Disclaimer: I do not own PJO

"Leo, why do you have a backpack?"

The son of Hephaestus looked up from his bunk, where he had been busily sketching the Argo 2's engine. Harley, who had asked him the question, was staring and him with curiosity from the other end of Leo's bunk bed.

"Because it's easy to carry stuff in. You have one too, bud". Leo frowned in confusion. But his answer didn't seem to satisfy his little brother, as his mouth twisted and his eyebrows drew together in a questioning look.

"But why is yours always packed? Like if you were leaving. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, the meaning of them seemed to settle on his shoulders. His bottom lip trembled. "Are you leaving?"

Guilt and worry gnawed on Leo's stomach. "No. I've always had a packed bag". He shifted his weight nervously. "It's just a habit".

Harley looked terrified. "But it looks like you're going to leave. Why would you leave? Why would you run away?"

Leo felt like a deer caught in the headlights of a car- paralyzed and uncertain. For each of the different homes he had been in, there had been a variety of reason to leave. But it all boiled down to one, and Leo wasn't sure if Harley could understand. He took a deep breath, and tried come up with a reasonable explanation- one that wouldn't reveal too much.

"Close your eyes, Harley." Leo began. "Imagine you're in a great big room. Suddenly everything catches on fire, and you can't see, and ash is feeling your lungs. Too much smoke is in the air, and you can't breathe. What would you do?"

Harley didn't hesitate. "I would run away from the fire".

Leo closed his eyes, and slowly nodded. "Exactly. You would run".

A/N: I know it's pretty short, but it was just something that popped into my mind. I just felt like it would be cool to put it down, and post it. I know it's probably no great, but it's better than nothing. Let me know what you think!

-bulelightningbug