Fourth of July used to be one of her favorite holidays, now she despised it. She used to think of the Fourth as a day of firsts. Now it meant nothing to her but melancholy memories. She sat there on the hill as everyone gathered down on the beach for the spectacular firework show. She however sat there bitterly remembering all that happened in the past.

"What was he thinking?" she muttered to herself.

"I don't know what was I thinking?" she swore she heard his voice.

There was nothing at the moment she wanted more than to slap him across the face and then throw her arms around him. He was an idiot but that didn't make her love him any less than she already did.

Her first kiss happened on the fourth all those years ago. She looked around and nearly had a heart attack. There he was standing there beside her his arms outstretched. She stood there and he smiled.

"I'm back." He whispered.

She slapped him across the face, just like she'd been dying to do. Then after he rubbed him face for a moment and admitted that he deserved what she just threw at him she threw her arms around his neck.

"So I'll take that as I'm forgiven?" he asked.

She rolled her eyes, "Not quite sir."

The fireworks began, not just trailing into the sky and exploding into beautiful arrangements, but they we're also exploding in her heart. Just like they had all those years ago. They stood on the hill just in each other's arms watching the firework show. She was impressed this year.

They were together again and there was nothing that she could see coming between them. Not crazy Titan overlords who want to rule the world, nor stupid prophecies, not even a stupid pine tree. They were finally together the way they should have been years earlier.

All of this happened on the Fourth of July, her day of firsts. Nothing was going to change the way she looked at it anymore. He slowly cupped her face in his hands and kissed her. It was something straight out of the movies. The guy is forgiven for whatever the hell he did to the girl while they're kissing with fireworks bursting in the background. Yeah it was cliché but it was her cliché moment.

She was reminded of her first kiss that she shared with the same guy all that time ago. To her, after all they've been through, it seemed like centuries ago. Then she remembered the kiss clearly as if it had happened only moments earlier.

They were sitting on a hill over looking a small suburb. She was sitting there with her knees brought up to her chest; he was sitting next to her, while their little friend was catching fireflies. She was twelve at the time and he was fourteen. He scooted closer to her as the fireworks started and wrapped his hand around hers. She looked over at him and before she knew it his lips were planted on hers in a kiss.

He pulled away from her and smiled. He had missed her and he never did get to say goodbye to her that night. The night he died. He relished the moment that he was having with her. Standing there watching the fireworks. Apparently the Hephaestus cabin was under new direction because the fireworks were better than any other show he had ever seen.

"Thals I never got to tell you sorry." He whispered.

She looked up at him, "Not right now you'll ruin the moment."

He chuckled, "Ok then."

"You were always good at ruining the moment." She muttered.

He smiled at her but didn't say anything. There was no need to say anything to her at the moment. She was right he was ruining it. Finally the fireworks were over but they sat out on the hill and talked about things and he realized that this was what he had always wanted.

They sat there until her head drooped and he could barely keep his head up. Fourth of July was officially his favorite holiday. He tucked her into her bed and kissed her forehead. This was what he needed. He had needed her all along but that was in the past.

Who knew that fireworks could be such an amazing thing in a person's life? As he walked away he looked at her for a moment.

"I love you Thalia."

"I love you too Luke." She whispered.

This was just the start of future Fourth of Julys. This was barely the beginning in the time that they were going to spend with one another. Something that they would look back on as their kids caught fireflies on the beach while the fireworks boomed overhead, as he dropped to one knee a few Fourths later, and lastly as he kissed her at the alter as they said their I dos. They both decided that this was officially one of their favorite holidays of all time.