Beloved (boyxboy/Leico)

Chapter 1. Metal Dragons Doing Tango (And Hot Guys)

Leo sat down his foot on the island, his heart was in his throat, he had made it. He was alive and he was here.
   "Calypso? Are you there?" he was sure that she would have seen him fall to his death a second time, but what did he know, she was probably sleeping or in her garden or eating or sleeping.
   Before Leo ventured out he silently tapped on Festus leg, he tapped stay here. Now, Leo wasn't spooked over not finding Calypso, nor over the eerie silence that hung over the island. He just wanted to keep an eye upon the dragon that had been with him on one to many adventures. To be fair Leo would probably still drag around with Festus when Leo was around eighty.
   As he inched closer to the garden he felt uneasy, how long had he waited and waited and longed for finally seeing Calypso? A long time. Well it could have been worse, Annabeth and Percy were separated for more than one year due to Hera and this little encounter with Leo's own immortal goddess was only on what? One month, two?
   "Calypso? Babe?"
   "You know that I hate it when you babe me." the girl said. Her caramel hair was braided over one shoulder, her dark almond shaped eyes linger on him and then she smiled. "I can make an exception though, just this once."
   They raced up to each other and hugged. Leo traced kisses over Calypso's cheeks and she in return clung to his shirt.
   "You made it." she breathed out.
   Leo soon tasted her salty tears but didn't mind. He finally had the girl of his dreams in his arms. Then a snort came and startled the couple. Now they weren't really that surprised, Calypso did have animals on the island it was just that Leo had come from a war. A war with monsters in all different shapes so of course he was on edge. His uneasiness rubbed off on the goddess even though Leo was sure she could blast any threat into oblivion.
   "Should we get out?"Leo asked and winked.
   "Is he really safe?"Calypso asked peering over Leo's shoulder so that she could see the dragon.
   "Oh my dear Calypso,you should know that the only thing you have to be afraid of is me."Leo dragged her towards his metal friend.
   The demigod and the goddess sat down upon Festus back and then they lifted from the island. Calypso sat behind Leo so he couldn't she her face but he could feel her excitement through the trembles in her fingers and the happiness that poured out with her laugh. Somehow he also sensed a sadness, the island had been Calypso's home for so many years that now losing it was strange to her. What Leo didn't know was how he sensed the sadness, it wasn't like the emptiness had settled down in his own chest.
   When they soared through the air, Leo could feel everything. It was weird how he could feel the emotions just melt away like that. In the beginning he felt light and happy, but the farther away they came from Ogygia he felt... how could he explain it. He felt hollowed out, a sense of foreboding. When Ogygia disappeared into the horizon it was like a twig snapped inside Leo's heart. He couldn't place it what was broken, he couldn't even feel what was missing inside of him so he sailed on. He was sure that when he and Calypso touched ground they would make sense of this.
   "So where to?" he asked.
   "I wish to land as soon as possible." she said in a rush.
   When Leo looked back on he ride he realized that her fingers were gone and the pressure of her body against his was gone too. He would also come to realize that it wasn't excitement in her voice, it was the tone of an impatient child who just wanted to be on safe ground.

Festus landed in a small village on the border of France. It was a small, almost dead,little town but no one was outside so the dragon managed a safe landing before shielding himself from the eyes of mortals.
   Calypso sat down on the ground, breathing deeply, savoring her freedom, but also prolonging the horrible truth that had overcome them on their escape. For it wasn't just Leo who felt the twig snap in his chest, Calypso had also felt it only ten times stronger. For her it had been like getting out of quicksand or an especially muddy and slimy swamp. It was like breathing for the first time after losing your breath, imagine someone pushing you down and knocking the breath out of you, that first breath that makes your whole body burn and you heart pump, it was like that.
   The difference between Leo and Calypso was that Calypso understood why it happened, she understood what it meant.
   "Are you okay?" Leo placed a finger under her chin forcing her to met his brown, kind,eyes.
   "No and I know that you aren't either."
   "What are you saying?Did you hit your head?" he brushed away her hair from her forehead.
   "No when we left Ogygia the spell broke. I am no longer forced to fall in love with every boy or man that lands in front of my feet, and we both know that we aren't a match. In what world would I ever fall for you. This whole mess is Aphrodite's doing. You don't love me and deep down you know that too."
   Leo felt like she could just have slapped him, it would have hurt less.After everything that he had done, he had come back for her. He had almost died just to see if he could come back to her and this is how she treats him? If his heart wasn't shattered before it certainly was now.
   "What are you saying?"
   "Didn't you feel it?" for the first time, Leo could see worry in her dark eyes. "It was like finally taking a breath after holding it, or a-"
   "Twig breaking but it happened on the inside, like an imaginary bone breaking."
   "Yeah, that was the curse Leo.You can't love me, I was far to mean to you. I was horrible, you can't love a girl that acts like that. Leo Valdez, you deserve better than me." her voice turned into a whisper and then tears started to gather in her eyes.
   "What if I don't want another girl? What if I still love you?"
   "Look into yourself and answer this, do you love me?"
   "No." Leo choked out the words he had to say. Deep down he knew he didn't love this goddess in front of him. The twig breaking in his chest has been the curse and the curse was falling in love with a girl that could never love him back.
   "I am grateful for the rescue, I am happy that I have met you and I am beyond speechless that I ever got to have your heart with me... even if it was fake."