I'm a big fan on Leo and Nico friendship type. NOT ROMANCE. If you think this is a romance one-shot sorry to disappoint.
They didn't belong. Well that's how it seemed and felt. Both judged on their sibling's mistake that others expected the same thing to happen to them also. But it's no wonder that each of these boys took comfort with each other. They had power people were frightened of. Not that they would use it against allies. They had things said about them. But they didn't fit those descriptions. They were actually quite the opposite on the inside were no one would be able to know that truth. One of them was an odd man out that will never truly be expected in life. The other an outcast who would always be judged and isolated.
They both craved for acceptance and most of all someone who they would be able to call a friend who would understand them. Someone who didn't care about their parent or their powers. Well they did eventually find one.
After they both return from the quest that changed the lives of both Romans and Greek forever. They had a celebration to honor the heroes of the quest. There weren't many who people who talked to them. Only the other heroes who were socially accepted. But many did come up them and said to them "Congratulation" or "You did it." Even though they liked the gesture they both knew that it was just a false smile when they smiled up at them. They only wanted to be polite.
Getting a bit tired of it the first boy walked through the shadow not liking the crowded place and the people approach him to say thank. He didn't like it all that much because all they said was simple thanks for a whole lot of pain that can never be forgotten. The other noticing all the little groups of chattering people decided and to leave no one wanted to talk to him so why should he stay and just watch everyone laughing away, with no worries anymore. He walked straight through the front door without having anybody stop him.
Both of them felt bitter that someone wouldn't be there to say how much they missed them and how they were glad that he was alive and not getting hurt. They didn't have to tell anybody that it still hurt its just it was where no one would be able to see it unless they actually paid attention.
They didn't have any place but they both wandered to the outskirts of the forest hearing the critter of the night and every once in a while growl of a monster. They both had come from different direction. They tensed up but calmed down that it was only the other. Neither of them had actually talked much to each other during the quest besides that yell to duck or plans on the Argo the Second. The each sat under a tree and sat there in their minds. They hadn't left because they didn't want to offend the other thinking that they didn't want to sit near the other. They both knew how that felt.
With only the other for company they sat in silent. Soon they had grown tired of the silence. They asked each other why they left the party. Both of them contemplating if he should tell the other the real reason. But eventually it was out before either of them could stop them and they didn't realize that it was a beginning to a long and beautiful friendship. They had stayed out late like the other but instead of spending it with other, they spend it together talking about each other. Their mistakes, regrets, grief's, and most of all what each other craved for. And they both have been inseparable from that moment. Camper notice they talked more and wondered what had happen. Some even made a nickname for them. Black Flame. A symbol that stood for each of them. Black for the boy who played with the shadows and Flame for the boy who was careful with his own flame. But little did they know that Leo Valdez and Nico Di ' Angelo finally got what they wanted most in life. A friend that understood.