And I'm back with a new instalment of Reunions (still late though). I am trying, but juggling three stories (as well as the birthday fic that I'm doing for my friend) is quite difficult along with college work. Thank you for your continued patience, and I hope that you can forgive me for the erratic update schedule. Italics = dream.
Melancholy's Sunshine : I'm glad that you appreciated it as I really enjoyed writing it. And I might just wiggle that debate in somewhere.
Matt : It is such an amazing coincidence and not at all due to the fact that there is a higher being orchestrating their lives ;) And I'm sorry but I've never seen Star Vs. the Forces of Evil.
Connwaer Heap : That's good seeing as I keep writing them J Thanks for your understanding by the way. As much as I would love to let fanfiction come first, I really don't want to fail my A levels. They were fighting dracanae who were drawn by the scent of eight incredibly powerful demigods. I was an idiot who didn't realise that you could use PMs to answer reviews, and as I started out this way I just decided to continue it. I do have a Tumblr, but I never use it, I use my sisters instead.
Zoethezany III : You're very welcome. And I appreciate your reviews. I'm glad that you think it's awesome that I reply, I just like answering all of your questions and I feel that if you're taking the time to give me feedback then I should take the time to reply. Plus, it feels like I get to know you all, and I like the sense of community it gives me.
LONG LIVE BOOKS : Thank you, and I think that Jazz and Jason could also become close friends.
L120Writer Thank you for reviewing J And I'm happy that you like my back story for Leo, as much as I love Heroes of Olympus, I feel like Leo's back story was usually just glossed over so I like filling in the blanks.
ObsessedwReading : Thank you J
Sidda : If you want to call me Twin-Chan then go ahead. I think that you said "I had a little of my famous rum, wine and tequila mix and it's all Bella's fault, she's the one that tried to kill the only family member that doesn't hate me that is alive." Did I get it right? And I hope that you and your sister have made up. No, that's not rude, and don't worry, the story isn't on hiatus.
Guest : I'm happy that you like the fic, and I understand where you are coming from, but the reason that the fic is written in this style (short stories based around reuniting with people from Leo's past) is because making it into one story wouldn't work due to the circumstances. As it is a sequel for Learning about Leo, I feel like the characters don't need to be developed too much as they were already explained during that fic. And it would be illogical to make the story into just one plotline as there would be no way that Leo would be able to meet them all during one quest/adventure etc. I hope that you understand where I'm coming from.
OtakuNewWorldOrder : Wow, that's a lot of reviews! I'm glad that you like my story so much. And I agree with you on all three points, it would be a great band name, Gaia is a naughty potato and Leo is amazing.
Koolkat0207 : I'm glad that you enjoyed the Sparkle reunion. And cliffhangers are sort of my speciality, sorry. At first, I wasn't going to have any of his friends from the past be demigods, but then I realised that I had been unconsciously setting it up that way. I also love irony. And thank you, I'm glad that you think that I am a good author.
Disclaimer : Yeah, still not mine. Nothing but this plot and Jazz and Mr Harris are mine.
After dinner the demigods, Jazz and Mr Harris planned to retire to the hotel's meeting room.
First though, they headed up to their rooms to grab something to do. Leo grabbed his DS before they all relocated into the room that was reserved for guests to meet up and enjoy some company.
Jazz and his father were already there waiting. Mr Harris was reading a book whilst Jazz was clutching a DS and playing it with intense concentration. Leo grinned.
"Pokémon?" Jazz nodded and Leo sat down beside him, pulling out his DS. Jazz glanced over at him and his eyes glinted as he realised the challenge.
As they began battling ferociously, Frank and Nico were having a round of Mythomagic, using some of the new cards that they had purchased at the con. Jason was chatting calmly with Piper whilst Annabeth showed Percy something on her laptop.
Frank and Nico were close enough for Leo to watch over their game as his Pokémon rampaged through Jazz's team. Some of the blonde's party proved more of a challenge than others, but Leo was still pretty confident that he could win this.
"Isn't Pokémon kinda childish?" Leo and Jazz gasped in sync, tearing their eyes away from their battle to gaze in outrage at Frank.
"Says the one playing Mythomagic!" Leo spluttered, and Nico turned to glare at him instead.
"Mythomagic is a game of strategy and it teaches you about Greek mythology." The look on Nico's face implied that this was something that Leo should appreciate.
"Yeah, but Pokémon teaches strategy as well, you have to learn about types and type disadvantages/advantages. It also teaches you how to handle money as you have to decide whether to invest in poke balls or potions."Nico raised an eyebrow at Jazz's defence, and Leo realised that the younger demigod probably didn't know too much about Pokémon and could therefore be excused for his ignorance.
Frank, however, was a different story.
"Not only that but it encourages children to learn a little bit more about other cultures and languages. Sometimes when you click on a TV screen in someone's house it gives you basic Japanese phrases." Leo folded his arms, discarding his battle with Jazz for the moment. Jazz also switched his focus from the game to the real life discussion.
"And some of the stories can actually be quite deep, like in X and Y." Jazz proclaimed.
"Plus raising a good team can be really satisfying."
"And you can choose to play the game in the way you want, catch the Pokémon that you want and train them up to form your own team, or breed to get the best stats."
"The characters are all pretty awesome as well." Frank held up his hands in surrender at this barrage of reasons for why Pokémon is better than Mythomagic.
"Geez guys, I get it. But you can't deny that Mythomagic is great as well." Leo nodded swiftly to appease the son of Mars.
"I think that we should call it a night now, Jasper." The ice blond boy wrinkled his nose at his dad's use of his full name, but rose anyway.
"Night guys and we'll see you tomorrow at lunch?" All of the demigods bid the Harris men a good night. As the father-son duo departed, Leo stretched and yawned.
"I'm going to head up as well." His friends gave him a few nods of acknowledgement, and Nico and Hazel also got up. Leo switched off his DS, mourning slightly the fact that the battle had not been completed.
"I'm kind of tired as well." Hazel flushed as she let out a jaw cracking yawn. Nico strolled after them, eyelids drooping slightly.
They waved to the older demigods and headed up to their rooms.
There was no talking, Nico and Hazel were clearly wiped by the day's events and Leo didn't blame them. Comic Con must be a huge culture shock for the two kids from the past, even if Nico had spent the majority of it in the card section, and the fight must have also taken a lot out of them.
He got changed and then surveyed his purchases for one last time before crawling into bed, happy with how his first day at the Con had turned out despite the monster attack.
He drifted off to sleep with a small smile on his face.
A loud banging startled Leo as he attempted to finish his homework. He moved over to his window, curiously peeking through his curtains.
His foster parents were out and Leo wasn't meant to let anyone in, but the knocking was obnoxiously loud and he needed full concentration to complete his homework.
A man in a large black coat was hammering at the door, his enormous fist virtually bashing the door off of its hinges.
Leo contemplated going down and getting the phone to call his foster parents, but he would have to walk past a window and the man would surely see him. He cursed himself for leaving his mobile downstairs, he hadn't wanted to be distracted from the essay that he was writing.
Suddenly, there was a loud crash and Leo glanced down to see that the man was now physically launching his shoulder into the door which was bouncing and rattling ominously.
Alarmed, Leo sprang away from his chair and stumbled down the stairs, locking his door behind him and ducking low to try and avoid being sighted through the window. He snatched up his phone and retreated, bolting up the stairs as quickly as he could.
Under his bed was a familiar rucksack, already near full with his belongings. He chucked in the rest of the items that he actually cared about and settled it hastily on his back.
Then he whipped out his phone. There was a clatter downstairs and Leo knew that the door had been breached.
As he dialled 911 he slinked out of his bedroom and to the back of the house. He knew that there was a window back there and he had planned out how to climb down from it on the first night that he had spent in the property.
The operator came on as Leo shimmied down the drainpipe, but their concerned voice was drowned out by an eerie wail of "Leoooooooo" from the house.
Leo froze about halfway down as the phone operator calmly asked about what the emergency was.
He finished his descent swiftly, and began running as soon as his feet grazed the floor.
He rattled off the details to the operator about where the house was and about the intruder but he left out the fact that the man had called his name. He had enough weirdness in his file; he didn't need them to know that the man was after him.
With a deep, saddening certainty, Leo knew that he had to run. He had spent too long here already. But before he left, he would have to deliver an important letter.
Because if he said goodbye in person then Jazz and his parents would probably convince him to stay. And that wouldn't be safe for anybody.
Leo remembered this well, what he didn't remember was a grinning vision of Gaia standing in the middle of the road before him. This definitely hadn't happened the first time round.
Taking a deep breath, Leo reminded himself that he had defeated Gaia, that dirt lady could never rise again. This mantra didn't stop a chill from spreading up his spine as her sleepy face turned towards him.
"Always running. Always leaving other people behind to deal with your messes." Her tone was mocking as she gestured behind her.
And there, lying in the middle of the street, bloody and broken, was Jazz and his family.
The man who had broken into his house was standing over them. And before Leo's eyes, the man grew and grew.
Clytius stood before him, grinning viciously.
"Time to extinguish your flame little demigod."
And then Leo was falling and burning Camp Half-Blood little more than a blur beneath him. Leo knew that he was dying, could feel his flesh melting in a way that should have been impossible, Festus' superheated metal burning into his thighs as he plummeted. And instead of seeing the welcoming buzz of Elysium, Leo found himself gazing into the dark abyss of Tartarus.
Leo jolted awake, the feeling of tears an expected but still disappointing find. His friends' staring at him worriedly, however, was an unexpected and disappointing find.
The dismayed looks on their faces caused his own face to crumple.
"Are you okay?" Percy's concerned eyes hovered above him. And for once, Leo didn't even try to dissemble. He shook his head, feeling tears trickle out of his eyes as he clenched them shut in anguish.
His past had always haunted him, and he had hated leaving Jazz like that, but now his nightmares were even worse. He now knew that monsters were really out there and that (like most of the human race) they despised his guts. He had died and even though he had come back, Leo was still plagued by nightmares about that final battle.
His skin cracking as all moisture was leeched from him, the smell of burning hair and the painful rawness of his throat as he screamed in agony. Leo hadn't told his friends just how aware he had been whilst dying; he hadn't wanted to make them suffer. But that meant that his burden hadn't been lessoned and it was eating him up inside. He just wanted a hug.
His friends unknowingly obliged him as he felt comforting arms settling around his shoulders. Surprisingly, from what he could deduce from the coldness of the arms, it was Nico who had taken the initiative.
Not one to look a gift horse in its mouth at this moment, Leo melted into the embrace, seeking the knowledge that he was safe with his friends and that the rampaging fire in his gut could be doused by their presence.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Jason's patented big brother tone had come out, a tone that both Leo and Nico were well accustomed to as the two youngest boys on the team.
"It's fine, I just… can we just stay here for a few minutes?" What Leo really meant was do you mind holding me for a little longer, though he would never actually say that out loud.
Nico's arms tightened and Leo knew that his under-lying message had been heard.
Another pair of arms wrapped around them, then another, then another until the boys were all crowded together on the bed, huddled together. It wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world (Leo was elbowed in the gut numerous times) but it was soothing, and Leo felt some of the stress from his dream draining away.
There was a knock on the door, and most of the boys sprang away, blushing lightly. Percy stayed wrapped around him, however, carding a hand through Leo's hair.
"Are you sure you're okay?" He questioned lowly. Leo wasn't okay - and he knew that he wasn't okay – but he just wanted to get to the Con. He was sure that being among his people (his fandom people, not his demigod people) would cheer him up.
It was time to become Ezio Auditore Da Firenze. And that meant swagger.
Leo flounced down to breakfast in his full costume, smirking at the strange looks that he got from people not attending the Con.
It was pretty easy to decipher who was going and who wasn't, not only from the fandom attire (or lack thereof) but also from the bands around their wrists that proudly proclaimed their status as Con-goers.
His friends were already settled into the tables next to Jazz and his father (there was no table large enough to host them all).
Leo tipped his head in greeting, and his fellow male demigods all shot him inquiring glances.
They weren't very subtle about it as Annabeth's shrewd gaze darted between them all and alighted upon Leo as the focus of the concerned looks. Cue another round of worried looks from the girls this time. Even the Harris men appeared to pick up on the tension as their twin sets of blue eyes also settled on Leo.
"Buongiorno (Good morning)!" Leo gave a flamboyant bow, attempting to communicate his desire to just forget about what had happened. His eyes sought out Nico who nodded, affirming that Leo's pronunciation of the Italian greeting had been at the very least passable if not spot on.
After that breakfast was a pleasant affair, though Leo knew that questions were still lurking in his friends' minds.
Despite the fact that they were at the same hotel, the agreement was still on for Mr Harris to spend some time with Jazz before they all met up at lunch. The meeting place was re-affirmed before they separated after breakfast, the demigods heading to the car that Piper had arranged to pick them up and the Harris men, insisting that they were fine with getting the train, headed off towards the station.
As soon as the car doors had closed, Leo found himself facing the Spanish inquisition.
"What's going on?" Annabeth was terrifying when you withheld information from her. There was a brief moment of awkward silence, and then Leo sighed. Slumping back in his seat, he tugged his hood up to shadow his face.
"I had a nightmare." He mumbled, feeling childish in his confession.
"Oh, Leo." Piper's voice was sympathetic, yet Leo could still feel his cheeks heating up in shame.
"I just want to forget about it and enjoy the con." Hazel gave him a stern look.
"That won't help you." Leo's frown grew.
"I don't want to spoil the con, can you just drop it?" His friends all raised their eyebrows, and Leo sighed internally. Sarcastic looks in unison, great.
"Leo, you really need to talk to us. We are here for you." As Frank said this, Leo felt the old desire to run. He didn't want to discuss his nightmare, didn't want to reveal how much pain his death had wrought. Didn't want to think about how he had left another group of people that he cared about behind.
It was then that Leo's window of opportunity for escape presented itself. They pulled into the car park, and Leo subtly tensed his muscles. He had everything he needed for the day scattered around the various pockets of his costume.
"We want to…" Percy was cut off by Leo launching himself at the door, yanking it open and sprinting across the car park. He could hear the outraged shouts of his friends behind him, but Leo was in his element now. As much as he hated his instinct to run, it often came in handy.
He knew that he was the fastest, it wasn't showing off it was true. He'd had the most practice.
Plummeting into the Con, Leo hastily showed off his wristband before darting throughout the stalls and blending in with the crowds effortlessly, like the assassin that he was dressed as.
He remained like this for around ten minutes before realising how truly stupid he was being. Not only had he separated away from all of his friends in an incredibly busy environment, he also didn't want to find them again.
The interrogation was not needed and definitely not appreciated. Coming to Comic Con had been an effort to distract him from all that had happened, why did they have to dredge it all up again?
Weaving through the crowds with all the stealth of the assassin whose costume he was wearing, Leo attempted to lose himself in the wonder of the stalls.
But his guilty conscious wouldn't let him, and Leo found himself drifting towards the spot that they had assigned as their designated meeting area for if any of them got lost.
Fiddling with his phone, Leo once again sighed.
"Time to face the music." He uttered quietly, and selected Jason's name. Hopefully the older demigod would keep up his usual calm attitude instead of ripping him to shreds verbally like the others would.
"LEO!" Or not. Leo held the phone away from his ear, and was awkwardly reminded of Jazz's phone call from his father the previous day. His eardrums would take a while to recover.
"Hey?" Leo intended to say this nonchalantly, but it came out more like a timid question.
"Don't you 'hey' me! Do you know how worried we've been?" Leo winced.
"I can guess." He muttered, and instantly regretted it.
"You guess? You guess? Leo, we were already worried about you due to your nightmare, and then you just run off into Comic Con by yourself." Evidently the other demigods had stuck together and Jason had clearly put him on speaker phone as that lovely scolding tone could only belong to Annabeth.
"Yeah, well." Leo leant against the wall and shifted a little bit.
"Where are you?" That was Percy.
"I'll tell you if you promise to ditch the topic of my nightmare, at least until the Con is over." His friends were clearly deliberating over this, but then the need to find him overwhelmed their desire to help him with his nightmares.
"Fine. But after the Con, you will talk to us." Leo shuddered, and bitterly wondered if Piper hadn't slipped a little bit of charmspeak into that imperative.
"I'm at our designated meeting area." He ground out. A moment of stunned silence followed on the other end, and Leo contemplated whether or not they had just decided to sprint towards him in case he ran off again instead of finishing the call.
"Dam, why didn't we think to check there?" Came Percy's slightly muted voice.
"We'll be there in a few minutes, don't you dare move." Jason warned him, and then the call clicked off.
Leo felt the knot of guilt tighten in his stomach as he realised that his friends had been searching for him.
He slid into an Assassin's creed style crouch as he waited. A few people came up to take pictures with him, and he grabbed a couple of people as they went past, but other than that he remained in the same position.
His hood was covering a lot of his face and as such he almost missed his friends' arrival.
He couldn't miss the cold aura that surrounded them as they hovered over him.
"Don't try that stunt again." Leo shivered at the authority in Frank's voice.
"Bene (okay)." Nico nodded, apparently approving of his use of Italian.
"We decided whilst looking for you (Leo flinched at the anger/concern that dripped off of this statement) that we would all stick together today. So what do you want to do?" Leo's eyes widened minutely in surprise at Annabeth's question.
"You still want to know what I want to do?" Here Annabeth's frown melted into a fond smile.
"This trip is for you, dummy." Piper answered, and Leo felt a bashful grin creep over his face.
"Well, there are some good panels on today, if you don't mind coming to watch them?" They all grinned at him, and for the first time since this day had begun, Leo felt truly happy.
"Lead the way, repair boy."
A few hours later and Leo was raving enthusiastically about the panels. They had been so much fun. The demigods had even managed to bag some free gifts from the presenter. And before one of the panels, one guy dressed as Star Lord had challenged a fellow cosplayer to a dance off and it had been epic.
Annabeth checked her watch (ever the responsible adult) and announced that they had an hour and a half before they had to meet up with the Harrises.
They chose to spend it trawling the stores and picking up even more goodies.
As they headed past the card game section, Nico and Frank snagged his arms and directed him through the people gathered around to play. The other demigods followed, looking baffled.
"We found something yesterday that we wanted to show you, but we forgot about it until now." Frank informed him. And then Leo found himself standing in front of a cardboard cut-out of the two Hephaestus images from the originals series and the modern expansion pack. His dad looked awesome, even his usually hideous features seemed less repulsive when placed in tandem with his awesome steam punk outfit in the modern image and his amazingly detailed original version. Leo felt a swell of pride at just how epic his dad looked. Most people judged Hephaestus on the fact that he was supposed to be monstrously ugly, yet here he just looked cool. The vendor who had been standing on the other side of the counter helping a kid choose some cards suddenly joined them, and smiled as if in recognition at Frank and Nico.
"Are you two going to remember to come and collect this before leaving today?" He inquired playfully, and Leo turned to his friends in confusion. The two looked a little awkward.
"We sort of bought it for you but forgot to come and collect it." Leo found himself laughing, touched by their thoughtfulness but amused by their forgetfulness.
The stallholder winked.
"Don't worry about it boys, I'll hold it for you." The demigods thanked him, and as they walked away, Leo made sure to thank the son of Hades and the son of Mars.
"So Mythomagic is good then?" Nico teased, though his tone also held a note of shyness.
"I guess" Leo made it sound as if conceding this point hurt, but inside he was glowing. His friends were really making him feel appreciated. His guilt from earlier sharpened, and Leo halted.
Gradually his friends stopped as well and gathered around him.
"What's wrong?" Hazel's anxious tone made the knife of guilt that was plunged into his gut twist.
"I'm sorry about before." Grief echoed in his voice. A cool (compared to his skin) hand tipped his head upwards, two fingers on his chin forcing him to look into Jason's eyes.
"Don't do it again and it's forgiven." He stated, and the knife disappeared. The wound would have remained and festered if Piper hadn't grabbed his hand.
"Cheer up Repair boy, we all do stupid things sometimes and we are all forgiven for them." Piper's radiant smile coerced a smile from his own mouth.
"Come on guys, it's time to head for lunch." Leo visibly brightened at this, and virtually bounced towards the place where they would be meeting up with Jazz and Mr Harris.
He didn't notice Percy and Jason lingering behind and shooting each other worried, big brother glances.
It took quite a bit of searching, but soon the group was complete. It was hard to locate the blonds due to the sheer amount of abnormal hair colours, luminous costumes and bizarre face paint, but they did locate them in the end.
The demigods all flopped down around the others, and then Piper and Jason took orders and money before heading up to brave the food queues. Percy followed; after all, it would be difficult for just two demigods to carry over lunch for seven people. Jazz and Mr Harris had already purchased their lunch and were happily munching away as they all engaged in a casual conversation.
Yet Leo couldn't help sneaking peeks at them occasionally, as if to ascertain that they were safe and alive. His dream had really shaken him up, and although Gaia and her giant spawn had been defeated, there were many other dangers that could plague his friend and his friend's family.
He tried to keep his worries covert, his friends had been persuaded to abandon the topic of his dream but they would start fussing over him again if he gave them any hint as to what his dream had been about.
When they had been forced into watching his memories, they had seen a lot of his worst recollections. But he'd lived a pretty crappy life and many bad memories had been left unseen and untold. So had many good memories. Leo didn't want to give his friends any reason to start considering that Hera had left a lot of the darkness of his past unexplored, though, so he couldn't tell them a lot of things without the fear of dragging them into the murkier waters of his past.
It wasn't that he didn't trust them, he did. And he was pretty certain that they knew it. He just didn't want to burden them even more than he already had.
"Leo…?" His head whipped up and his cheeks coloured as he became aware of the fact that his friends (including Jazz and Mr Harris) were all surveying him.
He ducked his head in embarrassment, and his shame increased upon observing that his meal had been delivered.
"Sorry, I got distracted thinking about all of the awesome things that I have seen and bought so I wasn't really paying attention" Nobody seemed appeased, but his friends wary of calling him on his bull in front of the other two, and the Harrises also seemed to be thinking along a similar line, though clearly neither group comprehended this.
Leo thanked all of the Gods for not letting them all gang up on him.
He hoped that the matter was dropped and gradually the tension seeped from his body as the conversation was steered to better topics such as the con and fandoms.
When they all were finished eating, they sorted out the groups that they would be going round in for the rest of the day.
They were largely similar to the other day, though Frank and Nico gained the addition of Hazel whilst Percy and Annabeth gained Piper. Though they couldn't say anything in front of mortals, the attack yesterday had rattled them slightly so bigger groups seemed like a safer choice. Leo and Jason were going to be wandering around with Jazz and Mr Harris.
They split, and as their quartet headed off, Mr Harris engaged Jason in a conversation about what he thought of the Con. As they got into the discussion, Jazz grabbed Leo's wrist and held him back, forcing them to dawdle until some distance had been gained between the two blonds in front and themselves.
"What was all that about before?" Leo knew that he was rumbled, Jazz was unshakeable. He was like a hellhound with a ball; if he set his mind on getting an answer then he would get one no matter how much Leo tried to weasel his way out of it.
"I sort of had a bad dream this morning." Jazz's face crumpled in sympathy.
"That sucks." He uttered quietly, and Leo felt a pang as he realised just how much he had missed Jazz.
"Yeah, it did."
"What was it about?" Leo frowned. He couldn't say anything about the demigod aspect of the dream, but maybe he could just tell Jazz a little bit about the rest?
"It was about the day that I left. The house had been broken into, and I ran away. In the… in the nightmare you and your parents were murdered because I ran away." Jazz cocked a hesitant grin.
"Why would that happen?" Leo knew that Jazz wouldn't even be attempting a smile if he knew about the very real possibility of monsters murdering Leo and his friends.
"Because I always cause trouble for the people that I care about." Jazz came to a grinding halt, and as he was still gripping Leo's arm, he was also forced to cease walking. Leo hoped that he wasn't going to give him any empty assurances that he had never caused trouble for anybody as a lie like that would make him lose some respect for his friend.
"Of cause you caused trouble for us." Then again, maybe a lie would have been less hurtful than the matter of fact way Jazz declared that. Evidently some of his shock and hurt showed, as Jazz rolled his eyes.
"That's just part of being friends. I caused trouble for you as well. The point is that we also helped each other out a lot. No friendship – in fact no relationship of any kind - is flawless and if it was then I wouldn't trust it. Human beings are destined to get on each other's nerves at some point, but that doesn't mean that we all have to hate each other. Sure, you could be a pain in the butt, and a right brat when you wanted to be, but you were still funny, kind and generous. You were willing to ignore your own problems in favour of helping others out and although you were incredibly smart you were also extremely humble and never showed off about it." Leo felt his cheeks glowing with a warm, red hue at Jazz's impassioned speech.
"So you forgive me for leaving without a proper goodbye?" Leo's voice was a little squeaky; he was still shocked over just how emphatic his friend had been.
"Yes. But if you do it again then I'll throw you under a bridge with a troll." Leo laughed at the mental image, and then found himself being pulled into a quick hug. Although it lasted only a handful of seconds, the hug warmed Leo completely.
As they drew back, they became aware of their audience.
Jason and Mr Harris were smiling at them with compassion and understanding, but a few other people were staring at them in confusion. After all, it wasn't every day that you saw Ezio Auditore hugging the dragonborn.
A beat of hesitant silence rang out, and Leo felt incredibly awkward and self-conscious.
"I always thought Ezio was gay." One voice rang out smugly, causing Leo to become even more flustered. Jazz didn't help as he simply started laughing at Leo's face, and at the debates that were now occurring as people fiercely defended their view of Ezio's sexuality.
As the debates raged on, Leo tugged Jasper over to Jason and Mr Harris, and kept walking, expecting the others to fall in behind him.
A hand landed heavily on his shoulder, and he turned to see Mr Harris looking at him with fond eyes.
"It's not often that I say this, but my son's right." Jazz squawked in protest at this, but Mr Harris' eyes remained riveted on Leo's face.
Even if you did sometimes inconvenience us, none of us minded. No matter how many problems you cause, you will always be welcome in my home." Leo would have been humiliated by the tears currently flooding his face, but he knew that the others wouldn't think less of him.
Jason leant in.
"I agree with my fellow blond haired, blue eyed men." As Leo pulled himself together, Mr Harris and Jazz shared a devious smirk.
"Hey, Jason does look sort of like us." Jazz's smirk widened.
"Well, as Leo seems to see him as a brother, that does technically make him my son." Leo whipped his head towards Mr Harris.
"Consider that your unofficial adoption." Jason also looked stunned as the Harrisses once again shared a look, though this time it was a very genuine, sincere expression.
"In fact, anybody who can earn Leo's trust can be considered part of our family. Leo, if you are ever in our neighbourhood, feel free to stop by and don't hesitate to bring your friends." Leo swallowed thickly, the lump in his throat making the action more difficult than necessary.
"Thank you." They simply smiled at him and an equally overwhelmed Jason before tugging them around the Con.
The rest of the day was spent in a much lighter manner. Jokes flew between the group as they bantered back and forth, buying souvenirs and taking pictures with amazing cosplayers.
They were still all chuckling as they met up with the others. Their laughter increased upon seeing Nico and Frank propping up the Hephaestus cut out.
As with the previous day the demigods separated from the other two as they headed home. Leo had been afraid that they were going to start quizzing him as soon as his butt touched the seat, but Jason silenced them with a look.
The good mood persisted all throughout the journey, and throughout dinner which they again shared with their friends.
But then Mr Harris made a statement that sort of brought down the mood.
"Me and Jazz are heading home tomorrow." Leo could tell that Annabeth was holding back on correcting the grammar of that declaration out of sheer politeness.
Though his amusement at watching Annabeth grit her teeth due to bad grammar was seriously dampened by the fact that he wouldn't be able to spend the next day with Jazz.
His old friend seemed to pick up on his mood (he'd always had an uncanny ability to sense Leo's mood) as he reached over and squeezed his hand.
"You are obligated to visit us regularly and to bring this rabble along with you." Leo forced a smile, and then Jason also leaned forwards.
"Hey, you can't call your own family rabble." The son of Jupiter winked at Leo, and they quartet from earlier all chuckled at the bewildered looks on everybody else's faces.
"I can call you whatever I want, land of the free remember." As Jazz and Jason descended into a playful squabble, Leo decided that he was going to make the most of the time that they had left together.
Dinner was hastily finished, and Leo turned to Jazz.
"Jasper, I do believe that we have unfinished business." Jazz remained uncomprehending for a brief moment, before the meaning dawned on him.
"Our Pokémon battle awaits."
The next morning, all of the demigods were gathered in the hotel lobby as the other two checked out. As soon as he formal stuff was taken care of, Jazz handed his suitcase to his father and virtually tackled Leo.
"You better visit, your princess is waiting." Leo smirked through the sadness.
"How would you know, aren't you still to bust flirting with the barmaid?" They both laughed as they withdrew from the hug, and Jazz turned to Jason, pulling the startled lightning wielder into a hug as well.
Mr Harris wrenched him into another rib cracking hug.
"I'm glad that you found a home, son, even if it wasn't with us." Leo inhaled deeply.
"I'm going to miss you both." Mr Harris laughed heartily.
"You won't have to miss us for too long, as soon as Mrs Harris hears about us meeting up with you, she will be clamouring to see you again. Hell, she is probably going to spam you with calls until she gets a chance to fuss over you again."
Once the hugs were over with, the Harris men shook hands with the other demigods and repeated the offer that they had made to Leo and Jason, they were all welcome at casa Harris.
Even though the absence of the father son pair was notable, the third day was still incredibly enjoyable. After they checked out of their hotel and got ready to head home, Leo once again thanked Piper for her generosity. The daughter of Aphrodite had shrugged off all praise, saying that gaining another brother who was uninterested in make up made the trip worth it.
Leo truly felt as if the experience had been cathartic. Sure, he had died, but he was alive now and he had a lot of people who he cared about and who in turn cared about him.
"So who gets to sit next to Hephaestus?" He asked cheerfully.
Well, I hope the length of this chapter made it worth it. Next up is the special extra Jadon chapter. I'll see you all next time.
