March 3, 1995. Houston, Texas
The streets of Houston gleamed brightly under the bright light of the sun. Apollo must be in a great mood thought Hephaestus as he walked across the street leading to the strange machine shop he felt drawn to. The feeling had come out of nowhere but he'd definitely felt it. He'd been to countless machine shops but this one, this one felt different. He was presenting himself as a tanned, Latino man w a thick mane of hair to go along with his flowing black beard. The mechanic shirt he wore was a size too big with oil stains serving as his own version of a personal touch.
As he drew near Hephaestus wondered what could be in this plain mortal shop that had managed to catch the eye of a god. He no longer had to guess after opening the door.

"Hi! Welcome to my shop, how can I help you?"

"I'm actually looking for some work."

"One of my guys did just leave for another job in San Diego so another hand would be appreciated. I'm assuming you know your way around a place like this?" She replied with laughter as she very specifically eyed the stains dotting my shirt.

"I understand though. It can be easy to get lost in what we do, I feel at my best with my head in the clouds and my hands at work. But enough of me rambling I'm sorry I never did quite catch your name. Look at me hiring someone and not even knowing what to call you."

"I'm Hector."

"Esperanza."

Mornings invite the light to expel the darkness but Leo still can't help but fucking hate them. They are his stage of shame where he is forced to relive memories he believed were confined to his head. It's the first few minutes in the morning that he hates, where you're not sure what's happening and everything is a wonderful blur. Then reality hits and forced to process what's actually happening. For him this experience is a replay of him reliving his tragedies. Sometimes he wakes up crying out for Nyssa, reaching out with an arm that's not there anymore. Sometimes he wakes up shivering, trying anything to feel warm again. Mornings are just not for Leo.

Today Leo is going into town. He's not quite sure why but he's had an itch to explore and adventure that he hasn't been able to scratch since before. The day can turn into anything because he's okay with that. Even if all he ends up doing is walking the streets of New York from all day then that is enough for him because he was starting to get tired of always feeling bad for himself. Maybe he'll catch a movie. Maybe fight a couple hellhounds. All the same to him.

As he got ready to exit and enjoy his day off Leo heard a knock on his door.

"LEO! HAZEL'S OUTSIDE THE CABIN LOOKING FOR YOU!" Screamed Harley through the door.

"THANKS FOR MAKING SURE I HEARD THAT HARL NOW GET TO ARCHERY I KNOW YOU'RE LATE!"

Leo laughed before taking a deep breath and palming his face with both hands as he tried to figure out what he was gonna do. He can't make her wait out there forever but he just can't have this conversation with her right now. Resolving himself Leo opened the door of his cabin and met eyes with one of the other Great Seven of Prophecy. Hazel's golden eyes seemed bottomless as they met his, trapping him in almost immediately.

"We need to talk."

"Yeah I guess we probably should."

"Can we do it somewhere more private?" She replied, looking up at him through her long lashes. She wore an overly large, burgundy sweater over her camp shirt that seemed to swallow her figure entirely.

"Uh yeah we can go to the Bunker."

The walk over was equal parts painstakingly awkward and undeniably layered. The wood life filled the absence of noise left behind by the two demigods.

"Do you love Frank Hazel?"

"Yes. I think I do."

"Do you love me?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because you're best person I know." At this Hazel stopped and had begun to tear up as she made eye contact with him.

"The Seven of us were connected way before we were born, given destinies that would have us fighting wars before we're even able to vote. But you've always had to fight to live your destiny. And whether you believe yourself good enough or not Leo I will always know you are a hero."

"Hazel I'm not good enough." Leo replied so harshly that Hazel could almost feel the venom he had injected into his words.

"I'm a one armed failure of a hero who can't save anyone! My mom's dead! My sister's dead! How can you look at me and love me Hazel? You deserve better than this. You deserve Frank. I should've never gotten in the way of your guys' happiness." At this point both were crying as they tried to help the other understand.

"You saved me. And Frank. And Percy. And Jason. And every other person in this world. Leo I know we were born into this prophecy but the gods didn't decide how we would handle it. How we would live it."

Leo let the tears run down his face as he looked up at those golden eyes that seemed to understand him in ways he wasn't sure was possible. Wiping his tears away with his sleeves he finally asked her,

"Why me?"

"Becau-"

"And not because I'm a hero. Or because I'm a good person. None of that bullshit. Fuck the prophecy and fuck being a demigod. What happened between us. I'm talking about Leo and Hazel here okay? The people. Not the heroes."

"You make me feel alive. It can sound weird coming from the daughter of a death god but I'm sorry Leo but it's true. I know Frank loves me. I love him. He makes happy even if he has his problems as a boyfriend but in all honesty he's a good guy. But you make me look forward to living the day. You taught me to never neglect making good memories even if all is bad. To remember to laugh. To live and love as much as possible while we can. Leo you have your problems I know that. We're all broken, some more than others but how we pick up the pieces is what's most important. You think I didn't notice you? Your struggle? They told me to give you space but you can't be alone. You shouldn't be alone. I won't let you do this to yourself anymore."

Leo didn't know what to say. Here was one of the girls who got away praising him yet he was stuck, speechless. Noticing his lack of reply Hazel wiped her face before saying,

"You don't have to reply. Just remember you're not alone. I have to get going." Leo stared at her figure as she walked away slowly. After about three steps she stopped and asked without turning, "Can I visit you tomorrow?"

"Sure."

It was another few steps before she stopped again.

"Leo?"

"Yeah?"

"Despite all we got going on you're still one of my best friends."

"You're one of mine to."

"Love you. See you tomorrow."

"Love you to."

Reyna loves mornings. While yes they are linked to the horrible monster that is the start of work they also offer the best moments to be alone. Watching the world wake up on her runs is one of her favorite things to do, along with stopping by the candy shop on the way home for her daily fix of jellybeans. Morning always remind her of the sea. The days at Circe's island were some of the best in her life if you could believe it. It was an almost too perfect island paradise, until it wasn't. Yes Reyna loves mornings, sometimes.

Today was her day off as she'd been hard at work the last couple of months organizing the development of the new city to be built in the coming year. It was complicated business as she organized with the other leaders, and gods, to build a home for demigods that will actually live up to the name. While the gods claimed they'd sing tales of her feats for years she'd be fine if this city was her only legacy. To give a home to kids like her will legacy enough for her if it mean none will have to be alone, like her. She was jolted out her thoughts when someone called her over during her run.

"Reyna!"

Turning her head Reyna could see Percy goofily call her over as hair flopped around. He was sitting in a chair near the fire with Annabeth sitting on his lap reading a huge book titled simply "ARCHITECTURE" in big gold letters.

"Hey Percy! Hey Annabeth!" She replied with a smile as she walked over and removed her headphones. She slowly lowered the volume so they wouldn't discover her secret guilty pleasure of listening to the High School Musical albums on repeat when she runs. What can she say they make her feel young.

"It should be illegal for you to be running this early." replied Percy.

"You know I'm surprised you're up at all. I thought you don't get up before 12 so what the special occasion? We didn't even have any meetings." Asked Reyna with a laugh.

"Wise Girl here wanted breakfast so I took her out to iHop. We just got back and she's already reading so she can get everything and I quote "perfectly perfect" when she submits her plans to her mom." Hearing this Annabeth affectionately thumped her boyfriend in the back of the head before calling him a Seaweed Brain and getting back to her book. Reyna had always admired their relationship, even if she had had a crush on Percy when they'd first met. The two were just so complimentary, just who they were as people worked well together. It was almost as if someone had written a great love story with Percy and Annabeth in the middle. She'd always wanted her own love story.

"I just wanted to call you over to ask if you'd had any ideas for the leadership positions in the city. I know a lot of great candidates for the Greek side but I think you'd probably be the best person for choosing from the Romans. Just wanna make sure both sides feel represented ya know?" He said this so genuinely she almost threw up.

"I have a couple ideas for some people, can I get a list back to you tomorrow?"

As she finished saying goodbye to the legendary couple Reyna turned quickly to continue her run, plugging her headphones back in and pulling her iPod up to play the song again. During this flurry of activity she wasn't quite able to see the small, dainty figure of one Daughter of Pluto walk out the forest and into her, causing them both to fall to the floor.

"Gods this feels amazing." Thought Leo as he blazed down the street in the custom motorcycle he'd built for himself. It was a plain enough model that allowed him to inconspicuously get around places and leave the occasional monster in the dust.

The conversation he'd just had with Hazel had left him with much to think about. He'd felt alone and ignored but maybe it's not that simple. Growing up running from house to house wasn't easy, there were times as a kid where he felt like the whole world was against him. And now that he knows he's a demigod he was not so far off before. But having the Seven around, having his friends was good for him. Is good for him. That trip to save the world was one of scariest adventures he'd ever been on but what he got out of it was something he'd never had before, family. Sure they tended to neglect him at times but they were all young, busy, and spending as much time as they could with ones they love.

The air blew threw his long curly hair as he zipped down the highway, not really going anywhere yet still moving. The long steel titans in the city stood tall with their glass skin as they lived their lives, watching and observing. He wonders how many of these buildings watched his siblings die in the war against the Titans. Did they watch as Percy led an army of children against monsters of legend? Did they watch as Silena Beauregard fell to a drakon, all for trusting someone she used to consider an friend? Did they watch as Luke Castellan sold his soul to Kronos because he'd felt abandoned by those who should've been there. What cost must every demigod pay for being born? Leo had been told all of this on the ship by Percy during the nights he'd pilot and Percy couldn't sleep after getting back from Tartarus. He would come up with dark circles under his eyes and simply sit near Leo as he navigated. They'd talk about nothing and everything during those hours. He'd tell the story of how he learned Morse code and Percy would tell him why he only ate blue food. Leo learned a lot from Percy. He learned the price of being a hero from Percy. He learned basic sword techniques from Percy. It was also from Percy where Leo learned that not all scars heal.

It was one of the nights where they didn't talk. Percy had come up around 2 am and hadn't said a word since. Leo could recognize haunted look in his eyes and decided to just enjoy the companionship of his friend. It was two hours later when he first spoke.

"I've already killed so many people and I can't even drink yet." whispered Percy as he looked around at the clouds surrounding them."Worse part is I don't even know all their names. And they call me a hero for it."

"You were at war Percy."

"A war I had no control over. A war I didn't want. And now we fly into another."

"Percy can I ask you a question?"

He looked up at me and slowly nodded.

"Does it ever get better."

He was a silent for a long time, just staring at the sky with an almost peaceful look before replying,

"It doesn't. I always remember that I've killed other kids, most just for hating the fact that their parent had ignored them. And it hurts everyday but it honestly helps having people around. It's not distracting yourself from what you'd done but instead reminding yourself everyday that it wasn't for no reason. I get to see kids run around the camp laughing and making ugly art. I get to see Annabeth every day. It's not about it getting better Leo. It's about being okay with being okay."

"We're going off to fight another war."

"I know."

"Are you scared? Not just to die but to kill? I don't know if I can do this." At this Percy looked at me and stood for the first time in 4 hours. He put both hand on my shoulders and told me something I'll never forget.

"It's okay to be scared. It's okay not be ready to take another life. But it's not okay to doubt Leo fuckin Valdez okay? Not only are you one of Seven, you're also a young teenage kid doing his best in impossible situations. And winning."

"The prophecy says the the world must fall to storm or fire."

"Looks like you might end up destroying the world then Mr. Valdez" replied Percy with a soft smile. He sat back down, placing his hand in his pockets and returning to simply watching the world go by as they swam through the sky. The early fingers of sunlight had begun to grab at the night sky, creating a beautiful painting of red and orange for both to admire.

"We're almost at Olympus."

"Guess it's time to be a hero."

"Guess it's time to be a hero."