A/N: sOrRy for being so late! I swear, I thought this had already been published! Sorry!

This is my first story in the present tense (well, mostly)! Plus a Leo POV. Yay! Who doesn't love Leo POVs? I siriusly hope I've done it right. Siriusly. Leo's an icon. Anyways, this one-shot has a few elements of the scene where Leo returns in ToA, but it's mostly different, 'cause I'm in denial in regards to the sad events in ToA (specifically- tBM). 

If any information I have written is wrong, my apollogies, and feel free to correct me in the comments. It's longer than usual, but still (please)- enjoy!

Leo POV:

Man, your day really brightens up when you get to burst into flames and yell, "I'M BACK!" at the top of your lungs (pyro)maniacally while your dragon finally lands back home.

Now you, imaginary-people-who-know-my-thoughts-and-apparently-care-about-my-life, are probably thinking, "Wait, what? Leo, would you care to explain?"

Well, it's really a long story, but a lot of stuff happened since I came back to life (don't ask, that's a different rabbit hole entirely) and rescued (well, that's one way to put it) my girlfriend (that's right, I have a girlfriend now) from the mythical, yet totally existent island of Ogygia. Basically, after about 3 months of fighting random monsters while trying to figure out how to get back to Camp, we're finally there.

I am NOT overexcited, as Calypso says, I am simply delighted that I'm getting to see my friends again. I haven't seen them in ages, and although I may not have appreciated their constant company on the Argo II all the time, they really grew on me and now, I'm desperate to see them again.

Calypso's sorta quiet. She looks beautiful (as usual), and barely bothered by the way-too-bright sunlight and the scorching heat of roughly 3pm, today (I had to check by sundial, so that was annoying). I know she's probably not as enthusiastic about this as I am- having to meet them all. I just hope she doesn't regret any of this...

Nyssa was the first to notice the gigantic dragon and soon enough, more people started showing up. I saw Jason running onto the scene with Piper, and now Percy and Annabeth are coming from the strawberry fields with a satyr, Grover I think. I can't see Frank or Hazel, I'll catch up with them at Camp Jupiter. I've only met him a couple times though. Nico and Will Solace are rushing out of the Hades cabin together. Wait...together. Holy Hephaestus, has my ship finally sailed? YEEEEESSSS!

...anywaaaaays, we are just landing right now. Yep, we've reached the ground.

Should I say something?

"Um, hey, guys...What's up?"

That should work.

Truth be told, how can I capture how much I've missed these people in mere words? I've thought of them so many times every day, they've inspired me to travel all the way here and now I just...words fail. There's nothing I can say, I don't know how to express any of that stuff to them.

So, I just stand there half-grinning, looking like an idiot. Great.

Wait...oh dear gods, Piper is coming at me. She looks downright murderous, she's probably been spending enough time with Annabeth to develop a signature death glare..."OW!" She kicked me in the stomach, gods that hurts. She then hugs me tightly, and I awkwardly try to hug her back. Wow, I'm smooth. I wonder what the people watching must be thinking.

I blink back the tears in my eyes, because I don't even know why they exist and I don't need them right now. Seeing camp again seems to be overwhelming me. That's annoying, feelings are annoying.

"Don't you ever do something like that again!", says Piper.

I nod slowly, wide-eyed, and then slightly smirk. "You didn't think I was going to leave you guys, right? How would you all function without me?"

Piper laughs and lightly hits me in the arm.

Jason, Percy and Annabeth are coming from behind Piper, all with mixed expressions filled with both relief and...something else. They are also maiming me in various ways in a variety of places, before I get to actually embrace them. My body aches a bit (they're strong, even demigod-wise), but I'm barely paying attention to it, I'm just happy to see these people again. They're holding...are those raffle tickets?

I look behind them and it turns out that no one was watching the 'scene' we were making. 

After getting over their original state of shock, everyone else had started drawing numbers from a ticket dispenser Nico's operating. Wait, what's that for? I'm getting an uneasy sensation here...

...and rightly so, because before I know it, I'm getting punched in the shoulder by Jake from my cabin. Apparently those numbers were drawn to form a queue of people wanting to kill me for dying (which, I must say, I find very ironic). 

"OW! Uh, hi Jake! Hey, you're out of the cast!"

"Yeah, I am! Though that's not important, I mean, you literally planned your whole death without telling anyone! You do that again, and we will raise you from the dead just so we can kill you ourselves. "

That does not sound like fun for me. "Okay, okay. It's great to see you now, though!"

"Yeah, it's great to see you too! Catch up later!" He jogs off, only to be replaced by Clarisse. Oh gods, I'm screwed.

~TIME TRAVELLING WITH TIME-TURNER TO LATER THAT NIGHT~

'Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow.' Now multiply that thought by 50, and you understand what physical pain I've experienced after being injured by practically every camper. Oh, I was hugged twice by Frank and Hazel (which did feel really nice, but still; 50 > 2)

It turns out that Jake was the first out of...I dunno...'bout 150 people? 

Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating. Although, it did hurt- Sherman, Harley, Nyssa, Frank, Hazel (some Romans came today evening)- a lot of people wanted to kill me. To be fair, I suppose I brought some of that on myself by dying, secretly resurrecting, and then by telling Nico that him and Will are extremely cute together. Called them adorable. In front of Jason and Percy, who also shipped them. Then we (Jason, Percy and I) ended up excitedly exchanging notes on the art of shipping.

In hindsight, I should've seen the kick coming.

Calypso was shy at first, but she still greeted everyone, even giving Percy a light-hearted handshake. Also, I'm pretty sure she hit it off with Piper (I'm not sure whether I should be glad for them, or scared of them). I'm glad she's understanding though, I've barely spoken to her since I got here.

Later, I had to go to the Apollo cabin since the whole raffle thing resulted in me having a swollen ankle (courtesy to Nico), a bruised shoulder (too many people punched me in that one spot, for some reason) and a skinned knee (I tripped over a rock on the way to the Apollo cabin- because I'm great that way).

Now, after getting my injuries treated, (that makes it sound like they were a really big deal- they really weren't) I came to the campfire.

It's as I remembered, yet different. There are some Romans visiting, and they're also mingling happily with Greeks, as if some of them weren't trying to kill us 3 months ago. The Apollo cabin are leading the campfire sing-along with some song about how Grandma puts on her armour. Everyone's singing along (yes, even Nico, Will has that effect on him from what I've heard), and a Roman girl with shocking pink hair is attempting to teach some kids from the Hermes Cabin how to dance. 

Jason and Piper are sitting on the grass together, Piper leaning her head on Jason's shoulder. Annabeth has her arm wrapped around Percy as they toast...are those blue marshmallows?

I bet Frank and Hazel are doing something couple-y somewhere here too.

So I've decided to take a detour. I want to see Bunker 9, and I'm trying to ignore that tiny ball of jealousy that's threatening to surface my thoughts. 

They all look really happy with each other right now, and it's not that I'm not, but I'm wondering- could they really miss me that much? They have each other, they never would've needed me. I couldn't have been that important to them.

You imaginary folks are probably like, 'But, Leo! You yourself said you have a girlfriend now! You can be important to her instead!'- but I'm not. Sure, I got her out of Ogygia, but that hasn't benefited her much at all. She lost her ability to control wind spirits, and I'm pretty sure that even though she's glad to be free, she misses the island. All of it is my fault. Again.

So, I've been avoiding an actual conversation for ages, and, as a result, we're not really getting anywhere with the whole romance thing. I mean, I do love her, it's just that I can't have a proper conversation with her without feeling guilty.

I had figured everything would be all fine after the Gaea quest, but a bulk of the thoughts and feelings I had then aren't going away now. Plus the new ones, that just replace the old ones.

Shut it, Valdez. You don't get to sit around and feel sorry for yourself! That didn't get you anywhere on Gaea quest, and just because the worst is over, doesn't mean it'll get you anywhere now.

So I mentally lock those feelings into a tiny box and throw the key off the Grand Canyon.

I sneak out the camp and run through the forest, because I feel like it. It's oddly refreshing. I reach the bunker, and go in. Aside from the remains of my greatest creation, the Argo II, nothing has changed. 

I can't help but tear up a bit, the Argo II was the greatest thing I'd ever built. I'd spent days and nights toiling away to build something beautiful. Something that was now broken. Then I remember Nike (I really don't know why I'm remembering her now) telling me how victory requires sacrifice. Then I remember why I died in the first place, and I realise that I don't regret it. At all.

So many great times, I've had here in bunker 9. Running for dear life from Maenads with Jason and Piper, building a gigantic warship with my cabin, finding the bunker in the middle of the night while sleep-deprived, after fixing my tabasco-loving bronze dragon. So much nostalgia.

A voice suddenly says, "Hey."

I jump and turn around, startled.

Percy, Annabeth, Frank, Hazel, Jason and Piper are there. 

Piper speaks, "We saw you rush here, and you looked a bit frazzled and stressed, so we came to keep you company."

Hazel says, "We've never done much fun stuff together, because we were, y'know, fighting Gaea, so we figured we could do something fun, for a change. 'Chill out.' That's what you modern folks call it, right?"

Percy adds in, "Can we stay? We even brought toasted blue marshmallows!"

I cautiously check, "You sure you want to? Really?"

Jason replies, "Of course, why wouldn't be sure?"

There's a silence. I look at all of them; they're grinning now, and I can't help but grin devilishly back. "Okay! Great! Let's do this."

Whilst they start bringing out monopoly (Yes, I know, that's probably lame, but I like monopoly, sue me), I look around at their happy faces and contemplate.

I know what it was like to be the 'seventh wheel'. It was depressing. I figured everyone had their own 'groups'; their own couples. Who'd want me around to disrupt their privacy? Their happiness? No one needs a random single dude to just randomly appear to offer them tofu tacos and whatnot.

Well, I'm still the extra wheel. I'll always be. Here's the thing, though- I'm not too bothered by that anymore. I can be whatever wheel but I know they'll still care about me, maybe not as much as they would for each other, but they still will. 

At least I'm part of the team, and they're never getting rid of me.

A/N: Okay, the whole Caleo thing is pretty underdeveloped, I know, and I'm sorry. I'll try making an extra snippet thing to make up for that- where the two resolve the aforementioned issues. 

If you wonder why any of my writing is bad- please note that I write this stuff at midnight and I sometimes do, um, questionable things at midnight. Also, please note that I'm really not that great of a writer. Wish I could give you better content, but I really can't. Also sorry for the really long A/N's today.

 Thank you, and may the odds be ever in your favour, dear reader!

~this Wattpad Story is currently on hold due to lack of time and excess work in quarantine~