Hello, this is a new story I'm working on. I wanted to cleanse myself of disease, so I decided to start over and give myself a fresh new start on things. This is going to be a Leo-Centric and slash story that may be over...five chapters if I keep a good amount in it. It's not going to be very long except for the word count at times.
Summary- A seemingly random touch proves stronger than imagined in a world where two people bonded since birth are as rare as can be. Soulmates or Bonded are scarcity and are thought to have been proven fake years ago by scientists and skeptics alike.
When Jason and Leo bond they will have to deal with the pressures of their souls being linked together and with an uncertain destiny that may or may not involve a lot of hiding.
Pairings-Jason/Leo, Annabeth/Percy, Reyna/Piper, Frank/Hazel, and Nico/Will
Note: This is Post Blood Of Olympus
"Our universe grants every soul a twin-
a reflection of themselves -the kindred spirit – And no matter where they are or how far away they are from each other- even if they are in different dimensions, they will always find one another. This is destiny; this is love."– Julie Dillon
Bonded.
The word floats in his mind the first time his mother says the word. His mother is arm deep in slick grease and sweat as she works to build a new engine for a customer who promised a handsome load of money. Her breathe is hard and her eyes are trained on her work and yet she still has the small smirk on her lips as she plays with her tools. She glances at him occasionally, watching him, out of the corner of her eye and when she's satisfied with what she sees her thoughts are trained back towards her machine.
Leo doesn't say much during these hours. The music box beside him is low and is a distant hum to him as it plays the last bit of a Spanish opera-he doesn't know why his mother likes it so much. It feels like cats scratching at his ears- that his mother got herself as a birthday present. But today is different. His toy Dragon, Festus, sits beside him in a pile of knobs and screws. It's wings are folded up softly against it's small metal body sadly. Leo doesn't look at it much as he spends majority of his time wringing his hands over the words his gifted teacher had told him the other day.
His fingers are curled together silently as he rubs them together and wishes he had something else to think about. His mouth is closed and his mind is running wild with the question he had been too embarrassed to ask Mrs. Lamgon. He hears a soft sigh out on the right of him and he feels a cold pit in his stomach. His mother needs to finish her work now or else dinner will be late again. His stomach growls as he thinks about it.
"Is there something you wanted to talk about?" his mother's voice is soft against his ears and it makes him swallow back a nervous laugh.
He bites the inside of his cheek and doesn't answer for a moment. He hears the soft thud of his mother's goggles hitting the ground and slowly after that he feels a tight coil inside of him. He sighs as the silence presses on. "At school, yesterday, Mrs. Lamdon told us about," he pauses as to go over his words, "something called being...bonded?"
His words are thick in his mouth and his words are flustered. He's not usually like this if you ask him, but he needs to know. It's an odd feeling for him to need to know about something so ancient that it's probably just a fairy tale. He frowns as he mulls it over.
His mother sighs and he looks up as a pair of arms wrap around him. He smiles as he breathes in the familiar scent of smoke and old perfume that she bought months ago. He loves it as he buries himself in her neck and holds her tight. He feels her breathe and her words are clear yet careful.
"Well, what do you know? Maybe I can fill out the blanks." her voice is soothing to him.
"Is it real? What's the difference between a bonded and a soulmate? Why can't people bond anymore? Why can't-"
His mother blinks and looks at him with wide eyes before she smiles. Leo pauses in his rambling and slowly he laughs too until their giggles and the sound of opera music fill the air. "Mijo, let's calm down for a moment and let me think. I don't know all the answers, but I can try at least…" his mother takes a moment to rub his curls as she ponders her answers. "For starters, I don't know if it's real. I think this world's too big and too mysterious for us to know all the answers to make a definite one about something that's as elusive as a bond."
Leo nods. He knows what the word elusive means...he learned it from a vocabulary test a few days ago.
"Now this is a hard one. Or easy, take your pick. A soulmate can mean a number of things….for me it means a family love or a friendly one. I believe that it belongs with the people who love you for who you really are and that a bond however is for the one person-maybe more-to love you and your heart a little bit deeper than most. Do you understand?" His mother plants a kiss on his cheek and he gags as he smiles. Nevertheless he nods quickly, grasping each answer with a thirst.
"Now for a the last one….I can't be sure. Some theories are that people these days just don't love each other like the they did in the past. I think that's utter bull-um, nothing." his mother laughs softly as he raises an eyebrow. "Anyway, I don't know. I mean we don't really have any proof that they existed at all other than old records and old messages left for us in the past. I wish I knew more to be honest. Maybe it's because we've been cursed? I don't know…" his mother trails off as Leo swallows back a comment.
"Thanks…" that's the only word that leaves his mouth as he mulls over her opinions. They say nothing for a brief minute before Esperanza yawns and finally lets out a gasp. Leo looks up at her in confusion and follows her gaze towards the window and towards the clock. She lets out a tsk sound and sighs before getting and setting him down on the ground on his feet.
"I hope that answers your questions. I know I'm not the most reliable," Leo shakes his head fervently. "But I want you to get my opinion before you start getting...theirs." she frowns and says nothing more except for clapping her fingers and she springs back to life. "Time for dinner, I knows it's a bit late for that and you have school, but you need something for that tummy if you want to learn some more later. Now come on, these fajitas aren't going to make themselves you know!"
She nods towards him and walks to the door vanishing and leaving it open for him to follow. Leo does, but he doesn't forget the way she tensed when he asked her the questions or the way she bit her tongue on some answers. Before she left she had been deep in thought and unusually tense and that's saying something for a woman who was busy majority of her day to be stressed about something as little as a bonded. Leo licked his lips before looking at the familiar surrounding of the shop and followed his mother for her famous food. His stomach growls as he shrugs and puts the questions in the back of his mind as he thinks about dinner and the movie they'll watch like always.
He walks through the door silently before shutting off the lights to the shop and looks back into the darkness, turning his back on it and clicking the door shut as he hears the clacking of pans on the counter and runs towards the small kitchen.
It's the last dinner he'll have with his mom.
-Six Years Later-
His mother's anniversary rolls around while he's in the bunker. His mind is quiet which is a first yet his hands are busy. He's so used to the sounds and to the texture of metal in his hands that he doesn't even have to think about. Anything he wants can be built by just following the motions of his body and letting his mind wander around probing against the quiet of the cabin or wherever he's at.
He's alone for once and he finds himself hating it. The still like silence that creeps up on him as he narrows his eyes and the smoke that makes him cough occasionally. He's used to the sounds of talking and plotting and the whispers of his siblings as he works, but today he's alone. he wonders why, but then remembers that he has to finish this and that it's past six in the afternoon. Finally sighing he stops what he's doing and looks down at his creation.
A small golden Dragon is perched with two legs missing. It's an intricate mess of wires so far and the tips of it's wings are painted delicately with white paint. The head is open so that he can put the chip in it-he's figured out how to make an AI-and he's so far satisfied with what he's done. He smiles for a bit before it fades and he doesn't say anything except nod to himself and sigh. The hollowness in his belly hasn't lessened yet he doesn't make a comment about it.
He looks at the clock and wonders if Piper will show like she always does and looks at the door for a few moments before shivering. A cold gust of wind flows over him yet it feels good to have something make him feel again. He won't think about her, not today, and not tomorrow. Not ever. Not again.
A door closes beyond the stairs and he smirks at the familiar sound of heavy feet hitting the metal ground. "Hey, J-bird, what do ya need man? You know I was just working on new Festus, and I wanted to know what you think."
"Leo, you know why I'm here. You've been cooped up in here all day and everyone's worried about you." Jason's voice crawls down the steps as he does. Leo resists the urge to roll his eyes. "We can talk about Festus later while you're sitting at the table eating." His voice is clear yet Leo can hear softness in his tone. He wonders if that was true, about how they were worried about him. He brushes it off quickly.
"Yeah, that sounds cool and all, but I have stuff to do and places-well, things to see." Leo stares back up at the tall figure approaching him. "Shouldn't you be coaching Nico or something?" he tries not to let the jealousy in his voice show.
Jason stops and stares at him. "What are you talking about?" he raises an eyebrow and tenses. Leo lets out a bark of laughter and turns away. "Leo, leave Nico out of this please."
Leo can't help it. He's stressed already and Jason isn't helping with anything. He wonders if he told him about his sick obsession with Nico, he thinks that he might get the hint. Or punched. Either way Leo is too damn tired and all he wants to do is sleep for a thousand years or more.
"Whatever man, look I'm tired." Jason stares at him. "Alright, I'll go. Just give me a few seconds…"
Jason reacts first to the screams. Leo's about ready to leave and go on the field trip with mister J, when he hears the caterwaul that pierces the silence. It's high pitched and desperate and it sends shivers down Leo's back once he hears it. For a moment he's not there. He's back in the past in the shop with his mother as the flames lick against her skin and the smoke fills her lungs. Her eyes are pained and bulging as she claws at her face screaming for him to get out and run.
Jason snaps at him to move and brings out his coin and with a easy flick of his wrist a sword sprays out of his hand his sword in all it's brilliant gold glory is resting in his palm as surely as if he were born with it. Leo grabs at his waist and sighs as his hand grasps nothing and he shrugs as Jason rolls his eyes and leads the way out.
By the time their outside Camp has somehow gone to waste from the three seconds Jason took to grab Leo. The first thing he notices is the sound of a hawk only louder and it's so clear to him that it hurts his ears and he puts his hands against them and grits his teeth. Jason doesn't flinch, but Leo sees the hesitation in his movements as he looks up with a slight, "oh."
Leo looks up as well and blinks before moving. It's a bird, It's a plane, no it's a freakin griffin. He looks at Jason and then at the other campers who have all stopped in their tracks to watch this gigantic bird of a creature circling the air with the sunlight glinting off of it's talons and it's beak sharper than anything Leo's ever seen. It's wings are grey and huge and they look twice his size which isn't really saying much. He swallows back a sharp pin of anxiety and gasps as he reaches into his tool belt to pull out anything-he hopes this time a sword or maybe a gun will pop out, but he knows it's useless-
The campers around them are quiet as they all watch the Griffin as it watches them. It tilts it's head down for a moment and Leo can feel the intensity of its gaze as it passes over every last one of them. Out of the corner of his eyes he hears a bow being strung-multiple really-and for the first time he feels excited for the archers.
"Well, I guess this is over and done with." he remakes to Jason quickly as he pats him on the back. "I'm going to go grab me something to snack on once they-" his heart drops as the griffin snaps it's head down and for the first time Leo can see the rage building in it's eyes as it circles once more halfway before turning towards him and with a another cry it dives at him with the speed even faster than Festus.
He's stuck at his spot as he becomes colder and colder and within seconds he hears the heavy firing of arrows as they fling themselves toward the creature. It brushes them off as if it were Superman itself. It shakes it's head fiercely as an arrow dodges past it's eye and it closes them for a second and Leo can't believe that he hasn't moved yet. His face is frozen and his legs and stuck to the ground as if nothing would ever move them and wonders if this was how people felt before they were crushed to death.
Everything begins to move in slow motion as did his thoughts. His mind feels fuzzy and his tongue it heavy in his mouth. It feels too thick to move and he watches as the Griffin extends its already sharp-and bloodstained-claws out towards his and goes into attack mode with a look a deadly rage rising from it's throat. He closes his eyes and thinks about the fire and his mother and himself and wills himself to start one. To make it appear so that it'll be afraid and maybe just maybe he'll-
The shove against him forces him to the ground. Jason's hand makes contact with his bare shoulder and it feels as if the world has stopped. It's as if his mind melted into a single moment and and every flash of light bursts against his eyeballs. His mind is a white light shining against other bright ones and he feels as if traveling at a hundred miles per hour the images and scenes forced into his head of a blonde haired woman sitting at a table stark drunk or the image of a girl with electric blue eyes glaring at him before vanishing-
It's shocked him….no. It electrocuted him to his very core and the after effects are still tingling. His mind is fading slowly into darkness and he's scared and alone and he wants out and he wants someone or something to help him and god no he's scared and please, and he feels likes dying all over again, but this time there's nothing on the other side except a void. He's being pulled into it and he's calling out for someone, and he begins to feel as if the last of his breathe is leaving his body.
Is he dying? Did the Griffin kill him? Where is going?
He finally gives up into it welcoming the press of the void and all it's nothingness and it's feel of non existence. That's when he feels the pull of something, tugging him into the light and wrapping around him. It's a warm feeling and he doesn't want it to end. It whispers to him and all it wants to do is for him to accept it and he'll be fine. He closes his eyes and feels the brightness of Camp and feels his body his the ground. All he has to do is say yes...not even say it. It's a feeling he can't describe and yet it's there for him to welcome….He's home and he's happy and he can see his mother's face only this time it's a clear picture and he can feel someone else with him, holding him and pressing him into it's warm embrace.
All he has to do is say yes. Yes, he wants to be one with this...thing. He smiles as he opens his eyes and feels the breath of air gust over him and it's clearer and sharper than he;'s ever felt it. Everything is brighter and his mind is clear. Except for the thing. It wants him-needs him.
He smiles as he sees the shadows of other press over him and he smiles as his eyes close. He sighs softly and feels the weight of the world being lifted as he accepts it slowly into his mind and maybe deeper. LIke a tug or a pull or maybe a grip.
He opens his eyes and looks over towards Jason who is in turn unconsciousness only this time his face is calm yet a smile tugs at his lips. A moment of overwhelming happiness wells up inside of him and he reaches out to touch him. Yes, he says to it. Yes, I will accept this. Jason and looks back at him ignoring the crowd of people clustered around them. Leo can feel him in the back of his mind saying the same thing. Yes, they whisper as one. Yes, we will accept this.
And thus they are in turn together. Only this time, they are one.
The are a bond.
I didn't expect this to be quite so...long. I may need to clear some things up before I leave. This is a soulmate/bond AU. They are in turn soulmates who have just drifted into something deeper than that and thus, the bond. A bond is a turning of two souls splitting and forming into one unit hence the reason why Leo felt as though he were dying. His soul was being split apart basically.
This is a somewhat interesting thing for me as I want this to evolve into something more. Let me know what you think and if I should continue this or not. Thanks :)
-Nodus-
