"Nice to meet you," Harper said, proving that yes she can behave sometimes. Desmond just nodded to the inventor.

"It's good to know that Ezio doesn't spend most of his time sitting up there brooding," Leo said, shooting his friend a bit of a teasing grin.

Ezio sent him a Look in return, and then rolled his eyes.

Shea grinned a bit. Oh yes, they were very good friends. At the very least.

"So, what brings you to Florence?" Leo asked, looking between the three.

"Just helping restore the Order," Harper said with a shrug. "Figured he could use all the help he could get."

Leo actually grinned at that. "Sounds like you'll be here for a while then. Perhaps you can get it through his thick skull that people are not liabilities."

Ezio just made a face and didn't grace that with a reply.

Shea just shrugged a bit.

"Some people are," she said. "Others aren't."

Leo shrugged a bit in response to that. Really, he knew that much, but he'd been talking about them in particular. And he kind of doubted any fully-fledged Assassin could be a liability without working at it.

Desmond was quick to jump in. "So what is all this? Things you've invented?" He motioned to a few skeletons of half-built machines around the room.

Leo brightened immediately.

"Ah! Yes!" he said, smiling brightly. "Are you interested?"

"I'll admit I can't figure them out just from these." He gestured to the frames.

Harper had wandered over to investigate a big pile of canvas and wood, and she blinked. It was a parachute. "This looks interesting," she said, careful not to give too much away.

"It's unfinished," Leo said. "But when it's done, it should be a device that would have save you from a bad fall."

"Huh." Harper prodded it a bit. "Looks a bit heavy to carry around casually, though." She quirked an eyebrow at him.

"It is," Leo admitted. "I'm working on that. But the concept is sound!"

"It is an excellent concept," Harper agreed. "I love the concept. What else have you got around here that's interesting?" She grinned at him.

Leo positively beamed and showed her a few of his other latest projects.

Ezio just watched, stunned. He hadn't expected anyone to take so easily to Leo's eccentricity.

Harper was more than happy to chat with him and let him show her his inventions. She wouldn't tell him too much, but she did occasionally point out a potential flaw.

Desmond just grinned and shook his head, shooting Ezio a sympathetic look. "I know how you feel."

"I don't understand what just happened," Ezio said as he watched them.

Shea, on the other hand, was examining a half-done painting leaning against one wall.

"That happens a lot when Harper gets the chance to be social," Desmond said with a bit of a grin. Then he looked over to where Shea was and blinked, looking at the painting. It looked very familiar.

Shea just studied the painting for a moment, until she noticed Desmond watching her.

"What?" she asked, turning around.

Desmond moved over so he could talk to her without being overheard. "You're a lot calmer than I thought you'd be."

"Being professional right now," Shea murmured back, her voice shaking just a little. "Give it a couple hours, when we're alone, it'll happen."

"Ah." Desmond grinned a bit. "Well, whenever you're ready to go we can. I think we can trust Harper not to get into too much trouble."

"You'd really trust that?" Shea asked, raising an eyebrow and gesturing over to where Harper and Leonardo were rapidly discussing something over a sheet of blueprints.

"...Mostly," Desmond said. "She knows not to give anything away, at least." He shrugged. "Besides, I don't feel like playing babysitter for her."

Shea glanced at Harper one more time before she nodded.

"Yeah," she said, "Let's get out of here."

Desmond nodded, grinned at Ezio, and headed out so they could head back up to a nice perch to people watch for a bit again. Or something.

Ezio nodded to them as they left, and turned his attention back to Leo and Harper. the two seemed to be hitting it off rather well.

Shea followed Desmond out the door and up the side of the building again.

Harper finally gave in to their debate with a little laugh. "Okay, you win," she said, holding her hands up. "Your intellect is superior to mine."

Desmond headed to the nearest bell tower, climbing up it and settling up at the top to get a look at the city again.