Chapter Text
Leo- was surprised when Jason came barreling down from the top of the mountain, they had all specifically been told to not go on. But didn’t have time to react when Jason grabbed the sleeve of his shirt and pulled him along not giving him time to protest.
It had been such a not-Jason thing to do that Leo just had to be dragged stunned at what had just transpired unable to speak till they came to a stop shortly into the woods ‘another place they were forbidden to go.’
“What the hell man?” Leo gapped at Jason's overexerted face.
“I Have something I need to tell you.” Jason gasped out, panting. “And you can’t freak out… oh god I don’t know what I would do if you freaked out.”
This was officially freaking Leo out; he had never seen Jason act like this, and something had clearly upset the other. “I’m already a little freaked, so you might as well just come out with it.”
“Oh… right, um, well I had this whole plan but, um… How did we get in the woods?”
“You dragged me here?”
“I did? But that wasn’t my plan. Well, um, God why is this so hard” Jason sighed, and Leo had only started to freak out more, or that was tell Jason started talking again and Leo’s brain finally managed to catch up to him.
“I love you, Leo.” Jason whispered head ducked down. “And not like that friend type of love, I mean I’m in love with you, it’s fine if you don’t feel the same way but I just had to tell you that… at least once in this life, I had to tell you. I love you.”
And Leo had just stood there like an idiot, he had never thought he’d hear those words in his life let alone from Jason, the boy he had fallen in love with long ago.
But here they were in the middle of the forest they definitely weren't supposed to be in, looking at each other with the dopiest of grins spread across their faces like the love-sick idiots they were.
It took Leo a minute to fully process the words and what they had meant for them, and he kind of forgot how to be a person for a while. But when Jasn started to pull away with a dejected look on his face Leo finally snapped into reality.
Launching himself forward and catching himself on Jason's lips, only pulling away for a second to say ‘I love you’ back.
--
“Oh, I almost forgot!” Jason shouted before pulling a small box out of his pocket and handing it to Leo. “Happy Birthday.”
Leo took the small box from Jason’s hand and started pulling carefully at the nicely put-on wrapping paper, it had been clear to Leo that Jason had put a lot of effort into this gift, and for once Leo felt he had been worth it, because if Jason cared about him then there was clearly a reason.
When he had managed to get the box out of the paper with a few minor rips and tears here and there, he opened it revealing two matching bracelets.
One said ‘We are not friends’ and the other said ‘My friend is a liar’. Leo looked down at the handmade bracelets… it was clear that Jason really did put a lot of effort into them as well.
Leo smiled down at the contents in his hands. “You’re really taking advantage of that art class, aren’t you?” Leo asked in a teasing tone.
“Well, all the younger campers really like it, figured I would take advantage before they lost interest in this activity too.”
Leo took out the one that said ‘We are not friends’ laughing to himself at the phrase he often said to others and himself when the two had first met. How far they had come both metaphorically and literally was humous in it of itself.
He was so madly in love, with the boy he was passing the box back to, he always had been.
Watching Jason put on the other bracelet, he had never been so happy for Jason's stubbornness or his decision to humor the boy the night when he arrived at Jo and Emmie’s.
“You didn’t have to do this you know; I would have been happy with just a happy birthday.”
“I know, but I wanted to… you deserve it.”
“For what?”
“For being you.”--
“What does this mean for us?” Jason whispered into Leo's ear as they sat leaning up against a tree in the woods together.
“What do you want it to mean?”
“I don’t know… I kinda just figured out that I was in love with you today after talking with Piper.” Jason admitted sounding a little ashamed.
And that made Leo laugh with his whole chest. He couldn’t help it, he had just been so happy he felt like he was combusting. This was the best day of his life, and it just kept getting better and better.
“You really had to have Piper tell you that you were in love with me?”
“Well, when did you know?”
“When you smiled at me, and I could tell it wasn’t out of pity.”
“When was that?”
“The first day of ninth grade.” Leo said smiling at the dopey grin on Jason’s face at his answer.
“Were you ever going to tell me?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Didn’t want to make a fool out of myself or lose your friendship, it’s the best one I've ever had.”
“I really love you; you know that?”
“Yes. I know.”
Jason just leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on Leo’s lips. “Good because that’s never going to change.”
“I know that too.”
--
They sat there in those woods and talked for hours about what they were now, what their future would look like, and all the things they wanted from it. It was a conversion they have had multiple times before but this time it was different; it was their future together.
It was like Piper said, she was always the one steering them in the right direction, they would be nowhere without her.
--
When they emerged from the woods a few hours later Thaila had been waiting for them, asking where they had been all day and that Chiron was waiting for Leo in his office.
When Leo got there, he was surprised when Chiron handed him the phone and said somebody wanted to wish him a happy birthday. The only people he could think of who cared enough to call and wish him a happy birthday were all at camp.
His friends, his boyfriend, and all the people he considered family were all there and already wished him a happy birthday.
The only one he could think of was his aunt but he already knew she would not waste her time on him, none of his foster families would fight that hard to reach him in an almost unreachable place either.
So, he had no idea who would work so hard to contact him. Who thought he was worth all that trouble?
“Leo… is that you?” The voice on the other end of the line asked, and Leo was shocked he recognized it.
“Mama Jo? What? …why, why are you calling me?” Leo felt rude even asking but he had to know.
“To wish you a happy birthday, and make sure you were okay…are you okay?”
“Yeah… um… you wanted to know if I was, okay?” Leo asked confused.
“Well, yes, I've been trying to get ahold of you since you and Jason first left, but you're hard people to track down you know that? How is Jason is he with you?”
“Yeah, he’s with me… we’re, um, we’re doing great actually…”
“That's good! We were all so worried.” Jo said, and to Leo, she sounded honest as if she really was worried, as if she really did have sleepless nights up thinking about them and their well-being.
And then Leo felt a wave of guilt wash over him… he truly believed that nobody in that house would have cared that he disappeared. But he could hear Harly shouting on the other end begging to speak with his older brother.
And then a blaring “Happy Birthday!” Being screamed into the speaker, and all Leo could think about was how much older he sounded even after only a few months, before being bombarded by more questions.
All of which he happily answered.
He had been wrong, they all still thought about him… and wanted to know if he was okay, they looked for him and Jason too, they had only known him for a few weeks before they left but they still cared about him too. He had been so utterly wrong.
Leo had gone so long without family love that he didn’t recognize it when it was right in front of him.
--
So, when Jason came by after a while of him being on the phone and saw the tears welling up in the corner of his eyes, he swiftly told him that their family was on the phone and wanted to talk to him too.
That’s how they ended up sitting there on a very uncomfortable bench, a wall phone hanging off the wall between them, telling their family all about their adventure and travels to New York, and their future plans to travel the world together.