PERI'S POV

Surgery is exhausting. My head was throbbing a bit, and I could barely focus on fixing anything. I wobbled on my feet and bumped into a nearby worktable, hitting my hip painfully, making me groan. I slumped onto the cool wooden table, knocking off a few papers in the process.

Leo looked up, shooting me a quizzical look. "Peri, you tired?"

". .Hmm?" I murmured, half out of it. "Yeah, yeah. I'm - I'm - I'm fine. ." I trailed off, lying down on the hard surface.

He chuckled softly. "Alright, just chill there and take a breather. You must be wiped."

I nodded and curled up on the chilling wood beneath me. I watched Leo work with half-lidded eyes, and I couldn't help but smile just the slightest at him when he built.

He was so calm and relaxed around machines. His curly hair would fall into his eyes occasionally, and he would brush it back in the most adorable way. I watched how he treated each part with care, as if it were a sensitive little baby. I think that when he's with machines he begins to space out, like there's nothing else that matters except him and his machines.

Sort of like me and my dancing.

I smiled faintly at the thought.

"Hey, Leo." I said, and he jumped.

Leo turned. "Oh. Yeah?"

I rolled over on my back and viewed him upside down. "Do you want to be a builder or something when you grow up? You're really good at it."

"When I grow up?" He wiped his oily hands on an already blackened handkerchief and laughed darkly. "Peri, I don't even know if I'm going to live to next week, let alone another three years until I'm eighteen."

I righted myself quickly and looked up into his eyes. "Leo, don't talk like that. We're gonna live, and we're gonna beat Gaea's sorry-"

"Peri, I'm serious!" he snapped. "This isn't a game. This isn't a joke. There are monsters trying to kill us. Gaea's giants are probably going to slaughter us all. We've got six days to find Hazel's brother, and the worst part is. . ."

He sighed and put his head in his hands. "That stupid prophecy. . . To storm or fire the world must fall. Peri, I'm the fire guy. And. . . storm? I used to think that was Jason or Percy. . . but then you come along and. . . And now I don't know what to think."

"Leo," I breathed and got up from the table. He slumped down to the floor, and I put a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at me, and the guilt in his eyes just about broke my heart.

"Leo, you don't honestly think you would hurt anyone, do you?"

He looked down. "But I already have."

I bit my lip, thinking. "Hey that whole golden eyes thingy wasn't even your fault." I said. "It was some kind of magic or-"

He shook his head. "That's not what I'm talking about."

I knit my eyebrows in confusion. "I. . . I don't understand. . ."

Leo took a deep breath. "Peri, when I was eight. . . I-I killed my mom."

My eyes widened. "W-What?"

"I didn't mean to, I swear." He put his head in his hands. "Gaea came, and my mom was locked in the back room of our shop, and she was stuck, and I just wanted her back, Peri. I just wanted my mom to come back to me. I-I didn't mean to, I swear. Gaea was saying all this stuff to me and I-I-I just lost control of my powers."

I saw the tears seeping between his fingers.

"Peri, I burned the whole place down," he choked. "My mom was stuck in there, and I burned it down. I killed her! I'm a monster. I-"

I couldn't take hearing this anymore. I pulled his body into mine for the strongest embrace I could muster. I wrapped my arms around him tightly, squeezing out all of his negative emotions. I could feel his arms around me, and his teardrops on my shoulder. I rubbed his curly head soothingly.

He was in so much pain.

"Leo, hush that." I said firmly. "You're not a monster. You're not. You're not."

I felt my own eyes burning, but I refused to cry. One of us had to be strong. For each other.

"Peri, it was my fault-"

"No," I pulled us apart so I could look him dead in the eye. "Leo, stop. You're not a monster. You just made a mistake. It was Gaea."

"But the prophecy," he sniffed. "It says me or you. . . storm or fire. . . Peri, one of us is gonna destroy the world."

I clenched my fists. That stupid prophecy was getting everyone worked up.

"Well how about this," I said. "If it's going to be one of us, then let's watch out for each other, okay? I'll keep an eye out for you, and you can keep an eye on me."

"But-"

"Leo, as long as there is breath in my body, I will be here for you." I said sincerely. "No matter what happens. You can destroy the whole universe for all I care. I will never give up on you, Repair boy."

"Peri," he breathed.

I saluted to him, "and that's a sailor's promise."

"I. . ." he nodded. "Okay."

I smiled lightly and brought him back into my arms tightly, and with a final breath I took in his scent.

Peaches and motor oil.