How to Save a Life

ten

(trigger warning)
 
"So, how are you going to fix it?" Will asked, suddenly pulling me to the lake.

"I can't go here," I admitted, the thought of pulling Leo from the water resurfacing in my head. He had laid there for a few moments, his tan skin pale, his lips blue, his skin cold. I don't think I had ever been so afraid in my entire life. Sure, I had thought Leo was dead before. And sure, I had been around dead people, but that moment was absolutely bone-chilling. It made me want to cry and puke and scream at the gods all at one time. Because Leo didn't deserve to die. 

"Neeks? You okay?"

I blinked and tried to clear my thoughts of every time I thought Leo was dead. Three times now.

"Yeah, I'm good," I lied, tearing my eyes away from the water. "I just can't be here right now."

"Wanna talk about it?"

"No," I instantly replied, a scowl settling into my face.

"Oh no, you are not doing that again," Will said. "Give me a smile! Hell, glare at me, but don't you dare scowl."

So I glared at him. He rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, what's going on? We were talking about how you were going to fix your predicament."

"I'm not," I replied simply. His eyes widened.

"You mean to tell me that you, the most stubborn person I've ever met in my entire life, are not going to have your way?"

"Yes. He's happy. Why would I take that from him?"

"Can you make him happier?"

My first though was no. All Leo wanted was Jason Grace. But then I reminisced over the moments where Leo was hurt by Jason. When Leo jumped into that lake because Jason had left him. When he missed the blonde so bad that he mistook me for him.

I would never do that to Leo. I couldn't imagine it.

"Yes," I replied softly.

"So talk to him."

"I can't-"

"You can and you will."

"I can't do that to him. Jason is all he wants and has ever wanted and I'll never fucking compare, don't you get it?!" I seethed, watching Will flinch. I sighed and looked away. "I'm sorry, I-"

"No, it's fine. You need to get your emotions out," he said. "So yell. Scream. Throw things. Punch me if you want to. Just not in the face."

"No, I'm fine," I muttered. "I'm just..."

"Heartbroken."

"What? No-"

"I don't have to be a child of Aphrodite to notice this one, Neeks...Go talk to him. I promise it'll be so much better if you do."

"I can't, Will. Not until-"

I felt a tug in my gut and suddenly felt panic bubble up in my chest, though it was the, "he's dying," tug, it was, "he's about to start dying." How did I feel that? It's never happened before.

"I have to-"

"Hey, calm down, what's going on?" Will tried to comfort me, but I pushed him away. I looked around, trying to find the nearest shadow. There was one beside a tree, so I stepped into it. I closed my eyes and thought Leo.

Will grabbed me, murmuring an, "oh no you don't," but I had already begun traveling, Will following.

We landed in the bunker. I heard Will's gasp behind me as I opened my eyes to see Leo in front of me.

This time was worse. It was worse than pulling Leo up from the water. It was worse than Percy having to force the water out of his lungs. It was worse than almost anything I had ever seen before.

I instantly rushed towards Leo, slapping the nectar out of his hands. His body radiated heart far hotter than was natural for Leo, and I realized that had I gotten there a second too soon, we would be scraping pieces of Leo off of the wall. My stomach churned.

"What are you thinking?!" I seethed, before I looked down and my breath caught in my throat. A deep, vertical slit ran down Leo's wrist, others etched horizontally. They weren't healing, and I guessed that the nectar was too busy trying to kill Leo than it was trying to heal him. I wanted to puke. My stomach churned and my heart hurt and my eyes were blurry and fuck.

"Leo," I whispered, looking up at his eyes. Tears marked his cheeks.

"I'm just so fucking done, Nico..." he whispered. I had never heard something like that come out of Leo's mouth and it hurt more than anything.

"Will, do you have anything on you?" I asked, keeping my eyes trained on Leo's.

"I-I have some ambrosia, but I-I don't think that's a...a good idea," his voice shook and I felt my heart drop. He'd probably never seen a suicide attempt.

"Do you have a bandage?"

"Yeah," he handed it to me, before I wrapped it tightly around Leo's wrist, trying to stop the blood flow.

We would have to wait for Leo's body to calm down from the nectar before we could heal his wounds. Unless we stitched it, but that would cause Leo more pain than he was already experiencing.

"He hit a vein, Will, what do I do?" I whispered, making sure Leo's eyes stayed on me and he was still breathing.

"He's going to go into shock," Will said and I felt my heart drop. "Unless we get him some ambrosia-"

"No, he just took a shit ton of nectar, it'll kill him."

"Do we really have another choice?" Will asked and I realized that we didn't. Leo's eyelids were fluttering and I felt a tug in my gut. Leo was dying. Right there in front of me. Tears burned my eyes and I felt a lump rise in my throat.

"Don't cry," Leo said, wiping a tear from my face. "That's not very manly of you." Here he was, about to go into shock, and he makes a fucking joke.

I'm so fucking in love with him.

I took the bandage off and gave Leo a small piece of ambrosia. He chewed it, before his eyes fluttered shut and he slumped against me. I felt panic rise up in me.

"What do I do?!" I frantically asked Will, feeling tears rush down my face.

"I'm not trying to be negative, but if he dies, you can just take him from the Underworld, right?"

"I can only go to the Fields of Asphodel to take souls. I can't go to Elysium," I told him, before I felt a lump rise in my throat.

I took another piece of ambrosia and forced it down Leo's throat. I looked towards his wrist, letting out a cry of relief as his skin began to mend itself back together. Once it was done, I put two fingers to his neck, finding a pulse.

More tears rushed down my cheeks. I was so, so relieved, and even more relieved when Leo opened his eyes. I pulled him against me and sobbed, feeling him wrap his arms around me.
Leo was still alive.