Leo drifted in empty space for a while. It was so damn freezing, he wondered if he'd died again. Then the warmth and light suddenly began to return. Leo fell unexpectedly (it felt like two feet at least) and hit the ground with a hard thud. He might've gotten a concussion if his skull weren't so thick. He just lay there for a moment, trying to catch his breath.
(1)"Grande. Semplicemente fantastico."
Leo sat up to a grumpy Nico do Angelo staring angrily at him. He almost made a joke, but he was afraid the kid would send him to the Underworld. Instead, he asked what had just happened.
"You, (2)genio, you scared me and I accidentally shadow traveled." He glanced around, shaking his head. "And here, of all places." Leo swiveled his head around. It looked like an old bridge surrounded by greenery.
"China," Nico said, confirming Leo's suspicion. They were on the Great Wall. Leo suddenly felt energized despite not having slept in over twenty-four hours.
"The Great Wall of China! Did you know it took over seven hundred thousand people to build it? Soldiers and commoners, by the way. And it took twenty years to build, around 200 BC. It has an amazing structure, really, for being built before electronic technology. I-" Leo was cut off by a snicker. He looked at Nico.
The other boy immediately reassumed a serious face. "You sound just like Annabeth." He said, a hint of amusement in his voice. But the strain in Nico's face was more genuine now.
"Is that a bad thing?" Leo asked.
Nico didn't respond. Leo decided to drop the subject. "Well, this is neat and all, but can you voodoo us back to camp? I just rescued a girl from being alone for thousands of years, and I don't exactly like the idea of leaving her alone."
Nico frowned. "No, I can't. Shadow travel is a lot more taxing than it seems. It'll be a day at least before I can do that again." Leo frowned and started shuffling through his tool belt.
"What are you doing?" Nico asked. Leo held up and finger on his free hand. After a minute, he withdrew his arm, holding up a single golden coin.
"A drachma?" Nico asked.
"Yeah, now all we need is water," Leo said. "For an Iris message. I don't want anyone to worry about... Us." Leo had been about to say "you", but remembered that Leo had people that cared about him now too. He felt a small smile and tried to suppress it.
"Where do you suggest we get water from?" Nico asked.
Leo looked both ways. "Well one end of the wall leads to the water-"
"And how do we know which way that is? Are we supposed to just guess and travel the entire Wall of China on foot?" Nico yelled.
Leo was shocked for a moment, but then got angry too. "Well do you have a better idea, di Angelo? Wanna just wait here like sitting ducks?"
"Yes! That's exactly what I want to do! I just told you, shadow travel is hard work! I'm tired!" Nico retorted.
"Well then you stay here! I'll go alone!" Leo decided.
(3)"Sei pazzo! You're crazy!"
Something snapped inside Leo. He stepped up to Nico and grabbed him by the shirt. He felt heat building in his hands. "Don't. Call me crazy." He said through gritted teeth. He didn't know why it made him so angry.
Nico's clothes started to smolder. Smoke came from him, but not the hot kind. Leo felt the cold tendrils wrap around him and he released Nico, holding his throat and coughing. Nico frantically patted his chest, where two holes now sat. Despite the tension, Leo had to stifle a laugh. He tried to cool his head (both literally and metaphorically) and stood again. Nico refused to look at him, so Leo started bustling around.
From his tool belt he pulled a coil of rope and two sleeping bags. Nico looked mildly interested as Leo threw down the sleeping bags and unraveled the rope and threw it over the wall. Leo walked up to the dark boy and held out the end of the rope. After he didn't take it, Leo explained, "I need you to hold this. I'm gonna climb down and gather some wood for a fire, then we'll eat." Nico looked skeptical at that last part, but took a hold of the rope.
Leo put on gloves to protect his hands from rope burn and splinters and climbed down over the edge of the wall. After gathering suffiecient wood, he climbed back up the wall sweaty and dirty.
Nico was asleep, the rope tied around him like a harness. He'd been pulled up against the wall by Leo's weight and movement, and if Leo had been any heavier, he might have pulled Nico all the way over the wall.
Leo felt a touch of amusement, if not fondness, towards the di Angelo boy. He untied the harness, put away the rope, and curled up in his sleeping bag. He realized that stars were visible in the sky, like they were when journeying on the Argo II. He stared at them for a bit, his head falling to the left when he was too tired to hold it up. His head position forced him too look at Nico.
Now asleep, Nico looked nothing like the dangerous demigod who almost suffocated Leo earlier, or even the gloomy guy who usually gave Leo the creeps. He looks younger, peaceful. Almost... angelic. Pretty decieveing when you knew found out what he could do.
"Buenas noches, rey fantasma," Leo muttered before falling asleep.
- - - - -
(1) Great. Simply fantastic.
(2) genius
(3) You're crazy!
(4) Good night, ghost prince.
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One Too Many Heartbreaks
FanfictionLeo is finally happy. He's found Calypso, the most beautiful girl he's ever met. They're the perfect pair, the two loners. All is well, and they go back to camp, reunite with the others, and Leo is finally going to live his happily ever after. That...
