Someone please help me pick a nickname for Leo to give Nico; like 'chico' feels so casual for the connection they now have (and if you suggest Neeks, I'll be through-fully disappointed). I like that it's cannon that Leo was the first to notice Nico's eyes being sad.

11. Connected, part 1

Leo wanted Nico to stay, which was a stupid, and dangerous thought to have, because he didn't know what Nico's intentions were besides giving Leo his very own cursed item; the fact that said item was a clock was ridiculously fitting.

What better way to entice a child of Hephaestus to commit suicide than tie their life to an item they would be confident they could fix; something they knew for sure they could pull apart and rebuild sturdier, better. Leo knew better, even if he had been successfully tempted for the entire first minute of holding it into his hands; Nico's eyes were the only thing that stopped him long enough to realize what he'd just almost done.

Nico's eyes were different than Leo remembered, less the eerie piano keys of a death scene in media, more the last few soft tones of a melancholic blues; and maybe Leo was spending too much time with Simon, but at least he had something to compare it to, because Nico's eyes were still very sad, just not the type of sad they've been before. It's almost like Nico's missing something, and someone's dangling right out of his reach; which is an absolutely awful thing, but Leo doesn't know how to help.

There's also the fact that Nico's the one behind why he sometimes gets little moments of blessed cold; which, on the one hand him having an unnaturally low temperature explains why he's unbothered by the physical manifestation of Leo's soul, on the other hand Leo keeps having to stop himself from clinging to him like a leech. At the very least Nico never reacts as badly as he would've once upon a time, simply looks mildly surprised and maybe disappointed; that last bit is probably Leo's imagination though.

"So, about Nash"

Nico arches an eyebrow at him, tilting his head just so; Leo presses forwards.

"I think getting her to camp should be priority, but with your shadow travelling out of the equation, I can only get her somewhere nearby"

Nico bites his lips.

"You're worried about whether she'll make it"

Leo weights the idea of telling Nico what he's been up to momentarily, before deciding he might as well; maybe it's the loneliness speaking, but he's been enjoying this whole having other humans to talk to.

"I've crossed paths with a total of 20 demigods in my time away; half of them were from different Parthenos"

Nico makes a face and Leo laughs.

"The Norse kids would drive you insane chico, trust me"

Then he softens, pulling out a bag of drachmas, it's a simple piece of cloth from what was once a make-shift bandage given to him by a particularly stubborn Apollo kid (the Roman version which was a whole adventure considering he had to take them to Lupa), tied with an elastic band.

"I lost three of the other half, and I don't know if the other seven even made it"

Nico levels him with a hard to decipher look.

"They did"

Leo's running thoughts must show on his face, because Nico pulls out a map out of one of his jacket's many pockets.

"None of them said your name, but they did mention a child of Hephaestus helping them"

He flushes, and it's a wonder how the heat of it moves on his pale skin.

"I hoped it was you"

Something clicks into place, and the gears start spinning as they should have from the start; Leo takes a moment to swallow and steel himself in the off chance he might be wrong.

"Are you gonna stay with me once this is over?"

He holds his breath as onyx eyes scrutinize him, hoping Nico finds whatever he's looking for; and he must because he answers carefully.

"Only if you let me"

And it's one thing to have the realization, and another to have it actually confirmed; to know for a fact that Nico is only here for him, nothing more and nothing else. As he exhales he feels a smile form on his lips, one that he's not used in decades, an honest one; and the world has gone just slightly, but wonderfully, colder.

.- .- -. -. .- / -.- -. - .- / .- ... -.- / .-.. . - .-. ... / .- / .-. - ..- -. . ..-..

Simon thinks there's something to be said about how good he is at noticing other people's feelings when it took Leo scolding him while sleep deprived for him to figure out his own. Thankfully, Lillie had been nothing but patient while he explained his dilemma to her; he thought about going to Magnus briefly, but the man had his own romantically-related issues to deal with.

Talking to Lillie had also functioned as a gateway of sorts, and now he had actual chats with a few of the younger vampires in his clan, for when he returned there; and the possibility of having to go back to the Du Mort brings him full circle to what he just realized.

Leo had told Simon that he was a rogue, but he'd never actually told him why; he did explain that it was because of his status as rogue that he could share as much as he had of the demigod world with them. He'd insisted it was better that way, because now they would know where to look when the next immortal went mad with power; and a vague idea of how to deal with it.

The thing was, Leo was clearly hiding from other demigods, or trying to because apparently his good heart got the better of him a lot; so Simon thought there would be a lot more tension, like, bad tension, like 'we should keep these two apart' tension. Instead, Nico likes to give Leo extremely longing looks when the other isn't looking; granted, Leo really doesn't seem to have noticed, so Simon thinks he's only seeing because Nico isn't hiding from him.

Don't get him wrong, Simon's glad Nico isn't treating Leo as though he's a criminal; it's just that it makes him even more curious than he already was about the reason Leo's a rogue.

"I was confused too at first"

Simon is startled, finding incredibly dark eyes fully on him; luckily Nico doesn't seem particularly angry, though Simon still feels off at having his attention, but that probably has to do with the whole Nico being a child of Hades and whatnot.

"Was it for the death thing?"

Nico looks briefly surprised but must remember what Simon is because he shakes his head.

"It would've made a little more sense if it had been, we were all angry at him for that stunt"

Simon kind of gets it, considering Leo's death and resurrection was somewhat planned, unlike his own; but now he shares Nico's confusion.

"So what happened?"

Nico frowns, and the temperature in the room drops slightly; Simon's sure if he wasn't a vampire he would've never noticed.

"The goddess he saved claimed he burned her on purpose"

Simon pauses and tries to make sense of what he's just been told, taking into consideration his experience with Leo so far, and what little he knows about the Latino's complex relationship with his powers; remembering particularly his expression the first time he accidentally burned Simon.

"That's bullshit"

Nico snorts humorlessly, giving Leo an entire look.

"And yet they all believed it"

Simon winces, and Nico actually smiles, tired as he clearly is; and Leo notes the very clear distance he put on his words.

"But not you"

Nico shrugs, face just a little pinker, like it's nothing.

"Didn't have any reason to"

Simon thinks there's more to it than that, particularly when he knows what he does; but he decides not to press on it. These sort of things need time.