pjo one shots

Moonlight-Valgrace

The solitude of darkness surrounds Jason like armor, protecting him from the harms of the day long gone. He’s finally getting a chance to breathe, to be, to exist.

Perhaps he should be sleeping. There’s too much to do tomorrow - go to Camp Jupiter, start construction on the temples, meet people - but he can’t find it in himself to rest. Every inch of him pulses with anticipation.

It isn’t even that he’s nervous. He’s just excited, buzzing with electricity. It’s been too long since being back there; he’s not sure what to expect. What are the new campers like? How are the new praetors? How has the legion changed?

But those aren’t what Jason’s really worried about.

How much have I changed?

Camp Jupiter represents a chapter in his life that he spent training under glory, expected to rise above all. He was a child born into immediate violence, burdened with the promise of devastation from a young age.

So while there are some things he misses about his camp, he’s not sure how he’s going to react going back now as an adult. No doubt the sunlight that shined on his armor in the past will make his metal look deadlier in the present.

He sighs and leans his head against the cool window, allowing himself a moment to soak in the solitude. A stream of moonlight spills over his face, pours over his T-shirt and drips down his pants, creating a puddle of insubstantial essence over the floor. Jason succumbs into the loneliness.

But he’s not alone, not anymore. A hollow echo of familiar footsteps rings in his ears, coming closer and closer. Jason’s heartbeat picks up at the sound of it.

From the darkness of the corridor emerges a figure. Curls create a wildfire over his head, and a small flame licks up his fingers. The dim fire emphasizes the frown on the being’s face, and at the sight of him, Jason’s lips pull instinctively into an embarrassed wince.

“Jason?” a quiet, tired voice whispers. “Why are you still up?”

The flames on Leo’s fingers dance a little longer, showing off their intricate moves in the dark. Then Leo’s fingers clench, and there goes the light. Now both of them are swimming in the unknown blackness, with nothing but the moonlight to keep them company.

Jason doesn’t answer. He simply fixes his electric gaze on Leo, preying silently, waiting for him to come close enough to see his face. He needs to be in the open; he needs Leo to see him when he can’t even see himself.

Leo sits opposite Jason by the window, making himself comfortable in the alcove. He draws his knees up and tilts his head, offering a look so piercing, so searing, that Jason insists hot needles are penetrating his very soul. His heart combusts and turns to cinders. His skin prickles with goosebumps. Leo’s curls topple over themselves, and Jason just wants to reach out and twirl his fingers through them, to intertwine his existence with the beautiful creature before him.

“I’m fine,” Jason whispers finally.

Leo’s frown deepens. “Are you sure? Because usually you don’t stay up this late. You’re passed out by, like, five in the evening.”

Jason’s chest bubbles with laughter. “Okay, I know I sleep early, but now you’re just exaggerating it.”

In response to Jason’s amusement, a smile flashes against Leo’s lips. And at the sight of it, Jason’s heart crawls up to his throat, blocking all breathing routes. He’s mesmerized, obsessed, insane. He’s infatuated.