Of Broken Hearts, Cookies and Kisses
Fandom: PJO/HOO
Pairing: Leo/Nico
Characters: Leo Valdez, Nico di Angelo, Hazel Levesque, Piper McLean (mentioned)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Time Setting: AU, post-MOA
Word Count: 2,368
A/N: Well, so this is my first try at an english Leco fanfiction, or english fanfiction in general and I hope you like it! I know that my writing isn't very amazing or eloquent but I tried. So yeah, it's pretty fluffy, especially for me but I guess I'm okay with it. Enjoy!
It's been two days since Percy and Annabeth had fallen into Tartarus, the most horrible and darkest place in existence.
The five that are left, together with Nico and Coach Hedge, are trying their hardest to get to the Doors of Death as fast as possible.
But in all this mess and confusion none of them has really stopped to think about the fact that Nico had just been rescued from being hold hostage in Tartarus for a week, well, everyone except his sister and Leo Valdez.
It's not that the others didn't care, it's just that they didn't know the son of Hades very well, so they didn't notice his off behavior.
Nico has been even more quiet and dark than usual, he hasn't really slept or eaten since they set sails.
Hazel worried a lot, she fussed over him and tried to get him to talk, but none of her efforts ever showed effect.
Nico was caught in his personal little nightmare, and it was breaking him.
Besides Hazel, Leo always tried to start conversations with the younger boy, though without success.
He didn't know him, has never met him before they found him, but the moment he saw that scrawny, tired looking, pale boy with those big sad eyes he couldn't help but feel curious, and somehow...endeared.
He had often heard people talk about Nico at Camp, most didn't really mind him, but barely anyone was comfortable with him.
They said that his aura was creepy and scary and that they would always be reminded of dead friends and relatives whenever they saw him.
The son of Hephaestus didn't feel that way.
He would never admit it out loud, but he thought that Nico was kind of cute, with his messy black hair and that too big jacket of his he never seems to take off.
He felt as if he and the boy, who was nothing more than a stranger, had more in common than one might think. Why he thought that, he had no idea.
But Leo has made it his mission to get Nico to warm up to him, and find out if he was right.
He wanted to be close to the boy, not necessarily in a physical aspect but he wanted to get to know him, he wanted to talk to him, get him to open up a bit, but Nico's walls were high, higher and thicker than Leo thought possible.
So, naturally, it took him a while for Nico to actually exchange a few simple words with him.
It was nothing big, but it was a beginning.
"Hey! It's pretty hot today, ain't it?", Leo had said, standing on the deck of the Argo 2, holding a hand above his eyes to protect them from the bright sun.
Nico, the only other person on the deck, had looked up at him and nodded.
"Yeah...quite warm."
Leo couldn't help it, he felt very reassured to keep trying after Nico had answered him.
It's been three words, that wasn't much, and they had only been mumbled quietly but it was enough for now.
A day later, Leo began to help Hazel in getting Nico to eat something, the boy was really skinny.
He had, in all honesty, tried to cook once but let's just say, that didn't end well.
But he didn't give up. With Hazel's help, who thought that the food was for himself, he managed to bake a few chocolate chip cookies.
Hazel had, subconsciously, told him that Nico had a little sugar addiction, well, at least he has had one before.
So he took the cookies, thanked Hazel and walked to Nico's bunk.
The others had temporarily given him Percy's bunk, so that he didn't have to sleep in the stables or the lounge.
He knocked four times but didn't get an answer.
Leo knew that Nico was there, so he just took a deep breath, knocked one more times and simply opened the door himself.
Inside, Nico sat on his bed, reading a book he must've gotten from Annabeth's bunk and finally looked up.
For a moment, he looked scared, but then his expression turned into one of pure confusion, his eyes narrowed and brows furrowed.
Leo shifted his weight uncomfortably, biting his lip.
He wasn't usually shy, but what was he supposed to say? What if he fucked up? He didn't want Nico to be angry at him.
After a moment of consideration, he closed the door before walking over and holding the forest-green lunch box filled with cookies out to Nico.
The boy's onyx eyes studied him, silently, while he put the book down.
"What are you doing here, Leo?", he whispered so quietly that Leo almost didn't catch it, but he did.
The soft, broken sound of Nico's voice made his heart break.
The younger demigod looked so anxious, confused and scared that Leo was having a hard time trying not to hug him, make him feel warm.
"I-", he cleared his throat, which made Nico wince slightly, "I...ermm...we...Hazel and I...we baked a few cookies...and...yeah."
He shook the box a bit, catching Nico's attention, but he didn't take it, his confusion just seemed to grow.
Leo sighed. "For you, you...you have to eat something..."
Nico looked up at him again, a little tinge of hope visible in his forlorn looking dark eyes.
"Really?", he asked so silently that Leo could only guess he said anything.
He nodded, giving a small smile. "Yes."
Nico bit his lip and took the box, opening it.
The sight of the still warm cookies made the corners of his mouth twitch slightly.
"Why?", his voice was a tad louder now, but it still wavered audibly.
"Because we're worried about you", Leo answered sincerely.
Nico looked him dead in the eyes, his expression unreadable, he looked like he wanted to say something, but as soon as the moment started, it was over and he cast his eyes away from Leo's.
"Thank you", he breathed, sounding a bit choked.
He took a cookie from the box and held it out for the Fireuser to take.
Leo was slightly taken aback but took the food anyway, though not without questionably looking at Nico.
The other boy smiled mildly but didn't say anything.
Leo didn't feel like going yet.
He didn't want to leave Nico alone again, he wanted to talk to him, wanted to make him laugh.
He pointed at the patch of bed next to Nico and raised an eyebrow.
Nico, looking rather surprised, nodded and took a cookie himself.
They sat on Nico's bed, munching cookies and talking for hours.
At first Nico was still very shy, barely saying anything, especially not out loud, so Leo started telling him funny little stories about his first quest, Buford the table and his inability to use a sword.
He didn't get Nico to really laugh with those, but he made him grin and occasionally chuckle so Leo just went on.
As the time went by Nico became more confident.
He smiled more, talked louder and shared his own little stories.
Even later, when it had already gotten dark outside, they began talking about more earnest topics.
Leo told him about his mother's death, his years running away, being put into various foster homes and his insecurities and Nico shared his story in return.
Starting with his time in the Lotus Hotel and Casino, he talked about his sister and her death, his betrayal to Percy, his issues with his father and Persephone, his relationship with Hazel and his missing childhood memories.
Leo had listened carefully, trying to absorb every detail and he realized that they were indeed very similar.
They both had lost their mothers at a young age, they had never truly felt accepted, nor good enough. They had made mistakes they didn't stop blaming themselves for, but both of them also had the will to change this and talking about these things made both of them feel more relieved than they had been in a very long time.
From this evening on, Leo and Nico started growing closer and closer.
Nico finally stopped shutting himself down, talked to the others more and helped on the ship, making Hazel unbelievably happy.
He also started growing close to Piper, who he surprisingly got along with very well.
After the war, when they were back at Camp Half-Blood, there was huge party to celebrate their victory.
There was music, a bonfire, a buffet and even the hunters and the campers from Camp Jupiter were invited.
In the middle of the night, when the party was still in full swing, Leo found Nico sitting at the dock.
Immediately worried he went over and tapped on his shoulder.
"You alright?"
Nico turned to look at him and smiled brightly, his eyes twinkling happily.
"Yeah, just needed a few minutes alone."
Leo nodded.
"Can I sit with you?"
"Sure."
They sat in comfortable silence for a while, just watching the Long Island Sound in the faint moonlight and listening to the muffled music in the distance, until Leo asked: "Aren't you cold?"
He had noticed the cool breezes that slightly ruffled their hair.
Leo wasn't cold, he never was, people called him a "Human Heater", but he knew for sure that Nico didn't have that ability.
The other half-blood shrugged.
"Not really. I'm usually cold and this jacket is pretty thick."
Right, Leo had almost forgotten about the aviator jacket that Nico wore all day, every day.
It has become his trademark so naturally Leo didn't really spend a thought on it anymore.
"Right, I forgot about that."
He turned his head to grin at his friend, only to find that he was already looking at him.
He raised an eyebrow.
"It's weird, isn't it?", Nico started, not breaking the gaze.
Leo shook his head, confused. "What do you mean?"
Nico made some vague hand gestures. "Well...everything. How all of this went. The war...and-"
He suddenly stopped talking and blushed lightly, looking down at his dangling feet.
"And?", Leo inquired.
Nico didn't look up. He mumbled something, but Leo couldn't understand a word.
"What?", he asked, grinning slightly.
He knew that he shouldn't get his hopes up, but he just couldn't help it.
Leo has had a crush on his friend for a very long time, since the evening they ate those cookies back on the Argo 2, and he always tried to make Nico understand, tried to see if he might feel the same.
But Leo, unfortunately, was no child of Aphrodite, therefore he probably wouldn't see the signs if they punched him in the face.
Nico made a choking sound and looked up.
"And...well...us", he mumbled, his gaze not quite meeting Leo's.
Leo playfully raised the other eyebrow.
"Us?"
The other boy blushed an even darker shade of red, which, in Leo's opinion, made him look horribly cute, and fidgeted awkwardly.
"Yeah...", Nico trailed off.
Leo nudged him, causing Nico to look him in the eyes.
Their faces were only a few inches apart now.
Nico's cheeks were still tinged slightly red and Leo was sure that he looked the same, if not worse.
"What do you mean?", he questioned.
He had to make sure, he didn't want to be rejected.
For a moment, Nico was silent, he looked like he was fighting a battle with himself.
Finally, he sighed and took a very deep breath.
No really, Leo thought he was trying to inhale every bit of air surrounding them.
And then he leaned forward, causing their noses to touch.
His eyes were cast down and he took another shaky breath, which Leo could feel on his lips.
It made him smile slightly and he grabbed Nico's hand, causing him to look up and meet Leo's eyes.
They sat like that for a moment, just unabashedly staring into each others eyes, before Leo finally filled the tiny gap between them and captured Nico's lips with his own.
He had tried to prepare himself for this but the fact that he was actually kissing Nico and he wasn't pulling away was just too overwhelming.
The kiss was rather simple.
No wet tongues, no teeth clashing and no lip-biting, they were just shyly, softly moving their lips against each others, and it was enough to get lost in.
Nico's hesitatingly wrapped his arms around Leo's neck, shifting their position, so that Leo could easily grab Nico by the waist and pull him even closer.
When they pulled away in need of oxygen with slightly swollen lips and bright red cheeks, they leaned their foreheads against each others and just remained silent for a while, thinking about what had just happened.
A few minutes later, Leo murmured: "Nico?"
Nico bit his lip before answering softly: "Yeah?"
"Does that like...make us a couple now?"
Nico chuckled quietly.
"Do you want it to?"
Leo planted another quick kiss onto Nico's lips.
"Yes", he said then, smiling at the sight of Nico's face lighting up ever so slightly.
Nico just nodded and leaned in for another kiss, making this night unforgettable for both of them.
This has such a cheesy ending! But oh well, what am I gonna do?
I hope you could at least tolerate this :)
Love, Al xx