Chapter Text
Leo had been working on gifts for those he cared about most. He had just finished his final one, a bracelet for Hazel.
It was silver with empty pendants around it, waiting for something to hold on to.
He worked with the Hecate cabin and gave the goddess offerings to enchant it. Normally, any stones or jewels Hazel used her powers to get were cursed so that anybody wearing or selling it was doomed to die or be injured severely.
Now, with the work of magic, the empty pendants could take any gem or stone and shrink it to fit in its capture, as well as stop the curse from hurting whoever wore it.
Annabeth had glasses that made studying easier. Jason had monster resistant glasses. Piper had a brand new jewelry box that never ran out of room. Frank had a comb that could brush out any animal fur no matter how tangled. Percy had something similar to Leo’s toolbelt, but it produced fish food.
He had a stack of letters in a drawer. Besides those, a razor blade.
These were his final gifts he’d ever give out, and the final projects he’d ever work on.
——
Leo stood outside Cabin Thirteen, bracelet in hand. He knocked on the black door in front of him, plastering on a smile. Hazel opened the door.
“Hey Leo! What’s going on?”
“I made you a little something!” He held out his palm, the sparkling silver on display.
“It’s a bracelet, obviously, but the pendants are enchanted! They can fit any gem or stone in them, and since you can summon them, I thought it’d be nice.”
Leo couldn’t lie, he was excited to give her this. Everyone gave him a smile and a thank you, and even if it wasn’t much he was grateful. Hazel was really sweet, she might make some joke about the magic.
“Oh, Leo, you must’ve forgotten, the things I summon are cursed, remember?” Hazel replied.
“That’s the best part, the enchantment overshadows the curse and whoever wears it isn’t hurt! Don’t worry, I tested it out a lot, and my offerings to Hecate must’ve worked.”
Hazel’s expression shifted into i don’t care but i’m acting like i do, but Leo just ignored it, hoping it was just the depressing side of his brain seeing it.
“Oooh cool!” Hazel reached out to grab it, and that’s when Leo noticed the people inside her cabin.
The rest of the seven, minus Jason, were watching Avatar and eating snacks. It was his favorite movie, too.
Ouch. Why didn’t they invite him? No, no, he couldn’t blame them, he wouldn’t want him there either. Plus, he won’t attend any movie nights when he’s gone.
Still, it hurt. They knew that was his favorite, he was the one who had introduced them.
Jason wasn’t there. Did they not invite him, either? Was he in the bathroom? Did he leave when he found out they were leaving Leo out? (He hoped it was the latter.)
He tried to ignore the burn in the back of his throat and corners of his eyes, pretending not to notice the party.
“Thanks, Leo!” She did not put the bracelet on, but held it by her side. “Also, could you check out the Hades table legs? I think one is lopsided.”
Oh.
“Yeah, of course,” He smiled. Hazel smiled back and nodded, closing the door.
Okay. No magic joke, but that’s fine. She’s probably bad at reacting to things. Everyone other than Leo in the Seven is, apparently.
Leo turned around, glancing into the window.
He watched as Hazel said something and set the bracelet into a drawer, immediately going back to the movie.
He headed to the dining pavilion and fixed the Hades table.
In the bunker, he watched Avatar alone and opened up his skin.
———
Late that night, Leo laid awake in his bed.
He kept thinking about his plans. About the stack of notes addressed to the seven, Nico, Will, and Chiron.
He gave Chiron one because he knew that demigod deaths affected him more than he let on, especially suicides.
He doesn’t know why he gave Nico one. It just felt wrong not to. They weren’t close, but Leo knew he had a bad reputation with death even as a Hades kid, so he wanted to reassure him even if it was pointless.
He gave Will one because he knows that Will would blame himself for not saving him. He knew how it felt to blame yourself for a death, and would not let Will feel that way.
For that reason Leo must be dead when he’s discovered, not dying. Will can’t blame himself for this. Leo wouldn’t forgive himself for it.
He confessed his love to Jason in his note. He had to succeed, if he didn’t and Jason read it and found out…
He couldn’t think about that right now. He had other priorities.
He had a plan for the next night.
Give letters out (he’ll figure out a good excuse later), head to the Bunker, lock himself in the bathroom, cut the veins in both his wrists, and if needed, his jugular.
He didn’t want to lock the Bunker door. Part of him hoped someone would want to come and help him, but he pushed it down. He has to do it, and do it right.
He decided that tomorrow, he would look for a reason to stay, even if just for a day.
Some part of him doesn’t want to die, but the part that does will always overpower it.
——
The next day, Leo headed to the dining pavilion.
Breakfast was free seating since it was Friday, and each table held 8 people.
Usually, Leo sat with everyone else who was aboard the Argo ||, but today Will and Nico sat there, leaving all seats filled.
That’s fine. He searched for Nyssa.
Her table was filled as well.
Whatever. Not a big deal. He sat in a somewhat empty table beside the Seven’s table, ignoring the other 2 campers who clearly didn’t have anywhere to sit, either.
He felt someone tap his shoulder. He turned to find some Aphrodite girl was next to him, trying to get his attention.
“Hi, Leo! I have a question for you!” The blonde exclaimed. Leo turned his head in a go-on motion.
“So, since the rest of the Seven don’t like you, why did you get to go and not someone like Nyssa? You know, she’s smarter, she’s funnier, she’s likeable, she’s….” The girl was just making fun of him like everyone else.
Leo stood, threw his tray away, and left.
He doesn’t notice Jason, who was about to call him over.
——
In Bunker 9, Leo reread his notes, checking for grammar mishaps and things to add. They were the last memory of him, he wanted to make them count.
He came across Chiron’s note. He worried about how people would react, after all hurting the people around him was one of the last things he wanted to do.
No. If they cared, they would invite him to things, check up on him, anything. He pushes the thought aside.
Before, he was going to use today as a final chance to be given a reason to stay, but the universe had never given him mercy, why would it now?
Instead, he would make memories today. He’d interact with everyone, make sure no one held grudges, and leave on a good note. Well, killing yourself isn’t ending on a good note, but you get the point.
Leo wouldn’t admit it, but he secretly hoped some miracle would happen and he wouldn’t want this ending anymore. Another thing Leo wouldn’t admit was that the only way to save himself at this point would be to rewrite his entire story.
Leo took his final shower, his first in a week, and headed out to camp.
He talked to Frank about what being an animal was like. He let Piper gossip to him. He asked Percy what breathing underwater was like. Chatted to Chiron about what rules Leo would enforce if he was camp director.
Asked Nico and Hazel about what the Underworld was like (not a good question, yes, but people had asked that before. Also, why were they glancing at each other nervously the whole time?). He asked Annabeth about redesigning Olympus, and helped out Will in the infirmary.
And then, there was Jason, the love of his short and pathetic life. Oh, that was the hardest of them all.
He grabbed his letters down in the Bunker and walked to Cabin one shortly after dinner. Knocked on his door. Jason opened and immediately smiled at his friend.
“Hey hey! Okay, I’m working on this project and this is going to sound weird but,” he grabbed Jason’s letter. “open this tomorrow. I'm not going to say anything, but trust me, it’s worth it!” That seemed like a good excuse. He really hoped it was.
Jason smiled and took it. “What are you planning, Fire Boy? I take it those are for the others?” He gestured to the other letters. Leo nodded, still smiling. “Come on in, you can give those out later.”
Jason stepped aside to let Leo in, and he smiled as he stepped inside.
Leo turned to the Zeus statue in the Cabin. “Gods, I’ll never get over that thing. How do you sleep?”
Jason chuckled. “Terribly. You wanna watch Avatar?”
Leo ignored the memory of everyone hanging out without him just the day before, nodded, and snuggled up to Jason in bed, who played with the fire wielder’s hair. They were always very physical with each other, the others teased them for it. He would miss it.
——
Jason fell asleep halfway through the movie, so Leo woke him up at the end to let him know he was leaving.
He tapped him on the shoulder. “Hey, Superman, wake up, I gotta go before the harpies eat me. I still need to give out my letters.” Oh gods, Leo could already feel his emotions rising. This was the last time he’d ever see Jason.
Jason slowly woke up, yawning, as Leo grabbed his notes. “Yeah, okay. I’d rather you didn’t get eaten by the harpies for your projects.” They stood up and made their way to the door.
Leo smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Sounds like something I’d do.” They arrived at the door. Jason opened it and stepped onto the porch beside Leo.
Leo looked into Jason’s eyes. He could feel his own sting, the reminder of his plan echoing through his mind.
He hugged Jason, tighter and longer than usual. He whispered, “You’re my best friend man, never forget that.” There was more truth to that sentence than Jason knew. So much for not giving any warning signs.
Jason was quiet for a second before he whispered back, “You okay?” Leo was still hugging him, so he stopped to settle Jason's worries.
When Leo looked into his eyes, he was met with those mix of emotions he’d begun to recognize. It was like Jason could read all Leo’s emotions and thoughts, like he could see through the carefully crafted lies that Leo had worked so hard to perfect over the years.
But it was so, so easy to get lost in those irises. For Leo to embrace the blue so pale they could’ve been carved from frozen light, the kind that made warmth feel like a distant memory. If Leo lost his memory like Jason and Percy, he would’ve reminded those eyes like Percy remembered Annabeth.
As he comes back to reality, Leo is reminded that this will be the last time he can be lost in their beauty.
“Yeah, sorry, I was just thinkin’ about how being demigods, nowhere is truly safe for us. Even here at camp, with Capture the Flag, it’s like the other demigods want to kill us!” Leo pauses. “I don’t mean to be depressing, sorry!”
Jason smiled. “Yeah, I get that. But, you’d talk to me if something was wrong, right?”
Oh gods, Leo was on the verge of tears. This wasn’t good, he needed to calm down.
“I trust you more than I trust myself, Superman of course.” Leo replied, smiling back at him. “Okay, go on before you get chased down. I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?”
“Yeah.”
Leo walked away, heading to the Poseidon cabin. He wiped his tears, hoping his eyes weren’t red.
He gave everyone their letters, the project excuse working quite well. However, when he arrived at the Hades cabin, he could sense something was wrong.
As he handed Hazel and Nico their notes, he saw how twisted their expressions looked. They were clearly put off by something, almost sick.
“Hey, are you guys okay? You look… uh, confused, I guess.” Leo questioned them. They nodded, but he didn’t believe them. Oh well.
Leo said his goodbyes and left, heading to Bunker 9.
——
(Nico’s POV)
The second the door closed, Nico turned to his sister. “You felt his death aura too, right?”
Hazel nodded wearily, glancing at the letters Leo had given them.
“We should warn him. Have him go get checked out by Will, he’s clearly in danger, Nico.” Hazel was being smart, but Nico had an idea of what was going on, and if he was right, a simple checkup couldn’t do anything.
He opened his letter and read the first few lines, despite Hazel vocalizing her confusion beside him.
“Dear Nico,
I’m so sorry. I just can’t deal with this anymore.”
That was all Nico bothered to read before focusing his attention on Hazel, who read over his shoulder.
“Get the others, now. I’ll get Will.” Hazel nodded immediately, dashing for the door.
Nico ran across camp, straight for the infirmary, busting into the door to find his boyfriend startling, immediately concerned.
“Nico? What’s wrong? Is anyone hurt? Are you hurt?” Will rushed over to his side, seeming to check for injuries.
“Will, Leo’s going to kill himself. His- his death aura is so, so, strong, and he gave me and Hazel these notes, we opened them early, they’re- they’re fucking suicide notes.” Nico’s voice was shaky, filled with adrenaline and fear, but quiet enough for only Will to hear.
Will’s expression darkened, and he grabbed a first aid kit and ran.
Hazel had already gotten most and was now getting Annabeth, and Jason was the last one left to alert. Nico pounded on his door.
When it opened, Nico jumped in before Jason could question anything.
“Leo- Leo’s going to kill himself, hurry-“ Jason’s expression morphed into something indescribable, immediately running alongside the rest of the Seven and Will.
Nico had never seen anyone run that fast.
As all 8 arrived at the Bunker door, Jason desperately tried to open the door. Locked, of course.
“Leo, come open the door, everything’s okay.” Piper called to Leo through the door, her voice laced with charmspeak.
Nico could feel Hephaestus’s son’s life force draining, and by the look on Hazel’s face, she could too. She only ever felt it when it was bad, which was an even worse sign.
“It- charmspeak won’t work, he must be far back in the bunker, he can't hear you.” Nico didn't know who spoke. The aura affected him too greatly to focus.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck! Frank, turn into some animal and get in there and unlock the door! We don’t have time to break it down!” Jason’s voice.
Frank nodded frantically, turning into an ant to fit through a crack in the door, and turned back on the inside, unlocking the door.
“I don’t see him, where is he?!” Jason’s voice was so panicked, Nico might’ve heard it in his nightmares.
Piper tried charmspeak again. “Leo, come on out, everything’s okay. Just come talk to us.”
Not working. Fuck, was he passed out? Oh gods, they were too late, weren’t they?
Annabeth rounded the hallway. “Here! The bathroom light’s on!”
The 8 demigods came running down the hallway, Percy trying the handle which was stupid- oh, it was unlocked. Weird.
At this point, Leo’s life force was so bad Nico and Hazel had to step back, their thoughts disoriented.
Even through his haze, he could see just how bad it was.