Kerosine Dreams (Leo Valdez x Reader)

The Best Summer Of Your Life

 It was getting close to a full, miserable ten months all alone for Leo.

For having known Y/N hardly more than a day, he sure missed her. More than he probably should have. Every day he thought about her, never letting the baseball cap out of his sight, often wearing it and he tried to iris message her a few times. Either she was avoiding them or couldn't receive them. Whichever it was, he didn't seem to be phased all that much because he was set on her fulfilling her promise of returning.

At times, he'd laugh at himself over this entire situation. Things had gone in a full 360. He once was the one swearing on the river styx he would be returning for Calypso, and now he was the one waiting on someone else's promise.

It was miserable.

After a few more sleepless nights and days of a dampened spirit, Leo realized it was the first day of camp. In a couple of hours, kids would come sprinting over half-blood hill and pouring into their cabins, the camp afire with life.

Sure enough, that time came. Leo was seeing familiar faces everywhere, bright smiles and waves from far off. He returned them all happily but the one face he wanted to see wasn't amidst the crowd. He checked the Hermes cabin only to find Connor and Travis saying they hadn't seen her yet. Growing anxious, Leo stumbled around camp, asking person after person if they'd seen a newish looking girl, around Y/H. Everyone brushed him off like he was crazy.

Eventually, completely frantic and in a panic, just as Leo was about to give up and break down, he caught the glimpse of a familiar pair of Y/E/C eyes. His heart skipped and he straightened up his frame, trying to steady his breath.

When his blurry vision cleared, he was met with the girls bright smile and a loud "hey, Leo!" From a ways off. She had a pack slung over her shoulder, obviously indicating she really was planning on staying this time.

"Y/N!" Leo was ecstatic, but really tried not to let it show. He was pretty sure his attempt failed because it really was impossible for the boy to contain his excitement in any situation. In the moment, he didn't care about any of the things Y/N had said about him when they first met. He didn't care that they fought in the beginning and seemed to hate one another. All that mattered now was that she had really come back, just like she promised and he could start again.

"I think you have something of mine," Y/N held out her hand and smiled softly.

Leo seemed to miss the cue. He just stared at the girl with an awfully cooked smile. Y/N then motioned to his head. That was when it hit. The hat. Right.

The boy lifted the cap off of his head and handed it to Y/N. "Plenty of grease stains and a couple of rips."

"I'm sorry—I was trying so hard not to lose—"

"Looks even better than before." She winked and suddenly her arm was wrapped over his shoulder. "Surprised to see me back?"

Leo gulped and laughed nervously. "Nah, I knew you'd come back."

"Mmm, I sense doubt in your voice." Y/N teased, ruffling the mess of hair on his head. It was probably a good thing, seeing as Leo had acquired a true, stereotypical head of hat-hair over the past couple of days.

"No!" He rebuked. "I trust you!"

Y/N raised a brow and slowed to a stop. "You sure about that?"

"Yes," Leo smirked. "So much so, I'm going to show you the coolest place in camp."

"Right now? I've gotta—"

"Right now!" Leo shouted, grabbing Y/N's arm and hauling her along. The pair had to walk through pretty much the entire camp, now bustling with life. Mesmerization flooded the girls features and Leo couldn't help but feel the unrestrained smile rising on his face. Left and right, there were people. Along with that, Nymph's, Satyrs and anything else a person could imagine. Some kids wielded light like a weapon, some wrestled with an inhuman strength while others caused flowers to grow with the gentle touch of a finger. In its own, chaotic and violent kind of way, it was beautiful.