A/N: First things first; this is, in fact, the last chapter. There will be an epilogue. And so there. Secondly, I NEVER thought this fic would be this long! When I started writing I had no idea where I was going with this, or what I wanted to do, and so I'm very very happy with this. I'll save all my praises and love to everyone reading this after the epilogue, but quickly a reply to a review:

To Lav da mermaid: For the purposes of this story Leo is from Spain, haha. Thanks for commenting!

this site (or my laptop) fucked up btw i had to go and edit this sorry for that, anyway, thanks to everyone for reviewing and stuff and hope you enjoy the chapter!

edit: third times the charm if there's now any mess up's or typos let me know lol i'm sorry i was deleting and posting this chapter again and again, so sorry.

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"... Leo? Leo, can you... Okay, so, I don't know if you can hear me or not. The doctors said that you're in a coma, or really deep sleep, since you– 'cause you lost so much blood. But, uh... Either way, I'll just talk okay? The nurse said I could stay the night when I told her you don't have any living relatives. At least, any living relatives that care. I hope that's okay with you. Don't worry though, I didn't tell them about your mom. I'm pretty sure it's somewhere in their records but, um, I didn't want to betray your trust. Or something. I don't know. Anyway, I didn't say a word."

Nico looked at Leo who was laying on the hospital bed, not moving except for the small rising of his chest. Alive and breathing, Nico thought with relief. Leo looked fragile, his tanned skin now pale and his wrists wrapped in bandages, his body covered with a too big blanket that seemed to swallow Leo's whole form. His eyes were shut close, hair falling on his forehead and almost reaching his nose. Without thinking about it Nico leaned closer to brush the strands up, feeling Leo's cold skin by doing so. He remembered the way the same skin had burned like fire when they'd first met. That felt like a million years ago, even though it was just three months. Nico blinked away the tears forming in his eyes, turning his gaze away from Leo's face.

"This, uh, this is harder than I thought. I'm not exactly good with speeches, I guess. Or feelings. But you know that already, I think." Nico took a deep breath, his shoulders shaking slightly. "When I first came to the school, I was a mess. I was in pieces and I couldn't put myself together. I didn't want to. I wasn't over Bianca, I was mad at Hazel and I was, most importantly, mad at myself. I was cutting and suffocating my feelings and it... it wasn't healthy. At all. I felt like I didn't have a reason to be here. But then, uh, then I met you."

A small smile tugged at Nico's lips, his voice softening. "This is going to be so cheesy, you'd laugh at me." He glanced quickly at Leo. "No one had ever really understood me before. I mean, Hazel tried but she... she doesn't get it. What it means like to lose someone you love more than anything. I felt like no one got how I felt, like I was all alone. And then suddenly there was you. You, putting your mask on just like me, to try to fool everyone and I knew you knew what I was going through. How I was feeling. You made me feel better without even opening your mouth. Then of course you did open your mouth and I'm not sure if that was such a good thing," Nico said with a short laugh. His smile stretched, the corners of his eyes crinkling as Nico tilted his head downwards. His gaze wandered to the floor, tracing the outlines of the tiles.

"But it was. It was such a good thing. Because we started talking, and I started to feel better and better, and it was so fantastic. You were fantastic. You were– you are so funny, and talented, and wonderful, and I just... I knew that you were like me, deep down. That you were broken like me. But I guess I ignored that, instead of trying to help. I'm so sorry for that. So, so sorry."

Leo stayed still, too still, and Nico dragged a hand over his face with a sigh, the smile disappearing. "You kissed me, then. Sort of. And that made me think, about how... how I feel. What I feel for you, I mean. It, uh, it scared me. A lot. To realize how much I cared. To realize that, I've never cared so much about anyone."

Nico swallowed, closing his eyes. "And so please, Leo. You know what it feels like. When someone you love dies." Nico's voice broke, his words coming out shakily. "Don't do this to me. I can't– I can't go through it again. I can't. Especially without you, Leo, I don't... Don't you dare die on me, Valdez. Because I love you, so much that it scares me, and I can't lose you too, I can't, I... "

Nico licked his lips, leaning in to rest his head on the edge of the bed. His hand found Leo's bandaged one, and he wrapped his fingers around Leo's. "You fixed me. Maybe not fully, and maybe without meaning to, but you did. And I love you, you idiot. So much. And I need you to come back so I can tell you that properly, and kiss you, and hug you, and do all those stupid dating things, and then we can ditch school together and move to fucking Spain if you want. And we'll have a mechanic shop for you, and I can continue studying there, and..."

Nico trailed off. "Please, Leo," he whispered. "Don't leave me now."

Heavy silence filled the room, the only voice coming from the quiet beeping of the machine Leo was attached to. Nico didn't know what to do when– if Leo didn't wake up. He would though – he had to. With Bianca gone, and Leo gone, Nico wouldn't be able to bare it alone, the outside world. He needed Leo to wake up.

It was a few minutes later when he felt the slight tug at his fingers. Nico lifted his head so fast he was afraid he'd break his neck, staring at their intertwined hands in shock. Leo's hand had moved, just the tiniest bit. Nico dragged his chair closer, not letting go of Leo.

"Hey? Leo, are you awake? Do you hear me? Leo?"

He watched Leo's face, seeing how the other boy slowly, so slowly, blinked his eyes open. He tried to focus his bleary gaze on Nico who felt his heart froze and then start to flip around way too fast. "Hey," Leo whispered hoarsely and when he made a move to sit up Nico woke from his shock. He gently pushed Leo back with his free hand, and realized how much he was shaking now. Nico opened and closed his mouth with no words coming out, his mind trying to form a coherent sentence."Don't ever scare me like that again, don't you fucking dare," he finally whispered back and before Leo could reply, Nico leaned closer and pressed their lips together in a soft kiss. He pulled away after a few seconds, staying only a couple of inches away. And then Nico's brain caught up with his body, and he jerked away in panic.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to–"

He stopped short when he noticed Leo's expression. The other boy was smiling warmly with his teeth showing and eyes looking straight into Nico's, and god Nico had already missed that smile so much, missed everything about Leo, and...

"Don't look so freaked out," Leo said quietly. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Nico started to smile but stopped midway through, frowning instead. "Don't joke about that. You were this close to... just, don't. Please."

Leo averted his gaze, looking at their joined hands, and Nico realized he still hadn't let go. Before he could, though, Leo curled his fingers more tightly around Nico's. "I know," he mumbled. "And I– I'm sorry. For trying to, you know. I wasn't thinking clearly."

Nico stayed silent, letting Leo figure his thoughts out. Finally he looked back at Nico, not smiling anymore. "I, uh, heard you. When you were talking, just now. And before you run away in panic," he added quickly, "let me say a few things. Firstly, I don't know what you were talking about not being good with speeches. You're a real poet, dude," he chuckled. "But, um, I'm not. So, let's just put the cards on the table. I tried to kill myself." Nico flinched, but Leo went on, ignoring him. "And it had nothing to do with you. It was just, like I said... I wasn't thinking clearly. Anyway, I didn't die. Obviously. And I might not be sane, or I might actually be dead and be in heaven right now, or this is a dream or something, but... I love you, too. I don't know how it happened, and I don't know why or when but I do. A lot."

Leo grinned at Nico, sitting up and kissing him again, warm against his cold lips, and Nico was pretty sure he heard fireworks going off somewhere. Leo leaned away, smiling wider than Nico had ever seen.

"By the way," he said, "Spain sounds fucking awesome."

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