#forgests

     Jason isn’t sure what compels him to answer the door; he’s ignored it the past billion other times someone’s knocked this week, but something feels off. He drags himself out of his bedside chair and makes his way to answer the knock’s call, pressing his hand hard against his stomach to stave the pain off.

He doesn’t expect to see Leo, but somehow it doesn’t register as a surprise. He figures he’s too numb for any of that.

Leo,

Hey, man. I know we haven’t gotten the chance to meet up in the city, and I’m sorry for that. There’s been a lot of miscommunicating and wondering where everyone is and where they fit together here, I think. Piper and Annabeth are gone and I’m not sure if Hazel or Frank are around anymore. I haven’t heard from Nico at all.

I miss you, but knowing you’re alive is better than anything else I ever could’ve gotten from you. Percy mentioned he filled you in on the “you-died-in-our-version-of-reality” thing, and I’m sure that was a shock. Sorry about that. It’s never a good thing to hear from someone that you died at some point in their reality.

I’m writing this because I don’t think I’ll see you again. I’ve been pretty sick lately, and I doubt I have more than a day or two left to live.  I’m sorry, Leo. I wish I could hold out long enough to see you, but I can’t. I’m tired. I know I always struck people we knew as impressive or strong or whatever, but that’s honestly the furthest thing from the truth there is. I’ve been nothing but weak and afraid since I got here, and I can’t find it in me to fix myself in time to save my own life.

I’m going to die, and I don’t want to die without letting you know how much you mean to me. You’ve been nothing but a great friend to me, Leo. You’ve been here for me unconditionally and always tried to make me feel important, even when you were joking around. You’ve supported Piper, and while we aren’t together anymore, I’ll never not be grateful to you for supporting our relationship.

I wish I had something to give you, but I don’t. All I can say is, you’re an amazing person who’s more than deserving of all the happiness and love in the world. You’re honestly so impressive and important to me in ways I could never really outline in person; I’m sorry about that. You know I’m not quick-witted or good with words like you are. I guess I could’ve taken the time to pick up some pointers from you, bro, but I didn’t. I think maybe I’ll always regret that.

I’ll regret a lot of things, maybe. Like never sitting you down and telling you how much of a hero you really are.

     Goodbye,

She had to admit to herself that she had become too reliant on having her makeshift family around her at all times. Piper was a child of both love and circumstance; it was simply in her nature to adapt to her surroundings, although having people she could trust very near for so long had tainted that.

The demigod daughter was lost and tired. It was like she was missing more than people; she felt like a part of herself was gone, almost as if she could physically feel the hamper on her powers she received on arrival. This, in addition to the feeling of loneliness that weighed on her heart, had started to drag her down.

Piper was put off in the new environment so well that she nearly missed the sight of someone who should have been easily recognizable. But she was Piper, and anyone who knew her could atest to the fact that Piper McLean knew her people.

                   「☠」—» There were some things in life that one just couldn’t forget. A particularly memorial birthday, a midlife adventure, a walking table that screamed at you at random times of the day. Things that made you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Nico happened to have all three of the following in his memory, though the last one definitely stood out as the most recent and dramatic. Though an odd memory, Buford the Wonder Table was something that brought a small, fond smile to Nico’s expression whenever he thought of it. Really, nothing woke you up in the morning as well as a screaming of “PUT SOME CLOTHES ON” while you were trying to brush your teeth.

                   Nico’s thoughts had wandered while his body did the same, brain on auto-pilot as he navigated the familiar streets of district oo6. His gaze was angled downward, eyes on his feet and the concrete beneath as the demigod’s boots thumped rhythmically against the ground. As he did often, Nico was reviewing all that had occurred before he’d been brought to Hive City, thinking of anything he could have done differently that would have prevented him from coming here. Over the months, this habit had faded, but Percy’s arrival had brought it back in full strength, and Nico had found himself losing himself to his own thoughts more and more often.

                   So it was a surprise when the son of Hades found himself rather forcefully jolted from his own thoughts by a loud, familiar shouting. For a moment, Nico could only slow to a stop and blink, head rising to look in front of him for the first time in nearly an hour. That sounded like... No, it couldn’t be. But Nico couldn’t bring himself to ignore it. If it really was what he thought it was, and he just kept walking... he’d never forgive himself. So a few quick steps brought the Italian around the corner, and he froze, eyes widening at the scene before him. A three-legged table with a miniature, holographic satyr screaming at the top of its lungs, and beside it...