It was past noon when Stella opened her eyes, stretching in bed, soaked in the sun's warm embeace. She looked around, blinking wildly due to sun and confusion by her surroundings before she heard a voice.

"Awake already, signorina?"

Leonardo teased and was met with Stella's just-woken-up attitude

"Don't test me, maestro" she spat out "Wit isn't going to do you good until I'm properly awake"

Flinging his arms up in defense, maestro turned back to his notebook and scribbled some more. This gave Stella time to snoop around his workshop after she had fully woken up. She was amazed by the greyish skeleton he had on his table, but disgusted with the  bloated corpse right next to it.

"Why do you have a dead body in your workshop?"

"Oh, that..." Leo turned around "uhm, for scientific purposes"

Stella squinted at him, his eyes blooshot and visible dark circles under them.

"How long has it been since you last slept, Leonardo?"

"Hmm? Uuh, two days? About 38 hours, I believe"

Before Stella could speak he continued "No, no, I start hallucinating after 40 hours. I lose conscience at, uh, at around 44, but eventually wake up." He paused "My record so far is, about, uh, 50, 50 hours without sleep, give or take"

"Give or take? What were the consequnces, maestro?" Stella walked over to him and examined his face.

His eyes were glassy and hollow, like he had the fever. The artista's raven hair was even messier than usual, spiked in every direction and rough, from the pulling and scratching, Stella thought. She offered him a gentle look.

Looking dead into her eyes the genius replied "I slept the next two days"

He groaned and placed his head between his hands, resting on the table. He was shaking from frustration before Stella asked what was wrong.

"This doesn't make any fucking sense!"

Leonardo whipped the papers to the side and growled. Stella took a step or two back, leaving the pained artist alone, knowing full well to avoid the noise. He looked frantically from his stencils to his canvases while he paced the room. She heard indistinct mumbles come off his chapped lips but gave no thought to the matter. Her eyes were glued at a woman on the painting. It took a minute for him to notice.

"Oh fuck me..." Leonardo gasped in defeat, pulling at his messy hair before loosening his arms beside him

Stella whispered "Who is she?"

"Lucrezia..."

"She's beautiful..."

Stella observed the precise motions of the pencil, admiring the details in the woman's hair, skin texture. She noticed a childlike sketch of her gown and turned to Leonardo, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Why are there no details on her dress?"

Da Vinci was as confused as she was. He was expecting an outburst of jealousy or hurt ego from Stella.

"You, signorina, hold many secrets" he exhaled, pointing at Stella, his eyes rolling into his skull.

"Maestro!" Stella called out to the now unconscious Leonardo.

A loud thud of his kneecaps against the wooden floor pulled Stella into action. She rushed to keep his head from hitting the floor and managed at the last second. Even his fall was gracious and dramatic, as she expected.

"Oh, my dramatic, arrogant maestro" she lulled, stroking his hair "What are you doing to yourself?"

When Leonardo opened his eyes up again, it was a new morning with soft sunlight entering the complex and the sound of birds chirping on the roof. Wrapped in his sheets only, his shirt nowhere in sight, he sat up abruptly.

"What happened?"

"You dropped dead and I gave you a kiss of life" Stella chuckled

"You, you, can't be serious..." he uncovered himself "Oh, good, I have some clothes on"

"Of course you do, I wouldn't leave you undressed after finishing you" she chuckled again

Leonardo grew suspicious and started thinking back on last night.

"What day is it?"

"I believe it's a Monday? Why?"

He shook his head and started to think. Scrolling through his memory, the last one was them being at the Barking Dog. On Saturday evening. He asked in a low voice:

"How long have I been asleep, Stella?"

"A day and a half, maestro. What's wrong?"

"Have I- have you... done anything with, me, that would ruin your virtue?"

She gasped at the question, covering her mouth sweetly and Leonardo grew more worried. He fumbled out of his bed and tiptoed over to her.

"Answer me" He demanded.

With a laugh Stella replied "Maestro, if I wanted to bed you, I would make sure you were conscious for it"

"Good. Me too." He exhaled loudly "Don't try though. I am a man incapable of love. And-and, you... deserve better than that."

She smiled and stroked the stubble on his cheeks "I came to learn, not fuck"

His eyes widened at her straightforward answer and the way she ripped out of his embrace. A strong girl, he thought to himself. A lightweight laughter escaped his chest, resonating through his studies.

"What's going on,  Leo?"

An older man burst into the artist's workshop.

"Andrea!" He beamed and ran over to the man "Oh, it was nothing, I'm fine"

He chuckled at his lovely maestro before the shorter man warned him

"You keep this girl, Leo, you almost lost it all this time"

"What do you mean?"

The half naked man moved away from his teacher and tilted his head, eyebrows snapped together.

"If she hadn't been here, you would've cracked open that thick skull of yours"

Andrea's smile grew wider as tapped his knuckles ontop of Leo's head, laughing with his student. Leonardo joined in and pulled Verocchio back into his arms.

"I promise" he whispered before the smiling man patted his back.

"I'll leave you to it then" Verocchio nodded his head and went his way again.

Still chuckling, Leonardo rubbed his left palm, walking back to Stella. She seemed amused and happy, which took the artista by surprise.

"You've met Andrea?"

"The lovely Verocchio?" Stella asked "Months ago, maestro"

"How come he never told me?"

"I wanted to come to you for my skills, not my connections, signor Da Vinci"

Slowly processing her words, Leonardo paced his room once more. Stella was distracted by the perfection of Leonardo's muscles and wondered how he managed them. Clearing her throat as a sign to put on clothes, quick witted painter caught on.

"Clothes, Leonardo, perhaps? Any clothes?"

He giggled at her seeing her blush a crimson colour and skipped over to the pile of clothes by his bed. He picked up a low cut, olive green shirt he almost always wore. To Stella it almost seemed it was a uniform of some sort.

Not being able to bite her tongue anymore, she asked the man

"How do you keep so fit and agile?"

"Excuse me?"

"How do you keep your body looking so good?"

With a chuckle he replied "No meat, fencing and a lot of running from the militia"

"You fence?"

Stella couldn't hide her amusement and Leonardo felt good being the subject of the admiration.

"From time to time" he replied shortly

"Could you teach me some day?" Stella's face lit up as she spoke

With a small chuckle the swordsman replied "Some day, signorina, you will learn all my secrets"

"Good. But we should get going, there are more people worried about you"

"Oh, shit, Zo and Nico..."

"And Vanessa, at the Barking Dog, yes"

It was Stella's turn to giggle at the maestro and lead him outside, skipping as he stumbled behind her. The two cheerfully made their way to the Barking Dog, blasting the door open, as had become a habit of Leonardo's to do so.

Stella plopped down beside Nico and smiled to her friends before Leonardo was in sight.

"What'd he do this time?" Zo didn't try to hide his annoyance 

"Sleep deprivation or malnurishment?" Nico chimed in with a smile

"Hadn't slept for 38 hours, he said?" Stella replied "And then almost kissed the floor"

"Tell it like was, signorina, not how you saw it" Leo spoke before sipping his ale

Zoroaster and Nico both hugged the rugged man before they all sat down at the table. Vanessa came and served the company a round of ale. Stella could hold her drinks down, no doubt, but ale wasn't her favourite one.

"What made you lose so much sleep now, Leo? Fun or designs?" Zo teased

"Who ever said designs couldn't be fun?"

"You've had better days, my friend" a friendly pat on the back was the curly haired foreigner's reply

"Don't worry, maestro, you'll finish the design soon enough" the blond boy assured him

"Thank you, friend"

Leonardo thanked him and shook his hand, pulling him in for a quick hug. It had earned him secret glares from everyone else at the table before Vanessa stood up, clearing her throat and walking back to the bar.

They made some more small talk before another group of people blew the door open. The air had suddenly cleared from heavy scents of low quality tobacco and cheap liquor. Every head in the confined brothel turned towards the door.