Chapter 5: Stories of Leonidas: Parts 1&2

(Author's Note)

Hey, everyone! I'm back with another chapter! I was worried that I wouldn't get this one out in time, it's a long one as you can tell and was hard to write. As you can see from the title this is another Leonidas chapter, but unlike the last one he won't be at camp and it'll be glimpses or stories from his life. A word of warning about this chapter though, the second story is inspired by farmer scene from the movie Logan, you know Hugh Jackman's magnum opus and his conclusion to his role as Wolverine. If you know that movie you might have some idea what to expect, but I'm going to warn you that this chapter is graphic.

Next up, please vote on my Poll on my profile, it's for my next PJ Pertemis story. I'll be putting it out after my HTTYD story that will go up after this story.

An important notice, guys, I WON'T be putting out a chapter next week, I'll instead be writing and putting out a Young Justice Bat Family Valentine's One-Shot. It will hopefully be out right on Valentine's day and will be mostly practice for my upcoming YJ story. Chapter 6 will come out the following week, the 23rd. Chapters will come out every weekend or so. Speaking of that, this story will be 19 chapters in total, so if I put out one a week I should be done on May 25th. I'll try to stick to this schedule and date as much as possible.

Lastly don't forget to Follow and Favorite both me and this story and leave a REVIEW. They help me figure what what you guys like and what I'm doing right and wrong. Detailed, constructive Reviews are the best.

That's it, guys. Enjoy the chapter. I'll see you at the bottom.


Part 1: Returns A Spartan

(August 5, 1997 - A small farmhouse in Minnesota)

Leonidas' earliest memory he could recollect was the feel of a sword in his hand. The cool kiss of the metal as the flawless blade laid on his open palm as he inspected it. The coarse texture of the worn leather on the grip in his small hand. The weight of the blade as he swung it through the air, testing what movements he had already been trained to master before he even had held a real blade. It was at the ripe old age of three that his mother had deemed him old enough to begin physical training.

Leonidas could remember every lesson that his mother ever drilled into him, the code she made him memorize and live by everyday of his life: The first, was to always follow orders, as a good soldier did not hesitate, because to hesitate on the battlefield was to ask for an invitation to die. The biggest disgrace a soldier could face would be if he disobeyed orders or fled from battle. If he ever did fail to follow his mother's orders, then he would receive an extra few hours of work for his insubordination and be denied food for the day. He was trained to never question his mother. Her word was law and she would make him into the greatest warrior in history, but only if he obeyed her every command.

The second, only speak when spoken to and when necessary. It was as Plato said; "Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something." His mother had made him memorize that, as well as many dozen more quotes from philosophers, and would make him repeat it every time he spoke something aloud that she did not deem relevant or wise.

The third, last though the most important, live as a Spartan. The greatest military city and population to have ever lived. To train as a Spartan, to live every day as if it were his last. To put his all into every attack and make every swing of his fists or blade a killing blow. From birth he had been told to memorize the Spartan oath; "No retreat, no surrender; that is Spartan law. And by Spartan law we will stand and fight and die." And like the Spartans before him, from a young age, Leonidas was forced to endure physical and mental training that bordered on the line of torture every single day of his life under his mother's ever watching eyes.

At the young age of five his mother gave him his first mission as a soldier: 'Track down the rogue alpha wolf in the woods that had been killing their goats and chickens and kill it'. He remembered that experience in such detail that he could write an epic that could have rivaled those of Homer before him. His mother walked him to the edge of the forest beyond their property at dawn, wordlessly handed him his xiphos, a traditional Spartan short sword, his dory, a seven foot(2.1m) Spartan spear and his hoplon, his Spartan Hoplite shield passed down by each generation that rooted back to the original Spartans. Once he sheathed his sword and fitted the 30lb(13.6kg) shield to his already developing arm, his mother held out his helmet to him and he placed it on his head. He expected no words offering him good luck from his mother, as she was not the nurturing or caring type, she would often go days without speaking to him, so he turned and began to walk into the shadowy darkness of the woods silently. He didn't make it past the first line of trees when his mother spoke up, the first time in the two days since she told him of his mission.

""Come back with your shield or on it."" He turned to face his mother, she wore a face that portrayed no emotion or fear for his safety, only a look of expectation for him to achieve his goal. The same look he had seen on her face every day of his short life so far.

"Plutarch," He replied, the name of the man who coined the traditional phrase a Spartan mother would tell her son before he went off to war. "I shall not fail, mother."

She gave no sign whether she believed his words or not, she simply stated, "For if you do, do not return. For you will have no home to return to." With those final words his mother turned back to the house and left without a word, leaving the five year old demigod to face the beast alone.

oooOooo

It was on the third day of his hunt in the vast Minnesota wilderness that five year old Leonidas found his first real sign of the wolf he was ordered to kill. He had been taught how to start a fire, make camp, hunt for food and survive in the woods, and was expected to fend for himself as he tracked the wolf. He traveled light and fast, the only things he had were with him were the weapons and armor his mother had given him. He would have to rely solely on her teachings to survive. Just as she trained him.

It was all he needed.

The early morning late summer air was cool under the shade of the trees. A welcomed change to the months he spent in the grueling summer heat training last year. Already at the age of five, his skin was tanned and toughened by the elements. His increased strength courtesy of his father's blood had revealed itself at the end of winter when a Hellhound broke through their magical borders and invaded their house. The devilish beast with a coat as dark as an abyss crept into his room, aiming to kill the young defenseless boy in his sleep, but Leonidas awoke when his instincts warned him of the threat and without thinking about it, grabbed the snout of the beast as it lunged and tore its jaws apart, killing it without ever leaving his bed.

He would have to call upon those instincts again if he wished to be successful in his mission to kill the wolf. The young boy of five knelt beside a rabbit he had shot earlier that morning, deciding to not eat it for breakfast and instead sacrifice it to the gods in request for their blessings on his hunt. They would have more use of it than him. Just as his mother taught him.

Leonidas quickly constructed a small fire from the dry kindling he kept on his belt and soon the fire was large enough to engulf the small animal. Closing his eyes and placing his hand over his heart he whispered, "I offer this kill to you, Lady Artemis, goddess of the Hunt, though like me it is small and insufficient and unworthy, I ask that you accept it. Lady Artemis, the greatest hunter to ever live, I humbly beseech you, an unworthy mortal, that you may bless my hunt for the demon wolf so that I may prove myself to my mother as well to my father."

After drowning the fire, the boy took the ash and soot from the fire and covered his skin in it to better hide him in the shadows of the forest. Lady Artemis, it seemed, found his offering suitable and not even five minutes later he found a large wolf track embedded in the fresh mud leading into a rock outcropping. The hunt was on.

The boy stalked ever forward, for a Spartan never retreated, his dory held in a perfect stance in front of him as he silently trekked into the hills. The jagged rocks like piercing daggers stabbed at his bare feet, but he felt nothing. The soles of his feet had long since gone numb to the stabbing pain of rocks and sticks under them. His mother forced him to train his body to take any pain it encountered, assisted by his durable skin that thickened and hardened by the day. Already, his skin prevented blades from piercing into his bone unlike the previous year, stopped by his dense muscle fibers and hardened skin.

. . .

The boy followed the wolf's trail until sunset where it finally ended before an ominous, dark cave. Without hesitation the boy moved silently into the cave, his ears trained to pick up the slightest sound. This was his initiation, for he would return to his mother a Spartan, or not at all.

He found the wolf at the end of the short cave, waiting for him in a large cavern, its nose savoring the scent of a meal to come. Unflinching and unsubmitting to fear, Leonidas raised his dory as the wolf began to circle him. Claws like black steel, fur as dark as night, eyes glowing a sinister red, like jewels from the pits of Hades itself. The boy eyed the darkness around him, his pupils expanded to let him see clearly in the near pitch darkness, thankful that his father's blood allowed his body to adapt quickly to his surroundings.

The giant wolf sniffed, smelling for any sign of fear in the boy, but found nothing. He stood still as stone as the wolf crept ever closer, its dagger-like fangs barred, drool dripping from its open maw. The wolf growled, Leonidas growled in return.

Suddenly the beast leaped at the boy, its piercing fangs aimed at his neck! But the boy predicted this and ducked and rolled under the attack, rising to a stand behind the wolf, his dory ever pointed at his enemy.

The giant wolf jumped again, but found the head and shaft of the dory embedded in his unprotected soft stomach. Letting out a bellow of pain, the wolf started to cry out to his father, Lycaon, the god of wolves, but Leonidas silenced him with his xiphos before he could call to his father for help.

The boy silently cut the meat from the wolf in the darkness of the cave, burning it and offering it to Artemis for her assistance and blessing in tracking and slaying the beast. Leonidas heard a barely audible stag cry outside of the cave coming from the forest, the boy allowed himself to smile for the first time in months, taking it as sign from Lady Artemis.

. . .

The boy carried and dragged the massive corpse of the wolf for two more days back home to his mother. Never resting, for a warrior never rested until the mission was over, and he had yet to return.

He arrived in the clearing his house sat in just after dawn, the body of the wolf sitting on his shoulders. He found his mother where he always found her after dawn, sitting at the small wooden gazebo near the water's edge that his father built for her many years ago. A pair of untouched tea cups(one for her and one for his father just in case he returned that day) and a loaf of freshly baked bread for them to share. She was looking off into the horizon just beyond the water's edge. Ever waiting for her lover to return to her.

Leonidas dropped the wolf's body at the steps of the gazebo, following his mother's eyes to the breaking dawn, secretly hoping that today, the day he proved himself a Spartan would be the day he saw his father walking up to them from out of the morning rays.

But no one came. No one ever did and no one ever would.

Finally after standing there for several minutes waiting for her to, but knowing that she wouldn't notice him, he cleared his throat. "Mother," He dropped to a knee, a sign of respect that she drilled into him since he could stand. "I have completed my task."

Surprisingly, his mother replied, though her eyes never tore themselves from the horizon. "I see that you have." Her voice was distant, like she was on autopilot and not really present despite being right there in front of him. "Your chores have not been done for five days, see to it that they are done. I will not tolerate this sort of laziness again." She said, instead of congratulating him on his victory or taking him in her arms and being glad that he was back. But that wouldn't be his mother.

"Yes, mother." He stood, giving one more glance off to the rising sun before turning around and heading off to complete his next task.


Part 2: A Girl Named Mary

(June 17, 2006, Farmlands of Kansas)

Leonidas trekked alone down a dusty dirt road. Earth, dust and debris blowing in the light wind, threatening to attack his eyes and nose. The clear, cloudless sky allowed the scorching summer sun to relentlessly beat down on him like rapids against rocks. Endless walls of wheat that seemed like they went for miles flanked him on each side of the road, the soft rubbing of the plants as they swayed in the wind being the only sounds for miles in a direction. He let his eyes wander around him, he could see no cars, no trees, no buildings, no light poles, no houses, no signs of human existence other than the dirt road he walked on and the knowledge that the crops were planted by them.

He was deep in the farmlands of Kansas, where never ending seas of wheat swept back and forth like rolling waves, an endless ocean of golden tan wheat. He let out a content sigh, he always enjoyed being as far away from human populations as much as possible, which is why he mostly frequented mountains and forests when he traveled across the country. But here in Kansas it was almost impossible for him to go around the expansive farmlands, so he prayed that he wouldn't run into too many people and made his way through them.

But it wasn't too long before his good luck(and good mood) ran out. He could see a man, most definitely a farmer, standing outside of an old beat up pickup truck. Upon a closer inspection, Leonidas could see that the man was trying in vain to push the old truck out of a ditch. After watching the man from afar for a few minutes, a woman and a small boy made their way out of the truck as well and began talking to the man. In all honesty, Leonidas was considering just going on his way, they hadn't seen him and he had no obligation whatsoever to help them, there was also the fact that he liked to avoid people as much as possible as he mostly found the general modern population irritating and barbaric, but after realizing that the woman had an extremely bulged stomach he knew that he could not in any way leave this family stranded miles from anything.

So he decided to help them and then be on his way.

"Need a hand?" He called out to the man as he still tried in vain to push the truck. His voice was rough from not being used recently, he didn't make it a habit to talk to himself, so it saw very little use in the last few years. The man's son, who looked to be about seven or so, was also helping push as well, but Leonidas was doubtful that he was actually helping in anyway with his small size.

The man paused from his task to look at him, tipping back his hat to help block the sun out of his eyes. A smile formed on his face under his mustache. "O'course." The man put his hand on his son's shoulder and directed him out of the way so that Leonidas could stand next to him. "We'd appreciate the help, son." He nodded over to his pregnant wife that was standing a few feet away with her son, watching Leonidas. "We was just in town for her check up an' I went an' got the tire stuck. I might 'ave to run back to my farm an' get my tractor."He said, sounding defeated, looking at the stuck tire. "I don't think the two of us can get it out."

"Let me give it a go," Leonidas said as he put his hands on the bumper, having to lean down quite a ways because of his height. "I might be able to help." He knew with all certainty that he could easily get it unstuck, with the most difficult part making sure that he hid his increased strength.

"I'd hope so, it's a long walk back home." The man looked up to the cab of the car, Leonidas could now see a mess of long hair behind the steering wheel. "Try again, sweetie." A second later the wheels started to spin quickly. To Leonidas, he said, "On three, then." Before bending down to put his hands on the bumper. "One, two, THREE!" With a slight huff, Leonidas lifted the rear end of the truck out of the ditch at the same time that he pushed forward. The truck was free from its prison a second later.

"Woah woah!" The man yelled to the person in the cab. "Brake! We're free!" The truck stopped after making it a few feet. Wiping his forehead with the back of his hand, the man faced Leonidas, a massive smile on his face. "Thanks so much, son." He offered his hand to Leonidas which he shook after a second. "We'd be stuck if it weren't you."

"It's no problem." Leonidas shook his head. "I was happy to help."

"You're a lifesaver." The woman walked up next to her husband, smiling to Leonidas as she kept one hand on her expanded stomach. "We feared that we would be stranded until nightfall."

Leonidas didn't respond, instead inspecting the two. The man was about forty, give or take a few years -he always had trouble telling because he wasn't used to interacting with people- on the shorter side, stocky and broad shouldered with a weathered and sun tanned complexion, a sign of his profession. His wife was shorter and more plump, not including her pregnancy bump, with light chestnut curls that floated just above her shoulders. From the size of her stomach it was obvious that she was due soon.

The man looked Leonidas over, most likely taken back by the random, large, heavily muscled teenager adorned in a tan hoodie and black cargo pants despite the hot weather and a camping backpack on his back. "I don't think I've seen ya 'round here, son." The man stopped his inspection and looked up to his face. "You from the next town over?"

Leonidas shook his head. "No, just passing through."

The man looked surprised by this, looking past Leonidas down the dirt road that only went in two directions. "Are ya with your parents? Are ya staying uptown in the motel?"

Leonidas shook his head again. "No, I'm by myself."

"By yourself?" The woman asked, her eyes widening. "But the nearest town isn't for a few hours by foot."

"How old are ya?" The man asked, looking him over again. "'Cause ya don't look old enough to be travelin' alone to me."

"I'm fifteen." He answered, hoping to finish this conversation and get back to his travels, he could still make a good distance before dusk.

"Fifteen?" The woman asked, her eyes even wider. "You can't be traveling out here by yourself, you're too young."

Leonidas faked a reassuring smile. "I'll be fine. I've been by myself for three years-."

"No no, that won't do, sweetie." The woman cut him off with a light shake of her head, her curls bouncing lightly from the action. "It'll be dark by the time you get to town, let us drive you to your motel at least."

As it turns out, Leonidas' next words were a mistake, quite possibly the biggest and most painful mistake of his life. "I'm not staying at a motel," He said quickly, trying to end the conversation and leave. "I'm camping out." He said, patting his pack on his back.

"Ya can't be serious." The man said, his eyes widening. "You're just a child." Leonidas didn't correct the man that he was in fact a teenager and more than capable of taking care of himself. "We have coyotes out 'ere, you can't spend the night outside."

"But I-."

"You can stay with us for the night," The woman said, a smile on her face. "Paying you back for helping us out." She nudged her husband with her elbow. "Andrew can drive you into town in the morning."

"It's okay," Leonidas started to say. "I appreciate it, but it won't be necessary-."

"Think nothin' of it, sweetie." She smiled, waving him off kindly. "I'm Cheryl. This is my husband, Andrew." Andrew tipped his hat. She then gestured to the small boy a few feet behind them. "This is our son, Mason. Our daughter," She paused, looking around. "Where is she?"

"Still inside I think." Andrew said, looking up the cab of the truck, calling, "Hey, come out 'ere, sweetie, come and meet," The man faltered, realizing he didn't know the strange teenager's name. "Sorry, son, I forgot to ask your name."

"It's Leonidas." He said to the man before starting to turn to the person he heard waking up behind him. "And you are-?"

"I'm Mary," A voice said as Leonidas turned and as soon as he did, his heart stopped, his breath taken from his lungs. The girl held out her hand. "Nice to meet you, Leo."

She was beautiful. She was a full head shorter than him with an athletic build, a combination of her parents. She had her mother's light chestnut curls but kept her hair longer, letting flow freely down to the small of her back. Her face was heart-shaped with large lips and beautiful crystal blue eyes. She was dressed in work boots, slightly worn fitted jeans, a flannel shirt tucked into her jeans and a cowboy hat. All in all she looked like what Leonidas assumed what a stereotypical farm girl looked like. She maintained her smile as Leonidas stared dumbly at her for a few more seconds before coming to his senses and shaking her hand.

"I, uh… It's Leonidas." He said stupidly, inwardly kicking himself for being so stupid just because he was looking at an attractive girl, not like he often met or even saw attractive girls in the wilderness .

The girl smiled regardless. "Alright, Le~o~ni~das," She chuckled to herself, drawing out his name like she found it amusing. "That's a real fancy name you have there."

"Ah, there you are, Mary." Cheryl said, looking from her daughter back to Leonidas. "We're giving Leonidas here a ride back home and letting him stay the night."

If Mary was going to say something she didn't get the chance because her little brother Mason jumped into the conversation. "You're really big!" The child said quickly, looking Leonidas up and down. "How big are you? Are you really fifteen? Because you look older than that. Where are you from? Where are you parents? How long are you gonna stay with us? What-?"

"Alright, Mason." His father cut the boy off. "Let Leonidas breath, you're overwhelming him."

"No no," Leonidas said, looking to the boy. He wasn't used to being around children, or anyone, really, so he had no idea how to interact with the small boy. "Yes, I'm fifteen, almost sixteen this October." He plastered on a fake smile. "And I'm from Minnesota. What were your other questions?"

"Where are your parents?" The boy asked excitedly. "Are you camping with them?" He pointed to the pack on Leonidas' back.

Leonidas's smile faltered. "I'm not with my parents." He answered slowly. "My mother… passed away three years ago."

The little boy stopped instantly, his eyes widening but said nothing. His mother did so for him. "Oh, that's terrible." Cheryl put her hand over her heart. "Having to go through that at your age."

"If ya don't mind," Andrew spoke up next, a hesitant look on his face. "But where's your father?"

Leonidas shrugged. "I don't know, I never met him. He left before I was born."

"Then who's looking after you?" Andrew asked, his voice sounding almost hopeful for Leonidas.. "Relatives? A foster family?"

Leonidas shook his head. "No one. I look after myself."

Cheryl gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. "You're homeless?" She asked him. When he nodded she nearly fell over. "Then you're definitely coming with us." She declared, nodding to herself, he hair bouncing even more now.. "We'll make you all of the food you can eat and make sure you have a roof over your head tonight. There's no telling when you had your last decent warm meal."

Leonidas didn't tell the woman that he had eaten freshly hunted wild turkey that very morning, it would have raised questions he didn't want to answer. After trying to get out of going home with the family for several more minutes, Leonidas finally gave in to their prodding when Mary grabbed his hand and almost forced him to get into the truck. He tried his best to say he'd ride in the bed of the truck because of the limited space, but Cheryl wouldn't hear it and a minute later he found himself crammed into the back of the small pickup at the window seat, with Mary next to him and Mason on the other side of her.

oooOooo

(A few hours later)

Later that evening found Leonidas sat at a dinner table in a small, old, two story farmhouse sat beside a very energetic seven year old. A large plate was placed in front of him, as was a tall glass of water. Beyond his placemat were several dishes of food, a wicker basket of fresh chicken, a large bowl of potatoes that more resembled a cauldron than a bowl, a gravy saucer that was nearly spilling over and a fresh salad and vegetables. Needless to say after living on his own for three years and eating nothing but what he caught, Leonidas wasn't used to such a spread, and his face showed it. Mrs. Johnson happily offered him and extra helping of everything when she saw him stare wide-eyed at the food.

Leonidas watched the family as they ate, making small talk as they tried their best to not keep looking at the large stranger sat at their table. Andrew, or Mr. Johnson, the father, was sat at the head of the rectangular table, his wife sat at his right, across from where Leonidas and Mason sat. Mary sat at the end of the table across from her father. The entire time spent thinking about how to leave as quickly as possible. Leonidas didn't interact with people much, finding them unusual and primitive, but mostly annoying. But this family was different than he was used to having people be. Sure, their young son Mason was kind of annoying with his incessant questions and loud voice, but Mr. and Mrs. Johnson were kind, offering him a place to stay for the night without asking him too many questions about his personal life, which he was thankful for. Meanwhile, their daughter Mary… it was hard to describe her. She was attractive, sure, but that is not what pulled him towards her, or at least, not entirely. It was her happy, lively, free-spirited personality that made her interesting, along with her tendency to smile, giggle or roll her eyes at everything he did as if she found him amusing. He still didn't know what to think about that.

"Leonidas? Can ya hear me, Leonidas?" Mr. Johnson's voice brought him back from his thoughts. He blinked and found that the four pairs of eyes were looking at him expectantly.

He cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"I asked if you liked the food, sweetie." Mrs. Johnson asked from across him, her face slightly worried as it looked to his still mostly full plate. "Because if you don't, it's not a problem, I can make you something-."

"No." He interrupted her, trying his best to maintain his smile, it felt so unnatural to bend his face in such a way. "It's fine I-," He paused, looking down at his food, it just didn't seem right to eat it. "I'm just not used to… this kind of food. I normally just eat what I can find-."

It seems that Mrs. Johnson misunderstood his words because her face dropped as she mumbled "you poor child" behind her hand. She promptly rose from the table, which her husband chastised her for, making her sit as he got up and got Leonidas some unbreaded chicken which he accepted with a thanks before eating. While their food was fresh, as it came directly from farms around them, Leonidas still had trouble digesting processed and packaged food after eating nothing but wild caught and harvested food for the past three years.

After dinner Mrs. Johnson set him up on the couch in the living room, making sure that he had an ample amount of blankets and pillows despite the hot weather. He sat on the old couch, it was small and worn, patches and stitches could be seen throughout and across the fabric, but it was still the first couch he had sat on in years. A lot of today's actions could be considered the firsts in many years, as he thought about it. First home-cooked meal, first meal inside, first meal with other people, first night under a roof, first time spent with other people for such a long time, it went on like that, a list so long he didn't bother continuing it. With a huff he pulled his hoodie over his head and laid the golden tan clothing near his pile of pillows, letting his bare chest enjoy the cool air from the air conditioner. Suddenly, breaking the quiet and calm atmosphere, a voice broke out.

"Woah, tattoos! Cool!" Mason's ever excited self appeared beside him, looking at the tattoos on his arms with interest. "Those are so cool!"

Leonidas blinked, taken back by his actions for not the first time today. "Uh, thank you?" He said, thought it more sounded like a question than a statement.

The boy stared at the image of the warhammer on his arm. The colorless picture was highly detailed and radiated out a small amount of power that Leonidas was sure what was attracting the small boy without him knowing. "Why do you have tattoos? How many do you have? Did your parents let you get them or did you get them yourself? Why are all your tattoos weapons? I want to get tattoos too, but my mom says-."

That's enough, Mason." Mr. Johnson appeared beside the boy, messing up his hair before lightly pushing him to go off in the other direction. "You're late for bed, now, up ya go."

"But dad-."

"No buts," Mr. Johnson said, giving Leonidas an apologetic smile. "We should let Leonidas sleep in peace. We don't know when the last time he had a roof over his head was."

Leonidas was going to answer his question and say 'three years' but Mr. Johnson spoke back up. "Goodnight, Leonidas." His smile still present. "If ya need anything then our room is upstairs at the end of the hall. The bathroom is upstairs on the left if ya need it." With that the man and the boy left, leaving Leonidas alone in the small room. Laying down, Leonidas found that his feet hung over the arm of the couch and his bulky, wide body didn't fit on the couch which resulted in the right half of his body and arm hanging off the side of the small couch. He tried to get comfortable, the pillows large and soft, his head sinking into them, the blankets almost fluffy and the couch under half his body soft, but it was too much. With a sigh he rose from the couch, fixed the pillows and blankets, grabbed his things and made his way to their front door and left through it silently into the darkness of the night.

oooOooo

(The next morning)

Mr. Johnson woke the next morning before dawn, as all farmers did, dressed and got ready for the day and with years of practice silently made his way through the house and into the living room, expecting to find his guest sleeping but found nothing but the neatly folded blankets placed on the loaned pillows. He looked for some sort of sign as to where or why the boy left, a note or something of the like, but found nothing. After a few minutes Mr. Johnson let out a defeated breath and began to leave the house to head for the barn, disheartened that the boy didn't let himself have a roof over his head for the night and left without telling them. But when he left the house and stepped out on the porch he found something that started but also at the same time made him smile.

It was Leonidas, laying on the wooden porch a few feet from the door, wrapped in a fur blanket, his eyes open and looking at him. "O'Lord!" Mr. Johnson cried, not expecting is guest to be laying outside on his porch. After covering his heart with his hand and letting out a calming breath, he apologized to the boy. "Sorry, son." He whispered, trying his best to keep quiet after most likely waking the entire house. "I didn't wake ya, did I?"

"No," Leonidas shook his head once, uncovering himself from the blanket and rising, dressed in his full set of clothes, including his strange golden tanned hoodie. "I was already awake. I never sleep past dawn."

"Me neither." Mr. Johnson said, a nod towards the just rising over the horizon sun. "Comes with the job, I guess." He eyed Leonidas as be tightly rolled up if blanket and put it in his camping bag. "You were plannin' on leaving without telling us, weren't ya?" He watched Leonidas' face, a hint of guilt washing over it.

"I-"

"Don't worry 'bout it, son." The man smiled, placing his hand on Leonidas' large shoulder. "Ya have no obligation to stay here," He reassured him. "We only offered to let ya stay because we wanted to help, you don't have to stay around and thank us if ya don't want. Go ahead an' go, I'll tell 'em ya left."

"...But it wouldn't be right if I didn't pay you back for your hospitality." Leonidas said, looking to the house. "My mother would be ashamed."

The man smiled, patting his shoulder. "Then ya can help me, until they wake up at least." He led Leonidas to their small, beaten down barn. "I remembered last night before bed that I couldn't've pulled the truck out out with the tractor even if I wanted to."

"Why not?" Leonidas asked beside the man as he pulled the large barn door open.

"Because it's missing a tire." He chuckled as the door opened, revealing the tractor with a missing tire. "My good for nothing farmhand quit last week before he was supposed to help me put it back on." He answered, sighing as he walked up to the old machine. "I've been unable ta put it on by myself, Cheryl keeps offering to help but I won't let her. Mason offers too, but he is too young, and Mary is too busy-."

"I can help." Leonidas said before he could think. "I'll help you put it on."

"Would you really?"

"Yes."

"Ya don't have to-."

"I want to." Leonidas said, walking over to the large tire laid on the floor, inspecting it.

"Have ya ever changed a tire before?" Mr. Johnson asked.

"No." Leonidas shook his head. "But I'm strong, I can hold it in place as you attach it."

Mr. Johnson smiled behind his mustache. "Let's get started then."

oooOooo

Leonidas and Mr. Johnson got the tire put on the tractor and drove it out of the barn just as Mary and Mason started their chores for the day. Mason grabbed chicken feed and headed off towards the chicken coops as Mary walked up to them, a pair of long metal handles attached to a pair of metal, shovel looking pieces sitting on her shoulder.

"What's that?" Leonidas asked, pointing to the tool.

"It's a post hole digger." She answered, greeting him with a smile. "Good morning to you too, Leonidas."

"I uh- y-yeah, sorry. I-"

Mary giggled, not at all trying to hid her making fun of his inability to form a simple sentence. She then looked to her father. "Did Leonidas help you put on the tire, daddy?"

"He sure did." Mr. Johnson smiled to Leonidas, seemingly not noticing Leonidas' awkward interaction with his daughter. "Ya should've seen him, sweetie, it was almost like he could lift the tire over his head."

"I wouldn't doubt it, look at those muscles." She jokingly nudged his bicep with her shoulder, laughing at the redness on his face. She faced her dad father again after eyeing the rising sun. "Well, I'd love to stand here forever talking, but I have a few miles of fence post holes to dig, so I'd better get started."

"Sorry 'bout that again, sweetie." Mr. Johnson said to his daughter, climbing up into the tractor. "Take it easy, y'hear? Ya pushed yourself too much the other day. I'll be along after lunch to help if I finish early in the field."

Leonidas caught her rolling her eyes from behind her long curls. "I told you, dad, I'm a big girl." She used her free hand to point to her raised arm that was holding the post digger as she flexed. "I can dig a few holes, don't worry."

"I know ya can, sweetie." Her father smiled. "But take it easy, okay?"

"I can help." Leonidas spoke suddenly, surprising even himself. "I'll help you, Mary."

"Ya don't have to do that, Leonidas." Mr. Johnson started. "Ya were going to-."

"It's the least I could do." Leonidas interrupted him. "Like I said, I need to pay you back."

"But ya don't need to-."

"Well I'll gladly take the help," Mary cut off her dad, giving him a smile before turning to Leonidas. "But I won't go easy on ya just because you're stayin' with us." She nudged him with her elbow. "Let's see if those muscles are just for show."

"..." Leonidas had no idea what to say to this.

Mr. Johnson looked at Leonidas, he was dressed in the same hoodie and black cargo pants from yesterday, if he tried to work out in the coming heat he would overheat. He looked to his daughter. "Mary, take Leonidas inside an' see if you or your mom can find him any clothes we don't need. But make sure your mom doesn't strain herself."

"Sure thing, daddy." She gave a mock salute before dropping the post hole digger and gesturing for Leonidas to follow her. "Come with me, Le~o~ni~das." She sung his name, smiling as she did, apparently still finding it funny.

Mary led him inside, giving him a short tour of their small house as she led him upstairs to her parent's room where her mother was walking out of.

"Oh, Mary sweetie, do you-." Mrs. Johnson noticed Leonidas and smile, turning her attention to him. "Leonidas! It's so good to see you, sweetie. I was worried that you left without saying goodbye when I didn't see you on the couch." Her voice was angry or upset that she thought he left, more like she was sad that she didn't get to send him off.

"I was outside with Mr. Johnson." He said, deciding to not tell her that he was planning on leaving without telling them. "I helped him replace the tractor tire."

"Did you really? How nice of you." She said before propping her hands on her hips. "And what did I tell you? Call us by our names, sweetie. There's no need for 'Mr.' or 'Mrs.' with us."

"..." Again Leonidas didn't know what to say, while he didn't normally interact with people, his mother always taught him to treat his elders or superiors with respect. And removing the title of Mr. or Mrs. seemed like it was taking away that amount of respect to him. Luckily Mary spoke up for him.

"Leonidas here offered to help me dig fence post holes today." She said to her mother, nodding her head to her parent's room. "Dad said to find Leonidas some clothes he could have, and I figured that dad's clothes would be the only ones that fit."

Mrs. Johnson led them into her room, looking Leonidas head from toe. "We might have something that will fit you, hun." She shuffled through their closet and began inspecting her husband's clothes. "You're over a foot taller and much more broad shouldered," She seemed to be mumbling to herself, digging through the closet. "Ah, here we go." She held out a large, faded plaid shirt with paint stains on it. "Andrew wore this a few years ago when he painted the kitchen. It's the biggest shirt he has."

Leonidas took the shirt from her hand, eyeing it carefully. "I appreciate it, but I can't accept-."

"Nonsense, sweetie." She waved her hand, brushing away his worries. "Andrew hasn't worn it in years and you'd make more use of it then him. Go ahead and try it on." So Leonidas did, after giving a slight shrug to himself he pulled the golden tanned hoodie over his head, revealing a weathered and torn black, long-sleeved undershirt before pulling that too over his head. Revealing his bare, muscular chest and stomach to the two woman in the room. '

Mary's eyes widened, threatening to pop out of their sockets as she bit her lip and covered her mouth. "Sweet Jesus." She mumbled out before turning bright red and facing the other way. Her mother noticed her blushing face and spoke to Leonidas, she too turning the other way to give the young man some privacy.

"A word of advice, Leonidas. Try to not undress yourself in front of a lady."

Leonidas paused, the shirt over his shoulders but not yet buttoned. He looked down to his body, a confused look on his face. "But all of the important parts are covered." He muttered, not understanding why the two women were turned the other way. "Has Mary never seen a man without a shirt on before?"

"Not one like you-." Mary's eyes widened even more as she covered her mouth, trying to understand why she just said that aloud. From besides her, her mom was holding back a giggle as she nudged her with her elbow.

"Someone's blushing!" She said in a hushed stage whisper, prodding her daughter with her elbow.

"Shut up!"

"It's so cute!"

"I said shut up, mom!"

Leonidas was oblivious to all of this, though, as he buttoned up the shirt, his large fingers making it somewhat difficult. In short the shirt wasn't comfortable, his stomach and chest were being compressed and his belly button was exposed, but worst of all were his arms, he couldn't move them because the sleeves were too tight and they were stuck held out to his sides.

"I don't think this shirt fits."

Mrs. Johnson turned back to Leonidas and as soon as she did she had to cover her more to stop herself from laughing, he looked ridiculous. "Yes," She chuckled. "I'd have to agree. Here, let me give you a hand, dear."

Mrs. Johnson ended up removing the sleeves from the shirt in order to let Leonidas move his arms. She also had him unbutton the top few buttons in order to let him breath. All in all, he ended up looking like a really buff farmer dressed in the sleeveless striped plaid shirt. In the end they didn't have any pants large enough nor any other shirts large enough to fit him so Cheryl decided to patch up his tattered undershirt as he was working outside with her daughter. After thanking her once again, Leonidas followed Mary out to the fenceline to start work on digging new fencepost holes.

oooOooo

(Later)

Mary drove himself and their tools on one of their ATVs out to where the new fence line was going to be. After a rather embarrassing interaction with Leonidas having to hold onto the smaller girl in order to not fall off the vehicle, the two finally made it to their destination. After taking some time to explain what they were doing and showing him the proper method of using the various tools like a post digger, manual post driver or hand held auger, the chestnut haired girl asked which tool he wanted to use. He chose the manual post driver, which if you've never seen one, is essentially a large, hollow metal tube used for slamming the tops of fence posts to drive them in the ground. Mary assumed he chose that specific tool because he seemed like the kind of guy that liked to bash things with something heavy, he sure looked like it.

After letting Leonidas go off and start working, it took Mary about thirty seconds to lose focus on what she was supposed to be doing and instead watched Leonidas drive the posts into the ground. Hear her out, okay, Leonidas was a tall, large, nice, and very muscular guy in a sleeveless shirt with all of the buttons unbuttoned to allow him freedom of movement. Don't look at her like that, it's not her fault her house guest/helper was attractive on top of being kind and funny. Blame her sixteen year old hormones. But in her defense, he was just so interesting to watch, not just because he was cute, okay, but because he made everything he did look effortless. He was driving the posts into the ground with a single slam of the tool that usually took other people over a dozen on a good day. The earth below them was a hard rocky clay, not the easiest kind of dirt to dig into, but he somehow made it look easy. As it turned out, her staring didn't go unnoticed, Leonidas stopped his work to face her with a questioning look.

"Mary?" He asked, breaking her out of her thoughts. "Are you okay?"

"Eep!" She nearly jumped out of her skin. After holding her heart she calmed herself down and told him that she was just thinking. Luckily he seemed to believe this and went back to working. After chiding herself for letting some boy mess with her head so much she started to work too, making small talk with Leonidas and getting to know the strange, slightly younger boy better.

They worked for the next several hours until lunch, stopping every hour or so to take a short break under the shade of a tree. In that time Leonidas learned a lot about Mary, she had just turned sixteen, so she was a few months older than him, she was as artistic as she was bubbly, spending most of her limited free time drawing, painting or just laying on the grass and watching the clouds roll by. Leonidas had never just observed the clouds just to watch them, instead looking to them to predict the weather or looking past them to the sun to determine the time of day. He never just sat back, relaxed and enjoyed himself. She told him about herself and her family, how her father had lost his last farmhand after he quit because they didn't have any money to pay him. She told him that her parents didn't seem to realize that she knew what was going on, like her younger brother, since they never told her about their problems but she knew that they didn't have the money to hire anyone else and were really behind this year. That didn't include the poor condition of their house and land, her father was trying his best to get the house fixed up before the baby came but just didn't have enough time in the day to get it all done. So Mary had stepped up ever since school got out at the beginning of summer and started to do more and more work to be able to help her parents as much as she could.

They talked briefly about his mother, Leonidas telling Mary about her, about him having to take care of her more and more as the years went on closer to her death. How he would have to make sure there was enough food, water taken from the well, the animals fed and looked after as well as maintain the house. Mary let out a harsh laugh as she leaned against the truck of the tree, saying that they were too young to have to be acting like grown ups. Leonidas didn't say anything, but he silently agreed, deciding to help this family out for a few more days.

It was later that night at dinner when Leonidas told the Johnsons about his decision to stay with them for a few more days, not telling them of the true reasons of him wanting to help pay them back and remove some of the weight from their shoulders. As expected they were more than ecstatic, with Mrs. Johnson promising to bake him a cake the next day to celebrate.

Leonidas rose the next day before dawn and helped Mr. Johnson with his chores until Mary woke up and he left to the fence line to help her again that day. They worked and talked until dinnertime, Leonidas' jaw sore from using it so much, he had never talked so much in his entire life. Later that night at dinner, in which Mrs. Johnson presented him with a small cake and his fixed up shirt and pants, Leonidas told them that he'd like to stay with them a few more days if it was okay with them. They quickly agreed every time, telling him that he was welcome to stay as long as he liked. Mary was glad he was staying too, the two of them having become fast friends, spending most, if not almost all of their days working and talking with each other.

oooOooo

After a few days Leonidas stopped asking them if he could stay the next day and soon it became normal for Leonidas to be living with them. The days quickly turned into a week, and the week turned into two and then into three and a half, which brought Leonidas to where he was now, standing in the old storeroom that had been converted into his own room two weeks ago, sifting through the new clothes that Mrs. Johnson bought for him last week when she took him into town to get clothes and a few personal belongings. Leonidas couldn't express how grateful he was to the Johnsons for taking him in, feeding him, clothing him, but most importantly treating him as one of their own. He no longer inwardly cringed or got upset whenever Mr. or Mrs. Johnson called him 'son' or 'sweetie', instead now reveling in the feeling of the closest people he's ever had as real parental figures treating him with such love. His mother, for everything she taught him and how great of a warrior she made him, never once so much as told him she loved him. He didn't even know if she did, in all honesty. So to have the Johnsons act like the parents he never had, made him see the world in a new, brighter light.

Leonidas shook his head, knocking those thoughts from his mind for the time being. Today was Sunday, in other words, his only day off. Mr. Johnson told him that Sunday was the Lord's day and wasn't meant for work. They offered to take Leonidas with them to church each Sunday, but he politely refused, saying he wouldn't be comfortable, despite him honesty just not wanting to interact with other people. They didn't push it and respected his wishes and let him stay at their home while they were gone. He spent those hours each Sunday either sitting on the back deck or under the tree he and Mary often sat under when they talked and participated in a new hobby Mary got him in to, whittling. He wasn't very good at it at first, his large and bulky fingers found it difficult to precisely use the knife to cut and shape the finer details, but he found the practice relaxing and would often spend hours at a time working on a single piece.

But back to the matter at hand, Leonidas was stood in front of his makeshift bed Mr. Johnson made for him out of old two by fours and insulation panels under an old mattress. It wasn't the prettiest, most expensive or most comfortable bed in the world, but it was his and that was all that mattered to him. On top of the bed were the few clothes that managed to fit him, laying out before him. He was trying to find the swinging trunks Mrs. Johnson bought for him, who would have thought it would be hard to find a specific piece of clothing when he only owned a handful of clothes? After finding the large, solid black swimming trunks, an extra shirt and throwing his boots on, he headed into the living room to wait for Mary to come down. She was going to take him to the lake for a swim, something that she had been wanting to do for the last two weeks but when they decided to do it last week it had to rain and ruin their opportunity. But today the weather was perfect, the sun was high in the sky, the few clouds drifting in the light breeze helped keep the temperature down.

They drove to the lake on their property on her ATV, Leonidas still turning red in the face when he had to wrap his arms around her middle to hang on. Mary didn't let him see it, but her face turned red too. After arriving they set up some towels on the grass near the water and placed down their picnic basket, it was Mary's idea to have a picnic lunch by themselves after they swam. Leonidas was all ready to jump into the water until Mary removed her large t-shirt, revealing her swimsuit. It was modest as far as bikinis went, or at least it was as far as Leonidas was concerned, since he didn't frequent the beach or pools enough to have any solid idea what girls and women wore while swimming. But he knew one thing, she was even more beautiful than he first thought.

Mary noticed him watching her and smirked, raising her brow at him and placing a hand on her pushed out hip. "You gonna keep staring at me or are you gonna get in the water?"

Leonidas' heart stopped as his eyes widened to the sizes of saucers. "I-I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-."

He cut off when he heard her chuckling behind her hand, ending in a sigh. "You're so easy to mess with, Leo." She often called him 'Leo' nowadays, despite him telling everyone to call him by his full name. But he really didn't mind it when she called him that, not that he had ever told her that, of course, but there was something about the way she said his name that made it okay. She lightly tossed her shoes in his direction to get his attention. "At least we know that you like the color red." She smirked, gesturing with her eyes down to her cherry red bikini.

Leonidas's face flushed, trying to come up with some kind of defense. "I wasn't looking at your-."

"Pfft. You may be a gentleman, Leo, but a liar you are not." She snorted, still smiling at him, waking slowly to the water, swaying her hips in the small swimsuit more than necessary. "Let's say I believe that, Leo. I wouldn't mind anyway, I don't care how you look at me."

Leonidas blinked. "...You don't?"

She paused just as she reached the water's edge, turning to look over her shoulder at him, smirking. "Of course not, I steal looks at you whenever I can when you're working without a shirt on." With that she ran into the water and jumped in when the water was deep enough. Her head and shoulders broke out of the water a few seconds later and a few feet further away. "Come on in, Leo!" She called out loudly, not caring to keep her voice down because they were on their property and were the only people around for miles in every direction. "Show off those muscles!" She cheered and whistled like a crazy woman when he pulled his shirt over his head, revealing his muscular chest and stomach to her. He fought past the blushes and the butterflies in his stomach as he ran after her into the water and leaped with a loud yell and cannonballed into the water next to her, splashing Mary and causing the waves to push her back slightly.

"Leo!" She shrieked in between giggles, blocking the water from hitting her face. "Watch it, you big oaf!"

His head surfaced and he couldn't help the smile that formed on his face. "Sorry, Mary-. Ahh!" He yelled, receiving a big splash of water in the face from her. "Why you little-." He swam through the water after her as she laughed at his attempts to move through the water with his bulky body.

"You'll never catch me, Leo!" She cried, swimming out of his reach and sending a wave of water at his face. "You're to~o slo~ow!" She sung out the words sounding like a teasing childish insult.

"Says you!" He called back, tearing through the water chasing after her. "I'll get you sooner or later!"

"Ha! In your dreams, prettyboy!" She laughed, dodging and diving out of his reach and resurfacing a dozen feet behind him and shooting a water gun at the back of his head. "You missed again!"

"Hey, that's not fair!" He yelled, blocking the water stream from hitting his eyes. "I don't have one of those! Where did you even get that from, anyway? I didn't see it."

She smirked as she refilled the gun with water, the very smirk that Leonidas recently found was dangerous for his heart because the smirk caused it to flutter everytime she wore it. "Maybe if you spent less time staring at my ass you would've seen it in my hand." She let out a hearty laugh. "Not that I minded, really. It's flattering." She said softly, causing Leonidas to blush again which only made her giggle at his face again.

He darted for her again, causing her to let out a high laughing shriek as she swam through the water to avoid him. She stopped and looked back at him only to find him gone, most likely under the water getting ready to try a sneak attack. But she was too smart for that. "Nice try, Leo, but you'll have to do better than tha- ahhh!" Leonidas tore up from out of the water, grabbing her around the stomach from behind and threw her behind his head up into the air a few feet, causing her to shriek like crazy until she landed with a large splash.

A second later she fell back into the water and found Leonidas in front of her with a smug look on his face once she emerged from the water. "Told you I'd catch you, Mary."

Mary blew some of her wet curls out of her eyes, giving him a fierce glare before breaking out into a fit of laughter, Leonidas following her after a second. "I hate to admit it, muscles, but you caught me."

"Of course I did," He swam closer, his chest heaving from the sudden burst of energy. "I'd never let you get away from me."

Mary's laughing smile turned into a smirk, her brow rising dangerously, her voice low. "Are you trying to flirt with me, Leo?"

Leonidas' red turned bright red and his eyes widened so much that Mary thought that they might pop from his head. "I-I wasn't-, I mean, that's not what I-." Again her crystalline laughter broke him off.

"It's so easy to mess with you, Leo." She swam up to him, not stopping until their noses were almost touching. "I'm just messing with you, Leo. You know that, right?" Her voice was softer, less boisterous(which he found his own voice copying the longer they spent together) and calmer than he was normally used to hearing. She watched him look at her silently, a smile on her face as he tried to decipher his feelings. Suddenly, she spoke up, breaking the silence.

"It's because I like you." She said suddenly before hints of red began to tint her face. "It's fun to mess with you, Leo." She said, her voice almost a whisper.

"Why?"

"Because you're so cute when you blush." She bit her bottom lip, seemingly weighing her next words. "...It's nice seeing that tough exterior of yours break every once in awhile."

"..."

"I'll be honest," She whispered, blushing wildly as she floated still next to him, brushing her wet hair out of her face. "I've had a crush on you for awhile. But I've been too scared to say something."

Leonidas' heart nearly stopped as he looked into her eyes, his own eyes wide. "Why's that?" He asked softly. "Why were you scared? Did you think I would get upset?"

She shook her head softly. "No, nothing like that. I… I was worried to tell you because even if I did and even if… something came from it," She looked right into his amber eyes, her own orbs shaking. "You'd leave me sooner or later."

His heart fully stopped this time, looking into the eyes of his first and only crush, as she tried in vain to keep her smile from dropping. "I know you're only staying to help us out around the farm," She continued, removing her eyes from his and looking into the water. "So what'll happen when you have no more fence posts to dig, or tractor tires to replace, or roof shingles to repair, or-." He cut off her rambling by removing the distance between them and taking her lips in his own.

The sensation was like nothing he had ever experienced. He could taste a hint of her lip gloss mixed with the water from the lake on her lips. The action was quick, fleeting, but he could have memorized the feel of her lips if he had been concentrating.

Suddenly he tore his lips away and stumbled back, realizing what he had done. She had told him that she liked him, but that wasn't permission for him to kiss her without asking! What was he thinking? "I'm so sorry, Mary!" He apologized quickly, pulling away from her. "I don't-."

"Why did you do that?" Her voice was soft, the softest he had ever heard it. He looked to her, she was looking at him with her large eyes, her fingers placed on her lips like she couldn't believe that he had just done that. She blinked and asked again, her voice still low. "Leo, why?"

He gulped, awaiting the inevitable fallout. "...Because I didn't want to see you cry." His words even surprised him, Mary gazed silently at him, her fingers still touching her lips. "I- I was just staying to help in the beginning, I admit. But the real reason why I've been staying was because of you."

Her eyes widened but she didn't say anything. "It's because I- I like you too, Mary." He admitted, averting his eyes from her. "I'm sorry that I kissed you like that, I shouldn't-." He was cut off when she pressed her lips to his this time, kissing him deeply.

After a few seconds she pulled back to breath, smiling at his awestruck face. "You talk too much, Leo." She closed the distance again, this time deciding to just press her body into his and place her forehead against his, their noses touching. "Don't apologize, I loved the kiss."

He couldn't help the smile that formed on his face. "I'm glad." He mumbled softly, a chuckle on his lips. "Because if you didn't I'd be screwed."

She chuckled briefly before turning more somber, pulling back slightly to look at him. "Were you serious that you were staying because of me?"

"Of course, I never lie to you."

She smiled, showing her perfect teeth. "You don't know what that means to me, Leo."

"Your parents asked if I wanted to stay last night after you and Mason went to bed." He said suddenly, his voice showing his worry. "With your family, forever."

Breath left Mary's lungs, she put her hand over her heart. "They asked if you wanted to live with us? Like adopt you?"

He nodded. "Yes."

A gasp left her lips before she smiled to him. "This is great!" She cried, hugging him tightly. "We can be together forever now!" Her smile faltered however, when she saw his darkened face. "Leo? What's wrong?" She asked. "Aren't you happy that they asked if you wanted to live with us? I thought you'd love it."

"I do." He said quickly to reassure her. "But… but there are… things I wanted to do in my life, places I want to go and things I want to accomplish." His voice was soft and low, so much so that Mary found it difficult to understand him. "I- I never planned meet you or stay here. I… I was planning on heading to the east coast. I-."

"You can still do those things, Leo." She interrupted him. "But now we can do them together. You have dreams and they didn't include me before we met, I get that, I really do, but that doesn't mean that you can't do them anymore." She cupped his face with her hand. "I'm not trying to say that I think that we'll always be together, god, we haven't even started dating yet, but I'd love to leave the farm when I'm old enough, move to the city and become an artist. We can still go and live our dreams together."

Leonidas' plastered smile faltered, he let out a breath through his nose and tore his eyes from her again. "I- I'd love that, Mary," He started with a whisper. "But you don't know me. You don't know what I've done, the person I've been before meeting you-."

"If he's anything like the Leonidas I've met and fallen for the past three and a half weeks then I'd say I'd take my chances." She moved his head to face her again, she gave him a reassuring smile. "I don't care who you were or what you've done in the past, Leo." She used her free hand to poke him in the chest with her finger. "Everything I need to know about you I already know. You're a hard worker, a machine when it comes to working, clumsy and awkward when you're embarrassed, you don't care for watching tv and would rather read a good book, you're kind, the kindest guy I've ever met and not to mention the sweetest too."

"I know everything I need to know about you." She said with a tone of finality, like the matter was settled. "So what if you were a different person, Leo? You've been living by yourself with no one to care for you for three years. But stay with us, with me, my parents love you like you're one of us, you know that, right?" He nodded. "Then they wouldn't care who you were or what you've done, and neither should you. You're clearly a different person now. Stay with us, you can become a member of our family for real, you can go to school with me in the fall." She smiled to him before placing her head on his chest. "I know you've never been to school but you're smart, maybe the smartest person I've ever met. They'll have to let you in."

"Then after school we can move away from the farm if you want, go to college and you can fulfill whatever dreams you want as I fulfill mine and become an artist." She gripped his hand, her voice slightly shaking. "We don't have to do it together if you don't want, of course, but I'd love to-."

"I'd love to, too." He spoke up, surprising her. She looked up to him and smiled.

"You mean that, Leo?"

"Of course." He returned the smile. "I said I wouldn't lie to you."

"Then are you going to stay with us then, forever? What did you tell my parents?"

"I told them that I would think about it and let them know when I've decided." He answered her truthfully. "I can tell them tonight at dinner-."

"Tell them tomorrow night." She interrupted him.

"Why?"

"Because tomorrow's the one month anniversary of you living with us." She told him. "Mom was gonna throw you a surprise party with cake and everything."

"And why did you tell me if it was supposed to be a surprise?" He asked with a smile.

"Because I know you hate surprises."

"That I do." He hugged her tightly, enjoying the moment for as long as it could last. "Then it's settled, I'll tell them tomorrow."

oooOooo

(That night at dinner)

Leonidas and Mary ate their meals in silence, in their seats next to each other after changing the seating arrangements the first week Leonidas stayed with them. The both of them trying their best to not keep sneaking glances at the other but failing miserably at it. Mary's mother, Cheryl, seemed to notice this and broke the comfortable silence.

"So, did you two have fun at the lake today?" She asked like she was just making conversation but Mary knew better. "Anything eventful happen?"

Leonidas nearly choked on his food, Mary patted his back and her mother only chuckled under her breath at the two teenagers. She knew that Leonidas and her daughter had feelings for each other, it was painfully obvious that there was a spark between them as soon as they met. The two spent nearly every waking moment together, whether it be doing chores, reading, cooking in the kitchen or just relaxing around the house or in the yard. Leonidas had even surprised Mary by fixing the old tire swing she used to play on as a child a week or so ago. Cheryl didn't tell the kids this, but she had watched them from the window a few times. While she trusted Leonidas and knew he was a kind, honest boy, he was still a teenage boy living with her daughter, so so liked to keep an eye on them from time to time. Which resulted in her seeing her daughter kiss him on the cheek as thanks after he fixed the swing. The young man blushed so red he resembled a tomato. Cheryl found it so sweet and heartwarming that she left the two alone from then on. She thought her daughter may have had ulterior motives when she invited Leonidas to the lake with her, so that's why Cheryl didn't allow her young son to go with them when he asked, to which the boy didn't take well because she wouldn't tell him why. So Cheryl could tell that something had happened between them, they smiled and blushed a lot before, but not like this. Clearly they had told the other about their feelings.

"So, Leonidas." She turned to the large young man after he managed to stop choking on his food. "Have you thought about what we talked about yesterday?" She asked, making sure to not reveal too much in front of her children in case the boy decided to leave. Not that she believed he would, of course.

The young man hesitated for a few seconds, sending a not so discreet look to Mary before looking back to her. "...Some." He eventually said. "I think I may need another few days to make a final decision, though."

"Well, I'm sure that you'll find your answer soon, my dear." She smiled into her glass of water.

"What are you talking about?" Mason asked, he looked to Leonidas. "What decision?"

"Nothing important." Cheryl waved her son off. "Just something he's helping us with."

The small boy didn't seem keen to end the conversation there, however. "What is he-?" The boy stopped when all of the lights in the house cut off at once. From the spot next to her, Cheryl could hear her husband let out a growl under his breath.

"Damn Bakers." He muttered with distaste.

"Andrew, language." She chided her husband.

"Sorry, honey." The man rose from the table and felt his way to the kitchen and after ruffling through a few draws found a candle and match and lit it. He placed the large candle in the center of the table and began to light more.

"What's going on?" Mason asked, looking around in the darkness. "Why is the power out again? I thought it stopped last year?"

His father tensed as he looked to his wife briefly, something that Leonidas couldn't help but notice. "Just must be faulty wires, son. Don't worry, I'll head down to the station and see if I can turn it back on."

"Andrew," His wife said sharply before realizing her tone caused the children to look at her. She forced her voice to appear calmer. "Let's talk in the other room, okay?" She then turned to her children and Leonidas and put on a fake smile. "You kids just continue eating, 'kay? I have to talk to my husband for a second."

Without preamble the two adults left the room, hushed whispers following them. Leonidas looked to Mason, the young boy not thinking anything was going on and was having fun holding his food over the candles. But Mary on the other hand, was looking worried. He leaned in close to her, keeping his voice as low as possible so that they wouldn't be overheard.

"What's going on?" He whispered softly. "What's wrong?"

Mary but her bottom lip, looking to where her parents left and back to Leonidas. "Last summer the Baker boys, all eight of them, started to turn off our power because their dad owns the station. Thought it was funny, y'know? Each time dad would have to go down there and ask them to turn our power back on."

"Did they?"

"At first." She answered. "But soon they started to ask for money to turn it back on… and when my dad didn't pay they beat him up."

"Really?"

She nodded, looking to her brother that was none the wiser about the conversation going on around him. "They nearly broke his leg last time. Daddy tried to tell the sheriff, but the new one is a friend of their fathers and wouldn't do anything."

"So what do you think he is going to do?"

"Hopefully he'll do nothing and wait for them to get bored and turn the power back on."

"What do you think he'll actually do?"

"Probably go down there and make it worse." She said honesty, fear in her voice. "My parents don't think I know, but I do. Whenever I try to bring it up they would brush it off. They stopped last summer and hadn't done it since, I hoped they were stopping for good."

Leonidas tore his eyes from Mary and looked to where Mr. and Mrs. Johnson were talking in hushed whispers in the entryway before turning back to Mary. "So you think that they'll hurt your dad if he goes down there?"

"I know they will."

"Then I'll go with him." He rose from his seat suddenly, the feet of the chair sliding on the floor. "I'll make sure he's okay."

Mary's eyes widened in the darkness, reaching out to grab his hand and stop him from leaving. "No, you can't!" She let out a hushed whisper, Mason heard this strange confrontation and looked to the two. "You'll get hurt!"

"What-?" Mason started but got cut off by Leonidas.

"I'll be okay, Mary." He reassured her, placing his large hand on her cheek. His face looked pained, as if he were remembering something he'd rather forget. "...You remember what I told you at the lake?" She stilled instantly, looking to him. He continued. "About being a different person before we met? Well," He eyed Mason, making sure to not say anything in front of the boy. If only it were just her and him, then he could tell her everything. "I used to do stuff like this." He said simply.

"That doesn't matter!" She gripped his hand tightly with all of her might. "There are eight of them and only one of you!" She threw all caution about hiding it from her brother and continued louder. "They can kill you, Leo!"

"They can't hurt me." He put his other hand over hers. "I'm almost indestructible-."

"What?"

"-I'll tell you when we get back, I promise." He leaned down to kiss the top if her head. "I'll tell you everything about me, who I am, what I've done and what I want to be." He pulled his head back and brushed the hair out of her face. "I told you I'd never lie to you, so no more secrets, I'll tell you when we get back. I promise."

Her lip quivered as she bit them. "You make sure you keep that promise, Leo." She poked him in the chest. "And keep my dad safe."

"You have my word, Mary. I love you." With that he left the table and headed to the coat rack and grabbing his golden tanned hoodie and looking back at her, patting the clothing like it was going to make all of the difference. "I'll see you soon, love."

Her eyes widened as she covered her mouth with her hand. She couldn't say anything as Leonidas walked up to her parents and started talking to them.

Leonidas walked up to the couple just as Mrs. Johnson was in her husband's face, an angry look on her own. When she noticed Leonidas she pulled back and put on her usual smile, though Leonidas could tell from seeing it so over over the last month that it was fake. "Oh, Leonidas. Do you need something, sweetie?"

Leonidas shook his head to the woman before facing her hunsband, squaring his shoulders as he put his hoodie on. "I'm coming with you."

The man forced his smile to remain on his face. "There's no need for that, son. I'm sure I can handle flippin' a few switches by myself. You just finish up your dinner-."

"I know what going on." Leonidas said simply, looking at the two with a look finality on his face. "I'm going with you."

"Know what?" Mr. Johnson tried to feign not knowing what he was talking about. "There's nothing goin' on, my boy-."

"Then why do you have a wrench and a rifle?" He asked, eyeing the weapon he was trying to hide behind his back and the large wrench tucked into his belt. The Johnsons flinched at this and their smiles completely dropped. Leonidas took a half step closer and dropped his voice low. "If you go down there by yourself you can get hurt, or worse. I can see it in your eyes." Leonidas spoke slowly, rolling his large shoulders slowly and popping his neck. "You're scared. But with me…, you'll have nothing to worry about."

Mr. Johnson looked up to the towering teenager in front of him. Only now realizing how large and intimidating the boy could be. He had come to know Leonidas as one of the most gentle people he had ever met despite his large size, but standing there in front of him in the dark, the light of the candles shining an ethereal glow on his strange, almost shimmering hoodie and all black shirt and pants and standing at almost six and half feet with shoulders as wide as a door frame and arms the size of his head, Mr. Johnson felt relieved to have someone like Leonidas come with him.

"Okay," He said after a few second, looking up to he boy. "You can come, but if you really know what's going on, then you'll know that it could be dangerous."

"That's why I'm going with you."

"You can't be serious!" Mrs. Johnson looked to her husband, shock clearly written on her face. "The boy could get hurt."

"I don't hurt easily, Mrs. Johnson." He told her calmly. "Trust me, I've faced worse after living by myself for three years. I'll be alright. And I'll keep your husband safe."

oooOooo

(Later that night at the powerplant)

"Just keep your eyes and ears open, son." Mr. Johnson said as they got out oh his pickup, his rifle slung over his back as they walked up to the chained gate. "And take this, son." He handed him the large wrench. "I'd feel better if you had something to protect yourself with."

"I appreciate the thought, but I think I'll be okay."

Mr. Johnson then cut the padlock on the gate and opened it, gesturing for Leonidas to follow. "Come on, let's get this turned on before they know what happening."

The walked up to the large switches and with what had to have been many months of practice, Mr. Johnson flipped several switches and pressed a button without even blinking. The action almost robotic. "Now, let's get out of 'ere, son. Before they-."

"Why Mr. Johnson, fancy seeing you here. You're aware that this is private property, right?" A loud voice cut him off. Leonidas turned to the voice, already knowing that they were there but not being able to act because it would have been suspicious because he heard them from so far away. Silently he made his way forward and stepped next to Mr. Johnson protectively.

"Oh, who's this?" The man asked, having to be one of what Mary called the Baker brothers. From the looks of it he seemed to be the leader and was armed with a shotgun. Two of his seven brothers were with him, both armed with knives and it didn't look like anything else. Good, it would be easier this way. "Looks like good ol' Mr. Johnson went an' hired himself some muscle."

"I didn't hire him." Mr. Johnson said, his voice feigning bravery. "He's staying with us. He didn't have anywhere to stay, so we-."

"Oh, isn't that sweet?" The man asked, looking to one of his brothers. "Ain't that sweet, Earl?"

"Yeah, real sweet."

"Y'know what that means, Mr. Johnson?" The man asked, chewing on a toothpick. "The protection rate just went up."

"Please, I can't afford that." Mr. Johnson begged. "M'wife is due any day and I had to let my farmhand go, if ya turn the power back on I'll go back home, I don't want any trouble."

"Don't want any trouble?" The man repeated louder, laughing as he looked to his brothers. "Now ain't that quaint. He doesn't want any trouble."

"We don't want trouble neither," His brother said from beside him. "So just pay us and we'll let ya be on yer way."

Mr. Johnson took a small step forward. "Please, I don't-."

"Get back!" The man in the lead yelled, aiming his shotgun and him. 'What's that on yer back, eh?"

"Looks like a rifle ta me." The brother on his left said.

"Tsk tsk tsk, Mr. Johnson." The man with the shotgun said, keeping the gun pointed at the older man. "Now what did I say last time about you bringin' a gun? Huh?"

"We said we'd break it over yer head." Said his brother on his right.

"Right." The lead brother said. "And what'd I say we'd do if ya didn't pay us last time?"

"We said we'd break yer knees." Said his other brother, a sick smile on his face.

"Now let's just calm down," Mr. Johnson said, slowly reaching to his back to his rifle. "Let's not do anything we'd regret-."

Leonidas noticed what he was doing and moved towards him. "Don't-."

"Don't you move neither!" Suddenly the gun was pointed at Leonidas, though he wasn't worried and in fact he preferred it to be aimed at him rather than Mr. Johnson.

"Don't ya point your gun at my boy!" Mr. Johnson yelled, drawing his rifle just as the man's shotgun pointed back at him. Leonidas leapted forwards and tore the gun from the man's hands and broke it over his knee with a 'snap' before throwing the broken pieces to the ground at the man's feet.

"Don't point a gun at my family." Leonidas growled, his deep voice low like a rumbling sky, the entire group silently looking at him in awe. He stepped in front of Mr. Johnson protectively and nodded to the truck the brothers drove up in. "Now, you're going to climb into your nice truck and go back home. And you're going to leave the Johnsons alone. Because if you don't," He leaned in close to whisper to the eldest brother. "I'll snap your bones like I did that shotgun."

The man seemingly didn't take Leonidas' threat seriously because he chose that moment to swing wildly at his face. Leonidas caught the fist easily in his own massive one and twisted the man's arm, causing him to let out a cry of pain. He then threw the man back several feet with one hand and slowly walked up to his brothers.

"Go." His voice rumbled. "Now."

"Let's get outta 'ere!" One of the other brothers yelled, helping his brother to his feet and running back to their truck. "This guy's crazy!"

The eldest brother yelled to them as they got in their truck. "Yer gonna regret that, Johnson!" He cried. Before looking to Leonidas. "And you, freak, I'm gonna skin you alive! Mark my words!" He shouted from the window as they drove off, still holding his hurt arm.

Mr. Johnson looked to Leonidas once the brothers were out of sight. "How'd you do that, son?" He asked, looking at the young man like he was looking at him for the first time. "Do you have military training?"

"...Something like that." Leonidas mumbled as he bent down and picked up the broken shotgun as Mr. Johnson's back was turned as he headed to his own truck and crushed the rest of the gun for good measure. "Let's just get back, I'm tired."

oooOooo

(Back at the Johnson's later that night)

Leonidas and Mary sat facing each other on his makeshift bed in his room, despite her supposed to be being in bed. He promised to tell her all about him when he came back. Who he was, what he was, everything about him, so he asked her to follow him to his room so they could talk. After telling her briefly about his run in with the Baker brothers earlier that night, he started to tell her the truth.

"I'm a demigod." He said suddenly, breaking the silence.

"What?" She asked, her eyes filled with confusion. "Are you trying to be funny?"

"No," He reassured her. "You believe in the gods, right?"

"God, singular." She said. "I've gone to church every Sunday of my life.

"Well… what if I told you that… other gods existed?" He asked, looking to her eyes to gauge how she was taking the news. "And that they sometimes have children with mortals?"

"I'd say that the second part has happened before, once a long time ago." Her eyes narrowed a little. "But what does that have to do with you, Leo?"

He let out a sign, this was as hard to explain as he thought it would be. "Because I'm a child of one of those gods." He answered, not stopping after seeing her incredulous look. "That's where I get my strength from." He told her, showing her his hands to demonstrate. "That's also why I'm so big, because my father was too."

The girl eyed him for a full minute, not saying anything and only looking into his eyes. "...It's crazy, but I don't think you're lying to me." She narrowed her eyes again. "You're not lying to me, right?"

He shook his head. "No, of course not. I told you I wouldn't lie to you." He reassured her, taking her hand in his. "But I decided that if I was going to stay then I'd tell you the truth about me."

She hesitated before asking. "...So what kind of god is your father? What religion?"

"Greek." He answered simply. "You know, the ones you've heard of in history class. The Olympians, Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, those gods."

Mary blinked. "I thought they were just made up."

"Most of the world thinks that. But they really exist." He massaged her hand with his own. "And because I'm a child of them, a demigod, I'm destined to do something great." He said, a smile on his face. "I don't know what it is yet, I'm still waiting for a sign from the Fates or the gods, but I know one thing; I'll be a great hero. One never seen before in history."

The chestnut haired girl studied his face, coming to the decision that, no matter how outrageous it sounded, or how much it went against her beliefs, that Leonidas was telling her the truth. She smiled, putting her free hand to his cheek. "Then I'm sure that you'll be the greatest hero in history, Leo." She whispered. "Because you're the greatest man in the world."

He smiled, covering her hand with his over his cheek. "Thanks, Mary. You don't know what that means to hear."

"Think nothing of it." She removed her hand and sat up next to him. "So, that just leaves one last question."

"Yeah?"

"Who's your dad?" She asked. "What's his name?"

Leonidas opened his mouth to answer but a loud voice coming from outside cut him off. "Get out 'ere, Johnson!" A shot rang out in the night. "And bring that freak with ya!"

Leonidas rose form the bed and headed towards the door but Mary grabbed his hand. "Don't go out their, Leo!" She begged. "They could kill you!"

"No mortal can kill me," He told her. "I'm a son of the gods, remember? I'll be fine."

"But-."

"If I don't go out there then they'll just come in here." He told her, rubbing two fingers across her cheek. "I'll be fine, I promise."

With that Leonidas removed her hand and headed outside, finding Mr. Johnson with his rifle in his hand and the eight Baker brothers all standing twenty feet or so in front of the house, all carrying guns this time. Either shotguns, rifles or pistols. Nothing Leonidas had to worry about. Silently he made his way to stand next to Mr. Johnson, zipping up his hoodie as he did.

"Ah, there you is!" The lead brother yelled upon seeing Leonidas, he drew another shotgun and pointed it at him. "Now, if yer smart you'll surrender, or my brothers and I'll kick yer ass!"

Leonidas didn't acknowledge him, however, and instead faced Mr. Johnson. "Get back inside, I'll take care of this."

The older man looked to him like he was crazy. "Ya can't be serious, son. These animals will kill you!"

"No animal or mortal can kill me." He mumbled under his breath, Mr. Johnson not recognizing what he said because of the situation before him. He stepped in front of the man and gently pushed him back to the door. "Get inside, Mr. Johnson, protect your wife and kids."

"But I-."

"Enough of this!" The eldest Baker brother yelled, pointing his gun at them and taking a few steps closer. "I'm gonna kill both of-." In the blink of an eye Leonidas tore the gun from his hands and thrusted it back at him, hitting him in the face with the butt of the gun and knocking the man back half a dozen feet to the ground. He didn't get back up.

"Move!" Leonidas ordered, using more force and pushing Mr. Johnson against his front door. The older man looked at Leonidas with a fearful look before nodding and heading inside, locking the door behind him and heading to his wife and kids. Leonidas turned back to face the men just as they came to their senses.

"Why you!" One yelled, pointing his own rifle at Leonidas. "I'll kill you-!" Leonidas silenced the man by dashing over to him, grabbing the barrel of the gun with one hand and with the other introducing it to the man's face. "Ahhh!" The man cried as he flew back a dozen feet before finally hitting the side of the barn and bouncing off of it, a sickening crunch coming from him as his spine hit the edge of the building. Leonidas slowly faced the group of ten men.

"Who's next?"

"Damn you!" Another brother cried, pointing at him with his pistol. "We'll teach ya for that! Get 'em, brothers! And go inside and kill the family!"

"NO!" Leonidas yelled, darting to the man and shoulder checking him and causing him to fly even further than his brother.

The remaining brothers split into two groups, with the majority of them rushing Leonidas while the rest ran towards the house and started kicking at the door. "Get away from them!" Leonidas jumped for the men but was surprised with a bullet to his back.

'BANG!' The shot rang loudly in the silent night. The sound ringing in Leonidas' ears. The men cheered at this, thinking that they he'd beat their foe but when Leonidas stood up fully and turned back to them, his eyes filled with rage they realized their mistake.

"H-how in the-AAACK!" The man choked when Leonidas drove his extended fingers into the man's jugular, causing the man to crumble under his own weight to the ground. When he didn't move his brothers yelled even more.

"You bastard!" One cried, raising his shotgun at him. "You killed him-!"

"He wasn't worthy of the gift of life. He didn't deserve mercy. None of you do, but I shall grant it if you leave." Leonidas said slowly, bringing his hand back in and patting his hoodie that was now glowing with a golden light. "Now, I'm going to give you all the chance to leave. As you can see, your bullets bounce off of me and I can kill you with one hand, no one has to die tonight-."

'BANG!'

Another bullet bounced off of his hoodie, cutting him off. Leonidas silently looked down to where the bullet struck and sighed. "Mortals,"He mumbled to himself. "So primitive." Then without warning he dashed towards the man who shot him and threw him back a dozen feet, hard enough to leave him groaning on the ground but not enough to kill him. He preferred to not kill unless it was absolutely necessary. In the end it wasn't up to him to decide who lived or who dies, that was reserved for the Fates.

oooOooo

Inside the house Mr. Johnson sat in his room with his wife and son, his gun aimed at the door. He tried looking for his daughter, but she wasn't in her room. He didn't want to risk yelling for her so he just wordlessly sent a prayer to god to protect his little girl for him. All of a sudden he heard the sound of wood breaking on the first floor. Their front door. They had broken in, Mr. Johnson silently cursed, had they gotten past Leonidas? Was he injured? Dead? He prayed to god that the boy he thought of like a son was safe, as was his daughter.

Cheers and yelling could be heard coming up the stairs, Mr. Johnson held his rifle straighter, pointed right at the door, blocking his pregnant wife and son with his own body.

"Come on out, Johnson!" A voice yelled from the stairs. "Where's your daughter and wife? We'd like to-AAAH!" The man let out a scream before a loud thud sounded that shook the house. Several gun shots followed, and several other screams followed them, coming from several different voices. The voices sounding like something out a horror movie where the monster kills a group of characters off screen. Mr. Johnson had no idea what was going on, so he continued to point his gun at the door.

"I surrender! I surrender! I-AAH!" A voice screamed before being silenced. A second later a heavy knock sounded at the door.

"Mr. Johnson, it's me."

"Leonidas?" The man cried, lowering the gun and heading to the door to unlock it. "How on earth are you alive? I thought you were dead, son."

The door opened and Leonidas stepped into the doorway. "I'm not so easily killed, Mr. Johnson." He paused to look to the two other people in the room. "Are you okay, Mrs. Johnson? Mason? Where's Mary?"

"We don't know." Mr. Johnson told him worriedly. "I couldn't find her! She wasn't in her room!"

"I'll get her." Leonidas reassured him. "She's in my room, we were talking before the Bakers showed up."

"Are there any more of them?" Mrs. Johnson asked.

"Maybe one or two hiding around," He answered. "But if their smart they'll retreat outside with their wounded brothers and leave."

"Just get my daughter." Mr. Johnson told him, his voice serious. "Don't let anything happen to her."

"You have my word-." Right at this moment a high pitched scream sound from the bottom floor. A feminine scream.

"Mary!" Both Leonidas and her father yelled at the same time, rushing down the stairs with Leonidas in the lead and Mr. Johnson carrying his rifle behind him.

Leonidas reached the last step to find one of the men holding Mary by her throat, a pistol pointed at her head. Letting out a cry, Leonidas charged the man before he could react and threw him to the side, turning his back and holding Mary in his arms protectively, shielding her. A second later a shot rang out and the man who had been holding Mary dropped to the floor dead. Mr. Johnson reloaded his rifle and ran up to his daughter.

"Mary! Are you alright?" She pulled her from Leonidas' arms and hugged her tightly. "Oh my baby."

"I am." She nodded, her voice shaky and her eyes distant, having trouble comprehending what was happening. Shell shock, Leonidas thought.

"You son of a bitch!" A man appeared in the doorway, a gun pointed at the nearest person, Leonidas, and a second later he pulled the trigger.

Three things happened in the next three seconds, first, he heard Mary scream his name, the next second he saw a blur from the corner of his eye as she jumped towards him, then in the last second the gun fired and Mary hit the floor.

Leonidas stared at the girl in shock for an unknown amount of time as she laid motionless on the floor. He vaguely remembers hearing her father yelling something, maybe it was her name, maybe he was just cursing god, but it was muted and didn't fully register in his brain. Neither did the ringing in his ears, or the darkness around him, or the guns going off around him as Mr. Johnson fell beside him. The only thing that did register in his mind was one simple fact; Mary died and this man killed her.

"Brrroooaaawwwrrr!"

Letting out a low primal roar that sounded like a rumbling thunderstorm that nearly shook the walls of the house, Leonidas charged the man and pushed him through the wall a few feet behind him, relishing in the feeling of the shattering bones and stopping heart under his hand.

Next Leonidas charged through the wall towards the group of wounded men helping their brothers to their feet and grabbed the nearest man by his head and squeezing, the man's blood and brains exploding through his fingers with a sickening crunch. The men screamed but Leonidas roared in rage, veins popping from his neck, his face red and his eyes bulged as spit flew from his screaming mouth.

"Rrraaawww!" He bellowed, his deep voice rumbling like the earth as he attacked the men.

Leonidas leapt at the next man, pulling his arm from his body and began beating him to death with it. The lifeless body dropped to the ground, it's face disfigured and its body torn to pieces. From behind him, Leonidas heard another sound, so he turned only to be shot in the face with a shotgun.

"BANG!" Leonidas stumbled back, clutching his face. The man who shot him let out a cheer as he loaded the gun again, thinking Leonidas dead.

"You'll have to do better than that." Leonidas stepped out of the darkness and rose to his full height, uncovering his face. It was pot marked with red circles and a few drops of blood dripped from his cheeks but other than that he was unharmed. He spit at the man's feet, a combination of blood and buckshot. The man's eyes widened even more for three seconds until Leonidas reached for him and ripped his head from his shoulders.

In the end Leonidas doesn't remember what happened after that, or what completely happened before that, actually. He only came to later to find the entire house torn down around him. The second floor was crushed on top of the first and a myriad of dead, mangled, disfigured, unrecognizable bodies around him. He searched the wreckage, finding Mason and Mrs. Johnson both dead, a bullet in each of their heads. Someone must have found them while he was busy toying and tearing apart the men downstairs. A few minutes later he found something that made his heart sink:

Mary.

Unmoving and crushed under some rubble.

Dead.

Carefully, he lifted her out from under the ceiling and cradled her in his arms, holding her head close to his heart as we wept. "Mary… I'm so sorry…" He looked up the darkened void, the sky opened up a second later and rain bore down to help wash the blood from the earth. Leonidas sat like that for an unknown amount of time, he only knew that when he finally got up the sun was high in the sky. Slowly, he rose and carried Mary's body to a small clearing by the house and gently laid her down. Then collected the rest of her family and dug four shallow graves, far enough apart so that the dirt didn't collapse by close enough so that they could be together as they went to Hades. After placing a golden drachma over each of their eyes and burying them, he gathered up the remains of the men and threw them into a pit that was going to be used for a new water tank and threw in a torch for good measure. Watching the bodies burn as he covered them with dirt. So that they will burn twice, he thought. Once here and once in Hades.

Once he was finished he looked back up to the sky, screaming at the Fates for taking his family and Mary away from him. He screamed until his throat burned and he couldn't speak, cursed them until he ran out of words and promised that he would pay back Ares for filling the mortal's hearts with hatred and violence despite their being no proof that the god of War had anything to do with what happened.

Once the sun fell and the moon rose to take its place, Leonidas finally stood up from in front of Mary's grave, several of her paintings placed over the dirt. "I love you, Mary." He whispered, his voice rough from screaming all day for hours. "I always will, I promise. I make it up to you, even if I have to kill the ones responsible for this, I swear it." With that he turned from the graves and headed into the darkness of the forest and soon became nothing more than a shadow in the night.


(Author's Note)

Thanks for reading, guys. I hope you, I don't know, saying 'liked' doesn't seem right after that ending. Was it okay? Did you see it coming? How do you feel about Leonidas now? Let me know, I'd love to know what you think about him. Next chapter we'll be returning to camp, don't worry.

In case you missed it above: An important notice, guys, I WON'T be putting out a chapter next week, I'll instead be writing and putting out a Young Justice Bat Family Valentine's One-Shot. It will hopefully be out right on Valentine's day and will be mostly practice for my upcoming YJ story. Chapter 6 will come out the following week, the 23rd. Chapters will come out every weekend or so. Speaking of that, this story will be 19 chapters in total, so if I put out one a week I should be done on May 25th. I'll try to stick to this schedule and date as much as possible.

Thanks again for reading, I'll see you guys on the 23rd. Please check out my YJ Valentine's one-shot if you're interested. It'll give me a good idea if you guys would want a YJ story.

Until next time, have a great day,

Hephaestus