How He Fell in Love

Chapter Two

"It happened when I was eight." Leo said, watching as Nico sat down on the only other chair in the Bunker, across from Leo. "Me and my mom were working in the shop, late at night. Mom was putting the finishing touches on a prototype that could change our lives for he better. When we were finished, we got all the way to the car, after locking all the doors be hind us. My mom realized she forgot her phone inside, and said, 'I'll be right back, mi hijo.' She smiled at me, and that was the last time I saw her smile."

There were tears running down Leo's cheeks, and Nico felt the strange urge to comfort him.

"Gaea appeared to me, before my mom got back." Leo continued. "She taunted me, and told me she had to break me before I could grow older, cause I would fight her children in the future. I got angry, and lost control of my fire. I killed my mom. I watched the shop burn down, and I couldn't do a thing about it. I couldn't do a damn thing."

He sniffled, and said, still not looking at Nico, "they found me, perfectly fine physically. They couldn't figure out why an eight year-old kid would kill his own mom. My Aunt Rosa refused to take me in. Said is was a monster, a freak. She called me 'niño pequeño diablo'. Little devil boy."

"Leo..." Nico said quietly, and then he did something that surprised them both. He leaned forward, and took Leo into his arms, giving him a hug.

Leo dank into him, neither caring of the tears that soaked Nico's shirt. How long had it been since he'd he'd gotten a real hug? Far too long.

Nico felt something inside him stir and a strange lightness in his stomach. He had felt this way before, but that was when he used to have a crush on Percy.

No, no, no! He thought, I can't be crushing on Valdez! I mean... Can I?

He shrugged it off, and rubbed Leo's back, as his breathing evened, and Nico realized he was asleep. Nico smiled slightly, and, surprisingly easily, picked Leo up bridal style, and put him in the bed that Leo had had installed a few weeks ago, just for reasons like this.

Nico put him in bed, and took off his shoes and his tool belt. He put them beside Leo, on the ground, and pulled the covers over him.

Nico smiled again, and couldn't help but think that Leo was adorable.

--

Leo woke up the next morning alone.

Normally, that would've been normal, but now, he felt a sort of emptiness inside him. The, he remembered what he'd seen yesterday. He'd been out at sea for about a week, all alone on the Argo II except for Festus. Of course, all along on a big boat with a junk of metal didn't exactly help along his nonexistent skill with organic life forms. And then, when he finally found what he'd been looking for, he found Calypso sitting out in the beach making out with some other hero that had dropped off for a visit on her island.

His heart was ripped out right then and there, and Leo suddenly remembered what he'd been about to do when Nico had come in.

He reached in his tool belt and found the smallest and sharpest knife he had, and slowly, dragged it across his forearms three times, and his arm started bleeding. He hadn't cut in a long time, and now wasn't the best time to start, but he needed to help himself calm down.

He let the blood slowly drop down, and turned away, a little disgusted.

He looked to the darkest corner of the Bunker, and gasped as something moved. "Nico?" He called, uncertainly. Then, he remembered something Percy had said a little while ago.

Only monsters or children of the Underworld can Shadow Travel. But, Hazel can't. Only Nico can.

So, if it wasn't Nico, and Hazel couldn't, there were no other children, then, that meant...

Leo looked up just in time to see a Hellhound jump out of the darkness, and rake it's claws across his chest. The monster disintegrated before it could finish him off.

"Leo!" He heard a voice yell, but he paced out from the pain, just as a hazy Son of Hades came into his line of vision.

--

Nico grabbed Leo and Shadow Traveled to the Infirmary before he could lose anymore blood. He may have just been cut, but Hellhound's had long claws, and Leo had already lost a plot of blood.

"Will!" Nico shouted, as soon as he put Leo on one of the beds.

Will looked up and gasped, running over quickly to shove Nico out of the way, as he explained what had happened.

Will nodded and said, "Nico, go find the rest of the seven. Tell them what's happened, but you all have to wait outside."

Nico nodded and rushed out, all the while thinking,

If only I'd gotten there sooner...