Understanding?

Nico woke with a twinge of reluctance, the unfamiliar comfort of Leo's bed a curious contrast to his usual restlessness. As he stretched beneath the blanket, his fingers brushed against his Aviator jacket draped over the nearby chair.

Nico swung his legs over the edge of the bed and shrugged on his trusty jacket, the cool metal of his rings clinking faintly as he secured them on his fingers. The well-worn garments felt like a second skin.

His mind wandered back to the previous night, recalling the unusual but welcome exchange with Leo. The memory brought an amused huff; the son of Hephaestus had a real knack for creating awkward situations with and without even trying.

"Sleep in my room? The guy's got some weird hospitality standards," Nico muttered to himself, a ghost of a smile playing on his lips. The subtle humor in Leo's gesture was something Nico appreciated, even if it caught him off guard.
But the almost-hug? That had been... well, awkward.

Leo's swift retreat and apologies left Nico somewhat perplexed. He didn't mind the proximity, truth be told, a fact he was a little ashamed to admit making him blush at the memory. The abruptness of it all was classic Leo – earnest yet always managing to trip over his sincerity.

Shaking his head Nico sighed softly. He understood Leo's intentions, even if they were clumsily executed. It was oddly endearing in its way, a reminder of Leo's unfiltered nature.

"Guess Leo and I will need to work on that whole personal space thing," Nico mused, adjusting his rings absentmindedly. But as he turned toward the door, his thoughts drifted back to the conversation with Leo about Annabeth and Percy.

Leo's words had carried a thread of optimism, a glimmer of hope in the face of uncertainty. It was refreshing, but Nico couldn't shake off the feeling that they needed to brace themselves for the worst outcome too.

Despite Leo's uplifting perspective, Nico felt the weight of their perilous quest hanging over them like a looming shadow. He couldn't afford to overlook the gravity of their situation.

In the quiet of the room, Nico's connection to the realm of the dead thrummed softly within him, a constant reminder of his powers as a child of Hades. Among the uncertainty, there was a subtle reassurance; he could sense, faint but unmistakable, the presence of Percy and Annabeth, signs that they were alive a fact Nico held close to his heart.

With a thoughtful furrow in his brow and the reassurance of their presence nudging his senses, Nico stepped toward the door, the remnants of Leo's well-intentioned yet awkward attempts at closeness lingering in his mind as he made his way out of the room.

He saw that they were now docked in Venice, the place he grew up in flashes of him And Bianca flooded his mind. Her smile, how they would play in the backyard together and sometimes argue about stupid sibling shit.

Memories of the good, and the bad. All of it. The more he remembered about their childhood, the more he missed her. He took in a deep breath and walked over to the starboard where the rest of the crew was talking.

Nico was confused as to why they were all gathered around. Then he looked over the rail to see strange creatures that resembled starving cowmen with hair covering them from top to bottom.

"Maybe they're harmless," Leo suggested "They're ignoring the mortals." Hedge found this idea amusing and recommended firing the ballistae at the cow-looking monsters. Leo was against this for the obvious reason of there being way too many of them.

Frank presumed they would just have to walk through them and hope for the best, they needed to track down the owner of that book.

Leo proceeded to take out the book reading a sticky note that was slapped onto the cover. Nico recognized this to be Italian translating it as "The Black House, Calle Frezzia is the street." Nico took note of the way Frank flinched at his presence. "You speak Italian?" he asked.

Nico rolled his eyes, sending Frank a glare as he continued. "Frank is right, we have to find that address, and the only way to do that is to walk the city. Venice is a maze". Nico would know. "We'll have to risk the crowds and those, whatever they are?"

Jason, Hedge, Leo, and Piper all opted out. Leaving himself Hazel, and Frank. Frank was the first to volunteer Nico was honestly hoping to go alone, really, he needed to get better at this whole teamwork thing.

Nonetheless, he offered to go with, and then immediately regretted it Frank's face said it all, it wasn't a look Nico hadn't been familiar with it still stung to see the apprehension in his eyes.

It was like he wanted to be appreciative but just couldn't. Seriously why did everyone think they knew him just by looking at him, why did people already have their minds made up? Whatever! They didn't need to be friends or even get along they just needed to find the owner.

Nico was about to suggest that they head out when Hazel rushed over putting an arm around Frank's "I'll go too". The look of relief on Frank's face didn't go unnoticed by Nico. He glanced over the rail one more time staring at the canals of Venice "Alright then, let's go find the owner of that book".