Love Games (Leo Valdez/ PJO Fan Fiction)

Chapter 15 - Swing Low, Sweet Chariot

Faye's POV

Leo's lips leave mine, his eyes travel away from me.

I can't help but feeling a cold breeze where Leo used to be. "Thank you, Leo," I tell him, meaning every last word of it.

Leo brushes a strand of his floppy brunette hair from his dark eyes. "You're welcome," he mumbles bashfully. He then reaches into his orange tool belt, and pulls out a hammer.

Instinctively, I back off. "What do you need that for?"

Leo doesn't seem to realize what I was implying. He lets out a low chuckle. "Remember why I invited you here?" he asks, raising his eyebrows.

"The chariot," I answer, the pieces falling into place. "You needed help. I don't understand how I'm going to be any help to you."

He shrugs easily, then grabs some more tools from his belt and places each item carefully on a work table. There, a dragon head snores peacefully, the rest of its body is still in pieces. I can barely fathom what it must have looked like before Leo fixed Festus up, considering its age. "You may not be a daughter of Hephaestus, but I can teach you. This stuff is easy."

"Fixing up a hundred year old dragon must have been so easy," I comment sarcastically.

Leo furrows his eyebrows, he doesn't understand. "It was easy… Here, I'll show you." Leo places a hammer in one of my hands and a handful of nails with the other. "If you're hungry, you should go eat," he tells me, taking a quick glance at the elegant dinner sitting a few feet away from us.

I shake my head. "No, you've gotten me all riled up for the chariot race, we have gotta win," I reply with a sneaky grin.

Leo returns with a sincere smile. His hands travel over to mine, making me grasp the hammer tightly. Between our hands, sparks ignite, a wildfire roars in both of us. I don't see how something as simple as a touch could make us both go to the edge. "I bet you can figure this out, Aphrodite girl," Leo releases my hands.

I nod. "Oh no," I lift up the hammer and act as if I'm going to hit my head with it, as I would expect Aubrey or Drew to do. I drop it, seeing Leo's concern face. "I was kidding, " I assure him, laughing.

It's moments like this, I know I'll remember. Something seemingly so awkward and tense, but realistically relaxed, easy, and exhilarating at the same time. We both want the same thing right now, but we are both building a wall between us. I know what I'm afraid of, but I can't see what is holding Leo back.

--

Leo's POV

It hurts to be hiding so much from her. I want to tell her the truth, but I know she'll leave the minute she finds out what I've done and the power I withhold. Tonight is one of the particularly bad nights, I can't stop thinking of my mother and how she died. Grief is coming over me, engulfing me in its woes.

I watch her out of the corner of my eyes, like I did before I truly knew her. Like before, she doesn't seem to notice at all, but I notice every last movement.

I shake my head to myself, coming to realization. "We shouldn't work now," I say. "Let's just go eat." My voice is dull, boring, empty.

Faye glances up at me, I see the excitement draining out from her. "Okay," she answers. "Are you okay?"

I force a smile onto my face and do my best to look like I'm truly happy. "I'm fine," I lie. I remember the times when Faye has lied to me, but her lies weren't for selfish reasons, like mine. "I'm fine."

--

Faye's POV

After we finish eating a quiet dinner, Leo insists that he does it on his own, that I get sleep for the chariot race tomorrow.