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Leo XXXVII

"They were more likely drafted for the war," Annabeth said.

Thinking of World War II, Percy, Thalia, and Nico couldn't help but be reminded of the Pact of the Big Three.

"Mussolini?" Leo frowned. "Wasn't he like BFFs with Hitler?"

His remark earned weirded out looks from the others.

"BFFs?" Hestia repeated, tilting her head.

"Best Friends Forever," Hermes explained to her.

"Oh," the goddess said, now frowning along with the others.

"I guess that's one way to put it..." Annabeth slowly admitted.

...[Hazel] "I'd love to see the Trevi Fountain,"

Annabeth perked up. "Me too! I hear it's beautiful!"

"There's a fountain on every block," Leo grumbled.

"Each with their own sets of history," the daughter of Athena pointed out. "Besides, this is not just a fountain. The Trevi Fountain is one of the oldest water sources in Rome. It's made out of travertine stone, the same material used to make the Colosseum."

"Eh," Leo shrugged. The others had similar disinterest to Annabeth's lecture and began to have their own side-conversations.

"I hear that if you throw two coins in the fountain, you'll fall in love with an Italian," an Aphrodite girl giggled. "Throw in three, and you'll marry that person."

"Isn't there a movie based off that?" Hestia mused. "What was it called...?Three Coins in the Fountain?"

"That's the one," Aphrodite confirmed.

"How many coins do you think are in there?" Connor muttered to his brother. 

"Enough to make us millionaires," Travis grinned. "Think we could fish them out without getting caught?"

"In my sleep," Connor smirked.

"Or the Spanish Steps," Hazel said.

Annabeth's eyes lit up. "Yeah!"

"Why would you come to Italy to see Spanish steps?" Leo asked. "That's like going to China for Mexican food, isn't it?"

"Not even close," Annabeth said. She crossed her arms and gave Leo a disapproving frown.

"But they're just stairs. You could find ones like those anywhere." the son of Hephaestus argued, earning a look of pure disbelief from Annabeth. "Doesn't New York have something like that too?"

"You mean the Bronx Staircase?" Percy cringed. "Dude, you definitely don't want tourists taking pictures around there."

"You can't compare the two," Annabeth vehemently stated. "The Spanish Stairs is an unique architectural landmark. The Bronx Staircase..." she made a face. "Let's just say that that place is infested with monsters."

"And muggers," Percy added.

"Stairs are stairs," Leo said dismissively. "I mean, I could understand if they were something like the first escalator or teleportation device. That'd be cool, I'd pay money to see that."

"You're hopeless," the daughter of Athena sighed.

...She turned to Frank and grabbed his hand, as if Leo had ceased to exist. "Come on. I think we should go this way."

Frank gave Leo a confused smile—like he couldn't decide whether to gloat or to thank Leo for being a doofus—but he cheerfully let Hazel drag him along.