Be safe, my Ghost King

HashtagMC

A/N: I just browsed through one billion images of a sad Nico di Angelo, and some images of Leo Valdez, and I really needed to write this. I'm not crying, but my eyes are wet. I hope you guys like this story. Also, at this place, just feel hugged or something – if I have done my job, you'll need the hug during or after this story.

Fun fact: I wrote this story while listening to Bee Gees music. While I finished it, I was hearing Stayin' Alive. That's really true!

Main Pairing: Nico/Leo

Side Pairing: Nico/Will

Warnings: Character death (mentioned), break-up (briefly mentioned)

Disclaimer: Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Heroes of Olympus are the intellectual property of Rick Riordan. I own nothing but the plot.

Act I – Parted Ways

I was in my room, rummaging through my bags and collecting the few things I deemed necessary for the upcoming journey. It weren't much: Toothbrush, a spare set of clothes, a sheath for my sword I could strap to my back. In the 'emotional' department, I settled for the Hades figurine Bianca had got me and the Poseidon card from Mythomagic. Done. I didn't own much more. Originally, there hadn't been a room planned for me, so Leo had repurposed an empty cabinet. It was enough space for a small bed and the aforementioned belongings. I stayed at the crow's nest most the time anyway.

I frowned when somebody knocked on my door. I hadn't taken that much time, so who would dare to bother me? Besides Hazel, Frank or Jason, people hardly talked to me. Percy, maybe, but I usual evaded any conversations with him. I turned around and reached for the door handle (the room was so small, I could open the door from my bed), only to be greeted by the person I least expected after opening the door, namely—

'Leo? What are you doing here?'

The mechanic fumbled with some mechanical parts in his hands, as he always did when he was nervous. The reason for his nervousness most likely being me. What else.

Without asking for it, Leo stepped inside, 'forcing' me back until the edge of the bed touched my shins.

'Uh, what are you do—'

'I wanted to say goodbye,' Leo said. 'I know we never talked much, but…,' for the first time that day he looked me straight into the eyes, '…be safe, okay?' I was surprised to see a tear in the corner of his eye. Unsure what to do, I nodded. He looked so worried, I wondered why he was so invested in my departure. Since when did he – or anybody, for that matter – care whether I was there or not?

To my own surprise, I took both his hands into mine and leant down to the smaller boy.

'I promise.'

Leo nodded, a hint of red on his tanned cheeks, and suddenly I realized just how close we were and hastily withdrew my hands.

'I also have something to give you,' the Latino continued, and his hands – dirty, grease-stained hands – reached up to cup my face and pull me down while he stood on his tiptoes at the same time. For a brief moment, our lips met, and if anything in my entire life had ever felt plain right, it was this moment. But the moment was over to soon, and Leo's hands left my face.

'Take care of yourself, my Ghost King,' he whispered before he left the room. I was too stunned to reply.

Act II – Aftermath

It was an honour to supervise the burial rites. For once, my affinity with the dead wasn't negative. People trusted me to make sure everybody who had died got a proper funeral and was prepared to enter the Underworld. In a way, I was undertaker by the grace of Hades.

But one body wasn't among the dead. Leo Valdez. I had sensed his death, there could be no doubt – the boy was dead, and although I hadn't been as close to him as Hazel, Piper or Jason, I regretted his death the most. They were trying to find consolation in the fact that, if anybody could trick death, it would be him. I couldn't do so. I knew for certain that he was dead, strange feeling or not, and it showed me quite plainly and painfully what could have been but hadn't meant to be. Another person who had loved me, and whom I could have learned to love, had passed away.

Possibilities… the Fates are truly cruel, showing me again and again how many things I had done wrong. The more I thought about what could have been between Leo Valdez and me, the more I fell in love with his memory. How I could have never noticed him, I had no idea. Even his habit to randomly burst into flames when he was excited was adorable. I would have gladly dealt with all his quirks and habits if only I could have had him back.

I had searched the Underworld for him, but that was when the strange feeling I had felt made sense.

Leo Valdez had died, but he had never reached the Underworld. He had left the realm of life, but he had never entered the realm of death. He was somewhere in between them.

I had dreams about him, too. I wasn't sure whether they would count as nightmares or not – while I dreamt them, they were utter bliss, but as soon as I woke up, finding that I was hugging a pillow instead of the son of Hephaestus, they were pure horror. I spent nights and nights crying myself back to sleep, clinging to my pillow for dear life, whispering Leo's name until I fell asleep due to the mere exhaustion.

After a year had passed, when the first anniversary of the end of the war – for me, it would always be the day Leo died – kept coming closer, I finally told Jason. He was surprised at first, but he didn't say a word about me being stupid for loving someone who was dead. Never before I had been glad that Jason had been with me in Croatia, but now that I needed a shoulder to cry onto, I was glad that he knew. I might have not accepted his friendship at first, but ever since then, I did.

Act III – Moving On

Two years after the war, I had a boyfriend. While I could never forget Leo, over time I had accepted the fact that he was dead and would never return. Maybe one and a half year after the war had ended, I had revealed my secret to my friends. The reminiscence of Leo had encouraged me to do so. I had lost two people I could have loved because I had never said anything, I wouldn't let that happen a third time. Whilst I had given up on Percy long ago, we might have had a chance if I had outright told him right away. And maybe, just maybe, Leo and I would have been together if he would have known…

My feelings for Will Solace would never push away the ones for Leo or Percy, but he showed me how wonderful love is. He was the most tender and caring boyfriend I could imagine, and slowly, the scars Percy and Leo had left in my heart began to heal. When we kissed, the world wasn't the hostile place it used to be before. But I never forgot Leo. And unlike some other people, Will never minded. I could tell him anything, and if I woke up crying after dreaming of Leo again, he would be there to hold me and let me sob to his muscular chest. I loved him deeply, and at the time, I couldn't imagine we would ever be apart.

But we could. Four years after the war, we parted to move to different parts of the US for college. Officially, we still were together, but things began to cool off between us, even though we met during weekends every now and then. It wasn't until two years later that Will confessed, in tears, that he had met someone else and wished to break up. I agreed, admitting that, a few months later, I probably would have been the one to make this call. We parted as friends.

In the meantime, I went on dates with a few guys, but nothing felt like what I had had with Will, and none of them measured up to Leo Valdez. I had been given a glimpse of true love twice now, and I was determined to never give up on it, but I had begun to accept the fact that I might be lonely for a long time.

Act IV – Present

All these events are long gone. The war ended twenty years ago. I am now living a life on my own – far away from anything related to the gods or the camps. I am done with the divine business. I am happy keeping my own, little book store, in a village far away from civilisation. I am part of the little, local community, I get to see my friends every once in a while, and aside from the everlasting loneliness, the lack of a significant other, I am content. I spend my evenings sitting and reading by the fireplace, and I am happy.

Something glows outside the window. As I look out of the window, I see a fireball flying across the sky, a fiery trail following. While I am watching, the fireball hits a nearby field. Only then I notice my piercing headache.

When I arrive at the crash site, nothing and nobody is to be seen, except the leftovers of what once might have been a plane, or maybe—

A metal dragon. My ability to see through the mist has slowly subsided over the years, but I can clearly see the head, teeth and wings of a metal dragon. A head I once used to know.

When I come back to my house, I am feeling more agitated than I have ever felt during my whole life. The Fates are playing their cruel games again – letting Leo's dragon return to me, but taking him away from me again, and with him all hope.

Somebody knocks at the door, and sighing, I get up. I am not in the mood to talk now, especially not with my neighbours. To them, it might be a crashed plane or a meteor storm. They won't understand. Maybe I can excuse myself if I claim that the crash has churned me up. It isn't even a lie.

But when I open the door, I don't find any of my neighbours on my doorstep. In front of me stands a man I have never seen before, yet he seems strangely familiar. The impish grin has given way to worry lines, but the grease stains and the black curls on his face still are the same. His clothes are smoking, but they aren't burnt. That's when realisation hits me.

'Leo?' I whisper, unable to hide the hope in my voice. The man looks up, and hesitating, I reach out to wipe a curl out of his face.

It is him. His appearance may have altered, and he might have aged as well, but his eyes are the same.

'Nico?'

If I needed any confirmation, this word is enough. Without giving it a second thought, I pull Leo into my arms. And the feeling of Leo's arms – strong, muscular arms – wrapped around me is the best feeling I've ever felt.

For a moment, Leo looks into my eyes, as if asking for my consent, which I gladly grant him by leaning in ever so slightly. And the next moment, our lips meet again, for the first time after twenty years. And this time, it is far from being a brief moment.

'What about Calypso,' I breathe against his lips when we part for a second. Leo only shakes his head. Whether that means she is dead, or they parted, I don't question him further, but join our lips once again.

When I finally ask him to come in, and we call our friends, I am unable and unwilling to stop the tears of happiness streaming down my face. All the time during the call – a long call, with lots of tears, scolding, relief and death threats – our fingers are linked. And the images has only just disappeared when I ask Leo to be my boyfriend. I would have never thought that I would say this word again. Boyfriend. Yet here I am, writing these words, after an amazing evening, and an amazing night with my boyfriend.

Maybe I am meant to be happy, after all.