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twoidiotwriters1 · 26 days

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The Curse of Oenone (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: To the creator of the gifset I will never thank you enough -Danny Words: 2,241 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter // Next Chapter Listen to: 'The Wreck of Our Hearts' -by Sleeping Wolf

XXXVI: There's a HORSE Loose in the HOSPITAL

"So what's Frank's color? Does it match Hazel's?" Leo follows her around while Ara secures the ballistae. "Is he bright pink?"

"They're lavender, not pink," she has a vague smile on while she explains, not minding his interrogatory. "Percy and Annabeth are scarlet."

"What's ours?" He stands in her way. "You never told me."

Ara moves him out of the way and continues her chore. "It's golden."

His body lights up instantly. "Golden looks great on you! Do I look good?"

Ara laughs. "You could see it for yourself, you know?"

"What? For real?" He gets excited. "How?"

"Light yourself on fire, it won't be that different."

"Funny. Seriously, I bet we all look god-like in your eyes," Leo's smile dies. "Do gods have soul lights?"

Ara's never thought of that before. "I don't know, they glow all the time regardless of how they feel. I don't even know if gods have souls, they're entities, right? Their bodies aren't vessels, just a form they take."

Leo hums, tinkering with the object he's been making since the night prior. "What about Chiron? And the nymphs and—"

"Mythical creatures don't have soul lights. I don't know why," she frowns. "They experience life differently."

"Can't wait to tell Jason you can see when he's horny," he snickers.

"Ew!" Ara makes a face. "First of all, I don't see sexual attraction, if anything, I only see when he's fawning over Piper."

"Same thing," Leo rolls his eyes. "If you're in love you want the person in every way."

Ara tries not to think of what that implies about his relationship with her. "There are people that don't feel romantic attraction—Or aren't interested in sexual stuff. Soul lights tell you about a person's interests, and what they love most in the world. In other words—"

"Weaknesses. You called them that, I think that's not accurate, but whatever," Leo leans against the ballista smiling at her adoringly. "I still love you even when you're wrong."

Ara stares at him with amusement and annoyance. He treats their situation like it makes him the luckiest guy in the world, which is insane. Leo jokes about being crazy, and she jokes about it too, but there are limits to how delulu you can pretend to be before it gets dangerous.

She hasn't been able to forget the way he freaked out at first, and she wants to ask him if he also conveniently forgot that thing about being an ill match after knowing about their soul lights, or if he's pretending to be happy for her sake.

"Done," Ara sighs, patting the ballista.

"Why are you securing them?" The boy asks. "They don't need maintenance."

"So they don't go off if we crash against them."

Leo frowns. "Crash?"

Ara whistles and Nico jumps from the topmast, landing next to her quietly and swiftly. The girl turns Almighty into a sword. "It's normal to lose your footing while training."

Leo steps back in alarm, eyes widening and darting between Nico and her. "You're training here? Near my valuables?"

Nico snorts. "I can't fight Ara, we can't afford to lose any limbs at the moment."

The girl tosses the sword at Leo and he catches it on instinct. "You got this, Firecracker."

Nico unsheathes his sword and Leo looks over his shoulder nervously, eyes on the stairs. Ara clicks her tongue.

"You can't outrun us and you know it. C'mon, stand your ground!"

"I don't like swords!" He complains. "And why are you teaming up all of a sudden?"

"He's doing me a favor."

"I think it'll be funny to watch you panic until you get it right," Nico admits with a smirk.

"Hazel!" Leo shouts. "Zhang!"

Ara raises a brow. "Both of them want you to train as much as I do. And Frank won't save you."

"For all the wrong reasons," Nico nods.

Leo tries to appeal to her by being cute. "Doll, c'mon, I forge you weapons—"

"Oh, right!" Ara presses the hair tie around her wrist and once it becomes a shield she tosses it to Leo, who struggles to catch it now that he's holding her sword. "Now you're ready!"

"Where did you get that?" Nico eyes the shield with interest.

"Leo made it! It was my birthday present."

"I can make one to match your killer aesthetic, man," Leo offers. "Just put the blade of eternal damnation down..."

Nico ponders, worrying Ara for a second, then he shakes his head and lifts his sword slashing the air. "Nah."

He vaults at Leo, and the boy yelps and jumps out of his way, his dark curls burst into flames. "Jason, help!"

"No one's going to help you!" Ara raises her voice. "We all want you to get better! Who knows what my prophecy could bring? You want to help, right?"

He glares at her while Nico corners him against the mast. "Not fair, Ara!"

She shrugs, not even remotely sorry. "Neither is the curse."

Nico tries to hit Leo's head with the butt of his sword and Leo dodges him, but Nico trips him and Leo falls, dropping the shield and her sword.

"Fast reflexes, weak stance," Nico lowers his sword and offers a hand to pick him up.

"Fine," Leo makes a face, taking Nico's hand and getting up. He picks up the sword and the shield. "Just stay away from my fingers, I need them."

"Make sure I don't get close then," Nico replies, jabbing at him effortlessly.

Leo does his best to stop him with Ara's shield and strikes back, though poorly. It makes her proud anyway, he's trying and it brings her hope.

When Jason almost falls to his death while handling a hoard of Venti, he asks them to hold a meeting. He recounts his vision of Lily, Grover, and Rachel talking to Octavian and Reyna about the note Annabeth sent them.

"She's alive," Leo's arms are covered in the cuts he got during training. He's in no pain, Ara mended each wound with special care, and the boy loved every second of it. "Thank the gods and pass the hot sauce."

"What does that mean?" Frank makes a face.

"It means pass the hot sauce, Zhang. I'm still hungry." Leo rolls his eyes, shirt full of crumbs.

"I can't believe Reyna would try to find us," Frank continues, handing over the bottle to Leo. "It's taboo, coming to the ancient lands. She'll be stripped of her praetorship."

"If she lives," Hazel adds. "It was hard enough for us to make it this far with seven demigods, the daughter of Olympus, and a warship."

"And me." Hedge says proudly. "Don't forget, cupcake, you got the satyr advantage."

"How's Lily?" Ara asks.

Jason gives her a look. "She was close to stabbing Octavian, but Rachel kept her at a proper distance—apart from that she looks okay."

Ara watches Leo and cleans the corner of his lips with her thumb. "Lily hates being in charge..." she sighs heavily. "I've failed her."

"C'mon, Ara, you're doing all you can," Piper soothes her.

"It's not enough!" She complains. Leo clears his throat and Ara corrects herself. "Lily can't work like that, the closer she is to the action, the harder it is to see the whole picture. Reyna will have it worse, though, Romans work in teams exclusively and to be forced to travel alone..."

"Crossing the Atlantic is a hard journey, no doubt," Jason agrees. "But I'd never bet against Reyna. If anyone can make it, she will."

"Well, I'd love to see Reyna again," Piper says politely. "But how is she supposed to find us?"

"Can't you just send her an Iris-message?" Frank suggests.

"They're not working very well," Hedge sighs. "Horrible reception. Every night, I swear, I could kick that rainbow goddess..."

Everyone falls silent. Leo's voice turns playful. "Coach? Who have you been calling every night, you old goat?"

"No one! Nothing! I just meant—"

"He means we've already tried," Hazel interrupts him. Ara remembers Coach used to have a girlfriend back home, a nymph they met during their first quest. "Some magic is interfering... maybe Gaea. Contacting the Romans is even harder. I think they're shielding themselves."

"I don't suppose Reyna has a cell phone...? Nah. Never mind. She'd probably have bad reception on a pegasus flying over the Atlantic." Frank grumbles.

"She'll find us," Jason assures them. "She mentioned something in the dream—she's expecting me to go to a certain place on our way to the House of Hades. I—I'd forgotten about it, actually, but she's right. It's a place I need to visit."

"And where is this place?" Piper asks.

Jason's soul light suddenly flashes across the table, a dark blue that envelops his body and grows in intensity the more he looks at Piper. "A... uh, a town called Split."

Ara elbows Leo discretely but with urgency, he looks up in confusion and she gestures at Jason, a look of amusement on her face as she does. Leo watches the blond boy for a moment and snorts, understanding what she's exposing.

"Um, yeah." Jason blinks, trying to gather his thoughts. "In fact, we should be getting close. Leo?"

Leo nods with a shit-eating grin still on his face, then he presses the intercom. "How's it going up there, buddy?" Festus responds with a couple of clicks. "He says maybe ten minutes to the harbor—Though I still don't get why you want to go to Croatia, especially a town called Split. I mean, you name your city Split, you gotta figure it's a warning to, you know, split. Kind of like naming your city Get Out!"

"It could be called Care Bear Island and I would still not feel safe," she brushes the crumbs off his shirt. "And slow down with the chips, dude, look at yourself..."

"Wait," Hazel frowns. "Why are we going to Croatia?"

"Well, technically we've been in Croatian territory for the past day or so," Leo leans closer to Ara while she fixes his appearance. "All that coastline we've been sailing past is it, but I guess back in the Roman times it was called... what'd you say, Jason? Bodacious?"

"Dalmatia," Nico corrects him and Jason gives a start. Ara has a hard time not laughing and Nico tries just as hard not to make eye contact with her. "Croatia used to be Dalmatia, a major Roman province. You want to visit Diocletian's Palace, don't you?"

"Whose palace?" Hedge asks with alarm. "And is Dalmatia where those Dalmatian dogs come from? That 101 Dalmatians movie—I still have nightmares."

"Why would you have nightmares about that?" Frank questions.

"Nico is right," Jason interrupts before Hedge can respond. "I need to go to Diocletian's Palace. It's where Reyna will go first, because she knows I would go there."

"And why would Reyna think that? Because you've always had a mad fascination with Croatian culture?" Piper questions.

"Reyna and I used to talk about Diocletian," he explains. "We both kind of idolized the guy as a leader. We talked about how we'd like to visit Diocletian's Palace. Of course we knew that was impossible. No one could travel to the ancient lands. But still, we made this pact that if we ever did, that's where we'd go."

"Diocletian..." Leo tilts his head. "I got nothing. Why was he so important?"

"He was the last great pagan emperor!" Frank exclaims.

"Why am I not surprised you know that, Zhang?"

"Why wouldn't I? He was the last one who worshipped the Olympian gods, before Constantine came along and adopted Christianity."

"I remember something about that," Hazel ponders. "The nuns at St. Agnes taught us that Diocletian was a huge villain, right along with Nero and Caligula." She scowls at Jason. "Why would you idolize him?"

"He wasn't a total villain," Jason replies. "Yeah, he persecuted Christians, but otherwise he was a good ruler. He worked his way up from nothing by joining the legion. His parents were former slaves... or at least his mom was. Demigods know he was a son of Jupiter—the last demigod to rule Rome. He was also the first emperor ever to retire, like, peacefully, and give up his power. He was from Dalmatia, so he moved back there and built a retirement palace. The town of Split grew up around..."

Jason's gaze locks on Leo, who's pretending to write on his palm. "Go on, Professor Grace! I wanna get an A on the test."

"Shut up, Leo."

Ara laughs and Leo smiles at her reaction proudly, dragging his chair closer to her. He has been flirting at every opportunity and in front of everyone like he hasn't done in months, and she can tell he's overdoing it to make her forget their problem. She tries to resist it, but as usual, it's no use.

Piper brings them back to the subject. "So why is Diocletian's Palace so special?"

Nico grabs a grape and pops it in his mouth. "It's said to be haunted by the ghost of Diocletian."

"Who was a son of Jupiter, like me," Jason nods. "His tomb was destroyed centuries ago, but Reyna and I used to wonder if we could find Diocletian's ghost and ask where he was buried... well, according to the legends, his scepter was buried with him."

Nico smiles slightly. "Ah... that legend."

"What legend?" Hazel questions.

"Supposedly Diocletian's scepter could summon the ghosts of the Roman legions, any of them who worshipped the old gods."

"Okay, now I'm interested," Leo whistles lowly, his eyebrows raised. "Be nice to have a booty-kicking army of pagan zombies on our side when we enter the House of Hades."

"Not sure I would've put it that way," Jason sighs, "but yeah."

"We don't have much time," Frank reminds them. "It's already July ninth. We have to get to Epirus, close the Doors of Death—"

"Which are guarded," Hazel points out, "by a smoky giant and a sorceress who wants... Well, I'm not sure. But according to Pluto, she plans to 'rebuild her domain.' Whatever that means, it's bad enough that my dad felt like warning me personally."

"And if we survive all that, we still have to find out where the giants are waking Gaea and get there before the first of August," Frank groans. "Besides, the longer Percy and Annabeth are in Tartarus—"

"I know," Jason eases him. "We won't take long in Split. But looking for the scepter is worth a try. While we're at the palace, I can leave a message for Reyna, letting her know the route we're taking for Epirus."

"The scepter of Diocletian could make a huge difference," Nico concedes. "You'll need my help."

"Hey, sounds fun," Piper tries to step in. "I'll go, too."

"You can't, Piper," Nico reasons. "It should only be Jason and me. Diocletian's ghost might appear for a son of Jupiter, but any other demigods would most likely... ah, spook him. And I'm the only one who can talk to his spirit. Even Hazel won't be able to do that."

Something scalding pokes Ara in the back, like the red-hot pointy end of a spear, and she bolts forward. Her palms slam down on the table and everyone looks at her.

"Ara?" Hazel eyes her with concern. "All good?"

There is a presence in the room, and it wants her to join Jason and Nico. "I'm going with the boys."

Nico frowns. "Ara, I just said—"

"I know," the presence isn't talking but it feels like it's pushing down on, bending her back. "I'm not saying I'm a modern version of the Emperors but I'm the daughter of Olympus, so—"

"You're the leader of both camps," Jason finishes for her, understanding her point right away. "Greeks and Romans answer to you, yeah I see what you mean."

"So far that hasn't helped much," Nico mentions.

Ara glares at him."I think I hear hooves."

His face shifts, that's what they used to say to let each other know they were being heard. Usually, the code was used while talking about Connor and Lily, and the hooves referred to satyrs and nymphs, they like gossip a bit too much. Or Chiron, so they could run away before he could catch them in one of their childish competitions.

Festus rings the ship's bell and speaks through the loudspeaker in his usual machine language, distracting everyone from the weird stuff Ara just said.

"We've arrived," Leo announces. "Time to Split."

Frank makes a noise of annoyance and looks at Ara. "Can we leave Valdez in Croatia?"

"No," she smiles, getting up from her seat.

"'Cause you can't live without me?" Leo catches her wrist before she can go away and kisses her hand.

"You already know the answer."

Next Chapter –>

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twoidiotwriters1 · 4 months

Text

The Curse of Oenone (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: New year new book! Welcome back -Danny Words: 2,342 Series' Masterlist Previous Book // Next Chapter Listen to: 'How Far We've Come' -by Matchbox Twenty

I: No Thoughts, Head Empty

Nothing prepares you to be a leader. You can be born as one, or climb your way up, but you rarely fall flat on the spot. You don't want that to be your case, but it is mine.

I'm not the only one with a new job, Rachel Dare got a job as our new oracle. Apollo's there and everything, he even talks to me and says the next solstice is going to be fun now that I'll be there to report how I'm handling everything in the mortal world.

When Rachel gives us the next big prophecy, Chiron offers her a room in the Big House until they figure out where to put her. Then he turns to me. "Our Daughter of Olympus," he states gravely. "Let's talk."

Percy steps forward. "Chiron, she's my little sister. What is—?"

"I'm not little," I interrupt him. "I can look after myself."

"What?" He scowls. "That's not what I'm saying, Ara, you're too young to be a General."

I'm the same age he was when we explored the labyrinth and no one told him he was too young to do that! I was twelve myself, I'm experienced enough to do whatever I want.

Chiron gives Percy a look. "Ara is our General, Percy. If she's willing, you may ask her what her new rank entails, after we're done talking."

Never before had I been above Percy, I'm usually the one pushed out of the room. Things are about to be very different from what we're both used to.

Ara wakes up to people arguing on deck and she just had the worst talk of her life with Aphrodite. She has no time to process any of this, so she leaves her cabin and goes to the deck to see what's the commotion.

"Impossible!" Someone's yelling."Lay down your weapons and surrender! Leave my city immediately!"

"Which is it?" Leo taunts the stranger. "Surrender, or leave?"

"Both! Surrender, then leave. I am slapping your face for asking such a stupid question, you ridiculous boy! Do you feel that?"

"Wow," the boy continues. "You're wound up pretty tight. You got any gears in there that need loosening? I could take a look." Someone gets hit and Leo hisses.

Ara walks into the scene, still too drowsy to understand. "What's going on?"

Annabeth turns to her. "Strategus, this is the guardian of New Rome."

When her friend moves to the side, Ara realizes they've been talking to a statue. She has 1.5 seconds to accept this and nods at the bust. "You must be Terminus. I'm—"

"The Praetor's little sister," the statue isn't as rude when he talks to her. "The daughter of Olympus."

Ara frowns. "Did you just call my brother a Praetor?"

"Leo, stop the ship," Annabeth orders unexpectedly.

"What?"

She's looking over the railing. "You heard me. Keep us right where we are."

Leo looks at Ara for permission and she nods. They stop midway down, and Annabeth turns to the statue.

"Terminus, there's no rule against hovering over New Rome, is there?"

"Well, no..."

"We can keep the ship aloft," Annabeth explains. "We'll use a rope ladder to reach the forum. That way, the ship won't be on Roman soil. Not technically."

"Okay," Ara pipes in. "That's a safe middle ground for all of us. Terminus?"

"I like technicalities," he hums. "Still..."

"All our weapons will stay aboard the ship," Annabeth continues. "I assume the Romans—even those reinforcements marching toward us—will also have to honor your rules inside the Pomerian Line if you tell them to?"

"Of course! Do I look like I tolerate rule breakers?"

"Uh, girls..." Leo wavers. "You sure this is a good idea?"

Annabeth's face is telling her that no, she doesn't think this is a good idea and probably the rest can tell that too, so Ara steps in.

"If anything happens, we'll handle it like civilized people—and god."

"I suppose," the statue raises a brow. "For now. You may climb down your ladder to New Rome, Strategus. Please try not to destroy my town."

"Wouldn't dream of it," she places her compass on the god's platter.

Chiron guides me across the strawberry fields. Lily and Nico follow us from a distance.

"Are they you're official guard?" The centaur asks bemusedly.

"Lily's my second in command. Nico is just following Lily, but he doesn't support my decision, not entirely."

Chiron glances at them and then eyes me with uncertainty. "You're the first child of Olympus in this camp, I don't know what kind of responsibilities you'll have here, but I know what must be done at once."

"I'm listening."

"You'll remove your stuff from Cabin Ten and take them to the Big House before dinner."

"Oh. That means I won't eat with my siblings either?"

"You're the caretaker of camp now," he explains. "You'll sit with Mr. D and I."

"But I... I was supposed to be Cabin Ten's counselor," I continue hesitantly. "What about that?"

"The position goes to the person next in line. You're the caretaker of all the campers," he repeats patiently.

"What about my lessons? And the chores?"

"At the risk of hurting your friends' feelings," he makes a face, "that's beneath you. Now you watch over the barriers, the campers, and our oracle. That, and any quest the gods may give you. Could be a trip to pick up Zeus's suits from the dry cleaner, could be leading a war."

"But I'll still live with Percy and my parents, right?"

"If you want," he looks at me. "But it's not ideal, Ara."

I glance back at Lily, it'd be fun to be with her, but I would miss Percy and my parents. "I think I'll try New York if it's all the same to you."

"It's not. You're a priority, and must train twice as hard as everyone else."

"I already do that..." I mumble.

"What your friends taught you makes you a skillful demigod, but they didn't prepare you for bigger threats. That's my job."

I'm not going to contradict Chiron, he knows better than me. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Are you happy for me?" I shake my head. "No, scratch that, I know you're not. What I mean is... there's gotta be an upside to this, right?"

He ponders my question, circling back to the Big House. "What do you expect to get?"

"Nothing," I reply. "I'm half-hoping my friends will be left alone, that's it."

"What about you?"

I smile. "I'm just getting started."

"You might get tired faster this way."

"There's only one way to find out," I shrug. "When I was little, I didn't know what to do with my time, but I always enjoyed helping my friends. I think it's my calling."

Chiron looks at me funny when I say that, but he doesn't question me. Lily and Nico are waiting for me near the end of the fields, and the centaur stops right before we reach them.

"Meet me at Apollo's cabin after you move. They'll need your help there, some of our campers will arrive in shrouds."

I get an unpleasant feeling at the thought, but being a General means I have to look after my army... and give them a proper farewell too.

Ara's wearing her cloak, and before leaving the ship she glimpsed into her dino bag and found her laurel crown in there. Lily must've packed it for her, but she doesn't know if it was to upset her or not. Ara has opted to hang it on her belt. She'd feel stupid wearing it, like a kid showing off, although she's feeling like a freak either way.

The Roman crowd points fingers and whispers when she walks past them. The statue mentioned Percy was a praetor now, if her brother's in charge, maybe they're looking forward to meeting her...

When she reaches the end of the road, she spots a girl with a purple cape just like hers. Ara's not impressed by the stranger, but surprised, because she recognizes her.

"It's you!"

Reyna's brows knit together. "Do I know you?"

Ara chuckles. "It's okay if you don't remember me," she offers to shake the praetor's hand. "You taught me how to do boxer braids!"

Reyna steps back, eyes widening. "You? But... Percy said you're his sister!" The girl exclaims, now with a bit of outrage. "You told me you didn't have a family!"

"Percy's mom adopted me the summer I met you," Ara grins.

"You've changed," Reyna's in distress, but Ara doesn't have time to ask why, because Percy decides to show up then.

He's acting like this is a party and he just happened to get there earlier than them. Ara's insides decompress when she sees him, but she barely manages to open her mouth when Annabeth rushes past and kisses him in front of everyone.

Ara diverts her gaze when the scarlet flash goes off. Without warning, Annabeth throws Percy to the ground and whispers something through gritted teeth. Percy laughs while Annabeth is still choking him.

"That's normal," Ara informs Reyna with a smile, "don't worry, Annabeth won't attack anyone else."

Jason clears his throat. "It's good to be back." He introduces everyone but leaves Ara to the very end. "This is our Strategus, Ara Jackson. I think you know her?"

"The daughter of Olympus," Reyna eyes her, serious and calculating. "The leader of all mortal armies."

Ara fixes her posture to look confident and excited. "Yes. I'm here to be your Praetor adjacent."

The people around them make noises of contempt that both, Reyna and Ara ignore. Reyna holds out her hand, and Ara shakes it.

"Welcome to New Rome, General. Centurions!" The girl raises her voice. "Tell the legion to stand down. Dakota, alert the spirits in the kitchen. Tell them to prepare a welcome feast. And, Octavian—"

"You're letting these intruders into the camp?" A boy that looks like a terminally-ill version of Luke interrupts her. "Reyna, the security risks—"

"We're not taking them to the camp, Octavian," Reyna drops Ara's hand, but the girl still senses a wave of dislike from her as she talks to Octavian. "We'll eat here, in the forum."

"Oh, much better," he replies sarcastically. "You want us to relax in the shadow of their warship."

"Our warship is as harmless..." Ara glances at the plushies hanging from his belt. "As a teddy bear, if it's left alone. The ship was made to protect us from the threats outside your borders, that's all."

"These are our guests." Reyna nods in agreement. "We will welcome them, and we will talk to them. As Augur, you should burn an offering to thank the gods for bringing Jason back to us safely and for bringing a child of Olympus to make us stronger."

"Good idea," Percy adds. "Go burn your bears, Octavian."

Reyna gestures at the blond guy before walking away. "You have my orders. Go."

The girl starts to walk in the direction of a building, but Ara stays behind and approaches her brother and Annabeth. As the crowd disperses, Percy holds Annabeth's hand and squeezes it.

"Don't worry about Octavian. Most of the Romans are good people—like Frank and Hazel here, and Reyna. We'll be fine."

Ara looks at the kids Percy is pointing at: they're the demigods of her dreams. She steps forward, the speech she's rehearsed about a thousand times spilling out faster than she can make sense of it.

"Percy, it's been so long, and I know—"

The boy pulls Ara in a bear hug. He's taller and stronger than he used to be, his skin looks darker thanks to the weeks spent under the sun, and his hair is longer as well, it's like a whole cooler version of Percy, which makes her feel a bit of a dork.

He kisses the top of her head. "You got bangs now! They make you look like a middle schooler, that's funny."

Ara's a little annoyed that he's talking and treating her this way in front of others. "Yeah..."

She holds him by the shoulders to take a proper look. Ara spots the SPQR tattoo on his forearm, identical to Jason's except for the trident. She can't help feeling the Romans marked him like cattle, and she dislikes that, so she focuses on the purple cloak around his shoulders instead.

"Praetor?" Ara raises a brow. "You just can't let me have one thing..."

He laughs. "I'm sorry, Birdy. I tried to suck, but they loved me right away."

Ara's been called Birdy all this time, but it was Percy who came up with the nickname in the first place, so hearing it from him hits differently after all these months of not hearing his voice. The girl cups his face and beams. "I missed you tons, you jerk."

Percy playfully flicks her nose and then goes back to Annabeth, holding her hand as he starts walking. "C'mon, I wanna show you around..."

Ara sees them holding hands while glowing scarlet and remembers they're not done with the introductions yet. "Wait! There's someone I want you to meet—"

"Later," he says distractedly. "Come, they've got an elephant and—"

"Percy," she presses. "This can't wait."

Her brother seems a little confused but smiles anyway. "Alright. Who is it?"

Ara looks over her shoulder and smiles at Leo a few feet away, he'd stayed behind waiting for her. She encourages him to approach, and when he does, she holds his hand. "Leo, this is my brother Percy. Percy, this is Leo Valdez, my boyfriend."

Percy's smile fades, and so does the joy in his eyes.

"Hi, man!" Leo grins, which only makes him look even more dangerous from Percy's point of view. He reminds him of the Stolls. "Ara was worried sick about you for months, I'm glad you're okay."

The older boy stares at Leo, which is not great because he doesn't have a gentle gaze. He looks downright murderous, and Leo tries very hard to act like he isn't scared shitless.

"Boyfriend?" Percy turns to Annabeth, his voice full of concern.

Annabeth holds back a smile. "I'll explain. Ara, you two go ahead, Reyna's waiting for you."

Ara doesn't argue, now that the worst has passed she wants some alone time with Leo to tell him about what Aphrodite told her.

She looks at her brother with what she hopes is a confident smile. "I'm really happy you're back, Nemo."

Something about the way he keeps looking at Leo makes Ara feel like he knows something she doesn't. Right now, however, she's got more important things to figure out.

Next Chapter ->

Taglist.

#twoidiots writing #pjo #percy jackson #leo valdez x oc #leo valdez fanfic #doo #pjo fanfic #pjo hoo toa #pjo fandom #heroes of olympus

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