Leo groaned, punching his pillow, and turning over in frustration. It was impossible for him to sleep without the slightly chilled body next to him or the soft typing from their living room. There was no way for him to know his lover was safe.

He could get hit by a bus, mugged, or attacked by monsters. Nico wasn't always the most careful of people, and Leo always freaked out when he got home late. But closing shift? It was almost eleven, and he wasn't home yet. It doesn't take that long to close up the shop. He should be home.

Just as Leo started to wonder if he should go look for his lover, the front door opened with its familiar soft creak. From only the footsteps, Leo could tell it was the son of Hades.

Nico crept into the dark bedroom, already stripping his layers of work clothes off. He slipped into the bed, and curled into Leo with his head on the other boy's shoulder. Leo instantly wrapped his arm around Nico's waist, pulling the younger boy closer just to feel his presence. Nico whispered, "Did I wake you?"

"Couldn't sleep." Leo whispered back, it would feel weird for them to talk in above a whisper in the dark, "How was work?"

"Long, tiring, and void of my Warmth." His hand rubbed over Leo's slightly heated chest, "A boy came into the shop, and he looked so much like you...Then I was left thinking about you all day..."

Leo shuddered at the brush of his lover's lips on his neck. The protest of having a test the next morning died in a sigh, "Nico..."

The younger pulled away slightly, "You have class in the morning."

Leo wasn't having any of that as he rolled on top of Nico, "I also have a lover who needs attention right now."

Nico slipped his arms around Leo's neck as the elder boy kissed along his neck, making their chests brush together. The Ghost King was already naked since he liked sleeping that way even when they didn't have sex right before bed. The warmth on his chilly skin made Nico gsp, and press himself closer to Leo. He let the covers slip off them, and smiled down at his very naked Ghost King.

As Nico's legs spread open slightly, clusters of paler than white scars became visible on his inner thighs. Everytime Leo saw the, his heart clenched. He wished he could kiss them away along with all the pain his lover had ever felt, but Leo knew he couldn't. All he could do was make the here and now as wonderful as possible.

Nico closed his legs, even after all this time, he was self-cautious of the burn scars. He was stopped by Leo linking his arms under Nico's knees to keep them open. Leo smiled encouragingly before bowing his head. He took his time kissing and running his lips over every centimeter of every scar that decorated Nico's thighs.

It took almost twenty minutes for him to be satisfied with his work, and pull away to look up into Nico's eyes again. They swam with the same emotions he held everytime Leo did that; joy, love, hope, and most of all trust.

Leo flew up to kiss his lips warmly as they turned over. He felt Nico trembling slightly as he quickly kissed every inch of Leo's skin he could find. He arched into the slightly hurried touches, groaning softly at the first intrusion. He moaned as they joined fully again, getting as close as possible to containing the same space. He screamed into Nico's mouth as they reached ecstasy together.

Neither boy dared to move for several minutes as they came down from their highs. Nico's hands gripped Leo's hips tightly, keeping their foreheads together with his eyes closed as they both panted. One of Leo's hands cupped Nico's cheek while the other held tightly to his side, and his legs were wrapped around Nico's hips. Slowly, they both opened their eyes to meet each other's gazes.

As Leo parted his lips to say something, he stopped. Nothing had to be said as they'd already done it. Love was better shown in actions after all; spending twenty minutes just to make his lover more comfortable, or how effortlessly they peeked together. Leo had always imagined that loving somebody would be work, but everything came naturally with Nico.

Finally, the younger boy moved to cuddling into Leo's side like he had been before everything else happened. Several minutes later, Nico leaned up to kiss Leo's cheek, "Rest peacefully, amore."

The next morning, Leo was gone before Nico woke up. He yawned, rubbing his eyes as he walked into the tiny kitchen. Nico stopped short on his way to find something for breakfast when he saw the plate of blue waffles sitting on the counter. He smiled brightly, and moved the plate to get warmed up in the microwave. As he turned back around, he noticed the note that had been hiding under the food. Nico picked it up, and read Leo's calculated print he used for special occasions:

Sally gave me the recipe, and you looked hungry. Lunch at the diner at one?

It was of course a rhetorical question, but it still made Nico smile. Not like he had much of a choice, he didn't want to have to deal with Leo's kicked puppy look over not showing up, and he'd accept any excuse to spend more time with the son of Hephaestus. His lover, his warmth, his hope...Nico glanced at his work bag and smiled...And soon his fiance.