complete your work in his presence. Though he often asked you about work, as well as the girls on your team that you now oversaw,to the point where you would give away one or two things, he was mostly occupied by his weakened immune system that caused him distress and fatigue.

You laid on the couch that had somehow became uniquely yours one afternoon as throughly exhausted as Leo was. Knowing he was sleeping, you felt free to relax as you pondered the strange situation that arose. Earlier that day, the VIXX members had come to visit as they usually did at the end of the day or one by one when they had time. You worked quietly as they chatted and laughed, making sure not to miss out on anything that may have been of importance to you.

It must have been an hour or two later when you heard the commotion of Leo chasing his friends out complaining that he was now exhausted from all of their talking. While they and dramatically acted at being kicked out, you did not miss the knowing eyes falling on you as they filtered out of the room. Which brought you to today. You were in Leo's company for more than ten hours a day, sometimes even longer depending on your schedule, and not once did he complain about your presence. In fact, there were times where he would request you comeback at a certain time and yet, with his friends...two hours was all he could muster?
If he really was exhausted by having company...what made you different? You do not think any further and instead allow your mind to blank for a well deserved sleep.

"She wakes." you hear a soft, husky voice announce dryly. "And here I thought you'd be sleeping the whole day." Leo quipped from his bed.

Feeling groggy but nevertheless shocked, you quickly sit up, smoothing down and hair frantically. It was only when your eyes focussed that you discovered Leo surrounded by a stack of documents and a laptop - no, your laptop- on his lap, casually carrying on with whatever he was busy with before you woke up. 

You glared with such severity that it caused your boss to look back at you, totally nonplussed by your disastisfaction with him. "You're not supposed to be working." you stated firmly.

Seeming to be energized by your negative reaction, Leo smirked as he went on typing. "Hmm...you really should be more organized with your documents (F/n), throwing them all in one folder really isn't condusive. I never took you for the organized chaos type." he teased and you wonder if he wished to move himself from the infirmary to the morgue.

"Taking over an entire group of females plus someone else's work because he couldn't stop himself from competing in some silly competition doesn't exactly allow me to be organized now does it?" you bit back, not sure if this was a joke or not. When did banter become a thing?

"Order dinner." Leo replied, distracted. "It's going to take a while to finish these."

Well it looks like he was recovered.

A/N: hehe...long time no see. I didn't forget about this story. Quite the opposite. I had no idea where I was going because the last chapter was wholly unexpected. I hope this is a nice surprise anyway! I have to be honest...I'm so attached to this story that I kind of don't want to end it just yet. If you have an idea of what you'd like to see, you can leave an idea in the comments. I have to say, I'm quite satisfied with how the characters are writing themselves. Thank you for reading! Words: 1,644