Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Percy Jackson or the Heroes of Olympus. If I did, I would be writing another book, not fanfiction about a book. *sigh*

In this one-shot I imagine Nico and Leo being roughly around the same age. I don't know what the age difference is in canon so I made it this way.

This happens after The Battle of the Labyrinth, but before The Last Olympian.

Onward my fellow demigods!

It was a rainy day, so most people were inside their homes, while the children were at school and the people running the stores. Only a few people were still out, but they made sure to stay clear of one particular person on the sidewalk who seemed more melancholy than the rain itself. The boy did not mind a bit, for he was used to being ignored by people. In fact, he hadn't spoke to anyone alive in two weeks (not that he had been keeping track, thank you very much). The boy's name was Nico di Angelo.

Nico stayed close to the shadows from the walls of the shops, blandly ignoring the looks he was getting from the commuters. As he turned another corner, a graveyard loomed into view. Many people preferred not to stray to close because there were rumors of a 'wailing ghost that haunted the grounds'.

Cursing his father for making him take time off from training with the spirits in the Elysium, Nico paused next to a hardware shop and, sensing a wandering spirit, opened the door and silently slipped inside.

Bumping into many shovels and staying far away from the plants, Nico located a boy around the same age as him, maybe a year or two older. He appeared to be browsing through the tool belts while talking to someone how must have been his mother out of the corner of his mouth.

The boy was small and scrawny, not unlike Nico himself. He had a beaver's nest of brown hair atop his head and Nico couldn't help but compare him to a mini Latino santa elf. He and the woman standing beside him, who Nico was now certain was his mother, were holding a conversation in low tones. It was an unusual conversation because the boy would say something and the mother would respond, but the boy would continue talking as if he hadn't heard her. The woman had a sad smile on her face, and with a jolt, Nico realized why. The boys mother was a wayward spirit.

Nico felt empathy bubble up inside him. It wasn't so long ago that Nico lost his sister. He could't remember his mom, so Bianca became his.

Nico let a soft sigh come from his chest as he saw the mom raise her hand and try to put it on her son's shoulder. The spirit's hand wen't though, but the mom was still whispering words of comfort to the boy that she knew he couldn't hear. She turned away from the boy to look at Nico. She nodded slightly and a few tears escaped her eyes. Nico could almost hear her saw I'm ready even though he had no idea what she sounded like.

Nico rose one finger and pointed it at the woman and chanted in Greek, "Αυτό αναχώρησε ψυχή που περιπλανιέται τη γη των ζωντανών πρέπει να επιστρέψουν στη γη των πνευμάτων." (This departed soul that wanders the land of the living shall return to the land of the spirits.)

The woman faded away leaving only leaving a gust of wind. The boy shivered and slowly turned around from the tool belts he was looking at to stare at Nico. It must have been a strange sight to see an Italian 11-year-old, wearing all black, starring at a Latino 11 or 12-year-old who looked like he was living in the sewage, but to both boys, it was close to normal. The Latino boy seemed very nervous to Nico, but then he realized it was because he had ADHD like him.

The silence was increasingly becoming awkward until the boy's face split into a wide smile and introduced himself. "Hey. Are you looking at tool belts too? 'M names Leo." He stuck out his hand and Nico could see the oil and grease on them. Leo glanced down at his hands to see what Nico was looking at"Oh, yah. Sorry 'bout that. Just got off my shift." He took out a bandana, wiped off most of the oil, and stuck his hand back out.

"Nico." He took the hand and shook it. It was a weird experience for both of them with Nico's cold hands and Leo's warm ones. After a moment, they both withdrew their hands. After a couple more seconds of silence Nico asked, "So you work here?"

"Mm hm." Leo agreed. "Did you see the solar-powered automaton at the front?"

Nico shook his head. "Er- no. I haven't."

Leo looked a little put out at that statement. "Oh. Well, I made it."

They stood just comparing how similar and different they were from each other. Leo opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a man yelling. "Runt, your break is over! Start your shift!"

Leo turned in the direction of the yelling and replied, "Coming!" He turned back to Nico. "That's my boss. Run into you again, yah?"

"Sure," Nico shrugged.

Leo's eyes lit up and he ran to a door that was probably the entrance to the office. He turned to face Nico, grinned, pulled open the door, and slipped inside.

o0o

On the Argo II-

"So, di Angelo. Who exactly are you? Have we met before?" Leo sighed and shook his head. "Listen, I'm sorry if you don't know what I'm talking about, but Hera stole my memories, and I don't remember much of the past. So, if we have met. . . "

Nico warily looked at Leo. He couldn't remember if he had met him before. The events of Tartarus were still fresh in his mind. "Look, Valdez, I can't remember if we've met or not so how about this: Hello, my name is Nico di Angelo."

Leo grinned and took his outstretched hand. "'M name's Leo Valdez. Did you see the dragon up front of the Argo II? 'Cause I built it."

"No, I didn't." Nico replied.

Something was tugging at the back of his mind, a strange sort of deja vu. Nico ignored it because he was fairly certain that his encounter with a boy years ago had no relevance to the conversation he was having with the person he had just met. After all, it was only a memory. A faint memory.

If any of you have any requests on what scene I do next, feel free to pm me or review.

I have a few ideas for one-shots so tell me which one is the best:

1. Nico meets Bianca's reincarnation

2. Nico and Reyna after the Giant War

3. Nico, Jason, and Percy have a bro night out

4. He meets Octavin after the Giant War and has to explain what happened

5. Nico visits Bob while he's working

Thanks for reading!

~ Haley Wilson