Hephaestus grunted as he lifted the war hammer he was crafting for some minor god that didn't annoy him too much. The blazing heat of his forge didn't effect him as he put the hammer back in the flames, watching as the red hot tongues of heat licked away at the cold metal. As Hephaestus waited for his masterpiece to finish he stared at the mini television he had in his forge. It displayed an image of his son Leo walking up to a raven haired beauty on a beach. Hephaestus loved the boy and hoped the girl could provide the company Leo has needed to keep his head above water.

No matter how many people say it Hephaestus believed in loving his children, he tried but he just wasn't meant for human interaction. But Leo, he was different. He was, in a way, a lot of things Hephaestus wished he was, which was why it was so hard watching him hurt so bad. After losing Nyssa even Hephaestus himself went into a period of depression but Leo, he shut down. He blamed himself and was destroying himself from the inside. The fire in him recognized his wish and gave up. As his passion for life died out his personal fire followed his example. Hephaestus almost cried at the thought of his blessed son cursed to never use the gift he'd given him ever again, his veins filled with ice as he tries his best to stay warm. Hephaestus summoned a flame in his hand and stared at the image he had conjured in it, a six year old Leo cooking empanadas with his Mom. Both laughing as Leo threw flour at her face and got into a food fight. Esperanza was an amazing woman. He'd had many children but it was no accident that Leo was one of the rare children of his to inherit his affinity for flame. While it is not fully understood, except by Aphrodite of course, the connection between the love of the parent and the strength of the demigod exists. I remember first meeting his mother in her shop. I had been drawn to her shop as she, and it, had managed to capture so much of my essence that I felt a pull. She was an amazing person.

"Leo? You're...taller." replied Reyna with a odd look on her face properly taking in this new Leo. The ratty and loose clothes did nothing to hide his now built body, his skin paler thanks to his many hours of work indoors. His eyes held bags from what Reyna assumed were countless sleepless nights. What worried her however was what caught her attention to him in the first place. His dark brown eyes shown with a darkness only found in survivors of tragedy.

"Yeah that tends to happen after a couple years." Leo said jokingly, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked at the floor.

"What're you doing here? Don't you have a camp to blow up or something?" Reyna said with such a straight face that Leo almost laughed but didn't because he wanted to stay alive. "You can't still be mad about that Reyna it's been three years!" Leo replied with a laugh and a over exaggerated wave as he sat down next to her. She raised her eyebrows at the closeness of them but she didn't act on it choosing instead to pop another jelly bean in her mouth and stare at the sunset.

Reyna looked over at Leo who had his legs pulled near him as he rubbed his hands for warmth.

"You're cold? Didn't know that was possible."

"A lot of impossible things have been happening Reyna, keep up." Leo replied with a smile.

They shared a laugh before sitting in silence yet again. Reyna shuddered finally feeling the cold bite at her as the sun's warmth disappeared, seeing this Leo took off his jacket. "Here you go Reina, can't have a queen get cold." Reyna accepted it with a nod before wrapping it around her, still feeling the cold she looked at Leo. He was walking around gathering dead wood for a fire.

"What're you doing?" She asked genuinely curious at his actions.

"Think I'm gonna stay here a bit, it's relaxing. Gonna make a fire so I don't freeze and become a Leosicle." Reyna watched the tall tanned teenager as he collected the wood and almost couldn't imagine the Leo she had met years ago, it felt like another world. She was spacing out when Leo caught her attention again barely whispering out the invitation without looking at her.

"You can stay if you want."

Hearing this caught Reyna off guard as she tried not to choke up too much. She's not usually emotional but it'd been awhile since she'd physically heard someone say they wanted her around.

"Only staying because I'm too lazy to move, don't get any ideas Flamehead." She replied drawing herself closer to the growing fire.
"Why are you by yourself Leo? Shouldn't you be with the Seven celebrating?" Leo stopped tending the fire for a bit just standing still. "Just needed some Leo time, no other reason." Reyna knew he was lying, she had become a bonafide lie detector running the legion for as long as she did, dealing with snakes like Octavian on a daily basis, but she let it pass. He obviously didn't want to talk about it so she changed the subject. "What's your favorite candy?" Leo laughed at the abrupt and strange question before replying with a joke. They spent the rest of the night talking about things not related to the real world. They talked about almost everything, as long as it wasn't serious or required them to face reality. Reyna forgot about the stress she dealt with and the scars of her past that haunted her. Leo forgot about the nightmares that haunted him and the coldness he always felt. For one night it was just Reyna and Leo talking around a fire, they weren't a demigod of prophecy and possibly one of the greatest praetors seen in the new age. They were just two troubled teenage kids having fun.

Leo woke up with a something in his mouth. He spit it out and tried to move but his arm was stuck, looking around he tried to remember where he was. Finally remembering the night before he realized he didn't have a nightmare last night, smiling he looked at the person holding on to him keeping him from jumping in joy. Reyna had her head on his chest still sleeping with Leo's jacket on top of them, acting as a temporary blanket. Leo had went to adjust Reyna last night since she had shrugged the jacket off when she had accidentally fallen asleep in the middle of a conversation about how to properly make a quesadilla. When he had moved to tuck the jacket under her she trapped his arm and brought him close to her, all while still asleep. Leo didn't want to wake her up so he just accepted the impromptu snuggle session before falling asleep himself.

He moved a piece of hair behind her ear as her eyes opened slowly. "Leo? What're you doing?" She said as she got up no longer trapping him. " You had something in your face." Leo said noticing her lack of complaint at their closeness." You fell asleep on me last night." " I know sorry." She said with what Leo suspected as false sincerity.

"You know the time?"

"Like around 5 I think"

At this she begun to tie her hair up with a band she wore on her wrist. "I'm gonna head to my cabin and actually sleep on a real bed." She began moving away from him towards the cabins but before she was out of listening distance Leo called out to her.

"Hey Reyna!" she stopped and turned to him, "Yeah?".

"Thank you". She replied with a nod before going back to the cabins yet again. Little did she know that he saw the blush that appeared on her face. He gave a little laugh before cleaning up the fire pit. It would be another morning of work for him but he actually didn't mind this time.

"I'm on the Highway to Hell!" Blasted out the large speakers hanging on the walls in Bunker Nine. Leo bobbed his head to the AC/DC classic as he worked on his newest project. Leo decided that he needed a proper weapon since he had lost his arm in the battle, having wielded only tools to defend himself. He had left into the city after he had woken up after his night with Reyna on the beach, he smiled at the thought of that. He broke into the nearest gun shop that had what he required and returned to camp, after leaving some cash of course. He then spent the rest of the morning making personal adjustments, engraving it with designs he thought in his mind and just what he felt looked right. The result was two personally engraved Desert Eagle .50 with the names "Forever" and "Always" engraved on the barrel. He had named it in hopes of a future where he can protect the peace his world held now. The weapon contained a magazine of a mixed metal group of both mortal steel and celestial bronze bullets, just in case.

He was contemplating the problem of getting so much of the rare mixed metal bullets when a holster appeared that you strap to your chest. It had space for his guns on either side with a mag held in a holster in the center near his chest where the holster connected. Testing it Leo discovered that the mag is automatically replaced when it's removed. All that was found when he found it was a small note with the letter "H" on it, so his father didn't hate him. This day was getting better and better. He finished his adjustments around 10 and spent the rest of the afternoon practicing his aim with the weapon, he wasn't that bad.

As Leo practiced in the homemade firing range he had created in Bunker Nine he realized that his metal arm was easily capable of keeping up with the recoil of the monster of a firearm. As he realized the amount of strength and training required to master the on hand firing with his other hand Leo went to work immediately, spending the rest of the day testing the limits of his strength and techniques to properly duel wield. By the end of the day he was exhausted but proud of himself, his night with Reyna had actually allowed him to feel rested and enjoy his work for once. Maybe he was making progress Leo thought as he walked out the Bunker, the lights shutting off automatically.

As Leo walked through the forest he wondered why he left his new weapons at the Bunker looking at the shadows that could take him any second. The moonlight danced with the darkness as Leo rubbed his hands for warmth. He was surprised to see that it had managed to actually work in warming him up for a bit. For a long time Leo felt cold, physically and emotionally but now he just had a gut feeling that maybe it was almost over. As Leo contemplated what caused his change of luck he heard a commotion as he passed the stables. A loud crash and a slight shriek inside alerted him before he rushed in drawing a hammer from his belt trying to light it on fire but to no avail.

"Oh hey Leo" said Hazel as she looked up in embarrassment trying to stop Arion from stomping away after she refused to give him his 5th bar of gold that night. "What're you doing here this late Haze?" Leo asked with concern as he drew closer noticing a small cut near the top of her right brow."I needed a break and went to spend it with my horse but as you can see he's being a brat" she replied giving him a look before he snorted in a what Leo was assumed was a series of curse words even he didn't know.

"Need a break from what? Being a walking bank?" Leo said with a laugh trying to lighten her mood as she looked upset. With a laugh she replied,"No just from Frank. Ever since the we got serious he's been really protective and jealous. I know he does it because he cares but I just feel trapped sometimes." As she said this she looked him in the eyes hoping to see that she wasn't crazy for thinking like she was in his eyes.

"He's not crazy for being jealous at least" he said backing up against the wall putting his hands in his pockets.

"I'm sorry Leo. I'm sorry for making you uncomfortable but I'm not sorry for what I said, you do deserve way more than what the fates have given you." She said with so much intensity that Leo looked up into her eyes.

"I'm bad news Hazel. I'll use you and leave you as broken as I am."

"I don't care." She replied before throwing herself at him. She tangled her hands in his hair as they lost themselves in each other. Clothes flew off as the midnight moon shined through the stable ceiling upon the two teens.

He stared at the naked form of Hazel as she slept on him. It kinda reminded him of his night with Reyna except much more...weighted. He knew there were gonna be consequences but he didn't care because in these past two days he felt what he couldn't feel in almost a year. He felt warm...the scary part was that he didn't know why. Looking back at the mistake he didn't regret, he kissed her head and went back to sleep, nightmare free of course.