before we both turn into ghosts ┊p. mclean

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

Juno Luciano wasn't sure why she agreed to this. She wasn't sure why Leo looked at her like they were old friends instead of two people who had barely spoken, and she definitely wasn't sure why Piper's gaze kept flickering toward her like she was something to be solved.

Leo plopped onto a bench with a dramatic sigh. "Gods, I swear if they made tofu surprise again, I'm gonna—" He peeked over at the Hephaestus table. "Oh, thank Hephaestus, it's normal food tonight."

Piper sat across from him, barely listening. Her attention was on Juno, studying her the way someone might study a puzzle with a missing piece.

Juno ignored her. She grabbed a plate, muttered a quiet thanks to Hecate, and focused on her food.

Leo nudged her with his elbow. "So, how's camp life treating you? I mean, other than being a total combat prodigy and lurking in the shadows like some tragic antihero."

Juno didn't even look up. "That's a lot of words just to say how are you."

Leo grinned. "Yeah, but it's more fun this way."

She rolled her eyes but took a bite of food instead of snapping back. It was hard to be snarky to someone so.. Leo.

Piper finally spoke. "So, you knew eachother before camp?"

Juno tensed. She wasn't surprised by the question, but she hated the way it made her feel—like a thread being pulled too hard.

Leo answered for her. "Not knew knew. We were just in the same place at the same time, right?" He shot her a questioning look.

Juno nodded once. "Yeah. Just a place."

Piper didn't look convinced.

Juno shoved another bite of food into her mouth, chewing slowly. She wasn't about to explain herself—not here, not now.

The conversation shifted after that. Leo started rambling about Argo II upgrades, and Piper let him. Juno let herself fade into the background.

But every now and then, she caught Piper looking at her. Looking at her with those eyes she couldn't decode.

Juno didn't know what the fuck was going on, and she wasn't sure she wanted to.

The conversation drifted around her, something about celestial bronze plating and fireproof rigging, but Juno wasn't really listening. She picked at her food, feeling Piper's gaze on her again, heavy and searching.

Juno had spent most of her life being looked at in two ways: with suspicion or with indifference. But Piper's eyes held something else. Not quite distrust, not quite curiosity—something in between, like she was trying to map Juno out before she could disappear.

Juno did not care for being figured out.

"So," Piper said suddenly, voice light but deliberate. "How did you and Leo meet?"

Juno barely glanced up. "Does it matter?"

Piper tilted her head. "Maybe not. But it's interesting, don't you think? Out of all the demigods out there, the two of you just happened to end up in the same place before camp?"

Leo, oblivious, just shrugged. "Eh. Weird stuff happens all the time. Besides, it wasn't that big of a deal."

Juno shot him a look. Wasn't that big of a deal? He had no fucking idea.

Piper's fingers tapped against the table, tilting her head slightly. "What was it like?" Those eyes. Her eyes.

Juno stiffened. She didn't need to ask what it was. She knew.