A/N- I've have another Leo fic! This is for a request from Miss Asteria Malfoy, I hope it meets your expectations. I can guarantee that you will hate me by the end.

Also, I'm actually trying to stay within the overall story line of the books, so this takes place while the building of the Argo II is going down.


Leo was hiding. He tried to deny it, but he knew deep down that was exactly what he was doing. There would honestly be no other reason for him to be sitting on the outskirts of the archery range in the bushes. He hated the archery range with a passion. After all, why would he want to go anywhere near the place where it was open season on Leos all year round?

Apollo campers just loved to show him how much they cared. He just wished their caring would involve a few less arrows. No matter how many times an arrow embedded itself into the ground at his feet or in a tree by his face, he jumped almost a foot in the air. He was by no means a fan of archery. Unless of course it was a done by a machine he designed himself, and was eighty-nine percent sure that it would shoot him. Machines were reliable, people on the other hand, could only be trusted as far as he could spit.

He didn't mean to sound paranoid and anti-people, but he didn't have a good track record on the subject.

Anyway, back to whole business with the archery range.

The only reason he was there in the first place was because he needed to be alone. It seemed like everyone was determined to keep him from having five minutes of Leo time. He only needed a few minutes to himself to collect his thoughts, but he couldn't even get that much.

Everyone needed him for everything, and Leo was driving himself crazy trying to be what everyone needed him to be. If he didn't find a place to be by himself, he was going to snap. He wasn't thrilled with where he found, but it was better than nothing.

He had reached his limit, and if one more ounce of pressure was put on his thin shoulders, he was positive flames would start bursting out of him at random moments. Which he was sure that would be a bad for him considering the light breeze in the air. Wind spread fire, and as the girls in the trees liked to remind him, fire was evil.

Leo didn't want to be evil. It wasn't like he had much of a choice, but when did anyone ever get a choice in their fate?

A sigh escaped his lips as he thought about the issue with his powers. All that brought him was a lot of pain, and a lot of regrets. Mostly because every single thought he had about the matter in general, always led back to her. His mom, but more importantly her death and what it meant.

Leo found himself fighting back tears that started to prick at the corners of his eyes. He instantly scrubbed them away with the back of his hand, not even bothering to check and see if it was covered in grease or not.

Ever since she had died, he was on his own. Nobody cared about him, nobody needed him, but more importantly, no one expected anything out of him. That had to be the only blessing that had come out of the whole ordeal. Low expectations meant breathing room, and he wished he knew just how oxygen deprived he would become at camp. If he had known, he would have thought twice before getting on that flying chariot. Once again, he had no choice in the matter, but he could still pretend he had some control over his life. Well, he could at least in his mind. It was childish and stupid, but it was better than repeatedly banging his head against a rock.

In reality, he was screwed. The amount of control he had was equivalent to the same amount held by a goldfish. He could swim wherever the hell he wanted to, but always be stuck in the same glass bowl. Always having people stop and look at him as if he were on display.

He wasn't ready for all that attention, he wasn't ready to have a family, but everything boiled back down to the control factor. Fate had given him everything and in return, took his peace of mind. He was stuck in the one place he couldn't be, and he couldn't get away from it. He couldn't run away anymore, because people would bring him back. He had stability, and he hated it.

Then, of course, there was the whole reason he wanted to be alone in the first place. He had drifted far from his original subject, but it seemed like no matter how many detours he went on, they all led back to the same place. The reason he was hiding.

If he were to go into detail about the golden reason, the best way he could describe it was being pulled into so many different directions that if it were to keep going any longer, he would resemble a piece of taffy. It seemed like every single person at camp wanted a slice of Leo.

If his siblings weren't asking for his opinion or help on a section of the Argo II, it was Annabeth wanting an update on their progress, Nyssa wanting to spar, or only gods know what else. As much as his attutide screamed that he was an attention grabber, in actuallity, he was the exact opposite.

At the foster homes they didn't care enough to know if he was there or not. It was all about the money for them, and Leo was okay with that. It was the perfect relationship. He would run away and be alone, like he preferred, and they would collect their checks for a few months before reporting that he had run away. By then he would've been half way across Texas or whatever gods forsaken state he was in. It wasn't perfect, but he managed. He almost missed the freedom.

Almost.

There was just something about not having to sleep in sewers and alleys every night. However, he still wasn't happy.

He was confused, uncomfortable, and terrified. His best friends... Scratch that... Only friends were ignoring him. He was sure they didn't mean to, but they still did.

Piper was his only confident, and he couldn't even get her alone to speak with her for more than a few seconds. She was always with Jason, and he was always way to busy for him to even considering talking to. It hurt a little knowing that the two people he trusted more than anything were completely blind to his inner turmoil. He was left with no one, but his brothers and sisters. It wasn't much considering they were all practically strangers. They did their best to make him feel welcome, but he didn't feel like he clicked with anyone.

Well, except for Harley, but that charming little eight year old could get along with anybody. He loved his little brother to death, and he was pretty sure that was what was frightening him so bad.

He was breaking his number one, all time, 'never ever supposed to break' rule ever. He was becoming attached.

"Move you idiot!" A voice shouted in the distance, making Leo jump and fall over. It was just his luck that that someone had found him. The only thing keeping him from flipping out was the slim chance that they weren't talking to him.

It wasn't much, but it was all he had. So, he waited. His body subconsciously shifting on the rocks that scrapped against his back beneath his thin shirt. He tried his very best no to make a sound either. It was almost like of the world couldn't hear him, then they couldn't find him.

Minutes passed, and no one came.

The son of Hephaestus let out a breath of relief and instead of getting back up, he stayed completely still. He wasn't particularly comfortable, but he had been in worse places. Memories flashed through his mind, but Leo pushed them away. He didn't want to think of his past. He really didn't want to think at all anymore. His whole situation in general was giving him a killer migraine.

So, he did the only thing he could think about to get his mind off of everything that didn't include tools... He zoned out.

His eyes drifted across the ground's bumpy surface, and he could hear and feel his breath start to become even. His heart beat was completely steady and for the first time in a long time, he was relaxed. His eyes continued to roam before settling on an ant not far from his head. The little red guy was just walking around, lost, and carrying something that was four sizes bigger than he was.

A small frown fell on his lips as he compared the insect to himself. Maybe that's all he really was, an insect.

"I said move you freak!" The voice yelled again, and it once again, spurred Leo out of his thoughts. The voice was still in the distance, but unless some poor unfortunate sap was standing in the middle of the archery range, they were talking to him. All he could do was just accept it, get up, and wonder how the guy who was yelling at him had such damn good eyesight. His diet must have been completely centered around carrots.

Deciding not to waste another minute rolling around in the dirt, with a groan, he lifted himself off the ground. Sticks and dirt clung to his t-shirt, and he could feel a few of them leave tiny imprints on his back. He tried his best to brush himself off, but he knew that pieces still clung to him like little pieces of tape. Very uncomfortable tape.

Sticks and twigs clung to his hair as well and he could feel them poke at his neck and weigh down sections of his curls. It would take way to long to even attempt fighting them out of his hair's clutches so he settled for running his hand through it multiple times.

He could see dirt fly from his head and scatter in the breeze, but he knew that he was still a mess. To him, it was just one more thing for people to judge him about.

Steeling his nerves for the onslaught of pressure that lay beyond his makeshift sanctuary, Leo walked out from behind the bushes. It didn't take him long to figure out that nobody had found his hiding place, but there was a poor sap standing right in the middle of the range. What he didn't expect was the poor guy to be his favorite little brother.

Harley.

He was standing in the middle of the archery range, staring down a bunch of Apollo kids like he was king of the world. His little burly arms were crossed and despite his overall mechanic appearance, he still looked like an eight year old. An eight year old with oil smeared overalls, but still eight nonetheless. Which equaled out to, not very intimidating.

"Move you freak, this is your last chance!" The voice yelled again. Leo found himself following the offending voice right back to its originator.

A blonde Apollo kid, roughly about his height, was throwing what could only be described as a temper tantrum. The kid was ranting and raving, but he was too far away for him to sort out any of the words flying from his mouth. All he knew was whoever the kid was, he was making Leo uncomfortable. Not only because of the bow that rested in his hands and the arrows in their quiver on his back, but also by the fact that Leo had the strange feeling that the kid was going to shoot his brother. Flashes of his kind brother laying on his back with arrows sticking out of him at odd angles plagued his mind, and Leo had to almost physically stop his fire abilities from rushing out of him. However, he did feel his temperature rise, and weak smoke smell fill his nose.

"Make me!" Harley shouted back, and he turned his back on the older kid. Even from his position, Leo could tell Harley was scared. There was no way that he would even be on the range without a good reason. He was way to much like Leo for that to happen. He also knew that the Apollo kid wasn't happy with his little bro's proclamation either.

Harley had made a big mistake. The eight year old was going off the presumption that the kid wouldn't shoot him. He hadn't realized that he had just done the equivalent pf poking a lion with a stick. He didn't know that as soon as he turned his back the Apollo camper was notching an arrow out of anger and pointing it at him. Above all, he didn't know that he was about to be killed because of one kid's brief flash of anger and lack of self control.

Protective instincts surged through Leo and before he knew what he was doing, he was running. Faster than he ever ran before. Even when he was running from the cops he had never moved so fast.

His feet pounded against the ground in an hasty yet steady tempo, and the world seemed to dim around him. All he could see was Harley, and the boy who was about to be firing an arrow.

The blond Apollo kid was pulling back on his bow's string, and Leo put on another burst of speed. Harley still had his back turned, and Leo knew that if he didn't do something, Harley was going to die.

Distance between him and his destination ceased to exist, and Leo knew that he had to time his move perfectly.

The Hispanic teen went barreling toward his brother, and he briefly saw Harley's brown eyes widen at Leo coming at him at such a fast speed with a look of pure determination and distress on his face. In a quick fluid motion, he grabbed his brother with one arm and slung the kid behind him with enough force to send the younger boy to the ground. He didn't even have time to see if Harley was okay, because he was too busy on the arrow that was flying straight at him. He thought the kid would come to his senses if Leo was to intervene, but he was wrong. Maybe not wrong, but definitely too late.

A thwacking sound filled the air, and a foreign pain filled his stomach.

Leo was vaguely aware of the screams that sounded around him, he just wished he could say the same for the white hot pain that was taking over his body.

Against better judgement, he looked down, and seeing an arrow stick straight out of his stomach made him want to be sick. To see something move up and down with each gasping breath he took, and to see blood stream out of the place where it penetrated his tanned skin was more than he could handle.

He fell to his knees. He knew being shot was painful, but if were to be his normal self he would kind of feel like a wimp for taking it as bad as he was. He just couldn't seem to bring himself to care. Especially when he felt blood start to drip out of his mouth. How was that possible? He was sure he had been shot in the stomach, or was he?

His thoughts were becoming one jumbled mess, and the only thing he could guarantee was that he felt like his stomach was burning. It was like someone had stuck a lit welding rod right through his skin, and that pain was rushing away from that spot through his veins to the rest of his body. It was almost as if the arrow had been poisoned. Now that he thought about it, it probably was.

It was a strange sensation, being burned. It had never happened to him before, but now that it had, he determined that it was the worst feeling in the world.

It didn't take him long after that to crumple completely to the ground. He didn't even notice that someone had caught him. He was losing his fight with consciousness, and the only comfort he had before the black overcame him, was that he knew his little brother was safe.


Harley was a tough kid, and he didn't cry often. He had been through a lot in his short life. His mom kicked him out when he was six, and it took almost five months before anyone came for him. He didn't blame camp half blood for his time alone though. After all, they were dealing with Kronos, and from the stories the older campers told, he was glad he wasn't there. However, there was only so much he could take.

For instance, his favorite brother in the whole world dying in front of him.

Leo Valdez was the best older brother he could ever ask for. He helped him with projects, kept people from picking on him, and always managed to sneak him candy when Nyssa wasn't looking. Most of the time they were mints, but he wasn't complaining. His past may have been a mystery, but ever since they had started working on the wiring of the Argo II together, they were close. The guy was a genius. Not in a million years would he have guessed that his best would be his brother, but he was. Leo always had his back, and now he may never have it again.

It all happened so fast. Harley had been out on the archery range looking for Leo only minutes before his world came crashing down on him.

Out of nowhere, Apollo campers started demanding him off the field so they could practice. He honestly didn't see why they needed to. Not once had he ever seen an Apollo kid miss a target, so why would they need to practice? So, he ignored them, and shouted a little. He had to find Leo to ask for his help on the getting the launch mechanism on his mash potato catapult to work. He knew he shouldn't have turned his back on his enemies, but he thought they weren't going to hurt him.

He was wrong.

Silence fell across the range, and Harley felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise. He almost turned around too, but that's when Leo made his appearance. His older brother was running. Not just running strait at him with wind blowing his hair around his face. His expression terrified Harley. He had the expression of someone running from a monster crossed with the look a pure focus. Leo knew something he didn't.

Harley decided at that point he needed to turn around, but just as he made his move, a force grabbed him around the middle and flung him to the ground. His knees were protected by his overalls, but the same couldn't be said for his hands. Scratches opened on his palms, and the dull sting kind of ticked him off a little. People shouldn't throw others to the ground.

The eight year old was ready to yell at whoever had threw him, but his voice died in his throat as he saw Leo standing with his back to him. At first he was puzzled, but when Leo fell to his knees, he knew what had happened.

"Leo!" He yelled, and his voice cracked with the strain of the pitch. He could hear others in the background yelling for help and to get Jason, but he couldn't focus on them.

Springing into action, he jumped up and grabbed his brother before he could fall to the ground. It wasn't easy, and if Leo wasn't hurt Harley would have suggested he go on a diet. He just couldn't bring himself to do it. He had to sit there and watch as Leo's form shook in pain, and to hear each gasp he made as he tried to breathe. All Harley could do was sit there with the knowledge that he couldn't do anything to help. Which was becoming the hardest thing he had ever had to do. Why couldn't people be like machines.

Tears started streaming down his face, and despite his rule not to cry in front of anyone, he couldn't stop. Leo's eyes were started to shut, and blood started to pool in his mouth as well as streaming out from the arrow wound in his stomach, staining his white t-shirt.

"L-leo." He cried, and he brought his hands up to the older boy's shoulders and shook him gently. He didn't get a response.

"Leo?" He repeated and he moved his hands from Leo's shoulders to his heart. He had to know if he was alive. The normal loud pulse that he normally gave off, was slow and dull. A groan escaped through his brother's lips and Harley jumped in surprise.

"Bro, wake up." The order flew from his mouth, and he prayed to his dad that Leo would follow it, "Come on, Leo. You promised you'd never leave me." He yelled in frustration and before he could shake his brother's shoulders again, arms wrapped around his stomach, and started to drag him away from his brother. Only for the older boy to be quickly surrounded by a group of healers. They were probably trying to help, but they blocked his view.

Using every ounce of strength he had, he fought the person holding him back. He wanted to see Leo.

"Calm down!" His captor yelled, and Harley felt the arms restraining him tighten almost painfully, "This isn't going to help him." The voice insisted. He knew whoever was holding him was right, and he immediately froze. He had basically become dead weight, and the guy holding him took full advantage of this and began to carry him away from the swarm of healers.

"It's going to be okay." He whispered, and Harley knew that the guy was lying which was kind of annoying. He was eight not stupid. With as much force as he could muster, he kicked the guy as hard as he could in the leg, and he felt himself tumble out of the older boy's arms.

"Harley, calm down. It's me. Jason." The blonde said gently, and Harley felt himself being grabbed by the shoulders. He was turned so quickly his head spun, and he was face to face with Jason. His blue eyes looked at him with understanding and equal pain and he couldn't hold back anymore.

Harley threw his tiny muscular arms around his brother's best friend's neck and buried his face in his shoulder. Sobs started pouring out of him, shaking his entire frame. They weren't the normal kind either. These weren't loud and wail like, they were almost silent, and they almost felt like they actually hurt.

He knew he should be embarrassed that he was ruining the camp leader's shirt, but Harley couldn't stop. Mostly because he could still hear the healers over his break down.

"We have to do this now!"

"Are you crazy? We can't just pull it out here!"

"If we don't get this arrow out now he'll die. You know as well as I do that it's coated with poison!"

"Uh guys, I think he's stopped breathing."


Do you hate me? I totally had you going. This is a two shot so put down the pitch forks. I'm just making you wait for the conclusion. The joke's on you. Mwhaha.

Please review. I live off of them. (And peanut butter, but that's not the point.) As always, I have no beta. See any mistakes, please point them out, and then ignore them. Now, go review!