5-your favorite food

Hazel sighed as she slumped onto the bench next to Dakota, who was swigging from his Kool-Aid flask. His lips were blood-red, like he was a vampire.

"Hey." She greeted, rubbing her temples. She had a horrible headache from Percy slamming the hilt of his sword into her helmet. Of course, he apologized over and over, and she'd told him it was alright, but it still made her head throb.

Dakota, instead of answering, shrugged a reply and cussed good-naturedly at his flask, which he'd just emptied all over his face. If Nico had been there, Hazel would've covered his ears.

Nico...sure, he was younger than her, but Hazel always felt that Nico was the older one. More serious, more composed. Now he was gone.

She felt a nearly overwhelming urge to find him, just run to Rome and get her brother back. He was depending on her. She owed him. But plans had to be made, trust had to be formed. Hazel was still doubtful of the two sides ever fully resolving their differences; the Greeks just seemed too alien. Too foreign.

One of the aurae flitted over to her with a bowl of shrimp gumbo. Yum.

"Hey." Dakota said, finally finishing his string of curses off, and Hazel looked up.

"Hey Dakota. Hi Hazel." Frank sat down next to her, blushing.

Hazel felt a flash of irritation. He acted like they were dating, but they hadn't even discussed it. Guilt squirmed to life as she remembered the kiss; she hadn't thought it through.

Frank squeezed her hand when she didn't answer-uncomfortably tight. She pulled her hand from his grip. Thankfully, her rejection was masked by Percy and Annabeth's arrival.

"And the columns are so graceful, did you see them?" The gray-eyed blond was chattering excitedly.

"Yes, I did." Percy said patiently. He gave Hazel and Frank a look like, what can you do?

Hazel's heart ached as she saw how in love they were. Even she could see it, in Annabeth's giddy expression and the gleam in Percy's eyes.

"So where's Jason?" Frank was craning his head to look for the legendary praetor. He'd only seen him for a week or two before Jason disappeared.

"There." Hazel pointed toward the two empty praetors' chairs.

The rich purple tapestry provided a stunning contrast to the golden eagle. Hazel couldn't help her pride at helping retrieving it. The stone chairs were lonely-looking, bleak and empty.

Jason was sitting at the table nearest to the chairs. He was wearing a purple shirt instead of the orange one. His blond hair seemed to glow in the dim light. Piper and Leo sat on either side of him as if to draw strength from.

Reyna was sitting across from Jason, looking furious. As Hazel watched, she stalked away angrily. Jason put his head in his hands, and Piper rubbed his back soothingly, her lips moving but her words lost in the chatter and laughter.

Hazel's gaze was caught by Leo. He was sitting remarkably still, talking to Jason. He was using his hands a lot as he spoke, and when he'd finished, he cracked up.

Hazel's lips curled up into a grin as Jason smiled and Piper laughed. The son of Jupiter began to lose his depressed appearance that even Hazel could see from across the room.

It was...sweet that Leo was so concerned, she thought.

"What are you looking at, Hazel?" Frank asked, wrapping his beefy arm around her in a casual but possessive way. Whether or not he meant for it to be possessive, Hazel didn't know.

Instead, she raised an eyebrow at him, a skill she'd picked up from who-knows-where.

Frank either didn't see this or he chose to ignore it; all he said was, "I need to talk to Cassie."

Cassidy was a daughter of Apollo and Octavian's apprentice. She'd only been in camp for about a year, and she'd only exhibited any prophetic signs once or twice. She was a lot more pleasant to talk to though. Honestly, she scared Hazel; she reminded her too much of her mother. All prophets did.

"Okay." Hazel said, fixing her attention on the trio again.

Frank smiled and kissed her cheek in goodbye. Hazel had to consciously resist the urge to flinch away; it was just awkward. Like a cousin kissing her.

"Bye." Frank said and walked away to find Cassie. Percy and Annabeth drifted off a while later, apparently to find a friend of theirs named Rachel. Hazel assumed she'd come out of the airship after Hazel herself had ran away.

Looking up, Hazel's golden eyes met Leo's cocoa-brown ones; he was watching her with an unreadable expression on his face that made her uncomfortable. He smiled a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes and gave her a joking salute. Someone might think it was mocking, but Hazel knew better.

Leo would do anything for a laugh. Just like Sammy.

The daughter of Pluto heaved a sigh that could probably be heard across the room. Dakota looked down at her curiously.

"Y'okay there Hazel?" He asked kindly with a slurred voice.

"Golden 'Kota." Hazel said, using his nickname. She stared at the roughly hewn wall, biting her lip as she tried to decipher that look. Dakota grinned over her shoulder.

"Imperial golden?" A laughing voice said from behind her, the smile bleeding through.

Hazel froze as tingles ran up her spine. Her heart was suddenly beating louder in her chest, thumping against her ribs as if asking, Anybody home?

Slowly, as if she were turning to stone at the speed of a snail, she turned her head.

Leo grinned at her, plopping himself down across from her. Everyone around them stared. Whispers broke out like wildfires.

"So, why isn't this table crowded? The hero who saved the Roman camp?" He arched an eyebrow.

"Frank's talking to Cassidy. Percy's with Annabeth. Besides," Hazel tucked an auburn tress back, "Jason's getting most of the attention. Him and the famous Greeks." She teased.

Leo shrugged, "Famous, my ass. I'm not famous for anything." He scowled darkly at the stone ground.

"What was Reyna talking to Jason about?" Hazel changed the subject quickly, sensing a bad topic.

"Reyna asked him about Piper." Leo answered, distracted from whatever he'd been thinking of.

Hazel let out a long, low whistle. "Wow. What did he do?"

"Outright told her that they were never dating, and he liked Pipes." Leo looked astonished and slightly envious of his friend's daring.

"Reyna's not someone you want to cross." Hazel laughed. Dakota groaned beside her at the increase in noise.

"Tell me 'bout it." Leo shivered. "Nice eagle, by the way." He jerked his thumb over his shoulder at the golden statue. "You helped rescue it, right?"

"It was mostly Frank and Percy." Hazel shrugged it off.

"You deserve some glory too!" Leo looked outraged at her response. "You almost died!"

"It was only because my name wasn't on the death-list that I didn't." Hazel shifted uncomfortably in her seat, embarrassed even though there was no one who could hear them except Dakota, who was piss-drunk.

"I mean the actual quest. The giant and everything." Leo fixed her with such a piercing stare that she gaped; she'd never seen him so serious.

"Yeah, I guess." She decided to give in; anything was better than meeting his eyes.

Then he beamed, so widely, with pure white teeth against his tanned face, and Hazel felt herself go red and stuttering.

"Because you helped Percy and believe me, Annabeth would've gone on a rampage if he'd died. You deserve glory." His eyes were open innocently, blinking like an owl.

"Oh. Right." Hazel crushed down any disappointment, because there wasn't any. Nope. Nada. Zip. Zero. None.

"I was going to say something else..." Leo bit his lip. Hazel stared determinedly at his forehead.

"Right!" His face brightened into a smile. "Thalia's coming!"

"Jason's sister?" Hazel was caught off guard.

"Yeah. She had to do this important thing for Artemis-Diana, sorry, but she said she'd be here in a couple days."

Hazel, naturally, didn't feel any jealousy at Leo's dazed, love-struck expression. Of course not. She had no reason to be jealous of a Hunter.

"Oh. Right." Was all she could think to say. Her lips twitched into a smile she didn't mean. Leo didn't notice anything.

"Well, gotta go." He heaved himself to his feet, nodding at Dakota, who completely ignored him. Leo started to walk away, but he turned back as if he remembered something.

"I'm glad you didn't die too Hazel." He said, with a sweet smile, and Hazel had to hide her face with her bowl of ice-cold shrimp gumbo.

There was one thing she couldn't deny though, even if she convinced herself she wasn't disappointed or jealous.

She wanted to see Leo Valdez smile again.

Some fluffy goodness. I love writing fluff between these two. And I'm adding Thalia and Rachel in. Forgot about them earlier. And I'm not the best with detail and I rushed this one, so…next one is on Wednesday.

Okay, I need help on Octavian. I was thinking of pairing him with Reyna or Rachel. Or neither, what do you (as the reader, whose opinion actually matters) think?

Good? Bad? Review?