#festus the happy dragon

[puzzled-pegasus]

Headcanon that the best sleep Leo can get is laying draped over Festus's back (sometimes even in his mouth) because he has none of the stress of interacting with a person and all of the warmth of cuddling a dragon that mimicks the feeling of touching a warm blooded organic creature

[spicassis]

HAPPY NEW YEAR !! Have a lot of fun in 2024 !!

[lillie98]

I love you, FireBoy. You deserve your fresh start, too.

[ssavinggrace]

FESTUS BABYYY

[chaosplatypus]

FESTUS FUCKING DIES!?!?!?!?!?

[happyk44]

Jason as a bigtime furry who makes fursuits in his spare time and Leo as his reluctant but mostly willing model for the sale photos. Mostly because Jason's body type is outside the average range so he can't fit into most suits besides his own.

[annabeth-katniss-granger]

I have the worst luck. I just now read the part where Festus died and tomorrow is Leo’s birthday. I feel so bad and nobody understands me. 😢😭

[pjomakesyourkidsgay]

. . . leo valdez

˖°𓇼 bf!leo absolutely ends up being an accidental romantic. bf!leo who doesn't really care that it's valentines day, specifically, but he just really likes to spend time with you and make you happy. bf!leo who cracks annoying jokes and calls you weird terms of endearment like "cute little chicken mcnugget" and "adorable miniscule metal scrap with eyes" and "special sparky mcdonald's sprite". bf!leo who drags you to a burger king at a ghastly eight in the morning to grab a burger because he was working late the night before. bf!leo who makes an effort to clean out bunker nine so that you can spend the day there comfortably. bf!leo who, out of nowhere, takes you out on a ride with festus to get groceries for a spontaneous private camping night. bf!leo who prepares his famous tofu tacos just for you. bf!leo who starts the bonfire but ends up getting his hair on fire. bf!leo who plays just dance with you on a switch he made. he definitely knows all the latest dances. bf!leo who tries to cheat in uno by making a machine but he fails because you can see every little thing he's doing. bf!leo who toasts the marshmallows just perfectly. bf!leo who tells festus to ward off every other camper that tries to get near your date site. bf!leo who makes you little custom gifts made out of the extra parts and pieces of his projects. bf!leo who warms you up at night by cuddling with you. bf!leo who lets you play with his unruly, curly mess of hair. bf!leo who's a total best friend kind of boyfriend. bf!leo who reserves the most emotional part of him for your eyes only because of the immense trust he has for you. bf!leo who can't go a full day without, at some point, holding your hand in his perpetually warm, calloused ones. bf!leo who falls asleep next to you, his face buried in your stomach as he snores, really loudly...

"bro, pay attention to me."

leo's head whips away from whatever he's tinkering with between his fingers, sending you a carefully practiced look, one eyebrow raised to his hairline. "bro?"

"i'm-"

"well, okay, dude," he shoots back. "what is it you want to tell me, buddy? are you alright, mate? perhaps this chap right o'here wanted a l'il ol' chat? well, buckaroo, did you want attention from your special bruzz?"

"leo!" you shove him by the shoulder, cackling at the offended look on his face (that had melted the moment you started laughing at his antics). if you hadn't called his name he might've named every name in the book of bro code, and you really didn't need that. even festus blew a column of smoke into the latino's face.

"i know we're comfy and all but a random bro? seriously? weren't we just kissing by the fire?"

"that's enough," you interrupt him, a hue of red flushing your features, but if anyone asked you'd swear it was the flame reflecting back on your face. "i'm sorry, my hyper little elf boyfriend. is that better?"

"infinitely so, my blushing fairy maiden of a girlfriend, though we should go easy on the 'little'."

"i'm not blushing!"

"of course not, it must be my eyes playing tricks on me."

you shove him, again, with your foot this time. your socks were matching with his, cute miniscule fire-breathing dragons in yellow and red. "hey, you're gonna make me drop this!"

you halt your attack and scoot on over closer to him, peeking over his shoulder, his dark curls poking your eye. "what's that?"

"woah, there, ms. nosy!" he yelps, tucking the item back into a clasped hand and throwing an arm around your waist, bringing you down. "not yet." he mutters incoherent things, muffled because of his face practically pressing up against your stomach.

you complain immediately in his hold. "you're too hot."

"yeah, i know i'm hot."

"you suck!" you try to wriggle out of his grasp but he pulls you closer, holding onto you as if you were a giant teddy bear. "leo, i'm going to start overheating!"

he looks up at you then, grinning. "then we'll overheat together."

you give his hair a slight (and loving) yank, plastering a serious face on. "bruh."

"that's so not sigma of you," he whines, sitting back up and pulling something out of his pocket. "alright, then, i'll give it to you now."

"are you gonna fight me? get ready to catch these hands, you absolue L rizz."

"i'm supposed to be the brainrot one!"

with a joking eyeroll, he finally opens his hands in the way one would do when proposing. in his palm was a little metal box, about two inches on all sides, tightly closed.

you watch it for a couple of seconds, finally realizing that it wasn't about to do anything. you look at the latino boy questioningly.

"put the pad of your thumb here," he points at the spot, "it has a fingerprint sensor. it opens only to you."

so you do as you're told, and the tiny box opens, transformers-style. a round, rotating platform rises from the middle, showing tiny statues of what could only be you and him mid-wrestle, faces contorted with mirth. your favorite song plays as mini-you-and-leo spin around to the music, a scene of pure love between the two of you captured with the perfect backtrack.

"oh my gods," you gasp out, lips parted. you reach out to push his hands safely out of the way before kissing him. lips on lips, full of passion and obvious gratitude.

you pull away, he's still wonderstruck, you're peppering kisses all over his cute face with a 'thank you' between each one.

"ladies, ladies!" he laughs, closing the music box and placing it gently into your hand. "calm down! take a few deep breaths."

you open the box again immediately after you receive it, singing the lyrics to the song softly until leo kisses your cheek and sings them louder, word for word.

eventually the night dissolves into song, into you and leo's song, and screw it if all the other campers can't sleep.

dividers by: @strangergraphics and @ianrkives

[mathitas]

Watching Httyd with Leo (there’s some Httyd1 spoilers)

Let me know if you’re interested in a part 2!

Leo Valdez x Gn!Reader

It was obvious to anyone who met Leo that he had a thing for dragons. I mean, he literally made one.

His room was full of dragon figures, truly everywhere. Hiccup and the light fury were there as well. Most of them were handmade and he was currently working on his collection, since he was looking forward to making all of the dragon from the movies.

Of course you noticed it almost immediately, and you could only listen to how your boyfriend yapped about anything involving those creatures. He went on for hours, really.

If you already knew a lot of things about dragons, he taught you something new, and it made him really happy to talk about it with you

If you don’t really know a lot about them, he explained everything to you so carefully, trying to make you understand how amazing they really are.

If you like Httyd, you told him when you saw his little figures, and he was so excited and insisted you watched it together just to spend the entire night commenting every single detail.

If you’ve never watched the movies and he found out, Holy Hera, prepare. He’s so gonna force you to watch them with him, and he’s gonna give you a preparing speech before and after each movie. He’s holding himself from commenting every scene, and checking your reaction at his favorite parts. He cares about you, so he really wants you to enjoy this piece of media he’s so fond of.

When you do like it, he’s so happy.

He would make you try to recreate the scene from the first movie on Festus, not that he would ever admit it. He tries to get you to fly with him many times.

And let’s be honest, it would feel just as cool as the movies.

He probably feels so giddy and happy flying on his dragon, I just can imagine him trying to recreate the movies or feeling like Hiccup.

He definitely tells you you’re his Astrid, no matter your gender. You could disagree, but he wouldn’t care. He’s Hiccup and Astrid’s his love interest, of course you’re Astrid.

After watching the first movie, he’s gonna try and make you watch everything else in chronological order. If you decide to, he’ll be the happiest man alive. He’s already got the popcorn ready.

He’d so make you dragon keychains and everything to match his.

He’s such a dragon kind of guy.

He just thinks they’re so cute, cool and scary at the same time.

They turn him into an expert yapper, and you couldn’t be happier any other way.

[poppitron360]

I’m trying to branch out from my usual angst by writing a happy(ish) fic.

Summary: Jason goes back to Camp Jupiter after the war and reveals that he and Leo are dating. He struggles so deal with the backlash from that while simultaneously having to cope with being long-distance.

CW: Swearing, Octavian

Word Count: 2,423

VALGRACE FANFICTION- “Fuck ‘em”

When Jason had announced to Camp Jupiter that he was seeing someone, he wasn’t sure what had been more appalling. That the someone in question was a boy, or that he was Greek.

Octavian had, of course, been outraged on both accounts: “We let a man like this become Praetor! He is fraternising with the enemy in a very un-Roman-like fashion!”

That’s what he called it. “Un-Roman”- like for some reason Jason was any less Roman because he was bisexual.

But it wasn’t just Octavian spouting bullshit. There was a shift in the way people acted under his command- they seemed less trusting, like Jason had become some foreign invader. Even though he had stepped down as Praetor and given his powers to Frank, he still held the newly-created title of “honorary Praetor”, alongside Percy, to commemorate all the work he had done defeating Gaia. People should still listen to him, respect him. But it was different now. His boyfriend was a Greek.

He didn’t dare tell them it was the same Greek that had fired on New Rome, albeit under the influence of evil spirits.

Some of them had been supportive, especially those in the fifth cohort. They were used to being outcasts.

“Children of Vul- I mean, Hephaestus, though?” His friend, Dakota, had said, “They’re good to have around. Large, beefy, big muscles. Good fit for a son of Jupiter like you.”

Jason laughed nervously, “Uh-huh. Yeah… large… muscles… right.”

Oh my gods, Praetor Grace had a twink. That was another thing he didn’t dare tell them. He let them imagine their leader with a powerful hunk for a boyfriend- at least that way he could keep some dignity.

He felt bad being embarrassed by Leo. He was awesome. He had a badass flying dragon. He told cool jokes and made Jason laugh. Jason was proud to call him his boyfriend. Or, at least, that’s what he told himself every morning. Then he’d step outside, and be faced with the weird looks and behind-the-hand whispers, and suddenly he didn’t feel so proud. He didn’t hold it against Leo, though. He loved how the kid acted so unapologetically himself- unlike Jason, who needed everyone to like him so much.

Jason didn’t care about the stares when he was with him. The asshole comments from Octavian seemed like distant memories when he looked into those big, dark eyes, complete with the playful little twinkle and mischievous smile. But when he was without Leo, he was a nervous wreck. The only thing that kept him going were Leo’s monthly visits. That was the one thing they couldn’t take away from him. He counted the days in his head to when he was gonna see him again. When Octavian was being shitty, he’d just think “twenty more days”, “ten more days”, “five more days”, “one more day”.

He met Leo and Festus outside the New Rome border. He picked the tiny guy up in his arms and twirled him around, and then kissed him. Leo’s skin was warm to the touch, like it always was when he was nervous.

“I missed you so much,” Jason whispered, although there was no-one around to overhear.

“I missed you too, Sparky. Camp isn’t the same without you.”

“Are they treating you well there? Anyone still giving you shit for your powers?”

“I’m fine Jason, everyone’s super nice,” Leo replied, although Jason could tell it was probably exaggerated. Not a lie- just a projection. What Jason wanted to hear. He decided not to call him out on it- Leo just didn’t want Jason to worry, that’s all.

“You’ve not been spending too much time in the workshop, I hope? Actually go outside once in a while.”

“I’m outside now.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“You worry too much,” Leo said, standing on his tiptoes to kiss him.

But Leo had worries of his own. They talked causally for a while, before Leo interrupted him with a question that Jason had been dreading.

“Why do you always ask me to meet you outside the border?” Leo asked.

Jason had a pre-planned response for this, “I just wanna keep you separate from my work. At Camp, I’m a leader. A soldier. Praetor Grace. With you, I can be myself. I can be Jason. I want it to stay that way.”

Leo’s eyes held so many different emotions, it was hard for Jason to tell what one was most prominent- sadness, resolution, hope- Jason had spent many hours searching those eyes for the secrets that they contained, and he still had not found them all. Leo sighed.

“They… they don’t know about me, do they?”

Jason hesitated- but he couldn’t lie to Leo.

“They know I’m dating a son of Hephaestus… they don’t know it was the same son of Hephaestus that fired on New Rome,” he admitted.

“You’re embarrassed.”

“No, I’m not!” Jason said, which wasn’t entirely true.

“You are! You’re worried about being seen with me! That’s why you meet me out here- you don’t want people to know you have a dangerous freak for a boyfriend. Praetor Grace and the scrappy little street rat he took pity on,” Leo looked down and kicked the dirt.

“I think you’re a pretty cute street rat,” Jason said, ruffling Leo’s messy, greasy hair. Then his smile turned serious, “Leo, I don’t want you to think that I think of you that way. I’m not embarrassed by you, it’s just…” he looked at the sky and sighed, “There’s a lot of expectations that I have to live up to. And when I’m with you I get to say “fuck ‘em”, but when I’m there…”

“Yeah, I get it,” Leo said. He looked up at Jason with those big, busy eyes- drawing ordinance survey maps of Jason’s face in his mind, “I really do, Jason. I understand feeling like you need to be someone else to get people to like you. I get it.”

Jason smiled and hugged him.

“We can stay like this. You don’t have to let me inside the border. We can just say “fuck ‘em” out here,” Leo mumbled, his voice muffled in the fabric of Jason’s hoodie.

“One day,” Jason assured him, “One day I wanna say “fuck ‘em” to their faces. There’s a really nice café in New Rome I wanna take you to.“

“But we don’t have to say “fuck ‘em” today.”

“No.”

His time with Leo came and went. Jason went back to his duties, to the stares and the whispers.

He sat on the lunch table with the rest of the fifth cohort, chatting idly about the local gossip.

“Heard we got some exchange students from Camp Half-Blood,” one of them remarked, “Because we’re doing that now, apparently.”

“They have all these freaky little behaviours- it’s not sitting right with the other cohorts.”

“Yeah, Greeks are weird,” Jason remarked, leaning back in his chair, “And I should know- I’m in love with one.”

The whole table went quiet. Jason seemed to realise what he’d just said.

“Oh,” was all he could manage in response.

Dakota broke the silence, “Man, I thought you were just his sugar daddy, I didn’t know you guys were actually in love!”

“I-I didn’t know either, ‘til I just said it,” Jason stuttered, still in shock, “But… yeah. Yeah, I love him.”

“So when do we get to meet him?” One of the other members of the fifth asked.

“Well,” Jason leaned forward, contemplating, “He comes to visit me every month. He’s coming again in thirteen days. I could…”

He looked around the dining hall. He took in the sneers as people caught his eye. The whispers and snickers and pointing. He realised that that would never change. As long as he was open about who he was, there would always be backlash. The only thing he could do was to not let it get to him. To say “fuck ‘em”. And as terrifying a prospect as that was, Jason was ready. He was ready to rise above the snide remarks and disrespect and yell “I’m in love with Leo Valdez!”

Because he was. He loved that tiny imp of a kid. He loved his loud mouth and weird quirks. He loved how Leo would hold his hand and tap out little morse code messages that Jason didn’t understand, but would speculate for days what they meant. He could look it up, or ask Annabeth, but he loved to fantasise.

Leo was leaning against Festus in their usual spot outside the border. When Jason saw him, he tackled him with such force that Leo’s hair caught fire in surprise. Luckily, Jason pulled away before it could burn him.

“You’re in a good mood,” Leo observed, patting out the flames on his head.

“Yeah, well… I’ve decided,” Jason told him, “I’m ready. I wanna take you inside the border.”

Leo stopped fussing with his hair and looked up at Jason, “Are you sure?”

“Positive,” Jason assured him, holding out his hand, “Come on!”

Leo grinned and took Jason’s hand. A little spark of electricity ran along Jason’s spine. He took off for the city, pulling Leo behind him. Leo was giggling in that cute way he did when he got exited and thought no-one could hear him. They ran like the wind- literally. As Jason yanked him along, he summoned the winds to push them faster, lifting them up into the air slightly. They were inside New Rome now, Jason dragging him through winding streets and bustling crowds. Jason felt truly free, running along with Leo. He was overjoyed. For once, he didn’t care about expectations or who he should be. They were just two kids having fun.

They stopped outside a sidewalk café with Romanesque architecture, like the rest of the city. There was one of those classic red-and-white-striped awnings over the front, and clusters of tables and chairs littered the pavement outside.

“Lunch?” Jason asked, turning to Leo, “They do paninis and toasted sandwiches.”

“I would kill for a panini right now.”

“What about drinks?”

“Diet coke?”

“Gods, no. You’re not having any more caffeine, Mr Hyper. I’ll get you a lime soda,” the conversation was dull and mundane, but Jason found it comforting. They had spent so much of their time together with the weight of the world resting on their shoulders. Now that that was finally over (and Jason rapped on the wooden café table at the thought, praying he wouldn’t jinx it), they could finally settle into a monotonous rhythm, like and old married couple.

Wow. That image took him by surprise- him and Leo growing old together- but it was a good sort of surprise. Jason didn’t push the thought away, instead, he let it wash over him, clinging to the notion that they had hope. A future in the making.

Lunch was going awesome- until Octavian showed up.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Praetor Grace- sorry, former Praetor Grace.”

“Honorary Praetor,” Jason corrected, not looking up from the menu he was reading, “Still ranked above you, Octavian, so a position you should treat with respect.”

Jason didn’t bother looking up to see Octavian’s reaction. He continued to ignore the kid, until he saw him turn to face Leo.

“Hey! Isn’t that the Greek Scum who destroyed half the city?!” He yelled, “Guards! Guards!”

“Octavian, no,” Jason commanded, looking him directly in the eyes, “I saw to it that Leo was pardoned. That incident was not through his actions.”

“It very much looked like it was through his actions, from where I was standing!” Octavian replied, angrily.

Jason stood up. He grabbed Leo’s hand, partially for reassurance, partially as a way of telling Octavian to suck on a cavalry sword- a way of saying “Fuck ‘em”.

“Oh… oh my gods! That is your little pet?!” He pointed at Leo like he was a disgusting patch of mould.

“Uh-huh. And what’re you gonna do about it, Octavian? Run and tell? I am fucking fine with everyone knowing. In fact-“ Jason leapt up onto the café table, still holding onto Leo’s hand, “Listen up, motherfuckers!”

“Jason, what’re you-“

Jason squeezed Leo’s hand to reassure him and Leo stopped protesting, but he still looked worried.

“I’m in love with Leo Valdez!” Jason yelled, “He’s tiny and Greek and he’s awesome. You motherfuckers might look down on him. You might think he’s dangerous, or that he’s a freak. But I see how awesome he is. And sweet. And badass. And cute. And funny. And none of you-“ he pointed a finger at the crowd of passers-by, who were giving him annoyed and disgruntled looks, “Get to say a fucking WORD against him!” He turned towards Octavian, looking down at him and jabbing a finger in his face, “Especially a slimy little piece of shit like you, Octavian.” Jason jumped down from the table, reclined in his seat, picked up the menu, and studied it with his glasses at the end of his nose much like how an old man would study a newspaper.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna enjoy lunch with my boyfriend.”

Octavian scoffed, and left.

“Jason…” Leo was staring at him with those eyes of many feelings. Jason counted wonder, shock, horror, pride, lust, reverence and a seventh emotion he couldn’t quite describe.

“I’m sorry if that was too… loud, Leo. I don’t wanna make you feel-“

“Y-You’re in love with me?”

“…Yeah. Yes. I am,” Jason searched for what emotion was the brightest in those eyes, but there were too many and it was too confusing. He could never pick just one, “Is it too soon? Should I have waited? Should I have asked you first before yelling it in the street-“

“No! No, it’s fine. It’s… amazing, actually. And I love you too, Jason, I really do.”

Jason squeezed Leo’s hand again. Now that Leo had said it, Jason saw the love surface above the mess of other feelings in those eyes. He saw it bud and bloom like blossoms in springtime across Leo’s fiery irises. He wanted to get lost in those meadows of brown and gold, and when Leo closed those eyes to lean in to kiss him, Jason was slightly crestfallen at the fact that he couldn’t keep staring at them. Soon, though, Leo’s lips were against his, and his disappointment melted away. He had plenty of time to stare into those eyes later. They had their whole future ahead of them, and nobody was gonna stand in their way.

[ryuusei-niu]

BoO spoilers ‼️

Excuse me, ladies, gentlemen and monarchs, I'm going to ramble (angst) about Leo

I can't stop thinking about the days before Leo did you know what in BoO. I JUST CAN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT HOW HE COULD FEEL

Like, dude, he was about to go and maybe DIE. TO SAVE THE WHOLE FRICKIN WORLD.

Until then everything is fine (no, it is not). Because "between fire and storm, the world must fall." He was the fire. It was him or Jason and he didn't plan to die, he had a plan. Of course.

Only maybe that plan wouldn't work.

And I can't stop thinking about it. Like, c'mon! We all know Leo, we know that he is not a coward but he is not very attracted to the idea of ​​putting himself in danger. He is a person, he can't help but not want to die. On few occasions he wanted or avoided putting himself in danger, knowing that someone else was going to be in danger.

So why did he sacrifice himself for everyone? Why did he do it when there was a strong possibility of not coming back from the explosion?

I can't help but think that there was a part of him that didn't really care about not coming back.

Did he have future plans? Yes. Did he have people he cared about and wanted to be with? Double yes. He could have avoided the drama, fixed Festus correctly and with the help of the others, go and save Calypso and end of the history, everyone happy.

Then, why?

It's simple math. Cruel and horrible simple math.

He would always be the seventh wheel.

'But Ryuu, he had friends and his friends cared about him and-'

I don't care, Martha, just hear me out and shut up (with love).

He had no place as such among the seven. It was him. And the metallic dragon, let's not forget Festus. But it was him at the end of the day.

They needed someone who would sacrifice themselves for the group, with the risk of not returning.

I feel like Leo didn't even need to think about it.

Because the loneliness he felt in those few days was enough to make him realize it. The loneliness of his entire life was enough to realize it.

Although he was an important member, he ended up being left over. He was a piece that others could do without, find a replacement. Move on.

(And it makes me angry to know that it was part of Hera's plan, because if he hadn't been rejected his whole life he wouldn't have sacrificed himself.)

I feel that in part, it was easier for Leo to sacrifice himself, maybe come back, and be a hero, or maybe not come back, than stay there. Just like the clown he was. The seventh wheel.

Because maybe, if he didn't come back, they were finally going to miss him a little.

Maybe, if he didn't come back, they were going to feel more than just pity, or anger at him.

Maybe, if he died, he would have a little more presence than if he stayed.

He already saw it once. Two, to be specific. In both of them he came back and in both of them his friends forgot about him not long after.

That also helped him decide that he should be the one to sacrifice himself.

He couldn't leave Piper without Jason.

I feel like Leo thought maybe he was easier to forget. And at the same time he hated that.

At the same time he didn't want to die. But he didn't mind.

And I can't help but imagine what the last days, the last hours, must have been like for him, knowing that maybe he was going to die and none of his friends knew. He wasn't going to get to say goodbye properly. And he felt bad for wanting, deep down, to see them cry over the idea of ​​him not coming back. Because he wanted to feel important and worthy of being missed at least once.

[queenpiranhadon]

do whichever you want, I dont care lol

zenitsu agatsuma

Leo valdez

tanjirou kamado

grover underwood

they are put in order of how much I simp for them

A/N: I'm going to assume you want x reader because yeah lmaooo but since his birthday is today, I figured I'd do our favorite Uncle Leo hahahah Here's the masterlist!!

Warning(s): Cursing, mentions of being burned, blood, crying, you are Leo are best friends, angst with a happy ending, Leo is in love and doesn't realize it bahaha, reader is unclaimed, people be shit talking, there's no timeline for this, just insert it where you want lmao, reader is gn but is written with f!reader in mind, usage of Y/N, Leo refers to you as an angel

Pairing(s): Leo Valdez x Reader

•────•°•❀•°•───── ʙʀᴏᴋᴇɴ ─────•°•☁︎•°•────•

Aw fuck.

Leo may or may not have royally messed up. Like a ton.

He didn't even know how it happened, because one moment he's walking through Camp Halfblood with you, his best friend in the entire world, and the next, he overhears some bastards talking shit about you and he just...snaps.

"Ugh who'd you get on your team for capture? Can't believe Mr. D thought it would be a good idea to split up the cabins and 'mix and match'"

"Yeah it's honestly super dumb- I'm not complaining though, I've got Annabeth."

"You're just lucky- I got Y/N of all people- literally the most annoying person on camp- and honestly the most useless too."

At at the sound of that, Leo whipped his head to you, just in time to see your eyes wide, on the brink of brimming with tears before looking forwards, attempting to pretend you didn't hear anything.

But you had.

And Leo knew.

You were unclaimed, and you mostly kept to yourself until Leo found you tending to Festus while he was away one day- and surprisingly the metal dragon seemed completely at ease around you.

Leo was awestruck, and ever since then, you two had gotten extremely close, the son of Hephaestus even found himself longing to be in your presence whenever he was on quests.

You were quiet, but around him, you opened up more, you were funny, and kind, and you have a quick tongue too, always engaging in light banter with him that never ceased to be entertaining to either of you.

To him, you were perfect- because you were there. His first best friend technically wasn't his in the first place, given that Jason, Piper and Leo himself were all under Hera's unnerving control. Needless to say, the three of them were still close, but Leo couldn't shake the feeling that it wasn't genuine.

Along with the rest of the Argo II members, he felt more like a seventh wheel more than anything (if that was even possible) and deep down, the nagging thought that he was nothing but a burden always lingered.

Around you though, he felt like someone, like he was special - around you, he felt like Leo Valdez.

Maybe that's why he got so mad, he didn't even know he could get so mad- and the next thing he knows, a murderous scowl is painted on his face and he's lunging for the two other campers, fists ablaze.

But you were faster.

You, sweet angel you, saw what was coming the moment his palms tightened into fists, lunging forward to stop him, using your hands to stop him own.

In hindsight, you probably should've remembered his hands were on fire.

But even as pain seared your palms to the point tears where subconsciously running down your face, you swallowed, and stood firm.

"Leo, please." you beg weakly, and in an instant, his flames distinguish, and your blood now paints his first- horror overtaking his face as you stare into his eyes pleadingly. "They're not worth it."

Leo, in his guilt ridden frozen state, can only bring himself to look at you, and yet, he doesn't deserve it, your eyes wide and cheeks stained with tears- he can't believe he had done this to you.

He, of all people, had hurt his angel, his haven, his best friend.

But you didn't waver, when he buried his hands in his eyes, sobbing uncontrollably, you said nothing, engulfing him in your arms and pressing his face into the crook of your neck and he heaved, tears soaking into your shirt.

He was broken, but he knew, even if he didn't deserve it, you would be there to pick up his fragments, piece by piece, with your damaged hands, just so you two could be together again.

[halothenthehorns]

Chapter 17: (PIPER XVI) - SAVING THE WORLD ON HAPPY THE DRAGON

Hazel had to adjust all of her blankets as she went back to her spot and wriggled around to get one comfy around her lap in just the right spot to prop the book against and then still took the time to make sure her picture wasn’t going to get accidentally kicked around in any of her fidgeting. By the time she actually began to start, she was worried someone was going to snap at her for taking so long and so she stuttered on the first few words.

“LEO?” SHE YELLED.

“Gods forbid it be anybody else up there,” Jason sighed.

“Freaking Clarisse comes in guns blazing saying, ‘hey, look what I found,” Percy nodded. “Then Leo comes in on Festus and they have an epic dragon fight about who goes on the quest.”

“How many dragons do you think we have running around here?” Annabeth asked in concern. 

The really concerning part was that she didn’t flat out tell him how ridiculous that was.

“I don’t know, like, three at any given time,” Percy shrugged with a smirk at Jason.

“That was just mean,” Jason sighed.

“And let us please get back to one vacating the premises,” Nico reminded in exasperation, waving Hazel on. She was smiling though and just enjoying their light conversation, it made her moment of stress before seem silly now.

Sure enough, there he was, sitting atop a giant bronze death machine and grinning like a lunatic.

“We really should be grateful he didn’t come in with a whole fireworks display,” Thalia sighed.

“Ah, you know me well. Next time my dear, when I’ve had a little more time to prep,” Leo gave her an exaggerated wink, and she laughed. It was a nice feeling instead of the death glare he’d been expecting. He decided not to push his luck further by moving to sit next to her even if he kind of still wanted to. Just because there was no chance she’d step on him with those boots in a fun way didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy her laugh.

 Even before he landed, the camp alarm went up. A conch horn blew. All the satyrs started screaming, “Don’t kill me!” Half the camp ran outside in a mixture of pajamas and armor.

“Yep, must be Friday,” Will sighed.

“Hear that Leo? Will said you gotta do something even bigger this time around to make a lasting impression,” Jason smirked.

Will spluttered something about betrayal while Leo laughed, causing the others to join in.

 The dragon set down right in the middle of the green, and Leo yelled, “It’s cool! Don’t shoot!”

Hesitantly, the archers lowered their bows. The warriors backed away, keeping their spears and swords ready. They made a loose wide ring around the metal monster. Other demigods hid behind their cabin doors or peeped out the windows. Nobody seemed anxious to get close.

Piper couldn’t blame them. The dragon was huge. It glistened in the morning sun like a living penny sculpture —different shades of copper and bronze—a sixty-foot-long serpent with steel talons and drill-bit teeth and glowing ruby eyes. It had bat-shaped wings twice its length that unfurled like metallic sails, making a sound like coins cascading out of a slot machine every time they flapped.

“It’s beautiful,” Piper muttered. The other demigods stared at her like she was insane.

“Well none of them have culture like my bestie!” Leo smirked.

“All artists are under appreciated during their time,” Hazel nodded.

The dragon reared its head and shot a column of fire into the sky. 

“Show off,” Leo chuckled.

“Just like his rider,” Annabeth agreed.

Campers scrambled away and hefted their weapons, but Leo slid calmly off the dragon’s back. He held up his hands like he was surrendering, except he still had that crazy grin on his face.

“Every single person scream at once it’s a trap on three,” Percy smirked. He even held up three fingers.

“I’m not hiding grenades up my sleeve!” Leo huffed.

Percy put down a finger.

Annabeth reached over and put down his hand. Hazel was relieved.

“People of Earth, I come in peace!” he shouted.

Will laughed particularly hard at that one, and Leo grinned at him stockpiling alien references in his head for future use.

“If you say take me to your leader, I’m worried how sleep deprived you are,” Annabeth snorted.

“She speaks from experience,” Percy assured.

 He looked like he’d been rolling around in the campfire. His army coat and his face were smeared with soot. His hands were grease stained, and he wore a new tool belt around his waist. His eyes were bloodshot. His curly hair was so oily it stuck up in porcupine quills, and he smelled strangely of Tabasco sauce. 

But he looked absolutely delighted. “Festus is just saying hello!”

“If that’s how he says hello, I’m terrified how he says piss off,” Percy chuckled.

“That thing is dangerous!” an Ares girl shouted, brandishing her spear. “Kill it now!”

“Stand down!” someone ordered.

To Piper’s surprise, it was Jason. He pushed through the crowd,

None of them were particularly surprised at his sudden authoritative position he so easily dawned. Exchanging someone with Percy probably wouldn’t work so well if he was just one of the kids around his camp who just sat in the back of the place all day and was never invited to the council meetings.

Thalia actually wondered for the first time if Jupiter had more kids running around that camp he was in charge of, if perhaps Jason had some half-sister tearing up the coast somewhere looking for him.

flanked by Annabeth and that girl from the Hephaestus cabin, Nyssa.

Jason gazed up at the dragon and shook his head in amazement. “Leo, what have you done?”

“The greatest thing ever!” Leo insisted.

“Would you like to take over?” Hazel asked politely, he was so jazzed about his dragon showing up in all his glory he was actually paying full attention to the book for once, little flickers of flames appearing on his ears like someone was toggling his on switch. 

“No, no,” he insisted, smoke trailing from burnt hair on his arms. “You go on.”

She did so with a faint frown, somehow the guy nearly combusting into flames didn’t make it as easy as she’d have thought to keep him separate from Sammy in her mind, but repeating his name over and over was helping anyways.

“Found a ride!” Leo beamed. “You said I could go on the quest if I got you a ride. Well, I got you a class-A metallic flying bad boy! Festus can take us anywhere!”

“You never did specify what kind of ride it had to be,” Leo agreed, but there was an anxious look as he eyed Jason like he thought the guy would spontaneously take back his quest pass.

“And I couldn’t have asked for better,” Jason grinned. “What’s better than air support with fire power and a bite force?”

Leo grinned right back and finally sort of regretted being in this timeline where he didn’t actually get to ride off and save the world on Festus with this guy. Ah well, if Annabeth’s doom and gloom attitude was anything to go by, he still might get a chance next time.

“It—has wings,” Nyssa stammered. Her jaw looked like it might drop off her face.

“Yeah!” Leo said. “I found them and reattached them.”

“But it never had wings. Where did you find them?”

Leo hesitated, and Piper could tell he was hiding something.

“In … the woods,” he said.

“Remember when we were making fun of our poor lying skills on our first quest? Yeah, can we bring back those while pushing someone else on stage,” Percy grinned.

“The fact that that's not even a wild and crazy statement,” Will sighed. “If you said you found them next to the cursed dancing shoes in the pile of plushies some god tossed in here without us noticing, I wouldn’t even blink.”

“The ancient secret bunker being the crazy part is just par for the course in camp where we’re apparently going to be uncovering five layers below ground tracks at this point too,” Annabeth said. Next time someone told her this place was built on cursed land over an elephant graveyard, she was pretty sure she’d just roll with it.

 “Repaired his circuits, too, mostly, so no more problems with him going haywire.”

“Mostly?” Nyssa asked.

The dragon’s head twitched. It tilted to one side and a stream of black liquid—maybe oil, hopefully just oil—poured out of its ear, all over Leo.

“Just a few kinks to work out,” Leo said.

“Sounds like a perfectly reasonable response to prove he won’t set things on fire anymore,” Nico agreed half-heartedly.

“Unless the dragon’s using it to soak him before using Leo as a running match,” Will muttered. He didn’t really have that much faith in Leo’s ability, he hadn’t been in camp for even forty-eight hours yet!

“But how did you survive … ?” Nyssa was still staring at the creature in awe. “I mean, the fire breath …”

“I’m quick,” Leo said. “And lucky. Now, am I on this quest, or what?”

Jason scratched his head. “You named him Festus?

“I do love that’s what you got out of this entire exchange,” Leo’s smile kept widening until it might split his face in half. “I’ve never owned a pet before, what is your metric for names?”

Jason shrugged. “Can’t say I have either,” he reminded, tapping his temple. “I guess it’s not the worst? Better than naming him Fluffy, or Spot?”

“Leo wouldn’t even get the excuse of being the first to name his pet that like my dad is,” Nico sniffed.

 You know that in Latin, ‘festus’ means ‘happy’? You want us to ride off to save the world on Happy the Dragon?”

“Well when you put it like that it sounds ridiculous,” Percy chuckled.

“And how would you say it, pray tell Percy!” Jason groaned.

“I don’t know Latin to even guess,” Percy shrugged. His smile seemed reluctant all of a sudden, he still remembered Alex’s spontaneous decision to name this very dragon Reid. He kind of wanted to mention it to Leo, but after all the work and love he’d obviously put into this guy, it felt rude to mention someone else had just come up with one on the spot too.

Maybe if he could mention it later without his voice cracking Leo would consider making that Festus’s middle name.

The dragon twitched and shuddered and flapped his wings.

“That’s a yes, bro!” Leo said. “Now, um, I’d really suggest we get going, guys. I already picked up some supplies in the —um, in the woods. And all these people with weapons are making Festus nervous.”

Jason frowned. “But we haven’t planned anything yet. We can’t just—”

“Go,” Annabeth said. She was the only one who didn’t look nervous at all. Her expression was sad and wistful, like this reminded her of better times. 

“Nearly getting eaten by that thing and you putting me in jail half the night, yeah, great times,” Percy sounded just as wistful as he remembered playing tic tac toe with Beckendorf the rest of the night in that cell.

“Jason, you’ve only got three days until the solstice now, and you should never keep a nervous dragon waiting.

“I thought ancient proverbs with Annabeth weren’t until after lunch,” Thalia smirked.

“Pop quiz, Jason’s the only one who would appreciate those anyways,” Annabeth chuckled.

 This is certainly a good omen. Go!”

Jason nodded. Then he smiled at Piper. “You ready, partner?”

Piper looked at the bronze dragon wings shining against the sky, and those talons that could’ve shredded her to pieces. “You bet,” she said.

Flying on the dragon was the most amazing experience ever, Piper thought.

Up high, the air was freezing cold; but the dragon’s metal hide generated so much heat, it was like they were flying in a protective bubble. Talk about seat warmers! And the grooves in the dragon’s back were designed like high-tech saddles, so they weren’t uncomfortable at all. Leo showed them how to hook their feet in the chinks of the armor, like in stirrups, and use the leather safety harnesses cleverly concealed under the exterior plating.

“Oh yeah, cause that was the highest concern around here. OSHA violation, dragon’s without seatbelts!” Percy laughed at the little voice of his mom in the back of his ear swearing she wouldn’t start the car until he buckled up.

“Please remain seated while the dragon is in motion,” Leo grinned in a pretty good automated voice. “The Leo and Festus Express is not liable for any loss of limbs, bowls, or other major organs.”

“Maybe save yourself some time and just etch that into one of his flaps going forward,” Will offered.

 They sat single file: Leo in front, then Piper, then Jason, and Piper was very aware of Jason right behind her. She wished he would hold on to her, maybe wrap his arms around her waist; but sadly, he didn’t.

Hazel read right over that like she hadn’t heard Jason awkwardly clear his throat. 

Leo used the reins to steer the dragon into the sky like he’d been doing it all his life. 

Annabeth’s mind boggled with questions on how he communicated with Festus on every detail of this. On a pegasi, they steered purely with their legs. She knew mortals used reigns for horses, but it seemed more like an unneeded training wheel to her, so the combination of that on something bigger was making her mind grapple. She couldn’t wait to focus on something fun again, pulling Leo aside and getting all the details of this later when the world wasn’t about to end. Again.

The metal wings worked perfectly, and soon the coast of Long Island was just a hazy line behind them. They shot over Connecticut and climbed into the gray winter clouds.

Leo grinned back at them. “Cool, right?”

“What if we get spotted?” Piper asked.

“The Mist,” Jason said. “It keeps mortals from seeing magic things. If they spot us, they’ll probably mistake us for a small plane or something.”

Piper glanced over her shoulder. “You sure about that?”

“No,” he admitted. Then Piper saw he was clutching a photo in his hand—a picture of a girl with dark hair.

She gave Jason a quizzical look, but he blushed and put the photo in his pocket. “We’re making good time. Probably get there by tonight.”

Piper wondered who the girl in the picture was, but she didn’t want to ask; and if Jason didn’t volunteer the information, that wasn’t a good sign. Had he remembered something about his life before? Was that a photo of his real girlfriend?

At least Thalia laughed into the awkward silence, while Jason had been hearing the mutterings of that since his sister had arrived and hung out with him. It was almost a fair assumption when you didn’t know otherwise.

Stop it, she thought. You’ll just torture yourself. She asked a safer question. “Where are we heading?”

“To find the god of the North Wind,” Jason said. “And chase some storm spirits.”

Jason couldn’t help but laugh at how Hazel said that as if it were some extravagant idea she could barely wrap her mind around while in another life he probably ate Wind gods for breakfast or something as comfortable as he’d been using them against a giant.

Then he saw Hazel squirming around to get up and hand the book off and he blinked in surprise at how short that one was. Well, at least it wasn’t just him getting that kind of treatment. He reflected back that quite a few of Percy’s had also been only a few pages a few times, and he might work up a flow chart later to study the different lengths and why.

It took all of Leo’s limited self control to patiently wait for Nico to get up and take the book from his sister so this could move on. The pattern meant he’d be getting a whole chapter about being on the back of Festus, he’d be getting data before he even had his first flight test! He wondered vaguely how much his brain would rebel if he tried to read and keep at his drawings at the same time. Judging from past experience, he might end up reading off his formula for Festus’s waste box in Spanish and drawing out the look on Piper’s face when she realized he hadn’t gotten around to installing parachutes yet. 

Only one way to find out!

[dontspillthefrijoles43]

Leo’s birthday 🥳🥳🥳

(A/N: I know it’s a Fanon birthday, probably, but I could not do a post about our favorite Hammer brain without my oc— cause they’re my sillies, and I’ve been dead for awhile. So here’s my head canons for Leo’s birthday. Btw I hc him as 18 cause that’s the same age I am (🥳) and experiences I have had so far from turning 18)

Warning: Drinking mention, weed mentioned, teenagers being teenagers, etc

Leo has never had a real birthday party since he was 7, and when Breisa hears this she throws him the most nostalgia fueling Mexican/latino birthday party

She buys those ugly ass piñtas with balloons in one and candy in the other. Also party favors and hats (which he wears two of—like cat ears)

It’s either SpongeBob or TMNT theme, she even goes to the local pañería to buy him a cake

She will wake his ass up with the Vicente Fernández song, las mañanitas with his had made speaker that he made her and it sounds loud and booming

She also finds Texas barbeque recipes mixed with Mexican Texan authentic food. Has Will and Annabeth help her cook it.

While the seven distract him for his surprise party by buying new clothes. They also buy him a cowboy hat with flames on it.

When the party finally comes down too, Leo is surprise by party with homemade food, decorations,and jumper + a mechanical bull

You bet ur ass he rides the bull at full speed

He is having the time of his life and he even isn’t drinking— not that he’s much of a drinker anyway. He had his first shot and it tasted like battery acid and orange juice

He dances with everyone to all his favorite songs. He might’ve dance to old school Spanish/tejano songs with Breisa— maybe sharing a kiss under his cowboy hat😉😉

When it finally comes down to the birthday cake, he lights his own candles, everyone sings happy birthday. And he bows out his candles, only to get his face smashed into it by Breisa

Which scares the shit out of her because she thinks she goes too far, but then he pops up laughing hard, frosting all over his face. (Thank god she bought two cakes)

Gifts for the seven include: chuck of Ruby rock from Hazel, weed (trust me I had a vision) and cassettes + Polaroids of the trio from Piper, Lions Paw seashell necklace from Percy, a festus Chinese dragon style bracelet from Frank , power tools + car stickers from Annabeth, and Game disk of all the Mario party games + new controller from Jason

Now you may be wondering if Breisa threw him this big ass party and brought all his friends together, it would be it for birthday gifts. But nah, she loves him too much to leave something out— a hand-made love letter with purple lipstick stains cheesy asf, a restored painting of him + Esperanza, and matching necklace with the sun on it (hers has the moon).

You best believe she covers his face with lipstick stains until he is dizzy and lovestick

Leo: Best birthday ever 🥰

Breisa: Best birthday so far, Amorcito

[pinkxpxnda]

Festus! I draw dragons from WOF all the time so I thought I would try drawing him :)

I feel like it looks a lil better in person but overall quite happy with it.

୨୧・・・・୨୧・・・・୨୧・・・・୨୧・・・・୨୧・・・・୨୧・・・・

Reference image:

[a-french-coconut]

Drew Tanaka (Part 5)

Her afternoon is rudely interrupted by a fire breathing mechanical dragon landing right in the middle of the cabins.

While Clarisse orders her siblings in a battle formation, Drew makes sure Lacy and Mitchell are nowhere near the beast.

"DON'T SHOOT, WE COME IN PEACE." Someone yells from the dragon.

"LEO VALDEZ," Nyssa screams furiously, lowering her hammer, " What were you thinking bringing him here, on Camp's grounds ?!"

"I fixed him ! He's not a threat anymore," Leo proudly proclaims, "and I find our way of transportation !"

Hesitantly, all campers lower their weapons, still eyeing warily the dragon.

"What's his name ?" Jason asks.

"Festus ! His name is Festus."

"Sooo, we are going on quest on Happy the dragon ?" He arches an eyebrow, amused.

Leo nods and gestures him and Piper to climb.

"Come on guys, we need to go. We have a deadline to respect."

Jason's demeanour grows serious and Piper and he rush to get their bags before joining Leo on top of Festus.

"Good luck heroes, may you come back to us in one piece and with your quest accomplished !" Chiron wishes to them.

"Woah, that's not creepy at all. " Leo grumbles, " Come on Festus, vamonos !"

Under the campers's applauses and cheers, they soar in the sky.

Good luck McLean

"If they don't die, it's a miracle." Connor says next to her, "they have no training and no critical thinking it would seem. Who the fuck brings the dragon that almost paralysed your brother in the middle of Camp, where it could had kill us all ?"

""Don't jinx them Stoll, they don't need your bad luck."

"Eeeh, you're right. Got a cabin to save from burning down, see you later."

Drew goes back to her daily activities, Piper's absence not really noticeable.

Well, mostly.

It would seem her dear sister managed to convince Mitchell and Lacy not to listen to her anymore, something Drew would be quite proud of if her authority wasn't being contested.

"Why do you mean you want to stop archery ? You can't do that Lacy."

"But I suck at it ! My arrows don't even touch the target !" her sister whines, "Nyssa lets Harley skip archery, why can't I do it ?"

"Because Nyssa has a curse to deal with, I do not. So as long as I'm counsellor, you're not stopping archery."

"But-"

"No, no point in discussing this." She firmly says, daring Lacy to contradict once again.

Instead, her little sister's eyes shine.

"I hate you ! You're the meanest sister ever ! Silena was always kind with me."

"Silena tried to kill you," Drew says with a strained voice, restraining herself from screaming at a twelve years old girl, "That's not what I would call kind."

"Silena wouldn't ever hurt me ! But you did ! Making me wear the shoes of shame and always forcing me to do things I don't want to do."

"I'm protecting you-"

"You're hurting me !"

The pain in Lacy's voice makes her falter and she truly sees her little sister for the first time in long while.

The way her eyes are wet with tears, when was the last time she saw them sparkling ?

Or smiling, showing those horrid braces of hers ?

Who braided her hair ? It's bad work, strands of hair falling out from everywhere. Drew could make a better one with her eyes closed.

So why didn't she ?

"Lacy, I-"

what ?

I'm sorry ?

"I'm going back to Hermes Cabin and you can't stop me."

Without letting her answer, Lacy runs out of the cabin, probably to beg Connor and Travis to let her sleep in theirs.

You're hurting me !

No, no, no, she doesn't understand.

She's shielding her from the future pain.

Right ?

You're hurting me !

You're hurting me !

You're hurting me !

You're hurting me !

Stop, make it stop.

"I'm helping you !" she screams to no one, in the empty cabin.

"I'm..."

protecting

"myself."

The realisation, the truth she had buried deep down, comes out, ugly and sharp.

Pushing Mitchell and Lacy away, Heloise and Thomas too, all of that to prevent another Silena.

She wanted everyone to not like her so that when they leave her, she would not feel the pain.

She knows she's been mean but-

Had she been cruel ?

To her siblings ? The ones she loves deeply ?

Surely not

Making Lacy wear the shoes of shame.

Throwing out Mitchell's clothes.

Even Piper, who didn't really did anything to deserve that greeting.

Had she become what she hears ?

A cruel and heartless bitch ?

"Hum, Drew ?"

Connor is standing awkwardly at the door, looking very nervous.

"Lacy just asked me to, hum, sleep in my cabin tonight ? So, I wanted to ask, is everything okay ?"

"No, I've just come to the realisation that I'm a poison, rotting everything I touch." She says drily.

Immediately Connor rushes to her side, gently seating her on her bed before seating next to her.

"That's not true, look at me, Malcolm and Will ! No poison for us !"

That makes her laugh a little but the weight of Lacy's words did not lift that easily.

"I've been a true nightmare to my siblings, Connor. I treated them badly because I'm selfish, maybe I should give up my position as counsellor." She says bitterly, "Clearly I'm not up to the task."

"Drew," Connor's voice is serious, a rare occasion, "you are allowed to make mistakes and you are allowed to be selfish. We went through a war and we all have a way of coping. And the others, they don't understand our pain. It's not their older brother or sister that stabbed them in the back after promises of never hurting us."

"But Lacy and Mitchell don't hate Silena the way I do." she says miserably, hugging her knees closer," I think there's something wrong with me."

"Nothing is wrong with you, Drew. You haven't been allowed to grief like you should have, that's all. Nobody allowed you to hate Silena when you have the right to. It's not the same for me. Even though Luke is seen as a hero, he is still despised for his acts whereas your sister isn't."

Slowly, the burden on her shoulders becomes lighter.

"You're good at this, Stoll."

"I had time to practice," he gives her a lopsided smile, laughing when she nudges him.

"Come on, I'll lead you to Lacy, you two need to talk."

"She hates me."

"No, she just doesn't understand why you treated her like this. And she's right, you made a complete 360° after the war. And while it's clear for me why, Lacy is young and had arrived just one year before the battle of Manhattan. She doesn't have the full picture."

Drew sighs but allows Connor to bring her to Lacy.

Her little sister is at the beach, half heartedly drawing in the sand.

"Go on, apologise."

"Okay, Isabella, I'm going."

Connor rolls his eyes but dutifully leaves her alone with Lacy who only registers her presence when she seats next to her.

"Go away."

Drew flinches at her sister's firm voice but doesn't let it deter her.

"I want to tell you a story."

She smiles softly when she sees her sister perks up.

"Remember when I told you bedtimes stories ?"

"Yeah, those were nice."

"Do you want to hear another one ?"

"Does it end happily ?" Lacy asks, still hesitating.

"I hope so."

When her sister turns to face her, Drew takes it as a cue to begin.

"It's a story about two sisters named Celine and Maria. Maria was the youngest and she loved with all her heart Celine. But see, she discovered that Celine was working with the enemy-"

"Who is the enemy ?"

"-Lucas, and was feeding him informations about Maria's friends that lead to their death."

"Drew", Lacy frowns, "that story looks a lot like-"

"Let me finish, please. It's important you hear it entirely."

"Okay, I'm listening."

"When Celine died and the truth was exposed, no one put the blame on her except for Maria, who felt betrayed and deeply hurt. And so, she made a promise. To never let anyone get as close as Celine was to her, so that she would never feel that kind of pain again."

"Oh, Drew..." Lacy whispers shakily, "does Maria have other siblings ?"

"Yes, she does and-", her own voice breaks, "she loves them so much. But she was too selfish and in order to keep them away, she hurt them. It's something she regrets and will never forgive herself."

"Is that the end ?"

"Yes, but who knows ? It can change."

"Can I change it ?"

"Go ahead."

"Maria doesn't forgive herself but her sibling does, at least her little sister." Lacy tells her firmly, looking at her in the eyes. "Because she loves Maria a lot and despite the hurt she caused, she just wants her big sister back."

As soon as Lacy finishes, Drew hugs her tightly, allowing for the first time in long period to cry in front of someone else.

"I'm sorry Lacy, I'm so sorry sweetheart," she sobs, cradling Lacy in her arms.

"I forgive you, Drew but please, don't ever be mean like this again." her sister quietly asks.

"I won't, honey. I won't." She says, softly kissing her sister's hair.

"Now, let's go back to the cabin. Mitchell must be searching us and I won't tolerate sand much longer."

On the way back, she sees Connor from afar who raises an eyebrow questioningly.

His beaming smile when she picks up Lacy to give her a piggy ride, her little sister laughing loudly, settles a sense of calm in her heart.

Maybe she isn't a so bad big sister after all.

DREW ARC REDEMPTION >>>>>

I'm still going to make her fight Piper over the counsellor position but don't you worry, it's going to make sense when it happens.

Their relationship is far from friendly and Drew is still sour about Silena despite talking with Lacy.