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twoidiotwriters1 · 1 year ago

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Daughter of Olympus (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: I want to physically fight Nico sometimes too ngl -Danny Words: 2,424 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter / Next Chapter Listen to: 'Better Yet' -by James Spaite

XXXIV: I'm Sorry I'm This Way, I Was (Mostly) Raised by Other Children

Ara doesn't wake up at dawn for the first time in months. When she opens her eyes, loud noises are coming from outside, and the sun is fully out. She bolts upright in bafflement.

It took her four hours to fall asleep last night because she kept squirming and giggling every time she thought about Leo. Ara's about to fall back and squeal into her pillow, when Lily bursts into the room making her fall off the bed.

"Ara! Are you okay?" Her friend tosses the to-do list onto the nearest surface and circles the bed.

Ara tries to control the mild heart attack she got from Lily's arrival and untangles herself from the sheets. "What time is it?"

Lily looks at her with concern. "Chiron's been looking for you. I lied and said you were packing, but you need to get dressed and start the day now."

Ara gets up from the floor. "Lily, there's something I've—"

"Hey," her friend approaches the pinboard next to Ara's wardrobe. "Is that..." Lily looks back at her grinning. "A picture of Leo?"

Ara looks up at the image in horror. Jake and Nyssa took it during their first day working on the Argo II. Leo's giving the camera a thumbs up and a big smile. The girl tries to come up with an excuse but Lily's expression flusters her.

"It's not a picture of Leo!" She blushes all over. "It's a picture of the bunker!"

Lily laughs. "You can't even see what's behind the guy! Jake sucks at taking pictures—Did you steal it while they weren't looking?"

"It wasn't stealing, I just took it," Ara gets dressed quickly so she can take Lily out of her room. "To keep me motivated."

"What's the goal?" Her friend snorts. "Leo will give you a smooch if you finish his ship on time?"

Ara struggles to put on her socks. "You're laughing a little too much, don't ya think?"

"Duh! You've tortured all of us and now it's your turn!" Lily says delightedly. "And with Leo Valdez! Can't get funnier than that."

"Don't be mean," the girl pouts.

She dreads the moment everyone finds out. Does she even want that? In the middle of a war? Silena and Beckendorf started dating during one, but Ara's not like that. She's never been an Aphrodite who stops caring about the world the moment she likes someone.

"Anyway, we got a meeting with Annabeth and your boyfriend's gonna show us his process on the Argo II," Lily continues. "Capture the Flag at seven... Oh! Tyson's coming, something about him manufacturing parts of your ship?"

"Oh, gods!" Ara ties her shoes. "Imagine that, Lily! Our ship, equipped with weaponry straight out of Cyclops' forges!"

"Well, I'd be able to imagine if I knew how to read Leo's blueprints. They're a hot mess, look like he did them during a manic episode."

"I won't lie to you, he probably did."

The girls walk out of the room and the more they talk about work, the more Ara thinks about Leo and how fun it was to spend time with him doing nothing. She's been given a taste of what life could be like if she acted her age, and Lily could benefit from it too.

"What if we take a break after our meeting? Maybe watch one of your musicals?"

It's been months since the last time Ara suggested a break. Lily eyes her with worry. "Are you sure you're okay?"

The brunette laughs, which only disturbs Lily further. "I'm exhausted. My parents basically begged me to rest, and I don't want them to worry."

Lily stares at her intently with her gray eyes, so sharp they make Ara feel like the girl can see right through her, and it's almost always true.

"I guess it won't hurt... and I do want a break." Lily glances down at her clipboard and nods.

"Good!"

Lily watches Ara walk ahead with a hesitant smile. She doesn't know what happened to her friend during the quest, but something feels different. Like she's enjoying herself again.

I thought I'd get a least an extra day to get my plan in motion, but Percy calls us the very next morning telling us that he's in New York and he needs us. I can only hope I have enough to start.

When we go to Olympus we run into Hestia and Hermes. Everyone leaves to allow Percy and Annabeth to hold a private conversation with the gods, but I hide near the entrance. I hear Hermes say Percy has the Achilles curse, and that catches my attention.

"Hello again, Arae."

I jump and hit my shoulder on the statue that's concealing me. Hestia is right next to me.

"Lady Hestia," I bow. "Forgive me, I was..."

"Worried about your brother," the goddess sighs. "Do you know what he did? Before coming to the city, he was with Nico Di Angelo..." She looks at me with pity. "I hope your brother's made the right call, but I'm not here to talk about him."

Judging by the way she's looking at me, she knows my brother isn't the only idiot in the family.

"You know about my plans," I whisper.

"I know you're noble," she clasps her hands together. "But is this the best way to secure peace? A warrior finds ways to stay on their feet even when there's nothing to do."

I don't understand what she's trying to tell me. "I have no problem with that."

Hestia regards me as if weighing whether it's a good idea to burst my bubble or to let it go. "Plans can only be made when you know what outcome you want, dear girl."

"I know what I want," I pause, then correct my sentence. "I know what I have to do if I want my friend to live."

She hums, a knowing look in her eyes. "Michael Yew is just like you. There is only one way you can learn from him..."

Percy's calling my name somewhere in a distant hallway. I lost sight of him for a second, and now he and Annabeth are gone. "I have to go," I bow briefly. "I appreciate your advice, Lady Hestia, I'll keep it in mind."

"Stop looking at me like that," Ara rolls her eyes.

"Your parents are making you go back to school and you're acting like it's not a big deal. This was exactly what you wanted to avoid—"

"That was before Percy went missing," Ara shrugs. "I changed my mind."

"Why?"

Now she understands why Percy took every opportunity to hang out with Rachel during the weeks approaching his sixteenth birthday. Holding so many lives in your hands wears you out, being in camp makes her lose sleep, so she needs her mortal life back.

"Everything is under control, I should get my life on track again."

"This camp is your life, Ara. We just got a clear goal—"

"Lily," Ara rephrases her reply. "I want to be with my family before I have to head out to war."

Her friend's cheeks tint with a pinkish tone. "That makes sense."

"Don't worry," Ara pats the girl's shoulder. "I'll be here during the weekends, pestering you as usual. I know you can't bear the thought of being parted for long."

Lily traps her in a loose chokehold. "You wish!"

Ara elbows her and laughs. "Let go!"

"Strategus!" Nico Di Angelo salutes her teasingly from a distance. Ara groans as soon as she sees him. "I apologize in advance, but I won't attend the meeting, I've got places to be."

"Daddy grounded you again?"

"His birthday's approaching," Lily blurts out.

Ara and Nico look at her with a scowl, though both for different reasons.

"His birthday is weeks away!"

"What's that got to do with anything?" Nico scoffs.

"I just wanted to remind Ara 'cause she'll be moving back to New York."

"I wouldn't forget!"

"I don't want her to buy me anything!"

They stop and scowl at each other. "Shut up!"

Lily rolls her eyes, and then a playful little smirk forms on her face. "Hey, Neeks, have you gone to her room lately?"

Ara looks at her with wide eyes. "Don't you dare."

"Why, what's in it?" Nico asks.

"She's got a picture of—"

Ara covers the girl's mouth with both hands. "I'll force-feed you the clipboard if you don't shut up!"

"Let her finish!" Nico demands with an evil smirk.

Ara points at him warningly. "Stay out of my room!"

"Got it," he nods. "I'm taking a look right now."

Before she can stop him, Nico shadow travels away.

Lily bites her hand and Ara punches her shoulder. "Ouch! You two die tonight!"

"Have fun!" Lily chortles as she watches Ara run back into the Big House screaming at Nico.

"He took Percy," I whisper. "Helped him get the Achilles curse."

Lily's eyes widen. "You don't think..."

"That Nico found Achilles and hid it from us?" I frown. "That jerk."

"Perhaps he thought he was helping," Lily offers. "Maybe he thought we wanted to help Percy that way."

"Then why's Nico not here?" I press. "Why is Hades not helping if his son is helping us?"

Lily can't deny things aren't adding up, but she tries to distract me anyway. "We have other things to worry about, Ara. Morpheus is in the city."

"Meaning?"

"Kronos is on his way," she glares at the streets ahead of us. "This is it."

Ara's decided to stop wearing her Tyrian cloak for meetings, everyone in the room knows she's in charge anyway. This is a bad idea today though, cause now everyone can see her clothes are covered in dirt.

"Sorry I'm late, I—"

"What the heck happened to you!?"

The moment she sees Leo, the room gets ten times brighter. Or maybe it's just that she's glowing like a Christmas light. Either way, it's amazing, and she loves it.

Leo approaches and tilts her head up to examine her bruised eye, everyone is staring at him with confusion and surprise, so she steps away.

"Valdez!" She says sternly. "It's just a scrape, don't be dramatic."

"A scrape? You're—"

"Seriously," she gives him a look. "Stop it."

Leo's annoyed. "Alright! But why are you cosplaying as a fight club member?"

"Rookie, if Ara didn't have a black eye when you met her, that's only 'cause she was too sad to fight people," Clarisse turns to her with a smirk. "Di Angelo again?"

"Again? I thought that was over!" Annabeth crosses her arms.

"It's never over with these two," Lily enters the room scowling. "Nico's not going to attend the meeting."

Will frowns. "Did Ara kill him and hid his body?"

"Hey! He started it—"

"And he got a bloody nose as a result," Lily rolls her eyes. "Let's start the meeting."

"Hang on, so you're saying it's normal for Ara to get beat up?" Leo presses with concern.

"First of all, I didn't get beat up, that sounds like I lost and I didn't lose. Nico pushes my buttons, I push his, and sometimes it ends up in a fight. End of story." Ara explains. "Let's move on, Lily."

"Percy's whereabouts and the search groups," Lily reads from her clipboard. "Annabeth?"

The older demigod starts to update everyone on what she's been doing, Leo leans closer to Ara and whispers. "Should I be worried about this Nico guy?"

Ara hushes him, which Leo doesn't like at all. He really knows nothing about Ara's daily life, and the more he finds out, the more she seems to be a different person than the one he met during the quest.

Ara listens to Annabeth, and then Jason suggests a few things though he doesn't remember much of his old life still. Eventually, they move on to the Argo II, which means Ara is finally paying attention to Leo.

"Alright, gather 'round, kids!" He spreads the blueprints on the ping-pong table. "I've got the engine running, so we can start designing the interior. General Jackson, you can build your cabin if you want—And your brother's too."

"That's generous," Ara clears her throat. "But Annabeth's better at that, and so is Lily. I know nothing about interior design."

"I can design Percy's," Annabeth agrees.

"And I'm fine designing Ara's," Lily nods.

Leo frowns. "Okay... well, I'll still need your help. With..."

"The weaponry," Jason reminds him. "We heard Percy's brother would be here to talk about it?"

"Tyson!" Ara remembers. "Where is he?"

Annabeth shrugs, looking worried. "We haven't heard from him."

"Well... anyway, Tyson works in the forges with other Cyclops, I can ask him to build gear for the Argo II, so that's one thing you don't have to worry about, Leo."

"You kidding? I was looking forward to that part!" He exclaims. "But I could take a look at which designs could slow us down, he can take those. What are you going to do?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're redirecting all the assignments, I thought you wanted to stay busy—"

"Ara's not staying, that's why she's distributing the work," Lily raises a brow. "She told us, remember?"

Leo's face is so easy to read, Ara kind of wishes Gaea would swallow her whole right now. "I... I think he misunderstood what I said then, Lily. I didn't specify I'd come back just for a few days."

"You should've," he replies.

"For those who don't know," she moves her gaze from one counselor to another. "I'll move back in with my parents for the rest of the school year. There's not much I can do about that, they're my legal guardians."

"We get it, Ara," Will eases her. "We don't love it, but we get it."

"I'll be here every weekend," she adds, looking at Jason. "It's not like I'll vanish."

"You don't have to explain anything." It sounds like Jason's understanding, but she can almost hear the words he left unsaid: "To me."

Leo's eyes are fixed on the blueprints and he's fidgeting with a pencil. She sighs. "I hate to leave, but Percy would want me to be with our parents before I head out to war... again."

Lily pats her shoulder. "You have a week to get your stuff in order, there's no need to feel guilty."

"Yeah, we've all seen what you can do in less time," Connor adds, getting a few chuckles from the veterans.

Ara tries to smile, but she's not successful. "If we're done here, let's end the meeting. You guys got a game to win, and I've got to start packing."

Leo picks up his blueprints and places the pencil behind his ear, quickly exiting the room next to Jason and Piper. He's angry, and his thoughts spiral easily when he's not careful, especially when he cares too much.

Lily nudges Ara's arm and talks to her in a whisper. "Someone's not cool with you leaving..."

"Should I talk to him?"

"To put him in his place, maybe," the girl wrinkles her nose. "You shouldn't be so nice to boys, they start thinking they've got a right over you after a while. Imagine if you were dating!"

"Yeah..." Ara wants to throw up again. "Sounds terrible."

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