He Knows

by SomethingMoreCreative

Leo knew things would always turn out to be perfect. A progressive story focusing on Leo throughout his time in the Giant War. Leo-centric. Major Leo/Piper.

A/N: Hey! Sorry it's been so long! Maybe this will make up for it!

Alright, first of all, this IS a Leo/Piper story. I am a hardcore Jasper fan, but somehow this idea would not go away until I wrote it down.

Second, this fic does have minor language and some suggestive scenes and themes so either prepare yourself or don't read it.

Third, this is kind of canon (not really) but to fit the story line I had to make a few adjustments. Very minor things. No big deal.

Also, this thing is a freaking MONSTER. It's over 17,000 words, and I'm not even sure where all of these words came from, but I thought it was really cool. I also thought it would be crazy to split it up into chapters so you get a gigantic one-shot. Woo!

One last thing, this beast of a one-shot is dedicated to Suneater. He always leaves the best reviews that keep me writing. I really appreciate it, dude! (If you haven't read any of his stories, GO NOW!)

Alright. Best of luck reading this thing. Even if you don't get all the way through it, leave me a review of what you thought up until you quit. Happy reading!

Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN PJO.

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Leo knows he shouldn't be watching, but he can't really help it.

Piper is curled up in a ball with her head on her knees and her arms wrapped around her long legs. Hollow noises are coming from her throat, and Leo knows that she's been here crying her beautiful eyes out for over two hours.

It had happened a little earlier today.

Leo had been walking back toward the Bunker from the pavilion when he saw Jason and Piper walking together. They had been talking and gesturing to much for a normal conversation, and when Leo got a little bit closer, he could tell that Jason and Piper both had tears in their eyes.

He had been scared shitless right then. His two best friends were some of the strongest people he knew and he didn't know what could be happening that had them both crying.

Before he could get over to them and ask, Piper poked Jason in the chest and walked off toward the woods.

Jason was planted to the spot. He had the most miserable look on his face and he was trying to wipe the tears from his eyes.

"Dude," Leo demanded as he ran up to one of his best friends. "What happened?"

"I remembered." He said miserably, casting a look over to the spot where Piper had disappeared.

"You got your memory back?" Leo had smiled. That's what Jason had wanted from the get go! "That's great!"

Jason shook his head and shoved a hand through his short, blonde hair. In that moment, Leo realized just how awful this whole thing was. If Jason had been crying… and Piper had been crying…

Jason must have had somebody to go back to.

Leo's world tipped sideways. He was used to his best friends being together. Sure, maybe once he had liked Piper, and he had wished that she was his girlfriend, but she had looked happy with Jason.

But now Jason had broken her heart.

And he hadn't done it on purpose. It hadn't been his fault. Both of them had known that Jason could have had somebody to go back to, but Leo guessed they hadn't figured it would actually happen.

So why was Leo a little pissed off with him? He didn't have any reason to be! It wasn't like Jason had used Piper. Jason had liked Piper a lot, maybe even loved her.

"Who?" Leo asked hoarsely.

Jason squeezed his eyes shut. "Her name is Reyna. She's the other praetor. We started dating right before Juno kidnapped me. I didn't mean to hurt Piper; I really didn't, but Reyna… You believe me, don't you, Leo?"

Leo knew he needed to nod and let the other demigod know that everything was okay, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. If he had to pick between the two of them, he would pick Piper again and again. He would pick her every single time.

Maybe she needed somebody to pick her side this time. Maybe she needed to know that somebody was going to be there for her and that she had a family.

She had Leo.

Leo nodded bleakly, "I believe you."

"Where are you going?" Jason called out as Leo turned away.

Leo's eyes narrowed. "I have to go do something."

"But… I mean, I thought we could hang out." Jason said brokenly.

Leo can see it. Jason knows what's about to happen.

Leo says it anyway. "I'll have to catch you later. I've got something to do."

That had been the first time that Leo picked Piper over Jason.

Leo walked up to Piper and threw himself down on the ground beside her. Her eyes were swollen and red and she wiped her face when she looked up at him. "What are you doing here, Leo?"

"I talked to Jason." He said.

"Yeah? Me too." Piper said before putting her head back down.

Leo can't really decide what to do. He knows that he isn't going to leave her here by herself, and he definitely can't walk her back to Camp while she is this upset. Everyone would find out sooner or later, but he better give her sufficient time to cry herself out.

Oh so slowly and oh so carefully, he reached out and wrapped his arms around her. He pulled her closer to his body and cupped the back of her head with one of his hands.

"I'm so sorry, Pipes." He whispered. "I'm so, so, so sorry."

She didn't answer; she buried her face in his relatively clean shirt and cried her heart out. Her hands clenched the fabric of his shirt, and Leo tried not to notice how she seemed to scoot closer to him.

Leo didn't know how long they sat there. While she cried, Leo twisted his fingers into her hair (Had it always been this pretty?) and rubbed circles on her lower back.

She finally tilted her face up so she could meet Leo's eyes.

"I should have known. I shouldn't have ever gotten involved with him. I knew that was going to happen. Why am I so stupid?" With each word, Piper banged her head against Leo's chest.

"Hey," Leo said softly, stilling her movements. He wasn't ripped like Jason. He was pretty scrawny. "You're not stupid. None of this is your fault. None of it. You couldn't help it, Beauty Queen."

After a few more minutes of silence, Piper looked back up at him again.

"Leo, why are you here?" She asked.

Leo was tempted to tell her. He really was. He could go ahead and tell her how much he liked her and then they could be happy together. It would be easy.

No. He couldn't do that. If he did that right now, it would probably ruin everything they did have and everything they might have.

"Because I'm your best friend and I'm always here for you, Piper."

Ω

Leo knows that this is a really big chance.

They set off on the Argo II on the next big quest to save the world.

The awkwardness between Jason and Piper had faded. The first few weeks at Camp after they had "broken up" everything was weird. They had avoided each other and stopped speaking.

Leo wasn't sure what happened, or how they worked it out, but they had moved on, and now Jason was counting down the days until they landed so he could see Reyna.

Piper and Leo hadn't talked about anything either. He guessed that she still thought he just thought about her as a best friend, and he couldn't bring himself to mention his feelings to her. It would make everything weird, especially if she rejected him.

Leo had never liked rejection, but he supposed he should be used to it by now. Since his mom… everybody else had rejected him. They called him a loser and a freak.

But then he had met Piper and Jason. He didn't know if any of those memories were real, but they were good ones. His two friends had accepted him for who he was.

And he couldn't ruin that.

It didn't take very long to reach the Roman camp. Leo finally met Percy Jackson (he looked like a regular guy; from all the stories Leo heard he was expecting freaking Superman) and Jason had seen Reyna again. They hadn't reunited like Percy and Annabeth had, but they were staring at each other.

Then there was this Roman chick that was staring at him. Leo knew he wasn't exactly the prettiest guy demigod within twenty feet of whoever this girl was so she really didn't need to be staring at him like he was Snuffy the Seal and she was a great white intent on eating his face off.

Normally, Leo would feel awesome if a girl was staring at him like that. He would especially feel awesome if said girl's boyfriend (Leo is assuming that's her boyfriend by the way he is standing beside her) was glaring at him like he had just caused all of the trouble in the world.

But now, he's just wishing that Piper would look at him like that.

She's been awfully quiet this whole trip, and now that she sees Jason and Reyna together, Leo knows that it will probably hit her head on and she will crash and burn if Leo doesn't catch her.

And he plans on it. He will be the one to catch her.

When Jason is pulling and tugging at them to "hey, come over here and meet this guy," or "look over there that's where I fell/meet/made something a few years ago," Leo smiles and does all he can to make the guy think that he is having an awesome time just hanging out, but all he really wants to do is load up on the Argo II with Piper and the other Greeks and head home.

Hours later, the Roman Senate finally meets and they decide that they Greeks aren't backstabbing, trouble-makers (Really? Leo could have told them this from the start) and they "decree" as they say in New Rome, that the Seven of them (which includes Shark girl and the boyfriend) are to leave bright and early in the morning.

Leo doesn't have the chance to talk to Piper until then.

The conversation doesn't exactly go as planned. For one, she looks distracted. Her eyes keep darting over to Jason, who (Leo thought) had never looked more upset in his life as they flew away from Camp Jupiter and Reyna. It went as follows:

Leo: Hey, Beauty Queen.

Piper: I'm not hungry.

Leo: Well, I was wondering if you were okay.

Piper: I think I saw Annabeth in the lounge with Percy.

Leo: I think I set one of the Romans on fire.

Piper: Yeah, the weather is nice today.

Leo gave up and told her that he would see her later.

Over the next few days, Leo learned a lot about the new comers. Their names were Frank and Hazel, and apparently they had been on a dangerous quest with Percy Jackson, so of course they were certified to come on this quest.

Also, since none of them could keep a secret from the other, and they practically had to share everything, Leo learned what was up about the staring that Hazel was doing. Apparently, Hazel had come back from the dead (Freaky, right?) and when she had been alive the first time she had a love affair type thing going on with his great-gramps.

Leo would admit that Hazel was attractive, but her hair wasn't dark enough and her gold eyes didn't change colors like a kaleidoscope.

Yeah. His feelings for Piper were getting in the way.

He found himself staring at her more. He stared when they were at breakfast. There was just something about the way she ate like a barbarian or how she seemed to look perfect in the morning even of her expression said don't mess with me. He stared at her when he could spare a glance, and even though he would be in some of the weirdest places, Piper always seemed to be right behind him.

He didn't really know what that meant.

Jason was becoming less distant. Leo found him talking to Piper a lot more, and Leo swore that he would smash him to pulp (son of Zeus or not) if he hurt Piper again. Jason probably wouldn't do that, but somehow, Leo had become a lot more protective of Piper over the last few months and weeks.

Leo also knew that watching Jason act like that made him angry. How could he think that after he broke her heart for someone else, he could just come right back to her? Did he really believe that he could use her like that?

Somewhere deep down inside Leo knew that he wasn't really upset with Jason. He was a good guy. He didn't really get too involved with Piper, but he couldn't help it if she fell in love with him. Jason had tried to stay away from her, Leo knew that he did, but really, who in their right mind wouldn't want her?

So maybe Leo was more upset with himself. Why didn't he have the balls to just tell her how he felt? Why was it such a big deal?

And he was a little upset with her. Why couldn't she love him instead of Jason? Was he really that bad?

While they were on the Argo II, Leo really tried to hide his feelings for Piper. He couldn't just go off and exclaim them to her. Even if he did, he would probably just say it out loud during a battle and then get himself killed for being distracted.

But it really didn't help that Piper seemed to make it difficult to hide his feelings. She was always there, looking beautiful.

Take today, for example.

They had just finished dinner in the mess hall with the rest of the crew, and today had been so stressful, Leo had just decided to call it a day and go to bed. As far as he knew, most of the others were staying up to keep guard, but Annabeth had told him to go ahead and go below and she would come get him if she needed him.

So here he was, lying in bed for hours on end, trying (and failing) to go to sleep.

Leo knew it had been a couple of hours before he heard the soft knock on the door.

He groaned. It was probably Annabeth coming to get him. Something must have gone wrong. Again.

"I'm coming." He groaned as he pushed himself up in his bed.

But before he could roll out, the door opened and Piper stepped through.

Leo felt his jaw drop.

Piper was standing in his door, clutching it like a lifeline. She was wearing her pajamas, a tank top and short sleep shorts. Her dark hair was pulled up into a messy bun on top of her head.

Basically, she looked gorgeous. Except…

"Piper?" Leo asked with a gulp. "What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

Her eyes were red, and her lip was quivering. She had a few tears rolling down her cheeks, and she wiped at them frantically.

"I-I had a nightmare." She said in a small voice.

Leo sighed and sat up, beckoning her inside his room. He knew it was against the rules, but right now he needed to be here for Piper and he really didn't care what Coach Hedge would do to them if he found out about this.

Piper shut the door and quickly walked over to him and stood between his knees.

Leo realized that he was only wearing a pair of black briefs (hey, briefs were way better than boxers) and he knew he wasn't as ripped as Jason, but maybe she wouldn't be too disappointed.

He hesitantly reached up to wipe the rest of her tears away. She leaned into his touch and put one of her hands on top of his.

"Hey, it's okay." He said softly. "It was just a dream. Everything is okay."

She nodded and looked at him.

"I can't go back to sleep. Not by myself." Piper said.

Leo didn't let his eyes widen, but did she really just say that?

He nodded gently and said, "Come here,"

So he put his hands onto her waist, and Piper let him pull her down into his lap. Leo cradled her against his chest, pulling her entire body into the circle of his arms. Leo could feel her frame shaking.

"Do you want to stay here tonight?" Leo spoke into her ear.

She had one of her hands pressed to his heart, and her other arm was wrapped around his middle with her hand clutching his side. Her face was buried in his neck, and Leo could feel her breath feather across his skin when she breathed.

After a few seconds, she whispered, "Yes."

He hoped that Piper couldn't hear or feel his heart practically beating out of his chest as he lay back in his bed. He rolled them onto their sides, and Piper twisted her body closer to his, weaving her legs with his and running her hands over his chest.

Leo wanted to groan. Why was her skin so soft? How did she do this to him?

One of his arms was wrapped around her so his hand was flat on her back, and his other hand was twisted into her hair. Leo shifted another inch or so closer and leaned his forehead against hers.

"Sorry I bothered you, Leo. I just couldn't be by myself." She whispered.

"It's okay. I was awake anyway." He said. "You can come get me anytime you need me. Do you want to talk about it?"

She shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut. "No."

"Okay." He said softly.

They didn't say anything else that night. They just clutched at each other and listened to each other's breathing until they fell asleep.

Leo woke up the next morning with a snoozing Piper still in his arms. He couldn't believe how young she looked when she slept. All of the worry lines and angry glances were gone from her face. Leo thought she had never looked more beautiful.

But if they didn't get up soon, and somebody busted in on them in this position, Coach Hedge would gut both of them. Not to mention that Leo was a little afraid of what was going to happen if Jason found out.

Piper and Jason weren't together anymore, but it would still be risky for everyone to find out that Leo and Piper were… Well, they weren't really anything right now, but this situation would be hard to cop "just friends" to.

Leo moved, hoping to wake Piper up, but she just shifted in his arms and snuggled closer.

"Piper," He said softly, tracing circles on her back with his hands. He knew he should enjoy being this close to her while he could.

She murmured something he couldn't understand and scrunched her nose up adorably as if she hated the idea of waking up and moving.

"Come on, Piper. Wake up," He said again.

She finally shifted and slit her eyes open. Her expression was like, why did you wake me up, idiot?

Leo laughed slightly, "Good morning to you too, Beauty Queen."

"Leo?" She asked.

"The one and only." He said.

She leaned up to look at his face, and her eyes met his. Leo was surprised to see that she looked a little sad and confused.

"What does this make us, Leo?" Piper whispered.

Leo caught his breath. What did it make them? They hadn't done anything, but Leo had liked sleeping beside her and waking up with her a lot more than he probably should.

He ignored what he really wanted to say and instead said, "Best friends. I'm always here when you need me."

Ω

Leo knows that everything is slowly falling apart and coming back together at the same time.

Leo and Piper grew closer as time passed on the Argo II.

They started hanging out all the time. If you needed Leo go find Piper, and if you needed Piper go find Leo. He tried to think that they weren't as bad as Percy and Annabeth, but he really doubted it. Their sleeping arrangements varied. Most nights they slept alone and in their separate rooms, but if one of them had a nightmare or just couldn't sleep, they didn't hesitate to crawl into the other's bed.

More often than not it was Piper coming into Leo's room. She would claim that she had a nightmare and she couldn't go back to sleep alone. Leo knew that it was probably a bad idea, but he picked her up and held her until she fell asleep anyway.

He also knew that the others were starting to realize what was going on. Leo and Piper were sneaking in a lot of incidental touches. He would poke her in the side as he laughed and joked, or he would feel her ruffle his hair or lay her hand on his shoulder. They tried not to be obvious about anything, but Leo caught Percy watching them one day, and when Leo met his eyes, the guy just wiggled his eyebrows and walked off to find Annabeth.

As far as Leo knew, Jason didn't know anything about the situation between him and Piper. Jason was still acting like Leo was his best friend, not a back-stabbing, ex-girlfriend stealing ratchet.

And he felt exactly like that. Wasn't it against some secret, top priority guy code to date your best friend's ex?

One day, Leo was working away on the engine with Jason and before he could stop himself, the words bubbled to his lips.

"So… what do you think about Piper?" Leo asked.

Damn ADHD. It lived to screw up his life.

"Uh, what?" Jason asked. He looked just as shocked.

"Um, Piper versus Reyna. How's that going?" Leo said stupidly.

"Dude, I already told you. I'm in love with Reyna." Jason said. His tone had turned cold, and it was obvious that he didn't want to talk about it.

Leo pushed on anyway. He obviously didn't value his life very much. It probably wasn't wise to make the powerful son of Zeus angry. "I see the way that you look at Piper."

That hit Jason hard, and Leo watched as a variety of emotions crossed his face. "I just… I miss her, you know? I mean, I know that I love Reyna, and never in my right mind would I throw that away, but I just can't help but miss her. And it really doesn't help that Piper is here and Reyna isn't."

Hopefully Leo didn't look too upset. "Yeah. I guess."

A very awkward pause ensued, and Leo really thought about coming up with some excuse so he could get the heck out of there.

But Jason spoke up before he could. "So, we need to find you a girlfriend, don't you think, Repair Boy? I bet you can't wait to get mixed up in all of this stuff, eh?"

Leo laughed and cracked some joke that covered up his dark mood on the inside. All he could think about was the irony of this conversation and how he already had picked someone out.

Yeah. He was definitely best friend material.

Ω

Leo knows that everybody is crying.

They had just started to sail away from Rome (the real one) and things had taken a turn for the oh gods this is the worst ever.

They had lost Percy and Annabeth today.

Leo couldn't believe it. The two strongest demigods of the century were falling into hell. How were they supposed to get to Greece without them? How were they supposed to do anything without them?

And Leo knew it was his fault. Even though everyone kept telling him that it wasn't his fault, he knew it was. He had opened that damn cookie. He had been the one to use some good luck and then receive all of the bad in the world.

Karma. What a bitch.

Suddenly, Leo felt a hand on his shoulder. He had been bent over the steering wheel, letting his tears fall silently to the ground. All of the others had been huddled together, but Leo didn't feel like hearing it.

"Leo," Someone whispered in his ear. He felt a familiar pair of arms slip around his waist. One of her hands was resting over his heart and the other was resting on his stomach.

Leo stood like that for another few seconds before he switched the autopilot on and turned around to wrap his arms around her.

Piper had been down there with the rest of them when they had first found Annabeth. When the statue had started to fall, Leo had come up with Frank, and Jason had grabbed Piper and flown her back up to help them.

He didn't want anyone down there in Tartarus, but he couldn't help being happy that Piper was still here in his arms.

Piper pulled back from him enough to see his face. She gently wiped the tears away from his eyes. "Leo, it's going to be okay."

"It's my fault that they're down there." He choked out.

Piper shook her head and gripped his face in her hands, "Leo Valdez, none of this is your fault. If it was supposed to happen, it would have happened anyway. You didn't cause this."

Leo just looked at her.

"What's it going to take to make you believe me?" Piper said as she brushed her fingers across his face.

Leo just stared at her. Her beautiful brown eyes were clouded with sadness, and her hair was shoved out of her way. Her pink lips were held into a line, like she couldn't bear the thought of smiling right now.

He wondered what it would feel like to kiss those lips. How would it feel to press his against hers?

Leo looked out of the corner of his eye to see the others standing spread out on the deck of the Argo II. The statue was taking up a lot of room, but they were managing. Leo could see Hazel and Frank standing together. They had their arms tangled around each other, and both of them had tears in their eyes. Nico and Coach Hedge were both leaned back against the railing. Leo could hear Coach muttering about how he should have "blew up more stuff." Jason was in the middle of the deck, standing with his arms crossed over his chest. He was blaming himself just as much as everyone else, but now he looked extremely pissed.

He was glowering at the spot where Leo and Piper were standing.

Leo felt the hair on the back of his neck rise and he seriously wanted to duck.

Piper noticed that he was preoccupied and she looked over to see Jason. Leo heard her breath catch and her fingers froze on his face.

Leo couldn't decide what to do. All he wanted was to turn his back to Jason and kiss Piper like he wouldn't see tomorrow (which was a big possibility) but he knew he couldn't hurt Jason like that. The dude was his best friend.

So he supposed that he could let Piper go to him. He would let it happen just this once, and when Piper ended up getting hurt again, she would come back to him.

That's all he would ever be. He would just be the friend who was always there; he was the back-up plan when there wasn't one.

And he didn't mind. If that's what she wanted, he would do it for Piper.

"Leo," Piper whispered.

"It's okay." He said as he tries to untangle himself from her. "You can go over there to him if you want."

Piper looked shocked, and then she looked like she wanted to be sick. "There's no way on the face of this earth that I'm leaving you right now. He doesn't need me. You, on the other hand, do need me, and I need you just as much. I don't want to hear anything else like that come out of your mouth ever. Do you understand?"

Her speech shocked him to the core. She really said that? She really wanted to stay with Leo? She wanted to stay here with a dorky son of Hephaestus when she could have Jason? Did she really mean it?

Her intense stare didn't waver from his eyes, and suddenly he started to believe it.

She wanted him.

Piper wanted Leo.

"Okay." Leo said brokenly. It had been such a long time since anybody had ever wanted him, and Leo didn't really remember how to accept it.

Piper smiled softly, and Leo felt a tiny bit better as he looked at her.

"Come on, Repair Boy." She said as she took his hand and pulled him away. "We need our supreme leader in tip-top shape so he can get us to Greece and save the world."

Somehow, Leo ignored the look Jason was shooting him as Piper pulled him toward the hallway with their rooms on it. He could deal with feeling like a rotten best friend tomorrow. Tonight, he was going to try and forget about it all and focus on Piper.

Ω

Leo knew he felt like a rotten best friend.

Leo and Piper spent that night together (still crossing no lines) and they walked into breakfast the next morning with their shoulders brushing.

No one seemed to notice them. Hazel and Frank were sitting at the table, completely focused on each other. They were in a soft conversation, and every few seconds Hazel would smile sadly. Coach Hedge was busying himself in his martial arts magazine and his silverware.

Jason was the only one who was paying attention to them. He was watching them with narrowed eyes, and he followed all of Leo's movements.

Breakfast was tense and awkward. Nico walked in halfway through, but it didn't really make much difference to the silence. Hazel and Frank kept staring at each other and Nico stared at his food and Leo stared at Piper and Jason stared at Leo for staring at Piper.

Summary: awkward.

They were finishing up, and Piper and Leo were standing outside in the hallway.

She reached up and laid her hand on his cheek. "Do you need any help? I don't have anything to do right now."

Before Leo could answer with a grin, Jason walked up to them.

He had his arms crossed and his eyes were flashing with annoyance.

His voice was stone cold. "Actually, Piper, I need to talk to Leo for a few minutes so I will help him. Go find Hazel; I think she was going to try to help Nico with more of his wounds."

Piper turned her head to Jason. "Anything you want to say to Leo you can say in front of me."

Her defiance and spirit were two of the things he liked best about her, but right now he really didn't want to test Jason's patience, especially not when it came down to Piper.

"No." Leo spoke up. Piper turned her head back to Leo in shock. "You go ahead and help Hazel. She probably needs you."

Piper flicked her gaze back and forth between Jason and Leo. She finally sighed and let her hand drop from Leo's cheek.

"Remember that you guys are best friends." She said with a glare before she stalked off.

Both of the boys watched her walk off, and when she turned the corner to the other hallway Jason turned to face him.

Sure, Jason had always been bigger than him. He had broader shoulders and was at least three or four inches taller than him. Any guy in this position would be scared to freaking death, but somehow Leo couldn't find any emotion other than anger. He was so angry, so pissed off, he could barely see straight.

How did Jason think that he could get mad at Leo over Piper? Did he think that he had some sort of claim over her?

Leo crossed his arms and glared at him. "What do you want, Jason? I've got work to do."

Jason looked like he could spit fire, but Leo was prepared to take it.

"What do you think you're doing with her?" His voice was low, but Leo could hear how angry he was.

"What does it matter to you? She's not yours anymore." Leo said calmly, fighting the urge to scream it.

Jason let out a warning growl, and stepped closer to him, "But what makes you think that she's yours?"

Okay. Leo grew up with his mom, and she was a self-respecting woman who didn't need a man. She taught Leo that possessiveness was one of the most annoying traits a man could show. She had said that women weren't playthings that could be owned. And he believed that whole-heartedly, but for this argument's sake, Piper was Leo's.

"I'll tell you what makes me think that, Jason. Do you remember a few weeks ago when you broke up with her? You broke her heart, dude, and it just so happened that I was there." Leo said. "What does it matter to you if I like Piper? You've got Reyna. You can't keep switching back and forth between them."

Jason didn't say anything, and some of Leo's anger faded at the look in Jason's eyes.

Leo let his arms fall to his side. "Look, man, you're my best friend, and I'm not even going to try and understand how hard this thing must be for you, but you need to pick one of them and stay with them. If you seriously want Piper, and you're not going to break her heart again, then go get her. I'll stay out of the way if you're serious."

Leo couldn't believe any of that had come out of his mouth. He had just said what he felt, but gods, did he really think that?

It was the last thing he wanted to do. He wanted Piper, and he wanted to keep her. The last thing he ever wanted to see was Piper off somewhere with Jason.

Jason had his jaw open and was gaping at him like a fish. "Are you… are you serious?"

Here it comes. He wished he would have at least got to kiss Piper before he handed her back over to Jason like a complete loser.

Leo nodded.

He expected Jason to run off to find Piper without another word to Leo. He wouldn't doubt that the guy was still mad at him.

Leo was not expecting a hug.

Jason grabbed him in a bro hug for a few seconds before he pushed back and grabbed him by the shoulders.

"You would seriously do that? You would seriously give her to me just like that?" He asked.

Leo shrugged, "Well, obviously I don't want to, but our friendship is way more important to me. I mean, don't get me wrong, it would totally bite, but I would do it for our sake."

"I feel like a douchebag." Jason said, running a hand through his hair.

Leo asked, "Why?"

"Because all I did was break Piper's heart when I chose Reyna, and now I'm acting like Piper is my property. Do you realize that ever since you and Piper got closer all I've been doing is planning to come down here and break your neck for it?" Jason admitted.

"Yeah. I've seen the looks you've been giving me." Leo said.

"Which I'm sorry about. You're completely right on this, Leo. I chose Reyna. I chose her, not Piper. I don't have any say in what she does anymore, and I sure as hell can't tell anybody else that they can't have her. I've been being stupid about all of this." Jason sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose before looking back up to Leo. "Can you forgive me?"

He found himself nodding. He couldn't stay mad at Jason. The dude was his best friend and he seriously needed him in his life.

"Yeah, dude." Leo said.

Jason sighed again and he smiled sheepishly. "So… I mean, you really like Piper?"

Leo tried not to blush, but his face felt hot. "Um, yeah."

"So, um, are you guys together?" Jason asked.

Leo scratched the back of his neck. This was awkward. The last thing he expected to be doing today was talking to his best friend about his future relationship with his ex. Can you say confusing?

But that was when Leo realized he was going to have a relationship with Piper someday. He hadn't made a move yet because he didn't want to throw anything in Jason's face, but now that he had his blessing (Is that what Leo should call this?) he didn't have anything stopping him.

"No. We're not… together. It's just complicated. Lately, it feels like she wants something more, but I'm not sure, and then I didn't want to hurt you…" Leo trailed off and looked down at his hands.

Leo looked back up at Jason when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Come on, dude, cheer up. Go put the moves on her, and get together so we can surprise Percy and Annabeth when we get them out. Please understand that I will not run interference for any… er, alone time. You'll have to get Hazel to do that." Jason said awkwardly.

Leo started laughing, "Oh, gods, Jason. I'm glad you don't hate me for this."

"I wouldn't ever hate you, Leo." Jason shrugged. "Sure, I was a little pissed off, but I didn't hate you. You're still my best friend."

Leo grinned. Why had he been so worried before? All of that stress seemed pointless now.

Reality hit him like a bus.

He could go get Piper. Right now.

He was going to get Piper.

"Oh gods." Leo breathed. As this realization came down on him, he felt like he couldn't do it. What if she laughed at him? What if she just wanted to be best friends? What if all of this stuff going on between them wasn't really anything at all?

Jason looked alarmed. "What?"

"I can't do this." Leo squeaked. His voice always shot up several octaves when he was scared or nervous. "I can't do this."

"Can't do what? Tell Piper?" Jason asked.

Leo nodded and shoved his hands through his hair. "If I tell her how I feel and she doesn't feel the same way, what's going to happen? Everything will be weird."

"Leo," Jason said sternly, grabbing him by the shoulders. "Calm down. Just go tell her. Everything will be okay. I'm telling you, she has to like you. I know it."

"You might know it, but I don't. I don't want her to freak out on me. I can't lose her like that." Leo said miserably.

And he was miserable. If he really did tell her, and she didn't like him back, how would he function without her? He wouldn't be able to survive without her smiling at him and looking at him and touching him. Especially not now that he knew what it felt like to hold her until she fell asleep and be the first thing she saw when she woke up.

"Hey," Jason said, snapping him out of his fear-induced daydream. "You won't. You won't lose her like that, but I'm telling you, if you don't tell her before something else happens, you will regret it. Trust me."

Leo blinked. Had Jason really felt like this before? Did he forget to tell somebody that he loved them before something happened?

Of course he had! He must not have told Reyna how he felt! If Leo didn't tell Piper how he felt, was he going to have the same expression on his face that Jason wore constantly? Was he really this upset?

Leo gulped. "You're right. I just need to go tell her."

"Yes." Jason pushed him off in the direction that Piper had walked off in. "Go tell her right now. I'll take care of the ship."

Leo nodded along and started off down the hall.

Just before he turned the corner, Leo remembered something.

"Jason," Leo called.

Jason turned back around and looked at him quizzically. "Yeah?"

Leo grinned. "Thanks."

Jason shrugged, but he was holding back a smile. "Don't thank me. I didn't do anything. All I did was push you over the edge."

"Still. Thanks." Leo said again.

"No problem. And, Leo? If on the off chance that you do mess up and break her heart, I will be required to personally rip you to shreds. Kapeesh?"

Leo rolled his eyes. Jason did not make a good American-Italian mobster. He had obviously been watching The Godfather to many times.

Leo decided it would be appropriate to respond with a line from Full House, "You got it, dude."

He saw Jason roll his eyes and smile before Leo took off down the hallway to find Piper.

He ran straight toward the stairs that led down to sickbay. He had designed all of the cabins on the second floor, and then pushed sickbay down underneath it. It probably should have been reversed, but it was just fine the way they had it.

On his way, he ran into Hazel in the hallway.

Since they had lost Percy and Annabeth, Hazel had been acting weird. Leo assumed she was extremely happy that they had rescued Nico, but Leo found Hazel talking to her brother a lot, and she never really looked happy anymore.

"Hazel!" Leo said. "Where's Piper?"

"Uh, she should be down in sickbay. She helped me with some of Nico's wounds, and she agreed to stay down there with him while I went to go get some air." She said.

"Thanks!" Leo yelled as he raced by her.

He took the stairs three at a time. His heart was beating extremely fast, and he felt like his hands were sweaty, but he couldn't help but be excited.

Not soon enough, the door was in front of him, and Leo took a second to take a deep breath and a short prayer to any god that was sane and listening. He needed any sort of good luck he could get.

Leo pushed the door open and leaned against the door frame.

Piper was cleaning up some of the supplies they had been using. Nico was laying down on one of the cots that were against the wall. By the gentle snoring Leo was hearing, he guessed that Nico was asleep.

Piper hadn't noticed him yet. She was putting away and few jars into a top cabinet and Leo watched as she stretched up onto her toes to put them away. The sight was probably more alluring than it should have been.

When she turned around, she spotted him.

She looked nervous. She pushed her hair behind her ear, shoving it away from her face. She was blinking a lot, and it looked like she had tears in her eyes.

Leo immediately went into overprotective mode. Was she okay? Did something go wrong?

He moved a few steps into the room and held out his arms.

She didn't hesitate as she ran into them. She buried her face in his chest and clutched at his shirt. She had her body pressed tightly against his like everything would be okay if she was with him.

Even though Leo wanted to bombard her with questions asking if she was okay, he held his tongue. He didn't need to say anything. He just needed to be here for her until she was ready to talk to him.

Leo kept his arms wound around her tightly. He threaded his hand through her hair, cradling her head.

After a few more minutes like that, Piper looked up at him.

"How bad was it?" She asked.

"How bad was what?" He said.

She laid her hand flat against his chest and smoothed the wrinkles out of his shirt that she had caused. "Talking to Jason. Was he really mad? Do I need to go-"

"It wasn't a big deal. We had a slight misunderstanding. Everything is fine now. We're best friends forever." Leo said with a slight laugh.

"Really?" Piper asked again. "He's not mad?"

"Of course he's not mad." Leo said as he rubbed circles on her back.

Leo had come here to tell her how he felt about her, but now, he couldn't really find the words. She was upset about something else and he couldn't find the will to spring this on her. He would just have to wait.

"Mmm." She hummed. "That feels good."

Leo smiled as he continued rubbing her back. "What's wrong? You seem stressed."

"Hazel freaked out on me while we were helping Nico." She admitted.

"I met her in the hallway on my way down. She seemed…" Leo trailed off at the lack of words.

"Yeah. Some of his wounds are so bad. We just keep looking at them and thinking that Percy and Annabeth are going through the same thing and they are going to be down there longer than Nico was and-and-" Piper choked on her words and rolled her shoulders in, huddling against Leo.

"Hey, hey." Leo said gently. "Everything is going to be okay. Percy and Annabeth are going to kick ass while they are down there and they are going to be fine when we get them out, do you understand me?"

Piper stopped shaking and sighed. She was tall enough that her head was against his neck when she hunched over a little. She had always been as tall as him, but lately it was beginning to annoy Leo that he wasn't even an inch taller.

"Yes." She breathed. She leaned up and looked at him, "Did you have something to tell me? You looked like you were on a mission when you came in."

Leo wanted to tell her. He really did, but maybe it wouldn't be a good idea to tell her while all of this stuff was happening. All he needed to do was say something about it and make everything complicated.

So he decided to forsake his feelings for just a little longer. He had made it this long; it wouldn't hurt him to keep it to himself for a little but longer.

"No, I just wanted to make sure you were okay, and," Leo decided to jump a little bit. Even if he couldn't just flat out tell her, he could give her some hints, couldn't he? "I was going to tell you that we could totally work out all of your stress tonight." He ran both of his hands down her back and gripped her hips.

Piper's eyes darkened a shade and she raised an eyebrow, "When and where?"

Both of Leo's eyebrows shot up, "I didn't think that line would work. I figured I would have had to put a little more effort into it than that."

"Oh that line didn't work. I wanted to see what your reaction was going to be when I accepted. I was expecting something amusing and I was not disappointed." She said with a laugh.

"But seriously," Leo said as he moved his hands back up to her shoulders. "You need to chill. I bet you haven't been sleeping any, have you?"

"I might be." She said stubbornly.

Leo rolled his eyes and said, "Whatever. Anyway, are you going to be okay?"

"Absolutely." She said.

Leo nodded. "Alright, well I better go catch up with Jason and see what he's messed up. He said he was going to try to take care of the ship so there's no telling what has happened up there. Um, come get me if you need me, okay?"

"Okay, I'll see you later." Piper said.

Leo hesitated. Should he just hug her and then leave? Or should he just leave? Or…

He decided to be a little bit more outspoken. If he wasn't going to get to tell her how he felt, he was going to give her little hints at a time.

He leaned down and kissed her forehead before he smiled at her and said, "I'll see you later, Beauty Queen."

Leo smirked slightly at the look on her face as he turned around and left the room.

This would be fun to mess with.

Ω

Leo knows that he is stressed to the max.

He had been working constantly, and he can't remember the last time he got to sleep for more than an hour.

They had fought at Epirus today. Somehow they had closed the Doors of Death without losing anyone (Leo didn't know how, but he knew that Nico di Angelo was a badass demigod.) and they had rescued Percy and Annabeth before destroying the remainder of Gaea's army and sailing back toward home.

After everyone had checked up on Percy and Annabeth, and made sure that they were indeed on their way home, they had all went below to catch up on some sleep.

Leo didn't mind. He didn't mind the responsibility to get them home even if he was dead asleep on his feet.

Suddenly, Leo felt a pair of arms slip around him from behind.

"You need to rest." Someone spoke softly in his ear.

Leo's body relaxed before his mind had even worked out who it was. "I need to get us home."

"I already woke up Jason and Coach Hedge. They said that they would take point for a few hours so you could get some well-deserved sleep. Let me take you to your cabin." Piper said as she rubbed circles on his chest with her hands.

Leo suppressed a moan. Why was she so good at this?

Her words and voice washed over him and suddenly all he could think about was curling up in his bed with her and sleeping for a year.

"Okay." He said. His voice was low and husky as if he hadn't spoken in hours.

Oh yeah, he hadn't.

Piper hugged him closer for one second and then pulled her arms away before slipping out in front of him. She took both of his hands and gently pulled him away from his post at the steering wheel.

Before Leo knew it, she was opening the door to his cabin and pulling him through.

As soon as Piper let go of him so she could shut the door, Leo felt his body sway. He could just go to sleep on the floor. He was so tired that it wouldn't be any different.

"Whoa, Leo." Piper caught him before he could hit the floor. "Let me get your clothes off and then we will get you in bed, okay?"

If Leo had been fully conscious, he would have definitely made some comment about that, but right now he didn't find it too high on his priority list.

Leo felt Piper steer him toward his bed. She moved her hands to his hips and unclasped his belt and unbuttoned his jeans before pushing them off of his hips. Leo was positive he had the most pitiful expression on his face, but he didn't care.

Piper pulled his shirt over his head and pushed him down so he was sitting on the edge of his bed. She untied his shoes and pulled them off of his feet.

"All right, you're good. Do you want me to come back and get you in an hour or two?" Piper said softly. She ran one of her hands through his hair.

No! She couldn't leave! Leo had been through too much in the past few days and hours to stay by himself. He needed her to stay here with him.

Leo grabbed her other hand and jerked it toward him. "No. Don't leave me."

He didn't care how bad and pathetic that sounded; he just needed her to stay with him tonight.

She nodded, "Shh, shh. I won't. I'll stay here with you."

Leo nodded and fell back onto his bed, pulling her with him.

Using some strength that came from gods know where (Leo was that tired) he pulled Piper up to his pillow so she was lying on her back. He buried his face in her neck and threw one of his legs over both of hers.

He was lying half on top of her and his arms were wrapped around her in a death grip, but she wasn't complaining so he wasn't about to move.

"Piper?" Leo whispered.

Her arms were wrapped around him. She had one of her hands pressed flat to his back. "Yeah, babe?"

"I'm so glad you're here." He confessed. Leo was surprised to hear his voice crack and the burning in his eyes and throat that signaled tears. It must have been a left over reaction. He hadn't really allowed himself to get upset while Percy and Annabeth were… gone. Now it was coming back to slap him in the face.

Piper hugged him even closer. She seemed to understand that he was really upset. "Me too, Leo. I'm glad to be here with you."

Ω

Leo knows that he should be resting.

He's been running on fumes as he tries to get them home. He had only managed to sleep for a few hours when Piper dragged him away from the steering wheel before he had to go take care of some problem on deck.

Leo just can't seem to make himself rest though. His mind won't slow down any, and his muscles are too tense to relax.

Instead of heading down to his room to get some sleep while Jason took point, he walked down to sickbay where he knew Piper would be.

She had been down there ever since they got Percy and Annabeth back. They had some really bad wounds from being stuck in Tartarus, but they were supposedly doing okay. Leo knew for a fact that Annabeth had so many bruises she could hardly move and Percy hadn't been talking at all, but they were together and they were alive.

Leo walked down the hallway and stairs before he hesitantly peeked around the corner and into the room. The last time he had come down here to check on them he had just walked in to find Piper and Hazel standing over Annabeth as she almost bled out. It had been too scary, and Leo didn't want to see his friends like that again.

Now, everything seemed to be pretty calm. In fact, he didn't even see Piper standing anywhere.

He walked on in to the room. Percy and Annabeth were curled up in one of the cots. They had their arms tangled around each other, and they were pressed together with no extra space. Annabeth had her eyes closed, and it looked like she was completely passed out. Percy had his eyes slit open, and he was staring at Annabeth.

"Hey, Percy," Leo said softly as he walked a little closer to them.

Percy glanced over at him, but didn't say anything.

"Nice talking to you," Leo muttered as he glanced away.

He finally spotted Piper. She was passed out on a cot. Her arms were thrown across the bed, and one of her legs was hanging off, but she was sleeping soundly. Her head was turned to the side and her mouth was pressed together in a line. Leo could hear her snoring and muttering in her sleep. She must have been pretty tired to pass out right there.

He must have been staring at her for longer than he thought because after a few minutes he heard, "Take a picture. It might last longer."

Leo turned around in surprise to find Percy leaning up on his elbows. His hair was disheveled, and he looked like he had come back from the dead, but he was smiling a little.

Leo blushed, "Umm, yeah. So how do you feel?"

Percy rolled his shoulders back and glanced over at Annabeth to make sure she was there. "I'm okay. My throat hurts, and I'm worried about her."

Percy didn't have to say the name. Leo knew that all he thought about anymore was Annabeth. The guy had fallen into hell for her. Leo couldn't even begin to think about how much Percy loved Annabeth.

"She's okay. She's here with us and once we get back to Camp, Chiron and the Apollo guys will heal everything else that is hurting her." Leo said comfortingly.

The older demigod nodded and looked back down to Annabeth.

"I was like you." He said suddenly.

Leo thought he would choke on a bug because his mouth was hanging open. How was he like Percy? The guy was a freaking legend! Leo hadn't done anything to even compare to Percy Jackson!

"What?" Leo spluttered.

"I was like you a couple of years ago. I watched my best friend grow up to be so gorgeous and awesome and somewhere along the way I fell in love with her. I was too afraid to tell her so I didn't say anything." Percy looked down at Annabeth and smiled tiredly. "When we were fighting in the Titan War, and I still had my Curse, I watched as she took a knife for me. I thought she was going to die, and I hadn't even gotten the chance to kiss her and hold her hand. She didn't, of course, but I remember being so scared that I was going to lose her, and somehow that even outranked how scared I was about facing Kronos. Even back then before we got together, she was everything to me."

Leo couldn't help but look over at Piper. Was that how he felt about her? Did his feelings even come close to comparing what Percy felt for Annabeth?

"What does that have to do with me?" Leo asked.

Leo felt like Percy's green eyes could see right through him. No wonder the Aphrodite girls back at Camp had always been fan-girling over his eyes. They were a pretty color.

"I can see it in your eyes. I just wanted to make sure that you know it's perfectly fine to fall in love with your best friend." Percy said.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"I just wanted you to know that everything will be okay if you fall in love with your best friend. It won't change anything. It won't make things weird between you two. That's what you're worried about, right?"

Leo was a little surprised. Back before they had left Camp, everyone had talked about how dumb Percy was sometimes. Even Annabeth called him "Seaweed Brain." But Leo was thinking that this guy was a lot more intelligent than he acted. He had taken one glance at Leo and known exactly what was going on. That didn't exactly mean "dumb" in Leo's book.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah. I mean, I don't even know if she likes me back. I could tell her and then it would ruin everything. I just don't want to lose her."

Percy leaned back a little bit farther, "I said the same thing for years and it turns out that I was completely wrong. Piper likes you, Leo."

"Everybody keeps telling me that." Leo grumbled.

Before Percy could even laugh, Annabeth moved slightly and moaned.

Percy was leaned over her in the next second. He had one of his hands tangled in her hair and he was saying her name.

"Seaweed Brain?" She groaned.

"I'm right here. We're fine." Percy said.

"Who are you talking to?" She asked.

"Leo. I was trying to tell him that Piper likes him, but he doesn't believe me." Percy said playfully, glancing up at Leo.

Annabeth's eyes opened and she studied Percy for a few second before she looked up to Leo. "He's right, you know."

Leo sighed again, "Why does everyone think that?"

"Because it's true." Annabeth said. "Don't be like this beach bum here and wait four years before telling the girl he liked that he actually likes her. It's torture having to wait for the guy to catch up."

Percy glared at Annabeth, but all he said was, "I'm not a beach bum."

Leo couldn't believe that he was here right now. Percy and Annabeth were arguing like an old married couple (which by demigod standards they were) and talking to Leo like he was their son or something. He couldn't help but be a little happy that he had them looking out for him.

"Sorry, babe, but you're a beach bum." Annabeth told Percy. Then, she looked back up to Leo, "But seriously, Leo. Don't waste your time and think that she doesn't like you. It just makes you feel stupid once you finally get together."

"But I don't even know if she likes me back." Leo objected.

Annabeth rolled her eyes, "She likes you. Trust me."

Percy laid back and curled around her, wrapping his arms around her body. "Mmm. Listen to Annabeth. She's right."

"Go to sleep, Seaweed Brain. I bet you didn't even sleep any after Piper told us to." Annabeth chided.

He winked at Leo before closing his eyes and pushing his face into her neck, "I was keeping watch. Now it's your turn."

Annabeth rolled her eyes again, but Leo watched as she wrapped her arms around him. "We don't have to keep watch anymore, Seaweed Brain. We're out. Everything is okay."

Suddenly, Leo felt like he was intruding on a moment. He felt like he didn't need to be watching them right now. Since they had gotten out of Tartarus, they kept having these personal couple moments that everyone (except Piper; she lived for this stuff) felt weird when they had to see them. Before, Percy and Annabeth hadn't ever really promoted their relationship, and it was kind of different to see them act like such a normal couple.

Percy sighed and tightened his grip. Annabeth started to turn over into him, and she looked up at Leo.

"Leo, do whatever you want, but don't give up because you think that she doesn't like you back. Even if you decide to never believe me on anything else, believe me when I say that she likes you."

Leo couldn't help but nod. When Annabeth said it, it sounded so right. It sounded like it could actually be true.

"Oh, and Leo, take Piper back to her cabin. She deserves to sleep in her bed for a few hours. Percy and I will be fine." Annabeth said as she turned over to Percy and closed her eyes.

Leo stood there for a few seconds.

Finally, he walked over to Piper and sat down on the edge of the cot she was sleeping on. He carefully set his hand on her back and ran his fingers through the ends of her hair.

Maybe Annabeth was right. Maybe Piper did like him. She did seem to be a lot closer to him lately. Maybe she did want a relationship with him.

But Leo wanted something like Percy and Annabeth had. He wanted it to be serious and real. What if Piper didn't want that? What would he do then?

Leo sighed loudly and decided to push his thoughts away. He would think about them later when he had more time.

He scooped up Piper in his arms and headed out of the door. Leo glanced over to see Percy and Annabeth sound asleep, and Leo couldn't help but smile.

Ω

Leo knows that everybody has gone crazy.

When they had finally rolled up at Camp Half-Blood, the Greek and Roman demigods had been seconds away from full out war.

Luckily, Percy and Jason had jumped down in between them and loosened everybody up.

All was "well" (some people were still pissed, but at least they weren't fighting) by the time Leo had gotten the Argo II stabilized in the air and jumped down to the ground.

The Greek demigods had welcomed them back as heroes, and claimed to have a feast in honor of their success up to this point.

Everyone had become less spirited when Percy told them all that they hadn't won the war yet; they had just temporarily put off the big battle.

The Romans were welcomed into Camp, but Reyna and Jason decided to set up the Legion in one of the empty strawberry fields so they would all be together. Leo noticed that Jason was standing extremely close to Reyna, and she wasn't moving away from him.

Before they all stalked off, Leo caught Jason's eye and winked, mouthing, Score! The big guy blushed a deep red, but he didn't deny anything.

Leo jerked his gaze away from Jason and Reyna when he felt a hand resting on his lower back.

Piper had walked away from all of her siblings and was now standing beside him, moving her hand in slow circles. That seemed to be their thing lately.

"Percy says that we're leaving in the morning." She said.

"Leaving?" Leo asked. Where were they going? They had just gotten back!

"Yeah. We're going out to find her while she's weak." Piper said.

Leo supposed that was logical, but where exactly would they find an earth goddess? Were they just going to stomp around on some grass until she came to them? That seemed a little silly to Leo, but he was game for anything. If Percy thought he had it figured out, then more power to him.

Leo looked over to the older demigod. Percy Jackson was standing in the middle of a gigantic circle of a lot of Greek campers. They were hugging him and kissing him on the cheek like they hadn't seen him in forever (which they hadn't). Percy still looked pretty bad and he had a few noticeable wounds from his time in Tartarus, but he was doing his best to laugh and smile when he needed to. The only thing that gave him away was the death grip he had on one of Annabeth's hips. Leo hadn't seen him let go of her since they got back, and he obviously didn't plan on it.

"What are you going to do?" Piper asked him.

Leo looked back to her. Her brown hair was hanging down around her face like a curtain and her eyes were flashing a whole lot of emotions that Leo couldn't decipher at once. She looked happy to be home (even for one day), but she looked a little sad.

He couldn't believe how beautiful she looked standing here next to him. The morning sun was casting awesome sunlight onto her skin that made her look gorgeous. Maybe it was just because she was a daughter of Aphrodite, but Leo thought she would have looked beautiful even if she wasn't.

Man, he was falling hard for her.

"I'll probably work on the Argo II. Make sure she's good to go and has everything she needs." Leo said.

Piper rolled her eyes. Leo knew that she had always found it annoying when he referred to his baby as "she." It was one of the reasons he did it so much.

"Do you need any help?" She asked.

Before Leo could answer that he would love to have her moral support as he worked, (because she really sucked at engineer stuff unless he was giving her specific directions) his siblings all ran up to him and threw their arms around him.

"Leo!" They all yelled. They assaulted him with questions like "How's our baby doing?" "Has everything been okay?" "Have you made anything new?"

It was the most excited he had ever seen any of his half-siblings. The Hephaestus crew wasn't really known for their sunny personalities, so he was pretty surprised to see them act this excited. He liked to think that maybe it was because of him.

"Hey, guys!" He said. "Wait just a second!"

He turned back to Piper to see her with an amused smile on her face. Before he could even apologize and say that he wanted his siblings to help, she said, "Well, Repair Boy, I'll catch you later. Looks like you don't need my moral support. We all know that I suck at the engineering stuff, not that it's not cool that you guys…" She sighed and smiled a little at the other Hephaestus kids. "Okay, I'm just going to go over here and try to get those people I call my siblings under control before Annabeth kicks their teeth in. So…"

Leo raised his eyebrows as she leaned closer to him.

"I'll see you later, Leo. Want to hang out tonight?" She said.

Was she… asking him out? Was this really happening?

"Absolutely." He managed to say it without choking. "I'll come find you."

Her smile was breathtaking. "Okay. Bye!"

Before she ran off, she kissed Leo on the cheek.

For a few seconds, Leo's brain shut down. Did she really just do that? Did she just ask him out and then kiss him? Sure, it wasn't on the lips, but hey, point for Team Leo!

He was positive he had the most shocked expression on his face when he turned back to his cabin mates.

One of the younger boys started singing, "Leo's got a girlfriend! Leo's got a girlfriend!"

After a few more seconds of hearing that, Leo turned blood red, "No I don't! She's not my girlfriend!"

Nyssa bumped him in the side, "Nice catch, Valdez."

Leo scowled. He didn't remember them being this funny before he left. "She's not my girlfriend."

Nyssa rolled her eyes. "Yep. We totally believe that. If she's not your girlfriend, then why did she kiss you?"

Leo couldn't come up with an answer for her question, and honestly, he didn't want to. He wanted to call Piper his girlfriend. He wanted her to be his girlfriend. He wanted her to kiss him whenever she walked away from him. So why couldn't he just take this and roll with it?

Well, if he did start telling everybody that they were dating, people would start talking. If people started talking then word would get back to Piper. If word got back to Piper, she could freak out and deny everything and avoid him for the rest of his life.

Or… Maybe since she kissed him (okay, loose term, but still) she wanted to be his girlfriend. Maybe she was just waiting for him to ask her.

Should he take the chance? Or wait for more evidence to support his claim?

Normally, Leo wouldn't have even bothered with this choice. He would have marched straight up to her and kissed her like he was dying today. He would have told her how much he loved her, and that he wanted to be with her. He wouldn't have been terrified of confessing his feelings.

But he wanted to make things perfect. He couldn't afford to screw this up. Lately, Piper was the one good thing he had in his life. If he did something rash and scared her away… Leo wouldn't be able to live with it. He would rather die than lose his chance with her.

Leo shook his head confusedly. "Never mind why she kissed me. We've got work to do."

"Yeah, especially if we want to get you to that date on time, eh?" Nyssa joked playfully as she looped her arm around his shoulders and started to pull them toward the Argo II.

The teasing didn't stop all day, but Leo found himself laughing and smiling more than he had since he left Camp a month ago. He had forgotten how much he missed this place and these people. He loved them, and he knew he was going to win this war for them.

Gaea had better watch out. Leo Valdez was on a war path.

Ω

Leo knew he had looked better.

He had been working all day. It turns out the Argo II had needed a little more work than he thought. They had replaced some of the cannons, installed some new torpedoes, and even patched up the hull. She looked all shiny and new, and Leo loved it.

He had gotten so distracted by his awesome war ship that he had completely forgotten that he was going to hang out with Piper tonight.

So, in his attempt to hurry, he dashed back to his cabin (gods, it felt like he hadn't been here in years) and threw on some new clothes before washing the grease off of his face and hands. His hair was a mess, and there was no possible way to fix it, so he was just going to roll with it. Maybe she wouldn't notice.

Yeah right, part of him thought. She was going to notice, and she was going to be able to tell that he had forgotten about it.

He looked into the mirror before he left.

Leo wasn't that tall. Maybe 5'7'' or 5'8''. He had dark brown curly hair and dark eyes. He knew he might not have been the most attractive demigod dude, but he wasn't ugly. A select few muscles had started to appear along his arms and stomach, and Leo was hoping he would grow at least three more inches. He would be happy if he was just a little taller than Piper.

After sighing in exasperation, (He was already late!) he dashed out of the cabin and headed toward the pavilion.

On his way, Leo noticed Percy and Annabeth walking aimlessly. Percy had his arms around her waist and she had hers around his. They were both clutching at each other's sides, but they were smiling.

"Hey, lovebirds!" Leo called as he ran up to them. "Have you seen Piper?"

Annabeth nodded. She looked like she was fighting a smirk, "Yeah. She's been looking for you. We just passed her. She was headed to see Hazel and Frank at the Roman base."

Leo dashed off, yelling, "Thanks!"

"Don't forget to kiss her goodnight!" Percy called after him.

Leo felt his face burning, but he decided to ignore it since Annabeth was finally laughing at something. He hadn't heard her laugh since she went off of that solo quest that ended with-

Focus on Piper, Leo thought. Nothing else.

He sprinted past the pavilion, and finally saw her.

Piper was slowly making her way back toward the cabins. She was wearing a camp shirt and denim shorts. Her hair was pulled up into a loose ponytail, and Leo swore that he could see her eyes sparkle from here.

She looked up as Leo ran up to her, and she smiled widely.

"Hey!" She said. "You finished!"

He grinned at her. "Yep! Finally, right?"

She laughed and nodded. "Oh yeah. I was-"

Piper was interrupted by Nyssa. Leo's half-sister was standing a few yards away and waving her hands, signaling him over.

Leo groaned. "I'm sorry. I'll be right back. Don't move."

Piper nodded as Leo ran over to Nyssa. He was seriously running too much today.

"What?" He hissed. Couldn't he have some time to be with Piper? He had worked all day!

"I know, I'm sorry. Look, just take her up to Bunker 9 and tell her that's why you were so late." Nyssa said lowly.

Leo furrowed his eyebrows, "What?"

"You heard me! Bunker 9! And don't mess this up! We like her!" Nyssa said as she straightened his shirt and hair and then ran off.

Leo stared after her for a second. What could she mean by taking her to Bunker 9? Leo hadn't been up there since they had left. It was probably a mess! But… If Nyssa and the others really did like Piper (Leo is rolling his eyes at that) they probably wouldn't tell him to do something if it would end with messing something up.

Leo realized he was just standing there when Piper walked up to him.

"Is everything okay?" She asked. "If you need to go we can always hang out later-"

"No!" Leo interrupted. "No, everything is fine. Nyssa was just updating me on Festus's last scan. Everything is fine. So, did you have something planned or…?"

Piper blushed a little, and Leo thought that the added color to her cheeks made her even more beautiful. "No, not really. I just wanted to hang out with you."

Perfect, Leo thought.

He took her hand slowly and started to pull her off in the direction of the woods. "I've got somewhere we can go."

Piper laced her fingers with his, and Leo knew that she was dying to say that she knew all about Bunker 9, but she didn't.

They talked along the way. They tried to stay away from the whole war thing, but it just kept coming back up. Finally, they gave up and fell into silence.

Until Piper said, "Oh, I caught Jason and Reyna making out a few minutes ago."

"What?" Leo asked with a look at her.

She grinned, "Oh yeah. I was walking over there to see Frank and Hazel to make sure they were okay. I walked past a tree, and sure enough. I swear they were trying to eat each other's faces. It was so cute."

Leo laughed. "I bet that was awkward."

"They didn't see me. They were too busy." Piper said.

"I bet." Leo said with a glance over at her. He wondered what it would be like to be busy like that.

Piper didn't say anything else, and they made the rest of the trip in silence.

They finally made it to Bunker 9. Leo tried to calm his heart rate, but he couldn't make himself calm down. He really hoped his hands weren't sweating. And if they were, he seriously hoped Piper couldn't tell.

"Bunker 9?" Piper asked mischievously.

Leo shrugged, "You said you didn't have anything else to do. We can just hang here and chill until the campfire starts. If you want."

"Sounds good to me." Piper said.

Leo opened the door and pulled her through.

When they stepped into the room and shut the door, Leo felt his foot trip a wire, and then everything lit up.

Christmas lights were strung up around the bunker, giving it a soft light. There was a laptop sitting on the coffee table with a few DVDs beside it. The stereo was playing soft music. Everything looked perfect.

Leo heard Piper gasp, and her hand went limp in his. She was staring at everything, and she had the most amazed expression on her face. Leo knew that he would be happy if he spent the rest of his life trying to keep that expression on her face.

"What do you think?" Leo asked. His voice was low.

She shifted her gaze to him, "Oh my gods, Leo, this is amazing. Did you… All for…?"

"I had some help." He admitted to her. "All for us."

Piper smiled like she liked the sound of that. Then, she turned to him and threw her arms around him.

Leo felt a smile grow on his face when she said, "Leo, this is so perfect. You are amazing."

He pulled back from her and held out his hand, "Piper, can I have this dance?"

She grinned and placed her hand in his, "Absolutely."

They danced and spun in lazy circled for a long time. Leo had his hands on her waist and she had her arms wrapped around his neck and her fingers kept threading through the hair at the back of his neck.

Leo wasn't sure where they stood. Was he supposed to keep his distance or was he allowed to lean down and kiss her?

Piper looked up at him. "Leo?"

He cleared his throat, "Yeah?"

"Um, I was just going to tell you that this is really amazing, and I'm really glad that I'm here with you." She said.

"Me too, Pipes." Leo said shakily.

"Um, I also wanted to… I was wondering… Gods. I'm just going to say it. What's going on between us?" Piper said flatly.

Leo froze in place, and the only thing that kept Piper from falling to the floor was Leo's arms. How was he supposed to answer this question when he was wondering it himself just a few minutes ago?

So Leo answered honestly. "I don't know, Piper. You tell me."

"Well, I mean, I know that we're best friends. And, I know that we've kind of moved away from that. I just don't know anymore." Piper said.

"What do you feel?" Leo breathed.

"I- I don't know." She whispered.

"Yes you do." Leo said gently.

"Leo, I don't want to lose you. We're going to war tomorrow. What if one of us doesn't make it? What if you don't make it? I just can't lose you like that. You…" Piper looked up at him and her eyes were watered with tears. "You mean everything to me. I can't lose you."

Leo tightened his arms around her and tried to wipe away some of her tears, "Hey, you won't. You won't lose me."

"You don't know that." Piper said as she buried her face against him.

"Yes I do. It's not going to happen. Everything is going to be okay. We're going to be okay. I promise." He said.

"You can't make that promise. Don't make that promise. Just in case." Piper exhaled loudly. "I really want to kiss you, Leo."

Leo's breath caught.

"Then kiss me." He murmured.

She tilted her head up and her gaze flickered to his lips.

His heart was in overtime. Was she really going to-

"I can't. I can't kiss you tonight when tomorrow we're going to-" Piper started babbling.

Leo cut her off when he pressed his finger to her lips. He finally understood what was holding her back. She was afraid that they would get together tonight and everything would be perfect and then something bad would happen to them tomorrow. She didn't want to start anything without being able to have it.

"It's okay." He murmured, pulling her closer and pressing his forehead to hers. "I understand. Doesn't mean I don't want to kiss you, but I understand."

"Now I feel bad." She said.

Leo smiled and brushed his nose against hers, "You shouldn't. I'll wait for you. As long as it takes."

"Promise?" She asked.

"So I can promise this, eh?"

Piper cuffed him on the back of the head before threading her fingers back through his hair.

"I promise that I will wait for you, Piper. You've got me." Leo said truthfully, leaning even closer to her.

Piper sighed and leaned into his arms. They were pressed together without a spare centimeter to separate them. Leo wanted to do this for the rest of his life. He wanted to hold her like this every day. He wanted her to love him like he loved her.

Before Leo could make himself understand this whole situation, Piper pulled out of his arms and stepped a few spaces away from him.

"Do you want to go back to the pavilion? If we hurry I bet we can make it to dinner on time." Leo offered. If she didn't want to spend time with him right now, they didn't have to hang out tonight.

Piper scrunched up her nose and Leo tried his hardest to keep from smiling. "Gods, no. I want to stay here with you."

Here with you is exactly what Leo wanted.

"Okay. Want to watch a movie?" Leo asked as he walked over to the couch.

Piper grabbed his hand and moved with him to the couch.

"Sure." She said.

So Leo turned on the laptop, popped a movie in, and leaned back on the couch. The lighting was perfect, and when Piper snuggled into his side and took one of his hands, he felt like everything really was perfect.

Maybe their date hadn't gone like he had planned, but he couldn't help but smile when he thought about her.

Maybe, just maybe, he would get to keep her.

Ω

Leo didn't really know what to do now.

For the past few months (almost a year) all Leo had been focused on was building the Argo II (check) getting the demigods where they needed to be at that time (check) and winning the war (check).

So now that everything was checked off of his list, he was a little… dazed.

It was like he didn't really understand it. He couldn't really make himself understand that they had won and that everything was going to be fine.

"Leo…" Someone gasped as they collapsed onto the ground next to him. He had fallen down here after all of the dust settled, and he hadn't bothered to get up. "We… did it."

Leo painfully twisted his head to the right to see Piper sprawled out. He didn't register that she was half on top of him, but once he did, he sure didn't want her to move. He had spent all of his time that he had with her wondering if they were even going to have a small chance of being together. Now that the war was over, (and as long as she agreed) they had a shot. They had a really big shot.

Most of the other demigods had collapsed next to Leo. He was pretty sure his leg was lying across one of Frank's arms, and Annabeth had one of her arms bunched into his side, but Leo didn't care. They had just saved the freaking world. Personal space could be dealt with later.

Leo snaked one of his arms around Piper and held her to him. His clothes were still smoking, and he was exhausted, but he wanted just one second with Piper. He wanted to know that she was safe even if it was for just a split second.

Percy groaned suddenly from a spot to Leo's left, "Gods, I'm not doing this anymore. I'm retiring. I'm done. I'm fucking done."

Jason was the first one who started laughing, "Hey, if you get to retire, I get to retire."

"Sorry. Not the same policy for Greeks and Romans. You have to get permission. I'm just not doing anything anymore. The world can just end next time. I don't care anymore." Percy said with another groan.

Silence settled over the demigods, and Leo's eyes had just started to close when Annabeth said, "I want to go out on a movie date."

"Me too." Percy said. "Action movie."

"Chick flick." Annabeth argued.

"Action."

"Romance."

Leo looked over in surprise when Frank jumped in with that last one. What was the dude thinking?

"Frank?" Percy asked suspiciously.

If Leo had to make a bet, he would say that Frank was beet red. And with good reason too. Seriously? Manly son of Mars he was and he wanted to go see a freaking chick flick? Leo never understood him.

"What?" Frank argued. "I haven't seen a good romance movie in a while. Hazel and I will come with."

Leo heard Hazel grunt in agreement from somewhere in the pile of demigods.

Piper looked up from where she had her face buried in Leo's chest. "Us too. We're coming."

Leo felt a happy smile slip onto his face. Here he was, buried in a pile of his best friends, talking about going to see a movie. It seemed relatively normal, except for the fact that they were all covered in blood and monster dust.

But that was normal for demigods, and to tell the truth, Leo couldn't be happier.

Ω

Leo knows that he is still exhausted when the Argo II rolls up at Camp Half-Blood for the last time.

They've finally put an end to this war, and his hot spanking war machine that he built with his own two hands got them all the way through. He's actually a little sad that this whole thing is over because however messed up it was, he had actually had fun when he wasn't about to die every five seconds.

But he is perfectly happy with being home. He really couldn't wait to curl up in his bed back in the Hephaestus cabin and sleep for days.

The other demigods jump off without a second glance back. Leo looks over one of the railings to see everyone gathered in a circle around them, and when they spot Leo looking down at them, they wave and smile for him to get his butt down and get ready to party!

Leo laughs and motions for them to wait just a few seconds. He has something that he really needs to do before he can call this endgame.

Leo walked over to the steering wheel and placed his hands on it. The wind might not have been blowing through his now short hair, and the oars might not be rowing at top speed, but he had never felt better.

He knew it was probably dorky, but he was feeling a little sentimental.

"Well, babe," Leo spoke to the Argo II. "You got us through. Thanks."

A squeaking sound from a monitor to his left sounded in protest.

Leo laughed, "You too, Festus. Thanks for everything."

With that, he jumped down off of the ladder and into a group of partying demigods. All of the Greeks were here, and so were the Romans. Leo thought he recognized the Hunters of Artemis, but so many people were talking and laughing at once, he wasn't really sure.

He saw Piper standing in a group of her siblings a couple of feet away, and when he caught her gaze, she smiled at him.

It hit Leo like a bus full of third graders on their way to some museum.

They won.

They had won.

Victory was so sweet.

Ω

Leo knows that he doesn't look the same since the war ended.

During the war he hadn't had time to notice the differences, but now that he had time to look into a mirror when he walked by one, he could see them. It had only been a week or two since they had actually gotten back to Camp, but he looked like a completely different person. Apparently, he grew up.

He's finally built up some muscle, and he knows that his hair isn't as long as it used to be, but that somehow works for him. His hands are calloused from working all of the time, and he's added at least half of a foot to his height.

He finally looks like a hero.

At first, he didn't know what was going on. Why were girls following him around all of the time? Why was everyone patting him on the back and talking to him? He was used to being an outcast. No one really ever noticed the children of Hephaestus.

One day when he was leaving the Forges, he found a group of the Aphrodite girls, Piper's sisters, outside waiting for him. It had been like a near death assault as he tried to get away from all of them with his clothes and hairdo intact.

When he had finally stumbled away, he had found Percy Jackson laughing at him. Apparently, the son of Poseidon had seen the whole episode, and when Leo asked what had "been up with that," Percy just laughed even harder and explained to him that he was a hero and he better get used to the idea of girls throwing themselves at him.

A year ago that would have been music to his ears. A year ago he wanted all of the girls. He wanted all of the attention.

But a year ago Piper had still been with Jason.

Nothing had happened between them. As soon as the war ended, Jason had bid them goodbye ("just for a while," he had promised) and went back to Camp Jupiter with Reyna and his other friends.

Leo understood a little bit. Seeing Jason walk off with all of his Roman friends had been rough for him, but he couldn't imagine what Piper was feeling like once she saw the constant smiles and kisses between Jason and Reyna. It had to be hard.

But Leo couldn't get Piper out of his mind. During dinner, he stared at her. During the campfire, he stared at her. He stared at her every chance he got.

The weird thing was Leo would sometimes find Piper staring at him too. He couldn't really understand what was up. Before they had won and came back to Camp, they had been so close. They had been almost as bad as Percy and Annabeth and they were attached at the hip. Even in Bunker 9 that night on their almost (but not really) date, both of them had basically said that they liked each other and that they would be together after the war ended.

So here they were. No war and still not together.

And what made it infinitely worse was the fact that Leo couldn't make himself do anything about it. It seemed like if he wanted it (which he so did) that he would just walk right up to Piper and demand to know what was going on. If they were going to be together then they should save everybody a little bit of trouble and just get together.

He just couldn't bring himself to do it. What if he did and it messed up everything? What if he ruined their chance by being too pushy about it? He couldn't bear the thought of losing her now after they had been through all of this. That would be the worst thing yet.

Leo made it back to his cabin and headed directly to his bunk. He was a little tired and thinking about Piper bummed him out a little. He really just needed to take a shower in his own private quarters (courtesy of Beckendorf) and chillax until dinner.

The cabin was empty when he walked in. Leo whipped off his shirt as he entered and headed straight to his bunk.

"Hey."

Apparently the cabin wasn't empty.

He looked up to see Piper sitting cross-legged on his bed, waiting for him. She was wearing a white tank top that showed off her awesome shoulders and long neck. Leo swore her skin was glowing, and he really wanted to get a closer look.

He cleared his throat, "Hey. What's up?"

Piper shrugged and Leo gulped at the motion. Her shirt was riding up and Leo could see a tan strip of skin that made his fingers itch to touch her. "I was trying to take a nap and I kept having nightmares. Do you know that the last time I had a nightmare was when we were on the Argo II? Then I remembered that I quit having them when I was around you. It's been almost a week since we spent any time together, you know?"

Leo nodded and desperately tried to keep his eyes on her face. He couldn't help but be really aware that his shirt was hanging from his fingertips.

Piper got up and walked over to him. Was it just his imagination or were her shorts really short?

She stopped in front of him and placed her hand over his heart.

"Leo?" She said.

He tried to clear his thoughts, "Yeah?"

"I've been avoiding you this past week." She confessed as she stepped a little closer. They still didn't touch, but Leo could feel the heat of her body.

"I know. Tell me why." He said lowly.

"I needed to figure out what I wanted. Once Jason left it hit me hard. I needed a few days, but I'm positive now." She said.

Leo felt like his heart was going to pound out of his chest. "What do you want?"

She stepped even closer until her body was pressed against his. She wound her arms around his neck and pulled his face down to hers. Her lips were a centimeter away when she whispered, "I want you."

Leo couldn't even remember his name when she kissed him.

Her lips were soft and she kissed him slowly like she had all the time in the world.

Leo pulled back and looked at her. His voice was husky, "Are you sure?"

Her eyes had a dangerous glint in them and she smiled at him. "Absolutely. I'm positive about this. Aren't you?"

Her voice didn't have any excitement left. It was like she was afraid of what he was going to say next.

"I've been positive about this since the first day I met you." He said as he leaned back down to her lips.

This is what Leo had been waiting for. He had been dreaming about this for the past year, and he couldn't help but smile against her lips.

Piper pulled back and looked up at him, "What are you smiling about?"

Leo grinned, "Nothing. Kiss me."

She rolled her eyes and grabbed his face in her hands. A second later, she had crashed her lips to his and was kissing him again.

The only thing Leo could think about is that Piper is rightfully the daughter of the goddess of love because she kisses like a freaking angel.

She started to pull away, but Leo wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her directly against him. He hitched her leg up around his waist, and Piper gasped into his mouth. She tightened her grip around his neck and pulled her other leg up off the ground so Leo was cradling her against his body.

He couldn't believe this. He was kissing Piper McLean.

Actually, he was making out with Piper McLean.

Point for Team Leo.

Leo walked over to his bed and laid Piper down carefully. She never let go of him, so their landing was way too awkward, but Leo thought she had talent because she never let her lips leave his.

He blindly reached out and held his thumb to the fingerprint recognition system and her arms locked around his neck when his bed swiveled into the secret lair underneath his bunk.

Leo broke away from Piper's lips. He could hear her gasping as he worked his way down her jaw and neck. Her skin was even softer than he remembered it being the last time he had touched her.

"Leo," Piper moaned his name and tugged his shoulders until he pulled back up to her lips.

He pulled back again and stared down at her. Her hair was a mess and her lips were swollen, but Leo thought she had never looked so beautiful.

He pushed some of her hair out of her face and then whispered, "Piper, will you be my girlfriend?"

He thought his heart would explode when she laughed and told him yes.

Leo had been worrying about telling her how he felt for almost a year. All of that doubt and fear had been for nothing. Somehow, and for some reason, Piper liked him enough to be his girlfriend.

And he had never felt better.

Ω

Leo doesn't know how he got so lucky.

The sun was peeking its way in through the red curtains in Leo's bedroom. It was early morning, and Leo would no doubt have to get up in an hour or two to go work in the forges on another project for Chiron and Mr. D.

It had been three years since the war ended, and Leo was living in a city beside Camp Half-Blood that was designed like Camp Jupiter's. It was pretty epic, and Leo thought that Annabeth was a freaking amazing architect for designing it all perfectly.

Leo had kept working at the forges. He was constantly building new things for the camp or the city, and he loved every second of it.

He heard a soft groan and felt someone roll over onto him.

"Mmm, you're warm." She murmured as she wrapped her arms around his middle and buried her face in his shoulder blades. She has this weird thing where she liked to sleep behind him and against a wall of pillows. Leo hadn't ever really understood it.

"Did you sleep okay?" Leo asked. His voice was always scratchy in the mornings, and Leo knew that she loved it.

Piper's breath feathered across his back and neck. She shoved her legs into the crook of his and snuggled even closer to him. "Mmmhmm."

Leo and Piper had been together and going strong for over three years. Since the day they had gotten together, they had been happy. Sure, they had their fair share of fights, but after a few hours, they both apologized then headed home to make-up.

None of their friends had been surprised when they announced their relationship. According to all of them, it had been "so obvious, maybe even worse than Percy and Annabeth." In fact, Leo had probably been the person who was the most surprised.

Some days, Leo still couldn't believe that he was dating Piper. It still confused him, and when he woke up beside her, it would take a few minutes for him to realize that this was reality and he had actually gotten the girl. Those days were the best. He would kiss Piper awake, and then they would spend all morning in bed and if they were lucky, they would be up by lunch.

That was another thing that had changed since the war had ended. Chiron and Mr. D didn't really care what the older demigods did anymore. After they had all "retired" and moved over to the city, they were really doing whatever they wanted. Sometimes, Leo would go over to the forges and work, but if he didn't, nobody came to find him.

Percy and Annabeth were the worst. They still had those scary moments where they thought they were back in Tartarus, so they didn't do much at all. Percy taught a few sword classes, and Annabeth designed a few buildings if they felt okay. Right now, they were mostly taking walks around Camp and sometimes they would go into New York to see Percy's mom, but that would be about it.

Leo felt like that sometimes. He felt like if he did anything, the world would cave in around him and he wouldn't be able to swim. The war had been rough on all of them, but they were coming through it together.

"Guess what Annabeth told me yesterday." Piper said sleepily.

"What?" Leo answered. He slowly took her hands and twisted her fingers with his.

"She said that Reyna called yesterday. Apparently, Jason proposed."

Leo felt a grin spread on his face as he rolled over to face her. Piper's hair was a mess, and her eyes were barely slit open. He kissed her lightly on the lips and leaned his forehead against hers.

"You knew, didn't you?" She asked with a frown.

"Of course I did. Where do you think Jason got the ring from?" Leo said playfully. Jason and Reyna had come to visit a few weeks ago, and when Jason told him about his plans to have the ring made, Leo jumped right on it. It was beautiful, and will forever be one of Leo's favorites, but Piper's own ring was better.

Leo had proposed to Piper two months ago. Since Annabeth had designed the city and built the eight demigods (Percy, Annabeth, Leo, Piper, Frank, Hazel, Nico, Jason) houses to live in, Piper had been living with him. Leo knew had loved her from the very first time they had kissed, and he just couldn't wait to be married to her.

Piper rolled her eyes and looked down at her own ring, "Mine is better."

"Of course it is, baby." Leo murmured. He had taken forever to make that ring, and it was worth every single minute of it.

"Hey, do you want to go get some breakfast with Percy and Annabeth? I bet they're up already. Annabeth said that she doesn't get to sleep much because the baby kicks continuously." Piper said as she sat up.

Leo watched from his position on the bed. She stretched, and Leo studied her as she threw the sheets off of her legs and rolled out of bed.

"Get up!" Piper said as she leaned back over him. "I'm starving!"

Leo wiggled his eyebrows and growled suggestively, "Me too." He pushed himself up onto his elbows and caught her lips in a kiss.

Piper moaned into his mouth before she broke away. "No way. I want breakfast. Let's go!"

Leo covered his laugh with a groan when Piper ran over to their closet and disappeared from his sight.

He doesn't know how he managed to get this. He was a loser son of Hephaestus. There was no way he was supposed to get all of this. How did he get the awesome house? How did he get the perfect fiancé? How did he get the perfect life?

Sure, his life is far from perfect. Demigods were still helping the gods and killing monsters every day. He was constantly dealing with the Stoll brothers pranks (even though they were all grown up now) and fixing stuff that breaks down.

But his life felt perfect. They weren't on the brink of world destruction, and everything was going smoothly.

"LEO!" Piper yelled. "GET UP! I'M HUNGRY!"

Maybe smoothly wasn't the right word, but Leo rolled out of bed and hurriedly threw some clothes on before Piper could get any angrier.

His life was still crazy, and there were still plenty of things that could happen and change his life drastically, and Leo couldn't wait for them. He was ready. He had Piper and all of his friends at his side, and he knew everything would turn out to be perfect in the end.

Ω

---

A/N: If you made it this far, I really admire you, and leave me a review. I really tried to keep the characters in character, but I don't think some of them came out right.

Please leave a review. This thing nearly killed me and I would love to see what you guys think about it!

Love you guys!

-SomethingMoreCreative