Leo and Hephaestus shared a deep appreciation for mechanics and engineering. So it was no surprise that they worked incredibly well together. Leo's mind was constantly active, so as soon as his dad showed him the rough sketches of the time travel machine, Leo was already thinking of ways to improve it. Maybe add a cupholder. Or some laser lights to make it look even cooler! Could they redesign the structure of the blocky machine to instead look like a DeLorean?
Hephaestus simply laughed at Leo's suggestions and helped his son get to work.
"Hey Dad?" Leo asked.
The god startled, not used to anybody calling him "Dad" very often. Most of his children just held a lot of quiet resentment toward him for not being a very good parent. What could he say? He was better with machines than people.
"Uhh, yes?" Hephaeustus grunted.
"So, nobody's going to remember anything, right?"
Hephaestus shrugged, "Only the Fates should know. The only way people would remember is if my and Athena's math was wrong. And Athena's never wrong."
Leo bit his lip. "Can I go see my friends for a minute?"
Hepaestus nodded understandingly. "Take all the time you need, son. I'll finish this up. You've done a lot already."
-paragraph break-
The remaining demigods were resting in a place that resembled a dining room. Piper and Frank sat close together, one arm around the other comfortingly. Annabeth was keeping an eye on the pair as Percy leaned onto her shoulder, drooling and snoring. She turned her head as she heard light footsteps.
"¿Hola?" Leo said quietly, knocking on the wall to let everyone know he was there. "Can I talk to you guys?"
Percy snorted awake and blinked. Piper shot up, pulling over a chair for her friend.
"Of course, Leo," she said, relieved that he was finally ready to open up.
"I think Annie's already figured out that I have a habit of talking with Morse Code," the latino admitted, "And I usually use it to talk to myself when I'm feeling bad. My bio mom and I used to use Morse a lot. I guess I just miss her so much I couldn't stop tapping out my thoughts."
Annabeth pushed the now awake Percy off her shoulder and leaned forward to put her hand on Leo's. He met her understanding gaze.
"I wanted to come clean because now I don't really have anything left to lose. Time travel is going to erase everything bad that happened and it's going to erase this conversation. So why not tell you guys? Right?"
Leo laughed anxiously.
"I wasn't getting a lot of rest on the Argo II. I get really worried sometimes. A lot of the time actually. And the worry can be really suffocating. The whole ship is my responsibility. I'm making sure we get to places in time and if something goes wrong, it's because I screwed up. And I-" Leo choked up.
"I wanted to make you guys proud of me. I know a lot of you didn't trust me, especially after I got possessed and fired on Camp Jupiter. And I'm always seen as the comic relief of the group. I'm not very important to the team. Not like Percy or Jason."
"We are proud of you Leo," Frank said, standing up and walking over to his friend. "I am so proud to be your friend. Even if we've had our differences, you've always done what's best for everyone and you make everybody smile with your jokes."
Piper stared at Leo, not used to seeing this side of him. He was finally opening up. Letting himself be vulnerable. But did it truly make a difference? Like Leo said, this conversation was going to be erased once the time reversal machine turned on.
"Can you promise me something, Leo?" the daughter of Aphrodite asked softly. "Once we go back, I need you to talk to us. Let us know if you're not okay. Don't take on every burden on your own."
"I will. I promise."
The latino stood up and faced Percy. "Thank you for everything, hermano. That conversation in the engine room meant a lot."
Percy had to think back and remember. So much has happened since then. And Percy never considered that it was so important. It had just been an honest conversation about how tough it was being a demigod. But that conversation clearly meant a lot to Leo.
"Anytime," said Percy. He gave Leo a fistbump.
Annabeth frowned. "There's one thing I've been stuck on for a little while. Leo, you've been talking with Morse Code a lot, but there's one thing I didn't get. Early, you said something along the lines of "I'm cans.." but I didn't catch the rest of the word. What did you say?"
"You're not literally a bunch of soda cans," Percy teased.
"Oh," Leo mumbled, "Yeah I probably switched languages in the middle of that sentence by accident." He laughed nervously, "I must've been saying cansado which means tired."
Annabeth nodded. "Thank you, I've been trying to figure that out for a while now. Like Piper said, tell us next time you're exhausted. I can navigate this ship too, you know."
"I know," Leo said. "Thank you guys."
He felt tears escaping his eyes. He was so terrified of talking to his friends. But they were so understanding and helpful. They never got angry or disappointed. They just wanted to support him.
"When I go back, I'm going to be better," Leo promised, "No more pretending I'm okay when I'm not."
The four shuffled closer together, hugging each other tightly, with Leo in the middle.
"I love you guys," Frank sobbed.
"Love you too, big guy," Percy said, patting his back.
Cough. Cough.
They all turned to see Hephaestus standing at the far side of the room.
"Uhh, yeah I finished. So, son, are you ready?"
Leo gulped and shared one last look with his friends.
"Ready as I'll ever be."
