Halcyon [Leo Valdez x Reader]

Festus's Introduction

I didn’t stick around after Piper turned beautiful. Sure, it was amazing and all—She’s got makeup! It’s a miracle! —but I had Leo to deal with. He ducked out of the amphitheater and ran into the darkness, and I was wondering what he’d gotten himself into.

He’d stood up in front of a bunch of stronger, braver demigods and volunteered—volunteered—for a mission that would probably get him killed.

I knew whatever he had in store for transportation was going to be stupid and crazy; I knew I had to follow him.

I ran after him as he trudged into the darkness of the woods, probably about to get himself into some big trouble. I could tell he was deep in thought as he barely noticed I was behind him. He kept his head down and was mumbling like crazy.

Oh boy, I knew where this was going.

“Hera,” Leo muttered, “you’re not even here, are you? You’re in a cage somewhere.”

“Probably,” I responded.

Leo jumped ten feet into the air and let out a girlish scream. “Hijo de su puta madre!” He spun around toward me, his eyes wild. “What the fuck?!”

I laughed and patted my scared friend on the back. “Man, you are easy to scare!”

“When the hell did you get behind me?” Leo swiped my hand off him and stepped back. “Man, the hell?”

I shrugged and began walking, Leo on trail. “I followed you, and you didn’t notice. You seriously think I wouldn’t want to see you get us some epic transportation? Come on, man, what do you have in plan?”

My friend sighed. “You hear about that dragon yet?”

I flipped my hand, making a so-so sign. “Here and there, why?”

Leo came to my side. “Well, my cabin wants to find it and kill it. I say no way, ‘cause like, it’s the sickest thing ever, but also because I don’t think it should be decommissioned, y’know?”

“Wait, it’s a robot?” I asked.

Leo nodded frantically.

“Dude, that’s sick as hell,” I said. “Yeah, let’s go get it-”

“But, it’s crazy,” Leo said. “Like anyone who gets near it ends up in a full-body cast. You’ve seen my cabin-mates.”

“Yeah, they look like a trainwreck,” I said. “Real nasty wounds there. So, you want to tame this dragon and use it as our ride even when you know it will probably kill you? It’s a good thing I came with.”

Leo frowned and shrugged. “I mean, I guess. But I just… I feel like this quest has to have me in it. I know this dragon could seriously help us and honestly? I just don’t want to know it got shredded when I could have done something.”

I nodded. “I getcha. Well, no biggie, ‘cause I’m going to help you.”

Leo looked toward me and smiled, flashing his tooth gap and dimples. “Thanks, man.”

I looked into his eyes and felt my heart drop. The question had begged on my mind all day, but I didn’t know quite how to ask.

Leo seemed to sense my odd feeling. His smile faltered and he looked down. “This is tough.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Because…” Leo bit his lip and kicked a stick on the ground. “Well, I don’t know. It’s hard to look at you knowing that we, uh…”

“Aren’t dating?” I suggested.

Leo nodded. “I mean, I can’t be crazy, but I just have a scrambled brain. It seemed so real man, I swear. I’ve got all these memories, but they seem to be, like, fading away now? I mean, they don’t feel as right as before. I’m just mad that this happened and stuff and honestly I don’t even know why I’m telling you this because it shouldn’t matter anymore. Ha! Ignore everything I just said.”