Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Camp Half Blood was not always the source of things like full, thought-out plays. Most were more focused on things like, I dunno, learning to grapple with the fact that their parent was a Greek god (or if they'd already grappled with that, learning how to train).

So when a random Athena Cabin kid had complained one night that they don't do enough Shakespeare or Homer, it was met with some groans and not much else.

Until Annabeth Chase stumbled upon a certain musical that had, as she put it, "the makings of modern art." She was right, of course. She just had to make everyone else see it.

Percy, her beloved boyfriend, was most definitely on board, and in fact had been the one to push her to bring it to Chiron's attention. So now she stood in front of said centaur, shifting on her feet.

"We would most likely have to work on it. A lot. But some parts of the play could be really fun! The Hephaestus Cabin could build an automaton, and the Iris Cabin could play around with lights-"

"Annabeth, dear, do you really think I'd say no?" he had said simply, a kindhearted smile on his lips. "Besides, it's not me you have to ask. We both know you're just stalling."

She sighed, turning to the other man in the room, who sat with his feet on the table, sunglasses on his face as if he were nursing a hangover, despite being cursed to years without his beloved Pinot Grigio.

"It doesn't have me in it. Why would I want to do a play that's only gonna glorify my brothers?" Mr. D complained, taking the sunglasses off his face to look at the cards in his hand. "Got any Jacks?"

"Go fish," Chiron said, making the (disgraced) god sigh as he drew a card. 

"Please? It's a great history lesson. And we could have an afterparty," Annabeth tried, clasping her hands together.

Mr. D pursed his lips, before rolling his eyes. "Fine. But the afterparty better be big. And loud. And fun. And I want the Hades kid to have a part. Di Angelo. He's got a good voice. Even I can tell."

Annabeth smiled, bid them both a gratuitous goodbye, and ran off to tell her boyfriend. And maybe make out with him a little.

"Absolutely not," Nico said decidedly, shooting Annabeth and Percy a glare as he spread out his Mythomagic cards. He shuffled a couple and handed them to his boyfriend, his glower softening as the boy looked them over.

"So the Zeus card-"

"Is limited edition from '45. His lightningbolt is slightly... phallic shaped. It's incredibly rare and was discontinued rather quickly," Nico explained, watching Will's eyes widen, glee written on his face. "And there is no way in all of the Underworld that I am singing in your stupid play. I don't care who wrote it. I don't even watch TikTok."

"C'mon, Nico, it can't be that bad. You'd make a cute Odysseus. Woah, a shiny Dionysus card!" Will said offhandedly, groaning as Nico grabbed the card back, muttering about keeping it in mint condition.

"Oh, uh, we - I - already have an Odysseus in mind," Annabeth mumbled, grabbing Percy's hand absentmindedly.

"You could be the prophet guy. What's his name?" Percy offered, snapping his fingers once he got it. "Tiresias! He has a whole song."

Nico thought for a moment, unzipping his jacket and waving the fabric, pausing once he saw Annabeth and Will raise their eyebrows in synch. "I'm airing it out. It gets hot in here, I'm not completely immune." 

He scowled halfheartedly as Will immediately started fretting with him to take the damn thing off, but nodded eventually. "Fine. But only because he has one entrance and Odysseus fucking hates him."

"Don't say 'fucking,' you're fourteen," Will teased, mussing his boyfriend's hair. "Baby."

"What do you want me to say, 'fiddlesticks?' Let me say fuck, for Hades sake."

Annabeth and Percy shared a look that said they've effectively butted us out of the conversation, huh? and left.

They had an idea, they had heart, they had Nico. Now, the rest of the cast. And maybe some flyers.

The Athena Cabin was happy to help with everything. After psychoanalyzing the entirety of the musical, they'd deemed it worthy, despite their usual distaste for straying from the original sources.

Flyers were soon made, and the Hermes Cabin made quick work of dispersing them. They would've made their father proud. 

The most important part (maybe not the most, but one of them) was approaching quickly. Asking about the actor for Odysseus himself.

"I dunno, Annie, I'm not really a singin' kinda guy. I can belt out the occasional Mariah Carey, but thats for Piper, and Piper only," Leo said, shaking his head like a dog to try and get oil out of his hair as he continued working on whatever his newest contraption was.

"Please, Leo, you're perfect for the part. You're small-"

"I'm flattered."

"Let me finish! You're small, scrawny, the perfect underdog, and so was Odysseus!"

Leo looked over at her with a sigh, grasping aimlessly for a wrench under his table. "Didn't he, like, get it on with Circe? Not really a 'cheat on the missus' kinda guy over here."

"Well... not in this interpretation." Annabeth offered, picking up the wrench for him. "It'd be doing me a favor. And who knows? You might like it."

He paused, rubbing his temples. "I'm not getting out of this, am I?"

"I'll make Jason be Polites."

Leo scoffed as if to hide the flush that instantly ran up his neck to his cheeks, a singe of fire sparking on his knuckle. "Fine. You're the meanest person I know."

"Untrue. You know Gaea."

And with that, she walked out, leaving Leo mumbling about how everyone was out to get him today.

Chapter Text

The Hephaestus Cabin was already hard at work fixing the amphitheater to accommodate the needs of the play. A good chunk of the camp, way more campers than Annabeth had expected (and even some people from Camp Jupiter, curse the little gremlin named Nico for doing it to her), were sitting on the grass, chattering anxiously. She and Percy had spent a good hour deciding who would be what, and at the end he'd committed the ultimate betrayal; telling her it was her choice.

It was totally code for 'I'm bad at breaking bad news to people,' but she could forgive it this once. Since he was cute. Gods, she was totally whipped. 

Annabeth paced around the grounds, clipboard in hand, as she started listing. 

"The role of Eurylochus will be played by... Frank Zhang," she started, voice cracking with nerves as scattered groans were heard through the crowd. Frank gave her a supportive grin, which helped. He looked like a puppy when he did that.

She ran through the list quickly; Piper as Circe (she had been informed in advance so her grief was not heard in public, though Annabeth had received quite the lecture), Sherman Yang as Ares (what a cheer was heard), so on and so forth.

It was Leo's part that gave her the most anxiety.

"And finally, for our leading role, Leo Valdez as Odysseus!"

The crowd was silent. Not even Leo spoke, instead busying himself with picking at his nails. 

"Really? Can he even, like, sing? Look at him," Drew Tanaka eventually protested, causing the Latino boy to shrink where he sat, before puffing out his chest.

"I can too sing! You just haven't heard it, girl pop!"

"Prove it!"

"Maybe I will!"

"Nobody's stopping you!"

Leo stood, a flare of anger sparking his eyes like the fire that coursed through his veins at all times. Annabeth could see it, the determination, like Drew questioning his abilities had set him off. 

And when he sang, gods be damned, he was on fire (no pun intended).

"Everyone grab a harpoon and aim it hi-i-i-igh." his voice rang out in a surprisingly sweet tenor, something undisciplined and clearly only broken out for jokes (and apparently Mariah Carey whenever Piper deemed necessary). Something raw. Something Annabeth could help improve. 

Silence again. This time, though, the air coursed with awe. Annabeth had picked correctly.

She couldn't wait to get him onstage.

"Here are the scripts. Guard them with your life, this is your only copy. If you lose it, find another place to print one out, or... I don't know," Annabeth commanded, handing each cast member their script.

"You can be on dishes duty for three summer breaks!" Percy chimed in helpfully, watching in satisfaction as the gaggle of people shuddered, clutching their scripts a bit tighter. Dishes for a week was a breeze, but two months for three years? Unspeakable. 

"Yes, that. Leo, I wanna speak to you alone," Annabeth said, pointing at the boy, who followed after her obediently. Gods, everyone's a lost puppy today, huh?

She brought him to the back of the stage, where the Hephaestus kids were working, figuring he would be most comfortable there. 

"Now, we don't have an Athena yet, so you'll have to have someone do her lines when you practice. I'll keep you updated, since you do the most duets and miscellaneous dialogues with her," Annabeth started, flipping through her own script, labeled 'director' on the front. Finding an Athena was almost insultingly difficult. None of her siblings wanted to do it. In fact, they seemed as if they wanted nothing to do with their mother, which Annabeth couldn't blame them for, but... that was their mother. 

"You're not being Athena?" Leo asked, his eyebrows knitting together in inquiry. 

Annabeth froze, the words she was about to say leaving her lips in a sharp cough, making Leo wince.

"Sorry. Was that a rough topic of discussion? I just figured since she's your mom and Percy wanted to be his dad... yknow."

"I do know, it's just... wait, Percy wants to play Poseidon? He never told me that."

"Subject change," Leo sang in a lighthearted reminder, cracking his knuckles in efforts to do something proactive while fidgeting. 

"Right, sorry. Just... it's a rough subject, and I wouldn't want to disappoint my mom by... playing her wrong or something. It's great music, great characterization, just... I don't act often..." Annabeth sighed, shrugging her shoulders in resignation.

Leo frowned at that, shaking his head. "Wrong answer, girly pop. You'd be great for Athena. Do what your heart says, not your mom. It's your life. What's she gonna do, minus your wisdom?"

"Sounds like your wisdom's been minused."

"There's the Annabeth we all know and tolerate! Be whoever you wanna be, Chase. It's just a musical, anyways," he said with a wide grin, walking away.

Annabeth groaned quietly, pinching the bridge of her nose. "What am I gonna do?"

"Hopefully talk to your boyfriend about him wanting to be in your play," Nyssa suggested from her place under the newly constructed stairs, sawdust in her hair.

Right. That's what she needed to do. See a Percy about a Poseidon. 

"Seaweed Brain," she called out, making Percy, who was trying to show a younger Apollo girl how to handle a bow and arrow, jump. This, in turn, made several Apollo campers duck and yell out warnings, sighing in relief when the son of Poseidon didn't accidentally shoot the arrow.

"Wise Girl," he responded with a grin, setting the bow down, much to the set of campers' relief. "What's cooking, good looking?"

"I wish I could tell you I understand what that means. I have a bone to pick with you, Mr," she quipped back, pecking him on the cheek before dragging him off, away from the archery grounds.

"Am I in trouble?" he asked, grinning curiously. "Oh! Is this a fun rendezvous in the woods?"

"We're talking."

"About something end-of-the-worldy or something else?"

"Why didn't you tell me you wanted a part in the play?" She finally blurted out, tired of beating around the bush. She watched with a slight cringe as his smile slowly faded. She hated making him feel bad.

"Well, Annie, I didn't wanna make you feel like you had to," he said, interlocking their fingers. "I'm sorry if I made you feel like I was hiding something."

"I didn't think you were... No, it's not about that. Just... I would've given you the part. Nobody tried out for Poseidon," she said with a slight chuckle.

"Even though my singing is shit on a stick?"

"Poseidon does talk-singing more often than not. Like in Love Shack, but drawn out. Practice like that. A lot. I'll help. My singing's just as bad, remember?" she added, pulling her hand from his to wrap her arms around his neck.

"Oh, I remember. So I get the part, Director?"

"Mmm. Yeah, sure. But I want a payment," she said softly, pulling him closer.

"Payment? This sounds like bribery."

"Three kisses."

He pretended to think about that, hands wrapping around her waist. "Did I hear 'three thousand kisses?' Oh, well, a deal's a deal."

And, boy, did he deliver.

Chapter Text

Gods, Annabeth Chase could be the worst sometimes.

It was bad enough she casted Leo as the main character in a musical (which was pretty frickin bad) but she wouldn't let him help with sets either? Horrible.

"I don't understand how you can live with yourself, subjecting me to this torture," he whined to Piper one day as she sat with him, highlighting and annotating in his script where it was needed.

"Sorry, smalls. Queen's orders," Piper said with a grin that made it seem like she wasn't really sorry at all. "Come on, run this through with me again."

"No way. You just wanna make me sing about how bad I wanna kiss you again." While Piper was a lovely friend, Leo couldn't get through the scene without bursting into laughter (and neither could Pipes herself) which was the cause of the trouble that night.

"I could make Jason do it instead," she teased, but the air grew tense immediately as the joke fell flat. Tension flexed through Leo's muscles like saying the name of his most recent (and most embarrassing) crush might as well be akin to being burned alive. Not like Leo could be burned alive, though. "Sorry. I really didn't mean-"

"It's fine, Pipes. Let's just keep going, yeah?" he said, forcing a smile onto his face. Not that Piper would believe that. They'd known each other too long.

"You know nobody cares, right? Look at Nico-"

"I know Nico's gay and everyone thinks it's awesome or whatever. They also think he could send them to the Underworld with a blink," he snapped, and immediately wished he didn't, what with the look on Piper's face. "Oh, Pipes, I didn't-"

"We'll continue later. I gotta head back to my cabin." And she was gone, walking out of the Hephaestus Cabin without so much as a glance backwards.

The pros of being the only kid in Cabin 9 who wasn't busy working on Annabeth's crazy elaborate cyclops automaton? No one could hear you trash the place. The cons? No one could hear you trash the place.

By the time Leo emerged from his frustrated metaphorical comatose, there were tears on his face, metal everywhere, and a gash down his arm.

Fuck.

"How did you even do this? It's, like, three inches deep. I can see your muscles!" Will exclaimed as he prodded at the gash, which made Leo groan nauseously.

"Can we not mention my muscles? It'd do wonders." Leo had only come because the wound wouldn't close and he knew if he passed out in an empty cabin, he might not wake up again. But that didn't mean he had to like it. For a demigod, he was pretty squeamish. Ichor was nothing (it was pretty easy to convince himself it was fake when the blood was gold) but his own? He was more dizzy than pained at the moment.

"Sorry. How'd you even do this? You didn't..." the blond trailed off as his shoulders stiffened with sudden nervousness. Leo knew what he was suggesting.

"I fell. It's a cabin of welders, there was bound to be some sheet metal somewhere."

"I'm just saying, it's pretty deep."

"Really? I didn't hear you the first time."

"How about instead of taking your frustrations out on my boyfriend, you let him do his job? You kind of woke him in the middle of the night for this," Nico chimed in, standing in the doorframe of the cabin looking especially cranky. His dark hair was wild with sleep and his black clothes had been traded for a pair of dark gray sweatpants and a yellow hoodie that looked a size too big. It was probably Will's.

How Leo would give to wear his own blond's hoodie.

Not like he'd claimed Jason, of course! He hadn't. He was well aware of the implications of said claiming, and if there was one thing Leo was not, it was stupid. He could play it, he could act it, but he wasn't. 

"Sorry," he grumbled, a slight huff escaping him as Will gave him the wet cloth he'd been using to clean Leo's wound in favor of ushering Nico back to bed.

"No, I don't wanna. It's cold without you." Nico complained, in turn making Will flush a bright red and immediately shush him.

"Isn't that against Chiron's rules?" Leo questioned, raising an eyebrow with a wide grin he liked to describe as one thing; wolfish. A fake one, but one that had lasting effects on those who saw it. Danger, it said. Small but strong.

"It's not like we're doing anything. Nico wants to get married before we even think about sex."

"Can we not say that word? Please?" Nico groaned, covering his ears with his hands childishly.

"What do you prefer? The Do? The Devil's Tango? The Nasty? Coitus is the medical term," Will teased, pecking his boyfriend on the cheek.

"Hate to break up the moment, but I'm still bleeding. I'd like to not be bleeding soon, if possible," Leo reminded them.

"It's not," the two said in unison, and Will walked over to bandage him up.

There's many things a boy like Leo loves. The smell of steel in the morning, for instance.

What he loves most is coming onto the set of a big build. The sounds of clanging metal, chattering voices, and The Orion Express playing. All Dolled Up, to be exact.

"Paint my lashes on, I'll do yours! I wanna feel pretty wanna be- Leo!" Jake Mason yelped, dropping a piece of the cyclop's eye on his head. Leo grinned at the sight, helping his brother up. "Hey, don't strain yourself, man! Heard you fucked your arm up. How's it feel?"

"Eh, fine. Annabeth's gonna have an aneurysm when she sees it, though," Leo said reflexively, feeling a bit guilty as the other boy laughed. He didn't like making fun of her, he understood why she would be upset about his arm. They were friends, and as the lead, he should be more responsible with himself. As a person he should be more responsible with himself.

"Leo Valdez!" a voice rang out, and while Leo was expecting Annabeth, he got something slightly worse. 

Nyssa Barrera was a lovely young woman. Scratch that, she was an absolute tank, with biceps bigger than Leo's waist. She was wearing green cargo pants and a black tank top, wiping grease off her face with a dirty rag. She walked over to him with a glare, grabbing his face and inspecting him in both an I'm pissed at you and my familial instincts are calling way.

"What'd you do to your arm?" she demanded, dark eyes glaring into his. He winced as she touched the bandages, earning himself a worried hiss of breath.

"Nothing. Just cut myself on some metal."

"Esperas que crea eso? Dondé encontraste el metal?"

"On the floor. I fell in the cabin," he said, holding his hands up in surrender. There was a small cry of heartbreak, and both Leo and Nyssa stiffened at the sound.

It was Harley. Pobrecito.

"It's my fault you're hurt. I was working on a project in the cabin! Nyssa told me to take it outside, but I forgot! I'm sorry I'm the reason your arm got cut," he bewailed, pulling Leo into a crushing hug.

"It's fine, kiddo. Wasn't your fault. I should've been looking where I was going."

"Yes, you should've." And there was the voice he was dreading. Annabeth Chase, in all her glory, arms crossed and ice in her stormy grey eyes. An ice that put Leo's fire out immediately.

This was gonna be a rough lecture.

Chapter Text

"Do you wanna tell me what the hell is going on with you?" Annabeth hissed once they were out of earshot from the other campers. It wasn't just the Aphrodite kids that liked to gossip.

"Me? I'm fine! I already said it, like, a trillion times! I fell," he snapped back with a huff, making a point to pull his top lip away from his teeth into a snarl, for fear that it would push down into a pout, thus diminishing the point his anger would make. He was fine. Annabeth didn't look like she was, though.

In fact, she looked exhausted. Even when she was glaring, he could see the dark circles under her eyes, the hooding of her eyelashes. Sleepless in Seattle, huh?

"Is this about your fight with Piper?"

"Oh for the love of Hephaestus, she told you?" Ok, now he was pissed. He hated being a source of gossip, and he felt a bit betrayed by Piper for telling someone. 

"Nobody cares if you like Jason-"

"Of course not, because nobody gives a flying fuck about me!" he finally said, the words 'Jason' and 'like' in the same sentence making a vein in his forehead pop. 

"Leo, you can't be serious. You know we all love you."

"Of course, I'm serious! You can love me all you want, that doesn't change anything! People can love a dog and forget to feed it! People can love a dog and kill it! And that's what you think I am! I'm a dog. I'm cute, sure, and loveable, and loyal, but you think anyone would want me? Actually want me? Boy or girl? No. Because all I'm good for is wagging my little tail, playing with my little toys, and occasionally barking something so stupid the smart people can turn it into a idea!" he shouted, no longer caring if anyone heard. Hell, let the whole camp hear. Who cared?

Annabeth was quiet. She pinched the bridge of her nose like that was her last straw. Leo felt a little bad for that. She was tired, she shouldn't have to deal with him. But he'd been keeping this in for far too long.

"I love you, Leo. You're one of my best friends. But nobody is sitting around conspiring to put you down like a rabid Chihuahua, ok? Do you think this is healthy, acting like your friends want to kill you or something? Do you think it's healthy to believe so deep in your heart that it's wrong to like who you like? You hurt everyone like that. You hurt Nico, you hurt Malcolm, you hurt Will, you hurt Piper."

That was what got him. Piper. His closest friend for the longest time. The only one he trusted. And he hurt her. Like he hurt everyone.

Pro tip for friends; when a metaphorical baby (Leo Valdez) is metaphorically crying (burying his feelings), try not to metaphorically shake them (tell him he's hurting Piper).

His deep brown eyes welled up with tears, and his lungs flattened. There had to be a medical reason why his lungs got smaller, right? But he had to make them big again, otherwise he'd deoxygenate his brain. So he did the next best thing: he panicked.

He didn't know when he'd dropped onto the grass, or when Annabeth started yelling for help. All he knew was he couldn't breathe. He gasped and sputtered and grabbed at Annabeth's shirt, tugging like she might be able to help him, probably looking as pathetic as a toddler. 

A taller blond came over quickly, a scar over his lip twitching with worry as he pulled Annabeth off Leo (or was it Leo off Annabeth? He really couldn't tell, what with his tiny lungs). 

"Leo," he said calmly, and Leo's brown stared up at him, like in that Weird Al song. Like a cow looks at an oncoming train. Jason. Jason was here, grabbing Leo's hands and swatting at stray sparks in the brunets hair, not caring about the minuscule burns that appeared over the soft backs of his hands like snowflakes.

Jason. His Jason. Not that Jason was his, of course. 

"Hey good cookin', what's... lookin'?" he panted, and then everything went black.

Leo woke to the sounds of people talking. Great, it was one of his foster families, huh? Which one was he in now, burn-cigarettes-on-his-arm-cuz-he-can't-feel-it lady, or beat-him-with-a-belt-because-he-can man? 

Oh. No, that wasn't their voices. That was Piper. And Jason. And someone else. 

He shot up immediately, looking around. He was in the Aphrodite Cabin. A bottom bunk. Probably the one under Piper's bed. He would've hit his head on the wood frame if he wasn't so short. He kind of wished he did.

"Hey, he's awake again. How are you feeling?" Jason asked, his lips pulled into a smile that seemed forced at best. His scar wiggled a bit, like he was hiding a tremble in his upper lip. He was nervous. 

"Fine. How long was I out?" Leo said simply, sliding out of the bed and wobbling a step forward.

"Sit back down. You lost so much oxygen you passed out. Do you know how much you have to hyperventilate to do that?" Kayla Knowles said simply, pulling her carrot styled hair into a ponytail.

"Why are you here? You're not my primary medical examiner," Leo sassed right back, his lips pushing into an unwanted pout.

"Will's busy with Nico. Di Angelo faked a migraine to get Will to lay down. He's out like a light. Heh, light," she chuckled, shrugging. "He'll be back to diagnose you."

"Aren't you a regular Dr. House."

"Dr. House is a savant. Nice try."

"Where's Annabeth?" Leo finally asked, tugging a hand through his tangled curls. 

"She's with Percy. I wouldn't try to see her yet. She's freaked," Piper said, staring out of the cabin window, her back to Leo.

"Shouldn't I see her just to let her know I'm ok? If she's so frea-"

"If you have a problem with me, you should say it instead of fighting with Annabeth about it."

Leo was quiet. He looked up at Piper, who was now turned to glare at him, and his bottom lip wobbled. He was making a fool of himself, and he couldn't seem to stop. "If you have a problem with me, you should say it instead of gossiping to Annabeth about it."

"What was this fight even about? I've literally never seen you two like this." Jason chimed in, a stiffness in his posture like a wolf protecting its mate. Oh gods, now Leo was being delusional.

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it," the brunet mumbled, walking to the bathroom. "Using the can. Speaking of cans, can we clear the cabin? I have a shy bladder." 

He walked to the bathroom, not caring to watch as Kayla and Piper shuffled out awkwardly. Not bothering to notice Jason's hesitance.

He had almost unbuckled his belt before Jason barged into the bathroom.

"Jason! Gods, don't do that! I could've been naked!"

"Impossible, you never take your pants off until you've triple checked the door. And people don't take their shirts off to use the toilet," Jason said simply, backing Leo into the wall. "Piper's distraught and you had a panic attack. What was the fight about?"

"Nothing! Please get out, I actually have to pee!" Leo cried, flushing a soft red in his olive skin as his back hit the cold tile.

"I'll turn around."

"You pushed me away from the toilet! No one's aim is that good!"

"I'm not leaving until you tell me." Jason said, and Leo could tell he was serious. He could tell in the way Jason's bright blue eyes stared at him, willing him to speak. He could tell in Jason's eyebrows, furrowed just enough to crease the skin between them. He could tell in Jason's stiff shoulders, his tensed muscles that ran down his arms. Jason screamed concern without saying a word. 

"We... got into a fight about a crush I have," Leo admitted quietly, looking down at his shoes. "Please leave? I'm gonna pee my pants."

Jason said nothing, pulling away slowly, like something had created a gap between the two of them. Something big and heavy and gross. Something Leo wanted to destroy, just to make the blond smile.

But Leo didn't. And Jason did something worse.

He left. 

Chapter Text

Piper had never liked to lie.

She didn't like lying to her dad, or to Jason, or to Leo. The only time she's ever felt like lying to her friend was noble had been a very special circumstance.

"I didn't see anything," she promised Leo on one of her first nights at Wilderness Camp, when she had walked in on him with a small blade, shoulders shaking and fingers stained.

But Leo had gotten past that, so there was no need to bring it up.

Except that now they were fighting. And she'd seen that look on his face before. Oh, and he hadn't shown up to rehearsal in four consecutive days.

"This is so gods damned stupid! The only songs we can rehearse are Telemachus' and two Ithaca Saga songs!" Nico had complained, scowling as Will chatted with Ellis Wakefield off to the side, who was working with the Hephaestus kids to make a voice modifying microphone so he could voice the Polyphemus automaton. Nico had been in a worsening mood as his boyfriend (who had agreed to play Apollo in God Games and Telemachus in everything else) was taken from him more and more often.

"It's not his fault. I'll talk to him," Piper reasoned, backing away as Nico tripped over a femur that trembled out of the dirt under his feet, becoming eerily quiet. "Are you oka-?"

She stopped as Nico shoved his arms around her, his boney frame cold against her, even in the era appropriate tunic and cloak he was costumed in. His shoulders rose too fast, though he was silent as the dead. 

"Do you ever miss Shel?" he asked quietly, sounding very much like the scared fourteen year old he was.

"Oh, Nico," she whispered, placing a hand on his head. She missed Shel every day. It sometimes felt like the sinews of her heart were stretched across the states from Long Island to the reservation in Oklahoma.

She could only imagine how horrible it would feel to worry your partner was being stolen right under your nose.

Jealousy was a sour poison, and yet the cup it sat in so tempting.

Piper's been reading too many love poems in her cabin.

"You know Will loves you, Nico," she said softly, eyeing Will and the Ares boy, the latter whom resembled Nico a dangerous amount, with an unruly mop of black hair and dark eyes.

"I'm too skinny. He said I feel like a skeleton."

"Maybe that's a compliment?"

Nico shot her a glare. "You're around Leo too much."

Piper grinned sheepishly, poking his shoulder. "You should be honest with Will. I'm sure he'll explain."

Nico nodded quietly, cheeks puffed a bit before he pulled away. "Thanks, Piper."

"Not a problem." But Nico was already gone, sinking into the shadows by the amphitheater.

Time to see a Leo about a Valdez, Piper thought with a sigh.

"I figured you'd be here," Piper said as she walked up to Leo, who was curled in on himself on top of the hill that was Bunker 9. The grass near him was a cacophony of embers and ashes, singed by his skin. He barely looked up before glaring at his Converses.

"I didn't do it. You don't have to ask," he grumbled, letting them both pretend they didn't hear the waver in his voice.

Piper sat down beside him, placing a careful hand on his arm, wrapping her fingers around it easily once he didn't flinch or draw back.

He was always so skinny. Sometimes it worried her.

"You know, a small angry boy already hugged me today, so that's gotta be a sign."

"I didn't know Nico was capable of hugging someone who wasn't his boyfriend."

"Why are you so mean to him?"

Leo scowled at his shoelaces, brown curls falling into his eyes. "Because he has everything I don't."

"What?" Piper's eyebrows furrowed as Leo's watery eyes flicked to her.

"Don't pretend like you don't know what I'm talking about. Everyone likes him. He smiles once and boom! The boy of his dreams, a camp that takes him seriously, and a name for himself. He's Nico Di Angelo, and I'm just the camp's Fix-It Felix.

"He doesn't even like it! He goes out of his way to be away from it. Meanwhile, I try my damndest and it's 'shut up, Valdez' or 'go away, Valdez' or 'nobody wants you here, Valdez' or 'go jump off a bride, Valdez'!

"I get it, his life sucks. His whole family's gone, and he has problems. But at least he's not scum of the earth! It's like I'm invisible! No, worse."

He looked at her, eyelashes shining with teardrops akin to dewdrops on grass blades. "It's like I'm forgotten."

"Leo," Piper said, barely able to keep the teary whimper from her voice. "I would never forget you."

"Promise?" he asked, his pinky held up in a plead of comfort.

"Promise," she swore, a blood oath (sans blood, thank the gods) to her best friend. She was sure she would keep it.

"Look who's back!" Conner Stoll cheered in a surprisingly good natured manner as Leo walked up to the stage with Piper in tow.

"You know you can't get rid of me. In the clurb, we all fam," Leo joked, shooting the son of Hermes a wink, to which he swooned mockingly.

"So practice can actually be practice for the rest of us?" Frank asked, smiling at Hazel as she looked up excitedly. She was one of the most interested in the play, in truth.

Leo simply shrugged, smiling at Piper like she hung the moon. She almost laughed at the sight. She didn't deserve his platonical worships, but still he gave them to her like his pockets were burning. "If Annabeth will still have me."

"She will," Percy informed him with an easy grin. "Can't wait to kick your ass in song, Valdez."

"Can't wait to kick yours, Jackson."

"In due time, boys. For now, we have bigger fish to fry," Annabeth said, patting Leo once on the back.

"Isn't 'Dares to take' a more appropriate saying?"

"Still not a real one, Seaweed Brain."

"No saying is real until you say it, Wise Girl."

"What fish?" Piper interrupted before they got all sappy and ate each others faces (which was cute but very awkward, she should know).

"I emailed Rachel. She might be a bit upset about her part, but she refuses to reject my offer."

"What part did she-" Leo cut off with a yelp as the sound of a chopper got closer and closer, mussing his already tangled hair.

Annabeth smiled as the helicopter landed a couple yards from them. "I gave her Hera."