Vines and Valdez
LEO VALDEZ x Dionysus!READER
sypnosis: in a haze of pain and intoxication after a grueling mission, you, both injured and exhausted, find yourselves lying side by side in the quiet woods. As you struggle to come to terms with your survival, your playful bickering and retorts reveal deeper feelings. Amidst your banter ans genuine concern for one another, you discover that your stubbornness might just be the key to your bond.
notes: reader is a child of Dionysus (sibling if Pollux), reader is gender neutral, the two of them are oblivious idiots, friends to lovers, fluff
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The world around you spun like a merry-go-round that had forgotten how to stop. Everything was a blur of light and color, and you could feel the remnants of whatever you’d consumed earlier still burning through your veins, mixing with the aftereffects of too much wine. You were high, drunk, and quite frankly, blissfully out of it.
Except for the searing pain in your side, the throbbing in your head, and the uncomfortable sensation of blood sticking your shirt to your skin.
Leo wasn’t much better off. He lay next to you, his shirt torn, revealing a deep gash across his torso. His curls were matted with sweat and dirt, and his normally bright eyes were clouded with exhaustion. You both had fought like Tartarus during the last mission, and now you were paying the price. The woods around you were eerily sileny, like even the monsters had decided to call it a day and leave you two dumbfucks alone to die in peace.
“Why aren’t we dead yet?” Leo groaned, attempting to shift upright, but failing back with a very prominent wince.
You lolled your head towards him, a lazy smirk dancing across your lips. “Because we’re just too stubborn to give up.”
He let out a weak laugh that quickly turned into a cough when his injuries made themselves known, his face scrunching up in pain. “Or maybe the gods just want to watch us suffer a little longer.” He remarked sarcastically, glaring daggers at the sky as if wanting to tell Zeus to knock it off.
“Probably,” you hummed, tracing patterns in the dirt with your finger, the simple action somehoe fascinating your current state. “They have a sick sense of humor.”
His eyes flickered to you and watched as you clumsily attempted to sit up. “Hey, don’t move too much, you’re still bleeding.” He scolded, his tone a little firmer than before.
“I’m fine. Just a scratch.” You slurred, waving a dismissive hand at him, but the motion caused your vision to spin even more.
Leo rolled his eyes. "Your ‘scratch’ is making a pretty convincing argument for staying still.”
You smirked at him, dramatically clutching your side. “You’re not exactly looking peachy either, Fix-It Felix.” You retorted and stuck your tongue out slightly.
He snorted, trying to hide the flush that was creeping up to his neck. “Who even says ‘peachy’ anymore?”
“Shut up,” you snickered, the sound of your voice almost foreign to your ears. “I feel sick, dude.”
“I had no idea,” he muttered sardonically, but his voice was fond. He tried to sit up again, this time a little slower, his jaw clenching against the pain.
You watched him, your head tilted to the side. It was strange seeing him like this—vulnerable, worn down. Usually, he was the one with the jokes, the quick fix, and the endless energy. But now... now he looked like he was on the verge of collapse.
“Leo,” you began, but he interrupted you with a shake of his head.
“Don’t,” he said, his voice strained. “Don’t start with the sympathy. I’m fine.”
You frowned, and reached out a shaking hand towards him. “But you're not fine. Let me—”
He grabbed your wrist before you could even touch him, his grip surprisingly strong for someone who looked like they could barely hold themselves together. His eyes met yours, a mixture of frustration and something else you couldn’t seem to place. “Don’t, okay? Just... don’t.” He managed to say, his eyes narrowed slightly.
You blinked. “Leo...”
His grip on your wrist loosened, and he sighed, his expression softening. “Sorry, I just— I can’t believe we made it out of there. I honestly thought we were—" He cut himself off, looking away, his jaw clenching.
“Thought we were goners?” You finished for him, your voice light to mask the unease creeping up your spine. “You thought we were goners?”
“Yeah. I’m starting to think my body’s just giving up on me.” He admitted in a mutter.
“No,” you said firmly, and sat upright, despite the dizzines that followed. You ignored his protests and shuffled closer, a glint of determination in your bleary eyes. “You’re too stubborn for that, remember?” You reminded with a cheeky grin, resting a weary arm atop his shoulder.
He laughed breathily. “Right, because stubbornness fixes everything.”
You poked his arm, hard enough to which he winced. “It’s worked so far, hasn’t it?”
Leo looked at you, really looked at you, and for a moment, the world seemed to pause. The tension, the pain, the exhaustion—they melted away, leaving just the two of you in this strange, quiet bubble.
“Yeah,” he murmured, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “It has.”
Your smirk formed into a full-blown grin, leaning your shoulder against his. “See? We’re invincible.”
“More like idiots who don’t know when to quit.” He teased, but there was warmth in his voice, a softness that made your heart do an odd little flip.
A noncommittal noise escaped your lips, your eyes closed to emphasize your mock-ignorance. “Can’t we be both?”
He chuckled. "Sure, why not?”
For a while, neither of you spoke, content to just sit there in each other's company, the world fading into the background. The pain was still there, but it felt more distant now, like it was something that belonged to someone else.
After what felt like hours, Leo finally broke the silence, his voice quiet. “You know...” He trailed off, his eyes glancing toward you. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
“Are you getting sappy on me Valdez?”
“Shut up, I’m being serious.”
“I know, I’m just shitting on you,” You replied softly. You reached out, this time more slowly, and placed a hand on his knee. He didn’t pull away, just watched you with those tired, yet somehow still bright eyes. “I’m glad you’re okay too. And that’s not the wine talking.”
He smiled, a genuine smile that made your heart flutter in a way that had nothing to do with the lingering effects of your father’s wine.
“Maybe we should stop getting ourselves nearly killed.” He suggested playfully, tilting his head slightly closer to yours.
“Nah, where’s the fun in that?” You snorted.
Leo groaned and weakly pushed your face away. “You’re impossible.”
You shrugged and grinned cheekily, folding almost numb arms beneath your chest. “And yet you still put up with me.” You shot back, rolling your eyes.
He sighed deeply with mock-exhaustion, almost like he had no choice but to, and leaned his head back against the tree behind him. “Yeah, I do.”
Albeit, the way he said it made your heart skip a beat, and for a moment, you wondered if there was something more behind those words. But then he looked at you, and the familiar spark of mischief was back in his eyes.
“So,” he began. “About the peachy thing—”
“Shut up.”
“Make me.” He challenged and shift closer to you, a grin spreading across his worn out face.
You huffed, but the corners of your mouth were fighting to lift upwards. “Maybe I will.”
He raised an eyebrow, gazing at you like no one had ever before. “Yeah? How?”
You tapped your chin, feigning a moment of reverie, then leaned in close. “By surviving the next mission together.”
Leo blinked, the playful glint in his eyes fading into something softer. He turned his head slightly just enough that you could see the tender expression on his face. “Deal,” he said softly, a faint tint of bright red spreading across his cheeks.
You nodded with a smile, and settled back against him, placing your elbow atop his shoulder. And for the first time forever—you allowed yourself to relax.
Maybe you were both idiots, too stubborn for your own good, but as long as you had each other, you figured you could survive anything.
Even if you were just friends for now.
