Final chapter, guys. I know, I know. It's not Christmas. It's summer. I'm aware. I am also aware I'm a really crappy updater. Tell me something I don't know.

Stay tuned for an IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT at the end of this chapter. It's more than just a thank-you.

As always, enjoy!

CHAPTER TWELVE

Ohana Means Family

Day: 12

This is it. This is the final day.

The words hummed through Leo's head as he stood at the helm of the ship, commanding the Argo II through the still air. The atmosphere was hot, causing Leo's shirt to stick against his chest. He hardly noticed, though—he was only painfully aware of the hollow feeling in the pit of his stomach as he guided the ship to the final location.

The last day.

He didn't want it to end. Leo and Nico's 12-day adventure was arguably the best days of his life. He didn't want it all to be over after today. He had 24 hours left of alone time with Nico—a mere 1,440 minutes. It sounded like a lot, but in reality, it was nothing.

Leo dreaded what had to come after the sun set that night: shoving the tinsel, wreathes, and ornaments back into their boxes; taking down the Christmas tree and hauling it into the nearest supply closet; putting out all the candles, packing up the leftover cookies, cleaning up the ship, and finally turning off the lights after the Argo II makes its decent into Camp Half-Blood. Who knew when Leo would use the ship after that?

It wasn't right to feel this sad on Christmas Day, but Leo couldn't help himself. He was going to miss being alone with Nico, the boy he slowly fell in love with. The trip had caused the boys to grow a lot closer to each other—so close, Leo couldn't see a future without Nico.

That was what scared him the most. What if Leo's dependency on Nico scared the son of Hades off? Or what if their return to camp and their friends will force everything to go back to the way it was before? Leo didn't want things to be the same anymore. He wanted to be with Nico.

All good things come to an end. Leo shook his head, trying to get the thought out. Stop being such a sap, Valdez!

Leo straightened up, ran a hand through his curly hair, and put on his best brave face. Today would not be ruined by Leo's reluctance to end this adventure. Today would only be described with words such as fun, exciting, and awesome. Nowhere in that list would Leo find the word sad.

Festus began whirring and clicking his mechanical parts, telling Leo that there was another presence below the ship. Leo flipped a few switches at the control panel, making the Argo II completely self-piloted, and disappeared down the stairwell.

Nico was up.

"Ah, so Sleeping Beauty awakes," Leo said as he met up with Nico in the kitchen.

The son of Hades was wearing casual plaid pajama pants and a white t-shirt. He sipped on a cup of hot cocoa as he leaned against the countertop. His black hair was an unruly mess of tangles and knots, but Nico could hardly care.

Leo made his own cup of hot chocolate, humming a Christmas tune under his breath while doing so. Nico stared at the living room, his eyes falling on the Christmas tree. He couldn't see it from here, but he knew his present was still under its branches, resting softly on the floor. Nico was excited for Leo to open the present, but he was also anxious. What if it wasn't good enough? What if it was dumb?

Either way, Nico knew present-opening had to wait. They had a whole day ahead of them, and even though it was tradition to open presents the morning of Christmas, he wanted it to be the right time.

"Earth to Nico?"

Nico snapped out of his reverie. Leo was giving him an odd look.

"Sorry," Nico said. "Just thinking."

"About what?"

Nico smiled slightly. "Your gift."

Leo seemed genuinely surprised. He nearly dropped his mug, and his eyes went wide.

"Wait—you—"

"I did. But you can't open it yet."

Leo's mouth dropped open. "What! Why?"

Nico shrugged and took a sip of his drink. "The stars are not in position." He pointed upward.

"You—you can't—that's not a thing!" Leo spluttered, clearly flabbergasted.

Nico smiled at Leo's frustration. "Sorry. Can't do it."

Leo threw his hands up. Some of his hot chocolate went splashing out of the mug.

"You know I have zero patience for anything," Leo whined. "Why can't we do a gift exchange now?"

"Later," Nico promised. "Stars, remember? Can't do it. Not now."

Leo grumbled and set the mug on the table. He tried to wipe some spilled hot chocolate off his shirt. "I can't believe you just quoted El Dorado on me."

Nico downed the rest of his drink and shoved the mug in Leo's free hand. "I'm going to get changed. Meet you down here in a bit."

Leo stared at the empty mug in his hand. "I guess I gotta clean up your messes too, huh?"

Nico waved him off as he disappeared to the cabin areas. Leo couldn't help but stare as he left.

The nerve of that kid…

"Since you decided to make my life miserable by having me wait for my present," Leo said, "I decided that a little revenge was the best course of action as of now."

They were back in the living room. Leo stood behind a cardboard box, a devilish smirk playing out on his lips. Nico instinctively crossed his arms. This wasn't going to be good.

"You have no patience," Nico said.

"Minor details," Leo said. He opened the box and began rummaging through the contents. "So I decided that we should dress the part while we're here…"

Nico still had no idea where here was, but he kept his mouth shut. To his horror, Leo produced a touristy tropical button-up shirt. It had the typical Hawaiian flower print on it, making it stand out against the boys' average clothes. Nico's eyes widened.

"No way," he said, his hands held out in front of him. "No chance in Hades am I going to wear that."

"That's okay," Leo said. "There are other choices as well."

He took out another tropical shirt, this one with green and orange colors rather than the blue and red of the first one. Nico shook his head.

"Not better."

"Just wait."

Something ruffled from inside the box. It sounded like a pom-pom, and as Leo pulled out the green stringy article of clothing, Nico suddenly wished it was.

Leo held the grass skirt up to his waist. Nico tried not to imagine the son of Hephaestus wearing it.

"Aloha," Leo said as he swiveled his hips as well as the grass skirt. Nico felt his cheeks go red.

At least he doesn't have a coconut—

Something was thrown at Nico's feet. He stared down in horror at two round objects attached to each other with an elastic band. Nico didn't dare pick it up.

"I'll take the floral shirt," he said quickly.

Leo tossed the orange and green shirt at Nico, who caught it reluctantly. He put it on over his black shirt.

"Lookin' good," Leo said. He had the blue and red one on, which oddly complemented him.

"Please," Nico begged, "don't wear the grass skirt."

"Fine," huffed Leo.

"Or the coconut bra."

"You're just trying to kill my fun."

Nico managed to convince Leo that they looked touristy enough, and Leo packed up the rest of the clothes, which were obviously Hawaiian. That meant….

"Hawaii," Nico said.

Leo grinned. "Aloha, my friend. Welcome to Honolulu, the final stop on Leo and Nico's Ultimate Christmas Vacation."

"Uh, surfs up?"

Leo clasped a hand on his friend's shoulder. "You'll have to work on your Hawaiian lingo. Let's head out—I hear the waves are gnarly this time of the day."

Nico was sure Leo's butchering of Hawaiian stereotypes was going to get him in trouble with the natives. Fortunately for them, the Hawaiians were used to it.

Nico and Leo certainly stood out in a crowd, but they found a few fellow tourists dressed for the occasion as well. It was fun watching the flower-clad, sunscreen-lathered mortals walking around, picking out souvenirs and trying on grass skirts. Leo and Nico had a couple laughs at the ridiculous people trying to "fit in with the natives."

Leo and Nico got caught up in a large crowd of tourists and found themselves sucked into the middle of a resort. They were surrounded by bungalows and grass huts, and there were many tanned people trying to sell t-shirts, lava rocks, shark teeth necklaces, and stones with weird shapes and pictures engraved on them. There was a big pool on one side of the resort, slides and diving boards surrounding it. Mortals laid out on beach towels and lawn chairs and sipped on their drinks as they relaxed and listened to traditional Hawaiian music, provided by live entertainment. It was certainly an inviting environment.

Nico followed Leo over to a grass hut that was serving drinks. They sat at one of the benches and ordered two smoothies that came in fun glasses with those little umbrellas and some bendy straws. They leaned back on the counter as they sipped their drinks and took in the Hawaiian atmosphere. In addition to their floral shirts, both boys were wearing cargo shorts, flip flops, and leis, topped off by a nice pair of black sunglasses. They were truly in style.

Across from them, beyond a few more huts, was a performance stage. Two men in grass skirts and leis were juggling flaming sticks to the beat of some bongos. Leo and Nico casually watched them perform their death-defying stunt, not nearly as intrigued as the rest of the audience.

"You know, when we retire from all this demigod business, I say we move here," Leo said. "We can open up a smoothie shop—or a restaurant!—and I could be a performer who does even greater stunts with fire. You can be the owner and smoothie bartender. It'd be loads of fun."

Nico hardly imagined him ever retiring from being a half-blood—it wasn't exactly a job you could easily get away from—but the idea did pique his interest. What if he and Leo could get away from all the madness and settle down in a place like Hawaii? No more worrying about monsters, angry gods, and rising baddies like Gaea and Kronos. They could focus on themselves and only themselves and make a living off cheesy tourists. Sure, it sounded selfish, but it appealed greatly to Nico.

"I say we look into it," Nico said after a finite silence.

Leo looked at the boy through his sunglasses. "Really?"

"Yeah. Why not? What do we have to lose?"

Leo laughed. "So true. 'Scuse me, sir. Two smoothies for me and my friend."

A man behind the counter took their empty cups and plopped down two more. They were filled to the brim with the delicious smoothie concoction. Nico eagerly grabbed at his drink.

"So, it's a date, then?" Leo asked.

It took Nico a moment to remember what he was referring to. "Oh yeah. Definitely. And if that doesn't work out, we can retire somewhere else. Maybe New Rome."

"Is that actually retirement? We would literally be right next to demigod trouble."

Nico shrugged. "I don't care what we do." As long as I'm with you.

"Okay," Leo said, grinning. "Now, I think it's about time I give you a brief lesson in Hawaiian terms. Ohana—"

"Means family," Nico finished. "Yeah, I got that."

"Well, family—"

"Means nobody gets left behind or forgotten. Come on, Leo. I saw the movie."

"Dang," Leo said, taking a sip of his drink. "I really underestimated your knowledge of pop culture references. First The Road to El Dorado, now Lilo and Stitch."

"I don't live under a rock," Nico said. "Just sometimes the Underworld."

"I think that's the same thing."

Nico waved his hand, dismissing the comment. "It's really not."

Leo looked over his shoulder. Beyond the resort, in the near-distance, was the Pacific Ocean in all its glory. There were many people in the ocean—scuba diving, surfing, parasailing, and swimming. Leo had an idea.

"Why don't we go surfing?"

Nico nearly choked on his drink. "Are you insane? That's Poseidon's realm."

"So what? What does the King of the Ocean have against us?"

Nico fidgeted with his mini umbrella. "Uh, nothing in particular, I guess. It's just—well, I'm the son of Hades. And Hades and Poseidon never got along very well—"

"Poseidon is a lot more forgiving than Zeus, so I've heard. He wouldn't want to pull anything on us even if he was bored."

Nico was still clearly nervous. Maybe it didn't have anything to do with their fathers. Perhaps he was simply scared of the ocean.

All right, it wasn't anything that drastic. Truthfully, he was too frightened of making a fool of himself in front of Leo. He knew absolutely nothing about surfing and would probably spend most of the time getting tangled with the seaweed than actually riding some waves.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" a loud voice boomed onstage. "Boys and girls! Come one, come all! Now's your chance to enter in our daily hula-hoop contest. Winner—plus a guest of their choice—eats free at any of our fine restaurants. Sign up now!"

People began congregating to the stage in an effort to sign up. As he watched the swarm of tourists, Nico had an idea of his own that rivaled Leo's.

"I'll make you a deal," Nico said to Leo. "We'll sign up for the hula-hoop contest. Whoever lasts the longest in the competition makes the final decision on what we do for the day. Meaning if you win, we surf. If I win…"

"We do something that's boring and totally not rad," Leo said. He pondered this for a moment. "My friend, you've got yourself a deal." He stuck out his hand and the two boys shook.

Nico still had a chance of making himself look bad in front of Leo. So many things could go wrong he needed at least six hands to count them on fingers. He hadn't hula-hooped in years. What if he suddenly forgot how?

Too bad, Nico thought. Anything would be better than surfing.

And that was true. Nico had a better chance at being good at hula-hooping than coming close to being semi-decent at surfing.

They signed up near the stage and was told that the contest would start in thirty minutes. Leo ordered more drinks and they sat around and talked to kill the time. Nico was growing increasingly more nervous as time grew closer to the competition. What in Hades did I get myself into?

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" the same voice from earlier shouted. "All contestants in the hula-hoop contest are to report to this stage immediately! We are starting in five minutes."

"Ready to get crushed, di Angelo?" Leo asked as he set his fourth finished drink on the counter.

"If you mean crushed with the weight of my own victory, then yes, Valdez," Nico said. "I'm so ready."

The boys and a small gathering of other tourists were ushered onstage as each was handed a hula-hoop. They came in lots of different patterns and colors, and Leo got one of those cool ones that light up. Nico, on the other hand, was given a pink sparkly one that was so not his style. What would his father—lord of the Underworld—say if he saw this?

Leo doubled over in laughter at Nico's hula-hoop. Nico knew he had to win this bet now.

A heavyset man in a floral shirt with at least six different leis around his beefy neck stood at the front of the stage. He had a microphone in hand and addressed the crowd in front of him.

"Welcome to our daily hula-hoop competition!" the man said way too enthusiastically for Nico's liking. "Our lovely contestants will be put to the test to see who has the skills to be the master hula-hoop champion of the day!"

The crowd cheered on as if this were the Olympics and their countries' teams were about to go head-to-head in a heated competition for gold. In reality, it was twenty people about to make themselves look pretty damn stupid in front of a crowd of twenty more people. Perhaps that was why it was so exciting.

"Once the music begins, each contestant is to start hula-hooping," the man continued. "If the hoop falls at any point, the contestant is out. No touching your hula-hoop and no messing with anyone else's. Last person standing wins. Good luck!"

People made room for themselves onstage. Leo and Nico stood opposite each other. Leo seemed determined that he was going to win, which only fueled Nico's own fire. He was not losing to Valdez.

Two people—a boy and a girl—sat at the far corner of the stage. The boy had some bongos while the girl had a ukulele. The man with the microphone pointed to them, and together they started playing some unrecognizable tune. At that moment, Nico picked up his hula-hoop and started moving his hips.

Getting the hang of it was tough at first. The hoop threatened to fall numerous times within the first minute or so. Already at least five people were out, having no chance to actually win since they hardly had the hoop on their hips for more than a few seconds. Nico, however, was still in.

And so was Leo. The son of Hephaestus was obviously struggling. He jerked his body awkwardly, trying to get a handle of the hoop. Nico finally got used to the hoop and was swinging it around his hips with ease. Leo didn't have so much luck.

Nico knew one of the main components of hula-hooping was keeping a smooth pace. He reminded himself of his as he watched Leo struggle to keep the hoop above his knees. The kid wasn't doing so well.

A few minutes passed, and a few contestants simply got tired and dropped out. Another minute or so later, it was down to five people—Nico, Leo, a little girl, and a boy about fifteen. The boy and girl seemed to be related—siblings, perhaps.

Leo was growing increasingly tired, and it showed. His hoop was near his ankles now and he looked like he was about to pass out. A few seconds passed, and Leo looked at Nico irritably. Then he stopped, let the hoop clatter to the ground, saluted Nico, and walked off stage.

"Another contestant down!" the microphone man said. "Honestly, I don't know how that boy lasted so long."

The crowd laughed, and Leo grumbled something as he scampered down the stairs of the stage.

The boy, who was probably the girl's older brother, also looked tired. He most likely could have gone on for a few more minutes, but he probably knew his sister had a great shot at winning this whole thing. He too called it quits and exited the stage, leaving it down to Nico and the little girl.

On one hand, Nico knew he won the bet and there was no reason to go on any farther. Besides, why would he want to beat a little girl? On the other hand, Nico's competitive side was itching to be released. Why stop now? He made it this far!

The little girl glared at Nico, which brought upon more laughter from the crowd. She started hula-hooping even faster.

"Looks like someone intends to win!" the man said, chuckling. "This is it folks. For the crown!"

All right, Nico. Beat a little girl, you're a jerk. Lose over a little girl, you suck. What's it going to be?

In his peripheral vision, Nico spotted Leo amongst the crowd. He stood, crossing his arms like he was assessing the situation. He was thinking the same thing as Nico—should Nico win?

Then, like a Roman emperor in the Colosseum, Leo gave the thumbs down sign. That only meant one thing: win. Destroy the child. Be the Hula-Hoop King.

Nico hula-hooped even faster. He was holding his ground fairly well, hardly even breaking a sweat. The girl, who must have been about nine or ten, started to get a little intimidated. That was her mistake—she should have been paying more attention to her pace.

The hoop dropped to her legs and she was unable to regain her balance. The hoop fell completely to the floor, and the little girl huffed as she stalked off stage to her older brother.

"And we have a winner!"

The crowd cheered loudly. The microphone man came over and placed a flower crown on Nico's head and a metal around his neck. He was handed two slips of paper, which were to be used to redeem his free meal at the resort. The man congratulated him once more, and after the crowd cheered for a final time, everyone began to disperse. More musical performers came onstage to continue with their music-making.

"What a show," Leo said when Nico returned to him. "I never should have doubted you."

Nico looked at the plastic metal. "I was a champ at this back home. Even Bianca couldn't beat me."

Leo clapped his friend on the back. "Despite making a little girl nearly cry, you did get us a free meal. What do you say we go use those coupons right now?"

"Sure. But first we should get you a flower crown to match mine."

Leo stepped away. "Whoa dude. I don't do crowns in any sort unless it's made out of solid gold."

"You do now."

After filling up on food and buying Leo a matching flower crown from a nearby bungalow, Nico decided he wanted to spend his day as simple as possible—a walk around the beach.

At first Leo tried to get him to check out other things ("Scuba diving, Nico!" "What about zip lining?" "Okay, okay, how about hang gliding?" "Not in an adventurous mood, I get it. But we can at least go feed some weird animals at an aquarium!"), but Nico wasn't interested in doing anything too captivating. He just wanted to spend time with Leo, talk to him. He couldn't get that kind of opportunity if he was constantly trying to not die by a parasailing mishap or man-eating sharks.

They exited the resort and went down by the beach. Not many people were out this time around, despite it being a little after midday. Nico supposed it was because of it being Christmas. People might be giving gifts now or spending time with family. A few families were splashing in the water and playing volleyball together, but besides those people, it was relatively quiet on the beach.

Nico liked that. He liked being isolated from people at times like these. It was sentiment, and he was used to it. It wasn't necessarily bad either—it was simply nice.

Leo reached over and grabbed Nico's hand. Nico nearly jumped out of his skin at the gesture. He wasn't used to much physical contact with people, let alone holding hands with someone.

"What?" Leo said bashfully. "We're walking along a beach. The moment's feeling kinda romantic."

Nico didn't respond. He watched the waves crash onshore. He liked the Pacific Ocean a lot more than the Atlantic. It was clearer, bluer, and a lot more inviting. Poseidon's realm was definitely the calmest out of The Big Three's domains—but it could also be one of the scariest, with the weird creatures and the possibility of drowning and all.

"So, it's our final day," Leo said, trying to keep a casual tone to his voice.

"Yeah," Nico said. "I'm sad it's going to be over."

Leo seemed surprised. "Really? I mean—yeah, I am too."

"Honestly, it was some of the best days of my life."

Leo smiled. "I'm glad."

"I still can't believe you even thought of all this," Nico said. "No one has ever been this attentive to me before—no one besides Bianca."

Leo wasn't even fazed at the mention of Nico's older sister. He knew it was a big compliment to be placed in the same field as her.

Nico stole a glance of Leo. He noticed the son of Hephaestus frowning, which was weird, since he was smiling a second ago.

"What's wrong?" Nico asked. He didn't mean to, but he squeezed Leo's hand.

"Nothing," Leo said. "Okay, well, there is something, but it's not important."

"Anything upsetting you is important. Talk."

Leo sighed. "I'm just worried things will turn back to normal after this. Things…between us."

"You mean—"

"I don't want to go back to the way things were before," Leo interrupted. "I don't want us to go back to acquaintances or even just friends. I want to walk around camp and hold your hand like now and spend time with you whenever I can. I don't want to go back to being nearly strangers, ignoring that this vacation ever happened." Leo looked at Nico. "I want things to be better. Perfect."

"Things aren't going to be perfect—"

"I know. We're demigods. Nothing's ever perfect."

"—but nothing will ever be the same again."

For once, Leo didn't say a word. He studied Nico's face and waited for him to explain.

"We left this trip hardly friends," Nico said. "We're going to come back even more. Trust me on this. Things will change because of this vacation—but in a good way."

"Finally, something happening for a good reason," Leo said. He was grinning wildly. "I wonder what the others will say."

"I'm not worried about the others," Nico said, though he had thought the same thing before. "I'm only worried about us."

Leo pulled Nico closer to him, their hands and fingers intertwined. "Trust me, Nico. There won't be any worrying about us. I think we'll be just fine."

Leo leaned down and suddenly they were kissing, slowly, softly. Nothing could be heard but the ocean waves rolling against the sandbank and the squawk of birds in the distance. All of Nico's worries and indecisions melted away as his lips parted against Leo's. Nothing mattered anymore. Nothing except for Nico and Leo.

"I suppose this was a bit better than surfing," Leo said when they broke away. Nico found himself smiling and blushing like red tomato.

"Yeah" was all he could say in response.

"Merry Christmas," Leo said, drawing Nico into a hug.

"Merry Christmas, Leo."

Nico's present was waiting for them when they returned. They now sat in the living room, a little after dinnertime, about to open the final gifts of Leo and Nico's Ultimate Christmas Vacation.

"Yours first," Nico said.

Leo reached under the tree and grabbed his gift. It was a rectangular box-like object wrapped in paper. Leo's wrapping was getting better, Nico noted.

Leo handed it to Nico, and the son of Hades tore at the paper excitedly. It was a black, leather-bound book. It had no title, but when Nico sifted through the fragile pages, he noticed foreign words on it.

"A book of Hawaiian terms," he said.

"Study up," Leo said. "I expect you to be fluent by the time we retire in Honolulu."

Leo was certainly a sentiment person. It made Nico's stomach flutter with butterflies.

"Thank you, Leo," Nico said. "I think it's time for my gift now."

Leo was practically bouncing off the walls with excitement. Nico let out a nervous laugh as he handed his gift to him. "Careful. It's fragile."

Leo ripped away the paper with ease. Seeing the gift at first made him narrow his eyes in confusion.

It was a glass jar, its lid latched shut. There were small slips of paper folded and stuffed inside to the brim of the jar. There were so many papers Leo couldn't see any hint of glass on the other side when looking through.

A piece of paper was taped to one side of the jar. In careful and precise handwriting, the word Memories was written in Ancient Greek. The word Christmas and the year were also written in the same language just underneath.

"I'm confused—"

"Open it," Nico said. "Take one out and read it."

Carefully, Leo unlatched the jar and took out a random piece of paper. He unfolded it. It read:

Delivering gifts in Niagara Falls. Making those kids happy made me happy.

Leo grabbed another paper.

Singing with carolers in London. I still feel ridiculous thinking about it.

Another.

Falling in France. The photo that documents that memory. One of the best photos I've ever taken.

"Slow down," Nico said as Leo went for fourth memory. "Save them for another time."

Leo didn't know what to say. He was usually a talkative person, but right now, he was at a total loss for words.

"These are my favorite memories of the trip," Nico explained. "There's a lot because everything about the trip made me happy. Whenever you're sad or feeling down or lonely, I want you to take a few memories and read them. Remember how happy you made me, and how selfless of a person you are. It'll make you feel better."

Not a lot can make Leo Valdez cry, but tears stung his eyes. He quickly wiped them away. Not manly, Leo. Not manly at all.

Then he looked at Nico. Ah, forget manly. Be emotional. Who cares?

"This…this is amazing," Leo said. "None of my gifts can even compare."

"I'd beg to differ," said Nico. "But I'm glad you like it."

"Like it?" Leo said. "Nico…I love it."

Nico smiled. He leaned in and planted a kiss on Leo's lips. The feeling of being together, so close, was enough of a gift for Nico. The kiss was lingering. It left them wanting more, but both boys knew nothing was going to fill that need. They broke apart.

"How about a movie?" Leo asked.

"What do you have in mind?"

Leo grabbed a DVD case off the table behind him. "I brought A Nightmare Before Christmas."

"Sounds right up my alley."

Leo disappeared to a nearby supply closet and returned with a television set and DVD player. He hooked the TV up and popped the movie in. He returned to Nico, wrapping an arm around the boy's shoulders, drawing him closer to Leo's body.

They sat on the ground, backs against the couch, not really paying attention to the movie. Instead, they focused on the person they loved right next to them—someone way more important than an animated classic.

On the twelfth day of Leo and Nico's Ultimate Christmas Vacation, there was no note from Leo to Nico. The warmth in their hearts and their occasional shared kisses spoke the words Leo had always wanted to say.

Upon returning to Camp Half-Blood a day later, demigods started to see that something was different between Leo Valdez and Nico di Angelo.

Their old friends greeted them all the same at first. No one had noticed anything odd. When their closer friends returned in spurts a few days later, people then began to recognize a change. Leo and Nico seemed, for lack of a better word, distracted when their fellow demigod friends saw them for the first time in a couple weeks.

It wasn't that Leo and Nico weren't excited to see their friends again—they just had other people to think about. They had each other.

And that's all that mattered.

END

Yeah okay I'm a sucker for cheesy endings. Whatever.

I started writing this fic in October of 2013, and I guess I overestimated my ability to finish things, because I didn't mean for it to take like 8 freaking months to actually finish. Oops.

Shout out to all those reviewers who have been with me from the start. I've probably committed your usernames to memory by now.

Shout out to all those new readers who are just joining me now. What's the future like? Is Blood of Olympus as heartbreaking as I expect it to be? Are you even that far along in the future?

Also I just wanna say I'm sorry for any mistakes in this chapter (or this whole fic, really) bc it's like 2 AM and I'm tired and tired Serena makes mistakes when editing.

Also, ANNOUNCEMENT: Stay tuned in the (hopefully, near) future, as I have lots of plans for more fics. I've got something pretty specific planned right now that I think will go quite well, if I can find the time to do it. That's vague, I know, but I want it to be a surprise. So please just stick around and patiently wait, because I promise something will be coming in the future.

On that note, I just want to thank everyone again for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and sharing this story. Please continue to do so, as that only supports me as a writer.

Again, thank you, and happy very very very very VERY late holidays.

~Serena