Work Text:
“I need your help,” Leo says as he plops down at the Hades table at Camp Half-Blood.
Nico knits his eyebrows as he wipes spaghetti off of his lip. He and Leo were acquaintances at worst and mutual friends at best. What could Nico possibly do for him? “Uh, what?”
Leo taps his fingers nervously on the wood, partly regretting sitting down in the first place. He debates leaving right there but instead, he continues, “I need you to teach me how to fight. Like swordfight.”
“Why? And why me?”
“Because,” Leo pouts, “I’m sick of just being the Tools Guy. Plus, Jason says you’re one of the best fighters here, so-”
“But why not just ask Jason? Or, I dunno, Frank? Or Hazel?”
“I didn’t want to ask Jason,” Leo averts his eyes, “He’s just-”
“And aren’t you, like, friends with Frank now? He’s a son of Mars, the god of war.”
“Yeah, but-”
“Or even, um, Piper, right? I think Hazel gave her some lessons before and she’d probably be happy to teach you.”
Leo’s face falls. He definitely regrets coming here. “Well it’s not like I can just disappear to Camp Jupiter whenever I want!” He wants to add ‘like you’ but he bites his tongue. “It’s fine. I get it. You don’t wanna help me. See you around.” He pushes up from the table, his face reddened from embarrassment and anger.
“Hold on,” Nico cringes – it all feels so cliché. “I didn’t mean to offend you. Forgive me, I’m just confused.” Leo snickers beneath his breath at Nico’s persistent formality. “I’ll teach you how to swordfight if you want.”
“Really?” Leo’s large, wild eyes widen a bit more (which Nico didn’t think was humanly possible).
Nico nods slowly and deliberately as he twirls more spaghetti onto his fork, “Sure. Meet me at the sword fighting arena tomorrow morning at dawn.”
“What? Dawn?” Leo’s jaw falls open, “Oh, come on, what about a normal time? Noon sounds pretty good, eh?”
Nico’s expression doesn’t change, “Dawn.”
“Gotcha,” Leo musters a smile, “See you then.”
The air is chilly the next morning, Leo notices as he rubs his eyes. Getting up early isn’t difficult for him – various foster homes had stupid rules about getting up at sunrise to do chores. Plus, he’s always full of energy; he rarely sleeps for longer than five hours. As he walks in the brisk air, he drinks in the quiet. The sky is just beginning to rise and life on earth is just beginning to stir. He’s used to the loud, hustle and bustle that comes with the Hephaestus cabin and the forges. But he actually likes the morning for the same reason he prefers Bunker Nine – the peaceful serenity of quiet solitude.
He’s pleasantly surprised when he sees Nico already sitting on the floor of the sword fighting arena. His eyes are closed and his legs are crossed on top of each other. He’s wearing his usual attire – some sort of ironic, black t-shirt and dark jeans. Suddenly self-conscious, Leo glances at himself. He’s not wearing anything special – just his orange CHB t-shirt and some sweatpants. Shrugging, he cups his hands around his lips, “Good morning, Sensei!”
“GAH!” Nico cries as he jumps in his meditative pose. He scowls as he stands up, “I’m surprised that you’re here.”
“I said I would be, didn’t I?” Leo raises an eyebrow, only a little apologetic for scaring the poor kid. “Sorry ‘bout that.”
Nico exhales loudly but doesn’t say anything. His tone reverts back to its formal manner, “We should begin soon. Do you have a sword?”
Leo beams, “Yeah,” he pulls out an unused, gleaming Celestial Bronze sword, “Forged it meself.” He temporarily attempts a Pirate-ish accent for comedic effect. Nico doesn’t laugh.
“I made mine by myself, too,” Nico says as he takes a step backward. “Okay, so you understand the mechanisms and parts of the sword itself then, right?”
Leo resists the urge to roll his eyes. He may be a bad fighter, but he isn’t stupid, “Yeah. The hilt is for holding and the blade is for some stabby-mcstab-stab action.”
“Not just stabbing,” Nico unsheathes his own sword and Leo is rather impressed. The intricacy of the hilt matched with the sheer power that the sword exudes is mind-blowing. Nico takes a step toward him, placing the tip of his blade underneath Leo’s chin.
“Deflecting,” Nico takes a step closer and cocks his head a little. Leo can see the familiar, slightly maddening glint in his eye.
“Striking.” Leo swallows as Nico strides coolly around him, still holding the sword at his neck.
Nico’s lips aren’t that far from Leo’s air as he holds the side of his blade to Leo’s throat, “Slicing.”
Then, Nico relaxes his arms and walks so that he’s standing in front of a very confused Leo. Leo lets out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “What the- what was that for?” His face is flushed and he feels incredibly annoyed and angry for some reason he can’t explain. His stomach is having a gymnastics competition because it flips so much. And his fingers are shaking with nervous energy.
Nico drops his creepy grin, “Sword fighting isn’t about just stabbing. It’s intricate. Delicate. Especially Greek-style fighting. You have to understand and anticipate your opponent’s every move. It’s not a joke. I could very well end your life. You can’t let yourself be vulnerable. At all.”
“I know that!”
“Oh, yeah? I literally just held my sword to your throat for a full minute,” Nico raises his arm as though Leo had forgotten.
“I didn’t realize class started, Sensei,” Leo frowns, “I wasn’t ready! That doesn’t count.”
Nico shakes his head, “Rule Number One: Always be ready. And don’t call me Sensei.”
“What, no armor?”
“Armor doesn’t make the warrior,” Nico replies easily, “If a monster attacks you in your sleep on a quest, do you think you’ll have time to put on your armor?”
“Fine,” Leo huffs as he awkwardly picks up a stance. He lifts his sword. “I’m ready.”
Nico half-smiles for some reason, before walking toward Leo again, “No, you’re not. Fix your stance, first.”
“What’s wrong with this?”
Nico places his hands on Leo’s shoulders, “Relax. I can feel your energy from across the room. Energy is good – you’ll need it. But you’re wasting it right now.” Leo takes a deep breath and follows Nico’s advice. Nico touches Leo’s core, “Here. Hold it in here. Your core is the most important. It keeps you balanced and agile.”
Nico cocks his head as he looks at Leo’s stance again, “Relax your arm a bit and don’t lock your elbows. You want to be able to move.”
“This sword is getting heavy,” Leo whines beneath his breath.
Nico continues, “Good. You’ll build muscle. And widen your legs out. There. That way you can move in any direction. Okay. Looks good.”
“Thank you, Sensei,” Leo manages through gritted teeth.
Nico half-smiles again and holds out his arms, “Okay, so have at me.”
“What?” Leo drops his arm, “Aren’t there, like, straw dummies or whatever?”
“Best practice is on a person.”
“Won’t I hurt you?”
Nico’s laugh is strange to hear, “You won’t hurt me. Trust me, Son of Hephaestus. Strike!”
Leo screeches loudly as he shuts his eyes and swings wildly. He feels his sword slashing through the air and he feels incredibly stupid.
“STOP! STOP!” Nico cries and Leo opens one eye. Nico is giving him the worst, confused, ashamed, shocked, and utterly horrified looks he has ever seen. “What the hell was that?”
Leo gulps, “Um, my battle-cry and first strike?”
Nico groans as he runs his hands through his hair, “Never, ever do that again.” He picks up his own sword and instructs, “Watch me.” He jabs his sword toward Leo’s shoulder, “Look for weak points. Use quick movements for offensive strikes,” He steps closer as Leo steps back, “Try and get your opponent off balance. Look at where their balance is going,” He does a series of quick jabs and slices – nothing to severely hurt Leo – that send Leo scuffling and stumbling toward the floor, “Get them off balance and then,” with a final blow, he knocks Leo’s sword out of his hands. They hear the Celestial Bronze clatter across the floor, “Disarm.”
“Wow,” Leo breathes as he looks up into Nico’s wide, dark eyes. Okay, he’s massively impressed.
Nico wears a proud grin as he places the tip of his sword on Leo’s chest. He removes it and reaches a hand down toward Leo. “Now, get up. It’s your turn. I will not fight back. Disarm me.”
Leo knits his eyebrows in determination, which amuses Nico a little, as he takes his first stance. He studies Nico’s movements and placement before he strikes. Like him, Nico is left-handed. Yet, he seems to favor his right foot over the other, probably due to some childhood injury. Leo’s weight is centered and his eyes are focused. He bites back a battle-cry as he aims his jab firmly to Nico’s right side. Nico fluidly evades the strike.
“Good job,” Nico nods, “But less preparation. I could tell what you were going to do before you even moved. Catch me off guard.”
Leo is frustrated, but he tries again. And again. And again. Yet, Nico expects his every move and cleverly dodges attack. He laughs off each failure, but he gets more frustrated each time. His forehead is dripping sweat and his arm aches. And Nico is dancing around his sword like a fucking butterfly.
And then, it hits him. Because, you don’t slice a butterfly, you trap one.
He glances at the dimensions of the room and pays attention to Nico’s slightly weaker side. He realizes the injury is in Nico’s knee, not his foot. The dirt from the floor is swirling from Leo’s constant falling and he has an idea. It’s insane and it probably won’t work, but it’s worth a shot. Instead of jabbing at Nico, he sticks his sword into the dirt.
Nico furrows his brow, “Uh-”
With a loud cry, Leo gives his sword a sharp kick so that the dust flies up into Nico’s face. Momentarily distracted, Leo rolls behind him, staying far enough on the diagonal that Nico is dependent on his bad side. Nico swirls around, ready to dodge, when Leo knocks him off balance, mid-spin. Nico’s eyes widen as Leo attempts to kick away his sword. Rolling himself off the floor, Nico holds his sword in front of himself, defensively. “Nice try,” he grins, a bit proud, “That was a valiant effort.”
“Damn you, Sensei,” Leo tosses his sword on the ground, “I so thought that was gonna work.”
“It almost did,” Nico shrugs, “Although you definitely just did about ten things wrong. You’ll get better.”
“I sure hope so,” Leo manages as he tries to catch his breath.
Nico bites his lip, the question on the tip of his tongue. Leo sighs as he lays down, exhausted, on the dirt floor. “Just tell me.”
Nico plops down beside him, a little flushed from their cardio, “I was just- Why do you wanna learn so bad? You are an admiral forger and you have your pyro-kinesis.”
Leo takes another deep breath, “When we were fighting against Gaea’s giants, there was this moment where I really thought I was gonna die. Throwing fireballs at giants only gets you so far. I didn’t have my hammer with me because I couldn’t control it. I was literally seconds from becoming a giant’s snack and Jason comes out of nowhere and saves my ass again and then gets knocked unconscious and busts his knee. If I’d been able to defend myself better in battle-” he stops talking then.
Nico frowns, “Leo, it was a giant. Besides, Jason’s fine now. He’s dealing with his knee and he’s just as good a fighter as before. Trust me.”
“I know,” Leo sits up, “But, it’s just that- I don’t want that to happen again. I hate feeling so useless.” He frowns at himself, worried at his honesty to di Angelo of all people. This wasn’t supposed to happen.
“That’s why you didn’t ask him, huh,” Nico guesses correctly.
Leo just nods, as he pushes himself off the floor. “So, we done for the day, Sensei?”
“Yeah, it’s probably time for camp activities anyway,” Nico yawns as he stands up, “Tomorrow at dawn, again?”
“Sounds good,” Leo smiles as he follows the dark-haired boy out of the arena.
Leo meets Nico every morning at dawn in the sword fighting arena. Nico is almost always there, meditating before Leo comes in. Leo cracks some stupid joke which makes Nico grimace and the boys wield their swords. Nico shows Leo how to gain maximum dexterity, some quick maneuvers, how to attack, how to defend, and general sparring tips as he kicks his ass every day.
“There,” Nico adjusts Leo’s arm. He is standing behind the boy with curly hair and he guides Leo’s arm in the proper direction, “That’s how you should feel your arm move.” He inches his fingers so that they are wrapped around Leo’s which are wrapped around his sword. Leo nods, swallowing, as his arm follows where Nico’s guides it.
“Is this the part where you kiss me?” Leo jokes uneasily, but even his own laughter sounds forced. “’Cause this feels like every middle school movie made ever.”
Nico simply scowls, “This isn’t a joke,” as he lets Leo’s arm drop. Leo can’t see Nico’s face as the boy turns away from him, striding toward the blue water bottle in the corner.
“I’m getting better, though, right?” Leo grins as he ruffles his own curly hair. He still feels hot in the sword-fighting arena. Although he’d taken his shirt off hours ago and his neck is still sweaty.
“Sure,” Nico exhales, with a small smile on his face, “You’ve done well, pupil.”
Leo mock-bows, “Why, thank you, Sensei,” and Nico merely rolls his eyes because he gave up on that fight days ago. “Soon I’ll be, like, a samurai or something.”
“Maybe in ten years,” Nico snorts as he drinks from his water bottle, “You ready to go again? I still need to show you more defensive moves. You’re getting predictable.”
“Ten years?” Leo protests as he twirls his sword in his hands, “Yeah, right, di Angelo. Toss me your sword.”
“For what?” Nico is highly suspicious.
“Just give it!”
“No.”
Leo groans, “Fine. I was gonna show you the twirly thing with two swords.”
“No way, that’s dangerous!” Nico frowns as he strikes first.
“I live on the wild side, baby,” Leo murmurs before wincing. Nico’s blade grazes his forearm.
“Sorry. Keep your elbow in,” Nico mutters as Leo deflects his next move. “Yeah, good.”
“It’s not that dangerous,” Leo says a little bit later as he protects his face with his blade, “I’ve done it before!”
“You’ll hurt yourself,” Nico shakes his head as he kicks the back of Leo’s heel, sending the Latino crashing into the ground and his sword flying. Leo groans and rubs his head as Nico catches his sword with one hand and twirls both swords expertly.
“Hey! You just said that was dangerous,” Leo pouts.
“For you, maybe,” Nico grins a bit wider, “Not for me.”
“Har har,” Leo says in a monotone as he holds out his hand, “Give me my sword. We should go again before Clarisse and them wake up.”
Nico steps backward, that mad glint reappearing in his eye, “Take it.”
“What?” Leo narrows his eyes.
“Just take it from me,” Nico prompts again, not even feigning innocence.
Leo briefly wonders how weird Nico’s sense of humor must be. He reaches out but Nico jumps back. Leo smirks as he sees the proximity of the wall. Taking a large lunge, Leo leaps at Nico, hoping to pin him against the wall. But, upon seeing Leo’s preparation, Nico twirls to the side and lets Leo crash into the wall.
“Ouch,” Leo moans, as he feels Nico’s hands push the backs of his shoulders into the wall. Leo’s face is smashed against the wood and Nico is much stronger than he is.
“Concede, student,” Nico hisses, “I told you. You’re too predictable.”
“Never,” Leo groans against the wood.
He feels Nico’s hands snake down to his wrists and before Leo knows it, he’s being flipped so that his back is on the wall. Nico has him pinned against the wall by his wrists and his arms are raised way above his head. He can see the abandoned swords on the floor. And then he looks straight at the boy with dark hair and darker eyes. His eyes widen a little because he’s never actually been so close to the boy. Nico’s skin has less pallor than it did about a year previous and has a golden, olive complexion. He has faint freckles splashed across his nose and his dark lashes frame his creepily, large eyes. Leo realizes that Nico actually has a nice face. He can’t read Nico’s expression, but it’s not his usual pain or gloominess. He dares to hope there is some mirth in them.
Then, Nico cocks his head and furrows his brow and Leo thinks Nico kind of looks like a frustrated baby seal. Leo isn’t sure if it’s a good thing or a bad thing that he imagines the Ghost King as an infantile arctic mammal. Nico lets out a single, breathy laugh, “Is that Morse Code?”
Leo hadn’t even noticed that his fingers are nervously tapping on the wood above.
Nico continues with a pleasantly surprised expression, “Did you just tap out-” he pauses as Leo blushes, “Yeah, you just said ‘I love you’.”
Leo pretends he doesn’t feel his heart flutter a bit as those words leave Nico’s lips. He pretends that he doesn’t feel the heat warming in his stomach and his face. Instead he stammers, “Sorry. Um, y-yeah. My mom taught me Morse Code. How’d you know?” He thinks his tone is too excited, though, so he adds, “Jerk.”
Nico ignores Leo’s ending comment and remains firm on Leo’s wrists, “Grew up during the World Wars. Everyone knew Morse Code, y’know? Just in case.” Leo swallows as he notices the ease in Nico’s tone. Leo merely nods and prays his hair doesn’t get set on fire because he’s a hormonal teenage boy who feels more embarrassed by the second.
“So,” Nico shifts his weight, “D’you concede yet?”
That sort of breaks the spell on Leo who grins devilishly. “Never,” he grins as he uses his nervous energy to bring fire to his hands but making sure no flames touch Nico. Yet, Nico jumps back in surprise, letting go of Leo’s wrists. Leo swoops down, collecting both swords and holding them triumphantly over his head. “I WIN!”
“Cheater!” Nico crosses his arms, “I won and you know it.”
Leo sticks his tongue out instead and bows to an imaginary audience, “I beat the great Nico di Angelo. Hold your applause.”
Nico rolls his eyes and rips his sword from Leo’s hands. Their fingers brush and Leo pretends he doesn’t feel a chill through his spine. Nico shoves his sword into its holder just as Clarisse kicks the door open. “Alright, you guys had your time,” she growls, “Now, go away. We need the space.”
“We’re just leaving,” Nico murmurs as he pushes past her and Leo hopes that the Ghost King is actually mad at him.
“Hey, wait,” Leo grabs his shirt and Nico’s water bottle from the corner as he follows behind Nico, “Don’t forget this. And does this mean I don’t get to eat breakfast with you?”
Nico is kind of smiling with sad eyes, as he shrugs, “Of course you can’t. But you’re gonna do it anyways.”
Leo wants to be offended but it’s probably true. He can be pretty stubborn. He hesitates before he wraps his arms around Nico’s bony shoulders and says, “Well, let’s go, Angel Boy.”
“I told you not to call me that.”
“Batman,” Nico shakes his head as he takes a bite of his ravioli, “Batman any day.”
Leo swallows the bite of his chicken fajita and grimaces, “Is that a joke? Iron Man is a million times cooler than Batman.”
“Batman is a classic,” Nico shakes his head, “Plus, he was around when I was growing up.” Leo makes another face because he hates thinking about the fact that Nico is probably 70 years older than him.
“Marvel beats DC,” Leo insists.
“You can’t even compare them,” Nico looks utterly disgusted, “I can’t believe we’re having this discussion.”
“Dude, you think we’re the first? I need to take you to like Comic-Con or something.”
“What?” Nico makes a face as he stabs a cheese-stuffed bit of pasta.
“Convention where geeks talk about comic books. People dress up. It’s pretty legit,” Leo says with his mouth full.
“Good, so we’ll go,” Nico looks up at Leo a little shyly, “It’s the least you can do for this whole Sensei thing.”
Leo beams, “I knew you’d like being called sensei, Sensei!” He raises a single eyebrow, “Why did you agree in the first place?”
Nico looks nervous and if Leo wasn’t so Leo he probably would have let the subject drop. But he’s curious, so he doesn’t say anything as Nico finds the words. “I don’t know,” he confesses, “I guess because it’s enjoyable to beat you fifty times in a row at something.”
“You’re hilarious,” Leo mutters.
Nico smiles genuinely, “It’s fun, I guess. You’re not bad company, Leo Valdez.”
Leo wants to make a smart remark, but he can’t think of anything. So he just hides his small smile as he rewraps his fajita.
And thus Leo’s training lessons become more like sparring duels. Nico still wins every time, yet it becomes harder for him. They dueled for 25 minutes straight, once.
Sometimes they practice at night because Clarisse has been in the arena earlier and earlier. So, one night, they are getting ready to pack up when Leo bites his lip, “Hey, look, if you’re mad about before, I was just-”
“I’m not mad,” Nico says abruptly. He truly did forget about the fact that Leo’s blade just left a new scar in the middle of his eyebrow. “I just- never mind, it’s stupid. Forget it.”
Leo tugs on Nico’s forearm, “Well now you have to tell me. You started.”
Leo’s afraid that Nico is actually angry now because his frown looks more severe. He breathes in and his nose flares. But then, he exhales and closes his eyes. With a shrug, he says, “You will not necessarily be requiring my guidance for much longer. Perhaps these little meetings are, well, coming to an end.”
Leo furrows his brow, “Are you kidding? You’re still so much better than me and we really haven’t been practicing for that long!”
“It has almost been three weeks,” Nico says flatly, “Moreover, I have taught you all of what I know. You don’t need me anymore.” Leo’s face falls as he picks up on the reserved formality in Nico’s voice. And then he feels incredibly annoyed and angry, for some reason. Because he feels like someone has crushed his bubble of hope.
“No,” he says defiantly.
“No?” Nico raises an eyebrow.
And Leo feels so desperate, he isn’t sure what he’s saying, “Y-you can’t! We were- I just. No.”
“Leo, I-”
“One more match,” Leo manages, “If I win, we keep sparring. ‘Cause you said it yourself. This is fun. It’s our thing. But if you win, we stop.”
“That makes absolutely no sense,” Nico rolls his eyes, “But fine. Let’s go. The final match.”
He unsheathes his sword and watches as Leo takes his stance. Despite his other emotions, he feels his heart swell with pride. It takes a second, but Leo strikes first, momentarily shocking Nico.
He expertly dodges Leo’s sword and deflects the attack. He grits his teeth as he tries to work Leo into a corner, but Leo’s gotten quicker and anticipates Nico’s strategy. Mocking Nico’s voice, Leo says, “Getting predictable, sonny.”
Nico rolls backward on the dirt floor, getting his stance prepared again. Before Leo can blink, Nico rips off his shirt and Leo gets distracted momentarily. He knew Nico had muscles, but the boy was so skinny, it was easy to forget. Nico takes the distraction to knock Leo’s sword from his hands across the room. They share a glance for a fraction of a second before Leo dives on the floor while Nico sprints. Leo just barely grabs his sword to deflect Nico’s strike. He counter attacks and sends the son of Hades falling to the floor. Nico and Leo both recover quickly, circling each other.
Leo growls, “That was a cheap trick.”
“This isn’t just about lessons, is it?” Nico narrows his eyes.
Leo barks out a laugh, “You’re afraid.”
“So are you,” Nico spits. He lunges toward Leo who blocks the attack with little effort.
Nico keeps coming on the offensive, while Leo deflects or counters his attacks. Both boys are sweaty, shirtless, and exhausted. Nico grunts and Leo lets a few shrill cries but there is no clear winner. They are moving in too much symmetry. They are completely opposite, and yet they complete the same picture. It feels intimate. It’s not just a sword-fight anymore. It never was. Leo groans, “You’re so stubborn! I don’t know why I like you.”
Nico jumps over a clever slice, “Well, right back at you!”
Leo smirks, “So you do like me.”
“N-no, w-what? I never said that,” Nico is red and flustered, but somehow, that rejuvenates Leo.
“You like me and you’re scared,” Leo frowns as he Nico’s blade nearly chops off his curly ringlets.
Leo catches the back of Nico’s heel, causing the son of Hades to stumble. Yet, Nico pulls Leo down with him. He isn’t sure where his sword is or where Leo’s is but at that moment, he doesn’t care. He’s hovering above the darker boy with mere inches separating them. Leo licks his lips and Nico loses his breath. His voice is wobbly when he speaks, “We fight all the time.”
“So what?”
“Half the time I’m torn between wanting to rip your head off and rip your clothes off,” Nico blushes deep red.
“Me too.”
“What happens if this doesn’t work?”
“We’ll make it work. I promise.”
Nico’s eyes meet Leo’s wild, brown ones and it’s all over.
Their lips melt together and Nico squeezes his eyes shut. It’s rough and awkward but it’s pleasant and it works. He feels Leo’s fingers entwine in his dark hair. He collapses on the ground beside Leo in between heated kisses. They adjust so that both of them are sitting up and their legs are a messy entanglement. He can feel Leo as he pulls him closer and Nico digs his fingers into Leo’s bare shoulder blades. Leo’s lips taste like blood and sweat and salt and it should be grossing him out but he can’t get enough. A chill runs down his spine as he hesitantly lets his mouth open a little and lets Leo deepen the kiss. He lets out a sound he didn’t know he was capable of making as Leo teases him. They break apart, the only sounds in the room are their ragged breaths and beating hearts.
Then a grin breaks out on Leo’s face, “I know, I’m a really good kisser.”
Playfully, Nico rolls his eyes and murmurs, “Just shut up and prove it.”
So, he does.