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ghostwriter-of-silly-things · 4 months

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Item: Doubt

Word Count: 3,216

Warnings: small mention of throwing up

I'm not sure how long I stayed in that corner trying to get over whatever craziness had overtaken me. Hugging my knees into my chest for what felt like hours, I managed to steady my breathing and slow the shaking to minimum.

So, I probably wasn't going to die here. My rational brain seemed to be returning -- and decided to act like nothing had happened, because whatever the hell that was I certainly did not want to delve into right now. Or at all. These things get better if you leave them alone, right? I never had been one to think too hard about things like that. It wasn't going to start now.

For a few minutes I debated just staying pressed into the corner the entire night. It was surprisingly comfortable, and I didn't have to interact with the person who had just seen me be all... weird. Luck, however, was not on my side, and as I sat through an internal argument, Leo appeared around the corner. He wasn't close, but was doing his best to not look at me, although the furtive glances in my direction weren't well hidden. Struggling to reach a tool on a high shelf, he huffed in frustration, and opted to drag over and climb a not very stable-looking stool. It buckled when he put the slightest weight on it, and I sighed and shakily pulled myself up.

Leo protested slightly as I pushed him away. "Hey! I was fine getting it myself, you know!"

"If fine means a fractured skull, then sure."

It had been a long and arduous night for Leo. Only really a long one for me, having I knew precisely no way to help, so I just kind of supervised until I apparently fell asleep on one of Festus' feet. Probably the result of sheer exhaustion and warmth, a dangerous combination.

I was, however, well versed in the names of tools for a gardener, as Leo had put it, and had occasionally thrown handed him some of the more tricky to reach items in the process. Being tall had its uses. Unfortunately, as I wasn't actually that tall, I still ended up using the wobbly step stool. He chose not to say anything about that.

Leo had opted to skirt nervously around the topic of my... incident, and had avoided most conversation on pain of combustion due to embarrassment. Thank the gods for that, or else I would probably have done something similar. He seemed rather more awkward around me when we interacted, which was fine, but when he got into the groove he barely registered my existence. Also preferred.

I was woken, presumably in the morning, as I couldn't tell due to the lack of anything remotely like a window, by a drowsy but ecstatic Leo shaking me awake like the world was ending. Which it probably would in three days. Happy thoughts. Leo looked oily and charred and overall very messy, although somehow happy? His eyes sparkled with hope and innocence and all the crap new demigods had. Kids these days.

I myself probably looked like a dishevelled badger, but all I did in way of changing that was to push my brown curls off my forehead - which had been freed after the bandana tried to make its escape during the night - and retie the offending article over them, with a few curls that had escaped my hand poking out the front. No time to try and fix whatever had happened.

Somehow, in the hour I had been awake, I had managed to have another mini heart attack about being trapped in a cave, saved Leo from nearly drowning in the stream outside and a mechanical dragon ride, during which I had thrown up for the millionth time this week. As of now it was not going so well.

"Leo!" Someone shouted from below. I didn't know who it was, but the camp alarm -- a conch horn -- blew. Satyrs ran around screaming in Festus's shadow, and half the camp ran outside to see what the commotion was about.

Absolutely no warning was given when Leo tipped the dragon down into a shaky landing, causing me yelp and have to latch on to the front of Leo's shirt. We set down in front of the cabins, and after seeing the archers Leo yelled, "It's cool! Don't shoot!"

Hesitantly, the archers lowered their bows, warriors backed away uncertainly, and a loose ring was formed around the dragon and its riders.

Festus reared and shot a column of fire into the sky, and my hold on Leo tightened as I nearly fell down the dragon's back. After he finished his over dramatic show, Leo and I slid off his back.

Leo held up his hands. "People of Earth, I come in peace!" He shouted. "Festus is just saying hello!"

I side eyed him and raised an eyebrow, then shook my head. I was just happy to be back on the nice firm ground which I at least knew wasn't going to collapse under me.

"That thing is dangerous!' An Ares girl shouted. It was Clarisse. "Kill it now!"

"Stand down!" Jason ordered. He pushed through the crowd, but Clarisse was still making signs of violence.

"Clarisse, really, it's fine." I told her. She regarded me with scepticism, but lowered her electric spear.

"Leo, what have you done?" Jason stared at the dragon in wondering and amazement.

"Found a ride!" Leo beamed. "You said I could go on the quest if I got you a ride. Well, I got you a class-A metallic flying bad boy! Festus can take us anywhere!"

I leaned over and whispered I was going to go and talk to someone, then made my way over to Clarisse. Her expression was frigid, but she sheepishly held out a backpack for him to take. "For your quest. Ambrosia, Nectar, rations, a few changes of clothes, and those British things you like.... uh, Twigs?"

I grinned widely, taking the pack. "You got Twiglets? Wow, thank you. Where in the god's names did you get these?"

"The Stolls run an underground food ring. People get really snacky after training. They get good money."

"Huh. Good for them, I guess?" We stopped talking for a bit, not sure what to say.

Clarisse looked over to the dragon. "You should get going. Don't want to delay doomsday any longer."

"I- uh, yeah." I began to turn away but she caught my arm.

"Oi. Plant boy," She paused, rubbing a hand to the back of her neck. "Don't... don't die on me, okay? I don't want to be violently haunted for not protecting you. I have enough to deal with."

I smiled at the sentiment. "Whatever."

Clarisse grunted, but let me go.

I half-walked, half-ran back over to where Leo, Piper and Jason were standing, and just caught the end of a conversation.

"You bet," Piper said with a small smile directed at Jason.

I had quickly found out that there were leather safety harnesses and chinks in Festus's armour that could be used as stirrups, and consequently smacked Leo upside the head for not telling me the first time we rode the death-trap dragon.

"Seriously Leo, you miss that out, of all the things!"

Up high, the air was freezing cold, and I was almost worried about being blasted out the sky by Zeus, a very real problem caused by certain circumstances I was not about to discuss with anyone right now, but it was slightly diminished by Jason, because he was his son. Not that it made much difference, but I guessed Zeus would be more protective of his spawn, given he had so little now.

The dragon generated at least a metric ton of heat, so the freezing cold wasn't that big of a deal either.

They sat in single file: Leo in front, then me, then Piper and Jason. I was constantly aware of the awkward tension between the two behind, and I was glad I didn't have to watch them and silently cringe myself to death.

Leo was steering, obviously, and it seemed like he had been doing it all his life. He was a natural. The one thing you could say about him was that he had fixed Festus up pretty well, because soon the coast of Long Island was just a hazy line behind us. We shot over the ground below and climbed into the grey winter clouds.

Leo turned and grinned back at us. "Cool, right!"

"What if we get spotted?" Piper asked.

"The Mist," Jason answered. "It keeps mortals from seeing magic things. If they spot us, they'll probably mistake us for a small plane or something."

"You sure about that?" Piper asked over her shoulder to Jason.

"Well, from what I've heard about him, Percy Jackson has been the the vicinity of a serious number of bomb detonations and gas leaks, so, who's to say," I answered for him, as he hadn't looked too sure. "I remember once my sword was mistaken for a garden spade I think."

I paused, confused. "Wait -- planes?"

"You have a sword? Where?" Leo questioned me excitedly.

"First of all, I'm not telling you until I have to use it, and secondly, you'd probably run yourself through with it accidentally if I so much as let you look at it."

"Harsh."

"But true." I intoned. I'd have to ask later.

A moment passed in silence, then Jason said, "We're making good time. Probably get there by tonight."

"Where are we headed?" Piper asked.

"To find the god of the North Wind," Jason said. "And chase some storm spirits."

"Shut up, me," Leo said aloud.

"What?" Piper asked.

"Nothing. Long night. I think I'm hallucinating. It's cool."

It certainly was not cool. Who did Leo think he was? Bloody Superman or something? One thing I knew, I absolutely wasn't about to let him drive the dragon for much longer. Gods, I should have realised sooner. Leo was just finished working when I awoke.

"Just joking," Leo changed the subject. "So what's the plan, bro? You said something about catching wind, or breaking wind, or something?"

Jason laid out the plan as they flew over... another part of America. I wasn't too good with place names. Like, at all.

So, first, we find Boreas, and grill him for information -

"His name is Boreas? What is he, the God of Boring?"

I had to physically restrain myself from hitting him off the damned dragon.

Second, Jason continued, they had to find the venti that had attacked the other three at the Grand Canyon, which I had to be quickly caught up on, and -

"Can we just call them storm spirits?" Leo asked. "Venti makes them sound like evil espresso drinks."

I had no idea what that was about.

Third and finally, Jason finished, they had to find out who the storm spirits worked for, so they could find Hera and free her.

"So you want to look for Dylan, the nasty storm dude, on purpose. The guy who threw me off he skywalk and sucked Coach Hedge into the clouds?"

Now that brought me back to reality, and something finally clicked down in the deep, dark, dingy recesses in the back of my mind. "Coach Hedge? As in, last name Hedge?"

"What, do you know him? Did he bring you to camp, or something?" Jason asked.

"... Something like that. It's, uh, a bit more complicated than that."

"What, are you guys on like, first name terms or something?" Leo cut in.

"No? I just- it's nothing." I tried to change the subject quickly. "So the plan -- is that it?"

"That's about it," Jason confirmed. "Well... there may be a wolf involved too. But I think she's friendly. She probably won't eat us, unless we show weakness."

I would have done a spit take, if I had anything to spit - my mouth had suddenly gone very dry. My theory was... well, it was there, and I didn't like the implications. Jason proceeded to tell us about his dream - the big nasty mother wolf and a burnt-out house with stone spires growing out of the swimming pool.

"Uh-huh," Leo said. "But you don't know where this place is."

"Nope," Jason admitted.

"There are also giants," Piper added. "The prophecy said the giants' revenge."

"Hold on," Leo said. "Giants - like more than one? Why can't it just be one giant who wants revenge?"

"In the old Greek myths, there was quite a few of them. At least twelve, to oppose each Olympian, and they're no peace of cake to defeat. Probably an army out there as well. Great Prophecies aren't all that peachy." I said darkly.

"Great," Leo muttered. "Of course, with our luck, it's an army. So you know anything else about these giants? Piper, you as well. Didn't you do a bunch of myth research for that movie with your dad?"

"You dad's an actor?" Jason sounded as shocked as I felt.

Leo laughed. "I keep forgetting about your amnesia. Heh. Forgetting about amnesia. That's funny. But, yeah, her dad's an actor."

"Uh - Sorry, what was he in?"

"It doesn't matter." Piper said quickly.

"Gods, I hope he wasn't in that Troy movie. With, uh..." I trailed off, struggling to remember the actor's names.

"Brad Pitt?" Leo answered for him.

"Sure. It was truly the worst thing I had the displeasure of seeing. Honestly, Achilles and Patroclus, cousins? Hollywood really needs to fact check."

"No," Piper said with a smile in her voice. "He wasn't. Anyway, the giants - well, there were lots of giants in Greek mythology. But if we're thinking of the right ones they were bad news. Huge, and, yeah, almost impossible to kill. They could throw mountains and stuff. I think they were related to the Titans. They rose from the earth after Kronos lost the war - I mean the first Titan war, thousands of years ago - and they tried to destroy Olympus. If we're talking about the same giants -"

"Chiron said it was happening again," Jason remembered. "The last chapter. That's what he meant. No wonder he didn't want us to know the details."

"So... giants who can throw mountains. Friendly wolves who will eat us if we show weakness. Evil espresso drinks. Gotcha. Maybe this isn't the time to mention my psycho babysitter."

"Is that another joke?" Piper asked.

It was not a joke. Leo told us about Tía Callida, who was really Hera, and how she'd appeared to him at camp. Well, I thought, at least he isn't completely crazy. He told us about how his mum died, the machine shop she owned collapsing on her.

And he told us about the strange woman in earthen robes who seemed to be asleep, and seemed to know the future. I felt sick to my stomach. This was not going to be a great prophecy.

Some time went before anyone spoke. A long time.

"That's... disturbing," Piper said.

"'Bout sums it it," Leo agreed. "Thing is, everybody says don't trust Hera. She hates demigods. And the prophecy said we'd cause death if we unleash her rage. So I'm wondering... why are we doing this?"

"She chose us," Jason said. "All four of us. We're the first of the eight who have to gather for the Great Prophecy. The quest is the beginning of something much bigger."

Somehow I doubted I was going to make it far enough to be involved in the 'something bigger' aspect of the Great Prophecy. I wondered absentmindedly about the other demigods in the prophecy. What were they doing right now?

"Besides," Jason continued, "helping Hera is the only way I can get back my memory. And that dark spire in my dream seemed to be feeding on Hera's energy. If that thing unleashes a king of giants but destroying Hera -"

"Not a good trade-off," Piper agreed. "At least Hera is on our side." I snorted at the comment. "Mostly. Losing her would throw the gods into chaos. She's the main one who keeps peace in the family. And a war with the giants could be even more destructive that the Titan war."

"And you know, even the first time round it was smooth bloody sailing." I muttered.

Jason chose to ignore the comment and nodded at Piper's statement. "Chiron also talked about worse forces stirring on the solstice, with it being a good time for dark magic and all - something that could awaken of Hera were sacrificed on that day. And the mistress who's controlling the storm spirits, the one who wants to kill all the demigods -"

"Might be that weird sleeping lady," Leo finished. "Dirt woman fully awake? Not something I want to see."

"I'd hate to inflate your ego here, but Leo's right," I said. "She isn't good news. I... I've seen her too. Right before my dad and my grandma- right before they- she died. I never saw him again."

"... But, who is she?" Jason asked, choosing to steer away from more conversations about death. "And what does she have to do with giants?"

No one had an answer to that. I wondered if I'd done the right thing, telling them about my encounter with... 'sleeping dirt lady' so suddenly. I didn't even know why I'd said anything. It had just come out. I shuddered at the memory and hoped no one could see the involuntary movement.

In front of me, Leo was shaking, and I suspected not just from the cold. Talking about the night his mother died definitely wouldn't have been easy. All I had said was that they died, and even that...

As Festus flew over America, the wind got colder and harsher, and the snowy forests below us seemed to go on forever. I couldn't help myself from staring down at the treetops dusted with white -- I had never seen snow in real life before, and, granted, it was however many feet below me, but it was still something of an achievement. I hoped Festus knew where they were going - Quebec, was it? He'd just been told to go north. We could end up anywhere if he didn't.

"Why don't you get some sleep?" Piper said to Leo and I. "Leo, you were up all night, and I don't know about you, Benjamin, but you look pretty tired."

"You won't let me fall off?" Leo asked, exhaustion evident in his voice.

Piper patted his shoulder. "Trust me, Valdez. Beautiful people never lie."

"Right," Leo muttered, then leaned over the warm bronze of Festus's neck.

"Don't crash us," I murmured sleepily, then promptly fell into an unprompted nap where I was sitting. Clearly I hadn't been listening when my brain said I needed rest.

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#pjo #pjo hoo toa #pjo fandom #pjo series #pjo fanfic #hoo #hoo fandom #hoo fanfic #demigods #percy jackson #percy jackson fanfiction #heroes of olympus #heroes of olympus fanfiction #leo valdez x oc #jason grace x oc #poly fanfic #angst #angst with a happy ending #slow burn

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sassy-thalia-grace · 3 years

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It’s time for a new episode of Anna Obsessing over Small Bob!!

The series that only I like but I continue anyway lol

I made an interesting discovery that led to an even more interesting headcanon. Enjoy.

So according to the Small Bob page on Riordan Wiki, Atlas is his creator (and the creator if his entire species). Since Atlas is the son of Iapetus, that means that Small Bob is Bob’s grand… skeleton cat? Idek but just remember that.

So here’s my headcanon: Bob puts Small Bob in the elevator with Annabeth and Percy and all three of them get out of Tartarus. Percy and Annabeth do their best to protect him, but they get separated. Somehow, he makes his way to Indianapolis, where he befriends a totally random metal dragon and his passengers. Calypso absolutely refuses to leave him behind, so he goes with them to the Waystation.

While Leo and Festus are busy flying to Camp Jupiter and Apollo/Lester, Meg and Grover are having fun getting torched in the maze, Calypso is studying and making battle plans in Indy. Her favorite subject to study is astronomy & astrology, and every clear night she is on the rooftop of the Waystation staring at the stars with Small Bob. Eventually she finds out about her grandfather and Zoë and her stargazing and Small Bob become even more important to her.

#calypso #small bob #bob #iapetus #leo valdez #festus #happy the dragon

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luna-writes-stuff · 2 years

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End of the Day, Leo Valdez

Fanfic, gender neutral! reader

Fluff, hurt/comfort

Word count: 1709

Tw: Bit aged up. Leo lives with you now. Mentions of a fight with a monster. Description of blood and wounds, though it’s not life threatening. Description of a big bruise. Tad bit of nakedness, but it isn’t really mentioned as it kind of speaks for itself? Pure fluff. Not proofread.

Summary: When Leo takes too long to come back from his workshop, you grow worried. Even more when he doesn’t return his calls. So the second he shows up at your doorstep, obviously injured from yet another fight, you immediately take it upon yourself to get him cleaned and taken care of. But all Leo really wants to do is lie down with you.

Three hours. Three hours had gone by since Leo claimed he was going to his workshop to pick up his product. Three hours.

He had been so happy to finally have it finished, that he ran home to you, completely forgetting to show you his project at all. So he had decided to run back to his place, getting the ‘fun-sized’ Festus he had been so excited about.

But it has been three hours. And the drive from your place to his workshop is barely fifteen minutes. You had tried calling him on the phone he made you years ago, but he hadn’t made the intention to pick it up yet. Even your texts went unread. And after three hours of waiting, dread had begun to settle in. You would’ve ran towards his workshop, had it not been for the fact he took the car, and you were supposed to watch dinner.

You had paced in the living room anxiously. You had called Piper to contact Leo for you, but after she told you she would call you again when he found her, you never heard from her again. And it worried you to no end. What if she had found them and now both of them are dead?

Footsteps outside on your porch ripped you from your thoughts. You all but sprinted towards the door, throwing it open, to come face to face with a battered Leo. His body was littered with cuts and bruises, yet his face shone proudly, holding up a little Festus for you to see.

“What happened?” You gasped, completely ignoring the iron build in his hands. Instead, you grabbed his arm, ushering him in as you cast a quick look outside, making sure no one had seen him.

“Ran into some trouble on the way back.” Leo explained, setting the small dragon on one of the tables in the hall, twirling his head in pain.

“But it’s alright now. They’re gone. Piper brought me home safe.” He justified.

“How can you be so cool about this?” You scolded, running towards the kitchen to grab a few painkillers. Leo followed your steps obediently, already grabbing a cup of water for himself, knowing exactly what you were doing.

“Look at your arms!” You exclaimed, gesturing towards them. Both of his arms were bleeding, though not excessively. Just enough to make you grow worried.

You quickly handed him the pills, waiting for him to swallow them quickly. Your head spun at his state. Sure, he had come home bruised before, but not like this; his clothes were torn, the blood was staining his shirt and his face was covered in dirt.

“You need a bath.” You pointed out, not giving him room to complain. As you rushed towards the bathroom, not sparing Leo a second look, you grabbed a handful of towels and your first aid kit, laying it out in front of the tub, before running the water.

“Amor….” Leo tried, yet again, following you shortly, trailing behind you like some sort of helpless puppy.

“Get in the tub.” You ordered, sitting down on top of the toilet, opening the first aid kid.

“Please…” He soothed once more, but you were having none of it. Not again.

“In.” You repeated, glaring at the boy.

Leo sighed in defeat, struggling to get off his boots. His back was obviously aching, and from as far as you could see, his arms weren’t doing a tremendous job in reaching for his feet. You frowned at the sight, guilt flushing through you. Of course, you had been hard on him, but only because you grew worried. You had to stay strong for yourself.

But as Leo let out a groan upon meeting with his feet, you stood up, walking towards him. Wordlessly, you knelt down, reaching for his shoes as you began to untie them.

“I got it.” Leo began to protest, but you merely shook your head.

“Just see if you can get rid of your shirt.”

With a final sigh, the boy reached for his shirt, throwing it over his head before unbuttoning his blouse. You winced a you notice the white fabric lightly tainted red. Nothing to terrible that it was leaking out, but it was obviously there were wounds under there too. No matter how little.

When you were done with his shoes you stood back up, testing the small layer of water in the tub, adjusting the temperature slightly so it would be comfortable enough for Leo. However - as the boy sank in - steam erupted from the water, a hot sizzling followed shortly after. Of course he would warm up the water himself.

“What hurts the most?” You asked, already grabbing a towel to scrub the dirt off.

“It’s not as terrible as it looks.” Leo defended.

“What hurts the most?” You wondered once again, throwing the towel under the streaming water. Leo remained quiet for a while, before adjusting his seat, gesturing towards his back.

You took his silent hint, walking towards the other side of the tub so you could face his spine. And upon seeing it, you could immediately understand why it hurt the most. An almost green bruise had already started to form at the exact center of his back, the spot huge, and obviously incredibly uncomfortable.

“I’ll be gentle.” You assured, leaning in with the towel to softly scrub the dirt off, doing your best to avoid his bruise.

For a while, you were convinced you were doing well. Up until your arms refused to reach the higher part of his back, the tub removing his body too far for you to reach. You couldn’t ask him to lean back. Not after he made it clear his back is exactly that what hurts the most. So, without another second of hesitation, you got into the tub behind him, not bothering to remove your clothes. Something you probably should have had, considering the annoying cloning of denim to your bare legs, but you would ignore it for the time being.

The water was not yet high enough to come to your waist, much to your relief, so you could easily work with the rest. An occasional hiss would escape from the boy in front of you, but other than that, everything appeared to be going well.

“Will you turn around?” You asked carefully, resting your hand on his side to make sure he wouldn’t bump into the tub itself.

Leo obediently followed your requests, closing his eyes tightly when his hand briefly bumped into the faucet. When you came face to face with him, your eyes scanned his body, taking in all the new formed cuts.

“Where should I start?” You offered, trying to offer him some sort of smile, just to assure him you weren’t angry at him.

“Doesn’t matter.” He uttered, reaching for a second towel, but you stopped him halfway.

“Just let me do this.” You pleaded, forcing his arm down with yours. Leo nodded doubtfully, but let you proceed nonetheless.

“I’m sorry.” He spoke after a moment of silence. You had been quietly cleaning his arms, but he hadn’t said anything until that moment.

“It’s not your fault.” You reassured, offering him a quick smile, though it fell the second you returned to the scrapes on his arm.

“I know.” He confided. “But I worry you constantly. And I shouldn’t.”

“It is in the demi-god deal, isn’t it?” You tried, gently running over one open wound, holding the skin under it as softly as you could manage.

“Right.” Leo admitted, resting his head on top of yours. Not completely convenient, but appreciated nevertheless.

“But I just want you to feel positive in me being alright all the time. Even if I can’t always be.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that.” You admitted, halting your movements momentarily.

“I know.” Leo sighed. “That’s why it hurts.”

And with that, you dropped the towel in the tub, reaching for his face with both your hands, now making eye contact with him.

“I worry, Leo. Of course I do. I’d be a pretty shitty partner if I didn’t.” You explained. “But none of us are in the wrong here. You didn’t ask to be hunted down by monsters every day and I didn’t ask to worry about your well-being. It just happens.”

“But you did chose to be with me.” He mumbled, letting his head fall against one of your hands.

“And it is a decision I would make again in a heartbeat.” You decided. “So stop apologizing.”

Leo merely nodded at your words, letting his forehead connect with yours, briefly closing his eyes.

“Okay.” He whispered. “I won’t.”

“Good.” You returned, your voice equally hushed. “Now, let me continue my work.”

Yet, as your hand reached for your towel, it connected with another hand, instead of the fabric you were hoping for.

“No.” Leo spoke, squeezing your hand, before resting them around your waist.

“Give me a moment.” He mumbled, before forcing you to rest your back against the tub, his body now covering yours. A silent thanks to the water for not being that high yet passed through your head, yet the feeling of your shirt and pants clinging your body were nowhere near comfortable.

But Leo’s body had been so warm, and his relief was basically flowing through your body too. So you refused to object, simply letting him lay there for a moment. His head found your chest, his eyes closing in comfort, while his hands not once left your middle. Though his curls were filled with grease, thanks to the day in the workshop, you decided to let it slip, relishing in his hold instead. You’d lay with him like this for as long as he would allow it. If he would have asked you to run to the ends of the earth to make him feel comfortable, you would have.

And it was insane, of course, but it was simply how it worked. So if he decided that he preferred laying in a half filled tub with you instead of actually getting cleaned, you would run along with it.

And that was how perhaps the rest of the night was spent. Both of you doing nothing, but simply laying there, getting the rest both of you had needed so hard the entire day. You would help him with his injuries when he found the time was right for it. And if he said that was not now, it was not now.

#christmas week with luna #luna writes #riordanverse #Rick riordan #toa #trials of apollo #hoo #heroes of olympus #leo valdez #leo valdez imagine #leo valdez X reader

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sunpirate · 3 years

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A fanfic of the aftermath of that part in the Burning Maze, but from another perspective

——

Piper didn’t know how much time had passed. She didn’t know how she ended up back in their dark, empty living room, or when her screams and cries faded into blank stares and ragged breaths.

She slid down the wall and onto the hardwood floor, too numb and exhausted to care about the pain from her injuries. The flashing lights outside told her an ambulance had arrived. Her dad’s voice emerged from a distance telling the medics what had happened, and they all rushed down to the beach - where he laid.

Piper brought her knees close to her chest and buried her head in her arms. Images of his last moments flashed behind her eyelids: him meditating inside the storm cage, his final fight with that damned emperor, his brilliant blue eyes locking onto hers for the last time, telling her all the things he was not given enough time to put into words. But one message was clearer than most - I’m sorry.

Then she was whisked away, unable to hear her own screams that were drowned by the winds of the storm spirit carrying her.

It wasn’t fair. There was still so much they needed to talk about. There was still so much he wanted to do. They were supposed to see Leo again together. He was supposed to live long and happy life with his family and friends, a life he deserved as one of the greatest heroes of Olympus. It wasn’t fair.

Piper felt another wave of emotions coursing through her body, but before it could crash, a soft gust of wind followed by movement in front of her caught her attention.

In the darkness of the living room, where the only lights were from the orange street lamps outside and the red and blue flashes of the ambulance, Piper could make out a pale hand offering her small cube.

“Take it,” a voice in the dark said. It sounded tired, but vaguely familiar. “It’s not going to heal everything, but it’ll at least heal your wounds.”

Piper took a closer look at the cube - ambrosia. She took it gingerly in her bruised hand, still unable to make out the face hidden in the shadows. Why was his voice so familiar?

The ambrosia took her back to her very first mission, when she, Leo, and Jason ate those sandwiches on Festus’ back, soaring above Quebec city lights. It felt like so long ago, when flying on that dragon with her friends was the most dangerous, most exciting thing she had ever done in her life. She almost chuckled at her own naïvety.

Now she was alone, battered and broken in all the ways you could think of, heart colder and emptier than the house she was in, aching so badly to feel the warmth of the people she loved once more.

But the figure in the dark was still there. He stepped closer to her into what dim light could enter the room, giving Piper a clearer view of his face. And after it registered to her who this person was, she could only give him a small, humorless laugh, too drained to put her guard up, or to be surprised, or to even run away.

He looked drastically different from when they last saw each other. His usual carefully-styled Elvis hair had grown out and lay disheveled across his head, his deep-set stormy eyes peeking through thick bangs. He was a lot less bulky and seemed to have gotten skinnier and paler. Instead of football jerseys, he now was wearing a black long-sleeved button-up shirt with his jeans, with a couple of buttons left undone at the neck as if it were hastily thrown on without any care for what it looked like. The smug expression he had always worn had disappeared, and it seemed like it had been gone for a while.

“What do you want, Dylan?” Piper says dryly, voice coarse from her screams.

The storm spirit sank down next to her, his expression unreadable. He propped his elbows up on his knees and started playing with a small coin in his hands. Their shoulders brushed lightly.

“You looked pathetic. Thought you could use some company.”

Piper scoffed. She found it hard to believe that this monster who had once tried to kill them had suddenly cared about her. “Cut the crap, ventus. Why are you really here?”

The storm spirit sighed, and Piper felt the temperature around her drop just the slightest.

“He called for me. Who do you think carried you out that ship in the first place?”

Piper’s mind swam. “I- I don’t… Tempest brought us out-“

“Storm spirits can only carry one person at a time. At least, any more than our own bodily mass will just fall right through us.”

She was too disoriented by the events that happened to pay proper attention to when she was dragged out of Caligula’s ship, but as Piper looked back, she couldn’t recall being whisked away with Lester anywhere near her.

“But I don’t think he knew that.” Dylan leaned his head back on the cold wall, eyes looking past the ceiling. “He was addressing his steed, asking him to bring you two to safety, but his heart called out for help as well. And since we had been connected once before, I felt the call a little stronger than the others… and I simply responded.”

Piper was still confused. “Connected?”

“You don’t remember? About a year ago, over the waters of Greece? I was the strongest storm spirit in that crowd. He managed to capture me in my ventus form and make me submit to him. It wasn’t much of a fight. He got way more powerful than when I last saw him. Guess you could say he tamed me, in a way.” The memory seemed to amuse Dylan, who cracked the slightest of smiles.

Piper racked her brain, then she remembered. Gaea’s minions. A violent storm. Percy and Jason jumping into the water.

“Jason was reeling in a storm spirit for air supply,” Piper recalled. “I was busy yelling at him to go back inside and rest, since he had just gotten stabbed.”

Her chest immediately tightened at the memory. She recalled her anguish when she saw Jason get impaled the first time. She was helpless back then. She was still helpless now.

Stupid. Useless. Pathetic.

She struggled not to spiral into darker thoughts. Piper buried her head once more in her arms and sobbed quietly. Her world seemed to crumble around her, and the night felt insultingly quiet after everything that had happened. She just wanted the shadows to eat her up, to disappear into the dark where she wouldn’t have to think or feel again.

Dylan continued absentmindedly playing with the coin in his hands, weaving it through his fingers and flipping it in the air.

“You know, I saw some of his thoughts when we were in that water. I felt what he felt. He genuinely wanted to help that goddess. He fought hard to defend his friend. He had such noble intentions, it made me want to puke.” Dylan gripped the coin in one hand until the metal dug hard into his palm. “But because of him, I was able to see both sides. I felt his determination. I felt his purpose. It overwhelmed all my senses. His heart was already strong, but became even stronger when he accepted his identity as both Roman and Greek.”

Piper slightly turned her head and looked up at him curiously from the side through tear-stained eyes.

“It was enough to make my loyalty to Gaea waver,” Dylan continued. “I stopped trying to resist him. Even helped him in that fight. Then when he released me, I felt dazed for weeks. I didn’t know where to go, or what to do. Guess that’s why my appearance changed, too - it reflected how I felt. But I just knew I didn’t want to serve the Earth Mother anymore. Because when you’re up against a hero like him, I knew there wouldn’t be a chance.”

“What does that matter now?” Piper snapped. “He’s gone. He’s dead.”

Her voice broke as she spoke the last word. She shut her eyes and laid her head back against the wall as more tears streamed down her face. And it’s all my fault…

“Hey.” Dylan’s voice was unfamiliarly gentle. It was as if he had read her thoughts. “His lifeline had already been severed. And that emperor’s a madman. There’s nothing anyone could’ve done about it without having more casualties - that includes you.”

Piper took a deep breath, eyes still shut. She wanted so badly to find someone to blame, but she knew Dylan was right.

She jumped lightly when he gently took her hand and pressed the coin into her palm. It was difficult to tell in the dim light, but as she looked down at the object, she realized it was made out of Imperial gold, with an image of Julius Caesar on one side and the letters IVLIVS etched onto the other.

“Is this…?”

“His old weapon. I found it on the ground in Mount Diablo when we were ordered to scout the aftermath of your battle with Enceladus.”

“But I thought the weapon was destroyed? I saw it get destroyed…”

“Well, the coin managed to survive, somehow. But it doesn’t have the power to turn into a weapon anymore. Since I can’t return it to its owner, I thought I’d give it to you.”

The golden coin glistened in the dark. As she stared at it longer, Piper could almost hear the sounds of their battle on that mountain.

Piper sighed and held the coin to her chest. Exhausted, she leaned to the side and laid her head onto Dylan’s shoulder. For a storm spirit, he felt pleasantly warm and solid, and Piper felt herself release tension she wasn’t aware she was holding. She completely let go of any animosity she had held toward the ventus, and just let him be her comfort for that night.

“Thank you,” she whispered before drifting off into a dreamless sleep. Dylan didn’t try to move away.

——

It was in the early lights of dawn when Piper stirred. Dylan was in the exact same spot next to her. It didn’t seem like he fell asleep.

Piper got up from his shoulder slowly and took several deep breaths. For a moment, they shared a mutual silence in the quiet of the morning.

The coin was still in her hand. She tightened her grip around it, and felt every groove and crevice on the surface of the metal.

“It doesn’t have the power to turn into a weapon anymore.”

Fine. Then I’ll be your weapon.

“I’m going after them,” Piper finally said, voice only louder than a whisper. “I can still honor his name. I’m not going to let them get away with this.”

Dylan looked at his old acquaintance in her eyes. What once held grief and pain was now brewing a fire of vengeance and justice. This was no longer that small and weak girl he had tried to flirt with multiple times a long time ago. She had grown much stronger, much braver from when they first met. She didn’t need to tame him to make him feel her rage - her emotions were radiating out of her like a fiery beacon. She was determined to bring her enemies down, and may the gods help anyone who would stand in her way.

The storm spirit returned her burning gaze.

“Give them Tartarus, Piper McLean.”

#dawn’s fic #that thing about storm spirits and their bodily mass is a personal headcanon #heroes of olympus #hoo #percy jackson #pjo #toa #trials of apollo #the burning maze #piper mclean #dylan #jason grace #pjo fics #pjo fic #pjo headcanons

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musicallisto · 3 years

Text

Ψ — 𝐜𝐨́𝐦𝐨 𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐫; (leo valdez x reader)

@fives-cup-of-coffee requested: Hi can I please get Leo Valdez (Hoo) + number 142? Tysm,bb ! Love your blog💗💗 song: morat - cómo te atreves | 𝄞

summary: In which Leo Valdez was having a good day. That is, of course, until you showed up.

word count: 1.9k author notes: at first I wanted to make it light-hearted & comical as the song would suggest and then it progressively got more serious and angstier and then I just have no idea where it went lol I hate it here. I hope you like this! + stan Morat they’re amazing warnings: there’s like one bad word in Spanish and I hope it’s not too Spaniard bc I looked everywhere for a Mexican equivalent of “cagüendios” asdjdj Mexicans please correct me

𝐋𝐄𝐎 𝐕𝐀𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐙 𝐖𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃 have had the boldness of saying he was having a good day. No bloodthirsty monster nor megalomaniac Titan had decided to take over the world or rip him to pieces; he hadn’t had to dodge a meteor or plunge into the heart of a volcano; and to top it all off, he had not heard Percy sing once.

No, really, despite the cold, biting wind that froze the February morning, Leo Valdez was having a good day.

That is, of course, until you showed up.

Maybe it was his wind-swept curls blocking his eyes, maybe it was the whirring of Festus’ mechanical breathing under his fingertips, maybe it was the total peace of mind that inhabited him as he whistled to himself, but he had been impervious to his surroundings, surrendered to the memory of his aerial stroll with Calypso earlier in the morning, completely devoted to patching the dragon’s attrition up, so much so that he hadn’t heard you approaching at all. In his defense, he wasn’t expecting your visit after this many years, especially not on a cold morning in the woods of Long Island.

“Leo?”

“Woah, buddy, your clicks are starting to sound more and more like a real human voice. I might have to celebrate your first word soon.”

“Leo Valdez, behind you.”

He whirled around, and stupidly enough, the first thought that went through his mind was disappointment—so Festus wasn’t learning human communication after all, despite his best efforts. But when Leo pushed the hair out of his face and devised for the first time in four years your slightly embarrassed figure, hands buried in your pockets and abashed smile on your face, he couldn’t stop his jaw and heart from dropping.

So the suspect, gravelly grunt he had heard just before was not Festus protesting—duly noted. It was you, impatiently—and rather awkwardly—scratching your throat to catch his attention... You! After four years!

“Y/N?” he called out, and the way your name rolled off his tongue, with incredulity yet ease, was enough to remind you of how familiar his voice had once been.

“In the flesh. Ta-da,” you tentatively exclaimed, unsure about whether you should step toward him.

Leo seemed just as lost and confused as you were, eyeing you without truly processing it. No one, nothing had ever prepared him to face the return of someone he’d loved so dearly after losing them for so long. No prophecy had foretold any of this, no mischievous god had ever sent a cryptic message in a dream or smoke patterns. One day he had more or less started to accept the unshakeable hole you had dug in his heart when you left, and that he had tried to fill up as well as he could with new memories and songs and adventures — and the next you were waltzing back into his life as though he hadn’t spent the better part of four years struggling to forget you?

He took a small step forward without realizing it, but his body language read all but cordiality. A bubble of irritation started to form in the pit of his stomach and throat; he had started to fidget with his adjustable spanner.

“What are you doing here?”

“I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”

Behind him, Festus grated, a low and rumbling sound like still water stirring upon the approach of a storm. Leo swore he heard his heartbeats echoed in the loyal beast’s enormous ribcage.

“What do you want from me, Y/N? Haven’t you done enough?”

Oh, you had done more than enough. When you were friends and he had first fallen for you — you had mended his broken heart, stayed by his side as everyone went on to celebrate life and renewal and he was stuck in the downpour that Calypso’s first departure had wreaked. That was more than enough. When you were just a little more than friends and he had started to learn anew, step by step, what it meant to love, and first and foremost let himself be loved — you had been patient and kind, you had walked hand in hand with him on the road to healing, never pushing him to go further than he could. That was more than enough. When you were definitely more than friends, and he had found himself falling deeper in love with you with each passing day — you had loved him all the same, or so you promised, and made his every day an adventure and a safe embrace like no other. That was more than he ever deserved.

When you had left without warning for some foreign place on the other side of the world, leaving him only a note and a handful of colored glass shards, never to give a sign of life in four years...

That was more than enough.

You had dared to take one step forward, palms outstretched as if you were calming a wild animal. A frenzy of conflicting flames bubbled in Leo’s stomach — you were a stranger now to him, and he was once again happy with Calypso. Then why did he get the overwhelming urge to jump into your arms and rediscover the sweetness of your embrace?

“I’m so sorry, Leo, I never wanted to leave, I truly didn’t, but you have to understand —”

“Understand what? That whatever business you had to attend to was more important than me? That I meant so little to you that you just left me a post-it note with a sad smiley face on it and never came back? You didn’t send a word in four years! I bet you didn’t even think about me on February 29th!”

“Actually I left in April, but —”

“Can you imagine how hard it was for me to get over you? To forget you? No, scratch that—I haven’t forgotten you, no matter how hard I try to convince myself. But I was doing just fine, and you have a whole lotta nerve coming back now that I’m finally happy without you! ¡Pues huevos! ¡Al carajo todo esto!”

And he went on and on in a string of all the curses he’d remembered from when his mother argued on the phone, his cheeks reddening progressively, his breath faltering.

You stayed immobile, just an arms’ length apart from him until he had spewed out everything he’d carried for years. His chest trembled, shuddering at all the dust and waste it had swept under the rug, now displayed in full light before him; and you ached for him, underneath your cool composure, you truly did, just as you had ached yourself when you had left. How could you not? Leo had been light and warmth and fire and a comforting smell of smoke and gasoline and coffee-stained fingertips on your cheek and your neck... and most of all, the heart you would least have wanted to break.

“Leo...”

You murmured his name a few more times, until he looked up at you. Oh, that face, red and weepy and distorted by rage and overwhelm! How you hated it in those moments, like a cheap mask over a Roman statue!

“Leo, I’m so sorry. I know it doesn’t excuse anything, but trust me, I would never have done that if it wasn’t absolutely necessary.”

“What was, Y/N? What was more important than me?”

“I... I can’t tell you, Leo. I would if I could, but — “

“Of course! Even after four years, you’re still so full of secrets!”

“Jupiter told me not to say anything. To anyone.”

Leo’s parted lips, already fuming with more witty remarks, closed shut, and his chocolate eyes widened. The god of gods’ name was always enough to temper even the most boisterous of heroes’ fumes of anger, but not Leo’s erratic heart.

“Jupiter?”

“I got a mission from the gods. That’s why I left. To Rome. But they made me swear I didn’t say anything... not even an excuse.”

Leo swallowed, with difficulty, as if the information was a toxic flame permeating his throat. Before he could even register it, you continued, breathing deeply to steady your breathing:

“I owe you more than an apology... an explanation, at least. If you want to hear it... meet me in the woods at the gate of Camp Half-Blood at sundown. I’d understand if you didn’t come, but... just know that I’ll be waiting for you.”

For a split second, you were traversed by the thought, almost automatic, of leaning over to kiss Leo’s cheek, just like you had done it thousands of times to wish him goodbye; but you cut your impulses fast enough, only staring at his eyes for a few long minutes of dumbfounded silence before you turned on your heels and left.

In a single blink, the wind had caught your silhouette and carried it into the shadows of the trees.

And Leo stood there, colder than he would have admitted, motionless and partly oblivious to Festus’ impatient whirring over his shoulder. His chest rose and fell rapidly, quicker than the leaves rustling in the breeze; it had dried in his eyes too much for any tears to well up, despite the painful pang spreading in his chest. Had it not been for the weight in his ribcage, he could’ve believed you were but a ghost in the forest...

When you had left him without a word nor even a glimpse of a smile, Jason had admonished him to be brave and stronger than whatever misery you had inflicted; to not let any of your little games gnaw at his head and drive him wild. It was how Jason had always dealt with heartbreak and hardship because he was built of cold marble and electric stone; but despite Leo’s best efforts to follow his advice, he was Hephaestus’s son. Neither of them was exactly known for their fine handling of matters of the heart...

He had believed his inalterable strength would come back to him with Calypso. It was an endless ebb and flow between the two of you, each consoling him after the other left and tore a little piece of his heart. She had promised she’d be better — better than you, or than herself the first time around, he didn’t know, but he had believed her all the same.

But maybe what Leo had mistakenly taken for strength when he laughed himself to death with Calypso and captured her entirely with his lips, might have been solely absence. He had always had a knack for following in your steps... just like you had slipped from his embrace without a word, he had disappeared from himself imperceptibly.

Maybe he loved Calypso, truly and sincerely... but not in the way that allowed him to find himself.

Well, to hell with courage, with Jason’s heroic virtue and rectitude. Leo was realizing just then that the reason he clung so desperately to your memory was that he wasn’t ready to let it go just yet, and if it made him a coward, he accepted the fate with open arms.

“Come on, buddy,” Leo exhaled, a little shaky still. “Let’s get you patched up before sundown.”

Maybe it was a good day after all.

Or just a less-than-awful one at the very least.

tagging; @fives-cup-of-coffee @softeninglooks (all my writing) / @lxncelot (Riordanverse)

#mywriting #riordanverse #pjo #hoo #percy jackson #heroes of olympus #leo valdez #pjo imagine #hoo imagine #leo valdez imagine #leo valdez one-shot #leo valdez x reader #fives-cup-of-coffee

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sweetxcharming · 3 years

Text

Saw this recently and thought it would be funny to do :)

Caleo/Leo/Calypso headcannons (winter edition):

Leo is warm. His body is warmer than the normal, sometimes being mistaken by a small fever

Calypso, on the other hand, is cold. She literally can't keep herself in a warm condition, no matter what

That's why Leo's always trying to keep her warm with coats and sweaters during winter, keeping an eye on his cold-cold girlfriend

He also holds her hands in his and hug her more often, so she can be warm enough

Calypso wasn't scared, but sure surprised to see snow for the first time

She would watch it falling from Waystation's big windows, pointing it out and following everything turning white

Leo, otherwise, isn't a big snow fan. It melts under his feet, so it isn't that funny for him

They sleep together under 3 covers, but Calypso slowly take them out one by one cuz "Damn, you're too hot!"

She also gets small colds during all the winter. It isn't rare to see her sniffing and with a red nose

Leo likes to take Festus in flights during this time. People are more inside their homes, so he doesn't need to worry with them looking at the mechanical dragon flying around

And Festus now don't need to worry bout his head freezing anymore, so he just open his wings and let the wind blowing on them

Leo and Calypso spent the week days taking care of foster kids. They bring food, water and covers to them and Leo just feels happy to be the light no one was for him, when he was by himself

Calypso doesn't understand what "Christmas" is, and when Leo explains it to her, she just can't understand why he celebrates it

"Cuz, Sunshine, Christmas is about love and family too. And now that I have both again, I'm more than excited to commemorate it"

Emmie and Jo do the food. Leo tries to help, but they won't let him in on the kitchen

So he just does what he can: sits on the TV room with Apollo, Lityerses, Georgie and Calypso to watch Christmas movies

Calypso loves the tree. And the lights. And the animals and angels hanging on it. She touch them every now and then just to be sure it's not a dream

Everyone eats together, on the TV room. They talk, laugh and play games until midnight, when Georgie starts to scream and jump for the gifts

Calypso gives them flowers that are still growing. In pretty vases she herself did

But for Leo, she gives a moonlace pendant, one of the most important flowers she have; the few one she brought from Ogigya

Leo, otherwise, gives her a ring made with celestial bronze with the gem he kept when he got back to her. No a weeding ring, a date ring; a memorial ring

That night, looking at the snow falling outside, under the same cover, they felt asleep in each other's arms. A part of their past in their hands and necks

#Caleo #leovaldez #calypso pjo #It was supposed to be headcannons #But turned out a bit off #I might make some more more headcannons #The rest of the seasons #And probably soon #Idk

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winryofresembool · 3 years

Text

Things We Lost in the Fire, ch 24

aka Caleo uni au

Fic summary: Calypso starts studying at a new university, but to her annoyance her new flatmate is a loud mouthed mechanic who also likes to sneak his dog in whenever. But as she learns to know him better, she realizes they might have more in common than what she first thought. Eventually, even the darkest secrets come out…

Chapter summary: Halloween chapter, part 2.

A/N: Yay, an update! I think some of you are gonna be happy about the characters that are being introduced in this chapter... Also lots of Caleo dorkiness (and canon references) in it! And you'll get to see if you were right with your costume guesses :D

Also like I already mentioned last week, this is the last chapter that I have written so far (when I started posting this fic I tried to make sure I'd have at least 7 chapters ready so I wouldn't have to stress about deadlines... and here we are now) so it is possible that updates may slow down a bit, at least if the chapter wants to become long. But I am still /trying/ to keep up with the regular updates the best I can :) So worry not!

Now, enjoy and let me know what you think!! Ps. somehow we’ve managed to pass 50k words already :O

Words: 4040

Genre: romance & hurt/comfort

Warnings: none

previous chapter / AO3

…

“Hi, you guys!” Piper, who was dressed as Wonder Woman, greeted Leo and Calypso first when they arrived, gesturing for them to come in.

“Hello! I was afraid Argo II had decided to stop working because you guys are late,” Jason the Superman noted as he offered to take Calypso’s coat and put it in a hanger by the door.

“I’m not going to lie to you, Jason, that possibility did cross my mind as well,” Calypso said, casting Leo a meaningful look. “But no, not this time.”

“We’re only 10 minutes late!” Leo protested, checking the time from his phone. “I was busy finishing something… and Calypso took her time preparing herself as well. She probably did her wig for like two hours.” He gave her a not so serious side-eye.

“I did not!” Calypso said defensively. “Yeah, I straightened and combed and braided it but that took me maybe 15-20 minutes so he is highly exaggerating.”

“Don’t worry, Calypso, we know he does that a lot.” Piper smiled at her reassuringly. “Speaking of your wig, though, you look very cute! That hair reminds me of the style you had before my makeover. You’re dressed as the mythology Calypso, right?”

“Yes, I am,” Calypso said, pleased that Piper had figured that out so fast. “I thought it would be fun to be a bit self ironic for once. I haven’t really had a good reason to sew recently so this was a nice excuse to do that as well.” She made a small twirl to show the dress better.

“That dress really looks great!” Piper told her. “I would gladly commission you to sew me clothes; it’s so hard to find anything nice from the clothes stores these days. But Leo.” She turned back to him. “I see someone hasn’t bothered to get a costume. I wasn’t expecting that from you because you’re always so excited about them.”

“No, you got it all wrong.” Leo wagged his finger at her. “I do have it here, but as I told Cal, it would have been too difficult to wear in the car.” He dropped his bag on the floor, causing a loud thud as it hit the ground.

“Alright. Care to give us any hint what it is?” Piper asked curiously. “Seems heavy.” Calypso wondered if this was something they did every year.

“I’m just saying that it’s inspired by some movies that united us three,” Leo noted mysteriously. “But that’s all, you’ll see soon!”

“My mind is blank now,” Piper said. “Jason, what movies have we watched with him?”

“The first one that comes to my mind is Star Wars,” Jason reminded her. Suddenly both Jason and Piper’s eyes widened in realization. “Could it be?”

“Oh no, Leo you didn’t!” Piper doubled over in laughter when it occurred to her what Leo’s costume most likely was. “I can’t wait to see this!”

“I hope you took pictures with Festus!” Jason couldn’t keep his poker face either, and Calypso watched their reactions with confusion.

“Don’t worry, I will show them later.” Leo grinned, unperplexed by Jason and Piper’s laughter. “Now, where can I change?”

Piper showed him an empty room where he could get into his costume in peace, while Calypso started looking around the house on her own. Even though the place seemed rather fancy, Jason and Piper had managed to make it cozier with their personal objects. A lot of them had seen life and were worn but somehow they still fit in with the newer decorations.

As Calypso reached the living room, her focus went to the guests who had already arrived at the party. She waved at Annabeth and nodded awkwardly to Percy. Even though she and Annabeth were friends again, she wasn’t quite sure how she should act near Percy so ‘reserved’ felt the most natural reaction. She couldn’t help but smile a bit, though, when she registered their costumes: Annabeth had a Chiton just like her, although grey instead of white, with some silvery accessories and a beautiful owl shaped brooch over her chest. Perhaps the most impressive part of her costume was the Greek styled helmet that was used in battles and that hid most of Annabeth’s curly ponytail. Calypso was quite certain she was dressed as Athena, the Greek goddess that according to her was the one she identified herself the most with. Percy on the other hand was wearing sandals, shorts, a tropical shirt, and a belt with fishing equipment and he was holding a fishing rod in his hand. Calypso couldn’t quite figure out who he was supposed to be, other than some sort of fisherman.

“Hi,” Calypso greeted them as she got to hearing distance with them. “You guys look nice. You’re Athena, right?” She asked Annabeth. “Matches my theme, don’t you think?”

“Sure does,” Annabeth nodded, eyeing Calypso’s costume. “You look pretty much exactly like how I imagine the mythology Calypso.”

“Thank you. Coming from you it’s a big compliment.” She turned Percy. “I can’t figure out who you are, though. You don’t seem like a Greek god?”

“I am, though,” Percy replied. “I’m Poseidon.”

“Ooh, so that’s why the fishing gear!” Calypso realized. “But I don’t think the Greeks had tropical shirts quite yet.”

“No, you’re right in that.” Percy shook his head, smiling a bit. “But I’m basing this on the version in the Peter Johnson series. That’s how he was described in it.”

“I didn’t know you have read that too,” Calypso said, “But makes sense. Um, the Poseidon and Athena of the mythology hated each other, though. Not that it’s really my business, but I hope you two are doing fine…?” She asked a bit nervously, not wanting to be the reason for their issues.

“Oh yeah, we are,” Percy confirmed immediately. “It’s just an old joke – back when Annabeth and I were reading the Peter Johnson books I used to say Poseidon is my godly parent and Athena Annabeth’s, and that just kind of stuck with us.”

“Alright.” Calypso accepted Percy’s answer, turning her attention back to Annabeth. “By the way, where did you get that helmet? It definitely looks fancier than most of the plastic ones you see at costume shops.”

“My father collects these things,” Annabeth answered, lifting the helmet from her head for a moment. “I’ve told you he’s also a historian, right? Well, one of his friends wanted to make a replica of the ancient Greek helmets with some modern machines and dad bought this from him. I’m not saying this is 100 per cent accurate but it looks pretty cool, in my opinion.”

“It does,” Calypso confirmed.

“You came with Leo, right?” Percy asked then, to which Calypso nodded. “Where is he? I can’t wait to see his costume; he usually goes for something that is way over the top. Last year he was Hiccup from How to Train your Dragon and he had made a Toothless costume for his dog. I’ve also seen pics of him as Iron Man. Yes, with a full iron costume.”

“I can believe that of him,” Calypso chuckled, imagining Leo in the said costume. “He just went to change into his costume because apparently he couldn’t drive in it. He didn’t reveal what he was going to be, but it does sound like something extravagant.”

“I missed his costume last year but I’ll be sure to have a camera ready when he shows up this time,” Annabeth said happily. Calypso was relieved that the conversation was going this well; she hadn’t known what to expect beforehand because this was the first time she was in the same room with Percy since the ‘incident’. Talking with him now, though, made her realize that holding a grudge wouldn’t be smart and he seemed to think the same way.

“I just realized,” Calypso decided to change the topic, “that I’ve never heard the story of how you guys know Jason and Piper. So how did that happen?”

“It’s a funny story,” Percy started, smiling at the memory. “Jason and I used to be the captains of rivaling soccer teams when we were around 16. Well, one time Jason’s team was visiting us but we were playing in an arena that had just been renovated so I hadn’t been there before. I may have been a bit late from our team meeting and I was a bit lost so I decided to ask one staff lady where I was supposed to go. Somehow she got our teams mixed up and I ended up in the locker room of Jason’s team. Some of Jason’s teammates said that my expression was worth seeing when I realized the mistake but I dunno about that. The funny thing was that somehow the same thing had happened to Jason; he had also been late for the meeting because of traffic or something and he had gotten into my team’s locker room. Well, after the game we had a good laugh about it together and ended up talking about other stuff as well and noticed we have a lot in common. That’s how we became friends. When we moved into the same town, we started training together at least a few times a week.”

“Piper and I didn’t learn to know each other until Jason and she started dating a couple of years ago and they invited Percy to some party where I went with him. To be honest, I was a bit suspicious about her at first because we seemed very different but eventually we learned to respect each other’s qualities. And here we are,” Annabeth added.

“Those are some cool stories,” Calypso said. “It seems like a funny coincidence that somehow we all ended up in this city even though most of us are from somewhere else. Like Leo is from Texas, I am from Greece…” “Speaking of him,” Annabeth had to muffle his laughter with her hand, “I believe we are finally getting some answers about his costume.”

“Oh… my gods” was all Calypso could say when she turned to the direction Annabeth was looking at. “You’re really something else.”

Leo was completely hidden inside his costume, but Calypso could practically hear him grinning at their reactions. The costume looked very much like in the movies; golden (just painted, not real gold, because there was no way Leo could afford something like that) plating forming a droid with big round eyes and an ability to speak lots and lots of different languages: C-3PO from Star Wars.

“Holy shit, dude, that looks so real.” Percy gaped at Leo. “I’m starting to understand why you spent so much time in your room the past few weeks.”

“Why C-3PO, though?” Calypso asked once she managed to put her poker face back on. “Does that have some story behind it?”

“Because, duh, it looks cool!” Leo exclaimed with a mechanical voice from inside his costume. “I dunno, ever since I first saw C-3PO as a kid I thought it would be cool to be able to build something like that. And hey, his ability to translate like all the possible languages is pretty neat. Me? I just know 3.”

“Isn’t it uncomfortable in there, though?” Calypso asked. “That thing must be heavy.”

“Sunshine, I’m always uncomfortable. But this was a childhood dream of mine so I sure as heck am not backing off now,” Leo said with determination.

“A stubborn one, aren’t you?” Calypso stated. “Even I have to admit, though, that you have certainly done some thorough job with it. Hey, I should take photos before I forget! You don’t get to see this every day.”

The others dug their phones up as well and for a while Leo just made silly poses while they took pictures, clearly enjoying the attention his costume got. Eventually he started demanding that Calypso should join him for the photos but she was a bit hesitant at first.

Leo argued: “Come on. Greek mythology meets Star Wars? You don’t see a crossover like that every day.”

“Can’t argue with that, I suppose,” Calypso said and went next to him. “Well, do we have some kind of story for Calypso and C-3PO’s meeting?” she asked as Percy and Annabeth waved at them to look at the camera.

Leo considered her question for a moment. “Oh, how about this? C-3PO somehow ends up on Calypso’s island - because duh, Calypso is cursed so she can’t leave the island…”

“You seem to know surprisingly much about Greek mythology, just saying…” Calypso noted while trying to smile for the photos, resting her hand on the metallic shoulder.

“I told ya, Sunshine, you can blame tía Callida for that…” Leo reminded her. “Anyway, I imagine those two don’t really like each other at first because they’re so different but eventually they learn to respect each other’s skills; C-3PO can translate basically any language and Calypso is good at all kinds of handiworks, which is hard for a droid.”

“And? What happens after that?” Calypso asked curiously.

Leo considered it for a moment. “C-3PO doesn’t really wanna leave Calypso’s island but he has galaxies to save with his friend R2-D2 so he has to go but he promises to come get her afterwards.”

“Aw, Leo, that is kind of sweet,” Calypso commented, suddenly aware of the metal arm that had snuck around her waist. “Does he… does he ever return, though? Shouldn’t that be impossible?”

“For a human, maybe, but he’s a droid,” Leo noted. “Unfortunately during a big battle he blows up badly but the ever so faithful R2-D2 collects the pieces and finds someone who can rebuild him again. And boom, he makes it back and lives happily ever after with his goddess.”

“What’s the term you use when you enjoy a fictional relationship a lot?” Calypso asked. ��Shipping?” Annabeth nodded at her. “I don’t know, Leo, to me it sounds like you ship those two. Isn’t that a bit weird?” “What, why would that be weird? I’ve seen people ship…”

“I see these two have gotten into a full on nerd mode again,” Annabeth said quietly to Percy while they were waiting for the flatmates to stop their bickering so they’d be able to take the photos. “Not projecting themselves into their characters, right?”

“No, definitely not,” Percy agreed.

Eventually Leo and Calypso stopped bickering and Annabeth was able to take the pictures. Even if Leo was mostly hidden by his costume, Calypso felt a bit self conscious about the fact that these were the first photos of them together. They did a few goofy poses because Annabeth and Percy told them to, but Calypso thought she probably looked more embarrassed than funny in them.

Once they were done, Leo went to Annabeth who was going through the photos and bowed his head a bit to see them better. “Hey, these do look pretty cool! It’s probably just the lighting but here you look like you’re blushing to some funny comment C-3PO made.”

“Show me!” Calypso yelped nervously and took the phone from Annabeth. When she saw it, she could immediately tell Leo was not wrong; she really was blushing. “Yeah, it’s definitely those candles in the background that do it… And I think it’s pretty warm in here, maybe all the people here heat this room…”

“OK, if you say so,” Leo said but Calypso imagined that he was looking at her suspiciously through his costume.

Trying to get the others’ attention to something else, she said: “So, who else has arrived so far?”

“Nico and Will. I think they went to get some snacks from the dining room,” Piper, who had just entered the room, answered.

“Leo told me that Nico is Jason’s relative, but what about Will?” Calypso asked her.

“Will is Nico’s boyfriend. This is the first time we’re meeting him but they seem very good together. At least he seems to have a grounding effect on Nico, and he actually listens to him, unlike most of us. Um, sorry, it’s a long story, one that I should probably save for another time. Nico may be a bit hard to approach sometimes but he is a very nice guy when you learn to know him. Just… been through a lot. I guess like many of us here. But he seems way happier now,” Piper said, and as if on cue, they could hear some distant laughter coming from the dining room.

“We should start a traumatized college kids’ club,” Leo attempted to joke, and the others hummed in agreement. Maybe she did belong to this group after all, Calypso thought. If only they knew, though…

“This just got cheerful,” Percy said, interrupting Calypso’s thought process. “Who’s up for blue candies? Get them before Will and Nico eat them all.”

“I heard that, Jackson!” Nico entered the room without a warning. “No offense to you or your mom but blue candies aren’t exactly my thing.”

“Hi, Nico,” Percy greeted him, seeming a bit flustered after Nico’s comment. “You haven’t met Calypso, right?” He pointed at her.

“No, I haven’t,” Nico took a quick look at her and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Alright, in that case, this is Calypso Astal. And Calypso, this is Nico di Angelo,” Percy introduced them to each other.

“Nice to meet you,” Calypso approached him, but he seemed to evaluate her for a moment before he took her hand.

“Likewise,” Nico said finally. “I think Jason has mentioned you a few times.”

“Oh. That’s nice,” Calypso said a bit unsurely, like every time she met a new person. The lonely years still had a toll on her, and even though she liked spending time with her friends, meeting new people was always a bit nerve wracking to her. “You’re his relative, right?”

“A distant cousin,” Nico answered. “Yeah, our fathers are related, but I have my mother’s last name and Jason has his.”

“I take it your mother has roots elsewhere, based on the last name?” Calypso asked.

“She was Italian,” Nico shrugged. “I lived there my first years too. But now I can barely remember those times.”

Calypso noticed the use of past tense, but she thought it was probably better to not ask about that in the middle of a party. “Oh. I’ve been to Italy a few times. I’m originally from Greece.”

“What brought you here, then?” Nico asked.

“Dad’s work,” Calypso responded in a tone that told everyone she wouldn’t elaborate on that topic more. It seemed to have become a habit to her.

“Anyway,” Leo, who had managed to stay quiet for a surprisingly long amount of time in Calypso’s opinion, stepped forward and cleared his throat. “Nico, a little bird told me,” he looked at Jason, “that your boyfriend is a Star Wars geek. Is that true?”

Nico took one look at Leo’s costume and his mouth twitched when he realized why Leo was asking. “He is, but don’t let him get started on it, or else he will never stop. Besides, he’s not my boyfriend, I prefer calling him…”

“A significant nuisance?” Will showed up from the dining room, carrying a plate full of food. “Don’t mind him, he just warms up a bit slow.”

“Yes, this is Will,” Nico sighed, addressing those who hadn’t met them before. “Sometimes he’s a nuisance, sometimes he can be quite OK. When he’s having a good day.”

“Same back at you, dear,” Will laughed. “Did I hear someone mention Star Wars, though?”

“You did,” Leo said, stepping forward so Will could see his costume better. Needless to say, Will looked beyond thrilled.

“Oh boy, here we go again,” Nico said quietly before Will even had time to comment on the costume.

“Woah, that must be the best C-3PO costume I’ve seen. And yeah, I’ve seen a few so I don’t compliment you for nothing,” Will assured.

“Thanks, man, I did spend quite a while with it,” Leo said, high fiving Will. “Glad someone here appreciates good things.”

“I still hope you’re not one of those fans who have only seen the most recent movies and not the originals,” Will noted.

“Heck, no!” Leo exclaimed immediately. “The original three for the win! Mom and I used to watch them a lot… um, when I was little. She was a big fan. But the newer ones just don’t feel the same.” Calypso had a feeling Leo had almost said something else, but he had changed his phrasing at the last moment.

“You have a pretty good taste,” Will said approvingly. Then he finally realized he hadn’t even asked Leo and Calypso’s names before getting into the geek mode.

“So, who are you two? I already met Percy and Annabeth earlier but I don’t think I know you guys yet.”

“I’m Leo Valdez, and this is my, um, flatmate, Calypso Astal,” Leo introduced. Calypso hoped there was a better word to describe their relationship than a ‘flatmate’ but at the moment it was probably the best and the safest option there was.

“Flatmates, huh?” Will repeated. “How did that happen?”

“I was in a hurry to find a roof over my head so I put in the application that I also accept mixed flats,” Calypso replied. “I didn’t meet Leo beforehand because, um, that would have been a bit difficult to arrange in this case, but it worked out OK.” Calypso noticed Leo was looking at her from the corner of his eye, and she realized she had never even talked about that option before. The truth was that she had had to plan her leaving very thoroughly so her father wouldn’t notice and she had driven to Indianapolis as fast as possible, with no time for second guessing.

“And my flat happened to have a room free because our boy Jason decided to move in with Beauty Queen,” Leo added to that story. “It’s really no stranger than that.”

“Oh, right, someone must have mentioned that you and Jason used to be flatmates,” Will recalled. “I just didn’t connect the dots.”

Jason had apparently finished welcoming the rest of the guests because he joined the group in the living room. “That reminds me, I don’t think I’ve asked you, Calypso, if Leo still leaves his dishes undone and if he has empty milk cartons in the fridge.”

“He used to do that?” Calypso asked with amusement. “After seeing his room that’s not so hard to picture, but no, he’s been pretty tidy in the common area. Although one time he bribed me to do his dishes for him in exchange for some of his food.”

“It was a good deal!” Leo protested. “You didn’t have to cook and you also got to taste some Valdez’ sizzling hot quesadillas so I’d say it was a win-win. Besides, you didn’t seem to have anything against that.”

“Alright, I will admit the quesadillas were pretty good,” Calypso conceded. “But a true gentleman offers them without even asking. Well, other than that he’s been OK,” she told Jason with a playful twinkle in her eye.

“I guess he really is able to change his habits, then,” he replied. “At least when the flatmate is someone he...”

Before Jason had time to finish his sentence, Leo intervened: “Folks, do we really have to be talking about my cleaning habits in front of people I don’t know? The first impressions are important, especially when it comes to Supersized McShizzle!”

“We’re just being honest, Repair Boy.” Calypso couldn’t resist booping his metal covered nose. Apparently she just didn’t know how to not cross the line with this boy, she sighed in her mind.

“Is that all? Where’s the feisty Sunshine I know?,” Leo said in a low tone, so the others could barely hear his comment, coming out almost flirty.

“Shut up,” Calypso answered equally quietly but held her gaze at him.

“Ahem,” they suddenly heard Piper’s voice behind them. “In case you’ve stopped with the flirting, I’d like you to meet a couple of people.”

Calypso turned to see the newcomers and as she recognized the Hunter badges both of them had attached to their shirts, something in her mind just suddenly turned off.

#caleo #leo valdez #calypso #heroes of olympus #percy jackson and the olympians #trials of apollo #my fics #caleo uni au

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canarhys · 5 years

Note

Leo and Nico are both disasters and their dates always end with at least one zombie running around and something gets exploded

“so let me get this straight: you two went on a date to santa cruz, accidentally broke the carousel, set one of the game booths on fire which caused it to explode, created a temperature anomaly that caused people to have hypothermia, and you... raised some guy from the dead and set him loose?”

“well, when you put it like that it sounds like a bad thing,” was all leo said, twirling a gear around his pointer in one hand and holding nico’s hand in the other. nico stifled a laugh by faking a cough.

“it was on the news!” jason exclaimed. “i’m pretty sure it has to be a bad thing to be on the news. how did this happen?”

“well,” nico started, clearing his throat and making leo laugh and drop the gear to cover his mouth. “it all started...”

[[MORE]]

———

“huh.”

nico stared at the carousel they were on, the horses now spinning so fast they were a blur, the entire thing going in a backwards direction. leo had thought it was a good idea to interfere with the gears to make it go faster, and it was fun! not for the other mortals though — nico thought he saw a kid get flung off a horse with the funniest scream possible. eventually the two realized that they were the only ones on the ride and the only ones that were smiling and quickly got off, landing on the pavement beneath the carousel with accuracy. now they were both looking at the thing and, wow, it was not that fast when we were on it.

“huh,” leo copied. the two looked at each other.

“huh,” they breath simultaneously, before laughing their asses off. the other mortals were leaving the scene, scared and confused, but luckily the guy at the control panel was too busy looking at the buttons on his pad to notice the true culprits.

“you should probably fix it,” nico supplied, letting leo wrap his arm around his shoulders. leo was tiptoeing slightly, as nico had grown an inch or two in the year. it was cute, and he teased him constantly about it since the only person leo was taller than was hazel.

“yeah, i should,” leo replied.

they continued staring at the shit they caused.

“leo.”

“fine, fine!”

leo’s hand that wasn’t on nico strained open, and nico could hear the sound of cogs loosening. the carousel started to slow down, slowly and surely, until it rested to a stop. the two both cringed. one of the horses lost a head. a mirror on the column in the middle was in pieces. and was that blood? probably.

“we should go,” leo said, looking back at the crowd that gathered. nico nodded. the two bolted out of the caged attraction and ran to the pier.

———

jason looked like he was getting a headache. “leo, why would you do that?”

leo shrugged. “at least i didn’t kill anyone.”

nico ignored the thought of that goat screaming kid in the air. “yeah, jason, let him go.”

“okay, okay.” jason laid down on his bed, craning his neck to look at them. “and i suspect that he also set the booth on fire?”

“oh no, that was all me,” nico answered.

“what?”

———

leo gasped, unclasping his hand with nico’s to run over to one of the game booths on the piers (which didn’t make nico frown a bit, totally). the booth had a wooden stand with a backstage and a rainbow tarp on the top, advertising a ball toss. there were a string of stuffed animals hanging from the roof, squishmallows, nico thinks.

leo was staring with puppy eyes at a lime green one with little wings, a snout a white color, and two yellow horns on the head. a dragon, nico suspects.

“he’s so cute!” nico thought he was going to cry for a second. leo started fishing coins from his pocket. “i need to win him, festus is gonna love him—“

nico stopped his hand. “i’ll win him for you.”

leo blinked. “what?”

“i’m your boyfriend,” nico reasoned. “aren’t i supposed to win shit for you? like those straight guys who win gifts for their dates?”

“you’re not a straight guy, nico,” leo laughed, but he had a hopeful expression. “so...”

“so, i’ll win him! it’ll be easy,” nico said, taking out the coins from his pocket and placing them on the counter. leo’s face lightened up with joy, sending butterflies to nico’s with his glowing eyes and wide smile.

the guy, a large and happy mid-30’s man with a barbershop quartet-esque outfit, came up to them, handing nico three tennis balls. “you get three tries! if you get at least 60, you can get any prize!”

“nice rhyme!” leo commented.

“why, thank you!” the guy replied, face flushing.

leo turned to nico. “you got this! you do archery practice, right?”

totally, nico wanted to say. there was an issue though — nico wasn’t that good at projectile weapons. he liked to get up, close, and personal with the enemy. if he was only gifted a bow and arrow in a battle he would die first thing.

“nico?” leo repeated, bringing nico out of his thought process. “hey.” leo kisses nico on the cheek, a soft and warm feeling that made him feel pride. “you got this, man!”

nico stepped back as leo got out the way, reeling back his arm and throwing the ball at the holes of the rectangular cut-out with the labeled points. his eyes widened as the ball entered the ten hole. nico tried to fake cough to stop himself for cheering for such a dumb accomplishment, but leo made him smile as he cheered. “wooh! that’s my husband!”

“leo, i’m your boyfriend.”

“not after this! this is basically an engagement.”

nico snorted as he tossed another ball, fortunately hitting the ten once again. leo cheered. nico smiled at the praise, but then he looked upwards to the squishmallow leo desired. it required sixty points. shit.

shit.

“what’s wrong?” leo asked when nico facepalmed and groaned. he looked at the plushie’s price, then at nico. “ah. it’s fine, there’s a forty hole—“

“i know but i’ve been hitting tens for two rounds. if i hit another i’ll have to get you that dumb buzz lightyear in the corner.”

“okay, first of all, he’s not dumb,” leo supplied. “he’s from infinity and beyond. second of all, i appreciate you trying more than you succeeding. i don’t give a shit if you don’t win the thing, and hey, i’ll get a lightyear action figure! i believe in you, dude.”

to show that, he grabbed the ball from nico’s hand and placed a light kiss on it before handing it back. “fuck em up, babe.”

nico smiled, staring at him with heart eyes. “you’re so dramatic.”

“you love it.”

nico reeled his arm back before realizing that the tennis ball... wow, the tennis ball was hot. so hot that...

“ah, shit!” nico screeched, the sudden burning sensation in his hand causing him to throw the ball without looking first.

“fuck, are you okay?” leo grabbed his hand, luckily not finding any burns. but his attention was limited by the sound of something hitting metal, and they both stared at the ball, which was bouncing all over the place in the small shack. the guy behind the counter had taken shelter in the corner, his eyes also following the green blur as it hit a beam and then the ground and later finally—

it hit the sixty hole.

nico’s mouth gaped open as leo whooped, throwing his arms around nico’s neck. “that was fucking awesome!”

“congratulations!” the guy had receded from his shelter and wiped down his clothes. “you got eighty points. what would you like?”

nico pointed to the squishmallow. the guy took it down and handed it to him. “you have twenty points left. what else would you like?”

nico pointed to the buzz lightyear action figure, making leo giggle. the guy handed it to him as well. nico then relayed his two prizes to the boy who started it all.

“for you, mi amor,” nico said. leo hugged the squishmallow, which was half his size and super soft to the point where all of it was affected by his grip. he was holding the toy story figure in his right.

“nico di angelo, you are incredible,” leo said.

“i mean, you’re the one that heated up the ball to help me make the shot.”

leo frowned. “i what?”

they both turned back to the booth. the cutout was on fire. well.

“hey, man?” leo said to the employee. “you might want to...” he let his sentence drag, pointing to the rectangle that was now on the ground and setting the fake grass aflame. the guy looked at it once before yelping and leaping over the counter with impressive strength, huddling beside them.

“what on earth happened?”

nico and leo shared a glance. “no idea,” they both said in unison.

apparently there was some catalyst in there because boom! the booth exploded in the inside.

the man turned to the kids, about to ask them what they did when he noticed the empty space beside him. well, he was lucky enough to have all the money in his pocket. and, like the boys, fled when a crowd started to muster.

———

jason was facedown in the bed. “so it was both of your faults?”

“pretty much,” nico said. he looked at leo. “did you even know you heated up the ball when you kissed it?”

“i can’t control my kisses!” leo exclaimed, exasperated. “you can’t just hand me something and expect it to not set on fire.” he crossed his arms, pouting.

nico nudged him. “it wasn’t your fault.”

“i mean,” leo said, “it was kind of my fault in the zombie incident.”

jason looked up from his place of torment. “not surprising. what happened?”

“so...”

———

“leo, you’re going to get a stomach ache.”

“pftt, no i’m not!” leo dug his hand into his pack of popcorn and ate i whole. “i’m basically immune to that stuff.”

“i had to take care of you when you had the stomach flu,” nico replied. “you threw up three times.”

“and what about it?” leo laid a hand on his hip. he didn’t expect nico to kiss him on his temple, feeling his face flush and his heart pound a little louder. he whined and laid his head on his shoulder, making nico snort and comb through his hair.

the two were sitting on the edge of the pier, feet hanging over the dark blue ocean, fading into a golden glow with the sun setting on the horizon. leo traced hearts on nico’s hand, breathing in the seaside air. despite the date being disastrous with the broken carousel and the blown-up ball booth, he never felt so at peace before. he looked up and caught nico staring at him with a soft smile, and took the opportunity to close the gap between them. nico’s breath smelled like mint, his chapped lips in a smile against his own and leo felt his mind clear, his senses calm and all his problems fade. leo made a small noise when nico kissed him deeper, ending with him biting his lip. they broke away.

“i’m cold,” leo said. nico raised an eyebrow.

“you can’t get cold if it’s not below zero, leo,” he said. leo pouted while nico gave a grin. “are you just trying to get my hoodie?”

“maybe...”

“dork.” nico unwrapped his hoodie from his waist and handed it to leo. leo immediately stuffed himself into it, laughing at how it was a bit bigger than him. leo had a huge fetish for stealing giant ass hoodies from his friends, and his boyfriend was no exception.

“you look cute,” nico deadpanned. leo caught him shivering slightly. he tried to give the hoodie back but nico refused, saying he was “cold,” so leo resorted to wrapping his covered arms around nico and letting himself warm him up. nico sighed in content, lying his head into leo’s embrace and peppering his neck with soft kisses.

leo hummed a soft tune as he watched the ocean rise and fall.

that was when he felt it.

suddenly, his senses went crazy, a red-alert sounding off in his head and his body immediately on edge. nico must have had the same reaction, cus he shot up from leo’s collarbone and narrowed his eyes, glancing around similar to the habits of a hellhound. the air was different.

a monster was nearby.

leo groaned. “are you fucking kidding me? we were so close to having a monster-free day!”

“i know,” nico supplied, standing up on the pier and helping leo up. “where is it?”

they both searched around before landing their eyes on... a headless guy. staring at them. well, not really staring, more like facing? nico and leo frowned.

“well,” leo breathed, “that is... uh...”

“where the hell is his head?”

the headless man started walking towards them. leo saw and felt the mist shimmer, letting him get a closer look at the headless man and—

“jesus christ!” leo yelped. “that is not okay!”

from one of the camp’s lectures, he had remembered hearing about these headless men. the man was shirtless and wearing a single cloth around his hips, giving the two a look at the face imbedded into his chest. two eyes protruded from his brests, blue and striking, his nose and mouth right under with a grim expression. the popcorn didn’t taste well anymore.

“acephali,” nico and leo muttered in unison. nico laid his left hand on his sword while leo opened his tool belt, taking out a small bomb he had made a few weeks ago.

“is he hostile?” nico asked.

the man’s chest mouth suddenly released a sort of battle guy, and his burly legs started a charge at them.

“he’s hostile,” leo assumed, before dodging out the way as the monster raised a club, a wooden and heavy beast, and hit the ground.

nico and leo were behind the thing as it tried to retrieve his club, as it was impaled deep into the pier’s structure. “you attack, i distract,” leo commanded, and nico nodded. it was their favorite way of fighting together; leo setting them up and nico knocking them down.

leo ran over to close the distance between him and the acephalite. “hey, headless!” the guy turned to him, his body face contorting in both confusion and anger. “did your mom know you were out here right now? or was she too busy being disgusted by your dumb face?”

that seemed to hit below the belt, because the monster directed his charge directly at him. leo retaliated by tossing up his bomb and throwing it at him, hitting him straight between his eyes and exploding. he cried out, but the worst for him wasn’t over, because nico shadow-traveled right behind him and attacked, releasing a torrent of slashes from his stygian iron sword. the monster bled with every slash, and turned around just to get face-chest-first with leo charging up his hand and releasing a fire ball, sending him flying.

by now the people around them were screaming (though leo forgot about them to be completely honest), running away from the water’s edge and down towards the beach to take cover. he wondered what they were seeing, because he’s pretty sure the mist was having a party trying to prevent them from seeing two gays battling a headless horseman.

as they were fighting, with leo throwing makeshift bombs and nico sword fighting with prowess, nico was able to take out one of the creature’s eyes. the monster yelled in pain, his blue iris now dark and bleeding profusely. and in revenge the creature knocked the blade out of nico’s hands, sending it straight into the ocean. nico only had time to widen his eyes before getting knocked down, sprawling out on the side of the pier.

“nico!” leo screamed, before feeling a hand knock him down as wall, making him fall on his back with a groan. he opened his eyes just to see the glimpse of the monster’s club swing down, and he dodged it just in time to see it lodge itself into the wood just two inches away from his ear. the acephalite huffed as i tried unlodge the the club from the wood, splinters flying from each effort. leo took the opportunity to grab the club, heating it up with his hands and making the creature screech and hold its hands in pain. leo then rolled over, got down on his stomach next to the monster’s feet and unsheathed a knife from under his shorts, the celestial bronze blade glinting in the sunset. he twirled it around his fingers to find the right angle, reeled it back and stabbed the monster straight in the ankle. the acephalite howled in pain, comedically grabbing his bleeding foot and hopping on one leg.

leo then ran over to nico, who had gotten back on his knees and staring at the water, muttering something. he was about to reach him when a large hand grabbed the back of nico’s hoodie, pulling him back and held him in the air. he kicked his legs and cursed at the monster, glaring at him with a single eye and a frown that reached his hip bones.

the monster made the mistake of pulling him closer to examine, letting leo hold up the knife and stab him directly in the eye. the acephalite whined before growling, the hand holding him up now grasping against his neck, choking him.

leo felt the air escape him. he gasped for oxygen, clawing at the hand encasing his throat. he couldn’t summon fire, because fire needed oxygen, and leo was out of it at the moment and it hurt so bad. dark spots clouded his vision. he tried to scream, for the gods, for his friends, for nico, but the hand closed in tighter and he couldn’t breathe—

then, suddenly, a blade pierced through the back of the monster, protruding from its mouth. a stygian iron sword.

the hand let go of him, nearly letting him hit the ground and splat if someone wasn’t there to catch him. leo heaved, hunched over and allowing the arms to envelope his torso, taking in as much oxygen as he could.

he looked up when he had finally been able to breathe properly to see an olive-skinned, raven-haired boy, with the scariest yet kindest eyes, sweating but smiling at him. leo smiled back, yelling “thank the gods!” and wrapping his arms around nico’s neck, burying his face in his chest. nico dug his face into his curly hair, sniffing a bit and kissing it with no abandon.

they were stuck in that position for a good minute when leo suddenly shot up. “wait a minute. if you’re here, and you don’t have your sword, then who...?”

he glanced back. the monster was frozen, the black metal still sticking out from between his teeth. suddenly, the monster disintegrated, yellow dust particles floating in midair before falling to the ground or whisking away due to the sea breeze. behind the acephalite, holding nico’s sword, was a skeleton, grimy and the color of oily metal, with seaweed hanging from between bone interlocks and out of his grinning molars. it was dripping wet, and the only article of clothing it wore was a sailor’s cap. leo made a small “oh” sound. that was why nico was muttering on the pier. he didn’t even know people died this close to the harbor.

nico pulled leo up with him, holding him tight by the waist and taking the sword with gratitude. “thanks fernando,” he said.

the skeleton replied by promptly screaming like a banshee, startling nico and leo, before dashing off towards the beach, its bones rattling with every step as it continued keening. nico and leo watched as fernando ran over to a crowd, making them scream in horror and run away.

“he was under the ocean for decades,” nico explained. “based on his freakout, i don’t think he remembers what oxygen is.”

leo touch his own neck and winced. “i’d be too if you hadn’t come in like the batman you are.”

“let me see.”

nico inspected his neck, frowning deeply. “you have ambrosia with you?”

“why of course.” leo fished out a ziplock bag from his tool belt. he took out a small piece and ate it. tasted like melted chocolate and that popcorn he had been eating, which was unceremoniously lying on the pier, a few kernels have made their way into the sea to become fish food. he already felt his throat open up, but he knew the image of the bruises would take a while to fade. ambrosia was good at healing internally, but externally needed a little patience.

“you need some?” he asked. nico shook his head. leo gave him an “i don’t believe” look. “uh huh, sure. yeah, you mind lifting your shirt for me?” not a question, but a command.

nico sighed, lifting the hem of his t-shirt to reveal an extremely ugly bruise. leo narrowed his eyes at nico before feeding him a piece of ambrosia. nico ate it, and leo saw the bruise begin to fade.

nico let his shirt fall, looking at leo with an apologetic face. “well, this date was a disaster.”

“are you serious?” leo reached into his backpack and took out his squishmallow, which he had named dexter, still clean and plump. “today was the most fun i’ve ever had. i’ve honestly never laughed that hard since percy and the... ya know.”

nico snorted. “yeah, that was fun.”

“and it’s not like we can control most of the shit that happened,” leo suggested. “we’re demigods. we got chased down by a headless man and unleashed a zombie on the town of santa cruz. that’s not the weirdest thing to happen to us.”

nico didn’t reply for a good ten seconds. “i mean, you do look cute in my hoodie.”

leo blushed. “you look cute when you smile.”

“shut up!”

nico wrapped his arms around his boyfriend, making leo chuckle and place their foreheads together. dexter was being squished by the two bodies, which was okay because squishmallow was in his name. this would probably be enjoyable for him.

they stayed in silence for a while before leaning in, softly locking their lips together. and as the sun finally disappeared, leo still felt it there, on nico’s cold, soft lips that seemed like the perfect puzzle piece for his own.

they broke apart. “next time, we should make our date more private,” nico ordered.

leo wiggled his eyebrows. “private?” he sang in a seductive voice. nico retorted by kissing him again and effectively shutting him up.

———

“and... that’s about it.”

jason was silent for a minute or two, staring at the couple on the other cabin bed. “i honestly don’t even know how to react.”

“i mean...” leo made a vague gesture. “we half fucked up and half didn’t. it’s like... pretty standard for a demigod.”

“more-so two demigods.”

“and leo, how was that your fault?”

leo opened his mouth to speak but nico cut him off. “he says if he hadn’t gotten himself caught the battle would’ve been won faster and i wouldn’t have to summon fernando. he’s wrong.” leo pouted but kept quiet when nico glared daggers at him.

jason shook his head. “okay, then what about the temperature anomaly?”

“from the fight,” leo answered. “i breathed fire on the acephalite and nico shadow-traveled a lot to hit it so...”

“well, at least the mist had covered it up.”

“what’d the news say?” nico questioned.

“carousel breaks down out of nowhere, booth explodes due to gas leak, and florida man proceeds to terrify countless people.”

“florida man?” leo chuckled. “we were in cali.”

jason shrugged. “i’m just glad the two of you are alright.”

“yeah.” nico tightened his fingers around leo’s own. “us too.”

and jason smiled.

#pjo #valdangelo #leo valdez #nico di angelo #jason grace #i’m sorry if this is so long i’m trying to figure out how to put keep reading on my phone

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alien-rainbow · 3 years

Text

By Your Side Until My Death (8/?)

Chapter 8: Welcome To Wonderland

Available on AO3

Princess Artemis, the eldest daughter of the kingdom of Olympus is to be married to her childhood nightmare. In a land where anything remotely magical is banned, Zoë fears for her and Ladon's life but knows that she could never leave the princess's side if she tried. Magical beings, a forbidden romance, family secrets, and safety for magic all wait beyond the kingdom's borders.

- 3rd person, will be completed eventually, teen, not completed, Zartemis

Artemis was sitting once again on a dragon's back as they flew deeper into the forest. Though this time she was perched on top of Landon with Zoë and Athena. Athena was only a child in the dragon's eyes so he didn't see her as a threat and Zoë often smelled like Artemis when she went to see her dragon so he felt safe around her too. Thalia and Reyna weren't the same and the sight of them with weapons, even once they were put away, caused the dragon to attack.

They were flying over acres of colors then blended together because of the speed they were traveling at. Festus was above them with the rest of the group and flapped five times for every one of Ladon's wing beats. The copper-colored dragon was three times as big as the fire-breathing dragon who they learned was also Leo's Assero creature.

Artemis didn't even feel cold as she felt her sister shiver in her arms. Festus was definitely warmer, he radiated warmth while Ladon had normal body heat for a dragon (at least that's what Zoë and Annabeth said). Artemis was more sensitive to heat them cold, she loved the winter when it got colder and the moon was up for longer than the sun.

"Are you okay?" Zoë asked turning to look at the two sisters. They both nodded as Athena snuggled closer to her sister trying to streal her heat. "Are you cold? Would you like my cloak"?" Zoë aks noticing that Artemis's arms were still smooth and not cover in goosebumps even though she only had the tunic and loose cotton shirt on. The younger woman had wrapped her cloak around her younger sister, claiming that she didn't need it. And from the looks of it, she really didn't.

"No thank you, I'm fine, the cold never bothered me anyways," Artemis said blushing at the woman's genuine and constant concern for her wellbeing. "Did you ask how long it would take?" Artemis asked wrapping her arms tighter around her sister. She wanted to get her sister out of the cold and somewhere safe and warm as soon as possible.

"Another two hours I believe, Annabeth said they have to be quite far in to stay safe."

"From who?" Athena questioned tilting her head to the side like a lost pup.

"She wouldn't say," Zoë said her voice drifting into silence. With that, the three decided that it was time to stop talking. Athena pulled out of her bag and began reading trying to distract herself from the cold and fear that was doubled by the uncertainty. The time later, she slammed her book closed and shoved it into her bag.

"Where are we going? what are we doing? what are we going to do? Why are we going with them?" Athena demanded, "I hate being in the dark." Artemis knew she wasn't talking about the actual darkness, she may have felt a little uneasy but not hate. The younger sister hated not knowing what was going on and what was going on.

"We are going with people that seem to want to help us, they will one way or another give us more information, especially magic," saying the last word sent a shive of anticipation through her body. The word mafic was taboo back in Olympus, but out here it was normal, everything was magic.

"That still doesn't give me a lot of information. We don't know what we are walking into and without any information, we can't make an accurate functioning plan. I hate it."

"I know, but do you really want to risk losing them? They know stuff about magic that we will not be able to learn without them. I don't know about you, but I need to know."

"I want to know too," Athena said frowning at the dragon above them.

"Then we will find out everything," Zoë said speaking to the two sisters. "Though I believe your thirst for knowledge is impossible to satisfy." Athena laughed and agreed that no amount of information would ever be enough and that there would always be more to know.

The golden dragon then began to fly lower to the ground before it had placed itself near as it could to Ladon without risking touching.

"We are landing soon! just follow us!" Percy screamed through the wind. Zoë rolled her eyes at the loud male but nodded her head and repositioned herself on Ladon's huge back. The golden dragon then shot forward so it was flying in front and just above the copper-colored dragon. The two dragons were flying towards a small mountain hidden in the trees, it's top jetted out only a few feet above the tops of the trees.

Festus flew into a gap followed closely by Ladon. The two dragons ducked, dived, and danced through the cracks and gases until they came to the center of the mountain. The holloed out dome was covered in glowing flowers and branches and gaps in the stone let in the intense moonlight. There was a waterfall on the far end of the done that fell into a sparkling blue pool filling the cavern with the sound of running water.

Artemis's eyes widened as she saw what was on the walls. Hundreds of animals were perched in caves, on sideways growing trees and branches and hanging from vines. Dozens of holes and cracks filled the walls, some small enough for a mouse and others big enough for Festus. Said dragon landed on the ground and backed towards the edge to allow the larger dragon to safely land.

"Welcome to Bunker 9!" Leo said jumping of his Assero and walking towards Ladon. "This is where I found Festus! This whole thing was already hollowed out but abandoned. It was originally my workshop but then a bunch of Asseros decided to stay here. Now it's both!" He spreading his arms out gesturing to the huge cavern. A huge smile was on his face as he looked around the room. "Ladon can stay here whenever he wants." Zoë sild off Ladon and stood next to Athena and Artemis who had hopped off the second they had landed.

"Thank you but he will probably find a place where he can be alone. He doesn't really like a large group of people," Zoë said as she placed a hand on one of Ladon's many heads. Leo nodded and went back to the copper-colored dragon and begin talking with him. The dragon responded with a series of clicks the sounded strangely like mores code.

"Annabeth!" someone yelled running out through one of the tunnels. She ran over to the blond and threw her arms around her pestring the blond with worries and questions. The girl had long brown hair that had a few braids, some of which head peacock feathers. She was shorter than Annabeth and had darker skin too. She wore the same orange shirt but had an embroidered tunic on over it.

"Piper I'm fine," Annabeth said trying to calm down the worried girl, who handed Annabeth a small yellow and orange kitten who must have ben Bobbito.

"Who are they?" The peacock feathers girl asked pointing to Athena, Reyna, Thalia, Zoë, and Artemis who were all standing next to Ladon. Annabeth then began to explain to the girl who they were gesturing to them all while she said their names. Artemis was surprised that she remembered them, they had only said their names a few times. The girl then walked up to them and held her hand out.

"I'm Piper McClean, its nice to meet you," Reyna and Athena shook her hand while the others stood back and watched. They all returned the greeting though with faked happiness. Three others came from the same tunnel that Piper had entered from minutes ago and went to their friends.

One was a tall male with pale skin and close-cut black hair. He had a strong muscular build and was wearing a purple shirt compared to the orange most of the others wore. He also had a golden horse eagle hybrid pin attached to his tunic. He jogged over to the others with Hazle walking behind him. The other was a tall girl with caramel hair that was braided over one shoulder and dark almond-shaped eyes. She ran over to Leo and threw her arms around the shorter boy hugging him, then pulled him into a quick kiss.

"Are You guys ready to go?" Annabeth asked appearing beside Artemis.

"Go where?" Athena inquired.

"We are currently in Buker 9, which is part of Montauk Hills, AKA the only organized magical community. We all live in Camp New Blood, which is an organization of mostly younger people who are working to improve magic and rescuing beings of magic from the cities and bring them here. A place where they will be safe and learn to use their magic."

"Is that why you broke into that orphanage?" Artemis questioned.

"Yes," Annabeth said smiling. "People with magic are in great danger in this world, 'normal' people are scared of us, and try to kill us. The people at Camp NB are working to save the next generation of magic."

No one knew what to say to that, so they just nodded and said that they ready to go. Annabeth then leads then through the tunnel that the others had come through. The tunnels hove through different areas and opened up to a new area every few feet. Glowing vines colted the sides and top of the tunnel and glowing rocks coated the bottom.

After what seemed like only ten minutes of walking they exited the tunle. They had walked way farther but the tunes were enchanted so that you could places quicker than should have been possible.

They were standing at the top of a green hill that looked down upon the camp. It was surrounded by a fast-flowing river that was said to act as a barrier if ever needed. At the widest part of the river, there was a small island with a tall pine tree that had a golden blanket hanging from its branches, another defense. And wrapped around the base of the tree was a slumbering dragon, a defense for the defense.

Reyna, Thalia, Athena, Zoë, and Artemis stood at the top of the hill staring down in wonder. Most of the others had already walked down towards the river laughing talking with each other. The only ones that had stayed with them were Annabeth, Nico, and Will. The shortest of the three walked up to the group of girls and after taking in their shocked expression said.

"It's a lot to take in, isn't it?" He said turning away from then to gaze across the grounds, he sounded like he spoke from experience. The five of them nodded or should some for agreement still not being able to form words. After a beat of silence, Nico turned back to the girls saying, "Well let me be the first to welcome you to Camp New Blood."

----------------

Only magical community = Montauk Hills (Like a city) Explanation = Camp Jupiter: Its entrance is a service tunnel near the main Caldecott Tunnel in the Oakland Hills, near San Francisco. ||||||||||Camp HB: The camp is in Montauk, at the end of Long Island.)

The cave thing for Assero creature and Leo's workshop = Bunker 9

Camp New Blood = Young magic peoples that are rescuing other magic people and becoming supper powerful cuz why not? Explanation: New Rome and Half-Blood

#artemis #zoë nightshade #zartemis #fantasy AU #fantasy #fanfiction #fanfic #read on ao3 #notes ao3 #ao3 fanfic #magic #royalty au

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jabbers-wild-world · 4 years

Note

Offering both Festus and Rai two identical boxes, Azuna smiled at them. “Happy Valentine’s Day boys. Don’t eat them all at once.” Herbs were spread across the top, seeming to be what the boxes were filled with, except when they moved them to the side, personalized chocolates for them were beneath the greenery. Rai had small dragons etched on his, while Festus had little horns and wings on his.

Valentine’s was two months ago, but does it matter anymore?

At first, Festus would’ve just passed it off as.. well, as Azuna being Azuna, and messing with him. But as he shifted the herbs aside and found the hidden chocolates, he quickly perked up, a surprised puff of smoke from his cigarette.

“Azu! What the hell?! You didn’t- Come on!” Was that a thank you? Well, maybe, considering who it was coming from. Rai on the other hand..

He was quiet, staring at the chocolates, and the little dragons etched on them. He.. What? He’d never been given anything like this, except.. maybe once, but it was a long time ago.. Finally, after what seemed like forever of just staring at the box, he moved. His face broke into a sort of smile, it was crooked and a bit strange, but it was still a smile.

“You barely know me.. and still you do this.” A half-chuckle, almost dry and sarcastic, but.. still oddly sincere. “You’re a strange one, you know that?”

#maskedmuses #;; inquiry for a dream (asks)

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cabinofimagines · 7 years

Text

Joy

This is a chapter of my Heroes Of Olympus fanfic. I hope you like it.

Joy couldn’t believe what she saw. She knew what she was doing is wrong, but she just couldn’t help it, she was curious. She still is.

After coming to this camp when she was 8, Joy shouldn’t be surprised about what she saw, for, she saw a lot of strange things. But then again, what she just saw wasn’t strange per say. It was more of uncommon. Not unnatural, but uncommon.

Once she was sure he couldn’t hear her, Joy got out of the forest as fast as she can. She didn’t want him to see her. It’d be plain awkward. Once she reached the outside of the forest, her eyes landed on the camp fire. She couldn’t seem to digest that someone could touch a fire like this and not get hurt. Let alone, create it.

That’s when Joy realized, Leo Valdez is one of the seven demigods.

Joy has never been a morning person, and she sure wasn’t going to start now. Especially when three kids are going to go on a quest. The thing about quests in this camp is that demigods usually don’t make it back alive. Not all of them at least, however that changed when Percy Jackson arrived. It was just like the first quest he went on along with Grover and Annabeth. It was just messier, considering the fact that Percy is missing.

Now, Joy wasn’t at the fire camp last night. She slept through dinner and fire camp, not that she minds missing a meal and the so lovely gathering of every single person in this camp. But words travel fast around camp, and Joy was wondering if Leo’s friends knew about him. Did anyone know that he can get fire out of his hands? Cause if people know, it sure would be an uproar at camp.

“Now. I know that frown.” A voice sounded from behind the machine Joy was working on, causing the girl to yelp and throw the groove joint pliers at the person. “Goddammit, Nico.” Joy sighed as she glared at the boy, “How many times have I told you, don’t shadow travel in the damn forge.”

The only reaction Joy got was none. It was no secret that the son of Hades wasn’t a people’s person. And for the last few months, Joy hasn’t been either. So maybe they found something in each other. A friend. Nico shrugged after a few minutes and walked towards Joy, greeting her with nod of some sort. They both hated when people entered their personal space bubble.

“So,” Nico started as Joy went back to working on the machine. “Kinda quite for the forge.” Joy raised her eyebrows at the boy. “It’s six thirty in the morning. The only awake kids are the Apollo kids,” Nico nodded, knowing that it’s true “Hand me a D02.” Joy stretched her arm, still looking at the metal box with plastic rectangular door like lit at the front. When Joy didn’t feel the cold metal in her arms, she remembered that Nico has no idea what that is. “White circular shape at the bottom. Long ass rectangle gold at the top.” “So, new campers.” Nico handed Joy her D02. “Yeah, three,” Joy flipped the box, placing the newly given metal to her in it’s rightful place. “older than thirteen. And I got a new half-brother.” Nico nodded at the information, but he stayed silent.

“Your twin is in the fields of punishment,” Nico informed Joy. “listening to Opera right now, solving a puzzle.” “He hated that stuff.” Joy scoffed as she added an air filter in her machine, screwing it secure. “Yeah, well. It’s not called fields of punishment for nothing.” Nico pointed out as he slightly touched the top of her air filter, bringing the whole project down into individual pieces. “Seriously!” Joy groaned as she ran her hands over her face. “I’m not a Hephaestus kid and I could tell that was trash.” Nico shrugged as he raised his eyebrows at Joy, asking her what’s wrong. “Nothing,” Joy stated “I just saw something yesterday.” Nico was going to ask what but he didn’t get the chance. “Honestly, it’s nothing. If something is bothering enough, I’ll tell you.” Joy smiled at the boy, making him nod in defeat.

Joy lost track of time on how long she’s been in the exact spot after Nico left. She was trying to convince herself that she is rebuilding the machine at the correct rate. But she hasn’t even finished the base yet. By now the forge was full, like every day. Joy was half expecting to see Leo, but he wasn’t there. She wanted to talk to him about his ability. True, she has no idea how to start the conversation, or what to say. But she knows how it feels like to have something extraordinary. Something different than the rest. Yes, hers is bad- a disability as she sees it, but it’s still different.

The noise outside got louder in a second. The conch horn blew, catching the attention of the children of the forge. Joy placed the screwdriver down and limped outside along with the others. Once Joy reached her destination, everyone has quieted down and the sight in front of her got her smiling.

Pushing her way to the front, Joy saw the dragon. She wanted nothing but to hug that stupid metal dragon. After all, he was the reason for her injury. That’s when she took in the sight of Leo. His coat and his face were smeared with soot. His hands were grease-stained, and he wore a tool belt around his waist. His eyes were bloodshot. His curly hair was so oily it stuck up in porcupine quills, and he smelled strangely of Tabasco sauce. But the look on his face says absolutely delighted.

“That thing is dangerous!” an Ares girl shouted, brandishing her spear. “Kill it now!” Joy was glaring hard at the girl. She loves that dragon. “Stand down!” someone ordered, it was Jason. He pushed through the crowd, flanked by Annabeth and Nyssa. Jason gazed up at the dragon and shook his head in amazement. “Leo, what have you done?” “Found a ride!” Leo beamed. “You said I could go on the quest if I got you a ride. Well, I got you a class-A metallic flying bad boy! Festus can take us anywhere!” “It—has wings,” Nyssa stammered. Her jaw looked like it might drop off her face. Joy looked at the wings and her eyes widened. The wings were so good, it made her wonder how have they not made him ones. If Leo is talented enough to do that, a cabin full of kids could’ve to, but apparently not. “Yeah!” Leo said. “I found them and reattached them.” “But it never had wings. Where did you find them?” Leo hesitated, and Joy knew he was hifing something. “In … the woods,” he said. “Repaired his circuits, too, mostly, so no more problems with him going haywire.” “What do you mean ‘Mostly?’” Joy asked. The dragon’s head twitched. It tilted to one side and a stream of black liquid—maybe oil, hopefully just oil—poured out of its ear, all over Leo. “Just a few kinks to work out,” Leo said. Joy raised her eyebrows at the boy as she tilted her head to the side. “But how did you survive … ?” Nyssa was still staring at the creature in awe. “I mean, the fire breath …” Joy knew. But she didn’t say anything, She won’t. “I’m quick,” Leo said. “And lucky. Now, am I on this quest, or what?” Jason scratched his head. “You named him Festus? You know that in Latin, 'festus’ means 'happy’? You want us to ride off to save the world on Happy the Dragon?” The dragon twitched and shuddered and flapped his wings. “That’s a yes, bro!” Leo said. “Now, um, I’d really suggest we get going, guys. I already picked up some supplies in the—um, in the woods. And all these people with weapons are making Festus nervous.” Jason frowned. “But we haven’t planned anything yet. We can’t just—” “Go!” Annabeth said. She was the only other person who didn’t look nervous at all. Her expression was sad and wistful, like this reminded her of better times. Joy gave the girl a tight, small smile. Joy and Annabeth aren’t friends. They don’t hate each other either. They are just colleges. “Jason, you’ve only got three days until the solstice now, and you should never keep a nervous dragon waiting. This is certainly a good omen. Go!” Jason nodded. Then he smiled at Piper. “You ready, partner?” Piper looked at the bronze dragon wings shining against the sky, and those talons that could’ve shredded her to pieces. “You bet.” she said.

“Leo!” Joy called as she limped towards the boy. Leo turned around at the unfamiliar voice and his eyes widened. Was she coming to kick his ass for what happened at the forge? He sure hoped not. “You guys go ahead and ride,” Leo told Jason and Piper. “I’ll be back in a minute.” Meeting the girl halfway, Leo placed his hands in his coat pockets. “Hey,” Joy started as she gave Leo a blank look. “I want you to know that what you did, it could’ve gone very wrong,” Joy sighed as she bite her bottom lip in between her teeth. “And…” “Leo!” Jason called from atop of Festus. Leo looked back to tell him to hold on for a second “You know what.” Joy stated as she gave Leo a small smile. “Thank you for bringing him back,” Joy mentioned to the dragon with a nod. “And try not to die.” Joy doubted on saying something else, so it was very awkward for a few seconds as Leo tried to make sense of the situation. “Go and break a leg, fire boy.” Joy whispered. Leo’s eyes widened at her nickname. She knew. She’s gonna think he’s weird. Upon seeing the look on the boy’s face, Joy gave a small sigh. “I’m not gonna tell anyone.” She sighed, trying to reassure Leo that she’ll keep her mouth shut until he decides if he wants anyone to know. However, Leo didn’t look that reassured, so Joy said the only words that made her feel safe. The words that she trusted so much. She shouldn’t have.

“I promise”

THIS IS 10/10 JESUS MAN WHY CAN EVERYONE ON THIS SITE WRITE - ash

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jflashandclash · 7 years

Text

Traitors of Olympus: Blood of a Mayan

Twenty-Four: Kalypso

Leo Valdez and I Compare Notes from Book One

The coordinates for Leo Valdez’s location appeared around 6:19 in the morning. Kally knew this because that was when Pax decided to do a very poor imitation of a rooster caw. She wished he had a blow horn instead. That would have been less annoying. Or—even better—that they had a gag.

This was worse than the wakey, wakey work campers! song they played at her Catholic “volunteer” camp in the mornings. Mostly because Pax felt the need to race back and forth across their sleeping bags to emphasize the caw.

Everyone dragged themselves out of bed.

Kally was used to the circadian rhythm’s version of suicide sprints from drama club, where she maybe slept three hours before the last rehearsal, then kept going for each performance their school put on and squished a soccer game before the matinee. Merry was used to it too, but that didn’t stop her from tripping Pax with a grape vine when he raced past her bed.

The Romans had left shortly after the Pax Show the night before, after Reyna went to talk to the Pax brothers under Calex’s recommendation. Kally meant to ask how that went.

Axel went around distributing beef jerky and what Kally could only hope was cleaned river water. Those boys had to have water-cleansing tablets with them, right? Merry huffed at him and waved off the jerky. “Do you have anything else a little less bovine?” she asked.

Pax pulled some grass from the ground and piled it into her lap. “You called for bovine?”

Merry gave him a playful glare that Kally recognized from the times Merry had publicly humiliated and shamed popular kids at their old school. “You’re already on my list for insulting the sounds of nature this morning.”

“Everyone up!” Axel’s call interrupted their conversation. He was half-way through rolling up Calex’s bedroll. The son of Eros had stumbled from his bed and stood there staring at it. Kally hoped he was okay. Calex looked like he might cry. Then she remembered how he described his nightmares.

True, she’d ”fought” Python in her dreams during her few hours of rest, but at least she was the only one in danger. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to dream about your mother and brother dying every night when you’d actually experienced it.

Axel stood with the bedroll and touched Calex’s shoulder. Almost to distract from the comfort, he called over Calex’s shoulder to the younger Song. “Joey, wake up your sister.”

Joey was grumbling about how she didn’t have any of her facial creams with her and that it was a crime against humanity to degrade someone by keeping them from some good Proactive. “You wake her up,” she snapped louder. “I’m not dying today.”

Kally thought everyone was up, but had overlooked the partially mossy pile that was Euna’s sleeping roll. She snored softly, arms and legs peeking out like she’d had an epic blanket battle in her sleep.

Axel released Calex’s shoulder, sighed, and walked over. He knelt down and touched her shoulder. “Euna--”

Euna punched him in the face.

While everyone was still stunned, she rolled over. A weave of grass followed her movement to tuck her in, acting as the world’s best sentient blanket.

“Yea, we throw stuff at her to wake her up in Cabin Four,” Joey explained. She barely hid a smirk as Axel rubbed his chin. “You should see how many alarm clocks she goes through at home.”

At home. Kally suddenly thought about her parents and siblings. Her parents were probably worried about her the same way one would worry over milk they forgot to buy at the store, but John… Her older brother was a jerk, but she’d been gone for over 24 hours. She hoped he didn’t say or do anything stupid.

A small scuffle erupted between Euna and Axel that ended with Calex carrying Euna—sleeping bag and all—to the Pax mobile.

Merry did a quick morning prayer to the gods— Athena in particular, for whom she composed a quick riddle—Axel scolded her, and they were off.

As the Pax brothers took the front seats and Calex gently set Euna down in the back, he seemed to come out of a state of numbness. He adjusted his beanie and his scarf before leaning over the driver’s seat to Axel. “Uh, if we’re dropping by Leo, is there any chance we could avoid the… mythological travel?”

His face seemed to take on a green shade just looking through the front window at the golden donkey.

“It’s a ten minute drive, mortal car speed,” Axel assured.

“But I’m sure Leo won’t judge you if you throw up on meeting him,” Pax assured.

Calex didn’t seem awake enough to give Pax a proper distasteful scowl, but he tried his best.

Once everyone settled down, the car ride went quickly. They traveled on back roads, coasting smoothly with the new suspensions Hephaestus installed. From the few informational signs Kally noticed out of Pax’s window, they must have been in some kind of state park.

Pax teased Axel about Reyna the whole ride, providing ample entertainment. As they drove, Kally could hear Merry’s empty stomach moaning beside her. She almost felt guilty tearing off a piece of beef jerky and defending it from Baller… but she hadn’t had a proper meal since the night before, so wasn’t going to stop enjoy her meat.

When they stopped, Kally had expected a palace or a mansion or at least some torches lined up to spell Leo Valdez is Here, similar to a Hollywood sign.

Instead, they came upon a small shack in a clearing, built with various pieces of shimmering metal and wood. The scraps of gold, bronze, oak, and steel were mesmerizing as the morning sun reflected off the structure through the gold and orange trees. An embroidered tapestry hung above the shack with fancy, bold script that read: Leo and Calypso’s Garage. Below was smaller writing: Auto Repair and Mechanical Monsters; Fresh Fruits and Vegetables; Cider and Stew; Tofu Burgers.

There were two picnic tables in front of the shack. Three centaurs stood at one, munching on bowls of stew and pushing each other around. A girl came out to check on their orders. Despite the smudges of dirt on her face, arms, and rolled up sleeves, Kally could tell she was beautiful. She had long caramel hair and radiant skin. The girl was… intimidating. Kally had never met another person named Calypso before, though that’s how people always misspelled her name, if they had a guess at all. Most people expected Kally to look like an exotic model with her name but uh… this girl actually did look like an exotic model.

There was a Hispanic boy with elfish features standing in front of the shack. He seemed far too calm that one hand was smoking and on fire. Not only was he calm, he flipped a patty on that hand like, oh, Berkeley Hills, California regulation states that you need to finish cooking all burgers before you call the fire department.

And the bronze dragon. Yea, she probably should have first mentioned the dragon hanging out in the clearing behind the shack. The scales outshined the shack, reflecting gold and bronze light everywhere. Two startling red eyes glowed from the dragon’s head as it watched the centaurs—a little too hungrily, Kally thought. Were those rubies? The automaton was so big, the dragon could have easily rolled and crushed the shack, the picnic table, and made some centaur patties. Fortunately, it seemed in a no-rolling mood, and much more intent on sunbathing.

Upon seeing the dragon, Kally’s first instinct was to panic—the first night she met the Pax brothers, the well-dubbed Silver Festus attacked the Pax Mobile. It took a Roman ballista and a well aimed shot from her discus to knock it out of the sky. They’d only gotten lucky that the control disk had popped out. This dragon was much bigger. They could shoot it with a few canons and still end up as a demigod roast.

Kally grabbed her Argonaut statue, wondering if she should climb to the van’s weird sunroof to prepare a futile shot at the dragon’s face, but Axel issued no commands and drove up like this was normal. She really needed to accept that stuff like this was normal… But she’d only known she was a demigod for a month. Maybe another six and she’d find dragons drab and boring.

From the rearview mirror reflection, Kally could see childish excitement in Axel’s brown eyes. It was cute to see him properly emote like a teenager.

Pax’s excitement wasn’t as quiet. He leaned partially out the window and said, “That’s Leo Valdez? He kinda looks like me!”

In the fact that they were both Hispanic, short, and had impish smiles, this was true, though Pax was slightly darker with chubbier cheeks. And the girl kinda looked like Kally, except looking at her was like trying on the same dress as Aphrodite to see who looked better. For an uncomfortable moment, it also made Kally wonder what she and Pax would sell from a stand. Poisoned bake goods? Weasel shirts? Probably weasel shirts.

“Tofu burgers,” Merry sighed wistfully and leaned into Kally’s shoulder. “I think I’m in love.”

“Right,” Calex chuckled. “I’d say a happy ‘two’ on the infatuation meter at best.”

“Tofu burgers are involved. I think that warrants at least a three,” Merry argued.

There was a small clearing about two dozen feet away from the shack that Axel took as a parking lot. He stopped the car, pulled the emergency lever, and exhaled slowly.

Joey grunted and leaned over Pax’s seat to see the flaming boy better. Neither he nor the girl had paid their van any mind. “He looks like a little runt,” she said.

Pax withdrew his apple and tossed it from hand to hand. “I’ve heard a lot about him from Matt. I may never have this opportunity again.” Pax grinned dangerously. “I’ve gotta mess with him.”

Before Axel could say anything, Pax jammed a dart into Axel’s seat belt buckle. He opened the door, pressed the lock button, and slammed it shut.

Axel jerked forward so quickly that his seat belt locked, trapping him. He fumbled to open it, but whatever Pax had done kept the buckle fastened even when the dart was removed. “Ajax!” Axel hissed but his brother was already walking towards Leo, taking a bite into his apple.

Merry shoved Kally forward. She stumbled past Joey and almost over Pax’s seat.

“Stop him!” Axel commanded and withdrew a knife to cut the seatbelt off.

Kally climbed over the passenger seat, pulled the lock up, and almost fell when she opened the door. As she scrambled after Pax, she could hear Calex yelp from the back, “Axel—the child lock is still engaged! I can’t open the back!”

So, for the next few seconds, that would leave it up to her to stop Pax. Well, it wasn’t Pax anymore. It was a six foot, blond police officer rapidly closing the distance between he and the teen.

Leo stopped flipping the tofu burger. The flames encircling his hand vanished, leaving a half-fried patty laying awkwardly in his hands. He had curly black hair, not quite as unruly as Pax’s, but close. His eyes were also dark, and couldn’t focus on one location for long. He wore a dirty army jacket and beat up work jeans.

When Pax leveled with him, Leo grinned. “Hello officer,” Leo said with such casual cheer that Kally assumed upsetting the police was as casual for him as walking in late to math class. “You missed the memo! Yesterday was our store’s official Po-Po appreciate day, but—”

“You’re in violation of California Code SB-1221,” Pax interrupted him while flashing a badge. As Kally approached them, she had to marvel at Pax’s acting. His posture had gone rigid, the same way it did when he mimicked Axel or pretended to be Jason Grace. He kept his chin held high, like an authority figure would. He pointed at the dragon “I’d like to see your permit for that dragon.”

Leo’s eyes widened. “You can see Festus?” He glanced back at the dragon, who glanced back at them with those unnerving and beautiful eyes. It creaked and whirred and Kally realized it was talking. Maybe telling Leo which one of them it would make into brunch first. Did metal dragons eat people?

When the son of Hephaestus returned his gaze, he looked more confused than alarmed. Leo tilted his head to one side, examining Pax like he could open his face and find a control board. “Do you have special Mist-piercing contacts or something? Because that would be sweet and I’d like to talk to your optometrist.”

Once Kally got close enough to interrupt them, she remembered how much she hated improvising. Merry would have come up with some story to drag Pax off before he changed back, so they could pretend they didn’t know the crazy guy dressed as a cop that mysteriously vanished.

“Officer—” Kally couldn’t continue when she saw Pax’s name tag. She burst into giggles.

Leo looked a second later and stifled some chuckles.

“Don’t get started with me Ms. Kassand! You’re still in trouble for Gorgon hunting on private property without permission!” Pax snapped. His authoritarian demeanor was so convincing, she almost went silent, but Leo’s laughter destroyed the illusion.

“Officer Doofus?” Leo gasped through his laughs.

Kally could tell that Pax was losing character. His mouth twitched. “You got a problem with that? You demigods think you’re so special and above the law, just because your parents are gods—”

As the air around Pax seemed to ripple, Axel lurched out of the van. The back doors flew open seconds later with Calex and Joey following after. Merry stepped out leisurely after them. Was Euna still sleeping in the car?

Pax’s hair darkened back to his wild black, his skin tanned, and his uniform lengthened into his duster jacket, T-shirt, and worn skinny jeans. He’d given up the façade to laugh along with them.

Again, Leo didn’t seem that surprised by Pax’s shape shifting. He did pick up on the joke. “Man, you had me for a second there, especially with the code. Is that a violation for illegally parking chariots or something?”

Pax shook his head, still laughing. Axel, Calex, and Joey all slowed down to normal walking pace when they saw Leo hadn’t set them on fire.

Pax straightened up enough to use his salesman-voice, “California Code SB-1221: you can’t use a dog to pursue bears or bobcats. One of the most important laws you need to know to live in the sun state.”

Leo saw the others coming and pulled himself together. “Gotta always worry about your spare bobcats,” Leo said. His eyes drifted over to Kally. One of his hands ignited again and he flipped the tofu patty. “Nice assist on the prank. I’m Leo Valdez—Handyman supreme. That’s Calypso—”

He gestured to the girl. She gave a small wave from where she was still trying to calm the centaurs enough to talk to them. “This is our shop. You can’t really find it unless you’re sent by a god, recommended by a friend or, have a life-or-death situation that can only be fixed with the world’s best cider. So… cider?” he offered.

As Leo went to set them up for brunch at an open picnic table, Pax listed off their names while pointing at everyone. She, Pax, and Merry took one side; Joey, Calex, and Axel, the other. Merry called dibs on the tofu burger he was flipping.

From the tempo and sound of Pax’s voice, Kally could tell Pax really wanted to be this guy’s friend. Pax did say that Matthias spoke about Leo a lot. Maybe Leo was also really into weasels and Reese’s Sticks.

“I’m Ajax Pax, your evil duplicate.[1] Here to tell you what you’re doing right in your life and how to ruin it. But call me Pax because there are too many A’s, too many X’s and too much awesome with—”

“Wait. Ajax Packs?” Leo grinned. “Like Ajax packs the heat? Or Ajax packs a punch? Tell me you do some kind of sport or—”

Pax wound up his arm and Kally could see Pax going in to punch Leo. Fortunately, Axel saw it too and darted his hand across the table to stop him.

Pax pouted. “He asked if I could pack a punch—”

“That’s not what he meant and you know—”

Pax shook Axel off and resumed his introductions. “This is Kally my sort-of-not-girlfriend, Axel, my brother—also the god of awesome—Merry is pretty cool, Joey, and some prick—”

Calex came out of his starry-eyed stare at Leo to scowl at Pax. “Ey!”

“—named Calex. Oh! And Euna is probably in the van and hasn’t gone on some crazy killing spree in pursuit of breakfast.”

Kally wasn’t sure how she felt about being introduced as Pax’s sort-of-not-girlfriend, though—like most things Pax said—it wasn’t fully inaccurate.

Joey sighed and stood back up. “I’ll go get her up. If there’s breakfast involved, she’ll be worse if we don’t wake her.”

As Joey walked away to wake the beast, Leo set out plates for everyone and handed Merry a bun. Merry hummed happily. “Mmm—a curdilicious burger. This might push the infatuation scale to a three—“

“Two and a half at best,” Calex offered with a chuckle.

Leo grinned. “Oh, for me? Sorry ladies, but the Leo machine is taken.” He glanced up to follow Joey’s movement. “I like your party mobile—wow! Are you using a…” Leo paused then snapped his fingers. “A Hygieia Hydraulic prototype?”

Axel sighed. “When I get back to Camp Half-Blood, I’m killing Matthias.”

“You’re from Camp Half-Blood?” Leo asked. His fingers traced a belt around his waist and his other hand fiddled with a fork he’d put on the table.

“Yea mate. They’re curious what is keeping you away,” Calex said. He tried to sound casual and lighthearted, but didn’t quite manage. His voice as a little too high-pitched.

“I kinda died and came back. It can really mess with a guy’s head. I tried to send them a message to let them know I was okay…” Leo trailed off.

Kally didn’t know the details of Leo’s story the way Merry or Calex would, but she overheard Piper lose it at one of her campers for suggesting Leo might be dead. From what Kally heard, he’d sacrificed himself so they could win one of the great wars but the camp counselors seemed to refuse his death. Piper and Leo had been close friends, hadn’t they? Kally could imagine Calex sitting up with Piper, comforting her about Leo.

Leo’s mouth moved like he wanted to say more and he glanced quickly over one shoulder.

That beautiful girl was walking over from the centaur table. She looked annoyed. When she noticed Kally, her eyes narrowed. Then they shifted to Merry, giving her a quick look over. The movement was so quick and subtle; Kally thought she must have imagined it when the girl smiled.

Leo whirled to face her like he’d completely forgotten the rest of them. “Hello there Sunshine,” he cheered. “You still don’t want any help with our party-harty patrons?”

She upturned her chin and huffed. “I see centaur manners haven’t changed in the last 3,000 years.”

Kally saw Pax reach for a dart on his belt. She put a hand over his to keep him from an unnecessary dartfest. Did anything not startle this boy? Kally understood why he’d been nervous around Romans, but this girl didn’t look dangerous. Kally was waiting for the day Pax came running to her because he saw a butterfly that reminded him of a monster.

“You’re the Calypso,” Pax hissed.

Calypso examined Pax. Her eyes had widened in alarm, then relaxed into confusion. “Yes,” she said. Almost to herself, she added, “I don’t know you.”

Although Kally didn’t know why, the disinterest on Calypso’s face calmed her. However, Pax’s outburst sent a ripple through the table. Axel’s eyes narrowed and he folded his hands casually in front of him, resting his chin on his thumbs. This obscured the lower half of his face so she couldn’t quite read his expression. Calex flinched and glanced between Leo and Calypso, looking worried.

Finally, there was Merry who munched with her eyes closed. “Whatever comes out of your mouth better not make this delicious feast any less enjoyable,” she said without opening her eyes.

Pax ignored her. His hand tensed under Kally’s. “No, Ms. Stockholm Syndrome. Most people don’t need to know me for me to know them. But you’re different. I know you from Jack’s poetry.”

Calypso’s jaw went slack, then it slammed shut, and she scowled. Tears rimmed her eyes. “You know Jack?”

“Seeing as I just got to tango with his murderers, I knew him,” Pax corrected. His voice had regained some of his normal buoyancy, but it sounded darker than usual.

Leo’s smile faded. He glanced from Pax to Calypso. “Who’s Jack?” he asked. “Uh, I kinda thought you said it was just Percy, that pioneer dude, and that Sissy guy.”

“Odysseus,” Calypso corrected reflexively. She rubbed her sleeve against her face and choked out, “I’m going to get the stew.”

“Wait—” Leo said, but Calypso was already disappearing back to their shack. She even ignored how two of the centaurs butted heads to vie for her attention. He glared at Pax. “Not cool man.”

Leo raced after her.

Before Calex, Merry, or Kally could ask, the Pax brothers began to hiss back and forth in… Mayan? Because of their accents and her lack of knowledge in any of their languages and dialects, she struggled to tell if they were speaking Spanish, Mayan, or Kriol.

As the two chattered, Kally could see the Song sisters making their way over from the van. Merry set her tofu burger down and dabbed her lips with a napkin. Kally could imagine the verbal assault and battery that she was about to unleash.

“Hold up. What’s this about Calypso making things more complicated?” Calex interjected.

Everyone stared at him. His grey eyes at full attention, like one of the Pax brothers had addressed him directly.

The Pax brothers paused, glanced at each other, then glanced at Calex.

Axel asked him a question, keeping his hands folded over his mouth. His accent altered slightly with the language.

Pax muttered something under his breath.

“Shut it you dumb bloke,” Calex snapped at Pax. He turned back to Axel. “’Course I can understand you. Now what are you on about?”

Merry gave a hearty laugh.

Some floodgate of emotion broke in Kally and she sighed in relief. “Thank God someone can understand them!” she said. When the boys used language as a way to pretend she wasn’t there… it kind of hurt. Especially considering Pax had told her so much, and that she couldn’t tell his secrets anyway... it almost wasn’t fair.

Merry nudged Kally’s shoulder. “Love and desire speaks all languages. I guess that means Calex does too.”

Calex stared thoughtfully off to the side, then nodded his head. “I can understand most languages after hearing them a few times. I suppose that would be a godly power.”

“So, speak English,” Merry said to Pax and Axel. “Else we’ll get it with a British accent and Pax, you know Calex will make you sound stupid.”

“You’re right. I’d make him sound as he normally does,” Calex said.

“I sound like a scholar and a gentleman,” Pax protested.

By now, Joey and Euna had made their way to the picnic table. Although all of them looked exhausted, Kally was pretty sure she could start a sleep walking club with Euna. Probably a little dangerous in the Greek world. The girl’s eyes were barely open and her hair was plastered to the side of her face. After she plopped down in Joey’s former seat, she scanned the table for food other than Merry’s half eaten burger and found none. Slowly, she glared at her sister in a way that would make sloths proud.

Joey shoved Pax further down the bench into Kally so she could squeeze beside them. “Don’t look at me. Pax probably scared the food off.”

“Don’t worry Flower Girl. Leo will be back with sweets.” Merry reached across to pat Euna’s head, but Kally grabbed Merry’s wrist and pulled her back. She knew the type of look on Euna’s face and didn’t want Merry to be down one hand.

Merry shook her off with an amused grin. She turned her attention back to Axel. “Let’s start this game of question and answer from the beginning. Why are we here? We know you’re a big fan of being the gods’ errand boy and—as much as I know you wanted to see Mr. Hunkihunk’s childlike wonder at seeing Leo Valdez—” She winked at Calex. “—I’m smelling an ulterior motive. And I doubt you’re here to rescue the Human Torch, who apparently doesn’t need rescuing.”

Axel examined Merry. No one was willing to interrupt the staring contest that rapidly degraded into an uncomfortable stalemate, not even Pax. His eyes flicked down to where Kally had rested her hand back on his—she’d only done it in case Calypso came back out and he went for his darts. He enlaced their fingers, lifted their hands into the air, then opened and closed them at random spots like PAC-MAN trying to eat some ghosts.

Euna put her head down on the table to nap.

Axel sighed, closed his eyes, and spoke softly. “Our father is trying to become a god. I need Leo Valdez to craft a weapon that not… not even Ares’s curse could break.” When Axel opened his eyes, they gleamed in the sunshine. For a moment, they glistened from brown to gold and Kally thought about the vision she saw in the van. “Then, I will be properly equipped to stop him.”

Kally had gathered most of this from Pax, but it was weird to hear Axel say them aloud. It felt anticlimactic at their little picnic table.

“A god?” Joey repeated in disbelief.

Calex’s eyes were wide. “Can the average bloke become a god?”

“He’s going to try,” Axel said.

“And what kind of person is your pops like that he wants to become a god?” Merry asked quietly. Her jaw slanted out of alignment and she rubbed it.

Axel nodded his head. “Not a very good one.”

A silent message passed between the two of them. Merry seemed to notice she was rubbing her face and forced her hand to the tabletop. Kally remembered the bruises Merry had when she left her father’s house and how Merry was seeking emancipation . They really needed an ice cream catch up day.

Pax set their hands down on the table. He squirmed back and forth, keeping his eyes on the ground. Kally thought he’d add something. Instead, he used his spare hand to fumble a necklace out from under his shirt.

“And how does…” Merry leaned forward so her mahogany locks dusted the edge of the table. She glanced past Kally at Pax. He paused and gave her a devilish grin. “Ms. Stockholm Syndrome make things more complicated?”

“Isn’t Calypso from the original myths? What’s she doing here?” Joey piped up. She sat up straighter and leaned forward to be more part of the conversation.

Merry nodded. “She was locked up tight on an island as punishment for supporting the Titans in the First Titan War. The gods would send her heroes to spice up her life, but they would always want to leave. She wasn’t known for being a good sport about it and, when Odysseus decided he was ready to stop the hanky-panky and go home to his waifu, she went a little Misery on Odysseus, for maybe seven years or so.”

Pax scowled. He released his necklace and his hand tightened an uncomfortable amount on Kally’s. “She shows her affections in unconventional ways.”

Axel frowned through his fingers. “Jack was a mess afterwards.”

“She captured your friend?” Joey asked, clearly skeptical of Jack’s abilities to defend himself from a tiny woman. “Is this the guy you kept calling the Scourge of Rome?”

Axel hesitated. “Propaganda. Not all killers are brave and not all monsters are ugly.” He glared over at the shack. “We needed Jack for the war and Atlas suspected he knew where Jack had disappeared.”

“So, you went to get him?” Calex asked.

Axel shook his head. “Mortals can’t find Ogygia except as teasers to Calypso, but Titans can. Prometheus and Atlas went to bargain for his release.”

“She had him gagged and muzzled like a dog,” Pax grumbled. “You know, like you do with people you love that want to leave.”

Kally felt her stomach drop. She wanted to assume Pax was joking, but she had a terrifying image of Pax as an ex-boyfriend, dressing up as a killer rabbit to scare away potential future boyfriends. Assuming future boyfriends were a thing that would ever happen.

Joey rolled her eyes. “Leo is here and ungagged. And I heard some rumors about Percy and this girl. He’s also ungagged. Maybe she changed her ways.”

Axel grunted. “Yea, and maybe Zeus said that humans and gods are born equal or Chiron will stop sending heroes out to die.” He shook his head. “Atlas made her swear on the River Styx that she wouldn’t hold heroes against their will anymore. We couldn’t have her taking anyone else from our cause. How ironic that the next one to show up was probably Percy Jackson.”

Calex said, “I do get some odd feelings off them. Though they do fancy each other just fine.”

“Calypso is probably worried we’re going to drag him back to Camp Half-Blood,” Axel mumbled to himself.

“Well, duh. Leo belongs in Camp Half-Blood,” Joey said. “Why should she care?”

Kally thought about how it would feel living on an island for 3,000 years in solitude. At first, she thought it might be awesome: all that time for writing, reading, and video games. The best part: there’d be no school, no annoying chemistry assignments to fail, and no cute boys to make her freeze up and feel like the world’s most realistic ice sculpture. But she was already lonely without Merry and it had been about a month since she moved to New York. And if the only people to visit would inevitably want to leave you…

“She’s probably scared of having to interact with others,” Kally blurted. When Merry, Axel, and Calex turned towards her, she thought about crawling under the table, but pushed forward. “If everyone she loved left her when she was on an island, I could see her being afraid of them having… more distractions off the island. And she might be nervous about talking to people in general. I wonder if Leo hasn’t gone back because she’s still adjusting.”

Could there be adjustment periods for 3,000 years of near solitude and separation anxiety? She could imagine trying to talk to a school counselor about that. “Uh, I’m a little afraid my boyfriend might leave me. The last 26 did.”

Kally had never been stranded on an island and she was terrified of social interaction. It would be unrealistic to think that wouldn’t leave a person bitter, anxious, and vindictive about the isolation. Especially when you looked like Calypso and could offer immortal paradise and boys still chose to leave.

Pax let go of Kally’s hand. Although she still felt uncomfortable with the exchange, her skin felt cold without his. He pouted at the ground and grumbled, “Nice to know you’ll sympathize with me when I do terrible things in the future because I have a traumatic back story.”

“You’re probably right,” Merry said. She must not have heard Pax, or was ignoring him. Merry gave Kally a little shoulder nudge of approval. She asked Axel, “So, you’re worried she won’t do us any favors for fear we’ll whisk away her knight in greasy armor. I think I can change her mind on that or at least distract her, with a little permission from all of you.”

Merry pressed something on her jacket and smooth jazz filled their ears. The music sounded more like high-quality-surround-sound rather than a dinky jacket radio.

The nearby centaurs perked up like social justice warriors detecting a racist comment.

Axel grinned, tapping his fingers across his goatee. “I like your idea, daughter of Dionysus.”

Kally wasn’t sure how often she’d get to say it, but having a couple of centaurs handy helped a lot. As soon as Merry had their permission and gave a summary of her plan, she switched her powers on. Maybe it was because they hadn’t had enough sleep or that they’d finally had a chance to relax after almost 24 hours of questing, but Kally calmed when Merry turned the music up. She thought about how easy it was to hide in a corner when other people were dancing and was blissful at the idea.

The centaurs did the opposite.

“Party time!” one cried.

The other two bumped their heads together.

“Alright everyone, if you want to make this far easier on me, give a quick shout out to something that makes you happy! It can be sad-happy or excited-happy. Preferably something giddy-happy though,” Merry shouted. She stood up and gave everyone a charming smile.

Kally wondered how long it would take Leo and Calypso to come back out with the throb of music and the soon-to-be shouting. Merry’s jacket must have had telepathic subwoofers to make the picnic tables buzz the way they did.

Merry pointed at Joey.

Joey smirked and stood up with her. “Easy: dancing.” She put her hands on her hips and Kally could see Joey was already swaying to the beat. Something about Joey’s smile felt contagious.

Although the look on his was a sad grin, Calex stood up as well. “Waking up Tom in the morning,” he said. Although the motion seemed to pain him, he poked Euna in the side.

Euna sat up—Kally expected her to break Calex’s finger—and grumbled, unironically, “A full night’s sleep.”

Merry glanced at Kally. Panic swelled in her. She knew it didn’t matter what her shout out was, but she didn’t want to—

“Starting a new journal,” Kally said and jumped to her feet before Merry could poke her.

“Woo-hoo! Literacy!” One of the centaurs called and smashed a bowl on the table.

That was less nerve wracking than she thought it would be, even with the Thor-centaur. Merry gave her a thumbs up.

Pax stood up. “A happy family,” he said.

Axel sighed and joined them standing. “When Reyna is trying not to smile.”

Pax nudged Euna with his arm. “Euna, you need to stand up so we can finish our transformation and turn into Sailor Scouts.”[2]

Euna grumbled and stumbled to her feet.

As soon as she did, the centaur, who had originally shouted Party Time, joined in their declarations with, “Red velvet cheesecake!”

“Fuzzy rabbits!”

“The Anti-Corruption Act!” the last one shouted.

The other two stared at him for a moment, shrugged, and echoed, “The Anti-Corruption Act!”[3]

Kally didn’t know what that was, but Axel nodded in approval.

During all their exclamations, someone else crept over. The bronze dragon made a creaking sound from a spot almost directly above Kally. She felt like she should have been more afraid, but the addition of a cheerfully creaking dragon seemed appropriate in the sunny weather.

Kally hadn’t realized she was starting to shift from foot to foot to the beat. Although Merry had warned that her demigod powers magnified with excitement and joy, she hadn’t realized exactly how nice the community feeling and electrojazz would be.

One of the centaurs, Mr. Anti-corruption jumped onto the picnic table, collapsing it. He took off his Party Ponies shirt and swung it over his head while shouting, “Washington Chapter loves remixes of Louis Armstrong!”[4]

“Yea!” the other two cheered.

Then rushed at their group.

“Not again,” Calex grumbled.

Kally wasn’t sure what to expect, but burst into laughter when one centaur took Calex’s arm to dance with him and another took Joey’s. The height-to-horse ratio was a little ridiculous, but none of them seemed to mind.

Leo and Calypso rushed out of their shack.

Leo frowned at the picnic table, though he perked up at the music. “Aw man, it took me like, 30 seconds to make this table!” Although Leo attempted to look stern, he laughed when he saw Festus swing his head to the music.

A rustling came from the woods. Normally, Kally’s demigod instincts might have shouted danger but, with the music and the pleasant warmth of the sunshine on her face, she knew it couldn’t be evil.

A dozen nymphs and satyrs skipped out of the woods, wearing colorful crowns made of fallen leaves. They needed no invitation or conversation to prance among the centaurs and half-bloods. Kally giggled as the nymphs poked the satyrs horns with sticks then darted away, in a cat-and-mouse dance.

Someone poked her in the ear.

Kally jumped. Pax stood beside her with his devilish grin. He winked his hazel eye. “Try and catch me Cyclops,” he invited.

Kally wanted to do something more than blush. On a whim, Kally lunged forward as though she was going to pursue him then stopped short.

Pax jumped back, though almost stumbled when she didn’t follow. They laughed.

Kally could see Axel offer a hand to Euna. She stared at him.

“I promise you’ll get food afterwards,” he said.

“I can’t dance,” she stated. She didn’t sound embarrassed about it, but factual.

“But you can fight,” Pax pointed out. His eyes remained on Kally and he hopped from foot to foot, the way he often did before doing something stupid. Although he kept focused on her, he said to Axel and Euna. “You ever see Avatar the Last Air Bender? Just take her through some fighting stances.”

Euna shrugged. Within seconds, the satyrs, nymphs and the rest of their group learned to give them a wide birth while they ran through practice drills to the beat. Both laughed when Euna accidentally whapped Axel in the face.

“How have you seen so much TV?” Kally asked Pax as he pranced closer to her.

“It’s how Luke shut up Matt and me when we were causing too much trouble,” Pax said proudly.

When Kally glanced over, she saw Merry had danced up between Calypso and Leo. Calypso looked uncomfortable, the way Kally usually felt at school dances. Part of Kally felt sympathy for her. Dances were super awkward, and they hadn’t even formed a circle group yet. Something about Merry’s music calmed Kally though. Maybe she should pull Calypso in for a dance so she knew she was welcome.

“Man, we gotta start charging party fees,” Leo laughed. His hands fumbled around his apron, withdrawing pieces to construct a quick party hat out of a paper plate. That boy’s fingers could move fast.

“Oh no, honey. Other way around. I’m great for business as you’ll have plenty of greedy tummies to feed in a bit,” Merry hummed with a broad smile. “This one is on the house though because your tofu burger was so yumlicious. However, this party will only be complete with the Leomeister and Calydoll.”

“I might head inside,” Calypso said. She touched her head. “My head kinda hurts. I think I’m going to go lay down.”

Kally had looked away for too long. Pax dove at her. She yelped and stumbled back, but Pax stopped short when he registered what Calypso said. He glanced over at the same time as Axel, who also paused in his fight-dancing with Euna.

Axel nodded to Pax. Then got struck in the face. Again.

Pax scrambled over to Calypso’s side. “Hey! Yea, syndrome-calling is bad and stuff, and I shouldn’t have called you those things.”

If it was anyone other than Pax, Kally might have believed him. But Kally recognized the tone and it said, I should have said worse things.

“That’s not much of an apology—” Leo started to say but Pax cut him off.

“But I have something that will stop you from feeling your headache,” Pax offered. He withdrew a vial from inside his jacket that Kally had never seen before. Unlike his knockout serum and poison, it was full and glittered like the stars. “Our dad owns a pharmaceutical company and this stuff works better than a dream.”

Calypso glared at Pax, probably still unhappy about what he’d said earlier, but her want for a headache remedy won out.

Kally might have been disappointed when Pax took Calypso to the side, but the ensuing game of musical, dancing chairs distracted her. Calex and Joey managed to escape the centaurs and rejoin their group.

Axel left Euna to Calex with strict instructions that she not accidentally kill Calex. Before Leo could go after Calypso and Pax, Axel snagged Leo’s arm and took him to the side. Axel said something about needing to do business before they could party. Merry, Calex, and Leo all looked disappointed as Axel led Leo to the van.

That was the plan though, right? Now Axel could ask Leo to build that unbreakable weapon. But she had to wonder—Axel had mentioned Hephaestus had fixed all the weapons in the back of the van. What tool or talent could Leo have access to that Hephaestus wouldn’t also have?

Merry placed a hand on Kally’s shoulder. “We don’t need pretty boys to have fun,” she said, laughing and shoving Kally to sway her hips.

Joey came over to join them and give Kally a few pointers on dancing. Kally never thought of herself as a good dancer, but Joey proved to be surprisingly encouraging despite all of her criticism. Joey was phenomenal. Kally had almost forgotten the dance battle she had against Apollo when they first got to camp.

“We have a school dance coming up,” Joey shouted over the playful bounce of music. Since the music never seemed to change level when Kally stepped closer or further from Merry, she wondered if part of its magic was to keep it the same volume for anyone partying. “You should all come. I can invite Pax as my date. Euna can invite Axel.” Joey flipped her hair. “I’ve got plenty of friends who would love to take Calex or one of you two if I tell them to.”

“Mmm, I do love parties,” Merry cheered.

Kally envisioned Joey as a mob boss, controlling a roving group of pre-teen girls in pop-star hoodies and perfect makeup. Kally would rather fight Aphrodite’s Devils again than have to keep up conversation with them. Instead of rejecting Joey’s offer, Kally asked, “Joey, don’t you have a boyfriend you’d want to invite instead?”

Kally often forgot Joey was two years younger than her. Despite her age, Kally couldn’t imagine Joey not having a boyfriend.

Joey glanced over to make sure Euna was distracted by Calex. As though she wasn’t shouting, she leaned toward Merry and Kally. “I’m dating Apollo, but he’s really busy.”

That took a moment to process. “My dad?” Kally balked. Regardless of how gods could change their appearance, something about her fourteen-year-old… friend? Could she really call Joey a friend? But her fourteen-year-old friend dating her 3,000 year old father seemed like something she should report to the school counselor and maybe some kind of super powered police force since she doubted their counselor could do much. Did Chiron have a policy for camper-god relationships?

Merry shook her head to the music. “You think you might be a bit too much of a young kitten for—”

“Nope,” Joey stated without a hint of offense or uncertainty. “When I’m older, I’ll marry him and become a goddess.”

“Joey, Goddess of Vanity.”

Kally jumped when Pax appeared beside her. He grinned, winked his hazel eye at her, and slipped his hand into hers.

Joey huffed, but didn’t break her smile.

“Where’s Calypso?” Kally asked. It felt weird to say her own name like that.

“Telling Morpheus I said, ‘sup,’” Pax said.

“Is she alive, Mr. Vague?” Merry hummed, tapping his cheek.

“When I saw her last. I went to make some Kool-Aid after—”

“Are you the girl who considered herself worthy enough to marry a god?”

Despite the merry atmosphere, everyone jumped when an older woman spoke beside Joey. None of them saw the woman walk up. Or maybe it was a dryad with a shawl? Kally couldn’t be sure, but she’d never seen a dryad hunched over like this one was. Kally couldn’t even see the speaker’s face, but the woman’s voice sounded aged with contempt and haughtiness.

Merry went from shaking her head to the beat to rapidly shaking her head at Joey. She made consecutive slicing motions at her neck like to say, cut it out. Pax stepped behind Kally, in a way that cued Kally that this was not a mortal.

Joey ignored her. “Augh, not right now. I haven’t done nearly enough quests yet. I doubt anyone knows me on Olympus. But, Hercules became an immortal. And Psyche married a god. If I work hard at it, anything can happen,” Joey said it with such casual confidence, Kally might have believed her… except she was talking about becoming immortal and marrying Kally’s father. For the record: gross.

Kally decided she didn’t want to be there for that conversation anymore. Although she assumed Merry’s powers were blocking her from fully understanding her discomfort, it was definitely a killjoy.

Joey laughed, her eyes sparkling. “Can you imagine it? Eternal beauty? Parties every night?”

The old woman scowled at Joey, saying, “What did Hermes call it? The illusion of capitalism? Saying you can do anything if you put your mind to it. What a lie they tell children these days.[5] You don’t think it bold for a mortal to want godhood?”

Kally tugged on Pax’s hand.

“Can we—can you and I—go for a walk in the woods?” Kally whispered. She didn’t want Pax to misunderstand and invite Joey to come along. She hoped he’d come up with an excuse as to why it should be a walk without her—

Pax nodded, eager to get away from the older woman. He walked them towards the line of orange and yellow trees. To the others, he said, “Guys, Kally and I will be right back. We are going to go make out in the woods.”

“Pax!” Kally hissed and struggled to withdraw her hand. That’s not what she meant—

He tapped her nose with his other hand. “What? I’m a forward thinker.” He grinned. “And you didn’t seem like you wanted to be followed, Cyclops.”

They walked past Festus, where he whirred his gears and bobbed his head. Kally wondered if the vibrations from the music felt like a massage to his wires. Two centaurs were doing a dance around him. Either that, or they were creeping up to attack, but Kally figured Festus could defend himself in the event of a pony riot.

“That make out comment—it’ll encourage Merry to follow us,” Kally complained once the music quieted to sound more like an iPad and less like the best speakers ever.

As she said it, a brilliant explosion of light erupted behind her. At first, she wondered if Leo Valdez had heard about her super nova and wanted to show her up. Then she heard a terrifying voice bellow, “Impetuous mortal!”

When Kally turned, she saw all the centaurs and nymphs had dropped to grovel on their knees. Calex and Euna froze in mid-dance. There was no longer an old woman beside Joey, but a beautiful goddess, garbed in a glowing white gown and a cloak of peacock feathers. Her black hair was wrapped with golden ribbon in plaits down one shoulder. Those eyes burned with ferocity and radiated power.

The music quieted. Merry joined the groveling with a quick, “Holy Hera!” Kally wasn’t sure if she was swearing or genuflecting. Merry tugged at Joey’s arm, but the daughter of Demeter stood there, gawking at the goddess.

There were so many feathers. Kally had to wonder what Joey said to make the old woman combust into a boa with limbs.

“You think you can handle the same trials and tribulations of the pious Psyche and the great Hercules?” the goddess demanded.

Joey swallowed and clenched her fist. Kally was impressed. She would have apologized, cried, and probably managed to trip and knock herself out, but Joey stood her ground. “I can,” she said, though Kally could hear her voice quiver.

Hera’s eyes narrowed. “Very well,” she snapped. Hera raised one hand and Kally was pretty sure they were about to witness a half-blood being smacked into a constellation. Instead, something appeared in Hera’s hand.

A polished rosewood box with golden filigree.

Kally was too far to see those details on the box, but she knew that’s what it looked like. She’d seen it before, but she couldn’t remember where.

“This box allows you to carry the essence of a god or abstract thought. Travel into the Underworld and bring me the essence of Hades and Persephone’s happy marriage. Let’s see if you’re worthy to be a hero, let alone a consort of Apollo.”

Kally recalled something Rachel said to her in her dream—that there would be a domino effect into a disaster with causalities on both sides.

“Both sides?” she’d asked. “Monster and half-blood?”

“No,” Rachel had frowned. “Traitor and hero.”

And seeing that polished rosewood box, Kally knew that was one of the first dominos.

Pax frantically tugged Kally’s arm. “We need to go tell Axel,” he whispered.

Pax dragged Kally into the forest before they could see if Joey accepted the box. From the sudden pop they heard, Kally guessed Joey had accepted the box and Hera had disappeared. Either that or Hera popped Joey into confetti.

Kally tried to balance not-panicking while scanning her memory for that box. She guessed it must have been from a vision, but she couldn’t pinpoint which.

Although Pax rushed when they first set out, he slowed them down drastically when they heard Leo from somewhere ahead. “Uh… you want me to what?” the son of Hephaestus sounded like Axel had asked him to jump rope with a Fury’s flame whip. Though, if Leo really was fire proof, he probably could do jump rope with a Fury’s whip. Maybe she shouldn’t mention that to Pax since he might demand a performance.

With the rays of brilliant sunlight sparkling through the woods, everything glowed yellow and orange. Axel and Leo stood out starkly. Kally hadn’t seen where they went at the start of the dance party, but Axel must have grabbed something from the van. He leaned against a tree, holding some kind of insulated sack in his hand.

Kally had to wonder how they didn’t hear Hera’s temper tantrum in the background, but she supposed the centaurs had kicked over a table at the start of their party.

Pax stopped behind a large oak. He tugged Kally close and motioned for silence. Kally stumbled into Pax’s duster jacket and wanted to remind him that she wasn’t keen on his original public excuse for their departure.

But Pax leaned along the tree to watch the two talk. Kally wanted to point out that it was more important to make sure Joey wasn’t tiny pieces of paper than any prank Pax planned on playing on Axel, but Kally understood why Pax had paused. Axel looked… weird. Too business-like.

“—with the temperature you’ll need to remove the metal, I’m not sure it would be safe for Calypso to help you.” With such routine smoothness to his speech, Axel must have been continuing a long list of instructions.

Leo waved his hand, pacing back and forth. He had a flip notebook in one hand and a pencil in this other. “Na man, her temper is hotter than any fire I can spill. She’s resistant. Plus I made her a fireproof Iron Lady suit so she can help me on more complicated projects.” Axel perked up at this information. Leo didn’t notice. He was sketching some kind of design. “So, melt the metal out of some coals and build a Buster Sword. Jeez amigo, you made this sound way cooler than it is. And why are you being so secretive with the payment? Do you have counterfeit ambrosia or something?”

Axel reached into the bag and withdrew the Silver Festus’s control disk. A month ago, when Kally first met the Pax brothers, they’d been attacked by a silver automaton dragon. With the help of the Romans, they’d managed to dislodge its control disk and shut it down. After seeing the real Festus, Kally understood the nickname.

Leo’s eyes went wide. “Holy Toledo! That’s Felix’s control disk!” He dropped his pen into his work belt and rushed within inches of Axel. “You have no idea how long it took me to find that much silver without Hazel around! Where did you find her?!”

“Your dragon attacked us,” Axel said.

“Automatons these days, am I right? They grow up so fast.” Although Kally could hear the jest in Leo’s voice, he eagerly darted around the disk, taking note of any of its imperfections. “I wonder why she—oh! Oooooooh!” Leo snapped his fingers and pointed at Axel. “You have a girl named Calypso in your group, right? Uh, Kelly or whatever?”

Kally flinched. She hated being called Kelly.

Pax glanced away to give her an evil grin. She had a feeling she’d hate it even more in the next few days.

“Kally,” Axel corrected.

“I was in the middle of programming Felix’s search engine—the search-and-rescue kind not the Google kind—when she disappeared. Felix was supposed to find Calypso if we ever got separated, but I never got to the ‘rescue’ part of the programming. Looks like Felix is good at finding Calypsos. Well, thanks for returning my disk.”

Axel didn’t look amused. Leo reached to take the control disk, and Axel tilted it up and away from his hand. “Before I give you this, I need you to swear that you’ll finish building the sword. This metal is cursed.”

Axel shook the bag in his hands. Although she already heard him mention coals, she expected some kind of metallic jingle instead of a swoosh of smoke from the bag. Were the coals on fire? “Weird stuff will start to happen when work starts on it and probably won’t stop until it’s done.”

Leo frowned. “What? Did you rob a mummy or something? I’m pretty sure that’s illegal in the book of Rawr.”

“Ra,” Axel corrected again.

When he continued his cold stare, Leo sighed. “Okay, okay. I guess it cursed away your sense of humor too.”

“A handshake will bring it back,” Axel gave him a crooked smile. He looped the satchel’s straps around one arm so he could extend a hand. “On the River Styx, you swear to finish this sword as soon as possible and give it to me and I promise to give you Felix’s disk and do everything I can reasonably do to get you her body. Once I’m done with my mission, respectively.”

“On the River Styx? For a sword?” Leo put his hands on his hips. “Are you sure you’re not a con man? Because you’re starting to sound like Sisyphus.”

Axel frowned. He put the silver disk into the bag.

“Wait—okay, okay.” Leo put his hands up. He fiddled with his tool belt and glanced at the ground, thinking. “It’ll take me a day, day and a half tops. Probably a day and a half if you’re expecting parties and tofu burgers.”

“Deal,” Axel said and put his hand back out.

Pax tensed. As Leo took Axel’s hand to shake, Pax bolted towards them, almost knocking Kally over. “HEY!” he shouted.

But Leo was already shaking.

Kally had learned her lesson about swearing on the River Styx to a Pax boy. It’s why she couldn’t tell any of Pax’s secrets. It was frustrating when Merry teased her about conversations that Merry assumed were romantic and weren’t, but it didn’t hurt beyond that. Plus, this was with Axel, not Pax. Axel always seemed more candid than his brother. But she wondered why he had all these extra precautions. Wasn’t Leo just making Axel a sword?

Leo and Axel glanced over. With the attention in their direction, it would probably look worse if Kally continued to stay half-hidden behind a tree. She stepped out, wishing she had anything to do with her hands and a way to explain away the eavesdropping.

Pax stopped a foot short of them. “Hera gave Joey a fancy box to get marriage advice from Persephone.”

Leo blinked. “Wait, Hera was here? As in goddess Hera? Shouldn’t there be more chaos and general annoyance? And—hey!” Leo suddenly seemed to remember what Pax had said to Calypso. “You were a jerk to Calypso.”

Pax shrugged. “I told Calypso I shouldn’t have said those things. Leo, let’s restart. I want us to be friends. I’m Officer Doofus of the Doof Diversion Team—”

“Ajax,” Axel interrupted. “Aren’t you supposed to be making Kool-Aid to calm everyone’s nerves?”

Pax pouted and fiddled with something in his duster jacket, eerily similar to how Leo fiddled with his tool belt. “Fine,” Pax grumbled. “You go make more devious sounding plans. Come on Kally.”

When they came out of the forest, the party had resumed. Hera was nowhere to be seen. The nymphs, satyrs, and centaurs were dancing. Merry must have turned the music back up.

Pax ran off to make some Kool-Aid in the shack. He seemed… more upset than she’d expect from an eavesdropping session, but she continued forward when he waved her on.

Their friends were back at the picnic table. Kally expected Euna to be shouting at her sister for her recklessness, but Euna had passed back out on the table. That girl must have really loved to sleep. A glass of green liquid rested in front of her, probably the Kool-Aid Pax made.

“Is Axel’s master sword under construction?” Merry asked. She looked tired, her honey skin glistening with sweat, though Kally wasn’t sure if it was from dancing or from pushing Euna and Joey back into non-killing moods after Hera’s interruption. She sat beside Joey, who wasn’t confetti, with Calex across from her.

The rosewood box was on top of the table, partially covered by Joey’s hands. When compared to her fingers, the box seemed small, not something to hold the essence of a god. Now that Hera wasn’t around, Joey looked pale and sick. Kally could imagine her epiphany of, “Oh, Hera meant that Underworld. Can I fill this with Gushers instead?” Kally wondered what Euna said to her before falling asleep that made Joey realize a trip to the Underworld probably wasn’t a good thing.

From the silence prior to her arrival, no one wanted to talk about Joey’s new quest.

“He and Leo are taking a long time to get things sorted,” Calex said. He frowned at the rosewood box thoughtfully. The gloom in his grey eyes made his gaze feel hundreds of miles away. Probably back in Kakata, Kally thought.

“Leo said it would take a day or so to make,” Kally said. Something about that conversation didn’t feel right. She didn’t want to bother them or say something to make the boys sound suspicious, especially not after the Missing flier from Hiro and Lapis. But she remembered Calex saying something…

“Hey Calex,” she prompted quietly.

When he glanced at her, Kally tried not to look away. She was finally getting comfortable looking all of them in the eye, and it was just in time to remind her that Calex looked like you’d expect a son of Eros to look. “Um, you said something about coals being stolen, er, some kind of rumor at camp…?” Her voice went softer with each word. Merry’s party euphoria must have been wearing off, since her instinct to hide under the nearest piece of cardboard to avoid socializing—it was coming back.

In the distance, she saw Pax stroll out of the shack, balancing several dozen plastic cups and four pitchers of clear, glittery liquid on a tray. When he ran into a centaur or nymph, he would bow grandly and fill them a cup. As it poured out, the liquid would alter into various neon shades of Kool-Aid. As cool as that was, it made Kally wonder if Pax should ever be allowed to brew them Kool-Aid.

“Coals…” Calex repeated. “Oh. Hestia’s coals. Someone nicked a few during the chaos of the Second Giant War. Why?” He stooped a little lower to the table, and Kally had to wonder if Calex did it to hide his height. It didn’t work.

Merry cocked her jaw to one side. Her brown eyes darted to the forest. She hummed in short, declining notes to signal her disapproval. “Oh you silly chillies. We need to round up those Pax boys and give them a talking to. Then we should regroup at Camp Half-Blood before we tackle the last trial of Psyche or Axel’s father.”

Joey managed to draw her eyes from the rosewood box to look at Merry. “Psyche already did this? Oh duh, someone has always already done it.” She rolled her eyes. “How’d she do it?” The last part sounded more eager than Joey would probably want to admit.

“She failed sweetie,” Merry said, eyes lingering on the forest.

Joey huffed and flipped the pink highlights out of her eyes. “Then I just need to be better than Psyche.”

“Welllll,” Merry said, stretching her arms above her head in a way that made Calex glance away. She grinned at Joey, finally breaking eye contact with the trees. Kally didn’t know how to tell Merry, but she figured the nymphs would be way better at staring contests. “Hubris is clearly your fatal flaw, a very popular choice amongst heroes. Mine is taking things too lightly. Anyone else want to go?”

“Mine is cowardice.”

Pax swept in with the tray. He had one pitcher left, probably just enough for their group. In a flash, he’d tossed cups in front of all of them. As he poured it out, the colors altered: Merry’s, purple; Kally’s, red; Joey’s, pink; Calex’s, blue. Pax set another cup down for himself. When he poured, it shimmered to a black. Kally didn’t know they made black Kool-Aid.

“Can we do that party thing again? It was the perfect distraction to slip bugs into Calex’s sleeping bag,” Pax cheered.

Calex scowled at him.

“Not until you and your brother answer some long awaited questions,” Merry said. She picked up her plastic cup and swirled the contents.

Pax flipped one hand to the side. “Do you think questions feel rather esteemed and self-important when they’re long awaited?” He set the tray down on the table and sat beside Kally. When no one answered him, Pax pouted. “Can we at least cheers first? I told everyone to wait until I gave the signal so I could poison all of you at once.” He tapped his hands together like an evil mastermind.

All the centaurs and nymphs were staring at the table, drinks in hand. The centaurs had started to fist pump in the air. “Beers! Beers! Beers!

Another shouted, “Dude, he said cheers.”

“Oh…Cheers! Cheers! Cheers!”

Merry waved Pax on with a smile.

Pax hopped onto the table and raised his glass. “To trusting and trusted friends, to enabling family, and—most importantly—to super, awesome weasels!”

The nymphs and centaurs glanced at each other. The ones who were chanting “beer” earlier glanced at one another. “Eh,” one said. “Not as good as the Anti-Corruption Act, but it’s still a reason to party. To weasels!”

“To weasels!”

They stomped their hooves and clanked their heads together.

As the centaurs competed to chug their Kool-Aid fastest, Pax sat down beside Kally. He wrapped an arm around her waist, making Kally’s hip tingle. She raised her cup along with Merry, Joey, Calex, and Pax. They clacked them together and each took a sip. Well, Joey chugged hers down. Kally could imagine the adrenaline rush she would get in the next few minutes.

As expected from the color, Kally’s was cherry. She set the cup down, glancing over at Pax. He hadn’t touched his drink, but kept swirling it in his hand. From this close, Pax’s annoying chocolate smell mixed wonderfully with the smell of her Kool-Aid. He puffed out those round cheeks and popped them, then wrinkled his button nose.

“Pax, you’re really cute.” The words came out of her mouth instead of being repressed in her brain, where they belonged and should die. Kally felt her cheeks burn and her head felt light.

“Paxes—er—Paxi?—Paxes? are all adorable, but, for you, that’s just the Morpheus Dust talking,” he laughed half-heartedly.

Joey collapsed onto the picnic table, plastic cup clattering to the ground. Behind them, the party ponies staggered to the autumn leaves. Nymphs yawned. The music slowed like Merry’s jacket had run out of batteries. Calex tried to stand but crumbled backwards.

Pax wouldn’t look down at her, but watched everyone falling into heaps.

“You shouldn’t joke like that. It makes it hard to tell when you’re lying,” Kally said, trying to raise a finger at Pax. She couldn’t get her hand to work. Those and her feet had gone numb. Some part of her screamed that this should be scary, that she should send out an Iris Message for help, but… maybe Merry’s powers were still keeping her calm.

She struggled to keep her eyes open. Had Pax not had an arm around her back, she might have fallen off the bench. He pulled her close, so she’d slide against his duster jacket. The leather felt soft.

“I don’t lie very often Kally,” he whispered into her hair. “Direct lying is Axel’s job. Since you’re not going to remember this conversation later, I think it’s safe for me to admit that I’m falling in love with you. I hope tricking and drugging all of you doesn’t ruin our chances of dating.”

Tricking? Drugging? Kally tried to wrap her brain around it, but before she could, she felt the cold coils of Python tightening around her chest.

Thanks for reading guys! The next chapter is the one I’m most excited for (as I love ruining characters) so I hope you end up enjoying it too! :D

[1] Author is not oblivious to what you’re probably all thinking XD

[2] And now I need to figure out who would be which Sailor Scout. I’m pretty sure Axel is Sailor Mars…

[3] Shameless and boring political plug! http://anticorruptionact.org/

[4] While this song is more thematic for other characters, the artist inspired this scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ssoRXlOhqI

[5] Jack’s not bitter at all -.-

#Blood of a Mayan #PJO #Percy Jackson and the Olympians #HOO #Heroes of Olympus #fanfiction #writing #Hera #Leo Valdez #Calypso #Traitors of Olypmus #tee hee hee--you finally get to see all the boring build up for this book unwind XD

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