The sun burned the back of Leo's
neck. He turned over the dark soil with his trowel and stuck in some strawberry
seeds. Sighing, he dipped his bandana into a bucket of cool water and tied it
around his neck. Water ran down his back.

On the other side of
the garden plot was Calypso, humming as she worked. Her jeans and white blouse
was speckled with dirt. With quick hands, she flipped over the soil, planted
the seeds, and watered it. She looked really hot—and not "heat hot",
but "attractive hot". Her brown hair was pulled back with a red
bandana and there was dirt in her fingernails, but that was how Leo liked her,
not afraid to get dirty.

He put down his
gardening tools and crouched down next to her.

"Boo,"
he said.

Calypso stopped
humming. "Hey."

"Can't wait
for harvest time." He said. "Nice plump strawberries so good, it'll
make Camp look bad."

No reply.

"So… uh, want
a lemonade?" Leo asked, getting up.

"Yes
please," Calypso looked up and gave him a small closed-mouth smile.
"With a lemon wedge."

"Righty-o!"
Leo stuck his hands in his pocket and whistled, walking to their kitchen above
the auto shop. Inside, he poured some home-made lemonade into two glass cups,
plopped in some ice cubes and cut up two lemon wedges, sticking one on each
rim. Leo gazed down from the window that overlooked the small garden. Calypso
was sitting in the grass, singing to the plants. Her voice was magic, making
the plants grow a little faster. Even from up here, Leo could hear it
perfectly.

With both drinks
in hand, he quietly closed the door. He sneaked up behind her and said,
"One ice-cold lemonade for Madame Calypso," in a French accent.

Calypso jumped in
surprise then laughed, taking her drink from Leo's hand. "Thank you,
sir." She mimicked his fake accent.

Leo grinned and they
both sat in the grass, sipping lemonade. He put his hand down next to
Calypso's. Calypso looked at their hands and blushed, then squeezed his pinkie
with hers.

"It's nice
out," she said, her brown eyes on the horizon.

"Yeah, it
is." Leo said in a light tone. Another point for Team Leo. "Do you
want to take Festus for a ride?"

They've been
building a pair of better wings for the newly bodied bronze dragon. He was
permanently awake ever since Piper charm-spoke him alive.

"Do you think
the new wings will work?" Calypso asked, uncertainty in her eyes.

"Of
course!" Leo said, surprised. "We made it ourselves, so duh!"

Calypso nodded.
"Right. After we finish our lemonade.”

When they drained
the last of their drink, they brought out the celestial bronze wings from the
workshop. Leo ran to the barn in the back and called out, "Festus, boy!
Time to fly!"

Out of the dark
corners lumbered out a very large metal dragon with ruby red eyes and sharp
teeth. Festus made some creaking and whirring noises which Leo understood.

"Yeah, your
new wings are done and ready for a test flight!"

Festus stomped
closer to Leo who rubbed the dragon's muzzle.

"Can you take
Calypso and I to Camp?" He asked.

The dragon cocked
his head as if pondering and then made some clicking noises that Leo knew asyes.

"Alrighty.
Let's attach those winds and saddle you up."

Leo led Festus out
of the barn to where Calypso waited with the wings. What shined more, the light
reflecting off the bronze wings or the sun on Calypso's hair?

In only a minute,
the wings were attached to the dragon's back. Leo helped Calypso on top then
climbed on himself. He held the reins in his hands. "Hold on tight now, we
don't want you falling off and turning into an immortal splat on the ground."

Calypso snorted
but wrapped her arms around his waist. Leo's heart did a full gymnastics
routine. She smelledreallygood despite working all day.

"Come on,
Festus." He coaxed. "Let's see what you can do."

Festus flapped his
wings a few times. Then he took off a little clumsily which made Calypso
squeeze tighter. He grinned like a fool in love, which he was of course.

The wind whipped
their faces, making Leo's curly brown locks bounce. The buildings below looked
like toys. They flew past a surprised flock of birds. A bug zipped past his ear
and must have hit Calypso's face because she yelled, "Gah!" and
buried her face in his back.

Leo smiled. It was
colder up here, but Calypso was warm—and cute.

"We're going
to camp!" he yelled against the wind. She nodded, her face moving Leo's
shirt up and down.

"Okay,"
he heard her say.

After a few
minutes of flying in the air, they touched down in Camp Half-Blood,
scaring away several campers. They landed in a clear area in the middle of the
ring of cabins. Leo helped Calypso off. He waved to some gaping demigods. Percy
and Annabeth ran to them. He grabbed Calypso's hand and pulled her over.

"Hey,
man!" Percy said, capping him on the shoulder. "Welcome back. Haven't
seen you in a while."

Annabeth hugged
him. "Nice to see you, Leo."

Leo still held
Calypso's hand. He gestured to her. "Guys, remember Calypso?"

Percy and Annabeth
nodded. Percy shifted nervously from foot to foot. Oh yeah, Calypso used to
like Percy. A little flame burst inside of him. He was still mad that Percy had
hurt and left her on Ogygia.

Annabeth eyed Leo
and Calypso's entwined hands. "Are you guys a thing now?" she asked.

Calypso and Leo
flushed and quickly let go.

"Uh,
no." He said.

"He is still
annoying." Calypso said, turning her head.

"Yeah, and
Calypso is still, uh, Calypso." Leo joked. The ends of Calypso's mouth
twitched up.

"Oh!"
Percy exclaimed, putting his hands together. "Calypso's never been to camp
before."

"Of course!
Let's show her around," Annabeth agreed.

Just then, a big boom
came from somewhere in the back of the forest.

"I guess that would be Bunker Nine." Leo said.
"Let's go check it out!"