Despite being constantly on the run for all of his tween years, Leo has never been on an elevator. He always thought it was an unsafe invention (despite the fact that over ¾ of his inventions have also been deemed 'unsafe'), and a danger to public safety. Heck, his safety. A metal box, carrying over 200 pounds of weight (courtesy of Mr. Blofis), being pulled up by thin electrical wires, No thank you. But it would've been kind of embarrassing to have to explain to them how he suddenly has a fear of elevators, of all things, so he sucked it up and hopped on the beast. He tried to concentrate on the classical music being played on the elevators speakers (emphasis on 'tried') thinking it would calm his nerves…which was not the case. Mr. Blofis caught sight of Leo's demeanor and smiled broadly.

"You have a good taste in music, son. 'Ode to Joy', very nice piece"

Leo just stared. He recalls watch episodes of "Little Einstein's" growing up in his Moms workshop, but he had no idea what this man was talking about.

"Actually…I really don't know what this is", he said shyly, "I don't really listen to this kind of stuff…sorry". Mr. Blofis's smile all but widened,

"It's alright. I'm a nerd for the Classical and Romantic eras"

Percy's mom slid her hands around her husband's thick neck and pecked him on the check.

"Yes, but you're MY nerd, and I find it quite alluring when you talk about those kinds of things…"

They embraced. Percy screamed in pure terror.

"Oh, Gods! Mom! Paul! Please!"

They laughed as they pulled apart.

"Sorry, baby. We got carried away it seems" Mrs. Blofis said, her whole face painted red. Leo didn't know what to do so he just stood there and smiled. The elevator doors parted and Leo stepped (relieved) on the carpeted floor, following the Blofis's with Percy beside him. For some reason, Percy refused to pick up the Blofis name, and when he asked about it a few weeks ago, the water-bender just shrugged. Leo didn't understand why, considering the fact that Percy was the son of the Poseidon, king of the ocean, and 'Blofis' sounded like 'Blowfish'. Percy Blofis…er…maybe not.

Percy's mom turned the key and pushed open the door. The apartment was surprisingly spacious and well-furnished considering the square footage (another little quirk of being a son of Hephaestus…and an ADHD Leo Valdez). There was a kitchen table, couches, a hallway, counters, and even an automated fire place. This didn't feel right to Leo. This was someone's home. Leo stood on the welcome mat, debating whether he should go in, or just make a run for it right now. Sally turned toward the confused mechanic.

"Come on in, sweetie" she coaxed. Leo looked at the floor, at her, and then took a step in. It felt weird to him, being in a home…that he couldn't call his.

"You can just put your shoes on the rug" she said, pointing to the beige rug behind him. He did so, pressing his shoes close together so that they didn't take up too much room.

Mrs. Blofis saw his bag slung awkwardly on his shoulder and frowned.

"You don't want to carry that heavy thing around", But there's barley anything in it, Leo thought, "You can just set that in Percy's room. It's the first door on the left, sweetie"

Leo made his way down the hallway, taking notice of the pictures on the wall. The one that really caught his eye was with a 10 year old Percy Jackson holding a Mickey Mouse shaped balloon smiling from ear to ear with the caption: 'Where Dreams come true: Percy-Disney World". Leo couldn't help but smile as he examined the photo. It was hard to imagine Percy Jackson: Savior of Olympus, former Praetor of the 12th Legion, Son of the Mighty Poseidon, slayer of the Minotaur, Medusa, Cronus, etc., cheesing toothily in front of Cinderella's castle.

Leo found Percy's room door cracked and covered from floor to ceiling with old project reminders dating back to 2010, caution tape, and a single picture of him and Grover taking a (very manly) selfie. Tentatively, Leo opened the door and took a step inside. It wasn't especially messy, Percy's room that is. It was no better than Leo's spare room at Bunker 9, so he really had no right to talk. Clothes were thrown everywhere from jeans to shorts, to t-shirts and socks. His walls were painted light blue (surprise, surprise) with the occasional food stain scattered from here to there. His bed was a twin, pushed up on the right side of his wall, with books, papers, and magazines scattered all over it. Including some selective ones sporting a couple bunnies Leo noticed.

There was a window on the left wall, setting the room ablaze with the oncoming colors of fall, and giving a skyline view of New York. The clutter didn't disturb Leo at all; it was perfectly okay to him. The question was where was he going to sleep? Leo wasn't picky at all, years on the street and the boys at the orphanage and foster homes taught him that. But there was no way on Olympus that Leo was sleeping in with Percy.

…Percy's bed that is. Get your minds straight.

There was some shuffling in the closet, which Leo inferred must be Percy. He cleared his throat.

"Uh…Percy"

The raven haired teen stepped out of the closet with an aero bed bag.

Leo cleared his throat again, this one sounding much hoarser than the other.

"Your mom told me to, um, put my bag n' stuff in here…"

Percy rubbed his nose and sniffed,

"Alright, that's cool. I'm going to blow this up really quick", he looked at the clock, "My mom should be cooking dinner right about now so…I guess you can watch TV in the living room"

Leo nodded and made his way into the hallway.

"Channel 3's the directory" Percy called out his room.

Leo picked at the "Tamale" in front of him. Nothing about it looked the least bit appetizing. For starters it was soggy and limb. The chicken was falling out of the wrap from just breathing on it. The salsa was liquidy and tasted store bought, and you could not have store bought salsa in your Tamale, at least that's what his mother told him. He didn't show his disgust on his face of course, it was obvious Mrs. Blofis had never made this before. So he sifted through it, studying its contents carefully.

"Do you like it?" Mrs. Blofis asked, a pained smile plastered on her face. Leo smiled widely and gripped his fork firmer in his hand.

"Yeah! Um…it's very…savory" he exaggerated the last word, hoping to convince her.

"But you haven't even tasted it yet" Percy quipped. Leo glared at him slightly before turning to Mrs. Blofis, then to his plate. He cut a piece with his fork, making sure to peel back the corn husk. He brought it up to his mouth and quickly shoved it down his throat, trying (and failing) to miss his taste buds. It wasn't terrible…but it sure as heck wasn't good. The texture was like wet paper in his mouth aside from the chicken. Good thing Ma couldn't taste this; she'd have a fit, Leo thought of his mother throwing the Tamale across the room cursing it in Spanish.

He swallowed the rest that was on his fork and forced a smile as he held a thumb up to Percy's mom.

She smiled, convinced, and then turned to Percy.

"Paul convinced Goode High to take you back for your senior year. It's your last year of freedom until your thrown into the world of taxes, jobs, and bills, so you might as well make the best of it, Perce"

Percy's shoulders tensed and all of a sudden his tamale turned into the monster in the room. He's hiding something, Leo thought.

"Oh, and Leo, schools open for you as well", Leo chocked on a piece of chicken that was still trying to make its way down his throat, "If you'd like" she quickly added. After he recovered he gave her a small, panicked grin. School?

"Uh…I don't really think that's such a good idea." He was fiddling with some paper clips he found on the coffee table in the living room.

She thought for a moment, "You can stay with me through the day…I'll be running errands during the weekends…from experience I know that ADHD and an office does not go together, but your welcome to come anyway".She glanced at Percy who shrugged.

"Nico di Angelo sometimes passes through here to every once in a while" Percy added, "Maybe you can hang with him sometime". That seemed cool to Leo, Nico was actually an okay guy in Leo's book.

Leo looked around the table and noticed Paul wasn't there, he guessed he retired to bed early tonight. Grover, Percy's friend and protector, told Leo that Paul was a teacher or principal or something. Grading papers and trying to convince the school system that your step-son wasn't a criminal must've been hard work.

"Thank you for the…food Mrs. Blofis, but I'm think I'm going to golpear el saco si que está bien"

Percy and his mom stared at him for a bit. Leo's eyes widened when he realized his mistake.

"What?" Percy asked. Leo jumped up.

"I'm so sorry! I'm sorry! I-I kind of get confused between English and Spanish when I'm not thinking straight. Sorry!"

Mrs. Blofis laughed softly, "It's okay, Leo. Percy sometimes gets confuses Greek with English when he's tired, too", she picked up her plate, "We all should be getting to bed, we have to go shopping in the morning". Percy groaned and Mrs. Blofis ruffled his dark brown hair.

As the boys were retreating back to Percy's room, Mrs. Blofis called Leo's name from the kitchen.

"Leo?" she said

"Yes, Mrs. Blofis" he replied.

"You can call me Sally if you'd like"

He nodded, and proceeded to follow Percy.

Sally…

Sally…

Percy gave Leo a blue comforter and two pillows. For a while they laid in silence, the only light being streamed in was from the moon. Just as Leo was starting to drift off, Percy called him from his bed.

"Leo?" he said, voice hoarse with the oncoming of sleep.

"Yeah?"

There was a beat of silence.

"Nothing" Percy dismissed.

Leo shrugged and relaxed once more, letting his mind and body drift into the ocean of dreams.