I love this man <3
He is the light of my life haha get it? He lights on fire. I'm a genius.
This is a little angsty/sad but ends in fluff
Leo was always the butt of the joke. The adhd dork that everyone supposedly loved but would blame for every minor mishap. But not with you. Whenever he was feeling down he would reach out to you and even when he didn't you could feel there was something wrong and comfort him. He loved how caring and selfless you were. You were always there when he needed you.
Except right now. You were off on a quest while he was stuck at camp. Without you he had no way of calming down so he would seek refuge in his work. In his trinkets and machines that he would tinker with for hours to avoid everyone and everything. He couldn't mess up if he was doing the one thing he was good at right?
Wrong. So wrong. He had been working on a small Festus Jr from the leftover scraps he managed to rescue from Festus the original and parts he found here and there around Bunker 9. He had made him to look like a baby Festus minus the intricate designs. It was more bland the the original but it looked cuter. It was about 2 feet tall and weighed more then Leo was able to tell because he broke the little weight counter he "borrowed" from the Aphrodite cabin.
Festus Jr worked wonderfully as a machine but not so well as a pet. Leo had taken him out into the woods to explore and almost started a forest fire. So he took him to the arena to play fetch where there were walls. Almost bit a campers leg off. So things weren't looking to good for Festus Jr, or for Leo.
It was only a week after the leg incident that Leo found himself backed into a corner. Either kill his beloved creation or face the wrath of his fellow campers. Tough choice. He knew if you were there you'd find a way to please everyone. But you weren't there and Leo didn't know what to do. He watched as Festus Jr started burning things left and right. It started at the mess hall when Leo brought the dragon with him to socialize but that went south and Festus Jr started burning the tables, the food, the flags, campers. Everything within sight. But that wasn't enough for the dragon and he started making his way towards the cabins. Leaving a scorching trail of burnt grass behind him.
Currently 5 campers with more on the way were fighting the small dragon. But the smaller the target the harder it is to hit so they weren't having much luck. They were trying to direct it away from the cabins and towards canoe lake where he couldn't burn anything. But there efforts seemed ineffective till a couple Ares kids showed up and managed to cut Festus Jr's head off.
When everything cooled down, literally, all eyes were on Leo. None of them were nice. Glares and death stares bombarded him as he stood there on the burnt field. He couldn't bring himself to say anything and his thoughts ran through his head a mile a minute. How he wished you were here to back him up. How he wished he hadn't started all this. How he wished everyone would stop staring at him and just leave him to die in his embarrassment.
"Nice going." An Ares kid said as he picked up the head of Festus Jr and chucked it at Leo.
Leo quickly moved to avoid getting hit with the heavy head. Campers started to walk off and some Demeter kids quickly stepped in to try and fix the grassy lawn that had been destroyed. A couple Saytars joined in to help. Leo struggled to pick up his dragons head and hauled it back to his cabin. Leaving the body in the field to get later. He was going to keep the head in the cabin till he moved the body back to the bunker.
But going back to the cabin was a mistake. He got a couple complements on the machine work of Festus Jr but the overall mood was, "Leo you need to be more careful with you inventions! You don't see us burning up the camp. Just the forge." So he left to the bunker. Where he could be alone. But that wasn't always the best thing for Leo.
He sat down at a desk and stared at the bulletin board above it. It was covered in photos of you and him. Smiling, laughing, cuddling, building, sleeping. All of it. Leo was always taking pictures of you two because he knew being a halfblood wasn't easy. You never know when your last day is so you have to cherish the memories you make everyday.
He took a picture down and smiled at it. It was a picture of you guys together, grease covering you faces as you laughed about some forgotten joke. Your hair slicked back with sweat and grease while his was a mess sticking to his forehead. He had the goofiest look on his face while you charmingly smiled at the camera. It was taken a few minutes after another disaster. Where he messed up and and tripped, knocking over a statue and shattering it. The Apollo kids were not pleased and called him a klutz among other things. But you had stepped in and stood up for him. Claiming it was a stupid place to put a statue and they should have put something up like a sign to protect it and have people stay a good distance from it.
When you saw he was still shaken by the events you snuck blankets and snacks into the bunker for a movie night. There wasn't any service but Leo had found and old VHS players with Die Hard on tape. So even when it wasn't Christmas you would sit down together with blankets and food to watch it. With how many times you two had done this you'd think you'd have the movie's lines memorized by now. After the movie you asked Leo to show you what he was working on. Which led to the two of you tinkering around the bunker and having a good time.
Leo could feel the tears fall down his cheeks at the sweet memory. He knew you were strong and could make it but he had been silently fearing the worst when he heard you were picked for the quest. You had hugged him goodbye only 2 weeks ago but it felt like 2 months. He missed you. Your hair and how soft it was, your hugs and how you always smelled nice. Your soothing words you would say and calm him down. Your stupid little pet names he claimed to hate but actually adored. He missed everything and would give anything to be in you arms right now. Instead of hiding in his bunker from the campers he almost just set on fire.
That's when he heard the door to the bunker creak open loudly. It wasn't a small door and was really heavy so it was easy to hear people come in. But it took a bit to see who it was though. So Leo prepared himself for Chiron, Mr.D , anyone coming to tell him to be more careful and apologize for the damage Festus Jr did. He didn't expect to see you standing there. A warm inviting smile on your face as your hair and clothes were askew from the quest you had just accomplished.
"Hey." You said softly but your voice was hoarse from the yelling you had to have done on your guest.
Leo ran over to you and tackled you with a hug bringing you both down to the floor. He crushed yours sides with his strong hug while you laughed and rubbed circle across his back. He looked at your face and wiped away some dirt before kissing you. It was sweet and short but he had to do it. It just felt right. So he did and you immediately returned it. You stood up and brought him with you.
"I heard about Festus Jr. Care to explain?" You asked and he looked down to the ground suddenly finding it more interesting.
"It wasn't his fault a camper tempted him with chicken then didn't give him some. It was his fault Festus Jr got provoked." Leo said.
You nodded and kissed his cheek, "Then it's their fault." You then smiled at him as you hold up a VHS you snagged on your quest, "You ready to watch something new?"
"Always!" Leo said and the two of you grabbed the pillows and blankets you now stored in here and set up the perfect setup for movie night. You ended up falling asleep halfway through but just you being there gave Leo a sense of calm, and for the first time in the 2 weeks you were gone was able to sleep peacefully.
I know that wasn't that much and mainly focused on Leo but he's my favorite so deal with it
