Mother's Day

Heyo guys! So this is a story that I wrote together with my dear friend Karen Hikari! You should definitely check her stories too (they are tots awesome!) and don't worry if you see the same story on her site too. We worked together so we both are publishing it out. Enjoy!

If Leo was feeling anything as he stood in front of the doors of Cabin 13, debating whether or not if to call for the one and only demigod inside it, it was stupid. Stupid and idiotic, and neither of them seemed to be a good thing to feel.

It was Mother's Day, not Leo's chosen one since some years in the past, which probably explained what he was doing standing in front of a cabin he usually avoided in the first place. He sighed heavily, not daring to second-think what he was about to do. Too late to back off now, he thought as he knocked the door slowly, almost shyly. This was probably the longest he'd stay still, he grasped distantly.

When he didn't hear any movement inside the cabin, he almost dared to hope Nico di Angelo was not even there. Good, he thought. For crying out loud. That was until the black door opened abruptly, with more strength than it was necessary and revealed a not very happy looking son of Hades. Sure, the guy didn't even make a sound as he walked, Leo had almost forgotten that little detail.

"Hi" Leo said weakly. "Nico, I…" he started, but just to trail off when he dwelt on the son of Hades' piercing gaze.

"Valdez" he greeted, more like stated dryly. "What do you want?"

Want? Leo asked himself. Really, what did he want apart from running in the exact contrary direction of where he was standing at the moment? Instead, he forced a nervous smile to his lips, even when that didn't seem to ease the tension in his shoulder blades.

"I‒" he finally said, clearing his throat. "I'd like to ask you something".

When Nico didn't so much as stared back at him, slightly raising his black eyebrows, he continued uneasily. "So… can I come in?"

This time yet again, the son of Hades just looked back at him unblinking, but he moved to his left so Leo could enter the place, closing the door at their backs. The son of Hephaestus took a brief moment to look around the tenebrous building, the light that should have entered through the windows was blocked by thick, black curtains. For a moment, Leo almost wished he hadn't asked to enter the cabin. He tried to push away the thought that Nico could literally murder him in there and no one would ever find out when the son of Hades spoke again.

"You still haven't told me what you're doing here, Valdez" Nico cut his train of thoughts –which was a good thing–, while he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against one of the black walls, immutably.

"I– Jason said something" Leo blurted out, rather unceremoniously. On his side, Nico had to refrain an exasperated sigh—nothing that ran by Jason's name could be good for him. "Something you can do" the son of Hephaestus continued. "And I was… I was just wondering whether if it was true…" he let his voice trail off, almost expecting Nico to ask aloud what he meant, but the son of Hades remained perfectly quiet.

Clearing his throat again, Leo dared to continue, shrugging a slightly.

"It's going to sound a bit weird but―"

"Anything that you say does" Nico pointed out matter-of-factually".

"Touché" he agreed, finally smiling genuinely. "But this is on a different level. Jason, he… he said that you could know where the spirit of a person is only by having its name and things like that."

"What if I could?" Nico questioned, still immutable, even when Leo could have sworn he'd seen a flash of anger cross his dark eyes.

Maybe Nico's piercing gaze should have made Leo even more nervous, but the son of Hephaestus could almost feel his tongue being freed from that clutch that had been holding his words back ever since he had planted himself in front of Cabin 13.

"Well, I was… I wanted…" he blurted out as he started to nervously clap his left foot on the floor, fidgeting with his fingers. "You know my mother has been dead for some years, right?" he asked, struggling to find any words that transmitted his idea as he turned away from Nico's dark orbs and placed his own eyes in the floor. If Nico had been a machine, chances were he would have already made himself understandable. Bad news―altogether, Nico was still human.

In all honesty, Nico didn't know a thing about Leo's mother, but then again, he didn't really care either. Maybe Hazel had mentioned it once or twice, but really, who at Camp Blood was not an orphan on one side?He nodded anyways.

"Well, I was… just… I just" the son of Hephaestus slumped his shoulders in defeat, raising his eyes again. "I just want to know what field she's in, alright? That's all" he admitted, straining to stop his hands from moving. "Please" he added, noting Nico's unblinking eyes on him.

Upon everything that the son of Hades could have said, like expose how sick and strange such a request was or simply kick Leo out of the room, all that Nico did was look at him intently.
Great, Leo thought, he had just infuriated one of the most powerful demigods of the century. Nico would probably not want to see him in months, or he would stop talking to him altogether. Great. Simply great.

"What's her name?" Nico finally questioned, cutting off Leo's musings.

"Sorry?" the son of Hephaestus asked, blinking confusion clear on his voice.

"Her name" Nico repeated emotionless as he straightened himself, sighing. "I need her name".

"Esperanza Valdez" Leo answered, almost without thinking, his heart either dropping or racing, he was not sure.

"Fine" the son of Hades answered, sighing once again before he closed his eyes, his brow slightly furrowed, as if he were in deep thought or as if he tried to remember something he'd learned long ago.

When he opened his black orbs again, he still had that look of concentration upon his features.
"María Esperanza Valdez?" he asked, almost bluntly.

"Just Esperanza." the Latino replied in a whisper. This time, with a pounding heart.

The son of Hades nodded and closed his eyes once more for a minute of two before shuddering slightly. Before Nico opened his mouth for a second time, the room was in a silence so thick that a needle falling to the floor would have been heard.

For the second time in the day, Leo's heart stooped and raced at the very same time, and even when he really was interested in trying to explain himself how that was even possible, his brain too stopped functioning when he heard what Nico said next.

"Esperanza Valdez. Born in Texas, 1973. Died in Texas almost nine years ago at the age of 34. She was given Elysium. She's died twice a hero's death, which means her spirit is just a life away from the Fortunate Islands. She hasn't chosen to reincarnate yet and she's still in Elysium" Nico recited, in a way very similar to that a child studying for a difficult exam, his voice sounding almost mechanical.

When Nico had finally finished and his grim voice had trailed off, the son of Hades opened his dark eyes again, unconsciously expecting Leo's features to be contorted in disgust or revulsion, but instead finding the son of Hephaestus smiling softly, a look that somehow seemed between relived and pained in his dark-brown yes.

"You mean she's still there?" he asked, his voice slightly high-pitched, almost shaking with emotion.
As Nico nodded slowly, the son of Hades couldn't help but widen his smile, letting out a sigh.

"Thank you" Leo finally whispered, nervously playing with the fabric of his shirt and his fingers. "Ever since I knew the Underworld and the other life existed I just―I needed to know" he admitted, allowing himself a grin that seemed slightly lopsided to the right.

They stayed silent for an amazing long time for two ADHD people, just before Nico fidgeted violently, raising his gaze from the floor so rapidly that sent the son of Hephaestus wincing in surprise.

"I can summon her" Nico blurted out, rather suddenly, only for then realizing what he had just said. "Summon her spirit, I mean" he cleared out.

"Wait, what?" Leo questioned, too surprised to even dwell on how strange what Nico had just said was. "You can do that? That's… that's…"

"Creepy? Weird?" Nico offered, sending him an almost sarcastic glare.

"No" Leo stuttered hurriedly. "Well, it is, but no! That's not what I meant! It's weird, sure, but in an awesome kind of way!" he said, riddling the son of Hades with his rapid words.

Surprised by Leo's eagerness, Nico almost stepped back, blinking at the excited son of Hephaestus with a slight look of confusion in his dark orbs. Awful, unnatural, disgusting, creepy, useful―those were the things that his powers were commonly described as. Incredible, amazing were not.

"Yes, I can" Nico nodded, recovered from his amusement as he cleared his throat quietly. "Get some food, doesn't matter what, and meet me at Zeus' Fist" He commanded. Maybe the son of Hades was really into creeping people out, or maybe he simply liked to be dramatic, but before Leo could even reply something, Nico conjured the shadows in the room –which were a very good number, by the way– to his sides and instructed them to swallow him, leaving a very confused son of Hephaestus behind.

When less than ten minutes later the two of them finally found themselves in the accorded place, hidden away from the nymphs and campers thanks to the whimsical geology, Leo was holding two Happy Meals in his hands, same that he had acquired from the Stoll brothers. In all honesty, Nico couldn't help but find that extremely ironic.

Finally catching up with the son of Hades, Leo extended the packages to him. When Nico didn't do so much as raise an inquisitive eyebrow in his direction, all that the son of Hephaestus could do was smile.

"Hey, I figured you hadn't eaten breakfast. Sorry it's just this, but when I reached the dinning pavilion breakfast was over."

Still holding a suspicious glance in his dark eyes, the son of Hades took the small, smiley boxes that were being handed to him and then turned to his right. Only then did the son of Hephaestus noticed the huge, squared pit that had been dug into the ground and that he was sure hadn't been there when he'd visited Zeus' Fist two days earlier. He decided to not ask a thing about it.

Even when he strained to not let his show surprise and bit his lower lip to stop his mouth from forming an amused 'o', Nico must have noticed his astonishment, because the son of Hades smirked mischievously at him.

"Now, Valdez" Nico finally warned. "Things are about to turn really weird, are you sure you can handle that?"

In all sincerity, Leo wasn't, but he nodded nevertheless. As answer, Nico simply bent down to leave one of the cardboard boxes in the floor and threw the remaining one to the hole in the ground. When he straightened himself up again he took out his black sword and firmly buried it in the ground next to the dug hole, singing between his greeted teeth in something that Leo could only suppose was Ancient Greek, as the boy spoke too fast for him to make out the words.

As he did so, the pit of the ground started to fill with a black, dense mixture of the gods knew what, same that slowly turned around itself, in what reminded Leo of the cartoons in which an old, horrible witch cooked a boiling potion.

Only a couple of minutes had gone by before the temperature around them dropped suddenly, unnaturally. It almost resulted hard to believe that only seconds before the summer sun had been lazily shinning at that very same place. It became especially hard to remember that they were still at the happy, cheery camp when the actual spirits started appearing in truth.

It took a good part of Leo's self-control to not yelp in surprise when countless, faceless shadows manifested themselves around the bubbly mass. On the other side, the son of Hades was far too concentrated in his chore to even pay attention to the flabbergasted demigod next to him.

Finally, after what seemed like a very long eternity, one of the spirits walked up from the crowd and knelt to the ground in front of the pit, just so it could extend its hand and bring a handful of the black mixture to its lips. When she straightened back up, Leo's throat went dry—in front of him stood the spirit of his mother, as vivid and lucid as in his most treasured memories.

Slowly, the Latin woman blinked a couple of times, as if she were trying to match her current location with a place she might have known during her life, giving the two demigods enough time to take in her sight.

She was tall for a Mexican, Nico noted absently as he stepped backwards, realizing his only job now was to keep the other ghosts at bay. She had long, curly hair, only a few shades darker than Leo's own, same that was pulled back on a tight braid and she wore an oil-stained shirt that had once been white, her chocolate eyes shining more than the ones of a common ghost.

As she noticed she had company, Esperanza's features pulled into a confused smile. That was until her gaze fixed upon her son, surprise and unbelief nearly palpable in the air.

"Leo" she breathed out, rather tentatively seconds before she opened her arms to the boy, almost by instinct. For what Nico could tell, Leo tried with every fiber in his body to not run to her, but he failed miserably after his second step, when he gave up and threw himself into his mother's arms with no second thoughts.

The son of Hades looked away ashamedly. He knew how it felt to crave for his own mother, even when he hadn't been allowed to see Maria. Maybe it was exactly because of that that he made use of his newly discovered powers and allowed Esperanza to actually take a physical, tangible form, making it possible for Leo to circle the woman's waist.

"It's really you" Esperanza let out with astonishment, pulling herself back a little so she could see her son in the eye. "You've grown so much" she murmured, almost to herself, her eyes shining with unshed tears. They remained in silence for a moment, until, finally, confusion clouded Esperanza's dark eyes. "Wait a minute, how did I even get here?" she asked suddenly, taking in the whole scenario.

"This is Nico" Leo explained, pointing to the other half-blood with his head, thankful that his voice didn't shake as he spoke. "He's a son of Hades, lord of the dead and all and he summoned you. Sort of" the son of Hephaestus explained, almost tripping with his own words, unsure of how much about mythology did his mother really know.

"A son of Hades?" Esperanza inquired curiously, turning to look at the other boy, to what Nico's entrails tied themselves around each other uncomfortably, more used than he'd liked to admit to the despise that would then be coming from the woman's voice.

However, when Esperanza spoke again, her voice was soft and her smile was still warm.
"Hades?" she said, smiling. "The one with the three headed dog, right? Man, I always wanted a perro bravo* like that one to keep the workshop safe at night" she admitted, laughing at her own statement.

In all response, Nico simply nodded as nonchalantly as he could manage, even when his first instinct was to raise an eyebrow at Esperanza's cheery tone of voice.

Most ghosts respected him, but only because they feared him, and one thing was not the same as the other; even he knew that. He was used to ghosts bowing their heads down at him and looking away when they tried to stand his gaze. What he was not used to, though, was to a ghost joking around with him, especially not about his parentage.

On his side, to say Leo was at a loss of words was an understanding. Of course he was. That morning he'd never thought of the possibility of ever seeing his mother again. Being held by her or hearing her voice? Those were simple impossibles.

He'd imagined a possible reunion with his mother for years, but never in his wildest dreams had he dared to believe that he would actually stare into her beautiful eyes again. And yet, there she was, smiling down at him fondly, her dark eyes beaming intensely as they had when he'd been a child, sitting in her lap, totally oblivious to the challenges he'd have to face. There she was, not only smiling at him, but holding him in her arms too.

After imagining how it would be to see her again for years, after praying to be allowed to see her once –only once again, he never dared ask more– for years, now that she really was there and that he could have been able to tell her anything, everything, he'd been left with not a word to say in his brain and all that he could actually do was stare into his mother's loving eyes.

Unable to stand Esperanza's dark orbs, he looked down to the ground fidgeting violently. And it was those very eyes that brought everything back. Of course he'd been trying to see his mother again for half of his life—he had to tell her a lot of things. Among them, an apology for the murderer he was.

"Má*" he finally said, breathlessly. "I—the fire. I started it. It—it killed you. The fire—I'm so sorry. I didn't want to—I never. I—" he stuttered as he started shaking, his nails biting deep into the skin of his palms.

"Leo" Esperanza cut him off with gentleness, even when her voice was still commanding. "I know, I knew about your powers. Your father warned me. Some said that I should fear you. Fear my own baby. Idiotas*" she said, the hate throbbing in her words, even when she was not mad at her son, but at anyone who thought that a woman could really hate and be scared of the baby she'd given birth to and held in her arms. Taking Leo's chin, she forced him to meet her loving gaze once more. "You didn't start the fire, mijo*" she said. "And even if you had, you've suffered enough with your own guilt, haven't you, my son?" she guessed softly.

The stubborn tears that he had been holding back so successfully finally streamed down Leo's cheeks, as Esperanza wrapped her arms around his thin shoulders gently once more, bringing him to her chest so that the boy could bury his face into the curve of her neck.

"It was not your fault, Leo" she whispered, gently running her hands through her son's curly hair.

"Te extraño*" Leo finally let out after a couple of minutes where all to be heard was his own strangled sobbing.

"I know, mijo" the Latin woman answered, pulling back slowly. "And I miss you too. You can't imagine how much. But hey" she said in a low voice, "that's what Underworld is for, isn't it? You just make sure to meet me at Elysium in some decades, alright?" she said, wiping away her son's tears with her fingertips as she smiled, she herself biting back tears even when she should have been unable to cry anymore.

Both of them remained silent for a couple of minutes, and Nico couldn't help but notice how they didn't really need to use actual words to understand what the other one was thinking. He'd heard that, sometimes, when two people loved each other enough, they couldn't even express themselves in simple words, and that words failed to transmit the real feelings of such an immense fondness. Eyes were the only thing that could let go of the raw emotions of a heart and, with all honesty, that was all that he could see in the picture in front of him, Nico thought as he watched Esperanza and Leo when they stared into each other, just before he looked away with shame, feeling like a naughty child eavesdropping a conversation that wasn't for his ears to listen.

A part of him really just wanted to turn around and leave mother and son to their own devices, but he knew that if he so much as stepped back, Esperanza's form would vanish, and he couldn't do that. There was really no reason that forced him to stay, but he just didn't want to take Esperanza away from Leo just yet, not even when he knew how strenuous it was for him not only to keep a ghost outside of the Underworld for more than fifteen minutes, but to give it a physical form too at the same time.

Trying to block the image in front of him as hardly as he could, he leaned down to pick up the smiley box Leo had given him earlier and started eating the hamburger inside it, knowing that the son of Hephaestus was right—he hadn't even eaten breakfast and he was already using the strength he didn't have.

He knew that the reason why Esperanza and Leo had stopped talking wasn't the fact that he was still standing there —they had completely forgotten about him–– and, for once, he wasn't bothered by that, but thankful, even when his heart couldn't help but crave for his own mother to have looked down at him with such loving eyes.

"Talking about Elysium" Esperanza said suddenly, clearing her throat. "I heard what you did with that dragon. I'm so proud of you. You're a hero, mijo."

"The dragon?" Leo stuttered, slightly confused by the sudden change of topic.

"Yes, the dragon and that whole saving the world thing, boy" Esperanza nodded. "That was amazing. The spirits haven't stopped talking about the war against Gaea. A bit late, son, but thank you for saving the world" she laughed, managing to make her son smile, which was already making her last six years dead worth it.

"I didn't do much…" Leo tried to say, blushing.

"Oh, c'mon" Esperanza giggled. "You're a hero! As I always knew you'd be. If you fixed that dragon nothing will be impossible for you" she said, as she unwrapped her left arm from Leo but continued to hold him closely with her right just so she could raise her other hand over her head and gesture as if she were reading a billboard. "I can already see it. Leo Valdez, the boy who surpassed Einstein".

"¡Mamá*!" Leo said, rolling his eyes, even when he busted out laughing right after.

"Oh, what? I can't be proud of my boy?" she argued. "Nothing is irreparable, mijo, you know that. And you're big, baby, I'm proud of you" she said, and even when there was a stop of joke in her voice, Esperanza's words were so sincere that the boy in front of her found himself unable to reply anything to her, yet again.

And so they did the only thing that was more meaningful than spoken words and said all that was left to say with their eyes.

Probably less than two minutes had gone by before the woman's form flickered, like a flame of a candle that has been violently blown on and she grimaced even when she couldn't feel pain anymore.

Understanding fell on her heavily and all she could do was smile sadly at her son.

"Our time is up, isn't it, Nico?" she murmured, turning to the son of Hades.

"I'm sorry" the boy admitted weakly, turning his eyes to the ground. "I can't keep you here anymore."

Esperanza nodded knowingly, sending one last glance to her son.

They didn't say anything aloud, but there really was no need for that once they had locked their eyes.

Esperanza's chocolate eyes showed simply everything that she felt. They meant 'Take care', 'I'm proud of you', 'I love you', but, most importantly, they didn't hold a good-bye, but an 'I'll see you again, I promise'.

She'd said that so many times aloud when she'd been alive that Leo could actually listen to the resonance of the words being sent in Morse Code through the walls and furniture of his mother's old workshop.

He smiled at her reassuringly and nodded, letting her know that he had understood what she meant just before she leaned down to his forehead and then turned to Nico, walking up to the son of Hades, same who was trying very hardly to pass by unnoticed, with a smile on her face,

"Thank you, Nico" she said, placing both her hands on the boy's shoulders as she smiled down at him. "You don't know how much I owe you. Gracias*" she whispered before leaning to kiss Nico's forehead too, in the same slow motion she'd used with her own son.

Nico shuddered slightly, surprised by the uncommon touch. Ghosts were supposed to be cold, as well as intangible in the first place. Esperanza's touch, however, was warm, as warm as the light that shone in her eyes and as warm was her smile.

"Gracias" she repeated before she vanished, not giving Nico the time to dwell on how she was talking in Spanish and not in Italian, even when the words sounded so similar in both languages that he didn't need a translation, and especially not when the words were plainly too obvious for him to not understand what they meant.

"Non c'è di che cosa*" Nico muttered, although she couldn't hear him anymore.

It was only a couple of minutes later, when Nico finally managed to pull himself back from his stupor that he could look back at Leo again.

Tears were streaming down Leo's face as he knelt down on the floor. He didn't know what to feel. His feelings were now overwhelming him. He felt sad and depressed, but at the same time happy and relieved that he'd see his mother again after all that time.

Leo had always imagined how his conversation with his mom would be if he ever saw her again. The scenario went through his mind over and over again, but of course the reality was different. In his dreams, his mom would always come to life again, but here he had to let her go again. He felt disappointed, like a failure that hadn't been able to save his mom from death, although the experience also brought him joy. His mother... his mother was proud of him. After all that time where his guilt over his mother's death almost eaten him up alive, he felt so relieved and full of joy when he'd heard his mother said those words. That meant more to him than any presents or technical devices in the whole world.

He suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder and slowly turned around. Between his tears he could see Nico smiling at him sadly and comfortably. Never would Leo have imagined a few months ago that he'd be doing the things he was currently doing. But he didn't mind that. He hugged Nico tightly and leaned his head into his chest. Tears fell down his cheek on Nico's shirt making it wet.

"Thanks... thank you so much Nico...Y-you don't kn-know how much that means to me" he said sobbing into his shirt. After a while he felt how Nico hugged him back.

Nico didn't say anything, but Leo didn't need him to say anything. He couldn't express his gratitude towards him in words now. Tears were just streaming down his face as he continued to hug the son of Hades.

After a few minutes he broke up the hug looking at Nico's orbs with red puffy eyes. "Tha... thank you again. You don't know how much meant this to me" he said.

Nico smiled at him sadly. "I do understand, Leo. You must know that I lost my mother too when I was young" he said.

Leo looked at him in pure shock. He'd never known that Nico's mom had died. The guy had literally always been a mystery to him.

"I'm sorry, Nico" he said softly looking him into his eyes.

Nico smiled at him softly. "Don't be". It happened a long time ago. I sometimes miss her, but I learned to let it go" he explained.

Leo nodded sadly. He admired Nico for his strength with dealing with his loss. "How... how did she die?" he asked softly.

He saw Nico sighing and he wondered whether if this was the wrong question. But Nico wasn't angry at him.

"Zeus killed her with lightning. Me and my sister Bianca survived, but she didn't" he explained calmly.

Anger started flowing through Leo's body. What the hell was Zeus problem? He even forgot to be surprised to hear that Nico had a different sister than Hazel. "What the hell is wrong with this guy? He just kills your mom and tries to kill two innocent children?" he asked angrily. Sometimes he swore, that Zeus wasn't much better than Gaea.

Nico chuckled at that. "Don't say that too loud. Zeus could here you" he laughed.

"I don't care whether he hears me!" Leo shouted furiously. He just couldn't believe that he was so cruel. Sure he'd heard some stories, but killing a mother with children was hitting a nerve in Leo's body. "He killed your mother and tried to kill you and your sister too! What kind of guy does that?!" he cried.

He looked at Nico waiting for his angry reaction, but there was not one. Instead he looked tired, defeated, as if he'd given up on life. It actually hurt Leo to see the son of Hades this way.

Instead of giving him an answer to his question Nico surprised him with his next sentence: "You know, I always thought that we were polar opposites. You were the cheery, funny guy whereas I am the depressed creepy guy that nobody wants" he said.

Leo flinched at that. "That's not true, Nico..." but his own words sounded shallow to him. He himself had been weirded out by Nico.

Nico raised his eyebrows. "You think I never noticed how you guys seemed to be uncomfortable around me and tried to avoid me?" he inquired calmly.

Leo looked down at that. He knew that his behavior had been wrong towards Nico.

He heard Nico sighing. "Look, I am not judging you Leo. It's already over. I just wanted to say that I first thought that we are maybe more similar than it seems" he said.

Had Nico told him that a few months ago, he would have been surprised, but now, after all that had happened Leo knew that he was right.

"I am sorry..." he said. "That... that you had to be like me" he added softly. Leo could hear Nico gasp a bit at his statement, but Leo knew that it was true. He was a walking time bomb. Every second he could hurt another person.

"This is bullshit!" Nico said angrily. Leo looked at him surprised. He never expected him to burst out that much.

"Nico..." he tried to calm him down, but Nico cut him off.

"Why would you be sorry for me being similar to you?" he said.

Suddenly Leo couldn't bear it anymore. Everyone thought he was just the happy, cheery guy, but no one saw behind his facade. "Because I hurt everyone!" he cried. "I killed my mom, because I was too weak to control my powers! I ran away from every foster home I was in! And I made so many mistakes! Because of me the civil war started! Because of me Percy and Annabeth fell into Tartarus! I am just a stupid mechanic who can't even fix himself! I am and will always be the damn seventh wheel!" he cried and suddenly tears were flowing down his cheeks again. He didn't care if Nico saw that or not. He couldn't hold the pressure anymore.

Leo felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up with tear streaming down his eyes. Nico looked at him sadly.

"You are not worse than I am. It was not your fault that the civil war started or that your mom died or that Percy and Annabeth fell to Tartarus. That was Gaea. And you built Festus and the Argo II. You are definitely not useless. Me, on the other hand..." he said trailing off.

"That's not true Nico! You brought the Athena Parthenos back to Camp Half-Blood. You were a huge factor at reuniting Greeks and Romans. You did so many things for us!" he cried.

Nico looked at him and, to his shock, some tears were in his eyes. "Really, Leo? My sister left me for the Hunters because she didn't want to have to do anything with me. All of you avoided me and were scared of me. I went through Tartarus and came back only to see the guy I liked falling back Tartarus into the same fucking pit with his girlfriend and then I even had to confess my damn sexuality to this stupid god Cupid" he spat.

Leo was shocked when he heard this. He never knew how Nico felt or what he gone through. And he didn't know that he was gay. But now as he thought about it, he did spent a lot time with Will Solace.

"Nico... that wasn't your fault either. It was our fault. We should...we should have been there for you when you needed us" he said with tears in his eyes. He felt like the biggest shit on earth.

"I only hurt people" Nico muttered. At that Leo's heart broke a little. Leo thought that he was the only one who thought like that, but now Nico was breaking down right then and there.

He pulled the younger boy in a hug. "You... you are not. You do not do bad things. Bad things happen to you" he whispered to him. And as he spoke that he realized how those words could also apply to him. For years he thought everything was his fault, but now he was slowly convincing himself that it is not so. With the help of Nico, of course.

"If that is not my fault, then all the things you said are not your fault either" Nico said with a small smile.

Leo blinked at him and saw that Nico was giving him a warm smile. "But..." he said although he knew that Nico was right. He had no answer to that.

Nico chuckled. "Like I said, we are more similar than it seems" he said almost sadly.

Leo nodded. "Thanks... for everything" he replied with tears in his eyes.

"It's okay" Nico assured, but he also sounded like he was in the verge of tears.

For a moment they just stayed like that. It felt good to let out all of it. Tears were streaming down of both faces and their shirts were getting wet.

"I probably should go" Nico said when he broke up the hug. "Will is probably wondering where I am. Leo... don't forget that you are not alone" he said.

Leo smiled at him. "You too" he said smiling, then he grinned for the first day today. "So, is he your boyfriend?" he asked smirking a bit.

Nico blushed a bit. "No! Why does everyone think that?"

Leo laughed at that. Nico may be a mystery to him most of the time, but when it came to love the poor guy was way too obvious. "Alright, lover boy, whatever you say" he said.

Nico huffed. "As if you aren't like a lovesick puppy when you see Calypso" he said smirking at that.

Now it was Leo's turn to blush. "This is different!" he cried his face turning into a crimson shade.

Nico laughed. "Whatever you say. Well, I have to go! See you!" he cried running off.

"Wait, Nico!" Leo cried. He saw the son of Hades turn around and look at him expectantly. If somebody had told Leo a few months ago that he would do what he'd just done a few seconds now, he would have laughed and thought that they were kidding him, but now, as he stood in front of Nico, he didn't feel fear or angst anymore. He felt comfortable.

"Is... is it okay, if we hang out this weekend?" he asked almost a bit shyly.

Nico looked at him a bit shocked. For a few seconds he looked at Leo immutably and Leo feared that Nico might collapse in a few seconds. But then the corner of his mouth turned up into a warm smile, something that Leo had never really seen from the son of Hades. And Leo couldn't help but smile back.

"You have a PS4, right?" Nico asked.

Leo looked surprised, but nodded. He didn't expect that question.

"Alright, then you are going down whatever game we play?" Nico said grinning, the first one Leo ever saw from him. It felt good seeing Nico finally coming out of his reservation.

Leo grinned back. "Oh, you are going down!" he cried laughing.

Nico laughed too and then ran away waving at him. Leo waved back, smiling. He and Nico may have not started off well, but in the end it appeared that they had much more similarities than he would have thought. Today he'd learned that Nico di Angelo had a whole different side. Today was the start of a new beautiful friendship. And Leo couldn't be gladder about it.

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Nico didn't know how long he had been sitting on the cold and dusty floor of his cabin now. Seconds, minutes, hours? He'd forgot the time. And he didn't care. All he did was stare at the blank, white wall in front of him with his dark brown eyes numbly.

Nico didn't even know if it was still noon or already evening since the sunlight was blocked by his dark, huge curtains that were closed.

Normally, his ADHD would have driven him up to do something, but Nico didn't feel like it. He simply stared expressionless at the wall in front of him. In front of him were pictures. Ripped up and crumpled up lying on the floor as if a psycho murderer had killed them. The only thing that was missing was the blood. But a normal murderer would have left the place of the crime after he had killed his victim. In this case the murderer was sitting right in front of them.

On the pictures, there were Nico, himself and his friends mostly. Some of the pictures even had Bianca on them. And then there were some where all of his family appeared, when they were still alive. The pictures were black and white, obviously since Nico was from a time where the photo was still in the starting point of its development.

Normally, Nico would never have ripped apart these pictures. They were way too precious for him, the only connection he had to his family. Even the photos with his friends on them, he would have never ripped those apart. Ever since the war had ended, Nico started to socialize with his demigod teammates, something Nico never would have dreamed of after he had lost Bianca.

He had finally started to open up to the people in Camp Half-Blood, mostly to his companions on the Argo 7, Reyna and Will. He even opened up about his sexuality and found someone that was really interested in him.

Nico remembered all the complications he had in his relationship with Will. All the blushing, dancing around each other and awkwardness between the two of them that they had to endure. And it didn't help that Jason and Percy found a Solangelo club that suddenly half of the camp had joined. But Nico would go through all of that again, if it meant to be with Will. He was the best thing that ever happened to him after his sister had died.

Through all of these recent changes in him, he ever started to take photos again of himself and his friends. He had stopped taking photos after Bianca's death. Before that, he had sometimes taken photos just out of fun, even if he didn't really know how to use the electronical device and needed a lot of help from Bianca or his mom. His memories of those times were blurry, but Nico knew that he never had felt happier in his life before in that time. Back then, Nico was still a carefree and innocent child, protected from the pain and darkness on this world. Back then, Nico was a very joyful child, something that no one would believe him besides Percy and Thalia, since they were there when he'd been so happy for the last time.

And although he was slowly starting to get back to his old self, he knew that would never be that person again. The Bianca's death had changed him. Before he even knew what he was doing he had started to cut himself off from the rest of the camp, especially Percy who he had held a grudge on at that time for not protecting Bianca. Holding grudges, that was his fatal fate. Sometimes, Nico wondered what his life would be if he had dealt better with his sister's death. If he had come over it. Would he still be that happy and joyful child? Probably not, since a war was going on and nobody ever came back as his or her old self from a war. But would he had been accepted by all the other campers? He didn't know and probably will never do. But from then on, everything had gone downhill.

He slowly but surely started to develop some feelings for the goofy, but heroic son of Poseidon, something that he was ashamed of at that time. People like him shouldn't exist, he had thought. He had been taught to fear the homosexual people and acknowledge them as an illness, but Nico couldn't do anything against his feelings. For that, he was ashamed of. After the first war, he was accepted for a while. People came to him and congratulated him for convincing his father to join the fight. But of course that didn't last long. After a while the demigods in Camp Half-Blood got back to their daily routines and started to ignore Nico again. After all, he was just a shadow. Useful when you needed it, but mostly scary and creepy.

Tartarus then had broken him completely. All his guilt, all his grudges, all his pain was revealed, stepped and spit on in the Greek Hell. People say that the physical pain was the worst thing someone could experience in Tartarus, but it wasn't true. The emotional pain was far worse. Tartarus had played with his mind. Took him on the guilt-trip, creating illusions, only for Nico to break. And he did break. He had survived physically, but mentally he was dead. He didn't really care about anyone or anything anymore. The pain that he had experienced had burnt out almost everything human in him that he still had.

Only two things still kept him on fighting. The end of the war and Hazel. Nico didn't know what he would have done if he had never met Hazel. She may not been his real sister, but she had an aura of gentleness, that warmed a bit of Nico's cold heart.

Nico had struggled, far more than he had ever in his life. He sometimes just wanted to end it. What was the purpose of his mission? The Seven on the Argo had feared him, except Hazel, and he didn't have any family to go back to. He even would never find a love interest. He firstly was a freak. The odd one out of the odd one outs. And he liked the male side of the population. Something that he thought still disgusted people.

But then everything started to change. First he had to encounter Cupid together with Jason Grace and had to reveal his sexuality in front of him. He felt humiliated, ashamed of himself and he expected Jason to scream at him, telling him that he was the disgusting freak that he was and then leave him there alone. But neither of those things happened. Instead Jason started to support Nico in every way that he could and the son of Hades never could be more thankful for that.

Already then Nico started to change a bit. His cold heart warmed up a little. He even gave a small smile from time to time. Then he went on the trip with Reyna and Coach Hedge, an experience that he would never forget. It wasn't the adventures or the action in that quest that had a special place in Nico's memories, but the slow bonding between the three of them, especially between he and Reyna. Reyna and Hedge saw him, they had seen him as the monster that he was. They saw him how he had broken apart Bryce Lawrence's molecular structure into millions of pieces through his powers, but it hadn't mattered to them. They were shocked of course and Nico could see them looking at him a bit scared as they spoke, but it wasn't the uncomfortable gazes of demigods that he was used to. No, it was more like worry. They accepted Nico just how he was and Nico couldn't feel more gratitude at that moment.

After the war was finally over everything in his life got exponentially higher. He made a lot of friends, got a boyfriend and even made peace with Persephone who had become a mother figure to him.

He finally was happy. He had found something that he thought that he had lost ages in the past when his sister had died: a family.

But that didn't count anymore today.

He tapped with his fingers on the ground again and again, in the same structure. It was a Morse code. Leo had taught him it some time ago, when they both were a bit bored.

Over and over again he tapped these words. They left me. His finger already felt sour because of all the muscle activities of his finger and his butt hurt a lot from sitting on the floor for so long, but Nico didn't care. He stared at the wall again and again. It seemed as if time had stopped. The he took a gaze at the photos in front of him. Then he looked for a second at the ripped picture of him and his real family and then he snapped.

He suddenly jumped up like he'd been bitten by a tarantula and punched the wall. And again, and again, and again. He screamed in agony, not because his fist were already bleeding and his hand was probably already broken, but because all the pain he felt inside. He didn't even feel his hands anymore but Nico didn't care. He punched the wall over and over again, letting his skin get ripped apart while his hand bled. His heart was beating heavily as he screamed again and again. The sound of his cry echoed through his room as he continued to sob.

They wall already had two small bumps in the size of his fist when he finally stopped with his punching massacre and broke down crying.

It wasn't fair, it was all just not fair. After everything he had been through, after everything he had lost, it was just not fair. Tears were falling down his cheek vehemently. His clothes becoming a bit wet as the teardrops slowly fell down from his cheeks to his dark clothes. For hours he had piled up all of his feelings as he was scared of what would had happen if he actually let go of his mask.

But now that the dam was broke, he couldn't stop crying anymore. It was all just too much for him.

He didn't know how long he had been crying now and he probably would have continued if he wouldn't have heard a soft knock at the door. The sound of it echoed through the room and Nico first thought he was hallucinating, but then he heard the knock again.

"Go away!" he screamed not wanting to deal with anyone now. He just wished he would die now.

He waited for an answer and for a while the room remained silent. Nico thought that the person either was gone now or that he really was hallucinating until a soft voice came from the door.

"Nico, it's me, Leo".

Leo's voice was soft and full of worry. Ever since the last Mother's Day he and Leo had been really good friends, if not best friends. They came to realize that they were much more similar than they had thought and had helped each other through a lot, but Nico didn't want to see him right now. He was currently an utter mess.

"Go away Leo!" he cried hoping that he would leave him alone, but Nico knew that such a thing wouldn't happen.

Again a few seconds passed away until the door suddenly opened cracking at the movement. At the door Leo was standing, his whole body was waterlogged. Just now Nico noticed that it was raining outside, matching his inner mood.

Leo's eyes widened in pure horror as he saw Nico. "Gods, Nico! What happened to you?" he cried as he walked towards him with worry in his eyes.

Nico growled at him. "None of your damn business" he just didn't want to deal with him right now. Was it asking too much?

Leo looked taken back at this. "Nico, what's wrong?" he asked softly.

Nico just glared at the son of Hephaestus. "Just go away" he said again, but the words sounded weak in his ears. He simply didn't have the energy now.

Leo walked to him and knelt in front of him. "Nico please, I am your friend. I want to help you".

New tears welled up in Nico's eyes again. He felt so weak right now. "Please, just...just go away" repeated shakily, his voice losing all power.

Leo's heart broke a bit at that sight. After all Nico's had been through he never wanted to see him sad again. "Please, Nico" he said softly.

And then Nico couldn't hold it anymore. He wrapped his arms around Leo and sobbed in his shirt vehemently. It was too much. It was all just too much. Leo was a bit surprised at this, but he hugged him back. He had never seen the son of Hades so broken before. He simply let Nico cry in his shirt as he patted his back. Leo knew that he needed this right now.

He remembered the day when they both became friends, when Nico helped him to see his mom again. It was exactly a year ago when this happened. Afterwards they talked about their problems and past and Leo had sworn to help Nico wherever he could.

But now seeing, Nico so broken he couldn't help but feel like he failed as a friend.

It took Nico several minutes to calm down. He wiped his eyes furiously, breathing heavily. He looked into Leo's eyes, his own orbs being puffy.

"I… I went to see my mom today" Nico finally let out shakily.

And it was that moment when Leo knew what was wrong. He knew what happened to Nico's mom since he had a talk with her a few weeks ago after pleading to Hades for hours.

"What happened?" he asked even though he knew the answer.

Nico then screamed in frustration. "She is gone! She reincarnated! Just like my sister did! They left me! Again!" he screamed in pain. Every emotion that had built up in his heart was now released. Anger flowed through his heart. Anger at Bianca, at his mother, at his father. Anger that they had left him again alone.

Leo wanted to comfort him, to say everything will be okay, but he knew that it wasn't. He knew that he would have the exact same reaction if his mom had done that to him and he found it selfish from his mom and his sister to leave him although they had good reasons. He especially felt a small hate for Bianca for choosing the Hunters over her own younger brother and then leaving him a second time when she reincarnated.

"I know" he said softly. He knew he just blew up his secret, but Leo couldn't bring himself to keep this a secret from Nico anymore.

Nico stared at him in shock. His mouth formed to an 'o' as he gawked at him.

"You knew" he whispered. Suddenly his face got red and anger rose in him. "You knew!" he screamed at Leo. "You knew it all along and kept it a secret from me!" he cried in pain. He couldn't believe that Leo would betray him like this.

Leo flinched at that. He knew he deserved everything Nico would say to him. "Nico, please, you have to understand" he tried, but that blew up Nico's last bit of patience.

"The fuck I have to understand!" he cried furiously slamming his fist into the nearest table. "You had no right to keep this from me! How dare you do this to me?! I thought we were friends!" he screamed in pain. Right now Nico felt nothing but anger. Anger at everyone and everything. The people that he trusted had betrayed him. Nico should have known that everything was just a fake.

Leo flinched again. "Nico, please listen to me..." he tried again, but he was cut off from Nico.

"I trusted you! I trusted you with my darkest secrets! You knew I wanted nothing more than to see my mom again! You knew it! And yet you let me down! You disgust me, Leo Valdez!" he cried seeing red. Right now his body was boiling in rage. He wanted to strangle Leo for what he did. He glared at him with such hated right now that Leo could have melted under it.

Nico's words left Leo in shock. For a few seconds he just stared at him in hurt, then he exploded. "Damn it, Nico! You listen to me now! I never intended to keep this a secret from you! Your mom made me do this!" he cried.

Nico continued to glare at him. "Liar!" he cried not believing it.

Leo flinched again at that and sighed. "It's the truth Nico. I promise on the River of Styx" he said.

Upon them the sky thundered. Nico stared at Nico. Suddenly all his anger turned in confusion. He felt his body cooling down as he stared at Leo.

"But... but why?" he asked almost brokenly. That was too much. His own mother didn't even tell him that she reincarnated, but even tried to keep it as a secret? Had she ever loved him, he now wondered bitterly.

Leo looked at Nico softly. "I am so sorry Nico" he said not looking at him. He felt ashamed that he had kept this secret so long.

Nico stared at Leo coldly. He felt anger, but mostly he felt hurt. He crossed his arms. "What were you doing there in the Underworld?" he spoke spitting the words out.

Leo still didn't look at him. He took a deep breath, then spoke. "You remember when you helped me let me see my mom again?" he asked softly.

Nico's expression stayed immutably. "Yes, I do. What does that have to do with this?" he asked, still angry at Leo.

Leo sighed. "I... that day you gave me something that I will be always be thankful for. I wanted to give you something equally so. I went to your father and pleaded him to let your mom come with me to Camp Half-Blood for a day" he started softly.

Nico stared at Leo in shock. He never expected Leo to do something like this. He even stood up against his father!

"Leo..." he whispered. He didn't know what to think. He was still angry at Leo, but he was touched by his action.

Leo decided to continue. "Your father told me that he couldn't do this, but he could give me a few minutes alone with your mom. I talked to her for a while. She is a lovely woman" he said smiling.

Nico flinched at the mention of his mom. Memories of her came back and he felt nothing but pain. She left him.

"She has praised you in many ways. You should have seen her. She couldn't stop telling me how proud she was of you" Leo said laughing.

And now Nico couldn't hold it anymore. "Then why did she leave me? If she loved me so much, why did she leave me just like Bianca did?" he cried tears coming out of his eyes again. He hated this feeling.

Leo just looked at him softly. "She wanted you to let go of the past" he whispered looking down.

Nico stared at him. What was he talking about? That didn't make any sense! "What the hell are you talking about?!" he cried in frustration.

Leo still didn't looked at him. He felt so sorry for Nico. It wasn't pity, it was sympathy for him that he felt because he exactly knew how he felt. "I... I don't really like what your mother did, Nico, but I understand. She wanted you to live on a life without her. Bianca probably thought the same. They love you Nico, but they didn't wanted you to dwell on the past not letting go of them" he said softly.

Now tears fell down Nico's cheek again. "But they didn't have to leave me! This is just not fair!" he screamed taking a cup from his table and smashing it against the wall. "They were all I had! And they had to leave me!" he said breaking down crying again. He felt like shit right now, but he didn't care. He really just wanted to die right now.

He felt how arms wrapped around his waist. He wanted to shove Leo off, tell him to go to hell, but he couldn't. He simply cried as Leo held him. For minutes Nico cried as Leo comforted him silently, then he had no tears to cry anymore. He wiped his eyes furiously.

Leo looked at him gingerly. "Nico, your family loves you. They would do anything for you, but... as hard as it as it seems, you have to let go off them. That's what your mom wanted. You may have lost her and your sister, but you have us, Nico. Me, Will, Jason and Reyna and the others. We are your family now" he spoke soothingly.

Nico rubbed his eyes. Pain pierced through his heart. He didn't want to apprehend this. "But... I don't want to let go..." he said softly.

At this Leo hugged him again. "Don't worry, Nico. We will help you through it" he said.

Nico wiped his eyes and nodded. He knew Leo was right. He had a new family now. He may have lost his old one, but he had a new one.Then why did it still hurt so much?

Suddenly Leo got a piece of paper out of his belt. He gave it gently to Nico. "You mom gave me this before she reincarnated. She still wanted to at least let you know what she feels about you." he said softly.

Nico stared at the paper. Did he really want to know what she had written? Did he really want to be hurt even more? But his curiosity was bigger than this. He wanted to know what his mom had told him. He grasped the letter slowly and opened it shakily. In it was the words of his mom written beautifully on the sheet of paper.

My dear son Nico,

There are so many things that I want to tell you. First off, I am sorry. I am sorry for everything you had to go through. I am sorry for all the pain that I have and will cause on you. But you have to know that I couldn't be prouder of you, mio figlio*. You have grown into a wonderful young man, despite all the things that you have been through.

I have watched you, Nico. I have watched everything, how you fell in love with Percy, how you reacted after your sister died, how you were shut off by the other demigods and how you went through Tartarus. My heart bled at all of these that I saw and I can't tell you how incredibly sorry I am that you had to go through all of this all by your own. But I also can't even express how proud I am. Despite everything you went on with your life. I saw you struggle, but every time you stood up again and fought for what was right. You helped Percy in the first war and brought some sense into your father's thick head in. You have played a huge role in reuniting the Greek and Roman demigods and you helped the Seven of the prophecy in so many ways.

I watched how you were broken after Tartarus but rose again during the war. Many wouldn't have done that after everything what you endured, but you fought on. You even then come over your fear with your sexuality. You may think that I may be disgusted by it, but how can I ever be disgusted by my own son? Nico, I love you more than anything others in this world and I don't care whether you like boys or girls. I always knew that you had struggled with your sexuality and I wished that I could have helped you through it.

I have seen you finally opening up after the war. You found so many amazing friends and a wonderful boyfriend and I couldn't be happier for you. Seeing you smiling, makes my heart burst into a ray of happiness. But also when you are sad, my heart breaks into a million small pieces.

There are so many other things I want to tell you. I wish we could have had the time to discuss everything.

Nico, you may have already heard it or not, but this may be the last time I can tell you all of this. I will reincarnate. I am not doing this because I hate you, I am doing this because I want to protect you. Protect you of the longing to join me in the afterlife. I want you to live a happy life with your friends and boyfriend. Please don't dwell on the past. Your old family may be gone, but that doesn't mean, you don't have a family. All of your friends, they love you, Nico, and you sister and I will be also always be there in your heart.

There are no words for how sorry I am or how proud I am of you. You have grown into a wonderful young man and it makes me sad to think that I have missed out all of this. But remember that I always will love you no matter what.

I wish we had more time. But destiny isn't our friend. I wish you all the best for your later life. I hope—No, I know, that we will see each other one day again and then we can talk about everything. Maybe you can even tell me about your kids or your wonderful husband (I hope it is Will).

Please do not mourn over me, Nico. I chose this for myself and your sister too. We both love you.

I know I have said it already, but I am so proud of you.

I love you, Nico, please don't forget it and we will see each other again. If not in this life, then in another one.

Until then, enjoy your life, because you have so many people who care about you.

I love you, my figlio.

Love,

Mom.

New tears were streaming down his cheeks. His mom was proud of him. She loved him. Nico was overwhelmed by everything she said. He felt disappointed that she had left him, but he knew that she will always love him and he couldn't express how happy he was now.

"Are you okay?" Leo asked him softly. Nico looked up and smiled through his tears.

"Yeah. Thank you, Leo, for everything" he said hugging him.

Leo smiled. He was glad for his friend. "What are friends there for?"

Nico simply hugged Leo. He was too overwhelmed right now. He still felt pain that his mom and sister had left him, but he at least was certain now that they would always love him and that was all that he really needed to know.

The suddenly Leo's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Come on. Let me take you to the doctor. Your hand seems to be broken".

Nico looked at his hands. They were bloody and he didn't felt anything anymore. He sighed. "You are right. I have to repair my photos too" he said pointing at the ripped up photos.

Leo smiled. "I am sure the Hecate cabin can easily fix that. Now come on. I am sure Doctor Solace is already missing you" he said wriggling his eyebrows.

Nico rolled his eyes at that, but smiled. He followed Leo to the door, then stopped. "Thanks, Leo. For everything" he repeated.

Leo smiled again. "Like I said, what is family there for?" he said.

Nico noticed how he used family instead of friends this time and he smiled widely at that. His mom was right. He may have lost his old family, but he'd found a new one. And he couldn't be happier about it. He followed Leo through the rain smiling. He was ready. He finally was ready to let go.

Translations:

*1-Perro bravo: fierce dog
*2-Má: short for "mamá", mother
*3-Idiotas: idiots.
*4-Mijo: Rick already said it, my son
*5-Te extraño: I miss you
*6-Mamá: mother
*7-Gracias: thank you
*8-Non c'è di che cosa: Italian, you're welcome.

*9-mio figlio: Italian for 'my son'.

I really hoped you liked this story. It took me weeks to finish it with my friend. But I must say it is really good and feelsy! I always wanted to do this story with Nico and Leo, but I didn't got any time, but now I finally finished it! Nico and Leo are basically my BroTP and I only read some few stories about them bonding over their moms so I wanted to write it with my friend Karen. Thank you for Karen Hikari for the work together! You my friend are an awesome author and friend! Please leave a review. Hope you enjoyed this story!