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Leo Valdez could barely sit still as Festus flew over Missouri. The mist, along with a thick layer of fog that left him somehow damp and dry simultaneously, covered him from the view of mortals as he squirmed with excitement, anxious to land in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. His best friend, Piper, had sent him an Iris Message while he was helping one of his mothers, Emmie, cook dinner; a large platter of tacos like the one his mami used to make. The talk had been brief, Piper having not accounted for the one hour time difference between Indianapolis and Tahlequah, but one thing had come out of it: the promise to meet up. Since Leo had the means of transportation—in the form of a flying bronze dragon—it had been decided that he would go.
Leaving Waystation had been a quiet affair, the demigods Jo and Emmie had agreed to foster during the school year so they could try and have a relatively normal life were at school, so Leo had managed to go without being bombarded by his little half-brother, Harley, and his little sister, Georgina. He did get woken up at an ungodly hour in the morning, smothered in goodbye kisses and hugs from the two third graders before they left for the bus.
"Can't I come and visit Piper with you?" Harley had whined, "I don't want to take my spelling test."
Leo ruffled his curls as best he could in his early morning drowsiness, "You don't need to do good in spelling, Har, you just need to try your best."
"You're lucky you get to miss school," Georgie added softly.
"Just one day," Leo told her, "I'll be back in school on Monday." He was honestly surprised Emmie and Jo agreed to write him an absent note for the day, but travel takes time, even if you're using a flying dragon.
"Come on, Georgie, Harley, we're going to be late!" Leo's half-sister, Nyssa, yelled across the house, her voice magically amplified, "Hurry up."
"Coming!" called Harley. He gave Leo one last kiss on the cheek before turning to Georgie, "Let's go before Sissa blows."
"I heard that, Harley!"
The two children giggled before bolting out of the room, ignoring Jo's cries of, "Be careful you two!"
Leo got an hour more of shut eye before he left Indiana, and when Festus started their descent as they passed the border into Oklahoma, the sun was a little past its peak. Piper had no school that day, some teacher's conference, so Leo was set to meet her whenever he desired.
From his tool belt, he produced a little notepad, which had Piper's address messily scribbled on it. It took a while for the boy and dragon to locate the house, but when they did, Leo was physically shaking with excitement, so much so that Festus had to grab the back of his shirt so he didn't collapse when he slid off.
The McLean family's house was modest, much different than the giant mansion Leo knew Piper grew up in, and surrounded by a vibrant grassy field. Leo admired the greenery as Festus folded up into a briefcase so he could grab him and begin his walk towards the door by means of the cobbled pathway.
The door had the house number, as well as the McLean family name in golden cursive above the knocker, which Leo admired for a moment before reaching out and slamming the knocker three times.
The door opened quickly, and he was greeted by Tristan McLean. "Leo Valdez!" exclaimed Mr. McLean, stepping aside so that the son of Hephaestus could enter. "Piper is up in her room with Shel. It's at the top of the stairs, first door to the right."
Leo didn't know who Shel was, but he nodded like he did, grabbing Festus's handle with two hands and marched up the stairs, struggling slightly under Festus's weight. At the top, Leo dropped Festus to the ground with a loud clang, which must have alerted Piper of his presence because her bedroom door flung open to reveal Piper. "Leo!"
Leo ran into her arms, causing her to stumble slightly. "I've missed you so much."
"I've missed you too," Piper said, "Come in, I have someone you've got to meet."
Sitting on Piper's bed was a girl about their age, with tanned skin darker than both Leo and Piper's and a rhinestone stud on her nose. She was dressed in just a white sports bra on top, which showcased the deep violet bruises that littered her collarbone, and a black skort with fishnets. "You must be Leo?"
Leo nodded, "And you must be Shel?"
Shel gave him a wide grin, one akin to the mischievous smile the Hermes kids tended to have. "That I am."
"Leo," Piper fidgeted in her spot, as if afraid to speak, "Shel's my girlfriend."
A small smile tugged at Leo's lips, "I should've known Beauty Queen could get more girls than me."
Piper gently shoved Leo, which caused the three to erupt into giggles. "I've missed you," repeated Piper, swinging an arm around Leo and bringing him to sit on the bed beside Shel.
Leo crossed his legs, turning to face Shel, eyes fixated on the purple bruises, "Damn, Pipes."
Piper's cheeks darkened, "Shut up, Leo."
Leo raised his hands, "I said nothing."
"Of course not."
The three sat in silence for a moment, collecting their thoughts.
"So, Leo," Shel began, adjusting her seat so Piper could sit beside her. "Piper said you're a Hephaestus kid?"
Leo's eyes widened slightly. "Yeah. You know about the gods?"
Shel's smirk returned, and Piper lightly smacked her arm. "Well, it's hard not to when you've met a god."
Leo's eyes widened more.
"Apollo came to visit after he returned to godhood." Piper explained.
"I thought he was Tristan's boyfriend," added Shel.
Leo chuckled, "I wouldn't put it pass Apollo to try and woo Mr. McLean. He's certainly got the looks."
Piper looked ready to jump out of a window. "Let's not think about that. I don't need a demigod half-sibling from my mortal side."
"Wait," Shel looked between the two demigods. "Apollo's male isn't he? How could you get a half-sibling?"
"He's a god." Piper explained, "Honestly, I'm not a hundred percent sure, but I'd rather not think too hard about it. Our friend, Kayla, is an Apollo kid, and she has a mortal dad, so I assume it's possible."
"The little musically talented McLean that takes Camp Half-Blood by storm," Leo lamented.
"Gods, shut your trap, Valdez, I swear." Piper groaned, leaning back against the backboard, "Let's change the subject. Leo, how's Calypso?"
Leo stiffened slightly.
"Wait, that's your 5,000 year old ex-immortal girlfriend from the Odyssey, right?" Shel asked.
Leo frowned slightly, "Well, yes. But she's my ex-immortal ex-girlfriend now."
There was a palpable pause in the room until Piper spoke, softly. "Oh, Aphrodite. Sorry, Leo."
Leo realized his frown and hesitancy was giving the others the wrong idea. "Oh, no, it's fine!" He said, "Really, it was super mutual. Caly and I are still really good friends. We go to school together and everything. It's just—"
Piper came out to him, it was only right he did the same. Though, part of him knew he didn't owe anyone a coming out story, he still felt as though he wanted to tell her.
"Well, I'm aromantic asexual. So, Caly and I were doomed from the start. I thought I wanted a relationship, and I would flirt with every other thing that walks, but after getting into one, I realized I didn't quite fit the mold. Romantic gestures were alright, but I felt much more myself when we were just acting like friends. So, it was better for everyone if we broke up."
"That must've been hard to figure out," Piper said softly. Leo recognized the sympathy running through her eyes.
"It was harder to accept," admitted Leo. "Reyna actually helped me a lot."
Shel turned towards her girlfriend. "That's the praetor, right?"
Piper nodded, as Leo answered. "Former ," he said, "She's a Hunter of Artemis now."
Piper grinned, "Good for her!"
"Yeah," Leo paused. "Well, she's aro ace, and we talked a lot when she stayed with us. I'm currently being fostered by two ex-huntresses, so the hunters stop by a ton when they're in the area. And she talked about how she used to pick crushes on boys, specifically other praetors, because it was what was expected of her. I realized I was doing a similar thing."
"It took me a while to accept being a lesbian," Shel said. "But my family's always been super supportive, so it helps."
"I'm not sure what my sexuality is, though Nico told me to just say I'm a big queer mess."
"That sounds like di Angelo," Leo smiled.
"Yeah, I'm more struggling with whether I was attracted to Jason or not, because I know I like girls, but I'm not sure about guys. Shel's been helping me research on compulsive heterosexuality, but I'm pretty sure I liked Jason. So, am I bi, or pan, or a lesbian. Who really knows?"
"You don't have to," Leo said, reaching forward to grab Piper's hand in his, his other hand found Shel's and he squeezed both. "We're just one big queer mess, to quote di Angelo."
The group chuckled. "Though, if you want, I could tell you what I told Caly when she was trying to figure out whether or not she was attracted to me. Because of her curse and all, she wasn't sure if that was the only reason she was attracted to me or not
"Okay."
"If you were mortal and met Jason at school, would you have tried to date him?"
Piper frowned in thought, "Well, we did technically date after the Hera thing."
"But what about Jason were you attracted to? The version of him Hera fabricated, or the him you met and went on a quest with?"
"Gods," mumbled Piper, "I'm not sure."
"Well, think on it. You don't need to know your sexuality, you don't owe it to anyone."
"That's what I said," Shel mumbled softly, taking her free hand and putting it on top of Piper and Leo's joined ones. "Your sexuality is who you are. You don't need to explain it to anyone."
"You're the best."
"Group hug!" Leo yelled, untangling his hands from theirs and throwing himself at them, wrapping his arms around their necks. "My little queer friend group."
"I just met you," pointed out Shel.
"Well, Piper's girlfriend is obviously a friend of mine. Is that even a question?"
Shel chuckled, "I guess not."
"Enough sappy stuff," Piper said, pulling back, "I want to hear about everything in your life, and don't leave out any details or I will go and ask Calypso."
"And you must tell me everything in your life, or I'll ask Shel here."
Shel pressed her lips to Piper's ear like she was going to whisper, but loud enough that Leo could still hear. "And I will tell him."
Leo told Piper and Shel everything; the booming prosperity of Waystation, volunteering at the Foster Care nearby, Harley and Nyssa coming to Waystation to go to school, how Harley and Georgie became such quick friends and you couldn't find one without the other, how Nyssa and Calypso spent all their time trying to innovate a new high-tech gardening plot that can move across the roof so that it always gets the perfect amount of sunlight, the elephant exchange program with Camp Jupiter that Lityerses is attempting to set up, how Jo always helps him with his projects, about his AP Calculus class he has a perfect score, the robotics club he and Nyssa joined, and how he started calling Emmie and Jo, "Mom" and "Mama", much to their excitement. And in return, Piper explained moving to Oklahoma, meeting Shel, grieving for Jason, the little GSA club the two girls are in, her and Shel's first date, first kiss, and the few times people walked in on them making out. She explained her classes, the little chorus she's in, and the letter with a friendship bracelet her sister, Lacy, sent her in the mail last week. Shel added a few things here and there, but mostly let the two demigods talk.
Mr. McLean opened the door to find the three cackling over a story of Harley and Georgie pranking Lityerses with a mechanical beetle. "Sorry to interrupt, but dinner's ready."
Leo wiped the tears, as Piper said. "We'll be there in a minute." She turned to her girlfriend once her father was out of view, "Please put on a shirt."
"Yeah, Shel, cover up your hickeys," said Leo in a slightly reprimanding tone that was light enough to tell he was joking.
"Maybe I want to flaunt them, Valdez," Shel said as she stood up, striking a pose that showed off her collarbones. "Ever think of that?"
In response, Piper tossed a cropped black Pink Floyd shirt at her, "Have some decency, Shel."
Shel winked, "I thought you'd like to see your handy work."
Piper's cheeks darkened and Leo cackled, falling back on the bed where he had been trying to stand up. "Shut up. Both of you."
Shel curtsied, "Whatever you say, your highness."
Piper rolled her eyes, and held out a hand to help Leo up. "Let's hurry up before Dad starts to worry."
"He probably thinks you're making out," Leo said.
"With you here?"
Leo shrugged. "I could go if you like."
Shel elbowed Leo softly, standing, Leo was pained to see she stood a few inches taller than him. "I like you, Valdez."
"What can I say," Leo said as they left the room. "All the ladies love Leo. Even the lesbians."
Piper groaned loudly as Leo and Shel did a very uncoordinated hand shake.
Leo knew this weekend in Oklahoma was going to be fantastic.