Dam Cold... (PJO/HOO (Nico))

[v a n i l l a]

Normally, I hate M/M fics, but this pairing is cute, as far as the personalities go. Don't make it too over the top, but to an extent, you should! (:

[SpookyScarySkeleton]

I completely disagree with Vanilla,I love M/m. Do take their relashinship too the next level yes I love the idea !

[VividBubbles!]

As far as fics go, I don't mind M/M, but I don't prefer it. If you can make it work, I totally support it, but some people just can't write M/M without making it all R rated. I think that as long as there's nothing beyond short kissing, it's totally fine.

[v a n i l l a]

I agree with VividBubbles :3

[weepy]

Well yeah. It's quite fun, really. Wherever this goes, it's fine by me.

[uracow99]

Slash is good. I like slash. That's fine. And Leo will be sick. And I cannot stop smiling. I'm trying but I can't. And giggling. That too.

[uracow99]

ahh ok I'm just noticing it's tagged fever. Does that mean maybe some delirium like Percy in your other story?

[SpookyBoi]

Awwwww poor Nico! He just needs to curl up in bed and take a nap. Love this story!

[funinthesun]

I have to do this quick so thanks for the comments, i appreciate each one. Yes YES TO DELIRIUM and uh....oh! G is just K with more congestion. X is a congested noise that i have no idea how to spell. Enjoy!

LEO

Leo had zero luck getting Nico to admit he was sick enough to go home before school was over.

Every time he tried to convince his friend to just go and take care of himself, Nico pulled denial. Even though denial was pretty much impossible in his state. Sniffling, sneezing, wearing Leo’s hoodie (a small victory in itself), he continued to deny that he was sick. Why he wanted to be at school so bad was beyond Leo.

As they were standing at their lockers, Nico started to take the hoodie off. Just as he lifted the hem up to his ribcage, Leo came up behind him and tugged it back down again. NIco started to protest.

“But you….ahh...heh… you need it!”

Leo shook his head. “Nope. I’ve got a jacket.” He reached into his locker and shook it at Nico before slamming the door shut.

Nico seemed about to argue, but his own body cut him off.

h’KXXSHU

Leo glanced at his friend as he put his jacket on. Nico was blushing. Whether from indignation, or fever, Leo didn’t know. But it was endearing. Cute even. NO. STOP. This was his friend, his roommate! Plus, Leo wasn’t his type. PLUS plus, if it was a fever it was serious. He shook off the thoughts like dry leaves and let them fall as he started to walk toward the door.

“C’mon Ghost Boy,” he said. “Lets get you home.”

“Ugh,” Nico groaned. “Is there any way except walking?”

Leo looked at him out of the corner of his eye. He really did look tired. It wasn’t fair that he had to walk home. But, Nico was the one who had wanted to come to school in the first place. And there really was no other way to get back to the dorm.

“Nope. But,” Leo grinned. “I’ll carry your backpack for you if you’ll admit that you’re sick right now, and swear on the styx not to go to school until you feel better.”

Indecision danced over Nico’s face. Leo watched in amusement. Was it really that hard of a choice? After a few seconds of deliberation, Nico shoved his backpack into Leo’s arms and started toward the door with a mumbled oath to not show up at school again until he was feeling better.

++++++++++++

A few hours later, Nico was sitting on Leo’s bed watching some weird tv show. Having finally admitted that he knew he was “a little” sick, he had started to actually take care of himself. He had changed into some of Leo’s sweat pants (Nico didn’t own any), had kept the sweatshirt (again, none of his own), and had pulled a blanket over from his bed to Leo’s. He was going through tissues like nobody’s business, but, to his credit, was being extremely non-gross about it. He even threw them away without being reminded.

Leo decided to join him. In his opinion, he was doing a great job at taking care of Nico. He had made sure his roommate ate something, had tried VERY HARD to not make fun of him, and even took Nico’s temperature! (99.1) So he deserved some relaxing time too. Truthfully, his head was hurting anyway, and the nectar he drank hadn’t helped one iota.

When Leo scooted up next to Nico, he looked startled.

“Oh, uhm, I cah...hah…” Nico brought his arm up to shield his mouth and turned away slightly.

ah-XXSHUU

“I cad move if you wandt,” Nico finished.

“No, stay,” Leo said. “You look comfy. I don’t want to disturb you.”

The two of them sat in (relative) silence for a few episodes. Nico kept up the sneezing like it was his job. Every few minutes, he would let a wet one out. Now that he wasn’t trying to hold them in, Leo understood just how much Nico suppressed his symptoms in public. Because Nico sounded really fricken terrible. Not only was he super congested and sneezy, but he had started to cough too. That wasn’t a good sign. Whatever Nico had caught came on fast, and came on hard. And it was strong enough to get through a demigod’s immune system, which didn’t bode well for Leo. He was starting to suspect that his headache wasn’t going to be the end of it for him.

Around 7 pm, Nico started to slow down. He was sneezing less, and just seemed more relaxed. Before Leo knew it he was dozing off too. In the last seconds before he passed out, he just had time to register that Nico’s head was resting on his shoulder.

NICO

When Nico woke the next morning, sunshine was streaming through the dorm window, and onto his pillow. He could tell it was shaping up to be a beautiful day. A beautiful day during which he would not be able to breathe through his nose, or go 15 minutes without sneezing, or (he took an experimental deep breath that ended in a coughing fit) breathe very deeply at all. So, nice day, no breathing. Yay.

Right on cue, an itch began to build at the back of his nose. It built, intensifying until it seemed like it couldn’t get any worse, and then the itch rushed forward, like a dam breaking. Nico didn’t even try to stifle or muffle it.

hah….heh-TCHAH

His chest rattled with the sneeze.

Slowly, the events of the night before started to drift back to him. He had come home, been miserable, and then he had watched some tv, and...what? Hadn’t he fallen asleep on Leo’s bed? Was he still…

Nico raised his head slightly, he was in his own bed. The question of how he had gotten there came to him suddenly. He had thought it had been a dizzy dream, but Leo might have carried him back to his own bed in the middle of the night. Nico turned so he could see the rest of the room. The tv was still on, Nickelodeon flickering softly across the room. His eyes wandered to the other bed, directly across from him. Leo was still there. As usual, he had kicked all of his covers off, and was wearing his usual pjs. Which meant basketball shorts. Everything was normal.

Except for the fact that Leo was here, and that he was curled into a ball. And seemed like he was trying to press as much of his body as possible into the mattress. Nico sat up, slowly, and shuffled over to his roommates bed. He looked cold. That was new. That wasn’t good.

The itch came back. Immediately, Nico started to move away from Leo’s bed. He tried desperately to keep from waking his roommate up. For whatever reason, he needed sleep. So Nico needed to…

ahh….heh….heh..he-KTXXCH

...keep from waking Leo up.

Luckily, it seemed like Leo was sound enough asleep that Nico’s stupid explosion hadn’t woken him up.

Nico looked back at Leo. He looked good. Leo had gained some weight since their time on the Argo II, and it looked good on him. Not dead weight, either, but lean muscles that had started to cover up his ribs, and made his arms look less spindly. He just looked good.

Actually, now that Nico got a good look at him, he didnt look so good. He looked pale in the face, and a faint sheen of sweat shone on his forehead and back. On an impulse, Nico reached out and touched Leos face. Leo's skin was uncomfortably warm. Almost hot.

"Ghost boy," Leo muttered, " Why are you touching my face?"

Nico backtracked.

“I was...umb...I was just….I...I didn’t mbean to wake you. Sorry.”

Leo rolled over and sat up slowly, blinking the sleep out of his eyes. He shivered when his bare feet touched the floor. When he noticed Nico still standing there a concerned look darkened his face.

“Nico, are you ok?” Leo asked.

Nico said nothing. He had been half hoping that Leo had just been using his powers in his dream or something, causing him to sweat. But there was no ignoring the fact that his friend’s voice was strained, and raspy. Nico’s heart sank. Had Leo caught his cold?

“Nico!” Leo called. “Nico? Buddy? Are you…..di immortales, you look terrible.”

“Cad you eved hear yourself?” Nico asked.

Leo ignored him, and stood to feel Nico’s forehead. As soon as his burning skin touched Nico’s, both boys flinched. Leo’s hand was so hot, Nico couldn’t help it. Leo’s face screamed confusion.

“You feel…” Leo faltered, and started again. “Nico, you’re really cold. Is that normal? I mean, normal for you?”

Nico stared at his friend. Just how high was his temperature right now?!? Was that normal? Nico opened his mouth to respond, but a change in Leo’s face stopped him. Leo wasn’t looking at him anymore, but through him, his eyes narrowed, lips parted. Nico knew that look. The hand Leo had been using to try and take Nico’s temperature drifted back toward Leo’s face.

All at once, Leo turned his back and brought a hand up to cover his nose and mouth.

huh-ktchuh...heh...he...tchuh….hu’ktchuh

Leo’s head snapped forward with each breathy sneeze, making his hair bounce, and the muscles in his shoulders tense up. Nico could see goosebumps on his bare skin.

When he was finished, Leo turned back around, rubbing his neck sheepishly.

“Sorry about that, man,” He sighed. “Anyway, you. Extremely low body temp. Should I be worried?”

Silently, Nico walked to the bathroom.

“Hey,” Leo was following him. “Hey. Hey! Nico? Whassamatter?”

Leo grabbed Nico’s wrist and spun him around just as he reached the bathroom sink. Coughing lightly, Nico grabbed the thermometer off the edge of the sink and held it out to Leo who, having been about to say something, was shocked into silence. The coughing intensified. Eyes watering, he gestured for Leo to put it in his own mouth. As Leo did so, Nico freed his hand and turned away to try and subdue the coughing fit that had overtaken him. When he turned back, Leo’s face was still screwed up into a combination of “are you ok” “what are you doing!?” and “why is this in my mouth”.

He should be worried about himself, Nico thought.

“Nico, wha-th…” Leo started.

“Dod’t talk,” Nico snapped. “You’ll skrew up the mbeasurembents.”

“Dude, oo thoun’ awthull.”

“I DOW!” Nico shouted. Leo winced like it hurt him. Nico adjusted his volume. He could feel a sneeze building again. “Have you heard yourself ladtely? Have you see….hah...seed yourself?”

h’GXXSHIEW

Nico opened the cabinet above the sink so that Leo would see his reflection before going for the toilet paper to clean himself up and blow his nose. As he tried (unsucessfully) to clear his nasal passages, Nico heard the thermometer beep. Leo pulled it out of his mouth and squinted at the readout.

“I don’t even know…” Leo trailed off. He showed the thermometer to Nico. 140. Leo was shivering. He cleaned the thermometer off, and held it out to Nico.

“Your turn,” Leo said. As he stuck the device into Nico’s mouth, a smile played around his lips.

“Wha-” Nico tried to talk, but Leo made a shush motion at him.

“I’m burning up,” Leo grinned. His eyes flicked up to Nico’s. “And you sound like death.”

Luckily for him, Leo moved before Nico could whack him.

[VividBubbles!]

“I’m burning up,” Leo grinned. His eyes flicked up to Nico’s. “And you sound like death.”

Luckily for him, Leo moved before Nico could whack him.

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!!! Oh gods, Leo. I love you so much right now, you have no idea.

Amazing update, FitS! I love that you made Leo's temperature super high up there. Not everyone does that, but it makes sense since he's the "fire guy" and all that. And the part where he was so confused when Nico felt cold to him because of his fever. D'aww.

I can't wait to read more!

BYE!

Edited November 10, 2013 by VividBubbles!

[SpookyScarySkeleton]

Awwwwe that's so cute. Yay two duckies c: sick boys <3. I like it. can't wait for another update c:

[v a n i l l a]

I like this very much. :3

[weepy]

Unnngggggg!

You are amazing! I swear I'll love you forever, and please don't ever stop being awesome!

Gaaaaaaaaah you write them so weeeelll!

[Meala]

Okay now that was just really adorable seriously HAHAHAHHA <3 cant wait for more

[funinthesun]

Guess who's back? i promise delirium is coming.

LEO

h’kshuh…

Gods, that was annoying. Leo rubbed at his nose with his wrist. He had no earthly idea how Nico had put up with this while at school. The constant runny nose, urge to sneeze, headache, fuzzy headedness, it was too much! Leo was having a hard time concentrating on the anime that Nico had picked out!

Having agreed that neither of them was in any state to go out, both were again sitting on Leo’s bed with a box of tissues between them. And though there was barely any conversation going on, the dorm was far from silent. Nico’s cold had gotten into his chest, so in addition to numerous wet sneezes and nose blows, the japanese dialogue issuing from the speakers was interrupted by a chesty cough. Add to that Leo’s own (much quieter) sneezing, and you got a pretty steady stream of nose-related noises.

ha-KXXCHUH

Leo glanced over at Nico, who was sniffling in the aftermath of his sneeze. For whatever reason, his mind started to latch onto little things. How his hoodie (which Nico was still wearing) was too big for the other boy. When had that happened? While Leo was pondering, Nico turned to him and started to speak.

“Hey, didn’t I fall asleep od your bed lasdt ndight?”

Leo shook himself out of a daze. It took him a while to actually hear the question, and a bit longer to form a response. Why was that so hard?

“Oh, yeah,” Leo’s voice sounded terrible even to him now. “You did.”

Nico was still looking at him. Like he expected more of an answer. He also looked a little worried. What was he worried about?

“Okay, so whaaah….why did I wake…..uhh…” Nico’s voice trailed off as his trademark “I’m gonna sneeze” expression stole over his face.

heh-IGXSHIEW…..IGXXSHUU….ah..haah...heh..HEK’XXSHU

When Nico looked back at Leo, his eyes were watering. Weird. Leo wondered absently what it would be like if he and Nico switched bodies at this exact moment. But Nico had been saying something before he was interrupted, and seemed determined to finish it now.

“Why,” Nico said, rubbing at his nose. “Did I wake ub id by owd bed, sindce I fell asleep id yours.”

NICO

Leo looked at him levelly, seeming to think about the question. It wasn’t hard. Then again, Nico had no idea how his inhumanly high temperature was affecting his brain. Leo’s forehead crinkled.

“Well, I kinda carried you.” He rasped.

Nico stared incredulously at Leo. He looked terrible. He looked exhausted (even though he had gotten more sleep than usual). He had dark circles under his eyes, and they were kind of sleepily half closed in a way that reminded Nico a little too much of someone else. And he wasn’t smiling. Nico found it hard to believe that anyone in that state could lift anyone else. Especially when they were so close in size. Noticing his look, Leo’s eyebrows drew closer together.

“What, you don’t believe me? Hate to break it to you, but you’re about as featherweight as they come.”

Nico dropped the subject. That wasn’t what he’d wanted to know. He’d wanted to know why Leo had carried him over. It was then that he noticed what Leo was wearing. Thankfully he’d changed into some pants and put on a shirt, but that was it. No sweatshirt, no jacket, no sleeves. Just a random orange cotton shirt.

“Ared’t you cold?” Nico blurted out.

The other boy shrugged. “Not really.”

Then as if his body was intent on disproving him, Leo shivered. Nico punched him.

“Liar.”

Leo tipped over, laughing. When he came back up, still grinning, he said, “Okay fine. I’m cold. But if I wear anything more it just makes me sweat more, and that makes me feel colder. So I’m cold, but I’m okay.”

Sure enough, Nico could see that Leo’s forehead was still damp underneath his insanely curly hair.

The conversation lapsed and the two boys returned to watching anime in quasi silence.

++++++++++++++

By that afternoon, Nico felt even worse than he had that morning. He had been getting progressively more congested as the day wore on, and was now completely stuffed up. He had given up on breathing through his nose altogether. That hadn’t done anything to stop his sneezes though, which were now coming either in groups of three, or not at all. Getting stuck just before they exploded out and gave him relief from the incessant tickle that was inhabiting his nose.

Only slightly less annoying than the sneezing, or lack therof, was Leo’s insistence on trying to take care of him when both of them were sick. It was stupid. It was dumb. It was infuriatingly cute and a little bit endearing while still managing to be extremely annoying, stupid and dumb! Earlier, Leo had gone out to get some stuff from the market. Idiot. Just as Nico had started to worry about whether his friend was ok, Leo opened the door.

Sniffling, he nudged the door shut with the toe of a boot, and nodded at Nico, before heading for the corner of their dorm where the microwave oven lived. Nico rose and padded over to him, rubbing his own nose as he did so. He could feel the itch building again. Leo had busied himself emptying the bags he had been carrying, but he wasn’t moving quickly enough to mask his shivering.

kaahhh….hah...k’tshhh…

Honestly, the most surprising thing about Leo’s being sick was that he was sick. The second most surprising was his sneeze. Nico hadn’t expected such a quiet, breathy sneeze from such a loud, hyper person. Leo turned.

“Hey.” Then, “Wow. How did you get that close without me noticing?”

Nico just shrugged. He the itch was becoming unbearable, but wasn’t showing any signs of peaking and turning into a sneeze. Annoying. He wrinkled his nose, partially to express his annoyance, and partially in an attempt to get rid of the sneeze that wasn’t going to happen. He was only half successful.

“I’d make an empty threat about a bell right now, but I don’t think you’d appreciate it.”

As soon as Leo finished his sentance, his eyes unfocused, and he held up a finger toward Nico to say “Hold on”. With that, he turned and seemed to hug himself before smothering another sneeze in his sleeve-covered hand. Leo’s free hand wrapped around his stomach, and his entire body seemed to curl in as he relieved the tickle in his nose.

heh-k’shhh….eh-k’shhuh….hak’shhhhiew…

When Leo was done, he shifted back to face Nico, his hand still under his nose. He didn’t meet Nico’s eyes, just stared tiredly straight out. Leo kept his right elbow resting on his left arm, which was still wrapped around his abdomen, so he was still hunched over. He looked absolutely exhausted. Then Leo seemed to shake himself, and straightened, winking at Nico and then turning around again to finish getting out the shopping.

Everything was annoying. Leo was being stubborn and trying to pretend that he was more ok than he was. Percy used to be like that. Annoying. The itch in Nico’s nose was becoming unbearable. Very annoying.

“So-o. Whadja get?” In an attempt at nonchalance, Nico leaned on the counter next to Leo and rubbed at his nose as discreetly as possible.

Nico tried to focus on the assortment of items that Leo was listing off, he really did, but his nose was making it hard to concentrate on anything at all. The itch was intensifying by the second, but it lacked a certain sharp quality that usually pushed him over the precipice from about-to-sneeze to sneezing-his-head-off. It just kind of hung there in his nose, being annoying.

“...cough drops, batteries, a bunch of soup, cereal, tea bags, a magazine, and that’s it. Oh, wait, no. This was outside.”

Nico’s eyes were watering now. He blinked away the tears and squinted at the box that Leo was holding up. It was a DVD set.

“It had a note on it. Said you would find this funny. Here, take a look.”

Leo held the case out to Nico, but he shook his head and waved it away. He was so close, and yet...ugh. He needed to sneeze! The tingling itch was becoming almost painful. Nico wasn’t sure how much longer he could stand this. Suddenly, one of Leo’s long, slender fingers was very, very close to his face. Leo ran the tip of his finger very lightly down the bridge of Nico’s nose.

It was just the push he had needed. The tickling sensation reached a new peak and then exploded, becoming the urge to sneeze. Nico had just enough time to turn away from the groceries before he succumbed to the fit.

ah-H’KTXCHUUU…..ah..ah..ahah...ha-G’TXXSHOO….H’TCHH...h-ha..ah...KSHH…..eh...eh-kich

….HEK’XXSHIEW……...ahhh….eh...eh..ihhh….HIT’XXSHOO…..

But he wasn’t finished. Nico could feel a huge, messy sneeze approaching. He pressed a wrist to the underside of his nose, in hopes that it might make it go away. No such luck. The sneeze was still building, and building, and…

A warm hand pressed a piece of cloth into his. Without thinking, Nico raised the square of fabric to cover his nose and mouth. Just in time too.

AEKXCHHHHOU!

Nico felt the hankie dampen slightly with his sneeze. When he was finished blowing his nose, it was pretty well soaked.

“Salud.” Leo said. He slid something across the counter toward Nico, who put out a hand to stop it without looking. “I got you a 24 pack. Just in case.”

Sure enough, a 24 pack of handkerchiefs was sitting there on the counter. Already opened, and missing one.

“Thags Leo.”

“Hey, what are friends for?” Leo leaned in so that his nose was only an inch or two away from Nico’s. His warm brown eyes held Nico’s own. Nico could smell the cherry cough drop he had in his mouth. “You’re welcome.”

Then Leo moved away, leaving Nico kicking himself for being disappointed.

[VividBubbles!]

*squees from adorableness*

OHMAIGODSTHATWASSOCUTE.

Just Leo and Nico and how Nico is still sort of in love with Percy and Leo is such a tease and he's still trying to act healthy even though Nico could probably literally fry an egg on his head right now and that thing about him just being exhausted and stuck in that bent-over position was so good and I'm just in so much love right now, you have no idea.

Okay, so spaz attack now over, I love the way this is written and how you do the switching POVs so well and I can't wait to read more.

BYE!

Edited November 25, 2013 by VividBubbles!

[SpookyScarySkeleton]

Awwwwh it's amazing <3

[RemedyBane]

please continue!

[funinthesun]

Heyy! so delirium! I'm sorry if this section is disjointed, but both of them have fevers so idk what else to do but make it disjointed. Nico's gonna start being able to cope with this better so look forward to caretaking! More delirium for Leo because It's cute. And I'm evil. Thanks for all the feedback guys! I love ya! Hopefully its not too hard to understand. Sorry for the lack of sneezing...

LEO

It was getting really hard for Leo to focus. Everything kept moving around in a way that he couldn’t follow. He had to ask Nico what they were watching five times because he kept forgetting the answer. And even when he finally remembered, every time he looked back at the screen nothing made sense. The main characters were in a different place. With different people. And sometimes the two kids in blue and the bald one with sick tattoos wouldn’t be there and it was a scarred kid and an old man. Everyone had powers and nothing made sense and good people were on wanted posters and everything was backward.

Leo was dizzy.

Nico kept telling him things that didn’t make any sense. Who was Zuko and why was he like him at all? He didn’t have a topknot. Or a scar. Or a grandfather. Or tea. Maybe some tea would be nice. maybe it would be magical tea that came with a grandfather. Yes. Leo wanted some of that tea. He had never had a grandfather before. Maybe they all had magical powers. But what if he gave Leo a topknot? That wouldn’t be nice. Or good.

Leo felt Nico’s arm hug him around the waist. Was that ok? It felt nice. But cold. Nico tugged Leo upright. He didn’t like that. It made him dizzy. Then he got up. Not fair. Why was he leaving him alone? Nico seemed to be back right away, and put something in his mouth. When he took it out he started talking to Leo but it didn’t make any sense. Nico laid Leo down gently, putting something cool on his head. It felt good but he didn’t want Nico to leave. It wasn’t fair. Leo wanted Nico to stay, and be with him. Nico stayed. Through a fog that he didn’t understand, Leo felt Nico’s cool fingers playing with his hair at his temples. And that felt good.

When Nico fell asleep next to him, Leo pulled him up next to him. It was a lot of work. Leo was tired. Nico was awake again. He was saying things that didn’t make any sense. Leo barely heard him. Something about being cold. Cold. He was cold. But Nico thought he was warm. Leo pulled Nico close, hugging him tight. Nico pressed his face against Leo’s neck. It felt good, made his head feel less heavy and more like it was attached to his neck.

NICO

Shortly after Leo got back from the store, he stopped making any sense at all. The fever was beginning to screw with his brain. After Leo had revealed the handkerchiefs and helped Nico with his sneezing fit and then teased him, he had gone into the bathroom, and blown his own nose. Then he had come out, and made two small servings of soup, which both of them ate gratefully, and cleaned up the dishes. All the time, sneezing with renewed vigor. Probably just warming up from the cold.

After lunch/dinner, they dragged Nico’s bed over to Leo’s and pulled out all of the blankets. Then they moved the TV and got comfortable. The DVD set that had been left on the mat outside of their dorm turned out to be Avatar: The last Airbender. Nico had been meaning to watch it for a while now. Leo could care less. He flopped down on the new and improved watching area, and promptly zoned out. Nico lay down next to his friend, making sure that a box of tissues, and his handkerchief were within arms reach. They slumped against the wall, with their legs stretching across both beds, Nico in a nest of blankets, Leo just with his one draped over his shoulders like a cape. Leo’s eyes were on the screen, but were unfocused. That’s when the trouble began.

“What are we watching again?”

That was the fourth or fifth time that Leo had asked him that. He suspected it was just to mess with him. So Nico shushed him and told him one last time. Leo nodded and went back to his quasi watching.

After a few episodes of silence (punctuated only by the now constant stream of sickness-related noises issuing from both of them), Nico realised that Leo was barely conscious. He was drifting in and out of sleep. The sleeping periods marked only by the cessation of his half of the sneezing. During one of those periods of unconsciousness, Nico looked over at his roommate. He looked absolutely beat.

ih-gshhhiew….

Leo had clamped a hand over his nose and mouth in an attempt to keep the sneeze quiet, but it was still apparent to Nico that his friends cold was taking a turn for the wetter. Leo fumbled for a tissue, and just managed to get it when another sneeze took hold.

het’chhhhh…..hah...hah...ha’eshhhhhu…..

Leo drifted back into semi-consciousness.

Much later, Nico returned from exchanging yet another dripping wet hankie for a new one to find Leo finally laying all the way down, and awake. He tried to start a conversation. But Leo derailed his plans, mumbling about how he didn’t have a top-knot. Or a grandfather.

This was bad. This was very bad. Nico took his friend and lifted him into a sitting position. Leo was as limp as a rag doll. He kept muttering about how he didn’t want a top-knot. Nico was practically running to get the thermometer. When he got back, Leo was trying to get up. Nico pushed him back against the wall, and stuck the thermometer into his mouth.

The thermometer beeped. The display was blank. Leo’s temperature wasn’t even registering. Nico clapped a hand to his own forehead, and rested the other on Leo’s. Leo’s forehead was slick with sweat, and very very hot.

The next few minutes were a blur. Nico dragged a groaning Leo into a comfortable position on the beds, wet a washcloth, and put it on his forehead. Leo promptly passed out, and left Nico coughing and panting next to him.

Nico fell asleep next to Leo. In the moments before he was fully unconscious, he found himself playing with Leo’s hair. Nico woke to warmth encircling him. He realised how cold he had been before. He wrapped his arms around Leo, who had pulled him close.

“Aren’t you cold?” Nico whispered, before pressing his face against Leo’s cheek and neck.

Leo made a soft, low, pleased humming noise.

Nico was asleep again.

[SpookyScarySkeleton]

Aaawwwie c: fevers rock. Please update soon

[SpookyBoi]

This is awesome continue!

[VividBubbles!]

Awwww, Leo's so cute and delirious. *giggles at the ridiculous sentence she just wrote*

Poor babies. They're so sick and feverish and taking care of each other and it's just so cute!

Continue soon!

BYE!

[RemedyBane]

poor leo! This is soooo cute! please continue!

[Melody]

omg this is perfect! I love this so much Update soon!

[funinthesun]

ack! thanks for the compliments and encouragement and stuff! here's your update, hpo its good!

NICO

He woke in the middle of the night, arms around Leo, deliciously warm for the first time in two days. And shivering. Violently. Wait, no. He wasn’t shivering. Leo was. Nico wanted to thwack himself on the forehead for letting himself be so selfish. He hadn’t thought about how being so close to him might affect Leo!

Gently, Nico disentangled himself from the other boy’s embrace, already fighting back the urge to sneeze. He drew a blanket over Leo, to keep him warm, and contemplated what else he could do. Nico decided on putting the cold washcloth back on Leo’s forehead. But first…

Nico fought the urge to sneeze. He didn’t want to wake Leo. He couldn’t wake Leo. He fumbled around for his hankie. Finding it, Nico used both of his hands to hold it over his nose and mouth.

heh...HA-KTCHX-...ugh...H-MMPH...H-KCHM….heh..haaa-EKTCHM…

Slowly, as the itch in his nose receded, Nico lowered the square of cloth. His head was throbbing, and he had gotten no relief from that. He could tell his nose was beginning to drip too, so he blew it. Quietly.

After he had gotten Leo all taken care of, Nico decided to start on himself. He was in desperate need of a shower, and a change of clothes. That would be a start.

The steam from the shower made him cough, and caused his nose to run freely and set off a new fit of sneezing which (he hoped) was muffled enough by the bathroom door and the sound of running water that Leo didn’t hear it. Leo, Nico mused as he dried himself off and put on a clean pair of pilfered sweatpants and sweatshirt. Me and Leo. Leo and Me. Us. We. Together.

Nico took his own temperature. 99. Down from last night. That was a good sign.

Nico shuffled out of the bathroom and gazed at the boy that was causing his current mental dilemma. Shivering in his sleep, sweat shining on his face. As he looked, Nico admitted to himself that he had enjoyed the fever-induced cuddle session earlier. And if the other boy remembered it, he wasn’t going to deny that fact. Leo was such a dork. But a cute one. No matter how much crap he spouted about how Leo wasn’t his type, Nico had always known he was. Skinny, funny, with a reason to hate the world and everyone in it but still keeping a marginally better attitude than him. That sounded about right.

Nico had to sneeze again. He rubbed at his nose until the urge lessened, but he suspected he had only delayed the inevitable.

The only question now was whether or not Leo reciprocated. Nico’s heart sank. The chances of that were pretty slim, considering Leo’s reputation of chasing girls. Nico sighed. All he could do was hope that Leo didn’t remember it.

H’XXCHM….

The sneeze had snuck up on him, leaving Nico with barely enough time to stifle. Luckily, it was the only one. Still sniffling in the aftermath, he padded over to the clock on his (now lonely) bedside table. Hmm. Evidently it was not the middle of the night, but 6 in the morning.

“Too early,” Nico grunted to himself.

He crept back to the two beds, and situated himself close (but not too close) to Leo, so he would feel it if Leo got up. Sleep came quickly.

+++++++++++++

But it only lasted an hour.

For the first time in two days, Nico found himself hungry. Still completely congested, sneezing often, coughing more, and with a fever, but at least his appetite was returning. Leo was still asleep, so Nico quietly poured himself a bowl of cereal and put a cup of water in the microwave to make some tea.

Throughout his meal, Nico glanced at the bed where Leo was still sleeping fitfully. Every now and then, the boy would groan and shift a little bit.

++++++++++++++++++++

Leo woke up screaming. It soon turned into a harsh, hoarse cough that had the beginnings of a rattle in it, and it wasn’t very loud to begin with, but he was obviously freaking out when he woke up.

Nico rushed over to the bed, but not before Leo had interpreted his sheets as another attack, and thrown them off. Leo lost his balance then, and tumbled out of the bed and onto the floor. As Nico reached his friend, Leo seemed to realise where he was. Nico saw tears running down his face. He began to rock back and forth, rasping out “All of them got hurt, and it was my fault.” before slipping into rapid spanish. Then Leo saw Nico. He locked eyes with him, and started shaking.

“I’m so sorry, Nico,” Leo’s voice was barely there.

Nico knelt and grabbed Leo’s shoulders. The kid was terrified.

“Leo.”

“No. Stay away. I’ll hurt you too.” Leo batted his hands away and tried to stand up and stifle a cough at the same time. Which didn’t work out too well for him. Luckily, Nico was quick enough to steady him, and keep him from crumpling to the ground.

“Leo.”

“I hurt everyone! I hurt Annabeth and Percy, and Jason…..ahh...he-k’tchhh...eh’txhhh...and Piper and Ha...ehhh...add Hazel, add Fradk….het’chhhuh…ad (snnfff) my mom! And…”

Leo held an arm in front of his face, half to warn Nico away from him, and half to sheild his nose and mouth as he sneezed, wetly, breathily, interrupting his already garbled speech.

Nico stopped trying to stop Leo using words. He stepped in and embraced Leo. Leo froze, but only for a moment, before returning the gesture in kind. The two boys stood there, Leo pressing his face into Nico’s neck.

“It’s not your fault,” Nico murmurred. “None of that is your fault. Nobody holds you responsible for any of the bad things that happened, except you.”

Leo sank to his knees, and Nico followed. They sat like that for the longest time. Only loosening their hold on each other to sneeze in the other direction. Eventually, though, Leo pulled away.

, “I’ll make you some tea.”

+++++++++++++++++++++++

LEO

HAAEEXSCHIEEEW….ugh.

“Salud.” Leo rasped.

“Shaddup,” Nico mumbled over his hand. “You’re going to lose your voice if you try to say something every time that happens.”

As if on cue, Nico sneezed again.

ah-HTXSHCHIEW…..tshhhu…..ahh...K’XSHIU

Leo bit back his blessing, but somewhere in his foggy head he knew that he and Nico needed to talk.

“Nico…”

“You’re godda hurt yourself.”

“Nico, I think we need to talk about what happened last night.”

Of course now his nose started to act up. Didn’t it understand that this was important? Leo rubbed at it roughly, the raw edges of his nostrils burning in protest. When Leo turned his attention back to Nico, he saw that the other boy wasn’t facing him. Nico had stopped messing with the microwave and let his hands drop to his sides. Slowly, Nico turned, crossing his arms as he did so, and leaned on the counter behind him.

“Sure. Let’s talk.”

Nico wouldn’t meet Leo’s eye. His jaw tightened.

Leo’s nose had started to run, and he tried to grab on to the ends of the itch that was beginning to build, and haul it back. Unfortunately, it didn’t work. He only had enough time to grab a tissue before...

heh-etchhuh….aah….eh-kxxchhhh

As Leo wiped his nose, eyes watering, he looked sheepishly up at Nico. He hadn’t moved. Hadn’t even looked up. He looked so unhappy. But his hair was clean and he had changed clothes, and that was something. Leo struggled to remember why Nico might be looking so unhappy. Had he said something?

Nico’s eyes flicked up to his and then back down to the floor very quickly. He uncrossed his arms and stuck his hands in his pockets very unhappily. Why was he unhappy?

“You….wanted to talk about something?”

Nico was scuffing at the floor with his foot now. Weird.

“I’m sorry about last night.” Leo rasped. His voice was so quiet that Nico had to come closer to hear him. “I know I’m not your type, and [cough] [cough] I’m sure as hell not Percy, but I felt that way for a while and I just...I’m in like with you.”

“What.” Nico was staring at Leo. Hard.

“I like you. In more than a lets-be-roommates-and-best-friends-and-play-manly-sports-together way. In more like a I-wanted-to-do-what-we-did-last-night-for-a-long-time way. I haven’t before because I was just afraid...and I didn’t want to assume… like I said, Nico. I’m sorry I made you uncomfortable.”

And just like that Nico was laughing. Not like Leo had ever heard him laugh before. He was just full of joy and it burst out and that was the noise it made. It was a pretty nice noise.

“And you’re sure you feel this way?” Nico grinned. “It’s not just the fever talking?”

Leo squinted at Nico. “Who’re you calling a fever, doofus?”

Nico moved closer, and closer, and closer. Until there was just an inch of space between their noses and Leo was going a little cross-eyed trying to look into Nico’s eyes. They weren’t black. Just really really dark brown. Was it even legal for a dude to have such nice eyelashes?

“Last chance to back out…” Nico was saying. Leo wasn’t listening. He had imagined this moment so many times in the last few months that it felt like it wasn’t even real. Leo closed the distance between them and closed his eyes. Nico’s lips were cold. Leo didn’t care. He liked the way that his and Nico’s lips fit together and he liked the way it made him feel warm inside. Not burning, like embarrassment, or anger, or pain, just warm like being outside on a sunny day. But inside.

NICO

When their lips met, Nico was stunned. He sat there, staring at his friend (ohmigod what were they now? was there even a word for this?)’s face. He hadn’t even known how much he had wanted this until Leo’s lips were on his. Burning. Dry. Nico put his arms around Leo’s neck and kissed him back. Leo held his waist. Suddenly Leo moved his head. He slowly broke the connection between their lips and trailed them up to Nico’s ear.

“Next time you wanna get me sick, I’ll take the kiss.” Leo whispered.

Nico chuckled. Leo shifted back and held Nico in front of him, looking into his eyes very seriously.

“But really. Never get me sick again. Ever. I am in hell.”

Nico rose, and gave Leo an affectionate hair ruffle before going to get the thermometer.

“Hell, huh? I know my way around.”