[2] 𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐑𝐘 𝐁𝐀𝐁𝐘 ― l.valdez ✓

018.

「018. trading boo-hoo stories 」

CHERRY WAS painfully aware that leo was holding her hand. she didn't mind, though. somehow- she didn't know when, leo had began to just hold hands with her. she looked at him a few times, he looked embarrassed- which she didn't understand. why was he embarrassed? his face was bright red as they walked, but he swung their hands a few time- so she was far more focused on that. although she couldn't deny now that she definitely had a crush on leo valdez- because if she did she'd sound like an actual idiot.

he hummed a little tune as they stepped of the gang plank, letting hazel lead them around. it started out nice, leo was cracking jokes as they tried to walk and find nico- hoping perhaps to keep the mood light. frank smiled along, and when cherry pointed to a particularly nice plant, leo would make a weird plant-related joke. he'd also recently taken to saying the phrase, 'you only live twice' when in an awkward situation- probably because he found it funny and perhaps also because it was a teasing inside joke between the two of them.

"rome would be real nice if we weren't currently trying not to get killed," leo joked as hazel made them backtrack for the second time.

"i mean think about it," he continued as they passed a mob of tourists, "it's a perfectly nice day. man, if we had some ice cream-"

she elbowed him after seeing hazel's scared face.

"nevermind," he spoke, "we'll get back to the important stuff now." he turned to her and squeezed her hand, a silent message on his face you okay?

she didn't get why people kept asking her that. because with total honesty, she could say for the past few days after the pillars of hercules- she'd never been better. she felt ridiculously happy that she was using some fraction of gaea's power against her. happy that she had her powers back (sort of, she could only do small things like grow shoots and sprouts. and each time it was getting less and less. but still. positives) and that she finally regained something. although hercules had said they'd eventually consume her- they hadn't. in fact, she remembered seeing a little twitch in his eye as he said that. perhaps he was just jealous?

she nodded back at leo with a bright and genuine smile, and squeezed his hand back. although the nervous butterflies were still there, she couldn't get over just how happy it made her feel that she was just able to hold his hand. even if she didn't know if he liked him back, it was nice to feel the warmth from him. she was the type of person who naturally got cold easily. but the heat from the sun was helping. even then, she didn't let go of his hand.

hazel looked really guilty about the fact she kept tugging them around and backtracking so much. apparently her amazing underground senses weren't too good in rome. she'd apologize every few seconds, saying, "sorry... it's just- there's so much underground here. so many layers. it's overwhelming. like standing in the middle of an orchestra and trying to concentrate on a single instrument. i'm going deaf."

as a result, they got a tour of rome. she didn't mind, it was pretty- but she could tell from the nervous jitters that leo was getting impatient. her feet might have ached a bit, and yes- it was a sunny and hot day. and sure, the streets were mobbed with tourists, but cherry gave him an encouraging smile. "only a bit more, elfie."

"elfie?" he spoke, his face probably deep red due to the sun, "when did that come?"

"elf boy," she shrugged, "it got too long to pronounce. so- elfie."