LABYRINTH ↬ leo valdez x reader, book 3

14. i'm falling in love again

You are your own prophecy Y/N. Your grandmother was an Oracle, you are a powerful demigod blessed by both Apollo and Asclepius. You have nothing to worry about. That boy, Valdez? He is safe. Physicians cure or not, cheater of death or not, you were enough to save him. You saved Gaia, you saved the world. There is much you are yet to learn, but you will know one day. I should leave you to your celebration and new friends.
"Bye then, I guess." I said. "Love you." no expression was hinted in my voice, as I was confused and really freaking tired.
I love you...

Having known the plan prior to it actually happening did not soften the blow.

On the porch of the Big House was eight of us. Jason, Piper, Hazel, Frank, Annabeth, Percy and me. Not Leo, but Nico this time.

Jason hung his head, even his glasses lost in shadow. "We should have been there at the end. We could've helped Leo."
"It's not right," Piper agreed, wiping away her tears. "All that work getting the physician's cure, for nothing."

Hazel broke down crying. "Y/N, where's the cure? Bring it out."
I shook my head. "I don't have it."

All eyes turned to Hazel.
"How?" Annabeth asked.
Frank put his arm around Hazel. "In Delos, Leo pulled us aside. He pleaded with us to help him."

Through her tears, Hazel explained how she had switched the physician's cure for an illusion – a trick of the Mist – so that Leo could keep the real vial. Frank told them about Leo's plan to destroy a weakened Gaia with one massive fiery explosion. I told them that, after talking with Nike and Apollo, Leo had been certain that such an explosion would kill any mortal within a quarter of a mile, so he knew he would have to get far away from everyone.

"He wanted to do it alone," Frank said. "He thought there would be a slim chance that he, a son of Hephaestus, could survive the fire, but if anyone was with him ... He said that Hazel and I, being Roman, would understand about sacrifice. But he knew the rest of you would never allow it."

"I didn't want to allow it." I shook my head, clamping my eyes shut. "I pretended it wasn't going to happen."

At first the others looked angry, like they wanted to scream and throw things. But, as Frank and Hazel talked, the group's rage seemed to dissipate. It was hard to be mad at Frank and Hazel when they were both crying. Also ... the plan sounded exactly like the sneaky, twisted, ridiculously annoying and noble sort of thing Leo Valdez would do. The stupid Leo who I loved so much.

Finally Piper let out a sound somewhere between a sob and a laugh. "If he were here right now, I would kill him. How was he planning to take the cure? He was alone!"
"Maybe he found a way," Percy said. "This is Leo we're talking about. He might come back any minute. Then we can take turns strangling him."

The Romans bivouacked next to the strawberry fields, where they insisted on building their standard field camp. The Greeks pitched in to help them raise the earthen walls and dig the trenches.

Dakota shared Kool-Aid with the kids from the Dionysus cabin.

The children of Hermes and Mercury laughed and told stories and brazenly stole things from just about everyone.
Reyna, Annabeth and Piper were inseparable, roaming the camp as a trio to check on the progress of the repairs.

Chiron, escorted by Frank and Hazel, inspected the Roman troops and praised them for their bravery.
I met up with half siblings and distant relatives from Rome, making new bonds and friendships.

None of it, of course, happened before I reunited with Valentina Diaz, the lovesick fool in love with the idea of someone else's love (ny love), Katie Gardner who had a plethora of baked treats, the nicest idea for an enclosure for Camp's newest pet snake Echo and Gracie who had written songs about my departure since the second the Argo II rose into the sky.

By evening, the general mood had improved somewhat. The dining hall pavilion had never been so crowded. The Romans were welcomed like old friends. Coach Hedge and I had the best reunion out of all though (think slow motion running, embraces and introduction to Chuck.)

The Aphrodite and Athena girls alike cooed over the feisty little satyr baby, who waved his pudgy fists, kicked his tiny hooves and bleated, "Baaaa! Baaaa!"

Clarisse, who had been named the baby's godmother, trailed behind the coach like a bodyguard and occasionally muttered, "All right, all right. Give the kid some space." I scrunched my nose in amusement at seeing this, because of the wholesomeness and also utter stupidity.

At announcement time, Chiron stepped forward and raised his goblet.
"Out of every tragedy," he said, "comes new strength. Today, we thank the gods for this victory. To the gods!"

The demigods all joined the toast, but their enthusiasm seemed muted.
Then Chiron said, "And to new friends!:
"TO NEW FRIENDS!"
Hundreds of demigod voices echoed across the hills.

At the campfire, everyone kept looking at the stars, as if they expected Leo to

come back in some dramatic, last-minute surprise. Maybe he'd swoop in, jump off Festus's back and launch into corny jokes. It didn't happen. But Gracie sang a song that reflected how we felt pretty well.

"If the whole world was watching, I'd still dance with you..."

After a few songs led by her, Reyna and Frank were called to the front. They got a thunderous round of applause from both the Greeks and Romans. Up on Half- Blood Hill, the Athena Parthenos glowed more brightly in moonlight, as if to signal: These kids are all right.

"Tomorrow," Reyna said, "we Romans must return home. We appreciate your hospitality, especially since we almost killed you –"
"You almost got killed," Annabeth corrected.
"Whatever, Chase."

Oooooohhhhh! the crowd said as one. Then everybody started laughing and pushing each other around. Me and Pranjal were newfound frenemies when I caught him trying to smuggle Echo away (he claimed it was a joke, but time would tell).
"Anyway," Frank took over, "Reyna and I agree this marks a new era of friendship between the camps."

Reyna clapped him on the back. "That's right. For hundreds of years, the gods tried to separate us to keep us from fighting. But there's a better kind of peace – cooperation."
Piper stood up from the audience. "Are you sure your mom is a war goddess?"

"Yes, McLean," Reyna said. "I still intend to fight a lot of battles. But from now on we fight together!"
That got a big cheer.

Zhang raised his hand for quiet. "You'll all be welcome at Camp Jupiter. We've come to an agreement with Chiron: a free exchange between the camps – weekend visits, training programmes and, of course, emergency aid in times of need –"
"And parties?" asked Dakota.
"Hear, hear!" said Conner Stoll.

Reyna spread her arms. "That goes without saying. We Romans invented parties."
Another big Oooohhhhhhhh!
"So thank you," Reyna concluded. "All of you. We could've chosen hatred and war. Instead we found acceptance and friendship."

She walked up to Nico, who was standing to one side in the shadows, as usual. She grabbed his hand and pulled him gently into the firelight.
"We had one home," she said. "Now we have two."

She gave Nico a big hug and the crowd roared with approval. He buried his face in Reyna's shoulder.

It felt incomplete without Leo's arm slung around me, without his laugh or his tinkering. His absence wouldn't be final.