Into Open Arms || Valdangelo

A/N at the end

Third Person

Leo slowly lead Nico through bunker nine, blindfolded. It had taken a while to convince Nico to let Leo put the blindfold on him, but finally, when Leo was about to give up, Nico realized that Leo was really the only one besides Hazel who he trusted the most.

"Almost there." Leo reassured Nico as he led him through yet another doorway, towards what Leo hoped would help Nico learn how to swim.

Finally, they reached it. Leo took off Nico's blindfold with a flourish, to reveal a simple, wide, empty pool inside a room with a few cubby holes and what looked like secret doors, and a small remote on the edge, where a few puddles had yet to dry up.

Nico's eyes widened at what it implied, but still asked, "What am I looking at?"

Leo laughed. "It's a pool." He picked up the remote. "See this? I used a little bit of Leo magic so you can control the level of water instantly."

Nico's eyes were still wide. "But I could still drown."

Leo tilted his head. "Well, it is water. There's a substance that acts like water but you can breathe in it, but I couldn't get any of it. Sorry." He cleared his throat and pointed to a device in one of the cubby holes.

"See that?" He asked. "I found that in one of the rooms when I was exploring. I tested it out and it's supposed to suck water out of your lungs. I guess it came in handy when the Greeks and Romans were at war way back when."

Nico tilted his head up. "Supposed to?"

Leo shot him a sarcastic look. "It's going to work. That is, if you're going to need it, which I doubt."

Nico nodded, still not entirely reassured. Staring at the bottom of the pool, he asked, "So are we doing this today?"

Leo shrugged. "If you want. I still have your swimsuit here. We can start today, but if you need to get used to the idea, that's alright."

Nico smiled softly at his understanding. "I really don't want to, but maybe we should start today to get it over with. Then we can go slowly."

Leo grinned. He pulled Nico's swimsuit out of his tool-belt and handed it to him. (Of course he would be carrying it with him)

When Nico raised an eyebrow, Leo raised his hands in defense. "Hey, we walked a long way, okay?"

Nico blew out a puff of air through his nose, and headed towards the entrance for another room to change in, while Leo used the secret passage to change.

Nico appeared next to the pool once they were both ready, Nico looking uncomfortable as he automatically covered his stomach and chest area.

Leo grinned easily, while on the inside he was trying to resist the temptation to stare at Nico's chest. Leo knew it would only freak him out.

Leo gestures towards the pool, before handing the remote to Nico. When Nico gave him a questioning look, Leo shrugged. "So you're in control."

Nico smiled gratefully before sliding into the pool.

Leo was about to get in the pool with him when he realized he had forgotten the towels.

"Schist, I forgot the towels. I'll be right back, Neeks. You can change the water level if you want." Nodding to Nico, Leo took the secret passage way to grab two towels.

He was just returning when he heard Nico calling for him, voice panicked.

Leo broke into a run, throwing down the towels as he broke through the passage way to make it to Nico, just in time to see the panic on Nico's face turning into a sheepish grin. "Sorry, I just-"

He paused as Leo skidded to a stop, slipping on the wet floor and falling into the empty pool, on top of Nico.

Face-first.

As Leo smashed into Nico, clinging into him in surprise, their faces connected rather violently, turning into a very rough, slightly painful, accidental kiss.

Oops.

Sorry that took so long to write :0 I knew how that was going to play out since at least chapter 4, but I either didn't have time, inspiration or I didn't know how to get it to flow. Suggestions for chapter 8 would be great! Thanks!