Plexure (leo Valdez x male reader)

16) Going to the mall, YAY

"SPEED UP!" JASON URGED.
"Bro," Leo said, "if I get any closer, he'll spot us. Bronze dragon ain't exactly a stealth plane."
"Slow down!" Piper yelped.
The storm spirit dove into the grid of downtown streets. Festus tried to follow, but his wingspan was way too wide. His left wing clipped the edge of a building, slicing off a stone gargoyle before Leo pulled up.
"Get above the buildings," Jason suggested. "We'll track him from there."
"You want to drive this thing?" Leo grumbled, but he did what Jason asked.
I laid my head onto Leo's shoulder because I was getting the feel of throwing up from all the yelling and the moving.
"Oh great," Piper said. "There're two."
She was right. A second ventus blasted around the corner of the Renaissance Hotel and linked up with the first. They wove together in a chaotic dance, shooting to the top of a skyscraper, bending a radio tower, and diving back down toward the street.
"Those guys do not need any more caffeine," Leo said.
"I guess Chicago's a good place to hang out," Piper said."Nobody's going to question a couple more evil winds."
"More than a couple," Jason said. "Look."
The dragon circled over a wide avenue next to a lake-side park. Storm spirits were converging—at least a dozen of them, whirling around a big public art installation.
"Which one do you think is Dylan?" Leo asked. "I wanna throw something at him."
"Leo ..." Jason said nervously.
"I see her," Leo said. "I don't like her, but I see her."
Then the screens went dark. The venti swirled together into a single funnel cloud and skittered across the fountain, kicking up a waterspout almost as high as the monoliths. They got to its center, popped off a drain cover, and disappeared underground.
"Did they just go down a drain?" Piper asked. "How are we supposed to follow them?"
"Maybe we shouldn't," Leo said. "That fountain thing is giving me seriously bad vibes. And aren't we supposed to, like, beware the earth?"
"Put us down in that park," he suggested. "We'll check it out on foot."
Festus landed in an open area between the lake and the skyline. The signs said Grant Park, and I imagined it would've been a nice place in the summer; but now it was a field of ice, snow, and salted walkways. The dragon's hot metal feet hissed as they touched down. Festus flapped his wings unhappily and shot fire into the sky, but there was no one around to notice. The wind coming off the lake was bitter cold. Anyone with sense would be inside. My eyes stung so badly, I could barely see.
We dismounted, and Festus the dragon stomped his feet. One of his ruby eyes flickered, so it looked like he was blinking.
"Is that normal?" Jason asked.
Leo pulled a rubber mallet from his tool bag. He whacked the dragon's bad eye, and the light went back to normal. "Yes," Leo said. "Festus can't hang around here, though, in the middle of the park. They'll arrest him for loitering. Maybe if I had a dog whistle ..."
He rummaged in his tool belt, but came up with nothing.
"Too specialized?" he guessed. "Okay, give me a safety whistle. They got that in lots of machine shops."
This time, Leo pulled out a big plastic orange whistle. "Coach Hedge would be jealous! Okay, Festus, listen." Leo blew the whistle. The shrill sound probably rolled all the way across Lake Michigan. "You hear that, come find me, okay? Until then, you fly wherever you want. Just try not to barbecue any pedestrians."
The dragon snorted—hopefully in agreement. Then he spread his wings and launched into the air.
Piper took one step and winced. "Ah!"
"Your ankle?" I felt bad I'd forgotten about her injury back in the Cyclops factory. "That nectar we gave you might be wearing off."
"It's fine." She shivered.
"Let's get out of the wind," Jason suggested.
"Down a drain?" Piper shuddered. "Sounds cozy."
We wrapped themselves up as best we could and headed toward the fountain.

According to the plaque, it was called Crown Fountain. All the water had emptied out except for a few patches that were starting to freeze. It didn't seem right to me that the fountain would have water in it in the winter anyway. Then again, those big monitors had flashed the face of their mysterious enemy Dirt Woman. Nothing about this place was right.
We stepped to the center of the pool. No spirits tried to stop us. The giant monitor walls stayed dark. The drain hole was easily big enough for a person, and a maintenance ladder led down into the gloom.
        Jason went first. Then it was me. As I climbed, I braced myself for horrible sewer smells, but it wasn't that bad. The ladder dropped into a brickwork tunnel running north to south. The air was warm and dry, with only a trickle of water on the floor.
Piper and Leo climbed down after us.
"Are all sewers this nice?" Piper wondered.
"No," Leo said. "Trust me."
I frowned. "How do you know—"
"Hey, man, I ran away six times. I've slept in some weird places, okay? Now, which way do we go?"
Jason tilted his head, listening, then pointed south. "That way."
"How can you be sure?" Piper asked.
"There's a draft blowing south," Jason said. "Maybe the venti went with the flow."
It wasn't much of a lead, but nobody offered anything better.
Unfortunately, as soon as we started walking, Piper stumbled. Jason had to catch her.
"Stupid ankle," she cursed.
"Let's rest," Jason decided. "We could all use it. We've been going nonstop for over a day. Leo, can you pull any food from that tool belt besides breath mints?"
"Thought you'd never ask. Chef Leo is on it!"
Piper, Jason and I sat on a brick ledge while Leo shuffled through his pack.
I was glad to rest. I was still tired and dizzy, and hungry, too. But mostly, I wasn't eager to face whatever lay ahead.
I just couldn't figure out who dirt women is. Her son is Porphyrion, a giant. She wants him to be king and has taken Hera as hostage for something.
"It wasn't your fault," Piper said.
Jason looked at her blankly. "What?"
"Getting jumped by the Cyclopes," she said. "It wasn't your fault."
He looked down at the coin in his palm. "I was stupid. I left you alone and walked into a trap. I should've known..."
I turned around not wanting to be in this conversation so I went to Leo,
"It was weird being with them," I said watching Leo cook.
He looked at Piper and Jason. "At least we have each other."
I smiled nudging him. "I will be your night and shining prince."
He laughed. "Thanks."
I winked at him. "Though you seem to be able to handle yourself perfectly fine. I don't think you going to need me."
"Trust me, I need you."
I felt my face turn hot at what he said. Stupid dirty mind. I laughed it off, "yeah you will."
"And bingo!" Leo announced.
He gave me my plate first then went to Piper and Jason with three plates stacked on his arms like a waiter.
"Leo," Piper said in amazement. "How did you—?"
"Chef Leo's Taco Garage is fixing you up!" he said proudly. "And by the way, it's tofu, not beef, beauty queen, so don't freak. Just dig in!"
Surprisingly, the tacos tasted as good as they smelled. While we ate, Leo tried to lighten the mood and joke around. I was grateful Leo was with us. He made all this known sense bearable. Piper ate, Jason encouraged her to get some sleep. Without another word, she curled up and put her head in his lap. In two seconds she was snoring. Jason looked up at Leo, who was obviously trying not to laugh.
We sat in silence for a few minutes, drinking lemonade Leo had made from canteen water and powdered mix.
"Good, huh?" Leo grinned.
"You should start a stand," Jason said. "Make some serious coin."
But as Jason stared at the embers of the fire, something began to bother him. "Leo ... about this fire stuff you can do ... is it true?"
Leo's smile faltered. "Yeah, well ..." He opened his hand. A small ball of flame burst to life, dancing across his palm.
"That is so cool," Jason said. "Why didn't you say anything?"
Leo closed his hand and the fire went out. "Didn't want to look like a freak."
"I have lightning and wind powers," Jason reminded him. "Piper can turn beautiful and charm people into giving her BMWs. Alister..." Jason looked at me. I looked at him like 'try me'. "You're no more a freak than we are. And, hey, maybe you can fly, too. Like jump off a building and yell, 'Flame on!'"
Leo snorted. "If I did that, you would see a flaming kid falling to his death, and I would be yelling something a little stronger than 'Flame on!' Trust me, Hephaestus cabin doesn't see fire powers as cool. Nyssa told me they're super rare. When a demigod like me comes around, bad things happen. Really bad."
"Maybe it's the other way around," Jason suggested. "Maybe people with special gifts show up when bad things are happening because that's when they're needed most."
I felt Jason's words sink into me probably a little deep than it should have.
Leo cleared away the plates. "Maybe. But I'm telling you ... it's not always a gift."
Jason fell silent. "You're talking about your mom, aren't you? The night she died."
Leo didn't answer. He didn't have to. The fact that he was quiet, not joking around—that told Jason enough.
"Leo, her death wasn't your fault. Whatever happened that night—it wasn't because you could summon fire. This Dirt Woman, whoever she is, has been trying to ruin you for years, mess up your confidence, take away everything you care about. She's trying to make you feel like a failure. You're not. You're important."
"That's what she said." Leo looked up, his eyes full of pain. "She said I was meant to do something important—something that would make or break that big prophecy about the eight demigods. That's what scares me. I don't know if I'm up to it."
Leo poked at the remnants of his fire, turning over red-hot coals with his bare hand. "You ever wonder about the other four demigods? I mean ... if we're four of the ones from the Great demigods? I mean ... if we're four of the ones from the Great Prophecy, who are the others? Where are they?"
I had thought about it, all right, but I tried to push it out of my mind. I didn't know why. But I had a feeling Jason was our key for something. Kinda like a bridge. It can either take us across or break before we get there.
"I don't know," he said at last. "I guess the other four will show up when the time is right. Who knows? Maybe they're on some other quest right now."
Leo grunted. "I bet their sewer is nicer than ours."
The draft picked up, blowing toward the south end of the tunnel.
"Get some rest, Leo," Jason said. "I'll take first watch."
Jason and I sat in silence as Leo slept on my sweater he scrunched up as a pillow. Piper sleep on Jasons lap.
"What did Boreas mean when he said if you will let yourself out of the cave you build?" Jason asked.
I bit my lip knowing that this conversation would come up with him. "Well," I said crossing my arms. "Something happened one or two years ago. I had to make sure it never happened again."
Jason looked at me like he wanted to know more. I was intriguing him.
"I—" Leo moved a little. I looked at Jason and pointed at Piper and Leo. "You can not tell them this. I will do it, later."
Jason nodded slowly. "Okay."
"I did something and everyone started hating me, but one person. They were the only one who stayed by my side and made me feel safe and happy."
"What does that have anything to do with the son of Poseidon, who I think is Percy, right?"
I looked at Jason. "You know."
He looked confused but then everything click. "Ohh."
"Anymore questions."
"Why did he also call you son of Lorcan Reid?" Jason asked.
I didn't answer for a while. "Can I trust you?"
"Do you think you can't," he said.
I shook my head. "You seem important. Gods don't chose you because they think your cool, they chose you because you have potential. Hera chose you for a reason. As much as I dislike her, you are the best thing right now."
Jason blinked. "I haven't been much of a leader."
"That's why leaders have a crew. You can't do anything by yourself unless its you they have chosen. They didn't chose just you, they chose us to be in this quest. You are not alone Jason."
"Thanks."
I nodded. "Anyways back to the question you asked. My father is Lorcan Reid. He was one of those mortal who were able to see through the mist so he saw monster and everything before he met Enyo, my mom. Then they had me and she left him. He took care of me by himself with his sister who almost had a kid with Ares. He was in the military, I think that's how he caught my mom attention.
"I don't know. My father is a touchy subject to my mom. My mother did as most gods do, leave their family behind. My father and my aunt to care of me. My aunt didn't work so she can be with me everyday. I was homeschooled until fourth grade when my father took me to camp half blood.
"My aunt didn't know how to fight and she couldn't see through the mist so it was hard for her to take care of me. But she did catch Ares attention so he took care of her which means taking care of me as well. But to my father it wasn't enough, so he called Chiron asking if I can stay over there all year long. He didn't want me to be in the mortal world where I can get hurt. A stayr and my father took me to camp. My father died making sure we made it to camp. A cyclops killed him. I don't remember much about that day.
"Apollo kids say it could be from trauma that I don't remember what happened well. Now how do the gods know my father. My father, no, my family caught the eyes of two gods. Its pretty rare for that to happen. But also my father went on a quest despite being mortal. Like Rachel, he helped a quest when they had to see through the mist. He fought not just for mortals but also for demigods. My father became just as popular as my mother during the time. He was also in love with the prophecies and believed it was me in it.
"I was eight when I made it to camp half blood. Nine when I was claimed and twelve when I went to my first quest. Fifteen when I made the biggest mistake of my life."
Jason looked at me knowing my whole sob story. He didn't smile, laugh, look bad for me. He just nodded. "Well, I would tell you mine as a trade off, but I don't remember."
"That would be a problem."
"Yes," he said smiling. "I—" he paused. "I do have something I can tell you though."
I nodded and tilted my head slightly.
"My sister is Thalia."
I felt my blood run cold. "Thalia, as in Thalia Grace the one in the hunters of Artemis."
He nods. "Annabeth told me that you would take it hard."
"Thalia and I almost—" I didn't want to say the word dated but by the look of Jason's face I didn't have too. "I apologize if I'm not going to be happy to see her."
He shakes his head. "It's understandable. You guys have history together."
I smiled at him. "You are always okay with everything. Be mad once in a while."
"I could say the something for you. You are always calm, never showing emotion."
I shrugged. "My mother is usually calm and collected, probably got it from her."
"Does your mother talk to you?" Jason asked turning to look at me.
"Once in a while," I said making eye contact with him. "She talked to me not long ago being angry that I never use my powers."
We sat in silence. I leaned again the wall and played with Leo's hair subconsciously. He stirred a little but soon leaned more into my hand one of his eyes popped opened. I smiled and continued playing with his hair. Leo closed his eyes and was soon back asleep.
"Do believe he can ruin the world?"
I somehow couldn't believe it. Leo was so kind. He hid himself with jokes afraid people won't like him for being him. I only knew him for so little yet felt so much need to protect him. He is so much more important than he thinks. He's also cute which is a plus. I smile slightly.
"I think," I started. "He won't do it. He can change the future for other fire users. The guy who burned London down hated his life. We just have to make sure Leo doesn't."
"'To storm or fire the world must fall."
I sigh. "Prophecies can have double meaning, or it can mean exactly what it means."
"He will be alright, mostly with you by his side."
"Shut it," I said giving Jason a look but he had that mischievous look in his eyes again.
"You should rest."
I nod feeling Leo's curls in my hand. I closed my eyes falling asleep faster than I thought I would.

I slept for about two hours. I woke up early than Piper and Leo so Jason and I continued talking about literally anything. I felt closer to him than I did with the other two. I knew him more than the other two and he knew me more than the other two did. I wanted to change that but the quest was the most important at the moment.
Finally we broke camp and started down the tunnel.
It twisted and turned and seemed to go on forever. I wasn't sure what to expect at the end—a dungeon, a mad scientist's lab, or maybe a sewer reservoir where all Porta-Potty sludge ends up, forming an evil toilet face large enough to swallow the world.
Instead, we found polished steel elevator doors, each one engraved with a cursive letter M. Next to the elevator was a directory, like for a department store.
"M for Macy's?" Piper guessed. "I think they have one in downtown Chicago."
"Or Monocle Motors still?" Leo said. "Guys, read the directory. It's messed up."
Parking, Kennels, Main Entrance: Sewer Level Furnishings and Café M: 1 Women's Fashion and Magical Appliances: 2 Men's Wear and Weaponry: 3 Cosmetics, Potions, Poisons & Sundries: 4
"Kennels for what?" Piper said. "And what kind of department store has its entrance in a sewer?"
"Or sells poisons," Leo said. "Man, what does 'sundries' even mean? Is that like underwear?"
Jason took a deep breath. "When in doubt, start at the top. "

The doors slid open on the fourth floor, and the scent of perfume wafted into the elevator. Jason stepped out first, sword ready.
"Guys,"he said."You've got to see this."
Piper joined him and caught her breath. "This is not Macy's."
The department store looked like the inside of a kaleidoscope. The entire ceiling was a stained glass mosaic with astrological signs around a giant sun. The daylight streaming through it washed everything in a thousand different colors. The upper floors made a ring of balconies around a huge central atrium, so they could see all the way down to the ground floor. Gold railings glittered so brightly, they were hard to look at.
Aside from the stained glass ceiling and the elevator, Jason couldn't see any other windows or doors, but two sets of glass escalators ran between the levels. The carpeting was a riot of oriental patterns and colors, and the racks of merchandise were just as bizarre. There was too much to take it at once, but Jason saw normal stuff like shirt racks and shoe trees mixed in with armored manikins, beds of nails, and fur coats that seemed to be moving.
Leo stepped to the railing and looked down. "Check it out."
In the middle of the atrium a fountain sprayed water twenty feet into the air, changing color from red to yellow to blue. The pool glittered with gold coins, and on either side of the fountain stood a gilded cage—like an oversize canary cage.
Inside one, a miniature hurricane swirled, and lightning flashed. Somebody had imprisoned the storm spirits, and the cage shuddered as they tried to get out. In the other, frozen like a statue, was a short, buff satyr, holding a tree-branch club.
"Coach Hedge!" Piper said. "We've got to get down there. "
A voice said, "May I help you find something?"
All four of us jumped back.
A woman had just appeared in front of us. She wore an elegant black dress with diamond jewelry, and she looked like a retired fashion model—maybe fifty years old, though it was hard for me to judge. Her long dark hair swept over one shoulder, and her face was gorgeous in that surreal super- model way—thin and haughty and cold, not quite human. With their long red-painted nails, her fingers looked more like talons.
She smiled. "I'm so happy to see new customers. How may I help you?"
Leo glanced at Jason like, All yours.
"Um," Jason started, "is this your store?"
The woman nodded. "I found it abandoned, you know. I understand so many stores are, these days. I decided it would make the perfect place. I love collecting tasteful objects, helping people, and offering quality goods at a reasonable price. So this seemed a good ... how do you say ... first acquisition in this country."
She spoke with a pleasing accent, but I couldn't guess where from. Clearly she wasn't hostile, though. I started to relax. Her voice was rich and exotic. I wanted to hear more.
"So you're new to America?" I asked.
"I am ... new," the woman agreed. "I am the Princess of Colchis. My friends call me Your Highness. Now, what are you looking for?"
Colchis? But that was years ago.
Piper poked Jason in the ribs. "Jason ..."
"Um, right. Actually, Your Highness ..." He pointed to the gilded cage on the first floor. "That's our friend down there, Gleeson Hedge. The satyr. Could we ... have him back, please?"
"Of course!" the princess agreed immediately. "I would love to show you my inventory. First, may I know your names?"
Names shouldn't be that bad right. It's not so important.
Piper started to say, "Jason, I wouldn't—"
"This is Piper," he said. "This is Leo. Alister and I'm Jason."
The princess fixed her eyes on him and, just for a moment, her face literally glowed, blazing with so much anger, I could see her skull beneath her skin. My mind was getting blurrier, but I knew something didn't seem right. Then the moment passed, and Her Highness looked like a normal elegant woman again, with a cordial smile and a soothing voice.
"Jason. What an interesting name," she said, her eyes as cold as the Chicago wind. "I think we'll have to make a special deal for you. Come, children. Let's go shopping."