Two years. that's how long the quest took. you sat on the back of the Motorcycle, Hayden, your nymph friend, was driving. originally it was supposed to be you, but after you burned your leg, you were in no condition to drive. you finally got back to camp. your foot was in a huge splint, covered in bandages and musty towels from a hotel you stopped at on the way home. the first person to run to you was your favorite sibling. they walked you to the infirmary, you'd be limping without their help. Hayden helped best he could as well, but his shoulder was basically blown. it was a hard fight, and the eight of you knew it would be a long few weeks of licking your wounds. Addie and Taylor were back at Camp Jupiter, and Hayden had decided to go to camp half blood, where he could finally be safe from the humans hunting him.

Alec, Connor, Jade, and Paige all surrounded you, making sure you were alright. hayden got treated on the other side of the room and the four of them each paced the room back and fourth to make sure the two of you were ok. you were exhausted, but you refused to go to sleep until you got to see him. Hayden knocked out, almost immediately. you were going strong until the gave you some melatonin, to make you sleep. which you did. for days in fact. the last time you'd gotten this much sleep was the week before you left for the quest. You woke up, Hayden at your side, his arm in a sling, and his shoulder wrapped in gauze and bandages. he was asleep, with his head leaning against his good shoulder. you sat up, making Hayden stir. "you're awake! god you look terrible." he says.

"oh shut up, cause you look so much better." you say, rubbing your eyes. you look down at your leg to find it there still. thankfully. it feels much better, but you know you're not out of the woods yet. Will walks in. "hiya, y/n long time no see! i'm glad you're awake." he said, bubbly. he turned to look for the wheelchair, as he was holding what you could only assume to be sign out papers, and when he did, you saw a huge purple bruise on his neck. you and Hayden shared a look, both chuckling at it. "thanks, Will. it's nice to see you too. and Nico's presence on your neck." you say, snickering. he slaps a hand over his neck, a blush rushing to his face rapidly.  "a-anyways, these are your sign out papers, just sign out and i'll go find that wheelchair, and those crutches." Will says, then exiting the room.

you and hayden chat a while after you sign out, before Hayden has a shirt flung over his head, and a wheelchair at the side of your bed. Will holds his hands out for the filled out papers and you hand them to him gladly. "make sure you get plenty of bed rest, and if you feel WELL ENOUGH-" Will said emphasis on well enough, because he knew how you could be, "you can try to start using the crutches. once you get to the crutches, it's a minimum month on them. and you have to come at least twice a day to redress your wound. that burn is nasty, so no dirty activities, roughhousing, basically anything you think is a good idea." Will says, giving you a knowing look. you groan. "yes mom." you say monotone-ly. he playfully scoffs, holding the wheelchair so you don't fall. he pushes you to your cabin.

on the way there you see the only familiar face that you'd been dying to see. Leo. he was training. a sword fight with percy, but evidently, powers weren't off the table as fire and water flew through the air, wild enough for the two of them to have the training deck to themselves as other camp members didn't want to get caught in the crossfire accidentally. you didn't try to stop by because first of all, mud. second of all, you knew Leo would have to come see you afterwards. you didn't wanna distract him from a fight he was doing so well in. you were wheeled to your bed, where a note was left on your pillow, clearly tampered with, as you knew how nosy your siblings could be.  after Will and Hayden left, you figured out it was from Leo. the note was written in a bit of a secret code the two of you had.

through corny poetry he'd told you to look in the box under your bed. you hadn't left a box under your bed, but once you reached down there, you felt one. a shoebox, that had clearly been in Bunker 9, and witness to some experiments Leo had performed. inside were letters, you wanted to read them, but you were just so tired. you just closed the box before you read any, sliding it back underneath your bed, and laying down. the books on the side of your bed were still there, you thought of picking one up before you blinked for a little too long, falling back asleep on top of the cold covers. once you woke up it was the next morning and you were starving. you sat up, dangling your feet off the bed, changing right there with the help of some of your siblings.

you were now deciding between the wheelchair, and the crutches. out of a moment of confidence, you chose the crutches. you walked(with the help of your crutches, and the occasional grab from your sibling, rebalancing you) to the dining hall. you sat at your old table, seeing Piper, Annabeth, Jason, and Percy there. you sat down, and the table went quiet. your siblings left you, and sat elsewhere. "hey guys." you say smiling at the four of them. they blankly stared at you. you were about to dig into your food, but stopped, setting your silverware on your plate. "what? see a ghost or something? was everyone acting this weird when you got back?" you joked, gesturing towards part of the former 7. "You're alive?!" Annabeth said.

you looked around confused, because yeah, unless you missed something, you were still alive. "uh...yeah?" you say almost like a question. "oh gods! Leo's gonna be so happy!" Piper says. "Wait you guys really thought i died?" you ask. "well, yeah. there was no word on your quest for a year and a half, and after that us along with leo just stopped trying to ask." Jason said. "yeah. we kinda got trapped in a secret underground society. after we fixed the temple, Alec and Connor set loose a totem spirit, and those guys are not fun. especially when they can take a physical form." you say, holding your leg up a bit to show them your burnt foot.

"that's so cool." Piper says. "awful, but so cool. so interesting." "yeah we had to spend a year in that society to find a way to put it back. we'd captured it but it kept breaking free." you say. "i've had enough prophecies in my day to not want to talk about this any more." percy says, looking tired even from thinking about a quest he didn't even go on. you understood because if you'd been doing quests since you were twelve, you'd be tired too. "anyway, where is he. he doesn't have a new girlfriend right? i mean with you guys thinking im dead." you ask. "piper and annabeth share a look. "no he kinda gave up on the idea. he's been depressed ever since he accepted it. but there's-" piper started, but it was too late.

you'd already seen them. some short haired blonde girl, talking to leo, looking at him like he'd given her the sun. you grabbed your necklace, it was missing the beads now, and the gold looked like it was spray painted in dirt, but you still wore it. he walked up, his tray in hand and a weak smile on his face. but you could tell he looked tired. "y/n look, there's a lot that needs to be explained, but-" "ouch." you say verbally.  "no, y/n it's really not what you think. Leo-" "y/n?" a familiar voice said from behind you. you turned around to be face to face with his puppy dog eyes. you used the table to stand up, grabbing one of your crutches, and turning to face him. he looked you up and down, his eyes immediately welling with tears, and a smile spreading across his face.

you looked at him and didn't know if you were hurt that he waltzed in here with some girl you'd never met, or relived that he knew it was you, and was showing some kind of emotion. his face lit up as a tear slid down his cheek. "Y/N!" he said, practically throwing his tray on the table and inspecting you, he helped you to your feet, making sure your crutch was near, then started kissing your cheeks, and your forehead. he'd grown a tiny bit of stubble on his chin, and it tickled when he kissed you. he pulled you away after drowning you in kisses to look at you, then pulling you in so close and fast you dropped your crutch forcing you to grab onto him in order to not strain your leg. you felt yourself crying too, because there he was, finally back in your arms again.

he pushed you away again, this time lifting you up and spinning you with a strength he hadn't had before. he lifted you with ease. you didn't know if it was because you got smaller, or he got stronger. the girl next to him looked at you, heartbreak evident in her eyes, as she settled down next to where leo had (gently) thrown his tray. he gently set you back on your foot, still unaware of your injured leg. "Are you okay? are you hurt? what can i do?" he interrogates.

"yeah, i got hurt, but i'm okay, i've gotten plenty of sleep since i've been back in camp." you say, smiling as he reaches over to grab your crutch. once you're balanced by yourself he picks up the one he knocked down, leaning it against the table. "how long have you been back?"he asks, staring at you, running his fingers over the scars you've gained since he saw you last. "oh about a week give or take." you hear a voice from your right side. It's Hayden, his tray in hand with a huge serving. Leo looks over confused, then back at you. "this is Hayden, Hayden, this is Leo." you say, introducing the two. "WAIT. this? this is Leo?" he asks, pure shock on his face. "yeah. it's him." you say, smiling. "oh let me say señor Valdez, it is SO nice to meet the urban legend, i was almost convinced y/n had made you up because she described you as some sort of fantasy man." he snickered. "this is why you don't have a girlfriend, Hayden, you're too obsessed with my love life." you say.

Leo looks between you two, then smiles, holding out his hand. "it's nice to meet you Hayden. thank you." he says. "for what?" Hayden asks blankly, grabbing Leo's hand and shaking it. "For bringing her back home." he says. "oh. well she's the one who saved me." he says. "multiple times." i add. "yeah, yeah, multiple times, we get it, y/n i'm a bottom." Hayden playfully rolls his eyes. you snicker at him. "anyways, who's this?" you ask, looking at the girl playing with her eggs on her plate. she looked up at you, not expecting you to already be looking at her. she jumps a little before introducing herself as Jasmine.

you smile at her, even though watching her walk through the door with your boyfriend was like licking sandpaper. "as i was saying, no he doesn't have some new secret girlfriend, because after he thought he lost you, you would be the second one to go so, he gave up." Piper finished. the girl on Leo's left looked down at her eggs like she was gonna cry. "piper, please don't talk about me like i'm not here. and don't mention her. you know how i feel about that." he said, huffing a bit. "love, it's ok, i already know about-" you start. "i know you do, but it's in the past, and i'm too happy to have you back to be thinking about anyone else." he said, grabbing your hand, and helping you to sit down. you took his help, finally happy to be around him again. Jade, Paige, Alec, and Connor all sat with you, before you and Leo got up to go talk.

"i'll catch up with you later." you say, settling yourself i to you crutches. "wait a minute in not done interrogating him!" Connor says. "he came before you did, Connor. you're not my dad." you laugh at him. "still i gotta make sure he treats my lil sis right." he sticks his nose up, earning a playful jab in the gut from his girlfriend, Paige. "bye guys." you say, walking (at least best you could) away. You and Leo went into your cabin, resting you on your bed, where you should be. "what were Will's instructions?" Leo asks. "I told her to rest up, and to come get her wound redressed at least twice a day, and as needed if it gets dirty. though she's not allowed to do anything that'll do that, so it's reserved for clumsiness and well, you. cause you always have some sorta soot on you." Will said, appearing in the doorway with a first aid kit. Leo nodded, moving out of the way for Will. "hey, Will." you say, trying to break the silence.

"hey. you holding up ok? i know a lot has changed since you left. and also the rumors." Will said. "yeah. i heard all about them. but we're gonna work through everything." you say, watching him as he lines up the bandage with your ankle, which has gauss covering the worse parts of the burn. "How'd that happen?" Leo says, only taking his eyes off your leg to look you in the eye. "i was pushed into a boiling pit, and Hayden had to throw his shoulder out to save me." you say as if it wasn't something that should be seen as abnormal. "a boiling pit huh? were they trying to cook you?" Will asks jokingly. "well, i wouldn't put it past them. not after their leader convinced them we were using them." you say.

"huh nice. but the both of you are ok and Hayden will be in tip top shape in no time." Will says. "Yeah must be nice to be able to walk, am i right?" you say jokingly. no one laughs, filling the room with silence once again. "aaaand there! you're all set until after dinner. unless greasy boy has other plans for your deep fried foot." Will says. you and Leo both chuckle. as Will leaves, you and Leo are left sitting on your bed in silence. and not the comfortable kind. "so. Jasmine." you say, staring at your hands in your lap as you fidget. "so. Hayden." he says, looking around the G/P cabin. "who is she?" you ask, not lifting your head, though Leo turns to look at you.

"She came here about a year after you left. she stumbled into Bunker 9 really beat up, looking for a place to stay, and at first i wasn't quite sure if she was a Demigod, so i took her back to camp. she's had a crush on me since then, but i've never entertained anything. not that it would be cheating if i did though, since i thought you were dead." he said, now looking at his own grease-stained hands as you looked at him. "yeah, i know. it'd still hurt though." you say, not looking away from him. he finally looks at you and you make eye contact. "who's Hayden?" he asks you.

"He was part of the quest. we were taken into these enchanted woods, and we stumbled upon a small little town in there. it was exactly what you'd picture in a fairytale, and i remember wishing you could've seen it. anyway, he had been banned from said town, because he was... troubled. that and because he was into men, which he says isn't the problem, but i can kinda tell it is a little bit about that. especially with his parents. he helped a lot during the quest, and after i saved him in those woods him and i have been inseparable. i guess i could even consider him my best friend." you say. Leo nods. "you do know he likes you, right?" he asks. "he had a little crush, but i'd talk about you so much he'd never tell me or give me much reason to suspect it." you say.

"plus, now he has two girlfriends." you say, referring to Addie and Taylor. "Two?" leo asks, surprised. "yeah, he's Poly. or i guess the three of them are. they're in Camp jupiter." you say. Leo grabs your hand. "i've missed you more than you could ever imagine." he says, tears starting to slide down is cheeks. you smile at him, wiping his tears as they fall, cupping his face in your bandaged and scarred hands.  "There wasn't a day i didn't think about you." you assure him. he smiles at you, placing his right hand atop yours, leaning into it as he smiles at you, tears still rolling down his cheeks. you lay down on your bed, stretching your arms out to him, beckoning him to join you. he does, placing his right ear on your chest, closing his eyes as if this was his happy place.

you wouldn't put it too far past him for this to be his happy place, after all, you felt the safest you've felt since being back. maybe it was the anxiety from the quest, how it almost didn't feel like it was over, but you knew, you were done. he dozed off as you played with his hair. per usual, you were warm even in the chilly air because of Leo's natural body heat. you stayed like that for a while. the clock read 11:45 am. you gently shook Leo awake. he drowsily groaned, tightening his arms around you. "you're gonna be late for training, leo." you said, lightly shaking him again. he opened one eye. "i don't wanna go." he said, snuggling into you some more.

"but you'll get in trouble." you say. he opens both eyes this time, glaring at the clock. "fine. i'm coming back though." he says. "i want more head rubs." he says, getting up and crossing his arms, as if to mimic a toddlers demand. you giggled. "alright." you said, smiling at him. "i think i'm gonna take a nap." you say. leo nods. "yeah you just got back, take some more rest." he says, kissing you on top of your head. you smiled, sitting up so you could get underneath the covers and hopefully catch up on some well needed rest. you had slept for days before that, so you weren't too tired, but a nap definately sounded good to escape the pulsing pain in your leg from the reapplied bandages.

you woke up hours later. it was around 2:30 when you looked at the clock. a few of your siblings were there, retired from the training of the day and doing their own things, giggling and messing around. you sat up, causing a few of them to surround you, to make sure you were ok. you decided that you were a little too tired for the crutches, and was helped into the wheelchair. you wheeled yourself out onto the deck, looking at the bustle of everything. it wasn't quite the end of the rush of the afternoon but you could tell the people you saw were worked out, and ready to retire to their cabins soon. lunch had just passed, you weren't very hungry, but you knew that you had to get used to eating 3 meals a day.

"hey beth, can you get my crutches in case i feel better to walk in a bit?" you ask. they nod, bringing them out and setting them in your lap. you wheel yourself down to the training deck it was being used by multiple groups but none of them you recognized. you wheeled yourself to the Hephaestus cabin, but still, no sign of your boyfriend. the last place you knew he could be was bunker 9 and you knew the path there wasn't exactly wheelchair-safe.

you stoped by your cabin again, dropping off the wheelchair, deciding that you were willing to take the trip. once you were on the path though, you realized it wasn't exactly crutch friendly either. on your way there, you bumped into Percy. "OH! uhhhh heyyyyyy, y/n, what...are you doing??" he says, acting weird. you didn't know percy that well but he didn't act like this. you gave him a puzzled look. "what were you doing in Bunker 9?" you ask. percy looked behind him as if he was confused about where he was clearly coming from. Jason stepped out from behind him, not knowing you were there either. "percy why'd you sto- HEY!" jason said. "...hi?" you said.

"isn't it too late for you to be heading over here? we were just leaving because leo's suuuuuuuper busy. yeah. really busy. uhmmm..." jason stammered on. "how are you both so bad at lying?" you ask. "i am not a bad liar." percy said. you gave him a look. "uh huh. anyways. i wanted to come see leo. he usually lets me help him with his experiments i figured he'd miss my hands, you know?" percy had to stop himself from laughing, earning an elbow in the side from Jason.

you rolled your eyes. "you guys are gross." you say, attempting to walk past them. jason stops you though, lifting you off your feet (and crutches). "uh hello?" you ask, gesturing to your feet, which were now about a foot and a half off the ground. percy snatched your crutches, tucking them under his elbow, and trying hard not to bang them against trees as they took you away from bunker 9.

"what are you guys doing?!" you ask, a little offended and very suspicious. "leo's busy, like i said, he's gonna be a little while longer, but he'll be out soon." jason says. "yeah, plus if he knew we let you walk all the way there with that injury he'd be mad at us." percy added. "what is leo hiding in bunker 9?" you ask, because it was all becoming too suspicious. "he's not hiding anything, y/n, you just really shouldn't be walking around like that on your foot." jason says. "will had to have said something about dirt." percy adds.

"he did, but i was being careful and taking my time i would've been fine, if you're so worried about it you can carry me over there!" you say. "y/n, how do you plan to get back? i mean leos stronger, but this is a bit of a long walk." jason says. "yeah, but leo wouldn't be holding me like i was the baby cub in the opening of lion king." you say. "i'm trying not to get your foot dirty, chill." jason says.

you huff in defeat, because it doesn't matter what you say they'll only have an excuse to counter your statement. you waited around with Hayden, he was feeling nice, since he'd eaten not long ago for a second time and he had taken a long well-needed nap just like you. you were bummed out about not being able to see leo but you joked around with hayden around where the campfire was normally held for a while. you heard a familiar giggle from behind you. "paige, dont." you say. you didn't know what her plan was, but you weren't gonna entertain her pranks when you had no leg to run on.

you went to look behind you but your eyes were covered with a blindfold. you went to take it off, but your hands were restrained behind your back. "UHM WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" you say, nervous, because jade and page had a thing for taking jokes a little too far at times. "don't worry about it love." jade says. you feel yourself get lifted and tossed over someone's shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "y'all are really kidnapping me right now." you say, accepting your fate as you hear hayden, jade, and paige whisper and giggle quietly behind you.

after a bit of a long walk, you're placed on a soft surface. it's like a comfy chair, or a couch of some sort. "can i have my hands now at least?" you ask as you get untied. your hands gravitate to your blindfold, before it's yanked off your face and you're met with a blurry hayden. "i'm SO excited." he says, before he steps away from you. you give him a puzzled look, blinking and rubbing your eyes so you can see clearly again. once you're satisfied with your vision again you look around to find yourself in bunker 9. alec, hayden, paige, jade and connor all exiting the way they came in, and Leo sitting beside you.

"hey." he says. his voice is low and calm. you take a look at him and he's dressed in cleaner clothes than the usual greasy spot-covered getup he usually wore. you smiled at him. "hey." you say. "so... uhm. there's this thing..." Leo says. "if you wanted help with something you could've just came and gotten me. i can walk through the woods, no matter what jason or percy might tell you." he chuckles at you, grabbing your hand. "you shouldn't though, because of your leg. and you know it too." he says, his soft smile never leaving his face.

"well what do you need done? and heads up for next time, you don't need to kidnap me, i'm more than happy to come help you in here. i love our time together." you say, smiling at him and squeezing his hand. "i didn't kidnap you so you could come help me on a project, but maybe there is something you can help me with?" he says like a question.

"what is it?" you ask. he gets up, grabbing a few things from the table. "can i see your necklace?" he asks. you look down at it. you un clip it in the back, placing it in his hand. he walked back setting it on the table. "i'll fix it for you, since it's probably been with you through a lot." he says. you nod. "it has. i never took it off you know." you say. he smiles he's standing in front of you now.

"so remember how i was too late to see you off before you left?" Leo asks. "yeah... i was really scared watching you run just in time to see me driving away was gonna be the last time i saw you." you say. "i'm sorry i wasn't there. i should've been there. i wanted to be... i was kinda just working on something... it's been sitting here for a while. well, obviously since you left, and i wanted to give it to you then." he says.

you look at him, a bit puzzled. that's when he got down on one knee. "before you left i wanted to ask you, i wanted you to maybe have something to look forward to coming back to so you'd come home faster, so you'd come home safe for me. and yeah, i know how selfish that is." Leo chuckles nervously. "y/n, i love you. you bring so much light into my life, and i couldn't imagine not sharing my life with you. whenever i've thought of the future, it's never been without you in it. so please, y/n, will you make me the happiest man alive and please marry me?" he asks, holding out a beautiful diamond ring. the stones in the shape of a heart.

you sit there, in awe, "n-no, you're serious?" you ask, those being the first words to fall out of your mouth. Leo visibly gets worried. "y-yeah. i'm serious." he says shyly, as if he's afraid you'll say no if he speaks to loud. with your good leg, you leap into his arms, connecting your lips. you feel wet, hot tears pour down your face as you pull him as close as physics will allow you. you break the kiss, looking into his big brown eyes, excitement evident in them again. "YES!" you exclaim, holding him close again. he pulls away slightly, taking your left hand and sliding the ring onto your finger gently. the two of you stare at it for a moment before you forget about everything but each other again.

"i will say, Y/N Valdez does have a nice ring to it." he says, a goofy smile plastered upon his lips. You roll your eyes. "We are SO getting it hyphenated." you retort back. Leo let's out a theatrical gasp, pressing his hand to his chest, holding you with the other. "is the Valdez name not enough for you?!" you giggle, pressing your lips to his again.

"it's all i've ever wanted" you say, staring into his big brown puppy dog eyes. he smiles, taking your hand. "c'mon, let's go tell the others the good news." he says. you smile, squeezing his hand, following him on your crutches as he leads the way.

Thank you all so much for reading this disaster of a book. i'm glad some people were able to enjoy this book, i started it back when i was in 7th grade and now i graduate this year so i'm sure you can imagine how hard this will be for me to edit XD (also, fun fact, i got engaged and am now married, yeah ik i'm young, but some of the dialogue from the proposal was recycled from my real-life engagement. i literally said "n-no you're serious?" as she was on one knee with a very real diamond ring in her hand and thought it'd go nicely here too i hope everyone enjoyed and that'll be the end. i won't stop writing, but this is the final chapter for this book🥰).

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