Leo collapsed in the field and stretched his limbs out for the first time in a while as he stared at Festus flying in the night sky. The dragon was staying relatively low to avoid being caught by the harpies, allowing Leo to trace the designs of his flight patterns to ease his mind as they tested out the new upgrades. It was mindless checks and it was calming, a feeling either hadn't had in a while.
Leo let himself smile and enjoy the moment for what it was. This moment here, with no one but Festus as company, was all his. There was no such thing as Jason right now, no Piper, no sadness or pain or guilt. Just Leo, his dragon, and the night. And it was enough.
"There's still a slight creak when you fly but I can fix it tomorrow. I think we've earned a break for now." Leo commented aloud.
Festus landed softly beside him, letting out a puff of smoke in agreement before he nestled his head into Leo's side. The warmth the dragon provided was enough of a contrast to the cool summer night that it made Leo drowsy, curling in towards his companion with a small smile on his face and a sense of accomplishment in his heart.
"We'll go back in a minute." Leo said through a yawn, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "I just wanna... spend... a bit more... time..." Leo muttered. He closed his eyes only for a moment and before he realized it, he was fast asleep.
---
Leo woke up to the feeling of his torso being squeezed ever so tightly, the faint scent of feminine perfume accompanying the sensation with another figure casting a shadow over his shut eyes.
"I can't believe you're out here!" a voice said, an extreme amount of relief in their tone. It was then Leo recognized it as Piper's voice and he instantaneously froze in fear again.
Leo forced himself to open his eyes, deciding that a trip to the infirmary from Piper's constricting arms was not what he needed right now. He noted the figure casting a shadow was Jason, who was entertaining Festus enough to allow Leo to be attacked by Piper like this. Speaking of...
"I... can't... breathe..." Leo managed to get out, not even bothering to push the girl away.
She hesitated in letting go on her own and he heard her sniffle a bit once she did, sitting up beside him before she lightly kicked his side.
"Ow!"
"That's what you get for ignoring me!" Piper huffed, wiping her tears away. "I don't care if you pretend Jason doesn't exist, I do too sometimes, but you can't do that to me!"
Jason hummed in agreement before he realized what she said, letting out an offended 'hey!' before he sat down beside them.
"Seriously, Leo. I was scared. Did I do something? Did we do something?" Piper asked.
Leo hesitated in answering, running the possible answers through his head. He didn't want to lie to her. He could lie to Jason, but Piper would know that Leo wasn't being honest. Their friendship hadn't been an illusion and she was his best friend, no one knew him quite like she did. But what other choice did he really have?
It's not like he could just come out and say 'You didn't do anything, I'm just gay -surprise, by the way- and I realized that it's not just me being gay that's the problem but that I'm gay for your boyfriend and I can't stand seeing you two together anymore because it feels like every time I see you guys being all couple-y and doing all the things I wanna do, I die even more on the inside and my heart loses another piece that I can't find and it hurts too much to keep breaking myself like that.'
