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Don't ask me what Leo says, I don't know either.

'No, really, relationships take two people, and you've been pulling all the weight on your own; of course you're overwhelmed, that's entirely on Will'

Nico's mind was whirling, there was no way, absolutely no way, but then... he'd been following all the right steps, and picking all the right words; and he had changed so much, given up so much, just to keep this up. But suddenly it felt wrong, and he couldn't make sense of it because...

'relationships take two people'

Oh.

'and you've been pulling all the weight on your own'

That was the problem, why it had started feeling different, why even Leo had responded differently this time; because Nico had changed so much, but Will hadn't.

He knows, realistically, that if he just talks about it, it will solve itself out; because that's Leo's ongoing advice, and he's surprisingly good at relationships. Only, it was Leo who put the seed in Nico's head, who made him realize something was wrong; Leo who had been nothing but neutral in his quest to help Nico, who actually put thought to every problem Nico brought him.

Exhaustion, bitterness; a familiar effect, yet Nico had tried everything to ignore it. And Leo, who almost knew Nico too much for either of their goods, had allowed him to; because Leo knew firsthand how impossible it was to let go of someone who sees you and doesn't run, especially when you've known isolation.

He wasn't angry at Leo, couldn't be when he was perfectly aware of how stubborn he would've been if the Latino had tried to bring it up earlier. No, Nico is angry at himself, and a little bit at Will as well.

So he asked Will to listen for a moment, clenched his fist, took a deep breath, and let go.

"I can't keep doing this"

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"This isn't working"

Would it be bad to say Leo had been expecting this?

Calypso and him had been drifting away, their schedules rarely matched, never mind Leo picking extra hours to help finish all the Hunters' bikes in time, acting as human reminder of just how picky those girls were about the condition of their rides. But Calypso...

"I can't stay when you keep picking a near stranger over me"

When Leo had told her about Nico's visits, it had absolutely been a slip of the tongue; not because he had anything to hide, but rather because he respected Nico's privacy. He hadn't expected her to be against it, and at first she didn't seem to be, but the frequency of visits increased, and her opinion on them soured.

"I've been friends with hazel since third grade, and I've known Nico just as long"

"But he's not your friend Leo! You don't have to drop everything every time he decides he needs attention!"

For a moment Leo is elsewhere, holding too pale skin gone ice cold, and rushing towards his car, fingers pressed desperately against a scarily soft beat. And then he's back, and his lungs feel as though filled with smoke.

It takes him a moment to focus on Calypso, she looks as though she's been struck, though Leo is nowhere near her, and then she's running before his mind can come back fully. He doesn't know what he said to her, and maybe he never will.