And here's a sort of full-blown Valdangelo fanfic, coming to you in a series of parts that I have no idea how long will take to upload or write. Heh. Anyways, this was based off another tumblr prompt by sugarandicetea :

Leo having a crush on Nico when they first met then Nico going on a quest with Jason and Percy that accidentally puts the two in a love spell with Nico and Leo comforting Nico's confused feelings and later ending up with them being together

I altered it slightly to make it more of a cohesive story (such as the setting, and Leo's initial feelings for Nico progressing more naturally.)

This is set immediately after the war, and as I'm pretty sure no one knows how this is going to turn out I will leave it ambiguous and not mention much. I'm focusing on the actual current events, and the feelings are the main point here. I need to re-read all the HOO books anyways since my knowledge is really rusty.

Enjoy!

Il fuoco di vero amore

It wasn't unusual for the goddess Aphrodite to be extremely susceptible to sensing the waves. Not ocean waves, mind you, but love waves; powerful feelings of lust, regret or passion that she could pick up on depending on the strength of the moment. It was rare for her to feel pure, true love coursing through her godly system, however, and whenever it happened it filled her with a sense of euphoria unlike any other. Human love was beautiful, nice, comforting. Yet she was easily able to pick up on the feelings of the demigods, of course, because they had a special signature that reflected back and coincided nicely with her own status as a goddess.

Currently, she had been basking in some of the most interesting feelings relating to a certain trio of extra-special demigods, however. Aphrodite had been following these three rather closely, since they were paramount and uniquely important to the entirety of their race. The Sons of Jupiter, Poseidon, and Hades (specifically) all had a pinpointed place in the Greco-Roman modern world that Aphrodite was curious to see unfold more as time went on.

Her specialty being love, of course, led to her understanding of something quite pressing: two out of three were happy, in pure love with their partners. Jason Grace and her own daughter Piper McLean were matched utterly to perfection, as were Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase. If Aphrodite closed her eyes, she could feel the hearts of these couples as if they were intertwined, so in love were they. Nico di Angelo, however, was another story.

The Son of Hades was a whirlwind of bitterness and horridly depressed, mixed with anger and all directed at none other than Percy Jackson himself. Aphrodite had seen (and felt) that one coming from around the corner, but it wasn't her place to say anything. Now that everything had settled back down to normal, however, she felt the need to meddle a bit.

"You wanted to see me?"

Aphrodite turned from her place on the recliner in order to meet the misty eyes of the goddess Hecate. Raised eyebrows met Aphrodite's own twinkling eyes filled with excitement.

"Yes, we have plenty of work to do. Your magic and my potions will work wonders on this impending chaos..."

x.X.x.X.x.X.x

Some would say that Nico di Angelo's glare really could send you to an early death. If looks could kill, Nico'd be the one to do it and rather permanently. Percy Jackson was in fact the current recipient of one of these glares, and he was rather surprised to still be standing.

"Why not Annabeth?" the young Son of Hades growled.

"The quest was specifically set for the three of us... Sons of the Big Three." Percy was trying to shift the blame as far away from himself as possible, knowing full well that it wasn't working. Nico looked about ready to skewer the messenger (himself) with that Stygian iron sword of his.

"Not the daughters? Why can't Hazel go instead of me?" Nico tried, seemingly getting a little desperate.

"She's a girl. Not a Son, like it says. You know how picky these prophecies get. Take it up with Rachel, okay?!" Percy finished, exasperated and running a hand through his dark hair. Nico looked away, not able to watch him do that since it was one of the most attractive things he'd ever witnessed.

Uncomfortable, he snapped back instead.

"What was it again?"

Percy frowned, biting his lip a bit before launching into the newest prophecy given at Camp Half-Blood.

'Powerful Sons Three,

of Earth, Sky, and Sea,

Shall undertake the journey

of many indecisions.

Under influence of drug,

Time, lust, and love

One will be tested anew

And compromise his virtue.

To kindle fire in his heart,

He's given a head start

With the help of a potion

To sort out his emotion.

In the City of Light

Will these three fight

For control that has been taken

And only then will they awaken.'

Nico swallowed thickly, not liking where this was going one bit.

"That might be the dumbest prophecy I've ever heard in my life."

Percy chuckled awkwardly, shifting a little from foot to foot.

"We should go back to the Big House and talk to Jason some more, see if we can figure it all out and go from there..." he tried, jerking his head towards the general direction of the Big House. Nico rolled his eyes and fell into step beside him.

"I'm sure Annabeth can just figure it out on her own" Nico said a bit acidly. He really had nothing against the blonde, except that she and Percy were clearly meant to be while Nico himself was left out with no one.

"Hey guys, where are you heading?"

Leo Valdez had caught sight of them and had darted over towards them from his position on the small porch of the Hephaestus cabin. He hooked his lean arms around the other two, grinning like an idiot. Nico attempted to shrug him off, but being shorter and smaller, ultimately failed and let it be. Percy on the other hand simply laughed and pulled the arm off, leaving Leo solely draped over Nico.

"We're going on a quest, if you must know." Nico was blunt, something that Leo appreciated but only at times. The abruptness of this statement caused him to involuntarily tighten his arm around the smaller male, heart stuttering. Nico and Percy...?

"Who else is going? Was there a prophecy?" he immediately blurted out as they continued walking towards their destination.

"Yeah, Rachel freaked Jason out this morning when her whole Oracle-business started happening... I was there too, it was hilarious! He looked like he was about to s-" the words died in his mouth upon the glare Nico sent him, and Percy coughed a bit before resuming. "Yeah, important stuff first. We're not really sure what the quest's about, but it's for the Sons of the Big Three only. I hope it's nothing too crazy... I'm so tired of crazy." Percy was honest enough that it touched Leo a bit, and that was the problem with the son of Poseidon: you just really couldn't hate him.

Leo, in fact, had been harboring growing odd feelings for the boy who currently allowed him to sling his arm around his shoulders, feelings that would ultimately bring him to the realization that he was jealous of the younger boy's attraction to Percy. Leo honestly didn't think that he could have ever been gay, not with all the women he chased after, and not after Calypso...

When he had discovered Nico's own little secret, however, he had realized that it was an actual thing to like boys, and it was Nico himself that became the target of these affections. Leo had of course been exposed to homosexuality before, just never by way of someone he actually knew in his own life. Ever since his epiphany, however, he'd find any excuse to hang around Nico and spend time talking to the enigmatic Son of Hades.

Nico appreciated Leo's friendship, more than the other actually knew; at first, he thought that because of his "preferring men" Leo was making fun of him in order to taunt him and his sexuality... He was rather hostile to the Hispanic boy after that. Had he not revealed his secret, opened himself up and become vulnerable to both him and Piper that night over some really good wine?

It was in fact due to Leo's intervention that Nico was still even around as much as he was; he wanted to make good on his promise to vanish and never interact with any of them ever again once the war was over, but Leo caught hold of him and convinced him to be strong, and that vanishing was a cowardly and self-harming solution. That was what made Leo such a powerful influence in Nico's life; he didn't sugarcoat anything, and he seemed to always know when to leave the shitty jokes behind for actual advice.

Leo's own feelings began running deeper once they had grown closer, and he chose to not fight them. He had confided these emotions only to Piper, who had told him to go for it whenever he was ready. Percy was the one obstacle, however, at least in Leo's mind. Nico still carried a torch for the older boy, despite all he did to hide and deny it.

As they arrived at the Big House, they were immediately greeted by Jason and Piper who practically pulled them into the main room, where Annabeth was sitting poring over a scroll upon which she had seemingly jotted down the newest prophecy.

"The City of Light... That's Paris" she spoke without raising her eyes from the parchment, only glancing up briefly when Percy made his way over to her and snaked his arms around her waist. Leo felt Nico stiffen next to him, and he squeezed the smaller shoulder with his hand for comfort.

"There's no time limit either. It's weirdly avoiding an end date, or time when this needed to be completed by... Normally they offer something at least!" she continued, pushing some of her blonde curls off her face.

"What's all this love stuff? Piper, d'you got anything?" Jason asked curiously, looking at his girlfriend adoringly. He always had a respect for her that could be seen a mile away, and Leo couldn't help but smile a bit at the two of them.

"I honestly don't know for sure," she started slowly. "All I can figure from this is that the quest might have something to do with my mom. Maybe she wants the three of you to go to Paris to do something for her?" she suggested.

"Yeah, this doesn't explain the virtue stuff though. I mean, I'm pretty sure I'm not the 'one' it's talking about, eh Annabeth?" Percy joked, nibbling on his girlfriend's jawline as if to prove his point. Leo's gaze shifted to see the pained look on Nico's face, and he sighed a bit as if defeated.

"Now that that's out in the open for everyone to know..." Piper coughed awkwardly, noticing the crimson on her friend Annabeth's cheeks. "I'm pretty sure Jason isn't either... Um..." she trailed off, leaving that to percolate in everyone's brains.

"Ookay, fine, I'm the 'one' who's going to get his virtue tested. It could mean all sorts of things!" Nico spat out a bit harshly, crossing his arms and finally shrugging Leo's arm off of his shoulders.

"Yeah, well. It looks like there's gonna be a lot up to you if that's the case," Annabeth began slowly, a little awkwardly as she always was worried she'd say the wrong thing around Nico. He wasn't the nicest person around her, and that caused her to remain extra careful with him.

"You're basically supposed to sort out your, erm, love issues. In Paris. Or the world will dissolve into chaos?" Piper offered, helping her friend out a bit. Annabeth shot her a look, seemingly grateful that she didn't have to put it in those words.

"Yeah, okay. Whatever. Let's just get this over with." Nico was putting on a brave face, but his standing so close to Leo was giving him away. Leo could feel the shorter boy shaking slightly.

"I guess meet back here after we've packed?" Percy offered, kissing his girlfriend on the cheek and pulling her along with him to help sort out whatever stuff he'd need to bring on the quest. Piper dragged Jason out of the Big House next, sending Leo a quick apologetic look and mouthing the words 'we'll talk later' when the other two weren't looking.

That left Nico and Leo alone in the Big House. It was silent for a while, Nico refusing to look at his friend and resolutely standing with his arms still crossed.

"Look, I really think this is meant to help you somehow, Nico. Don't read too much into it." Leo was telling this to the younger boy gently, not only to reassure him but to tell himself that it wasn't a big deal. In fact, it was a huge deal; Leo didn't want to think about it, though, so he put on his smile and reached a calloused hand over to place it delicately on the aviator-jacket-clad shoulder.

"It's going to be a disaster, and you know it," Nico spoke softly with a touch of bitterness. "Percy's going to be trying to set me up with every girl we come across, Jason's going to be pitying me like always, and I've apparently got the fate of the world on my shoulders according to Piper if I don't figure out my love life."

"Maybe that's the answer, then. Maybe you just have to tell Percy for good what's bugging you... You know. All of it." It pained Leo immensely to say these things, but perhaps the sooner Nico got it out of his system the quicker he'd come back?

Before he got an answer, however, he felt two thin arms encircle his waist and pull him in for a hug. It was a miracle that he didn't explode into flame then and there, so he was extra careful when returning the embrace.

"Don't die out there, okay?" Leo joked, reveling in the feeling of Nico's smaller form nestled so perfectly into his own for that short moment.

"The only one who'd end up dying anywhere is Cupid, if that jackass ever comes across me again" Nico muttered, causing Leo to laugh heartily. Nico liked the feeling of his friend's warm body reverberating with that laugh; he'd never felt something that nice before.

They ran off in order to get Nico a bag packed for his journey, and upon returning they found the other two heroes kissing their girlfriends passionately on the steps of the Big House. Nico bit his lip in order to keep from staring at Percy, and Leo's eyes followed the exchange jealously.

"So, di Angelo, do I get a goodbye kiss like that or...?" he said loudly, trying to not sound eager by masking it with a joke. Nico rolled his eyes, but the desired effect was there. The other two couples pulled apart swiftly, Percy grinned at Leo's 'joke' while Piper smiled knowingly. Leo took it even further by proffering his lips and puckering up obnoxiously, causing the others to snicker as Nico swatted him away. The pink coloring to his cheeks was worth it, in Leo's eyes.

Before they geared up to shadow travel to Paris, however, Nico darted over and gave Leo a quick kiss on the cheek. The icy burn those lips left on Leo's skin was so searing that he figured it might always remain there, which was fine with him.

The title is Italian for "the fire of true love" which is an underlying theme here.

Please leave me a comment, they really make my day and inspire me to keep writing more! :)