Disclaimer: I own nothing


Leo:

"Your father really gave you a zombie?" Leo asked with a laugh.

Nico sat on the opposite side of his bed, across from Leo. He smirked at Leo, they'd been swapping stories from their screwed up childhoods for a couple hours now, and Leo was having a lot of fun. "Dad thought he was being nice" he said.

Leo laughed and stood up off Nico's bed. He yawned and stretched. "Nice thought I guess" he said "I'm guna hit the sack."

"Me too" Nico said as he lied down on his bed. "Night Valdez" he mumbled.

"Good night Nico" Leo said as he walked out of Nico's room.

The second he stepped out of Nico's room, he ran straight into Piper. She let out a squeal and they both regained their balance. "What're you doing out here?" Leo asked.

"Keep your voice down!" Piper said in a harsh whisper. "I was um... I was in Jason's cabin. What're you doing?"

Leo stared at her. "Hedge would not be happy with you" he said as she rolled her eyes.

"You're out late too" Piper said. "What're you doing?" she asked yet again and Leo figured he couldn't avoid the question any longer.

"I was, uh, in Nico's room" Leo said trying to sound casual.

Piper raised her eyebrows and smiled. "What were you doing in Nico's room?" she asked.

Leo felt his face turned red and he hoped it was too dark for Piper to notice. "We were just talking" he said.

"Really now?" Piper asked. "Then why are you blushing?"

"I'm not!" Leo said, but he felt his face heat up even more. "We really were just talking."

Piper just stared at him for a long moment, and Leo prayed she didn't have any magical daughter of Aphrodite powers that allowed her to see his true feelings. Of course, she did. "Why didn't you tell me you're gay?" she asked.

"What!" Leo said as he held up his hands. "I'm not!"

Piper laughed and shook her head. "Don't lie" she said.

"I'm not! Really, I'm all for the ladies" Leo said "I mean if you weren't with Jason I'd ravish you right here."

At this, Piper simply laughed harder. "Sure you would" she said "but seriously, I think you and Nico crushing on each other is adorable." Piper turned and started to walk down the hallway.

"Piper! I'm not crushing on Nico!" Leo yelled after her, remembering too late he's supposed to be quiet.

Piper waved her hand in the air. "Goodnight Leo" she said between laughs.

Leo mumbled goodnight back and turned to face Nico's door. He contemplated going back in, but he assumed Nico had already fallen asleep. Leo turned and headed towards his cabin, trying his hardest not to think about what Piper said and the truth behind it.


Nico:

"Piper! I'm not crushing on Nico!"

Nico hadn't planned on eavesdropping. In his defense, they were right outside Nico's room and Leo was practically yelling. So somehow, Nico found himself standing with his ear pressed against his cabin door, taking in every word Leo and Piper were saying.

He heard Leo and Piper walk off to their own cabins and Nico got back into his bed. He curled up under the covers and thought about what Piper had said, I think you and Nico crushing on each other is adorable.

Leo apparently hadn't noticed, but he did. The way Piper had phrased it, it sounded like she thought the feeling between them was mutual. Was it? Was Nico crushing on Leo? Did Leo feel the same way?

Nico groaned and rubbed his eyes. He tried to sort out his feelings for Leo. He was cute, sure, but he was no Percy Jackson. But Leo had paid him more attention than anyone else. Leo seemed like he actually cared about Nico. Sure Jason had been nice to Nico, but it hadn't extended much past the Cupid event. Leo on the other hand, seemed insistent on spending time with Nico.

The part that surprised Nico, was that he didn't mind. He liked spending time with Leo. He liked Leo's lame jokes and the way he was constantly giving his dorky smile. He even like the way his stomach did flips when their hands accidentally brushed against each other's.

Crap, Nico thought. I'm crushing on Leo Valdez.


Leo:

The next day, things got screwed up.

Monsters attacked the ship, which was nothing out of the ordinary, but while Leo was steering the ship Nico had been fighting off the monsters along with the other demigods.

It went as usual, things got dangerous right before they defeated the monsters. Leo knew the drill, he would man the controls and eventually have to go repair whatever damage had been done to the ship.

As soon as the fighting ended, Jason came into the cockpit. He was sweaty and bloody. "Jason? What happened, are you hurt?" Leo asked.

Jason shook his head. "It's not my blood" he said, flooding Leo with relief. Only the relief was short lived since the next thing he said was "it's Nico's."

Leo shot up out of his chair and put his hands on Jason's shoulders, shaking him. "What! Is he okay? Is he hurt? What happened? Where is he?" The questions flowed out of Leo's mouth before he could stop them. His heart was racing, he knew he was acting ridiculous, but he couldn't help it.

Jason put his hands up. "Whoa whoa whoa" he said "calm down, he's alright. He got hit in the head pretty hard. He's still unconscious. He's lying down in-"

"Take me to him" Leo said.

"Shouldn't you repair the ship?" Jason asked. "There's some damage in the-"

"It can wait" Leo said "now take me to him."

Jason let out a long whistle. "Okay, but only because the great Leo Valdez never acts so serious and I don't know how to react to it" he said as he lead Leo towards another room.

A few minutes later they stepped into the room where Nico lay on a bed unconscious with blood caked in his hair. Hazel sat next to Nico holding his hand. Leo forced himself not to sprint towards him. He walked over and knelt next to Nico. "When's he guna wake up?" he asked.

Jason shrugged. "We're not doctors either dude" he said "we gave him some ambrosia, so shouldn't be too long."

Leo sighed. "Tell Hedge to man the controls, I'm staying here till he wakes up" he said.

Jason gave him a weird look before nodding and walking away. Leo glanced at Hazel, but she didn't say anything. Leo sighed and shifted so he was in a comfortable position next to Nico's bed. He wanted desperately to hold Nico's hand, but he didn't. He just sat there, waiting.


Nico:

Nico opened his eyes and groaned, his head was killing him.

"Nico! You're awake!" Nico glanced to see Leo sitting right next to him, his face a little too close.

"My head hurts" Nico mumbled. He tried to sit up, but the room started to spin so he sat back down. Only then did he realize Leo was holding his hand. Leo seemed to have realized what he was doing because he tried to pull his hand away, but Nico tightened his grip on Leo's hand.

A small smile flashed across Leo's face before he continued talking. "Hazel was here, but she ran to take a shower" he said "you were out for a while. I was so- uh we, all of us, were scared."

Nico stared at Leo, there were bags under his eyes and his hair was a mess. He looked exhausted. "How long have you been sitting here?" he asked.

Leo shrugged. "Uh- bout 9 hours" he said in a small voice.

"You didn't have to sit here with me" Nico said, hoping he wasn't blushing.

Leo bit his lip and his face turned red. "I wanted to um.." he said "I wanted to be here when you woke up."

Nico met Leo's eyes and Leo held his gaze. "Why?" he asked.

Leo didn't brake Nico's gaze when he said the next part. "Because I care about you" he said quietly, "a lot."

Nico couldn't help it, he smiled.

Leo smiled in response, Nico had noticed he always did that. Whenever Nico smiled, Leo instantly smiled back. Nico didn't say anything back, he didn't know what to say, so he simply looked into Leo's eyes.

The smile faded from Leo's face and he knitted his eyebrows together. He looked confused, but he didn't look away from Nico. Leo let out a long breath and swallowed before leaning a little closer to Nico. Nico felt his heart rate pick up as Leo drew closer.

A second later, Leo's lips were on his. Nico instantly forgot about his pounding headache, all he cared about was the fact that Leo Valdez was kissing him. It was light and sweet and didn't last very long before Leo pulled away. He stared at Nico trying to assess Nico's reaction.

Nico smiled at Leo and looked away, no longer able to hold his gaze. Leo squeezed Nico's hand, but then let it go a second later when Hazel walked into the room. Hazel rushed over to him and kissed him on the cheek.

"You're awake!" she said and Nico nodded.

"Uh- I gotta go check on repairs and controls and everything" Leo said "I'll come see you later." He smiled at Nico before leaving, and Nico smiled back.

He wasn't sure what the kiss meant, but he was sure of one thing: that day, despite the pounding headache, Nico smiled more than he had in years.