Nash is hard to write for because I'm trying my best to stay away from curse words since she's a child; but as you most likely know by now, I am very fond of curse words.
12. Connected, part 2
Leo's quietly setting up the phonograph he created for Magnus, it's a very good work as even the sharpest onlooker would be hard pressed to distinguish it from one made by some renowned brand.
"Nico helped with most of the artistic look, perks of having someone from the time"
That's the other thing, Leo likes to talk as he works, given that building machines is literally programmed in his DNA, it only makes sense; Magnus does suspect some level of ADHD to be involved though. He is curious about that commentary though.
"From the time?"
Nico lets out a long suffering sigh, while Leo chuckles sheepishly.
"Bottom line? If you're ever in Vegas, avoid a place called Lotus hotel and Casino"
Magnus lets out an impressed whistle, considering what he knows of mythology and the commentary Leo made, he figures the whole 'one night could be 100 years' was probably not an overstatement.
"How did you wind up in a time trap, anyway?"
Nico scoffs, Leo nudges him with his foot, as the boy is helping Leo with setting up the machine; this makes Nico roll his eyes, but then he looks at Magnus.
"My father was protecting me and my sister from Zeus' wrath"
Magnus finds himself looking towards Leo, who gives him an exhausted sort of look and shakes his head no once; so Magnus doesn't continue pressing.
"A little more to your side ángel"
Nico nods silently as he pulls the base of the phonograph towards him, seemingly unbothered by the nickname. Leo on the other hand is definitely flustered, Magnus can tell, which means he had wanted it to have some sort of effect.
"And stop! Perfect"
Leo smiles as he says this, quickly going for the pile of vinyl CDs Magnus had put on hand in order to test the machine; but Magnus notices Nico turning around momentarily while breathing deeply and smiles. Leo returns after Nico's calmed down enough, and places the disk in the machine very carefully; not that Magnus expected any less of him.
The melody that comes on is one Magnus recognizes, and he has to bite back a laugh when Leo immediately starts dancing animatedly to it; he's actually surprisingly good, and Magnus isn't the only one impressed.
So with a rueful smile on his lips, he decides to allow Leo this particular moment, making sure the sound doesn't leave the room; the boy deserves something good, particularly when this is the first time Magnus' seen him smiling properly.
"I have a few things to take care of, but feel free to stay here until the guests wake up"
- ... .. ... / .. ... / .- / .-.. .. - - .-.. . / - .-. . .- -
Nash doesn't mean to eavesdrop, she really doesn't, it just sort of happens really; and in her defense, she didn't know Leo and Nico were even there. She enters the room as quietly as possible, watching as Leo spins around to a song she doesn't recognize, and wonders if he knows she's there; he probably does.
Leo stops for a moment, grinning widely, and promptly grabs hold of Nico, which makes the Hades kid let out a sound of sorts.
"Come on, dance with me ángel"
Now, Nash has never really been good with languages, which apparently has to do with her demigod blood but that's beside the point; thing is she doesn't need to be good at Spanish to know what Leo just called Nico. It almost makes her gasp out loud, because like, that's a whole pet-name right there, and Nico's noticeably pink and isn't doing anything to stop Leo; he just looks all sorts of flustered.
Leo laughs as he more or less jostles Nico side to side.
"Deities, Nico, relax"
Nico finally frees himself, but instead of stepping away, he just positions his hands properly.
"Easy for you to say, you know what you're doing"
And oh, so that's why Leo had sounded threatening; well at least she wouldn't have to worry about Nico putting Leo in demigod jail.
"It's just me ángel, I've got you"
Nash picks that moment to slip away just as quietly as she had gotten in, she has to check on Oren anyway.