Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus. I don't own anything written by Rick Riordan.

Author's Note: This is my first one-shot, so let me know what you think. This was written for hoOPJO as promised, since s/he won the title contest for Fire to the Rain. This is Valdangelo with fem!Nico. Enjoy and review! Also, I just rewrote this.

Leo POV

Leo stalked through the woods, grumbling under his breath. "Why the Hades did I chase that automaton? Now I'm lost and I still haven't found that malfunctioning machine!"

A small flame dancing across the son of Hephaestus's fingertips lit the way through the darkened woods as he searched for a familiar landmark. The Latino let out a curse as he stumbled over a tree root, causing a pang of pain to shoot through his abdomen. The war with Gaea had ended half a year ago and the Seven had mostly recovered. Unfortunately, one of Leo's broken ribs hadn't healed properly and still bothered him on occasion.

A soft sobbing caught Leo's attention as he stomped around a tree. He immediately started searching for the source of the crying. Following the noise as silently as he could so as not to startle whoever was crying, the fire-user found himself in a clearing full of dead plants. An aura of death emanated from the whole place, causing the demigod to shudder.

Leo stared at the collapsed form of none other than Nicole di Angelo. The girl's legs were splayed out under her and her shoulders were shaking as tears continued to find their way out of her eyes. She was clutching a piece of paper in her hands.

Leo hesitated, unsure of what to do. Half a year ago, the answer would have been obvious. The fire-user would have left he daughter of Hades alone. Terrified by the possibility of her summoning the dead to kill him, he would have run away as fast as his legs would carry him. But now...

Since the war with the Earth Mother and her children had ended, Leo had grown closer to Nico. They had become friends and the son of Hephaestus no longer feared the dead killing him. He knew the daughter of Hades only scared those around her because of the aura of death she naturally exuded. But Leo had managed to overcome the terror he felt when faced with the prospect of being near Nico and had become fast friends with her.

So instead of walking away from the heart-wrenching scene in front of him, Leo knelt down and wrapped his arms around the trembling form of the girl in front of him.

Nico tensed and jerked her head up. "Leo?" she asked, voice shaky. "What are you doing here?" Her hands moved to her cheeks, roughly drying them.

"Being the great hero that I am, I showed up in your moment of distress, milady," announced the Latino dramatically.

Nico raised an eyebrow in disbelief, shooting him a death glare at the same time. She pulled out of her friend's embrace. "I want the truth."

"I got lost," mumbled Leo, cheeks flaring in embarrassment.

The daughter of Hades let out a hoarse laugh. "Of course you did."

Leo huffed. "Don't laugh at me!"

"Sorry," said Nico, fighting the wan smile that was spreading across her lips. She was obviously not apologetic at all.

"What are you doing out here?" asked the fire-user a moment later.

"I- Bianca died today," said Nico softly.

"Today!?" Leo was surprised. He hadn't realized that any demigod had died since the war, let alone one that Nico knew well.

"No, you idiot," groaned Nico, a smile finding its way onto her face despite her depressed mood. "She died several years ago on this day." The smile slipped off her face.

"Oh," said Leo. "Who was she?"

"My sister," replied Nico somberly, voice catching.

Leo blinked. He had never heard of another child of Hades. Well, there was Hazel, but she was a daughter of Hades's Roman aspect, Pluto. "Was she your... full-blooded sister?" he asked hesitantly, cold certainty suddenly dawning on him.

Nico nodded, choking on a sob.

"I'm so sorry," whispered Leo, pulling the girl close.

The daughter of Hades leaned sideways against his chest, clenching his camp shirt in her fists. Sobs wracked her body.

Leo rubbed her back, in an attempt to soothe her. "Is that her?" he asked, gesturing to the crumpled photograph Nico was clutching.

She nodded silently and handed the picture to the fire-user. The girl in the picture had olive skin and looked a lot like Nico, but was slightly younger than Nico was. A green floppy hat was placed on her head and her hair hung over her face. From the way she held herself, it was obvious that the girl was shy, but Leo could see the undercurrent of fierceness in her eyes.

"She looked like she was an awesome sister," he said quietly.

"Bianca was the best," agreed Nico.

"H-how did she die?" Leo asked quietly. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to! I was just wondering," he added quickly as Nico tensed under his touch.

The olive-skinned girl was silent for a while, causing Leo to think she wouldn't reply.

"Bianca had decided to become a Hunter when the Hunters of Artemis rescued us," she said suddenly, startling the son of Hephaestus. "They didn't ask me to join, but Bianca had agreed anyways." A shudder ripped through her body. "Anyways, a few days later, Zoe - the lieutenant at the time - had a dream about Artemis being captured. After Capture-the-Flag that Friday, the Oracle gave a prophecy and a quest to rescue the goddess was issued. Zoe picked Phoebe - another huntress - Bianca, Grover - a satyr - and Thalia to accompany her. Before they left, Phoebe came down with a rash. She was unable to go..." Nico paused for a minute. "I looked up to Percy - he was my hero. He was the one who had found us, actually. I realized that he was going to follow the quest - Annabeth had been captured too and Percy wanted to save her - even though he wasn't supposed to. I made him promise to keep Bianca safe... But he couldn't. She died saving the rest of the quest from an automaton - a defective prototype of Talos," Nico broke off, gasping, as tears ran down her face.

"Hey," said Leo, wiping the tears off her cheeks, "your sister's probably in Elysium right now. She's probably listening to stories of your heroic acts during the war. And when you grow old and die, she'll be waiting for you."

"I know," whispered Nico. "I've talked to her ghost. But it was my fault! She was- she was trying to get me the one statue of my collection of Greek gods that was missing."

"Whoa!" Leo cupped the girl's cheeks. "It wasn't your fault. Bianca made her own choices. It was her decision to risk her life, not yours."

"But-"

Leo cut her off. "Could you have done something to save her?"

"I could have shadow travelled to her! I could have-"

"No, you couldn't have," Leo interrupted her, again. "You had only just found out you were a demigod. I doubt you knew you were a daughter of Hades, let alone how to shadow travel!"

Nico stared up at Leo quietly.

Her silence gave the son of Hephaestus all the information he needed. "Did you ask her to risk her life?" he asked.

Nico shook her head.

"Did you want her to die?"

An even more adamant shake.

"Then how can it be your fault? You're completely blameless in this situation, Nico. Bianca would agree with me," the Latino told her.

"I just... I miss her."

"I know you do," said Leo, thinking of his mother. "And you'll never stop missing her, but you'll meet her again."

Nico nodded. "You're right. But..."

"But what?" asked Leo.

"She was the only person who really cared about me. I could tell her anything and she wouldn't get mad at me," said Nico quietly.

The Latino held up a hand in protest, the other still around the Ghost Queen. "I care about you too. You can tell me whatever you want and I promise to never get mad."

Nico looked up, surprise obvious in eyes. "Never?"

"Never," said Leo firmly. And then, before he could stop himself, he pressed his lips to her.

Both the demigods gasped in surprise and Leo pulled away quickly, stumbling to his feet.

"I'm so sorry!" exclaimed the son of Hephaestus, backing away from the daughter of Hades.

"Leo," said Nico, standing and approaching the fire-user, expression unreadable.

"I mean it! I shouldn't have done that without asking you. Please don't be angry," he rambled, mortified. "I'll never-"

"Gods, you're an idiot, Leo," broke in Nico, rolling her eyes. "If I was upset, you wouldn't be here right now. Either you'd be dead, or I would have shadow travelled you somewhere else."

"So you're not upset?" asked the Latino, hope filling his voice.

"No. I can't be mad at you," breathed Nico, grabbing his shirt and pulling him down towards her.

Leo's eyes widened as Nico gently touched her lips to his.

Please review. I'm totally willing to rework this if you guys have any suggestions - or if you have a one-shot you want me to write, I can try.

I've received a request to continue this. If you want me to, I need some ideas. I also need to know if you even think this is worth continuing. Let me know through reviews or PMs.

I have a poll on my profile I would like you to vote on - it's about what story I should write after I finish either one of my current stories. I also have other stories I'd love for you to read.