Wildfire Songs of Revenge

Chapter 1: Leo Valdez

It wasn't hard to make a fake ID, or a fake birth certificate.  Despite being barely sixteen, Leo had managed to make the government believe he was nineteen years old.  Sure, eighteen might have been more believable, but he figured that he could blame youthful genetics if anyone were to point it out.

Not only did he succeed in his own fake ID, Social Security, etc, he was able to get Calypso her own as well.  Considering she had been stuck on the island for centuries, she was still frozen mentally and physically as a teenager.  She was a lot easier to handle since she didn't even have documentation of her existence to begin with.  Well, besides mythology at least.

The first few weeks were rough.   They were stuck living in the sewer system of New York since he didn't know what else to do until he got a job.  He managed to land a mechanic job at a car shop, but they still had to wait an extra three weeks before he got his first check.

They showered by getting a gym membership and picking up some soaps and shampoo.  And Leo was also able to find a very sketchy apartment that let them rent without any credit score.  Not the safest or the smartest way to live, but he was a demigod and Calypso was a literal nymph-goddess (aka Titaness).  They were well set in protecting themselves if the occasion were ever to occur.  Even if Calypso's powers were currently no longer working.

That was how life started to become normal.  It felt odd to Leo.  After the death of his mother, he was never able to find a place he could call home.  Not even the Argo II or Camp Half-Blood satisfied his feeling of belonging.  Even if he truly cared and missed his friends.  But the apartment was starting to come together nicely and Calypso was having a blast decorating.  She had begged him to let her do it since she hadn't found a job yet and Leo wasn't going to deny her wishes.  Especially when decore wasn't exactly his strong suit.

Things were starting to look perfect.  No quests, no gods messing with his head, and no monsters so far.  Maybe they really had a chance at a simple and normal life.  As long as the gods believed he was dead he could be free from them.

In the third month, Leo returned to their sketchy apartment in his greece-stained, gray coveralls.  His brown face was smudged with black oil and his curly, brown hair was matted to the top of his head in sweat.

"Leo!" Calypso suddenly threw her arms around his neck.  A gesture he always looked forward to everyday.

"Hey, Cal.  How was your day?"

"It was fine.  I've been job hunting.  But it's a little hard because I don't even know what most of these places are.  Up until a few weeks ago, I didn't even know what ice cream was." She pushed her red braid off her shoulder.

"Maybe you'll like working at an ice cream parlor," Leo suggested as he set his work boots by the rug.

"That's an idea," Calypso agreed.  She pulled her pale blue cardigan up her shoulder and over her white blouse.

Leo felt a warm feeling enter his chest as she passed him a soft smile.  Her beauty was next to magical, but her smile and pure happiness made butterflies flutter in his stomach.  How the gods were able to leave her on Ogygia for so long and forget to release her (after they promised Percy that they would free her from the island), was beyond him.

"Well, when I do get hired, you can cut back your hours," she added.

The teen merely nodded. "I'm going to take my shower so I don't make the couch smell like tires." He gestured to the torn loveseat that he scavenged from the dumpster with Festus.  It was a poor excuse for a couch, but it wasn't bug infested, moldy, or the home of any animals.  So he cleaned it up and fixed the legs.

He didn't wait for her to reply, but he didn't need to.  Leo always took a shower as soon as he got back and the sight of him was a good explanation why.  Let alone the smell.  Calypso never minded and probably appreciated the fact that he actually took care of his hygiene.