It was a year after Tartarus, and Nico still struggled to cope with the things he saw. The darkness was his birthright... Hell was his curse.

He knew he wasn't actually cursed, but the Fates were very intent on traumatizing the young demigod. Now, he could barely function properly.

He struggled to eat. The most he'd make it to was one full meal every other day, and one small snack every day. He also couldn't sleep - the nightmares shook him more than the delusions constructed from exhausted eyes, so he rarely succumbed. 

Leo was worried about him. Being no stranger to PTSD and the effects of war and isolation, he could see right through Nico's dark facade. Nico was tired. He was closing to giving up, not just on others, but on himself too. Leo, being Leo, couldn't just stand idly by, but he didn't have much to say other than what he'd been ridiculed for saying before.

"I'm not saying this to make it all about me. I'm sharing this so I can resonate with you and you can see where I'm coming from," he started, doing his best to not upset the son of Hades.

Nico lifted an eyebrow suspiciously, "Go on."

Nervously, Leo swallowed, and pulled out some gadgets from his belt to fiddle with without realizing it, "I know you don't feel well lately. I know you feel... depressed, and anxious, and like you can't escape the past, but... I know you can."

Nico squinted his eyes, looking him up and down. "You know, huh?"

Leo could hear the irritation on the tip of Nico's tongue, but continued, "I know most people just leave you alone, but you're my friend. I care about. Look, I... I have PTSD. It's hard and it sucks and it's shitty and nobody understands it."

Nico shifted, but Leo kept going, "But it's not the end of the world. It hurts, but you'll make it. You'll be just fine. If you let people in."

Nico scoffed, "Who are you to tell me I need to 'let people in'? What has anyone ever done for me?"

"For starters," Leo replied hastily, "I just shared my past experiences with you and offered my shoulder to lean on."

Nico fell silent. Most people would've called it quits once he challenged their notions. It was always something you were 'supposed' to say when someone is traumatized or depressed, not something that ever came towards Nico from their heart. But Leo... Leo didn't falter at all.

"I don't mean to pry. I'm just worried about how little you've done to take care of yourself lately," Leo clarified, unafraid to hold Nico's eye contact.

But Nico was afraid. He dropped his eyes down, not wanting to be so intimate with him as to make prolonged eye contact. He didn't know what to say either, cat having caught his tongue.

"Trust me," Leo finished. "It doesn't get easier, it just fades until you aren't worried about it anymore."

"Is that a good thing?" Nico asked out loud, shaking his head.

Leo shrugged, "I'm alive and kicking! So, can't be too bad."

Easy for you to say, Nico thought in his head. You're cursed with passion. With charisma. With intelligence.

I'm cursed with loneliness.