Hello, this is based off of the song Taylor Swift! I think it fits Leo and Nico so well, especially with the war going on.
WARNINGS: SOME SEX BUT NOT GRAPHIC (MOSTLY JUST SOME KISSING SO NOTHING TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT), MENTIONS OF ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
"Come on, let's get out of here," Nico requested and Leo agreed, strolling away with the son of Hades to escape the noise and crowds on the deck.
Leo was nervous. He'd been in love with Nico since immediately after Percy and Annabeth fell into Tartarus. On the Argo, he and Nico had kind of been forced together. Jason had Piper; Hazel had Frank; Coach had his magazines and TV; and Percy and Annabeth, while out of commission at the time, had each other. Therefore, they'd gotten to know each other better and somewhere along the way, they became friends.
But Leo wanted to be more than that. He wanted to kiss Nico like he'd never kissed anyone ever before. The son of Hephaestus was bisexual, but he hadn't loved a boy since he'd fallen in love with this one kid named Andrew years ago. Andrew had hit him more than once and Leo had run away. He found it hard to love any boy- hell, anyone- after that because he always had a subconscious fear they would be like Andrew.
But Nico had unknowingly squashed that fear. When the son of Death stepped into the picture, Leo's uneasiness concerning relationships melted away and Leo found himself falling in love for the first time since Andrew. He wasn't sure whether to be terrified or thrilled, so he settled for both.
And yet... Leo couldn't make a move because those girls he flirted with? None of them would ever love him, but he had a chance with Nico and Leo didn't want to break the son of Hades's heart more than it already was.
He knew he'd die in the war. It was his destiny, and somehow he'd always known it. Leo wasn't about to tell Nico or anyone for that matter for fear that they would try to prevent it. Nothing good ever comes from trying to change fate.
Leo examined Nico.
He was short, maybe half an inch taller than scrawny Leo, with raven locks that were tousled by the wind. Leo was tempted to run his hands through it, but he restrained himself. The son of death looked so handsome in his aviators jacket and the black clothing that made him appear so mysterious, like a locked box just begging to be opened. But his eyes were what Leo loved the most. They were obsidian, like cracked glass, and Leo wanted nothing more than to mend those cracks, piece together Nico's broken heart. He just prayed someone else would do it because he wouldn't be here.
"Like what you see?" Nico smirked. It was rare to see the sarcastic side of Nico Di Angelo, but being a good friend of his, Leo was one of the few people that did.
Leo blushed at being caught staring.
Nico suddenly burst out laughing and when Leo looked at him puzzled, Nico tapped his own nose and Leo understood. He tried to pat out the flames crackling on his nose and the smoke curling from his hair.
"Um, Nico," Leo said once they calmed down. "I need to talk to you."
"So do I," Nico said, his face turning solemn. "Leo, you're my best friend- my only good friend- but I've been keeping something from you. Jason found out by accident and he's been encouraging me to tell someone. I think you should be the first to know that... I'm gay."
The pair were silent for a heartbeat until Nico sighed, "Go on, laugh."
Leo smiled and shook his head. "I can't laugh at you, Nico. I'm bi, after all."
Nico's eyes widened. "Really? With all the girls you flirt with I never thought you'd like guys as well."
"Let's just say I've had a few boyfriends in the past and... they didn't exactly encourage me to date guys," Leo mumbled, staring at the grass below them.
Leo doesn't elaborate, but Nico somehow knew. "Sorry I asked."
"It's fine, it's just... that's just what I wanted to talk to you about."
Leo took a deep breath. No turning back now.
"I like you, Nico, like... like like you. A lot."
Leo expected Nico to spit on him, say "Why would I go out with a pathetic elf like you?" just like Andrew used to say whenever Leo offered to take him out on a date.
But Nico just laughed. "Good because I like like you, too."
Leo looked up just in time for Nico's lips to meet his own.
For a moment, there's only this... only now... but he knew it would have to end.
"Nico," he said. "One more thing, alright?"
"Anything," Nico said and Leo's heart breaks because he knows that he won't be seeing Nico again after he leaves tonight.
"Just... say you'll remember me, Nico, okay? In case I don't see you again, just promise me that you'll remember me like this and not as some hero that I'm not. You'll remember me as the person I am now, the boy that loves you more than anything. Got it?"
Nico smiles, sadly. "I promise, Repair Boy. And I will see you again, even if it's just in my wildest dreams."
And they kiss again and everything- the quest, the possibility of death, of not being able to be together- fades away, swept up in a moment of love and passion.
Leo doesn't even remember moving to his cabin, but next thing he knows, they're in his cabin, both without shirts and still kissing like there's no tomorrow. Probably because for them... no tomorrow is a possibility in this war.
He can hear the seven laughing from above deck and he feels like laughing because they haven't noticed that Nico and Leo are gone. For once, that's a good thing in Leo's book.
Nico runs his hands through his hair and he breathes, "I love you, Repair Boy."
"I love you, too, Neeks."
They fell asleep not long after and they wake up with Hazel calling Nico's name- not frantically, but getting there.
Nico sits up and gives Leo a final peck on the lips. "I'll see you again, Repair Boy. "
"Even if it's just in your wildest dreams," Leo finished. "Stay safe, Neeks. I love you."
"I love you, too, baby." Nico leaves in a hurry and they're both on the edge of tears. Leo wipes his away and after a few seconds of standing alone, he departs from his room.
He arrives on deck and Nico waves to both him and Hazel before disappearing into the shadows with the Athena Parthenos, Reyna, and Coach Hedge.
As soon as he can slip away, Leo sits on his bed and cries.
He finds Nico's shirt at the end of his bed, folded neatly unlike the crumpled mess it was last night, and he knows that it was left there on purpose.
Leo presses his face into the shirt and sobs because he'll never see his boyfriend again. He will die in this war and he'll never be able to truly be with Nico unless Nico dies, although he hopes that is a long way off.
He remembers last night in vivid detail and he knows Nico does too.
"I love you, Leo Valdez."
"I love you, too, Neeks. I promise I'll see you again. "
Leo stands and starts to sketch a design on a piece of paper- a plan. He has a promise to keep.
He just prays that Festus will give him the vaccination in time.
*ONE WEEK AFTER WAR*
Nico walked around like a zombie and not just because of his near fading experience over the last week and a half.
Leo Valdez- his boyfriend- was dead. He was all alone.
He kept remembering the last time he saw Leo. His Repair Boy.
"I love you, Neeks. I promise I'll see you again."
Sometimes he thinks he sees Leo walking alongside him or standing somewhere within his line of vision at camp. He'd even seen him sitting in the Hades cabin once.
But this was not Leo's ghost. Nico would know. These were memories, things that could've been.
So when he walked into his cabin to find Leo Valdez seated on his bunk, he wasn't all surprised.
He tried to ignore him until Leo stood and walked over to kiss him on the lips.
Nico was thoroughly shocked. The hallucinations had never been so vivid before.
"What? You're not real. My Leo's dead," Nico stated, flatly.
The boy smiled. "I am real, Nico."
Nico knows that this is all a hallucination, but he had to know. He wrapped his arms around Leo and laid his head on the boy's shoulder.
No... it couldn't be. A hallucination wouldn't feel so warm and familiar and loving... because it wasn't real. But this... this felt the same as two weeks ago on the Argo II.
He reached out with his senses and felt Leo's presence standing before him, in his arms, and he knew.
Leo Valdez had returned.
"I promised I'd see you again," Leo reminded.
"Even if it's just in my wildest dreams," Nico recalled. "And this is definitely one of my wildest dreams."
Leo laughed. "I missed you, Neeks."
"I love you, Leo. You better not leave me again."
"Oh, trust me, Nico, I'm not going anywhere."
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS:
1. I just finished one of my other stories and I have a rule that when I complete a story, I start a new one. I have 5 ideas and have posted the summaries on my profile. Two are Leo Valdez, one is a Leo Valdez crossover with the Outsiders story, and two are Harry Potter (Sirius and Regulus Black). Just read those summaries and review on any one of my stories which story you would like to see me post first.
2. Which one shot should I post next?
Annabeth and Leo angst- Because of you by Kelly Clarkson (there will be some Annabeth hating in this, so keep that in mind)
OR
Coach Hedge and Leo friendship- The Reason by Hoobastank (some OOC but hopefully not too much. That's about it)
Until next time!