After about two weeks, it became apparent that in order to keep up the 'dating act' Leo and Nico had to go on a date once a week at least.

Whenever Leo and Nico were invited to hang out, if they agreed to go, it was always followed up with a comment like this,

"Ok, but if you and Nico want to go out, don't be afraid to say so"

or

"I'm surprised you're not too 'busy' to go, ok, I'll see you there!"

and even an occasional,

"you guys didn't break up, did you?"

Leo had no idea people could be so pushy about things when you were in a relationship, though, 'it is natural, the others go on dates almost every day, if only for little things like walking around doing nothing'.

Leo didn't mind his new situation, it was far more entertaining for him now, 'speaking of said entertainment' Leo thought as Nico entered to living area.

"You were in the bathroom a long time, thinking of me?" Leo asked, winking.

"Yeah, I imagined you as the toilet when I took a shit".

"That's kinky" Leo countered.

Nico blushed, "shut up, how the hell did you learn about the existence of that fetish?"

"Oh my Gods, Nico you don't-"

"Hades No!" Nico said angrily.

Leo felt relief, for him, that would have been too weird, "well, that's one fetish off the list."

Nico sighed, "Can you give up trying to find my fetishes, it's really weird that you want to know so badly."

Leo smirked, with his new situation Leo found that anything and everything was something to tease Nico about.

Nico stared at him, "What are you smirking about? If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were teasing me because you like me," Nico held his forehead in his hand, "I still don't get one thing..."

"and what is that?" Leo asked playfully.

"Why do you hate me? I mean, sure, I crossed a line with you that one night, but it's hardly enough to be treating me like this" Nico inquired, stifling his anger.

'... He is right...' Leo thought,

'we're not so different when we really stop and look are we? You just bottle up the way you feel... waiting for it to explode like one of your machines!'

That's what Nico had said to him, and it still dug deep. Though it didn't bug him as much now, especially since Nico has become his new entertainment.

"Let's make a deal, you answer my question, I'll tell you the reason I dislike you, deal?" Leo held his hand out to the boy, seeing if he'd take his offer.

"What's the question?"

"You have to agree to answer first".

"Fine, what do you want to know? If you ask what my fetish is I'm leaving."

'so he does have one!' Leo thought, 'anway,'

"What did you mean when you said we're not so different?"

Nico paused to contemplate the question.

"I'm not sure about too much but Hazel said that Piper told her some stuff about you and then she told me what she knew about you when I asked a year back or so..."

Leo, tapped his fingers on his thigh rhythmically, it hid his nerves, "what do you know specifically?"

Nico looked down, "You ran away from different homes... Your mother died in a fire caused by Gaia, and those people who you lived with after were horrible so you kept running... I think I also heard about something with Nemesis saying that you would never be part of the group... And something about Calypso dumping you."

"Mostly correct," Leo hung his head down, "Gaia didn't kill my mother though, I did".

" what? "

"Gaia tricked me..." Leo said, balling his hands into fists, "she got what she deserved".

" Do you want to talk to her?"

"Gaia?"

"No, Leo. Do you want to talk to your mom?"

Leo looked up to Nico, this boy he's been tormenting for months now just offered to give him something that no one else could, it should have made Leo ecstatic, but it didn't. His mom used to say "Clean hands, dirty equipment" but when Leo thought about how dirty his hands had become, he realized he could never let his mother see him like this.

"No."

It sounded crueler when Leo said it aloud,

"Alright I'll just- No?"

"That's what I said Nico, No."

Nico could not have had a more shocked expression if he tried.

"Nico, I need to keep my end now right? I hate you because you knew me when no one else did, I hated that it was you. I hated that you were right, and I hated that you tried to empathize with me. I also thought you were a sick pervert coming on to me, if we recall the closet scene."

Nico blushed, "How am I the sick pervert here when you were just trying to find out my fetishes a minute ago?"

Leo laughed, but before he could speak, the phone in Nico's hotel room rang.

(( So, I've been considering this for a while now, and I'm afraid to touch it but, the first few chapters have been really bothering me. I want to re-write them because they are the first impression of the story after-all. My writing style has changed so much over the years and I think that I need to update them, I cringe when I look at chapters older that 6 and I outright skip 1 and 2.

With your permission, may I re-make the older chapters? ))