Piper and Leo are a sibling/bestie dynamic duo and I love them!

Leo knew how upset Piper was. He understood why too. His intentions were never meant to hurt the people closest to him, but he knew there wasn't any world where it would have been wise of him to tell Jason and Piper. Even so, they would have understood had he returned right after picking up Calypso, or before he left. Instead he sent the camp a message and just went into hiding with his new girlfriend.

It sounded selfish. Perhaps he was being selfish. But what was he supposed to do after saving a titaness from an island she had been trapped on from thousands of years by the gods. He freed her without their permission. Infact, after Percy requested they would free her, they turned around and decided against it. They feared that having already banished her for so long she would wish to seek revenge. But Calypso just wanted out. She never intended violence to begin with. She was just a girl who chose to defend her father and remain by his side in the war. For that, she was punished and kept alone with her nymphs, cursed to lose every love for an ungodly amount of time.

Laying low with Calypso had been the only option Leo could settle with. He was certain the gods knew what he did. His father hadn't spoken to him, but he could feel his father's flame of pride flickering in his chest. After all, not only did Leo beat the system the gods created, deliberately free a girl many of them were scared of, and curate a resurrection for himself, he also managed to land Calypso. Leo didn't see her as a prize, but considering her beauty rivaling that of Aphrodite's he understood his father was impressed that she was equally enamored with Leo as he was her. Something Hephaestus and Aphrodite could never be.

Even so, he was still a shitty friend. He defeated Gaia and allowed himself to be the sacrifice, the one who was to die in the prophecy. He secretly brought himself back to life and just left. He only gave them a message and didn't even visit. So it was no surprise to him when he returned to Camp Half Blood that Piper was more than just upset. She was pissed.

Leo let Lester, the current mortal form of Apollo, take Calypso to get something to eat and talk to Chiron. Despite the fact that Apollo had been one of the gods that denied Calypso's freedom, the party chose to ignore it and focus on the task at hand. But Leo excused himself and went straight to Zeus's cabin. He knew Thalia wasn't around and he figured he would find Piper there. Turns out, he was right.

He found her standing in the cabin by Jason's side. She turned her head towards him as he shut the door. Both relief and anger flickered in her eyes, but her first response was to pull Leo into a tight hug. He rested his head against her shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her torso in a hard embrace.

"You alright?" She asked quietly.

He nodded. "Yeah… you?"

"I am now…" Piper pulled him out of the hug, the relief in her eyes turning to anger. "Why did you do it?"

Leo let out a deep sigh. "Piper, you gotta understand. Had you been in my position, you would have sacrificed yourself too if it meant saving Jason."

"I understand why you did it," she admitted. "Frankly, what you did was noble. Saving Calypso and all that, but you could have explained what you were doing!"

"No, I couldn't," Leo argued. "You and Jason would have stopped me. The only person I might have been able to tell would be Frank, but I couldn't trust him not telling Hazel before I committed and she certainly wouldn't let me."

Piper paused, taking his reasoning into account. "I suppose you're right, but why didn't you come back before you went after Calypso?"

"The gods. I wanted to do it before anyone realized I cheated death or before anyone could figure out what I was planning to do. After that we'll… I sent a message. It was the best thing I could offer at the time. Calypso didn't want to be involved with the gods anymore and didn't want to be where they would interfere. Honestly… I didn't want to come back either."

She nodded in understanding. "You know, it destroyed Jason when he thought you were dead. It hurt him more that you stayed away. It hurt me that you stayed away."

"Pipes, I'm sorry," he said.

She set her hands on her hips. "I know you are, but I think you know what needs to be done."

He knew what she meant. His shoulders sagged as he settled for defeat. She was right and he decided not to argue against her. It wasn't like it was the first time she punished him this way. Heck even Jason did it once or twice, but Jason didn't hurt. He was too scared to hurt him and held back, so Leo just played along that it did. But Piper was not so easily fooled.

She sat down on the nearest bed and Leo dragged himself over. He draped his body over her lap and she resituated him so his legs were dangling in the air, backside pointed up and head pointed down. The palms of his sweaty hands tested against the cold floor as he held himself up. He felt her wrap her arm over his torso to help hold him in place. Piper wasn't one to play around. Leo was immediately met with an onslaught of swift strokes to the seat of his pants. He hissed through his teeth in response to the stinging slaps. When it came to Piper, she showed no mercy.

His legs kicked as he squirmed uncomfortably in Piper's lap. Tears stung in his eyes, but she didn't relent the spanks any. If anything, she was swatting harder and faster, earning a whimper from the boy. Usually, Piper would scold or yell at him, but she remained silent. It was worse for some reason, knowing he caused her so much grief.

The spanking probably went on for a minute (but felt longer to Leo) before he couldn't stand the silence any longer. "Piper!"

She paused, not responding not away. He realized she thought she hurt him too much as she released him. Leo slid off her lap, standing on his knees. He ignored the few tears running down his cheeks, more concerned about the tears in his friend's eyes.

"Piper…"

She sniffed loudly before burying her face in her hands, letting out a loud sob. Panicked, Leo gently grabbed her arm. He wanted to say something, but he wasn't sure what to say. He didn't know how to react. Typically, it was her and Jason comforting him after the spanking, not the other way around. What was he supposed to do?

"Piper," he tried again.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "It's just… we missed you so much…"

Leo didn't wait for her to say anything more. He sat on the bed next to her, pulling her into a tight embrace. "I missed you too… I really am sorry."

She hugged him back, meeting out a loud sniff. "I know you are, Leo. I'm glad you're back."

"Me too," he said.