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It started with Leo crashing at their place after his break-up with a dryad at Camp Half Blood.
He'd sometimes stay over after times like these; he spent a better part of a month just curled up on a couch after Calypso dumped him. It didn't seem that strange, not really. If Leo wanted to stay a week or two, Hazel and Frank were fine with it.
Then came week three.
And four.
And month two.
Then month four.
Then more and more.
Leo was, as he always was, a bundle of conflicting wants and needs. He wanted attention, and to work alone for five days. He wanted to be hugged, but didn't want to be touched. He wanted to laugh his problems off, but got angry when someone laughed his problems off. He didn't want to fight, but oh boy did he want to bicker.
You'd think living with more than one person could be disadvantageous - but no, Hazel and Frank managed to cover both sides. Hazel was energetic, perceptive, affectionate. Frank was calm, accustom to time alone, and was nice to hug. He, too, enjoyed a good bickering.
Leo, like some strange stray cat, slowly encroached into their lives, until Hazel and Frank had to stop and consider the fact their relationship was a bit... Uncommon.
This wasn't something they were aware of until Percy asked Frank why on Earth, Leo was sleeping in their bed, next to Hazel.
That's where Leo slept, Frank thought, except when he didn't. Except when he was in shop, or the very likely possibility he was creating extensive mines underneath New Rome. Leo would come crawling in, appearing whenever, whatever time of day or night, and just fall asleep.
Reyna asked once, 'why in Sam Hill was Leo Valdez sitting on Frank's lap', at a picnic.
Hazel wasn't certain what to tell her. That's just where Leo sat. He wasn't particularly large, and he was very thin. He got cold easily, the downside of fire powers, he preferred it warm. Frank was very warm, whereas Hazel had a cooler body temperature. Certainly, Leo couldn't sit on her lap, Hazel had responded, he'd get chilly.
'That's really not the issue I had,' Reyna told her flatly.
When they posted pictures of their movie night, comments came chiming in. 'Why are you all curled up together on a couch, under a blanket?'
'It's movie night?' they'd said. Where else should they be? The three of them laughed it off, before cuddling in closer to Frank, Leo on one side, Hazel the other. Leo always made the best popcorn.
Things changed drastically when Annabeth asked, 'are you three in a polyamorous relationship?'
Hazel and Leo had never heard the word. Frank had, and said 'no.' He was dating Hazel. Leo was just staying with them for awhile. That seemed very clear to him.
'But, you both kiss him,' Annabeth said, looking like this was the greatest logistical puzzle she'd ever worked on. 'You sleep in the same bed, you have date nights; you are both physically and seemingly romantically affectionate with one another. How is dating Hazel any different than how you're with Leo?'
Frank opened his mouth, before closing it. He couldn't really think of any distinct way they were different.
Frank asked Hazel. She, too, couldn't think of anything. Was that why people were confused, they realized.
They went to Leo, finding him working on something or other in his temporary shop. Well, it looked more like a normal shop now. It had been close to a year now that he'd been staying with them.
'Are we dating you?' Frank and Hazel asked him, very conflicted. Would he be upset by such claims? Would he be angry?
'We've been dating for 6 months', Leo said, pulling a pencil out from behind his ear, barely even looking at them.
'I thought the tip off would be when we first had sex, and I shouted oh my gods, I love you two, I love you so much.'
Retrospectively, yes, that should have been a clue.