Leo Valdez x reader (oneshots and the Fire Elementalist series)

Fire Elementalist: 14

TYPE: angst
T/W: it's that part of the book
CONTEXT:
- yeah, you Percabeth shippers know what this is

Hope y'all enjoy, darlings 💜

• • •

Your POV

Oh boy, we haven't even entered the Mediterranean and we've already run into trouble. That obviously doesn't bode well for us.

Well, how do I say this in a nutshell?

Okay, so you know Hercules, son of Jupiter with all his charm and muscular glory? Yeah, in real life, he's probably just as angsty and problematic as any other god we've met so far. Oh, and my half-brother Chrysaor, Pegasus' full brother? Yep. We got attacked by him and his crew of angry dolphins, victims of Mr. D's wrath. Luckily we escaped thanks to Percy's brilliant speech (seriously, Perce, I never thought you could actually be that smart!). Then we reached the coast of Italy.

When we got to Rome, we had to split up. Leo went off with Hazel and Frank to go find Nico. I hesitated at first. I didn't like the idea of my boyfriend going alone with those two because they both gave us weird looks the past few days. I calmed down when Leo explained that Hazel showed him memories of their past and how they were connected. After that, Percy and Annabeth went off to follow the Mark of Athena. They insisted that I come, but knowing those two, they'd probably want a proper date to themselves. They still insisted, saying it would be like an adventure, just the three of us (sadly, without Grover), for old times' sake.

I thought about my options: become a third wheel to Percabeth who I've know for years and, despite already being a couple, never left me out; or become a third wheel to Jason and Piper who I've known for a few months, plus a middle-aged satyr who will not hesitate to wack us in the head with his club. Percabeth. I chose Percabeth.

So here we are now, wandering the streets of Rome trying to reach the Tiber river. I'm gonna be honest, minus the part where Annabeth is about to go on her solo killer quest and that we're in forbidden lands, this was actually really fun. Navigating the winding streets reminded me of that time in the Labyrinth. Being together reminded me of the time we all got separated and had to hold up the sky. To be honest, just sailing with them on the Argo II reminded me of that quest in the Sea of Monsters. If only we knew then that this is where we'd be, the Sea of Monsters would have looked like a garden pond with piranhas.

We found the Tiber river and decided to have lunch first in the nearby restaurant. Despite it being noon already, the restaurant was nearly empty. We ordered our food and got to chatting.

Oh, I almost forgot to tell you one small detail. You see, before we left, I left my scrying bowl with Will and introduced him to my siblings, Carter and Sadie. I told them that in case of any emergency where they need immediate help, contact Will. I also showed Will how to use the scrying bowl in case he needed to contact me and there weren't enough rainbows or drachmas for an Iris-message.

I got an Iris-message last night, before Chrysaor hijacked our ship. I got nervous. At first, I thought Will was calling with bad news about the Romans closing up on the camp. Then what he said next made my heart pound against my chest. It was the first (and probably the only) piece of good news I've had on this quest so far.

"Someone's strangely happy today," Annabeth said, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Considering I'm about to go on my killer quest in a few minutes."

"Sorry," I said, still smiling. "It's just... I got some news from Will last night. Good news. I didn't want to tell you until this was over because it just didn't seem like the right time."