Arsonist's Lullabye ──── Leo Valdez

𝟑: 𝐋𝐞𝐨 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐤

─────𝐕𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞 to look in the back of the chariot every two minutes since Annabeth slapped the back of his head everytime he did it. 

He was just afraid it was all a dream. That he would wake up in the Ares cabin and realize Leo was still gone. 

He didn't want to take his eyes off the boy for a second longer than he needed to. Still, he focused on his task. He handled the reins while Annabeth configured the navigation device. 

They rose over the Grand Canyon and headed east, icy wind making Vincent shiver violently. Behind them, more storm clouds were gathering. 

The chariot lurched and bumped. Vincent really hoped Leo wouldn't like fly off or something. That would be a stupid way to lose him again. 

Apart from all that, Vincent was freaking the fuck out. Leo was here, okay. But after all these years why now? Where had he been for so long? Had he tried to search for Vincent like Vincent had tried to search for him? What if he had a new best friend now? He seemed chummy with that Jason guy. What if Leo had forgotten about him? What if Leo didn't want to talk to him again? What if Leo had changed? What if—

 "This is so cool!" Leo spat a pegasus feather out of his mouth. "Where are we going?"

"A safe place," Annabeth said. "The only safe place for kids like us. Camp Half-Blood."

"Half-Blood?" Piper— the new girl— sounded on guard. "Is that some kind of bad joke?"

"She means we're demigods," Jason said. "Half god, half mortal."

Annabeth looked back. "You seem to know a lot, Jason. But, yes, demigods. My mom is Athena, goddess of wisdom. Butch here is the son of Iris, the rainbow goddess." Annabeth was right. It was eerie how much Jason seemed to know. And he called the monsters by their Latin names? What the fuck?

Leo choked. "Your mom is a rainbow goddess?"

"Got a problem with that?" Butch said.

"No, no," Leo said. "Rainbows. Very macho."

"Butch is our best equestrian," Annabeth said. "He gets along great with the pegasi."

"Rainbows, ponies," Leo muttered. 

Vincent laughed so hard he almost let go of the reins. As scared as he was about meeting Leo again after so long, not a lot seemed to have changed with him after all. If Vincent had eyes in the back of his head, he would have seen the way Leo smiled softly, hearing him laugh.

"I'm gonna toss you off this chariot," Butch warned.

"And you, Vince?" Leo asked. Vince. It wasn't that clever of a nickname. Vincent— Vince. But Leo had been the first to call him that after his dad. Vince. He said it so naturally, like no time had passed at all, like they hadn't left each other, like they were still crouching in some alley, huddling for warmth. "Who's your mom?"

"Ah— dad, actually," Vincent called back. "Apparently, I have another dad— a not dead one."

If Leo was weirded out by that, and Vincent sincerely hoped he wasn't, he didn't say anything. 

"Phobos." Annabeth filled in when Vincent didn't say anything, "God of personal panic and fear."

"Remember the time you made Andrew piss his pants?" Leo wondered out loud, "I always wondered how you did that."

Vincent felt something tightening and loosening in his chest at the same time. He wasn't sure what that meant, "Ugh the Demaury's, it's never good when you're thinking of them. And yeah, he just looked at me and pissed himself— OW! Annabeth stop hitting the charioteer, I'm sorry, I'll concentrate on flying."