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“And so I said ‘That’s wild, because last time I saw her she was elbow deep in a roast turkey, but whatcha gonna do?’ Turns out that was not the answer to the essay prompt,” Leo said with that specific kind of nonchalance that made the stupid punchlines of his stupid stories land each and every time. To most people, it looked casual, but Leo had been practicing that delivery in the mirror for years at that point.
Across the table, Jason proved that every second of his training had been worth the effort because he tipped his head back and laughed. Leo loved making Jason laugh, because while Jason was very composed and borderline stoic a good chunk of the time, he really let loose when he was having a proper chuckle. His laugh was loud and drew everyone’s attention, and Jason would just close his eyes and hold a hand to his chest like he had to physically hold his heart in place.
The best part was the moments after he finished laughing, when his cheeks were flushed and he was still a little breathless. He’d look at Leo like he was the single most wonderful thing that had ever drawn breath in the history of the universe, eyes shining in adoration, and he’d smile and say something endearingly generic like “That was pretty funny.” For a while, Leo was super jealous that any other person on the planet was ever deemed worthy to even look at that expression, much less have it directed at them, but then one day Leo realized that he was the only one who could make Jason laugh like that. He tucked that fact deep in his chest, keeping it safe from every doubt that plagued his mind.
This time when Jason managed to calm down and level Leo with that achingly fond smile, he said, “You’re really something,” which would have meant absolutely nothing from anyone else on the planet, but Leo knew was very high praise from Jason.
Without thinking, Leo leaned forward and propped his chin up on his palm. His eyes slipped half closed as a wide, lazy smile curled over his lips. “Yeah? And is it a something you might like, Superman?”
Immediately, Jason’s eyes widened and his face drained of all color. He very awkwardly cleared his throat before stiffly standing, shoving his chair back with a deeply unpleasant scraping sound that echoed through the mostly-empty cafe. “Sorry, I, um, I just remembered that I have a… meeting. With my professor. See you later, Leo.”
With that, he powerwalked out of the room, leaving Leo behind to watch with no small amount of hurt feelings. He turned his attention to Piper, who had been sitting there, largely silent the whole time as she tapped out something on her phone. “What was that about?”
Piper looked up from the screen and pulled a wide-eyed look of surprise. “Oh, are we acknowledging I exist again? Sweet.”
Leo’s cheeks warmed and he scowled at her. “Shut up. What’s up with Jason? He’s been acting super weird recently and it’s kinda starting to wig me out.”
“It’s so obvious,” she scoffed. “He’s got a massive crush on you. Of course he’s going to blue screen whenever you flirt with him, and you flirt with him a lot.”
Leo’s whole world screeched to a sudden halt. “I– What? No, he doesn’t!”
Piper already looked bored with the conversation. “Uh, yeah, he is, Poindexter. If you pulled your head out of your text books and stand-up routines for more than, like, two minutes, you’d know that.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Leo insisted. “Like, have you seen Jason? In what universe would someone like that ever have a crush on me?”
“All of them, if I had to guess,” Piper drawled. “Based on how obsessed he is, I’m pretty sure that him being in love with you is a multi-versal constant.”
For one single bright moment, Leo let himself hope. Let himself imagine a world where Jason really did love him, a world where those looks at the end of his laughter meant something other than friendly affection. Then he slammed the lid on that thought pot before it could boil over, and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, like I’m gonna take romance advice from you of all people.”
Piper’s face immediately flushed. “What’s that supposed to mean?!”
“Piper, you haven’t even come to terms with the fact that you’re in love with Reyna. Why should I take your word on this?”
“I– That’s different!” she sputtered. “We’re just roommates.”
Leo clucked his tongue sympathetically. “I don’t know who needs to hear this but ‘just roommates’ don’t plan their futures around living the rest of their lives together with the dog army they want to adopt.”
Piper crossed her arms and glared furiously at him. “I hate you.”
“Love you, too,” he cooed, leaning over to press a kiss to her cheek while he stole the last piece of her fruit salad. “See you tomorrow.”
With that, he slung his bag over his shoulder and left, making the trek back to his and Jason’s dorm room. With every step, his chest grew a bit warmer and lighter as Piper’s words bounced around in his head. He didn’t want to believe her. Believing her meant hope and he’d learned the hard way that hope made a very fragile spot in his armor, then handed the coordinates and a knife to another person. But at the same time, he couldn’t help it. For as much as he didn’t want to believe her, he wanted it even more. He wanted everything Jason did, every affectionate glance and touch and smile to mean as much to him as it did to Leo. He wanted it.
As he pushed open the door, Jason looked up, glasses perched crooked on his nose and smiled like the sun had finally come out. Leo’s treacherous heart thumped and he smiled back.
Maybe it was obvious.