VALDANGELO! These two will be the death of me, cuties :3 Hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: All HoH characters are Rick Riordan's (our Rick who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name)
It had all started with a plug.
Leo had been working late again. About ninety percent of his time was spent in Bunker 9, building and fixing until his fingers cramped and his eyes stung. Not even the demigod equivalent of the Human Torch could completely escape the effects of tiredness and heatstroke from constant exposure to the roaring forges.
The worst part though was the quiet. Leo had been the only one working in Bunker 9 for the past month, and he wasn't accustomed to such long periods of silence. He ended up talking to himself more and more just to escape the crushing silence, and by the time he was slumped asleep across his desk at four in the morning his throat was hoarse and he'd given himself earache.
But fortunately, there was Nico.
The son of Hades was pretty much the only one who visited him while he worked. They'd sit side by side, deep in awkward conversation while Nico helped in any way he could with Leo's endless list of jobs.
They still weren't quite sure how to act around each other. As far as Leo knew they were together, they'd had their first (somewhat self-conscious) kiss, everyone else knew they were an item and once in a while Leo would wake up with his face pressed against his blueprints on the table and Nico softly snoring on the desk right next to him so their noses almost touched. Usually he got so embarrassed in those situations he jumped up and had to pat out the flames that roared to life in his hair before Nico woke up and noticed.
They didn't exactly have the easiest relationship, it's true.
But they got by. The attraction was there, they were both just too new to the situation to know how to express their feelings. And it didn't help that Nico kept his thoughts just as guarded as ever. He was stubborn. But hey, so was Leo.
It was their mutual resolve that changed everything.
The day it all began, they were sitting side by side at Leo's work bench, not really talking but enjoying each others' company. They were in the process of rewiring a heap of outdated gadgets and components, completing circuits and replacing fuses. Leo was just putting a newly revamped flashlight in their heap of completed mechanisms when he noticed something. He picked up the plug and frowned as he examined the wires. "Hey, Nico?"
Nico looked up from his work with a frown. "What?"
Leo held up the plug for him to see. "Better be careful if you do any more plugs like these, you got two of the wires confused."
Nico's frown deepened. "No, I didn't."
"Hey, it's no big deal!" Leo said quickly, fixing the plug and hoping he hadn't offended his famously grumpy boyfriend. "It was probably just an accident, I'm just giving you a head's up is all!"
Nico scowled. "I didn't even do that one, it was on your side. You're the one who rewired it."
"What?" Leo said, confused. "I'm pretty sure this was yours."
"Well, it wasn't," Nico snapped.
"Well, I didn't do it!" Leo retorted. He definitely didn't remember doing this one, and how could he make such a rookie mistake? He lived and breathed machines, he'd never confused a wire in his life.
Nico just glared. "Well, you must have because I didn't. You taught me how to wire these things and I haven't made any mistakes!"
Leo's logical mind told him to just let it go.
Unfortunately, he wasn't known for being logical.
"What, and you think I do?" Leo argued, brandishing the offending component. "I was rewiring these suckers while I was still in kindergarten, I learned my fuses before I learned my ABC!"
"Well, that explains your terrible spelling," Nico barked irritably. "Maybe you should head back to kindergarten, Valdez, because that plug's definitely your doing."
"As if!" They were red faced from arguing now, glaring at each other tenaciously. No one was backing down. "It's no big deal, Di Angelo," Leo continued, narrowing his eyes. "Just admit you did it and move on, no shame in one mistake."
"Well, if there's no shame in it, why don't you admit it was your fault?" Nico countered.
"Never!"
"Well, I'm not backing down, Repair Boy!" Nico said firmly, standing up and facing Leo with his arms crossed over his chest.
"Well, neither am I!" Leo stated, standing up so fast his chair fell over.
The two of them stood and glared at each other, eyes level, arms tightly crossed and feet planted.
"I'm not moving until you admit the plug's yours," Leo threatened.
"I shall do no such thing," Nico said matter-of-factly.
"Then I guess we've got a long night ahead of us!" Leo raged.
"I suppose so."
"First one to move takes the blame!"
"Bring it on."
Neither one of them budged, which was a pretty amazing feat considering how far on the ADHD scale they both were. Minutes and hours ticked by in complete silence, with nothing but glares passing between them.
Outside the bunker the sun set below the horizon, the stars came out and the clouds rolled on. Neither demigod moved.
Later still, there was a tentative knock on the heavy bunker doors. "Hey, guys?" Jason's voice rang out. "You've been in there all day, you gonna come and get some food at least?"
"Go away!" Leo and Nico both shouted in perfect unison. The footsteps hastily retreated. They stared at each other for a moment.
Finally the silence was broken as Leo doubled over in laughter. Nico stared down at him, confused. "What's so funny?"
Leo straightened up, still chuckling. "You know, Neeks, you act all cold and indifferent, but we've actually got a lot in common."
Nico's cheeks reddened slightly. "Like what?"
"Well, for one thing we're both smart," Leo began, grinning at the son of Hades mischievously. "We're both quick to anger, both staggeringly handsome, and not to mention stubborn as a pair of old goats!"
Nico smiled slightly at the last part, but he couldn't stop his face going even redder at the handsome bit. He forced himself not to think about the cute dimples that had appeared on Leo's beaming face.
Leo ran a hand through his disheveled hair and smiled. "And I'll bet we're both starving. What do you think, food before we return to the stand-off?"
The stubborn part of Nico's brain wanted him to just stand there and keep glaring until Leo gave in.
In the end, though, his stomach won out over his pride.
He nodded grumpily, and the two of them walked side-by-side out of the bunker and back to camp. Neither of them could win a battle of wills on an empty stomach.
Needless to say, they spent their meal staring each other down from their respective tables. They got some funny looks from other campers, but most people were used to this by now. They'd known what to expect when the two most willful boys on site had started dating. Their squabbles were the stuff of legend.
But as hard as the two found it to swallow their pride, the food and conversation left them feeling a little less bitter. When they finished, they decided to swing by the campfire for a few minutes before they resumed their battle.
They sat near the back of the amphitheatre, sitting close but not quite touching. They stared out at the fire for a while, Leo was smiling but Nico could tell he was putting on a mask for his sake.
And to be honest, he was sad, too.
He'd felt so hopeful when he'd first got together with Leo. He'd let himself believe that he could just have a nice, easy relationship, with no awkwardness and no drama. Just something warm and natural, something that could wash away the bruises of his past and make him feel safe, like he belonged.
But maybe they were both just too proud to open themselves like that.
He was considering saying this to Leo when he noticed him frowning, his brow slightly crinkled like he was considering something. "What's up?" he asked suspiciously.
Leo didn't answer for about a minute. When he did, his cheeks reddened in embarrassment. He looked at Nico bashfully, his hands in his pockets.
"…It was me who wired the plug wrong," he said with difficulty, swallowing his pride.
Nico rolled his eyes. "This could've been whole lot easier if you'd just admitted that from the start. Why'd you hold out so long?"
Leo's cheeks went even redder. "I was… kind of embarrassed. I wasn't concentrating when I was wiring it…"
Nico frowned. "Why?"
Leo glared at him. "Because you were smiling while you worked and I couldn't stop looking at you, okay?" he admitted, his face burning. "…You're cute when you smile."
Nico stared at him. He was pretty sure their faces matched, because he felt all the blood rush to his head. For a few agonizing seconds he honestly thought he was going to combust from the awkwardness of the situation.
Then, to his surprise, he laughed. Leo stared at him, stunned.
Nico grinned at him. "Have you always used stubbornness to hide what a big softie you are, DaVinci?"
Leo matched his grin, his eyes sparkled. "I could ask you the same thing, Casper!"
They both laughed, leaning against each other for support. Nico felt Leo's fingers twine with his own, and felt the warmth from his body dispelling the cold in his.
"You're still a bigger softie than me, though," Nico teased.
"Am not, take that back!" Leo complained, but he looked too happy to make his whining convincing.
"Shan't!"
Leo shuffled slightly closer. "Well, I'm not leaving your side until you take it back."
Nico felt like he should be uncomfortable with the close proximity. He could feel Leo's body heat and felt a tingling sensation wherever their skin touched. But for whatever reason, he didn't feel awkward. For a moment he just felt warm, safe. Comfortable.
He felt an unfamiliar smile spread across his face.
"Bring it on."
Yeah, I'm probably gonna be writing a lot of these XD Thanks to tavrosgirl on tumblr for the prompt :)