Percy Jackson Gay Ships

Love My Fear

Warning: Slight swearing.

For fjkldsjfklsadfjkd32 who requested Perleo.

Percy had always been afraid of fire. It wasn't that often that he showed it however, too anxious about the reactions he'd receive.

And so he'd just grit his teeth, clench his fists.

Hold back tears.

The Demigod Life just made his fear so much worse, so much harder to deal with.

There was fire-breathing monsters to your left, large explosions to your right.

By now, he'd grown pretty good at hiding the rapid rise and falls of his chest. His laboured breathing.

But that just made his heart beat a little faster, his head thump a little harder.

Leo.

Just the name had Percy's skin itching, his legs shaking.

It was torture, the way his brain seemed to split into two around the boy.

On the one hand, Leo was his friend, one of the constants in Percy's life that he needed in order to survive.

On the other hand, Leo controlled fire. If you could even call it that. Percy would admit, sometimes he could control it. Others, well, the amount of people sent to the infirmary because of that boy was starting to get ridiculous.

~

Leo had always been afraid of water. He just didn't show it often, too scared of how people would react.

And so he just did his best to put out the fear. Put out the fire instead of fueling the flames.

It was why it had taken him a while to warm up to Percy, to stop acting so funny around him.

Sure, he liked Percy, as a person. But the... vibes Percy gave off set Leo on edge, waiting for the water to peer out. To engulf him, suffocate him, drown him.

Even Percy's eyes reminded him of water. A mixture of blue and green that swirled together like an ocean storm.

He had this aura around him, strong and, Leo wanted to say developed. Like it had taken years for him to build something seemingly so simple.

Leo didn't understand how Percy could control the water the way he did. Completely bend it to his will. Now, Leo knew he could control fire just the same, but it was different. It really was.

Leo dealt with fire, familiar and safe. Warm.

Percy dealt with water, stange and dangerous. Cold.

Leo would try to put it into more words but all that came to mind was water being like that one toxic friend whereas fire was the awesome best friend who'd put up with all of your shit for years and yet still loved you.

Fire was like Leo's safety blanket.

Although at first, fire too had been strange and dangerous. Cold.

Leo hadn't yet connected the dots between the two, too busy hiding within his safety blanket.

Percy huffed out a breath as he arrived at the infirmary, slightly out of breath from running.

On a bed, surrounded by Will Solace and Kayla Knowles - ooh, wait, Austin Lake was there too - lay Jake Mason, his head wrapped in bandages and his face red.

A guilty looking Leo stood slightly out of the way, his hands entwined behind his back as his eyes flickered between Jake and the floor.

Just as Percy went to speak, find out what was going on, Leo spoke up.