Ship: Valdangelo/Leico/Neo
Type: Angst (Trigger Warning: SH)

With a bleeding wrist and a sad smile, his reflection never felt more in place than in this moment, hurting the monster he saw every time he gleamed in the mirror.

This is the way it's supposed to be, he told himself. It makes sense. Everyone thinks so. Everyone hates me too.

But Nico was focusing on the wrong reflection, wasn't he? He was a reflection of society's words, but to him, his body was a reflection of the mutilation in his mind. Mentally ill and calculated, he dug his blade deeper into the wrists in his forearm.

~ Two Hours Later ~

Nico laid in his bed, feeling a bit dizzy from the loss of blood. He'd clean his bunk's floor and bandaged his arms up, so he rested, alone, until he heard a knock on the door.

"Come in!" he called. He knew who it was. It was the only person who ever wanted to visit him: his boyfriend, Leo.

Leo opened the door and hobbled inside, covered in grease and sweat. He laid down next to Nico immediately, sighing in satisfaction and throwing his arms behind his head.

"I finally finished the phones!" he said excitedly. "Demigods can now use monster-proof technology."

Nico exhaled, but it was only because now he was forced to muster enough energy to respond. He threw an arm, the bandaged one, over Leo's chest and smiled, cuddling his side.

"I knew you could. I'm proud of you."

Leo moved an arm from his head and, still staring up at the ceiling above him, wrapped it around Nico's shoulders.

"How was your day, Deathbreath?"

Nico felt Leo's warmth against his skin. Leo felt cooled off by Nico's cold. The balance was peaceful, relaxing, and eased Nico into a truth serum like no other.

"It wasn't great," Nico admitted. "But I'll be okay."

"You always are," Leo assured. It was then he looked down, eyes falling on Nico's arm. A heaviness settled in his chest.

The sight of it reminded him of all the times he'd done that as a child, of all the battles and scars as demigods facing off against beasts and monsters and gods, of all the times Nico had done this before but so lightly he only required a few Band-Aids or open air instead. With a grim look, he shifted on the bed. Staring at Nico's bandages, fear reflected in his eyes.

"Baby?" Leo asked.

"Yes?"

"I love you." He didn't know what else to say. It would get better? But maybe it wouldn't. It was okay? It wasn't. The only thing he could confidently share with his boyfriend was that he loved him, and he did.

"I love you too..." Nico mumbled, sad eyes blinking and then falling to a shut.