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Leo was on the couch, Piper beside him, watching a movie. Piper’s eyes were glued to the TV, but Leo couldn’t help stealing glances at her.
He had always found her pretty, but for some reason recently, Leo had noticed everything in a new perspective.
The layers of her hair, how they fell in soft waves around her face. Her eyes, which sparkled with emotion and always felt like a door to her soul. Her clothes, which always seemed to be perfect without trying. Her smile, oh so inviting. Even her skin, tanned to perfection.
To put it simply, Piper looked like a goddess.
Leo had stared too long this time, because suddenly, Piper was in his face.
“You wanna do makeovers?” Piper asked.
All Leo could manage was a nod because of two things: 1. Leo’s brain was short-circuiting because of how close Piper’s face was to his, and 2. Because Leo’s heart was beating a million miles per second.
Piper hopped off the couch and ran to another room, coming back a moment later with her arms stuffed and an excited smile on her face.
Leo grinned. Despite his distraction, this was going to be fun.
First, they did nails, laughing and gossiping like two teenage girls. Piper painted Leo’s nails orange and red with flames on them, and Leo painted hers bubblegum pink with sparkly hot pink hearts.
After their nails dried, they pulled their hair back with bunny headbands and did facemasks and skincare. They took selfies and pictures of their nails while they waited and tried not to move their faces too much.
Then they did each other's makeup, neither knowing what the other was doing. Leo tried his best, and it turned out simple, but Piper made his makeup simple on purpose. “You’re a boy,” she’d said.
By then the movie was long since over and it was past midnight.
“Oh my gods, I’m so tired,” Leo said, collapsing on the couch.
“Come onnn!” Piper said. “We could pull an all-nighter and then just sleep in the morning!”
“But what would we do to pass the time?” Leo asked, sitting up.
“We could play truth or dare, we could cook something, we could build a fort. There are so many things we could do!”
Leo sighed. “Okay. We can make a fort and snacks and then play truth or dare.”
Piper jumped up, excited once more. “Yay!”
Leo went into the kitchen and made some snacks while Piper made the fort. A little less than an hour later, everything was set up for truth or dare.
The fort was small, but functional, using chairs from the dining room, the couch, what looked like a bedsheet and several blankets, and probably all the pillows they had in the house.
Piper gaped at the food Leo had arranged in their fort when she crawled in.
“You made mini tacos? I thought you were going to put some chips and popcorn and candy into a bowl and bring it in here. Not cook a whole ass meal!”
Leo shrugged. “What can I say? You ask me to cook, I’m gonna cook. They don’t call me McShizzle Man for nothing.”
Piper rolled her eyes.
“I did, however, bring in a pack of cokes,” Leo said, handing Piper one.
“At least you have some common sense,” Piper said, cracking her coke open and taking a sip. “Now we are ready for truth or dare!”
“You go first,” Leo told Piper, reaching for a mini taco.
“Okay, truth or dare?”
“Let’s start with a safe truth.”
“Leo Valdez, going safe? My, this is a twist,” Piper said. “Okay, um… What was your earliest memory?”
Leo winced. “Probably my… wonderful experience with… Hera,” Leo said the name with disgust, glancing up at the ceiling and flipping it off, hoping Hera saw it.
Piper blinked. “Oh…” she clears her throat. “I pick dare.”
They played for a while, insane dares being thrown around until Leo finally broke the chain and picked truth again.
“Do you like anybody, and if so, who? It’s a classic, I know, but being the daughter of Aphrodite and all… I’m curious.”
“That’s a terrible excuse,” Leo said, fidgeting with the tab on his soda can.
“Just answer the question, Valdez.”
“Ugh, fine.” Leo rolled his eyes. “No. I don’t like anybody.”
Piper narrowed her eyes. “I don’t think you’re telling the truth.”
Leo raised an eyebrow. “What makes you think that, Pipes?”
“Well… I don’t know,” Piper admitted.
“Great reason,” Leo teased.
Piper glared. “Oh, shut up. Like I said, I’m a daughter of Aphrodite, I can usually tell these things.”
“But you can’t tell who it is?”
“Sadly, my powers do not extend that far, but I do have my suspicions,” Piper said. “But you still need to tell me who it is. You can’t back out.”
Leo rolled his eyes. “I told you, it’s no one.”
Piper frowned. “I know you’re lying, Leo. I’m not going to tell the person, I swear on the Styx!”
Leo hesitated. That promise won’t exactly work, seeing as she can’t tell herself that he has a crush on her.
“Swear you won’t overreact,” he said.
“Well I mean, if you come out as gay, I can’t promise anything, but—”
“Piper!”
Piper sighed dramatically. “Okay, fine. I swear on the river Styx that I won’t overreact about whoever your crush is as long as you’re not gay. Now will you tell me?”
Leo hesitated again. If he doesn’t say it now, he might never get the chance. Leo blurted out, “It’s you.”
Piper blinked her eyes wide. “What.”
“My crush… is you.”
Piper blinked again. “Oh.”
“Oh?! What do you mean, ‘oh’?” Leo exclaimed.
“I mean… I was hoping that was what you were going to say, but I didn’t expect you to actually say it,” She said quickly, fidgeting with the end of one of her braids.
“Wait, wait, wait,” Leo said, putting up his hands like stop signs. “You were hoping I would like you?”
“Yeah…” Piper admitted.
“What is it with you and the one word answers?!” Leo said exasperatedly.
“I swore on the river Styx I wouldn’t overreact! What do you want me to say?”
Leo sighed. “I don’t know.”
“Look, I was hoping you’d say you had a crush on me because I like you, too.”
Now it was Leo’s turn to blink and say, “What?”
Piper rolled her eyes. “I’m not repeating myself.”
“You also like me?” Leo asked incredulously. She… has a crush on him? She liked him back? Leo’s heart felt like it was going to burst from beating so fast.
“Yes,” Piper said, more confidently that time.
“Oh…” Leo didn’t know what else to say.
They sat there for a few seconds, staring at each other.
Piper finally broke the silence with a shaky laugh. “This is the part where you kiss me, Valdez. Or, I don’t know, say something smooth instead of… ‘oh.’”
Leo sputtered. “Smooth? Me? Piper, I’m literally running on two brain cells right now.”
“As always,” Piper said with one eyebrow raised.
“Hey!” Leo ran a hand through his hair. He was utterly lost. “I… have no idea what I’m doing. I’ve never done this before.”
Piper put a hand on Leo's leg. Leo looked up to meet those beautiful brown eyes. “That's okay. We can take it slow.”
Leo didn’t realize how much he needed to hear that. “Oh, thank gods.”
Piper smiles that mesmerizing smile. Leo returns it.
They laughed quietly, the tension finally melting away. Leo shifted closer, and Piper opened her blanket for him like it was the most natural thing in the world.
That night, they lay curled up in their blanket fort, snuggling.