Hello guys, these memories should be more cute than angsty as the last couple have been pretty angst filled. Thank you everyone who has faved or followed.
Fantasiedreamar : I'm glad that I made you laugh :)
Neon Wish : Thank you.
QueenofLothlorien : You're other welcome, and I'll put another one in next chapter.
Kittehx1 : Nope (I enjoyed writing it).
Catsrawesome : Argon and Neon are both noble gasses.
Otaku With Cats : Thank you so much! And I'll try my best to keep it up.
Septimus : Good, I hoped to balance humour with angst.
RoseAmy13LunaGinny : It's so hard to write with American terms :( I'm glad that you liked it anyway.
Luisa : I will keep writing so thank you.
TeamLeo'sVeryOwnFlinxShipper : Being strange is definitely better, and of course I'll help you break the fourth wall to liberate Leo.
Killua minamoto : I'm sorry, I'll try to make the jokes easier to understand. Okay, to make water oxygen must bond with two hydrogen. H2O is water, and when you say H2O4, it sounds like H20 for drinking. Metals are alloys (Silver and Iron). Argon and Neon are both noble gasses.
Our Mismatched Socks : He's a lot smarter then most authors give him credit for.
DamnYouPeopleWithCoolUserNames : I jump for joy whenever I get such lovely reviews! And I'll put that in this chapter for you.
ObsessedwReading : It's my pleasure :)
Disclaimer : I think that you understand by now that I only own this plot.
Annabeth's P.O.V
Annabeth was amused at the scientific jokes that Leo had created. The younger demigod seemed able to put humour in any situation. Over the past few months, Annabeth had seen this quality as something negative, Leo had never taken anything too seriously during the quest in her eyes, but now she could see that Leo had developed a necessary survival skill.
She knew what is was like to live on the streets and on the run, but at least she had had Thalia and Luke. Leo had had practically no one. Occasionally he would make a friend, but then he would leave and they would be a distant memory. She wondered what was the longest friendship that Leo had ever had.
Thirteen year old Leo was casually perched on top of Jazz in Jazz's living room. Both boys were laughing helplessly, and Jazz kept making half-hearted attempts to break free.
"Get of me you imbecile!" Leo shifted position, and Jazz winced slightly.
"Damn, your butt is bony." Jazz continued squirming, but Leo some how remained balanced.
"I'll get off if you admit that I'm the best gamer in the world."
"Never!"
"Then I hope you're comfortable because I can sit like this all night." To emphasize his point, Leo folded his legs and leant back like he was on a recliner.
"Why am I friends with you again?" There was no malice in Jazz's voice when he asked this, and Leo's grin turned even more mischievous.
"Because I'm the best gamer ever." Leo declared. Jazz groaned.
"Fine, fine, you are the best gamer ever." Leo whooped in triumph and leapt up, punching the air excitedly.
"Not." Leo turned on the paler boy, a fake dark aura spreading around him. Jazz cocked one hip challengingly. Leo let loose a war cry and tackled the other boy. They wrestled on the floor until a they were called into the kitchen. Leo released Jazz from his chokehold, and they untangle their legs and staggered into the kitchen together.
Annabeth gave Leo a look.
"Boys." Hazel and Piper nodded in agreement. The boys looked offended.
"Be careful Annie, you're starting to sound like a Hunter of Artemis." Annabeth glared at Leo, and the pyro boy cowered.
"Don't call me Annie." Leo nodded, and Annabeth smirked in satisfaction. Percy snickered, and she turned her glare on him. Her boyfriend gulped though any lecture she had prepared was cut of by the next video.
Twelve year old Leo was sitting in a nursery like room, rocking one baby in his arms and bouncing a toddler on his legs. He looked incredibly tired, but satisfied at the same time. Then the baby in his arms began crying, and Leo started crooning a lullaby in a mixture of Spanish and English. Once the baby had quietened down, he stood, keeping the baby in one arm and nestled into his chest while transferring the toddler to his hip.
He made his way to one of the cribs in the room and gently placed the now soundly sleeping baby into it. The toddler let out a low whine, and Leo placed him on the chair, pulling a funny face which made the toddler laugh.
"Alright, Sammy, it's bedtime now." The toddlers eyes filled with tears.
"Don't wanna." His tiny fists clenched in Leo's shirt.
"I will stay with you." Leo said in a placating way. The child nodded enthusiastically and Leo carried him over to the small bed in the other corner of the room. It was lucky that Leo was short and skinny otherwise he wouldn't have fit on the bed. As it was, Leo curled up with the tiny boy, hugging him protectively. He had placed himself in a way so that he could keep an eye on both of his young charges. They remained like that for a short while, when the door cracked open quietly.
A couple put their heads in and observed the scene. Leo propped himself up on his elbow and nodded in greeting.
"Thanks for looking after your siblings Leo. You did a great job." Leo yawned.
"Anytime." He stated sleepily before snuggling back under the covers with his younger foster sibling.
"You are really good with kids." Piper was smiling with sisterly pride, and Annabeth felt a similar emotion well up within her. She knew that she had claimed that Leo was a part of her demigod family, but now she was really starting to feel like he was a younger brother.
It was weird, she had acknowledge Leo as an important part of the quest but she was only now realising that that implied a deeper connection between them all. He wasn't just the repair boy, or even just the one who could set himself on fire. He was their brother and maybe he deserved more respect then Annabeth had given him in the past. She silently resolved to herself as the next video started, that she would try to treat Leo as a part of the family, not as an annoying addition.
Seven year old Leo was sitting in a small group of Latino children. They were speaking to each other in a rapid mix of Spanish and English, using the two in a complimentary manner, as if they were just two pieces of the same language. He appeared totally at ease with this unusual language style.
"Y voy a hacer la mejor autómata (and I am going to make the best robot)!" His voice was dreamy, even as the other kids gave him odd looks. His hands were twitching, as if he was building the robot in his mind even as he had this conversation.
In the distance, a group of parents (including Esperanza) sat watching over the children.
One little girl came and sat next to Leo.
"Como (how)?" Leo looked at her, delighted, and began rattling off a very complicated process for making the best robot ever which was made even more complicated by the way he swapped between English and Spanish. The girl looked enthralled, however.
"Pienso que puede hacerlo (I think that you can do it)." Leo hugged her.
"Sofia." A young Latino lady called out, and the girl hastily said a flustered goodbye before running up to her mother. Esperanza also came over and picked up Leo, who grinned up at her.
"Sofia es una buena amiga (Sofia is a good friend)." Leo nodded in agreement with his mom's words.
Leo was once again drawing away, and Annabeth finally pieced together what he was doing. His drawing had intensified after every memory that had introduced a happy influence from Leo's past. Every person who had a positive impact on Leo's past, he was drawing a picture of them. Pleased with her deduction, Annabeth settled into a more comfortable position. She wouldn't tell the others, Leo could reveal it himself if he wanted to.
Leo and Layla were seated in a nice restaurant, both looking highly nervous. Leo's hands were rapping on the tabletop and Layla was twirling a piece of her around her finger incessantly.
Annabeth heard Piper actually hiss at the girl who had screwed up Leo's life. She seemed to relax when Leo patted her knee.
A waiter made his way over to the table carrying a few plates of food, but at that unfortunate moment, Leo stood up burbling that he was going to the toilet.
The plates few everywhere, and Leo watched in horror as the food splashed all over the floor. The waiter looked murderous and the manager looked worse. Layla darted out of her seat and grabbed Leo's hand.
"Run." She instructed, and Leo obeyed, throwing some money over his shoulder. The teens sprinted away, ending up in a nearby park. They doubled over, but only Layla appeared winded.
"I'm so sorry!" Leo blurted out, face coloured with shame. Layla laughed, and Leo looked at her in confusion.
"Did you see his face?"
"You aren't mad that I've just ruined the date?" Layla rolled her eyes.
"You haven't ruined anything Leo, that was hilarious. Not your typical first date, I'll grant you that, but the night's young. We can just do something else. Leo looked stunned. He stared in wonder at Layla for a few seconds, then he pulled her into a loving kiss. They melded together, and, if only for a moment, the young couple were perfect.
"You are extraordinary." Layla giggle at the compliment. They wondered around the park for a short while and Leo bought them both ice cream. Leo got triple chocolate, and Layla got fudge.
Leo gave Layla a cheeky look, before leaning over and licking her ice cream. She swatted him playfully, before going to lick his ice cream. Leo danced away, and Layla pouted.
"Why can you have some of mine but I can't have any of yours"
Leo licked his ice cream slowly, and then kissed Layla with the remnants of the sticky treat still on his lips. Layla blushed massively, sub consciously licking her lips when Leo drew away to remove any trace of the chocolate ice cream.
"Happy now?" He hummed as he continued eating the treat.
"No." Leo turned in confusion, just in time for Layla to smash her ice cream into his face.
"Hey!" He spluttered, but all protests were ended when Layla gave him another kiss, longer than the previous two.
"Now we're equal." She stated happily and she continued walking away, leaving Leo behind who's brain was obviously short circuiting. Fudge ice cream was still coating his face, but his sunny smile was still visible as he jogged to catch up with his girlfriend, their hands lacing together shyly.
"I still hate her." Piper grumbled., but Annabeth had noticed the creepy Aphrodite-esque smile that had been prominent on her friend's face during the more lovey dovey scenes. Leo looked to be having his own internal debate before he continued sketching. Jason glanced down at the picture and a small glint of happiness showed in his eyes. Annabeth assumed that this meant Leo had added Layla onto the picture, and Jason was taking this as a sign that Leo had fully moved on from the break up. A flicker of pride ran through Annabeth as she observed the strength of the son of Hephaestus.
A lot of happier memories this time. And I did this in Annabeth's point of view because I think she is one of the ones who needed something like this the most, a period of time to reflect on her relationship with the younger demigod and decide on whether or not she accepted him.