Title: Sidewalks

Rating: T

Word Count: 1,300+

Character(s): Leo Valdez, Reyna

Pairing(s): Leyna

Summary: There is a place where the sidewalk ends, and before the street begins./ This is the world, where he is just a boy, and she is just a girl, but somehow so much more and so much less. -Leyna oneshot-

Author's Notes: This is a oneshot featuring the poem Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein. It's fluffy and a bit meaningless. Lots of mataphors and symbolism and too-long adjectives. So the usual.

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There is a place where the sidewalk ends

And before the street begins

This is the world. This is the world, where he is just a boy, and she is just a girl, but somehow so much more and so much less.

-.- .. -. -. | -.- ..- . . -.

He is just a boy. He is just a sidekick with long fingers that are everywhere, sometimes dancing with biting flames. He is just a boy who never stops moving, who buzzes in a constant stream of energy, because his nightmares will catch him if he stops.

She is just a girl. She is just a queen, sitting on her throne with icy walls of her own making towering around her. She is just a girl who looks through the glass and down upon those who look up at her, full of expectations she cannot meet, and wishes for salvation.

He is just a boy. He is just a boy who cries himself to sleep, but only when no one can hear. He is just a child who has learned to dry his eyes and hide the evidence behind a mask crafted of humor and dreams. A child who has learned that while laughter may be the best medicine, it's not a cure, just an antidote that slows the pain, slows his descent into darkness.

She is just a girl. She is just a girl who sheds her billowing cloak at night, but only when no one is around to see how small and fragile her frame is. She is just a child who continues to wear a costume and play pretend, dressing up like a porcelain doll. A child who tries to stand taller than she really is, balanced precariously on her toes, wondering if the image might be real, if only she could convince herself.

He is just a boy. He is a boy full of fire and life, who has a learned to shine in a never-ending blaze to illuminate the paths of others. He is a burning hearth that dims only when no one watches, because he knows that the wood and embers at his core will soon be gone.

She is just a girl. She is a girl who has turned her heart and body to ice, who has learned to become so cold that not one can get near. She is a frozen sculpture that drips with sorrow when people turn to the brighter lights, because she knows she is melting in heat.

-.- .. -. -. | -.- ..- . . -.

He is just a boy, and she is just a girl. And they're alive, but somehow dead. And they are hurting; because that's the way the universe works, fueled by emotions of pain and longing. And he's just a boy, and she's just a girl, and they're just people.

And there the grass grows soft and white,

And there the sun burns crimson bright,

And there the moon-bird rests from his flight

To cool in the peppermint wind.

He is just a boy. He is just a boy who is pushed aside to hide in the shadow of their brilliance, easily overlooked, often forgotten. He is a repair boy, covered in flawed stains of machine grease, not important enough explain, to tell stories of his own greatness, only to fix the others and push them on. He is a boy who must nod and agree.

She is just a girl. She is just a girl pushed onto the stage like a battering ram, forced to take on full responsibility of what she cannot control. She is a praetor, so powerful that she is given the jobs only pure greatness can complete, because she is the closest they have, but not close enough. She is a girl who must nod and agree.

He is just a boy. He is just a boy who dismisses her, another beautiful girl who is simply marble painted with bright colors. He is a boy who has ridden a roller coaster that rises with hope and falls with rejection too many times, and he won't let himself jump on again.

She is just a girl. She is just a girl who dismisses him, another hero who is simply big words and a loud voice swinging a bright weapon that draws eyes, not a subtle knife that is much more efficient. She is a girl who builds her crystal heart stronger each time, because it is still weak enough to be shattered, still soft enough to beat.

-.- .. -. -. | -.- ..- . . -.

He is just a boy, and she is just a girl. And they are the heroes, the saviors. They have made the sacrifices they are strong enough to make, and some that have broken them. They are a boy and a girl, and they question what is right.

Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black

And the dark street winds and bends.

He is just a boy. He is just a boy who, in the midst of all the darkness that has clouded the sky, can smile. He is a boy who can smile at this queen of a girl, because he is truly happy. He is a boy who enjoys a single moment of contentment, because he considers that she might be the piece of tinder that won't burn out.

She is just a girl. She is just a girl who, despite all she has been through, is amazed. She is a girl who is amazed by this long-fingered boy, because she is truly happy. She is a girl who enjoys this single moment of contentment, because he is a wax candle that banishes the shadows of past failures.

He is just a boy. He is just a boy how marvels at the glory before him, this mortal goddess who has deigned to give him a chance. He is just a mortal boy, and he swears he won't mess this up, not this time.

She is just a girl. She is just a girls who embraces this boy's imperfections, because they match her own. She is just an earthly girl, not believing in impossible dreams, but believing in him.

-.- .. -. -. | -.- ..- . . -.

He is just a boy, and she is just a girl. And they are heroes, and they have friends and enemies and allies, and they are alive, and one day, they will die. But that's alright. For now, he is just a boy, and she is just a girl, and they are young couple, kissing as if the world isn't there.

The stand at the end of a path, surrounded by the rubble of a city he has destroyed. Ironic, that they should be here, the place where she first noticed him, considered him, then hated him. But around them, the city is blooming once again. In the shadows of broken marble columns they stand together, hold each other. He is just a boy, and she is just a girl, and they think that, just maybe, they might be in love.

Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow

We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,

And watch where the chalk-white arrows go

To the place where the sidewalk ends.

Thanks for reading! Please favorite/review and leave constructive criticism.

This is my first Leyna fic, and I'm honestly not sure what I feel about it. It's not that I don't like it, It's just that I was aiming for something different when I started.

This is set sometime after the giant war. New Rome is being rebuilt.

This is the first of a long string of oneshots I'm going to write, because I'm a horribly inconsistent writer. I once started a story on fictionpress and ended up deleting it because I was updating and it was making me stressed. I'm currently working on another Leyna two-shot that I won't post until both parts are done. I'm about 2/3 through the first part so it will probably be up sometime during the summer.