Esperanza Valdez was a beautiful woman. The most beautiful woman in the world, in Leo's opinion. His mother was strong, independant, and managed to raise him on her own, all with a smile on her face and a laugh in her voice. Well, with a little help from Tia Callida, but that didn't count. Really, Tia didn't help at all.

His earliest memory was sitting on a bench in the shop while his mother worked.

"This is a wrench, mijo," said Esperanza, leading his son by the hand through the shop. "When you're in the shop, you must be careful around all the tools, okay? They can be dangerous, and you can always hurt yourself. I want you to stay near me and keep away from pointy things." She set him down on a bench and poked his stomach for emphasis. Three-year-old Leo giggled, then looked up into his mother's eyes and nodded sagely. He didn't really understand, but Esperanza wasn't worried. Leo was smart enough not to play with things he shouldn't touch. She smiled at him and ruffled his hair, then sat down on the workbench.

She began to tinker with the small contraption on the table. Leo watched her work with rapt attention. Even in his young age, he loved machines. Something about the busyness and clanking noises calmed him and excited him at the same time. The machine shop was home.

She was the kindest and most understanding woman in the world.

Leo was four and friendless. No one had come to his birthday party. He sat by himself in the sheltered nook by the window and stared at the setting sun. It was bleeding. Like his heart. And maybe he was being melodramatic, but it still hurt to know that none of his friends cared enough to come. Tia was out shopping. His mother should be back soon from picking up his cake. Too bad there was no one to share it with. Tears blurred his vision. Nobody liked him.

The door opened. "Mijo! I'm home. Did your friends arrive yet?" Esperanza was back. Leo hid himself further into the nook. He didn't want to see anyone right now. Not even his mother. No one.

Esperanza came into the room. Leo wondered if it was possible to disappear entirely into the little alcove. Then maybe she would leave him alone.

"Leo? Are you there?"

"No," came his muffled voice. "Go look for me in my room."

Esperanza smiled to herself and came to the window. She gently pushed the curtains aside and sat down beside her son. He turned away, hugging his knees. She chuckled a little and pulled him into a hug, stroking his hair.

"No one came," he said into her shirt. "I have no friends."

"It's okay, mijo. I'm your friend, aren't I? We can have the best birthday party together."

He looked up, eyes damp from stray tears. "Really?"

"Really."

Even when he was naughty.

The vase fell off the table and shattered. A startled five-year-old Leo stared at the shards, hammer in hand. Seconds later, a harried Esperanza rushed into the room.

"Leo! What happened?"

Leo sniffled. "I'm sorry, Mommy… I just wanted to hold the hammer. I didn't mean to…"

She smiled. "It's okay, mijo. I didn't like that vase anyway." She came and knelt down by her son. "Let's clean up together, and then I will teach you how to use a hammer. Okay?"

"Okay!"

"Alright, go and grab the dustpan. I'll start picking up the pieces."

Leo nodded and enthusiastically rushed off. Esperanza smiled after him. He was growing up.

They would be together forever. Happy. Family.

"Mom! Look at me!" A beaming Leo stood at the top of the big rock in the park. He was a big boy now! He could finally climb the rock!

Esperanza laughed - a bright, happy sound. "Good job, mijo! Careful, okay?" She looked up at him from the base of the rock, picnic basket in hand.

"Don't worry. I can take care of myself!" Leo was six. Of course he would be careful! He was almost a grown up, really. Almost.

"That's good to hear." Esperanza was proud of him. He had been trying to climb that rock since the first time they visited the park. It seemed that he was finally big enough to reach.

Leo giggled as he paraded up and down the length of the rock, arms out. Esperanza followed him. Suddenly, Leo slipped on a patch of moss and began to tumble down. A million thoughts rushed through his mind. He was going to die! He was too young to die! He still hadn't climbed the rock at the pond yet!

Leo squeezed his eyes shut. He landed on something, but it didn't feel like the ground. He opened his eyes. His mother smiled down at him.

"That was quite a scare you gave me there, mijo. Be more careful next time, okay? You're getting too big for me to catch."

Leo hugged Esperanza. His heart was still racing. "The carefulest."

Esperanza kissed him on the forehead and put him down. "Good boy. Now let's go have our picnic."

He loved her.

Esperanza sat on the kitchen floor with seven-year-old Leo. They were learning Morse Code today. Well, Leo was learning. Esperanza was teaching him.

"And this is "Z"," said Esperanza, tapping on the floor.

"Z," he repeated, tapping it back. Two long, two short.

"Good, mijo." She smiled at him. "Do you want to try to say something now?"

"Yeah! This is awesome!" It was like they were spies! They even had their own secret language. Just him and his mom.

"Alright, then. What do you want to say?"

Leo thought about it for a while pensively. His face scrunched up and he placed a finger on his lips. Esperanza laughed inwardly. Then, he suddenly lit up and sat up straight. "I know! Tell me how to say "I love you"! And then we can say it to each other in our" -and here he dropped his voice to a conspirational whisper- "secret language."

Esperanza was surprised, and pleasantly so. "Okay, here we go, mijo."

.. .-.. - …- . -.- - ..-

He was eight when he started running.

"MOM!" shouted Leo. He pounded on the heavy metal door.

"It's okay, mijo! I will be fine! Go without me!"

"No! Mom, I'm not leaving you!"

"Go, Leo! There's nothing you can do right now! Go and I will find you soon, okay?" He thought he heard tears in her voice. He had never felt so powerless in his life.

"I love you, Mom…"

"I love you too, mijo. Now get out of the building!"

Flames licked at him from under the door. He took a step back, backing away as slowly as he could.

"Oh, you poor child." Leo bumped into someone behind him. "Your mother is dying and there's nothing you can do." There was a scary smile on her face - sleepy and menacing at the same time.

"Wh-What do you mean?"

Her smile widened. Her eyes were covered with a dark veil. "People will fall around you and you will never be able to do anything about it. In fact, you will be the one to hurt them in the first place."

"You… You're crazy, lady!" But her words had hit the mark. It was exactly his greatest fear.

"Oh, yes. I am." She turned around to go. "I will see you again, Leo Valdez."

"No, you won't!" said Leo. He was scared, but that didn't mean she had to know.

"Really? Do you believe that?" The lady chuckled to herself, walking away. "I will find you, Leo Valdez. And on that day, I will kill you. You had better start running now."

The world burst into flames.

Leo had waited near the burnt building for three days. His mother never came.

A/N: A bit of feels for all you Esperanza lovers. This chapter was basically just to give some insight into the past. Also, it makes a better transition than my other idea WHICH YOU WILL SEE HOPEFULLY IN THE NEAR FUTURE! I swear I'm writing. Just not updating/finishing... *awkwardly backs away*

So I don't know if the formatting and things are going to work. I just realized that all my formatting didn't save on the earlier ones! Ugh... I'll go back and fix it, and you can re-read if you want, but you don't really have to.

And yet another serious chapter! I'm trying to bring it back to the snarky, light-hearted voice from before, but I don't know if the next chapter will stay like that! The story writes itself, after all. :D

Read, review, and give me suggestions and edits! I love to hear from you guys. Thank you to all the reviewers on the last two chapters! You guys really do make my day.

In other news, I just watched the new Star Wars, and it did NOT disappoint. I don't know if I'll survive until the next one! Gah!

Thank you all again for reading, and keep the edits coming! :33

~Yumi