Chapter Text
The forge roared like it always did: heat pulsing in waves, metal ringing sharp against metal, sparks snapping through the air like tiny fireworks.
Leo thrived in it.
Jason did not.
Jason stood just inside the doorway at first, arms crossed, trying to look like he belonged there. The light was too bright. The clang of Leo’s hammer hit his skull like a series of perfectly timed explosions.
“Y’know,” Leo called over the noise, not looking up, “most people visit me for my charming personality, not to stand there looking like a lost marble statue.”
Jason exhaled slowly. “Just…checking in.”
“Uh-huh.” Clang. “You’ve been ‘checking in’ for like five minutes. Either you’re about to say something deep or you forgot why you walked in.”
Jason tried to answer, but the words tangled somewhere behind his eyes. The pain had been building for a while now. Dull at first, then sharper, like pressure tightening around his temples. He figured he could ignore it.
He was wrong.
The forge blurred slightly. The light bent in a way that didn’t feel right.
“Hey,” Leo said suddenly, pausing mid-swing. “You good? You look kinda-”
Jason took a step forward.
The world tilted.
He didn’t even feel himself fall.
The ‘thud’ cut through the forge louder than anything else.
Leo froze.
For half a second, his brain refused to process what just happened.
Then-
“Jason?”
The hammer clattered out of his hand.
Leo rushed over, boots skidding slightly on the stone floor. Jason was sprawled out, way too still, way too pale under the harsh forge light.
“Hey- hey, no, no, no.” Leo dropped to his knees beside him, hands hovering awkwardly before finally landing on Jason’s shoulder. “Jason? Dude, this isn’t funny. You don’t do the dramatic fainting thing- that’s more a Piper move, come on.”
No response.
Leo’s stomach dropped.
“Okay. Okay, cool. Not cool. Not cool at all.”
He leaned closer, panic rising fast and hot in his chest. “You breathing? Please be breathing-” He checked, too quickly, too clumsily, then let out a sharp breath. “Okay, yeah. Good. That’s good. Breathing is great. Love that for you.”
Jason didn’t move.
“Alright. Right. Infirmary. Obviously. That’s a thing we should do.”
Leo stood, then immediately crouched again. “Wait. How do I-” He looked at Jason’s size. “You are, like, aggressively heavy, man. Did you eat a car this morning or- nope, not the time.”
He grabbed Jason under the arms and tried to haul him up.
Nothing.
Jason did not budge.
Leo grunted. “Oh, come on- work with me here, Grace! I know you’re unconscious but this feels personal.”
He adjusted his grip, bracing his feet this time. “Okay. On three. One, two, this is a terrible idea- three!”
With a strained noise, he managed to drag Jason upright enough to sling one of Jason’s arms over his shoulders.
“Okay,” Leo panted immediately, already regretting everything. “Cool. Great. We’re doing this. This is happening.”
Jason’s weight sagged heavily against him.
“Wow,” Leo wheezed as he took the first step. “You are…not built for portability.”
He stumbled forward, half-dragging, half-carrying him toward the exit. Every step was uneven, awkward, and way harder than Leo wanted to admit.
“Next time,” he muttered, breathless, “you pass out somewhere convenient. Like…I don’t know- a hospital? Or maybe right next to a stretcher. That’d be super helpful.”
No response.
Leo tightened his grip.
“Hey. Seriously. You better wake up soon,” he added, quieter now. “I’m not equipped for this level of responsibility.”
They made it out of the forge into the cooler air, but Leo didn’t slow down. If anything, he moved faster, adrenaline pushing him forward despite the strain burning in his arms.
“Somebody better be in the infirmary,” he muttered. “Because if I carried you all this way for nothing, I am going to be SO mad at you when you wake up.”
Jason’s head shifted slightly against his shoulder, but he still didn’t come to.
Leo swallowed hard and kept going.
“Hang on, man,” he said under his breath. “Just- hang on.”