A/N:okay, so i think that were a little overdue for some fluff. and, btw, there was some confusion in the last chapter about where it changes to 3rd person? it was one of nicos memorys from tatarus fyi. okay, here we go my cupcakes.
Leo: How could he be so stupid? He didn't even realize that things were getting worse for him-all Leo was focused on was his damn machines. "Come on, let's go finish some of that navigation before you leave me for hours on end to spend time with your machines." The line came back to his mind while getting Nico cleaned up from last nightd...Did Nico really feel like Leo cared more about his machines than him? If not, were there atleast times of doubt? A small part of his brain said: Of course there's some doubt. Look at how much time you spend with your little projects-and now you leave him eversince you landed at camp? You really think that you could just chuck him aside for three days and it'd all be alright?
Nico's voice broke into his thoughts, "You know it's not your fault...it's mine."
They stood in front of each other in the Hade's cabin's bathroom-water still running over both of their arms as Leo tried to help clean him up. He laughed a bit, "How could you tell?"
Nico turned off the water and dried off both of his arms, then handed the rag to his boyfriend, "Because I know that face. You always blame everything on yourself, and it's never your fault..." He came up to Leo and pressed their foreheads together, closing his eyes. Leo watched him talk, "Why does fault even matter anyways? What happens, happened. There's never any changing it-no matter how much you try."
Leo shifted his weight to his right foot and leaned against the wall, closing his eyes and backing away from the son of death, "You can say that-but somehow everything ends up being my fault and it does matter..." He takes a deep breath, his voice wavering, "Because when so many horrible things happen to wonderful people-they want somebody to blame. A face of evil to hate."
Nico places his hand on Leo's cheek, lifting up his chin and making their eyes meet, "Nobody hates you." His voice sounds astonished and strict, "Don't you ever say that people hate you." He wraps Leo into a hug and talks into his ear, "You make so many people happy, including me. The only people who could ever hate you are the enemies, and they're less than people-they're monsters..."
Leo breathes slowly into him, feeling some of the strain from the past couple of days go away. He mumbles into Nico's chest, "I love you."
Nico kisses him on the top of his head, "I love you too. Now come on, you need to clean up and get some sleep-I need to change and eat something, okay."
Somehow a slight smile is pulled out of him, "Okay." he nudges Nico with his shoulder before leaving the cabin.
Nico: After getting himself sorted out he decides to visit Leo in the bunker-Nico still can't remember if the boy had gotten any sleep since they landed at camp. He finds the entire cabin there instead, but he walks up to him anyways. Leo's on the other side with blueprints and a ballpoint pen. Nico takes note that he looks sad when he thinks nobody sees him. He walks up to him and hugs the tinkerer from behind. "Hey."
A small smile plays on both of their faces and Leo turns around, running a hand through his hair with smudges of grease still on his hands. He leans in and Nico stops him-by now they've earned a few looks, "Come on, you know my rules." His eye's say:No kissing unless you're clean, and no PDA further than hugging or hand-holding. To be honest, Nico didn't really know where the second one came from. He just felt like anything more would make people uncomfortable. And the first one definitely came from the first time they kissed and Nico had to spend a good half hour cleaning his mouth and jacket free of grease and dirt.
Leo pouts a little bit, "Okay, fine. Give me ten?" He sighs and tries to hide a yawn, "Besides, I could use a little break."
Nico peeked at some of the blueprints while waiting and saw the basic reconstruction of the thing, but laughed to himself at a few of the upgrades. It was totally Leo to want to put a soft-serve machine in the lounge. Nessa, one of Leo's half-sisters, came up to Nico while he was looking at the plans, "What brings you here?"
"Just waiting for Leo." While they were now open about their relationship, they didn't exactly announce it either. The two of them just sort of verified what people asked.
"So, what I hear is true?"
He nods, "Yeah...surprised?"
She seems to take a second, "How long?"
"A little after he got back from his quest."
Nessa chuckles to herself, "Then no-I figured something was up around that time...He seemed too happy."
Now they were both grinning, with a little bit of a blush on Nico's part. Luckily he's saved by said half-brother(now fully clean).
"Hey guys."
Nessa says hi back, something about stealth panels and Nico can't help but notice that she watches them until they leave.
Leo: Being pulled away from working on the ship worried him at first, but right now in the woods, he couldn't care less about the quest. While so many things were happening, it felt good to catch a break and spend some alone time with him. At first they just kissed and tugged on each other, hungry and trying to make up for a day or two. But eventually they lay down near the stream, Nico sitting in Leo's lap with his arms around him.
Leo presses a small kiss to his shoulder, "You know that I'm really sorry for these past few days...it's just that I've been so busy and, well..."
"It's okay...I just wish you would've taken atleast ten minutes, you know, the nightmares...they've just-" He stops short, his voice wavering. Warm tears fall on Leo and he can't help but instictivly hold him tighter. "I know how understanding you are Leo, and I appreciate it-but I could never come anywhere near to describing what it was like..."
He turns to bury his face in Leo's chest, a new habit that he's been noticing, and he just folds around him, letting him cry. That's the thing though; there's been so many tears that it's like he's run out. There's only so many you can shed over one thing he supposes, no matter how much it hurts-sometimes you just can't let it show. And the fact that could be it hurts a little bit-if they couldn't be open with each other, they'd be nowhere.
A/N: okay, well the ending was a little choppy, but i liked this chapter sooo-reviews as always (im really not sure what to do next ah)
