safe || leo valdez x oc

ninety-four: this one is emotional so no funny title

ARUNA

~•♡•~

Aruna walked up to Nico first. He was hooking some straps up to the Athena Parthenos, his mood a concoction of negativity. Aruna stumbled a bit and held her head, still exhausted from the day, and Nico's emotions were almost too much for her to handle.

Almost.

"Peaches."

Nico turned at the nickname, lobbing his head to the side. He had an annoyed expression on his face as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "What is it with you and that?"

"As soon as you clean up your attitude, the name will stop." Aruna shrugged. She stared up at the Athena Parthenos, her mood souring. She sighed and looked at Nico again.

"I never said thank you."

Nico raised an eyebrow. "For what?"

"For helping me fight Lamia," Aruna replied. "I..." She swallowed thickly. "I wouldn't have defeated her without your help."

Nico scoffed and turned away. "You mean frank's help. If he hadn't had that ambrosia square-"

"If you hadn't saved me from her when she was on top of me, I'd be dead."

Nico froze. Aruna felt his mood shift to something more like sadness as she stepped forward. She was still a few feet away from him, afraid of disrupting him if she got closer.

"You're a brilliant fighter," Aruna said. "And you were able to lead us through the House of Hades. Really, I should have listened to you. I... I didn't intend to run away."

Nico shrugged and hiked his shoulder up to scratch his ear- a classic sign of nervous body language. "It's nothing personal. You heard someone you loved, didn't you?"

Aruna felt her sadness coming back as she looked out to the horizon. She nodded slowly, tears threatening her integrity. "Yes. I did."

Nico turned to face her fully, but Aruna refused to meet his gaze.

"What did you mean when you said you had a heart attack?"

Aruna felt a lump in her throat form. "Um. Apparently, my grandma died around my birthday. And-" She wiped a tear away quickly, praying Nico didn't see. "And her spirit with there, and she passed through me, and I felt how she died."

Nico nodded. "It wasn't real, just so you know. Your cardiovascular health should still be fine."

Aruna's skin felt tight. "It didn't hurt me in that way."

Nico was silent as Aruna gazed into the Greek countryside. A few months ago, she would have thought it was beautiful. The way the sun was lowering behind the mountains, the rolling hills full of wildflowers and grass.

Now, she only felt disgust.

"Well... thank you, too," Nico muttered. "Granted, if it hadn't been for your dumbfuckery, I wouldn't have broken my spine. But, if it hadn't been for your needless savior complex, I wouldn't have made it back out."