Fix You (Percy Jackson Fanfiction) (boyxboy)

Braver than Me

It had been a week since the 'tidal wave incident' as they had taken to calling it and life had slipped back into normalcy. The only difference was, now that their friends were fully aware of the relationship, every touch of the hand or smile Nico and Leo shared was followed by knowing snickers. Fortunately the rest of the camp had taken the interactions as a typical inside joke.

Despite his attempted resolve, Leo had failed to tell Nico what weighed heavily on his shoulders. With how life had straightened out, he didn't want to ripple the waters. "Tonight," he muttered for what seemed (and most likely was) the thousandth time.

Across the horse shoe of cabins, Nico could be found pacing a trench into the floor of his dark, eerie (so very Nico) cabin. The word nervous couldn't begin to express how he felt. The son of Hades wrung his hands as the conversation of two nights prior ran through his mind once more.

.....

"Nope. Absolutely not. Thalia are you insane?" growled the very agitated son of Poseidon. "You of all people should know how stupid this is." The dark haired girl scoffed. "Come on Fish! Don't be such a pansy! I spent months at a time outside the camp's borders." Nico's eyes followed the argument like a ping pong match. "With the intention of hunting monsters," snapped Percy. "And you were with the freaking GODESS OF THE HUNT for crying out loud! This is so not the same thing and you know it."

The debate dragged on until eventually the daughter of Zeus won out. Nico would take Leo on the "perfect" date... which of course would be overshadowed by the chance of a horrific fate.

Despite Thalia's convincing words, Nico couldn't help but feel nauseous as the date drew near. He didn't want to let Leo down and this would really be perfect for the greasy demigod, but he was on edge about the whole thing. Nico shook at the thought of their destination, but he berated himself, "Man up Di'Angelo. Are you really planning on avoiding these for the rest of your life?"

Half an hour later he heard a knock on the door. Behind it was a grinning Leo. Nico pulled a tight smile on his face and said, "What took you so long?" Leo's grin only widened. "Yeah right Angel! I'm so punctual my punctuality is even leaking out your ears," he shot back. The two cracked up as Nico shoved Leo out the door. "Well let's hope it's enough to keep us from missing our bus."

.....

"Leo, if... if this goes really horribly... I," began Nico as he shifted uncomfortably on the large, mostly vacant bus. Leo nudged his ribs and glanced his way. "You won't let it get to you because nothing ever goes right for us," replied Leo sternly.
The attempt at reassurance fell flat in light of its implications. Nico's eyebrows furrowed even deeper and Leo paled, scrambling for words that could remedy the situation.

"On our own we suck Nico. You know that, and I know that. And you'd think that would mean we would never really work out. You'd assume it's a recipe for disaster. But I disagree." At that Nico's brooding gaze snapped up to Leo's, but Leo looked away and forged ahead. "I think we need each other and we're the only ones in the world that could ever understand so perfectly. You save me Nico. I need you so bad." When Leo finished his rant his hands slowed from their high-speed tinkering and his eyes slowly lifted to assess whether this outpour had taken hold. Leo's heart froze when the face he met was still hard and calculating. But it didn't stay that way. Nico's eyes softened and he released a shaky breath. "I'd... gods... Leo I... I'd hoped you felt this way too, but I couldn't assume. I couldn't put myself through that." Leo's hands picked up pace once more, screwing and unscrewing and shifting and screwing again. Nico reached out and stilled the mechanics' hands before pulling him into a tight embrace. The two held each other for a long moment before Nico turned bringing his mouth close to Leo's ear. "Thank you for being braver than me."

.....

The rest of the hour passed quickly as the boys lapsed back into their usual antics. When the bus pulled to their stop they were laughing hysterically and the driver looked pleased to have them go. Nico grabbed Leo's hand and led him along a dirt road and up a large hill. When they crested the hill Leo's eyes buldged, his mouth dropped and for the first time his hands stilled. In the valley below was a massive junk yard (one Thalia swore was cursed in no way).