Chapter Text
The couple were on the run once more.
Percy ran with Riptide in one hand, attacking with the flat of his shield.
Annabeth was right behind, dagger ready.
“You get Hazel and Frank. I’ll get Piper and Jason. Meet back at the ship,” she shouted. Percy nodded and headed for the crowd. He briefly heard Pipers shouted commands in the air.
After hitting a handful of Romans with water, Percy found Hazel and Frank defending themselves, shoulder to shoulder. Hazel brightened at the sight of Percy.
Frank grunted as a greeting. He briefly turned to the son of Poseidon. “We can’t—“
“Guys. You have to follow me. We have to get to the ship. Now.”
Hazel and Frank were taken aback at Percy’s interruption. They were attacked once more before they could respond.
“Please. You guys trust me?” Percy asked. He whipped water to topple over two people attacking his friends. A brief moment of understanding passed between the three demigods as the attackers fell before them from the water.
“Of course,” Hazel said, just as Frank said, “Always.”
———
The trio climbed up the ladder to the Argo II. Annabeth and Piper were already on deck. Piper was shouting at the top of her lungs at the rails of the ship, trying to reach the entire crowd below.
Annabeth crouched to Percy as he was about to climb on to the deck. “Jason fell unconscious from a cut on his head as we were heading to the ship. We can’t leave until we get him,” she said, panic slipping into her voice. Percy looked down at Frank, who was climbing just behind Percy on the ladder.
“Frank. Can you get him?”
Hesitation was evident on the face of the son of Mars, before it turned to pure determination. He leaped off the ladder then ascended as a bright red dragon.
Annabeth was in complete awe. “He can—is he—?”
Percy scoffed. “He got the cool Poseidon power,” he mumbled. Frank’s shapeshifting came from him being a descendant of Poseidon. Percy was a direct son of the sea god and couldn’t do anything remotely close to it. But his bitterness wasn’t genuine. He admired Frank.
Before the dragon left, Piper yelled, “Wait! Take me with you! I can help!”
Frank-dragon beat his wings in the air for a second, then got close enough for Piper to jump over the railings and get on his back.
Hazel and Percy were now on the deck of the ship, watching as Frank and Piper went into the crowd of hostile Romans to get Jason. They didn’t watch for long, though. Leo was still firing at the ballista. Hazel, Percy, and Annabeth ran over.
The son of Hephaestus had a focused glint in his eye, a mean look playing over his features. “Must destroy. Destroy… destroy them all,” he mumbled. Percy was too filled with rage and adrenaline. He didn’t notice how robotic Leo seemed or how his eyes were glazed over. Without a second thought, he tackled the boy to the ground. Leo’s head thumped loudly against the ship.
Just as quickly, Frank returned with Piper and an unconscious Jason. They landed gracefully. Romans started crowding even more. The ship shuddered against the damage.
Percy started yelling, “Annabeth! Let’s go! The ship!”
Annabeth scurried to the controls, which were apparently Wii controllers. She fiddled with them. The ship started to ascend. Percy got up from where he tackled Leo, leaving Hazel to watch him. Percy ran to the edge of the ship, leaning over the railing.
He saw the mass damage of the camp that slowly accepted him , that became a new home for him, that he led as praetor. His heart clenched. He saw Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano staring up at him, her dogs at her heels. The two demigods locked eyes. Percy wished she could understand. He wasn’t sure what she was supposed to understand. He wished anyway. Reyna’s head fell. She nodded. Then turned away.
Piper scurried below deck with Jason leaning on her for support right as they landed. He had the nastiest cut right on his forehead. Percy quietly prayed in his mind that he was okay.
After about a minute, Annabeth walked up behind him. “Percy.” She put a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll talk to Leo right as he wakes up. Octavian was up here with him. He might’ve done something, tricked Leo, framed him. I truly don’t believe Leo really did this.”
“Yeah. Yeah, okay,” Percy halfheartedly responded. “I’m gonna go make sure Piper and Jason are alright. And I’ll check that everything’s good below deck.”
Annabeth nodded, giving Percy a quick kiss on his cheek. It warmed him from head to toe.
But it didn’t rest all his emotions.
———
Leo was drowsy. He was in dream land just a second ago and woke up to a blue sky. I must’ve died. This better be Elysium. Leo pondered if he really deserved Elysium anyway. He tried to recall what happened. He was trying to show that freaky Roman the ship. The stupid Roman was pretty pissed but Leo prided himself on being able to keep anyone distracted.
And whatever happened from that point on was an out of body experience. He meant that as literally as possible.
Leo’s head throbbed. He was still laying on the floor, which he knew was the deck of the Argo II. Feeling the gentle sway of the ship, he realized they were back on water, meaning they were well out of danger. Slowly, he propped himself up on his elbows, meeting the stormy grey eyes of Annabeth Chase. Oh, and she was pretty mad.
Uh oh.
She got up and offered a slightly hesitant hand. “Get up. Now,” she demanded. Leo took the hand and scrambled to his feet. Annabeth dragged him to the mast, and another boy turned his head as they came into his view. Frank, he remembered. Frank was pretty built, with set shoulders but a seemingly kind face. He was wearing a toga that was ripped in numerous areas over jeans and a purple SPQR shirt, which matched the outfits of majority of the Romans. Leo can sort of remember a dragon landing on the ship. The same dragon turn into Frank.
Frank walked over, eyes more or less blazing with rage. Leo didn’t know the guy, like, at all. So he was decently scared.
“What. was. that? Explain,” Frank said. One fist was clenched and another seemed to be itching to grab an arrow from his back.
Leo felt his hands sizzle a bit— a nervous habit. Frank took notice of the small flames and smoke and immediately paled. He took a small step back but the rage stayed all the same.
“Easy, boys,” Annabeth held out her hands to calm the situation. “Let him explain himself, Frank. And Leo, I’d prefer if you didn’t burn anything on this ship right about now. Explain what happened.”
Leo stuttered. “I— I don’t know?”
Annabeth frowned. “What do you mean? You don’t remember?”
“No— I do. I do. It’s just, I didn’t mean to do it. I didn’t want to.”
“Was Octavian behind it? Did he frame you? Anything?”
Leo slumped against the mast. “No. I did do it. I fired the ballista.”
Frank scowled hard. “On purpose?”
Leo took a shaky breath, holding back a sob. “No! It was like I knew I was doing it. I saw myself do it, but I wasn’t in control. There was this cold feeling and I—“
He was cut off by a yell, “Annabeth! We need some help real quick!”
Annabeth looked a little scared, calculating what Leo told her. She sighed. “Frank. Watch Leo.”
Frank nodded. Leo was crushed. Annabeth trusted Frank over Leo after such a little time frame. Frank fixed a cold, hard look on Leo. It melted a bit as he spoke, “The ship is… really cool.”
Leo was ever so grateful that the guy wasn’t just hating on him. He deserved to.
“Thanks. Yep. My pride and joy,” Leo said. “Do you mind if I check on Festus? You can watch me in case I do anything fishy or whatever. He seems pretty beaten—“
Leo stopped, hearing thumping from below. It seemed to approach and get louder by the second, as if someone was walking up stairs. The footsteps came to a stop as a figure turned the corner, looking down at Leo.
Leo met deep sea-green eyes that resembled a violent sea storm. He was under the raging glare of Percy Jackson.
———
When Annabeth came down to check the bandages on Jason’s head, she turned to Percy first.
“Leo’s awake.”
He straightened. Hazel did, too. Piper looked up hopefully. Percy shifted in his chair. “And?”
Annabeth hesitated. “He said… he said he didn’t mean to. That he didn’t want to do it but he did. Leo did fire at the camp, but—“
Percy stood. He didn’t mean to? He didn’t want to? Percy walked to the stairs, Annabeth rushing behind him and Hazel following only after Piper nodded at her to go. Percy barely paid them any notice. bolting to his destination.
Percy thumped up the stairs and found Leo against the mast, Frank standing nearby. He glowered at Leo. He wasn’t sure what to feel, he was feeling too much. So Percy settled on the emotion he was familiar with and leaned on a lot in his life. Percy was livid.
He stepped towards Leo. “Annabeth tells me you did fire the ballista.”
The son of Hephaestus winced, his voice cracking. Leo gulped. “Yes, but… man, I don’t understand what happened. I’m so sorry—“
“Sorry? Sorry? ” Percy growled. He surged forward, grabbing Leo from the collar area of his orange Camp Half-Blood shirt. Percy lifted him up against the mast, pressing against the boy’s chest. Leo breathing started to stutter.
“I don’t think you understand, Leo.” Percy spit out the name as it was cursed, poisoned. “This ruined everything. The alliance is ruined. The Romans think the Greeks are backstabbers and snakes. Our chances of victory against Gaea literally plummeted because of you,” Percy snarled, right in Leo’s face. Percy pushed a little harder. “I don’t take the harming of my friends lightly. Camp Jupiter took me in. The Romans accepted me as their praetor. I reassured them that nothing would happen. You gotta see how— how horrible you made things. Sorry isn’t fixing anything.” The sea splashed against the ship, rocking it harder than before. The roughness was evident.
Leo made an inaudible noise. Percy’s glare only grew more furious, his grip not wavering. Hazel stood at the side, trying to keep herself balanced as the ship violently moved with the harsh waves. With her arms out in front of her, she seemed to struggle internally on the entire situation, biting her lip. Frank was the same, except he started to slowly walk towards Percy, trying not to fall with every step.
Leo choked. “P-p—“ Whether he was going to start begging with please or call out to Percy, the demigods didn’t know. Annabeth beat Frank to the son of Poseidon and gripped his shoulder. “Percy. Let him go. It wasn’t him.”
Percy’s eyes flew to Annabeth, angry and shocked. Annabeth winced slightly, seeing her boyfriend this full of rage. She composed herself. “Percy. Let him go.”
Percy relaxed. He faced Leo again. He loosened his grip and let go suddenly, dropping Leo, who sputtered and coughed and heaved great breaths on all fours. Annabeth put a hand on Percy’s chest, backing him up from the hacking boy. The waves calmed, and Frank walked over to Leo. A stroll, not too frantic, but he went to Leo nonetheless.
Piper walked up from below deck, stopping short when seeing the scene. She took it in and, unlike Frank, rushed over to Leo, who was still visibly affected. “Leo! What- Wh— are you okay?” She put a hand on his back.
“I— y-yea—all…good,” he managed to get out.
Frank knelt next to Leo and pulled out a cube of ambrosia. “Here, man. Take half and save the rest for later.”
Leo accepted the offer, taking a shaky bite.
Annabeth faced her boyfriend as Leo managed to lean against the mast, hand against chest and great breaths racking his body. Piper and Frank tried to help him stand to no avail. Hazel mumbled that she would go and check on Jason, then scurried below deck. Percy managed another glare at Leo before Annabeth nudged his chin to face her. “I’m gonna need you to calm down, Percy. The waves haven’t stopped,” Annabeth carefully said. Percy’s face suddenly dropped from the scowl he was wearing. His eyebrows furrowed a bit, and the waves stilled. The rocking stopped.
Leo finally managed to get to his feet, leaning most of his weight on Piper. Percy’s eyes were angrily fixed on the floor.
Annabeth cleared her throat. “Let’s see how Jason is doing, then regroup below deck. Come on.”
———
Seeing Percy look at him like that was by far the scariest thing that happened to Leo the entire day. Maybe the entire week. Year.
He knew he sounded pathetic trying to explain himself to the older demigod. Leo felt his legs shaking under Percy’s glare. It made him feel exactly how he felt whenever Jason called on thunder. Every sense of his screamed DANGER! DUCK! It was terrifying to say the least. Percy also still had his purple praetor robes on. It didn’t add much, he would be equally scary and the powerful demigod he is with or without the robes, but it emphasized authority.
When Leo felt his breathing struggle, his chest throb, and his throat close when being held against the mast, he knew the rough waves were Percy’s doing. The worst thing was that everything Percy said was true.
Leo did ruin everything. Except it wasn’t him. Except it was.
This was all that ran through Leo’s head when walking below deck with Piper’s support. The ambrosia Frank gave him helped a lot, but not 100%. (He was surprised the son of… Mars, Leo thinks, actually tried to help.)
“Leo. What happened?” Piper asked for the millionth time. Leo shook his head, trying to play it off. He tried to seem too tired to answer, and even though he was genuinely tired, it was more of the feeling that he didn’t want to antagonize Percy. What if Percy got even more mad?
Leo and Piper sat at the table below deck, where Hazel, Frank and Annabeth were already seating. They sat on the opposite side. Percy took a seat at the head of the table, next to Annabeth and Piper, meaning Leo was a seat away from him. Jason was probably still resting, but he must be healthy enough to not have Piper with him.
Annabeth opened her mouth to speak but Piper beat her to it. She set her palms on the table. “I don’t know what happened up there, but the tension is through the roof. What happened? Someone better explain, I need to go stay with Jason. Why was Leo completely beaten and on the floor? Did we figure out what happened with the ballista?”
Leo stilled, but his heart warmed knowing that Piper didn’t seem the slightest bit mad as the others.
Percy slowly straightened in his seat. Leo risked a hesitant glance at the son of Poseidon. But Percy’s gaze hardened. “Leo fired it. He admitted it. We can’t leave him wandering anywhere alone. Someone needs to be watching him at all times,” Percy said.
“You’re wrong. Leo would never. I don’t know what you did but he didn’t deserve whatever it was and I think you owe him a long apology, Percy,” Piper replied.
“I don’t owe him anything. He can’t be alone.” Percy stood. “He was the one who bombed my home, the place that took me in when I barely knew my own name. They trusted my word that nothing would happen. They trusted me.” He gestured to the praetor cape that he still wore.
“Stop saying that he needs some sort of guard like he’s a loose cannon. He didn’t do it.” Piper didn’t back down.
“You saw him! You saw him firing like everyone else! He said he did it!” Percy was throwing his arms around now. Leo isn’t an expert on too much other than anything mechanical, but Percy’s wild gestures scared him a bit. The waves responded to him while he was pissed at Leo. Leo didn’t want any more of that.
Hazel, to everyone’s surprise, cleared her throat. “Well, what does Leo have to say?”
And then Leo was at the center of everyone’s gaze. Great. He took a deep breath. “I’m so, so sorry guys. I wish I understood what happened. There was this cold feeling—“
“Stop right there,” Annabeth said. “Yes. A cold feeling. You’ve said this. I felt it when you looked at me before leaving with Octavian.”
Annabeth looked at the table as if studying what exact type of wood Leo decided to use to build it. “I don’t think you did it, Leo. Something must’ve made you do it. I don’t know what, maybe some sort of magic from Gaea...”
Frank sighed. “That makes sense. But until we know exactly what it was, how will we know it won’t happen again?”
Leo’s hands almost caught on fire. “I’m fine—“
Percy slammed his hands on the table. “We can’t look past it this quickly. We need to repair the ship after all that happened at Camp Jupiter, let Jason heal, and watch Leo at the same time.”
Leo swallowed. “How about… we use a buddy system? No one gets to be alone. One group goes to get some supplies and another group gets the rest. Piper can stay with Jason.”
Percy scoffed. “Splitting up doesn’t sound like a good idea.”
Hazel hummed. “Why not? Quests are usually three demigods anyway.”
“True. Exceeding that limit only means Gaea’s minions could be attracted to us more. No use in that,” Annabeth agreed.
Percy slumped in his chair. “As long as I’m with Annabeth and I know Leo’s being watched, I guess.”
Leo turned his gaze to the floor. Piper put a hand on his shoulder.
“I’ll go with Leo. Frank, you go with Annabeth and Percy,” Hazel announced with finality. Leo was pretty surprised she volunteered to go with the dude who blew her camp up. He smiled.
“Leave in 20?” Frank suggested.
The demigods nodded and all left, Piper specifically rushing back to go to Jason.
———
After decided on plans of action, Leo went straight to Festus at the complete front of the ship. With a wrench in hand, Leo patted the dragon head delicately. “You had it pretty bad with the Romans, didn’t you, buddy? It’s alright. Me, too,” Leo sighed.
“I don’t think all the Romans,” a voice said. Leo, as proper and collected as always, jumped, hands lighting on fire. Hazel winced backwards at the flames and Leo shook his hands out quickly. “Sorry! I’m sorry, didnt see you there,” Leo quickly apologized.
“It’s all good,” said Hazel. Leo didn’t expect her to be much of a talker, but she spoke with confidence majority of the time.
He coughed. “I know the fire thing shouldn’t be something you have to get used to. I’ll try not to go full orange flames on you when you just try to approach me.”
“It’s not your fault,” she said. Leo sensed she was talking about more than just his fire. “I didn’t mean to make you feel that I was uncomfortable because of the fire.”
“Ah, quit apologizing! It’s seriously okay. Did you need something?” Leo pretended to check a watch he didn’t have. “There’s still five minutes, if I’m correct, before we embark on our great quest for bronze!”
Hazel laughed. “I don’t need anything. I wanted to talk to you, though. About… everything?”
Leo sighed. “Yeah. I’m sorry—“
“No. It’s okay. I know it wasn’t you. Frank is accepting that, too. I wanted to talk about Percy.”
Leo paled. He wrung his hands together. “Ahh. Not a bad topic choice! If you’re wondering if I’m still physically ill, you’ll be glad to know I’m feeling much better. The guy is—“ Leo, to his own shame, shuddered. “The guy’s pretty strong.”
Hazel leaned on the railing. She patted Festus on the head. “You know, if anyone saw Percy fighting and battling in general, let alone with water, they’d be pretty scared of the splash of a wave rather than the burning of a fire. I get what you must be feeling. I wanted to tell you, Percy’s whole thing is loyalty. He’s loyal, like super loyal. Loyal to a fault. I’m pretty sure it’s his fatal flaw. I’m glad he’s on our side. I hope you can tell why he took the whole bombing as seriously and deeply as he did. Percy doesn’t stand by when anyone or anything he cares by gets hurt.”
“I could safely assume that, yes.”
“Even with all this power Percy has, his heart is good. He’s friendly. Caring and brave. Protective. Incredibly selfless and humble. He could be the kindest guy you meet.”
Leo bit the inside of his cheek. Key word in what Hazel was saying is could. She walked over to him and squeezed his shoulder. “It’ll all pass. He’ll give you a chance. You give him one. Percy will forgive you after we fully forgive out what exactly happened with the ballista. Now come on, we have some bronze to get.”
———
Both questing groups were about to leave. Leo saw Percy give Annabeth a kiss. Annabeth went over to grab her dagger. Leo didn’t miss the look he got that moment from Percy. The half-glare half-warning look.
Basically if you mess with my friend, I will personally feed you to a great white shark.
And anything fishy and you’ll wish the first treatment I gave you over what I’ll do to you the second time.
Leo decided he wasn’t a fan of this look.