Nothing's ever easy(Leico/Valdangelo)

Chapter 10: Chain Links

This is wAY overdue, and I do apologize for that. I was almost finished with this chapter and was whisked away to the store, and then all of the saved progress wasn't actually saved. And I've had a huge motivation shut down- but I'm gonna pull a few updates out in a row over these next few days to make up for my bullshit. 

Thanks.

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Leo's POV

Jason and Hazel took one look at our linked hands and their shoulders visibly sagged. Piper seemed annoyed but otherwise indifferent towards it. But Hazel was the one to speak first.

"So Chiron wasn't exaggerating. You two are quite literally stuck together?" I shrugged, nodding. Which tilted our hands up more. 

"Apparently Haze. Not much to add to it. Killed a monster, a weird one at that, and got stuck together. Chiron blames babyface. And I have the mind to think he's not too far off." Nico scoffed next to me, but his tone didn't sound harsh, just annoyed with a hint of amusement.

"If you even have a mind at all." I gasped, pulling my over hand over my chest.

"How dare. Anyways I assume you odd three are going to join us on our seemingly quick trip to Paris. Argo III is smaller, but most definitely faster. It'll take 3 days, without any detours, monsters, or mid-life crisis'. But seeing our luck, that's not going to happen, so 5 days at most." I grinned at the rest who basically rolled their eyes, but their smiles gave me the idea that they would help. Such good friends, ones that I didn't deserve at that. But oh well, I'll deal with that after Nico isn't forcefully linked to me. Poor soul.

Jason flew on while Piper and Hazel quickly made their way up. I nodded in acknowledgement and made a sharp turn to make my way to the wheel, but froze when Nico hissed and regained his balance. I turned to him with a lop-sided grin, "Oops. Forgot you were there." 

The Son of Hades rolled his eyes but there was a look of defeat in them. One that made me rethink what I had said, "Yeah, happens a lot." He muttered and I quickly understood my mistake. I pressed out a quick apology and this time took it slower by tugging his arm to tell him which turns I was making. 

We made it the deck below where all the fun buttons, and levers, and wheels were. The three coming with us were deciding to settle for the night. Well- Jason and Piper were. Hazel said she could try to find a way to separate us for the night at least. That way we could be a bit more comfortable with it. 

I pulled a chair out for Nico though. As much as he was always in Gloomy McGloomstVille, I didn't want to force him to stand there while I operated the ship and wait for Hazel to find something that could help us. 

So I set the chair down and Nico gave me a puzzled look, so I pointed to him, then the chair, "You see, your butt, is to be placed on the chair." I got a whack on the back of the head, but chuckled as he nodded thanks afterwards, taking the seat.

I quickly one-handedly piloted the Argo III out of Bunker 9 and into the sky. Flicking the sonar on, and setting and the destination to Paris was the next easiest step. Nico was starting to nod off, and I didn't blame him- not at all. So, despite my constant moving, I tried to keep still as much as I could. 

After a good 30-35 minutes. It was a safe bet that the Prince of the Underworld was asleep. I let out a breath of relief. It was very difficult to be stuck with the thought of someone being next to you all the time. HEY now- that doesn't mean I don't LIKE Nico, or his emo company. I'm just, a guy, who likes his machines. Because people are unpredictable and hard to handle when they don't run right.