Hey everyone! Author's note below... enjoy!

Leo hadn't planned on this day being any different from any other. Well, he never does, but they usually are.

He rose from his bed early, and couldn't wait for breakfast to start to get working on the Argo II. He had so many ideas but not enough time in the day, and sleep couldn't end soon enough. It was just a useless break in his time to work. He would always run out of energy, though, and it had gotten to the point where Leo could be missing all day and no one got worried when he didn't return that night; they knew he'd fallen asleep working on the ship. I should probably do something about that, Leo thought as he tiptoed out of the Hephaestus cabin with his shirt on backwards, unbeknownst to him.

On normal days, he would just jog to Bunker 9 and get to work, but since today he'd gotten an early start (the sun was just rising, probably about 5 o'clock), he decided to take the long route along the canoe lake. Water wasn't really his element, but it was still calming to him. Since he found out about his fire abilities, he couldn't say he liked them all the time. Sure, they came in handy sometimes, but his beloved mother had died in a fire; how could he always like them?

Trying to shake these nasty thoughts from his head, Leo looked up and squinted at the rising sun and shimmering lake. It was really beautiful. Wow, was Leo surprised at how beautiful this was. He's been focusing so much on the Argo II for so long he'd almost forgotten about all that nature stuff. The orange sun made the sky turn blending hues of pink, orange, and yellow, turning the puffy clouds to purple and indigo. It glittered off the lake, which had a good foot's worth of a layer of fog hanging above it. The grass was moist with due, and some pieces stuck to Leo's feet, which only had sandals on them. That was a bit annoying. In the trees he could see nymphs peeking around the edges, and they'd giggle and disappear when he'd wave. Altogether, Leo got so caught up in the scenery he didn't even notice the figure ahead.

At first, he couldn't tell who, or what, it was. They were sitting with their knees to their chest, staring into the lake, tossing rocks. He then realized it was Jason, given the blonde hair and the storm forming above him. He had to be in a funk.

Jason must have been zoned out, because he didn't notice someone was next to him until Leo cleared his throat.

His head snapped up. "Hm? Oh, hey Leo."

"Hey man. I wasn't really, uh, expecting to see you out here this early." Leo scratched his head, still surprised to see Jason, who he had barely seen in months.

Jason sighed. "Me neither."

Leo furrowed his brows. Something was clearly wrong. "Mind if I -"

"Go ahead," Jason said, gesturing to the spot beside him.

Leo popped a squat on the gestured spot, his pants immediately wet from dew. Great, he thought, and then sighed, and for a minute Jason and Leo just watched the rising sun.

"So…" Leo began. He knew something was wrong but had no clue how to comfort Jason, so he just kept it simple: "What's up?"

Jason's face twisted, and Leo could tell he wasn't squinting from the sun. He had a pretty good idea of what the problem may be.

"It's me and Piper." Leo was right. He nodded. "Okay…" he said, implying Jason go on.

Jason sighed, again. "I dunno… she thinks we don't spend enough time together."

Leo did a double take. Wait, what? He's been the third wheel ever since Jason and Piper practically laid eyes on each other; all they ever did was hang out. Which Leo was fine with, of course. His father even once said he was better with machines than organic life forms. So was Leo. But that didn't shake the feeling in his chest when he found out his best friend was spending a day with Piper again. It eventually got to the point where he just assumed that's who Jason was with, like people assumed Leo was at Bunker 9.

"No…" Jason ran a hand through his hair. "Okay, that's not what she said."

Oh. Okay. "What did she say?"

"Gosh, I don't know how to put it…" Jason seemed timid. "It's like we aren't connected enough? Yeah, that's it. Like - like we're there and we do like each other, a lot. But it's almost like it doesn't mean anything, you know?"

Leo nodded. Truth is, he didn't really know, as he had zero dating experience, but he understood. He knew what it was like for a relationship to be there but not really mean anything. And he knew Jason was really upset because he kept talking with his hands, which he never does unless he's upset.

"Well, Doctor Leo can't pull any love-healing potions from his tool belt, but I can offer you some advice."

Jason breathed a laugh, as if he already knew it wasn't going to be great advice. "What's that?"

Leo paused. Jason knew he wasn't serious, but yet he still seemed hopeful - he really wanted to fix things between himself and Piper. Which made sense, of course; most people in a breaking relationship would try to fix things. Leo didn't really know what to say, he couldn't fix that. He could fix almost anything, but he couldn't fix that. But why did a part of him want things between them to end?

Leo shook his head and smirked his devilish smirk, brown curls bobbing on his head and into his eyes. "I really don't know, man. May the gods wish you luck?"

Jason laughed into the sun as he put his hand on Leo's shoulder and shook it briefly. But in that brief touch, electricity surged through him. He wasn't being electrocuted; it was more like a feeling than a physical surge. He pulled back slightly, thinking of course it was Jason; he was the son of the sky god, of course he was electric.

Leo decided to choose that moment to stand up and offer Jason a hand. As he pulled him up, electricity seemed to surge through him again, so that he almost dropped Jason. Leo wondered if he was doing that on purpose.

"You alright?" Jason wondered. His golden hair swept easily in many directions, resembling that of an unpredictable storm; his blue eyes reflected and glittered with the brilliant hues of the rising sun. His skin was perfectly tanned, like it was sun-kissed, and his muscles were perfectly toned. Basically, he was everything Leo was not. He was like the eye of a hurricane; gentile, calm, refreshing, yet with a hint of danger. Leo was… well, the repair boy.

Leo then realized he was spacing out on Jason (what?) and needed to answer a question. "Well, I'm off to do some handiwork. I'll see you later, maybe." As he began to turn away, waving his hand in a mini-wave, he knew he should said something else, like maybe… he didn't know, it just felt awkward leaving the conversation at that.

Jason half-reached toward Leo, catching his attention. "Wait, uh, do you want help with the, um, ship?"

Leo paused, raising his eyebrows in surprise. He was about to say he didn't need help; in fact he was already done. Today was just finishing touches. But then it dawned on him that Jason could go try to talk to Piper, which he probably should, but he wanted to hang with Leo instead. He wasn't offering help because it was polite, he was offering it because he wanted to. This felt strange to him, as happy as it made him. He realized he was so used to "Jason and Piper" and "then there's Leo," any idea of his friend not spending time with Piper or training, or both, was appalling.

But now, here was Jason, scratching his head and looking kind of like an idiot but also like a little kid, asking Leo if it was okay to spend time with his best friend. Not because he was bored or because he had nothing better to do (because he did), but because he could. And Leo was happy. He was elated.

Leo smiled his crooked smile. "Yeah," he breathed. "Sure, okay."

Jason nodded, smiling too. "Okay."

Okay, sooooo, that was chapter one! This is my first story and I'm really excited because I've read fan fiction before and kind of always wanted to write, but never did, until now! REVIEWS ARE ENCOURAGED please, I would love some constructive criticism! I'm hoping to do scheduled uploads, and I've already got a few more chapter on this written and am in the process of writing. If you like, please favorite. Got something to say? Review! THANKS SO MUCH for reading! 3

-chilledcreme