Hello, my darlings. I'm sorry I took so long on this update, but *school stuff* and all the stuff i have to do before i graduate are annoying. so alright

FPSCanarussia i'm happy you think so because i am always worried about writing everyone out of character

killua ah yeah sorry like i said im always thinking im going to write someone out of character ad there it is i guess. idk i kind of pictured piper as just getting super pissed in the moment. i like to think piper can be the scariest and angriest one of the seven if she wants, like no one wants to get on her bad side, but i might have gotten carried away. and i only answered you because i don't like replying to generic comments, pretty much. i mean i love all comments, but it feels so uncomfortable trying to respond to multiple variations of "great job" u feel. ur super cool, but i feel i had to explain that so no one gets upset that i only reply to certain people lol

anon same tbh i just want all the fun sad stuff to happen but? i have to write all this other stuff first? ughhhhh i just want to have them find out already

"He wouldn't talk to me." Calypso decided to talk to Nico when they got out of earshot from everyone else.

"Who?" He could have sworn Percy went up to greet Calypso earlier, and she didn't exactly know anyone else here.

"Leo. He barely said anything to me the whole trip back. He was fine the first day, though. Something happened. Something's really bugging him, and I just don't understand how he can be miserable and barely able to speak to me for weeks, then when he gets back here he just plasters on a smile and pretends everything's fine. He probably wouldn't want me telling you this even, as he put on such a show for all of you, but I'm worried about him."

Nico crinkled his eyebrows. "Do you have any ideas about what's made him so upset?"

"None. All I know is he has nightmares about it and-"

Nico stopped walking abruptly. "Nightmares?" It had to be something to do with the afterlife. He wanted to deny it, but for something to affect Leo this much, it was likely he may have died and experienced Punishment due to his unfulfilled oath before he received the Cure. It would make sense, then, that he would have nightmares about the experience.

Calypso stopped next to him. "Yes. He would wake up screaming and crying and he wouldn't tell me why. I figured he could have been reliving the battle where he- died."

Of course. Nico had been so quick to assume his father had done something wrong, but he had forgotten about all the people in the camp who wake up screaming because they had nightmares about the battle a few weeks ago. Some still dreamed about fighting Kronos. He had forgotten how common nightmares are with demigods who had been through so much. Still, he wanted to talk with Leo later, as demigod nightmares are often significant and if he wasn't reliving something, he might be pre-living it, and Nico was sure the camps didn't need a surprise disaster right now.

Nico shook his head. "Well, anyway, your room is just around this corner. I'll let you know when to come down the dining pavilion." Calypso frowned when she turned into the room and Nico turned around to leave.

"I'll try to look into what's up with Leo, get him to really smile again, okay? Right this moment I think he needs his space. Besides, I sort of have plans to hang out with my boyfriend really soon and I-"

"Go." She smiled at him.

Leo went down to Bunker 9 after everyone split up. He figured there wouldn't be so many people working down there right after the big battle. Luckily he had assumed correctly- the place was empty. He curled into a ball and sobbed.

Piper hates you now. You can't do anything right. "I know."

You couldn't have sent an Iris message to let them know you were alive? You screwed everything up. "I know."

You don't deserve them as your friends. Perhaps it's better now that they hate you completely. You would never have belonged. The seventh wheel. They're all heroes, and you're- "A failure."

You should just run away, like you always do. They'd all be better off without having to put up with your shit.

He kept sobbing, until he heard someone call his name. "Leo?"

He grabbed a greasy rag out of his toolbelt and wiped his face with it, getting rid of the tears and hoping the dirt would distract from his red and puffy eyes. He cleared his throat before answering. "Yes?"

"It's me, Piper." She said as she came around the corner. "I wanted to talk about earlier before we went to dinner. I thought you might have come down here." She sighed. "Look, I'm sorry I exploded at you earlier, I was -"

"It's not a problem, Beauty Queen. Forget about it." He put on his best smile as he got to his feet.

"No, Leo, I shouldn't have done-"

"It's fine, don't worry about it."

"Leo,I can't see that well through all that dirt, but I'm pretty sure I bruised your face. It's not fine." Leo opened his mouth to respond, but she held a finger up to stop him. "Just listen. I don't know why I flipped out like that. It's just- I was so happy to see you alive,but then I started thinking about how you were alive the whole time, and you didn't give us an explanation for not calling, and I got so angry. I- Leo, I thought you could have died. I was so worried and frustrated, and I guess it just all came up at once. But it's because I care about you, Leo. I just want to make it clear that I was just mad at you. You're my best friend and I love you. We all do. And when you said you didn't think we would care that much, I freaked out. I was angry at myself with just the thought that I must have not paid attention enough or talked to you enough that you knew I cared, and I took it out on you. And I'm not that mad at you anymore. You just made a mistake. I made a mistake in punching you. I just wanted you to know that I'm sorry, alright?" She opened her arms for a hug, and Leo put his arms around her and whispered in her ear "Don't be sorry, Pipes. I understand. I kind of deserve a punch in the face every now and then."

Piper scrunched up her nose a bit because that wasn't the message she was trying to send, but before she could say anything else, Leo pulled out of the hug and said "Well, it's about time we should start going to dinner, isn't it?" And started walking off. Piper sighed and followed him.

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