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Leo blinked as he found himself on the ground, in a place he didn't recognise. It was a living room in an apartment, with an old grey couch in the middle, bookshelves on one wall overflowing with books and vinyls and trinkets. There was a television on a table covered with all sorts of houseplants. It looked like a... very average apartment.
On one hand, when Leo got transported, he expected he would find himself somewhere weirder. He did get sent to Ogygia last time he was transported by a god. On the other hand, he was mid a godly-staff-retrieval quest with Jason, and he and Jason were separated hours ago, and now Leo had no clue where he was, let alone who this apartment belonged to.
He got up and started looking around for any clues on where he could possibly be. He looked at the ornaments: a gold dragon, a rubix cube, multiple fidget toys. What caught his attention was the two beaded necklaces, obviously from Camp Halfblood. They had the same two beads Leo had on his, but they had another two as well. That didn't make sense; all campers got the same beads, at the same time. How could they have additional beads if not...
Oh. Don't battle Janus if you don't want to be transported into the future. Or a future? Leo wasn't exactly sure how any of this worked.
He looked for more clues as to whose house he was in. Two campers who had arrived the same year as him, who stayed in camp for four years. He looked at the books, struggling to read their titles but managing to make up the Odyssey, Agronautica, and a book about Physics. Wildly different and no help at all. Many Greek mythology nuts and STEM kids in camp.
Before he could continue looking, he heard the sound of keys, and he panicked, rushing to hide in a cabinet in the opposite end of the room.
Which was stupid. How the hell was he going to escape from the cabinet? Nice thinking, Valdez.
The door opened, and he heard two pair of footsteps. He peaked through the doors to see a very small peak of what seemed to be two guys, one taller and one shorter. He couldn't see much.
But then he heard them, and things started to click.
"Can you believe it?" he heard the first voice say. Jason. "Nico and Will! Finally!"
The other man chuckled as he threw his tote bag on the couch. "Don't know why you're so surprised, Sparks. They've practically been an old married couple since fifteen."
That was him. He blinked as he registered that he was seeing Jason and himself, in the future. What the fuck?
He peaked through the cabinet door again, opening the door a little wider and squinting to try to get a better look. He started to notice the similarities; Jason's blond hair had grown a bit, and he changed glasses to ones that better framed his face. He'd grown even more muscular somehow, and he had what seemed to be the start of a beard.
While Jason grew muscles, Leo grew in height. He would be lying if he said he wasn't glad to see some inches added to his height. His curls had grown healthier, still around the same height. Despite the baggy shirt, he noticed he looked... healthier. Happier.
"I know, but it's still a nice surprise, y'know? Plus, I'm a groomsman. I've never been a groomsman before. Oh, gods, I'm so excited."
Leo—older Leo—laughed before moving towards Jason and putting a hand on his cheek. "I'm happy for you, Sparks," he said affectionately before...
Kissing Jason?
What the fuck was going on?
He watched as the older versions of him and Jason kissed softly, Jason's hands on Leo's waist, Leo's hands tied gently around Jason's collar. It looked so natural, as if they'd done that a thousand times before, and maybe they had. Oh, gods, maybe they had. That made Leo feel... something. Something he didn't want to think about, so he didn't, or he at least tried not to.
When they separated, they were smiling. Jason was looking at Leo as if he had hung the stars in the sky all on his own, and Leo looked at Jason as if the stars didn't compare to Jason.
How the fuck did that happen? How was that even a possibility?
"You think Ghostie and Sunshine will let me be the flower boy?" Older Leo joked. Jason rolled his eyes but was smiling.
"Not if you call them Ghostie and Sunshine," he poked Leo. "Besides, I feel like that spot is reserved to Percy and Annabeth's kid."
"Oh, you know I'd do a better job than a two year old," Leo pouted.
"Whatever you say, love."
Jason left a quick peck on Leo's lips before separating, looking for a book in the bookshelves. Leo sat on the couch and started searching for the remote.
"The least Ghostie can do is give me the bouquet," he sighed dramatically. "Or Sunshine. Whoever carries a bouquet. Maybe both."
Jason smiled gently. "Our turn soon, fireboy."
"Better make the proposal romantic, Superman. Better sweep me off my feet. Better be at the top of the Eiffel tower. Or on the Bahamas. Or at Disneyland. Whatever's more romantic. Make sure to give me a massage first. Being a mechanic is hard work."
Jason chuckled. "Anything for you, love."
Leo turned the TV on, played what looked to be a new comedy show, and patted the spot next to him. Jason picked his book and cuddled into Leo, head on his lap as he began to read. Leo absentmindedly played with Jason's hair as he watched the show.
And then everything disappeared.
Fuck. It disappeared.
And Leo was standing face to face with Janus again, snapped back to reality as he blinked, trying to bring back the image that was in front of him only a moment ago.
But it wasn't there anymore. He looked at Janus, his two heads looking at him. All four of his red eyes stared at Leo, biting, as if staring right through him.
"So that's the future you want," announced Janus.
Leo swallowed as he tried to fight the heat rising to his cheeks. He'd spent so long trying to deny that fact to himself that it seemed humiliating to have it aired out like that, even if the only two people who knew were him and... the god Janus. That was an interesting pair.
Janus smirked, as if he knew exactly what Leo was feeling, the odd mixture of embarrassment and desire, desire desire desire. The longer it had been since the transportation, the more his brain accepted that he desired that future more than anything.
"I can make sure you have that, you know," Janus faux pondered. "For now, it's just one of thousands of futures you may have, but I can ensure it. I can make this future yours."
Leo's stomach twisted.
"Just give me the staff, Leo Valdez," Janus said, trying to lure him in.
Leo would be lying if he said a part of him didn't want to say yes, didn't want to just give Janus the staff and move on, happy and with Jason. Moments ago he didn't even believe his dreams were a possibility, and there stood a god promising Leo everything he wanted.
But despite the knots forming in his stomach, he swallowed and ignited a fire in his hand to fight the god of the future, the god of crossroads.
One of thousands of futures, with many possibly similar futures that Leo would barely be able to tell apart. That was still higher than what Leo had previously expected, still a probability when previously the probability was zero.
Leo would take those odds. He made a choice, and he was as confident in it as could be as he charged towards Janus, ready for the attack.