notes: Look, I don't really write fics anymore but I hope this absolves me of my sins. Please enjoy this Liper love letter (originally a oneshot) that I started in 2018.

Expect updates 1-2 times a week. Have a happy new year, enjoy the remnants of Liper December, and leave a review to let me know what you think!

1.

"So!" Piper cries as she bursts into his cabin, startling the half-godlings tinkering closest by the door. Leo jerks so hard when she stomps his way that he drops the piece of wire in his hands. "This is super weird, right? Please tell me that you think this is weird."

Leo thinks he half-knows what she's talking about as he scrambles over the side of his bunk in search of the missing wire. So many crazy things had happened today that it was hard to pick one thing.

Their dead-beat parents were suddenly Greek gods. They'd found out their gym teacher was half a petting zoo, and then immediately lost him in the Grand Canyon. And now a camp full of people from his history textbook expect them to board his newly-tamed dragon, go on some crazy quest, fulfill a prophecy, and eventually save the world. He could barely even choose between Lucky Charms and Cheerios at breakfast last week. Why was the universe expecting so much of them now?

It doesn't take him long to notice that the clash of metalwork in the background has slowed to a standstill as Piper stops—and he has to remind himself that she's drop-dead gorgeous now, after her claiming at the campfire when her love-god mom "blessed" her or something. When he finally looks up, he's almost taken aback by how different she looks for the second time tonight; the snobby girls who'd lived to mock her at school could never hope to shine as bright as she does now. But underneath all the makeup, he remembers it's just Piper, and just-Pipes looks extremely annoyed beneath all the glitz and glam. He has a strong feeling that she wants to talk alone after today's events, and his half-siblings aren't helping. Even Jake Mason is watching, craning his neck from his cast while pretending to read an upside-down book.

Leo can't stop the nervous laughter that bubbles from his lips, shoving the wire back into his pocket. "Knock next time, will you? We should probably step outside."

Piper gives a short nod and spins on her heel, her Aphrodite-issued golden sandals click-clacking against the wood floors. He's quick to follow. Someone starts to let out a low whistle as they step outside, and Leo almost throws a fireball, but he's glad that the last thing he sees is the sight of pillows flying and the sound of a muffled "OW!" as the door clicks shut behind them.

Outside of Cabin 9, the air is warm with the lingering taste of summer and crisp with the looming threat of fall. In the clearing beyond, the last embers of the campfire ascend to join a sheet of evening stars. Campers are still out, even as the sky grows darker, milling about the space with news of a fresh quest on their tongues. He spots a flickering glow from the depths of Cabin 1, and wonders how their third is holding up; the Big House is brighter still, blurred figures darting on and off the porch past the unwavering form of a centaur. Leo's dragon is at the base of Half-Blood Hill, happily blowing fire with the smaller creature he'd seen coiled around the pine tree earlier, playing under Chiron's watchful eyes until their departure later tonight. Leo swallows at the thought of leaving the camp's borders again, his mind on Dylan and the venti, or whatever Jason had called them. Who's to say they could face them a second time, if they went back out on their own? Who's to say that one day of being a demigod was enough to keep them safe?

He closes his eyes to take in the stillness, but can feel his friend fidget at his side. His lips quirk, amused, because that's his thing, not hers. He's not the best at getting Piper out of her head, but tries with a nudge at her elbow. She bumps back, a little startled, but heaves a sigh that relaxes them both. It's only natural to let her take the lead, steering him toward the brush between their cabins.

They've only just cleared the last scraggly branch of a pine when she rounds on him so fast he stops short.

"I don't want to go on this quest."

Oh thank God. "Oh thank God. What is wrong with these people?" The hysteria starts to set in as the reality of the situation fully weighs in his mind. Piper immediately drops to a squat with a long and pitiful groan. "We're fifteen! I don't wanna do this! If Jason wasn't going, I wouldn't have volunteered at all!"

"This has to be illegal." Piper moans, practically muffling her wails in the grass. Leo is strangely comforted to see his best friend look as scared-shitless as he does. "They saw us this morning, we were terrible! They can't make us go on this—this suicide mission." She sits up, her newly-smudged eyeshadow painting her expression even darker. "And all this 'monster' stuff—they can kill us, Leo. Did you see those harpies at lunch? Annabeth said they'd eat us after curfew. How is that sane? How is anything about this place sane?"

Leo catches the look in her heavily-makeuped eyes, and is reminded of a cornered prey animal he'd seen at some point in Biology. He drops a hand to her shoulder to distract from his panic, hoping his stilted pats aren't as awkward as they feel.

"Maaaybe we should calm down, huh? We still—" he swallows "—we still gotta be there for Jason, and I don't think freaking out is gonna help anybody. Also, I'm pretty sure that harpy thing might be a bluff, but let's not test that theory anytime soon. And besides," he gives her his trademarked Valdez smile, the one he always used at Wilderness, and tries not to think too hard about how legitimate those memories might be. "You're a Super Beauty Queen now. Like, a certified Level 100 Beauty Queen thanks to your mom. Super Beauty Queens aren't supposed to worry themselves about stuff like this, right? You'll get wrinkles, or something."

"Funny." Piper mutters with a sour look, shoving his hand away. "I just came from my cabin by the way, and it's horrible. I don't want anything to do with looking pretty, or breaking hearts, or whatever else Aphrodite kids believe in at this crazy camp. But at least one of us is enjoying our new home." she says pointedly. Leo feels a brief pang of guilt, and he's sure it shows by the alarmed look she makes at his expression.

Even her wince looks pretty. "Wait, I didn't mean—"

"My cabin's cursed," he shrugs back, not meeting her eyes. "And I'm pretty sure the last counselor died. So I wouldn't say I'm 'comfortable', exactly." He gives her a look of his own, and she bites her lip, glancing away.

"Sorry. Drew said the Aphrodite counselor died too, in the war…" she trails off, peering up through her lashes. "They were dating, you know. The Cabin 9 and 10 counselors. I don't know what happened in the end, but I heard it wasn't good."

"Yeah." His chest feels strange, when Piper looks at him like that. He coughs into his fist and looks away. "I heard something like that, too."

They find themselves eyeing each other for a moment before a shudder racks them both, and he's very glad when Piper changes the subject.

"So. Before we go on this 'quest' thing and make complete and utter fools of ourselves...please promise me you won't die or start acting weird like everyone else." she says quietly, and Leo smiles a little at that, because they both know for a fact that he's already a little bit crazy. If Piper thinks that Leo's normal in comparison to a bunch of other half Greek gods, then he'll gladly take the compliment.

"Only if you promise the same." he says with one hand held out, and Piper smiles, small and bright, and Leo forces himself not to do something dumb like flush at the look the aggressively beautiful girl is giving him. She takes his hand and twines their fingers together, which makes his chest feel warm and full, unlike the scorching heat of the flame that thrums beneath his skin.

"And this Jason thing." she says, holding his gaze steady, the dark brown of her eyes briefly glinting hazel, green, blue. "Promise me we'll figure this out. And that we'll stick with each other. Because I can't imagine doing this without you."

"I promise." he says to his reflection in her eyes, and when he closes his own, he means it.

The conch sounds from the Big House, and they both start to smile.