The stale, late-afternoon light bled through the single window of Enjin’s quarters, painting the quiet room in shades of amber and grey. Dust danced lazily in the rays of light, the only movement in the otherwise still space. In the center of it all, buried under a rumpled blanket and surrounded by discarded pillows, was Enjin, leader of Team Akuta.

He had told the boss the day before, with a characteristic, easy-going smile, that he’d be taking the day. No trash beasts, no maintenance, no paperwork. Just a complete and total shutdown. And he’d meant it. From the moment the shift bell would have normally called him to duty, he’d been dead to the world, his breathing deep and even, the usual line of his shoulders completely slack with rare, genuine rest.

It wasn’t until the light began to deepen into a proper evening gold, around the time the lower city’s lights would start flickering on, that a change occurred. A deep, shuddering inhale. A low groan muffled by a pillow. One yellow eye, its white pupil bleary with sleep, cracked open. Then the other.

Enjin pushed himself up onto his elbows, his blond hair now put down after a day spent against a mattress. He ran a hand over his face, scratching his jaw and yawning wide enough to make his choker strain. The silence of his room was a heavy, unfamiliar blanket. No distant clang of machinery, no muffled shouts from the training grounds, no crackle of static from his communicator. Just peace.

He stretched, his muscles protesting the long inactivity, the tattoos on his chest and neck shifting with the movement. He felt… empty. In the best way. The constant, low hum of responsibility that usually thrummed through him was quiet, replaced by the simple, animal satisfaction of a need fulfilled. He was just Enjin. A guy who had slept the entire day away.

A soft, almost hesitant knock at his door shattered the perfect silence.

Enjin’s brow furrowed slightly. Everyone knew he was off-duty. The boss had approved it. Who would…?

“It’s open,” he called out, his voice a sleep roughened rasp. He didn’t bother getting up, merely leaning back on his hands as the door creaked open. You stood in the doorway, a member of his own team, looking slightly uncertain. You trailed off, taking in the scene of your leader, hair a mess, dressed in simple sleep pants, surrounded by the evidence of a nap.

A slow, easy smile spread across Enjin’s face, the one that acted as an umbrella in the storm for so many. It was a little softer around the edges than usual, tempered by sleep. “Don’t apologize. What’s up? Boss send you to check if I’d expired in here?”