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Leo had nothing against Piper Mclean.
She was nice to him (definitely nicer than Drew Tanaka, the previous Aphrodite Cabin Head Counselor), she cheered him up whenever he felt bad, and she never teased him about not having a significant other or tried to set him up with someone. But on the topic of significant others…
NO, he thought. NO FOCUSING ON THAT.
He failed to comply.
She had one. A tall one. One with sky blue eyes, fluffy blonde hair, and a scar near his lips that moved when he talked. Gods, Leo needed to stop thinking about him. His motto was literally Don’t think, not Think so much about Jason Grace that you get insanely jealous and do something stupid, like abandoning Piper.
Jealous. That was the word for it. It didn’t matter. Piper was his friend. Friends aren’t jealous of other friends. They’re happy for other friends, they cheer other friends on and listen to their lovesick rants and support them and–
They’re obviously better than Leo.
Leo was the pining friend. The one that put on a mask and smiled and did stuff when they had to but mostly stayed back, away from the spotlight, and when they were away from people, the mask fell and they cried and cried because they couldn’t have anything they wanted because… Because…
Because they’re supposed to be a good little friend and sacrifice everything? Gods, that sounded depressing. He wasn’t supposed to be depressed. He needed to be happy.
“Be happy, be happy.” He repeated it as he walked around Bunker 9, like it was some type of twisted mantra. It didn’t work. He didn’t expect it to.
“Leo?” A head poked through the door. He winced from the sudden light.
“Close the door, please.” It came out as a whisper. How long had he been here?
“You look like you haven’t slept in forty years.”
“Jason?” Of course. It had to be him. The last person Leo wanted to see right now.
“Yeah,” Jason said. He sounded like he had been crying. Maybe he and Piper had an argument? “It’s one in the morning.”
“Oh. I…” Leo set down the little sphere he had picked up, and dropped the wire he was twisting around it. “Lost track of time?”
“A whole bunch of it, I’m sure.” Then, softer, “Come on, Leo. It’s not good to spend this much time working.”
“But the ship–”
“Leo. The ship can wait.”
He sighed. “Ok.”
He got up, tripped on something he couldn’t recall the name of, and got hoisted up by a pair of arms. Smooth, muscular arms, with scars and nicks here and there that made them even more attractive, and made Leo’s resentment for Miss I-Have-Jason-Grace-And-You-Don’t skyrocket higher than the moon.
He mentally slapped himself. What was he thinking? Jason was right, he needed sleep… but Jason was so pretty and, oh, gods, the ship–
“Leo!” He slipped and fell again. He was graceful like that.
“I’m fine!” He said, then imagined hitting himself repeatedly with a metal hanger. He needed sleep.
Graceful… Jason Grace…
“I swear to the gods, I will lock you in my cabin and make you sleep until lunchtime.”
“Your… your cabin?” He needed to stay up more often. A free pass to Jason’s cabin was worth a few hours of sleep.
“Yes, you idiot, we don’t want to wake up the other campers,” the love of his life said. “Now get up.”
...
He had absolutely no idea that Jason’s cabin was that big.
The whole cabin was dark, so Leo couldn’t see much of the decor, but the moment he entered, he could just feel the space. It was a wonderful feeling that he never got (whenever he walked into the Hephaestus Cabin at night, Jake Mason made a point to shout, “HERE COMES THE BRIDE!”) and left Leo with a grin plastered on his face.
“What?” Jason asked. He had the sound to his voice again, the crying one.
“Nothing.” He sat on one of the open bunks. “Just, the cabin is so big, and I’ve never been in a big cabin before, and–”
Jason grabbed his hands. “Did you drink a lot of coffee? You’re shaking.”
“I’m fine. Just tired.” He needed to stop, to forget how he felt about Jason Grace and Piper Mclean and both of them together.
“Leo, look at me.” His voice sounded like that again. Like he’d been sobbing his heart out or some poetic thing like that.
“Is Piper mad again?” Jason didn’t respond. Gods, he needed to work on not blurting random thoughts. “I mean, uh–”
“No,” he said quietly. “Not Piper. Me.”
He felt Jason plop down on the bed beside him. “I’m sorry,” Leo said. “I shouldn’t have asked.”
“It’s fine, Leo. I want to talk about it, anyway.” He picked at a piece of dust on his shirt. Leo could practically feel Jason’s closeness now, the heat of his body next to him on the tiny bed. “I… I know that she’s my girlfriend, and that I always say I love her and would do anything for her, but I don’t think…” His eyes were shining now, a two blue beacons in the dim moonlight. “I honestly just… I can’t…”
“You don’t love her,” Leo said. “Jason, your memory was altered by some freak goddess and you were forced out of your home to love her. You don’t have to stick to it.”
“But I told her I did,” he said. He was definitely crying now. “I told her I loved her. I talked to her, kissed her, acted like any normal person would do with someone they’re dating, and now I…”
Jason didn’t have to say his next words. Leo had heard him say them, in all the times that they’d been together and he’d been venting, he’d always said them. I failed her.
“Jason…” He didn’t know what to say. He’d never been in this sort of situation. He just felt his way to Jason’s hand and squeezed it. “Look, this is bad. Screw that, it’s terrible. But if you need someone to talk to…”
Gods, that sounded so cliche. “You’ve got me, remember? And, like, half of this camp. I know bottling things up seems like a nice option, but it’s not. Trust me. Please, talk to us. Me or whoever else.”
Leo was painfully aware of how Jason’s head was on his shoulder, how his breath felt warm against Leo’s skin, and how his icy blue eyes were now staring directly at him.
“Thank you,” he whispered. “I—I hope you don’t mind if I sleep with you? The nightmares have been getting worse, recently, and it would really help, but if I might bother you–”
“Yes.” He said that a little too confidently, like someone who’s been waiting forever for their satyr just got discovered. “You’re never a bother to me, Jason. Make yourself comfortable.”
So much for being comfortable. The bed was so small, they were practically sleeping like a couple, cuddling together and spooning. Leo had his arms wrapped around Jason’s waist, his head snuggled in the crook between Jason’s head and shoulder.
Jason seemed to like it (“Dude, I love cuddles!”) and of course Leo didn’t care, because when else would he and Jason be alone like this? Call him selfish, but he took an opportunity when he had one.
Leo was quiet, even though he had a bunch of burning questions (pun intended), ranging from “What are you gonna do about you and Piper?” to “Wanna hit the lake tomorrow?” The only thing holding him back was how tired Jason had looked earlier.
He held Jason a bit closer. He didn’t feel that jealous anymore. Not because he felt happy that Jason didn’t actually like Piper (he was never happy about Jason being sad and angry at himself), but because he thought that Piper might be going through the same thing. Maybe she would rant to Lacy or Mitchell about how she wished she was a better girlfriend and that, if she was a daughter of Aphrodite, she should’ve done better and loved her boyfriend.
She was probably doubting her whole relationship, wasn’t she? Oh, gods, maybe she and Jason would break up next week.
Calm down, Leo, he thought. No one’s breaking up. Hopefully.
Whatever the case, these were his friends. If they were suffering, some part of Leo was suffering, too.
At this point, Piper Mclean could be dating anyone, doing anything in this big machine of a world, but Leo didn’t care.
They were friends.
He didn’t doubt that.