Leo's POV

If I thought I was feeling depressed last night, that was nothing compared to now. It was all rushing around my head: I was losing my newfound home, Camp Half-Blood; my new girlfriend; maybe even my life eventually, given the things we'd be fighting.

I know I sound so defeatist, but try being me.

Anne and I followed Jason out of the Big House and toward the beach. Nobody spoke. Jason still looked embarrassed, but I wasn't mad at him or anything. The guy had seen me make a fool of myself too many times for me to be annoyed about him walking in on me hugging Anne.

Anne's hand found mine and she squeezed my fingers gently. I smiled sideways at her and she smiled back.

I could see the Argo II ahead in the ocean, bobbing gently with each wave. The sight lifted my spirits. Festus's head, fixed proudly at the mast, caught the sun and shone with each small movement of the ship.

"We've got all your things and everything," Jason said to me. "Carter ran back to your cabin for your bag."

"Thanks," I said, not really paying attention.

As we approached, I could see a group of campers gathered with Chiron; people come to say goodbye, I realized. I could see all of my cabin, as well as Piper's and Annabeth's siblings as well. There were a few more cabins too: Apollo, Demeter, and Hermes; I could even see a few Ares campers behind a group of Demeter girls.

"There you are," Chiron greeted me warmly. I nodded, still gripping Anne's hand.

"We'd best be off," Annabeth said to the crowd of people. "Hope to see you all again."

A smattering of "good luck"s rose from the crowd. My cabinmates surrounded me and patted me on the back, smiling reassuringly. Annabeth turned and climbed aboard the ship, looking determined and businesslike. Piper hugged a few of her sisters, including Ashley, said goodbye to her brothers, and followed Annabeth onto the ship. Jason nodded and smiled at the crowd before following them both.

Anne kissed my cheek without saying a word. I turned to face her without letting go of her hand, and I was saddened to see a tear in her eye. It was then I noticed she was wearing her necklace, the silver "L" shining in the sunlight.

I let go of her hand to offer a hug. She took it and for a minute we just stood together like we had in Chiron's office, just holding onto the feeling of being in each other's arms. Nobody around us spoke a word or even made a sound as far as I could tell. A strand of her hair touched my nose and I was reminded of the night we met. The scent of lemon and horses was still on her, however faint.

I could feel her forehead on my shoulder and hugged her a little tighter. She exhaled a little sadly and pulled back so we were face-to-face.

"Take care of yourself, Valdez," she said before she kissed me.

I started to say, "You too" but the words never got past my mouth. We kissed for a lingering moment before we gently separated. With a heavy heart, I kissed the back of her hand like I'd done last night and started to board the ship.

Annabeth gestured to the wheel. "All yours," she said.

I took it and gently steered the ship to the side. I was no Poseidon child, but the ship felt like it was a part of me, responding smoothly and quickly. This was seriously cool.

Annabeth, Jason, and Piper were standing at the side of the ship, waving to the crowd. I turned toward them without messing up my control over the ship. There were easily twenty people standing there on the shore, but my eyes went to one.

She stood a little ways apart from everyone else, her blonde hair shining, her blue eyes meeting mine from where she was standing, and the charm on her necklace catching the light. A confident smile was on her face, like she was trying to be encouraging for me, even though I knew she had to be hurting. With a knowing smile, she lifted one hand in a motionless wave, her pose identical to the one she had in the photo that was in the pocket of my jeans.

I smiled back and lifted my hand to her, standing a little taller as the sea breeze caught my hair. I was forced to look away as I steered the ship away from the beach, away from Camp Half-Blood, away from her, but toward my destiny.

I tried to catch one last glimpse of her, but now I couldn't see her.

Goodbye Anne Soleil. I'm never gonna forget you, I thought, hoping she could hear my unspoken words as I tore my eyes at last from the far-off shore. But I'll come back. I promise.

Anne's POV

I followed Jason and Leo from the Big House in a kind of shocked stupor. It was going too fast. One minute I'd been hugging Leo in what seemed to be an almost timeless moment, my heart soaring above heights achieved by any pegasus, the next, with Jason's words, my heart had lost its wings and crashed hard to the ground.

I swallowed hard and closed my hand around Leo's, half wanting reassurance that he was still here now, half wanting to give him some reassurance that I was here, even if I wasn't feeling too confident at the moment.

Leo smiled sideways at me, and I tried to smile back. I took a deep breath as Leo and Jason exchanged a few words that I didn't catch. Then we were walking down onto the beach, Chiron greeting us, Annabeth saying that they should leave now, Leo's cabin surrounding him, wishing him well.

Leo didn't let go of my hand as "goodbye"s and "good luck"s rang out from all sides of us. Piper was saying goodbye to her siblings, hugging a smiling Ashley before turning to one of her brothers. Annabeth boarded the ship, while Jason smiled and nodded to everybody before following her.

Blinking back the threat of tears, I lifted my chin to kiss Leo's cheek. He turned, still holding my hand, but he gently let it go to open his arms for a hug. I leaned into him, resting my forehead against his shoulder and wrapping my arms around him. Not for the first time, I thought about how much I was going to miss him.

I sighed quietly before pulling back so our faces were inches apart. "Take care of yourself, Valdez," I murmured to him, closing my eyes.

If it was possible for a kiss to be horribly cruel, this one was. My heart was nearly crying out for him but my conscience was gently but firmly pulling it back, whispering, I'm sorry. It's not to be.

I wanted to cry.

I wanted to cry as Leo kissed the back of my hand like an old-fashioned gentleman. As he took his eyes off mine to board the ship. As he took the wheel of the Argo II and steered the ship away from the beach, away from camp, away from me.

There were people all around me, but I barely registered their existence. My eyes were all for him, standing tall on the deck of the ship, looking every inch the hero he could become.

His eyes met mine, and I tried to put on a brave face. I couldn't break down, not here, not now.

With a smile, I lifted one hand the way he'd done in the photos we'd taken, the photos I had in my pocket. Leo smiled back and returned the frozen wave, but eventually his brown eyes strayed from me and to the horizon toward which he was steering the ship. I didn't let my eyes do the same.

Everyone else started to trudge back toward the cabins when the ship got a certain distance away, but I stayed where I was. I could feel Chiron's eyes on my back before he turned and followed them. Ashley appeared at my side, gave me a one-armed hug, and murmured, "If you ever need to talk…" in my ear before walking after Chiron.

I didn't think I could talk. I knew if I tried I would start to cry, but I loved Ashley for offering.

With everyone gone, I had the beach to myself. That meant nobody saw me sink to my knees on the soft sand. Nobody saw my tears start falling as I pulled the photo of Leo from my pocket. Nobody heard my voice, which I was hardly able to project above a whisper.

"Goodbye, Leo Valdez. I'll never forget you. And I'll wait for you here for as long as it takes you to come home, safe and sound. I promise."

And with my last word, the tiny shape of the Argo II vanished over the horizon. Something had ended, but maybe, just maybe, this was also only a beginning.

Finis