Ace stared down from the Argo II, the wind blowing through his blonde hair lightly. New Rome lay out below them in all her splendor, and he couldn't contain his excitement to cover up his fear. He wanted to show Leo around the city, to have the moment of walking through his home with the boy he loved on his arm. Somewhere deep down he knew that wouldn't be happening, but there was no rule that said he couldn't dream.

He glanced back at Leo standing at the helm with Annabeth, Jason, and Piper. They were here with a purpose, the rest were just decoration really to serve as proof there were more Greeks. Clarisse stood with Ace, and on his other side was Ebony holding hands with Gael.

Crowds of demigods raced through the streets to stare up in awe at the tireme. Ace could see several of his friends down below; Frank and Hazel with another boy. He didn't really have any friends besides the duo.

Leo came to stand beside Ace, "Happy to be home?" But, the moment he looked into Ace's eyes he could see that he wasn't. He was worried, even if his face didn't show it.

"Of course I am." Ace answered without conviction. He watched as Jason in his purple toga went to stand where the heroes beneath them could see. It was still hard to believe that his little blood brother was preator even though he'd be awarded the title exactly a year ago. Jason had been missing for most of the time.

Leo kissed him gently before going back to the control. It was time to land the Argo II! Leo picked up the Wii remote and began shaking it vigorously while pressing buttons. Slowly the Argo II came to halt above the city.

Leo stepped onto the deck, "Alrighty. Who's goin' down there first? Jason?"

Jason glanced back at him, before nodding slowly, "Sure. Hey, Pipes, you want a ride down?"

Piper smiled, "Sure."

The blonde put his arm around his girlfriend's waist, holding her close as they drifted down to the ground. Ace rolled his eyes, and tossed the latter down for the rest of them. Leo walked over to Ace, "Ready to go?"

He shrugged, watching as the others headed down to his city. Before Leo could follow them though, he kissed him out of site of the crowd below, "I love you."

Leo kissed back, "I love you too."

Ace nodded, before heading down the latter. He stayed close to Clarisse since some part of him knew she would stick up for him if need be. Leo stood next to Ace, but not too close that people would suspect anything.

Annabeth and Jason lead them through the crowd while Ace tried to hide in their group with his head still held high. In the crowd, their group had to press together which lead to Ace and Leo next to each other. Gael had his arm around Ebony. He'd snuck on without Chiron's permission, but the rest weren't surprised by his appearance. In a way, it made sense for him to be there.

Leo gently brushed against Ace's hand. The blonde blushed brightly, smiling. They watched Percy and Annabeth's reunion which made those in their group that knew the couple laugh. Ace wasn't paying much attention since he was looking around the crowd. So it surprised him as the group started moving again.

"Bello?" He whispered to Leo.

"Yes?"

"Are...are we feasting?"

"I don't know..."

"Yeah," Clarisse whispered to them, "Apparently all the Romans needed was to see Percy and Annabeth kiss for the two camps to get along."

Ace laughed softly, moving closer to Leo without meaning to. Leo smiled at him sweetly, and brushed against his hand again. The motion made Ace smile, and forget they were in a crowd that was watching his every move.

In the end, the only thing that stopped Ace from kissing was that in that moment a girl raced up to them. She smiled brightly at Ace, "You're back! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm...I'm really good. The past month has been really interesting." Ace smiled at Leo, "Hazel, this is Leo Valdez. Leo, Hazel Levesque."

Leo smiled at her, "Hola." Man, she was pretty. If he wasn't gay he would probably ask her out.

Another Roman came up. A boy this time who was looking very closely at Leo, "Hey, Ace. We'll have to catch up."

Ace laughed, "Yeah sure." He seemed to notice the way the boy was looking at his boyfriend, "Um, Frank this is Leo."

Leo nodded, "Hey."

"So..." Ace muttered awkwardly, running his hands together.

"Your father's upset." Hazel stated, looking him up and down worriedly.

"Figured." The blonde sighed, "Well, lets go enjoy the feast before the dealing has to happen...Food is always good first."

Leo looked around, most of the campers were already gone. Seems hunger outweighed wanting to see the Greeks and their ship. He took Ace's hand and squeezed it reassuringly, "It'll be okay."

Ace smiled at him, something in his chest fluttering at Leo's words. It must have showed on his face because the other two warriors exchanged glances before Frank nodded, "Yep, he's going to be really pissed."

The blonde pouted playfully, throwing his arms around Leo's neck before facing the couple, "But he's mine!"

Leo laughed, "Let's eat. I'm starving." He followed his nose, and the other kids, to the food.

As they neared the others, Ace pulled away from Leo again even though it felt like a stake was being driven into his chest. The four sat down with the rest of the visiting Greeks, Reyna, and Octavian. It took all Ace had to keep from annoying Octavian so he would storm off, but he had no clue how Leo would react to seeing his boyfriend flirt with another boy.

Instead, Ace just rested comfortably on one of the couches. His gaze almost dared Octavian to say he didn't belong there. Luckily, nobody argued. This was how a hero was suppose to dine, not those hard crowded benches at Camp Half Blood. A part of him already missed the Greek camp though.

Leo looked up as Ebony and Gael joined them, "Hey."

Ebony smiled and sat next to him, across from Reyna, "Hi." Gael slid into his chair next to Eb and put a hand on her knee.

Reyna studied Ebony for a moment, looking her up and down. As if she was evaluating her, "You sure don't look Greek. You actually look very Roman."

Leo watched as Ebony's face colored slightly. He could tell she was uncomfortable being studied and evaluated by the Praetor. Reyna had eyes that would scare even the toughest Legion soldiers. He knew they must have been even scarier than he thought because the daughter of Hades was looking a little worried under Reyna's piercing gaze.

"Um...Yeah. I have family from Italy."

Reyna looked, almost disappointed. As if she knew something and badly wanted Ebony to know it too. "Okay." She looked down at her plate and took a bite of food then looked at Ace, "So, Ace. Happy to be home?"

Ace smiled politely at the Praetor, "There's certainly some things I've missed." He looked away from her, scared to meet her eyes. Normally, Ace wasn't scared of anything but he didn't want to lie to her face since it had been rumored that she could tell lies.

Reyna smiled, but it looked forced, "Well. I hope you'll enjoy your time here before you set sail again." This time she continued eating and did not speak to them again. She exchanged small talk with Octavian but that was it.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Clarisse whispered to her nephew, but he wasn't paying her any attention. Ace sat up, staring at a man who looked to be in his forties, but who clearly used to be a great warrior. He had dark hair, bulky muscles, and angry brown eyes. The two looked nothing alike, but most every Roman knew why his approach made the blonde pale so greatly.

"I'll just..." Ace muttered before launching off of the couch to race towards the man.

Jason watched him go, and seemed torn between following and staying, "I had hope this would wait for at least a bit..."

Leo looked up from his food, "Is that his dad?"

At Jason's nod, Clarisse took another look at the man now talking animatedly with Ace, "He is a son of Mars?"

"We don't all look the same, you know." Frank muttered, picking at his own food to avoid looking at the tragedy unfolding.

That comment seemed to make Clarisse awkward, "Well yeah of course. Not all of us Ares kids are the same either."

She shared a look with Frank, and after a few seconds they shared small smiles. Percy put it as he reached for more food, "I had hoped you two would get along."

Leo laughed and muttered under his breath, "Clarisse has a stick shoved so far up her ass I didn't think it was possible for her to get along with anyone other than herself."

"We don't hate each other anymore." Percy muttered.

"Shut up, Prissy, I'm trying to eavesdrop!" Clarisse answered, not looking at him. Her eyes still trained on Ace and his father. Their discussion seemed to be getting more heated by the second, but Ace wasn't backing down. They were also getting louder, and the blonde kept glancing over at the Greeks. At Leo.

Leo looked at him worriedly, then back to his friends, "Should I go over there?"

"No." Jason stated instantly, putting a hand on Leo's arm as if to keep him back, "Bad idea."

He looked between Jason and Ace, then decided that it would only make things worse, "Fine." Leo looked at his food but couldn't eat anymore. The thought of eating made him feel sick.

"He'll...be okay." Jason didn't sound at all sure of that statement, "Ace has been putting up with stuff for years."

"It got worse after his mom died." Hazel muttered, picking at her food.

"Scortum puerilibus!" The cry made most of the Romans stop to stare at the duo. Ace didn't show any reaction as his dad, his trainer, his mentor walked away from him with an air of anger. The stares of the other legionnaires were what finally made him realize...he was home.

Jason, Frank, Hazel, Reyna, and even Percy winced sympathetically at the insult. Octavian tried to hide his smirk at the blonde being taken down a few pegs, and was mostly successful. After a minute, Ace came back to the group where Clarisse had stood as a reflex to defend her nephew even though she didn't understand the words.

Leo looked at Ace then went to stand beside him, "Ace...You okay?"

Ace didn't answer exactly, he just muttered, "I'm not really hungry...I'm gonna go...play with paper clips or something..."

He started back towards the Argo II, arms crossed over his chest as he tried to keep himself collected in front of everybody. It was Gael who asked softly once he was gone, "What did that mean?"

Ebony answered him without missing a beat, "Boyish whore."

Jason shook his head, "Literally yeah, but...societally its...calling him immature, weak, and passive in sex..."

Leo looked at them, "Okay...But my question is, Eb, since when do you speak Latin?"

She shrugged, "I...I don't know. I've felt strange since the moment we've been here..."