Of Demigods and Monsters (Leo Valdez x Reader)

Leo

Leo was practically living that moment over and over again. The look that Y/n gave him right before Khione gutted her and they fell off the crater into the crevice in the earth.

He could swear someone was holding him back. Perhaps Jason or Piper, but it was like he was clawing to get out of those open helicopter doors. Something wet slipped down his chin, and he realized he was crying.

The moment that Y/n and Khione had fell off that ridge, the blizzard around them just stopped. It was like all the snow stopped in mid air and just drifted to the ground in soft flurries. Bright sunlight greeted them and at that moment, Leo hated it.

Hands pulled him back and someone closed the helicopter door, cutting off the loud wind and somewhat dulling the noise of the chopping blades.

"I'm sorry kid," Coach Hedge said. He looked sincere, but Leo could care less.

Jason gave Piper a look. Both were clearly in shock over the recent events, and Piper was crying. She hugged Jason, crying into his shoulder, but Leo didn't have anyone to hug.

"She gave her life so we could get away," Jason admitted. It was true. They would have never been able to get away if that snow storm had continued. But they still had a job to do.

It took only a few words to convince ranger pilot that it would be a good idea to fly them to the Oakland airport.

"No," Piper's dad muttered. "Piper, what— there were monsters—there were monsters— and that girl who was she?"

"It'll be okay, Dad," the way she said it made Leo know that she was charmspeaking. He almost believed it himself, but not when his best friend was... he didn't even want to think about it.

"These people are my friend," Piper continued. "We're going to help you. You're safe now."

He blinked, and looked up at helicopter rotors. "Blades. They had a machine with so many blades. They had six arms ..."

"That guy okay?" Asked the pilot from the front, peering over her shoulder at them.

"Just smoke inhalation," Jason said.

"We should get him to a hospital," the pilot said.

"It's okay," Piper said. "The airport is good."

"Yeah, the airport is good," the pilot agreed immediately. Then she frowned, as if uncertain why she'd changed her mind. "Isn't he Tristan McLean, the movie star?"

"No," Piper said. "He only looks like him. Forget it."

"Yeah," the pilot said. "Only looks like him. I—" She blinked, confused. "I forgot what I was saying. Let's get going."

Leo felt numb. He wasn't really paying attention anymore. It was like losing his mom all over again. That day flashed in his mind. The mechanics shop that burned to the ground, but within it all, the guilt that it was all his fault.

"Piper." Mr. McLean grasped her hand and held on like he was afraid he'd fall. "It's you? They told me—they told me you would die. They said ... horrible things would happen."

"It's me, Dad." Piper's voice shook a little, but she grabbed onto we Dad's hand. "Everything's going to be okay."

"They were monsters," he said. "Real monsters. Earth spirits, right out of Grandpa Tom's stories—and the Earth Mother was angry with me. And the giant, Tsul'kälû, breathing fire—" He focused on Piper again, his eyes like broken glass, reflecting a crazy kind of light. "They said you were a demigod. Your mother was ..."

"Aphrodite," Piper said. "Goddess of love."

"I—I—" He took a shaky breath, then seemed to forget how to exhale. "I'm sorry, Pipes," he said. "That was your friend, wasn't it? She didn't make it."

"No," Piper was crying. "No she didn't."

In that moment, Leo instantly wished they never came to California, but instantly regretted it. Seeing Piper with her dad made him realize what a hero Y/n was. Leo tried not to look at them, there wasn't much privacy to give, but it would be enough. Leo barely realized that he was pulling things out of his tool belt to fiddle with.

"I didn't know about Mom," Piper told her dad. "Not until you were taken. When we found out where you were, we came right away. My friends helped me. No one will hurt you again."

Her dad couldn't stop shivering. "You're heroes—you and your friends. I can't believe it. You're a real hero, not like me. Not playing a part. I'm so proud of you, Pipes." But the words were muttered listlessly, in a semi-trance.

He gazed down on the valley, and his grip on Piper's hand went slack. "Your mother never told me."

"She thought it was for the best." Leo could almost sense the struggle in Piper's voice. Her dad was broken from all he had seen, and nine of them were sure he could ever be fixed.

Piper started telling him about all of their adventures, and Leo smiled sadly as she recounted all they had done. All the help they had received from Y/n.

As they passed over the hills into the East Bay, Jason tensed. He leaned so far out the doorway Leo was afraid he'd fall. Not that that would be a problem.

He pointed. "What is that?"

Leo looked down, but he didn't see anything interesting—just hills, woods, houses, little roads snaking through the canyons. A highway cut through a tunnel in the hills, connecting the East Bay with the inland towns.

"Where?" Piper asked.

"That road," he said. "The one that goes through the hills."

Piper picked up the com helmet the pilot had given her and relayed the question over the radio. The answer wasn't very exciting.

"She says it's Highway 24," Piper reported. "That's the Caldecott Tunnel. Why?"

Jason stared intently at the tunnel entrance, but he said nothing. It disappeared from view as they flew over downtown Oakland, but Jason still stared into the distance, his expression almost as unsettled as Piper's dad's.

"Monsters," her dad said, a tear tracing his cheek. "I live in a world of monsters."

"Yep," Leo muttered. "A world full of demigods and monsters."

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Bit of a shorter one, but I thought I'd get another one out there since I've been a little slow recently. Thank you all for the amazing comments. I read every single one of them.

Btw, you're not out of the story yet... so don't worry 😉