Author's note below. Enjoy!

Leo Valdez could not fall asleep worth his life.

He'd tried breathing exercises, which Piper felt necessary to teach to him for an entire hour. Those hadn't worked. He tried exercising a lot, by running to Bunker 9 and back and doing a bunch of other various activities. Those only managed to make his ADHD kick in even stronger and make his head spin. He'd tried reading, and he even Googled "ways to fall asleep" which got him nowhere.

To sum it up, that's why he was here, lying in his bed and staring at the ceiling.

He couldn't help but shake thoughts of what Percy and Annabeth were going through down in Tartarus. He'd never even been in the Underworld himself, so he probably couldn't even begin to imagine the horrors down there. Not that he wanted to; he couldn't keep the thought from his head.

That's how he led himself into nightmares that night.

Leo wasn't sure when he'd fallen asleep, but before he knew it, he was dreaming. Or nightmaring, he thought. Either way, the images weren't pleasant. They passed through scenes of the day his mother died, Gaea's face rising from the dirt, her lips motionless as she laughed manically. Eventually, the nightmare showed Annabeth and Percy hugging in a dark area, possibly a small closet or a never ending trench; he couldn't tell. They didn't seem physically hurt, but their faces showed emotion of sheer horror and fear. Leo could hear laughing, as Percy and Annabeth huddled closer together, their faces reading that of goodbye. Leo wanted to shout, to scream, and to run; he wanted to tell them no, just wait, it'll be fine, just wait until the Argo II is done with repairs and we'll save you. But he couldn't; he was only dreaming.

He soon woke with a start, his back arched uncomfortably. He was sweating and panting, his cheeks were wet from tears, and his ears rang as if he'd just been screaming. It was still dark out; the moonlight shown from a small window in his cabin onto his sheets, allowing an ample amount of light to create shapes where furniture was. He settled, then sat up and brought his knees up to his chest and hugged them, trying to calm himself. He just ended up sobbing, his conscience growing heavier and heavier.

Across the room in the shadows, unknown to Leo, stood Nico di Angelo. He couldn't sleep and was going to grab a glass of juice from the kitchen when he heard stifled sobs coming from Leo's room. At first he was reluctant, but he silently opened and closed the door, creeping over to Leo's bed. His face was twisted into that of anguish, and Nico didn't know what to do. He wouldn't admit it, but he kind of started panicking. At that moment, Leo's sobs began to get louder, and Nico backed away, into the shadow. Then Leo screamed for about two seconds, arching his back like he was in serious pain, before waking up. His eyelids flew open and he eventually settled, then huddled himself into the most pathetic little ball, but Nico didn't judge him. It was more pathetic in the "I'm still going to try to keep it together" and then the "I'm not going to try to keep it together anymore" kind of way, maybe. Either way, Leo soon began to shrink, and put his head between his knees. Nico couldn't hear the crying at first; his only evidence was Leo's shoulders jerking up and down.

They stayed like this – Leo silently sobbing and Nico watching – for a little while until Nico decided to clear his throat. He then decided that was a bad idea when Leo yelped and shot five feet into the air, then grabbed a hammer from his tool belt and aimed it toward where Nico was standing.

Nico yelped too. "Hey! Hey, it's just me, don't shoot," he whispered as loudly as could still be considered a whisper.

Leo hesitated, seeming bewildered. "Who's me?"

Nico stepped out of the shadows and into where the moonlight would show him, with his arms in a mini-surrender pose and his face looking guilty as ever.

Leo didn't know what to say at first. For a moment, they only looked at each other, and Nico began to blush.

"Why are you in my room?"

Nico bit his lip. "Well, I couldn't sleep, and I was going to get a drink, and I heard you in here, crying, so I decided to come in and check on you, then you started yelling and I freaked and didn't know what to do." He said this all a mile a minute.

Leo nodded. "Oh," was all he could say. "Sorry 'bout, um, trying to kill you with the hammer." He then realized he was still holding it and shoved it into his tool belt, ready to pass that part of the moment.

Nico scratched his head. "It's cool, I guess. No blood, no foul."

Then neither knew what to say. Nico wanted to leave, but wasn't sure he should leave Leo in this state. He wasn't good with people whatsoever, especially comforting people, and he admittedly didn't really like to, but right now he felt he wanted to. He was tired of being alone.

Nico shuffled a bit closer to the bed, staring at his converses. Leo trailed his movements. "Do you, um, want me to stay?" Nico could feel his face getting redder, which was amazing, considering he was always ice-cold. He fidgeted with his jacket zipper and scratched the back of his head, again.

Leo's face was blank. Then it seemed to dawn on him what Nico was asking, and Nico was afraid he was going to kick him out and call him a creep or something like that. But, he didn't. "Oh, um, yeah. Sure." He began to rise from his bed, looking at Nico, bewildered. Nico was sure he had the same look on his face, as the whole situation felt awkward and… weird. Not wrong, somehow, but definitely weird. Leo walked towards his dresser and grabbed some clothes. "I'm gonna get into my pajamas, but you can, uh, make yourself at home." Nico realized Leo had probably not intended to fall asleep when he did, because he was still clad in his jeans, rolled up, his Camp Half-Blood shirt (which was partially untucked from his pants), suspenders, and tool belt, which had to be uncomfortable to sleep on. The he stalked into his bathroom, leaving Nico to himself.

Nico turned around and, not knowing what to do, sat on the bed. He then began to slowly take his black converses off in the dark. He couldn't believe he was doing this, why was he doing this? Leo was awake, he was fine. But something about the way he looked even after was done sobbing made Nico feel he shouldn't be left alone. His whole demeanor looked like a mask. Like he was looking fine to keep others from wondering, when inside… Nico wasn't sure what to think, but he wanted to fix it. He wasn't sure why, but he wanted to.

Even after Nico had shadow transported himself into his bedroom to change into his gray plaid pajama pants and a plain black hoodie and grabbed his blanket, Leo still wasn't out of the bathroom. Nico was just beginning to wonder if he should resort to snooping in his stuff when he stepped out of the bathroom.

He had on his pajamas (black sweatpants and old grease stained Camp Half Blood t-shirt) and had semi-wet curls. As he walked out, steam followed him. He set his tool belt on his desk and a small pile of clothes in the corner ("For Buford to get later" Leo said) and then turned out the bathroom light, turning to the bed.

"So…"

Nico realized he was taking up Leo's space, and he stood up quickly, almost falling over. He could tell he was getting flustered again. This was seriously new to him. Up until moments ago, when he went to grab a drink, he'd probably exchanged three words with Leo, and now they were sleeping together- in the same room, that is. Great, Nico thought. That accidental thought was making his cheeks burn again. But any other time, he tried to avoid talking to Leo or anyone, for that matter. But the way Leo's eyes shone from the tears or the way his breathing was coming in short, stifled, pained gasps like he was trying to hold it together, even when no one was looking, made Nico seriously rethink how he viewed the guy and think maybe he shouldn't leave this dude alone. Not tonight, that is. Nico wasn't the sympathetic type, but he felt like he should stay.

Leo slowly tucked himself into his bed after brushing off various screws and wires courtesy of his ADHD, and Nico laid the blanket on the ground. It was a rather huge blanket with layers of fluff inside so the floor didn't seem at all uncomfortable. He realized he forgot a pillow but improvised with his hood and arms instead.

After a second, everything got still, and Nico wondered his Leo was asleep yet. His thoughts were denied when he felt something soft poke at his back, and he turned around to see Leo offering him a pillow. Nico accepted it with mumbled thanks and turned back around. It sort of smelled like smoke and… grease. Suits Leo well, Nico thought.

Eventually, Nico's breath evened out and Leo was able to roll onto his back and stare at the ceiling without feeling like a creep for Nico being remotely within his eyesight. He wondered how bad he must have seemed during and after his little nightmare that Nico, of all people, would feel the need to stay in his room. He was still skeptical about it working, that Nico could somehow "keep the nightmares away," and tried to stay awake. But it was futile, for after a few minutes, his eyes shut and his body went slack, his breath evening out.

Nico slept a dreamless sleep. He wasn't sure how long he was asleep, although when he awoke he could tell it wasn't that long. He could tell, somehow, that a noise no longer present had woken him. Then he heard a whimper: faint, soft, and very similar to a child in the dark without their blanket. He propped himself onto his elbows and could barely see the outline of Leo, already huddled in a ball in his bed, shivering. Sheesh, this guy just couldn't stop.

Nico stood, sitting lightly on the edge of the bed, as not to wake the son of Hephaestus up. Leo still laid there, the only indication of his nightmare being a frown on his face. Nico didn't know what to do; he was a particularly awkward person, both afraid of social interactions yet not giving a crap about them. He's better off with ghosts. Yet somehow, something about the fire child made Nico want to get to know him… Maybe just because he knew he didn't have a girlfriend or any other relationship to walk in on and disturb if he were to get to know Leo. And as Leo began to whimper some more and breathe heavier, Nico knew Leo needed him right now. He just had no clue how to help him.

The son of Hades wouldn't have much time to make up his mind, though, as Leo began making stifled cries that Nico knew would soon lead to shouts. He stood up, then sat back down, still unsure of what to do. He resorted to simply putting a hand on Leo's shoulder blade, awkwardly patting it. Somehow, this seemed to work, as he began to relax a bit. Nico could feel the warmth of Leo's skin through the tattered t-shirt… Nico was cold. Shit, how was he going to do this? He couldn't just lay down by the kid.

Then, Leo shifted into his pillow and screamed, making Nico flinch so bad he cracked his back. It was only stifled, but still… Nico jumped onto the bed on his knees and rested both of his hands on Leo's shoulder blades. He didn't want to wake him up, so he quietly leaned in to Leo's ear.

"Leo, it's Nico. You know. Anyway, you're safe now. You're in your cabin on the Argo II, the ship you built. You're in your bed, not… wherever. You're safe. I'm here."

Nico began to wonder if it had even helped, if Leo could even hear him, but as he turned him onto his back, he could tell it did.

Leo was smiling.

At first Nico thought he was awake and almost punched his face. He soon realized, though, that Leo was still sleeping, and his smile faded into a barely-smirk. Which meant he had unconsciously smiled at Nico's words… which meant he was happy about them? Which means he was happy about Nico being here… The he realized why he was really smiling. Leo enjoyed Nico's company. Maybe Nico enjoyed Leo's company, although they'd only known each other for two weeks, and they'd only shared small conversations. But, maybe it was because they were so different yet so alike that they attracted not only because they knew each other but they didn't know each other… This was confusing, and Nico suddenly realized how tired he really was. He flopped down on the bed, not caring that Leo in the same bed, now staring at him… Wait, what?!

Nico looked over and saw Leo looking at him sleepily, then yelped and jumped from the bed. Leo just propped himself on his elbows grinned sheepishly.

"Thanks, uh… for that."

Nico scratched his head and blushed. "No problem."

They sat like that for a second before Leo gestured to the empty part of the bed. Nico looked at him warily. Leo sighed, "The floor has got to be uncomfortable, right? Besides, I can't sleep anymore anyway."

Nico just nodded, although it actually wasn't uncomfortable, and sat down as far as Leo as was possible without falling off, his legs crossed. Leo just lay back down.

They sat in what Nico thought was an awkward silence. He finally cleared his throat. "Do you want to, uhm… talk, about your, uh, nightmare?"

Leo paused. "It was nothing special, just some stuff from my childhood." He specifically left out the parts about Percy and Annabeth.

Nico shifted into his elbow, facing Leo. "Tell me about it."

And that's how they sat, for the rest of the night; Nico and Leo exchanging stories from their childhoods. They shared laughs and gasps and moments of silence out of shock. They discovered that they really weren't that different even in their childhoods and lives now. Nico had lost his sister, Leo lost his mom. Nico traveled aimlessly, wandering, and Leo had woven through foster homes since he was eight. They both had a special ability that some (most) found rather odd, sometimes scary. They both were also better with things besides other people. They really weren't that different.

Then Leo showed Nico his fire ability, creating a flame that floated on the palm of his hand and weaved through his fingers like the wind moves through leaves. But Nico wasn't watching the fire; he was watching Leo's face. He watched as the flames flickered, danced in his eyes, reflecting off the pools of brown. Leo's lips twitched into a devilish smirk and for some reason, only the gods know why, Nico felt attraction. He wanted to just hug Leo and talk with him more and stay with him in this moment for a little while longer, but soon the flame ended and the sun was beginning to rise, and Nico grabbed his things to shadow travel back to his room. Blanket draped over his shoulder and hair a wicked mess, he nodded to Leo, who stood just feet away, curls mopped in every direction. He lingered for a second, as if putting a … on the moment.

Unsure of how to go with this, Leo stuck out a hand to shake, and Nico grasped it. They looked at each other faintly.

"Th- Thanks. For, uh, stuff."

Nico shrugged. "It's what I'm here for."

Then Leo did something Nico didn't expect. He leaned forward and hugged him, firmly grasping his jacket. He could tell the situation was slightly awkward for both of them but Nico though it was slightly cute. His arms felt kind of strong and very warm on his back, and he could feel Leo's skin glowing warmth and the whispers of curls coming from his head, and Nico actually liked that feeling. He hugged back, lingering, but not long enough to be suspicious.

Nico stepped back and nodded, while Leo managed a small wave and smile. He then leaned into the shadows, not breaking eye contact with Leo, and found himself falling onto his bed. As he lay there, unable to sleep, Nico began to wonder: could there ever be something for them?

So, how about that Ghost Fire? lolol.

This story I wrote a couple weeks ago, and didn't plan to publish it until my current story "This Flame I Have" was done, but since I know I'm going to be gone for at least a week and haven't written much of the last chapter, I figured I'd post this. I'm not sure who's really reading it (except for my followers, love y'all), but I didn't just want to, you know, leave and stuff. So, if you're reading this and are reading "This Flame I Have," thank you and I hope you understand. I will finish to story though, no worries.

Anyway, if you've never read my stories (which is very possible as I haven't even been an active member for a month), then I hope you like it, and for everyone, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review if you have something to say, even is it seems insignificant, and/or favorite if you liked it!

Thanks so so much!

-chilledcreme