(A/N: IT'S HERE! I SUCCESSFULLY WAITED TO (ALMOST) MONDAY (MY SELF CONTROL MUST BE KICKING IN) AND I REALLY REALLY HOPE YOU ALL LIKE IT :)
Shy x.
CHAPTER FOUR
The first time Leo intentionally called for his father, his half-siblings were sceptical.
"Why do you want to call him again?" Nyssa asked, suspiciously as Leo began to prep Festus' head for transplant.
"I told you, I want to ask him a question about my mother." He replied, gnawing on the end of his screwdriver. "Does that look right to you?"
Nyssa picked up the dragon head which wiggled impatiently in her grip and shrugged. "It could use another transcommunicator here for the vision capacity."
"I knew it was missing something." Leo mumbled, snapping his fingers for Buford the mechanical table. "Buford? Bring me a transcommunicator would you?"
The table shuddered in reply and trotted off, weaving through the sons and daughters of Hephaestus even though it bore no eyes.
"Maybe you should rethink calling on Dad, man." Jake Mason called from his perch in the catwalks where he was working on a chariot that swung suspended in chains from the ceiling.
"Yeah, he's not so gracious about being called up for no reason." Another brother of his, Shane Brown added with a warning look.
"I've never met him." Eleven-year-old Natalie Ram muttered, accidentally ripping out a piece of wiring from her automaton rabbit. She set it aside with slight sigh and went to work fix the patch.
Nyssa rolled her eyes, tossing back Festus' head with deceptive strength. "Suit yourself, Valdez. But do me a favour? Don't call him when everyone else is around. If he's grouchy, we're not all fire proof like you." She chuckled as she walked away.
That night, he asked his friends not to come to Bunker Nine. They'd argued of course, repeating over and over that if he was going to face a god, even his father, he should do it with their support.
"We'd just feel better if you had some back up." Frank said finally in a very diplomatic tone.
"I don't need backup." Leo said, pointedly. "He's my Dad."
"But what if he says no?" Piper asked in a small voice.
Leo stuck his hands in his tool belt to keep from revealing how they shook at the idea. The more he'd thought about what Percy said, the more he realised how narrow-sighted he'd been thinking. It was all very well and good for Leo to set out to find Ogygia but if he couldn't free Calypso, what good would it do?
"He owes me." Leo said, finally. "They all do. They owe us because even when they decided to disconnect Olympus and pretend Gaea wasn't rising, we saved their immortal butts. I'm not going to let them forget it."
Finally, all six left him alone and Leo took a deep breath before setting up the main forge with the driest firewood and heating the flames until they were ravenously hot. Nyssa had given him some tips on how to attract Hephaestus' attention from what she'd heard from previous councillors but she'd also said that Charles Beckendorf was the only one to successfully call upon their father before he'd died two years ago.
He withdrew the small satchel of rubies and pearls that Hazel and Percy had collected for him and tossed them into the flames. "Dad? It's me, Leo. You know, the short one?" he called, aiming for a joke though there was no response but the crackle of flames melting the precious offering. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Look, I know you're super busy and all, but I have to talk to you. I-I need to ask you for a favour."
"A favour?" a gruff voice echoed from behind him and Leo span around, hammer withdrawn in his left hand, right hand ablaze with crackling flames. "Put those away kid. They're not gonna do you much good."
"Dad." Leo greeted, sheepishly putting away his weapon. "Sorry, reflex."
Hephaestus' dark coal eyes tightened slightly. "I never really wanted that for you kiddo." He wore a greased pair of overalls and a ripped t-shirt that revealed just how broad and muscular his arms and shoulders were, his beard overgrown as per usual like a birds nest.
Am I ever going to get that big? He wondered absent-mindedly. Or do I just get to be scrawny and linguine-armed for the rest of my life?
"I've spent a lot of my immortal life in the forges, Valdez. It's not exactly light work." Hephaestus suddenly answered, snickering slightly. At Leo's somewhat wary look, he added: "All my kids think the same thing."
"I bet." Leo muttered before he set his shoulders and furrowed his brow. Well I'm not on fire. Not grouchy then.
"Oh no," Hephaestus muttered, looking over the bunker with interest. He stopped beside Festus' nearly completed left leg and handily pieced together some of the pressure plates that were giving Leo trouble. "I know that look."
"What look?" Leo asked, frowning even more.
"That look." Hephaestus pointed to him. "I'm not great with people, son but I know what that face means. Your mother looked exactly the same way before she asked why I wouldn't visit you."
It was on the tip of his tongue to ask why Hephaestus hadn't visited him, when he'd seen his mother but not his son but Leo let the cool sensation of strong but soft hands clutching his neck and the faint smell of cinnamon to bring him back to focus. Calypso is waiting for me.
Hephaestus watched him knowingly as though testing Leo's restraint. "When we came back from Greece, when Gaea got her butt kicked back into the tectonic plates, the gods showed up when they'd defeated the giants."
"They did." Hephaestus agreed, seemingly only paying half his attention to his son.
"Annabeth and Percy," Leo's mouth went a little dry but he continued on. "They asked for a titan and a giant to be released from Tartarus. One of them already is."
"Ah yes, Iapetus. Though I believe his name is now Bob?" Hephaestus answered, casually.
Leo got the feeling his father was playing with him and he slumped with a moan. "C'mon Dad, cut me some slack here."
"Why?" the iron god seemed to be enjoying himself. "You haven't even really asked me anything yet."
"The Olympians- you- granted them favours." Leo pointed out, gritting his teeth as his father chuckled slightly. Leo neglected to mention that the reason he hadn't been around to collect his favour the first time was because Gaea had buried him under a mountain and he was unconscious. It felt like it went without saying. "I want to cash in."
"Cash in?"
"Cash in. Redeem. Use. Collect $200 and pass go!" Leo bristled. "I don't care what you call it, I want my favour."
"At least you don't beat about the bush." Hephaestus grunted, sounding a little putout by Leo's rudeness. "What do you want kid?"
"I want you to free Calypso from her curse."
Hephaestus seemed to choke on his own spit, if it were possible for an immortal to choke on one's own spit. "You what?"
"You heard me." Leo's whole body took on a rigidity that felt eerily familiar to gearing up for battle. He might be a jerk, manipulative, a liar, a trickster, occasionally mean and rude but he was nothing if not stubborn. "I want her free to leave Ogygia."
"Can't you just ask for a bicycle that shoots lasers like every other kid?" Hephaestus complained, running a hand through his bristly hair and moving forward with his limp.
"I have a dragon that shoots fire." Leo crossed his arms and Festus gave a small huff of steam. "He will shoot fire once I connect him." He amended before continuing. "This is what I want."
"Leo, I can't just release her. Her fate was for eternity. That was the price for her betrayal." Hephaestus recited with a bit of bitterness in his tone.
"She's been on that island for millennia, Dad."
"Percy already made you all swear on the Styx!"
Hephaestus rolled his eyes. "If he really wanted it done, he should've specified when."
Leo's tone hardened to steel. "The gods offered me a favour, anything I wanted. This is what I want."
Hephaestus squinted at his son, eying him with a quiet intensity. "This is what you want?"
"This is what I want."
Sighing, the god of the forges rubbed his eyes and shrugged, helplessly. "Then we better get the Big Guy involved. I hate getting him involved, kiddo."
With that, he snapped his fingers and immortal father and demigod son disappeared in a flash of bright white flames.
(A/N: Thanks for reading and I've decided chapter updates will be on Mondays (and occasionally (let's be honest, many) Fridays). So happy everyone's liked this so far!)
Fluff-is-awesome (I agree, fluff makes the world go round): I was considering actually having Leo punch Percy but then I realised Leo is more passive aggressive than that. Leo's been working nonstop for days by now so I'd like to think he was on a short fuse. Thanks for reading and reviewing :)
Knightlark (cool name): I LOVE YOU! Percabeth is tucked inside my heart alongside Gadge, Percabeth and Jily too! I'm glad you think it's different (though you're right, some things are universal across Caleo fics right?) Thanks for reviewing, I really appreciate the feedback.
Caleo lover: I love you. Glad you're liking it ;)
Moomoomoopie: There are many more coming (I hope) and as of yet, I don't even have my ending planned (that could be a good thing or a bad thing). Also, saying oh my gods is adorable. Thank you for reading it!
HAHAHAHA: There is more, I promise. I hope. I think. Anyway, glad you're enjoying it ;)
Nerdy Athletic (what a coincidence, I'm Nerdy Lethargic): Awww, thanks! Calypso appears in Chapter Six, I promise. Also, her relationship with technology is part of my later chapters but you're right, looking devices and glasses are mentioned but Calypso's magic only allows her to see the past not the present or future so she'll have to suffer without Leo for a little while. (JUST A LITTLE WHILE). Wow, that was super long and cryptic but it'll make sense later. I hope.
27lablover: OH MY GODS, YOU'RE THE CUTEST THING EVER! And your offering of nectar, ambrosia and blue chocolate chip cookies has won me over, here is your next chapter!
Tenneyshoes: Thanks! I think I read too much PJO, Riordan had hijacked my style for the time being. Also, I hope you will thoroughly enjoy snarky Leo and Calypso's second meeting. The first sentence is: The first time a man found his way to Ogygia twice, Calypso immediately jumped to the conclusion that Gaea and worry and three thousand years of loneliness and heartbreak had finally caused her mind to collapse. I'd love to hear further suggestions later on!
Dids107: I'm so glad! You won't have to wait too long, I promise, every Monday with an occasional Friday I think :)
SophieRosey2001: Let's take some deep breat- NO WHO AM I KIDDING LET'S FANGIRL ABOUT HOW AMAZING AND CUTE CALEO IS-! "No Mum, I'm fine, just answering reviews!"- OH MY GODS OH MY GODS EEEEEK! THANKS FOR READING!
Blackseawolf: Naww, thanks :) Will definitely keep it up, I hope you keep enjoying it!
Meganreads (so do I): I picture Piper as being a bit of a mother hen for the group when they come back because, well child of Aphrodite, but also because she has the strongest defensive love for everyone. She thinks a lot about how she wishes she could protect her friends more. In my head, Piper's a 'I-don't-care-what-they-broke-do-not-touch-my-friends' kind of person. ( tag/cats/1658_i-dont-care-what-they-broke-dont-you -dare-yell-at-my-little-marshmallows) I'm really glad you're all liking this! Thanks for the feedback!
Cookielover1441peace: WILL DO!111 And also, of course Percy managed to insult both camps. He's got a mouth the size of Canada. :)
Tara Luna Apple: THANKS! I love that you're loving it, hope you keep loving it and reading it :)
Nyx120 (that is a cool username): I'm hoping to publish a little more evenly now: Mondays and the occasional Friday. Really happy you like it *blushes*
Laslus: Please keep reading? Please? Calypso shows up in Chapter six I promise and then they'll (eventually) find their way back to each other because c'mon they're PERFECT! ;)
Maplegirl: I never stop writing. It overtakes my brain every second of every day. I fail classes because of it. Glad you're enjoying it all :)
Girl Who Writes: I will! Look! I'm uploading now! Really hope you like this chapter too
Totalbooknerd13: Me too, Caleo literally bulldozed me and now I just write like crazy. Hope you like this chapter, if you've got any 'firsts' you'd like to see, please review them to me?