Koolaid Stains

leo is slightly emo ok wow (a chapter)

Nico was late to breakfast. In no way shape or form was he eager to assemble a team of demigods for another godsdamn quest. But it had to be done, and he sure as hell wasn't going to go alone and die. The one thing that really bothered him though was the thought of a bunch of newbies tagging along.

It would be his responsibility to keep them all alive and if he didn't everyone would shun him or maybe... crucify him or something. Who knew what kind of punishments were dealt for crimes against humanity (demigonity--?) here?

He got up from the bed and slipped on a sweatshirt and pondered who would be the least annoying demigod with at least a little experience to come with him. Surprisingly, the first person to come to mind was Leo. It wasn't the fact that he wasn't annoying, rather that Nico wanted to keep him around... so he wouldn't spill his secret of course...

Which reminded him of the fact that Leo was in the infirmary right now.

After a while, and a couple of buckets of water, he cooled down and stopped reigniting. He hadn't woken up though and slept through everything.

Nico had gone to visit, mainly to see if Percy would be there. Although he repressed it, Nico loved drama. But only if he isn't involved...

He stood and stretched with a yawn before his anxiety started to creep up on him as he walked to the infirmary. What if the reason Leo flipped out was because he was stressed over keeping Nico's secret? Or maybe he was just stressing Leo out all together... What if Leo snapped at him when he showed up like he did Percy?

His thoughts were annoying and toxic to his current plans but thankfully, he was able to push them to the back of his mind once he opened the door to the Big House and the smell of burning wood filled his sinuses. He rushed to the infirmary and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Leo sitting with a blank expression on a wooden bench next to the door.

"What's up?" He asked nonchalantly as if he hadn't just had two mini panic attacks in a row.

Leo sighed and stared dejectedly at the floor and once again, the misplaced sadness in his face unsettled Nico. Nico sat down next to him and noticed the black singed armrest. He must still be on edge, Nico thought to himself and suddenly the idea of asking Leo to aid him on his quest seemed extremely selfish. "Is Percy mad at me?" He asked and looked up at Nico with pleading eyes, almost as if begging Nico to lie and tell him everything was okay between him and the son of Poseidon.

Nico moistened his lips and stared at the other bed in the room, taken by some sleeping figure under the covers. "That doesn't matter, Leo. All that matters right now is that you're okay... Which brings me to the question-- You don't have to answer if you don't want to but, what were you so upset about?" Automatically, he felt nosey and annoying. It was unlike him to pry but he wrongly felt that since Leo knew his secrets, Leo was required to share his.

"I was... mad," Leo started simply. "Like really... angry that after all I've done and how big a portion of my life has been devoted to everyone else's wellbeing and happiness in this world but the second I even consider doing something to make myself happy, I have to feel guilty about it, " he confessed and patted the small flame on his wrist. "And Jackson has the audacity to suggest that I'm not just as valuable as he is?! He's such a jerk and a such a terrible person who does sneaky backhanded shit that no one acknowledges just because he's the son of freaking Poseidon! He's ruined people's lives but-- oh no-- Percy Jackson can do no wrong!"

Nico wistfully stared at the bucket of water at the other side of the room as the air got warmer around him. "No one thinks your not as valuable, Leo. Everyone's stressed and still frazzled from the war and I think you should relax and wait it out until everyone's settled and then go solve your differences with Percy. I'm sure he didn't mean what he said—"

"Whatever," Leo remarked and shrugged with a huff.

Nico pursed his lips and nodded, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I was wondering if you wanted to... Well, I suppose you don't have to— Honestly, it's not a big deal..." Nico took a deep breath and stared down at his boots. "It's a chance to get outta here, I guess. If that's what you want."

Leo tapped his fingers on the underside of the bench. Well, at least he isn't pissed anymore, Nico thought and inwardly sighed in relief. "If I wanted to what?" He asked.

"I was given a quest and I need someone a bit... hm... experienced...  to help me out since I basically have to babysit some newbies the whole time," Nico explained and looked over at Leo slowly, hoping with everything he didn't look offended.

Which—thankfully— he did not. "Why me? Why not ask... Percy or something?"

Nico simply couldn't control the urge to sink to the floor with a groan. "Christ, now I know why people find me annoying. Get it together, Leo. Fuck anybody who says you're not good enough," he got to his feet and dusted himself off. He gripped Leo's shoulders and spoke with more emotion than he had in a long time.

"They don't deserve you and your wacky humour and your talent and your ideas and your genius and..." Sadly, Nico lost his drive halfway through as Leo's eyes burned a hole through him. He could tell Leo was expecting more. And Nico was sure there was more to Leo than that but the boy seemed to live off of Nico's words in that moment. Like they were the only things that could save him from drowning in his self-deprecating and aggressive thoughts... Like Nico was all that mattered to him.

And that was a lot of pressure on someone who didn't even matter to themselves. So much so that they would go to lengths of self-harm...

This was too much for him to handle.

Nico's hands fell and he offered a weak hand to pull Leo from the bench which the son of Hephaestus stared at for a ten count before taking.

A foreign smile spread across Nico's features as Leo snorted.

"Thank you," he mumbled, still holding Nico's hand in his own.

Though it was hot and clammy, Nico didn't pull away for fear of ruining Leo's fresh happiness. "No problem."

And with that Leo nodded. "Yeah, I'll come with you. But... there's something else we need to talk about."