All I Want

Chapter One

"Jaaasoooon!"

Leo Valdez's voice shattered the otherwise quite atmosphere of Cabin One. He'd burst through the door, yelling at the top of his lungs, for his second best guy friend-Nico di Angelo being the first-Jason Grace. Said best friend had been fixing up the blankets in the space he'd slept in the night before.
Jason jumped and lost his grip on the sheet he was holding, shooting his head towards the door while the sheet fluttered to the floor in the cold winter air the open door brought in.

"What's going on?" He asked, a tinge of worry in his voice. Leo took a second, or two, to catch his breathe from the run over, and parted his lips.

"I need your help with something." Jason's eye brow raised, prompting Leo to go on. "There's this person. I may or may not be like, head over heals with them, and I have no idea what to get them for Christmas."

Jason closed his eyes and sighed through his nose before muttering under his breath. "Of course. I shouldn't be surprised. Why am I surprised...?" He looked at Leo. "Okay, well... Who is it? Or at least, what's their personality like?"

Leo felt a wave of fear wash over him. He hasn't told anyone he was practically in love with Nico.
It's only Jason. He reminded himself. If I can't trust him with that, who can I?

He took a small breath to steady his nerves, and beckoned Jason over with a finger. Jason's arms hit the side of his legs, and he began to make a sound of protest, before thinking better of it. He walked over to Leo, and raised both his eyebrows.

"I fell in love with Nico di Angelo." Leo whispered. Jason smirked and crossed his arms over his chest.
"I so called it." Leo mustered up the best "what the actual hell, man?" look he could make. Jason chuckled. "I had a feeling you liked him. But present ideas... You're really close to him; you should know he's actually a huge geek. Make him an action figure, or something."

Leo sighed, looked to the floor, and turned to the side with a faint "Already thought of that."

Jason stood in thought for a couple more moments before Leo shook his head, an idea forming, and ran out the door, throwing a "Thanks!" over his shoulder on the way out.

The wind pushed his chocolate curls out of his eyes as he ran to Bunker Nine. A couple campers gave him confused looks, as he was only wearing his camp shirt, and a pair of jeans, in the biting cold winter weather, and he was sprinting down the paths. He brushed it off. He was a literal heater; he could stand the cold winds.

As he ran, he felt a hand grasp his upper arm, and pull his arm back to stop him. With a sound of surprise, he turned and met his eyes with Nico's confused ones.

"Where's the fire?" Nico joked quietly, though Leo could detect the twinge of seriousness in Nico's voice. Wouldn't be the first time Leo ran from a fire he'd caused, anyway. Leo laughed to show Nico he had no fires to worry about. This time.

"No where. I just got an idea for a new project, and wanted to start right away." Nico smiled at him, and an acrobatic performance started up inside Leo's stomach. He tried to calm it as Nico talked.

"I should've guessed. Mind if I sit in while you work?" Nico, being Nico, asked in a nervous, hesitant manner.

Leo paused, quickly going over the chances of Nico discovering his present while there. In the end, Leo invited Nico along.

The walk to the bunker consisted of conversation about the cold, and Leo trying to be inconspicuous in asking Nico of any unknown interests. The only thing Leo got out of him was Nico's past obsession with a game called Mythomagic, something he'd already known about.

Though, the reminder of the game turned even more gears in Leo's head, and he was lost to his thoughts the last couple steps to the doors.

Once inside, Leo made his way to his desk, sitting down and bringing out papers and pencils, anything he thought he'd need. Nico sat off to the side, and Leo could feel Nico's eyes on his back. If it were anyone else, it would've unnerved him, caused him to create little mistakes in his work.

But this was Nico. They actually had a lot in common, they clicked, and it only seemed natural to Leo to have him at his side. He assumed Nico felt the same, since he was always asking to join Leo when he went to the Bunker. He didn't think someone would ask to be with someone else constantly if they didn't enjoy their company.
Leo sketched out the idea he was working on, pausing when he'd hear Nico shift in his spot behind him.

After about an hour of erasing and redrawing, Leo finally finished the designs of his present for Nico. He decided that he'd leave it there for now, since all he had to do now was actually build it, and the chance of Nico seeing it then would be even greater.
Leo took a deep breath and pushed his chair out from under the table. He spun to face Nico, and put his forearms of his knees.

"Do you have a thicker coat?" he asked Nico, his eyebrow raising and his head tilting ever so slightly. Nico blinked once, twice, before answering.

"Uh... I don't... Think so...? I'm pretty sure this-" He picked at the pockets of his beaten aviator's jacket. "Is all I have. But it's still really warm." He added, when he noticed the worry that was no doubt creeping into Leo's gaze.

Leo nodded, deep in thought, and soon a grin graced his lips. Nico leaned back about an inch when Leo's eyes met his.

"What are you planning?" Nico asked in his hesitant, worried voice. Leo's grin only grew in response.

He jumped from his seat, grabbed Nico's wrist, and yanked a jacket from a hook as he pulled him outside. Nico yelped and practically screamed "What are you doing?"