Forever || Leo Valdez x Reader || Book 1

Camp Half-Blood's guide to failed diplomacy

(A/N: Two months. It's been TWO MONTHS since the last chapter. Sorry, y'all- college's just been real hectic lately, inconsiderate teachers and political stuff- but spring break's FINALLY here, so here's a chapter I wrote through my worst mental breakdown in the last year. It's been a little hard to get motivation cause of the situation with the country rn and feeling like I'm alone because I barely have people interacting with me on here, but- yeah. I'm not abandoning this book. I owe it to the first version that got deleted, and I owe it to you guys too.
But guess who gained an entire team of editors? You can definitely see the impact of that in this chapter lol- you should probably read back to recap, though)

The dining pavilion was in its usual state of barely controlled anarchy when Leo and I crashed it, lunch trays in hand as we beelined towards the Zeus table to join our friends. Around us, the cacophony of demigod life reached its usual midday peak- at the Ares table, Sherman and Clarisse were locked in an arm-wrestling match over a plate of spaghetti that was rapidly becoming collateral damage, while at the Hermes table, Alice and her siblings were taking bets on whether a butter knife could stick into the ceiling. (It did, with a satisfying thunk that made Alice pump her fist in victory while her brother groaned and handed over his dessert).

"Aren't you three supposed to be back in Valhalla at some point?" I asked, stealing a fry off Leo's plate with practiced ease. He retaliated immediately, snagging my last chicken nugget with those infuriatingly quick reflexes of his. I elbowed him hard enough to make him cough the nugget out, which sailed through the air in a perfect arc before landing squarely in Jason's lap, because the Fates clearly had it out for him today. "Not that we're not enjoying the chaos," I continued, dodging a grape that someone had thrown from the Demeter table, "but don't you have, like, undead warrior duties or something? Eternal feasts to attend? Valkyries to annoy?"

Alex, mid-bite into a taco that was definitely stolen from Magnus' plate, shrugged with his usual indifference. "We told them it's a mission," he said around a mouthful of carnitas, completely ignoring Magnus' indignant "Hey!" as he lunged to reclaim his food. "And technically," Alex continued, holding the taco just out of reach while Magnus flailed, "this could be considered a diplomatic mission. We're fine as long as we don't die, don't start Ragnarök, and don't insult any gods." He took another bite, grinning. "So far, we're golden. Besides, Floor 19 owes me a favor after I helped them prank Floor 32 with those glitter bombs last month."

"Insulting gods is my specialty," Percy announced, sliding onto the bench beside me with Annabeth in tow, his tray piled high with enough blue food to feed a small army. "Shove over, mortals - and speaking of glitter bombs, I heard that there was an incident in the Athena cabin a few weeks ago, around the time Y/N got to Camp?"

Piper, meanwhile, choked on her drink, her soda nearly shooting out of her nose. "You have floors in Valhalla?" she spluttered, wiping her chin with the back of her hand. "Like... multiple levels?"

"Obviously," Magnus said, stealing back a handful of Alex's stolen fries. "What, you thought we all just sat around one big Viking hall singing Kumbaya? We've got a whole hotel situation going on- Floor 16 has the best mead hall, Floor 8 has this sick indoor waterfall, and Floor 23 is strictly off-limits after the incident with the fire giants and the whipped cream." He shuddered. "We don't talk about Floor 23."

The bench creaked ominously under the combined weight of eight people as everyone started to bicker about the merits of various afterlife accommodations, and Leo- because he had the survival instincts of a concussed lemur- decided that now was the perfect time to sling an arm around my shoulders, his fingers leaving faint smudges of engine grease on my camp shirt. And I didn't even need to turn to feel it- Will's immediate glare from the Apollo table could've melted through steel beams, while Kayla, Gracie, and Austin just grinned like idiots, making exaggerated kissy faces behind his back. I flipped them a peace sign and deliberately leaned into Leo's side, just to watch my brother's eye develop a concerning twitch.