Chapter Text
Chapter One
The knock on the door was heavy and made Jason flinch.
No answer came from inside, the heavy wooden door of Bunker 9 didn’t move an inch. Piper sighed, her right hand still hanging in the air, ready for another bang. “Leo?” she yelled, tightening her grip around Jason’s hand a bit. “A certain son of Hephaestus? Darling, it’s been twelve weeks. Please, let us help you through…”
Again, there was nothing and Piper looked up at her boyfriend. “Why isn’t he responding? He is in there, isn’t he? “ Jason shrugged, looking back at the door. “Connor said so. Hey Leo? LEO?”
“Did he talk to you about…?” Jason bit his lip and shook his head in response.
No, Leo hadn’t talked to him after the break-up with Calypso, and Jason still wasn’t sure if he was glad or if he was disappointed about the fact that his best friend didn't seem to trust him enough to spill his guts.
Jason wasn’t a big fan of awkward situations, especially if they involved talking about feelings. He came to the conclusion that he was quite the oblivious person when it came to this topic, and so it wasn’t really a good idea to come to him for advice. Sure, he was Leo’s best friend (at least he considered himself to be), but he knew that it was a better thing to consult Piper when you needed serious assistance with your immediate relationship problems. But the days passed on and Leo hadn’t talked to either of them.
“Maybe we should leave him alone? Give him some space or something?”
Piper shook her head. “Jason, seriously, twelve weeks? How many times have you seen him since? Do you know if he’s eating? Do you know what he’s doing?” She turned to the door again, a determined look on her face and her voice held the unmistakeable trace of charmspeak. “Leo Valdez. You are stopping whatever you are doing right now and you are going to open that freaking door. And I'm talking about now. Move!”
For a moment Jason thought that it might not have worked, but then the lock clicked and the door opened slightly.
Leo peered through the gap, looking not a bit amused about being ordered to finally leave his 'castle of loneliness'. However, Piper didn't seem to be interested in anything the boy in front of them was about to say as he opened his mouth and before he could even speak a single word she had rammed her foot in the small gap. “Open up. Now.”
As Jason followed his girlfriend inside, walking just a few steps behind her and Leo, he had to admit that Piper's former persistence to not back up, had been a good idea this time. The bunker looked terrible.
Whereas Leo never was one for order and cleanliness, he made sure that didn't extend to his work. Every little tool, every hammer, pliers, screw or nail had it's own place in a very complicated system that still looked like a mess to most people (including Jason), but made perfect sense to Leo. Whenever you asked the son of Hephaestus where to find a thing, he could give you the answer immediately, even if his surroundings looked as if a horde of party ponies just had a messy orgy. Leo mastered the chaos.
Now it seemed like the chaos had mastered Leo. The bunker looked badly neglected. Tools were lying everywhere, on the shelves, the work benches, the floor. But in a break from tradition, most of them looked like Leo hadn't touched them in weeks. Wires and screws were hidden in half opened packages and every so often you could see a half finished project under a pile of clothes, as if Leo had tried to distract himself with work but gave up after a while.
Clothes were everywhere as well. Jason didn't even know Leo owned that many clothes. Piles of shirts, single socks, bedsheets, everything trashed together to form literally 'mountains'. In the left corner was the old mattress Leo occasionally used for sleeping when he worked extra hours. Now it seemed to be his daily bed. It was dirty, the sheets needed to be washed badly and a slightly damp smell filled the room.
But worst of all was his best friend himself.
Leo looked utterly dreadful. Jason tried to remember when the last time was, that he'd seen him. Was it two weeks ago? Three? He couldn't remember. But he was sure Leo hadn't looked like that, hadn't he?
His hair was longer, grown out in locks that spilled messily over his head. It looked filthy, like it hadn't been washed for days, and was held back by a headband, which -after a fashion- did the job. His eyes were circled with dark shadows that would put Nico to shame, even in his worst times. Every little spark of life, every usual hint of mischief to be made was lost and cleared space for a settled look of resignation.
Leo leaned back against one of his shelves, completely ignoring the half made tin car that fell to the floor, and crossed his arms, as if he wanted to protect himself from whatever was coming. “So...hello?” Even his voice seemed to be drained out of energy, like a crackling leave in November. It sounded rusty and Jason was sure he hadn't used it a lot in the last days.
“Leo...”, Piper scanned the room, mouth open and obviously trying to comprehend what she was seeing. “...what happened to this place? What happened to you?”
“I don't know what you mean.”
“Come on, Leo, don't try me. Have you looked into mirror lately?”
Jason stepped next to Piper, silently watching his best friend shift from one foot to another. Leo's voice was defensive as he answered. “I don't know what you mean. I decided to wear my hair a bit longer now, so what? Many celebrities do it. It's fashion, Piper, you know? And why do you even care? It's not like it has something to do with you.”
Jason flinched again, watching Leo taking a step backwards. It was painfully clear that the younger demigod tried to push them away, play down the obviously ongoing downfall. This was so unlike Leo that it kinda hurt. Normally, he would laugh, crack a joke about how he would try to look different to gain attention from the ladies or ask Piper since when she would give a damn about someone's appearance.
But something seemed to have been destroyed inside Leo. He lacked anything that had once made him himself. Jason never would have thought that a girl, a single break up, would crack his best friend, Leo, who sacrificed himself for his friends. His friends, well, and said girl. Jason pitied him.
Piper on the other hand obviously didn't.
-Slap-
Jason's eyes widened in shock as he watched his girlfriend slam her small hand square over Leo's right cheek. The boy stumbled backwards, hand pressed against the wounded skin. Piper looked like she would hit Leo again if he said another word and she reminded Jason much more of the girl who jumped fearless in a circle of giants, attacking them with nothing more than a sword, than of his usually sweet and calming girlfriend. Instinctively he took a step back, like he was scared to be slapped as well.
Piper's eyes sparkled with anger and her voice didn't even need charmspeak now. “Leo Valdez. I swear on the river Styx if I EVER hear the words 'Why do you even care' out of your mouth, I am going to end you! Why do you think we care? We are your friends. Jason and I, we are your best friends. We have gone through a lot of things together. We fought together, we sailed half across the world with you...”
“I know that you are...”
“No you shut up now, Valdez. We saw you blasting yourself over the freaking sky to kill Gaea. To make it clear: We saw you die. Can you imagine how it is to see your best friend die? Blasting into pieces? Can you imagine how we felt , having the cure at hand that could save you and being totally useless...”
“But you hadn't...”
“IT'S NOT THE POINT that the cure wasn't real, Leo. I didn't know it back then. You were dead. We saw you dying.”
Leo shifted uncomfortably. “I wasn't really dead.”
For a second, Jason thought Piper would slap Leo again. She seemed under such tension that Jason had to admire the fact her voice was still so much under control.
“You seem to be missing the point here. You weren't dead, fine, but you were dead to us. We couldn't possibly know you were floating above some island. Jason even had gone to ask Nico if you were still alive, right?”
She turned to him, and Jason, taken aback by the fact that he suddenly was expected to be an active part in that whole conversation, could do nothing more than nod silently.
“See, we were absolutely positive that you were dead, and Leo, we grieved you. We lost you and we couldn't even bury you. Do you know that feeling?”
Now Leo looked a bit sickened as he slightly shook his head, held in place by Piper's fierce gaze like a deer in headlight.
“And we believed in you. We met up every night and told stories about you, discussed what you could be doing now, somewhere, because we wouldn't accept the fact that you died. And we won. You came back, after everybody already thought we were nuts, with Calypso behind you, looking like you just had a holiday on the Bahamas.”
Leo smiled tiredly. “Actually, it was Hawaii...”
“The point is, Leo Valdez... “ and now Piper's voice hardened even more, but the anger was drained out of it. Instead it sounded like an order, a war declaration. “... I am not loosing you again. I will not sit back and watch while you hide yourself in that bunker, pushing everything and everyone away. Hell, if it wasn't for Connor, I wouldn't have known that you're still alive. I do not know how he came in, but Zeus knows about Hermes children and their ways. Whatever, I am tired of knocking against this door, knowing you are here but not getting an answer. I am tired of not seeing you at the campfire or the meals. Hades knows, I am even tired of not getting interrupted by your stupid machines while playing 'Capture the flag'. You are not alone, and she was not your life, however precious she may have been to you. I haven't lost you death itself, Leo, and I will certainly not lose you to a stupid girl.”
For a few seconds the tension in the room was so thick, that Jason was positively sure he could cut it with a knife. A little spark seemed to be enough to make Leo explode. He had straightened his back, opened his mouth and looked ready to strangle Piper right on the spot.
Then all remaining energy seemed to leave Leo at once. He slumped back against the table and sank down to the ground. “You're right...” he mumbled. “Gods, you're right.”
Jason lunched forward to comfort him, but Piper held him back. “Yes I am. And now we are leaving. Get yourself together, Leo. I expect you to clean up this mess, clean up yourself and be at the campfire tonight, do you understand?”
Leo just nodded and Jason threw him an apologetic look over his shoulder while he was dragged out of the bunker by Piper. After the door closed, he turned to her, raising his eyebrows in question. “Why are we leaving him like this?”
“Because he needs to come to terms with himself.” She met his questioning look and sighed. “Don't worry Jason, he'll be fine. “ She started walking, expecting him to follow. “He had locked himself away for a long while, I guess he needs to climb out of his self-made prison by himself. He just needed a little push.”
Suddenly she smirked. “And he's not alone. I am pretty sure I saw Connor Stoll lurking in the shadows behind. If I didn't know better I'd guess he had stolen Nico's shadow travelling ability. I don't think Leo knew that he was there.”
“Connor Stoll? Well. They have become friends lately, haven't they?”
He just turned in time to saw a strange look cross her face, something between amusement and pity. “Friends? Yes. Yes they have.” She reached out for his hand. “A walk through the woods?”
“Yeah. Why not?”