YOU ARE IN LOVE ↬ leo valdez x reader, book 2

2. dark room

"Gracie, my daughter. You have completed your first task. Congrats." He smirked and embraced her. "And Y/N, daughter of G/P. Thank you for accompanying her."
We started to hand him the objects that we had obtained but he held a hand out and shook his head. "You have done what I asked, now these are yours. A gift of gratitude."
"What is it?" I asked, without knowing what I held in my hands.
"That, my clueless Y/N, is my healer's guide. You hold in your hands millions of years of medical research, written out in complete Ancient Greek."

"Why? I'm sorry but someone else could make better use of this." I mumbled to him. He quickly took my hand, closed his eyes and let out a deep exhale.
"No, child, this is yours. I can feel it."

The final wave of scenery was back underground with the mirror. Gaea, there, speaking to all of us. Except in my dreams she only speaks to me.
"You can't save them. Your job is just to help them, and you are still failing. My side could use you, Y/N. You are more than you think you are capable of."
"Stop." I forced out, the words echoing out into the space. I felt as if nothing I could say was powerful enough to get the point through. My friends were frozen in place, talking about how to leave. The overwhelming feeling of helplessness was starting to creep over, making me clamp my eyes shut. Since that day, I had been having nightmares about Gaea appearing in the mirror. Her voice so haunting and eerie, persuading me into 'joining the dark side'. Right...

I loved being a healer, especially because something about sick bays had extra fresh air and positive energy, which is the kind of environment you'd obviously want to work in. Unfortunately, we had the small issue of intruding toes that stuck through the door. She took up so much space that it physically annoyed me. I had the free entertainment of watching Leo checking out every inch of the Athena Parthenos though, so for what it was worth I didn't have the worst experience. I was actually getting used to the statue.

I hated that something was different compared to the last trip, how everything felt incomplete.
Leo disappeared, turning me bored, so after a few more torturous hours of nothing Piper rushed down to call me and Leo into the mess hall, letting us know our location was close.
"Leo!" I shook his shoulder gently. "Hey, why are you hugging Nike?"
Leo's eyes fluttered open. His arms were wrapped around the human-sized statue in Athena's hand. He must have been thrashing in his sleep.

"Nothing," he muttered. "We were just cuddling. Um, what's going on?" his cheeks were pink with embarrassment but I didn't even acknowledge the whole cuddling situation. Well, it's not like I was gonna make fun of him or anything, so I just continued with the bad news that Piper had let me know previously.
"We made it through the mountains," I said. "We're almost in Bologna. Nico has new info, so they want us in the mess hall."

I saw Leo eyeing the camp videos, probably overtaken by homesickness. Funnily enough, I felt immune to the feeling. Before I left Camp Half Blood, my best friend Valentina regifted me a compact with a mirror that was basically a 24/7 Facetime alternative. I hadn't used it to its proper function, of course, so I just admired the scenery and simplicity of the Aphrodite Cabin where it was connected to. 

"So," Jason said, "now that we're here..." He sat at the head of the table, kind of by default. Since they'd lost Annabeth, Jason had done his best to act as the group's leader. "We should talk about how we're progressing towards the Doors of Death and the House of Hades. Nico?"
Nico sat forward. "I communed with the dead last night. I was able to learn more about what we'll face," Nico continued. "In ancient times, the House of Hades was a major site for Greek pilgrims. They would come to speak with the dead and honor their ancestors."
Leo frowned. "Sounds like Día de los Muertos. My Aunt Rosa took that stuff seriously."

Frank grunted. "Chinese have that, too—ancestor worship, sweeping the graves in the springtime." He glanced at Leo. "Your Aunt Rosa would've gotten along with my grandmother."