Y'all this was literally my third individual attempt at writing this chapter, like I have 3 separate drafts LMAO

Sorry for taking about eight years to update. I had tons of work for the end of the semester, and my brain needed a small break before I could write anything worth reading for you guys. Hope you enjoy!!

After all, time seemed to move faster whenever Jason Grace was around.
*****

Leo was dreading the day that Piper found a date.

Jason, Percy, Piper, and himself sat around Jason's living room watching the first season of Criminal Minds for probably the fifth time in total on Friday night. Percy and Jason were pretty much glued to each other's side, quietly giggling at nothing and ignoring the rest of the world. He sat across the room with Piper, his saving grace. Even if there were two of them, they still somehow ended up third-wheeling together.

They watched a few episodes before Leo dramatically groaned and rolled off the couch. Piper glared at him, pausing the show and looking at him expectantly.

"I think it's time for me to head out, lady and gents," Leo bowed to them before pointing at Percy. "You coming?"

Reluctantly, Percy nodded and peeled himself away from Jason and waved goodbye to him and Piper before going to put his shoes on.

Jason stretched as he sat up. "I wish I could just drive you guys home."

"It is what it is, dearest friend," Leo waved him off, high-fiving Piper on his way out. "We'll see you later!"

With that, he left to find Percy holding the door open for him at the front of the house. They made their way down the driveway and onto the sidewalk, beginning their route home. A useless idea crossed Leo's mind.

"Why don't we drop you off first for once?" Leo asked.

Percy shook his head. Despite the fact that Leo would probably do fine on the streets, Percy felt better when he actually saw his friends walk into their homes unharmed.

"Come on," Leo tried to bargain, "Jason told your mom found something wrong with your car this morning, yeah? I can fix it—no charge except your friendship."

Percy couldn't help but roll his eyes at Leo. Still, the idea was flattering. It wasn't like they had extra money lying around to fix the car. He'd almost forgotten about Leo's mechanic skills. Sally would probably appreciate having the car repaired.

After a moment of deliberation, Percy reluctantly nodded and took the next turn in his apartment's direction instead of Leo's home. He chose to ignore Leo's smug smile at his side. They spent most of the walk identifying the issue that Leo actually had to fix. He'd suggest something, and Percy would nod if it was applicable. Leo knew it was a very inefficient system, but at least Percy was comfortable.

Leo had seen the outside of Percy's apartment complex several times, but he was pretty sure he'd never gone inside. After knowing about what all happened in there, Leo wasn't particularly thrilled to enter. He didn't know how Percy did it every day. Pushing the thoughts to the back of his head, Leo followed Percy through the doors and up the stairs.

When they finally got to the right floor, Leo opened his mouth to make a joke about being out of shape when he got a face full of Percy's shoulder.

"Give me your things and go back downstairs," Percy murmured calmly to him, his gaze set straight ahead.

Leo had to do a double-take at the sound of Percy's voice. "Did you just—"

"Leo," Percy warned, his eyebrows raised.

"I'm not leaving you up here if it isn't safe," Leo argued quietly, not even knowing what was wrong.

"I'll be fine," Percy reassured him, "Just go, please."

And then Leo learned what the issue was.

"Kid! I've been waiting for you!" A man stood outside one of the apartments down the hallway. He was probably middle-aged, with wild facial hair and a prominent beer gut. Leo could only assume he had some connection to Gabe.

"Who d'you got with you?" The man slurred his words together, a very faint southern accent hiding in his inflection despite his New York residence.

Percy looked over at Leo, glaring like he was about to murder the boy. Leo stayed glued to his spot, though.

"Is he the boy Gabe was always yacking on about?" He stepped forward so Leo was in view before scanning him. "The one that turned you into a homo, yeah, kid?"

"What if I was?" Leo moved further into the hallway, clearly inserting himself into the situation.

Percy sighed, fully prepared to knock Leo's lights out for the next hour or so. He already knew how to deal with these kinds of men—having Leo provoke them would do no good.

The older man approached the two teenagers. Percy yanked on the back of Leo's collar, ignoring his surprised yelp and pulling him to stand behind Percy. He wasn't risking anything with one of his friends.

He stopped uncomfortably close in front of Percy, staring at him for a moment before shifting his focus to Leo and speaking to him, "Your boy's a pretty little thing, ain't he?"

Suddenly, Leo was grateful for the protection Percy had given him. He was prepared for the guy just to be an asshole, not be an absolute creep. He couldn't come up with any kind of response that wouldn't make matters worse, so he shut up, something he rarely did.

"You reckon it's the eyes?" He kept talking to Leo as if they were the best of friends. Percy prayed to every higher power he could think of for Leo to keep his mouth shut, especially because he didn't particularly feel the need to know which of his features was Leo's favorite at the time.

Gabe's friend didn't seem to like their silence. "Answer me, boy," he demanded.

Before Leo even had a chance to consider whether or not to respond, the man's hand came flying towards him. Leo curled into himself, really hoping he didn't end up with a broken nose, but Percy's arm quickly intercepted the hit. If looks could kill, Percy's glare would have the man torn apart on the ground. Leo wasn't used to seeing him angry like this.

Percy re-established his stance in front of Leo. He was clearly pissed at Leo for being difficult, but he refused to let him get hit by this bastard. There was a moment of calm before the man backed Percy up against the wall.

"Old Ugliano should've killed you when he had the chance, aye?" He muttered to Percy, holding him against the wall.

Impressively, Percy fished his keys out of his pocket and threw them on the ground towards Leo. The shorter boy was terrified of leaving Percy out in the hall alone, but he knew Percy would be upset if he didn't go. Sighing, he scooped them up and locked himself in the Jacksons' apartment. He had to trust that Percy really did know what to do.

He leaned up against the door, listening and feeling restless when he couldn't hear anything.  His fingers tapped against his thigh, and even his breathing quieted as he tried to make out any distinct sounds. It was almost deafening. He could hear faint whispers and occasional footsteps, and eventually he gave up, resorting to pacing around Percy's living room.

He flinched at the sudden noise of glass breaking in the hall, which was followed by a string of insults that Leo wished he wouldn't have heard. He started counting down from 10, waiting to see if Percy would come back or not. When he got to 3, the door swung open, and Percy didn't spare Leo a second of his time before grabbing a broom from the kitchen and trying to leave again.

"Where you going?" Leo stepped in front of him, not missing the traces of blood he saw on Percy's left hand. Percy looked almost dazed as he weakly pointed past Leo to the hallway.

Leo held out his hand expectantly. "Go fix your hand."

Percy met his eyes briefly before giving the broom away and walking towards what Leo could only assume was the bathroom. Leo returned to the hall, making his way over to the few pieces of shattered glass on the ground and silently sweeping them up. He tried to ignore the minuscule amounts of blood that accompanied them, preferring not to think about how it felt to get cut by them.

He lingered outside the apartment longer than necessary, not sure what he was supposed to do when he got inside. Leo was never Percy's go-to when it came to sharing his emotions—Leo was fine with that. Even with the abuse trial, Leo didn't think he was much more than moral support.

What was he supposed to say? Hey, sorry some random man harassed us outside your home. Hope it doesn't happen again!

Leo was getting nowhere with this. With a sigh, he turned the knob, glass secured in his dustpan, and re-entered the apartment. Percy sat on the couch, trying and failing to get bandages wrapped around his palm.

"Need help?" Leo offered, propping up the broom in the corner and setting the dustpan on a flat surface until Percy told him what to do with it.

Percy tried one final time before nodding and handing over the wrap to Leo. The shorter boy took it and steadied Percy's cut hand. He gave all the wounds a quick examination to make sure Percy had gotten all the glass out before tightly wrapping the bandages around his palm.

"Thank you," Percy whispered, wincing at how weak his voice sounded. It was like those were his first words all over again. He clenched and unclenched his hand, making sure the bandages wouldn't fall off.

Leo nodded, his mouth working faster than his brain. "Have you been talking to Jason and Piper?"

Leo sincerely didn't mind; he was just curious. Percy was hesitant with his answer, though. "Yes. Just recently with Piper."

"Good," Leo offered a faint smile, "proud of you."

Percy didn't reply but nodded appreciatively. Leo couldn't remember the last time he felt this awkward, especially with one of his friends. He was never the emotional support friend—that was Jason's job.

"Who knows about this?" Leo asked, running a nervous hand through his curly hair. He didn't bother asking whether or not this was the first time. He knew better.

Percy stared at the floor, quietly answering, "Nobody."

"Percy—"

"It's fine," he cut Leo off, "they just say a few things and leave."

"And your hand?" Leo pointed to the cuts he'd wrapped less than five minutes ago.

"An accident," Percy explained, "my fault."

Leo sighed. This was pretty much exactly what he wanted to avoid. Percy didn't want help, and Leo didn't even know where to find it. He couldn't exactly ask Jason for help without exposing the situation, and he was the one person that Leo was sure Percy would want to tell himself.

"If they hurt you," Leo requested, "please tell me."

Percy nodded, assuring Leo that he would before promptly moving forward and guiding Leo to their car out front. Unsurprisingly, Leo had no problems fixing it, even with recent events plaguing his mind. Once the car ran normally, he bid Percy goodbye and made his way home. He paced around his room, trying to decide what the best route to take was in making sure Gabe's friends left the Jacksons alone. He needed someone to stop the problem  while making sure Percy didn't hate him for doing so.

And Leo knew exactly who to tell.

Wow, in a twist that surprises nobody: poorly written angst!!

Anyways, hope the chapter was sufficient. Next one or two should be easier to write since I actually have things prepared. I thought I should bring back Leo bc he hasn't gotten to do much recently.

Also, if anyone is curious about a life update, my birthday was in between updates, so I have officially lived another year. Semester's done, and at this point I'm just looking forward to baking Christmas cookies.

And in case I don't see y'all for a few days, happy holidays for anyone celebrating something!! See you soon, and thanks for reading!