14. happy birthday, repair boy
t/w: cursing, lots of angst
You put the last of the decorations up, taking a breath of relief for the first time in forever. The gang had offered to set up early with you, and of course, being the wonderful mom and hostess she is, Sally Jackson was more than eager to help around and lend her house as the party spot. Orange and black streamers and balloons hung from the ceiling, both of Leo’s favorite colors. The blue cake Percy had made was the centerpiece of the perfectly made table, with “Happy Birthday Repair Boy” in Piper’s messy handwriting written on it. Everything was perfect, except for one thing— your rocky “friendship” with Leo.
“How much longer till he’s here?” Piper asked. “He just thinks you guys are having a boys’ game night, right?”
Percy nodded. “He’s only expecting Jason, Frank, and I. I can’t wait to see the look on his face.”
“Ten minutes,” Jason chimed in. “He just texted the group chat.”
“Ten minutes,” you repeated, mumbling under your breath. Ten minutes to pull yourself together, act normal, and put on a face for everyone.
The only person who seemed to notice your anxiety was Annabeth.
“Hey, are you okay?” she asked, resting a hand on your back and leading you over to where Percy was sitting on the couch.
“I’m fine. Just worried,” you sighed. “How are we supposed to be normal in front of fifty people when we can’t even be normal when we’re alone?”
“I promise it will be okay,” she reassured. “You don’t have to put on a face for me, or anyone. Speak your truth, and if things get too hard, we can just escape to Percy’s room. Right, Percy?”
Percy grinned. “Of course, y/n. And if he does something to hurt you again, I’ll drown him next time he takes a bath.”
Annabeth smacked him. “Don’t say that!”
You smiled for the first time since getting to the party. “Thanks, Mom and Dad.”
Percy ruffled your hair, and Annabeth wrapped you in a side hug. “Of course, babe.”
Just then, a ring was heard at the doorbell.
“Quick, everyone hide!” Piper yelled. People scrambled, and Sally hit the lights as she opened the door for Leo.
“Um, hello?” he said, walking into the apartment.
“SURPRISE!” everyone shouted at once, turning the lights on to reveal the amazing setup. “Happy birthday, Leo!”
Leo put his hands to his heart dramatically. “Wow, all of this, just for little old me?”
“Unfortunately, we do care about you,” Frank replied, rolling his eyes. Hazel just giggled.
“Of course you do, of course you do,” Leo encouraged. “And who is responsible for all of this?”
Annabeth pushed you towards him. “Y/n is. She planned the whole thing and decorated the whole place. We just assisted.”
You stuck your tongue out back at her. “Give yourself and Percy some credit, Wise Girl. It wasn’t all me.”
“Wow, really?” Leo said, taking a step towards you, and looking you in the eyes for the first time in what felt like ages. “Thank you, y/n. I mean really, thank you. This is incredible.”
You smiled and wrapped him in a hug, finally feeling okay. His warm embrace brought a familiar red blush to your face, an embrace you haven’t felt in so long. A wash of relief filled your body and you never wanted to let go.
Leo pulled away and locked eyes with you. “I’m sorry for being weird. There’s just been so much stuff going on, and I’ve been really confused about my feelings lately, and I’m working on building a new project, which is stressing me out, and—”
Cutting him off, you hugged him again, wrapping your arms around his neck and burying your head in his shoulder, nearly knocking him over.
“Shut up, repair boy. It’s okay.”
He wrapped his arms around your waist, and everyone cheered.
“Fucking FINALLY!” Piper yelled. “Now, let’s get this party started!”
Being in a whole new headspace, the party was a blast. Piper blared Top 40’s hits and set up pong in the kitchen while the boys really did play video games in the Percy’s room. In addition to the seven, Nico, Will, and Rachel, just about everyone showed up. Reyna, Thalia, Nyssa, Connor, Travis, and even Grover made a surprise guest appearance from his world environmentalist tour. Percy was thrilled and tackled him in a hug upon his arrival (Sally, unphased, knew all along).
The night got even better when you were sitting on the couch, absentmindedly scrolling through TikTok when Leo joined you, plopping right next to you.
“Hey mamacita,” he said, casually putting his arm around you and filling you with that oh-so-familiar butterfly feeling. Everything was finally as it should be. But surely, things couldn’t be that easy. Could they?
You smiled, your nose crinkling. “What’s up?”
“Oh, nothing, just the fact that my best friend in the whole world hasn’t personally wished me a happy birthday yet. I am eighteen now, you know. Can do legal adult things like…uh… sending you to jail for this.”
You playfully punched him in the arm. “Eighteen is when you can go to jail, not send people to jail, you dork. And, I planned and threw this whole thing, just for you. Is that not ‘happy birthday’ enough?”
Leo raised an eyebrow. “Nuh-uh. Not until I explicitly hear it from you and you only.”
“Happy birthday, drama queen,” you replied, smiling. “But if you had been patient enough to wait, you would have heard me say it upon giving you your gift.”
His ears immediately perked up. “Gift?”
He inched closer to you, his face a mere inches from yours. “Why can’t I have it now?”
You pushed him away by the chest, giggling. Doing that delicate dance of friends-but-not, just like you used to.
“You are literally two years old. I’m giving it to you along with everyone else, later. Promise it’s worth it.”
He sighed, defeated. “Whatever you say.”
Just then, you heard a noise behind you.
You glanced around, seeing where it came from. Across the room was Piper, frantically gesturing for you to go over to her. You rolled your eyes in fake annoyance.
“Looks like I’m being paged. Catch you later, repair boy,” you said, heading over to her. “Hey, Pipes. What’s up?”
She linked her arm with yours. “Come play pong with the girls and me.”
She led you over to the pong table, where Annabeth and Hazel were already set up.
“Us versus them,” Piper explained. “First to get plastered beyond comprehension wins.”
The game started, with Hazel missing and Annabeth landing her ball perfectly in you and Piper’s cup, pumping her fist in the air. The game progressed, and after ten minutes or so, everyone was just tipsy enough to be giggly and bad at the game. But for the group of girls that consisted of your best friends, something seemed off.
“We’re awfully quiet,” you retorted. “What, am I in trouble or something?”
Hazel sighed, putting both of her hands on the table in a serious manner and locking eyes with you. “Y/N. You know we love you very much, right?”
Almost immediately, you sobered up. “Oh god. This isn’t an intervention, is it?”
“No, no, no!” Annabeth clarified. “Nothing like that. It’s just, um,”
“Were you really planning on forgiving him that quickly?” Piper blurted.
You threw your hands up in frustration. “I thought you guys were JUST telling me to try and move on and not let things get to me!”
“We were!” Hazel replied. “It’s just that things just seemed to happen a little quick. That’s all.”
She came over to put a hand on your shoulder. “We just want to make sure you’re okay.”
“Girls, I am TOTALLY fine,” you insisted. “I’m not falling again. We’re just friends. Like we used to be.”
Annabeth and Hazel exchanged nervous glances, but Piper seemed satisfied with that answer. She squeezed your hand.
“Okay, babes. Whatever you say.”
Just then, Percy walked over from his bedroom where the boys were playing Mario Kart, Jason, Nico, Will, Leo, Grover, and the Stolls trailing behind him like baby ducklings. He clapped his hands obnoxiously. “Presents time! Circle ‘round.”
You and the girls giggled as you walked over, making a circle on the fuzzy blue rug in the living room like you were all in elementary school again. Everyone grabbed their gifts and got situated, Leo squishing on one side of you and Piper on the other.
Leo rubbed his hands together in anticipation. “It’s about time! I want Y/N’s first,” he stated.
“No way,” Piper retorted. “Save the best for last.” She stuck her tongue out at him.
The night progressed as Leo opened gifts from everyone, perfectly reflecting their friendships. Percy got him a waterproof pocket multi-tool, Piper got him a shirt with a ‘your mom’ joke on it (which Leo loved and laughed hysterically at, don’t worry), Annabeth got him a giant architect’s book of blueprints for projects they could work on together, Frank got him mints that supposedly lower your voice (no surprise there), and so on. Finally, it was your turn.
You were feeling a thousand different emotions— anxiety, excitement, nervousness, anticipation, fear, and so many more. Trying not to let any of these emotions show, you handed him your bag, drunkenly rambling about the present inside.
“So, I know I’m not as good at making things as you, but I really did try, and you might think it’s stupid, and—”
He cut you off, flashing that warm smile that made the butterflies in your stomach flutter every time. “Y’n. I’m sure it’s perfect. Nothing to worry about.”
Your shoulders sagged and you sighed in relief, but the relief was only temporary. Right as his hand was on the first bit of wrapping paper, ready to grab and open it, a ring was heard at the door.
Percy frowned, getting up to answer it. “We weren’t expecting anyone else. Give me a second,” he said.
Before opening the door he glanced in the peephole, and upon lifting his head away from the door, he looked sick. His face was almost as green as Poseidon’s seaweed castle.
Anxiously, he waved Annabeth over. She peered into the peephole the same way he did, looking equally as nauseous afterward.
The two whisper-shouted nervously, causing you to hear mumbles of “What the hell are we supposed to do?”, and, “We can’t just leave her there, can we?”
Piper and Annabeth locked eyes, and you could tell a silent understanding passed between them. You felt like everyone in the room knew who was at the door except for you.
Annabeth sighed. “Just open it, Percy. What else can we do?”
Nothing on earth could have prepared you for who was at the door. There she was, wearing a beautiful white gown that was way too dressy for the event, her silky caramel hair pulled back into a braided bun. And worst of all, she was carrying the perfect gift: a stuffed animal replica of Festus. Why hadn’t you thought of that?
All of your worst insecurities encapsulated into a single person: Calypso.
Your jaw dropped to the floor.
Before anyone could say anything, she made her grand entrance.
“Surprise! I’ve come to celebrate my favorite boy’s birthday!” she shouted.
Leo immediately shot up. “Calypso, w-what are you doing here?”
She smiled an evil smirk. “I told you I’d be in town, didn’t I? How could I resist saying hi to you? I just want to make up, repair boy!”
“How’d you know where we were?” Percy growled.
She batted her eyelashes, attempting to put a spell on him. It didn’t work. “Don’t you remember, Perce? Me and you, we used to have a thing. Back in the day. Before she came along,” she sneered, giving Annabeth a nasty look.
Percy had to physically restrain her. “Oh, it is on.”
“Calypso, no one wants you here,” Frank chimed in. “Just leave.”
You stood up, fuming and gaining a sense of self-respect for the first time since she arrived.
“Are we sure no one wants her here?” you said, stepping towards Leo, ready to let everything loose you had been holding in for the past few weeks.
Hazel tugged at your shirt, looking up at you anxiously. “Y/N, you’re drunk. Maybe this isn’t a good idea.”
You pushed her hand away. “No, Hazel. I need to do this.”
Leo nervously glanced at you. “What do you mean, y/n?” he said, stuttering his words.
“Clearly, you’d want her here at least a little bit, considering you’ve been talking to her and entertaining her behind my back. For weeks, now.”
Everyone gasped, and Piper’s hand loudly flew over her mouth.
“How did you know that?” Leo asked, inching away from you.
You stepped closer to him. “Oh, so it is true. So even when I’ve done everything for you, done nothing but be there and support you always, and take you back a million times, you’d still choose her over me? Really?”
“Y/N, it’s not like that, really, I promise, I told her no, it’s—”
“Oh, and I can’t forget,” you said, glancing at Percy and Annabeth, “I had to find out from other people. Friends who actually care about me. Since my so-called best friend couldn’t be bothered to.”
Leo’s eyes widened. “Percy? Really? C’mon, man!”
Percy put his hands up in defense. “If two of my friends are fighting, I’m always going to be on the side of the friend that’s being less shitty.”
Annabeth nodded in agreement. “And for all of the emotional damage you’ve caused her, it’s pretty clear to see who’s the shitty one.”
Leo put his head in his hands. From the doorway, Calypso giggled, enjoying all the chaos she had just caused. You had forgotten she was even there.
You walked over to her. “And don’t even get me started on you,” you growled. “Do you really think you can just march back into his life like no time has passed? Where were you when he was crying to us every day of spring break, heartbroken over your sorry ass? And now you show your face for the first time in months on his fucking birthday? Has anyone ever told you no in your entire life?”
Her face turned pale, but her fear was only temporary, and she regained her arrogant confidence within a matter of seconds.
“Of course I can do whatever I want,” she claimed. “And I’ll prove it right now. So Leo, do us a favor and make this easy for all of us and choose, in front of everyone: me, or her?”
It was so silent you could hear a pin drop. No one dared make a noise, for fear of getting caught in the crossfire.
Leo’s eyes darted between the two of you, unable to say a word. “I—”
“Save it,” you said, grabbing your bag and the gift with it and getting ready to go. “I’m done hearing your sorry excuses. Because right now, Leo Valdez, you and I are done.”
With that, you ran out the door and into the apartment hallway, ignoring Piper, Hazel, and Annabeth’s cries asking you to wait. You blared music in your ears, muting your notifications getting on the nearest train, and doing whatever possible to get home as quickly as possible. As soon as you were in your cozy apartment, you collapsed on your bed, alone for the first time in forever.
yours truly || leo valdez x fem!reader smau
a/n: and there it is!! i know this chapter is lowkey corny and SO cinematic but I couldn’t help doing so for the big buildup. i hope you enjoy!!!
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