#aaaaaughh

He bets that Jason never would have said something like that to you, yet here he is, screwing up again. He tugs on the rest of his clothes, ending with a hoodie for the unseasonably cold weather, and leaves to find you. As he descends the stairs, a gust of freezing air washes over him. He looks for the source, and sees the front door is ajar. Snowflakes blow in, along with a few small, downy feathers that look almost pink in the diffused morning light struggling to get through the heavy dark clouds that continue to roll in. 

"Morning." He hears Jason's groggy voice behind him, "You're up early.” He turns around to see Piper standing next to him, yawning. They’re wearing matching pajamas, and have matching bed head. They’re so cute together it would make Leo a little sick on any other day. Jason's hair is sticking up in every direction, and he wipes the smudges off his glasses with the hem of his shirt. Leo hasn't seen his friends since last night, when they backed him up in front of Calypso - something he hadn't been expecting. 

Just the sight of them brings back a highlight reel of all the things that they said - along with the rest of his friends - in his defense. That paired with how much he wishes he could see you right now, make sure you’re okay, is enough to have tears welling in the corners of his eyes. Sure, what he said might have been coming from feeling very justifiably upset at the way he’s been treated until now, but that’s not your fault. He shouldn’t have lashed out at you like he did.

“You okay?” Piper asks, a note of concern in her voice. He’s clearly not, and she wants to know why right now. He takes in a shaky breath and squeezes his eyes shut. After a few moments, he tells them what happened -  or at least he tries to. He barely gets out about half the story before he stops, really not wanting to cry more than he feels like he’s about to. Jason and Piper share a look. It’s so early and they’re barely awake, but that’s not going to stop them from trying to help him. In their drowsy stupor, they hear the worst in his fumbled explanation. 

They share a regretful look. What they piece together is really disappointing, but they can’t say they’re totally surprised. They definitely are disappointed, they were really starting to root for you - especially compared to Calypso. It’s not your quick wit or sharp tongue that surprises them, it’s that you directed it at Leo. They’re not sure exactly what words were exchanged, just that Leo is really hurting over this, which is the one thing they don’t want. To make things worse, he’s really worried about you. They hear footsteps behind them.

“What’s going on?” This time it’s Annabeth’s groggy morning voice, and she’s closely followed by Percy, who looks like he’d rather still be asleep. 

“They got into a fight,” Jason says, trying to bring them up to speed - granted, he doesn’t have much more information than they do now. Leo lets out a frustrated sigh, trying to squeeze away his tears and pressing his hands into his face. He shakes his head before his eyes land back on the door. The wind blew it a little further open, and he can see your footprints make long, panicked strides in the growing snow on the ground. 

“I-” he chuckles, weepily, “I have to go find her…” He’s already descending the stairs when his friends start to protest. It’s so early and they’re all barely awake, the last thing they want is for him to jump into something if they’re not awake enough to help him out yet.

“Wait,” Piper starts, “maybe you should stay here.” 

“Yeah, maybe we should talk about this before you, you know, rush into anything.” Percy agrees. 

“Or make a stupid decision for a manipulative bitch and get nothing in return.” 

Everyone stops dead in their tracks as Calypso’s voice echoes through the hall. A collective sense of being found by the T-Rex in Jurassic Park passes over everyone, and the room stills. Only Calypso could make a room full of people with ADHD stand totally still. 

“She’s gone. Good riddance.” Calypso says, without a sliver of concern in her voice. “I mean it was just a matter of time before that little whore finally showed her true colors, and-”

“FOR GODS’ SAKE CALYPSO! CAN YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP?! PLEASE?!” 

The room falls silent again, and all eyes turn to Leo. He looks exhausted and exasperated and completely and utterly done. She stares at him, mouth agape, refusing to believe he’s talking to her like that.

“Excuse-” She starts, but before she can finish, he keeps going. He’s not going to let her steamroll him, not anymore.

“I mean, really! We can’t get through one goddamn day without you ruining something. Do you have to work at being like this?” He demands rhetorically, “Cause it seems like you must work pretty fucking hard to be so miserable all the time!”

No one could have ever predicted this. No one could have imagined that Leo would ever be the one to put Calypso in her place like this. 

“I am not-” 

“No, no, no! I don’t give a shit!” He roars with an exasperated laugh, “I don’t want to hear any more of your bullshit or whining or constant complaining! I’ve had enough. We’ve all had enough, so just…” He laughs, trailing off as he realizes that he’s never going to get through to her. His only option is to get away from her. Or, he supposes, get her away from him. 

“Get out.” 

It’s silent again. All the commotion brought the last few people out of their rooms, so Nico, Will, Frank, and Hazel all heard most of what he had to say. They all stand there in shock as Calypso spews some more bullshit about not needing to take this and storms back into her room, presumably to pack her shit and leave. There’s a sense of giddy elation when she leaves. They have been waiting so, so long for him to really be able to stand up to her, to refuse being treated as shitty as she treats him. Percy makes some sassy remark behind her, and Piper is the first to congratulate him. Or she would have been, if he had stuck around long enough to celebrate. Piper jogs half way down the stairs, getting a glimpse of his dark, curly hair contrasting sharply with the snow. He’s out of the door before she can call his name. 

Leo barely registers how strange this whole snow storm is. It’s supposed to be spring, it should be ambiently warm with little flowers blooming, not look like a trailer for Frozen. In spite of how weird the weather is, he doesn’t care about that right now. He just wants to find you. He tracks through the snow rapidly accumulating on the ground, following your footprints until he loses track of them, getting lost or covered up by what is quickly turning into a blizzard. He shivers, pulling his jacket around himself tighter. He's a Houston boy, he's not prepared for all this wintery bullshit. He still loves snow, he thinks it's one of the prettiest, most magical things in the world, but it's not pretty when he’s worried about you being outside in it. 

Finally, he sees a figure in dark clothes shrouded in the blindingly white snowy landscape standing at the edge of the yard. He runs over, calling your name. He continues trudging through the snow, and when he’s close enough you turn around. Except it’s not you he’s met with. He stops dead in his tracks, stomach dropping as he struggles to remember her name after so many years. After a moment he remembers.

“Khione?!” He demands. He’s about to ask what the fuck she’s doing here. Before he can, she steps closer, lifting his chin up with her finger. 

“Well, well, well…” she says, and Leo’s surprised that he can hear her perfectly over the roaring wind of the storm. The storm she probably created, he realizes. “You are just as easy on the eyes as I remember you being.” 

A sickening chill runs down his spine at her words. Before he can even think of a reaction, she continues. 

“I’m sure you’re curious as to what brings me here.” She states, walking around him, eyes never leaving him. He feels like he’s being circled by a shark. “Well, you’re a smart boy, I’m sure you’ve heard the stories of how I got two gods to fall in love with me.” 

He hasn’t, but now doesn’t seem like a good time to bring that up. 

“Poseidon, I had wrapped around my finger.” She chuckles. “And Apollo…” The laughter evaporates, and her smile disappears, replaced by something more bitter.

“Apollo…” She stares into space, then her gaze hardens. “Apollo broke my heart.” She spits, turning away from him as she continues. 

“I swore I would never love again, I’d never let myself be fooled by a beautiful man with warm eyes and charming smile. And then,” she whips around to him, her gaze dangerous. “You showed up.” 

She walks closer to him, and Leo retreats a few steps on instinct. 

“You showed up, and were tantalizingly close, almost in my grasp.” Her expression grows cold. “Then you rejected me.” 

His stomach drops. 

“I tried to talk some sense into Apollo, get him to see what he’s missing, but he’s too much of a fool to see the prize in front of him.” She spits before flashing another dangerous grin. “But I got my revenge on him, you can be sure of that. He stole my heart, I stole something of his right back.” Leo’s brow furrows, trying to piece together what her words really mean, trying to connect the dots between this and everything else that’s going on. She lets out a crazed chuckle. 

“But I got my revenge.” She continues, getting even closer to him. She sizes him up, glowering at him predatorily. She chuckles darkly, and Leo sees something unhinged deep in her eyes starting to rise to the surface.

“And now, you will be my lover,” she laughs maniacally, “IN AN ETERNAL WINTER WASTELAND!” 

Her laughter reverberates through the swirling snow, and Leo’s stomach drops. Chills creep over his skin, but it’s not just from the cold.