The two doors

Side C (renamed), part 2

I know you guys probably already figured this out, but Nico's so whipped, oh my gods.

After a while, Leo manages to turn himself off, which includes a lot of rambling about how he was simply caught off guard that isn't at all convincing, he still makes a point to sit with their arms pressed together. Which is fine, really, it's not like he's complaining about how warm it is, or how safe it feels, no sir.

This is what he gets for trying to flirt.

"You were gonna say something else"

It's embarrassment that pushes him to say it, and definitely not his desire to stop thinking about how comfortable he feels right now. Leo makes a thinking noise before he clicks his fingers.

"What happens if I do fall?"

Time has taught him that he has a hard time keeping the truth from Leo Valdez, so he bites his lip, and tries to think of how to present this.

"It's a long story, and you'd have to promise to listen until the end"

Leo seems to consider this heftily, going quiet for what feels like minutes before he answers.

"Can you tell it while I work?"

There's a feeling almost like relief that clambers to his throat as he laughs at that.

"Sure"

Leo guides him through the many halls of the Argo II as he goes through his daily checks, stopping here and there to adjust and repair stuff when needed, and giving him a new outlook on the ship. Meanwhile, he finds himself telling with surprising detail everything that transpired since the defeat of Gaia.

Sometimes, when he senses a warmer tone in the retellings, Leo will interrupt with clever question, or funny commentary. Until he starts talking about his relationship with Will and how it unfolded.

Instead, he gets this hard to read look on his face, hands tightening around the screwdriver, and urges him to continue. And because it's been established that Leo's hard to say not to, he does.

Talking about reality number two is super weird, and complicated, because most of what he knows about it was shit he learned from context clues and things the other Leo and Reyna told him. This Leo, who's most likely now his Leo by grace of time travel shenanigans, seems amused by the idea of having a whole gaggle of children under his wing.

Here's where he should add, probably, that he has managed to swiftly avoid telling Leo about what their relationship was like in reality two. Mainly because that's the one thing he wants to happen naturally, if it does at all.

"So, basically," Leo says pulling him back to the present, "in one superman's dead, I get ditched by a goddess, and you murder your toxic bf"

There's a pause, where he realizes Leo's waiting for him to acknowledge the summarized version he's just been presented.

"And Apollo gets turned into a mortal for a bit" he adds

Leo nods sagely at this, exchanging the screwdriver for a wrench in a swift motion.

"And in the other I rebuild new Rome, start a gang, and everyone's alive and happy?"

Leo's not really looking at him, so he hums in agreement, this seems to be the right thing to do because Leo finally pauses his work and turns to him.
"Ok, let's definitely do that one"