We've Got You

I don't know what it is with me lately, but I'm obsessed with Leo. And Solangelo. Just yes.

I don't own Percy Jackson. Guy bonding is my new favorite thing.

GENERAL POV

It took all of the energy the son of Hephaestus had just to get up at the crack of dawn and start making the rounds of his ship, ensuring that Festus was still in working order and that the ship and the demigods inside of it would not go crashing to their doom anytime soon.

It wasn't made any easier knowing that he was the only one who knew how to operate the ship, aside from Annabeth. While Percy could always control the ship if it was on the ocean, being in the air was another matter. Jason was unable to hold it in the air (they had tried; it had ended with screaming, a couple of startled seagulls, and a water explosion the height of the Empire State Building) and if Leo ever wasn't there, he knew the ship would collapse.

The boy sighed dejectedly and slumped against the railing, staring out at the sun as it peeked its way over the horizon. Apparently Apollo was still doing his job of pulling the sun around the world, though Leo couldn't see how it mattered much.

The troubled teenager ran a hand through his dark, curly hair and dropped his gaze to the water below him, his heart heavy as his mind replayed the words that Nemesis had told him several days ago.

You will always be the outsider, the seventh wheel. You will never find a place among your brethren.

He knew it was true; it was already painfully apparent that everyone on board the Argo 2, except for him, was romantically involved with someone else on the ship. Percy and Annabeth (though his only feelings towards the girl were brotherly), Hazel and Frank (kind of; the two could barely hold hands without turning the color of a tomato), and Jason and Piper (again, brotherly feelings).

Leo sighed and sank his head into his hand, his eyes gazing at the dark gray water underneath him.

He was always cast aside. He was a pawn in this giant game of chess, nothing more. The gods used him, and except for the ship, he felt he had no purpose being amongst such a powerful group of demi-gods.

Sure, he could summon fire. But after learning about Frank's whole "stick life line" problem the day before, he felt even more certain that his stupid fire was a mere burden.

Leo raised his head and rubbed his eyes, trying to rid them of the prickling sensation that had become all too familiar to him over the last couple of days. He glanced behind him at Festus, noting that the ship was running smoothly for the moment.

Would it actually matter if I was gone?

The repair boy shook his head quickly, trying to rid his mind of the thought. Surely someone would miss him if he was gone.

That wasn't the question.

No, it wasn't. The question was, would it matter?

Leo took a shaky breath, fighting back tears, and he walked over to the mast quietly, scurrying up the tall wooden beam in several seconds and sitting silently in the crow's nest, succumbing to the tears that he had been holding in since the encounter with Nemesis.

He had gotten his own mother killed. He had probably terrified Frank out of his mind and who knew; maybe one day, Leo would accidentally kill Frank, too.

"Shut up," he growled at himself. "You know that won't happen."

Don't you?

Leo groaned and drew his knees up to his chin, pulling at his hair anxiously and shaking as he tried to calm down.

What had he done, honestly, to help this quest? Made a stupid ship?

Leo scoffed and punched the wood, cursing when the pain vibrated up and down his arm. Yeah, and then he had gone and blown up the Roman camp with it.

"Idiot," Leo hissed, clenching and unclenching his throbbing hand.

He took a breath and scrambled back down to the deck of the boat, stalking over to the railing and looking over the edge again.

The ocean glimmered in the early morning light, flashing bright rainbow colors at him from several hundred miles below. Hitting the water at this distance would be like hitting solid concrete.

Leo glanced back at where the door led to the lower decks, where the couples were all sleeping. Hesitating for only a moment, he unbuckled his prized tool belt and laid it gently on the deck, rummaging around in one of the pockets and pulling out a pen and notepad.

He bit his lip and sat cross legged, his mind and heart equally heavy as he started writing.

I'm not a poet. My dad is Hephaestus, not Apollo.

But good luck with the rest of the mission, guys. You don't need me. Aside from the ship, I am really pretty useless…Annabeth, you know how to work it. And Percy, if it's in the water, I have faith that you can control it.

I'm sorry I started the war between the camps. Frank, I'm sorry you thought I was such a threat. I never meant to hurt anyone. But I hurt everyone, even my own mother.

Leo bit his lip and blinked back tears, sniffing and clutching the pen more tightly in his fingers, his shaking hands making it difficult to continue to write.

Guess that's it. I'm sorry I'm such a screw up.

Nemesis did say I would never find a place. Not here. Maybe I can find one somewhere in the Underworld.

Leo

The inventor shuddered and folded the note carefully, tossing the pen and notepad back into the tool pouch and tucking the note underneath the pouch so that it wouldn't blow away.

He stood up, his legs wobbly, and stared over the railing once more. Leo sighed, making up his mind, and pulled himself over the railing, standing on the tiny little lip of wood that ran around the perimeter of the rail.

His clenched hands turned white and he looked up at the early morning sky, thinking that if he was going to die, this was the sight to do it to.

He lowered his gaze to the watery grave below him and gave a shaky smile. "I'll see you soon, mama. Maybe you can forgive me."

No sooner had he jumped than sturdy fingers wrapped around his wrist, causing Leo to slam hard into the side of the Argo 2, his shoulder screaming in pain as it popped out of place.

Leo grimaced, biting down on his lip in pain as he raised his eyes.

Scared blue irises stared back at him, filled with terror and concern, and the lip with the tiny scar crossing it trembled as Jason shook, tears pouring down his cheeks.

"Jason," Leo whispered, gulping. "Please. Let me go."

The son of Jupiter shook his head. "No way in Hades am I letting you go, man."

Leo started to protest, but Jason glared him into silence, risking letting go of Leo with one hand to control the winds.

A gentle caress lifted Leo over the edge of the railing and onto the deck of the Argo 2, where Jason immediately dropped to his knees and pulled his friend into a hug, shaking violently. "Gods, Leo, what in Neptune's name were you thinking?" he whispered.

Leo pulled away from Jason and looked towards his tool belt, gesturing to the note and pulling his knees to his chin, resigning himself to silence as Jason scooted to the note, a wary eye staying on his friend at all times.

Jason's bright blue eyes skimmed the note and his fingers clenched tightly as he risked a glance at Leo. "How…could you think any of this is true, Leo?" the boy whispered.

He tossed the note to the side and scooted back over to Leo, pulling him once again into a hug. "Gods, Leo, if you weren't here…."

His voice cracked and the pain in it finally broke something in Leo. He burst into tears, long heaving sobs that seemed as if they would never end, and the two boys clutched at each other, Jason rubbing Leo's back soothingly and Leo trembling so badly that Jason was afraid he would black out.

Footsteps alerted Jason to the fact that they were no longer alone, and he glanced up, meeting the startled sea foam green eyes that belonged to Percy. The son of the sea god stared at the two, dumbfounded. "What happened?" he whispered anxiously.

Jason nodded to the note on the ground, still rubbing Leo's back. The fiery young Latino seemed oblivious to Percy's presence, but Jason watched Percy carefully as he picked up the paper and read it intently, his hands shaking before he had reached the end.

The note slid to the floor, forgotten, as Percy dropped to the ground next to the two and embraced them, the comforting smell of salt water surrounding the odd trio of friends.

"Leo," Percy choked out. "Gods, man, don't you ever think that we don't need you. Seriously. We wouldn't have gotten this far without you."

Jason nodded in agreement, looking at Percy gratefully. "Leo, without you, I would have been eaten by a Cyclops a long time ago. And so would Piper. We wouldn't have freed Hera without you, or even been able to start this quest without you."

Leo's shaking slowed and he looked up at the two, his eyes bloodshot as he took in the tear streaked sincerity of his friend's faces.

"I just…I hurt more than I help. I'm the odd one out," he rasped, his voice hoarse from crying.

Percy shook his head rapidly, his black hair swinging. "Leo. You don't hurt. Not on purpose. You were being controlled. So were Jason and I."

"And you are not the odd one out," Jason added, holding up his hands as Leo looked at him with a glare that would make Hephaestus himself cower. "Okay, maybe on this ship. But Leo, you fit in with us just fine. And you'll find someone."

"Without you," Percy whispered, his eyes shining with tears, "this quest will fail."

He and Jason glanced at one another and then back at Leo. "We would fail," the two murmured in unison.

"You're my best friend, man," Jason said, his voice cracking again. "I can't….I can't lose you."

Percy placed a gentle hand on Leo's shoulder. "And bro, I just met you. I barely know you. I was hoping you and I would become good friends before we finished this war."

Leo stared at the two for a long time, reading in their eyes and voices the absolute sincerity with which they spoke. He hadn't been spoken to in that way in quite some time. Not since his mother had….

Leo choked back a sob and buried his face into the shoulder closest to him, Percy's. The teen rolled with it, wrapping his arms around his friend in a tight hug.

"We've got you," Jason said quietly, joining the hug once more. "We've always got you, bro."

The sons of Poseidon and Jupiter glanced at one another over Leo's head, agreeing silently with their eyes that for the time being, no one else need know of Leo's massive melt down.

The three sat in silence, the only sounds breaking the early morning calm the sniffles of a boy and the comforting murmurs of two of his best friends.

Wow. I have no clue where I pulled that from.

Review! I'm going to bed, and I'd love a full inbox when I wake up!