Of Boyfriends, Fairs, and Fireworks.
Main Pairing:Leo Valdez/ Jason Grace.
Side pairings: Percy Jackson/ Annabeth Grace; Frank Zhang/ Hazel Levesque. Hints of Thalia Grace/ Luke Castellan.
Summary: Leo has always loved fairs and, if he was being honest, a date with Jason in one sounded perfect through the iris message. But he wasn't expecting to see the remaining seven, plus Nico, Thalia and Allison Jackson. Damn Grace and his inability to say no.
Warnings: some cursing? And I repeat, my main language is not English, so you maaay find some mistakes.
Author note: some people asked me to do a sequel of the one shot (ok just one person but that was enough for my head to start making scenes) and well, here it is! Thanks again to the awesome Virginia who is not just my beta, but my best friend who always hears my ideas first. Love you girl xoxo. And, em, I added some Larry stylinson/1d references, omfg, I couldn't resist i'm so sorry. I tried to make this one longer, So yeah, hope you guys enjoyyyy.
A date in a fair sounded perfect.
Too perfect, as in unrealistically perfect.
When Jason asked him to go together, Leo thought it was the best idea the blond has ever had. He loves fairs, even more than Marvel comics –but that was probably because he couldn't read them properly sometimes, if he was being honest, blame the dyslexia- and Jason knew it. (He was sure the blond knew every little detail about him, even the ones he preferred to keep to himself)
Everything was arranged; Jason would pick him up from college at eleven, and they'd have lunch together, and then go and enjoy the adventures that fairs held. Or they'd just have lunch on the place. Greasy, fair-ish food.
However, that day, at nine, Leo was already up, bouncing on his bedroom, trying to find something to wear. Louis, his roommate, was watching him from across the room, interest evident of his features. Leo was sure the shorter boy's interest was mainly because he was never ever up at nine in the morning on a Saturday.
"So..." the petite boy started flicking through the pages of a Vogue Magazine, though his stare was kept on Leo, who was still trying to decide between the blue shirt, or the red one. "You have a date" he said slowly, like he still couldn't believe the idea of his roommate on a date. With a real person. A real, hot person.
Leo rolled his eyes "Yes" he answered, finally deciding for the blue one, because Jason's eyes were blue, and, well, it'd look cute... wouldn't it?
Louis seemed more interested now, sitting straight on his bed, closing the magazine and dropping it to the floor -ugh, this guy is so fucking messy, you just couldn't go across the room to use the computer, without stepping in, at least, three of Louis's things "With that Jason dude?" he asked, pointing to his nightstand, to a photo of Jason, Leo and Piper. It was taken immediately after the demigods had defeated Gaea. The trio looked dirty and tired, but happy. So damn happy. Whenever people asked about the photo, they always answered something about summer camps and their activities, which wasn't completely a lie, right? Right.
Leo turned around, ignoring Louis's question, holding both of the shirts on his hands "Blue or red?"
His roommate fixed his stare in the shirts, deep in thought. "Red" he stated. "It goes better with your skin tone and your eyes. Plus, it suits your personality".
He nodded, throwing the blue one to his bed, making a mental note to put it back on his wardrobe later. If he had learnt something on this year at college, was that Louis knew a lot about clothes and matching colors. While he was trying to get his mechanical engineering degree, Louis was going for his fashion design one. He could probably beat any Aphrodite child in a fashion competition. "What are you going to do while I'm gone?" he asked, while searching for a decent pair of jeans. Ok, it wasn't as if they'd spent lots of time together, but most of their Saturday evenings were just the both of them pulling out a prank or something, most of the time at Harry's roommate expense, Connor Maynard, who everyday tried to seduce Louis boyfriend, aka, Harry himself. Other thing Leo learnt about Louis, was that he was a little possessive shit. And he could pull betters pranks than the Stolls brothers. Yeah, you heard well. Better than the Stolls. It probably has to do with the fact that, while the Stolls have a constant glint of mischief, Louis usually looks cute and innocent. Ha. As if.
Louis's blue eyes shined, and he regretted almost instantly asking "I'm going with Harry to the cinema" he said excited, his face a little flushed when Leo smirked, usually, going to the cinema meant 'making out in the back' "we're watching The Hunger Games" he added.
Leo raised an eyebrow "You hate that book" he pointed out, taking a pair of jeans that didn't have any holes in them.
"He really wants to watch it" he shrugged, but Leo knew that was bullshit. Louis hated the books with passion, probably just because they were popular, and he wouldn't go even if Harry begged on his knees. He really tried to don't think other scenarios where Harry was on his knees.
"Oh really?" he asked skeptically, and, oh Hephaestus, he sounded exactly like Jason.
The blue-eyed boy sighed, defeated "ok, Josh Hutcherson is really, really hot, like, in an ay papi you're so hot way and... I can't help myself"
"I don't know why, but that doesn't surprise me" the brunet smirked, trying hard not to laugh at Louis antics "you went to watch Twilight just because you like that asshole of Robert Pattinson, and you wanted to see him shirtless. It kinda surprises me that Harry took you, like, your intentions were painful obvious. "
Louis scowled. "He's sarcastic, not an asshole, spot the difference, Valdez. And you're none to talk, you went to watch X-men first class with me, just because Lucas Till reminded you of someone."
He didn't even have time to blush, because, well, Lucas Till looks a lot like Jason, when the door burst open. Harry entered the room, his curls bouncing on his face, his green eyes directed at Louis, totally ignoring Leo in front of him. Oh perfect. He was sure the other curly saw Louis in the spotlight, with angels singing in the background. The thing that bothered him, apart from the little fact that Harry almost pushed him to get to Louis, was that he didn't even take the time to close the fucking door. Asshole.
Leo crossed his arms, silently judging him, trying to remain his posture.
"Oh, yes Harry, come in baby, thanks for knocking the door, very considerate of you" he said sarcastically, hasn't anybody told him that intimacy existed? Ok, scratch that, he obviously didn't even know the concept. He caught them making out on the bed like fifty times. And some of them they weren't exactly wearing a lot of clothes.
The curly bastard just laughed it off, and kissed Louis on the lips, making Leo gag. Or at least pretend to.
"Now" said Louis, turning around "that was being an asshole, sweetie"
"Fuck off Tomlinson" Leo started, taking his pillow "Go and make out somewhere else so I can change for my date" he hissed, throwing the pillow to the couple, who seemed ready to start a snogging session right in front of him. Well, it wasn't as if it'd be the first time they'd do it in front of him, but he wasn't in the mood for that. "Get a room" he whined.
Tomlinson just rolled his eyes "This is my room, babe" but he turned around anyway, smiling to Harry, taking his hand "come on Haz, let's pay a visit to Conor, maybe we could wake him up with a little bit of cold water" he added, smiling mischievously.
"But I like Conor and that wouldn't be really nice" the curly guy protested weakly in answer, but he let Louis drag him to the door, though he was almost a head taller than the blue-eyed boy, and could obviously stop him. Other thing that made Leo question if Louis was a closeted Aphrodite kid. He could make anyone do whatever he wanted, like playing pranks to people you really like. Among other things.
Leo shook his head, amusedly, because, obviously, the scream that could be heard from the room next to theirs, seconds after, was Maynard waking up with water all over his body. He sighed, and headed to the bathroom. Luckily, they had a private one, so he could take a shower and dress up for his date in peace.
While he was undressing for the shower, he peeked through the window, noticing the bright sun outside.
It was the perfect weather for a perfect day on a fair.
The sun was still up, burning brighter than Apollo, (haha, get it? Apollo? Sun God? He was so funny ha) when he sat on one of the benches of the college's garden to wait for his boyfriend. He would be shamelessly lying if he said he didn't feel the infamous butterflies on his stomach when he thought about Jason being his boyfriend. Ok, butterflies? They were more like bloody harpies flying over his body. Even though they had started dating just a week ago, it felt as if they've been together for months. Probably, the fact that they've liked each other for a long time before realizing they had feelings for the other, helped. Most likely.
"Hey" he didn't even notice the blond appearing suddenly in front of him, grinning and scaring the hell out of him. When the Hades did he appear?
He clenched his chest, breathing slowly. Jason really did scare him. But he just chuckled, making Leo narrow his eyes at him. He couldn't stop noticing how amazing the blonde looked just by wearing a pair of darks jeans and a blue shirt. Ugh. Must be a Zeus thing. Yep, definitely. Ok yeah, he wasn't hitting on Zeus, or anything of the kind, but he was sure Thalia looked really good in any clothes she decided to wear.
"The hell dude!" he sneered, punching him hard enough on the arm to make the son of Jupiter flinch.
"Sorry!" the blond answered, the stupid grin never leaving his face "you looked so into your thoughts, I couldn't resist!"
"Jerk" he muttered under his breath, but smiled anyway, because, who could not smile at Jason when he seemed so happy and carefree and ugh. "The first thing I was planning to do was kiss you, but now I just want to punch your face"
Jason's grin grew wider "you still could do it, you know..." he said in a deep voice maybe? making his voice sound like Harry's when he tries to seduce Louis. Wait, was Jason trying to seduce him? And asking for a punch at the same time? What…?
"What? Punch your face?" he asked, confused. Jason laughed quietly, leaning closer to him.
"No, you fool" he replied, shaking his head in amusement "I was referring more to the kissing part" He smiled, moving his head a little bit nearer to him.
Leo felt his cheeks get hotter "oh, yeah" he said, already feeling the ghost of Jason's breath over his lips "that could do too" he swore he was already tasting the blond's lips, but he pulled away suddenly "buuuuut we have a fair to assist, and I don't want to be late, so come on!" Jason's expression looked even funnier than the face he pulled when Leo called him a Jasonchu, and that said a lot. He smirked, taking advantage of his boyfriend state of shock, and started dragging him across the street. Well, Leo thought, that must be what the children of Nemesis felt after finishing with their revenges.
Jason, had apparently stepped out of his moment of shock, because Leo could perfectly hear him whisper "you're the worst boyfriend ever", but he took Leo's hand anyway. Whipped.
Soon afterwards, everything was forgotten, and they settled down on a nice chat about school, camp, and pretty much everything they did the week they spent apart. Leo told him about his classes, his roommate (Jason actually seemed like he had swallowed a lemon, until he added that said roommate had a boyfriend since kindergarten, practically), and pretty much everything boring in life, like what he had eaten last night, and so on. Jason, on the other hand, talked about a quest he went with Hazel and Annabeth to help his sister Thalia (he almost made a scene in the middle of the street because How could he forget to tell leo earlier about a mortal mission!? earning a few angry glares from people, but who could care about that When your fucking boyfriend went to a mortal quest without telling you!?), and that the hunters were staying at camp for a few weeks. Then, they proceeded to discuss if he was going back to camp for the summer, discussion that surprisingly, Jason let him win. How…Weird. And suspicious. It wasn't as if Leo's never won an argument, but Jason gave him all the reason about staying at school until it was over (though it was just a few weeks) and stay at his friend's house for the holidays, when normally he would fight 'till Leo admitted defeat, and accept going to camp, a Zeus child thing. Like, I'M THE LEADER, I'M THE SON OF THE SKY, YOU MUST HEAR ME, CAW CAW.
He narrowed his eyes at the blonde. "Ok, stop right there, Grace" he ordered, not expecting him to actually stop. That just made him even more suspicious, and when Jason turned around, arching an eyebrow at him with a 'What know?' expression, he knew something was wrong. "What did you do?" he asked, letting his hand go, glaring at him.
"Nothing" was the rushed answer, and hell, the blonde was useless when it came to lying. His cheeks –and the tips of his ears- went red, and he stopped making eye contact with the person he was trying to lie to. How fucking great.
Leo was about to demand an answer, yeah, demand, forget about gently asking, when another voice interrupted them "Leo! Jason!"
Piper. It was Piper's voice, he was sure. He turned around, and gasped when he saw the other four, plus a deathly bored Nico and a uninterested Thalia, sitting on the gates of the fair they were about to attend. He looked over at Jason, this time demanding an answer just with his eyes.
Jason got it. "Percykindaoverheardmyconversationwithyouandaskedmytocome ImsosososososorryLeo" he said quickly, probably trying to get the answer in just a breath, and, by a miracle, Leo understood every word of it. He barely had time to scowl really hard at his boyfriend, before the group started to approach them, grinning.
And he noticed. He noticed the way Percy was smiling smugly, and he knew that the bastard did it on purpose. The action screamed revenge. Revenge for all the times he acted like a cockblocker between the black-haired boy and Annabeth.
"Oh Hi guys!" Leo said, smiling as brightly as he could. Maybe it's not that bad. They could pretend to get lost, and just get away with Jason and act as if they were in an actual relationship for a moment. Yep, he was totally doing that.
"Jasonchu!" he heard, and, damn it.
"Oh" said Percy, a smug smile appearing on his face, smile that Leo wanted to erase with his fist on Percy's face. "Allison hasn't stopped talking about you two all week long, she really wanted to spend every minute with you here, hope you don't mind" damn damn damn Jason Grace and his damn incapacity to say no.
Jason had really, really wanted to say no.
Really.
But he couldn't.
Percy wasn't even supposed to be at the camp. After all, that year, he decided to spend it with his mother. He had already been through a lot with the giant war, he needed to spend time with Sally, and everybody understood. The poor woman had had an awful time without knowing anything about his son, she hadn't even known if he was alive or dead. So, the reason behind Percy's appearance at camp at the moment was still a mystery to him.
But he had been there. And he had heard his conversation with Leo through the Iris message. And he had begged Jason to go, making him understand where Allison had learnt how to make puppy eyes.
Jason hadn't been expecting him to invite all the gang (as Leo liked to call the group sometimes), but yet there they where, smiling and greeting and being all very happy. Hazel laughing, Frank smiling widely, Piper clapping her hands like she did when she's really excited, Annabeth smiling softly at the others, and Thalia and Nico being happy in their own punkish way, which included avoiding throwing glares at everyone who was acting happy.
Except Leo.
Yes, he was smiling and hugging Hazel at the moment, but Jason knew. He knew Leo was disappointed. And it made him want to electrocute Percy. Three times. Maybe even four.
"Aw Leo, it's been a long time!" Piper was saying, after stopping with the annoying clapping thing, and he could see a flash of guilt on Leo's face. None of them actually knew about their relationship, except from Percy, who caught them kissing on his kitchen, or almost, or whatever- same difference- and it should be killing the Latino to hide things from Piper, being not just his best friend, but Jason's ex. He'd electrocute Percy six times.
"Oh come on, I'm really craving for a burger right now, can we just get into the fair?" Thalia cried, just in time, when Piper turned to him, the awkwardness clear on the air. However, everyone agreed with her, and headed to the gates.
Leo was walking along Hazel and Frank, so he hurried to be next to him. They were talking about the trip to London, no surprise there. "so, is Ed as talented as he sounds on the cds?" he was asking, excited. He still couldn't understand what was so amazing about the ginger singer, but Leo loved him. And so did Hazel. And Frank. And Piper. And though Percy would never admit it, he saw a poster of the dude on his bedroom last time he had visited him.
Hazel nodded eagerly "Absolutely. And he was really nice to the fans, like talking to them, and oh my Gods" she interrupted herself, bringing her hands to her face. The Hades?
Leo chuckled "Having a fangirl attack?" he asked, and this time Frank nodded, smiling lightly. Jason wondered what the Hades was a fangirl attack.
"I think she still is on her 'oh my Gods I can't believe I was just three meters away from Ed Sheeran, it this real life? Or is this just a fantasy?'" He said, his voice with a high pitch at the last words. Hazel scowled.
"Oh shut it, you" she mumbled, her face red. "You weren't any better"
Leo laughed aloud. "There's nothing wrong with being a fangirl, I mean, when I almost met Jennifer Lawrence..."
"Leo, she was like, twenty meters apart from us" Jason reminded him, but his boyfriend just shook his head, dismissing his comment. Just then Annabeth started to call for them, obviously wanting to do it all as quickly as possible. She was already inside, her right hand gripping tightly Percy's, and in her left hand she had Allison's tiny one. When they approached, Jason could already smell the cotton candy.
The daughter of Athena turned to the group, letting go Percy's hand. "Ok, we're a way too large group, so I was thinking about splitting out, so we can go around the place as we please."
Jason nodded. He liked the idea. Maybe Leo and him could be alone..."great idea Annabeth" he agreed "we can go on groups of two or three" like in a quest. He would call this one "Get a kiss from Leo without the others noticing it".
Percy smiled, and he knew that it wasn't going to be so easy. "I'm going with Annabeth and Allison, right Ally?" he asked innocently to the little girl, making him narrow his eyes at the Poseidon's son. What was he playing at?
Allison, who was too distracted by examining her surroundings, jumped a little when Percy talked. She shook her head quickly, obviously disliking the idea. "No, I wanna go with Leo and Jasonchu!" she whined kicking the floor frustrated.
He felt betrayed when even Frank laughed at the nickname. "Please tell me you aren't Jasonchu" Nico smirked lightly, but before Jason could answer, Leo had already started to tell them everything about Jasonchus. He even added the common habitats of Jasonchus, what they eat, FREEDOOM, add a bad personification of an eagle, and other weird stuff, that made even Thalia laugh, until he added that Pineconefaces' were close relatives of the Jasonchus, making her punch Leo hard on the arm, although she didn't even stop laughing.
"Ha, ha, ha, really funny" Jason said, sarcasm dripping from his voice, once everyone had stopped laughing, a few minutes later.
"Dude" Nico pointed out, in-between laughs "If I've ever had any respect for you, believe me, now it's all gone".
Annabeth, Zeus bless her, had enough. "Ok, it's all really funny but" ok, forget about the blessing "I really want to kick Percy's ass on some games, we're off"
"Kick my ass in fair games? Kinda impossible, wise girl" Percy snickered, already disappearing into the games, following the blonde girl blindly.
"Oh yeah? Bring it on, seaweed brain" he heard Annabeth said. Jason rolled his eyes, and turned around. Surprisingly, Piper, Hazel and Frank were already walking towards those games where you were supposed to shot Bottles or something to win a teddy bear, and Nico and Thalia were nowhere to be seen, but Jason clearly heard his sister call out to his right 'You're so paying for my burger Di Angelo'.
Leo sighed next to him, taking Allison on his arms. The girl let him take her, pleased. "I missed you unka Leo" she chimed and Leo smiled at her, kissing her on the cheek. 'Missed you too Cinderella girl' he mumbled against her skin, making the little girl giggle, and Jason's heart to skip a beat. Sometimes Leo was so…fraternal…and sweet…and he didn't even notice he was holding his breath until he felt his lungs burning.
He leaned closer, smiling softly. "Do I get a kiss too, Leo?" he asked playfully, earning a soft laugh from his boyfriend. Leo tiptoed, ready to give him a kiss. But when their lips were about to brush, he felt a little hand on his face, pushing him back. He looked surprised at Allison.
"Nehe" she said, shaking her tiny finger in front of his face "no kisses 'till the date is over'" she added, too seriously for a girl that was only five years and a half.
Leo seemed too shocked to pronounce other words apart from "what?"
"Perce says that the boy can't kiss the girl until the en' of the date" she explained, as if they were the kids there.
Realization hit Leo first. "Oh, and when did Percy tell you this?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.
"This morning" she answered without hesitation, and yes, Jason was going to electrocute Jackson Sr. at least thirteen times. "He also told me that you will buy me all the cotton candy I want" Make it fourteen.
And man, cotton candy was expensive.
Fifteen.
"I can't believe we're being cockblocked by a five years old" Leo whined against the table. The three of them were sitting next to a stand of cotton candy, Allison sitting between the two of them, oblivious of the tension between the pair, enjoying her candy with her mouth of a funny, artificial shade of pink. Jason was to her left, reading a pamphlet that a girl on a tiger costume gave him a few minutes ago, focused on something Leo didn't actually care. The son of Hephaestus was at Allison's right side, his right arm resting on the table, and his head on top of it. He hid his face for a second, sighing loudly and counting to ten. His head was a mess of thoughts, and being quiet wasn't helping at all.
Allison was still oblivious, handing him his sweet "Want some, Leo?" she asked.
Leo couldn't resist. It wasn't her fault, it was her cousin's. He nodded, stretching his left arm, and taking some with his fingers. He felt a lot better after it had dissolved in his mouth. Gods bless sugar.
Jason finally looked up from the fair pamphlet, and tossed it away. Leo raised his eyebrows. "Dude, we needed that!"
But the blond just smiled. "I've already memorized it." The 'duh, obviously, idiot' stood unsaid. "Can I have some, Ally?" he asked gently, pointing to the pink sweet. Allison shoved the sweet across the blonde's nose, as a permission to bite it. Jason did it happily, even humming a little, to Leo's amusement.
"Then where are we going next?" he asked, stretching his arms, and straightening on his seat. They had been sitting there for almost fifteen minutes, and, jeez, they had a lot of places to go, more interesting places. Even the bathroom full of graffiti's was more interesting than that old picnic table.
Jason thought about that for a moment "What about the spinning teacups?" he asked, tentatively, question directed to the girl. "They're near here"
Allison wrinkled her nose "I hate tea"
They both laughed. "They're like the ones from The Beauty and the Beast! Like the pot son? The broken one?"
Leo laughed even harder. It was quite impossible to imagine Jason watching that movie. The blonde noticed it, and shrugged defensively "Thalia loved that movie!"
"Sure thing Jay" he smirked, fully knowing that Jason was like… 4 before going to Camp Jupiter, therefore, he highly doubted he would remember watching movies with Thalia. Plus, Thalia didn't look like the kind of kid who would love Disney Movies, let alone Princess Movies. "Whatever helps you sleep at night". Then he proceeded to stand up, noticing that Allison had finished the cotton candy "Ok, let's wash your hands in the fountain, and then to the teacups!"
Jason scowled disapprovingly "fountains are not for washing your hands, Leo"
He ignored the blond completely, took Allison's sticky hand, and walked towards said fountain, where there were kids throwing water at each other. He washed his own hands, then proceeded to do the same with Allison's. He ignored the "Awwwww" coming from a few girls at his left.
"Now, lead the way, superman!" he exclaimed, pointing to the sky, making Jason scowl again.
"He's Jasonchu, no superman" Allison corrected, taking his hand, and then Jason's.
"Thank you Ally" the blonde said slowly, probably trying to decide if he should take it as a good thing, or a bad one. They walked for a few seconds, before Jason stopped abruptly. "There you have the spinning teacups, and look! There isn't even a long queue." Surprisingly, the teacups were just a few meters away the sweets stand. Yay for them.
Leo looked up, and yes, Jason was right. There were just a few kids with their parents, and two or three with their big brothers. There were also some teenagers, who looked bored and homicidal. He clearly saw one of them checking the roller coaster, and Leo was sure he was considering throwing his little brother from one of the wagons.
They spent the next five minutes waiting, and Leo couldn't stop himself from bouncing up and down, he loved the spinning cups. A lot. He loved being in constant movement.
When they finally made it inside, they settled down in a pink one, choice made by Allison, with a happy face.
"Ho' do this work?" asked Allison, her face dropping to the wheel in the centre, once she was safely inside the cup.
But before he could properly answer, the cups started moving. He quickly placed his hands on the wheel, exactly at the same time as Jason, they shared a look, before started moving it, their elbows crashing everytime they tried to move the wheel "To the left Jason!" he shouted over the sound of kids screaming in joy, adults cursing the movements, and the teenager from earlier screaming to his brother to stop, or otherwise he'd throw him off the cup. It honestly didn't sound as a threat. It sounded like a warning.
"No!" shouted the blond back "To the right!"
"Left!" he shouted, turning the wheel to his left as harder as he could.
"Right!" [insert a super movement Grace's style, that almost made Leo end on the floor]
"Left!" [insert him trying to be as strong as the blonde. Failing miserably]
"RIGHT!"
"LEFT!"
"I want to throw up!"
"RIGHwait what?" both of them suddenly turned to Allison, who actually didn't look that good. She looked green. "Allison, you ok?" asked Jason, moving his hand to touch the girl's head. Wrong move.
"FUCK!"
"Accept the fact that I won, Seaweed brain"
"You cheated" he frowned to his girlfriend, walking past the stupid spinning teacups, where a nauseating smell hit him.
She looked fake scandalized "I did not!"
"You did, there is no way you could beat me at that game without cheating" he replied, crossing his arms over his chest, in the most childish way he could manage.
Annabeth shook her head, smiling amused, the reaction he was expecting. "You're such a sore loser"
He turned around, gaping dramatically "Oh no, you didn't just call me a sore loser!"
She smirked "Oh yes, I did"
"That's it" he said, even more dramatically, flipping his hair "We are not friends anymore" He turned around again, making Annabeth giggle "Does anybody want to be my new best friend, slash, girlfriend?" he asked out loud, hearing Annabeth laughing behind him. "I accept a boyfriend too!" he added, earning a few scowls from some old women, and snickers from a group of teenagers drinking on the fountain. Some of them looked like they would accept his offering.
"Didn't we agree that we are stuck together? Like, forever?" she interrupted him playfully, intertwining their hands together. He smiled too. Forever sounded like a long time, he remembered thinking as a child, when his mother told him that she would love him forever, not matter how much trouble he would get in. But with Annabeth, no amount of time seemed long enough to be together. Wow. That sounded incredibly cheesy.
"Forever" he agreed, smiling, and probably looking like a fool. He tilted his head to the left, catching her lips in a soft kiss. Something that Percy loved about Annabeth, apart from her eyes, her laugh, her cleverness, her courage, and et cetera, was the taste of her lips. Strawberry, like the ones at half blood camp. He pulled apart smoothly "Unless you call me a sore loser. Then, I'm asking Grover to marry me." She snorted in answer, rolling her eyes.
"Whatever you say" she smiled, taking his hand, and heading over the gift shops, though he was sure they weren't actually going there.
"You don't sound like you believe me." he said, trying to sound threatening "I feel like making you remember that I already share a soul ink or whatever with him, so be careful with what you say"
She just rolled her eyes again "Do you actually think he would marry you over Juniper?"
He gasped, clutching on his chest, letting her hand drop "Are you implying that he wouldn't?" he asked, over dramatically.
"He'd be an idiot if he married you." she shrugged.
"Are you calling yourself an idiot, then?" he asked smirking, his smirk becoming a smug smile when he saw Annabeth blushing. She was about to respond, probably something along the lines seaweed brain when something caught her attention. She drew her eyebrows together, confused.
"Isn't that Jason?"
He started to look around, trying to spot the blonde. A few kids, mothers feeding their babies, two old men playing chess… When he finally saw the blonde, he couldn't stop the laugh from erupting through his lips. "The hell happened with you dude?" he asked between laughs. Annabeth punched him on the arm, throwing him an exasperated glance.
The thing was, Jason was wearing a ridiculous pink shirt, with the quote "I LOVE FAIRS 3", and a sticker of a big rollercoaster. Why? He didn't know, because the blond arrived with a blue one that looked a lot better on him than the one he was wearing right now. He looked frustrated. To his right, was Leo, biting his lip -probably biting back a laugh, though he couldn't blame the dude, Jason looked ridiculous, even if they were boyfriends- and Allison on his arms, giggling like crazy.
"Your cousin threw up all over me" was the first thing the son of Jupiter told Percy, pointing an accusatory finger at him, like it was all his fault. This was probably true, because he was the one who took Allison on the first place, but he wouldn't admit it out loud.
"What?" he asked, hesitant, because Jason looked ready to electrocute someone, and, oh coincidence! He was looking right into his green eyes.
"I was al' dizzy Perce" Allison chirped from Leo's arm, apparently having the need to explain why she threw up, and stop Jason from killing him "I told 'em to stop, but they were yellin' at each other'"
"That explains the new shirt" Annabeth pointed out, tilting her head to her right "But not why pink"
"I was the one paying it" smirked Leo, shrugging, like it wasn't a big deal. Percy fought the urge to high bump him. Brilliant.
"What if we go somewhere quieter?" suggested his girlfriend, noticing the way Jason was glaring at Leo.
"Sounds perfect." he agreed, taking Allison's hand and asking her if she wants to go to the roller coaster. He heard the Leo/Jason duet moan, disagreeing behind him, but he ignores them completely. He ignored Annabeth too, asking him how Leo and Jason knew his cousin. He decides against telling her about the time he left Allison just to go out on a date. Knowing her, she would rather feel mad than flattered.
"Here you are, princess"
Piper looked away from Hazel and Frank almost immediately. Why did she have to choose to go with them? Yes, they were amazing, but the fact that they were so... Close and sweet together made her want to throw up –funny thing that she didn't feel like that when she was dating the son of Jupiter. Ugh. It would have been better to be with Percy and Annabeth. Yes, they were in a relationship too, but they weren't that...romantic -ok yes, fell into Tartarus just because your girlfriend was about to fall too, was the sweetest thing a boy could do, but Percy didn't call Annabeth 'princess', jeez-.
"Hey Pipes, wanna try?" she glanced over at Hazel, who was on a stand of knock down bottles with Frank. If she was being honest, she's always hated fairs. Since the only time his father took her to one, he had left her alone with Jane just an hour after they had arrived, she didn't have a good impression of them. That had kinda ruined everything. In addition, it had also left a trauma. She just accepted coming because Annabeth begged her to. She couldn't say no to the blonde.
"Oh, no, thanks" she rejected the offer politely "Frank is doing okay by himself, don't want to ruin it" he seemed ready to protest, probably something to assure her that she wasn't going to ruin anything, but Piper interrupted him "And I was going to buy some snacks, anyway. Do you want me to buy you guys anything?" not a lie. She was starving.
"Could you buy some nachos?" asked Frank, unsure, making her smile. Even if they had known each other for almost a year and a half, Frank was a gentlemen, so he wouldn't let a girl buy him anything. However, Piper found that silly, and he knew it, so he thought that asking for nachos wouldn't be much.
She smiled softly, before standing up, brushing her jeans "No problem. I'll be right back" she said, but none of her friends seemed to hear her. They were already back to the game, and their world, Frank saying something quietly, making Hazel burst out giggling.
So that's how Leo used to feel she thought, walking to the snacks bar. She knew perfectly how most of the times, her best friend felt like a third wheel. Most of those times, she had tried to incorporate the Latino to the conversations, or just make him notice he wasn't a third wheel, but their best friend.
The thing was, now she was not just a third wheel of Hazel and Frank, but sometimes she felt as if she was Jason's and Leo's. It confused her. More than anything in the world -even more than the fact that Drew was dating Leo's brother, Jake.- . Anyway, it was weird. So bloody weird. The last time she had seen them together, Leo was making fun of Jason for a reason she ignored to the day, and the blond had shoved him playfully -though Leo fell off the canoe they were at that momen-. Jason apologized hundreds of times, because he shouldn't have pulled him over, though it was "playfully". Yes, playfully my ass, theHephaestus' son had muttered, his hair and clothes all wet. - But that morning, they were really awkward. And tense. Piper found that surprising for two reasons:
A) They never acted like that, ever. (Well, yeah, sometimes they did, but it was more like a flash of tension, that used to disappear with one of them blushing) (Why? She ignored it.)
And B) she was awful at reading people feelings, unlike Annabeth, who was almost an expert in the matter. The only times she could read a scene, was when love, slash lust, slash French was related, And...
Oh
Holy
Crap.
That was it.
Love.
Now it all made sense. The tingling on her chest when she walked past them. The same one she felt whenever she was near Percy and Annabeth, or Hazel and Frank.
They were together.
They were in love.
Forget about the food. She needed to find them and shout a little too much at them.
"I can't believe it!" Thalia breathed next to him, her lips barely moving away from her ice-cream cone.
He looked over at her, catching the incredulous look on her features "What? That you made me paid not just for your burger, but for the ice cream too?"
She narrowed her blue eyes at him "No, death breath, I'm talking about the idiot over there"
Nico followed Thalia's index finger, and arched both eyebrows when he saw what she was talking about. A red stand, with sickening hearts all over it. On top you could read a poster with the legend "Kiss- five dollars", and a way too blonde guy sitting under it, kissing a bubbly girl at the moment, who seemed ready to faint. "What can't you believe?" he asked, taking a bite of his ice cream, regretting it two seconds after, when his teeth started aching from the coldness.
"He's selling kisses, Nico" she says, like it was the most disgusting thing ever, wrinkling her nose disgusted.
"So?" he inquired, just as she was throwing away the cone "aw dude, that's the best part of the ice cream!" he whined, almost childishly, and hating himself as he did so. He wasn't a child. Not anymore.
"That's disgusting" she answered , obviously deciding to ignore his whining. Whatever."How full of yourself must you be to sell your kisses, as if they were worth the money?"
He pretended to be really deep thought before answering "Really full of yourself?" he asked, as he was unsure of the answer.
Thalia glared at him "You're an idiot. Maybe a bigger one than Blondie over there" she jerked her head towards the blonde guy, who had a ginger girl all over him.
"That's a really hypocrite thing for you to say, as your brother is blonde" he pointed out. She narrowed her eyes at him, before smacking his hand, making the last bit of his ice cream fall. "Now, that wasn't necessary" he said calmly, as though he was talking to a disobedient pup. She looked about to smack him on the face, so he quickly added "You're just bitter because you hadn't kissed anybody, and you won't".
She scowled, and he knew it was a stupid thing to say. He had spent far too much time with Valdez. He was one hundred percent sure that he had caught some of the dark haired stupidity "for your information, Nicolo" this time he scowled at the mention of his full name "I did, so, shut up"
He smirked "I hardly believe you, Thalia."
She shrugged "not my problem, kiddo" and he hated her calling him kiddo. A lot. They were the same age! –Even though Thalia had been fifteen for almost six years, but that was beyond the point!-.
"Who was it, then?" he asked, trying to be annoying. If Thalia saw him like a kid then, fine, he would act like one. He was tired of people treating him as a child. Percy, for starters...
"None of your business" she snapped, and now Nico felt truly curious. Curiosity killed the cat. He remembered his father telling him when he had asked about his mother years ago, but he wasn't a cat. And curiosity was a total normal thing. Plus, the cat died knowing.
"Then you're lying" he said, regretting it instantly. He felt immature.
"I'm not!" she said through gritted teeth.
"Yep, you are"
"No"
"Yes"
"No"
"Yes, admit it!"
"I don't lie!" she almost screamed, and he gave her a skeptical look, a look that seemed to have thrown her over the edge "It was Luke!" she said, and he swore her eyes were glassy.
He barely let out a really confuse "What?"
"My first kiss was with Luke, ok?" she answered, wiping furiously the tears that were forming in her eyes. She totally hated looking weak, Nico remembered.
He was left speechless and feeling like the worst person in the world. He had never seen Thalia cry. Ever. And seeing her doing it now, sent a weird feel to his stomach, as though he wanted to throw up. She was like an older sister to him. Not like Hazel, who he constantly felt the need to protect, and take care of. Or like Bianca, who tried to protect him all the time, and half of those times she ended babying him. No, Thalia treated him like she did with Jason, being protective of him, but not underestimating him, which he felt important. The point was, that he felt the urge to make her feel better, to whip himself her tears, and to hug her, like Bianca used to do when he cried. So that's what he did. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, in an attempt to comfort her. He had never been good at that, but it was worth a try. Slowly, Thalia hugged him back, wrapping her arms around his own shoulders. They stood like that for a moment, just hugging. Awkwardly hugging, thanks to the weird position of their arms.
"We suck at this hugging thing" he finally said, and she laughed against his neck.
"Damn right. You really need to practice, Jackson it's a cuddler" She breathed, cheekily.
Nico spluttered "Excuse me?" detaching himself from the dark haired girl, giving her a disbelief look.
She rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest "Oh please, the way you look at him? I'm not as oblivious as him, Chase and basically everyone else." she shook her head "I can't believe you and Jason think I'm that stupid"
"Jason?" he decided to ask, trying to avert the topic from his love life. "What does he have to do with anything?"
"Well, it's kind of really obvious that he and Valdez..." she made a rude gesture with her hands, and Nico couldn't stop himself from laughing.
"So...you don't care?" he tried, shyly, giving her a sideway glance, as they started walking again.
"Like I would. Did you know 60% of the hunters play for the other team?" she asked, smirking.
He smirked as well. "Wait, if you're hunters, and supposedly, hate boys, the other team, shouldn't be them?"
Thalia shrugged, showing that it wasn't something that keeps her awake at night. "The thing, is that you shouldn't be scared of being who you are. I'm not telling you should send a love declaration tomorrow, but you need to accept yourself and all that shit."
"Oh Thalia, you really have a way with words" he deadpanned, making her roll her blue eyes, and hit him in the arm.
"Now, I think I deserve another ice cream for being the best almost-cousin in the world"
Now, he rolled his eyes, but smiled. "Only if you promise not to hit me again."
"We'll see, death breath, we'll see."
Leo didn't feel bad. Not in the slightest. If making Jason wear a pink shirt with a stupid sticker on the front did something to him, was making him feel better. It also made his jealousy almost disappear, as, even if some girls still threw Jason flirty looks, most of them stopped once they noticed the obnoxious pink shirt, and Leo lingering really near the blond.
He was probably on the top twenty of worst boyfriends of history. Making your boyfriend use a ridiculous shirt just because you felt like it? Louis would have put him on the number two, just because Liam made his boyfriend Niall use a stupid Buzz Light-year costume on a party once, when they were freshmen, and that was worse than what Leo did.
But he had to admit it, Jason was taking the amused looks he received from everybody around them quite well -he didn't electrocute any of them by accident. That was a big improvement! - And he hadn't kicked Percy's face when he had started making jokes about the shirt. Even Leo had felt the urge to hurt the Poseidon's son, but luckily, Annabeth was the one to do it, hitting him across the shoulder in multiple occasions.
"There's nothing wrong with Jay's shirt." Allison had told Percy, a little irritated at her older cousin. Sometimes, Leo forgot who the older one was. It was Allison… right?
"Exactly" Leo nodded "plus, the dude wearing an orange shirt, with blue trainers and red trousers shouldn't be the one criticizing others choice of clothing, should he?" Percy glared at him, and Leo felt proud of himself. He finally got immune to those glares! "No, but seriously dude, what the fuck were you thinking when you got dressed this morning?" he raised an eyebrow, trying to sound Sassy, like his roommate.
"Vocabulary, Valdez!" Annabeth snarled next to him, and maybe he had somewhat damaged her pride when insulting her boyfriend's clothes. But, hey! It wasn't Leo's fault that Percy had such a poor choice on clothing.
Percy seemed like he had finally found a witty answer for Leo, but his words could never leave his mouth, because someone else started talking.
"Leo? Jason? Can I talk with you for a minute?" the coldness on Piper's voice sent shivers though his spine. Percy sent him a pitiful look, and Leo knew what Piper wanted to talk about. She had found out. She had found out about his relationship with Jason, and she didn't sound really happy about it.
He heard Jason gulp next to him.
"Sure thing, beauty queen" he smiled to her, but she didn't smile back, or even hit him on the arm playfully like she would normally do. That was badbadbadbadbadbadbad so bad.
Saying that he was nervous would be an understatement.
Jason had seen Piper this cold just a few times. With Drew, with Hercules... But never with any of them. Ever. Not even when Leo had helped the Stoll's to pull a prank on her cabin, which consisted of putting bugs on the beds. And well, Piper hates them with passion.
"When were you going to tell me?" she suddenly exploded, spinning around, facing them, her hands clutched in fists, obviously mad. They were on the middle of what looked like a skate park, but there weren't any teenagers. Luckily. When she's mad, Piper liked screaming, and throwing a big show. Not consciously, though.
"About what?" asked Leo lamely, and by the look Piper throw him, Jason understood that she was taking none of Leos lies.
"How did you...?" he didn't find the strength to finish the question, but he was sure Piper understood what he meant.
"How did I find out my two best friends are dating behind my back?" she asked bitterly "Love goddess? Ring any bells?"
"Pipes I'm really sorry" Leo started, and he could clearly see the fear over his chocolate eyes, and the way his lower lip trembled as he spoke. He was scared. He was so scared of losing her as a friend. It would be awful. Leo and Piper had known each other for years, even before Jason had appeared, thanks to Hera. He knew how much damage the loss of the Aphrodite's daughter would cause on his boyfriend.
"I thought we were friends, Leo" she answered, hurt obvious on her voice. Pain crossed his boyfriend's face, and Jason found himself angry suddenly. And he knew he shouldn't.
"You are the child of the love goddess" he started, a little bit harsh, but he saw tears ready to spill from Leo's eyes, and Jason hated it when Leo cried "you're the one who must understand above anyone else that one does not just chose who they fall for."
They kept in silence; Piper seemed to have lost her voice. Leo stood quietly next to him, something that he had never done before. The carnival music seemed to be very far away, and he was sure the only thing he could hear, was the wind.
Piper was the first to talk. She let out a soft "oh" but she looked amused now. Jason felt lost. What in the name of his father…?
"You think I'm mad because you are together?" she asked, lowly, raising an eyebrow, a smile forming on her lips.
Leo was as lost as his boyfriend "yes...?" he answered sheepishly, although it sounded more like a question.
Piper laughed, and the atmosphere started to feel more relaxed. Jason even managed a shy smile, and Leo was fully grinning, his eyes gaining his usual happy bright, probably already getting the situation, unlike Jason, who was really Lost. Why was Piper mad, then?
"Then you're not mad at us?" he asked and Piper shook her head, as if that idea was the most stupid thing she had ever heard.
"Of course not, silly! I was a little upset about the didn't-telling-me-anything part, just that!" she answered "You're my best friends! I would never be mad about that, I just want to see you guys happy" her smile softened, and Jason felt a sudden rush of fondness for the girl.
"Don't worry, beauty queen, we've started dating last week, so there's not a lot to comment." Leo smiled next to him, and Jason noticed how excited felt Piper at that. No matter how hard she tried to not be so obvious, she still was an Aphrodite child, and romance always found its way to her.
"Oh, you're so giving me all the details."
"I want to see the fireworks, you dolt, hurry up!" Jason looked over his shoulder, following the source of the voice, to see his sister dragging an incredibly tired Nico towards them, unlike her, who looked like she could run a marathon right then.
They had decided to stay all day long, after Piper's and Hazel's pleadings to see the fireworks. Apparently, every Saturday, the fair gave a 'spectacular', as the sign said near the exit, where Frank found it, fireworks show at the end of the day. Many people were already gathered on what looked like a hill, probably to enjoy the show in a better way.
"Death breath, come on, I'm serious, hurry up!" he heard again. He tried not to smile when he noticed them. He felt like he should feel... jealous, maybe? Of his sister's and Nico's relationship. She treated the son of Hades as a little brother, sometimes, even more brotherly than Jason himself. But he understands, that after everything Nico went through, he probably was in deep need of an older sibling. Maybe not someone to replace Bianca, but someone to make him feel like the girl used to. Thalia was the best to do so. After losing him, she probably missed having a younger sibling to take care of... And Jason couldn't be happier that she found someone to do so.
Thalia smiled brightly when she spotted them, her hand still on Nico's forearm "Here you are!"
It made him feel a little sad, as well. He had barely spent ten minutes of the day with her, crossing a few "you should go to that game, it's sick!" and other comments everytime they crossed paths while going to another stand or game. He wished he could spend more time with her. But she was a hunter. She barely made it to the fair. Maybe he would invite her somewhere next time, only her.
But apart from that, the day had been fun. After the incident with Allison, she felt guilty, and started following Annabeth everywhere, like a kicked puppy. He was sure that she considered the clever blonde and Leo the most awesome people in the world. It wasn't a surprise. Leo could have anyone wrapped around his finger with his humor, and Allison seemed fond of blondes, especially smart ones. He tried not to feel offended, as Allison didn't seem too fond of him.
They rode on the rollercoaster, Percy and Leo three times, he and Annabeth just one, and Allison twice. After the second time, she asked them for an ice cream, and they couldn't say no to those big blue eyes. That's when he crossed Thalia and Nico for the first time. They were eating on a table under a tree, not so surprisingly bickering, and giving each other dirty glares every now and then.
Thalia greeted them laughing, but somehow he knew she had been crying -brotherly sixth sense, probably-. He glared at Nico, but he didn't notice, or simply pretended he didn't, as he licked his cone. Then Allison told them about the rollercoaster, and Nico dropped his ice cream in excitement, and begged Thalia to go. Jason and Annabeth shared a look, both of them knowing that she was afraid of heights. But surprisingly, she just finished her own cone, and calmly walked off to where the game was. Nico beamed happily, following her quickly. He looked over Annabeth, to confirm what had just happened. She just shrugged it off, and asked Allison which flavors she wanted.
After settling down with their chocolate ice cream, the tiny girl asked them to go to the haunted house. They waited for their respective boyfriends to come out of their ride, and walked to the place. It looked like Lupa's Wolf House. Creepily alike. He felt Leo gripping on his hand, and Allison should have felt his uneasiness too, because she watched them disapprovingly from Annabeth shoulder, but didn't say anything. He remembered thinking that maybe, he could even steal the Latino a kiss. However, the thought left his mind as soon they stepped into the house, as Allison quickly started to make grabby hands to Leo, from Annabeth's arms, who let her go, throwing a smile at Percy, taking his hand. Allison also stuck her tongue out to Jason, mockery evident on her face. The son of Jupiter, child of Rome, consul to demigods, praetor of the First Legion, the slayer of the Trojan sea monster, destroyer of the Titan Krios, was being mocked by a little girl, who barely reached his knees? What would his father said?
After that they went to the bumper cars, where Leo and he made an amazing team, bumping into Percy and Annabeth's one every time they could, earning glares from the blonde, who probably didn't understand why they were so determinate to bump their car. Then the Ferris Wheel, where Allison almost had a heart attack, and finally they ended playing on some dumb archery games -Leo smirked at him, saying that he thought they were dumb just because Frank always won- and other ones where they had to full the mouth of a clown with water guns -Leo said it was unfair when Percy won, being the son of the sea god, he clearly had advantage- and they lost against Allison in a game where you had to hook rings on a stick, or something like that, on the floor -after that Leo said that once they got married they should put 'Losers' as their married surname, and then blushed when he noticed what he had said. Jason laughed, ignoring the bloody butterflies on his stomach when Leo mentioned the 'married' part.
When Percy finished mocking them, thanks to Annabeth, and her fist, Frank mentioned the fireworks show, and that was enough for Hazel and Piper to beg them to stay 'till the night. So, they spent the next two hours fooling around, mostly eating cotton candy, fries, ice cream, and food on sticks -Hazel Annabeth and him sat for thirty minutes watching Leo, Frank and Percy have a food competition. Leo won, and started jumping around, screaming "I broke the loser's curse!" while Percy smirked, saying that he had let Leo won, though no one actually believed him, -except for Frank, maybe-.
Yeah, he could say the day was really good.
"It's going to start!" he heard Hazel saying excited, and he spotted her and Frank sitting over the edge, Frank's arm curled around Hazel's waist, both of them watching over the sky, where the fireworks were about to start.
She was right. The first colorful explosion started seconds after, earning exclamations from everyone. He heard Percy said something about the green firework looking like seaweed, and Annabeth answered with a "yeah, just like your brain" and he thought they would start a nicknames discussion, but they shared a nostalgic look, and melted in a kiss. Jason looked away fast, feeling his cheeks burn.
"What do I have to do to earn a romantic kiss with fireworks as a background?" asked Leo casually next to him, making him smile.
"Maybe asking's enough?" he smirked playfully. Leo made a muffled sound.
"There's nothing more pathetic than a guy asking for a kiss, Jason"
"Then just kiss me" and hell, Leo's breath was already on his lips. Just a little bit closer and...
"No yet! No kiss!" Allison screamed, but with the all the noises, they both were the only ones who could hear her. "No kiss, Jason!" she demanded, kicking him on the shin.
Ok.
Ok.
Nobody told him what to do.
And letting a Jackson do that, would be so low.
"Ally, please, don't tell me what to do" he said calmly, before pulling her away softly, and taking Leo by the shirt, so that he could finally kiss him.
Jason didn't know how, or when (neither did he care) but he must have eaten some of those fireworks, because everything he could feel, besides his boyfriend's lips, were fireworks, running through his body, warming him. Yes, it was pretty cheesy, but that was the effect Leo had in him, and if the son of Jupiter was being honest with himself, he loved it.
Too soon, the moment was over, and he heard Leo saying "Finally Grace! I thought you'd never be brave enough to stand up to a 5 years old!"
And then he kissed Leo again, a little more urgently, in part to stop him to saying anything more, and in part because, Zeus, he was so in love with that idiot.
And if he was being honest with himself,
He enjoyed every minute of being in love with Leo.
Fin.
Notes:
• There is a reference from Fun.
• I can totally see Leo going to college and trying to follow up his mom's steps, with the degreee on mechanical engineering, and all that.
• If you find any mistakes, or anything of the kind, I would really appreciate if you told me, with English not being my main language and all, I always could do it better.