In a land far away, there lived a boy named Leo Valdez. His name wasn't shortened for anything, it was simply Leo. Leo was beautiful for a boy. With curly hair of chocolate, mischievous eyes of rich caramel, and tan unblemished skin, he made quite a striking figure. He was very short, almost cutely so, and he had nimble fingers. He spent most of his time building whatever his 'mother' brought to him. He even made his own little pet, a mechanical dragon named Festus, who was loyal and adored Leo greatly.
Now, Leo was trapped inside of a tower. He had lived there his whole life, never knowing how nice the outside world was and never having had a taste of freedom. He was trapped in the tower by a horrible witch named Medusa. With snakes for hair and a disfigured face that might have been beautiful - once upon a time. She was kind to him and let him have everything he asked for, all but one request. The chance to go outside.
Leo longed to feel the sun on his face and the wind blowing through his hair, but most of all, he wanted to see the fireworks that lit up every year, exactly on his birthday and another day. He loved seeing the way they made the night sky explode into an amazing array of color. There were mixtures of fiery orange with cooling sea-blue and deep brown with forest green. Leo never knew why, but he felt a deep connection with the fireworks. Whenever he asked Mother Medusa, she always distracted him and gave him new toys that made his mind wander. Mother Medusa treated him well, so he had never questioned her before, even though his soul yearned to go after the fireworks.
What Leo didn't know was that Mother Medusa was a vengeful woman who wanted revenge on her old lover, Poseidon. Poseidon was the ruler of the Kingdom or Arkenolisand, but before that, he was the prince. During that time, Medusa had been gorgeous and gained the attention of the then-Prince. They had fallen in love - or at least, Medusa did - and spent happy days with one another. Now, Medusa knew there would come a time where Poseidon would be taken from her, but she had always thought he loved her and would be willing to run away with her.
That wasn't the case. The day his arranged marriage to Princess Athena of Owleria came by was the day they parted ways. Oh, Poseidon had tried to break up with Medusa several weeks ago, but she was persistent, and he couldn't get away. In fact, Poseidon had fallen in love with Athena, feeling a fiery burn in his chest he had never felt before with any other woman. Athena loved him as well, and so he went to her with his problem. He told her he no longer wanted to be with Medusa because she was becoming arrogant, demanding things he could not give to her.
Athena told him to make it clear they were no longer together and, if that still didn't work, Athena would interfere. Poseidon agreed with her and set off to do what she said. When he tried, though, Medusa became very angry and attacked him. Luckily, Athena was watching from her animal summon, the owl. The moment Medusa leaped for Poseidon, Athena cursed her with ugliness and tossed her away.
Medusa swore she would have her revenge, which eventually resulted in her kidnapping the Prince of Forgetaria, Leo, son of King Hephaestus and Queen Aphrodite. She took Leo and quickly managed to get the blame pinned on Arkenolisand, resulting in the two kingdoms gaining much hostility towards one another. She decided to raise Leo and have him go back to his kingdom to take over as heir in order to have a King pawn under her power.
Since then, Medusa hadn't been seen for half a decade and, during that time, Athena and Poseidon had two twins, a boy named Percy, short for Perseus, and a girl named Annabeth. Perseus inherited his father's features. Sea-green eyes, a tan and toned body, black wind-swept hair, and an inability to be controlled. Annabeth inherited her mother's features. Dark brown hair, steel-gray eyes, a fit and lean body, and above average intelligence.
The two couldn't have been more than different than day and night, however, they were closer than two peas in a pod. They did everything together and never let society get in the way of their relationship. Whatever Perseus did, Annabeth did and vice learned sword fighting together, studied together, fought together, they even two teamed their opponents. The only thing different about them was that Perseus was more inclined to explore than stay inside the castle and learn to be king. Annabeth was more inclined to stay inside the castle and learn how to rule and how politics worked in Arkenolisand.
One rare day, when they weren't together, Perseus went deep into the woods of the Forbidden Forest to explore new places. He went with his loyal stallion, Blackjack, and they were wandering around. Blackjack suddenly whinnied and and ran towards a tall shrubbery. Perseus yelled, "Hold, Blackjack! Hold!" Blackjack stopped, but by then they were too close to the shrubbery and Perseus closed his eyes in anticipation.
When he didn't feel any pain, Perseus slowly opened his eyes and sucked in a breath at the beautiful scenery. A beautiful, majestic waterfall poured down from the side of a cliff covered with exotic flowers. The grass was blindingly green and healthy trees surrounded the meadow. In the center of it all, there was a long, tall tower made of stone. It made an intimidating figure and the only entrance Perseus could see was a small window at the very top.
He walked closer to the tower and shouted, "Is there anyone living in this tower?" He waited a few moments and the window slowly opened, a figure peeking their head out of the window. He heard a soothing voice, soft like silk, ask, "Who's there? You aren't Mother Medusa."
Perseus's breath caught in his throat as the figure emerged fully into the sunlight. Perseus looked at him and fell in love at first sight. The way the sun glinted off his chocolate hair and his pouty, pink lips made Perseus throb with a want to completely and utterly possess the vixen that appeared before him.
He walked to the very bottom of the tower and said, "My name is Perseus, though you may call me Percy, if you so desire. What is your name, lovely creature?"
Leo blushed and answered, "My name is Leo."
Percy beamed up at him, letting his name resonate through his body. Leo, he thought reverently. He grinned, "A name as lovely as the one who holds it." Leo turned a deeper shade of red, a pretty flush spreading across his prominent cheekbones.
Percy gazed at him, "Will you let me up so that I may look upon you, who holds my heart?" Leo bit his lip. Mother Medusa always said to never talk to strangers or interact with them… But Percy had been so very kind and sweet to him…
Surely she wouldn't mind? Leo thought.
Leo called out, "Stand back, dear Percy." As soon as Percy had moved a few steps back, Leo said, "Festus, my faithful companion, come and help this man up to my tower."
A dragon made of glowing metal burst from the woods. Percy quickly fell into a defensive posture, sword skillfully held out, and mind strategizing how to defeat the unknown beast.
Hearing Leo, his sweet lovely Leo, cry out, "Dear Percy, do not harm my companion! He will guide you up to my tower." Percy immediately dropped his posture, the trust he had in Leo unfaltering. The golden dragon flew to the front of the window and laid its body there, a step ladder showed itself along the beast's spine.
Percy quickly jumped onto its back and travelled up. Arriving at the very top, he entered the open window to see Leo standing before him. He froze, staring at the picture of innocence before him. Leo only had on a simple long, white stained shirt that reached to his mid-thighs. The sleeves slipped past his thin and small hands, covering them and adding on to his image as an angel, in Percy's vision.
Leo fidgeted nervously under the gaze of the handsome man before him, lifting a sleeve covered hand up to his mouth and hiding his bottom face. Percy gave Leo a sweet, loving smile - even as his eyes darkened in lust at the sight of beauty before him.
Never before had he felt this flame coursing through his body at the mere sight of a person. This was the moment he understood what his father meant about 'meeting the right person'. Percy had always brushed off talks of 'true love' aside, believing it would never happen to him - yet here he was now, awestruck and completely in love.
Leo noticed Percy's smoldering gaze and tugged on the edge of his shirt before flouncing towards him, his curly hair bouncing with every movement. Percy hungrily followed Leo's trek towards him, holding out a hand and waiting for Leo to touch him.
Leo hesitantly placed his small, pianist hand into Percy's larger, more calloused hand. Percy lifted Leo's hand towards his face and he bowed before laying a long kiss on Leo's smooth knuckles. Leo watched him with wide caramel eyes, sparkling with curiosity.
Percy straightened up, still keeping a tight grip on Leo's hand. He used it to pull Leo's body gently towards him. Leo felt safe and let Percy manhandle him. Percy dragged him closer until he felt his love's tiny, warm body press fully against his. He enveloped Leo into his arms, savoring the feeling for as long as Leo would allow him to.
Leo didn't quite know what to do. The only person who he had ever hugged was Mother Medusa, and even then it wasn't much of a hug, just an awkward meeting of bodies. Percy hugged him with his entire being, his strong arms wrapped around Leo's slim waist, gripping him possessively.
Leo shyly glanced up and met Percy's bright, passionate sea-green eyes. "May I, my love?" Percy murmured, gaze solely upon the pouty lips he had lain his eyes on. Leo nodded softly and Percy slowly leaned his head down until their lips met.
To Percy, it was the most wonderful thing he had ever experienced. Leo's lips were moist and softer than he could have ever dreamed of. He pressed harder until he heard Leo let out a slight whimper of pleasure. He could've died as the happiest man on earth at that moment.
To Leo, the feeling of another's lips on his was foreign, but very enjoyable. Mostly because it was Percy he was locking lips with. Percy's lips were warm and smooth like the sea. Leo let his eyes flutter shut and simply enjoyed this new feeling.
He was caught off guard when he felt Percy start to apply more pressure, shocking a pleasured whimper out of his throat. His face burned with embarrassment, but from the way Percy's grip tightened on him, Leo could tell Percy was definitely enjoying it.
When the need for air became too much, they separated. Percy let his eyes wander over Leo's face, satisfaction curling inside of him at the sight of a pretty, pink flush decorating Leo's features, his eyes half-lidded, and lips swollen.
Percy knew he looked about the same as Leo, though a satisfied smirk played on his lips as he settled his hands on Leo's slim hips, softly squeezing them and enjoying the way Leo shivered under his ministrations.
Leo placed his hands onto Percy's broad shoulders and leaned up on his tip toes to brush his lips softly with Percy's one more time before whispering, "My dear, you have to leave," at the sight of Percy beginning to protest, Leo hurried on, "Mother Medusa is due back anytime soon, you must go, no matter how much it pains me to send you away."
Percy crumbled in the face of Leo's doe eyes and his soft, pleading voice. He reluctantly nodded, then swooped down to place a harsh, searing kiss into Leo's lips one last time.
As soon as they parted, Percy swore, "I will come back for you, my heart. You will be mine no matter what I have to do." He stroked his thumb across Leo's cheekbones and Leo nodded, gently ushering him back to the window.
"Hurry away before you are seen, love. I will be waiting for you." Pressing a soft, goodbye kiss to Percy's cheek, Leo watched as Percy scaled down Festus's back and leaped onto his stallion's back, galloping away from him.