#valgrace fic

[asolareclipses]

(Previous Part)

Will stared at the spot Nico had disappeared from for what felt like centuries. His body was coursing with a tornado of emotions; he felt pure fear that Nico might never come back, followed by a rush of anger so strong it took full control of him.

“Are you proud of yourselves?” His voice was cold as ice as he turned to the group that had gathered, everyone was utterly silent.

“Will we didn’t mean to-“ Dana began to say but he couldn’t stand to hear another word.

“Nico has saved this camp, more times than I can count.” Will’s voice was rough in exasperation. “But that’s not good enough for you is it?”

This time he was met with blank stares and ashamed looks from the ones who had joined in the accusations.

“None of you could ever do even half of what he had to do,” Wills hands trembled, whether it was in rage or despair, he couldn’t determine. “Yet you judge him? Pathetic.” He laced that last word with more anger than he’d ever felt, before storming off back towards the big house. He was vaguely aware of Jason following behind him, and the fact that Chiron had witnessed the whole event. He didn’t acknowledge either of them until he entered the big house, slamming his hands against the table as he muttered a few choice words under his breath.

Jason seemed to hesitate before approaching, “Hey…you okay?”

It took all of Will’s energy to not snap at him, “Yep, totally fine.”

“Would you perhaps like to explain what has your tunic in such a bunch Solace?” Mr D was so surprised by Will’s demeanor that he forgot to mispronounce his name.

“Nico’s gone, he ran off or something. I don’t know,” Will sighed in frustration, raking his hands through his hair.

“Ran off?” A tense look displayed itself across Mr D’s face.

“It seems as though di Angelo has decided to take our disturbances into his own hands.” Chiron said, his voice was calm but was laced with undertones of sadness.

“Now why would he do that?” Mr D spoke again, this time his voice sharper as he dug his nails into the table.

“Because he thinks no one trusts him, like he has something to prove.” Wills anger had dissipated, his voice was now struck with frustration. “I don’t blame him either, they all turned their backs on him, just like that.” It was something Will couldn’t understand, he’d never feared Nico; Nico was a hero, yet it seemed like only a few people could see that.

“After everything he did,” Jason’s eyes looked as if they were reflecting a storm, “I can’t believe that’s how they treated him.”

“I believe Nico knows he still has many people on his side, however some of the others mistrust has led him to take on a burden that should not be solely his.” Chiron had a far away look shown across his face, “Fortunately he is not alone.”

“Not alone?” Mr D seemed to be the only one confused as he had not witnessed the earlier events.

“Right,” Jason frowned, “Leo went with him.”

“Great, out of everyone he could’ve taken with him it had to be Valerie,” Clearly Mr D went out of his way to never say Leo’s name correctly.

“We have to go after them,” Will said as his face shone with a sudden sense of pure determination.

Jason agreed as he turned to look at their directors, it was clear he wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

“Okay,” Chiron agreed, “but Rachel will arrive tomorrow morning. Seek her advice first, she may be able to point you in the right direction.”

Will wanted to argue, the idea of Nico being out there doing Gods knows what was eating him up inside; but he knew he had to wait if he wanted a better chance at finding him. Jason seemed unnerved too, his usual brave facade was falling apart as a more unraveled version of himself made its way to the surface.

After reluctantly agreeing on the plan they left the big house, walking towards the cabins as a heavy silence formed. In front of them, the sun continued to set across the horizon, filtering the colors of summer across the camp. But despite the warmth an abnormal breeze had stirred up, it seemed to dance around Jason like a visual depiction of his nerves.

“We’ll find them,” Will said his voice boasted by a false confidence he was instilling within himself.

“Right.” Jason’s voice agreed yet his face was still plagued with worries.

“You’re scared, I get it. But you know, Nico and Leo are really strong, they can handle themselves.” Will wasn’t sure if he had the right to comfort Jason when he himself was on the brink of collapse, but he knew that one of them had to be strong.

Jason sighed, stopping in his tracks as he looked up at the darkening sky. “Yeah, it’s just last time…” His voice trailed off as storm clouds rumbled across the reflections in his eyes. “I almost never saw him again.”

Will had nearly forgotten all that had happened with them, how Jason had lost Leo just to find out he was alive. But soon after Leo had to lose him too. The two of them had been in a constant cycle of losing and finding each other, always wondering if the pattern could be broken.

“Maybe it’s not the same but I know what it’s like for someone to disappear,” Will took a breath of the warm summer air before continuing, “The first time I met Nico we were both so young, I was thrilled to meet someone my age but then, poof, he was gone. Years later he showed up again, he looked like a completely different person, yet it was still him. I thought he’d stay again, but just like before one day he was just gone. I think i’ve lived every day fearing he would disappear again, now that’s it’s happened…I just need to have hope that i’ll find him. He’ll be okay, both of them will be okay.”

Will left out the part about how he lost his brother, how one second he’d stood on that bridge and the next he was gone. Whatever was left of him had never been found, it was as if he were never there. He left out how the constant loss of his siblings only burned his fear of loss deeper and deeper into his bones.

“You’re right,” Jason’s eyes seemed to clear even if only just for a moment. “They’ll be okay, they have to be.”

“They have to be.” Will repeated, putting all his hope into those words, all his fear and anger. He was going to find Nico, and everything would be okay.

Everything.

—

That night the Zeus cabin had never felt colder.

As Jason tossed and turned the spot next to him only become more hollow and empty. Without Leo’s soft breathing the room was eerily quiet, without his precence it was impossibly cold.

Jason tried to pry his mind from the old memories, yet he was always led back to that fated day, hearing Leo’s lasts words repeated over and over. The pain still felt fresh, the pain of losing him and then losing himself.

Leo had sacrificed everything to get him back, he’d gone through the underworld and back all for him. Jason could still feel the darkness surrounding them as he followed Leo into the light. A journey never meant to be completed, something said to be impossible was accomplished all because of Leo. From then on Jason knew he’d follow Leo anywhere. But now he had no idea where Leo was. It sent him into this constant state of panic, wondering if he was okay, if he was coming back.

He needed Leo to be okay, he needed him to come back. Otherwise, what was the point of everything that had happened?

It was safe to say Jason didn’t sleep that night, because every time he closed his eyes he saw Leo’s face as he said goodbye.

Morning couldn’t have come sooner. Jason now waited anxiously at his cabins table, unable to stomach much breakfast. He kept looking for signs of Rachel, he could tell Will was just as anxious. He seemed to be having a somber conversation with his siblings who all donned dark expressions. The missing member from the table really seemed to stick out, maybe Nico wasn’t someone you’d really think of as “bright” but he had really brought life to the Apollo table.

Jason almost screamed in joy when he’d heard the sound of helicopter blades suddenly approaching, of course leave it to Rachel to have a dramatic entrance. Both he and Will hurried over to where she was landing, wasting not even a second.

She seemed surprised as she stepped out of the helicopter, “Woah woah, looks like somebody’s happy to see me.”

“Rachel,” Will said in a dire tone, “we need your help.”

“Great.” She sighed, grabbing her bags as she waved off the pilot, “Let’s head to the woman cave shall we?”

After explaining the situation to Rachel her attitude seemed to change, “That’s not good. You know, I have been having some strangely dark dreams.”

“Any of them suggest where they could’ve gone? I mean Nico seemed on edge, he must’ve known something..if only i’d just asked.” Wills voice was quiet, almost as if he felt ashamed.

Rachel closed her eyes for a moment, “A light house.”

“What?” Jason and Will gave each other a puzzled look.

“I keep getting the urge to draw a lighthouse, or lighthouses? Also I saw this school, it must’ve been a boarding school.”

“Do you remember the name?” Wills eyes started to dance with a nervous energy.

“West..um..west something, I don’t know.” Rachel frowned as she tried to recall the name.

Will flinched as she spoke, hesitating before finally saying, “Westover?”

“Yeah, that’s it!” Rachel met his eyes, “How did you know that?”

“It was Nico’s last school, he went there for a while before he came to camp.” The memory seemed to bother Will as he explained, “It’s in Maine, which would explain the lighthouses.”

“Right,” Rachel nodded in agreement, “I knew I recognized the area.”

“So we have a place now right? Westover, wherever that is,” Jason said, the fact they now had an actual location to find gave him a spark of hope.

“It’s our best bet,” Will agreed, yet he didn’t look very pleased. “Let’s go talk to Chiron.”

It wasn’t a long talk, they didn’t even receive a formal quest, it was more like a recovery mission. Chiron seemed reluctant to allow them to leave but he knew the two of them were bound to go no matter what.

As Chiron handed them the keys to a camp owned car and some cash he said, “Be careful you two, I expect you to come back as four, alright?”

Will nodded, “We will make it back, all of us.”

Chiron smiled, and whether it was true smile or not Jason couldn’t tell; nonetheless it was still reassuring.

“Well Jason,” Will turned to him, dangling the keys off his fingers, “Ready for a road trip?”

(Part Five)

#solangelo #valgrace #nico di angelo #leo valdez #jason grace #will solace #nico pjo #will pjo #jason pjo #leo pjo #percy jackson #heroes of olympus #pjo hoo #pjo series #pjo hoo toa tsats #percy jackon and the olympians #my fic #fic #pjo fic #solangelo fic #valgrace fic #jason and will go on an adventure #will has faced so much loss #jason thinks about leo 24/7 #will is scary when he’s mad

[your-honor-im-zesty]

Stuck in the Boiler Room with You and Your Stupid Blue Eyes

Leo was straight, okay? He was straight. With a capital S. Just your Typical Straight Heterosexual Guy Who Is Very Much Attracted To Girls But Not Guys.

Yeah, that was him. To a T.

Which was why he was absolutely infuriated by Jason's eyes.

He hated them. They were blue- electric blue, piercing and clear. They crinkled and narrowed and fluttered and squinted all while remaining that frustrating shade of blue. Which he hated.

It was distracting, for one. He can hardly get any work done whenever Jason's around, because Jason was his best friend, and everyone talked to their best friends. And when Leo talked to people, he looked at them, right in the face- and inevitably, right into those frustratingly blue eyes.

Like right now, for instance.

"So," said Jason, leaning to peer at the Argo ll blueprints. He points to the room they're in right now- the boiler room. "Here's where we are." His fingers drags across the paper to pause at the hallway of rooms. "And that's where everyone else is."

"Congratulations, Grace- you can see!" Leo keeps his voice cheery and sarcastic, trying to focus his gaze on the blueprints and not those damn blue peepers.

Jason snorted. "You're very happy for someone who's locked in a boiler room for the next 3 hours."

That pretty much killed the mood.

Leo wasn't even sure how or why the boiler room was locked; he had double checked the mechanics back at Camp Half-Blood, and it had been adequate enough. So there was no reason for them to be stuck in here without any means of leaving- but hey, maybe the universe hated him. It certainly seemed to be holding a grudge against him lately. He wondered if he'd done something wrong in his past life and this was his penance.

"Relax, Superman- 3 hours you'll be blessed with my gracious presence!" he said brightly. "It's a great honor, really. If either of us should be bursting with happiness right now, it's you."

Jason huffed. "Piper'll have my ass for this in the morning," he muttered.

Ah yes. Piper. The girlfriend. Of his best friend. That also kind of killed the mood, though he wasn't sure how. Piper was also his best friend, and it wasn't like he hated her or anything. She was a pleasant person (when she wasn't raving about Drew Tanaka or making googly eyes at Jason)

Eyes. Jason. That was a no-no combination. He really had to stop thinking about it.

He clasped his hands together. "Never fear, Jason! Your very smart, very handsome, very heroic best friend can think himself out of every problem." He winked. "We'll be out of here before the clock strikes twelve, Cinderella."

"Cinderella?" Jason looked at him blankly.

"Dude. Don't tell me you don't know Cinderella."

Jason shrugged.

"Come on!" Leo was appalled. "What did you read growing up? What were your bedtime stories?"

"Lupa once told me the story of a boy who got eaten," Jason mused. "He talked too much, apparently. She told me the same thing would happen to me if I didn't shut my mouth."

O-kay. Leo made a mental note to schedule a therapy appointment for his best friend. That boy had some serious trauma.

"Alright, Plan A," he announced. "Unlocking the door."

"You already tried that. Multiple times."

Leo wrinkled his nose at him. "Man, at least be my cheerleader if you're not gonna help. Put those pretty boy looks to use."

It was a joke, obviously- even if Leo did think Jason was the living embodiment of pretty boy. But Jason looked more flustered than amused by the joke.

"Sure," he coughed, taking a sudden interest in the floor. "Go Leo. L-E-O. For Leo."

"You're pathetic," Leo told him. He walked away, making a bee-line for the boiler door. Jason trailed after him. "Seriously, Piper would be disappointed."

At the mention of Piper, Jason clammed up.

Leo knelt, taking a screwdriver from his pocket and began to work. Often, when Leo switched to what he liked to call his "Magic Mindset", his fingers suddenly had a mind of their own. He didn't even know the kinks of half the things he fixed, but in situations like this, the answers came naturally, like they'd been sitting in the back of his mind as excess knowledge. Thanks, Hephaestus.

But Magic Mindset seemed to be out of order today; a few minutes had passed and the door remained firmly locked.

Leo grunted, rising to his feet. "Damn door," he grumbled, pocketing his screwdriver.

Jason looked smug, all earlier bashfulness gone. "Told you so."

"Shut up, Grace. Onto Plan B."

"Which is...?"

Leo pointed at him. "Your job, not mine. It's not fair for me to do all the work, is it?"

Jason narrowed his eyes- shit, his eyes. "Fucker," he groused, which was surprising. You would think The Golden Boy Jason Grace, Son of Jupiter and New Rome's Grandest Hero, would know better than to curse.

Jason peered around; his eyes- Leo cursed at himself, what was it about those eyes?- caught on the ceiling. "There."

"What?" Leo followed his gaze. "That's a ceiling, dude."

"Look closer."

Leo did and- oh. Oh.

Hell no.

"That's ridiculous," he said. "I'm not climbing into an air vent. I have too much dignity for that."

Jason looked unfazed. "Have fun in the boiling room alone, then."

"Wha- HEY! GRACE GET BACK HERE!"

Jason had launched himself into the air, and was now hovering a few feet above. A rare, mischievous grin unfurled across his face- Leo didn't even know Jason had the ability to be mischievous. "Coming or not?"

"You're a menace to society," Leo told him. "And I'm speaking as the person who gets frequently shamed for putting pineapple on his pizza."

"I was raised by wolves- forgive me if my ettiquette isn't very decent," said Jason dryly. He reached a hand below, and Leo accepted it.

Shit. Was his hand greasy? He never really washed it after using his tools...and now he wished he had. Curse his lazy ass.

His hand was definitely warm. Double shit. Jason was probably grossed out. Was he grossed out? Leo craned his neck to check; Jason was staring back at him, brows furrowed. He didn't look disgusted, per se, but his expression was definitely odd.

"What? Admiring my good looks?" Leo teased.

Jason's cheeks blotched red. "Can't admire something nonexistent," he retorted, yanking Leo from the ground. His free hand grabbed Leo's elbow, adjusting him so that they were eye level in the air.

Damn blue eyes. They would be the death of him.

"Alright, Tinkerbell," Leo said. "Get me up there- I'll unscrew the vent for you, be your Peter Pan."

"What the hell is a Tinkerbell?" Jason muttered as he floated them both higher, until the air vent was within reach. Leo reached for his screwdriver once again, making a mental note to buy Jason a storybook once they returned from their quest. If they returned from their quest.

"Your lack of childhood upsets me," he said mildly as he unscrewed the vent open. Jason grunted and gently pushed him in; Leo crawled in.

"You coming?"

Jason grunted in reply, crawling inside. Leo couldn't see him, but his voice sounded distinctly disgruntled. "I hate small spaces."

"Genius idea, then, to use one to escape," Leo said sardonically.

"They're too small."

"Once again, proving your eyesight to be exceptional, Mr. Grace."

Jason let out a growl reminiscent to a wolf's. "Valdez, you better start crawling."

---------------

i had way too much fun writing this fic. (in my defense, i'm on a writing spree rn)

#percy jackson #pjo fandom #heroes of olympus #leo valdez #jason grace #jason x leo #valgrace #valgrace fic #dumbasses in love #very stupid boys #i kind of like writing stupid boys in love idk why #should i make a part 2? #not really sure lmao

[anticomedygarden]

got antsy and didn't feel like waiting so here's a valgrace ficlet based on this prompt from this website:

taking some liberties with the word regency cause frankly i hate that trope

-

Jason quickly pulled the door closed behind him, careful not to let it slam. He didn't think anyone followed him here, but you never knew with nosy government officials, especially when those officials were teenage Roman demigods.

"Did we have to meet in the closet of all places?" he asked wearily, glancing around as his eyes adjusted to the low light. "Are our lives not already one big fantasy trope?"

There was a shuffling sound toward the back of the little room, and a soft whoosh gave way to a small flame. Under the fire was a light brown hand leading to a skinny arm and the grease stained sleeve of Leo Valdez. The son of Hephaestus grinned. "Now we're both in the closet!"

"We were already both in the closet," Jason grumbled, stepping over the sleeve of someone's black windbreaker. The toga he was wearing didn't make maneuvering the tiny coat closet any easier, but he managed to make it to Leo without falling flat on his face. "C'mon, I had to trade Percy three drachmae to talk to Octavian for me, so we may not have that long."

Leo snorted. "So sexy." Without further preamble, he grabbed Jason by the shoulders and brought the blond down to his height and kissed him. It wasn't long before hands were under shirts, and Jason's glasses made their way into his pocket.

Suddenly, the sounds from outside grew much louder and Jason realized too late that the door had opened.

"Oh my gods!"

Jason jumped backwards with a curse, turning around to see the son of Hades standing in the door frame with wide eyes and a blush gracing his sharp cheek bones.

"Nope, nope, nope, not my problem, nope," Nico muttered. he shut the door without addressing either of the other boys or getting his coat.

Jason looked at back at Leo who had a smirk on his stupid pretty face, and in that second, he made a potentially bad decision. "We can deal with that tomorrow."

#valgrace #pjo #jason grace #leo valdez #jason x leo #leo x jason #pjo fic #percy jackson #valgrace fic #ficlet #my fic #my writing #fanfic #fluff #my fanfic #prompt

[thebigqueer]

"Crooked Glasses" - Valgrace - One-Shot

Summary: leo & jason confess their feelings for each other in an arcane-themed alternate universe. Word Count: 5620 TW: blood, violence, gore (sort of). Read on AO3

Jason knows it’s probably a bad idea to be playing with Leo’s newest stink bomb. He has no idea how it works, and it’s possible he might just trigger it, but he doesn’t really care. He needs a distraction. 

They’re in the training room, for whatever reason. Leo didn’t really give Jason much explanation other than, “I’m bored. Come with me.” And Jason, being Jason, didn’t think twice about following. It’s a natural instinct at this point — Leo tells him to do something, and he’s already on his knees, ready to do whatever it is Leo tells him. It should embarrass him, but he’s too desperate for any moment alone with him to care. 

Leo’s on the other side of the room, in the corner with the punching bag and a few other various machines. Jason can hear him clanging around, probably trying to be interested in doing something, but Jason hopes he gives up. They only just came back from their latest haul an hour ago, and he has no energy to do anything but sit here and play with Leo’s bomb.

So he’s not surprised when, eventually, Leo calls, “Jason!”

Jason suppresses a groan, fixes his glasses, and looks up. “What?”

“Fight with me.” Leo gestures to the machine next to him, which has painted faces and bright lights whirring now that Leo’s turned it on. Instead of waiting for an answer from Jason, he immediately starts putting on boxing gloves from a box on the floor. 

“Leo, I’m tired.” Jason shakes the bomb in his hand. “How do you turn this on?”

“You’re just afraid you’re gonna lose,” Leo jeers, throwing over a grin. As he starts tightening on his next glove, he stalks over. “What could you possibly be tired from?”

“Being around you all day.”

“If it weren't for me, you’d have no excitement in your life, Sparky.” Leo slides down next to Jason, nudging him with his shoulder playfully, and Jason’s heart pounds at the touch. He buries his gaze back into the stink bomb, if only to try to hide the blush raging across his face right now. 

At this point, he’s decided there’s no use denying his crush on Leo. It’s been there since they were fourteen, maybe even before, and he’s learned to live with the ache in his chest at every sight of him and the ringing in his stomach every time he said something flirtatious. After all, if he can’t get rid of it, he might as well accept it as a part of him. 

For a good portion of his crush, he was sure that Leo had no idea. He was convinced that in all his time staring longingly at him from across the room, he’d never notice. But it’s not like he entirely hated that, though — he liked where they were in their friendship, and he didn’t see a point in ruining something that mattered so much to him. Besides, he never was good with crushes. 

For example, when they were twelve, he had a small thing for Piper. But that got shut down real quick when, during one of their sleepovers, Piper crawled over to him and, staring at him with her big eyes, asked him if Thalia liked girls. That was when Jason realized she might not like him back.

There was also Luke when he was thirteen. Jason, Leo, and Percy worked with the pawn shop owner in the Lanes, where they met him. Jason was pretty sure he wasn’t the only person totally gutted for him, based on the way Leo and Percy would blush around him, too. It’s not like any of them actually had a chance, because Luke was already nineteen and had a girlfriend, but that didn’t stop the boys from dreaming about him. It was all fun and games, trying to battle each other for even a glimpse of a smile or the smallest laugh — until Luke got arrested for a disruption on Topside. So maybe it was better that he never got the chance to confess. 

There was also Percy when they were fourteen, but that was smaller than most of his crushes. If anything, Percy was just a distraction from Jason’s raging feelings for Leo. There was that one night, when the four of them — Jason, Piper, Leo, and Percy — were in the training room, with a bottle of beer that Percy had stolen from his step-dad. Jason and Percy were alone, sitting and watching Piper and Leo drunkenly try to spar each other, when Percy leaned his head against Jason’s shoulder and joked about how stupid Leo looked. Jason doesn’t know what did him in — maybe it was something in the drinks, or maybe it was something in the way Percy’s eyes looked like buttons of the glimmering sea trapped in his eyes. Whatever it was, he couldn’t take back what he did next — he kissed him. 

At the time, Percy kissed back. But the next morning Percy told him he had a crush on Annabeth, and that was when Jason started wondering why he was cursed with liking people.

But now, at sixteen, Jason doesn’t feel so nervous with Leo. Maybe it’s the fact that he’s more comfortable with rejection. Maybe it’s the fact that he’s more mature now. 

Or maybe it’s the fact that he’s pretty sure Leo might like him back. 

Leo has always been flirty. When he casually smirks at Jason and tells him how handsome he looks; when he bites his lip suggestively and tells Jason that no, he doesn’t mind if he changes his shirt in front of him; when Jason asks what’s for dinner and Leo responds, “Not sure, but I know you’re the desert,” Jason doesn’t make much of it. Sure, an occasional blush and an attempt at jokingly flirting back, but Jason knows he doesn’t mean it. Besides, he isn’t special. If Jason had to count the amount of people Leo had made out with just in the past year, it might take both his hands. 

But lately it’s been different. There’s a softness in Leo’s eyes when he catches sight of Jason, a more soulful smirk when he offers that they sleep in the same bed, a hopefulness when he asks Jason if he wants to come with him on his next haul. 

It’s possible that it’s really just all in Jason’s head. But he doesn’t think he’s imagining the way Leo’s leaning against him now, his bare shoulder brushing against Jason’s own. He doesn’t think he’s imagining the way Leo’s ankle is locked into his. He doesn’t think he’s imagining how close Leo’s lips are, so close that if Jason bowed his head even a bit, he might just be kissing him. 

Jason looks away, if only to distract himself from how pretty Leo’s eyes look. He starts shaking the bomb in his hands again. “How do you work this thing?”

Leo rolls his eyes and pushes Jason’s glasses down the bridge of his nose, and he laughs. “Stop playing with it!” Leo demands. “Unless you want to smell bad. Then by all means, do it.” 

“Fine.” Jason holds it out for Leo to take back, but Leo only raises his eyebrows and holds out his box-gloved hands. Jason snorts and fixes his glasses. “I’m not going to spar with you, Leo. My neck still hurts from last night.” 

“Aw, does he have an owie?” Leo throws off one of his gloves and presses his hand to the side of Jason’s neck, pouting. “Does he need a widdle bandage?”

“That’s weird,” Jason says, but he’s laughing. “Don’t talk like that.” 

Leo switches back to his normal voice, but his words bubble as he brushes a finger against Jason’s cheek and says, “You look so cute when you blush, though.” 

Jason hesitates before responding. This is one of those moments, again — he knows Leo’s just trying to get a rise out of him. But this time, Jason decides maybe it’s time to start playing his game. He turns to meet Leo’s eyes and, tilting his head, he says, “Then all you have to do is just keep sitting next to me.” 

A wave of pride surges through Jason’s chest as Leo’s eyes widen. He wishes he could just frame the blush on Leo’s cheeks and pin it to the wall. He’s quiet for a moment — which Jason considers a pretty epic feat considering Leo never shuts up — but the warm blazing in his eyes and the flushed smile against his lips send Jason’s skin aflame, prickling with anticipation.

Jason sighs, then leans his head back so it rests against the wall. “I feel like we need to talk.” 

Leo leans his head back, too, so that he’s following Jasons’ gaze. “About what?”

“I think you know.” 

“Jason, just because we’re best friends doesn’t mean I can just read your mind.” Leo taps his head. “Sometimes even the most intelligent people need things spelled out for them.”

Jason lets a beat of silence pass between them. There’s an eagerness in Leo’s eyes, a sort of excitement that has Jason’s own heart thumping. He takes a deep breath, and then, with all the courage he can force out of himself, he murmurs, “Just friends?”

Now Leo’s eyebrows jump in surprise, and he bites on his bottom lip to suppress a grin. “I don’t know,” he says, leaning closer. “Is there something else you had in mind?”

“I think I might have had a couple.” 

Leo opens his mouth to say something, and Jason steels himself for whatever response Leo has — but then his face falls and he snaps his gaze to something in the corner of the room. “Did you hear that?” Leo whispers. 

Jason’s heart falls in his chest, and he sighs. So much for confrontation. “If you didn’t want to talk about it, then you—” 

Leo throws a hand over Jason’s mouth and starts looking around more nervously, a frown carving itself onto his features. “No, I’m serious,” he whispers. “I feel like I heard a… shift. Like metal.” 

Now Jason’s own eyebrows scrunch into a frown, and he tilts his head, trying to hone his ears on any sort of noise he can. For a moment, he hears nothing — until, there, he hears a low, frantic whispering… 

And it isn’t coming from Leo. 

Jason’s eyes widen, anxiety surging through his veins, and he lets out the smallest squeak. Leo takes his hand off Jason’s mouth, his frown deepening, and he leans forward, trying to listen closer. The whispering continues, and while Jason can’t decipher what’s being said, he’s pretty sure it’s coming from behind one of the machines in the far right corner. 

“Do you think it’s Piper or Thalia?” Jason asks. 

Leo shrugs. “I’m not sure. They’re supposed to be out at the Night Market.” He squints his eyes and cranes his neck up and down, trying to look for some sort of glimpse of the intruders, but after a minute he just shakes his head and glances at Jason. “Better to be on the safe side. Could be thieves.” He throws off his other glove, leaving both his hands now clad in their wrist wraps, and opens his hand. “Give me the bomb.”  

Jason nods confidently, but it’s only a mask to hide how fast his heart is beating. Not just out of anxiety — though that is a big part of it — but rather, because of the determination in Leo’s eyes and the straight set of his mouth and the clench of his fists. The sight of him, so rigid with confidence and courage, makes Jason’s stomach ring with a nauseating yearning. There’s no time Leo looks more attractive than when he’s ready to beat someone’s ass.

Jason drops the bomb into his hand. Leo juts his head towards some of the “weapons” to the corner nearest to them, and Jason realizes he’s telling him to get something in his hands. 

He tiptoes over and grabs a bat, and when Leo sees that he’s now properly equipped, he offers the barest nod. He pulls up his fingers and starts counting down: Three, two, one…

And then he launches the bomb. 

It lands with a soft clang near the machine in the far corner. For a second, everything’s quiet. Jason briefly wonders if maybe the bomb is defective.

But then a low hissing starts through the bomb, which turns into full blown jets of terrible gas — and then the screaming begins. Two boys jump up from behind the machine, coughing and sputtering and stumbling as fast as they can away from the stink bomb, and Jason would grin if he weren’t so freaked out by them. 

Jason raises his bat higher by reflex, and next to him he can feel Leo tensing up, throwing his fists into defensive positions. Even from this far away, his nose burns at the scent of the gas, probably made of some science-y gas that Jason has no idea how to pronounce. His glasses start fogging up, and he has to lower his bat for a second to clean them. 

As the haze clears, the figures of the intruders become clearer. One is tall and bulky, with buzzed black hair; the other is lanky and skinny, with curly hair that flops with each cough. At the sight of them, Leo grits his teeth. “You guys. What the hell do you want?”

The beefier one, who Jason realizes is Sherman Yang from the building just a few blocks down, starts to step forward. He coughs a few more times, and then, in a raspy voice, he says, “Relax, Valdez. We’re not here to hurt you, so you can lower your baby hands.” Sherman points a look at Jason and smirks. “And you can lower your bat.” 

Leo shakes his head at Jason. Jason only holds onto his bat tighter. 

Sherman shrugs. “Suit yourselves. I—” 

“Answer the question,” growls Jason. “What do you guys want? How did you even get in?”

“Come on, Grace,” the other boy — who Jason realizes is Connor Stoll — says, rolling his eyes. “You guys make breaking in too easy.” Connor raises his eyebrows at Leo. “Don’t you remember who taught you to pick locks?”

“If you wanted to come in so bad, you could have just knocked.” Leo crosses his arms, so Jason lowers his bat, only a little bit. “What could be so necessary that you had to break in?”

“We’re not here to pick a fight,” Sherman says, and his muscles loosen as he puts his hands on his hips. “We were just looking for something, but since you’ve caught us, might as well ask you.” 

“What is it?”

Sherman’s eyes narrow as he steps closer. Leo’s fists rise again, determination reborn in his eyes, and Jason takes that as his cue to raise his bat. Sherman only smirks. “Word on the street is your mommy’s got her hands on some shimmer. We were looking for a fix.” 

Leo’s eyes widen ever so slightly, only hinting at his shock. Other than that, though, there are no other tells — at the very least, his reaction could be taken as just a flinch of surprise.

But Jason knows better. 

The only people Leo told were Jason, Piper, and Thalia, and he swore to them that they had to keep it a secret. “She didn’t actually tell me until I found a few jars of it,” Leo explained a week ago, his voice shivering as it came out. “But she said she wasn’t using it; she’s only experimenting with it, trying to see what chemical properties it has.” 

“Do you believe her?” Piper asked, laying a gentle hand on his shoulder. 

Leo looked at Piper, and at the sight of his dark eyes glazing over in fear, Jason’s stomach sank with guilt. “I don’t think I can afford to not believe her.” 

It’s not really that she’d had much of a history with drugs in the past, Leo explained to them. Sure, the occasional pipe, but that’s as much as Leo really knew about it. And anyway, she liked to experiment with new chemicals or discoveries at her machine shop when she could get her hands on them. So when shimmer started cropping up, and with barely much information about its effects or how it worked, naturally she was interested in experimenting with it. At least, that’s what Leo was choosing to believe. 

“Did you ask her where she got it?” asked Thalia, her eyebrows furrowing. 

“Yeah, but she wouldn’t tell me.” Leo took a deep breath, and then he leaned back on his hands and exhaled. “But I trust her. I’ve never had a reason not to.” 

At the time, Jason felt a little frustrated. If Leo could have so much trust in his mother, why couldn’t she have the same in him? And why was she hiding the shimmer, anyway? In Jason’s experience, that was the most suspicious thing a parent could do. Why didn’t she just show Leo right away, so he was aware? 

Maybe a part of that frustration also came from Jason’s jealousy. The fact that Leo had the privilege to trust his mother so much even when she was acting so suspicious… Jason could never relate. His dad left him and Thalia when they were younger, and their mother went into a life of drinking and sabotage, to the point that she died alone in a bathtub. Their parents left them to fend for themselves, so the fact that Leo’s mother was risking a bond so strong with her son over a science experiment… it just didn’t sit right.

But now, as Sherman’s eyes gleam hungrily at him and Leo, Jason understands why she was so quiet about it. The less information, the better. 

“Look, man,” Leo says, stepping forward, his eyes locking onto Shermans. “I don’t know where the hell you heard that, but it’s not true. And anyway, why do you care? Do you know the kinda shit that could do to your body?”

“If it’s not true,” Sherman mutters, thudding closer to Leo, “then why did I hear it?” 

“I don’t know,” Leo bites out, and even though he’s at least a head shorter than Sherman, the blazing in his eyes makes even Jason nervous. “But if you don’t step back, the only thing you’ll be hearing is the ringing in your ears when I crack your head against the wall.” 

“Look,” Jason calls, and everyone’s gaze turn to him. “Even if it were true, we don’t have anything here. We don’t mess with that. So you can leave and find someone else to get your fix.” 

Sherman’s eyes glaze over, and for a second, Jason allows himself to believe he’s finally bored him enough to make him want to leave. But then a revitalized energy broils in his eyes, and he throws Leo to the side and starts walking towards Jason. “That’s cool,” he says, shrugging. “We can do this the hard way, then.” 

Jason starts to step back, his heart hammering in his chest. He doesn’t like the hunger in Sherman’s eyes, the cruel grin slicing across his face. 

Connor, who’s been quiet up until now, lets out an exasperated sigh. “Man, come on. We can just search the place, and if there’s nothing we can just leave. They’re just kids, anyway.” 

“Yeah,” Jason mutters, trying his hardest to keep his voice from breaking. “Doesn’t it look a little pathetic for someone your age to be messing with sixteen-year-olds?”

“Does it?” Sherman cracks his knuckles, and Jason can only think of it as a foreshadowing of the sound his own bones will make soon when Sherman slams him around. “That’s too bad.” Then he whips his gaze to Connor. “We asked nicely, Stoll. If beating them up doesn’t get an answer out of them, then we can leave. Not like they’ll be able to talk, anyway.” 

Sherman starts to turn his gaze back towards Jason — and then lets loose a piercing howl when Jason cracks the bat against his left arm.

His face burst with red and he claws for his arm. In the time it takes for him to recover from his shock, Jason’s already back at Leo’s side with his bat raised again and a new rush of adrenaline flooding his veins. Leo offers him a hint of a smile, and all Jason can think about is how anyone would need shimmer when just the sight of him is enough to send him into a frenzy. 

“Oh, you think that was funny, don’t you?” Sherman growls, turning on them again. “Don’t worry, I’m going to have a nice laugh, too.” 

He charges. 

But Leo’s quick on his feet. As soon as Sherman throws out a punch, Leo dodges and kicks him in the ribs. While it doesn’t make him fly away like Jason wishes it would have, he still stumbles back, and that’s as good a win as any. 

Sherman straightens and scowls at Leo, then throws a look at Connor. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? Don’t just stand there!” 

Connor catches Jason’s eyes, and regret flashes across his face before he rushes towards him. Jason raises his bat to strike Connor, too, but this time he doesn’t have the element of surprise — as soon as he starts to bring it down, Connor gets a grip on it, stopping its momentum, and throws it to the side. Jason’s bones shiver with each clacking of the bat, and he looks at Connor in newfound fear.

“Sorry, dude,” Connor mutters, then slams Jason against the wall. His head rings with pain when it collides with the cement, and his glasses slide down the bridge of his nose, but he barely has time to process any of it before Connor throws him to the ground.

Jason groans, his head pounding and his shoulders aching. The lights above him shine too bright, and he has to squint up at Connor, who towers over him as he waits for a sign that Jason’s alive. In the distance, Leo cries out, but Jason’s powerless to stop it; he’s too busy not trying to get murdered himself. He just hopes Sherman has enough sympathy to not kill anyone tonight. It would be really sad if Leo got killed before Jason could even kiss him. 

Connor bends over Jason, hands on his knees, and tilts his head. “Come on, dude. Just tell us where it is, or where to find it. We need something. Then we’ll stop.”

“I don’t know anything,” Jason spits. “And the fact you’re so desperate for it is just really embarrassing.” 

Connor shakes his head in shame and sighs. He opens his mouth to speak, but whatever he wants to say, Jason beats him to it. “Why do you let him bully you like that?” he demands. He’s really just stalling, trying to gather his strength and think of a plan. 

“He’s not bullying me,” Connor scoffs. “We’ve been best friends forever.” 

“If he’s not bullying then how come you just do whatever it is he says?” Jason tries to raise an eyebrow. “What happened to earning pride, Connor? Are you really making a name for yourself if you just do whatever it is he says?”

“Man, don’t talk like that.” Connor rolls his eyes. “You sound like some prissy councilor. It’s really not that deep. We’ve just been friends forever.” 

“And you’ve known me and Thalia since we first came here. Doesn’t that count for something?”

“None of this is personal. This is just how Sherman is.” 

“So you just let him bully you because it’s just how it is?” Jason claws himself up, trying not to hiss through the pain, and the fact that Connor doesn’t seem to acknowledge is only a good thing. “Might as well call yourself a Topsider with that attitude.” 

The betrayal striking Connor’s face is all the distraction Jason needs. He pounces, his hands colliding with Connor’s shoulders as he forces him to the ground. Connor wriggles under his weight, and it takes all of Jason’s strength just to keep him down. He catches sight of the baseball bat, which is only a few feet away, but then he looks down at Connor, whose eyes echo with betrayal and frustration, and Jason considers the chances — stand up to get the bat and risk Connor escaping, or keep attacking him? 

But in the time that it takes for Jason to make his decision, Connor’s gathered all his strength and shoves Jason off, this time making it his turn to pin Jason by the shoulders. A new rage flames in his eyes, and he opens his mouth to say something, but then Jason kicks Connor in the stomach, yanking any and all words out of him. He grunts and tumbles to the ground, and Jason takes his chance to scramble away and reach for the bat.

When Connor gets back up, holding his stomach, he glares at Jason. “Got your toy? Good. It’s only a fair game.” 

Then he charges towards him, arms outreached, his face bubbling with rage. At the last second, just as Connor is about to grab for Jason’s neck, Jason jerks out of the way and extends his leg to trip Connor. He slams face-first into the ground, a sickening crunch following after him, and when he turns onto his back, Jason sees that his nose is a little crooked, blood leaking from his nostril. Guilt starts trickling through Jason’s veins at the sight, but he pretends not to notice it as he leans over Connor and presses the bat against his shoulders. As Connor’s eyes widen, Jason starts dragging the bat so that it digs into his throat. Jason wishes he could say he’s proud to finally have bested him, but Connor’s gasping and blubbering only make Jason’s heart pulse with regret. 

“Do you really want to see how the rest of this goes?” Jason asks. He means it to come out as a growl, but it only sputters out of him, like a dying machine trying to exhale its last breaths. “Worst case scenario, you could be lying dead on my ground. Up to you.” 

Connor glares at him, and Jason’s about to say something again when, behind him, Leo calls, “Jason!” 

Just like that, all of Jason’s attention is violently twisted away. He whips his head at the sound of Leo’s voice, and it takes a moment for his eyes to make sense of the scene before him — Leo stands with a foot over Sherman’s lumpy, unconscious body on the ground, panting and running a hand through his sweat-lined curls. There’s a bit of blood spattered on his face and knuckles, and some dripping off a cut at his temple, but for some reason, the only word that comes to Jason’s mind is godly.

“It’s cool,” Leo pants, nodding towards Connor. “Let him go. I think we’ve reached an agreement.” 

Sherman just groans underneath Leo’s foot. 

Jason wishes he could have gotten to see Leo beat the Sherman Yang. Not that he’s surprised — testing Leo is the dumbest decision anyone could ever make — but he would’ve loved to proudly announce that he saw every detail of Leo beating his ass.

Jason offers a slight nod, then bares his teeth at Connor. “Consider yourself lucky.” 

Then he punches Connor across the jaw and releases his hold on him. Connor rolls over and spits out blood and a tooth on the floor, and Jason briefly wonders how they’re gonna clean all this when they leave. 

“Come pick up your friend,” jeers Leo. 

Connor struggles to his feet and narrows his eyes at him. He crawls his way to Sherman and, after several minutes of tripping, groaning, and bickering, he gets the two of them onto their feet. Sherman leans against him, one of his legs crookedly bent underneath him and an arm around Connor’s shoulders to keep balance. Now that he’s upright, Jason has a better view of Sherman’s face, and he’s just glad he’s not him right now. His teeth are stained with blood, and a gash on his forehead makes Jason want to rub his own head in sympathy, not to mention the swelling in his cheekbones.

Connor and Sherman limp towards the staircase, but not without a whole lot of threatening on Sherman’s end. “I'll get you for this, Valdez!” he exclaims through his bloodied lip, and Jason has to move out of the way to avoid any of the blood splattering onto him. “Just you fucking wait.”

Jason and Leo watch as Connor tries to drag Sherman up, and it takes another several moments before the thudding on the stairs stops. Jason swears he hears something shatter upstairs, but he figures that’s a problem for later. 

Finally, after what feels like ages, a door slams upstairs, and Leo exhales. Jason’s attention turns back to him, and with a start, he notices the exhaustion weighing on Leo’s eyes. Leo runs a hand gingerly against the right side of his ribs, and his breath hitches as he runs over a spot at the center. His right eye is swollen, and next to the blood splattered over his cheek (which Jason is pretty sure is Sherman’s) a bruise starts to form. Another trail of blood leaks from the cut at his temple.

Jason’s chest rings with guilt for him. He fixes his glasses on his nose — which have, by some miracle, not shattered — and walks over. He lays a hand gently on his bicep, and at the touch, Leo looks up, pain sizzling in his eyes. “You alright?” Jason murmurs. 

Leo takes a deep breath. “Yeah, I will be.” He does his best to straighten himself and smirks. The pain in his eyes gives way to glimmering adrenaline, and Jason can only hope that he doesn’t hear the way his heart is beating at the very sight. “That was eventful.” 

“Yeah.” Jason huffs out a laugh. “I can’t believe you beat up Sherman. He’s literally so much taller than you. And stronger.”

“Are you surprised?”

“No.” Jason smiles. “I think I’ve gotten used to you impressing me.” 

“Don’t say that.” Now Leo steps closer, his eyes simmering with electricity, and some of that energy must transfer into Jason because he swears he can feel his blood singing. “It’ll make it harder for me to impress you.”

He locks eyes with Jason. And then, after a beat of silence, he rests his hand on his chest. 

Underneath the weight of his palm, Jason’s heart ticks like a bomb; if Leo moves his hand even a little bit, he might just explode. Despite all the pain in Jason’s body — the overwhelming ringing in his head, the throbbing pain in his shoulders, the pulsing in his back — all he can feel is the warmth of Leo’s hand over his T-shirt. 

Jason’s gaze is glued to the hand on his chest, and he has to force himself to look back at Leo again, but that only makes matters worse. Leo’s eyes, so big and brown and brilliant, like stars captured in dense amber, swallow him whole. Even with all the scars and bruises and blood mapped onto his face, Jason decides that he’s never looked so mesmerizing. 

“You have something on your here,” Jason whispers. He raises his hand and brushes his thumb against Leo’s cheek, wiping away most of the blood. Even though he gets most of it off, it still smears across his skin. 

Leo smiles, but doesn’t move his eyes away from Jason’s. “We should frame it,” he murmurs. “‘Sherman Yang’s blood.’”

“Yeah,” Jason breathes. 

Leo squints at him, then reaches for Jason’s glasses and fidgets with them. “They’re crooked.” 

Jason smiles. “No, they weren’t.”

“No.” Leo returns the smile. “They weren’t.” 

And then he kisses Jason. 

Jason’s brain sizzles into static. All he can hear is the ringing in his head and his heartbeat echoing in his ears, and he’s certain that he has a concussion, because his senses are completely overloaded. He swears he can taste sound.

But he comes to senses quick enough. He closes his eyes and lays his hands on Leo’s waist. Leo wraps his arms around Jason’s neck as he tugs him closer, and he smiles against his lips. Jason loves the way he has to get on his tip-toes just to kiss him properly. He loves having to hold him just to make sure he doesn’t trip. He loves kissing Leo, period. 

It’s better than he could have ever imagined. He might just have to thank Sherman for this.

But just as Jason’s getting used to this, Leo pulls away, and it takes all of Jason’s power to not just pull him right back in. 

“Is there anything you want to tell me, Jason?” Leo asks coyly, brushing his hand against Jason’s neck.

Jason smiles, then takes Leo’s hand and rubs his thumb — the one not covered with blood — over his knuckles. He runs over all the calluses and cuts and scars raised above his skin, and he has to fight the urge to kiss all of it. “I do, actually,” he murmurs, chewing on his bottom lip. “I think I like you. And I think you like me, too.” 

“‘Like’ is a strong word,” Leo says, squinting in feigned contemplation. “I would say ‘tolerate,’ maybe.” Then he tilts his head. “But if you keep kissing me like that, I might reconsider.”

Jason kisses him again. “What about now?”

“Well, scientifically-speaking, you can’t have a theory without—” 

Jason kisses him again, if only to make him shut up. 

#valgrace #percy jackson and the olympians #jason grace #leo valdez #riordanverse #heroes of olympus #trials of apollo #pjo #hoo #toa #arcane au #valgrace fanfic #valgrace fic #jason grace fanfic #jason grace fic #leo valdez fanfic #leo valdez fic

[litwafflehouse]

I forgot to say I wrote a valgrace fic on here! So if you like modern day streamer au with silly twitch lingo, found family and jason being a dork this the fic to read!!

#pjo hoo toa #pjo #valgrace #jason grace #leo valdez #percy jackson #percy jackson and the olympians #heros of olympus #hoo #trials of apollo #toa #percy jackson fanfiction #valgrace fic #pjo fanfic

[thelordofshrimp]

Red Cross AU is BACK, baby, and this time it is Jason and Leo's turn to get caught up in Shenanigans! AKA: An attempt at solving Jason's little wolf problem goes horribly wrong

#ehehehe more red cross au #on the day of my very own blood donation appointment #valgrace #jason grace #leo valdez #valgrace fic #pjo #hoo #fic #my fic

[reddamselette]

leo and piper except they're the only ones who showed up to jason's funeral. nico was overwhelmed with grief, percy and annabeth with guilt, frank and hazel busied themselves with work to avoid thinking about it, and reyna couldn't bear it.

but leo and piper showed. they showed with funeral clothes and his favorite flowers, a basket of his favorite things to lay beside him tombstone. they spoke even though it was to one another. they told stories, no one else would hear. they cried with memories created in a short amount of time with a friendship based off fabricated memories. yet they loved him deeply. piper, as a friend. and leo, as something that could've been more.

they sat at his grave for hours and hours. leaning against the stone with exhaustion as they talked and talked.

tears only began to pour and streamed like a thunderstorm when thalia arrived and pulled them into an embrace. they each became closer after that.

#valgrace #leo valdez #jason grace #piper mclean #thalia grace #leo and jason #leo and piper #jason and piper #thalia and jason grace #percy jackon and the olympians #heroes of olympus #percy jackson #pjo #hoo #my writing #a post my bsf sent me sparked this #u shouldve heard the wails i let out reading said post #fic #somewhat

[yonemurishiroku]

I have read so many Solangelo Jasico Percico fanfics but barely any of them matches the sweetness of Travis freaking Stoll kissing Nico’s hand and calling him the sweetest princess in the kingdom

in that one one-sided Valgrace fanfic wth.

#for the record travis doesn’t even like nico romantically in that fic. he’s just being his flirty self 😭😭😭 #i love hermes’ children so much #pjo #hoo #nico di angelo #yone rambling #toa #percy jackson and the olympians #heroes of olympus #trials of apollo #fanfic talk again bc what’s new anw? #percico #jasico #solangelo #travis stoll #valgrace

[2nd2ndalto]

I have a headcanon that all the demigod kids routinely end up in each others beds/cabins at night, because nightmares and trauma and whatnot. So I wrote this smol fic.

~~~~~

There Is Rest and There's You

The first time Nico sees Annabeth leaving the Poseidon cabin at an ungodly early hour (having been dragged from his warm bed by Leo and Jason for an ungodly early errand), he flushes, quickly looking away. Because it's obvious, even to him, that she’d spent the night. But Annabeth merely sleepily raises a hand in greeting and continues on her way back to her own cabin.

Jason, maybe noticing Nico’s discomfort, simply shrugs. “Musical cabins,” he explains. “Happens a lot.”

Leo nods in agreement. “Yep. I had some really wicked nightmares last week, three nights running. I ended up on Jason’s floor. Would have been in the bed, but Piper got there first,” he adds, disgruntled.

Huh, Nico thinks. Musical cabins. That's a little weird.

After that, he pays more attention. It’s not unusual, as it turns out, to find the Apollo cabin overstuffed with various campers early in the morning, rivalling even the occupancy of the Hermes cabin. Sometimes it’s couples tucked in together, but more often it’s friends, siblings. Seeking comfort, and sleep.

It's six months into Nico's stay at Camp when he begins forgetting to lock the door to Cabin Thirteen. He nearly runs Harley through with his sword the first night he finds the younger boy fast asleep in his cabin. But after that, it quickly becomes routine to wake to the quiet comfort of someone else’s soft snoring across the darkened room. Most often it's Will, brushing a warm hand over Nico's forehead before settling into the other bed, but sometimes it's Harley, and several times Leo, complaining that Jason’s bed was already full.

It’s a little weird, but surprisingly nice. Nico begins leaving his door unlocked most of the time.

On a night late in February, the nightmares are worse than usual. Nico wakes in a cold sweat, heart pounding, tears welling behind his eyelids. He does what he usually does - dresses quickly, and walks. There’s something meditative about the rhythm of his boots on the ground and the sharp, cold air on his skin that usually settles him.

But the thing is, it’s really cold. And after only about half an hour he finds himself standing in the central green, torn. He can't feel his toes, but he can’t quite stomach the thought of returning to his own empty cabin, either.

His frozen feet lead him up the stairs to Cabin Seven. And gods, it’s warm inside.

There’s a soft rustle of blankets from Will’s bunk.

“Nico?” Will’s voice is soft and scratchy. “What’s wrong?”

The taller boy is out of bed and across the cabin in a heartbeat, reaching for Nico’s hand. Scanning him, Nico knows, blue eyes wide with worry.

Nico shakes his head. “I’m fine. Just - couldn’t sleep,” he murmurs, and the concern on Will’s face fades to sympathy.

“The bunk above mine is empty,” he says simply.

And that’s that. Nico climbs up, snuggles in. Will’s messy blond bedhead pops over the edge of the bunk, his smile fond. He squeezes Nico’s arm. “Sleep tight.” And then he disappears.

Nico worries it might be awkward, in the daylight. It’s anything but. The Apollo cabin is a riot of sound and motion in the morning. Austin flings a stuffed turtle at Nico's head. Nico's foot is hanging off the edge of the bunk, and Kayla tickles it, cackling when he squeaks.

“Breakfast time, sleepyhead,” she chirps.

“Sleep well?” Will asks as Nico climbs back down.

And the thing is, he really did.

Time passes. The nightmares wax and wane, but they get easier, mostly.

Until one night in July. It’s almost a year to the day since he came to stay at Camp - Nico thinks, later, maybe that’s why the nightmares hit particularly hard. He wakes shaking, gasping for air, convinced he’s fading again, permanently this time. It scares him so much more than it did when it was actually happening. He shoves his hands against the wood of his headboard, hard, positive they’re going to slip right through. They don’t, but he can't shake the panic.

Nico’s up and out the door in the space of a breath, no hesitation as he makes a beeline, barefoot, for Cabin Seven. The air is cool for July, the full moon shining bright above.

He can feel his panic ease the second he closes the door behind him, soothed by a quiet symphony of soft breathing.

But the bunk above Will’s is occupied tonight, and as Nico's eyes adjust, he realizes all the others are, too.

“Nico?” Will’s voice is a whisper. “Nightmare?” He sits up, silhouetted in moonlight.

“Yeah.” Nico steps closer. “Looks like you’re all full in here, though. I’ll see you in the morning.”

He turns to leave, but Will grabs his arm. “I’ll come with you.”

“No, it’s okay. I’ll be fine. You go back to sleep.”

Will gazes at him in the dark, fingers still wrapped around Nico’s wrist. “Or you could stay. Here.”

“There’s no room, though.”

“I have room,” Will whispers.

Nico blinks at Will’s bunk, then back at Will, his stomach attempting to leap into his throat. Will’s eyes are wide, nervous.

“I... um -” Nico begins. He can feel his face heating at the thought of it.

“Gods, di Angelo, just stop talking and get into his bed. Literally no one cares,” Kayla grumbles from the next bunk over. There appears to be at least one Demeter kid in her bed. Maybe two.

Will’s fighting a grin now and he shrugs. Nico shrugs back, then… climbs into the bed. Will scoots over to make room, pulling the blankets over them both. And gods it’s warm, and it smells like Will, and when nothing else calms him, that always does.

Nico lets his eyes close. Then -

“Do - do I feel like I’m fading?” he asks in a whisper, echoes of the nightmare flashing behind his closed eyelids.

Will gazes at him. Then he reaches for Nico’s hand.

“No,” Will whispers. Someone clears their throat nearby and Will grimaces, yanking the blankets over their heads.

“Did something happen?” he asks, his breath brushing Nico’s face.

“No, just - nightmare."

Will nods in understanding. “No. You’re good,” he smiles. He goes to pull the blankets back down, then seems to reconsider.

“That’s um… that’s usually why I end up in your cabin. At night.” he admits, quiet. “Sometimes... I just need to make sure that you’re still solid.”

Nico stomach flip-flops. "Oh."

Will shrugs, sheepish. He pulls the blankets back down, settling on his side. "Here," he says, reaching for Nico's hand again. "Then neither of us has to worry." He tangles their fingers together, reaching out to lay his other hand on Nico's arm, tethering him.

Will's soft smile in the dark is dazzling, and his hands are warm, and Nico worries his own answering smile might just light up the entire cabin.

When he wakes hours later to the familiar sounds of chaos, his head tucked against Will's shoulder, Will's face buried in his hair, well. He thinks maybe this musical cabins thing isn't so bad after all.

Notes

This is a short one! I tried to challenge myself to write something coherent in 1000 words or less. I almost managed it.

It is also my personal headcanon that Harley kind of attaches himself to Nico & sees him as a big brother. This comes up in something else I'm working on as well.

I would love to hear your related headcanons! Snuggly demigods! Sleeping in heaps like puppies!

Jason may not come up much in my fics but please rest assured he is Always Alive.

#nico di angelo #will solace #solangelo #one-shot #prompt fic #my writing #percy jackson and the olympians #heroes of olympus #pjo #rated g #fluff #other characters appear briefly #minor valgrace maybe?

[theancientgreekswerebitches]

Valgrace fic idea:

It's a mortal high school au. They live in like a relativley small town in the 80s or something.

And there's a rollerskating rink cause of course there is.

Leo is like supremely unpopular, along with some other people (specifically along with nico because i just think they are more similar than you'd think)

And jason is popular, he's athletic, he does well on tests, his dad owns a big company ect (he'd probably be friends with people such as like piper, Percy and will.

Will and nico are quite close so will invites nico to go rollerskating and nico, hating the idea of hanging out with will's friends drags leo along.

Now, leo and jason suck at rollerskating and while on the rink manage to smack head first into each other and get pretty badly injured (maybe a concussion or something). Idk what would happen after that but they'd bond 👍👍

#valgrace #valgrace fic idea #jason grace #leo valdez #hereos of olympus #percy jackson #if anyone wants to write this just send me a link when you're done

[asolareclipses]

“Isn’t she a beaut?”

“A what?”

“Gods Nico, you never know what i’m talking about.” Leo sighed, turning his attention away from the chariot he was just boasting about.

“Maybe because you never make any sense,” Nico rolled his eyes anticipating the next comment about to leave Leo’s mouth.

“Or…you’re just an old abuelo,” Leo failed to hold back his smirk.

Nico glared at him, he didn’t speak spanish but he’d heard that word enough to know what it meant. “Call me that one more time fire boy and you’ll wish you died the first time.”

“Holy smokes! Someone’s feisty today,” Leo raised his hands signifying a truce. “Anyways, moving back to the important things, just look at this masterpiece!” Leo gestured back to his creation.

As Nico’s eyes move to scan over the chariot, he had to try not to be visibly impressed. It was incredible. Each wheel had hundreds of gears all lined with celestial bronze and steel. The sides and rims danced with various contraptions, every piece was delicately crafted with the upmost detail. It looked as if it was built to withstand whatever may come in its way.

“You built this in a week?” Nico asked, hoping his awe wasn’t evident in his tone.

“Yeah,” Leo shrugged. “Perfect for the race don’t you think?”

Yeah? Nico almost sang his inner praises to Leo at that moment. But he knew if he were to boast Leo’s ego like that, he wouldn’t see the end of it for days.

“It’s not bad..” Nico spoke carefully.

Leo smirked, “Finally glad you decided to be on my team?”

“I didn’t decide anything,” Nico said. “You begged me for weeks and weeks on end until I said yes, just so you would leave me alone.”

“Hm, funny. I don’t remember that happening.”

“Leo-“

“Anyways- You said you had the horses taken care of?” Leo masterfully changed the subject.

Nico nodded with a sigh.

Leo stared at him, before looking around as if he were expecting something. “Well…where are they?”

“Right, you might want to step back.” Nico suggested.

“Step back why would I-“ Leo was cut off by the ground beginning to rumble, kicking up dust and small rocks. “Right that’s why,” he hurriedly stepped backwards.

The grass shivered and after a moment of rumbling, a bone popped out from the ground. It was then followed by another and another. Soon several bones came together forming two skeletal horses. They moved similar to regular horses, if regular horses had no skin or organs.

Nico stepped back, admiring his work. In the back of his mind he imagined the future lecture he’d receive from Will. ‘What did I say about unnecessary power usage?’ Still, looking at the horses, Nico figured it was worth it.

“Woah,” Leo smiled. “That’s so much cooler than a regular horse, or even a robot one.”

“More durable too, any attack and they’ll just reassemble.”

“Dude!” Leo was now practically jumping up and down, “we are so going to win this!”

Part of Nico wanted to join Leo in the excited jumping. But the other part of him thought that would be out of character; what this ‘character’ of himself was though, he didn’t know. Nico had struggled with displaying his excitement, every time he felt that burst of joy. That buzz of happiness. It reminded him of when he was younger, first arriving at camp with that same feeling. He wondered where that little boy had gone.

A horn blew, drawing Nico out of thoughts.

“That’s Chiron,” Leo said. “Time to head to the starting line.” A devilish grin appeared on his face that made Nico a little nervous. Clearly Leo’s chariot was armed with machinery that would even make the Stoll brothers jealous.

As they stood in the chariot at the starting line, Nico rethought all his life decisions. Why had he agreed to do this race again? At the time it seemed like the only way to get Leo to leave him alone, since he had been profusely begging Nico to team up with him every day. Now Nico couldn’t decide which one was worse, and annoying Leo or a brutal chariot race. Suddenly a cold chill ran down Nicos spine, he couldn’t place it but something was wrong.

Before he could dig deeper into this feeling, Chiron blew his horn again, signaling the beginning of the race. The chariot promptly took off, immediately blasting ahead with the upmost speed. Nico had to grip the railing just to not go flying off, struggling as the winds made it hard to keep his eyes open.

The Athena chariot tried to launch a net from behind them in an attempt to catch the chariot, but it wasn’t fast enough. Instead, the net came flying back at their chariot getting caught in the wheels and sending the campers into a panic. At the same time the Stoll brothers were shooting some contraption they’d made at the Ares cabin. When resulted in both chariots veering off track and into the woods.

As they continued to speed up, Nico watched as all the other chariots got farther and farther away. He’d began to think this was going to be a lot easier than he’d initially thought.

“Works just like a dream!” Leo yelled over the winds.

Nico nodded, pointing to the floating finish line, Chiron had decided the chariots needed to not just be fast but be able to account for height too. Of course for Leo that had been an easy task. For the others, well they had to hope their pegasuses were strong

Sooner than expected they were nearing the finish line, and Nico waited for something to go wrong. He was sure the others would catch up and give them a hard time, but when he looked back the other chariots were still lagging behind.

Then a hint of smoke began to fill the air, slowly becoming stronger. Nico looked around, the chariot was shaking now. A deep rumbling that shook his whole body. More smoke started pouring out from the golden edges, polluting Nico’s lungs.

Leo looked shocked, rushing around as he tried to find the culprit of the smoke. “I don’t get what’s wrong?”

A fire sprung up and danced along the rims of the chariot, Nico stepped away, coughing as his lungs begged for clean air. He looked at Leo with panic in his eyes at the same time Leo seemed to realize that Nico wasn’t immune to smoke.

“Oh gods what do we do?” Leo called out.

Turns out Nico didn’t need to answer that question because in a blast of light the chariot exploded, sending them both flying.

The world went black.

—

Why did every creation of his blow up? That’s what Leo wondered as he plummeted from the sky. He figured he would turn into a Leo pancake when he hit the ground, splat.

The idea would’ve made him laugh if he weren’t currently falling to his death. Leo could still see the flaming chariot above him, another masterpiece blown to pieces. Maybe that would be his legacy, the demigod who destroyed everything he made.

The wind was fast as he fell, blowing through his hair and stinging his eyes. It was eerily familiar, probably because it wasn’t the first time he’d fallen from the sky. As he fell further, Leo tightly shut his eyes, expecting to hit the ground any second. But instead he felt something hit him. Well, less like hit and more like grab. When he opened his eyes, he almost jumped out of his skin.

Jason had caught him, he was now face to face with him. Startlingly close. All Leo could see were his striking icy blue eyes. He felt Jason’s arms tightly secured around his waist, and he felt the breath of relief Jason sighed when he realized Leo was safely in one piece.

Why Leo obsessed over each of these small incriminate details, he would never say.

“Thanks superman,” Leo grinned nervously. He hoped the blush across his face wasn’t as noticeable as it felt.

Jason glared at him as they began to descend to the ground. “Next time i’ll let you fall.”

Leo was about to make another comment when his heart dropped, “Nico.”

Jason’s eyes widened as he looked up at the chariot. They seemed to flicker across the sky, as he tried to locate the other chariot rider. “Oh gods.”

Splash.

Just in time Leo turned to see Nico plunge into the lake, Jason had been too far to reach him seeing as they’d somehow been blasted in two different directions.

Leo’s shirt was still smoking from the explosion and his bones felt like jelly, but it didn’t stop him from rushing to the lake as soon as they touched the ground.

Will had gotten there first, he’d always managed to get there first. He began dragging Nico from the water, a crowd of panicked demigods forming around them.

As soon as Nico was pulled to shore Leo stumbled his way over, pushing through the crowd. “Is he okay? Is he breathing? Oh gods this is all my fault.” He stuttered and tripped over his words as the guilt built up inside his stomach like rocks. He shouldn’t have made Nico join this stupid race, he should’ve known it would go wrong. Everything he did always went wrong.

“Leo, don’t say that.” Jason stepped forward putting a hand on Leo’s shoulder.

Leo wanted to believe him but the guilt was overpowering it consumed his mind.

He silently watched as Will hummed placing his hand on Nico’s chest. Leo didn’t know what he’d do if Nico didn’t wake up, but luckily he did. Shooting up, coughing and spluttering, Leo recognized the look of relief that flashed across Wills face.

Jason’s hand gripped Leo’s shoulder tighter as he remembered to breathe. Suddenly his adrenaline rush crashed and so did he. His knees went weak and he would’ve fallen if Jason hadn’t caught him, again.

“You okay?” Jason asked softly. A warm tone that felt delicate and strange, yet it reassured Leo every time he heard it.

Leo nodded, looking back at Nico who was smothered in a hug from Will. He seemed to be repeatedly telling Will he was okay, despite him being dripping wet with several burnt holes in his shirt.

Nicos seemed to search the crowd until he locked eyes with Leo, he figured Nico would be incredibly pissed off at him. But he wasn’t, his eyes flashed a look of concern before he mouthed you okay?

Leo nodded as convincingly as he could, overly aware of Jason’s warm presence behind him, being the only thing holding him up.

The crowd was dispersing as Will managed to pull Nico to his feet, draping his arm across his shoulders. “Both of you,” he looked towards Leo, “infirmary. Now.”

On the way, Jason did most of the walking, as Leo’s new jelly legs hadn’t regained their sense of feeling yet. His whole body was aching by the time they’d reached the infirmary. Turns out, being exploded hurts. Shouldn’t have been surprising as he’d been exploded before.

As Leo sat on the infirmary bed his mind was spinning. He thought through every piece of bronze, every gear, wondering what had gone wrong. He had double, scratch that, triple checked to make sure everything was in tip top shape. Yet something still went wrong, seemingly out of nowhere. He replayed when the fire broke out, despite his frantic waving and patting down of the fire it didn’t extinguish. The realization hit him like a semi truck.

“Greek fire,” he said out of nowhere while Jason and Will rushed around; checking that he and Nico weren’t severely injured.

“What?” Jason said, his hand freezing in place as he picked up a bandage.

Nico inhaled sharply, looking at Leo as if he immediately understood. After hanging out for so long Nico had learned how to understand whatever thought process Leo was on, “That’s what it was, that’s why it kept burning. Why was it in the chariot?”

“I don’t know,” Leo sighed. He racked his brain for any contraptions that would lead to the emergence of greek fire. But he was sure that it wasn’t built into his chariot at all. “I never used greek fire, I don’t get how it would just erupt like that…unless…”

Jason’s eyes widened, “Do you think someone put it there on purpose?”

Leo met his eyes, he knew an accusation like this was dangerous. It meant that someone intentionally sabotaged their chariot, in a way that could only be intended to kill.

“But why would someone try to hurt you with fire?” Jason asked.

Leo felt his heartbeat stick in his throat, “Maybe I wasn’t the one they were intending to harm.”

He looked over at Nico whose face was now unreadable.

“You’re saying someone tried to kill Nico?” Will asked, his tone laced with anger.

“That or they meant to injure him severely, I guess they didn’t account for the explosion preventions I had in place.” Leo replied.

“Explosion preventions?” Jason asked, his eyebrow tilting up in the way it always did when he was confused.

“Yeah, I figured with my track record i’d add an extra layer of protection. Something that would lessen the impact of a possible explosion. That’s why we went flying away and not…well everywhere.”

“First of all, that’s impressive.” Jason spoke, “Secondly, who would intentionally try to hurt Nico?”

No one answered. None of them could fathom the idea that someone in camp would deliberately do something like this. Leo grasped at straws to find meaning, to find an excuse as to why this happened. But there was nothing. He knew Nico had never done any harm to cause this, he’d been nothing but a hero. He thought that everyone knew that, that everyone should know that. So why did this happen?

“We should talk to Chiron,” Jason said, breaking the heavy silence that filled the room.

—

Will was fuming. Almost literally. He was sure if he’d been Leo his whole body would be aflame. The idea that someone had targeted Nico in such a way, was impossible for him to swallow. His anger felt hot, it bubbled up like a volcano inside of him. He could feel it ready to erupt any second as he dug his nails into his palm.

Then a light touch pulled him from his inner turmoil. A cold hand had slipped its way between his fingers, releasing the tension. Will looked over at Nico and felt a wave of guilt, he hadn’t thought about how Nico must be feeling now.

Years ago Will had told Nico that he was welcome at camp, that no one had pushed him away. Now someone had tried to kill him.

His guilt was followed by fear. Will tightly squeezed Nico’s hand, pouring every ounce of assurance into the touch and praying in his mind that this situation wouldn’t influence Nico to run away again. Just the thought of Nico suddenly disappearing like he had years ago made his heart feel like it was being suffocated slowly. He had to remind himself Nico was okay, he was right by his side.

Explaining what had happened to Chiron was the easy part, it was Dionysus who was difficult.

“We must find this traitor at once!” Mr D. stood up slamming the table, vines began to crawl up from the floor and around the table legs.

Will had never seen him so mad. Of course, if it were anyone else he’d probably just shrug it off. But this was Nico. So Mrs D. was reasonably pissed.

“We have to handle this carefully,” Chiron said; his eyes were filled with a deep sense of sadness and disappointment. He too couldn’t imagine why someone had done this.

“Carefully?” Mr. D asked, his eyes glowed with a dangerous hue of purple. “I say we round everybody up and unrelentlessly interrogate them until the rat comes out.”

“We cannot tortue innocent campers in hopes of finding the culprit,” Chiron calmly explained.

“We can’t. I can.”

“Then you would be punished by several angry gods.”

Mr D. had no response this time, sighing as he sat back down. The vines following suite as they shrank back into the floorboards.

“I don’t understand who would’ve done this, and why now?” Jason said, his eyes seemed to be clouded in worries.

“Leo, is there anyway this could’ve been a prank taken too far?” Chiron asked, there was a sort of desperation in his eyes.

“I really wish it was, but there’s no way they couldn’t of known about the precautions. I added the explosion barrier last second. The greek fire must’ve been somewhere near the engine, whoever put it there wanted the chariot to catch fire and explode. Midair,” Leos voice was somber, he leaned listlessly on his elbows which set on the table.

Jason watched Leo carefully, his face seemed to analyze Leo’s every movement, every word. Will recognized his attentiveness.

Chiron sighed, “We will investigate this. Perhaps there is someone, something, whispering things to the demigods again.”

“We can talk to Clovis,” Will added. “If it’s something to do with dreams or visions he might be able to help.”

Chiron nodded, “Just be careful. I don’t know how whoever did this will react if they catch on that we are suspicious.”

Will nodded, he couldn’t help but notice how silent Nico had been. He seemed to be lost in thought. Will wish he could crawl into his brain and disintegrate all the negative thoughts.

It appeared Mr D. was also concerned, his face flashed with worry as he looked over at Nico.

“We’ll talk to Clovis tomorrow,” Will made the executive decision. “You two need rest.”

Jason agreed, not allowing Leo to protest by quickly grabbing him and dragging him out the door way. “Let’s go hotshot.”

It was dark, a cold breeze blowing through camp as Will and Nico walked; a blanket of silence lay between them. Nico seemed to be trapped inside his mind again, his eyes dancing with unspoken worries.

“You okay?” Will asked as softly as possible, reaching out to touch Nico’s shoulder.

Nico nodded, “I guess.”

Will frowned, “You guess?” He expected Nico to lie and hit him with a ‘I’m fine’ like he normally did.

“I’m not sure what to think to be honest.” Nico replied, he began chewing on his bottom lip; a nervous habit Will had taken note of several times.

“Yeah...” Wills voice was quiet, his racked his mind for the perfect thing to say, but came back with nothing.

The two of them kept walking as Nico slightly leaned into Wills touch, despite his uncertainty he still sought comfort.

“I’ll stay in your cabin tonight,” Will paused, “to protect you.”

Nico face spread into a smile, a smile that punched Will right in his stomach. He felt a sense of relief to see him smile, “Yeah i’m sure that’s the reason.”

“What?” Will raised his hands in false defense, “It’s a perfectly reasonable excuse.”

“Uh huh, super convincing.” Nico’s voice was coated with sarcasm, which was a stark contrast to the smile that danced across his face.

“It’s an excuse that would hold up in court, you know i’m not a lawyer but I know these things-“

Nico cut him off by grabbing his hand, “Come on sunshine.” He tugged Will lightly towards his cabin, it was obvious he didn’t want to be alone. That’s not to say Will didn’t want to stay with him on his own accord, obviously it was a little bit for himself. But mostly for Nico, mostly.

—

“Gods Leo use your legs.”

“I can’t they feel like jello, my arms too, and my-my everything!” Leo whined as he let himself be dragged along by Jason.

“You sure you didn’t hit your head in the explosion too?” Jason feigned annoyance. He was intentionally bantering with Leo, trying to boost the mood. Anything that could distract him from the fact of a potential murderer in camp was good, and Leo was really good at distracting.

“I think the explosion hit everything,” Leo stumbled. Jason quickly caught him, snaking his hand around Leo’s waist. He hoped Leo couldn’t hear his heartbeat which was pounding so loudly in his ears.

“You’re clearly incapable of walking,” Jason sighed. He figured he was getting quite good at acting as he almost believed his own false annoyance. “Just let me carry you or at this rate we’re going to be eaten by harpy’s.”

Leo smirked, “If you insist.”

Leo was a light weight against Jason’s back as he locked his arms around Leo’s legs; and when Jason walked, Leo’s arms dangled from around his shoulders. Then with a sigh he rested his chin on the top of Jason’s head.

“Dang the weather is pretty nice up here,” Leo said, his hands absently drumming against Jason’s shirt.

“Enjoy it while it lasts,” Jason replied, earning a small thump against his chest.

Leo paused as he noticed where Jason was headed, “Correct me if i’m wrong, but this does not look like the way to my cabin.”

“Well..” Jason almost panicked looking for any excuse, “I figure you need to be watched over. You know, with your jello legs and brain.”

“Aww,” Leo teased, “are you scared?”

Jason tried to bite back a smile when his lame excuse succeeded. “Yes, terrified.”

“Don’t worry Jace, I’ll protect you from the big bad scary Zeus statue.” Leo giggled as he tightened his arms around Jason.

Jason smiled, he didn’t say the real reason he’d wanted Leo to stay with him. He didn’t say it was because he worried about his safety, that he didn’t want him beating himself up with guilt. Or that he’d seen Will sneak into the Hades cabin and felt a sense of envy.

Jason contentedly carried Leo on his back into the cabin; and as they entered Leo seemed to shrink against Jason whispering, “He’s looking at me,” before bursting into giggles.

“Now you know how I feel every night,” Jason complained. He walked over to his bed, where he’d recently gotten a divider; placing it so that his view of the statue was obscured. When he reached the bed he turned and promptly dropped Leo onto his bed.

“Ouch,” Leo said, sprawling out on the bed with his eyes closed and tongue stuck out as if he were emulating roadkill.

“Looks like jello boy died, what a shame.”

Leo opened one of his eyes and when he saw Jason was still staring at him he closed it again; a grin began spreading across his face, though he’d tried to hold back.

“You leave me no choice,” Jason rubbed his hands together, creating a harmless amount of static electricity. “Clear!” He called out thrusting his hands towards Leo.

A small shock was produced and Leo sprung up falling onto the floor with a yelp, pieces of his curly hair stuck up in the static.

Jason burst into laughter, almost doubling over as his whole body shook.

“What the hades man,” Leo looked up at him with wide eyes.

“I resurrected you,” Jason said between giggles. He’d laughed so hard his eyes began to water.

Leo stood up, patting down his hair. “Okay, i’ve been resurrected before and it did not feel like that.”

Jason shrugged, “What can I say? I’m too good.”

Leo shoved him lightly, pretending to be mad although he was still smiling. “Whatever, because of that you’re sharing the bed.”

“Fine.” Jason pretended it was an inconvenience. In reality he was desperate to be near Leo, to be by his side in any way possible. As close as possible. Leo emanated this warmth in a way Jason had become addicted to. It was a warmth that filled his bones and soul completely and fully.

So when Leo curled up next to him, it took all of Jason’s willpower not to wrap his arms around him and bask in the warmth. Just being beside him had to be enough, yet still he yearned for the full closeness.

Soon he heard the soft breathing from Leo next to him, the moonlight from the window filtering in and sparkling my across his face. His eyelashes look so delicate in the light and the splash of freckles across his face started to resemble a constellation. Jason almost hoped that the moment would last forever; that tomorrow wouldn’t come. He didn’t want to face the harsh truth that someone in camp had tried to hurt his friends. He didn’t want to leave Leo’s side. Not again. The fear of losing him was always so strong because he’d lost him before, they’d both lost each other. Now they were together again and Jason prayed that they could stay that way.

But he doubted anyone was listening to that prayer.

(Part Two)

#nico di angelo #heroes of olympus #nico pjo #pjo hoo #pjo series #solangelo #percy jackson #valgrace #leo valdez #leo pjo #jason grace #jason pjo #pjo hoo toa #will solace #will pjo #percy jackon and the olympians #tsats #pjo hoo toa tsats #trials of apollo #nico di angelo and will solace #my fic #fic #because we were robbed of valgrace and solangelo interactions #jason is alive because i said so #he ressurected or something #leo’s in love with jason #can you tell i was trying to be funny while writing in leo’s pov? #should i do a part two?

[your-honor-im-zesty]

Seeking Paradise- Part 1

"Fuck, it's so damn hot in here."

Yeah, 'cause you're right here.

Jason flushed red as Leo turned around, squinting. "What was that, Grace?"

They were standing in his workshop, in the forge at Camp Half-Blood. It was nighttime, and they were the only ones here. Everyone else, like the sensible demigods they were, had gone to sleep. It was just them, the oppressive heat, and Leo's scraggly invention that laid limply on the table.

"Nothing," said Jason hurriedly. He hadn't even realized he had spoken aloud. Shit. Over the past few weeks, he'd been having some strange thoughts around Leo...but he'd always kept them to himself, and tried not to think too hard about it. His life was already complicated enough; he didn't need any more problems.

Leo looked at him suspiciously. "You're not still pining over Piper, are you?" he asked shrewdly.

Jason winced. "No," he lied. "I'm not...It's okay, really. I'm not still mooning after her."

Leo snorted. "Sure."

It had been 8 months and 4 days since Piper and Jason had broken up (not that he was counting). Jason preferred to speak of it as a mutual thing, but truly, it was Piper who had dumped his ass. We just aren't a good match, she had explained. I love you, I really do, but I can't be in a relationship that was orchestrated by a goddess.

It wasn't that much of a surprise, really. Piper was a free spirit, who was passionate about her own choices and freedom and decisions. All things that were foreign to Jason, but maybe that was why he had been drawn to her in the first place. She had been almost an act of rebellion for him; a way to defy the natural order of the demigod world, to break the rule of Roman and Greek enmity.

He should've known better. Nothing good ever lasted for long. That was something he understood quite well; experience was a painfully thorough teacher. But it did nothing to remove his constant, almost obsessive thoughts about Piper.

And maybe Leo knew it too. Maybe it was much too visible on his face, because the curly-haired boy narrowed his eyes and announced, "We're going on a trip!"

"A- what?"

"A trip," Leo repeated. He grinned, tapping his finger on his chin, his face turning thoughtful. "Yeah, you've moped over Beauty Queen long enough to get off your ass and move on with your life. Time to get back out there, man. Maybe date some new girls- plenty of fish out there in the sea, right?"

Jason swallowed. Against his will, his eyes drifted to a stray curl hanging in Leo's face. Yes, there certainly is.

He looked away immediately. Snap out of it, Grace, he chided himself. You're the son of Jupiter, not a pathetic lover boy. He shouldn't even be looking at Leo like that. It was weird.

"I dunno," he said. "I mean, I still have to finish building all those temples for the minor gods- you know how many of them there are-"

It wasn't necessarily a lie. Even with all the progress he'd made lately, with late nights immersed in his work and days spent checking over papers, Jason had barely made a dent in his work. But still- that didn't bother him as much as the thought of going out and about, facing the real world. Ever since the break up, he'd thrown himself into his work; it had worked before, on other occasions, like when he was mourning his friends' deaths after the slaughter on Mount Othrys. Or trying to rid his mind of the monstrous Scythian Dracanae that had wiped out nearly half the legion.

"You're such a workaholic," Leo rolled his eyes. He reached over and plucked a single screw out of his invention; the whole thing collapsed into pieces within seconds, spilling across the table in shambles. It didn't seem to faze Leo in the slightest. "Sometimes you gotta let go, man. Like this. See? I let go. It was a project doomed from the start."

"Piper and I weren't doomed from the start," Jason said instantly, his voice defensive. Maybe Hera had set them up together, but his feelings for her had always been real. He was sure about that, if nothing else.

Leo cocked an eyebrow. "Who said anything about Piper?"

Shit. Jason deflated. He was an idiot, walking into that trap. "I hate your mind tricks. You're an ass. Seriously."

"No idea what you're talking about!" Leo said cheerfully, throwing an arm around Jason. He smelled heavily of grease and oil, but Jason was used to that. "Point is, Superman, you need to get out there. It's not healthy to do that much work. It makes you look kind of pathetic, like the pining wimp who can't get over his ex."

Jason scoffed. "Says the guy who spends half his days down here, tinkering with a new random-ass invention."

Leo wagged a finger at him. "Nuh-uh, Grace! You don't get to deflect your way out of this one. Don't follow Solace's bad example. He's hella addicted to work, and look how the kid is right now! I mean, have you seen him lately?"

"That's true," admitted Jason grudgingly. He wasn't anything more than acquaintances with Will, but even he had to admit the toll of working so much in the infirmary was obvious. Heavy eyebags, skipped breakfast, irregular sleep schedule...

Oh shit, was that what he was like right now?

Yikes. Leo was right. That was kind of pathetic of him.

"Fine," he said, after a few moments. "We'll go...on a trip. But we need to get Chiron's permission," he added hastily as Leo's face lit up. "You know we can't go running off without warning."

"Of course," the mechanic promised. "You know me, Jason. I always follow the rules."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Leo did not, in fact, follow the rules, and Jason loved hated him for that.

"Valdez," he growled through gritted teeth. "I am going to kill you."

They were on the streets of New York, on a small motorbike that Leo had built weeks prior. Leo was in the front, manning the motorbike, while Jason clung to his best friend for dear life and dreamed of all the possibilities of homicide.

"If we die, I will kill you," he said again.

Leo's response was a maniacal cackle as they rounded the corner in a quick, sharp arc that nearly hurled Jason into the sidewalk. He clenched Leo's waist tighter and scooted closer. His palms grew sweaty at the contact. Only because he was nearly about to die via motorcycle, he assured himself. There would be no other reason for such feelings.

"I fucking love motorcycles!" Leo screamed as they whizzed past an old lady and her cat; she shot them a dirty look, which went unnoticed by Leo, being the fucking madman he was. He slowed down as they approached a steady onslaught of traffic. He twisted around to grin at Jason, his cheeks flushed and eyes bright. He looked quite windswept, but happy. Maybe time out of camp was doing wonders for him too. "What say you, Jason?"

"Chiron is going to kill us," Jason deadpanned, but his lips were twitching.

Leo waved him off, looking unworried. "Don't worry, I had Connor Stoll feed him some bullshit story about us making an emergency trip to Camp Jupiter via pegasus. He won't suspect a thing, trust me. Connor's the expert at lying- I paid him five drachmas."

"What happened to following the rules?" asked Jason drily, but this time, he couldn't help it. The smile stretched across his face.

"That's your fault," Leo replied airily. He swiveled back around. "You should've known that was a load of crap- you're too naive for your own good."

Jason laughed, relaxing enough to lean into Leo's back. "So, where're we going, then?" he said.

Leo shrugged as the motorcycle geared up; the traffic light had flashed green. "Your trip, your choice. I don't make the rules here, Grace."

Your choice. The words were a bit unnerving. Most of the time, Jason didn't have to pick. His path was already chosen, decided by other people. The gods, mostly. Juno.

Not to mention, he had never been to New York City before. No, correction- he had never been to New York City before for purely recreational purposes. What did kids his age do for fun around here? Last he'd checked, this generation was mostly just obsessed with cell phones and computers and things like TikTok and Instagram (which confused the hell out of Jason, because what was a TikTok and why was it so..noisy?) Nothing that he could engage in anyway, since technology was as fatal as a knife to demigods.

"Er, I dunno," Jason said. "I guess...coffee?" He had heard Percy mention a Starbucks once, so he decided to go with that, since Percy was probably the most modern demigod he knew. "Yeah, coffee. At Starbucks."

"Aye aye, captain!" Leo said gleefully as the motorcycle began to weave between cars, rearing forward. Jason cringed, tightening his grip on Leo. Gods, this would be a long drive.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So," said Jason as they strolled into Starbucks. "Have you ever been here before?"

"What- to Starbucks?" Leo glanced at him, amused. "'Course I have. Everyone's been to Starbucks at least once in their life."

Not everyone. Not me. New Rome had coffee shops, sure, but they didn't have a Starbucks.

But Jason didn't say this. Instead, he tilted his face up to look up at the menu; there were a whole bunch of words scribbled in messy cursive. He could read them, sure; he was one of the few demigods who didn't have dyslexia. But his literacy skills had never exactly been honed in on as a child (fighting was always more important, and in a place full of dyslexic demigods, what use was that anyway?), and as he squinted at the board, he wondered if his skills were regressing, from disuse. "Iced caramel machiato?" he asked, glancing at Leo. "Am I reading that right?"

"Hell if I know," Leo answered pleasantly. "Dyslexic, remember? Can't read shit." He shrugged, reaching into his pockets. His hand emerged with a wad of cash- his savings, maybe? "I always just order the Triple Shot Mocha, since they have it everywhere."

"Alright- I guess I'll just have that, then," said Jason tentatively. They joined the line of people in front of the counter. There was a lot, he noted. Starbucks seemed to be popular among mortals.

After they'd ordered and gone to grab a table in a secluded corner of the shop, Leo clasped his hands together and looked at Jason expectantly. "So, where to after this, Superman?"

Jason just shrugged. It wasn't that he was disinterested in this trip, but he genuinely had no ideas on what to do. He'd never been on a vacation before. Maybe if he had, this would be easier. Yet another policy to change in New Rome- lack of vacations. He made a mental note to bring it up in the next Senate meeting.

"You want to visit Percy?" Leo suggested. "He lives around here, somewhere...we could pop in, say hey to his mom and stepdad. I hear his stepsister's cute as shit."

"Thought you didn't like babies."

"I don't like kids," Leo corrected. "They're annoying little shits who talk too much and have the emotional capacity of a Cyclops. But babies are cute. They haven't developed their taste of independence yet, you see. They're still respectful."

"You mean they have no personality," Jason pointed out.

"Tomato, tomato." Leo made a psh noise. "Look, dude, our drinks are ready- I'll go get them. Make up your mind when I come back, okay?"

"Sure," Jason said uncertainly as Leo stood from his seat and strolled across the room casually. He almost admired his swagger, until his curly-haired boy nearly tripped over a chair. Then he had to turn away to hide his laugh.

He pondered, for a few moments, drumming his fingers against the table. Going to Percy's sounded like a decent idea..Jason had yet to meet the famous Sally Jackson, amazing mother and excellent baker, but he figured Percy didn't want any reminder of his demigod life at the moment. Jason wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he had some idea on how to read people. He could see how much Percy despised his demigod status, even if he did love Camp Half-Blood like a second home and would give his life to defend it. Normalcy was a gift to him, and who was Jason to intrude on it?

His eyes wandered around, taking in his surroundings. What had Reyna said to him, once? Use your surroundings, you never know when it'll be useful. It was battle advice, but it could still be used in this scenario. In any scenario, really. Her advice was always universal.

He missed her and her words of wisdom. Their relationship had never been completely the same since that quest to Charleston, and he loathed to admit that he'd never tried to repair it, even after the Giant War. Maybe someday, when their paths crossed again, he would make it up to her.

For now, though, he was content to use her words. He observed the old, balding man who sat a table away, flipping through a newspaper, his drink completely forgotten beside him. He raised it in front of his face, peering intently.

Jason's stomach dropped.

There was a huge photo on top of the front page, of a lovely-looking young woman. She had rosy cheeks and laughing eyes and gorgeous blond curls, teased high in a pile on her head. Her lips were stretched into a wide grin- an all too familiar one. Jason knew that grin, because he had spent hours practicing it in the mirror back when he was younger, trying to master the perfect jovial hero facade. The grin was a little too big to be true, showing too much teeth. Teeth that were strikingly similar to Thalia's.

Mom?

----------------------------

EEEE ok so i've always wanted to write a jason grace angst fic so yeah here it is, it'll be broken down into multiple parts lmao. yes this is a character study of him, yes this is a slow-burn valgrace fanfic, and yes this is an au where trials of apollo didn't happen and my lovely boy didn't die.

I added in the Starbucks bit for fun lmao I always wondered how Jason would react in modern-day Starbucks haha

#percy jackson #pjo #hoo #pjo fandom #percy jackson fandom #hoo fandom #heroes of olympus #heroes of olympus fandom #jason grace #leo valdez #valgrace #valgrace fic #jason grace fic #jason grace centric fic #jason grace angst

[lavndvrr]

I love the way I plot

#leo valdez #pjo #hoo #pjo hoo toa #jason grace #valgrace #hera goddess #hera pjo #Hera causes problems in my fic #when I was working on a project w/ my bestie she kept on deleting my comments #she didn’t appreciate my talents

[thebigqueer]

"A Blade Where His Heart Is" - Valgrace - One-Shot

Summary: part of my arcane au snippet series. leo & jason have an epic homoerotic fight scene. for more information about my arcane au, please read the series notes. Word Count: 5064 TW: GRAPHIC depictions of violence, knives, blood, nausea, swearing, slightly sensual but not sexual. Read on AO3

Being back home hasn’t been an entirely terrible experience for Jason so far. Sure, he did get beat up twice yesterday, and he had to sleep on the broken couch because Thalia didn’t want to risk Leo getting pissed off again. But right now the house is quiet, with Piper, Reyna, and Thalia all gone, and Leo hiding somewhere, maybe in his lab. Jason can finally allow himself to soak in the familiarity of his home. 

He takes some relief in the fact that it’s stayed more or less the same in the time he’s been gone. It has new decorations and less people than it used to, but for the most part, everything’s where it should be. The musky scent of smoke still emanates throughout all the rooms, and the scratches that he and Thalia left on the walls when they fought as children still stand out against the walls. The floorboards on the basement staircase still scream in agony every time he takes a step. The house didn’t drastically change, and he’s grateful for that - at least something is still the same.

He thinks about all this as he trudges down the stairs, trying to find his way to the training room. It used to be one of the only places he could go to get his feelings out, punching the bags and sparring with Leo or Piper. It was where some of his favorite memories played out - the time he had finally, finally beat Thalia in a brawl; the first time he and Leo and Piper had gotten drunk together and had to face the wrath of Emmie and Jo when they found out the next morning; the place he had his very first kiss. 

It’s the one place where Jason can think about the alternate universe where he didn’t just fuck everything up. 

Jason turns down several flights of stairs, and by the time he gets to the very bottom, he’s practically panting. He doesn’t remember the training room being so far underground… or maybe he just hasn’t been here in a long time.

He was expecting to find the place dark and quiet, but when he looks around, he realizes all the lights are on and the machines are whirring. For a flash of a second, he starts wondering if maybe someone had followed him here and was just waiting to jump him - someone from Topside? Someone who knew about his and Reyna’s plans and was ready to take him out? 

But when he looks around and finds Leo at the back of the room, he decides that maybe it would’ve been better if there was an enemy. 

He and Leo haven’t been alone since he arrived yesterday afternoon, and that itself was a trainwreck. The moment they made eye contact, Leo charged towards him and punched him until his cheeks bruised and his eyes blackened. Jason’s face pulses with pain at the sight of him, and he winces. He doesn’t know if being in the training room, where Leo has a lot more weapons at his disposal, is a good choice, and he considers just turning around and running back upstairs. But for some reason he’s glued to the floor, mesmerized by Leo’s presence. 

It’s been a minute since he’s gotten to actually see him. Most of Leo is the same - the same raging curls that fly with every punch he throws; the same crazed glimmer in his eyes as he fights with his punching bag. But from this far, Jason can’t help but to notice the changes, too - he’s gotten taller, almost Jason’s height, and his arms - all open and bare, thanks to Leo’s muscle shirt - have undoubtedly become more defined, the lines of his muscles flexing with every punch. His hair’s grown a little longer, falling over his eyes and curling over his ears, and Jason thinks he spots new piercings twinkling around them. A window above Leo lets a little light seep through, and it drapes over him, turning his skin into gleaming bronze. 

Jason’s breath hitches at the sight. Even sweating, even out of breath, he’s more beautiful than Jason remembers.

Then Leo turns to him, and all of Jason’s admiration gives way to pure terror. 

Leo’s eyes, which were sparking with energy just seconds ago, now blaze with a raging fire as he locks onto Jason. He throws his hands up in a defensive position and snarls, “What are you doing here?”

Jason throws his hands up, too, but only as a manner of surrendering. “I promise I’m not here to start anything. I just wanted to work out, I swear.”

Leo holds Jason’s gaze for a good moment, his eyes lighting hot sparks against Jason’s own, and Jason squirms. Then he rolls his eyes and turns away from him, opting instead to straighten his punching bag. For a few moments, only the sound of Leo’s pummeling echoes around the training room, but Jason feels far from relieved. He can only stand frozen in his spot, his heart shivering in his ribcage. He’s sure that if he moves even a little, Leo might just pounce on him, like a snake to its prey. 

He’s so caught up in his own thoughts that when Leo stops his workout again and spits out, “Your idea of working out is just standing there?” Jason flinches in surprise.

“Sorry.” A flush drowns over Jason’s cheeks as he looks around the room, trying to find something to do, something to stop looking like such an idiot. His gaze lands on a machine behind Leo. 

He starts walking towards it, and he can feel Leo’s eyes following him, burning a hole right through the back of Jason’s head, pouring his scorching fury over him and letting it burn all the way through his heart. Jason has to fight not to clutch his chest in pain. 

When Jason arrives at the machine, he realizes how close he is to Leo - just a mere three feet away. From here, Jason can truly feel the waves of hatred rolling off his body. Leo’s eyebrows are scrunched together, and his dark eyes consume all the light out of the room, drain Jason of all his energy and fill him only with a lingering sense of dread. 

“You know what?” Jason finally says, starting to turn on his heels. “Maybe I can just—”

“Why are you even here, Jason?” Leo crosses his arms across his chest. “What made you suddenly decide that you were good enough to pop back into this place you apparently hated so much?”

Jason takes a deep breath, trying to gather all his energy. He probably needs it for whatever fight Leo wants to give him now. Maybe this is better than yesterday - at least Leo’s finally talking to him - but Jason realizes he might just prefer being beat up instead.

“What makes you think I hate the Undercity?” Jason asks carefully.

“Who doesn’t?”

“Then why does it matter whether I hate it?”

This must be the wrong thing to say, because Leo’s glare turns even sharper. “I don’t know why I bothered asking.”

“I’m sorry,” Jason murmurs, and shame forces him to bow his head. “I- I’m here for an investigation.” 

Leo’s eyebrows raise, but Jason gets the sense he’s not impressed; the opposite, in fact. “So now not only are you turning your back on your family, but the entirety of the Undercity, too? Conspiring with the same people that would have restrained you for even just talking shit?” Leo’s mouth curls. “Was it worth it, Jason? Becoming the very monster that ruins our lives?”

“You don’t even know what I’m here to investigate,” Jason says, frowning. “How do you know it’s not for the better for the Undercity?”

“Does it matter? You Topsiders somehow manage to find a way to fuck us up anyway, even when you’re not trying.” 

You Topsiders. Jason never thought the day would come that he would be lumped in with the very people that would storm down and bully him and Thalia as kids for playing with the trash; the ones that would laugh at him and Leo as they made their way back home from their job at the pawn shop, chuckling about their ratchety clothes and cheap toys; the ones that would do involuntary raids on all the bars around them. Yet here he is, officially a Topsider, according to Leo. 

Jason shakes his head quickly. “I’m not them, Leo. I’m not an Enforcer. I’m not a Topsider. I just… reside there.” 

Leo snorts, and for a second his humor looks genuine. Jason can almost convince himself they’re sixteen again, and Leo’s laughing at him for falling prey to his stupid pranks. 

But then Leo’s eyes harden, and only disgust sizzles around their edges. His gaze roves over Jason, eyes scaling his body like a knife carving against meat, turning his skin raw and bloody, and it takes all of Jason’s willpower not to cry out in pain. “‘Reside,’” he mocks. “You sound idiotic.” 

Jason’s cheeks heat and he pries his gaze away. He considers just turning around and leaving, but before he can even find the strength to move, Leo steps closer to him, a question blazing over his eyes. “What’s it like up there?” he asks, his voice as piercing as a shining blade. “Was it everything we ever dreamed of, Jason?”

He said “we,” Jason thinks, turning the word over in his head. We, like they shared a world together, once. We, like they were inseparable.

We, like they used to be one. 

“I’m not sure,” Jason mutters. “I didn’t get the chance to really explore.” 

Leo’s eyebrows rise over his forehead, high and proud, and his eyes glimmer with harsh amusement. “Look at that,” he sneers. “He goes up to Topside to get a better life for himself, and he doesn’t even get to enjoy it. It’s almost like some people warned you.” 

Jason narrows his eyes at Leo. “I didn’t go up there just to get a better life. I didn’t do it for me.” 

“I don’t care why you did it.” Now Leo steps in front of him, his face contorting into a scowl. “I don’t care about your excuses.” 

“Fine. But not everything is what it seems, Leo.” 

“Why does it matter at this point? Even if you tell me the sob story about how you were just a poor little boy who made poor little choices, that won’t fix where we are now. If anything, it’ll make things worse.” 

“For me?” Jason tilts his head. “Or for you? Are you afraid you’ll feel bad for me, Leo?”

Jason relishes the pride that floods his chest when Leo’s jaw drops open in shock. But just as quickly a wave of guilt washes over him, because why should he be proud? Leo has every right to be upset. Jason was the one who left; Jason was the one who decided to take a chance on something he knew might have been too good to be true. Why is he trying to prove Leo wrong?

Leo gives Jason another once-over, but this time a new acceptance molds over his eyes. “While you were gone,” he murmurs, taking another step closer, “I kept trying to swear to myself you wouldn’t change. I mean, how could you? You’d spent all your life here, living through all the things those assholes did to us. I was mad at you for leaving, but I never stopped believing - not for a second - that you wouldn’t forget yourself.” Leo huffs a laugh, but no humor trails after it. “I was stupid for believing in you, Jason. You proved it to me once, and here you are, proving it to me again.”

Suddenly all the dignity that Jason had gathered up scatters away, and he can feel all the resolve he built toppling over. “I’m sorry,” he breathes, trying to push all his sorrow and regret into his eyes so that Leo believes it. “I shouldn’t have said that. I didn’t mean it.” 

“You don’t mean a lot of things, don’t you?” Leo finally steps back, but the way his shoulders square and his feet plant into the ground, Jason has a feeling he doesn’t plan on leaving. 

“I’m sorry,” Jason says again. “I don’t know how to show you how sorry I am, but I’m willing to do anything.” 

Leo tilts his head. “And what are you sorry for, exactly?”

Jason shrugs defeatedly. “For leaving you behind. For barely giving any of you time to process it. For making you put up with that heartache for so long.” 

Leo is quiet for a moment, but this silence is different - it’s heavier, ladened by all the unsaid things between them. His eyes narrow on Jason, peel back all his layers, cut through his heart. Jason winces. 

Then Leo pulls his gaze out, and for the first time since they’ve come across each other, Leo looks sad. Not angry, not annoyed - sad. His eyebrows knit together in the middle and his eyes glaze over in despair. 

“It’s so unfair, Jason,” he spits, shaking his head. “It’s so unfair that you can just come back here and tell me you’re sorry and somehow - somehow - I just want to believe you.” He hangs his head. “I spent these past two years trying to build up my courage to push you out. But you come right back in, and I’m just fucking pathetic. I never learn.” 

Jason’s shoulders sag. “Leo,” he begins, but what is he supposed to say? That he’s sorry? How many times has he said that in just the past twenty-four hours? How many times has it actually worked? 

The rage returns to Leo’s eyes, this time burning hotter and brighter than any flame Jason’s ever seen, and he physically flinches in fear. “I loved you,” Leo growls, jabbing a finger into his chest. “I fucking loved you. And you… you threw it all away like it meant nothing to you.” 

Jason’s throat aches at the sight of Leo’s desperation. “I love you, too,” he swears. He tries to reach out, but Leo just swats his hand away. 

“No.” Leo steps back. “Loved. Not love.” 

Jason shakes his head. “I still love you. I never stopped.”  

“That makes one of us.” 

Leo says it so confidently, so casually that Jason’s heart tumbles to a stop. He knows he should have expected this, considering how long he’d been gone and how much Leo had screamed at him the day he found out he was leaving. He knows it was his fault that Leo’s stopped loving him, but somehow, hearing the very words he’d been fearing for so long come out of his mouth, all he can think about is how he’s failed.

He tried to do something good. He tried to build a life where he and the people he loved could live better lives. But he trusted the wrong people, and now look where he is - a basement where the love of his life is telling him he’s dead to him.

How could he ever have been so gullible?

Leo just shakes his head, and now the rage in his eyes dims to a painful indifference that turns Jason’s heart over in his chest. He takes a step forward, holding his chin up high so that he can look Jason dead in the eyes.

“I have an idea.” Leo stretches his arms in front of him, cracking out his knuckles, and Jason has to hold himself back from staring right at the way his muscles tighten. “Why don’t we spar like we used to?”

“Why?” Jason asks. “You already beat my ass yesterday. You already know you can win.” 

Now Leo smirks, and Jason’s heart speeds up at the sight of it. It reminds him of when they were seventeen, finding market stalls to rob or giggling as they found the nearest couch to make out or locking the bedroom door behind them as they ripped each others’ clothes off. It reminds him of that Leo he loved, the one he’d gladly get into any sort of trouble with, as long as it was with him.

“You weren’t ready,” Leo admits, shrugging. “I took you by surprise, and by the looks of it, it seemed like you’d already been fucked with once. I want to know I can beat you in a real fight.” He raises an eyebrow. “Show me what Topside taught you.”

Jason sighs again. “I don’t want to fight you, Leo. This is not going to be helpful.” 

Leo tilts his head. “You said you wanted to do anything to prove how sorry you were? Start with this.” 

Jason has to fight the urge to make a sound of disbelief. He doesn’t understand how this would even be his way of proving he’s sorry - if anything, it just feels like Leo wants a reason to beat him up. Then Jason realizes that is probably exactly why he’s suggesting it at all. 

Leo sweeps his hand as a gesture of invitation. “I’ll even let you throw the first punch,” he offers. 

“Look, Leo,” Jason says, stepping back. “I get you’re mad at me, and that you want to show me that you’re super strong and whatever, but I don’t think that’s going to do anything. I already know you just want to get back at me, and that’s fine, but I think we both know you’re going to win.”

“It’s not about winning,” Leo snaps, and he stalks forward. “Show me that there’s still you in there, Jason. That there’s a part of you that still fights, that doesn’t just do whatever it is Topside tells you to do.” 

Jason sighs exasperatedly. “I don’t want to fight you anymore, Leo.”

Lightning strikes against Leo’s dark eyes, and he yanks Jason forward by the collar of his T-shirt, pulling him to eye-level. Jason has to pretend his heart doesn't skip a beat - whether from being so close to Leo again, or from being pulled forward like this, he’s not sure.

“Well,” Leo grits, “I do.”

And then he punches Jason across the jaw.

Jason cries out and stumbles on his feet, his hand immediately grasping for the place where Leo’s knuckles collided with his face. The bone underneath his skin pulses painfully, and the inside of his cheek burns from where he’s pretty sure he just bit a piece of it off. He stares in astonishment at Leo, his nerves curling in a newfound rage. 

“What the hell?” Jason growls. “I told you I didn’t want a fight!” 

Leo shifts his weight into a fighter’s stance and tilts his head. “Then don’t fight.”

Then Leo charges him.

But this time Jason’s prepared. When Leo thrusts his fist out for another punch, Jason drives his arm under Leo’s armpit, locks his bicep between his forearm and elbow, and twists his arm so that Leo spins a full 180 degrees and his back slams against Jason’s chest. Before Leo can react, Jason yanks his arm and pins it behind him, making him cry out. Leo writhes in Jason’s grip, but Jason throws his other arm around his waist so that he’s held tighter against his chest. 

“There,” Jason hisses, trying his hardest to keep his arms around Leo. “Happy now?”

Leo stops moving in Jason’s arms, and for a brief second, Jason thinks he’s about to give up. He’s about to release his hold - only to be shoved back when Leo rears his leg and strikes his shin. Jason yelps in surprise when Leo’s foot connects with his knee, and he thuds to the ground, his eyes flashing each time his knee throbs. 

“Not even close,” Leo spits back, turning on him. A revitalized rage flickers behind his eyes, and he towers above Jason now, blocking the light from above him. “You’ve only gotten softer up there.” 

Jason knows he should be worried, with Leo standing over him like that. He could do anything from this position - kick his face and break his nose, punch him across the jaw again, hit his chest and break a rib. But as Jason looks up at him, he can’t help but to notice how the light above them haloes around his curls, makes him tall and divine, even with all that rage flickering over his features.

Like a god, Jason thinks, gazing up at him.

Leo blows another kick, this time to the stomach, and sends Jason sprawling on his back. His head bounces off the floor and then lands again, and his stomach explodes with pain. He groans, trying to fight off the nausea clawing up his throat. 

A few beats of silence pass - blissful, heavenly silence, where Leo finally decides to give him mercy. In the meantime, Leo keeps his gaze on him, his eyes back to their indifferent annoyance, and Jason suddenly feels the anger and frustration wash out of him. Only shame rings in his bones. Shame for losing to Leo, and losing Leo. Shame for hurting him so terribly.

Shame for failing him, in every sense of the word.

Leo rolls his eyes and bends over Jason, glaring. “The old Jason would never have been afraid to fight me,” he mutters. “Pathetic.” 

Jason doesn’t know what exactly it is that does it. Maybe it’s the sheer rage at being pushed around - by someone he loves, no less. Maybe it’s his guilt at seeing the disappointment and betrayal in Leo’s eyes. Or maybe it’s his sickening desire to put Leo in just as much pain as he’s putting Jason through right now. 

A new rush of adrenaline courses through his veins as he looks up at Leo. He waits a second, and then, as Leo leans ever closer, contempt fuzzing over his irises, Jason thrusts forward and shoves Leo down by the shoulders, pinning him to the ground. Jason pretends he doesn’t hear the sickening conk of Leo’s head against the floor.

Leo’s eyes widen in surprise underneath Jason, and for a few seconds, Jason can see the gears whirring in his head, trying to come to terms with the fact that Jason finally, finally got something over him. Pride floods through Jason as it’s his turn to look down on Leo, with his legs pinning Leo’s waist on either side and his hands pressing down on his shoulders. 

“What is your fucking problem, Leo?” Jason grits out. “You’re right, I am weak. I’ve changed. Whatever. Why does it matter so much to you if you hate me so much?”

Jason’s victory is short-lived. It barely takes a minute for Leo to pounce back, harder and stronger than before. The shock in his eyes quickly melts away and hardens into utter hate and anger, and before Jason even knows what’s happening, Leo jabs his knee into Jason’s groin. 

That about does it. Jason knows he’s lost the minute his scream pierces the air, the minute a white hot light flashes across his eyes and his stomach throbs with nausea, the minute Leo rolls on top of him and pins his knee into Jason’s hip to keep him down. 

And he knows he’s done when Leo pulls out a pocket knife from his back pocket and presses it just barely a hair’s breadth away from Jason’s neck. 

All of Jason’s original adrenaline disintegrates, replaced by a parasitic fear and a shell of pain. He knows Leo’s angry, but there’s no telling how far he’s willing to go to prove just how angry he is.

Breathing hard, his mouth curled by pure disgust, Leo pries Jason’s jaw further up so that his neck is even more exposed. Jason can’t tell what hurts more - the thought of the knife piercing his skin, the grip that Leo has on his face, or his dick from when Leo first struck him. 

Leo leans in closer, so close that Jason can feel his heartbeat pounding under his shirt,  and if they were under any other circumstance right now, Jason might have found this romantic. But Leo’s eyes burn against Jason’s, his dark eyes swirling with contempt, and all Jason can feel is a pain so pure it pierces his soul.

“Look at what they did to you,” Leo seethes, his voice so sharp he might as well be carving Jason with the knife already. “I don’t know what they do up there, but in case you’ve forgotten, we fight to show just how hard we can go down here. We don’t stop fighting.” Leo shakes his head. “But you’ve let them strip you of your dignity. You won’t fight to prove me wrong. You’ve lost your fucking pride, Jason.”

He presses the knife closer, so close Jason can practically feel the metal threatening the first layer of his skin. 

“I’ve hurt you enough,” Jason dares to say, closing his eyes to brace against the cold metal of the knife. He knows that if he says even one syllable too far, he might be threatening a slash to his throat, but he needs Leo to hear him. “I don’t want to hurt you anymore. You don’t deserve that.”

“Then consider this payback.” 

Jason can feel the knife now dig through that first layer of papery skin, like a slight tug, like a warning: Brace yourself. Leo’s hand shivers against Jason’s throat, and Jason tries to mentally prepare himself for the piercing pain that’s about to come. 

He waits. And he waits. And he waits. 

But Leo sighs. And he pulls his hand back. 

Shivering, Jason forces his gaze to lock into Leo’s, if only to give him something to ground his mind. Leo’s dark eyes, once filled with concern and admiration, are now only brimming with loathing. But Jason, somehow, only feels the opposite. He just wants to brush his fingers against the pale scars across Leo’s jaw, the ones he used to love kissing. He just wants to press his nose against those heart-stopping curls, take in Leo’s familiar scent of flames and wood. He just wants to run his lips against that bronze neck, gleaming under the fluorescent lights. 

“What do you want, Leo?” Jason groans, but no fire licks at his words. He can’t find it in him to be angry. “You’ve won. You’ve hurt me back. Are you really getting any satisfaction from this?”

Leo’s knee digs deeper into Jason’s hip, and Jason hisses. But despite the rage burning in his eyes, Jason can feel Leo shivering against him

“No,” Leo mutters, “I’m not.”

“Then why are you doing this?”

Leo’s eyes narrow into daggers just as sharp as his knife. “I wanted to know what it would feel like to hurt you. I wanted to know if I could get satisfaction.”

Jason’s heart drops into his ribcage at Leo’s words. He knows that maybe he does deserve some sort of payback for all the hell he put Leo through, but it still hurts hearing Leo admit that he wants to hurt him back. That he’s doing this all intentionally, just to get back at him for the pain he never meant to cause. 

Maybe Jason was the one to light this flame of violence. But is Leo any better for trying to make it bigger?

Jason knows he should be more concerned, seeing as Leo is still holding a knife and he could very well jab him. But for everything Leo’s said, Jason doesn’t think he’ll actually cut him anymore. He just wants to scare him - and he’s successfully done that.

After what feels like ages, Leo lets out a deep, heart-shaking sigh and sits back on his knees, his shoulders sagging in despair. His eyes flood with what looks like regret, and he lets the knife clatter to the floor. 

Jason dares to release a breath. His shoulders loosen and he lets himself relax, thankful to not be on the brink of decapitation anymore. 

“Forget it,” Leo mutters, shaking his head. “I don’t think there’s anything I can do to make it hurt less.”

Jason stares at him for a moment. Then he closes his eyes, if only to avoid the death glare he’s certain Leo’s going to throw at him. “That wasn’t fair,” he breathes. “You know that wasn’t fair.” 

For a second, Jason’s certain Leo’s just going to give in and bash his head against the floor. That might be preferred, though - at least then he’d be put out of his misery. But Leo only stares at him, eyes roving over his eyes, his bruised face, his lips. 

Then he brushes his thumb against the spot he first punched Jason. A jab of pain shoots up Jason’s nerves, but he barely moves; Leo’s touch feels so warm, so familiar that Jason barely acknowledges the discomfort. Despite himself, Jason leans into his touch. He wants to put his hands on Leo’s cheeks and tell him it’s okay; he wants to brush the scars on his face and tell him he forgives him. He just wants to hold Leo again. 

So he tries. He presses a hand to the back of the one that Leo has on his jaw, hoping that maybe it’ll keep him there longer.

Leo’s eyes widen ever so slightly, but he quickly hides his surprise. And even then, he doesn’t move his hand. 

“I hate you,” Leo whispers. But his words sound so sad, so broken that Jason almost feels like he means it as an apology, an explanation. He’s almost convinced it was his own fault he got beat up in the first place

“I just wanted you to know what it felt like.” Leo looks away. “But you’re not even fighting back, which just makes me cruel.”

Then, to Jason’s despair, Leo climbs off him and gets to his feet.

He doesn’t offer Jason a hand. He doesn’t help him to stand. He just looks down on him, his eyes now pooling with shame, and shakes his head. And Jason realizes this might be the closest thing to an apology he’ll get from Leo.

And yet, even knowing this, Jason isn’t angry. He wants to tell him to stay, to just wait a minute and talk, to just sit with him and let him explain. 

But all he can do is close his eyes as Leo trudges away. 

#valgrace #jason grace #leo valdez #my writing #valgrace fic #jason grace fic #leo valdez fic #riordanverse #percy jackson #pjo #hoo #toa #percy jackson and the olympians #heroes of olympus #trials of apollo

[pipnchips202]

there’s such a shortage of valgrace fics on ao3 like it drives me INSAAAAAAAANE. and look i love aus but i want valgrace that takes place in the chb universe, not aged up modern au stuff😭 i mean i’m so desperate for content i’ve read pretty much every complete, sfw valgrace fic on ao3, often disregarding my personal preferences just to get CONTENT and im STARVING for more

#valgrace #leo valdez #jason grace #heroes of olympus #riordanverse fic writers! please write valgrace. #if you want to!

[buoyantsaturn]

i have so many talented friends are you jealous

when the evening pulls the sun down (and the day is almost through) by emi @thelordofshrimp

the temptation to include rcau. however: spiderman reference and also elbow drop are undefeatable <3

professionalism is a social construct by katherine @yrbeecharmer

bc its the one non-exes au fic from this year and also bc just bc winning best au in liz's fic awards isnt making you work on this any faster then maybe me reminding you of it now will <3

FAR GALAXIES by rosy @rosyredlipstick

god. the toss-up between this and it's a scream was insane. genuinely i do not know how you do it rosy you are so talented i am in awe of you always and i am SO excited to see where this fic ends up <3

What if I Told You None of it was Accidental by alfie @lordstormageddidnt

comes out of alfie's ao3 page covered in blood. so much destiel. please. take this solangelo fic. i risked my life for this.

training wheels by ethan @ethannku

ok. we can have some valgrace instead of the solangelo fic ethan wrote this year. and NOT just bc i beta'd this fic <3

i hope that we meet in another life by becca @thebhorror

sorry. yall KNOW i had to pick the saw trap fic.

whenever I'm alone with you, you make me feel like I am home again by lori @sunflowersandscreams

omg hiiiii i actually found this one while searching for which fic i wanted to post and its so short and sweet that i couldnt resist <3

you keep pushing love away (and you fall in head first) by niamh marie @ikeasharksss

hiiii not to post the most recent fic published BUT im a sucker for royalty aus <3

Distant Early Warning by marblebee @marbleheavy

thank u my beloved marblebee for giving me an easy option by only posting one fic this year <3 sorry about ur foot tho

With this heart of mine that's guilty, not remorseful by dreamy @dreamyzworldlove

the thg au has captivated me. what i can i say.

If you love me... by ember @gatesofember

JASICO!!!! this fic makes me so insane <3 love jasico <3

but of course these are all just fics. also very important to check out all of the insane art posted by liz @sclangelc and also remi @pinkerpick and i guess leafy @gayleafpool if youre into cats

#fic rec #solangelo #jasico #valgrace #emi #katherine #rosy #alfie #ethan #becca #lori #niamh marie #marblebee #dreamy #ember #read these fics :gun: