❝i told the stars about you❞
⤷ dj
△△△
Kira watched as Leo and Percy took turns looking through Leo's spyglass, girlish giggles coming out of Leo as they peered out to where Annabeth, Piper, and Jason were on a mission.
"Can we keep Jason as an old man?" Leo giggled. "He's hilarious to watch hobble uphill."
Kira looked out to the sea, the water so blue it looked like it had been dyed with food coloring.
The island was a spiral of forested hills twisted down its centre. Chalky white slopes plunged into the sea. Inlets formed rocky beaches and harbours where red-roofed houses and white stucco churches nestled against the shoreline.
The hills were dotted with poppies, crocuses and wild cherry trees. The breeze smelled of blooming myrtle. The air was hot and humid.
She wondered what it would be like to live here in bliss about the monsters that roamed among the earth. To grow old with Leo without the constant loom of death hovering over them.
Kira let a gentle smile fall, leaning into Leo slightly. Leo gave her a small kiss on the cheek in response, wrapping an arm around her shoulder lazily, handing the spyglass to Percy.
"Hey, hermosa," He said with a cheeky smile. Kira laid her head on his shoulder.
Things had been rocky since Kira had reunited with her friends. Everyone wanted to hear the three's story, but the three demigods refused to speak of it. Even the thought of the place made Kira's hands shake.
She knew she wasn't at her best. She had been through hell and back, literally. She knew there would need to be time to repair what had been broken, and Leo respected every wish.
Leo had been an angel since she came back. He would shower her with love, but he always seemed to know when it was too much, and he'd leave her be. He never got angry or impatient with her needs, never raised his voice.
Kira knew she'd never feel anywhere as safe as she did with Leo with anyone else. Of course, she never really felt truly, purely safe. The attacks and monsters she had encountered had put her on constant edge. She always had a weapon near her, always ready to defend her friends. Sometimes that was good, sometimes not so much.
She hadn't slept since she returned. She couldn't face her dreams. She was terrified she would see Tartarus' face, Bob, or even the arai. She was scared of her own mind.
Despite all the dark thoughts that ran through her mind constantly, she was surrounded by her boyfriend and her best friends. Physically, she was healed. Her mind, on the other hand, was a dark place.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Leo asked, looking at her with his large, chocolate eyes that Kira had fallen for so long ago.
He let go of her, leaning against the rail. His curly hair blew in the breeze.
She joined him, looking out to the sea. "Same as always," She told him. She gazed up at the glaring sun.
Tell the sun and the stars hello for me.
Kira tucked a piece of hair under her ear, looking down to the rails.
She remembered when Leo had made the ship, back at Camp Half Blood. It felt like ages ago. She traced the battle scars on the railing with her finger gently.
"Can I help?" Leo asked. Kira ruffled his messy hair.
"I've got in control for now, Lava Girl," She said, offering him a smile.
Most of her smiles were fake now. The only person who she didn't have to force it to was Leo. She couldn't help her smile from rising whenever she talked to him.
Leo gave her another kiss on the cheek.
"Guys, look!" Percy laughed. "Jason almost fell!"
Leo raced for the spyglasses, laughing loudly when he looked out to the hill. Kira looked at him amusedly, but fondly.
She missed hearing his laugh, and she always brightened up when she heard it.
Leo looked back, waving her to join him. "Kira, c'mon! You gotta see this!"
Kira shook her head, amused with the boy's childishness, but she uncrossed her arms and took the spyglass.
Jason was indeed very funny to watch. He stumbled every few feet, and Kira held back a laugh, handing back the spyglass to Leo.
Her friends kept their respectful distance from Kira since she returned when they realized how shaken up she was. Even Percy and Annabeth, who she had been down there with. They seemed to realize that she was much more shaken up.
Leo was bouncing with energy, and dragged Kira into the kitchen, which left Hazel, Percy, and Frank to look out for the others.
Leo sobered up when they were alone. He grabbed a box of a random cereal, and began making his meal. "Kira, I need to tell you what happened." His face became unreadable.
Kira paused from taking a container of blueberries out of the fridge. She straightened. "What?" She asked defensively. "What happened?"
"Something happened when you were...gone," He said, softer then his normal voice.
"You already said that," Kira said, furrowing her brows, looking at him nervously. Her mind wandered to the worst possibilities.
"So, Khione may or may not have paid us a visit." Leo started, and Kira's eyes flew open.
"What?" She asked, crossing her arms on her chest and looking even more nervous.
"And she threw me into the ocean."
"Leo!" Kira chided as if Leo was a child, and he had said a bad word.
"And I landed on this island. And there was this girl,
her name was Caylpso, and she helped me get back."
Kira froze at the mention of a girl. Leo had met a girl? Why was he telling her this?
"I-I just wanted, you know, uh, to tell you so you knew." Leo stuttered.
"Are you alright?" Kira asked first. No matter what happened, his health came above everything.
"What?" Leo said, confused. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. I just, I wanted you to know, cause, I didn't want to keep anything from you."
Kira didn't look any happier.
Leo told her the whole story. She was a goddess, cursed to stay on her island forever. She had tried to kiss Leo, but he rejected her, saying he had a beautiful girlfriend.
Kira couldn't help grow angry. She wasn't happy that a girl had made a move on Leo, even if he was loyal to her.
He grimaced. "I don't even like Cheerio's, I don't know why I picked this one."
Kira knew she couldn't be upset. Leo was being honest, and nothing had happened. She trusted him that he hadn't done anything with the mysterious goddess on a random island.
"Thank you." Kira managed. "For telling me, I mean."
"You're not mad?" Leo asked. "I mean-yes of course. Yeah. Yep."
Kira rolled her eyes.
"You're making this real convincing, Valdez," She told him, sitting at the chair next to him as he scooped another bite of Cheerio's in his mouth.
"I'm sorry, Ki." He told her heartfeltfully. "I don't want you to be mad, I promise on the River Styx that nothing happened."
Thunder rumbled above, and Leo didn't drop dead, so she assumed he told the truth.
"I'm not mad, Leo. I just, I can't-" Kira took a breath, looking to Leo for comfort. "I don't want to lose you."
"That's what you're worried about?" Leo said, laughing with his mouth full. Kira grimaced. "I'm not going anywhere. Not without you."
Kira looked at him gratefully. She knew that she was developing trust issues, which wouldn't be good, but Leo was her only source of comfort at the moment.
No matter what had happened on the island, Leo told her nothing had happened, that he stopped the goddess from kissing him. Kira needed to trust Leo, or she would have no one.
"Hey, look at me," Leo said softly, placing his finger under chin and leveling her eyes with his. "I promised you, I'm always here. You can't get rid of me that easily."
Kira nodded, smiling a little.
Leo really turned down a goddess for her? Her heart swelled.
Kira knew she should probably speak up as well.
"I, uh-I guess I should tell you what happened, as well." Kira managed, biting her lip nervously. She wasn't exactly ready to share Tartarus, but if anyone should know, it should be Leo. Leo froze, letting a Cheerio fall out of his mouth.
"Absolutely not." Leo claimed, and Kira gave him a confused glance. "You shouldn't feel forced to tell me that. It's completely different, tell me it only when you're completely ready."
Kira's hands shook slightly just thinking about it.
She wished that she was more like Percy and Annabeth. They seemed much less affected by the fall, or at least they were better at covering it up. They had shared the experience with each other, so it seemed to bring them closer together, while it seemed to tear Kira away from everyone.
She sighed, and met Leo's concerned gaze. "How did I get so lucky?" She asked softly.
Leo laughed. "You? Lucky? Gods, Kira! I'm the lucky one! You're so strong and pretty, how in the world do you think you're lucky with me?"
Kira frowned. "I'm the happiest girl in the world with you, Leo. I wouldn't want to be with anyone else."
Leo froze, a blush creeping up to his cheeks. "You're too kind to me,"
"I love you," She said, smiling goofily. Leo's face lit up.
"I love you more," He challenged, and Kira laughed.
"We're so not doing this again!"
"We so are,"
"You do not!"
"Yes I do!"
"Liar!"
"No, you're the liar! I love you so much that I would-"
"Whatever you're about to say, I would do it twice,"
"Shut up, Willows,"
Hehe hi guys! Heres a short chapter to get back in the kick of things. The first chapter of The Blood of Olympus!! I'm super excited!! Thank you for the overwhelming support you guys gave me last chapter and 10k reads!