Little Hero

"Shhhhhh. It was an accident."

3rd Person:

"How do you know Percy?"

The sun was blaring down on sons of Jupiter and Hephaestus as they continue searching for the dwarves. They looked all over the city for them before catching a break and resting. After a few moments of silence the brunette started to talk.

"Welllll. Percy was there when I discovered my powers. That was the first time I met him and Kekoa. Hehe, I still remember screaming at the sight of a ghost child and saber tooth tiger in my living room."

The blue eyed boy chuckled with the hispanic boy at the absurd situation.

"Yeah, Percy showed up at the wolf house when I was 3. I threatened him with a knife and he just said that I have a badass scar."

The 16 year old cockily told his friend, tapping his lip where the scar is.

"Yeah. The scar that was made from a deadly stapler."

Leo fakes a lunge at Jason with a yell, making stapler motions with his hands at his face. The blond shrieks and tries to fight his friend off of him but proving to be difficult since he was also laughing at the same time. Soon they get tired and lay side by side, watching the clouds.

"Do you ever wonder how he died?"

The boys somber, realising this is a very serious conversation about their friend. The blond replies, clenching his hands into fists.

"Yes, so many times. It makes me so angry at the gods for not paying attention to him when he needed them the most. He's 4 for fuck's sake. That's messed up, it doesn't matter what time period he's from."

Leo couldn't help but nod his head in agreement.

"Yeah, it's really sad to think about it. Imagine dying at a young age, even in demigod standards that's young which makes me think."

The son of Jupiter looks at the brunette, wanting his friend to continue his thought process. He wants punch something so bad and he really want it to be Percy's monster.

"Was he killed by something that wasn't a monster?"

They both share a look hoping against hope that it wasn't a person. Who would have the right mind to kill a kid? Jason starts the conversation up again.

"I tried to ask him how he died but he always responded with the same words, —"

"Dead man tell no tales? Yeah, I heard that one before."

A moment of silence after a few chuckles were passed between them. Leo has had the urge to tell Jason his secret about his mom for a long time and he figures that it the moment to do so.

"He was there when I got so scared that I-I set fire to my f-family's garage and k-killed my m-mom."

The fire boy chokes on his words as he remembers it clearly as if it had happened yesterday. Jason shocked at the recent information clutches the shoulder of the son of Hephaestus.

"I'm sure-I know it wasn't you fault, Leo."

The red and orange flames bounces off the walls and windows of the shop, casting an eerie glow onto the 8 year old. His brown eyes bawling at the limp figure on the garage floor. The body of his mother. The scary lady disappeared a few moments ago but the child did not care. His cries and screams along with the fire should have been heard in the surrounding houses, but they fall on deaf ears.

"Mama! Mama, wake up! Please! Wake up! Mama!"

The boy shouts, banging the flats of his hands against the locked door. Tears still streaming down his cheeks.

After a while the fire calm down to a soft sizzle and the child just sobs at the doorway, unable to move from his crouched position. He sees a bright green light and turns towards it as it dies down. The ghost that he met a few times before stands before him, Kekoa instantly running up and snuggling into him in comfort. Leo buries his face in its fur, trying to snuffle his sniffles.

The spirit runs up to him, worry etched on his face as he crouched down in front of him.

"What happened, Leo?"

The hispanic cries out yet again, holding the cub to his chest.

"I k-killed my mama! I k-killed her, Percy! I used my p-powers and I k-killed her."

The ghost child unsheathes his knife and holds it upside down, the metal shining in the fire light.

"Hey. Hey. Hold onto this with me, yeah. Like we always do."

The brunette shakily grasps the handle. The knife that could be held by the living and the dead. The spirit smiles sadly at the boy in front of him in understanding and sympathy.

"Now, repeat after me, ok? Like we always do."

The living boy shakes his head in defiance.

"There're not true anymore, Percy. I'm not any of those things anymore. I'm a m-murderer."

"Repeat after me, Leo."

Percy says sternly, making sure the other boy is focusing on him and not on the fire. The brown eyed boy nods slowly and takes a laboured breath. Kekoa nuzzling into the boy's neck in comfort.

"You is kind."

"You i-is kind."

"You is smart."

"You is s-smart."

"You is important."

"Y-You is imp-portant."

Percy holds the dagger tightly making Leo to hold them tightly too. Ghost fingers inside the living ones but not destroying. The knife that can be carried by the living and the dead. The spirit sits cross legged so he is more comfortable. The fire has died down a lot and is surprised at the absence of fire trucks.

"Tell me what happened from the beginning."

The fire boy takes a deep breath before diving into his story.

"I was waiting for my mom to lock up when a lady came up to me. She was saying how it's my fault, how I am the one to blame and I need to run from all my problems. I was so scared that she will hurt me or my mama so I tried to use the powers with the techniques that you taught me but she somehow caused the fire to go into the shop. My mama was locked inside somehow and she is right there."

Leo points at the charred body sprawled in the window. Percy gasps involuntarily at the sight. The hispanic once again cries at his dead mother. Kekoa continues to lick the tears away from the 8 year old. Percy seriously hated being dead immediately tries to soothe the crying boy as best he could without touching him.

"Shhhhhh. It was an accident."

"Yeah. That's what he said too."

Leo replies, snapping out of his mini flashback. Jason smiles reassuringly at him before getting up and reaching his hand down towards his best friend.

"Come on, bro. We got dwarves to catch."

Leo Valdez smiles up at Jason Grace, yet again putting on his mask and grasping his hand to be lifted up. They race down the hill, searching yet again for the thieves.