Archive of Our Own

Leo didn’t know when it started. Probably back at the wilderness school, or at least his false memories of it. Leo always trailed behind Jason and Piper, didn’t push his role as the third-wheeling comic relief. When Hera’s false memories washed away, he wasn’t a third wheel, but most of the time it still felt like Piper simply tolerated him, they were only friends because there was no one else. But it seems like Leo’s stupid feelings for the Golden Boy date back as far as the grand canyon, watching him swing his sword like it was his second nature. 

Gods, he hates this. Aphrodite was definitely laughing down at him from Olympus. 

Leo knew he would never fit in with any crowd, no matter how hard he tried. Liking dudes was just another brick in the wall separating him from everyone else. At all the foster homes, he never felt like there was a space for him. At the wilderness school, he was an ill-fitting puzzle piece in an empty space where Piper needed a friend. Even at camp: both with the Seven and in the Hephaestus cabin. Sure, camp was home. Leo hadn’t had a real home in a long time. He felt most at home in Bunker 9, tinkering away at his latest project. Camp was home enough, but he still never felt like he clicked . Even after the war, the words of Nemesis weighed on his shoulders. Everyone was partnered off: Percy and Annabeth were almost inseparable, especially after what they went through in Tartarus, Frank and Hazel weren’t dating but they were best friends, and then. Then there were Jason and Piper. 

It’s been years since the war, even longer since Leo’s first quest, but he still often finds his mind wandering back to sitting in the sewers, talking to Jason quietly while Piper slept in his lap. He hid his jealousy of Piper well, but he couldn’t stop thinking about his own head where Piper’s lay, Jason flying to him at the Grand Canyon instead of her, Jason falling asleep on his back while they flew above the country on Festus. 

-

“What?” 

“I said, Jason and Piper broke up.”

“No, no, no, I heard you- just. What? ”

Nico rolled his eyes. He had come to deliver a new shipment of materials to the bunker, but had struck up a conversation with the other demigod

“I mean, I can’t say I’m not surprised too.” Nico replied, sitting down on a rolling chair next to Leo. “I thought they’d be the next Percy and Annabeth.” There was a hint of bitterness in his voice. 

“Why d’you sound so jealous? Got a thing for the Beauty Queen?” Leo joked. Nico stared at him, straight-faced.

“What?” Leo asked.

“Why would I like Piper?” 

“Well, I dunno, just a guess from the tone of your voice, dude.” he shrugged. “And shes, like, pretty and stuff.”

“I don’t like girls?” Nico squinted, confused. Leo squinted back. 

“Wha?”
“I’m gay, Leo.” he deadpanned.

Leo pondered for a moment. “That actually makes a lot of sense, death breath. Hm.” There was an uncomfortable silence lingering in the air, before Leo broke it. “Wait.”

“...What?” Nico asked, looking puzzled once more. Leo seemed lost in thought, before an almost panicked look developed on his face. 

“Nico, I have something to tell you, and you have to promise not to tell anyone .” 

“What, you like guys? No shit, Leo. You’re practically drowning in performative heterosexuality.”

“Oh... really?” Leo questioned. “Wait, what’s performative heterosexuality?”

“You ever notice how much you talk about girls? It’s way over the top. You’re performing. Trying to convince people you’re straight.” Nico explained. 

“But I do like girls.” Leo got up from his seat and began walking in circles frantically. “At least, I think I do, that’s just how its always been- I mean, I guess I never really had crushes on girls, but I was a bit busy at all the foster homes ‘cuz I had bigger things to worry about, but there was that one guy when I lived in El Paso- I mean, when we were on our first quest, I could see how pretty Khione and Thalia were, and I guess thats just, like, how things are supposed to be? What-” 

“Leo.” Nico cut him off. “Calm down.”

Leo stopped pacing and took a deep breath. He tended to get caught up in his own thoughts, but in the last year he had gotten better at slowing himself. 

“Sorry. I just- well, I dunno, liking girls is all I ever knew. There wasn’t another option. But there were a few times where I looked at a guy and I got this feeling that I never got when I looked at any girl.”

Nico had a look close to pity on his face, but somewhere in there was a recognition that he had felt the same way. 

“You don’t have to like girls, Leo. You know yourself better than I do, but it sounds like you’re overcompensating- if you did like girls, would you have to force it so much?” 

“I guess not.” Leo shrugged. He sat back down, one hand running through his curls and the other tapping on his leg, jittering with anxiety. He spoke again, quieter this time.

“I got that feeling when I first remember looking at Jason.” A beat of silence before Nico replied.

“Hm, that’s not actually that surprising.”

“Does that mean I like him?” 

“I can’t tell you that. You have to figure that out for yourself.” 

“...Well, can you tell me how you knew you liked Will?” Leo asked, and Nico gave a slightly exasperated sigh, but smiled and nodded. 

The conversation continued into late in the night. Nico’s usually deadpan expression was completely different when he talked about Will, and he seemed less guarded. The two walked back to the cabins together, Leo’s fire guiding the way and scaring off any lurking monsters. 

“Y’know, you’re a pretty cool dude, death breath! Why haven’t we hung out more?” Leo inquired cheerfully.

“Because you call me death breath.” 

“Fine, I can come up with better nicknames for you. Uh... spicy meatball?”

“Absolutely not.” Nico scowled. Leo stayed quiet, seeming to be thinking deeply about new nicknames for Nico.

“We also haven’t hung out because you never asked.” Nico broke Leo’s train of thought. 

“Huh, I guess not. I figured you found me annoying, like everyone else.”

“A bit, but I grew up with Percy, I’m used to it.” Nico shrugged, and Leo cracked a smile. “And what do you mean, everyone else ? You’ve got plenty of friends.”

“Sure, I guess. Piper and Jason usually are off together- although I guess that changes with them apart.” Leo got quieter. “They didn’t even tell me they broke up.” 

Nico frowned. “That’s shitty, aren’t you their best friend?”

Leo shrugged. “I guess. They tolerate me.” 

“...I get that.”

He snorted. “Dude, Reyna doesn’t tolerate you, she cares about you a ton! Don’t kid yourself.”

“No, I just meant... I get what it’s like to feel like you don’t fit in.” Nico said. “I guess that’s an assumption, but it sounds like you feel like you don’t have a spot, and I know what that’s like.” Leo didn’t say anything, just nodded. Nico stopped walking, and Leo scanned his surroundings and realized that they were at the cabins.

“Guess we should part ways now. But thanks for everything, Neeks!” He grinned mischievously. “Eh? Better?”

Nico sighed. “It’s preferable to death breath, at least. And no problem, Leo. See you later.”

-

Ever since the alliance with the Romans, certain camp rules had become more flexible. One of them being the dining table rules. Thanks to this, Leo could slam his plate down across from Jason and join him for a very interrogative breakfast. 

“So, Jase, a little birdy told me you and Pipes broke up.” Leo said, aggressively pointing his fork at his friend. Jason sighed. 

“Yeah, what about it?” 

“Well, my man, why didn’t I hear it from one of you first?” Leo asked in an accusatory tone. Jason just shrugged and let his gaze fall to his plate of eggs. 

“C’mon, dude, I thought we were friends! And I hear it from Nico, when he comes to visit me? Which, by the way, you never do anymore?” he continued. Usually because you’re with Piper , he thought, but decided to leave that part out. 

“Leo, I-” Jason sighed again, and pushed his glasses up onto his head. “I don’t really wanna talk about this right now.” 

Leo was going to continue pestering, but Nico sat down next to Jason with a plate of french toast.

“Morning.” 

“‘Sup, Neeks.” Leo greeted him. He decided to drop the breakup topic... for now. The three struck up a conversation about their plans for the day, but Jason talked less than usual. 

-

Leo had been called over to the Aphrodite cabin to fix their leaky sink when Piper approached him. 

“Yo, Pipes, why do you guys get your own bathroom when everyone else has to use the bathhouse?” 

“My siblings love their spa days, I guess.” She leaned against the doorframe of the very pink bathroom. “...Did Jason tell you anything?”

“Quite the opposite, m’lady. He told me zip, zilch, nada .” Leo didn’t look at his friend when he responded. “Would’ve been nice to hear about you guys splitting from one of you.” Piper winced.

“I’m sorry, Leo. I guess I haven’t really been clueing you in about anything going on.” 

“Neither of you have.” 

“Well, do you still want me to?” She sat down on the shower bench across from the sink. Leo paused his tasks, his attention seized.

“Uh, Duh, Pipes! What’s the hot goss?” He retorted, and Piper laughed. 

“It’s not as fun as you think... things just felt so forced between us. My mom might be the goddess of love, but that doesn’t give her the gift of foresight.” She leaned back against the wall, and Leo put his tools down to go sit next to her.

“...I’ve always felt this expectation to like guys, to be with a guy. Jason is the only guy I’ve dated, and that was still... arranged . During the quests and the battles, it just felt nice to have someone I knew would be by my side. Things have been normal for a year now, and It just felt like I was putting off all those big relationship milestones- we hang out plenty, but I don’t like him more than a friend.” Piper wrapped the small braid dangling by her face around her finger. “I don’t like guys, Leo.”

Leo took a second to absorb the information, the same way he did with Nico’s coming out.
“So... you like girls?” 

Piper nodded.

“Oh, okay, no wonder you guys broke up.” 

“I’m glad it’s not a big deal to you.”
“‘Course not, beauty queen! I don’t care who you’re getting down with, as long as you’re happy.” Leo gave her a friendly shoulder punch, and she laughed.

“ Getting down with - god, you’re a nerd.” 

Leo considered telling her what he’d told Nico, but he hesitated. It wasn’t the right time.

“Soooo... did Jason not see it coming? He seems like he’s not taking it well.”

“I think he kind of did, but he wasn’t ready for it... He’s dealing with his own stuff, too. You should check in on him.” 

They kept talking for a while before Piper went to take care of head counselor duties and Leo finished fixing the sink. After that, he spent the rest of the day looking around for Jason. He eventually found him by the canoe lake. Leo’s first instinct, of course, was to run up behind his friend to startle him.

“Boo!” He grabbed his shoulders, and Jason jumped.

“Zeus on a-!” He turned around and scowled at his friend, although it looked more like a pout. “ Leo. ”

“Been looking everywhere for ya, Jase. What are you doing, skipping rocks?” He plopped down next to him, sitting cross legged in the grass. Jason just shrugged.

“...So, Piper filled me in.” Leo said in an attempt to get his friend to open up. 

“Cool.” was all he said. Leo frowned.

“That’s all? Cool? You don’t want to talk about it more?”

“Not much else to say. I’ll get over it. Just need some time to sort out my stuff.” Jason replied. 

“Well, if you do wanna  talk about anything, I’m here, dude.” 

They stayed silent for a while, taking in the buzz of cicadas and the cool evening breeze. Jason was the one who spoke first.

“I think I like guys.” he told Leo nonchalantly. Leo instantly felt the feeling he’d told Nico about- his heart buzzing and his stomach fluttering.

“Everyone’s coming out to me lately! First Nico, then Piper, now you!” Leo threw his hands up. “I mean, I don’t care if you’re gay, dude, but how am I only finding these things out now?”

“If it makes you feel better, I only told you and Piper. And I’m not gay, I like girls too.” Jason scratched the back of his head. “And how did you only just find out about Nico?”

“I dunno! I’m not good at this stuff, I can disassemble and reassemble an engine in eight minutes but I can’t remember people’s birthdays or favorite colors.”

“Well, you remembered my birthday.” 

“Yeah, but that’s you.” Leo grinned, and Jason smiled back, the scar across his lip quirking up. Leo’s stomach felt like it did whenever Festus dropped out of the sky before he was working well. Well, fuck .

-

Later, Leo came knocking on the door of the Hades cabin to debrief the day with Nico. 

“So. Piper’s a lesbian, Jason’s bi, and you’re gay and also clearly very into him.” Nico summed up after Leo relayed all this information to him. The Hades cabin only had two bunk beds since it wasn’t very populated, so the rest of the space was devoted to a blood red velvet couch and a black coffee table, where Nico had his Mythomagic deck spread out to organize. Nico sat on the floor while Leo sprawled on the couch. 

“Is it that obvious?” Leo groaned. 

“Well, the way you explained the bit where he said you remembered his birthday and you went ‘ yeah but thats you’ with no further explanation, that really made it sound like an interaction I could’ve had with Will. Leo covered his eyes with his hands and let out another groan. 

“What do I do nooooow,” he mumbled. 

“Give him some time to cool off from the breakup, keep being friends with him, see where it goes.” Nico suggested. “ Also ,” he pointed his finger at Leo, poking his forehead with a purple-painted nail. “Stop obnoxiously pretending you’re heterosexual. I mean, if you’re bisexual, okay. But even then, stop forcing it so much. You don’t need to convince people you like girls. It’s uncomfortable for girls you hit on, it’s annoying for people around you, and it’s not good for you either.” Leo sighed in response.

“I don’t think I do.” He sunk deeper into the couch. “Like girls, I mean. They’re pretty, and I act like I want to date them, but... I don’t think I really do. It’s just what I thought I should do, because its what everyone else expects and thinks I should do.” His voice strained, close to tears. Nico got up and sat cross-legged next to his friend on the couch, and began to speak softly. 

“If you like guys, you like guys. You can’t change that. Believe me, I would know. And there’s nothing wrong with that. There’s nothing wrong with you, Leo, no matter how many people tell you otherwise.” 

Leo looked away, trying to blink away the tears forming. He sat up and wiped his eyes. 

“Thanks, Neeks.” 

“No need to thank me. I’m just telling you what I wish someone had told me.” he gave a sad smile. 

-

Leo’s chest heaved as he collapsed onto the top of the climbing wall.

“Gods, how did you get me to do that?” He managed to gasp out as Jason sat next to him. The blonde was also breathing heavily, but seemed to be in better shape that Leo. 

“Probably blackmailed you.” Jason smiled. Even sweaty and slightly pink from the heat of the lava, his smile made Leo’s stomach fill with butterflies. He was glad that he was so ed that Jason couldn’t tell he was blushing. They sat in silence for a while, catching their breaths, before Jason spoke again.

“I’m glad we did this. Feels like we haven’t hung much since, well, building the Argo II.” 

“Yeah, me too.” Leo replied with his usual perk, but a bit of sadness broke through his voice. Jason seemed to catch on, and winced.

“Hey, Leo, I’m sorry that Piper and I blew you off a lot.” Leo couldn’t bring himself to look at Jason, instead looking off towards the beach and tapping morse code quickly on his leg. 

A short tap, three long ones.

“It wasn’t fair, we should’ve been better friends.”

A singular short tap. 

“Obviously, I can’t go back and change how we treated you... but I hope I can make it up to you.”

Short, long. 

“Yeah, I hope so too.” Leo said, unusually quiet.

Short, long, short, short. 

Leo could feel Jason’s sad eyes on him. His stupid blue eyes. 

Long, long, long.

“I’m sorry.” Jason said. 

Short, short, long.

“It’s fine, dude, I get it.”

Short, short, short. JEALOUS, JEALOUS, JEALOUS .

“You don’t need to keep feeling guilty about it, it’s in the past now.” Leo stood and wiped the dust off of his pants. He turned to look at Jason, who was still gazing sadly at him. 

“C’mon, Jase, it’s fine. Now, you wanna fly us off of here? I don’t think I wanna go down the Lava Wall of Death again.” He grinned, and some of the tension left Jason’s shoulders. 

-

Leo and Nyssa were busy as ever working on plans for a Hephaestus cabin upgrade, since there were more campers in their cabin than ever and it was getting crowded. They were going over their rough draft blueprints at the picnic tables near the arena, where Jason was casually practicing his sword fighting skills. Leo could hear Nyssa speaking, but didn’t know what she was saying until she started snapping her fingers in front of his face.

“Hey, idiota . Loverboy. Earth to Leo.” 

“ Loverboy? ” Leo whisper shouted. 

“Don’t play dumb, you know what I mean. Did you hear what I was saying?” Nyssa shot back. Leo ignored her, and repeated:

“ Loverboy ?! ”

Nyssa let out an exasperated sigh. “You’re into him, right?”

“I mean, well, I guess, maybe-” Leo started stuttering before Nyssa covered his mouth with her callused hand.

“Look, I’m not blind. You’re practically making heart eyes at all all the time.” 

“Prmth yu wu-” Leo’s words were muffled, so Nyssa dropped her hand. “-promise you won’t tell anyone?” His sister looked almost offended

“ Why would I tell anyone?” 

“I just- I don’t really want people to know?” He fidgeted. “That I’m, yknow.”

“Gay?” Nyssa finished, and he nodded. “I don’t care that you’re gay. So am I, and I’ll tell you right now that no one here gives a damn.” She was silent for a moment before giving him a friendly smack to the back of Leo’s head, because that was how Nyssa showed affection.

“I won’t tell anyone, you’ve got my word. Take your time and come out when you feel comfortable.” 

“Ouch,” Leo rubbed his head but gave a halfhearted grin. “... Thanks, Nyssa.”

“You’re welcome, but seriously we have more important things to discuss than your love interest.” 

-

Soon enough, Leo and Jason got back into a routine of hanging out. Sometimes Nico would join them, and Will would tag along with him. Some days they spent with Piper, too, whom Jason had eventually gotten less awkward with. Leo still spent a lot of the time in the forges and in the bunker, working almost nonstop on whatever. Jason would often keep him company in the bunker, making conversation while Leo worked. One particular night, over half a year since Jason and Piper broke up, Jason headed over to the bunker after noticing Leo’s missing presence at dinner, with an extra plate of food. 

Inside the stone bunker, Leo was assembling a small, intricate object at his desk. He was so focused he didn’t notice Jason until he said his name three times. 

“Oh, hey, Jase!” he said, frazzled. His hair was messier than usual, and he quickly covered his creation with an oil rag. “Whatcha doin’ here?”

Jason raised an eyebrow at Leo’s behavior, but didn’t say anything about it. “You weren’t at dinner, so I figured I’d bring you some food.”

Leo smiled. “Aw, thanks dude!” he wiped the traces of motor oil on his hands off on his jeans, took the place and started chowing down. Jason pulled a chair and took a seat by Leo. 

“So... what are you working on?” he asked.

“Made some adjustments to the Hephaestus chariot for the winter, it’ll make for some epic snowball fights.” Leo replied between bites.

“What about when I came in?” Jason questioned innocently. Leo froze.

“Uh, it was- it’s nothing!” he said before shoving more food in his mouth. Jason shrugged.

“I mean, you don’t have to tell me. Just curious.”

Jason changed the subject quickly after, and Leo kept working on the chariot while talking with him. Eventually, Jason looked up at the clock.

“Oh, dude, it’s almost lights out- we should head back to our cabins.” 

Leo put down his tools and rubbed his eyes.

“I was tired when you came in anyways. Should’ve probably slept after you came by, sorry for keepin’ you up.” 

Jason frowned. “You could’ve told me you were tired. Also, don’t apologize, I chose to stay with you.” He and Leo began walking back to the camp, led by a flame dancing on Leo’s palm. The fire flickered out several times, due to Leo stumbling over rocks and tree roots drowsily. 

“You need to stop overworking yourself, man.” Jason said, and tried to steady his friend by placing his hand on his back. Leo flinched at the contact, like he had been electrocuted, and Jason removed his hand. 

“Sorry, did I shock you? Uh, literally, I mean.”

Leo scratched the back of his neck, thankful for the dark hiding the flush of his cheeks. “Nah, you’re good, just surprised me.”

They reached the cabins, where most of the windows were already dark and the few remaining campers were headed inside. Jason walked Leo to Cabin 9’s door. 

“Well, guess we split off here.” Jason turned to Leo. “See you tomorrow?” he smiled.

“Yeah, see you.” Leo smiled, and watched Jason walk to Cabin 1. Then Leo opened the door to his own cabin, and saw his siblings stumbling away from the windows.

“...Were you guys spying on me?” he asked. 

Nyssa did her best to suppress a laugh as she sauntered back to her bunk. Jake acted like he didn’t know Leo, quickly retreating under the covers. Harley, dressed in flannel pajamas, ran back to his bed too, but shouted to his older brother: “Just ask him out!” 

Leo groaned. “C’mon, Nyssa! You told them?”

“I didn’t tell anyone anything!” his sister replied as she wrapped her blankets around her. “You’re just making it obvious.”

He groaned louder.

-

Summer had finally come to an end once again, and everyone except the year-rounders were gone. Piper was cleaning out the Aphrodite cabin when she saw Leo walking from the forges and waved him over.

“Sup, beauty queen?” 

“Can you give me a hand with this dresser?” she pointed inside the open door. “There’s definitely some trash behind it and I want to sweep it out. Aphrodite kids aren’t as neat as everyone thinks.” 

“No prob, bob!” Leo said and stepped inside. Piper immediately shut the door behind him.

“Okay, sit down.” She pointed to one of the unmade beds.

“Uh, I thought you wanted my help with-” Leo questioned, but Piper cut him off.

“That was just to get you inside so I could interrogate you about your crush on Jason.”

Leo went uncharacteristically still. He could hear siren noises started going off in his head. Piper could clearly read the panicked expression on his face.

“Leo, I’m not mad at you. I just wanted to talk about it. Y’know, as friends? Get the hot goss or whatever you like to say?” she sat down on a mattress and patted the spot next to her. Leo stayed frozen for another moment before taking a seat. 

“Did someone tell you or did you just figure it out like everyone else?” Leo sighed.

“I suspected, and Nico confirmed it for me.” she looked at Leo’s defeated expression and frowned. “Don’t give me that look. Half of the reason I called you in here was to give you my blessing.” That changed Leo’s mood.

“Oh, cool! Now we just gotta get Thalia’s and then we’re all set for a wedding in the spring.” he joked, and Piper cracked a smile. 

“Yeah, I don’t mind that you like Jason. I mean, he’s a great guy. You couldn’t have picked anyone better.”

“My small amount of common sense begs to differ.” Leo grimaced. “He’s, like, my best friend. I don’t want to fuck that up.” 

“Who says you will? You don’t know how he feels.” 

“I think I can make a pretty good guess. Unless you have any intel from the Love Mama.” 

It was Piper’s turn to grimace.

“Don’t call her that, it’s weird!” she elbowed him.”But no, I do not. She doesn’t tend to clue me in on other’s love lives.”

“Eh, too bad. You’d be the source of all the steamy demigod romance gossip. You could start a tabloid column.” 

Piper made a gagging gesture, and Leo laughed.
“You said that was half of the reason you called me in here?” He asked.

“Well, the other half was just to say I’m proud of you.” Piper smiled at him. “I’m glad you’re opening up about this.”

“Aw, thanks Pipes, I’m glad you’re gay too.” 

She breathed a laugh.
“Seriously, Leo. I know it’s not easy. I’m really happy you’re figuring this out.” 

“Thanks, Piper. Seriously.” Leo smiled back this time. 

The dinner bell rang to break up their heartfelt moment. 

“On that note, Leo’s hungy. Let’s get some grub!” 

They left the cabin and headed towards the dining pavilion.

-

After filling his plate, Leo had thrown some fresh fruit into the hearth for Aphrodite. Clearly, it paid off, because after he drifted off to sleep the first thing he saw was the goddess seated in front of him on a white chaise. She was dressed in a comfortable but elegant light pink dress, and she was indescribably beautiful. 

“Hi Piper’s mom,” was all Leo could think to say. He felt like an idiot greeting a goddess like that, but she seemed amused. 

“Hello, Leo. I heard you wanted to have a chat?”

“More like I need someone to tell me what to do to not fuck up my friendship because I’m in love with my best friend.”

Aphrodite gave a knowing grin, and Leo suddenly knew where the Mona Lisa’s smile came from. 

“Ah, Jason. He’s stolen the hearts of many, man and woman alike.” Aphrodite reached over to a large bush of pink roses that was suddenly behind her and plucked off one of the flowers. “I’m sure I don’t need to tell you how love is like a rose- beautiful, but can prick you so easily.” 

“Yeah, love hurts, I get the jist.”

Aphrodite presented him with the rose, and Leo immediately outstretched his arm so she could drop the bloom in his hands.
“You’re named for the lion, Leo. You must be confident in love.” the flower felt heavy in Leo’s hands. “I cannot know the outcome of this, but I know a good couple when I see one. As friends or otherwise, you balance each other. And while I still wish it worked out for him and Piper, that was not their fate.” Carefully, the goddess stood, towering several feet above Leo. She placed one bejeweled hand on Leo’s head.
“Take a chance, little lion. Good luck.”

Leo awoke with the rose in his hand. 

-

He couldn’t get back to sleep. He left the rose with his stuff and got dressed, taking a walk around camp. It was a late August morning, cool and dewy. Working in the forge or the bunker seemed like a good idea to get his mind off things, but he didn’t think he could focus enough to get anything done. He settled for just walking. He had already passed by the volleyball court and the big house before he circled around to the sword-fighting area, where he was surprised to see he wasn’t the only one awake. A familiar figure seemed to be practicing, jabbing and parrying into the air.

“Jase?” Leo sounded sleepier than he realized. The figure stopped and turned, and it indeed was Jason. Despite the cool air, he was sweating. He smiled at Leo, catching his breath.

“Hey, Leo.” 

Leo walked over to Jason. “You’re up early.”
“So are you.” Jason stabbed his sword into the sand, leaving it to stand on its own. “Were you having trouble sleeping?” 

“Guess so.” Leo shrugged. “Weird dreams, you know how it is.” Jason nodded.

“Anything spooky and ominous?” he asked with a playful smirk and pushed his glasses up his nose. 

“Nah, no spooky shit. Just... weird.” Leo needed to drop this subject before he said something he regretted. “It’s cool though, nothing to worry about.” They didn’t speak for a moment before a lightbulb seemed to turn on above Jason’s head.
“Hey, I have to show you this place I found.” He started walking across the arena, to the side facing the woods. There was plenty of thick foliage and rock clusters behind there, so it wasn’t heavily treaded. Jason ducked behind a few thick trees and Leo followed. 

“Here,” Jason gestured to the structure in front of them. It was a short, flat-roofed dilapidated building that might’ve been blue once. The door hung off the frames. 

“Creepy.” Leo said, and immediately headed inside, with Jason behind him. It wasn’t anything fancy, just a storage place for old armor and practice dummies. 

“It’s not that interesting,” Jason said, echoing Leo’s thoughts- “But it’s cool to find these old spots around camp. Like when you found the bunker- that was much cooler, though.” Jason sat down on a wooden storage crate, the only clear surface in the room.
“I’ve been coming here to get away all summer. I guess it’s my secret hideaway.” 

Despite the small surface, Leo took a seat next to him.
“Dude, you’ve gotta get a better secret hideaway. I mean, the secret part’s cool, but you should clean it up!” Leo gestured to the dirt and probably animal droppings on the floor. 

“Good point. I guess I just didn’t want to change anything. I haven’t moved anything, this place is stuck in time.” 

Leo looked over at Jason, who was staring out at the room, with this sad-happy look on his face. Like something was wrong, but he had accepted it and remained content.
Take a chance . That’s what Aphrodite had said. Leo felt around in the pocket of his trusty army jacket. He had finished this gift for Jason a while ago, but wasn’t sure when to give it to him. Maybe now was the right time. 

“Hey, so, I know you’ve been using that standard issue Camp Jupiter sword for a while-” Leo pulled his hand out of his pocket, fist closed around his creation. Jason turned towards him.“-I mean, obviously, it’s been working out for you- you’re still in one piece, but I thought, hey, Jason needs a real cool weapon again , so I’ve been working on this.” He opened his fist, revealing a byzantine chain gold bracelet.

“It’s a little flashy, I guess, but you’re the golden boy.” Leo quipped. “Your sister has that scary shield bracelet, so it kinda matches hers.” Leo just wanted to show Jason what it did, so before he realized what he was doing he took Jason’s wrist and clasped it on. Leo’s hand was warm on Jason’s skin.
“Uh- Okay, so just try to pull it off.”

Jason did so, and when the chain left his wrist it transformed into a gladius, with a black leather-wrapped grip and Latin and Ancient Greek engravings on the blade (for the magic to transform the blade. Yup. Science.)

“Wow, this is amazing!” Jason beamed an infectious smile that could make even crack Mr. D. He examined the sword closely, running his fingers over the engraved letters while Leo watched.
“You can turn it back by touching it to your wrist,” Leo said. Jason pressed the flat of his blade to his forearm, and it shrunk back into the intricately woven chain.

“Is this what you were working on in the bunker and you obviously tried to hide from me?” 

“Yeahhh, you got me.”
“Leo, it’s beautiful.” Jason touched the bracelet. “Thank you.” He looked up at Leo, and oh. Oh. They were only inches apart, Leo must have shifted when he was showing Jason how to use the chain. He could feel the glorious pit in his stomach widening. 

Leo could see every little line in his stupidly blue irises, the hint of freckles across his nose, the small scar on his upper lip oh god Leo was looking at his lips oh no no no

Leo quickly leaned back and looked away. 

“Yeah dude, no problem! Just, y’know, thought you would like it.” he tried not to stutter. “Uh, did you hear the wake up bell? We should probably head back soon!”

Jason looked like he was about to say something else, but then just nodded.
“Yeah, let’s go.”

Leo couldn’t read the expression on his face.

-

“Oh my god.” Piper put her face in her hands.

“Leo, I mean this in the nicest way possible- are you dumb, or are you really fucking dumb? ” Nico asked his friend. 

“Incredibly fucking dumb.” Leo said from his position laying facedown on the floor. He hadn’t looked at Jason for the entirety of breakfast, and after he escaped to his cabin so he didn’t have a complete breakdown from what had happened behind the arena. Nyssa seemed to notice his peril and notify Nico and Piper, who dragged him to the Hades cabin after he had skipped lunch. 

“Was he really gonna kiss me?” He asked, prompting an instant response.

“ Probably !” Nico replied, at the same time that Piper yelled “YES!” 

Leo let out a tired, groaning noise. He was never going to live this down.
“I guess Aphrodite was right. I should’ve taken a chance.”

“Wait,” Piper said. “Did you talk to her?” Leo nodded and relayed his dream to her. 

“Huh, she was actually nice to you, that’s surprising.”

“Yeah, I greeted her as ‘Pipers mom’ and she didn’t vaporize me. I’m a miracle child.” 

Nico spoke up.

“Look, Leo... go at your own pace, but don’t draw it out. Then you’re just making yourself suffer. I doubt Jason will hate you if tell him and he doesn’t reciprocate. He’d probably feel worse for turning you down.”  

Piper nodded in agreement.

“He cares about you, he wouldn’t stop being friends with you over that. Just give it a shot.”

-

So, Leo avoided Jason for the next week. He spent hours between the forges and his cabin, going right back inside as soon as meals were done even if he could see Jason approaching him out of the corner of his eye. He could hear Jason asking Nyssa if Leo was around from his basement room, and when they would call for him he would just say he was busy. That is, until the evening where he heard Nyssa answering the door and talking in hushed voices with Jason. The door shut, but he could hear Nyssa approaching his bunk. It started to rise back to the ground floor.

“Uh, hey, Nyssa, I’m a bit busy here,” He holds up his wii remote and gestured to the tv screen on the Mario Kart menu. His sister crossed her muscular arms and scowled at him. 

“Your friend is here to see you. He’s been asking for you every day for the past few days.” 

“Well, I’ll talk to him later, when I’ve mastered Rainbow road.” Leo reached for the button to bring him back down to the basement, but Nyssa slapped his hand away from it.

“Ow!”

“Oh no you don’t.” She reached into his bunk and scooped him up, tossing him over her shoulder. 

“Nyssa! Put me down!” He tried to wriggle away, but she had a strong grip on his legs. “Damn you, strong woman!” As she started to get closer to the door, Leo started to panic a bit.

“Nyssa, please, I can’t talk to him. I can’t live the embarrassment down till I die, please-”
“It’s a small camp, Leo, you’re gonna talk to him one way or another.” And with that she opened the door, set Leo down outside, and slammed the door behind him. 

“...Uh, hey.” 

Leo turned to see Jason. 

“Can we talk?” he asked, seeming hesitant. Fuck . Leo swallowed. 

“Heyyy... Uh, yeah, what about?” He asked. Idiot, you know what about, his brain chided him. Jason glanced away. 

“Lets just go somewhere else.” 

-

They ended up by the strawberry fields, just when the sun was about to dip below the horizon. Jason spoke first.

“Look... I’m really sorry if I made you uncomfortable, I really wish you told me instead of ignoring me-” Leo didn’t even absorb Jason’s words before he cut him off. 

“I shouldn’t have done that, I’m sorry dude, it’s just that Aphrodite told me I should take a chance and be confident and stuff and I mean, she knows her shit, but I guess she can’t tell the future so I really wish I didn’t do that because I don’t want to make you uncomfortable and you’re my best friend, and...” he paused in his rambling to take a breath. “I don’t know, I’m just sorry, can we forget I did that?”
“...Wait, what about Aphrodite?” Jason looked puzzled. 

“Okay, so that dream I had- the one I told you I had last week, the morning in the arena, I gave Aphrodite an offering at dinner the night before because I wanted her advice and I saw her in my dream, and she gave me a rose and told me I should take a chance-”

“Take a chance on what, Leo?” Jason asked quietly. Leo was close to tears. God, he felt awful, he was such an idiot.

“On you,” Leo was looking anywhere but at Jason now. “On... us.” he practically spat the word now, it sounded so stupid. Jason wasn’t saying anything. Leo hated the stupid teenage hormones in his body, making him feel like his life was fucking over. Fuck. He felt something grab one of his hands that was hanging by his side. Leo moved his eyes up and Jason had gotten closer. Jason was holding his hand, and Leo could feel his stomach drop just like it had in the storage shed, just like when he touched his back in the woods, just like on the top of the climbing wall, just like every other fucking time Jason had looked at him like that . Leo could hear the rush of blood in his head and the beating of his own heart. His heart skipped a beat- gods, how cliche- when Jason spoke.

“Leo, you didn’t make me uncomfortable.”

Leo just nodded, like an idiot, because he heard what Jason said but he was too close too close and he could just lean in and-

He kissed him. And Jason froze for a moment, and Leo expected the worst- a push to the ground, a fist to the face- before Jason put the hand that wasn’t holding Leo’s on the back of his neck, in his shaggy curls, and kissed back. 

“Oh my god I kissed you,” Leo said frantically when he pulled back. Jason almost laughed, maybe at Leo’s reaction and maybe out of relief.
“Yeah,” he smiled. “I’m glad you did.” 

“Fuck,” Leo cursed, and wiped away the small tears that had been forming in his eyes.
“Why are you crying?” Jason frowned, doing that concerned pout he does when someone is hurting, and he moved his hand from Leo’s neck to caress his cheek.

“Cuz you don’t hate me.”