This is the second installment of the double whammy. Hopefully, you all like it.

The Letter

Leo Valdez was lying on his bed wondering if he should try and get back to sleep or head down to Bunker 9 to work out Archimedes' scrolls and risk getting discovered by the harpies. Instead he decided to do neither of those things. The buttons and gadgets of his brother's bed (which was now his) were intriguing him once more despite having gone through them multiple times before going on the quest to lull Gaea back to sleep. And they seemed like the perfect things to get his mind off the nightmares from the Giant War.

The first thing he did was press every green button that he could find. By the end of that he had a 'black market' can of orange soft drink (which a metal arm had lazily handed to him from the already built in fridge), a small bowl of freshly made chocolate and caramel flavoured 'black market' popcorn (which made the entire cabin smell delicious), three of his own sketch books (which he had stored into the bed as soon as he was able), an entire set of pencils and pens (lead and coloured as well as red, black and blue), and a lone pair of pink headphones that looked suspiciously like Nyssa's missing pair (which he immediately placed on his sister's locker). The last thing that he wanted was to get caught with those headphones.

After a couple of large handfuls of the popcorn and the entire can of soft drink, the shaped buttons became Leo's next victims. As he guessed, the only things that showed themselves were nut, bolts and cogs that needed a desperate clean. Oh, and the grease, oil and shammies cloths that were found in the compartment for the crescent shaped button.

The purple, yellow and blue buttons all came up empty handed, though Leo was sure that he had placed something or found something in one of those compartments sometime before the war. Hopefully Travis and Connor hadn't figured out how to work the beds in the cabin otherwise that would be disastrous (not that him being in the cabin himself wasn't very safe from time to time either).

But the one thing he had never pushed before was the big red button that was engraved with a dove. Something had always told him that it was top secret, private only, touch and you will be instantly vaporised. So he left it alone. But this time the son of Hephaestus was just too curious to resist. Don't get him wrong. He did try at first. It was just that he didn't have as much self-control over it this time. With a deep breath and praying that it was not his last, he pressed the red button.

Thankfully nothing blew up. There was no smoke (which was a good thing) and there were no sparks either, though the button was a little rusty from the lack of use since Hephaestus knew when. In fact, Leo had been worried for nothing. There was nothing dangerous about that particular red button at all. After a few minutes of unnecessary panic, a hidden compartment flipped open on the side of the headboard next to the stereo and revealed a slightly yellowed envelope that really looked to be a year or two old at max.

Gingerly, Leo removed the envelope from its compartment and examined his new find. In the top right-hand corner where a stamp would usually go was the hammer of Hephaestus in the mouth of one of Aphrodite's doves. The name on the front was written in rough handwriting, but it clearly said 'Silena B. Aphrodite Cabin'. With a nod of his head, he replaced it back in the compartment and pressed the red button to close it, reminding himself to take it Nico di Angelo and figure out how it was going to get to its recipient because he was pretty sure that this chic from Aphrodite cabin wasn't part of the camp any longer. With that, he went to sleep already feeling like a mailman.

When morning came, the first thing Leo did was make sure that the envelope was removed from its secret compartment before even thinking about doing anything else. As he led the rest of his cabin down to the dining pavilion for breakfast, he caught eyes with Piper. In her hands was an envelope… and Leo got the sneaking suspicion that it wasn't for Jason. In fact he was almost sure that, with the look he was getting from Piper, she didn't think that the letter in his hand was for anyone special to him either.

All throughout breakfast, both Leo and Piper were visibly trying to figure out who the other's letter belonged to. Either that or Leo was trying to stop himself from opening the letter and reading the private message inside. And the fact that Nico was watching the both of them curiously as if he already knew what they were planning just seemed to unnerve Leo. He was still a little wary about the son of Hades. But everyone's thoughts were quickly confirmed when Piper and Leo met at Nico's cabin after breakfast, letters in hand.

" What's up, guys?" Nico's voice called from behind the two.

" Um…" Piper began, not knowing how she was going to say something for once (according to Leo).

" We've got some letters we need you to post." Leo finished, taking pride in having actually practiced the night before in his sleep.

" You do know that Hermes is the god of messengers, right?" the son of Hades asked.

" Yeah, but these guys are kind of… dead."

" So? Hermes has safe passage through the underworld."

" We want to make sure that these guys get them." Piper said, finally managing to turn her thoughts into words.

" Who are they?"

" Silena and Beckendorf." The two visitors said in unison.

The days were quiet in Elysium. But that was probably because everyone was recovering from the parties from the nights before. Ever since the union of the Roman and Greek demigod camps, the deceased demigods born to Hermes, Dionysus, Apollo and whoever else was a party god always seemed to never want to stop partying. And the best thing (according to them) was that they had forever. So when the letter arrived on Silena's doorstep (she was still trying to get a house with Charlie), she thought it was just another party invitation from Castor and his friends. That is until she recognised the handwriting on the front of the envelope.

But it was the seal on the corner of the envelope that stopped Silena from immediately ripping it open and reading. She and Charlie only used that seal while they were at camp… while they were alive. Someone must have sent it from camp… but who? And how long did it take them to find the letter? This time the daughter of Aphrodite calmed herself down and opened the letter with one graceful slip of her finger. The paper inside was smudged with oil on the edges, but the smudges seemed to give it a sort of reminder of a once happy, albeit dangerous, life. The smell of the Hephaestus cabin was still strong as well. And the words she read sent her into another world.

She and Beckendorf were sitting on the beach at Camp Half-Blood. It was before the destruction of the Princess Andromeda, but that say was looming fast. And the cabin leaders had only just discussed who was going to go blow up the ship. The quiet that surrounded the two was an uncomfortable one that made neither one of them speak about what was to come. There was, as with any demigod, a high chance that they would not come back from the mission. And it scared everyone.

" Silena…" the son of Hephaestus began.

" You don't have to go, Charlie." The daughter of Aphrodite said, tears already choking her voice.

" No, Silena. I have to go. I'm the only one who can. The others won't be able to handle the height as easily as anyone else."

The others. The rest of the Hephaestus cabin. Silena had never seen them on the backs of a pegasi in all the time that she had been leading the pegasi flying lessons. And the only thing that came into mind as a reason was because of what had happened to their father when he was a baby. Beckendorf had been the strongest in getting on the back of Baron. And everyone knew that Baron was one of the more dominant stallions of the herd. But as Silena looked into her lover's deep brown eyes, she noticed the determination in them and knew that there was going to be no way of changing his mind.

" I'll be fine, Silena. Percy and I will be in and out of there as quickly as we can." He promised.

" Nothing is ever that simple for us, Charlie." She meant demigods in general when she said that.

" Then we'll make this one count."

But something kept nagging at Silena and she began fearing for her boyfriend's life. She wished that she didn't have to do what she was doing. Then she might have been able to protect Charlie. But the fates obviously had other thoughts for the two love birds. Because only a few weeks later Beckendorf went off on the mission and never returned.

Now, staring at the letter she now knew was the last one that Charles Beckendorf had written while he was still alive, she couldn't stop the tears from falling down her face. The words kept springing up at her, telling her that he loved her and that he had to go on the mission. And for each time that she saw those words in that letter, she found herself walking out of her house and towards the beach just down the road.

Like at Camp Half-Blood, the beach had become a sort of meeting point for the couples of Elysium. And it was there that Silena found her own boyfriend watching the waves lap calmly at the sand. What she didn't expect was that in his hands was the last letter that she herself had written the night before the entire camp was due to set off for Manhattan. But what surprised her more was when Charlie stood up and wrapped his arms around her.

" You didn't have to do that, you know." He whispered in her ear.

She knew he meant when she had been forced to become Luke's spy in order to try and protect those that she loved, but she could only manage a small 'I'm sorry' as a reply.

" It doesn't matter now. What does it that you're here with me. That's all that matters."

But there was something that Silena just had to tell him. Something that has never gotten old or never died since the very first time it was uttered. " I love you."

" I know. Now, shh. We've got to figure out a way to get out of tonight's party."

" Why? Did Castor send you another invite?"

" I practically live with the guy." Yet another reason why Silena and Beckendorf wanted to get their own house with each other. " I'm not of any relation to the guy except 'friend' and I get stuck with him on the top floor apartment of the block that we're in."

" You know, I'm amazed that you haven't decked him yet."

" Tempting, but I could never do that."

" Sometimes you're too sweet for your own good."

" Only when it comes to friends… and to you."

Slowly, Beckendorf leaned down and brushed his lips over Silena's, all thoughts of both letters gone from each other's minds.

And there you have it, my second Beckelena one-shot. Hopefully I did okay on it. Tell me if I didn't that way I can improve in the future.

This was inspired by Blessid Union of Souls 'Rest of My Life'.