Hey everyone. Yes, I know I should be working on my Mark of Athena fic. But I was in Biotechnology and incredibly bored. So I took out my Lost Hero book and flipped through it. Then I realized how many 'Percy childhood' fics are out there. Percy is a seriously loved character in this fandom, and so is Leo. But there aren't any 'Leo childhood' fics out there! So I decided to write the first.

This is about various moments during Leo's time as a kid (after Callida/Hera leaves the picture) and later teen, leading up to the infamous Grand Canyon field trip. I'll probably include Jason in the Wilderness School ones, even though it was a trick of the Mist. The chapters probably won't be in any kind order, just what happens to occur to me. The ones where Esperanza is alive may also be in her POV. They won't all have the 'Hephaestus is trying to contact them' vibe this one has. I hope you like them!

"Mama!" Leo shouted from somewhere outside. "Mom, c'mere!"

Esperanza slid open the glass door and walked over to where her seven-year-old was crouching over something. Leo was standing in the middle of the large yard. The yard wasn't all their's since it was an apartment complex, but instead shared by all of the other families living in the four apartment buildings that surrounded it.

"Yes, mijo?" she asked, once she reached him. Leo looked up at her, then started bouncing so much that Esperanza was surprised he hadn't taken off yet.

"Look!" he cried, pointing to a messily dug hole in the earth. Esperanza was going to tell her son that he knew wasn't supposed to dig in this yard and to go inside and wash his hands (which were filthy), but the words died in her throat before she could. She stared down at what her son had found.

It was a rusty old sledgehammer, small and still half buried in the earth. Along the handle were Greek letters. Esperanza couldn't read Greek, but she had a pretty strange feeling it said 'Hephaestus.' The name of her child's father. He was nothing more to her. But if he really wasn't, why did she suddenly have the strange urge to touch it?

Leo was still beaming up at her. "And watch!" he said. He reached out and touched the head of the hammer. The letters along the side glowed red and the hammer suddenly looked new again. Esperanza tried to stifle her gasp, but Leo must have heard it anyway. He removed his hand from the hammer and his smile disappeared.

"What's wrong, Mama?" he asked her, brow furrowed.

Esperanza shook her head. "I'm fine, mijo," she said, straightening up. She looked at the hammer, once again old and rusty, the letters faded. She picked up her son (even though he was getting too big for that), and speed walked back to their apartment. Something about that hammer scared her.

Back inside the apartment, then tossed her son gently on the couch, something she knew he loved. Leo giggled as he bounced, and Esperanza closed the sliding door, and after some thought, the blinds as well.

When she turned back around, Leo was sitting still and staring at her. Esperanza took in a sharp breath. "Yes?" she asked him.

"Did that scare you?" he asked, and Esperanza was caught by surprise. She thought about telling him no, but decided to be honest.

"Sí, mijo," she answered. "That did scare me." Leo's brow furrowed again.

"Was it because I made it light up?" he asked. "Because if it was, I won't do it again, I promise."

Esperanza shook her head. "No," she told him. "It had nothing to do with that."

"Then why?" Leo asked. Esperanza sighed, wishing he wouldn't ask so many questions and just leave it at that.

"Because," she started, then paused. Should she really tell Leo about his father? She wasn't sure what would happen if she did, but she had a feeling it wouldn't be good. She thought about her son's former babysitter, Callida, and decided against it.

"It scares me that you could just go digging," she continued, "and find something so dangerous."

"You have hammers all over your workshop," Leo pointed out.

Why must he use logic? she asked herself, and tried to come up with an answer. "Well," she said finally. "I don't have rusty hammers in my workshop. Remember what I told you about rust? It can be dangerous if you aren't careful."

Leo nodded, looking serious, and Esperanza couldn't help but smile. "Just don't go digging out there again, okay?" she said. Leo nodded again, and suddenly hopped off the couch and hugged her. Even though she was caught by surprise, she bent and hugged him back.

"I'm sorry for scaring you," he murmured.

"It's okay," she whispered back. "Just... be careful."

Leo pulled away and nodded. But he was smiling again. She smiled back at him and said, "Now, how about we go over your homework before you have to turn it in tomorrow?"

Leo made a face, but went to get it. Esperanza caught a glimpse of his dirty hands and called, "Remember to wash your hands!"

"I will!" he shouted back.

Esperanza looked down at her shirt and groaned. Her (formerly) crisp, clean white shirt was now stained with dirt, with some on the front and likely two hand prints on the back. But she couldn't help but find it a little endearing.

A few hours later, Esperanza was sitting in bed, about to go to sleep. Leo had gone to bed more than and hour ago and was likely asleep. The apartment was quiet.

She found herself thinking about the hammer again. It couldn't be a coincidence. Her knowledge on the Greek gods (or the Greek anything) was only slightly better than her son's. But even she knew enough about it to know that the hammer was the sign of Hephaestus. The more she thought about it, the more compelling it became.

Finally, Esperanza couldn't take it anymore. She got out of bed and padded down the dark hallway to the living room. She didn't turn on any lights for fear of waking up Leo, and instead felt along the wall till her hand closed around a doorknob. She opened the closet door and reached around on the shelf till she felt her extra pair of work gloves.

She headed to the sliding glass door and bulled away the blinds, revealing the backyard. She flipped the switch for the porch light and she could see the backyard more clearly now. Opening the door, she stepped out into the cool night.

At the spot where the hole was, Esperanza could just barely make out the hammer. She got to work, digging it out of the ground. When it was finally free, she lifted it to her face.

It was small for a sledgehammer, only a foot long. It wasn't very heavy either. Turning it over in her hands, Esperanza saw more Greek letters and an engraving of a fire on the other side. She thought of Leo, and his power over fire.

She loved her son, but when ever he used his ability, she couldn't help but feel resentful towards Hephaestus. Did he really have to give her son the fire powers? Why not some other child? Or any at all?

She gripped the hammer tighter. She couldn't help but think of it as a warning.

Back in the apartment, Esperanza cleaned off the hammer as best she could, then hid it in the back of her closet. It scared her more than anything, but she felt like she should keep it close to her.

Just as she was about to turn off the light, she looked at the picture of Leo on her nightstand. He was in the workshop, working at his little desk and smiling, showing off his three missing teeth. It was one of the few pictures she had of him being Leo, that happy, smiling, cheerful little kid that couldn't sit still. She loved him more than anything.

Whenever Esperanza found herself resenting Hephaestus, she would always look at that picture and remind herself that he's the one that gave her Leo. The center of her world.

Blag, more of a prologue, really. I think I like how I captured Esperanza, even though I didn't have much to go on. I like little Leo, too.

Don't know when the next chapter's coming, don't know what it's going to be about. It's a series of one-shots. I'll work on them in times of Writer's Block or when I feel like writing Leo.

To anyone who's reading my Mark of Athena fic, the next chapter's in Jason's POV. Just thought you'd like to know.