Chapter Text
Leo stood there in an almost paralyzing amount of shock, trying to take in everything he had just witnessed.
The way Cupid had flung Nico sideways and how much anger that was in both Nico’s and the god’s eyes.
Nico had shown a strength that Leo had no clue he possessed.
Then again, he knew little to nothing when it came to the other demigod; the scenes he had just seen flashed before them, only serving to amplify those unknowns.
There was so much hope in Nico’s expression when he asked Percy to keep his sister safe, and so much longing for the boy he had a crush on to be the hero to bring his sister home.
That even Leo felt betrayed when the next image forcefully ripped from Nico’s mind was Percy telling him the news that he had failed.
Leo didn’t understand how Nico came right back up after that, going toe to toe with a god, sending skeletons after him, all while that same love god teased him mercilessly.
It was incredible.
Nico was incredible.
“I had a crush on Percy.”
Those were the words that got the bully to back off, leaving him and Nico there with Diocletian’s scepter and the lesson that nothing was easy when it came to love.
Nico sat hunched over the scepter, just as, if not more frozen than Leo.
He shook himself out of his daze and made his way to Nico. He was about to lay a hand on the younger boy’s shoulder, but just as he reached his arm out, said boy ripped his shoulder away so violently that it made Leo jump.
“Don’t touch me! I don’t need your pity.”
He took a step back, giving Nico space.
He attempted to soften his normally raspy voice. “It's not pity, far from it. What you just did was awesome.”
Nico didn’t seem to register his compliment, a blank stare crossing his face. “Out of all the people on that ship, you are the one whom I am being forced to put my trust in. Cupid is more cruel than I could have ever imagined.”
The coldness of his tone hit something deep within Leo, like a chill that makes you rethink yourself entirely. Was he that untrustworthy? So much so that it made Nico feel worse about all of this?
He took another cautious step forward. “I won’t tell anyone man, that’s up to you. But… no one would care.”
His gaze narrowed in response. “Excuse me! How can you say that no one would care? They’d all hate me, more than they already do. And besides, why would I trust anything you say? You didn’t want me here in the first place.”
“What do you mean?”
Nico rolled his eyes. “Hazel told me what you and Jason said, that my alignment is fickle, you were ready to leave me in that Jar.”
He had become more agitated by the second, and the more Leo thought about it, the less he could blame the guy.
Now it made sense, where he was coming from; he's just showing the same distrust that Leo had about him before.
Though he wasn’t lying, he needed Nico to believe he was coming from a place of good intentions.
He took a moment to steady himself, running a hand through his mess of hair.
It had been a long day already, and now he had to explain to a kid from the 1940s that being gay wasn’t some unredeemable sin.
Leo didn’t try to move closer this time, instead choosing to leave Nico with some space.
“Look, I get why you don’t trust me. Hell, I wouldn’t trust me. But I’m not lying when I tell you people have changed since your time.”
Nico eyed him, unconvinced.
“Well, most people,” Leo sighed.
”The point is no one on the Argo is going to think you're disgusting or that what you feel for Percy is wrong.”
His grip on the scepter tightened. “I…I don’t feel that way about him anymore-”
He looked unsure about whether he was safe to continue.
Leo nodded in reassurance, wanting to build some form of trust.
“Back then, I idealized him. Like he was some savior that would somehow turn our lives around, that Camp Half-Blood was some safe haven where we could finally be okay again. No more feeling lost.” As he talked he seemed to forget that Leo stood right across from him.
This was the first time he had seen Nico be vulnerable or show any emotion besides brooding, really.
Also, Leo understood that feeling; he remembered all the expectations he put on camp, on his siblings, some better than others.
In some aspects, it let him down; in others, it surprised him in a good way. He would've never expected to belong anywhere to anyone, but now he was a part of the team that had to save the world.
He could only imagine the toll that having all his hope brought down in no less than a week took on Nico.
All the stories he heard about the son of Hades suddenly made a lot more sense.
He wasn’t some stoic, scary, powerful demigod out for blood; he was a scared, closeted fourteen year old who never had a home or a role model that wasn’t looking to hurt him.
They actually had a lot in common.
Nico’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Leo didn’t have a chance to answer before he continued.
“Why am I telling all of this to you?”
He took a seat, after Nico, on the marbled floor of the pavilion.
“Chocolate?” Leo asked, pulling out a king-size Hershey bar from his tool belt.
Nico hesitated like there was a part of him that considered taking a piece but then his face became inflamed.
“No, I don’t want fucking chocolate, what are we even still doing here? We're wasting time. We have the scepter. I'll shadow travel us back now.”
He forcefully took hold of Leo's arm. Leo gently removed it. “Hey, it's ok to take a minute after what Cupid just put you through, you're allowed a break.”
Nico stared at him, gobsmacked. “Do you take ‘breaks’ when repairing the ship?”
Leo’s mouth was agape; he got him there.
“Didn’t think so. Now give me your hand, and I’ll take us back to the ship.”
Leo stood quickly, staying out of Nico’s grasp. “Okay, I get it, you see me as someone who can’t take things seriously, and I can’t say you're completely wrong. I just really think that you shouldn’t have to carry all this undealt with weight. It's not healthy. I could help.”
Nico tried to grab Leo's arm again while he continued to dodge.
“Oh, give me a break, you want to talk about healthy Valdez. I notice the bags under your eyes, the way you're never resting. How you talk to that dragon head thing every night.”
Leo paused, still trying to distance himself from Nico, he didn’t think anyone noticed those things, especially not him of all people. “How do you-”
Nico came to a halt as if just now having realized what he said. “It's not just you, I pay attention to everyone, it's not my fault nobody notices I’m there.”
Leo laughed. “I’m sorry, I really am trying to be supportive here, but that’s plain creepy, dude.”
His face tightened. “You're unbelievable. I would have taken Percy himself over you. Now would you just come here? I've spent enough energy.”
If Leo wasn’t looking, he would have missed the brief moment of desperation that lined his gaze.
The kind that had been radiating off Nico this whole time, in every glance, he was trying to look determined, but instead just seemed tired.
This wasn’t helping.
He couldn’t force Nico into understanding his fears weren’t reality, at least not yet.
Leo walked back over to the son of Hades. “We can leave on one condition.”
He watched as Nico's shoulders finally relaxed. “What’s that?”
“That, this means something. That you know you can talk to me about this. Even if you don’t fully trust me yet. If you're going to refuse to tell anyone else, you can and will come talk to me instead of watching from afar.”
He offered his hand. “Deal?”
Nico was obviously reluctant, avoiding Leo’s smile.
This wasn’t the best way to build trust, he recognized that. What he was asking of Nico wasn’t easy but the guy was stubborn, and Leo was persistent.
Who knows, maybe they’d become friends, or at the very least, Nico wouldn’t want to gut him like a fish anymore.
Leo could only hope.
A shaking hand eventually grabbed his own. Nico placed the scepter under his other arm. “Deal.”
Before he knew it, they were covered in a pitch-black shadow. He started to feel nauseous as it was like space and time had started to cave in.
When he opened his eyes, they were standing in the ship’s empty mess hall, with only the two of them knowing what Nico had to admit to hold Diocletian’s scepter and the flimsy promise that lay between them to keep that secret.