It's Only Fair

Calypso stood on the beach, the sand in between her toes and the cold, rhythmic water gradually moving up to consume the rest of her feet. The sunrise was beautiful, she decided. It wasn't as though she hadn't noticed it before – she simply had never taken the time to fully appreciate it. The way that the sun cast a glow of orange and pink on the gently moving ocean had a certain lure to it, making the goddess want to touch it. She didn't though, for the fear of ruining the image that was already there.

'Lady Calypso.'

As always, the fire god managed to appear without drawing her notice, and she turned, a slight smile pulling on her lips. 'Hephaestus. What brings you here?'

He stood, his hands absently creating something from a few small gears and wire. 'Mother Earth has fallen.'

She looked into his eyes, easily seeking out the pain and sorrow that lay within them. Did he mourn for Gaia? Surely not. Calypso couldn't think of one reason why he should. So why was he so sad?

'What is it? What has happened?'

The god shook his head sadly, as though he thought he could banish the hurt to the depths of his mind, never feeling it again. 'I am not sure if I should tell you. What I did come for though, was to let you know that you are free to leave. You can do as you choose.'

Calypso exhaled slightly, looking back to the sunrise. 'I am waiting for Leo. I know of his oath, lord, and I know he is not one to break such things. So, until he arrives, I will be here.'

She heard the god sigh behind her. 'Calypso, you see –'

'Oh, hush now,' she snapped. 'I've waited this long, I can wait a little longer.'

'An eternity?'

She turned, a frown etching its way into her brow. 'What?'

'Can you wait for an eternity, Calypso?'

'What . . . what do you mean?' she asked slowly. 'Leo is coming back . . . isn't he?'

Hephaestus shook his head sadly, and all of a sudden, the meaning for the pain in his eyes came crashing down on Calypso all at once. She staggered, her breathing harsh and laboured.

'No,' she whispered, as though saying that word would make it true. 'No. Oh, no, no, no, no . . .'

She could have chosen to have it rain on Ogygia until the end of existence, which is what the previous, sulky, and temper-tantrum throwing goddess she used to be would have done. But Leo had changed her. She felt she didn't need to cry. Leo was worth more than that. So much more.

She turned back to Hephaestus, only to find a breeze and a small hermit crab making its way along the sand. She wanted to curse, but she held back. There was a more pressing situation on her mind.

Looking up at the sky, she breathed in deeply. In the distance, there was the slight smell of soot and smoke. She frowned. What? She was hallucinating, surely. Only Leo ever smelt like that, and this time the scent was multiplied by at least a hundred. Like a fire . . .

Something broke through the clouds so fast that Calypso nearly jumped out of her skin. Straining her eyes, she could see a black speck, and a voice was carrying in the wind. A voice that was so familiar.

'YEAH! WHO DIED? WHO CAME BACK? WHO'S YOUR FREAKIN' SUPERSIZED McSHIZZLE NOW, BABY? WOOOOOOOO!'

Calypso couldn't help herself. She laughed. There was no way on earth that this could be possible. Nothing that she knew. This boy – no, man, was a miracle. Her miracle.

The speck became closer and closer, and soon enough she could make out a bronze dragon, with a Latino rider on his back. She crossed her arms and waited.

Festus spread his wings in an attempt to land gracefully, but crumpled when he hit the ground, one of his legs obviously broken. Leo tumbled over his head and into the sand, right at her feet. He spat out a piece of seaweed and looked up. She arched her eyebrows.

'You're late,' she said flatly. Of the million things that she could have said, it happened to be that. It was because that was how they worked. No sappy romance here.

'Sorry, Sunshine,' he said, starting to grin. 'Traffic was murder.'

'You are covered with soot,' she informed him. 'And you managed to ruin the clothes I made for you, which were impossible to ruin.'

'Well, you know. I'm all about doing the impossible.'

Holding back a smile that threatened to split her face, she helped him to is feet, and they stood nose to nose as she looked him over and drunk him in, resisting the urge to touch him. He looked and smelled like he had died in a fire or something, which, wasn't a nice smell. She scrunched up her nose. 'You smell –'

'I know. Like I've been dead. Probably because I have been. Oath to keep with a final breath and all, but I'm better now –'

No touching him? When did she say that? Well, she didn't care. She kissed him, releasing all of the bottled up emotions she had kept since he had left, and it felt so good. She felt him grin against her mouth, and finally after a long time, she pulled away.

'Leo Valdez,' she murmured. It was no ordinary name. It was the name that changed her life.

'That's me,' he murmured back, his voice slightly shaky. 'So, um . . . you want to get off this island?'

She stepped back a little, and waved her hand, summoning her wind servants. They arrived immediately with her two suitcases, and set them at her feet. 'What gave you that idea?' she asked.

He grinned. 'Packed for a long trip, huh?'

'I don't plan on coming back,' she said, looking over her shoulder at what was now losing its title as her home. 'Where will you take me, Leo?'

'Somewhere to fix my dragon, first,' he said, thinking. 'And then . . . wherever you want. How long was I gone, seriously?'

'Time is difficult on Ogygia,' she said, just like she had when he was here last. 'It felt like forever.'

'So once you leave Ogygia, do you stay immortal or what?' he asked.

'I have no idea.'

'And you're okay with that?'

'More than okay.'

'Well then!' he said, turning towards Festus, who was still limping on his three working legs. 'Buddy, you up for another flight to nowhere in particular?'

The dragon blew fire in response, and Leo seemed to understand it.

'That's how I fly, Sunshine,' he said, turning back. 'Can I get your bags?'

'Absolutely.'

When they were up in the air, Calypso felt a rush of euphoria, and a memory came back to her. "It's only fair . . ."

She leaned forward and put her mouth beside Leo's ear. 'This is more than fair,' she whispered. She wasn't sure if he heard her over the passing wind, but she didn't care, because it was the truth.

I wrote this for you special people just now. Please review :)