"So wait, you got a goddess pregnant after she... raped you?" Thalia asked with a hesitant voice.

"Yes. Her sister Selene had been wronged by her so she demanded payback. I was the one who Selene sent to torture Eos, problem was she tortured me more than the other way around." Nico explained. "I really don't want to go into it and explain everything, the bottom line is, I was there because I could never love her back. Once she truly loved me, and once she truly accepted Mina as her daughter, Selene sent us away. Now Eos wants us back and she is ready to murder someone for it."

"That's messed up." Thalia cringed and sought comfort from Annabeth by taking her hand. "Why haven't you said anything?"

Annabeth shrugged, what was there for her to say? I'm sorry? Sure that would go a long way but it's not something that Nico wanted to hear.

"My boyfriend is not messed up." Leo pouted and laid a protective arm over Nico, as if he marked his territory.

"But what if I am." Nico said and winked, although he couldn't fool his friends, they all heard the sadness underneath the cheekiness.

"Then I'm even more messed up than you." Leo said proudly kissing Nico's cheek. "And besides haven't you heard? Messed up is the new sexy."

"I thought you were going to say that Messed up was the new sizzling hot but hey, I'm not judging." Nico said raising his hands in surrender.

"Well it's both then. How does it feel to be sizzling hot and über sexy?" Leo asked.

"Feels god damn fine." Thalia butted in. "Now battle strategy. We now know that Eos is coming for us, does she has any allies?"

"Her sister Selene I guess,she will just be there to prevent Eos from doing something to actually damage Selene. Then we have Nyx, and I think if Eos is stubborn enough she can get Helios on her side too."

Nyx, the personification of the night, and Helios the personification of the sun. Both gods could play a good game with Eos, the goddess of dawn.

"Other than that I don't think so. Eos can manipulate people and gods alike, we got to be prepared for anything." Nico swallowed. "I have a feeling that something is already about to happen."

"All the more reason to fight. Now weapons, what do we have?" Thalia asked placing her bow and arrow in front of her.

Leo patted his tool belt, he didn't pick up the hammer or the screwdriver, he thought that the girls and Nico could figure that much out by themselves.

Annabeth laid a dagger in her lap. It was the length of her forearm, made of imperial gold, the hilt was blue-ish with a green jewel on it.

Nico just shrugged, he had a weapon but out of fear for the goddess that hunted him he didn't dare summon it.

"That's not good, well I guess we will have to get more weapons at camp. We should be there by tomorrow, so who'll take first watch." Thalia said picking up her bow and strapping it to her back. "Leo?"

He nodded, no one wanted to question Thalia, the right hand of Artemis. So as the girls fell asleep around the fire Leo stayed wide awake. He sat a little away from camp, wanting to have a good look on everything but still be close to them all.

Nico sat down beside him. Nico had divided feelings, one part of him wanted nothing more but to sit with Leo, make him laugh and talk for all night and make Leo forget about sleep. The other part of Nico wanted to run and run fast.

For somewhere deep down Nico was afraid of what Leo might do, he knew he would never hurt him but that what he had thought about Eos too in the beginning. How he hated it that the past made an effect on him. He just wanted to shrug off all those feelings, he wanted to be close to Leo, but yet again he knew about Leo's future without him.

Before he could decided whether or not to stay Leo draped his arm around Nico's shoulders.

Nico cuddled up close to Leo, more for warmth then comfort. The younger boy was like a blazing fire himself and Nico appreciated that he didn't inch away when his cold hands sneaked underneath Leo's shirt.

"Do you think the camp will be the same when we come back?" Nico whispered.

"No, but it's okay, Mina will be safe no matter what." Leo assured him. "She has Percy...and Kalei. And tomorrow, she will have you."

"You can sleep if you want, I can take the first watch, I could never fall asleep knowing that Mina is out there waiting for me."

"I can't." Leo pressed Nico closer to him. "I can't sleep."

"You spent the last two days with me, aren't you bored?" Nico scoffed. "Even Mina would complain and say that she wanted to find some friends to play with."

"I will never get bored with you."

"Wishful thinking, spend the night and wake up tomorrow disgusted."

"I won't fall sleep then." something clogged itself in Leo's throat. "It won't be like the last time I loved someone."

"What do you mean?" Nico asked leaning away so that he could look into Leo's warm brown eyes. "Do you mean Calypso?"

"It was three years ago, I let my guard down. The moment I thought I saved her, I truly lost her. I don't want to lose you again. So if me being awake will make sure that you stay with me than I shall never sleep again."

"Nonsense Leo. You'll have to sleep sometime and you can't know that our love will hold. I'm to scared to touch anything, to afraid to love you in a way that I want to. You... you-" Nico looked away. "Before I 'left' my relationship with Will didn't work out. And I was happy and somewhat carefree. I hate to say this but I do know more than you sometimes."

Leo was once again reminded that he indeed was younger. Not only by the age gap that happened in the Lotus hotel so many years ago but also by the new age gap, the one that Eos brought down on them.

Leo didn't have anything against the gods per say but the ones he loathed was the ones that had hurt Nico. He could still feel the whip marks on Nico's back if he stroked hard enough on the other demigod's back. For all the things that Leo had went through, it was Nico who had suffered the most, the man that Leo loved was broken beyond measure but he would make sure to fix every single thing to bring Nico back.

"I don't care, rehabilitation exists and it isn't frowned upon like it was back in the 1940's. You'll live through this if you just let me help."

"What if I told you a life without me would let you live until you were old? What if I told you that you would live long and happy, finding another man to love, you would have a family. You would have two daughters, your own repair shop. Would you still be with me if I told you all those things would come true if you let me go."

"For fuck sake Nico, just some hours ago I told you that I would do anything for you. Love is love, I don't want someone else, I don't want a future without you, no matter how unloved you think you are you are still loved. I would never, ever, replace you for even a glimpse of happiness for you are my happiness."

"I want to save you like I know you are saving me." Nico breathed out.

"Not all heroes need to save the damsel in distress."

"The same goes for you."

"No tiene ni puta idea." Leo scoffed. "Some heroes need to save the damsel in distress to be able to live on." (Translate: You have no fucking idea.)

"Sì ho capito il sentimento" (Translate: yeah I understand the feeling)

"Nico?"

"Yeah?"

"I... I-i... te amo." Leo stammered. He wanted desperately to say it, to say it when no one else was around to hear them, to say it when no one was hurt or angry, to say it when there was peace and no doubt that one of them was faking it. In the woods they had been thorned and hurt, now...

"Dork, why do you have to say it in Spanish."

"I'm offended right now." Leo said mockingly placing his hand over his heart. "Disgraced."

"Dork." Nico smiled and kissed his cheek. "Ti amo."

"Who's the dork now for saying it in his first language?"

"You because you started it."

Leo's hand snaked it ways into Nico's back pocket, feeling paper. He dragged the paper up just to see that it was a letter. It was amazing that it looked so untouched after everything that the boys had been through.

Nico's eyes went wide in panic. He snatched the paper from Leo's hand and started reading. After everything he been through how could he have forgotten her. He iris messaged Reyna but totally forgot his sister? Wasn't he going to be better towards Hazel, hadn't he sworn that he would be a better brother for her.

Nico

I'm sorry I can't be there when you come home but know that I love you. I will give this to Kalei, befriend her, the two of you need friends and you fit like the glove on a hand. Once again I'm sorry for not being there but I miss you. I await an answer from you, I just need to know that you are okay. Talking and hugs comes later, just tell me if your heart still beats and if you still are you.

Your little sister Hazel

He was the worst brother ever, how had he forgotten the letter that his sister had given him so long ago? Was Hazel hating him, would she leave him like Bianca did? Then he shook his head, if there was one thing he learned while being away was that his sisters was as different as night and day. Hazel would never give up and leave him. And Bianca left because who forces a kid to take care of her baby brother?

"What does is say?" Leo asked.

"I forgot Hazel. Do you think she is awake?"

Instead of answering Leo flipped a golden coin into his hand. Nico walked away to call his sister, not something that was easy to do in the late night but he would do it.