You coughed in surprise and put down your fork; you reached your hand out for the glass of water sitting in front of you, but Leo already placed it in your grip. You took a hasty gulp.

“Leo,” you said, looking at him incredulously. “Do you realize what you're asking?” Did he? That would mean, out in public, with a... a cyborg boyfriend. Boyfriend?

He just smiled at you. “I think I do. How does a walk in the park sound?” There was an excitement in his eyes that caught you off guard. You blinked at him, twirling the pasta in your plate. No one would see you, right? Well, they wouldn't be able to tell that he wasn't human unless they got close enough to read the numbers on his neck- 037.

"Well... why not?" Since you had bought him to be a boyfriend, it couldn't hurt to at least try. You smiled at him a bit hesitantly, but the glow of his happiness at your response eased your worries. He would never hurt you, you knew; you would just have to explain to him that you couldn't hang around if you saw someone from work. Somehow, you just knew that it would be a big deal if someone found out.

"Great," he said, bringing you out from your thoughtful revere. "I'm looking forward to it." You took a big bite of the pasta in front of you. "And this is great, by the way," you mumbled through a full mouth. It was delicious. You looked around the kitchen again, realizing that you probably needed to go grocery shopping. Maybe you could tack that onto what was going on tomorrow. Leo didn't need to eat, but you still wondered what he was running on. Maybe he would end up eating regardless.

"Thank you. Is there anything else I can do for you? I'm just here all day, so..." He looked around as though a little dissatisfied with the minimal sources of entertainment. You were in the process of swallowing when he turned back to you, eyes fixed on yours with a sudden unexpected intensity; his hand moved outward to gently cup your cheek.

"But I would rather spend the day with you."

Controlling the urge to sputter and choke, you knocked his hand away and downed the rest of the water. "Ya!" You yelled, flustered. "Warn me when you are going to go all romancy on me, I'm not prepared for it out of the blue!"

He smiled, a devious look in his eyes that you weren't sure you liked. The intensity from before moved one notch up, as though the room itself was warming.

"That's what I'm here for," he murmured softly, moving a bit closer to you. You leaned back in your chair, unconsciously attempting escape, but he wouldn't have it; he wound his arm around your waist, gently holding you prisoner. He gazed straight through you with his never-mechanical eyes, the deep warmth of the brown contrasting with the heady emotion they carried as he moved to be only inches from you. "So you won't get a warning."

He lunged the last inch froward, pressing his lips to your quickly before retreating. He winked, his expression hardly changing otherwise, though now he was softer. You sat in shock for a moment before leaning you head in your hands. That morning's events were brought back with a crisp memory; clearly, he hadn't forgotten.

"Leo, that's hardly fair."

He let out a soft chuckle. "I never said I would be fair. And besides, you won't think about it unless I prompt you. Correct?"

The sparkle hadn't left his eyes yet.

You wanted to let out a small voice of protest to point out the fact that you had hardly gotten any work done because of him, but you thought better of it and kept your mouth tight shut. The last thing you wanted was him to get a big head about how much you needed him. You shook your head and turned back to your pasta with heated cheeks.

When you finished, you stood to put the dish in the sink, deciding you would wash it later. It was just sauce, after all. You rinsed it before turning towards your bedroom.

“Leo, I'm going to go jump in the shower, but if you want to pick out a movie after we can--”

“What happened to your knee?”

Leo was staring at your knees with such concern that you glanced down, concerned that you dropped a knife on yourself without noticing or something equally as stupid. But no, there was no pool of blood.

“My knees are fine, what are you talking about?”

“Here,” Leo jumped up from where he was sitting and kneeled in front of you, eye level with your legs. His hands were raised, barely touching you, and you looked down again to try to figure out what he was panicking about. You noticed the scrape from when you stumbled on the stairs earlier in your rush to get home, but that was it... though that was where his hands were hovering.

“Oh, it's nothing, I just tripped a little on the sta-”

You choked out a little sound of surprise as Leo stood and wrapped his arms around your waist, throwing you over his shoulder and hauling you to the bathroom where he placed you gently on the counter. He went through the cabinets like a pro while you gathered your breath, pulling out bandaids and disinfectant.

“Leo,” you said, a little touched and a little amused, “it's really nothing, it hardly even hurts. Actually, why do you know your way around my cabinets so well?” You were distracted a bit by the way his strong hands grasped at the cabinet doors.

“But what if it gets infected?” He questioned, pouring the disinfectant onto a stray cotton ball. “What if it leaves a scar?” He seemed on the verge of panic; before you could think, your hand went out to cup his cheek gently.

“I'm seriously fine, Leo.” He froze beneath your touch. The confident, cocky Leo was nowhere to be seen in the face of his concern for you. You hopped down off the counter. “But I'll put a bandaid on for you, if it'll make you feel better.”

Slowly, he leaned over and put the cotton ball in the trash and placed the bottle of disinfectant on the counter. “It would,” he murmured, voice low and sweet. He picked up the bandaid and kneeled in front of you once again, carefully peeling it from the wrapping and placing it over the small scrap. He looked up at you, fingers still at the edges of the bandage and warming your skin.

“Does it hurt?”

He looked so sweet, so earnest, that you couldn't help but bit your lip to hold back the growing smile. “Not at all,” you responded, reaching out to mess up his hair. He stood quickly, putting it back into place once he was taller than you again.

“Good.”