Piper/Leo

Leo Valdez was hopelessly in love with Piper McLean. It's not like other boys weren't, I mean, she was nice, deadly, and not to mention beautiful. What else could a half-blood boy want? But the only thing standing in their way was Jason Grace, the noble, devilishly handsome, brave son of Zeus. That's what made it worse for Leo. He was Jason Grace's best friend. More like sidekick. He thought to himself as he hammered away at one of the metal plates on the Argo II. He had always liked Piper, when they first met at the wilderness school; she had found him obnoxious and funny, while he had found her stunning and elegant, yet dangerous at the same time. He loved it. He wiped the sweat off his brow and pulled out his megaphone.

"Alright guys! We're done for today!" There was a universal sigh of relief as the power drills and hammers stopped and the Hephaestus cabin retired for the night. Just as Leo finished cleaning the sweat and soot off of his face, Piper waved at him to come down and a smile spread onto his face. As much as he knew that his love for her was hopeless, it didn't stop him from smiling every time he saw her. Jason was with her of course, his arm draped across her shoulder. Leo took a deep breath and placed the smile back on his face.

"Hey Beauty Queen, Lightning Boy." He grinned.

"Lightning Boy? Really Leo?" Jason asked, smiling lightly. Leo just shrugged.

"I'm running out of nicknames."

"Will Jason Grace please report to the Big House?" Chiron's voice boomed over the intercom.

"I gotta go. See you later." He leaned down to kiss Piper and did a manly hug with Leo before jogging off to the Big House. Piper looked at Leo.

"Mind if I hang out with you for the rest of the day?"

"Sure thing. We can hang out for the next," He checked his watch before smiling almost painfully. "Fifteen minutes." Piper laughed and they walked down to the beach, talking the whole time. All Piper talked about was Jason, Jason, Jason and Leo dealt with it, just because he loved her. Leo talked about the progress on the Argo II, the metal plating, baristas and how he had installed a Wii sensor and remote to the control panel. Piper laughed at that and shook her head before turning serious.

"Leo, can I tell you something?" She asked tentatively.

"Sure, anything Pipes." He smiled comfortingly at her as she looked up from the sand.

"What if… what if Jason has a girlfriend? What if he… what if he wants her back?" She asked barely above a whisper.

"Oh, Pipes." He sighed. He wrapped his arms around her comfortingly and she leaned into it as he rested his chin on top of her head. "Anybody who would trade you in isn't worth your time. Besides, you'll always have me, right?" He asked, smiling at his little joke in the end. Piper laughed into his shirt through her tears and pulled away, before sniffling a bit.

"Thanks Leo. I knew I could trust you."

"No problem Piper. No problem." They spent the next five minutes in silence, Pipers head on his shoulder. "Oh, and Pipes?" He asked. He received no reply to see her asleep on his shoulder. He chuckled to himself before picking her up bridal style and carrying her back to her cabin. He set her down on her bunk and pulled the covers over her, noting how cute she was when she slept. "I love you." He murmured, barely above a whisper. He kissed her lightly on the lips before walking out with a final glance over his shoulder.