OK LIKE. leo is in no way a stand in for veronica but in a lot of ways leo is like Hugo's little sibling. He was really lonely and angry after his mom died and he had no friends And then leo came along and was like "hey man you're really tall and probably pretty strong so if you protect us from the bullies you can sit with us at lunch" so he was like ok Leo was always like. His go to for comfort. They were his first real friend and they could get him laughing and even talking sometimes and Hugo really respects that He met them before they transitioned and helped them pick Leonardo as a name and Leo looks up to him figuratively and literally they're so close and even if Hugo can't open up a ton around them, Leo was always his biggest supporter and he loves them for that.