Understanding?

"Nico has information to share with us," Jason stated, gesturing towards the breakfast table. Everyone was present except for Pipes, who was currently taking her turn in the cockpit with Coach Hedge.

Leo's heart raced as he caught a glimpse of Nico sitting at the table, his shaggy black hair stuck up in curls, like baby bat wings.

He fidgeted with the skull ring on his finger, stygian sword by his side all, as usual, Nico was a walking goth superhero.

Yet it was as if he was seeing Nico for the first time; gone were the menacing vibes instead, the way Nico's piercing eyes reflected the sun off them made Leo's heart flutter.

His mind drifted back to last night remembering the feeling of Nico's arms around him as he cried into his shoulder. The way he never wanted him to let go; the safety he felt within those arms.

Apart from awkward side hugs, he couldn't remember the last time someone had held him like that.

Then he thought about how soft Nico's voice got when he talked about his sister like he was whispering sweet nothings to a cherished memory.

It was similar to how Leo felt when he talked about his mother.

His mind always got pulled back to the workshop when he would help her with the latest project, by the end they would both be tired and covered in oil stains and then they would look at each other, breaking into laughter and giggles.

His mom would take a rag from her pocket and wipe the grease off of Leo's cheeks.

Leo wished he could be back at the workshop when his mother was still alive.

Before he even knew what a demigod was, now he was supposed to be saving the world, "yeah right," he thought bitterly. How was he supposed to save anyone let alone the world?

He mindlessly took a seat next to Nico at the table, still thinking about his mother.

Nico's voice brought him back to reality. "Hey. Leo, are you okay? You seem a bit spacey." He said almost in a whisper as if he didn't want anyone else to hear.

Leo took a deep breath, but his palms were sweaty, and his voice came out wobbling like a Jenga tower on a shaky table.

He tucked a rebellious curl behind his ear feeling as if he were an awkward teenage girl from a cheesy high school romance movie. He couldn't fathom why he was suddenly so uneasy.

Leo's breath hitched, nerves jolting through him. he tried to muster up the courage to respond to Nico's concern. though his voice betrayed his inner uneasiness, and his heart was pounding in his chest.

"Yeah, Nico, I'm okay," Leo replied, his cheeks flushing with a mix of embarrassment and nervousness.

"Just had a lot on my mind, you know? The weight of the world and all that."

Nico's eyes softened, a small smile playing at the corners of his lips. "I get it," he murmured gently, a warmth in his voice that resonated deeply within Leo's veins just like it had last night.

"We're carrying a heavy burden. But we're in this together, right?"

Leo nodded, his heart swelling with a mixture of gratitude and something deeper. "Yeah, we're definitely in this together," he exclaimed, his gaze locked with Nico's.

The world around them seemed to fade away, leaving only the two of them in the fleeting moment.

But the moment was soon interrupted by Jason who sat down ready to eat his plate of pancakes. "So" Jason paused, "Now that we're all here."

This caused both Leo and Nico to break eye contact with each other. Which left Leo to wonder what had just happened.

Leo didn't want to read too much into it, afraid of misinterpreting Nico's actions especially when he thought they were just starting to form a friendship.

However, He kept replaying the moment in his head and then he realized Nico had smiled, he never smiled or at least Leo had never seen him smile before. It was small but it was there, and Leo wanted so badly to see it again.

He was so zoned out that he didn't even realize that Jason was still talking.

"The House of Hades," he had been saying.

Leo's mind raced with conflicting thoughts and emotions as he tried to navigate the intense conversation they were having, every once in a while, he glanced over at Nico and smiled.