How to Save a Life

fifteen

• Nico •

Warm hands trailed up my bare sides, my own hands exploring the hard, flushed chest below me. Leo sat up, burying his face into my neck, hot breath in the form of my name fanning my skin over and over again. I didn't want it to end - I wanted this moment to last forever. This was the closest I'd ever been to someone, and it was overwhelmingly full of emotion and warmth. I was shaking, wanting to tell Leo the exact emotions that welled up in my chest, but not finding the words. So I murmured the one thing that meant the most to me.

"Leo."

---

  There's a certain sort of atmosphere that comes the morning after. The way you look at the person you just gave everything to, the way you touch them, and feel for them.

  I couldn't help but to reach out and brush Leo's cheek with my fingertips. He was so serene and warm, his face softened into an innocent expression. My heart had to have grown a million times in my chest, because the feelings of love I'd harbored made it hard to breathe, but in the best way possible. It felt like I was drowning in Leo's embrace, drowning in the way he'd looked at me the night before, like I was the world and I was right there in front of him just for him to have.

  My fingertips trailed to his lips, softly brushing over them, before they moved along the curve of his jaw, down his neck, and to his collarbone. I hesitated once I saw the mark I'd made on his collarbone, a sense of embarrassment coming over me as my cheeks flushed. I trailed my finger over it, before my eyes shifted up at a sudden movement. Leo was smiling. Had he been awake this whole time?  

  "You're awake," I whispered and he nodded, before opening his amber eyes. I watched them take in the sight in front of him, a soft smile playing at his lips, feeling a hand brush my cheek, taking the same trail my fingers had made on him seconds earlier.

  It was serene. It was calm. It wasn't possessive or expecting. It was loving and longing.

  I decided that there couldn't possibly be anywhere else in the world I'd want to be than right here in Leo Valdez's arms.

---

Over the next few days, I'd taken Leo to the aquarium, then an ice skating rink, then a planetarium (in a hotwired car, but no one had to know that.)

At the aquarium, he would press his face up against the glass and talk to the fish, acting like a dork and asking them if they knew Percy Jackson. One fish actually swam up to the glass upon hearing the demigods name, causing Leo to laugh.

"Sorry, buddy, he's not here. I'll bring him next time though," Leo promised and the fish dejectedly swam away. "I just hurt a fish's feelings," Leo whispered, looking kind of sad. "What if Percy is his idol?"

"He's a fish, he'll forget about it in five seconds," I promised, giving him a small smile as he reached over and laced our fingers together. Leo's favorite exhibit was the shark tunnel, which we ended up staying at for an hour because he wanted to watch the live feedings. He commented on it like a sports spectator, causing me and the people around us to laugh.

The next day, we went ice skating, which was a bad idea, because every time Leo touched the ice, it sizzled. It was fine, though, because I actually had the hang of how to do it and skated along with Leo, laughing when he'd stumble or fall. Leo wasn't that great, but I could tell he was enjoying it just by his smile and the way he'd laugh when he made a fool of himself. That night, Leo surprised me by taking me to a fancy, expensive restaurant after buying an expensive looking suit for him and myself. I went to ask where he'd got all of the money from, but I realized it was probably from Chiron, who was rich enough in mortal money to buy an island in each of the Seven Seas and then some.

It was an authentic Italian restaurant, and I'd never felt more at home. Leo and I held hands over the table and no one batted an eye. We'd even got to try a bottle of peach wine (which Leo bought and winked at me). They didn't ask for ID, and I wondered just how old we looked to them.

The food was delicious, and I wasn't even hungry enough for dessert, so Leo bought some sort of chocolate something to go. We shared the wine and dessert that night, ending up giggling and spilling sappy emotions as we curled up to each other in the bed.

Finally, for my final excursion of our so-called trip, I planned a visit to the planetarium. Leo absolutely adored it. There was a small museum with actual space rocks and machines that you had to walk through to get into the planetarium, and Leo ogled and the machines, probably thinking of some sort of way to make one back at Camp. A voice in my head said, Assuming he'd want to go back to Camp, but I ignored it and focussed on the present.

  After the museum, we took our seats at the planetarium, before we stared in awe at the display in front of us. After a few minutes, Leo leaned over to me.

  "You're more beautiful that all of the stars in the sky, you know that, right?" he inquired and I felt my cheeks flush bright red. He opened his mouth, before closing it again, as if he was debating on what he was going to say. "I'm in love with you, Nico. And I don't think there's anyone I'd rather be spending time like this with. You..." Leo trailed off, his voice thick with emotion as he murmured seven words I'd never forget. "You make me want to keep living."