safe || leo valdez x oc

forty-two: mystery bra, yelling, and sneakiness

LEO

~•♡•~

leo layed his head on aruna's stomach as she slept, and one of his hands grasping hers. a thin white sheet covered her up, and under her white bandages on her right arm, thick black stitches lie. she faintly smelled of blood and nectar. her breaths were shallow and occasionally shuddering. her eyes were closed and her lips slightly parted. leo watched unhappily as her head occasionally lobbed over to the side.

in the corner of the room, piper sat. her eyes were bloodshot and puffy from crying, her hair a wild mess. she rested her head against one hand as she stared at aruna, waiting for her to wake up just as leo was.

annabeth put away her medical gauze. she cleared her throat, and put the package back on a shelf.

"it'll be a while before she wakes up." she said. "she lost... a lot of blood."

leo will never forget how horrified he was. he had to watch as jason's sword literally slit aruna's arm open. leo could see her bones, it was that deep. it was like a seen out of a horror movie. it looked like she'd been ripped apart.

leo will never forget the golden glow in her eyes. just a few hours before, she was joking around with leo, hugging him, opening up ever so slightly. leo had to watch in terror as she attacked him blindly, her face completely blank like she'd never met leo in her life, and he was some sort of inconvience she needed to eliminate. he knew that hadn't been her; in fact, he knew that she must have felt the same way when he attacked her above new rome. but still, he couldn't shake the true feeling.

jason came back into the room. his face was even paler than usual, his icy blue eyes distant and grey. he held blood-stained rags and faintly smelled like cleaner and bleach. he wiped his sweaty brow with the back of his arm and took a shuddering breath.

"i um... i cleaned everything up." he mumbled. his gaze settled on aruna ans he quickly looked down, his hands shaking. leo stared at him coldly, which seemed to send jason a message.

like a dog, jason moved away.

"don't stare at him like that."

leo looked at annabeth. he hadn't even realized he was scowling, but he quickly resorted to a neutral face.

"he didn't mean it." annabeth pointed out. "nobody did. it was nobody's fault. we just have to figure out what the problem is, and work from there."

"be nice if she was awake to tell us." leo frowned. aruna's body was so unusually cold, like it always was. it was one of those things he kind of adored about her, a thing that made him feel like she was perfect. leo was always so warm all the time. her coldness almost seemed to ground him to the earth. she was a perfect contrast for him, he felt. he felt like they should be together.

but he knew they couldn't.

"alright, i guess i'll try to catch half an hour." annabeth groaned. "see you guys. give her some more nectar soon."

"'kay." leo grunted. piper waved goodbye and annabeth made her way off.

"leo, you should try to sleep too."

"yeah, i did, piper." leo snapped. "i did, and that's why i wasn't able to stop her."

piper frowned. "listen, i know you're upset-" leo scoffed. "but, being snappy isn't okay. listen, just try to catch a few z's before we get to kansas. you need it to the most."