Percy Jackson/ Hero's of Olympus One Shots

Fourth of July

A/N: Hey I know this is late but in spirit of Independence day (although I am not American) I have decided to post this. To all those not in America, please still read this. It has some fluff and stuff.  I am so sorry about my horrible habits of not posting, but hopefully since it's summer I will have a few more updates. Also it is not the best writing and all, I just wanted to post something.  Anyways....

Leo had been working on the fireworks for the past 3 hours. Since he had procrastinated, he was forced to work in the Bunker while the rest of the camp had free time. He knew that his friends were at the beach, and he didn't really like the water but Calypso was with them. And he would rather be with Calypso then working on his last firework. He enjoyed the actual creation and thinking process that went into the fireworks, but the manual labour was exhausting. As he filled the last one he smiled, thinking of the beach and Calypso. He exited Bunker Nine with the fireworks on a cart. He dropped off the cart at the Hermes cabin and then he continued on the path towards the water. From a distance he could make out Percy and Annabeth in the water. They were having a water fight with Piper and Jason and it was pretty obvious who was winning. When you have the son of Poseidon and the daughter of Athena against you in a water fight you don't really stand a chance. 

As Leo walks closer he can see Hazel, Frank, Nico, Will and Calypso building sandcastles. The intricate designs on Hazel's indicate that she is using her powers to help her and Frank win their competition but Calypso is tough competition. Leo smiles when he sees them all. It is a happy sight and one that is sadly uncommon for demigods. They have spent so much time battling monsters and other things that they have not taken the time to relax. 

Leo runs up to Calypso while her back is turned and he quickly covers her eyes. 

"Hey! Your hands are covered in chemicals Leo!" Calypso scolds.

"Fine. Fine, I'm going to go wash up but you better wait until I get back. I'm gonna make a sandcastle that is so much better than all of yours."

"Yeah keep saying that Repair Boy." Nico says greeting his friend. 

"Why would I ever keep the truth from you, Death Breath." Leo retorts in a joking manner. Leo and Nico have grown close recently. They discovered that despite their differences, they had a lot of similarities. 

With a smile on his face, Leo ran back to his cabin.

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"That is not fair." Piper screamed as Percy pelted Jason and her with water. Annabeth and him had sat down on some rocks by the shore, but Jason and Piper were persistent in continuing the water fight. To tune them out, Percy decided a huge wave would work. The shield of water was hard to hold, but Percy managed as he watched Annabeth lay her head down on his lap.

"You know, this upcoming year is going to be the tenth year since we met." 

"Boy are we old." Percy commented, noting that at the age of 22 they were actually very young, but as demigods they were doing a good job. It is hard to live a long life when monsters attacked every few days. New Rome was a very safe place to live, but they were often called to help young demigods out with the monsters. 

"Only you are." Annabeth said. "And the country is. It's America's 240th birthday."

"Of course you would know that Wise Girl." Percy said leaning down for a kiss. Of course since the duo were distracted, Percy's 'water wall' collapsed, soaking all four participants of the water fight in salt water. Percy immediately dried Annabeth and himself off, laughing as Piper and Jason complained. But then, Jason got the brilliant idea of sending a wind tunnel their way. Percy grabbed Annabeth and leapt into the water to avoid the trap Jason was trying to set. 

When Percy and Annabeth did not emerge for a while, it was up to their friends to guess that they were reenacting their famous underwater kiss. 

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Sitting on the beach as the sun set, all Frank could think of was Hazel. She was watching the sky in wonder but all Frank could see was how beautiful she was. He knew that he was so lucky to have her as a girlfriend, but usually people don't take the time to actually think about how amazing their life is. People always can find negatives in a situation, but taking the time to have gratitude is rare.

Frank notices a tear on Hazel's cheek and he moves to wipe it off, but she shakes her head.

"What's wrong Hazel?"

"I'm just thinking about my past. One time- when I was seven, my mom held a party for Independence day. I was only allowed to invite one person and of course Sammy was the one to grace us with his presence. My mom left us in the kitchen as she entertained the guests outside. She was trying to ask them for money or something, it doesn't really matter. Sammy got to it right away, he had decided that we needed to bake something and with the small amount of food we had, Sammy and I made cupcakes. We used food colouring to make it red, white and blue and..." She trails off, lost in memories and Frank moves to comfort her. 

He knows that she still has flashbacks of the past every so often and Will said that they are unavoidable, but seeing her in this state is so hard. She is such a strong person and seeing anyone like that on this level would bring everybody to tears. 

Hazel and Frank stay like that as the fireworks erupt. They have wandered away from their friends, but that does not bother them. Hazel watched Leo's creations in awe, and all Frank could think of was Hazel. She was watching the sky in wonder but all Frank could see was how beautiful she was.

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The rest of the demigods sat on blankets under the stars. The camp had set out food and there were activities, but after a long day all they wanted to do was relax and enjoy the peace.