AN: This story is coming to a close, just one more story in the main arc, and one bonus chapter left!

Frank grinned as he piled into Esperanza Valdez's van with Leo and Reyna. (Percy, Annabeth, Jason and Piper were in Sally's car.)

Hazel and Nico were coming home today. They'd be landing at the airport in about an hour.

They all wanted to go and meet the siblings at the airport, though perhaps for slightly different reasons.

Frank, obviously, had really missed Hazel (talking on the computer was just not the same), but Percy and Annabeth seemed rather anxious to see Nico for some reason. Percy had brought along a blue cake, and refused to let any of them eat it. Apparently, it was for Nico.

As they pulled onto the highway, Leo elbowed Frank none-too-lightly in the stomach.

'Excited to see Hazel?'

He nodded, grinning.

'Of course! I haven't seen her for a whole month!'

Reyna shook her head, but her eyes were affectionate.

Leo smirked.

'Bet she won't be able to keep her hands off you.'

Frank grew bright red. He managed to choke out a response.

'Leo!'

Reyna whacked the Latino boy on the back of the head.

Frank had undergone a ridiculously fast-paced growth spurt in the month that Hazel had been away. Somehow, he'd grown three inches (Three inches! One morning, he'd woken up a whole two centimetres taller than when he went to sleep!), and lost the last of what his mother called 'puppy fat' that Coach Hedge's training (and Coach Apollo's and Coach Blofis') hadn't gotten rid of.

He'd had to buy a whole new wardrobe.

Piper had insisted on going shopping with him, and she'd forced him to purchase a dark green T-shirt that fitted him snugly, rather than the usual baggy clothes he preferred. (She'd commanded him to wear it today with a new pair of jeans.) She'd said it suited him just fine as he'd grown into his bulkiness, and reassured him that he hadn't changed, he was just 'more him'. (He wasn't sure whether she was referring to his physical change, or Alcyoneus. With Piper, you could never really tell about these things.)

Reyna must have hit him really hard, because Leo didn't rib Frank any more for the rest of the trip.

As they walked into the airport, Frank panicked. He crossed his arms self-consciously, and turned to his friends.

'Should I have brought her flowers? I mean, people buy flowers for this sort of occasion, right? Welcome home?'

Piper patted him gently on the back.

'It doesn't matter, Frank. All Hazel will care about is that you came to meet her here. She won't and doesn't care about flowers or anything else.'

The others all nodded in agreement, even Reyna.

Frank took a deep breath, and walked away to check the Arrivals board.

Hazel stepped into the Arrivals Hall, rubbing her eyes. It'd been a long journey home, but it'd been worth it. Italy was wonderful, and her relationship with her father had improved significantly. Nico and she were closer than ever, and even Nico and Hades were getting along better. Frank had been right about risks.

Speaking (or rather thinking) of Frank...she stared at the tall, Chinese-Canadian seventeen-year-old waving at her, grinning broadly.

She barely noticed all their friends standing beside him.

Was...was that her Frank?

What had happened to him?

He was even taller than he'd been when she'd left.

His shoulders were broader, and he was even more muscular than he'd been before.

And he seemed older, like his face matched the rest of him, and even handsomer than he'd been.

He seemed to stand and move with more confidence.

Hazel stared at him in amazement, actually coming to a standstill. She felt her face flush, and fanned herself vigorously, before half-running the rest of the distance towards him.

As she got nearer, she felt a stab of concern. What if he'd changed on the inside too? She hoped not; she very much liked him (loved him) as he was; sweet and gentle and klutzy and overly modest and a little awkward, nobler and braver than he'd ever admit, with this quiet confidence and leadership that was becoming more apparent.

Still, she grinned at him and threw her arms around him. He returned the gesture, practically lifting her off the floor in a bear hug.

'Welcome home!'

'It's good to be back. But...' Hazel let go of him and gripped his shoulders, staring at him in amazement (still). 'Frank, what happened to you?'

Slightly pink, he rubbed the back of his neck.

'I grew? It kind of happens a lot to boys my age...'

She was still staring at him.

'You look amazing! I mean, you were handsome before! But you look older, and taller, and so distinguished!'

He turned completely red. He hadn't been this flustered in a long, long time. He thought his feet might melt the floor or something. He rubbed the back of his neck again.

'Well, I guess so. I am, uh, taller, definitely. I outgrew all my clothes and had to go buy new ones and it was really embarrassing because I managed to split a pair of pants...you probably don't want to hear about that, actually, sorry...'

His voice held a little doubt, a little awkwardness that was so typical of him.

Hazel stared at him. (It was becoming a habit.)

It was truly, completely incredible.

He'd changed so much physically, yet he was still the same where it really mattered.

He was still her Frank, klutzy and a little awkward and doubtful and always worried about messing up.

She liked that part of Frank, the gentle, modest, awkward, sweet bit. That was like essence of Frank. That really made him him.

She felt relieved, that little knot of tension and worry that had built up when she'd seen his incredible physical change easing. She'd feared for a moment that his personality had changed too, but it hadn't.

He seemed to interpret her continued silence as some kind of disapproval, because voice a little worried and doubtful, he spoke again, softly, so only she could hear.

'I haven't really changed inside...'

She smiled at him and kissed him on the cheek (she had to stand on her tiptoes to do that now), squeezing his hand.

'I know.'

They shared a smile, before she went off to greet their other friends (it was so sweet of them to come all the way to the airport to receive her and Nico), Frank's hand still in hers.

Nico really needed some caffeine.

While his sister had been staring at Frank (he'd really grown), he'd greeted their friends. Now, he was standing in line to purchase some coffee at McDonald's. He was thankful that his father had chosen to wait for them at a distance. While their relationship had improved, he didn't feel quite ready to introduce his father to his friends yet.

(And he wasn't quite sure he wanted to actually spend a period of time with Annabeth and Percy yet. He was pretty much completely over his crush; for some reason, actually bringing it out into the open and being able to discuss it with Hazel helped him to come to terms with his infatuation and move on more or less completely, but still...)

Someone bumped into him.

Nico turned, scowling.

In front of him stood a blond, tanned (and really handsome and fit, a little voice in his head told him. Nico quickly told it to shut up.) teenage boy, perhaps about sixteen years of age, holding a large soda.

He felt the base of the back of his neck burn.

He smiled apologetically at Nico.

'I'm really sorry, uh...'

'Nico. And it's okay.'

He had no idea why he told this stranger his name. He had no idea why he said it was okay. It just kind of slipped out.

(The fact that that smile made butterflies flutter in his stomach had nothing to do with it.)

The boy grinned, and oh, gods, Nico swore it was as dazzling as the sun. The butterflies started holding a rave inside of him.

'I'm Will, Will Solace.' The boy rubbed the back of his neck. It didn't seem like a normal sort of gesture for him. 'Actually, this is going to sound weird, but do you go to Olympus High? I only ask because I'm actually kind of in the middle of moving to Olympus, and I'm starting there in September, and I seriously don't know anyone...'

'I can show you around.'

Why did he say that? What was wrong with him? This boy had far too much of an effect on him to be healthy.

Will beamed, and Nico pretty much had his answer.

'Thanks!' He reached over to the counter, and scrawled a phone number onto a napkin. 'Here's my number. I'm really, really glad to have at least met someone nice before school starts. I'll see you around!'

Will swigged down the last of his soda, and still smiling at Nico, left McDonald's.

Nico waved back in return, but could only stare as Will left.

AN: I know that Will doesn't really seem himself (eg. Stubborn and thinking Nico's a bit of an idiot- loveable idiot, but still an idiot- and dragging him around...but this was sort of the best I could do. He'd need to actually be friends with Nico first before he can act like that!)