#doo

Percy and Annabeth come back for the winter holidays. By then, Nico and Will have also returned from their visit to Camp Jupiter, but neither Jason nor Leo has stopped coming to visit Camp every weekend. Jason is happy to have more people to hang out with because Leo really is on his last straw.

He knows this isn't the worst situation he could be in—those were the months when he thought his time with Ara was limited, and after that, when he couldn't get back to her, then, when he had to leave her. This is the opposite of that, and is the opposite to the extreme that it hurts the same.

"Dennis, I can beg," Leo says, chasing the little cherub as he purposely ignores him. "It's been a month, dude. You're too young to understand, but I swear on your mother—"

"I am not too young to understand my mother's work," Dennis says in that self-assured manner that he's copied from Ara. "It's you who can't appreciate the artistry of what my sister is doing."

Leo wants to answer that he cannot, but it's not for lack of interest. It's just hard to enjoy crumbs when he's had the full meal many times before. He's a young man of seventeen, and Ara's expecting too much of his self-control.

"If you help me out," he continues, getting in the boy's way, "I'll make you a sword. Not just any sword, a sword like Almighty. It'll be able to turn into a pocket watch. Stylish. Yeah?" Leo smiles when he sees Dennis's interest. "Make sure I get a whole thirty minutes alone with your sister, and you get a shield with that—"

"This is embarrassing."

Leo curses under his breath at the sound of Lily's voice. "And you're snooping! Don't make me throw fireballs at you, again."

"Leave us, Dennis."

The little boy smiles teasingly at Leo before going away to Arts & Crafts. Leo's head falls as he lets out a tired sigh, then he faces Lily. "I thought we were past this." He gestures vaguely between them. "I'm not getting in the way, Ara is toying with me, and you know it."

"Yeah," Lily raises a brow. "You should be grateful that you met her at the time you did; you only got her 'cause she needed male comfort. Otherwise, she would've done this to you since the start, and far longer than a month. She had nothing to do before getting her promotion."

"You say the sweetest things to me," Leo hesitates, wanting to ask something that's been in his mind for years. "Hey, Lily... Do you think she would've noticed me then?"

The girl looks at him with genuine surprise. "Leo, I might not think you deserve Ara, but that's besides the point. I do not think anyone is good enough for Ara. She wouldn't have just noticed you; she would've been obsessed. You're everything she always wanted."

Leo's heard many praises about his relationship with the Aphrodite, but coming from Lily, it holds far more meaning. He blushes, a smile fighting to get out. "Thanks." And then, because this feels like a truce between the two, "I'm really glad she has you as best friend, too. There is no one I'd trust more to share her with."

Lily glances at her nails, unbothered, but he can see the deep blush on her neck. "I can be gracious, Flame boy. And I can help—if you're willing to make a deal?"

Leo doesn't even stop to think. "You've got my attention, dead eyes."

Percy and Ara are hanging out with Mrs. O'Leary and Pollo, the young man is enjoying his role as older brother like he hadn't been able to for the past six months, trying to make her feel bad about teasing Leo. 

"Don't you think you're being mean?"

Ara rolls her eyes, braiding Mrs. O'Leary's tail. "He likes it."

"He bears it. Because he trusts you, and knows you're not leading him on, but jeez, Birdy, your Aphrodite is showing."

"That is the point, Nemo. Once it's warmer—"

"Warmer," Percy knows his sister enough to catch her slip. "So you're not toying with him because of the thrill; you don't want to get tossed into the lake during winter again!"

Ara blushes. "I—"

Percy laughs. "I'm gonna tell Annabeth. Actually, I'm gonna tell everyone, just like you used to go around telling my business."

"It wasn't like that! You were just obvious!"

"You're a matchmaker!"

"I didn't need soul lights to see how smitten you were!" She tosses him a furball.

"Ara, listen, sometimes in life we have to endure what gets thrown at us," he says with feigned solemnity. "Whether that's a Great Prophecy, or to always be soaked in icy water."

"Ohh, count your days!" She jumps off the hellhound to throttle her brother.

The siblings begin a heated combat that ends on a scraped knee and a very concerned brother. Once Kayla leaves them alone in the infirmary after healing Ara's boo-boo on Percy's insistence, he speaks again, this time seriously. "You gotta stop torturing him, Birdy. I'm sure even Aphrodite can agree that you've done the right of passage well enough a thousand times over."

"Fine," she gives in, leaning on his side. 

Her brother slips an arm around her shoulders, smiling proudly at her, and lovingly ruffles her hair. If there's anyone who can make her do things, that's Percy. Some things never change.

Ara goes to her cabin to fetch a warmer hoodie for the campfire, when Leo's voice stops her as she reaches the top two steps of the entrance. "You used to visit me." 

She spots him leaning against the railing of his own cabin. The place is deserted, so he doesn't need to raise his voice to be heard across.

"When you were a goddess, I mean. I thought I was imagining things, but no. The more I'm around you, the more I'm sure of it. You might not remember it, but I know you were there."

The boy triggers a memory hidden deep in her mind. Leave it to Leo to find a way to give her one final regression. Ara smiles. "You're a prolific rap performer."

He gapes. "You're sick in the head. I thought you'd try to deny it at least for the sake of decency." He begins his way down the steps of his cabin.

Ara shrugs. She's told him about Reyna, obviously, and he'd been sort of cool about it, but it had been during one of their calls, when they were still learning to be friends. Thanks to many talks like that one, she doesn't feel remorseful around him. If he wants to know things, he is free to ask, and she'll tell him everything.

"I also managed to get a hold of that scroll that got lost, the one I never got when you went to rescue Calypso. It was sweet, and it would've helped me a lot while you were gone—you always knew how to make me feel better..." She gets bashful. "Perhaps that's why I tried to keep my distance as a goddess. I didn't want to feel good about myself."

"Well, that's one creepy way to keep your distance... But I get it. If I'd had powers like yours, I would've tried to keep an eye on you for sure," Leo says as he makes his way towards her.

The girl softens, turning on the steps to face him properly. "I would've never asked you to do that."

"I would've done it anyway. I mean, there were moments I felt like straight up garbage—I missed you, so, so, much. I was angry, but I never regretted you," he shrugs. "I was never going to move on, even if it meant waiting a lifetime."

She watches him get closer, and then he's there, at the steps of her cabin. He climbs one, two, and his hand reaches for hers on the railing. "I'm always thinking about you," he says, gently rubbing her wrist, right over her pulse point and the scar. "And when you came back and kept quiet..."

"I just..." Ara stares at his thumb moving in slow, dizzying circles. "I didn't know where I'd fit in your life anymore..."

Leo lifts her hand and presses it over his heartbeat. "Right here. The same place you've always been." He holds her chin with his other hand, climbing another step. "Stop acting like I don't know you, like you're not the brave, nurturing, beautiful girl you've always been. I love that girl tonight. I'll love her tomorrow..."

He climbs onto the next step to be face-to-face, a breath away from her lips, and Ara starts to question if the water would even feel that cold with him in it.

"I want us to be the reason I breathe, and what makes my heart race," he smirks. "I want to be your favorite person to torture. I want the house, the pet lion, the bronze dragon, a handful of babies with our eyes and hair, and another handful of adopted ones making our lives loud and chaotic, and full of you..."

Oh, how she loves it when he speaks like that. Ara places a shaky hand on his shoulder, relishing his warmth. Leo's curls begin to steam. "Be cool," she warns him, bumping noses. "I've got no fireproof skin now..."

"Then stop stressing me out," he mutters, chasing her mouth.

She pulls back an inch to torment him a little longer, smiling. "Are you ever going to change?"

"You like it when I grovel," Leo replies, towering over her so decidedly that Ara's back gets pressed against the handrail, and suddenly his grovelling feels less like so, and more like a command that turns her into putty.

"Like it? I love you."

Leo's body goes limp when she caves and kisses him, injecting pure ecstasy into his bones. All those years spent waiting for someone to find and care for them were all worth it in a single moment, and the longing to be needed is fulfilled in the way they hold each other. It steadies them at once, like a screw twisting firmly into place.

Leo pulls away, beaming, and kisses both her cheeks before returning to her mouth. He pulls her as close as he can get her, burying one hand in her deliriously heavy and soft hair, and whispers against her lips. 

"Again."

Leo is weirdly adamant on attending the campfire, no matter how hard Ara tries to coax him into sneaking somewhere else. But as soon as they step into the amphitheater holding hands, and she sees the evil intent in her friends' expressions, she halts and looks at Leo like he's just stabbed her.

"You traitor."

"Aw, man! Can't believe it," Connor groans, handing over a couple of drachmas to Lily.

"It's nighttime!" Ara whines, backtracking.

Leo smiles apologetically, but not really. "I'm sorry, doll. I made a deal with Lily."

"Nico and Connor thought it'd happen if they asked Jason and Leo to come, but I told them you were going to find a way to make things difficult," Lily rolls her eyes. "Amateurs."

"We had to soften you up," Percy says, grinning.

"So all your big brother talk was just to manipulate me into this?"

Percy looks at Annabeth, who's laughing. "Aren't you proud of me?"

Ara lets go of Leo's hand. "I don't love you anymore—"

"Birdy, you're crazy about me!" The boy winks, then turns and uses his hands as a megaphone to give the announcement. "She said yes to the lake!"

The uproar it causes is almost scary when waves of campers rush out of their seats and hoist her and Leo up, carrying them to the canoe lake.

January

It's picture day for the year-rounders. Ara found the camera in the attic and decided they needed to update Chiron's wall. Right now, she's taking the picture of the newest Aphrodite-Hephaestus duo.

"Move to the left!" Ara gestures. "There! Okay, say cheese!"

Harley places one arm around the Aphrodite's shoulders and holds up the shield he made for his friend. Dennis is holding the sword Leo—with Ara's assistance—made for him, same pose as Ara in her Daughter of Olympus shot.

"Connor and Lily next!" Leo hollers and dodges the punch that the girl tries to aim at him.

Nico and Ara second it, but what really convinces Lily is Connor's imploring puppy eyes. Ara takes the shot when Connor leans in and plants a firm kiss on the girl's cheek. Everyone coos and teases them, and the girl blushes so hard she hides behind Connor's protective frame to not be seen. 

"I want five copies of that!" He jokes, before turning from the crowd to soothe his girlfriend.

"You next," Leo says, taking the camera from Ara. "Chiron's got a picture of you before the daughter of Olympus thing, and another being one. Don't you want people to know you made it out alive?"

"I don't think future campers will care if I lived or died," she says, flustered.

"You got me, officer. I only want more pictures of my girlfriend," Leo raises his hands in surrender, but his tone is heavily sardonic. "C'mon, just get in there."

Before Leo can take the picture, Jason takes the camera and pushes him closer to Ara. "Let the two forge chiefs share the spotlight!"

"Oh, I'm not—"

"Shut up," Leo pulls her close by the waist. Something stirs in her lower belly at the unexpected muscle she feels when he tenses his arm. "You're my right-hand woman, always and forever. Masters of unlikely, Firecracker and Birdy—right?"

She slips her arm under his and leans her chin on his shoulder with a loving smile. 

"You got it." A flash goes off, and Ara protests. "I wasn't ready!"

"Take one like this!" Leo tilts her body back, again in an impressive display of strength, and kisses her like they're in a romcom.

Ara holds onto his face, kissing him back, with the glow of their soul lights filtering under her lashes, but it's hard to keep it going with how much they're smiling. Leo pulls her back up and talks to Jason while Ara stares at him with a love-drunk gaze. "That one's for my eyes only."

"Trust me, no one wants to see that again," Nico replies, but gives them the tiniest of grins right after.

"One last try!" Jason announces. "Say cheese!"

"One last try," Leo nods, looking back at her with bright eyes. "Ready, sunshine?"

She beams. "Ready."

July

In Chiron's office, ten new pictures are hung up on his wall. One is the candid Jason took of Leo and Ara: they're hugging, staring into each other's eyes with devotion. Ara's chin on his shoulder, smiling not as wildly as when she was thirteen, nor as demurely as in her General attire. She radiates joy nonetheless, smitten and content with where she's standing. Leo appears to have the mischief of old in his crooked grin, but his energy no longer means danger, only highlights the clever young man he is. Together, they make one of the finest pairs on Chiron's wall. 

At least that's what Leo thinks as he admires the picture. He remembers the first time he saw Ara's photograph, and all the times he thought she was out of his league. Looking at their candid, he feels nothing but the same satisfaction that comes after fixing a particularly tricky engine. Then his eyes dart to Michael Yew's picture, and his smile softens.

"Hey, man," he speaks in a whisper, "I don't think I ever said this—but thank you. For everything." He taps the frame gently. "It's my turn now, alright? I'll make her happy, you can count on it."

Outside, summer is starting, Lily and Connor are leaving for their first road trip of many, and Ara can tell it'll become a thing; she's excited for them. Nico and Will are somewhere in Camp, rounding up the new demigods to make sure everyone has gotten here safely. They've taken over the duties Lily and Ara used to have by their own free will, since they're both happy year-rounders. 

The girls still take care of the archery and lava wall lessons, and Ara is still the head counselor, but only until she graduates High school, which is in a year from now. She will always have her demigods in mind wherever she goes, and will Iris-message them every week, but it is time she starts doing things for herself, too.

She still has one last thing to do for others, though, and she goes up into the attic for what might be the last time in her life. Ara feels a strange sense of finality whilst being there; Mr. D told her to find a way to close the whole "servant of the world" chapter of her life, and Leo's idea to leave a letter for the next child of Olympus had fitted the task nicely. 

She pulls out her box from the shelf, then grabs her letter, and unfolds it to read it out loud:

"Dear children of Olympus," she starts, a goosebump running up her spine at the way her voice seems to fill the attic. "For as long as I could remember, I always felt like I was looking for something. I believe now that to be the drive of life—to always want more than you have. And if you're a C.o.D, then that means you've got a hunger that's going to be difficult to handle. Ambition can be risky, and blind loyalty towards your sponsors is a one-way road. I was cruel, careless, and hurt many people. I suffered a lot, too. I still think you can find ways to be happy.

"You can fall in love, have friends, family, say 'I love you' when you feel it, and fight for someone even if they scream at you to go away. Don't say this to your demigods, for they need faith to live well, but you need to know that if it comes between a place amongst gods or a place amongst humans, you should go home. What saved me when my time came was the love of mortals who knew me, and the love I still had to give.

"Hercules told me we are destined to lose. Eros told me all children of Olympus surrender to him. What I tell you is let yourself live. Love will keep you safe, and you'll never lose what truly matters if you feed it well.

Good luck out there, Strategus,

I wish you joy,

-Arae Jackson." 

December

The small group of people enter in a choir of laughter and simmering energy. They've just come home from the last game of the season, where they watched Ara captain the cheerleaders one last time before the holidays. Lily and Connor left early for their roadtrip, so that left an empty spot Leo was happy to fill at once.

"I will be taking that bundle now, son," Paul says, removing a sleeping Estelle from Leo's grasp. He loves to hold her while they're out; he's also always the warmest. "You two enjoy the rest of your night."

Leo stretches his arms. "Thanks, Mr. Blofis."

"Thank you," Sally teases him. "You're the only one who can get her to fall asleep before 8 pm."

"It's because he tires her out," Ara says jokingly, kissing her mother's flushed cheek. "All that yapping about how the scoreboard and the confetti canon work, it's a miracle her brain hasn't doubled in size yet!"

Paul comes to her and kisses her cheek. "She's lucky to have so many intelligent people around her." He nods at the kitchen. "Cookies are in the oven, your mother and I are going to bed, but feel free to stay up and celebrate that you're the best cheer captain Goode's had in ages. And if you're watching TV, just keep it at a low volume so it doesn't wake the princess."

"Got it," Leo salutes the man. "I'll have Ara all tucked in by midnight, sir."

Ara's parents wish them a good night and leave them alone, but the teens don't go too crazy with the freedom. Truth is, to have both adults put their trust in them like that makes them not want to try to get away with more than they'd be doing if her parents were still in the same room. 

The only thing Leo does as soon as they leave is that he takes her hand, twirls her to see her skirt move, whistles lowly to make her laugh, and pulls her into a short kiss before letting go. Ara goes to change into her pj's while Leo gets the cookies, but instead of the living room, they decide to meet in the fire escape outside her bedroom.

Leo goes into the room to change into some cozy sweats and a worn hoodie, taking a moment to appreciate all the trophies, medals, and pictures Lily, Connor, and Ara have gathered over the last year and a half, just like those Jason, Cal, and Leo got during their junior and senior year, and are now kept in the Waystation. Messy rooms remind him of the one he had at his mother's workshop. They always feel like home. He spots his crayon drawing of the Argo II, now surrounded by dozens of pictures of him and Ara together, sharing a life. This is home.

Ara joins him in the fire escape with an agility Leo is proud to witness. She's made progress over the last eighteen months, can climb as fast as before, and uses Almighty as well as always, but her workshop skills are the biggest triumph. The girl chose to learn one step at a time, and now she's an amazing mechanic.

Right now, however, she doesn't care about any of that. All she cares about is smothering Leo with as many kisses as she possibly can, all snuggled up in a thick blanket. She's on her knees with her arms around his neck, celebrating their approaching first proper anniversary.

"We did it!" She exclaims, flushed and elated. "A whole year together!"

Leo laughs and lets her do whatever she wants to him. "And we've come far, doll. I'm proud of you."

"And I of you," Ara says with an easy smile. "Though I must say I don't get nearly as much praise as Estelle when she does the bare minimum, and I've done quite well this year, wouldn't you agree? I continue to be perfectly ordinary."

"For what it's worth, you're still a goddess in my eyes," he says, setting her sideways on his lap and wrapping the blanket tighter around her. "I have no problem being your only worshipper, though."

She tilts her head as if contemplating it. "If we count Apollo, Meg, Dennis, or Harley, you're far from being the only—"

"Don't ruin it, you little shit." Leo cuts her giggles short with a kiss. "Others may esteem you, but it's me you're riding with into the sunset. Once you finish High School, I'm coming to get ya. Why d'you think I didn't go off to college? So we can start our happily ever after as soon as possible."

Ara smiles, nuzzling his face. "And once we get that, then what?"

"Well," he brushes their mouths together. "I remember someone promising to marry me if she lived long enough to turn eighteen..."

"I didn't say I'd marry you as soon as I turned eighteen," she mumbles into the kiss, "I only said you could, eventually..."

"You just love breaking my heart with technicalities, don't you?"

Ara snorts, sitting up to kiss him again, and again. "Fine. We'll marry right after I graduate. I don't think anyone will oppose, and I don't see myself changing my mind about you a year from now."

"Never," he grins, arms wrapping snuggly around her. "We belong together, Arae."

"That we do, Leónidas," she says, kissing him for the hundredth time. "Would you be my date to prom?"

Leo laughs. "Aren't I supposed to ask you? Also, isn't that for another five months or so?"

"I waited when it was your prom. But it's my prom now. Also, I'm impatient."

"And unromantic."

The girl gasps. "How dare you say that to an Aphrodite?"

"Arae Jackson, would you be my prom date again?" He leans in, pressing his mouth to hers as he continues. "And then be my fianceé, and after that, the love of all my lives forever and ever?"

"Yes," Ara nuzzles his face once more, glowing as bright as a lighthouse. "That's all I want."

"Then you'll have it, sunshine," Leo holds her face for a real kiss, and looks into those eyes he's fallen for in every single one of his lifetimes. "We make things happen."

FIN

And it's done! 😭

Guys, I'm gonna get sappy but Ara's tale actually turns 10 years old in 2026, and it's such a dear story to me bc it's something my best friend and I used to yap about throughout high school, it's thanks to her that I met Leo, and I love her so much for making me consume media that we can both share and love together, ily Lily <3

Ara is the last OC I'll be writing a fanfic of (for now, at least) and I'm glad I wrote her last, I love her, I love what I created, and I know I'll be reading her in another ten years from now, if only just to remember simpler times with my best friend.

Thank you for reading it, too! I hope we meet again, maybe with something original, hopefully very soon 🥰

-Danny

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