Hello, people!

This is a little cute one-shot about Esperanza and Leo, when he was 4 years old. I have been dying from Leo feels for a while now and I just had to let them out somehow! So, this story was born: Voilà!

If you notice any grammar mistakes, PLEASE tell me! English is not my first language :p

Hope you like it, guys! R&R

"Mama, look what I did!"

Little 4 years old Leo said excitedly, running through the workshop to his mother with his invention in his hands. The few clients that were in the shop looked warily at him and got out of his way before he could run into them.

Esperanza smiled, turning away from the engine she was fixing... And she burst out in laughter at what she saw.

Her son was completely covered in mud, all over his face, his clothes and shoes. His curly hair was sticky and plastered to his face and he was carrying in his little hands something colorful and with glimpses of shiny silver.

"Where did you got yourself into, mijito? You're all dirty!" she asked him between laughs when he stopped, panting, in front of her.

"I made something! Look!" he told her with that big smile that always lightened her day.
She kneeled in front of him and took his invention in her hands.

It was a car, made out of soda cans.

Her eyes widened in amazement. It was extremely detailed, with the perfect measures to make it run fast and the appropriate size of wheels to gain speed. The windshields were perfectly straight, with the correct angles. It was beautifully decorated, with red Coca-Cola and Dr. Pepper cans, green from Sprite and orange from Fanta.

Leo liked to create stuff with whatever he found lying around, that much she knew. After all, he had the blood of two master mechanics. But he had never made something so elaborate like this. And, being just a 4 years old kid, that impressed her.

"Leo, it's beautiful, mijo!" she said with a proud smile, "Where did you found the cans?" she asked him curious.

The kid's grin became bigger, if it was possible.

"Someone threw a box full of empty cans down the ravine and I got down seeing if I could make something for you."

Esperanza's heart melted from just seeing those little innocent eyes so full of love, as he said those words.

"Well, I love it. I'm really proud of you!" she told him, ruffling his dirty hair.

"It can run really fast, mom! I've already tried it on my way here!" he started telling her, like it was the most amazing thing in the world.

"Well, I bet you did a good job with it, sweetheart" she answered.

The woman got so caught up in the cute moment that she almost didn't pay much attention to the fact that her 4 years old kid went down a ravine, by himself, without adult supervision... Almost.

"Wait a minute, did you say you went down a ravine without telling mommy?" her voice became gradually sterner, though she couldn't erase the smile out of her face.

But Leo's sure did. His eyes suddenly became regretful and he looked down at his shoes ashamedly, playing with his hands.

"Sorry. I wanted it to be a surprise" he said in a small voice, not looking quite happy right now.

"Look," she said fast, not wanting to make him upset. One of her hands grabbed Leo's chin softly and made him look her in the eyes again, "I'm not going to get mad at you, because you didn't do any harm to anybody. But you could have. You could have gotten yourself hurt. So don't do it again without telling mama first, understood?" her voice was soft, yet firm.

"Understood" he affirmed, the grin returning to his face, "But you still like the car, right?"

She laughed with delight. What was she going to do with this kid?

"Of course, mi niño. We'll try it out when we get home, ok?"

"Yeah! We can make a speedway together!" he exclaimed, giving little jumps of happiness.

"And give you a bath too. Because you are super, super, super dirty!" she said, embracing him in her arms and starting to tickle him to make him laugh.

"You know that I love you a lot, right?" she asked him softly when he stopped giggling.

The little boy nodded, looking at her.

"And that I'll always be proud of you, my little mechanic" she affirmed, planting a kiss on his cheek, not minding the dirt that stayed in her mouth after that.

"And that we will always be together, right mama?" asked Leo, with an unsure little voice. His smile started quivering.

"Why would you ask that, mijo?" she said, frowning at her child's question. What in the world could possibly make him think that they could get separated?

"Because… last night I had a dream" he murmured "And I was in a dark room and you weren't there. I was scared. And then I heard a woman that told me that soon I will have to say goodbye to you, that she was sorry she had to take me away from you."

Someone said what?!, thought Esperanza, panic growing inside her. She tried to calm herself down, repeating in her head over and over again that it might be just a normal, ordinary nightmare. Nothing more than that.

But she knew that Leo wasn't a normal kid. He came from a world of gods and twisted evil forces. Hephaestus warned her about that, about how their son is special and important for this world.

"You have to be careful, Esperanza. Watch out for any dangers that might come in the future" he told her once.

"Leo, don't listen to that woman. It was just a bad dream, okay?" her voice was shaking, as well as her hands, "Nothing is going to bring us apart."

"Promise?" asked her son, still with that scared look on his eyes.

"I promise with all my heart" she said firmly, forcing a smile on her face to mask her worry "Now, come on. I think we'll be heading home early today so we can build that speedway."

Suddenly, Leo's excitement was back and he jumped out of her arms to grab his car.

"Yeah! Come on, come on! We have to hurry!" he screamed happily, pulling her by the hand towards the entrance.

Esperanza just laughed, as she always did when she was around him.

She loved him more than anything in the world. She loved when he laughed and how his eyes shined when he learned something new from her and how easy and happy life seemed when she was around him. She always wanted to make sure that nothing hurt him and always let him know how loved he was.

And that's the reason why, from that day, she swore to herself every night before going to bed that she would do everything so they could always stay together. No matter what the world threw at them.

Unfortunately, the Fates liked to keep Esperanza away from her loved ones. First Hephaestus, then her family, and later on, from the only one that she thought was going to stay with her forever... Her little amazing and talented mijo.