We've all got bruises. (Leico)

....and spills out

Leo was confused. "Watch you do what?"

Nico looked embarrassed. "I guess you could say my body was healed, but my mind was still shattered. I wasn't well, at all. In fact, I'm still not. But I'm better, mostly because I can't stand seeing Hazel tiptoe around me."

"So.... did you try to..." Commit suicide? The unanswered ending to that phrase hung between them.

Nico gave a self-deprecating laugh.

"Not outright, no. But I did all these things to make it easier for me to die, if the opportunity arose. I barely ate anything, so my immune system and health are still feeling the aftershocks. Even now, my stomach is shrunken a bit. Why else would Hazel have to monitor what I eat? It's because one day she came home from school and found me, collapsed in the floor, barely alive."

By the time he was done talking, he was barely above a whisper, not quite mustering the courage to look at Leo.

"God," Leo said, barely audible. "Nico, can I hug you?"

He didn't wait for permission, just pulled Nico's face into his neck and wrapped his arms around his back. "I always knew you were strong, Nico. But I didn't realize how strong."

At his words, Nico crumpled into his arms and they sat there for a while, never moving. "How long has it been since you cried?" Leo asked, question in his voice. "Sorry, it's just that now and the last few times something happened, you haven't cried. I'm just curious."

Nico shrugged. "Years. At least two. Partly because of the pictures I always carry around, though." He slowly reached into his jacket pocket and withdrew the photos of Bianca's grave, feeling a bit like he was showing Leo a part of his soul, cheesy and creepy as that sounded.

Leo picked them up lightly, marveling at how well done the photographs were. The lighting was dramatic in some and serene in others, and he appreciated how long Nico must have stood there trying to get it right.

"I don't know, I guess they're like a warning, to me. After all I've been through I really don't want to end up as just a headstone, you know? But it's more than that. I confided in this thing like it could hear me, like it was Bianca, for years. I suppose it's a bit like Festus to you. I know it's weird, being so comfortable around death."

Leo chuckled softly and Nico felt it vibrate through him, where he still had his face buried in Leo's neck.

"Trust me, it's not weird at all."

An awkward silence fell, causing Nico to pull away from Leo. Searching for something to say, he blurted out "How far are you in your wood shop project, anyway?"

"What?" Nico asked, blinking.

"Your project. The one where you have to build your dog. How far are you? Because I could help you, if you want."

"I haven't done anything. And it's due in a couple days. Would you really help me?"

Leo nodded vigorously and jumped up, brushing his hands together nervously. "Come on, we need to make a frame." He dug some old parts out from under his bed, and selected a few pieces. When Nico spoke his voice was a bit louder, a bit more confident.

"If you know, why was Mr. Quintus so weird when I told him about my dog and my father? Did he know him?"

Leo's back straightened and he awkwardly tried to explain. "Rumor has it Mr.Q got in trouble with the police for unlawful neglect of his nephew. Supposedly, your father got him off the charges, for the price of a ton of money. Mr. Q couldn't pay it all, so he gave his dog away too."

"That bastard. He told me he found Mrs. O'Leary on the streets and thought I might want to take care of her," Nico said angrily. "The one thing in my life I thought was separate from his work, and he got her through some dumb trade!" he exclaimed furiously, grabbing a nail and hammer.

"Now then, are you going to help me build a frame, or what?"
________________________________

Nico and Leo were both suspiciously absent from school the next day, prompting their friends to burst into the dorms after school, toting a box of donuts and chattering excitedly.

"I don't know about you, but I'm betting that they had a wild makeout session," Piper joked.

They all laughed, but it was a bit strained. "You know what, guys? I'm don't think Nico really wants to see me just yet. I'll be outside," Percy said softly.

Annabeth went with him, trying in vain to convince her stupid boyfriend that it wasn't his fault per se, leaving everyone standing outside Nico and Leo's door awkwardly.

"It's locked." Hazel explained, trying the door. She knocked several times, calling "Nico? Leo? You there?"

Reyna dug an old key out of her pocket. "Move over. I have the master key."

She unlocked the door and fairly kicked it inward, a bit worried at Nico's lack of a response.

"Awwwww," Rachel and Piper said in unison, looking down at the sight before them.

Nico and Leo were cuddled together on the floor, power tools surrounding them, covered in a thin blanket of sawdust. They were basically the same height, though Nico was the tiniest bit taller. Nonetheless, Nico's head was tucked neatly under Leo's chin, arms wrapped around the older boy's waist. Leo in turn had one arm encircling under Nico's neck, pulling him closer and providing a pillow, with the other over Nico's arms and draped over his hips.

Chuckling, Piper snatched Nico's camera off his bed and took a quick picture, yelling a "Wake up!" as the flash went off.

Both boys bolted up, sawdust flying through the air.

"Wha'?" Leo asked sleepily, unconsciously pulling Nico closer and trying to get back to sleep. Nico, however, was wide awake instantly.

"Get up, Leo," he muttered, lightly punching the sleeping boy in the stomach.

"Fine, fine," Leo said, words tying together. "But you are a heartless, slippery son of a mother, Nico di Angelo."

"So I've heard," Nico responded, standing up and dragging Leo with him. It was like they'd forgotten their friends, standing in the doorway with wide eyes.

"You two seem awfully close," Jason ventured, eyebrows raised, eyes twinkling happily.

"I suppose sharing a room will do that, Jason. What time is it, anyway?"

"Almost 4:00 PM," Frank volunteered, checking his watch.

At the same time, Nico jumped and exclaimed a panicked "What?! We missed school?" While Leo pumped one fist in the air and yelled a triumphant "Yes! We missed school!"

His stomach growled loudly, and he laughed. "Yet we also missed breakfast and lunch. Did our lovely friends bring us food, perhaps?"

"Perhaps," Reyna said, handing them the box. "There's only one donut left, though."

"Sweet! I call it!" Leo yelled, lunging over Nico to grab it. Seconds before it was in his mouth, he looked over at Nico and frowned.
"Actually, we can share," he said simply, breaking the donut in half and giving Nico the bigger piece, like it was no big deal.

But it was.

Leo never shared food. Ever. Seriously, that one time Piper had pneumonia so bad she went to the hospital, he ate nearly her tray of food, cackling and calling "You snooze you lose, McClean!"

At that moment it became extremely obvious to everyone involved that something had gone down last night.

Something big.