Operation: Smile (a Leico/Valdangelo one-shot)

Hey, Look! It's A Chapter Heading!

I don't even ship this anymore (and this is such terrible writing like holy Hades it's even worse than Heart Beat) but I don't really want to delete it cuz I just... generally don't delete what I write... (ahah I was such Valdangelo trash before BoO) so... *shrugs*

"Come on, Neeks, you can't stay mad at me forever!" 

Nico folded his arms stubbornly, sitting in his coffin-shaped bed.

Leo pouted from a chair facing it, "Babe, I just want you to be happy!"

Nico glared.

Leo narrowed his eyes at him, "I'm gonna make you smile one way or another." he told him.

Nico rolled his eyes like, Sure, I'd like to see that.

Leo pulled out a book of the world's funniest jokes and started leafing through the pages.

"Oh!" he exclaimed, "This is a good on, you ready for this, Neeks?"

Nico stared at him.

"KNOCK, KNOCK!" Leo said enthusiastically, he leaned forward, waiting for Nico to reply. He didn't.

"Riiiiight. . ." Leo said, "The receiver must be willing to participate for those jokes to work, but hey, that's cool! Not all of these are knock, knock jokes."

Nico groaned.

"Ah! A noise!" Leo grabbed a notepad and pencil from his tool-belt and jotted down a note, "That's progress!"

Nico rolled his eyes again.

"Subject shows signs of annoyance." Leo said, writing.

Nico gave his best, Seriously, Valdez? face, which, as you might imagine, was very good.

Leo threw the notepad and pencil behind him, smiling at Nico. He steepled his fingers, resting his elbows on his knees. "Now, Nico, as your therapist, I need you to trust me."

He barely dodged the book Nico threw. 

"I'm guessing you don't like therapists?"

Nico couldn't have managed to look more bored.

"What about walruses? Do you like them?" Leo didn't wait for a response, "I do this great walrus impersonation. You just have to see it."

He turned around, fiddling with something and casting suspicious glances back at Nico. When he turned around, he had two pencils stuck up his nose. He started making walrus noises and flapping his arms like a deranged parrot.

Nico stared at him in horror and Leo burst out laughing and doubled over, knocking  the pencil into his leg in the process, shoving it farther into his nostril.

"OW!" Leo yelped, clutching at his nose, blood dribbled out.

Nico's lips quivered, barley containing a smile.

"Not to self: When trying to get Nico do Angelo to laugh, be sure to physically wound yourself." He said, still holding his nose.

He pulled the pencils out, "That was not supposed to happen, by the way." Leo informed him, pressing a tissue to his nose.

Nico went back to looking bored.

Now it was Leo's turn to roll his eyes. "I hope you appreciate all that I go through for you."

Nico studied his nails.

"Alright, I didn't want to do this, Nico," Leo said, walking towards the son of Hades, "but alas, you leave me no choice."

Nico barely glanced up at him.

Without warning, Leo lunged forward. Nico didn't even have time to scream before Leo was tickling him.

He straddled the smaller boy so he couldn't get up.

"LEO. . ." Nico gasped between fits of laughter, "STOP!"

Leo relented, grinning down at him. "Now, don't you feel better?"

Nico glared at him, breathing hard, a warm blush spreading over his cheeks.

Leo pouted, "Oh, come on! You have got to be kidding me!" He pointed an accusing finger at Nico, "You, sir, need to smile."

Nico's lips curved up at the corners, and Leo shrugged, "Good enough for me."

He bent down to kiss the dark-haired Italian.