Hate to Love (Valdangelo)

Confessions

He fully stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. He then walked over and sat beside Nico.

"Any new updates I should know about? You know, because I'm the only member of the 'I know Nico likes guys club?'" Nico blushed deeply at the way Jason worded it.

"Umm..." Nico looked at the spare parts that littered Leo's dresser. "Not–" he looked over at Jason, who was sporting an "I know all, so cut the crap and tell me for real" kind of look. Nico sighed.

"Alright! Alright. Yes, new stuff. Updates." Nico paused, thinking about how to word it.

"I like Leo. A lot." He whispered, eyeing the door and praying to any and all gods that Leo wasn't about to burst through the door, or listening in.

Jason looked at Nico with an unreadable expression. "About freaking time you admitted it. Seriously, stop freaking out about it, about how people will react to the news. Everyone here won't care. They won't look at you differently. They'll accept you." Jason paused. "And you have been hanging around Leo too often; you would've screamed at me to stop talking about this long before now." Nico glared daggers at him for a moment, then softened his gaze and looked away.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. But I still don't feel comfortable with telling them something like that. Maybe Leo. I don't know. I just don't want him to change around me, or anything. I might just tell him that I like boys and leave it at that. He doesn't need to know I like him yet... You did make sure he wasn't going to be eavesdropping or coming in while we were talking, right?" Nico finished a little panicked. It would be just his luck that Leo found out through a closed door, from a conversation no one should hear.

"Totally. I told him Festus was making these weird sounds. He takes a while to check everything over. He shouldn't be down here for at least three or four more minutes." Jason looked at Nico calmly, somehow managing to calm the racing heart under Nico's ribcage. Nico sighed in relief.

"Good. I would be able to handle if he knew that I–" There was a crash down the hallway, and a couple moments later Leo slammed the door open. He was panting, and covered in grease.

"Nico–Jason? Whatever. Nico. I need your help. Come on." Leo gave Nico an urgent look and grabbed Nico's wrist. He pulled him towards wherever he needed Nico's help.

Nico only had enough time to look back at Jason's encouraging smile.

.o0o.o0o.o0o.

The engine room was a mess. There were papers, probably blueprints, strewn all over the floor, occasional grease stained line the floor, and it was about a hundred degrees in there. Nico was glad he didn't have his jacket on at that moment.

Leo dropped Nico's wrist and jogged to the nearest engine. There were grease smudges left on his wrist from Leo's hand.

"I need you to pass me the tools when I ask for them. Please." Nico nodded even though Leo couldn't possibly see him, and he joined Leo by the engine.

Leo had taught Nico what all the tools were called, so he had no trouble getting them to him quickly. There were a couple of times where he couldn't find the tool Leo asked for, but when he looked through the other drawers and walls, he found them.

After about an hour, Leo finally leaned back, sighed, and ran the back of his hand over his forehead. It only succeeded in smearing grease on his forehead, and Nico chuckled, grabbing the cloth on one of the workbenches. He threw it on Leo's face, deciding against rubbing it off himself. If he was going to tell Leo he was gay, but not that he liked him, Nico didn't want to give Leo those thoughts, just incase.

Leo chuckled softly, taking the rag off of his face and rubbing most of his face, not knowing where the grease actually was.

Nico laughed again. He almost reached for the rag, but he remembered his plans.

He sat dragged out a chair and sat with it backwards, facing toward Leo.

He took a deep breath. He opened his mouth, getting ready to speak, but nothing came out. He tried a couple times more, but still, nothing.

He took a couple more deep breaths.

Leo turned around and noticed Nico's uncomfortable state.

"Nico?" He asked tentatively. He slowly walked towards Nico, the rag still in his hands. "Are you okay? What's wrong?"

Nico took another deep breath. He had to decide now. Was he going to tell Leo?

Or was he going to say "nothing," and just move on with the day like nothing even happened?

He looked deep into Leo's eyes. He could see the concern in them, concern for him.

Another deep breath.

He's gotten to know Leo, he wouldn't be disgusted by what he was about to tell him. Right?

A breath.

Nico knows he's taking too long to answer, knows Leo's probably figured out that he's trying to tell him the big secret.

Leo pulls out the other chair and sits the same way across from Nico.

"If it makes you feel any better, Jason is the only one to know about one of my secrets, too. He... He talked to me after I got out of the bathroom today. Knew I was hiding something. Got me to spill. Told me to tell people. I haven't yet. I might. I don't know. Anyway, I know exactly how you feel. It's okay." Leo's eyes looked so sincere then, so filled with care and another emotion Nico couldn't detect, that he almost blurted it out. Almost told Leo everything.

Nico was only dimly aware of the fact that Jason had obviously lied about how he got Leo to stay away from his room.

He held back, though. Barely, but he did. He took yet another deep breath, and dropped his eyes.

"Leo, I–I just–You're the only one, besides Jason, but I kind of have to on that one, that I trust with this." Yet another breath. "I... I don't... I don't like girls. I like guys. I'm gay. I like boys and I'm ga–"

Leo's eyes widened, and he surged forward, cutting Nico off with his own lips.