Chapter Text
If there was one thing that could be said about Percy and Leo it was that they were always willing to “do it for the bit”. This has gotten both of them into some interesting situations, both together and separate. After the defeat of Kronos, they became more carefree while also becoming even more inseparable from each other. Clarisse absolutely doesn’t know how that was even possible since they were already joined at the hip practically from the moment Percy arrived in camp. This time the “committing to the bit” came with a sappy little twist.
It all started at the beginning of the summer the year Percy turned sixteen when the FireStorm DuoTM wouldn't stop flirting long enough for the war meeting to wrap up. After the fifth time of Clarisse glaring harshly at the two, she finally snapped, “if shark boy and lava girl over here don’t stop fucking flirting, we will be down a leader.” This just caused the dumbasses to smirk and fist bump before finally stopping the flirting in the war meeting. Nobody is quite sure if they are actually together or if they just enjoy the reactions they get to their blatant, and frankly, bad flirting.
Nobody expected a throwaway comment from a pissed off Clarisse to resurface again, but considering who was involved, someone probably should have expected something to come of it. After that war meeting Percy and Leo started having even more secretive alone time than before. On one occasion they were laying on a blanket stargazing and discussing the heroes that lived in the stars. After a while of this, Percy got quiet in the way that meant he was thinking deeply about something, Leo knew better than to rush his best friend to spill what was on his mind, since he knew from experience that Percy would ask him or tell him when he was ready.
Eventually, Percy took a deep breath and rolled to face Leo. Leo turned so he was facing Percy in return. In a shaky voice that only a select few have ever even heard Percy admits, “I’m scared Leo. I’m not scared of what will happen to me if I die because of this prophecy. I’m scared of what it will do to you when I’m gone. I don’t want to leave you alone. You’ve been my best friend since I got to camp, and the only person who has completely stood by me through it all. I just…I need to make sure you know something before everything really goes down. We’ve flirted and kept people guessing about us for years, but I’ve never told you seriously how I feel about you. I don’t know if I can call it love, at least in the romantic sense, but I want to find out. You are my person, just as I am yours. I don’t want to start an official relationship right before the war…just in case. But…if I survive this prophecy…will you be my Shark Boy, and I can be your Lava Girl? I know, I know. It should be the other way around.” Here, Percy smiles shyly and cups Leo's cheek before continuing, “If you are my Shark Boy, and I am your Lava Girl it’s like we each carry a part of the other.”
Blinking back the tears that threatened to fall, Leo smiled wetly and accidentally lit his hair on fire. Giggling softly, Percy gently put out the flames while waiting patiently for Leo to be ready to speak. With an intensity in his voice that didn’t match his mischievous face Leo softly replied, “Perseus Jackson, I was drawn to you the moment I saw you barely conscious and carrying your satyr protector to the big house. From the moment I heard your voice calling out for your mom, I knew I wanted to be by your side through everything. I’ve been yours as long as I’ve known you. I would be absolutely thrilled to be your Shark Boy so you can be my Lava Girl. Nothing could make me happier than carrying a piece of you with me. What do you think about telling everyone with our halloween costumes after Kronos is defeated?”
Manic, relieved laughter bubbled up from deep inside Percy, before the laughter turned to sobs and he tucked himself into Leo’s chest so he could let go and feel all of his intense emotions he hadn’t allowed himself to feel up until that point. The fire wielder proved his words from a few minutes prior by just holding Percy and being there in a way that nobody else has been for him. When Percy had calmed enough for them to move, they headed back to Cabin 3 and spent the night holding each other and existing together without any expectations.
As Percy’s sixteenth birthday approached and tensions started getting higher among the demigods, the whole camp looked to Percy and Leo as their pillars of strength and leadership. The FireStorm DuoTM made sure the camp never saw them falter as the monster attacks increased, but every night they allowed themselves the freedom to break down and be just as scared as the other children who looked up to them. Every camper knew they could talk to Percy or Leo when they were scared and both of them would lift their spirits and build their confidence. When several campers approached and asked about learning first aid, Percy set up extra lessons for all campers with the Apollo cabin.
When Percy’s worst birthday came to a close and he was still alive, and still mortal despite being offered godhood, he pulled Leo into his cabin and kissed his Shark Boy for the first time. The kiss might have been awkward since they were both crying, but instead it was full of promise. They kept the kiss short with the promise of more later. Together they lit a candle for every demigod that was killed in the battle. Percy had painstakingly carved each demigod’s name into a candle. That night was a private mourning between the two of them, but they repeated the process the next day for the camp. They invited the surviving demigods to help personalize each candle to celebrate the lives of those who were taken from them. When every being who had lost their life in the Battle of Manhattan had been properly respected in their deaths, the Apollo cabin and Percy led the camp in a mourning song.
Obviously, camp didn’t immediately go back to how it was before Kronos was defeated, but with the promise Percy got from the gods, more demigods kept arriving by the day. New cabins were being built at a surprisingly quick pace, and the campers started to smile and laugh, even if it started out strained. The Stoll brothers wanted to cheer up the campers a little, and so asked Chiron if they could host a halloween party. They were allowed as long as they followed the ground rules. For the few weeks leading up to halloween, the hot topic of conversation was what costumes everyone would be wearing. Specifically, most campers wanted to know what Percy and Leo would be dressing up as, yet nobody was ever told.
Being the drama queens they were, the FireStorm DuoTM made sure to be the last to arrive at the party, holding hands and giving everyone matching mischievous grins. From across the campfire Clarisse yelled, “What in the everloving fuck are you two wearing? Why are you like this?” Neither of them could hold in their laughter, so they were half holding each other up, and half pulling each other down as they laughed together. It was a good ten minutes at least before they were able to stand up again.
Once their laughter had subsided and Percy was able to talk, he responded with mirth still coloring his voice, “Don’t you remember Clarisse? It was your idea!” The constipated look on her face as Clarisse flipped them off, set them off again, only this time other campers joined in with the laughter. No other response was given other than winks and playful grins throughout the party no matter who it was that asked. Several campers caught glimpses of the most adoring looks passing between the two powerful demigods they had chosen as their leaders and guessed about the changed relationship status.
From that day forward Percy started calling Leo Shark Boy, while Leo called Percy Lava Girl. Eventually those nicknames were shortened to Lava and Shark. In general, the campers were confused about the nicknames because they thought the son of the sea should be Shark Boy, and the son of fire should be Lava Girl. The only person outside of the two being speculated about who knew the reason for the nicknames was Rachel, and she only knew because she was the test dummy for Percy’s declaration to Leo. Since they didn't want to make a spectacle out of their relationship, they only told their closest friends: Rachel, Clarisse, Travis, Connor, Thalia, and Nico. Money changed hands among the group as multiple bets were settled.
One of the younger campers accidentally called them Lava Shark when talking about them, and the Aphrodite cabin took that and ran with it as their ship name. Being the little shits they were, Percy and Leo decided to lean into it. They made each other Shark Boy and Lava Girl keychains that had hidden weapons in them. After all, they needed to “commit to the bit”. That sentiment even applied to their relationship.