//Rainbows for the Heroes// HoO AU

(12) Fourth of July(Part 1)

Leo's POV

"Leo...Wake up fire boy. C'mon, I let you sleep in." I peeked an eye open to meet two very deep brown eyes. Huh? Does Nico knows that his eyes look like the night sky sometimes? Dark, mysterious, yet very hard to look away from. Nico's face went red, and I'd realized I had said that out loud. I gave him a grin and spoke, when I mean to this time.

"Good Morning, mi amor." Nico rolled his eyes, and lightly kissed me, then turned away, quickly leaving the room, face red. I chuckled at his nervous and timid reaction. It was very adorable. I enjoyed it.

After that, I got out of the bed, yawning. I looked over at the window, and something hit my head, it's Fourth of July! Yes! Quickly scouring the room, I threw on a white long sleeve, my suspenders, some sand-colored pants, and a pair of combat boots. My usual. I ignored how my hair looked and sprinted out of the room and down the hall. Everyone was chatting in the front area and I leaped into the room and threw my hands up.

"Wooo! It's Fourth of July! Fireworks! Warmer weather! Party! Friends!" Everyone laughed at my sudden outburst and now I jumping up and down around the room, stopping next to Nico, then sitting myself down next to him. I was about to kiss him, but then I remembered what I had planned for tonight. So, I just waited until we got ready to go. Everyone else left and before Nico and I walked out the door, I grabbed his wrist, placing a light peck on his lips, and walking out the door, telling him lightly, "And of course I gotta make time for my amazing boyfriend."

His face flushed, and I laughed, "C'mon Neeks! Let's catch up!" I stood at the top of the hill and waited for Nico to come. Just before I ran down, Nico caught my arm. I turned to him, a smile on my face, "What is it?" He just pulled me along to the under-shade of a tree. Nico looked up.

"You all talked about powers last night. Well, this is a small portion of mine. Hold on." He wrapped his arms around me and I held on tight as I watched the shadows basically eat us. I clamped my mouth shut and felt a rush of chill shoot through me.

We both dropped out the dark quickly, coming out of a long shadow from the side of the Mess Hall. I staggered, my energy draining a bit. Gasping, I felt Nico hold me up. "S-Sorry! I forgot about that!" Turning to him, I saw he had paled and a nervous anxiousness was filling his eyes. I reassured him by standing myself up.

"It's fine Neeks. I thought it was cool! You can teleport! It just caught me by surprise! Don't worry, I hope I was warm enough to keep you out of the cold!" Nico nodded, giving me one of those rare small smiles. I just smiled and-with a couple tries at getting my legs to comply- we went into the Mess Hall, that was now almost finished being decorated for Fourth of July. I was able to control myself know, seeing Cody using his telekinesis to pull the ribbons and streamers up. As Nico and I approached our table, Cody called out to me.

"Leo! Just the guy I was looking for!" I felt my insides light up at the word, 'guy'. So, I turned to him, a grin on my face.

"What can I do for ya?" I asked him. My brother seemed to have a hard time getting it out. But managed eventually.

"With your, you know, fire. I was wondering, well- the staff was wondering if you could light up the biggest firework. It's too hard to do with a simple match or lighter. So, I thought-."

"Of course I'll help you with that!" I laughed, smiling at him. It seemed like it'd be fun to light up the grand finale. I was about to ask something else, regarding what we were going to do today. But, I heard a noise to the far right of me.

"Percy you ass! Give it back you Non-Banana!" I saw Nico jumping up and down trying to grab his aviator jacket out of Percy's grasp, who, might I add, was holding it above Nico's head. Percy looked away for a second and the darker-haired boy stood on the table bench and snatched it out of their hands. Percy turned to Nico, wide-eyed and started laughing their ass off, while Nico huffed, pulling his jacket over his shoulders. I sighed as he turned and 'playfully' punched Percy in the shoulder, but giving a small smile.