All That is Gold - A Leico/Valdangelo fanfiction

Ch. 9

***If you are going to the Interactive Introverts tour then vote on this chapter and if you want, leave a comment telling me where you are seeing it.  I'm going and Im super exited!

Nico POV

Nico was about halfway to Leo's house before he realized this might not be the best idea. If Persephone found out that he had snuck out he would be grounded at the least. And if she told his dad then he would be in real deep shit. He thought about turning back and telling Leo that he was too tired, but then he thought about Leo standing just behind the tree line patiently waiting for him to show up. He could imagine his face after he spent an hour waiting for Nico only to get stood up.

Soon enough, Nico saw the dark silhouette of the curly-haired boy against the tree line. and walked over to him. As Nico got close he could see that Leo was wringing his hands and pacing back and forth. He looked like he was going to talk about something very important and serious, which Nico really did not want to deal with right now. This made him slightly more nervous than before, but it was too late to turn back.

"Thank goodness you're here," Leo said. "Thank you so much I know it's late, well technically early... I just thought..." he stopped pacing abruptly and turned towards Nico. "You know what? That doesn't matter I texted you because I really need to talk to you about something that doesn't really involve you... at least I hope it doesn't..." he trailed off. "No, it couldn't involve you because why would it?" He started pacing again.

Nico grabbed Leo by the shoulders and held him steady, looking into his eyes. "Hey, Leo, it's okay. You can calm down. What do you need to talk about?"

Leo glanced toward the house in front of them and motioned for Nico to follow him. They sat on a log just inside the tree line but far enough back for them not to be seen. "Okay," Leo started, "what I'm about to tell you, you can not tell another soul, got it?" Nico nodded. "My dad is back in town because of something for work" Leo made air quotes around the word 'work'. "Since I haven't ever seen my dad ever before I know that It's not just for 'work'." He took a deep breath and started wringing his hands again. "He left my mom before I was born. He said it was to keep her 'safe', but how is that any sort of excuse." Nico just listened while Leo ranted. He knew that he had to be there for his friend. When Leo was finished tears started to form in his eyes and his breath quickened. Nico moved closer and put his arm around Leo. They sat like that for a while with Leo explaining his situation. Just being that close made them a little happier and neither boy wanted to ruin the moment.

"Oh and there's one more thing," Leo said with a shaky voice after he finished filling Nico in on the background of his story. "My dad wants to move us to California."

"Oh," Nico said quietly looking down at his hands. "And will you go?"

Leo thought for a moment and Nico thought he saw a tear fall from his face. "I- I don't know," he stammered, "It doesn't feel like I have a choice." He began nervously fidgeting with a stick in his hands as more silent tears dropped from his face.

"Hey-" Nico grabbed Leo's hands and held them in his. "It's okay. I'm right here, you don't have to go anywhere if you don't want to."

Leo looked up at Nico with red-rimmed eyes. "But how? I won't have anywhere to go. If I don't go with my dad, my aunt will kick me out anyway. She's been waiting to get rid of me for years." He let out a small sob that he had been trying to suppress.

Nico thought for a moment. "I- I'll let you come live with me! I mean, my step-mom wouldn't care and my dad is never home anyway. This could work!"

"Ha, wishful thinking," Leo scoffed and then sniffled. "I know you want to help, but I don't think I can do anything about it. My dad is set on moving us to California he says it will be safer there, but thanks for trying." Leo let go of Nico's hands and got up from the log. He started walking back to his house when Nico grabbed his hand.

"Hey, before you go," he said desperately, "just try talking to him. For me?"

Leo nodded as he snuck back through the trees and off to his house leaving Nico standing in the forest alone. 

A/N Sorry for the super short chapter and the really long wait, but school is super stressful and finals are coming up. I have a much longer chapter coming up, so stay tuned for that. Also, I'm going to interactive Introverts and Im really exited! Maybe I'll see one of you there? I'll update next Friday!

~Mel ❤️