Chapter Text
"Hey, Death Boy! Whatcha up to?" Leo excitedly approached Nico. Nico cringed slightly at the energy, not expecting the noise.
"Not my name," Nico mumbled, taking in Leo's appearance. He looked unkempt. He looked at his messy hair, rumpled clothes with grease stains, and his face smeared with oil and grease like he rubbed the back of his hand against his forehead, forgetting about the mess on his hands.
"But seriously, what are you doing, Neeks?" Leo persisted, ignoring Nico's comment. Nico looked away, realizing he was staring.
"Nothing," Nico muttered, blushing slightly at the nickname.
"Nothing? You're not bored at all?" Leo wondered and looked around; there really wasn't anything going on. Perplexed, he looked back at Nico like he couldn't believe Nico could sit still that long. Leo sure couldn't.
"Well, maybe just a little." Nico sighed, unsure of what to do. He was about to head to his cabin when Leo interrupted him.
"I was actually on my way to my cabin. I think I'll go there now, so either leave me alone if you have something better to do or hurry up and follow me." Nico shrugged and turned towards his cabin.
"Really?" Leo was taken aback. He expected Nico to ignore him or say he was too busy.
That's what the others usually did. Nico being...nice? It was a pleasant surprise. He decided to go with Nico. He chose to ignore the fuzzy feeling he got.
"Lead the way, Nico!" Leo exclaimed happily, blushing slightly.
Nico sighed fondly (not that he'd admit it). No wonder he had a crush on Leo (also not something he'd acknowledge unless he knew Leo felt the same or needed comfort).
Leo was always cheerful and adorable, but there was always a hint of sadness in his tone. It made Nico want to shower Leo with love and support and then some.
Leo deserved it. He had been through so much, and it often went unnoticed. Nico noticed all the little things, like how Leo was constantly fidgeting or tinkering with something, tapping out messages in Morse code, and more. (Leo didn't know, but Nico often answered his messages by tapping out 'I love you too' in Morse code.)
Leo was always the funny friend in the group, the one who was often overlooked. But Nico saw him; he really saw him.
He was the spare, but not to Nico. He's so much more than a spare. The others just don't see that. Shaking my head, I decided to focus on the boy next to me, smiley and fidgety. He's so pretty. Opening the Hades cabin door, I lead Leo in, making sure to close it behind us.
"Sit, take your shoes off, and relax," I say, gesturing to the cozy space.
Leo does just that, seeming just as eager to be here as I am to have him here. He's always so eager to please others, but if you look closer, you can see the exhaustion in his eyes. I can't help but notice. 'He looks like a puppy,' Nico thought; if he had a tail, Nico would bet money it would be wagging back and forth rapidly.
"So, Ghosty, what are you doing over there?" Leo asks curiously from his spot.
"You should sleep, Leo," I reply, ignoring his question. "It's almost time for curfew, and you look like you haven't slept in a week."
"Oh." He sounds disappointed. "That's all? You didn't even answer my question," he whines. "Why do you even care if I sleep or not..." he mutters quietly, but apparently not quiet enough, as I hear myself inhale.
"Leo, I care about you. I might not be the best at showing it, but I do care for you. So, I'm going to get you to sleep, whether you like it or not," I say, trying my best to provide comfort for him even if he doesn't have a choice.
"Even though I'm not the best person for this, we'll talk about your feelings and thoughts later," Nico added, realizing that neither of us is really qualified for this. 'Maybe I could get Will to help? Maybe I don't think Leo wants other people to know.' Nico glanced at Leo.
"Okay," Leo responds, sounding surprised. He's clearly confused by the situation, so he just lays back on Nico's bed and lets Hypnos try to take him. After a few seconds, he opens his eyes and states, "I can't sleep." He mumbles tiredly as all the sleepless nights are catching up to him.
"How can I help you sleep?" I sit on the edge of my bed. "Also, do you want to change clothes?"
"I don't know," he mumbled into the pillow, "but changing would be nice."
"Okay, do you want to change in the bathroom, or do you want help?" I asked while getting him some clothes that would fit him well, which wouldn't be very hard as they were both around the same height, but Nico opted to choose some oversized clothes.
"Mm, I can change in the bathroom." Leo blushed, just imagining Nico helping him change. He sat up, grabbed the clothes, and went to change.
When Leo stepped out of the bathroom dressed in Nico's oversized clothes while still sleepy, Nico felt like the whole world stopped, and it was only him and Leo.
"What?" Leo asked, flustered at Nico, blatantly staring at him. He looked down at himself and finally realized he was wearing Nico's clothes. He blushed and looked back at Nico, lifting his hand as if to cover his face. The clothes smell like Nico.
"Nothing; come on, lay down." He led Leo to his bed and tucked him in.
"You don't have to do that," Leo said, flustered. He hadn't gotten this type of affection since his mom died.
"I know. Now go to sleep." Leo squished his face into Nico's pillows and took a deep breath. He felt weird for smelling Nico's pillows, but he felt himself smile as he did, and finally, he felt him falling into a well-deserved sleep.
Nico watched as Leo fell asleep and couldn’t help but think Leo was cute, and once he knew he was sleeping, he panicked.
“What the fuck am I doing? What am I going to do? I'm not good at comforting people. What the fuck.”
"Okay, calm down, Nico; we can deal with that tomorrow, but for now, we sleep. Next to Leo? No, that's too risky right now. Okay, top bunk it is," he mumbled to himself as he turned the lights off and headed to bed.
"We can talk to Leo tomorrow after breakfast," he whispered into the darkness of the cabin and let sleep overtake him willingly for once.