Ch. 16: Sometimes you are planted apart to see how you will grow together.

A/N: Many thanks to the ever vigilant ViscountessAberowen! 3

Three days. Three days had passed since Nico left the Waystation, and not one message had come through.

Leo leaned against Festus' side, waiting for the kids of Dayspring to return from school. He idly scuffed his shoe against the blacktop, bored without the company of the other demigod. Finally, he sighed and looked up, a cool breeze brushing against his face. The sky had turned a dismal grey, and the last of the autumn leaves, stubborn until the very end, had finally given up their battle and fallen, leaving the branches bare and forlorn.

The crunching of those leaves as someone crossed the parking lot caught Leo's attention. Mrs. Gugaitis smiled and waved at him in greeting as she approached. When she got closer, she asked, "Where is your friend? Is Nico not coming today?"

Leo offered her a tight smile. "He had to go away for a while."

The elderly woman frowned. "Is everything alright, zuikis? You look tired."

Leo knew he looked as bad as he felt. Caught between worrying about where Nico could be and why he hadn't reached out to Leo yet, and the possibility that Nico could contact him but had chosen not to after thinking more about Halloween night...

Leo shook his head. It wouldn't do any good to dwell on things out of his control. "I just haven't been sleeping very well."

Well, it's not a lie, Leo thought.

Dreams of his mother plagued his night times. It started the same as usual: his mother going back into the separate workshop area. The fire. Gaea laughing. But the son of Hephaestus wouldn't wake up knowing his mother was dead. The dream continued. The laughter faded. Orange flames flickered until tongues of dark purple and umber raced through the workshop. Britomartis's words echoed through the crackling of the fire and the creak of support beams crumbling and drywall falling: Do not let him fall to ash alone.

Leo would wake, covered in sweat. He'd scramble for a spray bottle: he would call Nico if the son of Hades couldn't be bothered to check in with him to let Leo know he was okay. But, his finger would hesitate on the trigger. What if he's somewhere he can't receive an Iris message? What if he's hiding from something, and he gets hurt because I didn't trust him enough to call when he's ready? When he can?

Leo would set the spray bottle back down and slowly sink back into his bed, unable to fall back asleep and stop thinking about where the other demigod could be. Eventually, the sun would rise, and Leo would follow.

Leo looked at the older woman and sighed again. "I'm really fine, abue. Thank you for asking, though."

When she smiled, her eyes shut utterly, and her wrinkled face beamed. "Of course, zuikis. You know you two remind me of my brother and his friend from when we were kids. Each time Zachariah was gone, my brother would pine for days until he came back. Zachariah was military, you know."

Leo blanched. Pining? I'm not pining! Who pines these days?! A small voice spoke in the back of his head: You do. Over Nico.

"Nope, nah. I'm good, Mrs. Gugaitis. Really." Leo shrugged. "I'm not doing that."

Mrs. Gugaitis winked at him. "Of course, you're not. Now," she raised her eyebrows and asked, "What do you have in store for the kiddos today?"

As soon as the children came to the center from school, they threw their belongings in the building before coming back out, bundled up in coats and hats and scarves and mittens.

"How come you don't wear a coat, Leo? Don't you have one? Aren't you cold?" Miles asked each question one right after another, not waiting for an answer before moving on to the next.

"Eh." Leo shrugged and smiled. "I'll be alright. The cold has never really bothered me much."

Grace sniffed, looking around the parking lot with a somewhat bored expression on her face. "Where's Nico? Upset about Halloween?"

Leo frowned at the girl. "He had to go away for a while."

Celia looked up at Leo from where she sat, concern evident in her wide eyes. "Is he hurt? Why did he have to go away? Is he coming back?"

Leo smiled again, feeling as though his face were beginning to freeze in the semblance of a smile. "He's fine, Celita. He just had some family stuff he had to do. I'm sure he'll be back sooner rather than later." Leo didn't tack on the 'I hope' he was feeling.

Celia nodded and asked no further questions as the group discussed plans for a Thanksgiving project for the center.

At the end of their afternoon together, Celia hung back with Leo as the other children headed inside.

"Are you sad because Nico is gone?"

Leo stubbed his toe against Festus' side as he jerked forward, putting away one of the larger drawing boards. "What?"

Celia looked up at him with huge eyes. "You looked so sad. And you kept glancing over where Nico usually sits, and you'd get the face my mom sometimes makes when she looks at me and wants to see Casey." She gazed at him. "So, are you sad?"

Leo hesitated before nodding. "Yeah. I'm a bit sad, Celita. But I'll be okay."

Celia nodded seriously. "I think wherever Nico is that he probably misses you too."

She dragged her toe through the dirt on the blacktop and hummed to herself for a moment before asking, "Do you think he misses me?"

Leo kneeled on one knee in front of the girl. He put a finger under her chin and gently lifted it until she looked him dead in the eye. "I'm sure he misses you more than anyone."

The little girl's face broke out into a hopeful grin. "Really?"

Leo nodded. "I'm sure of it."

Her smile drooped slightly before picking back up again, even brighter. She beamed at Leo and said, "Equal."

Furrowing his eyebrows, Leo asked, "What?"

"Equal," Celia said. She reached out and patted Leo's arm. "Nico misses us equal."

At last, a truly genuine smile-soft though it was- broke through Leo's demeanor, and he agreed, "Equal."

Leo shut his bedroom door behind him after feigning a slight stomach ache to save himself from dinner with the others. He felt no need to sit around a table pretending to be happy when he wasn't. Leo dropped his bag onto the desk and flung himself face down on the lower bunk, hugging his pillow to himself. He sighed and dug his chin into the pillow, eyes surveying the messy room about him. Half-finished projects littered most surfaces. His inability to concentrate had led to him barely keeping interested in one project for long.

He sighed and flipped over onto his back, staring at the boards of the bunk above him. The air in front of the wood shimmered. Leo rubbed his eyes, hoping to clear the want to sleep from them. But, no matter how hard he tried, the air continued to glisten. A voice, breezy as the air, spoke from directly above him. "You have a message request. Accept charges of one gold drachma?"

Leo sat up quickly in surprise before casting a frantic look about his room. He fell off the bed in an attempt to extricate himself from the haphazard comforter, his knees colliding painfully with the wooden floorboards. Ignoring the stinging in his knees as the voice behind him reminded him, "You have a message request. Accept charges of one gold drachma in ten...nine...eight..."

Leo threw open his desk drawers, rummaging through pencils and papers, protractors and pens. Finally, in the very back corner of the bottom left drawer, Leo found a crusty-looking gold drachma that must have been there since he and Cal had moved in.

"...four...three...two..."

Frantically, Leo stammered, "Yes! Yes, I accept the charges!" He all but threw the gold piece into the shimmer of air and held his breath, hoping it had been in time. Then, as if coming through a warbling radio, the son of Hephaestus heard two voices squabbling as the air remained dark.

"Gods above! Will you move over? I can barely breathe!"

"I wanted to sit next to you! Isn't that what brothers do?"

"Go sit somewhere else! I was here first. You haven't given me any time to myself since we left!"

"Father said-"

"I don't care what father said! Back off!"

There was a thud, and the picture finally came into focus. Zagreus pouted from a position on the floor of what looked like a dimly lit room. Nico sat on a shabby-looking flea-bitten couch.

"Uh, am I interrupting something?" Leo looked between the two and had to fight the urge to laugh. They both wore identical expressions, and Leo could only imagine that each of them got it from Hades.

Nico looked up, and a tired smile broke through his scowl. "No. I called you, didn't I?"

Laughing, Leo brought a hand up and scratched the back of his head, hooking his ankle around the chair from his desk and settling into it, looking into the small window of mist that shimmered from the space of his bunk bed. "I guess you did. I almost couldn't find a drachma in time. Don't you have any?"

Nico scowled and threw a disgusted look at Zagreus, who was slowly picking himself up off the questionably dirty floor. "I did, but someone thought it was a good idea to buy a new tunic. And use my money to do it."

"I'm telling you, this tunic was worth every penny! When you see a Klotho original, you have to snag it!"

Nico rolled his eyes and looked at his brother with disdain. "It was not an original. Did you even notice that the insignia on it is facing the wrong way? It's a knock-off. Even I could tell that."

Zagreus sniffed haughtily. "You just don't have any taste." Zagreus caught Leo's eyes through the mist and added, "Most of the time." He winked at Leo and wandered out of the picture as Nico blushed.

"So?" Leo asked. "How are you? Where are you? Where have you been? When are you-"

Nico held his hands up with a small laugh. "One question at a time, Valdez." His smile dropped slightly, and he looked at the other demigod, a rueful expression on his face. "I'm sorry I didn't call sooner. Things have been...pretty interesting."

Leo raised an eyebrow. "I bet? A Klotho original, huh?"

Rolling his eyes, Nico scoffed. "It was obvious that the faun selling it was lying. But," Nico shrugged. "Zagreus bought it anyway. After I told him not to."

Leo chuckled and shook his head. "Where are you guys even? I don't know many places where fauns are on street corners selling cheap knock-offs."

Nico's expression darkened. "It definitely was not cheap."

Frowning, Leo asked, "Seriously. Where are you?"

"A really seedy motel. A disgusting seedy motel." Nico cast a look at the couch he was sitting on and swallowed heavily before shutting his eyes as if trying to block out the question of what else he could be sitting on. "We're just following a trail. It led us here."

Leo raised an eyebrow. "So, I take it you're not in Indiana anymore?"

Nico was already shaking his head. "Nope. Los Angeles."

"Los Angeles? Isn't that where one of the entrances-"

But Nico was shaking his head. "Don't ask me questions I can't answer, Leo," he warned. "I don't want to lie to you. But I can't be honest with you. Not about this. Not right now."

An impish grin settled on Leo's face and he said, somewhat petulantly, "Alright. So we can talk about Halloween instead."

"Ah," Zagreus said from outside of the window of mist. "Why don't you talk to Leo about Halloween? Since you won't talk to me about it."

Nico's glare was fierce and, Leo was glad to see, was directed not at him but at Hades' other son. "I told you it's none of your business, Zag!"

The god's voice was filled with a hellish glee when he said, "Oh! You called me Zag! Finally!"

As Nico inhaled deeply and his face grew darker by the second, Leo was glad he couldn't feel what he was sure was a glacial change in temperature. "Go away. Now."

Leo heard Zagreus mutter before hearing the click of a door.

A sheepish grin settled onto Leo's face as Nico's eyes found his own. "Ah. Sorry about that. Didn't realize that you guys have been bonding over it."

"We are not bonding."

Leo shrugged. "You guys almost sounded like Stan and Deacon there for a minute."

Nico sighed and slumped back against the filthy couch. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Alright. So. No talking about 'Zag' and no talking about Halloween." He tried to keep the disappointment from his voice, but judging by the anxious expression on Nico's face, Leo failed.

Leo changed tactics and tried to inundate his voice with enthusiasm. "So! L.A., huh? See any cool monsters?"

Nico opened his mouth to respond before looking confused himself. "Actually, no. Plenty of weird mortals but...no monsters. Unless they're going out of their way to avoid us." Nico shrugged. "Maybe they are. Since Zagreus is with me."

"He is a bit obnoxious, isn't he?"

Nico laughed. "You can say that again." The son of Hades looked back to the other demigod, his gaze softening. "How were the kids today?"

"Oh, you know. Everyone wanted to know where you were. When you were coming back. If you had left because you realized your crafting skills are far less impressive than mine."

Shaking his head, Nico scoffed. "They didn't say that."

"And how would you know? Have you been using shadows to spy on me?"

Nico rolled his eyes. "I can't spy on you with shadows."

"Well, I wouldn't know. And how would you know? Have you tried?" Leo's challenge met with a contemplative silence before Nico answered.

"No, I haven't. But, honestly, I don't think the science behind it would work. It's not like a mirror where I can see through the shadows. And sound definitely doesn't come through."

"Why not just stick your head in a shadow and just watch and listen?"

Nico looked at Leo before asking, "Where do you come up with these ideas?" He shook his head. "Nevermind. Don't answer that."

Nico breathed out heavily as if seriously considering what Leo had asked. "I don't think I could just stick my head through and watch someone. Not to mention that if I could do that, I might very well lose the connection after expending so much energy. Being decapitated by shadow is not the way I wanna go."

Leo winced in sympathy and rubbed his neck. "I hadn't thought of that. That's a pretty gruesome image. Thanks a lot."

Nico shrugged his shoulders again with an air of nonchalance. "You're the one who asked. Although, that does make me wonder if-"

"Please insert one gold drachma for another five minutes."

"Schist! I don't think I have any more!" Leo stood from his seat and pulled the last drawer in his desk open, digging through it without much success. "Crap! I really don't. Zagreus really doesn't have any more money on him?"

Nico answered, disappointment lacing his voice as the breezy voice counted down from ten.

"No- he really spent all of my money. I had to threaten the motel manager-"

"Eight...seven...six..."

"You threatened someone?"

"It doesn't matter, Leo! I'll try to find a way to talk to you, okay? I m-"

"Three...two..." The countdown blocked out the words that Nico tried to impart on Leo, so the son of Hephaestus plowed ahead, trying to be heard.

"Nico, I-"

"One. Goodbye."

"-miss you." The last bit of Leo's sentence was said to his wall.

Nico threw his head back against the couch, a growl of frustration escaping his lips. He wiped a hand across his face and pinched the bridge of his nose between two fingers, the beginnings of a headache inching along the sides of his head. It had been a long three days, and the only thing that had kept him going as Zagreus dragged him halfway across the country following a trail that Nico couldn't pick up on was the thought of eventually talking to the son of Hephaestus once they reached Los Angeles and could rest.

But Zagreus had to buy that damned Klotho knock-off.

A slight knock sounded at the door, and Nico called out wearily, "Hang on."

The demigod groaned as he pushed himself to his feet. The short hours of sleep he had caught over the last three days had all been taken in the cold on the ground as Zagreus had kept a lookout. Nico crossed to the door and pulled it open, a scowl already stretching across his face. However, his mouth dropped open in surprise as he saw that it wasn't his godly half-brother standing in the doorway but the motel manager.

The manager's sharp face reminded Nico of a ferret one of the neighbor boys had gotten when Nico was a young child. Delicate high cheekbones and an equally delicate but pointed nose came together in a face that was far too pale with dark rings under his shifty eyes. He was very round, though. Jowls at his neck quivered as the manager, Sid, spoke in a high voice that had surprised Nico when he first met the man after asking for a room.

His watery blue eyes had looked Zagreus up and down before turning to Nico, lips curling in barely contained disgust as he asked the pair, "How long ya want the room for? We charge by the hour."

When Nico asked for just one hour and stated they wouldn't be paying with coin, the man guffawed and slapped his hand against the countertop. "Good one, kid. Tell me another."

Nico's expression hadn't changed. Not when the temperature dropped. Not when the shadows crawled up the walls. Not when Sid had stammered and stumbled backward as the floor split, and a skeleton clawed its way up from the concrete.

"We won't be paying for a room. We just need to borrow it for its shower."

With shaking hands, Sid grabbed a key with a red placard on it reading "14" and handed it to the pair. Nico nodded, informing the manager to come get them when an hour had passed.

Wasting no time, Nico had briskly walked to the room, Zagreus following in his wake. The motel room was poorly lit. The shower and toilet were divided from the rest of the room by a single curtain, carpet peeling back from the sloping tile that made up the shower floor. The toilet tank had no cover, and crusty grime snaked its way from the top down to the seat. Nico's lip had turned up in disgust.

"Remind me why you chose this place?"

Zagreus raised an eyebrow. "I told you once already, brother. Eris tends to hang around here sometimes. At least, according to Nemesis."

Nico scowled. "And you trust what Nemesis said at one point in time why?"

The god blinked at Nico. "Why would Nemesis lie?" When Nico didn't answer, he continued. "It was either try here to pick up Eris' trail or try with the Vagos for Nemesis. And believe you me: you do not want to spend any time with that little club."

Nico frowned and asked, "Explain to me how a motorcycle club can be outlawed."

Zagreus clapped the demigod on the shoulder. "I'll leave it to Ares if you ever get a chance to talk with him. I believe he helped found the Vagos and Hell's Angels. I think he did it on purpose so that things wouldn't get boring out here in the west." The young god shrugged. "Seems like something he would do, anyway."

Nico crossed to the shower and turned the handle instead of answering, shivering as cool water sprayed over his forearms.

No time like the present, I suppose.

"Oh Fleecy, do me a solid. Show me Leonidas Valdez, The Waystation, Indianapolis, Indiana."

The son of Hades stood in silence for a moment, listening to the sound of the water hitting the tile before an airy voice said, "Please insert one gold drachma to connect your call."

Tiredly, Nico said, "It's collect."

"Please wait while we connect your call."

Nico shifted, feeling his shoes squelch against the carpet where the water missed the tiles. Sighing, he crossed several steps over to a damp couch, trying his hardest not to think about the other contaminants that could be strewn across the material of the furniture. Waiting for an answer, Nico watched with trepidation as Zagreus crossed the room to sit beside him.

"So, you're calling Leo?"

Nico nodded once, uncomfortable with the conversation his father's son kept threatening they would have.

"And...why would you be calling him?"

Nico kept his gaze fastened on the falling water. "Because I said I would, Zagreus."

"Why?"

"It's none of your business."

"Well, neither of you seemed like you were trying to hide on Halloween." Zagreus' voice became lofty with arrogance. "In fact, it seems like you didn't care if you were seen at all. Being out in the open like that. Not that it's a bad thing."

Nico growled, his irritation beginning to break through his exhausted veneer. "Drop it, Zagreus. It really is none of your business."

Zagreus huffed in frustration. "You are just like father, sometimes. Mother says it all the time- when he doesn't want to talk about something, he just digs his heels in and refuses to budge. Even if it is," Zagreus shot Nico an annoyed look, "in his best interest. Why are you so loath to talk about Leonidas?"

"Why are you so interested?" Nico's voice ground out angrily, and he could feel the glare on his face.

Zagreus moved even closer to Nico, his own insistence and persistence taking hold. "I'm your brother."

"Gods above! Will you move over? I can barely breathe!" Nico elbowed the young god none too gently.

"I wanted to sit next to you! Isn't that what brothers do?" Zagreus' voice took on a superior tone, and a grin spread across his face.

"Go sit somewhere else! I was here first. You haven't given me any time to myself since we left!" It was true. The young god had hyper-focused on Nico, watching and ensuring the demigod was eating and getting rest as they crossed half of the country to follow Eris' trail.

"Father said-" Hades' other son had informed Nico that, while the demigod was needed on the trip, the Lord of the Underworld had instructed Zagreus to take care of his "little" brother. And Zagreus had taken the order to heart.

"I don't care what father said! Back off!" Nico pushed Zagreus until the god fell off the couch. Even if what Zagreus had told Nico was the truth, Nico thought that he deserved some reprieve instead of being smothered. Didn't his father understand that he worked better alone?

Nico's heart almost stopped beating as he heard Leo ask, "Um, am I interrupting something?"

Nico looked back into the mist rising from the motel shower. The son of Hephaestus looked so tired it made Nico yearn for a good night's rest. Circles ringed Leo's dark brown eyes, and his skin had a slight grey tint to it. However, his grin belied the exhaustion radiating from the boy, and Nico couldn't help but hope that Leo missed him just as much as Nico missed the other demigod.

When the call was nearing an end and counting down due to lack of payment, Nico had tried to tell Leo, "I miss you," but Leo didn't hear him.

"Nico, I-"

Whatever Leo had wanted to say cut off as the mist dissipated. Nico sat on his own in the ensuing silence until the knock at the door revealed the fat ferret-like manager wringing his hands at the threshold.

"It's been an hour." Sid gulped heavily. "Are you guys gonna scram, or what?"

Nico glowered at the man. "We'll get our things and-"

Zagreus chose that moment to saunter back to the room. "I don't think we'll be scramming anywhere. I think my brother here needs a decent night's sleep."

Nico turned his attention to Zagreus, his frown deepening. "As if I'd want to sleep here."

A sneer oozed onto Sid's face, and he snarled at Zagreus, "You heard the kid. He don't wanna be here. Seems he's a little young to understand what places like this are about anyways."

Zagreus raised an eyebrow and turned toward Nico. "Is that correct? Has no one ever had that conversation with you?" Zagreus put a finger to his chin in thought. "Is that why you don't want to talk about Leo and Halloween?"

Nico looked to the heavens and felt the rippling tide of his headache crash against the confines of his skull. "Zagreus. I will destroy you so utterly that father will never find your essence."

The young god cleared his throat and turned toward Sid, who wiped his hands over the patch of pale gelatinous skin his stained sleeveless shirt couldn't cover. "Be that as it may, we will need the room for the night."

The motel manager and Nico blanched and said simultaneously, "The whole night!?"

Zagreus nodded, and his voice dropped all pretense of good humor. "Unless you want my brother here to plague your entire...establishment with our guests from earlier, I suggest you forget about us until morning." His red eyes flashed, and his grin was full of sharp teeth. Sid wiped a shaking hand over his sweaty face.

He muttered as if to himself, "That was real. That was really real?" He turned untrusting eyes toward Nico, who stood in silent pain next to the door frame.

He glowered at the pair. "Fine! One night! On the house. Then I want you out!" He turned sharply and scratched the bald plate of his head as he walked away. "I gotta lay off the pipe."

Nico turned and glared at Zagreus. "We have to stay the whole night? I'm not sleeping on those sheets! Who knows the last time this room was cleaned."

Zagreus simply raised an eyebrow and stated, "I think it's safe to say that no cleaning has ever taken place here. But, it can't be any worse than some of the places your...escapades have taken you. Father has talked about them, you know."

Nico shuddered in disgust. "We can really just go, you know? I don't need to rest here."

Sighing, the young god appraised his father's other son. "While you do need a rest, that is not what you will be doing. I thought I might help you. Just the tiniest bit."

Nico gazed at the god suspiciously. "Help me with what?"

"Oh, nothing too important." Zagreus crossed his arms and raised a hand to study his fingernails as if he were bored. "Just a way to keep in touch with Leo. It's how Melinoe and I talk when I'm stuck in the Underworld, and she's off gallivanting with all of her depressing spirits."

Nico frowned. "You and Melinoe talk?"

Rolling his eyes, Zagreus looked over to the demigod. "Of course, we talk. She is my sister. Which means I suppose she's yours too."

Nico shuddered, recalling his last encounter with Melinoe. The thought of her twisting and forming into the visage of Maria di Angelo made his stomach roil.

At least, she's not trying to be buddy-buddy with me.

"Fine. How do you keep in touch with Melinoe?"

"Well, we send shadow-notes."

Nico's smile was sour, and he asked, "You really think I'm going to fall for that? You guys are gods. You can just split your essence and appear wherever the other one is if you want to talk."

"Actually," Zagreus held up a finger. "Not always. I don't get out much, brother. I am usually to be found, in some capacity, in the Underworld. Melinoe is also very anti-social. I mean, have you been to her cave?"

Shivering, Nico nodded, and Zagreus continued. "Case in point. She does not like unexpected and uninvited visitors. And, more often than not, she's not even in her cave. She's up above roaming cemeteries, seducing professors with an interest in the occult, and haunting small costume stores."

"So, my point is that it is not convenient for either of us to just 'appear' to one another and have a little chat."

Shrugging, Nico asked, "Alright, but what about Iris messaging? Cloud nymphs?"

Zagreus shook his head. "You are not the only child of Hades a certain godly king fears and resents. Why do you think our father urges me to stay in the Underworld so much? Or why his knowledge of Melinoe's whereabouts remains very limited? No. Communicating in those fashions opens up our family to inquiry and surveillance."

"And you're saying these shadow-notes are overlooked?"

Nodding, the young god continued, "He has no clue when it comes to the dark. So let him keep his breezes. And we've always feared that Iris was in his pocket anyway- especially once Arke was cast down into Tartarus. She used to be our messenger for a while- she would carry your messages if she wasn't doing anything and was in a good mood."

"Arke?" Nico hadn't heard the name before.

"Yes. Iris' twin sister. She sided with the titans and was cast down into Tartarus. She represented the second rainbow- the shadow of the first."

"Is she...is she still down there?"

"No one knows. I wouldn't be surprised if Arke faded by now. Her wings were torn from her body and given as a present to Achilles' parents." Zagreus gave a sad shake of his head. "She had the best raunchy jokes. I do miss her sometimes."

The pair were silent for a moment, Zagreus remembering fallen goddesses and Nico trying to push the thought of forever remaining in Tartarus to the back of his mind. Finally, it was Zagreus who broke the silence.

"Well. Even if Arke is no longer here to ferry our messages through the shadows, we can still try to do it ourselves. Of course, it won't be quite as accurate and you'll have to expend your own energy; but, it might be a viable option. It's at least a better option than using faulty mist and fickle breezes to carry a message that won't be kept private."

Nico swallowed heavily. "I can't use my...I can't use my powers." The mumbled words fell from Nico's lips even though he wanted to hold on to them. "I've been having issues."

Frowning, Zagreus made his way to the couch and sat down, resting his chin on his fist before looking at Nico. "Describe these issues."

Nico sat on the edge of the bed in the room. It took him several attempts before he was able to speak. "I...feel the pull of the shadows too much when I use them. I can still use a lot of my other powers. Pretty much everything with ghosts, the earth. That's all fine."

"And what happens when you use your powers over shadows?"

"I start to fade."

"I see." Zagreus shifted his gaze thoughtfully to the wall, as if the stains were interesting paintings. "And is it all abilities with shadow? Or just shadow travel? Or...?"

Nico's shoulders slumped, and a sigh fell heavily from his lips. "Shadow travel is the worst. But, even using shadows...I usually have to have a blessing sung over me after or have someone do a cleansing. Something."

Zagreus nodded. "That is understandable. To a lesser degree, my sister and I feel that same pull- the want and need to cease to exist in some capacity. Being a child of Hades, each of us is all too aware and familiar with the concept of not living." Zagreus frowned. "But, have you not found something yet to ground you? To keep you from that dissolution?"

Nico looked at the god, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Well, it's like preparing for battle. You wouldn't go into a fight without armor, would you? Not unless you wanted to be harmed. It is the same concept- a barrier to keep you from damage." Zagreus frowned. "Did father not teach you this? Did you not train with him?"

Shrugging, Nico shook his head once. "He was busy during the second Titan war. And, with Gaea...well, I kind of was doing my own thing as well as doing what father asked between the two camps."

Zagreus scowled, his words brimming with annoyance. "Oh yes. Father and his famous schedule. Did you know, once I planned a special lunch with him? We knew that Vesuvius was going to erupt, and there was this wonderful delicatessen that had the most delicious honeyed squares. So we made plans to meet there and get one last treat before it was all gone. And you know what he did? He came the day after Pompeii was destroyed!" The scowl deepened. "Father sometimes has a hard time keeping his priorities in check."

Nico smiled half-heartedly. "Tell me about it."

Zagreus stood from the couch, stretching his arms over his head as his spine popped. He groaned and looked toward Nico. "Well, it just seems like you have to find something that grounds you. Then, once you do that, you should be able to send messages through the shadows. I mean, if you want to, anyway."

Nico's smile softened until it was an authentic and genuine smile. His voice was quiet when he spoke. "Happy thoughts." He chuckled softly and looked up to the son of Hades and Persephone. "So, in theory, how does it work? The shadow-notes?"

Zagreus crossed to the window and twitched the curtain aside, peering out into the poorly maintained parking lot. The sounds of conversation and cars filtered in through the window. "Well, you write a note or a letter. Nothing fancy about that part. Then, you focus on the place you want to send the letter- it's easier if you can visualize an actual shadow, so places you've already been are easier to contact." Zagreus let the curtain fall back into place and turned to Nico. "Remember, darkness is not shadow. You cannot just send a message out into the night because it's dark. The two are not synonymous with one another."

Nico rolled his eyes in annoyance. "I know that."

Zagreus smiled wickedly. "Of course, you do. Well, you also have to have a shadow to work with. That part is easier. Once you find the shadow you want to use- and the more contrast the shadow has to the light makes it easier to send-you focus on stretching that shadow out. Not in its diameter, not what you can see. But in its reach. You want to stretch that shadow until it connects with the other and then force that tunnel to open. It's much the same with shadow travel."

Nico cocked his head to the side and asked, "It is?"

"Yes? I thought you knew how to shadow travel?"

Nico shrugged one shoulder. "I mean, I just throw myself into the nearest shadow and think about where I want to go. I more or less get there."

Zagreus' eyes widened. "So, you're telling me that you literally volley yourself into a shadow and just hope you turn up where you intended?"

"Hey!" Nico's voice rose in defense. "I told you, I get there!"

"But," Zagreus spluttered. "You're playing shadow roulette! You have no idea where you could wind up. For the love of the winds- you shove yourself through the most convenient shadow and the most easily accessible! That's not proper shadow travel- that's a death wish. What if you wind up falling from the shadow of a bird cast on a cloud? Or into a pit of lava?"

"I'm not going to fall into a pit of lava! Where have you been where there's a pit of lava?"

"That's not the point!" Zagreus crossed over to Nico and looked down at him. "You could hurt yourself if you just trust that you'll get where you need to go without proper direction and focus!"

Nico ignored the memory of himself, Reyna, and Coach Hedge, along with the Athena Parthenos falling through the air. "I didn't realize there was another way, okay? So stop getting on me for it!"

Nico crossed his arms and stared resolutely in the direction of the shower, studiously ignoring Zagreus' fit of indignation.

When the god spoke again, his tone had relaxed into a calmer and more tolerant cadence. "Alright. Well, now I know what we have to work with. Once you think of something that can ground you, we can work on making those tunnels so you can send Leo a letter. And anyone else you might want to contact, for that matter."

Nico chewed his bottom lip and looked up at Zagreus suspiciously. "Why are you helping me?"

"Because we're brothers?"

Nico shook his head. "That can't be it. We've been brothers since I was born. And you never cared then."

Zagreus sighed and took a seat next to Nico on the bed. "That is entirely accurate. I didn't care about you. I cared so little about you that I didn't even see you until you were four." Zagreus shifted on the bed and turned his gaze on Nico, searching his face. Whatever he was looking for, he nodded to himself and continued speaking. "When Apollo was punished with mortality, a lot of us gods watched. We watched, and we waited, and we listened because...well, there was nothing much better to do."

A disgusted noise escaped Nico's lips, and he looked away.

"Nico...us gods don't see many things the way mortals do. And, I think Apollo's experience helped some of us to realize that. And, it's not entirely a good thing."

The demigod looked over to the god and raised an eyebrow. "Gee. Ya think?"

Zagreus waved a hand as if brushing away Nico's derision. "It is what it is, Nico. You can't expect an immortal god who hasn't been mortal for a while or-in a lot of our cases- has never been mortal to be able to empathize with those who are. So our concerns are not the same."

Nico opened his mouth, a furious response on his lips, but Zagreus spoke over him. "But maybe they should be the same."

Nico's indignation came to a frozen halt. He stared at Zagreus, nonplussed astonishment coloring his expression. "You...you think what?"

Zagreus looked away, and his voice dropped in volume as his discomfort with the topic at hand showed. "I said that maybe we- the gods- should care more and be concerned over the things mortals are. To a degree."

His gaze shifted to Nico before sliding away again. "Mortals are worthwhile. What they feel is worthwhile. I saw how you responded to Jason's death," he confessed. "And, it hurt to see you in such pain."

Nico thrust himself to his feet. He felt the blood pulse through his ears. "That was private. That was a private moment."

Zagreus cringed. "I know."

"You gods! Do you think you can just watch us all of the time? That we're just here for your entertainment?! Are you spying on my sessions with Dionysus too? Getting a lot of enjoyment out of that when your sacred duties bore you!?" Nico felt his face flush with anger and embarrassment. "Are our lives that amusing?"

Zagreus stood and approached Nico, his hands out as if calming a cornered animal. "It's not like that, Nico. We can't see you all the time."

Nico crossed his arms over his chest, hiding his shaking hands, and glared at the god. "What do you mean?"

"There are limits to what we can see, brother. Mortals- demigods? We can see them almost whenever we want. But gods? Titans? Monsters? We cannot see them- we cannot watch them. So, when you are with a god, no one is allowed to observe you."

Nico's heart froze in his chest, and he licked his lips. "So...how could you see me after I heard about Jason?"

Zagreus winced. "I only saw you after. You left the confines of Camp Half-Blood and one of Dionysus' domains." The god studied Nico for a moment longer. "I can tell this is a lot to take in. I can leave you for a while if that will be better? I will stay just outside the door. As I said, gods cannot spy on other gods and, while a lowly immortal I may be, I am still the Prince of the Underworld and Lord Hades' son."

Nico twitched an eyebrow in irritation. "Is that why you won't leave me alone?"

Half smiling, Zagreus responded, "Partially. Also, you have the tendency to scrunch up your face in the most ridiculous way when you're irritated and I-" Zagreus ducked as one of Nico's shoes came flying toward his head. "I'm just saying that part of the fun of annoying you is-"

Zagreus stopped speaking as the first shoe's mate made contact with his cheek. "Alright! Alright! I'll go!"

Zagreus rushed toward the door and pulled it open, only pausing long enough to yell over his shoulder, "Find a barrier!"

The door closed with a short click, and Nico was left alone. He slowly made his way back to the old couch and sank onto it, the information Zagreus had given him swirling about his head. The many threads of conversation drifted through his mind leaving Nico unable to focus on any one before it slipped from his grasp and another thought replaced it.

On the one hand, Nico felt some ease at knowing that his privacy was somewhat respected if a god was around. But, on the other hand, his fury rose with the knowledge that he was solely dependent on the gods for that privacy.

And to think I've been shadow-traveling the wrong way since I started. How was I supposed to know!?

Nico's thoughts drifted back to a conversation between himself and Leo. It seemed like ages ago that Leo had suggested Nico was like Peter Pan.

"Maybe you can think happy thoughts, and you'll be able to use your shadow-stuff again!"

Nico weighed the words in his mind. Isn't that what Zagreus had insinuated? When he had spoken of finding something that grounded him? That guarded him against the more unpleasant aspects of umbrakinesis?

Nico glanced around the couch until he spotted his black bag near the end of the sofa. He stretched his arm out until he could grab the strap of the bag and pull it closer. Unzipping the top, the son of Hades thrust his hand into the open compartment and felt around until his hand connected with a pad of paper and a metal tin. He removed both items and let the bag drop to the ground.

Now what? Nico looked about for a shadow that might be good enough to create a tunnel. But, with the room being so dimly lit, almost none of the shadows were very well defined. Sighing, Nico got to his feet, the pad of paper and a pencil held loosely in his hand. He crossed to the sink from where the best light came and turned until his back faced the sink and dingy mirror. His shadow fell before him, shorter than Nico had initially anticipated due to his close proximity to the light. The shadow he cast still wasn't the most well-defined, but, he decided, it would have to do.

Nico closed his eyes and thought of a shadow in Leo's room. He'd been in the room so many times before he could picture in almost perfect detail the shadows created by Leo's desk. He imagined the plans strewn across the surface haphazardly until it became too much and fell to the floor.

Nico frowned. He didn't want his message to get lost in a myriad of plans and blueprints and sketches that Leo might not pick up for some time. He cast his thoughts about in the memory of Leo's room and finally settled on the bed. If Leo was still awake, the light would still be on, and a shadow would be cast from the top bunk onto the bottom. If not...under the desk would have to do.

Nico settled on the two shadows and focused on elongating the one right before him as Zagreus had instructed. Tentatively, he reached out and felt the shadow, it's dark presence like a whispering tickle in the back of his mind.

This isn't so bad. Maybe I'm doing better. Maybe I-

A choking sensation washed over Nico, and his chest tightened. He couldn't breathe, and the familiar mantra settled over him: Come with us. Join us. Be us.

With effort, Nico tore himself free from the shadows. He looked down to his feet. How could his own shadow rebel against him so completely? Trying to ignore the shaking in his limbs and what he felt was a betrayal from himself, Nico took a deep and steadying breath.

Zagreus said to create a barrier. Think of something happy. Think!

Nico cast his thoughts about as he reviewed his life, searching desperately for a happy thought. But each time he settled on one, persistent negative thoughts accompanied them.

Bianca. She's dead.

Mother and Italy. Zeus killed her. Because of you. Because of your sister. Because you were born.

Camp Half-Blood. No longer your home.

Hazel. She has her own life and little time to waste on you. Eventually, death will take her from you. It will take all of those you love.

Will. You ruined it. You weren't capable of love. You aren't capable.

Nico wrenched his eyes open with a cry of frustration and leaned back against the sink. He brought a hand up to his eyes, furious to feel wetness at the corners of his eyes. His heart beat unsteadily against his ribcage, and he focused on it, trying to bring it to a stable rhythm. Unbidden, a memory slowly filled Nico's mind.

"My heart's fine! Didn't I tell you to stop spying on my heart?"

"Maybe your heart shouldn't be so loud."

"My heart can be as loud as it wants! And it can do whatever it wants and like whoever it wants, okay?"

Nico's heartbeat slowed into a steady rhythm as he replayed the conversation with Leo. It had felt like so long ago. Gaining control of his breathing, Nico slowly eased into his memories, flashes and glimpses of Leo racing through his mind:

Leo reaching his hand down, offering it to Nico on board the Argo II. "Nico, you won't be alone. If you fall, I fall."

The son of Hephaestus lying in the water and looking up at him in confusion. "Nico? ¿Qué pasó? ¿A dónde estamos?"

Leo pushing a mug toward him. "I already got you one. Hot chocolate okay?"

The thoughts of Leo gave way to memories of Cal and Lit, Emmie and Jo, Stan and Deacon.

Gardening in the moonlight. Cooking millefoglie and melanzane al cioccolato.

A chore chart made to include Nico because he was a part of the Waystation. Without having to prove himself. Without thought. Without question.

Games of Magic played into the night because two brothers enjoyed playing with him.

All thoughts circled through Nico's head until they came back to Leo. Leo's dark brown eyes, like wood after a rain, staring up at him in front of the Waystation. The other demigod's hand reaching up to gently caress the back of Nico's neck as Leo leaned in, the distance between the two closing as Leo's breath ghosted over Nico's lips. And then, later, Leo looking up at him from the bed, soft words falling from his lips:

"I don't want you to go."

Nico's chest hurt with a sudden longing-warm and not at all expected. He wanted to go home.

Nico's eyes flew open as the tunnel of shadow expanded and snapped into place. It was like pushing against a locked door only to have it suddenly open without resistance. He grinned, but it was cut short as a huge yawn escaped his mouth. He felt his energy waning and realized, with dismay, that the tunnel siphoned his energy at an alarming pace.

Nico hastened to flip open the pad to an unused page and grasped the pencil firmly. He quickly scribbled on the paper before dropping the pencil onto the floor. The paper made a r-i-i-i-i-i-p sound as Nico tore it from the memo pad. The notepad joined the pencil on the floor as Nico folded the paper in half.

Before he lost the connection, Nico dropped his note straight down, watching as his shadow enveloped the piece of paper until it disappeared. He kept his focus on the tunnel.

How long do I need to maintain it for it to get there? How much time does it take?

Nico made a mental note to ask Zagreus later. He held out as long as he could before letting the tunnel collapse, hoping that his message was able to reach Leo and had not been lost to shadow.

He took a dizzying step forward, trying to make it to the dingy-looking bed that, at this point, looked as welcoming as a soft downy mattress. His knees buckled, and he barely registered the pain of bone hitting the floor before he succumbed to his fatigue and closed his eyes. Even though his cheek pressed against a carpet that smelled as though it was hiding several dead bodies beneath it, Nico smiled as he drifted to sleep.

Leo shifted at his desk, staring down at the plans he had been working on. Unfortunately, his first prints had done little in being usable, and he had scrapped the first prototype for not being exactly what he envisioned.

The son of Hephaestus sighed and ran his fingers through his hair before stretching his arms and arching his back, groaning as several bones popped. He glanced at the clock. It had been almost an hour since he and Nico had lost the connection of the Iris message.

He grumbled, "Stupid drachma," before pushing away from the desk and climbing to his feet.

Leo crossed to his bunk, flinging himself onto the bed. He stared, once again, at the planks on the underside of the top bunk. He did not know how long he had been gazing at the boards when a piece of paper seemed to flutter out of the shadow and fall right onto his face, the folded corner poking his eye.

"Ouch!" Leo sat upright and clapped a hand to his eye. "What the-" Still holding a hand over his eye, Leo looked around him for the piece of paper. Finally sighting it, Leo yelled, "Aha!" and grabbed the folded paper.

He glared at it suspiciously before opening it and reading the words written on the paper. The scowl slowly slipped off his face as a grin spread across it.

Leo,

Thinking happy thoughts.

Nico

"Sometimes you are planted apart to see how you grow together." ~ Nitya Prakash