Asphodels (Valdangelo)

Possible cures

Leo hangs back, feeling the familiar sensation of flowers trying to claw out of his lungs, turning around to pretend the cough is caused by something else, and making some sort of excuse; things are hectic enough that no one stops him. Asclepius doesn't look surprised to see him, which makes sense given he's a god and what not; he's glad the god hadn't mentioned it out loud, like with their other ailments, though.

"It's called Hanahaki"

The god talks unprompted, not that Leo minds, since he hadn't known how to ask.

"It's a mythical disease caused by unrequited love, but you know how it works"

Leo shows his blood covered palm, where a crumpled asphodel resides, the god nods.

"There are two ways for you to get rid of it"

He opens a drawer and pulls out a small pouch, when he opens it an overpowering scent fills the room.

"You can pick the easy path, choosing to forget about them, but risk forgetting everything tied to them as well."

Then he closes the pouch again, pushing it into Leo's hands.

"Or you can pick the hard path, being honest with them, and risk a broken heart"

Leo swallows with a little difficulty, but takes the pouch with only slight shaking.

"But if you don't pick one it will kill you"

Leo nods, the god gives him a look.

"The contents of that pouch are for your consumption, should you pick the first option, make sure to eat all of it"

Leo's a little shaken by how tempting it sounds, so he simply nods again, and starts going away before he stops and looks at the corn plant in the corner.

"Could you, uhm, turn him back?"

The god looks pleasantly surprised, and with a wave the corn is replaced with Nico, whose pants and shoes are now covered in dirt, and who Leo has to catch when he stumbles from the pot looking lost. Leo gives the boy a brief smile, and then directs his attention to the shadows that are now trying to threaten Asclepius.

"Think you could take us to the ship?" 

The shadows stop, and shake a little before they slither back, coiling around them almost excitedly, and the next thing Leo knows is darkness. Shadow travel is weird, Leo decides, but not in a bad way, just different from anything Leo ever experienced; but he doesn't exactly dislike it.

Nico doesn't know what to make off the fact that the shadows have not only gain consciousness, but have also become protective of him; luckily the only other person seemingly aware of this is Leo, who's only interacted with them when trying to save Nico. Speaking of, Leo's clearly very amused at the whole Nico getting turned into corn thing, though he's making an effort not to laugh in Nico's face; and Nico is a mess, because he's not even annoyed, and it has everything to do with how Leo looks with a laugh laced smile on his face.

On the upside, Asclepius did give Leo a cure for his curse, technically two, but Leo hates both equally; that's all Nico knows, because Leo's reluctant to talk about it, and Nico can't make himself force him. That is, until the fall happens, until they lose them to Tartarus; and that is a whole other rollercoaster of emotions, and Nico doesn't really know what pushed him to seek Leo out, only he does.

Of course he does, because it's Leo, whom he's been sharing everything and anything with, who's the only other person on the ship to know the whole story when not even Hazel does; and because despite himself, Nico has turned this boy into his safety. He isn't even a bit surprised to find Leo feels just as guilty for what happened as he does, maybe even more so; he knows about Nemesis, because Leo has shared just as much as him, because he's Leo's safety too.

He looks haunted as he shows Nico a small pouch with a very potent smell, shaking slightly even though it's impossible for him to be cold; and voice barely above a whisper, as though afraid of how Nico will react to his words. And Nico knows Leo trusts him more than anyone, but he's still human, and still far more selfless than Nico will ever be; keeping things secret because they could hurt someone isn't beyond him.

But the loss must have shaken him to his core, because here they are; and despite everything, Leo speaks.

"What if I tell him and he hates me for it?"

It takes Nico a moment to realize Leo isn't talking to him, it's like he's somewhere else, unaware of who he's talking to, still staring at the pouch.

"Or what if I tell him and he only says yes because the world needs me alive?"

Nico wants to grab Leo by the shoulders and shake him while screaming exactly what he thinks of that, to try and make this boy realize just how much he means to Nico; that he would have words with anyone who'd even think to try playing with Leo's feelings like that.

But then Leo swallows, and turns to him, as though capable of looking straight through Nico; as though he isn't actually there. The next thing he knows is that he's sitting on the bed of the room Leo barely even used, panting; and while yes, they are very much gone, and yes, Nico did have a talk with Leo about how no one was at fault, at no point had Leo brought up his illness.

He ponders about the pouch, the one that's indeed tied securely to Leo's tool belt, real, and despite its size, heavy looking. And in that instant, is acutely aware of what it would do; remembering the reason Leo was so against taking ambrosia.

Nico doesn't know which option is worse.