PJO oneshots/ headcannons

14-- Flames

"No, no." The dark haired woman said with a laugh. She pulled her son onto her lap and took his left palm. "See? It goes like this."

She tapped her fingers onto his palm in a specific pattern.

The little boy stared at her fingers in owe. When she finished, he took her palm and tried it himself.

"Nearly there, Mijo." She said. "Try again."

Leo tapped the pattern on her hand again and Esperanza smiled. She kissed the curly tufts of hair on his head lovingly. "See that was easy wasn't it?"

The little boy turned around and gave her a toothy grin. "I love you, Mommy."

"I love you too Leo."

* * *

A tear slid down his cheek, slowly rolling onto the piece of paper he clutched in his hand. In his mind the fire kept burning and the walls he had built around his kept crashing.

* * *

Esperanza fiddled with a screw driver, trying to unscrew a nail placed in incorrectly. It was jammed in and she couldn't get it to budge. Maybe it was because it was rusty and old.

She walked over to the shelf to get some oil but her six year old son came running in.

"Mom! Look at what I made!"

"Oh Mijo!" Esperanza exclaimed, dropping down to her knees so that she was the same height as her son. "It's beautiful."

"It's for you." Leo replied with a goofy little smile. He fixed the delicate bracelet he had made around his mother's wrist. "See." He added, pointing at a charm attached to it. "This one is a sun because you are my sunshine."

Esperanza kissed his forehead lovingly and laughed. She could imagine him all grown up, using cheesy lines and breath mints to try and impress girls.

"And you are my flame." She said. "Because for as long as you burn, I will always stick with you." She chuckled and poked him right above his heart. "In here."

"In my shirt?" The six year old asked, much more than confused.

His mother laughed. Leo loved seeing her laugh. He loved her smile. He loved every bit about her.

* * *
The door opened and someone walked in but Leo hardly noticed. She sat down next to him. It was the creak of the bed that brought her to his attention. Leo plastered on his famous trouble maker smile and turned around to face her.

"Caly! How's my beautiful princess today?"

"Leo." Calypso saw right through his mask. She wiped away his tears and slipped her hand into his.

* * *

Ezperanza let go of her son's hand. "I'll be right back, Mijo. Just forgot the keys."

She walked back into the warehouse.

* * *

"Leo? What's wrong?"

Leo swallowed. His smile fell and the usual mischievous glint disappeared from his eyes.

"I miss her." He croaked out.

"Who?" Calypso questioned gently.

"My- my mom." Leo managed. "I miss her."

Calypso tightened her grip of his hand as she realised the date of today.

* * *

Esperanza found the keys on the work top but she found something else too. A piece of cardboard was sticking out from one of her drawers. She tugged it out.

It was a card.

There was a childish drawing of a beautiful flower on the front and she smiled at the memories. She flipped it open and read the words written in there.

Happy Mother's Day mommy. I love you.

Esperanza smiled and put it back in carefully in the drawer. Leo had only just given it to her last Saturday- on Mother's Day.

She grabbed the keys and headed back out the door but as soon as she left the room into the next, the doors slammed shut and the locks clicked. She was trapped.

The last thing she ever saw were the flames.

The last memory she ever held was of the card.

* * *

Calypso looked down at what Leo was holding in his fingers.

He gave a small, light hearted chuckle. "I made her a card." He looked at her. "Do you think- if I- If I sent it through the mail- do you think she'd get it?"

Calypso smiled at him bravely and kissed his cheek. "I'm sure she will. Come on." She took a pen from a nearby table and took out an envelope from a Leo's messy drawer.

She addressed it to the old run down warehouse. Leo took the envelope and put his card in.

He smiled at her. And she smiled back.

"I love you Calypso."

"I love you too Valdez."

* * *

Some where, far away in Texas, an envelope was stuffed into the letterbox of an abandoned warehouse. The post man looked over at the burnt down rubble before he cycled away again, clueless as to why someone would send a letter here.

And that envelope waited. It waited silently. Waited, and waited in the letter box.

Waited for someone's love.

* * *

A long, long time later, a girl walked past that letter box.

She saw the envelope peeking out from within and walked forward, suddenly curious.

She took it our and studied the name at the front. It was her name. Esperanza Valdez.

She opened it and took out what was inside.

A card.

Happy Mother's Day mom. I love you.

A distant memory tugged at her but she couldn't seem to hold on to it.

She flipped over the envelope, trying to find a name. Trying to see who it was from.

There was nothing.

She looked up at the burnt warehouse and wondered what had happened here. Her heart weighed with immeasurable grief.

When finally, she tore her eyes away from it, she headed back home.

This time with a card in her hands and flames burning at her mind.